News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A mystery substance has shut down Coulee Medical Center after three employees in the lab area became ill for unknown reasons Tuesday afternoon. CMC was evacuated and employees sent home, and a hazmat team has been requested to investigate. No one knows what made the lab workers ill, other than an odor, but their conditions were apparently not serious. It started with headaches, then chest pains, shortness of breath and vomiting. They've been checked out and released. No patients were affected,... Full story
After lab workers mysteriously got sick Tuesday, forcing an emergency closure, Coulee Medical Center will start a phased re-opening Friday morning, when it will "move forward cautiously," opening its emergency department first at 7 a.m. The decision to re-open was made mid Thursday afternoon after a meeting with state officials. It had been 20 hours with people in the building following that shut-down and subsequent investigations looking for a possible cause of the noxious odor that caused half... Full story
A number of community members who value North Dam Park are working to keep it afloat for the remainder of 2022. The park could close for lack of funding in August of this year, a result of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District having been unable to renew a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation before the end of 2021. The district is in the process of renewing their contract with the bureau for 2023, but in the meantime, is set to quit maintaining the park, including lawn care, water, power, and garbage services, in mid-August. Tha... Full story
Results for seven elections for spots on the Colville Business Council show five incumbents keeping their positions, and two losing them. Absentee votes were certified Thursday, June 23, and added to the poll vote results that had been certified on Tuesday. In the race for Nespelem District Position #1 on the Colville Business Council, incumbent and current chairman Andy Joseph Jr won 370 to 232 votes against Corby Turner. In the race for Nespelem District Position #2, incumbent Shar Zacherle won 357-244 against former chairman Rodney Cawston....
The Bureau of Reclamation is prohibiting fireworks on North Dam for the Independence Day holiday. Reclamation is taking precautionary measures to decrease the potential for wildland fire and is reminding the public that federal regulations prohibit the use of fireworks on Reclamation lands and water bodies, a press release Tuesday stated. The agency will allow the permitted fireworks display at Grand Coulee Dam to occur at the top of the dam for the Fourth of July festivities, the release said. “There is a low risk of fireworks reaching the s...
The 2022 Nespelem Celebration powwow is set to take place July 7-10 at the Nespelem powwow grounds along SR-155, and will include traditional music, dancing and a stickgame competition. The powwow includes traditional, jingle, grass, and fancy dance categories, starting with a “warm up night” on July 7 at 7 p.m.,the contest beginning on July 8 at 7 p.m., and continuing at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. July 9, and at 1 p.m. on July 10. There is also a drum contest at the event. No drugs, alcohol, firearms, or fireworks are tolerated, a flier for the eve...
Tourists stop at the overlook just below the top of the Grand Coulee Dam to admire the giant waterfall spilling over 40,000 cubic feet of water per second on Monday about 1 p.m. That's a pretty large spill, but it's still only about 15 percent of the water flowing by. Another 221.8 kcfs (thousand cubic feet per second) was spinning generators to make electricity at that point, according to a site that generates that information. Altogether, that translates to more than 1.96 million gallons per...
The Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office would like to remind residents that not all fireworks are legal for use within Washington State. State licensed retail fireworks stands must be permitted by the local city or county jurisdiction where they are being sold. Items such as firecrackers, bottle rockets, sky rockets, and missiles are illegal to sell, possess, and/or discharge within the state. However, these items are federally legal and are available for sale or discharge on some designated tribal lands. State and federal laws prohibit item...
The Colville Confederated Tribes owns 184 acres of land in Pasco that they will develop for future business ventures, and signed an agreement related to that project earlier this month. The CCT “has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Port of Pasco regarding the Tribes’ economic development efforts in Pasco,” a June 9 press release from the tribes reads. The agreement “includes a commitment by the Port of Pasco to officially support the Tribes’ Pasco project and assures that the Port is kept informed about the progress of this effort. T...
Don’t let a wet spring fool you. A day after the year’s hottest day so far in the region, Grant County citizens got a reminder of what that can mean when the sheriff’s office issued a Level 2, then Level 3 Evacuation notice Monday afternoon. People in the area east of Soap Lake were told to be ready to go should it come to that, then were told to leave immediately. Responding firefighters sent out the call countywide for help, at least twice. Remember a few summers ago when a fire that started over a half-hour’s drive away eventually put wes...
2 There are several very important words of the pledge of allegiance: I pledge ALLEGIANCE (loyalty or commitment) to the flag of the UNITED (joined together politically for a common purpose) States of America and to the REPUBLIC (a Government where the supreme power is held by the people and their elected officials and president, not a monarch) for which it stands, one nation under GOD, INDIVISIBLE (impossible to be divided) with LIBERTY (being free, within a society, of oppressive restrictions) and JUSTICE (fairness and rightness in the treatm...
