Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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In last week’s Whitman County Gazette, Vestas/Steelhead Americas/Harvest Hills Wind claimed their “goal is to be responsible to community” and “to partner with the communities”. This is disingenuous PR messaging and we’re not fooled. They do not have our best interest in mind. If Harvest Hills Wind truly wanted support for their project, they would have been transparent from the day they entered the county. A true partner would have initiated an early dialog with the residents of Whitman County on site selection, protecting land/home v...
Let’s have a look at the benefits of dams to human life with a special focus on Grand Coulee Dam. It is the largest hydroelectric producing facility in the U.S. and provides enough electricity to power about 2 million households every year, 68% of all Washington state households. Please keep in mind too, that it is just one of 145 hydroelectric dams in the state. Grand Coulee dam prompted the creation of the “U.S. Bureau of Reclamations Columbia Basin Project” which converted 670,000 acres (over 1,000 square-miles) of formerly arid waste...
In the recent mailing of the Colfax School District, “Focus on Schools”, we learned from the two Building principals about upcoming activities and current events Colfax students are participating in. In addition there was included information regarding the upcoming enrichment levy, to be voted on by Colfax School District residents, ballots being due to elections by February 13, 2024. I encourage you to read this mailing. Every two years we have the opportunity to vote for the passage of a replacement enrichment levy. Washington State does not...
As climate disruption becomes more evident, more people are empowered to advocate for climate mitigation. This advocacy is positive, but climate advocates must choose their words carefully for their message to be most effective. Advocates need humility because we don’t have all the answers. For instance, while the climate science fundamentals are well-established, it is a relatively new field and probably still holds plenty of surprises. Humility is necessary because renewable energy development will make mistakes, just like any other t...
This is my reply to Nancy from Cheney’s Letter in the edition of the Gazette of December regarding her wish for peace in Gaza, the Holy Land, especially this time of year. Well, if you remember there was a solid and joyful peace in Gaza that for once as everyone, both Israelis and Palestinians could, after so many years and so many political promises, was here to stay! It was created and enforced by non-politician and pro-business President of this County, Donald Trump who used our excess in oil production to force Arabs to the peace table. U...
Persons who have dwarfism (also referred to as “little people”) frequently experience employment discrimination. Although they can perform any job task well – often needing only a stool – employers frequently reject them during interview. Bars and strip clubs exploit the resulting financial problems by hiring “LPs” for dwarf-tossing events, where bar patrons pay to physically throw an them in front of a crowd of laughing and jeering customers. LPs very frequently have skeletal (especially spinal) issues requiring multiple surgeries....
Monumental Dam has a concrete fish ladder. Its lock works for barge. Rather than breach the dam – or others on the Lower Snake River – how about using a tunnel-boring machine to notch an on the side an additional zig-zag fish ladder? The answer is cooperation or compromise – not contempt or hard-headed, extremism on breaching. Sen. Murray, Gov. Jay Inslee and President Joe Biden need to step back and look at the whole picture. Errol Kramer Odessa/Ritzville...
Hi Norma, I wanted to follow up on my last letter and explain why the cemetery of this drought is so much greener than the one of the previous drought. That is because a few years back the then Commissioners who oversee the entire Colfax Cemetery District #6 were wise in my opinion and could not have selected a better sexton (overall and on-site boss) than Joe Rupe. My puppy Rocco and I are in our sixth year of volunteering here at the Cemetery District and I was wrong when I said the fifth year. Time flies where you are having fun and I can...
Solomon Asch performed some exceptional psychology experiments in the 1950s. His experiments showed the power of conformity when people sometimes agree with a group’s opinion, even when shown evidence the group is wrong. In the 1950s, Asch could not determine whether his subjects consciously changed their views or whether social cues unconsciously skewed their perception. In 2005, Gregory Berns answered this question by repeating Asch’s experiment with brain scans. Berns found the brain’s visual center changed what it perceived to fit with...
I cannot believe how bad the Colfax Cemetery looks. Dry weeds everywhere – some places not mowed. Weeds and grass almost two feet tall. Other cemeteries in the area are green, no weeds and mowed. There should be someone in charge of taking care of it. By the looks of it no one takes care of it. Norma Becker Colfax...
Life in the Palouse this time of year is beyond beautiful. The green rolling hills are a sight to see by those local folks and those who live far away. We take many amenities for granted here. We turn on our water and it pours out clean into our homes. We flush our toilets and don’t ever worry about where it goes. We turn on our electricity and never think twice about whether the lights will turn on or not. But then what if our lights don’t turn on? What if our power to our home is out when we get home late at night? Fortunately we have loc...
President Joe Biden is seeking re-election. I wish he were younger and I might favor other Democrats—Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Governor, and 2020 presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker come to mind. But Biden’s record is impressive and he may have the best chance of winning the presidency. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated openly, and Republicans have followed, a commitment to oppose everything Democrats proposed from the day former President Barack Obama was inaugurated, even if originally Rep...
Nice to see Prez Biden supporting salmon, treaty rights and dam breaching. As you may or may not know, the four Lower Snake River dams were made to be breached as they are half earthen and half concrete. Maybe those who put them in had the forethought to think that we wouldn’t be here with an archaic form of hydro power generation and be more advanced than we are with alternative forms of energy 50 years later. We can’t live in the past and have to move ahead and progress to new and better ways of power generation. Julian Matthews Lapwai, Ida...
