News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Two men with guns were arrested and taken to Grant County jail after shooting a street light out from their car near the top of the Grand Coulee Dam. The incident was reported to police by Plant Protection dispatcher Monroe Merriman, who heard the firing while outside his office. Police stopped the pair near Greene Field, and they admitted firing and hitting the street light, police reported. The two, Kristopher T. Simms, 24, from Port Townsend, Washington, and Paul J. Van Dyke, 23, from Chimacan, Washington, said they were on their way to...
Parents of kids who can't wait to use that Halloween costume can take their kids to the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center Thursday from 4:45 to 5:30 p.m. for a quick trial run. The seniors will host a a festive atmosphere with decorations and costumes, and candy said Darla Orr, senior meals program coordinator at the center. The cooks, staff and many members will be dressed in costume, but not scary ones, Orr said, so as not to scare the little ones. She thought the 45-minute window of time that...
Orange clouds provide a spectacular sunset Monday, seen here over Steamboat Rock at about 6 p.m. Expect more partly-cloudy to rainy skies over the next week, as forecast in the Grand Coulee Area Weather Watch on page 10. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grant County computer systems being down last week will delay or make it more difficult for Electric City and Grand Coulee to develop budgets for 2017. Electric City has a budget workshop scheduled for 6 p.m., Oct. 25. “We will just have to work around this,” City Clerk Jackie Perman said. The county government’s computer systems were completely offline for about two and a half hours Oct. 12, also making all but a few emergency phone numbers inoperable. Enhanced 9-1-1 was not affected. Jury duty was also canceled for the day. Partial servi...
Electric City has agreed to provide Washington State University an additional $1,000 to finish up work on its Pathway and Revitalization project. The city had contracted with WSU’s Rural Communities Design Initiative team last spring to do initial planning for a project that includes downtown sidewalks, two parks and a trail system along Banks Lake. WSU Assistant Professor Kathleen Ryan, leader of the group, informed the city that her group would need another $1,000 to complete the project. The WSU RCDI group’s original contract was for $5,...
A 69-year-old man spent over 10 hours shivering in Banks Lake after his boat capsized Saturday afternoon, Oct. 1. Donald L. Childers, of Brewster, had been fishing on Banks Lake for about an hour when wind-swept waves capsized his 13-foot fishing boat about 2:30 in the afternoon. Childers said he thought he was going to die because he was so cold and no one was responding to his calls for help. Childers said last Monday that when water started coming in he rushed to the front of the boat to grab his life jacket while slipping off a heavy coat...
City supports health district Electric City Council voted $2,000 last week, to renew its relationship with the Grant County Health District. The health district asks $2 for each resident, and makes a number of special services available to cities and towns. The agreement is for 2017. Free movie night The Grand Coulee Dam PTA will offer a free movie, “Annie,” at the Lake Roosevelt Elementary School cafeteria on Friday evening, Oct. 21. The doors will be open for the movie at 5:15. Those coming are asked to bring a pillow or blanket to lie on, or...
ASB officers, cheerleaders and leadership class students at Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School show the results of a food drive just completed Monday, before delivering it to the Care and Share Food Bank. Estimating it at about a ton of food, the students heard from food bank manager Fern Blaylock, at right, who thanked them for all their work. "I really respect that," she said, "and the people that you give to are in our community." Blaylock said the food bank recently served 530...
The Electric City Council rejected an offer from Grant County Mosquito District 2 to sell the city a 10-foot by 90-foot strip of land on property it owns on Coulee Boulevard, where it plans to build a pole building for its headquarters. The mosquito district, in a letter to the city, said that a survey of its property showed that Kent Street encroaches 15 feet onto its property and also that the city’s fire hydrant is also on its property. The district was asking $1.81 a square foot for the property, and for the city to waive its hookup fees fo...
An event that drew a rebuke by the Electric City Council against one of its members is still on the books. Councilmember Birdie Hensley was officially warned last month for presuming to speak for the city when she and fellow Councilmember Lonna Bussert proposed a Christmas event at North Dam Park. The reprimand stuck on Hensley, who took the blame for proposing an event without clearing it with the full council. On Sept. 13, the council issued Hensley the rebuke, overlooking Bussert’s part in the planning for the Christmas event. Hensley got h...
A forum for Okanogan County commissioner candidates was markedly civil Thursday night in Coulee Dam, despite a campaign season possibly among the most contentious in recent county history. That may have been due to a decidedly local focus in the questions put to the four by moderator Bob Valen, the vice president of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event. Valen sprinkled in questions submitted from an audience of 18 among a dozen pre-written for the event. Commi...
The three federal agencies whose dams control the Columbia River system are rethinking the whole complex process, and that should make everyone pay close attention. Next Tuesday, the Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration will hold in Coulee Dam the second in a series of 15 public meetings from Wenatchee to Missoula to Astoria inviting the public to comment on the scope of work to include as it launches another massive effort to rethink the system in favor of ensuring endangered fish survival....
I have been following with great interest/alarm the news about recent thefts in the coulee area. Unfortunately I have found myself a recent theft victim. The item taken did not have a great monetary value (it was a Halloween decoration) but more sentimental value as a friend had drawn hand-made designs on the large plastic skull to make it spooky/cool looking. I felt as much sadness as anger at the theft. Sad that items that aren’t tied down can’t be left outside anymore. And anger that someone would feel they have the right to take som...
