News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A 43-year-old Grand Coulee man is set to appear in Grant County Superior Court this month, accused of molesting a 7-year-old girl. Charges were filed against Charles E. Johnson, who was seen entering a field April 20 with the girl. He was followed by a neighbor who reported hearing her scream. He confronted Johnson and held him while he called 911 for police. The incident had been under investigation until charges were filed by the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office last week. Prosecutors filed a charge of child molestation in the first d... Full story
An effort to keep an American flag flying in an unlikely spot saw success last week as the stars and strips were hoisted proudly above Delano Friday. Anyone traveling between Delano and Electric City can see it to the south of the highway. It's easily the highest flag in the area. Jay Kemble and Mike Rounds made the trek to the top of the large rocky hill that separates the Delano neighborhood from Electric City and raised the flag on a pole fashioned long ago by long-dead patriot Wade... Full story
Early next year, many businesses and some homeowners can expect a modest decrease in the cost of their fire insurance. Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Paris said this week that the city has improved its fire protection classification from a seven to a six, effective Feb. 1, 2016. Monday, insurance broker Jerry Kennedy stated that the new rating will definitely save local businesses money on their next fire insurance policy. “Many homeowners may also see modest decreases in their fire policies,” he said. “Policyholders shoul... Full story
One of the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s trucks was stolen last Tuesday and recovered a few hours later at Crescent Bay. A school employee, Dean McPherson, was working on the roof at Center School and looked down to see his truck being driven away by an unidentified man. McPherson immediately called police, who combed the area but were unable to locate the truck. McPherson said when he looked down, the suspect appeared to be changing his shirt and then took off, heading east on SR-174. The truck had recently been filled with gas, so o... Full story
The Eagles Club was broken into sometime early Sunday morning. A burglar entered by breaking through the back door. Security cameras showed that a male intruder ransacked the place and stayed inside the lodge for about half an hour. Dispatch notified police that the Eagles’ security alarm was going off, and officers Adam Florenzen and Sgt. Gary Moore both responded. The officers searched the building and photographed potential evidence, which was then turned over to the Washington State Crime Lab. Several interior doors had been forced open, a... Full story
Coulee Dam police are investigating a break-in at the Riverview Bowling Alley that occurred Sept. 15. Owner Pat Zlateff told police that he had arrived to do some work and found a number of items lined up at the back door. The burglar had gone through the business area and taken small change from vending machines and then stacked up items to take when exiting the building. Zlateff said a Craftsman three-drawer tool box was missing. Officers found cigarette butts scattered throughout the building, suggesting the intruder had been in the place... Full story
Blood drive set The Inland Northwest Blood Center, along with Grand Coulee Community Blood Drive Volunteers, will hold a blood drive Monday, Oct. 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the community room at Coulee Medical Center. INBC needs an average of 200 blood donors every day to meet the needs of more than 35 hospitals in the Inland Northwest. Haunted house planned A haunted house is being planned at the Grand Theatre on Grand Coulee’s Main Street for Oct. 26-30. Workers will be busy in the next few weeks coming up with scary ideas for the H... Full story
Our beloved husband, father, grandfather and friend, Bruce Albert Brandstrom passed away Friday, September 25, 2015, at the age of 82 after a brief illness. Bruce was born June 2, 1933, in Mt. Vernon, Washington, to Helen Mae (Clair) Brandstrom and Bror Albert Brandstrom. He graduated from Mt. Vernon High School and served honorably in the Air Force during the Korean War. He spent his career working for the United States Bureau of Reclamation, starting in Bremerton and transferring to Grand Coul... Full story
The Grand Coulee Library will host Mike VanQuickenborne for a public presentation at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8, as part of a Speakers Bureau program. VanQuickenborne is a philosophy instructor at Everett Community College and organizer of the world's first philosophical film festival "Philosophy in the Dark." He will speak about philosophy through comedic films. The public is invited.... Full story
Quentin P. Ricks, long-time resident of the Grand Coulee Dam area, passed away quietly in Artesia, New Mexico, Friday, October 2, 2015, at the age of 93. Quentin was born January 12, 1922, in Ririe, Idaho. He was the youngest of two brothers: Sidney Ricks and Bud Ricks; and three sisters: Erma Ricks Pryor, Virginia Ricks Beck, and Viola Ricks Miller. Quentin served in the Army Air Corps in his early youth, and later broke for the railroad; he loved to tell stories of all his adventures,... Full story
Chamber Meets at Pepper Jack’s for September The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will be meeting this Thursday, Oct. 8, at noon, at Pepper Jack’s Bar & Grille in Grand Coulee. General business will be discussed. Free Retirement Seminar Set Okanogan County School Retirees’ Association is sponsoring a free retirement seminar for all school employees on Tuesday, October 20, at 4 p.m., in the Okanogan High School library. For more information, call Carol Payne at 509-826-5068. Alumni to Meet The Grand Coulee High School Alumni Assoc... Full story
The Warden Cougars struck early and often on the Raiders Friday night, building a halftime lead that Lake Roosevelt could not overcome on their home field in Coulee Dam. At halftime, Warden led 53-6 before the Raiders managed to get past their big line a few more times. The final score was Warden 60, LR 24. "Warden is a physical team and we had trouble with their wing T offense," Raider Head Coach Geary Oliver said. "Our offense moved the ball well; we just need to get more consistent." Oliver... Full story
The Lady Raiders faced the top two volleyball teams from the Central Washington 2B North League last week, losing decisively to Brewster but forcing Okanogan to work for every point. At Brewster Sept. 29, Lake Roosevelt lost in three games to the strong Bears squad. "We allowed Brewster to dictate our game flow," Head Coach Kasey Garvin said, summarizing the game. "We passed a lot of balls off target, throwing our offense out of system." But last Thursday at home against the Bulldogs, the Lady R... Full story
