News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1245 - 1269 of 1383
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
The Village Cinema in Coulee Dam is history. Its fate was settled last Wednesday night by mutual consent of the town council and the cinema operator, Lynette Zierden and her family. She asked for relief from her lease with the town and explained that she would make arrangements to pay off any debt owed the town of Coulee Dam. The town council quickly OK’d the request, recognizing that it was a sign of the times. The need to convert the theater’s present film projection equipment to digital was more than Zierden could afford. The theater was... Full story
It’s a big week in the coulee. Local residents and visitors will be treated to the 56th Annual Colorama Festival celebration, beginning Thursday with the opening of the carnival and ending Saturday evening. Events include the Ridge Rider Pro-West Rodeo Friday evening and Saturday, the Colorama Parade at 11 a.m. Saturday, the vendor fair at North Dam Park Friday and Saturday; helicopter rides Friday and Saturday, the Paradise Amusement Carnival Thursday at 3 p.m. and Friday and Saturday; the s... Full story
Thieves broke into Banks Lake Golf Course office sometime Sunday night and took the safe from the premises. It was the second time this year that the course’s safe has been taken. The first time was in January. Police said this time the safe was found along the 18th hole at the golf course. Golfers reported the smashed safe about 11:30 a.m. Monday. Police Chief Mel Hunt stated that the total money taken was just over $500. About $300 of it was in the safe at the time, and another $200 was t... Full story
A public art hunt is on for the new K-12 school project. Public buildings are required to set aside one-half of one percent of the cost of construction for art. The school board decided Monday night to seek art produced by local artists, that is artists from the counties that lie within the school district boundaries. The total money set aside for the art contribution is $120,000. Board members discussed the possibility of sculpture either inside or outside, and graphics inside. It was decided to solicit ideas from artists interested in making... Full story
A comment from a resident of Coulee Dam who asked why something isn’t being done to get people to clean up their properties, got a quick response from the police department. This past week police went on a real campaign to notify property owners whose places are in violation of the town’s nuisance ordinance that they better clean them up. Some 24 notices went out to property owners that their places were in violation. Property owners who fail to respond to cleanup notices could be subject to fines of $500 for each day of violation. The pol... Full story
The results of Saturday’s Colville Business Council primary election, minus absentee ballots, show that in two of the races, it appears incumbents are in for serious challenge. The Keller District position 1 incumbent, Darlene Zacherie got 23 votes while challenger Jack W. Ferguson received 34 votes. Others in the Keller race include Leroy Jerred (0) votes; Sylvia Tatshama Peasley (2) votes and John F. Stensgar (23) votes. Absentee ballots will decide which two advance to the general election. And in the Nespelem District position 1 race, incum... Full story
The Grand Coulee/Coulee City meals program will not be affected by any cutbacks due to the sequestering of funds by Congress, Director Myrna Schryvers said Monday. While the Meals on Wheels program might feel some effect from federal cutbacks, the local program, Grand Coulee Senior Meals, is funded separately. Schryvers said that the senior program feeds about 55 people daily, a combination of meal delivery and meals served at the senior center. She said that her program has a suggested donation per meal of $3.25. “We also get a lot of other f... Full story
A fire in a service bay at Jack’s Four Corners Union 76 that could have been a disaster was quickly extinguished by a combination of firefighters mid-morning Monday. A vehicle in the service bay at the station caught on fire when gas ignited and attracted a variety of fire engines and law enforcement units. The 2001 GMC extended cab was described as probably a total loss with some material at the repair shop damaged. There was no damage to the rest of the structure. Douglas County Fire D... Full story
A task that many thought would be difficult proved a piece of cake for th e school board Monday night. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson had asked the board to allow him to name a committee to come up with three possible names for the new K-12 school complex. The board did him one better than that, as they proceeded to pick a name right then. It’s Lake Roosevelt Schools: Lake Roosevelt High School, Lake Roosevelt Junior High and Lake Roosevelt Elementary. There was little hesitation as board members expressed the f... Full story
It was an unlikely night, with community activist Greg Wilder, who has opposed just about everything about Coulee Dam’s proposed wastewater treatment plant, going to work for the town. He isn’t being hired by the town, but he volunteered to raise the money for a alternative analysis study of the town’s current treatment plant plan. Town officials argued that they hadn’t pursued an alternative analysis, a study to see if the plant would be better located elsewhere, because of the cost, estimated at $25,000 to $50,000. Wilder who has argued... Full story
Elmer City has advised the town of Coulee Dam that their agreement on the wastewater treatment plant is over. A letter dated April 22, states that a 1976, 50-year agreement no longer controls the relationship between the towns, and after Elmer City makes its final bond payment on the USDA bonds that financed its portion of the plant, on March 1, 2014, the agreement is over. The letter states: “Going forward, Elmer City is willing to engage in negotiations to enter into a new agreement based upon the proposed expansion of Coulee Dam’s was... Full story
The Coulee Dam branch of Bank of America will close its doors Aug. 23, corporate officials stated in notices distributed recently, Notices to business and regular customers started going out April 19, and customers have been referred to other BofA branches in Moses Lake and Omak. Local branch manager Michelle Bredstrand confirmed the closing date and referred queries to the bank’s Seattle headquarters. Media representative Britney W. Sheehan told The Star that discussions are going on now to see if the bank can help employees find placement i... Full story
Fern Blaylock, a veteran volunteer at Center School, received an award April 25 from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The award, for outstanding volunteer service, was presented to her at the Governor’s Executive Mansion in Olympia. Blaylock was nominated for her work through the Colville Tribal Foster Grandparent Program. “Fern is so kind and gentle she will remind you of all the grandmas in your life rolled into one,” information on the event’s program stated. “She is not only the children'... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School Principal Brad Wilson is taking a position as principal of the middle school in the Chelan School District. The school board accepted his resignation Monday night. Wilson has been in the Grand Coulee Dam School District 11 years as teacher, coach, athletic director, interim principal and dean of students, as well as principal. He had won a number of honors including Coach of the Year in the Caribou Trail League and took several teams to the state basketball tournament. Wilson filled in as interim LRHS principal when... Full story
A public art hunt is on for the new K-12 school project. Public buildings are required to set aside one-half of one percent of the cost of construction for art. The school board decided Monday night to seek art produced by local artists, that is artists from the counties that lie within the school district boundaries. The total money set aside for the art contribution is $120,000. Board members discussed the possibility of sculpture either inside or outside, and graphics inside. It was decided to solicit ideas from artists interested in making... Full story