News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Carrie Derr’s sixth grade class let the school board know how they felt about school uniforms Monday night. The school board has discussed pursuing school uniforms for next fall to begin the 2016-17 school year. A special committee will be formed to work on the project. Earlier this year, administrators reported to the board that an unofficial poll of teachers indicated the majority were in favor of the idea. The school uniform plan, if initiated, would involve all grades and even the staff, according to preliminary comments made at board m... Full story
Riverview Lanes has set Tuesday, Dec. 8, as its opening date. New owner Scott Elmore said Monday that he still had some minor mechanical problems to iron out before the lanes would be ready. He had earlier scheduled the opening date for Dec. 1. Elmore, along with former lanes owner Pat Zlateff, has been reconditioning the mechanics of the eight-lane operation for several weeks. A couple of mechanical problems cropped up over the weekend, forcing Elmore to delay the opening. He has been working with the town to finalize a new lease on the... Full story
A state official will give a public talk in Coulee Dam next week, where he will also speak with town officials about the possibility of designating parts of town as a historical site. Michael Houser, from the State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, will speak at a Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the town hall Dec. 10. The event is open to the public. The price for the catered lunch will be $10; and those wishing to attend the Thursday lunch must call the... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s Vintners & Brewers Tasting and Auction event this Saturday night has 13 tickets left at press time. The chamber has been holding the event for nearly 20 years. It is always held the first Saturday of December. The event will be in the community room at Coulee Dam Town Hall, where doors will open at 6 p.m. It features dinner, wine and beer tasting, and an auction. Auction items have been donated by both local and outside the area businesses and individuals. Tucker Cool from Dayton will be the a... Full story
Coulee Dam could have a new police chief sometime in December. Town officials were busy Monday, interviewing the top three candidates provided by the Civil Service Commission, which narrowed the list of candidates down from 10 who applied for the position. Civil Service Commission member Herb Sherburne stated last week that all applicants were from Eastern Washington. Town Mayor Greg Wilder said he had planned to complete the interviews of the three on Monday and then would wait until all the background checks were made before making a... Full story
The idea of joining two or more local towns into one involves a lot of factors, not to mention public opinion, which might soon be addressed if two cities are willing to fund a consultant’s help. A proposed agreement between the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and SCJ Alliance to consider issues pertaining to consolidating Grand Coulee and Electric City is moving forward and awaits details of Grand Coulee’s 2016 budget decisions. The chamber hopes to enter into an agreement with the SCJ group from Wenatchee to provide planning service... Full story
The first of December is still the target date for the reopening of the bowling alley in Coulee Dam, the new owner said Tuesday. Scott Elmore said the Riverview Lanes and working areas are ready for business. “We have the lanes up and working and I’ve just a few more things to do before we can welcome customers,” Elmore stated. Most of the equipment has been refurbished, the lanes treated, and, Elmore said, the lanes will be ready for play. He plans to be open Tuesdays through Saturdays, continuing the same hours as the lanes were open befor... Full story
After more than a year of on-and-off negotiations, and an interlude with a third town, Grand Coulee and Electric City are set to wrap up an extension of their current police contract in December, ensuring police protection for Electric City in 2016. The new agreement proposed by Grand Coulee is for a two-year period at a basic annual cost of $125,000. The agreement calls for Grand Coulee police to answer all police calls, provide traffic control (including radar), check on business buildings during the night, do regular car patrols, do... Full story
Three representatives of area organizations went mining for a slice of Grand Coulee’s lodging tax funds for 2016, and they came out winners. Now it all depends on the city council passing its new budget, a task that will likely happen in December. Peggy Nevsimal, executive director of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, attended the city council last Tuesday to ask for $13,325, for advertising and promoting the area. She got it. George Kohout, president of the Ridge Riders Saddle Club, asked for $12,500. He got his amount. And Bob V... Full story
There could be an announcement soon on who is going to be Coulee Dam’s new police chief. The town’s Civil Service Commission, made up of Herb Sherburne, Joe Tynan and Councilmember Shawn Derrick, has received 10 applications of interest in the position. The commission has pared this down to six final candidates. A four-member interview team, made up of Sherburne, Tynan, town Councilmember Ken Miles and Nate Piturachsatit finished interviewing six of the 10 candidates who made it to the interview process last Saturday. Sherburne said the six... Full story
Some streets in Electric City will be receiving new names and numbers as a result of an ordinance passed last week by the Electric City council. The new names and numbering are being assigned to those properties that were taken in at the city’s latest annexation. The city has been working with the property owners affected in an effort to make the changeover without a hitch. A few of the property owners attended the last council meeting and seemed satisfied with the explanations given by Deputy Clerk Russell Powers. The numbering changes will m... Full story
There could be an announcement soon on who is going to be Coulee Dam’s new police chief. The town’s Civil Service Commission, made up of Herb Sherburne, Joe Tynan and Councilmember Shawn Derrick, has received 10 applications of interest in the position. The commission has pared this down to six final candidates. A four-member interview team, made up of Sherburne, Tynan, town Councilmember Ken Miles and Nate Piturachsatit finished interviewing six of the 10 candidates who made it to the interview process last Saturday. Sherburne said the six... Full story
High on the list of things to do for the school board is to find a new superintendent. Present superintendent, Dr. Dennis Carlson, has indicated to the board that he plans to retire when his contract is up, June 30, 2016. Carlson has been in the district for five years. That item will likely be on the agenda when the board meets Nov. 30. The board has several options, including the hiring of a search consultant to assist them. When school board members attended the Washington State School Directors meeting last week in Bellevue, they had an... Full story
The Electric City Council has agreed in principle to a proposal by Grand Coulee to provide police services to the city. The particulars were scratched out over an earlier agreement between the two parties and the council asked that it be finished up and prepared for adoption at its Dec. 8 meeting. The agreement for 2016 and 2017 would have Electric City pay $125,000 for Grand Coulee’s police services the first year. For 2017, the amount would increase according to the Consumer Price Index, not to be less than 2 percent or more than 5 p... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation is going green. You will soon see the all new electric-powered vehicles the bureau has added to its vehicle fleet. They are so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. That is a fair description of the Bureau of Reclamation's new electric utility vehicle (EUV) fleet of 27 passenger and maintenance vehicles. The vehicles will be seen throughout the Grand Coulee Dam Project area soon and will save the government an estimated 10 to 15 percent a year in just gasoline...
