Bulletin Column: March 22, 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.

Rosalia FIRE STATION, SHOP HIT

Kelly C. Brown, 35, Rosalia, was formally charged Monday in superior court with burglary, two counts of theft and possession of heroin and methamphetamine. Brown was arrested last Thursday by deputies and later allowed release on his own recognizance. He was ordered to appear in court March 30.

Charges against Brown allege he took items from a shop building on Gashous Road near the Rosalia rodeo grounds and from the Rosalia Fire Department.

According to the investigation report by Deputy Michael Melcher, deputies responded to a report Feb. 28 of the shop near the Rosalia rodeo grounds being entered by forced entry of a door. Among items reported missing were a pressure washer and a battery charger.

The investigation alleged Brown had been identified as a suspect with the help of surveillance video of storage buildings in the area of the shop which showed him driving a car in the early morning hours near the shop.

A check of a regional pawn shop database showed Brown had pawned 61 items. One of the items was a portable radio which had allegedly been issued to him by the Rosalia Fire Department.

That discovery led to a check of fire department equipment and among missing items were chainsaws, a glass cutter and a rescue saw. Total value of the items missing from the fire station was listed at $12,000.

Surveillance recordings at the fire station also showed Brown driving around the fire station in the early morning hours. Drug evidence was found at Brown's residence and in his car when a warrant was served on him March 15, the report alleges.

The report said when Brown was interviewed after the arrest, he admitted taking some of the items from the fire station and some from the shop on Gashous Road.

CITY COUNCIL CHANGES MODES

Colfax city council members Monday night changed modes from a council to a board for the new metropolitan parks district. Mayor Todd Vanek stopped the city session, and then started the board meeting of the new metro district which calls for the city council to also serve as members of its board.

As metro directors, council members selected Blaine Golden as president of the board and Al Vorderbrueggen as clerk. They approved resolutions on organization of the district and its inter-local agreement with the city.

At that point the metro district meeting closed, and Vanek resumed the city council session. The council then voted to accept the inter-local agreement they had just approved when they were in parks mode.

PULLMAN BUYS CHURCH CENTER

The City of Pullman has concluded purchase of the Encounter Ministries center on SE Crestview. A transfer tax affidavit filed in the county treasurer's office lists the purchase at $3.5 million.

Purchase of the center was part of the $10.5 million general obligation bond levy measure which was approved by voters in the Feb. 13 special election. The proposal includes buying and remodeling the center for city administration offices, a senior center and a recreation center. The 20-year bond issue also included acquisition of property for a third fire station and construction of a Lawson Gardens events center.

The sale was done by Calvary Christian Center acting as Encounter Ministries.

A transfer affidavit filed Friday lists the purchase by Encounter Ministries of a commercial building at 645 N. Grand in Pullman for $1.5 million from Lihua Wang, Seattle. The building is now occupied by YCC International, a glasses manufacturer.

DRUG ARREST AT COLFAX

Colfax Police Sunday arrested David Jennings, 32, on probable charges of malicious mischief in the first degree and maintaining a drug premises. The arrest report by Officer Cory Alcantar said police received a report Feb. 1 from the landlord of an apartment building in the S. 700 block of S. Main that Jennings had caused substantial damage to the apartment he was renting. The landlord showed the officer before and after pictures of the apartment to show the damage and later provided a repair estimate of $7,787 for the unit.

The report said when the officer went to the apartment Sunday he saw additional damage had been done to the unit. Jennings allegedly told him some of the damage was caused after an alleged drug deal at the apartment had gone bad.

The report alleges Jennings also admitted being part of a transaction for sale of methamphetamine at the apartment. A previously arrested suspect facing a methamphetamine charge has told police he purchased the drugs at the apartment.

CANEDY SENTENCED TO 20 DAYS

Michael Canedy, 26, the Malden resident who was convicted by a jury March 12 of a charge of attempting to elude a police officer, was sentenced to serve 20 days in jail Friday in superior court. Canedy was charged with leading a sheriff's deputy on a chase around grain storage areas on the west side of Rosalia late last Oct. 28.

Deputy Michael Jordan's account said Canedy turned off the lights of his car during the chase and drove across an elevator scale at 50 miles an hour. Two passengers who were in the car with Canedy that night testified for the state at the trial.

Canedy, who faced a sentencing range of zero to 60 days on the conviction, was ordered to report to jail immediately to begin serving the sentence. He had been allowed release on his own recognizance after his initial arrest.

He was ordered to pay $800 in fines and fees and will be on six months of community supervision after he completes his jail term.

CANDIDATES SESSION AT PULLMAN

A town hall session feauring candidates running for election will be March 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gladish Community Center in Pullman. FUSE Washington has invited three major candidates on the ballot to join locals to discuss issues impacting the area such as healthcare, education and rural broadband internet access.

Lisa Brown, Spokane Democrat, has confirmed her attendance at the session. She is challenging Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers who has not yet provided a response to the invitation. The dates were selected specifically to coincide with the congressional break when incumbents can normally attend events in the district.

FUSE Washington, a progressive non-profit group, has offered to assist in the cost of renting the room in Gladish and support a district-wide town hall push. More than 400 voters attended the Feb. 20 event in Spokane.

After the Pullman town hall, another is planned for later in the year at Walla Walla.

MAY TRIAL ON 270 COLLISIONS

A May 16 jury trial was slated Friday in superior court for Elizabeth T. Cramer, 30, Moscow, after she pleaded not guilty to three charges of vehicular assault and one charge of driving under the influence.

Cramer was the driver of one of three cars involved in an accident last Sept. 9 on the Moscow-Pullman Highway. The Washington State Patrol accident report alleges Cramer failed to negotiate a curve on the highway, crossed into the oncoming lane and hit two other cars.

The accident was near mile marker 9. Cramer was driving a Town & Country mini van.

Victims of the alleged vehicular assault included the driver of an oncoming Honda, a passenger in that car and a passenger in a Mini Cooper which was behind the Honda.

According to the accident report, the car Cramer was driving actually went airborne after hitting the Honda before it collided with the Mini Cooper.

All four of the injured people were transported by ambulance to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. The driving under the influence charge alleges blood samples were drawn from Cramer at the Spokane hospital and sent to the state crime lab for testing.

TAX BILLS GO OUT

Whitman County tax bills were sent out by the treasurer's office last week. Treasurer Mark Clinton said the bottom line figure for the county tax bill this year is $57,295,220.

The figure this year compares with a total of $52,015,367 billed out last year.

One factor for the increase was a $1.10 addition per $1,000 on county tax bills as a phase-two tax to generate state revenue to meet conditions of the McCleary school funding decision. The legislation calls for equal school support from the state for all school districts around the state. The $1.10 for phase-two follows the phase-one state tax from last year for a total of $2.70 more on the Whitman County statements.

The tax statements were mailed to 14,186 property owners. The total number of property parcels in the county subject to taxing is 39,156.

Clinton noted levy proposals that were approved by voters in the Feb. 13 special election will not show up in tax bills until next year.

One big change for next year will be the reduction of the local school maintenance and operations levies to $1.50 per $1,000 of assessed valuation as another phase of the McCleary legislation which calls for less local operations funding for many school districts in the state.

Another addition for Colfax taxpayers was the levy for the new metropolitan parks district. The levy, approved by voters in 2016, was added to the bills this year after the city realized the measure had passed with a majority vote. The levy is for 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

The city after the election had sidelined the metro tax measure under the belief that it had failed because it didn't pass by a 60 percent super majority.

Deadline for first-half tax payment is April 30. Deadline for second-half payment is Oct. 31.