News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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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
There are a number of closets in the coulee area that are missing some shoes. The Coulee Medical Center Guild reported last week that its collection of shoes, which started last July, has netted the organization some 3,375 pairs of shoes. Guild President Clea Pryor thanked the many community members who gave shoes to the local drive. The local shoe drive is part of a national drive to acquire shoes for people living in developing nations. A collection truck was at the hospital last Wednesday to... Full story
Electric City is retreating so it can move forward. The city plans a retreat for its council, mayor and staff next Saturday, Jan. 23, in Ephrata. The retreat is scheduled as a refresher, reviewing policies and procedures, and planning for the future — moving ahead. The council’s newest member, Birdie Hensley, took issue with the city’s attorney, Katherine Kenison, being moderator of the meeting. “I am not sure why you were picked as moderator; nothing personal, but I think some more neutral person should do this duty. I consider you as staff,... Full story
A proposed trail system in Electric City will get an airing from a number of organizations next Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 1 p.m., in the Coulee Medical Center conference room. The proposed trail would eventually reach from the entrance to Sunbanks Lake Resort to the city of Grand Coulee, and beyond. The trail idea was hatched by Electric City Councilmember Brad Parrish, who has been working on the idea since early spring last year. Coordinating the meeting will be Deputy City Clerk Russell Powers,... Full story
So you think you live in a normal environment? Electric City Mayor John Nordine II told members of the Regional Board of Mayors Monday that Grant County’s Solid Waste Advisory Council’s report shows otherwise. Nordine sits on the council as the Electric City representative. He recently attended the council’s meeting and, among other things, brought back a report for 2015. The Regional Board of Mayors, made up of mayors from Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam and Electric City, meets once a month at city hall in Electric City, with oversigh... Full story
A Wilbur man, who was arrested by Grand Coulee police on Dec. 20, for animal cruelty in the first degree, was jailed in Grant County after appearing Dec. 31, in Superior Court. Police had been looking for James E. Goodlake, 22, since Dec. 13, when a caller to 911 and another witness reported seeing him abuse a puppy. The caller reported witnessing Goodlake kick the puppy and then slam it to the ground multiple times. Police responded, but at the time couldn’t find the suspect. About 2 a.m. Dec. 20, an officer saw Goodlake walking on Federal A... Full story
Police have sent a number of items to the state crime lab in an effort to identify the person who broke into a residence on Miller Avenue in Electric City and made off with several guns. Weapons taken, according to a police report, included two Winchester model 100 .284 guns, one with a scope; a Winchester model 100 .308 with a scope; a Savage .250 3000 lever action with a scope; a 12-gauge Ruger over-under shotgun; two or more .22 caliber pump guns; a Colt revolver pistol; a .22 Derringer over-under pistol; two double-barrelled 12-gauge... Full story
Almost all of the Bureau of Reclamation’s “green” vehicles, 27 of them, are sidelined while it is determined why they only hold battery charges for about 20 miles. Only four of the battery-powered vehicles are currently in use, according to Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. The current weather is one reason a number of the vehicles are stalled, but a greater issue is the fact that the vehicles had only been holding a charge for about 15 hours, considerably less than anticipated. Brougher said that the bureau is currently gathering data for... Full story
Feed is available for POWER game bird feeders, the president of the organization, Carl Russell, said last week. Russell said the feed is available at his barn. Those feeding game birds are advised to only take two sacks at a time and to feed only as long as there are several inches of snow on the ground. POWER (Promoters of Wildlife and Environmental Resources) also is in charge of feeding and releasing game fish into Banks Lake. Russell explained that the group does not have any fish in the... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation’s new fire station will be built early in 2017, an official said Monday. Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said current plans call for construction to start early in 2017, and that it would take about a year to construct the 21,500-square-foot facility. The bureau announced in mid-December that the fire facility would be built on land it already owns, near the intersection of B Street and State Route 155. The bureau made the announcement after an environmental assessment was completed recently. The purpose of t... Full story
