News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Electric City will shift dollars from a project city council members decided to give up on after years of setbacks, spending it instead on a popular park project that is taking shape but needs a financial boost. The city park being built just uphill from the fire station, but will eventually need more funding that what was currently available, despite fundraising efforts. Mayor Diane Kohout said a vote was taken at a special council meeting Aug. 28 to drop the Shoreline Waterfront Trail project that now would cost about $1.4 million to...
Since Lake Roosevelt School are now on a four-day school week, students won't be there for Friday meals, which is a problem for many students. The school district directors agreed Monday to change that with an amendment to their contract with Chartwells, the company that provides the food service, which noted they lost 20 percent of their revenue under the contract when the district went to a four-day week. Superintendent Rod Broadnax said he told Chartwells the district would not pay full...
Over 700 firefighters are battling two blazes on the Colville Reservation that have burned more than 23,000 acres of forested land. The Rattlesnake Fire started Sept. 1 from lightning and had burned 19,367 acres as of early Wednesday morning in the southeast corner of the reservation. It's 33% contained. The Lynx Mountain Fire has burned 4,226 acres since its Sept. 2 start from and undetermined cause. It is 5% contained. There are 762 firefighters on the fires. Evacuation levels have been set...
I began a Prayer Vigil for peace and forgiveness in 2010 after I watched a self-proclaimed preacher preaching hate and violence against Muslims. I believed his actions were contrary to the Way of Christ Jesus and dishonored the victims of 9/11 and their loved ones. On Thursday, Sept. 11, we are coming together once again in the spirit of peace to honor those who were killed on 9/11 in 2001 by men who believed that hate and violence are the answer to God’s calling. Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord. And as Christians we must understand that G...
Both at President Trump’s inauguration and at a recent meeting with him, we have seen the richest men in the world from our country cozying up to Trump to be in his good graces. They have all sold their souls for 30 pieces of silver, as Judas did, pushing the less fortunate people in our society to suffer and tough it out. Where is their guilt to go with it? Sincerely, Roz Luther...
The Palouse River used to ice up to a foot thick or better. It was so thick that people ran their cars out on the ice. Cars were a lot lighter back then. The locals would saw the ice to store in the icehouse for families that didn’t have refrigerators. Our icehouse was located across the bridge and adjacent to the river. My dad was in construction at the time and had a yearlong job in Moses Lake. He would come home for the weekends. We had an old-style ice box that was attached to the house and was accessed through a kitchen window. We would p...
In July, Congress passed an unprecedented Working Families Tax Cut, delivering tax relief for families and small businesses while making reforms to Medicaid to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability. Two months prior, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed the biennial state budget which included over $780 million in cuts to Medicaid over the next two years. In fact, the Governor held a performative press conference in Kennewick calling my position on H.R. 1 “morally bankrupt,” even though his signature on the state budget reduc...
Kids playing Monday night in the Grand Coulee Dam Youth Soccer league took up the last rays of sunlight at dusk with enthusiasm, even if it was for somersaults during the game instead of what their coaches are trying to instill in them. Makeup games, canceled earlier due to smoke, were underway at the former middle school in Grand Coulee. Ruth Randolph, of the league, said she has 168 kids signed up for the sport this year. Coach Trent Turner said he is surprised at how far many of the...
After a relatively easy early fire season, September started with a rash of new fire starts amid high temperatures and thunderstorms, resulting in thick wildfire smoke socking us in for a time on the first day of school in Coulee Dam. The Grant County Health District issued a warning that the smoke was thick enough across much of the county as to be "unhealthy" and warrant limiting time outside. "Poor air quality conditions are expected to continue as wildfires in Washington and neighboring...
Rod Broadnax has goals for Lake Roosevelt Schools. He wants Lake Roosevelt students safe and learning, in a school that is recognized for its academic rigor, as well as its athletics programs, and is fiscally solid, while increasing student enrollment and parental engagement. That's a lot. And big changes have been made to address the challenges ahead. The Grand Coulee Dam School District superintendent took time to speak with the Rotary Club Thursday, the same day he was explaining new...
Sept. 1 marked five years since the devastating Labor Day Firestorm of 2020 swept through Washington State — one of the most destructive wildfire events in our state’s history. And a day I will never forget. In just 72 hours, over 600,000 acres burned. Entire communities like Malden and Pine City lost 80% of their homes and structures in just a few hours. Hundreds of homes were lost. Families displaced. Lives forever changed. And we lost a little boy’s life as his family tried to outrun the Cold Spring fire. It was a wake-up call. But it was a...
As a kid it was fun to go to the barber shop for a haircut. The barber was Jack Sheets, and the kids all liked him. He had a long, hard bench against the wall, and sometimes, usually on Saturdays, it would fill up. But you never had to worry that someone would take your place in line. Jack always remembered where you stood in the lines, and if you were local he would call you by name. The price then was 25 cents. That was back in the 1930s. Next to the barber chair was Jack’s brass spittoon, usually streaked by near misses. He would let some to...
(Warning: unfair, but hilarious, Colorado stereotypes ahead!) Well, it finally happened. My eldest and most expensive daughter truly left the nest this time. We recently schlepped her from glorious Texas to a mysterious and unaffordable land known as Colorado, where she’ll start a life of her own dodging blizzards, patrons stumbling out of brewhouses, and billowing clouds of smoke from the devil’s lettuce. But not only have we lost our first baby to semi-grown adult-ish-hood roughly a zillion miles away, getting her there was pure “H-E-double h...
