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  • School updates community in response to COVID-19 epidemic

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 18, 2020

    Lake Roosevelt Schools will continue to feed and teach students, just not in the school. Following Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcment March 13 that schools statewide would close, the Grand Coulee Dam School District released a parent and community update Monday outlining how Lake Roosevelt Schools are being affected by the coronavirus response. Superintendent Paul Turner noted that there were seven confirmed cases in Grant County. “Our job will be to continue enhancing our position to help reduce the spread of this virus and hopefully keep it out...

  • Electric City requests extension on park timeline

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 18, 2020

    Electric City will seek an extension for their Ice Age Park grant through the state’s Recreation & Conservation Office. At the March 10 city council meeting, Mayor Diane Kohout told the council that the city received a letter from the RCO saying the city either needed to begin construction on the park before the end of March, or request the extension. The delay comes from trying to get the cost of the park down. The target cost for the park is a total of $515,000 to be paid in part with $257,500 in RCO grant money, and with a match from the cit...

  • Ongoing street construction discussed in Electric City

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 18, 2020

    Construction may resume soon on controversial street projects in Electric City, and city council members spoke on the topic at their March 10 meeting. A parking lot in front of city hall was built over what had been a stretch of Western Avenue, causing additional turns for those who use that route, including the local fire station. Sidewalk work on Coulee Boulevard, Electric City’s main street along SR-155, is another controversial project due to it limiting parking for businesses there. Mayor Diane Kohout told the council that she received n...

  • Grant County man dies of COVID-19

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 11, 2020

    A Grant County resident has died after becoming infected with the coronavirus, but an Okanogan County resident’s test results came back negative as have some at Coulee Medical Center. And community organizations are taking precautions against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus. Grant County Health District stated Sunday that a Quincy resident resident in his 80s, who had tested positive for COVID-19, had died. The GCHD “has and will continue to follow up with close contacts of this patient,” their press release states. “We know that...

  • New Steamboat Rock book tells pictorial history of local landmark

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 11, 2020

    A collection of early and rare photos highlighting the history of Steamboat Rock is being published and will be available for purchase in April. The book tells a linear story of Steamboat Rock, from Native American legends, to early pioneers, to the introduction of automobiles, to the construction of the dam, the flooding of Banks Lake, becoming a state park, and more. Local man John "Jay" M. Kemble, compiled the book titled "Steamboat Rock" for Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series. "...

  • Summer jobs search

    Jesse Utz|Mar 11, 2020

    Think back to our younger days, a time where we had to find a summer job. It seemed a requirement at the time, and for many parents it was a requirement. The reason I bring this up is because the teens of Coulee Country are once again asking the question, “Where can I get a job this summer?” It is becoming harder and harder for the youth of our area to find summer employment in the area. There are many reasons for this, but part of the hardship for the kids is they do not know where or how to...

  • Raiders take fourth at state tourney

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 11, 2020

    The Lake Roosevelt Raiders took fourth in the WIAA Hardwood Classic state basketball tournament at Spokane Arena Saturday, accomplishing a preseason goal of placing better than last year's sixth place at state. Lake Roosevelt played a tight game against the Wahkiakum Mules March 4, in which the Raiders came from behind to win at the last second. The Mules led 17-10 after the first quarter, and 35-27 at the half. In the second half, the Raiders staged a comeback, taking the lead 47-44 in the thir...

  • Pace, Owen to be honored for excellence

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 11, 2020

    Karen Pace, who has been the music teacher at Lake Roosevelt schools for the past five years, and Terry Owen, who has been driving bus for LR for the past 32 years, will be honored with excellence awards next month. Superintendent Paul Turner announced the winners to school staff Feb. 27. Turner said both Pace and Owen received multiple nominations from their fellow staff members. The awards are organized by the North Central Educational Service District, Turner said, and Pace and Owen will be among those honored at its Excellence Awards Banque...

