News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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As we barrel towards a government shutdown due to Senate Democrats’ refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), essential programs and services here in Central Washington are now at risk. Congress has the responsibility under our Constitution to fund the federal government, and allowing a shutdown is a disservice to the American people. If the government shuts down, farmers and ranchers in the Methow and Yakima Valleys will lose access to Farm Service Agency employees due to furlough. Farm operating loans, conservation and crop d...
The Raider football team played the closest thing they've had to a home game so far this season on Saturday in an exhibition game against ACH at the Warrior's Brickhouse Athletic Field in a version of football for which they had one day to prepare. Almira Coulee Hartline, a 1B team, plays 8-man ball; the 2B Raiders play 11-man, which may not sound too different. The game proved otherwise, leaving a 92-44 ACH imprint on the Raiders' backsides. The game replaced a canceled Soap Lake home game for...
The Raider varsity football team will have a game this week after all. It starts at 5 p.m. Saturday in Coulee City against ACH. A Friday game scheduled against Soap Lake was canceled due to a lack of eligible players at Soap Lake, Athletic Director Casey Brewster told the school board Monday night, not long after learning of the cancellation. He was trying to fill the slot, for what had been a home game for the Raiders, by Wednesday but apparently was unable to do so. Lake Roosevelt and Soap... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam gained its fifth police officer, completing the department last week. Following his graduation from the Washington State Police Academy, Phillip Ogren was sworn in as an officer Sept. 15 and took the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor in a brief ceremony and reception at the Town Hall Ballroom. Chief Paul Bowden administered the oath of office. City officials, and Ogren's family and friends attended. Coulee Dam's police department also provides policing services for Electric...
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...
Several local businesses came together to arrange for weekend snacks and meals for certain local kids who might otherwise go hungrier over the weekend. A Second Harvest van rolled up to Lake Roosevelt Elementary School Thursday with about a month's worth of supplies for feeding 55 kids who can use a little extra help on the weekends. The delivery was the start of Second Harvest's Bite2Go program that partners up local donors with school staff who know which students would seem to benefit from...
The city council in Grand Coulee voted Tuesday to get started adopting a new ordinance intended to encourage commercial property owners to use their property, clean it up or sell it. Councilmember Tom Poplawski said he’s had no contacts from the owners of what he estimated were 10-15 local properties that are deteriorating instead of housing some business. Poplawski in July had brought to council examples of similar programs in other cities, including an actual ordinance from Medical Lake. A study undertaken in Blaine, Washington was also inclu...
We are just one month away from the start of hot commissioning at the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) at Hanford, a milestone in the cleanup effort more than 20 years in the making. Throughout my time in Congress, I have supported the Hanford mission and helped deliver resources to the project through my role on the House Appropriations Committee. While federal spending levels and policies change over the years, one thing remains true: Hanford will make history with the vitrification of radioactive waste this fall. Last week, reporting on the U.S....
by Scott Hunter The driver of a late model car left Spring Canyon Road after apparently losing control Saturday afternoon about 3, landing in dry brush and starting a fire. The crash happened right in front of a home at 4550 Spring Canyon Road. Firefighters got there quickly, according to Coulee Dam Police Officer Josh Watkins, who was at the scene for traffic control. No injuries were reported, other than financial. Only a metal hulk was left of the apparently late model car. Firefighters...
Electric City will shift dollars from a project city council members decided to give up on after years of setbacks, spending it instead on a popular park project that is taking shape but needs a financial boost. The city park being built just uphill from the fire station, but will eventually need more funding that what was currently available, despite fundraising efforts. Mayor Diane Kohout said a vote was taken at a special council meeting Aug. 28 to drop the Shoreline Waterfront Trail project that now would cost about $1.4 million to...
Since Lake Roosevelt School are now on a four-day school week, students won't be there for Friday meals, which is a problem for many students. The school district directors agreed Monday to change that with an amendment to their contract with Chartwells, the company that provides the food service, which noted they lost 20 percent of their revenue under the contract when the district went to a four-day week. Superintendent Rod Broadnax said he told Chartwells the district would not pay full...
Over 700 firefighters are battling two blazes on the Colville Reservation that have burned more than 23,000 acres of forested land. The Rattlesnake Fire started Sept. 1 from lightning and had burned 19,367 acres as of early Wednesday morning in the southeast corner of the reservation. It's 33% contained. The Lynx Mountain Fire has burned 4,226 acres since its Sept. 2 start from and undetermined cause. It is 5% contained. There are 762 firefighters on the fires. Evacuation levels have been set...
