News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 6091 - 6115 of 7269
An accident two miles north of Keller has resulted in a death, the Washington State Patrol stated this afternoon. A WSP press release indicates the single-car collision took place on SR21 at milepost 119 in Ferry County at 3:50 p.m. today (Nov. 14) and that the road is partially blocked. A second notice states that Colville Tribal Police will handle the incident with state assistance.... Full story
There will be a new mayor and two new council members in Coulee Dam, all defeating incumbents, vote totals as of last Friday show. The new mayor will be Gregory Wilder, who defeated longtime Mayor Quincy Snow, 231-107. New council members will be Gayle Swagerty who defeated incumbent Karl Hjorten, 206-104; and Duane Johnson, who won over Andrew Trader, 226-83. All take office in January. The three new leaders had joined in the effort to derail the Coulee Dam wastewater treatment plant project seeking a delay and possible relocation. They had... Full story
by Roger S. Lucas Although the final count won’t take place until Nov. 26, the official certification date, several local elections seem likely to withstand any late mail-in ballot arrivals. Winning a seat on the Electric City council was Aaron Derr who gained the Position 1 spot over Birdie Hensley, 160-134. In Hospital District 6, Betty Brueske won Position 5 seat, an open position, by defeating Diane Larson, 712-514. Incumbents winning back their seats were Jerry L. Kennedy who defeated Gerry L. Salstrom, 948-361; and Kristan Hare who d... Full story
Local PTA officials are already making plans to have another Missoula Children's Theater performance next year. "Blackbeard the Pirate," put on in two performances Saturday, attracted enough theater fans to encourage officials to look forward to another run in 2014. PTA Vice President Crystal Jones said Monday that she was pleased with Saturday's performances, when 32 children from local schools, kindergarten through the sixth grade, participated. She said that Missoula Children's Theater dates... Full story
The public hospital district that runs Coulee Medical Center is aiming for zero next year. That is, a net gain of nothing on its bottom line, which would be an improvement over this year and last. Commissioners for Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan Hospital District 6 approved a budget Oct. 30 that sets out that break-even goal on total patient revenues of $37.3 million, which gets cut to $22.9 million after adjustments for Medicare, Medicaid and insurance payers, charity care, bad debts and other deductions. The hospital is on track to lose... Full story
A Grand Coulee man cited for operating a business in a residential district without a license may get his day in court soon. Donovan Picard, of 431 Grand Coulee Avenue, could argue his case before municipal court judge Richard Fitterer as early as Friday, Nov. 22. Picard has been served a citation with a penalty of $750 by Grand Coulee Police, telling him to cease repairing vehicles at his home garage in violation of the city’s ordinances. Two mechanic firms in Grand Coulee, MPH and Jack’s Service, had complained to the city council back in... Full story
A subcontractor advised police that someone had gained access to a tool trailer at the new school construction site and made off with a number of tools. David Hall, foreman for Icon Corporation, said that two padlocks on the tool shed had been cut with bolt cutters. Missing were four DeWALT screw guns two Leister heat guns, a Hitachi grinder and a small tool satchel full of tools. Police stated that several people had handled the cut locks so there was no chance of picking up fingerprints. The forced-entry theft occurred sometime last... Full story
The Colorama Rodeo was named “Rodeo of the Year” for the second time in a row at a meeting of the Pro-West Rodeo Association last Saturday night. The award was announced at the association’s annual awards banquet in the Tri-Cities area. George Kohout, president of the Ridge Riders, said that he was pleased with the announcement. Kohout is in his second year as president of the group, and was honored by the chamber of commerce as “Achiever of the Year” for his activity on behalf of the Ridge Riders. “We could never have done this without the... Full story
Colville Tribal police received a possible bomb threat Friday at 3:30 p.m., at Tribal Trails gas station at Barney’s Junction near Kettle Falls, also known as “Noisy Waters.” Tribal officers were dispatched, along with Ferry County deputies, and the building was evacuated and the perimeter around the building secured. A caller had stated that a bomb would go off within the hour. Washington State Patrol was notified, and a portion of SR-20 was shut down. Stevens County Emergency Services were also placed on standby. A bomb squad for the area... Full story
• The Missoula Children’s Theater, which the local PTA paid to put on an impressive musical with local kids in less than a week, is a happy symptom of a depressing malady in society. We need more resources to go toward such humanities efforts, less for educational testing ad nauseam. • It will be interesting to see what a judge makes of the dispute between a local mechanic working out of his house and the city, which fined him for not having a license and practicing the trade in a residential zone. He claims his services have basically gone... Full story
I am honored and humbled that the Coulee Dam electorate decided to put their faith in me as their new mayor. THANK YOU! As well, Duane Johnson and Gayle Swagerty were equally honored. Now the work (and fun) begins, crafting a more involved and open government and resolving so many more other issues, as well. And, regardless of the testy campaign rhetoric, it is also a time to honor the 16 years Mayor Snow has served us. Greg Wilder... Full story
Thank you to my friends and neighbors for your overwhelming support in my bid for Town Council. I plan to work to improve communication between town leadership and everyone in our town, so let me hear from you both with your ideas and concerns so we can work together to create a community we are proud to reside in. Gayle Swagerty... Full story
Greg Wilder is Coulee Dam's mayor-elect. He was ushered in by voters with a substantial margin over his four-time mayor opponent Quincy Snow. Wilder had swept his way into the general election by a 3-1 margin over Snow who was running for his fifth four-year term. The margin Tuesday night was 110 for Wilder and 54 for Snow. A few late ballots will not change the outcome. The major issue in the campaign has been Coulee Dam's proposed wastewater treatment plant. Wilder had opposed the $4.92... Full story
