BRIEFS

MEETING FOR WAIT'S MARKET

WAITSBURG - Supporters of a permanent "Wait's Market" like the one the town had during Cycle Oregon last year will meet to explore the formation of a group at Deanne and Larry Johnson's home.

The meeting will be at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, and anyone interested in helping organize and run a regular farmer's market in Waitsburg for the Touchet Valley is welcome to join.

HOMICIDE TRIAL DELAYED

DAYTON - The state's new case against James Colbert, accused of vehicular homicide in Columbia County in 2008, will go to trial in Dayton on May 23.

A Superior Court judge in January ruled that electronic information used to create a map of the accident scene received by the county prosecutor's office from state patrol should have been shared with Colbert's attorney. The judge declared a mistrial.

A new trial date was set for earlier this week, but Colbert's new attorneys moved or a continuance. A defense motion for dismissal was denied.

Colbert, 50, was involved with a one-vehicle rollover on Tucannon Road on June 20, 2008. The police report puts this Spokane-area man behind the wheel of the 1975 Ford pickup pulling a camper at around 7:30 p.m. the night of the accident.

County Prosecutor Rea Culwell alleges that Colbert was intoxicated and was therefore responsible for the death of his girlfriend, Patricia Reid, whom emergency responders found dead at the scene.

Colbert was airlifted in critical but stable condition to Kadlec Hospital in the Tri-Cities.

SEX-ABUSE TRIAL DELAYED

WALLA WALLA - Carl G. Bell Jr., 32, of 519 Coppei Ave., Waitsburg, is now set to appear in Walla Walla County Superior Court on June 9 and 10.

Bell has been charged with 15 felony counts in a sex-abuse cased initially scheduled for November, delayed to January and then set for March 9 and 10.

Bell is charged with three counts of first-degree rape of a child, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and 10 counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Bell was arrested last year and booked into the county jail. If convicted as charged, Bell would face a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

DUI PATROLS PLANNED

WALLA WALLA - Law enforcement officers in Walla Walla County will be on a special watch between March 11-20 for drunken drivers partying during St. Patrick's Day celebrations, according to a news release.

Participating in these patrols are College Place and Walla Walla Police Departments and the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office as well as the Washington State Patrol.

SCIENCE EXPO FOR GIRLS

WALLA WALLA - On Saturday, March 26, the Walla Walla branch of the American Association of University Women will present Great Explorations, a science, technology, engineering and math adventure for 5th through 8th grade girls, at Whitman College, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.