Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

I read with dismay about Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers’ flip flop on challenging the certification of the Electoral College. But apparently the protest on Jan. 6 made her change her mind. I’m sorry, but that is (using the biblical phrase from the...

The riots around our nation’s Capitol were instigated by a president who — in imitation of the great dictators of Europe such as Mussolini, Hitler and Franco — could convince, without a stitch of evidence, millions of Americans that the...

Two weeks ago, a reader not only attacked Publisher Roger Harnack, but also insulted those of us who agreed with his comments and were actually encouraged by them. During prohibition, speakeasies were where Americans went for their alcoholic...

Publisher Roger Harnack’s Dec. 17 column has some insight: America loves prohibitions — 1915, drug prohibition; 1919, alcohol prohibition; and 2020, prohibition against spreading the new cold virus. Some features of prohibition,...

Thanks to Onecho Bible Church in Colfax, we ended 2020 with the best gift ever in the mailbox. “The Chosen” is a must see, but even more so after a very emotional and tension filled 2020. More than anything, COVID-19 should remind everyone that...

Yesterday, my 13-year-old son asked me about the election, and the fraud charges leveled by President Trump and his supporters. I thought about my answer for a bit, then used the O.J. Simpson trial, and that jury verdict, as an example of how humans...

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...

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...

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...

As a “pandemic” rages across the land, the Washington State University basketball team had to play the Eastern Washington University team, mask-less. We must demand an end to the blatant mistreatment of college athletes. These poor wards of the...

I am saddened and disheartened by a letter published in the Dec. 3 Gazette. The writer accuses Auditor Sandy Jamison of fraud because she was not permitted to have actual oversight of the ballot-counting process. I wasn’t there, so I am not in a...

A Dec. 3 letter may have been a little over the top. The writer was a formal observer of the vote counting in Whitman County. She said, “Fraud was very apparent here.” The observations she cited did not support that. If she had said that the...

As your Whitman County Auditor, I feel compelled to respond to the letter published in the Dec. 3 edition of the Whitman County Gazette. She claims that “fraud was very apparent here” in our county and that I had “just broke election law and...

I’d like to call your attention to something special that’s been going on in Colfax and Whitman County for the last thirty years and more. It’s the Colfax Fireman’s Toy Box and it has happened every year at Christmas time for the last three...

In his Nov. 12 column, Don Brunell lauds the racial diversity of the U.S. military. I agree with his statement that the integration of our military is something to celebrate. Interestingly NPR ran a related story this fall (Why Does the Navy Have So...

I strongly disagree with Whitman County Auditor Sandy Jamison concerning the election process. Fraud was very apparent here. I arrived at 8:15 a.m. to be a Republican ballot counting observer and was told opening of ballots would not start til 10...

As a Whitman County resident and subscriber to the Whitman Gazette I am dismayed that you would publish (so prominently) an editorial by Liv Finne of the Washington Policy Center, “Inslee funding unnecessary union jobs”, Sept. 10. Liv Finne has...

There’s buzz out recently about mouthwash killing COVID after a published study by Penn State amazingly found that it had 99% efficacy, just like it says on the bottle. Mouthwash usually contains some form of peroxide; the old school stuff had...

We have a serious threat in the Whitman County commissioner race. Tom Handy is running against incumbent Dean Kinzer. Mr. Handy is an outspoken backer of the CAP (Colfax, Albion, Pullman) Trail, along the idle rail line. In a recent letter in the...

I am writing in opposition of Referendum 90. This is a sex education bill that is inappropriate for K-12 children. It is supported by Planned Parenthood, World Health Organization, and LGBTQ community groups. The Office of Superintendent of Public...

I wholeheartedly support Dean Kinzer for reelection to the Whitman County District 2 commissioner position. Dean is a business owner/farmer, has knowledge of the business climate and economy of the county. He is an instrumental board member and...

Dear county commissioners, When you consider imposing a 30 mph speed limit on Draper-Brown Road, please consider that it is approximately 4 miles in total length. Of that, about 1.5 miles is basically a straight road heading due north and south....

We had the opportunity to talk to an individual who had firsthand knowledge of the Washington State sex education bill. Here were his comments: #1. The main problem with the bill that passed was the teaching of explicit and graphic material to...

I am urging you to vote for Tom Handy for Whitman County commissioner, and here’s why. I worked as a citizen for 13 years to develop the now beloved Chipman Trail, and I am in favor of the county building a new trail that will extend our existing...

To voters who still have a conscience, please be aware that our current Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal is in support of the sexualization of young children. To the thousands of people in Washington State who signed the petition...