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 Grand Coulee Dam School District issued a strong response to invitations for comments on a Bureau of Reclamation proposed modernization program. The Bureau had advertised for draft environmental assessment comments on its 12-year plan to modernize and overhaul generators in both the left and right powerhouses. The school district, long critical of a lack of financial support from the Bureau, stated in a letter dated May 12: “Regarding impacts on the district, it is clear the Bureau still does not understand the complexity and unique s... Full story
From a Washington Department of Transportation press release: KELLER FERRY – The Keller Ferry that crosses the Columbia River on state Route 21 is out of service until further notice due to issues with the north shore loading ramp. Drivers are advised to seek alternate routes. There is no estimate on when ramp repairs will be complete.... Full story
[Update] The company planning the move of the big transformer has delayed the move after "discrepancies" were noted during a "weigh and measure" session with the state Department of Transportation, the company said. No word yet on a new schedule. Original story: Drivers probably should not plan to travel on SR 155 late Monday night/Tuesday morning, nor early Wednesday morning when a huge piece of equipment will be blocking traffic up to 90 minutes at a time. An Oregon company will be moving a million pounds along the route from Coulee City to...
The Bureau of Reclamation has a number of construction projects going on lately, and drivers will notice some delays, starting this week. ACCU Construction Inc., based in Santa Ana, California, got the $4 million contract, which involves repair to various roads and parking areas in the Grand Coulee Dam vicinity, including the parking lot at the Bureau, the area by the administration building, the shop in the industrial area, and repaving the road and parking area down to the Left Powerhouse at the dam. The Bureau of Reclamation says that,... Full story
Colorama was a huge success! That assessment came early this week from a variety of sources, not the least from the chamber of commerce and Ridge Rider officials, the two sponsoring groups. Even Grand Coulee Police Chief John Tufts commented on how busy traffic was during the Colorama events. "We didn't have any major problems, but the area was very busy," Tufts stated. Chamber Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal was quick to point out that 123 turned out for the first-ever Color Run, and 68... Full story
Those rodeo cowboys didn't waver, even with threatening skies both Friday and Saturday, as they competed for a lot of money in the 61st Colorama Pro-West Rodeo at the Ridge Rider grounds in Delano. One Ridge Rider spokesperson said that the club was pleased with the turnout and enthusiasm despite the inclement weather pattern. First-place winner for each event are listed here. For the complete listings, see page 8. One of the big winners was bull rider Wyatt Wilks, the lone bull rider to make... Full story
The horrific scene was only revealed after five buses of students and staff from Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School arrived and had lined up behind yellow police tape to witness a disturbing mock scenario. When Colville Tribal Police staff lowered the black plastic, students saw the aftermath of an accident caused by a driver who had been texting. For several minutes, a crying Olivia Arnold wandered in a daze amid the carnage she had caused, while another victim screamed obscenities,... Full story
There will be some changes on the Colville Business Council as two vacated seats will be filled and some incumbents could be in trouble after the May 6 Primary Election absentee votes were totaled. There will be new business council members in the Inchelium District Position 1, and in the Omak District Position 2 races. Ricky Gabriel, incumbent in Nespelem District Position 1, faces a real test as Rodney Cawston received over 50 more votes than he did, 164-208. Others running and their vote total in that district were Amelia (Moses) Marchand... Full story
A Kelso Street resident appeared at Electric City’s last council meeting to suggest that if Grand Coulee adopted an ATV ordinance, he would like to see the speed limit between the two cities dropped so those owning all-terrain vehicles could travel on SR-155. Making the suggestion was Ron Pulsipher, who joins a handful of Grand Coulee residents who have been making the same pitch to their city council. That council has researched the idea using Electric City’s ATV ordinance as an example of what Grand Coulee might do. The ATV ordinance was on... Full story
A bear who visited Coulee Hardware has received some national attention. The bear, reported to police as being in Coulee Hardware’s outside, fenced-in storage area at 8:53 p.m. on May 6, had escaped the area by the time police arrived. Soon thereafter, the bear had gone to Third Street and Burdin Boulevard where the animal had climbed a tree. Police told the reporting party, who had a truck and headlights pointed at the tree and bear, to turn the headlights off and to leave the area to allow the animal to continue on its way in the hopes it w... Full story
Students who witnessed a mock crash scene last Friday may not realize it, but they were given an important advantage that we hope they don’t squander. As horrific as the actors and organizers of the mock accident scene made it, the impact of any such impression naturally fades over time. But at least the students of Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School were subjected to the event organized by Colville Tribal Police in the first place. Now comes the tricky part. The mock crash depicted the scene of a two-car collision with multiple deaths a... Full story
The Center for Rural Affairs has fought on behalf of rural communities for nearly 45 years. We are heartened by U.S. Department of Agriculture Sec. Perdue’s expressions of support for rural communities during his early days in office. However, we are concerned about his current path. On May 11, Purdue proposed eliminating the position of Undersecretary for Rural Development and moving oversight of Rural Development agencies to the Deputy Secretary, USDA’s second-in-command. If this change is made, we lose the most significant rural adv... Full story
