News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1192 - 1216 of 1807
A winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service advises that we should expect snow to imapct travel, starting late tonight. Here's their advisory: URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SPOKANE WA 322 AM PST MON DEC 19 2016 ...MODERATE SNOW IS EXPECTED TODAY...WITH MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED TONIGHT AND TUESDAY... .A PAIR OF WINTER STORM SYSTEMS WILL MOVE INTO THE REGION ON MONDAY...WITH A SECOND FOLLOWING CLOSE BEHIND LATE MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. FORECAST...
Smiles and tears accompanied song and prayer last week as members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation gave an appreciative sendoff to 10 armed forces veterans who were heading to an international protest to stop a pipeline being constructed in North Dakota from crossing under the Missouri River. They were joining thousands of other veterans from Indian Country across America headed to the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on the Standing Rock Sioux reservation south of Bismarck,... Full story
A group of some 22 Coulee Dam citizens met in Electric City Monday night, intent on allying in an effort to impress their town council to fix the sidewalks. The issue of fixing sidewalks has been gaining attention since Fred Netzel, who called the meeting, decided to walk the town and gather signatures on a letter about them. It’s an issue Mayor Greg Wilder readily acknowledges is serious. But the group meeting at the Vets Hall Monday doubts that Wilder’s approach to tackle it is the best one. They want a quicker fix for the worst pro... Full story
Coulee Dam’s sidewalks are in need of repair and the town will have to decide how to fund a longterm solution or to make smaller repairs a few at at a time. Solutions discussed at the town council’s preliminary budget hearing last week ranged from putting off buying a new snow plow in favor of repairing heaving walkways to adding a sidewalk fee to the monthly utility bill. “The town is basically running out of money to fix the sidewalks, prune the trees and do everything else,” including keep staffed-up police and fire departments with the requ... Full story
With 6,500 ballots left to count, two races for county commissioner seats in Okanogan County are still up in the air. The county’s election department issued the latest count taken Monday afternoon, which showed fewer than 700 votes separating the contenders for both District 1 and District 2 commission seats. Current District 1 Commissioner Sheilah Kennedy, who represents this southern end of the county, is trailing challenger Chris Branch by just 667 votes, 5,575 to 4,908. In the race for the District 2 seat to represent the western half of t... Full story
With more than a third of the ballots left to count Tuesday night, Chris Branch’s bid to take Sheila Kennedy’s District 1 seat on the Okanogan County Board of Commissioners was ahead 53 percent to 47 percent. In Grant County, Superior Court Judge David Estudillo’s bid to keep his job was hanging on by a 1.42-percent margin. Branch was leading 3,613 votes to Kennedy’s 3,199. The county Auditor’s Office said 7,427 ballots remain to be counted, plus ballots from drop boxes. The next count will occur Monday by 5 p.m. Another close margin separates... Full story
No matter what just happened, we’re all in this together. Regardless of which candidate won the presidential election, or any others you’re watching closely, the republic, state and county will survive, especially with our help. Note that collective “our” that indicates it’s up to all of us to move on and work together, whether we like those on the other side of the argument or not. That can be especially difficult if you’re convinced, as so many seem to be, that those whose views you just can’t stomach are either stupid or evil. Here’s a viewp... Full story
Coulee Medical Center has put a stop to a project that was bleeding money and caused the hospital to borrow on county warrants, the administrator told the board Monday night. The medical records project was supposed to cost $1.3 million to integrate the facility’s electronic medical records with the latest software from Meditech, but extra costs not understood when the contract was signed in 2014 kept slipping in every time another nuance was discovered, requiring another third-party software add-on, with 10 to 15 vendors needed. So far the h... Full story
A discussion about local crime revealed the level of concern many local people in Coulee Dam feel as minor property crimes increase. “We have a serious problem with drugs,” Councilmember David Schmidt said, admitting at Wednesday’s town council meeting he was surprised by that. Schmidt said he’d recently taken a house guest to a local tavern and was repeatedly approached by people there about the problem. “This is becoming urgent, and we can’t just screw around with it,” Schmidt said. Mayor Greg Wilder noted the town had just hired another poli... Full story
An artist whose paintings hang in Lake Roosevelt Schools addressed students at a dedication of the art last week and gave insights into her inspirations for the six works depicting various birds - and one fish. "I gotta tell you how extraordinarily beautiful this land of your is," said Lucinda Parker, of Portland, Oregon, who was commissioned for the Washington State Arts Commission project. "Actually, it's not a landscape," she continued. "It's a great big, enormous, constantly-changing... Full story
People giving good advice for dealing with an increase in local crime usually miss the real point of the discontent of those complaining about it. They’ll advise, rightly, that we would all be better off if we’d stop pretending we still live in a place where all your possessions are safe from theft. Lock up your stuff, lock your car door and don’t leave your home unlocked. It’s common sense, they say. And it is, and has been, common sense for a long time — elsewhere. People don’t want their possessions stolen, true enough. But those thing... Full story
As a Republican candidate for the state's second-highest office, conservative talk show host and Lake Roosevelt graduate Marty McClendon addresses a less-than-conservative crowd of Lake Roosevelt High School seniors Oct. 7. McClendon is seeking the leiutenant governor's office, which, he told students, wields some significant and often under-appreciated power....
