News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson received an “Award of Merit” from the North Central Washington Educational Service District for his administrative leadership. Each year the various educational service districts in the state select a key administrator to honor for outstanding contribution to education in their area. Making the presentation May 21 in Wenatchee was Richard Johnson, Okanogan School District superintendent and chair of the Washington Association of School Administrators. Richard McBride, ESD sup... Full story
The school board learned how students referred to the “Opportunity Room” get a new lease on life, at their meeting Monday night. Tami Nichols, who short circuits students referred to the program because of their activities, had put a spark back in their lives by using a book and teaching tool called “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.” Nichols, catching the students before they face more serious consequences, has had good success showing them that they all possess sometimes hidden talents and abilities. Nichols provided an outline of the ... Full story
Port District 7 commissioners selected their engineering firm from among five presenters at a special meeting Monday. Selected was T-O Engineers, from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, rated number one through a series of criteria approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. The selection committee was made up of two commissioners, James Keene and Dennis Lohrman; secretary Joanne Davidson; and airport Manager Bob Babler. Other firms submitting packets included Century West, of Ellensburg; J-U-B, of Spokane; Reid Middleton, Spokane; and Stantec, of S... Full story
The city of Grand Coulee has denied a business license for a marijuana retail store here. City Clerk Carol Boyce said Tuesday morning that she is denying the license application by Jean Comstock because it is still a federal crime to possess marijuana. She said she is given the authority by city ordinance. Comstock’s application had created a storm of protest by more than 25 people who attended to the city council meeting May 19, to ask the city to deny the request. Many of these same people had attended the city planning commission the previou... Full story
More than 30 people have submitted comments on proposed zoning amendments, and the public will have further opportunity to comment at a public hearing schedule for 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 2, at Electric City’s council chambers. The zoning amendments address regulations on the height and overall size of accessory buildings, fencing issues and home business occupations. Tuesday marks the end of a 60-day public comment period. City officials said planner Kurt Danison will be at Tuesday’s meeting. The public hearing has been scheduled for the council... Full story
Don’t look for any extreme changes to the Four Corners intersection. However, Grand Coulee’s council will have an opportunity at its next meeting to make some suggestions to the state Department of Transportation on how it can “tweak” things related to the intersection and perhaps make it safer for motorists. Councilmember Paul Town-send has been working with the DOT, sorting out ideas, and will ask the council to make firm recommendations on a number of small changes. Some of the ideas include changing the speed limit between Four Corners... Full story
A major sidewalk project that was scheduled for Elmer City in 2016, has been moved up to later this year, the town council learned last Thursday night. Public works director “Jimmer” Tillman told the council that he expected work on the project to begin late summer. City Clerk Renée Tillman told the council that she expected to put out a call for bids as early as next week. The project is financed through a grant from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board. Public works director Tillman said that the project was ready to go,... Full story
Late election filings helped fill Elmer City’s open positions and added to Nespelem town council openings. In Elmer City, Joaquin J. Marchand has filed for position 1 and Clara Carson has filed for position 2, providing the town with a full election slate. Others filing were Don Bonertz for position 4 and Jessie Tillman for position 5. Both are incumbents. All four will appear on the general election ballot unchallenged. In Nespelem, Dennis Montes has filed for town council position 2, and Dolores Castillo has filed for position 5, leaving p... Full story
Electric City took action last Tuesday night to extend its lease with Coulee Playland for another 10 years. The 13-acre resort provides camping and fishing activity on Banks Lake, and is leased by the city from the Bureau of Reclamation, which subleases it to Hal Rauch, manager of the resort. The agreement calls for a lease review every five years. In separate action, the council approved a list of modest increases for services by the resort. The council regularly reviews increases in fees charged by the resort. Rauch has been involved in the... Full story
American Legion Post 157 will dedicate 10 new flags in honor of veterans in the Isle of Flags Memorial Day ceremony, beginning at 11 a.m., Monday, May 25. Over 500 flags will fly at Spring Canyon Cemetery when volunteers complete the task this weekend. In a separate promotion, the Legion Post will hold its annual Memorial Day breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m., Saturday, May 23, at the Vet's Center in Electric City. The breakfast is free; however, donations will be accepted. In the Isle of Flags ceremo... Full story
Electric City has changed the way it will do its municipal planning. Mayor John Nordine, in responding to a person interested in being on the planning commission, said that he has decided to bring planning in-house with a professional planner working with city staff. The old planning commission was down to a single person, Merle Kennedy. The other members of the planning commission, Monty Fields, Carl Russell and Ray Clover, had resigned in protest because the city council disregarded recommendations on how to deal with the height and size of a... Full story
Grand Coulee will have a new mayor, and a number of former council members from at least two cities have filed to return to municipal government, according to election filings posted by county auditors Friday. Grand Coulee Mayor Chris Christopherson decided not to run again for his office, but Mayor Pro Tem Paul Townsend filed for the four-year mayor’s term. Filings for Grand Coulee City Council seats saw Tom Poplawski, position 2; Erin Nielsen, position 4 and David Tylor, position 5, all filing. The position currently held by Townsend is o... Full story
