News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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In a boost for wildlife, recreationists and public lands last month, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received from a conservation group the Big Bend Ranch, a 2,135-acre property featuring 1.5 miles of Columbia River frontage, for permanent inclusion with the Big Bend Wildlife Area. Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) conveyed the project it said conserves excellent habitat for one of Washington's most imperiled species - Columbian sharp-tailed grouse - while opening new...
Betty Rae Black, 99, of Elmer City, Washington, entered into rest with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on November 22, 2025. Betty Rae (Zorn) Black was born on November 21, 1926, in Greenwood, Louisiana, to Franklin Raymond Zorn and Alice Beatrice (Stafford) Zorn. At a young age, she traveled the country with her family as her father worked construction, including on the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. At just 15 years old, Betty was ready to settle in one place, and on May 6, 1942, she... Full story
Larry Hernandez asked for community support and got it as he presented his case to Coulee Dam's town council for an alteration of his lease for the Village Cinema. The council meeting room crowd was standing room only Nov. 12 and spilled out the door as the council wrapped up an earlier meeting and budget hearing, then opened up to hear comments on the city's decision to terminate the theater's lease in the city community building. Hernandez detailed a timeline of starts and stalls with working...
by Scott Hunter The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes) and Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) announced a landmark collaboration last week to “advance tribal energy sovereignty and resilience through the design and deployment of multiple microgrids across the reservation.” The Tribes’ 1.4 million acre reservation, which includes parts of two counties is served by five different electric utilities, and power outages are getting worse, said the Tribes’ Business Council chair, Jarred-Michael Erickso...
Anita Corinne Condon, born September 1, 1946 in Coulee Dam to Eugenia and Calvin “Jack” Condon, passed away October 21,2025. Anita grew up at the Colville agency where Jack raised registered quarter horses. Her best memories were of working with the horses with her dad and riding her beloved horses in the pastures and hills around the Agency. Anita was very active in 4-H - especially sewing, cooking and showing horses at fair. Anita graduated from Coulee Dam High School in 1964, where her activities included band and pep club. She attended WSU... Full story
Nespelem, WA) Inchelium Red Garlic Revitalization Coalition (IRGRC) hosted their second annual garlic planting event at the Colville Tribes Forestry Greenhouse site in Nespelem, WA. Community members from across the reservation and from neighboring communities joined in to learn about the Inchelium Red Garlic project. Terri Williams, representing Colville Reservation Conservation District, demonstrated how to prepare garden beds for planting and how to plant garlic. She also demonstrated some...
Dear Mayor Poch and City Clerk Bowden, Please share this email with Council Member Black, Council Member Schmidt, Council Member Adkins, Council Member Hall, and Council Member St. Jeor, since I can’t seem to locate their email addresses on the Town of Coulee Dam website. I understand the challenges our communities face, especially rural towns, when balancing pinched budgets during these difficult times. I have spent the last year participating in these discussions across the state, and I’ve seen how difficult these decisions can be and how...
Myra Phyllis Clark passed away suddenly early Sunday morning November 9, at her home in Coulee Dam, Wash. She was born to Christine Covington and Jack Clark June 11, 1947, the oldest of nine siblings, Pauline (born sleeping) Jacqueline Tynan, her sons Joe and Greg. John Christopher (deceased) his children John Jr, Brian, Sarah, & Ashley. Margaret Ann and her Children Dani and Ray. David Alexander his wife Hannah and children David Jr, Daphne, Benjamin,(deceased) and Olivia. Michael Edwin... Full story
(10/8/2025) WSU Colville Reservation Extension collaborated with Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT) Headstart program and CCT Diabetes program to celebrate National 4-H Week and Taste Washington Day. This group collaboratively hosted Story Walks to provide educational and fun hands-on activities for Nespelem & Inchelium Headstart students and families. A Story Walk combines reading with physical movement so that students can have fun and learn in an outdoor setting, The books used were Planting...
by Scott Hunter The Lake Roosevelt Raiders won their football game against the Chewelah Cougars 56-12 at Jenkins High School Friday in another journey into 8-man play. The team, and some opponents, has had to adjust all season to illness, injury or ineligibility, making it tough to plan on their regular 11-man game. "It has been a crazy season," Coach Geary Oliver said. "Over a third of our players are freshmen, and they have made significant progress since August. "Each game this year players...
by Scott Hunter Nespelem School District ceremonially broke ground on construction of their new CTE building Monday morning as the whole school looked on. Nespelem's high school closed in 1956 as the state consolidated schools, sending local students to high school in Coulee Dam. The district's board of directors has long expressed their current dissatisfaction with the arrangement, thinking some of their students were not thriving in the neighboring system. Board President Jolene Marchand said...
The city of Grand Coulee will be able to fix a lot of dilapidated sewer lines with funding from the state of Washington’s Public Works Board for $4 million, the board said in a press release Monday. The city’s sewer improvements project will replace or rehabilitate approximately 10,200 linear feet of deteriorating sewer mains and manholes, PWB said. Planning for the project has already been started while the city engineer has been working with city leaders on updating its wastewater treatment plant, a job that will cost more than $10 mil...
