News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Kids got out of the house this past weekend to take part in the 2020 Koulee Kids Fest. "Koulee Kids Fest went FANTASTIC!" wrote Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rachelle Haven in an email to The Star. "The turn-out was amazing, more than we ever expected." The festival included children going to local businesses to get take-home activity kits or take part in an activity. Coulee Wall Variety Store had close to 250 kids attend their "fishing pond" activity, Haven said,...
The Fourth of July fast approaching, but don’t plan on setting off fireworks from North Dam again this year; it’s still unavailable as a launching location. The chamber of commerce’s Festival of America event, typically held below the Grand Coulee Dam, with fireworks launched from it, also will not be held this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lighting of personal fireworks from North Dam, a popular spot for years, will not be available, as it was not last year. “Last year on July 4, fireworks were not allowed on top of North Dam bec...
Anyone in the market for a Jeep? The Electric City council voted on June 9 to put the city’s 2018 Jeep Renegade Sports edition, which has only around 5,000 miles on it, up for bid. The city bought the Jeep just last year when the city had a completely different council, mayor, and city clerk. The minimum bid for the Jeep is $17,000. The council was in agreement that although the trade-in value for the vehicle was around $13,000, trade-in values are lower than the actual value, and that the vehicle’s low mileage made it worth more. The cou...
As we look around during this time, we can see a lot of negativity. It can be heavy and burdensome to carry on with our lives when it appears the turmoil of the world is ripping apart society. It can be hard to go into your day without an attack or bout of uncertainty that can lead to depression or panic like clouds surrounding us. So when a spark of positivity shines bright, it is important grasp it and blow it into a flame. Last Saturday I found myself sitting under the awning at North Dam...
The institution of public school will look a lot different in the 2020-21 school year due to the COVID-19 health precautions that will still be in place, and schools are now beginning to grapple with freshly issued state guidelines that bring the challenges into focus. Last week, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction released guidelines for how to resume school in the 2020-21 school year in keeping with Department of Health safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines anticipate a return to the...
If you own a business in Electric City that was hurt financially by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you should soon be able to apply for a grant with the city to receive relief funds for which the city is eligible. City Clerk Peggy Nevsimal addressed the city council on the topic at their June 9 meeting. Nevsimal said she has spoken with the Washington State Department of Commerce about setting up a grant program to distribute some of the $30,900 the city is eligible for as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act p...
Koulee Kids Fest will take place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and one lucky child will win an iPad Mini and a pair of Beats headphones. Children of any age participating in Koulee Kids Fest will pick up a “passport,” then take it to area businesses where they will pick up kits, a treat, or take part in an activity that follows social distance guidelines. Each location will stamp their passport, and six stamps qualify a child to win the iPad Mini and Beats headphones grand prize by dropping their passport off at the Grand Coulee Dam...
Coulee Medical Center has been going through masks like hotcakes during the COVID-19 pandemic and would be grateful to receive more from local mask makers. “Our mask utilization has increased significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” CMC Chief Nursing Officer Marlene Elliott told The Star in an email Monday. “We are currently requiring universal masking for all staff, as well as any patient or visitor who enters our facility. … Average mask utilization for staff is approximately 30 to 50 per day using conservation methods...
People are evidently cleaning up, and so is the local dump. Increased business at the Delano Transfer Station has brought in enough extra money this spring to offset much of a projected loss, so rates will rise only slightly. Dump rates will be raised $2 a ton, a negligible amount for casual dumpers, while spring cleaning has led to an increase in dumping and extra cash for the transfer station. Originally, in October of 2019, the Regional Board of Mayors had voted to raise dump rates at the Delano Regional Transfer Station half a cent a pound,...
Schools are looking at how to successfully implement changes that will be put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new Star survey seeks the opinions of local parents, students, and staff members. Last week The Star reported on changes schools are facing for the 2020-21 school year after guidelines were released by the state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Those guidelines include rules such as those requiring all students and staff to wear face coverings and maintain a distance from one another. Those rules ha...
The people have spoken! Results are in from a Star poll on the topic of wearing masks in public during the COVID-19 pandemic, a controversial topic nationally. Last week The Star posted an online poll asking readers if they wore masks in public, and why or why not. The poll received 214 responses as of Tuesday, the most of any poll conducted by The Star in recent years. The majority, 118 (55.14%) said they do wear a mask when out in public near people; 74 (34.58%) responded that they don't; and...
People who spend recreational time at Spring Canyon told the National Park Service their concerns over potential changes for the park. The NPS collected 83 comments on their Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Draft Visitor Use Site Management Plan and Environmental Assessment before the comment period ended on May 30. The draft plan lists potential changes to nine sites along Lake Roosevelt, including Spring Canyon. A list of potential actions relevant to all sites along Lake Roosevelt,...