The chamber of commerce and Ridge Riders Saddle Club each made a pitch for more hotel/motel tax money at the Electric City council meeting last Tuesday night. Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal had earlier asked for another $10,000, just to match what the chamber was given by the city for 2014 operations. She asked for the $10,000 again Tuesday and pointed out that it was urgent that the city act on the request so marketing issues for the remainder of 2015 could be addressed. The chamber was coming off... Full story
A Grand Coulee business couple has asked the city council to grant them a business license for a marijuana retail store near Coulee Medical Center. Jean Comstock and Jim Pachosa appeared before the council last Tuesday night and requested support in getting the business license in the city. Comstock has one of the Grant County state permits created by the passage of Initiative 502, which legalized recreational marijuana, and is seeking an OK from the city council. Earlier the couple had visited Electric City council with the same request but... Full story
Self confidence, even in dogs, has a lot to do with how well they perform. Take the case of "Crystal," an 11-year-old Sheltie, owned by Janice Elvidge of Elmer City. Elvidge had given up on Crystal after the registered Sheltie injured nerves in her shoulder during a training exercise. That had made Crystal afraid of certain obstacles in her agility training routine, Elvidge explained. Then something happened, the dog started to shake loose its mental block and it wasn't long until Elvidge had it... Full story
A severely beaten man who had been attacked by several people giving him a ride out of Nespelem was taken to the hospital here Sunday. Victor Conrad, 47, was found in a Main Street apartment after police officers here were led to the site by dispatch. Officers Dan Holland and Chris McClanahan arrived at the Main Street apartment and found Conrad, who was having trouble breathing, and called for an ambulance. Police learned that Conrad had been walking from Nespelem to Safeway here in Grand Coulee when a vehicle stopped and he was offered a... Full story
All the incumbents running in the Colville Tribes’ primary election last week made it into the general election June 13. Only one incumbent received fewer votes than the person challenging him. When the votes were all in, Allen Hammond, incumbent in the Inchelium Position 2 race who got 108 votes, was surpassed by challenger Elizabeth L. “Susie” Allen, who received 138 votes. Also receiving votes in that race were Doug Seymour, with 57; and Brian S. Seymour, with 34. In the Nespelem Position 1 race, a number of challengers received signi... Full story
An Electric City man has been indicted in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Washington, on four counts of theft of government property while an employee of the Bureau of Reclamation. Charged was James M. Barry, who has not been detained and has agreed to a deferred prosecution plan. Barry declined to comment. Barry is charged with taking valuable metal parts from the government’s inventory and selling them to a Spokane recycling firm. Taken, according to the indictment, were an unknown number of ring seal gate upper hub b... Full story
All incumbents made it into the general election in the Colville Tribes’ primary poll vote held last Saturday. Now they will have to wait until absentee ballots are counted on Thursday to see if the numbers hold up for them. In Nespelem’s District Position 1 race, incumbent Ricky Gabriel received the highest number of votes with 60, followed by former councilman Brian Nissen with 56; Harvey Moses, Jr., with 38; Deb Louie with 34; Jon Batten with 29; and Marietta “Etta” Grunlose with 24. Nespelem’s Position 2 saw incumbent Andrew C. Joseph, J... Full story
The Colorama rodeo queen's future probably won't take her very far from animals. Emma Gunderson, a junior at Ephrata High School, would like to become a veterinarian's assistant after she graduates from high school. Her love of animals has always been a draw towards that goal, she said this week. Queen Gunderson will reign over the Ridge Rider Saddle Club's Colorama Rodeo this year, and then prepare for a full season of appearances throughout the Northwest. A community college or a pursuit of hi... Full story
There's some big bucks to be made Saturday, May 23. All you have to do is ride a few bulls. It's the Third Annual Cleatis Lacy Memorial Bull Ride at the Ridge Rider rodeo grounds in Delano. Action begins at 3 p.m. This year, rodeo officials have added $3,000 to the prize money making the bull riding event attractive to some pretty good professional cowboys. The event is named after Grand Coulee's own Cleatis Lacy, a rodeo cowboy of the first degree. When he wasn't competing, Cleatis was one of... Full story
An appraisal of Center Elementary School and the surrounding property came in surprisingly low, the Grand Coulee Dam School District board learned Monday night. Superintendent Dennis Carlson said an independent appraiser valued the school building and the overall 7.43 acres at $190,000. Earlier, the layout had been listed at 8.5 acres, but the appraiser found an error in the property calculation. “It won’t go for that, and we expect it to be much more,” Carlson said. He pointed out that many of the lots above the school have excellent views... Full story
Grand Coulee’s sidewalk project for Main Street and Federal Avenue will go out for bid in May, city officials said last week. The project is largely funded by a $436,905 grant from the state’s Transportation Improvement Board. Members of the board were in Grand Coulee last year to help city officials shape the project. City Clerk Carol Boyce said bid packets will be ready early in May with the potential bid opening by the end of May. Completion of the project is scheduled by the end of the year. City council members received the breakdown of... Full story
American Legion Post 157 officials presented a plan to provide food for children of need in Grand Coulee Dam District schools. Appearing for Post 157 were its commander, Cindy Jane, Jim Brakebill, and John Nordine, Sr. Brakebill made the presentation at Monday’s school board meeting Post officials pointed to a similar food plan being conducted in Wenatchee schools. The plan would call for certain students to pick up food furnished by the Post as they leave to go home Fridays after school. Brakebill said at a Rotary Club presentation on the s... Full story
Colville tribal members will go to the polls Saturday, May 2, to shape the June 13 general election for seven seats on the business council The Colville Business Council is made up of 14 members, seven elected each year. The two seats on the Nespelem District are the most crowded for those running for council seat. In Position 1, Ricky Gabriel, the incumbent, is being challenged by five people: Jon Batten, Marietta Grunlose, Deb Louie, Harvey Moses Jr. and Brian J. Nissen. In the Position 2 Nespelem race, three are challenging incumbent Andy... Full story