Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Jamie Bledsoe, a Colfax sophomore transfer student from Pullman last year, won his appeal to regain sports eligibility from the WIAA. Bledsoe was cleared to play on teams at Pullman where he returned this year. A report on the decision was presented at the Colfax school board meeting Monday night, although the WIAA decision came before the start of the school year, and he was able to play fall sports at Pullman. The appeal was made after the WIAA last spring suspended Bledsoe from sports eligibility for a year because of a violation of the...
Colfax basketball players are now aiming at a Dec. 10 season start at Freeman. Third-year Coach Reece Jenkin reports he has had 22 players in the gym since practices began Nov. 15. He expects about 14 more recruits off the football team which will head for the state title game at Tacoma Saturday. The total of 36 players will campaign on varsity, junior varsity and C squad teams. Jeremy Bogle will be back as jayvee coach, and Randy Daniels will be back as C squad coach. Jenkin said the football recruits, including two or three core hoopsters...
It’s once again that time of year when the high school gyms of Whitman County fill up with fans to watch teams in one of the most storied basketball leagues in Washington state. WIAA re-classifications last year restored the traditional lineup of Whitman County League basketball, which tips off a new season this weekend. Coming back down to the 1B ranks this year to join the league with their traditional rivals are former Whitman League power teams, Tekoa/Oakesdale and Garfield/Palouse. Both played the last two seasons in the 2B ranks, a split... Full story
When tales of the 2010 Colfax football campaign are retold, it will be known as “the drive,” 53 seconds of furious offense which ended with a Colfax score just before the half and swung the momentum of Monday night’s semi-final game on the cold carpet at Martin Stadium. Orchestrated by senior QB Alex Teade, the drive was the start of a Colfax comeback which ended with a 21-14 semi-final win over Waitsburg/ Prescott. The win sends Colfax back to their second straight championship game in the state’s 2B division. The game will be Saturda... Full story
Regional Theatre of the Palouse will conduct auditions for Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” a musical from a collection of popular Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Auditions are Dec. 7 and Dec. 9 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the RTOP Theatre, 122 N. Grand Ave. in Pullman. Actors should enter through the stage door at the rear of the building. Those auditioning should prepare to sing a short song, preferably in the style of the show and bring the sheet music. An accompanist will be provided. Scenes and music from “Into the Woods” will be given for...
With weather worsening, Whitman County officials Monday discussed how to alert employees whether or not they need to report for work during storms. Previous policy laid out which employees would be absolutely vital to the continuing operations of county government. Fran Martin, director of the county’s emergency management department, suggested updates to those rosters of employees. The issue was sparked by a county shutdown during the Nov. 23 blizzard. Employees considered “non-essential” to that day’s operations at the county were told no... Full story
Western Pea & Lentil Growers Association’s 45th annual convention will be Dec. 8 at the Best Western-University Inn in Moscow. Cost for the meeting and luncheon is $25. Check-in for the day-long meeting starts at 7:45 a.m. followed by updates from the marketing and research departments as well as information on key issues facing the pulse industry. Luncheon keynote speaker will be Deepa Shenoy of Pul Foods who will talk about work she has done on products containing pulse crops, including breakfast cereals. Also, the Lentil Family of the Y...
Two Palouse council members are pushing for layoffs in the city police department. At a Nov. 9 council meeting, council members Randy Zehm and Norm Schorzman both voted “no” on renewing a three-year-contract in which Palouse provides law enforcement for Garfield. Zehm later told the Gazette he believes the city budget is struggling to the point layoffs are needed. He also denied public allegations he was attempting to get Palouse Police Chief Jerry Neumann fired. The majority of the council voted “yes” and the contract was approved for three f... Full story
THURSDAY Italian students stormed the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Rome’s Colossuem in protest against university reforms, including tuition raises, spending cuts and time limits on research, planned by the government. A chemistry professor in eastern France was fined 8,000 euros for using faulty rubber tubes in a 2006 experiment that caused an explosion, killed a colleague and injured a student. Former US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin called for the U.S. to “stand with our North Korean allies,” in a radio interview. When corre... Full story
The Palouse city council is one month away from potentially raising city water and sewer rates, after approving a six-percent utility tax on those same rates last January. Residents can comment on the proposed rates at the next city council meeting, Dec. 14. The Palouse Water and Sewer Committee will make a final recommendation on the amount of the water and sewer raise at that meeting. The city council will vote on the measure at their Dec. 28 meeting. The committee has been researching rates ever since the city determined it has been losing...