I began a Prayer Vigil for peace and forgiveness in 2010 after I watched a self-proclaimed preacher preaching hate and violence against Muslims. I believed his actions were contrary to the Way of Christ Jesus and dishonored the victims of 9/11 and their loved ones. On Thursday, Sept. 11, we are coming together once again in the spirit of peace to honor those who were killed on 9/11 in 2001 by men who believed that hate and violence are the answer to God’s calling. Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord. And as Christians we must understand that G...
Both at President Trump’s inauguration and at a recent meeting with him, we have seen the richest men in the world from our country cozying up to Trump to be in his good graces. They have all sold their souls for 30 pieces of silver, as Judas did, pushing the less fortunate people in our society to suffer and tough it out. Where is their guilt to go with it? Sincerely, Roz Luther...
In July, Congress passed an unprecedented Working Families Tax Cut, delivering tax relief for families and small businesses while making reforms to Medicaid to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability. Two months prior, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed the biennial state budget which included over $780 million in cuts to Medicaid over the next two years. In fact, the Governor held a performative press conference in Kennewick calling my position on H.R. 1 “morally bankrupt,” even though his signature on the state budget reduc...
Kids playing Monday night in the Grand Coulee Dam Youth Soccer league took up the last rays of sunlight at dusk with enthusiasm, even if it was for somersaults during the game instead of what their coaches are trying to instill in them. Makeup games, canceled earlier due to smoke, were underway at the former middle school in Grand Coulee. Ruth Randolph, of the league, said she has 168 kids signed up for the sport this year. Coach Trent Turner said he is surprised at how far many of the...
After a relatively easy early fire season, September started with a rash of new fire starts amid high temperatures and thunderstorms, resulting in thick wildfire smoke socking us in for a time on the first day of school in Coulee Dam. The Grant County Health District issued a warning that the smoke was thick enough across much of the county as to be "unhealthy" and warrant limiting time outside. "Poor air quality conditions are expected to continue as wildfires in Washington and neighboring...
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...
Sept. 1 marked five years since the devastating Labor Day Firestorm of 2020 swept through Washington State — one of the most destructive wildfire events in our state’s history. And a day I will never forget. In just 72 hours, over 600,000 acres burned. Entire communities like Malden and Pine City lost 80% of their homes and structures in just a few hours. Hundreds of homes were lost. Families displaced. Lives forever changed. And we lost a little boy’s life as his family tried to outrun the Cold Spring fire. It was a wake-up call. But it was a...
That roadside trail between Electric City and North Dam may get built yet, providing a safe path for pedstrians along the highway. The city council, frustrated with a lack of progress, in July had decided to explore starting over with their new engineering firm, but that firm talked them out of it at their meeting Aug. 12. Marissa Siemens, of TD&H Engineering, said the city's previous contracted engineering firm, Century West, has the plans about 90% complete for the project that would add a...
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...
As we recently honored John Lewis with nationwide rallies/protests on the fifth anniversary of his death July 17, and local rallies/protests July 18, we have nine good examples of the “Good Trouble” he advocated. That is, nine Spokanites who were part of the June 11 protest at Spokane’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office were charged on July 15 for their acts of non-violent civil disobedience that was the story of John Lewis’ life. Will the actions of the “Spokane-Nine” become the national model for what’s necessary to stop Presid...
Electric City wants to move ahead with discussions on forming a regional fire authority, an option proposed last fall in an all-community meeting called to discuss the future of local emergency services. The city council agreed last week to send a letter stating the city is in favor of moving ahead with talks to pursue the establishment of a regional fire authority with five other entities: Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, Grant County Fire District 14, Lincoln County Fire District 9, and Okanogan...
Larry Hernandez got his lease extended for the Village Cinema last week, with monthly rent coming to $1,500 a month, including $600 plus $900 of in-kind work on the building. The town council wouldn't budge Wednesday on his request to put off the collection of the $600 cash component for another three months. Hernandez approached the town a year ago with a plan to take over the space if he could have a year to get it functional again as a theater and more, with his upgrade work paying the rent f...
President Trump announced on Aug. 18 that he would sign an executive order to eliminate vote by mail and voting machines ahead of the 2026 midterms. The president’s announcement should be rejected for what it is: federal interference in state authority and a direct threat to every eligible American’s right to cast a ballot and have it counted. The Constitution is clear. Article I, Section 4, Clause 1 gives Congress and state legislatures the authority to set the “Times, Places and Manner” of elections — not the president. For nearly two decad...