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 Star is seeking nominations for the annual Volunteer of the Year honor to be awarded to one individual who deserves to be acknowledged for their unselfish efforts to help others or the community. To nominate someone you think is deserving of the recognition, write a letter of nomination, detailing how your nominee volunteers. Include names and contact information of more people who know about your nominees activities. Send letters of nomination via email to star@grandcoulee.com with the subject line Volunteer of the Year. Or mail letters... Full story
Hospital District Commissioner Jerry Kennedy said Monday that a commission meeting that had been scheduled for Dec. 18 has been rescheduled for Dec. 26. Kennedy said the commission discovered that a regular monthly meeting can only be rescheduled during a regularly scheduled meeting, but the Dec. 18 change had been made during a special meeting last month. The commissions bylaws require the meeting to take place on the next business day, which is Dec. 26. Kennedy, who sits on three committees formed to respond to community concerns, said those... Full story
A small group of parents with concerns about bullying, buses and more met Monday night to discuss ways to help the local school district improve. But if response to a posting on The Star’s Facebook page is an indication, the issues are a hot button item with much of the community. The meeting at the Grand Coulee Fire Hall, facilitated by parent Heather Downs, drew eight including Downs, plus Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson, who attended to listen. The parents attending have a total of 15 children in the d... Full story
There have been several articles in the newspaper lately about Coulee Medical Center, and I feel it is time for me to voice my concerns. We all are expected to choose a primary health care provider. That health care provider gets to know you as a person and knows your medical history. When a health issue arises you shouldn’t have to wait a month or more to get in to see your primary care provider. If you end up seeing someone else, they usually know nothing about you or your medical history. We need more health care providers, not less, in o... Full story
I would like to thank David Noggles on his (letter to the editor) in the December 4 issue. I first heard about the CMC issues on the November 27 issue and the “red flags” started going up when I heard the three words: “just in time” when tied to “inventory.” I would also assume that since the CMC has adopted the Virginia Mason management style, that management is using similar measuring tools for such things as “performance or productivity” (more red flags). When I worked over on the “wet side” for a large well known aerospace firm, we... Full story
The Raider boys are 1-1 with a win over Omak and a better start than the Raiders had in their first two games last season. "Our confidence in ourselves playing together is very high, and our team chemistry is gelling faster than expected," Head Coach Matt Simpson said. In their jamboree Dec. 3, the Raiders played the Eagles of Soap Lake and the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors. Against Soap Lake, the Raiders played hard using a nine-man rotation to keep up the effort and to experiment with... Full story
Raider wrestlers started their season Dec. 5 at the Okanogan Jamboree. They wrestled against many area schools, with all nine Raiders wrestling in three matches apiece. Most came away with two wins, but James Monaghan swept the field, winning all three of his matches. The Raiders took the same nine wrestlers to Davenport for the 23rd Annual Davenport Invitational Dec. 7. LR tied with Freeman for seventh overall in the tournament at 77 points. Kittitas took first with 123 team points. LR had... Full story
The Lady Raiders opened the 2013-14 season with three nights of contests. LR suffered two injuries and two losses to old rivals Omak and Okanogan on back-to-back nights. The Lady Raiders played Bridgeport and Almira/Coulee-Hartline in the Dec. 3 Lake Roosevelt Jamboree. LR defeated the Fillies 17-14 and the Warriors by two. Against Bridgeport, Katelynn Schilling fell to the floor with a knee injury. The crowd fell silent until she was assisted back to the bench by Head Coach Wallace Pleasants... Full story
This week's photos, including those not used, are up on our photo site. Here's a slide show you can share: 12-11-13 Star - Images by Scott Hunter...
Doctors and other health care providers at Coulee Medical Center have vowed to quit if the hospital’s chief executive officer doesn’t leave, one frustrated doctor finally told The Star last week. Dr. Jacob Chaffee said the situation is critical and that doctors would already have resigned if they hadn’t been convinced to stay. “He’s my fourth CEO,” Chaffee said of Chief Executive Officer Scott Graham. “I’ve never seen it like this. The morale throughout the hospital is horrible.” In an interview Wednesday, Chaffee said he resigned as chief medi... Full story
A semi loaded with cement crashed at the bottom of the hill below Grand Coulee Dam on highway 155 Wednesday morning. The big rig pulling double tanker trailers, reportedly full of cement (the dry powder, not the mixed concrete) was headed north down the steep hill alongside the dam when it left the road to the right just below the Visitor Center, just as it entered the town of Coulee Dam. It overturned about 100 feet or less off the roadway after crossing the lawn and missing trees and power...
