News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A letter from the city’s attorney to the Bureau of Reclamation official, which the city council ratified last week, confirms that the city of Grand Coulee and the federal agency “have mutually agreed to ‘pause’ or significantly reduce service under the Contract due to the lack of City personnel to fulfill the Contract service requirements.” Along with the city’s current police staffing shortage, the Oct. 2 letter from City Attorney Julie K. Norton to Sandra Snediker at Reclamation’s Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Boise, Idaho, unders...
Grand Coulee has decided to re-advertise its police chief position, signaling an intent to rebuild its own department rather than contracting out with another jurisdiction. “I am recommending here that we go ahead and set out to hire our own chief of police at this point,” Mayor Ruth Dalton told the council at its Oct. 15 meeting. “We need to kind of take care of this as soon as possible here, to get our police department back where it needs to be.” The council approved an annual salary range of $110,000 to $130,000 for the police chief j...
The switchyards that direct the power from Grand Coulee Dam have been owned by that Bureau of Reclamation project since it was all built, but that just changed. On Tuesday, the Reclamation formally handed over ownership of those assets to the Bonneville Power Administration at a signing ceremony in front of the dam, much of which was used to recognize those in each agency who worked to make it happen, many of them for years. Grand Coulee Power Manager Coleman Smith said he has been working on th...
A cooking mishap turned a house to ashes Friday, leaving a family without a home, but well, not including one or more less fortunate pets. Firefighters got the call at 5: 24 that evening, according to a post on the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department's Facebook. When they arrived, "the fire had progressed enough to determine it would be a defensive attack," the post states, so firefighting would emphasize keeping it from spreading to other structures and the dry grass in the adjacent lot. A...
Grand Coulee Police 9/16 - The Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam police departments assisted tribal police at the casino in Coulee Dam where an intoxicated man with blood on his face had been irate towards security. He was found lying on a nearby lawn. He explained that he had recently gotten out of prison but didn’t explain what happened to his face. Being wanted on a tribal arrest warrant, he was put in wrist restraints and tribal police took him away once they arrived on scene. 9/17 - Grand Coulee Dam security personnel told police about a d...
Participants take off in unison Saturday morning as race director Kelly Buche's air horn signals the start of the 10k race for the annual Run the Dam. Though it was chilly - the night before saw the season's first frost advisory - the grueling climb up "the dam hill" all but guaranteed everyone would break a sweat. Aside from official tours, Run the Dam's 5k, 10k and half marathon events are the only opportunity for the general public to cross the top of the dam, which is closed to general...
It looks increasingly likely the Grand Coulee Police Department won’t exist for much longer. Instead, the city may contract with an outside entity for law enforcement within city limits — potentially the Soap Lake Police Department or the Grant County Sheriff’s Office — based on comments made at Tuesday night’s council meeting, and by outgoing interim police chief Levi Johnson in a phone call with The Star last week. Johnson confirmed he had put in his notice earlier this month, and his last day with the department is next week. Council m...
Coulee Dam Police 9/8 - An officer went to an SR-174 address in Douglas County and stood by while a Douglas County deputy investigated a burglary report. 9/10 - While parked near River Drive and 11th Street in Coulee Dam, an officer clocked a vehicle going 35 miles per hour in the 20 miles per hour school zone. The speed limit outside of the school zone is 30 miles per hour. The vehicle was pulled over. The driver said he normally goes 30-35 mph in that area. He told the officer that he doesn’t drink but the officer smelled alcohol and noted b...
A young man came down from the top of the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Thursday evening, coached down by a Nespelem Valley Electric worker with a bucket truck. Police had called for the truck earlier in the day from the Rural Electric Authority utility, which also contracts to do line repairs for the city utility in Coulee Dam and was nearby. Police were looking for a way to communicate with the man and planned to have a cell phone delivered with the bucket truck. But the man in the...
Coulee Dam Police 9/2 - An officer spoke to an Electric City woman about an argument she had with her boyfriend that included him throwing some stuff near her phone causing it to fall and crack, and him leaving with their baby. The officer contacted the man by phone, but the man had not given a statement on the situation before the officer had checked out of service. Otherwise, he could have gone to jail for causing the damage to the phone, the officer explained to the woman. - Police went to Camas Street where a woman explained a situation...
Citing its current "security posture," Bureau of Reclamation staff has told the Grand Coulee city clerk the agency does not intend to renew its $750,000 annual contract for law enforcement services with the city. The agreement, which has been amended and renewed since it began in 2017, is set to expire May 31 of next year. "As of now, we will not be renewing unless our security posture changes, and it is required," the Bureau's contract specialist wrote to the clerk last month. Although that...
Update A young man came down from the top of the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Thursday evening, coached down by a Nespelem Valley Electric worker with a bucket truck. Police had called for the truck earlier in the day from the Rural Electric Authority utility, which also contracts to do line repairs for the city utility in Coulee Dam and was nearby. Police were looking for a way to communicate with the man and planned to have a cell phone delivered with the bucket truck. But the man in... Full story
Several boat ramps on Banks Lake will be temporarily unavailable because of an upcoming scheduled drawdown. The Bureau of Reclamation will lower the elevation of Banks Lake by 7.3 feet to support environmental and operational objectives, the agency said Aug. 16. The reservoir's level will be lowered Aug. 23 and may remain low through Sept. 5. At that time, the reservoir will return to its regular operation elevation. The drawdown will reduce the lake's elevation to 1,562.7 feet, impacting the...
