News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Forty students graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School Saturday as the class of 2023 gathered for that last time - on the stage at the gym in gown and cap. Much about the speeches echoed those sentiments that rightly drip from every high school graduation - "the last time," "the next chapter," and so forth. But the tone, the affection, the familiarity - as in, family-like - seemed something more. "The friendships that we have made over the years have shaped us into the young men and women...
With the face of Grand Coulee Dam as a backdrop Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's top official wrapped up a tour of facilities in celebration of the agency's 120-year history and the 81 years since the first filling of Lake Roosevelt. Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton listed Reclamation stats the crowd could be proud of, perhaps part of the purpose of the visit and tour. It's not always popular being the "nation's largest wholesale water supplier" in an era when folks in the...
Readers of The Star may notice some changes next month, including weekly full color on some pages and a narrower width of the newspaper, but they come at great cost to Grant County. The venerable Grant County Journal, the Ephrata newspaper where The Star and The Star Buyers Guide have been printed for decades, will cease publication at the end of June after 116 years of serving that community and promoting community journalism in eastern Washington by backing independent publishers. The change means we will be printing at the Cheney Free Press...
Grand Coulee Police said Tuesday that their department email account had been “hacked,” after they were notified about 9:45 a.m. of a potential spam email that had been sent from Chief John Tufts account, containing an unknown attachment. The list of recipients was not known, but multiple organizations began notifying the MACC (Multiple Agency Communications Center) dispatchers that they had received the suspicious email, which contained an altered disclaimer and department name that indicated it was of a foreign origin. “Chief Tufts and Offic...
The Nespelem School board Monday OK'd an agreement with the Grand Coulee Dam School District to split the federal Impact Aid money received in the 2023-24 school year for Nespelem students, with 75% going to the GCD district, and 25% going to Nespelem, both for K-8 students and for older students who would normally transfer to Grand Coulee Dam for high school. The two districts have been in negotiations on a new "tuition agreement" the federal Dept. of Education said was needed to make the...
Raider Coach Steve Files was named “Coach of the Year” among the Central Washington 2B League golf coaches, four Raiders players were listed in the all-league teams, including a player of the year, and the Lake Roosevelt team got the sportsmanship award. Lake Roosevelt golfers named included the league boy “Player of the Year,” Terek Bush, also on the league’s “first team,” and Nikolas Seymor, Teyton Flores, and Trevan Barnaby, all named to the second team. In softball, Sawyer Steffens was named to the league “first team.” Presley Steffens...
More than 600 American flags fluttered in a gentle breeze Saturday as a couple hundred or more locals and relatives gathered at Spring Canyon Cemetery Memorial Day for the annual Isle of Flags service to remember the fallen veterans and dedicate flags to them. "I stand in awe of the decorations here today," said Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone, in his keynote address. "These flags that line these roads, these pathways around these graves ... It's a fantastic memorial. And it's the first...
The city of Coulee Dam will get nearly $393,000 for upgrading crosswalks and adding “speed feedback” signs, flashing beacons, and more to improve the safety on routes to school. The Safe Routes to School grant is funded through the Washington State Dept. of Transportation budget, signed earlier this month by Gov. Jay Inslee. A project schedule indicates engineering will begin in October this year, with an estimated contract award date in May 2024. The project includes installing a new crosswalk, pedestrian scale crossing illumination, rec...
In his last preliminary race of his high school career, Logan Marconi pushed himself to a new personal record Friday in the qualifying prelims at the state track meet in Yakima, running the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 3.81 seconds. That time in a field of 16 top competitors, just 3.04 seconds behind top qualifier Shawn Jones, of St. George's, got the senior to the starting blocks in the finals on Saturday, where he would take seventh in the state for Lake Roosevelt High School. His time in the...
A line of employees wrote letters to the school board stating serious concerns about hiring Rod Broadnax as the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s new superintendent, several of which were read at Monday night’s meeting. They’re hiring him anyway. The letters noted anonymous emails that circulated in the community, critical of Broadnax’s record, claims of professional achievement throughout his career and controversy at one community where he worked. Carrie Derr, a longtime teacher who now oversees federal and state grant programs for the dis...
Nespelem School District, which has for decades sent its students to “the dam” after eighth grade to attend high school, is looking at ways to expand its service to the community by moving toward a high school offering. The school board formally approved the move Monday night, directing Superintendent Effie Dean to continue working to set up an “emergent high school,” offering just ninth grade in the coming school year, with a “career technical education” component under discussion with the Colville Tribes. “Everybody is super excited about...
The city of Grand Coulee will hold a primary election in August to pick two of the three candidates who filed to run for mayor, which does not include the current one. Chuck Crowe, of Partello Park; Kimberly Christiansen, of Roosevelt Drive; and Mike Eylar, of Spokane Way, have filed to run for the mayor’s office, currently occupied by Mayor Paul Townsend. The primary election is set for Aug. 1. In Electric City, two council positions have picked up challengers to incumbents. Councilmember Brian Buche, in Council Position 3, will run against T...
