ASOTIN — Asotin County officials observed a moment of silence Monday night to honor and remember two Clarkston teenagers who died in a car crash last week near Phoenix.
Commissioner Chuck Whitman said the community has suffered a great loss, and many people are mourning and thinking of the families of Abriauna Hoffman and Magdalyn (Maggie) Ogden, who were both freshmen at Grand Canyon University.
The 18-year-old Clarkston High School graduates were traveling together when an alleged wrong-way driver caused a multivehicle collision that killed the two friends along with another freshman, Hunter Balberdi, of Hawaii. Hoffman is the stepdaughter of Brady Woodbury, the county’s public health administrator, Whitman said.
Charlotte Tuttle, of Asotin, thanked the commissioners for the moment of silence, saying “it’s a good gesture of who we should be.”
In other county business:
Clarkston Mayor Monika Lawrence asked the commissioners when they are going to respond to her request for the jail contract with Kenaston, the project’s general contractor, and scope of the new facility.
Lawrence, who is a member of the Jail Finance Committee, said she sent an email to the board a week ago and has not heard back. She wanted to know if she needed to file a public records request to obtain the information.
Whitman said he was out of town all week on county business and would email the contract and plans to the mayor as soon as the meeting ended.
Jack Worle, of Clarkston, asked about plans for the new jail and updates on any changes to the scope of the project. He wants the county to conduct a town hall meeting to keep residents in the loop.
“By what method and frequency are you going to keep the voting taxpayers informed?” Worle said. “I’m not quite sure people understood that 120 beds was not the end game. It was only the starting point based on our needs three years ago, and what we thought we could afford. What we really needed, and should have, is a plan to achieve a jail approaching 200 beds with a big flashing sign out front that says ‘Vacancy.’ ”
Open controlled burning begins today in unincorporated areas of Asotin County. The commissioners lifted the emergency burn ban Monday night, and residents can now burn yard debris from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Dec. 15.
The board approved sending a letter to members of the Washington State Building Code Council in opposition to a proposal to mandate heat pumps as the primary heating unit in new residential construction.
The proposal is not well-suited for homeowners on the east side of the state, Whitman said. Temperatures are much colder here, heat pumps are not energy efficient when it dips below 25 degrees and electric heat is cost-prohibitive for many working families.
Commissioner Brian Shinn said it would put undue burdens on families attempting to purchase homes and increase operating costs for many residents.
Heat pumps “are not suited to be the only choice as the primary heating source for homes in eastern Washington, due to our challenging climate,” according to the letter.
“Another great idea from the governor and politicians,” Whitman said with sarcasm as he signed the letter.
Sandaine can be reached at kerris@lmtribune.com.
