News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The chamber of commerce is after more advertising money with which to fund an ad campaign to boost sagging tourism numbers. Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal appeared before the Regional Board of Mayors at their last meeting and appealed for added help in drawing visitors to the area. Nevsimal told mayors that tourism was down at Grand Coulee Dam last year by about 48,000 visitors, or 10 percent. She reported that lodging establishments remain about 70 percent vacant in the winter and 20 percent empty... Full story
Explosive material has been found in the bed of the drawn down Lake Roosevelt at the north end of the reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam, and authorities think more may exist. The National Park Service was notified April 22 that explosive material had been found on the west side of the lake, near milepost 243 on state highway 395 north of Kettle Falls, WA. The material was contained in tubes, about a foot long and several inches wide, labeled “Senatel Magnafrac.” The Spokane Bomb Squad responded and destroyed the materials. On April 24, 2014 the...
Grant PUD security personnel found an old pineapple-style hand grenade below the high water mark of the drawn-down Columbia River near the Old Vantage boat launch in Grant County about 6 p.m. yesterday. The WSP bomb squad responded and detonated the grenade. Local residents in Sunland Estates and Vantage may have heard the explosion. The grenade was a fragmentation style device of a style developed for use during World War II. The style was used by U.S. armed forces until the late-1960s. The... Full story
A girl pounces on one of 2,500 colored plastic eggs left on the athletic field at Grand Coulee Dam Middle School for the Lions Club annual Easter Egg Hunt Saturday. Winners of special prizes are on page 4. More photos are online at grandcoulee.com. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
Electric City is asking residents to make their wishes known on the size of “accessory” buildings at a public work session, Tuesday, April 29, beginning at 7 p.m., at city hall. Mayor Jerry Sands stated this week that if the attendance at the planning commission meeting is large enough it would be moved to the fire station. The current size limit of “accessory” buildings in Electric City, according to its comprehensive plan, is 850 square feet. Not enough, some residents who are interested in providing enough space to house their motorhomes, tr... Full story
Two furniture manufacturers have been awarded contracts for the new school facility in Coulee Dam, officials announced. Virco, a California firm, was awarded a $469,156 contract to provide furniture for classrooms in the K-12 facility. School Specialists, a Seattle firm, was awarded a $183,290 contract to provide furnishings for the offices, art room, libraries, and the elementary cafeteria. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson said with the two furniture bids, and... Full story
Part of the fishing area below Grand Coulee Dam is now open for fishing after nearly 13 years of closure. The area had been closed for the past 13 years due to security issues connected to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and officially re-opened April 15. To get to the fishing site, people must take the Lone Pine exit from highway 155 to the Downriver Trail Road and park in the designated parking area. Now open is about a quarter-mile of the pedestrian access trail that will eventually take... Full story
Repair bill guess: $61 million Grant County Public Utility District announced Tuesday that the estimate to repair Wanapum Dam is about $61 million, but commissioners hope to avoid raising rates any more than already scheduled. The dam was discovered in February to have a crack in its spillway some 65 feet long and 2 inches wide. The crack closed up when the utility lowered the reservoir behind the dam to take the pressure off. The utility is evaluating how it will use a combination of reserve funds, debt financing and expense reductions to... Full story
by Roger S. Lucas Two people were recently charged in Grant County Superior Court with first-degree theft for taking copper wire from an area near Grand Coulee Dam last June 18. Charged were Victor W. Ford, a 44-year-old man from Lake Stevens and Michael R. Bruce, a 48-year-old Everett man. Two people out for a walk told police they saw the two pulling copper cable up from the hillside and dumping it on the sidewalk at Riley Point. Bureau of Reclamation Plant Protection personnel followed the incident by security camera in broad daylight,... Full story
by Roger S. Lucas Helicopter rides will return as one of the added features of Colorama this year. Colorama, May 8-11, will see Lake Roosevelt High School graduate Tim Tueth return to give helicopter rides to those who want an aerial view of the coulee. Tueth graduated from LRHS in 1992, and had lived in the area since he was in the second grade, so it will be like coming home for him. Last year, Tueth’s first year giving helicopter rides here, was highly successful. He will lift off and land again this year from the upper ballfield at North D... Full story
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission announced Tuesday the upcoming dedication of a new ADA-accessible fishing pier at Steamboat Rock State Park. The dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Monday, April 28, at the boat launch area on Banks Lake. The new pier is in a protected inlet just west of the concession stand and swim beach. The event will celebrate the completion of the 12-year project of the Rotary Club of Grand Coulee Dam, working in collaboration with State... Full story
Time to dust off your fishing equipment and clean out your tackle box for the 2nd Annual Chamber of Commerce Triple Fish Challenge, April 26, 27, at Coulee Playland Resort on Banks Lake. Fish for trout, bass and walleye, and if you have good luck for two days you could win the grand prize of a 4-person Achilles inflatable boat and Yamaha outboard motor. Prizes go to the big fish in each species each day, total stringer weight each day, and total combined heaviest six fish for the two days. Two classes are featured: Class 1, juniors up to 14... Full story
