News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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While the coronavirus and its devastating effects on people and economies worldwide were unfortunately the top 2020 stories, the massive impact of western wildfires can’t be ignored. It was catastrophic. The National Interagency Fire Center’s western states tally shows a record 8.6 million acres were incinerated in 2020 compared with 4.6 million acres in 2019. In Washington, just over 700,000 acres were burned; however, California and Oregon were not as fortunate. By comparison, a combined 5.7 million acres were destroyed. Fires inc...
In-person school is being encouraged by the state, but Lake Roosevelt is limited on space to keep a safe distance between students and staff. The guidelines for when to open schools to in-person learning were loosened up by Gov. Jay Inslee last week, citing data showing schools as being relatively safe during the COVID pandemic when they’re careful to follow safety protocols. The Washington State Department of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction worked with the governor on the decision. Guidelines from the state pr... Full story
Locals have a lot of ideas for their North Dam Park, a Star survey reveals, including lights, updated playground equipment, a dog park, outdoor movies, and more. Last week, The Star reported on a meeting between Coulee Area Park and Recreation District commissioners in which they discussed areas for improvement at the park, and the need to look into grants to help pay for those improvements. The Star then shared a survey online asking readers their opinions on the commissioners' ideas, and to...
With the approval of federal health care authorities for two vaccines, some local frontline workers were inoculated against the virus that causes COVID-19 this week, and more will be early next week, along with local long-term care patients. Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ryan Fish took the needle in his arm Friday in Moses Lake. He said Tuesday he has felt no effects from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine delivered through Grant County Health District to Samaritan Hospital, where Fish... Full story
The Colville Tribes extended the closure of the Colville Reservation to non-essential visitors until midnight on May 31, 2021, and started a curfew in the Keller District. Chairman for the Colville Tribes Rodney Cawston said in a Dec. 22 press release that the Keller District is “experiencing a severe outbreak of COVID-19 infections.” As of Dec. 21, there are 15 active cases of COVID-19 in Keller and more people in quarantine while they await test results or to see if symptoms develop. “It is absolutely necessary to impose this curfew to prese... Full story
The long, controversial story of the imagined Ice Age Park in Electric City has come to an end, but the potential for a park is still there. The city council voted at their Dec. 8 meeting to stop the Ice Age Park project and so to return $28,234.31 of spent grant money to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. That grant included $257,650 from the state, and an exact match from the city. The city returned their $257,650 match back into their hotel/motel fund which now has $519,275 in it. The $32,190.69 the city spent on the...
Beginning next week, you’ll see a new feature in The Star aimed at helping local kids practice reading and writing without realizing it. We’ve sourced a very well-done fun page designed to get kids from second through sixth grades reading, writing and thinking. The “Kid Scoop” page pops with fun little puzzles, jokes, riddles and learning tasks, all planned by a curriculum designer who knows how to present a mini lesson plan in a few square inches with kid-friendly graphics complete with relevant educational standards noted for teacher... Full story
I need to make a clarification to the December 16 article concerning North Dam Park, stating that Ridge Riders procured a new lighting system through PUD. Ridge Riders did not go through PUD to get a new light system at the rodeo grounds but purchased all equipment needed to install the system. Volunteers did most all the work to put the system in, and PUD, through community service parameters, used a bucket truck to assist in getting the lights on the pole. George Kohout, President Ridge Riders...
No shopping for expensive wedding clothes here The cost of our marriage was $15. And that was for the license. No bridal gown, other gowns, tuxes, limos, flowers, receptions, wedding planners or a host of other folks with their hand out when the wedding bells ring. I had quit my job with Potlatch Forest Inc., in Potlatch, Idaho, and left for southern Idaho. I had met my wife Dorothy while she was at the University of Idaho for a glee club gathering. She was with the Buhl High School group. Shortly after that, I made the 600-mile trip to see...
Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. Try adding a crippling killer virus into that mix. That is the tragic reality of 2020. Even though the traditional ceremonies attended by thousands went virtual this year, more than 1.7 million holiday wreaths were placed against grave markers of fallen service men and women. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over hundreds of thousand donors and volunteers, on Dec. 19 those wreaths were laid on the tombstones...
Efforts from local scouts to collect food donations from the community last week brought in over 2,000 pounds of food to the Care and Share Food Bank. Carole Nordine, who manages the food bank, said they received lots of mac and cheese, soups, and fruits and vegetables. She felt that this year’s haul from the annual event seemed better than in previous years. “It was awesome!” she said. Combined with the foods already there, the donations brought in from the girls and boys in local Scouts BSA troops will last through about March, Nordine said....
Would you like it if North Dam Park had new tennis courts, lighted ball fields, new playground equipment, and more flowers? We want to know. Commissioners for The Coulee Area Parks and Recreation District last week discussed improvements that could be made at North Dam Park, which it manages. The improvements could potentially be paid for, at least in part, with money from various grants. The commissioners at their Dec. 9 meeting agreed to each look into various estimates for certain improvements to gain firmer cost ideas for any grant writing... Full story
Education looks far different today than when George LaPlace was in school, and he thinks its future is likely to see more amazing changes even though funding inequities currently in place still need work. LaPlace has served as a school board director in the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors since the 2014-15 school year. As chairman since January of this year, he answered questions from The Star over email covering topics ranging from the role of the board, education during...
