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Articles from the February 17, 2016 edition


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  • Volunteer of the Year nominations in this issue

    Feb 17, 2016

    Nomination letters for The Star’s annual Volunteer of the Year award are published in this issue, on page 2, and online. The honoree is chosen by our readers, either through a written note or an online poll. You can let your choice be known: • by mail to Volunteer, PO Box 150, Grand Coulee, WA 99133, • in person to The Star, 3 Midway Ave., Grand Coulee, or • use the poll below. Responses will be accepted through next Wednesday, Feb. 24. The honoree will be named in The Star March 2. Who should be named The Star's Volunteer of the Year for 201...

  • Local homes raided in drug, counterfeit investigation

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    One man is in jail and another suspect is being sought after a county interagency task force and the Secret Service raided a Grand Coulee residence early Friday morning. The raid site was lined with police vehicles and slowed traffic that used Burdin Boulevard as a route to get to work. Arrested and jailed was Melvin E. Toulou, Jr., 42, of 308 Burdin Boulevard. The search warrants covered that address and another home at 58220 Spokane Boulevard. Officials said the investigation covers thousands...

  • Classes for boating coming

    Scott Hunter|Feb 17, 2016

    Boaters in Washington state born after Dec. 31, 1954, now need to take a boater education course and carry a state Boater Education Card. An online course is offered by a private company for $29.50 at boat-ed.com, but the Boat US Foundation is also offering a free online course. (Thanks to reader Randy Semanko for that tip.) And the Grant County Sheriff’s Office is offering a course, in person, for free as listed below. February 20: Moses Lake – 1274 Lowry Street (Sheriff’s Substation) May 7...

  • Mayor gets push-back on plant claims

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    Coulee Dam residents will get an update on the proposed wastewater treatment plant project at a public meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 24, starting at 5:30 p.m. at city hall. In a letter to the editor in today’s Star newspaper, Mayor Greg Wilder stated that the town has “virtually completed the environmental processes and approved the engineering contracts.” He went on to write, “Rural Development, our funding agency, has now approved the engineering contract, and we expect funding in the form of a grant/loan package within a month or so.” The quest...

  • City council changes to one meeting a month

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    Grand Coulee’s city council will meet one more time in February, but then will meet only once a month. The council passed its once-a-month ordinance at its meeting Feb. 2. After the Feb. 16 meeting, the Grand Coulee council will meet once a month on the third Tuesday of the month. Its meeting in March will be on the 15th, and meetings will start at 6 p.m. The new ordinance amends the city code. City Clerk Carol Boyce said the once-a-month change for meetings will allow city staff more time to prepare matters for the council, and allow c...

  • Effort to rebuild longhouse gets traction at conference

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    The Chief Joseph Nez Perce Longhouse, destroyed by fire three years ago, may soon be replaced by a new building if a committee working for it can settle with insurance and find more funding. The new replacement building is projected to cost $3 million, a press release from the Colville Tribes said, but a settlement with an insurer still has to be worked out. And the effort must break ground by July 1 this year or face the loss of the insurance funds. At the time of the fire, Dec. 26, 2012, it...

  • Loosening up writers' block

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    There’s an effort to resurrect “Them Dam Writers,” an organization that encourages people to write. The group had been organized back in the 1980s, but in recent years had dwindled to only a few. The effort to get the group going again started with a brainstorming meeting Saturday afternoon at the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center. Them Dam Writers is a non-profit organization that had many of its members’ articles published in The Star newspaper in a “Reflections” column. The group in the past has featured writers’ workshops, poetry writin...

  • Newsbriefs

    Feb 17, 2016

    Tillman named pro tem Jesse Tillman was named mayor pro tem by a vote of council members at Elmer City’s council meeting last Thursday night. He will fill in for mayor Gail Morin when she is away. Blood drive scheduled There will be a Grand Coulee Community Blood Drive on Monday, Feb. 22, at the community room on the Coulee Medical Center campus. The drive is held in conjunction with Inland Northwest Blood Center and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. New PUD manager named Grant PUD Commissioners announced the appointment of former Chief F...

  • Man arrested on attempted break-in charge

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    A Selah, Washington man was arrested last Thursday for allegedly trying to break into the marijuana retail store on Burdin Boulevard. Police said Sterling R. Sauve, 22, tried to get into B Street Bud by forcing the back door open. Sauve was arrested by police Chief John Tufts and officer Joseph Higgs. Sauve told police that he came to town to tour Grand Coulee Dam with his electrician class but was late and had missed the tour. He then went to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce office to inquire where the marijuana retail store was...

