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  • LR sophomores get a chance to prove themselves

    Scott Hunter|Jan 15, 2025

    If you notice a few 10th-graders in the greater downtown Coulee Dam area around lunchtime next week, they're not skipping school. The Grand Coulee Dam school board Monday voted to give the class of 2027 an off-campus priveleges trial period. The decision followed a presentation by the class officers asking for relief from a decision made about some earlier sophomore class that apparently had had discipline issues off campus. "We have never had a chance to go out and prove ourselves," Jaci Clark...

  • Elmer City to consider setting annual utility increases

    Scott Hunter|Jan 15, 2025

    Elmer City leaders will consider a method of building in minimal annual raises on utility rates to keep from falling behind costs of providing the services. City Clerk/Treasurer Kelly Ross asked the town council Thursday to consider the step and hold a public hearing on it at the scheduled February meeting. The council approved a resolution for increasing the percentage of water and sewer service sales that is sent to the city’s reserve funds from 1.5% to 2.5%. Ross suggested a $1 annual increase on each rate for garbage collection, sewer, a...

  • People think the state should reduce spending

    Taylor Richmond, Washington State Journal|Jan 15, 2025

    Washington state voters want legislators to cut spending but also support spending more on specific programs, according to a recent poll. “People are not anti-government,” said pollster Stuart Elway during a legislative preview session Jan. 9. “People want government to work and to provide needed services but done efficiently and effectively.” Elway established the Cascade PBS/Elway Poll in 1992. This year, 403 registered voters across Washington state were surveyed between Dec. 26 and 30, with phone calls, text messages and online survey...

  • Delivering a secure border and safe immigration

    Dan Newhouse Congressman 4th District|Jan 15, 2025

    The last four years of inaction at the southern border resulted in over 10 million illegal immigrant encounters nationwide and a record-high number of violent, illegal criminals encountered throughout the United States. By terminating catch-and-release policies, ending the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program and a full stop on construction of the border wall, President Biden and Vice President Harris have created a crisis that now permeates through the entire country. Last week, to address the ongoing crisis caused by an unmanaged border, the House of R...

  • Raiders make it five in a row

    Scott Hunter|Jan 15, 2025

    The Raiders took down the 1-A Cascade Kodiaks by 50 points last night, highlighting a five-game winning streak away from home. Now 11-1, the Raiders left the Leavenworth team with a 2-9 record overall. The Raiders are ranked third in the Central Washington 2B League, but fourth among the 54 teams in the state at their 2B level, according to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. Columbia (13-1), at Burbank, and Colfax (11-1) are listed first and second, and Freeman (8-1) at...

  • Lady Raider wrestling team takes third at Connell tourney

    Scott Hunter|Jan 15, 2025

    The Lady Raider wrestlers took seven wrestlers to Connell Saturday, and they all placed. Lake Roosevelt took third place in the 31-team tournament with schools sizes ranging from 1B to 4A. LR’s 120.5 points earned their third place. Prosser took second with 132. Othello won it with 147 points. “It was a tough tournament for the girls but good prep for the state tournament,” Head Coach Victor Landeros said. “They are working hard every week, making small adjustments to fine tune their wrestling,” Landeros added. “All of us coaches like where...

  • Eight Raiders take fourth among 20

    Scott Hunter|Jan 15, 2025

    With eight wrestlers, the Raider boys finished fourth among 20 teams at Northwest Christian’s Crusader Classic wrestling tourney last Saturday. “The team finished 4th overall with 8 wrestlers competing. “They finished as the second highest 2B team in the tournament,” Coach Casey Brewster noted. “They wrestled hard and continue to make progress every week, and it shows at every tournament.” Rodger Cate took first at the 113-pound bracket, earning 28 points for the Raiders. Collin Christman, at 106, took second for 16 points. Collin Chaney also...

  • Grand Coulee Dam lights up on New Year's Eve for the first time in 24 years

    Monica Carrillo-Casas|Jan 8, 2025

    In a historic light show, various colors of blue, green, red and amber lit up Grand Coulee Dam for New Year's Eve, decades after a fire ruined the display's control panel. The light show will continue to illuminate the dam from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., nightly until March 6. The Bureau of Reclamation Visitor Center has a free parking area for viewing. The Bureau of Reclamation recommissioned the historic light show on the spillway of Grand Coulee Dam from 5 to 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve, a landmark...

