Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 3727
I am writing to our commissioners to respectfully plead to do SOMETHING to stop this travesty of ruining the beautiful, productive Palouse Country. Please remember that your were elected for the people of Whitman County, not the outside money grabbers that want to ruin our area with our tax dollars for their gain. They are lying in every way. Saying they support our communities, right, they are throwing around a few dollars to make it look like they care about our towns. These turbines are worthless eyesores & most certainly are not...
This letter is in response to Nancy Street’s letter found in the August 1, 2024 edition of the Gazette. Growing up, and even now, I know of no illegal immigrant offspring. My grandpa came from Ireland to find work and we, his descendants, were fortunate enough to be born American. All I ever knew until politics got in the way a few years ago was immigrant because all those who came this way obeyed U.S. laws, studied and took the test, and became Americans. In your naming of several prominent Republicans their immigrant wives, the you ask, ...
Dear Editor, The Washington State Legislature and Governor Inslee have acted ignominiously and in opposition to biblical ethics. The Attorney General has threatened small hospital districts with legal peril. In response, the Whitman Hospital and Medical Clinics (WHMC) leadership has entered into an agreement with Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho to facilitate the destruction of human life, also known as pregnancy termination. WHMC executive staff has stated that WHMC will uphold the conscience clause included within the...
I am not sold on windfarms in the least. Quite the contrary. I remain unimpressed with benefits touted, and I’m not aware of a compelling need locally that would press for this level of infrastructure application. If people are honestly dedicated to a clean, renewable energy, then we’d be talking about nuclear power. Before I retired from work at the university in Pullman, each weekday morning, at a certain point on my trip, I’d find the butte filling my front windshield expanse, with the beautiful fields skirting her base. I had the same...
As farmers and residents in the Kamiak area, we oppose the proposed Harvest Hills wind project. We need to produce clean, reliable energy, but this project doesn’t justify the drawbacks. The viewshed would be changed forever. 45 turbines over 600 feet tall would be visible from all over the Palouse, including Kamiak. There is also the matter of substation and transmission infrastructure that hasn’t been addressed yet. The field impacts from the roads, turbines and infrastructure would impact those of us actively farming more than Vestas wil...
Did you hear that Harvest Hills Wind Project was in town? At least they showed up to present something for the public. Just a few hiccups with it all: 1. 5 days notice given per the newspaper ads, very short notice for people who are busy 2. The meetings were during harvest time and no evening sessions for those folks who work a daytime job, no wonder there wasn’t a big turnout 3. They did commit to only 45 turbines being installed, not 70 as per their DOD application 4. The photos were for illustrative purposes only, with editorial license, on...
Recently Harvest Hills Wind Project had a public viewing of their project around Kamiak Butte, I was surprised and shocked to see two of their photo simulations depicting wind turbines on our property and neighbor’s property next to Kamiak Butte. This seems like a sloppy disregard for the property owners and citizens of Whitman County. If they can’t get their “approximate simulations” correct, what else is goofed up? Are they not showing turbines where they know they have leases already? Are the turbines in the photos at the actual height...
Okay, readers, hands up if you or your ancestors are/were immigrants to the United States, legal or illegal. All hands up? Even Native Americans came across the Bering Straits or by land. They have the best claim to land, however, since they arrived long before Europeans, Africans and Asians. Then, explain the Mass Deportation signs on display at the Republican National Convention and the anti-immigrant tone to the speeches; and why Republicans just scuttled the bipartisan immigration bill. Should legal and illegal immigrants be deported? If...
“Project 2025? Nothing to see here. Agenda 47 is the go-to,” the Republicans tell us. Well, I went there and surprise, it’s not so much a policy document as a series of Trump videos. But the policy content matches up pretty well. Despite claiming he knew nothing about Project 2025 (not true, there are videos), that’s the one we should be looking at and here’s why. It’s a very well developed blueprint for HOW to accomplish the worst goals that were not accomplished in Trump’s first term, partly because the administration got off to a disorgan...
In selecting a Whitman County Superior Court Judge in the upcoming election, the community will shape Whitman County’s judicial system for years to come. Having litigated cases in the area for nearly 28 years, I join most of the local legal community and elected officials in endorsing Roger Sandberg for Whitman County Superior Court Judge. Roger Sandberg has the work ethic, legal ability, and temperament to allow him to be an outstanding judge. Given Roger’s qualifications, it is no coincidence that he is endorsed by a vast majority of the loc...
Roger Sandberg is on the ballot this year for Whitman County Superior Court Judge. I urge your readers to join in voting for Sandberg for Judge. As the County’s prosecuting attorney I have worked with many judges, here and in other parts of the State; and I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr. Sandberg deserves your vote. Roger Sandberg has the knowledge, the broad experience, the common sense, and the plain good judgment that our next judge needs to have. Please vote Sandberg for judge. Denis Tracy. Colfax...
I think it’s a safe estimate to say that more than 90% of this community is against having windmills on our picturesque Palouse hills. One landowner who signed a windmill contract agreed with me on that estimate. Simply put, the Palouse is beautiful, and windmills are ugly. No one I’ve talked to has “gotten used to” the windmills in the Oakesdale area. They are just as unsightly today as they were on day one. “But what about private property rights,” is the response I got from another. I don’t want to tell anyone what to do with their propert...
I have publicly endorsed Roger Sandberg as the next Whitman County Superior Court Judge. People have asked me why I endorse him. The answer is very obvious, it is because Roger is the most qualified candidate for this very important judicial position. I know from being the Whitman County Superior Judge for the last 8 years that Roger has common sense, experience and temperament to be an excellent Judge. The Superior Court Judge hears mostly serious [felony] and family law cases, but also decides significant cases such as the recent Pac-12 case....
