News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1742 - 1766 of 1807
• There is a difference between decision making and leadership. Leaders of the Colville Tribes discovered that recently after they made significant, long-impact decisions on behalf of their constituents without really involving them in the process that brought the tribes a huge sum of money in a settlement, but that some say also may have compromised tribal sovereignty. Coulee Dam leaders have been involved for years in a less dramatic, but nonetheless significant process as they planned upgrades to the town’s aging wastewater treatment pla... Full story
As we hoped the roof would hold on The Star Friday afternoon, the sand and debris flying down Midway Avenue at the front of the storm looked to be achieving speeds of 50-70 mph. This community, humbled before that power, can be thankful for the small amount of damage. Energy saving mandates of the 1970s certainly did their part to hurt architecture in general and local school buildings in particular. The news that Center School needs more fresh air comes as no shock. Let’s hope that today’s policies and architecture, as we get ready to bui... Full story
People that have been around the area for a long time said last Friday afternoon’s storm was the worst they had ever seen. A National Weather Service warning at 12:54 p.m. said it was moving north through Grant County at about 30 miles per hour. The warning was issued until 1:45, but the storm hit the Grand Coulee Dam area with force about 3 p.m. In its wake, there were many reports of upended trees and roof damage, and the driving rain kept people indoors for the half hour or so of the s... Full story
The Colville Business Council today settled a contentious dispute over a $193 million settlement before swearing in new members and reorganizing in a public meeting at the Nespelem Community Center. The same group of 14 elected representatives that had earlier approved a plan to disburse 20 percent of that directly to tribal members and hold back 80 percent for investments and for repairing damaged tribal lands, passed a compromise with petitioners who demanded a 50-percent payout. In a resoluti... Full story
A trained master gardener is prepared to work for anyone who needs a hand in doing what she loves — making things bloom into beauty. Gayle Swagerty has just started Coulee Gardens and Design, a new business through which she offers to help her clients do everything from weeding that flower bed they just couldn’t get to, to designing a landscape for a new home. Swagerty, a master gardener certified through Washington State University’s extension program, also holds an associate of arts degre... Full story
• We hope the community will support the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District’s bid for tax support. Since the early 1990s, community leaders saw a park and rec district as a tool that could be used to help solve many of the problems the area faces because of its multiple municipalities. We finally voted one in the mid- 2000s. Let’s supply it early in this decade with the ability to accomplish something. • It’s a long time until the winter holidays, when we tend to think about giving to the food bank, but supplies are low now in the heat... Full story
The local park district through which North Dam Park was rescued in a joint community effort last year, will seek tax support at the ballot come November. Commissioners of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District voted Monday to seek a levy to help support the district, which recently learned it will get a matching grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation this year. CAPRD is a junior taxing district, but has never collected taxes. Local municipalities have propped up its efforts to save North Dam Park and Event Center by feeding it taxes...
This could help explain and encourage the push for new permits to explore schemes for new, smaller hydropower in the local region, including a reservoir above the coulee opposite Million Dollar Mile, or a penstock under the city from Banks Lake to Crescent Bay. A tweet from U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, 5th District, Wash: House just passed 372-0 the #hydropower bill I co-authored w/ @RepDianaDeGette. READ: bit.ly/PDcgmr #energy PIC: twitter.com/cathymcmorris/… — CathyMcMorrisRodgers (@cathymcmorris) July 9, 2012...
Six new members will join the Colville Business Council in July, according to official poll and absentee ballot results released Thursday night. In Nespelem District 1, longtime Councilmember Harvey Moses Jr. lost to William “Billy” Nicholson II 463-252. District 2’s Ricky Gabriel lost to Nancy C. Johnson 447-260. Joseph L. Somday prevailed in his challenge to Jack W. Ferguson, winning the Keller seat 164-78. Current CBC Chairman Michael O. Finley was the lone incumbent to retain his seat, fending off Lou Stone for the Inchelium District 2 seat... Full story
Here are more photos, including most not published in The Star this week. Feel free to embed this slideshow on your blog. 06-27-12 Star - Images by Scott Hunter... Full story
In a flash of progressive openness (or an attempt to control discussion, depending on your perspective) the Electric City Council adopted new rules about how that legislative body’s meetings are conducted. It’s a noble gesture, and perhaps a step in the right direction, but could be devastating to the newspaper business. If council leaders around here start following rules of discussion, they’ll probably cut back way too much on public gaffes, which would make things less interesting for reporters and their readers. But relax, in my exper... Full story
Six new members will join the Colville Business Council in July, according to official poll and absentee ballot results released Thursday night. In Nespelem District 1, longtime Councilmember Harvey Moses, Jr. lost to William “Billy” Nicholson II 463-252. District 2’s Ricky Gabriel lost to Nancy C. Johnson 447-260. Joseph L. Somday prevailed in his challenge to Jack W. Ferguson, winning the Keller seat 164-78. Current CBC Chairman Michael O. Finley was the lone incumbent to retain his seat, fending off Lou Stone for the Inchelium Distr...
