News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A suggestion to finance a rebuild of Coulee Dam’s wastewater treatment plant over a period longer than it will last should raise concerns. It’s certainly something that could be done for the sake of lowering rates, but would you finance a new car over, say, 10 years, even if the car salesman told you it would last you only five? Perhaps all the moving parts of the plant will be new after the rebuild, but even concrete ages. And the concrete in the old sewer plant would be 90 years old by the time Coulee Dam citizens got done paying the 40-... Full story
Lived in the shade of that tree for almost five years. Measured the circumference with a friend at 23 feet, 8 inches a couple years ago. The same year I counted 13 bald eagles in it at the same time. That tree was very cool. Cutting it down was wrong. David Johnson... Full story
In his freshman year, Chance Garvin carried a big load for the Raider basketball team last season, playing guard, rotating underneath as a post, and playing stout zone defense all as a brand-new player on varsity basketball. All this was made even more amazing as Garvin came into the season with a knee injury that had ended his football season and threatened to take away his basketball season as well. Garvin went through a strict rehab program in Spokane so that the knee would be healed up for the basketball season, and it was a boon for the... Full story
The explosion at Grand Coulee Dam this morning was not a transformer or a generator, but a line and equipment connecting the two. Conflicitng reports this morning suggested that one or the other had exploded, but in the smoke-filled building it was hard to tell initially just what had happened. Exactly what happened is still unkown, but a "bus," basically a large pipe that goes through the wall of the right powerhouse is destroyed. An engineer who had been inside the damage is much worse inside...
In this community, whose economy is based overwhelmingly on a federal payroll and outsourced contracts, not a lot is yet certain about how the latest fiscal political drama emanating from the other Washington will play out. “Sequestration” became the law of the land on March 1. An act passed by Congress in 2011 was designed to give time for Democrats and Republicans to agree on a path toward reducing the nation’s deficit spending. It imposes across-the-board budget cuts on everybody’s favorite federal programs. At the time, it was assumed... Full story
With the announcement least week of an upcoming vacancy on Port District 7’s commission, someone wishing to make a difference for the community got another opportunity. Port districts across the state vary in the services they offer, but can be a huge boon to economic development efforts for the communities they serve. “Economic development” may sound to some like a boring topic. Think about creating jobs instead. That’s what port districts in Quincy and Moses Lake have been doing after decades of planning and building. They’ve managed t... Full story
A total of 18 girls each gained a title at the Feb. 16 Queen of Hearts pageant held at the Village Cinema. Organizer Heather Downs said it was standing room only at the theater, the use of which was donated for the event. Downs said the top overall title of “Coulee Sweetheart,” chosen by a secret judge, went to Melissa Merriman, of Electric City. Winners of each division were: Tiny Miss: Queen - Jaci Clark; Princess - Addison Marseilles; Jr. Princesses - Kimmie Thomason, Khloe Kelly. Petite Miss... Full story
The Chief Joseph Hatchery is scheduled for completion in May and should be rearing chinook salmon in July. The $49 million facility near Chief Joseph Dam will, by 2015, raise 2.9 million salmon a year to help replace the fisheries lost after the construction of Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams, which halted the upstream migrations of salmon. It will employ 11 people once it’s operational. Currently 66 people are working at the site. The project includes two acclimation ponds at Riverside and O...
Since last November, there has been a lot of talk about how passing immigration reform this year will be “smart politics” given the role Latino voters played in the recent election. As a small business owner, I’ll leave the political forecasting to the pundits, but I can say this: failing to pass immigration reform, whatever the politics, would be downright knuckle-headed economics. I’ve been recording history for over 40 years as a photographer, capturing events in people’s lives – like weddings, proms, and graduations. So I know a big moment... Full story
The Lady Raiders ended their season last Friday at Mt. Spokane High School, losing to the Northwest Christian Crusaders in a WIAA Regional game 64-29. The Lady Raiders had trouble offensively in the first half and could not capitalize on NWC’s mistakes early on. “We started off well,” Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said, “then we got careless with our passes, which led to 16 turnovers that Northwest Christian got 24 points off.” Northwest Christian played a stout zone defense that shut down both Katelynn Schilling and Danielle Laramie. Both woul... Full story
Enough is enough. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has apparently adopted a reckless and callous attitude toward community assets not made of concrete or steel, assets that make living easier in this semi-arid desert, assets that often take much longer to build than a dam. Trees are a treasure in this region, but becoming more rare thanks to decisions to cut them down at every opportunity. To be fair to the USBR, it’s not the only agency that finds trees easier to deal with as potential firewood. Trees are messy, in the way, their roots are o... Full story
The Raider wrestlers took home their highest placing trophy ever Saturday, placing second in the state in the B classification. Liberty Bell took home the championship, scoring 112 team points to the Raiders’ 79. LR edged out Pomeroy for second by 13 points, 79-66. The Raiders had left the Tacoma Dome on Friday night in fourth place. “We talked it over at the hotel about how to remedy the situation and put ourselves back into position to challenge for second,” Head Coach Steve Hood said. “That i... Full story
The Lady Raiders came away with third place at last week’s District 5-6 basketball tournament at Wenatchee High School. Lake Roosevelt will move on to the regional tournament this Friday at Mt. Spokane High School when they will take on Northwest Christian starting at 6 p.m. “It will be another tough game,” Head Coach Wallace Pleasants said. If the Lady Raiders win, then they will move on to the state 2B tournament in the Spokane Arena for the second time in three years. Coming in to the Distric... Full story
It will be interesting to see what emerges from a public records request in Grand Coulee causing the police department to review some 13,000 documents. It’s not clear what one of the department’s own officers is looking for, but what is clear is that it’s definitely relevant to the public interest. • Civil service commissions stand as a buffer between civil servants, who can make politically unpopular but correct decisions in the course of doing their jobs, and government administrators and politicians who may be influenced by other pressur... Full story
This week's extra photos are online, including dozens from the regional wrestling tournament in Reardan last week. Here's a slide show. 2-13-13 Star - Images by Scott Hunter...
