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  • Sensors could detect vaping at Lake Roosevelt High

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    Special detectors may be installed at Lake Roosevelt Schools to address “rampant” vaping at the school. Vaping, which delivers nicotine to the user without tobacco present, is said to be dangerous to the health of anyone by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and especially to the development of adolescent brains. But students can vape discreetly, even in classrooms, with the devices used to vape being particularly small and the vapor itself often odorless and dissipating quickly. Getting some tech help to address the situation is...

  • Bad month for restaurants versus vehicles

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    February proved to be a bad month for restaurant buildings. On Feb. 21, at about 4:12 p.m., a Coulee City woman drove over the curb on Main Street in Grand Coulee, hitting the outside of Siam Palace, before going into reverse and backing into an alleyway. According to a police report from Officer Dan Holland of the Grand Coulee Police Department, the vehicle, a 1995 Ford Ranger, jumped the curb and hit Siam Palace, causing an estimated $10,000 in damage when the vehicle pushed in a concrete planter, bent a window frame, caused damage to the...

  • Thoughts on observing on your behalf

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    The role of a journalist is to be the eyes and ears for the readers. So while at a school board meeting, city council meeting, events, and so on, things that people may not have the time to go to, or don’t have a large enough interest in going to, my job is to listen for what’s interesting and present that to the readers. What are school or city officials saying? What are they doing? What laws are they passing? What changes are happening? What are people saying during the public comments part of the meeting? Public meetings are on the rec...

  • Legislators must find better ways to reduce CO2

    Don Brunell|Mar 4, 2020

    Washington and Oregon lawmakers want to end their legislative sessions; however, accounting for the costs of carbon emissions is a major roadblock. In Salem, rural Republican senators are boycotting the session and thereby denying majority Democrats a quorum to vote on a “cap and trade” bill. The measure calls for an 80-percent state reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2050. The system would be similar to existing programs in California and some Canadian provinces. The state would set a cap o...

  • Raider boys suffer loss at WIAA regional tournament

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    The Raider basketball team is done with the regional round of the Hardwood Classic state tournament following a loss against the Toutle Lake Ducks. Lake Roosevelt lost to the Ducks 59-43 Saturday in Longview. The game started out rough for the Raiders, who only put up two points in the first quarter to the Ducks' 14. LR found their rhythm in the second quarter when they outscored the Ducks 14-12, including three-point shots from Hunter Whitelaw and Tyson Nicholson, cutting the Toutle Lake's...

  • Lady Raiders conquered by Lady Vikings at regionals

    Jacob Wagner|Mar 4, 2020

    The Lady Raiders' season ended Saturday with a loss to Mossy Rock in the regional round of the state tournament in Longview. The Lake Roosevelt girls racked up a win-loss record of 11-5 in the league, 14-11 overall, including the postseason. In Longview against the Mossy Rock Lady Vikings Saturday, LR lost 45-39 in a scrappy game that was tied up many times in the first and fourth quarters, with the Lady Raiders eeking out a one-point lead at 32-31 at the end of the third. But the Lady Vikings...

  • Deaths rise in state coronavirus outbreak

    Cameron Sheppard, WNPA News Service|Mar 4, 2020

    The coronavirus death count in Washington reached nine on Tuesday, Feb. 3, including two people whose test results were released posthumously.On Monday, when six deaths had been reported, health officials asked state lawmakers for $100 million to attack the outbreak As of Tuesday, 27 people tested positive for the virus in Snohomish and King counties, up from 18 the day before. The three newly confirmed deaths were all residents of Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, which has been the nexus for multiple infected patients, some of whom...

  • School bus issues discussed further

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    A conversation on school bus communication and discipline goes ’round and ’round, and a new director of transportation says he is addressing the issues repeatedly raised over the last couple months. The topic of school bus communication, as well as discipline on the bus, was brought up again at the Feb. 24 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting, a topic raised back in December of 2019 as well as January 2020. Former school board director Brenda Covington, who has brought up the topic in previous meetings, asked for an update on the top...

