News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Only one person applied to be mayor when it came open this spring. But the council will have a few more choices for the open Grand Coulee City Council seat and may appoint a new member as soon as next week. Those seeking the spot were asked to write a letter explaining their interest, which was due Monday. The council will interview candidates at their regular public meeting at City Hall on Aug. 20, 6 p.m. They may take a vote to appoint the new council member at the same meeting. Four people applied, and all four will be interviewed. The candi...
At the chamber's First Friday event Aug. 2, we asked people who visited our booth to write down their "One Wish for this place" - something that would make the Grand Coulee Dam Area better, safer, healthier, or more fun. We got some good responses from people who jotted their wish on a card and dropped it into our little makeshift wishing well. "Fix potholes," "clean up the neighborhood," and "more boat docks" were each on at least somebody's wishlist. Two people wrote down the same thing:...
While preparing for one of my trips to the Far East, I learned that Myanmar (then Burma) had opened up its borders to allow 72-hour visits. I jumped at the chance. Burma had been a British colony. I was surprised that there didn’t seem to be any strings attached. I asked Pan American Airlines officials if it was a good idea to stop over there. I had booked my trip with Pan Am since they had route privileges everywhere I was planning to go. My contact there was Willard Marsh, who said things were a little strained but a visit might be i...
Kelly Ortberg’s appointment as new Boeing CEO and the company returning its headquarters to Seattle are promising steps toward rehabilitating the aerospace giant started over a century ago. The Seattle Times editorial summarized it best: “Dare we hope?” Ortberg has a sterling reputation, vast aerospace experience, and a record of accomplishment. Hopefully, his experience and success pave the way for Boeing to re-emerge as the pinnacle of aerospace — where it was before the Chicago move in 2001. Boeing knows how to build good, safe airplan...
Throughout the nation and right here in Central Washington, our Native American communities are disproportionately impacted by lower rates of positive healthcare outcomes and violent crime. Throughout my time in Congress, I have built strong relationships with tribal partners and have worked on comprehensive legislation to address some of these challenges. In rural communities, healthcare continues to be a challenge, and given the health disparities that exist in tribal nations, recruitment of quality health personnel should be a priority. The...
Pavement maintenance and road repair jobs will mean detours and parking restrictions over the next six weeks in Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee and Electric City. The $1.9 million project, funded entirely by a state grant from the Transportation Improvement Board, or TIB, begins on Monday, Aug. 12. The contractor has 30 working days – until the end of September – to substantially complete the job. The exact order of which street segments get completed when was not available by press time, but Granite Construction Company will have multiple crews wor...
Around one in five Washington households qualify for a $200 credit toward their power bill–including residential customers in the Coulee area. It is fast and free to apply online, but applications must be in by September 15. The credit is available to customers served by Grant County PUD, the Town of Coulee Dam, Nespelem Valley Electric Co-Op, Ferry County PUD, Avista and some 40 other utilities across the state. More than 675,000 households in Washington will qualify, according to a press release from the Washington Department of Commerce. T...
Central Washington’s longtime man in Congress, Rep. Dan Newhouse managed a majority in Grant County in last night’s primary, but that was the only county he won of the eight that the 4th Congressional District reaches into. Newhouse was bested by challenger Jerrod Sessler, one of three fellow Republicans seeking to oust him from his seat following Newhouse’s vote in 2021 to impeach then-president Donald Trump. Newhouse was leading by a nose in Grant, according to unofficial results at the Secretary of State’s Office, but overall, the distric...
It wasn't supposed to be in the cards this year. But an unexpected cash injection from a Medicare lump sum adjustment led CMC's board of directors to earmark funds for demolition of the four grain bins across Highway 174 from the hospital, probably this fall. At the CEO's request, the board authorized up to $275,000 to pay for the work, necessary for "employee safety and creating room for expansion," according to the formal resolution. "We decided, in keeping with the idea of hopefully getting...
Soon you will see homemade signs popping up in areas where we have had major wildland fires. It’s difficult to find a way to adequately share our thanks to firefighters who man the fire lines and in many cases risk their lives to protect homes and properties of those they have never met. High temperatures these past weeks have made the woods and grasslands tinder dry. We have been spared of major fires here for a couple of years, but fires at Swawilla Basin and Bridge Creek on the reservation and the brief fire that started near Sunbanks r...
States across the western United States are being ravaged by intense wildfires, especially here in Washington. Every day, our wildland firefighters, pilots, and emergency response teams are on the front lines trying to suppress damaging fires while protecting communities across the state. This year, wildfires have already burned over 230,000 acres in Washington, and as summer temperatures stay hot and winds pick up, they have the potential to destroy even more of our forests, ranches, and communities. Our area has unfortunately suffered extreme...
Our national debt is spreading out of control like a raging wildfire. Among other things, that added liability impacts our ability to fight those fires and reforest those scorched woods and range lands. Replanting trees is necessary to prevent erosion, provide clean drinking water, reduce CO2, protect fish and wildlife habitat, and rehabilitate public open spaces. It is very costly and under current funding schemes, the money is not available. Our national debt just surpassed $35 trillion for the first time in history. Those we elect brush...
