News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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"What a year to start a business," Morgan Tillman said last night about starting her Elmer City salon in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tillman's Apothecary Salon was awarded Business of the Year by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. "It was quite a wild ride," Tillman said. "I'm thankful to be a part of the chamber and the community that's been so welcoming." "There's a lot of excitement around this business, which I think is fabulous," Patty Oliver of PK's Culinary...
A Ford F350 pickup drove into a maple tree in west Coulee Dam'sd main thoroughfare Thursday afternoon, injuring at least one person. The Washington State Patrol reported that a 44-year-old driver, Robert John Day had been taken to Coulee Medical Center by the time a trooper arrived on the scene on SR-155 near the Columbia River Bridge. Trooper John Bryant, a WSP public information officer, said the Patrol was called out about 1:44 p.m. He said Day was cited for having wheels of the roadway and...
Grand Coulee Police 2/28 - Police responded to A Street where a man and woman reported seeing a woman throw items out of a pickup, including a dog, and drive off. The officer took the small chihuahua-type dog to the vet to scan for a chip, but there wasn’t one. The officer found a couple options for places that would take care of the dog, but the owner came in looking for it. The owner described the dog and explained that he had let the dog outside and when he came back for it, it had run off. The man lived close to where the dog was found, a...
There have been 12 additional COVID-19 deaths announced in Grant County since The Star’s last update on Feb. 16, and 121 new cases in local towns, despite a dropping incidence rate. Grant County Health District announced 392 new cases and 10 deaths on Feb. 17, and 233 new cases and two deaths on Feb. 24, with their weekly announcements coming on Thursdays. Coulee Medical Center CEO Ramona Hicks told hospital district commissioners Monday night that Covid positivity numbers at CMC had “dramatically dropped.” But she cautioned it’s hard to evalua...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors will be holding a Executive board meeting tonight Tuesday March 8th @ 5:30 p.m. At this meeting the board will be discussing personnel items....
STCU will sponsor a major aspect of the Colorama Rodeo that provides national television coverage of its events, the Ridge Riders said last week. The Spokane-based credit union that merged with Coulee Dam Credit Union last September noted in a statement that rodeo sponsorship isn't an everyday event, but "we have a long history of supporting cultural events, like Colorama, that reflect the values of the credit union, and the heritage of the community." Area Branch Manager Beverly Rodriguez said...
Lady Raiders Assistant Coach Matthew Pleasants came across something shocking while reviewing video from their Feb. 18 game against the Okanogan Lady Bulldogs. While a Lady Raider, who is of African-American descent as well as a tribal member, was shooting free throws, Okanogan fans jeered at her by making monkey noises. Pleasants and his father, Head Coach Wallace “Peewee” Pleasants, are also African-American, and Matthew Pleasants, said that he found the jeering “disheartening” but added that he wasn’t “one bit surprised.” That type of behav...
With mask mandates changing around the country and in the state of Washington, people expressed mixed feelings in a Star poll this week. Readers who took the poll on state mask mandates ending in March are split over the topic, with 56.5% being comfortable with the idea, and 43.5% being uncomfortable with it. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Feb. 17 that Covid-19 mask restrictions will be loosening on March 21 for the state, the date "we project we will be in a position to be able to reduce some of...
If you’re still venturing out onto the ice of Banks Lake, be careful, as it may not be as sturdy as it looks, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation warns as they begin pumping fresh water into the lake. The USBR begins operating outlet works at Banks Lake/Dry Falls Dam on March 3 in preparation for the 2022 irrigation season, a Feb. 23 press release states. Reclamation started operating Potholes Reservoir/O’Sullivan Dam outlet works on Monday. To prepare Banks Lake for the March 3 operation startup, Reclamation began pumping water from the John W....
There'll be a new superintendent in the Grand Coulee Dam School District for the 2024-25 school year. Current Superintendent Paul Turner told the district's board of directors Monday that he intends to retire after working part time for two more school years. Turner noted the past two years being hard both physically and mentally caused him to look at his personal situation and his future, leading to his decision. A full-time assistant superintendent will be hired to potentially, but not definit...
Grand Coulee Police 2/22 - Police responded to a report of suspicious vehicles on Goodfellow Avenue but found nothing amiss. A loud banging noise heard by the reporting party may have been one of the vehicles getting attached to a trailer. - A vehicle was towed from Dill Avenue for parking in a no-parking zone and for having expired registration. - A woman told police she would move her vehicle on Young Street that was blocking the roadway. 2/23 - A “suspicious” person was reported as knocking on a door on Roosevelt Drive, then leaving in a c...
A man who was unconscious in his burning car gets to continue to live with his family thanks to local heroism. Three Jess Ford employees saved the Ephrata man's life in December. Joshua Bessette, 46, of Ephrata, was on his way to work at the Grand Coulee Dam on Dec. 3 at about 7 a.m. He was driving north on SR-155 at about milepost eight between Coulee City and Grand Coulee near the Million Dollar Mile, when, according to a report from Washington State Patrol Trooper John Bryant, he left the...
With mask mandates set to lift in late March, half of school district personnel are skeptical about the idea, and our readers can voice their own opinions in a brief online poll. Governor Jay Inslee announced on Feb. 17 that Covid-19 mask restrictions will be loosening in March for the state. As of March 21, masks will still be required at medical facilities, long term care settings, public transit, correctional facilities, and at whatever private businesses that choose to require them. They will no longer be required at schools, libraries,...
