News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A Selah, Washington man was arrested last Thursday for allegedly trying to break into the marijuana retail store on Burdin Boulevard. Police said they arrested a 22-year-old man who tried to get into B Street Bud by forcing the back door open. Chief John Tufts and officer Joseph Higgs arrested the man, who told them he came to town to tour Grand Coulee Dam with his electrician class but was late and had missed the tour. He then went to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce office to inquire where the marijuana retail store was located.... Full story
Electric City has finally agreed to a contract with Grand Coulee to provide police services. Its city council voted 5-0 for the contract offer, even though some of the language was a bitter pill to swallow. Then there was an ultimatum, the tossing of the gauntlet so to speak. Grand Coulee, tired of the document bouncing around because of language changes, told the folks at Electric City, essentially, take it or leave it. Electric City was told that if the agreement wasn’t signed by March 1, forget it. That didn’t sit well with council mem... Full story
There’s an effort to resurrect “Them Dam Writers” an organization that encourages people to write. The group had been organized back in the 1980s, but in recent years had dwindled to only a few. The effort to get the group going again will begin with a brainstorming meeting at 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, at the Senior Center. Them Dam Writers is a non-profit organization that had many of its articles published in The Star newspaper in a “Reflections” column. Them Dam Writers in the past have featured writers’ workshops, poetry writing contests in... Full story
Want to serve on Electric City’s Pathway committee? All you have to do is drop a note off at city hall. The city council will make a selection of four local citizens to serve, along with city Councilmember Brad Parrish, on an advisory committee regarding matters pertaining to the proposed trail. Chairing the committee will be Tiffany Quilter of Grant County Health District. A representative of Washington State University’s Rural Community Design Initiative, and a representative from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conse... Full story
A public workshop will be held this Thursday night at the Electric City fire station to develop survey questions for the proposed Pathways project. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend and take part by sharing their thoughts and vision of Electric City. A large group of stakeholders met in January to get the discussions going on an Electric City trail system but couldn’t agree on a set of questions for a community survey. Deputy Clerk Russell Powers, who is organizing the meeting, said the group will develop q... Full story
Coulee Dam Town Council agreed on two leases at its meeting Jan. 27. Council members agreed to leases for The Melody Restaurant and Riverview Lanes, the town’s two tenants in the building it owns. The Riverview Lanes lease, covering two years with the firm’s new owner, Scott Elmore, calls for $480 lease payments each month from May through September and $675 a month from October through April. The higher price is during the months that league play is most active. Elmore took over the operation in December after spending several weeks get... Full story
Electric City will be working on its new “no name” park this year. The park site, behind the city’s fire station, is yet to be named, and is promoted as a “neighborhood” park. It is the brainchild of Councilmember Lonna Bussert. The city has over $35,000 in its budget for some development this year. Targeted will be fencing, irrigation and the placement of some surplus playground equipment that came out of the Center Elementary School recess area. Last year a community yard sale held at the Vet’s Center and a “Pig in the Park” picnic provided s... Full story
Alumni from Grand Coulee’s Tigers, Coulee Dam Beavers and from Nespelem’s Savages got the go-ahead from the school board recently for a space on the new school campus for a statue showing that the Raiders grew out of the three earlier schools. Coulee Dam Beaver graduates plan a reunion Aug. 5-7 this year and will use the occasion as a fund-raiser for the statue. The reunion is for classes from 1935 through 1974. As part of the fund-raising effort, the Beavers are selling different levels of tables for the reunion dinner. Sponsorship table lev... Full story
A number of fifth-grade students, all part of a "highly capable" program, made presentations before two third-grade classes recently at Lake Roosevelt Elementary. The students selected a topic they were interested in, then planned a program centered around a written report and slide shows. After the presentations, third graders had an opportunity to answer questions from a sheet passed out to show how well they listened. Students were tutored by Cathy Krohn and made presentations before Dana... Full story
“Rocket scientists they are not.” That was the way Coulee Dam’s interim police chief described villains who brag about their escapades on Facebook. Interim Chief Larry Hall said that he often looks at Facebook to catch up with some law breakers who aren’t too smart and tell what they have done for everyone to see. “When we have a a few vehicle prowls and a few garages are being broken into, I call the jail and ask if certain people are still in jail,” Hall said. “As far as major crimes,” he said, “we’re really blessed.” Consumeraffairs.com h... Full story
Don Richer, 52, of Coulee Dam, threw a perfect 300 game last week at Riverview Lanes. It wasn't his first - he has three official 300 games to his credit. But it was exciting just the same, both for him and for others at the lanes at the time. A perfect 300 game is 12 strikes in a row in the same game. Most people get excited when they throw a single strike, but 12 in a row puts you in a special class. Richer said the first six or seven strikes for him are without pressure. But after that,... Full story
What to do with an old stone church? The old stone community church in Coulee Dam is vacant and needs a new tenant. The subject came up at the Coulee Dam Town Council meeting last Wednesday night when Councilmember David Schmidt stated his regrets that the church had closed and commented that there should be some public response in support for the church. Councilmember Ben Alling responded that he would like to see it used for a convention center, using hotel/motel tax funds to accomplish that. Schmidt said he hadn’t meant to suggest that t... Full story
