News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1721 - 1745 of 6403
The Colorama Rodeo will not be held this year, a decision Ridge Riders President George Kohout said it pained him to make April 15. Kohout, who worked to bump the rodeo up to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association this year, had been looking forward to a season that would bring in more cowboys than ever and more recognition to the event and the community. But after making calls, he realized Colorama wouldn’t be alone in the disappointment. PRCA told him they’d already had over a 100 cancelations for the season, with more calling every hou... Full story
Coulee Dam police will get a new fingerprint scanner, following the city council’s award of a bid at a special council meeting Thursday. Meeting via conference call, the council voted to give the bid to DataWorks Plus for the LiveScan Fingerprinting system for $15,245. The equipment was funded with a federal grant through the Washington State Patrol, Clerk Stefani Bowden said....
Grand Coulee Police 4/17 - A city employee reported a vehicle blocking a fire hydrant near Dill Avenue and King Street. The owner was warned and moved the vehicle. The owner was also one of a few people at a Dill Avenue address who said that a man left lumber stolen from the city on their property. The people all conveniently couldn’t recall the last name of the man nor how to contact him, the police report noted. 4/18 - The sound of a man yelling was reported near Burdin Boulevard. A party was located and people were told to keep it down. T...
The local public hospital district that governs Coulee Medical Center approved applying for a so-called “loan” Thursday under the federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March to help keep workers employed during the current pandemic. The commissioners of Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan Hospital District 6 approved Resolution 1096 authorizing the issuance of a promissory note for up to $3 million to pay for eight weeks of payroll. CMC, like many other hospitals all around the nation, has stopped ele... Full story
Everyone is encouraged to drive by the Lake Roosevelt sports field at 8:20 p.m. tonight and honk to honor the senior class! The stadium lights will be on and the drive-by celebration comes as the social distancing mandate to slow the spread of the novel Coronavirus has changed the final year for the school’s senior class. An email today from Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen announced tonight’s effort: “Join us tonight, Friday April 17th, as we will will turn on our stadium lights at 8:20 p.m. (20:20) to honor the senior class of 2020. Come... Full story
A home was lost Friday night when a fire started while no one was there. Grand Coulee Fire Chief Ryan Fish said those who lived in the house in Coulee Dam had been down the street when it started to burn. The fire at the home of Shayla and Shawn Deckwa apparently started about 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 10. At least four fire departments were on scene at 1103 Camas Street with equipment and firefighters, dousing the flames on a windy night and spraying down the siding on neighboring houses to...
Local boards and councils have been holding telephonic and internet-based meetings, on orders from the governor, so that business can still get done while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. But there’s a limit on what’s allowed in such meetings. A Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting was held on March 23 using Zoom, video conferencing software that allows people to attend a meeting electronically. A Coulee Area Park & Recreation District meeting is also scheduled over Zoom for today. The April 13 Regional Board of May... Full story
Taxes due April 30 Grant County’s treasurer said Monday that taxes on real, mobile home and personal property are due by April 30, but those laid off or businesses closed for the state of emergency will get a longer time to pay. “Like most counties in this state, there will be no blanket extension of the due date,” Treasurer Darryl Pheasant explained. “Our hospitals, fire districts and other districts are dependent on tax collections to not have a major disruption to their cash flow. “I am, though, providing a grace date or special full-year...
The annual early-May Colorama festival has been called off by the organizing chamber of commerce due to the uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic and the cancelation of a major vendor, the carnival. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors met in special session last week, a time when preparations either had to move ahead or refunds made to vendors who had applied to work the event. Although starting at the end of the second week in May the event would have come after the statewide emergency is set to...
Some people have found themselves with extra time to work on projects due to the social distancing mandated during the coronavirus pandemic. Responding to a post on The Star's Facebook page, people shared pictures of projects they've been working on. The variety of projects included paintings of construction machinery for a young boy's bedroom, Easter baskets, a raised garden bed made out of a bedframe, changing an engine out of a 1970 Chevelle, a "cold frame" flower/garden bed, a fort built by... Full story
Everybody is anxious to get back to their normal lives, but with spring budding out all over, local golfers are really champing at their putters. Jim Keene, president of board of commissioners for Grant County Port District 7, which owns Banks Lake Golf Course, said Monday he sees some confusion among local golfers, some of whom believe the decision to shut down the course in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s general shutdown proclamation was optional. It was not, Keene said. He cites Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” March 23 proclam... Full story
The bathrooms at North Dam Park are closed, but the park itself is open. Commissioners for the Coulee Area Parks and Recreation District voted to close the bathrooms at North Dam Park during an April 8 meeting held via Zoom, the video conferencing app frequently being used during the social distancing of the coronavirus pandemic. The park itself is still open. Other projects the group is interested in pursuing, such as bringing swimming lessons to Spring Canyon, as well as installing an electric vehicle charging station at North Dam Park, are... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 4/6 - An officer spoke to two roommates on Roosevelt Avenue. A woman said her roommate threatened to smack her for leaving a basement door open. The man said he didn’t say he would smack her but that she would get smacked. He likes the door closed to prevent a draft. 4/7 - A man reported his vehicle being hit by a pellet gun while driving near E Street and the highway to Bridgeport. An officer spoke to three boys shooting a BB gun. They were shooting cans but shooting toward the highway. An officer told them of the danger o...