Coulee Medical Center took a $1.9 million loss on its books for November, 2012, officials announced Wednesday after first briefing employees on the news. Most of the loss has actually accrued over time, but was recognized on the books now after a recent analysis of accounts. The adjustment does not affect cash, they said, and will have no effect on day-to-day operations. “During analysis conducted in the past several months, we identified the need to better address the past impacts of uninsured patients and those insured by Medicare and M... Full story
Valentine’s Day was taken over long ago by cards and flowers, candy and dinners accompanied by gifts. It is now a cash cow holiday for merchandisers. In addition, for many, it has become a day to honor women and girls in a fresh way. V-Day, introduced to the world by Eve Ensler in 1998, demands an end to violence against women and girls. Ask anyone and they would no doubt admit that they would love to be loved every day of the year, not just on one day. Ask anyone if they think violence is a way to show love and the answer would be no. Yet, o... Full story
Raider wrestling finished second in the Region 2 Wrestling Tournament last Friday and Saturday at Reardan High School. Lake Roosevelt scored 158 points to finish 10 points behind champion Liberty Bell. Of the 12 wrestlers present, the Raiders will send seven to compete at next weekend’s state tournament in Tacoma, with two more qualifying as alternates. Head Coach Steve Hood said the regional meet was a “very successful” tournament at which Raiders were either in first or challenging for first... Full story
The Raiders ended with a win last Thursday at Bridgeport to finish the 2012-13 season with a 7-13 record. The Raiders had been eliminated from postseason play Tuesday with a loss to Oroville. This was the first losing season since 2005-06 and the first time a Raider team failed to make it to districts since the 1998-99 season. At the Senior Night game against Oroville, Eldon Wilson was honored for all his services before the game as part of the Senior Night activities. Wearing throwback jerseys and warm ups, the Raiders jumped to an early 16-5... Full story
In the last week of the regular season, the Lady Raiders sealed up the number one spot into district competition from the north half of the league. Their must-win victory over the Bridgeport Fillies last Thursday came after a loss to the number-two Oroville Hornets on Feb. 5. With postseason placings hanging in the balance in the Senior Night game against Oroville, LR wore throwback uniforms and played an all-senior starting lineup as Tanecia Stanczak, Danielle Laramie, Johnny McCraigie, Rickyna Sam, and Hailey Chaney took to the court. Chaney... Full story
Lake Roosevelt wrestlers have earned medals at the state Matt Classic in Tacoma tonight. At 145 pounds, Orrin Gross is the state champion in the B division with a 13-5 win over Milo Holston of Liberty Bell. At 182, Sean Waters took second in a 6-3 match against Raymond’s Hunter Borden. At120, Oscar Pakootas took third, pinning Kittitas’s Jose Kike Marin. Kodie Horn took third at 138, pinning Mason Mackey of Wahkiakum. Octavio Alejandre took fourth at 285.... Full story
An 88-year-old Omak man was found dead Feb. 9, and police are investigating his death as a homicide. On the Colville Indian Reservation just outside Omak, the vicitm was found by his daughter who called police just after 9 a.m. Saturday. Below is a press release from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office. 02-10-13 HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION On 02-09-13 at around 9:10 PM Okanogan County Deputies along with Omak Police Department and Colville Tribal Police responded to 33 Brooks Tracts, just outside o...
The Raider wrestlers came home with a championship trophy from the Eastern Washington North B Sub-Regional last Saturday. Lake Roosevelt scored 173 points, edging out second-place Kittitas by only one point. The placing was so close that the difference between number-one LR and number-five Mary Walker was only seven points. This is the first District/Sub-Regional championship for LR wrestling since 2002. Head Coach Steve Hood and Coach Lee Largent both commented that it was also the first tourna... Full story
The Lady Raiders won two of three games last week, extending their win streak to eight games. They took on the 12-4 Tigers at Entiat Jan. 29, whom the Lady Raiders had beaten by only two points in the previous meeting in December. This time LR built an 18-point lead going into halftime. The big lead let Coach Wallace Pleasants give playing time to bench players and slowed down the game play to give them experience for districts and regionals. “I stayed in it too long and Entiat got back into t... Full story
The Raiders losing streak extends to four games as last week they lost on the road to Liberty Bell on the 31st and at home last Saturday to the South - leading Riverside Christian Crusaders. These losses hurt LR’s chance of a berth to Districts as now they find themselves in 4th place in the North behind Bridgeport who has the head to head win advantage over LR. At Liberty Bell, the Raiders had the bad luck of playing the Mountain Lions on a night when they hit every shot. “They shot the lig... Full story