News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Not to steal from the weather man, but it has been cold. Colder than Hans Solo in a Carbonite freeze. It might even be colder than a Hobbit in Melkor. OK, now that that is out of my system and movie buffs are happy, let's move right along. Since I have spent a fair share of time outside lately in the frigid air, I have let my mind drift a bit back to the days of horse and buggy or, more appropriately, horse and sled. I remember reading in "Pioneers to Power" that the young adults in the pioneer days would go to dances in sleighs. They would...
Last week I gave you a (try and make you smile) column about making a rough draft of what you are thankful for. Well, after the week I had, the true Thanksgiving list is here and ready for your approval. So here we go. Cardboard boxes can be hard to come by. I have heard from people all over the world that have a difficult time finding the hard paper storage units without paying for them. This is not the case in Coulee Country. An overwhelming outpouring of boxes came our way. Dave, at the school, supplied us with a stack of boxes a day. Ed...
With all that is going on in the world and the holidays right around the corner, I thought maybe I would start the preparation for being thankful. Just like a professional baseball player has to go to spring training before the season, and just like a soldier must go through boot camp before serving, all of us must take the proper preparations before we celebrate all we are thankful for. I mean, serious injuries can occur if we start the season without stretching or watching the game tape of last season’s highs and lows. So let’s begin the sea...
I was standing at the Veterans Assembly last week at the high school during the National Anthem and found myself thinking of not only the 30-plus veterans on hand for the event that we were honoring but of other vets that lost their lives giving the ultimate sacrifice. I then thought of my grandfathers who served and how proud they both were to be Americans. I then thought of my uncles and some of the horrible things they had to go through in Vietnam and their return. I had to fight back the tears as I looked up at old glory and studied the red...
In the movie “Pay It Forward,” Haley Joel Osment creates an idea to make the world a better place. Help someone, just because they need it, and expect nothing in return. Just tell them to pay it forward. This movie is a family favorite of ours and a saying we have said to others. And we have been on the receiving end of this philosophy. Even recently at a local store when our debit card was not working and my wife was preparing to decide what items to put back when a stranger stepped up and pai...
I have had the privilege the past few months to have had a couple of chats that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Sometimes in a world of fast paced mayhem and “gotta go” attitudes, a quick chat with someone you know or with a stranger can be a highlight to a day. So this week I want to share with you two of the chats. I mentioned in a column awhile back about going to the ghost town of Liberty, WA to take care of my wife’s family property. Well, we ventured back again a few weeks ago a...
If you have been around the high school the last few years you know why this lady is a “gem.” If you have not, well let me throw some names at you: Rose Butterfly, Rebecca Hunt, Tiffany Peone, Leland Wellons, Craig Nissen, Kacey Palmer Ankney, Kassandra Norton, Meghan Francis, Amelia McClung, Matthew Timentwa, Charlie Knight, Johnny McCraigie, Kendall Piccolo, Brandin Smith, Daniel Campobasso and Chyenne Kelly-Marconi. What do they all have in common? They are Lake Roosevelt graduates and Gates Millennium Scholarship winners. Seventeen win...
It is a rare occurrence that four family members can go on an expedition in the sage brush that surrounds us and come out with smiles. Yes, it was opening day for rifle deer season and I was out there once again. The difference this year was that instead of just Cousin Cory, two boys tagged along. But it did not start out that way. As all you hunters out there know, you can’t just jump in the truck and go hunting; you got to have a plan. Levi and I thought we had one, too. Dave Finch had g...
OK, most of the time I would veer away from politics here in my column, but I think, (No, I know) that this election coming in November is important. There are a lot of offices and issues on the ballot and the voice of the people needs to be heard loud and clear. I also know that some of you out there can be overwhelmed by the varying information out there and even sometimes discouraged because you don’t like any of the candidates, which inevitably causes you not to vote at all. I don’t know if the information I put here will help you or dis...
Yep, tis the season. Hunting season that is. Sorry ladies, (unless you are one of those ladies who don the camouflage and belly crawl in the dirt just like, or better than, the fellas do). So if you are a wife or girlfriend left at home waiting for the smell of fresh blood and bad body odor to return home sometime after dark, then for you I am sorry, but to everyone else - Yippee, it’s hunting season. Of course, most of us hunters have been preparing for months. Whether it was some scouting t...
Traditions are important but sometimes when one fades away it isn’t till it is long gone that you wish, somehow, it was still around to enjoy. As I think back to some of the Coulee traditions as a kid, I start to wonder, “What happened to that,” or “I wonder where that went?” So here are some things I miss around here. During Colorama every year kids could look forward to the carnival. Back in the day, to me, it seemed a lot bigger than it is nowadays. I remember one year it filled the entire Junior High field. Maybe someday we will get back...
As you read this, the new Lake Roosevelt School is open, and kids kindergarten through 12th grade are already walking the halls. Let me say this: It was a very emotional week as past teachers, students and board members walked the halls and mingled with today’s students and the future of Raider Nation. Emotions were not just limited to them either. A senator, a pastor and a superintendant also could not contain the joy of a big project being finished due to hard work, team work and tenacious d...
