News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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• There is a difference between decision making and leadership. Leaders of the Colville Tribes discovered that recently after they made significant, long-impact decisions on behalf of their constituents without really involving them in the process that brought the tribes a huge sum of money in a settlement, but that some say also may have compromised tribal sovereignty. Coulee Dam leaders have been involved for years in a less dramatic, but nonetheless significant process as they planned upgrades to the town’s aging wastewater treatment pla... Full story
The port district has invested over $100,000 in Banks Lake Golf Course since it took over in April, a financial report revealed last week. The cost of running the course through July 27, was $143,216, with golf course receipts totaling only $42,963.79. Port District 7 stepped in this past spring when it became apparent that the golf course would have to close. Commissioners told interested golfers who turned out for a public meeting then that they would keep the course open this year. Initially, the port district sought a golf course operator,... Full story
School district workers Monday dug for a time capsule that some say was placed near the Wright Elementary School flagpole in 1976 or 1977, in honor of the nation’s bicentennial. Workers used a backhoe and dug a 4-foot-deep trench around the flagpole but couldn’t find the capsule. The district had been told that officials sank the capsule in that area. Regardless, workers were planning to save the flagpole so it could be placed someplace in the new K-12 school complex and had to dig up the con... Full story
Elmer City Mayor Mary Jo Carey told Coulee Dam’s town council last Wednesday night that high wastewater treatment rates could spell the end of Elmer City as a town. “We just can’t afford the high rates proposed and may have to go back into Okanogan County,” she said as she pleaded with Coulee Dam to take a new look at its $4.9 million wastewater treatment project. She seemed to endorse Coulee Dam resident Greg Wilder’s plea for a $2.7 million version of the same project. He spoke last Wednesday night before the Coulee Dam council and said the... Full story
Visitors to the area in 2013, will see a brand new laser light show at Grand Coulee Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $1.6 million contract to LumaLaser of Eugene, Ore., recently to develop the new show. Funding for the new laser show and equipment comes from Bonneville Power Administration and will be used to not only develop the show but upgrade equipment as well as sound quality. Under the new system, authorities say, there will be an energy savings of about 75 percent. LumaLaser will... Full story
Crop circles appeared last week in a wheat field between Grand Coulee and Wilbur. Field owners Greg and Cindy Geib told KHQ televsion they had no idea how they got there. KHQ’s video is below. KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho |... Full story
Wildfire burns to water tank A fire crew of about a dozen responded from Mt. Tolman Fire Center to a grass blaze at the northwest corner of the town of Nespelem late Monday afternoon. An official said that the cause of the fire is being investigated. Firefighters got a line around the fire and three tanker loads of retardants were dropped on the blaze. The fire eventually burned all the way to the water tank, but was under control by late evening. Some residents were told to be prepared to vacate their houses as a precaution. A local resident... Full story
Elmer City Mayor Mary Jo Carey told Coulee Dam’s town council last Wednesday night that high wastewater treatment rates could spell the end of Elmer City as a town. “We just can’t afford the high rates proposed and may have to go back into Okanogan County,” she said as she pleaded with Coulee Dam to take a new look at its $4.9 million wastewater treatment project. She seemed to endorse Coulee Dam resident Greg Wilder’s plea for a $2.7 million version of the same project. He spoke last Wednesday night before the Coulee Dam council and said the... Full story
Organizers of a “community watch” program plan a town meeting at the Electric City fire station beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, Aug. 6. The point of the meeting is to get like-minded citizens together to fight crime in their neighborhoods. City Council members Birdie Hensley and Lonna Bussert have been working together to get the program going. While it isn’t an official city function, it has been a subject discussed at several council meetings. The interest was fanned by the monthly police reports of illegal activity in the city. People are a... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam and the school district teamed up early this week to get sufficient power to A.E. Wright Elementary so the abatement of hazardous materials could begin before the old facility is torn down to make way for a new school. IRS Environmental, a sub-contractor, was on site Monday getting set up to build containment areas so they could work on removing asbestos that laces the old school. General contractor Elder Demolition of Spokane, said the abatement process will take several weeks and then demolition will begin. Elder will... Full story
The National Park Service will feature both day and night astronomy programs, Saturday, Aug. 4. A daytime program will occur from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Spring Canyon day use area, where Education Specialist Janice Elvidge will hold a program about what the sun looks like. She will have filtered telescopes and solar glasses to use as you view and hear about the sun, the earth’s nearest star. The program will be repeated, this time at Crescent Bay, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., the same day. Later that night, Elvidge will lead viewers through a stargazing a... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam and the school district teamed up early this week to get sufficient power to A.E. Wright Elementary so the abatement of hazardous materials could begin before the old facility is torn down to make way for a new school. IRS Environmental, a sub-contractor, was on site Monday getting set up to build containment areas so they could work on removing asbestos that laces the old school. General contractor Elder Demolition of Spokane, said the abatement process will take several weeks and then demolition will begin. Elder will... Full story