Free passes on public transportation for young people and upgrades to major bridges are all part of a 16-year transportation funding plan approved by the Washington State Senate. The Senate approved the proposed revenue sources for the $17 billion “Move Ahead Washington” transportation investment package on a 29-20 vote Feb. 15. The bill sponsored by Transportation Committee Chair Sen. Marko Liias, D-Everett, now goes to the House for consideration. The plan includes funding for transit programs, replacement of fish passageways and electrificat...
Small business owners and schoolchildren hurt by the pandemic would see some financial relief with approval of state supplemental budget proposals now under consideration. “We’re looking at the basics, food, shelter, health and cash assistance,” House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Timm Ormsby, D-Spokane, said. “Those are things in this pandemic economy that are going to make a difference in people’s lives, and that is our focus.” The Washington State House and Senate each released their proposals Feb. 21, just hours before public hear...
Scouts Sonjarai Heldman and A. J. Cannon, of Grand Coulee, and Halley Craddock, right, of Okanogan, work together on lashing together poles in an attempt to build a "Chippawah kitchen" like the one at left during last weekend's Polar Bear Camp at Summit Lake. The event brought together five Scout troops from the region. Scouts, both boys and girls, worked at earning a variety of scout badges at stations set up around the camp. Those included tasks for using a compass, first aid, building a...
NOTICE INVITING BIDS Grand Coulee Dam Airport – Electric City, Washington Airfield Pavement Maintenance Project FAA/AIP 3-53-0025-014-2022 OWNER: Grant County Port District #7 P.O. Box 616 Grand Coulee, Washington 99133 Separate Sealed BIDS for the: Grand Coulee Dam Airport, Electric City, Washington, Airfield Pavement Maintenance Project, FAA/AIP 3-53-0025-014-2022 will be received by the Owner at the Office of the Airport Manager at the Grand Coulee Dam Airport, Ludolph Road, Electric City, Washington 99123 until 2:00 p.m., Thursday March 24,...
Grand Coulee Police 2/18 - Police couldn’t see anything amiss when responding to a report of a loud party on Coulee Boulevard. - Police didn’t see any dogs running at large on Roosevelt Drive after receiving a report of such. - A woman sitting outside a Kelso Avenue residence told police she was waiting to be let in. It turned out she was at the wrong house. When she went to the right address, she was let in by her friends. 2/19 - A Roosevelt Drive man was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol after being pulled over on Knute Str...
With roughly 56% of voters voting against two levies in the Grand Coulee Dam School District last week, school board members are looking into running just one levy in November. In the Feb. 8 election, the Educational Programs and Operation Levy failed 631 votes to 483 among voters in the district, while the Capital Levy for Safety, Technology and Facilities Improvements failed 599-477. Combined, the two levies would have brought in a combined $1.4-$1.7 million per year from 2023 to 2026 into the school district. Superintendent Paul Turner...
Fences were built last week to close a popular beach at Steamboat Rock State Park a year after the decision was made to close it. In January of 2021, The Star reported that a stretch of beach, located near the main boat launch in the park, was being closed due to erosion and to protect resources, according to employees from the park as well as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Originally, a fence was going to be built from a point on the beach near the boat launch, up to an access road, around a...
A bill in the state Legislature that seeks to force hospitals to abide by set staffing levels — to address burnout and an already serious nursing shortage made worse by the pandemic — would likely force cuts in local service, a local hospital leader says. An amended form of House Bill 1868 passed the state House of Representatives Sunday. Its companion bill in the Senate, Senate Bill 5751, seems likely to pass, according to Ramona Hicks, chief executive officer at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee. The bipartisan legislation, supported by...
There have been 35 additional cases of COVID-19 in local towns in the past week. The week’s 35 cases contrast with the week prior when The Star reported an additional 54 cases on Feb. 9, and 68 on Feb. 2. Coulee Medical Center reports that out of 108 total tests performed at the Grand Coulee hospital Feb. 8-14, 16 came back positive for covid, for a positivity rate of 15%, down from 24% the week prior, and 29% the week before that. Health districts in Grant and Okanogan counties have been updating their case counts once a week recently, rather...
The amount of force a police officer uses must be “proportional and reasonable,” a bill approved recently by the State Senate says. The bill also specifies officers will also be allowed to engage in vehicular pursuits as long as there is “reasonable suspicion” when making a traffic stop. The Senate voted 31-18 on Senate Bill 5919 on Feb. 9 with a handful of Republicans joining the majority Democrats. The bill cleans up language adopted last year on the use of force that many in the law enforcement community said was confusing and contradictory....
In the wake of the pandemic, Seattle Children’s Hospital reports an increasing number of children need outpatient mental health treatment, but not enough providers exist to meet the demand. “The devastating consequence of the inability to access outpatient care is that you’re likely to get worse and need emergency department or crisis level care,” said Kashi Arora, from Seattle Children’s Hospital. House Bill 1800, now under consideration in the state Legislature, creates a behavioral workgroup to identify barriers to behavioral health services...
Aijanae Young is a birth postpartum doula, a person who delivers non-medical care after birth. She said she didn’t realize the value she brought to her clients until she was the one in need. Young said before her doula arrived, she felt her pain and symptoms weren’t being addressed, and she had to fight to have the support she needed. “My doula listened to my cries, saw my struggles, she said. “I was afraid and suddenly didn’t know what to ask.” Doulas can provide physical, emotional, and informational support during and after pregnancy,...