News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1401 - 1425 of 6918
Newly elected Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone spoke with the Grand Coulee City Council during their Feb. 16 meeting held via Zoom. Stone is the first county commissioner from the northern part of the county in recent memory, possibly since Fred Ludolph in the 1940s. Stone introduced himself and told the council that he was available to talk with them. "If you need something," Stone said, "I can't tell you I can always fix or help, but I can sure be a part of the discussion and be...
What does charging an electric car have to do with treating sewage? Turns out, quite a bit! The Grand Coulee City Council last week approved amending parts of their municipal code to address how to add electric vehicle charging stations within the city. The topic of electric vehicle charging stations comes with nuances in the form of types of charging stations, their electrical requirements, where the spaces are allowed, and restricting other cars from using those parking spaces. Adding more complication is that council members felt rushed to...
About 30 seniors of the Lake Roosevelt graduating class of 2021 are interested in a senior trip, a tradition for seniors, to Huntington Beach, Calif., but COVID-19 restrictions might keep them in Washington. The class has raised about $20,000 towards such a trip during their years in high school. According to a report submitted to the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors during their Feb. 22 meeting, the students would fly down to Los Angeles on May 29, busing to Huntington Beach, and spending the next couple days on beaches, at...
Popular local events that didn't happen last year are at least tentatively scheduled to happen this year. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will tentatively be hosting 10 events in 2021, including Colorama, the Festival of America, and Harvest Festival. "We are really looking forward to providing the community with some fun and excitement this summer," Executive Director Rachelle Haven told The Star in an email. "We have the opportunity with our events to try new things and create a...
The Elmer City fire department, also known as Okanogan County Fire District #2, is interested in getting a new building built behind their old one, and in finding more volunteers. Public Works Director Jimmer Tillman told the town council Feb. 11 that the fire department, for which he has been a volunteer for about 30 years, was interested in a new storage facility for its trucks. He said the city would look into grant options for such a thing, something for which he understands there to be multiple opportunities. Tillman explained that the...
Additional relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is on its way. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law Feb. 19, that appropriates $2.2 billion in federal aide to be used for K-12 schools, public health, assistance to individuals and families, housing and business assistance. “The process of getting to a post pandemic era has just begun,” Inslee said “And we intend to come out of this pandemic stronger, in part because of this legislation.” The package distributes $365 million in emergency eviction, rental and utility assistance and $240 m...
I am a former resident of Grand Coulee. Three brothers were born there, the first in October 1935, coinciding with the opening of the Mason City hospital. As a pre-teen in 1950, an older Indian befriended me and spent time describing local native history. When the canal first delivered water to Banks Lake, he invited me to visit a place which would “be lost forever.” He took me to the base of Steamboat Rock as the water was rising. We entered a cave with ancient paintings on the side walls. Very unforgettable moment for this youngster. A few we...
I started college when I was 25, and already with a family. That required that I had to work a lot to pay my way, and of course the bills. While I had several jobs, carried a full course load, I found time for personal activity. I had a 16-gauge, single-shot shotgun and at the time enjoyed hunting. I took a couple philosophy courses from a Professor Reeves, only slightly older than myself. He was one of the best professors at the school, and his classes reflected that. Since I was older, Reeves and I were close, and during our chats he...
Outrage over deaths of citizens in police custody sparked efforts by lawmakers to address racial equity, hiring and training, and the use of force within law enforcement. Now, nearing the halfway point in the 2021 legislative session, the steps toward major reform of police tactics have gained support from both sides, though not without controversy. “I wouldn't argue that we have complete agreement amongst all of them but we're continuing to work to bring people together and to move the bills,” said House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, in...
The North Central Region of the state, including this area, entered the less-stringent Phase Two of Washington State's Roadmap to Recovery planned approach to the COVID -19 pandemic just in time for Valentine's Day Feb. 14. Gov. Jay Inslee announced last Thursday that five more regions would join the Puget Sound and West Regions in Phase Two, with only the South Central region not meeting the four requirements to open up to the next phase. That changed on Feb. 14 when the state Dept. of Health announced that a data error had been discovered in...
Recycling at the Delano Transfer Station has been successful, and Sunrise Disposal, the contracted solid waste hauler in the area responsible for the recycling bins there, is working to make it easier. Recycling bins were placed outside of the Delano Regional Transfer Station in January of 2020. Earl Cole, who runs Coulee View Mobile Park in Electric City, hauls recyclables from tenants there to Delano. Cole told Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout about the difficulty of placing the goods through...
The top administrator at the organization that has been providing vaccines at Coulee Medical Center said Feb. 10 that existing appointments for a first-round vaccine against Covid-19 are to be canceled due to lack of supply. “We don’t have enough,” said Theresa Sullivan, chief executive officer of Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake. Apparently, the local area is not alone in that assessment. The state Dept. of Health state two days later, that second doses would be emphasized across the state this week in light of low supply. “We are monitor... Full story
Whether restricted by COVID or by distance, Lake Roosevelt Raider fans far and wide should soon be able to watch sporting events, assemblies, and graduations from the comfort of their own homes. The Grand Coulee Dam School District bought a one-year, $2,000 service from Justagame Live, which will allow LR to livestream games and more online. The games can be recorded and streamed via smartphones and tablets operated by students, staff, or parents, or through hard-mounted cameras that could be operated remotely and cost around $750 each,...
