News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Electric City’s leaders met for a “retreat” in Ephrata Saturday to consider matters that don’t fit well into monthly city council meetings. “I think every city council should have a retreat,” Electric City’s city clerk Jackie Perman said this week. “A retreat gives council members an opportunity to ask questions and learn about their roles in city government,” she added. The city’s attorney, Katherine Kenison, led council discussions on a range of subjects. She explained the role of a council member and the mayor. She led the group through p... Full story
Governmental agencies and some local people crowded into a meeting room at Coulee Medical Center Wednesday as agencies made presentations at the Electric City Pathway and Trail meeting. Representatives from Bureau of Reclamation; the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance; Washington State University Rural Communities Design Initiative; Grant County Health District; Washington State Department of Transportation; and Gray & Osborne, Electric City's engineering firm,... Full story
Bonuses given out in 2014 to hospital executives prior to a turnover in leadership will likely result in a “finding” from the State Auditor’s Office, Coulee Medical Center’s top executive told her board Monday night. “The auditor has alerted me that we could very possibly receive a ‘finding,’” CEO Debbie Bigelow said. “We may not have been that administration, but we are that hospital.” An auditor’s “finding” is the strongest criticism possible. Bigelow said bonuses given to executives in early 2014 for work performed in 2013 caught the audito... Full story
The woman who took the helm of the troubled hospital she’s spent most of her career at will not renew her contract, opting instead for some time with grandchildren, she reiterated to commissioners Monday. Debbie Bigelow had sent a letter to commissioners in December to that effect, encouraging them to get started finding a replacement soon. Bigelow underscored that point at the Hospital District 6 Commission meeting Monday, but said she will stay on long enough for an orderly transition. She took over as an “interim” chief executive offic... Full story
Paul Turner, the assistant principal at Lake Roosevelt Junior and Senior High School, has been offered the position as superintendent of schools for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. The board made the decision Monday night. The school board will now need to negotiate a contract with Turner. If successful in the contract issue, Turner will replace Dr. Dennis Carlson, who has been in the district for the past six years. Carlson will retire June 30, but could remain in the district for a... Full story
How to save money at the ER A woman visiting Coulee Medical Center’s emergency room recently will actually save money after hospital staffers caught the fact that she had some redundant medical insurance coverage, CMC’s Debbie Bigelow reported to hospital district commissioners Monday. She said CMC’s staff figured the woman, who is on Medicare, could save $287 a month, a healthy chunk for a person living on about $900. Volunteer award delayed The Star’s annual Volunteer of the Year award will be delayed until February. Tribal recycling open Sa... Full story
A former Grant County Mosquito District 2 clerk appeared in Grant County Superior Court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to two charges, one of theft and the other misappropriation of funds by a public official. Charged by the prosecutor’s office was Karyn M. Byam, 40, from Electric City. The charges stem from her period as clerk of the mosquito district, 2010 to 2014. She had been clerk of the district for 20 years but the charges were confined to that period after a state audit report turned up irregularities showing she had received over $... Full story
Soon the Beavers, Tigers and Savages may make their marks on the new school. There’s a drive afoot for some type of monument statue depicting the old Coulee Dam Beavers, Grand Coulee Tigers and Nespelem Savages. Lonna Bussert, who was at the school board Monday night, asked the board for a space for the statue, somewhere on the new facility grounds. “We think it would be neat for people to be reminded where the ‘Raiders’ came from.” The three schools all funneled into what is now Lake Roosevelt Schools. Bussert said that, with the board’s o... Full story
A Douglas County female sheriff’s deputy had more than a trying day when she stopped a driver in Bridgeport Sunday for an equipment violation. When she approached the car, she noticed the driver acting suspiciously and suspected that he was under the influence of alcohol, according to Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal. The driver, Manuel Pachecio-Pascacio, 41, of Bridgeport, started backing away from the deputy while she was trying to get a field sobriety test. When she tried to handcuff the suspect, he turned and punched her in the s... Full story
Regarding the Electric City trail, with the (Jan. 20) meeting being at 1:00 in the afternoon and I work for a living, I cannot make it. I wish for this letter to be my thoughts and my opinion on this matter. Now, I’m no letter writer, so I’m just going to use the format of listing my concerns and thoughts. 1. It seems to me it would make more financial sense to widen and fix the road to have this trail. We would only be dealing with the State of Washington (D.O.T.) and the cities involved, plus we would be fixing, like one stated in The Star, a... Full story
“[Brad] Parrish stated that phase one of the trail system, from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park, would eliminate ‘a very dangerous’ stretch of narrow roadway that walkers and bicyclists have to face today.” Knowing there is already a dangerous stretch of roadway that walkers and bicyclists have to face today seems like the logical place to start. Why not put the focus there and make the necessary improvements for everyone’s safety? The speed limit is 35 mph and the state already owns the roadway and the right of way. Monies from Electric... Full story
On 1/11/16, the Spokesman Review announced that Okanogan County is one of five Washington counties that each donated $1,000 to the American Land Council (ALC), an organization supporting the militant (Bundy) takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. As of last April, 47 counties nationwide had given an average of $4,660 apiece to this organization. The ALC supports the transfer of ownership of federal public lands to local governments. Do we really want our hard-earned tax dollars spent in this manner, considering the very... Full story
