News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A recent increase in requests for public documents will lead to an extra employee at town hall. Coulee Dam’s town council approved the hiring of a “records management” person at its meeting last Wednesday night. Town Clerk Carol Visker asked council members to approve the new position, which will bring the city hall staff to three full-time employees. Visker stated that she plans to meet with the council’s personnel committee, made up of members Bob Poch and Ken Miles, soon to determine that position’s job description, required qualifica... Full story
Payments by Bonneville Power Administration to the town of Coulee Dam related to its power line project are inching upward. The town council learned last Wednesday that BPA has agreed to pay the town $5 a cubic yard for dirt it intends to deposit on town property on the hillside between town hall and the switchyards. The dirt will come from road improvement work and dirt from drilled footings for the towers. Earlier, the BPA had offered to pay $2 a yard. Gary Wilson, BPA’s realty agent, told the council that the dirt placed on town property w... Full story
Staff members of Center Elementary School took their complaints about air quality in their school directly to the school board Monday night. An aide at the school, Aaron Derr, addressed the board to highlight a list of illnesses claimed by teachers and other staff members at the school. But it was like preaching to the choir. The board was fully aware of the air quality concerns. In fact, the district had emailed the school a week earlier seeking information about reports of air quality concerns. “We had asked ESD (Educational Service D... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board Monday night approved a number of sports appointments and resignations and dealt with a request for a leave of absence Sports appointments included Jenny Wilson, to Grand Coulee Dam Middle School head volleyball coach. Wilson has been the head volleyball coach at Lake Roosevelt. Kate Olin was named Lake Roosevelt assistant track coach. Resigning sports positions were James Caddy, as Lake Roosevelt varsity football coach; Tammy Norris, middle school assistant volleyball coach; and Charlene Tracy,... Full story
What happened to the osprey nest on the tower at the park below the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam? You may see it again soon, at its new location, atop a pole that will be put in place by Wilson Construction and the Bonneville Power Administration. The osprey nest was removed last Wednesday from the 160-foot tower by a Wilson Construction lineman who climbed the tower and lowered the 100-pound nest to the ground. The nest was removed in preparation for the removal of the two powerline... Full story
Chamber of commerce members and “Over the Dam” run officials got good news Thursday when they learned that despite work at the dam, the race can likely go on as scheduled. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher told chamber members that there would be a free lane over the top of the dam and that the run could likely be held. A year ago, there had been some discussion the race might not be held across the dam because of construction. She told the 26 that turned out for the meeting that there would be heavy equipment on the top of the dam but tha... Full story
The mayor of Coulee Dam last week asked other mayors to help with the cost of entertainment for the July 4 celebration. The last couple of years, Coulee Dam’s town council has voted funds from its hotel/motel tax collections to put on entertainment during the area’s July 4 celebration. Coulee Dam is asking the other municipalities that collect hotel/motel taxes to contribute to the cost of entertainment and related expenses. Mayor Quincy Snow told the other mayors at that he has been in touch with a “Cajun” band to highlight this year’s enterta... Full story
Nespelem School District voters approved a four-year $118,000 replacement maintenance and operation levy last Tuesday with a 68.8-percent “yes” vote. Only 125 voters out of 392 ballots mailed out returned their votes as of Feb. 17 in what is an important funding result for the district. Of that number, 86 voted “yes” on the levy issue and 39 voted “no.” The result was a welcome Valentine’s Day present and will enable the district to collect some $1.4 million in state equalization funds. The replacement levy will start off the first year co... Full story
Three dates have been set for community cleanup this year. The Regional Board of Mayors last week set three dates when residents of the various cities and towns can get rid of lawn and garden debris. Electric City Mayor Jerry Sands, whose city manages the Delano Regional Transfer Station, said the spring cleanup drive where residents can get rid of lawn and garden waste is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, through Saturday, April 28. The methods the different cities and towns use for the cleanup vary, and residents can call their respective... Full story
A $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will provide funds for the Colville Indian Housing Authority to start work on its Lovejoy housing project in the Omak District, Executive Director Elena L. Bassett said. Bassett said the project will provide 20 single-family homes and probably be completed and occupied in 2014, at a cost of $4-5 million. She said a community center might be added if additional funding becomes available. Last year the Indian Housing Authority completed a 27-unit project called B... Full story
Electric City’s city council meeting lasted just 18 minutes Feb. 14, but it gave members plenty of time to rebuff a request by Grant County’s Economic Development Council on a funding request. The EDC had asked for $532.50 from Electric City, only to have Councilmember Bob Rupe ask, “What have they done for us on this end of the county?” Fellow Councilmember John Nordine said the work of the EDC helped keep taxes lower for everyone, including people in Electric City. Mayor Jerry Sands said the last time the city had responded favorably to an E... Full story
“The kids were better than excellent,” Lake Roosevelt High School counselor Sue Hayes said of 87 students who got a day-long trip to Spokane as part of “Rewards Day.” Students at Lake Roosevelt are rewarded in late winter for a combination of favorable experiences which include attendance, grades and personal discipline. “A total of 116 students from freshman to seniors qualified for the trip, but 29 chose to stay home and work on academic projects,” Hayes stated. Two buses took the students to roller skating, lunch of pizzas, shopping at... Full story
