Bulletin column-Nov. 22, 2012

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.

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COLFAX TOPS SIDEWALK LIST

An application for funding for a sidewalk project along N. Clay Street and up lower Park Street has been approved by the Transportation Improvement Board. The Colfax project was rated first among nine projects that are in line for funding on the east side of the state.

City Administrator Carl Thompson announced the funding grant at Monday’s city council session.

Applications were made under the Small City Sidewalk Program of the state’s Transportation Improvement Board.

The Colfax fund application was for $120,000 which is estimated to cover 80 percent of the cost of the project. Public Works Director Andy Rogers earlier said the project was submitted to provide a walkway for school students who use the route to walk to the school from the Park Street neighborhood. The students walk via lower Park Street which connects with upper Park Street at the north end of the grade. The route saves time over walking to the south intersection of Park and Mill which is behind Rosauers.

A total of 24 projects were submitted for funding with the total at $3,138,262. The SCSP funds total $1.42 million which will go to the nine town projects selected.

The Colfax rating on the application was 59, a score eight points higher than the number-two rating which was awarded to Chewelah.

Local funding for the project has been charged at $30,000.

Two other Whitman County towns among the nine named were Colton for $150,000 for 100 percent funding on a project along Broadway from Steptoe to Gregor Street, and Oakesdale, $121,354 for a project on Steptoe Street between First and Second streets. The Oakesdale project calls for $15,829 spending of local funds.

Colfax also has a TIB project in the works for completing the Fairview Street work which was cut out of an earlier federally funded project when costs exceeded funding. Thompson said the Fairview project has been submitted by the county as an addition to the rebuilding project now underway on the Airport Road. The application has been submitted to another TIB funding program.

TAX REVENUE HIKE GETS 4-2 OKAY

City Council members Monday night approved a one percent increase in the amount of property tax revenue which the city will collect in the coming year. The resolution to hike the tax revenue was approved on a 4-2 vote with council members David Nails and Al Vorderbrueggen opposed.

City Treasurer Mark Clinton said he believes this is the fifth time over the past eight years that the council has approved the one percent revenue hike which is allowed under state law.

The one percent hike in revenue is expected to add $3,822 to city property tax revenue. The city is also expected to net $2,695 more in tax revenue off newly constructed property.

The approved hike in revenue does not automatically mean an increase in the property tax rate. That will depend on the appraised valuation of the town’s property.

The increases will bump property tax proceeds from $382,275 to $388,792.

In a report on anticipated revenue for the coming year, Clinton said the city’s 2013 budget now has a deficit of $76,393 in general fund spending.

Mayor Todd Vanek told the council he has requested city department heads to try to cut back five percent in their anticipated budget needs.

WRIGHT CAMPAIGN ON HOLD

Because of time limits, the program on the 1858 battle involving area tribes and the campaigns of Col. Steptoe and Col. Wright was limited to the Steptoe campaign Sunday at the Colfax library. The program introduced the book edition of the “Battle of To-Hots-Nim-Me,” the account of the Steptoe battle at Rosalia.

Mahlon Kriebel of Garfield, author of the book, first reported on his research on the 150th anniversary of the events in 2008. The report was printed in the Whitman County Historical Society’s quarterly, the Bunchgrass Historian.

Kriebel and Frank Si John, a member of the Coeur d’Alene tribe presented their accounts of the confrontation of the Steptoe Command and Plateau Tribes which led to the battle.

Col. Wright’s campaign of retribution followed four months later. Because of extended discussion Sunday on the Steptoe command, Kriebel decided to continue with the Wright report at a later date.

BAIL BOND REVOKED

A $20,000 bond for pre-trial release posted by Duane Wentzel, 36, Tekoa, after being arrested the previous Friday in Tekoa was ordered revoked Friday in Whitman County superior court. The court ordered Wentzel to be held in jail until trial after attempting to violate an order not to have contact with the alleged victim in his case.

Wentzel Friday pleaded not guilty to two charges of fourth-degree assault.

