News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1056 - 1080 of 7269
Nate Krohn was appointed to a vacant commissioner seat with the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District at their Sept. 28 meeting. Krohn joins fellow commissioners Brian Warnecke, who also serves as president of the group, Kevin Portch, Carla Marconi, and Eric Wiitanen. A natural fit for the group, Krohn was born and raised in the Coulee area then went to Washington State University to become a landscape architect and in that capacity served the National Park Service for 12 years as a project...
Cindy Carter has been a Grant County commissioner since 2007, and wants to stay in that position to help share her knowledge with the large number of new people in leadership positions in county government. "I have the historical knowledge to continue moving forward," she said in an email to The Star. "We have two new commissioners, a newer Public Works Director, new Public Works Engineer, new Building Department Director, new Planning Director, [Geographic Information System] person and most im...
As a community, we are facing a significant decision between now and November 8th, Election Day this year. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, the outcome of this decision will affect everyone in our extended community — young and old alike. The result of this community-wide decision will clearly have an impact on the quality of education received by our school-aged children. As voters we must decide whether we will continue to financially support the public schools in the GCDSD area by approving a school levy…or not. The successful edu...
With Russian President Vladimir Putin cutting off natural gas supplies, Northern Europeans are scrambling and reverting to firewood to heat their homes, boil water and cook. It is rapidly becoming a hedge against skyrocketing energy prices and uncertain fuel supplies. Cuts in shipments of Russian natural gas, used to power electricity grids and heat homes, is the biggest factor driving rates higher. Suddenly, Europeans are facing firewood scarcities and bulging orders for wood furnaces. West Ber...
My boss at the Idaho Statesman in Boise told me when he hired me that when his reporters traveled, they went first class. True to his word, he would always ask me where I was going to stay when assignments took me out of Boise. If he thought of a better place he would ask the lady who made arrangements to change mine. I remember when I was sent to cover the Rose Bowl he changed my hotel accommodations to the Hollywood Hotel, a small but rather luxurious place near Hollywood and Vine. I came to understand that my boss was talking about land...
The Lady Raiders lost to Brewster but beat Oroville in volleyball last week. The Lady Raiders won the first set in Coulee Dam Sept. 27 against Brewster 25-23, but lost the next three to lose the game 3-1. In Oroville on Sept. 29, things went LR's way with a 3-0 win. The Lady Raiders had a 4-3 win-loss record following the victory. They were scheduled to host Liberty Bell last night, results of which will be reported next week. Their next game is scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, Oct. 6 at 6:30...
The Lady Raiders soccer team won 3-2 in Manson in overtime on Sept. 27, their first victory of the season. Sawyer Steffens and Nautika Brown scored goals for LR during regulation, which ended with the game tied 2-2. Assistant Coach Solveig Chaffee explained that the teams then played two sudden death overtime periods at five minutes each with no scoring. The teams then each had five players take penalty kicks. There were no scorers after that first group, she said, but “the next group of five proved decisive with makes by both our eighth g...
by Jacob Wagner Those who have an interest in the education of local youth will have two opportunities to learn more about an upcoming school levy that will be on the ballot for the November election. The Grand Coulee Dam School District’s proposed educational levy seeks $2 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, down from the $4.20 total collected from three levies expiring at the end of this year. The educational levy is also tied to about $700,000 more per year from the state that the district doesn’t get if voters don’t approve a levy....
After a nice break for a couple weeks, the infection control nurse at Coulee Medical Center had to get back in the saddle the third week in September with three employees out with Covid-19. And as of Monday night, reported CEO Ramona Hicks to the hospital district board, five more employees were isolating due to exposure and 10 more were testing for it. The hospital has lost 710 working days among staff, due to the covid pandemic. Covid-19 isn’t going anywhere, officials say, but there are still precautions to take to prevent yourself, and o...
The wastewater treatment plant that takes care of all the sewage from Grand Coulee and Electric City has been in operation continually since 1985, treating 127 gallons a minute on average. The two cities have not grown out of it capacity-wise, but it’s “aging out” and needs an update, according to consulting engineering firm Gray and Osborne, which is working on a plan to update for the next 20 years. “What the guys are largely running up against is that … some of the equipment is just no longer made,” Gray and Osborne Engineer Nancy Wetch...
I’ve read a few of the recent letters to the editor and there seems to be some confusion on how newspapers function. Yes, one of their roles is to disseminate news and keep their readers apprised of events that may concern the public. These articles typically deliver facts and quotes from the principal players concerning the public matters. The Star seems to thoroughly cover the area in this regard. However, newspapers have an editorial responsibility, as well. Election season, newspapers all over the country come out for or against p...
Why should the vendetta that John Adkins has against the GCDSD Superintendent, negatively affect our children’s education? Your participation in this year’s School Levy is critical to the future of our children. Your voice and support is what will pass this levy – we can’t do it without. Join us for an important School Levy meeting on Thursday, September 29th at 3:45 pm at the High School HUB. Pizza and beverages provided. This meeting is an opportunity to hear the facts about how this levy will benefit our children, our school distric...
We all know the role music plays in our lives. Want to raise your spirits? Turn on some music. I have started to hold nightly concerts for my own benefit that can start by 9 p.m. and last until the early hours. I will come back to that in a minute. While living in Bothell years ago, I used to go down to Seattle to an old book and record store — Filippis, no longer in business. In looking through the old 78s, I found a couple of early-day Sons of the Pioneers music. You know, Tumbling Tumbleweeds and such. I bought them along with comedy r...
