News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1926 - 1950 of 7269
In Okanogan County, voters will choose a candidate in the upcoming election for Commissioner District #2 between incumbent Andy Hover, a Republican from Winthrop, and Katie Haven, a Democrat from Twisp. Hover "I have been an Okanogan County Commissioner for almost four years now," Hover told The Star in an email. "In that time I feel proud about the state of financial affairs that I have helped bring to Okanogan County. I feel proud that I can see county government working more efficiently for t...
Coulee Dam will offer grants to city businesses to help with expenses due to the COVID-19 emergency. The town might have as much as $14,000 in its own expenses to cover with money allocated the city through the “CARES Act” passed by Congress this year for relief during the pandemic. But that sum would leave plenty left over to help local businesses. The city’s allocation of funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act recently increased to $49,500 from an earlier $33,000. It can be used for many needs within the town gover... Full story
Coulee Medical Center financial documents show a loss of just over $332,000 in August, but a huge pot of cash came through under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Congress passed earlier this year. CMC banked some $4.4 million in CARES Act funds, Chief Financial Officer Kelly Hughes reported to hospital district commissioners Monday night over a Zoom meeting. That put the hospital in the black by $4,085,192 for the month and $988,443 for the year so far. That compares to the gain CMC had planned on, pre-pandemic, of nearly...
The rate of COVID-19 cases has gone down in the state of Washington, and in Grant and Douglas counties, but has gone slightly up in Okanogan and Lincoln counties over the last week. Counties need an incidence rate of 25 cases or fewer per population of 100,000 in the past 14 days to move forward a phase in the Washington Safe Start Recovery plan. And to partially open in-person schooling, that rate must not exceed 75. Here are the latest data for COVID-19 in Grant, Okanogan, Lincoln, and Douglas (GOLD) counties. As of Sept. 29, Okanogan County...
Dr. Anthony Fauci thinks that drug companies may develop a COVID-19 vaccine before year’s end. But that doesn’t mean the pandemic will be over. Distributing hundreds of millions of vaccine doses will pose an enormous challenge, and our country’s medical supply chain — responsible for producing, transporting, and delivering crucial equipment and treatments — is already overwhelmed. From shortages of life-saving medical devices to logistical obstacles, the United States is woefully unprepared — especially since the flu season will complicate...
Sometimes doing things only once is a good idea. This is particularly true for me when it involves heights. The top rung in an eight-foot ladder is enough for me. Flying into Kodiak, Alaska was a prime example of the kind of coward I’ve become. We were in an old plane, I should say a primitive plane, which held about 20 passengers — and our suitcases were loaded inside the passenger compartment. We were making our approach to the runway with 70 mph winds pushing the plane to the side. The pilot would rev the engines to bring us back in lin...
Local science teacher Derrick Johnson launched a helium weather balloon that went up in the sky over 87,000 feet to "near space," a place "where you and I would not survive, no matter how much oxygen we would breathe or how many coats we would put on," Johnson told The Star in an email. A video on YouTube shows the flight as the balloon goes up and up, showing Lake Roosevelt and Banks Lake, as well as other surrounding areas from a greater and greater distance, eventually showing the curvature...
Operating a public school during the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t easy, but optimism remains with the COVID incidence rate in Okanogan County being low right now. As if to underscore the challenges, regional internet service for many went down Tuesday night, right before the Grand Coulee Dam School Board was to meet, via Zoom, to consider whether to partially open in-school teaching. “Everybody’s totally stressed out, it’s been totally nuts,” Superintendent Paul Turner had said Monday over the phone about the new, currently online-only school ye...
In 1933, people of all denominations were flocking to the area and it was soon realized that the people, especially the children, needed Christian guidance. A worship center was set up in the school in 1933, but the people knew a church building would soon be needed. The Washington Council of Churches was notified, and a collection taken from several Council of Churches denominations who thought it a worthy endeavor, although after the construction project was ended, it was thought, "the town...
COVID-19 cases seem to be going down in the area, with Okanogan County meeting requirements that would allow it to open up more. Counties need an incidence rate of 25 cases or fewer per population of 100,000 in the past 14 days to move forward a phase in the Washington Safe Start Recovery plan. And to partially open in-person schooling, that rate must not exceed 75. Here are the latest data for COVID-19 in Grant, Okanogan, Lincoln, and Douglas (GOLD) counties. As of Sept. 22, Okanogan County had 1,042 total cases, including 13 deaths. There... Full story
What happens in China doesn’t always stay in China. We learned that a couple of years ago when the Chinese stopped buying massive volumes of the world’s used paper, plastics and textiles; and, again last March when the coronavirus escaped Wuhan and spread across the planet. Like other nations, China is struggling with the deadly Covid-19 virus and suffocating under mountains of trash its residents generate each day. Wuhan hospitals generated six times as much medical waste at the peak of the out...
You see, I have this dog, by accident I remind you. Ten years ago I stopped and bought a dog from someone selling pups from the trunk of their car. The plan was for the pup to go to my great granddaughter, Kaylee. That lasted about two or three days and to my dismay the pup landed at my house. Well, I should have known better because Kaylee was only 6 at the time. It was a she dog, and I made my second mistake; I had the dog spayed. I should have planned a batch of pups so I could get my money back. I can’t see me selling pups out of my t...
