News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Sunny summer weather helped restaurant owners and workers recover after they were broadsided by the coronavirus pandemic last March. However, as fall morphs into winter and diners are forced back inside, the big question will be: Are there enough customers to keep what’s left of the restaurant sector financially viable? The worst fears of many American businesses are coming true. With no recovery in sight from the COVID-19 pandemic, 72,842 businesses across the U.S. have permanently closed, acco...
The second time was not a charm for that yellow house at the top of the hill on the highway to Wilbur last week after a combine somehow started a fire in a wheat field, the second in three weeks, that totally destroyed the house and tens of thousands of dollars worth of wheat. The Sorenson Road Fire started at the end of that road, near the Herdrick home, Lincoln County Fire Protection District 8 Chief Dennis Pinar said. Pinar said the same three houses threatened in the Highway 174 Fire July...
Students at Lake Roosevelt Schools will start school Sept. 8, six days later than an earlier plan, after the school board Aug. 12 pressed the administration to delay, fearing not enough time to orient staff, students and parents to the distance-learning plan, using Chromebooks and flash drives. School board members at a special meeting urged Superintendent Paul Turner to allow more time for the training period. Board member Alex tufts said the earlier date “bugs the heck out of me” because he’s gotten input from community members, and he noted...
“If you give it away, they will come” might be one lesson Okanogan County Public Health takes away from its current push to provide Covid-19 testing for free all over the county. The county started its free testing last Thursday, bringing in the National Guard to help in the effort. By Monday afternoon, OCPH Administrator Lauri Jones said, they’d collected testing samples from more than 800 people in three communities: 375 in Winthrop, 80 in Brewster, and 368 in Omak. The health district already received from a Seattle lab the test resul... Full story
Grant County business owners have two more days to apply for up to $10,000 in a second round of COVID-19 relief grant money through Grant County to make up for costs associated with the pandemic, including lost revenue. County commissioners set aside $2.5 million of the county’s $5 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act money to go toward small businesses (20 employees or fewer) and nonprofit organizations. The Grant County Economic Development Council developed the application process for the funds. ... Full story
Citizens of Electric City can have more say in the goings on of the city. The city of Electric City would like local residents to be a part of their planning process in the form of a commission. The city council has discussed in recent meetings forming a planning commission, a new version of a planning “agency” that existed in the past. The commission would consist of the city planner and five local residents and would address situations revolving around rezoning, subdivision, planned unit developments, special use reviews, and site and arc...
Some details on short-term rentals in Grand Coulee will still have to be decided before they are allowed. The Star reported previously that the Grand Coulee City Council approved an ordinance allowing for short-term rentals in residential zones in the city but neglected to report that it will still take some time before people can actually offer the short-term rentals. “The ordinance we passed was the first step in preparation for the updated Comprehensive Plan,” City Clerk Lorna Pearce explained in an email, with the updated comprehensive pla...
Grand Coulee Dam's Third Powerhouse was renamed last week, a press release from the office of Rep. Dan Newhouse, who represents the state's 4th District in Congress, announced. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the renaming is in honor of a father-son duo who were "instrumental in the conception, construction and implementation of operations at the dam." The announcement was made during a virtual roundtable event hosted by Newhouse (R-WA) and comes on the heels of Secretary Bernhardt's...
COVID-19 hasn't slowed people from going to Steamboat Rock State Park, which includes the Steamboat Rock area, Northrup Canyon, and Northrup Point boat launch. Statistics from Washington State Parks show a 23% increase in the total number of visitors to the state park in June, compared to last year. In the month of June, Steamboat Rock State Park received 86,566 visitors in 2020, compared to 70,434 in June of 2019, 69,658 in 2018, and 72,590 in 2017. You have to go back to June of 2016, when...
The English language is the best friend while traveling in most countries. In all my travels in Asia, the one most constant thing was that English was spoken and understood in every country. Part of the reason was the influence of English colonialism, and the fact that most people study English as a second language. While English is prevalent in both Japan and Hong Kong, Sometimes natives seek out touring English-speaking people so they can practice their English. This happened to me in both Japan and Hong Kong. In Osaka, Japan, I had walked...
If Americans are to receive all of their electricity without coal and natural gas by 2035, they will need nuclear power. Even if Washingtonians, who already procure over 70 percent of their electricity from hydro, are to be completely devoid of fossil fuel generation by 2045, they must have nuclear. Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act passed earlier this year by the Legislature leans heavily on renewable fuels, particularly wind and solar. It calls for electrical generation to be c...
In January 1950, a group of community leaders formed the Grand Coulee Dam Athletic Association to fund community athletic teams. To help provide funding, the association booked nationally recognized dance bands to the Coulee Dam high school gym. A member from the association had a close contact within the Music Corporation of America, which was the nation's largest booking agency for famous-name bands. What followed between January 1950 and May 1953 was then described as the "Parade of Bands."...
