News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Emergency management plan formally adopted The Coulee Dam City Council May 27 unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-02, signing onto the Okanogan County Emergency Management Plan. Mayor Bob Poch described the document as a 47page, comprehensive plan based on the Incident Command System (ICS), noting that the town is required by law to participate. No changes were requested and no objections were raised before the vote. State Dept. of Licensing renews lease at city hall The council approved a fiveyear lease with the Washington State Department of...
Gerry M. Laramie Boyd, 86, passed peacefully on May 28, 2026 losing her 20-year struggle with Parkinson's Disease that slowly but surely stripped her of virtually all her life's pleasures. She was born in Nespelem WA on July 21, 1939, to Joseph Laramie and Lena Jane Laramie. Gerry attended St Mary's Mission Catholic Boarding School, near Omak, WA during grade and junior high school and then Inchelium High School. It was during her high school freshman year that Gerry's best friend, Nancy... Full story
Multiple times per week, two local people drive hours away in pursuit of gaining life-saving aid for their community. Merlee Liberty and Mike Shear are undergoing extensive education in order to become paramedics. Liberty and Shear, who live in Coulee Dam and Electric City, respectively, both travel around two hours to school and work. Their graduation as paramedics will be in early June. At the same time, their community has also engaged in discussion about creating an emergency services...
Guy Francis Moura, 73, of Grand Coulee passed away early in the morning on March 31, 2026 at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane Washington. Guy was born in Whitefield New Hampshire, lived on Long Island and grew up mostly in Rangeley, Maine. He attended the University of Maine in Orono graduating with a BA in Anthropology in 1977. In 1978, he came west to work on the Chief Joseph Dam Cultural Resource Project on the Columbia River. He continued his work there in 1979 and then made his home in Washington and Oregon. Guy earned his teaching... Full story
(Keller, WA 3/26) Veterinary Science students from WSU visited the Colville Reservation to deliver a 4-H Livestock Nutrition and Health Workshop, featuring hands-on education for youth and families. The goal was to provide information and education on how to assess animals so that people know when they need to access a veterinarian for medical services. Extension Specialists and students from Washington State University (WSU) College of Veterinary Medicine taught area youth how to safely care fo...
Elmer City leaders Thursday heard their consulting engineer give a rough estimate of $8 million to build an evaporative lagoon system to treat their sewage instead of sending it to Coulee Dam's new facility. Nancy Wetch, of Gray and Osborn, estimated the overall cost at around $8 million, and the cost of all the planning involved could be as high as all the funding available to Elmer City through the state Public Works Board - $800,000, half of it in grant, half loan. A separate facility plan...
Electric City officials are waiting for a formal proposal from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation after an initial discussion about a possible interlocal agreement for permitting and inspections at the tribal golf course area. Mayor Blake Martin reported to the council March 10 that he and another city representative met with tribal officials at the golf course in early March. In that meeting, the Tribes expressed interest in an arrangement that would allow them to issue their own permits and conduct their own inspections for...
Town of Elmer City Adopting Ordinances Notice is hereby given that the Town of Elmer City has adopted the following Ordinance. Ordinance 392: Adjusting Monthly Utility Rates for Water Service and Sewerage System, Effective March 1, 2026. Copies are available at www.townofelmercity.com or at City Hall located at 505 Seaton Ave. Elmer City. City Hall is accessible to the handicapped. Kelly Ross Clerk/Treasurer 509-633-2872. (Published March 4, 2025) Colville Confederated Tribes Dept. of Transportation Invitation To Bid Mountain Ridge Homes Road... Full story
The educational leader who has led Nespelem School District since 2020 will resign at the end of the school year. Dr. Effie Dean, who took over in June of 2020 as the Covid pandemic was disrupting education and society in general, informed the district board of directors Jan. 30. Monday night, directors voted to begin the search for a new superintendent, engaging Northwest Leadership Associates, of Wenatchee, to begin the search and vetting process. Dean’s last official day is June 30. She told The Star on Tuesday that she is not certain of h...
Elmer City must pay a lot more for the wastewater treatment service it buys from Coulee Dam, a county judge ruled recently, which may force Elmer City residents to have to pay more for their utilities. The town council endorsed a plan Thursday to increase rates to cover the bill in dispute for 2025, although the town is working on an appeal. In the meantime, residents who are used to paying $14 a month for their sewer service will have to pay considerably more. Coulee Dam's own residents pay...
Here are a few reasons I feel foratunate. I appreciate those involved with the Center Senior Living proyject. Looking forward to future updates. Very exciting! Persistence, hope and unwavering commitment pays off for CMC’s Leadership. The $3 million innovative workforce federal funds they received for an on-site “tiny village” to house rural health care workers is necessary and long overdue. Once again, thanks for showing your critical employees they are valued. It’s great to see all incumbents back on the Board after recent elections. They al...
The community was thrown into grief Thursday night as word spread of the death of a mother and her young son in what law enforcement authorities are calling murder. Tribal police found Laura Dick and her 17-year-old son Anthony Vieira, dead in the family home after Damien Martinez Jr. called them and confessed, reported sources, including KXLY, which reported obtaining court records Saturday. Okanogan County Prosecuting Attorney Albert H. Lin issued a statement Monday saying Martinez was being held on two counts of first-degree murder, with...
