News Briefs

President declares major disaster from July storm

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Tuesday announced that federal disaster assistance has been made available to Washington to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the area affected by a severe storm, straight-line winds and flooding on July 20, 2012.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe storm, winds, and flooding in Ferry and Okanogan counties and the Colville Indian Reservation.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures for all counties and tribes within the state.

Kenneth K. Suiso has been named as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Suiso said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

Chief gets

comp time

The city of Grand Coulee and Police Chief Mel Hunt have agreed on how many hours of compensatory time Hunt has on the books.

The city council Sept.18, voted to accept 1180 hours of comp time owed the chief over the past five years.

While the council voted to accept the negotiated amount of hours, there was no discussion of how it would be paid.

ln a letter agreement signed by both Hunt and Mayor Chris Christopherson, the mayor stated: “I have reviewed the last five years of timesheets and have found that your request of 787 hours of compensatory time to be reasonable. In accordance with city/state personnel procedures compensatory time is 1.5 times the hours earned.”

Time savers

installed

Public Works director Dennis Francis told Grand Coulee city council members last week that 71 percent of the city’s new radio-controlled water meters have been installed and that when the project is completed it will save the city several days of time each month in reading the meters. The city will be able to read its meters by radio signal.

Street renamed

for trooper

Grand Coulee’s council revised the naming of Fourth Street south of SR-174 to James Saunders Street, using the full name of a Washington State Patrol trooper who had been stationed in Grand Coulee and served on the city council. The trooper was killed near Pasco by a man during a traffic stop.

Services at LR

marinas

shutting down

Water, fueling and minimal services will be available at Keller Ferry and Seven Bays until September 30 at 5 p.m. at which time operations will be shut down for the season, a note from the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area said Tuesday.