News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Students at Lake Roosevelt Schools deliver certificates of appreciation to veterans Thursday at the school's Veteran's Day assembly in their honor. The program included a version of The Star-Spangled Banner by the Raider Rock Band, narration on the meaning and reason for Veteran's Day, the individual recognition shown here for every veteran attending, and a slide show of local veterans with photos from their service time. - Scott Hunter photo...
In local elections Tuesday, Electric City voters demonstrated a preference for change, favoring two newcomers over one current and one former city council member, and giving another current councilman a fairly close race, with two of the three Grand Coulee Police officers who ran for council poised to take office. Incumbent Councilmember Brian Buche appears to have survived a challenge from Thomas Levi Johnson for council position 3 by a vote of 117 to 89 or 57-43%. But Matt Gilbert clearly won the race for position 4 seat that former council...
An 18-year-old Grand Coulee man was sentenced to 60 months in prison after having pleaded guilty to “Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner in Indian Country,” the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Vanessa R. Waldref announced last week. Xander Lee Ostenberg also pleaded guilty to two counts of “Assault by Beating, Striking or Wounding.” U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Ostenberg to the federal prison term to be followed by a three-year term of court supervi...
Grant PUD crews work to restore power to much of Grand Coulee Monday after a pole fire outside Coulee Medical Center caused an outage early in the morning. Most of the business district along Midway Avenue was without power. The hospital kept its emergency room and walk-in clinic open but rescheduled all morning appointments. The hospital announced it had power available again at 1:30 p.m. Grant PUD announced on X (formerly Twitter) that power had been knocked out for 328 customers in "the...
Inside this issue of The Star and inside Lake Roosevelt Schools this week are two things designed to help you remember what Veterans Day is all about. And if that were not enough, how about adding a good breakfast. At Lake Roosevelt Schools this Thursday, the public is invited to a special assembly in honor of veterans at 9 a.m. in the gym. The assembly both honors the veterans and impresses on students the importance of understanding their commitment to the country. At the annual assembly students personally honor attending veterans, and a...
Local artist Keith Powell sent us this image of a watercolor he painted as a study for a larger one he plans to do, inspired by the recent reintroduction of bison to the Colville Reservation. "I'm so happy that we are witnessing the reintroduction of bison," he said. "So cool." The view in the painting is from Jonah and Tera Whitelaw's house near McGinnis Lake with Castle Rock in the background. Powell noted that the last wild buffalo in Washington state was killed in the Grand Coulee in 1825,...
In observance of the Veterans Day holiday, Okanogan Behavioral HealthCare administration offices and Highland Center will be closed on Friday and will reopen on Monday, Nov. 13 with regular business hours. Crisis response services remain available 24 hours a day throughout the holiday by calling toll-free 1+(800) 852-2923, and are also available via TTY at (509) 826-2113, or by texting HOME to 741741. Shove House will remain operational throughout the holiday....
Blake Martin thinks the Electric City Council has a relationship problem with its citizens. If he were to win the election for a seat at that table, he could help change that, he says. "I don't feel like community concerns are being heard and responded to as they should be," he said. "I feel as there is a current disconnect there between our elected city officials and the general public." Although Martin said he is a fan of the community meetings the city has been having, they still fall short...
Spokane, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Xander Lee Ostenberg, 18, of Grand Coulee, Washington was sentenced after having pleaded guilty to Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner in Indian Country. Ostenberg also pleaded guilty to two counts of Assault by Beating, Striking or Wounding. U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Ostenberg to 60 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court s... Full story
Birdie Hensley is running for Electric City Council to find out what’s going on, and to fix some earlier mistakes. “I just think if you’re in the community, you should be involved,” she said. “And if you’re not on city council, you don’t find anything out about the city.” She’s been on council before, when the council made new rules on development requirements for curbs and sidewalks. That was during a time when the city annexed land with an eye on possible expansion to the south. Now she sees that push had some unintended consequences, mak...
Sierra steadies the baby and opens her small trick-or-treat bag as little Charlie's eyes look in wonder during a stop in Coulee Dam Halloween night. Her sister Paisley, a chicken for the night, watches and waits for her handful, too...
Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden briefed the city council last week on a couple possibilities for expanding the kinds of services his agency can provide. They include connected cameras that read license plates, and also trained police dogs that can search for drugs. Bowden would like to consider the purchase of four cameras, two for Coulee Dam , two for Electric City, which his department serves, to mount and record license plates as they come through town. He said he was considering applying for an available grant to pay for the cameras,...
