News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Charles S. (Stan) Yirak was born on June 9, 1924, to Charles J. and Marie R. (Risch) Yirak in Ouray, Colo., and passed away Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014, in Liberty Lake, Wash. Stan was married to Betty Wynes on April 20, 1945 and to this union six children were born: Liz Young, Dave (Carol) Yirak, Joan (Mike) Zimbelman, Alan (Stacy) Yirak, Jim (Young) Yirak and Paul (Keri) Yirak. Stan served in the US Navy and worked for the Bureau of Reclamation for most of his life which brought him to this area... Full story
The all new laser light show is still on schedule for a late May showing this year. Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said this week that LumaLaser, the firm designing the show, has made revisions to the story line, graphics and text, and is progressing through the project, the development of which is “well along.” LumaLaser, a Eugene, Oregon firm, landed the $1.6 million contract and has been working with a stakeholder group here as the work on the project continues. The project was supposed to be off and running las... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation announced last week that Kerry McCalman of Denver, Colo., has been named the interim power manager at Grand Coulee Dam, starting last Wednesday. McCalman is Reclamation’s senior advisor for Hydropower and Electric Reliability compliance officer based in Denver. He replaces Mark Jenson who has been the Grand Coulee power manager since April 2011. Jenson will remain at Grand Coulee Dam to lead the Project Management Group, which is directly involved in repairing, replacing, and upgrading power equipment throughout the f... Full story
A worker burned in an accident at Grand Coulee Dam last November is due to be released from hospital today, the Bureau of Reclamation has informed an irrigation district. The Columbia Basin Development League reported to members in its email newsletter last week that the bureau said Dan McCulloch would be released Jan. 22. McCulloch, 54, was flown to Harborview Medical Center with extensive burns Nov. 18 after a mishap with switch gear for Pump Generator 12 in the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant. Of the 12 units in the plant, six are... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 1/12 - A Burdin Boulevard woman reported that a neighbor had the trunk of his vehicle open and was putting plastic bags in it. She was told the police would add extra patrols to the area. 1/13 - A Grand Coulee man who had been banned from Safeway two weeks ago for threatening store employees came into the store, and staff called the police. He was gone by the time police arrived but an officer went to his home to talk with him. The officer asked him to come outside and talk and the report stated he replied, “uh, no thanks.... Full story
A fire that scrambled area fire departments to the Third Powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam last week started in an air filter. It put out a lot of smoke, but, unlike fires in other power plants at the dam last year, didn’t affect power production. A contractor working on the overhaul of of G-24, one of six massive generators in the power plant, had been sand blasting the interior of the generator’s shaft, according to Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. In that process, a dust collector separates air from dust, which it deposits in a bar... Full story
Maxine A. Crawford, 99, (MAC) went to be with her Lord last weekend at The Renaissance Assisted Living Facility in west Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She was born the eldest of four children to Elliott V. Heater and Bernice Wilson on the family homestead, a wheat ranch south of Ritzville, Wash. The family moved when she was small to Colfax for two years and on to Grandview, Wash. She enjoyed cooking for crews on the 40-acre farm in the Yakima Valley, as well as" practicing" teaching on her siblings and... Full story
January: • The Nez Perce Longhouse burned in a fire in Nespelem the day after Christmas. An electrical malfunction was the initial cause reported. The longhouse had been a part of the community since 1975 when it was built as part of a bicentennial project. • Grand Coulee’s Council settled pay issues with Police Chief Mel Hunt by buying his 787 compensatory hours for $42,922.50. • The public was invited to view the final plans for the new K-12 school complex. • Elmer City was divided about what to do regarding Coulee Dam’s proposed wastewater... Full story
Now it’s time to put some meat on the bones. A golf crowd met Dec. 12, to come up with what they would like to see happen at Banks Lake Golf Course so a grant could be pursued. Frank Andrews Jr., a planner and grant writer for the Colville Tribes, had met with Port District commissioners earlier and volunteered his services to write a grant. Andrews explained his interest: “I’m a golfer,” he told the commissioners. At the public meeting, attended by some 40 people, officials developed a priority list of improvements they thought should be made... Full story
Maxine A. Crawford, 99, (MAC) went to be with her Lord last weekend at The Renaissance Assisted Living Facility in west Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. She was born the eldest of four children to Elliott V. Heater and Bernice Wilson on the family homestead, a wheat ranch south of Ritzville, Wash. The family moved when she was small to Colfax for two years and on to Grandview, Wash. She enjoyed cooking for crews on the 40-acre farm in the Yakima Valley, as well as" practicing" teaching on her siblings and... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation anticipates all six pump units in the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant will be available to fill Banks Lake prior to the 2014 irrigation season, and expects to provide a normal irrigation water supply to the Columbia Basin. The pump plant has been out of service since a fire Nov. 18. The fire was contained to the south end of the pump plant and caused damage to the switchgear for Pump Generator 12 (PG-12). An employee injured in the fire, Dan McCulloch, 54, was flown to Harborview Medical Center’s burn center i... Full story
SPOKANE, Wash. – A Bureau of Reclamation employee died Wednesday night as a result of injuries sustained from a fall on Monday at a construction site at Pinto Dam located about 18 miles east of Ephrata, Wash. Holger “Hal” Jensen, 62, passed away with family gathered by his bedside at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. He was a civil engineer with the construction engineering group in Reclamation’s Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Boise, Idaho. “This is simply heartbreaking,” said Lorri Lee, Pacific Northwest Regional Director. “O...