A Grand Coulee driver was given a ticket for driving too fast for road conditions after he rolled his vehicle over where B Street meets the Bureau of Reclamation Industrial area Dec. 27. The driver, Igor Victorovich Kudas, 30, told police he was only going about 20 mph when his Toyota Tundra truck started sliding and made a slow rollover. Kudas said both side-panel air bags deployed. He was not injured. Kudas was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the mishap. Jack’s Towing helped get the vehicle back on its wheels. Police reported that t... Full story
A former mosquito district clerk is being charged with theft in the first degree and misappropriation of funds by the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office. Karyn M. Byam, 40, of Electric City, who was a clerk for Grant County Mosquito District 2, was charged Dec. 17, on the two counts and probably will be arraigned sometime in early January, county Prosecutor Garth Dano said last week. Byam allegedly wrote checks for herself for some $129,834, which were questionable, according to a state audit conducted earlier this year and a months-long investig... Full story
A study of consolidating two local cities is off the books. Neither Electric City nor Grand Coulee put funding in their budgets to pay for it, and a second reason is more critical than the cost of the study, according to one councilmember. In order to consolidate the two cities, one of them would have to annex either Delano or the land between North Dam Park and Coulee Playland. There is no land where the two cities have a common boundary. Grand Coulee Councilmember Tom Poplawski pointed this out at that city’s council meeting Dec. 22, and a... Full story
Grand Coulee has a new mayor: Paul Townsend. He replaces Chris Christopherson, who chose not to run for re-election in November. Townsend ran unopposed, and has served as councilman and mayor pro tem. He, along with Councilmember Gary Carriere, who had filed for Townsend's seat, both take on new duties. Councilmembers Tom Poplawski, David Tylor and Erin Nielsen, who had won re-election, were all sworn in Dec. 22, at the regular council meeting. Carriere is a member of the Electric City... Full story
Grand Coulee has revised downward the amount of hotel/motel tax funds it is going to give out in 2016, after last summer’s smoky tourist season. The city had received requests from four organizations totaling $34,325, but is only going to fund $22,870. The decision was made Dec. 22 as the city council approved its $3,041,419.22 budget for 2016. Grand Coulee had given out $34,000 in 2015. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce had requested $13,325, but will receive $8,900. The Ridge Riders had requested $12,500, but will receive $... Full story
Shane Proctor jumped from eighth to third place in the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas earlier this month. Proctor had won it all in 2011, sewing up the world bull riding championship in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. His hometown, Grand Coulee, honored Proctor by erecting a sign at the south end of Midway Avenue calling attention to his note- worthy achievement. On Dec. 13, Proctor, who graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School in 2003, finished competition by riding five of 10 bulls for a payday of $113,385, bringing... Full story
A contract between Grand Coulee and Electric City for police services has been stalled and won’t be resolved until early 2016. Grand Coulee’s city council voted Dec. 22 to extend its current contract, which expires Dec. 31, until new language, inserted since the council committees agreed on the new two-year contract, can be adjusted. The two council committees had a handshake agreement early in December, but after that agreement attorneys had inserted language that the two parties hadn’t yet agreed on. Just a formality, members of the Grand... Full story
An Elmer City man was arrested and taken to Grant County Jail after he allegedly entered a house in Grand Coulee from which he had been banned. Police said Richard C. Rutledge, 63, of 40 Williams Street, had removed items from a house where he had earlier been banned from entering. In addition to a burglary charge, Rutledge faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, third-degree theft, making false statements to a public servant, and obstructing law enforcement. When police arrived at the Roosevelt Drive location, their report... Full story
Prospects of a study in 2016 on the possibility of consolidating the cities of Grand Coulee and Electric City are unlikely. Hopes dimmed last week when $10,000 towards the study became a victim of Grand Coulee’s budget crunching. The hope had been that Electric City would follow through with $15,000 toward the study and that Grand Coulee would come up with another $15,000. Electric City’s $15,000 didn’t make it into its 2016 budget, and the $15,000 for Grand Coulee, which had already been whittled down to $10,000, didn’t make it either.... Full story
The future of the Coulee Dam Community Presbyterian Church will likely be decided sometime in 2016. The decision is up to a Presbytery Commission, made up of a handful of people that includes former Pastor Muriel Brown of Ellensburg, who chairs the group, and local elder Jerry Kennedy. Kennedy said Friday that the commission takes over responsibility for the church Jan. 1. The local congregation plans a Christmas Eve service and another service Dec. 27. After that, the local congregation will be disbanded. Kennedy said the heat will remain on... Full story