Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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NOTICE OF 2021 BOARD/COMMITTTEE MEETINGS AND 2021 COUNTY OFFICES HOLIDAY CLOSURES NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE FOLLOWING BOARDS/COMMITTEES WILL MEET IN 2021 ON THE DATES AND AT THE TIMES AND LOCATIONS SPECIFIED BELOW. Blue Ribbon Advisory Task Committee Tuesday, April 20, 2021 All meetings take place in the Whitman County Commissioners’ Chambers, Courthouse, 400 North Main Street, Colfax, WA 99111 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Board of Equalization Monday, July 19, 2021 (T) Monday, July 26, 2021 (T) Monday, August 2, 2021 (T) All meetings take p...
COLFAX — City police responded to the following calls between Dec. 15-20: Dec. 15 11:26 a.m. — Breathing problems on Main Street. Fire and EMS personnel also responded. 1:11 p.m. — Traffic hazard; something blocking Summit Road. 5:31 p.m. — Rape reported. 8:43 p.m. — Civil dispute on Mill Street. 10:18 p.m. — Traffic violation near North Main Street and West Last Street. Dec. 16 6:11 a.m. — Juvenile problem on Main Street. Dec. 17 4:49 p.m. — Communication problem on Mill Street. Dec. 18 No calls — No officer on duty; see Sheriff’s Office...
COLFAX — Whitman County deputies were dispatched for the following calls from Dec. 13-21: Dec. 13 10:07 a.m. — Pullman — Non-injury crash on Pullman-Albion Road, near Christian Road intersection. 3:14 p.m. — Albion — William G. Ortiz arrested by citation for third-degree driving while license suspended/revoked and released near intersection of North D Street and West First Street. 4:33 p.m. — Rosalia — Domestic dispute at 211 E. Eighth St. 11:12 p.m. — Colfax — Lawrence P. Peringer Jr. arrested for driving while under the influence near th...
COLFAX — The following individuals were sentenced in Whitman County District Court last week: Dec. 18 • Nicholas Wagner, second-degree criminal trespassing, sentenced to 90 days in jail, 24 months of supervised probation and $1,000 fine, with both jail time and fine suspended. Wagner was ordered to pay a $300 probation fee and $43 conviction fee. He is prohibited from being inside Paul’s Place or being in contact with Cindy Dvorak and J.R. Staves. The court has reserved the requirement for a mental health evaluation or treatment. • George...
COLFAX — Area churches will hold special services in connection to the Christmas holiday this week. In all cases, attendees are asked to wear masks and socially distance. • Catalyst Church continues its on-line services with Christmas SOS - Advent 2020. Through its website, catalystchurch.life, the church has three messages in the Christmas SOS series, available in audio and video formats, exploring God’s holiday-rescue-mission with the prophet Micah. • Church of the Nazarene will conduct a service Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, at 6 p.m. • Macedonia...
Shirley Eileen Brannan Magrath, Colfax native, passed away December 13, 2020, at her home in Spokane, with her family by her side. She was 86. Due to statewide covid restrictions, a private, family-only graveside service will be held in the Colfax Cemetery on December 29th at 1:00 pm, after a private showing from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. At her request we will hold a Celebration of Life for her later in 2021 once pandemic restrictions have abated. Shirley was born March 12, 1934, in Colfax to Tom and... Full story
LaCROSSE — The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation awarded $2,000 to LaCrosse Community Pride for renovation of the rock house service station. The grant will help pay for engineering drawings for the service station, which is being renovated into the Ice Age Floods Visitor Center and Heritage Museum. The museum is part of a larger project to rehabilitate all six historic rock buildings, built by local farmers during the Great Depression, and to attract visitors and highlight the history of the city. The trust announced the recipients o...
SPOKANE — The Spokane Symphony will present a virtual New Year’s Eve concert with the Spokane Symphony and Friends at 4 p.m., Dec. 31. Because of the pandemic, this is the first time Spokane Symphony musicians have performed together for a public event since February 2020. The remainder of the 2019-20 Spokane Symphony season was canceled last March due to the coronavirus, followed by the cancellation of the 2020-21 season last July. This concert is free for healthcare workers and people who have been financially impacted by the pandemic. “We...
COLFAX-Columbia Grain International donated $3,000 to area charities as part of its Cultivating Growth Christmas Charity Donation campaign. The bulk grains, pulses and edible beans company donated to 30 charities in 46 cities it operates in. Whitman and Adams county each received $1,500. The Colfax Fireman's Toy Box, LaCrosse Community Pride and Community Action Center in Pullman each received $500. The Lind Senior Center, Ritzville Food Bank and Washtucna Food Bank also received $500 a piece....
