Bulletin column - Oct. 28, 2010

These reports are from the previous four 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.

Ballot return tops 4,000

Return of Whitman County ballots was expected to top the 4,000 mark Tuesday. Elections office staffers Monday processed almost 1,000 ballots received after the weekend. Total ballots logged returned as of Tuesday morning was 3,856, or about 20 percent of the 19,002 ballots which were mailed out to voters Oct. 15.

Elections staffers received another large batch of ballots in the mail Tuesday and expected the count would easily exceed 4,000 by the end of the day.

In addition to the strong return rate, the office is receiving many calls from voters who have moved and failed to notify the office of a change of address.

Load limits on River Road

Colfax Public Works Director Andy Rogers Monday said load limits have been posted on the North Palouse River Road. Rain has softened the road which will remain posted until further notice, he said.

Child abandonment charge amended

Jessica Frunz, 28, Pullman resident who was charged with child abandonment last June in Pullman, was convicted last Thursday on an amended charge of attempted theft of a pickup truck. She was sentenced to 365 days in jail with all but one day suspended.

The case began last June 5 when her ex-boyfriend arrived at the Pullman Police Station with her two children. He said the children had been left with him the previous night, and she vowed to be back later that night after visiting friends in Moscow. He also said he could not find his 1994 truck.

The report started a search for Frunz which ended when she returned to Pullman June 8.

After admitting the amended charge, a gross misdemeanor, Frunz was also ordered to pay $700 in fine and fees.

Deer, coyote accidents

Vivian G. Day, 63, Clarkston, was unhurt Sunday night when the 2005 Acura she was driving stuck a deer on Highway 195 a mile north of Pullman. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving southbound at 7:20 p.m. when the deer ran onto the highway and struck the right front corner of the Acura.

Chelsea A. Pello, 20, Bothell, was unhurt Saturday when she hit a coyote at 6:28 p.m. while driving southbound on Highway 195 in a 2007 Toyota.

Megan Landos, 28, Pullman, was unhurt at 9:05 p.m. Saturday when the 1991 Ford pickup she was driving on Highway 27 struck a deer 3.5 miles south of Palouse, according to the Washington State Patrol report.

Jury convicts Marly

A Whitman County Superior Court jury last Thursday afternoon convicted Victor J. Marly of two counts of vehicular homicide after approximately four hours of deliberation. The charges were filed against Marly by Prosecutor Denis Tracy after a Lewiston couple died in a head-on collision on the Walla Walla Highway near the Big Alkali road intersection south of Dusty.

Testimony in the trial concluded Oct. 20 and the jury began deliberation Thursday morning. Ronald and Francis West of Lewiston died at the scene of the collision Sept. 19, 2009, when the Toyota sedan he was driving northbound collided with a Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by Marly.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy charged Marly because he had attempted to pass a pickup and fifth-wheel trailer on a curve. Marly, 49, Milton Freewater, was flown by Medstar helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane for treatment of injuries he sustained in the collision.

The trial started Monday afternoon with Marly’s defense attorney, Michael Pettit of Pullman, admitting Marly was on the wrong side of the highway at the time of the collision. However, he said the defense would attempt to show Marly had been boxed out after passing one car and could not return to the southbound lane.

The jury also reported they could not reach a unanimous verdict that Marly had operated his vehicle in a reckless manner. That means the convictions will drop a degree on the sentencing range to vehicular homicide caused by operating a vehicle with disregard for the safety of others. Prosecutor Denis Tracy said that Marly, who will be sentenced Nov. 18, faces a sentence in the range of 26 to 34 months. A finding of “reckless” could have moved the sentence range bracket up by six months.

Marly was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after the jury reached its verdict.

City bridge will need railings

Construction of approach ramps on the S. Main bridge in Colfax is now expected to involve a redo of the bridge railings, City Administrator Carl Thompson reported to the city council Oct. 18. Thompson reported on an Oct. 14 session at the regional Department of Transportation office in Spokane. The session was intended to coordinate work done to date by all involved parties on the bridge approach project.

Thompson said DOT engineers and others at the meeting were informed the railings on the S. Main bridge will have to be revamped under a state policy which requires the state to bring railings up to safety standards any time they are modified on old bridges. The project plan for Colfax calls for altering the railings on the south end to accommodate ramp approaches.

At the Oct. 4 council session, Harold White, an engineer with the DOT regional office in Spokane, reported $215,000 has been budgeted out of a special state DOT fund for the S. Main bridge project in Colfax. Cost of upgrading the rails can be expected to bump the overall cost of the project.

Thompson said the requirement for railing could be expected to increase the overall projected costs of the project. State DOT officials in Olympia participated n the Colfax bridge meeting by telephone.

Accident on Main Street

Colfax police investigated an accident on S. Main at the Cooper Street intersection Thursday morning, OCT. 21. Gregory Wust, 61, Colfax, was attempting to pull onto Main Street at 8:45 a.m. from West Cooper and failed to see the Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck being driven southbound by Debra Anderson, 55, Colfax.

Fire, ambulance response

A rural district fire crew was called out by report of a fire along the Airport Road south of Colfax Friday at 6:56 p.m. The fire turned out to be a small debris fire near the east end of the runway. A shovel was used to extinguish the fire.

Christmas shop gets okay

Colfax Thrifty Grandmothers have received approval to operate a Christmas shop in a portion of the building which was the former site of the Sandbagger Tavern. The site is close to their shop on Main Street.

Fire Chief Ralph Walter reported at the Oct. 10 city council session that state code requires a sprinkler system for commercial operations which are conducted under residential units. However, the apartments on the second floor of the Sandbagger building are currently unoccupied over the area where the club plans want to locate their seasonal shop.

Judge ends Endicott suit

A three-year-old damage suit against town of Endicott was ordered dismissed without costs last Wednesday in Whitman County Superior Court. Jimmie and Patricia Britton, who had filed the damage suit, appeared in court for trial Oct.11 and told the judge they did not have an attorney and didn’t plan to present witnesses or evidence.

Filed Oct. 7, 2007, by the late Ronald B. Webster of Colfax, the suit sought damages alleged sustained by Jimmie Britton while crossing Machin Street in Endicott in August of 2004. Britton alleged a faulty cover over a water valve hole caused his fall and resulting injuries.

In his pre-trial statement defense attorney, Michael McFarland, Jr., said the Brittons failed to establish that a dangerous or unreasonable condition existed on the street or that the town had any notice.

Issaquah driver hits deer

Ronald T. Skavaril, 48, Issaquah, was unhurt Sunday morning when the 1999 Ford pickup he was driving struck a deer on Highway 195 about a mile south of Colfax. He was driving northbound at 7 a.m. when the deer jumped in front of the truck.