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  • CDHS Beaver plaque unveiling set on July 4

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 19, 2019

    A plaque with a bronze Coulee Dam High School Beaver mascot will be installed on the basalt pillar in front of Lake Roosevelt Schools and unveiled July 4 at 11 a.m. in a brief ceremony to which all are invited. Coulee Dam High School was open from 1947 until 1971, when it merged with Grand Coulee High School to form Lake Roosevelt. “Beavers sent their fierce spirit to Lake Roosevelt Raiders,” the plaque reads. A plaque commemorating Grand Coulee High School, featuring their Tiger mascot, was installed on the same pillar in 2017. Bert Smi...

  • Consolidation committee discusses next steps

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 12, 2019

    So what's going on with the effort to consolidate local towns into one? A group of local business owners and residents who have that goal met Thursday at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss the logistics of the ambitious task. The Coulee Area Consolidation Committee consists of people from Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam and some outlying areas, and those present discussed wanting to bring in someone from Elmer City for the committee as well. The group discussed...

  • Beach parking banned at Geezer Beach by USBR

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 12, 2019

    Despite overwhelming public opinion against the idea, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has chosen to ban vehicles from parking on Geezer Beach, located behind the Third Powerhouse of the Grand Coulee Dam. A press release Monday from the bureau announced the decision, emphasizing "safety" as their reason for banning vehicles from the beach popularly fished by elderly anglers who have heretofore appreciated the easy access to the beach. "The Bureau of Reclamation will continue to allow fishing,...

  • Bull ride and wild horse race on Friday

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 12, 2019

    How do you score sports centered around riding big animals like bulls and wild horses? It’s not as if you can see a ball go through a hoop, or someone carry a ball into an end zone. The Star asked George Kohout, president of the Ridge Riders Saddle Club — the organization that puts on local rodeos, including Friday’s Cleatis Lacy Memorial Bull Riding and Wild Horse Racing — to describe how those events are scored. In bull riding, the rider has to stay on the beast for eight seconds and will be judged on that eight seconds. He has to “suppos...

  • State attorney general to visit local Rotary club

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 5, 2019

    Washington state’s top legal officer will speak at local Rotary club’s June 12 meeting. Attorney General Bob Ferguson will be speaking about the work of the Office of the Attorney General and taking questions from those in attendance. The Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club’s meeting at The Siam Palace starts at noon next Wednesday, and the public is welcome to attend. Although not a Rotarian himself, Ferguson has the goal of visiting every Rotary Club in the state, with the local club being the 151st out of roughly 180 in the state, according to a st...

  • Canoe journey to recall history, advocate for future

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 5, 2019

    Seventy-nine years to the day after the original Ceremony of Tears, about 80 paddlers will leave Crescent Bay in canoes June 14 for an eight-day journey to Kettle Falls, the site of the original ceremony that mourned the loss of salmon from the traditional fishing spot for Native Americans. The Inchelium Language and Culture Association, in association with River Warriors and the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT), have organized the event for the third year in a row. In addition to the 80 paddlers leaving from Crescent Bay for Kettle Falls,...

  • Local eagle population doing well

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 5, 2019

    Eagle parents along the Columbia River have their hands full with four eaglets in their nest in the Washington Flats area. Local wildlife photography enthusiast Nora Gabler Jenn, previously profiled in a Star article titled "Nora the Explorer," excitedly told The Star about seeing the eagles on her frequent drives around the area, as shown on her Facebook page. Jenn is watching three nests of eaglets this spring. "Four eaglets is kind of rare, but not too rare," said Eric Braaten, a local...

  • Local Boy Scouts seek their Eagle ranks with school projects

    Jacob Wagner|Jun 5, 2019

    Lake Roosevelt Schools may receive a smoking rack for meat and some track and field improvements, courtesy of local Boy Scouts who want to earn the Eagle rank. Showaway Hunt and Reniff Herndon spoke to the Grand Coulee Dam School District board at their May 30 meeting to get the board's approval for separate projects they are working on to become Eagle Scouts. Hunt's project is to build a smoking rack for meat. He had spoken to the board earlier in the school year about the project, first to get...

