News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Can tribal courts hear tort cases against non-Indians? This case worked its way up to the Supreme Court, which heard it this month. Here is an interesting "Amicus" podcast on the subject, with background and an interview with a lawyer on the yes side.... Full story
The trees owned by the town of Coulee Dam are worth an estimated $3 million dollars, a recent inventory report funded by the Washington Department of Natural Resources states. The study, produced by Community Forestry Consultants, was produced under DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. Most, but not all, of the town’s trees were counted and mapped using special software and the Geographic Information System. The type of tree, its condition, size and estimated value were signed to each of 680 trees at 296 planting sites. Trees owned pri... Full story
The run up to the holidays is always a time during which it is challenging to fit everything in the schedule. And at a weekly newspaper, the schedule is really messed up during the season when regular meetings are canceled or moved, new events pop up and a lot of issues and events deserve community attention. "Hectic" can describe it, but so can a sigh of wonder. The latter description comes to mind after many events involving children. If you have some, consider yourselves lucky, even if you... Full story
Nespelem Elementary School got a Christmas present Thursday night when electric utility representatives presented a big check at the school's annual Christmas Program. Nespelem Valley Electric Cooperative President Ralph Rise and Manager Dan Simpson attended the event and surprised the crowd with the announcement just before children started singing. They presented a check to Superintendent Rich Stewart for $56,895.83. Rise said the funds, from the Bonneville Power Administration, were for... Full story
Grand Coulee's newest postmaster has worked at the national level for the U.S. Post Office, but wanted to get back to small- town life. Amy Glover took charge of the Grand Coulee office Dec. 8. That night, the distribution facility in Spokane that sorts most of the mail in eastern Washington flooded, stopping the flow of mail. Glover, whose assignment includes oversight of Coulee Dam and Elmer City post offices, said that they temporarily stopped sending local mail to Spokane for sorting.... Full story
A state preservation official Thursday dispelled myths and disclosed some little-known facts about what happens when property is declared "historic" and entered on a registry. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Coulee Dam had invited Michael Houser, of the Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation, to speak about the registry issue at a joint noon meeting last Thursday held in the community room at town hall. There was interest in the town to see if some of... Full story
This community has not done a good job of preserving its own history. Until recently, the home of the largest dam and largest powerplant in North America, and of one of the most important public works projects in the country’s history, hasn’t even had a museum; and even the one that’s struggling to survive is an underfunded all-volunteer effort. Now would be a good time to reverse this trend. When Mom’s Tavern, the last of the old buildings on the famous B Street in Grand Coulee, was demolished decades ago, the last authentic remnant of that... Full story
Local mail carriers and post office workers will be working this Saturday and Sunday to catch up on delayed mail delivery, following storm damage to the U.S. Post Office’s distribution center in Spokane, which was flooded Tuesday night. That was the day Grand Coulee’s newest postmaster started on her new job. Postmaster Amy Glover seemed unfazed Friday afternoon at the prospect of handling a double delivery Saturday after three days of local mail backing up in Spokane and Seattle. Glover said the Grand Coulee Post Office will be open both Sat...
A concert, complete with a visit from Santa is in the planning stage for the Grand Theatre on Grand Coulee's Main Street, the operator says. Theater operator Cody Wilson, who took over the venue this year and has been offering a variety of events, said the "A Very Merry Christmas Concert" is offered a "donation preferred" basis, but they also want anyone who can't pay to "come in and enjoy everything. ... It is a great way to share the Christmas spirit too." The concert is set for two nights,... Full story
Coulee Medical Center officials were hoping to break even for 2015, but probably won’t make it, Chief Financial Officer Paul Babcock told Hospital District 6 commissioners Monday night. CMC and its clinics lost nearly $125,000 in October, about 7 percent of its net operating revenue of almost $1.8 million. The low month brings CMC’s year-to-date losses to about $418,975, which compares favorably to a loss of more than $2.5 million for the same time frame a year ago. Even a good November and December are unlikely to be good enough for a bre... Full story
Former Star owner, editor and publisher Jack Hilson, a man whose political expertise helped to build the local airport, Steamboat Rock State Park and more, has died. After serving in the Navy in World War II, Jack and his wife, Dolores, became involved in the newspaper in 1947, and began buying it from family members in 1958. Hilson served on the Grant County Port District 7 Commission for 10 years and also sat on the state Parks and Recreation Commission. His friendships with powerful United States senators and the speaker of the House of... Full story
Nespelem School District will ask voters to support a four-year levy in February. The school board voted Monday night to pass a resolution for the $36,000 levy, which would replace the current operations and maintenance levy and gain the tiny district state “levy equalization” funds that would likely total more than a million dollars over the four years. The levy, proposed by Superintendent Rich Stewart, would remain at $36,000 each year and not increase, with a tax rate of about $2.49 per $1,000 of assessed value on real property. Stewart sai... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam is set to gain a new sewer plant but lose an ambulance service. The town expects to spend nearly $7 million of its wastewater fund in 2016, when a long-awaited revamp of its wastewater treatment plant is anticipated to begin in late summer. A preliminary budget shows the town ending next year with nearly $857,000 in reserves, even after spending some $10,053,652, most of that on the sewer plant. At the town council’s Nov. 12, meeting there was no discussion on the budget or on Mayor Greg Wilder’s 2016 “budget messa... Full story
