News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Blake Martin thinks the Electric City Council has a relationship problem with its citizens. If he were to win the election for a seat at that table, he could help change that, he says. "I don't feel like community concerns are being heard and responded to as they should be," he said. "I feel as there is a current disconnect there between our elected city officials and the general public." Although Martin said he is a fan of the community meetings the city has been having, they still fall short...
Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Xander Lee Ostenberg, 18, of Grand Coulee, Washington was sentenced after having pleaded guilty to Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner in Indian Country. Ostenberg also pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault by Beating, Striking or Wounding. U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Ostenberg to 60 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court s... Full story
Birdie Hensley is running for Electric City Council to find out what’s going on, and to fix some earlier mistakes. “I just think if you’re in the community, you should be involved,” she said. “And if you’re not on city council, you don’t find anything out about the city.” She’s been on council before, when the council made new rules on development requirements for curbs and sidewalks. That was during a time when the city annexed land with an eye on possible expansion to the south. Now she sees that push had some unintended consequences, mak...
Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden briefed the city council last week on a couple possibilities for expanding the kinds of services his agency can provide. They include connected cameras that read license plates, and also trained police dogs that can search for drugs. Bowden would like to consider the purchase of four cameras, two for Coulee Dam , two for Electric City, which his department serves, to mount and record license plates as they come through town. He said he was considering applying for an available grant to pay for the cameras,...
If you live in Grant County and power your home with Grant PUD electricity, you pay below the utility’s cost to produce it, and discussions are underway now on how to gradually increase rates to get back on track toward “target goal posts” after a four-year hiatus. Grant PUD commissioners told an audience in their packed boardroom Oct. 24 that their ongoing “discussion over how to set electric rates and arrive at a rate increase for 2024 will take into account all the county’s economic sectors and ensure ‘core customers’ are protected,” a...
In 1992, a single male sockeye salmon managed to swim 900 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River to Redfish Lake located deep in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains — the end of his migratory journey. Biologists dubbed the sole survivor, “Lonesome Larry.” By 2010, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council happily reported record-setting runs for sockeye —387,000 had climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam. Last year, 751 sockeye were trapped at Redfish Lake Creek and taken to nearby Sawtooth...
Biden is the worst man to ever set in the oval office. His administration is the most inept in history. None of them had the qualifications to hold the position they have. You can’t count on anything they say. I have never witnessed an administration or president that tells more lies. But the news media protects them, including The Star paper. Thank you, Carl Russell...
Our Scott Hunter received the Miles Turnbull award for excellence in journalism. Turnbull was the publisher of the Leavenworth paper and later executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. He is deceased, but remembered for his dedication to the principles of journalism. Miles traveled around the state visiting the various newspapers and was always asked for tips on how to run a newspaper more efficiently, especially a need in today’s marketplace. The award is given periodically to an outstanding publisher who beats t...
After you’ve had your fill of Thanksgiving leftovers and chaotic Black Friday crowds, you may be looking for a way to change up the menu and enjoy more leisurely and memorable experiences. Small Business Saturday on November 25 is exactly what’s needed as the bustling holiday season kicks off. Shopping and dining at small establishments not only provides customers with unique and personalized experiences but comes with the added bonus of making a positive impact on your community. For example: • Small businesses support your favorite cause...
The Raider girls beat Liberty Bell in their first District 6 playoff game Saturday at Omak High School 3-0, but lost three hours later to Okanogan in three sets. Then on Tuesday, Halloween night, at 6 p.m., Lake Roosevelt met the Bears in the Omak gym, this time falling 1-3 to Brewster and taking fourth place in District 6. Now it's time to broaden the competition. LR's girls will move on to the District 6/7 2B Volleyball Crossover Saturday, Nov. 4 at Mead High School in Spokane. They'll play...
The Raiders beat the Tigers in Tonasket Friday 34-14, in their last North Central 2B League game of the season. “We had a good night throwing the football and a great defensive effort to get the win,” Raider Head Coach Geary Oliver said. The Raiders gained 190 yards in the air, 166 on the ground. They made 41 tackles in the game. “We played a tough Tonasket team that is better than their record would indicate,” Oliver said, noting two Tiger losses were to 1A teams and two more were to a couple of the best of 2B teams in the state. That could in...
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... Full story
Lake Roosevelt Schools took an unplanned day off Monday after the district learned on Friday it would not have a school nurse. Superintendent Rod Broadnax said he learned as he was out of town Friday that the nurse who had been supplied to the schools for two days a week by the local hospital district would no longer be available. Registered nurses are in short supply in Washington state, and Coulee Medical Center spends large sums to bring in temporary nurses, as do many, if not most, hospitals. Broadnax said Monday night in a letter to...
Tension simmered last week during a discussion of what staffing direction Grand Coulee will ultimately take in staffing its wastewater treatment plant. Council members Anita Eylar and Ruth Dalton pressed others on which direction the council was leaning: filling the need with the city’s own employees or continuing to contract it out. The latter was the course the council took earlier this year, but only on an emergency basis. The city’s current contract with a union allows for contracting out city jobs in an emergency only, city officials sai...
