Bulletin column - March 17, 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.

LOGGING SPILL BLOCKS 195

Troopers were called to the scene of a logging truck accident at about 4:35 a.m. Tuesday morning at the south Rosalia bypass on Highway 195. The second of two logging trailers tipped over and slid across the highway and came to a halt on its side just south of the southbound off-ramp at the bypass, according to Trooper Michael Murphy.

The truck driver, Glenn Parkins, 62, Clarkston, managed to get the 1998 truck and lead trailer stopped against the northbound guardrail. The two-trailer rig essentially blocked 195, although southbound traffic was able to use the southbound ramp to get around the wreck.

The highway was blocked off for approximately two hours. A hoist from Rambo Trucking was brought over from Farmington to help Colfax Body Repair remove the logs, which were still secured by chain, right the trailer and re-load the logs. After a repair of brake hoses, Parkins was able to continue on his trip.

Trooper Murphy said damage to the logging trailer was minimal and the mishap technically rated as a non-reportable accident.

FOUR-WHEELER ACCIDENT

Chuck Hughes, Endicott, was taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital from the scene of a four-wheeler accident in the Diamond area. A Colfax ambulance crew was called to the scene near the intersection of the Ed Hamilton Road and Endicott Road west of Diamond at 3:31 p.m. Monday.

The four wheeler flipped while Hughes was riding downhill in a field. Hughes was later taken by Med Star helicopter to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He was later released from the Spokane hospital after being checked over.

ICE TAKES TOLL ON 195

Delmar H. Harris, 73, Colfax, was unhurt early Sunday when he lost control of a 2003 Ford Explorer about a mile south of Pullman on Highway 195. According to the WSP report, he was driving southbound in icy conditions, and the Explorer slid across the highway and rolled into the ditch on the opposite side.

Craig Holdren, 38, Clarkston, was also unhurt in an accident Sunday morning about 10 miles south of Pullman while driving in the same conditions on Highway 195. Holdren lost control of a 1995 Honda Accord while driving northbound at 6:20 a.m. The Honda went out of control when he let off the accelerator pedal to allow another car to pass. It slid across the centerline and rolled on its top in the ditch next to the southbound lane.

Brian W. Stephens, 32, Pullman, sustained a broken wrist, March 10, when he lost control of a 2008 Ford Ranger pickup truck on Highway 194 at the Wawawai Road intersection about five and one-half miles west of Pullman. According to the WSP report, he was driving the truck westbound at 7:45 p.m. when it drifted to the right. He overcorrected and the truck crossed the highway, spun through the intersection, flipped on its top and struck a utility pole.

BEAVER BELIEVED GONE

A beaver who had set up temporary quarters in the Colfax flood control channel just downstream from the Sixth Street bridge has apparently departed. The beaver, who could be seen from the Jennings School side of the channel, is believed to have been washed downstream by high water.

Runoff water in the N. Fork of the Palouse River covered the patch of channel floor where the beaver had taken up residence. Water levels at the United States Geological Service gauge on the river near Potlatch reported the water level at 12.57 feet March 10. It was measured at 11.53 Monday morning and a 13.55 level was predicted for Wednesday. Flood level is 15 feet.

Residents believed the beaver had been washed into the channel from the upstream segment of the river where beavers reside and made unsuccessful attempts to get back up the water slide at the top of the channel.

POLICE SEARCH ST. IGNATIUS

Colfax Police responded to a report of people entering the former St. Ignatius Manor building on S. Mill Street Saturday. Officers conducted an extensive search of the building and were unable to locate any trespassers. However, a Ford Explorer, which had been parked outside the building was towed from the scene.

Assistant Chief David Szambelan said an occupant in an apartment next to the building reported she saw four or five people get out of the Explorer and go into the massive structure at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday. Szambelan said he responded to the scene, but did not enter the building until other officers arrived to assist. He said he heard people running inside the building.

Off-duty Colfax officers, troopers and deputies responded and six went into the building while another three remained outside. Szambelan said they searched the entire building for more than an hour but could not find any people inside.

Officers believed the suspects exited the building before the search started. The case evolved when Pullman residents began to seek the whereabouts of the Explorer which had been impounded in Colfax.

Szambelan said the Explorer has now been returned to the family who said they had hired an attorney and declined to talk with police.

He noted the St. Ignatius building, which is now owned by a California resident, has deteriorated to the point where it is hazardous. Leaking roofs have damaged floors to the point where people could fall through to lower levels. The building is open for entry because of broken windows and open doors at the ground level.

CELL PHONE LAUNCHED PULLMAN CASE

A Pullman traffic stop for cell phone use while driving has led to a drug case which is now set for a March 31 hearing on a motion to suppress evidence. The defense attorney contends evidence seized by Pullman police for a drug charge against Chelsea Davis should be suppressed. A drug oxycontin was allegedly found in a backpack after a search of the car.

