News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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In the decision between three finalists for Grand Coulee police chief, Mayor Mike Eylar has chosen option D: None of the Above. “I’m not offering the position to any of the three that I interviewed,” Eylar said in a phone call Tuesday. “I’ll tell you exactly what I told them: I don’t doubt the heart and the desire and willingness to do the job, whatsoever. It’s just that we’re in what I think is kind of a critical stage, where I need somebody that has the knowledge, skill and abilities that the job requires, in order for us to be able to be a...
Residents of the local towns will have the opportunity next month to hear from–and address–all four mayors and most council members at one joint public meeting dedicated to area-wide issues, the Regional Board of Mayors decided at their March 6 meeting. The all-community town hall will take place Saturday, April 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the Coulee Dam Town Hall Ballroom. The Star editor and publisher Scott Hunter will moderate the event. The idea has been out there since Grand Coulee Mayor Mike Eylar floated it at the February mayors meeting. Ove...
Local firefighters fought a stubborn fire in a Delano home early Monday, with one person being taken from the scene by ambulance for treatment. At approximately 1:47 a.m. Grand Coulee and Electric City fire departments were dispatched for the fire at 57928 Yakima Street NE in Delano. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also responded for assistance and led fire ground operations, the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department, stated on its Facebook Monday. The Grand Coulee Ambulance took one patient from the scene to Coulee Medical Center for...
A ribbon cutting ceremony in Elmer City will introduce to the public the town's new fire hall March 21 at 1 p.m. The recently completed structure is already in use, housing fire engines for Okanogan County Fire Protection District 2. The $1.3 million project, funded mostly by the state Legislature with the final $150,000 coming from the federal American Rescue Plan Act via Okanogan County commissioners, began in 2022 when the town began seeking state funds. The project involved the work of two...
A Missoula Children's Theatre worker, seated, takes notes as Lake Roosevelt students seek to be the next chosen during an exercise before casting decisions were made Monday evening for the upcoming production of The Secret Garden. The group will practice after school all week with the cast, then put on two performances on Saturday, at 2 and 6 p.m. It's been three years since the Grand Coulee PTA has been able to bring the MCT to town. - Scott Hunter photo...
Jess Ford of Grand Coulee announce Monday that the firm had received the Ford’s President’s Award for 2023, for the second year in a row. It’s one of only two dealerships in Eastern Washington to be so honored. “This achievement is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team here at Jess Ford,” said General Manager Josh Pitts. Pitts emphasized the dealership’s commitment to going the extra mile for their customers. “At Jess Ford, we believe in doing the little things that make a big difference in our customers’ ex...
Two longtime teachers at Lake Roosevelt Elementary were commended Monday night for their everyday work and leadership at the school. The two had just reported on their activities with a new Teachers Advisory Committee, which works to provide information and perspectives to administration and the board. Christy Portch, the committee president, and Jaci Gross, vice president, said the committee of 13 had just met that day, discussing pertinent facts that some educational statistics don't make...
No matter where you are or what city you’re in, if you received serious wounds in an accident and needed immediate care, chances are you’d head for the nearest hospital. But for infected wounds, non-healing wounds or chronic wounds like bed sores, you’d want the nearest wound care center: one with a wide range of treatment options, including high-tech therapies, administered by certified wound care nurses who receive regular training on an evolving body of medical evidence. That’s not something all hospitals provide. Coulee Medical Center...
The Lake Roosevelt Raider basketball team poses for a victory photo with their trophy, along with coaches, cheerleaders and more after winning third place at the state tournament at the Spokane Arena Saturday. A tribute to them and the Raider Spirit starts on page 6. - Scott Hunter photo...
The debate over how Washington reduces greenhouse gasses is headed for a showdown in November. To supporters, The Climate Commitment Act (CCA) is a "gold standard" environmental policy, because it sets carbon limits on polluters who must pay if they don't meet emission goals. To critics, the program is failing because it isn't really reducing emissions, is pushing up the cost of gasoline and much of the $1.8 billion it has generated isn't going to projects that reduce greenhouse gasses. This Nov...
Coulee Dam will get state and federal help planting new trees on a street it clear cut last summer. The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced this week it will award Coulee Dam $71,180 for the work. The project is designed to restore and enhance Ferry Avenue’s tree canopy. More than 30 90-year-old maples were removed unexpectedly during a sidewalk replacement project in 2023. City engineer Marisa Stevens, of TD&H Engineering, applied for the funding to plant 24 new trees along Ferry Avenue, which was stripped of more than 30 of...
A sled race and sled dog snuggles topped the events last month at the 2024 Polar Bear Mush Klondike, with locals scouts participating. With 52 scouters and nine dogs in attendance (with their three mushers) at Scout-A-Vista Scout Camp near Mission Ridge south of Wenatchee, participants competed in several categories to try to win the "Polar Bear" trophy, local officials said in a release. Youth aged 9-17 began the camp Friday, Feb. 23, by preparing their troop-made sleds for Saturday's...
