News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Gray & Osborne engineers outlined ways for Coulee Dam and Elmer City to get their monthly sewer rates down in a letter to Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow that was distributed after the last city council meeting. Coulee Dam residents currently pay $59 a month for sewer service and Elmer City pays $35 a month. Both towns will need to up their rates to pay a $4.92 million loan for the wastewater treatment plant. Engineer Jeff Stevens, in his letter, outlined a plan in which the town of Coulee Dam would change its current funding source from the... Full story
The explosion at Grand Coulee Dam this morning was not a transformer or a generator, but a line and equipment connecting the two. Conflicitng reports this morning suggested that one or the other had exploded, but in the smoke-filled building it was hard to tell initially just what had happened. Exactly what happened is still unkown, but a "bus," basically a large pipe that goes through the wall of the right powerhouse is destroyed. An engineer who had been inside the damage is much worse inside...
In this community, whose economy is based overwhelmingly on a federal payroll and outsourced contracts, not a lot is yet certain about how the latest fiscal political drama emanating from the other Washington will play out. “Sequestration” became the law of the land on March 1. An act passed by Congress in 2011 was designed to give time for Democrats and Republicans to agree on a path toward reducing the nation’s deficit spending. It imposes across-the-board budget cuts on everybody’s favorite federal programs. At the time, it was assumed... Full story
Gray & Osborne engineers outlined ways for Coulee Dam and Elmer City to get their monthly sewer rates down in a letter to Coulee Dam mayor Quincy Snow that was distributed after last Wednesday’s city council meeting. Coulee Dam residents currently pay $59 a month for sewer service and Elmer City pays $35 a month. Both towns will need to up their rates to pay a $4.92 million wastewater treatment plant loan. Engineer Jeff Stevens, in his letter, outlined a plan where the town of Coulee Dam would change its current funding source from the Departme... Full story
Ten Years Ago The roar of boat motors will fill the air of Banks Lake this summer as competitive boat racing returns to the Gand Coulee Dam area. The Northwest Water Competition is organizing the second annual “Racer Reunion Regatta” on June 14 and 15 at Sunbanks Resort said member Roy Mackey. Coulee Dam’s Douglas Park will soon be renovated to the way it looked when Grand Coulee Dam was built. The town council Wednesday approved a $121,427 bid from Ellensburg, Wash.-based MRM Const... Full story
Enough is enough. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has apparently adopted a reckless and callous attitude toward community assets not made of concrete or steel, assets that make living easier in this semi-arid desert, assets that often take much longer to build than a dam. Trees are a treasure in this region, but becoming more rare thanks to decisions to cut them down at every opportunity. To be fair to the USBR, it’s not the only agency that finds trees easier to deal with as potential firewood. Trees are messy, in the way, their roots are o... Full story
A 100-year-old cottonwood tree on Banks Lake whose branches attracted as many as 10 eagles at a time is no more, cut down by the Bureau of Reclamation a couple of weeks ago. While Bureau employees said the tree was rotten, the stump, at least five feet across, shows no sign of rot. Several other nearby trees also cut down had rotted in the center. “We would watch the eagles fly from the tree to scoop up fish in the lake by the hour,” said Lela Haydock, who lives nearby and had enjoyed the sha... Full story
A public disclosure request for information from police documents made a few weeks ago by police officer Sean Cook has been discontinued at his own request, The Star learned this week. A request the Grand Coulee officer made recently had the police administration and officers pouring through some 13,000 reports looking for any evidence of force used by officers and a variety of other things. Cook asked that the search of documents be at least temporarily discontinued. The request came a day after the newspaper reported on the search that had... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 2/12 - An official with the Head Start program at Center School told police that someone had taken the lock off a storage shed where games and toys are stored. Nothing was taken, the report stated. It was thought that the entry was at the same time as a number of metal items was taken from a fenced-in area near the kitchen. - USBR Plant Protection asked police to check on a vehicle on Bureau of Reclamation property near the fish pens in Electric City. Police checked on the vehicle but couldn’t connect with the owner. - A 1... Full story
The man you can’t say “no” to was awarded two plaques at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2013 installation and awards banquet last Thursday night at Pepper Jack’s Bar & Grille. George Kohout, of Electric City, was first awarded a plaque for “Business of the Year,” awarded to the Ridge Riders club, of which he is president. Moments later Kohout was called to the front again, this time as the 2012 “Achiever of the Year,” an unprecedented double recognition, this time for his outs... Full story
Ten Years Ago Arguments against an additional drawdown of Banks Lake next August centered around two premises at a meeting in Coulee City last night: one legal, the other heartfelt. No one at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s meeting spoke in favor of the 10-foot drawdown, proposed to help endangered salmon by increasing river volume rushing past McNary Dam. Not refilling Banks Lake completely would leave one or two percent more water in the Columbia River. In the end, the wrestling powers in D... Full story
December 21, 2012, wasn’t the end of the world as we know it, but it was the end of this world for Arthur T. “Ted” Winiecki, 87, of Virginia, Minn., dying that Friday, at Virginia Regional Medical Center from an intra- cranial hemorrhage. Ted was born February 1, 1925, in Raymond, Wash., the youngest of 10 children of Tadeus and Frieda Winiecki. He graduated from Raymond High School before entering the Navy in 1943. Ted served as an electrician’s mate aboard the U.S.S. Kwajalein, an aircraf... Full story
