District breaks ground on new school

The K-12 school project is underway.

It started at 9 a.m. Tuesday with a formal groundbreaking, and immediately Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson met with builder representatives from Walker Construction to get the project moving.

Four members of the school board, Joette Barry, Ken “Butch” Stanger, Carla Marconi and Ted Piccolo, all turned the initial spades of dirt over to declare the near $23 million project started.

Members of the Colville Business Council also turned the dirt and a number of local residents braved the chilly wind to take part.

Tribal drummers gave the ceremony an official air as they pounded out a tribute to the project.

Walker Construction pulled a trailer office to the site, and students at Lake Roosevelt High School vacated the north parking lot at the school as was evidenced by the string of cars parked along the curbside next to the school.

Walker was selected by the school board over only one other overall bid, and planned on staging equipment immediately in the north LRHS parking lot.

The plan originally called for the project to be completed in time for students to move into the new facility when school started in the fall of 2014.

However, due to a bid process delay, Carlson said the school probably won’t be complete until mid-October that fall.

Initial work will be a major fill project bringing the level of the building site up about five feet, and constructing a large retaining wall. Actual work on the buildings will likely begin about the time students leave for their summer vacation.