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 administration and board of Grand Coulee Dam School District have set their sights on improving the graduation rate of Lake Roosevelt seniors. Under the district’s policy “Accountability Goals” the graduate rate objective is 85 percent. Superintendent Paul Turner said last week that the policy is outdated and that the board is waiting for information from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to update the policy. “The goal won’t change, but our goal is always 100 percent,” he said. The graduation rate of the 2015-16 cla... Full story
A walker gets a dose of color from Melanie Slatina in Saturday's "Color Me Pink and Purple Fun Run" for breast cancer awareness. Participants had the option getting doused with the colored corn flour just for the fun of it. Over 100 people registered for the event, and 91 walked it, "far better that anticipated," said Ramona Hicks, who was helping at the registration booth. Extra money generated by the event, put on the Coulee Medical Center's radiology department and the CMC Guild, will be... Full story
A Coulee Dam woman chased a thief off with a shovel in the middle of the night last week when she realized someone was stealing her motorcycle. The dirt bike stolen from Jaci Gross at her Coulee Dam residence on Stevens Avenue very early last Wednesday, Oct. 5, was recovered about noon the same day in Electric City. Gross was out in her lawn with a shovel when police arrived and told officers she was looking for the person who stole her motorcycle. She said in a Facebook post that the thief had also tried to take her four-wheeler ATV, “but I c... Full story
Heard about the successful moose hunt — by a school bus? With a load of young volleyball players aboard, driver Keith Powell had a young cow moose charge in front of his school bus last Wednesday night, Oct. 5, about 8:30, as they were returning from a volleyball match in Okanogan. The moose was alongside SR-155, and charged in front of the bus just after it had gotten over Disautel Pass. The bus hit the moose with its front fender, killing the animal. The bus held both the seventh- and eighth-grade girls volleyball squads that had just c... Full story
School officials plan an open house Oct. 27, so visitors can see a number of abstract paintings, which were installed last June at Lake Roosevelt Schools, and meet artist Lucinda Palmer. Palmer painted six large paintings as part of the Washington Arts Commission grant for arts for public buildings. Palmer, from Portland, Oregon, was selected from a number of applicants to create the paintings, part of a $70,000 grant. Two paintings were hung in the elementary school cafeteria, two in the junior/senior cafeteria and one in each of the... Full story
A group of hikers from Spokane, Cheney, Anacortes, Tri-Cities and Coulee Dam assembled at the trailhead of Candy Point Trail Sunday to walk it with scientists who would explain the geology of the rocks over which they were walking. At the trailhead at 432 Columbia, in Coulee Dam, Dr. Gene Kiver and Bruce Bjornstad led the group. Kiver retired from Eastern Washington University after teaching geology there for over 32 years. He has conducted an active research career that emphasized landforms... Full story
Second graders at Nespelem Elementary work Friday with Nespelem Valley Electric technicians, who had set up low poles and cross beams for students to experience lineman work and learn that electricity comes from more than the switch on the wall. Older students in the P-8 school participated too. The "Learning Lab" event was organized by teacher Ralph Rise, who is also on the NVEC board and worked with the Governors Association and Washington STEM, which is working to increase student learning... Full story
Revenues reported, budget proposed The Delano Regional Transfer Station reported revenues of $38,407.18, for the month of September to the Regional Board of Mayors Monday afternoon. It was $1,275.77 less than was reported for the same period last year. Revenues for eight of the nine months this year have been less than for the corresponding periods in 2015, with the total of $18,883.83, under revenue totals. The mayors also approved their 2017 budget for the transfer station at the meeting. The budget approved is for $952,875. The 2016 budget... Full story
The Electric City Council passed tourism promotion funding package for local interests at its meeting Tuesday night. There was money from the city’s lodging tax for new activities, but less money than the city had given the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce in the past. Through a number of proposals, the chamber received $16,500, down from almost $30,000 the year before. The city council tourism committee, made up of councilmembers Richard McGuire and Brad Parrish, had proposed $12,000 to the chamber of commerce for fireworks on July 4... Full story
A forum for voters to hear the positions of candidates for two contested Okanogan County commissioner seats will take place Thursday at Lake Roosevelt Schools. The two hotly contested races come after months of push-back on the existing commissioners on several issues that led to the formation of a group dedicated to unseating them. One of them, Commissioner Ray Campbell, lost in the primary election. Represent Okanogan County 2016 contends the board of commissioners is sacrificing local fiscal responsibility to affect national conservative... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation is inviting the public to comment on a proposed multiyear powerplant overhaul project at two Grand Coulee Dam powerhouses. During the 30-day comment period that ends Nov. 7, the public is encouraged to identify issues and concerns to be addressed in an Environmental Assessment on the proposed modernization and overhaul of all the generators in the Left and Right Powerhouses, a press release issued Oct. 7 said. The 18 generating units and three station service units have been in operation for over 70 years and are... Full story
The first annual Breast Cancer fun walk/run was a success. Over 100 people registered for the event but due to other commitments and the cooler weather not all were able to participate. We would like to thank all our sponsors: monetary — A. J. Gerard, Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union and Costco (north Spokane branch). Food Donations: Safeway for the water, Ed’s Meats for wieners and Franz bread for the hot dog buns. Gift Certificates: Loepp Furniture, Hometown Pizza, Coulee Hardware, Pepper Jack’s, Café Espresso, Fusion Café, R&A Café, LaPresa,... Full story
