News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Their house didn't burn, but firefighters couldn't save the garage/shop at Bill and Heather Williams' home in Electric City Monday when fire cut short their plans to work on an old pickup. Searching for the bright side as firefighters sprayed down the charred wood and hot metal siding, Heather Williams said at least they wouldn't have to decide what to keep from a collection of belongings they'd moved into the garage to sort. Electric City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Payne said Bill...
Students from four area schools got to stomp around a field on the Colville Reservation in a citizen science experiment that continued this June. The students, from Nespelem and Keller schools on June 6 and from Lake Roosevelt and Inchelium schools June 7, had prepared in class a lot of "seed bombs," for planting native wildflowers on a field of native bunchgrass. The bombs, which a year ago had been made of clay and a pinch of seeds for the same experiment, this year had a bit different makeup...
Sometimes, there’s a gap between what is right and what is legal. Government is good at falling into those. Locally, the four mayors who comprise the Regional Board of Mayors are asking their councils to consider a problem: an Electric City employee at the transfer station whose wages are funded by the RBOM had his long-term wage agreement altered several years ago without his knowledge or consent and is now asking to be made whole on the “longevity pay” increases he didn’t get. Most council members in Elmer City, Grand Coulee and Coulee...
The federal debt ceiling crisis was averted but tax cheats benefited. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contained $79 billion for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); $45 billion of it was to audit individuals or businesses making over $400,000 dollars annually, to catch those not paying their taxes. Funding cuts for many years rendered the IRS largely unable to audit the wealthy. Currently, the amount in taxes owed but not paid totals nearly $7 trillion over a decade; three-fifths is held by the top 10% of taxpayers, more than one-quarter by...
Forty students graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School Saturday as the class of 2023 gathered for that last time - on the stage at the gym in gown and cap. Much about the speeches echoed those sentiments that rightly drip from every high school graduation - "the last time," "the next chapter," and so forth. But the tone, the affection, the familiarity - as in, family-like - seemed something more. "The friendships that we have made over the years have shaped us into the young men and women...
With the face of Grand Coulee Dam as a backdrop Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's top official wrapped up a tour of facilities in celebration of the agency's 120-year history and the 81 years since the first filling of Lake Roosevelt. Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton listed Reclamation stats the crowd could be proud of, perhaps part of the purpose of the visit and tour. It's not always popular being the "nation's largest wholesale water supplier" in an era when folks in the...
After the latest reactive management decision from our local GCDSD Board, community and staff members who are furious about the superintendent selection asked me to share their total lack of trust in these elected officials. As someone who has five Raider graduates, loved and fully supported the GCDSD for years, this selfish decision does not surprise me. I just wanted to wait until after the 2023 graduation was over before I shared thoughts that I truly feel are also supported by the majority of community and staff. As taxpayers there is obvio...
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a resounding victory for individual property rights for the people of Central Washington and rural America when they unanimously sided with the Sacketts in the Sackett v. EPA case. The decision brings clarity to landowners who have long been burdened by the draconian Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule, which cast a cloud of uncertainty over their ability to fully utilize their property. Now, it’s time for the Biden Administration to repeal their flawed and unconstitutional WOTUS rule and f...
Readers of The Star may notice some changes next month, including weekly full color on some pages and a narrower width of the newspaper, but they come at great cost to Grant County. The venerable Grant County Journal, the Ephrata newspaper where The Star and The Star Buyers Guide have been printed for decades, will cease publication at the end of June after 116 years of serving that community and promoting community journalism in eastern Washington by backing independent publishers. The change means we will be printing at the Cheney Free Press...
Grand Coulee Police said Tuesday that their department email account had been “hacked,” after they were notified about 9:45 a.m. of a potential spam email that had been sent from Chief John Tufts account, containing an unknown attachment. The list of recipients was not known, but multiple organizations began notifying the MACC (Multiple Agency Communications Center) dispatchers that they had received the suspicious email, which contained an altered disclaimer and department name that indicated it was of a foreign origin. “Chief Tufts and Offic...
The Nespelem School board Monday OK'd an agreement with the Grand Coulee Dam School District to split the federal Impact Aid money received in the 2023-24 school year for Nespelem students, with 75% going to the GCD district, and 25% going to Nespelem, both for K-8 students and for older students who would normally transfer to Grand Coulee Dam for high school. The two districts have been in negotiations on a new "tuition agreement" the federal Dept. of Education said was needed to make the...
At home, the kitchen is at the heart of many American households. It’s from where we send our children off to school after cooking breakfast, enjoy delicious meals with family, and come together with friends and neighbors. While the kitchen serves a reliable place to gather, the Biden Administration is setting their sights on removing an unexpected target: gas stoves. In February, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed an “energy efficiency standard” for gas cooking products — a blatant backdoor attempt to ban gas appliances. Accordi...
Raider Coach Steve Files was named “Coach of the Year” among the Central Washington 2B League golf coaches, four Raiders players were listed in the all-league teams, including a player of the year, and the Lake Roosevelt team got the sportsmanship award. Lake Roosevelt golfers named included the league boy “Player of the Year,” Terek Bush, also on the league’s “first team,” and Nikolas Seymor, Teyton Flores, and Trevan Barnaby, all named to the second team. In softball, Sawyer Steffens was named to the league “first team.” Presley Steffens...
