News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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When Mark Head noticed the other boat headed straight for him in the middle of Banks Lake, it was too late. Head, 51, from Cashmere, and the four others aboard his pontoon boat, including small children, had been just floating, doing some cleaning up without the engine running about 5:25 p.m. Thursday when he saw the wake boat coming. Head hurried to try to start the engine and move, but couldn't before the other boat hit, stopping instantly on top of the middle section of the pontoon boat,...
A new multimillion-dollar hotel in Grand Coulee is being planned with optimism towards the area growing. Blackfly, LLC, owned by Bill Stevens, a farmer from Soap Lake, and Caleb McNamara, a contractor from Moses Lake, bought property along Midway Avenue that includes Pepper Jack's Bar and Grille, another nearby building, and surrounding lots. The property consists of three parcels of land along Midway Avenue purchased from Norman and Carlene Worsham for $285,000 and a fourth purchased from...
The cause of the wildfire that burned in Coulee Dam June 30 is still under investigation. That fire burned around 21 acres on the northern outskirts of town near 12th Street and Central Drive and up towards the sandhill, according to Debbie Caudell, lead dispatch at Mt. Tolman Fire Center. The fire was first reported to Mt. Tolman at about 7 p.m. and resources were called back in at about midnight. Those resources included four type-6 engines, two dozers, a hand crew, and more. Workers returned the next day to mop up the scene of the fire,...
Okanogan County Fair canceled The Okanogan County Board of Commissioners announced “with a heavy heart” Monday the cancelation of this fall’s county fair. The commissioners and the Fair Advisory Committee jointly explored all possible options to keep this yearly county tradition moving forward, they said, but could not find a way to do so safely under the governors “safe start” reopening restrictions. Despite the cancellation, the Fair Advisory Committee has established several sub- committees to explore how to hold a livestock auction a...
Fireworks caused one fire on Independence Day and another Monday afternoon. On the Fourth of July, a fire across from the Northrup Point boat launch burned about a tenth of an acre, Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ryan Fish told The Star in an email. That fire was put out by the Bureau of Land Management, which had had about 20 firefighters stationed near North Dam and ready to answer regional fire calls. The Bureau of Reclamation contracted with BLM last year to handle wildfires...
Don’t play with fire! Two agencies have issued restrictions on fires as of July 3. The Bureau of Land Management Spokane District has issued a fire restrictions order on public lands administered by the BLM and the Bureau of Reclamation with which the BLM has an agreement to assist with wildland fire suppression on USBR lands. And Okanogan County’s burn ban is in effect and will continue to be enforced until official notice is made rescinding it by the county commissioners. This burn ban is county-wide, affecting all private and county pro...
A video showing the full ceremony of Lake Roosevelt High School’s class of 2020 is now available to view on YouTube. The video can be found on YouTube under the title “Lake Roosevelt High School Graduation 2020,” and a link will be included in the online version of this article. The unusual COVID-19-era outdoor graduation on June 13 took place on LR’s football field and followed social distancing guidelines put in place for the pandemic, which limited the number of people who could attend, kept those attending in their cars, limited the num...
As I have said in the past and will continue to vocalize in our nation’s capital: Hydropower is truly the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest. From the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest power producing hydroelectric dam in North America, to the dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers, Central Washington has come to rely on the clean, affordable, and reliable power these dams produce. We should be encouraging innovation and expansion of hydropower as the United States moves toward a clean energy future. These critical water infrastructure p...
A highway sign “beware, rocks” would have been better stating “be aware of rocks.” Those of us who have lived here for a bit are fully aware that we live in a rocky environment that has historical significance. My fascination with rocks could stem from the fact that my mother gathered a rock from every place she visited. The rock pile was in our mud room off the back porch. I think she could have told you where every rock came from. I never get tired of driving our lake canyon picking out unique rocks and rock formations. There are a number...
