News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Fall is fast approaching, and rather than be plagued by the summertime blues, why not celebrate autumn with the upcoming Harvest Festival? There will be food and fun aplenty for adults and kids alike with helicopter rides, arts and crafts, games, barbecues, beers, live music. The Harvest Festival, put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 20-22, at North Dam Park. Helicopter rides will be available from Inland Helicopters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on...
I’m Mikayla Higgins, and I have lived in Electric City since I was 2. Two years ago, I left for the first time when I began college in Seattle at the University of Washington. When I got the opportunity for the internship at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, I was excited to spend a few more months in the town I grew up in, and to reconnect with people I have known my entire life. I have been reflecting on how much the area has shaped the young adult I have become. When I first moved to Seattle, I was moving to a large city to a...
In the park below the Visitor Center July 4, people watch the fireworks off Grand Coulee Dam, put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber reported receiving praise for this year's "best ever" fireworks from many people that night and in emails later. Their Festival of America, which draws thousands each year to Coulee Dam, suffered no "major drama" this year, reported Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal, despite a thunderstorm during set-up time on Tuesday, and one lost...
So what's going on with the effort to consolidate local towns into one? A group of local business owners and residents who have that goal met Thursday at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss the logistics of the ambitious task. The Coulee Area Consolidation Committee consists of people from Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam and some outlying areas, and those present discussed wanting to bring in someone from Elmer City for the committee as well. The group discussed...
The crowd at the Culpepper and Merriweather Circus looks up with anticipation as a trapeze artist performs her maneuvers overhead. The circus was brought to town by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and pitched its tent at Ludolph Field, the former middle school athletic field on Wednesday, holding two performances that night. The chamber took in less money in presale tickets than it did at the circus offered two years ago, but still counted it as a good fund-raiser. - Scott Hunter...
They came to listen and understand what has some Grand Coulee and Electric City customers upset enough to start a petition. Grant County PUD officials held a listening session and dialogue with people at last Thursday’s Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce meeting at Siam Palace. They heard plenty of opinions on less access at the local PUD office, which is open twice a week, including from Lonna Bussert, who had put out petitions for better customer service after spending lots of time on the phone not getting help. Public Affairs O...
Twenty Years Ago The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a Y2K forum Tuesday night to address local concerns about the millennium bug that could infect computers January 1, 2000. Wright Elementary students Brieanna Clark, Courtney Kennedy, Andrea Schumaker, Leah Philmon, Amanda VanGeystel and Emily Rehn raised over $110 for their school in their crusade for new playground equipment. Thirty Years Ago Grand Coulee’s pilot well near Crescent Lake hit an aquifer 61 feet below the ground Feb. 7, giving rise to hopes that engineers p...
Twenty Years Ago The Electric City Town Council last night turned down a request from Rose and Andy Bise to operate a car detailing business out of their soon-to-be home. Grand Coulee Dam Area Junior Miss Brita Montes heads to Pullman Jan. 17 where she will participate in the state Junior Miss competition. The GCD Area Chamber of Commerce will conduct its annual installation banquet on Jan. 15. Five eighth graders came to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce meeting last Thursday to present their design ideas for flood-proof housing....
One has devoted her career to the success of a local institution, the other just started a new business last year to fill a local need and fulfill a longtime ambition. Solveig Chaffee's Voltage Coffee House was named business of the year, and hospital CEO Ramona Hicks was honored as achiever of the year at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce annual awards banquet Thursday at Pepper Jack's Bar and Grille. "Thank you for bringing a new business to the community ... putting in your own...
Twenty Years Ago When the local community turns out to vote on the Grand Coulee Dam School District levy Feb. 2, Coulee Dam citizens will also decided whether they want to annex the town into the North Central Regional Library system. Miss Grand Coulee Dam Area Junior Miss Brita Montes placed in the top 10 in the state competition this past week. Shoe also won scholarships for placing in the top three in categories: Fitness, presence and composure. The GCD Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding a Vintners & Brewers annual wine and microbrew...
The 2019 Colorama Rodeo Cassidy Meng spoke to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Thursday. Meng, from Moses Lake, was selected by a committee of the Ridge Riders Saddle Club in October 2018. Meng, who said she's been riding horse since she was a small child, began competing in barrel racing in 2014 and enjoys junior rodeo, 4-H, posse shows and more. The high school senior said dealing with horses has taught her how to handle the unexpected. "The best thing to do," she said, "is to...
Grand Coulee approves senior meals donation Grand Coulee will donate $3,500 to the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Meals Program, the city council decided at their Dec. 4 meeting. The program donated over 16,000 meals to the Grand Coulee Dam area from October of 2017 to September of 2018. Grand Coulee approves hotel-motel tax distribution The Grand Coulee city council decided how to disperse their hotel-motel tax money for 2019, giving $4,000 to the Coulee Area Park & Recreation District, $7,000 to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, and...
Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce President Kerry Higgins celebrates after his coin toss deteremined the winner of a "bead game" at the group's annual Vintners and Brewers auction, this year with a 1960s theme. Participants touch their heads or backsides to signal their choice for the toss, with the winners standing for the next toss. Ben Hughes, at center, won that game as he signaled heads and collected $490. The community spent nearly $28,000 in support of the chamber Saturday night,...
The topic of consolidating local towns into one came up at the Electric City council meeting Nov. 13, where councilmembers, the mayor, the city clerk, a lawyer, and a citizen spoke on the issue for roughly half an hour. The Grand Coulee council had voted last month to put consolidation on next year’s ballot. Electric City talked about doing the same thing, but ultimately decided not to come out for or against it being on the ballot until more information comes out regarding the logistics of consolidation. If a petition for the cause gathers s...
An independent candidate for the state Legislature visited the Grand Coulee Dam area last Thursday and Friday, knocking on doors and speaking at the chamber of commerce luncheon. Ann Diamond is running to represent the 12th Legislative District, which includes most of the Grand Coulee Dam area. A physician who founded the first family practice clinic in the Methow area, Diamond, said her travels during her campaign have taught her that small towns share in common many issues of concern:...
Who does a student with personal problems turn to in a time of need? Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School is bringing back a program that helps students with problems connect with peers they can talk to about them. A new “Natural Helpers” program at Lake Roosevelt is identifying who students turn to for help, and sending them on a retreat so they can learn how to better help their peers when they need someone to talk to. Natural Helpers was a program last in the high school 20 years ago but “collapsed because of a lack of funding,” said Je...
Two candidates for leadership of the public electric utility in Grant County laid out their cases for election last Thursday at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Siam Palace. Nelson Cox and Judy Wilson both feel the Grant County PUD has amassed too much debt while serving large industrial users of power, such as server farms. And they take issue with some of the top management living out of county. Cox, a Warden area farmer, said the PUD has done great things but its finances are out of control. “I really don’t und...
Electric City council Tuesday night approved the details on how to distribute the city’s lodging tax revenue. On the recommendation of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, Councilmembers Lonna Bussert and Rich McGuire, the council voted to distribute $48,100 to the city itself for the construction design of Ice Age Park, pending approval of a grant, as well as for general tourism advertising. Electric City is distributing $15,000 to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce for general operations and advertisements of all area events, p...
Fire fought north of Nespelem A wildland fire broke out last Wednesday north of Nespelem, burning some 247 acres before being contained Saturday, the Northwest Interagency Management Team 2 said. Gherke Windmill Garden gets faraway visitors There were 35 entries in the sign-in sheet at the Gherke Windmill Garden at North Dam Park for the month of September, many of them families or pairs of people. Entries came from as far away as Australia, and ranged from British Columbia to Iowa, Minnesota, and more. Electric vehicle charging station...
More than 50 people gathered at the Wine Bar in Grand Coulee Thursday to discuss the idea of consolidating some or all local towns into one. SCJ Alliance, a consulting firm for municipal planning, engineering, transportation and landscape architecture, sent four representatives to attend and lead the discussion, which was organized by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. The firm's Dan Penrose led most of the discussion and passed out an illustration of the "Path to Consolidation"...
"I need some new socks." That is a common experience among human beings in the 21st century. But with the closing of The Variety Store last year, where does a Coulee-ite buy something as basic as socks? Local area residents seem to all make regular trips to Spokane, Moses Lake, or Omak to purchase things they can't buy in the area. Either they buy those things in another city, or they order them online from a business such as Amazon. Those The Star asked all said they make regular trips to one...
The topic of local area towns consolidating into one will be discussed at the Wine Bar on Main Street in Grand Coulee on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 5:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend the informal meeting, described as a social event. The open discussion will be attended by representatives from SCJ Alliance, a company that was involved in the consolidation of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a combination of Army and Air Force bases south of Tacoma, and who will be able to answer questions concerning the logistics of such an ambitious idea. A survey on...
The topic of consolidating local area towns will be discussed in a social setting at the Wine Bar in Grand Coulee Sept. 27 at 5:30 p.m. and the public is invited to attend. Attending will be three representatives from SCJ Alliance, a company that specializes in land use, engineering, outreach, and facility planning and which was involved in the consolidation of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, a combination of Army and Air Force bases south of Tacoma. The representatives will be able to answer questions about the topic. Consolidating towns is not a...
A family takes a ride in a helicopter Satruday, taking off from a ball field at North Dam Park as part of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Harvest Festival. - Scott Hunter photo...
The number of vendors planning to offer wares at the Harvest Festival this weekend in North Dam Park has grown substantially from the event several years ago when a community yard sale was its most significant offering. In fact, the list of vendors has grown by at least half just since last year, with some 37 vendors coming to sell their wares, plus 11 food vendors. Many of those will hail from the local area, with many from the popular Wednesday market attending. In addition to the vendors, the event hosts the final competition of the Pacific...