News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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You can only milk a cow, or an asset, for so long before you have to put something back in. Cities and towns, whose elected officials feel the pain of their tax- and rate-payers, eventually get forced to deal with that problem. Local cities are no different. Currently, Coulee Dam has had its share of struggles with an added historical burden that makes the pain seem worse. A case in point came to the fore briefly at last Wednesday’s city council meeting. The Community Building, that concrete edifice which houses the Melody Restaurant, R...
One of Congress’ most important Constitutional responsibilities is providing for our military and national defense. For the past 58 years, this has been a bipartisan affair. Members of the House and Senate from both sides of the aisle have come together to pass a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that provides for our military and troops who fight to protect and defend us. Last week, instead of voting on a bill that would ensure our troops have the resources they need and deserve, the House of Representatives voted on the D...
In the park below the Visitor Center July 4, people watch the fireworks off Grand Coulee Dam, put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. The chamber reported receiving praise for this year's "best ever" fireworks from many people that night and in emails later. Their Festival of America, which draws thousands each year to Coulee Dam, suffered no "major drama" this year, reported Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal, despite a thunderstorm during set-up time on Tuesday, and one lost... Full story
More than 40 Beavers gathered in front of Lake Roosevelt Schools July 4. The Beavers, alumni of Coulee Dam High School, attended the unveiling of a plaque commemorating their alma mater and mascot as one of the forerunners of Lake Roosevelt Jr-Sr High School and its Raiders. The plaque, applied the day before to a basalt column already sporting a similar one for the Grand Coulee Tigers, shows the school's blue and gold colors and a depiction of the mascot newly re-imagined by 1970 graduate Jack...
Three weeks into her latest foray and seven years after starting this adventure, the self-proclaimed most-decorated National Park Service junior ranger made it to Coulee Dam on Monday. Aida Frey, 17, has, along with proud and devoted parents, been to more than 300 national parks since she was 9 years old. That's when they met a couple dedicated park rangers who brushed aside quitting time at 5 p.m. to sign her up for the junior ranger program. She completed a workbook about the park at Effigy...
This Fourth of July, America will celebrate its 243rdbirthday. Our country has come a long way since 1776, and there is still more progress to be made. Our independence and our patriotism are what set the United States apart from the rest of the world, and we have a lot to be thankful for. As we gather with our family and friends to celebrate our freedom, we should also celebrate some of our nation’s finest treasures: our national parks and public lands. Washington state is fortunate to be home to 15 National Park Service (NPS) parks, which g...
Coulee Dam will move ahead with applying for a grant to fix the sidewalks on Ferry Avenue, several portions of which have been heaving several inches as tree roots underneath push up the concrete. Councilmember Fred Netzel and the city’s consulting engineer Kurt Holland, of Varela Engineering, pulled together a grant application just in time to submit to the state’s Transportation Improvement Board to replace all 1,200 feet of walkways along each side of the street. Coulee Dam is asking for some $103,600 in grant funding. If the state gra...
The man who leads the state's legal bureaucracy, basically the state's own law firm, told an audience in Grand Coulee last week that the smaller part of their work gets the most headlines, but costs taxpayers nothing. That's because that part of the Attorney General's Office that takes others to court - actually sues other agencies or private companies - is in essence a state-owned law firm that operates off the settlements or judgments from those suits. But the vast majority of their work is...
Gentlemen, I am writing to express my gratitude for your removal of one of the last remaining recreation sites for the elderly in this area. I am sure all of the incapacitated and handicapped people will appreciate this as well. Incidentally, I would like to compare the safety incidences reported at Geezer Beach versus USBR safety records. Thank you again from one of the original geezers! Bob Poch Resident of Coulee Dam...
Why not hassle the locals? It’s been a while since the last time, and it seems we need a lame excuse to get back at the people for welcoming us here. Sound familiar? It should, if you have lived in the Grand Coulee Dam area for any length of time, you’ll recall some of the more memorable acts by this capricious organization. There have been many arbitrary moves by the Bureau, but I want to select a few as a reminder as to how those in control could give a rip about the people who live here. First, going back to the 1960s, in order to raise the...
Kids and their parents in the region will have plenty to do this weekend, with the local chamber of commerce’s Koulee Kids Fest offering activities all over town and Nespelem’s Millpond Days offering activities there. The chamber event for kids starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and offers 14 different activities around the community, from touring a fire truck to mini-golf, planting a flower, painting a piggy bank to free ice cream to building a dam. Those locations and more are detailed on a map on page 8 in an advertisement. Parents can pick and cho...
One of the least threatening places you can go is a beach in late afternoon where a couple of old anglers are quietly staring at the water, waiting for a line to move. If anybody understands the unwritten rule, the need for common courtesy, the paramount importance of everyone doing his or her part to maintain the norm, it’s people who like to sit quietly and fish. That could have something to do with why no instances of unsafe or uncivil behavior come to mind, over the last several decades, at the place that has come to be known as Geezer B...
You may not be ready for next year’s elections, but in political time, they’re coming up fast. Which means that at some point you’re almost certain to hear someone announce, sternly, “I. Will. Not. Compromise.” And if you’re there in the crowd and agree with his or her position, you may even join the applause. Which is understandable, but let me tell you why, far from applauding that line, I shy from politicians who use it. In a democracy, being able to compromise — and knowing how — is a core skill for governing. Shouting “No Compromise!...
