News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The Raiders lost their regional playoff game on Saturday, but will play in the first round of state today (Wednesday) for a chance to play in the next round on Thursday. The Raiders lost to the top-ranked Kittitas Coyotes 76-45 Saturday. The Raiders scored eight unanswered points to start the game, and led 18-12 at the end of the first. But the Coyotes, led by Gonzaga-bound Brock Ravet, took the lead in the second quarter and ran away with it. Ravet is Washington state's all-time leading scorer...
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Grand Coulee Dam School District disagree on the impact a bureau project will have on local schools. The USBR is planning a 10-year project to update three generators, named G19-21, in the Third Powerhouse starting in 2023, similar to the ongoing project of updating G22-24 that started in 2010, and is estimated to cost $100 million. The USBR’s Environmental Assessment for the proposed G19-21 update states that the project would have at most 103 workers and “could result in an increased enrollment of five stu...
The Lake Roosevelt High School gym will likely be closed during the summer to upgrade its heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. The new HVAC system will be installed on the roof, keeping the noise from the system out of the gym, and granting easy access to the system. The board and superintendent of the Grand Coulee Dam School District discussed the upcoming project and others at their Feb. 25 meeting. The projects will be paid for with about a million dollars from the district’s Capital Projects Levy, which will bring in roughly h...
Grand Coulee considered adopting a resolution refusing to enforce Washington state’s Initiative 1639 related to gun control, but chose instead to have a resolution drafted saying the city supports the United States Bill of Rights. Several sheriffs and police chiefs in Washington have refused to enforce the law, and a resolution Cowlitz County commissioners approved stating their refusal to enforce the law was included in the council’s agenda packets as an example of what the city could adopt. I-1639 took effect on Jan. 1, and raises the age...
Grand Coulee and Elmer City have both cast their vote for a recycling option, both wanting a receptacle at the Delano Transfer Station for no extra charge to the cities or the residents. Electric City also chose that option but wanted the receptacle placed outside the Delano Transfer Station fences. Grand Coulee and Elmer City both specified that they want it inside the fence. Coulee Dam's town council discussed it briefly Feb. 13, with some members saying a single recycling container would get...
by Jacob Wagner The city of Grand Coulee’s financial records seem to be getting in order after years of chaos, but there’s still a ways to go. “Things are getting back on track, and at least our financial system balances to what our bank statements say we have,” said City Clerk Lorna Pearce, who took the position in 2018. “We’re pretty sure the numbers we have are actually what we have.” According to the audit of the year 2017 by the State Auditor’s Office, “since 2012, we have reported the City of Grand Coulee did not have adequate controls...
The Electric City council approved the draft last week of a proposal for a 500-foot-wide “no shooting” buffer zone between the main part of the city and Osborne Bay, where shooting firearms would be prohibited. The proposal needs to be approved by the city, the state Departments of Fish & Wildlife and Natural Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Grand Coulee Police. The city would pay for signs to line the 7,281-foot-long buffer-zone border, and F&W would pay for the posts and install the signs. The signs would explain the buffer zon...
Coulee-ites will be treated to a guest lecture from Nick Zentner, a geologist and host of "Nick on the Rocks," which has aired on Pacific Northwest Public Broadcast System stations and is available to watch on YouTube. Zentner will be at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center March 9, at 1 p.m., to discuss geology in a free lecture sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club to celebrate their 70th year. "Grand Coulee is famous for geologists," Zentner said in an email to The Star. "Huge valley...
Electric City’s council voted Feb. 12 to go out to bid on a welcome sign to the city. The sign would be placed at Electric City’s southern limits on SR-155 on the south side of Osborne Bay and would read “Welcome to Electric City,” and “Re-energize your recreation,” with the city’s logo suspended between basalt columns. An earlier cost estimate for the sign from Graybeal Signs was $42,000. The council discussed whether to have the sign framed by actual basalt columns or by aluminum made to look like rock columns and questioned how long actual b...
A longstanding local group whose efforts have enhanced area fisheries and outdoor sports for decades is likely to disband, says its longtime leader. Promoters of Wildlife and Environmental Resources, or POWER, runs the fish-raising pens in Banks Lake in Electric City and has headed or managed other wildlife-related efforts over the past 30 years, such as feeding wild game birds. It now looks like it will shut down for the lack of someone to manage volunteer work. The group met Feb. 6, and discus...
The Lake Roosevelt Raider wrestlers competed at the state tournament known as The Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome over the weekend, with seven of the 23 total wrestlers placing at the event. Due to the cancellation of the regional tournament because of weather, the state brackets were doubled in size, allowing for a large number of wrestlers to take part. The Raiders as a team placed second out of the 45 1B/2B schools at the event with 219 points, and eighth out of the total 448 teams at the...
The Raiders beat league rivals the Oroville Hornets in the District 5-6 basketball tournament in Chelan Friday before losing to the Kittitas Coyotes Saturday, and will play in the regional tournament this coming Friday. Their 55-31 victory over the Hornets Feb. 15 was something the Raiders have wanted for a while now. At the beginning of the season Head Coach Jeremy Crollard said he wanted to defeat Oroville, who had beaten LR twice by only one point in the 2017-18 season. During the 2018-19...
