News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1901 - 1925 of 3075
Thank you for your thoughtful, insightful editorial (“Seeking the fair tale land of no taxes” 11/18). Not surprised you drew fire from the “Greed is Good” crowd. “How much is enough?” your critics ask. (Or, “What’s in it for me?”) Because if we give more, we should get something more in return. Right? The answer to “How much is enough?” is all that we see around us and anything more that we dare to imagine. A few generations ago, who could have foreseen “indoor plumbing” and germ-free water flowing in every home? (Remember when we had to... Full story
Great response from Mr. Cathcart. I appreciate your letter “Wanting to pay less to government is no fairy tale, 11/25” and agree with you. We are taxed excessively (those who pay taxes) and there is little to no accountability from our officials. We do need much less government and they need to do the right thing for us. We are not getting that response much of the time. Bob Hendrickson... Full story
We would like to thank everyone for the interest you have shown regarding the potential purchase of the Center School by the North American Wool Co-op. We are members of the co-op and we were working together to assess the feasibility of the purchase. We are sorry to say it is not feasible for the co-op or us to go forward with the purchase. The building offers so much potential and risk! I wish we had deeper pockets to make it work. Just not so! We would like to thank the following: Dennis Carlson and Debbie Starkey for taking their time to... Full story
Attention all health care professionals! Ranked 37th out of 39 Washington state counties in public health, according to a respected study, Okanogan County remains in critical need of a secure public health system. Yet our county commissioners have repeatedly cut the public health budget in recent years. A new Board of Health will begin its term on December 8. The new Board of Health members, who were appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, are Steve Varrelman, a licensed installer of septic systems from Pateros; Larry Zimmerland, of... Full story
Coulee Medical Center officials were hoping to break even for 2015, but probably won’t make it, Chief Financial Officer Paul Babcock told Hospital District 6 commissioners Monday night. CMC and its clinics lost nearly $125,000 in October, about 7 percent of its net operating revenue of almost $1.8 million. The low month brings CMC’s year-to-date losses to about $418,975, which compares favorably to a loss of more than $2.5 million for the same time frame a year ago. Even a good November and December are unlikely to be good enough for a bre... Full story
Former Star owner, editor and publisher Jack Hilson, a man whose political expertise helped to build the local airport, Steamboat Rock State Park and more, has died. After serving in the Navy in World War II, Jack and his wife, Dolores, became involved in the newspaper in 1947, and began buying it from family members in 1958. Hilson served on the Grant County Port District 7 Commission for 10 years and also sat on the state Parks and Recreation Commission. His friendships with powerful United States senators and the speaker of the House of... Full story
While Mr. Hunter’s editorial (“Seeking the fairy tale land of no taxes,” 11/18) makes some good points about how taxes are used to pay for the upkeep of our roads, I take issue with some of the other statements. I do believe that most people realize that some taxes are necessary to maintain roads, provide police/fire protection, keep the parks nice, etc. But how much is enough? He says that “we all want services, and we all want to not pay for them.” That statement does not tell the whole story. We pay income tax, property tax, vehicle license... Full story
Seriously?! So this dog had ONE incident involving a FERAL CAT and it is possibly going to be labeled “dangerous?” SERIOUSLY?! When did dogs EVER start liking cats they didn’t already live with? I have two cats and two dogs. They get along fine, but if another cat came into my house or yard, I know for a fact that my dogs would probably try to catch it and do harm to it. I don’t understand this situation! I can understand if this was an incident involving a person being attacked or the dog getting loose and acting aggressively with people... Full story
Nespelem School District will ask voters to support a four-year levy in February. The school board voted Monday night to pass a resolution for the $36,000 levy, which would replace the current operations and maintenance levy and gain the tiny district state “levy equalization” funds that would likely total more than a million dollars over the four years. The levy, proposed by Superintendent Rich Stewart, would remain at $36,000 each year and not increase, with a tax rate of about $2.49 per $1,000 of assessed value on real property. Stewart sai... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam is set to gain a new sewer plant but lose an ambulance service. The town expects to spend nearly $7 million of its wastewater fund in 2016, when a long-awaited revamp of its wastewater treatment plant is anticipated to begin in late summer. A preliminary budget shows the town ending next year with nearly $857,000 in reserves, even after spending some $10,053,652, most of that on the sewer plant. At the town council’s Nov. 12, meeting there was no discussion on the budget or on Mayor Greg Wilder’s 2016 “budget messa... Full story
Once upon a time, in a land … well, right here … we didn’t have to depend on fairy tales to fund basic necessities. But we did live under the spell of a powerful and hated potion that cast a pall across the land. By helping to pay for our other bad habits, the potion kept us hooked and gained power every year, until one day, a charlatan came with bright, shining lies and said that all would be well if we would only turn away from the potion. And for a while it seemed all was well, until the world started to crumble and the people reali... Full story
Sometimes in life we are given gifts, sometimes extraordinary gifts in the relationships we are fortuitous enough to wander into. One of those extraordinary gifts came to me, by happenstance or God’s way of remaining anonymous, in the form of my friendship with Ed Allan. I was a neophyte lawyer in the early l980s, moving to Grant County to begin a practice with my father, when I first met Ed. His kindness and warmth was immediate. I vividly recall the first time I was introduced to him at the Grant County Courthouse. He welcomed me like a l... Full story
