News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Lonna Bussert has been on the Electric City council about 10 years and is running against challenger Cheryl Hoffman to keep her seat. One of the projects she cares about the most is the Ice Age Park that is being built. "I've been working on the park thing for four or five years," she said, "which is to me a family thing. The city needs it, and I really want to see that done. I want people with kids and with families to come to Electric City. You're not going to do that if you don't do...
Cheryl Hoffman is running for a seat on the Electric City Council. "I chose to run because I disagree with a number of decisions the council has made," Hoffman said in an interview with The Star. "I don't think they're bad people; I don't think they're stupid people; I just disagree with some of the decisions they've made, and I think we need to rethink how we're spending the city's tax dollars and the state's tax dollars." "I disagree with the decision to close off Western Avenue," Hoffman...
Local men Tim Brooks and Faran Sohappy both participated in the recording of a song nominated for both the Indian Summer Music Awards and the Native American Music Awards. "Grand Coulee resident Faran Sohappy worked as an engineer and Coulee Dam resident Tim Brooks played the flute on a song called Nature Walk, written by singer/songwriters Joan Hammel and Rebecca Slone Rivera," a Sept. 21 press release from Hammel's company Paxton Productions states. Hammel and Slone Rivera are based in...
Lady Raiders soccer has had a busy week with two victories and a loss. In Tonasket Sept. 24, the Lady Raiders lost 7-1, outnumbered by the Lady Tigers 11 players to eight. "The match went very well, given the situation we were in," Head Coach Micah Esmond said. "I was very proud of the girls with how well they played against their opposition. Attitudes were positive through the whole match. They all fought through the physicality of the match." Madisyn Toulou scored the Lady Raiders' lone goal...
Lady Raider volleyball swept away the competition this past week, defeating both Tonasket and Soap Lake three sets to zero. The Lady Raiders took down the Tonasket Lady Tigers in Tonasket on Sept. 24 in three sets, 25-8, 25-18, and 25-20. Then against in Soap Lake Sept. 26, they defeated the Lady Eagles, also in three sets, 25-23, 25-14, and 25-23. "The team is playing well together," Head Coach Teri Sue Reed said. They were scheduled to play against Liberty Bell last night, results of which...
The Lake Roosevelt Raiders continue to win in football, shutting out Manson on the road on Friday with a 28-0 victory. LR is ranked ninth in the state for 2B schools according to an Associated Press poll released prior to the victory. The Raiders put their first points on the board in the second quarter when Hunter Whitelaw threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Sam Wapato. That was followed by a fumble return for a touchdown by Devon Hobrecht. Whitelaw threw another touchdown pass, this time to Tyson Nicholson, and a two-point conversion put the...
The Raider cross country crew ran last week at the Omak Golf Course in the Okanogan Invite, where all of the Raider runners set personal records. “The Okanogan Invite went great!” Head Coach Ann Green said. “Everybody set new personal records, cutting off nearly a minute off their times, which is fantastic!” The weather was slightly breezy a bit chilly, and the course was mostly grass, Green said, with one major obstacle being a hill toward the end of the course. Kyle Edmo was the top placer for the Raiders in the 5,000-meter race, placing...
A “c-squad” was approved last week for high school volleyball, with the sport having enough students signed up to warrant it. The Grand Coulee Dam School District directors approved the c-squad at their Sept. 23 meeting, and if boys basketball in the winter ends up with enough students for a c-squad, that is approved, as well. In these sports, a varsity team comprises the top tier of players, followed by a junior varsity team, then, if there are enough players, a c-squad. Board Chairman Rich Black said later that they wanted to give the stu...
Grand Coulee’s wastewater treatment plant, which it shares with Electric City, is getting old, and officials are beginning to look into upgrading or replacing it. A representative from the state Dept. of Ecology presented Grand Coulee Sept. 17 with its fifth straight award of excellence for consistently staying up to par and presenting quality reports on time for their wastewater treatment plant. But the facility was completed in 1985, 35 years ago. “The plant is in need of some serious maintenance/upgrades,” Grand Coulee City Clerk Lorna...
Grand Coulee's incumbent Mayor Paul Townsend is seeking reelection. "I'm looking forward to another opportunity to continue on serving the community, and hopefully we just keep growing and improving our position," Townsend told The Star on Monday. "Bottom line is we need information and support from the citizens in the community. The council very seldom gets information in response from citizens until it's something negative. We need to know what the citizens want. We're making decisions. We...
Cameron Whitney, mayoral candidate in Grand Coulee, is hoping to boost the curb appeal of the town. Having travelled to Grand Coulee throughout his life, Whitney settled here with his partner Tracey Wright, who is running for city council in Grand Coulee, both of them moving here to get out of the rat race of their corporate backgrounds, Whitney said. "We wanted to live a slower pace, so we started to downsize our lifestyles," Whitney told The Star in an email, saying he didn't have time to...
Construction continues in Electric City, where more than a million dollars in street, sidewalk and water projects on Western Avenue, Coulee Boulevard, and Grand Avenue are underway. "Crews have successfully pulverized the asphalt and installed most of the stormwater facilities," a Sept. 19 update on the city's website, www.electriccity.us stated. Crews will continue stormwater facility work through this week, and water main construction should begin today (Sept. 25) to be completed the second...