If you live in Grant County and power your home with Grant PUD electricity, you pay below the utility’s cost to produce it, and discussions are underway now on how to gradually increase rates to get back on track toward “target goal posts” after a four-year hiatus. Grant PUD commissioners told an audience in their packed boardroom Oct. 24 that their ongoing “discussion over how to set electric rates and arrive at a rate increase for 2024 will take into account all the county’s economic sectors and ensure ‘core customers’ are protected,” a...
Mist rises from Lake Roosevelt early Monday morning as the sun warms up the cold lake after overnight temperatures in the mid-20s. Temperatures are expected to rise a little this week, but expect a little rain, too. - Scott Hunter photo...
Inside this issue of The Star and inside Lake Roosevelt Schools this week are two things designed to help you remember what Veterans Day is all about. And if that were not enough, how about adding a good breakfast. At Lake Roosevelt Schools this Thursday, the public is invited to a special assembly in honor of veterans at 9 a.m. in the gym. The assembly both honors the veterans and impresses on students the importance of understanding their commitment to the country. At the annual assembly... Full story
Lake Roosevelt Schools took an unplanned day off Monday after the district learned on Friday it would not have a school nurse. Superintendent Rod Broadnax said he learned as he was out of town Friday that the nurse who had been supplied to the schools for two days a week by the local hospital district would no longer be available. Registered nurses are in short supply in Washington state, and Coulee Medical Center spends large sums to bring in temporary nurses, as do many, if not most, hospitals. Broadnax said Monday night in a letter to...
The San Poil ferry, which crosses Lake Roosevelt between Keller and Wilbur on SR-21, temporarily went out of service Sunday about 1 pm with mechanical issues, the state Transportation Dept said. It’s out of service until further notice.... Full story
The National Weather Service says drivers should watch for black ice this morning: “Areas of light snow are moving through northeast and east-central Washington and the northern Idaho Panhandle this morning. Although little more than a dusting is expected in most locations, sub- freezing temperatures have allowed for areas of black ice to develop on untreated surfaces. If traveling this morning, be prepared for slick spots.... Full story
Tension simmered last week during a discussion of what staffing direction Grand Coulee will ultimately take in staffing its wastewater treatment plant. Council members Anita Eylar and Ruth Dalton pressed others on which direction the council was leaning: filling the need with the city’s own employees or continuing to contract it out. The latter was the course the council took earlier this year, but only on an emergency basis. The city’s current contract with a union allows for contracting out city jobs in an emergency only, city officials sai...
From left, Anita Eylar, Marie Anderson, Stan Cass, Lonna Bussert are pleased with the Moose Lodge's entry into the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce's Scarecrow Trail. The chamber is asking people to vote for their favorites. Maps for the entries are on page 10, along with a website and QR codes. We found most of them and include photos in this issue, plus a few more not entered but worthy of it. - submitted photo...
Brian Buche sees himself as a voice for the community. Running for re-election to the Electric City Council seat he's held since 2020, full-time UPS driver and now part-time farmer says he takes pride in talking one-on-one with people. "Anybody can approach me and tell me what it is they think or they don't like or whatever," he said. "I'm an open book." Elected when council members at the time were taking considerable heat for some controversial projects, Buche said listening to people is...
Levi Johnson sees public safety as the most pressing issue facing Electric City. So do his fellow officers. Johnson is a police officer in Grand Coulee, as are two other candidates running against incumbents for Electric City council seats. Johnson, who joined the Grand Coulee Police Department in 2015, says that's no accident. When the Electric City Council decided to change its police services contractor, choosing Coulee Dam over Grand Coulee last year, they took notice. "I think that's kind...
Masonry workers in Elmer City Tuesday work on the walls of a new garage to house fire engines that Okanogan County Fire District 2 has been working to get out of the weather for at least two years. The new 2,268-square-foot, cinderblock building with three bay doors will cost nearly $1.3 million, mostly state funds. Okanogan County commissioners also kicked in $143,000 of American Rescue Plan money to get the project fully funded. - Scott Hunter photo...
Most streets in Electric City could be in for some upgrades if the grants come through, a long-hoped-for waterfront trail should be built by late next summer, and the city’s corroding sewer pipes might be saved with a lining for over $1 million, a small group of citizens attending a meeting at the fire hall learned Tuesday night. Trent Ward, of Century West Engineering, the city’s consultant, said the 8-foot-wide trail along SR-155 from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park will cost about $870,000, including a two-foot gravel pathway on each side...
If you were planning to rent out a shipping container or RV on your property in Coulee Dam, or use it for events such as weddings, sounds like you’re out of luck, but the town council heard last week exactly how short rentals will be allowed and under what circumstances. Mike Manning, of SCJ Alliance went through a long list of requirements Wednesday night during a public hearing before the regular council meeting, seemed like common sense, but some added restrictions you might not think about. Among those are an annual requirement to pass a...
