Bulletin Column

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.

STORM CULVERT SAID CLEAN

The giant storm drain which was believed to be one of the key factors in the Colfax downtown flood Feb. 12 was checked out last week by a state DOT remote television camera crew and determined to be clean. The storm culvert, which runs beneath Canyon Street, was checked with cameras at three different locations and found to be free of any obstructions, according to Colfax Public Works Director Andy Rogers.

On the morning of Feb. 12, rocks and debris washed down the channel along the Palouse Highway and clogged the big storm drain. City officials believe rocks left in the drainage ditch after DOT crews removed a newly installed culvert washed into the giant drain under Canyon.

As runoff water began to pour into the drain at the Methodist Church, pressure apparently built up in the blocked culvert and blew the drain cover into the air with a geyser.

Rogers said state crews last week made camera checks at the drain inlet next to the church, the storm drain location on Canyon west of the Mill Street intersection and at the Almota outlet in the S. Palouse River Channel.

Rogers said they now believe the runoff water eventually pushed the rocks and debris out of the Canyon Street culvert and cleared it. Rocks and debris were dumped into the S. Palouse flood channel, but most of that has now been pushed downstream.

Also crews suspect the runoff episode Feb. 12 cleared most of the rocks which had been left in the ditch after state crews removed the culvert prior to the flood. The culvert had been installed last fall at a cost of approximately $300,000.

Weather predictions for mid-week indicate a warming trend over the next couple of days, but forecasts don’t predict a “pineapple express” mode which led to a fast melt of snow around the county.

DEATH RELATED TO SEIZURE

County Coroner Pete Martin Tuesday said investigation into the cause of death of Scott Stratton, 51, WSU professor who was found dead in a pond at Sunnyside Park in Pullman early last Wednesday, indicated he had sustained a seizure while walking with his dog along the pond. Martin said they learned Mr. Stratton had quit taking his medications and that resulted in a seizure which caused him to fall into the pond. Time of death was established at about 8 p.m. last Tuesday, Feb. 18.

He was reported missing later that night after his dog returned home without him. Pullman Police launched an all-night search for Stratton and his body was found in the pond after daylight the next morning.

FEBRUARY HITS PRECIP PLUS

Snowfall over the past week has bumped February’s precipitation over the monthly average with three days left in the month. The total hit 1.95 inches Monday to top the February normal of 1.94, and Tuesday’s snow reading at the NRCS office in Colfax added another .33 inches of precipitation.

Snow reading at the site Monday morning was four inches, and the reading Tuesday was 2.5 inches. Weather recorder David Jones noted Monday’s precipitation included rain and melting snow before the snow buildup overnight.

The wet February follows a 1.44 total for January compared to a 2.33 normal. The last three months of 2013 were also below normal with December .80 compared to a 2.93 normal, November 1.95 compared to 2.55 and October .43 compared to 1.20.

September was the last plus month with 1.85 in measured precipitation compared to a .73 normal.

JEEP ROLL ON 26

Bryan Allen, Puyallup, was unhurt Sunday morning when he lost control of a 2001 Jeep Cherokee on Highway 26 about five and one half miles west of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Allen was driving westbound at 8:15 a.m. on the highway which was covered with snow and slush. The Jeep went off the roadway to the right, rolled and came to a halt on its wheels.

Colfax ambulance and rescue trucks responded to the scene but did not transport the driver.

METH SAID NEAR POUND

An arrest of two Kennewick men Thursday, Feb. 20, in Clarkston by the Quad Cities Drug Task Force resulted in the confiscation of nearly a pound of methamphetamine, according to Sheriff Brett Myers, commander of the task force. He said officers also confiscated $9,000 in cash.

The arrest was the result of a year-long investigation. Detectives stopped a 2010 Toyota Prius driven by Jose Rivera at 7th and Elm in Clarkston after observing the two suspects exchange the meth. Also arrested was Rigoberto G. Sanchez. The report said officers located the $9,000 in the left inside pocket of the coat Sanchez was wearing. The two suspects were booked into the Asotin County jail and bond was set at $250,000 Friday for each suspect.

THREE HURT N. OF COLFAX

Three people were taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital Friday morning for treatment of injuries sustained in a two-car collision on Highway 195 4.29 miles north of Colfax.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, a 15-year-old Pullman girl lost control of a 2002 Toyota Camry while driving northbound at 9:23 a.m. and the car spun across a center turn lane and into the oncoming lane and collided with a 2007 Audi A4 driven by Diana L. Winkler, Spokane. Both drivers and Abullatif Arishi, Pullman, a passenger in the Camry, were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Driving conditions were reported as bare and dry.

AUBURN DRIVER UNHURT

William M. Nicewonger, Auburn, was unhurt at 5:35 a.m. Friday when he lost control of a 2005 Subaru Outback 1.81 miles south of Colfax and hit two vehicles which were parked in a driveway. They included a 1999 Ford Expedition and a 2010 Mitsubishi Galant.

COSMETIC HEIST AT COLFAX

An estimated $4,000 worth of Mary Kay cosmetics was reported missing Friday in an early morning break-in of a consultant’s vehicle which was parked overnight at the Best Western in Colfax. The cosmetics were in a Dodge Avenger. The rear window of the vehicle had been broken out to get access to the supplies, according to Colfax Officer Chris Olin.

TRAIN DISASTER TALE AT LIBRARY

A program on the Wellington train disaster in the Cascade Mountains on March 1, 1910, will be presented by Jim Martine, Bainbridge Island, at the Whitman County Library at 3:30 p.m., Saturday, March 1. The program is sponsored by the Guy-Albion Historical Society in conjunction with the Whitman County Historical Society.