Firefighters plumed the area in smoke for a few days over the last week, but their prescribes burns paid off. The Swawilla I Fire encompasses 53, 462 acres and is 94% contained as of about noon Tuesday. The Bridge Creek Fire is 100% contained at 3,998 acres. Its 50 firefighters were to be transferred to the Swawilla I Fire. There are still 556 personnel on that fire, and a change of incident management teams has transitioned to the next phase of fire management. The Northern Rockies Incident Management Team 6 handed the fires off to the Souther... Full story
Wildfires on the Colville Reservation forced people to leave their homes, roads closed, and a ferry to re-open just to help them leave, evacuation centers to open and the burning of more than 51,000 acres on two fires. With a wind shift on the Swawilla I Fire, Colville Tribal Emergency Management early July 24 called for a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation of Buffalo Lake and McGinnis Lake areas, Belvedere and Seaton's Grove as the fire grew rapidly toward the northwest. Air support increased on...
Official relations between Coulee Dam and Grand Coulee police departments have returned to “status quo” after a meeting of mayors last week. But Coulee Dam Mayor Bob Poch declined to characterize it as a “working relationship,” and Grand Coulee Mayor Ruth Dalton said “there may be” underlying tensions to address, “but that’s for another day.” “In speaking with Mayor Bob Poch, we came to the agreement that mutual aid will continue as necessary,” Dalton said in a phone call Tuesday. “If they need a backup call, they will call for us, and us for...
Temps may be heading right back into the 100s, but you can have it made in the shade this Friday under North Dam Park's ponderosa pine trees as the First Friday summer pop-up market returns this week. The fair is set for Aug. 2 after taking July off in order to focus on Festival of America at the dam. From 4 to 9 p.m. folks can hear live music, relax in a 21+ beer garden, chow at Charro Birrieria, and browse booths of local and regional artists, craftsfolk, and community organizations,...
Plan to travel? Then read everything you can find about your destination. I was asked recently about my favorite place among my travels to Asia. That was easy after I gave it some thought. Hong Kong is probably my favorite. I spent a year reading about the places I planned to go. It’s easy to travel to Hong Kong. There’s no language barrier. English is the second language. After many years under British control almost everyone spoke English. The colony is now under Communist Chinese control and many of its attractions have been changed. Eve...
Update: A Level 3 EVACUATIONS "GO NOW" just issued for residents of Peter Dan Road, McGinnis Lake, Reynolds Resort, Belvedere, and Seatons Grove. Due to increased fire danger from the Swawilla Fire, the current Level 2 evacuations status for your area is now elevated to LEVEL 3 EVACUATION. A shelter is open at Lake Roosevelt High School Gym, 500 Civic Way, Coulee Dam, WA. For information call Tribal Emergency Operation Center at 509-634-7350 or 509-634-7359. There will be a public meeting on... Full story
Bob Valen sent us the time-lapse video above, condensing an hour of smoke and cloud formation above the fire into 30 seconds, shot from across Lake Roosevelt above the Sring Canyon area. Keller evacuated, fire doubles overnight With a wind shift, Colville Tribal Emergency Management early Wednesday called for a Level 3 (Go Now) evacuation of Buffalo Lake and McGinnis Lake areas, Belvedere and Seaton's Grove as the fire grew rapidly toward the northwest. /Users/scotthunter/GCDStar Dropbox/Scott... Full story
Curbside recycling bins could be coming to the Coulee — if at least 300 people are willing to sign up. Residents of the four local towns can expect to receive instructions for a voluntary online survey in city utility bills, asking everything from what seems like a reasonable price, to whether it matters if they offered single-stream (all materials added into the same bin) versus separate sorted bins for plastics, cans, cardboard and so on. Dion Gotti, owner of Sunrise Disposal, the Omak-based company providing curbside trash pickup to the f...
Nespelem School District’s high school will add a 10th grade this year, plus an alternative learning experience program that could push enrollment high enough to add a high school basketball program. The school board Monday night approved hiring Marion Ives and Rowena Antone as coaches for the high school boys’ and girls’ teams. They coached them at the middle school level in the 2023-24 season, superintendent Effie Dean said. The district, which started its new high school program in 2023 with just ninth grade, plans to add 11th grade, then...
Road repairs, closures and detours in commercial districts can be a pain point for nearby business owners – sometimes measurable in loss of revenue if potential customers avoid the area. But the owners of one longstanding business in central Grand Coulee would like to see the lower portion of Spokane Way – closed for an emergency sewer line repair since April – remain closed to traffic permanently. Carrie Riechmann owns the TeePee Drive-In restaurant along with her husband Jesse. She said her family has serious safety concerns after witne...
Nearly a hundred kids attended a Mega Sports Camp organized by Faith Community Church last week, ending in a cool way to conclude a very hot week. The four-day event had community volunteers teaching elementary-age children the basics in football, soccer, basketball, and cheerleading, said Shannon Hitchcock from the church. Hitchcock said the event was also designed to teach several core concepts important in sports and in life in general, including preparation, commitment, endurance, an all-in...
A friend in Woodinville once visited with me about a job therapy program in the state prison at Walla Walla. Basically, it was a program designed to make it easier for prisoners to be ready for a job after their sentence was up. I got on the phone and called B.J. Rhay, the warden at the prison. I was a little surprised when he took my call and indicated he would be happy to explain what they were doing at the prison, and invited me to Walla Walla to chat with him. He explained that the prison was partially run by the prisoner’s council. It w...
Since the beginning of American history, the responsibility of preserving our freedoms has befallen the brave men and women who dedicate their lives to serving this country. In Washington State, there are over 509,700 veterans, and it is imperative they have the support of a grateful nation and the care promised to them by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). We are forever indebted to our veterans, and part of this debt includes ensuring that their healthcare benefits work for them, and currently, they do not. During my time meeting with...