News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 767 - 791 of 1383
The Grand Coulee/Electric City police contract for 2015 is in limbo. Electric City Mayor Jerry Sands said this week, “we haven’t seen any contract, yet.” Ever since voters turned down a real estate levy request by Electric City by a two to one margin (232-116), a police contract has been in question. The special levy would have raised $65,000 for Electric City. “Apparently residents don’t want police protection,” Sands said. The two law enforcement council committees had met several months ago and pounded out an agreement for $115,000 fo... Full story
Elmer City wants to provide overdue pay raises for two town workers but leaders have to figure out how to pay for it, after a proposal to raise utility rates was blocked last week. Mayor Gail Morin said that the two workers, Town Clerk Renée Tillman and public works Director Jimmer Tillman, both receive far less than workers in cities and towns nearby and haven’t had their salaries keep pace with the cost of living. The clerk now receives $18.50 per hour and the town’s 2015 budget would increase this to $19.50. Works Director Tillman rece... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board made two decisions on athletic policy Monday night, one over the objections of one of its members. School board Director Ted Piccolo had issues with changing district policy so that student athletes can be failing one class and still participate in sports. The policy requires athletes to carry a 2.0 grade point average (C average) to participate in sports. The change the board approved allows an athlete to carry one failed grade. “I don’t think it’s too much to ask that a student passes all their... Full story
Electric City plans to add at least 15 new street lights next year. The initial cost is about $2,000, and it will boost the city’s electric bill a bit higher. The decision to move forward on the street light program was made last Tuesday night and spelled out in the 2015 city budget. The city initially will pay for the trenching for the lines, and the rest of the expense will be handled by Grant County PUD. The PUD recovers its expense by the monthly fee it charges for electricity. The city now pays about $975 a month for energy costs for i... Full story
An effort to develop an Electric City park moved one step closer Nov. 11 when the council matched the property owner’s asking price. The council voted to offer the Banks Lake Bible Church $25,000 for a double lot near the old Baptist Church school, which measures 80 by 160. Councilmembers Lonna Bussert and Brad Parrish explained to the council that the property had been appraised at $45,000 if used for a residence and $35,000 if used for other purposes. The church group was asking $25,000, and even offered to carry a contract if the city w... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board Monday night approved a five-year grounds contract with Oasis Lawn Care for an annual cost of $37,600. The contract includes mowing, trimming and edging, lawn aeration, pruning, fall leaf removal, weed eating the hillside above the athletic fields, chemical and fertilizer applications and summer irrigation. Oasis provides its own equipment, and where it can, its proposal stated, tries to hire Lake Roosevelt graduates, and students returning for summer work from college. Superintendent Dennis Carlson... Full story
Officials at Lake Roosevelt Elementary are trying to figure out why one of the first-grade classrooms picks up a sewer smell off and on. It happens in Kim Campbell’s first-grade room, and on occasion drives her and her 18 students across the hall into another classroom. Plumbers and other tradesmen are working to find the problem, crawling around checking pipe joints. Theories abound. None have proved positive. The smell doesn’t occur every day, nor at the same time each day that it happens. Usually, it doesn’t last over 20 minutes to half... Full story
Lake Roosevelt’s football program took a hit this week with the head coach and two assistant coaches resigning. Resigning was Head Coach Steve Files, and Assistant Coaches Paul Braun and Joe Tynan. Files stated in his resignation letter to Athletic Director Richard Black, “the decision was not an easy one and involved many hours of thoughtful consideration. In the end, I strongly feel that at this time new leadership is in the best interest of the program” The Raiders had a league win-loss record of 1-7 during the past football season. In ad... Full story
Could there be a new athletic league in Lake Roosevelt High School’s future? It’s possible that someday the Raiders will be part of a proposed “Columbia River League.” But there’s a long road awinding before that could become possible, Athletic Director Richard Black told the school board Monday night. In spite of all the things Lake Roosevelt and others proposed for the league would have to do, the school board was enthusiastic about the idea. Nevertheless, Black was cautious. “When you start pulling schools out from other leagues, you open up... Full story
Grand Coulee’s planning commission kicked the can down the road to the city council on the Mike Horne proposal to move his MPH mechanic shop down the street to a new location. One planner after another moved away from trying to find a way that Horne could move his business to another location on Midway Avenue, where it is currently grandfathered into a zone that changed in 2011 and no longer allows that type of business. It appeared to spell doom for the move since two city council members sit on the planning group — Councilmember Tammara Bye... Full story
Nella is getting a second chance. She's an 18-year-old broodmare that now has a new home through the Grand Coulee Animal Rescue and Sanctuary. Nella is now enjoying a green pasture existence at a Malott location after being "rescued" from neglect and indifference. Her new owners are Dave and Nancy Bishop. It's the third adoption of a horse where the animals have been rescued and then released to caring and loving new families, , Director Heather Downs stated. One horse has also moved into a... Full story
More of money collected to boost tourism and related jobs will be allowed to to do so following a move by councils in Electric City and Coulee Dam last week. Electric City annually has put half its hotel/motel tax revenue into a reserve fund. The council voted to cut that to 25 percent, making more available for promoting the area. The money is generated by local motels and campgrounds is supposed to be targeted to promote the area so tourism as a local industry can grow. Still left in Electric City’s coffers is some $300,000 of the funds colle... Full story
