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Articles from the February 1, 2017 edition


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  • Classroom space tight at new school

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 1, 2017

    Money makes the world go around, and it also builds school classrooms. Both classrooms and money are in short supply at the Grand Coulee Dam School District, just three years after opening the new Lake Roosevelt Schools complex in 2014. Currently, the school district is in the midst of its five-year “study and survey” that will spell out the district’s classroom needs in detail. There’s currently a crunch for classroom space, specifically in the elementary wing of the school. The “study and survey,” after a review by Superintendent Paul Turner... Full story

  • Nespelem to start late tomorrow

    Feb 1, 2017

    Nespelem School will start two hours late on Tuesday, Feb. 7.... Full story

  • Late start for LR, school canceled for Nespelem Monday morning

    Scott Hunter|Feb 1, 2017

    Nespelem Elementary School has canceled school for Monday, Feb. 6. due to too much snow." Th"ere will be no preschool at all tomorrow, nor will breakfast be served, the school announced Sunday evening. Lake Roosevelt Schools will start two hours late....

  • Fire destroys Grand Coulee home

    Feb 1, 2017

    A family lost their Grand Coulee home Sunday morning when a fire broke out in the carport and went undetected until drivers passing by saw it, alerting authorities and the family inside. No one was hurt. But Josh and Brenda Ristine, their 9-year-old twin girls and 10-year-old boy are starting over. The 1981 double-wide is gone, along with nearly everything they owned. The fire started just before 10:30 a.m. Brenda was already at work, Josh Ristine said, as firefighters worked to put out the... Full story

  • Two new parks in new Electric City plan

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 1, 2017

    Electric City’s 25-year Pathway and Revitalization plan is complete. This week, the Star newspaper looks at two new city parks as they are outlined in the plan. Funding for parts of the Pathway and Revitalization is anticipated through grants as they are available to the city. The two new parks are: Grand Avenue Park, with an Ice Age focus; and McNett Splashpad Park, behind the fire department building and just temporarily named. The Pathway project was just recently completed by a team of instructors and students from Washington State U... Full story

  • Meeting to organize community against crime

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 1, 2017

    An organizational community watch meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. at the Almira/Coulee Dam Community Church. The meeting is a follow-up to an initial meeting held early in December, and is being organized by Ed Bartley. About 50 people showed up at the first meeting, alarmed by reports of burglaries and car prowls in Coulee Dam. Bartley, who has had about 50 years of experience in law enforcement-related activity, drew out concerns local residents had at the first meeting, and stated that organizing against crime would be the ta... Full story

  • SHARP program looking for more involvement from community

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 1, 2017

    An after-school program in place at Lake Roosevelt is hoping to recruit more volunteers to help enrich kids' understanding of the world and be better prepared to face it as they get older. The SHARP Kids program, which stands for "Safe, Honest, Aware, Respectful, and Present," is in its 13th year, with around 120 kids of all ages involved. The age groups are first through third grade, fourth and fifth, sixth through eighth, and high school. SHARP Kids is funded by a federal 21st Century... Full story

  • Newsbriefs

    Feb 1, 2017

    Green fees to stay the same Sometimes when organizations don’t raise rates it makes the news. Port District 7 commissioners last week reported membership dues at Banks Lake Golf Course will remain the same for another year. Individual memberships are $700, with family memberships $800. Junior memberships are $100, and green fees for nine holes are $18, and for 18 holes $30. Cart rentals for nine holes are $12, and for 18 holes $24. The course is scheduled to open March 1, weather permitting. Firm selected for Elmer City Belsby Engineering of S... Full story

  • Split vote OKs attempt to restore building

    Scott Hunter|Feb 1, 2017

    Citizens and town council members argued Wednesday over whether to OK an application for a grant that would help save an old “steam building” behind Coulee Dam Town Hall, developing it into a trailhead for Candy Point Trail — with a bathroom, including a shower. The “Candy Point and Crown Point Trailhead Development” proposal asks the state Recreation and Conservation Office for $108,450 of a total project cost of $135,650, with the town making up the $27,200 match. Mayor Greg Wilder said half of that would come from “in kind” work, and don... Full story

