News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 4151 - 4175 of 6969
Margo Piver, from the Walla Walla School District, will be the assistant principal at Lake Roosevelt Elementary School. The Grand Coulee Dam School District board decided May 23 to hire Piver, who has had extensive experience in special education, as well as in early childhood and behavior support, according to school district sources. She will take over her new duties for the 2016-17 school year. Piver replaces Nate Piturachsatit in that position. Piver earned her bachelor of science degree in... Full story
What happens when the area’s best bull riders face the area’s meanest bulls? You can find out, Friday, June 17, at the Ridge Rider Rodeo Grounds, when the Fifth Annual Memorial Cleatis Lacy Bull Riding event is held. Ridge Rider officials have posted some $2,500 added money for the bull riders, which is attracting interest in the Lacy event. Lacy, a “cowboy’s cowboy,” was a regular on the rodeo circuit, both participating and helping in the chutes. He died in 2011, at 89, living his last 65 years in Grand Coulee. Bulls for the event are being s... Full story
The 2015-16 influenza season is past, according the Grand County Health District, but people are cautioned to get their flu shots when they are available for the next flu season. Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny said this week that reports of flu have settled down in numbers to the pre-epidemic level. During the influenza season, Grant County Health District received notification of 396 positive influenza lab reports. Brzezny stated that it isn’t uncommon for the flu season to last until mid-May. GCHD has only received one positive i... Full story
She described it perfectly, although few could hear her. “Everybody’s worst nightmare,” was the way Principal Ronanda Liberty pegged the experience she was having in front of a gymnasium full of people anxiously waiting to see and hear the names of their sons, daughters, friends, relatives at a key life passage — high school graduation. Liberty had stepped up to the microphone, ready for the happy event, only to discover the sound system didn’t work. Batteries were changed. Nothing. Switches and settings checked. Nothing. It had worked ea... Full story
A friend and I stopped at a fast food drive-in recently for something to drink. I put in my order, “a small soda,” and waited for the cashier to tell me the cost. “One dollar and forty cents,” she said. I looked in my purse and remembered I had cleaned out all the change earlier, so I handed her two dollar bills. She opened her cash drawer and a stricken look came over her face. “I have no change,” she said. (Now, that is a first— a busy fast food place with no change.) “I’ll have to call someone.” A voice behind me asked, “What is the proble... Full story
From our founding to the present, American history is filled with reminders of the sacrifices of patriots who took up arms when the call went out to defend their country and the principles that we hold dear. We just observed Memorial Day, when we recognize the high price paid by more than one million men and women in the Armed Forces. This week, we commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy. We are reminded that when the call comes for the common defense, the men and women of our Armed Forces continue to fulfill their d... Full story
The Ridge Riders are putting the final touches on the Cleatis Lacy Memorial Bull Ride, coming to the rodeo grounds Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. Lacy, a well-known rodeo cowboy from Grand Coulee, died May 14, 2011, at 89. He was still involved in helping on the rodeo circuit at the time. This will be the fourth annual bull ride honoring Lacy, who was a long-time rodeo participant, starting at an early age. As a youth, his family gave him the nickname “cowboy” because he rode every animal on the farm — calves, pigs, sheep and an old pony. Lacy... Full story
The Almira Community Church may become the new owner of the formerly Presbyterian Coulee Dam Community Church in Coulee Dam. Jerry Kennedy, who sits on the Presbyterian advisory committee, said last Tuesday that the current owners of the church are willing to gift it to the Almira Community Church. "They have all the resources that we needed, but didn't have," said Kennedy, who attended church there. Almira Community Church Pastor Paul McArthur said last Thursday that his church looks forward... Full story
Officials have encountered numerous reports in the region recently of con artists calling people to demand immediate payment and even threaten jail time with a supposed warrant for the arrest of the person getting the call. The callers are often good at what they do and are very convincing, as one local woman recently found out after forking over $1,500. Such a call recently came to the home of Mike Ianetta, he said, and his wife was about to get out the credit card for payment. They wanted $4,000 immediately. Ianetta said the caller had the... Full story
Where would you like to spend your 100th birthday? Edwin Kerns, from Odessa, turned 100 last Wednesday, and he returned to Grand Coulee Dam, where he has spent his birthday for the last several years. There's a purpose to the visit. Kerns worked on the dam, starting in 1935, and spent four years here. Kerns is the oldest living person who worked during construction of the dam, according to CNN, Kerns stated. "They interviewed me and told me I was the oldest survivor," he said. He plans on... Full story
Today, more millennials are moving back home, even though the economy is improving and wages are inching upward. Recently, Pew Research Center revealed that a third of young adults today are more likely to live with their parents than they were before the Great Recession. Unemployment among young adults has been dropping since 2010, as has the number of millennials living independently. In 2007, prior to the recession, about 42.7 million individuals in that age group lived on their own. In the years in between, the population of 18- to... Full story
The upshot of the Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump phenomena is that both parties are moving to the left. Sanders’ and Trump’s styles and affects are very different –the rumpled, oddball lecturer in Socialism 101 vs. the boastful, power-tie-wearing business mogul – but they have worked in tandem to ensure that the center of gravity in this fall’s presidential election will be further to the left than it has been in decades. By seizing the initiative in their race from the beginning to what looks like an increasingly bitter end, Bernie Sanders h... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District received a clean audit for its financial statements and for federal grant compliance for 2015, according to a preliminary report that was shared with the school board last Tuesday night. The audit from the Washington State Auditor’s office cost the district an estimated $9,500. The report stated that the next audit will be in 2017, and cover accountability for public resources, financial statements and federal programs. The district was advised that this future audit would cost about $19,500. The current a... Full story
