News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 326 - 350 of 883
Robert Carl Hanson, 89, passed away peacefully, with his family by his side, at the Nevada State Veterans Home in Boulder City, Nevada, on Thursday, July 26, 2018. He was born April 7, 1929, in Rapid City, South Dakota, and was a 40 year resident of Boulder City. Bob enlisted in the U.S. Navy and proudly served his country during the Korean War, followed by a very distinguished career as a Personnel Officer for the Bureau of Reclamation. He contributed to such projects as the Grand Coulee Dam and the Central Arizona Project before joining the... Full story
Agencies that control most of the public lands in the region have issued restrictions on the use of fire. “Fire restrictions on lands administered by the Bureau of Reclamation have been modified to prohibit the building, maintaining, attending or using a fire of any type, including charcoal briquette fires,” a press release from the Bureau of Land Management states. The BLM has an agreement with the USBR to operate on their lands for fire management purposes. “An exemption is made for liquefied and bottled gas stoves and heaters, provi...
Grand Coulee Mayor Paul Townsend welcomes Nicolaus D. Johnson as the city's newest patrolman after swearing him in Tuesday. Coming from Yakima, Johnson was recruited laterally, meaning he's already fully qualified to serve without the city having to send him to state academy training. That's important, Townsend noted, because he can immediately take part in the city's contract supporting the Bureau of Reclamation. The city now has eight officers, Townsend said. - Scott Hunter...
In past columns I’ve talked about the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), or as some call it, the Southern Oscillation. Let me briefly review what this thing does. There are two ocean temperature and wind actions that occur down along the Tropical Pacific Equator that can, and do, affect global climate. These fluctuating ocean wind and temperature events also play a role in our winters here in the Pacific and Inland Northwest. One is referred to as El Niño (the child, Spanish) and the oth...
Volunteer firefighters in Grand Coulee responded quickly to local fires recently, stopping them before they could grow in size and do major damage. Firefighters responded to a fire right in Hometown Pizza's backyard on July 26, the second fire that week following a July 23 smoldering fire in a pile of manure. The Hometown Pizza fire was responded to by 14 firefighters, five fire engines, two law enforcement officers, and two Grant County PUD linemen who kept the grass and brush fire to approxima...
Coulee Dam seemed likely to follow a path already pursued by Electric City and Grand Coulee last week, when the town council heard nothing but favorable remarks during a public hearing on allowing people to drive four-wheelers on city streets. About a dozen people attended the hearing Wednesday night, not all of them from Coulee Dam. "It's a cheap way to get around," commented a man named Wes, who Councilmember Keith St. Jeor said was from Wenatchee. "It's a boon to the city." Coulee Dam is...
City gets firefighting agreement with BLM The federal Bureau of Land Management, which has an agreement to operate on United States Bureau of Reclamation land, has entered into an agreement with the city of Grand Coulee. The agreement allows Grand Coulee firefighters to take care of fires on land the BLM is responsible for, and the city can in turn bill the BLM, as well as use resources from them, such as fire-fighting aircraft. “It’s a one-way deal,” said Grand Coulee Fire Chief Rick Paris, referring to the city benefitting from the partn...
Kenneth Eugene Williams passed away Friday, July 13, 2018, on his 93rd birthday. He was born on July 13, 1925, in Tecumseh, Nebraska, the first son of Fred and Gertrude Williams. He graduated from Tecumseh High School in May of 1944. On July 22, 1944, he was inducted into the U.S. Army at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and was discharged on August 17, 1946, after service in the Asiatic Pacific Campaign. He received the Purple Heart Medal on December 15, 1945, from wounds received in June 1945 at... Full story
A large collection of logs and debris floating at Crescent Bay should be all tugged away by a tugboat sometime between mid- and late July. "The Bureau of Reclamation has a contract with Columbia Navigation to collect the logs that come down the river during the spring runoff," said USBR Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. "The logs that are at Crescent Bay and the logs that have collected behind Grand Coulee Dam in the Forebay area will be gathered together and Columbia Navigation will use...
Grand Coulee 6/19 - Coulee Gas reported a counterfeit $20 bill that police collected and will send to the U.S. Secret Service. Police were unable to identify the customer who used the bill in security footage. - An Elmer City man wanted on a warrant ran from police after being spotted in the Delano area. An officer chased the man, who gave himself up and was taken to Grant County Jail on the warrant. He was also charged with resisting arrest and obstructing an officer. - Police looked into a report of possible squatters at an abandoned house...
“Ooh! … Ah!” Those words are the universal language for “look at the fireworks!” This Saturday night at 9 p.m. the Northwest Pyrotechnics Association, of which local man Alan Cain is a member, will put on a fireworks show near North Dam on Banks Lake. “It’s going to be a good half hour of pyrotechnic fun for a happy Fathers Day,” Cain said. A good view of the show will be available from Banks Lake Park and North Dam Park, both near the dam, and Cain says the best views “are probably going to be by Coulee Playland.” Another fun option is to go...
If you see some unidentified flying objects near the Grand Coulee Dam, don't be alarmed! It most likely isn't aliens studying hydroelectric power, but rather "drones" capturing aerial footage of the dam. The Bureau of Reclamation detailed the flights in a June 4 press release, saying the purpose is to "photograph and obtain video footage of the structure while water is spilling over the drum gates during the month of June." The new footage will show infrastructure improvements made over recent...
