News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Millions of N-95 masks and other types of personal protective equipment are being delivered to Washington State as public health and emergency response officials scramble to obtain the equipment needed to respond to the growing COVID-19 outbreak. Jerrod Davis, assistant secretary for disease control and health statistics at the Department of Health, said there is significant global demand for these kinds of items and right now the state does not have enough to satisfy the needs of its communities. Davis explained that the state’s joint operatio...
In a convoluted process, a raise in dumping rates at the Delano Transfer Station, approved in October by the Regional Board of Mayors, was approved again in March, but still must be approved by the four area towns before it might be implemented, with Grand Coulee so far not wanting to raise the rates. The Star reported in October 2019 that the RBOM had approved a half-cent-per-pound raise in dumping fees at the transfer station, which was said by then-city administrator of Electric City Russ Powers to be on track to lose approximately $29,000...
Grand Coulee 3/21 - A man got his foot caught in the foot brace of his motorcycle while at a stop sign along SR-155, and possibly broke his ankle when the bike rolled back. He was taken to the hospital. His friends took care of the motorcycle. - An officer was called to assist with loud occupants at the Sky Deck Motel who refused to quiet down, but they weren’t in their room by the time the officer arrived. 3/22 - A man on King Street told an officer that another man had punched him in the face for no reason while he was sleeping. The o...
3 Tribes Colville Casinos, including the Coulee Dam Casino, have extended their closure through April 30. An April 1 press release from 12 Tribes Colville Casinos details the closure. "Following guidance from the Colville Business Council, 12 Tribes Casinos has extended closures for all three casino properties- 12 Tribes Resort Casino in Omak, 12, Tribes Mill Bay Casino in Manson, and 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino in Coulee Dam," the press release says. "The closure has been in effect since March 17, 2020 and will last through April 30, 2020,... Full story
After days of reports of droves of people not complying with his pleas to stay home, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a mandatory order Monday to shut many public places and non-essential businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Inslee emphasized that the though the orders are legally enforceable, officials would still emphasize voluntary compliance. And sheriffs in Lincoln and Grant counties issued similar statements assuring people that law enforcement's role in the shutdown... 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 will change on Monday, the school district said Thursday. 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... Full story
With Coulee Medical Center officially in emergency mode, a representative updated the Grand Coulee City Council last week on what that currently means. Tyler Donn spoke on behalf of CMC March 17 in regard to the COVID-19, coronavirus epidemic. Donn explained that with a national emergency declared on March 13, it forced the hospital to put their emergency preparedness plan into action. The first goal is to protect all patients and others at the hospital, Donn said, and that entails sending home non-essential staff, ensuring staff have... Full story
The Star is interested in knowing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected your life at home in the Coulee. Please take our survey and let us know how it has changed your home life or work life, and what you've been doing to pass the time spent "social distancing." Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q8ZX7SZ... Full story
Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, and utility late fees and shutoffs have been suspended for the duration of the situation. A special council meeting was held on March 19 in the Electric City Fire Station in order to observe social distancing as a precaution due to the coronavirus. Kohout told the council that she was declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus outbreak creating “extreme risk of person to person transmission for people working in city” and because it “af... Full story
CMC’s Outpatient Lab will move across the parking lot to the tan “Professional Building B as of March 30, the hospital said, to cut down on the number of people entering the facility and lowering the possible entrance of the new coronavirus.... Full story
The cost of making changes to controversial street work being done in Electric City could be high. The city council and mayor in a special meeting last week spoke to representatives from the Gray & Osborne engineering firm over the phone. Those representatives included Mike Meskiman and Don Tulloch. The special council meeting March 19 was held at the Electric City Fire Station to allow for social distancing to guard against the coronavirus. Returning the intersection of Western and Grand Avenue to its former state — a straight shot of W...