Once again Representative Newhouse has proved himself to be a political hack with his Guest Column published in the June 22nd Star. (“We must protect Central Washington’s veterans”) His blaming the Biden Administration not serving the veterans of Central Washington for rolling out the EHR system after the VA was briefed about problems with the system is blatantly false. According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ “EHR Modernization” Facts Sheets, dated 6/7/2022, the rollout of the system was performed in the Northwest during the...
When my wife and I used to hike, we thought in miles, the fewer the better. We would never have thought in the hundreds of miles. Jaci Gross and her 72-year-old mother, Jeanne, are underway on a 400-mile pilgrimage to Santiago, Spain. They left the states Tuesday for Lisbon, Portugal, from where they will walk the 400 miles to the Cathedral at Santiago, where the apostle St. James the Great, is buried. Jaci has been on feverish walks from her home in Coulee Dam to Steamboat Rock State Park several times a week, and also, for a change, to Nespel...
When you hear “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, it’s likely that your mind immediately shifts to the impacts this regulation has on America’s agriculture industry. As a farmer, it’s on my mind constantly. WOTUS and an overbearing Clean Water Act have the potential to destroy the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers across the United States and hamstring our nation’s food supply. Unfortunately, the ramifications go far beyond food security. Over the last year and a half as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, I have had the opp...
The Festival of America fireworks atop Grand Coulee Dam on July 4, 2005....
Shirley Palmer of Nespelem, Washington, is proud to announce the birth of her son Duke Rayden Palmer, born Monday, May 23, 2022, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington. He weighed 7 lbs., 2.5 oz., and was 19.5 inches in length at birth. Sibling includes Kareese Palmer, age 9. Maternal grandparents are Steve and Dorothy Palmer of Nespelem....
Grand Coulee Police 6/20 - A man on Goodfellow Avenue reported about $2,000 worth of items had been stolen out of his truck, which he had packed a few days earlier for an upcoming trip. The items included cameras, sleeping bags, ammunition, and more. The items were then returned anonymously a few days later. 6/21 - A man faces assault charges after allegedly slapping a woman who told him to stop throwing plastic balls around a Grand Avenue residence while hanging out with friends. The man left the residence while yelling at various people,...
Lake Roosevelt Jr./Sr. High School High Honors 3.5 To 4.0 Seniors Juniors Alonzo Adams Penelope Antoine Reniff Herndon Justin Blue Eyes Aehsley Piturachsatit Brit Egbert Sadi Trotter Hunter Palmer Audrey Hansen Elijah Rasmussen David Borden Kate Adolph Gemma Sacchi Zalissa Sanfo Isaijah Derr Jocelyn Zaugg Kaitlyn Nordine Tanner Kiser Glad Eyes Williams Kawika Whalawitsa Angelina Green Sophomores Freshman Aaliyah Cheeney Noah Hunt Lanay Chuckulnaskit Israel Rasmussen Damon Landeros John Cooley Celeste Laplace Riley Ayling Kailah Leadingham Lola...
Parks staff offer reminders, tips and rules for fireworks and use of state parks OLYMPIA – June 22, 2022 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission encourages safe and responsible gatherings in state parks during the upcoming Fourth of July holiday. Parks urges visitors to: Know before you go – Check for park closures and alerts before heading out. Leave no trace – Garbage receptacles may be available, but visitors should plan to pack out trash and anything they have brought with them. All fireworks must be fully extingu...
Food Bank is Open Care & Share Food Bank is open to indoor services Fridays from 1-3 p.m. Please bring bags or boxes. Masks will be required. AA Meetings for GCD and Nespelem Area Confused in the Coulee AA meetings are held on Mondays and Fridays at 6 p.m. at the Vets Center in Electric City. Call Paul at 633-3377 days or 633-3345 evenings. New Hope Group meetings are held Wednesdays at 6 p.m. at the Vets Center. These are open and non-smoking and a new Alcoholics Anonymous group is meeting Saturdays, also at the Vet Center. For information...
Reading Challenges A fun-filled summer of reading challenges, arts and crafts, science demonstrations, story times, have kicked off at all 30 NCW Libraries locations and the two community bookmobiles! Sign up for our free, all-ages Summer Library Program to set reading goals, engage with your library and community, and win prizes. To check out these programs and also to sign up go to: https://www.ncwlibraries.org/slp/ or call the local library at 509.633.0972. Virtual Reading Challenges! NCW Libraries is offering virtual reading challenges for...
The second First Friday Market event of the year is happening on, drumroll please… you guessed it… Friday! On July 1, in just a couple days, North Dam Park will host a 5-9 p.m. event that includes beer, hotdogs, live music, and vendors. Beer will be provided from Republic Brewing; hotdogs from Porky’s Hot Dogs, and acoustic musician Rylei Franks will provide tunes and ambiance to the event. His music can be found on his website at https://ryleifranks.com. The first First Friday, earlier this month, was forced inside due to a downpour, but w...