I attended the Odessa School Board meeting on March 22. I fear this is only the catalyst. I am in disbelief. I am an alum of Odessa schools and a teacher. From a professional perspective, I cannot fathom conducting myself in any way that would harm a student. Educators’ responsibility to student safety and respect supersedes any other. I care about my students. There are times classroom behaviors require sternness, but never screaming, putting your hands on a student or insulting or demeaning them. There have always been small-town-type problem...
Parents’ Bill of Rights? Sounds OK until you see who supports it and why. House Resolution No. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights, has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reading the “five pillars of H.R. 5,” one senses that in normal times this legislation, though unnecessary, would seem quite innocent. But these aren’t normal times. The second pillar, “Parents have the right to be heard,” is being greatly debased by many Republicans. Perhaps the greatest evidence H.R. 5 is bad legislation is that MAGA and House Republicans...
Tuesday, March 14, is Equal Pay Day, which honors the ongoing struggle to see everyone paid fairly for their energy, time and labor. In 2022, women in the U.S. earned 82 cents for every dollar earned by men, and on average women earned $10,150 less than men, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This gap varies by state, and surprisingly, Washington State has the undesirable privilege of joining ranks in the second to the worst category ($12,500 to $14,999) with North Dakota, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Alabama, among others. Furthermore, women of...
In reading the death notice on Bill Evans in last week’s Gazette, I wanted to add a couple of things that not everybody might have known about bill. For one, he was generous to a fault and he also had served two tours of duty as a United States Marine. Thank you Bill, for your service and friendship. Denny McDonald, Colfax...
Those who think tougher drug laws will solve the drug problem need to learn the relevant history and economics. For fifty-six years (1915-1971) America was alone in drug prohibition, while Europe stayed with legal drugs. It was America that developed the drug problem. (Drug Addicts Are Human Beings, by Henry Smith Williams, MD, 1929; The Drug Hang-up, Rufus King, 1972; and Agency of Fear, by Edward Jay Epstein, 1977) Doctors used to keep their patients’ habits stabilized. Their patients continued to be successful in their marital, p...
The Colfax Rotary Club is a service organization serving the Colfax community. Our club was established in 1950. Colfax Rotary has owned and maintained the Daniel W. Henry Little League Field since the early 1950’s. As a kid I remember playing on that field in the early 1960’s and attending their annual Little League Breakfast, which continues still today. There is also a soccer field and a few years ago, a softball field was added. The Rotary club took tickets at the Palouse Empire Fair for many years. The club sells fireworks each Fourth of...
Oh those caravans of invaders coming across the Southern Border. We must deal with them by sending them back to fix their countries of origin; leaving them to suffer and be harassed at the border; and/or transporting them to Democratically-run cities in the north where it is freezing cold, and they know no one. What an absurd way to “welcome the stranger”. Meanwhile, there is a labor shortage – older people are not working to full retirement age of 70; others are not interested in jobs that are not suitable because of hours, location, wages...
Let’s time-travel onto the bridge of the unsinkable Titanic – We’ll warn the captain to slow down, but he replies. “We like traveling fast! I don’t believe in icebergs, and a crew member agrees with me. Ships sink all the time. It’s natural. Besides, God won’t let anything bad happen to us.” The reply sounds absurd. In 1912, Michigan Senator William Alden Smith chaired the Titanic investigation committee. He concluded, “indifference to danger was one of the direct and contributing causes of this unnecessary tragedy.” So which was the real...
It ain’t over until the fat lady sings, Yogi Berra reminded us. Yes, Joe Manchin dealt us a setback on climate change, child tax credit extension, reducing prescription drug costs, etc. etc. etc. But if we don’t throw in the towel and leave the field prematurely, we can still win this, just not this year. We need to add some new hitters to Team Democracy in 2022 so we can afford to let Manchin and Sinema stay in the dugout if they don’t want to play ball. To accomplish this, we must get the voting and election protection bills passed immed...
As I reflect on what has been a tumultuous time in our world, it occurs to me that still we have much to me thankful for. Today, I give thanks for the City of Palouse for the way we come together to support each other – providing a sense of belonging for residents and visitors alike. I give thanks for our city staff, who dedicates so much of themselves to the upkeep and betterment of our city. I give thanks for our businesses that provide jobs and create a fun and vibrant atmosphere in our community. I give thanks for our schools that p...
I was looking forward to (Nov. 18) Gazette to read about our big wind storm and how it affected our county. No word. Local news – no word. All I saw were sports. They are important but there are other interests. Surely people – businesses, police, politicians, dogs, cats, horses – someone is doing something! My grandfather, C.V. Averill owned and operated papers many years ago. The Brownsville Times and the Halsey Review in Oregon. The day the paper came out he would say, “Now everybody knows what’s going on.” I am 94 years old so you know th...
I was touched reading Bill Stevenson’s opinion piece published in the Aug. 12 issue of the Gazette. What came through in Mr. Stevenson’s story was his humanity. He tells of meeting, for the first time, a person who had become infected with the COVID-19 virus and now was suffering with the disease it causes. He describes not only her symptoms, but also the other impacts this nasty virus has had on her life, such as her fear, loss of job, and income and isolation from important people in her life. He describes her vulnerability. What Mr. Ste...