Lake Roosevelt Schools intends to continue to pay their staff throughout the duration of the coronavirus epidemic, which has shut down the school at least through April 24. A March 23 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting was held remotely via the Zoom telecommunication application. Board members, the superintendent, and more communicated from separate locations due to the social distancing instructions put in place to help thwart the spread of coronavirus. Superintendent Paul Turner said about the school’s budget that “there is a bit... Full story
With schools shut down due to the coronavirus epidemic, the spring sports season is in serious question, but a month of play is possible. Spring sports include: baseball, softball, golf, tennis, and track and field. The topic of athletics was briefly discussed during a March 23 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting held remotely via the Zoom telecommunication application. Board members, the superintendent, and more used the app to conduct the meeting from separate locations due to the social distancing instructions put in place to... Full story
The city halls in Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, and Elmer City are closed to the public due to the coronavirus epidemic, but are still staffed to answer the phone to answer questions, and can still take payments for utility bills. Electric City, Grand Coulee, and Coulee Dam have drop boxes where people can place their utility bill payments. A staff member at Elmer City can come outside to take a payment during normal business hours. All four towns also take online payments through debit or credit cards. Some can take online payments... Full story
Workers on Grand Coulee Dam perform maintenance scheduled in conjunction with drawdowns of Lake Roosevelt Friday. Even if the federal facility were owned by the state or even a private entity, they would still be working in the wake of Gov. Jay Inslee's statewide shutdown, deemed essential workers in the electricity sector. - Scott Hunter photo...
A Delano couple wants to formally annex their property into the city of Grand Coulee to make its consolidation with Electric City possible. Jim Keene spoke to the Grand Coulee council at their March 17 meeting. Keene pointed to a map showing that the property he and his wife bought in 1986, located between Electric City and Grand Coulee in the Delano area, would form a contiguous border between Electric City and Grand Coulee if formally annexed into Grand Coulee. A contiguous border is necessary for two or more cities to merge. The Keenes’ a...
Grand Coulee 3/16 - The driver of a truck with a badly damaged windshield was reported by multiple people, and pulled over near Jess Ford. The man was intoxicated, and was cited for driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and being in possession of a stolen Bureau of Reclamation sign. 3/17 - A woman reported that her vehicle had been prowled at her Boulder Avenue residence. She heard the faint sound of a car door closing and noticed her car door wasn’t fully closed. The registration, which expires in a month, was the o...
From work-at-home options to the school closure or now your business or job closing to help battle the coronavirus pandemic, we've all had a lot to deal with, and we're interested in what you have to say. Please take our survey and tell us how it's going: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q8ZX7SZ... Full story
Local institutions are rapidly adjusting on the fly after a series of cascading emergency announcements from state and national authorities mandating increasingly harsh measures to stop the spread of the new virus that has infected nearly 190,000 worldwide and killed more than 7,500 as it overwhelms some healthcare systems. Preventing that kind of quick and overwhelming spread is what the new restrictions are all about. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced March 13 that schools statewide would close. Then Monday, he said restaurants, bars, thea... Full story
You can attend tonight's school board meeting from the comfort of your own home. The Grand Coulee Dam School District's board meeting, scheduled for tonight at 5:30 p.m., will be accessible via Zoom, a website and application available on your phone or tablet that lets you "attend" a meeting remotely. The meeting is being held via Zoom, with board directors using the application themselves, in keeping with the social distancing protocol being used globally to stem the spread of the coronavirus.... Full story
Grant County Health District issued three advisories Saturday — a day when the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 jumped from 11 to 18 — urging people in high risk groups to “shelter in place,” leaving home only if absolutely necessary for medical reasons. Of the seven new cases of the disease confirmed Saturday, which increased the confirmed number by 64 percent, five were in Quincy, two in Mattawa, the two most impacted communities in the county. A statement issued at 5:20 p.m., however, no... Full story
Students in the Grand Coulee Dam School got their first taste of bus-delivered meals Friday with 215 of them picking up meals delivered by bus two hours after their normal bus pickup time. Superintendent Paul Turner said the school board meeting on Monday will hopefully occur via Zoom, a teleconferencing software service available for free to anyone with a Mac or Windows computer or a mobile phone or tablet running iOS or Android. Tuner’s update with more detials on other aspects of the school shutdown, upcoming academics, schedules and m... Full story
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