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.

LEWISTON MAN DIES IN CRASH

A one-car accident Saturday night on Highway 26 near Hooper took the life of a Lewiston resident, Brian M. Johnson, 43. He was a passenger in a 2003 Dodge Caravan which was being driven by his 15-year-old daughter.

Ashley Johnson, 18, one of three other members of the Johnson family who was in the van, sustained possible back injuries when she was ejected from the van. She was taken to Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane.

The driver was taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital.

Also in the car were Dena Johnson, 43, wife of the deceased, and a 10-year-old daughter. Both were unhurt.

The accident was investigated by a Washington State Patrol Trooper from the Adams County detachment out of Ritzville.

According to the report, the 15-year-old was driving eastbound on Highway 26 at about 9 p.m. Saturday and swerved to avoid a deer on the highway. The van rolled several times before coming to a halt on the eastbound shoulder facing west.

Mr. Thompson had been sitting in the front passenger seat. He was pronounced deceased at Sacred Heart.

The accident scene was near mile marker 89 which is located near the intersection of the western Hooper Road intersection.

Ambulance crews from LaCrosse, Washtucna and Colfax responded to the scene.

LOCKDOWN

FOR INMATE

Jail inmate Jonathan M. Morris, 33, Moscow, was ordered placed on lock-down status for the balance of his sentence, 68 days, after a jail misconduct hearing Friday. According to the report, Morris continues to lose his temper and each outbreak has been worse than the previous episode.

Morris was sentenced to eight months in jail June 18 after he was removed from drug court at an earlier hearing.

The drug court removal followed several violations of the program which provides for participants to undergo drug supervision and counseling in lieu of a conviction. Morris had been found guilty of numerous violations of drug court rules before he was removed from the program. A removal leads to automatic conviction on the original charges.

Morris was convicted of breaking into the Pullman Grange Supply, now Four Star, Feb. 15, 2012, and taking cash from the manager’s office.

The Aug. 1 jail hearing also resulted in the loss of 14 days of good time credit.

CITY DROPS PBAC VOTE

Colfax has dropped its membership in the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee, a group which was formed to monitor water use in the Pullman and Moscow areas. The annual membership in PBAC cost $5,000.

PBAC monitors the decline of the water table in the Moscow-Pullman area and promotes conservation measures to offset the loss which normally ranges about a foot per year.

Colfax has not sustained a loss in its water table and that has led to conjecture that the aquifer source for Colfax differs from the one that serves the Pullman-Moscow area. The Wanapum and Grande Rhonde aquifers serve this area. The artesian wells at Glenwood are supplied via a geologic fault.

City Attorney Bruce Ensley suggested the city continue to send a representative to PBAC sessions to keep in touch with projects which could be in the works. Although PBAC is an advisory group that does not have power to enact policy, it is considered a regional “stakeholder” group by the state Department of Ecology and other agencies which deal with water issues, Ensley said.

KNOX BOX

STATUS CHECK

An update on keys which are contained in lock boxes for emergency access in buildings in the area is planned by Fire Chief Clark Capwell. The update check for the keys, contained in what is known as a Knox Box, will be done in the wake of Friday evening’s fire alarm at Jennings Elementary School in Colfax.

An automatic alarm system, triggered by smoke in a janitor’s closet, sent fire crews to the school building where they discovered the Knox Box key for entering the building did not work because of a recent changeover in locks at the school.

At the time, the fire crews did not know what was causing the alarm and elected not to break through the doors to determine the cause of the alarm. They were later provided with the proper key.

Mayor Todd Vanek told city council members Monday night Chief Capwell plans to check all similar locations to make sure the keys stored at each site will actually work in the door they are supposed to open.

TWO CAR PROWLS

Colfax Police investigated two car prowl cases which were reported in the area of the Jennings Elementary Saturday during the all-league swimming meet. Windows of both vehicles, which were locked, were broken and purses and other personal items were removed from the cars.

The two cars were parked on the road which runs along the front of the school in a spot about even with the south end of the building. The cars were a 2012 Ford Expedition and a 2012 Honda van.

Three youths were observed in the area at about the time of prowls which were reported at about 11:15 a.m.

One of the missing purses contained a large amount of cash, according to the police report.

STOLEN JEEP FOUND

A 2003 Jeep Liberty, which was reported stolen July 31 from the parking lot at Rosauers, was reported found Saturday along Interstate 90 near Cle Elem. The Jeep was found abandoned.

The driver of the Jeep told officers she had misplaced her keys, possibly while in the store, and when she went out to the lot the Jeep was missing.

Colfax COVER GIRL

A picture of Kari Hatley Kozma, a member of the 2003 class of Colfax High School, appears on the cover of “Private Berlin” the new novel by mystery writer James Patterson. Hatley is the daughter of Craig and Vicki Hatley of Colfax.

The illustration on “Private Berlin” derives from a modeling assignment she did while she was working for a production company in Hollywood.

She and her husband, Brett Kozma, now reside in Calabasas, Calif. He is an aerospace engineer with Northrop-Grumman.

RAVENHEART ARREST-ASSAULT REPORT

Jessica Ravenheart, 49, Pullman, was allowed release on her own recognizance Friday morning after she was arrested in Pullman on charges of assault and obstructing an officer. According to the arrest report, Ravenheart actually struck her alleged victim, a 62-year old man, in the presence of the Pullman officers who had arrived at the scene.

The report said officers responded to a report of an argument in the 500 block of SE South Street. When they arrived at the scene the 62-year-old male was observed leaving the residence with blood on his face.

The officers asked both the male and the suspect to raise their hands, and while the male was walking toward the officers the suspect punched him from the side, the report said.

