News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a Red Flag Warning for much of this region for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from 2 p.m. Sunday to 11 p.m. Monday. A Red Flag Warning means critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will be shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. * Affected Area: Fire Weather Zone 705, the foothills of the Central Washington Cascades;... Full story
Sewer rates will likely go up in Electric City after the city council approved a funding package obtained by Grand Coulee to redesign and refurbish the wastewater treatment plant they both use. A grant/loan package from the Washington State Dept. of Ecology will fund the final design stage of the project for $1.452 million in engineering bills from Gray & Osborn, Inc., Electric City’s share of which is about $268,620. The total project cost is projected at over $12 million. The cities are looking at a completion date of 2027 or 2028. Loan p...
At the conclusion of Saturday afternoon's Grand Entry under the arbor at the Colville Tribes' Celebration Grounds, royalty and honored dancers in regalia stop at the center pole with the eagle staff bearing an MIA flag at center, an American flag at left and the flag of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation at right, flanked to its right by Joy Abrahamson, Miss Colville Confederated Tribes and visiting royalty. About 300 dancers took the floor that afternoon, one observer...
To enforce or not to enforce was the question Tuesday night as Electric City officially entered the dog days of summer. The city, it seems, has been sending letters to several residents about the city’s pet code, many of whom have been ignoring them, some by a wide margin of error. The city gets complaints, has tried to persuade owners into compliance through other means, and it’s now down to writing tickets, but city employees wanted some guidance on how hard-nosed they should be about it. City Clerk Peggy Nevsimal gave the council exa...
It began with a roadside fire July 5, along SR-155 south of Electric City where a small blaze burned grasses both sides of the highway near jeopardizing homes. In the following days, various agencies in the region would call for immediate evacuations of areas where a wildfire had started quickly. Thunderstorms with multiple lightning strikes didn't help amid conditions the National Weather Service had predicted would include low relative humidity with stiffer winds, calling for a "Fire Weather...
An Elmer City man has been sentenced to five years in prison for selling drugs from his home to a young woman who was found dead from an overdose the next day. Andre Pierre Picard, 67, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to Distribution of Heroin and Distribution of Methamphetamine, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington announced June 29 in a press release. United States District Court Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 60 months in federal custody to be followed by five years of supervised r...
A fairly heavy rain storm, with lightening is head into the area right now. Staying inside and unplugging electronics are good advice. Here's a screenshot of lightning strikes in the area a few minutes ago.... Full story
The crowd watches the fireworks off the top of Grand Coulee Dam, culminating the Festival of America Tuesday night, July 4. — Scott Hunter photo...
Coulee Dam doesn't do enough to get property owners to control weeds, and neither does Okanogan County. That's the assessment of Councilmember Keith St Jeor, who complained about no enforcement despite a recent increase in his property taxes, which he said supposedly includes payment for weed control. "That place across the street from me ... has been treated by the town like a joke" for the 21 years he's lived in his home," St. Jeor said at the June 28 council meeting. Thinking he paid...
Coulee Dam’s city council unanimously passed a resolution June 28 intending it to put a hold on any enforcement against so called short-term rentals of private property, following a plea from the owner of one such property two weeks earlier. Coulee Dam doesn’t have an ordinance specifically making such an enterprise illegal, but it’s also not specifically allowed in its zoning codes either, which distinguish between residential and commercial zones. At least two houses in east Coulee Dam are advertised on Airbnb, a site that handles the trans...
A wildfire 10 miles southwest of Twin Lakes on the Colville Reservation had burned 33 acres since Thursday, while 97 firefighters are working on it. The Gold Mountain Ridge fire was first reported at 3:23 p.m. June 29th. Crews responded to initial reports and resources have been added to the response as the situation has developed. The fire is burning in steep, uneven terrain with high numbers of hazard trees. The Northeast Washington Interagency Type 3 Incident Management Team #2 assumed command of the incident at 9 p.m. July 2. The Colville...
Retiring superintendent Paul Turner models a cap given him by the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors at Turner's final meeting June 26. Turner has served as superintendent since 2016 after a year as assistant principal. His tenure has not been without controversy, and the words on the cap reference a derogatory remark made in a letter to the editor. - Scott Hunter photo...
The Colville Tribes is saddened to announce the passing of Colville tribal descendant MaryJayn (MJ) Louise LaPlante. She was 16 years old, born on January 3, 2007. MaryJayn LaPlante was a junior at Wilbur High School. She served as the Vice President of the Keller Youth Council and demonstrated great leadership in her position. Some of her notable accomplishments were organizing the Back to School Clothing Drive for the Keller school and the Colville Business Council candidate forum. MaryJayn...