Did you know that May is National Foster Parent Appreciation Month? There are nearly 9,000 children currently in foster care in Washington state. Children enter foster care at no fault of their own. Most children in foster care have endured some form of abuse/neglect which made conditions unsafe to remain in their home. Thankfully, there are caring adults who choose to become foster parents. Foster parents are willing to open their hearts and homes to the children in foster care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Foster parents provide the safety,... Full story
“America needs more welders and fewer philosophers,” proclaimed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during the 2016 presidential campaign. He hit the nail on the head without disrespecting philosophers. Industry News reported in 1988 that there were 570,000 welders, compared to the 360,000 in 2012. Considering the manufacturing and construction sectors have boomed in recent years, the growing shortage of welders is troublesome. Even worse, the American Welding Society estimates a 290,000 job deficit by 2020. This shortage is primarily due to the lar... Full story
In a world where turmoil, drama and entertainment seem to grab the front page, top stories and flood our cyber space, I was reminded over the weekend that miracles still surround us. A blooming flower, an egg hatching, planets in orbit and other “natural” occurrences happen every second, but there are other things if we are willing to see. Karrie and I have been, most Saturdays, going to Spokane early in the morning, driving to be there by 9 and experience some great things. We became a part of Healing Rooms International and were honored to... Full story
The 1938 high water of the Columbia River tops the upstream spillway blocks and floods the blockouts left for the outlet works gate installations at Elevation 934. The maximum flow for 1938 was 361,680 second feet. – May 28, 1938 photo... Full story
Naomi Anice (Evers) Thoren, long-time resident of the Grand Coulee, Washington area, passed away quietly on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, in Wenatchee, Washington. Naomi was born December 10, 1923, at Hayden Lake, Idaho, to Henry Otto and Violet Muriel (Manchester) Evers, where she lived for her first five years. Her family moved to Almira, Washington, where her grandparents farmed, and she graduated from high school at Almira in 1941. She married J. Cecil Thoren on January 10, 1942, and they lived in... Full story
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Planning Department Pete Palmer, Land Use/Shoreline Administrator P.O. Box 150, Nespelem, WA 99155, 509-634-2570 PUBLIC NOTICE The Colville Tribes Land Use Review Board will be holding a public hearing to make a ruling on the following land use and development permits: The Colville Tribes Conservation District has applied for a land-use conditional-use permit to develop a research hemp field in the Swawilla Basin area on Tribal Tract 101-T5591 within Township 28 North, Range 32 East, Section... Full story
The Washington Dental Service Foundation SmileMobile, which travels the state offering dental services to children who might not otherwise have access to dental care, will be in Coulee Dam May 25–26 and May 30–June 2. The 39-foot dental clinic on wheels is hard to miss when it rolls into town. Staffed by a clinic manager, dentist and dental assistant, it will be parked at Lake Roosevelt Schools to provide dental examinations to children from birth up through high school age and to pregnant wom... Full story
The WSU Diabetes Prevention Program can help you lose weight and prevent or delay type-2 diabetes. It is a lifestyle change program that helps people develop lifelong skills for healthy living with step-by-step changes, according to Margaret Viebrock, WSU Extension program coordinator. The Diabetes Prevention Program is for people with pre-diabetes, which is when your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not so high it can’t be lowered. The program is a 12-week series, followed by bimonthly meetings for two months and then monthly meetings f... Full story
Marica and Jeremiah Sample, of Coulee Dam, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Lilianna Elise Sample, born Thursday, May 4, 2017, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington. She weighed 9 lbs., 1.7 oz., and was 20 inches in length at birth. Siblings is Katrina Michelle Sample, age 16. Maternal grandparents are the late Charlie Quill and Katie Quill. Paternal grandparents are Mike and Brenda Sample. Great-grandparents include Beverly Dunn and the late Harry Kilmer.... Full story
Ashley and Warren Conway, of Creston, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Aydan Leslie Conway, born Sunday, May 7, 2017, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. He weighed 7 lbs., 13 oz., and was 20.5 inches at birth. Sibling is Delaney. Maternal grandparents are Debra Borden and Kevin Borden. Paternal grandparents are Ron and Nicole Conway.... Full story
Chamber This Week The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon, this Thursday, May 18, at High Dam Tavern, Grand Coulee. Jim Keene from the Port District and Banks Lake Golf Course will be the guest speaker. Okanogan County Democrats to Meet Okanogan County Democrats monthly meeting and dessert potluck will be held on Saturday, May 20, at 1:30 p.m. at the Brewster High School library, 503 S 7th Street. Bring a favorite dessert to share. School Retirees’ Assoc. to Meet Okanogan County School Retirees’ Association will hol... Full story
The Lady Raiders will compete in the regional tournament after having defeated the Tonasket Tigers last Saturday to take third place in District 6. Following a 13-2 loss at home to Liberty Bell on May 9, the Lady Raiders softball team hosted Tonasket in Grand Coulee May 13, beating the Lady Tigers 15-5 in five innings. Tonasket scored five runs in the first inning when the Lady Raiders didn't score. The second inning went much better for LR, who held Tonasket to three batters before scoring... Full story
The Raiders are sending sophomore cousins Darin Whiteman and Derek Whiteman to state, following a match in Oroville last week and the district tournament in Yakima. Derek Whiteman will attend as an alternate because Darin beat him by one stroke. In Oroville on Wednesday, May 10, the match “went fine, but it was not officially scored since the greens were under maintenance and not match ready,” Head Coach Steve Files explained. “We had gorgeous weather and used it as a nice tune-up for districts.” Competing in the district tournament on Monday a... Full story
