News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The educational leader who has led Nespelem School District since 2020 will resign at the end of the school year. Dr. Effie Dean, who took over in June of 2020 as the Covid pandemic was disrupting education and society in general, informed the district board of directors Jan. 30. Monday night, directors voted to begin the search for a new superintendent, engaging Northwest Leadership Associates, of Wenatchee, to begin the search and vetting process. Dean’s last official day is June 30. She told The Star on Tuesday that she is not certain of h...
In a change from a prior policy considered by the Regional Board of Mayors, the Delano Regional Transfer Station may soon accept credit cards following an Electric City Council vote on Feb. 3. Electric City administers the transfer station operation. It’s workers and administrators are city employees. New Mayor Blake Martin brought up the fact that only cash and checks have been accepted for payment at the transfer station, options that increasingly seem too limited in modern society. “I mean, I know I don’t really carry cash on me,” Martin...
The Lady Raiders basketball team missed the league championship by just two points Tuesday night as they took second in the 2026 CW2B League Girls Basketball Tournament and Brewster held onto a 46-44 win at Okanogan High School. LR's loss came after a big win for Lake Roosevelt's girls Saturday afternoon in Omak against Okanogan's Lady Bulldogs, 60-33. The Lady Raiders took the lead away from Okanogan early in that game and piled it on. Lady Raiders will be headed to Eastmont High School Feb....
The Raiders ended their basketball post-season Thursday after one game against the Bridgeport Mustangs that went into overtime. The Raiders were up by 13 points early in the third quarter but the Mustangs picked away at that lead, overtaking it by a point with just under two minutes to go in regulation. The Raiders led again but Bridgeport tied it with a foul shot at 54 each with 16 seconds left. The Raiders pulled ahead by two halfway throught the four-minute overtime, 58-56. But the Mustangs...
After years of arguing that Grand Coulee is treating it like a paying customer instead of a co‑owner of the regional wastewater treatment plant, Electric City is turning to the courts. The City Council voted Tuesday to seek a legal judgment on the 1984 agreement that created the joint facility, saying Grand Coulee has ignored board decisions, relied on a costly contractor, and refused to enter mediation. The two cities are parties to a 1984 interlocal agreement that created the jointly owned t...
By the end of the first quarter, the play was as fierce as a championship overtime. The Liberty Bell coach was calling out the seconds left to her players, but the clock ran out before they could will in another two points for a tie to head off the 16-14 psychological advantage for the Lady Raiders. Much of the first half was like that, but the LR girls were relentless, beginning their undeniable assent in the second quarter to leave the Lady Mountain Lions with a loss, 78-37 Friday in Coulee...
In their "best game" of the season the Raiders almost pulled out a win the Mountain Lions at home Friday in a game that showed the possibilities. Pushing through a tough season, missing a key player, the Raiders are near the bottom of the Central Washington 2B with a win-loss of 2-4, 7-13 overall. You wouldn't guess that by watching them play Liberty Bell (5-1, 18-3) as they adapted and persevered after adding their first two points five minutes in. By the end of the game, they'd taken the lead...
A big boulder fell from the wall of the Grand Coulee during the night, blocking most of two lanes on SR-155 along Banks Lake. Drivers could still drive around it where it was coned off at a wide spot in the shoulder of the road on an area of light traffic. But drivers Saturday morning found one-lane (mostly on a pull-out) traffic on the highway just south of the entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park. The Washington State Department of Transportation sent out an alert on its mobile app about 3...
A Grand Coulee man was arrested Jan. 18 after reportedly admitting to shooting his rifle at a boat on Rufus Woods Lake to try to “scare the occupants away,” a sheriff’s report says. Deputies of the Douglas County sheriff arrested Shawn W. Robison, 41, after an investigation, a Jan. 22 release from the sheriff’s office states. One of the five people on the boat called to report the shots, and deputies were dispatched at 8:14 p.m. to the “1000 block” of Strahl Canyon Road, in a remote section of the county about 25 minutes northwest of Grand Co...
Elmer City’s residents already pay around $68 a month for their sewer service, not the $14 stated incorrectly in an article last week, but that amount will still go up following a court ruling last December. The $14 cited at a town council meeting is what Elmer City had been paying Coulee Dam for treating sewage at the time. Okanogan Superior Court Judge Kathryn Burke ruled on Coulee Dam’s preliminary injunction seeking payment from Elmer City at double the $80 rate Coulee Dam charges its own customers. The judge didn’t agree to that high a rat...
Elmer City must pay a lot more for the wastewater treatment service it buys from Coulee Dam, a county judge ruled recently, which may force Elmer City residents to have to pay more for their utilities. The town council endorsed a plan Thursday to increase rates to cover the bill in dispute for 2025, although the town is working on an appeal. In the meantime, residents who are used to paying $14 a month for their sewer service will have to pay considerably more. Coulee Dam's own residents pay...