Elmer City hopes to establish a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) which will allow the town to collect $20 on most new licenses issued for vehicles. The town will have a public hearing on the issue at 6:45, Thursday, Dec. 10, and will have an ordinance on the agenda that night for passage. The town council has indicated that any funds generated through a Transportation Benefit District would go into the town’s street fund for the improvement of town streets. After the TBD has been in effect for 24 months, the town may collect $40 per v... Full story
A dog owned by a city employee in Electric City was declared a "dangerous dog" at the council meeting last Tuesday night. The owner of the dog, Jared L. Armstrong, of 32 Hillcrest Place, who is an employee of the city's public works department, appeared to defend his dog. The gray, tan and white dog with spots, named Felicia, about 40 pounds, was described by Armstrong as nothing more than a 10-month-old puppy. "I would have brought him tonight and he would have probably licked all of you and... Full story
Electric City council agreed to the allotment of hotel/motel tax money for 2016 at its meeting last Tuesday and will consider keeping more than a quarter million dollars in tourism-promotion funds toward funding a pathway. The council tourism committee, made up of councilmembers Brad Parrish and Richard McGuire, recommended allotting the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce $25,000 for tourism promotion, with the stipulation that $3,200 be taken from that amount to make up for overpayments the city made during 2015. That created a debate... Full story
The Ridge Riders have received another banner for being named Pro-West "Rodeo of the Year" for their Colorama Rodeo last May. "We couldn't do this without everyone in our organization doing their part," Ridge Riders President George Kohout said. Kohout has been president for the past four years, with the Ridge Riders winning the top rodeo-of-the-year award three of those years. The Professional Western Rodeo Association sanctions about 60 rodeos throughout the West. The Ridge Riders will be... Full story
City hall in Electric City will get a facelift sometime in 2016. The council tucked away a little over $26,000 to dress up the city’s municipal building. The building is targeted for a repair of existing concrete blocks, a paint job, a rock wainscoting on the outside, plus three new air conditioning units. The city is also planning on a new sign on the side of the building and a small readerboard sign to advertise its meetings and other information to the public. The color of the building hasn’t been determined, officials said. In the past two... Full story
Three important steps are in the works for Electric City’s pathway project. That project would, if everything worked out, build a pedestrian and bicycle pathway from Sunbanks Lake Resort to North Dam Park, in different phases. Phase one would be from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park. No date has been set for the start of the project, but one meeting was held last Tuesday. That phase is estimated at $500,000. One of the first steps will occur next Tuesday when the city council is expected to provide $40,000 from its lodging tax money for a c... Full story
One of the issues Electric City council members will decide next Tuesday night when they meet is whether they want to pay themselves. The issue has come up twice in the past and both times was voted down by the council. Most small cities and towns pay council members by the meeting, but not all, and never much. City Clerk Jackie Perman said that the resolution will suggest $20 per meeting, and not to exceed two meetings a month. The council as a whole meets once a month, but various members have committee meetings. Also on the agenda will be... Full story
This could be good news for area bowlers. Riverview Lanes could be opening again, with a new owner, perhaps as early as Dec. 1. “There are still a lot of things that have to happen, but I am working toward that opening date,” said Scott Elmore, a westsider who looks forward to life on the east side of the state. Elmore is working with the owners of the alley, Pat and Sara Zlateff, on the details of the sale, the reconditioning of parts of the alley, and with the town of Coulee Dam. Riverview Lanes was broken into twice in October, and dam... Full story
Pat Zlateff is anything but your typical veteran. Most local people will remember him as owner of Riverview Lanes, where he and his wife, Sara, kept the bowling alley in Coulee Dam open because the couple thought local people deserved a place to go for fun and enjoyment. Pat graduated from Coulee Dam High School back in 1964, having spent two years at Grand Coulee High School and finishing up at Coulee Dam. Then Pat got in some time at Eastern Washington University and played as a running back... Full story
There will be some new faces on both the Electric City and Coulee Dam councils in 2016. In Electric City, former council- woman Birdie Hensley will have a seat back on the council, after defeating Gladys (Carol) Nordine, 142-126. Nordine had led in the Position 3 race at the end of polling Tuesday by a single vote, 81-80. Nordine had been appointed to her position this summer to fill a vacancy. In other Electric City council races, Richard McGuire won re-election to Position 2, by defeating Daniel Greeley, 168-74. Brad Parrish won his Position... Full story