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all people. It is a stressful time. Our lives are different. Common reactions to pandemics are fear and worries about what will happen. Social distancing has been instituted to prevent viral spread. Humans are social creatures, and being isolated impacts our health. Everyone responds to stress differently. Some common reactions are: fear about your health, fear about the health of others, changes in sleep patterns, changes in appetite, poor concentration,... Full story
With the current emphasis on staying at or close to home with the new normal conditions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, gardening has become a more popular activity for individuals and families. The WSU Master Gardeners are eager to help. There are lots of publications and services available. Master Gardeners have been providing public outreach in Washington state for almost 50 years! Washington State University Cooperative Extension started the first Master Gardener program in 1973 in...
All students in the Grand Coulee Dam School District will start the year with online-only classes, according to a plan laid out Monday night to school board directors by Superintendent Paul Turner. In a Zoom board meeting with the directors and 26 other people Monday evening, Turner said the Okanogan County Health officer wouldn’t grant a waiver for the district to allow it to open with kids in physical classrooms. Okanogan County Public Health Officer John McCarthy isn’t alone in that stance. He and his counterparts in Grant, Chelan, Dou...
Grand Coulee Dam’s Third Powerhouse will be renamed, the secretary of Interior announced, according to the following press release from the office of Rep. Dan Newhouse, who represents the state’s 4th District in Congress. Press release: WASHINGTON, D.C. – On August 12, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announced the Third Power Plant at Grand Coulee Dam would be renamed as the "Nathaniel 'Nat' Washington Power Plant," in honor of the father-son duo who were instr...
Update: The road was opened up about 6 p.m. Wednesday night. An unoccupied house on the west side of SR-174 at the top of the "Wilbur hill" burned down, and many acres of wheat were lost. Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers had praise for firefighters: "Emergency responders from multiple fire agencies, WSP, Coulee Dam, LCSO, DNR, Bureau and NPS responded to a combine/field fire north of Wilbur located near 174 and Menke road. Unfortunately significant standing wheat and a unoccupied residence and...
Update 8/13/20 Firefighters say the Lower Coyote Creek Fire is now about 65 % contained and they will begin mop-up operations today, following a successful night of eliminating hotspots and cutting down unburned snags and material in the fire area, which has now been mapped at 2,580 acres. The Northeast Interagency Incident Management Team 1 has had 11 hand crews, 20 engines, four dozers, a pump cat and one skidgine on the fire, all watching out for hazards like dangerous snags, mine shafts and...
Okanogan County commissioners issued a “desperate appeal” last week to the community to follow health measures recommended by county health authorities on the Covid-19 epidemic in the county, which has the highest incidence rate in the state. An official proclamation was passed on Wednesday, Aug. 5 in a meeting called for that purpose after Okanogan Public Health Administrator Lauri Jones leaned hard on commissioners at a public meeting to send a unifying message. The commissioners’ proclamation said they feared that “the economy and the hea... Full story
Okanogan County Public Health will be offering FREE COVID-19 testing throughout Okanogan County starting August 13, through the month for all residents of the county. Locally, testing is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the IHS Clinic at the Colville Indian Agency campus near Nespelem. It's open to all. Testing is also currently scheduled in Coulee Dam for Aug. 25 from 2-7 p.m. at Lake Roosevelt High School. "In order to get our economy, schools, and health back on track... Full story
If popular differences can show up any place in the United States, it’s very possible they could show up first in Okanogan County. Once considered a bellwether county in presidential politics, the county supports a variety of types, from ranchers to escaped urbanites and everything in between. So it’s no surprise that county commissioners in recent discussions have represented the politics of our national Covid angst writ small, right down to the mask-wearing controversy. It was obvious the three commissioners fit well into distinct cross sec...
I once moved twice on the same day. We have moved 14 times, but only once in the past 56 years. Our first move was to Palouse from southern Idaho. We were so recently married that it only took a couple of boxes, and those fit neatly in the trunk of our 1946 Ford. We spent the winter there. Trained as a lumber grader, I answered an ad in the Spokesman Review for a position at Lincoln Lumber Company. We interviewed, got the position and found an apartment in Wilbur. The apartment belonged to the school district there, and we got it with the...
Two Coulee Medical Center employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and are now isolated and recovering at home, the hospital announced Monday as the coronavirus continues to spread across the state, including in Grant and Okanogan counties. CMC began investigating the outbreak on Sunday, the hospital said, and Grant County Health District began investigating Monday. All staff exposed are being tested and quarantined at home, and patients who may have been exposed are being contacted, said Ram... Full story
Due to a Red Flag Warning for fire conditions and potential changes to fire behavior, a Level 1 evacuation order has been placed on the area between Redthunder-Cutoff Road, Mill Creek Road, to Harrison Ranch Road on the Lower Coyote Creek Fire burning about four miles west of Nespelem. A map of the fire shows the evacuation zone northeast of the burn area and northwest of the town of Nespelem. It straddles SR-155 and includes at least 15 "structure address points." Isabelle D. Hoygaard, DNR... Full story
A frustrated Okanogan Public Health official Tuesday pleaded with county commissioners to present a unified message to the public on fighting the COVID-19 epidemic in the county, which killed three more people last weekend. "My heart breaks for the people who have unnecessarily lost their lives," OPH's Lauri Jones told county commissioners Tuesday afternoon. She said those who had died included three more last weekend, including one "as fit as a fiddle." The county has one of the highest... Full story