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 School District is “seriously” short of bus drivers. Recruiting bus drivers hasn’t worked, and “advertising for them the past few years has failed to replace retiring drivers,” bus manager Bill Kemble said this week. Former bus manager George Davis, who is now the district’s chief mechanic, explained that it’s just the “situation” the district is in. Although a driver has to work only 17.5 hours a week to qualify for benefits, only a couple drivers currently work that many hours. Part of the “hours” problem was caused af...
Nick Heilman, of Grand Coulee, takes in the view Sunday afternoon from near the top of Steamboat Rock, overlooking two boaters on Banks Lake and the Steamboat Rock State Park campground. - Jacob Wagner photo...
Electric City has adopted its Revitalization and Pathways plan by a 5-0 council vote and is already moving ahead to accomplish one of its goals — sidewalks and curbing along SR-155 as it goes through the city’s business district. The city has applied to the state Department of Transportation’s “Transportation Improvement Board” for a Small City Sidewalk Program funding grant of $855,000. The grant request, if approved, would pay 95 percent of the total cost of the sidewalk project, including engineering. The sidewalk component of the Revitaliz...
Two residents have indicated interest in the vacant council seat in Grand Coulee. The city had advertised for someone to fill the vacancy that occurred when Erin Nielsen resigned after taking job in Boise, Idaho. Expressing an interest in serving were Mike Horne and Alan Cain. Horne is owner of MPH Auto and Marine, a mechanic shop on Midway Avenue, and currently is on the city’s planning commission. Cain earlier served on the city’s planning department and currently is on its Civil Service Commission. The vacancy is for position four on the...
Area vehicles could have a lot of sticky tar on their tires if a four-town request for grants to chip seal a number of area streets comes through in October. Four towns have applied for a state Transportation Improvement Board chip seal grant totaling nearly three-quarters of a million dollars. Chip sealing is the process used to extend the life of an asphalt road by applying a covering of oil and gravel, which hardens as it cools and is smoothed out by repeated traffic. The four municipalities — Elmer City, Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee and E...
The parking lot and surrounding area at Zion Lutheran Church was full last Thursday as the Second Harvest mobile truck distributed free food to scores who showed up. The event was sponsored by the Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union and the Microsoft Data Center Operations in Quincy. - Roger S. Lucas photo...
GC fire and ambulance busy The Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service reported five fire calls and 28 ambulance calls during August. Fire calls included four mutual aid responses and one vehicle fire. Eight ambulance calls were in Coulee Dam, and 11 in Grand Coulee. The ambulance also had eight transport calls, reported fire Chief Rick Paris to the city council. Seeking clarity on building issue Hospital elected officials may attend an upcoming city council meeting en masse next month, seeking explanations for a seeming...
Jess Ford of Grand Coulee has had 15 vehicles' fuel tanks drilled by thieves in the past four months. Several of the tanks were drilled while inside a fenced-in storage area off Van Tyne Avenue, just a block off Midway, owner Wade Jess said Monday. Others were drilled while parked across the street from the Ford dealer's office. The Van Tyne drilling incidents came in waves. "They would do two or three vehicles, and then wait a few weeks and do it again," Jess said. Thieves would cut the wire...
Not sure where to start. We have gone from a nice town with services to nothing in a few short years. We are being told to call 911 after 5 p.m. and on weekends. We have over 18 single ladies in this town, over half over 70. We have only six or seven single men and over 11 empty houses. Some for sale, others just there. Our drug problem has doubled and we have no police to take care of us. I felt very safe in my home when we moved here, but not any more. Plus, if we try to sell our place, no one wants to move to a town with no services. It’s b...
The three of us have over 75 years of experience practicing law in Grant County. All of us have been both prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys at some point in our careers. We have practiced in front of numerous judges in Grant County. Based upon these experiences, all three of us can without any question say that Judge David Estudillo is a great addition to the Grant County Superior Court. He commands respect, by giving respect. He understands the law. His decisions are fair and well thought out. He has no problem making tough...
After hearing and reading a lot of misinformation about the race between Judge David Estudillo and his challenger, Nick Wallace, I feel compelled to set the record straight regarding two issues: campaign financing and judicial experience. According to Wallace, Judge Estudillo’s campaign funds come largely from western Washington. This is absolutely false. According to Public Disclosure Commission records, 41 percent of Judge Estudillo’s campaign funds come from donors residing in eastern Washington. Another 35 percent comes from Judge Est...
Eyebrows rose when a young woman not born in Okanogan County rallied more votes than the incumbent, moving on to the Nov. 8 general election for District 2 Okanogan County Commissioner. But the excellence Ashley Thrasher has shown in managing her campaign should come as no surprise. As a voter in District 3, I will now able to cast my vote for her and would like to share my reasons: As a wildland firefighter for seven years, Ashley internalized Hot Shot training in the five principles of High Reliability Organizations, later practicing this...
I think what people may not know regarding the road closures in the South Okanogan County, from 2001 until the recent Three Devils Road in 2015, is that there are thousands of acres of public land that the public no longer has access to. The only access is for the large landowners — Gebbers/Gamble corporations and DNR & Forest Service agencies (who have keys to the gates). This vacation of roads in favor of the Gebbers/Gamble corporations has been occurring for years. We are currently in appeals court to determine whether our current county c...
