Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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The late pulse crop harvest – garbanzos and lentils – continues on the Palouse, with some fields abandoned, some seeded right over the top for next year's wheat and some cut. The delays were due to waiting out moisture; farmers hoping that beans would dry out enough to reach standards at the grain elevators for sale. “It was a testament to the three to four neighbors, five to 10 combines on a field on those few afternoons they could go,” said Allen Druffel, a farmer outside Colton and chairma...
A marijuana grow facility south of Lamont appears to be clear to pursue its operation after consideration by County Prosecutor Denis Tracy on the matter of an I-502 fence being built before the county marijuana moratorium started. Mark Storey, county public works director, noted to county commissioners Monday that the property owned by Zack Kennedy has an I-502 sight-obscure fence, built in 2017, well before the March moratorium on additional marijuana business activity in the county. He...
Port of Whitman commissioners Thursday approved a motion to give support to PNW Co-op on their Freight Rail Assistance Program application and match $100,000 with approval of the application. The support was passed on a 2-0 vote, with Port Commissioner Kammerzell abstaining from the vote for a conflict of interest. Bud Riedner, PNW Co-op, came before the Port commissioners to request funding and support for the FRAP application to obtain new railcars. Riedner plans on applying for $900,000 on the application which was due on Oct. 18. According...
A fire Tuesday destroyed the Knott grain elevator located in Winona. Fire crews received the alarm at about 1 p.m. and the top of the elevator was engulfed in flames by the time Endicott volunteers arrived on the scene. Endicott Fire Chief Keith Luft was coordinator for the fire response. The burning elevator collapsed after fire crews had been on the scene for approximately two hours. Grain could been seen spilling from the structure as it toppled. Colfax fire crews took the department's ladder...
Two unusual bid rounds were logged at this year's junior market sale at the Palouse Empire Fair. One was an impromptu call for pledges to help fund a 4Her who lost his dad to cancer last May and the other was bid by junior stock entrants from the 1960 sale who decided to get back together and buy one animal on this year's sale bill. Jerry Hennigar, organizer of the reunion pool bid, said he had planned to make the joint purchase next year on the 60th anniversary of when the participants were in...
At Monday's workshop, commissioners continued their discussion on continuing challenges with Whitcom. Commissioner Dean Kinzer was able to attend a finance committee meeting Wednesday, Oct. 16, to discuss the proposed 2020 budget for Whitcom. “We've got $566,000 in reserves,” Kinzer said. “I pulled the finance director aside at the meeting and asked if this wasn't going to get eaten up, because they are in negotiations for their next contract, and she assured me that this would all be gone before the end of next year.” Commissioner Art Swannac...
Memorial wreaths will again be placed for veterans buried at Bethel Cemetery at Steptoe Saturday, Dec. 14, as part of the the national Wreaths Across America. The ceremony will take place at noon. The cost to sponsor a wreath to lay on a grave is $15. This money is due by Veteran's Day, Nov. 11. The deadline will allow enough time for the wreaths to be ordered and shipped for the ceremony. The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember fallen U.S. veterans, honor those who serve and teach...
Whitman County commissioners held off on deciding whether to vacate sections of two dirt roads northeast near St. John after a public hearing Monday. Jim Davis Road and Gene Nelson Road are local access, mostly seasonal roads. A total of five miles would be vacated from both. The roads run north from Sunset Road to the Thorn Creek Road. The Davis Road intersects at Sunset, and the Nelson Road intersects about two miles west of the Davis Road. “We don't have any reason not to vacate these u...
Washington State Board approved Oct. 9 an emergency rule banning the sale of flavored vapor products or any products that will be used to create a flavored vapor product. The rule took effect Oct. 10 and will last for 120 days. “This is a critical part of our response to the youth vaping epidemic and the outbreak of vaping associated lung injury in Washington and throughout the country,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman, who is a member of the board. Five of the seven Washington patients are between 10 and 29....
Sandy Jamison, Whitman County auditor for almost 10 months, and staff are currently implementing the new state-wide VoteWA voter registration system. "This is new in 2019 and has been very challenging for our staff. The purpose of this new system is to integrate all 39 Washington state county software platforms into one unified voter registration and tabulation system. While there have been and still are kinks to work out, I feel optimistic that the ultimate goal of adhering to one state-wide voter registration system will be achieved," she...
Courthouse telephones went into a sixth business day of no service Tuesday morning with negotiations near complete on getting a new provider via the internet. Lance Bishop, county information technology director for the past six months, said he is working with Granite Net to convert to the new system which will be delivered via fiber optic lines which already provide internet service for the county's computers. Bishop said he has been considering a change of providers for several months. Bishop said the failure of the courthouse service last...
Port of Whitman County Commissioners and staff discussed at Thursday's meeting ways, as an agency, they can better improve their transparency. Discussions on this subject have been brought up briefly in previous port meetings on whether or not the port is doing everything they can do have public involvement with decisions being made. Joe Poire, port executive director, said as an agency they've been mainly focused on the resolutions as the instrument, when that shouldn't be the case. A majority of this topic circled around passed resolutions, m...
