News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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by Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard November 9, 2026 Chris Reykdal, who has led Washington state's public school system through a period of financial and political upheaval, and a pandemic, announced Monday that he will not seek re-election to a fourth term in 2028. "Public institutions are strengthened when leadership changes, new voices emerge, and those entrusted with public office understand that the position belongs to the people, not to the person holding it," he said in a statem...
Warning: Potty humor ahead – literally! There was a time in our household when I could blame at least one of our three daughters for any (almost daily) home toilet debacles. Usually, I could address these issues with a plunger, a screwdriver, a hazmat suit, or a combination of the three. Recently, though, the problem took a more sinister and mysterious turn when the commode in our master bathroom stopped flushing altogether. After some frantic, fruitless handle-jiggling, which pretty much exhausted my plumbing expertise, I naturally blamed my w...
He'd been planning to buy a car, but a month and a half ago Brandon Desautel decided he'd buy a bowling alley instead. "I've been saving for my car, and so I just had to make a decision on buying a new car or buying the bowling alley," he said. Former owner of the business, Scott Elmore, had told the town council of Coulee Dam, from which he was leasing the space, that his own health was making it impossible to keep the operation going. He was hoping to find a buyer to keep the business going....
Sometimes good news comes in waves. Yes, this is exactly about that. Our bowling alley is back open. Oh, you thought I was referring to a different wave that swept the country last night, a “blue wave,” meaning a Democratic Party mid-term win across the country with a return to control of Congress to the Ds. To be honest, the two happenings are a little tied together in my mind, only because yesterday (election day) I got to interview a 30-year-old entrepreneur who hopes to make a little money while improving life in the coulee by re-...
When former Republican President Richard Nixon lied about his involvement in the Watergate break-in that occurred in June of 1972, congressional Republicans told him to resign or else be impeached and convicted — removed from office. Nixon knew they would keep their word and resigned. When Republican President Donald Trump has continually and pathologically lied--much, much worse than Nixon--most congressional Republicans, and especially our own US Representative Michael Baumgartner, have promoted those lies and voted to institutionalize t...
Democrats want voters to believe they’ll stop Trump’s war of choice in Iran if they’re given control of the House and Senate in the November election. It’s a bad bet. In the American system, changing congressional majorities may rearrange power on Capitol Hill, but it does not alter the military chain of command. Since Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, Congress has taken up an Iran war-powers measure at least nineteen times. The House has passed measures directing an end to hostilities multiple times, most recently on September 15. But...
A plan to replace trees along two blocks of Coulee Dam's Ferry Avenue is moving toward a spring planting, following a public meeting Thursday where residents weighed in on tree species, shade and long-term maintenance. Engineer Marissa Siemens of TD&H said the Department of Natural Resources-funded project is designed to plant 24 trees, with 12 planned for each block. Because the season was already late, she said planting would likely take place in early spring. The town plans to seek...
With enrollment still fluctuating, school board directors heard some gratitude and cautions from Business Manager Suzie Marchand Monday. Marchand said spending was far lower in September than it had been in the same month a year earlier, and she thanked the principals for that. “Now, if we can just stay with that throughout the year, we’ll be hopefully building up our cash reserve,” she said. Nevertheless, the district spent more than it took in during the month by $509,000, decreasing its fund balance by that amount, down from $2.1 milli...
October 26, 2026 The top federal prosecutor in Seattle claimed on Monday that more than 400 noncitizens have been voting in Washington, as the Trump administration’s crusade against alleged voter fraud intensifies in the Evergreen State. Acting U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd said in a press conference Monday that prosecutors haven’t charged any of the alleged fraudulent voters with a crime, but “I do anticipate that we will.” He’s asking the state to set aside their ballots for next week’s midterm election pending confirmation that they’r...
I believe it is safe to say our wildfire season for this part of Montana is behind us. Having our first winter storm laying a heavy blanket of wet snow over this beautiful landscape our concerns put to rest for another season. We had many fires however most were controlled before developing into a huge devastating event. In Washington state, Grand Cooley Dam area, they had the huge Kaiser Canyon fire that burned over one hundred thousand acres. My wife’s family has ranched in this area for over four generations. This fire had the potential t...
I had never really thought much about Halloween etiquette (other than “Don’t put somebody else’s elbows on the table, Igor”), but then I saw a clip of “Pittsburgh Today Live” featuring etiquette expert Liz Aquino. Aquino and the hosts shared some commonsense courtesy rules for homeowners and trick-or-treaters alike. Granted, they should have dealt more with “helicopter parents” taking a break from sports to micromanage their tykes’ door-to-door candy-seeking interactions. (“Hey, Smith, why...
The Lady Raiders are having an exceptional soccer month, tarnished only by their first loss last night of the month, their first this season in league play. The only game they hadn't won in October they instead tied, against 1A Chelan. They beat 1A Omak 3-2 on Oct. 17, then on Saturday wrapped up Oroville in a postseason game, taking down the sixth-seeded Hornets 8-0 at Grand Coulee. The LR win ended the Hornets' season in a game that saw two Raiders each accomplish a hat trick, the rare...
