News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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It was storm story time in the coulee area Sunday night as the region was hit by a severe wind, thunder and lightning storm. Power was out for some, trees were down, traffic in some areas was stalled or rerouted, and tree limbs and debris were everywhere. The wind tore shingles from roofs, with the most serious being the Coulee Dam Casino, where the wind curled the metal part of the roof like a sardine can, covering the casino’s rooftop sign. Traffic on SR 155 near Pole Park was stopped b...
Ten Years Ago A woodpecker stuck its beak where it didn’t belong yesterday and set off a fire that brought several fire departments to put down the blaze. A Grand Coulee Dam area party that’s for the birds could be coming this fall to celebrate the publication of a birding map that covers north central Washington. Electric City council told Sunrise Disposal that they would allow garbage carts on a volunteer basis, but wanted some changes to the contract. Clerk Lori Hilton said the contract should allow the town to charge the user their pre...
Grand Coulee Police 8/19 - Three youngsters flagged down a police officer in the Safeway parking lot to report that their bicycles had been taken. The three said they were in Safeway about 25 minutes and when they came out their bikes were gone. - Police got a call to check on a National Park Service employee who was out with a subject in Osborne Bay. Police contacted the NPS employee and everything was fine. - Officials at the USBR’s Visitor Center asked for assistance in regard to a car blocking the entrance to their parking lot. The officer...
Triathlon volunteers to meet A meeting of volunteers for the Grand Columbian Triathlon, scheduled for Sept. 21, has been set for Wednesday, Aug. 14, at the LaPresa Restaurant in Grand Coulee at 6:30 p.m. Dana Barkdull, of TriFreaks, the sponsoring firm, stated that it takes a lot of volunteers to put on the triathlon and asked everyone who would like to participate to attend the meeting. Group on bikes at meet and greet The Coulee Dam Community Church will host a group of bicyclists next week on a Rhode Island-to-Seattle trek to raise money... Full story
Meeting cancelled The town of Coulee Dam cancelled its regular meeting of Wednesday, July 24, because town officials stated that there wasn’t any business to transact. The council’s next scheduled meeting is Aug. 14, at 6 p.m. Scam warning Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones is warning the public to be on guard for a person calling and seeking donations for the sheriff’s office. It’s not real – it’s a scam. “The Grant County Sheriff’s Office does not phone people asking for donations,” said Jones. “We also don’t solicit donations over email... Full story
Dan Foster, the new superintendent of the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, is learning how to do more with less. And it may be only an omen of things to come. He told chamber of commerce members last Thursday that he is operating with 6 percent fewer resources than what were available the year before, and if the sequester problem at the national level isn’t solved, the next year it could climb to 12-13 percent. Foster said adjustments this season have included such things as mowing l... Full story
Veronica Lou Tatshama went to meet her Creator Friday, July 12, 2013, at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. Veronica was known by family as Babe; friends as Ronnie and co-workers as Veronica. She was the oldest of her brothers and sisters; daughter of Richard and Sophie (Bluff) Stensgar. Born August 23, 1958, she grew up in the Westfork area of the Colville Indian Reservation, in the beautiful San Poil Valley. Early education was St. Mary’s Mission near Omak, in Republic early high s... Full story
Chamber to Meet The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will meet this Thursday July 18 at noon at Sunbanks. Dan Foster, new superintendent of the National Park Service will be the guest speaker and will present his envision for the local park system. Gun Club Organizational Meeting A meeting will be held Saturday, July 20, at 6 p.m., to organize a gun club in the Grand Coulee Dam area. The meeting will be held at the Eagles Lodge, 122 B. Street, Grand Coulee. Everyone is welcome. This is a chance to be a founding member. Any questions... Full story
Grand Coulee 6/30 - An Electric City man told police that his vehicle had been damaged while at Safeway sometime during the past month. He was asked to bring the vehicle to the police station so an officer could take pictures of the damage. He told the officer he couldn’t drive the vehicle to the police station because the license had expired. Police went to his residence to take the pictures. 7/1 - USBR Plant Protection called police to the top of the dam where a van was blocking the entrance. The driver was told to move on and said he was p... Full story
Star office to close for holiday The Star newspaper will be closed Thursday and Friday, July 4- 5, in observance of the Independence Day holiday. The office will be open at 9 a.m. Monday, July 8, for normal business. The deadline for classified and display advertising is 5 p.m. on Monday. Primary election coming soon This year’s Primary is just a few weeks away. In fact, the Primary will end on Aug. 6. If you haven’t registered to vote and want to take part in this year’s Primary, you need to act soon. Monday, July 8, is the deadline for online... Full story
The new Keller ferry, The Sanpoil, is out of its protective cocoon and is in the final stages of getting ready for its launch. Workers at the Crescent Bay assembly site said launch could be within two weeks. The National Park Service issued a press release saying the parking area at the boat launch would be closed from 5 p.m. July 9 through July 10 for the planned launch. Boaters can launch boats at Spring Canyon during that time. The ferry has been under construction since its arrival, in... Full story
Ten Years Ago Armed with only garden hoses, several Coulee Dam residents helped prevent a fire from destroying two Coulee Dam homes last Friday. Coulee Dam Mayor Quincy Snow said strong winds knocked a poplar tree over on Yucca Street. That caused a short in the line at the pole behind Dennis King’s home at 702 Tulip Street and started the fire. Village Cinema - Movie of the week: Bruce Almighty. Starting next year, when a student puts money into a vending machine to buy a candy bar, someone will keep a closer eye on how it’s counted. That’s on... Full story
Correction In the May 29 Coulee Recollections, we unknowingly repeated an error originally made 10 years ago. The class speaker for the class of 1953 at Coulee Dam High School was Josef Gray, but his first name had been incorrectly written in the column 10 years ago as Josie. Thanks to class Salutatorian Donna Smith Cunning, who caught the error and notes that he was known all through high school as Joe Gray, and that he eventually became president of SeaFirst Bank. Ten Years Ago The saying “Good things come to those who wait,” could apply to... Full story
