News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It took a lot of thought and prayer last February before Doug and Mary Lou Lockard and daughter Launi Ritter took a leap into a retail business with no experience. Five months after opening their new Coulee Wall Variety Store, Ritter recalled for chamber of commerce members the story of starting up a complex store with nearly 12,000 individual items on its shelves - before there were any shelves, or anything, in the cavernous 4,400 square feet of open space in the building. The family had...
Alan Cain has served on the Grand Coulee City Council for about a year-and-a-half, ever since being appointed to the seat vacated by a previous council member. He's running to keep that seat. Cain moved to the city in 1992 and worked as a registered nurse at the hospital. Then, as the internet was rapidly evolving, he started a company to provide that service for several years. Retired now, Cain, also a cartographer, has put his city planning skills to use on Grand Coulee's Planning Commission,...
Tracy Wright says she decided to run for city council in Grand Coulee after the city violated her and her partner's Fourth Amendment rights. She and her partner, Cameron Whitney, who is running for mayor, had a disagreement with the city over their use of a recreational vehicle parked in their backyard with a lake view, which was advertised on a short-term stay website. "Since we are members of this community, we decided to try to change things within instead of the tried and true method of suin...
One person died, two others were injured and one is facing a vehicular homicide charge after a collision on highway 97 near its junction with highway 17 yesterday morning east of Brewster. The Washington State Patrol reported that a 59-year-old Manson woman had been driving south on SR-97 in a 2008 Honda CR-V when her car was struck by a GMC Yukon headed north. The Yukon came to rest in the center lane, the Honda rolled and came to rest on its top on the southbound shoulder. The Patrol’s investigation memo indicates that Kai Michael M...
A coming change in federal rules is pushing healthcare professionals to focus more on preventing illness rather than treating it after the fact, and Coulee Medical Center is implementing a plan that focuses on senior citizens. "It's proven to be quite effective for our patients," Kelly Steffens told people at the chamber of commerce luncheon last week, referring to a free program that has people on Medicare come in once a year for a screening visit. Steffens, a registered nurse, is in charge of...
A federal judge sentenced an Omak man last week to two years in prison for embezzling funds from the Colville Tribes. Chad Jeremy Monaghan, 42, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty on June 3 to one count of embezzling over $1,000 from a tribal organization, and one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Chief United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Monaghan Thursday to a 24-month prison term on each count to run...
The Electric City Council Tuesday voted to spend $338,550 of funds collected for improving tourism, most of it on a city park, departing from years of what some saw as an overly stingy practice. The new Ice Age Park, for which city officials turned ceremonial shovels of dirt at a ground-breaking event last week, will include features such as a mammoth head in the playground, a fossil digging area, and more, designed to cater to local kids and tourists alike. Including the park, the city will spend 85 percent of the funds on its own tourism init...
The grandmother of a 14-year-old boy is asking anyone who sees him to report it to Colville Tribal Police. Cathy Covington says she's been raising Javante Picard since he was 3 years old and that he's had minor problems at school, but plans are already put in place to help him. But on Sept. 26, she says, someone picked him up at the bus stop, and he didn't make it to Lake Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. She hasn't seen him since, but believes he's near Nespelem. Covington has contacted...
The grandmother of a 14-year-old boy is asking anyone who sees him to report it to Colville Tribal Police. Cathy Covington says she's been raising Javante Picard since he was 3 years old and that he's had problems at school, with plans put in place to help him. But on Sept. 26, she says, someone picked him up at the bus stop, and he didn't make it to Lake Roosevelt Junior Senior High School. She hasn't seen him since but believes he's near Nespelem. Covington has contacted tribal police and has... Full story
The Colville Business Council, the governing body of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, has approved implementation of a four-day work week, with 10-hour days. The switch was set for Sept. 30, after the CBC approved Resolution #2019-569 on Thursday at its full Council meeting. But due to the 2019 General Membership meeting set for Friday, Oct. 4, the CBC agreed to postpone the implementation of the new work schedule until Oct. 7. That schedule will apply to all government programs except those deemed “essential,” such as polic...
School officials got a tip after classes were out last week that a student may have brought a weapon to Lake Roosevelt Jr-Sr High School and a student has reportedly been referred to juvenile authorities. In a statement, the Grand Coulee Dam School District alerted the public of the incident on its website and on its Facebook account two days later. The school administration got the tip about 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16 and immediately began an investigation, the statement said. “Our school administrators and Coulee Dam Police questioned w...
Snow was reported on the highway between Davenport and Reardan this morning, as well as on Sherman Pass east of Republic, and the NWS is advising of snow possible at 2,000 feet. Here’s the winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service: Winter Weather Advisory URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Spokane WA 242 PM PDT Sat Sep 28 2019 ...EARLY SEASON SNOW AND STRONG WINDS THIS WEEKEND... .A cold storm system will bring the potential for heavy snow in the mountains this weekend. In addition, expect wet, slushy accum... Full story
When Wade Jess took over the local Ford dealership from Carlson Motors, he thought mechanic Dick Mangis might be "the first to go," because of a sly smirk he'd detected at an initial employee meeting. But Jess was 26 then, "and I'm an idiot kid," he said, noting the irony that he now looks back on Mangis' years of "dedication" and "loyalty" as an employee who even rode out winter storms at the business. "That's how dedicated he is." Jess made those remarks at a retirement party for Mangis at La...