  • Grand Coulee's 'Heroin Hill' problem considered

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019
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    Grand Coulee discussed the scourge of drugs in town at their latest council meeting. “I think we have a bit of a problem in terms of drug dealing,” Grand Coulee resident and business owner Kimberly Christensen said last week to laughter from a city council already familiar with the problem. “I’ve never been around it, I don’t want to be around it, I don’t want to see it. I’m concerned for everyone.” Christensen, who also owns the newly opened popcorn stand “The Popcorn Shoppe” on Midway Avenue and Main Street, addressed the city council May 21...

  • Could the "B" in "B Street" stand for "Bureau"?

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    Grand Coulee could turn over a stretch of the infamous B Street to the Bureau of Reclamation. The city council discussed the topic at their May 21 meeting. Public Works Director Dennis Francis brought the topic up, noting that the bureau didn’t want contractors doing repair work on B Street while they were working on the fire station the Bureau is building along SR-155 where it connects to Industrial Road, a small stretch that connects to B Street. Francis said that Ian Turner, the project manager for the bureau’s fire station, came up wit...

  • Tribes sue big-pharma over opioid harm

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    The Colville Tribes have filed a lawsuit against major manufacturers of opioids, alleging devastating health effects on tribal communities resulting from the drugs. A May 10 press release from the tribes detailed the lawsuit, saying that “the Tribes has sued over 25 opioid-industry defendants in the action, which seeks both compensation for costs associated with the epidemic and injunctive relief.” “The Tribes’ complaint,” the press release says, “asserts claims against the defendants for allegedly marketing prescription opioids in a manner th...

  • Wilbur cyberstalker gets 11 years

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    A Wilbur man was sentenced May 23 to over 11 years in federal prison for cyberstalking an ex-girlfriend and illegally possessing firearms. Thomas Martin Roberts, 52, had pleaded guilty June 12, 2018, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possessing an unregistered firearm and cyberstalking, according to a May 23 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. United States District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson sentenced Roberts to 137 months in prison, to be followed by three years of court supervision after he is...

  • Business sign enforcement discussed

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    What good does a sign do if it’s for a business that no longer exists? And what kind of signal does an ugly sign give to a passerby? Grand Coulee Councilmember Tom Poplawski brought the topic of signs up at the May 21 council meeting. “There are signs in this town that need some attention,” Poplawski said, “be it just the cleaning off of bugs where at night you just see nothing else but bugs, to old business signs, signs that don’t do anything for us.” “I have fine memories of the Wildlife,” Councilmember Gary Carriere said, referring to th...

  • Lady Raiders finish seventh in state softball

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    The Lady Raiders finished their softball season ranked seventh in the state, the best a Lake Roosevelt softball team has ever finished. The Lady Raiders' successful softball season came to a close in Yakima following a couple of state tournament losses. The Lady Raiders lost their first game against Adna 12-2 May 24 in Yakima. Adna went on to be the state champions. Cassidy Reyes and Emma Marchand had the only two hits for LR. LR's two runs came in the third inning, while Adna's came throughout the game. Adna had eight hits to LR's two, and...

  • Whiteman ties for 12th in state 1B/2B golf tournament

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    Lake Roosevelt’s Darin Whiteman tied for 12th place at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Golf Tournament at Tumwater Valley Golf Club, held May 21-22. “Darin performed extremely well under intense pressure conditions,” said Raider Coach Steve Files. Out of 40 1B/2B golfers, Whiteman finished tied for seventh on day one, with 80 strokes throughout 18 holes. The top 20 golfers go on to the second day. Whiteman finished tied for 12th on the second day with 85 strokes, “a great accomplishment,” Files said. “That’s the best...

  • Flowers takes first at state

    Jacob Wagner|May 29, 2019

    Steven Flowers bested his own shot-put record by nearly two feet to earn the state championship Friday in Cheney, where Raider athletes competed in the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association State Track and Field Tournament at Eastern Washington University. Flowers put the shot a distance of 51 feet, 8.75 inches Friday. His previous record was 49 feet, 10.5 inches, which he said he had thrown at the beginning of the season. "It was on Steven's fifth throw that he got his feet...

  • Filing period over, choices of candidates listed

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    With the filing period now closed, we can see which Coulee citizens have thrown their hats into the ring for positions on local councils and commissions, and which incumbents either filed to keep their spot, or chose not to file. In Electric City, Birdie Hensley and Bob Rupe have filed to be candidates for a two-year term in council position 2, for which incumbent Rich McGuire hasn’t filed. Brian Buche has filed for the four-year term for council position 3, currently held by Hensley. Cate Slater is running against incumbent Carol Nordine f...

