News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Two local counties last week reported 28 new COVID-19 related deaths. Grant County Health District reported nine deaths on Oct. 11, and nine more on Oct. 13 with the deaths occurring in the months of September and October. Of the 18 deaths in Grant County, 11 were men and seven were women; ages ranged from their 40s to 80s; 16 had underlying health conditions; three were fully vaccinated, and 15 were unvaccinated. Of those who died, nine were from Moses Lake, five were from Soap Lake, two were from Quincy, one was from Mattawa, and one from...
Shaeden Capshaw grabs a gob of roasted marshmallow off a stick of the goo held by Gaven White at the first spirit week bonfire held in several years at Lake Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School Thursday night after a homecoming volleyball game. - Scott Hunter photo...
Attorney General Bob Ferguson led a bipartisan coalition of 15 attorneys general Thursday calling on Congress to pass legislation supporting local journalism. “High-quality, independent journalism is critical to our democracy,” Ferguson said. “Local outlets have been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic — ironically, just when their role as distributors of reliable information has rarely been more crucial. We must do all we can to save local journalism.” The letter calls on key leaders to support and pass the Local Journalis...
Tribal police inspect a car flipped early Monday at the edge of Coulee Dam. The silver car destroyed a longstanding sign in the process but the driver, seen talking with police, apparently escaped serious injury. From Davenport, he initially told police he'd swerved to avoid a deer but later admitted he'd fallen asleep. A redacted police report wasn't clear on whether the driver was a juvenile but omitted his full name. The crash happened at about 7 a.m. A sign advertising the community...
I want to remind our Grant County taxpayers that real, mobile home, personal property 2nd half taxes are due by November 1st. Since October 31 is on the weekend, the due date is extended to the next business day. If you are sending your payment by mail, please make sure your envelope is postmarked on or before November 1st to avoid being considered delinquent. Please verify that all parcels that you intend to pay were included on your statements. Please send the bottom right side coupon of your statements if you are paying by mail for proper...
Grand Coulee Police 10/12 - A man and woman on Alcan Road and Yakima Street were arrested and taken to jail for burglary. The man was known to stay at a residence there, but the owner said he was not allowed in a storage shed where both had stored items without permission. The two had allegedly picked a lock to enter the shed and retrieve their own items. They were found there and arrested. Drug paraphernalia was also found. The man was adamant that the shed was unlocked, and that he didn’t break in. 10/14 - A man was cited for driving under t...
Grand Coulee PTA will be hosting our 2nd Trunk or Treat event, Thursday, October 28th from 5-7pm. Services, businesses and community will be passing out treats to kids in cars as they drive around the school on the bus loading route. No walkers please. At the end in the elementary parking lot there will be a contest for the best decorated car trunk. Winner will be decided by donation and a trophy will be given to the winning car....
Lincoln County volunteer firefighters hose a fire that broke out about 4 p.m. at the elementary/middle school in Almira Tuesday, leading to its complete loss. No one was in the building at the time it started. Students were not in class Tuesday because of electrical issues, KXLY reported. Lincoln County Fire Protection District 8 Chief Denny Pinar told the station the cause of the fire had not been determined, although there were reports of an electrical smell after power was restored and...
It sounded like a good idea at the time: See if there’s a way to gather the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s athletics facilities onto one campus. With that direction from the board of directors, the district hired an architect last spring to look into the possibilities. Anything is possible for a price, but maybe not one you want to pay. When the new K-12 school was built with no local debt, funding was not available to include a new gym, and school leaders have been trying to find a way to build one ever since, plus fix other dis...
Voters in the Grand Coulee Dam School District will be asked next February to replace an expiring tax levy with a new one of the same rate in 2023. The board of directors voted Tuesday night to direct the superintendent to prepare language for a levy question on the coming ballot that would keep the current “enrichment” levy property tax rate at $2.50 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. And they voted to seek a replacement of the district’s expiring capital facilities levy at $1.70 per thousand, the same rate as the current one. Super...
Electric City’s Planning Commission will hold a public workshop Thursday, October 28, at 6 p.m. at city hall or on Zoom (to be determined) to kick off a process to review and revise the city’s Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Code and other “implementing regulations,” the city said in a press release last week. The workshop will give an overview of the update process, existing plans and regulations, and will solicit comments from the public on land use issues. Commissioners hope to build a a “docket” of potential amendments to review during 2022...
Fall is a colorful time to hike Steamboat Rock, nearly as iconic an image to the area as the Grand Coulee Dam. Not only does the state park of the same name offer camping and beaches, but you can also climb to the top of this majestic basalt landmark that stands 800 feet above beautiful Banks Lake, which almost completely surrounds it. In Steamboat Rock State Park, which requires a Discover Pass to park, the trailhead starts in two separate places, both fairly close to each other, across the roa...
Having served on the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors since 2009, Ken “Butch” Stanger would like to serve one last term to see certain things get accomplished. Stanger, who lives in Belvedere, between Elmer City and Nespelem, graduated from Coulee Dam High School in 1961 after attending both Nespelem and Grand Coulee schools before that. Having grandkids, nieces, nephews, and lots of other relatives in the district, Stanger told The Star over the phone that “we all need to pay special attention to general education as it re...
