News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The most important function Congress serves is to debate and pass the federal budget. I know — it also levies taxes, imposes or relaxes regulations, and once in a while nudges our social, economic or political order in a meaningful way. But the budget tells the government what to do and makes it possible to do it. Everything else follows from that. Even at the best of times, passing a budget is a test of Congress’s abilities. And these aren’t the best of times. Its two houses are controlled by Republicans who don’t see eye to eye. The White Hou... Full story
What is a human life worth? The way a society responds to that question effectively describes the values held by that society. A just and healthy society should view innocent life as worth dignity and protection. The prospect of profiting off of another human’s life is repulsive because each person possesses an intrinsic moral value, not a commercial value. Horrifyingly, there are some today who actually place a dollar amount on the tissue and organs of unborn humans. The callous language used by Planned Parenthood officials in recently r... Full story
Several fires and a downed aircraft are reported near Oroville off Chesaw Road, and the county alert system has told residents of the Nine Mile and Circle Road areas that "immediate evacuation" is recommended. That alert was issued at 3:08 this afternoon (Aug. 13). People are asked to stay clear of the area about five miles east of Oroville. Sheriff Frank Rogers stated in an email that near one of the fires near the wreckage deputies found at least one dead person. "We have several units in the... Full story
A fire on USBR land near the Delano Transfer Station just after 4 p.m. Thursday was brought quickly under control by Bureau of Reclamation and local firefighters. The small blaze in sagebrush and grass was near a crude road that winds around a few trees. A caller reporting the fire said someone was walking in the area and started it. Firefighters left the scene by 5:05 p.m....
[UPDATED Sunday, 2:15 p.m.] The North Star fire has now grown to more than seven times the size it was Friday night, and it is threatening a regional communicaitons network with equipment atop Moses Mountain. The fire was estimated at 22,000 acres at 1 p.m. As afternoon winds increased yesterday, the fire jumped a dozer line, forcing firefighters to move their staging area in the southeast flank of the fire. They re-established the line during the night. Residents in the North Star and Gold Lake road areas are told to be alert to the danger.... Full story
Voters will not be asked this fall to decide on paying taxes toward the maintenance of North Dam Park, leaders of the park district decided Monday. “I’d love to see us do a levy,” said Coulee Area Park and Recreation District Commissioner Phil Hansen, “but I think we had better put it off.” That was the unanimous feeling of commissioners, who had been considering the tiny junior taxing district’s third attempt to actually collect a tax, having lost two earlier elections. The decision came following commission President Bob Valen’s rep... Full story
A committee focused on local economic development realized a goal last week with the publication of a new booklet that addresses the particulars of living in the Grand Coulee Dam Area. “Tips and Tricks to Life in the Grand Coulee Dam Area” presents practical tips for the “little quirks” of the area, including things that might not be obvious to newcomers or even longtime residents. For instance, a page headed “Slightly odd places to find things you need locally” includes tips on renting a boat, making copies, finding a laundromat, and office... Full story
That big piece of land that so many of us find useful — for walking, playing softball, picnicking, holding reunions and much more — needs to be maintained, and it’s not free. North Dam Park takes some $30,000 a year to maintain, and the community rallied to save it after the city of Grand Coulee decided it could no longer support it alone. Local cities have been drawing from hotel/motel tax funds designated for boosting tourism to help maintain the park where big events are held. That was always seen as a stop-gap measure, in place until other... Full story
No one should ever hang up on a veteran seeking medical assistance. Every veteran deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, and especially with urgency in an emergency medical situation. Proper treatment for our veterans reflects the honor our nation accords for their service in uniform. Anything less is simply unacceptable, and even shameful. Earlier this year, a 64-year-old Army veteran from Kennewick, Donald Siefken, arrived outside the Seattle Veterans Administration hospital emergency room with a broken and swollen foot. Mr.... Full story
Update: Power was restored at just after 9 a.m. Sunday morning, according to a listing of outages on Inland's website, which cites the origin of the problem as a Bonneville Power Administration/Avista transmission line. Original story: The towns of Wilbur and Creston, and every place in between are without electric power tonight (August 8), and according to Inland Power and Light's Outage Center on their website, so is Almira, Davenport and areas as far away as LaCrosse and Newman Lake. Driving... Full story
Four people were killed in an accident on U.S. 2 west of Davenport July 22, including an infant. The Washington State Patrol said that, for some reason, the driver of a car headed west about 6 p.m. failed to negotiate a right-hand curve in the road just east of the Telford rest area, crossed the center line, and ran head-on into an oncoming semi truck. All four in the car were killed, including 68-year-old George Friedlander, of Nespelem; his daughter, Georgina Walter, 32, of Omak; her husband and the driver of the 1999 Chrysler 300, Jake... Full story
Maybe it’s just because we so often have a front-row view of tragedy, but two items in this week’s brought home the extreme importance of highly- trained emergency responders and some relief that that training is happening. Serving as a volunteer firefighter or emergency medical technician is far from easy, and considerable training is needed to be kept up even before the actual job of responding to emergencies is tackled. So it’s been with some alarm over the years that the local availability of trained EMTs has seemed at risk. A story on th... Full story
A committee focused on local economic development realized a goal last week with the publication of a new booklet that addresses the particulars of living in the Grand Coulee Dam Area. "Tips and Tricks to Life in the Grand Coulee Dam Area" presents practical tips for the "little quirks" of the area, including things that might not be obvious to newcomers or even longtime residents. For instance, a page headed "Slightly odd places to find things you need locally" includes tips on renting a boat,...
