BRIEFS

ESCAPEE CAUGHT IN SPOKANE COLFAX - The Whitman County inmate who escaped Saturday evening while on outdoor work duty and may have spent part of the weekend in Columbia County, was captured and arrested Monday in Spokane, according to the Whitman County Sheriff's OfficeTuesday afternoon. Twenty-nine-year-old Ronald Alan Rutledge had just 18 days left on a four-month prison sentence for burglary. Rutledge may have been involved with two incidents that occurred in Dayton on Sunday, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, including a residential burglary and the theft of a flat-bed semi-truck, which was reported stolen and later recovered in Spokane.

Charges in Columbia County have not yet been filed.

WAITSBURG MAN SENTENCED WALLA WALLA - Waitsburg man Keith E. Adams, who pleaded guilty to felony harassment charges earlier this month, was sentenced Monday to three months in Walla Walla County jail.

Adams, 24, of 360 Preston Ave., threatened to kill 21-year-old Melissa Sharpe in a September domestic dispute and standoff with sheriff's deputies. Superior Court Judge Donald W. Schacht gave Adams credit for 67 days already served and placed him on a year of community custody when he's released.

TWO PLEAD GUILTY IN DAYTON

DAYTON - The Columbia County Prosecutor's Of­fice reports that two suspects charged with two separate crimes in Dayton earlier this fall and late summer have pleaded guilty to charges.

Twenty-four-year-old Travis Garcia pleaded guilty this month to two counts of possession of stolen firearms, a class B felony, and possession of stolen property in the second degree, a class C felony. Garcia will be officially sentenced on Dec. 22, but his plea agreement is for 25 months, or just over two years of imprisonment. The two rifles and television, belonging to a resident on E. Washington Street in Dayton, were reported stolen, along with two other rifles and a second TV, on July 21. Chief Deputy Joe Helm found that forcible entry had been made by the removal of an air conditioner from a window to the master bedroom. In a separate case, Jimmy Hampton Jr., 35, pleaded guilty this month to assault in the second degree, his second "strike" offense. Hampton went to prison in 2004 after pleading guilty to second degree assault against the same victim. Washington state passed the first "Three Strikes" law in the U.S. in 1993. It has been amended several times since, but it basically mandates life imprisonment without parole for those convicted three separate times of a wide range of felonies, including second degree assault. In this second case, Hampton was arrested on Sept. 13 in Dayton after reports that he had assaulted his girlfriend. His second guilty plea will see him jailed for 38 months, or just over three years.

HELP CONSERVATION EFFORT

DAYTON - The Columbia Conservation District is hold­ing an election for a volunteer supervisor position. To be eligible to hold a supervisor's position, a candidate must be a registered voter who resides in the conservation district's boundaries The district is directed by five unpaid supervisors who identify local conservation needs, set goals, and implement plans to protect soil, water, wildlife and other renewable natural resources. Interested qualifying individuals may pick up a Candidate Information Form and Nomination Petition at the Columbia Conservation District office, located in the Federal Building, 202 South Second Street, Dayton. Candidate filing deadline is Dec. 16. Questions should be directed to the district officeby calling 509-382-4773 ext.5.

The election of the Columbia Conservation District will be held between the hours of 8:30 am and 12:30 pm on Thursday, Jan. 13, at the Seneca Activity Center, N Guernsey Way, Dayton.

CIVIL SERVICE OPENINGS WALLA WALLA - As a result of resignations submitted, Walla Walla County is seeking applicants to fill the three positions on the Civil Service Commission for the sheriff's office. Duties of the commission are to make suitable rules and regulations consistent with provisions of applicable state statute and oversee personnel administration (examinations are given to determine the capacity of an applicant to perform the duties of the position, appointments, promotions, demo­tions,

suspensions and discharges of the covered sheriff's office employees, conduct hearings and investigations, and other duties as provided in the statute), and ascertain that all applicable rules and regulations are obeyed. The Civil Service Commission is to hold regular meetings at least once a month, and other meetings as may be required for the proper discharge of its duties. Applications, which are due no later than Dec. 10, can be obtained from the county website (www.co.walla-walla.wa.us), or the Walla Walla County Commissioners' Office,County Public Health and Legislative Building, 314 West Main/P.O. Box 1506, Walla Walla, or by calling the Com­missioners'

Office at (509) 524-2505. Interested persons are encouraged to call or email (wwcocommissioners@co.walla-walla.wa.us) with questions.

BASEBALL WINTER CAMP WALLA WALLA - Athletes ages 8 to 18 are invited to the Whitman College Baseball Winter Camp on Saturday, Dec. 4, and Sunday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon each day. The camp will take place in the Sherwood Athletics Center, Whitman College campus. Mark Michaud, pitching coach for the Whitman College baseball team and the Walla Walla Sweets baseball team, will direct the camp, which will cover baseball fundamentals. The cost is $60 per student and includes purchase of a camp t-shirt. For more information, contact Mark Michaud Jr. at 509-522-4438 or michaum@whitman.edu.