News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Joe Harris wants to be the sheriff of Grant County, having served for over 20 years in law enforcement following eight years in the marines. Harris started his career in law enforcement as an officer with the city of Quincy in 2001, then working for the Grant County Sheriff's Office in 2006, working for a year for the state attorney general in 2015, then as the chief of police in Mattawa until 2021. He finished his doctorate in Public Administration earlier this year, earning the degree...
Children on the Colville Indian Reservation have been dispersing "seed bombs" in areas affected by wildfires in recent years to help restore native species to the areas. The "Healing the Earth" program is conducted by the Washington State University Colville Reservation Extension 4-H program, which partners and collaborates with the Colville Confederated Tribes and Bureau of Indian Affairs natural resource programs, including Environmental Trust, Range, Fish & Wildlife, and Mt. Tolman Fire...
When an area suddenly becomes popular, it ruins it for people who already lived there. There’s a lot of examples of this. I don’t think it could happen here, but you never know if we will be discovered someday. While living in Boise, we often drove up to Silver City, an old mining town about 75 miles into the higher country. The roads were carved out of clay, so it wasn’t a good idea to drive there after a rain. There were a few old buildings still standing, a few in good repair. It wasn’t long before the area became popular with the Boise crow...
Regenerating millions of western forested acres scorched by large wildfires is a herculean task costing hundreds of billions. However, healthy growing woodlands are essential to reducing atmospheric CO2 and providing abundant clean air and fresh water for people, crops, fish, and wildlife. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, nearly 3 million acres have already burned this year in the U.S., mostly in Arizona, New Mexico, and Alaska. By year’s end, that total may exceed 2019, w...
North Dam Park, which hosts numerous events in the area, including Colorama, markets, softball tournaments, and more, is in danger of no longer being maintained, but funding could still be secured for 2023. A special meeting is scheduled for the local park district in charge on June 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the former middle school in Grand Coulee in the former teachers’ lounge there, which the public is welcome to attend. Years ago, the city of Grand Coulee had responsibility for the park, but relinquished control to the US Bureau of Reclamation, w...
A UH60 Blackhawk helicopter demonstrated its fire-fighting abilities last week by sucking water out of Banks Lake through a "snorkel" into its 1,100 gallon tank, then dumping the water onto the runway at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources contracts with the California-based company High Performance Helicopters to station aircraft throughout the state, including at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport, in case of wildfire. Administrative and Accounting...
People agree that housing for seniors in the area is needed, but the effort comes with a hefty price tag in the $15-$20 million range. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Senior Center spent $7,500 on a feasibility study for senior housing in the area in collaboration with Centerline Development, which owns the former Center School and surrounding land on Spokane Way in Grand Coulee. The study’s conclusion that there would be demand for such a facility and service led to a $20,000 engineering study. The senior center contributed another $17,500 toward t...
The town council in Coulee Dam Wednesday night approved spending $3,020 to "move dirt" in a canyon just above the city hall, a residential neighborhood, and a motel so that police can use it for a shooting range. Officer Josh Watkins introduced himself to the council as the firearms instructor for Coulee Dam's two-officer police department and explained the need for such a space. Watkins said the biggest benefit would be the ability to get free training. Police have training requirements to...
The Grand Coulee Dam area is in the spotlight of a new video being made to highlight the attributes of the area. Voortex Productions, out of Wenatchee, is working with the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce to produce a promotional video. "I am so excited about this project!" chamber Executive Director Rachelle Baughman said. "The purpose and mission behind this video is to highlight the Grand Coulee Area and unite the community. We want to give our community something to be proud of, as...
This weekend will feature lots of smiles, as did last weekend. The difference will be in the fact that the average age of smilers will be reduced. Last Saturday, seniors graduated from high school; this Saturday kids get a chance to wear out their parents, or vice versa, at Kids Fest. Whether you love every activity presented is not really important, just remember to enjoy seeing all those smiles. Scott Hunter editor and publisher...
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, both Democrats, issued a draft report which estimates that breaching the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their electricity and other benefits would cost between $10 and $27 billion. Meanwhile, the lone Idaho Republican, Congressman Mike Simpson, supporting dam removal---impoundments located in a neighboring state--is willing to pony up $33 billion tax dollars. That’s a lot of taxpayer money even today when President Biden and Congress toss around trillion-dollar spending programs like h...
My Aunt Voe used to put me up in an upstairs feather bed when I would visit. I don’t know what kind of feathers she used, but they made an extremely soft mattress and likewise the sleep. Voe was what you could correctly say “old fashioned.” Yet she was a counselor to many of the younger members of the family. She was the postmaster at the Palouse post office, knew everyone in town, and more about them than was necessary. Anyway, Voe had a foot in both worlds — one in the early 1900s and the other in what were then modern times. In additio...
The Raider boys were no match for the Lady Raiders on the softball field in Grand Coulee in a fun, fastpitch softball game the girls won 17-11 last week. "I'm not sure who had more fun - the crowd, the players, or the umps," Lady Raiders Head Coach Jaci Gross said. "Everyone involved in the game had a blast and that was the goal. I really appreciated the boys coming out, playing fast pitch rules, and just going with it. Anytime we can get kids and the community together and make great memories,...