A new 1,900-foot long pipeline that will provide water service to Sunbanks Lake Resort moved along when Electric City’s council voted April 8 to have Mayor Jerry Sands sign a developer’s agreement to proceed. Sunbanks has selected Mountain View Construction of North Bend to do the work, and city officials stated last week that the project could begin as soon as Gray & Osborne, Electric City’s engineering firm, approves the plans. Sunbanks is obligated to pay for an 8-inch line; however, it will install a 10-inch line, with the city payin... Full story
In America we have several national holidays or occasions which we recognize annually. Of these, only a relative few are always identified with the same calendar date each year, such as: New Year’s Day – January 1st, Independence Day – July 4th, Veteran’s Day – November 11th, and of course Christmas – December 25th. Our national citizenry’s participation in each of these above noted occurrences, however, pales in comparison to this nation’s most all-inclusive event, one which is not even a paid-day-off national holiday. I am speaking of an... Full story
According to Channel 2 TV out of Spokane, Friday, April 18, 2014, was going to be rainy and cold. Eight of us braved the weather reports and took the Grand Coulee Senior Center Bus to Spokane for our monthly shopping trip anyway. Imagine our joy to find, by the time we got there, that the clouds and rain had burned away and we had a beautiful day! There was much discussion about what flowers were blooming where and what bird different one of us had seen this spring, among other things. After leaving Betty Davis, Jean Graff, Bev Bowman, Kay... Full story
To Kim Stanger, Virginia (Genabug) Redstar, Sean Thin Elk, and Jena Henry: Thank you guys, it was such an opportunity to go to the Salish Language Conference with Kim, Genabug, and Sean. I learned a lot and appreciate it. Then I got to go over to the Northwest Indian Youth Conference, also with Kim and Jena during spring break. I know I will get a lot of opportunities in the future to go to more conferences, and I hope at least one of you guys will be there. You help out a lot, especially when you help with all the kids. And even though we... Full story
One of my most trusted readers and a small friend of mine, (even though she tells me to Shut Up every time she sees me) wanted me to do my column about the Easter Bunny. So since I don’t want to make one of my most valued readers angry, I will write a column about the furry little guy that hopefully delivered you a basket full of goodies last Sunday. If you got a look at the middle school field last week, you might have got a peek at the thousands of eggs the Easter Bunny and the Lions Club s... Full story
1 Years Ago Two girls were rescued from the Coulee Wall Friday by Grand Coulee Fire Department. The two 12-year-olds had been climbing the wall in the afternoon against their grandmother's advice and when they tried to climb down became trapped on a ledge. A longtime teacher and educator Karen Tiegs Whitaker died Tuesday following an illness. Grand Coulee School District decided to honor her 31 years of teaching local children by closing school Monday in her honor. The Coulee Dam Council voted... Full story
Nancy Camp, 60 of Omak, Wash., passed away Saturday, March 22, 2014, in Wenatchee Wash. A celebration of Nancy's life was held on Friday, Apr. 11, 2014, at the Strate Funeral Home in Grand Coulee. Nancy was born in Florence, Ore., to Donald and Anita Camp on October 14, 1953. Nancy earned her AA degree from Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Wash. From there, she went on to have a successful 17 year career with the US Army Corps of Engineers (Civilian Employee). Her job provided her the... Full story
Funeral services for Leonard Holt, Sr. (Buster) of Elmer City will be held on this Thursday and Friday, April 24 and 25, at the Omak Catholic Longhouse. Buster was born on July 29, 1929, at Monse, Wash., and died on Thursday, Apr. 17, at the Coulee Medical Center. Rosary will be at 7 p.m., on Thursday and military funeral services will be at 10 a.m. on Friday with a dinner to follow. Buster will be buried at the Holt Cemetery in Okanogan, Washington.... Full story
The Colville Confederated Tribes and Taylor Woodstone will be hosting a job fair on Wednesday, Apr. 30, at the Omak Community Center, 601 Benton St., Omak. There will be two sessions 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. The purpose of this fair is to inform interested Native American workers from the Colville Nation of possible construction jobs at the new Omak Resort-Casino project.... Full story
Wed., Apr. 23 - Dinner Baked Chicken with Cranberry Sauce, Twice Baked Potatoes, Buttered Peas, Cabbage and Pineapple Slaw, Cookies. Thurs., Apr. 24 - Dinner Lasagna, Green Beans, Tossed Salad, Garlic Bread, Fruit Bowl and Whipped Cream. Grocery Shopping and Errands. Fri., Apr. 25 - Breakfast Bacon and Eggs, Hashbrowns, Biscuits with Jam or Jelly, Peaches, Orange Juice. Mon., Apr. 28 - Breakfast Minced Sausage and Eggs, Waffles, Apricots, Orange Juice. Tues., Apr. 29 - Dinner Vegetable and Pasta Soup, Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Fruit and... Full story
Chamber to Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet Thursday, April 24, noon, at Pepper Jack’s Bar & Grille in Grand Coulee. Debbie Bigelow, Interim CEO at Coulee Medical Center, will be speaking about the WRITE program at CMC. Grant County Fire District 14 to Meet Grant County Fire District 14 will hold its regular monthly meeting on Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at the Electric City Fire Station. Dedication Time is Here Isle of Flags dedication time is fast approaching. Call Ben Alling at 509.633.0663 for more information a... Full story
Hundreds of kids from 1 to 10 years of age cleaned the middle school athletic field of thousands of plastic eggs in mere minutes Saturday. Ludolph Field at Grand Coulee Dam Middle School sported about 2,500 colored plastic eggs containing candy or prizes planted there by the Lions Club. Cordoned off for four age groups, each starting at separate times, the field was cleared of eggs in four minutes. The 11 a.m. event, which the Lions have been putting on since 1936, was preceded a half hour... Full story
Tiffany and Robbie Seyler of Electric City, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Kinsey Rae Seyler, born Saturday, March 29, 2014, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz., and was 21 inches in length at birth. Sibling includes 8-year-old Alli. Maternal grandparents are Douglas and Shannon and Linda Pickel. Paternal grandparents are Wesley and Chris Seyler. Great-grandparent is Shirley Pickel.... Full story