  • Grand Coulee law enforcement contract with USBR in works

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    The city of Grand Coulee is on track to sign a new contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to provide law enforcement services for the federal agency. The city is currently operating on a six-month extension on a contract that expired in November 2019, a contract in which the city’s police provide additional security at the Grand Coulee Dam. That contract adds four additional officers to the Grand Coulee Police Department, which serves Grand Coulee and Electric City, for a total of eight officers, plus a reserve officer. The bureau pays th...

  • Students learn about birds in Bird Fest

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    Craig Moran held up a 30-year-old hawk to a room full of young students at the Vets Hall in Electric City during a two-day event to educate them about birds of prey. Moran, of RaptorLife, a company that teaches people about the raptor category of birds, was showing them August, a 30-year-old ferruginous hawk, that was taken from a nest in Wyoming in 1990. Moran spoke to a mixture of fourth- through eighth-grade students from Lake Roosevelt Schools, and from schools in Wilbur, Creston,...

  • City appoints Fish as new fire chief

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    Ryan Fish was named the new chief of the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department at the city's Feb. 18 council meeting. A crowd of about 20 people, including several from the department, applauded after Fish's appointment was announced by Mayor Paul Townsend, who gave Fish his badge. "Thank you for stepping up and doing what you do, and what you're going to do for the city," Townsend said. The fire chief position was opened after Rick Paris retired as chief at the end of 2019 after 23 years in...

  • Parents, teachers concerned over mandatory sex education

    Cameron Sheppard, WNPA News Service|Feb 26, 2020

    Parents, students and educational professionals voiced their concerns in a public hearing in the state Senate about a bill that would mandate comprehensive sexual education in public schools beginning as soon as kindergarten. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Paul Turner told the school board here on Monday the bill appears poised to pass, so they’ll likely need to figure out how to implement it. Lorraine Jenne, chair for the Wahluke School Board in Grant County, testified to the House Education Committee on Thursday in opposition...

  • Good move for Electric City

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 26, 2020

    Electric City will soon have a new city clerk. Peggy Nevsimal is leaving her post as executive director of the local chamber of commerce to accept another community challenge. It was a wise move by the council there. Peggy has been head of the chamber for eight years, moving it from a largely information center to a festival-centered organization. Peggy brings with her a knowledge of the community. She knows most everyone, and most know her. She is a great people person whose influence will be felt in Electric City. While the two tasks are...

  • Colorado River water problems worsening

    Don Brunell|Feb 26, 2020

    Last week, we visited the Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. It is part of our National Parks “bucket list.” The trip was a real eye-opener. The Canyon is spectacular. It is hard to believe over a billion years ago it was flat ground and covered by ocean waters. In ancient times, there was too much water. Today, it is a deep gorge with a ribbon of water running through it. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, over a mile deep and 10 to 18 miles across. The famed Colorado River run...

  • Five Raiders place at state wrestling tournament

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    Raider wrestlers competed at the Mat Classic XXXII 1B/2B state tournament on Feb. 21-22 at the Tacoma Dome, where they placed fifth as a team with several medalists. Out of eight LR participants at the tournament, five placed, including Colton Jackson, who took second place in the 106-pound weight class; Julian Lopez, fifth at 113; Sergio Galacia, sixth at 182; Myka Boyd, fifth at 195; and Trevon Johnson fifth at 220. LR placed fifth as a team out of 40 with 77 team points. Tonasket won with...

  • Ladies beat back White Swan

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    The Lady Raiders secured their place in the regional tournament by defeating a team that had beaten them by nine points in January. The Lady Raiders, from District 6, played District 5's White Swan Lady Cougars Saturday in Quincy in a tense district crossover playoff game. LR pulled off a seven-point victory, 55-48, to send the team to the regional tournament on Saturday, at Mark Morris High School in Longview. LR led by a slim margin most of the game, but the Cougars tied it twice at 33 and 36...

  • Boys win district crossover

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 26, 2020

    The Raiders won their Districts 5/6 crossover game against a District 5 opponent Friday, and will now move onto the regional tournament beginning in Longview. Lake Roosevelt played Liberty Christian High School from Richland on Feb. 21 on neutral ground in Quincy in the district crossover game where the Raiders defeated the Patriots 70-28. Soarin' Marchand hit eight of 10 three-point shots in the game in which the Raiders were 45-16 at the half. That allowed plenty of tournament playing time...

