News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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State authorities made wearing face coverings in public mandatory across the state Tuesday, following an outbreak in Yakima County they said threatened to overwhelm the health care system there. The order came the same afternoon that the 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino re-opened after shuttering the business at 7 p.m. five days earlier when a worker there tested positive for COVID-19. The state mandate, issued Tuesday afternoon from Sec. of Health John Weisman and Gov. Jay Inslee, takes effect Friday. “As necessary economic activity increases a... Full story
As we all wish everything could return to normal, some things just shouldn’t. The crisis we’re dealing with makes a habit of forcing us to embrace change, and some of those are for the better. One in particular could have the effect of making governments more open, more democratic. And it’s easier and cheaper than other alternatives. When local governments (and even state and national agencies) make their meeting available via a video streaming or conferencing service such as Zoom, anyone with an interest can get involved, or just liste... Full story
The 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino said tonight that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19, so the casino has closed for three to 10 days for “extensive sanitizing.” The casino posted the announcement on its website and Facebook pages. The casino closed at 7 p.m. Thursday night, June 18. “We are working to do an extensive sanitizing of 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino and will remain closed at this time until further notice,” said Chief Executive Officer Kary Nichols in a statement on their website. “We thank our communities for their support a... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School's class of 2020 made it through their final year, graduating Saturday night despite a year that seemed to conspire against them. With the last quarter-plus of the year disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the class that captured at least $191,000 in scholarships, according to the school's information, was denied many of the traditional gatherings of their last year, including spring sports. They adjusted to distance learning, isolation and a graduation ceremony in the a...
A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a Grand Coulee man to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking in drugs after a July 2019 region-wide bust involving multiple law enforcement agencies in and around Grant County. Randall Curtis Gross, 27, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty Feb 11 to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, as well as heroin. Senior District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Gross to 10 years in prison, to be followed by a five-year term of court supervision after he is released....
It may be easy to feel relatively insulated here from the coronavirus because of the relatively few cases we’ve had, but we’re just entering the period of time when it’s most likely to make its way here repeatedly. With this area’s lakes an annual destination for many during summer months, vectors to introduce it here point to the Coulee like the target lines to the bullseye on a dart board. And county health authorities report their cases are climbing fairly rapidly. Grant County has added nearly 30 percent of its cases in the last week, 9... Full story
T-Mobile restored service to its text and voice plans across the country Monday night. CEO Mike Sievert posted the following on the company's website at 8:45 p.m., then announced at just after 10 p.m. that service was fully restored: "This is an IP traffic related issue that has created significant capacity issues in the network core throughout the day. Data services have been working throughout the day and customers have been using services like FaceTime, iMessage, Google Meet, Google Duo,... Full story
The Star has created a special digital issue of this week's special section saluting the Lake Roosevelt High graduates of 2020, one you can easily share online. Special sections are always viewable to subscribers of this site by clicking on the PDF icon on the home page toward the upper right (if you haven't tried that, you should). However, non-subscribers can't see that feature. We wanted to make this particular section viewable and shareable to all, since this year's graduates have missed... Full story
Beaches, like playgrounds, would be much safer without children. If children would not attend playground activities or beaches, no children would ever be hurt by them. Is that the kind of logic we’re dealing with here as the National Park Service seeks to “improve visitor on-water safety by removing potential hazards such as the swim docks”? Because the other course of action to improve safety at Spring Canyon would be to add staff, bring back lifeguards, upgrade (not tear out) playground equipment and, in more general terms, actually serve...
Public meetings, including those of city councils, school boards, and various districts, will need to continue to be held telephonically, a requirement that might lead to an expanded means of public participation in at least one local city. Gov. Jay Inslee extended proclamations related to COVID-19 restrictions Friday, including proclamations related to public meetings forbidding them from being held in person. "The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic and its progression in Washington State continues... Full story
Recognizing that graduation won't be what anyone had planned for the class of 2020, The Star is offering special rates to parents or others wanting to give greater recognition to their graduating seniors. A half page in next week's special section for graduates costs $179, a discount of 35 percent. A quarter page is $99. An eighth page is $60. Photos and words that you'd like expressed must be emailed to gwen@grandcoulee.com by the end of the day Thursday, June 4. The special section will be... Full story
At the age of 13, I was convinced that racism would obviously be gone from society within five years; it made no sense and reasonable people would prevail, my young, naive brain reasoned. It was 1968, a year that shook us as Americans, even — perhaps especially — naive 13-year-old white kids who believed in the system as presented to us. It was a year that would plunge doubts in that faith deep into the heart of the country and send us all on a journey toward a cynicism from which our nation has not recovered. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was ass... Full story
