Bulletin Column

CAMPS PRESENT DONATION

Palouse Empire Fair Foundation received a $10,000 donation from the Camp family at Sunday's dinner auction at the community building. Steve Camp of Dusty presented the donation on behalf of his mother, Donna Camp of Spokane Valley, who was also present at the dinner. The presentation was made in memory of their deceased son and brother, Alan Camp.

The Camps have asked the sum be used for the fair's future efforts to improve the arena grandstand.

Friday's dinner auction was attended by approximately 250 county residents, and the proceeds, including the Camp donation, are expected to be in the $30,000 range.

Foundation funds are used to make capital improvements to the fairground.

ASSENBERG COURT DATES DELAYED

Court dates in the state's marijuana case against Michael Assenberg were postponed Friday in superior court. Assenberg's defense attorney, Douglas Phelps of Spokane Valley, in his motion reported negotiations are underway and the case could be resolved in the future without going to trial.

Assenberg's trial date, set for Dec. 17, has been moved back to Jan. 14 of next year. A readiness hearing, which had been scheduled Friday, has now been scheduled for Jan. 4.

Phelps said he requested the change of court dates because he is representing a client at a jury trial in Kootenai County, Idaho.

The charges against Assenberg date back to May 4, 2011, when he was arrested after members of the Quad Cities Drug Task force conducted a warrant search of his residence on S. Mill Street in Colfax.

Prior to Friday's rulings, Phelps had filed a motion to drop the charges against Assenberg under the argument that Assenberg was complying with provisions under the state's medical marijuana law.

ROTARY AUCTION RECORD

Members of the Colfax Rotary club Thursday, Dec. 6, set a new record with their annual Christmas gift auction. Returns from the bidding totaled $3,430 which tops a prior record of $2,954.

Proceeds from the auction were donated to Christmas funds. The club donated $2,058 to the firemen's toybox fund and $1,372 to the Community Action Center's Giving Tree.

Rotary member Carl Ogren reported the infamous Pancho Villa velvet painting did not return to the gift table this year. He noted the shape of one of the wrapped gifts suggested it could be Pancho Villa.

The auction format allows club members to bid on gifts before they are opened and again after they are opened.

THRESHING BEE OFFERS DVD

This year's Palouse Empire Threshing Bee on Labor Day was filmed by Video Mike Productions from California. The result was a 41-minute DVD which depicts the horse and steam powered harvest practices which are demonstrated by the threshing bee committee.

The DVD was dedicated in memory of Jack Ryan, a long-time participant in the bee, and others who helped originate and sustain the threshing demonstration. It includes interviews with many of the operators of the equipment. A stationary thresher, header boxes and steam engine are among equipment used in the lineup.

Title of the DVD is "Palouse Threshing Bee, Threshing Wheat in the Palouse Using Draft Horses, Mules and Steam Power."

The DVDs are being offered by the Threshing Bee committee for $20 to help raise funds for maintenance of the equipment. For more information, contact Kay Riebold at American West Bank in Colfax.

MEY TRIAL SLATED FEB. 19

Vance Mey, 19, Winona, pleaded not guilty in superior court Friday to three burglary charges involving alleged break-ins of two businesses and an apartment in Colfax. Mey has been scheduled for a Feb. 19 trial date.

Mey was arrested Nov. 10 as a suspect in cases involving the break-ins at the Thrifty Grandmothers shop in Colfax and the Daily Grind. After the arrest on those charges, officers later determined Mey is also a suspect in the entry of a Colfax apartment on the same night.

The report alleged Mey entered an apartment when he believed he was breaking into the back door of the pawn shop in Colfax. The back of the pawn shop and the back of the Daily Grind are along the west alley of Main Street.

Mey has been charged with two counts of second degree burglary and one charge of residential burglary. City police reported cash was taken from both the grandmothers’ shop and the Daily Grind. The report alleged the cash register was removed from the Daily Grind and found later along the flood channel wall at the back of the business.

Judge David Frazier Friday morning altered conditions of Mey’s pre-trial release after hearing a request from Mey’s father. He told the court Mey sometimes refuses to take medications or undergo counseling sessions. His father told the court he believes the suspect is difficult to control when he neglects to take his medications.

Judge Frazier responded to the request by requiring Mey to reside in his father’s household while on pre-trial release. The judge pointed out Mey is now an adult and a guest in the family home. He said if his father decides to not allow him to reside in the residence, Mey will be taken into custody to await his trial date.

WILL REPAIR FIRE DAMAGE

Aric LaFleur Dec. 4 has applied for a permit to rebuild parts of his family’s residence at E. 307 Thorn Street. The residence sustained extensive damage from an early morning fire Sept. 9 which they believe started in the laundry room of the house. Family members were able to escape the fire which had filled the house with smoke and left them unable to see. The family plans to remodel those parts of the structure which were damaged by the fire.

The LaFleurs and their two daughters are now residing in Pullman.

ICE TAKES TOLL S. OF COLFAX

Both drivers in a pickup truck-car accident Friday afternoon on Highway 195 south of Colfax were unhurt, according to the WSP report. Jerry D. Chastain, 60, LaCrosse, was driving a 2002 Toyota pickup truck southbound and lost control at 5:06 p.m. when he attempted to pass in snowing conditions. The Toyota passed one car, spun and struck the left rear of a 1995 Chevrolet Caprice driven by Judith Payne, Spokane, near the Hofer Road intersection.

Matthew D. Tougas, Lynnwood, was unhurt when the 1995 Nissan Pathfinder he was driving slid out of control on Highway 195 1.7 miles south of Colfax. The WSP report said Tougas was driving southbound when the Pathfinder went out of control and slid across the oncoming lane and into the ditch on the northbound side of the highway. The Pathfinder went into the ditch and struck the end of the culvert.

EX FIRE VOLUNTEER CHARGED

Edmond Chapman, 28, Pullman, has been scheduled for a Feb. 19 trial after he pleaded not guilty Friday in superior court to a charge of burglary in the second degree. Chapman was charged Dec. 3 after investigation of an alleged break-in at the Fire District 12 Station 3 off the Whelan Road near Highway 27 north of Pullman.

Chapman was allowed release on his own recognizance Nov. 30 after being booked in jail. A former member of the district volunteers, Chapman was charged in connection with a Nov. 27 report of a break-in at the District 12 station.

The investigation report said a door on the north side of the station, which is not marked, was forced open and a pair of firefighter turnouts, the protective clothing volunteers wear when they are fighting fires, was missing. Value of the new turnouts was placed at approximately $1,600.

Chapman became a suspect because deputies suspected the entry at the station could have possibly been done by someone familiar with the district. The report said Edmond Chapman had been terminated as a member of the District 12 volunteers. Also, the report said, the missing set of turnouts was marked with the name of another volunteer at the station who also has the last name of Chapman.

The arrest report alleged the suspect had been terminated by the district last summer after district officers learned other missing station items were in his possession. The deputy’s report also said district officers became aware that Edmond Chapman had been linked to an arson charge in Oregon.