Two people died Tuesday night, July 14, in a one-car rollover accident just north of Coulee City. Antonina Kononewski, 71, of Soap Lake, was driving the white 2001 Subaru Legacy north on SR 155 at 7:05 p.m. when it left the roadway to the right, then crossed both lanes and left the roadway to the left, continued down an embankment and came to rest on its top in the water, the Washington State Patrol reports. It happened 4.8 miles north of Coulee City. Kononewski, who had worn a seatbelt, was taken to Coulee Medical Center but died later at...
During construction of Grand Coulee Dam, it was a dormitory. But by construction time for the Third Powerhouse, the big house across from the Coulee Dam Town Hall was just right for one big family. Bob and Jean Mueller moved to town in 1967, when he was hired as an engineer on the project. They were one of 20 families from Page, Arizona that had moved here to work on the new powerhouse, Jean Mueller told the chamber of commerce members at a recent luncheon. But the move may have been more... Full story
An outdoor native American art exhibit last weekend drew a dozen artists for a first-of-its kind show. On Midway Ave. across from Coulee Hardware in the parking lot of Body by Dam, the judged show and market featured several artists from across the northwest and a style not often seen. You may be familiar with the art of coastal tribes with stylized whale images, for example. Or you might readily recognize the art of Southwest tribes, with prominent turquoise and silver. But this show was... Full story
I recently read a news story of an outstanding teenager in Prosser named Walker Orr. Since he was 8 years old, Walker has found innovative ways to offer a service or product in exchange for a reasonable price, from selling varieties of seeds to running a lawn mowing business. Now at the age of just 16, Walker has started a small artisan bread company, Amber Artisan Bread, selling loaves and baguettes at farmers markets in Prosser and Tri-Cities. How can we as a nation encourage budding entrepreneurs just like Walker and those who work hard... Full story
A wildfire is burning on the hill just above SR 155 at North Dam and heading uphill toward structures. Firefighters are responding at 11:15 a.m. and law enforcement has been asked to close down the roadway. Grand Coulee are on scene, as well as U.S. Bureau of Reclamation personnel. Electric City firefighters have been called out twice. Evacuations are called for. UPDATE 11:43 a.m. 7/24/15: The fire is contained and USBR fire has given control of the scene to Grand Coulee firefighters. Those two...
Two men drown in nearby lakes last week in separate incidents, one on Banks Lake and one on Parks Lake. The body of a man missing in Banks Lake near Coulee City on Friday was finally recovered Monday. Craig Plummer, 69, of Ephrata, went missing Friday while swimming from a boat with relatives. State park rangers and Grant County marine deputies searched for him from about 5:30 Friday night until 9 p.m. and resumed the recovery effort each day. The marine unit found Plummer’s body about noon Monday. “Craig was a great man who dedicated a ful... Full story
Things have certainly gotten interesting here in the Grand Coulee area, especially regarding cannabis issues. I got the R-76 petitions in the mail (only one packet finally arrived after Don Skakie had sent them multiple times via U.S. Postal Mail). It also appears that many of the folks who were active in the discussions about cannabis rights issues recently have gone back into “silent mode” following the Grand Coulee City Council decision to disallow legal cannabis business in our city. On the Facebook group “Grand Coulee Community Annou... Full story
Pablo Picasso said the purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. And if you look in small towns and rural places you will find art and cultural expression in the most unlikely of places. Small towns develop art and cultural experiences to encourage tourism and create local economic opportunities, certainly. But they also recognize that successful efforts to revitalize their communities and mainstreets depend on something deeper than simple economics. No matter their size, thriving communities have an inner vibrancy, an... Full story
Kelly Brageant races in the peewee division barrels at the Ridge Riders' Junior Rodeo happening this weekend, starting at 10 am, both Saturday and Sunday. There is no admission charge. The event had drawn 180 contestants from as far away as far away as Ellensburg and British Columbia...
Commissioners of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District plan to visit Okanogan County Assessor Scott Furman this month about putting a tax levy on the ballot in November. Okanogan is the lead county for the four-county junior taxing district, which has never imposed a tax, but not for lack of trying. Commissioners have twice asked voters to commit to funding the district, in 2010 and 2012. The measures failed each time with about a 57-percent approval rating, shy of the 60 percent required for passage. President Bob Valen said the... Full story
We had a lot of extra pillows being used in the area last weekend. Against the odds imposed by truly oppressive heat, people streamed into this community continuously to celebrate the Fourth of July at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s Festival of America. And that’s a lesson for local governments. That festival was originally conceived as an event with a dual purpose, which it is still supposed to fulfill. It succeeds on one of those counts, anyway; it shows off our area to folks who wouldn’t discover it otherwise. The chamb... Full story
The Grant County Sheriff’s Office suspended a search last night for a man who went missing while swimming in Banks Lake Friday afternoon, but would pick up the search this morning, a spokesman stated Friday night. Immediate family had been notified of the suspension, but the victim’s name would not be released until today, allowing time for other family members to be notified. A marine unit deputies and state park rangers at Steamboat Rock State Park had been on the scene since about 5:30 p.m. when the search suspension was announced about 9 p...