News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1230 - 1254 of 1383
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
Hey, aren’t those wild turkeys cute? That depends upon whom you ask. One person who has changed her mind on turkeys is Helen Jordan in Grand Coulee’s East Heights. “When I came here five years ago and first saw the wild turkeys, I was so excited,” she said. Not now! How would you like it if 42 turkeys took over your lawn, patio, and driveway? That’s how many she has seen in a single occasion. For one thing, it trains you to step lightly and tip toe around your property. Recently, Helen, who is g... Full story
The Regional Board of Mayors voted last week to extend the garbage collection contract with Sunrise Disposal for five years. The issue now has to be ratified by the four municipal councils before it can take effect. The current contract extends to Dec. 31, 2014, and if approved by the councils, it will extend to Dec. 31, 2019. The contract got early attention because the current agreement specifies that extension would be considered before the end of May, 2013. The early extension, the mayors were told, was to allow time at the end of the... Full story
Two meetings are planned on the Colville Indian Reservation to bring the public up to date on the wolf population in the area. A meeting will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, May 28, at the Nespelem Community Center, and a second meeting will be held June 4, at 6 p.m., at the Inchelium Center. The meetings will be hosted by the Colville Confederated Tribes Wildlife Department with Carter Niemeyer as the special guest speaker. Currently, tribal officials say, there are two wolf packs on the reservation. Packs generally number from five to 10 animals,... Full story
An Electric City resident has requested approval to build an oversize accessory building Mike Dennis, who lives at 118 Lincoln Avenue, was told by the city council last week to make his request to the city’s planning commission. Dennis was told that perhaps the planning commission would change its rules on the size of building permitted on different size lots to accommodate him. Dennis furnished council members with the size of his lot, 16,000 square feet; the size of his house, 2,668 square feet; and of his proposed accessory shed, 1,656 squar... Full story
by Roger S. Lucas A runaway truck early Monday morning almost made Jack’s 4-Corners Union 76 & Mini Mart a drive-in as it crashed its way through the southwest corner of the building. The driver, Clifford Scott Taylor of Mountain Home, Idaho, told police that he had parked his semi tractor-trailer near the car wash and went to the station to purchase some breakfast and a drink; as he was paying his bill, the truck crashed through the building. Taylor said he parked the truck in neutral with t... Full story
Center School could get a little crowded next fall. The district will have three first grades and three kindergarten classes as well as providing preschool for 3- to 5-year-olds, according to Superintendent Dennis Carlson. The district received word that Grant County Head Start ceased operating here as of April 26, more than three weeks earlier than planned, due to a 5.27-percent cut in federal funds due to the sequester. Sally Gundry, executive director of Grant County Family Services, the agency in charge of the local Head Start, said the... Full story
Candidates for upcoming elections are filing for positions on school boards, city councils, hospital boards and some junior taxing districts this week. In early filings, three have filed for positions in Hospital District 6. These include two incumbents, Kristen Hare and Jerry L. Kennedy. Betty Brueske has filed for a six-year short and full term on the local commission, which has one vacancy. John Nordine II, has filed for a four-year term on the Electric City council, a position he now holds. In Elmer City, Gail Morin, who is currently on... Full story
A request from the town of Elmer City to get out of its wastewater plant joint operating agreement with Coulee Dam was turned down by that town council last Wednesday night. In a letter to Coulee Dam officials, Elmer City Mayor Mary Jo Carey requested that the present joint agreement, some 37 years into its 50-year term, be dissolved. She has maintained that action by Coulee Dam reveals that the joint operation agreement no longer controls the relationship between the two towns. The Coulee Dam council quickly rejected the proposal. Elmer City... Full story
Two Colville Business Council incumbents lost out in their bids for another term in the primary election certified last week. Losing in the primary were Brian Nissen, in position 1 in the Nespelem District and Darlene Zacherlie in the position 1 race in the Keller District. Nissen came in third in the vote tally with 112 votes, trailing Deb Louie (155) and Ricky Gabriel (117). Louie and Gabriel will face off in the June 15 general election. Others in that race and their votes were Randy Laramie (43), Joaquin Marchand (89) and Tum-chis-li-wit... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School counselor Sue Hayes is one of this year’s senior class’s biggest boosters. Hayes spent 20-30 minutes with each senior available for an exit interview and was so impressed she made a report to the school board about this year’s top class. Students emphasized over and over that when they had trouble achieving the goals set for themselves, it was their own fault. Making right choices and getting support from family, school staff and friends made all the difference, their replies noted. One important factor, seniors state... Full story