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Articles from the July 29, 2020 edition


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  • New school levy on November ballot

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 29, 2020

    The Grand Coulee Dam School District is asking for more money as they enter the uncharted territory of beginning a new school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The district board of directors Monday night approved a budget for the 2020-21 school year, as well as a resolution authorizing a new enrichment levy that will ask property owners for an additional dollar per $1,000 of assessed value on their property. Voters will decide in the November general election whether the district gets that extra dollar. The history of local school levies in...

  • Fire still burning in Nespelem area

    Scott Hunter|Jul 29, 2020

    A fire that started Thursday afternoon near the tribal greenhouses near the Columbia River east of the Colville Indian Agency moved rapidly over dry hills to Schoolhouse Loop Road about two miles away, burned the tribal recycling center and threatened the correctional facility, the school, the tribal archives and the town itself, the Mt. Tolman Fire Center said. By evening, the blaze had burned about 1,200 acres of grass, sage and bitter brush as winds pushed it quickly across steep slopes...

  • Weekly Q&A's to focus on upcoming school year

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 29, 2020

    The superintendent of the Grand Coulee Dam School District will answer your questions related to reopening school for the 2020-21 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic in weekly question-and-answer sessions held online. Superintendent Paul Turner sent an email on July 22 to parents, staff, and community members detailing the meetings. “In light of all the COVID-19 uncertainty about school reopening, I would like to schedule weekly Q&A sessions online,” Turner said. “At this point the district has developed some re-opening strategies with mor...

  • Grand Coulee/Electric City to update computer for arsenic treatment plant

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 29, 2020

    Even cities have to deal with electronics becoming obsolete. The cities of Grand Coulee and Electric City need to buy a new computer for their arsenic treatment plant, which treats the water that comes from Electric City wells and is used by both cities. Both city councils discussed the issue at their respective council meetings held earlier this month. The computer is not your average at-home computer. It may cost in the vicinity of $20,000, unless a cheaper option is found. Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout threw some numbers out to the Electr...

  • Grand Coulee woman dies in crash

    Scott Hunter|Jul 29, 2020

    A Grand Coulee woman died last week when the car she was driving crashed in Douglas County. Maureen K. Horrobin, 63, was found deceased at the scene of the collision when local emergency personnel responded to a reported injury accident on Pendell Road, about seven tenths of a mile off Crown Point Vista Road. Her vehicle had rolled about 200 yards off the roadway, Douglas County Undersheriff Tyler I. Caille reported. The crash occurred about 8:19 p.m. July 21. The preliminary investigation showed speed was a contributing factor to the...

  • Covid-19 cases counted

    Jul 29, 2020

    Grant County Health District has seen 168 new cases of Covid-19 since July 21. The county as a whole has had 1,177 people get the illness, 10 of whom have died. The Grand Coulee area of Grant County has six confirmed cases. State Secretary of Health John Wiesman updated his statewide Face Covering Order Friday to include anytime you leave your home. “If you are leaving your living space, even temporary living spaces, you should be wearing a face covering to protect those around you!” Grant County Health District explained on its website. Acc...

  • Short-term rentals will be allowed in Grand Coulee

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 29, 2020

    Grand Coulee residents can now rent out their homes for a weekend if they want to. The Grand Coulee City Council approved an ordinance July 21 allowing short term rentals in residential zones within the city. The ordinance says that short-term rentals will “allow for increased tourist accommodations,” and that there is a need for that in the city. Short-term rentals are defined as rentals for less than 30 days and are also referred to as “vacation rentals,” or “nightly rentals.” The council discussed that Electric City doesn’t allow short-t...

  • Wheat saved from fire near Wilbur Hill

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 29, 2020

    A fire in the "Wilbur Hill" area, called the Neal Canyon fire, burned about 70 acres of grass brush and light timber on July 24. The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, started on a hill near milepost 27 on SR- 174 at roughly 11 a.m. on July 24 and had "high spread potential," according to Veronica Randall, public information officer for the Colville-based Northeast Washington InterAgency Communication Center. The fire had been moving toward wheat fields above the hill, where...

  • Imagine a world without music

    Roger S. Lucas|Jul 29, 2020

    It’s almost unimaginable. Music, whether we realize it or not, plays an important part in all our lives. My earliest recollection of music was when I was very young and my father sang to me. My father had an ocean of Irish ditties that he would sing while I was sitting on his lap. What I wouldn’t give to remember all of them. But I do remember one “Froggy went a courtin.” I don’t remember why this one stuck to me. I don’t even remember if my dad had a good singing voice, but it was magical to me. We can be depressed, lonely, sick, but music is...

