News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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SPOKANE, WA (August 26, 2026) — Sept. 1-7 is National Blood Donation Week, and Vitalant joins the call to encourage people to donate blood and save lives this month. As part of the awareness efforts, Governor Bob Ferguson has proclaimed Washington Blood Donation Day on Sept. 4 Donors of all blood types are vital to helping patients, and maintaining a diverse blood supply is an important part of being prepared for emergencies. Type O blood is especially important because it is among the most-transfused blood types. In an emergency, O-negative b... Full story
Residents pressed Grand Coulee city leaders last week to crack down on long-running nuisance and drug problems they say are driving away tenants, scaring off potential homebuyers and damaging the town's reputation. During a council meeting Thursday night, multiple speakers focused on a cluster of problem properties - especially on Dill Street - where people are living in RVs and tents without utilities, dumping waste outdoors and attracting steady drug activity. "I have numerous rentals in...
The Coulee Dam Town Council Wednesday night declined to move forward with a request to loosen the town's fence regulations, opting instead to keep its long-standing prohibition on front-yard fencing. Council members considered a request from Michael Dennis to amend Municipal Code 17.85.040 to allow six-foot, open-style fences to extend all the way to the front property line. Clerk/Treasurer Stefani Bowden reminded the council of the current code. "The fencing can't come beyond ... the front...
Lake Roosevelt’s alternative education program has a new name and, soon, a new home. The district is moving ahead with a disputed plan to relocate the ALE program from the old middle school campus miles away to a controlled classroom in the CTE building on the main Lake Roosevelt campus, even as staff raise safety and supervision concerns. The Grand Coulee Dam School District board on Aug. 24 unanimously approved renaming the district’s ALE program the Lake Roosevelt Alternative Learning and Online Alternative Learning Experience, a change req...
We don’t have all the comforts of city life in this community, but we don’t always realize what we do love about life here. When we lose one little aspect of it, even temporarily, we can get cranky. That’s been the experience of many since the emergency repair work began on the SR-155 bridge over the Columbia River as our little region has suffered the absolute injustice of the addition of traffic lights. The horror! Probably, when engineers were faced with an emergent need to specify the deck repairs on the bouncy, clanking bridge surfa...
Why do people vote against their best interests? This age-old question is relevant for many Michael Baumgartner voters. My father many years ago opined that people so dreamt of joining the rich that they closely related to them and voted with them. But economic mobility has greatly diminished, including by the billionaire-friendly “One Big Beautiful Bill” championed by Baumgartner, so those dreams should be rudely awakened by reality. Hard work now may not ensure economic security. Vowing to make Democrat Barack Obama a one-term president, lon...
The recent news that our national debt has swollen to $40 trillion should be the “bucket of ice water” America needs to finally address our financial woes. Our nation is on an unsustainable borrowing trajectory, and it is getting much worse! If left unattended, we will drown in red ink. The federal debt is larger than the entire value of the goods and services produced in our country. Our economy, as measured by gross domestic product, was valued at over $32 trillion in the second quarter of this year, according to the Bureau of Economic Ana...
On August 17, 2026, at approximately 12:51 a.m., Douglas County Deputies were dispatched to a reported stabbing at the Bridgeport Quik E Mart, located at 2606 Foster Creek Avenue in Bridgeport, Sheriff Tyler I. Caille reported in a news release. Deputies later contacted the victim at his residence—a 35-year-old Bridgeport male—who had an apparent stab wound. The victim was unable to provide many details about the assault and stated he had walked home before reporting the incident. He was transported by EMS to a local hospital with non-life-thre... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board on Tuesday approved a one-season agreement allowing Nespelem high school students to join Lake Roosevelt High School’s football and girls’ volleyball teams this fall. Nespelem’s board had yet to vote on it. GCD board members voted unanimously to adopt the Interdistrict Athletic Combine Agreement with the Nespelem School District for the Fall 2026 season. The agreement covers only high school football and high school girls’ volleyball, and will expire at the end of the season unless the distric...
Ben Dupris outlined an ambitious vision last week for transforming the former theater space into the Coulee Art House, telling the Coulee Dam Town Council that renovations are underway and aimed at creating a year-round community hub for youth, families and elders. Dupris, who is renting the former Village Cinema space from the city, said they have been addressing long-standing maintenance issues in the building, including holes in upstairs drywall and areas in the lobby that appeared to have mold or water damage. They have stripped problem...
Elmer City council members tightened local parking rules and updated rental and utility service fees Thursday night, then heard from an Okanogan County District Court judge making a rare outreach visit to the small town. Parking overhaul replaces 1950 ordinance The council unanimously adopted Ordinance 394, a major update to the town’s parking regulations for vehicles, on city streets, sidewalks and alleys. The new law repeals a 1950 parking ordinance and largely brings Elmer City in line with state standards. It: • bars parking within 30 feet...
I have discussed in previous articles about how risk insurance in the state of Washington is out of control. But how did we get here? In the 1960s, Washington lawmakers waived something called sovereign immunity for the state, counties, cities, and other local governments. Sovereign immunity is legal protection that generally keeps government from being sued. Back then, Washington lawmakers chose to remove that protection so people harmed by government negligence could seek fair compensation. That wasn’t wrong, but the state went too far. W...
Thankfully, more Americans are saying “Thank You” again and more frequently. It is the best way to offer your sincere appreciation. A 2026 StudyFinds.com national survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found that the average American says “thank you” more than 2,200 times a year, equating to about six times per day. Importantly, 57% of respondents reported saying “thank you” more frequently than the year before.” The survey also determined that Americans are feeling more thankful overall, with 55% saying they have more to be grateful for this year esp...
