News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1926 - 1950 of 3145
“[Brad] Parrish stated that phase one of the trail system, from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park, would eliminate ‘a very dangerous’ stretch of narrow roadway that walkers and bicyclists have to face today.” Knowing there is already a dangerous stretch of roadway that walkers and bicyclists have to face today seems like the logical place to start. Why not put the focus there and make the necessary improvements for everyone’s safety? The speed limit is 35 mph and the state already owns the roadway and the right of way. Monies from Electric... Full story
On 1/11/16, the Spokesman Review announced that Okanogan County is one of five Washington counties that each donated $1,000 to the American Land Council (ALC), an organization supporting the militant (Bundy) takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. As of last April, 47 counties nationwide had given an average of $4,660 apiece to this organization. The ALC supports the transfer of ownership of federal public lands to local governments. Do we really want our hard-earned tax dollars spent in this manner, considering the very... Full story
LR Boys Basketball improved their overall win-loss record to 10-5 after winning two of the three games last week. The Raiders lost in double overtime to Oroville at home Jan. 19 after leading by as much as 15 points over the Hornets. At the end of regulation, the score was tied at 56. In the first overtime, both teams took turns leading until they finished OT at 63 all. In the second overtime, Oroville got hot and scored 18 points to Lake Roosevelt's nine to gain the victory with a final score... Full story
The Lady Raiders won all of three of their games last week, increasing their present win streak to four in a row. "We have played some decent ball with some of the changes we are making at this time," Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said, "things we feel have helped us get our groove back. We're not scoring a bunch of points, but we are playing together a lot better, which has led to improved play all around." In the first contest of the week, Lake Roosevelt took on the Hornets of Oroville at home... Full story
In two matches last week, Raider wrestlers used wins to warm up for a a mixer they'll host this weekend in Coulee Dam to settle scores, break ties and meet new opponents. At Okanogan Jan. 19, and in the Coyote Classic in Kittitas Jan. 23, Raiders wrestled in the final tuneups for the Central Washington South mixer on Saturday, which is where the coaches will decide the district tournament seeding. At Okanogan, the Raiders wrestled 10 matches, all against the Bulldogs. Five Raiders wrestled two... Full story
OLYMPIA-When a fire broke out in Asotin County last summer, Noel Hardin said a delay in state resources led to a bigger, more costly blaze. The fire chief for District 1 in the county says that by the time the fire was contained it cost $2 million to fight, but could have been much cheaper with faster support from the state. "The helicopter bill at that time would've been somewhere between three and four thousand dollars," Hardin said. One state lawmaker wants to make it easier for local fire...
Nespelem area voters should have ballots in hand soon for deciding on a school levy that would turn some $34,000 of their tax dollars into an additional $318,000 in state funds. Nespelem School District Superintendent Rich Stewart said the rate of tax on private property would come to about $2.49 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. The owner of a $100,000 house would pay $249 a year to support the local school, which serves about 120 students. The levy would replace the current levy, which nets the district $32,000 at $2.14 per thousand... Full story
Grand Coulee’s mayor is right when he says in a front-page article this week (“New twist could bring towns’ functions together”) that his city has “a lot to offer” other municipalities in considering how the four in the Grand Coulee Dam area might benefit by combining efforts. That’s basically because working together is usually a better way to solve problems among people of good will: problems such as how to pay for police services, firefighting and ambulance service; water, sewer and street maintenance, and the education of our children. Tha... Full story
Thank you for the excellent bicyclist photo on page 4 of The Star 1-13-2016 edition. However, I’m curious as to the intent of the photo title, “Maybe not YOUR first choice.” A more appropriate and effective title would be “A winter ride in the Coulee — a GREAT choice,” perhaps inspiring people to get outside for a bike ride or some other activity. The Coulee area has many fine natural qualities to explore and enjoy during the winter season as well as other times of the year. Walt Hunner The Bicyclist Electric City Editor’s response: As... Full story
The Raiders are on a three-game win streak after sweeping their opponents last week. The wins put the Raiders firmly in second place in the Central Washington 2B North with a one-game lead over the Liberty Bell Mountain Lions. LR canceled a game at Pateros Saturday due to weather conditions. On their home court Jan. 12, the Raiders held off the Bulldogs to win for the first time in four years over Okanogan. The Bulldogs could not find a rhythm and the Raiders exploited this for points. In the second half, the Bulldogs did put together a... Full story
The only senior wrestler on the Lake Roosevelt team, Jacob Smith, continued to win tournaments as he took the gold at the Sgt. Justin Norton Invitational at Rainier on Saturday. “Jacob Smith … had four pins on his way to the championship,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. Smith took the championship in his weight class in the face of stiff competition among 18 teams. Smith moved down from the 120-pound bracket to wrestle at 113 for the first time this season. He swept the field to take first place, pinning Spillman of Klahowya, Buyas of Chela... Full story
After losing three in a row, the Lady Raiders snapped that skid at Liberty Bell last Thursday, prevailing by one point over the Mountain Lions. “One and one for the week,” pointed out Lady Raiders’ Head Coach Wallace Pleasants, “with a very tough home loss to Okanogan and a good road win against Liberty Bell.” The team lost the chance to improve that record when games scheduled for Saturday at Pateros were canceled due to a winter storm. When Lake Roosevelt hosted Okanogan Jan. 12, the Bulldogs were in the driver’s seat from the opening tip... Full story
OLYMPIA — Teachers' compensation, teacher-shortage, the educational opportunity gap and school districts' operating levies are all on Washington state legislators' agenda this session as the state Supreme Court's McCleary mandate-along with the court's $100,000 per day contempt citation- loom over the proceedings. The 2016 session began Jan. 11, in Olympia. The Washington State Supreme Court in its January 2012 McCleary v. State of Washington decision, determined the state was not fulfilling its constitutional requirement to fund basic e...
