News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 39
A flap over law enforcement coverage at the Bureau of Reclamation has attracted the attention of its regional director. Recently the city of Grand Coulee was awarded a four-man contract, a renewal of an existing agreement, to provide police services on the project, leaving Coulee Dam, which had had a similar contract, out in the cold. That could change this week with Bureau of Reclamation Regional Director Lorri Lee in town, presumably to meet with interested parties and get things back to normal. Coulee Dam Police Chief Pat Collins said he... Full story
Hospital District 6 commissioners will meet in a special session Friday night to discuss, in a closed session, to discuss legal matters with their attorney and to consider an employee’s performance. Following the the closed executive session, the commission meetings agenda finishes with “Board Agenda/Order of Business Policy”. By state law, special meetings must adhere to the announced agenda, which must be delivered in writing to each board member and relevant news media 24 hours in advance of the meeting. The announcement was emailed to Th... Full story
Are violators of pedestrian crosswalks a problem in the area? Yes, says Electric City resident Steve Salstrom, who has complained about the motorists who zoom by even when people are in the crosswalks. Salstrom stated that on one occasion he was midway across a crosswalk and had motorists pass him on both sides. He complained again at the Oct. 8 Electric City council meeting, stating that he had someone zoom by him at what he thought was about “45 miles per hour.” The crosswalk in question is the one by the Electric City post office and the... Full story
This week The Star presents a candidates’ forum, in which we publish the responses of candidates for public office to questions we emailed to each. Not all responded, but many of the candidates seeking voter approval for 11 contested local offices sent in their thoughts to answer the questions posed. Below is the text of the email we sent. Their answers follow inside this issue. Dear Candidate, As a candidate for a contested local public office, you are the subject of an important community focus for the next few weeks — the upcoming election.... Full story
Gayland Snow's statement: I feel that we must improve our current waste water treatment facility, with the most cost effective measures to insure stability for the future. Other infrastructure needs are roads, sidewalks and parks for the safety of our community as well as the tourists visiting our area. I also plan on working diligently to update the community building, to promote viable business or businesses for the economic growth of our community. I have knowledge and experience with... Full story
Karl Hjorton’s statement: 1. What are the top challenges that will be faced by the office you seek to occupy? I believe that we must address the town's aging infrastructure; in order to promote business and growth within our community we must maintain our infrastructure to meet the needs of the future. 2. What makes you the best candidate to address those challenges? I have 18 years experience working in the water, sewer and power industry fields as a consultant and a contractor for both privately and publicly owned systems. My business e... Full story
Trader did not respond. Duane Johnson’s statement: 1. What are the top challenges that will be faced by the office you seek to occupy? Addressing and establishing a viable wastewater treatment facility that meets the present and future needs of our communities. Careful planning and an invitation to community partners comprised from local cities to government (Tribal, County, State, and Federal) needs to be more visible to collaboratively move forward with planning, funding, and implementation of the wastewater treatment plant. It is i... Full story
Mary Jo Carey did not respondGail Morin’s statement: Elmer City’s population has remained constant over the last twenty years and the tax base will likely not increase significantly in the near future. Generally speaking, that’s the way we like it. However, this doesn’t mean we should not be prepared for some managed growth within our planning area. The current need for water, sewer and garbage services is about 180-190 households. The rates for those services have not increased beyond the cost of living indexes, except for one case. The cos... Full story
Aaron Derr’s statement: My name is Aaron Derr and I am running for Electric City Council Position 1. I feel the greatest challenges for this position will be to provide a consistent and transparent governance for Electric City, and to work with the other three municipalities in similar fashion for the common good of the greater Grand Coulee Dam area. I feel this will be best achieved by being attentive to the common core concerns we all have when dealing with others. We all want to feel appreciated, to have our beliefs acknowledged, to be treat... Full story
Kris Hare's statement: I am Kristan (Kris) Hare running for reelection as Public Hospital District 6 Commissioner, Position 1. When first appointed, then elected six years ago, the greatest challenge was funding for a new hospital. With the tremendous support of the community this challenge was met. We can all be proud of Coulee Medical Center, a critical access hospital in our community. With the ever changing health care environment, financial stability continues to be challenging. I have... Full story
Jerry Kennedy's statement: Health care reform brings with it new financial challenges to hospitals. Rural hospitals face the biggest challenges. While our community is fortunate to have a new hospital, we also have increased overhead costs for operating it. As a small business owner, I understand the need to be both responsive to the community, as well as the need to be fiscally responsible. Having served as volunteer firefighter and EMT, a school board member, president of a professional... Full story
Betty Brueske’s statement: The primary challenges that I believe a hospital commissioner faces will be making decisions that support high quality medical care for all while at the same time controlling costs to ensure the solvency of the medical facility. I believe that this can be accomplished by increasing communication between medical staff, insurers and patients, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery, while lobbying for cost-effective measures to lower the price of diagnostic tests and drugs. Prior experience on t... Full story
