News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It’s good to have goals so you know which direction to go. The Grand Coulee Dam School District board of directors discussed the district’s “Strategic Plan” Monday night and the goals it contains. Superintendent Paul Turner described the strategic plan as a “living document” as the group discussed its three goals, the objectives behind each goal, and possible changes to the goals, the order they’re in, and other aspects of the document that the board may feel needs amending, or clarification. Board Director George LaPlace wants more input fr...
The recent discussion about a new jail for Grant County, illegal drug use and the criminal actions created by drug users, focused my attention on a policy issue that the nation needs to be talking about. Certainly, if the nation won’t, the states should. Drug addiction is a real societal disease that has high costs in human lives, property loss and community resources. Smoke it, inject it or swallow it, and more is needed to keep the fix going. The fix wares off and the user scurries around, d...
Raider football fans attended a Thursday Night Lights fundraiser at the Lake Roosevelt football field Thursday, marking the first success for a new booster club The event was well attended, with the parking lot looking as crowded as it is during games. The Raider football players were introduced to the crowd by name and jersey number before running drills. Those included lineman contests, a seven-on-seven drill, and 11-on-11 style play. "There's some pretty big boys out there," a fan could be...
Should medical marijuana be treated like any other medicine at school? The state thinks so, and Grand Coulee Dam School District directors last week briefly discussed a possible policy on the matter during a first reading of several policies. When a policy regarding medication at school came up at their meeting Aug. 26, Superintendent Paul Turner brought the board’s attention to a paragraph about medical marijuana in particular, which explains that although the substance may be legal in some states, it is still illegal at the federal level a...
Record numbers of people calling for emergency help have led the Grand Coulee Volunteer Ambulance Service to seek additional emergency medical technicians. “We are at another record pace of emergency and transport calls for the Grand Coulee Dam Area,” Grand Coulee EMS Chief Rick Paris said. The year 2018 saw 505 calls, up from 480 in 2017, up from 402 in 2016, Paris told The Star. As of the end of July 2019, some 283 emergency medical calls had come in, according to a report provided by Paris at the August Grand Coulee council meeting. Cur...
Wouldn’t it be nice if a kid could take swim lessons in the Coulee area? Swimming and boating are a big part of our recreatio,n after all. Local woman Lonna Bussert is looking into the logistics of the effort after parents in the area told her they were taking their kids to Wilbur for swim lessons, which made her realize the need for lessons here. The Coulee Area Park and Recreation District is interested in, and looking into, sponsoring the program, according to Commissioner Kevin Portch. Bussert, who also serves on the Electric City Council,...
Fall is fast approaching, and rather than be plagued by the summertime blues, why not celebrate autumn with the upcoming Harvest Festival? There will be food and fun aplenty for adults and kids alike with helicopter rides, arts and crafts, games, barbecues, beers, live music. The Harvest Festival, put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 20-22, at North Dam Park. Helicopter rides will be available from Inland Helicopters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on...
This Thursday night, your support of the Raider football team could get you a side of beef, an exclusive parking spot for games, and a nice dinner this Thursday. The parents of Raider football players and the Lake Roosevelt Athletic Booster Club will hold a Thursday Night Lights fundraiser on Sept. 6 to raise money for the team to go toward expenses such as new jerseys. The event will start at 6 p.m. at the Lake Roosevelt football field, where a night practice will be held under the field lights and the community can greet the football team bef...
Grand Coulee city streets are about to receive some tender loving care at no cost to the city. The Grand Coulee City Council, at their Aug. 20 council meeting, accepted a bid from Davenport-based company DW Excavating of $576,005 to repair streets throughout the city. Engineering and additional other costs of $104,800 paid to the engineering firm Gray & Osborne bring the total to $680,805. The repairs will be paid for with a combination of money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will pay $510,604, plus a 25% match from the...
A lost dog named Wilson was found alive and well along Lake Roosevelt on Aug. 25, reuniting him with his owners after he'd been missing for two weeks. Cheri and Casey Groves lost Wilson Aug. 10 from their summer home in the Spring Canyon Road area during a storm. Cheri Groves said she had gone outside for a quick moment and Wilson was by her side. When she went back inside, he wasn't by her side, and must have run off scared by the thunder. The almost 5-year-old golden retriever must have had...
Construction is scheduled to begin next Tuesday on street and sidewalk work in Electric City. Updates on the project will be available at www.electriccity.us as well as Electric City's Facebook page found under "City of Electric City Municipal Government." Starting Sept. 3, construction will begin with the pulverization of asphalt along Western and Grand avenues. "There will be road closures, and intermittent water shutoffs as we proceed on the projects." an Aug. 26 post on the city's Facebook...
With the current jail in Grant County regularly being at maximum capacity, criminals get to roam free, an issue the sheriff says a new, larger jail could address. A measure on the Nov. 5 ballot to raise the sales tax in Grant County by 0.3% could build a new jail in Grant County and bring in over $80,000 a year to the Grand Coulee Police Department and boost other municipal police departments around the county. The city councils of Electric City and Grand Coulee have each come out in favor of Proposition 1. The estimated $5.5 million-$6 million...
