News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Grand Coulee Mayor Chris Christopherson has filed a public records request for all activity and minutes of meetings of the city’s Civil Service Commission from July through October of this year. It seems all part of the see-saw tug of war that has been going on in city government over the past few months as the city looks for a new chief of police. Alan Cain, chair of the CSC, said, “That’s fine, we have nothing to hide.” But the trust between the mayor and the Civil Service Commission isn’t fine, and Christopherson has been working to exclud...
Below is a slideshow of 170 photos of the community taken since September, many that have not been published. You can go to Our Photo Site to see them larger, download them or share them on social media. You can even embed the slide show on your Facebook page if you like. These photos will be free to download until Dec. 31, and I plan to add more to this gallery. The password to download is Merry Christmas....
Music students from Lisa Vaughan's intermediate band practice Thursday for their upcoming concert. Trombone players are from left, Marisa McKissen and Heatherly Budravage. Jordan Hagen is turning music pages. A complete schedule of three holiday school concerts is on page 5. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grand Coulee’s city council voted Dec. 2 night to undo its prior move, made two weeks earlier, to take the city’s police chief job out of civil service protection. The 4-1 vote was to put the police chief back under the protection of the Grand Coulee Civil Service Commission. The issue came up as the council was setting its agenda for the evening. Council member and former mayor Tammara Byers asked that it be placed on the agenda for reconsideration. “I just never gave it enough thought,” she said, “and I feel that I made the wrong decision.” B...
Pay raises for two Elmer City employees are intact as the town’s budget process moves forward. Now it will be up to the council to pass the document, this Thursday night. In a budget workshop, the second in two weeks, the council was split 2-2 in an advisory ballot, with Mayor Gail Morin breaking the tie in favor of the budget as it then stood. It was all over giving Town Clerk Renee Tillman and public works Director Jimmer Tillman a raise in 2015. This had been challenged by the husband and wife council team of Donna and Jeff DeWinkler. The D...
Grand Coulee Dam School District taxpayers will be asked to vote on a new maintenance and operation levy, Feb. 10. The amount and duration will be decided Dec. 15, by the school board, after it receives a recommendation from an independent levy advisory board. That advisory board met last Thursday and will meet again at 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10, in the new school conference room. Karen Depew was elected chair of the advisory board. Depew has chaired a number of the recent levy committees. The advisory board will work out the details of...
City workers and volunteers put up the big holiday welcome sign at the south end of Electric City. The holiday decoration, almost 20 feet high, took a crane and a lot of people to put it in place. Those working on the project were Ken Dexter and Donna Deckman, from the city crew, and volunteers Tag Greer, Gary Haven, Gary Norris, Tom Poplawski, Monty Fields, Keith Young, Jack Thune, Hal Rauch, Kevin Tipps, Rich Gerard and Karyn Payne. Pictured from left are Poplawski, Fields and Thune. - Roger...
As it stands today, Electric City will be out of police coverage for its residents on Dec. 31. It’s a money issue. Electric City pays for police protection from Grand Coulee, which wants more. Council committees of the two cities met a couple months ago and agreed to a price for coverage in 2015 at $115,000 — up from $77,000 in 2014. That would give the two cities time to come up with a comprehensive plan that could lead to a two-city police department. A week ago, Grand Coulee sent a contract offer for that amount to Electric City and to dat...
As Coulee Medical Center works to build up its business to a sustainable level, it’s finding success with a homegrown approach to recruiting talent, Chief of Staff Dr. Andrew Castrodale said Monday, and it needs to. The feasibility study that underpinned the decision to build a new hospital several years ago called for staffing the facility and its clinic with four physicians by this time, plus a variety of “mid-level” health care providers. It’s been kept open by just two staff physicians, one of whom just left town on a one-year sabbati...
People in Electric City interested in putting up larger shops and garages, or in preventing others from doing so, can attend a couple meetings in January on that subject. Electric City has scheduled two meetings in January to discuss and make decisions on zoning changes on accessory buildings. The first meeting, Jan. 6, will be a public workshop of the planning commission on various changes being considered. The second meeting, Jan. 22, will be a public hearing on amendments to the city’s zoning code. Changes to the zoning code as it relates t...
Jessica Schneider from the J.R. Newhouse accounting firm, left, tells tasters about wine samples at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Vintners & Brewers Tasting & Auction Saturday night at Coulee Dam Town Hall. The bottom line for the candy cane-themed event isn't known yet, said Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal on Monday. But since live auction proceeds alone were nearly double last year's, it's safe to say it was a success. - Scott Hunter photo...
I put out a request on Coulee Area Virtual Yard Sale on Facebook. I needed a free bed for a needy senior lady. Wow … were my socks knocked off. Let me first say “Angie” is beaming. She is going to bed early tonight to enjoy her new bed. Many, many thanks to all that offered help, and a special personal thank you to Carol Estrada, Eagles Auxiliary, Loepps and their teams of elves. Mission accomplished. The camaraderie of this small community is wonderful. When help is needed, we still come together to do what each of us can. I hope that never...
By now most of you have climbed into the attic or sunk into the depths of the basement to haul out those boxes of treasured relics. No, I am not talking about the 1965 baseball card set you inherited or the prom dress from your first prom. I am talking about the most treasured set of boxes in the storage area of your choice. The Christmas stuff. Some of you just went “Ahhh,” like when you see the baby for the first time, and some of you went “Egghh,” like when the flashing red and blue lights show up in your rearview mirror. Neverth...