Interest in acquiring Center School for a fiber mill is on hold. Vicki Eberhart, president of the North American Wool Cooperative in Oroville, said Tuesday that her group is active in another project in Oroville and will make a decision on Center School after the current project is complete and a feasibility study is made. The NAWC had indicated an interest in developing a small fiber mill in the old school and using it for an education center for the industry. Eberhart said Tuesday that the project of a mill in the Oroville area has taken... Full story
A fee schedule for the use of town of Coulee Dam equipment was set by the council at its meeting last Wednesday night. Fees cover the use of town equipment by other public works departments in the area. Hourly rate fees are: Ford truck, $75; bucket truck, $100; crane, $100; chipper towed by truck, $100; backhoe, $100; dump truck, $50; sweeper, $100; portable welder, $50; international dump truck, $75; compactor, $30; tank truck, $75; sewer jet truck, $100; and sewer camera, $100. Trash pump rental is $30 a day. In the event an equipment... Full story
Electric City’s leaders met for a “retreat” in Ephrata Saturday to consider matters that don’t fit well into monthly city council meetings. “I think every city council should have a retreat,” Electric City’s city clerk Jackie Perman said this week. “A retreat gives council members an opportunity to ask questions and learn about their roles in city government,” she added. The city’s attorney, Katherine Kenison, led council discussions on a range of subjects. She explained the role of a council member and the mayor. She led the group through p... Full story
Governmental agencies and some local people crowded into a meeting room at Coulee Medical Center Wednesday as agencies made presentations at the Electric City Pathway and Trail meeting. Representatives from Bureau of Reclamation; the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance; Washington State University Rural Communities Design Initiative; Grant County Health District; Washington State Department of Transportation; and Gray & Osborne, Electric City's engineering firm,... Full story
Paul Turner, the assistant principal at Lake Roosevelt Junior and Senior High School, has been offered the position as superintendent of schools for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. The board made the decision Monday night. The school board will now need to negotiate a contract with Turner. If successful in the contract issue, Turner will replace Dr. Dennis Carlson, who has been in the district for the past six years. Carlson will retire June 30, but could remain in the district for a... Full story
Soon the Beavers, Tigers and Savages may make their marks on the new school. There’s a drive afoot for some type of monument statue depicting the old Coulee Dam Beavers, Grand Coulee Tigers and Nespelem Savages. Lonna Bussert, who was at the school board Monday night, asked the board for a space for the statue, somewhere on the new facility grounds. “We think it would be neat for people to be reminded where the ‘Raiders’ came from.” The three schools all funneled into what is now Lake Roosevelt Schools. Bussert said that, with the board’s o... Full story
Lake Roosevelt’s seniors are headed to California for their special school year-end trip. The proposal was presented to the Grand Coulee Dam School District directors Monday night by Associated Student Body President Devan Black, and after a brief discussion, the board approved the request to travel. The board learned that 25 seniors are eligible to make the trip. They will leave Sunday, May 29, and return Tuesday, May 31. They will travel to Spokane by bus, where they will catch a flight to San Jose, California, spending part of the day at t... Full story
One mayor is still determined to find a way to consolidate some of the services of two local municipalities. Electric City and Grand Coulee had each indicated last year a willingness to fund a study on the consolidation of those two cities, but did not commit any funds during the budgeting process in the fall. But Coulee Dam Mayor Greg Wilder indicated last week that he still hopes that services such as police, fire and ambulance could someday be consolidated with those of Grand Coulee. “I plan to get together with Grand Coulee Mayor Paul T... Full story
Electric City took a giant step forward toward building a proposed multi-million dollar walking trail last week when the city council set aside $400,000 of the city’s hotel/motel tax funds to help pay for the project. City Clerk Jackie Perman noted that the $400,000 includes some future contributions to the fund. Currently, Electric City has $344,000 in its lodging fund. The city receives between $60,000 and $70,000 a year from motels and campgrounds that collect the tax, authorized by state law to promote tourism. The resolution passed with a... Full story
The Colville Tribes are planning a restaurant, lounge and gaming area over the Coulee Dam Casino. Special Projects Manager Carl Jackson said the restaurant is scheduled for an April opening. Currently, contractors are taking out interior office walls where Colville Tribal Federal Corporation offices had been located. Their offices have moved to the new tribal headquarters complex near Nespelem. The final configuration of the floor space is still being worked out, Jackson explained, but it will feature an upscale restaurant and a gaming area... Full story
You can get whatever you want at B Street Bud. The new marijuana store's list of products is like an extensive menu in a large restaurant. The newest retail operation in Grand Coulee, on Burdin Boulevard, is highly regulated and will return some 37 percent of its sales in taxes to the state, says its owner, Jean Comstock. Comstock purchases her marijuana from six licensed growers. Her edible products come from two other vendors, also licensed and controlled by the state. The range of products... Full story
No! That was the result of a formal vote on recycling at the Elmer City council meeting last Thursday night. Councilmembers had earlier, when polled, indicated that they were not interested in a recycling effort. The Regional Board of Mayors met earlier that week and decided to try once again to see if recycling had any future here in the coulee. Traditionally, it only takes one of the four municipalities to say “no” to submarine any effort put forth by the RBOM. Elmer City, as it did when its councilmembers were polled, didn’t want to spend... Full story
The Regional Board of Mayors will take another run at looking into a recycling program, they decided Monday. The four mayors in charge of the Delano Regional Transfer Station said they would bring it up again with their respective municipal councils and report back next month. The mayors had already approved the purchase of a $13,000 bin system to collect recyclable items, but each was to get their respective council’s approval for their share of the bin cost. The first municipality to test this plan was Elmer City, whose share was $849.26. I... Full story