News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Back in 2019, I partnered with Douglas County PUD to sponsor and pass a bill authorizing Public Utility Districts to produce and sell renewable hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that can be created from a process that uses electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water. I worked closely that year with Douglas County PUD because of their interest in using surplus hydropower to produce hydrogen. The bill’s passage allows for the production and sale of “renewable hydrogen,” which is defined as hydrogen created from an emissions-free elec...
I think that opening our school district to face-to-face learning is one of the biggest mistakes we could have made to start with. We start out allowing 25 per 100,000, then 75 and now 200. Who are they trying to kid? What is this actually doing aside from adding more risk to all of our lives. How many weeks — well, more like days — has it been since our state governor was begging people not to gather for Thanksgiving, so what has changed from then till now? My understanding is that cases are increasing not dropping, so the district is now wil...
Roger, I enjoyed reading your (column). For one thing, I’ve always enjoyed your readable style, but also, in this case your pointing out once again how difficult it is to deal with the agencies of the Federal Government. Having grown up in Grand Coulee, then returning for 13 years, I have been struck by the lack of humanity and/or transparency of the Bureau. I swear that I could list a litany of ‘grievances’ which they have shrugged off in the last 20 years. In my early years, the Bureau was a strong supporter of the community in a myriad of wa...
Once upon a time there was this rock along the Snake River just out of Melba, Idaho. It was an Indian map rock where ancient natives had etched the route of the Snake River along with other helpful information. While a reporter for the Idaho Free Press, I did a story on the rock map that later was picked up by the Salt Lake Tribune magazine. When living in the Boise Valley, I had visited the rock many times. Friends of mine, Myron and Gwen Finkbeiner, reported to me recently that they went out to see the rock and it was gone. Myron has been...
By mid-September, there was no one left to call. The West, with its thousands of federal, state, and local fire engines and crews, had been tapped out. Wildfires across the West had consumed the labor of all available wildland firefighters, and though there were fewer fires burning, those fires were larger and more difficult to contain. They consumed 13 million acres -— an area almost the size of West Virginia. In the midst of the 2020 wildfire season, John Phipps, the Forest Service’s deputy chief, told Congress that this “was an extra...
The final days of the 2020 legislative session last March presented some real challenges. The Legislature worked diligently to wrap up its session as some of the first cases of COVID-19 in the United States were confirmed in our state. Lawmakers approved all three state budgets (operating, transportation, and capital) along with a $200 million COVID-19 response bill. In those final session days and in the days that would soon follow, the governor began issuing his statewide executive orders. One of the earliest included a statewide closure of...
I just can’t shake it! I have a suggestion for Bureau officials concerning the stalled fire station. It would be incredible if someone from the Bureau would step up to the plate and tell the story of what went wrong at the fire station, what this is costing us taxpayers and what will be done about it. Dream on! Transparency ...
Native American history is engrained in the culture of the Pacific Northwest. Throughout our region, we are reminded of Tribal culture and heritage which greatly influence our way of life. November is Native American Heritage Month, and in Central Washington, we have a rich, storied Tribal history that should be recognized. The federal government has a unique relationship with Native American tribes as we work in tandem to respect their culture, traditions, and treaty rights. The Confederated Bands and Tribes of the Yakama Nation (Yakama...
Like every person who attended high school in France, I studied philosophy in my senior year. I learned about Spinoza, Rousseau, Descartes, Voltaire, and many others. One quote from Voltaire has always impressed me, especially considering the context of his time where freedom of expression was not the norm: “I may not agree with your opinion, but I will fight to my death so you have the right to express it.” Learning about the principles of freedom and testing them in my own life, I naturally concluded that France had to be the country tha...
I appreciate the opinion and feedback that was shared in the Nov. 18 newspaper regarding my public comments at the Nov. 9 school board meeting. Sharing our opinions on various subjects, knowing that we don’t have to agree on everything, and being willing to hear various perspectives as we shape our own understanding is part of the beauty of our country. Part of our responsibility in sharing those opinions is being sure that our facts are correct. Regarding the school board policies on public comment, please see the district website and read P...
Thanks, Donna DeWinkler, for the thoughts you shared in The Star Newspaper recently. Tolerance of a diversity of viewpoints is always healthy. Everyone needs to have a growth mindset and be open to learning from each other. We get better together when different perspectives are valued. Often times we listen to others but we don’t validate that they have been heard. It is time in our local school district, that we love, for a new progressive direction to be taken that has true collaboration from all stakeholders involved. Donna went old s...
Steptoe Butte lies 12 miles north of Colfax, the Whitman County seat. Its elevation is 3,612 feet, hovering over the Palouse wheat fields. It is said that on the horizon you can see the high mountains in Montana. For me, the view affords me a visit to many of the places that made my Palouse childhood so pleasant. To the southeast are the hills in Idaho where my family spent many a fall day picking huckleberries. The picking was always good, and my dad would scout the area so we would have success. I spent many a day probing huckleberry bush....
Just a comment on Scott Hunter’s thoughts on starting in-person learning again: In my 70s and raising a now teenager who says I am an (old fashioned, crazy, crabby old lady), I often wonder if she is right. I have answered the questionnaires, polls and spoken to school administration a few times. I keep up with the Covid stats for WA, and so far I am for keeping distance learning for, who knows how much longer. Thank you, Scott, for your like opinion. I just heard tonight (Nov. 15) that Gov. Inslee is on the brink of closing the state down a...
