Bulletin Column: Jan. 10, 2019

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.

CALLS FOR CHIEF STATUS CHANGE

Colfax city councilman Jim Kackman Monday night called for a resolution of the employment status of Police Chief Rick McNannay. The chief was placed on administrative leave approximately two months ago by Mayor Todd Vanek.

Kackman last night said "a decision has to be made" to resolve the situation. He noted the city can't keep paying an employee a monthly salary without getting some type of service in return. He said the situation should be resolved as soon as possible.

Mayor Todd Vanek, who earlier declined to explain why McNannay was placed on leave, replied he was making progress on the situation and expected to have it resolved by the next city council session.

Kackman's comment came after Vanek updated the council on staffing for the police department. After the departure of officer Jaelene Leeson at the end of last month, the city now has three full-time officers and one part-time officer.

The city has also been operating under an agreement with the sheriff's office to provide deputies to serve on shifts.

EAGLE SCOUT PRESENTATION

Colfax High School senior Carson Cloaninger Monday night presented a formal report on the completion of his Eagle Scout project to the Colfax City Council. Cloaninger's project included installation of two benches at Lookout Park on the top of Thorn Street hill.

He presented pictures of the project to council members.

Cloaninger has passed scout board reviews for the Eagle Scout badge. He was accompanied to the meeting by Troop 595 Scoutmaster Mark Clinton.

MOOSE POACH PHOTO

Whitman County Sheriff's office Monday posted a photo of the head of a moose which was believed to have been poached in the area of Steptoe Canyon, south of Colton along the Snake River. Residents with any information on the poaching are asked to call the state department of fish and wildlife at 1-877-933-9847.

CITY SIGNS JUDGE ROBINSON

Judge Doug Robinson, who has stepped down from the district court bench after announcing he planned to retire early last year, has now been officially appointed as judge for the Colfax Municipal Court. He will fill the position left vacant after Colfax Judge John Hart was elected to the district court bench in November.

Mayor Todd Vanek Monday night told the city council that Judge Robinson wanted to remain active in retirement, so he was hired for the city bench.

Robinson served as district court judge for 18 years. Prior to taking the district court bench he served as Colfax judge.

RAILROAD CROSSING REMOVALS

The crossings in Colfax on the unused segment of the former Union Pacific rail line are scheduled to be removed during the next construction season. Crossings at Cooper, Wall and Island streets will be removed and replaced by pavement, according to Public Works Director Matt Hammer.

A fourth crossing, at Last Street, will remain because it is considered part of the active railroad operation. The Last Street crossing, which serves as entry for motorists headed up the west hill via Deanway, already has been paved.

Wooden ties used in crossings at the other locations have deteriorated. The railroad segment has been out of use since 2006.

Mayor Todd Vanek Monday night said the state had been scheduled to remove and repair the crossing last summer, but crews ran out of time after they pulled former crossings in Pullman.

SMITH JOINS FIRE DEPARTMENT

Jacob Smith, Spokane Valley, has been hired to fill an open slot on the Colfax Fire Department. Smith was introduced to the council Monday night by Fire Department Administrator Tim Tingley. He reported Smith will be undergoing training on department equipment this week.

Smith, who moved to the Spokane area from Minnesota eight years ago, has completed a four-month training session with the West Plains Fire Fighters Academy. Prior to attending the academy, he earned certification as an EMT through a private company in Spokane.

He and his wife, Laryssa, have an 18-month-old daughter.

FAIL TO REGISTER CONVICTION

Adam J. Fixel, 31, Pullman, was sentenced Friday to three days in jail with credit for time served, after he pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to register as a sex offender. Fixel was arrested after a deputy received a tip he had moved from the Viola area to Pullman.

The charge alleged he failed to register at his new location between Oct. 7 and Oct. 21.

Fixel has been required to register since he was convicted of a sex offense in Skagit County in 2007, according to the the charge filed against him.

ALBIONITE ARRESTED ON DRUG CHARGES

Jaqueline Blake Culton, 59, Albion, was allowed release from jail on her own recognizance Monday after being arrested and booked into jail Friday on drug charges. According to the arrest report by Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Jordan, a wallet which belonged to Culton was found in a car which Culton had been driving and drug evidence was allegedly found in the wallet.

The driver of the car had been stopped for driving with a suspended license. She allowed the deputy to search the car, and he discovered the wallet in the car.

The driver told Jordan she had allowed Culton to use the car to go to the food bank in Colfax. She said Culton later realized she had lost her wallet and could not find it in the car.

Culton was also arrested on a probable charge of resisting arrest. The deputy's report said that after Culton was told she was under arrest on the drug charge, she turned around and went back into her residence at Albion.

RAINFALL LAG CONTINUES

December precipitation also finished below normal to continue a pattern set by the previous three months. December finished with a 2.45 inches precipitation total which was .26 below a 2.71. normal for the month at the NRCS station in Colfax.

For the past four months of the year, average precipitation total is 7.95 inches, and the actual rainfall measured was 5.50 inches.

Most of the lag was in September, which finished with just a trace of rain compared to a 1.04 average, and October which finished with .78 compared to a 1.52 average.

For the crop year from Oct. 1, the lag is 1.53 inches.