Wentzel is alleged to have assaulted his live-in girlfriend at a residence on Ramsey Street in Tekoa.

CONTRACTOR FINISHES

Final correction work in Colfax on the Highway 195 project was done last Friday on S. Main. The ditch excavation site at Main and Thorn, where a crushed segment of drain pipe was replaced and the street drain grate lowered last week, was paved.

The drain grate on the opposite side of Main, next to Eddy’s Restaurant, was also excavated and lowered. Work was done by Shamrock Construction which is now affiliated with Central Washington Asphalt, the general contractor on the project from Moses Lake.

The crew also filled and paved the segment of a walkway which was excavated when a concrete curb was poured in place of the former railroad crossing in front of the River View Apartments.

On Nov. 4, a crew excavated the street drain where water backed up after snow and rain melt off two days earlier. “Water over the road” signs, which were provided to the city, had to be posted.

Public Works Director Andy Rogers said the drain failed because a section of the pipe which connects the drain to the Spring Flat flood channel under the highway had collapsed, probably during the fill operation on the project.

Also the elevation of the grate over the drain was installed too high, and water backed up until it reached a level that allowed water to go into the drain.

ESPN SUBPOENAS LEACH RECORDS

An order for the custodian of WSU records to appear with records on the hiring of WSU football Coach Mike Leach was issued Thursday, Nov. 15, in Whitman County Superior Court. The local order was issued for disposition of the pre-trial discovery process on the damage suit Leach has filed against Craig James, ESPN Inc., of Bristol, Conn., and Spaeth Communications of Dallas, Texas.

The suit, which was filed in district court at Lubbock, alleges Craig James, as a commentator on ESPN, damaged the coach by making unfounded disparaging comments which led to the cancellation of a three-year contract extension Leach had signed with Texas Tech at Lubbock where he had coached for 10 years.

The Seattle firm of Graham & Dunn has sought the subpoena here on behalf of ESPN in their defense of the suit in Lubbock.

The attorneys said they want to look at documents related to the candidacy, interviews and negotiations on the amount of compensation for the WSU coach, who was hired by Athletic Director Bill Moos to replace Coach Paul Wulff.

The keeper of the records was ordered to bring them to the office of the Pullman firm of Irwin, Myklebust, Savage & Brown Nov. 30 or to a law office in Lubbock.

Leach’s suit alleges Craig James defamed the coach after his son, Adam James, then a member of the Texas Tech team, was allegedly placed in an unlocked maintenance shed during a 2009 team practice session.

SAFE HEIST AT PAWN SHOP

Colfax Police are investigating a report of a burglary involving a safe missing from the Colfax pawn shop, now known as Pawn of Colfax. The small safe containing high value items, including gold coins, is missing from the shop. Also, jewelry and other items were removed from display cases and cash taken.

Value of the missing goods is estimated in excess of $65,000.

Forced entry into the shop was apparently made by pushing open a plywood panel in the back door. After the panel was loose, the opening provided access to the interior lock on the rear door.

Proprietor Jeff Meacham told officers his dog started barking and neighbors of the shop said they believe they heard noises in the area at about 2 a.m. Nov 16.

The downtown burglary is the third in Colfax in two weeks, but it isn’t believed to be linked to burglaries the week before at the Thrifty Grandmother and the Daily Grind. Suspects have already been arrested in those break-ins.

LaCROSSE GRAFFITI CHARGES

Darin R. Barry, the victim in a LaCrosse burglary case, has been summoned to court Nov. 30 after three charges of malicious mischief were filed against him Nov. 15. Barry is charged with applying spray paint to a residence, boat and RV in LaCrosse last August.

Barry was the victim of a burglary in LaCrosse last August, and at that time deputies said charges could be filed against him because of alleged spray painted words which appeared on the property of “persons of interest” in the investigation.

The charge filed against Barry last Thursday alleges “Dead” was painted on the door of a residence on First Street and “KKK” on a boat. An RV and a fence on Whitman Ave. were also hit, according to the three malicious mischief charges.

