News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 5711 - 5735 of 7151
The city of Grand Coulee faces major changes to its police department communications network that could cost up to $75,000 within the next 18 months. The new network modification, required by the state, will provide security in the transfer of confidential materials. Juan Romo, of RISC Network Solutions of Moses Lake, made a presentation at the council meeting last week, showing equipment costs and installation of around $62,000 and annual maintenance costs of $15,000 more. The new computer equipment and software would encrypt transmissions so... Full story
Port District 7 is looking for a third commissioner. The district controls both the airport and 18-hole Banks Lake Golf Course and is governed by three commissioners. The district now has two commissioners, chair James Keene and Dennis Lohrman, and is looking for a new commissioner to replace Orville Scharbach, who recently resigned. The applicant must live within the district boundaries and be a registered voter. Anyone interested can contact Keene at 633-3108, or secretary Joanne Davidson, 633-2317, for additional information, or attend the... Full story
As our forefathers came together to build this great nation, the inclusion of equal rights, and the separation of church and state were foundational to our government, as documented in our nation’s archives in numerous letters, including the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, both written in 1776. The provisions were left out of the Constitution in 1787 for fear they would incite a revolt among the colonies. It was not until 1789 that a gutted Bill of Rights was written, excluding a large fraction of people. These p... Full story
Every day, I hear from hardworking people in Central Washington who are struggling to support their families and put food on the table. At a time when three-quarters of Americans are living from paycheck to paycheck, the Obama Administration is imposing a new nationwide mandate that could cause millions of workers to see their hours cut and their take-home pay slashed. The Obamacare law requires employers with 50 or more full-time workers to provide health insurance to all of their full-time employees. Buried deep within the thousands of pages... Full story
April 9 is Arbor Day in Washington state and April 25 is National Arbor Day. So let’s talk about trees. Neighborhood and street trees provide shade for streets and parking areas, add to the value of your property, cool the air, absorb carbon dioxide and add to the diversity of habitat for birds and beneficial insects. Neighborhoods with well-shaded streets can be 6-10 degrees cooler than neighborhoods without trees, and shaded parking lots keep automobiles cooler, reducing emissions from fuel tanks and engines, both of which help reduce the h... Full story
The Colville Tribes, under a contract awarded March 10, began providing law enforcement coverage Tuesday on the east side of the Columbia River for Bureau of Reclamation lands and facilities. The law enforcement coverage on this portion of the Grand Coulee Dam Project and lands was formerly provided by the town of Coulee Dam. A Friday press release stated the award was for $697,000. Grand Coulee police provide security coverage on the west side of the river, and recently were awarded a three-year contract for about $1.4 million. The Grand... Full story
A young father and son drowned March 30 in an accident in the canal above Summer Falls, and the father's body still hasn't been found. This morning, Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones issued a media advisory on the matter. In 25 years of journalism, no press release has brought tears to my eyes, until this one. Below, in its entirety, is the sheriff's message, including some details of the accident and a plea for compassion: A message from Sheriff Tom Jones regarding the investigation of the Mar. 30 incident near Summer Falls: The past eight days... Full story
"Are you fed up?" asked Dave Wilson of chamber of commerce members last Thursday. "I'm still waiting to meet the first person that's not fed up" with "the disfunction in Congress." Wilson hopes to defeat incumbent Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington's Fifth District representative to Congress and a rising star in Republican politics. "I'm not insane," he said. Wilson says McMorris Rodgers is at the center of gridlock politics in the nation's capitol, where a group of about 30 ultra right... Full story
North Central Regional Library is going to assist the school district here when it sets up its two libraries in the new school complex. Dan Howard, executive director of the 29-community library district, was in Coulee Dam last week to meet with Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson and tour the new school site, paying particular attention to the two library spaces in the new building complex in Coulee Dam. One library will serve grades 7-12 and the other grades K-6. The school district faces the task of moving its... Full story
The city of Grand Coulee will hold a public hearing on requests for a bus facility for seniors and for a daycare center in the central business district at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, at the council chambers in city hall. Representatives of the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center have appeared before the city council several times to ask for permission to build a garage on property behind the center to house their two buses. It was explained to them at the time that doing so would violate the city’s land use plan. Also, a request had been made t... Full story
About a dozen people were on hand last Tuesday night to help develop a road map for the Coulee Area Park & Recreation District's master plan for North Dam Park. Guiding the group was graduate student Danielle Roslevich from Eastern Washington University. She will take some of the information developed Tuesday night to the drawing board and incorporate it into a master plan of development. She told the group that she was already working on some of the ideas shared by those attending the meeting,... Full story
