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 Moomaw Hearing Center is now open at 406 Burdin Boulevard in Grand Coulee. The new firm has been open a couple of weeks and is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Moomaw family has a hearing center in Omak and, in keeping with the family operation, Hanna Moomaw is the business operations manager at Grand Coulee. She says the firm will do hearing testing, hearing aid adjustments, follow-up assistance, and hearing aid cleaning. She invites the public to come in and get...
How could anyone argue about the town of Coulee Dam being a "Tree City?" Councilmember Gayle Swagerty said this week that there are officially 680 trees in the town. The emphasis on trees was a part of the Arbor Day celebration Oct. 21, at Lake Roosevelt school and one of the requirements needed to be named a "Tree City" for 2015. Coulee Dam has a long history as being recognized in the Tree City program, and if selected this year the town will repeat with this recognition. You can even see the...
The relationship between the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and Electric City reached a new low this past week. While the relationship has been simmering for a long time, it spilled over Oct. 22, when the chamber’s weekly meeting was devoted to a perceived problem in how Electric City handles its hotel/motel money. There was even a suggestion that the chamber sue the city. The situation got worse last week when the chamber sent registered letters to all Electric City’s council members, its mayor, city clerk and the city att...
Coulee Dam police have arrested an area man in connection with two recent burglaries at Riverside Lanes. Arrested and now in Okanogan County Jail is Michael Shane Snyder II, 26. Coulee Dam Police Sgt. Larry Hall said Snyder is being charged with second-degree trafficking in stolen goods, third-degree theft, and third-degree possession of stolen property. Police are still investigating, and additional charges may be added. Riverview Lanes was broken into twice in one week. The bowling alley has been closed since late summer, and the break-ins we...
Grand Coulee Dam could get a new fixture for help in repairing the big gates at the top of its spillway, one of which has been leaking since last summer. The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment to identify issues and concerns to be addressed in an Environmental Assessment for a proposed drum gate maintenance structure at Grand Coulee Dam. A major leak on drum gate three this year prevented the bureau from spilling water for a backdrop for the Laser Light Show. At that time, the agenc...
Only Electric City and Coulee Dam watched races in the battle for city council positions in the election returns last night. Electric City produced the tightest race, for a four-year term on the city council’s Position 3. Incumbent Gladys (Carol) Nordine had 81 votes, while her challenger, Birdie Hensley, had 80. Nordine won an early seat on the council this summer, filling a vacancy, and is the mother of Mayor John Nordine II, who was unchallenged for mayor and garnered 117 votes. Hensley served earlier on the council and had resigned b...
Someone broke into the old middle school in Grand Coulee last Friday night or early Saturday morning, tried to start a fire in the exercise room and caused at least $28,000 in damage. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson told school board members Monday that the parties responsible got in by breaking a window in a downstairs door. Carlson said material from a number of fire extinguishers had been sprayed throughout the gym area, at the front entrance and down the classroom hall. The fire extinguishers were not found...
The closed bowling alley in Coulee Dam was broken into twice last week, the third time burglars have entered the business since the middle of September. Coulee Dam police were notified Monday, Oct. 19, of the first break-in last week and notified again on Thursday, Oct. 22, of the second break-in. Owners Pat and Sara Zlateff were not sure of the exact time of the two burglaries because the business has been closed since late summer. The Zlateffs are in the process of cleaning up the lanes in preparation for an eventual sale and are not there...
Grand Coulee and Electric City will soon be back trying to negotiate a new police contract. Earlier in the year, the Electric City Council decided to make an agreement with Coulee Dam for police services. But the agreement was never signed. The issue took a turn when meetings with regional law enforcement officers revealed that problems with how the Okanogan County dispatch is set up might cause delays in Coulee Dam’s ability to make rapid response to emergencies. Last Tuesday night Grand Coulee Mayor Pro Tem Paul Townsend instructed his law e...
Pride in their community was the overall theme of the town council candidate forum in Coulee Dam last Thursday night. Three of six candidates showed up and had an opportunity to connect with some 15 people who attended. One candidate, David Schmidt, spoke of maintaining the appearance of the town, one of its greatest assets. He proposed more attention to parks, sidewalks and trees. Schmidt serves on the Natural Resources (tree) board. Another candidate, Herb Sherburne, who serves on the town Civ...
The Electric City Council has passed a “complete streets” ordinance that will enable the city to move forward with a half-million-dollar pathway project. Phase one of the project would connect Coulee Playland and North Dam Park and is estimated to cost about $500,000. The overall project is estimated at $2.5 million to $3 million. Councilmember Brad Parrish has stated that the pathway could eventually connect Sunbanks Lake Resort to North Dam Park. The ordinance reads: “The City of Electric City shall, to the maximum extent practical, scope...
Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson submitted his letter of resignation Monday night to the school board. He will remain until his current contract expires June 30, 2016. In his letter, Carlson stated that “it has been an incredible journey where I have met and worked with some incredible and dedicated people to change the face of our school and positively impact our community.” When Dr. Carlson came to the district, he had only planned to be here a short time. But a massive building project got in the way, and, in...
Those falling leaves! You can do something about them in November when the Regional Board of Mayors have their free dump at the Delano Regional Transfer Station, Nov. 14 – 21. The governing board has set two free dates each year in an effort to help residents get rid of their lawn and garden waste. The other one is in the spring. The transfer station will allow residents within the garbage district to bring their lawn and garden debris to Delano and discard it without charge. There are a few regulations, though. It’s yard waste only. Off...
