News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 551 - 575 of 3471
What have we learned since the 2020 election? No matter how ill-founded the lie, if continually repeated for two years--the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen--many people will believe it. Repeating lies has been utilized, sometimes successfully, by presidential candidates before. But previously it’s been used before election, not continually repeated for two years thereafter, never to subvert our democracy, and terminated with electoral results accepted. Besides promoting the Big Lie, Cathy McMorris Rodgers has successfully...
When I was in grade school, my best friend was Jon Skovlin. His father ran the local Penny’s store, and sometimes I worked with Jon and put together trikes, bikes, and wagons. The store sold a lot of these. Jon’s dad would pay us for assembling the toys. That’s when I decided that I didn’t want to do that kind of work later in life. That was kind of funny because my dad could do just about anything. Raising a family during the Depression, you didn’t just hire people to do tasks you didn’t know how to do. My dad learned how to do things by n...
Christmastime is the season of hope and joy — hope that even when times are dark, we can find the light and joy that follows. The greatest gift the world has received is the birth of Christ and his salvation of humanity. The Christmas season is a time to reflect, to prepare, to spend time with family, and to celebrate. During this time, we must also be grateful and remember the contributions and sacrifices our forefathers and military service members endured to ensure our freedoms. We are blessed to have the freedom to celebrate the season o...
The Holiday Season is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving lost loved ones. Evergreen wreaths placed on veterans’ graves across America help to ease that pain. More than 2.5 million red-ribboned wreaths were placed by thousands of volunteers, including many family members, on December 17. Those wreaths are made from clippings of balsam firs dedicated to deceased veterans. Each tree growing in Maine has the “dog tags” identifying the fallen service member. The trees are living year...
We were on one of our vacation trips to Montana, Wyoming and Yellowstone Park and stopped for a time in Cody, Wyoming. We were looking for a place to stay because we wanted to take in the museum there and go to the night rodeo. We saw the sign for the Irma Hotel and decided to try our luck there for a bed for the night. When we asked if there was an available room, the clerk said the Buffalo Bill suite was available. It would afford two beds since our son Paul was along. We immediately took the suite. It was really two rooms along with a...
As we near the end of 2022, I want to take a moment to look back on some of the work I’ve done in Congress for our district. From passing landmark legislation to securing critical funds for projects in our communities, we’ve accomplished a lot. And as we enter into the new Congress, I’m committed to building off these successes and continuing to fight for Central Washington’s priorities. As a member on the Appropriations Committee, I work to secure funding for much-needed projects in Central Washington while ensuring our taxpayer dollars are be...
The $5.4 billion expansion of the Panama Canal is paying off for East Coast and Gulf of Mexico seaports. It is putting pressure on the Pacific Ocean-based terminals to be more competitive. The enlarged waterway opened in June 2016 allowing much larger container ships to transit between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Ships carrying up to 14,800 containers can now bypass Washington and other West Coast docks and deliver containers directly to cities from Houston to New York. The older canal...
Grand Coulee Dam's first concrete pour was 87 years ago last week. Congratulations engineers, builders and all who made the dream a reality....
We recognize and honor physical bravery, but we seldom recognize moral courage. Both physical bravery and moral courage benefit society. We should give those who exhibit exceptional moral courage the recognition that they deserve. An appropriate annual date for Moral Courage Day in America is the first day of January when we reflect on the past and the future. The first two citizens who should be honored for moral courage are: • Michael Richard Pence Vice President of the United States • Bradford Jay Raffensperger Georgia Secretary of State Bot...
Looking over weather data from my personal weather station of the past five winters, December, January and February, were interesting, though no trends are revealed. A half decade of data does not create a trend. It's just not enough data to crunch and draw some conclusions. I mention this because it's arbitrary to make a statement about climate solely based on short-term weather observations. I've included a chart with data for low temperature and snowfall for the past five years. As you can...
I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. Ruby Mountain isn’t some rugged granite peak. Rather, it is a round-topped mountain in Nevada with a beautiful trail to the top. While it is over 10,000 feet in elevation, you can drive your car up to about 7,000 feet. I was looking in Sunset Magazine and came across a short item on a bed and breakfast located in the Ruby Mountains in Nevada. Looking it up, I saw it was close to Elko, where my wife and I were married. I had been wondering where we should go on a short vacation, so I called and made res...
To help prepare students for future careers in fields from chemistry and earth sciences to computer engineering and physics, schools in Central Washington and across the country are emphasizing STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education programs. And as the home to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Hanford Site, Energy Northwest, and numerous other science and technology startups, Central Washington’s students have prime examples of the many rewarding careers in computer science, technology, research, or e...
There have been a few letters to the editor of The Star newspaper regarding the unofficial “announcement” of Dollar General Corporation being interested in establishing a store in Grand Coulee. I say unofficial because the origin of this statement was made by a non-employee of Dollar General Corporation. The corporation, which headquartered in Tennessee and was founded in 1939, currently operates over 18,000 stores in 47 states. Committing a bit of time, I searched the internet for bac...