Ever think of the influence others have had in your life? When I went to college, I had no idea or hope that I would become a journalist. I took a college course in journalism, mainly so I could learn to write. Things went well, and my journalism professor, Helen Wilson, encouraged me to take a follow-up course. Late in my sophomore year I got a call from Jack Scudder, editor of the local daily paper to drop by for a visit. Wilson had encouraged Scudder to hire me to write for the paper. I had become editor of the college paper and had written...
Back in 2019, I partnered with Douglas County PUD to sponsor and pass a bill authorizing Public Utility Districts to produce and sell renewable hydrogen. Hydrogen is a gas that can be created from a process that uses electricity to separate hydrogen and oxygen molecules in water. I worked closely that year with Douglas County PUD because of their interest in using surplus hydropower to produce hydrogen. The bill’s passage allows for the production and sale of “renewable hydrogen,” which is defined as hydrogen created from an emissions-free elec...
Dress up your holiday meals with a centerpiece crafted from greens, colorful stems and seed heads collected from your garden. Or purchase fresh materials you need from your favorite garden center or florist. Most gardeners spend some time gathering a few blossoms and creating a bouquet or arrangement for their summer gatherings. Don't let winter stop you from crafting a festive centerpiece from materials collected from your gardens this time of year. Start by gathering some greens. The fan-like...
A car fire in Coulee Dam and a burning house in Grand Coulee kept local firefighters busy this week. Very early Monday, Grand Coulee and Electric City volunteers were dispatched to a house fire on Roosevelt Drive in Grand Coulee. A police officer arrived first and made sure the occupants were outside and OK. Firefighters said they found the home filled with smoke and a storage room in the basement filled with smoke and smoldering fire, which they extinguished. "The home sustained smoke damage...
Grant County Health District is reporting 11 additional confirmed COVID-19 associated deaths of Grant County residents. Ten deaths were associated with Long Term Care Facilities (LTC) outbreaks first reported on Nov. 20. All those residents had underlying conditions putting them at higher risk for severe complications due to a COVID-19 infection. Lake Ridge Center in Moses Lake has had a total of 15 confirmed COVID-19 associated deaths during the recent outbreak. There are 3 known additional deaths pending death certificate review. These most r... Full story
The return to school for seventh- through 12th-grade Lake Roosevelt students on Monday, Dec. 7 continued under a plan modified in an emergency school board session Friday night that sets a much higher threshold for the number of local Covid cases it would take to stop in-person schooling. The Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors held an Emergency Board Meeting tonight via Zoom where they voted 4-1 to modify the plan, previously approved on Nov. 9, for junior/senior high students to return part time to physical school on Dec. 7....
A COVID-era rule intended to help individuals has meant lost revenue for cities, and utilities. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s Proclamation 20-23, first issued in March of 2020, doesn’t allow utilities to be shut off for a resident, nor for late fees to be charged. That has meant that those who charge for utilities, such as local cities and electric companies, are holding higher amounts of their customers unpaid bills than usual, and that they also haven’t been able to bring in money from late fees like they have before. Locally, the city of Gr...
If you have a drivers license and an insured vehicle, you could help local senior citizens by volunteering to deliver meals to them. “We are in desperate need of volunteer delivery drivers,” Senior Meals Director Chay Heilman said. Deliveries have gone up during the COVID pandemic since the dining room of the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, where the food is prepared and normally served, is closed. Heilman said that three drivers are needed for each of the five delivery times throughout the week: at 9 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays, and at 3 p.m... Full story
If you heard loud booms on Friday or Saturday night, it was probably local man Alan Cain lighting them off with about eight of his friends from the Northwest Pyrotechnics Association. The fireworks were lit on Cain’s property along SR-174 near the Lakeview Terrace area. The group obtained a permit from the city of Grand Coulee, whose fire department manages that area, about 45 days in advance. Cain said the group shot off about 50 “cakes” or bundles of various professional-grade fireworks, which they are licensed to use. “It’s sort of a reli...
Coulee Dam’s town council gave a preliminary nod to a proposed budget for 2021 Monday night in a special meeting online despite uncertainties about next year’s revenue forecast. The council voted to approve a first reading of the ordinance authorizing use of the $5 million budget proposed by Clerk Stefani Bowden. The council has mulled the budget in several special workshops over several weeks. Mayor Bob Poch said the council could have approved the budget Monday, but he wanted to present it only as a first reading, then pass it at the nex...
People at a virtual auction last weekend bid each other up as much or more than they do in person and the chamber benefited. With its annual Vintners and Brewers dinner and auction canceled for Covid, the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce licensed online bidding software and held the auction anyway, with most participants buying dinner prepared by PK’s Culinary and heating it up at home. The auction of all-donated items brought in $15,396. “That will keep us going for a while,” said chamber President Natalie Dennis. The chamber has n...
I think that opening our school district to face-to-face learning is one of the biggest mistakes we could have made to start with. We start out allowing 25 per 100,000, then 75 and now 200. Who are they trying to kid? What is this actually doing aside from adding more risk to all of our lives. How many weeks — well, more like days — has it been since our state governor was begging people not to gather for Thanksgiving, so what has changed from then till now? My understanding is that cases are increasing not dropping, so the district is now wil...