News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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With time running out, people with ideas about plans emerging for Spring Canyon, the popular beach and park on Lake Roosevelt just east of Grand Coulee, should make them known to the National Park Service. You have until the end of the day on May 30 to comment on potential changes at Spring Canyon, including the removal of the swim dock, removal of the concession building, and more. The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Draft Visitor Use Site Management Plan and Environmental Assessment is available to view online and available for...
It is now mandatory to wear face masks in many public situations in Grant County, which recently entered Phase 2 of the state of Washington's Safe Start Recovery Plan. "After much consideration, research, and consultation, Grant County Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny is issuing a Health Officer Directive mandating this use of face coverings in some public settings," a May 27 press release from the Grant County Health District reads. "This is one easy effort to assist with reducing the... Full story
In the face of uncertainty during the COVID-19 restrictions, the chamber of commerce board of directors voted May20 to cancel any planning for the Festival of America over this year’s Independence Day holiday. The annual event, which normally includes vendors and performers in the park below the visitor center at Grand Coulee Dam, draws thousands each year, most to watch the fireworks off the top of the iconic dam. But all of that takes planning and a timeline that has run out. And the host federal agency, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, has n... Full story
People visit over and spruce up the graves of loved ones on the afternoon of Memorial Day at Spring Canyon Cemetery. The Isle of Flags organization had earlier put up American flags to honor fallen veterans, which they do annually, along with offering a ceremony in the morning. The ceremony didn't happen this year due to social distancing requirements, but people still spruced up the graves and visited at gravesites. - Scott Hunter photo...
There is no known timeline yet for opening the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s visitor center at Grand Coulee Dam, or for the restart of what is normally the nightly Laser Light Show that begins Memorial Day weekend and plays all summer and most of the fall. The COVID-19 pandemic has kept the Visitor Center closed and postponed the laser show and tours of the dam, said Lynne Brougher, public affairs specialist at Grand Coulee Dam. “The impacts to the schedule resulting from COVID are unknown and still developing at this time.” “The reopeni...
Lincoln County Fire District 9 issued an immediate burning ban Monday and Grant County’s annual ban will start June 1. That’s when District 9 also usually starts the no-burning season, but this year’s “just a little bit dryer,” said the district’s Ron Rosenberg. Grant County passed an ordinance in 2017 on instituting its annual ban on fires within the unincorporated areas of the county. Agricultural and orchard burning are allowed when permitted by the Department of Ecology. Recreational campfires are still allowed in approved devices at... Full story
The volume of police activity for the Grand Coulee Police Department seems to have gone down during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April of 2018, the GCPD had 99 incidents, in April of 2019 116, and in April of 2020 only 67. Data from the Multi Agency Communication Center in Moses Lake, who relays 911 calls to the appropriate agency, shows that the number of calls they received for the GCPD were lower in 2020 than 2019, but higher than 2018. That data does not include calls that the GCPD receives directly. In 2018, from April 1 to May 15, MACC... Full story
Grant County was approved Saturday to move to “Phase 2” of the Washington State COVID-19 Safe Start Recovery Plan, opening many businesses and activities, with some restrictions. Grant County commissioners had voted Friday to move to phase 2 as soon as state authorities approved the application. Phase 2 includes the opening of hair and nail salons, restaurants opening their dining rooms to 50% capacity, retail with restrictions, and more. Grant County Health District was notified May 23 that their application to move to phase two was app... Full story
Coulee Dam firefighter Ben Alling points to where Grand Coulee Chief Ryan Fish examines the empty spot on a wall, missing the siding that now lies left of Alling. Firefighter Nic Alexander was working a construction job a couple blocks away when the call came Wednesday afternoon for the problem at the Spruce Street home, responded quickly and averted more damage. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grand Coulee Police 5/13 - A man is being charged with theft, malicious mischief, and vehicle prowling. A woman parked on Midway Avenue had called police and said her vehicle had been prowled, and the ignition had been damaged. She called police again shortly after the initial call and said that she had confronted a man sitting in her car, who admitted to being the one who’d been in her car earlier. Police spoke to him at Safeway. He led an officer to a garbage can where he had placed stolen items from a car he’d prowled on Van Tyne Ave...
An unemployment benefits scam has been happening in multiple states the past couple of weeks, costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars, and there have even been incidents in the Coulee. In the state of Washington, an additional 369,016 people filed claims for unemployment benefits from May 10-16, bringing the total number of claims to 1,670,580, an increase of about 28% from the previous week. The Employment Security Department “believes some portion of the high numbers from the past week are due to an increase in fraudulent c...
