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  • Feed available for game birds

    Roger S Lucas|Jan 6, 2016

    Feed is available for POWER game bird feeders, the president of the organization, Carl Russell, said last week. Russell said the feed is available at his barn. Those feeding game birds are advised to only take two sacks at a time and to feed only as long as there are several inches of snow on the ground. POWER (Promoters of Wildlife and Environmental Resources) also is in charge of feeding and releasing game fish into Banks Lake. Russell explained that the group does not have any fish in the... Full story

  • Bureau fire station to be built next year

    Roger S Lucas|Jan 6, 2016

    The Bureau of Reclamation’s new fire station will be built early in 2017, an official said Monday. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said current plans call for construction to start early in 2017, and that it would take about a year to construct the 21,500-square-foot facility. The bureau announced in mid-December that the fire facility would be built on land it already owns, near the intersection of B Street and State Route 155. The bureau made the announcement after an environmental assessment was completed recently. The purpose of t... Full story

  • Slow wreck elicits ticket

    Roger S Lucas|Jan 6, 2016

    A Grand Coulee driver was given a ticket for driving too fast for road conditions after he rolled his vehicle over where B Street meets the Bureau of Reclamation Industrial area Dec. 27. The driver, Igor Victorovich Kudas, 30, told police he was only going about 20 mph when his Toyota Tundra truck started sliding and made a slow rollover. Kudas said both side-panel air bags deployed. He was not injured. Kudas was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the mishap. Jack’s Towing helped get the vehicle back on its wheels. Police reported that t... Full story

  • Former mosquito district clerk charged with theft in the first degree

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    A former mosquito district clerk is being charged with theft in the first degree and misappropriation of funds by the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office. Karyn M. Byam, 40, of Electric City, who was a clerk for Grant County Mosquito District 2, was charged Dec. 17, on the two counts and probably will be arraigned sometime in early January, county Prosecutor Garth Dano said last week. Byam allegedly wrote checks for herself for some $129,834, which were questionable, according to a state audit conducted earlier this year and a months-long investig... Full story

  • Consolidation study sidelined by budgets, more

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    A study of consolidating two local cities is off the books. Neither Electric City nor Grand Coulee put funding in their budgets to pay for it, and a second reason is more critical than the cost of the study, according to one councilmember. In order to consolidate the two cities, one of them would have to annex either Delano or the land between North Dam Park and Coulee Playland. There is no land where the two cities have a common boundary. Grand Coulee Councilmember Tom Poplawski pointed this out at that city’s council meeting Dec. 22, and a... Full story

  • New Grand Coulee leadership seated

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    Grand Coulee has a new mayor: Paul Townsend. He replaces Chris Christopherson, who chose not to run for re-election in November. Townsend ran unopposed, and has served as councilman and mayor pro tem. He, along with Councilmember Gary Carriere, who had filed for Townsend's seat, both take on new duties. Councilmembers Tom Poplawski, David Tylor and Erin Nielsen, who had won re-election, were all sworn in Dec. 22, at the regular council meeting. Carriere is a member of the Electric City... Full story

  • Tourism funding is reduced

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    Grand Coulee has revised downward the amount of hotel/motel tax funds it is going to give out in 2016, after last summer’s smoky tourist season. The city had received requests from four organizations totaling $34,325, but is only going to fund $22,870. The decision was made Dec. 22 as the city council approved its $3,041,419.22 budget for 2016. Grand Coulee had given out $34,000 in 2015. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce had requested $13,325, but will receive $8,900. The Ridge Riders had requested $12,500, but will receive $... Full story

  • Local cowboy takes third in nationals

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    Shane Proctor jumped from eighth to third place in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas earlier this month. Proctor had won it all in 2011, sewing up the world bull riding championship in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. His hometown, Grand Coulee, honored Proctor by erecting a sign at the south end of Midway Avenue calling attention to his note- worthy achievement. On Dec. 13, Proctor, who graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School in 2003, finished competition by riding five of 10 bulls for a payday of $113,385, bringing... Full story

