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  • Business needs to tell its story

    Don C. Brunell|Sep 25, 2019

    Many years ago, a reporter asked George Weyerhaeuser, then CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co., why his company spent so much time and money informing its workers, public officials and people about its business of growing trees and converting those trees into lumber and paper products. His answer was simple: “People need to know what we do and why what we do is important to them.” He believed if people and elected officials understood Weyerhaeuser, they would make thoughtful decisions based on facts. To Weyerhaeuser, there was no other option. Log...

  • Mangis retires after decades at Ford firms

    Scott Hunter|Sep 25, 2019

    When Wade Jess took over the local Ford dealership from Carlson Motors, he thought mechanic Dick Mangis might be "the first to go," because of a sly smirk he'd detected at an initial employee meeting. But Jess was 26 then, "and I'm an idiot kid," he said, noting the irony that he now looks back on Mangis' years of "dedication" and "loyalty" as an employee who even rode out winter storms at the business. "That's how dedicated he is." Jess made those remarks at a retirement party for Mangis at La...

  • Raiders ruled on the road

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    The Raider football team defeated the Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos 25-7 on the road in their first away game of the season Friday. “The game was good,” Coach Tim Rasmussen said. “It was our first road game of the year. The kids went out and played very well. It’s always interesting when we go out on the road. The opponent was a well-coached football team and a respected football team. We played a really solid team game.” Cameron St. Pierre rushed for three touchdowns, and 122 yards. Hunter Whitelaw rushed for a touchdown, as well, and also...

  • LR Raiders volleyball beats Waterville in four

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    The Lady Raider volleyball squad went to Waterville last week and came home with a victory. Lake Roosevelt defeated the Waterville Lady Shockers in four sets Sept. 19 with set scores of 25-8, 25-23, 18-25, and 25-23. “With an easier pre-season, non league game, I was able to get some of my bench in for some great court experience,” remarked Head Coach Teri Sue Reed. “Scotti Adolph did a great job at the net playing middle hitter. Kaylee Landeros went in as setter and earned herself four assists. I’m very proud of them. I’m still hoping to...

  • Raider cross country runs through runner pains

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    Raider runners competed at Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee on Saturday. “The course was trying this weekend,” Head Coach Ann Green said. “Runners are starting to feel all the runner’s pains: shin splints, hurting hips, knees and ankles.” Colton Jackson was the top finisher for the Raiders in the 5,000-meter race, placing 63rd out of 106 runners with a time of 19 minutes, 25 seconds on a course that was mostly grass with a couple hills, and on a day that was “just a bit too warm, but sunny,” Green said. Kyle Edmo placed 74th with a time o...

  • Electric City Fire Department still exists

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 18, 2019

    Following the firing of former fire chief Mark Payne last week, the other members of the Electric City Fire Department are still there and plan to stay there. “As of right now, we’re going to ride it out and see where it goes,” said Assistant Chief Gary Roscoe. “It’s our department, and we don’t want to disband. Most of us are hoping there’s a new mayor and some changes so we aren’t fighting this constantly. As volunteers, it’s hard to volunteer if they’re constantly pushing you out the door.” “The Mayor and myself will work with the remaining...

  • Sales tax bump in Okanogan County would fund emergency communications

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 18, 2019

    Okanogan County voters will be asked on the Nov. 5 general election ballot to approve a tax meant to upgrade emergency communication systems and facilities. The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office explains the need for the tax by detailing the current state of the system used by fire, emergency management services, and police first responders in Okanogan County. Existing radio repeater equipment is based on 40-year-old technology at the end of its life, and there are no replacement parts for...

  • Derr: City hall needs to do much better at listening

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 18, 2019

    Councilmember Aaron Derr is running for mayor of Electric City and wants to fix the perception that city hall is running amok and just doing what it wants. "There were things with city hall I felt needed to be better," Derr said about his decision to run for mayor in an interview with The Star on Tuesday. He'd like to see city hall show "a willingness to be more communicative to the community." "For instance, with this Western Avenue construction," he said, "on the web page, it's just a small...