CORRECTION: This article has been amended to show the correct graduation date for Lake Roosevelt, which is June 13. Okanogan County enters Phase 2, meaning locally, among other things, that Lake Roosevelt’s modified graduation ceremony can go on as scheduled; however, reservation restrictions vary from the county’s. On June 5, Okanogan County entered Phase 2 of Washington State’s Safe Start plan for reopening businesses and activities in Washington. “While moving to Phase 2 is an important step, we still have work ahead of us to stay in Phas...
This is a year that will forever be remembered, and the graduating seniors of 2020 all over the country will always remember it as being not exactly how they’d pictured it. I usually get a few chances to talk to the seniors one last time at Baccalaureate or Senior Dinner, but it is a different year. So, I will put my words of wisdom right here for all of you, but mostly them. Be adaptable. You are already learning that on the fly. You have had multiple different teachers, principals and rule c...
Public meetings, including those of city councils, school boards, and various districts, will need to continue to be held telephonically, a requirement that might lead to an expanded means of public participation in at least one local city. Gov. Jay Inslee extended proclamations related to COVID-19 restrictions Friday, including proclamations related to public meetings forbidding them from being held in person. "The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its progression in Washington State continues...
The Grand Coulee City Council approved a $3.57 million, five-year contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Thursday to continue to use the Grand Coulee Police Department to provide additional security services at the Grand Coulee Dam. The contract, approved and effective as of May 22, expires on May 31, 2025. The city’s old contract with the bureau expired in November 2019, which led to a six-month extension while a new contract was negotiated. The Star was unable to obtain specific details of the new contract but reported in February t...
Even before the order went statewide Friday directing widespread wearing of masks in public and requiring business to mandate it for employees not working alone, Grant County health authorities had already decided that protection was necessary. It is now mandatory to wear face masks in many public situations in Grant County, which recently entered Phase 2 of the Washington’s Safe Start Recovery Plan. “After much consideration, research, and consultation, Grant County Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny is issuing a Health Officer Dir...
As “distance learning” continues at Lake Roosevelt Schools during the COVID-19 pandemic that has kept students out of classrooms, principals weigh in on students’ participation in online classes. During the May 26 school board meeting, held electronically via Zoom, the topic of student participation came up. LR Elementary School Principal Lisa Lakin said teachers are getting participation from about 65% of their students. “Every week that students ‘check in’ with their teacher they are counted as attending,” Lakin’s report to the board, incl...
A statewide health care campaign is urging people not to delay getting treated for any other health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing that hospitals can still treat non-COVID issues. Dr. Sam Hsieh, Coulee Medical Center’s chief medical officer, told The Star in an email on Monday that “there is a national drop of 60% of normal visits for primary and specialty care visits.” The Spokesman Review recently reported on the issue of people delaying their healthcare, reporting that Washington state doctors have cited instances of pe...
Lake Roosevelt’s COVID-19 era graduation should go on as planned despite Okanogan County currently being in Phase 1 of Washington State’s Safe Start Recovery Plan. Graduation is scheduled to be held June 13 at 7 p.m. at the Lake Roosevelt football field where social distancing guidelines will mean limited interaction, attendees staying in their cars, graduates walking on and off the field one at a time to collect their diplomas, and slideshows and speeches being projected onto large screens on the field. Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High Sch...
Camping is still closed in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, including at Spring Canyon, and boat launch fees can only be paid by credit card now. The National Park Service said Monday that the closure of campgrounds is continuing until further notice to help quell the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Four of the five counties that border the lake, Lincoln, Stevens, Ferry, and Grant are in Phase 2 of Washington state's Safe Start recovery plan, with Okanogan still being in Phase 1....
A lot of soul searching has been going on over the past few weeks. Then a horrific tragedy occurred, and the world watched a man die under the knee of a law enforcement officer. Then the cities erupted. The protests grew up into every major city in America and we found ourselves as a nation trying to put words to what we were witnessing. I have watched a lot of people, make a lot of statements regarding these events that currently still have emotions at a boiling over point. Something has been...
With time running out, people with ideas about plans emerging for Spring Canyon, the popular beach and park on Lake Roosevelt just east of Grand Coulee, should make them known to the National Park Service. You have until the end of the day on May 30 to comment on potential changes at Spring Canyon, including the removal of the swim dock, removal of the concession building, and more. The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Draft Visitor Use Site Management Plan and Environmental Assessment is available to view online and available for...
It is now mandatory to wear face masks in many public situations in Grant County, which recently entered Phase 2 of the state of Washington's Safe Start Recovery Plan. "After much consideration, research, and consultation, Grant County Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny is issuing a Health Officer Directive mandating this use of face coverings in some public settings," a May 27 press release from the Grant County Health District reads. "This is one easy effort to assist with reducing the...
The volume of police activity for the Grand Coulee Police Department seems to have gone down during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of 2018, the GCPD had 99 incidents, in April of 2019 116, and in April of 2020 only 67. Data from the Multi Agency Communication Center in Moses Lake, who relays 911 calls to the appropriate agency, shows that the number of calls they received for the GCPD were lower in 2020 than 2019, but higher than 2018. That data does not include calls that the GCPD receives directly. In 2018, from April 1 to May 15, MACC...