News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The town hall on regionally-significant topics spanning town and county boundaries in the Grand Coulee Dam area has been postponed indefinitely, the Regional Board of Mayors decided at their May meeting last week. It would have been the first town hall of its kind, and was to include time for the public to comment on regional issues in the presence of all four mayors and most of the council members from the four towns. But diminished staffing availability meant the most knowledgeable people wouldn’t be present for the main agenda item: the p...
If you’ve received an unexpected hospital bill recently due to your insurance company denying payment, you’re not alone: Coulee Medical Center staff reported an uptick in denials by insurers when the hospital attempts to collect on claims. “They’re hanging up on our billers when they call,” Chief Financial Officer Kelly Hughes told the hospital board last month as part of her monthly financial report. It’s an issue that goes far beyond the Coulee area, and in fact appears to reflect a nationwide trend that started to become evident to hospitals...
Colorama gets its name from the colorful lights the Bureau of Reclamation used to project onto the milelong concrete dam to mark the start of the summer tourism season here in the Coulee, in the years before the laser light show became a summertime staple. Nowadays, a big part of the weekend festival happens at North Dam Park in Grand Coulee: the vendor fair and food purveyors, live music, a beer garden, and this year, a little traveling circus of aerialists, stilt walkers, jugglers, clowns and...
The prominent former “MPH” auto shop on Midway Avenue has been sold to the investment firm that owns two contiguous vacant properties to the east. But the multi-million dollar hotel once planned for the block has no immediate future, according to the firm principal. “We don’t have any plans for it at all,” Caleb McNamara of Blackfly LLC said in a phone call with The Star April 12. “It just added to our piece of the pie.” McNamara’s Blackfly LLC owns the neighboring vacant building that once housed Pepper Jack’s Bar & Grille, and the building...
"They're going to put panties on a milk cow," explains Cheryl Pryor of the six teams from local businesses participating in the "Merchants' Panty Pull" at the Cleatis Lacy Memorial Bull Riding event on Thursday, May 9. That marks Day One of the annual Colorama Festival, followed by two days of pro rodeo events, all happening at the Ridge Riders Arena in Delano. Cindy Edwards and Pryor have been Ridge Rider volunteers for years as part of a team of four to eight people. This year, Edwards says,...
Over the next few weeks, you'll be hearing a lot about the 67th Colorama Festival – the kickoff to the Coulee area high tourist season happening May 9-11 this year. Part vendor fair and part pro-rodeo, the early summer community party features live music, beer gardens, bull riding, a parade, two days of pro rodeo events, a raffle drawing, cowboy breakfast, riding entertainment, a Kid Zone with games and activities, a 21+ after party, and even a little variety circus show. For now, Colorama b...
Emphasis patrols to discourage speeding will be popping up in Electric City, according to Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden, whose force provides police services there. The speed limit is 35 mph throughout the main corridor of Electric City, but drivers at times increase their speed before they reach the higher speed zones on either end of town, Bowden said. This can be problematic this time of year, he said, as more traffic goes in and out of the campgrounds during the warmer seasons. The limit becomes 50 mph just after Sunbanks Lake Resort...
Sometimes a Coulee Medical Center patient needs to be transferred to specialists or trauma care at a larger hospital, in a city such as Spokane or Seattle. In critical situations, air transport may be deemed medically necessary to save a life or limb. At that point, emergency room staff start making calls to one or both of the competing EMS programs covering the Coulee area. One program is called Life Flight Network - which most people informally surveyed for this story knew about - and the...
A large law enforcement grant Grand Coulee turned down last year due to lack of matching funds may have a new lease on life. A U.S. Department of Justice representative contacted the city last month indicating the department would prefer the $293,195 grant be used, even if it means forgoing the local match requirement and expanding the scope of possible activities that could be funded, according to Mayor Mike Eylar. “Apparently this is a matter of, it’s simpler for them to award the money without the restrictions than it is to take the has...
The Regional Board of Mayors again rescheduled the Whole-Community Town Hall, and much of the discussion will center on the possible creation of a regional EMS district for ambulance services. The joint public meeting will take place Saturday, May 18, at 10:30 a.m. at the Coulee Dam Ballroom, and will include time for comments from attendees. The Star editor and publisher Scott Hunter will moderate the event. The mayors whittled the agenda to two priority items: discussion of a regional EMS district, and updates on upcoming highway chipseal...
If you’ve gotten in the habit of driving uncovered loads to Delano, you will now see a fine for that on your bill, according to the board that oversees the transfer station. The Regional Board of Mayors discussed the issue at their April 3 meeting, prompted by Delano Manager Randy Gumm’s recommendation, due to an increase in observed road litter from dump-bound vehicles. He and his new attendant hires have noticed people hauling material into the transfer station that is not tied down or covered, “and we’re finding their stuff out on Alcan R...
The annual Banks Lake Triple Fish Challenge is just around the bend, coming up on April 12-14 at Coulee Playland. In addition to the fishing tournament on Saturday and Sunday, the weekend will feature an expanded Fun-Day Friday on the afternoon of April 12 from 1 to 5 p.m., featuring live music and an open beer garden for the first time, as well as the popular rainbow trout net-pen for kids, crafts and face painting stations, gold panning, S'mores, and an expanded food vendor choices. "This year...