Total annual average precipitation at Colfax is 20.17 inches.

CHASE SUSPECT SENTENCED

Shane L. Hagedorn, 37, the Spokane resident who led Pullman police on a chase through downtown Pullman Aug. 22, was sentenced to three years in prison Friday in superior court after pleading guilty to charges of attempting to elude and hit and run.

A pre-sentence report of past convictions assigned Hagedorn an offender score of 11, which placed him in a sentencing range of 34 to 41 months in prison. Hagedorn's record was reported to date back to 2006, with all convictions in Spokane.

The record showed he was convicted of attempting to elude in Spokane in 2013.

Hagedorn was arrested on Highway 27 in Palouse just north of the Colfax Highway intersection. The chase actually started when officers in Moscow reported they were pursuing a suspect who was suspected of taking a weed whacker from Tri-State in Pullman.

Moscow Police chased Hagedorn to the state line, and Pullman Officer Aaron Breshears took up the chase which at times exceeded 100 mph and involved dangerous passing by the suspect as he approached Pullman.

The arrest report said Pullman officers attempted to block off Main, but Hagedorn drove up onto a sidewalk in the Dodge Durango he was driving for approximately 300 feet. The chase continued on Pullman streets, where the suspect went through stop signals before exiting Pullman north on Grand and then Highway 27.

The report said Hagedorn actually called Whitcom during the chase and said he was scared. He was advised to stop the Durango. He continued into Palouse where officers had placed cones to block residential streets and he finally stopped the Durango near the 272 intersection.

Hagedorn has remained in jail here since the Aug. 22 arrest after bail for pre-trial release was set at $150,000.

Officer Breshears' report said that at one point during the chase, Hagedorn appeared to be throwing material out of the Durango. A post-chase search led to alleged discovery of paper with heroin residue, and at one point, Hagedorn also faced charges of possession of heroin, driving with a suspended license and possession of stolen property. Hagedorn entered guilty pleas to just the eluding and hit and run charges. He was also ordered to pay the City of Pullman $100 in restitution. The report noted Hagedorn hit a bicycle rack when he was driving on the sidewalk along Main Street in Pullman.

BRINK EXPECTED TO ENTER PLEAS

John W. Brink, 34, Dusty, is expected to enter guilty pleas on two charges of harassment of two officers who responded to a domestic violence complaint Nov. 26 on Little Alkali Road. Brink, who has been in jail since that date, had been scheduled for a readiness hearing Friday in superior court, but the hearing was canceled after Brink's attorney notified Deputy Prosecutor Tessa Scholl that they would accept an offer to plead guilty to two charges of harassment.

Brink had also faced two charges of second-degree assault of the two officers who initially responded to the call that night on Little Alkali Road. The assault charges alleged Brink had discharged a Ruger 9mm handgun during an extended negotiation during the response.

Deputy Bryce Nebe initially responded to the situation, and Washington State Patrol Trooper Jeff Issac also responded to the scene as a backup.

When officers arrived at the scene, Brink was reported to be in a barn at the residence and his spouse was in a cellar.

The arrest report alleged at one point in the negotiations, Brink had discharged the pistol.

The report said the officers heard the pistol discharge, but did not see it. At that point they decided to take cover, and extended negotiations ensued.

Sheriff Brett Myers and other officers also responded to the scene.

The arrest report noted Brink initially declined demands that he come forward and turn himself in to officers. The report said Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Chapman was able to contact Brink with a phone, and he agreed to meet officers halfway and surrender.

Attorney Robert Sargent of Spokane Dec. 5 filed a notice of appearance in court that he would represent Brink, who had been scheduled for trial Jan. 14 on what was originally four charges.

Scholl Monday said she extended a plea bargain offer to Brink and Sargent which called for the state to drop the two assault charges involving the pistol shots if he agreed to plead guilty to the two harassment charges involving the same two officers.

They are now working to schedule a court date for entry of the pleas and sentencing.

MC CHASE TRIAL DELAY

Emery Reeves, the Spokane Valley resident who was charged with leading troopers on a high speed motorcycle chase on Highway 195 Aug. 14, was allowed an additional week to appear in court with an attorney Friday morning in superior court.

The court had previously approved a request by Spokane Attorney Tracy Collins to withdraw from representing Reeves prior to the trial. Collins cited what he termed a breakdown in attorney-client relations in preparing for the trial.

Reeves on Jan. 4 told the court he had been working to obtain the services of another attorney and believed he had succeeded in doing so.

He had been scheduled to appear in court Friday for a readiness hearing in which the state and defense declare they are ready for trial. That step is required before the court affirms the trial date and makes preparations to call in residents for possible jury duty.

Reeves had been scheduled for a Jan. 14 trial.

Judge Gary Libey advised Reeves that the court could not keep the Jan. 14 trial date on the schedule without a "ready" declaration Friday.

Reeves was granted a request to appear next Friday with an attorney for a possible ready declaration for trial which was moved back to Jan. 23.

Reeves was charged after leading a WSP trooper on a motorcycle chase at speeds of up to 150 miles per-hour on Highway 195 between Colfax and Cashup Flat, where he allegedly pulled off the highway and abandoned the motorcycle.