News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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From Newman Lake to Lake Stevens, they came to fish Banks Lake last weekend to try to catch three different species of fish on each of two days. Local Brian Walters completed the task, with the greatest combined weights to take the big prize of a tricked-out Jackson kayak. Reel Recreation, a local non-profit led by fishing friends and dedicated to promoting fishing and other outdoor activities for kids, put on the Triple Fish Challenge tournament, which started in 2013 under the local chamber...
High school students tomorrow may pretend to die or be injured in a mock car crash planned for Thursday morning in an exercise designed to resemble the real tragedy. That will include "toning out" police and ambulance units to respond to the event at the Nespelem Community Center, so don't panic if you hear those genuine-sounding calls. The purpose is to portray to students just what can happen in the seconds and minutes after someone makes a mistake: distracted driving, driving intoxicated,...
Could be excellent pitching. Could be fast, smart base stealers. Could be good, solid bat-ting skills. It must be all of those. The Lady Raiders are having a season. The 1-A Omak Pioneers managed to get a point on them Saturday in Omak, losing 14-1. LR skunked Oroville last Thursday in Grand Coulee, 15-0. Yesterday, they scored 17 on Tonasket, holding the Tigers to 2 for their 10th win of the sea-son. They've only lost to Okanogan and ACH, once to each. The Raiders meet Manson there Thursday...
Ceremonial gold shovels overturned dirt after prayers, songs and speeches Tuesday, celebrating the coming construction of a new convalescent center north of Elmer City, where the Colville Tribes will build the new facility for elders and other clientele. Praise was high for the project and those who moved obstacles and legislatures to get it underway, but details were scarce. Jarred-Michael Erickson, chairman of the Business Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, said...
Last month, I traveled to Anchorage, Alaska for a Maternal and Child Health Conference. This conference brought together maternal health experts and advocates to discuss the heart-wrenching maternal health crisis in our country and what we’re doing to promote better outcomes. The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries. In 2021, 1,205 women died of maternal causes in the United States. In 2020, 861 women died of maternal causes in the U.S., a 40% increase in just one year, and some of our neighbors a...
Carmela Conroy gives eastern Washington voters the unusual, important opportunity to elect a foreign policy expert as their US Representative. As Foreign Service Officer for 24 years, she served in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Norway, New Zealand, and Tom Foley’s Japan office. US voters must weigh foreign policy experience much more heavily than usual in their 2024 voting decisions. Electing wannabe dictator Donald Trump would be a huge catastrophe for our national security by his policies towards Ukraine and Russia, with most congressional Republica...
In the United States, one of our most important freedoms is individual choice. However, the Biden Administration has unmistakably signaled its determination to advance its aggressive climate agenda at any cost — even at the expense of consumer choice — whether it pertains to gas stoves, dishwashers, or even gas-powered vehicles. As this administration continues their unconstitutional efforts to phase out gas vehicles in favor of electric vehicles (EVs), it overlooks a critical factor: the United States currently lacks the necessary inf...
Lake Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School clubs are planning trips to Seattle and Montana, following Monday night’s school board blessing. The school’s Knowledge Bowl competitors will head to the University of Washington on a trip paid partially by their own fundraising efforts and supported by the gifted program and the Colville Tribes. Members of the team and advisor Pam Johnson advised the board of a transportation problem that is worsening as the group grows: They don’t fit in a Suburban. Johnson said they have a dozen high school students in the a...
All counties are required to install “Albert Systems,” a technology that notifies counties when there is an attempted cybersecurity attack, under a bill Secretary of State Steve Hobbs endorsed. Even though ballot counting machines are not connected to the internet, election data is oftentimes circulated on internet communication channels. Technology like the Albert System can help protect the security of county records by monitoring any attempt to manipulate, intercept, or tamper with data transmitted through these channels. While 36 of 39 cou...
Big maps up on a screen made an impression. The maps outlined all the areas burned by wildfires in Okanogan County. The first slide showed burns from 1982 through 2013. The second slide added what has burned since 2013. From a glance at the map, you might guess that possibly twice as much land burned in the last 11 years as in the prior 31. In a room full of firefighters and others concerned with keeping the county from burning up, it was an appropriate intro to the Community Wildfire...
For decades, the debate over grizzly bear introduction into the North Cascades ecosystem has raged on, and I have been fighting tirelessly to ensure that the voices of Central Washingtonians are heard. Regrettably, last week saw the release of the U.S. National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with proposed action on the question of introducing grizzly bears to the region. This proves that—once again—the Biden Administration is acting without due consideration for the concerns of Ce...
Local organizations received accolades Tuesday night as the chamber of commerce announced the winners of three awards voted on by chamber members at a dinner for that purpose at MPH Hi-Dam. Addressing a fairly young crowd, Nancy Zimmerman-Boord, executive director of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, noted that young people are starting new businesses or taking over established ones. "What I love to see about this community ... is that our kids are stepping up into owning...
The third in a series of the "Okanogan County Community Wildfire Protection Plan" meetings will be held Wednesday evening, March 27, from 5-7 p.m., at the Lucy Covington Government Center, 21 Colville Street, Nespelem, the headquarters of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Any Okanogan County residents can attend the meeting to be able to "engage with CWPP partners and discuss community-level wildfire concerns and values at risk," an agenda for the meeting states. "We will...