The other day I made a public information request for documents concerning the GCD School District Board meeting on Nov. 9th, 2020. One item I asked for was a copy of Form 1430F, Request to be Placed on the Board Agenda. This form is to be filled out by the public if they wish to be placed on the agenda to make a presentation during the “public comments” portion of a school board meeting. The Superintendent is to read and approve the request, confirming it doesn’t have anything construed as “singling out” or of a discriminatory nature. I...
I cried today — Friends and family of John Coykendall will understand. A more genuine and dear soul you would not find. I enjoyed conversation with him over the great little things and the little big things. (To clarify: he recognized the daily little things were the really important stuff life was made of, more so than the bigger world stuff). He was interesting and spoke with a twinkle in his eye. He was both lighthearted and deep —eager to share his experiences, but never pushy. I cried today, realizing I would no more hear his stories of...
It’s no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has made a huge impact on how Washington retailers and restaurants operate. With additional restrictions implemented at the start of the holiday season as cases surge, it’s another challenge for local small businesses. But that’s where we as a community can step in. Small retailers and restaurants are relying on us to send a message with our dollars that says, “We’ve got your back.” And in 2020, this support is needed more than ever. Approximately 62% of small businesses have reported they need t...
Colleen Leskinen has had her eye on Nespelem for a very long time, essentially since her birth year, 67 years ago. Some people know her as the lady who runs the daycare, within the shadow of the town limits. Others know her as the town mayor and councilwoman and town administrator. Everyone knows Colleen. Currently, she runs a daycare on an 80-acre ranch, just a stone’s throw from town center; maybe a hefty toss. Colleen welcomes some 28 kids on weekdays. Her daycare acts as an extension of the public school system, with 15 students and a...
We have to get back to normal sometime, it’s true. But when? The Grand Coulee Dam School District directors voted last night (Monday) to implement a plan for a phased-in restart even for the seventh- through 12th-graders. They’ll be back in physical classrooms just one day a week starting in early December. The phase in is planned out as far as April, when they will be back in classrooms four days a week, according to the plan. The district is beginning this path just as the nation and this state are posting record infection numbers rates for... Full story
This week I would like to recognize and honor service personnel, past and present. I came from a military family. My father was in the army in World War I. I still have his papers from when he was called up, and his discharge. My three brothers served in World War II, one in Navy, one in the Air Corps and the other in the Army. All were in the fighting, two in the Pacific and the other in the African and German theaters. I remember how proud my father was when my oldest brother was home on furlough midway in his Army career. He had just...
Through his entire life, Donald Trump has been a SLAPP master. What is SLAPP, you ask? Good question. It stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation.” For our purposes, it means frivolous legal action, usually by someone with deep pockets, designed to use the court system to intimidate someone else who doesn’t have deep pockets. SLAPPs are against the law in 30 states and D.C. But how does one prove that the litigation crosses the line? The misuse of the legal system is one of the sleaziest tactics available to lawyers and their...
Pending the outcome in a few key states, Donald Trump may be leaving the White House, but he’s not exiting the room. The fiercest Never Trump critics hoped for -- and wishfully predicted -- a cleansing landslide that would wipe out every trace of Trump and his enablers from the GOP. That’s not happening. Trump’s poll- and pundit-defying surge toward the cusp of a second term vindicates Trump’s approach enough to give him and his potential successors continued traction, if not a dominant voice, in the party. Trump’s possible loss is nothing like...
The little lot on the corner of Main and Spokane Way and at the heart of a controversy over city standards offers, in the narrower view, a conundrum for the city if it reconsiders whether a city code is being violated, one that limits outdoor advertising. But the bigger picture is more meaningful and invites serious, thoughtful discussion and long-term solutions. Those solutions, judging from public comments offered so far, including some on this page, are obviously needed because the corner in violation of the code looks far better than a...
Last week’s Star, front page, “Council: property owner must remove signs” Are you kidding me, Grand Coulee Council? City Code, Chapter 17.60 says that only one sign is allowed on that lot? That lot, which happens to be well kept, eye-appealing, and will be used to further the greater Grand Coulee area, is breaking some kind of code? What about concerns about filthy properties that are for sure breaking code? Why is every excuse in the book used why nothing can be done about them? An array of junk vehicles, never to be used again or in most...
We are writing in regard to the article in last week’s Star, “Council: Property Owner Must Remove Signs.” As the previous owners of the property located on the corner of Main Street in Grand Coulee, we felt we needed to set the record straight. The City’s Mayor referring to us in The Star last week and implying that we tried to pull anything over on the new owner of this property is not only misinformed, but slander. Every improvement our family ever made to that community over the years were always permitted and approved by your City Hall. P...
The first time I saw Glenn Yarbrough was at a small roadhouse on the eastern edge of Seattle, just off I-90. It was the first time I saw him on one of his farewell tours. I had seen a small ad in the Times and took a chance that I would enjoy him. And indeed I did. The roadhouse was one of those places where you paid for dinner, four watered-down drinks all served up front, and the entertainment. Yarbrough had been the lead singer for the Limelighters from 1959-63, and had been striking out on his own. It was a small crowd, maybe 100 people....