The Lake Roosevelt Raiders played at home in Coulee Dam against Liberty High School Friday, securing the win for a 4-0 win-loss football record. The Raiders won 18-7 against the Liberty Lancers, and LR is now ranked second in the state for 2B football teams, according to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, behind only Okanogan, which is also 4-0 this year. The Lancers, from the Spangle, Washington area, had been ranked second before the loss to LR, which had been ranked third...
The Lady Raiders won a road game but lost at home last week, making for a 3-2 win-loss record. The Lady Raiders played in Tonasket Sept. 20, where they beat the Lady Tigers 3-0. "It was a good game for our girls," Head Coach Meagan Caudell said. "Shyanne Marchand had nine ace serves over the net. Carly [Neddo] in all three sets had nine kills, and Shyanne Marchand also had assists! Jenna Cleveland also really stepped up and had five big kills for our team. She was really strong this game!...
Raider cross country runners are running all over the place, having competed at the Okanogan Valley Golf Course and at Kettle Falls last week. In Okanogan Sept. 20, Caden Portch had the fastest time for Lake Roosevelt, finishing the course in 20 minutes, 31 seconds to place 29th out of 58 runners. Kailah Leadingham was the only Lady Raider there, finishing 22nd out of 36 runners with a time of 29:26. Running at the Kettle Falls day use area for the Can-Am Invitational Sept. 24, Portch again had...
The Lady Raiders soccer team suffered a 10-0 loss Saturday in Quincy. “I was proud Lake Roosevelt showed perseverance against a very polished 1A opponent,” Assistant Coach Solveig Chaffee said. “We came away with a determination to improve our passing game and to continue working on our defensive marking. Every game is a learning experience and the team handled the loss with grace, ready to learn and improve.” “Quincy has worked on their game and LR was on their second game when coming against them,” Head Coach Micah Esmond said. “These girl...
A school’s vision and mission will inevitably affect the success of the education of the children who go there, and the Grand Coulee Dam School District is working on updating their strategic plan. The current strategic plan originates from 2017 and was last updated in 2020. At the GCDSD’s Sept. 12 board meeting, it was looked at piece by piece, and board directors suggested changes that could be made to it. The plan states that the district’s mission is to “empower all students to become successful members of our diverse society,” and that...
Although the idea of consolidating local towns wasn’t popular during a brief discussion in Electric City, the idea of consolidating local fire and EMS services does have support. During their Sept. 13 council meeting, the council briefly discussed the idea of the consolidation of towns. Councilmember Brian Buche said the vast majority of people he has spoken to on the topic are against the idea. Councilmember Bob Rupe agreed. Fire Chief Mark Payne said that he wasn’t in favor of consolidating the towns, but was in favor of consolidating loc...
People in Nespelem opened up a new ball field Friday, complete with dugouts, fencing all around, bleachers, a tall backstop, and synthetic turf. The baseball/softball field can also be used for other activities, such as soccer and flag football. To underscore that point, after speeches concluded, the first game played was a game of kickball with players of all ages. Little bits of black rubber rose like heavy dust behind runners, then falling immediately back below the fabric that serves as the...
It was constructed nearly three years ago, but people behind putting up an informative kiosk at North Dam Park, delayed by circumstances, decided to hold a ceremony to officially open it last Saturday. The kiosk tells historical information about the area, and gives overviews of some of its features. Washington State Parks' Coulee Corridor Area Manager Dennis Felton and board member Birdie Hensley were joined by longtime corridor president Tim Alling, who cut the ribbon on the basalt...
Rep. Dan Newhouse’s call on this page for the U.S. Senate to pass his Farm Workforce Modernization Act repeats his longtime call for reform, and it’s by most accounts a reasonable and necessary legislation for all the reasons he states in his column on this page. There are factors he doesn’t mention that you might want to know, and I have one question. First, not everyone agrees the bill is a good one. Some farm workers organizations say it would cause hardships on their constituent population and even allow pitting them against one anoth...
A well-deserved thank you to Carl Russell’s article last week. I am so glad someone finally stepped up and made the paper realize how bias it is with their week after weekstupid jabs at Trump and the Republicans. I thought that we as Americans have theright to vote and follow any party we want. Being a Democrat or Republican is one thing, but still attacking Trump is another. Get over it! This newspaper should remain neutral and give insight to what is happening with all parties, and as Carl Russellmentioned, it is not like that, and the S...
My wife and I lived the first time in the coulee back in 1953-55. I was a lumber grader down at the mill located above the dam. A fellow by the name of Kirkpatick owned 90% of the operation, and a fellow who ran the logging part of the company the other 10%. Logs were floated down the Columbia River to the mill site. With winter coming on, Kirkpatick advised the workers that the mill would shut down until spring. Not wanting to sit idle all winter, I answered an ad in the Spokesman for a grading job in Livingston, Montana. I threw a few things...
There’s an unfortunate trend continuing in Washington and across the nation that must be stopped: the bad behavior of coaches, parents and fans at high school and middle school athletic events. We’ve all seen it: the yelling, harassing, berating, disrespecting and even physically assaulting referees, umpires, and other officials during and after games. And oftentimes, the harassment continues on social media. Perhaps you’ve witnessed it firsthand or even been one of those offenders yourself. Not only is this behavior unacceptable and embar...