The report said Ravenheart then turned around and attempted to go back into the residence. One officer deployed a tazer gun to detain her.

The report said Ravenheart admitted she had struck the victim earlier with a crucifix.

The victim, who had an injury around his eye, appeared in court Friday and asked for Ravenheart to be released to return to the residence. He said he didn’t fear Ravenheart.

DEER CAUSES ROLLOVER

Winfred W. Githuku, Pullman, was taken by ambulance to Pullman Memorial Hospital Sunday for a checkup after the car she was driving nearly collided with a deer along Highway 195 about five miles south of Colton.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving a 2011 Dodge Nitro northbound at 5:45 a.m. when she observed a deer crossing the highway and applied the brakes. The car slid out of control, went down the embankment to the right and rolled before coming to a stop on its wheels.

SEEK BOHLMANN EXAM

A motion to appoint a psychologist for Rance Michael Bohlmann of Colfax was filed July 25 in superior court. Bohlmann faces three charges of assault after his arrest in Colfax for allegedly threatening residents with a pistol in the Morton Street area.

In the motion for appointing the psychologist at public expense, Defense Attorney Steve Martonick said a determination of Bohlmann’s mental condition could be crucial for the defense.

Bohlmann was arrested June 25 at his residence after officers from three different agencies responded to the scene.

Neighbors reported earlier in the day he had been yelling outside of his residence, driving erratically and then threatening people with a pistol.

Bail for Bohlmann’s release was set at $500,000, and he remains in jail. After his arrest police confiscated 92 guns from his residence.

Bohlmann pleaded not guilty to the three assault charges July 11 and he has been scheduled for an Aug. 18 trial.

TELEPHONE CLONE TACTIC

Colfax Chief Rick McNannay reported the department has received reports of a new telephone “clone” tactic now being used by suspected telephone scammers. The tactic has been reported by residents with caller identification, the service which provides a display of the telephone number of the person making a call.

They have reported receiving calls which show a local, known number. When the residents pick up the phone the person on the line is not connected with the local number shown on the identification screen.

The chief said the callers begin an approach aimed at getting personal financial information. They have somehow figured out a way to make a call which will show a local caller ID number with the intent of somehow gaining the trust of the recipient.

JUVENILE BACK ON NEW CHARGE

The 16-year-old boy who has been charged with burglarizing the Whitman County Humane Society at Pullman July 10 was returned to jail July 30 on a new charge of trespassing in the first degree. He was also ordered taken into custody for violating conditions of his earlier release in the humane society case.

According to the Pullman Police report, the juvenile is the male who accompanied two juvenile girls to a Pullman residence July 27. Their presence was discovered later by the occupant of the residence and the result of the encounter led to charges of unlawful imprisonment against the occupant, Rahsad Winston.

In the police report on the case, Winston told officers the youth had lived at the residence for a few days but had been ordered to leave. He told officers he had told the youth he could not reside there, and said there had been prior instances of entry by the youth.

Winston said he believed he had left his door locked when he left the residence, but he did leave the window open for ventilation because of the day’s heat.

Winston has been charged with threatening to keep the two juvenile girls, who went to the apartment with the male, at the residence while the male juvenile went out and returned with $100 to keep Winston from reporting the alleged trespass to the police.

In addition to the alleged trespass at the apartment, the youth is charged with breaking into the humane society and letting cats loose from their section of the building. The police report said he was later found in custody of one of the cats.

Winston Friday morning pleaded not guilty in Superior Court to two charges of unlawful imprisonment. He was scheduled for a trial Oct. 14.

CARNIVAL RATES INCREASE

Sales of carnival tickets for the Palouse Empire Fair began Friday. The price of the tickets increased to $18 for an advanced all-day ticket. Once the fair gets underway Sept. 4, the cost of a single-day ticket on the grounds will be $23.

Price of the tickets for several years was $15 for advance and $18 for the day. The sale of advance tickets started Friday at the Four Star Supply stores in Colfax and Pullman.

Fair premium books are also now available. The books are available at the fair office, library, banks and other businesses.

The six Miss Palouse Empire Fair candidates are now selling fair entry wrist bands. The cost of the bands includes $5 for single and $15 for families.

http://www.palouseempirefair.org

‘STUFF THE BUS’ STARTS

The annual “Stuff the Bus” drive to provide school supplies for youngsters in Colfax, Colton-Uniontown, Pullman and Moscow had an early start Saturday when 20 volunteers assembled 396 packs with school supplies at the Gladish gym in Pullman.

The actual Stuff the Bus drive will be Aug. 14-16 at the four locations. With donations of school supplies, fund organizers aim to assemble 400 more school packs before the start of school. Total estimated value of supplies to be derived from the drive is $30,000.

Last year Stuff the Bus contributed supplies for more than 500 students. The drive is done by a collaboration of Kiwanis Clubs in Pullman and Moscow, Pullman Child Welfare and school districts in the four towns.

The bus for Colfax Stuff the Bus will be located in the parking lot at Rosauers. Donations of school supplies can be left at the bus Aug. 14 from 1 to 5 p.m .; Aug. 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WINE REPORT

AT PARK

Colfax Chief Rick McNannay has filed reports with the juvenile department after responding to a call July 29 from Schmuck Park. The call started with a report that four juvenile males were seen exiting the women’s restroom at the north end of the park. One of the youths was reportedly seen tossing a wine bottle into shrubbery near the restroom.

McNannay said an investigation indicated one of the sinks in the restroom was broken off the wall. One of the youths admitted he had sat on the sink and caused it to pull off the wall. The broken sink did not result in flooding of the restroom.

The juveniles admitted drinking the wine, the chief said.