News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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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...
Some of us grew up reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school every day. The words “one nation, indivisible” are a potent memory. Are those words history? The thirteen colonies declared their independence from England on July 4, 1776. Congress adopted the name “United States” on September 9, 1776. In 1777, they designated June 14 as American Flag Day. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified in 1791. It is surely probable that the writers of those amendments would have been stunned by the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court decisio...
The Raider boys were no match for the Lady Raiders on the softball field in Grand Coulee in a fun, fastpitch softball game the girls won 17-11 last week. "I'm not sure who had more fun - the crowd, the players, or the umps," Lady Raiders Head Coach Jaci Gross said. "Everyone involved in the game had a blast and that was the goal. I really appreciated the boys coming out, playing fast pitch rules, and just going with it. Anytime we can get kids and the community together and make great memories,...
Girls and boys who will be in 3rd-8th grade in the 2022-2023 school year can sign up tomorrow, for a basketball camp that takes place in July. Signups will take place June 9 at the Lake Roosevelt gym from 6-7 p.m. for a $75 signup fee. All proceeds will benefit local basketball teams, according to organizers. The camp itself will take place July 11-13, with 3rd-5th grade participating from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 6th-8th grade from 3-6 p.m. Local coaches will be joined by Jeff Niemi of Grays Harbor College. The fundamental games and skills...
Update: This Friday's June 3 event has been moved to the inside of the former Center School on Spokane Way in Grand Coulee due to the rainy weather. This Friday marks the first First Friday event for the Coulee, with vendors, food, and more to provide a fun time to start your weekend. The first Friday of each month means shopping and entertainment from June through October in a new kind of event for the area. This Friday, June 3, is the first of its kind, and future “First Fridays” will be held on July 1, Aug. 5, Sept 2, and Oct. 7. Vendors and...
Grand Coulee City Park is receiving upgrades this year including a half-court basketball court, a new barbecue pit area, walkways, and playground equipment. The park, located along SR-174 between a gas station and Mexican food restaurant, is benefiting from a $162,000 grant that the city was awarded last year from the Ephrata-based Paul Lauzier Foundation. Old playground equipment, including swings, teeter-totters, and a slide have been removed to make room for new playground equipment, while a “merry-go-round” device still remains. The cur...
Ashley Atkins took on the role of Indian Education director this school year at Lake Roosevelt Schools and spoke to The Star recently about the importance of teaching Native American culture and history. "I will introduce myself in my language (Crow) first," she wrote in an email to The Star. "Kahay! Baalaashe' Amiiaxxisesh huuk, baashchiilitaailia, 'Lucky and Receiving' huuk. I am Apsaalooke from the great Crow Nation of Montana. My husband [LR science teacher Derek Atkins] is Psquosa...
Andy Clark is an LR alumnus and was a very talented Raider and UW Husky track athlete. At LR he was coached by Randy Spotts, who was the best high school distance coach around. Randy was very organized, methodical, expected the best from his athletes and coached several state champions and medalists. Coach Spotts always kept things fun with his bizarre sense of humor. Even when his runners were tops in the state he would yell at them to run “Faster, faster, faster.” Then when their events were over he’d tell the coaches jokingly, “Boy, could I...
“Mass shooting” is defined as four or more people shot. A list of the number of those mass shooting events by year is cited below. 2022: 249 as of May 24. In all of 2021: 671; in 2020, 611; 2019, 416; 2018, 336; 2017, 346; 2016, 381; 2015, 335; 2014, 269. The number of people who were shot and the number who were killed is given by the following website, and it also reports the date and location of each event. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2021/may/27/us-mass-shootings-database On Oct. 1, 2017, one individual shot 471 peo...
Part of Federal Avenue in Grand Coulee is receiving a half a million dollar makeover. Wheeler Excavation, LLC out of Benton City is the contractor for the project, replacing the main water line, installing a sidewalk and storm drainage, and rebuilding the street. The full project is expected to cost $535,555, Grand Coulee City Clerk Lorna Pearce said. The streetwork is being done with state Transportation Improvement Board money up to an amount of $524,096. The city will be paying for the...
A $7,000 study funded by the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center found that developing senior housing in the area would be beneficial. The senior center pledged up to $25,000 for studies geared towards developing land currently owned by Centerline Development into living options for senior citizens. With this initial study saying it is a good plan, further studies would include financial studies, an architectural plan and legal expenses, among other items, totalling about $50,000. At a March 14 meeting at the senior center, Ian Turner and Nic...
Electric City is forming a new committee focused on developing a city park, and Electric City residents can be a part of that committee. At a May 18 special council meeting, the council approved going forward with forming a new park committee focused solely on building a city park. Councilmember Brian Buche noted during the meeting that people have expressed interest in taking up the cause again. Buche was elected as part of a new administration in 2019, including all new council members, a new mayor, and a new city clerk, with the park being...