I’m writing in support of Chris Branch for Okanogan County Board of Commissioners. Having dealt with the BOCC for over 10 years since returning to Okanogan County from working with King and Kitsap County governments, I’ve found that Okanogan County is by far the least effective, most unproductive of the three. They have disregarded advice of their departments, advisors, and citizens only to have the related decisions challenged in court. This wastes time, effort, and most importantly — my tax dollars. As a small business owner, I find this...
Vote for Ashley Thrasher as County Commissioner. Why? Ashley’s truly special. Meet her in person and you’ll immediately feel this. A smoke jumper recently turned carpenter, she is sharp as a tack, hard-working, does her homework. She’s not affiliated with a political party. She thinks smart management of a county should be non-partisan, not governed by a Democratic or Republican platform. She offers an exceptionally fresh perspective, really “independent.” She’s a key member of a growing three-generation Okanogan County family. A devoted aun...
Until just recently, I worked in the Grant County Clerk’s Office. For over 15 years, I served as a Deputy Clerk for the Superior Court, and one of my responsibilities was to work with our judges in the courtroom. Over a year ago, Judge Estudillo was appointed by Governor Inslee, who obviously recognized that experience does matter. Judge Estudillo was obviously very experienced in courtroom procedure and the law when he came to our court. I did not vote for Governor Inslee, and almost never agree with his views on running our state g...
I had a great weekend. Opening day of hunting season and a long overdue time spent with my stepson. Great conversation, teachable moments and the realization that a little boy had become a man sometime over the last few hunting trips were the bulk of the weekend wrapped into a neat little package. No deer as of writing this, but I know I was not the only father and son duo that conquered the sage-filled hills of Coulee Country in search of the elusive third point. Anyone who has hunted at all knows how difficult hunting in the desert terrain...
Upon completion of excavation and foundation grouting, a gantry crane runway was laid on the pumping plant foundation rock at elevation 1163. - Oct. 12, 1939....
Bill Schieber, 93, passed away peacefully on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016, at the place he was most comfortable – his home in Ephrata, Washington, with his family by his side. Bill was born in New Plymouth, Idaho, on July 24, 1923, to Charles and Maude Schieber. The family moved to Hoquiam, Washington, then later to Bremerton, Washington, where his father established a contracting company. Bill spent most of his youth in Bremerton, graduating from Bremerton High School in 1941. Bill was drafted i...
Tena Marie Foster, of Coulee Dam, Washington, passed away Sunday, October 16, 2016, in Spokane, Washington. She was born June 15, 1956, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Louis and Ellen Myrdean (Roseborough) Smith. After high school Tena went on to college and received her luris doctorate in Criminal Law, where she was an attorney for many years in Utah, Idaho and Washington, and for the Colville Confederated Tribes. Tena married Mark Foster on July 13, 1991, in Lehi, Utah. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Coulee...
Workers install a chain link fence around the perimeter of the school district's bus area to keep fuel thieves away from the buses. There has been a rash of incidents where fuel thieves have cut fuels line to steal gas. The chain link fence area is being erected to protect district buses from having their gas lines cut. Working on the project are, from left, Nick Caramandi, Joel Luna and Gary Haven. The project is costing the district about $16,000. - Roger S. Lucas photo...
Candace Murphy and Dallas Rowe of Electric City, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Paisley Patricia Rowe, born Friday, October 7, 2016, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 6 lbs., 13.5 oz., and was 19.5 inches in length at birth. Sibling includes sister RyLynn Rowe, age 7. Maternal grandfather is Todd Murphy, of Lynnwood, Washington. Paternal grandparents are Sally Jo McPhaden of Mount Vernon, Washington, and Rick Rowe, of Issaquah, Washington. Great-grandparents are Scott and Diane Brokaw of...
Nasha Flores and Robert Thomas Jr., of Coulee Dam, Washington, are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Mela Love Flores-Thomas, born Saturday, October 1, 2016, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 6 lbs., 8.6 oz., and was 20 inches in length at birth. Siblings include Skyla 6, Teyten 11, Robert 13 and Malerie 14. Maternal grandparents are Lettye Hall and the late Ben Flores Sr. Paternal grandparents are Yvonne Thomas and the late Robert Thomas Sr. Great-grandmother is the late Nancy Hall....
Chamber To Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon, this Thursday, October 20, at the Moose Lodge in Grand Coulee. Steve Philips will speak about a student mentoring pro-gram. School Retirees’ to Meet Oct. 28 The Okanogan County Retirees’ Association general meeting will be a no-host luncheon at 11 a.m., Friday, October 28, at the Koala Street Grill, 914 Koala St., Omak.....
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Planning Department Pete Palmer, Land Use/Shoreline Administrator P.O. Box 150, Nespelem, WA 99155 509-634-2570 PUBLIC NOTICE The Colville Tribes Land Use Review Board will be holding a public hearing to make a ruling on the following land use and development permits: The Colville Tribes Parks and Recreation Department has submitted a shoreline line development application for a conditional-use permit to construct a boat launch and recreational amenities north of the Keller Ferry. The first...