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.

FAIR GETS OVIC DONATION

The Palouse Empire Fair Association received a $2,354 donation from the Organization to Void Illegal Conduct. The donation was officially accepted at the association’s annual meeting which preceded the regular fair board meeting Monday night at the Public Service Building.

The sum was the remaining money left in the group’s fund after the finish of their suit against the county and Hawkins Co. to stop the extension of the county’s agreement to fund infrastructure work at the proposed shopping mall site on the Pullman-Moscow Highway on the Washington side of the state line. The OVIC challenge ended earlier in the year when time ran out on the extended agreement for the Hawkins project.

The donors requested the funds be used for improvements on the grounds.

DRUG OFFENDER

SENTENCE

Gary S. Walter, 48, Spokane, was allowed a Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative Friday in superior court. Walter was ordered to undergo a drug offender evaluation Oct. 8 after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of stolen property Oct. 3.

He was ordered Friday to report to the in-patient drug rehab center in Spokane Valley.

Walter had an offender score of six for past convictions dating back to 1987. He faced a sentence of 17-22 months under the state’s standard sentencing range if he had not qualified for the DOSA alternative.

Walter was arrested by Pullman Police July 8 after he was observed driving the wrong way on the one-way portion of NE Maiden Lane in Pullman at 9:11 p.m. He was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Venture which had been reported stolen from in front of Palouse Treasures on Nye Street at 6 p.m. that evening.

FAIR COUNT AT 24,791

Attendance at the Palouse Empire Fair was officially set at 24,791 for this year, Bob Reynolds, fair manager, reported to the fair board Monday night. Reynolds said the attendance figure, which is factored into compiling fees paid by food vendors, was an increase over the tally from the last two years.

Reynolds said the fair exceeded 4,000 entries, and that figure is expected to top 4,500 with the addition of some misplaced entry forms.

Checks for premium points are expected to hit the mail after the final computations are done. Reynolds said the fair premium pay is expected to be in the nine to 10 cents range per point. The premiums will come out of a $21,000 budgeted fund.

Reynolds asked the fair board to consider a $1 hike in daily and four-day admission fees and a $5 bump in the camping fee for the four-day run of the fair.

The fair board did approve a new flat fee system for storage which will be $45 per month for trailers and boats 21 feet and over. The rate for vehicles and boats up to 20 feet will be $35. Action on the storage rate proposal was taken last night because the fair is going into its storage season mode.

IN-PATIENT

TREATMENT

Michael Bretienberg, 28, who was jailed this last July after police responded to harassment reports from Paul’s Place, will be moved to an in-patient facility from the jail. Breitenberg was allowed to be released to his father this week if arrangements can be made to house him at an in-patient facility.

Bretienberg was first arrested July 11 after he allegedly made threats against a staff member at Paul’s Place when he became upset about restrictions on purchasing cigarettes. He was allowed pre-trial release and returned to Paul’s Place where he was arrested again on another violation.

SENTENCING SET

FOR W. LANDER

Walter Lander, 44, Colfax, pleaded guilty to a charge of residential burglary Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. He has been scheduled for sentencing Friday, Oct. 31.

Lander admitted the burglary as part of a plea bargain agreement in which the prosecutor’s office agreed to drop other pending charges. According to papers filed with arraignment, Lander faces a sentencing range of 63 to 84 months in prison.

The report said he will have an offender score of 13 with nine prior convictions in King County. Whitman County cases include two drug convictions and one forgery conviction.

The burglary case relates to a June 29 break-in of a residence on Glenwood Road east of Colfax.

According to the investigation report filed with the charge, the victims of the burglary discovered golf clubs, one of the items which had been taken from the house, were subsequently advertised on Craig’s List. Deputies traced the telephone number on the “ask for Joe” listing in the advertisement to Lander.

The plea bargain agreement calls for Lander to reimburse the victims for a $510 loss from the burglary.

VAN HITS

JUNCTION BOX

Evan Brandal, Spokane, sustained possible back injuries late Wednesday, Oct. 22, when the 2003 International van he was driving went off Highway 195 three miles south of Colfax.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, he was driving northbound at 11 p.m. when the van went onto the gravel shoulder of the highway and down into a field where it struck an Avista junction box.

ARISHI SAID OUT

OF COUNTRY

Abdullatif Arishi, a suspect in a child luring arrest in Pullman last September, has reportedly left the country, according a declaration filed in superior court last week in relation to a civil petition dealing with Arishi’s banishment from Washington State University. The declaration was from Adam Jussel, director of the WSU office of Student Standards and Accountability.

A warrant for Arishi’s arrest was issued after a charge of child luring was filed Sept. 17 in superior court. The charge alleges Arishi handed a juvenile girl a note with his phone number on it while she was dining in a Pullman restaurant. The girl’s mother, who was in the restroom at the time of the alleged note passing, confronted the suspect.

Jussel’s declaration this week reported Arishi was a doctorate student in education at WSU before he was banished from the university. His declaration was filed in response to a petition filed by Arishi for a review of the university’s decision to ban him from the campus for alleged sexual violations of the student conduct board.