You can understand why President Obama and congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle sought to cast their end-of-October budget deal in the best possible light. They avoided a potentially catastrophic national default. They reduced the possibility of a government shutdown. And they raised the debt ceiling until March 2017, taking that bargaining chip off the table until the next president is in the White House. For a last-minute, secret, backroom deal, that’s not too shabby. It was bipartisan and took modest steps in the direction of p... Full story
LR Football finished the season with its best winning percentage since 2004 and its closest to state playoffs since 2003. With these improvements came the greatest number of Raiders at the end of the season named to all-league squads in many years. “Our football team started the year in June with one goal and two expectations,” Head Coach Geary Oliver said. “Our goal was to compete to the final buzzer in every game, and our expectations were to have fun and self-respect.” Oliver attributes the high number of all-league selections to the players... Full story
Sean Garvin, Jocelyn Moore, and Kayley Duclos were all named to the Central Washington 2B North All League Volleyball Squads last week. Garvin was named to the first team by the league’s coaches, while Moore and Duclos earned an honorable mention. “All three girls that were nominated for all-league were consistently my stat leaders throughout the season,” Head Coach Kasey Garvin said. “I’m proud that (Sean) received a first-team honor again this year,” Coach Garvin said. “She puts in a lot of time in the off-season, and the league coache... Full story
Two Lake Roosevelt runners were named to the Central Washington B League North Cross Country All League teams for the 2015 season. Loryn Moore was named to the girls’ second team after her second state appearance. “Loryn finished off a great season with a very strong run at state,” Head LR Coach Gary Darnold said. “The best comparison is last year to this year on the same course, and Loryn has been consistently bettering her times this season. … She did the same at state, running nearly 30 seconds faster, and placed better too, … a perfect exa... Full story
A run over the top of Grand Coulee Dam will be revived, even after its last organizers dropped it, if Kelly Buche has anything to say about it. Buche, a local accountant and active runner, is aggressively planning how to organize, promote and pull off a race that at one time in its long history drew 400 runners. Run the Dam can offer a lot to the running public if promoted the right way and set at the right time of year, Buche told the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District at their Nov. 2... Full story
A new project aimed at refurbishing very old structures atop Grand Coulee Dam, like so much of the dam, is likely to yield the largest such device ever built. The 11 drum gates used to control the lake level, at 75 years old, are in need of major refurbishing, not just annual maintenance, explains Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. But that poses big problems without a way to plan long-term projects around the operation of a reservoir used to control the flow of the Columbia River, for... Full story
The Okanogan Bulldogs, the defending state 2B champions, defeated the Raiders 56-0 in Okanogan in the Central Washington 2B Crossover game on Friday night. The game was a play-in for state playoffs with the number-two seed for District 5-6 on the line. This was the closest the Raiders have been to state playoffs since 2003. This was also the first matchup between the Raiders and the Bulldogs since 2011. In the first quarter, the Bulldogs jumped ahead quickly on a Morgan Poulin touchdown run.... Full story
Loryn Moore, in her second trip to state cross country, finished 37th overall with the time of 21 minutes, 48.7 seconds Saturday. Moore ran a 22-second personal record for the state race and improved her placing from last year when she took 38th. Head Coach Gary Darnold looks forward to the future as the majority of the team will be returning to build upon the experience gained this past season. In the girls' 2B race, Ocosta (Westport) is the 2015 team state champion. Liberty Bell girls took... Full story
“Driver falls asleep at wheel, crashes in Vancouver. VANCOUVER, Wash. - A car crashed and rolled over on its side on Highway 14 after the driver fell asleep at the wheel.” “Police: Drowsy driver caused crash that killed two. MARYSVILLE - The driver who caused the Jan. 2 crash that killed two people along Highway 9 near Marysville had fallen asleep at the wheel.” “Five Dead After Driver Falls Asleep at the Wheel. Walla Walla - Washington State Troopers say five are dead after a driver falls asleep at the wheel on State Route 124.” “Semi rolls... Full story
Raider football finished the 2015 regular season with the best winning percentage of any Raider football team since 2004, capping it off with a win over Soap Lake Friday. Last night, the Raiders played their first playoff game since 2001 as part of a tiebreaker for the third- and fourth-place spot in the Central Washington 2B South for the state playoffs this weekend. This was made possible when the Raiders defeated the Soap Lake Eagles on Oct. 30, 14-7. Lake Roosevelt had lost 34-7 to Soap Lake in September in a non-league game, and the... Full story
Lady Raiders Volleyball finished the 2015 season in Ephrata, playing in the pigtail match of the District 5-6 Volleyball Tournament. LR came into the tournament as the number-five seed from the Central Washington 2B North and played number-four Waterville Shockers from the CW 2B South in a pigtail match to start the tournament. The loser of the match was done, while the winner played Okanogan and went to a double-elimination tournament. LR lost to the Shockers in a three game sweep. "Waterville... Full story
Loryn Moore will compete at the state cross country meet Saturday for the second year in a row, after qualifying at the District 5-6 race at Wentachee last weekend. “Loryn Moore ran a very aggressive race, placing second and qualifying for state,” Raider Head Coach Gary Darnold said. “She was nearly a minute faster than her time on the same course last year at the same district race.” Moore crossed the finish line at 20 minutes, 53 seconds, a career personal record. Kayla St. Pierre was the other Raider girl who ran on Halloween day in Wenatch... Full story
A group of Tilmus Street residents in Coulee Dam asked the town council for better care of the sycamore trees lining the street. They said the trees, which once were taken care of regularly by the town, have become overgrown and possibly dangerous. “They’re the worst I’ve seen them since I’ve lived on Tilmus … since 1966,” said Merv Schmidt, a former town council member. “Why we got out of the plan of taking care of our trees on an annual basis, I’d like to know.” Mayor Greg Wilder said the town’s volunteer board dedicated to tree issues has... Full story