The Wellington disaster, in which stalled trains were hit by avalanches in the Cascades, was a result of the enormous amount of snowfall in the winter of 1910. Wellington was the railroad station at the top of Stevens Pass.

Ed Garretson of Uniontown will talk on how the runoff from the same winter impacted Whitman County when the 1910 flood hit Colfax.

TAZER USED IN Colfax ARREST

Glenn L. Windham, 32, Colfax, was booked into jail Wednesday night, Feb.19, after he was arrested at Paul’s Place on S. Mill in Colfax where he had resided for a short time. The arrest report said Windham had become upset with staff members at Paul’s Place and allegedly had made threats to kill them.

The officer’s report said efforts were made to calm Windham, but he began to resist when attempts were made to put handcuffs on him. A tazer gun was deployed to control him and take him to the jail where he was booked into custody at 8:44 p.m.

RESTITUTION TO GUILD FUND

A motion to release the restitution sum paid into the court in the Emily Kirk case was filed last week in superior court by Assistant U.S. Attorney General Scott Marlow. The sum of $13,910 which was paid into the court will be released to the Whitcom 911 Employees Guild.

Kirk, 31, Pullman, was sentenced to two months in jail Dec. 13 after she pleaded guilty Sept. 6 to charges of theft and forgery. She was allowed to work off half of the sentence with 240 hours of community service and ordered to begin the remainder of the sentence Jan. 3.

Marlow was assigned to prosecute because of the 911 Guild’s link to police services in the county.

SHRINERS SELL PROGRAMS

Whitman County Shriners again sold programs as a fund raiser for the basketball tournaments in Colfax, Dayton and Waitsburg. The county club worked in conjunction with the Pomeroy and Blue Mountain Shriners on the project.

Last year, revenue from advertising and program sales enabled the Shriners to contribute $20,000 to the Spokane Shriners Children’s Hospital.

Jim Berdal of Colfax is head of the Shriners club, and Ron Wachter of Pullman headed up the basketball committee.

The Shriners Hospital in Spokane is one of 22 which specialize in orthopedic and spinal surgery and burn treatment.

The Shriners book provides photos and listing of teams in the District 9 1B and 2B leagues.

CITY EYES POT MORATORIUM

Colfax city council Feb. 18 called for a draft to be prepared for a moratorium on retail sales of marijuana in town under the state’s new law legalizing recreational use. Colfax has obtained copies of the moratorium which was approved earlier by the Pullman city council, and the Colfax draft is expected to be modeled after the Pullman version.

The moratorium, which is scheduled to be prepared for the next council session March 3, is expected to be for a six month period.

Since Pullman passed its moratorium, the state attorney general Bob Ferguson issued an opinion that towns and other local entities have the option of banning sales of marijuana in their local jurisdictions.

CITY APPLICANT DECLINES

The top applicant for the Colfax City administrator’s job has decided not to accept the city’s employment offer, Mayor Todd Vanek reported at the Feb. 18 city council session. Michael Patterson, who was reported to still be undecided two weeks ago, subsequently opted not to take the offer.

Mayor Vanek at the Feb. 3 council session said he planned to get a yes or no decision in the coming days after reporting the hiring process was still in limbo.

Patterson’s decline puts the city back to the start of the hiring process because two other top applicants have also withdrawn.

Patterson, who is the city administrator at Florence, Colo., had considered moving here to take the administrator post which has been vacated by Carl Thompson who has returned to the fire department. Patterson made an interview visit to Colfax Dec. 19. He was raised in Spokane and said his family was interested in moving here to get back to this area.

A request to increase the pay for the post was rejected at the Jan. 7 city council meeting after members of the council said they would like to see the city stick with the pay level which was listed when the position was advertised.

That decision left the monthly pay for the position at $6,309. Vanek at the time said that would be third from the bottom for city administrator pay in towns in the Colfax size range around the state.

DRUG ARREST

AT COLFAX

A $10,000 bond for pre-trail release was set for Kenneth M. Huckaby, 32, Colfax, after he was arrested in Colfax Feb. 14. Huckaby was originally arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended driver’s license, but a formal charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver was filed against him Tuesday, Feb. 18, in Whitman County Superior Court.

The deputy’s arrest report said Huckaby was arrested at Cougar Foodmart in Colfax after a green Mazda he had been known to drive was spotted parked outside the building. The report said deputies knew Huckaby’s license had been suspended, and he eventually confessed to driving the Mazda to Cougar Foodmart to get fuel.

The report said Huckaby was a suspected dealer of methamphetamine, and they obtained a warrant to search the Mazda where they allegedly found methamphetamine. The report said deputies also conducted a warrant search of the mobile home on Clay Street where Huckaby had been residing but did not find any evidence.

Colfax DRIVER ROLLS PICKUP

Robert W. Douglass, Colfax, was unhurt early Feb 18 when he lost control of a 2005 Ford 150 pickup truck in the S curves area about 1.7 miles south of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Douglass was driving northbound at 1:40 a.m. and lost control on the icy highway. The truck went off the north side of the highway and rolled on its side. A Colfax ambulance crew responded to the scene, but Douglass was not transported.

BLOOD DRIVE AT HIGH SCHOOL

The Inland Northwest Blood Center has scheduled a stop at the Colfax High School Monday, March 3, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Residents are encouraged to donate blood. For more information contact http://www.inbcsaves.org.