Early Monday morning, someone stole a tractor from the Spring Canyon Cemetery. The thief was there for at least 40 minutes, apparently breaking into one building through an old, wooden panel covering a door window, then probably taking keys found inside to open another building that housed the tractor, a 1996 John Deere 1070 loader with a backhoe attachment. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is hoping the pickup may look familiar to someone, so they put photos on a Facebook page and asked for...
Dry, windy weather expected for parts of the region on Saturday prompted a “Fire Weather Watch” from the National Weather Service in Spokane. The caution was issued Wednesday afternoon for Saturday in the Okanogan Valley, Central Washington Cascade Foothills, the Waterville Plateau and Western Columbia Basin areas. Winds are expected to reach 15 mph with gusts up to 25, but relative humidity will be low in the 10-20% range. That combination means fires can easily start and rapidly spread. “A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weath... Full story
A man who has been operating his house on Central Drive as a short-term rental took exception to a cease-and-desist letter from the city that said that activity is illegal. Danny Wiyrick didn't back down at a city council meeting June 14, had his arguments ready to go point by point, and had council members wanting to find a way to make it legal before the end of the meeting. But tonight (June 28) they consider a draft resolution declaring a moratorium on such rentals as Wiyrick's Airbnb...
Andrew C. Castrodale, M.D., is the recipient of the 2023 UW School of Medicine Alumni Service Award, the school announced last week. The award recognizes a University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) alum whose dedicated and determined efforts have benefited UWSOM and/or the Alumni Association and/or their community. Dr. Castrodale, a 1994 graduate of UWSOM, is being celebrated for his dedication and service to his community in his roles as clinician, mentor and educator in family...
The Bureau of Reclamation is prohibiting fireworks on North Dam for the Independence Day holiday. Reclamation is taking precautionary measures to decrease the potential for wildland fire and is reminding the public that use of fireworks is prohibited on Reclamation lands and waterbodies. Reclamation will allow the permitted fireworks display at Grand Coulee Dam to occur for the Fourth of July festivities. There is a low risk of fireworks reaching the surrounding lands from the top of the dam, so the show can proceed. The fireworks show begins...
Officials and workers from four cities attend the delivery and training in the use of a new woodchipper June 14. The chipper was bought with a grant from the state Department of Ecology to the Regional Board of Mayors, which includes Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout (in sunglasses) who applied for the grant, and Grand Coulee Mayor Paul Townsend, third from right. The equipment was delivered to the Delano Transfer Station. - Scott Hunter photo...
Average gasoline prices in Washington are actually lower than they were a year ago, although they have risen 10.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.92 a gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 2,666 stations in the state. Prices in Washington stand 54.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago but are 34.2 cents higher than a month ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 0.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.84 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Washington was p...
Kids from all over the area took part in the annual Koulee Kids Fest Saturday, organized by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and supported by businesses and organizations. About 17 of them put on little activities for kids from 10 a.m to 2 p.m., when the day capped off with a learning opportunity as The Reptile Man taught and entertained kids with live snakes, an alligator, and other reptiles. At least two activity sponsors offered prizes in drawings. Kids who filled in a...
Their house didn't burn, but firefighters couldn't save the garage/shop at Bill and Heather Williams' home in Electric City Monday when fire cut short their plans to work on an old pickup. Searching for the bright side as firefighters sprayed down the charred wood and hot metal siding, Heather Williams said at least they wouldn't have to decide what to keep from a collection of belongings they'd moved into the garage to sort. Electric City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Payne said Bill...
Students from four area schools got to stomp around a field on the Colville Reservation in a citizen science experiment that continued this June. The students, from Nespelem and Keller schools on June 6 and from Lake Roosevelt and Inchelium schools June 7, had prepared in class a lot of "seed bombs," for planting native wildflowers on a field of native bunchgrass. The bombs, which a year ago had been made of clay and a pinch of seeds for the same experiment, this year had a bit different makeup...
Forty students graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School Saturday as the class of 2023 gathered for that last time - on the stage at the gym in gown and cap. Much about the speeches echoed those sentiments that rightly drip from every high school graduation - "the last time," "the next chapter," and so forth. But the tone, the affection, the familiarity - as in, family-like - seemed something more. "The friendships that we have made over the years have shaped us into the young men and women...
Parents, especially dads, can rely on Koulee Kids Fest to offer plenty of ways for special parent/kid memories to form this Saturday as the chamber of commerce organizes kids' events put on at local businesses. See the map on page 8 for a list of places and activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to take part in and qualify to win a prize. At 2 p.m. on Main Street the Reptile Man will present kids with all kinds of snakes, turtles an alligator and more. Scott Petersen is a zoologist and educator who...
