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.

Colfax SUSPECT FOUND DEAD

A Colfax resident who was the subject of a warrant search in an investigation involving alleged child pornography was found dead Friday on Snoqualmie Pass. He was identified as Gerald Murphy, 47, who resided on Park Street, according to a report from the sheriff’s office.

Deputies earlier Friday served a warrant on the residence and confiscated a computer alleged to be used in the case. The warrant to seize the computer was filed in district court here. Actual search of the computer would have required another warrant.

Murphy apparently departed his residence on Park Street and drove to the Snoqualmie Pass area where he was found dead with a gunshot wound believed to have been self-inflicted with a rifle.

RACE FLAGS HONOR CPL. CLOUSE

Flags at the St. John sprint boat races were lowered to half mast Saturday morning in tribute to Army Cpl. Justin Clouse of Sprague who died June 9 in southern Afghanistan. Clouse was a member of the Sprague High School class of 2010. His parents are Rob and Tina Clouse of Sprague.

Both the U.S. and Canadian flags are flown at Webb’s Slough. The Canadian flag is included in recognition of the number of race teams from Canada who participate in the races.

Rachell Anderson of Endicott sang “Oh Canada” to begin the flag ceremony, and the SJE High School choir sang “The Star Spangled Banner.”

A memorial service for Cpl. Clouse, 22, who was serving his second term of duty in Afghanistan, was conducted at Life Center Foursquare Church in Spokane Saturday. Graveside services were conducted at Riverside Memorial Park.

ADOPT-A-DUCK ENTRIES

Rubber ducks for the Colfax Concrete River Festival race will be on sale at Rosauers Thursday and Friday. Each duck in the race will be sold for $5. Sales are being done by Colfax Distinguished Young Women finalists and Chamber of Commerce members. Half of the proceeds from Adopt-A-Duck will go to Relay for Life.

The Duck Dash will be at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday of the festival, July 19. Owner of the first place duck will receive $250.

JUVENILE JAILED AFTER CHASE

A 15-year-old juvenile male was ordered held without bail Friday after he was booked into the jail on probable charges of taking a motor vehicle, reckless driving and eluding a deputy.

The deputy’s arrest report said he detected an oncoming vehicle traveling at 72 miles an hour on the Old Thornton Highway and turned around in pursuit.

The deputy said he drove at speeds of 100 to 110 until he entered Thornton and slowed his vehicle.

The driver came to a halt at his residence in Thornton, and the deputy said he learned from the youth’s parents that he did not have permission to drive the car and that he was already on probation for an earlier episode of driving the car without permission.

The report said two passengers were in the car.

OPERATION DRY WATER

Marine patrol boats around the state will participate in Operation Dry Water over the weekend. Officers will be on the lookout for people operating boats while under the influence. Whitman County Sheriff’s office operates a patrol boat on weekends during the summer season. This will be the sixth year for Operation Dry Water. .

CHANNEL JOB NEEDS PERMIT

Work of clearing rocks out of the flood channel for the South Fork of the Palouse River has been stopped until the city obtains a Hydraulic Project Permit from the state’s Department of Fish & Wildlife. June 18, a city grader began work in moving the rocks to the center of the channel for excavation.

Crew member Matt Hammer said they planned to meet with a state F & W official June 25 to start the permit process. They estimate the actual cleaning project will take about a week. They plan to grade the rocks and debris to the center of the channel and then excavate it.

Hammer said the state Department of Transportation has also agreed to help pay for the cleaning operation. The city requested assistance from the DOT because the rocks entered the channel from the ditch along the Palouse grade during flooding last winter. The rocks were believed to have been washed down from a site where the state DOT crews had removed a culvert which had been installed last fall.

At the June 16 city council meeting Mayor Todd Vanek said cost estimates to clear the channel was in the $19,000 to $20,000 range. The rocks were distributed in the channel downstream from the outlet of the big drain which goes under Main Street. Inlet for the drain is near the back of the Methodist Church next to the highway.

The city hopes to clear the channel in time for the second Concrete River Festival run down the channel from S. Main to Railroad Ave. The run has been scheduled for July 19.

The run route extends from S. Main to the service road out of the channel at Railroad Ave. Vanek also noted an Army Corps of Engineers inspection of the channel is approaching.

PULLMAN DRIVER HURT

Kyle M. Hart, Pullman, sustained cuts and abrasions June 19 in a one-car accident on Highway 271 two miles north of Oakesdale. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Hart was driving a 2007 Cadillac CTS northbound at 3:15 p.m. and failed to negotiate a curve to the left. The car drifted onto a gravel shoulder, crossed the highway and rolled several times into the ditch on the southbound side of the highway. It came to a halt on its wheels.

BOND SET

FOR LANDER

A $5,000 bond for pre-trial release was set Friday in superior court for Walter J. Lander, 44, Colfax, in a first appearance on probable charges of probation violation. Lander was arrested June 18 in Grays Harbor County. A warrant for his arrest was issued here May 28 for failing to report.

The warrant was issued under a series of five convictions here. One of the convictions involved the check washing case last year in which checks were removed from the mail and changed by altering the amounts and the names of the payees.

WORK TO START ON LOTS

Clearing and grading lots for the Riverpoint development project in north Colfax is scheduled to start this week, according to Scott Ackerman, developer of the project. Palouse River Rock will be contractor for the work which calls for preparation of eight lots for the Home Owners Association project. The project will also include a motor home site which can be used by guests of residents who live in the addition.

