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Articles from the September 15, 2021 edition


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  • School levy votes coming in 2022

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 15, 2021

    Local voters will decide whether to support at least one school levy in the spring of 2022 that would take effect in 2023. The Grand Coulee Dam School District currently has three levies, all expiring before 2023. Superintendent Paul Turner described them to the district board as an “original” levy which charges $1.50 per $100,000 of assessed property value for a person’s property taxes; a “supplemental” levy of $1 that supports it; and a “capital” levy of $1.70 that goes toward facility expenses. Turner said the school district board of dire...

  • Students quarantine because of COVID-19

    Sep 15, 2021

    Although transmission isn’t happening at Lake Roosevelt Schools, there are about 70 students quarantined because of either testing positive for COVID-19 or being exposed to it. Superintendent Paul Turner said Tuesday that roughly 15 students have tested positive for COVID-19, which has led to about 70 students being quarantined. He said the transmission isn’t happening at the school and that the schools’ screening process prior to entering the building has been successful. But that means students are still being exposed to Covid outside of th...

  • Sidewalks being rebuilt after problems

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 15, 2021

    Sidewalk sections on Main Street and Federal Avenue in Grand Coulee are being replaced again after issues came up following the original 2015 installation. The 2015 project to install new sidewalks and gutters on Federal Avenue and Main Street cost $407,816.53. It was paid for with money from a state Transportation Improvement Board grant. Settlement issues causing the concrete to crack were noticed in November of 2016, and a few months later spalling on surfaces was also noted. Since then, comm...

  • Tribal members to receive $10,000 in relief funds

    Sep 15, 2021

    The Colville Tribes announced Monday that they would be distributing $10,000-plus in COVID-19 relief funds to each tribal member over the next four months. “The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation will distribute disaster relief payments to offset the financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic,” a Sept. 13 press release says. “All enrolled tribal members over the age of 18 as of September 9 will qualify for two payments, each in the amount of $5,005.00.” “In addition, guardians or payees of enrolled tribal member children...

  • Ask VaxFacts effort

    Sep 15, 2021

    Even as COVID-19 issues cause the local hospital to be short staffed at times, Dr. Jennifer Knox is preparing to answer questions from the community on COVID-19 vaccines later this month in coordination with the Rotary Club, Grant County Health District and Coulee Medical Center. Anyone with questions or curiosity about the vaccines and how they work, what they do or don’t do, is encouraged to join in. Dr. Knox will offer simple, factual answers. The Ask VaxFacts event will be held online, with a link for anyone to ask question beforehand at C...

  • Students may go to NYC, DC in June

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 15, 2021

    Lake Roosevelt students in sixth grade and up have the opportunity to go to the eastern United States and see cultural and historical sites in New York City and Washington D.C. The trip, taking place after school is out for the summer in June of 2022, isn’t technically a school function, but the school board on Monday voted to show their support for the trip, and to allow for advertising within the school for it. The trip would allow students to “explore the rich culture and heritage of our great nation,” a description provided to the schoo...

  • COVID in the Coulee

    Sep 15, 2021

    Five more COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Grant County while the Grand Coulee and Electric City area of Grant County have seen nine more cases. The deaths include three women from Moses Lake in their 30s, 50s, and 70s, as well as a man from Moses Lake in his 70s and a male in his 80s from the Quincy area. All had underlying health conditions and were unvaccinated, according to the Sept. 10 press release from Grant County Health District. The county has seen 155 total Covid deaths since the pandemic began 18 months ago, and 32 residents...

  • CD to consider letter to plant contractor

    Scott Hunter|Sep 15, 2021

    After years of shepherding Coulee Dam’s wastewater treatment plant project along, the town council tonight (Wednesday) will consider authorizing the mayor to sign a letter to the contractor. Exactly what’s in the letter is not yet known, following a two-hour executive (closed) session of the council on Monday, which was an extension of its regular meeting last Wednesday. That meeting was “adjourned” again Monday to continue Wednesday “to take formal action regarding the Wastewater Treatment Plant Project,” a note in an emailed invitation...