Lake Roosevelt graduates honored their past and looked to the future Saturday as they accepted awards, accolades and diplomas, words of wisdom and hope. The 53 graduates garnered more than $570,000 in scholarship offers and, during what was likely one of the last graduation ceremonies to be held in the current Lake Roosevelt High School gym, received acknowledgement for contributing more than 6,400 hours of volunteer work in the community. “There is so much potential sitting behind me,” not... Full story
Tribal members rallied Friday to deliver a petition to the Colville Business Council, asking it to reconsider an earlier decision on how to split a recent court settlement with the federal government. Meeting at the Fourth of July Grounds arbor at the Colville Indian Agency, a crowd of about 200 heard speeches by those for and against changing the CBC decision to pay out just 20 percent directly to members and invest 80 percent of $193 million gained because of alleged mismanagement of tribal... Full story
Park district commissioners Monday accepted a 10-year management agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and prepared to pass a supplemental budget that would allow the district to spend more than $100,000 this year, almost all of it from grants. “That’s amazing for an organization that has … no source of income,” commented Chairman Phil Hansen. The Coulee Area Park and Recreation District has never collected taxes, but has relied on agreements with local municipalities for funding the upkeep of North Dam Park and Events Center. The dis... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District is withdrawing from a $580,000 energy grant awarded by the state. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction announced the grant early in April, and only a few days later the district learned that much of its new facility plan had been funded by the state. The district had been working on the grant for nearly a year and was prepared to re-do lighting and controls in its respective school buildings. It was projected that much of the improvements would pay for themselves through energy savings in... Full story
A government sanctioned monopoly is conspiring to undermine the free market and democracy itself. No, I’m not wearing a tinfoil hat. Unfortunately, this impossible sounding scenario could be approved tomorrow (Thursday) by the Postal Regulatory Commission. If it is, you may not be reading any newspaper, including this one, in a couple of years. The United States Postal Service is desperately seeking new revenue. In order to get it, it’s proposing to strike a sweetheart deal with the largest single junk mail dealer in the country, Valassis. USP... Full story
Colville Tribal leadership released a statement explaining their decision to only distribute to members one fifth of $193 million set talent with the federal government. Friday afternoon a woman leading a push to increase that share to half will deliver them a petition she says has more than 1,000 tribal member signatures demanding the bigger split. Colville Business Council Chaiman Michael O. Finley's statement characterizes the settlement as a successful negotiation that spared members from paying taxes on the money and protected their... Full story
A $50,000 grant through the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will help with operating and maintaining North Dam Park, officials announced last week. Phil Hansen, chairman of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District, and Lynne Brougher, public affairs officer for the bureau’s Grand Coulee Dam Project, announced the grant at a chamber of commerce luncheon meeting at the Siam Palace last Thursday. The park has been the recipient of much community support ever since the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce pulled area leaders together more t... Full story
Sometimes, when you’re focusing very closely on accomplishing a specific goal, it helps to step back -- about a mile. Perhaps at this point that strategy might be helpful to Coulee Dam, Elmer City and Greg Wilder. Wilder’s examination of Coulee Dam’s plans to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant have inspired Elmer City officials to realize just how much they’ll pay for it, and now lawyers are involved. Some Elmer City folks are starting a petition. And one wonders if a near-midnight visit by police to photograph Wilder’s long grass was... Full story
Jerry Kennedy joined the board of commissioners for the public hospital district that runs Coulee Medical Center last week. Kennedy was sworn in at the regular monthly meeting of the commissioners of Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan Hospital District 6. A former emergency medical technician and past president of the Coulee Medical Foundation, Kennedy has long been interested in a strong hospital for the area. He is a principal at Foisy and Kennedy Insurance and Real Estate. Former commissioner... Full story
The community is about to face a very good problem to have. Even as plans are made to complete a new school, an older edifice that has served for decades may still be put to good use. The time to start thinking about what to do with the building that is the current Grand Coulee Dam Middle School is now, suggested school district Superintendent Dennis Carlson at a recent chamber of commerce meeting. Carlson pointed out that the community has about two-and-a-half years to figure out what it will want the building to be next. The building that... Full story
Three guys boating near Spring Canyon rescued a woman whose boat caught fire in front of them Sunday night. Kim Simons, of Bremerton, and her husband Jeff had just launched their 23-foot Warlock boat from the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area boat launch at Spring Canyon. Kim took the boat for a quick spin while Jeff parked the trailer and walked back to the dock. He was chatting with someone on the dock, he said, “and they said, ‘Hey, your boat’s on fire.’ ” Jeff and Randy Semanko,... Full story
Three guys boating near Spring Canyon rescued a woman whose boat caught fire in front of them tonight. Kim Simons, of Bremerton, and her husband Jeff had jus t launched their 23-foot Warlock boat from the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area boat launch at Spring Canyon. Kim took the boat for a quick spin while Jeff parked the trailer and walked back to the dock. He was chatting with someone on the dock, he said, ”and they said, ’Hey, you're boats on fire.’” Jeff and Randy Semanko, brothers who both work for the Bureau of Reclama...
Five Lake Roosevelt High School students and their mentors took two awards Saturday at the prestigious Washington State University annual high school problem-solving competition “Imagine Tomorrow.” The “Scrap Power” team from LR took the Global Impact award and fourth place in their division. Each student got Microsoft software and $250. The prize to LRHS was $1,000. The team has been working after school throughout most of the school year to tackle a problem half a world away with very local t... Full story