This past week our family has lost three men who were mentors or treasured icons in our eyes. They were irreplaceable, and that got us as a family to really treasure those memories. As we look to the future, we seek to create time and moments with the ones who are left. Especially during this time of social distancing and creating space, it can be challenging to just hang out with the people special to us. But it is also a significant time to cling to those people who have lived through the...
In August 1933 the Wilbur Commercial Club contacted Washington Senator Clarence Dill proposing a postage stamp commemorating the start of construction at Grand Coulee Dam. This request was denied in October 1934 by postal authorities who stated that the beginning of construction was not important enough to merit a stamp. In November 1951 a commemorative stamp was again proposed by Washington state's U.S. Sen. Warren Magnuson, who suggested a stamp be issued honoring the first delivery of...
We know all too well the complete destruction that wildfires can cause. Over the past several years we’ve witnessed numerous, nearby, destructive wildfires. We are not immune to the outcome of wildfire. Can we better suppress and understand wildfire and the elements that comprise wildfire? The answer is probably yes. The past few decades, engineers, scientists and wildfire managers have collaborated to jointly create new tools and techniques to better fight and understand wildfire. My first expo...
MEETING NOTICE GRAND COULEE CITY COUNCIL The Council of the City of Grand Coulee, Washington will hold its regularly scheduled council meeting on July 21, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. electronically via Zoom. The telephone and login instructions will be available 24 hours prior to the meeting. To obtain the sign-in information for this meeting please contact Grand Coulee City Hall at (509)633-1150. This information will also be posted on the front door of Grand Coulee City Hall, 306 Midway Ave., Grand Coulee, WA. Lorna Pearce, Clerk/Treasurer (Publish Jul...
Grand Coulee Police 6/30 - Neighbors who share a driveway on Roosevelt Drive argued about garbage. One of the neighbors took pictures of the driveway and posted them on Facebook. Police told them to be civil to one another. 7/1 - Police responded to Northrup Canyon Road for a possible traffic accident. There was no accident, but someone had a medical issue and was taken to the hospital. - Police investigated a possible burglary at a vacant Dill Avenue house where doors were open, a ladder moved, and more. It turns out the owner had given...
Ann C. Van Valkenburg Zowada, 98, was born on November 1, 1921, in Denver, Colorado, to Fred and Mary Van Valkenburg. She passed on Monday, June 29, 2020, at Apple Springs Assisted Living in Omak, Washington. Ann was raised in Denver and graduated from Holy Family High School in 1940. She attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where she was a member of the Kappa Zeta Kappa sorority. In January of 1943 while at Creighton she attended a dance and met a young man, Ray Zowada, from...
Grant County Fire Dist. 14 to Meet Remotely Grant County Fire District #14 is changing their regular monthly meeting date from Monday July 27, to Monday July 13. As the result of the Covid-19 and in accordance with the Governor’s Social Distancing, the meeting will be held via conference call at 6:45 p.m. To join meeting, call 1-717-275-8940 then enter access code 229 3198#. (Remember to enter # sign after the number) Food Bank Hours Change Starting July 10, Care & Share Food Bank will be open every Friday from 2-4 p.m. for drive through s...
Delmar and Linda Sanford of Grand Coulee, Washington, will be celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary on July 10. They were married on July 10, 1965, in Coulee Dam, Washington. They have two sons: David (Taunya) and Kyle (Jody) Sanford; four grandchildren Stetson (Miranda), Colt, Tucker (Whittni) and Brooklyn, and one great-granddaughter, Jersey. Del and Linda continue to make Grand Coulee their home. Both retired as school teachers from the Grand Coulee Dam School Distric...
Ciara Nault of Grand Coulee, Washington, is proud to announce the birth of her daughter Caylin Tru Nault, born Saturday, June 6, 2020, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 7 lbs., and was 20 inches in length at birth. Maternal grandparents are Juanita Weed of Wyoming, and Robert Nault of Elmer City, Washington....