News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Articles from the September 11, 2013 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 33

  • Our take on the news

    Scott Hunter editor and publisher|Sep 11, 2013

    • The Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada, which the two countries will start renegotiating soon, is one international news story the local community needs to watch. It can affect everything from how much water remains in local lakes to whether, as some very hardy canoeists on the front page would like, we build fish ladders around Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams. • Even while trying to form a better advocate for growing tourism via a local tourism board, the chamber of commerce continues in the interim to entice local... Full story

  • Newsbriefs

    Sep 11, 2013

    Lions to offer eye screening The Lions Club will offer a free eye screening exam Oct. 2 at the senior center in Grand Coulee from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The screening is open to all Grand Coulee Dam area residents. Certain individuals may qualify for a follow-up exam and glasses. For more information, call 631-2201. Political signs damaged The Coulee Dam Police Department has received complaints on people damaging political signs in the town. Sgt. Larry Hall said last Wednesday that five or six signs have been either damaged or taken. Hall said... Full story

  • City considering pot moratorium

    Roger S Lucas|Sep 11, 2013

    The city of Grand Coulee is wrestling with whether to declare a moratorium on the location of marijuana gardens or distribution businesses within the city limits. The issue came up at the Sept. 3 city council meeting, and will likely come up again at the next meeting, Sept. 17. Mayor Chris Christopherson got the ball rolling when he stated that marijuana was a “gateway” drug and he was against any consideration of growing or distribution of it. Councilmember Erin Neilson asked if any moratorium would just be kicked down the road every six mon... Full story

  • Paddling for politics and passion

    Scott Hunter|Sep 11, 2013
    1

    Five people in two canoes got as close as they dared to Grand Coulee Dam Saturday on a “Sea to Source” expedition in craft carved from trees by school kids and others. Their purpose is to call attention to what they consider to be deficits in the soon-to-expire Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada. Under that 1964 treaty, which addresses power and flood control issues, three dams in Canada and Libby Dam in the United States were built. Tribes and conservationists now wan... Full story

  • Harvest Festival set for Friday and Saturday

    Roger S Lucas|Sep 11, 2013

    You can come casual, but dress up your pet for the chamber of commerce’s first-ever “Harvest Festival” at North Dam Park Friday and Saturday, Sept. 13-14. See inside this week’s Star newspaper for more details click here. There’s a costume pet show, so brush your pet and dress it up for the Saturday 11 a.m. to noon pet show contest. Organizers say that you can dress up also, if you want, and lead your pet around the show area. There’s a lot of activity for young and old, and even those in between. You might be interested in the community-w... Full story

  • Colvilles recognize same-sex marriage

    Sep 11, 2013

    The governing body of the Colville Tribes amended its law Thursday to recognize same-sex marriage. “This change is in keeping with tribal values, and in recognizing the special place that the Two-Spirited Peoples hold within the Colville tribal community,” a press release on the Colville Business Council action stated Thursday. The council amended Title 5-1, the tribe’s domestic code, to recognize same-sex marriage. The tribe will now “begin the process of modifying its codes, plans, and policies, to comport with the amendments,” the release s... Full story

  • Medical center joins stroke network

    Roger S. Lucas|Sep 11, 2013

    Stroke victims will have a much better chance of recovery because of new Telestroke Network technology introduced at Coulee Medical Center Tuesday. Emergency Room nurses and a handful of other technical staff at CMC practiced using the new equipment this week in an all-day training session put on by Spokane-based Providence Telestroke Network. The networking involves some dozen other rural hospitals in Eastern Washington. Now stroke patients have 24-hour access to stroke specialists who are... Full story

  • Funds sought by towns' tourism levels

    Roger S Lucas|Sep 11, 2013

    The chamber of commerce is attempting to solicit tourism promotion funds from the local cities proportionally to the size of their tourism income. Chamber Manager Peggy Nevsimal laid out her organization’s plans to develop tourism in 2014 at the Grand Coulee Council meeting last Tuesday night. She explained that the three municipalities, Grand Coulee, Electric City and Coulee Dam, which collect hotel/motel taxes, together take in about $128,000 a year of the tax that, by state law, is to be spent on promoting tourism. Electric City takes in a... Full story

