Bulletin column - June 3, 2010

These reports are from the previous three issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated

License plates stolen

Colfax police Monday received reports of license plates stolen from four vehicles on Meadow Street and Lake Street in the south end of Colfax. Plates were taken off the front and back of one vehicle on Lake Street and off the back of two more vehicles on Lake.

One plate was taken off the back of a vehicle on Meadow. All of the vehicles were parked outside.

Fire alarm at River View

A Colfax fire crew responded to an alarm from the River View Apartments at 603 E. Main at 2 p.m. Monday. The alarm was apparently triggered by a tenant cooking hamburger in one of the apartments.

Grubbs hits deer

Steven R. Grubbs, 39, Pullman, was unhurt early Monday morning when he struck a deer on Highway 195 south of Colfax.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Grubbs was driving a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora southbound at 1 a.m. when he hit the deer on the highway near the 35-mile marker.

Leticia Mondragon, 33, Palouse, sustained seatbelt burns early Friday when she lost control of a 2002 Hyundai Accent on Highway 272 about 11 miles east of Colfax. According to the WSP report, she was driving westbound at 6:50 a.m. when the car went off the roadway on the right side, came back onto the highway and went into the ditch on the other side.

Brooke Cooper, 24, Moscow, complained of a sore neck Sunday when she lost control of a 1998 Honda Civic on Highway 271 about 4.5 miles north of Oakesdale. According to the WSP report, she was driving south at 4:50 p.m. when the Civic went onto the shoulder of the road. She overcorrected, and the car crossed the highway and then slid back into the southbound ditch.

Marijuana suspect released

Jennifer Walker, 27, Richland, was allowed release on her own recognizance Friday morning after being arrested on marijuana charges the previous night. Officers with the Quad Cities Drug Task Force arrested Walker for possessing with the intent to deliver a quarter pound of marijuana at Washtucna. She was booked into Whitman County jail at 11:11 p.m.

Walker told Superior Court Judge David Frazier she has a medical marijuana prescription which allows her to possess. The arrest report alleged Walker made three sales of marijuana and hash to an informant in Pullman last December.

Boater course set

A seven-hour boater education course will be offered free by Whitman County Sheriff’s office June 9 and 10. Sessions will be from 6 to 9:30 p.m. upstairs at the Public Service Building. Participants are asked to pre-register at the sheriff’s office.

The course will provide boaters with the basics of safe boating that all recreational boaters should know. The course will be taught by Deputy John Guidice, certified instructor. The course was developed for the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission.

The state has been phasing in a safety program. As of the start of this year, boat operators between ages 12 and 30 are required to carry a card to certify they have completed the course. All boaters born after Jan. 1, 1955, will be required to carry the card by 2014.

Long due court fines net arrest

Justin Carlson of Pullman, who logged a string of convictions here at the start of the decade, was booked back into the jail last week on a charges of failing to pay fines and fees on those convictions. Carlson, now 30, still owes $4,417 on the convictions.

A bench warrant for Carlson’s arrest was issued May 6 and he was booked into jail May 21. He could face up to 300 days on contempt convictions for failing to comply with court orders to pay the fines in the four adult cases and two juvenile cases.

Judge David Frazier allowed Carlson release on his own recognizance and told him he had to work out a payment plan for the long overdue fines and fees. The judge did credit Carlson with staying out of trouble for the past seven years.

“I’ve been a good boy,” Carlson noted. He told the court he recently moved back to Pullman and had a job interview lined up. He also reported he now has two children.