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

Want a bus so you can get to the store or doctor? Want a bus in town to take you to the senior center? Want bus service to drive you home from a community event? Raise your hand!

If any of this is true, why did we have a Grand Coulee Mobility Summit March 15 at the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, and out of 20-plus organization that were invited ONLY three attended?

It does not help just to sit with your friend at coffee or at the bar and complain about things we do not have in town. Only one city had a representative, no representative from any of the government agencies, no Care and Share Food Bank, no local vets, no school district and much more.

If we want to improve the bus system in the Grand Coulee Dam area, we have to speak up and tell the Washington State Transportation Board that we are rural and need transportation around, and in and out of, the area.

We have lots of transportation options around the community, but we have to work to make them work together and to get the word out to the general public. We need people to help with schedules and maps. We need paid drivers to drive the bus, full-time and part-time. https://www.pfp.org/Careers/Jobs.aspx

Our children want to take classes at Big Bend in Moses Lake, but we need input on what days and what times we need. Organizations need to work to get buses later at night so you can get home safely from community events.

If you want to know more about the Grant Transit Authority (GTA) and People for People services, you have a local representative, Rich McGuire, who lives in your community and attends meetings of GTA monthly.

Birdie Hensley