News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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School meals will be delivered Friday morning to students who meet the bus at their regular bus stops two hours later than they would normally meet it on a regular school day. “Understand that we do not have any way to know how many meals we will need,” Superintendent Paul Turner says in his nightly update embedded below. \”We have packaged what we are expecting and will probably have to adjust on Monday. Please be understanding and work with us as we develop potential meal counts.” The Grand Coulee Dam School District will resume classes... Full story
The Grand Coulee council voted at their March 17 meeting not to shut off anyone's utilities for non-payment during the COVID-19, coronavirus epidemic. The council decided to review late fees for non-payment on a case by case basis.... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam will continue to operate as usual, but its visitor center will be closed to the public, and tours of the dam, which had been scheduled to start April 1, will be delayed until further notice. “Today, the Bureau of Reclamation temporarily closed public visitation to the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center in support of the recommended guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention”, a March 19 press release from the bureau reads. "The health and safety of the public and our employees is our number one pri... Full story
Lake Roosevelt Schools will continue to feed and teach students, just not in the school. Following Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcment March 13 that schools statewide would close, the Grand Coulee Dam School District released a parent and community update Monday outlining how Lake Roosevelt Schools are being affected by the coronavirus response. Superintendent Paul Turner noted that there were seven confirmed cases in Grant County. “Our job will be to continue enhancing our position to help reduce the spread of this virus and hopefully keep it out... Full story
Electric City will seek an extension for their Ice Age Park grant through the state’s Recreation & Conservation Office. At the March 10 city council meeting, Mayor Diane Kohout told the council that the city received a letter from the RCO saying the city either needed to begin construction on the park before the end of March, or request the extension. The delay comes from trying to get the cost of the park down. The target cost for the park is a total of $515,000 to be paid in part with $257,500 in RCO grant money, and with a match from the cit...
Ted Piccolo walks on a concrete pad outside the master beadroom of a new house in Elmer City just built on speculation by the Northwest Native Development Fund in an effort to affect the local housing market, which he says isn't supplying housing in a price range that young professionals can afford. Piccolo is NNDF's executive director. The 1,500-square-foot house is not quite finished, but Piccolo expects the price be quite competitive in the local market. - Scott Hunter pho...
Larry Hall is sworn in to his new duties as a member of the city council in Coulee Dam. Hall served the city for many years as a police seargent until his retirement, was appointed to a vacant seat on the council March 11. He took his seat immediately at Wednesday's meeting. - Scott Hunter photo...
Construction may resume soon on controversial street projects in Electric City, and city council members spoke on the topic at their March 10 meeting. A parking lot in front of city hall was built over what had been a stretch of Western Avenue, causing additional turns for those who use that route, including the local fire station. Sidewalk work on Coulee Boulevard, Electric City’s main street along SR-155, is another controversial project due to it limiting parking for businesses there. Mayor Diane Kohout told the council that she received n...
Grand Coulee Police 3/10 - A man on Kelso Avenue said his air compressor, which he built himself, had been stolen, valued between $375-$500. An officer had him draw the air compressor. The man said two other men he saw in the area were possible suspects. 3/12 - A suspicious person was reported on Midway Avenue peering into a business window with a flashlight. The person turned out to be the business owner who was working on a window, and was there with tools and other workers around 11:20 p.m. - A man wanted on an arrest warrant was arrested on...
Effective Monday, March 16, The Star is closed except by appointment in keeping with official requests to limit social interaction to address the coronovirus outbreak. Our office doesn’t have to be open to the public for most of our services; we can work from home for much of our work, as advised by health leaders. Those subscribers who have been picking the paper up at our office will receive them in the mail until further notice. Those who must access a public fax/copy service can call 509-633-1350 for an appointment if absolutely n... Full story
OLYMPIA – The arrival of spring typically means drivers in Washington have until March 31 to remove studded tires. However, this year the Washington State Department of Transportation is extending the deadline to Thursday, April 30, due to COVID-19 virus concerns and in support of Gov. Jay Inslee’s guidance to help reduce the spread of the virus by limiting social interactions. “Washington is experiencing some extraordinary challenges with COVID-19 right now and we recognize this is not a time for ‘business as usual,’” said WSDOT Maintenance... Full story
A Grant County resident has died after becoming infected with the coronavirus, but an Okanogan County resident’s test results came back negative as have some at Coulee Medical Center. And community organizations are taking precautions against COVID-19, the disease caused by the new virus. Grant County Health District stated Sunday that a Quincy resident resident in his 80s, who had tested positive for COVID-19, had died. The GCHD “has and will continue to follow up with close contacts of this patient,” their press release states. “We know that... Full story
School to close, local events altering in wake of new virus Schools statewide will close by Tuesday, following an orders coming from Gov. Jay Inslee as the state responds to the threat of a new virus that experts fear could overwhelm the healthcare system and cost many lives if its spread cannot be slowed down in time. Inslee Friday afternoon said the COVID-19 epidemic has reached 15 counties representing 75 percent of the state's population. "A county-by-county approach to this epidemic is not... Full story
A collection of early and rare photos highlighting the history of Steamboat Rock is being published and will be available for purchase in April. The book tells a linear story of Steamboat Rock, from Native American legends, to early pioneers, to the introduction of automobiles, to the construction of the dam, the flooding of Banks Lake, becoming a state park, and more. Local man John "Jay" M. Kemble, compiled the book titled "Steamboat Rock" for Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series. "...