I attended the Grand Coulee Council meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 20. I had forgotten about the meeting until I saw four Grant County Sheriff’s vehicles in front of City Hall. I realized then it was council night. I went to investigate, thinking all this show of force was for the drug and criminal problems that plague our community. Instead it was Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones giving a presentation and wanting support to build a new jail. “The Power of Building a Safer Grant County.” Someone has finally noticed that the existing jail is too small to...
Here we are again at the end of our sale season as we come to the community to thank everyone for a fantastic thirteen-week run at the VET Center. Our American Legion Post appreciates everybody has who stopped by and shopped with us during our sale. Although it seemed like a very long stretch for those of us who worked every week to gather and prepare all the treasures that we had for sale, the time flew by as we greeted many of the same people on a weekly basis. With all the community support, our sales set a record this year, bypassing our...
After a long process of crossing the t's and dotting i's, the sale of Center School has finally closed and its new owners are developing plans. The former school on Spokane Way in Grand Coulee was sold by the Grand Coulee Dam School District to Centerline Development, a company co-founded by local men Nic Alexander and Ian Turner, for $155,000. The 8.3-acre property has a lot of potential, Alexander told The Star. He and Turner are envisioning various kinds of quality housing. "We're super...
The Colville Tribes released 30 Chinook salmon at the Keller boat launch, just north of the Keller Ferry, on Aug.16, the first time salmon have been above the Grand Coulee Dam in nearly 80 years. Roughly 300 people attended the event in which people formed two parallel, single-file lines stretching from a Colville Tribes Fish and Wildlife truck containing the salmon, to the shore. The large fish were scooped out of the truck one at a time, placed into a rubber bag that was then passed along the...
Fireworks won’t be banned from Electric City, the result of a discussion last week considering such an action by the city council. Citizen and firefighter Ken Dexter told the city council Aug. 13 that he was speaking for himself and Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne when he made a few points against a possible ordinance outright banning fireworks within city limits. “The main reason we are against this fireworks ordinance is we don’t want to drive people outside the city,” Dexter said. “My main concern is we don’t want to drive people out...
If culinary cred, zeal and creative thinking have anything to do with it, Patty Davis is about to make a mark on her home turf. Davis has studied and worked in the culinary arts from coast to coast in the United States, and in Hawaii, especially, before coming back to the coulee area, where she's starting a business to share her gift with her fellow community members. A Lake Roosevelt graduate, Davis left the state of Washington for Hawaii at the age of 21 to pursue her culinary dreams. There...
Oh, the joys of being a homeowner. Aiden Picard was surprised to learn on Aug. 7, the day before his fifth birthday, that he'd be getting his dream home. That dream home, a playhouse, was made by DWK Fowler Construction to be raffled off to raise money for the Ridge Riders Junior Rodeo. Young Picard had wanted allowance, or any other money he would have received, to go toward raffle tickets with his grandmother, Reyne Finley. "He was just determined to buy that house," his mother, Meghan...
Brian Warnecke has been appointed as a new commissioner for the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District following the resignation of longtime member Bob Valen. Valen still intends to be available to consult with other members of the group. Commission President Kevin Portch praised Valen’s wealth of knowledge on topics related to the district. Warnecke spoke about his family’s long history in the area, his love of baseball and softball, being born in the local hospital, and other community involvement such as working for UPS for 19 years and...
Drones planting trees in burned wildlands While drones are coming of age in firefighting, they are also establishing a foothold in restoring fire-scorched forests. Firefighting drones grabbed the spotlight last April 15 as viewers around the world watched Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris go up in flames. It has stood for over 850 years, through wars, natural disasters, and everything in between, including the fire. At first, it appeared the iconic building would be completely destroyed; however, French firefighters used thermal vision drones to di...
It's hard to go to school without school supplies. The Public School Employees union from Lake Roosevelt, joined this year by the teachers union, worked on Monday to "Stuff The Bus" with school supplies for students ranging from preschoolers to seniors in high school. PSE members stationed themselves along Midway Avenue with a school bus in Grand Coulee to collect supplies and cash donations towards supplies, while Grand Coulee Dam Education Association members stationed near Harvest Foods in...
The Bowman Electric softball team Saturday emerged the champions from this year's Grand Coulee Dam Area Adult Summer Softball League's 2019 Kenny Hearne Summer Classic Softball Tournament, following the season that spanned the summer. Bowman Electric went undefeated in the three-day tournament held at North Dam Park Aug. 15-17. They faced off against the ECT team, who, after losing in the first round, won the loser's bracket to make it to the championship. Bowman Electric won the championship...
Animal control, a common need among local towns, is being addressed by the Regional Board of Mayors, who are looking into contracting with the Colville Confederated Tribes to address the issue. The RBOM met on Monday, when animal control was discussed by Elmer City Mayor Jesse Tillman, Electric City Mayor John Nordine, Coulee Dam Mayor Bob Poch, Grand Coulee Mayor Pro Tempore Tom Poplawski, and Marica Sample, the sole employee of Colville Tribal Animal Control. “It’s a need throughout all of our towns,” Tillman said. Sample said the tribe...
The Coulee Dam Police Department last week took part in National Night Out, a sort of meet and greet event that takes place each August nationwide at thousands of police departments who interact with their communities in a casual way. Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden said that in 15 years in law enforcement, he had not yet taken part in National Night Out and decided it was time to do so. He plans to do so again next year. "It's just for people to come out and meet us, know where we're...