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 Grand Coulee Dam School District approved a ballot measure Monday that will ask voters this fall to pay about half what they have been under levies about to expire. The levy resolution approved by the school board Monday will go on the November ballot seeking only $2 per $1,000 of assessed property value within the district from 2023 through 2025, compared to the current rate of $4.20. “We are looking to reduce costs for taxpayers, especially now with inflation,” School Board Director Rich Black said at their July 11 meeting. Grant Cou...
Oroville Mayor Jon Neal would like to be an Okanogan County Commissioner. Neal has lived in Oroville his entire life, taking over his family's auto body repair business in 1992 and working in the industry for over 40 years, he described in a Facebook page for his campaign. He has raised three children in Okanogan County and has six grandchildren, along with wife Traci. Neal has been involved in city government for 21 years, including six years as the mayor of Oroville and, along with that role,...
Congress has gradually surrendered its law-making role to the President, to the Supreme Court, and to the state governments. That isn’t working well. Early in the American experience the founders of our government realized that 13 colonies could not govern a nation. Central authority was required. Consequently, they formed the United States. Today, we need to recognize that 50 states cannot govern a nation. They can only produce chaos. We need to send people to the U.S. Congress who are willing to establish laws that govern the nation and n...
Electric City is moving with caution as they consider an ordinance to allow short term rentals just three years after banning them. During their July 12 meeting, the city council discussed the pros and cons of allowing people to rent out residences for short stays, less than 30 days, as made popular by websites like Airbnb. Mayor Diane Kohout noted that the previous council had voted down the idea of allowing short term rentals. That happened in 2019, after more than a year of discussing the issue. At that time, a Lakeview Avenue couple noted t...
Colville Confederated Tribes Natural Resources Director Cody Desautel is one of 47 people, selected from 500 applicants, appointed to the new federal Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission. The U.S. Departments of Agriculture, the Interior and Homeland Security through the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced the selections on July 7. The commission will “play a key role in recommending ways that federal agencies can better prevent, mitigate, suppress, and manage wildland fires. It will also recommend policies and s...
North Dam Park can continue to be maintained, at least for a while longer, as more funding has been donated by the community to the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District. At their July 13 meeting, CAPRD commissioners were presented with a $5,600 check by Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachelle Baughman who started a page at the online fundraising site, GoFundMe.com. Commissioner Kevin Portch said that CAPRD also received $900 in private donations separately from that online donation site. The group voted to...
Affordable housing, good jobs, good schools are just a part of Kari Alexander's vision for Okanogan County as she runs for county commissioner. Alexander would like to see youth more involved in the local government. "Our youth are the future of this county," she wrote in an email to The Star. "I think we all want to ensure that Okanogan County is the kind of place our kids want to come back to and raise their own families - which means we need affordable starter homes, good jobs, and good...
Attention may be the most valuable thing a county commissioner can do for issues, and Aaron Kester, if elected, wants to give his attention to a multitude of issues facing Okanogan County. Mental health, housing, and industry maintenance and growth are among what Kester listed to The Star as issues facing Okanogan County. "Each issue needs direct inspection and attention," Kester wrote in an email, "and although I hate to see it, some issues will not receive needed attention when our most concer...
After two school levies failed in February for the Grand Coulee Dam School District, school board directors are looking to run just one levy election in November. Roughly 56% of voters voted against two levies the district proposed in February — the Educational Programs and Operation Levy, and the Capital Levy for Safety, Technology and Facilities Improvements. The board of directors, in their July 11 meeting, told Superintendent Paul Turner they would like to pursue a $2 educational levy for three years, a significant drop from the $4.20 t...
Staff at Lake Roosevelt Schools say that student cell phones have been a major issue in the classroom, and options for addressing the issue were discussed at the latest Grand Coulee Dam School District meeting. On Monday, school board directors discussed the issue of cell phones in the classroom when the topic of student and staff handbooks came up for discussion. The current cell phone policy in the elementary school’s handbook states that students can bring their phones to school, but can only use them before 8 a.m. or after 3 p.m., before a...
Lake Roosevelt's new principal, Natalie Kontos, has worked in the Grand Coulee Dam School District for several years and plans to be here for several more. Kontos had taught elementary school physical education and health at LR Elementary for the past eight years before being approved by the school board as the new junior-senior high school principal in June. "During this time, I have had the privilege of teaching and building relationships with every student in our school," she wrote to The...
Vacant positions are getting filled in the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Natalie Kontos, who previously taught physical education at Lake Roosevelt Elementary, was hired as the new principal of the junior/senior high school. Taking on the athletic director and facilities coordinator positions is Nancy Kuiper, who is also the director of the SHARP Kids programs. Wade Magers, who just retired from his position as Lincoln County Sheriff, will serve as the school safety officer. “We’re excited to get him on board as our safety officer,” Turne...
