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.

CITY SURPLUSES HARLEY

After a lengthy discussion, Colfax City Council members Monday night voted to declare the city’s three-wheel Harley Davidson motorcycle surplus and proceed with a sale. The council voted 6-1 to approve the surplus motion with Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen voting no.

Although it wasn’t part of the motion, actual sale of the motorcycle appears to hinge on whether or not a group of local residents can come up with an offer to purchase the motorcycle and take custody of it.

Chief Rick McNannay earlier reported that he had received a firm $12,500 offer from a collector at Hauser Lake, Idaho. He said the would-be buyer vowed to bring the motorcycle back to Colfax for parades after he restored it.

McNannay later in the debate said he would like to see some type of local group make an offer and take custody of it.

Councilwoman Jeannette Solimine, who ascertained that the local purchase option was not part of the motion to surplus the machine, asked McNannay to confirm that he would consider action by a group of local purchasers. McNannay vowed to delay any sale of the motorcycle until March 30, two weeks from Monday night’s meeting.

Mayor Todd Vanek pointed out that there has not been firm determination of the value on the machine. At the last council session, McNannay told the council he had advertised the motorcycle on Craig’s List to get an idea of the value. The cycle was listed at $7,000 and went to $8,500 before it was withdrawn from the list.

Ralph Walter, a former Colfax fire chief, Monday night presented a petition for the city to keep the machine, which he said was signed by 139 residents. Walter at the last session presented a petition signed by 42 residents.

McNannay has asked to sell the antique motorcycle as a means of raising funds to purchase another patrol car to update the department’s fleet.

McNannay at the previous meeting had asked the council to surplus the Harley three-wheeler, 2004 and 2003 Ford Crown Victorias to put them up for sale and use the proceeds to purchase another 2013 Ford Interceptor.

Monday night a surplus motion for the two Fords was made separately and approved by the council before debate on the Harley three-wheeler.

Former Police Chief Barney Buckley, who restored the Harley when the department was headed by Chief Roland Watts, again urged the council not to sell the vintage cycle. Buckley also read a letter from Steve Watts, son of the late Chief Watts, who urged the city to keep the machine but also pledged $1,000 toward its purchase by a local group.

PROTECTIVE CUSTODY

A 76-year-old Cheney man was taken into protective custody Sunday night after he was stopped on Main Street in front of the DSHS office at about 7:45 p.m. The man had been driving a pickup truck southbound on Main Street and witnesses saw him swerving and driving in the northbound lanes of traffic.

The report said the driver had trouble responding to questions and wasn’t sure about his whereabouts. He was taken to Whitman Hospital for examination and later transferred to Pullman Regional Hospital.

SUSPECT JAILED

AFTER PLEA

An April 17 sentencing was set for Alex Jeung, Woodinville, after he pleaded guilty in superior court Friday to an amended charge of attempted indecent liberties. Jeung’s pre-trial release was revoked after the arraignment and he was remanded to custody of the jail to await sentencing.

Jeung faces a sentencing range of between 11.25 and 15 months in the state prison system under the state’s standard range sentencing act.

A pre-sentence investigation report will be presented at the April 17 sentencing.

Jeung was initially charged with attempted second-degree rape and the charge was amended in plea bargain negotiations.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy told the court the charge dates back to Jan. 10, 2013, when officers responded to a report that a female had been pushed to the ground at a parking lot on the 300 block of NW Maple in Pullman. Jeung was stopped by an officer approximately a block from the reported location.

Tracy said the victim, who had been talking with her boyfriend on a cell phone, had noticed the suspect following her before he pushed her down. She yelled and the suspect fled the scene. The report said a witness saw Jeung leaving the parking lot.

After his initial arrest, he was allowed release on a $50,000 bail posted by his parents and placed under the supervision of his mother at an off-campus apartment.

Endicott LEVIES ON BALLOT

Endicott School District last week filed ballot requests for a six-year special levy to finance improvements for efficiency, safety and health for the school building. Friday was the deadline day for districts to file proposals which will be on the April 28 special election ballot.

The Endicott proposal calls for installing new roofs and upgrading heating, ventilation, air conditioning and lighting.

The levy rate was estimated at $2.65 per $1,000 of assessed valuation with the anticipated revenue ranging from $264,000 to $277,500 over the six year span starting in 2016.

Endicott Park and Recreation District will seek approval of a $45,000 levy for operation of the swimming pool. Estimated rate of the levy is 46 cents per $1,000 of appraised value in the district.

FIGHT ON CLAY STREET

Colfax police responded at 2:20 p.m. March 12 to a report of two males fighting in front of a residence on Clay Street. Both participants in the fight were injured and had to be transported in ambulances to the hospital.

One man sustained an injured knee, and the other man sustained a possible broken ankle.

By the time officers arrived, the fight had ended and one of the participants was located at Rosauers.

Investigation of the fight is still underway.

QUARTERLY REGIONAL BREAKFAST

Whitman County Commissioners will host a public quarterly area breakfast April 1 at 7:30 a.m. at Events on Main. The regional breakfasts are hosted around the area by officials from Whitman and Latah counties, Pullman and Moscow and the two universities.

Topic will be recycling and solid waste in Whitman County. Public Works Director Mark Storey will moderate.

Breakfast will be $10 and reservations should be made by March 25 to maribethb@co.whitman.wa.us

JAILED AFTER PORN PLEA

Andre DeJesus, 26, Pullman, was remanded to custody of the jail Friday morning in Whitman County Superior Court after he pleaded guilty to a charge of being in possession of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. His sentencing date was scheduled for April 17.