Delano Transfer Station has a new weekly schedule, as of March 1. Regular hours are now 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. The dump is now closed on Sundays and Mondays. The new schedule gives the attendant a full weekend instead of splitting days off on Sundays and Wednesdays, according to Electric City Deputy Clerk Ashley Landeros, and may be easier for the public to remember. “I think this is a better schedule for a lot of reasons,” she said. The Regional Board of Mayors sought the change to mak...
The document guiding Electric City’s future growth plans has an update coming due in 2025, and the first round of review is underway. The city’s Planning Commission, an appointed advisory board made up of five Electric City residents, is taking a first look at the comprehensive plan, chapter by chapter, as part of a regular periodic update required by the state’s Growth Management Act, or GMA. “We’re just basically going to methodically go through each chapter and update it the best we can,” said Kurt Danison, a planner working with the ci...
Raiders react at the final buzzer as they win their playoff game against Tri-Cities Prep Saturday in Wenatchee, earning them a spot in the quarterfinals at the state tournament on Thursday at the Spokane Arena. From left are Raiders Chase Marchand, Ivan Alejandre, Brandon Pino, and Kayman Jordan. The story and photos are on page 6. - Scott Hunter photo...
Kids in the Grand Coulee area can now receive a free book in the mail every month until their 6th birthday, courtesy of a partnership between the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Friends of the Grand Coulee Area Library. It's one of several ways the local Friends group supports the community and local library branch, according to board President Nancy Carlson, who made a presentation on behalf of the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization at the Grand Coulee City Council meeting Feb. 20. "The...
One way to get people involved might just be to throw a good party. Or as they call it at the Indian Education Program at Lake Roosevelt Schools, a "Family Engagement Night." They had a good one last week, as 230 people showed up to an event they'd planned for 100. "We were blown away by the attendance," program coordinator Ashley Three Irons-Atkins told the school board Monday night. The theme for the Feb. 22 event was a valentine "Be My Huckleberry" relationship-building emphasis. Dinner was...
Renata Rollins joins The Star this week as a part-time reporter. She will cover news related to Grand Coulee City Hall, Electric City, and Coulee Medical Center, as well as occasional features and community stories. Rollins spent early childhood in Colville, and grew up in Spokane in a multigenerational house with her parents, siblings and grandmother. She first visited the Grand Coulee area at age 11, on a family camping trip to Steamboat Rock, and fell in love with the basalt and sage. "We...
It may be next fall, or perhaps in February 2025, but local voters will be asked to decide on forming a new taxing district to support local ambulance service. Fire Chief Ryan Fish told the city council Tuesday night that a lot of work needs to be done between now and then, but demand for services is only growing, and at a rate that can’t be supported long-term doing business the way it has been done for decades. In 2015, Grand Coulee’s ambulance service went on 391 calls. In 2023, the number was 628, including only 240 within the city, accordi...
Things have changed over the last four decades in law enforcement. John Tufts has witnessed the changes. The police chief in Grand Coulee is retiring in March, and agreed to chat about what he's learned along the way. There's less respect for people in general now, a change that started about the time cell phones became popular 25 years or so ago. Tufts isn't talking about respect for police, just for people in general, and it's linked to a lack of communication, linked to age, which has an...
Grant County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team, aka INET, on Feb. 13 arrested two people during a drug trafficking investigation in the Grand Coulee area, the Grant County Sheriff's Office stated in a release last week. Grand Coulee Police, assisted by Coulee Dam Police, pulled over a car containing 42-year-old Tony Gonzalez of Electric City and 36-year-old Latecia Perez of Moses Lake near Grand Coulee Avenue and SR-174. With a search warrant, INET investigators said they found Perez had...
People noticed police activity Tuesday as multiple patrol cars converged on cars parked outside Hometown Pizza in mid-afternoon. Two people were arrested there. An officer who said he was with the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team said they were not through. They headed to Fourth Street in Electric City where a house was surrounded by police cars. Three people inside the house were in custody briefly but were released. An expected press release about the event was not available before...
Grand Coulee’s new mayor, Mike Eylar, has proposed a joint meeting with the city councils of four local cities. Eylar brought the idea up at the Regional Board of Mayors meeting Wednesday. He said he and many local elected officials attended a training at Grand Coulee City Hall recently when he was surprised to see many officials from other cities there too. “It was exciting to have a good portion of the various city councils in attendance,” he said. He first broached the idea to Mayor Bob Poch, of Coulee Dam, who said he liked the idea. “Mayb...
A study on a senior housing project is moving forward with a $350,000 grant through the state Department of Commerce, put into the state budget by the Legislature at the request of 7th District Rep. Joel Kretz (R-Wauconda). It gained bipartisan support and was included in the 2023-2025 biennial budget and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. Center Senior Living President Cheryl Hoffman said the “funds provide planning dollars for a study to assess operating costs of an assisted living and memory care facility in Grand Coulee.” The project got...
Two propositions on local ballots passed by nearly the same results Tuesday. Electric City's Proposition 1, to de-annex four large parcels of land the city annexed several years ago, passed by about 81%, 169-40. Nespelem School District 14's Proposition 1, seeking a replacement levy, also passed by a little over 81%, 62-14. Electric City sought to partially undo the annexation it achieved in 2009, shrinking its boundaries to exclude four parcels owned by state or federal governments. They are...
