News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Another myth has fallen. “Build it and they will come” is no longer true in the city of Electric City. We have been busy the past few months trying to build a community watch program to take back our city. At the last meeting, only the two organizers and one local police officer came. Now I guess what is true within the city is, buy it and we will come take it, or grow it and we will smoke it, because the citizens don’t care. The local police have stated that they have gotten some great tips from citizens to help with their jobs in the past...
Port District 7’s plan to put in an RV park at Banks Lake Golf Course has been viewed favorably by both Electric City’s planning commission and city council. The plan, if everything goes forward, is to put in a 48-pad RV park where the driving range is and along the first fairway at the course. Port district officials, who are now running the golf course, went before the planning commission Nov. 6, and to the city council last Tuesday night. In both instances, the port district was encouraged to move forward with its plan. All of the steps wil...
Erin Neilson and wife Jennifer get a little over-the-top help from their 15-month-old daughter Amunet in bidding at the Penny Auction last Saturday at Lake Roosevelt High School. The fund raiser for the freshmen class was well attended. — Scott Hunter photo...
Star closed Friday The Star will be closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and also on Friday. Visitor Center to reopen The Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam will reopen Friday. The Visitor Center was temporarily moved Oct. 1 to the John W. Keys III Pump Generating Plant during stringing of new 500 kilovolt overhead power lines across the Columbia River. New tabs estimated Electric City estimates that it will take in about $10,000 in license tab fees in 2013. The council last Tuesday designated that this money should be used to make...
Sewer ratepayers in Coulee Dam and Elmer City won the day last Wednesday night when many of the major parties in the wastewater treatment plant were on hand and agreed to work together. The scene was Coulee Dam’s council meeting with a presentation by Gray & Osborne, the town’s engineering firm, which was reporting on its progress on the design phase of the project. Engineer Jeff Stevens made a short presentation and then stated, “We need direction from the council on where we go from here.” Local resident Greg Wilder had preceded Stevens and l...
Grand Coulee’s Shane Proctor will defend his world championship bull riding title Dec. 6-15, at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. This year’s rodeo will feature 10 nights of the best of the best as bull riders and others compete for some $6 million in prize money. Competitors will face off in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping, women’s barrel racing and bull riding. Proctor got off to a slower start this year after breaking his arm in the final night of competition last year....
The Ridge Riders picked up top honors during the 2012 Professional Western Rodeo Association Convention Nov. 10 in Ellensburg. The local group was named top rodeo committee in the state for the Non-Fair Rodeo category for its Colorama Rodeo. The honor was bestowed on the Ridge Riders by Pro-West’s board of directors. On hand in Ellensburg to accept the honor were Vice President Monty Fields and his wife Marsha. The Ridge Riders has been part of the Pro-West organization since the early 1970s a...
Coulee Dam could end up with new, low-energy street lights. Public works director Barry Peacock told the council last Wednesday that representatives from the state’s Transportation Improvement Board were in town and looking at the town’s current street lights. He said that Coulee Dam was one of seven small municipalities in the state being considered for a grant for low-energy street lights. Peacock said there was two level of grants, one for 100 percent of lights and one for 50 percent of lights. “We should know by the end of the year,...
The chamber of commerce made a pitch for hotel/motel tax money at Coulee Dam’s Council meeting last Wednesday night. Manager Peggy Nevsimal walked council members through a comprehensive $61,000 plan on how the chamber was going to use the promotional funds to attract both nearby visitors and those from the west side of the mountains. She pointed out to the council that Electric City was going to take in from lodging establishments some $65,000 a year; Grand Coulee, about $40,000; and Coulee Dam about $30,000. The tax, collected on rooms and c...
The project to build a new K-12 school complex is on target to go out for bid in February, 2013, Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dr. Dennis Carlson said this week. A number of things are happening simultaneously as final drawings are being prepared. A consultant was in the district this week taking inventory of the things in present schools that will be able to be moved to the new school complex. At the same time, the district is getting prepared to send representatives to California to view and discuss new furniture needs with...
Linemen for Wilson Construction finish up work Sunday on the project that strung 54 more 500 kilovolt lines across the Columbia River from Grand Coulee Dam’s Third Powerhouse to new towers on the hill above west Coulee Dam. With the east side of the river in the background, a new tower here is seen through the older powerlines and towers farther uphill. — Scott Hunter photo...
Employees at Electric City got a little more than was suggested by city officials, but not much, as the council approved a 1.6-percent cost-of-living increase for 2013. The council voted 4-1 for the 1.6-percent rate. Councilmember John Nordine voted no, favoring a higher rate. The agenda showed a 1.3-percent increase, but council members shot that down and had a difficult time finding the balance that would provide enough votes to pass. The subject had come up at an earlier council meeting when the discussion got heated as employees objected...
Dozens of concerned people have asked me this past summer, “What’s wrong with the Credit Union, where we had for years a showcase of beautiful flowers? Everyone talked about them. Beauty and variety in landscaping makes people happy and attracts customers to your business. Now though, a Credit Union member said, they must not want people coming around there any more.” Which seems sad. A lot of the flowers I had dug from Credit Union members’ yards. People like: Dennis and Sandy King, Fred and Barbara Meyers, Jo Ayers, Bill and Betty Miller,...
