Articles written by roger lucas
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 459
The little things define us
A few years ago, I found a small box in my mail from Bill Thompson, a classmate of mine from Palouse. Bill and I, along with 13 others, spent all 12 years together out of a class of 24. Needless to say, we were tight, and very... — Updated 1/23/2019
Returning a fossil home
A fossilized leg bone of the Hagerman Horse will soon be on its way home. It has been in my possession for 60 years, and it will soon rest where it had been for thousands of years before I dug it up in 1958. The bone has been with... — Updated 1/9/2019
A Husky Rose Bowl memory - from 1960
In a few days the University of Washington Huskies will be in the Rose Bowl. It will be their 15th appearance in Pasadena and the Huskies will have the opportunity to tilt the record in their favor, currently having a 7-7 record.... — Updated 12/26/2018
Childhood heroes never die
I had my heroes, just like every kid. Mine really got started by getting to know the owner of one of the three active taverns in Palouse in the late 1930s. His name was Pop Brantner. I never did learn his first name. The unlikely... — Updated 12/12/2018
A Montana sapphire fit for a king
Meet the late Will Chaussee. On the outside, he was a cedar lumber owner-dealer. On the inside, he was a mountain man, and he owned a sapphire mine between Hamilton and Philipsburg, Montana. He retired and annually invited me to... — Updated 11/7/2018
Your denials could save the U.S. money
I would like to make it clear: I didn’t do it! It wasn’t me who wrote that op-ed piece in the New York Times telling of the disarray at the White House. This is for the record. I do not know anyone that works for the Times, I hav... — Updated 9/26/2018
Musher practice only hinted at the big race
The person who called it “the last great race on earth” was probably right. The Iditarod is run each year the first weekend in March, with the next one is kicking off March 2, 2019. It’s the sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome,... — Updated 9/5/2018
Riding Japan's bullet train
The long, sleek train reeked of speed as it pulled into Tokyo station. I was finally going to ride Japan’s world-famous “bullet train” at speeds over 100 miles an hour. It was difficult to reference speeds on rails of such propo... — Updated 8/22/2018
An Idaho boy who beat the Yankees
Sometimes sports heroes come from unlikely places. Take the case of Vernon Law, right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Vernon came from Meridian, Idaho, a few clicks out of Boise, and midway between Boise and Nampa. Law... — Updated 8/8/2018
A golf champion gets the nod of history
In the late 1950s and well into the ’60s, a number of Idaho athletes were at the edge of dominating their respective sports. Shirley Englehorn, from Caldwell, Idaho, at the west end of the Boise Valley, was one of them. She won 1... — Updated 7/25/2018
Ugliest town in the west can do better
I entered Electric City the other day through its southern portal, and was shocked. I don’t know why; I had entered the city through its south end a hundred times before. But this time the many eyesores along the entrance to the c... — Updated 6/27/2018
Dexter calls more than balls and strikes
Strike, ball, foul ball, you're out, you are safe - all calls you would expect from an umpire. Right? Meet one umpire that has added a whole lot more. Kenny Dexter. Ken was the publ... — Updated 6/6/2018
[Updated: 8-27, 10:45 a.m.] Two districts delay school for a week
Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson announced Wednesday that both he and Nespelem School District Superintendent Rich Stewart have agreed to delay the opening of their respective schools until Sept. 8.... — Updated 8/27/2015
Dozens of cats taken from Electric City home
Animal control workers removed over 60 cats from a home in Electric City Monday. Representatives from Pasado’s Safe Haven, a rescue operation from Monroe, Wash., along with Grand Coulee Police Chief John Tufts, completed taking t... — Updated 4/25/2015
San Poil evacuations ordered due to fires
Update As of 9 a.m., Thursday, Aug. 7, the fires had consumed nearly 8,300 acres and was threatening some 50 homes and 50 other structures. One outbuilding has burned. San Poil... — Updated 8/10/2014
Three swear oaths of office in Coulee Dam
A new mayor and two new council members were sworn in at Coulee Dam last Monday. Mayor-elect Greg Wilder, and council members-elect Gayle Swagerty and Duane Johnson all took their... — Updated 12/30/2013
Fires held back by fire fighters
Two fires separated by a couple of miles and a day scrambled local fire fighters early this week to protect property. Brisk winds pushed a fire Sunday night perilously close to... — Updated 7/10/2013
Group to seek tourism board for whole community
A chamber of commerce-sponsored meeting of community leaders Monday selected a committee whose goal is to approach the three municipalities that collect hotel/motel tax money about the possible formation of a tourism advisory... — Updated 6/26/2013
Three local students get Gates full-ride scholarships
Three seniors at Lake Roosevelt High School have been selected as Gates Millennium Scholars, the district announced recently. Selected were Kendall Piccolo, Johnny Medina-McCraigie... — Updated 5/8/2013
Movie theater stays shut after failed fund raiser
A drive to raise $95,000 to replace Village Cinema’s projection equipment with new digital technology has failed, and the theater’s owners hope to end their lease early, unable to continue with a broken, obsolete projector. A rep... — Updated 5/8/2013
Document request cut off after news report
A public disclosure request for information from police documents made a few weeks ago by police officer Sean Cook has been discontinued at his own request, The Star learned this week. A request the Grand Coulee officer made... — Updated 2/20/2013
Bureau cuts eagle roosting trees on lake
A 100-year-old cottonwood tree on Banks Lake whose branches attracted as many as 10 eagles at a time is no more, cut down by the Bureau of Reclamation a couple of weeks ago. While... — Updated 2/20/2013
City takes over cleanup
A commercial property on SR-155, near Western Avenue, was cleared by the city last week because of a nuisance problem. Jeff’s Towing of Coulee City took a pickup truck, a large t... — Updated 2/13/2013
Massive document review underway at Grand Coulee police department
A leaky roof over the Grand Coulee police department’s document room is adding to the city’s cost of reviewing some eight years of documents at the request of police officer Sean Cook. When asked about the request, Mayor Chris Chr... — Updated 2/13/2013
Town slows plant plan ahead of petition
Development of Coulee Dam’s wastewater treatment plant upgrade is on hold for three months. The council made the decision at a hastily called meeting Monday afternoon on Martin L... — Updated 1/23/2013