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 long-anticipated Bureau of Reclamation fire station is expected to be completed in 2021. Construction began on the fire station on SR-155 across from Pole Park back in April of 2017, with a $13.6 million contract originally awarded to Innovative Construction and Design in 2016. The termination of that contract was confirmed by the bureau in March of 2019, and construction resumed in April of 2019 by Northcon Construction, which took over the contract. The bureau would not comment on why they changed construction companies. “There are many f...
Lake Roosevelt Schools will begin the process of re-opening in-person education next week, some eight months after the COVID-19 pandemic closed all schools in Washington state. Beginning Monday, students in the Grand Coulee Dam School District will begin going to physical school again, starting in phases organized by grade levels. The school board Monday night approved for students from kindergarten through second grade to begin school. Superintendent Paul Turner explained new guidelines from local health districts about a phased approach to...
High school student athletes may get to shake off some rust and get back into the rhythm of their sports soon. On Monday, the Grand Coulee Dam School District board approved a plan presented by Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen, who will ask Okanogan County Public Health to approve it. The plan, which won’t include games against other schools, describes a practice schedule beginning with spring sports practices from Oct. 19 through Nov. 7, then fall sports practices from Nov. 9 through Nov. 28, and finally winter sports practices from Nov. 30 t...
Some good news for distance learners came this week related to devices and internet service for students. Superintendent Paul Turner told The Star Monday that an additional 275 Chromebooks should be in this week, enough for every student in the Grand Coulee Dam School District to have a device to use. Turner also said that the school qualified for funding from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to pay for internet for up to 100 families through June of 2021. That is about how many families need internet in the district, Turner...
A levy seeking to bring in roughly $600,000 over two years to the Grand Coulee Dam School District will be on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election. Superintendent Paul Turner said the new levy is important to the district because of an “uncertainty of funding” coming from the state this coming spring. The state is required to fund basic education, but the definition of basic education doesn’t include transportation, Turner explained, saying that is one area that could get hit. Turner said that the COVID-19 pandemic created budget problems for t...
Jeffrey Butcher, right, and artist Jacob Lucas in front of Lucas' rendition of otters and fish sculpted from a sycamore tree. Butcher found the two trees in the front yard of his house at 415 Columbia in Coulee Dam too overbearing for the lot, so he hired Lucas to carve them into art with his chainsaw technique. Lucas, who also created the sculpture in the city's Mason City Memorial Park, as well as numerous carvings in Bridgeport, started the project last Tuesday, finishing up Sunday. The...
The construction of additional campsites at Steamboat Rock has resumed after a nearly four-year delay. The construction of 30 full-hookup RV sites at what will be called Cove Loop at Steamboat Rock State Park is on track to be finished in February of 2021, with the sites likely to be ready for campers in late spring or early summer next year, according to Dennis Felton, area manager for state parks in the Coulee Corridor, including Steamboat Rock, Sun Lakes-Dry Falls, and Potholes. A...
So called flushable wipes may flush down the toilet, but they don’t decompose. At the Regional Board of Mayors meeting on Monday, Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout said that the city’s public works director Jarred Armstrong has noted a problem with flushable wipes causing problems with the septic systems due to them not decomposing. Armstrong wasn’t at the meeting to elaborate. “Toilet paper is designed to disintegrate in our pipes and sewage systems, but wipes are not,” an article on the website of the non-profit company Green America r...
The Regional Board of Mayors on Monday discussed the possibility of dump rates going up significantly. The landfill in Ephrata, to where the garbage from the Delano Regional Transfer Station currently ships, hasn’t raised its rates in 12 years. Those rates could go from $28.31 per ton to $46.76 per ton, or $49.93 after tax, Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout said. That would result in about $72,000 more in annual fees, which, unless other ways to absorb the additional costs are found, may need to be covered by raising rates at Delano to s...
After reading last week’s letter submitted by the Bjorklund’s I experienced a few emotions. It is safe to say that any letter in the opinion section which stirs up any kind of feeling is achieving its goal. The emotions I felt were anger, frustration, and a feeling of not being surprised. I am angry anytime somebody takes something that isn’t theirs. That is theft and is illegal. Freedom of speech is arguably the most important of the five rights given in the 1st Amendment of our Constitution. Any attempt to suppress this right is wrong, no ma...
In just a few weeks, area voters will not only decide who to back in a presidential and gubernatorial election but will vote on the approval of a levy for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. This levy would be one additional dollar per thousand dollars of assessed property value. It requires a simple majority to pass if there is participation from a minimum of forty percent of voters who turned out in the last general election. Please vote! If you’ve had the chance to get to know some LR students, you know how fun they are to talk to and h...
I listened in on the meeting last night. I was appalled by their decision. You have committees to do research and send recommendations to the City, which generally are accepted. I cannot believe that the Boys would rather spend approximately $9,000 a year to do approximately $3,000 of maintenance for a park is not in best interest of the City, especially when there is $22,000 in the Park Budget, so that figures out to be seven years at estimated costs. This is not a Russ Powers Park, the Park generated from a Survey off of Survey Monkey the...
For the past couple months candidate Katie Haven, running for the District 2 Okanogan County Commissioner position, has been reaching out to voters in the County. She has been listening to us – our concerns, hopes, and needs, both individually and for the County’s future. She has done this through phone calls, online chat sessions, and walking neighborhoods to distribute her campaign literature that addresses her priorities, issues, and plans. In every major town, residents have been interested and engaged. They have shared their ideas and ask...