One man died and another was seriously injured when a tractor slipped and fell on them at the Shawnee Rock Industrial site Tuesday. David Zorb, 33, of Pullman, was pronounced dead at the scene when the semi-tractor truck he was working on fell off the hoist, crushing him. Travis Deerkop, 24, Garfield, was also injured in the accident and is in serious condition with head and chest injuries. He is at the Pullman Regional Hospital. The sheriff’s office, in conjunction with the Whitman County Coroner’s Office and The Mine Safety and Health Ass...
Washington State’s Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) has granted eight Whitman County towns a total of $2.4 million for street improvement projects in 2011. The board met Nov. 18 and 19 to decide how to allot its funding for next year. “It really helps out these small communities that can’t pay for these themselves,” said Whitman County Commissioner Greg Partch, who also serves as chair of the 21-member Transportation Improvement Board. “It’s one of the few progams that gets it right to the local level.” Every town in Whitman Count... Full story
Five school districts in Whitman County are among a group of Eastern Washington districts recently selected to receive a portion of a $400,000 grant every year for the next five years. The College Access and Awareness grant gives 35 rural school districts in Eastern Washington funding to help rural students negotiate the leap from rural schooling to university life. The $400,000 will be divided among those 35 districts. Colfax, Tekoa, Rosalia, Oakesdale and LaCrosse are the Whitman districts to receive some of the funding, which was awarded by... Full story
This frozen terror of the prehistoric age appeared in Palouse Nov. 27. Palouse artist Thad Froio and three friends carved the triceratops with gloved hands in about three hours. Last week’s blizzard left enough snow in the field next to the Open Eye Consigment shop for the beast. Froio designed the giant wooden Palouse-o-saurus that was set on fire in Palouse last month. Of his triceratops, he said it is his third time carving one from snow. “I want to make it bigger. I’ve been looking at the big mounds left by the plows and looking to carve... Full story
A public hearing on Whitman County’s 2011 budget will be next Monday. County commissioners, though, are unsure what they will present to the public because they have yet to receive a complete draft on next year’s spending plan from Auditor Eunice Coker. “Well, I guess we’ll listen to what the public has to say, that’s what a public hearing is all about,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. “But I’m not sure what they will say with nothing to look at.” Auditor Coker took over budget preparation after commissioners dissolved the county’s finance...
Kris Kringle, the jolly old elf in the red suit, has booked a whirlwind tour of Whitman County Saturday, with stops set in Endicott, Garfield, Rosalia and St. John. The Saturday events follow the Colfax lighted Christmas parade scheduled tonight, Thursday, on Mill Street, starting at 6 p.m. Fireworks will follow. A full slate of events is scheduled at the library. Santa Claus Saturday will make dual 11 a.m. stops in Rosalia and St. John for their festivals. At St. John’s annual Winterfest, he will lend his ear to wishful youth and pose for c...
An historic Colfax building was lost to fire Tuesday, as the Main Street home of Mitz’s Cabinets, owned by Craig Mitzimberg, was completely destroyed by a blaze that broke out around 12:15 p.m. Smoke poured out of the building well into the nighttime hours, as crews from eight firefighting agencies battled the stubborn fire. Trucks were still on scene after 10 p.m. Tuesday, and Colfax crews watched for flare-ups throughout the night. No one was injured in the fire. Mitzimberg was on business in Pullman when the blaze broke out. He returned s... Full story
WHITMAN COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE UPDATING OF MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL NATURAL HAZARDS MITIGATION PLAN 1. General Information Whitman County Department of Emergency Management, Colfax, Washington is requesting proposals from qualified consultants for the updating of our Multi-Jurisdictional Natural Hazards Mitigation Plan (LHMP). The successful contractor will be required to work closely with the Whitman County Department of Emergency Management as the coordinator for the local LHMP, a Local...