I’ve read many letters about windmills recently, but I’ve missed hearing the views of some of the key players. I’d like to hear more from the farmers considering installing windmills. We need to hear more from farmers because they play a vital role in the Palouse economy but face escalating challenges. The unpredictable weather exacerbated by climate change means farmers must explore all options to sustain themselves financially. Wind power income would help. My nightmare scenario is not windmills but bankrupt farmers, no food, and a depre...
To whomever okayed the placement of Roger Sandberg’s sign on the West side ground of the Four Star Service building here in Colfax, as long as that sign stays up, I predict you will see: • Mr. Sandberg lose potential voters. • Four Star lose, at its stores, present and potential customers. It would be tragic if great workers like the ones Bobby Lowe has in the Colfax store and shop would suffer because of this decision, although I wouldn’t go anywhere else. It’s all just basic Marketing/PR 101, or if you missed that class, common sense wou...
If stats could have been kept at Bronings, now Corbeill’s Funeral Home, of whose name appeared on the top line of the book in the Visitation Room of this facility, most of us would know the answer immediately: our old and recently departed friend, Jim Repp. It was uncanny how he could do that and of course he wasn’t interested in any record. I believe he did what he did to show the family, other friends, former or present colleagues, etc. his friendship and thankfulness for knowing the deceased. Or maybe Jim didn’t know the deceased at all a...
I’m not necessarily against wind turbines, I’m against the horrible placement of them around Kamiak Butte and so many residences, one of them being mine. Mary Dupree, I don’t want a 699-foot-tall wind turbine in my back yard; or in anyone’s yard. Do you want one? If so, please call Harvest Hills and ask for a piece of the government subsidized pie you find so heroic. While I worry about the animals they will affect, I worry more about the health and financial repercussions of having these located so close to our homes. The setbacks are ridicul...
Recently, Harvest Hills Wind introduced us to their intended development of an industrial wind complex of 45 turbines in the vicinity of Kamiak Butte. They have presented themselves as wanting to be good neighbors and to work with our communities. Harvest Hills has told us they want to benefit us by expanding our tax base, helping our schools and providing new jobs to the area. Harvest Hills. Sounds nice doesn’t it? Power for 90,000 homes and new money for the county, how wonderful. What’s a few wind turbines among friends? Aren’t they supposed...
Thank you to Travis Frei for his excellent article. Congratulations to Harvest Wind. You were able to find greedy & gullible land owners to sign your contracts for wind turbines. Did the signers read the fine print? You insult the intelligence of those of us who love and respect our land if you think we believe the propaganda you put out. Do you think we believe that you care about our community? If you did care and you see the large opposition you would do us a favor and leave where you are not wanted or needed. To those of you that are so pro...
This year we have witnessed legislators and courts, totally ignorant of female reproductive biology, impose their ideological beliefs on women’s bodies, unfazed by the suffering that has followed. Now we are subjected to witnessing Republican house members attack Dr. Anthony Fauci, slandering his leadership during the Covid epidemic, second guessing the team that brought us the vaccines that got us out of that disaster, showing us they know diddly squat about science and medicine. What’s next? Well, check out Project 2025, coming to you if MAG...
Being a generational landowner in the area designated for wind turbines, I am not opposed to them when thoughtfully placed. Eastern Whitman County is shockingly illogical. Why place the largest of turbines in a populated rural region with high crop yields, adjacent to Kamiak Butte, a thoroughly utilized park in a region photographed worldwide for its astounding beauty? Shocking in placement and proposed size, Harvest Hills has a contracted filing with the FAA for 70 sights with an additional 25 listed as alternates. Turbines will be 699’ (94 ft...
Transitions are hard. When oil derricks first graced the western landscape, towering over homes, these were greeted with mixed emotions, depending on who profited and whose landscape was blighted. Today we face conflicts as windfarms elicit similar emotions. The “No Wind Farms” signs posted around the Palouse are counterproductive, though. Communities must have a meaningful voice in issues of land use, wildlife impacts, cultural values and aesthetics when a windfarm is proposed, but costly delay only prolongs the inevitable. There’s a conce...
Landowners of Whitman County, be aware of enticing offers that Harvest Hills/Steelhead Americas is making to get access to your land for the Kamiak Butte area industrial wind project. You need to realize that they will sell the entire project after completion, they are not long-term partners. You are simply a tool they are using to tap into the billions of dollars of green money (taxpayer money) sprinkled about by the government. Keep in mind, they promise to “restore” the land after the lifespan of the project. There are major flaws with that...
As many of you know, each year your local American Legion, Codd-French Post #41 has been placing small flags at the graves of all veterans buried in the Colfax Cemetery. We do our best to put one at every veteran’s site. This is the first year we have done this without the leadership of Jim Lemon, our former Adjutant and Commander whom we lost on March 12 this year. We did our best to identify every veteran’s grave, but we may have overlooked a few, much to our regret. If you noticed that a small flag was missing from the gravesite of a vet...
I am a fourth-generation farmer in Whitman County and am writing to express my support for the Harvest Hills Wind Project. I know that some people in our community are having a hard time with the change, which is why I want to make sure all voices are heard. Farming is all about helping people. Our farm has provided food for thousands upon thousands of people through the years, and now we have the opportunity to provide for people in a new way. It is a really good feeling to be able to contribute to our community by providing the energy we...