Once upon a time, in a land … well, right here … we didn’t have to depend on fairy tales to fund basic necessities. But we did live under the spell of a powerful and hated potion that cast a pall across the land. By helping to pay for our other bad habits, the potion kept us hooked and gained power every year, until one day, a charlatan came with bright, shining lies and said that all would be well if we would only turn away from the potion. And for a while it seemed all was well, until the world started to crumble and the people reali... Full story
A run over the top of Grand Coulee Dam will be revived, even after its last organizers dropped it, if Kelly Buche has anything to say about it. Buche, a local accountant and active runner, is aggressively planning how to organize, promote and pull off a race that at one time in its long history drew 400 runners. Run the Dam can offer a lot to the running public if promoted the right way and set at the right time of year, Buche told the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District at their Nov. 2... Full story
A new project aimed at refurbishing very old structures atop Grand Coulee Dam, like so much of the dam, is likely to yield the largest such device ever built. The 11 drum gates used to control the lake level, at 75 years old, are in need of major refurbishing, not just annual maintenance, explains Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. But that poses big problems without a way to plan long-term projects around the operation of a reservoir used to control the flow of the Columbia River, for... Full story
A group of Tilmus Street residents in Coulee Dam asked the town council for better care of the sycamore trees lining the street. They said the trees, which once were taken care of regularly by the town, have become overgrown and possibly dangerous. “They’re the worst I’ve seen them since I’ve lived on Tilmus … since 1966,” said Merv Schmidt, a former town council member. “Why we got out of the plan of taking care of our trees on an annual basis, I’d like to know.” Mayor Greg Wilder said the town’s volunteer board dedicated to tree issues has... Full story
A training program at Lake Roosevelt Schools has inspired dozens of teenagers to get up early to work out before school every day, for no credit. "We bring a culture," said former professional football player Nathan Overbay, now a key trainer with Advanced Performance X-Train, or APX. The company that began in 2007 is in 60 high schools, clubs and sports programs, offering training and nutrition programs. "It's probably the top training facility in the Pacific Northwest right now," said Loren... Full story
When the mayor of Coulee Dam told the town council last week that consolidating police services might not go anywhere for years, they asserted it was worth pushing for anyway. Mayor Greg Wilder filled the council in on talks he’d had with Grant County and Okanogan County officials concerning the details of police dispatch if Coulee Dam Police were to serve Electric City. The two municipalities have emergency services dispatched from different county centers, creating technical issues and possibly long delays on some calls. He wanted to e... Full story
We've got some good shots from this weeks's football and volleyball games. Which ones do you think should make into Wednesday's paper? Click the i in the slide show below to get the image number. Let us know what you think: - star@grandcoulee.com - www.facebook.com/GrandCouleeStar - @culestar - or in the comments below. You can also click on the Find Your Photos ad at right to search our archives....
The family of a woman killed while fighting a local wildfire 25 years ago is hoping a new fire station planned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation could be named after her. Toni Godsil died Aug. 6, 1990, while fighting a wildland fire in Douglas County with the Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department when wind shifted and the flames caught up to her. “She was the first female firefighter to be hired by the government into a program to be a 24-hour firefighter,” said her daughter, Danielle Townsend. “I just think that she really deserves some... Full story
When small talk between two guys outside a sports event can be interpreted as a terrorist threat, you know we’re not living in our fathers’ time. No, we live in an age that seems to be increasingly dominated by both fear and the unwavering conviction that we all have the absolute right to be kept safe from every threat, two conditions that often seem to rub up against each other hard enough to cause sparks. While the perception that we have a constitutional right to be kept safe, even from our own stupidity, has been fertilized by the cou... Full story
Susan Canaday and her husband have been storing good household items for years, but realize now that there may be victims of recent wildland fires who could use them. They’re getting on in years, however; and when a large box fell on their heads in a storage unit recently, she said, they realized they could use some help sorting through what they’ve stored in order to give it away. Canaday said she lost many belongings in a fire at Lakeview Terrace last May, but has since let go of the loss and doesn’t miss them. “So, this is therapy for me,... Full story
An effort to keep an American flag flying in an unlikely spot saw success last week as the stars and strips were hoisted proudly above Delano Friday. Anyone traveling between Delano and Electric City can see it to the south of the highway. It's easily the highest flag in the area. Jay Kemble and Mike Rounds made the trek to the top of the large rocky hill that separates the Delano neighborhood from Electric City and raised the flag on a pole fashioned long ago by long-dead patriot Wade... Full story
Wade Burnside’s DNA may remain in his apple trees. Burnside was a determined sort who loved deeply and acted on it, not necessarily in ways that were easily understood. But last Friday, standing amidst his legacy high above Delano, a glimmer of his spirit came through. There, on top of a high, rocky hill, stood his flagpole, newly adorned with a fresh American flag, flying higher than any other around, just the way he intended, a symbol of his love for the nation. Nearby, a less obvious symbol struggles for life, and even less obviously, s... Full story