News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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OLYMPIA—Citing the high costs per student among small school districts and the opportunity for more efficient use of state and local tax dollars, 12th District Sen. Brad Hawkins (R-East Wenatchee) said last week that he has pre-filed a bill to encourage consolidating school districts to save money on administrative costs. Senate Bill 5487, a bipartisan proposal to incentivize school district consolidation. The ranking Republican on the Senate’s Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee and former school board president is the Senate Bill 548...
A local organization says it has received a grant of $1 million to continue its work in the home lending area. Northwest Native Development Fund, in Coulee Dam, will get the grant from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The grant will allow NNDF to further its goal of helping individuals build assets and “more specifically grow our home lending efforts,” a press release on the matter states. The local CDFI does this by providing financial and technical assistance services for those who may not qual...
The view from the highest point in Grant County, looking south across the farmland toward US 2 in the distance offers a perspective you might not have seen on the local area. On road V south of Grand Coulee, the road runs past a grain elevator at the top of a hill full of radio equipment taking advantage of the high terrain. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grand Coulee Police 12/8 - Officers responded to a report of a grey pickup truck suspected of being driven under the influence that was reported by a tribal ambulance. Police went to the Grand Coulee Avenue gas station where the vehicle was reported to be. There were three grey pickup trucks there. Police spoke to one driver who said the vehicle had mechanical problems and determined that the driver wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Another vehicle was followed by police and no issues were seen. A gas station attendant later s...
Lake Roosevelt Schools are investigating a threat allegedly made by a student. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Paul Turner sent a statement about the incident at 8:05 a.m. this morning, Dec. 9. "In the evening of December 8th GCDSD administration was made aware of an alleged threat of violence towards Lake Roosevelt schools from a student," the statement reads. "An investigation, including law enforcement, was started immediately. The district was able to identify the student in question and the student will not be at school... Full story
A man who stole a car at gunpoint from a Coulee Dam resident in 2020 was sentenced to 107 months in prison by a federal judge last week. Kyle Steven Scott Cate, 30, a member of the Colville Tribes had pleaded guilty earlier this year to two federal indictments. According to court documents, on April 30, 2020, at 2:30 a.m., Cate began banging on the door of a residence located in Coulee Dam, Washington, on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Cate’s victim, who also is an enrolled member of the Colville Tribes, came to the d...
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce raised $10,000 last Saturday in their annual Vintners & Brewers Auction. "This year's Vintners & Brewers Auction went well!" said Rachelle Haven, executive director for the chamber. "Thanks to our generous community, we raised $10,000! We couldn't be more grateful to our donors and community members for all their support in this event. Without them, we wouldn't be able to continue our efforts in year-round festivals. We so look forward to getting...
After much ado, the city of Grand Coulee has agreed to raise rates 33% at the Delano Regional Transfer Station to keep that facility from losing money, which makes the raise look likely. The transfer station, which is shared by Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, and Elmer City, had been on track to lose roughly $150,000 a year as detailed in last week’s Star article titled “Transfer station needs to raise rates to stay out of the red.” The loss in money results mostly from a 71% increase in rates at the county landfill in Ephrata where...
Coulee Dam’s town council approved a policy Thursday that full-time employees will be paid a $1,500 incentive payment for proof they’ve been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Part-time employees will receive a $100 payment. The written policy was presented as Resolution No. 2021-07 at a special online council meeting held specifically for that purpose alone after the council had requested it at a special meeting Nov. 29. City attorney Mick Howe had it prepared and ready by Thursday. The city plans to use some of...
Grant County reported an additional 27 COVID-19 deaths in the county occurring from October to November in a Dec. 1 update, including one man from Grand Coulee in his 70s. The deaths include 16 unvaccinated people, 10 fully vaccinated, and one partially vaccinated person. Of the 27 who died, 24 had underlying medical conditions. Grant County’s last announcement of covid deaths came on Oct. 13, but Grant County Health District Public Information Officer Misty Aguilar explained to The Star that the newly announced deaths could have occurred p... Full story
A 46-year-old Ephrata man was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle Friday after the car he was in crashed and burned about 8 miles north of US 2 on SR-155 along Banks Lake. The Washington State Patrol reported that Joshua J. Bessette, 46, had been driving north just after 7 a.m. when the 2008 Honda CR-V left the roadway to the right, struck a rock bank and rolled. The Honda ended up in the ditch on the east side of the highway, where it caught fire “as a result of the collision,” the WSP report states. Bessette was first taken to Cou...
OLYMPIA – Dec. 6, 2021 - Washington State Parks invites the public to take a First Day Hike on Jan. 1, 2022. At least 42 state parks have scheduled staff-led hikes, self-guided hikes, dog strolls, cross-country ski trips and more for New Year’s Day. State parks in every part of Washington will host free, family-friendly activities. Jan. 1 marks the first free day of 2022. Visitors won’t need a Discover Pass to park on state recreation lands. First Day Hikes will range in difficulty from paved, flat ADA-accessible trails to moderate hill climb...
Grand Coulee 12/1 - Police killed an injured deer on SR-174 near milepost 20. A nearby citizen was allowed to “harvest” the animal. - Police responded to Silver Drive on a report of animal cruelty. Police spoke to a man who showed playful, healthy puppies to police. He said he disciplines the dogs but doesn’t beat or abuse them. Police didn’t see any signs of abuse. - A screen had been pried loose from an apartment door on Hill Avenue to gain access. The resident reported missing about $300 and a gold necklace. She named a possible suspect who...
