News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 6361 - 6385 of 7269
The Star will be closed from 1:45 to 4:15 p.m. this afternoon due to scheduling conflicts with news events. We will re-open by 4:15, and the deadline for classified ads will extend to Tuesday noon. Classifieds can be entered online anytime here: http://www.grandcoulee.com/classifieds. And news announcements and letters to the editor can always be emailed in to star@grandcoulee.com or placed in the physical dropbox outside the front door.... Full story
Our Grand Coulee Dam Area Visitors Guide online site has the map of activities for Saturday's Koulee Kids Fest, at which some lucky kid will win an iPod Touch. Check it out here: http://ow.ly/m3caF... Full story
A Grand Coulee project that started as a sidewalk down Spokane Way, and then changed to a sidewalk down Federal Avenue, is on hold, for the prospects of something better. Public works director Dennis Francis told the city council at its June 4 meeting that the state’s Transportation Improvement Board suggested that the city come up with a more comprehensive plan to enhance the community, and that the $215,000 grant that had been OK’d for the Spokane Way sidewalk project would be put on hold. The city changed the original plan to build the sidew... Full story
Okanogan County announced a special three-day filing period, June 26-28, for a variety of positions not filed for during the regular election filing period. In Nespelem two council positions will be open. Council position 2, currently held by Dennis Montes, is open for a two-year term. And council position 3, currently held by Dawn Ensminger, is open for a four-year term. In Elmer City, council position 2, held by Gail Morin, will be open for a four-year term. Morin filed for mayor. In Okanogan County Fire District 2, the position currently... Full story
If anyone could figure the odds of an international finance engineer ending up in Grand Coulee running a quilting business, Marlene Oddie could. She’s opening her KISSed Quilts business at 12:15 p.m. Friday in the little shop that was last an ice cream parlor at 301 Main Street in Grand Coulee. Oddie, with masters degrees in engineering and business administration, spent a decade steeped in the world of high, arcane finance, figuring out complex problems in derivatives markets around the w... Full story
Kids, there’s a special day for you this Saturday, June 15. It’s the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s Koulee Kids Fest. Details and a map are available to help you plan your day, inside this week’s Star newspaper. A host of prizes will be awarded to some lucky kids. The grand prize, being awarded by the chamber, is an iPod Touch. Other prizes include a remote controlled Spy Tank, an inflatable boat set, three AquaZookas, four tickets to Ephrata Raceway Park, gift certificates, free ice cream cones, a digital video camera, t-shirt... Full story
Electric City officials said Tuesday that if residents notice colored water coming out of their faucets not to worry. The colored water is the effect of chlorine action to any material that has accumulated in water pipes and within a short time will correct itself. Public works director Ken Dexter said that if residents note any coloration in their water, they should run the faucet for a little while to see it clears up. If there are any concerns, residents can call city hall. Dexter said the Department of Health has been notified of the... Full story
A 21-year-old Nespelem woman was injured when the car she was driving hit a deer on the highway south of Grand Coulee Monday morning. Breanna Salas, 21, was driving a red 2002 Chevy Impala when it struck a deer on SR155 19 miles south of Grand Coulee about 6:10 a.m. Salas was injured and taken to Coulee Medical Center. The car, which came to rest on the shoulder, was “totalled” and impounded to Randy’s Towing, the Washington State Patrol reported. A passenger, Justin Chuckulnaskit, 33, was not injured. He and Salas were wearing seatb... Full story
Dave Baum has a box of old newspapers, secret documents, and other memorabilia from the World War II era that his father saved and handed down to him. The newspapers declare such things as the bombing of Tokyo, the landing at Normandy and the eventual surrender of Axis powers. Dave’s father Charles was in the thick of it and eventually piloted one of the boats that made it to Omaha Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Among items in the box was a secret photo document showing the complete Omaha B... Full story
Those tomato seeds that went into space back in the 1990s are still working their wonders here in the coulee. Nancy Carlson, teacher, now retired, obtained seeds from NASA and used them as a science project for fourth and fifth graders. It was a perfect opportunity to not only watch the seeds grow, but a chance to plant science seeds of a different nature along the way. While Carlson didn’t note any difference between the tomato seeds that gone into space and ordinary tomato seeds and their u... Full story
A friend, Frank Ward, said that if you are a gardener, you have got to love weeding. In my life, I have discovered many truisms that I like to call BFOs: Brilliant Flashes of the Obvious. Spot on! This is my 6th Summer growing a garden — in my whole life. I’m from San Francisco where if we want a greener lawn, we paint our concrete a richer green, or talk to Mr. Gardener. I decided to garden my first year here, and let me tell you what does NOT work: 1. Planting whatever the heck you want just because you like it 2. Planting in April bec... Full story
Through our strong native spirituality and our strong native pride, we, the Colville Confederated tribal peoples across our rez and off will indeed rebuild that indigenous circle of life that our current tribal council has destroyed … ever stronger and more united … to encompass new government by the peoples, for the peoples … not only within our government fiscally but also moving forward in prosperity and a more sustainable, brighter future through improved tribal program delivery system administratively, which will not be bridled through cou... Full story
The school board approved hiring four new teachers at its special meeting last Wednesday night. Matt Simpson of Brookings, Ore., was hired as a physical education/weight training teacher at Lake Roosevelt High School. Simpson was also hired as boys’ head basketball coach for LRHS. Shamra Steffler was given a first-grade teaching position at Center School. She had a long-term substitution assignment last year at the school and is from Grand Coulee. Shannon Cavadini was hired as a fifth-grade teacher at the Grand Coulee Dam Middle School, and c... Full story
The Coulee Cruizers will strut their stuff this weekend at North Dam Park. It will be the 29th annual showing of the Best Rod Run by a Dam Site, always a favorite of local people who enjoy the work individual members of the Cruizers put into their cars. It all kicks off Friday at 5 p.m., in the parking lot of Hometown Pizza, where the group will have its “cruise in.” The kickoff for the weekend lasts until 7 p.m. during which time there will be the annual “poker run” and a chance to cruise some of the scenic areas around the coulee. On Saturda... Full story
A 21-year-old Nespelem woman was injured when the car she was driving hit a deer on the highway south of Grand Coulee Monday morning. Breanna Salas, 21, was driving a red 2002 Chevy Impala when it struck a deer on SR155 19 miles south of Grand Coulee about 6:10 a.m. Salas was injured and taken to Coulee Medical Center. The car, which came to rest on the shoulder, was “totalled” and impounded to Randy’s Towing, the Washington State Patrol reported. A passenger, Justin Chuckulnaskit, 33, was not injured. He and Salas were wearing seatb...
