News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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“Rocket scientists they are not.” That was the way Coulee Dam’s interim police chief described villains who brag about their escapades on Facebook. Interim Chief Larry Hall said that he often looks at Facebook to catch up with some law breakers who aren’t too smart and tell what they have done for everyone to see. “When we have a a few vehicle prowls and a few garages are being broken into, I call the jail and ask if certain people are still in jail,” Hall said. “As far as major crimes,” he said, “we’re really blessed.” Consumeraffairs.com h... Full story
A popular educator and rising young school administrator was taken from Lake Roosevelt Schools in handcuffs today, after a Seattle-based task force on internet crimes served warrants to search his home and office. Nate Piturachsatit was arrested at the school today after law enforcement officers from several agencies, all part of the regional task force, arrived with a warrant to search his office and computer. When they left, they didn’t take the computer with them, but they did take his cell phone. Piturachsatit is the vice principal of L... Full story
Don Richer, 52, of Coulee Dam, threw a perfect 300 game last week at Riverview Lanes. It wasn't his first - he has three official 300 games to his credit. But it was exciting just the same, both for him and for others at the lanes at the time. A perfect 300 game is 12 strikes in a row in the same game. Most people get excited when they throw a single strike, but 12 in a row puts you in a special class. Richer said the first six or seven strikes for him are without pressure. But after that,... Full story
The Star is still accepting nominations for the annual Volunteer of the Year award. Each year, the community selects between several worthy people nominated for the honor. One person is honored. Groups are not eligible. Nominations can be made until Feb. 11. Letters of nomination should be as specific as possible about why the candidate should be honored, including contact information for the nominator and for anyone who could speak about the nomination. Send nominations by e-mail, through the U.S. Postal Service, or in person as follows: • b... Full story
Voters will decide Feb. 9 whether to continue property tax support of Nespelem Elementary School by paying only about a tenth of the amount of money the levy actually would bring to the school. The school teaches about 120 students in pre-school through eighth grades. That count is up from last year, says Rich Stewart, superintendent of the district, whose board of directors budgeted for only about 100 students this school year. "We are hoping this trend continues as our program has made... Full story
Wildlife staff from the Colville Tribes' Fish and Wildlife (CTFW) Department released 52 pronghorn antelope in the early morning hours last Thursday, a department press release announced Friday. They were released on the southwest corner of the Colville Indian Reservation. "The capture process went great, fairly smooth and without incident," said Kodi Jo Jaspers, Resource Protection biologist for CTFW. "The helicopter crew used net guns to capture pronghorn on the ground, and then anywhere from... Full story
Fish passage now possible, legislators told In Olympia Tuesday, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony in favor of their support of a “memorial” bill that would tell the federal government the Legislature favors reintroducing salmon and steelhead above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams. “While salmon passage over high-head dams such as Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee may have been deemed impossible when they were constructed 50 and 80 years ago, that is not the case today,” said D. R. Michel, executive directo... Full story
A free class will teach young teenagers, ready to earn money by babysitting, how to do it safely. The class offered at Coulee Medical Center will teach them “the safety skills they need for themselves and the children they are watching,” according to the hospital. It’s scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the hospital’s on-site training room, 411 Fortuyn Road, Grand Coulee. Students need to bring a sack lunch. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Space is limited. To register, call Molly Morris at 633-6354 or email mmorris... Full story
The town council last week narrowly repealed a vote it took in December to remove two town-owned trees along the 300 block of Stevens Avenue after one council member said he felt deceived and embarrassed. Coulee Dam Councilmember David Schmidt said a letter he had signed as a member of the Parks and Natural Resources Board had the wrong addresses on it, not the addresses where two trees they’d inspected needed to be removed. “We didn’t look at either one of those trees,” Schmidt said. “We never would have approved their removal because t... Full story
What to do with an old stone church? The old stone community church in Coulee Dam is vacant and needs a new tenant. The subject came up at the Coulee Dam Town Council meeting last Wednesday night when Councilmember David Schmidt stated his regrets that the church had closed and commented that there should be some public response in support for the church. Councilmember Ben Alling responded that he would like to see it used for a convention center, using hotel/motel tax funds to accomplish that. Schmidt said he hadn’t meant to suggest that t... Full story
It seems to us that we have a group of council members that likes to spend a lot of money. We live on Sunny Drive in Electric City. A few years ago council members proposed a park on the lake, just below our property, due to opposition they decided to buy a lot – to the tune of thousands of dollars just for the lot. They haven’t even started work on that project and now the plan is to build paths and trails for many more thousands of dollars. The “alternate route” they propose would create many problems and we totally reject this proposa... Full story
The path route pictured in The Star newspaper, Jan. 13, behind Electric City homes and through natural wildlife habitat is NOT set in stone. In an era where preserving our natural wildlife habitats and delicate environments has gained importance, there is also an eye for improving small towns, making certain changes inevitable. However, let’s make changes that protect our natural wildlife habitats, connect people to our businesses, improve our storefront streets for both residents and visitors, and in so doing entice the new businesses that a... Full story