Grand Coulee Police 5/29 - “Scooby” is causing trouble for its owner on East Grand Coulee Avenue by barking. The white- and brown-spotted dog got the owner a citation for not being licensed and causing a disturbance by barking. It wasn’t the first time the dog has caused complaints for neighbors. - Later, “Scooby” got in trouble again, this time at Coulee Playland, where it allegedly attacked a young Labrador-husky mix, injuring it in the jowls. The owner of the injured dog, from out of town, called police from Ephrata while on the way home...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District would like to see a skill center in the area, a place where junior and senior high school students can learn practical skills that will help them land jobs after high school. Superintendent Paul Turner visited the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center in Moses Lake on May 4, observing classes for certified nursing assistants, culinary arts, advanced manufacturing, and entrepreneurship and marketing. "There's an international nursing shortage, so by starting...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District is visualizing possibilities for what they call a “skill center,” a place where students can learn skills that lead directly to jobs, particularly jobs in the local area. The district is working on the project in collaboration with the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center based in Moses Lake, where GCDSD Superintendent Paul Turner, as well as GCDSD board members, will be visiting to bring some of the same opportunities to this area. One solid program of the skill center taking shape soon will be a cer...
The Colville Tribes hosted their ninth annual Earth Day celebration on Friday, giving away T-shirts and raffle items, hosting a free barbecue, and teaching children and adults alike about Earth Day-related topics. Hosted at the powwow grounds in Nespelem, booths provided information on electricity, forestry, recycling, drainage and runoff of different soil types, how to reuse old clothes, invasive species, health and nutrition, and much more. A popular booth hosted by M3 Consulting Group had bot...
Grand Coulee Police 4/16 - Police were informed of a 16-year-old intoxicated girl at a residence in Electric City. When police arrived, they learned of a warrant for her arrest, and she was taken to juvenile authorities in Okanogan County. - A woman told police that she had asked a person she only knew by a first name to use her bank card to get her groceries, and claimed a loss of $900. She had called 911 but hung up when they asked for her name. Police learned of a warrant for the arrest of the woman who claimed the loss. She was taken to jai...
Blossoms on a wild apricot tree at Crescent Bay are backlit by sunlight over the water and the lowered shoreline background of Lake Roosevelt Tuesday. The Bureau of Reclamation said Thursday that the lake will be lowered to no higher than 1,222.7 feet above sea level by the end of April to help control flooding downstream. It was at 1,234 feet in this photo. Its full level is 1,290 feet. - Scott Hunter photo...
Workers sandblast the first drum gate on top of Grand Coulee Dam Tuesday to prepare the surface for fresh paint. The Bureau of Reclamation follows a maintenance schedule for the drum gates, which control the flow of water over the top of the dam when Lake Roosevelt is full, when river conditions and lake levels allow during spring drawdowns. - Scott Hunter photo...
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Public Works Department PUBLIC NOTICE The Colville Tribes Land Use Review Board will be holding a public hearing to make a ruling on the following shoreline development conditional use permits: Pacific Aquaculture has submitted a land use and development application for a shoreline conditional use permit to construct an 81’x177’ brood stock facility, a 40’ x 50’ office building, 100’ x 10’ exterior raceway, install a water intake and return lines, drill a new 12” well with associated pu... Full story
Electric City will consider reversing an annexation decision it made back in 2009. The city council has asked City Clerk Russell Powers to find out how to reverse its annexation decision that brought a large block of land south of the Osborn Bay into the city. Powers said Monday that he has asked the city's attorney what the process would be so he can report back to the council at one of its future meetings. "If the city eventually wants to turn back annexed land, it would take a vote of the...
There may be good reasons for Electric City to consider un-acquiring territory it gained when it annexed a considerable amount of land several years ago, but the city council should think about it more than a little before doing so. Some people probably think it would be best for one of the likeliest growth spots in the area to be devoid of local leadership or direction. If members of the council are hoping that turkeys would roam free beyond the causeway, they may be right. The area didn’t develop after the Great Recession killed all p...
SUMMARY OF ORDINANCES PASSED OF THE CITY OF ELECTRIC CITY, WASHINGTON On the 13th day of March, 2018 the City Council of Electric City passed the following ordinances. A summary of the content of said ordinances, consisting of the title, provides as follows: ORDINANCE NO. 529-2018 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ELECTRIC CITY, WASHINGTON, REPEALING THE CURRENT CHAPTER 1.25 OF THE ELECTRIC CITY MUNICIPAL CODE TITLED “ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT” AND ADOPTING A NEW CHAPTER 1.25 TITLED “CIVIL CODE ENFORCEMENT” ORDINANCE NO. 530-2018 AN ORDINAN... Full story
A week-long school security training session at the FEMA Emergency Management Institute “will make a huge difference in how we do things here,” Superintendent Paul Turner said Tuesday. People from the Grand Coulee Dam School District and other agencies nearby traveled to Emmitsburg, Maryland, last week on a grant, with meetings designed to get people in responding agencies who might be involved in some kind of security issues talking and planning together. School security was only part of the training, Turner explained. “We went into detai...
High school junior boys could learn about government The Grand Coulee Dam American Legion is seeking applicants for Evergreen Boys State, June 17-23 in Stanwood, Washington. Initially designed to counter an American fascist movement in the 1930s, Boys State still teaches participants how government works, offering them a chance to construct local, county and state governments. Activities include running for office, court proceedings, creating and enforcing laws, pizza parties, a talent show, celebrations, and recreational programs. Applicants...