Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 42 of 42
After 10 years of reporting for the Colfax Gazette, Garth Meyer headed south for a new adventure. Garth took a job for the Easy Reader in Torrance, CA, a city south of Los Angeles. I wanted to thank Garth for his many years of excellent reporting and writing. I always enjoyed Garth’s style of writing when covering local news and sports. Garth’s articles were more interesting and fun to read than the average newspaper journalist. He could take a routine monthly, boring city council meeting and make it funny and entertaining. His sports art...
The little reported information on the elected officials getting a 7% raise is astonishing. My friends in the road department stomached no cost-of-living raise for two years because of the pandemic with the supposed loss of revenue. Trying to be the team players that they are, they went along with it. Darren Alred, from the salary commission, suggested raises of 7-10% would help retain elected officials. I did not know we had to actively try to retain an elected official by throwing money at...
In the free and open society of a constitutional republic, when you say something or do something, it is sometimes cheered or cursed, sometimes laughed at or applauded. But mostly and most beautifully folks just go their own way and mind their own affairs. However, in a socialist society, you are compelled to conform and do what the government tells you to do. So, take your “Fauci Ouchi,” also wear your Inslee mask, and don’t object or you will be canceled. Travis Brock Colfax...
Is it time yet to confront climate change? The weather we’ve experienced this summer foreshadows what we will experience more and more frequently in coming years. The situation isn’t hopeless: there’s still time to avert the most damaging effects of climate change, but it’s going to take a national commitment. Among the policies the Congress can enact this year is to place a price on carbon dioxide pollution. Multiple sources confirm that carbon pricing alone will reduce the US’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. There are several w...
If there are any Americans out there who are still loyal to Donald Trump, listen up! Don’t be sidelined by “Trumpian talking heads.” Stay focused on Trump! He and Melania are both vaccinated, and Trump said, “I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly.” Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, “It is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works.” He said, “It works incredibly well. 95%, maybe even more than that ... and it i...
What if you worked for a local company that requires you to have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and hazmat endorsement on your driver’s license? Job requirements – handle all kinds of hazardous chemicals, do any mechanical that comes up, rebuild pumps and sprayers, run a sandblaster, do all the painting, keep paper records, know all the tractors, worked 5-15 years … and don’t make the same as a new employee at Zip’s....
As I’ve been listening to the discussions around gay pride month, the argument I’ve heard that troubles me the most is the notion that we need to celebrate the LGBTQ lifestyle as a way to show love and inclusion to those who practice that lifestyle. However, is it really showing love to these individuals to celebrate a lifestyle that causes harm to themselves? Statistics have shown that homosexuality significantly increases the risk of venereal disease. As one example, 69% of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. in 2018 were “gay and bisexual men,” ac...
In 10th century England, those found guilty of debasing the currency had one hand chopped off. If we re-instated this law, we would either have sane monetary policy in this country or a lot of one-handed politicians....
Declining salmon runs, just like global warming/climate change is just another misunderstood problem that could be solved without removing any dams or spending small fortunes employing lawyers and environmentalists that do not understand the problem. Even if the dams are removed salmon runs will continue to decline. Why? Because the biggest problem comes from overfishing off the coasts of North America and British Columbia. Native Americans unfortunately are part of the problem here. Before you start calling me a racist we need to examine...
Today I received three phone calls. When I returned the calls according to my caller ID app on my telephone each one was fraudulent. The numbers they gave me were ‘no longer in service,’ according to the message by the phone company. A 75-year-old friend answered one and they claimed they were from Amazon calling to collect an overdue amount of $700. He does not have an Amazon account. When I called it back to check for him, the message said, “no longer in service” In my opinion the phone company, by allowing the callers to put in numbers...
Appreciation for union leadership and workplace improvements cannot mean that every business must therefore subscribe to the union. While willingness to raise standards, offer education and training, and ensure onsite safety are excellent qualities in any business, being manipulated into submitting to formal regulation of those issues is counterproductive. Evidently passionate, the suggested fix seems more emotionally distraught than well-thought out. It appears surprisingly unwise to spend personal money repeatedly paying for returns....
It is my opinion that Chris Skidmore remain as our county health director. He already knows what is required to fill the position; no training needed. And most importantly, he knows the needs of this community. He will continue to do an upstanding job as health director. Kelley Messinger, Rosalia...
I understand the need for ethical policing but I must agree with policy director James McMahan - the bill is very vaguely written and does not acknowledge officer safety. This bill restricts the use of necessary tools our officers have to work with to de-escalate situations and keep themselves and the community safe. Across the board, whether it is the use of a S.W.A.T vehicle, a police K9 or other defensive tactics - our officers need the options and the time and distance to utilize them in order to do their job efficiently and ethically. If...
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 beverages. Lucky for many of us, the freedom to enjoy the drink of our choice was restored after 13 years of the so-called evil speakeasies. The double standard has once again shown his ugly face. Riots, violence and protests were recently praised and encouraged by the same people who now chastise us for...
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, “speakeasies” and drug houses, pop up all over the place. Tommy guns, Mac 9s and throw-away guns make the streets loud with murder as merchants compete. Poisoned alcohol killed many thousands, and poisoned street drugs kill hundreds of thousands. Large industries, promoted in secret whispers, chew on the country...
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 there is so much out of our control. The president of our country or governor of our state will never be able to solve all our problems. Accept these realities and we will have more peace and happiness in our lives. Onecho Church had the correct response to a difficult 2020. Please take the time to wat...
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 who want to believe something badly can be convinced that an enormous “preponderance of evidence” should be ignored. In the O.J. case, the evidence, both physical and circumstantial, was overwhelming. He was obviously guilty. Sadly, a jury predisposed to mistrust police and support a celebrity vot...
