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POMEROY–Chairman Justin Dixon announced Garfield County received official approval from the state to move forward to Phase 3 of the Governor’s Safe Start plan and confirmed the receipt of $250,000 from the Department of Commerce at the meeting of the Garfield County Board of Commissioners Monday, June 8, 2020. Opening into Phase 3 allows groups of up to 50, government offices can reopen and meetings can resume in person, but have been recommended to continue meetings through telecommunication. The commissioners question as to how it affects pub...
POMEROY–Garfield County Commissioner Justin Dixon discussed a letter received from the Stevens County Commissioners during the Garfield County Commissioners’ meeting April 27, asking Governor Inslee and Secretary Eastman to consider allowing northeastern Washington counties to begin re-opening businesses that have been shut down due to the “Stay at Home” requirements relating to the COVID-19 pandemic 27. The letter stated northeastern Washington counties have not been hit as hard with the coronavirus as western Washington counties. Stevens...
POMEROY–In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Garfield County Commissioner Justin Dixon stated Garfield, Columbia and Walla Walla Counties applied for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) through the Washington State Department of Commerce and received $53,000 of the $8.1 million fund. The grant is for counties with current DCBG Public Services Grant contracts and will help with economic, social and health recovery resulting from a declared emergency or disaster. Dixon added that the funds will be sent to the Blue Mountain Action C...
hich had been part of the Columbia Fifth and Sixth Street project costing upward of $529,000, have been eliminated from the plans and inlets are now designed to tie into the existing storm system. Luke Antonich of TD&H Engineering described the new design not only drops the dry wells, but also reduces the amount of sidewalk and there will be no new sidewalk on the north side of Columbia between Fifth and Sixth streets, resulting in a drop in cost overall. Rolled curbing will be installed. Trees on the south side of the street may possibly be...
Letter to the editor According to the latest census data, Garfield County has the smallest number of residents in Washington State. Of all the counties, Garfield County is where you can be sure every vote counts. Levies are passed and lost by a minimum number of votes and our hospital levy is one where every vote counts. If you have traveled the back roads of Washington, you will see communities struggling, which were once viable hubs of commerce. When healthcare and schools are lost, a community struggles to maintain services. Pomeroy is the c...
POMEROY–Chairman of the Garfield County Hospital District (GCHD) Board of Commissioners Cindy Wolf, addressed the Garfield/Pomeroy Community Economic Development Forum about the upcoming $860,000 levy vote April 28, to support the GCHD. Ballots will be sent out April 10, 2020. For the levy to pass, a minimum of 435 votes are needed to be cast, with 60% (261 votes) in favor. The assessment amount for taxpayers has increased since the previous election in November, 2019, from $1.40 per $1,000 assessed property value, to $1.56. The reason s...
POMEROY–Port of Garfield Director Diana Ruchert reported during the recent Port of Garfield (Port) meeting February 18, that as a representative of the Port, she and the commissioners are still actively opposing the removal of the Lower Snake River Dams by attending meetings and working with other Ports in sending a response to the Governor's study. She stated that she has learned at these meetings, the Governor and State Legislators are pushing hard to remove the dams. An update about the b...
POMEROY–Jack Peasley of the Southeastern Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA) told the council he met with Michelle Bly of TD&H Engineering regarding an earlier Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) survey. According to that survey, the city is currently ineligible to receive a wide variety of grants. The city did a multiple question survey using computer-generated random house numbers and did not notify people ahead of time. Peasley offered to have SEWEDA conduct another LMI survey. He said if he can get it done by mid-April, it will m...
POMEROY–Garfield County Emergency Management Director John Hirsch, met with the Garfield County Commissioners Monday, February 10, 2020, to present the contract with AlertSense, a crisis management, public mass notification and emergency alert system. The cost for the system has been paid by contributions from most of the public service agencies in the county. It will provide a community-wide alert system that can be accessed by emergency responders as well as members of the public during a major emergency. Citizens can receive alerts on c...
POMEROY–The upcoming Census issue is part of the agenda which will be fully discussed at The Pomeroy Community Forum held at the Pataha Flour Mill on Tuesday, February 25 at 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Reports and updates from Garfield County Hospital, Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) Juan Sanchez, SEWEDA and other local entities will also be presented. The agenda is as follows: Garfield County Hospital will present information regarding the upcoming Special Levy. Cindy Wolf will be leading the discussion. Blue Mountain Action Council–Juan Sanchez with...
e broadband fiber system is set to begin in February, weather permitting, was the word during the recent Port of Garfield board meeting The Port of Garfield County Commissioners met Tuesday evening, January 21. A contract has been signed with M&L Construction, Inc. from Spokane, and a pre-construction meeting is set for Monday, February 1, 2020. A new contract was approved and signed for the management of the construction phase and operation of the broadband system. The previous contract was with the Port of Whitman, who will remain the...
POMEROY-A few changes have been made in the committee assignments for the commissioners, as a preliminary planned adjustment to Commissioner Bob Johnson obligations who has decided to retire at the end of his term in 2020. Chairman Justin Dixon will serve on the following committees: Washington Counties Risk Pool (first alternate Johnson, second alternate Commissioner Wynne McCabe), Blues Intergovernmental Council, Work Force Development Board, Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, Blue Mountain...
POMEROY–Jack Peasley, Southeast Washington Economic Development Association (SEWEDA), Pomeroy Director discussed several projects during the Pomeroy Garfield County Community Economic Development Forum meeting in November. First, he announced that he is working as a Garfield County coordinator for the U.S. Census, through the Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) out of Walla Walla. BMAC has received a grant for $140,000, to include Garfield County in working to be sure each and every individual in the county is counted and included in the C...
POMEROY–At the third meeting of the Pomeroy/Garfield County Community/Economic Development Forum (PGCCEDF) at the Pataha Flour Mill on November 19, about 20 people attended to give a synopisis of their businesses and overview of what they provide to the community. The Forum is also to bring organizations together to collaborate and identify areas where they can unify a vision for the economic health of the community. Representatives from the Port of Garfield, Pomeroy Assist, Pomeroy Grain Growers, Garfield County Ag Museum, Garfield County H...
POMEROY–Mayor G. Paul Miller opened the December 10 meeting with a public hearing on the 2020 budget. There being no comments or questions, the mayor closed the public hearing. Highlights in the budget included no increases in 2020 for medical, dental or vision; no change in business license fees, and no increase in water and sewer rates. Pool fees will also remain unchanged with a family pass for four costing $150.00. Resolution 19-5, a motion to adopt the 2020 rates as presented, was passed unanimously. Michelle Bly of TD&H Engineering u...
January 3The Family Career and community leader of America (FCCLA) baked bread with Mrs. Maves class and donated the baked bread to the backpack program. A framed Thank-you letter presented to Sheriff Drew Hyer by Ariah Bingman. It reads HERO. "Dear Officer Hyer. Thank you for helping when I needed help. Thank you for sacrificing your life to save us. Thank you for keeping so many people safe as you can. Thank you for saving the town when you can. Thank you. You are my hero. From, Ariah." Two...
POMEROY–My connection to Pomeroy began when I was about 12 years old when a part of my family moved here and we came to visit. I eventually married a local girl, Janie Bartlow. I graduated from WSU with a pharmacy degree in 1972 and we moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where I did a one-year hospital pharmacy residency. I worked as a hospital pharmacist for the next four years in Wenatchee and Seattle. After living in three large cities, I became convinced that I wanted to raise my family in a small town. In 1977 I accepted the position of a...