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Articles from the July 14, 2021 edition


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  • Update 11:45 a.m. 7-17-21 | Lightning strikes kick off fires on Colville Reservation

    Scott Hunter|Jul 14, 2021

    Here is this morning's update on the Chuweah Creek Fire from the incident commander, along with an updated map. Cooler weather is helping for now, and acreage estimates have been changed with better mapping. CHUWEAH CREEK FIRE UPDATE NORTHWEST INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM 12 Incident Commander: Bobby Shindelar July 17, 2021 8:00 AM Operations Today: Firefighters continue to make good progress on the Chuweah Creek Fire, which was started by lightning on July 12 and is burning east of Nespelem.... Full story

  • Power outage scheduled by Nespelem Valley Electric

    press release, Okanogan County Emergency Management|Jul 14, 2021

    Nespelem Valley Electric will have a 30 minute scheduled power outage Tomorrow Morning, Friday, July 16, 2021 from 7:00 AM to 7:30 AM to allow Bonneville Power Administration to conduct a switch-over. The following areas will be affected: Nespelem, Rebecca Lake, Agency, Gold Lake, School Road, down Columbia River Road to the fish farm, and surrounding areas. **For all persons using medical equipment requiring electrical power, you will need to make provisions for the 30-minute power outage.** Again a 30-Miniute Nespelem Valley Electric Power... Full story

  • Fire relief offered

    Scott Hunter|Jul 14, 2021

    If you've been displaced by the recent fires, personal hygiene and other supplies are available for you at Jess Ford Auto in Grand Coulee. Garrett Jess said a non-profit from Coeur D'Alene called Manna contacted him to see if Jess Ford could house the supplies and let people pick them up there. Those supplies include water, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, combs, socks, shifts and feminine hygiene supplies. They can be picked up at Jess Ford, 522 Midway Ave. in Grand Coulee from noon to 5:30 p.m.... Full story

  • Ethnic Studies a coming topic of discussion for school board

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 14, 2021

    The topic of ethnic studies being taught in public schools will be coming up in future school board meetings within the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Monday’s school board meeting continued even after it was adjourned as Superintendent Paul Turner told the board that they should be ready for the topic of “critical race theory,” to come up at future meetings. The term “ethnic studies” is used in state legislation, rather than “critical race theory.” Director of Communications Kate Payne of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instru...

  • Ben Hughes is running for council

    Jacob Wagner|Jul 14, 2021

    Ben Hughes, running for Grand Coulee City Council, picks his battles when it comes to the issues, and among them is consolidation of Grand Coulee with Electric City. "I love the town, I want to help," Hughes told The Star on Tuesday about why he's running. "We have a really beautiful town full of great people and I want to help those people live a better quality of life if I can." Hughes, who has lived in Grand Coulee since 2015, is interested in bringing in businesses to the community, which...

  • Joseph chosen as new chairman for Colville Business Council

    Jul 14, 2021

    Andy Joseph, Jr is the new chairman of the Colville Business Council, bringing 18 years of experience on the council with him. Seven newly elected or reelected members of the 14-member council took the oath of office July 8 at the Lucy F. Covington Government Center in Nespelem. Former Chairman Rodney Cawston lost his seat on the council to Alison Ball in the recent election. Joseph, who didn't have to run for reelection this year, was chosen by unanimous decision of his fellow council members...

  • Ballots are on the way for Primary Election

    Jul 14, 2021

    OLYMPIA — Registered voters across Washington will soon receive ballots for the upcoming Primary Election, Tuesday, Aug. 3. The Primary Election’s 18-day voting period begins Friday, July 16, and lasts through election day. Ballots include a prepaid-postage return envelope, so people who return their ballots via U.S. mail do not have to pay for a stamp. Voters who place their ballots in an official drop box must do so by 8 p.m. on election day. Drop box locations may be found at VoteWA.gov. Secretary of State Kim Wyman encourages voters to mai...

  • Whoopsie daisy

    Jul 14, 2021

    Spectators watch and take photos as a pickup gets pulled from Banks Lake July 4. A Kennewick man got the expensive car wash when his GMC truck rolled into Banks Lake at Coulee Playland. He backed his truck up to the boat launch to load up his jetski, and when he got out of the truck, the truck rolled into the water, about 50 feet from shore and 20 feet deep. A licensed diver volunteered to dive down and connect a tow chain to the truck to pull it out. The police report for the incident...

  • Obsolescence has hidden costs

    Scott Hunter, editor and publisher|Jul 14, 2021

    A truck carrying a too-high load once again hit the tops of the cross beams on the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Monday night, the second time in probably 10 years that’s happened. The incident highlights recent calls for a new bridge. Although structurally it’s sound, the bridge classified as “structurally obsolete.” Modern road builders want roads that are at least 40 feet wide. The roadway on the bridge is 20 feet wide. That specification is not a luxury; times have changed. Trucks are not larger versions of the narrow cars I imagine...

  • Apology and thanks

    Jim Keene, Manager, Banks Lake Golf Course|Jul 14, 2021

    On behalf of Banks Lake Golf Course, I’d like to apologize to patrons and volunteer course grounds workers for a break in communication on Friday morning during the practice round for the Coyote Open. Not all of the volunteer workers were aware that their efforts to groom the course on Friday were in conflict with the practice round in progress. As manager for the golf course, I take full responsibility for the unfortunate disruption to the preliminary event for this major course tournament. To all participants of the 2021 Coyote Open T...

