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 Grand Coulee Dam School District has had its problems with the harsh winter, and will have to repair sidewalk and playground concrete walkway problems when spring arrives. Sidewalks in front of the new school have had surface problems and the same problems have cropped up on playground surfaces, Superintendent Paul Turner advised the school board at its last meeting. The surface in front of the school appeared to partially be because of using snow and ice removal chemicals. Turner said that he didn’t think that personnel used salt. In a... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board had two issues on its agenda Monday night for passage; neither made it in a three-plus-hour-long, marathon meeting. The issues were new high school graduation requirements and a two-year school calendar. The board held the second reading of the graduation requirement policy, which is normally a slam dunk since board members normally get all their questions answered between the first and second readings. It was different Monday night. Seniors graduating in 2019 will need 24 credits, instead of 21. The... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District met with Grand Coulee’s planning commission Feb. 15 and received first hand some of the options it faces in selling the Center School property. Superintendent Paul Turner stated late last week that the meeting outlined potential roadways to the zoning process. First, if a potential buyer presents a plan that the commission members approve of, it would be possible to get a conditional-use permit. That process would require the city to hire, at the district’s expense, a lawyer to conduct a public hearing to... Full story
Timing is everything, even when it involves a bill between two cities. A billing issue followed a lengthy discussion among Grand Coulee’s city council members last week as they tried to come to grips with a contract agreement between the city and its employees. The last offer employees had made for their contract would cost the city some $17,000. The council discussed where the city was going to find the money to meet the employees’ offer. It lasted about an hour and was pushed off to the next council meeting in March. That’s when the counc... Full story
Grand Coulee could soon have a park dedicated to world-champion bull rider Shane Proctor. A proposal was made to the Grand Coulee City Council Feb. 21 by Bob Valen, who made the request on behalf of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Valen is a chamber member and also a commissioner of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District. Valen proposed that Grand Coulee name its city park, on SR-174, “Shane Proctor Park.” Proctor has distinguished himself on the professional bull riding and rodeo circuits, having won the World Cha... Full story
The question of allowing golf carts and off-road vehicles to move freely on Grand Coulee streets came up again at the city council meeting Feb. 21. It was immediately given a cold shoulder by former mayor and present Councilmember Tammara Byers. She stated that mixing golf carts and ORVs with heavy traffic is exceedingly dangerous and she was against it. Councilmember Gary Carriere had a copy of Electric City’s ordinance allowing such vehicles on its streets on hand and appeared to be trying to move it along. Electric City, by ordinance, has a... Full story
What do you do when you win $5 million in the lottery? One Grand Coulee resident, Earl “Ray” McDonald, who won the $5 million lottery last Nov. 28, is probably still trying to figure that out. McDonald, who purchased the winning ticket from the Holiday Station Store in Spokane Valley, said he was going to spend more time with his family, according to a press release just sent out by the state Lottery Commission last week. He told a lottery writer that the 5-million-dollar bonanza came just in time for him to celebrate his 40th wedding ann... Full story
Cities and towns that have formed Transportation Benefit Districts have been slowly racking up some extra money for streets, even a little they shouldn’t have. Elmer City and Electric City have both formed the special districts; Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam, while holding discussions about it, have not yet done so. A transportation benefit district (TBA) allows a city or town to collect $10 for each license on cars and trucks. It’s a tool designed by the state legislature to help municipalities make up for the financial hit their street fun... Full story
Parts of Electric City’s proposed trail system received the most “push back” of any of the features of the city’s Pathway and Revitalization plan. In workshops and before the council, local residents expressed their opposition to a planned Ice Age Floods Trail, particularly one that goes through a residential area on Lakeview. Other segments of the trail system won unanimous approval by an Electric City resident advisory group that voted in unison on most of the trail ideas, but only 50 percent on a shoreline park off Sunny Drive. Two of the... Full story
Electric City will fill its vacated council position April 11, City Clerk Jackie Perman said last week. Perman stated that the city will advertise the vacancy March 22 and 29, and turn the names over to the council for its selection. Brad Parrish submitted his resignation last month because his wife, Diana, had been hired for the city’s deputy clerk position. At the time, Parrish stated that because of his wife’s status with the city he wanted to avoid any “conflict of interest.” The current deputy clerk, Russell Powers, will replace Jackie... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual Installation Banquet last Thursday night at the Melody Restaurant in Coulee Dam. The chamber annually makes an award to its "Achiever of the Year" and "Business of the Year" and names any changes to its board of directors at its annual members meeting. Named "Achiever of the Year" was Gerald Sands. Sands served as mayor of Electric City for a four-year term and part of a second term, and currently serves as a commissioner of Grant Cou... Full story
Residents of Elmer City could develop a healthier lifestyle as a result of a $250,000 grant the town received last week for a plan that calls for a trail along the Lower River Road that will link some town streets to the Down River Trail. Elmer City’s “Complete Streets” project likely will be done in 2018, Public Works Director Jimmer Tillman said last week. The work plan, shared with the town council last Thursday, calls for links from the town to the Bureau of Reclamation’s Down River Trail system along the Columbia River. One of the key elem... Full story