There’s still considerable danger from trees damaged by the July 20 wind storm that swept the area, Colville Tribes spokesperson Kathy Moses said Tuesday. Moses said that tops of trees damaged by the wind are falling off in wind as low as six mph. When they break, it sounds like gunshots, field workers have reported, Moses said. And many trees have been splintered underneath the bark, making them dangerous, Moses stated. “With the hotter weather, we are finding more tree problems here on the reservation,” Moses stated. Meanwhile, tribal autho... Full story
I first met Senator Linda Evans Parlette when she was campaigning for her first term in the House of Representatives in 1996. At the time I was on the local school board and I was able to share with her our unique situation with our school facilities and lack of a property tax base to obtain funding for new school construction. She herself had served as a school board member and could readily appreciate our overwhelming obstacles. Given the general political makeup of our local communities, I had expected that finally some politician in the... Full story
Jerry Birdwell was named last Thursday as a Port District 7 commissioner. Birdwell replaces Larry Maier, who resigned a month ago after serving nine years on the board. Birdwell will have to file next year and win in the November election to remain on the board. Maier told commissioners that he was resigning because he wanted to spend more time with his family and do a little ocean fishing. Birdwell is retired as maintenance director for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Birdwell was seated last Thursday on the board.... Full story
for ratepayers and schools in Coulee Dam The towns of Coulee Dam and Elmer City recently met to discuss ways they might cooperate or come to an agreement regarding the new treatment plant which Coulee Dam is currently designing. It seems that Coulee Dam’s view of resolving the matter with its “partner” is to simply proceed without any consideration, consensus, or compromise, leaving Elmer City faced with a project they simply cannot afford. And, as it is, there are many of us in Coulee Dam that can’t afford it either! The decision Coulee... Full story
Voters of Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District, kindly listen up! Our current U. S. Representative in Congress (Cathy McMorris Rodgers) has pledged her candidacy to Grover Norquist and his Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) never to raise any taxes. ATR is a Norquist boondoggle and is a 501(c) 4 tax-exempt charitable organization that doles out cash to support his pledges. This is not bad for a blatantly political non-profit that raises over $12 million per year and pays Norquist a hefty salary. We voters can end one aspect of a s... Full story
Ten Years Ago Ryan Hunt completed Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., July 3 with two distinguishing awards; one for finishing in the top 10 percent of his class and one for superior physical performance. The Marconi brothers, Corporal Douglas Jr. and Lance Corporal Urisha (Ookie) are currently serving their country in the United States Marine Corps. David W. Romero has successfully completed basic training from the Naval Training Command at Great Lakes, Ill. The buzzing sound of personal watercraft cruising through the Lake... Full story
Carole Jean Fisher, Electric City, passed away Tuesday, July 31, 2012. Memorial services will be held Saturday, Aug. 4, at 11 a.m., at the United Methodist Church in Grand Coulee.... Full story
Leslie Edwin Lillquist of Laconner, Wash., died on Sunday, July 15, 2012, after a short but courageous battle with cancer. Les was born to Edwin and Violet Lillquist on November 7, 1931, the oldest of five sons, in Mount Vernon. Soon after, his family moved to Grand Coulee where he grew up in the booming construction town and in the surrounding hills hunting, fishing and rockhounding with his dog King. It was on the sports fields of Grand Coulee and the backcountry of Northrup Canyon that he forged relationships with lifelong friends. Les was... Full story
The Nespelem School Board was named Regional Board of the Year among K-8 school districts in the four-county region served by North Central Educational Service District. Superintendent John Adkins nominated the Nespelem board for their, “quality work done in a unified fashion in a short period of time.” Criteria for the Regional School Board of the Year award included improvement of student learning, vision and leadership, teamwork, experiences of benefit to other school boards, and a tho... Full story
Lanae Michel and Jeremy Stanger of Nespelem are pleased to announce the birth of their son Loucius Travis Stanger on Sunday, July 22, 2012, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. He weighed 7 lbs., 14 ounces and was 21 inches in length at birth. Maternal grandparents are Lynette Hawley and Travis Michel of Nespelem. Paternal grandparents are Myrna Moore and James Stanger of Nespelem. Great-grandparents include Angie Michel, Lorraine Gertamen, Grace Moore and Louella Hilburn.... Full story
Award winning pianist and composer John Nilsen has just completed his 18th recording and is coming to northeastern Washington for a series of solo piano performances. All performances are free-will offering and John's CDs will be available afterward. John will be performing Fri., Aug. 3, 7p.m., at Grand Coulee UMC, Grand Coulee, WA. Nilsen, who has performed in all 50 US states, has also toured in Europe and Asia while selling one million recordings and is one of the Northwest’s top selling recording artists. John is from Portland, Ore., and i... Full story
Chamber to Meet at Pepper Jack’s Grand Coulee Chamber will meet Thursday, August 2,at noon at Pepper Jack’s Bar and Grille in Grand Coulee. Jerry Kennedy from Foisy & Kennedy Insurance will present a program on the New Health Care Law. Everyone is welcome to attend. Mosquito Dist. 2 to Meet Grant County Mosquito District 2 will hold the regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 1, (tonight) at 7 p.m. at the Electric City City Hall. Local AA Meetings Confused in the Coulee AA meetings are held on Mondays at 7 p.m., Friday at 6 p.m. and Sun... Full story
There’s a whole lot of bull going on. And they are coming to Grand Coulee Aug. 15 for the Ridge Riders’ bull riding event. Sorrel Katich will provide about 36 bulls for the one-night event, stock from his ranch south of Keller. Katich said Tuesday that he would supply 30 long-round bulls and six short-round bulls. The difference is that the short-round bulls have a better record of discarding their riders. “Make no mistake,” Katich said, “all of the bulls do a pretty good job of bucking off their riders.” The mid-week event is a test to see... Full story