News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Authorities clamped down on a local fire chief this week, who said he didn’t know burning the kinds of materials he had in his burn pile was illegal. He’s not alone in a lack of understanding of this state’s laws regarding outdoor burning. City hall seems to think that if he had contained his fire to a certain size, had a ready means to extinguish it and kept the burn to unoffending materials, such as leaves, it would be OK. It would not. It is against the law in this state to burn anything within “Growth Management” boundaries. It has been...
A majority of hospital district commissioners voted Thursday to immediately hire new legal counsel, then went into closed session with the new attorney. Commissioner Jerry Kennedy said the board’s reasons for changing attorneys had been compounded the week before when the hospital administration mailed a notice of a privacy breach, reportedly to thousands, saying a doctor had violated federal patient privacy rules. “One of the hopes that I had was that … having legal counsel involved in that would help minimize reputational damage to the insti...
One of the doctors who felt his reputation was unneccessarily harmed by a notice sent to his patients and placed in the newspaper, last week explained the work he had been up to. In an interview, Dr. Andrew Castrodale said the “HIPAA” notice, made under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, implied the work had been about figuring out bonus pay, but was actually meant to devise a reliable tool for measuring and reporting the efficiency and productivity of health care providers at Coulee Medical Center. Although it did...
by Scott Hunter A draft budget for the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District could be slashed in half, or not, depending on what other agencies do. The $57,005 bottom line for the agency with no direct revenue of its own would have to be altered substantially if levels of support from local cities stay low, or if Grant County commissioners don’t approve a grant request for work the district would like to accomplish this year. Chairman Phil Hansen’s simple budget includes a donation of $9,000 from Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam, but neither has...
A computer used by Coulee Dam’s former mayor is missing, and the new mayor has asked the sheriff to investigate the possible theft of public property and destruction of public records. Newly elected Mayor Greg Wilder said when he entered the office at the beginning of the year, a brand new computer was already there for his use. It had never been used, and no files existed on its hard drive. Wilder, who defeated Quincy Snow in the mayoral race last fall, had earlier lodged a complaint with the state Public Disclosure Commission alleging the i...
A special meeting of the commission that governs Coulee Medical Center, originally called for last night, was postponed, likely until Thursday night, Jan. 9, because an attorney central to the agenda could not make it out of Spokane due to snowy roads. [Update 1-9-14: Confirmed: the meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight.] A majority of the five commissioners called the special meeting to consider, among other things, hiring a different law firm, a proposal that died at a regular meeting of the commission Dec. 26, less than two weeks earlier....
An Omak woman was injured and flown to a hospital after the car she was driving hit black ice Friday morning. Maya Best, 31, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with unspecified injuries after the 2007 Ford Freestyle she was driving slid off highway 155 about 11 miles north of Nespelem, close to Disautel Pass. As Best was southbound at 7:15 a.m., her car hit black ice and slid off the road to the right and into a boulder, then came to rest blocking the northbound lane at about milepost 56, according to a Washington State...
A fire that scrambled area fire departments to the Third Powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam last week started in an air filter. It put out a lot of smoke, but, unlike fires in other power plants at the dam last year, didn’t affect power production. A contractor working on the overhaul of of G-24, one of six massive generators in the power plant, had been sand blasting the interior of the generator’s shaft, according to Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. In that process, a dust collector separates air from dust, which it deposits in a bar...
A committee formed to try to heal a critical breach between health care providers and administration at Coulee Medical Center recommended hiring a consultant to investigate what the committee heard from staff and community members over the last five weeks. Commissioners Jerry Kennedy and Kris Hare reported at a regular meeting Dec. 26 that many had shared concerns in confidence and were afraid to speak critically of administrators for fear of job consequences. “Many of the personnel concerns expressed require additional investigation, more inve...
The weather elsewhere is disrupting events in the coulee tonight. A special meeting of the local hospital district commission will be postponed until probably Thursday, Commissioner Geary Oliver said. An attorney central to the agenda can’t make it from Spokane, where cars are piling up due to snow conditions. And tonight’s Raider basketball games with White Swan have been cancelled due to inclement weather in Yakima. They will be rescheduled, said Athletic Director Rich Black....
A special meeting for Tuesday night has been called of the commission that governs Coulee Medical Center. A majority of the five commissioners set the special meeting to consider, among other things, hiring a different law firm, a proposal that died at a regular meeting of the commission Dec. 26, less than two weeks earlier. At issue were public complaints about stopping a popular discounted lab test week. Commissioners Jerry Kennedy and Geary Oliver had served as a committee to look into obtaining independent legal counsel for the board to...
An Omak woman was injured and flown to a hospital after the car she was driving hit black ice Friday morning. Maya Best, 31, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with unspecified injuries after the 2007 Ford Freestyle she was driving slid off the highway 155 about 11 miles north of Nespelem, close to Disautel Pass. As Best was southbound at 7:15 a.m., her car hit black ice and slid off the road to the right and into a boulder, then came to rest blocking the northbound lane at about milepost 56, according to a Washington State...