  • Months later, repair job still waits

    Roger S Lucas|Sep 11, 2013

    An emergency repair at the Delano Regional Transfer Station is still an emergency. The Regional Board of Mayors has been kicking around an $18,000 repair problem for far too long, Electric City Mayor Jerry Sands told the group Monday. The repair of a curbing and structure problem at the dump site has been a subject of debate by the mayors for four months. It has gone out to bid on two occasions, with Young’s Welding being the lone bidder. Decisions made by the mayors have to be approved by the councils of the four towns, and that’s where it... Full story

  • Keller woman gets year for helping to violate court order

    Sep 11, 2013

    A 35-year-old Keller woman was sentenced to one year of probation after she pleaded guilty in June to “Aiding and Abetting the Violation of a Lawful Court Order” in March and April, 2011. Lisa Gabriel was an officer at the tribal corrections center in Nespelem then, when she allowed an inmate charged with domestic violence to call his victim on Gabriel’s cell phone, states a press release from U.S. Attorney Micheal Ormsby. The inmate was under a Colville Tribal Court order not to contact the victim, but did so in two calls with Gabri... Full story

  • Museum wish list stated

    Roger S Lucas|Sep 11, 2013

    The new Coulee Pioneer Museum is in need of a number of items, organizer Birdie Hensley stated this week. The museum is in its temporary home at 3 Coulee Boulevard in Electric City, and soon will have limited openings, depending on volunteers, to man the new facility. Hensley stated that the museum is in need of a vacuum cleaner, a high table for sorting display materials, sanding around windows and filling the cracks, label material, work on electrical, and old photos of the area and local historical objects. Hensley said that the museum... Full story

  • Transfer station revenues reported

    Sep 11, 2013

    The Delano Regional Transfer Station is running some $33,000 ahead of last year through August in revenues collected, the Regional Board of Mayors learned at their meeting Monday. August showed the lowest gain of the year when revenues exceeded the same period a year ago by $388.36. Revenue to date this year at the transfer station is $312,087.89.... Full story

  • Many deserve recognition for horse rescue work

    Jamie Holeman|Sep 11, 2013

    I have debated long and hard whether or not to write this letter, as many people have approached me and complained. After much consideration, I decided it’s best to hear it from the horse’s mouth, no pun intended. It has been brought to my attention several times that I was not mentioned in the articles about the horse rescue. Unfortunately, not all things can be covered in a couple of articles, besides that; behind the scenes work is awfully boring! I seem to be the only one not bothered by this, so I will follow with an explanation as to why... Full story

  • Star should rethink that position

    John Overby|Sep 11, 2013

    After reading your Sept. 4 editorial “Might want to rethink that position,” I cannot help but come to the conclusion that maybe you should be the one doing the “rethinking.” 1) Alcohol, tobacco and gambling are also legitimate enterprises in Washington. That does not mean that there are no obvious social, health and moral problems associated with them that taxpayers and participating individuals end up paying for. 2) Your thoughts on waste of public resources are not well thought out. Now, local police agencies will have to undergo another leve... Full story

  • Minimum wage essay was a fairy tale

    Frank Ward|Sep 11, 2013

    Boy, this is some fairy tale that Don Brunell can spin about how the minimum wage works for all of us getting it. Mr. Brunell needs to take a look out of the window of his ivory tower once in a while. Frank Ward Coulee Dam... Full story

  • Kids, time to get dirty, with dirt

    Jesse Utz|Sep 11, 2013

    A post that has been making its rounds on Facebook got me thinking about the way things used to be and the way things are now. When was the last time you saw kids playing cowboys and Indians? I know that’s not very politically correct these days, but when we were kids we had no idea what racial prejudice was. We just went outside and pretended to shoot one another over and over again. That’s one more thing that kids can’t get away with today either. But they can play bloody, violent video... Full story

  • Cleaning up the tax code starts with taking out the trash

    Gy Moody|Sep 11, 2013

    We’ve all heard the saying before: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” However, having owned a small janitorial and cleaning business in Billings, Mont. for the last six years, I can say with certainty that sometimes trash is just that — trash. As Montana’s Senator Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, embarks on his signature priority of cleaning up the U.S. tax code, I suspect he will find that both are true. The U.S. tax code is littered with wasteful loopholes and preferential rules written by insider lobbyists to... Full story

