News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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With major park improvements on the horizon, Grand Coulee wants to address the issue of vandalism at Shane Proctor Park. The park between the gas station and the Mexican restaurant on SR-174 has experienced numerous incidents of vandalism in recent months, including someone breaking the seats on the see-saws, and trashing the restroom. Since The Star reported on these incidents in May, the restroom has been trashed multiple times, leading to the city simply locking and closing the restroom. Mayor Paul Townsend said the city is looking into...
Back in June 2015, only six years ago, we had a local June high temperature record set at 105˚F. Well, with the onset of a high-pressure system, or heat dome, that sat over us in late June, a new record was established. Fact is, it occurred twice – June 28th and 29th. The high temperature record for June is now 112˚F, just one degree off the official all-time high temperature for our area set 82 years ago, in July 1939 at 113˚F. What caused the heatwave in late June that has intensified the...
Here we are, at the beginning of what could prove to be worst wildfire season ever and the world’s best firefighting tool sits unused and not ready to go because of decisions made by the US Forest Service and states not to use it. Unfortunately, in 2002 two Lockheed C-130 Hercules airplanes crashed while fighting fires, one in California and one in Colorado. In 2004 the Forest Service made the decision not to use the large tanker firefighting airplanes, instead relying on helicopters and smaller planes. The Supertanker would have really h...
Over the last 40 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex remains largely unchanged. The exception was last year when the COVID pandemic shutdown travel and beach lodging. Over the years, our entertainment has changed a lot. We still swim, jump the waves and build sandcastles, but our board games, puzzles and playing cards have been replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart phones and movies downloaded from the internet. We still take lots of pictures, but r...
The 12th District and Washington’s 48 other legislative districts have had specific boundaries since 2012. The borders for these districts, as well as Washington’s 10 federal congressional districts, will change in 2022 after the state’s redistricting process is completed near the end of this year. Since redistricting only occurs every decade, I thought it would be helpful to review the process. How Washington’s redistricting works Each state has its own process for redistricting. In Washington, an independent and bipartisan Redistr...
Don't even think about lighting a firework, smoking or target shooting on public lands in these conditions. The Bureau of Land Management on June 29 announced fire restrictions in the BLM's Spokane District, a temporary ban that takes effect on July 1 in 21 counties including Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Douglas locally, as well as Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima. "The fire...
It’s the Fourth of July weekend, and with local towns all forbidding or severly restricting fireworks use this year, local residents will just have to enjoy the professional fireworks show that launches from the Grand Coulee Dam on Sunday, July 4, at about 10:30 p.m. following the laser show. In the wake of historically high heat over the last week, some municipalities that simply align with state fireworks laws are banning them this week. That includes Electric City, which held an emergency council meeting on June 29 to outright forbid ...
How about some good news coming out of our record-breaking (extreme) heat wave? Luckily, we live and work in the Pacific Northwest, and are reaping the benefits from our well-connected power grid, which is supplied with abundant electricity. So far, only smaller sporadic power outages are attributed to the hot temperatures. From Seattle to Western Montana, blazing temperatures registering above 110 degrees gripped the region and even shut down the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene on June 27. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) an...
“Koulee Kids Fest was such a great time!” Grand Coulee Dam Area Executive Director Rachel Haven about last Saturday’s event. “I believe it was a success. Kids were smiling from ear to ear all over town.” Three-year-old Cairo Billups won the iPad Mini and Beats headphones grand prize drawing that kids entered by participating in the event. This year’s Koulee Kids Fest featured L-Bow the Clown. “L-Bow the clown was so much fun!” Haven said. “L-Bow’s act included unicycling and juggling, making balloon animals and hats, and the grand finale of a f...
After growing up in Grand Coulee, Michael Thomas now jumps out of helicopters in Bahrain. After graduating from Lake Roosevelt High School in 2016, Thomas went to Western Washington University to pursue a computer science major. But after a semester there, Thomas headed in another direction. His father Dale Thomas had been in the Navy, and friends had joined other branches of the military, so Thomas spoke to a recruiter who showed him the path to becoming an aviation rescue swimmer, someone who...
As climate change concerns grow, researchers are turning to small tree farmers for help. Actually, they have been helping for nearly a century, but their efforts have largely gone unrecognized. For decades, the American Tree Farm program has emphasized sustainability and managing lands for water quality, wildlife, wood, and recreation. Now, it is adding climate change. According to the American Forest Foundation, families and individuals collectively care for the largest portion of forests in the U.S., more than the government or corporations...
This past week the Raiders wrestled in the North Central Region qualifier event in Omak on June 15 before the NCR main event in Tonasket June 17 where six Raiders placed to finish the season. In Tonasket, LR placed fourth as a team with 78.5 points, with Royal High School winning the event with 136.5 points. Placers for LR include Colton Jackson, who placed first wrestling in the 120-pound division; Sergio Galacia, first at 195; Arianna Waters, first at 190; Kaylee Landeros, second at 190; Rock...