Residents of Coulee Dam's Ferry Avenue couldn't talk city representatives into alternatives Monday night as officials explained why all of the street's 60- to 70-foot-tall shade trees are going to be cut down. A sidewalk fix four years in the making is leading to the removal of the trees that have given the neighborhood of 16 homes its distinct feel for decades. The sidewalk repair will cost about a quarter million dollars, coming from a federal grant. The added cost of removing the maples will...
Grand Coulee police held a public meeting to hear residents' ideas on what they need to focus on and also to introduce them to a new app Officer Matt Gilbert is working on for easier communication with police. The app, which he is developing, is currently for Android phones only. Features will include police related news, resources, alerts, police activity in the area, a one-tap feature for calling the dispatch center to ask for police, and more. The informal meeting was called to give people a...
A new superintendent will lead the Grand Coulee Dam School District, beginning July 1. The school board selected Rodriguez "Rod" Broadnax as the best candidate Saturday, following what board President Rich Black described as a thorough, broad-based effort to involve as many people as possible in the decision. Broadnax is currently the interim superintendent at the Muskegon Heights Public School Academy System in Michigan, according to information supplied by the GCD district. Black said...
A long-awaited sidewalk fix is leading to the removal of many, if not all, of the trees on Coulee Dam's Ferry Avenue that have given the neighborhood its distinct flavor for decades, and the city set a meeting for tonight to explain the decision. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. on the corner of Grant and Ferry, where the project starts. The city notified residents along the street of tonight's meeting with doorhanger notices left at each residence on Friday, so city officials can explain and show... Full story
Fans will have to purchase tickets online if they want to attend District 6 Tournament games, including for today's 4:30 p.m. Fastpitch softball semi-finals game between Lake Roosevelt and Brewster at Brewster. Grand Coulee Dam School District Athletic Director Nancy Kuiper shared an emailed link to a site fans can purchase tickets. "Most events are going to online digital purchasing only so please see below and inform others that are not a part of this email." The link, distributed in an email... Full story
The Lady Raiders extended their winning ways into the post season, beating Liberty Bell 16-0 in Round 1 of the District 6 Fastpitch Softball Tournament in Grand Coulee Tuesday night. They’ll play in Round 2 in Brewster Friday night. If they win, they’ll play next Tuesday against either Okanogan or Oroville in a loser-out game, with the winner going to state. If they lose to Brewster, they’ll still play again May 16, to either end their season or get one more shot May 19 to head to state. The Raider baseball team lost to Tonasket there Monda...
Lake Roosevelt track and field athletes competed with others from 18 schools ranging in size from 1B to 1A in one last regular-season meet at Royal High School last Friday. “As a group we achieved eight personal-best performances on the boys’ side and four on the girls’,” said head coach Lori Adkins. John Cooley set three personal records: in the 100-meter run in 12.74 seconds; in the 110-meter...
by Scott Hunter A year ago, it was an idea shared while visiting in a garden. Last week, Plain Jane's was named "Business of the Year" for 2022 by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Caroline Walsh had cancer then and was going through chemotherapy. She decided to start a business that would research and bring in healthy products for the local community. Rachel Anderson was helping her with her garden the day Walsh presented the idea to her. "I was like, absolutely!" Anderson told...
Electric City has canceled tonight’s (Tuesday, May 9) city council meeting for lack of a quorum. City Clerk Peggy Nevsimal also said the city, which normally offers online access to its meetings, also has no internet service at the moment. The agenda for the meeting included several topics that would have required a vote of the council, plus several others that would have included discussion but likely would have been tabled for later research anyway, so the lack of council members able to attend would have made the meeting less than p... Full story
Former chamber executive director Rachelle Baughman was named the organization's "Achiever of the Year" for 2022 last week after deciding to leave that job last winter and start her own business. Baughman's move set in motion a series of changes at the chamber, including rethinking about what it needs in a new era from a person in Baughman's former position. In announcing the choice at the annual awards dinner Wednesday, board member Nic Alexander said Baughman fits the word "achiever," which...
It's been an interesting year for the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, especially if you're President Natalie Dennis. Dennis and others outlined past challenges and future plans and directions last Wednesday night at the chamber's annual meeting and awards dinner. Dennis told attendees at PK's Culinary that the chamber is once again facilitating "business after hours" events where business owners can "speak with like-minded people and bounce ideas off of each other." Two have been... Full story
by Scott Hunter The Lady Raiders wrapped their regular season last week with three games against the Brewster Lady Bears, barely losing twice on the road after beating Brewster 3-0 in Grand Coulee. Their April 25 game was a “great win at home for us on senior night,” noted Coach Jaci Gross. “Juel Swager was hot at the bat. Aaliyah (Marchand had an incredible night on the mound.” Marchand, the lone senior on the team, struck out 17 batters, allowing three hits and walking just one. Eighth-grader Swager led the team in hits, going 2-3 with two si...
Raider runners, throwers and jumpers scored highly at the Tonasket Small School Meet April 25, then applied themselves at the Rieke Invitational on Friday, placing well among 15 schools. At Tonasket, where just four schools competed, Head Coach Lori Adkins said, “athletes were able to try some new events … which was really fun. In the high jump we had five jumpers total.” That dynamic added a lot to the team points on the boys’ and girls’ sides, Adkins noted. Logan Marconi took first place in the 800-meter race, setting a personal record in...