News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1185 - 1209 of 1807
Lake Roosevelt Schools and Nespelem School with start two hours late Wednesday. At Nespelem Elementary there will be no preschool at all for the day. Also, breakfast will not be served at Nespelem on Wednesday. Freezing rain was pelting much of the area Tuesday night, making roads very slick....
No after-school activities for Nespelem today Nespelem School will send it’s kids home right after school today (Tuesday, Jan. 17) at 2:45 and will not hold after-school programs, the school said this morning. With freezing rain frequently on Tuesday morning and ice storm warning for this evening and tomorrow morning, administrators thought it best to get the kids home early. There normally would have been after-school activities until 4 p.m. No decision has yet been made on starting school Wednesday morning....
Wintery weather and slickness headed to region The National Weather Service warned Saturday that a fresh round of troublesome winter weather is likely headed our way beginning Saturday afternoon and continuing through Sunday night. We could end up with 1 to 5 inches of snow, followed by some rain and freezing rain that will glaze surfaces enough to "make walking hazardous," not to mention driving. Now might be a good time to stock up on groceries for the next day or so. Below is the NOAA's...
Advanced planning has never been an apparent strength in this community born of the Great Depression, which is why anytime the subject of zoning comes up, wise people flee to the hills. But this time it must be different. Grand Coulee’s planning commission and the citizens it serves have an important and urgent task ahead: rezoning the area that contains the former Center School, while balancing the needs of its neighbors and the rest of the city. Zoning — the statutory planning of development and growth within a community — is tricky busin... Full story
Grand Coulee got first place, but not necessarily the type of first place you’d want to receive. An FBI report for the state of Washington shows that Grand Coulee, for its size, was rated first in the state for burglaries for the year 2015. Statistics show that Grand Coulee had 23 burglaries for its population of 1,056, a statistic skewed because it doesn’t account for the population of Electric City, which the Grand Coulee Police also support, noted Police Chief John Tufts. Two other nearby communities on the list include Winthrop, which was... Full story
A small-town newspaper must be more these days, and over the last decade-plus, we’ve been learning, along with the rest of the industry, just what that means. In 2017, our goals at The Star involve a better implementation of what we’ve learned in ways that will benefit our readers and advertisers, making The Star a better value and stronger paper. Be prepared to talk; we’re going to ask questions. We need to be better listeners and askers. We need to know how you think various topics should be explored. What are we not covering now that we sh... Full story
It had never been done here before, but by the time they pulled it off, about 250 hospital employees were trained in what to do if an "active shooter" ever enters Coulee Medical Center. No one knew exactly what scenario would play out or how long it would take Nov. 5, when the hospital's parking lot looked like a law enforcement/fire/EMS show of force. Multiple agencies from across the region wanted the chance to learn how to respond to such an event in a facility like a hospital, which cannot... Full story
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