This weekend the class of 1986 from the great halls of Lake Roosevelt will celebrate 30 years out in the real world. Classmates will come back to the streets of Electric City, Elmer City, Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam, their old stomping grounds, to reunite with friends and reminisce. But this celebration does not come without some pain, considering the recent loss of their classmate who held maybe more Raider Spirit than the rest of the class. Danny “Squeaker” Williams, the former president of the “BRA” group (Boys Rooting Association) back in...
A section of rubble masonry retaining wall is completed for the pumping plant parking area and for the highway grade change in this area. - Sept. 6, 1939....
Daniel Robert Williams, 47, of Grand Coulee, Washington, passed away suddenly on Monday, Sept. 19, 2016, at 11:11 a.m. at Mid Valley Hospital in Okanogan, Washington. He was born October 6, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, at St. Ann's Hospital to Barbara and Daniel Williams. They moved to the Grand Coulee area when Danny was two years old. He attended school in the Grand Coulee Dam School District his whole school age. He was very well known through the school and to all his classmates as...
Betty Franks, 96, of Othello, Washington, passed away Friday, September 23, 2016. She was born in Spokane, Washington, on August 7, 1920. Betty Franks graduated from Medical Lake High School in 1937. She was married to Fritz Franks on November 1, 1939, and they enjoyed 53 years of marriage until his death on December 1, 1993. They lived in Grand Coulee for 13 years, from 1942 until 1955. During this time, her family ran a cab company. Betty Franks drove cab and school buses; however, most of her...
Virginia A. Haney Allen, born August 10, 1919, in Watts, California, passed away Sunday, September 25, 2016, in Grand Coulee, Washington. A complete obituary will run in an upcoming Star issue....
Kristen Smith and Corey Stanford, of Electric City, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Scarlet Olivia Stanford, born Tuesday, September 20, 2016, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 6 lbs., 9 oz., and was 18.5 inches in length at birth. She joins a brother, Liam Stanford, at home. Maternal grandparents are Lynne and Dale Rinker, of Mansfield, Washington, and Ron Smith, of Everett, Washington. Paternal grandparents are Gayle Stanford and Rob Moore, of Grand Coulee, and Jerry and Sue Stanford, of Mossyrock,...
Do you want to know what the 4-H program is about? How to find a club in your area? How to start a new club? How to navigate the 4-H Online system? All current and potential 4-H members and leaders are invited to join the WSU Okanogan County Extension Staff at our 4-H open house October 3–7, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Have all 4-H questions answered, find out what’s new, explore projects and materials. Staff will be on hand to answer questions, and a computer lab will be available to assist returning and new members with the new 4-H Onl...
Chamber To Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon, this Thursday, September 29, at La Presa Mexican Restaurant in Grand Coulee. Judge Estudillo will be the guest speaker. Grant County Port Dist. 7 Budget Meeting Grant County Port District 7 will hold its preliminary budget meeting at the regular meeting on Thursday, Sept. 29, at 5 p.m., at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport office. Bible Study Fellowship for Women An international and inter-denominational Bible study fellowship for women is being offered Thursday evening...
Town of Elmer City Budget Hearing The Town of Elmer City will hold a Budget Hearing on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at 6:00 p.m. The Budget Hearing will be held at Elmer City Town Hall, 505 Seaton Ave., Elmer City, WA. All interested persons are encouraged to attend and will be given the opportunity to provide written or oral comments at the meeting. Elmer City Town Hall is handicap accessible. Gary Benton, Town Clerk (Publish September 28, 2016) City of Electric City Notice of Public Hearing NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN the City of Electric City...
The Lake Roosevelt Raiders defeated the Brewster Bears 36-14 in Coulee Dam Friday to go 4-0 for the season and leading the league, the first time LR has had this good of a record since anyone can remember. There was never a dull moment on the field Friday night. Touchdowns were followed by interceptions which were followed by interceptions, followed by injuries. During the game, two Brewster players were taken off the field on gurneys. The Raider players all wore the number 32 on the back of...
The Lady Raiders volleyball team lost in the tie-breaking fifth set Sept. 20 against Okanogan. "My girls started off the game really hot," Head Coach Kasey Garvin said. "They served, passed, and hit very well. We just couldn't string two good sets together." "Okanogan blocked very well in the second set and took my hitters out of their groove for the remainder of the evening," Garvin continued. The first eight games for the Lady Raiders this season are non-league games, but the next eight are...
Lake Roosevelt cross country runners attended the Okanogan Invitational last Wednesday. The runners are already showing an improvement since last week. Out of 59 total runners, Raiders finished mostly in the middle time range. Kyle Edmo finished 19th with a time of 19 minutes, 2 seconds. Will Friedlander finished 24th in 19:48, Cameron Tillman finished 28th in 20:12, and Jonathan Cante finished 42nd with a time of 21:18. “The team had a very strong second race, showing their hard work in practice is paying off,” said Raider Head Coach Gary Dar...