Barry, Nov. 9, was summoned to appear in court and testify as a victim in a restitution hearing after the burglary conviction of Joshua Chastain of LaCrosse who was sentenced to three months in jail after he pleaded guilty to the burglary charge Oct. 5. Chastain’s sentence included a provision for a hearing to determine restitution due Barry. The court has not yet issued an order on the amount of restitution which will be added to Chastain’s sentence as a result of the Nov. 9 hearing.

GILLESPIE HURT IN SEMI COLLISION

Robert G. Gillespie, 62, Pullman, was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane for treatment of head injuries sustained in a pickup-semi-truck accident last Thursday on Highway 194 about seven miles west of Pullman. Gillespie was taken by ambulance to Pullman Regional Hospital and then transferred to the Spokane hospital.

The driver of the semi, Kyle Druffel, 22, Pullman, was not injured.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Gillespie was driving a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup truck westbound on the roadway at 3:34 p.m. when he attempted a left turn onto Kamerrer Road in front of the 1996 Kenworth flatbed truck which was being driven eastbound on the highway. The report said Druffel attempted to avoid hitting the pickup, but the semi truck struck the passenger side of the pickup. Highway 194 was blocked from 3:54 until 6:29 p.m.

Cars and small trucks were able to shuttle around the scene, but several grain hauling trucks which use the route to haul to the terminal at Almota were blocked on each side of the accident scene.

TAX FORECLOSURE ORDER

An order of default and judgment on eight tax foreclosure properties was filed Nov. 14 in Whitman County superior court. The order moves the properties toward the annual auction of foreclosed property which has been scheduled Dec. 14 this year in the county commissioners’ chambers.

Overall, the tax foreclosure filings involve approximately $35,000 due in unpaid taxes, interest and penalties.

Property owners have until Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. to redeem the properties and remove them from the auction process which starts when taxes remain unpaid after three years. At present, at least one of the properties, a storage unit in Tekoa, is expected to be redeemed.

The properties were certified delinquent Sept. 6, and a notice by publication was posted in the Sept. 13 edition of the Gazette.

Any remaining proceeds from tax foreclosure auctions after taxes, penalties and costs are paid to the registered owners of the property.

CROSSING FLAGS POSTED

Red flags have been posted in the new boxes at Main Street intersections to assist pedestrians in crosswalks. The flags can be used to help pedestrians get the attention of drivers while they cross the street.

Boxes have been installed on both sides of the street so the flags can be left on either side after use.

BALLOT TALLY TUNED UP

A re-certification test of the election department’s vote tabulators was conducted Nov. 14 after a maintenance team was called in to fix the problem. Auditor Eunice Coker reported the elections department has encountered problems with the vote tabulator this year and the count was slowed down to the point where staffers had to submit one ballot at a time because of the physical length of the ballot.

Coker noted regular maintenance had been done on the tabulators prior to the season.

FAN BOOKED AFTER GUN GRAB CHARGE

Mervyn R. Benoit, 45, Edgewood, was booked into the county jail Nov. 11 following his arrest at Martin Stadium during the Saturday night football game between WSU and UCLA. The arrest report alleges Benoit attempted to grab the gun of a Whitman County Deputy after officers attempted to subdue him by placing him against a fence outside of the stadium.

According to the arrest report, security officers were directed to respond to a report of a woman being carried out of the stadium in section 30. The report said Benoit also arrived at the scene and identified himself at the stepfather of the woman. The report said the woman refused orders to sit down at the scene and one of the officers did a “sweep” move with his feet to put her on the ground.

They said Benoit became more upset and was eventually grabbed by the officer and forced up against the fence outside the stadium. Benoit allegedly reached down and attempted to pull the deputy’s gun out of his holster.

The report said Benoit was subdued and loaded into an ambulance to be taken to Pullman Regional Hospital. They later received a report that he had attempted to bite one of the EMS people in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

The suspect was allowed release on his own recognizance after a first appearance in court Nov. 13. Formal charges have not been filed.