  • Correction

    Feb 1, 2017

    Kevin Portch owns Loepp Furniture and Appliance. A story last week incorrectly named his parents as the owners.... Full story

  • Time to burst the bubbles

    Feb 1, 2017

    Readers of The Star should understand that opinions published on these pages do not necessarily represent this newspaper’s position. We print many articles that do not. That we would do so seems to surprise some. That very surprise is, in and of itself, an indicator of something that has gone terribly wrong in our society, and it’s getting worse rapidly. The concept that civil discourse, our ability to argue a subject and hear all sides, is a necessary skill for democratic society, seems to be getting lost. Or perhaps “violently explo... Full story

  • Grant applications will cost money

    Bruce Bartoo|Feb 1, 2017

    To all of the residents of Coulee Dam: With Mayor Wilder PLEADING for passage, the Town Council voted three to two and approved the Recreation Trails Programs Resolution #16-2322 for the Candy Point/Crown Point Trailhead Restoration Project Grant. So, residents of Coulee Dam, you may have just won the opportunity to build a brand-new public bathroom and it will only cost you a mere $25,500, and that is not all you may have won. If this grant is funded by the state and passed by the Town Council, you will also get the chance to pay for all of... Full story

  • Re: "My fellow Americans" (Jan 25) Jesse's article right on

    Linda and Herb Sherburne|Feb 1, 2017

    My wife and I are in our seventies and have voted in local, state and national elections many times. You win sometimes, you lose sometimes. Jesse’s article was right on point. Very well done. Herb and Linda Sherburne Coulee Dam... Full story

  • Require common sense and accountability for public lands

    Dan Newhouse Representative 4th Dist|Feb 1, 2017

    As Washingtonians, all we have to do to enjoy some of the most beautiful natural scenery anywhere is to look out the window or take a short drive to one of our spectacular national parks or forests. We treasure our access to public lands, but we also demand accountability and transparency for the way those lands are managed. We keep in mind the legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt, who once said, “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in v... Full story

  • Continue helping the youth

    Jesse Utz|Feb 1, 2017

    Our youth can sometimes get a bad rap. A small group of rebellious teens can sometimes make an impression on an individual that defines an entire generation in that person’s eyes. The words disconnected, lazy, distracted and entitled are some of the terms used today to describe the upcoming adults who will be leading us before we know it. To be honest, if I look back at my own childhood and think about where I saw myself then, I did not see me standing where I stand now. What was important to me then is not now, and the maturity that can h... Full story

  • Seventy-five years ago

    Feb 1, 2017

    A steel span of the Marcus Bridge just leaving its position, in transit to Grand Coulee Dam. The two-deck barge is the workmen's living quarters. The tug, "Blue Ox," is shown in rear of the houseboat. - Feb. 19, 1942 photo... Full story

  • Eloise (Ayling) Bowman

    Feb 1, 2017

    Eloise (Ayling) Bowman, 85, surrounded by her family, went to heaven to be with her son, Steve; sisters: Alma and Mary; brother, Walt; and her parents on Sunday, January 29, 2017. She was born January 8, 1932, and graduated from Coulee Dam High School. She was Star newspaper's 2012 Volunteer of the Year. She was a member of the Grand Coulee Dam Seniors, where she managed the thrift store for many years, turning it into the success it is today. She never met a stranger, helping anyone who needed... Full story

  • Mikel Cunningham

    Feb 1, 2017

    Mikel Cunningham, 65, of Grand Coulee, Washington, passed away in Yakima, Washington Thursday, January 26, 2017. A complete obituary will appear in a future issue of the Star.... Full story