Whether you’re lamenting the end of summer or so glad it’s finally fall (which officially starts Sept. 23), events this week offer great seasonal transitioners. The Harvest Festival and Run the Dam now mark a place on the calendar for many that signals us to take a deep breath, appreciate the weekend, then dive into what’s ahead through December. The beer garden has become a great place to meet friends and feels great to those finishing the only race that takes you across the Grand Coulee Dam. (Many like to get a beer at 11 a.m. on Satur...
Rotary club members Paul Turner, left, and James Heuvel help out at the Grant County Household Hazardous Waste Collection event Friday at the Delano Transfer Station. - Scott Hunter photo...
He put a ring on her finger the night she graduated from high school seven decades ago, and the love was still palpable between them Saturday as Don and Gerry McClure celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Friends and family came from as far away as Florida to the McClure Ranch north of Nespelem, where the two have made their home on the acreage homesteaded by Don's father and grandfather in 1918. "Lightning stuck," Gerry McClure said about Don's proposal that came just three days after...
A couple who just moved to town from nearly 5,000 miles away will serve as lay pastors of the Church of the Nazarene, and for her it's a homecoming. Philip and Juliene Munts officially took their new post Sunday, having just moved from Malmö, Sweden. The two operated three "ministries" there, the said - two art galleries and a café called Fill My Cup. Always affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene, the couple recently got a call to lead the local congregation. Juliene was thrilled; it m...
Art Show from The Star on Vimeo....
A group of people have been working this summer to start a new booster club to help with equipment and other needs for Raider athletic teams. The LR Athletic Booster Club has a board of directors and all the legal paperwork completed, including having achieved non-profit legal status. Now they’re in fundraising and membership-expansion mode. President Kevin Portch says he’s been pleasantly surprised by the high level of enthusiasm he’s seen from many, “especially alumni.” The group has already enlisted about 30 members so far, but gained about...
The Coulee Dam Town Council voted Aug. 14 to accept one grant and apply for another from the state’s Transportation Improvement Board totalling nearly $900,000 for street and sidewalk repairs. The agency granted $120,000 for new sidewalks on Ferry Avenue, rather than a slightly lesser amount sought by the town, and required no matching funds. The application included a letter bearing the signatures of 74 citizens contacted by Councilmember Fred Netzel. Across town, the “worst street in town” could get a remake at a cost of $734,670, none of it...
Watching even the “cultural” reintroduction of salmon to local waters denied to them for eight decades can inspire wonder, grief, admiration, joy, hope, questions, and anticipation. Over the last couple weeks, as the Colville Tribes and a coalition of other tribes and state and federal agencies have held ceremonial plantings of hatchery Chinook salmon above the dams that keep them from spawning in the upper Columbia River, the meaning to the tribes of the return of the fish echos like an eternal drum off a canyon wall, deeply felt and acu...
After decades of absence, the "chief of all of the rest of the fish" returned to the upper Columbia River Friday when a tribal elder slipped an adult salmon into the water of Lake Rufus Woods, followed by 29 more that had begun their journey years ago after coming into existence at a hatchery downriver. A ceremonial song to reintroduce the chinook echoed back from the Douglas County side of the river Friday morning at the Colville Tribes' campgrounds near commercial fish-raising pens along Lake...
Jill Fraser has been passionate about dogs her whole life, grooming her first one at age 10 when she decided her aunt's cocker spaniel could use an upgrade. Since then, she's pursued a career around dogs, showing breeds at 16 after leaving Spokane for California on her own, then getting into the grooming business in Portland, Oregon that year when she worked for a veterinarian as the boarding and grooming manager, she says. "I know what dogs are supposed to look like, regardless if it's a show c...
In this week’s Star, we offer a short feature on a person relatively new to the area under the heading One of Us. We’d like to do more of this kind of story, those that help bring a new face to the community, or just tell us something many might not have known about someone who may be more familiar. If you know of someone who might make a good subject for One of Us, give us a call at 509-633-1350, or email star@grandcoulee.com with the details. Stories that tell us about each other can help bring us together as a community. We hope tha...
A paraglider comes down from the sky into a field on Strahl Canyon Road just north of SR-174 in Douglas County, after taking off from Chelan Butte July 13, the final day of the US Open of Paragliding. - Chelan 2019. The seven-day event tested the skills of about 170 participants. Seventy of them made their goals on this Saturday. Other tasks on earlier days included flights from Chelan to Omak, Wilbur, Brewster and elsewhere. "Really good day, a lot of happy people," said Matt Senior, organizer... Full story