  • Semi crashes through restaurant

    Scott Hunter|Feb 19, 2020

    A semi loaded with boxes of apples crashed through a corner of Hometown Pizza at lunchtime today, hurting no one inside but seriously injuring the driver, who may have chosen to avoid two cars in front of him at the intersection. The semi tractor was pulling a refrigerated van that was demolished in a ravine below the restaurant. And a car parked in front of the restaurant exploded as the back of the trailer sent it flying into the signpost advertising the restaurant. The car's blackened...

  • Ice Age Park bid rejected

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 19, 2020

    People in Electric City spoke for and against building a new park last week, with most agreeing that a new park would be good, but with little agreement on how far over budget an offered bid was or on where the money should come from. The Ice Age Park project in Electric City is delayed further but is still possible, following a rejection of the bid at the Feb. 11 city council meeting in which community members discussed the merits of the park, and confusion over costs cropped up. Community members, council members, and park committee members...

  • Busted: Lincoln County mail theft suspects

    Scott Hunter|Feb 19, 2020

    Lincoln County sheriff deputies booked two people into jail last week after a very precise caller alerted them to what appeared to be ongoing theft from rural mailboxes. Three deputies responded to the area north of Davenport about 7 p.m. Feb. 11, taking different roads to prevent the suspect from getting away, Sheriff Wade Magers reported in a press release Wednesday. Deputies Kurt Cuzzetto, Gabe Gants, and Jerad McLagan responded to the area. Cuzzetto found the vehicle, accurately described by the caller, on State Route 25 and followed it...

  • People are using the recycling bin

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 19, 2020

    People have been using the recycling receptacles placed at the Delano Regional Transfer Station, but not everyone has been using them correctly, resulting in contaminated loads which could lead to the recycling service going away. The Regional Board of Mayors meeting didn’t get around to addressing the agenda items at their Feb. 10 meeting due to a mayor or representative from Elmer City not being present to complete the quorum; however, the three mayors present — Diane Kohout, of Electric City; Paul Townsend, of Grand Coulee; and Bob Poc...

  • City council drops fireworks law it considered

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 19, 2020

    An ordinance banning fireworks from Electric City that was being considered has been dropped by the city council. At their Feb. 11 council meeting, the matter was discussed by council members, Fire Chief Mark Payne, and more, that since most fireworks that draw complaints from people are already illegal, such as rockets that may land on somebody’s roof, it didn’t make sense to make something illegal that was already illegal, like wearing a hat on a hat. Councilmember Brian Buche expressed a concern over how to enforce such an ordinance. The...

  • Everybody's right in Electric City

    Scott Hunter|Feb 19, 2020

    Citizens in Electric City discussing the devil-containing details of park financing in Electric City are right to push the subject, on both sides of the discussion. Councilmember Cate Slater is right when she says there is “not a lot of stuff” here to entice families to want to move here. Ian Turner is right when he notes the population is getting younger and that should factor into decisions about how to develop the city. Councilmember Brian Buche is right when he says that “has to be something that’s manageable.” Wayne Fowler is right whe...

  • Cheers for American Legion

    Don Brunell|Feb 19, 2020

    The 2020 race for the White House is heating. It’s shaping up to be a referendum on America’s market-based economic system. The central question: is government or the private sector going to provide our basic products and services? Last May, a Monmouth University Poll found most Americans say socialism is not compatible with American values, but only four in 10 hold a decidedly negative opinion of it. Americans are divided into two dominant camps – 29 percent have a positive view of capit...

  • The lasting legacy of Camp Columbia

    Bert Smith, Them Dam Writers online|Feb 19, 2020
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    As a child growing up in west Coulee Dam, our outdoor playground was built by the toil of young unmarried men of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC was born out of the Great Depression in 1933 and was a voluntary public-works program of President Roosevelt's New Deal. Roosevelt's program put men of ages 18 to 25 to work on projects involving natural-resource development and conservation. The average wage was $30 per month, of which $25 was sent home to their families. With the...

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