News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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As I’m writing this letter, 15 of our students or staff in our school district are positive with COVID-19 and 70 students (10% of our student body) are in quarantine because they have been exposed. At the same time, a large portion of the school staff remains unvaccinated: that’s the elephant in the room I would like to address. On October 18th, by state mandate, all school staff and volunteers working in contact with children must be fully vaccinated. That is, unless they have a medical or religious exemption. In our school, we likely hav...
I never thought I’d have to be writing this but let me be clear: The Constitution and Declaration of Independence, our nation’s foundational documents and declaration of beliefs, are not controversial – period. I will always stand to protect, defend, and follow our Constitution. Unfortunately, in the latest showing of “cancel culture,” the Biden Administration’s National Archives Task Force has labeled our country’s records – including seminal documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the U.S. Constitution ...
If you have contacted my office in recent years, you know that I pride myself in delivering personal responses to you. My office staff and I work very hard to make sure you receive prompt and detailed information related to your questions and concerns. Despite the high volume of communications my office receives, I still try to respond personally to each. Unfortunately, I was unable to respond personally to thousands of inquiries last month following Governor Inslee’s statewide mask and COVID vaccine mandates. In an effort to provide you w...
After years of shepherding Coulee Dam’s wastewater treatment plant project along, the town council tonight (Wednesday) will consider authorizing the mayor to sign a letter to the contractor. Exactly what’s in the letter is not yet known, following a two-hour executive (closed) session of the council on Monday, which was an extension of its regular meeting last Wednesday. That meeting was “adjourned” again Monday to continue Wednesday “to take formal action regarding the Wastewater Treatment Plant Project,” a note in an emailed invitation...
During the past 18 months, the pandemic has had significant impact on our lives. However, small businesses have the greatest impact on our livelihoods. Whether self-employed or the employer to dozens, small businesses are the engine that keep our economy and our communities running. They are the providers of goods and services; and, also the providers of incomes and sustenance. Being a small business owner is difficult even in the best of economic times, so to say small business ownership has been a challenge the past year and a half is an...
Sometimes, to stop fires, you have to start them. Democrats like President Biden often point to the West’s devastating wildfires as evidence of climate change, and while that’s certainly contributed to some of the events we are seeing unfolding across the country, it’s only part of the picture. The rest? Burdensome government regulations inhibiting proper forest management and “sue-and-settle” lawsuits that prevent any actionable plans from being implemented. In Central Washington, if you step outside today, you’re bound to be inundated b...
Remember way back at the beginning of the pandemic, about a zillion years ago, when all we knew is that it could be bad for a while, but then schools actually closed? That’s when we knew this was going to be inconvenient as hell and hoped it would not last too long. Back then, there was some limited discussion about whether it was possible to come up with a vaccine, or whether that was even the right approach. The majority of scientists, and just as importantly politicians, decided the new coronavirus was probably lethal enough that taking t... Full story
On August 31, 2021, I injured myself when a 400-pound welding table fell off a cable, knocking me down, causing a severe laceration to my right leg requiring surgery. I have lived in this community since 1969 and have had limited encounters with our local hospital. I had formed a somewhat passive opinion of the emergency medical care available, however this injury gave me a new and more definite perspective. From admittance to discharge, my care was excellent and complete from the all members of the medical team. I was so impressed with the...
September 11, 2001: a day that no American who lived to see will ever forget. I was recently asked about where I was that day, and I remember it keenly, deeply. I think it’s a question every American has an answer to — a moment engraved in time. Since it was early September, it was right in the middle of hop harvest. My cousin and I were working to unplug the picking machine, a more-than-common occurrence for hop farmers, when his wife called, crying. Those first moments that morning were ones of disbelief. Then, justification — it must have...
On August 31, 2021, I injured myself when a 400-pound welding table fell off a cable, knocking me down, causing a severe laceration to my right leg requiring surgery. I have lived in this community since 1969 and have had limited encounters with our local hospital. I had formed a somewhat passive opinion of the emergency medical care available, however this injury gave me a new and more definite perspective. From admittance to discharge, my care was excellent and complete from the all members of the medical team. I was so impressed with the...
Firefighters converged with speed and coordination on a hillside blaze just above Banks Avenue in Grand Coulee Sunday night, saving several residences just below the city water tanks. Dispatched to the wildfire at 100 Banks Avenue at 8:40 p.m., Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Dept. called for mutual aid from departments at Electric City, Coulee Dam Elmer City and Lincoln County. Before long, 38 firefighters, two EMTs, two Grand Coulee Police officers and 14 fire engines had responded. Three...
A 1,000%-plus surge in demand for covid testing, brought on by burgeoning cases nearby and across the country, is forcing the local hospital to adapt its operations. Before the more-contagious Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus led to outbreaks of COVID-19 at various regional outdoor events, Coulee Medical Center had been testing one or two patients a day for the virus. Now they’re testing 30-40, Ramona Hicks, CMCs chief executive officer, said Friday, and a local surge of covid is testing CMC’s capacity to handle them. The hospital original... Full story
As Washington state and the rest of the world continues to process through the COVID pandemic, governors throughout our nation — Republicans and Democrats — have utilized their offices and authorities in a variety of ways. In Washington state, the Emergency Powers Act (RCW 43.06.220) authorizes the governor to declare emergencies and issue orders in response to those declared emergencies. The original version of this law was enacted in 1969, at a time when likely no one would have anticipated any emergency lasting multiple years. On Feb...
