News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Nella is getting a second chance. She's an 18-year-old broodmare that now has a new home through the Grand Coulee Animal Rescue and Sanctuary. Nella is now enjoying a green pasture existence at a Malott location after being "rescued" from neglect and indifference. Her new owners are Dave and Nancy Bishop. It's the third adoption of a horse where the animals have been rescued and then released to caring and loving new families, , Director Heather Downs stated. One horse has also moved into a...
More of money collected to boost tourism and related jobs will be allowed to to do so following a move by councils in Electric City and Coulee Dam last week. Electric City annually has put half its hotel/motel tax revenue into a reserve fund. The council voted to cut that to 25 percent, making more available for promoting the area. The money is generated by local motels and campgrounds is supposed to be targeted to promote the area so tourism as a local industry can grow. Still left in Electric City’s coffers is some $300,000 of the funds colle...
A new effort to become certified in grading animal fiber by Maryjo Monteith, of Spring Canyon Alpacas, could take up to two years, she indicated recently. The grading system includes fiber from alpacas, llamas, sheep and Angora rabbits, and will help those who raise the animals control the fiber and production of items made from the hair. Monteith started the process of certification under the tutorage of Vicki Eberhart, president of the North American Wool Cooperative, centered in Okanogan...
Electric City is looking for law enforcment support other than from Grand Coulee, the city with which it has contracted for decades to police its streets. The city council committee on law enforcement was instructed by council last Tuesday night to go shopping. Councilmembers Brad Parrish and Aaron Derr will approach Coulee Dam to see if that town is interested in providing police services to Electric City. It appeared for a while that the question had been solved for at least 2015, when the law enforcement committees from both Electric City...
The independence of Grand Coulee’s Civil Service Commission is being challenged, chair Alan Cain said this week. “Our attorney, Scott W. Detro, of Omak, has informed me that City Attorney Julie Norton has advised him not to do work for the Civil Service Commission because the city won’t pay him for it,” Cain said. He was advised that the CSC would have to use the city’s attorney for legal advice. “Where’s the independence?” Cain asked. The independence is being challenged by other means. City Councilmember David Tylor said this week that Norto...
When a cockatiel says "pretty bird" it isn't because it has a super large ego, it's just a fact. Cockatiels, while a bit messy, are beautiful and a lot smarter than you would think. Peggy Sandgren, of Delano, got a pair just over a year ago, and now has five. She is trying to sell two. While cockatiels don't have a large vocabulary, they can be taught a few words; not enough to carry on a conversation. Males speak more than females, and even can learn to whistle. But if you work with them, they...
Recycling in the Coulee got a breath of fresh air Monday at the Regional Board of Mayors meeting. Every time the recycling idea seems dead, someone brings it back to life. Dick Howe, of Sunrise Disposal, responded to criticism that his firm hadn’t done enough to bring recycling to the Coulee area. He agreed to look into the placement of recycling bins in the area, and what the cost might be. However, in essence, the problem is how to make a cash cow out of a sow’s ear. There’s no money in it, and as it has been explained to the mayors on sever...
Students were back in school Thursday after a smoking electrical panel gave them a near two-day break last week. It all happened on Tuesday at about 9:20 a.m. when a malfunction of the main circuit electrical panel in the school kitchen prompted officials to evacuate the building. The school district had the opportunity to practice its evacuation plan, which Superintendent Dennis Carlson said worked quite well. Students were led to a predetermined place outside the building and then, because it was cold outside, taken to the high school gym....
Electric City voters Tuesday turned down a property tax levy that would have raised money to support police protection. The vote was 90 yes votes (34 percent) and 170 no votes (65 percent). Proposition 1 would have raised about $55,000 to $60,000, according to Mayor Jerry Sands, and cost a homeowner whose house is valued at $100,000 about $90 a year extra in property taxes. Coupled with the $80,000 now being spent by the city, this would have given the city about $140,000 for police services. “We will have to see what the council wants to do n...
Smoke from an electrical panel in the new school kitchen set off an alarm and caused evacuation of some 700 students at about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday. The incident put the Lake Roosevelt schools' emergency plan into action and students were walked to the old Lake Roosevelt High School gym to await the arrival of parents and buses to take them home for the day. School will remain closed for students Wednesday while the electrical problem is repaired. Staff, however, will report for duty, and one of the...
An offer of seven camels for your hand in marriage might sound a little strange. But Kuwait is a strange place, as witnessed by American Legion Post 157 Commander Cindy Jane. Jane was elected commander of the local post a couple of years ago and that keeps her in the role of giving back to her community - a role she likes. She spent two years in the air force before getting out to raise a family, and then later 20 years in the naval reserve, with stints in Iraq and Kuwait. It was in Kuwait,...
Grand Coulee’s Civil Service Commission started advertising for a police chief in today’s Star newspaper and in statewide law enforcement journals. Application packets need to be in to the CSC by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the commissioners will hold their next meeting. The process has been delayed by a miscommunications between Mayor Chris Christopherson and the commissioners over the salary range. The salary range set by the mayor is $6,600 to $7,200 a month, depending on experience. When the CSC drew up its first draft, it showed the ran...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board authorized the purchase of Center School and land adjacent to it at its meeting Monday night. The title to the site used by local school districts for decades stipulated that ownership would revert to a private holding company if it was no longer to be used for a school. The price to see that that doesn’t happen, said district Superintendent Dennis Carlson, is $155,000. The sale will give the district clear title for the Center School building and surrounding land for a total of 8.465 acres. Carlson s...