Nathan Morrell represented the Lake Roosevelt Raiders at the WIAA State 1B, 2B, 1A Track Meet at Eastern Washington University Saturday. Morrell threw the discus in the first flight, which included all the other District 5-6 competitors from the week before. The weather on May 28 was cool with a intermittent wind. Morrell’s first throw was from the standing position. He fell away on release and the throw went out of bounds. On his second throw, Morrell threw using the full spin to record a distance of 103 feet, 5 inches. For his final throw, M... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District’s board of directors hired Menehune Consultants, LLC, of Electric City, Monday night, to help with the transition of changing superintendents in the district. Principal party in the firm is Dr. Dennis Carlson, the present superintendent. Board member Ken Stanger said it would be very helpful for Carlson to assist in the changing of administrations and that the new superintendent, Paul Turner, welcomed the decision, providing a mentor for the initial changeover period. “I want to utilize Dr. Carlson’s contacts, a... Full story
From a Grant County Sheriff's Office media advisory: Jurisdiction: Grant County Fire District 3 (IC Fortier) Started around 3 p.m. 05/29/2016 Three miles south of the Gorge Amphitheater along the Columbia River. Gorge Amphitheater/Sasquatch 2016 not at risk or impacted by smoke. Estimated at 600 acres. No containment estimate. Wind driven, burning sage and grass. Difficult terrain and wind hampered initial attack. Firefighters from across Grant County and Chelan County are on scene. State... Full story
At a horrific scene in the middle of the school day last Friday, the screams of victims and their mothers twisted the air with an agony many seemed to feel - even though they knew it wasn't real. Some 200 or more students and staff from Lake Roosevelt High School arrived at the scene at the Nespelem Community Center by bus and crowded near blue tarps held up as a curtain between them and the sight of dead classmates killed in a drunken driving crash. As the curtain lowered, LR students could... Full story
Fireworks will be prohibited in Grand Coulee without a permit after an ordinance passed last week takes effect next year. The city council passed a new fireworks ordinance May 17, banning fireworks without a permit. The ordinance does not go into effect for a year, City Clerk Carol Boyce said. The new ordinance prohibits the sale and use of fireworks in the city except for limited purposes or in specific locations authorized by a city-issued permit for a public display after review by local fire officials. The exception is North Dam Park, where... Full story
May 28 is now officially Woody Guthrie Day in the state of Washington, and a large celebration of the musician and his works will take place at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center on that date. The event will include performances from 12 different artists, as well as discussions from experts, including author Greg Vandy, who wrote the book “26 Songs in 30 Days” about Guthrie’s legendary place in Americana culture and Grand Coulee Dam history. The event will also include screenings of films, including the stolen film “The Columbia,” a film by E... Full story
A sale of used items on the sidewalk outside of Harvest Foods and Variety in Coulee Dam Saturday drew huge support from contributors, raising about $6,400. The sale was held to give support to the family of Justin "Jay" Arnold in their efforts to bring him closer to home from a New York care facility. Arnold suffered a critical brain injury when he was struck by a car in New York, where he was pursuing his education as a chef. Transporting him across the country required a special flight, which... Full story
Nineteen new flags will be dedicated during the "Isle of Flags" Memorial Day ceremony next Monday, May 30, at Spring Canyon Cemetery. Flags for the following are being dedicated: Harold A. Blanchard, Bruce A. Brandstrom, Alfred Braaten, R.I. Button, Warren H. Byam, James Bradley "Brad" Combs, Douglas Gronski, William R. Hart, Jack A. Hilson, James Timothy Hurley, David A. Kelley, Marvin E. Kuest, Aleck T. Musyt, Diana M. Meyer, Leon Lee Nuehring, W. "Steve" Nuehring, Clark C. Reynolds, Ernie... Full story
A move is currently underway to get a people’s initiative on the ballot in November that deals with giving grandparents and other family members the right to visit children where relationships have been severed by death, divorce, or disagreement. Initiative 1431, if passed by voters, would restore an earlier law that allowed relatives to petition the court for visitation rights. Carol Winfrey, a local Farmers Insurance agent, took up the cause recently and is trying to create interest in the initiative. Before the initiative could be presented... Full story
The folks who put together last Friday’s “mock crash” did a great service to the whole community. The event, designed to give young drivers a taste of the reality of a car crash, not something depicted neatly for a television scene, probably left an impression even on the Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High kids who tried not to be impressed, the way kids often do. Judging by the looks on most of their faces, the drama was enough to deliver the message, just as a gripping drama in any medium often does when it elicits a tightness in your throa... Full story
Our Okanogan Public Utility District is playing a dangerous game with our future utility rates, and it could cost all of us a lot of money. On May 9, the Okanogan PUD, voted unanimously to proceed with re-energizing Enloe Dam. While Enloe Dam has blocked the Similkameen River for a century, it hasn’t produced a spark of electricity for over 50 years. Efforts to electrify Enloe Dam have been very costly for the Utility. To date, the PUD has spent $13 million dollars pursuing the latest FERC license. An additional $1.3 million dollars is going t... Full story
The good news this Memorial Day weekend is more than 38 million Americans are expected to travel, making the unofficial kickoff to summer this year the second busiest on record. AAA reports nearly 34 million people across the nation will be driving, which is up by 2.1 percent over last year. Air travel is expected to increase as well, with 2.6 million Americans taking to the skies. AAA finds stable or lower costs for airfares, rental cars and hotels. Compared with 2015, gas prices average up to 50 cents a gallon lower. So what’s the bad n... Full story