News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 858 - 882 of 1807
A 70-year-old Nespelem woman died Friday night when the car she was driving rolled on the highway just north of Coulee Dam. Gloria Atkins, 70, was headed north on SR-155 when the wheels of the Chevy Equinox she was driving left the roadway on the right. She corrected, turning left, then once again to the right before the vehicle rolled, a Washington State Patrol investigation found. It came to rest on its top on the northbound shoulder. Atkins was wearing a seatbelt. The wreck happened about... Full story
Authorities have closed SR-155 just north of Coulee Dam for a fatal collision tonight. Anyone traveling between Coulee Dam and points north should take the Lower River Road. The Washington State Department of Transportation issued a notice of the road closure, which started at 7:48 p.m. No other details are available now. Three Colville Tribal Police units were at the scene. The Washington State Patrol was reportedly en route to investigate and should issue a report in a few... Full story
An Idaho man will spend 40 months in prison for an assault that took place on the Colville Indian Reservation, a federal judge decided Monday. Roberto Lewis Doran, 40, an enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty in August to “Crime on Indian Reservation - Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury,” a statement from the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said Monday. According to court documents, Doran and his girlfriend had been drinking at a neigh...
If you felt a little shaking Monday morning, that wasn't just a big truck passing by. The region felt an earthquake at about 10:49 a.m. Monday, centered about 15.5 miles southwest of Coulee Dam. The U.S. Geological Survey website indicates the shaking was reported by nine "citizen scientists" from Tonasket to Davenport. The magnitude 3.5 quake was likely centered about a mile underground, west of Banks Lake in Douglas County, roughly halfway down the length of the lake, according to data on the...
A favorite childhood memory led to the opening of the newest venture on Midway Avenue, where the latest iteration of a local business has planted roots. The Popcorn Shoppe opened earlier this month at a new location, Midway and Main in Grand Coulee to sell gourmet popcorn, candy and more. Owner Kim Christensen said last week that the shop is step toward fulfilling her vision of a destination shop that will become a tradition that provides good memories like she has of a place from her...
No matter who the experts are, the city administration and the city council who hire them must keep their eyes wide open. Problems in city infrastructure can take a long time to develop and be noticed, but two things are certain: they will develop, and you will pay, sooner or later. So, while the tendency in local governments is to let the experts do their thing, the people we elect to oversee them have a tough job to do in overriding that tendency and holding accountable those who know more than they do. The selection in Electric City of a...
Lake Roosevelt's Raiders won the day in their first round of the state football playoffs Saturday in Coulee Dam, besting Friday Harbor 19-14, but losing a key player in the process. Of any of the state's 53 2B-classified teams, the two with the least points scored against them this season slugged it out in a game that wore out the grass in the middle of Greene Field and seemed to give up nearly as much yardage to yellow flags as plays. The most severe of those penalties saw Raider Cameron St....
Lake Roosevelt's Raiders won the day in their first round of the state football playoffs Saturday in Coulee Dam, besting Friday Harbor 19-14, but losing a key player in the process. They'll play next week on the west side of the state at a time and place to be determined. The Lady Raiders volleyball team competed against two teams at the state tournament in Yakima Thursday, losing to each in four sets after winning the first set in each contest. Their season is done, but it included being the... Full story
The little local rodeo that almost stopped happening nearly a decade ago is poised to join the ranks of the larger professional rodeo world. The Ridge Riders Saddle Club’s annual Colorama Rodeo each May will likely join the Professional Cowboys Rodeo Association, following a vote of the Ridge Riders board of directors Nov. 6. President George Kohout announced the coming change at the chamber of commerce luncheon the next day. “This is by far the biggest chance we’ve ever taken,” Kohout said. The move was instigated by the group’s stock con...
In a strong show of disapproval for current government, Electric City voters have chosen a new city council and mayor, casting about four or five times as many votes for the challengers as for incumbents. They selected Diane Kohout as the new mayor over incubent Aaron Derr, 238-33; Bob Rupe for city council position 2 over Birdie Hensley, 217-53; Cate Slater over Carol Nordine for council position 4, 221-49; and Cheryl Hoffman over Lonna Bussert 210-55. The challengers have been campaigning on a platform of changing the direction, and the...
If someone asked you if you would commit to a job that could send you to anywhere in the world, even some of its worst places, for years, and that you had to obey orders of your supervisors at all times or there could be serious repercussions, and that the pay wasn’t great, and that it would be entirely possible that you could be in serious danger, even killed, would you jump at the chance? You might, if, like the men and women depicted in our special section honoring veterans this week, you found that the job also allowed you to serve the n...
It took a lot of thought and prayer last February before Doug and Mary Lou Lockard and daughter Launi Ritter took a leap into a retail business with no experience. Five months after opening their new Coulee Wall Variety Store, Ritter recalled for chamber of commerce members the story of starting up a complex store with nearly 12,000 individual items on its shelves - before there were any shelves, or anything, in the cavernous 4,400 square feet of open space in the building. The family had...
Alan Cain has served on the Grand Coulee City Council for about a year-and-a-half, ever since being appointed to the seat vacated by a previous council member. He's running to keep that seat. Cain moved to the city in 1992 and worked as a registered nurse at the hospital. Then, as the internet was rapidly evolving, he started a company to provide that service for several years. Retired now, Cain, also a cartographer, has put his city planning skills to use on Grand Coulee's Planning Commission,...