  • Grand Coulee Dam goes virtual

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    The Grand Coulee Dam was built during the Great Depression and is now entering the future via interactive, 360-degree virtual reality tours becoming available this weekend. Seattle-based virtual reality company Pixvana partnered with Big Power Project, a content production studio in Seattle, to create the five-minute experience that becomes available at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitors Center this weekend, May 25. Up to four users at one time will wear Oculus Go headsets that will allow them to exp...

  • Lady Raiders first in league, third in region, on to state

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    The Lady Raiders have played their district and regional playoff games, finishing first in the league and third in the region, and are moving on to state play this weekend. The Lady Raiders defeated Waterville 21-2 in a district playoff game on May 14 in Grand Coulee, finishing as the number-one team in the Central Washington 2B league. One highlight in the game came when Addison Hansen hit a home run over the fence, batting home two of her teammates. Pitcher Emma Marchand struck out nine...

  • LR athletes win league honors

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    Raider athletes received “All League” honors this week, as voted on by coaches from the Central Washington 2B league. In baseball, Raiders receiving the honors were Hunter Whitelaw, who made the all-league first team; and Brit Egbert and Tyson Nicholson, who made the All League second team. The Lady Raiders are the champions of the Central Washington 2B softball league, and several athletes from the team received all-league honors. Making the all-league first team were pitcher and third baseman Cassidy Reyes, pitcher and shortstop Emma Marchand...

  • Five Raiders to compete at state

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    Five Raiders qualify for state for track & field following Friday’s District 5-6 qualifier in Quincy. At the qualifier, the top five boys and top four girls in each event qualified for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 2019 WIAA 1B, 2B, 1A Track & Field Championship meet in Cheney. Steven Flowers qualifies to compete in the shot put, discus, 100-meter dash, and the 4x100-meter relay race. “It’s quite a feat to qualify in four events,” Head Coach Lori Adkins said. Flowers placed first in the shot-put event, throwing for a d...

  • Tennis girls compete at districts

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    Lake Roosevelt sent six girls to compete in the District 6 tennis tournament last week. The North Central Washington Athletic Associations 1A/2B/1B District 6 tournament was held May 15 in Manson and May 18 in Omak. The girls qualified for the event by placing in the top four of the league tournament. Alexia Ryan, a junior at LR, faced off against Molly Wiser from Cascade in Manson. "She played well but lost 6-3, 6-3, which put her on the consolation side of the bracket," explained Head Coach St...

  • Tribal primary winnows candidates from 33 to 14

    Jacob Wagner|May 22, 2019

    The votes are in for the primary election for seven of the 14 positions on the Colville Business Council, the main governing body of the Colville Tribes, with 13 candidates seeking office in the Nespelem District alone. All the incumbents survived the primary. The primary narrows the number of candidates for each position down to two who will face off in the general election June 22. The Nespelem District Position 1 race was led by incumbent and current CBC chair Rodney Cawston (324) and Charlene Bearcub (157). Eliminated from that race are...

  • Girls' tennis team ties for first

    Jacob Wagner|May 15, 2019

    The Raider tennis squad competed in the Central Washington 2B/1B League tennis tournament May 6 and 8 at the North Cascades Athletic Club in Omak, where the LR girls team tied for first with Tonasket. That first-place spot was earned by Alexia Ryan, who placed second in singles; Savannah Hobrecht, who placed fourth in singles; Raven Clark and Tarissa Clark, who placed second in girls doubles; and Keziah Stice and Rainy Vargas, who placed fourth in girls’ doubles. The six girls will advance to the North Central Washington Athletic A...

  • Feral horse team assembled to address issue on reservation

    Jacob Wagner|May 8, 2019

    The Colville Tribes have formed a horse management team to help manage the feral horses on the reservation. The tribes have, in recent years, paid money to remove portions of the feral horse population via controversial roundups using helicopters to herd the animals, which were eventually shipped to Canada for slaughter. The most recent effort “failed miserably,” according to the tribes’ Natural Resource Director Cody Desautel. Sun J Ranch, which had removed horses from the reservation in the past, was paid $50,000 for this year’s removal...

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