News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 329
A 22-year-old man was arrested and taken to Grant County jail Thursday on a number of charges, including first-degree burglary and escaping from police. In jail is Brandon Pachosa, who allegedly stole a number of items from a house at 44 Hillcrest Place in Electric City. Pachosa, who gave police multiple addresses, including Young Street in Grand Coulee, Inchelium, and as an Electric City transient, had been sought by police on a felony warrant earlier this month but managed to avoid capture. Officers received a tip that Pachosa had been seen...
A Burdin Boulevard man who had his male pit bull declared a “potentially dangerous dog” by Grand Coulee’s city council last Tuesday night has decided to appeal the decision. The dog belongs to Andrew Kramer, 308 Burdin Boulevard, and it bit a Portland, Oregon woman, Kimberly Karlsson, on July 22, a police report said. The city council declaration stated that the black, white and grey male pit bull, named “Rowdy,” attacked and bit Karlsson without provocation. The “potentially dangerous dog” designation requires that Kramer will have to have...
Grand Coulee police are referring another dog bite incident to the city council for a possible “potentially dangerous dog” designation. The complaint stated that two small dogs jumped on a juvenile girl Saturday and bit her on the hand, each leg and her stomach. The girl and a friend had entered a gated and fenced area at 316 Burdin Boulevard and were attacked by the dogs. The area was fenced and had “beware of dog” signs on display. The dogs are owned by Gerald Gendron. The girl was treated at Coulee Medical Center....
Electric City has received word that it is receiving two grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency totaling $183,000 for emergency street repairs. City Clerk Russell Powers said one grant was for $60,000 and the second for $123,000. The FEMA grants will pay for 75 percent of the work accomplished with them, with the remaining costs split between Electric City and Grant County. The city suffered a number of street problems from frost heaves last winter, and the grants are for repair of these streets. Powers said the grants cover 19...
Electric City has taken more of its “butt ugly” trees out. City work crews have removed several trees that hinder the vision of motorists coming onto SR-155 from city side streets. The city council, back in March 2013, authorized the removal of a number of what then-councilmember Brad Parrish called “butt ugly” trees. The trees were planted several years ago by longtime mayor Ray Halsey, and lined both sides of the city’s main thoroughfare. They grew up fast, and many of the trees are now mature and about 10 feet tall. At critical intersect...
The town of Elmer City has set Sept. 14, as the date for a public hearing on assuming the rights, powers and functions of its Transportation Benefit District. The hearing will be at 6:45 p.m., just prior to the town’s monthly council meeting at 7. The town passed its TBD ordinance on Dec. 10, 2015, creating the boundaries as the town limits, and has since collected about $3,800, which is allocated for street improvement. The public hearing will deal with the town council assuming the duties of the district and will take input on what streets m...
Barbecue lovers might want to mark Sept. 16 and 17 on their calendars. Those are the days you can go to Banks Lake Park and sample barbecue specialties from a host of grillers who are after the grand champion prize of $2,000, the trophy that goes along with it, and bragging rights. The BBQ competition is part of the community Harvest Festival put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Grillers will get set up and rely on their special recipes to please the “sampling” crowd and gain the attention of the judges as they compete for...
There will be a reunion of sorts for workers on the Third Powerhouse Sept. 15-17, the same weekend as the Harvest Festival celebration. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Third Powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam. Birdie Hensley has sparked the plan to bring workers back to Grand Coulee Dam for a celebration that a number of workers will miss, because they have already passed on. Most workers would be in their 70s or 80s now. An “activity” tent will be set up at Banks Lake Park, where former Third Powerhouse workers wil...
Grand Coulee’s city council accepted the recommendation of its planning commission in dealing with the dog rescue issue that has been going back and forth in the community. Dorothy Harris had appeared at the planning commission recently to tell planners that she no longer was seeking “dog rescue” status, but wanted to concentrate on advising people on what they might do with unwanted dogs. Planners had told Harris on several occasions that she couldn’t have a dog rescue operation in a residential neighborhood. The council had earlier support...
Grant County Mosquito District 1 reported this week that a mosquito sample collected from a trap west of Moses Lake, near the intersection of Dodson Road and I-90, has tested positive for West Nile virus. This is the first detection of the virus in Grant County this season and is the 11th such report in the state this year. During the 2016 season, 51 samples and one horse were reported with WNV in Grant County. Statewide last year there WNV infections in nine people, 27 horses and 95 mosquito samplings. There have not been any human or animal...
A list of problems detected at the Delano Regional Transfer Station by its insurance company will have to wait a little longer for repair, and maybe until next budget year. The Transfer Station had advertised for bids recently and the Regional Board of Mayors (RBOM) was scheduled to accept the lone bid Monday. But things got in the way. At the mayor’s meeting a motion was made to accept the lone bid of $54,904, made by DWK Fowler Construction. It died for a lack of a second. It may be dead for a long time. At the end of the meeting, mayors w...
A continuing “dog rescue” issue got a full hearing before Grand Coulee’s planning commission last Tuesday night, with some resolution. Dorothy Harris and her sister-in-law Dee Harris argued the finer points of the city’s zoning code during some heated discussions, but in the end they can say it isn’t over until it‘s over. The two told planners that they no longer want to pursue a “dog rescue” operation, and in fact, Dorothy Harris said, “We no longer have a dog rescue” operation. Planners also softened their position, though not backing...