A tribal store in Ferry County has been cordoned off by police following a bomb threat, according to the Washington State Patrol. WSP says Ferry County officials advised them of the bomb threat, reported at 3:42 this afternoon. The Tribal Waters Store is at Barney’s Junction on U.S. 395, about 5 miles west of Kettle Falls on the west side of the Columbia River. Tribal Police, Ferry County Sheriff’s deputies and a WSP officer are at the scene and the road is blocked and the buildings have been evacuated.... Full story
Returns at 9:15 last night (Tuesday) showed that there will be a change in mayors in Elmer City. Challenger Gail Morin, who is currently on the town council, is leading over long-time Mayor Mary Jo Carey by the slimmest of margins 29-25. Some late ballots mailed out before Tuesday’s deadline and not received or counted could possibly change the outcome. Morin had served on the council earlier and often challenged the mayor, but it was the Coulee Dam wastewater treatment plant issue that prompted her to run for mayor. Morin had supported Greg W... Full story
A standing-room-only overflow crowed packed the monthly meeting last week of the hospital district commissioners who oversee Coulee Medical Center, speaking out on issues some feared are weakening the hospital's viability. Issues they wanted to address ranged from the name of the facility itself to the addition of administrative positions during a challenging financial period and staff cuts. But discontent centered around the decision to stop offering laboratory tests for low cost during... Full story
The Grand Coulee Civil Service Commission will hold a special meeting, Friday, Nov. 15, at 5:30 p.m., in the council chambers to begin efforts to hire a police officer. Commission Chair Alan Cain and Commissioner Ken Carroll were the only members present at Monday afternoon’s meeting. Mark Graves had been in the council chambers earlier but had to leave before the meeting began. The commission’s new recording secretary, Kathy Carroll, was also present. Commissioners Cain and Carroll agreed to develop information from companies that do tes... Full story
Tribal police are investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman whose body was found in Nespelem, just before 5 p.m. Oct. 31. Colville Tribal Police Chief Cory Orr said in a press release that the woman had been identified at Maria Victoria Sanchez, born May 31, 1984. Orr said police are currently investigating "the cause and circumstances surrounding the female body" and that no other information would be released until after a medical examination scheduled for Sunday. No updates were available as of deadline Tuesday. Community sources,... Full story
Carol Visker, the senior municipal clerk in the coulee area, has resigned her position at Coulee Dam. Visker, who has been at Coulee Dam for 12 years, has taken a position at Almira/Coulee/Hartline schools. “She has done a great job for us and she and I have had a good run together,” Mayor Quincy Snow said. Snow said Visker would be available to answer questions about the 2014 budget which she put together before leaving. “A lot of clerks in the area know what she could do and often asked for her assistance,” Snow stated. His comments were mi... Full story
You can meet Blackbeard the Pirate this Saturday during two performances of a children's play by the same name at the Grand Gallery Theater in Grand Coulee. Children have been practicing all week with personnel from the Missoula Children's Theater organization and will perform at 2 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, a project of the local PTA. Children from local schools auditioned Monday afternoon at the theater at ?? Main Street and immediately began practices. This week practices are from 3-8 p.m. each... Full story
If citizen involvement is a key ingredient in the health of a community, this one should feel pretty good about itself. The upside of people complaining about what they think is going wrong is that they care and they act as caring citizens should: they complain. This week we feature stories that reflect citizen concerns: local political races for 11 contested seats because people cared enough to want to serve; and folks confronting the hospital district commission on issues that matter to them. As uncomfortable as such controversy can make... Full story
I first want to say that we are sorry for any disturbances our dogs have caused with their barking. In all honesty they are good dogs and don’t bark unless there is a reason. After reading today’s (10/30/13) edition of Coulee Cops I now know who has complained to the point that we received a letter in the mail from the police chief stating that if it wasn’t corrected we would be fined, daily, until the problem was corrected. So, I am writing this to say … 1. You have my phone number. Please call me if my dogs are keeping you up at night.... Full story
I believe in supporting small family-owned businesses. This helps a local family earn a living, and it keeps our money in the local community. I also know that we get better service. This was strongly reinforced when it became apparent a few weeks ago that it was time to replace the 10-year-old Dodge Ram with another, more reliable truck for towing my horse trailer. Like every other hard-working, penny-pinching resident of the PNW, I went first to that mega-dealership over in Idaho that runs a constant stream of radio and TV ads proclaiming... Full story
I read about your hunt for information on the oldest building in the coulee area and someone said the old store building in Belvedere was close to that. The store was owned by a family named Grey. They did live in the back and the front was the store. In the winter they would open the doors early so we kids could wait for the school bus inside out of the cold weather. Yes, it is vacant now but still standing as it was the marker that helped me find the old road up to the ranch, which is now owned by the Ray Green family. My dad and mom bought... Full story
Get ready for some griping. Here’s Frankie Delano’s ongoing, seasonal complaint, and you all are welcome to join in if you can relate to my current rant. While I was out and about in the Coulee and elsewhere this past weekend and listening to some tunes on the radio, I heard an announcement that there are only a few shopping weeks left before Christmas Day. Can you believe it? Anyway, I thought to myself, I’ve only got two-plus months to shop until I drop. So starts the holiday shopping frenzy. Do you know what a yard sale shopping frenzy is? W... Full story