  • Good news that undoubtedly would please Scoop Jackson

    Don Brunell|Jul 29, 2020

    America desperately needed some positive news and a reprieve from the coronavirus pandemic and rioting which is ripping apart our country---most notably in Seattle, Olympia and Portland. We needed reaffirmation that our political leaders can come together, set aside bitter partisan differences, and act in our country’s best interests. That actually happened in the course of the last month. The result would undoubtedly please the legendary U.S. Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson (D-WA) — the master...

  • Home coming

    Jesse Utz|Jul 29, 2020

    Many years ago, a local family uprooted and went east. They left behind the oldest son who had just graduated and laid down some roots of his own, but they took the middle child and the youngest and set out for North Dakota. This is the story of the youngest daughter. She had just passed the fourth grade and was looking forward to summer when she got the news. They were packing up and going to the middle of oil country. They were going to live in a place called Wildrose. Population, not much....

  • Latino Americans deserve their seat in the nation's capital

    Dan Newhouse|Jul 29, 2020

    If you have ever visited Washington, D.C., or even looked into planning a trip to the nation’s capital, you know there are quite a few sights to see. Washington, D.C. is a hub for both American history and cultural exploration, from the U.S. Capitol building and the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library, to memorials to great presidents and soldiers who fought in past wars. Some of the most notable cultural attractions are the Smithsonian museums, where special artifacts, exhibits, historical memorabilia, and more are displayed for...

  • Original Grand Coulee outlaw, Texas, Jack Part 1

    Jul 29, 2020

    Once, long before anyone even decided to put a dam at the Columbia River, there was a small community in the north end of the Grand Coulee. At first, sparse pioneers with cattle roamed the land approximately where Electric City is now located. Just a few miles away, in Rattlesnake Canyon lived the last of the outlaws, and the most notorious of the Grand Coulee area, Texas Jack. When he spoke, he spoke with a Texan accent, but he didn't have much need for people and kept to himself mostly, in...

  • Legals for July 29, 2020

    Jul 29, 2020

    City of Electric City CALL FOR BIDS FOR 2018 JEEP RENEGADE The City of Electric City will sell by sealed bid the following: 2018 Sport Utility Jeep Renegade with approximately 5,900 miles on odometer, minimum bid is $17,000. The vehicle is being sold AS IS and is available for viewing. Please call City Hall at (509) 633-1510 to make an appointment during normal operating hours (Monday-Friday, 8:00am– 5:00pm). Bids must be submitted on the City supplied bid form which may be obtained at Electric City City Hall or online at ww...

  • Coulee Cops

    Jul 29, 2020

    Grand Coulee Police 7/18 - A man reported that someone had spun “brodies” in the parking lot of his Coulee Boulevard storage units, leaving marks in the gravel. - A 21-year-old man was reported to be overdosing at Coulee Playland, and CPR was being performed on him. The man was said to have possibly taken Percocet mixed with Fentynal. An officer administered two doses of Narcan, which brought back a pulse to the man and helped him start breathing again. Emergency medical services arrived to take the man to the hospital. -While looking into ano...

  • Lucetta (Cetta) Louise Desautel

    Jul 29, 2020

    Lucetta (Cetta) was born to Gabe and Josephine Orr on September 20, 1929. Josephine deceased at 19 years old. Lucetta's parental grandparents James and Louise Orr took her in and raised her from early childhood, along with their own 10 children. On August 12, 1947, she married Gilbert Desautel Sr. (the love of her life). They had five children: Deborah (Frank) Friedlander, DeWayne Desautel (deceased), Gilbert Desautel Jr. (Charlene), Karen Desautel George, and one infant son who died at birth....

  • Richard Wilson "Dick" Ross

    Jul 29, 2020

    Richard Wilson "Dick" Ross, 91, passed away Monday evening July 20, 2020 at McKay Healthcare & Rehab in Soap Lake, Washington. Dick was born Friday, August 3, 1928, in Portland, Oregon, to William Robert (Bob) and Mary Ellen Peddicard-Ross. In 1933 his family moved to Grand Coulee, Washington, where his parents started "The Booster" - Grand Coulee's first newspaper, a one page mimeographed sheet of paper. In 1935 they started a regular newspaper, "Grand Coulee News"; then after the "B" Street...

  • Genevieve Rose Alexander Wheeler

    Jul 29, 2020

    Genevieve was born December 19, 1917, in Mansfield, Washington, to William and Pearl Alexander. She passed peacefully at Harmony House in Brewster, Washington, on July 24, 2020. Genevieve graduated from Northwest University (Bible Institute) in 1938. After her graduation she and Eva Radnovsky pastored in Goldendale, Washington for two years. Eva went into missions and Genevieve came back to the coast where she married Walter Wheeler (who also graduated with her from Northwest). As Walter was...