Electric City’s main sewer line repair job has received an offer of just under a million dollars in a combined grant and loan package from the state Public Works Board, marking a crucial milestone in the quest to prevent failure of the critical infrastructure running parallel to Banks Lake. The board, which provides grants and loans to municipalities for critical and emergent public works projects, awarded $998,680 — half as a loan and half as a grant — according to the city’s contract engineer, Marissa Siemens of TD&H Engineering. Once th...
Don Redfield has been selected as the next chief of the Grand Coulee Police Department, a turnabout from the mayor's initial decision this month not to hire any of the candidates from the original pool. Mayor Mike Eylar's choice was unanimously approved by the city council at a special meeting convened last night, moving forward a process that had garnered public criticism from the department's rank and file. "Circumstances changed that made immediate action necessary," Eylar told The Star...
A whole-community town hall has been pushed back a week to Saturday, May 4. The meeting will still take place at the Coulee Dam Town Hall Ballroom at 10:30 a.m. and feature all four local mayors and most council members from each jurisdiction. The Star’s editor and publisher, Scott Hunter, will moderate the event. The event is being organized by the Regional Board of Mayors. The agenda and format is still being determined, but attendees can expect to hear updates about regionally relevant projects, including road chipseal repair jobs that s... Full story
The annual Spring Clean-up dates have been set for the weeks of April 8th and 15th. Self-hauled yard waste (bagged or unbagged) will be accepted both weeks at Delano Transfer Station during the dump’s regular hours: Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is no charge, but residents still need to weigh their loads in and out so staff can track the weight. Three of the local towns will go house to house for limb chipping, with varying schedules. Electric City’s chipping dates are April 8-12. City staff wil...
It started out with an abrupt retirement announcement from the Public Works director — and didn’t get much easier from there at last night’s Grand Coulee council meeting. By the end of the evening one council member and two police officers — including an applicant for the police chief opening — were directly questioning the mayor’s decision to not hire any current candidates for that position. The unusually tense meeting happened on a night with an already packed agenda covering a road reconstruction project, in-town speed limits, several vac...
The Grand Coulee City Council will convene for a special meeting Tuesday, March 26 at 6 p.m., the city clerk announced Monday. The council is expected to confirm a police chief candidate, a key move in a hiring process that has garnered criticism from Grand Coulee Police Department rank and file, and at least one Grand Coulee council member. Mayor Mike Eylar had originally declined to hire any of the candidates from the pool of five applicants, after interviewing the top three selected by the city’s volunteer Civil Service Commission. Since las... Full story
Local 9th through 12th graders with a knack for creative writing have the chance to win one of three cash prizes this spring in the 13th annual Teen Short Fiction Competition, hosted by North Central Washington Libraries and a Wenatchee-based nonprofit organization. High school students - whether in public school, private school, home school or Running Start - are invited to submit original short fiction up to 2,000 words in length, either a short story or the beginning pages of a longer piece,...
The Grand Coulee Library closed this week for a lighting upgrade and is expected to re-open in early April, according to the branch’s website. It has been a long-time need, according to library staff, and several boosters of the local branch, who described the old lighting using words like “flickering,” “buzzing,” “humming” and “dim.” The upgrade is intended to make the branch a more pleasant place to visit and work, and will make it more energy efficient, according to Amanda Brack, communications and engagement manager for North Central Was...
In the decision between three finalists for Grand Coulee police chief, Mayor Mike Eylar has chosen option D: None of the Above. “I’m not offering the position to any of the three that I interviewed,” Eylar said in a phone call Tuesday. “I’ll tell you exactly what I told them: I don’t doubt the heart and the desire and willingness to do the job, whatsoever. It’s just that we’re in what I think is kind of a critical stage, where I need somebody that has the knowledge, skill and abilities that the job requires, in order for us to be able to be a...
Residents of the local towns will have the opportunity next month to hear from–and address–all four mayors and most council members at one joint public meeting dedicated to area-wide issues, the Regional Board of Mayors decided at their March 6 meeting. The all-community town hall will take place Saturday, April 27 at 10:30 a.m. at the Coulee Dam Town Hall Ballroom. The Star editor and publisher Scott Hunter will moderate the event. The idea has been out there since Grand Coulee Mayor Mike Eylar floated it at the February mayors meeting. Ove...
No matter where you are or what city you’re in, if you received serious wounds in an accident and needed immediate care, chances are you’d head for the nearest hospital. But for infected wounds, non-healing wounds or chronic wounds like bed sores, you’d want the nearest wound care center: one with a wide range of treatment options, including high-tech therapies, administered by certified wound care nurses who receive regular training on an evolving body of medical evidence. That’s not something all hospitals provide. Coulee Medical Center...
The document guiding Electric City’s future growth plans has an update coming due in 2025, and the first round of review is underway. The city’s Planning Commission, an appointed advisory board made up of five Electric City residents, is taking a first look at the comprehensive plan, chapter by chapter, as part of a regular periodic update required by the state’s Growth Management Act, or GMA. “We’re just basically going to methodically go through each chapter and update it the best we can,” said Kurt Danison, a planner working with the ci...
Kids in the Grand Coulee area can now receive a free book in the mail every month until their 6th birthday, courtesy of a partnership between the Dolly Parton Imagination Library and Friends of the Grand Coulee Area Library. It's one of several ways the local Friends group supports the community and local library branch, according to board President Nancy Carlson, who made a presentation on behalf of the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization at the Grand Coulee City Council meeting Feb. 20. "The...