Stories in this Regional News Roundup are excerpted from weekly newspapers from around the region. This is part one, with part two set to appear in Sunday’s Tribune.
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COLFAX — The Whitman County Gazette and Colfax Daily Bulletin office is in the process of moving to a new location. As of July 1, the Gazette will be in the DSHS building owned by Scott Ackerman.
“Our move to a new location will give our Gazette staff the modern amenities needed to continue providing local news long into the future,” Publisher Roger Harnack said. “We’ll be connecting our new digital systems to high-speed broadband, which will enable our staff to offer audio and video services in addition to the traditional print newspaper.
“It’s also an important step in keeping the oldest continuously operated newspaper in the state relevant for younger and future readers.”
The previous publisher had been looking for a new location before selling the paper. The current publisher has been working with Ackerman to renovate office space on the main floor of the building for the Gazette.
“It’s bittersweet,” Interim Managing Editor Jana Mathia said. “The Gazette has been here so long it’s hard to imagine it anywhere else. But I like that we’ll be renting from a local person who has shown a dedication to the community with their time and resources. Change is the only constant in life, and this should be a change for the better.”
— Whitman County Gazette (Colfax), Thursday
Adams County COVID-19 cases expose two McCall workers
MCCALL — A shared workplace and a social gathering has led to a surge in coronavirus cases in Adams County from one to nine, according to Southwest District Health.
Two Adams County residents who work in McCall were exposed to someone with the virus, but later tested negative. Their workplaces were briefly closed.
“The Adams County cases have been linked to a shared workplace and a social gathering,” said Katrina Williams, spokeswoman for Southwest District Health, which covers Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette and Washington counties.
“All cases know their source of exposure and are isolating at home,” said Williams, who declined to provide further details.
One person exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus works at the MCPAWS Thrift Store in downtown McCall, MCPAWS Regional Animal Shelter Executive Director Amber Kostoff said.
The store was closed Friday, June 12, and Monday, June 15, until the employee could be tested and was determined to be free of the virus, Kostoff said.
The employee volunteered to go into self-quarantine for two weeks and has not been at the store since being informed she was exposed to the virus, Kostoff said.
All MCPAWS staff members were tested for COVID-19 on Monday as a precaution, she said.
A man who lives in Council and was exposed to the virus works at True North Construction in McCall, company representative Carrie Potter said.
The crew on which the employee worked was shut down until they could be tested, Potter said. All tests showed no signs of the virus, she said.
An employee of M&W Market in Council tested positive for COVID-19 on June 13, said Jim Tate, general manager of M&W Markets.
“We sanitized the areas this person might have touched in addition to the check stands, shopping carts, doors and other areas we are constantly sanitizing on a regular basis,” Tate said.
“All employees were tested for COVID-19 and they have come back negative,” he said.
Only one confirmed case of COVID-19 had been reported before the latest cases. A Council man was admitted to a hospital suffering symptoms, but recovered.
— Tom Grote, The Star-News (McCall), Thursday