In the face of uncertainty during the COVID-19 restrictions, the chamber of commerce board of directors voted May20 to cancel any planning for the Festival of America over this year’s Independence Day holiday. The annual event, which normally includes vendors and performers in the park below the visitor center at Grand Coulee Dam, draws thousands each year, most to watch the fireworks off the top of the iconic dam. But all of that takes planning and a timeline that has run out. And the host federal agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, has n... Full story
You get to choose, but I don’t? Not only that, but your ability to choose is more important than me living. That’s the end logic of the current cry for liberty, defined here as our citizens’ God-given right to ignore the ultimate welfare of all others so they can do whatever they want: party together, worship together, infect together. If we accept our Declaration of Independence, we value “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The last two conditions, it should be obvious without saying, can’t be valued without the first being secur... Full story
A man from Grand Coulee has died of complications from COVID-19, Grant County Health District said Monday night. The district was notified Monday that the man in his 50s, who was hospitalized, had died. The health district did not report where he had been hospitalized. “Our hearts are with his family and friends. On behalf of Unified Command, our staff, Health Officer, and Board of Health, we are so sorry for your loss,” a statement on the district’s website said. The death brings Grant County’s total to four, with 192 confirmed cases and ano... Full story
Some people are expressing little but regret over the fact that high school graduations across the country, Lake Roosevelt’s included, will not be what anyone had in mind this year. That much is certain, but, graduating class, it’s also true that if you’ve learned anything in your dozen or so years in school so far, you’ve likely learned to roll with the punches and make the best of the situation in which you find yourself. There is no course syllabus or homework for that. But our current situation is the best lesson (call it your final h... Full story
A man from Grand Coulee has died of complications from COVID-19, Grant County Health District said Monday night. The district was notified Monday that the man in his 50s, who was hospitalized, had died. “Our hearts are with his family and friends. On behalf of Unified Command, our staff, Health Officer, and Board of Health, we are so sorry for your loss,” a statement on the district’s website said. The death brings Grant County’s total to four, with 192 confirmed cases and another 35 “probable,” the district’s demographics on the disease say.... Full story
Okanogan County officials Tuesday debated possible paths for the county to progress into the state’s Phase 2 toward easing COVID-19 restrictions. To qualify to move to Phase 2 of the state’s “Safe Start Washington” phased recovery plan, a county won’t gain permission if it hasn’t seen three weeks since its last positive test for COVID-19. County commissioners met with Okanogan County Health officials in an open Zoom meeting, as a line of division became evident, following arguments similar to those heard across the state and nation: Mor... Full story
Fishing has resumed in most of the state following Gov. Jay Inslee's adjustment to his Stay Home – Stay Healthy orders. Fishing has not opened up all the way on the Colville Indian Reservation, however, as the Colville Tribes is keeping it closed to non-members until May 29. The state opened boat launches on Banks Lake Tuesday, and anglers were on the water in the early morning. On Lake Roosevelt, within Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, boat launches are open as water levels allow, t... Full story
A charitable-giving organization that manages millions and has grown 380 times its initial size in 24 years is reaching out to smaller communities, including this one, wanting to make a bigger impact. Not that it hasn’t given to local causes in the past. Just recently, the Ephrata-based Columbia Basin Foundation has given the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce $1,000 for local business support, and it’s donating another $1,000 to the Care and Share Food Bank, both under the foundation’s “ReCOVIDery,” initiative to help during the COVID... Full story
A person in Electric City has tested positive for COVID-19, the Grant Health District said Tuesday night putting a bit more local emphasis on the national crisis that local governments struggle to address. That person joins at least one other in the local community, in Okanogan County, with the illness. Grant County reports a total of 161 cases so far, including three deaths and the three new cases reported Tuesday, the others in Moses Lake and Quincy. Okanogan County Public Health has recorded 26 confirmed cases, including one death. Twelve... Full story
After helping build a community of faith for decades, a longtime local couple recently made the "heart-wrenching" decision to move away to start their retirement. Steve and Janice Archer directed the final effort to load a 24-foot moving van in front of their Coulee Dam home Saturday, as friends, neighbors and Faith Community Church members packed more into the truck than they'd thought could fit. Pastor Steve Archer delivered his first sermon to the young church that recruited him in 1984, on...
The Colorama Rodeo will not be held this year, a decision Ridge Riders President George Kohout said it pained him to make April 15. Kohout, who worked to bump the rodeo up to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association this year, had been looking forward to a season that would bring in more cowboys than ever and more recognition to the event and the community. But after making calls, he realized Colorama wouldn’t be alone in the disappointment. PRCA told him they’d already had over a 100 cancelations for the season, with more calling every hou... Full story
The local public hospital district that governs Coulee Medical Center approved applying for a so-called “loan” Thursday under the federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March to help keep workers employed during the current pandemic. The commissioners of Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan Hospital District 6 approved Resolution 1096 authorizing the issuance of a promissory note for up to $3 million to pay for eight weeks of payroll. CMC, like many other hospitals all around the nation, has stopped ele... Full story
A home was lost Friday night when a fire started while no one was there. Grand Coulee Fire Chief Ryan Fish said those who lived in the house in Coulee Dam had been down the street when it started to burn. The fire at the home of Shayla and Shawn Deckwa apparently started about 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 10. At least four fire departments were on scene at 1103 Camas Street with equipment and firefighters, dousing the flames on a windy night and spraying down the siding on neighboring houses to...