  • Wording difference bumps police services contract

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    A contract between Grand Coulee and Electric City for police services has been stalled and won’t be resolved until early 2016. Grand Coulee’s city council voted Dec. 22 to extend its current contract, which expires Dec. 31, until new language, inserted since the council committees agreed on the new two-year contract, can be adjusted. The two council committees had a handshake agreement early in December, but after that agreement attorneys had inserted language that the two parties hadn’t yet agreed on. Just a formality, members of the Grand... Full story

  • Man banned from a house arrested for burglary

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 30, 2015

    An Elmer City man was arrested and taken to Grant County Jail after he allegedly entered a house in Grand Coulee from which he had been banned. Police said Richard C. Rutledge, 63, of 40 Williams Street, had removed items from a house where he had earlier been banned from entering. In addition to a burglary charge, Rutledge faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, third-degree theft, making false statements to a public servant, and obstructing law enforcement. When police arrived at the Roosevelt Drive location, their report... Full story

  • Study of joining cities unlikely next year

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 23, 2015

    Prospects of a study in 2016 on the possibility of consolidating the cities of Grand Coulee and Electric City are unlikely. Hopes dimmed last week when $10,000 towards the study became a victim of Grand Coulee’s budget crunching. The hope had been that Electric City would follow through with $15,000 toward the study and that Grand Coulee would come up with another $15,000. Electric City’s $15,000 didn’t make it into its 2016 budget, and the $15,000 for Grand Coulee, which had already been whittled down to $10,000, didn’t make it either.... Full story

  • Commission to decide future of community stone church

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 23, 2015

    The future of the Coulee Dam Community Presbyterian Church will likely be decided sometime in 2016. The decision is up to a Presbytery Commission, made up of a handful of people that includes former Pastor Muriel Brown of Ellensburg, who chairs the group, and local elder Jerry Kennedy. Kennedy said Friday that the commission takes over responsibility for the church Jan. 1. The local congregation plans a Christmas Eve service and another service Dec. 27. After that, the local congregation will be disbanded. Kennedy said the heat will remain on... Full story

  • Bureau to build new fire station on own land

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 23, 2015

    The Bureau of Reclamation has selected its site for a new fire station. Bureau of Reclamation officials announced Friday that it will build its 21,500-square-foot fire station near the intersection of B Street and Highway 155. The site, which was the bureau’s preferred site, is on land already owned by the federal government and is outside the west administration/industrial gate area. A second site considered, managed by the National Park Service, was in the Crescent Bay area. The announcement came after the bureau had completed its e... Full story

  • Ridge Riders plan for another banner year

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 23, 2015

    The Ridge Riders are gearing up for another run at "Rodeo of the Year" honors. The Delano organization has won the award three of the past four years and has another busy schedule for 2016, President George Kohout said this week. Any honors the club receives are due to the outstanding team the organization has put together, he said. Kohout will continue in 2016 for his fifth year as president. Other officers will be Wayne Fowler, vice president; Bonnie Brakebill, treasurer; Danielle Florenzen,... Full story

  • City will hold trail meeting next month

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 16, 2015

    The new year will kick off with the first major Electric City trail project meeting. Councilmember Brad Parrish, who is heading up the effort, said last week that he plans a stakeholder meeting Wednesday, Jan. 20, somewhere in the area. That’s about a week after the city council will consider a proposal to commit 150 percent of next year’s projected tourism-tax-fund balance on the pathway along Banks Lake. The meeting will include stakeholders like Coulee Medical Center; Gray & Osborne; the National Park Service; The NPS Rivers, Trails and Cons... Full story

  • Consolidation effort rests with area mayors

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 16, 2015

    A proposal to study whether consolidating two local cities makes sense now depends on the leadership of the mayors of Electric City and Grand Coulee. The Electric City Council last week ducked the issue again and is leaving it up to the two mayors to come up with a joint resolution. Consolidation, and the funding of any study, has been bounced around at several council meetings in both cities, with no resolution. The chamber of commerce has offered to be the glue that holds the consolidation effort together, using a Wenatchee consulting firm, S... Full story

  • Elmer City stays lone sewer plant course

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 16, 2015

    Elmer City’s town council reaffirmed its plan to move on with developing its own wastewater treatment plant last Thursday night. The council set its project schedule to have its engineering report completed by October of 2016. Elmer City is in its 41st year of a 50-year agreement with Coulee Dam, which treats its wastewater, so the council has plenty of time to complete its own plant. Elmer City’s sewage constitutes about 23 percent of Coulee Dam’s plant flow. Meanwhile, Coulee Dam’s town council members gave Mayor Greg Wilder verbal support... Full story

