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 Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club is offering cash assistance grants of up to $500 to those affected by the Grass Valley Fire. Assistance is available to those in need due to fire loss or emergency evacuation expenses. If you or someone you know needs help, contact Club Treasurer Jerry Kennedy. He can be reached at 509-631-4567....
Okanogan County Fire District 8 firefighter Brett Read, 38, was injured while fighting the Grass Valley Fire in Douglas County Saturday. Read and another firefighter were attempting to leave their work area when the fire behavior unexpectedly intensified, Fire District 8 Chief Ed Townsend said in a statement. Read became separated from the engine he was working on and suffered burns during the incident. The second firefighter on Read’s engine was not injured. Read was taken to Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, and later airlifted to Harbor... Full story
Whipped by wind, a fire that started near the turn to Mansfield Saturday morning sped over grass, sage and stubble, burning one firefighter and threatening homes and property, on its 20-mile race to menacing Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam, parts of which were ordered to evacuate. Eventually, 247 firefighters would respond from across the state, but the initial attack was up to local volunteers. Douglas County Fire Districts 3 and 5 were dispatched to a mile east and a mile south of Sim's Corner, th...
With many cities, counties, fire districts and multiple jurisdictions of every kind coming together in the Grand Coulee Dam community, it can leave many newcomers scratching their heads, but firefighters on the Grass Valley Fire reported seeing a remarkably close community. At a meeting called Monday to give the community information on the Grass Valley Fire, Public Information Officer Ben Shearer, from the Southeast Washington Incident Management Team, said he has been fighting fires for 28 years, but had to give credit to the Grand Coulee...
Despite an amicable meeting of leaders, two local towns could be about to square off in court over disputed costs of just $30,000, if conversations at their respective council meetings are an indication. Coulee Dam Town Council members talked at length last Wednesday night about the major dispute that has Coulee Dam and Elmer City disagreeing about who is responsible for paying for new equipment to lift Elmer City's sewage another 20 feet higher as it's pumped to Coulee Dam's new treatment...
Local skateboard enthusiast Ben Hughes has already received outreach from skateboarding companies after The Star published an article about his ambition to improve on the current skateboarding culture. “The article that was in the paper (‘Skateboarding scene could grow in the coulee’) is a testament to how the internet works,” Hughes, a commissioner of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District, said at their Aug. 6 meeting. “I named Zumiez in the article, and someone at Zumiez forwarded it on to someone who forwarded it on, and they cont...
A free presentation on “Building Grand Coulee Dam,” by Raymond Paul Giroux, will discuss how the right conditions, people and engineering allowed it to happen at that time. The Aug. 25 program will be presented at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center. “During the early twentieth century, the Bureau of Reclamation was charged with harnessing the water potential of the western United States,” an Aug. 13 bureau press release states. “Critical to this vision was taming the mighty Columbia River. With river flows more than 300,000 c...
Elmer City appoints new council member Elmer City resident Terje Berg was approved to be on the town council at the town’s Aug. 9 meeting. Berg has lived in the area for three years and said that his reason for wanting to be on the council is that he wants to know what is going on in the town. Total fire restrictions for Lake Roosevelt Due to extreme conditions, all fires at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area are prohibited, effective 12:01 a.m., Friday, Aug. 17, until further notice. No open flames are permitted. This includes, but is n...
At approximately 8:45 p.m. Saturday night, the Grand Coulee Senior Center received a call from the Department of Natural Resources with a simple but somewhat daunting request: Could we feed the firefighters breakfast and dinner on Sunday? Within the hour, we were able to contact enough volunteers throughout the community to answer with a somewhat nervous yes. What happened over the next 24-plus hours was amazing. We were not expecting it when we accepted this challenge, but the senior center ended up getting paid for it, so we do not need any...
The plight of a grieving orca who continues to carry her dead calf for weeks is reported by the Seattle Times. The Spokane Spokesman-Review lets people know for the first time the Legislature is forming a task force to exempt lawmakers from portions of the Public Records Act. The Columbia Basin Herald in Moses Lake warns that air quality for the county fair may be unhealthy because of wildfire smoke pollution. The Omak County Chronicle reports that Wally Richards is this year’s Omak Stampede grand marshal. The Nisqually Valley News in Yelm t... Full story
All of us have stories of this past weekend. I also know that the fire is far from out as I write this, but many of us are taking a breath of not-so-fresh air and relaxing for the first time in days. In the midst of disaster and facing possible loss, heroes emerged for many of us. Some in the form of neighbors and community members; some in firefighters, both local and from across the state. Strangers became a comforting face in the smoke-filled unknown that stared many of us down. Sometimes...
It isn’t that easy to drop everything in the middle of the week and fly to Washington. If you’re a community newspaper publisher, going anywhere in the middle of the week is a challenge. That is when the newspaper has to be edited, wrapped up in color, printed, labeled and distributed to readers. People in Mayville, WI, where I publish the Dodge County Pionier, count on my paper. It is how they find out what is happening in town. We don’t have a local TV station. Facebook and Google are here, but the internet has no journalists in my town. That...
