Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
125 years ago
The Commoner
Oct. 23, 1891
Five years ago July 27, William Tretner earned the first money in what is now the town of Oakesdale, in a little wayside blacksmith shop located on the McCoy farm, says the Sun. Since them, Wm. Tretner has built up his business and extended his shops until he is now conducting an exceedingly prosperous and profitable establishment. A few days ago he sold a half interest to his old friend and former employer, and the proceeds will be used in still further enlargements of their business. It is Mr. Tretner's purpose to put in a small foundry and machine shop, to cost about $10,000, for which the machinery has already been purchased in Portland.
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Articles of incorporation were filed with the auditor this week by the “Colfax Mercantile Company.” The instrument specifies the above as the name of the new company, with the chief place of business at Colfax and the object to conduct a general mercantile business. There are three incorporators and directors, who are also the officers of the company: Frank M. Bowman, president; Lake D. Wolfard, vice-president; J. A. Webster, secretary. The capital stock of the company is $50,000.
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Articles of incorporation were filed with the auditor on the 20th, of the Farmers' and Traders' Bank, of Johnson. The object is to carry on a general banking business. The capital stock is placed at $30,000 in 300 shares. The business is to be conducted at Johnson by six trustees whose names are T. E. Bramel, C. F. Russel, C. W. Young and Jonathan Johnson, of this county; D. P. Thompson, of Oregon, and T. E. Johnson, of Ohio.
100 years ago
The Colfax Commoner
Oct. 27, 1916
The question of securing a heating plant for Colfax was taken up at the Commercial Club meeting Wednesday and a committee was appointed to investigate the feasibility of securing a plant of this kind for the city.
This subject was introduced by Judge Neill, who told the members of the Commercial Club that there was only one office building in Colfax that was heated by steam. The question in regard to the cost of installing a heating plant was discussed, and one of the members stated that a plant of the kind demanded by a city the size of Colfax would cost at least $5,000. Whether or not a heating plant would pay in a city the size of Colfax brought out considerable discussion, as some of the members stated that the plant could be used for the purpose of generating lights.
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The regents and faculty of the Washington State College are planning extensive work on all lines of engineering. The planning of farm buildings and farm grounds will be considered. It is planned to co-operate in all kinds of community work affecting farm management, including boys' and girls' club work.
In the field of civil engineering subjects under consideration for the new work include measurement of water, cost of pumping in irrigation, earth and gravel roads, sewage disposal in country homes and water supply, rural and municipal.
75 years ago
Oct. 31, 1941
Carbon Brothers, Spokane, bidding $36,751, the lowest of three bids opened by the county commissioners Saturday morning, was awarded a contract to reconstruct 2.7 miles of the Uniontown-Moscow road, the work to be similar to that recently performed on the Diamond sector of the Mockonema-Endicott road.
The project, including realignment and resurfacing, starts at Uniontown and extends northeast to the Carl Greif stock ranch. It is expected that the rock work will be done and a bridge constructed at the edge of Uniontown this year. The contract calls for completion of the job by July 1, next year.
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Colfax this week faced the prospect of curtailed mail service as word was received by C. M. Eager, local Union Pacific railway agent, of the discontinuation on Nov. 9 of the morning passenger train from Spokane to Pendleton and the evening train from Pendleton to Spokane.
Cessation of this service leaves Colfax with one mail train daily making connection with Spokane and coast-bound mail trains. The Moscow to Haas feeding reaches Colfax at 8:20 each evening, meeting the night mail to Portland at Ayer's junction, and, about an hour later, meets the Spokane-bound train. Mail for Moscow, Colfax and way points is taken from these trains, with the feeder reaching Colfax on the return trip at 7:30 in the morning.
Railway mail officials said adequate mail service would be given to all communities affected by the change. A star route to run between Colfax and Tekoa, serving Elberton, Garfield and Farmington, has been proposed, but local postal officials have received no word of just what adjustment will be made.
50 years ago
Colfax Gazette
Oct. 27, 1966
The Palouse country's best-known landmark, Steptoe Butte, will receive national recognition as a “Registered Natural Landmark” at a ceremony Sunday at 1 p.m. atop the butte, Charles H. Odegard, state parks chief, announced this week.
In a formal ceremony at the summit, Raymond C. Stickler, superintendent of Whitman Mission national historic site, will be representing the department of the interior when he presents a bronze plaque and certificate to Chairman Joe Hamel of the Washington State Parks and Recreation commission.
The plaque and certificate both proclaim that Steptoe Butte “is hereby designated a Registered Natural Landmark under the provisions of Historic Sites Act of Aug. 21, 1935. This site possesses exceptional value in illustrating the natural history of the United States of America.”
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The door at the West Whitman soil conservation district office in LaCrosse will close Friday to end the 20-year history of the office which served about 110 farm operators in the LaCrosse area, according to Gary Johnson, work unit conservationist at the office.
