News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Major work on hydroelectric generating units has been completed on "one of the most coveted clean energy assets in the world" at the Grand Coulee Dam. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, along with the Bonneville Power Administration, announced Monday that "the major overhaul of hydroelectric power generating units 22, 23 and 24" inside the third power plant, now known as the Nathaniel "Nat" Washington Power Plant, at the Grand Coulee Dam, had been completed. USBR Public Affairs Specialist Erika A....
Grand Coulee 12/1 - Police killed an injured deer on SR-174 near milepost 20. A nearby citizen was allowed to “harvest” the animal. - Police responded to Silver Drive on a report of animal cruelty. Police spoke to a man who showed playful, healthy puppies to police. He said he disciplines the dogs but doesn’t beat or abuse them. Police didn’t see any signs of abuse. - A screen had been pried loose from an apartment door on Hill Avenue to gain access. The resident reported missing about $300 and a gold necklace. She named a possible suspect who...
Richard Lee Amenell passed away Monday, November 8, 2021, after a battle with Parkinson's. He was born January 26, 1935, to Verner and Violet Amenell of Mediapolis, Iowa. Dick grew up on a farm with his parents and three sisters. He learned a lot on the farm, was active in high school playing basketball and baseball, and was even a school bus driver at age 16. He went to Iowa State for two years and then joined the United States Air Force becoming a navigator on a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 11/9 - A Lincoln Avenue man reported finding his cat in his neighbor’s trap. The neighbor was confrontational when the reporting party confronted him about it. The neighbor told police that neighborhood cats spray where he parks his boat and RV. Police told the neighbor that what he was doing wasn’t illegal, but he should use caution as his neighbors do have pets. - A man was reported as staring inside the Lakeside Fitness gym windows, in one instance displaying a knife. The man was banned from the gym. 11/10 - Police loo...
Long lines were a good thing, with grinning kids and some contestants scrambling for more candy last Thursday at the PTA's Trunk or Treat event at Lake Roosevelt Schools. Crews on six emergency services vehicles and people with 10 individually themed trunks handed out candy to eager children chauffeured by parents. People could vote on their favorite numbered trunk by giving a monetary donation to the PTA. The trunk that earned the most votes (money) at the end of the night was awarded the...
Some workers in Washington state, faced with the ultimatum to get the jab or lose their jobs, have chosen to quit or retire instead of receiving a COVID-19 vaccination. With employees in various fields, including school, health care, and state government required to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as a requirement for their employment by Oct. 18, many workers in the state have opted to retire early or simply quit their jobs. Locally, council members for the city of Grand Coulee, as well as the mayor, expressed support for city employees to make...
Following the death of a city employee, Coulee Dam is considering requiring all employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Councilmember Dale Rey raised the question during a council meeting last Wednesday. Rey remarked on the recent death of one employee and a positive coronavirus test of another, although he said he was speculating on the cause of death. “Our town employees not only interact with each other and with us, but they also interact with and communicate with and are around members of the community,” Rey said, so requiring vaccinat...
Grand Coulee Police 10/12 - A man and woman on Alcan Road and Yakima Street were arrested and taken to jail for burglary. The man was known to stay at a residence there, but the owner said he was not allowed in a storage shed where both had stored items without permission. The two had allegedly picked a lock to enter the shed and retrieve their own items. They were found there and arrested. Drug paraphernalia was also found. The man was adamant that the shed was unlocked, and that he didn’t break in. 10/14 - A man was cited for driving under t...
Following a year of work, the friendly merger of Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union and STCU will culminate this weekend. All five CDFCU branches will be closed Friday, then reopen Monday as STCU, though it will take a while longer to change exterior signage, a credit union press release said Tuesday. Nearly all CDFCU employees have chosen to make the move to STCU, meaning credit union members will continue to see the same familiar faces at their favorite branch. The employees are maintaining...
A friendly merger that has been in the works for a year will culminate in one month when CDFCU and STCU are joined, giving CDFCU’s 14,400 members access to a broader suite of products and services. In preparation for the merger, Spokane-based STCU mailed information to CDFCU members in late August, outlining how their accounts will transition into STCU accounts, and other need-to-know information. More detailed information, specific to each member, will be provided prior to the merger, a press release from STCU said this week. Other recent m...
William Douglas "Bill" Morger Sr., formerly of Elmer City and Coulee Dam,Washington, passed away after a long illness in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Bill was born in Fort Collins, Colorado, on August 23, 1937, to Marvin and Josephine Morger. Bill was one of 12 children. Bill spent his early life in Colorado, moving to the central California valley at the age of three years. Most of his youth was spent in central California, where his family owned many businesses... Full story
Grand Coulee 9/7 - A woman told police she would move her camper from Osborn Bay, where a person can only camp for four days, after a mechanical issue was solved in the camper. 9/8 - Police checked on a dog in a truck on McGovern Street that had been there overnight. The small dog did not appear in distress and a window was cracked. Police opened the door and left some water on the floorboard for the dog. A man said he would call police if the truck and dog were still there later that day. - Police responded to milepost 26 on SR-155 near...