That roadside trail between Electric City and North Dam may get built yet, providing a safe path for pedstrians along the highway. The city council, frustrated with a lack of progress, in July had decided to explore starting over with their new engineering firm, but that firm talked them out of it at their meeting Aug. 12. Marissa Siemens, of TD&H Engineering, said the city's previous contracted engineering firm, Century West, has the plans about 90% complete for the project that would add a...
Nespelem School District Tuesday awarded the job of constructing its new CTE building to Lakes General for $1.38 million. The project may look more like a shop than a typical school builading, and the budget currently allows for not much more than an outer shell and a few rooms, including a bathroom. Add-ons could include specialized rooms for special purposes to fit the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The district exceeded its $1 million budget for the CTE building project, a part of the district’s expansion plan that has result...
Once again, we come to the community to thank everyone for a fantastic Summer Season at the VET Center. Our American Legion Post appreciates everybody who came by and shopped with us during our sale season. Although it seemed like a really long stretch for those of us who worked every week to gather and prepare all the treasures that we had for sale, the time flew by as we greeted many of the same people on a weekly basis. With all the community support, our sales assisted us with gaining the funds we need to help Veterans in the area. Our...
The local Wayfinder group’s backpack and school supply drive has come to a close with gratitude overflowing for the support in donations and contributions received throughout the communities of Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, Elmer City and Nespelem. Thank you to Electric City Council, Grand Coulee City Council, Jess Ford, Grand Coulee Police Department, Coulee Dam Police Department, Elmer City Council, Coulee Wall Variety Store, Wayfinder members, and residents who supported our quick efforts to assist teachers, families and s...
As we recently honored John Lewis with nationwide rallies/protests on the fifth anniversary of his death July 17, and local rallies/protests July 18, we have nine good examples of the “Good Trouble” he advocated. That is, nine Spokanites who were part of the June 11 protest at Spokane’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office were charged on July 15 for their acts of non-violent civil disobedience that was the story of John Lewis’ life. Will the actions of the “Spokane-Nine” become the national model for what’s necessary to stop Presid...
Gather your tin pails, load up on junk food and head for the hills. The huckleberries are waiting for you. I must confess I have never picked near here. As a kid growing up though, our family, my uncle’s family, and my aunt’s family would head for the hills about this time of year. We generally picked within an hour’s driving time from Palouse, north and east of Potlatch. Someone in the family would scout the hills so we knew where the good picking was, usually 0n the south slope of the mountains. My cousin Ruby always came. She had arthr...
Imagine being part of “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the much-acclaimed joint U.S. Air Force and Navy air strike which obliterated Iran’s nuclear bomb-making facilities a half a world away. B-2 Stealth bombers flew directly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri — 18-hours non-stop and undetected — to drop our unique “bunker-buster bombs” on Iran’s Fordow nuclear operations deeply embedded underground. Meanwhile, the Navy fired Tomahawk missiles from under the sea to help polish off the other two key sites — Natanz and Eshafan. That tak...
Electric City wants to move ahead with discussions on forming a regional fire authority, an option proposed last fall in an all-community meeting called to discuss the future of local emergency services. The city council agreed last week to send a letter stating the city is in favor of moving ahead with talks to pursue the establishment of a regional fire authority with five other entities: Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, Grant County Fire District 14, Lincoln County Fire District 9, and Okanogan...
Gov. Bob Ferguson makes remarks during a press conference at the state Capitol in Olympia, on Aug. 19, responding to a letter he received the previous week from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, threatening to withhold federal funding if the state does not change its approach cooperating on federal immigration enforcement. — Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson swiped back Tuesday in response to threats from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to withhold federal funding and potentially prosecute officials if they fail t...
Larry Hernandez got his lease extended for the Village Cinema last week, with monthly rent coming to $1,500 a month, including $600 plus $900 of in-kind work on the building. The town council wouldn't budge Wednesday on his request to put off the collection of the $600 cash component for another three months. Hernandez approached the town a year ago with a plan to take over the space if he could have a year to get it functional again as a theater and more, with his upgrade work paying the rent f...
In June, I asked my grandson, Marcus, what he learned in kindergarten this year. I expected him to say that he learned to read or count to 100. Instead, he said, “I learned to be kind.” I’ve been pretty healthy most of my life so I haven’t worried about germs or viruses or “catching” anything. I’ve always washed my hands before I ate or after I used the restroom and relied on my immune system to keep me safe. I got all the vaccines that I needed to attend school or travel abroad, but I didn’t get the “extra” ones that were suggested but not r...
It’s a beauty beyond imagination. Thailand’s golden Buddha is visible for all to see. It was scrubbed and revealed for the first time in the mid-1950’s after being hidden for over 200 years. The Thais hid the golden Buddha with a coat of stucco to hide its allure so it wouldn’t be stolen. The golden statue weighs over five tons and is approachable. I saw it when I was there a half century ago. Finally, officials decided to scrub the statue of its stucco-and-crushed-glass finish, and you could stand in front of it and see the gold sparkle...