Following Tuesday’s inspection of their school buildings by their insurance company, environmental consultant, and property restoration team, Nespelem School Superintendent Linda McKay announced the district had been informed that they “will need to delay the first day of school until Tuesday, September 8.” The school’s buildings were inundated with thick smoke during the recent wildfires, and McKay told the school board July 27 that she would have the inspection done. Air Quality Index measurements inside the school remained elevated on Tues...
With no takers for Electric City’s police services contract and a November deadline looming, the city council on Tuesday agreed to modify and reissue its request for proposals while also beginning a deeper look at the cost of creating its own police department. Mayor Blake Martin told council members the city had received no formal bids on its current police contract RFP, which closes Aug. 15. Grand Coulee and Soap Lake have both declined to submit proposals, citing staffing and short-contract concerns, while the Grant County Sheriff’s Off...
Grand Coulee Dam School District directors Tuesday accepted and countered an offer for the sale of the old middle school to a local company, but the sale is contingent on successful negotiations of specifics. “I think the biggest comment is that we are still trying to do this for what’s best for our students,” noted Director Alex Tufts in a special board meeting called mainly to approve the offer. “We’re not going to make the sale of this if it’s going to harm our students.” Superintendent Rod Broadnax agreed. “Just going to negotiate, and if i...
Sue Dickey, right, accepts an ice cream bar from Harlan Holt as Harvest Foods and Variety gave out ice cream, lemonade and hot dogs to customers to celebrate the store's 50th anniversary Friday. Ray Duclos, center, sips a lemonade instead of working. The founder is now retired but showed up for the day and visited with patrons, including Dickey. She was there when they opened five decades ago, too, and won a drawing. At left Kota and his mom, Sarah Holt help Stephanie Duclos staff the welcoming... Full story
Warning lights continue to flash red for Washington’s economy. Employers are becoming more pessimistic about the state economy and increasingly looking outside Washington to expand. At this pivotal moment, Washington needs a long-term economic development plan that gives employers the confidence to invest, grow and build their future here. In the latest statewide employer survey by the Association of Washington Business, just 10% of employers say the state economy is strong, while nearly four in 10 (38%) describe it as weak — up from 26% a yea...
August 10, 2026 Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an emergency proclamation Monday to temporarily suspend some state laws in order to fast-track the recovery process from wildfires ravaging central and eastern Washington. The announcement comes as fires have burned over 700,000 acres in Washington this year, destroying more than 871 homes. "We're in for the long haul on this as a state," Ferguson said during a press conference in Spokane, where fires that began at the start of the month tore... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District Directors will meet in a special meeting, online only, at noon Tuesday, Aug. 11, to discuss the sale of the old middle school in Grand Coulee. The Zoom link to the meeting is https://gcdsd.zoom.us/j/89474772041?pwd=Zk5pNnB6MWovOUNLMEtUcTR1MEsyQT09 Or you can go to the district homepage at https://www.gcdsd.org and scroll to the bottom for the link and directions. The school board had planned last Monday to meet online in the next few days to vote on the sale,... Full story
Staff, community and school board members heard and voiced concerns during a hearing July 27 about the proposed upcoming sale of the old middle school that the Grand Coulee Dam School District seeks to sell. Most of the debate centered on longterm access to the gym and safety for student athletes. Athletic Director Casey Brewster urged the board to slow down until a clear plan is in place for replacing the facility, saying the gym and adjacent spaces are heavily used yearround by school and community programs. Brewster said losing the building...
Here is a story you may find interesting: I grew up on Roosevelt Drive in Grand Coulee. There was a nice pool in Mason City (Coulee Dam) just a little ways past the bridge. It cost a quarter to get into the pool to swim and cool off. Around 1951 or so, when I was around 10 years old, on some hot summer days, I would beg a quarter from my mother and walk all the way to the pool — about 3 miles. I walked down Martin Road, past the sewage pond, Weaver’s gas station, the Silver Dollar Tavern, and Dover’s Cafe to the main highway and then towar...
A special thank you goes to Dannee St. Pierre and Cindy Parra, who prepared the food and hosted the fundraiser at Auntie Dannee’s Restaurant Friday in a fundraiser to help people affected by recent fires. Their hard work, hospitality, and generosity made the evening possible. The Coulee Dam Wrestling Club would also like to recognize the generous community members whose donations helped make the fundraiser such a success. Claudia Hevener donated the bread, Lonna Bussert donated the cookies, and Sam Halvorsen donated the meat. Their kindness a...
According to Cosmopolitan, the shag haircut of the 1970s has become all the rage in 2026. That makes me grumpy because I’m still upset about the David Cassidy shag haircut my sisters made me get in 1973, when I was 11. Mimicking a Teen Idol As I explain more fully in my book, “Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood,” Cassidy, the heartthrob star of TV’s “The Partridge Family,” was a huge star in 1973. Like millions of teenage girls, my sisters had a major crush on him. They told me I’d be the first kid at St. Germaine Catholic School to part my ha...
The National Night Out street party in Coulee Dam scheduled for Aug. 4 was postponed Monday due to smoke-related health concerns. The Coulee Dam Police Department's annual participation in the nationally promoted community get-together, always scheduled for the first Tuesday in August, was coming up at a poor time to hold a celebration, the city said in a broadcast text message and in an email to The Star. "We feel it would be unsafe to have people out in these smoky conditions," explained City...