On a day for celebrating their accomplishments, the Lake Roosevelt High School class of 2019 seemed to take as much joy in giving awards as getting them Saturday, as they took part in the annual graduation rituals at the school's Gailord Nelson Gym. An undercurrent of emotion carried through the formalities. Principal Ronanda Liberty's understated description of the class as "resilient" hinted at a year more challenging than most for the class. She didn't elaborate. Before accolades were given...
At 40, he thought he'd left his cross-country bicycling days in his 20s. Then his 6-year-old shared a dream. James Colver and his son Shepherd, now 7, are bicycling across the country, from Anacortes, Washington, to New York City. If they make it, says James, Shepherd will be the youngest person ever to cross the United States by bicycle. Last weekend they visited the Grand Coulee Dam area. James, now a mechanical contractor from Kenmore, Washington, had toured professionally in his 20s,...
The Ridge Riders Saddle Club and their annual rodeos got a boost Monday as Jess Ford principal Garrett Jess handed a check to Ridge Rider President George Kohout to cover the cost of a new piece of equipment. The $2,400 will pay for a new chute for the team-roping event at the Colorama Rodeo. "I kind of have a soft spot for rodeo in my heart," said Jess, who also competes in team roping on the rodeo circuit. That's something he "can't remember not doing," he said, but he only recognized as an...
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) motto is, “Caring for the land and serving people.” That is exactly what the students of USFS Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers do. With 25 locations across the country, these Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) provide skills and job training to “at-risk” young people who need a hand up to find gainful employment or receive their high school GED. Students are taught real skills they use to serve and bring economic prosperity to their local communities and our national forests. Central Washington is luck...
An 81-year-old man from the Grand Coulee Dam area was the subject of a search and rescue operation on Lake Rufus Woods, and the Douglas County Sheriff is now asking for information from anyone who might have seen him launching his boat. Charles Baker's boat, a 14-foot Alumacraft, was seen floating unoccupied five miles above Chief Joseph Dam May 29, and the next day was beached, authorities said. Baker's 1990 blue Dodge Pickup and boat trailer was found at the Army Corp of Engineers boat launch... Full story
Coulee Dam’s sidewalks on Ferry Avenue are heaving, with some uplifted by tree roots by several inches. Councilmember Fred Netzel said he recently walked the street with an engineer, who said the whole 1,200-feet of sidewalks on the street should be replaced. That could be a $100,000 project, Netzel told the city council Wednesday, and an application for an 86.5-percent grant needs to be turned in to the granting agency by June 7. The city should have about $32,000 in it by the end of the year to meet the matching requirement. He slipped in a...
The town of Coulee Dam doesn’t have a functional fire department currently, relying heavily on mutual aid agreements with other local departments. Mayor Bob Poch said Wednesday that several people are interested in stepping up to fill that void, and talks are ongoing with other towns’ more experienced firefighters to offer training. “We have some people that have stepped up and started to volunteer again,” Poch told the city council, and six or eight younger people in town are willing to join the volunteer fire department. “It’s a slower proc...
Coulee Dam’s “Community Building,” the one that houses The Melody Restaurant, Riverview Bowl and the currently unused theater space, has a bigger problem than the city’s budget can currently fix: it needs a new roof. Not a patch job on the leaky roof that customers at the businesses below having been putting up with for years, dodging buckets when it rains, but a completely new covering for which at least one contractor doesn’t even want to offer a cost estimate until he sees an engineer’s specifications. It’s a project that City Superintenden...
Considering the fact that the lowering of the speed limit from 40 to 30 mph on a short strip of three-lane from Grand Coulee to the Grand Coulee Project offices had nothing to do with construction safety concerns, the Bureau of Reclamation’s suggestion that it should own a portion of B Street should be considered, with conditions. The real reason the bureau lowered that speed limit on the portion of State Route 155 that it owns was to make legal what it has been doing since it took delivery of a couple dozen all-electric utility vehicles t...
I am lucky enough these days to be in regular touch with young people who are interested in public service. I find hope in their quality, energy, and motivation, and they press me to think more deeply about what it takes to pursue a life in the public realm. I’ve come to believe that at the heart of it all — indeed, at the heart of representative democracy itself — is persuasion. If you’re trying to improve society, you have to persuade other people: the only way to get things done is to convince other people to join in. I once was fortunate to...
Put off by bids all higher than expected, Electric City leaders May 14 tabled awarding a construction contract for a new entrance sign to the city until asking for the public’s opinion. The city is now taking a poll to gauge public opinion. Votes, by Electric City residents only, can be registered at city hall or online at the city’s website at www.electriccity.us. Expecting a bid for about $35,000, council members were hesitant to accept bids that started nearly $10,000 higher and climbed to more than $100,000. “Seems like a lot of money...
The Isle of Flags Memorial Day ceremony is set for 11 a.m. Monday, May 27, at Spring Canyon Cemetery, when a dozen new flags will be dedicated to fallen veterans. Those will join more than 500 that have been dedicated over the years and make for a rousing display each Memorial Day. That happens with a lot of volunteer help, and community members are encouraged to join in. Anyone who would like to help set up the flags can do so on Saturday, May 25, at 1 p.m. Local veterans will also be serving up their Veterans’ Center Memorial Day Breakfast a...