Local young rodeo hopefuls will be able to chat with the professionals next Monday and Tuesday, April 8, 9, at the fifth annual Shane Proctor bull/steer riding school at the Nespelem rodeo grounds. Grand Coulee’s own Shane Proctor and a number of his Professional Bull Riders friends will be on hand to instruct and visit with young people signing up for the two-day event. The clinic opens each day at 9 a.m. Proctor, who now lives in North Carolina, was the world champion bull rider in 2011 and returns to the area where he grew up and went to s... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District amended its policy on accepting non-resident students at its meeting March 24. The district, anticipating a surge of new students anxious to attend the new school, now will allow administrators to refuse to admit non-resident students if it would push the total number of students over the allowable number, or if it would cause the need for additional classroom space. The district invited Nespelem School Principal and Superintendent John Adkins to attend the meeting. Adkins has earlier stated that the small... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation will open its pedestrian access trail from the bridge at SR-155 to near the Third Powerhouse on April 15, Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said Monday. The quarter-mile section has been closed for the past 12 years because of security concerns. Brougher said this will be an interim opening, making it possible to go from the Downriver Trail’s north end to close to the Third Powerhouse. Brougher said that after some trail improvements are made, “probably by September,” pedestrians will be able to go to within 150 fe... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam is receiving an $8,000 grant from the Washington State Archives to preserve public records and maintain government transparency. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman sent a letter to Mayor Greg Wilder. The grant money includes: • $5,700 to digitize ordinances, minutes and resolutions now in the custody of the Central Regional Archives, • $1,100 to digitize ordinances, minutes and resolutions still held by the town and • $1,200 to purchase locking file cabinets to secure records. The town is currently doing an inven... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District amended its policy on accepting non-resident students at its meeting March 24. The district, anticipating a surge of new students anxious to attend the new school, now will allow administrators to refuse to admit non-resident students if it would push the total number of students over the allowable number, or if it would cause the need for additional classroom space. The district invited Nespelem School Principal and Superintendent John Adkins to attend the meeting. Adkins has earlier stated that the small... Full story
A room full of teachers and staffers addressed the Nespelem School Board last week, declaring that Principal Superintendent John Adkins is doing a very good job. Board Member Pat Morin said it was the biggest crowd he’s seen in five years. Teacher Tracy White said she has worked under eight superintendents at the school over the last 24 years. Adkins, she said, is positive with students and staff. “Since he has been here, he has made all of us better teachers,” she said. “When he’s walking up and down the hall … he’s always got a big high five... Full story
I don’t think so. It isn’t just Scott Graham that the hospital staff does not trust. It is the entire administration. And the board still doesn’t see why that is. This administration has ruled with intimidation, secrecy and double standards, and is more self serving than any before it. They used intimidation constantly at monthly leadership (department manager) meetings by regularly stating “CMC is an at-will employer and can fire anyone at anytime for any reason,” and they expected department managers to follow administrative decisions... Full story
Most of us have experienced a lot of frustration as a result of the way our country has been going in recent years, with massive and seemingly limitless debt, great increases in various giveaway programs and politicians of all stripes who seem unable to get just about anything positive done. The sky is the limit, or so it would seem, to the power that is given to government agencies, unelected bureaucrats and their endless mountain of regulations regarding just about every facet of our lives. It is easy to just shrug our shoulders and say,... Full story
A corner was likely turned this week in the months-long hospital controversy that saw Coulee Medical Center’s healthcare providers and other employees pitted against administration. Public Hospital District 6 commissioners Friday afternoon accepted the resignation of Commissioner Greg Behrens, who had sought to quell the troubled waters around Chief Executive Officer J. Scott Graham, whose ouster was demanded by doctors and many patrons. Tuesday, commissioners of the hospital district in Brewster unanimously voted to offer Graham the top a... Full story
GRAND COULEE, Wash. - The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $697,000 contract March 10 to the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation to provide security and law enforcement services on Reclamation lands and at Reclamation facilities located on the east side of the Columbia River. The security and law enforcement services include the Third Powerplant, Downriver Trail and dam tour building. These services will be provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week beginning April 1. The contract also allows the Colville Tribe to assist the... Full story
A driver who told police he was homeless and driving his father's car fell asleep and crashed through the guardrail at the south end of the causeway in Electric City last Thursday morning. Ira Wolash Wyena, 41, was not injured but a female passenger was taken to Coulee Medical Center, where she refused treatment. Wyena fell asleep at the wheel and the vehicle peeled back about 15 feet of the steel guardrail. It ended up in the ditch alongside SR 155 about 10 feet below the highway level. Parts... Full story
Summers seem too short? You could be in for a longer summer this year if the school board adopts the proposed district school calendar. Granted, the calendar for the 2014-15 school year presented at Monday night’s Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting isn’t the final one, but it gives a hint that the start of school this fall will be later than usual. The district, in an effort to move into the new education facility on the first day of school, is looking at the opening date of Sept. 15. Superintendent Dennis Carlson brought sch... Full story
A dispute on the size of accessory buildings in Electric City will soon be on the front burner for city planners. When the city’s comprehensive plan was passed, it limited the size of accessory buildings to 850 square feet. At least two Electric City residents, Mike Dennis and Mark Payne, have appeared before the planning commission and city council on numerous occasions, asking for larger accessory buildings to be allowed in the city. Upon their initial appearance before planners, the commission members seemed to OK buildings up to 30 feet h... Full story
Coulee Dam is seeking town residents to serve on three boards and fill one council seat. Mayor Gregory Wilder is asking members of the public to step up and fill three Civil Service Commission seats, five Planning Commission places, and six commission seats on the town’s Natural Resource Board (tree board). The positions, Wilder stated, have either been vacant or unfilled, and he would like to get residents more active in town government. The council position became vacant recently with the resignation of Bob Poch, who served the town for 28 y... Full story