News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Triple-digit temperatures over several days can pose a challenge for almost anyone. For those living in homes with inadequate AC, and for people living outdoors, it can be deadly. “More people die from extreme heat than extreme cold,” said Molly Morris, team lead at Grand Coulee’s STAR Hub, a division of Rural Resources Community Action. “We are not strangers to this type of heat, but when it first occurs each year we have to reach back to our early training on how to cope.” With the current h...
Searchers on Tuesday recovered the body of a young man missing in Banks Lake since Thursday. From Tacoma, Daniel Ciobanu, 28, and his wife had been riding a paddleboard near Coulee City when a breeze came up and they fell into the water in a spot "filled with very thick aquatic vegetation," according to a Grant County Sheriff's Office Facebook post. "The woman made it to shore, but the man went under and didn't resurface. First responders were called right away." That was about 8:30 a.m. They se...
We are writing this letter in support of and praise of our daughter Amelia Moses Marchand regarding her four-year appointment by President Joe Biden as Chairwoman on the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation. Amelia is a Colville Tribal member and a graduate of Lake Roosevelt High School, Eastern Washington University (BA) in Archaeology and Native American Studies. A Master’s Degree from Vermont Law School for Environmental Law and Policy. Amelia presently works for the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, (ATNI) and advises government...
The Grand Coulee volunteer firefighters would like to remind everyone to be careful during the upcoming July 4th holiday and to be careful all summer during outside activities. Local firefighters are not alone in their concern. Agencies responsible for fighting fires statewide are issuing pleas for safety and advising people take in public displays instead of lighting off their own fireworks. "In 2023, fire incidents from fireworks resulted in more than $12 million of property damage in...
Amelia Marchand was appointed last week as the new Tribal member on the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. President Joe Biden appointed Marchand to a term ending June 2028. "On behalf of our members and staff, I am pleased to welcome Amelia Marchand to the ACHP," Chair Sara C. Bronin said. "Her years of experience in the cultural and natural resources fields, and her expertise in Indigenous Knowledge and climate change, will make her a strong advisor as we move forward in implementing...
Two stories in The Star this week revolve around a problem central to not only the Grand Coulee Dam area, but to the nation as a whole: housing shortages. More than any other problem, a lack of good housing is the biggest impediment the local area faces to economic development. Two proposals — Coulee Medical Center’s tiny homes project and the Center Senior Living initiative — would address different aspects of this similar problem. All the largest employers in the area deal with a lack of housing when recruiting workers to come here. The B...
After a process going back more than two years, the Banks Lake Golf Course will soon be owned and operated by descendents of the area's original people: the Colville Confederated Tribes. Grant County Port District #7 Commissioners quickly voted to approve moving forward with the $1.2 million purchase and sale agreement after Commission Chair Jim Keene gave a presentation on the negotiations and terms at a June 11 Port Commission meeting. It was the only item on the agenda. "I'll just say that...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program has awarded the Colville Tribes a $16.5 million dollar grant to build a new food processing facility which will combine traditional and modern techniques. The new facility will include several buildings with a total area of approximately 28,000 square feet. Construction will occur on the site of the old food processing plant on Omak Mission Road. The processing facility will be dedicated to traditional first foods of the Colville Tribes. It will utilize state-of-the-art t...
The Colville Tribal Museum opened for the season last week, and they've already had visitors from multiple states stop in to learn local history and culture from the Tribes' History/Archeology Department. This year, staff have installed new exhibits you have probably not seen before - even if you are local. These exhibits include twined basket work by Omak mixed-media artist and tribal member Joe Feddersen, an old dendroglyph on a San Poil ponderosa pine, and a section dedicated to the crisis...
June 7 is the official first First Friday of 2024. This year, the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber’s serial summertime pop-up market will be back at North Dam Park instead of Main Street. The evening market will run from 4 to 9 p.m. on June 7, August 2, and September 6. Vendors will include local businesses, art, leather and jewelry vendors, food trucks, plus a free craft table hosted by the local library, and other activities for kids. For entertainment, Kolton Carson, a Lake Roosevelt 10th grader, will be playing acoustic guitar and singing f...
Public Notice Town of Coulee Dam To the citizens of the Town of Coulee Dam, Washington, the Annual Drinking Water Report for the period of January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 is now available. A copy of the report can be accessed at www.townofcouleedam.org or by contacting Coulee Dam Town Hall at 509-633-0320. Stefani Bowden, Clerk/Treasurer (Publish June 5, 2024) 2024 MRSC ROSTERS SMALL PUBLIC WORKS, CONSULTANT, and VENDOR ROSTERS FOR PARTICIPATING WASHINGTON STATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LOCATED IN EASTERN WASHINGTON The Municipal... Full story
The Banks Lake Pumped Storage Project has lingered since Columbia Basin Hydropower first brought it to the attention of local leaders in 2016. Lately the project, planned to generate 500 to 1,000 megawatts of hydropower by moving water in an underground tunnel between Banks Lake and Lake Roosevelt, has drawn attention from a new potential investor and developer. But questions remain, hurdles are high, and clear steps forward are a ways off for the proposed project that would involve...