  • STCU and CDFCU to merge Oct. 1

    Sep 15, 2021

    A friendly merger that has been in the works for a year will culminate in one month when CDFCU and STCU are joined, giving CDFCU’s 14,400 members access to a broader suite of products and services. In preparation for the merger, Spokane-based STCU mailed information to CDFCU members in late August, outlining how their accounts will transition into STCU accounts, and other need-to-know information. More detailed information, specific to each member, will be provided prior to the merger, a press release from STCU said this week. Other recent m...

  • Behind every small business owner is a team of supporters

    Kerrie Hurd|Sep 15, 2021

    During the past 18 months, the pandemic has had significant impact on our lives. However, small businesses have the greatest impact on our livelihoods. Whether self-employed or the employer to dozens, small businesses are the engine that keep our economy and our communities running. They are the providers of goods and services; and, also the providers of incomes and sustenance. Being a small business owner is difficult even in the best of economic times, so to say small business ownership has been a challenge the past year and a half is an...

  • Biden's ambitious solar plan signals opportunity for rural communities

    Lindsay Mouw|Sep 15, 2021

    In recent years, the cost of solar energy has plummeted, and demand has escalated due to consumer support for clean energy and the value it adds to a property owner’s land and rural communities. However, in the U.S., solar energy provided less than 4% of the country’s electricity in 2020. Last week, the Biden administration announced a plan to procure 45% of the country’s electricity from the sun by 2050. However, the pathway to achieving the set goal will be up to Congress as the administration has only released a general outline for the p...

  • Funny way to store gold

    Roger S. Lucas|Sep 15, 2021

    Myanmar (Burma) has its own way of storing gold. The Shwedagon Pagoda is one of the premier Buddhist temples in the world and dates back some 2,500 years. Here in the U.S. we think of things 200-300 years old as really old. Not there, nor in most of the world. This huge monument wears thousands of tons of gold, like a coat in cold weather. As if this isn’t rich enough, it has thousands of diamonds on its top, including one of over 70 carats. I like to think of myself as a contributor to the country’s wealth. While there, I patiently wat...

  • Bush's 9/11 epilog needs to be America's prolog

    Don C. Brunell|Sep 15, 2021

    This September 11 remembrance fell at a time when America is bitterly divided. It is also a time when we are more acutely worried about where and when terrorists will strike next. Our hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan — the place where terrorists orchestrated the 9/11 carnage in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville killing nearly 3,000 fellow Americans — was fresh in our minds. We needed words of reassurance again. We needed to be reminded of the way our country came together after 9/11 — an epilog — and a hopeful path forward—a prolog....

  • Too much smoke means not enough fire

    Dan Newhouse|Sep 15, 2021

    Sometimes, to stop fires, you have to start them. Democrats like President Biden often point to the West’s devastating wildfires as evidence of climate change, and while that’s certainly contributed to some of the events we are seeing unfolding across the country, it’s only part of the picture. The rest? Burdensome government regulations inhibiting proper forest management and “sue-and-settle” lawsuits that prevent any actionable plans from being implemented. In Central Washington, if you step outside today, you’re bound to be inundated b...

  • Herbert A Bird

    Sep 15, 2021

    Herbert A Bird, 78, of Grand Coulee, Washington, passed away at his home Thursday morning, September 9, 2021 surrounded by his loving family. A full tribute to Herb’s life will be in next week Star Newspaper. Strate Funeral Home of Grand Coulee, Washington is working with Herbert’s family. Memories and expressions of caring may be shared at http://www.stratefuneral.com....

  • William Douglas "Bill" Morger Sr.

    Sep 15, 2021

    William Douglas "Bill" Morger Sr., formerly of Elmer City and Coulee Dam,Washington, passed away after a long illness in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Bill was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, on August 23, 1937, to Marvin and Josephine Morger. Bill was one of 12 children. Bill spent his early life in Colorado, moving to the central California valley at the age of three years. Most of his youth was spent in central California, where his family owned many businesses...