This last weekend was the men’s retreat again and once again a group of local men gathered and listened to how to be better dads, husbands and leaders. I am always in awe of the vast difference of the men that come to this gathering. Different life experiences and journeys to get to this point; sometimes if you stood back and peered through the window, you would have no idea what would be going on. From looking at the appearance of the group, you would have no idea what was the relationship o...
Sometimes I just have too much to talk about. So this week I will give you a few paragraphs of thoughts or a potpourri of pondering, if you will. It is a rare occurrence that you can ask a chef if he can cook something, something you have always wanted to have and he says, yes, he can do it. It is a special day when that same chef cooks for you and your wife and four friends in his restaurant and makes it a very special time. Thanks Juan for the awesome eats and outstanding flexibility....
Sometimes words or phrases said around town can only be associated with our area, and I think it is kind of the uniqueness and charm of our cities. So here are a few things that I have heard. In response to the question, “What are you doing this weekend?” A local lady responded “Yard sales, yard sales and maybe some Jeopardy.” Yard sales have been a big hit around Coulee Country for as long as I can remember. When I was pretty small, Grandma and Grandpa Utz introduced me to the endeavor of gett...
Once a long, long time ago, I was a little kid, believe it or not. Yep, I was and I attended a Vacation Bible School not far from where I lived in Electric City. I don’t remember a lot of the lessons, but I remember we had fun learning about God. What I do remember is a puppet show and an older boy there named Rusty. He was nice to me and he helped me memorize my memory verse. I know now his name is Rusty Bowman, and I know his parents more than I know him, but I will be forever grateful for h...
It is funny how things play out in the world and with what you do in your own little environment. Sometimes it tweaks your way of thinking on a global scale or a heavenly scale. Let me explain. If you have paid attention at all to the happenings in the Far East, then you know a global epidemic is upon us. People are being slaughtered for their beliefs. They are being murdered if they do not pay a tax to a terrorist group or if they do not denounce their God and swear allegiance to that of the te...
Most of you may never have met him, others just once or twice. Some will know the name only. Most will know at least one of his boys, some all three, but everyone will know Siam Palace. If you have lived here ever in your life and moved away, one of the first things you do when you come home to Coulee Country is to get some Siam Chow Mien. My sister does, the Seekins boys do and travelers from all over the area do. Kachane has done something right in those noodles but that is not why he is a...
America’s traditions are becoming diluted and, frankly, dying off. But one tradition appears to be alive and well, and over the last seven days we took part in the great tradition of camping. Our annual campout was a success overall, although this year had a different feel to it. We left town as the fires raged around us and smoke filled the 100-degree air. Upon arrival we found the heat was still there but the air was clear. The heat would not last, as a storm would move in later in the week. The “plantation” was in full bloom and the crop...
The smoke is the sign. Our neighbors to the north have been devastated by the fires burning in their area. Hopefully by the time the paper hits our hands the flames will be extinguished and this raging beast we call a wildland fire, is dead. Never-the-less, when the coals are cold and the ground is just a black charring, there will still be the devastating recovery process for those who lost everything except their lives. Fire can be a powerful monster and we have seen it locally take single dwellings in an instant. But our friends in Pateros...
There is an epidemic going on around us. Over the past month I have heard from strangers and friends about being the victims of crimes. As a matter of fact, the past few years in the Coulee have seen theft and burglary go up, with the theft of safes, propane tanks, HVAC units and smaller stuff. Recently, homes have been broken into, not just in our area but in Wilbur, Almira and Coulee City and homes in between. Even a car, stolen from the Emergency Services Building in Nespelem, was taken from...
Have you ever ridden a roller coaster in the dark? A long time ago, wife Karrie and I had the privilege of going to California with a friend and visiting Disneyland. Space Mountain is a roller coaster in the dark and it was maybe the best ride I have ever been on. Maybe it was the very long line we had to stand in or just the anticipation build-up, but it was a very fun ride. What I remember most is sometimes you did not know which way you were going to turn next — could be right, could be left, and could be a sharp upturn or a quick drop. Y...
It was recently brought to my attention that maybe we are looking at things wrong. Consolidating the community is probably a bad thing. Maybe we should be reverting back to the way things used to be. We should all be living in the past and never look for change. I am sure there are many of you that would be onboard for this (of course you are, you’re doing it now). So here is my plea to step us backwards so that we can all have our own private little area that only small groups are responsible for. First off, we must start the de-annexation pro...
The very first column I wrote for the paper, "Missing the missing trees," had a section in it about a dog that was walked by her master in those trees. (Ironically, more trees and shrubs are being ripped out of the North Dam area as we speak). Well, that dog was Pooka, and she has edited her last paper with her master and watered her last bush. A lot of you who frequented The Star, or knew the Hunters, knew the white scruffy canine that went just about everywhere they did. You knew Pooka. Many...
If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all. That is what my mother and grandparents told me a lot over my younger years, and I am sure you were told the same. I try and always keep that in mind when I write this little portion of the paper. As well as use that thought process in everyday life. I have not always been able to do that, I have said unkind things to many loved ones and strangers alike. OK, now that that is off my chest, I have some things to say about things going on in Coulee Country. We all know that I wri...