Bulletin Column: Jan. 25, 2018

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 BOARD EYES PROJECTS

Meeting for the first time since October, members of the Palouse Empire Fair board Monday discussed several projects which need to be undertaken at the fairground in the coming months.

In giving his report on the Palouse Empire Rodeo, Stan Riebold said one key need is installation of lighting for the warmup riding ring which was installed at the south side of the arena. The ring at present lacks light for riders participating in night sessions of the rodeo.

Fair board members noted lighting is needed in that general area of the grounds.

Riebold also said wiring in the rodeo office building needs to be repaired. The office is used by ProWest Rodeo officials to record placings and process prize funds for the participants.

Another long-pending project for the fair is removal of aging poplar trees which line the fair RV trailer parking lot. Board member Eric Appel reported he and former Fair Manager Bob Reynolds inspected the trees five years ago and at the time they were infested with bugs. The trees at one time were cut back, but have grown in size to the point where they cannot be trimmed again, Appel said.

Fair board members anticipated removal of the trees would generate objections from fairgoers who occupy the RV park during the run of the fair, but the trees are believed to be a safety hazard and also a threat to power lines.

At the end of Monday night’s session, Riebold renewed a request to restore the restrooms in the former gun club building which have served the exhibitors' area of the fairground. The drain field for the restrooms has reportedly failed.

Riebold said he believes a new drain field could be installed to get the restrooms working again.

Fair board members noted at the meeting that the gun club building was the oldest structure on the fairground.

Riebold said he believes the fair's threshing bee committee and possibly the rodeo association could participate in funding to restore the restrooms on that corner of the grounds.

The fair has installed a vault toilet in the area, but Riebold said a working restroom is still needed.

SEARCHES NET METH, TV MONITOR

Sean Thomas Storment, 40, Pullman, was booked into the county jail late Friday on probable charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of stolen property and failing to comply.

Sheriff Brett Myers reported the Quad Cities Drug Task Force searched an apartment on a narcotics-related warrant in Pullman Friday afternoon. During the search in the 1200 block of NW State Street, approximately 13 grams of packaged methamphetamine was found in the residence.

A probable cause affidavit filed with the court said detectives received a report from an informant that Storment had been selling methamphetamine.

Storment was taken into custody at the time for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver.

Later Friday, deputies received information that Storment is suspected of being involved in the theft of a 70-inch flat screen television monitor from a building on the University of Idaho campus. The theft had been reported to Moscow Police in early December.

Deputies then applied for a second warrant to re-enter the State Street residence and confiscated a 70-inch television monitor and another $2,500 of property which was believed to have been taken from a cabin in the Coeur d'Alene area. The report notes the property belonged to a Richland resident who had kept the property at the cabin.

The report said the Moscow Police investigation on the TV monitor theft included a surveillance video of the monitor being carried out of the building. The arrest report said among items confiscated at the Storment apartment was a shirt which allegedly looked like the shirt worn by the suspect removing the monitor from the UI building.

Formal charges against Storment had not been filed as of noon Tuesday, and the prosecutor's office had until Jan. 24 to file charges or Storment would be released under the 72-hour exoneration rule, according to the court record.

JOHN WAYNE TRESTLE GETS APPROVED

An update Monday from the Tekoa Trail and Trestle Association reports one of the unused trestles on the John Wayne Trail was approved for funding in the capital spending budget which has been approved by the legislature. The Renslow trestle, which crosses I-90 at the top of the Vantage grade, was included in the capital budget bill, according to Ted Blaszak, president of the association.

The state parks had asked for funding of more than $1.2 million for the 680-foot trestle which is located east of Ellensburg. Trail riders now use an underpass to cross I-90 at that point.

The trestle was approved in the parks budget at the $1.2 million mark

Blaszak reported that TTTA members and others plan to go to Olympia next Monday and Tuesday to meet with legislators to lobby for the trail.

Other trestles on the group's agenda are the Tekoa trestle and the former Milwaukee trestle which spans the Columbia River at Beverly. Blaszak's report said $83,000 in private funds have been raised for the Tekoa trestle project.

The lobby group plans to assemble at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Whitman statue on the north side of the Capitol building.

Palouse MAN DIES IN MOTORCYCLE CRASH

A motorcycle accident Sunday on Idaho Highway 95 took the life of Eric Gearhart, 48, Palouse. According to the the Idaho State Police report, Gearhart was riding a 2009 Suzuki GSX 1300 motorcycle northbound at about 3:45 p.m. when he lost control on a curve near Viola and went off the highway.

He was transported to Gritman Medical Center in Moscow where he was pronounced deceased.

The ISP report said speed could have been a factor in the accident.

Funeral services are being arranged by Kramer Funeral Home in Palouse.

MUSHROOMS CONVICTION

Tyson Hodges, 25, Moscow, was sentenced to 30 days in jail Friday in superior court after he pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of psilocybin mushrooms. Hodges was a passenger in a car which was stopped in the early hours Dec. 5 by a deputy on Main Street in Colfax because of a faulty taillight.

