News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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After days of reports of droves of people not complying with his pleas to stay home, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a mandatory order Monday to shut many public places and non-essential businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Inslee emphasized that the though the orders are legally enforceable, officials would still emphasize voluntary compliance. And sheriffs in Lincoln and Grant counties issued similar statements assuring people that law enforcement's role in the shutdown... Full story
Kids up to 18 years of age have been getting meals from the Grand Coulee Dam School District at their bus route pickup spots while school is out for the virus-related shutdown. That plan will change on Monday, the school district said Thursday. Meal deliveries will now be made at eight specified places from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. just three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Academic packets for students in grades 7-12 will also be available then. Nespelem School District will still provide Grab and Go meals to students in that area... Full story
With Coulee Medical Center officially in emergency mode, a representative updated the Grand Coulee City Council last week on what that currently means. Tyler Donn spoke on behalf of CMC March 17 in regard to the COVID-19, coronavirus epidemic. Donn explained that with a national emergency declared on March 13, it forced the hospital to put their emergency preparedness plan into action. The first goal is to protect all patients and others at the hospital, Donn said, and that entails sending home non-essential staff, ensuring staff have... Full story
The Star is interested in knowing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected your life at home in the Coulee. Please take our survey and let us know how it has changed your home life or work life, and what you've been doing to pass the time spent "social distancing." Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q8ZX7SZ... Full story
Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, and utility late fees and shutoffs have been suspended for the duration of the situation. A special council meeting was held on March 19 in the Electric City Fire Station in order to observe social distancing as a precaution due to the coronavirus. Kohout told the council that she was declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak creating “extreme risk of person to person transmission for people working in city” and because it “af... Full story
CMC’s Outpatient Lab will move across the parking lot to the tan “Professional Building B as of March 30, the hospital said, to cut down on the number of people entering the facility and lowering the possible entrance of the new coronavirus.... Full story
The cost of making changes to controversial street work being done in Electric City could be high. The city council and mayor in a special meeting last week spoke to representatives from the Gray & Osborne engineering firm over the phone. Those representatives included Mike Meskiman and Don Tulloch. The special council meeting March 19 was held at the Electric City Fire Station to allow for social distancing to guard against the coronavirus. Returning the intersection of Western and Grand Avenue to its former state — a straight shot of W...
Lake Roosevelt Schools intends to continue to pay their staff throughout the duration of the coronavirus epidemic, which has shut down the school at least through April 24. A March 23 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting was held remotely via the Zoom telecommunication application. Board members, the superintendent, and more communicated from separate locations due to the social distancing instructions put in place to help thwart the spread of coronavirus. Superintendent Paul Turner said about the school’s budget that “there is a bit... Full story
With schools shut down due to the coronavirus epidemic, the spring sports season is in serious question, but a month of play is possible. Spring sports include: baseball, softball, golf, tennis, and track and field. The topic of athletics was briefly discussed during a March 23 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting held remotely via the Zoom telecommunication application. Board members, the superintendent, and more used the app to conduct the meeting from separate locations due to the social distancing instructions put in place to... Full story
The city halls in Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, and Elmer City are closed to the public due to the coronavirus epidemic, but are still staffed to answer the phone to answer questions, and can still take payments for utility bills. Electric City, Grand Coulee, and Coulee Dam have drop boxes where people can place their utility bill payments. A staff member at Elmer City can come outside to take a payment during normal business hours. All four towns also take online payments through debit or credit cards. Some can take online payments... Full story
Workers on Grand Coulee Dam perform maintenance scheduled in conjunction with drawdowns of Lake Roosevelt Friday. Even if the federal facility were owned by the state or even a private entity, they would still be working in the wake of Gov. Jay Inslee's statewide shutdown, deemed essential workers in the electricity sector. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grant County Fire District 14 ill not hold its monthly meeting March 30, due to the Corona virus outbreak.... Full story
A Delano couple wants to formally annex their property into the city of Grand Coulee to make its consolidation with Electric City possible. Jim Keene spoke to the Grand Coulee council at their March 17 meeting. Keene pointed to a map showing that the property he and his wife bought in 1986, located between Electric City and Grand Coulee in the Delano area, would form a contiguous border between Electric City and Grand Coulee if formally annexed into Grand Coulee. A contiguous border is necessary for two or more cities to merge. The Keenes’ a...
NOTICE OF TRANSFER STATION HOURS NOTICE IS HEREBY given that until further notice the Delano Transfer Station will operate under reduced hours in response to the COVID-19 restrictions. The Transfer Station will only be open on Saturdays from 10:00am – 12:00pm to those customers who do not have regular garbage pick-up. Only normal household garbage that would pose a health risk will be accepted; no yard waste, furniture or building materials will be accepted at this time. In addition, all cities’ Spring Clean-up dates have been postponed unt... Full story
Everything depends on everything else, it seems, so stopping one part of our economy, our society, affects every other part. We’re all so interconnected. That’s partly why Gov. Inslee’s earlier hopes that people would “just do the right thing” were dashed. In more populous parts of the state, the slowdown he ordered was interpreted at a vacation by so many that recreation sites were flooded with cars and people. Even outdoor sites were reportedly impossible places to accomplish “social distancing.” And so the order announced Monday evenin...
I just read a story that some 1,400 communities lost their newspapers in the last year. That’s to say nothing of papers publishing less frequently. These communities will feel the loss. People get their news now from a lot of sources like cable news and social media sources. The Star newspaper has been lucky so far in that a steady stream of readers choose to come by the office each Wednesday so they don’t have to wait for delivery. That’s a prime example of a good readership base. Newspapers use revenue from display, classified ads and circu...
During this time our patience can be tested to the extreme. With social media being flooded with everything from right to left, raging toilet paper shoppers, constant updates and, yes, even the sadness of cancelled weddings, funerals and appointments, we find ourselves in a social isolation aquarium not really knowing what is going on. The only thing we know for sure is that we are supposed to be separated and isolated. That can bring challenges of their own. We find ourselves in a time that can only be compared to television shows or movies ab...
Grand Coulee 3/16 - The driver of a truck with a badly damaged windshield was reported by multiple people, and pulled over near Jess Ford. The man was intoxicated, and was cited for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and being in possession of a stolen Bureau of Reclamation sign. 3/17 - A woman reported that her vehicle had been prowled at her Boulder Avenue residence. She heard the faint sound of a car door closing and noticed her car door wasn’t fully closed. The registration, which expires in a month, was the o...
Don McClure was born in Spokane on February 15, 1928, to Robert R. McClure and Meryle A. (Jones) McClure. He lived his entire life on the Nespelem ranch that began when his father and grandfather homesteaded on Moses Mountain. Don attended 11 years of school at Nespelem, then graduated from Okanogan High School in 1946. He married Geraldine Booth on September 4, 1949, and they celebrated their 70th anniversary last fall. They raised their five children and several foster kids on the ranch. With... Full story
Katherine was born in Pullman, Washington, December 11, 1963, to Albert and Arlene Lewis residing in Palouse. Her family is saddened to announce her passing Friday, March 6, 2020, with her family by her side at Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane, Washington. She leaves behind her soul-mate of 25 years, Patrick Cunningham; daughters: Jacquie McQuown, Jennfer Adams and their families; son, Robert McQuown Jr.; brothers: Rich Lewis, Mike Lewis and their families; her canine companions: Buster, Geor... Full story
From work-at-home options to the school closure or now your business or job closing to help battle the coronavirus pandemic, we've all had a lot to deal with, and we're interested in what you have to say. Please take our survey and tell us how it's going: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q8ZX7SZ... Full story