  • Nell Elizabeth McDonald-Lucht

    Sep 15, 2021

    After a lingering illness, Nell E. McDonald-Lucht (Tabbs) passed away in Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee, Washington on Monday, Sept. 6, 2021. She was born to Millie Joe and Charley McDonald on November 1, 1948, in the Indian Hospital in Nespelem, Washington. Tabbs, as we all knew her, lived her younger years in the Omak, Washington area. She attended St. Mary's Mission School; graduated from Coulee Dam High School, June 1967. She spent one year at (IAIA) Institute of American Indian Arts...

  • Think of the library as a school supply

    Sep 15, 2021

    Do you have children in school or college? Are you continuing your education or taking classes to learn new skills? This fall we urge you to think of your library card as an essential school supply! Whether you’re headed to the classroom or are learning at home, NCW Libraries offers a broad range of physical and digital resources for students, parents and educators. Please check out our homeschool and back-to-class resources! Live Zoom storytime Join our librarians for a half-hour of stories, songs ad movement for preschool-aged children e...

  • Coulee Cops

    Sep 15, 2021

    Grand Coulee 9/7 - A woman told police she would move her camper from Osborn Bay, where a person can only camp for four days, after a mechanical issue was solved in the camper. 9/8 - Police checked on a dog in a truck on McGovern Street that had been there overnight. The small dog did not appear in distress and a window was cracked. Police opened the door and left some water on the floorboard for the dog. A man said he would call police if the truck and dog were still there later that day. - Police responded to milepost 26 on SR-155 near...

  • Bridgeport squeaks by LR soccer by one

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 15, 2021

    The Lady Raiders soccer team lost their season opener 2-1 to Bridgeport on Saturday in Grand Coulee. Senior Sadie Trotter, one of the team's captains, made LR's goal in the second half from a penalty kick resulting from a handball offense from Bridgeport. With the score tied at 1-1, a mistake from LR led to Bridgeport's go-ahead goal for the 2-1 final score. "Bridgeport is one of the top four teams in the league, so the girls played really well," Head Coach Micah Esmond said. "The goals we conce...

  • Runners take in Wapato Point

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 15, 2021

    The Lake Roosevelt Raiders cross country team ran five kilometers at Wapato Point in Manson on Saturday. “I really enjoyed Manson’s cross country course,” Head Coach Matthew Timentwa said. “It’s right there on Lake Chelan so it’s got a beautiful view while running, which is not something you can say for every course. It’s also a pretty good opening course as far as terrain goes. It has a good mixture of flats and hills with some grass thrown in there as well.” “I was proud of all of my runners that got to participate because all of them did a...

  • Volleyballers on fire in season opener against ACH

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 15, 2021

    The Lady Raiders volleyball team defeated Almira-Coulee-Hartline 3-1 in Coulee City Sept. 9. Lake Roosevelt played the first two sets “with absolute fire,” Head Coach Meagan Caudell said. The first set was won 25-9. “Audrey Hansen’s serves carried us through that set,” Caudell said. LR won the second set 25-19. The Lady Raiders lost the third set 25-21, then won the fourth 25-21. Player highlights include the work of Hansen, who had 10 kills for the evening. Aehsley Piturachsatit had 12 assists, and Shyanne Marchand had eight. Carly Neddo, wh...

  • Upcoming football

    Sep 15, 2021

    The Raider football team, currently ranked 6th in the state for 2B teams by Scorebook Live, is scheduled to play next against Colfax, in Colfax, at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18. Their home game that had been scheduled for last Friday night against Dayton-Waitsburg was canceled because that team had covid issues....

  • Legals for September 15, 2021

    Sep 15, 2021

    Town of Nespelem NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing will be held by the Town of Nespelem in Town Hall, 330 9th, Nespelem, WA 99155, September 29th at 5:00 pm. The Town of Nespelem intends to surplus the 1971 Case tractor backhoe serial number 5341475. Said backhoe will be used as a trade-in towards the purchase of a use backhoe. The Town Hall is handicap accessible. Arrangements to reasonably accommodate special needs, including handicap accessibility or interpreter, will be made upon receiving 24-hour...