PULLMAN — The following births were reported at Pullman Regional Hospital: • Emilio Castillo, a boy, born Dec. 17, 2020, to parents Adam and Yvette Castillo of Pullman. He weighted 7 pounds 7 ounces. He joins brother Maximillian Castillo, 2, at home. • Kennedy Jo Riedinger, a girl, born Dec. 14, 2020, to parents Karl and Amanda Riedinger of Clarkston. She weighed 7 pounds 0 ounces and is the couple’s first child....
DUSTY — After a three-week closure, Country Bible Church will resume Sunday morning worship services at 11 a.m. Dec. 27. Dean Ellis will be guest speaker in Pastor Szasz’s absence....
COLFAX — A display of oil paintings by Vicki Broeckel is on exhibit through the first week of January at Libey Gallery in the Whitman County Rural Library District branch here. A collection of 20 paintings of the Palouse and surrounding area are included along with a piece depicting the Dusty elevator in its prime. The work “Palouse Falls” has sold, as well as a scene of Alkali Flat. A portion of the sales goes to Friends of the Library....
Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. Try adding a crippling killer virus into that mix. That is the tragic reality of 2020. Even though the traditional ceremonies attended by thousands went virtual this year, more than 1.7 million holiday wreaths were placed against grave markers of fallen service men and women. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over hundreds of thousand donors and volunteers, on...
For many years, under the leadership of editor Jerry Jones and Publisher Gordon Forgey, The Gazette was a model of what local newspapers could be. But now, under the Publisher Roger Harnack, it has gone precipitously downhill. His Dec. 17 editorial “Prohibition 2.0” represents a new low point. Mr. Harnack, you give tacit approval to “speakeasies” — business establishments that flout public health guidelines during the most severe public health crisis in a century. How dare you? Do you not understand that your stance endangers public safety? D...
I wonder why government wants to shut down our small businesses. Some of us need those places to eat. It’s nice to be able to look at the outside world, too, and that’s why we go out to eat rather than eat at home. I have never in my life had a doctor tell me to just go home and do nothing. They have always tried to get me feeling better so I could go out and work and contribute to the world. It’s really easy to say shutdown, but maybe there is an alternative. Why not point out the problem and see it can be fixed? The businesses in Colfa...
This virus scare has put us in a hole. The mainstream media has done an excellent job of inciting fear. Their success is due to the grand achievement of government schools squelching that dangerous “critical thinking” process. If people analyze the facts they would conclude this is no more dangerous than the average flu. The coronavirus has not increased the overall death rate. With the overall death rate unchanged, it is indisputable that the coronavirus has not created a disaster. The government’s behavior has created a disaster, but the v...
Pet Peeves: Old couch sitting for months on S Main Street...
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O’Hanlon Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his...
STARBUCK - The three dams on the lower Snake River that allow public vehicle crossings will be closed to public access during the holidays. Lower Granite Dam will be closed for public crossing on Christmas Eve, Christmas and New Year's Day. Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams, which are only open to public crossing Monday through Thursday, will be closed for public crossing Dec. 23 and 24, as well as Christmas and New Year's Day. Non-holiday crossing schedules for dams in the Walla Walla...
PULLMAN — Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories has developed a specialized temperature monitoring and logging system for ultra-cold environments required to store new coronavirus vaccines. The idea for the SEL-2411TM Temperature Monitor Digital Data Logger came about two weeks ago when Moscow’s Gritman Medical Center spokesman Kane Francetich contacted SEL. He was in search of two ultra-low temperature monitors for the freezers that will store the incoming vaccines, but found they were on back order. “When we received the email from Kane askin...
PULLMAN — Washington State University is storing the county’s first shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in freezers capable of maintaining the -80 degrees Celsius temperature. “Having this vaccine will allow protection of both individuals involved in our health care systems and the most vulnerable members of our community,” professor of pathology and infectious diseases Guy Palmer said. “By doing those two things, we have a chance to really make a huge difference in a short period of time.” The university was enlisted by Gov. Jay...
COLFAX — The first shipment of a COVID-19 vaccine is not expected to be given to workers at Whitman Hospital and Medical Clinics. “It appears WHMC will not be a distribution site for the first round of vaccinations for front line healthcare workers and physicians,” Whitman Hospital spokeswoman Laurie Gronning said. Interim county Public Health Director Chris Skidmore could not confirm whether the hospital was among those to receive any of the first 975 doses of the vaccine. The first shipment is excepted to arrive tomorrow, Friday. Accor...
