News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Recently, we have heard a lot about different people taking a stand. These people from different backgrounds, different educations, different financial statuses and different beliefs have drawn a line in the sand and are fighting for freedom, political views, multiple causes and basic human rights. How they do this has been different and socially inspiring to some but also irritating and offensive to others. When you take a stand for whatever you choose to fight for, it is important to be...
Too often, elected officials overlook the cumulative costs of regulations, taxes and fees on taxpayers; however, it comes back to bite them hard when people move or take matters into their own hands by initiative. Consider what is happening in high-tax and -cost-of-living states, such as California, New York and Connecticut. Florida recorded the highest level of net domestic migration in 2018 and added 1.2 million people from other states since 2010. “Many Florida transplants are retirees and t...
Seaton's Grove, seven miles downstream from Grand Coulee Dam, was named for my grandfather, Sam Seaton, who had a small farm here after construction of the dam forced him to move from his homestead at the dam site. There were several ferries on the upper Columbia, including the Keller ferry; Tom (later Elmer) Seaton's ferry near Plum; the Grant County ferry, better known as Sam Seaton's ferry, at what would be the site of the big dam; after construction began the Tuttle or Government ferry...
They have done it again! The Colville Business Council, in their infinite wisdom, have once again tried to help by passing resolution # 2019-569 and disrupting the lives of the employees. The four-day work week and ten-hour day has been tried once last century and again in 2009. They failed. There is a reason they failed. Because of the undue hardship on employees. TERO should have been the first to speak out against it, but their silence is deafening. They are supposed to protect the employees against unethical and unlawful acts by employers....
Try taking a three-week vacation to Houston with four of your children in your car. Actually, I can’t say enough what a positive experience it was. I had determined where we would be each night and made reservations so the overnight stay wouldn’t be a problem. I made sure that there was something to do at the end of each day’s trip and made sure that every motel had a swimming pool. A variety of tourist attractions included, in part, the Morman Temple in Salt Lake City; Bryce National Park; the Grand Canyon; Tombstone, Arizona; Carlsbad Caver...
It is that time of year again, and I recently sat down with one of the stars at Lake Roosevelt to give you a sneak peek into a wonderful young lady’s life and future. I met LorRinda Richardson a long time ago at a PTA event, where she volunteered and kept me laughing the whole time. She has become a confident woman now, but her sense of humor is still there. We started our conversation with me asking about her senior year so far. “Um, not too bad, considering I have already been accepted to two...
September 2, 1938 was the day that the Grand Coulee Dam car skip was completed for use. The $30,000 incline allowed fully loaded railroad cars to be lowered from the regular government railroad, at the west end of the dam, down to the trestle deck spanning the top of the dam construction area. The skip connected the two levels that were 130 feet apart in height with a 200-foot-long incline. Measured another way, the grade was a shockingly steep 80%. Railroad cars would be rolled on a platform...
A wave of protests is roiling Moscow. Millions of people, young and old, have been crowding the streets in Hong Kong. If democracy is on the ropes worldwide, as many voices currently insist, you’d have a hard time making the case from these headlines. In fact, at a time of concern and, in many quarters, cynicism about democracy and its prospects, they remind us of a basic truth: people want a say in how they’re governed. They prefer living in democracies. And when they don’t feel the popular will can find expression, at some point condi...
With over 300 different commodities, Washington state has one of the most diverse agriculture industries in the country, and we are recognized around the world as a top producer of specialty crops. From apples and tree fruit to hops and wine grapes, Washington has cultivated a unique community of growers and producers who are leading the country in agriculture research and innovation. Promoting specialty crop research should be a no brainer. The Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) supports critical research being done on everything from...
Many years ago, a reporter asked George Weyerhaeuser, then CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co., why his company spent so much time and money informing its workers, public officials and people about its business of growing trees and converting those trees into lumber and paper products. His answer was simple: “People need to know what we do and why what we do is important to them.” He believed if people and elected officials understood Weyerhaeuser, they would make thoughtful decisions based on facts. To Weyerhaeuser, there was no other option. Log...
There is a historical marker in Northrup Canyon that talks briefly about the murder that took place in 1903. The story is a bit deeper. In the mid-1890s John W. and Caty Northrup moved into the canyon. Together through hard work they created a wonderful orchard and irrigation system. With John W.'s health failing, the couple moved into Coulee City and leased the land including the orchard to another gentleman by the name of Isreal Sanford. After John W. died, Caty set up a homestead in Barker...
Whether you’re lamenting the end of summer or so glad it’s finally fall (which officially starts Sept. 23), events this week offer great seasonal transitioners. The Harvest Festival and Run the Dam now mark a place on the calendar for many that signals us to take a deep breath, appreciate the weekend, then dive into what’s ahead through December. The beer garden has become a great place to meet friends and feels great to those finishing the only race that takes you across the Grand Coulee Dam. (Many like to get a beer at 11 a.m. on Satur...
