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

Grand Coulee Police 5/12 - Police went to Coulee Medical Center where a man who had been brought there by Tribal Police on a drug-related issue refused help and signed himself out of the hospital. The man lingered in the waiting area and refused to...

A “stakeholder” group met Tuesday to try to put the finishing touches on the script for the all- new laser light show. The schedule for the inaugural show now has slipped to mid-summer, Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher...

In this community, whose economy is based overwhelmingly on a federal payroll and outsourced contracts, not a lot is yet certain about how the latest fiscal political drama emanating from the other Washington will play out. “Sequestration”...

Grand Coulee Police 2/19 - An officer checked on a reported traffic hazard near milepost 24 in Electric City and found a trailer disconnected from its tractor and blocking the roadway. After the trailer was connected the roadway was opened up for...

Charged with finding the bones of a mouse skeleton, students from Center Elementary and Almira School examine owl pellets through microscopes at St. Henry’s Catholic Church’s hall Friday, taking part in the Balde Eagle Festival. More than 200...

Ten Years Ago The bald eagle became the focus of hundreds of tourists last weekend as they flocked to the Grand Coulee Dam area to look at the national bird during the “Balde” Eagle Festival. “We doubled what we had last year,” said Grand...

A local group of stakeholders will get the first look at the text for the all new laser light show within the next couple of weeks. Participants include the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Coulee Area Chamber of...

Ten Years Ago Front page photo titled “What’s Up Dock?” caption says: National Park Service employees rescue the swamped dock at Crescent Bay boat launch early Monday morning after Lake Roosevelt rose over the weekend. An Electric City council...

The National Park Service is again seeking entreprenuers interested in running the Keller Ferry and Seven Bays marina operations. The NPS issued two prospectuses Oct. 31 on two levels for both properties. Those concessions have been operating on...

The new Keller Ferry “Sanpoil” will be christened July 19, 2013, an official from Foss Maritime Company said Monday. However, there’s a whole lot of work that has to be completed before then. Some of that work is occurring this week near the...

Construction is starting today on new concrete pad and underground electrical installation at the Crescent Bay boat launch on Lake Roosevelt. The 145-foot by 84-foot pad will serve as a site for the later assembly of a new ferry boat for the Keller...

Phillip William George was born March 22, 1946, in Seattle, Wash., to Peter Sidney and Edith Bessie Williams Rosario. He was born Phillip Peter Rosario but was later adopted by his stepfather Russell...

Grand Coulee Police 9/3 - Police were told a man was going to kill himself. He was reached near Martin Road and told the officer that did indeed want to kill himself because of stress and said he was just putting his plan together. The officer took...

Nancy Brown and her grandson Lane take advantage of a National Park Service program Saturday night that offered telescopes to view celestial objects, including the moon a night after an official...

City sets criteria for cheaper rides The city of Grand Coulee, by resolution, passed an ambulance fee assistance policy at its meeting Aug. 21. If a person uses ambulance service and meets certain criteria, they can get a reduced rate, or the rate...

Three people were pulled from the water in Lake Roosevelt between Crescent Bay and Eden Harbor last Wednesday evening after their boat had capsized. When word of the incident reached boaters at Spring Canyon, Javier P. Baca from New Mexico, took off...

When America’s frontier was officially declared closed in 1890, the country scrambled for a new identity. For hundreds of years, we had been a nation with seemingly limitless borders. The stretch...

Here's the latest update just in. Most of the Buffalo Lake Road Fire was quiet yesterday, giving firefighters the opportunity to continue improving containment lines and mopping up throughout its perimeter. In the southeast section, near Swawilla...

The wildfire burning since Tuesday evening above Coulee Dam has scorched 7,800 acres so far, but only burned one old barn. No other structures have been lost, thanks to firefighters fending off the fl...

Bullish time starts tonight Pack the kids in the car and head out to the Rodeo Grounds tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 15) for the Ridge Rider’s bull riding event. A beer garden opens at 6 p.m. and action out of the chutes begins at 7 p.m. Some 36 bulls...

Ten Years Ago Messy home owners in the town of Elmer City will soon receive a notice at their home or a property they own which states that they must clean up or pay. Due to the overload on the town’s water pump, caused by the hot weather, the...

The National Park Service will feature both day and night astronomy programs, Saturday, Aug. 4. A daytime program will occur from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Spring Canyon day use area, where Education Specialist Janice Elvidge will hold a program about what...