After not patrolling Geezer Beach for almost a year, C.C.T. is again bullying and terrorizing local legal anglers. The Bureau (of Reclamation) owns and controls the land known as Geezer Beach. C.C.T. is in Boise, at the regional offices of the Bureau of Reclamation, asking permission to get regulatory control of said beach. Obviously, they do not have control now! This is when we must get united and call the Boise office and tell them what we think of their considering giving control of the beach to an entity that does not respect laws already... Full story
Grand Coulee 11/28 - An out-of-the-area person reported that he had stopped at a local store and used his credit card and that a few days later he was advised by his credit card company that his card had been used in California to purchase items. He said the only place he used the card was in Grand Coulee. 12/2 - An Orondo driver was stopped for going 49 mph in a 35 mph zone and was ticketed for 45 mph and for not having insurance. - USBR Plant Protection told police that a vehicle had gone past guard station 1 without stopping. Police found th... Full story
An eventual contract for law enforcement services between the Bureau of Reclamation and local agenices will probably end up looking like this -- Grand Coulee, four officers; Coulee Dam, two officers; and two officers from the Colville Tribal Police department. While discussions are still going on, and no date has been set for a final decision, The Star has learned that the bureau has realigned its five zones of coverage to just two. Grand Coulee would cover zone 1, which goes from the switchyards to the Washington Flats on the west side of the... Full story
A Bureau of Reclamation employee was critically injured Monday as a fire started at a switch in the John W. Keys III Pump Generating Plant. Daniel McCulloch, 54, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with burn injuries. Another employee was treated locally for smoke inhalation. McCulloch, an operator, has worked for the bureau since 2008. He was listed in serious condition at Harborview's intensive care unit Tuesday, a medical center spokesperson said. All plant employees were... Full story
A quarter mile long piece of the Downriver Trail system might soon be reopened, Bureau of Reclamation officials stated last week. The trail would extend through a pedestrian gate along the rip-rap on the east side of the Columbia River near the bridge to just short of the Third Powerhouse. If approved, hikers could go from the north end of the trail near Seaton’s Grove all the way to near the Third Powerhouse. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said the change is being evaluated and that the agency will seek approval if everything goes w... Full story
Among the most frustrating regulations that citizens run up against when trying to fight city hall are zoning laws. But some of the most obvious problems this community faces result from a lack of them, or of their past enforcement. Zones in a city define how portions of geography are to be used: homes here, businesses there, mixed use over here. Their purpose is rooted in a great American concept — that we can do what we want with our own property, as long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s. Zoning is supposed to help make that more... Full story
A Bureau of Reclamation employee was flown to Harborview Medical Center with injuries after a fire Monday in the John W. Keys III Pump Generating Plant, which a bureau press release said is believed to have been caused by a switch gear failure. Another employee is being treated locally for smoke inhalation. All plant employees were evacuated and acrid smoke rose out of the pump generating plant around noon Monday as multiple fire trucks were staged outside and firefighters were seen entering...
The Grand Coulee Civil Service Commission will hold a special meeting, Friday, Nov. 15, at 5:30 p.m., in the council chambers to begin efforts to hire a police officer. Commission Chair Alan Cain and Commissioner Ken Carroll were the only members present at Monday afternoon’s meeting. Mark Graves had been in the council chambers earlier but had to leave before the meeting began. The commission’s new recording secretary, Kathy Carroll, was also present. Commissioners Cain and Carroll agreed to develop information from companies that do tes... Full story
Clay Hearne and his sons, Ronnie and Kenny, appeal to those using the Osborne Bay gun range to pick up their garbage after they get through sighting their rifles in. The Hearnes, from Electric City, recently hauled two large pickup loads of garbage from the site. Included in the trash were cardboard boxes, burned up mattresses, bottles, cans, a muffler and tailpipe and scores of shotgun shells. Clay said the place is a mess and people should pack out items they bring in. It is apparent that... Full story
Officials in the town of Coulee Dam are hopeful that they will be able to make a deal with the Bureau of Reclamation on a law enforcement contract. Mayor Quincy Snow, Police Chief Pat Collins and Councilmember Bob Poch met last Wednesday with the Bureau’s regional director, Lorri Lee, to make another attempt to land a contract. Chief Collins said that another meeting is scheduled for later this week and that “negotiations continue.” Recent developments saw the Bureau award a continuing contract to Grand Coulee, but Coulee Dam’s law enforce... Full story
Residents of Coulee Dam reported hearing, and feeling, a loud explosion coming from Grand Coulee Dam Wednesday afternoon. It was basically man-made thunder. Workers getting ready to test a generator under repair in the left powerhouse opened a gate to the penstock that flows water from behind the dam to the turbine that powers G-8, the generator under repair, explained Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. Excess water in that process overflows through a bypass valve and out onto the face of the dam through a large tube that opens onto the... Full story
I wish to provide some insight to the USBR Law Enforcement Contract with regards to the benefits this contract provides to the citizens of the Town of Coulee Dam. The Coulee Dam Police Department has provided 24 hour 7 day a week Police Protection to the Bureau of Reclamation since September 11, 2001. This Contract has provided for additional security presence within and around Coulee Dam, along with enabling the town to provide for additional employment and maintain and improve its police equipment. In detail these funds provide for up to... Full story
Stan Rawley of Coulee Dam, Wash., passed away at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, at the age of 83. He was born on January 31, 1930, in Brewster, Wash. As a child, Stan's family moved to the Grand Coulee Dam area where his mother worked very hard as a switchboard operator for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to raise her two young sons. Stan attended grade school and high school in Coulee Dam where he excelled at many different sports, and upon graduation he joine... Full story