News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The Lady Raiders softball team has a 4-2 win-loss record after two wins and two losses this past week. LR lost a road game 11-9 against Cascade High School on March 22. LR Head Coach Jaci Gross explained that in the bottom of the seventh inning, Cascade hit a walk off homerun to win the game. Aaliyah Marchand pitched four innings for LR, striking out nine batters, walking four, and giving up four hits. Emma Marchand pitched the other three innings, striking out two, walking one, and also giving...
The Lake Roosevelt track and field team competed at the Ray Cross Invitational on March 26 where the all-girl team competed with over 30 schools of all sizes, ranging from 1B size to 4A. "This was a really big meet to start our competitions, and the experience will pay off as the season moves on," Head Coach Lori Adkins said. "The girls competed well against much larger schools." Adkins said most events had over 40 competitors. LR's highest placing athlete at the event was Carly Neddo, who...
At nearly midnight on March 10, the Legislature adjourned its hybrid session in Olympia on schedule. The 60-day Legislative session consisted primarily of Zoom meetings with some work completed in-person. It was a busy time for me as I continued as the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee’s ranking member. This session was particularly busy for education committee leaders due to continued school issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and school funding issues. I also sponsored a few individual bills and budget requests. In t...
The American Legion Hodges Post 84, Oroville Washington, is requesting that the State Department of Transportation honor the Veterans of the Vietnam War by dedicating State Route 20, from the Idaho border to the Skagit County line in Western Washington. Hodges Post 84 hopes to recognize the sacrifices made by Vietnam Veterans to the State of Washington and to the United States of America with this dedication. I will be asking our State representatives in Olympia and from Washington DC to help support this effort. I will be asking all of the...
Recently, Chris Cargill, Eastern Washington director of right-wing Washington Policy Center, advocated for a parents’ bill of rights to improve our educational system. But how would that help? Shouldn’t students themselves, especially at high school level, have at least equal voice to their parents since their education most strongly affects their own lives? Maybe Cargill thinks students and their parents agree on what would improve their education, but is there evidence of that? Polls show considerable disagreement between high school-age stu...
Karen is married to our son Nathan, and they live in Portland. An injury while riding her bicycle interrupted her play. She worked for Nike at the time and rode her bicycle, rain or shine, to the Nike campus where she worked. She rode about six miles a day and then hauled her bike aboard the transit for the rest of the way. She got clipped by a car one day and injured the fingers on her hand. The injury interrupted her violin playing, so I enjoyed knowing that her fingers had improved to the point where she could play again. A few years ago,...
School was disrupted last week by a possible threat that was later determined not to be credible. There was no school at Lake Roosevelt Schools on March 16, then only a distance-learning day March 17 due to the alleged threat through a reported remark on social media. The incident was described in a March 17 Facebook post shared on the Lake Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School page from the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s administration. The post explains that at 6:25 a.m. on March 16 “we got a call from a parent stating that their student received a...
A housing need for senior citizens may be addressed by local business owners and the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, which is helping to fund studies that could lead to a large project. Centerline Development, owned by Nic Alexander and Ian Turner, purchased the former school located on 8.3 acres between Spokane Way and Martin Road in 2019 for $155,000. The pair has planned to help develop senior citizen living quarters at the former school, as well as single-family homes on the surrounding property. “We’ve heard nothing but positive fee...
School was disrupted last week by a possible threat that was later determined not to be credible. There was no school at Lake Roosevelt Schools on March 16, then only a distance-learning day March 17 due to the alleged threat through a reported remark on social media. The incident was described in a March 17 Facebook post shared on the Lake Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School page from the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s administration. The post explains that at 6:25 a.m. on March 16 “we got a call from a parent stating that their student received a...
Guns, bullets, and other weaponry could someday be manufactured nearby. The Colville Confederated Tribes are receiving a $50,000 grant from Washington state’s Community Economic Revitalization Board, matched by $16,667 from the tribe, to conduct a feasibility study to look into placing a munitions manufacturing plant on or near the reservation. Tribal Business Council Chairman Andrew Joseph Jr said the tribes have not been in contact with any existing business in the pursuit of this project. “The Tribes noticed a void in the local market for...
It’s hard to calculate the costs of misinformation, even of something as simple as child’s false boast of knowing about a threat to a school. Reportedly, something like that caused school to close to students for two days last week, adding to the list of items already causing tensions, long enough even in normal times, which these are not. Kudos to administrators and police for their professionally cool heads sorting it out. And to everyone else, including any parent and student, who these days chooses to back away from an urge to jump immediat...
This is an open letter of thanks to everyone who advocated for, supported, gave a forum for discussion, or assisted us to get the message out, regarding a piece of legislation that would have had a detrimental impact on rural healthcare in Washington State and especially our communities. Because of your willingness to express your concerns about this bill, the Senate listened, and the bill was not enacted. This bill would have had short and long-term devastating effects, and if enacted, would have forced Coulee Medical Center to consider...
Taxpayers, if you think education is expensive, try ignorance. Educators here are going to try again to get our levies passed. You wonder what it takes to convince people that educating young people costs money, and too long this district has operated by scraping the bottom of the barrel for its finances. We ask teachers to come to our communities and prepare our youth for their future endeavors. Then we give all kind of excuses why we don’t want to fund the process. The old excuse that “taxes are too high, or I don’t have any kids in school” d...
