News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Raider players learned some lessons at the state 2B basketball tournament last week in Spokane where they competed against top teams from around the state. "That experience of going to state is something you can't take away from these boys," Raider Head Coach Jeremy Crollard said. "Playing in the Arena is a different atmosphere." At the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena March 2, the Raiders faced off against the Coupeville Wolves. Coupeville started the game with a 9-0 run before the Raiders got...
The Lady Raiders competed in the state 2B basketball tournament last week, taking on teams from around the state and capping the year with the best game they've played all year, according to their coach. "That was fun!" Lady Raider Head Coach Peewee Pleasants said about playing La Conner in the Lake Roosevelt team's final event of the tournament at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane on Friday. Pleasants said the Lady Raiders hadn't that quality of competition all season, and the girls...
Lady Raiders Assistant Coach Matthew Pleasants came across something shocking while reviewing video from their Feb. 18 game against the Okanogan Lady Bulldogs. While a Lady Raider, who is of African-American descent as well as a tribal member, was shooting free throws, Okanogan fans jeered at her by making monkey noises. Pleasants and his father, Head Coach Wallace “Peewee” Pleasants, are also African-American, and Matthew Pleasants, said that he found the jeering “disheartening” but added that he wasn’t “one bit surprised.” That type of behav...
With mask mandates changing around the country and in the state of Washington, people expressed mixed feelings in a Star poll this week. Readers who took the poll on state mask mandates ending in March are split over the topic, with 56.5% being comfortable with the idea, and 43.5% being uncomfortable with it. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Feb. 17 that Covid-19 mask restrictions will be loosening on March 21 for the state, the date "we project we will be in a position to be able to reduce some of...
There'll be a new superintendent in the Grand Coulee Dam School District for the 2024-25 school year. Current Superintendent Paul Turner told the district's board of directors Monday that he intends to retire after working part time for two more school years. Turner noted the past two years being hard both physically and mentally caused him to look at his personal situation and his future, leading to his decision. A full-time assistant superintendent will be hired to potentially, but not definit...
We’ve all seen the flash of lightning and heard the aftermath of the lightning bolt — the loud clap of thunder. There are three basic elements needed to form lightning. An unstable atmosphere, moisture, and some type of atmospheric action to get the air moving. Most lightning activity we see occurs during our summer months here in the Coulee. Yet, there have been some occurrences of lightning during the winter too. According to NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, lightning is one of the o...
Washington’s Board of Natural Resources is considering banning timber harvesting on state lands. That is extremely unwise. Instead, the Board must ensure its healthy forest policies incorporate ALL management tools, including planting, thinning and logging. The Board, established in 1957, sets policies to manage Washington’s 5.6 million acres granted by Congress in 1889. More than 3 million acres were designated as trust lands, of which 2.1 million acres are forests, to support various public institutions. Banning timber harvesting robs cri...
The Raider team demolished their opponent at the regional round of the state 2B basketball tournament to qualify for the next round at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena Wednesday. The ninth-seeded Lake Roosevelt team beat the number-16 River View team by 38 points, 80-42, on Feb. 26. The win sends the Raiders to the next round, tonight, March 2, at 9 p.m. at the arena when they will play number-eight seed Coupeville in a fight to keep their season alive. If they win, they will play Liberty...
The Lady Raiders basketball team lost the regional round of the state 2B tournament but were scheduled to play again today at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena to keep their postseason alive at the State 2B Basketball Tournament. The sixth-seeded Lady Raiders lost 70-50 against the number-three seed, Colfax Feb. 25 at University High School in Spokane Valley. "We played against a high-caliber team and it took us a while to get going," Assistant Coach Matthew Pleasants said. "The start of the...
A man who was unconscious in his burning car gets to continue to live with his family thanks to local heroism. Three Jess Ford employees saved the Ephrata man's life in December. Joshua Bessette, 46, of Ephrata, was on his way to work at the Grand Coulee Dam on Dec. 3 at about 7 a.m. He was driving north on SR-155 at about milepost eight between Coulee City and Grand Coulee near the Million Dollar Mile, when, according to a report from Washington State Patrol Trooper John Bryant, he left the...
With mask mandates set to lift in late March, half of school district personnel are skeptical about the idea, and our readers can voice their own opinions in a brief online poll. Governor Jay Inslee announced on Feb. 17 that Covid-19 mask restrictions will be loosening in March for the state. As of March 21, masks will still be required at medical facilities, long term care settings, public transit, correctional facilities, and at whatever private businesses that choose to require them. They will no longer be required at schools, libraries,...
Free passes on public transportation for young people and upgrades to major bridges are all part of a 16-year transportation funding plan approved by the Washington State Senate. The Senate approved the proposed revenue sources for the $17 billion “Move Ahead Washington” transportation investment package on a 29-20 vote Feb. 15. The bill sponsored by Transportation Committee Chair Sen. Marko Liias, D-Everett, now goes to the House for consideration. The plan includes funding for transit programs, replacement of fish passageways and electrificat...
Small business owners and schoolchildren hurt by the pandemic would see some financial relief with approval of state supplemental budget proposals now under consideration. “We’re looking at the basics, food, shelter, health and cash assistance,” House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, said. “Those are things in this pandemic economy that are going to make a difference in people’s lives, and that is our focus.” The Washington State House and Senate each released their proposals Feb. 21, just hours before public hear...
