Nearly four dozen young adults walked across the stage and out the door Saturday after graduating from Lake Roosevelt High School having already seen some hard reality and ready to take life on. "We are proof that hard times create strong people," is the official motto of the class of 2025. They started high school in 2021 in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic with all its health and cultural complications, steeped in a time that would teach them about the fragility of human life. In the middle...
Two people trekked across the country last week to understand a piece of their Kentucky company's history, with a major claim to fame being the Grand Coulee Dam. Now called Mason & Hanger, theirs was the lead company in the consortium of companies that built the original dam. They're the M in MWAK, the initials for Mason-Walsh-Atkinson-Kier. On Wednesday, Ben Lilly, the president of Mason & Hanger, and Holly Holt, its vice president in charge of marketing, came to town to fill in the blanks in...
People who have been walking Saturdays along Grand Coulee’s Midway Avenue to object to Trump Administration policies plan to do so on June 14 at noon, Flag Day. Their purpose: “Protect democracy from autocratic oligarchs-- protect our rights,” a information email stated Tuesday. June 14 is the date in 1775 that the Continental Congress created the U.S. Army to “stand up against a monarch who claimed absolute power,” the email noted. They’ll walk from noon to 1 p.m. on the sidewalk side of the street and ask anyone joining in to...
Grand Coulee Police 5/24 - A Grand Coulee officer heard over the radio that park rangers at Steamboat Rock State Park had pulled over a vehicle for speeding and that the vehicle took off but stopped when the driver got out and ran on foot into the brush. A park ranger, Grand Coulee officer, and Coulee Dam officer looked for him while another ranger stayed with the vehicle and passengers. They spoke only Ukrainian but were able to call a friend to help translate. Some campers came by and said they’d seen a man running at the north end of the...
This Saturday, June 14, is Flag Day here in the United States. The day commemorates the date in 1777 when the Second Continental Congress passed a resolution stating, “the flag of the Unites States shall be 13 stripes, alternating red and white, the union be 13 stars, white on blue field, representing a new constellation.” That union of 13 stars has grown to 50, a union of states. Bernard Cigrand, a teacher in Wisconsin in 1885, originated the idea for an annual flag day to be celebrated...
Lori Adkins is the longest tenured teacher and coach in the GCDSD’s history. Over 43 years she has helped thousands of students and hundreds of athletes. Her loyalty and longevity are unmatched. Over the decades I’ve seen her work 20-hour days and rarely miss a day of work. She’s about solutions not excuses. She’s a talented artist who rarely has time to create personally because she’s always creating with kids. Lori raised five Raiders and as the longtime cheer squad coach and leadership class instructor she’s brought more school...
The strength of the United States’ economy is rooted in the power of our workforce. As Congress works to deliver policies that bring jobs back to our shores, the need for a strong, reliable workforce has never been greater. Nearly 20,000 young Americans utilize the U.S. Job Corps program, a proven initiative that helps equip our nation’s young, disadvantaged adults with the skills they need to succeed. Amidst the Trump administration’s plans to pause Job Corps operations at the end of June, I joined 200 of my colleagues in sending a...
It was June 4th of 2024 when a sharp, excruciating pain under my right ribs introduced itself — because clearly, my body thought I needed a dramatic plot twist. After a night that made every nightmare I’d ever had look like a Disney short, we dragged ourselves to the doctor’s office. One of the doctors casually suggested maybe my gallbladder was just hoarding stones. Makes sense. I was a geologist in a past life, so maybe my organs got the memo and decided to start a rock collection. Before we could even find a place to scan this...
June 14, 1988, the FBI announced a major multi-agency investigation into Department of Defense procurement fraud. It was called Operation Ill Wind (Ill Wind is an old English term). The investigation began when an honest person contacted authorities in 1986. He had been approached by a military consultant who wanted competitor information in exchange for cash. From there, it grew substantially. The investigation involved many federal investigative agencies. Search warrants were ultimately served in Washington D.C. and 12 states. The offices...
Fire District 14 to Meet Grant County Fire District #14 will have the June monthly meeting on Monday, June 16, 2025, instead of Monday, June 9, 2025, at 6:00pm at the Electric City Fire Station in Electric City. Area AA Meetings In Electric City, the New Hope group holds its meetings Monday through Friday evenings at 6pm at the Vets Center. There is also a noon meeting every Wednesday. These meetings are open and non-smoking. For more information, contact Paul 631-4551 or Phyllis 631-1187. In Nespelem, the group Bound and Determined holds its...
You are invited to attend a public meeting held by the Grant transit authority on service plan enhancements and changes to the fixed route and DART services. It will be held at the Grand Coulee Senior center on Wednesday, June 25 at 10...
Marilyn Hope Goetz Button Powell Marilyn Hope Goetz Button Powell was born on August 18, 1953, in Spokane, WA. She passed peacefully with family on April 20, 2025, at Coulee Medical Center in Grand Coulee after a courageous battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Marilyn is survived by her partner of 29 years Keith Powell, sons Richard (Mandi) Button and Ted (EmmaLee) Button, and her grandchildren Luke, Lilly, Alex and Hope. Siblings Daniel Goetz and Ellen Minkes, half-sisters, Tawnya and Michelle, as... Full story
David Louis Prince, son of Louis and Kathleen (Grant) Prince, grandson of Harry and Rose Prince, and W.E. and Susan (Fruit) Grant, was born August 24, 1935. An age-mate of Guy Nanamkin, Donna and Dorlin Palmer, Eileen Friedlander, Eunice Anthony, and Billy and Sonny Ives. As an only child, he spent his days with his cousins Patricia and Carol Grant, along with other Nespelem neighborhood kids. He attended the old Nespelem Grade School, walking across the bridge with the neighborhood pack each day. With the Great Depression, followed by WWII,... Full story
Rick and Koda Daily both 80 years old have gone to walk in heaven together. Rick was born January 1, 1944, in Seattle, Washington, to Shirley and Robert Daily. Rick had a sister Cheryl Eutsler who passed in1992. He had a brother Ronald in Portland area. He married Carol Wellington April 23 1968. They had a daughter Stefanie who was killed 1984. Had another daughter Toni Ostanik who lives in Alaska with husband Frank and son Win Ostanik. Was in the army in Vietnam all of 1966. Was proud of his... Full story
There is a $50 charge for obituaries published in the Star. This includes a photo and up to 500 words. Reminders for Celebrations of Life and Death Notices are $25. Articles must be either e-mailed, faxed or dropped off at the Star office. They will not be accepted over the phone. The deadline to submit an article is Monday by 5 p.m. For more information, call 509.633.1350 or visit our website at... Full story
Terrell Bush takes fifth place in the long jump at the state 2B Track and Field Championships in Yakima May 30. The sophomore was Lake Roosevelt's highest placer at state and actually tied with Goldendale's Matthew Gray with a jump of 20 feet, 8.75 inches. Officials then look to the athletes' second-best jump, which put Bush just two inches shy of fourth place. "He competed exceptionally well both mentally and physically to get on the podium," Coach Lori Adkins...
2025 MRSC ROSTERS SMALL PUBLIC WORKS, CONSULTANT, and VENDOR ROSTERS FOR PARTICIPATING WASHINGTON STATE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES LOCATED IN EASTERN WASHINGTON The Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC) hereby advertises on behalf of the below listed government agencies in Washington State in Eastern Washington (Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Adams, Whitman, Garfield, Asotin, Spokane, Lincoln, Ferry Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties), including - but not limited to - cities (Title 35 RCW and Title 35A RCW), counties (Title... Full story