In a recent letter to the editor, the mayor of Coulee Dam states that it is the duty of the town council to “protect the infrastructure” of the town. The basic essence of protection is to replace the bad with the good or the wrong with the right. Councilperson Gail Swaggerty said that the cherry trees on Stevens are the “wrong trees.” Councilperson David Schmidt said the cherry trees on Stevens are the “wrong trees.” David Schmidt even signed the recommendation to remove the cherry trees. A stewardship forester with the Washington Department... Full story
Most of you know nothing about a secret operation that is going on at Lake Roosevelt. But I am about to let you in on an undercover operation that has been lifting the spirits of staff and blessing everyone from bus drivers to teachers at the school. A secret group of community members has been bringing lunches, snacks and, yes, red apples to everyone at LR randomly throughout the year. Birthdays are never forgotten either, with little tags on a treat wishing you well on your special day. More than one staff member has said that this group of... Full story
The power barge, "Paul Bunyan," was built by Work Progress Administration forces and launched into the Columbia River Reservoir on January 4, 1939.... Full story
Eugenia "Jeannie" G Condon, 97, of Coulee Dam, Washington, was born July 3, 1918, to Robert and Roxie Grosjean in Kamiah, Idaho. She passed away at the Regency Care Center in Omak, Washington, on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. Following her 1936 high school graduation in Nespelem, Washington, she spent several years in San Diego, California, obtaining her nursing license, before returning to Washington to marry Calvin Jack Condon in 1940. Their daughter, Anita Corrine, joined the family in 1946.... Full story
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Keith W. Masterson, local area farmer and rancher, moved to a new location where the weather is always beautiful and the fields are totally free of rocks and weeds. His brief 21-day stay in the Grand Coulee Hospital was over. Born in the summer of 1918 at the Wilbur Hospital, he spent his infant days sleeping in a drawer out of the chest in his parents' bedroom. His family then moved to the Wenatchee area to work full time in the apple orchards. In the spring of... Full story
Jordan Martin and Anthony Kheel ,of Elmer City, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Myles Raytheal Kheel, born Monday, January 18, 2016, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington. He weighed 9 lbs., 3 oz., and was 20 inches in length at birth. Maternal grandparents are Camille Desautel and Jerry Martin Sr., both of Worley, Idaho. Paternal grandparents are Rachel Monaghan and David Kheel of Keller, Washington. Great-grandparents are Ramona Kheel, of Inchelium; Vicky Desautel, of Elmer City; and Geraldine and Ken... Full story
Grand Coulee city worker Ruth Olmstead operates a front-end loader to dig into a pile of snow stored on a portion of Main Street closed during the last big snow. She was hauling to a city-owned lot on Federal Avenue Tuesday. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
Chamber to Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon this Thursday, Jan. 28, at the Moose Lodge in Grand Coulee. Birdie Hensley, president of the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, will be talking about the operations at the center. Wenatchee Valley Erratics Chapter to Meet Wenatchee Valley Erratics Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute will meet at 7 p.m., Tuesday, February 9, at the Wenatchee Valley Museum, 127 South Mission, Wenatchee. For overviews of the Ice Age Floods and more information on the Ice Age Floods... Full story
LR Boys Basketball improved their overall win-loss record to 10-5 after winning two of the three games last week. The Raiders lost in double overtime to Oroville at home Jan. 19 after leading by as much as 15 points over the Hornets. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 56. In the first overtime, both teams took turns leading until they finished OT at 63 all. In the second overtime, Oroville got hot and scored 18 points to Lake Roosevelt's nine to gain the victory with a final score... Full story
The Nespelem, All Indian Basketball Tournament will be held February 13 and 14. Games will be held all over the area, including the junior high gym in Grand Coulee, Lake Roosevelt gym in Coulee Dam and the Nespelem Community Center and Nespelem Grade School gym in Nespelem. The $350 team entries should be submitted by February 5. For more information, contact Larry Jordan at 509-429-1667 or Shelly Davis at 509-978-8035.... Full story
Wed., Jan. 27 6 p.m., JHS Wrestling at Okanogan Mix and Match Thurs., Jan. 28 5 p.m., JHS Girls’ Basketball at Bridgeport Fri., Jan. 29 4:30 p.m., HS Basketball at Tonasket Sat., Jan. 30 9 a.m., HS Wrestling - League Mix and Match, here Tues., Feb. 2 4:30 p.m., HS Basketball here with Brewster (L) Fri., Feb. 5 4:30 p.m., HS Basketball at Okanogan (L) 6 p.m., HS Wrestling Districts, Sub-Regionals, Warden Sat., Feb. 6 10 a.m., HS Wrestling District/Sub-Regionals, Warden... Full story
The Lady Raiders won all of three of their games last week, increasing their present win streak to four in a row. "We have played some decent ball with some of the changes we are making at this time," Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said, "things we feel have helped us get our groove back. We're not scoring a bunch of points, but we are playing together a lot better, which has led to improved play all around." In the first contest of the week, Lake Roosevelt took on the Hornets of Oroville at home... Full story
In two matches last week, Raider wrestlers used wins to warm up for a a mixer they'll host this weekend in Coulee Dam to settle scores, break ties and meet new opponents. At Okanogan Jan. 19, and in the Coyote Classic in Kittitas Jan. 23, Raiders wrestled in the final tuneups for the Central Washington South mixer on Saturday, which is where the coaches will decide the district tournament seeding. At Okanogan, the Raiders wrestled 10 matches, all against the Bulldogs. Five Raiders wrestled two... Full story