The project has been stalled while Ackerman and the city have tried to clear title to Railroad Ave. which was discovered to be railroad property. Access to the riverside lots is via Railroad Ave. on the west side of Main Street and has been used by residents of mobile homes which were previously located on the development site. The eight lots, which overlook the S. Fork of the Palouse River, will be sold to individual owners who will be required to comply with design conditions so houses in the development are compatible.

Mowing, sprinkler systems and snow removal will all be done through a home owners association which will be controlled by a board, Ackerman explained. He and the first three lot owners will make up the initial board.

CONCRETE

FESTIVAL PLANS

The Colfax Concrete River Festival committee met last night at Colfax Computer Services to advance plans for this year’s event which will be July 18-19. Members discussed getting the word out. A QR code box will be included on festival flyers which are slated to be distributed around town next week. Residents with smart phones can scan the QR code for fast access to the festival web site: concreteriverfestival.com. The QR addition was arranged by Shawn Burt of Colfax Computer Services.

Next meeting for the festival committee will be July 10 at 7 p.m. at the same location.

DRUG COURT OUSTER NETS JAIL

Jonathan Michael Morris, 33, Moscow resident who was convicted of breaking into what was then the Pullman Grange Supply, was sentenced to eight months in jail June 18 on charges of burglary and second-degree theft. Morris was sentenced after he was removed from the drug court program for failing to adhere to treatment requirements.

Under conditions of drug court, participants who fail to complete the program are required to serve the sentence which they initially faced after conviction.

In a third motion to remove him from the program, Assistant Prosecutor Daniel Le Beau referred the court to a discharge summary from Triumph Treatment Services which outlined the inability of Morris to comply with the program.

Morris during the time he was in the treatment program had urine tests which came back positive for drug use. The test results surfaced after he failed to tell counselors in treatment sessions that he had been using drugs.

Morris was convicted of breaking into the office of the Grange Supply in February of 2012 and taking more than $5,000 from the manager’s office. Estimated loss at the time of the investigation was between $7,037 and $11,037.

Morris became a suspect when he was reported to be knocking on doors of residents in the Grange Supply neighborhood. Pullman officers later discovered a Ford Thunderbird which Morris had been driving was stuck behind the supply buildings.

SWIM POOL

ASSISTANCE

Colfax Thrifty Grandmothers Club has again donated $1,000 to assist families with swim admission passes to the Colfax pool. The passes will be available through Community Action Center which has a representative at the Council on Aging office in Colfax each Thursday.

Residents can call the CAC office in Pullman to make an appointment for the Thursday visits here. The toll free number for the Pullman office is 1-800-482-3991.

HOSPITAL SEEKS COVERAGE

A need for increased security at Whitman Hospital could involve expanded coverage by the Colfax Police Department. Mayor Todd Vanek told city council members June 16 the city and hospital are attempting to work out an agreement.

He added more security needs at hospitals is a national trend, and more incidents have been reported here. Hospitals are required to provide a safe environment for their employees and for patients.

Vanek said the city is checking out alternative ways to extend police coverage, particularly in the early morning hours when many emergency room incidents take place.

He noted any change would still require the hospital to make emergency calls to Whitcom at 911 which provides a log of when calls are made and when officers respond.

Council members noted security concerns have also increased at schools and led to more calls for police response. The latest school incident here was apprehension of a high school student who had brought a pistol into the high school two weeks ago.

The mayor pointed out use of security officers at the hospital and school seemed to be less attractive because staff members at the two sites prefer to have a uniformed city officer with their power to arrest after responding to the scene.

The mayor noted the city is checking out the chances of adding police coverage this year when the city will be undergoing staff changes due to anticipated retirements.

UTV ORDINANCE QUESTIONS

City plans to install some type of ordinance allowing side-by-side Ultra Terrain Vehicles to be legally driven inside the city limits were delayed at the June 16 Colfax City Council session. City Attorney Bruce Ensley reported he and Police Chief Rick McNannay have been discussing the proposal, and a draft of the proposed ordinance could be completed by the end of the week.

Ensley said the key question for the council is how comprehensive they want the ordinance to be. He said under provisions of the state law, the larger side-by-side vehicles and the smaller all terrain vehicles can both be allowed to operate on city streets if they are licensed and have the required safety equipment.

The state has allowed licensed UTV/ATV vehicles to be driven on state roads with speed limits posted for 35 mph or below. The state has left it up to local councils to decide whether or not the vehicles can be driven inside their city limits.

Councilman Jim Kackman said when the topic came up at the previous council meeting he was considering an ordinance which would allow the larger side-by-side vehicles that are insured, licensed, fitted with lights and seatbelts.

Council members noted if they excluded the smaller ATV type vehicles that could leave private snow removal contractors out of what would be legally authorized in the city limits. Snow removal ATVs have been allowed to operate on an unofficial basis.

The city has been considering a golf cart ordinance for the North Flat section of town where some golfers use city streets to shuttle to the neighboring golf course.

CHILD RAPE

SENTENCE

Jordan Kemp, 19, former Colfax resident now living in Pullman was sentenced to 36 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to two charges of third degree child rape June 18 in superior court. However, Kemp was allowed to be sentenced under provisions of a Sexual Offender Alternative Sentence. Kemp was ordered to serve six months of the sentence in jail here and undergo supervision required in the SOSA program. The remainder of the three year sentence would be imposed if he fails to meet the requirements.

The charges involved having sex with a juvenile girl Aug. 1 and July 31 at Albion last year.

Kemp will be required to enroll in an offender treatment program. He will also be required to maintain employment and provide notice when he changes employment or residence. He will be prohibited from using controlled substances and marijuana and submit to urinalysis tests when required.

He was also ordered to pay fines and fees of $800 but allowed to work them off with community service. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.