News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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High on the list of things to do for the school board is to find a new superintendent. Present superintendent, Dr. Dennis Carlson, has indicated to the board that he plans to retire when his contract is up, June 30, 2016. Carlson has been in the district for five years. That item will likely be on the agenda when the board meets Nov. 30. The board has several options, including the hiring of a search consultant to assist them. When school board members attended the Washington State School Directors meeting last week in Bellevue, they had an... Full story
The Electric City Council has agreed in principle to a proposal by Grand Coulee to provide police services to the city. The particulars were scratched out over an earlier agreement between the two parties and the council asked that it be finished up and prepared for adoption at its Dec. 8 meeting. The agreement for 2016 and 2017 would have Electric City pay $125,000 for Grand Coulee’s police services the first year. For 2017, the amount would increase according to the Consumer Price Index, not to be less than 2 percent or more than 5 p... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation is going green. You will soon see the all new electric-powered vehicles the bureau has added to its vehicle fleet. They are so quiet you could almost hear a pin drop. That is a fair description of the Bureau of Reclamation's new electric utility vehicle (EUV) fleet of 27 passenger and maintenance vehicles. The vehicles will be seen throughout the Grand Coulee Dam Project area soon and will save the government an estimated 10 to 15 percent a year in just gasoline...
Elmer City hopes to establish a Transportation Benefit District (TBD) which will allow the town to collect $20 on most new licenses issued for vehicles. The town will have a public hearing on the issue at 6:45, Thursday, Dec. 10, and will have an ordinance on the agenda that night for passage. The town council has indicated that any funds generated through a Transportation Benefit District would go into the town’s street fund for the improvement of town streets. After the TBD has been in effect for 24 months, the town may collect $40 per v... Full story
A dog owned by a city employee in Electric City was declared a "dangerous dog" at the council meeting last Tuesday night. The owner of the dog, Jared L. Armstrong, of 32 Hillcrest Place, who is an employee of the city's public works department, appeared to defend his dog. The gray, tan and white dog with spots, named Felicia, about 40 pounds, was described by Armstrong as nothing more than a 10-month-old puppy. "I would have brought him tonight and he would have probably licked all of you and... Full story
Electric City council agreed to the allotment of hotel/motel tax money for 2016 at its meeting last Tuesday and will consider keeping more than a quarter million dollars in tourism-promotion funds toward funding a pathway. The council tourism committee, made up of councilmembers Brad Parrish and Richard McGuire, recommended allotting the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce $25,000 for tourism promotion, with the stipulation that $3,200 be taken from that amount to make up for overpayments the city made during 2015. That created a debate... Full story
The Ridge Riders have received another banner for being named Pro-West "Rodeo of the Year" for their Colorama Rodeo last May. "We couldn't do this without everyone in our organization doing their part," Ridge Riders President George Kohout said. Kohout has been president for the past four years, with the Ridge Riders winning the top rodeo-of-the-year award three of those years. The Professional Western Rodeo Association sanctions about 60 rodeos throughout the West. The Ridge Riders will be... Full story
City hall in Electric City will get a facelift sometime in 2016. The council tucked away a little over $26,000 to dress up the city’s municipal building. The building is targeted for a repair of existing concrete blocks, a paint job, a rock wainscoting on the outside, plus three new air conditioning units. The city is also planning on a new sign on the side of the building and a small readerboard sign to advertise its meetings and other information to the public. The color of the building hasn’t been determined, officials said. In the past two... Full story
Three important steps are in the works for Electric City’s pathway project. That project would, if everything worked out, build a pedestrian and bicycle pathway from Sunbanks Lake Resort to North Dam Park, in different phases. Phase one would be from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park. No date has been set for the start of the project, but one meeting was held last Tuesday. That phase is estimated at $500,000. One of the first steps will occur next Tuesday when the city council is expected to provide $40,000 from its lodging tax money for a c... Full story
One of the issues Electric City council members will decide next Tuesday night when they meet is whether they want to pay themselves. The issue has come up twice in the past and both times was voted down by the council. Most small cities and towns pay council members by the meeting, but not all, and never much. City Clerk Jackie Perman said that the resolution will suggest $20 per meeting, and not to exceed two meetings a month. The council as a whole meets once a month, but various members have committee meetings. Also on the agenda will be... Full story
This could be good news for area bowlers. Riverview Lanes could be opening again, with a new owner, perhaps as early as Dec. 1. “There are still a lot of things that have to happen, but I am working toward that opening date,” said Scott Elmore, a westsider who looks forward to life on the east side of the state. Elmore is working with the owners of the alley, Pat and Sara Zlateff, on the details of the sale, the reconditioning of parts of the alley, and with the town of Coulee Dam. Riverview Lanes was broken into twice in October, and dam... Full story
Pat Zlateff is anything but your typical veteran. Most local people will remember him as owner of Riverview Lanes, where he and his wife, Sara, kept the bowling alley in Coulee Dam open because the couple thought local people deserved a place to go for fun and enjoyment. Pat graduated from Coulee Dam High School back in 1964, having spent two years at Grand Coulee High School and finishing up at Coulee Dam. Then Pat got in some time at Eastern Washington University and played as a running back... Full story