More than 600 American flags fluttered in a gentle breeze Saturday as a couple hundred or more locals and relatives gathered at Spring Canyon Cemetery Memorial Day for the annual Isle of Flags service to remember the fallen veterans and dedicate flags to them. "I stand in awe of the decorations here today," said Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone, in his keynote address. "These flags that line these roads, these pathways around these graves ... It's a fantastic memorial. And it's the first...
The city of Coulee Dam will get nearly $393,000 for upgrading crosswalks and adding “speed feedback” signs, flashing beacons, and more to improve the safety on routes to school. The Safe Routes to School grant is funded through the Washington State Dept. of Transportation budget, signed earlier this month by Gov. Jay Inslee. A project schedule indicates engineering will begin in October this year, with an estimated contract award date in May 2024. The project includes installing a new crosswalk, pedestrian scale crossing illumination, rec...
All eyes have been on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent weeks as politicians and pundits assess the impact of changing rules for who can enter the United States. But the fixation on the border can distract from a bigger problem: America’s immigration system hasn’t kept up with the times. We need an immigration policy that advances our national interest, one that reflects our needs as well as our values. It should complement and support American foreign policy. It should respond to the current realities of workforce demands and international mig...
In his last preliminary race of his high school career, Logan Marconi pushed himself to a new personal record Friday in the qualifying prelims at the state track meet in Yakima, running the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 3.81 seconds. That time in a field of 16 top competitors, just 3.04 seconds behind top qualifier Shawn Jones, of St. George's, got the senior to the starting blocks in the finals on Saturday, where he would take seventh in the state for Lake Roosevelt High School. His time in the...
A line of employees wrote letters to the school board stating serious concerns about hiring Rod Broadnax as the Grand Coulee Dam School District’s new superintendent, several of which were read at Monday night’s meeting. They’re hiring him anyway. The letters noted anonymous emails that circulated in the community, critical of Broadnax’s record, claims of professional achievement throughout his career and controversy at one community where he worked. Carrie Derr, a longtime teacher who now oversees federal and state grant programs for the dis...
Nespelem School District, which has for decades sent its students to “the dam” after eighth grade to attend high school, is looking at ways to expand its service to the community by moving toward a high school offering. The school board formally approved the move Monday night, directing Superintendent Effie Dean to continue working to set up an “emergent high school,” offering just ninth grade in the coming school year, with a “career technical education” component under discussion with the Colville Tribes. “Everybody is super excited about...
The city of Grand Coulee will hold a primary election in August to pick two of the three candidates who filed to run for mayor, which does not include the current one. Chuck Crowe, of Partello Park; Kimberly Christiansen, of Roosevelt Drive; and Mike Eylar, of Spokane Way, have filed to run for the mayor’s office, currently occupied by Mayor Paul Townsend. The primary election is set for Aug. 1. In Electric City, two council positions have picked up challengers to incumbents. Councilmember Brian Buche, in Council Position 3, will run against T...
Residents of Coulee Dam's Ferry Avenue couldn't talk city representatives into alternatives Monday night as officials explained why all of the street's 60- to 70-foot-tall shade trees are going to be cut down. A sidewalk fix four years in the making is leading to the removal of the trees that have given the neighborhood of 16 homes its distinct feel for decades. The sidewalk repair will cost about a quarter million dollars, coming from a federal grant. The added cost of removing the maples will...
Grand Coulee police held a public meeting to hear residents' ideas on what they need to focus on and also to introduce them to a new app Officer Matt Gilbert is working on for easier communication with police. The app, which he is developing, is currently for Android phones only. Features will include police related news, resources, alerts, police activity in the area, a one-tap feature for calling the dispatch center to ask for police, and more. The informal meeting was called to give people a...
You are invited to attend the re-naming ceremony May 27th, at 1 p.m. in the Tonasket Legacy Park. Highway #20 in Okanogan County will become the “Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Highway.” The ceremony will have the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Honor Guard presenting the colors, the Tribal Singers “The Citizens,” singing the honor song. Louie Wilson will be the master of ceremonies and will introduce the dignitaries in attendance. We have heard from our 4th District Congressman, Dan Newhouse, and our 7th District state represe...
A new superintendent will lead the Grand Coulee Dam School District, beginning July 1. The school board selected Rodriguez "Rod" Broadnax as the best candidate Saturday, following what board President Rich Black described as a thorough, broad-based effort to involve as many people as possible in the decision. Broadnax is currently the interim superintendent at the Muskegon Heights Public School Academy System in Michigan, according to information supplied by the GCD district. Black said...
A long-awaited sidewalk fix is leading to the removal of many, if not all, of the trees on Coulee Dam's Ferry Avenue that have given the neighborhood its distinct flavor for decades, and the city set a meeting for tonight to explain the decision. The meeting is set for 5 p.m. on the corner of Grant and Ferry, where the project starts. The city notified residents along the street of tonight's meeting with doorhanger notices left at each residence on Friday, so city officials can explain and show... Full story