There certainly is a distinct advantage to living in Grant County for well over 46 years. The advantage is knowing a lot of people you can talk to honestly about just everything. Now this election is a great topic of conversation. The presidential elections just seems to get a rolling of the eyes with a sign of “Be glad when it’s over and done!” Now the race for Superior Court Judge is an interesting one. Nick Wallace has receive $35,380 in campaign contributions. All but nine of those contributing were our neighbors here in Grant Count... Full story
One of the most challenging decisions we, as voters, make is choosing judges we believe will do the best job of upholding our U.S. & State Constitutions, Bill of Rights, and laws. This year, we have contested elections for three State Supreme Court Justices and a Grant County Superior Court Judge. Because I am often asked, for Supreme Court Justices, I am supporting David DeWolf, Pos 1; Greg Zempel, Pos 5; and Dave Larson, Pos 6. Closer to home, my choice for Grant County Superior Court is the appointed incumbent, Judge David Estudillo, who has... Full story
Judicial elections are non-partisan, but judicial candidates’ political leanings are important. Judges makes judgment calls. Judgment calls reflect jurists’ worldviews, which correlate to their political leanings. And examining who supports a particular judicial candidate helps us determine whether the candidate’s judgment aligns with ours. In our Superior Court race, the contrast is stark that Nick Wallace’s political leanings and judgment are consistent with Grant County voters. David Estudillo was appointed by our far-left leaning Democra... Full story
We are called parents of murdered children and labeled co-victims by the judicial system. Victims and co-victims have been given “Victims Rights” and are now included in the justice that is sought. It is imperative that we elect a JUDGE who can afford us the “Victim Rights” and the fair justice we seek. We insist on a judge who has proven experience, core values and is totally dedicated to the robe of justice, hence our support for Judge David Estudillo. Since his appointment Judge Estudillo has proven his ongoing experience in criminal cases,... Full story
Tenets of the U.S. Constitution basic to our democracy lie forgotten on the dusty back shelf of our Okanogan County Commissioners’ office! Democracy is a government wherein decisions are made not only by elected representatives, but also by the people. Our commissioners have violated this basic philosophy too often, by: (A.) Ignoring citizen input regarding water issues, year after year. (B) Turning people who had a right to testify against the vacation of Three Devils Road away from a public hearing. (C) Astonishing unawareness of important c... Full story
True to form, members of the group claiming to Represent Okanogan County (ROC) are taking a little bit of fact and putting their own spin on it in an attempt to suppress open dialogue among the citizens of Okanogan County when that dialogue pertains to them or their county commissioner candidates. Members most recently took offense regarding a letter I wrote questioning the tactics used at public “forums” of which they were an active part of. Quoting only a portion of what I said and adding that I wrote they had “sponsored” the forums, they pr... Full story
Incumbent County Commissioner Sheilah Kennedy’s campaign slogan is “accountability.” But, has she really been accountable and listened to the citizens’ concerns these past three-plus years? She and the other commissioners were not accountable to the hundreds of citizens who protested against the Three Devils Road closure. She ignored their comments and voted to close the road to people living near the road, for tourism and ATV use. She has not been accountable to the taxpayers nor the county’s finances when the commissioners decided to litiga... Full story
I have worked in the Okanogan Co. Treasurer’s office for 34 years, 17 years as the Chief Deputy Treasurer and the last 10 years as your Okanogan Co. Treasurer. As Treasurer, I am the chairperson of the Finance Committee along with the Okanogan Co. Auditor, Financial Mgr., and the three County Commissioners. We have monthly meetings to watch very closely the budgets and cash on hand of each Current Expense Dept. (27 depts) and all of the Public Works Funds (10 funds). Between Current Expense and the Public Works Co. Road Dept., the total b... Full story
There is another fire storm happening in Okanogan County. No…thank goodness it is not another catastrophic forest and rangeland fire. It is a storm however just as dangerous to our way of life. The Firestorms of 2014 and 2015 are the direct result of the environmental groups dictating policy and management of our public lands for the last 27 years. This has proven to be disastrous to our people, destroyed private and public lands, burnt over a million acres of our natural resources and threatens the very survival of Okanogan County. These s... Full story
We are finally moving forward in Okanogan County government, and many people are sensing the positive change that is coming. I am supporting Ashley Thrasher for county commissioner because she is smart, has the work ethic of a Hot Shot Firefighter, and will carefully listen to what people need before she makes difficult decisions. Chris Branch has more than 20 years planning experience here in all corners of the county and will compliment Ashley as they take a step into the future and tackle some important improvements. I see this ballot as... Full story
As most of us are trying to decide our political view on things, there are others out there who are struggling with much more serious issues. No, not clowns, and, no, not Cougars or Huskies, but a struggle that hits a little closer to home. The fight is personal, just to get through the day. We are all under attack and we must take up our arms and fight back. The enemy is not the person who sneaks into our yards and steals some material thing. Our enemy is the evil spirit behind it. I have friends that are struggling financially, emotionally... Full story
A concrete train and operator on the deck of the elevation 1180 construction trestle – Oct. 6, 1939... Full story
Pictured are the September Students of the Month and the Raider BEST winners, an acronym which stands for: B - Be safe: E - Excel in learning; S - Show respect; T - Take responsibility.... Full story