  • Tree discussion gets intense at Coulee Dam

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 16, 2015

    A Coulee Dam resident admonished locals for feeding deer and squirrels and proclaimed that it was unlawful to do so. The subject then turned to trees, and that's when the Coulee Dam town council meeting last Wednesday turned ugly. Bruce Bartoo, who lives on Stevens Street, started the public discussion off with his comments about deer and squirrels, then quickly brought up the fact that he wanted to cut down two town-owned trees. He said the roots were destroying the town's sidewalk and his... Full story

  • Historic registry might not be what you think

    Roger S Lucas and Scott Hunter|Dec 16, 2015

    A state preservation official Thursday dispelled myths and disclosed some little-known facts about what happens when property is declared "historic" and entered on a registry. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Coulee Dam had invited Michael Houser, of the Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, to speak about the registry issue at a joint noon meeting last Thursday held in the community room at town hall. There was interest in the town to see if some of... Full story

  • School district taking applications for new leader

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 16, 2015

    The search for a new superintendent for the Grand Coulee Dam School District officially got underway Tuesday. Applications open first for candidates from within the district and will remain open until Jan. 4, 2016. The board has scheduled an application screening period Jan. 5–8, for members to screen any internal candidates. An interview schedule has been set for Jan. 12–13. If no one is selected through this process, then applications will be accepted from those outside the district right after the internal applicant interviews. The new sup... Full story

  • Community-built church will close

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 9, 2015

    The historic Coulee Dam Community Church will soon close. One official at the church, Jerry Kennedy, said that the Christmas Eve service and one later in the month could be the final services. The late December gathering has been set for Dec. 27, at 3 p.m. The community is invited to attend and encouraged to comment on their memories of the church and share any pictures they may have. The church has had an aging, and diminishing number in, its congregation for a long time. About 20 attend on a... Full story

  • Boys and their big booms rouse the coulee

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 9, 2015

    BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The sound of loud booms ricocheting off the canyon walls last Friday and Saturday caught the attention of many local residents. Not to worry, though, it was all a group of pyrotech club people demonstrating their rocket prowess. Alan Cain, one of the members of the Northwest Pyrotechnics Association, said the 10 members who showed up for the fun were amazed at how the sound reverberated through the area. "One person said it was the best he had ever seen," Cain stated. And it... Full story

  • Ruthless dictator won't get a street name

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 9, 2015

    The staff at Grand Coulee’s city hall are still scratching their heads over this item. City Clerk Carol Boyce received a letter recently asking the city to not rename Main Street to “Ziaur Rahman Street.” They were wondering who thought the city was going to do so. The letter was signed by Bangladesh Ambassador M. Ziauddin of Washington D.C. “It has been recently noted that initiatives are being taken to name streets, roads and important parts of cities and towns in the USA after Major General Ziaur Rahman who in 1977 had unlawfully seized... Full story

  • Amazon shoppers can donate to hospital guild

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 9, 2015

    Purchases made at Amazon, the giant online retailer, can now benefit the Coulee Medical Center Guild. Guild President Clea Pryor told The Star Monday that her organization had been selected as a participating charity by Amazon. Pryor stated that if you go to AmazonSmile.com it will ask to what charity you want a donation to go. If you select or add Coulee Medical Center Guild, the guild will get 0.5 percent of the sale, at no additional cost. “Not all items fall within their charity giving,” Pryor stated. She said she tried the system, and it... Full story

  • Cities consolidation outlook is cloudy

    Roger S Lucas|Dec 2, 2015

    An effort to get talks going on consolidating two local cities may be in jeopardy. A decision Feb. 10, by Electric City’s council, to move forward in support of an independent study, was not a formal vote, according to City Clerk Jackie Perman. At the city council meeting on that date, a motion was made and seconded to move forward with providing up to $15,000 for a study by consultant SCJ Alliance, facilitated by the local chamber of commerce. The council was asked for a show of hands to show who was in favor of the idea. A majority of the c... Full story

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