Bulletin Column: Jan. 24, 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.

COUNTY FSA NOT ON TEMP LIST

The USDA Farm Service Agency office was not among the eight offices in the state listed to be open for three-days as announced Jan. 16 by Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. Offices listed open in this area were Spokane Valley, Pasco and Okanogan.

The open days were slated Thursday, Friday and Tuesday after the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

Office staffers on Perdue's list were called back to work without pay because of the federal deadlock between Congress and President Donald Trump.

A total of 2,500 FSA employees were called back to work the three days.

"Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in the form that he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America's agricultural producers," Perdue said in a new release.

"We are bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans. Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown," he added.

Callers to the FSA office here are linked to a recording which reports the shutdown and suggest callers can leave a voice mail. It also notes staff members will not have access to voice mails and emails until the office opens.

SENTENCE VACATED

The sentence of Antonio Albonza, 23, was vacated Friday in superior court because of a hitch in the sentencing procedure.

Albonza was sentenced to a year in prison here Jan. 9 after a jury convicted him Dec. 17 of third-degree rape in Pullman.

Albonza, a former WSU student who was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, also pleaded guilty to a second charge of residential burglary and was sentenced to 364 days in jail.

The Jan. 9 sentence was vacated because a required state Department of Corrections report had not been prepared in advance of the sentencing session. A new sentencing date was set for Feb. 22 to allow the DOC to prepare a report.

Albonza filed notice of intent to appeal the conviction after the jury returned the verdict Jan. 9.

COURT WARRANT ISSUED

A warrant for the arrest of John Andres, 36, the second suspect named in the November auto prowl cases at Rosalia, was ordered Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. Andres, Coeur d'Alene, was named as a cohort with Hunter Haley, 25, Reardan, in an investigation which expanded to include suspected thefts in Lincoln County.

Charges against Andres were filed here Dec. 4, and he was later arrested and booked into jail. He was allowed release on his own recognizance, but failed to appear for his arraignment Jan. 7 and was allowed until Friday to appear in court and show cause for missing the arraignment date.

The sheriff's investigation report alleged Andres was with Haley when the two were observed on surveillance video at Pullman Walmart where they allegedly used a credit device taken from one of the vehicles in Rosalia to make a purchase.

A report filed by the sheriff's office noted vehicle prowl reports for Rosalia totaled 11 between Nov. 18 and Nov. 20 of last year.

Haley, who was arrested in Cheney and jailed here Nov. 21, is now scheduled for a March 18 trial on a charge of theft from Walmart and five charges of theft from one of the alleged victims in the Rosalia prowl cases.

CHASE SUSPECT SENTENCED

Ohanny Murillo, the Moscow resident who was the object of a police foot chase out of the Pullman Jack in the Box Nov. 9, was sentenced to 364 days in jail with all but seven days suspended Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. He was credited with seven days already served in jail after his arrest.

Murillo, 22, was convicted by a jury Jan. 14 of the obstructing charge after a one-day trial. He was also charged with assaulting an officer, but the jury did not return a verdict on that charge and it was formally dismissed during sentencing Friday.

Murillo was arrested after officers responded to a report of a fight at Jack in the Box on N. Grand in Pullman.

The report by Officer Ruben Harris said he was tipped off that one of the instigators of the fight had gone out the door of the drive-in and headed north. Harris reported he saw the man, later identified as Murillo, go into the brush along Missouri Flat Creek, crawl across the creek and climb up the bank to the east side of N. Grand. The suspect fled across N. Grand and up the driveway to Pizza Hut. Harris reported he shot the suspect with a tazer, but Murillo continued to run until Harris caught him. Harris reported that, in the struggle, Murillo knocked off his glasses, which were broken. Officer Shane Emerson assisted Harris in taking Murillo into custody.

Judge Gary Libey Friday ordered Murillo to refrain from drinking and any use of drugs for the rest of the year as a condition of the suspended 357 days of his sentence. He was also ordered to pay fines and fees and $525 restitution to Officer Harris for the cost of replacing his prescription glasses.

COUNTY GOP OUSTS ALLSUP

Whitman County Republicans at their central committee meeting Jan. 5 voted to not recognize James Allsup's vote in party decisions.

Allsup filed unopposed for the position of precinct committee officer for Precinct 129 in May.

Allsup, who formerly headed the WSU Republicans and generated publicity for helping erect a model of the Trump Wall on the WSU campus during the October 2016 campaign, was ousted from the group after he participated in the demonstration at Charlottesville, Va.

His election to the PCO post generated headlines that the "Charlottesville Hate Marcher" had been elected to a party position in Whitman County.

County GOP chair John Brabb pointed out that any resident can file with the county for a PCO position without any endorsement from the Republican party. Brabb at the time noted the party would address Allsup's status when the central committee convened for an organizational session at the start of the year.

Kelley Messinger of Rosalia, who was elected vice chair for the GOP at the January session, pointed out the party cannot remove Allsup from the elected PCO position, but the central committee's decision essentially disconnects him from the party. Allsup was not present at the meeting.

One of the key roles for PCO officers is nominating people to fill elected offices which are vacated in the middle of a term. The party PCOs are requested to forward the names of nominees to county commissioners for appointment.

SHOPKO SHUTDOWN IMPACT

A shutdown of the Pullman Shopko store is expected to have an impact on Colfax and shoppers from other towns in the area. Shopko is the closest major soft goods retailer to Colfax.

Pullman was among 39 Shopko stores listed in a company report last week of scheduled store closures. The company three weeks ago listed 60 stores it planned to shut down around the country.

The shutdown is part of a bankruptcy filing with plans to close 100 stores. The announcement noted the company has obtained financing of up to $480 million by a group of lenders led by Wells Fargo Bank.

The pharmacy department at the Pullman Shopko was shut down three weeks ago. The company's closure list said the Pullman shutdown will be April 15.

The Spokane Shopko on S. Regal was included in the first Shopko shutdown list which was issued Dec. 6. Shopko stores in Lacey and Yakima were also included in the list issued by the company Jan. 16.

Records in the assessor's office listed construction of the Shopko building was finished in 1996. The store size is listed as 77,420 square feet.

The Shopko property also includes an extensive parking lot in front of the store on the site which is on an elevated grade from S. Grand. The store site has access from S. Grand and Bishop Blvd.

Shutdown of the Pullman store's pharmacy generated rumors that Shopko was about to close its Pullman store, but company officials at the time said that was not in the works.

Shopkos in Lewiston and Orofino were not among those on the shutdown list.

Introduction of big box stores in Pullman and Moscow took a toll on Main Street clothing stores in small towns in the area, including Colfax which at one time had a J.C. Penneys and men's and women's clothing stores.

Colfax does have stores now offering retail clothing in a variety of styles. Tick Klock features women's and some men's clothing and shoes, and Sport Town on north Main sells college and pro team booster clothing and sport shoes.

Tick's and Sport Town participated in a style show at The Center last March to benefit the library's youth tech program.