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Board of Trustees

Photo (l-r): Bob Bates, Teresa Myott, John Aune, Becky Dickerson, and Jon Kehne.

The WCL Board of Trustees is composed of five members of the community who are appointed by the county commissioners to serve five-year terms. A board member may serve two consecutive terms. Each member serves without compensation. They are:

Becky Dickerson is a mom, library cardholder and publisher of The Community Current Newspaper in St. John, WA. As an Air Force kid, Becky was stationed with her family throughout the states and Europe, always finding refuge in her local library. This adoration of libraries has stayed with her through adulthood and leads her to her branch library, children in tow twice a week. Becky lives with her husband Todd and three girls near the family farm.

Jon has many years of experience in business administration, serving as a bank manager for over 30 years. Jon believes the library to be essential to our community for educational, business, and recreational needs.

Teresa Myott is a first grade teacher in the Potlatch School District. She has 27 years of teaching experience in elementary, junior high, and high school settings. Teresa serves as a first responder for the Palouse Emergency Medical Services and a volunteer at Needful Things, the Palouse Community Center thrift store. Her spare time is spent reading, sewing, and crafting. Teresa and her husband Don live in Palouse.

The library has always been a window to the world for Teresa. She serves as a library trustee because of this experience. "I could never really give back enough for all I have been given from books and libraries." 

Bob Bates has operated an insurance office in Colton for more than 25 years. A graduate of WSU with a bachelor and master’s degrees and a veteran of the Vietnam War, Bates was a teacher and coach at Tekoa for seven years and then moved to Colton where he led the Wildcats to a state title win at the Kingdome in 1977. He started his insurance business part-time in 1979 and became a full time agent in 1984. He now offers life insurance, investment and retirement plan services at his office in the former bank building in Colton.

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John Aune, a third generation resident of Whitman County, has owned and operated a diversified farm the past 35 years. A graduate of Lacrosse High School, Aune attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma where he developed a lifelong love of libraries. He was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. Aune served twelve years on the Dusty Farm Co-op Board of Directors including three as chairman. Aune is a member of Selbu Lutheran Church in Lacrosse and attends the Onecho Bible Church. He and his wife Jane have a son, a daughter, and 6 grandchildren. In addition to being an avid reader, he enjoys golfing, sport fishing and following the area’s athletic teams on all levels of competition.

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Library contacts by phone at 397-4366 or 877-733-3375
Kristie Kirkpatrick, Library Director kirkpatr@colfax.com 397-3970, cell 592-7984
Peggy Bryan, Board executive secretary brianp@colfax.com 549-3613, cell 710-7554

The Whitman County Library District was formed in 1945 with the goal of providing service to all residents throughout the vast reaches of our rural county. WCL’s dedicated staff has brought technology and innovation to our library district without sacrificing our most important mission: to provide you with the best and most modern library services possible. Thirteen branch libraries provide quality services to over 10,000 cardholders. Residents can access the library twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week through our website, place book orders on-line and have them delivered to their front door or the nearest community library.

Hundreds of children regularly attend story time and juvenile library programs. Thanks to a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation we provide much-improved Internet access and computing to over 400 customers each week. We do all of this at great value to Whitman County taxpayers. Our continued goal is to serve our citizens and communities with this bold approach to rural library services and a resolute sense of stewardship.
-Rebecca Dickerson, Trustee, Whitman County Library

Most recent previous board members

Leslee Miller 2001-2010
Linda Fletcher 2001-2005
Ronald B. Webster 1997–2002
Anna-Maria Shannon 1999-2002
Dennis Ulrey 1998-2001
Mary Sue Thompson 1990-2000
Bob Wallace 1998-2000
Marilyn Bafus 1988-1998
Dorothy Smith 1991-1998

*Explanation of terms:

A trustee can serve a maximum of 2 terms of 5 yrs each. Filling any part of an un-expired term does not count as a term and can be in addition to the two full terms of service.