The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Unhealthy

matters

Grant County Health District reported a possible case of measles in the Grand Coulee Dam School District. The health district said it is working with school officials to investigate. The disease spreads easily from coughing and sneezing.

In a separate report, the health district stated that a Moses Lake family is receiving rabies treatment as a precaution after children in the home were found playing with several dead bats.

Mosquito

board has

vacancies

Grant County commissioners said Thursday they’re looking for citizens interested in serving on the local Mosquito Control District 2 Board of Trustees.

You must live within the district (Electric City, Grand Coulee, and outlying area along Banks Lake). The Board meets monthly and provides financial oversight of the operations, but does not participate in the daily operations.

An application can be found at http://www.grantcountyweb.com under the “Important Announcements” heading. For more information, contact the County Commissioners Office at 509-754-2011 ext 428. Applications will be accepted until June 10.

Stuck

in a fire

Grand Coulee firefighters put out a vehicle fire at Osborne Bay near the three-day camping area near midnight last Saturday night. The vehicle got stuck and while the Bothell, Wash., owners were trying to get it out, the hot exhaust system started a grass fire, which in turn got the vehicle on fire. Police used fire extinguishers to put out part of the blaze and firefighters put out the grass fire.

Schools keep good books

Both Nespelem School District and Grand Coulee Dam School District received good audit reports for the period from September, 2011 to August, 2012. Both audits reported “no material deficiencies” in the handling of funds. The audit reports came out May 20.

Tragedy

in a

canal

Four members of a Stanwood, Wash., family died in a car crash near George Sunday about 8 a.m. after their SUV collided at an intersection with a car, struck a guardrail, then entered a “full and flowing” irrigation canal.

It happened at County Road 1-Northwest and Beverly-Burke Road Northwest.

The current carried the SUV downstream another 100 yards. Two adults and two children were recovered from the vehicle; the adults, 33 and 35, were already dead. The children, 4 and 9, died later at Quincy Valley Medical Center.

“In my 21 years in law enforcement, this is the most tragic, single incident I have ever been to,” said Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones. “My heart is filled with sorrow, and I pray for peace and comfort for the surviving family members.”

Aerial misfires you don’t see every day

In separate reports over the Memorial Day weekend, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office reported airborne oddities:

• A Mead, Wash. man was injured as he looked up Saturday just after noon when a falling rocket hit him in the face at the Mansfield Sportsman’s Club. A five-foot-tall rocket had gone up, but its parachute didn’t deploy for the return trip, and the Mead man made a mistake: he didn’t leave the field when club officials at the model rocketry event sounded the alarm. He was taken to a hospital with cuts on his nose, chest and abdomen.

• About five hours later, a Wyoming pilot and companion from Oregon in a helicopter were glad they’d returned to Pangborn Airport after fueling to check out a loud noise in the craft. As they hovered over the field to listen and diagnose, the main rotor flew off, dropping the chopper four feet to the ground as the rotor landed about 75 yards away and the tail section broke off.

No one was hurt and no fuel spilled, but the FAA may find the incident of interest.

It may be worth noting that Saturday night featured a full moon.