News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Beaches, like playgrounds, would be much safer without children. If children would not attend playground activities or beaches, no children would ever be hurt by them. Is that the kind of logic we’re dealing with here as the National Park Service seeks to “improve visitor on-water safety by removing potential hazards such as the swim docks”? Because the other course of action to improve safety at Spring Canyon would be to add staff, bring back lifeguards, upgrade (not tear out) playground equipment and, in more general terms, actually serve...
Camping is still closed in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, including at Spring Canyon, and boat launch fees can only be paid by credit card now. The National Park Service said Monday that the closure of campgrounds is continuing until further notice to help quell the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Four of the five counties that border the lake, Lincoln, Stevens, Ferry, and Grant are in Phase 2 of Washington state's Safe Start recovery plan, with Okanogan still being in Phase 1.... Full story
With time running out, people with ideas about plans emerging for Spring Canyon, the popular beach and park on Lake Roosevelt just east of Grand Coulee, should make them known to the National Park Service. You have until the end of the day on May 30 to comment on potential changes at Spring Canyon, including the removal of the swim dock, removal of the concession building, and more. The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Draft Visitor Use Site Management Plan and Environmental Assessment is available to view online and available for...
Spring Canyon closed for paving work Spring Canyon will be closed from May 11-21 for microsurfacing in a paving project begun in July of 2019 in which locations within the National Park Service’s Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area are being resurfaced. Music festival postponed The Sunbanks Festival that was to have taken place this weekend has been postponed until Oct. 1-4, the resort announced on its website this week. It lists some 17 blues bands lined up for the event, now put off until fall, when Sunbanks had been planning a d...
Grand Coulee Police 5/4 - A former Safeway employee got into an argument with a current Safeway employee, who allegedly pushed the former employee. The store asked police to inform the former employee that he was banned from the store for one year. 5/5 - A woman left her phone on the counter at Coulee Gas, then a man came in, allegedly pretended the phone was his and took it. Reviewing security footage, an officer recognized and contacted the man about the phone. The man retrieved the phone and gave it to the officer. He faces theft charges...
Fishing has resumed in most of the state following Gov. Jay Inslee's adjustment to his Stay Home – Stay Healthy orders. Fishing has not opened up all the way on the Colville Indian Reservation, however, as the Colville Tribes is keeping it closed to non-members until May 29. The state opened boat launches on Banks Lake Tuesday, and anglers were on the water in the early morning. On Lake Roosevelt, within Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, boat launches are open as water levels allow, t... Full story
Boaters must “self certify” for Lake Roosevelt To prevent the introduction of aquatic invasive species, the National Park Service (NPS) at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area will require that all boaters complete an aquatic invasive species (AIS) quagga/zebra mussel-free self-certification form beginning May 1. It’s the next step of an AIS prevention program introduced in early 2018. The self-certification forms are available through a park website and at each boat launch. If you only boat within Washington state, you will only need to co...
Do you have some thoughts on how to improve Spring Canyon? Would removing the swim dock be a good or bad idea, in your opinion? During the month of May, people can comment on Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area sites, including Spring Canyon, a part of the National Park Service, which sees a need to address changing visitor interests. “Your input is important and will help shape potential management strategies and improvements at these sites at Lake Roosevelt,” the NPS said in an April 27 press release. “No decisions have been made yet.... Full story
Local state parks areas such as Steamboat Rock, Osborne Bay, and Northrup Canyon are closed, while Spring Canyon remains open but without services. Steamboat Rock, Northrup Point boat launch, and Northrup Canyon are all closed to the public until at least April 30. Steamboat Rock State Park Park Ranger Jared Liening told The Star on Tuesday that the spots are closed to discourage the spread of the coronavirus. Liening said people have still been using Northrup Canyon despite a sign on the kiosk... Full story
OLYMPIA – March 9, 2020 – Washington State Parks invites visitors to help celebrate the agency’s 107th birthday on Thursday, March 19, by enjoying a state park for free that day. March 19 is the third of 12 State Parks free days in 2020, when visitors are not required to display the Discover Pass for day-use visits to a park. The free days are in keeping with legislation that created the Discover Pass, which costs $30 for an annual pass or $10 for a one-day pass and is required for vehicle access to state recreation lands managed by Washington...
Chamber to Meet Chamber will meet this Thursday, March 5 at the Pepper Jack's Bar & Grillet, Grand Coulee. The meeting will start at noon. Guest speaker Cassandra Haggeman, of the National Park Service, will address a potential threat from quagga mussels, a destructive invasive species of shellfish that authorities are hoping to keep out of Lake Roosevelt. American Legion Post 157 to Meet The next meeting for American Legion Post 157 will be Tuesday, March 10, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Vets’ Center in Electric City. Food Bank open F...
Craig Moran held up a 30-year-old hawk to a room full of young students at the Vets Hall in Electric City during a two-day event to educate them about birds of prey. Moran, of RaptorLife, a company that teaches people about the raptor category of birds, was showing them August, a 30-year-old ferruginous hawk, that was taken from a nest in Wyoming in 1990. Moran spoke to a mixture of fourth- through eighth-grade students from Lake Roosevelt Schools, and from schools in Wilbur, Creston,...