CITY OF ELECTRIC CITY STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Determination of NonSignificance Proposal Name: Electric City Shoreline Waterfront Trail Lead agency: City of Electric City Description of proposal: This City initiated project constructs about 2,153 feet of 8-10 ft wide multi use trail adjacent to Highway 155 between Electric City and Grand Coulee. Additional work includes removal of existing guardrail, installation of retaining wall with pedestrian safety fence and drainage facilities to accommodate path. Location of proposal: The proposed... Full story
CITY OF ELECTRIC CITY STATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT Determination of NonSignificance Proposal Name: Electric City Shoreline Waterfront Trail Lead agency: City of Electric City Description of proposal: This City initiated project constructs about 2,153 feet of 8-10 ft wide multi use trail adjacent to Highway 155 between Electric City and Grand Coulee. Additional work includes removal of existing guardrail, installation of retaining wall with pedestrian safety fence and drainage facilities to accommodate path. Location of proposal: The proposed... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District CALL FOR BIDS The Grand Coulee Dam School District hereby calls for bids to furnish the following for the2024-2025 school year. Milk for the school breakfast/lunch program during the 2024-2025 school year. Milk items on which bidders are to submit quotes per case are: • 1% Milk-22 cases per week. • Chocolate Milk • 20 cases per week Multiple deliveries per week are expected for all Milk products. Bidding will close at 3:00 p.m. on May 22, 2024. Bids can be sent to: Grand Coulee Dam School District 110 Stevens Av...
Multiple law enforcement agencies investigated a missing persons case beginning on Saturday, April 27. Colville tribal member Amanda Pakootas was missing and reported by police to be held against her will with a man named Joseph Parisien. She was located April 29 near East Fourth Street and Nelson in Spokane. She was reported to be safe. Parisien was taken into custody Tuesday night, April 30, according to a press release from the Colville Tribes, sent out the next day. “Amanda’s family wishes to thank the law enforcement officers who inv...
The Federal Emergency Management Administration announced this week that federal disaster assistance is available for the state of Washington to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by severe winter storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides, and mudslides from Jan. 5-29, 2024. Public assistance federal funding is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe...
Respected elder of the Colville Tribes, Frank LaFountaine has passed away at age 76. He served on the Colville Business Council for the Nespelem District from 1980 through 1984. LaFountaine graduated magna cum laude from Seattle Pacific College in 1970. He earned a juris doctorate from the University of Washington School of Law and became an attorney. In addition to his service on Tribal Council, he also served his community as a lawyer. He spent years working in Colville Tribal Court at various times as a prosecutor, a public defender, and an...
Ceremonial gold shovels overturned dirt after prayers, songs and speeches Tuesday, celebrating the coming construction of a new convalescent center north of Elmer City, where the Colville Tribes will build the new facility for elders and other clientele. Praise was high for the project and those who moved obstacles and legislatures to get it underway, but details were scarce. Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Business Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, said...
Lake Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School clubs are planning trips to Seattle and Montana, following Monday night’s school board blessing. The school’s Knowledge Bowl competitors will head to the University of Washington on a trip paid partially by their own fundraising efforts and supported by the gifted program and the Colville Tribes. Members of the team and advisor Pam Johnson advised the board of a transportation problem that is worsening as the group grows: They don’t fit in a Suburban. Johnson said they have a dozen high school students in the a...
Big maps up on a screen made an impression. The maps outlined all the areas burned by wildfires in Okanogan County. The first slide showed burns from 1982 through 2013. The second slide added what has burned since 2013. From a glance at the map, you might guess that possibly twice as much land burned in the last 11 years as in the prior 31. In a room full of firefighters and others concerned with keeping the county from burning up, it was an appropriate intro to the Community Wildfire...
The third in a series of the “Okanogan County Community Wildfire Protection Plan” meetings will be held Wednesday evening, March 27, from 5-7 p.m., at the Lucy Covington Government Center, 21 Colville Street, Nespelem, the headquarters of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Any Okanogan County residents can attend the meeting to be able to “engage with CWPP partners and discuss community-level wildfire concerns and values at risk,” an agenda for the meeting states. “We will share the goals and action steps for updating... Full story
Bonnice Sieker, 74, graduated to Heaven on Tuesday, March 19, in Spokane, Washington. Bonnice was born on August 3, 1949, in Pasco, Washington, to Harry and Elsie Hale. She lived various places as a child and enjoyed her time with her siblings: Marti, Winnie, Pete, and Ella Rae. They spent most of their time growing up in Liberty, Cle Elum and Nespelem. As an adult Bonnice moved between various towns such as Ellensburg, Liberty, Schwana and Kittitas but she always called Grand Coulee home. It... Full story
The third in a series of the "Okanogan County Community Wildfire Protection Plan" meetings will be held Wednesday evening, March 27, from 5-7 p.m., at the Lucy Covington Government Center, 21 Colville Street, Nespelem, the headquarters of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Any Okanogan County residents can attend the meeting to be able to "engage with CWPP partners and discuss community-level wildfire concerns and values at risk," an agenda for the meeting states. "We will...
Washington State University Extension is hosting a 4-H Livestock Nutrition and Health Workshop in Keller Sunday to help youth raising livestock better understand animal health care and nutrition in preparation for fair season. WSU experts will be part of the event at the Keller Community Center March 24 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to all. "In low-income areas where the margins for agriculture are so slim, if you're raising animals for sale, the loss of just one can be...