This time around we’ll be looking at the historic weather results for our summer – June, July and August and the summer of 2019. We’ll also take a look-see at what is being predicted for our upcoming winter – December, January and February 2019-20. First, let’s delve into the world of predicted weather as provided by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC). The CPC, as I’ve mentioned before, is a service of the National Weather Service, an agency under the broader umbrella of the National Oc...
Many years ago, a reporter asked George Weyerhaeuser, then CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co., why his company spent so much time and money informing its workers, public officials and people about its business of growing trees and converting those trees into lumber and paper products. His answer was simple: “People need to know what we do and why what we do is important to them.” He believed if people and elected officials understood Weyerhaeuser, they would make thoughtful decisions based on facts. To Weyerhaeuser, there was no other option. Log...
The Raider football team defeated the Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos 25-7 on the road in their first away game of the season Friday. “The game was good,” Coach Tim Rasmussen said. “It was our first road game of the year. The kids went out and played very well. It’s always interesting when we go out on the road. The opponent was a well-coached football team and a respected football team. We played a really solid team game.” Cameron St. Pierre rushed for three touchdowns, and 122 yards. Hunter Whitelaw rushed for a touchdown, as well, and also...
The Lady Raider volleyball squad went to Waterville last week and came home with a victory. Lake Roosevelt defeated the Waterville Lady Shockers in four sets Sept. 19 with set scores of 25-8, 25-23, 18-25, and 25-23. “With an easier pre-season, non league game, I was able to get some of my bench in for some great court experience,” remarked Head Coach Teri Sue Reed. “Scotti Adolph did a great job at the net playing middle hitter. Kaylee Landeros went in as setter and earned herself four assists. I’m very proud of them. I’m still hoping to...
Raider runners competed at Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee on Saturday. “The course was trying this weekend,” Head Coach Ann Green said. “Runners are starting to feel all the runner’s pains: shin splints, hurting hips, knees and ankles.” Colton Jackson was the top finisher for the Raiders in the 5,000-meter race, placing 63rd out of 106 runners with a time of 19 minutes, 25 seconds on a course that was mostly grass with a couple hills, and on a day that was “just a bit too warm, but sunny,” Green said. Kyle Edmo placed 74th with a time o...
Following the firing of former fire chief Mark Payne last week, the other members of the Electric City Fire Department are still there and plan to stay there. “As of right now, we’re going to ride it out and see where it goes,” said Assistant Chief Gary Roscoe. “It’s our department, and we don’t want to disband. Most of us are hoping there’s a new mayor and some changes so we aren’t fighting this constantly. As volunteers, it’s hard to volunteer if they’re constantly pushing you out the door.” “The Mayor and myself will work with the remaining...
Okanogan County voters will be asked on the Nov. 5 general election ballot to approve a tax meant to upgrade emergency communication systems and facilities. The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office explains the need for the tax by detailing the current state of the system used by fire, emergency management services, and police first responders in Okanogan County. Existing radio repeater equipment is based on 40-year-old technology at the end of its life, and there are no replacement parts for...
Councilmember Aaron Derr is running for mayor of Electric City and wants to fix the perception that city hall is running amok and just doing what it wants. "There were things with city hall I felt needed to be better," Derr said about his decision to run for mayor in an interview with The Star on Tuesday. He'd like to see city hall show "a willingness to be more communicative to the community." "For instance, with this Western Avenue construction," he said, "on the web page, it's just a small...
At the behest of her fellow citizens, Diane Kohout is running for mayor of Electric City, with the intention of giving the citizens more of a voice in their government. "What I want to bring back to the city is to have someone that they can actually talk to and hopefully get answers from," Kohout told The Star in an interview on Monday. "I want the city government to be more open and the people of the city to have more of a voice." "I think what we will do is have certain times when the mayor wi...
It is great to see people interested in city government and who want to run for a city position. In too many elections in the past, it has been a one-candidate selection. But remember, change is not always the solution to a problem. Electric City citizens voted blindly five years ago for change, and now it was causing lots of tension within the town. There are a couple of “meet and greet” days scheduled in October; go and listen and hear what changes are coming in the future. City government and state government and national government hav...
In the 1930s, the coulee walls behind Electric City and Delano were being prospected for gold and silver. These deposits occurred near the base of the Coulee Wall, in granite, overlain by basalt. The land was owned by James O. Black of Electric City and Joseph Rosauer of Opportunity Washington. Rosauer was a Spokane grocer whose family would form the beginnings of the Rosauer's Supermarket chain in 1934. These men would form a mining company and develop a mine called the "Black-Rosauers Mine,...
And they’re off! Raider cross country competed in Manson at Wapato Point on Saturday, where Kyle Edmo was the top placing Raider runner in the 5,000-meter high school boys’ race. On the cool, overcast day, Edmo placed 27th out of 115 total runners with a time of 19 minutes, 15.58 seconds. Rob McManus of Cashmere was the top runner in that event with a time of 16:35.54. In the 2,500-meter middle school boys’ race, Chase Marchand took first in 8:40.50 The event was a “really great start to the year!” Head Coach Ann Green said. “I’m super excited...
Now former Electric City fire chief Mark Payne was fired Tuesday night, after the city council voted unanimously to carry out the mayor’s recommendation to remove Payne from the post in which he’s served since 2013. Payne had faced a second disciplinary hearing Monday to respond to charges he hadn’t complied with a plan set in place after the first one last spring, and that he’d been insubordinate toward the city administrator. Payne had met with Mayor John Nordine and City Administrator Russ Powers to discuss possible discipline that could b...