Only Wenatchee and East Wenatchee put more kids on NCW Youth Football fields than the local effort that fielded 60 kids from 8 to 12 years of age this year. "That's awesome, considering we are one of the smallest school districts in the league," noted Brandon White, who coached one of two bantam teams of 8- to 10-year-olds through the two-month season that ended Nov. 2. The young players practice hard and play hard in full uniforms that reflect their local high school's team colors and mascots,... Full story
Directions in the management of Coulee Medical Center are aimed at providing for the long-term survival of the hospital, despite shorter-term difficulties, its top administrator and board chairman said this week. Chief Operating Officer Scott Graham and hospital district President Greg Behrens spoke with The Star Monday, seeking to add their perspective on the developing controversy that has filled recent board meetings with citizens concerned about everything from prices charged for services to cutbacks in staff scheduling. The hospital... Full story
Thanksgiving is a day that we as a nation take time out from our busy lives to gather with family and friends to give thanks for our many blessings. America’s first Thanksgiving celebration is traced to 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After an exceptionally difficult first year in the New World, the Pilgrims overcame a lack of adequate food and housing, illness, and the bitter cold. Their fall harvest was a success and the Pilgrims feasted and celebrated for three days with the Wampanoag people. Over time, a custom developed among settlers t... Full story
Chyenne Kelly-Marconi, Mikel Friedlander, and Kassadi Boutain all were named to the Central Washington 2B All League Volleyball squad. Kelly-Marconi, who served 85.4 percent and delivered nine aces, also led the team with 61 kills, scoring a point 70 percent of the time she was on the court. She also led the team in blocks with 21. “Cheyenne is an excellent player who still has tons of potential and she definitely has the skills to be playing at the next level,” Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit said. Mikel Friedlander was named to the second tea... Full story
Raider football has eight of its members named to the Central Washington 2B All League squads. Chance Garvin was named to the second team defense after a season in which he picked off 10 passes with two games of three interceptions. Garvin can return next season and will be looking to improve on his interception count and offense performance. Three other Raiders were named to the all-league defense. Desmond House and Josh Harris were both named honorable mention defensive backs for their perform... Full story
The top administrator at Coulee Medical Center narrowly avoided a vote of no confidence from his board Monday night, with a decision by the hospital district commission that clearly disappointed members of his staff. In a special meeting of the Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan Hospital District 6 commission, members voted to form a committee to immediately intervene in a deteriorating relationship between the hospital’s top administrator, Scott Graham, and the medical staff, who had taken their own vote of no confidence in him Nov. 8. With t... Full story
The Lake Roosevelt Raider basketball players will play against each other on Tuesday to raise funds to feed families for the holiday season. They're hoping to raise enough to feed 50 needy families, and they're challenging the community to match their contribution. All proceeds from the game - both from the gate and from concession sales - will go to the RAIDERS Reach Out effort. The game starts at 6 p.m. An earlier notice had stated the game started at 7. Bags to feed a family of four will... Full story
A Bureau of Reclamation employee was critically injured Monday as a fire started at a switch in the John W. Keys III Pump Generating Plant. Daniel McCulloch, 54, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with burn injuries. Another employee was treated locally for smoke inhalation. McCulloch, an operator, has worked for the bureau since 2008. He was listed in serious condition at Harborview's intensive care unit Tuesday, a medical center spokesperson said. All plant employees were... Full story
Students and staff at Grand Coulee Dam Middle School were on pins and needles Friday morning, gathered for a special assembly with a secret subject ... Until they saw the TV camera and anchors. Cheers broke out as Dan Kleckner and Stephanie Vigil of KHQ TV entered the gym to bestow the Eastern Washington University Teacher of the Month honor on Jaci Gross. Gross had been nominated by student Taylor Holeman, who called her an important part of the school and a "great community member." Kleckner... Full story
Among the most frustrating regulations that citizens run up against when trying to fight city hall are zoning laws. But some of the most obvious problems this community faces result from a lack of them, or of their past enforcement. Zones in a city define how portions of geography are to be used: homes here, businesses there, mixed use over here. Their purpose is rooted in a great American concept — that we can do what we want with our own property, as long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s. Zoning is supposed to help make that more... Full story
Reading the Nov. 13 Star newspaper editorial prompted me to this response. Don't you find your statement about wondering what the judge will find to be ironic? One of the complaints about Mr. Picard helping his friends and neighbors came from Jack's Service. The city of Grand Coulee granted Jack a permit to gouge the public with his monopolistic fuel prices. Now they want Mr. Picard to cease helping his family and friends so they will have to travel out of town for help. Just like many locals now have to do for their fuel needs. In the same... Full story
I am appalled that the city of Grand Coulee would issue a citation and impose a fine to the mechanic and an outstanding person. He will give you the shirt off his back. The other businesses who have complained are being petty. We live next door to The Picards, and we hear nothing coming from his garage. He does not block the road, there are no signs, as my husband Mark stated before. At this point, I am ashamed of our city council and we will be there to support the Picards when his day in court does come. This is one he should win. Maybe the... Full story
A Bureau of Reclamation employee was flown to Harborview Medical Center with injuries after a fire Monday in the John W. Keys III Pump Generating Plant, which a bureau press release said is believed to have been caused by a switch gear failure. Another employee is being treated locally for smoke inhalation. All plant employees were evacuated and acrid smoke rose out of the pump generating plant around noon Monday as multiple fire trucks were staged outside and firefighters were seen entering...
A meeting called by three of four hospital district commissioners, cancelled by the commission president on Friday, will take place anyway, a commissioner said. President Greg Behrens cancelled the meeting on the advice of the district’s attorney, who said calling the meeting, while not already in a meeting, violated the state’s Open Public Meetings Act, which forbids a majority of such a governing body to convene without proper notice to all its members and to the news media. Kennedy disagrees, and said at that at least two members of the boa... Full story