News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 883
Hank Wiebe and his friends are raising hell against the United States Bureau of Reclamation’s recent announcement that they are considering no longer allowing people to drive onto “Geezer Beach” behind the Third Powerhouse at the Grand Coulee Dam, or possibly not allowing fishing there at all. The Grand Coulee man has been placing petitions at local businesses to gather signatures to voice opposition against the idea. “People are fired up, saying, ‘Keep after them,’”Wiebe said. Wiebe said that he and his friends go fishing at the beach regular...
It will take nearly $4.4 million to run the city of Grand Coulee next year, according to a budget prepared for the city council, which took a look at it last week. That’s just about a break-even amount that includes nearly $1 million for fixing streets. The city expects to take in just under $4.5 million, including more than $637,000 in taxes and $955,000 for goods and services, including water and sewer. The Grand Coulee City Council was presented the preliminary budget at their Dec. 4 c...
The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking comments on the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed modernization project for generating units 19–21 (G19–G21) in the Third Power Plant at Grand Coulee Dam. The proposed modernization project will provide continued, reliable hydropower production for 40 years or more and will ensure that Reclamation meets its contractual obligations for power generation, the bureau said in a press release. In the draft EA, analysis is underway on a proposed action and a no-action alternative for any pot...
The Bureau of Reclamation may change rules related to fishing and recreation on "Geezer Beach," a popular spot along the shore behind the Third Powerhouse of the Grand Coulee Dam. People will often drive their vehicles onto the actual beach to go fishing there during the spring drawdown, something that the bureau may no longer allow, with another alternative being not allowing fishing or recreation there at all. "Driving and parking on the drawdown can present a public safety risk to drivers...
When the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced proposed possible changes to the way it manages a local fishing beach, it used in an official document the popular name given it by the folks who use it, a name first made popular in the writings of a Star columnist. Reg Morgan wrote about all kinds of things in decades of writing Morgan’s Musings, frequently about local hunting and fishing, which he loved. During the course of those writings, Reg applied the moniker “Geezer Beach” to the shoreline on Lake Roosevelt behind the Third Power...
Foundation rumor unfounded A rumor of a crack in the foundation of the new fire station under construction was put to rest by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Tuesday. Lynne Brougher, public affairs officer for the bureau, told The Star in an email on Tuesday that the foundation is just fine. “An inspection of the Fire Station was completed this morning and the only cracking that was observed is within normal parameters for concrete,” Brougher said. “The building has control and expansion joints per engineered designs to control cracking. It al...
Firefighters in Coulee Dam want to clean up areas of the town that could contribute to a much worse fire season than the last one under the wrong circumstances. Judah Pope told the city council Wednesday the Coulee Dam Volunteer Fire Department had its eye on several areas of town that, if ignited, could cause serious problems. Pope listed several areas, including Fiddle Creek on the west side of town, where understory brush is thick and close to homes that could easily catch fire if the area were to ignite. But Fiddle Creek is the only area...
Ambrose Joseph "Joe" Reichlin passed away on Tuesday, November 13, 2018, in Wilbur, Washington. Born in Cottonwood, Idaho on October 6, 1943, to Franz and Agnes Reichlin, Joe spent his childhood on the family farm outside Keuterville, Idaho, the eighth of 10 children. He joined the Marine Corps in 1961 and served in the U.S. and Far East. After his discharge, Joe moved to Colville, Washington, to farm with his uncle. It was there that he married his first wife, and his children were born. Joe... Full story
A welder works on the iron trusses lifted within the week onto the top of the fire station being built for the Bureau of Reclamation off SR-155. If workers are able to get the roof on before snow flies, progress will continue in the winter. - Jacob Wagner photo...
Bill Phillip Niendam, 91, passed away Sunday, October 28, 2018, at Grand Coulee, Washington. Bill was born January 10, 1927, at Paris, Arkansas, to Bill and Edris Niendam. Bill was a Shriner and a 32nd-degree Mason. He was a longtime resident of Elmer City and retired from the Bureau of Reclamation. He is survived by his wife, Agnes “Dusty” Niendam; son, Mark (Marcy) Niendam; stepchildren: Bill (Marcy) Williams Jr., Connie Klimes and Cindy (Chuck) Giese. Bill is also survived by grandchildren Damon (Kim) Broers, Dr. Tara ( Dr. Tyler Lesh) Nie... Full story
Gary L. Pierson passed away Thursday, September 20, 2018, from a heart attack in Ephrata, Washington. He retired from the Bureau of Reclamation at Grand Coulee Dam in 1995. A memorial service will take place Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, at 2 p.m. at the American Legion Hall in Ephrata, Washington.... Full story
Robert Joseph Mueller, age 93, died on October 24, 2018, in Spokane, Washington. Bob was born December 4, 1924, in Aberdeen, SD, to parents Otto Edwin Mueller and Margaret Arntz Mueller. From April 1943 to August 1945, Bob was with the Army's 346th Infantry Division. He received two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart while seeing action in France and Belgium, including the Battle of the Bulge. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1948 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical... Full story
An independent candidate for the state Legislature visited the Grand Coulee Dam area last Thursday and Friday, knocking on doors and speaking at the chamber of commerce luncheon. Ann Diamond is running to represent the 12th Legislative District, which includes most of the Grand Coulee Dam area. A physician who founded the first family practice clinic in the Methow area, Diamond, said her travels during her campaign have taught her that small towns share in common many issues of concern:...
