News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Okanogan County commissioners issued a “desperate appeal” last week to the community to follow health measures recommended by county health authorities on the Covid-19 epidemic in the county, which has the highest incidence rate in the state. An official proclamation was passed on Wednesday, Aug. 5 in a meeting called for that purpose after Okanogan Public Health Administrator Lauri Jones leaned hard on commissioners at a public meeting to send a unifying message. The commissioners’ proclamation said they feared that “the economy and the hea... Full story
Okanogan County Public Health will be offering FREE COVID-19 testing throughout Okanogan County starting August 13, through the month for all residents of the county. Locally, testing is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 19 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the IHS Clinic at the Colville Indian Agency campus near Nespelem. It's open to all. Testing is also currently scheduled in Coulee Dam for Aug. 25 from 2-7 p.m. at Lake Roosevelt High School. "In order to get our economy, schools, and health back on track... Full story
Misty Krohn, a kindergarten teacher at Lake Roosevelt Elementary, will get $1,000 from a foundation to support her classroom this year as a “Dreamstarter Teacher.” Oglala Lakota runner Billy Mills, co-founder of Running Strong for American Indian Youth and Olympic gold medalist, announced that Krohn is one of nine “talented educators to be named Dreamstarter Teachers.” Each will receive $500 - $1,000 grants to support the educational needs of Native students. “Receiving the Dreamstarter Teacher grant is such an honor,” Krohn said. “I am beyond...
The 2020 Grant County Fair may not be happening this year, but a group of dedicated folks has been working hard to make sure that Grant County youth have an opportunity for recognition of their hard work and to sell their animal. Approximately 250 animals have registered for this year’s evaluation and sale, down by more than 50% from prior years, said the fairgrounds Director Jim McKiernan. “We expected to be down as families looked for alternative ways to sell their animals,” McKiernan said. “But this is actually more animals than we were ex...
Two Coulee Medical Center employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and are now isolated and recovering at home, the hospital announced Monday as the coronavirus continues to spread across the state, including in Grant and Okanogan counties. CMC began investigating the outbreak on Sunday, the hospital said, and Grant County Health District began investigating Monday. All staff exposed are being tested and quarantined at home, and patients who may have been exposed are being contacted, said Ram... Full story
Due to a Red Flag Warning for fire conditions and potential changes to fire behavior, a Level 1 evacuation order has been placed on the area between Redthunder-Cutoff Road, Mill Creek Road, to Harrison Ranch Road on the Lower Coyote Creek Fire burning about four miles west of Nespelem. A map of the fire shows the evacuation zone northeast of the burn area and northwest of the town of Nespelem. It straddles SR-155 and includes at least 15 "structure address points." Isabelle D. Hoygaard, DNR... Full story
A frustrated Okanogan Public Health official Tuesday pleaded with county commissioners to present a unified message to the public on fighting the COVID-19 epidemic in the county, which killed three more people last weekend. "My heart breaks for the people who have unnecessarily lost their lives," OPH's Lauri Jones told county commissioners Tuesday afternoon. She said those who had died included three more last weekend, including one "as fit as a fiddle." The county has one of the highest... Full story
Electric City voters will be asked on November’s ballot whether they support an extra tax to go toward funding maintenance of the planned Ice Age Park, the city council voted last week. After a brief special council meeting held only for that purpose Thursday evening, council voted to submit a proposal up for a vote of the people that would levy a tax of a little over 14 cents per thousand dollars of assessed valuation on property in the city. The resolution passed states the money would be used for maintenance and operation of the park and c...
The Grand Coulee City Council is looking into upgrading their tech with federal coronavirus relief money. At their July 21 council meeting held via Zoom, City Clerk Lorna Pearce presented the idea of using some of the city’s qualified amount of $31,650 in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funds to buy tablets for council members, which they could use for their council meetings now held electronically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, relieving them of having to use their own personal devices to conduct city b...
We're wondering how our readers feel about going into stores that don't require customers and employees to wear masks. Create your own user feedback survey... Full story
Plenty of boaters on Banks Lake play on the water Tuesday evening and show a summer activity often coupled with camping, both of which can be safe and fun, even amid a pandemic, if distancing is followed as public health officials are urging. Camping get togethers can also spread the illness if people are not careful, as detailed in some stories this week. - Scott Hunter photo...
According to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, 85% of all wildfires in Washington State are caused by humans. Already this summer the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area has had five wildfires started on National Park Service lands, the NPS says. One of those was caused by a lightning strike, the other four were caused by humans — either through the illegal use of fireworks or unattended campfires. “There is not much land between the park and our private neighbors,” an NPS release notes. “Fires can quickly spread...
Okanogan County’s treasurer Tuesday said she will not be selling real estate in foreclosures this year. “After everything the County Treasurer’s office had to consider regarding this year’s Real Estate Tax Foreclosure Sale due to Covid 19,” said Treasurer Leah Mc Cormack in a release, she made the decision to cancel the sale for this year. “If you have questions regarding this decision,” she said, “please do not hesitate to contact our office at 509-422-7180 or e-mail us at treasurer@co.okanogan.wa.us. Hopefully, in 2021, we will be back on...