  • Kohout: More openness with citizens, more control of city government needed

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 18, 2019

    At the behest of her fellow citizens, Diane Kohout is running for mayor of Electric City, with the intention of giving the citizens more of a voice in their government. "What I want to bring back to the city is to have someone that they can actually talk to and hopefully get answers from," Kohout told The Star in an interview on Monday. "I want the city government to be more open and the people of the city to have more of a voice." "I think what we will do is have certain times when the mayor wi...

  • Last, best chance at pre-snow fun

    Scott Hunter|Sep 18, 2019

    Whether you’re lamenting the end of summer or so glad it’s finally fall (which officially starts Sept. 23), events this week offer great seasonal transitioners. The Harvest Festival and Run the Dam now mark a place on the calendar for many that signals us to take a deep breath, appreciate the weekend, then dive into what’s ahead through December. The beer garden has become a great place to meet friends and feels great to those finishing the only race that takes you across the Grand Coulee Dam. (Many like to get a beer at 11 a.m. on Satur...

  • Best puppet show by a dam site

    Mark Payne|Sep 18, 2019

    Everyone should come to the Electric City Puppet Show before it’s over. You’ll have a chance to watch the Puppet Master work the Head Puppet and the other five. So far, the Puppet Master has gotten all the puppets to close a road, buy a car, remodel city hall, put up speed signs, put in a park and sidewalks! But have the citizens of Electric City asked for this? At the last puppet show, the Head Puppet did something totally out of character. He made a decision and the other five fell in line with that decision. Once again, it was orc...

  • Interest is good

    Birdie Hensley|Sep 18, 2019

    It is great to see people interested in city government and who want to run for a city position. In too many elections in the past, it has been a one-candidate selection. But remember, change is not always the solution to a problem. Electric City citizens voted blindly five years ago for change, and now it was causing lots of tension within the town. There are a couple of “meet and greet” days scheduled in October; go and listen and hear what changes are coming in the future. City government and state government and national government hav...

  • Working as wildfire support staff was hard work

    Roger S Lucas|Sep 18, 2019

    Where would anyone be without the support staff? My wife and I spent two summers as part of the support staff for firefighters. We worked for Okay Cascade, a firm out of Bothell, that supplied food, laundry and shower services for firefighters. We worked mainly in Washington, but had a 20-day stint on a fire in eastern Oregon. We spent most of our work time in food services and prepared food for sometimes hundreds of firefighters and their support staffs. Probably the largest number was in the Oregon fire where we fed some 1,500 fire fighters...

  • There's gold and silver in them thar coulee walls

    Bert Smith|Sep 18, 2019

    In the 1930s, the coulee walls behind Electric City and Delano were being prospected for gold and silver. These deposits occurred near the base of the Coulee Wall, in granite, overlain by basalt. The land was owned by James O. Black of Electric City and Joseph Rosauer of Opportunity Washington. Rosauer was a Spokane grocer whose family would form the beginnings of the Rosauer's Supermarket chain in 1934. These men would form a mining company and develop a mine called the "Black-Rosauers Mine,...

  • Dukes of hazards

    Scott Hunter|Sep 18, 2019

    Rotary club members Paul Turner, left, and James Heuvel help out at the Grant County Household Hazardous Waste Collection event Friday at the Delano Transfer Station. - Scott Hunter photo...

  • Raiders off to a running start

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 18, 2019

    And they’re off! Raider cross country competed in Manson at Wapato Point on Saturday, where Kyle Edmo was the top placing Raider runner in the 5,000-meter high school boys’ race. On the cool, overcast day, Edmo placed 27th out of 115 total runners with a time of 19 minutes, 15.58 seconds. Rob McManus of Cashmere was the top runner in that event with a time of 16:35.54. In the 2,500-meter middle school boys’ race, Chase Marchand took first in 8:40.50 The event was a “really great start to the year!” Head Coach Ann Green said. “I’m super excited...

  • Fire chief fired in Electric City

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 11, 2019

    Now former Electric City fire chief Mark Payne was fired Tuesday night, after the city council voted unanimously to carry out the mayor’s recommendation to remove Payne from the post in which he’s served since 2013. Payne had faced a second disciplinary hearing Monday to respond to charges he hadn’t complied with a plan set in place after the first one last spring, and that he’d been insubordinate toward the city administrator. Payne had met with Mayor John Nordine and City Administrator Russ Powers to discuss possible discipline that could b...

