News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A series of free concerts at North Dam Park and Events Center will kick off with a local group offering the first backbeat on Friday, then a Spokane trio coming Saturday night. Mister Meaner will offer a couple of hours of “classic rock,” they say, “stuff people actually want to hear.” That’s how rhythm guitar player and vocalist Tony Louie describes the band’s choices in music. “We’re trying to appeal to the older crowd of Grand Coulee,” added Mason Marin, lead guitarist. “Older” may apply... Full story
Park district commissioners heard concerns from a taxpayer Monday night on their hopes to collect taxes after a vote next November. Dave McClure, a rancher with a lot of property north of Nespelem, said he would have tried to disuade the commission from going for the vote had he known of their plans. In the November election, the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District will seek a levy of 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, which would cost the owner of a $120,000 home $18 a year. CAPRD is a junior taxing district, but has never... Full story
After publication last week, I realized too late that reader John Overby’s thoughtful letter mistakenly attributed my editorial stance July 11 — encouraging the community to contact federal representatives in support of federal funding of local school construction — in part to a statement written in a letter by a member of Congress. Authority to act was not cited from anyone’s letter, but from the very law Overby referenced in his letter. In the third from the last paragraph, The Coulee Dam Community Act of 1957 gives the secretary of the Dep... Full story
We live in a fantastic, caring and giving community. You have supported your Senior Center Meals Program and Home Delivery Program in many ways, such as contributions, donations, food and volunteering hands. We strive for continual improvement in quality and healthy meals for our seniors and guests and thank you for your essential help in 2012. We have a financial need. The Meals Program is now asking our community to join in our Fundraiser by contributing financial aid. Any denomination is greatly appreciated. Your Meals Program Staff look... Full story
A wildfire burning out of control in the hills above the towns of Coulee Dam and Elmer City has consumed hundreds of acres of sage and grassland and reportedly forced some homeowners to evacuate as a precaution. The fire started Tuesday evening and by midnight looked like a long string of hellish pearls at the top of the ridge above the two towns. Police were reportedly telling residents of Tilmus and Central streets, closest to the hillside in east Coulee Dam, to be ready should they need to... Full story
A study that determined the local market area could support a community wellness center — where people could swim and exercise year round, where community events, classes and meetings could be held and that could grow into much more — came as a gratifying confirmation of a long held hunch for many of us. With that independent confirmation, backed by real numbers instead of guesses, comes a new demand on this community: figure out if you really want it, then do what it takes to make it happen. Several years ago, a group tasked with thinking of... Full story
If you want it, you can have it. That’s the bottom line of a study on whether building and operating a center for the community to come together — for events and meetings, fitness pursuits, indoor swimming and more — is at all feasible. The report, delivered Monday night to a group that has been exploring the possibility, outlines a community/wellness center that could easily be sustained, while adding good jobs to the local economy. Gary Leva, of Gary Consulting Group of Spokane, was retained last winter to honestly assess whether the idea... Full story
A series of free concerts is scheduled for North Dam Park and events center this month, starting on Friday, Aug. 17. That’s when a local rock group called Mister Meaner will take to the “stage” at the bottom of the grass amphitheater. The very next evening a cool trio from Spokane, The 45s, will rock your Saturday night with a rock-a-billy sound. Think “The Stray Cats” and you’ll come to close to hearing this fun band. The next weekend starts with a Friday night concert by Thirsty Perfect, a Coeur D’Alene, Idaho Christian rock band, sponsor... Full story
In 2010 Dana Barkdull weighed 329 pounds and decided to make a change. A year and a half later she ran her first half-iron distance triathlon. By that time, she had dropped to 254 pounds. The half iron distance, though (70.3 miles of swimming, biking and running), was still a huge challenge, undertaken only after prayer. Barkdull realized she would cross the finish line after the official race ended. She expected to be alone, without support. Instead, she approached the clearing and saw a huge... Full story
In the July 11 issue of The Star, Roger Lucas’ article on Linda Evans Parlette’s advocacy for an additional $15 million to upgrade the school district’s existing fields, track and gym, the following quote was cited: “This belief is supported by the Coulee Community Act of 1957 which states, ‘It is of prime importance to the government that these communities continue to function as wholesome and attractive communities suitable as residences of personnel essential to the care and operation.’” Sen. Parlette cited this statement in letters to Re... Full story
One man died as three others were injured in a one-car rollover south of Nespelem Thursday just before noon. John Reynolds, 44, died in the accident on SR 155, the only occupant of the 2003 Ford Explorer not wearing a seatbelt, according to the Washington State Patrol. All five of them were from Bellingham, Wash. The driver, 52-year-old Brian S. Reynolds, was airlifted to Spokane's Sacred Heart Medical Center. Jack T. Reynolds, 82; Shari Lynn Emley, 48; and Cullen J. Emley, 26, were all taken to Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. The... Full story
• There is a difference between decision making and leadership. Leaders of the Colville Tribes discovered that recently after they made significant, long-impact decisions on behalf of their constituents without really involving them in the process that brought the tribes a huge sum of money in a settlement, but that some say also may have compromised tribal sovereignty. Coulee Dam leaders have been involved for years in a less dramatic, but nonetheless significant process as they planned upgrades to the town’s aging wastewater treatment pla... Full story