Halloween for a couple of houses in the area is a real production. Children have a couple of favorite places to visit on Halloween, one in Electric City and the other in Coulee Dam. Dale and Vel Walker, at 107 E. Grand Avenue in Electric City, start about two weeks before Oct. 31. The Walkers get about 300 visitors during Halloween evening. "We try to change things a little each year," Dale said Monday. One of his old standbys is the person who is actually buried and comes up out of the ground....
Grand Coulee Mayor Chris Christopherson has lost his bid to remove the police chief job from Civil Service Commission protection. He has stated it was his goal to remove the police chief from under the Civil Service Commission. He made that official last Tuesday night when he asked the city council to support this effort. His proposal failed 4-1 as the council rejected the idea, questioning his reasons for seeking the change. Christopherson reasoned that no other city department heads — the clerk, city foreman — fell under civil service pro...
Following the move from the old elementary and middle school buildings in Grand Coulee to the new school complex in Coulee Dam, hundreds of items left in the two buildings will be tagged for sale. The new school has all new furnishings, so the desks, chairs and more from the old schools need to find a new home. Those items from the old Center Elementary School were declared surplus Monday night by the Grand Coulee Dam School District board. Items will be offered first to other school districts and government agencies, and after 30 days will be...
The Grand Coulee Dam School Districts board at its Monday night meeting approved seven construction change orders for $613,199 for work relating to the building of the new school complex, upgrading the old high school and associated work: • $109,312 for construction of stairs to the lower campus, not in the original design, but needed due to the extension of the retaining wall that was connected to the gymnasium foundation. • $243,278 to resurface tennis courts, repairing major cracks using post-tensioned concrete to be colored and str...
Dr. Dennis Carlson’s contract as superintendent of schools was extended for an additional year by the Grand Coulee Dam School District board Monday night. The extension will take Carlson’s contract through June 30, 2016. This is the second extension of Carlson’s contract. Carlson came to the district in 2010, and immediately started working on funding for the district’s new school complex, which was completed in September. Carlson has stated that he would like to continue with the effort to develop the new gym before he retires from the dis...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board approved a number of hires, allowed a leave of absence, and approved the retirement of a veteran counselor at its meeting Monday night. The board met in the new school after providing a tour of the building for the North Central Washington Educational Service District board of directors and Superintendent Richard McBride and hosting the group for an evening dinner. The board meeting started at 7 p.m. The board approved eight hires for the 21st Century SHARP Kids program. Hired for that program were...
Smoke from an electrical panel in the new school kitchen set off an alarm and caused evacuation of some 700 students at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. The incident put the school's emergency plan into action and students were walked to the old Lake Roosevelt High School gym awaiting the arrival of parents and buses to take them home for the day. School will reopen Thursday, after the electrical panel is checked and fixed, and after staff has been briefed on Wednesday regarding the incident. There...
The Grand Coulee Planning Commission turned back visitor input last Wednesday night so that members could discuss among themselves the merits of accommodating a request for a zoning change so that an auto repair business could move to a new location. MPH Automotive is located on Midway Avenue at Spokane Way where it is “grandfathered” in because it was already there when new zoning laws were created. Chair and Councilmember Tammara Byers said the planning commission wasn’t taking public comments that night, but would at its next meeting, Nov....
Grant County Transit officials have their fingers crossed that their plans for a transportation hub in the middle of downtown Moses Lake will become a reality and link far flung corners of the county to other transportation. The GTA’s longest route is the one that comes to the Grand Coulee area, about 77 miles. The group submitted a grant request to the state Department of Transportation Oct. 6, for $1.998 million, according to Lyle Brand, hub project manager. The proposed “hub” project is located at Division and 5th Streets on 1.1 acres near...
You can get a coat, free, Nov. 1, at the American Legion’s “free coat” giveaway. The coats were gathered during the Legion’s summer garage sale each Saturday at the Vet’s Center in Electric City, where people donated items for the sale. “No one wanted coats in the summer, so we decided to make then available later for those who need coats,” stated Cindy James, legion commander. The coats have been cleaned, come in all sizes, and some have scarves. James stated that everything is free to the public. And to make it an event, the legion is als...
The issue of a lack of a local recycling program was raised again at the Regional Board of Mayors meeting Monday afternoon. Raising the issue was Gayle Swagerty, mayor pro-tem of Coulee Dam, who was filling in for Mayor Greg Wilder who is recovering from a stroke. She read from the mayors’ contract with Sunrise Disposal that recycling was part of the agreement. Swagerty it had come up at one of her town’s meetings. The mayors have had similar discussions before and explained that the economy of scale wouldn’t permit recycling beyond corru...
Electric City is inching closer to a new logo. The council looked at four samples developed by graphic artist Richard Button and council members had a good time selecting the one they liked. The problem was that several preferences were noted. At one point it was suggested that they have one of the logos for vehicles and a different one for letterheads. But the council finally settled on one, with mayor Jerry Sands making some small alterations to the design. The council wants to change the color scheme of the logo. The logo design is oval...