In keeping with its decision to make the change at its meeting a month ago, the city of Grand Coulee revised its municipal code last week to strike out references to compliance with “federal law” for those seeking a business license. With the “federal law” revision ,the city opened the way to issue a business license for a marijuana retail store if an application is made again. Earlier this year, an application for a marijuana retail store was rejected by the city because the “federal law” reference was still in its municipal code. But the pas...
Residents of Coulee Dam will have an opportunity to get to know at least some of their candidates for city council positions in the November 3rd election. A forum will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, in the community room at city hall. Scott Hunter, publisher of The Star newspaper, will act as moderator of the event. Six candidates running for the three open council positions have been invited to participate in the forum, but only three plan to attend. Candidates will have an opportunity to provide information about themselves...
The Regional Board of Mayors effort to begin a recycling program is in a tailspin. Even its chairman, Electric City Mayor John Nordine III, said he wasn’t in favor of it. The mayors had agreed to take the recycling issue to their respective councils, getting permission to purchase a $13,000 recycling bin. The first town to address the issue was Elmer City. Its council didn’t even vote on it and said no thanks. Electric City’s council was cool to the idea and was fearful that it would force garbage rates to increase. Councilmember Richard McGui...
A conditional-use permit may be the best way Grand Coulee can move forward to allow a Grand Coulee couple to purchase Center School. Mervin and MaryJo Monteith appeared before the planning commission last week to pursue interest in putting in a fiber processing center in the old Center School building. The city’s planning commission was unable to move forward on the issue because only Chairman Tammara Byers was present for the meeting. The city did have its planner, Jerry Litt, of SCJ Alliance, at the meeting, trying to walk the re-zone r...
Some people are lucky and choose vocations that are also their hobbies. That's true with Dennis Buchanan, who owns and runs Buchanan Armory in Electric City. "I've always loved guns," he said Tuesday. Buchanan came to the area after applying for and getting a position with the Bureau of Reclamation. That was from 2007 to 2010. The new gunsmith (he has been open nearly a year) has a small shop on the highway across from the Vet Center. Got a trigger problem with your gun? He can fix it. He loves...
Electric City struck down its own “longevity pay schedule” at its meeting last week. The city had passed a resolution in 2002, initiated by then-mayor Ray Halsey, affirming the benefits of attracting and keeping key employees by giving them a longevity pay raise after 25 and 30 years employment. Halsey at the time wanted a method to keep key employees on the job, and thought that a bump in pay was the way to do that. The resolution grandfathered in employees who had 10 years in at the time of the resolution. Two employees have benefited fro...
Police and school officials followed up on what they thought was a threat against Lake Roosevelt Schools last Friday. According to a police report, Vice Principal Paul Turner received a call from a person in Bridgeport who said he had overheard what he thought was a threat against the school. He had attended a volleyball match Thursday evening and recounted to Turner what he overheard between two male students. Police were called and school personnel locked outer doors to make sure they knew who was in the building. Meanwhile, security camera...
Residents of Coulee Dam will have an opportunity to get to know at least some of their candidates for town council positions in the Nov. 3 election. The forum will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at the community room at city hall. Scott Hunter, publisher of The Star newspaper, will serve as moderator of the event. Candidates, six of whom are running for the three open council positions, have been invited to participate in the forum, but only three plan to attend. Candidates will have an opportunity to provide information about t...
The Regional Board of Mayors’ limited recycling project never made it out of the chutes before it was shot down by Elmer City’s town council. The RBOM had proposed the purchase of a 30 cubic yard, $13,000 recycling bin. The four mayors were to take the proposal to their councils. The first to try to do so was Mayor Gail Morin, who explained to her council that Elmer City’s prorated share of the bin’s cost was $780. The council said “no.” The proposal had Sunrise Disposal hauling recyclables to Okanogan’s recycling place for a charge of $74 an h...
A house fire Sunday at 228 B Continental Heights that did major damage to the interior is still under investigation, according to Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Chief Richard Paris. The alarm sounded at 9:12 p.m. and fire units from Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam and the Bureau of Reclamation responded. The house is owned by J & G NW Enterprises of Stanwood, Washington. It was rented to Crystal Adolph and family. No one was home at the time of the fire. Paris said the cause of the fire is...
Grand Coulee’s ambulance rates are going up. But it isn’t as bad as it sounds, volunteer Fire Chief Richard Paris told the Grand Coulee city council last Tuesday night. He explained that, while the rates are going up, the new rates will include some services that had been charged separately before. Paris said a third-party billing company that handles some 150 ambulance accounts said Grand Coulee is the only one that breaks out supplies and charges separately for them. “We are folding the break-out charges into the basic charge, which will...
A 26-year-old Nespelem man was arrested and jailed in Grant County after a high-speed chase through parts of four counties on Saturday night. Arrested was Jory L. Vallee, who was driving a car police said was stolen. He was able to avoid multiple police cars at speeds up to 80 mph, police reported. Police say it was the second such occurrence for Vallee, who on Aug. 12, was able to outrun police while driving a vehicle and ending up somewhere above Keller on a logging road. Police said they are recommending that the prosecutor’s office c...