News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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We are in unprecedented times. The coronavirus outbreak has had a profound impact on the American people and our economy, but – together – we will make sure that impact is not a lasting one. As many businesses temporarily transition operations online, essential employees continue to practice safe operations, and our healthcare providers and first responders continue to selflessly serve on the front lines, keeping our families, friends, and neighbors safe and healthy. I am working in Congress to ensure our hospitals and clinics, small bus... Full story
Everything depends on everything else, it seems, so stopping one part of our economy, our society, affects every other part. We’re all so interconnected. That’s partly why Gov. Inslee’s earlier hopes that people would “just do the right thing” were dashed. In more populous parts of the state, the slowdown he ordered was interpreted at a vacation by so many that recreation sites were flooded with cars and people. Even outdoor sites were reportedly impossible places to accomplish “social distancing.” And so the order announced Monday evenin...
I just read a story that some 1,400 communities lost their newspapers in the last year. That’s to say nothing of papers publishing less frequently. These communities will feel the loss. People get their news now from a lot of sources like cable news and social media sources. The Star newspaper has been lucky so far in that a steady stream of readers choose to come by the office each Wednesday so they don’t have to wait for delivery. That’s a prime example of a good readership base. Newspapers use revenue from display, classified ads and circu...
During this time our patience can be tested to the extreme. With social media being flooded with everything from right to left, raging toilet paper shoppers, constant updates and, yes, even the sadness of cancelled weddings, funerals and appointments, we find ourselves in a social isolation aquarium not really knowing what is going on. The only thing we know for sure is that we are supposed to be separated and isolated. That can bring challenges of their own. We find ourselves in a time that can only be compared to television shows or movies ab...
Honestly, it’s not you, it’s us. As these extremely inconvenient — no, let’s call them what they are — horrid, restrictions on our social freedom clamp down on society and commerce in favor of health, that’s a concept some either don’t get, don’t want to get, or just refuse to believe, and that affects us all. Whether they’re just delayed in getting the information because they have lives not tied to any media, or they’re just stubborn because they think this another Y2K-like false alarm, or they just can’t deal with the stress and want to pret... Full story
By now, you have most likely received a postcard or letter in your mailbox inviting you to participate in the 2020 Census. Set forth as an effort to count everyone in the U.S., the data collected as part of the census impacts everyone who is, or is not, counted. Before your mailer filters to the bottom of your to-do stack, take a moment to recognize why completing the census is so important, especially for residents of rural communities and states. At its most basic level, data collected through the census ensures equal representation in...
I spend some time looking over weather and climate research sites. Generally, there’s something interesting that captures my attention. These are things that I like to share with you. Recently, I came across the term “flash drought.” I had never heard this term before. The National Weather Service’s (NWS) Climate Prediction Center defines a flash drought as “an event during which an area experiences degradation by two or more drought categories in a four-week period, based on the U.S. Drought M...
If you think the run on toilet paper is just an American thing, think again. On March 10, Business Insider (BI) reported: “The spread of the coronavirus has brought with it panic-buying of food and household essentials, despite the attempts of governments to discourage stockpiling. But no item has made more headlines than the humble toilet roll.” “From buying enough toilet rolls to make a throne, to printing out blank newspaper pages to serve as extra toilet paper, people have had a seemi...
The Coulee Dam Service Station at the southeast corner of what is now Roosevelt Way and River Drive had been a Standard Oil station; but after my parents, Henry and Margaret (Seaton) Taschereau bought it at the end of 1942, it became Texaco. They sold it and moved to Coulee City in 1953. Just up and across the street, where the Coulee House Inn & Suites is now located, was a Ford garage, and just east of that was a theater owned by Oliver Hartman, who had moved to the area about 1936, when his...
Tillmanville? You won’t find it on a map. But if you are looking for it on a map try Elmer City. Elmer City could just as well have been named Tillmanville. The Tillman family has, and continues to be, a leading factor in this tiny village. Through the years, members of the family have held positions in town government and do so today. Mayor Jesse Tillman is currently getting his feet wet running town government. Former town clerk was Renae Tillman. And currently, the public works director is (you guessed it) another Tillman, this one ...
When I was a tyke growing up with my brother Ed and sisters Betty and Anita on Roosevelt Drive, Grand Coulee didn’t have a community park. There was an empty field across the road from our house that we and the other neighborhood kids would play in. Although it was an empty field, it has its drawbacks. It was full of weeds, rocks, a clump of sagebrush here and there, and now and then a rattlesnake. I think the Pachosa family owned the field. Later, when a row of houses was built in the field, there was still room enough for us to play. Bob Pach...
To the Grand Coulee Plow Crew: We all, who live on Wetzel Street in Grand Coulee, thank you so very much for keeping our road open and safe. You people had a hard job but made it look so easy at the same time. Once again, thank you. M. Townsend And all the neighbors...