Consumers will need to remember to bring their own reusable shopping bags if they want to avoid the fee that a new law will put on plastic bags. Senate Bill 5323 bans retailers and grocers from handing out single-use plastic bags for free. Shoppers will instead be offered a reusable carry-out bag at check out for an eight-cent fee. “We have been working to deal with the plastic blob in the Pacific Ocean for a decade now,” said Rep. Gael Tarleton, D-Seattle, chair of the House Finance Committee. “There is no perfect tax policy to figure out h...
Tom Flint Monday announced his fifth run for re-election as Grant Public Utility District (Grant PUD) commissioner, District A-At Large. He first joined the commission in 2000. “Institutional knowledge and stability are important characteristics of a PUD Commissioner,” Flint said. “With my 20 years of service on the board, I know this county was built on the foundation of hydroelectric power. I remain committed to preserving those benefits for the residents, farmers, irrigators and businesses of this great county. I also believe strongly that...
As a precautionary measure to protect the safety of customers and employees, all Grant PUD facilities will now be closed to public access, a press release from the utility announced late Tuesday, and as many employees as possible will be told to stay home. The PUD learned that one of its contracted employees has had direct and prolonged exposure to someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and recently came into direct contact with several of Grant PUD’s employees. “Grant PUD believes that this is a prudent precautionary measure to protect publ... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 3/3 - Police performed a welfare check on a man’s daughter said to live in Delano. Police spoke to a neighbor who said that he hadn’t seen the woman or her boyfriend at the house in about three days, and thought they may be at a house in Coulee Dam. An officer forwarded that information to Coulee Dam police. The neighbor was told to tell the woman to call her father if he spoke to her. 3/4 - Upstairs and downstairs neighbors on Main Street argued over noise. An officer told them each to make sure the landlord was aware of th...
Firefighters dig through the smoldering remains of a fifth-wheel trailer that caught on fire early Sunday morning. Two occupants got out of the trailer on Lakeview Boulevard in Delano safely, Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Chief Ryan Fish said. The call came in just after 7 a.m. - Scott Hunter photo...
Wild kokanee in Lake Roosevelt, showing low numbers, are a subject of study for the Colville Tribes' biologists. For the next two years, groups of kokanee will be caught and tagged in order to study their movement patterns, a press release from Colville Tribes Fish & Wildlife says. The goal of the project is to protect and enhance the wild kokanee salmon populations above Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams in an effort to support tribal subsistence and recreational sport fisheries. "The wild...
COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has received widespread news coverage, and as cases and deaths in Washington have been confirmed, how does it affect the local community? "Please be reassured that we have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our community," stated an email sent to Coulee Medical Center staff Tuesday. The email said the hospital "is taking a proactive approach in preventing potential exposure to staff and patients by screening all visitors and patients prior to entrance into the... Full story
Officials at Coulee Dam last week gave a tentative green light to a Colville Tribes proposal to add a splash pad to the town’s park features to cool kids down in the summer. Frank Andrews approached the city council Wednesday with the idea, noting that the tribes could draft a grant application to submit jointly to a state agency that funds such projects. It could go on trust land controlled by the tribes across from the popular playground at Mason City Memorial Park near Harvest Foods, he said. Coulee Dam, along with other cities on or near th...
Expecting to attract a new business to lease the Melody Restaurant in the near future, Coulee Dam is preparing to fix at least part of the roof of the “Community Building” the town owns. The building also houses a bowling alley and a theater not currently in operation. Mayor Bob Poch reported to the city council Feb. 26 that the town has had at least two interested parties express an interest, including one who has operated five restaurants in Idaho. Poch said the individual had researched past Melody sales numbers and concluded it would be...
A former council member will head a planning commission for the city of Coulee Dam that currently has no other members. The city council Feb. 26 unanimously approved Mayor Bob Poch’s nomination of Ben Alling to head the commission, charged with completing a new comprehensive plan for the town as required by state law. The law would also allow the city to appoint one person for the process. The council has discussed that possibility, but Councilmember Keith St. Jeor moved to select Alling to chair the effort. He won’t be without help. The cit...