Sharene (Sherry) Lee Dotson, 75, passed away Tuesday, October 9, 2018, at her home in Electric City, Washington. Sherry was born on July 15, 1943, in Portland, Oregon to James (Marvin) and Edna Marie White. She attended grade school and high school in Winston, Oregon. She married Loren Dotson in Roseburg, Oregon, in November 1960. Loren and Sherry lived in Klamath Falls; Las Vegas; Livermore, California and Eugene, Oregon before arriving in the Grand Coulee Dam Area in the early '70s, where...
As the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District works on a list of projects to help bring North Dam Park into compliance with federal law on providing access for those in wheelchairs, it increases the likelihood of starting other projects, such as a community garden. Still, the list is long. CAPRD manages North Dam Park, which is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The USBR has a list of items that need to be done to bring the park up to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, accessibility projects concerning parking, pathway...
CAPRD approves future kiosk at park Kiosks to tout the features along the Coulee Corridor are looking like they will finally get put up after about 10 years of effort, if a paper discussed at the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District is an indication. A local kiosk will detail the history and geology of the area and be placed at North Dam Park in Grand Coulee. It will be one of a total of five along the Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway, joining others in in Coulee City, Soap Lake, Othello, and Warden. Total cost for the project going...
The Grand Coulee city council voted to extend the closure of B Street through October 2019 while the United States Bureau of Reclamation continues to build their fire station off of Highway 155. "We would like to think that they're going to bring the road to a better condition than it was," said Mayor Paul Townsend. Construction on the building began in April 2017, and the council laughed about the length of time construction seems to be taking. The bureau awarded the $13.6 million construction...
The Bureau of Reclamation was fined $115,500 by the Environmental Protection Agency for hazardous waste handling violations at the Grand Coulee Dam. The EPA said in a press release Tuesday that the action was taken at the request of the state of Washington’s Department of Ecology. “We conducted this inspection at the Dam at the Department of Ecology’s request and found some areas of non-compliance,” said Chris Hladick, EPA Regional Administrator in Seattle. “Proper handling and management of hazardous waste is a serious responsibility that prot...
A study of the Bureau of Reclamation’s problems in attracting qualified employees to the area is leading to broader avenues of local communication and could even result in the privatization of some federal land. “In all the places I’ve worked in the United States, I’ve never seen this situation,” Jeffrey Simons, of Stantec, told the local Rotary club last Wednesday. “Not only do you have four communities, but you have multiple counties and the tribes.” Simons, who also spoke to the chamber of commerce’s Economic Development Committee the n...
Sandra June (Debar) King, 77, passed away Monday, September 3, 2018. She was born June 1, 1941, to Erma (Holm) and James Debar in Wenatchee, Washington. She grew up in Manson, Washington. She married Dennis J. King December 20, 1961. They moved to Coulee Dam, Wash., in 1970. Sandra was very creative and enjoyed many hobbies, which included painting, sewing, quilting, crocheting, cooking, gardening, canning and many others. She worked for the Bureau of Reclamation and took an early retirement in... Full story
B Street closure could last another year Grand Coulee City Council decided to wait another month before approving a time extension for the closure of the east end of B Street during the construction of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s fire station. Council members said it would be smart to ask the USBR to agree to repair the street after they are done using it for the construction. They said the USBR expects the station to be done in spring of 2019, but the extension would allow for the closure of the road to last until October of 2019. The r...
The federal Bureau of Land Management’s recent agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation and local fire districts has already paid off this fire season. The USBR turned over 200,000 acres to the BLM to manage. With Grand Coulee’s fire district already on board with the agreement, Electric City has joined up as well. Fire Chief for Electric City Mark Payne spoke to the Electric City Council last week about the benefits of the agreement. “Ninety percent of our district is bureau ground,” Payne said, “and so we had access to ground troops, cats; it...
Those of us who look at the Grand Coulee Dam and think “how in the hell did they manage to build that?” will have the opportunity to have that question answered in detail by an engineering expert. Raymond “Paul” Giroux will be making a free presentation on “Building Grand Coulee Dam,” Saturday, Aug. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center. The roughly hour-long presentation will highlight the construction of the primary structure, which was completed by the spring of 1942. Giroux spoke to The Star about what made the constru...
With many cities, counties, fire districts and multiple jurisdictions of every kind coming together in the Grand Coulee Dam community, it can leave many newcomers scratching their heads, but firefighters on the Grass Valley Fire reported seeing a remarkably close community. At a meeting called Monday to give the community information on the Grass Valley Fire, Public Information Officer Ben Shearer, from the Southeast Washington Incident Management Team, said he has been fighting fires for 28 years, but had to give credit to the Grand Coulee...
A free presentation on “Building Grand Coulee Dam,” by Raymond Paul Giroux, will discuss how the right conditions, people and engineering allowed it to happen at that time. The Aug. 25 program will be presented at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center. “During the early twentieth century, the Bureau of Reclamation was charged with harnessing the water potential of the western United States,” an Aug. 13 bureau press release states. “Critical to this vision was taming the mighty Columbia River. With river flows more than 300,000 c...