Brian Buche sees himself as a voice for the community. Running for re-election to the Electric City Council seat he's held since 2020, full-time UPS driver and now part-time farmer says he takes pride in talking one-on-one with people. "Anybody can approach me and tell me what it is they think or they don't like or whatever," he said. "I'm an open book." Elected when council members at the time were taking considerable heat for some controversial projects, Buche said listening to people is...
Levi Johnson sees public safety as the most pressing issue facing Electric City. So do his fellow officers. Johnson is a police officer in Grand Coulee, as are two other candidates running against incumbents for Electric City council seats. Johnson, who joined the Grand Coulee Police Department in 2015, says that's no accident. When the Electric City Council decided to change its police services contractor, choosing Coulee Dam over Grand Coulee last year, they took notice. "I think that's kind...
President Biden’s $65 billion infrastructure bill contains $8 billion for regional hubs to develop ways to produce and distribute hydrogen fuel. One is planned for the Pacific Northwest and should help haulers and truck manufacturers in Renton and Portland in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, long-distance haulers need a network of hydrogen fueling stations (like today’s truck stops) along with affordable trucks and fuel. Hub researchers’ added challenge is 95 pe...
Everyone has memories and favorite places. Here are a few of mine. We were vacationing in Wyoming and had our oldest son, Paul, with us. Our plan was to stay overnight and travel to the Tetons the next day. We stopped at the Irma Hotel to get rooms and learned that we could get the Buffalo Bill suite that had two bedrooms for a very reasonable amount, so we took it. We learn that Bill Cody stayed there when he wasn’t traveling with his Wild West show. The suite was well worn and very plain. A large picture of Cody was on the wall, the only a...
Halloween is upon us, which means you’d better be cautious about the costume you choose. Halloween has long been a staple of childhood, but in the past few decades it has been increasingly celebrated by adults — and for good reason. Until recently, it was the one day where adults could dress up in funny, outrageous costumes that satirized popular culture and the complexity of modern life. Dressing up as a rock star, Albert Einstein, a famous sports figure, or some other pop icon could be fun and funny. There should be some limits to our costume...
The Raider volleyball team scored two wins this week to put them third in the Central Washington 2B League with a 9-5 win-loss record. The Lake Roosevelt girls put away the Brewster Bears Oct. 19 in three sets on LR's home court on senior night, a label that applies to two-thirds of the varsity team. LR bested Brewster 25-23, 26-24, 25-21, with displays of discipline and versatility. Precision setting by Shy Marchand preceded several Carly Neddo kills like clockwork, a pattern that repeated...
Most streets in Electric City could be in for some upgrades if the grants come through, a long-hoped-for waterfront trail should be built by late next summer, and the city’s corroding sewer pipes might be saved with a lining for over $1 million, a small group of citizens attending a meeting at the fire hall learned Tuesday night. Trent Ward, of Century West Engineering, the city’s consultant, said the 8-foot-wide trail along SR-155 from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park will cost about $870,000, including a two-foot gravel pathway on each side...
If you were planning to rent out a shipping container or RV on your property in Coulee Dam, or use it for events such as weddings, sounds like you’re out of luck, but the town council heard last week exactly how short rentals will be allowed and under what circumstances. Mike Manning, of SCJ Alliance went through a long list of requirements Wednesday night during a public hearing before the regular council meeting, seemed like common sense, but some added restrictions you might not think about. Among those are an annual requirement to pass a...
An obsolete recall sign and that one about the ugliest town in the west came up as subjects of poor taste at last night’s Electric City meeting. A woman asked if the city might be able to encourage a sign seeking a recall of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to be brought down now that he’s not running for re-election. She said she’d had company recently who commented on it. “It’s just bad taste,” said the woman, who did not identify herself. Mayor Diane Kohout said the city could contact the property owner to ask about it. The woman also asked about...
I was honored and ambivalent at the same time earlier this month to accept the highest honor awarded by the 136-year-old Washington Newspaper Publishers Association (WNPA) at a time when, more than ever, I’m still trying to figure this business out. Because it’s much more than a business; community newspapering is an institution and a calling that from the early days of America has been recognized as a big part of what makes this country work. Newspapers were “the power which impels the circulation of political life,” philosopher Alexis de Tocq...
We visited Grand Cayman Island back in the 1970s, before it mushroomed into a popular vacation spot. Grand Cayman is one of three islands in the chain, and about 200 miles off Cuba. My wife and I were looking for a getaway place, and our travel agent in Kirkland said he had just the spot for us. At the time, the only thing I knew about the Cayman Islands was that people hid their money there so they didn’t have to pay taxes. I didn’t have any money so it wasn’t going to be a problem. At the time, the biggest island, Grand Cayman, was large...