With a recent wildfire started by a ricocheted bullet adding to safety and noise issues, target shooting at Osborn Bay is a concern for some, and the federal agency that owns the area says it is illegal to target shoot on their lands. In response to the June 5 fire at Osborn Bay, Electric City resident Jerry Kennedy submitted a public comment in an email that was read at Electric City’s June 8 city council meeting. The area lies within city boundaries. Kennedy lives less than a mile north of a common, unofficial shooting range there where a s...
In our zest to quickly switch from gas-powered to battery-operated vehicles and to convert our power grid to wind- and solar-generated electricity, the impacts of CO2 released from rivers, lakes and streams has been ignored. President Biden wants to transition America to renewable electricity by 2035 and have every car CO2 emission free by 2050. In the world of nature, carbon gases release from forest and rangeland fires. In California last year, wildfires released about half the typical annual...
A fire at Osborn Bay in high winds Saturday forced two people there to stay in the water for hours as flames came near enough at times that they could feel the heat. The fire near Osborn Bay, south of Electric City burned approximately 30 acres of sagebrush, dry grass, trees, and other vegetation in high winds on Saturday after a bullet ricocheted and started the fire. Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne said the fire started at approximately 12:55 p.m. when a man shooting in the area reported...
A Lake Roosevelt student-athlete testing positive for COVID has led to students quarantining and basketball games being cancelled, but an outdoor graduation ceremony is still planned for Saturday. Basketball games on June 4, 5, 7, and 8 were canceled as a result of the situation. A June 5 notice on the Raider’s athletic website announced that a student-athlete had tested positive for Covid resulting in the basketball teams quarantining. A June 7th update on the school’s Facebook page explained that in response, the school’s “admin team has been...
Get your passports ready; Koulee Kids Fest is taking place on June 19 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with lots of free activities for kids to participate in around the town. The “passports” are used by the kids to go to various activities and get their passports stamped at up to 16 local businesses offering fun activities to qualify to win prizes. “My hope for Koulee Kids Fest is for it to draw families outside, support the community, and engage in some safe and fun activities,” Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Chamber Executive Directo...
Hotter and drier summers seem to be the trend in climate changes locally as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the new U.S. Climate Normals for 1991-2020. The NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce and updates the climate normals every 10 years using a 30-year range of data. Comparing the 1991-2020 data to the previous 1981-2010 data shows that the Spokane area, like much of the western U.S., is experiencing hotter and drier summers. Including here. "Vegetation drie...
As we linger on the dry side of precipitation in our region, it’s prudent to check dedicated weather sources that, as part of their work, speak to near-future weather and wildfire conditions. Let’s start with the Office of Predictive Services at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. A specific comment is made in the June 1 Wildland Fire Potential Outlook that addresses the Northwest region: “The driest area in the region is the Columbia Basin. Green up is variable or compl...
A harrowing experience is behind us, and it is time to commend those who calmed and saved us. First, I have to commend the dispatcher that kept me on the line until safety arrived. I do not know what county she was from. (911 calls here go to possibly four counties.) She stayed with me as the flames rushed us and our gear, urging a water retreat. Our fear was real. We did indeed have lots of help arrive. They couldn’t see us for the smoke. Helicopter pilots and firemen did their best, and we did get away without loss. Within five minutes of c...
The Grand Coulee Library has a new librarian, Catherine Matthews, and she's excited to meet you. Matthews moved to Electric City by way of Whidbey Island and started work at the library on May 18. Speaking with The Star by phone, Matthews explained her love of books and libraries. She said that she always went to her local public library as she was growing up and got exposed to different viewpoints and opinions. "I read a lot," she said. "I read very widely, across genres and lots of different...
Voters will decide on about 30 positions up for election in the 2021 elections for local town councils, school boards, and more. The primary elections will take place in August, while the general election will take place in November. Grand Coulee Three seats on the Grand Coulee City Council are up for reelection this year, all to four-year terms. Three candidates have filed their intentions to seek Council Position #1, currently held by Tammara Byers who is not running for reelection. The candidates who have filed are: Ben Hughes, Tracey...
Social media has become such a big part of modern life, to the point that now the Grand Coulee Dam School District has an employee policy about it. The district’s board of directors approved a social media policy during their May 24 meeting. Superintendent Paul Turner explained to The Star that the policy isn’t required by the state but rather “is preemptive” and “also initiated because of some previous issues.” Turner declined to elaborate on the nature of those previous issues. “Without a policy, there is no guidance to stay consistent wh...
The City of Grand Coulee would like a couple of questions addressed before extending their B Street closure agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. One end of B Street has been blocked off near the bureau’s fire station construction site since 2017, and numerous delays in that construction project have kept the road closed. B Street connects to SR-155 through the bureau-owned Industrial Road, with the area between B Street and SR-155 being closed off. At their May 18 council meeting, the council discussed wanting emergency access t...
Think of us as cicadas, the insects you’ve heard about ad nauseam, that live underground for 17 years and then surface to get it on. Well, we humans in the U.S. have sheltered in place for 17 months, give or take, tucked away from the ravages of COVID. And now we are about to find out how bawdy our bodies have become. Now millions of hibernating Americans will emerge, courtesy of the vaccine, to discover how the world has changed. The absence of masks — prima facie evidence of a return to “normal” -- might reveal a metamorphosed society...