A total of 58 including spouses and guests attended the Friday night "Thanks-giving" reunion dinner for the Grand Coulee High School classes of 1958, 1959, and 1960. The dinner was Friday night, August 10, 2018, at the Senior Center in Grand Coulee, and with the Grass Valley Fire erupting the next day, they were thankful they had chosen Friday instead of Saturday for their main activity. Some alumni returning to the west side of the state were ahead of the closure of highway 174 by just over an...
Mercedes Nault and Seth Labro, of Keller, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Kal-El Slade Labro, on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington. He weighed 7 lbs., 15 oz., and was 21 inches in length at birth. Siblings include Joclynn, Isis and Nexander. Maternal grandparents are Juanita Weed of Lander, Wyoming, and Robert Nault of Elmer City, Washington. Paternal grandparents are Patricia Conant of Keller, and Daniel Conant of Nespelem, Washington.... Full story
Inland Northwest Blood Center, along with the Grand Coulee community blood drive volunteers led by coordinator Leha Neilsen, is planning a blood drive for Monday, August 20. Donation hours will be from 12:30 to 5 p.m. at the community room in Coulee Medical Center....
No Chamber This Week The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will not meet for the rest of August. Meetings will resume in September. POWER to Meet The POWER group will be meeting this Thursday, August 16 at 6 p.m. at the Senior Center on Main Street in Grand Coulee. On the agenda is the fish pens. Call Carl Russell if there are any questions at 633-0648. Food Bank Open Fridays The food bank at the Church of the Nazarene has normal operating hours every Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. But take note it will be closed Friday, August 31. It is...
Robert Carl Hanson, 89, passed away peacefully, with his family by his side, at the Nevada State Veterans Home in Boulder City, Nevada, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. He was born April 7, 1929, in Rapid City, South Dakota, and was a 40 year resident of Boulder City. Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy and proudly served his country during the Korean War, followed by a very distinguished career as a Personnel Officer for the Bureau of Reclamation. He contributed to such projects as the Grand Coulee Dam and the Central Arizona Project before joining the... Full story
Born July 20, 1939, to Harry Walter and Katherine Adalanc (Pat) Wiese in Sacramento, California, Colleen entered Heaven's gates on July 28, 2018. She married Don Gerard on August 11, 1956, in Grand Coulee, Washington. They were blessed with 3 sons: Steve (Justin); Gary (Tracy); Ron (Lisa), all surviving. Also surviving are 7 granddaughters and 12 great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by father Harry, mother Pat and husband Don, Colleen is survived by her brothers, Dennis and Fred, and her... Full story
Star Facebook followers submitted photos of the Grass Valley Fire as it was happening Saturday and Sunday....
Okanogan County School Retirees’ Association provided 11 grants and 4 community service awards to enhance student learning in Okanogan County schools last year. Grant winners from Tonasket Elementary were Fay Aitcheson, copies of “Your Fantastic Elastic Brain”; Rose Corso, school garden artwork; Gail Morris, boomwhacker musical instruments; and Scott Olson, books to build student home libraries. From Nespelem Elementary, Tracy White, white boards; from Brewster Elementary, Mike Spurr, bikes with training wheels; from Okanogan Elementary, Maril...
The Grand Coulee branch of North Cascades Bank is collecting backpacks and school supplies for local children in need. Cash donations are also welcome and will be used to purchase additional supplies. All items will be distributed to schools in the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Donations will be accepted at North Cascades Bank during the month of August and will continue through September as well. Please help us prepare our local youth for the new school year! Supply lists will be available in the bank’s lobby. If you have any questions a...
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for three fires burning in central Washington, including the Grass Valley Fire in Douglas and Grant counties near Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam. Early Sunday morning, FEMA granted the state’s request for federal Fire Management Assistance Grants to help with firefighting costs for the Grass Valley Fire burning in Douglas and Grant counties. At the time of the request, the fire was threatening homes in and around the c...
City of Electric City Hotel/Motel TAX Applicants The City of Electric City will be accepting applications for the use of Lodging Tax Funds from all eligible organizations September 1 through September 28, 2018. Eligibility, directions and the application can be found and downloaded from the City’s website at electriccity.us, or City Hall located at 10 Western Avenue, PO Box 130, Electric City, WA 99123, (509) 633-1510. (Publish August 15 and 22, 2018) Public Notice Town of Coulee Dam ORDINANCES ADOPTED BY THE TOWN OF COULEE DAM Ordinance 760 ... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 8/7 - A man was reported to have been seen carrying a yellow chainsaw on Third Avenue in Electric City. Police didn’t see such a man. - A Lakeview Boulevard woman reported her neighbors were throwing rocks at her house. An officer only saw rocks on the gravel road. - A woman reported that on July 28, someone had taken her black purse with emojis on it from her Dodge Dakota while it was parked at Coulee Hardware. - Vehicles on a woman’s property on Alcan Road are considered junk vehicles, while garbage left on the land con...
Local law enforcement agencies will be among those across Washington that will increase DUI (Driving Under the Influence) patrols Aug. 17 - Sept. 3 during what is typically the deadliest time of the year on the state’s roadways, according to the state Traffic Safety Commission. The Ferry, Lincoln, Grant, and Adams County Target Zero Task Force, police departments and sheriff’s offices from Adams County, Othello, Ephrata, Grand Coulee, Grant County, MACC Dispatch, Moses Lake, Quincy, Royal City, Soap Lake, Warden, Ferry County, Republic, Lin...