News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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From 150 to 200 firefighters continue to battle a wildfire around Omak Lake that has closed a school and evacuated homes. Two homes and eight other structures have been lost in the St. Mary’s Mission Road Fire that started Tuesday night east of Omak. Fire officilas said Thursday night they have no containment on the fire, which has consumed some 4,900 acres in the rocky grass and timber area south of highway 155 and mostly bordered by the Columbia River Road, which is closed from Cameron Lake Cut Off Road to Kartar Valley Road. Only r... Full story
A wildfire has forced evacuation of Paschal Sherman Indian School and nearby homes and had burned approximately 1,000 acres of grass and trees and several structures, as of late Tuesday night. A press release issued from Mt. Tolman Fire Center at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday stated structures had been lost, and that it was not known whether any homes were among them. The fire started at approximately 4:40 p.m. near highway 155 and St. Mary’s Mission Road, about two miles northeast of Omak in high winds. SR 155 remained open, but the Columbia River R... Full story
North Central Washington is about to get what local Rotary Club members believe will be the first handicapped-accessible fishing pier in the region. The club’s board of directors voted last Wednesday to add $4,197 from the club’s general funds to finish the project, which a successful fund raiser and a grant put within reach Sept. 15. That’s when community members and triathletes ate their fill at the club’s spaghetti feed, contributing over $2,000 to the cause, and when club members learned... Full story
… that the the ambassador to Libya, Mr. Chris Stevens, was an enrolled tribal member of the Chinook Indian Tribe. Chairman Ray Gardner said, “To all of the Chinook Members and all the friends of the Chinook Nation I am hopeful that you will include the family of Chris Stevens, the former Ambassador to Libya, that lost his life while working towards lasting peace to the region, in your prayers.” … that the FBI was looking for my brother, Verdan L. Marchand, and found him in Seattle? They needed to know how to “spell” his name! They are going t... Full story
by John R. McNeil II Freshman Lukas Hermetz led the Raider boys at the CAN-AM Invitational Saturday at Kettle Falls, placing 48th with the time of 20 minutes, 4.13 seconds. Hermetz will look to continue improving and holding on to the number-one spot for the boys’ squad this week. On the girls’ team, Alexia Hanway was number one again for the Raiders, taking 49th in 25:03.98. Junior Mary Ann Matheson and sophomore Zach Erickson tied for the Most Improved Raiders for the CAN-AM Invite. Head Coa... Full story
The Lady Raiders fell 3-2 to Manson last Thursday in a hard-fought match on the Trojans’ home court. In the first game, the Lady Raiders struggled and lost to the Trojans by six points. But in the second and third games, Lake Roosevelt came alive and put together two close wins, including an extra-time win in the third game. But the Trojans came back in the fourth easily putting LR away by nine points, then winning the fifth and the match by the score of 15-10. Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit l... Full story
Kittitas jumped ahead quickly and kept the Raiders out of the end zone until the fourth quarter to devour LR 61-14 last Friday at the Coyotes’ home field. “Our team was not mentally prepared for Kittitas and it showed in our performance,” Raider Head Coach Steve Files said. Justus DeWinkler quarterbacked for the Raiders for the third straight week, scoring one of the two Raider touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Sean Waters came to life in the fourth, running for close to 100 yards and scori... Full story
by Michelle Campobasso - Colville Tribal Fish and Wildlife A temporary picket-style salmon weir has recently been constructed in the Okanogan River by Chief Joseph Hatchery (CJH) staff. A mile below Malott Bridge (approximately 15 miles upstream from the Okanogan River/Wells Reservoir confluence) near Brewster, the temporary weir took three weeks to construct and install in the river. Now that installation is complete, CJH staff will evaluate how summer/fall Chinook salmon, sockeye salmon and st... Full story
The election this November will be one of the most important in the lives of today’s workers. As CEO of a company that employees more than 5,000 people, I know that the outcome will affect each and every one of them. At virtually every backyard get together these days, most workers discuss -- and lament -- the state of the economy. But not in the abstract terms we hear from politicians. These days, the economy is personal. Those who still own homes are relieved that they can still host family and friends, of course. Their homes may be worth l... Full story
I woke up Monday morning, Sept. 10, 2012, my husband said pack up, we have to get out, fire coming up our canyon (Buck) — We pull out the fire cabinet drawers, haul out to the pickup, pack clothes, run around taking pictures of all rooms and even pictures of families on the walls. Meanwhile, here comes the firefighters, water tankers, brush truck. The wind was blowing so hard I could see everything go, but a firefighter said, we are going to save your home. They are so brave to stand up to the fire as it was coming into our canyon. Had our s... Full story
The Lady Raiders came away with a victory Saturday at home against the Waterville Shockers, 3-2. In the first game, Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit tried a different rotation with Kassadi Boutain, Samantha Turner, and Chyenne Kelly-Marconi in the game. During the first game the Lady Raiders played a solid game and came away with the victory on a service ace from Kassadi Boutain. That carried over into the second game until the score was 22-12. The Shockers made a comeback and the Lady Raiders bega... Full story
The Raiders drop to 0-4 after Friday’s loss to the Liberty Lancers 44-13, when they were hampered by inconsistent play and turnovers throughout the game. On what needs to improve after the loss - “We’ve got to take care of the ball better,” Head Coach Steve Files said, “still too many assignment errors, both offensively and defensively.” On their first offensive drive, the Raiders scored on a one-yard run by Justus DeWinkler for an end-of-first-quarter score of Raiders 6-Lancers 8. The Lancers... Full story
