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 police issue between Grand Coulee and Electric City took a number of twists and turns this past week. Electric City had threatened to walk away from extending its law enforcement contract with Grand Coulee and develop its own police department. That ended last Thursday evening when two council members from Electric City — John Nordine and Aaron Derr — and two council members from Grand Coulee — David Tylor and Erin Neilson — got together and developed a plan that could eventually lead to a combined police department. Grand Coulee...
As the local chamber of commerce got ready to host thousands of people in the area to its annual Festival of America last Friday and Saturday, members became aware of misperceptions among the public in general of just how those festivities are funded. As chamber members picked up fireworks donation cans from various public countertops, comments indicated that many people assume the whole thing is funded by the federal government. Not so, hence the attempt to solicit small donations that brought...
Consolidation — the word that sends chills up local spines, was spoken last Tuesday night. City Councilmember Tom Poplawski brought it up at the Grand Coulee City Council meeting. And he even said it out loud. Poplawski noted that maybe it was time that the different cities thought about combining operations — like police departments, city clerks, and more. Mayor Chris Christopherson jokingly said, “We could call it the Grand City.” Poplawski went on to say if the different towns and cities could combine, they could get a city manager and dev...
A number of small fires marred the busy July 4 holiday weekend, Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Chief Richard Paris reported this week on behalf of several responding agencies, and one large fire near Keller was still being battled Tuesday morning. At least five of the fires were caused by fireworks incidents, but none covered more than small areas. Thursday night Electric City firefighters responded to a small fire just north of Devil’s Punch Bowl along Banks Lake. That fire covered a tenth of an acre. Friday night, July 4, Grand Coulee f...
A civic minded man made a big contribution of labor Saturday, helping to clean up the top of North Dam after Fourth of July fireworks the night before. But no one knows who he is. The young man, say Bureau of Reclamation officials, was walking by the mess left by private individuals lighting off fireworks from the top of the earthen dam that holds back Banks Lake when he decided that just wasn't right. He had gathered most of the refuse into piles to make it easier to clean up, and hauled some to a dumpster at North Dam Park by hand. The top...
Gift made of vacation pay The Grand Coulee Dam School District board of directors accepted a $740.61 cash gift from Guillermo Guzman, a former Spanish teacher at Lake Roosevelt High School, at its recent meeting. The gift was from money the district owed him on accumulated vacation pay. Students earn trip A request to take a number of SHARP Kids to the Surf-n-Slide aqua center in Moses Lake was approved by the school board last Monday night. The trip was earned by students who had the required attendance record. Agency to continue work for $281...
Deborah Panke will take over July 14 as Nespelem Elementary School’s principal, following a decision by the school board in a special Monday night meeting. Panke, the school’s special education teacher, will take over in the wake of the recent resignation of John Adkins, who took the superintendent position at Wellpinit. Nespelem will still need a part-time superintendent and Director Jolene Marchand was charged with negotiating an agreement with Mary Hall, a local resident qualified. The interim-basis appointments will allow the school boa...
A South Carolina man was named manager at the Variety Store recently. Owner John Sweeden selected Dave Slyter as manager of the Grand Coulee store. The two had served together in the Sprouse Reitz chain of stores 40 years ago and have been in contact over the years. Slyter retired from the Flying J stores over a year ago and decided after talking with Sweeden to come west to manage the store. Slyter was born in LaGrande, Oregon and later moved to Lebanon, Oregon before handling stores in the...
Crews from IB-1, an asbestos abatement firm, are currently removing asbestos from the classroom wing of Lake Roosevelt High School, and district officials stated last week that it will take about two weeks to complete the work. Then it will be time for the wrecking ball. Work was temporarily delayed recently when it was discovered that there was more asbestos in the building than previously thought. Thirteen of the classrooms had asbestos tile under carpeting. Superintendent Dr. Dennis Carlson stated this week that the abatement firm plans to...
There will be laughs guaranteed for those attending the Ridge Riders Junior Rodeo, July 19-20. And it’s free for the entire family. The wrangling starts at 10 a.m. both days, promising family fun and plenty of action, including bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, chute dogging, calf roping, steer wrestling, and a host of other events including goat tying, goat flanking, mutton busting, and even goat undecorating. All events feature the youngsters who some day may end up cowboys and compete in rodeos across the west. A c...
With 13 standard rodeo events and four special events, the Nespelem Celebration Rodeo will offer a wide variety for fans July 12-13 at the Nespelem Rodeo Grounds, in conjunction with the annual powwow and stick games. Everything from saddle broncs to junior barrels are offered. And three horse races will include a wild horse race on Saturday, regular horse races Saturday and Sunday and a wild colt race for 13- to 17-year-olds on Sunday....
The two letters below on separate problems at nearby state and national parks illustrate a larger problem with a policy stance the entire nation has adopted through its politics. For decades now, the drumbeat, originating from the Chicago School of Economics in early 1960s, has insisted the solutions to all our problems can come from cutting government budgets and subjecting every government service possible to the forces of the open market gods, which can do no wrong. The adoption of that economic religion has led to some good and some bad...
I am the outdoor recreation journalist with the Okanagan Valley Newspaper Group based in Kelowna, British Columbia, responsible for a Making Tracks column and outdoor recreation features in valley-wide publications, The Okanagan Saturday and The Okanagan Sunday, each with a circulation of 25,000. As part of my coverage of outdoor recreation in Canada and the U.S., I often visit provincial, national, state and federal parks to encourage my readers to explore the outdoors, from Banff to Whistler, from the Olympic Peninsula to the Grand Canyon....