Buffy Nicholson has a vested interest in being a Grand Coulee Dam School District director, having two daughters in the district, a son who will be, and other family members, as well. Nicholson is running for the School Director #2 position against incumbent Butch Stanger in the Nov. 2 election. The Elmer City woman has an eighth-grade daughter who attends Lake Roosevelt, Cora; a fifth grade daughter, Claire; and a son who will attend when school age as well, she told The Star in an email. She also has a large and extended family with many...
Grant County wants to hand out money. The Grant County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) announced Monday that they are seeking grant applications for qualifying tourism-promotion campaigns, events and projects for 2022. The application period is open from Oct. 11-29. All grant applications must be received in the county commissioners office or postmarked no later than 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 29. Late applications won’t be accepted. The application can be found online at: https://wa-grantcounty.civicplus.com/905/2022-Lodgin...
In a move that will both ease monthly cash needs and add needed upgrades, Coulee Medical Center recently refinanced millions in debt it took on to build the new hospital. The original debt for a little over $23 million has been whittled down to a nearly $18.9 million loan, with $1 million of that tagged for upgrading equipment, including all new state-of-the-art patient beds. The move captures a better interest rate less than half of the previous financing package, according to Chief Financial...
Coulee Dam and its contractor on its new wastewater treatment facility are facing off through attorneys on who is at fault for numerous delays in the building of the multimillion-dollar plant. The city council met in special session online Tuesday morning to decide how to respond to the contractor’s answer to a letter from City Attorney Michael Howe informing them of the city’s deadline of Oct. 1, after which the city would finish the work and adjust the bill. Snohomish attorney Douglas Elston wrote back Sept. 27 on behalf of the con...
Twelve more COVID-19 deaths are confirmed in Grant County, including a woman from Grand Coulee who was in her 70s, county health officials announced last week. Grant County Health District confirmed the deaths in a Sept. 30 news release. The deaths also include two men in their 30s, two men in their 50s, a woman in her 50s, a woman in her 60s, two men in their 70s, and a man in his 90s, all from Moses Lake, as well as a man in his 80s and another in his 90s from Quincy. Eleven of the 12 who died had underlying health conditions, 11 were...
Okanogan County Public Health released on Sept. 21 the first video in a series they are calling “Covid in the County.” The series will be “highlighting the people and organizations in Okanogan County who collaborate to provide healthcare to our community,” according to a notice from OCPH. The first video, titled “The Nurse,” shows Omak’s Mid-Valley Hospital’s acute care wing on a night during September, and shows staff and a patient during the current pandemic. The video is available to view on the Okanogan County Public Health YouTube page at...
Current Councilmember Donald Redfield, who brings with him experience in law enforcement and on various clubs and committees, wants to keep his seat on the Electric City council. After being appointed to a vacant seat in June, Donald Redfield wants to stay in Council Position #1, which is up for election in November. Redfield first lived in Electric City in 2002, then after some time in Grand Coulee, moved back to Electric City in 2013. His wife Lynette Redfield owns Changes Salon in Electric...
Birdie Hensley would like to be back on the Electric City council after just a couple of years being off it. Hensley has served six years total on the council, most recently finishing a four-year term in 2019, which she lost to Bob Rupe in that year's election. Having lived in Electric City for 22 years, Hensley said in an email to The Star that she believes, "If you do not take an active part in city council you do not have any idea what is going on in the community." She said she would like to...
Being that she is unopposed in the election for Grand Coulee Dam School District's Director #1 position, it looks like Shannon Claire Nicholson of Coulee Dam will fill the seat. Carla Marconi, who currently holds it, did not file for reelection. "As a school board member," Nicholson wrote in a candidate statement, "I intend to serve as an open and honest channel of communication between the school district and the community, ensuring that the decisions of the board reflect the diversity of our...
Crows might be afraid to fly through the Coulee - with a scarecrow contest coming to decorate local towns. The 2021 Scarecrow Trail is being held by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and will place scarecrows made by locals at local businesses for people to see and choose their favorite. Those wanting to build a scarecrow have just until Oct. 11 to register with the chamber, and the scarecrows will be displayed from Oct. 16 until Nov. 7 at businesses in Electric City, Grand Coulee, a...
Vaccinations may have helped prevent roughly 3,400 new COVID-19 infections and 500 deaths among seniors in Washington state during the first five months of 2021, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The agency said in a release Tuesday that the study, conducted by researchers with HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), also found that nationally vaccinations were linked to a reduction of approximately 265,000 COVID-19 infections, 107,000 hospitalizations, a...
Grand Coulee Police 9/27 - Someone reported hearing gunfire near Osborn Bay. Police didn’t see anyone there or hear any shots. - Police observed an elderly man lying on the steps outside a Golf Avenue residence. He said he fell as he went outside to check the mail. Medics came and took him to the hospital. 9/28 - Police told a woman they would not force her husband to go to the hospital against his will. - Three subjects were said to have taken down a no-trespassing sign from a residence on Roosevelt Drive and thrown rocks at the r...