Ten Years Ago Ryan Hunt completed Marine Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va., July 3 with two distinguishing awards; one for finishing in the top 10 percent of his class and one for superior physical performance. The Marconi brothers, Corporal...

People that have been around the area for a long time said last Friday afternoon’s storm was the worst they had ever seen. A National Weather Service warning at 12:54 p.m. said it was moving north...

Grand Coulee Police 7/15 - Officer Dan Holland responded to a Regional Tactical Response Team call in Moses Lake and assisted in serving a search warrant for an armed gang member. The man was also known to be an illegal immigrant. Police found a...

Primary ballots out this week Ballots for the Aug. 7 primary, will be mailed to voters today, Wednesday, in Grant County and Thursday in Okanogan County, their respective elections departments noted. If you don’t get a ballot by July 25, you can...

Grand Coulee Police 6/29 - A two week lapse of not reporting a hit and run incident at Safeway parking lot was questioned by police. The woman was told to ask Safeway if they had anything on tape from their security cameras. - A man on E. Grand Avenu...

The Grand Coulee Dam Federal Employees Association awarded scholarships to seven recipients this year. The people receiving their $500 scholarships this year are Paige Webley, of Spokane; Carrie Crosbey, of Cheney; Kayla Barger, of Ellensburg;...

Local astronomers will gather at Crescent Bay Lake area beginning at 3 p.m. today to view an event that won’t happen again until 2117 as the planet Venus moves between Earth and the sun. Provided there is any break in the clouds, you can join them...

Moratorium on pot growing extended Electric City’s council voted to extend its moratorium on medical marijuana collective gardens for another six months at its Tuesday meeting last week. The old moratorium ended April 30. Solar eclipse viewing set...

So many veterans feel confused about benefits and services they’ve earned. There’s so much to know...and so many changes from one year to the next. That’s why the nonprofit Disabled American Veterans (D-A-V) offers help. The DAV Mobile Service...

SHARP Kids will team up with National Park Service Ranger Janice Elvidge Monday night, when she offers “Constellation Connections,” a classroom program that teaches students their way around the night sky. The program meets state learning...

Ten Years Ago The 10 members of Grand Coulee High School’s State B champions and their coach came together for the first time in 42 years last Saturday. Ken Hoke, Bill Trefry, Wayne Snyder, Bob Pachosa, Don Kurth, Coach Jim Savitz, Ray Rice, Mark...

Grand Coulee 3/12 - An Electric City Goodfellow Street couple told officers that during the night someone had taken their blue 1997 Ford Taurus from their driveway. They reported that the car was locked and had a half tank of gas. - Police responded...

Dakota Columbia will operate the Seven Bays and Keller Ferry houseboat concessions for another year, the National Park Service confirmed Tuesday. The agreement was reached after an attempt to attract proposals for a 10-year contract failed. There...

I would like to personally, and professionally, on behalf of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area and the National Park Service, thank the Grand Coulee Community for your support of the 2012 Balde Eagle Education Festival! The tremendous...

NPS offers youth work Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area is accepting applications for the 2012 summer Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) program. Ten enrollees and leader positions will be recruited. These positions will be located at Spring...

Grand Coulee Police 2/1 - An Elmer City woman alleged that she had been assaulted by a nurse practitioner at Coulee Medical Center when she sought help from pain suffered while having dental work done. She said the hospital staff person grabbed her...

An effort by the National Park Service to get concession proposals for houseboat operations at Keller Ferry and Seven Bays drew a blank. Contracts at both operations had lapsed and were being renewed on a year-to-year basis. The NPS was seeking...

Eagle fest slated for February The Balde Eagle Festival will be held here Feb. 23, according to Janice Elvidge of the National Park Service. The need is for volunteers and housing, Elvidge said Tuesday. West Valley Outdoor Learning Center officials w...

The new Keller ferry will likely be assembled near the Crescent Bay boat ramp before its launch in May, 2013, the Regional Board of Mayors learned recently. Two officials, Mark Houghton and Warren Snider, of the Foss Maritime Company, the successful...

WSU Ferry County Extension’s Colville Reservation Extension Program, through  promotion of the 4-H National Youth Science Day event, Wired for Wind, has earned a $3,000 award. The 2011 Toyota Innovation Award for Promotion and Media Outreach...