News Briefs: March 21, 2019

Climate reporter will speak at U of I

Kendra Pierre-Louis, a climate reporter with The New York Times, will deliver the keynote lecture for the University of Idaho’s 2019 Oppenheimer Media Ethics Symposium. Pierre-Louis will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 28, in the Administration Building Auditorium, 875 Campus Drive, Moscow. Her talk is free and open to the public.

Pierre-Louis’ talk is titled “Is Gloom My Beat? Reporting on our Changing Planet.” She will describe the challenges of covering the global effects of climate change, as well as the ways in which climate change already has begun affecting how humans exist in the world through drought, wildfires and insect-borne diseases.

She will also address the current status of action on climate change.

Before joining the Times, Pierre-Louis was a staff writer for Popular Science magazine. She is the author of “Green Washed: Why We Can’t Buy Our Way to a Green Planet.”

The Oppenheimer Symposium, organized by the School of Journalism and Mass Media, has been supported since 2011 by U of I graduates Doug and Arthur “Skip” Oppenheimer of Boise.

Dog tag renewal underway

Annual renewal of Colfax City dog licenses is now underway at city hall. The city attempts to conduct the renewals during the month of March. License fees remain the same at $10 for spayed or neutered dogs and $20 for other dogs.

Colfax at present has issued licenses for 121 dogs.

Snow stops meter read

Colfax crews will not conduct a first read of water meters this month because of the depth of snow on the ground. The city normally does a read of the meter in March after suspending the practice during the winter months.

The city during the winter bills according to an estimate of the water normally used. Meters were not read in December, January and February. After the first read in March, the accounts are justified up or down according the the actual reading on the meters.

The result will be a four-month span with the billings done by estimate. The city hopes to justify that with a first reading next month, according to City Clerk Lynda Kramlich.

Truck crash S. of Colfax

Truck driver Zoran Risteski, New Westminster, B.C., was unhurt March 12 in an accident south of Colfax. Trooper Rob Aucutt reported Risteski was driving a 2019 Freightliner northbound at 10:10 p.m. in snowing conditions. The report said traffic in front of the truck slowed, and Risteski applied the brakes, failed to negotiate a curve, went into the ditch on the northbound side of the highway and struck an embankment.

Cup O’ Joe books Havens, Neilsen

Cup O’ Joe on the Palouse will be at Columbia Bank, 795 SE Bishop Blvd. Pullman, Wednesday, April 3, from 10 to 11 a.m. Julie Havens and Susan Nielsen with the Washington State Department of Commerce Community Outreach Program and Rural Services Program will present an overview of Rural Business Opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses.

Havens and Nielsen will discuss information on community services, energy programs, economic development programs, and various funding opportunities.

Coffee and refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Sarah McKnight at whitman@seweda.org or 509-288-1317.

Four positions open on Palouse board

The Palouse School District will have four positions up for election this November.

The four-year term spots include a representative from the west side of town, the north hill and two at-large positions.

The filing period will be April 29 – May 17 by mail, or in person May 13-17.

Those interested may obtain and file the required forms with the Whitman County Auditor’s office. For more information call (509) 397-5284.

For a description of area boundaries, contact Frankie Swinney at the Palouse school.

Two zone hearings slated for April 1

Whitman County commissioners approved a notice of two public hearings set for April 1 on proposed zone changes.

The first is a request from Agro Solutions, LLC of Colton for 7.7 acres to go from agricultural to limited heavy commercial for an ag chemical storage warehouse at the intersection of Highway 195 and Old Wawawai Road, across from Hinrichs Trading.

The land would be leased from a private owner.

The second zone change request is for 6.4 acres in two spots to go from agricultural to airport commercial for Dale’s Flying Service south of Palouse, to include an existing runway and two hangars. The request is from Colleen Schoepflin of Dale’s Flying Service.