The body of Jamie Marie Breckenridge, 42, who had been missing since Jan. 8, was found Sunday afternoon, about a quarter of a mile from where she was last seen. The woman was found near W. Grand Coulee Avenue by a friend of a resident who lives nearby and reported to police shortly after 3 p.m. The last known contact anyone had was when Breckenridge was seen near Four Corners and stated she planned to leave the area and go to Snohomish. There has been a statewide missing persons alert out since... Full story
For Rod Desjardins, making pizzas is more than a job, it’s a way of life. His “Hometown Pizza” restaurant was honored last Thursday by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce as the local “Business of the Year.” Desjardins’ first job as a teenager was in a Seattle area pizza parlor, and he’s been at it nearly ever since. Always modest, Desjardins lays the firm’s success and last Thursday’s honors directly at the feet of his employees. “They are the ones being honored,” he said.... Full story
The chamber’s own president, Scott Hunter, was named “Achiever of the Year” during a special luncheon last Thursday. Annually, the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce names both a “Business of the Year” and an “Achiever of the Year” at its annual meeting. Hometown Pizza was named “Business of the Year.” Hunter, president of the chamber, and owner and publisher of The Star newspaper, was honored for his many “behind the scenes” contributions he makes to the community the chamber serves, S... Full story
The Ridge Riders got $4,000 support from Coulee Dam Town Council Wednesday night. The council had budgeted a total of $1,500 for the Ridge Riders from the town’s hotel/motel tax fund but upped it $2,500 after George Kohout and Kathy Baty appeared to outline the group’s plans for the year. The town had originally set aside funds for an entrance sign, only to learn that they couldn’t use hotel/motel money for that, and then shifted enough of that budget item to make up the difference for the Ridge Riders. Before Kohout could finish his prese... Full story
Greg Wilder and Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow had a heated exchange at the town council meeting last Wednesday night. Wilder appeared to ask why the town hasn’t replied to his letter request of Oct. 10, 2011, for water service to a property he owns on 803 Yucca. Wilder asked why he couldn’t receive the same service offered to residents on the west side of the river, a request he has been pressing for sometime. At one point Snow asked Wilder to sit down and got this reply: “You can be smug all you want, I have to put up with you.” In his letter... Full story
All you wannabe cowboys and cowgirls, here’s your chance. Organize and become part of the Ridge Riders Ranch Rodeo activity this season. The Ridge Riders hope to tap in to a regional ranch rodeo network where teams of four -- three men and one woman -- compete in a variety of typical real ranch skills. If it all fits together, local rancher Bubba Egbert says, competition would go on from Tonasket to Republic and Winthrop to Grand Coulee. Grand Coulee has two dates on the circuit, June 30 and (tentatively) Sept. 22. Anyone can put a team t... Full story
The start of a Bonneville Power Administration project to replace power lines from the Third Powerhouse to the switchyards above the town of Coulee Dam has hit a delay. BPA had announced that it would begin the project the second week of February, but only recently requested the town of Coulee Dam schedule a public meeting so the agency and its contractor could explain and answer questions about the project and work schedule. That meeting has been set for 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, at the city hall community room. BPA’s Senior Project M... Full story
It’s a real Valentine story. Frank and Elaine Sanford celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last Saturday with family at their home at the top of the hill on the Bridgeport Highway. This is home for the popular pioneer couple, as both went to school in the area and never left it. They married Jan. 22, 1942, after a two-year courtship that started on the dance floor at a Nespelem dance hall. “He was an excellent dancer,” Elaine said of her husband. The two danced their lives away for 68 ye... Full story
Nespelem School District is hoping for a good Valentine’s Day present, passage of its four-year maintenance and operations levy. Nearly 400 voters received their mail-in ballots recently to approve a four-year levy for $118,000 in funding. Although that’s among the very lowest levy amounts in the state, Superintendent John Adkins notes, it accounts for far more critical funds to the district than just the levy dollars themselves. Passage of the levy would also make the district eligible for state “Local Effort Assistance” or levy equalization f... Full story
The Bonneville Power Administration and the town of Coulee Dam still have issues to work out on the project to stretch power lines from the Third Powerhouse to the switch yards. That became apparent last Wednesday night when Mayor Quincy Snow told BPA officials that they didn’t “have the right to do this,” meaning using the city’s access road behind city hall. He was referring to BPA telling the town that it had the right to use the access road behind city hall to move heavy equipment and loads up the hill where high towers will be built.... Full story
The Coulee Area Park & Recreation District got the $11,000 it asked for from Coulee Dam’s hotel/motel fund as a result of discussions last Wednesday night. While talking about how vague some of the detail was in developing North Dam Park as a tourist spot, Councilmember Karl Hjorten said it was like “taking bad medicine.” But the recreation entity got some praise also when Hjorten and fellow Councilmember Ben Alling both stated that Phil Hansen, chair of the district, had supplied fairly good documentation for being the first year that it ha... Full story
An effort by the National Park Service to get concession proposals for houseboat operations at Keller Ferry and Seven Bays drew a blank. Contracts at both operations had lapsed and were being renewed on a year-to-year basis. The NPS was seeking proposals from interested parties for a 10-year lease, and had a tour of the two facilities for interested parties last fall. At that time several parties showed up, but none proceeded to submit proposals before the Jan. 24, deadline. Marsha Buchanan, who handles leases for the Lake Roosevelt National... Full story
Hotel/motel tax money flowed freely in Electric City last Tuesday night when the city council voted to provide the Ridge Riders $4,000 and the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce $13,000. The money collected as a tax on motel rooms and campsites, must be used to support tourism. Both groups made presentations at the meeting showing how the money would be used. George Kohout explained to the council the new features the Ridge Riders group planned this year. They included a riding clinic, a dinner and auction, a bull riding event the day... Full story