Nespelem School students will go to work like many of their parents do — four days a week — after the school board voted Monday night to approve the new schedule that ends the week on Thursday instead of Friday. Principal/Superintendent Effie Dean told the Nespelem School Board that, in applying for a variance from the state to allow the schedule change, she explained that the proposed schedule would actually give students 20% more time in school using longer days. The change is good for the community, too, she said she told the state, because...
Throughout American history, the burden of keeping our great nation free and secure has largely fallen on the shoulders of the men and women bravely serving in our Armed Forces. The care we provide to our veterans reflects our gratitude for the courageous servicemen and women who selflessly risk their lives in the protection of others, and it is my responsibility to ensure that the federal government keeps its commitment to provide our veterans with the respect and highest level of care they deserve. I have had many opportunities to sit down wi...
An outdoor music festival in Grant County spread Covid-19 across the state, perhaps underscoring the new realization that the most common variant of the virus that causes it spreads far more easily, even outdoors. The Watershed Musical Festival held outdoors at The Gorge July 30-Aug. 1 is associated with over 230 new cases of COVID-19, Grant County Health District reported Friday. Those cases were spread across the state, identified among Washington residents of King, Grant, Pierce, Skagit, Kitsap, Whatcom, Kittitas, Okanogan, San Juan,... Full story
Strong winds Sunday night and early Monday pushed the Summit Trail Fire west of Inchelium to the northeast, south and southeast, igniting large spot fires on Brush and Tungsten Mountains. The blaze has torched 40,608 acres and is 35% contained. Along with the 376-acre Upper Lime Creek Fire, 421 personnel were engaged in the fight to quell it. Colville Tribal Police issued more Level 2 and 3 evacuations while fire crews and heavy equipment protected structures in the new areas, along with air support. Priorities Tuesday included protecting... Full story
For the past 20 years, our men and women have served heroically in Afghanistan to protect both global security and the shared interests of our allies across the world. Now, President Biden risks making their sacrifices all for naught with his most recent display of failed leadership. Today, during an address from the White House, President Biden doubled down on his questionable approach and emphasized that he has no remorse for the human calamity we are seeing unfold. President Biden has failed the American people, the men and women in...
Despite strong winds and high heat Thursday, firefighters on the Whitmore Fire south and west of Nespelem managed to limit fire growth to just 18 more acres without the help of aircraft on the 57,478-acre fire, Friday morning’s update says. The wind out of the north and the smoke it brought with it from other fires kept aircraft out of the effort. High heat is expected again today. The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning through 8 p.m. Saturday. Air quality was expected t... Full story
Unofficial results of the Aug. 3 primary election for Grand Coulee City Council position 1 were posted late Monday at results.vote.wa.gov. Ben Hughes garnered 101 votes for 65.16%. He will face Tracy Justice Wright in the November general election. Wright got 17.42% of the votes with 27. Not far behind, Frank Jones garnered 22 votes. Five ballots were cast for write-ins. The next vote count and certification will take place Aug. 18. Voter turnout countywide was 27.75% across 45 precincts and...
Last week, Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson, the Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, joined me in Central Washington to hear firsthand from farmers in our district about the challenges they are facing. While GT certainly appreciated the diversity of product Washington produces, the takeaway from all our meetings was clear: our farmers are in desperate need of a reliable workforce. From hop growers to tree fruit farmers, every single producer we spoke to had the same issue: there is not enough reliable labor to work their fie...
A loud US Army training exercise on a hillside above town drew a different kind of fire at Coulee Dam’s city council meeting July 28, a small-caliber complaint compared to the big guns that alarmed citizens late at night July 22. Bob Hendrickson told the council he was disappointed that people had not been given any notice that a training was about to happen that might sound like a terrorist attack against Grand Coulee Dam. He said that he and many other people he talked to had worried about that as they listened to automatic weapons and w...
Several new fires have started on the Colville Reservation following a lightning storm Tuesday night, and evacuations are in effect, with the largest of the fires already estimated at 2,000 acres. Residents from Kartar Valley, Goose Flats East to the net pens on the Columbia River Road and everything north of that road have been notified of a Level 3 Evacuation, meaning leave immediately, the Mt. Tolman Fire Center said in a release Thursday afternoon. Kartar Road is closed. Residents south of C... Full story
For months, activists and bureaucrats alike have told the American people to “believe in science” – to take the pandemic seriously, to practice social distancing and handwashing, and to wear masks and get vaccinated. I have consistently called for these same things, and thanks to the remarkable efforts of private industry and government regulators through Operation Warp Speed, we are fortunate that Washington State has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, with 57.3% of the population fully vaccinated, exceeding the natio...
A fire that started along the highway along Banks Lake Thursday evening quickly turned into a threat to a local landmark canyon and to farms above the coulee wall. The Northrup Fire that scorched the canyon its named for started about 5 p.m. July 22 at milepost 18 on SR-155. Logan Braaten caught an image of the fresh fire on the coulee wall side of the highway and posted it on Facebook. Local firefighters responded quickly, but the intensity of the fire's approach during initial attack took at l... Full story