While the dust is still settling from the mid-term elections and the pundits are trying to figure out what it all means, the American people have made their collective voices heard and delivered a message that they do not like the country’s direction. Exit polling data from Election Day showed clear majorities against growing corporate influence on the political process and in favor of greater corporate accountability. The message is clear: inversions must stop, corporate tax avoidance must end, and special corporate loopholes must close. T...
1 years ago The preliminary 2005 budget has been released for the town of Coulee Dam with expenditures at $1.26 million with over $777,000 for police operations including revenue of $540,000 in USBR security contracts. Removed from the budget were roof repairs on the town hall and community building, two new patrol cars and paving for parking lots. Also removed from the budget were plans to match a grant from the Okanogan County Economic Alliance for improvements to Mason City Park. As the...
Gloria Elaine Hotchkiss was born March 1, 1931, in Bantry, N.D. to Torville (Tom) and Bernice Beck. She left this world on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, from Grand Coulee, Wash., surrounded by the family she loved, cared for and nurtured her entire adult life. Gloria Beck married Dale Hotchkiss in Ephrata, Wash., in 1954 and together started what they believed was the most important part of their lives, raising a family together. Gloria enjoyed many activities with her family and friends among them...
After a long battle with breast cancer Kristine Dembiczak passed away Sunday, Nov. 23, at home, with her husband and children by her side. Kristine was born in August of 1938 in St. Paul, Minn., the first of eight children born to Ethel and Gregory Keller. She graduated in 1960, from St. Catherine's College in St.Paul, earning a degree in Elementary Education after which she pursed her teaching career in St. Paul until she met her love for life, Wallace Dembiczak, on a blind date. They were...
This past year the Coulee Pioneer Museum has been displaying “Wash Day in the Coulee” thanks to Coulee Recycling and Loepp’s Furniture for their loan of a vintage washing machine, to “Harvest in the Coulee”. Now the display has been changed to celebrate - “The 1950’s Christmas in the Coulee.” Stop by and take a peek through the window or call Birdie Hensley at 633-2773 or 631-0303 and she will come and open up the museum. Come and sit a spell and look through old photos, and materials that have been collected on how the Coulee area was built....
Danika Williams and Damon Day of Elmer City are proud to announce the birth of their daughter Dixie-Lyn Day, born Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. She weighed 8 lbs., 6 oz., and was 20 inches in length at birth. Siblings include William Day 18, Honor Day 15, Gracie Day 13, Miles Livingston 7 and Taloulah Day 4. Maternal grandmother is Flodell Williams. Paternal grandparents are Dawn Duncan, the late William Tonasket. Great-grandparents are Ray and Dixie Buschbaher and the late Lorrain Williams...
The Care and Share Food Bank got two checks Friday to help it keep up with its holiday food demands. Zion Lutheran pastor Shawn Neide holds two large checks, one for $1,240 from the members of his church and a matching check for $1,200 from Thrivent. With him re Donna White, center, one of the workers at the food bank, and Fern Blaylock, director....
Chamber Meeting at Pepper Jacks The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will hold its noon meeting Thursday, Dec. 11, at Pepper Jack’s Bar & Grille in Grand Coulee. A recap will be held on the Vintners and Brewers event held last Saturday. GCD Ski Club to Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Ski Club will be meeting Monday, Dec. 15. They will meet at 4:30 p.m. at the Nespelem School and 6 p.m., at Lake Roosevelt Jr./Sr. High School. For more information call Steve Hansen 509.633.3807. Care and Share Food Bank The food bank at the Church of the N...
The following is the first quarter for Lake Roosevelt Jr./Sr. High School HIGH HONORS 3.5 – 4.0 SENIORS Hannah Manon, Terin Hazard Clare Castrodale, Shaine Thomas, Anthony Desautel, Steven Joseph, Octavio Alejandre, John Antone, Kendra Descoteaux, Kammi Rosenbaum, Ciarra Cowin, Riley Stout, Teron Nault, Savannah Marin JUNIORS Kaley Duclos, Scott Abrahamson, Trevor Moline, Lachelle Bearcub, Devan Black, Hunter Chapman, Michael Reyes, Desarae Garcia, Joshua Wilder, Baylee Daniels, Jocelyn Moore, Taren Redstar SOPHOMORES Grace Engeseth, Charlie M...
Alissa Mansker, Grand Coulee, has been awarded a $500 scholarship by the Royal Neighbors Foundation. A one-time payment will be made to her college of choice and will be used to help fund tuition, room and board, and books. Since its creation in 1961, the Royal Neighbors of America Scholarship Program has awarded more than $4 million to its members to assist with the costs of continuing education. The annual program accepts applications from its beneficial members until March 1 each year....
People who would like to get involved in continual school improvement can attend the Grand Coulee Dam Area PTA this Thursday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Lake Roosevelt cafeteria....
Voter registration forms are available at local city halls for those just turning 18, and a school levy committee is encouraging them to do that by Jan. 12, so they are eligible to vote during the levy election set for Feb. 12. The high school is also getting students who have turned 18 to register. Four have done so. The school registration is part of the overall...