Washington law requires suspects who plead guilty to a sex offense to be sent to jail and a pre-sentence investigation to be conducted. DeJesus’ pre-trial release was revoked after he entered his plea.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Le Beau told the court a search warrant was served on the defendant’s residence in Pullman March 8, 2012, and Homeland Security agents confiscated 17 video files with child pornography.

Le Beau said prosecution of the three-year-old case was delayed until the agents requested state prosecutors to file the case in superior court here.

Under the state’s standard range, DeJesus faces a possible sentence of three to nine months.

AG DEPUTY

SECRETARY VISITS McCOY

Alexis Taylor, USDA Deputy Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, toured the McCoy Loader facility south of Rosalia March 11. McCoy is operated by Co-Ag of Rosalia and Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative out of Colfax. Between them, the two cooperatives have 1,100 grower members, according to a USDA report announcing the visit.

Taylor was slated to discuss export market developments affecting area agriculture and ag businesses. According to the advance notice of the visit, Washington State’s ag exports reached an estimated value of $4.5 million in 2013.

McCoy has the capacity to load out 110-car grain trains for shipment to the BNSF main line at Marshall.

ALLEGE FIVE POUNDS OF MARIJUANA

Marcus D. Ulloth, 19, Pullman, was booked into jail here early March 11 after a sheriff’s investigation which allegedly led to discovery of more than five pounds of marijuana in an apartment at Pullman. Deputies allege they also were allowed access to telephone records at the apartment which indicated as many as 20 contacts had been logged with the suspect in relation to purchases of marijuana.

According to the arrest report, Ulloth was stopped March 10 at 11:20 p.m. by a deputy who observed a car at Steptoe driving southbound on Highway 195 at 70 miles per hour. The deputy’s report said he detected a strong odor of marijuana coming out of the interior of the car after he made the stop.

After initial denials of possession, Ulloth, the driver, handed over a baggie of marijuana, the report said. The suspect allowed a search of the vehicle and deputies discovered other evidence of marijuana possession.

The report said Ulloth, when asked, told them he had possibly five pounds of marijuana at his residence in Pullman. Deputies went to Ulloth’s apartment on Westwood Drive where the suspect allegedly showed them five gallon buckets, each containing multiple plastic baggies containing marijuana.

The total weight of the marijuana was 5.62 pounds, the arrest report said.

The report said Ulloth also allowed the deputies to review the telephone recordings which they said indicated evidence of arrangements for sales.

During the initial arrest at Steptoe, deputies ascertained that neither Ulloth nor an unidentified passenger in the car were medical marijuana patients.

ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS

The Palouse Knowledge Corridor is seeking nominations for Entrepreneur of the Palouse Awards which will be presented at a Entrepreneur Bootcamp Banquet June 16 in Moscow. Three $1,000 awards will be given to three individuals or businesses that have had an impact on growth and commerce on the Palouse.

The program is sponsored by the University of Idaho College of Business and Economics master of business administration program.

Awards will be presented in business, rising star and nonprofit categories. Requirements for the business award include being on the Palouse for at least five years, growth which has impacted the region and strong community engagement.

Nominees for the nonprofit also are required to have been here for five years.

Marie Dymkoski, executive director of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, and Robin Ohlgren, county director of the SE Washington Economic Development Association, are co-chairs of the Palouse Knowledge Corridor.

Deadline for nominations is April 1. Applications can be obtained on line:

http://www.pkcecamp.com

SEXUAL

PREDATOR

HEARING

An April 7 hearing has been scheduled in Whitman County Superior Court for James Moseley who has been brought here from the Washington State Penitentiary where he has been serving a sentence for a Jan. 20, 2000, conviction on three counts of child rape.

The hearing has been set to determine whether or not Moseley should be classified as a sexually violent offender and subject to civil commitment. A petition to commit Moseley has been filed by the Washington State Attorney General.

Moseley was brought to the jail here last March 6 from Walla Walla. He had originally been scheduled for the hearing last week but has waived his right under the state’s 72-hour probable cause rule for the April 7 date.

The state’s petition for civil commitment will be contested by Moseley. One of the relatives writing to the court pointed out Moseley had been in jail for 16 years and undergone sexual offender training while he was incarcerated.

Under Washington state law, inmates determined to be sexually violent offenders are held under civil commitment.

TWO HURT

NEAR FAIRFIELD

Two county residents were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane early Sunday morning from the scene of a rollover accident on Highway 27 four miles south of Fairfield. The Washington State Patrol memo on the accident said the driver of the wrecked 2002 Ford Explorer was unknown at the time of the Sunday report.

Injured were John A. Varney, 26, Farmington, and Anthony McBride, 24, Tekoa.

The report said the Explorer was southbound at mile marker 60 on Highway 27 when the driver failed to negotiate a curve to the right. The Explorer went off the highway to the left, struck a bank, then rotated and spun back across the road. Both of the injured occupants were found in the Explorer.

WINE AND

BEER DATE

Colfax Chamber of Commerce has slated its 15th annual wine and micro beer tasting and auction for April 24 at Hill-Ray Plaza from 6 to 9 p.m. The event is the major fund raiser for the chamber.

Hors d’oeuvres will be served and a silent and live auction will be featured during the evening. C.D. (Butch) Booker will be auctioneer. Chamber members and others are encouraged to donate items for the auction. Also, sponsorships, which will be listed in the program for the event, are available for $25.

Tickets can be purchased at the Chamber office or online at colfaxchamber.org for $20 or for $25 at the door.