  • 16-day-closure dates for Keller Ferry finalized

    Press release, Washington State Dept. of Transportation|Sep 11, 2019

    KELLER – Keller Ferry users will need to plan additional travel time during an upcoming closure. Material procurement delays and curing of paint have pushed back the 16-day closure, initially scheduled to begin by Friday, Sept. 13. The ferry vessel M/V Sanpoil will now be out of service from Monday, Sept. 16, through Wednesday, Oct. 2. Travelers planning to cross the Columbia River on State Route 21 should choose an alternate route during the closure, via SR 25 or SR 155 and SR 174. Plan additional time for travel as it can take up to an hour t...

  • School board strategizes for future

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 11, 2019

    It’s good to have goals so you know which direction to go. The Grand Coulee Dam School District board of directors discussed the district’s “Strategic Plan” Monday night and the goals it contains. Superintendent Paul Turner described the strategic plan as a “living document” as the group discussed its three goals, the objectives behind each goal, and possible changes to the goals, the order they’re in, and other aspects of the document that the board may feel needs amending, or clarification. Board Director George LaPlace wants more input fr...

  • Don and Gerry McClure celebrate 70 years together

    Scott Hunter|Sep 11, 2019

    He put a ring on her finger the night she graduated from high school seven decades ago, and the love was still palpable between them Saturday as Don and Gerry McClure celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Friends and family came from as far away as Florida to the McClure Ranch north of Nespelem, where the two have made their home on the acreage homesteaded by Don's father and grandfather in 1918. "Lightning stuck," Gerry McClure said about Don's proposal that came just three days after...

  • Why water infrastructure investment matters

    Vicky Scharlau, Executive Director Columbia Basin Development League|Sep 11, 2019

    In North Central Washington, the Columbia River is the cornerstone of life. But even more important is the infrastructure that makes up the Columbia Basin Project. Grand Coulee dam provides electricity, flood control, and recreation and the ditches and canals deliver water to fields — all critical to the economic vitality of our communities. In the 1930s, President Roosevelt had the vision. The Columbia Basin Project would bring families to settle the land, make it productive, and supply the country with food. At the same time our country n...

  • Raider football fundraiser well attended

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 11, 2019

    Raider football fans attended a Thursday Night Lights fundraiser at the Lake Roosevelt football field Thursday, marking the first success for a new booster club The event was well attended, with the parking lot looking as crowded as it is during games. The Raider football players were introduced to the crowd by name and jersey number before running drills. Those included lineman contests, a seven-on-seven drill, and 11-on-11 style play. "There's some pretty big boys out there," a fan could be...

  • School board will look at policy on medical marijuana at GCD schools

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 4, 2019

    Should medical marijuana be treated like any other medicine at school? The state thinks so, and Grand Coulee Dam School District directors last week briefly discussed a possible policy on the matter during a first reading of several policies. When a policy regarding medication at school came up at their meeting Aug. 26, Superintendent Paul Turner brought the board’s attention to a paragraph about medical marijuana in particular, which explains that although the substance may be legal in some states, it is still illegal at the federal level a...

  • Local service recruiting new EMTs for classes starting this month

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 4, 2019

    Record numbers of people calling for emergency help have led the Grand Coulee Volunteer Ambulance Service to seek additional emergency medical technicians. “We are at another record pace of emergency and transport calls for the Grand Coulee Dam Area,” Grand Coulee EMS Chief Rick Paris said. The year 2018 saw 505 calls, up from 480 in 2017, up from 402 in 2016, Paris told The Star. As of the end of July 2019, some 283 emergency medical calls had come in, according to a report provided by Paris at the August Grand Coulee council meeting. Cur...

  • New effort would bring swim lessons to Coulee next year

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 4, 2019

    Wouldn’t it be nice if a kid could take swim lessons in the Coulee area? Swimming and boating are a big part of our recreatio,n after all. Local woman Lonna Bussert is looking into the logistics of the effort after parents in the area told her they were taking their kids to Wilbur for swim lessons, which made her realize the need for lessons here. The Coulee Area Park and Recreation District is interested in, and looking into, sponsoring the program, according to Commissioner Kevin Portch. Bussert, who also serves on the Electric City Council,...

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