The deputy's arrest report said the driver of the car had been drinking but was determined not to be intoxicated. The driver agreed to let Hodges, who was sleeping in the back of the car, take over driving. After Hodges was roused he was determined to be under the influence of something and admitted using the mushrooms. He turned over a bag of mushrooms.

Friday he was allowed to convert the 30-day jail term to 240 hours of community service.

Hodges was originally charged with possession of mushrooms and possession of heroin. The heroin charge was dropped.

The prosecutor’s office noted Hodges has served 30 days in the Nez Perce County Jail for a probation violation which was related to the Whitman County charge.

An April 27 review date was slated to check that Hodges is logging time in public service work. He was also ordered to pay a $2,000 drug fine plus $800 in fees and costs.

Hodges told the court he was a certified welder and intended to get a job in the Lewiston area.

TRIAL DATE SET ON HIT & RUN CHARGES

An April 16 trial date was set Friday in superior court for Alexander Welch, Pullman, who pleaded not guilty to charges of hit and run involving an injury accident, hit and run of an unattended vehicle and driving under the influence. Welch was charged Jan. 9.

According to the Pullman Police report, he hit a van at the Pullman Jack in the Box and injured Floyd McKnight of Pullman, who was getting out of the vehicle when it was hit. Welch was also charged with hitting an unattended car which was parked in the lot.

McKnight allegedly yelled out that he was hurt at the accident scene. He reportedly was getting out of the van and was pinned between the door and the frame when it was hit.

McKnight was later determined to have sustained a concussion and a knee injury.

According to the Pullman Police report, Welch, who was driving a Cadillac, was arrested on NW Valleyview after the accident. The arrest report alleged the result of a breath test of Welch indicated a blood alcohol content of .127.

Welch told the court Friday he was a student at Washington State University.

ATTEMPTED HOUSE ENTRY

A Colfax Police officer responded to a report Saturday at about noon of an attempted entry into a house in the 400 block of East James Street. The house is not now occupied. The reporting party said the suspect fled the scene after he became aware that he had been observed attempting to get into the house, according to the report from Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay.

COUNCIL ENDS WSU POLICE PACT

Colfax city council members Jan. 16 voted to terminate an agreement with WSU under which local officers assist with crowds during WSU athletic events. Councilman Jim Kackman said he was concerned about the agreement in light of the reduced number of officers Colfax now has to fill shifts.

Kackman said he was also concerned because the agreement was signed by the police chief, who might not be a valid representative for a contract involving two government entities.

Police Chief Rick McNannay said WSU sends out the agreement each year before the start of the Cougar sports season. The agreement calls for city officers to be on duty at athletic events. McNannay noted the agreement generally only involves WSU football games and doesn't extend into basketball season.

McNanny said he has signed off on five of the WSU agreements which have been sent out each year. The present year's agreement was dated July 25, 2017. The agreement cites a pay rate for officers during the WSU events. The police department does receive some revenue from the agreement.

Colfax is among several police departments around the state that participate in the program. The Colfax chief noted one of the side benefits over the years has been for local officers to get out and meet officers from other departments around the area. McNannay told the council Colfax police shifts are covered as a first priority before off-duty officers depart for duty at WSU.

Council member Crystn Guenthner, who said she was also concerned about the understaffed police department, seconded Kackman's motion.

The council decided to review the agreement at a later date. McNannay said he didn't have a problem with another city designee such as the mayor signing the annual agreements.

DRUG SUSPECT ARRESTED AGAIN

Abigail Carter, 31, Lewiston, who was jailed here early Saturday morning after being arrested on drug charges while driving on Highway 195, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of heroin and possession methamphetamine in superior court Friday morning.

Carter's request for the court to reduce an initial $50,000 bail fee set for pre-trial release was rejected because she has already been scheduled for a trial on drug possession charges in court here. Judge Gary Libey noted Carter had been allowed release after the first arrest on condition that she not engage in any additional criminal conduct, and Saturday's arrest amounted to a violation of that condition.

Carter was booked into jail here at 2:35 a.m. Saturday after she was stopped by Deputy Michael Jordan who observed the vehicle she was driving cross the fog line and the center line at approximately mile marker 45 on Highway 195 north of Colfax.

After Deputy Jordan began talking with Carter he realized he had arrested her on a drug charge Nov. 18.

In Saturday's arrest, Carter allowed Jordan to search the truck she had been driving. The deputy's report alleged he found three small packets of heroin along with drug paraphernalia. He also allegedly found a drug pipe with residue of methamphetamine.

Carter had been scheduled for a pre-trial hearing Feb. 2 related the Nov. 18 arrest. The defense moved to continue that hearing to get the two cases in the same time frame. Carter waived her speedy trial right on the first charge to allow for the continuation.