Coulee Recollections

Ten Years Ago

GCD School District standardized test scores are higher this year, according to results released from the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Rodney Bise retired from the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department after 30 years of service. Rick Paris, fire chief said, “It will take three men to replace him. He’s the best.”

The Regional Board of Mayors agreed Monday night that buildin a transfer station was the way to solve the area’s solid waste problem.

Elmer City Marshall Dave Marrs received a new patrol car last week through a $6,000 grant from the Washington State Association of Sheriff and Police Chiefs. The 2003 Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor has 54,000 miles on it.

Jennifer Sedillo, a 2005 graduate of Lake Roosevelt High School reported to basic training for the Army National Guard on August 9.

Twenty Years Ago

A Chelan garbage company owes more than $26,000 to the Regional Board of Mayors, dating back to 1993, for dumping garbage in the Delano Landfill.

Firefighters worked all weekend to put out a fire set by a forester in self-defense on Friday. The forester came face-to-face with an aggressive cougar and used a cigarette lighter and toilet paper to start a fire to keep between him and the cat. When the cougar left, the forester thought he had extinguished the fire, but due to the dry conditions, a small spark was left and rekindled the fire.

Pilots approaching the Grand Coulee Dam Airport will soon be able to activate the runway lights with a simple series of five clicks on their microphone assuming they use the correct radio frequency.

Thirty Years Ago

Work on the $22,000 Emergency Room Renovation project is scheduled to begin this week at Coulee Community Hospital. The first step in this multi-part project will be to replace the ER department’s doorway.

Kathy Knapton has sold her general dentistry office in Grand Coulee to Ritzville native Larry Rehn. Rehn, an Eastern Washington University undergraduate and University of Washington dental graduate, has already begun practicing with Knapton at her Burdin Boulevard address.