Davis received a warning ticket after she was stopped for the cell phone offense. The defense contends she was unlawfully detained, the officer lacked enough evidence to search the car and never received valid consent to do so.

PULLMAN OFFICER HONORED IN BICKLE CASE

Pullman Police Detective Bill Orsborn was recognized by the Construction Industry Crime Prevent program for his work in solving crimes and recovering stolen property. The award was presented at the 15th anniversary awards luncheon of the organization at Portland in February.

Pullman Chief Gary Jenkins said the presentation was related to the case which led to the conviction of Paul Bickle who was arrested at LaCrosse where he had stored property stolen from the WalMart construction site in Pullman and other Whitman County businesses.

Pullman officers and Whitman County deputies investigated the case which included burglaries at the WalMart construction site in Pullman. The Bickle case also involved burglaries at Arrow Machinery north of Colfax and the Rite Aid and Ace Hardware stores in Pullman. Bickle has also been linked to burglaries in Pierce, Lewis and Kittitas Counties.

FOUNTAIN PROPOSAL GAINS VOLUNTEER

A long-time proposal to install a fountain in Fireman’s Memorial Park, the small triangular park at the corner of S. Main and Highway 195, could make progress this year with the help of Donald Brigham of Lewiston. City Administrator Carl Thompson told members of the city council Monday Bringham had volunteer to help design the project. A part-time teacher at the University of Idaho, Brigham assisted the city two years ago in developing the rural zoning regulations for the former McDonald Family property which was annexed to the city.

Thompson the project could lead to installation of a fountain similar to the one which was installed in front of city hall. The small park, which is on a grade at the base of the south hill, has been considered a natural site for some type of descending fountain, a project which was first suggested to the council by former City Administrator Emily Adams.

Thompson said Brigham is a fountain enthusiast and volunteered to help advance the proposal.

ZORB SENTENCED TO 45 DAYS

Tiffani Zorb, former Colfax resident, was sentenced to 45 days in jail Friday in superior court after pleading guilty to being in possession of methamphetamine. The state dropped two other charges against Zorb who was the object of an alleged controlled drug operation in Colfax last June 10 by the Quad Cities Drug Task Force.

Zorb told the court she has changed her life since her arrest. She was married at the end of the year and moved with her new husband to Texas where he is serving in the U.S Army at Ft. Hood.

Defense Attorney Michael Petit told the court Zorb wished to serve the sentence without the option of public service hours because she wanted to return to her family in Texas. He also asked the court to waive any community supervision requirements because she would be in Texas.

The 45-day sentence is half the maximum Zorb could have received under the state’s sentencing guidelines.

Zorb was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and other fees and costs for a total of $1,800. She was allowed until Monday to report to jail to begin her sentence.

BANK HEIST SUSPECT ARRESTED

Whitman County’s SWAT team was activated March 9 to arrest Kevin A. Jones, 23, on a federal FBI warrant alleging five counts of bank robbery. The Pullman police report said the SWAT team was mobilized because Jones had been classified as “armed and dangerous.” He was arrested on an FBI warrant at a residence on NW Lamont Drive.

Two negotiators from Moscow’s Police Department assisted and Jones surrendered without incident. He was taken to the Whitman County Jail.

The report said local officers on the SWAT team were used because FBI manpower for this area was at the scene of the arrest in Stevens County of the suspect in the alleged attempted bombing of the Martin Luther King parade in Spokane.

Palouse DRUG SUSPECT ARRAIGNED

Brandy Brooks, 31, Moscow, who was arrested March 3 on a warrant after failing to appear in court here, pleaded not guilty in court March 11 on a charge of possession of oxycodone. Her trial date has been set for May 16.

Brooks was charged Feb. 23 in connection with a Palouse case involving Gregory (Cowboy) Early, an alleged drug dealer from the Deer Park area. Officers here received a tip that Early would make a trip to the county to sell drugs last October and he was arrested after officers allegedly located him and Brooks sleeping in a car near the alleged “drug house” in Palouse.

Brooks was not arrested at the time, but was later charged on allegations of drugs found in a purse in the Chevrolet Cobalt which was impounded and searched after the October arrest. Charges against Early were dropped here after prosecutors told the court he would face charges in U.S. District court in Spokane.

Brooks was brought to jail here March 9 from Moscow after she waived extradition. The warrant was issued after she failed to appear in court as ordered for an initial hearing. Her defense attorney said she had marked the wrong date on her calender.

Relatives of Brooks appeared in court Friday, and she was again allowed release on her own recognizance and admonished to be certain she appear in court when ordered.