Raider runners Kendall Piccolo and Alexia Hanway led the Raiders at the Erik Anderson/Runner’s Soul Invitational last Saturday. Piccolo finished with a time of 20 minutes, 23.04 seconds for the top spot on the Raider boys’ squad. Hanway led the the Raider girls with the time of 25:10.3. The meet featured nearly 200 runners per race. High school competion came from both large schools and small schools, including 3A/4A Greater Spokane League, 2A Great Northern Leauge, Northeast A and Caribou Tra... Full story
The election this November will be one of the most important in the lives of today’s workers. As CEO of a company that employees more than 5,000 people, I know that the outcome will affect each and every one of them. At virtually every backyard get together these days, most workers discuss -- and lament -- the state of the economy. But not in the abstract terms we hear from politicians. These days, the economy is personal. Those who still own homes are relieved that they can still host family and friends, of course. Their homes may be worth l... Full story
LR is on a win streak as the Raiders defeated the Mustangs in a non-league game last Friday by the score of 28-25. Head Coach Steve Files liked the determination of his squad,"We played extremely hard for four quarters and responded to pressure situations," he continued by saying,"It was another step forward for us." Bridgeport came out on the first series of the game showing many different offensive formations. The Raider defense was not fazed and forced a fumble on that first series. Jesse Louie capped LR's first offensive drive with a... Full story
Raider cross country ran into the toughest test of the early season last Saturday at the Runners Soul Invite in the Spokane Valley. Over 40 schools from Eastern Washington and North Idaho ran in the race. Head Coach Gary Darnold said, “We ran up against the toughest competition and biggest schools of the season and all of the runners stepped up and competed hard.” Results are not yet available from athletic.net so times for the runners will not be available for publication. Raymond Yazzie lead t... Full story
Lady Raider volleyball fought hard through fatigue and tough opponents last week as they played 19 games in three days. Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit was proud of the way the girls kept playing, "Even though they were tired they didn't let it show on the court." Coach Piturachsatit also said, " It was encouraging to see such heart from them even when they were so worn out. " The week started at home against the Waterville Shockers on the 19th at Gailord Nelson Gym. The match was a hard- fought affair with the match being decided in the fifth... Full story
As a type 2 incident management team was leaving the area Sunday and the local fires are contained and final mop up is being done -- 81,000 acres worth -- it is time to reflect on what happened locally and thank all the citizens, visitors, DOT workers, police officers and fire fighters for their hard work, sacrifices and patience. As a fire fighter and chief, there were a lot of emotions the last week. The greatest is relief that no one received major injuries during this fire. A resident from the fire area did suffer a broken leg, and a... Full story
A series of wildland fires started by lightning Sept. 8 burned nearly 127 square miles of land, threatened two towns and consumed some $1.65 million of state and federal money to fight it. The Barker Canyon Complex fire was finally declared 100 percent contained Tuesday, but not before prompting evacuation warnings and orders for parts of Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam and families living in rural Douglas County. The fire tested the resources of local and surrounding fire fighting agencies, while... Full story
Paul Lietzen, Anacortes, Wash., emerges from Lake Roosevelt at Spring Canyon Saturday after the swim portion of his race. To search for times and results of the race, see RESULTS More great shots from the race: 2012 Grand Columbian SuperTri Triathlon - Images by Scott Hunter and Ralph Rise... Full story
A huge thank you to the firemen who worked so hard to save everyone's farms and homes during the Barker Canyon and Leahy fires. It is truly amazing that every home where someone lives was saved. Fences can be rebuilt and pastures will grow back with time. We thank you all for your dedication and committment to keeping us safe. Richard and Kathy Rice Smith Lake Rd. Grand Coulee... Full story
The dictionary defines fortitude as “mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger or temptation courageously” and mettle as “courage and fortitude.” These two words are extremely apt descriptions of the Volunteer Firefighters in our area. These folks are just everyday people that live next to you and me and have normal jobs, families, pets, and hobbies, plus a deep desire to help others. During the Barker Canyon-Leahy Junction fire, I was ordered to evacuate. Leaving Tom behind was hard for me to do but as part of the... Full story
Last night, while I was reading my “news feed” on Facebook, I saw that one of my friends had posted that they drove to Wilbur and bought their gas there. They said that it was 27 cents cheaper than here in the Coulee. I wrote a letter a while back about how the gas prices are so high here in our area and said that I would not buy gas here until someone could explain to me why they were so much higher. Well, no one has explained this to me, and I haven’t bought gas here for several months. I spend roughly $50 a week on gas, so about $200 a month... Full story
A few days ago, an inspiring and passionate nurse from Spokane, Washington, came all the way to Washington, DC to talk with me about the future of health care in America. As part of a group with the American College of Cardiology, DeAnna Jones struck me not only with her steadfast commitment to preserve Medicare, but with the compassion she has for her patients and her tireless work to make their lives better. She reminded me how hard nurses and doctors all across this country work every day to improve people’s lives. And as I’m reminded whe... Full story
by John R. McNeil II The LR cross country team’s effort was “right on pace with what it needs to be,” last Saturday at Moses Lake, Head Coach Gary Darnold said. The Raiders may not have placed well in the 40-school field featuring many from the 2A, 3A, and 4A ranks, but the teams did well in Darnold’s eyes. “They all worked hard during the race and the boys’ varsity grouping was very good,” Darnold said. “We just need to move the group up.” For the Raiders, last week's practices were no... Full story