Most kids won't enter their classrooms again this school year, following Gov. Jay Inslee's announcement Monday afternoon that in-person teaching would not be allowed in any schools in Washington at least for the remainder of the school year. The decision was based on the latest data available on the trend curve of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus that had sickened nearly 8,000 in the state and killed 338 as of Sunday night, Inslee said, even as some noted what might be an... Full story
A home was lost tonight. Those who lived in this house on Camas Street in Coulee Dam were down the street when it started to burn; no one was home, Grand Coulee Fire Chief Ryan Fish saiid. The fire at the home of Shayla and Shawn Deckwa apparently started about 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 10. At least four fire departments were on scene with equipment, housing the flames on a windy night and spraying down the siding on neighboring houses to keep them cool as neighbors watched from a sidewalk...
Among 10 people who tested postive for the novel coronavirus in Okanogan County as of Tuesday, five are on the Colville Reservation, one a local woman whose daughter posted on Facebook that her mother and siblings were sick. “I want our community to know that the virus IS HERE,” Micki BearCub Hudson posted April 1. Okanogan County Public Health said four cases are in the Methow and one other is in “South County,” an area it did not specify in a Tuesday update. The agency noted that two of those cases have fully recovered. Grant County has had... Full story
Grocery stores have been one place people must go even with the social-distancing requirements of the coronavirus epidemic. Precautions have been taken to protect customers and store workers, and more are being taken in the busiest local store. Additional safety changes coming to Safeway stores include limits on the number of customers who can shop at a given time, and one-way aisles, the company says. “Throughout this week, Safeway and Albertsons will be further enhancing safety measures in all their stores in Washington State,” an April 6 c... Full story
Grant County Health District has detailed how to use homemade masks effectively to avoid exposure to coronavirus. An April 4 press release explains how the masks can be effective in protecting yourself from exposure to coronavirus infected droplets, as well as how to remove them and clean them. “All of us involved in the COVID-19 response know that protecting our health workers and first responders is vital for each and every one of us,” the health states. “That is why our limited supplies of commercial Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have... Full story
The coronavirus has affected work life and home life in the Coulee in multiple ways, an online Star survey reveals, with lots of stress for some but some silver linings for others. Asked if they are working from home because of social restrictions, 17 out of 37 of those who responded said they are, with some loving the home office and others not. Slow internet speed is listed as an issue, as well as boredom, but several respondents said the experience was positive. Responses included: • Not as productive working from home. • Difficult to foc... Full story
Local state parks areas such as Steamboat Rock, Osborne Bay, and Northrup Canyon are closed, while Spring Canyon remains open but without services. Steamboat Rock, Northrup Point boat launch, and Northrup Canyon are all closed to the public until at least April 30. Steamboat Rock State Park Park Ranger Jared Liening told The Star on Tuesday that the spots are closed to discourage the spread of the coronavirus. Liening said people have still been using Northrup Canyon despite a sign on the kiosk... Full story
Kids up to 18 years of age have been getting meals from the Grand Coulee Dam School District at their bus route pickup spots while school is out for the virus-related shutdown. That plan changed on Monday. Meal deliveries will now be made at eight specified places from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. just three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Academic packets for students in grades 7-12 will also be available then. Nespelem School District will still provide Grab and Go meals to students in that area at the locations below. Here’s the d... Full story
You can get a college level geology education specific to our area for free on Youtube! Geologist Professor Nick Zentner, who teaches at Central Washington University, has been holding lectures from his Ellensburg home on his YouTube page in a series he calls "Nick From Home." Zentner, who spoke about local geology last year at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center, is "live streaming" his lectures from his yard, and the videos remain available beyond the initial live stream. Topics include...
The spring cleanup ad that ran in this week's Star was a mistake, a sort of unintentional April Fools mishap. The community spring cleanup is delayed until further notice.... Full story
In response to the coronavirus epidemic, locals have been making washable, reusable fabric respiratory masks for the local hospital, as well as for individuals and other organizations. A Facebook group has even sprung up called the Mask Avengers, with posts related to mask making. Linda Roberts is one of those making masks, having made 71 as of Monday, and with orders for more. Roberts said those 71 masks took about a week to make, with multiple masks given to UPS drivers (Linda's husband Merle... Full story
Although simple made-at-home masks lack the sophisticated filters that catch 95% of items as small as a virus, there’s heavy debate on whether official recommendations that people who are not sick should not wear them make sense. Current articles in Wired magazine and the Washington Post argue that society-wide wearing of simpler masks could significantly cut down on the spread of the novel coronavirus. All agree that the actual personal protective gear made for medical use should be dedicated to those health care workers on the front lines, b... Full story