Tracy Wright says she decided to run for city council in Grand Coulee after the city violated her and her partner's Fourth Amendment rights. She and her partner, Cameron Whitney, who is running for mayor, had a disagreement with the city over their use of a recreational vehicle parked in their backyard with a lake view, which was advertised on a short-term stay website. "Since we are members of this community, we decided to try to change things within instead of the tried and true method of suin...
One person died, two others were injured and one is facing a vehicular homicide charge after a collision on highway 97 near its junction with highway 17 yesterday morning east of Brewster. The Washington State Patrol reported that a 59-year-old Manson woman had been driving south on SR-97 in a 2008 Honda CR-V when her car was struck by a GMC Yukon headed north. The Yukon came to rest in the center lane, the Honda rolled and came to rest on its top on the southbound shoulder. The Patrol’s investigation memo indicates that Kai Michael M...
A coming change in federal rules is pushing healthcare professionals to focus more on preventing illness rather than treating it after the fact, and Coulee Medical Center is implementing a plan that focuses on senior citizens. "It's proven to be quite effective for our patients," Kelly Steffens told people at the chamber of commerce luncheon last week, referring to a free program that has people on Medicare come in once a year for a screening visit. Steffens, a registered nurse, is in charge of...
A federal judge sentenced an Omak man last week to two years in prison for embezzling funds from the Colville Tribes. Chad Jeremy Monaghan, 42, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty on June 3 to one count of embezzling over $1,000 from a tribal organization, and one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Chief United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Monaghan Thursday to a 24-month prison term on each count to run...
The Electric City Council Tuesday voted to spend $338,550 of funds collected for improving tourism, most of it on a city park, departing from years of what some saw as an overly stingy practice. The new Ice Age Park, for which city officials turned ceremonial shovels of dirt at a ground-breaking event last week, will include features such as a mammoth head in the playground, a fossil digging area, and more, designed to cater to local kids and tourists alike. Including the park, the city will spend 85 percent of the funds on its own tourism init...
The grandmother of a 14-year-old boy is asking anyone who sees him to report it to Colville Tribal Police. Cathy Covington says she's been raising Javante Picard since he was 3 years old and that he's had minor problems at school, but plans are already put in place to help him. But on Sept. 26, she says, someone picked him up at the bus stop, and he didn't make it to Lake Roosevelt Junior-Senior High School. She hasn't seen him since, but believes he's near Nespelem. Covington has contacted...
The grandmother of a 14-year-old boy is asking anyone who sees him to report it to Colville Tribal Police. Cathy Covington says she's been raising Javante Picard since he was 3 years old and that he's had problems at school, with plans put in place to help him. But on Sept. 26, she says, someone picked him up at the bus stop, and he didn't make it to Lake Roosevelt Junior Senior High School. She hasn't seen him since but believes he's near Nespelem. Covington has contacted tribal police and has... Full story
The Colville Business Council, the governing body of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, has approved implementation of a four-day work week, with 10-hour days. The switch was set for Sept. 30, after the CBC approved Resolution #2019-569 on Thursday at its full Council meeting. But due to the 2019 General Membership meeting set for Friday, Oct. 4, the CBC agreed to postpone the implementation of the new work schedule until Oct. 7. That schedule will apply to all government programs except those deemed “essential,” such as polic...
School officials got a tip after classes were out last week that a student may have brought a weapon to Lake Roosevelt Jr-Sr High School and a student has reportedly been referred to juvenile authorities. In a statement, the Grand Coulee Dam School District alerted the public of the incident on its website and on its Facebook account two days later. The school administration got the tip about 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16 and immediately began an investigation, the statement said. “Our school administrators and Coulee Dam Police questioned w...
Snow was reported on the highway between Davenport and Reardan this morning, as well as on Sherman Pass east of Republic, and the NWS is advising of snow possible at 2,000 feet. Here’s the winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service: Winter Weather Advisory URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Spokane WA 242 PM PDT Sat Sep 28 2019 ...EARLY SEASON SNOW AND STRONG WINDS THIS WEEKEND... .A cold storm system will bring the potential for heavy snow in the mountains this weekend. In addition, expect wet, slushy accum... Full story
When Wade Jess took over the local Ford dealership from Carlson Motors, he thought mechanic Dick Mangis might be "the first to go," because of a sly smirk he'd detected at an initial employee meeting. But Jess was 26 then, "and I'm an idiot kid," he said, noting the irony that he now looks back on Mangis' years of "dedication" and "loyalty" as an employee who even rode out winter storms at the business. "That's how dedicated he is." Jess made those remarks at a retirement party for Mangis at La...
Whether you’re lamenting the end of summer or so glad it’s finally fall (which officially starts Sept. 23), events this week offer great seasonal transitioners. The Harvest Festival and Run the Dam now mark a place on the calendar for many that signals us to take a deep breath, appreciate the weekend, then dive into what’s ahead through December. The beer garden has become a great place to meet friends and feels great to those finishing the only race that takes you across the Grand Coulee Dam. (Many like to get a beer at 11 a.m. on Satur...