News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Productive arguments are those in which the two opposing participants actually listen to each other in order to learn what the other is saying, thereby enhancing the ability to refute it. But the trick is that the act of listening requires understanding the other viewpoint. When that happens in most situations, stances get modified, even if only slightly. Humans are not omnipotent, and quite often someone else has at least one better point. But today’s listeners only listen pre-emptively, plotting their next strike against the enemy argument. I...
On a flight between Honolulu and Tokyo I became the third member of the International Tap Dancer’s Federation. It was a tongue-in-cheek idea that if we could get all the world’s leaders on the banks of the Yangtze River in China and get them tap dancing, we could achieve world peace. Well, that didn’t happen. The other two members were the fellow I was seated next to, Tom Ungman, and a fellow working for the Hong Kong Standard newspaper, Peter Turvey. There’s a couple of reasons that didn’t work. One is that our leaders are married to the tw...
Here is this morning's update on the Chuweah Creek Fire from the incident commander, along with an updated map. Cooler weather is helping for now, and acreage estimates have been changed with better mapping. CHUWEAH CREEK FIRE UPDATE NORTHWEST INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 12 Incident Commander: Bobby Shindelar July 17, 2021 8:00 AM Operations Today: Firefighters continue to make good progress on the Chuweah Creek Fire, which was started by lightning on July 12 and is burning east of Nespelem....
Nespelem Valley Electric will have a 30 minute scheduled power outage Tomorrow Morning, Friday, July 16, 2021 from 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM to allow Bonneville Power Administration to conduct a switch-over. The following areas will be affected: Nespelem, Rebecca Lake, Agency, Gold Lake, School Road, down Columbia River Road to the fish farm, and surrounding areas. **For all persons using medical equipment requiring electrical power, you will need to make provisions for the 30-minute power outage.** Again a 30-Miniute Nespelem Valley Electric Power...
If you've been displaced by the recent fires, personal hygiene and other supplies are available for you at Jess Ford Auto in Grand Coulee. Garrett Jess said a non-profit from Coeur D'Alene called Manna contacted him to see if Jess Ford could house the supplies and let people pick them up there. Those supplies include water, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, combs, socks, shifts and feminine hygiene supplies. They can be picked up at Jess Ford, 522 Midway Ave. in Grand Coulee from noon to 5:30 p.m....
The topic of ethnic studies being taught in public schools will be coming up in future school board meetings within the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Monday’s school board meeting continued even after it was adjourned as Superintendent Paul Turner told the board that they should be ready for the topic of “critical race theory,” to come up at future meetings. The term “ethnic studies” is used in state legislation, rather than “critical race theory.” Director of Communications Kate Payne of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instru...
Ben Hughes, running for Grand Coulee City Council, picks his battles when it comes to the issues, and among them is consolidation of Grand Coulee with Electric City. "I love the town, I want to help," Hughes told The Star on Tuesday about why he's running. "We have a really beautiful town full of great people and I want to help those people live a better quality of life if I can." Hughes, who has lived in Grand Coulee since 2015, is interested in bringing in businesses to the community, which...
A truck carrying a too-high load once again hit the tops of the cross beams on the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Monday night, the second time in probably 10 years that’s happened. The incident highlights recent calls for a new bridge. Although structurally it’s sound, the bridge classified as “structurally obsolete.” Modern road builders want roads that are at least 40 feet wide. The roadway on the bridge is 20 feet wide. That specification is not a luxury; times have changed. Trucks are not larger versions of the narrow cars I imagine...
Most people can count very close friends on one hand. That’s why it is so sad that I lost such a friend, Myron Finkbeiner. Myron and his wife, Gwen, and their family had been in and out of our lives for many years. He was a native Washingtonian, with a lot of family in the central part of the state. We first met in Nampa, Idaho, and enjoyed many family outings together. Myron was a star basketball player at Northwest Nazarene College, where we both attended, although at different times. Myron went on to get his master’s degree and had been a te...
Local popular target-shooting spots are technically illegal because of federal laws, but state agencies say they are unable to enforce federal laws. A Star article June 16 examined the legality of a popular shooting range at Osborn Bay where a wildfire took place last month. The fire didn’t start at the main shooting range, as “Wildfire brings scrutiny of illegal shooting range” had reported, but at a former shooting area located roughly a quarter to half a mile south of the main shooting range, according to Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne...
Five fires sparked by lightening Monday night have consumed more than 10,000 acres on the Colville Reservation, forcing evacuations around Nespelem, killing livestock, and burning seven homes so far, three of which had been occupied. The Chuweah Creek/Joe Moses fires near Nespelem have burned about 10,000 acres, a Mt. Tolman Fire Center release this afternoon said. It is 0% contained and burning in tall grass, sage brush and timber, driven by wind. Level 3 evacuations are still in place for resi...
The boat launch at the “Million Dollar Mile” area along SR-155 will be getting a makeover to the tune of $965,000 in grant money from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. “The Department of Fish and Wildlife will use this grant to redevelop the Million Dollar North Access Area on Banks Lake in Grant County, about 9 miles north of Coulee City,” a description of the project reads. “The department will pave the entrance road and parking lot and install a restroom, loading platform, a concrete boat launch, and large boulders...