As fall approaches, minds turn to “back to school” time and the area’s big Harvest Festival, Sept. 15-17. One of the more popular features of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s Harvest Festival may be the “Run the Dam” event, which will take place during the fall festival for the second time this year, Saturday, Sept. 16. “We moved it to fall, because we feel that fall in the Coulee is one of the greatest times to enjoy outdoor activities,” said Kelly Buche, race coordinator for the event. Those entering the race will actually g...
There will be a new wave of enthusiasm when the Raiders of Lake Roosevelt’s football team take to Green Field this fall. There will be the old and the new, according to head football coach Bubba Egbert. He will be part of the new, as he takes over from former coach Loren Endsley, who resigned during the summer to take an assistant football coaching position at Eastern Oregon University. Fall practices begin next Wednesday, Aug. 16, with what could be a huge turnout. Over 40 have been participating in weight training and fitness programs d...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District’s new “Study and Survey” is on its way to the state superintendent’s office. The document was prepared by Design West, the district’s architectural firm, and is an overview of the district and its building needs. There’s nothing new in the Study & Survey: It declares a need for more classroom space and a lack of financial resources to accomplish this. The Study & Survey is done every five years and is funded by the state. This year’s document was funded at the $6,500 level. “It will probably occupy space on...
Grant County Mosquito District 2 will meet in its new building Thursday night at 7 p.m. for the first time. The 40-foot by 80-foot, 3,200-square-foot building houses the district's chemical storage, its two pickups, a laboratory, a restroom with shower, and a small meeting room where the five commissioners will meet for their monthly meetings. Secretary of the five-member board of commissioners, Carl Russell, said the building cost $178,000, and was paid for with public tax funds. Commissioners...
The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area’s Sky Rangers plan three events this week. Wednesday, at Spring Canyon, from 3-5 p.m., you can learn about the upcoming Aug. 21 solar eclipse. On Friday, Aug. 11, at Crescent Bay, rangers will be on hand with a variety of telescopes pointed to the sky. They will have new and larger telescopes so you can see Saturn, the moon and other deep-sky objects. Janice Elvidge, who leads the ranger group, reminds everyone that Friday’s program will be happening during the Perseid meteor shower time. On Sat...
An audit report made public last week is highly critical of the city of Grand Coulee’s books and states that prior “findings” still had not been corrected. State auditors issued a number of findings, the harshest assessment that auditors note, as they published a report July 27 for the two-year period from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2015. “Our two prior audits reported that the City of Grand Coulee did not have adequate controls over financial operations,” the auditor stated. “Our current audit found the City has not addressed many of the...
Issues raised by retired custodian Ray Wells before the Grand Coulee Dam School District board were largely part of his job description and were misdirected, former school superintendent Dennis Carlson stated. Wells had appeared before the school board in June to complain that issues he raised while he was still employed by the district were largely ignored. Wells had shown the school board members a stack of complaints he said were given to elementary Principal Lisa Lakin and stated that no one ever got back to him on the issues he raised....
A woman advocating allowing her to help stray dogs at her home is going to try again to gain favor with Grand Coulee planners for a dog rescue operation. Dorothy Harris will appear before the city’s planning commission at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 8, at city hall to ask planners to advance her cause for a dog rescue operation at her home on Young Street. Planning commission Chairman Tammara Byers has stated several times that the planning commission will not recommend that Harris can move forward with her plan. Byers has stated publicly that the p...
Coulee Dam police arrested two men in their 20s for burglary and vehicle prowling after nearby resident reported seeing one of them taking items from the town shop last week. One of the men, Paul Willford, 25, was noticed wandering inside the town shop area by a nearby resident Monday evening, July 24, about 6 p.m. She called her husband to check it out. Charles Landeros went to the shop and found Willford with a number of items in his hand, police report. When confronted, Willford dropped the items and ran right out of his sandals to a car...
Grant County Port District 7 is seeking bids to make improvements to its runway, taxi area and apron at Grand Coulee Dam Airport. There was no estimate on what the project would cost and Port District President James Keene said that if the port received an affordable bid the work could be done this fall. Airport Manager Bob Babler had told district commissioners of the widening cracks in the runway for the past couple of years and, working with the Federal Aviation Administration, it was decided to go out for bid this year. Cost of the project...
A Pleasant Valley couple and a Nespelem man were arrested and landed in Grant County jail after an arrest on a warrant Friday. Police learned that Cassandra Graves, 27, wanted on a Department of Corrections felony arrest warrant, was in a vehicle at West Grand Avenue in Electric City. When police arrived at 123 West Grand Avenue at 9:20 p.m., Graves rushed into the residence and tried to slam the door as Sgt. Gary Moore was in pursuit. Cassandra Graves was detained on the warrant, along with her husband, Kyle Graves, 26, who is being charged...
A dog was declared “potentially dangerous” by the Grand Coulee City Council last week. The midsize beagle/Labrador mix belongs to Preston Guin, who resides on Young Street. The dog bit a woman June 21 while she was walking down Main Street. Guin received notice from the city late the week before. The “potentially dangerous” declaration by the council July 18 triggers a number of steps that have to be taken. Namely, an enclosed pen with a sign “dangerous dog” on it is required, along with liability insurance in order to meet the city’s ordi...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District passed its budget for the 2017-18 school year at its meeting Monday night. There wasn’t a lot of fanfare, as members of the board struggled with the host of cuts facing the district this next year. Even then, the budget was somewhat shaky as Debbie Cook, North Central Educational Service District’s person handling finances for the district, said late legislative action created a lot of “ifs” about revenues from the state. The budget, $11,036,901, was almost in balance. The district plans on savings from cu...