  • Cities accepted police contract

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 17, 2016

    Electric City has finally agreed to a contract with Grand Coulee to provide police services. Its city council voted 5-0 for the contract offer, even though some of the language was a bitter pill to swallow. Then there was an ultimatum, the tossing of the gauntlet so to speak. Grand Coulee, tired of the document bouncing around because of language changes, told the folks at Electric City, essentially, take it or leave it. Electric City was told that if the agreement wasn’t signed by March 1, forget it. That didn’t sit well with council mem...

  • Choose your volunteer

    Scott Hunter|Feb 17, 2016

    Below are this year’s nominations for The Star’s annual Volunteer of the Year award. Each of them are highly deserving of the honor. When chosen by our readers, they will stand for the honor meant to recognize the many in the community who give of their time and talents for the sake of others. Read the nominations, then help your community deicde which to choose. You can let your choice be known: • by mail to Volunteer, PO Box 150, Grand Coulee, WA 99133, • in person to The Star, 3 Midway Ave., Grand Coulee, or • use the poll below. Responses...

  • Archie Dennis nominated for Volunteer of the Year

    Diane Canady|Feb 17, 2016

    I would like to nominate Archie Dennis as the “Volunteer of the Year” as he is very dedicated to helping people in our community and in the surrounding counties. Archie has been an emergency medical technician and fireman for many years, and he belongs to three departments in our area. Archie is an EMT with the Grand Coulee Fire Department and Ambulance Service, a fireman in the Coulee Dam Fire Department, and a member of the Elmer City Fire Department. Archie is also a member of the Okanogan Search and Rescue as a diver and Search Team mem...

  • Glo Carroll nominated for Volunteer of the Year

    Diane Babler|Feb 17, 2016

    I wish to nominate Glo Carroll of Coulee Dam as the Grand Coulee Dam area Volunteer of the Year. I don’t personally know Glo, but as a member of this community, I was witness to the amazing work she did this summer in the midst of the worst wildfire season ever in the state of Washington. Glo recognized there was a tremendous need for assistance in many areas to the firefighters who were working in our area to save lives and property during this unprecedented fire season. Glo and an army of friends and strangers she recruited went to work o...

  • Stop break-ins from brazen thieves

    Wayne Fowler|Feb 17, 2016

    The community needs to start working together to stop the thievery that is going on in this area. Our local police departments can’t do it on their own and, due to cut backs in budgets, they are short staffed and need our help. We have thieves who are walking around town and knocking on doors. If someone answers, they ask if they need some work done, like tree trimming, yard work, painting, etc. If this happens, you should ask to see their city business license or contractor’s license. You could call city hall or the police department. Also, th...

  • Re: Coulee Dam wastewater treatment facility

    Greg Wilder|Feb 17, 2016

    The town has all worked for the past 10 years, grappling with ideas, thoughts, concepts, and a lot of hard work regarding the wastewater treatment facility design and implementation. The process involved an amalgamation of two mayors, a few engineers, a thought from here and a concept from there, AND we’ve come together. After looking at a number of different concepts, we adopted the Preliminary Engineering Report, which is a requirement to move forward. We’ve virtually completed the environmental processes and approved the engineering contract...

  • Meet an LR Hall of Fame and Gem in the Coulee inductee: Victor Camarena

    Jesse Utz|Feb 17, 2016

    Recently Victor “The Mongoose” Camarena was named Regional Junior High Wrestling Coach of the Year. Big accomplishments for any man, but even greater for Victor. Victor is a former Raider himself and a former state-caliber wrestler. To be honest, he is probably still at that caliber of wrestling and has been coaching future wrestling studs and studettes since his return to the area. But it does not stop there. He is in the hallways and the classrooms, too, helping with science, tutoring with math, encouraging students to get their grades up and...

  • Sixty-six years ago

    Feb 17, 2016

    Erosion in Spillway Bucket, Block 54. This view, inside the working chamber of the floating chamber shows the erosion of the downstream face of the bucket at Station B1 7 +07 Sections A-1 and B-1. In the picture are, right, Mr. L.S. Janes, visiting engineer from New Zealand and Mr. Robert Sailer, USBR engineer from the Denver office, Canals Division, who are inspecting the bucket erosion and caisson operations. The Pacific Bridge Company Contractor was performing repairs to the spillway face...