We just spent our vacation at Keller Ferry Campground, and what I saw when I arrived was a travesty. The grass was burned to a crisp. The camp site was full of debris. The fire ring had garbage in it. The outlets in the restrooms were not working. The men’s room sink did not work the entire time we were there. What appeared to be two teenagers were trying to keep up with the yard work without the proper equipment. The lawn went without mowing in our section for the entire two weeks. Some in our party managed to acquire some sprinklers and s...
I seem to recall the Star's editorial support of the "status quo" of gasoline prices here in the Coulee a few weeks ago. It was implied that detractors just didn't “know Jack" and that the higher prices were due to the free market system which locals are willing to pay for. It appears we will now get to see a case study in free market economics now that a new source is offering gas at 25 cents a gallon less. I just wonder if the Bureau's motor pool or the cities’ motor pools will likewise look out for the taxpayers whom they work for and sta...
Activism is the rent some of the CCT elders pay. In the white societal world this is goot goot. It is called volunteerism. It is considered ‘concern’ for your fellow man, your neighbor, your community through participation in local community governance. I especially liked and concur with the opening words of Darlene Zacherle’s campaign letter in the April 2014 Tribal Tribune. In part: “Know your candidate’s ethical & moral boundaries, what they do in their personal lives reflect upon their professional work; do they acknowledge constituency in...
Have you ever ridden a roller coaster in the dark? A long time ago, wife Karrie and I had the privilege of going to California with a friend and visiting Disneyland. Space Mountain is a roller coaster in the dark and it was maybe the best ride I have ever been on. Maybe it was the very long line we had to stand in or just the anticipation build-up, but it was a very fun ride. What I remember most is sometimes you did not know which way you were going to turn next — could be right, could be left, and could be a sharp upturn or a quick drop. Y...
Donald "Don" Joseph Ferguson, Sr., 79, quietly passed away from his Keller, Washington home Monday evening, July 1, 2014 surrounded by his loving family, Donald entered into this world on January 2, 1935, in Kewa, Washington, the day after his parents: Joseph Donald and Leona V. Toulou-Ferguson joyously danced in the New Year. This may have contributed to Don's lifelong talent for the love of music, playing several instruments including guitar and banjo. A proud member of the Colville Confederat...
Chamber This Week The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet Thursday, July 10, at noon. Call Peggy 633-3074 for location. Coulee Area Community Blood Drive The Inland Northwest Blood Center along with the Coulee ommunity Blood Drive volunteers led by Rebecca Derrick will be coordinating the blood drive at Coulee Medical Center Professional Building B on Monday, July 21, from 11:30 am. - 4:30 p.m. INBC needs an average of 200 blood donors every day to meet the needs of more than 35 hospitals in the Inland Northwest. A single...
Rock A Bar plays on the stage at the Grand Coulee Dam Chamber of Commerce's Festival of America in the lower Visitor Center park at Grand Coulee Dam July 5. Band members (from left) are Paul Furman, Barry Starkey, Gary Boyd and Bob Starkey. - Scott Hunter photo...
The Coyote Open Golf Tournament is coming up this weekend at the Banks Lake Golf Course. The tournament will be featured July 11-13, with Friday’s play a practice round at half price for participants. Saturday’s tee times at 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Sunday’s tee times have a 9 a.m. shotgun start. Handicap allowances for men is 24, for women, 32, and in the senior division, 60, with no exceptions. Side bets include KPS, long drive; skins (gross/net), blind draw, best ball, deuces and long putt. Sponsors of the tournament are Coulee Dam Casin...
Summer events continue at the Grand Coulee library with this Friday, July 11, the NCRL Puppeteers – Mad Scientist will be performing 3 p.m. Fri., July 18, Master Story teller Deb McVay will be here beginning at 10 a.m. Fri., July 25, Chelan Couty PUD “Zap, Crackle, Zing! – How Energy Works” program will begin at 10 a.m. Witness and participate in the wonders fo the five energies: Potential, Kinetic, Mechanical, Electrical and Light. Wed., July 30, 10:30 a.m., build a robot. Fri., Aug. 1, 10:30 a.m., Celebrate National inventors’s Month and...
Learn how to compost your yard and garden waste at a free class held on Thursday, July 17th at 6:30 pm in the Grant County Public Works public meeting room. The class will last approximately 90 minutes. The meeting room is located at 124 Enterprise St. SE, Ephrata. After attending the class, one participant from each household will receive a free, portable compost bin. Participants do not need to pre-register to attend. Composting is a beneficial way of turning yard and garden waste into a beneficial resource that helps plants grow healthier...
Dylan Tipps, a senior at Central Washington University and a resident of Electric City, was named to the Central Washington University Spring Honor Roll. Central undergraduate students who earn a 3.5 or better grade point average, on a 4.0 scale, while carrying at least 12 graded credit hours of study, are eligible for the honor roll....
Karah Duclos, of Coulee Dam, has been awarded an Edward and Vieno Nansen Scholarship of $2,252.20 for the 2014-15 academic year at Eastern Washington University, the school announced. The scholarship is awarded a student from the Grand Coulee/Electric City area. While at Lake Roosevelt High, she was a member of the National Honor Society, and played volleyball and softball. At Eastern, Duclos is majoring in accounting. She is the daughter of Klendon and Susan Duclos of Coulee Dam....