  • Ensuring water supply for generations to come

    Dan Newhouse, Congressman, 4th District|Jul 14, 2021

    As a farmer, former state director of Agriculture, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, and congressman representing one of the most flourishing agricultural regions in America, I fully understand the extent to which water is truly the lifeblood of Central Washington and our economy. Hot summers, several years of low snowpack, and the severity of recent drought across the West illustrate how important it is that we reinvest in the water infrastructure our farms and communities were built upon — much of which is over a century old at t...

  • Advances in energy sources making a difference

    Bob Valen|Jul 14, 2021

    Like the air we breathe, electricity, that magical stuff behind the light switch, is taken for granted by a majority of people. Flip a switch, the lights come on. We are dependent on energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As populations continue to grow and their need for more and “cleaner” energy grows too, the demand for more production of it will become central in the not-so-distant future. The production of energy comes in many forms. We’ve been made aware of issues related to some forms...

  • Passing of a friend

    Roger S. Lucas|Jul 14, 2021

    Most people can count very close friends on one hand. That’s why it is so sad that I lost such a friend, Myron Finkbeiner. Myron and his wife, Gwen, and their family had been in and out of our lives for many years. He was a native Washingtonian, with a lot of family in the central part of the state. We first met in Nampa, Idaho, and enjoyed many family outings together. Myron was a star basketball player at Northwest Nazarene College, where we both attended, although at different times. Myron went on to get his master’s degree and had been a te...

  • Robert Wade "Bob" Harden

    Jul 14, 2021

    Robert Wade "Bob" Harden of Almira, Washington, passed away Wednesday, July 7, 2021, from the aftereffects of cardiac arrest. Bob was born February 12, 1952, to Walter "Gene" and Wilda (Bell) Harden in Spokane, Washington, and was raised on the family wheat family north of Almira. He attended school in Almira and graduated from WSU with a degree in agriculture. Following graduation, he returned to the family farm. After an accident in 2001, he leased out the farmland but continued to live in... Full story

  • Meetings & Notices

    Jul 14, 2021

    Food Bank Hours Change Care & Share Food Bank new hours are from 1-3 p.m. with inside service. No more drive through. Please wear a mask. Cancer Support Group Cancer patients, caregivers, and survivors have been gathering semiweekly to talk, in a safe environment with honesty about the physical, emotional and spiritual impact of cancer. The group meets the first and third Thursdays of the month at 6 p.m. in the multipurpose area of the Nazarene Church. Face masks and social distancing are maintained. AA Meetings for GCD and Nespelem Area...

  • Too tight a squeeze

    Jul 14, 2021

    Traffic backs up behind a heavy equipment hauler on the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Monday night while a driver figures out how to get a too-tall piece of equipment low enough to pass under the horizontal spans of steel across the bridge. The trailer's air suspension equipment was lowered, allowing enough space to back up a few feet, then unfold and lower the equipment's boom until the truck could be driven off the bridge. It was the second time within 10 or so years that such equipment...

  • Grand Coulee alumni finalize reunion plans

    Jul 14, 2021

    A meeting to finalize plans for the GCHS Alumni Association All-Class Reunion will be held at 1:00 P. M. Wednesday, July 21, 2010, at the Senior Center on Main Street in Grand Coulee. The reunion takes place August 13-15 beginning with registration at North Dam Park on Friday the 13th at 6:00 P.M. Main event of the reunion is a catered picnic mid-day on Saturday at the park. If you are planning to be there for the picnic and haven’t confirmed your attendance, please call 509.533.0190 by July 20th and leave a message or notify your class c...

  • Legals for July 14, 2021

    Jul 14, 2021

    Notice of Special Election Okanogan County, State of Washington Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021 A Primary Election will be held in the below mentioned districts for the purpose of submitting to the voters for their approval or rejection the following. Douglas/Okanogan County Hospital District No. 1 Proposition One-year Special Levy City of Pateros Proposition No. 1 Sales and Use Tax Transportation Improvements City of Pateros Council Position 1 Bridgeport School District #75 Director District Position 2 Nespelem School District #14 Director District... Full story

  • Coulee Cops

    Jul 14, 2021

    Grand Coulee police 7/6 - A suspicious man was reported near the post office and tavern in Electric City, talking to himself and picking up rocks. He told police he’d just picked up a rock to look at it, not to throw it at anyone or anything, and that he was waiting for a ride to Coulee City. 7/7 - Police were requested to check on an elderly man on Wenatchee Avenue who hadn’t been seen by his neighbor in some time. Police checked the residence but no one was there. They later learned the man was in Montana for the holiday. 7/8 - A camper at...

  • Ohme Garden passes available

    Jul 14, 2021

    Passes to visit historic Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee are now available for checkout from all NCW Libraries branches — for free! The passes can be reserved by any library card holder aged 18 and older from anywhere in the five-county library district and picked up at one of 30 library branches. Each pass provides unlimited entry to two adults and any children in the household for the two-week checkout period. Featuring flower gardens, alpine meadows, ponds and waterfalls, and forested stone paths, the gardens are a great place to take o...

  • Second semester honor roll

    Jul 14, 2021

    The following is the honor roll for the Lake Roosevelt Jr./Sr. High for second semester. HIGH HONORS 3.5000 - 4.000 SENIORS Vanessa Ankney, Brieann Whittaker, Raven Clark, Chelsea Dudley, Cameron Gaines, Kaimyn Scheib, Edward Frank, Andrew Poyner JUNIORS Ashley Baker, Isaijah Derr, Audrey Hansen, Reniff Herndon, Aehsley Pituachsatit, Lynzee Valles, David Borden, Gema Sacchi SOPHOMORES Brit Egbert, Elijah Rasmussen, Kate Adolph, James Down, Justin Blueeyes, Penelope Antoine, Pyper Schmidt, Kawika Whalawitsa, Tanner Whitelaw FRESHMAN Shaden...