The National Park Service (NPS) reopened all 401 national parks, including Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, LRNA announced Thursday. Visitor facilities normally open during this time of year including campgrounds, boat launches, and the Kettle Falls Information Center will be open as quickly as possible. All park programs and special events scheduled to take place will go forward. In addition, National Park Service websites, including Lake Roosevelt’s, will be available again for information. “We are proud to be a part of this area and... Full story
There seems to be an unusual amount of black bear in the area this year. Two were shot in Coulee Dam recently by Tribal Natural Resource officers, after residents there were bothered by them roaming the streets. A bear was trapped this week in the orchard at Shaw's Fruit and Produce, the fifth this year at that Belvedere orchard, tribal officer Rick Desautel noted. "That bear must have weighed over 300 pounds," Desautel stated. Orchard co-owner Donna Hamilton said that tribal officers came with... Full story
Bus building sought Larry Curtis, representing the Senior Center, appeared again before Grand Coulee’s city council asking if the city will allow Seniors to build a garage in which to store their two buses. In a prior appearance, the council had advised Curtis that it appeared the garage would violate the city zoning code but that the city would get back to him. The Seniors own land to build the garage on but it isn’t allowed unless there is a residence on the same property. Mayor Chris Christopherson said that the city would get back to the... Full story
They are going to dress up city hall. The Electric City council has approved a plan to replace its 22-year-old carpet at city hall, doing half with this year’s budget and the other half with its 2014 budget. Loepp’s Furniture will be doing the work. City Clerk Jackie Perman said the new floor covering will correct worn traffic areas of the carpet that was installed in 1991. This year’s floor improvement plan includes the carpet for the council chambers, tile for the back bathroom and a carpet that catches the dirt at the rear maintenance compu... Full story
Mike Horne, owner of MPH, a mechanical firm on Midway in Grand Coulee, made his second appearance before the city council to complain about a home mechanic operation at 431 Grand Coulee Avenue. The operation in question is owned by Donovan Picard, who allegedly doesn’t have a city business license and the current zoning does not allow business operations. Horne had appeared before the council, along with Jack Madsen, of Jack’s Service, in September, raising the same concerns. Horne told the council last Tuesday night that the home mechanic ope... Full story
During its annual membership meeting last week, the Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts approved new statewide officers, with Coulee Medical Center’s top executive leading the list. CMC’s Chief Executive Officer J. Scott Graham was unanimously approved as the new president of the association. Graham is also the superintendent of Public Hospital District 6, which operates the hospital. “Scott is looked to as a leader by the state’s public hospital districts,” said association Executive Director Jeff Mero. “He was selected be... Full story
Our diverse region and readership have decisions to make. We hope this week’s Local Candidates Forum provides some help for voters who open their mail-in ballots to cast decisions on races they may not have even realized were occurring. Readers should know that candidates were notified that we wanted them to answer three simple questions, but only via an email and a front-page article in last week’s paper. If you don’t see a reply from them this week, there could be several reasons for that, including that they’ve been away and didn’t... Full story
In referring to your article praising Coulee Medical Center and Foisy and Kennedy for their assistance signing people up for mandatory health insurance, I would like to add Dawn Ensminger and Darcy Epperson at the IHS Clinic in Nespelem. These women have been to countless hours of training and are assisting our Native American community in this monumental task as well. Sheri Shumway... Full story
Good Letter Don McClure, but you didn't go quite far enough. Regarding the economic collapse of 2008. This collapse was caused by Congress with the Affordable Housing Act pushed thru with President Clinton and the Democratic Congress. To give the uninformed an education on the Affordable Housing Act. This legislation forced banks to give loans to people that could not afford houses or the payments and they had to have almost nothing for a down payment, then Freddy & Fanny were forced to purchase them from the banks. During President Bush's pres... Full story
WHAT DO YOU THINK!? (like Sneena likes to say). I say our incompetent kiddy council needs to get their political priorities straight and actually “DO” something for the Colville Tribes, the Colville tribal peoples. Spending how many thousands and thousands not only in campaign support, but also: “How many of our dunce sheepdom council went on pilgrimage to Oklahoma just to vote?” All those wasted thousands upon thousands could very well have been put to much better and more meaningful use. All our tribal kiddies at this late date will still s... Full story
In 1992, a single male sockeye salmon managed to swim 900 miles from the mouth of the Columbia River to Redfish Lake in Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, the end of his migratory journey. Biologists dubbed the sole survivor, “Lonesome Larry.” By 2010, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council happily reported record-setting runs for sockeye —nearly 387,000 had climbed the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam. The numbers, which fluctuate annually, stand at 186,000 this year. The resurgence of the soc... Full story
I was not a good student. Big surprise, right? To be totally honest, for years the comment card on my report card read: Very good student, does not perform to potential, just does enough to get by. They were right, although I did not realize that till later in life. So what did they see that I did not way back then? I’m not sure, but I do know this: if I could go back and do it again, I would take school a lot more seriously. All my teachers were good, but there are a few I want to recognize as... Full story
Ten Years Ago A commission that will help bring money for improvements to Elmer City was given the vote of approval Thursday. The commissioners are: Doris Bonertz, Wynne Dennis, Jeff DeWinkler, Ralph Rise and Robert Riley. A fallen pilot was honored with a quilt and wall hanging by a group of local quilters. The quilt called ”Silent Tribute” and the hanging called ”Randy’s Spirit Wolf” are in memory of Randy Harmon who died while fighting an arson fire near Keller. Twenty Years Ago The idea of combining the area’s police departments again was d... Full story