The speed limit between Electric City and Grand Coulee, currently at 45 miles per hour, could drop to 30 with the construction of a new pedestrian/bike pathway. The Star would like to know whether you want the speed limit lowered. With pedestrians regularly traveling the stretch of road, a pathway is seen as a way to give them a safe place to walk or ride their bikes. In 2018, the project was accepted for a $672,410 grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation with a 5%, $35,390 match from Electric City. The original ped... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 8/10 - Fuel was reportedly siphoned out of a city vehicle parked at the city shop on Grand Avenue, as well as fuel siphoned out of a fuel pump. - A 2001 Ford F150 rear ended a 2017 Ford F150 near the intersection of SR-155 and the SunBank Resort turnoff. The information was turned over to a state patrolman who took over the situation. - A one legged, unlicensed man was allowed to move his vehicle which was partially blocking the roadway of Continental Heights. - A woman was advised by police to get a no contact order from...
Grand Coulee Police 7/29 - Police were unable to find a gold Nissan Pathfinder reported to have been speeding and passing cars on double yellow lines on SR-174 heading into Grand Coulee. - A wallet with an ID, credit cards, and about $100 was found at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitors Center after the laser light show and turned into police. Police were able to find contact info for the Idaho man, who retrieved his wallet. 7/31 - Police told people who had been shooting at Osborn Bay about burn restrictions that restrict target shooting in the...
A loud US Army training exercise on a hillside above town drew a different kind of fire at Coulee Dam’s city council meeting July 28, a small-caliber complaint compared to the big guns that alarmed citizens late at night July 22. Bob Hendrickson told the council he was disappointed that people had not been given any notice that a training was about to happen that might sound like a terrorist attack against Grand Coulee Dam. He said that he and many other people he talked to had worried about that as they listened to automatic weapons and w...
Loud gunfire that woke and frightened Coulee Dam residents Thursday night was part of a “routine military training,” a US Army spokesman said. The repeating racket that started about 10:30 sounded to some former military men like 50-caliber automatic weapons. Flashes from multiple gun barrels could be seen on the hillside above the Third Powerhouse on the east side of Grand Coulee Dam. And one caller reported seeing flames at the top of the north end of the powerhouse. The weapons fire, which continued until after midnight, woke at least one...
(Editor’s note: The writer asked that his letter to Bureau of Reclamation Power Manager Coleman Smith be included on this opinion page) Dear Mr. Smith: I am writing in regard to an incident that happened last night, July 22. At about 10:30 PM we were startled by loud automatic weapons fire up towards the top of the east side of the dam. I was extremely alarmed by this situation as the gunfire was coming from multiple locations. As you are aware the Grand Coulee Dam is considered a target and has lots of security in place. We all know this. T...
Grand Coulee Police 7/19 - Police responded to Burdin Boulevard on a report that a white pitbull had a fawn in its mouth. The reporting party told police that the dog dropped the fawn when approached and the fawn ran off. They were also told the dog was chasing a cat at 4 a.m. as well, and frequently gets out and causes problems. Police went to the house belonging to the dog owner. The dog was inside and growled at the officers from inside the house. Police were unable to contact the owner. The dog is unregistered with the city, according to...
A $4.9 billion pumped-storage hydropower project has been given preliminary nods by regulators for a site 35 miles upstream from Grand Coulee Dam, near Creston. Similar to the proposed Banks Lake Pumped Storage Project being developed for the Grand Coulee area, the 2,650-Megawatt Halverson Canyon Pumped Storage project got a preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Developer Daybreak Power Inc. says the project "would connect to the nearby Bonneville Power...
A fire across SR-174 from the Lakeview Terrace trailer park was nipped in bud before it could spread through the dry terrain July 17. The fire scorched under half an acre, burning multiple older vehicles, including an old camp trailer, tires, and garbage, according to Grand Coulee Fire Chief Ryan Fish. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire started at about 1 p.m. when fire departments of Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, and Elmer City responded, as well as Bureau of Reclamation...
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...
Local popular target-shooting spots are technically illegal because of federal laws, but state agencies say they are unable to enforce federal laws. A Star article June 16 examined the legality of a popular shooting range at Osborn Bay where a wildfire took place last month. The fire didn’t start at the main shooting range, as “Wildfire brings scrutiny of illegal shooting range” had reported, but at a former shooting area located roughly a quarter to half a mile south of the main shooting range, according to Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne...
B Street’s closure has been extended as construction on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s fire station remains at a standstill. Grand Coulee’s city council passed a motion last month to allow Mayor Paul Townsend to sign a new agreement with the USBR for the continued closure of B Street near the construction site of the bureau’s fire station. Officials of the bureau attending the June 15 meeting via Zoom included Doug Anderson, chief engineer at the Grand Coulee Dam; Colby Clifford, the contracting officer for the fire station; and Misty Gates,...
Don't even think about lighting a firework, smoking or target shooting on public lands in these conditions. The Bureau of Land Management on June 29 announced fire restrictions in the BLM's Spokane District, a temporary ban that takes effect on July 1 in 21 counties including Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Douglas locally, as well as Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima. "The fire... Full story