The conduct board’s May 23 ruling banished Arishi from the WSU campus. The board’s action was upheld by the university’s appeals board.

In his petition for court review, Arishi contended the banishment was unlawful and exceeded the limits of authority of the student conduct board.

Jussel’s declaration said the board took the action after learning allegations of Arishi’s sexual conduct with a 15-year-old girl.

Prior to being banished from the university, Arishi was issued a trespass order May 6.

Jussel noted the banishment was done last May before the summer months when WSU has an influx of juveniles on the campus. Among events listed was the annual stated FFA convention which follows the close of the spring term at Pullman. It also noted some first year students on campus are juveniles.

The banishment was related to an earlier charge involving a 15-year-old girl that Arishi allegedly met in an internet chat room. The parents became aware of the girl’s relationship with Arishi when they learned she was driving the suspect’s car in an accident on Highway 195 near Pape´ Machinery.

The state dropped prosecution on that case Aug. 22 when prosecutors informed the court they had no way of disproving Arishi’s belief that the girl was an adult.

PULLMAN WOMAN

FACES CHARGES

Four charges were filed Wednesday, Oct. 22, against Tara Lynn Line, Pullman resident who was arrested on a charge of violating a district court protection order in an harassment case. Line was charged with one count of felony harassment and three charges involving the protection order.

The case involves alleged action taken against a neighbor who resides across the street from Line on NW Clay Street in Pullman. The harassment charge alleges she made threats to kill. The other charges in superior court allege violations of the order issued by district court. Two alleged violations were done Oct. 13. The police report said video recordings of Line’s conduct, which were captured by surveillance cameras installed by the neighbor, have been reviewed by police.

GIANT TANK BOGS DOWN

A giant tank which was being moved to Lewiston bogged down early last Wednesday morning, Oct. 22, when the moving crew attempted to turn right onto the Almota Road from Sommers Road south of Colfax. The trailer rig measured 180 x 16 feet and weighed over 200 tons.

The moving crew had turned onto Sommers Road from Highway 26 at Twin Bridges with the aim of bypassing downtown Colfax. Their permit limited them to moving during the night to reduce the chance of traffic congestion. The crew was being escorted by the Washington State Patrol.

According to the report in the sheriff’s office, the mega load bogged down shortly before 2 a.m. when they attempted to turn right onto the Almota Road. It said when the truck tractor attempted to back the stuck tank out, the trailer jammed.

Whitman County Public Works crews were called to the scene. The tank blocked Sommers Road and partially blocked Almota Road.

The trailer and its mega load were eventually parked in the gravel pit area on the opposite side of Almota Road. The sheriff’s deputy cleared the scene at about 10 a.m. A crew returned to work on the trailer and the move continued with the aim of taking Highway 194 east to the Highway 195 intersection and continuing down to Lewiston. The tank was scheduled to undergo refurbishing and then be transported to the oil fracking fields in North Dakota.

HAMMER TO HEAD PUBLIC WORKS

Matt Hammer, manager of the Colfax waste water treatment plant for the past 17 years, has been named Colfax Public Works director. Hammer is scheduled to begin the new assignment as interim director after Nov. 14 when Andy Rogers departs. Rogers’ official retirement date will be at the end of the year, but he is scheduled to depart Nov. 14 to clear vacation time credits.

Hammer was hired under a city policy which included an open posting of the job and interviews with other candidates, Mayor Todd Vanek told the city council Monday night.

Hammer is a member of the 1992 class at Colfax High School. He graduated from Spokane Community College and worked for the U.S. Forest Service and McGregor’s before being employed by the city. He and his wife, the former Shauna Dober, reside in Colfax with their two children.

DRUG CHARGE FILED

A charge of possession of methamphetamine and a summons to appear in court Nov. 14 were filed Oct. 22 in superior court against Ginnifer L. Murray, 44, Malden. The arrest report filed with the case said deputies Oct. 14 responded to a report from a neighbor who suspected drugs were being sold at a house in Malden. The neighbor reported people were coming and going at the residence at all times of the day.

The report said deputies went to the residence, talked with Murray, and after she admitted to using methamphetamine, applied for a search warrant for the house. The reports said pipes with powder residue, and two plastic bags, one with residue and one with a powder that tested positive for methamphetamine, were found during a warrant search of the house.

CITY GETS

SOCCER NETS

Two new soccer nets which were purchased by Colfax Youth Soccer were donated by the group to the city Oct. 20 by Councilman Tom Huntwork, who is president of the soccer organization.

The regulation size nets are constructed of aluminum tubing which can be disassembled for winter storage out of the weather. The tubing is also preferred by soccer officials for standard deflection of balls and for safety of players.

The aluminum framed nets replace angle iron frames which could not be stored during the winter.

Huntwork said the soccer nets were purchased using the organization’s funds which derive from player registration fees. The revenue is used each year to purchase balls and other equipment and insurance.