Closure of the office was announced at an Oct. 10 meeting of the West Whitman district's board of supervisors, according to Johnson. The official closing date on the office will be Nov. 5, but Johnson will start his move Friday.
Orlo Krauter, state conservationist, was present at the Oct. 10 meeting of supervisors and explained the LaCrosse office was being closed because of budget reasons. Johnson said about 100 offices of the soil conservation service are scheduled to cease operation due to a slice in the soil conservation service budget.
25 years ago
Colfax Gazette
Oct. 31, 1991
County commissioners asked Monday for an engineer's report on whether the county should vacate a portion of Pandora Road southeast of Rosalia to help launch a housing development.
The vacation is sought by Alice and Gerald Hoffman of Rosalia. If the county vacates the road it could go into the Rosalia boundaries and make the Hoffman site contiguous to the rest of the town.
The Hoffmans have proposed a 13-acre housing development southeast of Rosalia to be annexed into the town.
A 30-foot strip of land on the west side of the 13 acres is owned by the state parks and recreation commission, according to a preliminary report. That land consists of the east half of Summit Avenue and the right-of-way.
The 13 acres would have nine or 10 houses with lots of a little more than an acre each, according to Alice Hoffman.
“They will be real nice, something Rosalia can be proud of.”
They are waiting for the annexation to go through before starting the project, she explained.
She said Rosalia doesn't have any housing and many of their teachers must commute from Spokane.
“People have come here wanting to start businesses, but there's no housing. We wanted to do something to turn that around.”
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Ewan residents should form two homeowners' associations to take over the town's water supply from its private owners, according to Jim Wells from the state health department.
The associations could pay the county back for the cost of replacing the destroyed reservoir, Wells explained.
Under state law the county is ultimately responsible for the water system, he added. Ewan is not an incorporated town.
Ewan's water supply was damaged when the Oct. 16 storm knocked over the reservoir which supplied most of the town.
The reservoir and storage facility were damaged so badly that if nobody else can step in then it has to be the county, said county environmental health director Jim Nebel.
“We're in big trouble. There's nothing we can do,” said resident David Johnstone.
Johnstone runs Ewan's water system from a well dug in 1909 by the Milwaukee Railroad. He inherited the system when he bought his land and house in 1950.
Now homes south of Highway 23 are supplied by a private well run by Muriel Albertson.
Residents north of the highway can continue to get water from Johnstone's well but without the reservoir to stockpile it is not much.
It could not provide fire flows or other such services, but it is water they can live with, Wells said.
Johnstone said he would give the one year notice required by state law and cut off service.
“I give up. I can't afford it. I'm done.”
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The county parks department is talking with Union Pacific about acquiring some of the 69 miles of their recently abandoned trail, according to Brian Carroll, operations manager for the park department.
The parks department will pursue the process this winter, he said. They have had preliminary talks but haven't filed anything yet.
The National Rails to Trails Conservancy has filed an application with the Interstate Commerce Commission, Carroll said.
This will keep the corridor preserved for recreational use. It also allows Union Pacific to take it back if they need the land to reestablish service on the abandoned route, he explained.
The catch is the Rails to Trails Conservancy needs a government entity to take over the route. The parks department is talking with the county commissioners, but realizes its financial situation, Carroll said.
The parks department hopes to file a Rail Banking Agreement with ICC, Carroll explained. This allows the railroad to turn over the corridor to a governmental agency for use as a trail.
10 years ago
Whitman County Gazette
Oct. 26, 2006
In a victory for Wal-Mart and Pullman last Wednesday, Superior Court Judge David Frazier ruled a hearing examiner was “right on” in an earlier finding that the two parties had met requirements to continue developing a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Pullman.
An appeal of Frazier's ruling has not been announced.
Frazier dismissed the appeal from Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development after a three-hour hearing. He said the citizen group failed to show a February decision in favor of Wal-Mart and the city was “clearly erroneous.”
Frazier recognized the battle might not be over.
“I probably won't be the last judge to review the issue here,” he said.
John Montgomery, hearing examiner from Spokane, heard PARD's challenge in January. PARD claimed the city did not have enough information to approve the retail giant's plans to break ground on Bishop Boulevard.
PARD spokesman T.V. Reed immediately after the ruling said PARD would discuss whether it would appeal Frazier's ruling.
At the hearing, PARD argued it did not have to supply detailed counter studies when it claimed the city and Wal-Mart had not provided proper impact studies. PARD argued it had met its requirement in the challenge by pointing out what it believed to be the shortcomings in traffic, environmental and fiscal impact studies.
Wal-Mart and the city's attorneys argued that when the city approved Wal-Mart's site plan, inherent in the approval was the city's determination that it had sufficient information to proceed according to its city code.
Judge Frazier agreed.
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