Newsbriefs

Busy fire

fighters

The Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department answered five calls during June, reported fire Chief Rick Paris at the city council meeting last Tuesday night. One call was a structure fire and another an outside fire. Three mutual aid calls were made. Paris reported 37 ambulance calls, nine in the Coulee Dam area, 21 in the Grand Coulee area and seven transportation calls.

Early hours

for library

The library has set early hours to avoid the heat while waiting for a new air conditioning unit.

Grand Coulee’s council gave city officials the OK to purchase a new air conditioning unit for the city’s public library, allowing up to $8,000 for the purchase. Public works director Dennis Francis said he is trying to get three bids on the air conditioning unit. While the air conditioning is down the library will be open only from 8-2 on its normal operating days. Francis said that the new unit could be installed within 10 days.

Drawing this weekend at

junior rodeo

If you remember buying raffle tickets last spring for a playhouse, it’s heads up time.

The Ridge Riders Junior Rodeo happens this weekend, and that’s when the playhouse built by DWK Fowler Contstruction will be won by somebody with the winning ticket.

By Tuesday, the event had drawn 155 registered contestants from as far as British Columbia and Ellensburg. “I assume we’ll continue to get more in the next couple days,” said Tasha Marchand, of the Ridge Riders.

The rodeo for athletes up to the age of 18 starts at 10 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and admission is free.

The raffle drawing for the playhouse will happen on Sunday.

Valen named

to board

Bob Valen was named to Coulee Dam’s Natural Resources board last Wednesday night. Coulee Dam’s NR ordinance allows for one member living outside the city limits. Valen is president of the Coulee Area Park & Recreation District, past president of the Rotary Club and lives in Lincoln County.

No quorum

The town of Coulee Dam has cancelled its July 22 meeting due to lack of a quorum. The next regular meeting of the council will be Aug. 12, at 6 p.m.

CMC

makes

national list

For the fifth year in a row, Coulee Medical Center was named on a list of the “Most Wired” hospitals in the nation compiled by the American Hospital Association’s Health Forum and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

CMC added a “Patient Portal” service this year that allows patients to access their own records online.

Among hundreds of hospitals named from more than 2,200 nationwide, 20 are in Washington state. CMC was among 36 on a list of “Small and Rural” facilities named.

Mayor

pro tem

named

Councilmember Duane Johnson was named mayor pro tem at Coulee Dam’s council meeting last Wednesday night. Johnson will serve in that capacity for six months, chairing the meeting when and if Mayor Greg Wilder is unable to attend the council session. The council elects the mayor pro tem every six months.

Dispatchers

honored

for

excellence

The members of the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatch center were named team of the year by their statewide trade organization for their performance during 2014’s Carlton Complex Fires, floods, power outages and telecommunications outages last summer, the sherrif’s office announced last week.

Despite enduring personal challenges and losses associated with the fire, “the dispatch center staff handled an incredible increase in telephone and radio traffic under rapidly changing and difficult circumstances while maintaining effectiveness and professionalism,” a press release noted.

Each member of the dispatch office was recognized and a plaque from the Washington APCO/NENA Chapter is displayed at the dispatch center.