News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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As the pandemic eases, it looks like no end is in sight for the continuing need for us all to remain flexible in our ideas, schedules, plans and expectations, and that’s a good thing. The human skill at adapting has never been more crucial. Last week, a “Grant County Leadership” online meeting of municipal and health officials, chambers of commerce, journalists, and others, which has been meeting biweekly for months, decided to switch from pandemic mode to recovery mode with a sigh of relief. But even at that, it was noted that switching back...
The town of Coulee Dam is short one person on the city crew, and the city council is debating whether to keep it that way to shift money to maintenance projects. Two council members, Keith St. Jeor and Dale Rey have argued in two meetings in the last month that the city should contract for some work done, including park maintenance, not re-hire for the position left open by the death of an employee. St. Jeor and Rey argued heavily in favor of contracting out for the work last month but wanted to wait on further discussion until Mayor Bob Poch,...
The Lady Raiders competed in the state 2B basketball tournament last week, taking on teams from around the state and capping the year with the best game they've played all year, according to their coach. "That was fun!" Lady Raider Head Coach Peewee Pleasants said about playing La Conner in the Lake Roosevelt team's final event of the tournament at the Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane on Friday. Pleasants said the Lady Raiders hadn't that quality of competition all season, and the girls...
STCU will sponsor a major aspect of the Colorama Rodeo that provides national television coverage of its events, the Ridge Riders said last week. The Spokane-based credit union that merged with Coulee Dam Credit Union last September noted in a statement that rodeo sponsorship isn't an everyday event, but "we have a long history of supporting cultural events, like Colorama, that reflect the values of the credit union, and the heritage of the community." Area Branch Manager Beverly Rodriguez said...
Bills in the Legislature are proposing mandating nursing ratios and restricting how health care facilities can contract for on-call professionals, both of which provide the kind of flexibility without which rural, critical care hospitals may not function well at all. Two local doctors wrote to the legislature on the bill currently up for a committee hearing tomorrow (Thursday) in the Senate. The Star was asked to publish their thoughts too, and a third letter, by a nurse who gets into the details of day-to-day needs for flexibility will also... Full story
A bill in the state Legislature that seeks to force hospitals to abide by set staffing levels — to address burnout and an already serious nursing shortage made worse by the pandemic — would likely force cuts in local service, a local hospital leader says. An amended form of House Bill 1868 passed the state House of Representatives Sunday. Its companion bill in the Senate, Senate Bill 5751, seems likely to pass, according to Ramona Hicks, chief executive officer at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. The bipartisan legislation, supported by... Full story
Good ideas have a way of changing into something else in a committee, and that’s precisely how we tend to govern in America, especially in Washington state in the last two years. Last year the Legislature passed a law widely condemned by law enforcement agencies who warned of unintended consequences. A proposed fix, still controversial, is currently under debate. See that story on page 1. This year, the Leg is considering a similarly well-intended but possibly disastrous effort, one that seeks to address a very real problem with a n... Full story
Voters turned down two local school levy proposals by a hefty margin yesterday. Grand Coulee Dam School District’s Proposition 1 appeared to fail by about 58 to 42 percent, with 570 voters selecting No on their ballots, 418 selecting Yes across the four counties the district serves. Proposition 2 was also voted down 538-413, about 57% no to 43% yes. “We got hammered bad,” Superintendent Paul Turner said, noting only the Pateros district appeared close to have a close vote at about 50-50 last night. All others were failing in Okanogan Count...
Setting aside the likelihood that the Grand Coulee Dam School District is not perfect, critics who argue that the fix is voting against its local funding are way off the mark. When the Legislature changed the formula for basic education funding, getting dollares for this district became even more complicated than it already was, restricting funds in different buckets dedicated to specific uses, even more so than they usually are. But administrators here, like others across the state, have had to figure it out. This year, the district is... Full story
With almost four times the population of Washington state in an area a quarter of its size, Taiwan has suffered comparatively little of the economic devastation that has taken hold in this state and nation in general. They never even shut down the bars. Why? They all wear masks, contact tracing is fast, and they follow strict protocols with visitors. Aside from that, life is normal in the island nation off the coast of the People’s Republic of China. Coulee Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sam Hsieh just got back from visiting family t...
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office tapped into a grant opportunity through a state agency to get money intended to help offset impacts on local law enforcement from the passage of state laws last year that put restrictions on how police use force. Sheriff Wade Magers said that one such law, ESSHB 1310 addressed use of physical force, deadly force and less lethal alternatives such as de-escalation tactics. In response, the Washington State Department of Commerce asked for proposals from law enforcement agencies to procure “l...
School sports restrictions have been tightened up again with the Omicron COVID-19 variant becoming prevalent in the area. The Grant County Health District detailed the restrictions in a press release for "Region 7," which includes Grant, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Adams, and Okanogan counties. The extra precautions include items like some limits on attendance at games, indoor masking requirements, eating in a designated area, and following the covid attendance rules set by a statewide school...
It’s not going away if we accept defeat, it will just keep attacking. Complaining about the unfair, changing “rules” is useless. There are no rules but one: Don’t give up. A good friend who knows better couldn’t help recently expressing that feeling of resentment, which is held by probably everyone who’s been alive over the last two years. No, it isn’t fair, whatever you imagine that might mean in the context of a non-thinking clump of reproducing molecules that can make you or your loved ones sick to death, literally, not just of masking yo...