Off to a great start, the Lady Raiders basketball team won their 2021-2022 season opener Saturday at home against Reardan, 50-30. LR led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter, then 25-15 at the end of the half. They continued to dominate in the second half, leading 41-22 at the end of the third, and finishing the game with the 50-30 final score. LR's defense held Reardan to only 15 points in both halves. "First game of the season is always an interesting one, dealing with nerves, trying to find...
Cases of COVID-19 have slowed in local towns since last week's update from The Star, following a statewide trend. The surge of the Delta variant that started last summer peaked in mid-September when four local counties were reporting a combined seven-day case rate of 1,336, state Department of Health data show. That one-week case rate for Grant, Okanogan, Lincoln and Douglas counties was down to 146 at midnight Monday. The rate of vaccines shots being given each week has been trending higher... Full story
Providing for senior housing needs is one part of plans by local developers for the land at the former Center Elementary School in Grand Coulee, who updated the city council on their project last week. Centerline Development, owned by Nic Alexander and Ian Turner, purchased the former school located on 8.3 acres between Spokane Way and Martin Road in 2019 for $155,000. The pair has planned to develop senior citizen living quarters at the former school, as well as single-family homes on the...
If you hear loud booms this weekend, there’s a good chance it is fireworks going off on Alan Cain’s property along SR-174 near Lakeview Terrace. Cain is a member of the Northwest Pyrotechnics Association and told The Star that the group is meeting privately on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Dec. 3-5, to do what they love best: light off advanced fireworks. The group got a permit to light the fireworks between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m. from the city of Grand Coulee, whose fire department covers the area....
A new, free, home COVID testing program in several counties is intended to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and test the idea that it can. The Say Yes! COVID Test At-Home Testing Challenge provides households with access to free, rapid COVID-19 test kits that they can self-administer and are now available in Okanogan County. The program encourages residents to use the tests to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and keep the community healthy. Okanogan County residents can order testing kits online fo... Full story
Coulee Dam plans to offer a $1,500 bonus to employees who have been vaccinated against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a reversal of its direction two weeks ago when its council was leaning toward a mandate. The city council, meeting online Monday night, took up a proposal by Councilmember Keith St. Jeor to use some of the federal funds the town will get for Covid relief as an enticement for some reluctant employees. “We should probably reward those that are wanting to follow the rules and mandates,” St. Jeor said, contending that the move would qua...
Grand Coulee Police 11/23 - A report of a woman yelling in the Hill Avenue area may have been a howling coyote, police surmised, after responding to the area and not hearing anything else. 11/24 - A damaged street/stop sign at Coulee Boulevard and Miller Avenue may have been caused by a pedestrian, police thought after looking at it and determining it hadn’t been struck by a vehicle. 11/25 - Responding to the situation of a deer stuck in the canal, police attempted to chase it up the canal walls near the SR-174 bridge. The animal instead ran so...
After serving 14 years on the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors, Carla Marconi will be leaving the board after not filing for reelection this year. At their Nov. 22 meeting, Superintendent Paul Turner, Alternative Learning Environment Principal Mark Herndon, and Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School Principal Sara Kennedy all thanked Marconi for her service to the district. Colville Business Council Chairman Andy Joseph, Jr., as well as CBC Member Jarred-Michael Erickson,...
City council members and officials expressed views at their last meeting on a proposal to require Coulee Dam’s employees to be vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. After the council’s third discussion on the subject in a month Nov. 10, not much clarity seemed to emerge. The city’s legal research on the subject shows it can require employees to follow such a rule, but the city must offer “feasible and reasonable” accommodations for qualified medical or religious reasons, Clerk Stefani Bowden said. “To me, the hardest par...
Hackers disrupted the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s board meeting Monday night as “trolls” who logged onto the Zoom meeting. Superintendent Paul Turner, along with the district’s board of directors, held the meeting in the school library while others attended via ZOOM. While Board Director Carla Marconi, who is leaving her position, was saying thank you to those who had just honored her at the meeting, a person logged on with the name “Taylor Duffy” and began playing a clip on a loop from the rap song “Wishing Well” by artist Juice WR...
There have been 22 new cases of COVID-19 reported for local towns by local counties since last week’s update from The Star, with 16 of those new cases in Nespelem. According to Grant County Health District data last updated Nov. 22, the Grand Coulee and Electric City area of the county has seen 161 total cases since the pandemic began, up by six in the past two weeks, with new cases reported on Nov. 17, 22, and 23. Ranging in age from their 50s to 80s, 11 people are currently hospitalized in Grant County with Covid, down by five since two w... Full story
It costs a pretty penny to throw garbage away, and not everyone wants to spend it. The Regional Board of Mayors is proposing a 33% increase in rates at the Delano Regional Transfer Station, which is on track to lose up to $150,000 a year, but the city of Grand Coulee doesn’t want to raise rates that much. All the local city councils must approve a raise before it can take effect. The county landfill in Ephrata, to where the garbage from Delano currently ships, hadn’t raised its rates in 13 years, but did this year. That 71.28% jump from $28...