Imagine the nation’s hospitals besieged by pressure to set aside most of what medical science has learned in the past half century. Individuals needing care would receive attention, but from physicians wary that implementing contemporary practices and ideas could have consequences for their careers. Public health would diminish even more. This is the challenge faced by history educators in many states and school districts across the United States right now. Radical organizations, prompted and prodded by marketing professionals and political i...
Some people aren't too thrilled about a possible impending speed limit reduction on a stretch of highway between Electric City and Grand Coulee. The upcoming construction of a pedestrian and bicycle pathway along Banks Lake connecting the Coulee Playland area to the North Dam area may come with a speed limit reduction from 45 miles per hour to 35 mph for an 800-yard stretch of road if the state Department of Transportation deems it appropriate. The path will narrow the roadway, which will...
A construction project is beginning on a new waterline and paving on a section of Federal Avenue in Grand Coulee from Main Street down to Midway Avenue by The Star newspaper building. The street was closed Tuesday to through traffic. The project also involves putting in a sidewalk and storm drains on one side of the street. Construction is anticipated to be finished by July 7, City Clerk Lorna Pearce said at the May 17 council meeting. The Star reported in September of 2021 that the city's...
This weekend is the time, and the Delano Regional Transfer Station is the place to "e-cycle" that old TV or computer monitor that's been cluttering up your garage or attic. This week, May 19-21, you can take certain electronics to the transfer station for free to be recycled. The transfer station is open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the 19th and 20th, and on Saturday the 21st from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. An electronics bin was previously outside of the gates of the transfer station, but some people...
The Lady Raiders softball team has two shots at going to state following a hometown win last week against Brewster that started the postseason. The rain didn't dampen the spirits of the Lady Raiders, who hosted Brewster on May 14 in Grand Coulee, winning 12-0. LR scored three runs in the first inning, eight in the third and one in the fourth. On the mound for LR and shutting out the Brewster Bears were Presley Steffens and Aaliyah Marchand. Steffens pitched four innings, striking out two, and al...
Raider tennis competed at the Central Washington 2B league tournament in Omak on May 11, and May 14 where several Lady Raiders qualified for the district competition today. In Omak, Amy Dorman won her matches in girls’ singles to qualify for districts. The girls’ doubles teams of Kaylee Landeros and Riley Ayling and Terai Bob and Raeanna Joe won their matches to qualify for districts. The boys’ season is done. “Reese Hansen won two [matches] and lost two and was one match away from going to the next round,” Head Coach Billy Monroe said. “He...
Raider Terek Bush took fourth place in the District 5 tournament at Alta Lake Golf Course on Monday, qualifying him for the state tournament at Deer Park May 24. At Alta Lake, the Raiders competed with opponents from Oroville, Okanogan, Waterville-Mansfield, and Riverside Christian schools, with the top six boys and top five girls qualifying for state. "I think all the players were really feeling the pressure and Terek really handled himself well," Head Coach Steve Files said. Bush finished the...
By Jacob Wagner Raider athletes qualified for districts after placing in league track and field championships last week. LR’s team competed at the Central Washington 2B league championship May 11 at Liberty Bell High School with other athletes from Bridgeport, Oroville, Tonasket, Liberty Bell, and Okanogan. Athletes needed to place in the top eight in each event to move onto the district meet, which will include athletes from those same teams. From LR, Raeley Portch qualified to compete in the 100-meter race, 300-meter hurdles, and the j...
You can see the world from a different perspective by flying a drone. Greg Behrens, a retired geologist from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, demonstrated his drone for The Star in April at his home east of Grand Coulee in the Spring Canyon area. Behrens got his drone in July of 2021 and his commercial license in October, but he didn't really need it; he just enjoyed the intellectual challenge of passing the test for certification and learning all there was to learn about it. "You have to...
Firefighters from Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee, and Elmer City departments responded to a vehicle fire near the Coulee Dam Casino Tuesday. The fire burned inside the cab of a pickup truck. The cause is still under investigation. The fire, reported at 5:14 p.m., was extinguished by 5:25 p.m. Two fire extinguishers were used to put the fire out, which could have been worse, according to firefighters on the scene, who said it could have burned the truck to the ground. Firefighters at the scene of...
Raider tennis is beginning tournament play after wrapping up their regular season. The rain canceled matches with Oroville and Manson last week, so now LR is looking at the postseason. The Central Washington 2B league tournament starts today, May 11, in Omak at 12 p.m., and continues on Saturday, May 14, also at noon. Reese Hansen will compete at the boys’ number-one singles spot; Teyten Flores at number two; and Reniff Herndon at number three. Noah Hunt and Jaxon Krohn are competing at the number-one boys’ doubles spot. Zane Chaffee and Wya...