The National Weather Service just advised, just after noon Jan. 6, that we should expect continued heavy snow and freezing rain through this evening, specifically warning of another inch of snow and a tenth-of-an-inch of ice in the local area. From the NWS alert: HEAVY SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN TODAY CONTINUING OVER MOST AREAS THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH THE THREAT OF HEAVY SNOW CONTINUING OVER THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH FRIDAY... Moderate to heavy snow will continue to impact the parts of the Inland... Full story
News media can present news about the coronavirus pandemic responsibly, without a constant drumbeat of doom even when it’s not called for. That doesn’t always happen. I call your attention to the editorial cartoon at right. Its author may seek to totally discount the integrity of news coverage on the pandemic, which wouldn’t be fair either, but its message urges us to pay appropriate attention to the good news along the way. That includes important news that often gets buried under the old observation that “if it bleeds, it leads.” Cartoonis...
It can be difficult to accept that someone else’s ideas might be valid if they directly conflict with your own experience. That’s where much of our public discussion on very important topics often falters. Going into a new year is a good time to re-assess our own assumptions, especially this year. Too often, certainty stands in the way of understanding. Very smart people, exceptional leaders, the brilliant among us can be certain they’re on the right track. We demand it of them, and sometimes that demand keeps them from serving us well. The f...
Elmer City folks were excited for the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Clause Monday night on the top of a Grand Coulee fire engine, along with other seasonal favorites of kids - Elsa and Anna, and even the Grinch. The visit was arranged by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. The firefighters in Elmer City were ready to receive their guests and had people warming up by a campfire while they waited. The celebrities visited Coulee Dam too, and Grand Coulee and Electric City got visits Tuesday...
Coulee Dam’s town council approved a policy Thursday that full-time employees will be paid a $1,500 incentive payment for proof they’ve been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Part-time employees will receive a $100 payment. The written policy was presented as Resolution No. 2021-07 at a special online council meeting held specifically for that purpose alone after the council had requested it at a special meeting Nov. 29. City attorney Mick Howe had it prepared and ready by Thursday. The city plans to use some of...
A 46-year-old Ephrata man was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Friday after the car he was in crashed and burned about 8 miles north of US 2 on SR-155 along Banks Lake. The Washington State Patrol reported that Joshua J. Bessette, 46, had been driving north just after 7 a.m. when the 2008 Honda CR-V left the roadway to the right, struck a rock bank and rolled. The Honda ended up in the ditch on the east side of the highway, where it caught fire “as a result of the collision,” the WSP report states. Bessette was first taken to Cou...
The current runaround faced by the local Regional Board of Mayors points to a structural problem we’ve tried to work around before and failed. The RBOM, itself, was created as an end run around the reality that this is a community split by municipal boundaries drawn in a time when they may have made perfect sense but no longer do. That group of four mayors was formed so we could have and operate a landfill, with all four towns paying their fair share. It has worked for decades and might possibly work for decades more. But not well, and with f...
Coulee Dam plans to offer a $1,500 bonus to employees who have been vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a reversal of its direction two weeks ago when its council was leaning toward a mandate. The city council, meeting online Monday night, took up a proposal by Councilmember Keith St. Jeor to use some of the federal funds the town will get for Covid relief as an enticement for some reluctant employees. “We should probably reward those that are wanting to follow the rules and mandates,” St. Jeor said, contending that the move would qua...
City council members and officials expressed views at their last meeting on a proposal to require Coulee Dam’s employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. After the council’s third discussion on the subject in a month Nov. 10, not much clarity seemed to emerge. The city’s legal research on the subject shows it can require employees to follow such a rule, but the city must offer “feasible and reasonable” accommodations for qualified medical or religious reasons, Clerk Stefani Bowden said. “To me, the hardest par...
If you love the season but not the prep, winning an already-decorated Christmas tree might be just what you need. If so, the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center is aiming its next fundraiser squarely at you, and hoping you'll stop by for lunch too. The center has a variety of "tastefully decorated" trees on hand for viewing before it raffles them off Dec. Trees have been on display since Monday and will remain until Dec. 4, with a "Making Memories Bright" event set for Saturday, Nov. 27 from 10 a.m....
For Betty Davis, a day on the golf course isn't about keeping score, it's about getting to a place free of cares. "When I'm out here, I think of nothing behind me," she said recently beside a tee at Banks Lake Golf Club. "I mean, my house could be burning when I left and I probably wouldn't even think about it." At 96, Davis still golfs three times a week through most of the year with a group of friends, and there are stories. There's the one about she and Sally McDowell herding cows off the...
The National Weather Service in Spokane has increased the urgency of its language regarding this current wind event, warning "winds will blow down trees and power lines" (emphasis ours) and that "widespread power outages are expected." A "wind advisory" from the National Weather Service, originally set to expire at 8 p.m. Monday, was extended then until midnight. Gusts up to 70 mph are expected among 30-40 mph winds. Keller Ferry is out of service again because of the winds. In 2013, with wind... Full story