News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1220 - 1244 of 1383
The July 4 “Festival of America” music in the park program will stretch over three days, Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow, the organizer of the music, said last week. Music will begin Thursday, July 4, at 5 p.m., in the park below the Visitor Center, and conclude on Saturday, July 6, with a 6 p.m. presentation by The Cruizers. Kayla Newland, well known to coulee music lovers, and a local to boot, kicks off the music Thursday, July 4 at 5 p.m., bringing her country music theme to the park. At 6:30 p.m., reggae artist Raggs Gustaffe, will del... Full story
New activities will add to this year’s upcoming Festival of America, which will stretch over three days this year for the traditional July 4 celebration in the lower Visitor Center park below Grand Coulee Dam. Chamber of commerce Manager Peggy Nevsimal said a number of family-friendly, carnival-like games have been included this year on Saturday, July 6. Games include such events as a pie-eating contest, a ring toss, a dunk tank and a photo booth, among other activities. A fire truck will be on hand for kids to explore, Nevsimal stated. T... 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
The dedication of the new Keller ferry will be Aug. 14, at the south terminal at Lake Roosevelt on SR-21, officials said last week. The new 116-foot ferry named the Sanpoil, which cost $12 million, will launch sometime in mid-July from its cocoon-looking construction site at Crescent Bay. After testing, the Sanpoil will sail to the two terminal sites for final adjustments to the landing areas before going into service sometime in the afternoon of Aug. 14. A special ribbon cutting will be held at the south shore terminal and the Sanpoil will... Full story
The dedication of the new Keller ferry will be Aug. 14, at the south terminal at Lake Roosevelt on SR-21, officials said last week. The new 116-foot ferry named the Sanpoil, which cost $12 million, will launch sometime in mid-July from its cocoon-looking construction site at Crescent Bay. After testing, the Sanpoil will sail to the two terminal sites for final adjustments to the landing areas before going into service sometime in the afternoon of Aug. 14. A special ribbon cutting will be held at the south shore terminal and the Sanpoil will... Full story
Ferry service on the highway that connects Wilbur and Republic, will be down for just over five weeks in mid-summer, a Washington State Department of Transportation official said late last week. Al Gilson, a DOT media spokesman from Spokane, said ferry service will be down from about July 8, to Aug. 14, when the new “Sanpoil” goes into service. The current ferry, the Martha S, will cease service after over 60 years of crossing Lake Roosevelt connecting north and south sections of SR-21. Gilson stated that the five-week break will allow a $2... Full story
Coulee Dam’s town council voted to move ahead with an abbreviated wastewater treatment project at its meeting last Wednesday night. The decision didn’t make anyone completely happy, but the 4-1 vote will allow the immediate needs of the current wastewater treatment plant to be addressed. The lone “no” vote was cast by Councilmember Bob Poch, who, in explaining his vote, said there were too many “ifs, ands and buts” for him to support it. He stated that he felt something like Larry Holford, an Elmer City councilman, who asked the council to step... Full story
The general contractor building the new school complex is hauling some 22,000 cubic yards of sand from the Bureau of Reclamation’s giant sandpile for fill on the K-12 school project to bring the building site to grade, officials stated this week. The arrangement with the bureau will mean that it will save the school district some $22,000, Superintendent Dennis Carlson said Tuesday. Walker Construction had made arrangements with the bureau to secure the sand at $1 per cubic yard, however, bureau officials suggested they would waive the fee as l... Full story
A Thrivent Financial free food truck will be at the Zion Lutheran Church, Friday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to noon, officials stated this week. The church is located at 318 Mead in Grand Coulee. The free food opportunity is part of the Second Harvest program, and is an annual event here. The Thrivent Homegrown Help Truck, a 24-foot refrigerated vehicle, is the newest unit in the Second Harvest Inland Northwest food distribution fleet. The truck holds from 7,000 to 10,000 pounds of food, and in its first year has distributed over 550,000 pounds of f... Full story
Dozens of local elected positions are among more than 3,000 in the state for which people interested in serving the public filed intentions to seek or keep office last week. Incumbents in Electric City fared best in primary election filings with no incumbents challenged. Mayor Gerald “Jerry” Sands will go after his second term, and council members John Nordine II, Bradley Parrish and Lonna Bussert all are unopposed. In Coulee Dam, three are running for mayor. Incumbent Mayor Quincy Snow is being challenged by F. Gregory Wilder and Shawn Der... Full story
The annual Memorial Day Isle of Flags ceremony to honor deceased veterans will be held at Spring Canyon Cemetery Monday, May 27, at 11 a.m., American Legion post officials said this week. The ceremony will be preceded by a Veteran’s Day Breakfast at the Vet Center in Electric City Monday from 6:30 to 11 a.m. Cost for the breakfast is $3 for children 6-12, and $6 for adults. Fourteen new flags will be dedicated during this year’s ceremony. The flags will represent: James George Birdwell, Jerry A. Bise, Wayne F. Clark, Dexter H. Edwards, Jr.... Full story
The city of Grand Coulee continues to make headway in its billings and collections in both its municipal court and ambulance programs, City Clerk Carol Boyce told the city council at its most recent meeting. Court billings had fallen three-and-a-half years behind, from August 2009 to December 2012, Boyce told the council, but now they are caught up and the time allotted to make the billings is sharply curtailed. The payment on the court billings totalled $78,125, of which just under half, $37,552, goes to the city and the remainder to the... Full story