News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It is very discouraging to consistently read of the editorial position of this paper and the local school district’s position of calling on the federal government for funds to build the local school. The district already has $25 million from the state to build a K-12 educational wing and to demolish the grade school. The district also has $5.5 million to build a new gym complex. If my math is correct, this is covered by the amount the state has set aside. Asking for an additional $15 million from Uncle Sam for essentially athletic uses is a m... Full story
The Washington Army National Guard Honor Guard will hold a “Veterans Memorial Tribute” ceremony on Tuesday, July 24, at the Spring Canyon Cemetery at 1 p.m. “The Veterans Memorial Tribute is a tribute to those veterans of the area who never received proper military funeral honors,” explained Pvt. 1st Class Marco Cerda, an assistant team leader in the Central Washington Honor Guard in a press release Friday. “Along with American Legion Post #157,” Cerda stated, “we will be holding a ceremony that includes the reading of the veterans’ nam... Full story
The Colville Business Council today settled a contentious dispute over a $193 million settlement before swearing in new members and reorganizing in a public meeting at the Nespelem Community Center. The same group of 14 elected representatives that had earlier approved a plan to disburse 20 percent of that directly to tribal members and hold back 80 percent for investments and for repairing damaged tribal lands, passed a compromise with petitioners who demanded a 50-percent payout. In a resoluti... Full story
An unsafe level of a naturally occurring toxin was detected in algae blooms at Rufus Woods Lake near Bridgeport, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Friday afternoon. Officials posted Washington State Department of Health warnings against swimming, water skiing and other in-water activities at the lake near Bridgeport. The toxin of concern is anatoxin-a, a nerve toxin produced by some blue-green algae blooms found in water bodies throughout the state. The toxin can be lethal to animals if ingested at high enough concentrations. While it’s saf... Full story
A trained master gardener is prepared to work for anyone who needs a hand in doing what she loves — making things bloom into beauty. Gayle Swagerty has just started Coulee Gardens and Design, a new business through which she offers to help her clients do everything from weeding that flower bed they just couldn’t get to, to designing a landscape for a new home. Swagerty, a master gardener certified through Washington State University’s extension program, also holds an associate of arts degre... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board has approved a raise for Superintendent Dennis Carlson: 20 percent of his current base salary during pre-construction of the new K-12 school complex. The increase is due to the amount of extra time the superintendent will spend while all the details of the construction project are worked out, a board report stated. Carlson’s base salary is $104,000; however, he had voluntarily taken a 3-percent reduction in salary during the last budget period. The board had recently added a year to his contract, t... Full story
Fire crews have had quite a workout over the past week, particularly in Douglas County, Grand Coulee’s fire chief Rick Paris reported Monday. Just as a Type-3 incident management team was cleaning up and leaving from the near 500-acre Cache Butte fire on north Banks Lake late last week, the area experienced another lightning storm that started several small fires and a larger one. Douglas County Fire District 3 and District 5 battled a fire between Mansfield and Bridgeport near Foster Creek that turned into a major fire, starting about m... Full story
Primary ballots out this week Ballots for the Aug. 7 primary, will be mailed to voters today, Wednesday, in Grant County and Thursday in Okanogan County, their respective elections departments noted. If you don’t get a ballot by July 25, you can call Grant County’s department at 754-2011 ext. 377 or ext. 423. Okanogan County’s election officials can be reached at (509) 422-7240. Trees coming down The Bureau of Reclamation plans to cut down eight or nine trees in North Dam Park. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said that Bonneville Power... Full story
Several music concerts have been scheduled in a series of free summer concerts at North Dam Park and Event Center. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a variety of live bands to play in the park at its grassy hillside amphitheater and is arranging an advertising campaign to promote them. Free concerts, along with other area attractions, including Grand Coulee Dam, the Laser Light Show, area lakes and great weather, well promoted, should boost tourism through August. The concerts, and advertising of them, will be funded... Full story
A woman on River Drive who suffered a gunshot wound to her right forearm last Saturday night told officers that her guitar had exploded. Coulee Dam Police Chief Pat Collins said Tuesday that there was a bullet hole in the woman’s guitar and that police pulled a bullet from a wall. A 45-caliber handgun was recovered near the room where the incident occurred. When Officer Joshua Dies arrived at 11 p.m. at 1017 River Drive, he found the woman, Nicole Stice, standing in her driveway yelling, “Somebody help me,” according to the police repor... Full story
A Douglas County farmer and his wife, Leroy and Betty Sanderson, have been named “Landowners of the Year” by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. The couple, who now live in Electric City, own a large cattle and wheat ranch and have cooperated with Fish and Wildlife in enrolling hundreds of acres of wheat into the Conservation Reserve Program. The Sandersons turned the reserve property into a recreation area for wildlife by planting trees, shrubs or crops specifically for wildli... Full story
High-speed Internet will soon be on its way to the Colville Reservation, according to Jim Ronyak, IT division director for Colville Indian Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. New fiber-optic lines will bring service to Nespelem School, Nespelem Head Start and the tribal government campus. Later it will branch out to other areas. Ronyak said this week that high speed Internet service on the reservation would be “life changing.” The estimated $1.4 million project was 90-percent financed by a grant from federal Universal Service funding sup... Full story
A downed telephone pole dropped two major phone lines across SR-155 near the Star Newspaper office early Monday morning about 7:15 a.m., stopping traffic until evening. Police officers manned the traffic problem, turning traffic around and diverting it around the affected area. A new pole was placed by Century-Liink and the wires re-strung Monday. The pole had rotted out at the bottom allowing it to fall dropping the lines.... Full story
I am a lifetime Okanogan County rancher, retired. I spent 30 years in leadership positions representing the cattle industry at county, state, national and international levels. As a 13-year member of the Okanogan County Noxious Weed Board, I learned how complicated it is to be run properly. We had to work with the DNR, public works, railroads, state highways, National Forest, Colville Tribe, game department and Canada and all kinds of different land ownerships. As manager of the county noxious weed board, Sheilah Kennedy provided excellent... Full story
The United States Supreme Court has ruled the “penalty” imposed for not purchasing a government-approved health insurance policy is actually a “tax.” Consequently, Congress has the power to force every person to purchase health insurance or pay the tax. The Court found the Affordable Care Act (ACA) constitutional, and it is the law of the land. What does this mean for our state? The most recent local poll shows the vast majority of Washingtonians oppose the individual mandate (64 percent...