  • City hall and cars damaged in vandal's attack

    Scott Hunter editor and publisher|Jan 8, 2025

    When he approached the broken city hall front door from the inside late Saturday night, the suspect in widespread vandalism there saw the targeting dots on his chest from an officer's taser and immediately complied with an order to lie down. Coulee Dam's Officer Mathew Ponusky, driving by on patrol just before 11 p.m., had noticed the broken glass door on the front of the building and stopped to investigate. Ponusky could hear glass breaking at the southwest corner of the building, and, looking...

  • School board presses for new action plan

    Scott Hunter|Jan 8, 2025

    Accountability and words like it came up repeatedly during a special meeting of the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors Monday night as they hashed out their priorities among a list of recommendations for strengthening the district in a new report. The “Performance Audit Report” commissioned by Superintendent Rod Broadnax is barely 16 pages but intends to offer “a basis for discussion and a roadmap for the future.” The report by “Burns/ Van Fleet” of Houston, Texas, is based on a review of district policies and documents,...

  • What makes the Grand Tetons a favorite?

    Roger S. Lucas|Jan 8, 2025

    I pick the Grand Teton National Park as one of my favorite places. The scenery, the animals and that wonderful range of mountains make it a grand place to visit. The biggest attraction is how the mountains make you feel. On one visit, I took the raft float trip through the park on the Snake River. It was dirt early in the morning, scheduled so you could see the sun illuminating the snow-capped mountain range. It seemed to change color as the sun had its way with the view. It was cold – bitter cold. There was just me and my oldest son, Paul, t...

  • New Congress, new opportunities

    Dan Newhouse Congressman 4th District|Jan 8, 2025

    This week marks the beginning of the 119th Congress and just the third time in the last 70 years that Republicans have controlled both chambers of Congress and the White House. Over the past four years, we have had an administration that sidestepped Congress and wielded the executive branch to tighten the federal government’s grip on taxpayers, small businesses, farmers and ranchers, and countless other industries while pushing inflation to record levels. I am optimistic about the opportunities that this Congress will provide. As a t...

  • Some favorite places

    Roger S. Lucas|Dec 30, 2024

    S Last week I commented on my least favorite place, the entire state of Texas. This week I am commenting about the Hagerman area, a small town with under 1,000 population. The interesting part includes the area within five miles of the town. I first was drawn to Hagerman when I was a college student back in 1956. I had heard about the fossil beds, and a couple of friends and I drove east from Boise some 100 miles. The fossil beds are in a gravel-packed hill above the Snake River. At the time there were no restrictions on digging in the area. So...

  • Electoral college considerations

    Norman Luther|Dec 30, 2024

    E President-elect Donald Trump is claiming a special mandate by winning the popular vote, though only by a little over 2 million (1.5%; and getting below 50% of total popular vote) compared to President Joe Biden’s winning margin of about 7 million (4%; 51%) over Trump in 2020. If the electoral college had already been scrapped, would the popular vote have been significantly changed by the candidates campaigning in all states, not just battleground ones? Why did Washington state have its’ lowest turnout in 28 years? Why was California’s histo...

  • Washington's Dan Newhouse looks ahead to a new Trump era

    Jerry Cornfield|Dec 18, 2024

    Republican Dan Newhouse is preparing for a sixth term in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving one of Washington state's most solidly Republican congressional districts. He's excited. He'll be a member of the House majority again. With Republicans in charge in the Senate and an incoming GOP president, he foresees his party "accomplishing good things for the country." Donald Trump, the former and future commander-in-chief might not be quite as happy. He didn't want Newhouse back this year....

  • Those least favorite places

    Roger S. Lucas|Dec 18, 2024

    Everyone who has traveled much has his favorite and least favorite places. Texas, all of it, gets my nod as my least favorite place. I have been to Texas on four occasions, but my brother David, was the convincing factor. He like me, got his start with Potlatch Forests, Inc. I worked at Potlatch and he worked at their plant in Lewiston. Along the way he accepted a position with the compliance arm of the outfit that checked construction ptojrcts to see if you were using the lumber quality that was required. They sent him to Texas. My brother...