Ten Years Ago A local woman and her family must deal with mixed emotions as the nation prepares for war. She left Sunday to assume her post in the Army for at least the next several months in western Washington. Sara Zlateff, who makes her home on the outskirts of Lincoln County with her husband Pat, reported to Ft. Lewis Monday. Starting Sept. 1, the sounds of concrete trucks and pile-drivers will replace motor homes and families at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Visitor Arrival Center. Public A... Full story
December 21, 2012, wasn’t the end of the world as we know it, but it was the end of this world for Arthur T. “Ted” Winiecki, 87, of Virginia, Minn., dying that Friday, at Virginia Regional Medical Center from an intracranial hemorrhage. Ted was born February 1, 1925, in Raymond, Wash., the youngest of 10 children of Tadeus and Frieda Winiecki. He graduated from Raymond High School before entering the Navy in 1943. Ted served as an electrician’s mate aboard the U.S.S. Kwajalein, an aircraf... Full story
Greg Wilder, 69, a Coulee Dam activist, said last week that he plans to file for the office of mayor as an “agent of change” when the filing period opens in May. Wilder has been at odds with two-term Mayor Quincy Snow, and the town administration as a whole, for the past two years, largely over the proposed wastewater treatment plant. Wilder says he has determined that the present $4.92 million plant now being designed is being overbuilt and that it will cost the citizens of Coulee Dam too high of sewer bills for the next 20 years. He has con... Full story
A local group of stakeholders will get the first look at the text for the all new laser light show within the next couple of weeks. Participants include the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Coulee Area Chamber of Commerce, the National Park Service, a representative from each town and someone from the irrigation district, as well as others. The inaugural showing of the new laser light show is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, but Bureau of Reclamation officials said it might not make that date. The old laser light... Full story
Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow, Greg Wilder and Elmer City Councilmember Larry Holford all met with the Colville Tribes Community Development Committee Tuesday to discuss the proposed wastewater treatment facility. The meeting, originally set for 9:30 a.m. was rescheduled at Snow’s request for 9 a.m. He told the group that the town had decided to delay proceeding with the facility plan, taking 90 days to get a fresh look at it, and he encouraged the Colville Tribes to participate. Holford and Wilder, who were expecting the meeting to begin at 9:3... Full story
Elmer City’s town council is divided about what to do in regard to Coulee Dam’s proposed wastewater treatment project. Both Mayor Mary Jo Carey and Councilmember Larry Holford indicate interest in proceeding along parallel lines, trying to move forward with Coulee Dam while progressing on a plan to build their own sewer treatment plant. Newcomer to the council Gail Morin, who was sworn in last Thursday night, was adamant about Elmer City going its own way. Shortly after being sworn in, Mor... Full story
Elmer City Mayor Mary Jo Carey said her town would rather be part of Coulee Dam’s wastewater treatment plant project than develop its own plant. In an interview, she said Elmer City’s council voted to move forward investigating its own plant as a safety valve in case the town can’t work out its problems with Coulee Dam. “It’s all about money and how we have been treated,” Carey stated. “Our citizens can’t afford the high monthly wastewater treatment costs as outlined by Coulee Dam.” “What we’d like to see is for Coulee Dam to stop its plan... Full story
Visions of a snow day likely danced in the heads of children aboard Grand Coulee Dam School District buses struggling on the Coulee Dam hill Monday morning. The section of State Route 155 owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was closed for about 45 minutes during a heavy snowfall. — Scott Hunter photo... Full story
Ten Years Ago A plan to help fish by changing the way dams in Montana are run will leave Banks Lake 10 feet lower in August, possibly affecting tourism. The Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation will put the plan they call VARQ into motion this year as an interim measure to satisfy a “biological opinion” of another federal agency. It could become permanent later. Kyle Desautel recently received his Masters of Business Administration from Easter Washington University. Lake Roosevelt girls claimed two close victories against Fre... Full story
January New mayor takes over Chris Christopherson became the mayor of Grand Coulee Jan. 3. after winning the popular vote in November. He and former mayor Tammara Byers traded seats, as she took his old spot on the city council. Sewage plans explained Engineers for Coulee Dam detailed in a public meeting plans to revamp the town’s wastewater treatment plant for nearly $5 million to be financed with a near doubling of sewer bills. The plan drew criticism and is still controversial. February Raider takes championship Orrin Gross won the state h... Full story
Ten Years Ago A painting depicting American military history hangs in the Veterans of Foreign Wars center mainly due to hours of volunteer labor from two local women and a local veteran. Columbia Art Association members Darlene Morova and Edith Lael spent about 150 hours over the last year painting a mural depicting American military involvement in World War I and II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Desert Storm and the present day military. Airplane models fill the home of an Electric City man, who restarted his childhood hobby several years ago... Full story
It wasn’t hitting four beach-heads in WWII, alcohol, Copenhagen or cancer that brought Swede down, but the old age of 95. Four months shy of his next birthday, George H. Walberg went home Christmas Eve, 2012. Born April 18, 1917, to Esther and Henry Walberg in Mullen, Idaho, he was raised and schooled in Spokane, Wash., by Aunt Ebba and Stone Henry. Entered the Army and served in WWII. When he was discharged he began working for Walt Disney Studios as an artist, then moved to Coulee Dam, W... Full story
Ten Years Ago The city of Grand Coulee’s police department will return to policing Grand Coulee Dam next year under an agreement the city reached with the Bureau of Reclamation. A program started locally gives families unable to afford fishing gear for their children at Christmas the chance to give the gear gift wrapped at no cost. The Rod and Reel program accepts rods, lures, bait and any other gear dropped off at NAPA Auto Parts in Grand Coulee, Quincy, Ephrata, Moses Lake and Omak year-round. The Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department and Am... Full story