It all started over a year ago, when residents started complaining to police about a neighbor they said didn’t keep a dangerous dog contained in the yard. That led to scrutiny of the town’s current ordinance on pets, dangerous animals and more, and a decision it all needed to be brought up to modern standards that mesh with state law. The Coulee Dam City Council is getting close but stopped short of a vote Wednesday when they learned the city attorney wanted a chance to talk with them about it first. That should happen at the next scheduled Zoo...
An Omak teenager has died, and a young man is charged with vehicular homicide and driving under the influence after a one-pickup rollover accident on SR-155 in the middle of the night. The name of the 15-year-old girl who died at the scene of crash was not released. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was not wearing a seatbelt when the northbound 1998 Ford F-150 swerved on the highway at milepost 69, where the driver overcorrected, then rolled over on the right shoulder shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday morning. The driver,...
An apparent weakness in Washington’s coronavirus response efforts bit the governor in his political behind this week, a weakness that has seemed glaring to us for many months. Perhaps it’s this newspaper’s service area at the ends of four counties that makes it more apparent to us than to some others, but we’ve been battling this state’s clumsy and inconsistent data gathering efforts for a long time. This, in the midst of a fight that depends on good data. Trying to report on the efforts of public health officials, hospitals, health care prov... Full story
In response to the shocking news about the sandy beach area at Steamboat Rock State Park being permanently closed due to a government mystery: oh Ya and EROSION, I’m thinking why stop there? Shut the entire Banks Lake and Lake Roosevelt down. Certainly, the rise and fall of water levels and tourist enjoyment has and will cause more erosion. If that’s the case, then I also feel I’m in danger while driving through the Coulee Walls and beside any natural hillside or formation caused by erosion. I hate to be the bearer of bad news people, but t...
A few days ago, we had a new baby in the family. Actually, it was a great grandchild, the fourth for us. She joins Kaylee, Damon and Westlyn as great grand babies. I guess it is a sign of getting old. But what a joy to see them come and grow up. The mother and father are Camille and Mark Fabian. Mark is from The Philippines. Camille came into the family through adoption by our daughter, Kathy, and her husband, Will Beck. I remember clearly the day she arrived at Sea-Tac. She was accompanied by a representative from South Korea. Most of the...
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson’s $33 billion plan to remove the lower Snake River dams is unwise. However, if he pushes it, he needs to include the impact of breaching dams in his home state, which completely shuts off salmon and steelhead migration. Simpson, a Republican representing eastern Idaho, announced he wants to rupture the four lower Snake River dams — Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite — all in southeast Washington. Those impoundments have fish passage systems to allow adult anadromous fish to conti...
A man driving a stolen Grant Transit Authority bus out of Moses Lake was pursued by more than two dozen police on the morning of Feb. 3, with the chase ending in a minor crash. The bus had been reported stolen at about 7 a.m., and Moses Lake Police and other agencies were watching for it when a Grant County Sheriff's deputy spotted it about 30 minutes later. The driver, 62-year-old Richard D. Manley of Grand Coulee, was on highway 28 near Stratford. He turned north on Pinto Ridge Road. Lake Roos...
An Omak teenager has died, and a young man is charged with multiple related crimes after a one-pickup rollover on SR-155 in the middle of the night. The name of the 15-year-old girl who died at the scene of crash was not released. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was not wearing a seatbelt when the northbound 1998 Ford F-150 swerved on the highway at milepost 69, where the driver overcorrected, then rolled over on the right shoulder shortly after 1 a.m. Saturday morning. The driver, Martin T. Stanley, 20, of Omak, is facing...
The top administrator at the organization that has been providing vaccines at Coulee Medical Center said Wednesday that existing appointments for a first-round vaccine against Covid-19 are to be canceled due to lack of supply. "We don't have enough," said Theresa Sullivan, chief executive officer of Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake. She told county leaders on a scheduled Zoom call this morning that nearly 2,100 appointments for the first vaccine must be canceled in order to make sure they... Full story
A meeting held by the city of Electric City on Jan. 23 to engage with its citizens and get their input on various issues was a success, the mayor says. “We had a pretty good event,” Mayor Diane Kohout later told The Star. People representing the city included Kohout, herself, Councilmember Cheryl Hoffman, Planning Commissioners Al Miller and Ian Turner, City Engineer Steve Nelson of Century West, and Public Works Director Jared Armstrong. “We all felt it was a good start to bring our residents information about potential projects and needs...
The current plan for fan attendance at Lake Roosevelt sporting events is to allow each player to give two tickets to fans, be they family or friends, for home events only, with no opposing team visitors allowed. Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen updated the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors on the matter at their Feb. 8 meeting. Rasmussen said some schools won’t even allow home-event attendance, something he wanted to avoid. Additionally, the school is purchasing cameras and partnering with a company to livestream sports e...
Lake Roosevelt Schools could get new sports facilities built if they are "shovel ready" when and if grant money becomes available. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Paul Turner spoke to The Star on Monday about plans to issue a Request for Qualifications soon for an architect to work with on facilities projects. Turner said the school board needs to look at the "bigger picture" of the district's facilities and decide what their vision is. "When we built [the new school] we had...