  • Lamenting the death of cursive

    Tom Purcell|Dec 18, 2024

    The death of cursive handwriting reared its ugly head during the recent presidential election. Since 2010, according to Yahoo News, many states have dropped cursive writing from their curricula as they shifted to Common Core State Standards for English. As a result, many Gen Z Americans lack a distinctive cursive signature, which posed a problem for Gen Z voters who used mail-in ballots last month. Since officials had great difficulty matching Gen Z mail-in-ballot signatures to the signatures the government had on file for them, many of their...

  • The Notre Dame Effect

    Don C. Brunnell|Dec 18, 2024

    In the aftermath of the catastrophic fire which gutted Paris’ Cathedral of Notre Dame in 2019, President Emmanuel Macron announced it would be rebuilt within five years and promised it would be “more beautiful than before!” Macron, who remains head of a divided French government, saw restoration of the 13th Century church as a way to restore national pride and unite fellow French citizens. When interviewed just before Notre Dame’s massive doors re-opened on Dec. 7, Macron called the restoration a miracle—an accomplishment of the unthinkab...

  • Strange game, season

    Scott Hunter|Dec 18, 2024

    Most of the boys' basketball game with Liberty Bell Friday night seemed to be going according to norms. Tight competition: it ended regular play going into overtime 46-46. And that is where the Mountain Lions apparently decided they would score no more. They kept their score at 46, even as Raiders racked up 60 points. It's not like Liberty Bell wasn't equal to the task, they just didn't do it. Worse, they continually fouled so LR would head to the free-throw line, racking up the Raider win...

  • Update given on Senior Center Living project

    Scott Hunter|Dec 11, 2024

    Consultants working on a project to convert the old Center School into a senior living facility gave community a progress update last week, at a gathering Tuesday night at the Voltage Coffee House. Patti Westby, of Westby Associates, Inc., said a feasibility study is done after gathering input from a series of 84 interviews with "prioritized contacts," community members and stakeholders. They were gathering feedback and "estimating potential support" for what is likely a $15 million project to...

  • Emma Isaak wants to make an impact

    Scott Hunter|Dec 11, 2024

    by Scott Hunter Emma Isaak is looking forward to a lifelong learning curve, so she's picked a good profession in financial management. The last year hasn't let her down. That's when she moved to Coulee City after growing up in Spokane, graduating high school at Northwest Christian, and getting her master's degree in business administration at Gonzaga following a bachelor's in psychology at Wheaton College, in Illinois. Quite a jump from psychology to financial management? "You know, you would...

  • Weekends on Snowy Ridge

    Roger S. Lucas|Dec 11, 2024

    My wife and I took a temporary job in Livingston, Montana back in 1953. It was temporary because I planned to return to Grand Coulee when the mill where I worked was ready to open up in the spring. I graded lumber at the planing mill above the dam for a guy named Kirkpatrick. They closed down in late fall when they ran out of logs. I saw an ad in the Spokane paper that Downer Lumber Company in Livingston was looking for a lumber grader. I promptly answered it. I got a quick response and we packed a few necessary items in our car and drove to...

  • The time is now to reform our border policies

    Dan Newhouse Congressman 4th District|Dec 11, 2024

    During the previous administration, illegal border crossings were at an all-time high. Border security is national security, and as we transition to a new administration, it is crucial the federal government focuses on common-sense solutions to address our border crisis. Over the last four years, we have seen over 10 million illegal migrant encounters nationwide and numerous executive orders aimed at weakening our border security. With the termination of catch-and-release policies and the ‘Remain in Mexico’ program, coupled with the rise in...

  • Just a woman embracing her age

    Christine Flowers|Dec 11, 2024

    I turned 63 on Dec. 4. Unlike many women of my vintage, birthdays are a very public celebration in my house. It’s always been that way. From the time I understood the concept of getting older, the 4th day of the last month has been a chance to revel in the joy of having made it safely through the birth canal — thank you momma — and into this amazing world. For youngsters with their hopes of presents and sugary delights, that’s a normal thing. But as we get older, we’re supposed to hate, or at least ignore, our birthdays. That’s especially...

  • Eagles end 56-year drought in Nespelem

    Scott Hunter|Dec 11, 2024

    It's been a long time coming, but Nespelem saw a victory on their home basketball floor Saturday night, some 56 years (that was a best guess by school officials) after their last high school closed and their students started attending Graxnd Coulee Dam schools for high school. The Nespelem Eagles hosted the Columbia Lions, from Hunters, for the 68-31 win, which had to feel good after their 20-point loss at Republic the night before, 68-44. The Eagles are not playing in a league this year,...

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