Construction was started on October 13, 1938 of the first boat to navigate what would become Lake Roosevelt. The project was started on the east shore of the forebay, just above the dap. It was to be 64 feet long, with a 24-foot beam and designed to draw 5 feet of water. The boat, which was sponsored by the Bureau of Reclamation, was also going to be used by the Works Progress Administration to help clear debris from the lakebed of the future reservoir. Afterwards it was to be used for...
The Labor Day fires that consumed hundreds of thousands of acres around Washington over the last nine days were coming under control Tuesday, but not before killing one infant, burning dozens of homes and other structures in the local region, taking out hundreds if not thousands of utility poles and hundreds of miles of ranchers' fencing. The circle of fires at the center of which the Grand Coulee Dam community found itself, burned more land by far than all other fires in the state, tallied at... Full story
Update 9/16 11:55 a.m. The state Dept. of Ecology has extended the Air Quality Alert until noon Friday, although locally the air seems a lot less chewy (not a technical term) than it was before Tuesday. And it is only unhealthy currently, as opposed to outright hazardous. Good news: The Natonal Weather Service has co-opted the data from PurpleAir.com, which uses cheaper, but plentiful, air monitors. They've put up a useful new fire and smoke map at https://fire.airnow.gov/?la... Full story
A pedestrian/bike path along SR-155 that would connect the Coulee Playland area to Banks Lake Park is still in the works. With the path in the design phase currently, the path between the north end of Electric City and the south end of Grand Coulee would be completed in 2021. The vision for the pathway is a half-mile-long paved area less than 10 feet wide on the lake side of the guardrail along Banks Lake, where pedestrians and cyclists can travel comfortably. The $707,800 project will be paid for with $672,410 from a Washington State...
A young family caught in the Cold Springs Fire apparently left their wrecked pickup in an attempt to get to safety Tuesday afternoon, but their 1-year-old son lost his life. The family was found on the banks of the Columbia River, the parents with third-degree burns and the baby already deceased, Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley said in a press release Wednesday afternoon. Jacob and Jamie Hyland, 31 and 26, of Renton, Washington, and their baby were found before 10 a.m. Wednesday and were...
The incidence rates for COVID-19 have gone down significantly in Grant, Okanogan, and Douglas counties, while Lincoln County’s rate surged last week, and two additional cases have popped up in both Elmer City and Nespelem. Counties need an incidence rate of 25 cases or fewer per population of 100,000 in the past 14 days to move forward a phase in the Washington Safe Start Recovery plan. And to partially open in-person schooling locally, that rate must not exceed 75. Here are the latest data for COVID-19 in Grant, Okanogan, Lincoln, and D...
A 17-year-old barista in Okanogan tried to hide in the bathroom after a young man came into the Free Bird Coffee Stand on North Second Avenue, asked for water, then demanded everything they had. Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley said the young woman was dragged out of the bathroom by the suspect, a man with tattoos on his face wearing a black jacket and white T-shirt. He left headed south, she told police. They were called at 3:10 p.m. Sept. 9, Hawley said. At 3:14, after Omak police, multiple sheriff’s deputies and the Washington State P...
Over the last decade, the area has suffered through several fire seasons that brought not only fire, but lots of smoke, often from elsewhere. This month, we got both, in huge amounts. The fires that burned all around us consumed more than 500,000 acres in our local counties alone, but the smoke that sat on the state (and hard on the coulee) gathered off the coast for many days before making its way inland. At sea, the massive body of smoke spanned an area larger than 900,000 square miles as measured from satellite images. We’ve had so much n...
With a heart full of gratitude I want to say thank you to Coulee Medical Center for blessing all school district staff members with a Voltage drink and delicious scone to start our first day of school. Thank you to Siam for lightening the dinner time burden for staff members during our first week of school. I love the support and partnering that happens in this community. It is a nice reminder that we truly are all in this together! Nicole Rasmussen Teacher and grateful community member...
This year’s fire season, in terms of severity and numbers of fires, is a scary and devastating reminder that we live in fire country. The Cascade mountain range and the normal summertime temperature differences between western and eastern Washington are underlying causes for our wildfire season. But, an equally important part is the temperature rise during this century. Whether you believe in climate change or not, we all know that our fire season is more severe than previously. Each “biggest fire yet” becomes eclipsed by the next year...
A few years ago my wife and I worked two fire seasons for OK Cascade, a firm that under contract provided food, shower and laundry services during major wildfires. The firm then was owned by John and JoAnn Keener, both now deceased, John having passed away just a few days ago. The Keeners were from Bothell, and their rolling stock was housed in Twisp. We signed on with them just after moving here. We had known the Keeners during our 25 years in Bothell. We were told that during fire season we needed to be packed and ready to leave at a phone...
Replanting the millions of acres scorched by wildfires in our western woodlands will be herculean task priced in the hundreds of billions. Thankfully, many businesses, such as Bank of America, Microsoft, and Salesforce, have joined with conservation organizations to fund planting a trillion trees in our public forests by 2028. B of A pledged $300 billion to fight climate change by planting young seedlings. Salesforce plans to “conserve and restore 100 million trees,” according to Fas...
A porcupine that survived the largest of the wildfires in the state, has been recuperating in the care of its human neighbor. Riley Wisdom was driving Sept. 10 on the road leading to her home, along with her boyfriend and mother, when they saw the porcupine they had named Porky huddled by a tree in an area scorched in the recent Pearl Hill Fire which had burned nearly 234,000 acres, including right up to their home located about 30 minutes from Mansfield. "She has lived on our road for several y...