  • Elroy Gene Novotney

    Feb 17, 2016

    Our family lost a wonderful man on February 4, 2016. Elroy Gene Novotney was born June 15, 1929, in Wilbur, Washington, to James and Marie Novotney. He was their youngest son out of 14 children. Gene grew up in the Keller Ferry area where his dad and then some of his brothers spent many years driving the Martha S. He graduated from Wilbur High School in 1947. From there he spent some time in the Marines. He worked for Glen and Swanee Whitelaw at their sheep camp in Swawilla Basin where he met...

  • A little encouragement helps

    Feb 17, 2016

    Raider fans cheer on the Lake Roosevelt varsity boys' basketball team, behind in the third quarter in a playoff game at the District 5/6 Tournament in East Wenatchee Saturday. The team came from behind to win by one point in the final second. See the story on page 5. - Scott Hunter photo...

  • LR loses to Kittitas, defeats Liberty Bell

    John R McNeil II and Scott Hunter|Feb 17, 2016

    The Raider boys kept their dreams of the state basketball tournament alive Saturday with a dramatic one-point, at-the-buzzer win over Liberty Bell after fighting back from a 13-point deficit at the District 5/6 Tournament in East Wenatchee. The win came after a surprising first-round loss to Kittitas on Wednesday, when the Raiders could not slow down Brock Ravet who scored 41 points that placed him in a three-way tie for fourth place in the District 6 single-game scoring tournament record with...

  • Four wrestlers advance to state tournament

    John R McNeil II|Feb 17, 2016

    Four Raider wrestlers earned a trip to the Tacoma Dome for the Mat Classic as they qualified at the end of the Central Washington Regional Tournament Saturday. Kaleb Horn, at 106 pounds; Jacob Smith, at 113; Tony Nichols, at 132; and Renford Sanchez, at 220, will travel to Tacoma tomorrow for a chance to place at state. Wrestling at the Mat Classic begins Friday and will finish on Saturday. “We wrestled well and are excited to make the trip to the dome and wrestle for state championships,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. Jacob Smith is the Central...

  • Lady Raiders split first two games of districts

    John R McNeil II|Feb 17, 2016

    The Lady Raiders vanquished a foe in the final seconds of a playoff game in East Wenatchee last Wednesday, earning the right to face an unbeaten team who would best them by a greater margin on Saturday. The Lady Raiders are still in the District Tournament, with a game tomorrow against Tonasket at 7:45 p.m. in the Eastmont High School Gym. If the Lady Raiders win it, they get to play on Saturday in a game to determine third and fourth place in the District 5/6 Tournament. "This was a productive...

  • This week in sports

    Feb 17, 2016

    Wed., Feb, 17 6 p.m., JHS Wrestling,Oroville Mix and Match 6:15 p.m., HS Boys’ Basketball against Oroville (loser out), Eastmont High School 7:45 p.m., HS Girls; Basketball against Tonasket, Eastmont High School Thurs., Feb. 18 5 p.m., JHS Girls’ Basketball here with Omak HS Wrestling, depart for State Tournament in Tacoma HS Basketball, Districts at Eastmont HS, East Wenatchee Fri., Feb. 19 HS Wrestling, State Tournament, Tacoma Sat., Feb. 20 HS Wrestling State Tournament, Tacoma HS Basketball, District Championship, Eastmo...

  • PTA events

    Feb 17, 2016

    Science Fair Applications are due this Friday. Friday, February 26, 6-8 p.m., Free Family movie Night, elementary cafeteria. Concessions available for purchase....

  • Legals for February 17, 2016

    Feb 17, 2016

    PUBLIC NOTICE Noxious weed consultants of the Noxious Weed Control Board of Grant County will begin inspecting properties on March 7, 2016, in accordance with RCW 17.10.160, for the purposes of general inspection, the taking of specimens of weeds, and the performance of eradication or control work. If there is any landowner who objects to these inspections, please notify the Noxious Weed Control Board of Grant County at (509) 754-2011, Ext. 4710, or (800) 572-0119, Ext. 4710, by March 7, 2016. Signed: Ron Tebow, Chairman Rich Callahan,...

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