Eleven-year-old Elijah Sparling of Walla Walla went to work in the wet snow Friday to build this igloo on the front lawn of the First Baptst Church along Mill Street. He was in town to visit his great-grandparents, Jay and Dorothy Hulse, who reside in the apartment complex next to the church. He is the son of Amber Porter and Willy Sparling. His grandmother is Bobbi Ross. Elijah spent most of the morning packing the snow to build the igloo which had a capacity to hold one 11-year-old boy....
W. Bruce Cameron My 8-year-old nephew, Ethan, has an Ultra-Black-Ops Commando Infiltrator Action Figure that comes with a Gatling gun and assorted other wholesome weapons. The doll’s name is Lt. Cobra Barracuda. “It’s not a doll, Uncle Bruce,” Ethan says scornfully. Ethan’s next-door neighbors are twin 10-year-olds, Jenna and Jaynee, who have long been playmates of his despite the fact that they are girls. Ethan recently went to a birthday party at their house. “Which one of them had a birthday?” I asked him. “They’re twins, Uncle Bruce,” Eth...
Colfax caregiver support group to meet Dec. 7 The Colfax Caregiver Support Group will meet Tuesday, Dec. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the private dining room at The Courtyard in Colfax. The group is designed to provide emotional, educational and social support for those providing care for individuals with a variety of illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s or other dementias, physical illness or mental disabilities. Participants are able to receive support and education, share experiences with others in similar situations in a supportive and confidential e...
Football fans from Colfax and Waitsburg/Prescott cleared off the seats in two sections of Martin Stadium on the 50-yard line and braved the cold Monday night for the 2B semi-final showdown between the undefeated teams. Colfax team members worked Friday to clear off the snow in the seating sections, but Saturday’s game date had to be scratched when road conditions stopped Waitsburg’s team bus and fans. The Cardinals traveled as far north as Dodge before reporting they couldn’t make it in the storm. Some of Monday night’s “crowd” opted to si...
As we come to the Christmas holiday season, any question that addresses the true identity of Jesus Christ may seem immaterial or meaningless to some. But when you consider the fact that Jesus warned His disciples repeatedly that there would be “false Christs” and “false prophets” that would come on the scene (Matt. 24:24)… and when you consider that the apostle Paul also warned about false teachers who would come along, preaching “another Jesus” by way of “a different spirit” and “a different gospel” (II Cor. 11:4), it would behoove us to i... Full story
The History Channel * On Dec. 11, 1872, dime-novel hero Buffalo Bill Cody makes his first stage appearance in a Chicago-based production of The Scouts of the Prairie. Cody remained on the Chicago stage for the next 11 years. Buffalo Bill Cody was the hero of more than 1,700 variant issues of dime novels. * On Dec. 6, 1884, in Washington, D.C., workers place a 9-inch aluminum pyramid atop an obelisk of white marble, completing the construction of the Washington Monument. A city law passed in 1910 restricted the height of new buildings to ensure...
1. GEOGRAPHY: Where is the Alamo located? 2. TELEVISION: What was the name of the father on “The Brady Bunch”? 3. U.S. STATES: Which state was the first, by law, to give women the right to vote? 4. ENTERTAINERS: Where did Elvis Presley die? 5. ANATOMY: Where are the triceps muscles located? 6. ART: Which impressionist painter created a series of famous works of his garden at Giverny? 7. U.S. PRESIDENTS: In which branch of the military did Gerald Ford serve during World War II? 8. HISTORY: How many people died as a result of the Boston Mas...