The demise of the Alcoa aluminum plant in Wenatchee has led to a change in the location of the union lodge for machinists and a Bureau of Reclamation worker is now president. Wallace "Peewee" Pleasants was appointed president Thursday night, Jan. 8, of the Grand Coulee local lodge of International Association of Machinists. "We're all nervous, but at the same time, it's exciting," said Pleasants, a hydromechanic at Grand Coulee Dam. The development could spur more participation locally on the pa... Full story
OLYMPIA — When wildfires ignited around Twisp last summer, Meg Donohue said her coffee-roaster business shifted from being a popular gathering spot for the community to a place for up-to-the-minute news. “We found ourselves kind of being a hub for information, and a way for people to connect with each other, and find out what’s going on,” said Donohue, a Twisp resident and co-owner of Blue Star Coffee Roasters. The coffee retailer is one of many locally-owned businesses in Twisp that felt the impact of last year’s wildfire season – Washington... Full story
A story that starts on page 2 this week comes through The Star’s association with the state association that works with colleges in the state to encourage and support journalism education. “Governor, DNR 2016 budget proposals seek wildfire fighting, recovery funds” was written by a student through a special arrangement between The Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Foundation and the University of Washington’s journalism education program. You’ll likely see more coverage from the state’s capital again this winter as The Star uses stori... Full story
Raider Boys' Basketball ended a three-game week in second place in the Central Washington 2B North standings with a win over Waterville Saturday. Right now the Raiders' win-loss record stands at 6-4 overall and 4-1 in league play. They are tied with Liberty Bell for second in league standings. Lake Roosevelt made short work of the Tonasket Tigers Jan. 5 in Coulee Dam. The Tigers were never in contention as the Raiders racked up another win, 64-45, over Tonasket. This set up the game Jan. 7 at... Full story
The Lady Raiders won one and lost two basketball games last week in the first of two three-game weeks in a row. The Lady Raiders defeated Tonasket at home on Jan. 5 by the final score of 51-39, which improved Lake Roosevelt's league win-loss record to 4-0. Then on Thursday LR traveled to Brewster to take on the number-three Lady Bears, who were looking to come back from a 40-point loss to Okanogan. LR stayed in the game, but the Lady Bears built too much of a lead for LR to overcome. Brewster... Full story
Of the seven wrestlers Lake Roosevelt sent to the Charger Invite in Springdale Saturday, four placed at the tourney, including two who came home with weight bracket gold medals for first place. As a team, LR finished fourth overall, with 91 points. “We continue to show improvement every time we compete,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. “Saturday was a great day of wrestling. … We saw wrestlers from nine schools that we hadn’t already competed against this season.” At 120 pounds, Jacob Smith scored some solid wins enroute to his fifth tournament... Full story
The overhead covering that has shaded rodeo fans for decades collapsed sometime Sunday night or Monday morning, presumably a victim of a heavy snow load and its age. Much of it is lying in a heap on the seating area it used to cover, or hanging tenuously just above it, and will until the snow melts. "I figured it would be there forever, but I was wrong," said George Kohout, president of the Ridge Riders Saddle Club, which owns the rodeo grounds. It was built in the late 1950s or early '60s,... Full story
Patients checking in at Coulee Medical Center can now verify their identities with a state-of-the-art fingerprint scanner. The "SafeChx" system not only guards against identity theft, but also instantly links all of a patient's records when at check-in. The system guards against misidentifying patients who have the same name and will find multiple accounts opened for a single patient, making check-in faster and records administration more efficient. The first patient JoAnn Ehlers checked in... Full story
A program by King 5 News recently raised the question of whether the Gebbers family business (in Brewster) received “special treatment” (by the state Dept. of Natural Resources) in receiving $1.9 million for use of their untrained employees and equipment to fight fire during the Carlton Complex fires. Our state auditor found that normally-expected information wasn’t included in this contract with DNR. Even in the heat of the moment, why would apparently untrained Gebbers’ employees be paid good wages for firefighting when even experie... Full story
8 has been an eventful year for our nation and for the 4th District of Washington, which I have been honored to be given the responsibility by Central Washingtonians to represent you in Congress. My commitment has been to work hard on solutions, not just add to the partisan noise in D.C. I am committed to working for you, listening to you and responding to questions and comments you have. This year, my congressional office has provided resources at events held on behalf of farmers, students, and veterans. My staff made 24 mobile office... Full story
Raider wrestlers took part in two tournaments over the holiday break, with all Raiders placing in their nine-school home tourney, and several winning or placing against 14 teams in Warden. Lake Roosevelt hosted the 13th annual Powerhouse Tournament Dec. 29 at Gailord Nelson Gym, where nine of the eleven teams invited traveled to Coulee Dam to take part. Selkirk and Warden did not show. Okanogan took first overall in team points. LR finished fourth behind Omak and Rainier. All seven Raiders who w... Full story
The Raider boys over the holidays won a league basketball game and competed strongly against larger schools in the Eagle Holiday Classic at West Valley High School. At home against Manson, the Raiders won the league game Dec. 18, defeating the Trojans 58-39. “We learned a lot in this game,” Raider Head Coach Mario Adams said, “and that was to make sure every possession was run perfectly with our new offense and playing scrappy defense.” He said the Manson Trojans played determined and were well coached, but a turning point came in the third qua... Full story