I applaud Mr. Darryl Hackworth for his ambition and eye for opportunity — certainly that is part of our forward thrusting culture. However, I do believe there are some important facts to deliberate upon when considering inviting chain stores into our small community. Question #1: How well do such chain businesses as Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar support small towns and urban neighborhoods? Answer #1: Research reveals that in smaller, more economically vulnerable areas these chain stores actually add to economic distress. Q...
We shouldn’t need a date on the calendar to remind us to be thankful. I am thankful all year long for my family. While they are scattered from Louisiana to north of Everett, it is like they are with me all year long. On Thanksgiving there were a dozen who made it home to have a great dinner and report on a lot of the things they did since we were last together. They brave the weather to come, and make the long and sometimes tedious drives so we can be together. It isn’t often that we are all together at the same time, but frequent calls kee...
Last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that distillate inventories (which include diesel) were at their lowest levels since 1951—currently we only have a 27-day supply remaining. That means if all production is halted and we maintain our current usage, we will run out of diesel fuel in 27 days. And while this shortage impacts folks in rural communities the most, every single community will feel the effects. Farmers rely on diesel to fuel the equipment to harvest your food. We rely on diesel trucks to transport the f...
The good news is, despite higher prices, inflation and safety concerns, more Christmas shoppers are browsing on-line but making in-store purchases. The National Retail Federation (NRF) reported this year an estimated 166.3 million people visited stores from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday----an 8 million increase from last year. It is the highest estimate since NRF began tracking this data in 2017. The good news extends to on-line sales. E-commerce retail revenues this year are projected...
The powers that Google and Facebook have over economic and political power in society - especially over the news industry - has caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington, DC. After a close election and many worries over the quality of public debate, many ask if social media have played a role in the misinformation that erodes our free press and plagues our democracy. Nowhere is this power more daunting than in the social media giants' use of news organizations' reporting, which the...
As a longtime resident of Coulee Dam, I have concerns as to why the town of Coulee Dam and the Police Department are negotiating to take over the handling of police services for the Electric City area. Coulee Dam is already down one officer and will have to hire another one to cover Electric City. Crime is now rising in the Coulee Dam area. I unfortunately found this out the hard way over (the weekend before last), as my home was burglarized. In the early hours of Monday morning, while I slept, person/s broke into my house and went through my...
I agree with Janis Heuvel’s letter to the editor from Nov.16th concerning Dollar General. I feel it would be detrimental to our community and especially our local businesses to allow a Dollar General to come to our area. It would essentially put the Coulee Wall Variety Store and the local residents who own and operate it out of business. There would also be a negative impact to our grocery stores, Coulee Hardware, and even take business away from our gas stations for convenience items. If anyone local cares to shop at one, they are now as c...
We’ve been visiting the area for 15 years and recently purchased land for our retirement home. The culture of the GC community is reminiscent of the small towns we grew up in and we intend to get involved. Reading about the plan to allow Dollar (General) to invade the area was dismaying! Not only do these stores undermine local merchant stability (just like Walmart) but they are notorious for L&I infractions! Corrine Behme...
While I was at the Citizen Newspaper in Bothell we were purchased by the Persis Corporation. They owned a number of newspapers and we were placed under the daily paper they owned in Bellevue. It was 1987. It created a lot of problems and opportunities. Instead of printing on our own small press, we started printing our paper in Bellevue. That’s where the opportunities came in. One of the Persis executives, Phil Gialanella, who was headquartered in Hawaii, would come over about once a month and hold a big show and tell time. He was instrumental...
In Central Washington, we have so much to be thankful for. This Thanksgiving, as we come together with our friends and family, don’t forget to take a moment to give thanks to our hard-working farmers, processors, and food bank workers throughout Central Washington who work to provide the food on our plates. From the turkey to the stuffing, our farmers probably played a part in your Thanksgiving dinners. Many of the potatoes, onions, winegrapes and other Thanksgiving favorites you consume were grown right here in Central Washington, making up a...
The 1982 Raider Volleyball Team had a terrific season this year. Front row - from left: Kim Vordahl, Janae Parker, Dawn Zimmerman, Nancy Kuiper,Deanna Hamilton, Shelley Brashears, Brenda Boyd; back - Coach L.C. Curtis, Billie Shelby, Rose Somday, Lisa Loe, Jinger Higginbotham., Not pictured Rhonda Erickson Assistant Coach, LeaAnnSnyder and Kendra McDermott....
I read the recent Star news article appearing in the October 26th issue of the Star. It was reported, at the October 18th Grand Coulee City Council meeting, during the public comment period an attendee, Darryl Hackworth, spoke. Mr. Hackworth said he had been working with “Dollar General” regarding setting up a retail shop in Grand Coulee on property located on Federal Way, behind where it intersects with Midway Ave. As an area resident, I personally feel the possibility of a Dollar General locating in Grand Coulee would be deleterious to our...