B Street’s closure has been extended as construction on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s fire station remains at a standstill. Grand Coulee’s city council passed a motion last month to allow Mayor Paul Townsend to sign a new agreement with the USBR for the continued closure of B Street near the construction site of the bureau’s fire station. Officials of the bureau attending the June 15 meeting via Zoom included Doug Anderson, chief engineer at the Grand Coulee Dam; Colby Clifford, the contracting officer for the fire station; and Misty Gates,...
With major park improvements on the horizon, Grand Coulee wants to address the issue of vandalism at Shane Proctor Park. The park between the gas station and the Mexican restaurant on SR-174 has experienced numerous incidents of vandalism in recent months, including someone breaking the seats on the see-saws, and trashing the restroom. Since The Star reported on these incidents in May, the restroom has been trashed multiple times, leading to the city simply locking and closing the restroom. Mayor Paul Townsend said the city is looking into...
Over the last 40 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex remains largely unchanged. The exception was last year when the COVID pandemic shutdown travel and beach lodging. Over the years, our entertainment has changed a lot. We still swim, jump the waves and build sandcastles, but our board games, puzzles and playing cards have been replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart phones and movies downloaded from the internet. We still take lots of pictures, but r...
The 12th District and Washington’s 48 other legislative districts have had specific boundaries since 2012. The borders for these districts, as well as Washington’s 10 federal congressional districts, will change in 2022 after the state’s redistricting process is completed near the end of this year. Since redistricting only occurs every decade, I thought it would be helpful to review the process. How Washington’s redistricting works Each state has its own process for redistricting. In Washington, an independent and bipartisan Redistr...
In a special meeting Thursday afternoon Grant County’s leaders declined to ban the sale or use of fireworks in the county, after fire officials across the county had urged them to do so. A motion by Commissioner Danny Stone, of Hartline, to ban the sale of fireworks did not receive a second motion from either Commissioner Cindy Carter or Commissioner Rob Jones, and so did not move on for a vote. “My position was, I felt like our fire marshal had made a good case,” Stone said later. County Fire Marshal Nathaniel Poplawski had urged the commi...
Grant County Commissioners will meet in a special session Thursday to consider banning the use and/or sale of fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county. The expected 10-minute session will start at 3:20 p.m. July 1. County Fire Marshal Nathan Poplawski recommended in a letter to commissioners temporarily banning the sale and use of fireworks under the current extreme conditions, invoking Grant County Code 6.04.030 which allows such a move. Poplawski said that he didn't make the recommendation lightly, and that all but two of the fire...
Don't even think about lighting a firework, smoking or target shooting on public lands in these conditions. The Bureau of Land Management on June 29 announced fire restrictions in the BLM's Spokane District, a temporary ban that takes effect on July 1 in 21 counties including Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Douglas locally, as well as Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima. "The fire...
It’s the Fourth of July weekend, and with local towns all forbidding or severly restricting fireworks use this year, local residents will just have to enjoy the professional fireworks show that launches from the Grand Coulee Dam on Sunday, July 4, at about 10:30 p.m. following the laser show. In the wake of historically high heat over the last week, some municipalities that simply align with state fireworks laws are banning them this week. That includes Electric City, which held an emergency council meeting on June 29 to outright forbid ...
A big effort to support a young man with cancer garnered a large amount of support last weekend, including a pulled-pork barbecue and a softball tournament, both taking place in high heat conditions. People turned out anyway. Mike Shear's pulled pork sold out Saturday, and the softball tournament at North Dam Park included 10 teams with members from as far away as Spokane and Hermiston, Ore. Two more teams had to drop out, said organizer April Smith, but no matter. "It filled up in less than 24...
This is an “Open Letter to the Tribal Council.” I have to address it to them and to you because you members are the ones that will ultimately pay for this if it ever comes to pass. It has to do with the removal of Enloe Dam and what you should know about it. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Tribal Council, please accept this letter as a “last ditch effort” to persuade you to have no further discussions regarding Enloe Dam. I have sent each of you my video explaining our position exactly as it was stated those many years ago. Now, it seems like the ...
The most popular person in my wife’s family was her brother, Bob. My wife came from a rather large family, and they all had a lot of kids, taking to heart to go out and replenish the earth. That is all except her brother Bob, who married late. So, he became the uncle figure for all these kids. He was the chief farmer on the family farm, dedicating himself to the tedious task of farming. He milked about 27 cows morning and night for years on end. Each cow had a name. When I visited, I would go out to the barn and would always place a grin on his...
How about some good news coming out of our record-breaking (extreme) heat wave? Luckily, we live and work in the Pacific Northwest, and are reaping the benefits from our well-connected power grid, which is supplied with abundant electricity. So far, only smaller sporadic power outages are attributed to the hot temperatures. From Seattle to Western Montana, blazing temperatures registering above 110 degrees gripped the region and even shut down the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials in Eugene on June 27. Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) an...
The MS Sanpoil, which ferries traffic across Lake Roosevelt on SR 21, is out of service until further notice, the state Dept of Transportation said tonight. The notice came less than an hour after an earlier notice advised the ferry would be down until 9 p.m. tonight due to mechanical problems. DOT did not specify what the mechanical problem was....