Bulletin column - March 3, 2011

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.

FARMINGTON CAR THEFT SENTENCE

Guy Stephen Heltsey, 22, Spokane Valley, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail with credit for 17 days already served after pleading guilty to a charge of taking a motor vehicle without permission. Heltsey was charged with taking a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass from a residence in Farmington. He was also ordered to pay $1,300 in fines and fees.

SENTENCED FOR FOOD GRAB

Daniel Leo Hollon, 22, Pullman, was sentenced to 30 days in jail Friday after pleading guilty in superior court to a charge of burglary. Hollon was charged with taking two plastic bags of frozen food out of a freezer at Stubblefield’s Bar on college hill in Pullman last April. A police report said the bartender pursued Hollon when she saw him carrying the food bags and managed to get them back. Hollon was allowed work release while serving the sentence. He was also ordered to pay fines and fees.

COLTON MAN ARRESTED AFTER WRECK

Kirk White, 49, Colton, was booked into the county jail Saturday morning after deputies responded to a report of an injury accident on the Johnson Road just outside of Colton at about 3 a.m. They found a 1993 Chevrolet truck had crashed into the ditch along the side of the road. A passenger in the truck, Heidi Leavitt of Lewiston, sustained a possible broken leg in the accident.

A formal charge of vehicular assault was filed against White in superior court Monday. He was allowed release from jail on his own recognizance and ordered to report back March 11 for arraignment.

SNOHOMISH DUO HURT

Two Snohomish women were taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital early Monday morning after they sustained minor injuries in an accident on Highway 195 three miles south of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Tammy L. Pecha, 50, was driving a 1995 Ford Explorer southbound at 12:06 a.m. in snow and slush. The Explorer went out of control, crossed the centerline and the oncoming lane and struck an embankment. She sustained abrasions to her face and hands, and a passenger, Cheryl A. Osborne, 47, sustained chest pains.

AMBULANCES ON LINE

Rosalia volunteers Monday morning picked up their ambulance which had been on loan at Colfax since Feb. 18. Both Colfax ambulances are now back on line. The number-one ambulance underwent repairs on its oil cooler. The Rosalia crew picked up the ambulance after making a run to the hospital in Colfax Tuesday morning.

NAME SUSPECT IN H-SOCIETY BREAK-IN

A report by Sheriff Brett Meyer Sunday reported Alexander S. Bulmer, 18, Moscow, has been identified as a primary suspect in the break-in of the Whitman County Humane Society which is located on the old Moscow-Pullman Road southeast of Pullman. The report alleged Bulmer acknowledged his involvement in the case.

A cash register and broom handle, believed to have been used to break a window to gain access to the building, have been recovered along a rural road south of Pullman. Several hundred dollars, believed taken from the cash register, have not been recovered.

Probable charges of second degree burglary will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office, the sheriff’s report said.

BREAK-IN ATTEMPT AT COLFAX

Colfax Chief Bill Hickman Monday morning investigated a report of a probable break-in attempt at Maynard’s Mop Shop on Wall Street. Hickman said some type of tool was apparently used to gain entry into the building and the door knob sustained extensive damage. The shop was not entered.

The break-in attempt was believed to be some time after 10 a.m. Saturday.

GOLFERS EYE WATER SUPPLY

Colfax city officials and members of the Colfax Golf Club are expected to meet soon and consider a proposal for development of an alternate water supply source for the golf course. Representing the golfers, Allen Kirkpatrick told the city council Feb. 22 they would like to check out the possibility of drilling a new well or tapping the Glenwood supply line, which runs past the course, as an alternate source of irrigation water.

The golf club last year spent approximately $14,000 for water to irrigate the course. Kirkpatrick noted the present irrigation system was installed 40 years ago, and they anticipate it will need to be replaced soon. The sprinkler system has been upgraded and other changes have been made to conserve water, but the golfers could face higher water rates in the future.

Public Works Director Andy Rogers noted tapping of the Glenwood line has been tried before and the project caused pumps to cavitate. The city and golfers attempted to make the change which would have eliminated costs of running pumps to needlessly store the water on the East hill and the costs of treating the water.

City Attorney Bruce Ensley said any well drilling project would have to draw water under the city’s water rights. He pointed out it has become almost impossible to get a new permit to withdraw water. The city’s water permits are extensive enough to accommodate another well.

The project could be designed to serve the Rotary Fields, Golf Course and McDonald Park. In addition to the costs of drilling a well, the city would have to pay for a storage system and face costs of operating pumps to draw the water of out the well and into a reservoir. Such a system would allow the city to water the recreation areas with untreated water.

CHS GRAD PLAYS WITH JAZZ LEGEND

Matthew Scholz, a 2006 graduate of Colfax High, played piano with the University of Idaho jazz band Feb. 23 night when they accompanied the legendary Jimmy Heath, this year’s NEA Jazz Masters soloist at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. The UI jazz-one band backed Heath, composer, arranger and saxophone player, and Terrell Stafford, trumpet player, in the first of four evening concerts at the festival. The first concert was in the SUB ballroom.

The band played all Heath compositions for his segment of the show.

Scholz, a fifth-year music student at UI, last year performed classical concerts at the Colfax Methodist Church. He played one of the student solos when Heath led the band to perform his “Gingerbread Boy.” Scholz played alto saxophone when he performed with the CHS jazz band.

PULLMANITE SENTENCED TO PRISON

Inan Harsh, 19, Pullman, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of the drug MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine) with the intent to deliver. Three other charges against Harsh were dismissed as part of a plea bargain agreement. He entered a plea to the remaining charges last week.

The other charges included robbery in the second degree, possession of cocaine and possession of psilocybin mushrooms.

The conviction evolved out of the Pullman Police response to a report of a fight May 6 on NE Brandi Way where three males were reported to be hitting a fourth male.

The police report said three suspects were apprehended in a Ford Taurus which was later searched under a warrant. More than 200 pills of MDMA and dried mushrooms were found in a search of the car. The report also said a baggie which contained approximately two dozen smaller baggies of MDMA was discovered in a Pullman Police holding cell which was occupied by Harsh after his arrest.

Harsh was also ordered to pay $1,800 in fines and fees after he completes his sentence. A cash bail posted after the arrest was ordered returned to his father. A deduction for funds still owed from a juvenile court conviction two years ago was deducted from the bail sum with the consent of his father.