I first met Senator Linda Evans Parlette when she was campaigning for her first term in the House of Representatives in 1996. At the time I was on the local school board and I was able to share with her our unique situation with our school facilities and lack of a property tax base to obtain funding for new school construction. She herself had served as a school board member and could readily appreciate our overwhelming obstacles. Given the general political makeup of our local communities, I had expected that finally some politician in the... Full story
Voters of Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District, kindly listen up! Our current U. S. Representative in Congress (Cathy McMorris Rodgers) has pledged her candidacy to Grover Norquist and his Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) never to raise any taxes. ATR is a Norquist boondoggle and is a 501(c) 4 tax-exempt charitable organization that doles out cash to support his pledges. This is not bad for a blatantly political non-profit that raises over $12 million per year and pays Norquist a hefty salary. We voters can end one aspect of a s... Full story
As we hoped the roof would hold on The Star Friday afternoon, the sand and debris flying down Midway Avenue at the front of the storm looked to be achieving speeds of 50-70 mph. This community, humbled before that power, can be thankful for the small amount of damage. Energy saving mandates of the 1970s certainly did their part to hurt architecture in general and local school buildings in particular. The news that Center School needs more fresh air comes as no shock. Let’s hope that today’s policies and architecture, as we get ready to bui... Full story
People that have been around the area for a long time said last Friday afternoon’s storm was the worst they had ever seen. A National Weather Service warning at 12:54 p.m. said it was moving north through Grant County at about 30 miles per hour. The warning was issued until 1:45, but the storm hit the Grand Coulee Dam area with force about 3 p.m. In its wake, there were many reports of upended trees and roof damage, and the driving rain kept people indoors for the half hour or so of the s... Full story
by Al Camp, The Chronicle A reformed drag racer is becoming quite the terror at Republic’s Eagle Track. Steve Hood, who teaches automotive classes and coaches the wrestling team at Lake Roosevelt High School, added another first-place trophy racing his four-cylinder Ford Mustang. “It’s always a good deal when you win,” Hood said. “I’ve been racing up there for quite a while.” Hood, 55, initially got his taste for speed drag racing a 1968 Chevrolet Nova. “I got my arms twisted helping one of my automotive students (Leon Desautel) go up... Full story
It is very discouraging to consistently read of the editorial position of this paper and the local school district’s position of calling on the federal government for funds to build the local school. The district already has $25 million from the state to build a K-12 educational wing and to demolish the grade school. The district also has $5.5 million to build a new gym complex. If my math is correct, this is covered by the amount the state has set aside. Asking for an additional $15 million from Uncle Sam for essentially athletic uses is a m... Full story
The Colville Business Council today settled a contentious dispute over a $193 million settlement before swearing in new members and reorganizing in a public meeting at the Nespelem Community Center. The same group of 14 elected representatives that had earlier approved a plan to disburse 20 percent of that directly to tribal members and hold back 80 percent for investments and for repairing damaged tribal lands, passed a compromise with petitioners who demanded a 50-percent payout. In a resoluti... Full story
A trained master gardener is prepared to work for anyone who needs a hand in doing what she loves — making things bloom into beauty. Gayle Swagerty has just started Coulee Gardens and Design, a new business through which she offers to help her clients do everything from weeding that flower bed they just couldn’t get to, to designing a landscape for a new home. Swagerty, a master gardener certified through Washington State University’s extension program, also holds an associate of arts degre... Full story
• We hope the community will support the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District’s bid for tax support. Since the early 1990s, community leaders saw a park and rec district as a tool that could be used to help solve many of the problems the area faces because of its multiple municipalities. We finally voted one in the mid- 2000s. Let’s supply it early in this decade with the ability to accomplish something. • It’s a long time until the winter holidays, when we tend to think about giving to the food bank, but supplies are low now in the heat... Full story
The local park district through which North Dam Park was rescued in a joint community effort last year, will seek tax support at the ballot come November. Commissioners of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District voted Monday to seek a levy to help support the district, which recently learned it will get a matching grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation this year. CAPRD is a junior taxing district, but has never collected taxes. Local municipalities have propped up its efforts to save North Dam Park and Event Center by feeding it taxes...
Thinking about having fish for dinner tonight? How about some fish for breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that. The Washington State Department of Ecology wants to assume that you do. For the purpose of tightening regulations, the DOE is racing to increase the state’s estimate of fish consumption by as much as 2,200 percent - and they want to do it by the end of the year. Why is the fish consumption rate important? Increasing the estimate would give Olympia bureaucrats the rationale they need to impose t... Full story
As you probably know, some tribes in the Northwest have started receiving their shares of a $1 billion settlement with the U.S. government over mismanagement of their money and trust lands. Some tribes like the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, the recipient of the largest settlement at $193 million, are still awaiting payment. Shortly following the announcement of this award to the Colville Tribes, Council Chairman Mike Finley announced that 20 percent would be dispursed to the membership with the remaining 80 percent going to...
This could help explain and encourage the push for new permits to explore schemes for new, smaller hydropower in the local region, including a reservoir above the coulee opposite Million Dollar Mile, or a penstock under the city from Banks Lake to Crescent Bay. A tweet from U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, 5th District, Wash: House just passed 372-0 the #hydropower bill I co-authored w/ @RepDianaDeGette. READ: bit.ly/PDcgmr #energy PIC: twitter.com/cathymcmorris/… — CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) July 9, 2012...