The Scarecrow Trail is waiting for your vote, and it might be a lot more fun than actually electing people running for public office. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce has elicited good vibes from many businesses and organizations taking part in the contest intended to dress up the town in the spirit of fall, Halloween, harvest. Think pumpkin spice with a big boo! attached. You get the idea. Voting officially opened Tuesday, and the chamber had earlier announced a way to vote online...
The Coulee Area Park and Recreation District on Friday approved its 2027 operating budget and a separate budget for submission to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, while warning that expected revenue may fall short of operating needs by at least $16,000. The larger budget gap - about $48,970 - reflects the district's preferred service level, including an estimated $50,000 for maintenance needs and $15,000 in potential ballot costs. Those figures are estimates, not commitments to spend the full...
Many people are awakening to the significant changes artificial intelligence is beginning to have in various endeavors. But most of what we are individually aware of can amount to nothing more than a diversion away from what is actually important, even critical, regarding AI at this point in history. Less attention should be paid to the distraction lest we miss the central reality of the age: it could be wonderful, or it could be catastrophic. “Since late November of 2022, when ChatGPT was officially released, savvy readers began to notice s...
The people of Washington have said 10 times that we don’t want a state income tax but the Democrats have decided on their own that we don’t know what we want so they decided to implement one. The call it a “millionaire’s tax” but refused to put a bottom threshold limit on when they passed it. Not one cent has been collected and they are already calling for the million-dollar income threshold amount to be lowered. How long will it take them to lower it to where it hits your income level? You’ve probably seen the ads on TV calling for voters...
Grant County Public Utility District is proposing electricity rate increases for 2027 that would raise residential rates by about 3.1% and small-business rates by 3.6%, while establishing two new rate classifications for data centers and cryptocurrency operations. With demand for electricity widely expected to climb, future rates are projected to grow 21% higher than next year’s proposed rate in nine years, according to a fact sheet published by the utility this week. The proposal reflects the utility’s effort to accommodate growing industrial...
Electric City council members are weighing their options between relying on the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and operating the city’s own police department after decades of contracting with local departments in nearby cities. The contract between Electric City and Coulee Dam will expire Nov. 3, and no bids have been received from Soap Lake or Grand Coulee. By Nov. 3, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office will cover all calls in Electric City, Mayor Blake Martin told the city council Oct. 13. Martin explained that if Electric City decides to follo...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has a dangerous new rule beginning Oct. 22 that will threaten the healthcare of millions of Americans. The rule, “Indefinite Suspension of the De Minimis Exemption for Mail Shipments,” will effectively end Americans’ ability to personally import their prescription medicines. Importing prescription drugs from licensed international pharmacies is the only lifeline for seniors on limited incomes, people with high-deductible health plans, and the uninsured. That’s why CBP and the FDA have allowed it for dec...
What are they running on to help you? Well, what they are running on is as follows. Abolish prisons, abolish police, abolish President, abolish Senate, they want 13 to 17 Supreme court justices, congress to appoint president, eliminate the department of war, open the borders like what President Biden did, no one knows how many illegals entered the United States some estimates and 10 million, 15 million, 20 million. Expand full voting rights for all non-citizens and people convicted of criminal confections, abolish ICE, cut the federal military...
Perhaps worst of Michael Baumgartner’s habitual votes contradicting his policy statements is his continually advocating for slashing federal spending but then voting for One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). This added $4.1 trillion to the national debt which has doubled to $40 trillion since 2017, the beginning of President Donald Trump’s first term. The Baumgartner-supported Iran war costing over $75 billion and counting is another example raising the debt. Deceit-prone Baumgartner could have killed OBBB because it passed the House by just one vot...
In 1975, Central Washington University (CWU) President, Dr. Jim Brooke, proposed a simple idea: create a week-long summer camp at CWU to introduce high school students to the nation’s free-enterprise system while rubbing shoulders with leaders who own and run businesses. Brooke’s team developed a computer simulation---the operating system for Business Week. It became the blueprint for a start-up business which would be educational, bonding and fun. It worked like “magic!” Students came from different backgrounds and became ferocious competi...
Grant County Public Utility District is proposing electricity rate increases for 2027 that would raise residential rates by about 3.1% and small-business rates by 3.6%, while establishing two new rate classifications for data centers and cryptocurrency operations. With demand for electricity widely expected to climb, future rates are projected to grow 21% higher than next year’s proposed rate in nine years, according to a fact sheet published by the utility this week. The proposal reflects the utility’s effort to accommodate growing industrial...
Taking opportunity where they found it, the couple working to create the Coulee Art House hosted a reception for the Washington Supreme Court justices last week as the court happened to schedule one of the court's traveling sessions in Nespelem. Ben and Naomi Dupris have been working to bring together their vision for an artistic hub and resource place for youth. As the old Coulee House Motel was being torn down, they saved as much of the salvageable signs as they could, which are now inside...
Hopefully, the justices of the Washington State Supreme Court came to our community to learn a thing or two, because they probably did, whether they realize it or not. It’s the kind of knowledge that sneaks into your mind quietly, the kind that lets you look back on your former self and realize what has changed in you, that somehow the formerly obvious truth has slipped away in humble retreat before a rising inspiration that is just as true. Those nine already very wise men and women may someday look back to a conversation they had with a d...