The Raider wrestlers did it again, producing two state champs and two second placers over the weekend, with the team taking third place in the state. "Every single wrestler on the team won a match at state and scored valuable team points to allow us to get third," Head Coach Billy Monroe said. "When the season started, we were ranked as the seventh best team in the state, so I think we surprised quite a few other teams and coaches with how tough our kids ended up being." At the state...
With roughly 56% of voters voting against two levies in the Grand Coulee Dam School District last week, school board members are looking into running just one levy in November. In the Feb. 8 election, the Educational Programs and Operation Levy failed 631 votes to 483 among voters in the district, while the Capital Levy for Safety, Technology and Facilities Improvements failed 599-477. Combined, the two levies would have brought in a combined $1.4-$1.7 million per year from 2023 to 2026 into the school district. Superintendent Paul Turner...
Fences were built last week to close a popular beach at Steamboat Rock State Park a year after the decision was made to close it. In January of 2021, The Star reported that a stretch of beach, located near the main boat launch in the park, was being closed due to erosion and to protect resources, according to employees from the park as well as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Originally, a fence was going to be built from a point on the beach near the boat launch, up to an access road, around a...
In the wake of the pandemic, Seattle Children’s Hospital reports an increasing number of children need outpatient mental health treatment, but not enough providers exist to meet the demand. “The devastating consequence of the inability to access outpatient care is that you’re likely to get worse and need emergency department or crisis level care,” said Kashi Arora, from Seattle Children’s Hospital. House Bill 1800, now under consideration in the state Legislature, creates a behavioral workgroup to identify barriers to behavioral health services...
Aijanae Young is a birth postpartum doula, a person who delivers non-medical care after birth. She said she didn’t realize the value she brought to her clients until she was the one in need. Young said before her doula arrived, she felt her pain and symptoms weren’t being addressed, and she had to fight to have the support she needed. “My doula listened to my cries, saw my struggles, she said. “I was afraid and suddenly didn’t know what to ask.” Doulas can provide physical, emotional, and informational support during and after pregnancy,...
As you may have heard, the Washington State Redistricting Commission approved maps to rebalance our 49 statewide legislative districts and 10 federal congressional districts in November. This is a process conducted every 10 years in our state based on the federal Census data for population. The process was challenging in 2021, in part because the commission received data later than usual and because of the significant population growth shown in western Washington. Despite approving the plans late, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that...
The Raiders won their first basketball game of the district playoffs then lost the second last week, and now must beat Manson at home Thursday to stay alive. Lake Roosevelt defeated the Bridgeport Mustangs 63-31 on Feb. 9. Bridgeport led briefly in the first quarter, but LR led 14-10 at the end of it, then continued to control the game, leading 29-18 at the end of the half and 47-24 at the end of the third quarter. LR played Brewster on the road on Saturday, losing 77-56. A home game is...
Whether they win or lose against Okanogan in a game for the top spot in the District 6 basketball playoffs, the Lady Raiders have already qualified for the regional round of the state tournament. The Lady Raiders defeated the Tonasket Lady Tigers in Coulee Dam Feb. 11 with a final score of 69-41. Tonasket edged into the lead at the end of the first quarter with a three pointer to go up 12-11. But LR controlled the game from there on out, going on an 8-0 run in the second quarter, and keeping...
Lake Roosevelt Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen was named the North Central Washington 2B League Athletic Director of the year by his fellow ADs in the league. Rasmussen was presented with the award twice last week, at a boys' basketball game and a girls' basketball game. "I'm just honored that the other ADs in the league have taken notice of what we're doing at LR," Rasmussen said. "We have a great group of coaches and kids working really hard. I'm really fortunate to work with our coaches and...
Raider wrestlers competed at regional tournaments in Ephrata and Warden Feb. 12 with seven qualifying for the state tournament in Tacoma from Feb. 17-19. In Warden, seven Raider boys placed to qualify for state, four of them defeating state-ranked wrestlers to get there. “The kids wrestled really tough and fought for every match,” Head Coach Billy Monroe said. Rodger Cate placed first in the 106-pound weight class, pinning Noah Berger from Granger one minute, 36 seconds into the match; Colton Jackson placed second at 120, losing the fir...
Free passes on public transportation for young people and upgrades to major bridges are all part of a 16-year transportation funding plan approved by the Washington State Senate. The Senate approved the proposed revenue sources for the $17 billion “Move Ahead Washington” transportation investment package on a 29-20 vote Feb. 15. The bill sponsored by Transportation Committee Chair Sen. Marko Liias, D-Everett, now goes to the House for consideration. The plan includes funding for transit programs, replacement of fish passageways and electrificat...
Electric City is anticipating building a pathway this year connecting the Coulee Playland area to Banks Lake Park by North Dam and to implement an 800-yard speed limit decrease in the same area. Construction of the pathway, anticipated to be done this summer, will likely reduce the current 45 miles per hour speed limit zone to 35 for about 800 yards. The pathway would narrow the roadway to an extent, and the path alongside it would require the speed limit change. Last year The Star conducted a poll asking how people felt about the speed limit...