We can all stop pretending continued Republican anger about the Affordable Care Act is news. Some figured a Supreme Court ruling would settle things. And since the GOP said it was unconstitutional with the same fervor as people who’ve read the Constitution--it was easy to assume a decision from the nine justices in the highest court in the land--regardless of the outcome--would chill them out. They would say things like “We are a nation of laws.” Things they say when they agree with the law--... Full story
Ten Years Ago One of the final obstacles to the construction of the town of Coulee Dam’s filtration plant has now been removed. Fourth Congressional District Representative Richard “Doc” Hastings announced yesterday that Coulee Dam will receive federal grants and a loan to pay for its water filtration plant. “It’s great,” said Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow. “It goes to show that the squeeky wheel gets the results.” High temperatures could not prevent shooting enthusiasts from attending a tournament designed to test their skills with a variety of... Full story
Samuel "Cougar Sam" Miller, 103, the Last of the True Mountain Men, and master story teller born July 9, 1909, in Silver City, New Mexico, died peacefully in Nespelem, Washington on Monday, July 16, 2012. Funeral Services for Cougar Sam will be held at 1oon on Friday July 20, in the Chapel of Strate Funeral Home in Wilbur. Burial will follow at Wilbur Cemetery. Strate Funeral Home of Grand Coulee, is honored to be serving his family.... Full story
There will be a 'get together' at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church following the graveside service at Spring Canyon, on Friday, July 20th at 4:00 for Thelma Thurston. Nothing fancy, just come and remember Thelma and her life in the Coulee.... Full story
Wednesday, July 18 - Dinner Hamburger Steak with Grilled Onions & Gravy, Baked Potatoes, Corn, Seasonal Fruit. Thursday, July 19 - Dinner BBQ Pork on a Bun, Coleslaw, French Fries, Fruited Jello & Whipped Cream. Friday, July 20 - Breakfast Spanish Omelet, Hash Browns, Toast, Bowl of Fruit, Coffee, Tea & Orange Juice. Monday, July 23 - Breakfast Ham Steak, Eggs, Waffle, Seasonal Fruit, Coffee, Tea & Orange Juice. Tuesday, July 24 - Dinner Seasonal Fruit Salad with Chicken, Dessert Bar, Garlic Bread, Jello, Cookie. Wednesday, July 25 - Dinner... Full story
Author Bruce Bjornstad will be present for a book signing at the Dry Falls Visitor Center, Saturday, July 28, from 3-4 p.m., of his latest book “On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods.” This is an expanded edition to include the northern reaches. Bruce will follow with a talk at Sun Lakes State Park’s new amphitheater at 8:30 pm. Visitors may participate in a geology trail walk led by the author on Sunday, July 29th at 8 a.m., also at Sun Lakes State Park amphitheater parking lot. A Discover Pass will be required at the state park.... Full story
On Monday, July 23rd from 11:30-5 p.m., Inland Northwest Blood Center in cooperation with Coulee Medical Center will be hosting a community blood drive in Grand Coulee at the Old Clinic, located just across the parking lot from the new hospital. This blood drive is a summer t-shirt blood drive, and each donor will receive a very special limited-edition INBC summer t-shirt. Come join us as we work to save lives this summer right in your community! Walk-ins welcome or schedule an appointment today by calling us at (800) 423-01... Full story
Jennifer Peoples and Vernon Reyes of Keller are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Jordynn Micaela Reyes on Monday, June 25, 2012, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 7 lbs., 4.2 oz., and was 22 inches in length at birth. Siblings include Audrina Reyes 2 and Sophia Reyes 1. Maternal grandparents are Christopher Peoples and Sheila of Keller. Paternal grandmother is Juanita Reyes of Missoula, Mont.... Full story
Ashley Clark and Nicholas Ramos of Electric City are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Lorrana Naveen Ramos on Saturday, July 7, 2012, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 8 lbs., 8 oz., and was 20-1/2 inches in length at birth. Maternal grandmother is Shelly Clark. Paternal grandparents are Margaret Gunshow and Micheal Ramos....
Lomasi Purganan and Domingo Beltran of Nespelem are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Nayeli Alberta Beltran Purganan on Sunday, July 8, 2012, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 8 lbs., 15 oz. Sibling is Alicia Hernandez age 5. Paternal grandparents are Dawn Lamere and Owen Purganan.... Full story
