Articles written by Scott Hunter
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Merv Schmidt sworn in to council
A retired businessman with plenty of experience took a seat on the Coulee Dam City Council last week. The decision to seat Merv Schmidt came immediately following an executive session called to make a...
Sale of cable utility still in works
The sale of a cable television and internet provider to Coulee Dam residents will take a few more months, Coulee Dam town council members were told last week. Charter Communications, a nationwide cable, telephone and internet provider, is working on...
Council member expelled from Colville Business Council
The Colville Business Council, meeting in special session Thursday with all tribal representatives present, expelled fellow councilmember Andrea George from their ranks on ethics charges that she denied in a detailed statement. George, elected last...
Levy appears to be passing
A levy to support the Grand Coulee Dam School District appeared to be passing with vote counts listed for the four counties in favor by 58.14 percent. Passage of a school levy requires a simple majority of 50 percent plus one. The replacement levy,...
Council member forced out on leave
A tribal council member facing ethics charges amid controversy and backlash from tribal members was placed on administrative leave last week under an “Emergency Action Order.” Andrea George, elected to represent the Nespelem District of the...
NNDF to offer creative financing for local housing push
A Coulee Dam financial non-profit is proposing a way to increase available housing in the local area and will offer financing to make it possible. Northwest Native Development Fund Executive Director Ted Piccolo said last week that NNDF will...
Regional wrestling tourney canceled
The the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association announced Friday that all regional wrestling tournaments set for Saturday have been canceled due to bad weather conditions affecting travel.... Full story
Group protests ethics charges on councilwoman
A group of protesters gathered outside the Colville Business Council's meeting chambers Friday as part of the council debated a move that would lead to expelling one of their own members. Ethics...
Long road home awaits Raiders, win or lose
Good luck to the Lake Roosevelt basketball teams and their fans in Richland today; win or lose (just saw that the girls won 46-43) , they may all have to take a long way home. Washington State... Full story
School levy won't hurt a bit, but it will help schools
If you have not already filled out your ballot, which you should have received in the mail by now, you should do so now. Grand Coulee Dam School District is proposing yet another levy, which won’t raise your taxes any higher than they already are....
Grand Coulee Dam school leaders hope levy will pass next month
Local voters will soon get ballots in the mail asking them to decide on a second levy for the Grand Coulee Dam School District and may wonder why when a levy just passed last November. The November vote will only allow the district to collect a...
Bob Poch named mayor in Coulee Dam
Coulee Dam has a new mayor. Bob Poch was elected by the city council last week to take the place of Larry Price, who resigned Dec. 6, 2018. The council did not discuss the motion made by...
Steele gets leadership roles on House Education and Capital Budget committees
A legislator who represents the state's 12th Legislative District, including the Grand Coulee Dam area, has been appointed to head or serve on three important committees in the House of...
Wage boosting discussion reveals GCD school board's fiscal nervousness
The athletic director for the Grand Coulee Dam School District got a $4,000 annual boost in pay, and a 6-percent raise for non-union classified staffers is also coming following a vote by the school...
Expect freezing rain Thursday a.m.
Watch that first step outside Thursday morning. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather warning, expecting up to a tenth of an inch of ice on local roads after freezing rain starts to fall around 4 a.m. and continues until about 10... Full story
Lake remains accessible, but without services
The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area will remain accessible to the public, but with no visitor services, during the current shutdown of the federal government. That’s according to a statement issued by the National Park Service unit on...
Local man booked on vehicular homicide
A Nespelem man is being held on $500,000 bond in Spokane County jail after his involvement in a deadly car crash that killed a Spokane veteran three miles west of Airway Heights Dec. 19. Ryan E. Labreck, 36, of Spokane, died at the scene Wednesday mo...
Robotics team takes fifth at meet
Nespelem School District's robotics team competed in their first regional "First Lego League Robotics Competition" the first weekend in December. With a little over a month to prepare, the small team...
Mayor subject of harassment complaint
The recently resigned mayor of Coulee Dam is the subject of a sexual harassment complaint filed by a female city employee in October, according to a document obtained under the state’s Public Records Act. A Dec. 4, 2018 letter to the city’s...
One last chance for Santa today until 3
If your child still wants a visit with Santa, you have one last shot in the community this afternoon. He, along with his elf and Elsa are at the Coulee Dam Credit Union's Coulee Dam office today...
City will state its opposition to Geezer Beach ban
The city of Coulee Dam will oppose changes to the operation of a beach upriver from the Third Powerhouse behind Grand Coulee Dam being considered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The city council unanimously voted last week to send a letter to...
Union reaches agreement with school district
The local chapter of the Public School Employees union voted 28-8 to ratify a 6-percent raise in the Grand Coulee Dam School District late last month and the school board approved the change last Thursday. After months of deliberations, the PSE Nov....
Mayor to resign
Coulee Dam’s mayor is resigning due to health concerns, he told The Star in a text message Sunday. Mayor Larry Price was elected in November 2017 and took the helm of the town at the start of this year. Price had told The Star last month he had...
Twister economics no solution to school funding
Solutions to serious problems should not require contortions of logic that look like the loser in that old game of Twister. You know the one: where players try to reach different spots on a large surface on the floor with different parts of their...
Coulee Dam theater subject of hope
A Grand Coulee woman offered last week to help Coulee Dam work on getting the former Village Cinema up and running. Kimberly Christensen and her husband, Michael, who started their Coulee Kettle Corn business a year ago, moved to the area eight...