A storm that ripped through the area Sunday afternoon toppled a tree that pulled down a powerline in Coulee Dam, closing River Drive and leaving the area without power for several hours. A 60-foot evergreen tree fell across a front porch at 1015 River Drive but didn't damage the house or a pickup parked in the driveway - under the downed tree. But it did pull down power lines crossing River Drive, which is also SR-155 through town. Coulee Dam fire trucks closed the road while Nespelem Valley...
Officials for the barely funded public agency currently responsible for managing the park that holds major events in the area said Tuesday they may have to close it down. North Dam Park, which is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation but managed by the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District (CAPRD) is the venue for events like Colorama, Run the Dam, summer softball and baseball games, a skate park, the Gehrke Windmills display, countless private events, and more. But CAPRD commissioners Brian Warneke and Kevin Porch said Tuesday that USBR...
There are always a few who know what they want to do after graduating from high school. My great granddaughter, Kaylee Landeros, has already been accepted at Eastern Washington University and soon will go to the campus to plan her schedule of classes for fall. I had no idea what I would do when I went through the diploma process back in 1948. I wasn’t alone. Several in my class loaded up and went to Walla Walla to work in the cannery. I remember we had 11-and-a-half-hour shifts, seven days a week. Low pay, but lots of overtime. Six of us r...
Prior to the corona virus outbreak, economies in the industrial world were moving along fairly smoothly — reliable supply chains with “just in time” component arrivals, predictable product deliveries, low interest rates, little inflation, abundant reasonably priced energy, and an adequate workforce in seemingly peaceful world. It was a setup for a perfect storm! That cataclysmic eruption two years ago slammed countries worldwide just like happened with World War I and the Spanish Flu plagu...
Girls and boys who will be in 3rd-8th grade in the 2022-2023 school year can sign up tomorrow, for a basketball camp that takes place in July. Signups will take place June 9 at the Lake Roosevelt gym from 6-7 p.m. for a $75 signup fee. All proceeds will benefit local basketball teams, according to organizers. The camp itself will take place July 11-13, with 3rd-5th grade participating from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 6th-8th grade from 3-6 p.m. Local coaches will be joined by Jeff Niemi of Grays Harbor College. The fundamental games and skills...
The town council in Coulee Dam Wednesday night approved spending $3,020 to “move dirt” in an area just above the city hall, a residential neighborhood, and a motel so police can use it for a shooting range. Officer Josh Watkins introduced himself to the council as the firearms instructor for Coulee Dam’s two-officer police department and explained the need for such a space. Watkins said the biggest benefit would be the ability to get free training. Police have training requirements to keep up with, but scheduling time at the U.S. Bureau of Re...
While he’s right about the diverse energy portfolio the state of Washington boasts, and about the necessity of an all-of-the-above energy solution, for now, Rep. Dan Newhouse would better advance the goals of energy independence by not including the divisive rhetoric he seems to think is necessary at every turn. We include his column on this page because he represents us in the U.S. House of Representatives, but even a piece about his bringing members of Congress to his district to show them local energy solutions obligatorily starts with an a...
With public health agencies now reporting two-week-old covid case rates and home testing widely available, hospital admissions seem a more reliable indicator. Those are trending up, even locally. Coulee Medical Center CEO Ramona Hicks told hospital district commissioners Monday that more tests at CMC for COVID-19 are showing its presence, with the positivity rate rising from 10% last Friday to 18% by Tuesday, including some admissions to the hospital. Statewide, too, hospitals are recording an...
Update: This Friday's June 3 event has been moved to the inside of the former Center School on Spokane Way in Grand Coulee due to the rainy weather. This Friday marks the first First Friday event for the Coulee, with vendors, food, and more to provide a fun time to start your weekend. The first Friday of each month means shopping and entertainment from June through October in a new kind of event for the area. This Friday, June 3, is the first of its kind, and future “First Fridays” will be held on July 1, Aug. 5, Sept 2, and Oct. 7. Vendors and...
Grand Coulee City Park is receiving upgrades this year including a half-court basketball court, a new barbecue pit area, walkways, and playground equipment. The park, located along SR-174 between a gas station and Mexican food restaurant, is benefiting from a $162,000 grant that the city was awarded last year from the Ephrata-based Paul Lauzier Foundation. Old playground equipment, including swings, teeter-totters, and a slide have been removed to make room for new playground equipment, while a “merry-go-round” device still remains. The cur...
Ashley Atkins took on the role of Indian Education director this school year at Lake Roosevelt Schools and spoke to The Star recently about the importance of teaching Native American culture and history. "I will introduce myself in my language (Crow) first," she wrote in an email to The Star. "Kahay! Baalaashe' Amiiaxxisesh huuk, baashchiilitaailia, 'Lucky and Receiving' huuk. I am Apsaalooke from the great Crow Nation of Montana. My husband [LR science teacher Derek Atkins] is Psquosa...
Andy Clark is an LR alumnus and was a very talented Raider and UW Husky track athlete. At LR he was coached by Randy Spotts, who was the best high school distance coach around. Randy was very organized, methodical, expected the best from his athletes and coached several state champions and medalists. Coach Spotts always kept things fun with his bizarre sense of humor. Even when his runners were tops in the state he would yell at them to run “Faster, faster, faster.” Then when their events were over he’d tell the coaches jokingly, “Boy, could I...