News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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By this time next week you can drive your golf cart down to get the mail and for other things in Electric City. The city council passed an ordinance July 22, allowing a golf cart zone in the city. All you have to do to get started is buy a golf cart, get it decked out to make it street legal, then get it registered at city hall. There’s a $30 annual fee. Oh, yes, make sure that your driver’s license is up to date and that you have liability insurance. The “zone” is any public roadway within the city of Electric City having a speed limit o... Full story
A stubborn brush fire closed Interstate-90 near George for the second straight day, but it reopened Tuesday about 10 a.m. The fire was driven by wind gusts of 25 mph and had burned about 900 acres by Tuesday. Winds continue to be a problem, a Grant County sheriff spokesman stated, and will largely determine how the fire is fought. A firetruck from Electric City went to the George area Monday but returned later that night. The fire started Sunday afternoon and flared up Monday. Residents in some... Full story
Electric City and Grand Coulee have amended and extended their water supply agreement for 50 years. Both city councils have agreed to the extension, and the agreement has been signed by both mayors. Electric City provides Grand Coulee with potable water through a 16-inch inter-tie pipeline, using water from its three wells just south of city hall and by special arrangement, utilizing Grand Coulee’s water rights. The new agreement includes the Electric City’s arsenic treatment plant and its services, the plant not having been in service yet whe... Full story
Electric City’s planning group is looking at its current zoning to see where a marijuana retail store might be located. The city council instructed staff and the city’s planner last week to take a look at the city’s current zoning to determine where any possible marijuana retail store might be located within the city. The city staff, along with its professional planner, has been handed the duties of the planning commission after its members resigned over the recent flap on the size of accessory buildings. City Clerk Jackie Perman said the c... Full story
The former clerk of Grant County Mosquito District 2 is being investigated for misappropriation of funds totaling more than $129,000, a state investigative audit of the district states. The clerk is denying the allegations and has hired an attorney. Karyn Byam of Electric City, a 20-year clerk of the mosquito district, resigned her position March 4, after being interviewed by the investigative unit of the State Auditor’s Office. A “Fraud Investigation Report” released last week states that between 2010 and 2014, the clerk was compensated approx... Full story
Those attending the Laser Light Show and wondering when water will be released for a backdrop for the show will have to wait. Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said it won't likely be this year. Brougher explained that a side seal on drum gate three is leaking and the Laser Light Show will not receive water until it is fixed. That could be next spring when the water level is low enough to work on the faulty seal. Brougher did say that the Bureau of Reclamation is using... Full story
Evacuation notices from two major fires in Douglas County have been pulled, according to the county sheriff’s office. One fire, 17 miles northeast of Waterville, and a second fire 10 miles southeast of Waterville, had together burned some 22,212 acres of brush, grass and sage, according to Tuesday’s fire report. Both fires are being managed as the Douglas County Complex. There had been no reports of structures lost or injuries by Tuesday. The Red Cross, which had opened a center for evacuees, at Ephrata High School, has since closed. The eva... Full story
Grand Coulee’s city council has asked Mayor Chris Christopherson to pursue recycling with the Regional Board of Mayors. Councilman Erin Nielsen took up the recycling banner at the council meeting a week ago and said that it would cost money, “but this is the right time to do it.” Recycling has been a thorn in the side of regional mayors for sometime, but any way they have looked at it, there is a cost associated with it. Nielsen stated that the cities and towns in the area need to look past the cost and bite the bullet. Councilmember Tom Popla... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam has started proceedings to vacate the lease of Riverview Lanes Bowling Alley. The town council voted last Wednesday night to have its attorney start legal proceedings to abate the lease. The council learned last week that the owner of Riverview Lanes, Sherry Moore, has not made lease payments for three months and that water and electric utility services have been shut off. The town owns the building the bowling alley is located in and provides utility services. The building also houses the fire station, Melody Restaurant... Full story
A Coulee Dam resident told the town council last week how well all the elements of the July 4 Festival of America celebration worked. Carol Netzel, who lives at the north end of Columbia Avenue, said that the town should write the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce a letter congratulating its officials and members on how well the celebration was planned and executed. Netzel told how polite people seemed and how the large number of visitors seemed to enjoy themselves. Netzel suggested that in future years parking areas might be... Full story
The chicken issue was a wash, but the need for a code enforcement officer gained momentum at the council session in Coulee Dam last Wednesday. The proposed “four hen” ordinance to allow keeping chickens in town made it through the first reading when Mayor Greg Wilder broke a 2-2 council tie vote. The chambers were crowded with about 30 folks attending, all anxious to see how the chicken issue would be resolved. There were the “fowl” folks and the “foul” folks, about equally divided. But as discussions expanded it became pretty clear that... Full story
Four small fires were reported in the area this week, said Grand Coulee Fire Chief Richard Paris. Two, one at North Dam and the other at Barker Canyon, were caused by fireworks and were quickly put out. Another fire was near the canal on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation property and was quickly put out. The cause of that fire wasn’t determined. The fourth fire was near the Elmer City Access Road, the cause of which was also unknown. It also was quickly put out. “We appreciate the public’s help,” Paris said, after having made the case last week th... Full story