Ballots are coming soon. In 10 years of working for John Knodell, I was able to observe a true professional, a master of the art, craft and science of a trial lawyer, brilliant not just at interpreting the law and applying the facts and evidence, but also in advocating for crime victims at trial, but fair to ensure that the accused’s rights were protected. John was also a brilliant defense attorney, having represented many in Grant County; that is why he could always look at both sides, the strengths and weaknesses of a case, and make the t...
The Endangered Species Act was signed into law to help protect and recover animals and wildlife facing critical threats or risk of extinction. As Americans, we share the common goal of protecting our environment, creating healthy ecosystems, and ensuring that our growing human populations can live in tandem with the plants and animals around us. While the law was well-intentioned, the ESA has not seen meaningful reforms since 1978. Our country has grown and evolved immensely in the last four decades, and it only makes sense to bring this...
Although this truck alone weighs almost 60,000 pounds, it is not unusual for one or two huge granite armor rocks to lift the front wheels from the ground. The truck can carry a load of from 20 to 30 tons if properly balanced, and frequently a single boulder constitutes a complete load. -- July 11, 1950....
Edward "Peanuts" Haven, 86, passed away peacefully in his home Wednesday, October 7, 2020, with his wife and son by his side. Peanuts was born May 3, 1934, in his Golden Valley, North Dakota home to parents Ralph and Ellen (McLaughlin) Haven. He was the oldest of his siblings, Harvey Haven, Betty Dennis, and Anita Register. The Haven family moved to the Coulee Community in 1944 where Peanuts graduated from Grand Coulee High School in 1952. Peanuts was then soon drafted into the U.S Army and...
Ida Faye Dice passed away on Friday, September 25, 2020, at her home in Grand Coulee, Washington surrounded by close family and love. Faye was born on October 26, 1941, in Mason City, Washington to Jack and Edna (Shaffer) Flowers. Faye was the granddaughter of two local pioneer families, the Whiteley’s and the Shaffer’s. She loved spending time at the Shaffer Ranch. A special childhood memory was spending Friday evenings watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents with her mother and sister. She grew to love scary movies. Faye was a majorette in Jun...
NCW Libraries will reopen libraries throughout Grant, Ferry and Okanogan County on Nov. 2. Customers will be able to browse the shelves, access computer stations, read the newspaper, or pick up a DVD. Several safety measures will be in place. Customers will be required to wear a mask, practice social distancing, and limit their visit to around thirty minutes. In accordance with state mandated guidelines, libraries in Grant and Okanogan county will have a 25% occupancy limit and libraries in Ferry County will operate at 50% of regular...
GCHS Alumni Association to meet The fall meeting of the Grand Coulee High School Alumni Association will take place on Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 1:00 PM, at the Senior Center on Main Street in Grand Coulee. We will be social distancing and masks are required. On the agenda will be election of officers for the upcoming year. Cancer Support Group Forming Cancer patients, caregivers, and survivors have been gathering semiweekly to talk, in a safe environment, with honesty about the physical, emotional and spiritual impact of cancer. The group...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District will continue offering a free meals program this school year through Dec. 18, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays only. Sack breakfast and lunches can be picked up from 10:30- to noon at the Lake Roosevelt Elementary School for any child up to age 18....
The Okanogan County Auditor’s office will offer a live video feed for observing the ballot inspection boards for the November general election. The link will be available on the elections tab of the auditor’s page on the county’s website at https://www.okanogancounty.org/auditor/elections/elections.html starting Wednesday, Oct. 21. Ballots will be mailed by Oct. 16. Okanogan County voters who have not received your ballot by Oct. 23 should contact the county auditor’s office at (509) 422-7240....
OLYMPIA – Registered voters in Washington state will soon receive their ballots for the General Election, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Ballots must be sent to registered voters no later than Friday, Oct. 16. Voters have until 8 p.m. Nov. 3 to place their marked ballots in one of over 500 drop boxes statewide. Drop-box locations can be found at VoteWA.gov, Washington’s online voter portal. People who choose to return their ballots by U.S. mail can use the provided postage-paid envelope. The U.S. Postal Service recommends that ballots should be returned by...
City of Electric City NOTICE OF ORDINANCE 572-2020 Ordinance 572-2020 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 18 "ZONING" TO ADD A NEW CHAPTER 18.85 TITLED "VARIANCES." This Ordinance allows the City of Electric City, the City's Planning Commission, and the City's Hearing Examiner the ability to accept variance requests from residents." The full text of this Ordinance is available upon request. Dated this 8th day of October, 2020 Peggy Nevsimal, City Clerk/Treasurer (Publish October 14, 2020) Keller School District #3 COMMERCIAL FREEZER TO BE SOLD AS SURPL...
Grand Coulee Police 10/4 - A man told police that while turning into the Safeway parking lot, a silver colored truck leaving the lot in the wrong exit lane struck his vehicle. The two men talked about money compensation for the damage rather than using insurance, and the driver of the truck didn’t agree to the amount the man wanted and left without providing any info. Safeway said they would review security footage but that the collision seemed to occur out of view of their cameras. 10/6 - Police were unable to locate a suspicious person r...