Coulee Recollections

10 years ago

Electric City Mayor Ray Halsey said the city will have a balanced budget in 2005, totaling nearly $5.8 million with $294,000 taken out of cash reserves to make it balance with most of those funds going for a new fire truck. And $65,000 will go to the operations-maintenance section of the budget to make ends meet. The law enforcement contract with Grand Coulee will continue at a cost of $58,780, plus just over $9,000 in other law enforcement-related costs.

During the last meeting for 2004, the Grand Coulee Dam School District and Lake Roosevelt High School honored secretary Vicki Zowada for 14 years of service with a reception. She was also honored with the staff member of the month by the students of LRHS. Zowada remarked that she is walking out with a big smile on her face.

Leslie Green, Worthy Matron of the Eastern Star, is pictured on The Star's community page presenting proceeds of the 2004 Penny Auction to three organizations: Terry Anderson, Okanogan Home Health and Hospice, Fern Blaylock, Grand Coulee area food bank, and Mike Wiltermood, Coulee Community Hospital building fund. Each received a $600 check.

Winners of the Nespelem School Christmas essay contest included: preschool/kindergarten, Kiana Sam, Cooper Marchand, Terry Jim; lst/2nd, Marissa Lafountain, Lachelle Bearcub; 3rd/4th, Sean Waters, Amanda Palmer; 5th/6th, Casey Nicholson, Dan LaPlante; 7th/8th, Bailey Ankney, Laweesa Anthony.

20 years

The way the Grand Coulee Project's fire protection service is managed is about to change and firefighters will likely earn less under a plan to merge their project branch with the management and services branch sometime early in 1995. Plant Protection was the only branch of the project not affected by the recent reductions in force, said Ron Bell, president of Local 89, International Federation of Local and Technical Engineers, representing 14 plant protection employees. The Plant Protection dispatch operation, which serves as the area's 911 will not be affected but Project Manager Steve Clark said he will meet with personnel about efficiency measures. Bell said the union isn't too concerned about job loss, but the drop in time-and-a-quarter wages could cost some firefighters several thousand dollars a year. Bell said management started looking at plant protection's structure after Bureau investigators of alleged sexual misconduct wrote a report that the current system makes it too easy for such problems to occur. Clark has refused comment on the matter, citing privacy concerns. Bell said management contends the project doesn't have as much need for firefighters as it did during the days of construction, and is now using automated systems with more planned. Bell said that attitude may be shortsighted, pointing to a 1970s cost-savings plan that failed when project managers wouldn't install carbon dioxide anti-fire systems in generators. Then, when windings in unit 21 caught fire, it was tough to put out and the Bureau spent millions on repairs, said Bell.

30 years ago

Roberta (Birdie) Hensley of Elmer City will head the Columbian Toastmaster Club for the coming year and her new appointment was announced at the Christmas meeting and program recently where Myra Mason was judged the best speaker with a talk titled "We could be better than we are," and Ester Rice was the best table topic speaker.

Last Thursday, four of fifteen passengers on a school bus received injuries in an accident about five miles west of Grand Coulee on Highway 174. Students Donna Fountain 11, Kyle Steveson 11, Bill Jess 7, of Grand Coulee and Jake Buckner 10, of Mansfield were hurt when the bus, driven by Jack Wilson, 44, of Electric City, stopped to pick-up two children and was just getting underway when a semi-truck and trailer slammed into the rear of the school bus. Truck driver, Larry Gilliespie, 48, Okanogan, veered his rig to the left which jackknifed, causing the trailer to smash into the rear of bus, which did a complete turn on the road. No estimate of damage was listed for the 1984 Peterbilt truck but the school bus was set at $16,000 to $18,000, said school bus supervisor Ray Halsey.

40 years ago

Veterans of World War I, Barracks and Auxiliary 2009 will meet this Friday (Dec.6, 1974) in the Coulee Dam City Hall at 12:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Put on your dancing shoes. Starting on Jan.7, 1975 at 8:00 p.m., the Grand Coulee Eagles Lodge will host ballroom dance lessons for six weeks, with instructors from Spokane who will teach the Ed Cheney Method of Ballroom Dancing. There's classes for beginners and more advanced dancers and the lesson package is priced at $25.00 per person. Everyone is welcome so call Cecil Trefry or Ted Rice for a reservation.

Delight Beaty, Juliene Hunter, Mindy Benson, Sallie Ogg, Jimmy Pachosa, Darren Morris, Geri Pitner, Todd Banks, Kenn Copple, Darla Mellor, Charlene Bot, Therese Graham, Jim Sanders, Greg Tucker, Eric Bute and Kevin Avery were featured in "A Thanksgiving Story," a play written and produced by the students of Mrs. Joyce Behren's fourth grade class at Center Elementary in Grand Coulee.

Students from the school's other classes watched the play last Wednesday.