Raider cross country travelled to Kettle Falls Saturday for the CAN-AM Invite, hosted by Colville High School. The Raiders are in midseason form and showed it by running personal records at the race. “Three of the five who ran there last year PR’d,” Head Coach Gary Darnold said about his team at CAN-AM. “Both boys and girls ran tough Saturday.” Will Friedlander improved his time by over 30 seconds, finishing at 20 minutes, 35 seconds. Robert George was the first Raider across the finish line and improved his time at CAN-AM. George’s... Full story
Wed., Oct. 7 5 p.m., JHS Volleyball here with Okanogan Thurs., Oct 8 5:30 p.m., HS Volleyball here with Oroville 6 p.m., JHS Football here with Omak Fri., Oct. 9 7 p.m., HS Football at Mabton Sat., Oct. 10 Noon, HS Cross Country here, LR Invitational Mon., Oct. 12 4:30 p.m., HS Volleyball “C” Team tournament at Ephrata. Tues., Oct 13 5 p.m., HS Volleyball at Bridgeport Wed., Oct. 14 5 p.m., JHS Volleyball here with Oroville Thurs., Oct. 15 5:30 p.m., HS Volleyball here with Manson 5:30 p.m., JHS Football at Brewster Fri., Oct. 16 7 p.m., HS... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 9/28 - A Grand Coulee driver who was going 15 mph over the speed limit near the overlook area just above Grand Coulee Dam was cited by police. He asked the officer if the left lane wasn’t for faster travel, and the officer explained that the speed limit was the same for both lanes. - A man found lying on the sidewalk near Center Lodge was bleeding from lacerations and taken to Coulee Medical Center by ambulance. - An officer was called to assist in looking for a suspect whom Okanogan County officials had arrested on a warran... Full story
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF GRANT In the Matter of the Estate of: ROBERT S. MELTON, Deceased. NO. 15-4-00107-1 PROBATE NOTICE TO CREDITORS The Administrator named below has been appointed as Administrator of this estate. Any person having a claim against the decedent must, before the time the claim would be barred by any otherwise applicable statute of limitations, present the claim in the manner as provided in RCW 11.40.070 by serving on or mailing to the Administrator or the Administrator’s a... Full story
Wade Burnside’s DNA may remain in his apple trees. Burnside was a determined sort who loved deeply and acted on it, not necessarily in ways that were easily understood. But last Friday, standing amidst his legacy high above Delano, a glimmer of his spirit came through. There, on top of a high, rocky hill, stood his flagpole, newly adorned with a fresh American flag, flying higher than any other around, just the way he intended, a symbol of his love for the nation. Nearby, a less obvious symbol struggles for life, and even less obviously, s... Full story
A few months ago, we presented the community a gift of a 40-foot banner to hang in the high school. This banner was presented to honor the veterans of the Grand Coulee area. Next month we will take time to honor all of those who are serving and those who have served. It’s Veterans Day. Along with that banner was a dream to purchase a new scoreboard for the high school football field! I feel like that dream has “fallen by the wayside,” been “put on the back burner’’ or just plain forgotten about. I wanted to work with local veterans groups, fam... Full story
Represent Okanogan County (ROC) first met as a group on June 28, 2015, to discuss the need for effective county leadership and thoughtful, well-informed decisions for the future. ROC does not represent any political party and remains committed to the election of strong leaders who will truly represent the people in November 2016. Our mission is to identify, encourage and elect qualified individuals to run as candidates for Okanogan County commissioner. We seek those who are dedicated to transparent and responsive government. Issues such as the... Full story
That dirty word is in the news again: consolidation. But this time it is being brought up in city halls. First off, I will stand up and give a standing ovation to those members of government who are finally voicing smart ideas in a forum that can actually get something done about it. Evoking the conversation is the first step. Yes, there will be those old dusty voices coming off the shelves again to give their same old opinions. The same voices that spoke against consolidation of the schools... Full story
So many folks speak of the autumn months as one of their favorite times of the year, and I’m one of them. Temperatures are moderating from the heat of summer, and there’s a bit of a chill in the morning air as leaves begin to turn those brilliant colors. We’ll return to this subject shortly. First, let’s take a look at the month of September and see what it brought us weather-wise. As you may have predicted, we were down on precipitation. We measured just 0.17 inches of precipitation here at the home weather station, and most of it came on... Full story
Rotary Club members and friends gathered Wednesday, Sept. 23, to remember Donna Hamilton, in whose memory the club erected a plaque at the handicapped-accessible fishing pier the club installed at Steamboat Rock State Park. The gathering took place a year and a day after her unexpected death. Hamilton, who had worked for the state of Oregon on behalf of seniors, was the instigator of the club's 10-year drive to provide the first such facility in north central Washington, noting that they were... Full story
EPHRATA, Wash. — (Updated with new information at 7:10 p.m.) At approximately 4:15 p.m. today an explosion was reported at Priest Rapids Dam along the Columbia River. At this point there are six confirmed employees with various levels of injury that have been taken to regional medical facilities via airlift or ground ambulance. All six employee families have been notified. The extent of their injuries is unknown at this time. The cause of the explosion is attributed electrical equipment and the hydroelectric facility remains stable. A... Full story
In a press release sent about 5 p.m. Monday, Okanogan County Public Works said one bridge near Nespelem will be closed and another restricted on Tuesday. The agency said it is closing Bridge B-3 at milepost 5.08 on Park City Loop Rd, and will post a 5-ton weight restriction on Bridge B-15 at milepost 2.15 on Joe Moses Road. “Your patience during these short delays is greatly appreciated," the press release said. “We apologize for any inconvenience you may encounter during the construction.” It did not specify the purpose of the bridge restr...