A forum for Okanogan County commissioner candidates was markedly civil Thursday night in Coulee Dam, despite a campaign season possibly among the most contentious in recent county history. That may have been due to a decidedly local focus in the questions put to the four by moderator Bob Valen, the vice president of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event. Valen sprinkled in questions submitted from an audience of 18 among a dozen pre-written for the event. Commi... Full story
The three federal agencies whose dams control the Columbia River system are rethinking the whole complex process, and that should make everyone pay close attention. Next Tuesday, the Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonneville Power Administration will hold in Coulee Dam the second in a series of 15 public meetings from Wenatchee to Missoula to Astoria inviting the public to comment on the scope of work to include as it launches another massive effort to rethink the system in favor of ensuring endangered fish survival.... Full story
A forum for voters to hear the positions of candidates for two contested Okanogan County commissioner seats will take place Thursday at Lake Roosevelt Schools. The two hotly contested races come after months of push-back on the existing commissioners on several issues that led to the formation of a group dedicated to unseating them. One of them, Commissioner Ray Campbell, lost in the primary election. Represent Okanogan County 2016 contends the board of commissioners is sacrificing local fiscal responsibility to affect national conservative... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation is inviting the public to comment on a proposed multiyear powerplant overhaul project at two Grand Coulee Dam powerhouses. During the 30-day comment period that ends Nov. 7, the public is encouraged to identify issues and concerns to be addressed in an Environmental Assessment on the proposed modernization and overhaul of all the generators in the Left and Right Powerhouses, a press release issued Oct. 7 said. The 18 generating units and three station service units have been in operation for over 70 years and are... Full story
The Gehrke Windmill Garden at North Dam Park has been listed on the Washington Hertiage Register of Historic Places. The Governor’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation granted that distinction Oct. 7 at a meeting in Tacoma. Coulee Area Park and Recreation District President Bob Valen was present and accepted the listing certificate from Washington State University Historian Dr. Rob McCoy. CAPRD manages the park. The council members were delighted with the “whimsical” nature of the site, Valen reported. Emil and Stella Gehrke’s “folk a... Full story
Okanogan County Board of Commissioners candidates will address the public in an open forum Thursday, October 13, in Coulee Dam at Lake Roosevelt Schools. The forum, sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, will take place in the elementary side cafeteria, from 7-9 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30. Two commissioner positions are at stake in the election. Chamber Vice President Bob Valen, of Lincoln County, will moderate. Republican incumbent Sheilah Kennedy, of Okanogan, faces challenger and independent Chris Branch, Omak, for... Full story
A judge of the superior court of one of the four local counties whose corners meet in the Grand Coulee Dam community has ideas he thinks should be considered across counties to help curb local crime. But he has to get re-elected first. Grant County Superior Court Judge David Estudillo addressed Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce members Thursday. Appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee a year ago to fill out the term of retiring Judge Evan Sperline, Estudillo now must seek election by the people,... Full story
When Coulee Medical Center leaders wanted to find ways to cure the hospital's ailing relationship with members of the Colville Tribes, an idea for a good start popped into Shoshanna Jordan's mind: Hold a powwow. The idea turned out to be a catalyst for much more, but the powwow came together after three months of planning last Friday. Dancers from all over the Colville Reservation and further attended, plus participants from a Salish language school in Spokane, whose first- through... Full story
Two wildfires burned separately Sunday afternoon and threatened Elmer City, Coulee Dam and Grand Coulee, while residents watched as flames lit up the hillsides on both sides of the Columbia River. Local fire fighting agencies responded quickly during "red flag" conditions for which the National Weather Service had issued warnings, due to low humidity and high winds. Highways 174 and 155 were both closed sporadically as the fires came close over the next two days, and residents were warned they s... Full story
A woman's home in east Coulee Dam caught fire Friday evening, drawing a quick response from every local fire department. Susan Lynch's house at 611 Birch Street drew 11 fire engines, first responder vehicles and ambulances when the call went out at 6:10 p.m. "People keep telling me it can all be replaced," Lynch said, watching firefighters answer with torrents of water flames coming from inside her home, "but it can't." Lynch said photos and annuals can't be replaced, and she worried whether... Full story
Josiah Desautel runs it in for the second touchdown of the game, in the second quarter, against Manson in Coulee Dam. The Raiders were up by 26-0 at the half. The Raiders won 40-14. Watch for Jacob Wagner's sports coverage in The Star Wednesday. Find out more about all the Raider teams in our fall sports special section inside The Star this week....
Coulee Dam instructed the town’s attorney last week to file a lawsuit against Elmer City for breach of a decades-old contract between the two towns, saying Elmer City isn’t paying its bills. Following an executive session of the town council Wednesday night, the council voted unanimously to sue. Mayor Greg Wilder said Elmer City was in arrears at least $55,000 in charges Coulee Dam has billed for processing the smaller town’s sewage, more if certain capitalized costs are included. “They’ve overcharged us for labor for years,” Elmer City Mayor... Full story
A fairly upbeat report on crime statistics in Coulee Dam didn’t assuage fears among residents who expressed dire concerns at the town council meeting about increasing petty crime. Mayor Greg Wilder recited findings from USA.com, a site that compiles all kinds of statistics, but invoked the Mark Twain quote that there are “lies, damned lies and statistics.” That site noted last year that the town had the second-best record in the state. But Wilder said he’d also compiled stats from state sources on nearby towns and that Coulee Dam still looked... Full story