Think back to our younger days, a time where we had to find a summer job. It seemed a requirement at the time, and for many parents it was a requirement. The reason I bring this up is because the teens of Coulee Country are once again asking the question, “Where can I get a job this summer?” It is becoming harder and harder for the youth of our area to find summer employment in the area. There are many reasons for this, but part of the hardship for the kids is they do not know where or how to...
Nobody knows how deep the impact of the coronavirus will be, but one thing that it is destined to test is how effectively people will work from home. Washington is at the point of the spear. Of the 22 U.S. deaths attributed to COVID-19, there are 19 in our state. To avoid further exposure, employers are encouraging telecommuting, canceling meetings, events and travel, and, taking extra caution to sanitize work locations. Seattle-based Alaska Airlines is among the carriers taking additional...
The role of a journalist is to be the eyes and ears for the readers. So while at a school board meeting, city council meeting, events, and so on, things that people may not have the time to go to, or don’t have a large enough interest in going to, my job is to listen for what’s interesting and present that to the readers. What are school or city officials saying? What are they doing? What laws are they passing? What changes are happening? What are people saying during the public comments part of the meeting? Public meetings are on the rec...
This week I am bring you another senior from the halls of Lake Roosevelt High School. My interview was a little different this time because I sat down with Jordan Flett in front of the entire Journalism class at LR to interview her to give them a taste of the interview process. So here is a little bit of my very personal interview with “Air” Jordan. As I start all my interviews with the seniors, I asked her about her year so far, and she opened up immediately in her shy voice that got bol...
Don Brunell’s recent article titled “Dams are the Northwest’s Flood Busters” (Star, Jan. 21, 2020) relies on fearmongering, rather than facts, to make his point. Brunell takes a circuitous route through disasters in the Midwest, conjuring up images of flooded farms and billions of dollars in losses, before getting to his real point: his belief that restoring the Snake River to improve salmon and steelhead runs isn’t worth the untold natural disasters that would impact all of us living and recreating in its flood plain. Here’s the problem: th...
Washington and Oregon lawmakers want to end their legislative sessions; however, accounting for the costs of carbon emissions is a major roadblock. In Salem, rural Republican senators are boycotting the session and thereby denying majority Democrats a quorum to vote on a “cap and trade” bill. The measure calls for an 80-percent state reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2050. The system would be similar to existing programs in California and some Canadian provinces. The state would set a cap o...
Sometimes the foundation of an institution can be shaken. The Lake Roosevelt Raiders have lost two very important educators and friends this year, but their impact in the community goes way deeper than a school setting. These two have written the history books when it comes to our little community, and their impact is felt by generations and distance that goes beyond the walls that surround us. If you ever went into the old Flo’s Café, needed a piece of glass or were looking for a piece of an...
Electric City will soon have a new city clerk. Peggy Nevsimal is leaving her post as executive director of the local chamber of commerce to accept another community challenge. It was a wise move by the council there. Peggy has been head of the chamber for eight years, moving it from a largely information center to a festival-centered organization. Peggy brings with her a knowledge of the community. She knows most everyone, and most know her. She is a great people person whose influence will be felt in Electric City. While the two tasks are...
Last week, we visited the Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. It is part of our National Parks “bucket list.” The trip was a real eye-opener. The Canyon is spectacular. It is hard to believe over a billion years ago it was flat ground and covered by ocean waters. In ancient times, there was too much water. Today, it is a deep gorge with a ribbon of water running through it. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, over a mile deep and 10 to 18 miles across. The famed Colorado River run...
Our nation values those who have come before us, and that includes our seniors and retirees. Past generations have paved the way for future growth, and I truly believe we owe them the respect — and the benefits — they have earned. Despite my gray beard, I am not a member of the greatest generation, but I am proud to be an ally to seniors across Central Washington. While I believe we must balance the federal budget, many seniors have worked their whole lives to pay into the Social Security and Medicare systems with the promise that those fun...
With the Second World War over, work started on the creation of a 27-mile-long reservoir from Electric City to Coulee City. The old highway ran down the Upper Coulee floor, and a new replacement route would have to be built. To avoid being flooded, the new highway would cling to the southern coulee wall. This road was named Secondary State Highway 2F and ran through several condemned farmyards as it made its way across the coulee. Just outside Coulee City, the ground at the base of the east wall was unstable due to a series of unpredictable...
Citizens in Electric City discussing the devil-containing details of park financing in Electric City are right to push the subject, on both sides of the discussion. Councilmember Cate Slater is right when she says there is “not a lot of stuff” here to entice families to want to move here. Ian Turner is right when he notes the population is getting younger and that should factor into decisions about how to develop the city. Councilmember Brian Buche is right when he says that “has to be something that’s manageable.” Wayne Fowler is right whe...
The 2020 race for the White House is heating. It’s shaping up to be a referendum on America’s market-based economic system. The central question: is government or the private sector going to provide our basic products and services? Last May, a Monmouth University Poll found most Americans say socialism is not compatible with American values, but only four in 10 hold a decidedly negative opinion of it. Americans are divided into two dominant camps – 29 percent have a positive view of capit...