News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It is that time of year when people put up their outside holiday lights and displays. Judging from our neighborhood, they are decorating more than usual. In our country, 90 percent of individuals say they plan to celebrate the holidays this year. Total retail sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas are projected to reach $957 billion. The setting for the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is reminiscent of bedecked suburban communities. Clark Griswold decorates every foot of his home and f...
A plan to aid the police department in Grand Coulee was awarded a large federal grant that may help pay for a school resource officer, training, community engagement, and more. It’s the plan that officer Matt Gilbert pitched to his city council last week after learning the Justice Department grant he’d applied for last May had actually been awarded, the same plan he put forth to the Grand Coulee Dam School District board Nov. 13, a plan for which they would each have to significantly adjust their budgets. Gilbert told both the council and the...
Ken Stanger is retiring from the school board after 14 years and received official thanks for his service at Monday night's meeting. Rich Black, president of the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors, presented Stanger with a framed letter of commendation Monday night at their regular meeting. "Your service has had a lasting, positive impact on the local community, the Grand Coulee Dam School District staff, the parents of district students, and most importantly, the students that...
BEES, BEES, BEES. When you think of bees what do you think of? Honeybees? Bumble bees? Or maybe yellow jackets? I refer to native bees. The ones you usually don't think about that do the major pollinating work for us on native plants and cultivated ones, too. This year, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) initiated the first-ever Washington Bee Atlas and the second Bee Atlas in the United States. The first Bee Atlas is in Oregon. The Washington Bee Atlas is an ambitious...
Good morning Scott and thanks for your coverage of the discussion at the last Electric City Council meeting concerning possible changes in the operation of the Grand Coulee Ambulance. I have cleared this with [Grand Coulee Fire Chief] Ryan Fish. The ages for the ten most active Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Service EMT’s are 75, 72, 64, 50, 44, 43, 40, 38, 37 and 25 years old. Respectively, two old goats and a bunch of kids. Fred Netzel Editor’s note: Netzel, who works on the ambulance crew, is responding to a comment mad...
First Lady Rosalynn Carter died last week. She was 96 and under hospice care at her home in Plains, Georgia. Her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, 99, is also under hospice services in his home in Plains. The Carters have made a legacy of service to others. Who says you can’t be of service and make important decisions when you begin to age. Try keeping up with President Joe Biden for a week or so. Some are giving aging a bum rap. So if he wins reelection he will be in his mid 80s. You do stumble a bit when you get in your 80s, but if t...
Electric City’s council last week raised questions and concerns about the funding and staffing of the only ambulance service for the area. The service is run by the city of Grand Coulee’s volunteer fire department, which depends on voluntary staffers responding to calls. The city council’s attention was drawn to the question a month earlier when Grand Coulee City Councilmember Tom Poplawski visited to ask Electric City to consider contributing toward the costs of calls that Grand Coulee can’t bill for because it doesn’t result in a patient t...
A police officer pitched to the school board the idea of writing grants to get a “resource officer” into Lake Roosevelt Schools. Matt Gilbert, an officer with the Grand Coulee Police Department, spoke to the Grand Coulee Dam School District directors Nov. 13 after having met with Superintendent Rod Broadnax earlier. Gilbert said he’d actually written a grant application earlier that could have paid for new locks the board had just learned, in previous presentation that night, would cost the district about $28,000. “We were denied it based upon...
A local chef approached the school board last week about the possibility of using a school classroom to teach cooking classes to the public for a fee if it wouldn’t go against a district policy. Patty Oliver, owner of PK’s Culinary, told Grand Coulee Dam School District directors she would start with one-day cooking workshops on “endless topics,” including, for example, cooking pastas, sauces, sushi, appetizers and more. “I’m just looking for a space to do it,” she said, and teacher Susan Duclos’ room at the school is the best she’s found in...
I have waited approximately eight years for a determination on when we, Colville Tribal Members, were going to be compensated for the 2015 North Star fire. Since I haven’t heard of any compensation, I decided to file a FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] request with the BIA Regional office in Portland, Oregon. I filed this request on January 13, 2023, and I have received two answers as of this writing and will receive a final third response in the near future. I am going to share a portion of what I received because I believe it is in the b...
According to a recent State Department-funded study, China leads the globe in 37 out of 44 critical and emerging technologies, including many in defense, robotics, energy, artificial intelligence, and quantum tools. The United States ranks first in just seven, and comes second in most of the rest. To maintain national security, the United States needs to strengthen its technological capabilities -- and to do that, we need to incentivize innovation, fast. Technological progress requires not just smart people, but a framework of laws that protect...
As we prepare for the upcoming holidays, we must be grateful for what we have and focus on our needs rather than fixate on what we want and crave. Being thankful starts with an appreciation of why our families came to America in the first place — our freedoms and opportunities. Legendary singer-song writer Neil Diamond hit single “America” was performed in 1981 to help welcome home 52 American hostages that Iranian militants held for 444 days at the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. All they neede...
She was just filling in this season, but Lake Roosevelt's Lady Raider volleyball team head coach, Kasey Garvin, was honored as "Coach of the Year" in that sport among Central Washington B League schools. No newcomer, Garvin has previously coached the sport she once took part in as a Raider athlete but had not planned to take the lead this year until she was tapped when last year's head coach needed to take a time out. Raider varsity volleyball players joining her in the list of league honorees...