The Star reported last week that the city of Grand Coulee was turning down Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds due to restrictions on how to spend it. Subsequently, the city said it still may be able to use some of that $31,650. “The money the City had to turn back was strictly for the ambulance,” City Clerk Lorna Pearce clarified later. “The money you referred to is for the City and we will have to play that one by ear.... Full story
You get to choose, but I don’t? Not only that, but your ability to choose is more important than me living. That’s the end logic of the current cry for liberty, defined here as our citizens’ God-given right to ignore the ultimate welfare of all others so they can do whatever they want: party together, worship together, infect together. If we accept our Declaration of Independence, we value “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The last two conditions, it should be obvious without saying, can’t be valued without the first being secur... Full story
It’s been a long tradition in some homes to take your shoes off when entering. This was a common practice in earlier days when it was so easy to track in because everything around was dirty or muddy. Now most homes have cement sidewalks and grassy areas where this is not so much a problem. We had a mud room at the back-door area when I was young, and it was the practice to take your shoes off before entering. We lived on a farm at the time, and it was easy to track in dirt from the field. Entering without taking your shoes off would be r...
Faith can be a funny thing, depending on where you’re standing and what you put your faith into. I was raised to put my faith in God first, family second and country third, but all had strong intermingling depending on whom you were with at the time. So what happens when something shakes the foundations of one of those three? Or if the things you held once dear to your heart seem to be faded, tainted or just plain misdirected. We can start by looking at faith through different lenses. I was a f...
A country learns about itself in a crisis, and one revelation in the coronavirus emergency is that we can’t make our own penicillin. The first patient successfully treated with the antibiotic was a woman suffering from sepsis in a Connecticut hospital in 1942. Her treatment took up half the country’s supply. Yet in short order we figured out how to mass produce the medicine, saving the lives of countless soldiers in World War II. Once, factories throughout the country made the stuff. But that was a long time ago. The last U.S. plant to mak... Full story
North Central Regional Library will host an NCRL Reads Virtual Author Series for adults this summer featuring Noé Alvarez, Kristin Hannah, Blake Crouch, and Peter Heller. Through their annual community reading program, NCRL Reads, the library district connects people across the five counties and 30 library branches they serve by inviting everyone to read the same book, a book that sparks conversations, curiosity, and learning. "Due to the circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic, we are...
Justin and Sharon Boyd of Coulee Dam, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Alysiah Lynn Boyd on Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington. She weighed 8 lbs., 2 oz., and was 20-1/2 inches in length at birth. Siblings include Tiana, Myka, Justice, Cecilia and Calijah Boyd. Maternal grandparents are Kimbo Swan, Inchelium,Washington, Sherri Adolph of Nespelem, Washington. Paternal grandparents are William R. Boyd of Omak, Washington and Shirley Ann Whalawitsa of Coulee Dam, Washington.... Full story
Lisa Seymour and Jered Picard of Nespelem, Washington, area proud to announce the birth of their daughter Blair Z’raya on Thursday, May 14, 2020, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington. She weighed 6 lbs., 2 oz., and was 19 inches in length at birth. Siblings include Reign Picard 1, Jazlynn Innes 5, Roamen Picard 9 and Xander Ostenberg 15. Maternal grandparents are Doug Seymour of Inchelium, Washington and Diana Allen of Omak Washington. Paternal grandparents are Levi Picard and Phyllis Abrahamson of Nespelem and Grace Samuels o... Full story
Cynthia Diane Canchola-White passed away Saturday, May 2, 2020, after her battle with cancer. She was born October 3, 1958, to Abel Canchola Sr. and Naomi Avila. She traveled across country as a teen and finally settled in the Grand Coulee Dam area in 1980, where she has called home ever since. While there, she spent her time being the tiny, quirky, loveable bartender that everyone remembers to this day. She was hard working, selfless, with a true heart of gold, and would have done anything to h... Full story
Mary Jo Carey, 79, former mayor of Elmer City, Washington, passed away Saturday morning, May 9th, 2020, at Holy Family Hospital in Spokane, Washington following a brief illness. Mary Jo was born in Texas on Thursday, March 6, 1941. Following graduation from high school, she worked for the National Parks Service as a Ranger, serving in that position until her retirement. Mary Jo loved her community and as a member of the Elmer City Council, who loved a good debate, Mary Jo could 'sometimes' be pa... Full story
Earl Randall Mustard, 90, of Coulee Dam, Washington, passed away Sunday morning, May 10, 2020, in Grand Coulee, Washington. Earl was born in Tonasket, Washington on Tuesday, July 9, 1929. In addition to his education in the Tonasket schools, following graduation from Tonasket High School, Earl enlisted with the US Army, serving his country during the Korean War. On June 13, 1969, Earl married Miss Sharron Kenney in Tacoma, Washington. In addition to his paid profession as a carpenter, Earl... Full story
Jerami Scott Paquette was born on March 8, 1985. He passed away on May 3, 2020. Jerami was an individual that was interested in every person's story. He had many trials himself and experienced more hardships than most people. Growing up he had an affinity for anything athletic, especially football, where he became known to all as the "Freight Train" and "Gentle Giant". He played on the Washington State football team as running back in Australia. He was awarded "League Defensive Player " of his... Full story