A new effort to become certified in grading animal fiber by Maryjo Monteith, of Spring Canyon Alpacas, could take up to two years, she indicated recently. The grading system includes fiber from alpacas, llamas, sheep and Angora rabbits, and will help those who raise the animals control the fiber and production of items made from the hair. Monteith started the process of certification under the tutorage of Vicki Eberhart, president of the North American Wool Cooperative, centered in Okanogan... Full story
Electric City is looking for law enforcment support other than from Grand Coulee, the city with which it has contracted for decades to police its streets. The city council committee on law enforcement was instructed by council last Tuesday night to go shopping. Councilmembers Brad Parrish and Aaron Derr will approach Coulee Dam to see if that town is interested in providing police services to Electric City. It appeared for a while that the question had been solved for at least 2015, when the law enforcement committees from both Electric City... Full story
The independence of Grand Coulee’s Civil Service Commission is being challenged, chair Alan Cain said this week. “Our attorney, Scott W. Detro, of Omak, has informed me that City Attorney Julie Norton has advised him not to do work for the Civil Service Commission because the city won’t pay him for it,” Cain said. He was advised that the CSC would have to use the city’s attorney for legal advice. “Where’s the independence?” Cain asked. The independence is being challenged by other means. City Councilmember David Tylor said this week that Norto... Full story
When a cockatiel says "pretty bird" it isn't because it has a super large ego, it's just a fact. Cockatiels, while a bit messy, are beautiful and a lot smarter than you would think. Peggy Sandgren, of Delano, got a pair just over a year ago, and now has five. She is trying to sell two. While cockatiels don't have a large vocabulary, they can be taught a few words; not enough to carry on a conversation. Males speak more than females, and even can learn to whistle. But if you work with them, they... Full story
Recycling in the Coulee got a breath of fresh air Monday at the Regional Board of Mayors meeting. Every time the recycling idea seems dead, someone brings it back to life. Dick Howe, of Sunrise Disposal, responded to criticism that his firm hadn’t done enough to bring recycling to the Coulee area. He agreed to look into the placement of recycling bins in the area, and what the cost might be. However, in essence, the problem is how to make a cash cow out of a sow’s ear. There’s no money in it, and as it has been explained to the mayors on sever... Full story
Students were back in school Thursday after a smoking electrical panel gave them a near two-day break last week. It all happened on Tuesday at about 9:20 a.m. when a malfunction of the main circuit electrical panel in the school kitchen prompted officials to evacuate the building. The school district had the opportunity to practice its evacuation plan, which Superintendent Dennis Carlson said worked quite well. Students were led to a predetermined place outside the building and then, because it was cold outside, taken to the high school gym.... Full story
Electric City voters Tuesday turned down a property tax levy that would have raised money to support police protection. The vote was 90 yes votes (34 percent) and 170 no votes (65 percent). Proposition 1 would have raised about $55,000 to $60,000, according to Mayor Jerry Sands, and cost a homeowner whose house is valued at $100,000 about $90 a year extra in property taxes. Coupled with the $80,000 now being spent by the city, this would have given the city about $140,000 for police services. “We will have to see what the council wants to do n... Full story
Smoke from an electrical panel in the new school kitchen set off an alarm and caused evacuation of some 700 students at about 9:20 a.m. Tuesday. The incident put the Lake Roosevelt schools' emergency plan into action and students were walked to the old Lake Roosevelt High School gym to await the arrival of parents and buses to take them home for the day. School will remain closed for students Wednesday while the electrical problem is repaired. Staff, however, will report for duty, and one of the... Full story
An offer of seven camels for your hand in marriage might sound a little strange. But Kuwait is a strange place, as witnessed by American Legion Post 157 Commander Cindy Jane. Jane was elected commander of the local post a couple of years ago and that keeps her in the role of giving back to her community - a role she likes. She spent two years in the air force before getting out to raise a family, and then later 20 years in the naval reserve, with stints in Iraq and Kuwait. It was in Kuwait,... Full story
Grand Coulee’s Civil Service Commission started advertising for a police chief in today’s Star newspaper and in statewide law enforcement journals. Application packets need to be in to the CSC by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the commissioners will hold their next meeting. The process has been delayed by a miscommunications between Mayor Chris Christopherson and the commissioners over the salary range. The salary range set by the mayor is $6,600 to $7,200 a month, depending on experience. When the CSC drew up its first draft, it showed the ran... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board authorized the purchase of Center School and land adjacent to it at its meeting Monday night. The title to the site used by local school districts for decades stipulated that ownership would revert to a private holding company if it was no longer to be used for a school. The price to see that that doesn’t happen, said district Superintendent Dennis Carlson, is $155,000. The sale will give the district clear title for the Center School building and surrounding land for a total of 8.465 acres. Carlson s... Full story
Halloween for a couple of houses in the area is a real production. Children have a couple of favorite places to visit on Halloween, one in Electric City and the other in Coulee Dam. Dale and Vel Walker, at 107 E. Grand Avenue in Electric City, start about two weeks before Oct. 31. The Walkers get about 300 visitors during Halloween evening. "We try to change things a little each year," Dale said Monday. One of his old standbys is the person who is actually buried and comes up out of the ground.... Full story
Grand Coulee Mayor Chris Christopherson has lost his bid to remove the police chief job from Civil Service Commission protection. He has stated it was his goal to remove the police chief from under the Civil Service Commission. He made that official last Tuesday night when he asked the city council to support this effort. His proposal failed 4-1 as the council rejected the idea, questioning his reasons for seeking the change. Christopherson reasoned that no other city department heads — the clerk, city foreman — fell under civil service pro... Full story