News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A letter from the city’s attorney to the Bureau of Reclamation official, which the city council ratified last week, confirms that the city of Grand Coulee and the federal agency “have mutually agreed to ‘pause’ or significantly reduce service under the Contract due to the lack of City personnel to fulfill the Contract service requirements.” Along with the city’s current police staffing shortage, the Oct. 2 letter from City Attorney Julie K. Norton to Sandra Snediker at Reclamation’s Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Boise, Idaho, unders...
Village Cinema may not be licensed to screen copyrighted films yet, but owner Larry Hernandez isn’t letting that stop him from bringing movies to the Coulee Dam theater. This weekend he’ll screen two films that are in the public domain, meaning, the copyright has expired and therefore no licenses are required to show public screenings. Saturday night, those looking to celebrate spooky season can come watch Night of the Living Dead, George A. Romero’s classic 1968 horror film often credited with popularizing the modern image of flesh...
Electric City resident Eric Bronson takes the top of the winners' podium after fighting for first place gold at the Revolution 53 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Tournament, which drew over 3,000 competitors Oct.12-13 in Puyallup. Bronson owns Grand Coulee BJJ, where he instructs Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai to students as young as 4 years, as well as offering classes for adults. Both forms of martial art emphasize different styles of combat and self-defense. Bronson says interested people can learn...
Residents of Grand Coulee should start preparing for a nearly $30 fee increase per month on sewer bills once the upcoming $12 million sewage treatment plant upgrades are complete and the loan comes due, city leaders discussed at the council meeting last week. There were signs and unhappy expressions all around the council table as members deliberated on two possible loans to fund the upgrade. A 20-year loan would have meant an increase of $36.59 per month. The 30-year loan increase comes to $28.89. “I don’t like either one,” said Counc...
Like many volunteer-driven efforts, fire and ambulance services that depend on donated labor have seen participation drop in recent years. Local leaders are considering an alternative model: creating a special taxing district to fund ambulance and emergency medical services, subject to approval by voters. The discussion is not yet a formal proposal, but the Regional Board of Mayors invites interested residents to learn more at a public town hall meeting Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. in the ballroom at Coulee Dam Town Hall. Grand Coulee Fire...
A fairy gives a Star Wars character a prize during the River Artist Celebration in Coulee Dam Friday when the first night included a costume contest. The closed Mead Avenue saw a lot of costumes, hosted many vendors and heard good music bands during both days of the event. It was organized by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce working with the Northwest Native Development Fund. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grand Coulee has decided to re-advertise its police chief position, signaling an intent to rebuild its own department rather than contracting out with another jurisdiction. “I am recommending here that we go ahead and set out to hire our own chief of police at this point,” Mayor Ruth Dalton told the council at its Oct. 15 meeting. “We need to kind of take care of this as soon as possible here, to get our police department back where it needs to be.” The council approved an annual salary range of $110,000 to $130,000 for the police chief j...
Last month, two people were shot while walking along Spokane Boulevard in the Delano area, who then drove themselves to Coulee Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police reports from the Sept. 16 shooting. Though police did name a suspect, no arrest was made and an “attempt to locate” dispatch was ultimately canceled the next morning due to lack of probable cause. The case has been forwarded to the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office. According to Grand Coulee Police Department reports, one victim, a 35-year-old, refus...
For the first time, Grand Coulee’s own Colorama Pro Rodeo has won formal recognition amongst small rodeos in the northwest. The Mother’s Day weekend rodeo was named second runner up in the PRCA Columbia River Circuit, which includes Washington, Oregon, and north Idaho. “Not #1, but we will take it,” said Cindy Edwards, a longtime volunteer with the Ridge Riders, who put on the annual pro rodeo in Grand Coulee. “It’s a huge honor to be even runner up out of 56 events.” Edwards said she hopes the award will bring more attention to the north end o...
What started as a classic social media venting session turned into something positive: a spruce-up day for Crown Point Vista, the Washington State Parks property overlooking the Grand Coulee Dam area. A handful of volunteers and parks staff gathered Saturday morning with the goal of painting the guardrail posts and adding a fresh coat to what some folks call the "sundial" – the concrete open air building at the edge of the overlook. "My administrative assistant said she saw on Facebook a g...
Fixing the heating and cooling system in Coulee Dam’s “Community Building,” where the Rio Grande Restaurant, the bowling alley and soon a reopened theater operate, just got a higher priority. The city council OK’d a plan to tap funds, if needed to patch the roof, as Larry Hernandez digs into his project to get a new HVAC system in the building. He’s been consulting with companies to get the place heated over the winter. Hernandez plans to re-open the Village Cinema, which close 11 years ago when the industry changed to require all digital p...
Live music, good food, and local and Indigenous artists will take center stage at Coulee Dam's saʔtítkʷ (River) Artist Celebration this weekend, at what organizers hope will become an annual event on the reservation side of Coulee Dam. And that's not even mentioning trick-or-treating and a costume contest with cash prizes happening Friday. Hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and the Northwest Native Development Fund (NNDF), the celebration is centered on Mead Way, where most of the surrounding bus...
