News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 826 - 850 of 896
City sets criteria for cheaper rides The city of Grand Coulee, by resolution, passed an ambulance fee assistance policy at its meeting Aug. 21. If a person uses ambulance service and meets certain criteria, they can get a reduced rate, or the rate might be waived, according to the new policy. The criteria includes family income being below the poverty line, and if the hospital you are taken to is waiving its fee. An explanation of the policy is provided to each person using ambulance services. Sky watchers plan Saturday events Mark Sept. 1, on... Full story
Ten Years Ago The recent awarding of a grant to the town of Coulee Dam could ensure the restoration of Douglas Park to its original condition. Rod Hartman announced at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon last Thursday that the town received a $98,996 matching grant from Okanogan County’s Board of Commissioner. David Reese, 18, was presented his Eagle Scout Award at a BSA Eagle Court of Honor Aug. 21. Lake Roosevelt High School senior Shane Proctor’s several activities have earned him a spot in the national magazine “Co... Full story
Grand Coulee 8/16 - Police found a large white fluffy dog loose on Burdin Boulevard. The dog was taken to the veterinary clinic and later picked up by its owner. 8/17 - A Grand Coulee man was cited for reckless driving and hit and run when the vehicle he was driving left the road on “A” Street and crashed into a utility pole. The vehicle suffered $2,000 damage and the driver had a broken nose which was treated at Coulee Medical Center. The man, after treatment, walked away from the hospital and later called police to talk with them about the in... Full story
Ten Years Ago Wind and dry brush fueled a fire early Friday that burned a home and a barn and many acres of land before firefighters could contain it. Electric City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bob Boll said the fire started at 3:19 am on Friday near the Banks Lake Golf and Country Club. Firefighters did not leave the area until around 5 p.m. Butch Comer and his wife Brenda lost practically everything. When a flurry of last-minute registration was done, the area’s first three-on-three basketball tournament grew from a dozen teams on M...
Here's the latest update just in. Most of the Buffalo Lake Road Fire was quiet yesterday, giving firefighters the opportunity to continue improving containment lines and mopping up throughout its perimeter. In the southeast section, near Swawilla Basin, even with more fire activity, the rocky terrain made it difficult to thoroughly burn out the sparse fuels. Despite these challenges, crews located and built a new containment line that is closer to the body of the fire. This strategy will hasten successful containment. Utility crews were able... Full story
Firefighters will have to be alert against localized erratic winds today as temperatures near the Buffalo Lake Road Wildfire creep near 100 degrees. With the fire 70-percent contained, officials estimated its size so far at 10,962 acres and the cost to fight it at $450,000. Dollars well spent, if you are one of those folks whose home did not burn (none did) but came close “In my opinion, (local firefighters) did a phenomenal job of protecting … hundreds of houses,” said Type II Team Opera... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $4 Million design and construction contract to Burke Electric, Bellevue, Wash., to replace a 30-year-old relay system that protects and monitors high voltage power lines linked to Grand Coulee Dam’s generators and switchyards. The Bonneville Power Administration is funding the project, which includes installing a new relay system for seven transmission lines between the 500-kV and 230-kV switchyards and Grand Coulee Dam’s Third Powerplant. Work also includes furnishing and installing several miles of fib... Full story
Park district commissioners heard concerns from a taxpayer Monday night on their hopes to collect taxes after a vote next November. Dave McClure, a rancher with a lot of property north of Nespelem, said he would have tried to disuade the commission from going for the vote had he known of their plans. In the November election, the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District will seek a levy of 15 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, which would cost the owner of a $120,000 home $18 a year. CAPRD is a junior taxing district, but has never... Full story
Coulee Dam Police 7/30 - A man on Central Drive reported an intoxicated man on the roof of a house nearby. Police couldn’t locate any person on the roof of the place, and the officer explained to the man that a person has right to drink and work on his place if he wants to. 7/30 - Police advised residents living on Pine, Fir and Holly that their properties were in violation of the city code and they should clean up their properties. 8/2 - A dog barking brought police to a residence on Douglas Street. The officer knocked on the door and could h... Full story
Walt Netzel passed away Wednesday, July 18, 2012, in the bed that he had built, in the house he had built, with family present. Walt was born in 1923 in a little town in northern Wisconsin, where he grew up loving the outdoors, a love that lasted all his life. After finishing high school in Crandon, he entered the University of Wisconsin School of Electrical Engineering. His time there was interrupted by service in the Army Signal Corps for three-and-a-half years. Most of his service was in China and India. After the war ended, he stayed on to... Full story
• There is a difference between decision making and leadership. Leaders of the Colville Tribes discovered that recently after they made significant, long-impact decisions on behalf of their constituents without really involving them in the process that brought the tribes a huge sum of money in a settlement, but that some say also may have compromised tribal sovereignty. Coulee Dam leaders have been involved for years in a less dramatic, but nonetheless significant process as they planned upgrades to the town’s aging wastewater treatment pla... Full story
Visitors to the area in 2013, will see a brand new laser light show at Grand Coulee Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $1.6 million contract to LumaLaser of Eugene, Ore., recently to develop the new show. Funding for the new laser show and equipment comes from Bonneville Power Administration and will be used to not only develop the show but upgrade equipment as well as sound quality. Under the new system, authorities say, there will be an energy savings of about 75 percent. LumaLaser will... Full story
People that have been around the area for a long time said last Friday afternoon’s storm was the worst they had ever seen. A National Weather Service warning at 12:54 p.m. said it was moving north through Grant County at about 30 miles per hour. The warning was issued until 1:45, but the storm hit the Grand Coulee Dam area with force about 3 p.m. In its wake, there were many reports of upended trees and roof damage, and the driving rain kept people indoors for the half hour or so of the s... Full story