Everyone should come to the Electric City Puppet Show before it’s over. You’ll have a chance to watch the Puppet Master work the Head Puppet and the other five. So far, the Puppet Master has gotten all the puppets to close a road, buy a car, remodel city hall, put up speed signs, put in a park and sidewalks! But have the citizens of Electric City asked for this? At the last puppet show, the Head Puppet did something totally out of character. He made a decision and the other five fell in line with that decision. Once again, it was orc...
It is great to see people interested in city government and who want to run for a city position. In too many elections in the past, it has been a one-candidate selection. But remember, change is not always the solution to a problem. Electric City citizens voted blindly five years ago for change, and now it was causing lots of tension within the town. There are a couple of “meet and greet” days scheduled in October; go and listen and hear what changes are coming in the future. City government and state government and national government hav...
Across the country, we have seen communities and patients struggle to access and afford healthcare. In rural areas, this struggle is intensified by longer distances and the remote nature of our communities. Living in rural America, we recognize emergency services aren’t always just a phone call away. Many of us travel many miles between our homes and the medical facilities that provide primary and long-term care — not to mention specialized treatments, which are often provided across the mountains in Seattle. For example, I’ve heard stori...
Where would anyone be without the support staff? My wife and I spent two summers as part of the support staff for firefighters. We worked for Okay Cascade, a firm out of Bothell, that supplied food, laundry and shower services for firefighters. We worked mainly in Washington, but had a 20-day stint on a fire in eastern Oregon. We spent most of our work time in food services and prepared food for sometimes hundreds of firefighters and their support staffs. Probably the largest number was in the Oregon fire where we fed some 1,500 fire fighters...
In the 1930s, the coulee walls behind Electric City and Delano were being prospected for gold and silver. These deposits occurred near the base of the Coulee Wall, in granite, overlain by basalt. The land was owned by James O. Black of Electric City and Joseph Rosauer of Opportunity Washington. Rosauer was a Spokane grocer whose family would form the beginnings of the Rosauer's Supermarket chain in 1934. These men would form a mining company and develop a mine called the "Black-Rosauers Mine,...
The recent discussion about a new jail for Grant County, illegal drug use and the criminal actions created by drug users, focused my attention on a policy issue that the nation needs to be talking about. Certainly, if the nation won’t, the states should. Drug addiction is a real societal disease that has high costs in human lives, property loss and community resources. Smoke it, inject it or swallow it, and more is needed to keep the fix going. The fix wares off and the user scurries around, d...
A new jail to house addicts will surely make those Heathens turn clean! No. Stop with the ignorant way of thinking. If you believe that putting addicts in jail will suddenly make them non-addicts, then you must also believe that unicorns are real. Addiction is a plague that infects communities; it’s a cancer running through the bodies of those it affects. How many smokers have thought, “Man, if I could just put this cigarette down and never light another one,” only to strike up the next one a short time later? Or how about the alcoholic sitti...
Ted got it right This is my first letter to the editor! I read Ted Piccolo’s letter about the Electric City “Town Administrator shutting down a perfectly good street.” He hit the nail direct on the head! Three cheers for Ted. I couldn’t have said it nearly as well. I thought about a sit-in but they moved the equipment. I just hope the fire trucks have a direct way through when there is a fire. Thank you, Ted, for speaking out for the rest of us. Evelyn Russell This is the first time I have written to any newspaper. I just want to say Thank Y...
Since hunting season is getting started and the sportsmen of the rifle are heading out soon to their favorite grounds, I thought I would tell you all my favorite hunting story. Of course, I must change the names to protect the innocent and not so innocent. So, let’s call one of the hunters Bob, (not me) and the other LeRoy (really not me). They were getting ready for the big late hunt in Ferry County. It was an “any buck” in the section they were hunting but there were only a few public hunti...
In North Central Washington, the Columbia River is the cornerstone of life. But even more important is the infrastructure that makes up the Columbia Basin Project. Grand Coulee dam provides electricity, flood control, and recreation and the ditches and canals deliver water to fields — all critical to the economic vitality of our communities. In the 1930s, President Roosevelt had the vision. The Columbia Basin Project would bring families to settle the land, make it productive, and supply the country with food. At the same time our country n...
Repeating history that failed us is not the answer In response to the opinion piece about addicts, and a new jail being built: There’s a few layers to her argument that I just can’t agree with here ... absolutely no empathy, for one. I’m not saying feel sorry, coddle, or enable those stuck in the grips of their addiction, but to not see that there’s still a human being underneath the dysfunction is when hope is truly lost. I was given multiple chances, lessened sentences, deferred prosecutions, and treatment options because the judicial system...
Well, I think Grant County needs to take a trip to Clark County (Vancouver, WA) and spend a couple days there and get as much information as they can from what they have been and currently are doing to lower the recidivism rate — the programs they have in place to help addicts overcome their addictions to become a productive member of the community. I do not see this in our county or anywhere near us. Michael Dennis...
So, Electric City politicians and town administrator are going to do it. They are actually going to shut down a perfectly good (and heavily used) street in order to build a park that nobody wants. They are going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on this idiotic project seemingly out of sheer spite. Think about that. Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent AND shutting down a street. I mean it is one thing to spend money to FIX a city street, but noooo … Electric City is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to shut a street down. I...