An Electric City woman who allegedly kept dozens of dogs in her one-bedroom basement apartment failed to comply with code enforcement citations for over a year, and now faces the criminal charge of second-degree animal cruelty, according to police reports. One animal rescue professional described the situation as a case of “hoarding.” Kari Doughty wasn’t at her Coulee Boulevard home when Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden and two officers arrived to execute a search warrant Oct. 4, but she got there while police and Spokanimal staff were...
The switchyards that direct the power from Grand Coulee Dam have been owned by that Bureau of Reclamation project since it was all built, but that just changed. On Tuesday, the Reclamation formally handed over ownership of those assets to the Bonneville Power Administration at a signing ceremony in front of the dam, much of which was used to recognize those in each agency who worked to make it happen, many of them for years. Grand Coulee Power Manager Coleman Smith said he has been working on th...
Two separate incidents involving gunfire three days apart in Delano resulted in police response to the neighborhood. On Sept. 16, two people were shot and transported themselves to Coulee Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Police named a suspect, but lacking probable cause, canceled an “attempt to locate” dispatch the following day. On Sept. 19, multiple neighbors reported hearing rounds of gunfire but police found no victim and that case is inactive. Due to reporter error, The Star’s Sept. 25 article, “Shooting investi...
The Colville Tribes will receive over $400,000 for their inmate reentry program from a Department of Justice grant created to support public safety in tribal communities. Coming from the federal agency’s Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation funding, the award came as part of a package of federal grants totaling $6.9 million for state, municipal and tribal law enforcement programs, as well as medical examiner offices in Washington state. Specifically, the $424,623 for the Colville Tribes will go toward hiring a new reentry coordinator ...
Many people around the region saw this very odd cloud formation Friday. So did Shad Moore, who took this photo with his phone on top of Grand Coulee Dam and sent it to us later. Meteorologists call it a Fallstreak Hole. "Such holes are formed when the water temperature in the clouds is below freezing, but the water, in a supercooled state, has not frozen yet due to the lack of ice nucleation," states the entry in Wikipedia. "When ice crystals do form, a domino effect is set off ... causing the...
Leaders at one local school district broached the idea of changing the yearly school calendar to an alternative that cuts down on the long summer break. The state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction calls the concept a “balanced calendar” approach, which generally means taking the same 180 days a year of school and not concentrating them all into nine months, then taking all summer off. Nespelem School Superintendent Effie Dean said she’s noticed frustration on the part of teachers whose students are taking longer than expecte...
Starting January 1, a ride in the local ambulance will cost you an additional $25, amounting to a 3.5 to 4% increase. "Last time they were changed was two years ago," said Rick Paris, ambulance chief. "Inflation is probably about 5% over the last two years, but we're still trying to keep it reasonable for the citizens." The ambulance currently costs $700 per ride, or $625 for residents of Grand Coulee, which will become $725 and $650 respectively. Additionally, the charge for an ambulance...
Newsbriefs Scouts help at senior center dinner The Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center held its member appreciation dinner recently, where steelhead trout was donated by Pacific Seafood, and the “Grand Coulee Boy Scout Troop were rock stars and served over 65 meals!” noted Edna Hauser on the Grand Coulee Area Community Announcement Board on Facebook. “We could not have done it without them and are GRATEFUL for their help.” She said the event was an enjoyable evening for all. PUD changing rate strategy Grant PUD commissioners gave their unoffic...
A cooking mishap turned a house to ashes Friday, leaving a family without a home, but well, not including one or more less fortunate pets. Firefighters got the call at 5: 24 that evening, according to a post on the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department's Facebook. When they arrived, "the fire had progressed enough to determine it would be a defensive attack," the post states, so firefighting would emphasize keeping it from spreading to other structures and the dry grass in the adjacent lot. A...
Despite comments on social media that two people were shot in Delano around 10:30 p.m. Sept. 16 — including a woman who said she was a family member of the victim or victims — police responding to multiple 911 calls from neighbors reporting gunshots were not able to identify any victims, nor any physical signs that anyone had been shot. However, Grand Coulee’s outgoing interim police chief told The Star in a text message Sept. 16 that “there is a suspect” and he confirmed there were two victims. He did not name them, but character...
With hands on hips some not-so-traditional ACH Warriors try to copy traditional dance moves at the powwow put on by Coulee Medical Center Thursday. The Gathering of Wellness event was attended by six area schools, including Coulee Hartline, Almira, Wilbur, Nespelem and Lake Roosevelt Schools. Behind them in traditional regalia, Shoshannah Palmanteer, CMC's senior director of clinic operations and development, who was asked in 2015 to develop the powwow, dances with them. Last week's event was...
Two fairly new Grand Coulee businesses have had such success that they've moved to bigger spaces this year - Sweet Pickens and Billups Sub Co. Three friends started a business in Grand Coulee a year ago, and it's growing. Shirley Palanuk, Fawn Brashears and Carlene Worsham make the most of their eye(s) for value among a population full of talented makers. They curate items for sale from 25 vendors. They had to limit suppliers to that number because they were out of room, again. They have a...
It looks increasingly likely the Grand Coulee Police Department won’t exist for much longer. Instead, the city may contract with an outside entity for law enforcement within city limits — potentially the Soap Lake Police Department or the Grant County Sheriff’s Office — based on comments made at Tuesday night’s council meeting, and by outgoing interim police chief Levi Johnson in a phone call with The Star last week. Johnson confirmed he had put in his notice earlier this month, and his last day with the department is next week. Council m...