Proctor retiring Longtime teacher and coach Gordon Proctor will be honored tonight, beginning at 5:30, for his 35 years with the Grand Coulee Dam School District. Proctor has been at Lake Roosevelt High School since 1978, and retires at the end of the school year. The reception will be at the Ridge Riders Rodeo Grounds. The public is welcome. Rodent reduction The Bureau of Reclamation had Banks Lake Park and the top of North Dam closed off Tuesday morning until 11 a.m. for marmot control. Council cancelled The Coulee Dam council meeting for Wed... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 5/12 - Police went to Coulee Medical Center where a man who had been brought there by Tribal Police on a drug-related issue refused help and signed himself out of the hospital. The man lingered in the waiting area and refused to leave until the officer told him that since he had signed himself out he was trespassing. He left. - A man told police that someone had attempted to enter his pickup by prying the door. He said a similar issue occurred earlier in the month. - A man was stopped on Midway Avenue for having a defective... Full story
A “stakeholder” group met Tuesday to try to put the finishing touches on the script for the all- new laser light show. The schedule for the inaugural show now has slipped to mid-summer, Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said Monday. She stated that most of the programming for the laser portion of the show can’t be done until the final script is settled. Originally it had been hoped that the showing of the new laser show could start during the Memorial Day holiday at the end of May. And area promoters had hoped that... Full story
In this community, whose economy is based overwhelmingly on a federal payroll and outsourced contracts, not a lot is yet certain about how the latest fiscal political drama emanating from the other Washington will play out. “Sequestration” became the law of the land on March 1. An act passed by Congress in 2011 was designed to give time for Democrats and Republicans to agree on a path toward reducing the nation’s deficit spending. It imposes across-the-board budget cuts on everybody’s favorite federal programs. At the time, it was assumed... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 2/19 - An officer checked on a reported traffic hazard near milepost 24 in Electric City and found a trailer disconnected from its tractor and blocking the roadway. After the trailer was connected the roadway was opened up for traffic. - Police were asked to stand by at a report of domestic violence on W. Cardinal Road in Delano until Grant County deputies arrived. - Police were advised that a vehicle was parked across from a house on Partello Street with its lights shining on the house and with music being played loudly on... Full story
Charged with finding the bones of a mouse skeleton, students from Center Elementary and Almira School examine owl pellets through microscopes at St. Henry’s Catholic Church’s hall Friday, taking part in the Balde Eagle Festival. More than 200 students from six schools attended the two-day educational event held at the church, the Vets Hall in Electric City, and the Ridge Riders’ clubhouse, coordinated by National Park Service Education Specialist Janice Elvidge. She said there is no way the event could happen without the generosity of local... Full story
Ten Years Ago The bald eagle became the focus of hundreds of tourists last weekend as they flocked to the Grand Coulee Dam area to look at the national bird during the “Balde” Eagle Festival. “We doubled what we had last year,” said Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce Pres. Tim Alling. The festival was “very much a success in that manner.” Several indicators of tourism show that people returned to the area last year after a very bad 2001 tourism season, but they are spending less than in 2000. Figures from the state Dept. of Revenue ind... Full story
A local group of stakeholders will get the first look at the text for the all new laser light show within the next couple of weeks. Participants include the Colville Confederated Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Coulee Area Chamber of Commerce, the National Park Service, a representative from each town and someone from the irrigation district, as well as others. The inaugural showing of the new laser light show is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, but Bureau of Reclamation officials said it might not make that date. The old laser light... Full story
Ten Years Ago Front page photo titled “What’s Up Dock?” caption says: National Park Service employees rescue the swamped dock at Crescent Bay boat launch early Monday morning after Lake Roosevelt rose over the weekend. An Electric City council member questions the fairness of a draft agreement for the sharing of water between Grand Coulee and Electric City. Council member Bob Rupe said the contract contained, “an overabundance of language that needs clarification in some cases.” He said some of the language is too broad and other parts nee... Full story
The National Park Service is again seeking entreprenuers interested in running the Keller Ferry and Seven Bays marina operations. The NPS issued two prospectuses Oct. 31 on two levels for both properties. Those concessions have been operating on annual renewals for the past few years. The two levels of operation are: 1) Full service marina operation identified as “Full Service Draft Contract” includes houseboat and other boat rentals, moorage, retail/grocery, marine fuel and oil sales, pump-out service and related services. The Full Ser... Full story
The new Keller Ferry “Sanpoil” will be christened July 19, 2013, an official from Foss Maritime Company said Monday. However, there’s a whole lot of work that has to be completed before then. Some of that work is occurring this week near the National Park Service boat launch at Crescent Bay, where a 145-foot by 45-foot concrete slab will be poured, on which Foss workers will assemble the new ferry, which will be trucked in to the area in parts. Access to the boat launch will not be affected by the construction, said National Park Servi... Full story
Construction is starting today on new concrete pad and underground electrical installation at the Crescent Bay boat launch on Lake Roosevelt. The 145-foot by 84-foot pad will serve as a site for the later assembly of a new ferry boat for the Keller Ferry. The boat, currently being built in three pieces by Foss Maritime of Oregon, will be delivered for final assembly to the Crescent Bay site operated by the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. National Park Service spokesman John Edwards said the schedule for that assembly has changed. The...