Ten Years Ago The Bureau of Reclamation wants to celebrate its 100th anniversary with an upcoming community party and will use the occasion to help recognize special people and a special place. Nationally, the Bureau is putting a major effort into telling its story of development in 17 states. The sound of shovels digging briefly filled the air last week as Keller residents commemorated the beginning of construction on a new health center. Jim Boyd, a popular singer with several Nammy (Native American Music Awards) nominations, will play the... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 7/15 - Officer Dan Holland responded to a Regional Tactical Response Team call in Moses Lake and assisted in serving a search warrant for an armed gang member. The man was also known to be an illegal immigrant. Police found a woman in the house, but the man was not there. - Police were informed that a woman had a 9mm gun and planned to shoot someone. Police went to the area where the woman was supposed to be located and asked about her at a residence on Burdin Boulevard. The person there said the woman in question had left... Full story
Fire crews have had quite a workout over the past week, particularly in Douglas County, Grand Coulee’s fire chief Rick Paris reported Monday. Just as a Type-3 incident management team was cleaning up and leaving from the near 500-acre Cache Butte fire on north Banks Lake late last week, the area experienced another lightning storm that started several small fires and a larger one. Douglas County Fire District 3 and District 5 battled a fire between Mansfield and Bridgeport near Foster Creek that turned into a major fire, starting about m... Full story
Primary ballots out this week Ballots for the Aug. 7 primary, will be mailed to voters today, Wednesday, in Grant County and Thursday in Okanogan County, their respective elections departments noted. If you don’t get a ballot by July 25, you can call Grant County’s department at 754-2011 ext. 377 or ext. 423. Okanogan County’s election officials can be reached at (509) 422-7240. Trees coming down The Bureau of Reclamation plans to cut down eight or nine trees in North Dam Park. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said that Bonneville Power... Full story
Ten Years Ago One of the final obstacles to the construction of the town of Coulee Dam’s filtration plant has now been removed. Fourth Congressional District Representative Richard “Doc” Hastings announced yesterday that Coulee Dam will receive federal grants and a loan to pay for its water filtration plant. “It’s great,” said Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow. “It goes to show that the squeeky wheel gets the results.” High temperatures could not prevent shooting enthusiasts from attending a tournament designed to test their skills with a variety of... Full story
A U.S. Forest Service helicopter scoops water from Banks Lake Tuesday evening to fight a 200-acre brush fire near Barker Canyon. The fire erupted following a massive thunderstorm that hit the region about 3 a.m. and struck the state more than 6,000 times with lightning. Douglas County Fire District 3 Chief Dale Rinker said the fire was controlled but not contained Tuesday night, thanks to ”a lot of good work from a lot of good firefighters.” District 3 was joined by District 5, Coulee Dam, Gra... Full story
The local park district through which North Dam Park was rescued in a joint community effort last year, will seek tax support at the ballot come November. Commissioners of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District voted Monday to seek a levy to help support the district, which recently learned it will get a matching grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation this year. CAPRD is a junior taxing district, but has never collected taxes. Local municipalities have propped up its efforts to save North Dam Park and Event Center by feeding it taxes...
Top of North Dam OK for fireworks Local residents can set their fireworks off July 4, at North Dam Park, a Bureau of Reclamation official said this week. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said that the BOR is encouraging those who set their fireworks off on North Dam Park to clean up their debris. In past years the Bureau has had to have its maintenance people go up and clean up the debris left behind. Brougher also stated that people should point their fireworks toward the lake to help eliminate grass fires near the dam. Help needed with... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation is advising people camping along the Lake Roosevelt shoreline over the July 4 weekend to be aware of potential dangers that could exist due to rapidly rising lake levels. “When camping along the shoreline, it is recommended that tents and other belongings be kept well away from the water’s edge,” said Lynne Brougher, public affairs officer. “Although the lake is a popular vacation spot, it is also a working reservoir that supplies water for the hydroelectric facilit... Full story
Coulee Dam 6/11 - A man who said he was wanted on a warrant turned himself in at the police department. Dispatch confirmed the warrant from Douglas County. He was taken to Okanogan County Jail. 6/12 - A woman was stopped for following another vehicle too closely. Upon checking, the officer found that the woman’s driver’s license was suspended. The woman was warned on following too close, failing to transfer title, for not having a valid insurance card and not having her driver’s license on her person. She was cited for driving while suspended a... Full story
Money OK’d for park district Mayor Jerry Sands at Electric City got an OK from the council to sign an agreement for the city to provide $10,000 to the Coulee Area Park & Recreation District, to help fund maintenance activity at North Dam Park. The city had already budgeted that amount from its hotel/motel tax monies. Records clerk wage set The Coulee Dam Council voted at its last meeting to set the wage for its new records clerk at $17.31 a hour. The records clerk will be responsible, among other things, to follow through on public records r... Full story
Koulee Kids Day will provide a lot for kids and parents to do around town Saturday, and kids can win prizes, too. Start out by picking up an entry form with a map of the fun stuff. They will be available Saturday at Coulee Hardware, Funzee’s, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Visitor Center. Kids who visit at least four of the starred fun sites on the map, and get them initialed by an adult at that place, are eligible for prize drawings at the Village Cinema following the 1 p.m. movie, Despicable Me. The cinema is offering the movie at a r... Full story