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 happens in China, doesn’t always stay in China. In fact, when it comes to tough new garbage and recycling restrictions, they may migrate elsewhere sooner than you might think. For example, Shanghai is one of the world’s largest cities with 26.9 million people. It is suffocating under mountains of trash its residents generate daily. It lacks an effective recycling and disposal system. “Instead, it has trash pickers to sift through the waste, plucking out whatever can be reused,” The Economi...
The next time you tee up your ball at Banks Lake Golf Course, take a second and say a word of thanks to the three Port District commissioners who made it possible. The three, Jim Keene, Gary Haag and Leonard Sanders, deserve some kind of award for how they see the Port District’s obligation to serve the public. Commission President Jim Keene said it nicely when he stated: “The golf course is an important part of our community.” The commissioners have run the course for the past several years, the last two profitably. The Port District poure...
The action at Geezer Beach might be viewed as a deliberate provocation. Tyranny should be opposed at any level. The incremental erosion of personal freedom extends to every citizen. The apparent disregard for public opinion by the bureau creates an adversarial climate. Consider the childlike argument put forth in recent press releases. It begs the question, how many adults occupy positions at the bureau? At some level of authority someone should be able to effect a compromise or rescind the decision. At the very least, somebody should attempt...
Sometimes you just must get in the car and go. Well, if I’m honest, we had business to tend to in Vancouver, Washington, but Karrie had not been since she was a kid and I had never been. As we traveled down the road, we soon were seeing country we had never seen, and it was beautiful and breathtaking, especially along the Oregon and Washington border as we traveled along the Columbia River. A thought popped through my head once that this water had once seen the Grand Coulee Dam and was now h...
This Fourth of July, America will celebrate its 243rdbirthday. Our country has come a long way since 1776, and there is still more progress to be made. Our independence and our patriotism are what set the United States apart from the rest of the world, and we have a lot to be thankful for. As we gather with our family and friends to celebrate our freedom, we should also celebrate some of our nation’s finest treasures: our national parks and public lands. Washington state is fortunate to be home to 15 National Park Service (NPS) parks, which g...
Did you listen to Smokey the Bear? He wasn’t just talking to children; he was talking to you there, mister, flicking your cigarette ashes out of the car, lighting fireworks to enjoy their exploding lights and sounds, mowing the lawn because it needs mowing. I think many Americans have a bit of fire-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the fires in recent years. Has anyone else been on evacuation notice recently? Has anyone else had a vacation marred by smoke? Decided not to go out on the boat because you couldn’t breath? Felt like lockin...
The stated reasons for banning vehicles from geezer beach seem devoid of logic and common sense. The implication is that geezers and geezeretts are hopeless, bumbling, incompetents who need to be protected from themselves. Geezers typically didn’t require government supervision to acquire longevity. They don’t need or want some faceless bureaucrat to be their defacto mommy. Most elderly citizens are well-defined individuals who have successfully navigated through obstacles and adversity for many decades. They have demonstrated sel...
Hopefully, when American and Chinese leaders meet to resolve trade differences, talks won’t break down and result in a new round of tariffs or product restrictions. It is in both nations’ interests for presidents Trump and Xi Jinping to find common ground. Our state has lots riding on those negotiations. The Brookings Institute points out that Washington would be “the worst off” of any state, because 154,000 people are employed in industries that would be affected by new Chinese counter...
This is a different kind of summer for Karrie and me. We have a summer job. It consists of a little 4-month-old that I call granddaughter. But there is more, much more. We start our mornings with cuddles, followed by a bottle and kids’ songs in the background. Of course, the old time favorite “This little light of mine” is on the playlist. After eating time is play time and lots of laughs and giggles. But that song stays in your head all day. And that song got me thinking. This song is talking a...
Why did “the Powers that Be” waste our time by pretending that they wanted to be collaborative members of this community, requesting our input? No one familiar with the situation at Geezer Beach believes for an instant that this decision had anything at all to do with “safety.” Why not tell us what the actual agenda is, so that we may address it through appropriate channels? Friends say, ”It’s done … get over it.” It’s not “done;” it was never “started.” I have to feel that the request for public input was a complete sham. Disappointed, Frank...
Gentlemen, I am writing to express my gratitude for your removal of one of the last remaining recreation sites for the elderly in this area. I am sure all of the incapacitated and handicapped people will appreciate this as well. Incidentally, I would like to compare the safety incidences reported at Geezer Beach versus USBR safety records. Thank you again from one of the original geezers! Bob Poch Resident of Coulee Dam...
Why not hassle the locals? It’s been a while since the last time, and it seems we need a lame excuse to get back at the people for welcoming us here. Sound familiar? It should, if you have lived in the Grand Coulee Dam area for any length of time, you’ll recall some of the more memorable acts by this capricious organization. There have been many arbitrary moves by the Bureau, but I want to select a few as a reminder as to how those in control could give a rip about the people who live here. First, going back to the 1960s, in order to raise the...