A big boulder fell from the wall of the Grand Coulee during the night, blocking most of two lanes on SR-155 along Banks Lake. Drivers can still drive around it where it's coned off at a wide spot in the shoulder of the road on an area of light traffic, but drivers should expect one-lane traffic on the highway just south of the entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park. The Washington State Department of Transportation sent out an alert on its mobile app about 3 a.m. Saturday warning of a... Full story
A Grand Coulee man was arrested Jan. 18 after reportedly admitting to shooting his rifle at a boat on Rufus Woods Lake to try to “scare the occupants away,” a sheriff’s report says. Deputies of the Douglas County sheriff arrested Shawn W. Robison, 41, after an investigation, a Jan. 22 release from the sheriff’s office states. One of the five people on the boat called to report the shots, and deputies were dispatched at 8:14 p.m. to the “1000 block” of Strahl Canyon Road, which is at about its intersection with Road 32 NE in a remote sect... Full story
The city of Grand Coulee will write a letter endorsing a local effort to explore forming a regional "fire authority," the city council voted Tuesday night. A fire "authority" differs in state law from a "district" in that it is possible to include emergency medical services in it. Each of the affected areas in the currently proposed area must write a letter of its intent to move forward with such a study. The vote at Grand Coulee was unanimous, ticking off one more box on the list of things to...
Shane Proctor was inducted into the Bull Riding Hall of Fame Tuesday. The Grand Coulee cowboy went on to a winning career in professional rodeo after graduating from Lake Roosevelt High School in 2003. Naming Proctor as a 2026 inductee to the Bull Riding Hall of Fame (BRHOF), the nonprofit organization listed his many accomplishments in rodeo and bull riding. Proctor qualified for the PBR World Finals nine times from 2006 to 2017 and for the National Finals Rodeo five times from 2011 through... Full story
The question of whether to continue studying the question of whether to create a “regional fire authority” is still active, although two local departments that would be affected have not yet sent in a letter of intent to agree to pursue it. Fire chiefs from Electric City and Grand Coulee spoke with Electric City’s city council Tuesday night with an update on the topic. Ryan Fish, Grand Coulee’s chief, said he hoped Electric City was still planning on supporting that effort, following a stall in momentum since last August. Fish said he did rec...
While a lot of energy is put into celebrating the achievements of athletes in local schools, another celebration is in planning to do the same — for academic achievements. Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Rod Broadnax told the school board Monday that, although the district honors students who meet certain goals with a special event on a regular basis, it’s been suggested to do more to bring in parents to celebrate with students for successes in their studies. “As a matter of fact, I got an earful from a parent after an eight...
Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Rog Broadnax presented a certificate of thanks Monday night to teacher Ethan Tatum "in recognition of your hard work and dedication to the children of the Grand Coulee Dam School District." Tatum, who teaches Spanish and English Language Arts, told The Star later that after being told to attend the school board meeting, he had thought he might be expected to discuss curricula decisions made last year; the award was a complete surprise. "It has...
Grand Coulee is putting owners of empty buildings on notice. The city council passed Ordinance 1105 last month, after several months of discussion, to require owners of vacant buildings to register them with the city, which could at some point start leveling initially small penalties. “Once again, we’re not trying to go after anybody here,” said Councilmember Tom Poplawski. “It’s to gain some awareness that we’d like to see the city look a little nicer.” Poplawski first introduced the idea in March 2025, when he brought council members infor...
In mid-July, Tim Lynch was headed to the post office, when he saw the smoke. Fast forward to Monday night at the end of December, and Lynch was on hand at the Coulee Dam Town Council meeting to receive a proclamation signed by the mayor to honor his "Extraordinary Bravery and Selfless Service" for having rescued three people from a housefire before emergency services arrived that day. Mayor Bob Poch's proclamation, actually first issued in August but not presented in person until Monday, first...
Coulee Dam's town council welcomed in two new council members just before breaking for cake to honor the service of two who were leaving, especially Merv Schmidt, who, in his second stint on the council, has served for six years. "From the bottom of my being, thanks for all you've done," Mayor Bob Poch said. Newly elected Ronald Toulou will succeed Schmidt on the council. And Brian Quill will take the seat just vacated by Chris Bulger. Those two new council members were sworn in, along with...
Grand Coulee Mayor Ruth Dalton answered a question about the status of the agreement with Electric City on the operation of the wastewater treatment plant with a short, “It’s in a process.” Renata Rollins had inquired during a public comment period at the last council meeting Dec. 22 about the negotiations, given statements reported in The Star from the last Electric City Council meeting. They are considering taking a disagreement between the two cities to mediation or arbitration after most of a year spent trying to come together to discuss it...
Congratulations. You’ve just lived through one of the most unpredictable years in at least six decades, so you might already be primed to accept a little advice about the coming months: stay loose. The country has had enough political tension in 2025 for each of us to snap a whole box of Sharpies. That’s by design and not something any of us can control, so don’t let it control you. Instead, look for the bright side and the humor in the absurd, right after you decide to do something about it. You’ll live longer and think better when you let...
Another beautiful winter-in-coulee scene.... Full story
School directors voted to authorize an emergency budget resolution last week that allows the superintendent to issue RIFF-and-recall notices that warn of a possible reduction in force but would not implement them if it can be avoided. Instead, Superintendent Rod Broadnax is instructed to look for other savings and to "maximize revenue" for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Preferred strategies for this include savings in supplies and operating costs, purchased services, and travel expenses,...