Coulee Recollections

Ten Years Ago

Present or potential small business owners, who need some professional help in starting or running their business, will soon have a place to go. About 20 people went to see tribal officials dig shovels into the grass outside of Colville Tribal Credit building Monday.

A change is on the horizon for residents of Grand Coulee that could result in lower, more frequent water bills. Mayor Tammara Byers said the city’s water comprehensive plan calls for the city crew to take out the current water meters and install new ones.

Higher garbage rates Grand Coulee Dam area residents will start paying soon will help pay for new construction at the local landfill. URS Corp. Project Manager Kathy Nakhjiri said an analysis of the new “tipping fees” at the Delano Landfill shows that the Oct. 1 increase of 47 percent would pay several landfill costs.

A year from now local voters could decide the fate of a new push to build a public swimming pool if a group of promoters has its way. A few members of CARE, Coulee Area Recreation Effort, met Monday night to lay out a timeline that would culminate in a vote on a parks and recreation district in November 2003.

Twenty Years Ago

If a small hamlet was once called a one-horse town, does it follow that it could be called a one-cab town? Bonnice Sieker is the proud owner of the Coulee Cab business in the Grand Coulee area.

Coulee Dam and Grand Coulee will split the $40,000 to $50,000 cost of an engineer’s study that will site and design a “pilot” water filtration plan.

The Colville Tribal Enterprise Corporation has purchased the Whitelaw building in Coulee Dam, John Morrison confirmed Monday. Morrison, president and chief executive officer of CTEC said the corporate board would decide later this month what use the company will make of the building.

The Coulee Community Hospital helipad was enlarged four-fold last week.

Selected as Raider of the Week is Marc Barry.

Selected as Homecoming Royalty at Lake Roosevelt High School were seniors - Melissa Green and John Cook; juniors - Melanie Bjorkland and Kevin Hannahs; sophomores - TeRay Warnecke and Scott Feeley and freshmen - Jaleen Palmer and Shad Moore.

Thirty Years Ago

Midway Avenue in Grand Coulee will be the location of a new Sears Store. It will be located between the former House laundry building and Star Newspaper. Manager of the store is Chrys Hakola.

Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors spent a busy night Monday with an agenda starting off with the swearing in of a new director Stormi Schmidt.

At a regular meeting on Oct. 13, the Coulee Dam City Council adopted an ordinance to become effective Nov. 20 that will increase the electrical rates of Coulee Dam residents an average of about 18 percent. Residential power rates will increase from 1.6 cents per KWH to 1.9 cents per KWH.

Jodi Rosenberg, daughter of Ron and Penny Rosenberg of Grand Coulee, was chosen as a princess of the rodeo at Spokane which is in conjunction with the Spokane Stock Show.

Mr. and Mrs. Tim Alling are the proud parents of a daughter Sara, born Oct. 14 at Coulee Community Hospital. She weighed 3 lbs., 12 ozs. She joins a brother, Dale, at home.

Forty Years Ago

City Manson Osbert has started to assemble the 500kV disconnect switches in the Third Powerplant switchyard at Grand Coulee Dam.

A reopening of the community hospital in Grand Coulee in the near future appears likely.

Eric Heckman, 11, son of Mary Alice Heckman of Spokane, was critically injured Saturday when he was shot while playing with two boys of his own age. The boys had gone to play near the Crescent Bay area across form the new low-cost housing development on Hill Ave.

Mr. and Mrs. Edward D. Ayers, Coulee Dam, announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Ellen Elizabeth to Jay Thomas Arment, son of Mrs. Betty Basford of Seattle and the late James Arment. A December wedding is planned.

Fifty Years Ago

Margaret Holmes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs., Gunnar L. Holmes, Coulee Dam, recently received a typing award in an assembly held at LDS Business College. Holmes typed 68 words per minute, for five minutes with no errors.

Bob Milliken, senior at Coulee Dam high School has been honored for his high school performance in the National Merit Scholarship qualifying test.

Grand Coulee overpowered Bridgeport 20-12 in football here Friday night. Rick McClain scored the clinching touchdown on a three yard burst in the closing minutes and Bill Winegarden added the extra point.

A large class of mountain climbers recently visited Coulee Dam to take part in an advance rock climbing seminar, sponsored by the Seattle Mountaineers Club and led and instructed by Sean Rice.

Sixty Years Ago

Congressman Hugh B. Mitchell, Democratic candidate for governor, will spend Tuesday in Grant County.

The Twisp Yellowjackets won over the Coulee Dam Beavers 26-20 last Friday afternoon at Twisp.

Damage was considered negligible as result of a fire reported this morning in the west powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam. According to Art Stiles, fire chief, due to the quick thinking of powerhouse workers, the fire was confined to a storage room.

A badly outweighed Grand Coulee football team gave an example of fine defensive play Friday night in their 20-0 loss to Ephrata.

According to Clyde Keefer, chairman of the Coulee Dam town advisory council, the majority of the residents are against the residential leasing program proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Motorists are now able to enter Grand Coulee Center on the new entrance road from the Heights which has straightened out Spokane Way.