In a boost for wildlife, recreationists and public lands last month, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received from a conservation group the Big Bend Ranch, a 2,135-acre property featuring 1.5 miles of Columbia River frontage, for permanent inclusion with the Big Bend Wildlife Area. Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) conveyed the project it said conserves excellent habitat for one of Washington's most imperiled species - Columbian sharp-tailed grouse - while opening new...
by Scott Hunter The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes) and Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) announced a landmark collaboration last week to “advance tribal energy sovereignty and resilience through the design and deployment of multiple microgrids across the reservation.” The Tribes’ 1.4 million acre reservation, which includes parts of two counties is served by five different electric utilities, and power outages are getting worse, said the Tribes’ Business Council chair, Jarred-Michael Erickso...
Nespelem, WA) Inchelium Red Garlic Revitalization Coalition (IRGRC) hosted their second annual garlic planting event at the Colville Tribes Forestry Greenhouse site in Nespelem, WA. Community members from across the reservation and from neighboring communities joined in to learn about the Inchelium Red Garlic project. Terri Williams, representing Colville Reservation Conservation District, demonstrated how to prepare garden beds for planting and how to plant garlic. She also demonstrated some...
Myra Phyllis Clark passed away suddenly early Sunday morning November 9, at her home in Coulee Dam, Wash. She was born to Christine Covington and Jack Clark June 11, 1947, the oldest of nine siblings, Pauline (born sleeping) Jacqueline Tynan, her sons Joe and Greg. John Christopher (deceased) his children John Jr, Brian, Sarah, & Ashley. Margaret Ann and her Children Dani and Ray. David Alexander his wife Hannah and children David Jr, Daphne, Benjamin,(deceased) and Olivia. Michael Edwin... Full story
(10/8/2025) WSU Colville Reservation Extension collaborated with Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) Headstart program and CCT Diabetes program to celebrate National 4-H Week and Taste Washington Day. This group collaboratively hosted Story Walks to provide educational and fun hands-on activities for Nespelem & Inchelium Headstart students and families. A Story Walk combines reading with physical movement so that students can have fun and learn in an outdoor setting, The books used were Planting...
by Scott Hunter Nespelem School District ceremonially broke ground on construction of their new CTE building Monday morning as the whole school looked on. Nespelem's high school closed in 1956 as the state consolidated schools, sending local students to high school in Coulee Dam. The district's board of directors has long expressed their current dissatisfaction with the arrangement, thinking some of their students were not thriving in the neighboring system. Board President Jolene Marchand said...
United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Lance Scott Michel, age 31, of Nespelem, to 216 months in federal prison after Michel pleaded guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country and Sexual Abuse in Indian Country, a US Attorney’s Office release said. Dimke also ordered that, following his sentence, Michel be placed on a lifetime term of supervised release. According to court documents, in early 2023, Michel began communicating with various minor females on the Colville Reservation over social media. Michel, then 29, provide...
The Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation have been planning on launching fast fiber-optic internet access, including for Elmer City and Coulee Dam. Elmer City’s town council at its last meeting didn’t have objections to a plan for the buildout, including adding some utility poles in town. The town took plans for review and will likely be ready to sign a franchise agreement with the tribes at the October council meeting. That likelihood is a turnaround from a few months ago, when council and staff took exception to a plan presented wit...
Rod Broadnax has goals for Lake Roosevelt Schools. He wants Lake Roosevelt students safe and learning, in a school that is recognized for its academic rigor, as well as its athletics programs, and is fiscally solid, while increasing student enrollment and parental engagement. That's a lot. And big changes have been made to address the challenges ahead. The Grand Coulee Dam School District superintendent took time to speak with the Rotary Club Thursday, the same day he was explaining new...
Nespelem School District Tuesday awarded the job of constructing its new CTE building to Lakes General for $1.38 million. The project may look more like a shop than a typical school builading, and the budget currently allows for not much more than an outer shell and a few rooms, including a bathroom. Add-ons could include specialized rooms for special purposes to fit the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The district exceeded its $1 million budget for the CTE building project, a part of the district’s expansion plan that has result...
He was at work, and Randy Adolph's grandchildren were all asleep as fire began consuming their home last month. "Could have been worse if Tim didn't knock on the door," Adolph said Monday, referring to neighbor Tim Lynch who lives a couple blocks down Camas Street in Coulee Dam. About 10 a.m. that Monday, July 14, Lynch, retired, had been headed to the post office and intended to next drive to the Downriver Trail for a walk along the Columbia River. Then he saw the smoke. It was "thick, black...
As salmon restoration ramps up on the Columbia River above Chief Joseph Dam, it is important to establish balances between those fish already in reservoirs behind dams and salmon being introduced. Completed in 1942, Grand Coulee Dam became the largest U.S. hydropower plant. It generates enough power to supply about 2 million households with electricity for one year. Water stored in Lake Roosevelt, which is 150 miles long and as deep as 375 feet, reduced downstream flooding. Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams blocked salmon from migrating...
The Inchelium Red Garlic Revitalization Coalition (IRGRC) hosted a garlic harvest event on Friday, as over 30 reservation residents gathered to learn how to harvest, dry and cure "Inchelium Red Garlic." Named after the community where it was "discovered," Inchelium Red is purportedly the oldest strain grown in North America. Little is known about its history. Garlic not being native to North America, Inchelium Red garlic signifies early exploration and trade networks, organizers of the event...