Lake Roosevelt schools could move to a four-day school week in the 2025-26 school year, and an informal survey of the community showed a majority of respondents support the idea so far. Superintendent Rod Broadnax presented the school board Monday with the results from the voluntary six-question survey he put out to the public on the district website and Facebook page, asking people’s thoughts on how a four-day week would impact families, student learning, attendance and other metrics. 260 people responded. To the big question – “Do you feel...
Only one person applied to be mayor when it came open this spring. But the council will have a few more choices for the open Grand Coulee City Council seat and may appoint a new member as soon as next week. Those seeking the spot were asked to write a letter explaining their interest, which was due Monday. The council will interview candidates at their regular public meeting at City Hall on Aug. 20, 6 p.m. They may take a vote to appoint the new council member at the same meeting. Four people applied, and all four will be interviewed. The candi...
Grand Coulee Police 7/29 - Police were unable to locate a girl who had kicked her mother’s bedroom door on Weil Place, causing damage, before taking off on foot. The mother didn’t wish to press charges. 7/30 - A woman reported her house on Dill Street had the door forced open and that pots were missing from the kitchen. She requested that a man seen cutting a fallen tree in her yard earlier be banned from the property. 7/31 - A man reportedly threatened to shoot someone at Steamboat Rock State Park. A State Parks ranger requested ass...
A fire that originated at a local resort spread rapidly over a hill separating the resort from the rest of Electric City, but ultimately required all local fire crews, federal wildland firefighters, and air support to suppress Tuesday. Fire calls went out between 2 and 3 p.m., drawing in local firefighters from all stations, and prompting fire chiefs to call for air support. The blaze, which got away from a Sunbanks Lake Resort fire, the origin of which was not clear at the time of this writing,...
The Grand Coulee volunteer firefighters would like to remind everyone to be careful during the upcoming July 4th holiday and to be careful all summer during outside activities. Local firefighters are not alone in their concern. Agencies responsible for fighting fires statewide are issuing pleas for safety and advising people take in public displays instead of lighting off their own fireworks. "In 2023, fire incidents from fireworks resulted in more than $12 million of property damage in...
GRAND COULEE, Wash. – The Bureau of Reclamation is prohibiting fireworks on North Dam for the Independence Day holiday. Reclamation is taking precautionary measures to decrease the potential for wildland fire and is reminding the public that use of fireworks is prohibited on Reclamation lands and waterbodies. Reclamation will allow the permitted fireworks display at Grand Coulee Dam to occur for the festivities. There is a low risk of fireworks reaching the surrounding lands from the top of the dam, so the show can proceed. The fireworks s... Full story
Two stories in The Star this week revolve around a problem central to not only the Grand Coulee Dam area, but to the nation as a whole: housing shortages. More than any other problem, a lack of good housing is the biggest impediment the local area faces to economic development. Two proposals — Coulee Medical Center’s tiny homes project and the Center Senior Living initiative — would address different aspects of this similar problem. All the largest employers in the area deal with a lack of housing when recruiting workers to come here. The B...
After a process going back more than two years, the Banks Lake Golf Course will soon be owned and operated by descendents of the area's original people: the Colville Confederated Tribes. Grant County Port District #7 Commissioners quickly voted to approve moving forward with the $1.2 million purchase and sale agreement after Commission Chair Jim Keene gave a presentation on the negotiations and terms at a June 11 Port Commission meeting. It was the only item on the agenda. "I'll just say that...
Bureau of Reclamation officials opened the doors of the new fire station in Grand Coulee Tuesday during public tours of the nearly complete new facility they said would be open within a few weeks. With terrazzo floors embedded with LED lighting strips to guide engine drivers in, a computer room overlooking the engine bay, a huge kitchen with lockers for individual crew members, windows that adjust the incoming sunlight to the needs dictated by the HVAC system, and much more, the bright facility...
Construction work at the Bureau of Reclamation's fire station is near completion, and the public is invited to attend an open house set for Tuesday, June 4 from 4-6 p.m., the bureau said in a press release Tuesday. The fire station is located at the west gate to the Grand Coulee Power Office industrial area near the intersection of Highway 155 and B Street. The public is advised to park at Pole Park. Traffic control will be available to safely guide citizens across the highway to the fire...
Bureau of Reclamation will begin operations May 25 of the "One River, Many Voices" laser light show and John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant public tours. The light show will run nightly at 10 p.m. Pacific Time through July 31. Beginning Aug. 1, the show will start at 9:30 p.m., and from Sept. 1 to 30, it will begin at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are not required to enjoy the laser light show. Public tours at the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant will be available daily through Oct. 31. Tour times...
Bob and Diane Babler of Grand Coulee will celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday May 25th, 2024 with a family gathering in Spokane. They were married at the Community Church in Coulee Dam on May 25th 1974. Both are retired from the Bureau of Reclamation. They have two children: Justin (Heather) Babler of Eltopia, Washington and Sarah (Wade) Alling of Grand Coulee. They have 5 grandchildren and 2 step-grandchildren. Congratulations Mom and Dad!...