Sometimes city governments run smoothly, but as they operate with humans in a democracy, rough patches happen. Balancing human needs, egos, ambitions, desires, skills, or a lack of them, all within the confines of public perceptions, budgets, legal restrictions, and politics sounds like the kind of idea that might cause many stalwart business pros to run screaming from the room where it was suggested. But that’s exactly what it takes for a city, or any municipality that serves us, to operate. It’s natural when tensions rise, and they can be...
Local firefighters fought a stubborn fire in a Delano home early Monday, with one person being taken from the scene by ambulance for treatment. At approximately 1:47 a.m. Grand Coulee and Electric City fire departments were dispatched for the fire at 57928 Yakima Street NE in Delano. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also responded for assistance and led fire ground operations, the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department, stated on its Facebook Monday. The Grand Coulee Ambulance took one patient from the scene to Coulee Medical Center for...
A ribbon cutting ceremony in Elmer City will introduce to the public the town's new fire hall March 21 at 1 p.m. The recently completed structure is already in use, housing fire engines for Okanogan County Fire Protection District 2. The $1.3 million project, funded mostly by the state Legislature with the final $150,000 coming from the federal American Rescue Plan Act via Okanogan County commissioners, began in 2022 when the town began seeking state funds. The project involved the work of two...
Among Cathy McMorris Rodgers’s negative legacies she leaves as US Representative, her most impactful may be on immigration. However, she still has time to improve that. Donald Trump cares nothing about our country, just his election. Accordingly, he recently ordered all Republicans to scuttle the bipartisan, long-negotiated Senate deal supporting Ukraine and limiting immigration that would be a victory for President Joe Biden. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, an election-denier, obeyed Trump by withholding a full House vote, despite e...
Two longtime teachers at Lake Roosevelt Elementary were commended Monday night for their everyday work and leadership at the school. The two had just reported on their activities with a new Teachers Advisory Committee, which works to provide information and perspectives to administration and the board. Christy Portch, the committee president, and Jaci Gross, vice president, said the committee of 13 had just met that day, discussing pertinent facts that some educational statistics don't make...
Coulee Dam will get state and federal help planting new trees on a street it clear cut last summer. The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced this week it will award Coulee Dam $71,180 for the work. The project is designed to restore and enhance Ferry Avenue’s tree canopy. More than 30 90-year-old maples were removed unexpectedly during a sidewalk replacement project in 2023. City engineer Marisa Stevens, of TD&H Engineering, applied for the funding to plant 24 new trees along Ferry Avenue, which was stripped of more than 30 of...
The picture of the LRHS Boys’ Basketball Team (in color) on the cover of The Star newspaper last week was amazing! They have been exciting to watch all season and this picture captured the joy and fun they’ve shown. So much class and poise in these young men on this Raider team … very special. Coach Adkins and her Raider cheer squad and Leadership class did numerous things throughout the entire season to support the team. The Head Cheer coach also collaborated with the Brewster Band Director. It started as a gesture of good sportsmanship with...
Have you noticed how many retired school employees regularly volunteer throughout our Okanogan County communities? Retired school employees have told me that helping community members is hard work but extremely satisfying. You may find them working throughout Okanogan County’s many organizations: local, state and federal citizens’ committees, hospitals, clinics, OBHC, senior citizen centers and Community Action. They also serve their communities through groups such as Okanogan County School Retirees’ Association (OCSRA), Kiwanis, Rotary, Mason...
Raider pride runs deep. And for a group of young men who've been working hard together for years, their final win on the hardwood felt good Saturday as they took third place in the state of Washington at the WIAA 2024 2B Boys State Basketball Tournament at the Spokane Arena. It wasn't a given outcome, despite the obvious talent on the team. They have speed, not a lot of height. They're smart, dedicated, and fearless. And their coach figured they had the best defensive team in the state. "I feel...
One way to get people involved might just be to throw a good party. Or as they call it at the Indian Education Program at Lake Roosevelt Schools, a "Family Engagement Night." They had a good one last week, as 230 people showed up to an event they'd planned for 100. "We were blown away by the attendance," program coordinator Ashley Three Irons-Atkins told the school board Monday night. The theme for the Feb. 22 event was a valentine "Be My Huckleberry" relationship-building emphasis. Dinner was...
As a third-generation farmer from Sunnyside, I understand the crucial role agriculture plays in our region. From tree fruits and hops to apples, potatoes, and wine grapes, Central Washington farmers produce over 300 different products and contribute over $9 billion in agriculture production to our economy. But without prioritizing our next generation of farmers, this level of impact will soon become impossible to replicate. The average age of farmers in the United States is 57 and a half years old, with only 9% under the age of 35. Children...
It's a time of year full of wake-up calls, and the Raiders got one Saturday as they squeaked by a team they'd had by 10 points in the first half of their "Opening Round" game in the state basketball tournament Saturday in Wenatchee. Lake Roosevelt (23-1) beat the Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars (18-4) by three points, 67-64. "That was a little bit closer than I'd like," Raider Coach Ed Wolfe said after the game. "They can shoot well, all the way across the board, all of them." The Raiders held a...