The local area has now seen more than 20 cases of COVID-19, according to statistics offered by local county health authorities. Okanogan Public Health reports two in Coulee Dam and 11 in Nespelem. Grant County Health District reports seven cases in the Grand Coulee area, plus one in Coulee City they have not been able to confirm is a resident. Okanogan County has seen a total of 782 cases, 297 of them in the last 14 days, including eight deaths. Grant County has seen 1,343 cases, including 10 who have died. GCHD counts 688 of those as... Full story
Here are the unofficial election results as of Tuesday night after the 8 p.m. close of voting. Grant Okan. Lin. Doug. State Governor Tim Eyman in Grant Co: 832; Okanogan Co.: 356; Lincoln Co.: 246; Douglas Co.: 420; Statewide: 88,177 Raul Garcia in Grant Co: 1271; Okanogan Co.: 294; Lincoln Co.: 332; Douglas Co.: 278; Statewide: 63,093 Jay Inslee in Grant Co: 2,449; Okanogan Co.: 2,830; Lincoln Co.: 570; Douglas Co.: 1,540; Statewide: 649,074 Loren Culp in Grant Co: 4,228; Okanogan Co.: 3,854; Lincoln Co.: 1,259; Douglas Co. : 2,561;...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District is asking for more money as they enter the uncharted territory of beginning a new school year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The district board of directors Monday night approved a budget for the 2020-21 school year, as well as a resolution authorizing a new enrichment levy that will ask property owners for an additional dollar per $1,000 of assessed value on their property. Voters will decide in the November general election whether the district gets that extra dollar. The history of local school levies in...
A fire that started Thursday afternoon near the tribal greenhouses near the Columbia River east of the Colville Indian Agency moved rapidly over dry hills to Schoolhouse Loop Road about two miles away, burned the tribal recycling center and threatened the correctional facility, the school, the tribal archives and the town itself, the Mt. Tolman Fire Center said. By evening, the blaze had burned about 1,200 acres of grass, sage and bitter brush as winds pushed it quickly across steep slopes...
The superintendent of the Grand Coulee Dam School District will answer your questions related to reopening school for the 2020-21 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic in weekly question-and-answer sessions held online. Superintendent Paul Turner sent an email on July 22 to parents, staff, and community members detailing the meetings. “In light of all the COVID-19 uncertainty about school reopening, I would like to schedule weekly Q&A sessions online,” Turner said. “At this point the district has developed some re-opening strategies with mor...
Even cities have to deal with electronics becoming obsolete. The cities of Grand Coulee and Electric City need to buy a new computer for their arsenic treatment plant, which treats the water that comes from Electric City wells and is used by both cities. Both city councils discussed the issue at their respective council meetings held earlier this month. The computer is not your average at-home computer. It may cost in the vicinity of $20,000, unless a cheaper option is found. Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout threw some numbers out to the Electr...
A Grand Coulee woman died last week when the car she was driving crashed in Douglas County. Maureen K. Horrobin, 63, was found deceased at the scene of the collision when local emergency personnel responded to a reported injury accident on Pendell Road, about seven tenths of a mile off Crown Point Vista Road. Her vehicle had rolled about 200 yards off the roadway, Douglas County Undersheriff Tyler I. Caille reported. The crash occurred about 8:19 p.m. July 21. The preliminary investigation showed speed was a contributing factor to the...
Grant County Health District has seen 168 new cases of Covid-19 since July 21. The county as a whole has had 1,177 people get the illness, 10 of whom have died. The Grand Coulee area of Grant County has six confirmed cases. State Secretary of Health John Wiesman updated his statewide Face Covering Order Friday to include anytime you leave your home. “If you are leaving your living space, even temporary living spaces, you should be wearing a face covering to protect those around you!” Grant County Health District explained on its website. Acc... Full story
Grand Coulee residents can now rent out their homes for a weekend if they want to. The Grand Coulee City Council approved an ordinance July 21 allowing short term rentals in residential zones within the city. The ordinance says that short-term rentals will “allow for increased tourist accommodations,” and that there is a need for that in the city. Short-term rentals are defined as rentals for less than 30 days and are also referred to as “vacation rentals,” or “nightly rentals.” The council discussed that Electric City doesn’t allow short-t...
A fire in the "Wilbur Hill" area, called the Neal Canyon fire, burned about 70 acres of grass brush and light timber on July 24. The fire, the cause of which is still under investigation, started on a hill near milepost 27 on SR- 174 at roughly 11 a.m. on July 24 and had "high spread potential," according to Veronica Randall, public information officer for the Colville-based Northeast Washington InterAgency Communication Center. The fire had been moving toward wheat fields above the hill, where...
Grand Coulee Police 7/18 - A man reported that someone had spun “brodies” in the parking lot of his Coulee Boulevard storage units, leaving marks in the gravel. - A 21-year-old man was reported to be overdosing at Coulee Playland, and CPR was being performed on him. The man was said to have possibly taken Percocet mixed with Fentynal. An officer administered two doses of Narcan, which brought back a pulse to the man and helped him start breathing again. Emergency medical services arrived to take the man to the hospital. -While looking into ano...
A family of kayakers paddles past the beach at Steamboat Rock State Park. This is Washington State Parks' "Paddle Safe Week," emphasizing safe practices in paddle sports, which are growing rapidly in popularity - especially kayaking and stand-up paddling. Only 23% of kayakers and 31% of stand-up paddlers have considered taking formal training to further their skills, something State Parks strongly recommends. - Gwen Hilson photo...