  • Five generations captured

    Feb 1, 2017

    Betty Lacy, almost 97, sits with her great-great-grandson, 6-month-old Elijah Moore, with, from left, her daughter, Clea Lacy Pryor, 73; Elijah's mother, Mandy Moore, 23; and Darla Pryor Orr, 52, following a family dinner at Clea's home Jan. 23. Mandy and Jeremy Moore, a marine stationed in North Carolina, brought Elijah to meet the family. - submitted photo... Full story

  • Town to start process to build new sewer plant

    Scott Hunter|Feb 1, 2017

    Coulee Dam expects to award a construction contract in late March to build a new multimillion dollar wastewater treatment plant, the mayor and consulting engineers told the town council Wednesday. The town got a “verbal OK” earlier in the day from the Colville Tribes’ planning department following a unanimous vote during its meeting with Varela and Associates, the engineers on the project. The matter will still need a formal vote of the Colville Business Council later this month. The project plan had also seen a quick turnaround after submi... Full story

  • Free tax help at the senior center will begin Feb. 14

    Feb 1, 2017

    Income tax time is here! Free tax preparation is being offered at the Grand Coulee Senior Center again this year. Volunteers trained in cooperation with IRS and AARP will be available every Tuesday, Feb. 14 through April 11, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This service is available to anyone with low or middle income. You do not have to be seniors or members of the senior center to take advantage of this free help. However, special attention is given to those 60 or older. Taxpayers need to bring: a copy of last year’s tax return and social security c... Full story

  • What's cookin' at the senior center

    Feb 1, 2017

    Wed., Feb. 1 – Dinner Shepherd’s Pie, Mixed Veggies, Fruit Slices w/Dip, Cookies Thurs., Feb. 2 – Dinner Fish ad Chips, Green Beans, Peaches, Cook's Choice Fri., Feb. 3 – Breakfast Country Skillet (meat, eggs, potatoes), Gravy, Toast, Fruit Bowl, Orange Juice Mon., Feb. 6 – Breakfast Bacon, Eggs, Hashbrowns, Toast, Fruit Bowl, Orange Juice Tues., Feb 7 – Dinner Becky's Broccoli Cheese Soup (onions, carrots and peas), Ham Salad Sandwich, Fruit Cup, Fruit Crisp Wed., Feb. 8 – Dinner French Dip w/au Jus, French Fries, Stir Fry Veggies, Slic... Full story

  • Mumps outbreak includes Grant County

    Roger S Lucas|Feb 1, 2017

    There are over 250 probable and confirmed cases of mumps in Washington, including cases in Grant, King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane and Yakima counties. The Grant County Health District encouraged residents to take every precaution to help stop the spread of the disease. Residents in the county were encouraged to be vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, stated Dr. Alexander Brzezny, health officer. Mumps is a contagious disease with more cases being reported daily. Grant County had three possible cases, all linked to the Columbia Basin Job Corps, at... Full story

  • Meetings and Notices

    Feb 1, 2017

    Chamber This Week The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon, this Thursday, February 2, at the La Presa Mexicam Restaurant, Grand Coulee. On the agenda is general business. American Legion to Meet The American Legion Post 157 holds legion meetings on the second Tuesday of each month. The next meeting will be at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 14, at the Vets Center in Electric City. Coulee Creators Meet Coulee Creators meet at 412 Federal Ave., Grand Coulee, every Tuesday 1-4 p.m. Contact Marlene Oddie 509-386-5715 or... Full story

  • Lady Raiders in third despite free-throw "bugaboo"

    Jacob Wagner|Feb 1, 2017

    The Lady Raiders were unable to pull off a comeback against Tonasket last Tuesday, lost a non-league game against Omak Thursday, then dominated Bridgeport on Saturday to go 10-4 in the league. In Tonasket last Tuesday, the Lady Raiders tried to make a comeback against the Tonasket Tigers, but things just didn't work out, with LR losing 59-54. "We'd get within two, then they'd make a three," lamented Kayla St. Pierre. "It was one of those games when the ball just seemed to bounce their way,"... Full story

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