A recent report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture examines the impact of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in rural America. Widely viewed as a program that helps combat urban poverty and food insecurity, SNAP has seen a greater percentage of utilization in rural areas since the late 1990s. SNAP participation grew exponentially, quadrupling between 2001 and 2013. This growth coincided with the Great Recession and its aftermath. Participation peaked in 2013, when more than 47 million Americans received assistance, but has...
If anyone recently had to be stopped in the construction zone, as new electrical is being installed on the bridge in Coulee Dam, you might have noticed a certain flagger. You already know the one I am talking about. Her name is Lylah and she is the one that gives us the parade wave and million-dollar smile every time we go through. I do mean every time. Her positive energy instantly makes my day a better day. I have also heard others saying she makes an impact in their day. We all know that her...
One of the least threatening places you can go is a beach in late afternoon where a couple of old anglers are quietly staring at the water, waiting for a line to move. If anybody understands the unwritten rule, the need for common courtesy, the paramount importance of everyone doing his or her part to maintain the norm, it’s people who like to sit quietly and fish. That could have something to do with why no instances of unsafe or uncivil behavior come to mind, over the last several decades, at the place that has come to be known as Geezer B...
Thank you, Grand Coulee area and beyond, for coming to my scream for help, to try and help me locate my best, four-legged, friend, Love Bug, at the lower North Dam area. My heart is still broken knowing that she became a feast for a predator, but I pray that whatever happened was quick and painless. But my heart swells with love and appreciation for all the wonderful people who came out and spent hours helping me look for her. People in my life know how important my dogs are to me, and for so many who came out to help look, both those I know...
Two Gun Willie was a featured attraction at Silver City, Idaho. The old mining town had seen better days, and so had “two gun.” Willie was born William James Hawes in 1876, right in the town, that in its heyday had some 2,500 residents. Willie became the guardian of the ghost town after mining diminished and the houses wore out and slowly tumbled to the ground. Silver City is 75 miles from Boise, the final 23 miles from Murphy on a dirt-and-clay road that you want to stay away from when it’s been raining. Murphy is the county seat of Owyhe...
This year’s graduating class, like many classes before them, had to sit in front of an “Oral Board” with community members that had looked over the educational portfolios the seniors had been keeping for four years. They then asked them questions, got to know them, gave them constructive advice and sent them out the door with a positive statement and a smile on their faces. Before I ever worked for Lake Roosevelt, I was one of those community members who volunteered my own time to sit with a gra...
You may not be ready for next year’s elections, but in political time, they’re coming up fast. Which means that at some point you’re almost certain to hear someone announce, sternly, “I. Will. Not. Compromise.” And if you’re there in the crowd and agree with his or her position, you may even join the applause. Which is understandable, but let me tell you why, far from applauding that line, I shy from politicians who use it. In a democracy, being able to compromise — and knowing how — is a core skill for governing. Shouting “No Compromise!...
On Sunday at Spring Canyon Cemetery, I was out visiting my husband’s flag and family. I saw the most amazing thing happen. There was a couple putting roses on headstones that had no one to do it for them. I sat and watched them and cried thinking how this would never happen in a big city. I want to thank that couple for letting me enjoy a little more than just a sad day for me. Thank you again, M. Townsend...
The perceived threat to public safety by individuals fishing at Geezer Beach might be mitigated if their attitudes could be redirected. It is conceivable that they may develop an awareness of public image. Notoriety might be attended by a sense of societal responsibility. Activities such as using canes to whack interlopers who encroach on preferred fishing spots, and rolling abandoned vehicles into the lake, may become less frequent or cease altogether. Societal pressures may result in a transition from miscreants to community role models. A...
The short answer to the headline – yes, it does rain plastic. Take a look around, plastic is everywhere. It’s in our everyday lives; it is, in fact, omnipresent. It is in our rain too. Plastic is an environmental challenge that is piling up globally. About 300 million tons of plastic is manufactured annually. Landfills are full of plastic and it will be there for a long time. Our oceans are increasingly becoming a type of catchment for plastics of all kinds – mini-continents. Two recent studi...
The heat came into the Coulee like someone opened the oven door to peek at the cookies and the furnace blast hit them at full force. And just like that, summer arrived … and so did everything that surrounds the sunny days of summer in the containment of the Coulee walls. We hit the 90s on the gauge, and boats, snakes, mosquitoes, sprinklers and out-of-state plates arrived. Parking lots full, ice cream shop open and lasers flickering on the concrete blockage of the Columbia. Summer has a...
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) motto is, “Caring for the land and serving people.” That is exactly what the students of USFS Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers do. With 25 locations across the country, these Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) provide skills and job training to “at-risk” young people who need a hand up to find gainful employment or receive their high school GED. Students are taught real skills they use to serve and bring economic prosperity to their local communities and our national forests. Central Washington is luck...
Considering the fact that the lowering of the speed limit from 40 to 30 mph on a short strip of three-lane from Grand Coulee to the Grand Coulee Project offices had nothing to do with construction safety concerns, the Bureau of Reclamation’s suggestion that it should own a portion of B Street should be considered, with conditions. The real reason the bureau lowered that speed limit on the portion of State Route 155 that it owns was to make legal what it has been doing since it took delivery of a couple dozen all-electric utility vehicles t...