  • Local agencies prep for virus threat

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has received widespread news coverage, and as cases and deaths in Washington have been confirmed, how does it affect the local community? "Please be reassured that we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our community," stated an email sent to Coulee Medical Center staff Tuesday. The email said the hospital "is taking a proactive approach in preventing potential exposure to staff and patients by screening all visitors and patients prior to entrance into the...

  • Senate bill package could help ease new hydropower project approval

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    A potential new, big hydro-electric project for the Coulee area, could be more likely to happen sooner than later if legislation being considered by the Senate in Washington D.C. passes. The $1.4 billion Banks Lake Pump Storage Project, proposed by Columbia Basin Hydropower, would bring in an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 workers to build a gravity-fed, pumped-storage system that would drain water from Banks Lake back down to Lake Roosevelt, turning generators in the process, and later pump the...

  • Sensors could detect vaping at Lake Roosevelt High

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    Special detectors may be installed at Lake Roosevelt Schools to address “rampant” vaping at the school. Vaping, which delivers nicotine to the user without tobacco present, is said to be dangerous to the health of anyone by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and especially to the development of adolescent brains. But students can vape discreetly, even in classrooms, with the devices used to vape being particularly small and the vapor itself often odorless and dissipating quickly. Getting some tech help to address the situation is...

  • Bad month for restaurants versus vehicles

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    February proved to be a bad month for restaurant buildings. On Feb. 21, at about 4:12 p.m., a Coulee City woman drove over the curb on Main Street in Grand Coulee, hitting the outside of Siam Palace, before going into reverse and backing into an alleyway. According to a police report from Officer Dan Holland of the Grand Coulee Police Department, the vehicle, a 1995 Ford Ranger, jumped the curb and hit Siam Palace, causing an estimated $10,000 in damage when the vehicle pushed in a concrete planter, bent a window frame, caused damage to the...

  • Thoughts on observing on your behalf

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    The role of a journalist is to be the eyes and ears for the readers. So while at a school board meeting, city council meeting, events, and so on, things that people may not have the time to go to, or don’t have a large enough interest in going to, my job is to listen for what’s interesting and present that to the readers. What are school or city officials saying? What are they doing? What laws are they passing? What changes are happening? What are people saying during the public comments part of the meeting? Public meetings are on the rec...

  • Senior Profile: Jordan Flett

    Jess Utz|Mar 4, 2020

    This week I am bring you another senior from the halls of Lake Roosevelt High School. My interview was a little different this time because I sat down with Jordan Flett in front of the entire Journalism class at LR to interview her to give them a taste of the interview process. So here is a little bit of my very personal interview with “Air” Jordan. As I start all my interviews with the seniors, I asked her about her year so far, and she opened up immediately in her shy voice that got bol...

  • Raider boys suffer loss at WIAA regional tournament

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    The Raider basketball team is done with the regional round of the Hardwood Classic state tournament following a loss against the Toutle Lake Ducks. Lake Roosevelt lost to the Ducks 59-43 Saturday in Longview. The game started out rough for the Raiders, who only put up two points in the first quarter to the Ducks' 14. LR found their rhythm in the second quarter when they outscored the Ducks 14-12, including three-point shots from Hunter Whitelaw and Tyson Nicholson, cutting the Toutle Lake's...

  • Lady Raiders conquered by Lady Vikings at regionals

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    The Lady Raiders' season ended Saturday with a loss to Mossy Rock in the regional round of the state tournament in Longview. The Lake Roosevelt girls racked up a win-loss record of 11-5 in the league, 14-11 overall, including the postseason. In Longview against the Mossy Rock Lady Vikings Saturday, LR lost 45-39 in a scrappy game that was tied up many times in the first and fourth quarters, with the Lady Raiders eeking out a one-point lead at 32-31 at the end of the third. But the Lady Vikings...

  • School bus issues discussed further

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    A conversation on school bus communication and discipline goes ’round and ’round, and a new director of transportation says he is addressing the issues repeatedly raised over the last couple months. The topic of school bus communication, as well as discipline on the bus, was brought up again at the Feb. 24 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting, a topic raised back in December of 2019 as well as January 2020. Former school board director Brenda Covington, who has brought up the topic in previous meetings, asked for an update on the top...