There will be some new faces on both the Electric City and Coulee Dam councils in 2016. In Electric City, former council- woman Birdie Hensley will have a seat back on the council, after defeating Gladys (Carol) Nordine, 142-126. Nordine had led in the Position 3 race at the end of polling Tuesday by a single vote, 81-80. Nordine had been appointed to her position this summer to fill a vacancy. In other Electric City council races, Richard McGuire won re-election to Position 2, by defeating Daniel Greeley, 168-74. Brad Parrish won his Position... Full story
The Moomaw Hearing Center is now open at 406 Burdin Boulevard in Grand Coulee. The new firm has been open a couple of weeks and is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Moomaw family has a hearing center in Omak and, in keeping with the family operation, Hanna Moomaw is the business operations manager at Grand Coulee. She says the firm will do hearing testing, hearing aid adjustments, follow-up assistance, and hearing aid cleaning. She invites the public to come in and get... Full story
How could anyone argue about the town of Coulee Dam being a "Tree City?" Councilmember Gayle Swagerty said this week that there are officially 680 trees in the town. The emphasis on trees was a part of the Arbor Day celebration Oct. 21, at Lake Roosevelt school and one of the requirements needed to be named a "Tree City" for 2015. Coulee Dam has a long history as being recognized in the Tree City program, and if selected this year the town will repeat with this recognition. You can even see the... Full story
The relationship between the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and Electric City reached a new low this past week. While the relationship has been simmering for a long time, it spilled over Oct. 22, when the chamber’s weekly meeting was devoted to a perceived problem in how Electric City handles its hotel/motel money. There was even a suggestion that the chamber sue the city. The situation got worse last week when the chamber sent registered letters to all Electric City’s council members, its mayor, city clerk and the city att... Full story
Coulee Dam police have arrested an area man in connection with two recent burglaries at Riverside Lanes. Arrested and now in Okanogan County Jail is Michael Shane Snyder II, 26. Coulee Dam Police Sgt. Larry Hall said Snyder is being charged with second-degree trafficking in stolen goods, third-degree theft, and third-degree possession of stolen property. Police are still investigating, and additional charges may be added. Riverview Lanes was broken into twice in one week. The bowling alley has been closed since late summer, and the break-ins we... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam could get a new fixture for help in repairing the big gates at the top of its spillway, one of which has been leaking since last summer. The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment to identify issues and concerns to be addressed in an Environmental Assessment for a proposed drum gate maintenance structure at Grand Coulee Dam. A major leak on drum gate three this year prevented the bureau from spilling water for a backdrop for the Laser Light Show. At that time, the agenc... Full story
Only Electric City and Coulee Dam watched races in the battle for city council positions in the election returns last night. Electric City produced the tightest race, for a four-year term on the city council’s Position 3. Incumbent Gladys (Carol) Nordine had 81 votes, while her challenger, Birdie Hensley, had 80. Nordine won an early seat on the council this summer, filling a vacancy, and is the mother of Mayor John Nordine II, who was unchallenged for mayor and garnered 117 votes. Hensley served earlier on the council and had resigned b... Full story
Someone broke into the old middle school in Grand Coulee last Friday night or early Saturday morning, tried to start a fire in the exercise room and caused at least $28,000 in damage. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson told school board members Monday that the parties responsible got in by breaking a window in a downstairs door. Carlson said material from a number of fire extinguishers had been sprayed throughout the gym area, at the front entrance and down the classroom hall. The fire extinguishers were not found... Full story
The closed bowling alley in Coulee Dam was broken into twice last week, the third time burglars have entered the business since the middle of September. Coulee Dam police were notified Monday, Oct. 19, of the first break-in last week and notified again on Thursday, Oct. 22, of the second break-in. Owners Pat and Sara Zlateff were not sure of the exact time of the two burglaries because the business has been closed since late summer. The Zlateffs are in the process of cleaning up the lanes in preparation for an eventual sale and are not there... Full story
Grand Coulee and Electric City will soon be back trying to negotiate a new police contract. Earlier in the year, the Electric City Council decided to make an agreement with Coulee Dam for police services. But the agreement was never signed. The issue took a turn when meetings with regional law enforcement officers revealed that problems with how the Okanogan County dispatch is set up might cause delays in Coulee Dam’s ability to make rapid response to emergencies. Last Tuesday night Grand Coulee Mayor Pro Tem Paul Townsend instructed his law e... Full story
Pride in their community was the overall theme of the town council candidate forum in Coulee Dam last Thursday night. Three of six candidates showed up and had an opportunity to connect with some 15 people who attended. One candidate, David Schmidt, spoke of maintaining the appearance of the town, one of its greatest assets. He proposed more attention to parks, sidewalks and trees. Schmidt serves on the Natural Resources (tree) board. Another candidate, Herb Sherburne, who serves on the town Civ... Full story
The Electric City Council has passed a “complete streets” ordinance that will enable the city to move forward with a half-million-dollar pathway project. Phase one of the project would connect Coulee Playland and North Dam Park and is estimated to cost about $500,000. The overall project is estimated at $2.5 million to $3 million. Councilmember Brad Parrish has stated that the pathway could eventually connect Sunbanks Lake Resort to North Dam Park. The ordinance reads: “The City of Electric City shall, to the maximum extent practical, scope... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson submitted his letter of resignation Monday night to the school board. He will remain until his current contract expires June 30, 2016. In his letter, Carlson stated that “it has been an incredible journey where I have met and worked with some incredible and dedicated people to change the face of our school and positively impact our community.” When Dr. Carlson came to the district, he had only planned to be here a short time. But a massive building project got in the way, and, in... Full story