An Electric City man’s home burned Tuesday, keeping firefighters working for hours on the stubborn blaze that started just after noon. The residence of Michael Lowry, at 214 2nd Street, overlooks Banks Lake at the end of the street in a neighborhood of houses and trees surrounded by brush and grass. Fire engines from Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam and the Bureau of Reclamation, and ambulances from both Electric City and Grand Coulee were on hand. The blaze, which quickly engulfed the r... Full story
A special three-day election filing period in Grant County turned up two candidates for Bob Rupe’s position 1 seat in the Electric City Council race. Filing for that position were Birdie Hensley, a former member of the council, and Aaron Derr. In other filings not reported, Jim Keene filed for a two-year unexpired term on Grant County’s Port District 7. Keene was recently appointed to the position. And commission Chairman Oroville Scharbach filed to return to the board for another six-year term. None of the three positions open for the Cou... Full story
Gordon Proctor will wrap up some 40 years as a teacher when the last school bell rings on June 12. He arrived here in 1978, along with his wife Kathy, after teaching five years in Oregon, and completes 35 years of continuous service at Lake Roosevelt High School as a coach, health and physical education instructor. Kathy, after a short stint as a substitute teacher, has taught at Lake Roosevelt for the same period. The community will have an opportunity to thank Proctor for all he has done for young people on June 12, when his peers have a... Full story
A new restaurant is about to open on the Midway. It will be the Grand Coulee Grill, identified by the new rock work on the face of the building, and a trio that has had experience in resort eateries. Heading the group is Paul Kelley, with Annie Ives as an operating partner and general manager, and chef Chris Sebastian, who comes from a resort near Yellowstone Park. Kelley says he has operated restaurants and bars in both the Seattle area and in California. He said the menu will feature items... Full story
Dump trucks are hauling about 1,400 cubic yards of sand from the Bureau of Reclamation’s giant sandpile to the school construction site daily, according to officials. Don’t worry, the scheduled 22,000 cubic yards slated to be hauled from the sandpile won’t hardly make a dent in one of Coulee Dam’s most famous landmarks. The dump trucks, three of them, are capable of making a trip about every 10 minutes or so. Trucks haul eight yards per load, at a weight of about a ton a yard, and can make the haul after being loaded in about 10 minutes... Full story
The Star published a story on May 29th, 2013 with the headline “Town votes for smaller sewer plant project.” Nothing could be further from the truth… in fact the town council, with one “no” (Bob Poch), knowingly voted for a project that will cost more, considerably more, than the already expensive “repair” to the old plant. Do not be duped… the town council voted for the first “phase” of a project estimated to cost well over $6 million. The town’s engineer (Gray & Osborne) clearly defined the two “phases” and the requirements for the full proje... Full story
The collapse of a Skagit River bridge on I-5 last week should give all of us pause to think about our nation’s longterm strategy, including local infrastructure. Stuff wears out, even steel bridges. That’s a dynamic that challenges the best intentions of priority pickers (also known as budget makers) in government who must continually weigh how to spend our money. Such constant pressure over decades can even influence the standards by which supposedly objective measurers of safety decide on acceptable risks. Consider that until rocks fell on... Full story
Members of Grand Coulee’s council would like to develop a city “cleanup of property” program like the one in the town of Coulee Dam. Councilmember David Tylor stated that’s there’s hardly a block in Grand Coulee that couldn’t stand some cleanup. After some discussion, Mayor Chris Christopherson stated: “When we go there, we’re going there.” The Grand Coulee nuisance ordinance is almost identical to Coulee Dam’s and calls for a fine of $500 a day after notification of violation of the city’s ordinance on the upkeep of property. Coulee Dam... Full story
Community members listen at the annual Isle of Flags memorial service at Spring Canyon Cemetery to remember veterans on Memorial Day. The Isle of Flags committee hoisted some 530 U.S. flags this year, each in honor of a local veteran buried there. More photos of the spectacle and a video are available below: Isle of Flags 2013 - Images by Scott Hunter... Full story
Wayne Fowler asked Grand Coulee’s council to help him with a zoning problem. Fowler annexed his Delano property into the city four years ago and while appearing before the council then, told members that he intended to build an apartment complex on a portion of the land. The land currently houses his DWK Fowler construction office and storage. Fowler annexed and then found that the city had zoned the property for single family residences. This in spite of the fact that the area the city zoned as residential also houses the KEYG radio station a... Full story