I grew up with Dan Peterson as my pastor in the Bothell/ Inglewood area, where he moved after working on the Coulee Dam Community Church. He would be very sad to hear of your church’s demise. Dan told many wonderful stories about building the church and your marvelous community. It sounds like the church has had a long and happy life. I hope someone can find a second use for it now, keeping it in use for years to come! Deb Hester... Full story
Sickness can be a war on many fronts. From the common cold to a major disease, it affects us in a wide variety of situations that cause us to go to war for ourselves. Sometimes it is a battle of one and sometimes you must devise a plan filled with many faces to assist you on your germ war. Right now in our community and around the globe, viruses and genetic mutations and bacteria and major diseases have crept in during the darkness and infected us, our family and our neighbors. But there is a hope and the fight has begun. Not too long ago (you... Full story
At the close of 1939, Consolidated Builders had completed 68.5% of the contract work for Grand Coulee Dam. With more than 9,000,000 cubic yards of concrete in the structure, the right and left abutment sections were within 100 feet of the top and ultimate height, elevation 1311.08 feet. The spillway section was still below the construction deck level, elevation 1180, but progressing on schedule. With the exception of the station service and control bays, the left powerhouse building was nearing... Full story
On Saturday, January 30, 2016, surrounded by family, Linda (Horton) Atanasoff was able to finally rest. Born February 24, 1949, she leaves behind her husband, Jim; son, Troy Sanford; daughter Nichole Seylor; brother Larry Horton; seven grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. Linda was a hard- working waitress (Red Lion) and housewife. She loved nature and enjoyed camping, fishing, skiing, scuba diving, backpacking, gardening, and much more. Most of all, she loved people and freely opened... Full story
Terrance Lee "Terry" Sutton, 61, a proud member of the "San Poil of The Colville Indian Reservation" passed away Monday afternoon, January 25, 2016. Born December 10, 1954, in Nespelem, Washington, Terry attended high school in Wilbur, Washington, where he excelled in all sports, including football and basketball, and qualified for the Washington State High School Wrestling Championship before graduating in 1972. Following high school, Terry worked for a time as a forester before entering into... Full story
Income tax time is here! Free tax preparation is being offered at the Grand Coulee Senior Center again this year. Volunteers trained in cooperation with IRS and AARP will be available every Tuesday, Feb 9 – April 12 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This service is available to anyone with low or middle income. You do not have to be seniors or members of the senior center to take advantage of this free help. However, special attention is given to those 60 or older. Taxpayers need to bring: A copy of last year’s tax return and social security cards, or o... Full story
Interest in acquiring Center School for a fiber mill is on hold. Vicki Eberhart, president of the North American Wool Cooperative in Oroville, said Tuesday that her group is active in another project in Oroville and will make a decision on Center School after the current project is complete and a feasibility study is made. The NAWC had indicated an interest in developing a small fiber mill in the old school and using it for an education center for the industry. Eberhart said Tuesday that the project of a mill in the Oroville area has taken... Full story
A fee schedule for the use of town of Coulee Dam equipment was set by the council at its meeting last Wednesday night. Fees cover the use of town equipment by other public works departments in the area. Hourly rate fees are: Ford truck, $75; bucket truck, $100; crane, $100; chipper towed by truck, $100; backhoe, $100; dump truck, $50; sweeper, $100; portable welder, $50; international dump truck, $75; compactor, $30; tank truck, $75; sewer jet truck, $100; and sewer camera, $100. Trash pump rental is $30 a day. In the event an equipment... Full story
Chamber to Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon this Thursday, February 4, at Siam Palace in Grand Coulee. Guest speakers will be Cassy Douglas, owner of the new Back Roads CrossFit II gym in town, and Caitlin O’Neil, 2016 Colorama Rodeo Queen. 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. The program is free and open to the publi... Full story
Raider Wrestling finished up the regular season at home Saturday with the Central Washington South mixer, as seven Lake Roosevelt wrestlers won matches, with 11 pins and two decisions by points against five other teams. LR competed against White Swan, Riverside Christian, Kittitas, Warden, and Mabton to decide seeding for the district tourney. In the 43 matches contested, the Raiders wrestled 15. Kaleb Horn at 106 pounds, Jacob Smith at 113, Tony Nichols and Trevor Circle at 132 won all the... Full story
Raider Boys Basketball travelled to Manson and Tonasket last week and continued to win. With the wins the Raiders are one step closer to sealing up second in the North. Now Lake Roosevelt needs to come away with a win this week to secure the number-two seed from the North and face Kittitas in Eastmont Middle School starting at 6:45 p.m. Feb. 10 for the first round of the district tournament. At Manson Jan. 26, the Raiders did not allow the Trojans the opportunity to upset them. LR took control of the game and came away with a 29-point win,... Full story
The Lady Raiders defeated two teams to propel themselves toward the top of their league last week. The Lake Roosevelt girls are looking to be either the number-two or -three seed from the North into the district tournament coming up at Eastmont. At Manson on Jan. 26, the Lady Raiders were able to pull ahead and stay ahead. The Trojans did not come back into it, yielding a final win for LR, 49-24. Then on the Friday in Tonasket, the Lady Raiders faced a Tonasket squad looking to end a losing streak. LR and Tonasket went back and forth, but the... 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