In the United States, a law is presumed to be constitutional until proven otherwise in court. This process can take years, and a lot of money, to wade through the legal system and end up at the Supreme Court. As the challenge proceeds, we are still obligated to obey the law. We are a nation of laws. When a politician doesn’t like something, they seek to make a law prohibiting you from possessing or doing whatever it is that they don’t like. Even if it is blatantly unconstitutional. It’s easy to do when one party has complete control as well...
One of the biggest misconceptions about Daylight Saving Time is that farmers pushed for it, because “they needed daylight hours to work in their fields”. Nothing could be further from the truth. The adoption of daylight saving time in the United States through the Calder Act, also known as the Standard Time Act of 1918, was devised to conserve energy during wartime. Even then, the agriculture industry spoke out against it. Here’s why: Shifting the clocks back and forth is hugely disruptive for our farmers and ranchers, not to mention any lives...
Saturday was a good day for the Lady Raiders, who defeated the Lady Bears in Brewster in both games of a double header. LR won the first game 10-0, and the next 14-4. “Great way to open up the season,” Head Coach Jaci Gross said. “We were tentative hitters, and that will change. We were pleased with our defensive effort. Specifically, the one-two punch of Aaliyah Marchand and Presley Steffens on the mound. We are very excited about our season this year.” Marchand struck out 11 batters in four innings in the first game, while Steffens struck...
Elmer City will be receiving $772,000 in state dollars towards a new fire station after the state House and Senate passed their 2022-23 supplemental capital budget. In March of 2021, Elmer City Public Works Director Jimmer Tillman, who has volunteered as a firefighter for about 30 years, told the town council he would be looking into options for funding a new facility for the Elmer City fire department, also known as Okanogan County Fire District #2. Earlier this month, the city found out they would be receiving $772,000 towards the project....
A report from the Okanogan School District determined that noises made during a basketball game were not racially motivated, but others, including Colville Business Council members, disagree. Reviewing game footage, Lady Raiders Assistant Coach Matthew Pleasants, himself an African American and Native American, took note of racist monkey noises being made while a Lady Raider, also an African American and Native American, shot free throws during a Feb. 18 basketball game in Okanogan. Pleasants reported the incident to the Washington Interscholas...
Communication between the Colville Tribes and the Grand Coulee Dam School District should be prioritized, officials from both groups say. At their meeting Monday night, GCDSD School Board directors hosted the chairman and other members of the Colville Business Council, the governing body of the Colville Confederated Tribes. With 37.8% of students in the district being enrolled tribal members, and more being of tribal descent, the school board has spoken frequently in recent years about wanting...
There should be plenty to do around town with 10 events planned for 2022 in the Coulee area, including a monthly market with beer and music, but the biggest event faces multiple challenges this year. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce has a slew of events scheduled for the year. The Triple Fish Challenge is scheduled for April 9-10; Colorama from May 6-8; the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus on June 2; Koulee Kids Fest on June 18; the First Friday Night Market will run from June to October, the Festival of America on July 4; the Run...
As the pandemic eases, it looks like no end is in sight for the continuing need for us all to remain flexible in our ideas, schedules, plans and expectations, and that’s a good thing. The human skill at adapting has never been more crucial. Last week, a “Grant County Leadership” online meeting of municipal and health officials, chambers of commerce, journalists, and others, which has been meeting biweekly for months, decided to switch from pandemic mode to recovery mode with a sigh of relief. But even at that, it was noted that switching back...
I thought for most of my life that I would be a lumber grader. My training was initially at Potlatch Forests Inc., in Potlatch, Idaho, just nine miles from my home in Palouse. I had been there for four years and decided after I met my wife to leave PFI and move to southern Idaho. Dorothy was from Buhl, about 120 miles east of Boise. Of course, I needed work, so I found a job grading lumber in Gooding. The mill owners had a second mill in Fairfield, so I split some of my time there. If you know Idaho at all, you know how bad winters can be. The...
As the Congressman for Washington’s 4th Congressional District, my number one priority is advocating for the people who live and work right here in Central Washington, contributing to our communities and economy. That’s why, last week, I voted in favor of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. This legislation not only delivers on many of Central Washington’s top priorities but preserves long-standing conservative principles and takes significant actions to strengthen our national security. Decisions about the needs of our communities shoul...
There is an old saying: Don’t let the “perfect” be the “enemy” of the good! That is important to remember as we work our way out of the energy crisis exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While the Russians are razing the country and killing thousands of innocent people, many world leaders are slapping Moscow with heavy economic sanctions. Embargoing Russian oil and natural gas are examples. With the prohibition of Russian oil imports, there is a crude shortage in our country. Consequently, our drivers are shocked by the recent pric...
A lot can be accomplished in a lifetime. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce is starting a new award for lifetime achievement in honor of Colleen Manley who died unexpectedly earlier this year at the age of 63. “If you have been a part of this community, then you knew Colleen,” Chamber Executive Director Rachelle Baughman said at their March 8 meeting. “She was a huge aspect of this community. Colleen did a lot. She was a part of the chamber, she was a part of the Rotary, she was a part of the Lions. I’m not even sure of everything sh...