Laura Lautenslager, operations coordinator for Rosalia Fire District 7, Sarah McKnight, co-founder and board member of Ruck for the Fallen, presented the red line flag to Pullman Fire Chief Heston Oct. 8. The flag, which started in Colfax, has been to Oakesdale, Rosalia and Pullman. It will make its way across the U.S. to its final destination in Maine, honoring Chief Bell, who lost his life in a gas explosion at a facility that housed disabled adults....
Whitman County Building Inspector Dan Gladwill delivered a third quarter building report to county commissioners Monday, noting a large impact by the St. John Hardware project near the stateline. “Commercial construction this quarter was most of it,” said Gladwill. St. John Hardware is moving its Moscow operation to the former Hawkins property on the Washington side of the state line west of Moscow. The project building permit lists a $1,964,622 for the office/showroom and $660,000 for the shop. “That was extremely helpful for my budget this...
The "Meet the Candidate" session Oct. 16 at The Center in Colfax drew a large audience, and attendees were able to submit questions for the candidates. Format called for the two candidates for each position to answer questions which were submitted by the audience. Each candidate was given an opportunity to respond to the same question which was relayed by the League of Women Voters moderator. Council seat four incumbent Mark Mackleit and challenger Andrew Stewart were the first duo. Stewart, co-proprietor of The Modern Plantsman business which...
Colfax roared for 25 unanswered points in the second half Friday on their home grid to defeat Asotin and remain on top of the NE-South race. The Bulldogs' 39-7 win ended a string of Panther grid decisions which seemed to serve as derailments at the end of Colfax football seasons. Coach Mike Morgan noted the Bulldogs again went into an early recovery mode which surfaced the prior week when they stopped Liberty. Asotin had a strong drive on their way to their first score, but after that the...
Colfax volleyball players booked three league wins over five days to remain on top of the NE-South race. The Bulldogs now stand at 8-1 on the south with a trip to Tekoa today for a match against the Timberwolves to finish out the league run. Tuesday the Bulldogs traveled to Ritzville and dropped the Broncos in three sets, 25-10, 25-15 and 25-14 with Kierstyn York pegging five kills and Justice Brown booking 24 assists. Annabell Cox had 22 digs. Monday, Colfax swept Upper Columbia Academy on the...
Another of the Pomeroy brothers Gwinn came to St. John Friday, Oct. 18, for the St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse homecoming game and trained the Eagles to land on his shoulder and obey, 62-6. But SJEL did lash back at times, driving for a fourth-and-goal in the second quarter, before scoring right at the end of the half on a smooth pass-and-pitch play for a 57-yard touchdown. Quarterback Dylan Campbell threw to Kameron Greenhalgh out wide, who pitched to Doug Stach, who got a key downfield block from...
NE district runners will return to the Harrington Golf course Saturday for the District seven qualification run, the first step on the road to the state chase. Colfax will head for the district seven race after competing in the Lake Spokane Invitational at Lakeside where the Bulldog girls finished fourth among an entry of mostly larger schools, and the Bulldog boys finished eighth. Colfax girls scored a 100 points behind the 30 win posted by the Lakeside hosts. Also finishing ahead of Colfax were Bothell 34 and Moses Lake 99. Colfax boys...
Tekoa/Rosalia and DeSales waged a points war Friday with the Timberwolves tagging a 36-20 lead at the half and a 54-26 win when the clock ran out. The road win leaves TR with a 6-1 record with their lone loss to Almira/Coulee/Hartline in the third game of the season. ACH is now on top of the state polls in the 1B division. The Timberwolves will host SJEL Friday for homecoming. At DeSales, Anthony Gehring booked 231 yards passing with four TD shots, and Riley McLain totaled 199 yards rushing and receiving and scored twice against the Irish....
The Southeast 1B volleyball standings are Pomeroy still on top at 10-0, followed by Oakesdale at 10-1 – their one loss to Pomeroy - Colton (6-5), St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse (5-6), Touchet (4-7), Garfield/Palouse (3-9), Prescott (0-10). Colton is 12-6 overall, after being swept at home Tuesday by Pomeroy, 25-14, 25-19, 25-21. Josie Schultheis had 18 digs for the Wildcats and Rylee Vining 17 assists. Colton won at Prescott Oct. 17 in a three-game sweep. Pomeroy will meet second-place Oakesdale a...
Anais Mills posted another big win to lead Garfield/Palouse Oct. 15 in the District 7/9 league meet at the St. John golf course with a time of 21:02. Liberty freshman Angelina Widman place second with 22:34, and SJEL’s Catherine Treis placed third at 22:49. Garfield/Palouse girls took team honors with 19 and LRS placed second with 36 points. Other finishers for GP were Kennedy Cook, 4th at 23:23; Layne Southern, 8th at 24:25; Samantha Snekvik, 10th at 24:42; Jessica Olson, 14th at 27:17. Other finishers for SJEL were Lauren Stubbs, 6th at 23:33...
Towels lined up on the bench with Konnor Stirling's number Friday night during the Colfax football game against Asotin. The seniors wanted to honor their friend who died of Leukemia. Stirling was represented by his parents early in the night when the seniors stood for recognition....