  • Grand Coulee law enforcement contract with USBR in works

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    The city of Grand Coulee is on track to sign a new contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to provide law enforcement services for the federal agency. The city is currently operating on a six-month extension on a contract that expired in November 2019, a contract in which the city’s police provide additional security at the Grand Coulee Dam. That contract adds four additional officers to the Grand Coulee Police Department, which serves Grand Coulee and Electric City, for a total of eight officers, plus a reserve officer. The bureau pays th...

  • Students learn about birds in Bird Fest

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    Craig Moran held up a 30-year-old hawk to a room full of young students at the Vets Hall in Electric City during a two-day event to educate them about birds of prey. Moran, of RaptorLife, a company that teaches people about the raptor category of birds, was showing them August, a 30-year-old ferruginous hawk, that was taken from a nest in Wyoming in 1990. Moran spoke to a mixture of fourth- through eighth-grade students from Lake Roosevelt Schools, and from schools in Wilbur, Creston,...

  • City appoints Fish as new fire chief

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    Ryan Fish was named the new chief of the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department at the city's Feb. 18 council meeting. A crowd of about 20 people, including several from the department, applauded after Fish's appointment was announced by Mayor Paul Townsend, who gave Fish his badge. "Thank you for stepping up and doing what you do, and what you're going to do for the city," Townsend said. The fire chief position was opened after Rick Paris retired as chief at the end of 2019 after 23 years in...

  • Two heros will be missed

    Jess Utz|Feb 26, 2020

    Sometimes the foundation of an institution can be shaken. The Lake Roosevelt Raiders have lost two very important educators and friends this year, but their impact in the community goes way deeper than a school setting. These two have written the history books when it comes to our little community, and their impact is felt by generations and distance that goes beyond the walls that surround us. If you ever went into the old Flo’s Café, needed a piece of glass or were looking for a piece of an...

  • Million Dollar Mile, part 1

    John M. Kemble, Them Dam Writers online|Feb 26, 2020

    With the Second World War over, work started on the creation of a 27-mile-long reservoir from Electric City to Coulee City. The old highway ran down the Upper Coulee floor, and a new replacement route would have to be built. To avoid being flooded, the new highway would cling to the southern coulee wall. This road was named Secondary State Highway 2F and ran through several condemned farmyards as it made its way across the coulee. Just outside Coulee City, the ground at the base of the east wall was unstable due to a series of unpredictable...

  • Five Raiders place at state wrestling tournament

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    Raider wrestlers competed at the Mat Classic XXXII 1B/2B state tournament on Feb. 21-22 at the Tacoma Dome, where they placed fifth as a team with several medalists. Out of eight LR participants at the tournament, five placed, including Colton Jackson, who took second place in the 106-pound weight class; Julian Lopez, fifth at 113; Sergio Galacia, sixth at 182; Myka Boyd, fifth at 195; and Trevon Johnson fifth at 220. LR placed fifth as a team out of 40 with 77 team points. Tonasket won with...

  • Ladies beat back White Swan

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    The Lady Raiders secured their place in the regional tournament by defeating a team that had beaten them by nine points in January. The Lady Raiders, from District 6, played District 5's White Swan Lady Cougars Saturday in Quincy in a tense district crossover playoff game. LR pulled off a seven-point victory, 55-48, to send the team to the regional tournament on Saturday, at Mark Morris High School in Longview. LR led by a slim margin most of the game, but the Cougars tied it twice at 33 and 36...

  • Boys win district crossover

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    The Raiders won their Districts 5/6 crossover game against a District 5 opponent Friday, and will now move onto the regional tournament beginning in Longview. Lake Roosevelt played Liberty Christian High School from Richland on Feb. 21 on neutral ground in Quincy in the district crossover game where the Raiders defeated the Patriots 70-28. Soarin' Marchand hit eight of 10 three-point shots in the game in which the Raiders were 45-16 at the half. That allowed plenty of tournament playing time...

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