I may be wrong, but in your news coverage you mentioned the tennis courts in the 60 years news items. Since I attended High School in Coulee Dam from 1950-1953, I believe those tennis courts were installed much earlier than 1952 because I played tennis on them when I was a freshman in high school … that would be 1950 or 1951. The interesting thing is that in the winter, the USBR sprayed water on the courts, creating an ice skating rink for all the residents. There were two metal barrels that were lit with a fire so that the skaters could w...
In “the good old days,” schools emphasized “reading, writing and arithmetic” taught to the tune of the hickory stick. But today, we seem to have created a two-tiered education philosophy. College-bound students are encouraged to learn science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). But STEM skills are not emphasized for students going directly into the job market, the military or to a trade school. That’s a mistake. Part of the problem started with our parents’ generation. For example, my...
Ten Years Ago Using water in Coulee Dam will soon become more expensive for residents as the town begins to pay for the water filtration plant it’s about to build, along with other improvements. The town council Wednesday discussed a potential ordinance that would effectively keep a flat fee for most water users. It would set a base rate of $37 for meters on lines between three-fourths and one inch in size. Students in Nespelem and Grand Coulee Dam might get an extended weekend in January if teachers take Jan. 14 off to protest possible s...
Fall Noxious Weed Conference Okanogan County Noxious Weed Control Board is sponsoring a Fall Noxious Weed Conference on Wednesdya, Nov. 28 from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. at the Annex/Agriplex on the Okanogan County Fairgrounds. There is a $5 charge payable at the door or prepay at Room 102 of the county courthouse. This conference will be worth eight credits toward a pesticide license. Presenters will discuss water quality, adjuvants, tank cleaning and drift reduction; spray equipment, winterizing and calibration along with noxious weed...
Shirley “Jean” McCoy Campbell, 76, of Grand Coulee, received her angel wings on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012, very peacefully in Spokane, Wash., at Manor Care Nursing Home. She was born March 12, 1936, in Riverton, Wyo. She was welcomed to the world by parents Floyd E. and Susie E. McCoy. Having brown eyes and brown hair, fair complexion and weighing in at 6.5 lbs., she was a beautiful child. She was named after film star Shirley Temple. Not liking her first name, she chose to go by Jean. Jea...
James “Jim” or “Jimmy” Stevens, 55, passed away in his Grand Coulee, Washington, home on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012. The son of Charles and Geraldine Stevens, Jim was born May 2, 1957, in Denver, Colo., graduated from high school in Marietta, Georgia, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. During college Jim was a member of the ROTC and afterward was proud to have served his country with the U.S. Army Reserves. A passionate student of military...
Jasper Joel Tonasket After months of joyful anticipation, Baby Jack was born at 12:49 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, in the Deaconess Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. He struggled to breathe and was admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A congenital heart defect was discovered and further tests were ordered. On Monday he was diagnosed with Trisomy 13. On Tuesday, family gathered to witness his baptism into the Catholic Church. The hormones supporting life were disconnected that afternoon. He...
Brett and Shelly Black of Elmer City are happy to announce the engagement of their daughter, Taylor Black to Joshua Friesen son of Dave Friesen of Electric City and Tina Friesen of Omaha, Neb. Josh proposed to Taylor on a hike overlooking Blue Lake below the tower of Liberty Bell Mountain. Both are attending Eastern Washington University where Taylor is studying exercise science and Josh is in journalism. The wedding is planned for August, 2014, after the couple has graduated from...
Wed., Nov. 21 - Dinner Betty’s Mexi Casserole, Chips, Salsa, Sour Cream, Seasoned Corn, Banana Cream Pie. Thurs., Nov. 22 - Center Closed Happy Thanksgiving and Blessings to All - from Myrna, Jay, Melody and Ileta, your meals staff Fri., Nov. 23 - Center Closed So volunteers and meals staff can spend time with their families. Mon., Nov. 26 - Breakfast Camp Hash with Veggies & Breakfast Meats, Eggs, Toast, Sliced Fruit. Tues., Nov. 27 - Dinner BBQ Chicken, Fruit & Salad Bar, Corn, Garlic Bread, Ice Cream. Wed., Nov. 28 - Dinner Shepherd Pie w...
Amanda Fisher of Electric City has received a Continuing Education Grant of $1,800 from the International Chapter P.E.O. Sisterhood. Amanda was sponsored for the grant by the local P.E.O. Chapter DG, Coulee Dam. The grant is a needs-based grant for women in the United States and Canada whose education was interrupted and who find it necessary to return to school to support their families. The recipient must be within 24 months of completing her degree. Amanda is enrolled in Grand Canyon...
Kyle Desautel has resigned as head boys’ basketball coach at Lake Roosevelt High School. Desautel said Tuesday that personal legal issues were pending, which could get in the way of doing the job he was hired last spring to do. “We didn’t feel we wanted to leave the kids hanging, leadership-wise,” he said. Athletic Director Rich Black said Desautel had made the decision last week, and formal acceptance of his resignation would go before the school board. Desautel has filled the assistant coach position under Brad Wilson for the last six yea...
Grand Coulee Police 9/27 - A Spokane man with Grand Coulee connections was pulled over for not stopping at an intersection, and the officer saw that he was talking on his cellphone. The driver claimed that he was on an “undercover operation for the Spokane police department and the FBI.” But his license had been suspended for being a habitual offender, according to police. The officer checked his story out and was told that Spokane officers didn’t know of any operation here. His parents came to take control of the car. 11/6 - An Electric City...