The Lady Raiders suffered a couple of District 5-6 tournament losses over the weekend in Chelan, but will play in the regional tournament Friday for a chance to go on to state next week. The Lady Raiders lost to Brewster 50-41 on Friday, Feb. 15. The next day LR Lost to Liberty Bell 45-26. The Lady Raiders had defeated both Brewster and Liberty Bell at the end of the regular season, but were unable to repeat those victories in the postseason. Coaches were unavailable for stats or comments. The...
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned sheriffs and other law enforcement officers Tuesday that they are required to enforce a gun control law passed by voters last November. Sheriffs in four local counties cite Second Amendment concerns about enforcing Initiative 1639, as do law enforcement officials in more than half the state’s 39 counties. I-1639, which took effect on Jan. 1, raises the age limit for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Beginning July 1, it requires purchasers to pass an enhanced background check, show p...
Look out your window for flying pigs, because the coulee area may get recycling in 2020. The towns of Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, and Elmer City will be deciding on a recycling option to choose in a new contract with Sunrise Disposal, which performs garbage service in the area. One option is to place a 25-yard container with separate sections for various materials at the Delano Transfer Station to be taken to the Okanogan County Recycling Center on an as-needed basis. This option is said to have no additional cost in the...
The Raiders won both their games in the first week of the 2B District 5-6 tournament, and move onto the second week this Friday in Chelan. The Raiders defeated Liberty Christian 70-52 Friday at the Hanford Middle School gym in Richland. “It was a good game,” said Head Coach Jeremy Crollard. “We jumped out on them 22-13 at the end of the first quarter and maintained that 10- to 12-point lead throughout the game. The kids played really hard.” Crollard said the Raiders played great defense, holding Liberty Christian’s best player to only two point...
The Lady Raiders won both games in the first week of the 2B District 5-6 tournament, and move on to the second week this Friday in Chelan. At Hanford Middle School in Richland Friday, the Lake Roosevelt defeated Liberty Christian 55-47. “This was a good team win,” Coach Matthew Pleasants said. “We had some girls step up in their limited playing time to provide a spark for the team and give us the edge we needed to win.” Hannah Wapato was the leading scorer for the Lady Raiders with eight points, followed by Kelsie Olbricht, Audrey Hansen,...
Lake Roosevelt Raider student-athlete Steven Flowers signed a letter of intent Feb. 6 to play football for Eastern Washington University. "I think it's awesome; he's worked hard," his father Josh Flowers said, adding that Flowers was in the first group of kids to play in the little-league football program started by the late Rob Williams. "It's kind of overwhelming," his mother Jaleen Flowers said. "I'm really happy and proud of him. He made some major goals, and it made a hard road. He's been...
The regional wrestling tournament for state districts five and six was canceled last Friday, so all 23 Raider wrestlers who had qualified for the regional meet at Oroville are now going to the state tournament this week. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced Friday that all regional wrestling tournaments, including the the one the Raiders were to compete in the next day in Oroville, was canceled due to the snowy weather that caused highway closures over much of the state. Since the tournaments never happened, all...
Tribal hunting and fishing licenses are being offered at Coulee Playland again after a brief hiatus. The Colville Tribes are transitioning to an online-only system, and were no longer offering paper licenses through third-party sellers, which complicated things for local business Coulee Playland. The Star reported on the change in the Jan. 30 issue. Colville Tribes Fish & Wildlife Director Cody Desautel said the return of the paper licenses could be because of a time lag on the transition to the digital system. “This is our first year, so t...
Companies in Grant County that “mine” cryptocurrency with high-powered computers have filed a lawsuit against Grant PUD, whose commissioners voted in 2018 to raise electric rates for the emerging industry. The companies say they chose to locate their businesses in Grant County because of the cheap power rates, and that increased rates will inevitably hurt their businesses. They are seeking money for financial losses they say they face, and they’re asking the court to order the electric utility not to implement its new “Schedule 17” rates for...
Local county sheriffs are weighing in on Washington’s controversial Initiative-1639 which is related to guns and is being challenged in the courts. I-1639, which took effect on Jan. 1, raises the age limit for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Beginning July 1, it requires purchasers to pass an enhanced background check, show proof of firearms training, and wait 10 days before getting the gun. The new law also makes gun owners guilty of “community endangerment” if their gun is not properly stored and is accessible by a child or by an...
A stray dog found its way into Lake Roosevelt Elementary School and has been a staple there ever since. The 8-month-old, black Labrador female dog, now named Raider, had been hanging out around the school for about a month last fall when eventually school employee Cindy Parra found her by the football field eating a bag of chips out of a child's backpack. Parra grabbed her, and Shamara Steffler, the dean of students at the school, adopted her. The school board in October approved for Raider to...
The Raiders hosted the 2B District 6 tournament on Saturday, and all 22 Raider wrestlers qualify for regionals. Raiders placing first at the event were David Crowe, who wrestled in the 132-pound weight class; Kaleb Horn, at 138; Tony Nichols, at 152; Sherwin Vargas, at 220; and Terrance Saulque, at 285. Horn spoke about his matches against Scott Kuntz from Tonasket, whom he pinned in 32 seconds; and Kevin Sanabria from Tonasket, whom he defeated 11-2. "The first match was a pretty good go," Horn...
Steve Hood, Lee Largent, and Victor Camarena have all been named district wrestling coaches of the year for the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association as voted on by their fellow coaches in the district. Hood won the 2B District 6 wrestling coach of the year; Largent won the award for assistant coach of the year; and Camarena won the award for junior high coach of the year. "It's awesome," said Raider wrestler Kaleb Horn, who has won state championships twice and is going for a third...