  • Coulee Recollections

    Sep 11, 2013

    Ten Years Ago Seeking more safety in the schools and legal protection, the Grand Coulee Dam School District passed a dress code Monday explaining what students can’t wear. After several years (1988) of no quilt shows in town, the Zion Lutheran Church is presenting a quilt show Sat., Sept. 20. The show along with a pie sale, will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. a the church at 348 Mead in Grand Coulee. Turnovers proved costly for the Lake Roosevelt boys’ football team as the Wilbur/Creston Wildcats dealt the Raiders a loss in the first game of th... Full story

  • Cross country off and running

    John McNeil II|Sep 11, 2013

    Raider cross country opened their season at Tonasket last Saturday. Head Coach Gary Darnold was pleased with the way the runners competed at the opening race of the season. “The race in Tonasket showed me that our team has the desire to compete,” Darnold said. The competition at Tonasket was stiff. The winning time in the boys’ race was 15 minutes, 18 seconds, run by Duncan Foresman of Republic. In the girls’ race, reigning State B individual champion Sierra Speiker of Oroville ran it in 16:4... Full story

  • Lady Raiders open at Davenport

    John McNeil II|Sep 11, 2013

    Lady Raider volleyball opened the 2013 season at the Davenport Invitational where they faced perennial state competitors and fought hard against a 1A school and last season’s Central Washington 2B North champion. “There were some really tough teams from the Bi County,” Raider Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit commented on the matches against the Davenport Gorillas and Odessa-Harrington Titans. “They were very challenging for us.” In both matches, the Lady Raiders were unable to win a game. The Gorillas finished fourth last year in the 2B State Tou... Full story

  • Gorillas run past Raiders

    John McNeil II|Sep 11, 2013

    Raider football opened up their 2013 season at home last Friday, where the Davenport Gorillas used a 32-point second quarter to defeat LR 56-0. The Gorillas’ rushing attack was led by Faulkner, who scored three touchdowns, and backed up by Wilkie, who scored two more touchdowns and converted four two-point attempts. Davenport outgained the Raiders in total offense by the tally of 335 yards to LR’s 63. In the first quarter, the Raiders allowed two scores. Then the defense made a stop and LR too... Full story

  • Changes in GED Test Coming

    Sep 11, 2013

    This fall is the time to prepare for the GED exam, particularly if candidates for the GED certificate have already taken one or more of the tests in the current 2002 Series GED. This current version of the GED test will expire at the end of 2013 and will be replaced with the new version in January 2014. Any tests taken in the 2002 Series GED will not be valid at that time. Those who have taken the 2002 Series GED test, but not passed all five parts, have until December to pass or they will need to start testing over again in 2014 with the new t... Full story

  • Dakotah Steven "Koda-Bear" Holt

    Sep 11, 2013

    Dakotah Steven “Koda-Bear” Holt Dakotah Steven “Koda-Bear” Holt was born November 2, 1992, in Spokane, Wash., and left us much too soon Thursday, August 29, 2013, while doing the work he loved as a lineman in rural Medicine Lodge, Kan. Koda-Bear was a 2011 graduate of Lake Roosevelt High School where he excelled in football, basketball, wrestling and golf as a player and coach. Following high school, Dakotah completed the course of studies at Northwestern Lineman College in Meridian, Idaho,... Full story

  • Meetings and Notices

    Sep 11, 2013

    Chamber to Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet at noon, Thursday, Sept. 12, at La Presa. Birdie Hensley will present a program on the prevention of zebra mussels from our waterways. Also everyone is invited to the Harvest Festival this weekend at North Dam Park. See page 5 details. TOPS Meetings TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Chapter meets on Tuesdays at 9:15 a.m. at Grand Coulee Senior Center prior to the exercise group gathering at 10 a.m. Come and join for the health of it. TOPS#WA1490, Coulee Dam meets on... Full story

  • Going up fast

    Sep 11, 2013

    Crane operator works in tandem with workers high up in the steel framework of the new K-12 school project. The crane is lowering steel sheets in place and workers atop the structure bolt them into place. They are currently working on the administration or main entrance to the new facility which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2014. — Roger S. Lucas photo... Full story

Page Down