A local lending business is looking for a larger space to operate and is eyeing Coulee Dam’s “Community Building” as a future possibility. Jordan Ruiz, the newly appointed executive director of the Northwest Native Development Fund approached the city last week about the building that houses, a closed movie theater, an operating bowling alley, the Rio Grande restaurant, and the city’s fire department. She said NNDF wouldn’t need any of the occupied spaces but would like to explore altering the space the theater used to operate in to accommoda...
Thanksgiving is about family. Without family Thanksgiving is just another holiday. This year, Kim, our youngest daughter, is coordinating the Thanksgiving dinner. She lives in Louisiana and arrived here on Monday. Each year the menu changes a bit, depending on the collective mood in family members. Nathan and his wife Karen will be here from Portland. He recently announced retiring from teaching at a private school in Portland. We will get to see the new book he published with pictures of all the courthouses in Oregon, about 35 of them. The...
Yes, it’s that glorious season that so many pumpkin-spice addicts claim to be their favorite. I must admit that, I, too, succumb each year to the autumnal charms of fall, except for my seemingly never-ending battle with leaves, or, as I like to call them – tree dandruff. So what is it that ironically draws us to a season that marks the end of long, carefree summer days when the sight of a shirtless dad bod outdoors is slightly less disturbing? Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first, the aforementioned king of all seasonal seasonings, pu...
In local elections Tuesday, Electric City voters demonstrated a preference for change, favoring two newcomers over one current and one former city council member, and giving another current councilman a fairly close race, with two of the three Grand Coulee Police officers who ran for council poised to take office. Incumbent Councilmember Brian Buche appears to have survived a challenge from Thomas Levi Johnson for council position 3 by a vote of 117 to 89 or 57-43%. But Matt Gilbert clearly won the race for position 4 seat that former council...
Inside this issue of The Star and inside Lake Roosevelt Schools this week are two things designed to help you remember what Veterans Day is all about. And if that were not enough, how about adding a good breakfast. At Lake Roosevelt Schools this Thursday, the public is invited to a special assembly in honor of veterans at 9 a.m. in the gym. The assembly both honors the veterans and impresses on students the importance of understanding their commitment to the country. At the annual assembly students personally honor attending veterans, and a...
Congratulations on your prestigious WNPA award. You are sooooo worthy of being recognized for all the hard work you have put into The Star for so many years. We certainly recognize the problems that go with owning a business. But providing local information in an unbiased way is a big talent. We also thank you for all of your work promoting and improving the Grand Coulee Dam community. Jim and Mary Jane Bailey...
Congrats on the Turnbull Award. Journalism is a tough gig right now and rural journalism even tougher. You’ve managed to keep the community informed and educated and entertained despite their resistance at times. The Star is really a hub for the whole area and you are doing consistent, outstanding work. I’m pleased it has been recognized by your peers. It’s well earned. And ask Carl Russell if he’s ever heard of James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Zachary Taylor or Herbert Hoover. You should know all the preside...
I first met Mr. Sis when I took my shoes in to get them half-soled. Sims had the local shoe repair shop in Palouse. His daughter Delores was in my class at school and a close friend of mine. Not of the dating kind of friend, just a friend. Mr. Sims visited with me for quite a while, which surprised me, but I thought it was probably because Delores knew me. When I returned to pick up my shoes, he took some time visiting with me and asking a lot of questions. Then he suggested that when I wasn’t busy some afternoon to drop by his shop. I’m sti...
While the last veterans who survived the “surprise” Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are dwindling rapidly, we cannot let their sacrifices and the memories of that horrific day that propelled America into World War II fade into history. On December 7, 1941, 350 Japanese aircraft descended on Honolulu’s military installations in two shocking waves. More than 2,400 Americans were killed, and 21 ships were sunk or damaged. Our soldiers, sailors and pilots who fought and won WWII are now 90 or older,...
Caden Portch competed at the state cross country meet at the Sun Willows Golf Course in Pasco last Saturday, turning in his best time ever in the 5,000-meter race. The sophomore Lake Roosevelt Raider completed the course in 18 minutes, 13.3 seconds, a time he fairly steadily whittled down all season from a high of 21:56.9 in Manson on Sept. 16. when he finished 21st. Two weeks later, he took the top honors at Tonasket in 19:35.8, then trimmed his time to 18:58.0 in Omak a week later. "He's a...
The Lady Raiders lost their last volleyball game of the season in three sets Saturday to the Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos at Mead High School in Spokane. The teams met in a District 6/7 2B Volleyball Crossover game in which the Broncos prevailed in three sets 25-14, 25-14, 25-9, sending them to the state tournament this coming weekend in Yakima. Lake Roosevelt finished the season with a 9-5 win-loss record in the Central Washington B League, 10-9 overall....
The Raiders ended their football season with a drubbing at the hands of Northwest Christian in the District 6/7 Crossover game at Riverside High School in Chattaroy Friday night. The Crusaders (10-1) took down the Raiders 76-14, ending the season for Lake Roosevelt with a 5-5 win-loss record overall. Lake Roosevelt's team scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, one on Francis Louie's long run after he had the presence of mind to pick up a still-live ball near the end of a play, took off for...