Joey Kriete knows the ins and outs of Grant County law enforcement, having worked in multiple aspects of it for 29 years, and now he wants to be sheriff. "I'm very passionate about the county," Kriete told The Star, describing his history in the county dating back to his great grandparents who ran a dairy in Ephrata. "I believe I put myself on the career path to becoming the next Grant County sheriff and my track record shows for that," he said. That track record includes serving as a patrol...
Lake Roosevelt High School graduate Kaitlyn Nordine participated at the national Future Business Leaders of America competition in Chicago, Illinois that took place from June 29-July 2. Although not placing, Nordine competed in the journalism category in a test covering the economics of journalism, grammar and format, law and ethics, the business of journalism, and the history of journalism. The test focused "on the principles of journalism, such as the laws pertaining to journalism, and the...
A crowd of people shopped, listened to music, enjoyed frosty brews and ate food at North Dam Park in the First Friday event held there July 1. "It was a great night," said Morgan Tillman, who helped organize the event for the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. "I think everyone that came enjoyed themselves, and it was quite busy!" Republic Brewing sold beer, acoustic musician Rylei Franks provided the tunes, and Porky's Hot Dogs purveyed food for the event. Over a dozen vendors took the...
James Baker wants to be the new sheriff in Grant County, and feels that his having not worked for the sheriff's office in the past would benefit the county. "A new perspective can get the office on track," Baker, who has spent most of his life in the county, told The Star. "A new fresh set of eyes, a new perspective, can get the office on track. I have administrative and office experience that the other guys don't have as much of. They haven't started or ran their own business." Baker, a...
A number of community members who value North Dam Park are working to keep it afloat for the remainder of 2022. The park could close for lack of funding in August of this year, a result of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District having been unable to renew a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation before the end of 2021. The district is in the process of renewing their contract with the bureau for 2023, but in the meantime, is set to quit maintaining the park, including lawn care, water, power, and garbage services, in mid-August. Tha...
Results for seven elections for spots on the Colville Business Council show five incumbents keeping their positions, and two losing them. Absentee votes were certified Thursday, June 23, and added to the poll vote results that had been certified on Tuesday. In the race for Nespelem District Position #1 on the Colville Business Council, incumbent and current chairman Andy Joseph Jr won 370 to 232 votes against Corby Turner. In the race for Nespelem District Position #2, incumbent Shar Zacherle won 357-244 against former chairman Rodney Cawston....
Joe Harris wants to be the sheriff of Grant County, having served for over 20 years in law enforcement following eight years in the marines. Harris started his career in law enforcement as an officer with the city of Quincy in 2001, then working for the Grant County Sheriff's Office in 2006, working for a year for the state attorney general in 2015, then as the chief of police in Mattawa until 2021. He finished his doctorate in Public Administration earlier this year, earning the degree...
Children on the Colville Indian Reservation have been dispersing "seed bombs" in areas affected by wildfires in recent years to help restore native species to the areas. The "Healing the Earth" program is conducted by the Washington State University Colville Reservation Extension 4-H program, which partners and collaborates with the Colville Confederated Tribes and Bureau of Indian Affairs natural resource programs, including Environmental Trust, Range, Fish & Wildlife, and Mt. Tolman Fire...
In my last thoughts shared in The Star, I mentioned that I had hoped that the upper brass in the GCDSD would start to be accountable for the downward spiral of dysfunction created by their superintendent. I love our local school district and I’m proud that all of my kids were Raiders, but this organization is at the lowest point I’ve seen in forty years. We need genuine leadership where people are valued and heard, and progressive change is made on necessary prioritized challenges. Instead, we have a pattern of selfish, reactive management whe...
North Dam Park, which hosts numerous events in the area, including Colorama, markets, softball tournaments, and more, is in danger of no longer being maintained, but funding could still be secured for 2023. A special meeting is scheduled for the local park district in charge on June 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the former middle school in Grand Coulee in the former teachers’ lounge there, which the public is welcome to attend. Years ago, the city of Grand Coulee had responsibility for the park, but relinquished control to the US Bureau of Reclamation, w...
A UH60 Blackhawk helicopter demonstrated its fire-fighting abilities last week by sucking water out of Banks Lake through a "snorkel" into its 1,100 gallon tank, then dumping the water onto the runway at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources contracts with the California-based company High Performance Helicopters to station aircraft throughout the state, including at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport, in case of wildfire. Administrative and Accounting...
People agree that housing for seniors in the area is needed, but the effort comes with a hefty price tag in the $15-$20 million range. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Senior Center spent $7,500 on a feasibility study for senior housing in the area in collaboration with Centerline Development, which owns the former Center School and surrounding land on Spokane Way in Grand Coulee. The study’s conclusion that there would be demand for such a facility and service led to a $20,000 engineering study. The senior center contributed another $17,500 toward t...
The Grand Coulee Dam area is in the spotlight of a new video being made to highlight the attributes of the area. Voortex Productions, out of Wenatchee, is working with the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce to produce a promotional video. "I am so excited about this project!" chamber Executive Director Rachelle Baughman said. "The purpose and mission behind this video is to highlight the Grand Coulee Area and unite the community. We want to give our community something to be proud of, as...