Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

OLYMPIA — A total of 143,403 initial regular claims marked a 3.2 percent uptick from last week in Washington. For all claims, in all unemployment benefit categories, the number was 462,218, a weekly increase of 3.3 percent. All statistics are...

PULLMAN — The pending sale of Hinrichs Trading Company will mean growth and no layoffs. Phil Hinrichs, CEO and president, spoke to the Gazette Monday after the announcement of the sale of the Pullman-based garbanzo beans (chickpeas) processor to...

COLFAX – A Pullman woman claims her ex-boyfriend sexually assaulted her twice after they broke up and he now faces charges of indecent liberties. Kaybean C. Anderson, 24, of Olympia, is charged with two counts of the felony indecent liberties in...

PULLMAN — Pullman High School students returned to the classroom in a hybrid format Monday, for the first time in nearly a year. They are the last K-12 students in the Palouse to return to in-person learning since the pandemic began. Middle school...

COLFAX — The Colfax School District set conditions for sports spectators to comply with state health guidelines. They are as follows: • Required symptom-check verification • Agreement to wear a mask before entering the gym or other facility...

OLYMPIA – State representatives approved a bill to make “Juneteenth” a state holiday to honor the day slaves in Texas learned of their freedom. On June 19, 1863 Union Army General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and told the slaves...

COLFAX — A registered sex offender faces felony charges for sending sexual text messages to a Moscow teenager while staying in LaCrosse. Austin T. Johnson, 23, of Moscow, Idaho, is charged with two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral p...

OLYMPIA – A low carbon fuel bill passed the state House of Representatives Feb. 27 in a 52-46 vote with Republicans voting no. Its next stop is the Senate. The bill directs the Department of Ecology to institute rules requiring gasoline and diesel...

OLYMPIA — A ban on the use of chokeholds, military equipment, and most types of car chases by law enforcement passed the House of Representatives after lawmakers voted along party lines in a 54-43 vote Feb. 27. HB 1054 was the subject of much...

COLFAX — Whitman County commissioners will consider vacating a list of roads from public maintenance. Mark Storey, public works director, presented the names to commissioners Monday morning. The county continues are to decide whether to maintain...

MALDEN — The Pine Creek Community Restoration Long Term Recovery Operations (LTRO) has issued a notice of weblinks regarding their efforts to help Malden and Pine City residents impacted by the Labor Day Fire. The main link is:...

COLFAX — A bid of $198,000 is in to crush 40,000 tons of rock at the Whitman County-owned Cherry Cove quarry north of Winona. County commissioners opened two bids Monday for the gravel project. Lewiston-based DeAtley Crushing Company submitted the...

COLFAX — The Colfax Downtown Association has announced a restructuring, under Executive Director Whitney Bond, owner of Truly You Clothing and More. Bond said the restructuring has to do with new policies and procedures. Current officers include...

OLYMPIA — Bills affecting Whitman County may move faster to the Legislature floor. The county’s lobbyist Zak Kennedy gave a report to county commissioners on Monday. “This is a really weird legislative session,” he said. He told...

COLFAX — Weight restrictions were lifted on county roads last Friday. “We’ve already been flooded with requests for permits,” said Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey. The public works department institutes weight restrictions...

COLFAX — Public records storage of remote meetings on video is becoming an issue for Whitman County. The topics of storage and retrieval were discussed Monday morning virtually by various county representatives during a commissioners’ work...