Coulee Dam Police 2/10 - A student was arrested for assault after she fought with another student in the hallway at Lake Roosevelt, reportedly over the other student talking about her family over social media. 2/11 - Five post office boxes were pried into at the Coulee Dam post office, three of which were rented out. It is unknown if any mail was taken. - A student was arrested for assault and taken to juvenile hall after police reviewed surveillance footage showing the student hitting another in the lunchroom. 2/12 - A truck pulling a trailer...
Fourth-graders from Lake Roosevelt Elementary, as well as students from other area schools, will get to learn about our feathered friends, the birds, on Feb. 19 and 20. Bird Fest, which is put on by the National Park Service, will include presentations for the students at three locations in the area. Those presentations include learning about the raptor family of birds from the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center’s HOOT Program, hosted at the Ridge Riders rodeo grounds where students will learn about raptors’ nocturnal habits and their vis...
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission announces its annual recruitment for hundreds of seasonal park aides for the 2020 summer season. Each summer, State Parks employs 400 park aides and 45 senior park aides to work the busy season, which runs from April through September. People of all ages from diverse backgrounds work as park aides. They work in parks all over the state and in varying types of terrain and climate, depending on location. Park aides register campers, maintain trails, clean campgrounds and comfort stations and...
If you'd like some active fun on New Year's Day, here are a couple local options: Pretend you're a polar bear Meet at Spring Canyon at noon for a polar bear plunge into Lake Roosevelt or join a few crazy kayakers braving the cold. They're both happening at noon. Spring Canyon, the National Park Service's closest campground in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area to Grand Coulee, isn't open with full service now, so plan on taking any trash with you when you leave. And be sure to bring a t...
OLYMPIA – Dec. 9, 2019 – The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will offer two free days in January, when visitors to state parks will not need a Discover Pass for day-use visits. The first free day is Wednesday, Jan. 1, which gives visitors the opportunity to take part in a First Day Hike, a nationwide initiative that aims to get people outdoors on New Year’s Day. This year, more than 40 hikes are planned at dozens of state parks all over Washington. More details are in a three-part series on the State Parks’ blog, Adventu...
Danny and Linda Zlateff of Grand Coulee, will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary November 22, 2019. The high school sweethearts were married at the Coulee Dam Community Church on November 22, 1969. They lived in the Grand Coulee Dam Area most of their lives. Danny worked for the National Park Service and Coulee Medical Center and Linda was a hairdresser and worked for the Coulee Dam TV Association. The couple has two sons Craig and Scott, and two grandchildren.... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 11/2 - A man on a bicycle ignored signs saying the top of the Grand Coulee Dam was closed. A guard said the bicyclist went around concrete barriers and the guard house before being stopped by the guard. The man said he thought the signs meant only the road across the dam was closed. He was released after an ID check. 11/4 - A woman on Burdin Boulevard requested that police check on the welfare of a neighbor whose car was there, but she was not. An officer found everything in good order at the neighbors’ house. 11/6 - A daugh...
State, federal, and tribal governments will come together next week on Lake Roosevelt for the first on-the-ground exercise in the Columbia River basin to prepare for an infestation of non-native mussels that cause millions in damage in Eastern waters and are now expected to make their way here. Invasive quagga and zebra mussels are small, non-native, freshwater mollusks that have caused significant environmental and economic harm in the United States. First arriving in the Great Lakes in the...
Local men Tim Brooks and Faran Sohappy both participated in the recording of a song nominated for both the Indian Summer Music Awards and the Native American Music Awards. "Grand Coulee resident Faran Sohappy worked as an engineer and Coulee Dam resident Tim Brooks played the flute on a song called Nature Walk, written by singer/songwriters Joan Hammel and Rebecca Slone Rivera," a Sept. 21 press release from Hammel's company Paxton Productions states. Hammel and Slone Rivera are based in...
Wouldn’t it be nice if a kid could take swim lessons in the Coulee area? Swimming and boating are a big part of our recreatio,n after all. Local woman Lonna Bussert is looking into the logistics of the effort after parents in the area told her they were taking their kids to Wilbur for swim lessons, which made her realize the need for lessons here. The Coulee Area Park and Recreation District is interested in, and looking into, sponsoring the program, according to Commissioner Kevin Portch. Bussert, who also serves on the Electric City Council,...
Spring Canyon and Keller Ferry are two National Park Service sites listed Tuesday for possible closure next week during a project to redo or upgrade all asphalt surfaces in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. The project is part of a national paving maintenance effort led by the Federal Highway Administration. Last spring, the NPS announced it would stop taking reservations for the park because, beginning July, contractors would be resurfacing and restriping all National Park Service-managed asphalt surfaces within the boundaries of...
OLYMPIA – Aug. 5, 2019 – In recognition of the National Park System’s 103rd birthday, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission is offering free entrance to state parks on Sunday, Aug. 25. Day-use visitors will not need a Discover Pass to visit state parks by vehicle. State Parks free days are in keeping with 2011 legislation that created the Discover Pass, which costs $30 annually or $10 for a one-day visit. The pass is required for vehicle access to state recreation lands managed by Washington State Parks, the Washington Depar...
Grand Coulee Police 6/28 - A man reportedly punched out the window of his girlfriend’s PT Cruiser during an argument in which she said she was breaking up with him because she wants him to stop smoking meth. The man was wanted on a felony warrant out of Seattle. About two blocks away, an officer contacted the man along SR-174. The man didn’t cooperate with police who told him he was under arrest, and he fled up a steep hill along the highway. Officers were unable to reach him. Officers from Grant County, the National Parks Service, as well as...