Firefighters have the 21-mile Grade Fire, about 25 miles north of Keller, 40 percent contained, but they will be keeping a watchful eye on reports of thunderstorms predicted this week. Kathy Moses, public information officer, said the fire has covered 2,250 acres and has been held to the east side of State Route 21. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Moses said. Fire broke out in the afternoon July 1, and quickly spread to 1,000 acres. Fire crews Tuesday were mopping up parts... Full story
The body of a 28-year-old man who had jumped from the Coulee Dam bridge June 26, was found Sunday by workers at the fish pens several miles downstream. Jamie Williams had jumped from the bridge about 7 a.m., telling a friend that he thought he could make it. He was later seen moving downstream calling out for help. Rescuers searched for Williams by boat, from along the shore and from a helicopter but were unable to find him. His body was found Sunday near the fish pens, about a mile downstream... Full story
Dispatch advised officers that a man was seen burying an unknown object at the overlook area just above Grand Coulee Dam. Officers arrived and learned that a Georgia driver and two friends had hit a bird with their vehicle and buried the bird and placed a rock on top of the little grave. The men, Dion Schmidt, 20, Isaiah Broomfield, 24, and Bernardo Stapleton, 21, reported to police that they buried the bird, then had a short ceremony for it, took a picture and started walking towards the dam. The person who reported the incident said that the... Full story
Entire families can be entertained for two days for free next week at the Ridge Rider rodeo grounds at the group’s annual Junior Rodeo, July 18 and 19. Events begin at 10 a.m. Admission is free, and there will be a concession booth providing food and refreshments. The Junior Rodeo involves both boys and girls up to the age of 18. Young cowboys and cowgirls in several age groups will compete in such events as barrel racing, dummy roping, calf riding, bull riding, calf roping, saddle bronc riding, chute dogging and steer wrestling. Top placers w... Full story
The Coulee Medical Center Guild/Auxiliary has started a shoe drive in the area, which will eventually benefit people in third world countries. It’s all a part of several programs being undertaken by members of the CMC guild/auxiliary, according to President Clea Pryor. The shoe program has drop boxes in several locations in the coulee area and also in Wilbur. Drop boxes for shoes may be found at Coulee Hardware, Sunflower Graphics, Loepp Furniture, North Cascades Bank, the Coulee Dam Credit Union, Eagles Lodge, The Star newspaper and at C... Full story
Music, food and fireworks. Sounds like Festival of America time in the coulee, when patriots can celebrate America Friday and Saturday at the park below the Visitor Center, with a guide to the action below. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, the organizer of the event, has put together live music, kids activities, a big show in the park, fireworks and more to entertain local residents as well as the thousands of visitors who crowd the park and surrounding areas each year. Listen to the music of MacDaddy, Tuxedo Junction and the Olso... Full story
by Roger S. Lucas Coulee Dam Town Council members may get an earful about chickens at a public hearing next Wednesday, July 8, at 6 p.m. The entire town should take a page from an Electric City couple with five chickens. Eric, Misty and son Logan Braaten live on 10 acres on the edge of the city, and they can tell you that chickens are nice people. That is, each individual chicken has its own personality. The Braatens have all their chickens named, and Eric explained, "They have their own pecking... Full story
Discussions are going on to develop a school uniform program for Grand Coulee Dam district schools. The issue has come up at the past two school board meetings, and indications are that the idea is alive and moving forward. The teaching and support staff are generally in favor of the idea. The board is moving forward slowly, and, as suggested by outgoing high school principal, Brandon Byers, the district should take this next year in fleshing out the idea. The public and student body to date haven’t had an opportunity to express their f... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School will get its first woman principal, ever, for the 2015-16 school year. Superintendent Dennis Carlson named Ronanda Liberty as principal of Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School at a school board meeting Monday night. She replaces Brandon Byers, who took a position as assistant principal at Frontier Middle School in Moses Lake, a school of about 800 students. Byers came to the district here in 2008 as an English teacher and served as principal of the Grand Coulee Dam Middle School for a year before moving to the... Full story
Chickens got their feathers ruffled at Coulee Dam at the last town council meeting. The evening started innocently enough as town officials unveiled a proposed ordinance that would allow local residents up to four chickens — only hens, of course; no one wants to wake up in the morning to a rooster crowing. That brought up a lot of questions from council members and those in the audience, and the chicken ordinance is headed for a public hearing at 6 p.m. July 8, during the regular council meeting on that date. The big question asked by m... Full story
The two incumbents in the Inchelium District lost out in the Colville Business Council general election but all the others came through as tribal election officials finished counting absentee ballots last Thursday. In Inchelium, Elizabeth “Susie” Allen defeated Allen Hammond, 259-196 for position 2 and Bessie Simpson defeated Stevey Seymour, 233-217. In the Nespelem races, Andy Joseph, Jr., held on to his seat by defeating Sheila Cleveland, 342-281, and Ricky Gabriel won over former council member Brian Nissen, with the identical tally of the... Full story
The Electric City Council voted to give the chamber of commerce another $10,000 from its hotel/motel tax fund last week. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce had asked to be on the agenda for June 9, was for a short period, and then found that they had been taken off the agenda because of all the things the council had to consider that Tuesday night. As it was, the monthly council meeting lasted well over two hours. The council’s hotel/motel committee, made up of Brad Parrish and Richard McGuire, had met and recommended to the council... Full story
It’s almost “ooh and ah” time in the coulee, when thousands of people come to the area each year for the 4th of July Festival of America celebration, with the late evening fireworks show doubling in size this year over the top of Grand Coulee Dam. This year’s show will also be put on by a new vendor, Rocket Man Pyros, out of Spokane. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce is spending twice as much on fireworks this year, doubling the budget to $10,000, thanks to the generosity of the chamber’s corporate sponsors, said Executive... Full story