Electric City's Pathway and Revitalization project has been through a public input process and will soon go before the city council for adoption. The project had three community workshops, been discussed at various council meetings, commented on through a survey, and moved forward by a community advisory group. A team comprised of Assistant Professor Kathleen Ryan and students from Washington State University's Rural Communities Design Initiative, who gathered the information and put the plan... Full story
The Regional Board of Mayors discussed adding a new trailer at the Delano Transfer Station, and recycling, but didn’t act on either issue Monday. Randy Gumm, manager of the transfer station, had asked that the mayors consider purchasing another trailer. One new trailer was purchased last year for about $90,000. Currently, the transfer station has the new trailer, a second trailer that had $9,000 repairs to it last November, and a third that is in poor condition. Gumm brought up the need for another new trailer at the group’s last meeting, onl... Full story
There are a number of places within the Grand Coulee area where people can recycle or dispose of items. The idea of recycling has often come up at the Regional Board of Mayors, but not acted on because some of the towns involved don’t want to participate because of the expense. Under Grant County’s recycling directory, the following local places will take certain items for either recycling or disposal: Coulee Hardware in Grand Coulee will take rechargeable batteries (Nickel Metal Hydride (NI-MH), Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Lithium Ion (Li... Full story
Elmer City received word this week that it has been awarded a “Complete Streets” grant from the state Department of Transportation’s “Transportation Improvement Board.” Elmer City had been nominated by an unidentified agency for the $250,000 award, allowing a three-year window for the use of the funds. Public works Director Jimmer Tillman said he had been hopeful that Elmer City would be selected to receive the grant and that he had already submitted the town’s work plan to TIB and it had been approved. Tillman said that the council wil... Full story
The Electric City 25-year Pathway and Revitalization plan would change the face of the city by adding a number of visual treats. While the plan suggests a number of changes, it will depend on successful grant applications to become a reality. Its Ice Age Floods theme would take shape through sculptures and signage. A dominant feature suggested in the plan would be a metal life-sized sculpture of a woolly mammoth greeting residents and visitors who access the city from the south. The suggested mammoth is huge and a fitting symbol of the Ice Age... Full story
Elmer City and Coulee Dam are in a stink over less than $1,000 in current sewage treatment bills. Elmer City has recalculated Coulee Dam’s third quarter wastewater treatment bill by $870.74, according to exchanges between the two towns. Elmer City submitted payment of $9,034.11 on Coulee Dam’s bill for $9,904.85 covering the third quarter last year. In dispute is how Coulee Dam allocates the wastewater treatment plant manager Tim Lynch’s time. Elmer City Mayor Gail Morin says the plant operator is called on to do work outside the waste... Full story
People are frustrated with crime and feel powerless to do anything about it. That was evident at Tuesday night's Community Watch meeting held at the Almira/Coulee Dam Community Church. It was the second Community Watch meeting held in Coulee Dam in an effort to try to find a way to curb crime. About 25 people showed up for the meeting. One thing decided on was to determine places to put up neighborhood crime watch signs. The next will be how to finance the cost of the signs. One woman said she... Full story
One of Grand Coulee Dam School District's buses received damage to its front end last Thursday about 7:15 a.m. when the driver swerved off the road near Nespelem to avoid hitting a vehicle in front of it. There were no injuries, and only one child was on the bus at the time. Damage to the bus was limited to the front bumper and security arm. The Washington State Patrol issued veteran driver David Gates a citation for driving too closely. Gates has been driving bus for the district about 12... Full story
Money makes the world go around, and it also builds school classrooms. Both classrooms and money are in short supply at the Grand Coulee Dam School District, just three years after opening the new Lake Roosevelt Schools complex in 2014. Currently, the school district is in the midst of its five-year “study and survey” that will spell out the district’s classroom needs in detail. There’s currently a crunch for classroom space, specifically in the elementary wing of the school. The “study and survey,” after a review by Superintendent Paul Turner... Full story
Electric City’s 25-year Pathway and Revitalization plan is complete. This week, the Star newspaper looks at two new city parks as they are outlined in the plan. Funding for parts of the Pathway and Revitalization is anticipated through grants as they are available to the city. The two new parks are: Grand Avenue Park, with an Ice Age focus; and McNett Splashpad Park, behind the fire department building and just temporarily named. The Pathway project was just recently completed by a team of instructors and students from Washington State U... Full story
An organizational community watch meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. at the Almira/Coulee Dam Community Church. The meeting is a follow-up to an initial meeting held early in December, and is being organized by Ed Bartley. About 50 people showed up at the first meeting, alarmed by reports of burglaries and car prowls in Coulee Dam. Bartley, who has had about 50 years of experience in law enforcement-related activity, drew out concerns local residents had at the first meeting, and stated that organizing against crime would be the ta... Full story
There are over 250 probable and confirmed cases of mumps in Washington, including cases in Grant, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane and Yakima counties. The Grant County Health District encouraged residents to take every precaution to help stop the spread of the disease. Residents in the county were encouraged to be vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, stated Dr. Alexander Brzezny, health officer. Mumps is a contagious disease with more cases being reported daily. Grant County had three possible cases, all linked to the Columbia Basin Job Corps, at... Full story
Police have arrested one person and are looking for additional suspects in the burglary of Loepp Furniture early Sunday morning, Jan. 15. Officers Adam Florenzen and Chris McClanahan took part in the apprehension of a 34-year-old Omak woman, Darcy K. Edwards, who was in the driver’s seat of a pickup parked in the alley behind the store, partially filled with objects from inside. At least one other person was believed to be part of the burglary, the police report stated, and possibly two. Florenzen, on patrol, reported that as he was driving M... Full story