A new mayor and two new council members were sworn in at Coulee Dam last Monday. Mayor-elect Greg Wilder, and council members-elect Gayle Swagerty and Duane Johnson all took their oaths of office at a ceremony at town hall with U. S. Attorney Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney from the Eastern Division of Washington, and Dana Cleveland of the Office of the Reservation Attorney at the Colville Indian Agency, officiating. Over 60 persons showed up for the official swearing in process....
Four individuals with records of service to the community have been nominated for the annual volunteer of the year honor, and the community will now choose. It could be a difficult choice, but the one chosen will ultimately serve as an example, as do all nominees, of how individuals can follow an ideal, a philosophy of helping others. Jerry Birdwell, Heather Downs, Fern Blaylock and Jan Erickson each have passionate supporters who appreciate their good work in the community. Their letters nominating these individuals have all been published in...
Several people have taken the time to write out some great explanations as to why they believe their particular nominee deserves to be recognized as the 2013 volunteer of the year. We hope readers will take time to review those nominations and help select the honoree by writing us a note on their choice or going to the online poll at grandcoulee.com So much needs to be done in any community to keep it moving in a good direction. Volunteers who work for the good of all simply because it’s the right thing to do make progress possible. Honoring o...
We should expect inches of snow today, the National Weather Service says. Below is their winter weather alert issued this morning: . Urgent - Winter Weather message National Weather Service Spokane WA 432 AM PST Fri Dec 20 2013 ...Heavy Snow accumulations today and tonight... Upper Columbia Basin- including the following locations...Ritzville...Grand Coulee... Odessa...Wilbur...CouLee City 432 AM PST Fri Dec 20 2013 ...Winter Weather advisory in effect from 7 AM this morning to 7 PM PST this evening... The National Weather Service in Spokane...
The Star is seeking nominations for the annual Volunteer of the Year honor to be awarded to one individual who deserves to be acknowledged for their unselfish efforts to help others or the community. To nominate someone you think is deserving of the recognition, write a letter of nomination, detailing how your nominee volunteers. Include names and contact information of more people who know about your nominees activities. Send letters of nomination via email to star@grandcoulee.com with the subject line Volunteer of the Year. Or mail letters...
Hospital District Commissioner Jerry Kennedy said Monday that a commission meeting that had been scheduled for Dec. 18 has been rescheduled for Dec. 26. Kennedy said the commission discovered that a regular monthly meeting can only be rescheduled during a regularly scheduled meeting, but the Dec. 18 change had been made during a special meeting last month. The commissions bylaws require the meeting to take place on the next business day, which is Dec. 26. Kennedy, who sits on three committees formed to respond to community concerns, said those...
A small group of parents with concerns about bullying, buses and more met Monday night to discuss ways to help the local school district improve. But if response to a posting on The Star’s Facebook page is an indication, the issues are a hot button item with much of the community. The meeting at the Grand Coulee Fire Hall, facilitated by parent Heather Downs, drew eight including Downs, plus Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson, who attended to listen. The parents attending have a total of 15 children in the d...
This week's photos, including those not used, are up on our photo site. Here's a slide show you can share: 12-11-13 Star - Images by Scott Hunter...
Doctors and other health care providers at Coulee Medical Center have vowed to quit if the hospital’s chief executive officer doesn’t leave, one frustrated doctor finally told The Star last week. Dr. Jacob Chaffee said the situation is critical and that doctors would already have resigned if they hadn’t been convinced to stay. “He’s my fourth CEO,” Chaffee said of Chief Executive Officer Scott Graham. “I’ve never seen it like this. The morale throughout the hospital is horrible.” In an interview Wednesday, Chaffee said he resigned as chief medi...
A semi loaded with cement crashed at the bottom of the hill below Grand Coulee Dam on highway 155 Wednesday morning. The big rig pulling double tanker trailers, reportedly full of cement (the dry powder, not the mixed concrete) was headed north down the steep hill alongside the dam when it left the road to the right just below the Visitor Center, just as it entered the town of Coulee Dam. It overturned about 100 feet or less off the roadway after crossing the lawn and missing trees and power...
Only Wenatchee and East Wenatchee put more kids on NCW Youth Football fields than the local effort that fielded 60 kids from 8 to 12 years of age this year. "That's awesome, considering we are one of the smallest school districts in the league," noted Brandon White, who coached one of two bantam teams of 8- to 10-year-olds through the two-month season that ended Nov. 2. The young players practice hard and play hard in full uniforms that reflect their local high school's team colors and mascots,...
Directions in the management of Coulee Medical Center are aimed at providing for the long-term survival of the hospital, despite shorter-term difficulties, its top administrator and board chairman said this week. Chief Operating Officer Scott Graham and hospital district President Greg Behrens spoke with The Star Monday, seeking to add their perspective on the developing controversy that has filled recent board meetings with citizens concerned about everything from prices charged for services to cutbacks in staff scheduling. The hospital...