Soccer Raider soccer players won their match against the Oroville Hornets last night 4-1 for their third win in the last week. They beat Bridgeport Thursday at home 2-1, got skunked in Davenport 7-0 Saturday, and took out 1A Colville 3-0 Monday. Shae Crollard, Monk Marconi, and Kenzie Portch each scored a goal for LR against the Hornets Tuesday. At goal, Senior Cora Nicholson had four saves, as did Paisley Fury-Smith, a freshman. That win gives LR a 6-4 record for the season so far. They'll...
United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Lance Scott Michel, age 31, of Nespelem, to 216 months in federal prison after Michel pleaded guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country and Sexual Abuse in Indian Country, a US Attorney’s Office release said. Dimke also ordered that, following his sentence, Michel be placed on a lifetime term of supervised release. According to court documents, in early 2023, Michel began communicating with various minor females on the Colville Reservation over social media. Michel, then 29, provide...
The Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation have been planning on launching fast fiber-optic internet access, including for Elmer City and Coulee Dam. Elmer City’s town council at its last meeting didn’t have objections to a plan for the buildout, including adding some utility poles in town. The town took plans for review and will likely be ready to sign a franchise agreement with the tribes at the October council meeting. That likelihood is a turnaround from a few months ago, when council and staff took exception to a plan presented wit...
Gerold "Gary" Lee Carden born November 18, 1950 in Omak, Wa to Robert "Bob" Carden and Doreen Stanger Carden. Gary has 6 sisters and 1 brother, Laverne "Bobbi" Steele, Bobbie (Krist) Baldoz, Carol (Jerry-deceased) Vining, Linda (John-deceased) Wilhelm, Phyllis Carden, Sonia Stanger, and Chester Carden (deceased). He also had 2 sons John Carden (deceased) and Dylan Weed. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert and Doreen, his sister Laverne "Bobbi" Steele and brother Chester "Chet" Carden,... Full story
Over 700 firefighters are battling two blazes on the Colville Reservation that have burned more than 23,000 acres of forested land. The Rattlesnake Fire started Sept. 1 from lightning and had burned 19,367 acres as of early Wednesday morning in the southeast corner of the reservation. It's 33% contained. The Lynx Mountain Fire has burned 4,226 acres since its Sept. 2 start from and undetermined cause. It is 5% contained. There are 762 firefighters on the fires. Evacuation levels have been set...
After a relatively easy early fire season, September started with a rash of new fire starts amid high temperatures and thunderstorms, resulting in thick wildfire smoke socking us in for a time on the first day of school in Coulee Dam. The Grant County Health District issued a warning that the smoke was thick enough across much of the county as to be "unhealthy" and warrant limiting time outside. "Poor air quality conditions are expected to continue as wildfires in Washington and neighboring...
Rod Broadnax has goals for Lake Roosevelt Schools. He wants Lake Roosevelt students safe and learning, in a school that is recognized for its academic rigor, as well as its athletics programs, and is fiscally solid, while increasing student enrollment and parental engagement. That's a lot. And big changes have been made to address the challenges ahead. The Grand Coulee Dam School District superintendent took time to speak with the Rotary Club Thursday, the same day he was explaining new...
Margaret Anne (Mull) Stewart October 19th, 1935 - August 15th, 2025 Margaret "Maggie" Stewart was born in Rudd, Iowa. She was raised a farm kid, and as she told it, from the time she was a tiny girl loved nothing better than to be dad's helper as he did the farm chores. As a young woman, she chose to study nursing at a South Dakota college. There she met the love of her life, Howard "Doodle" Stewart. They were married right after their graduation (for which Maggie served as the class... Full story
Nespelem School District Tuesday awarded the job of constructing its new CTE building to Lakes General for $1.38 million. The project may look more like a shop than a typical school builading, and the budget currently allows for not much more than an outer shell and a few rooms, including a bathroom. Add-ons could include specialized rooms for special purposes to fit the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The district exceeded its $1 million budget for the CTE building project, a part of the district’s expansion plan that has result...
He was at work, and Randy Adolph's grandchildren were all asleep as fire began consuming their home last month. "Could have been worse if Tim didn't knock on the door," Adolph said Monday, referring to neighbor Tim Lynch who lives a couple blocks down Camas Street in Coulee Dam. About 10 a.m. that Monday, July 14, Lynch, retired, had been headed to the post office and intended to next drive to the Downriver Trail for a walk along the Columbia River. Then he saw the smoke. It was "thick, black...
Thunderstorms have kept firefighters busy in Okanogan County and the Colville Reservation, but local area firefighters only got in about an hour's work fighting one fire this week. That was Thursday when a fire was called in alongside SR-174 in a rocky area on the right across the highway from East Heights. Firefighters quickly knocked it down. But that same day, the Mount Tolman Fire Center saw the start of the Kinkaid Creek fire that developed into a "complex" of smaller fires. That one includ...
As salmon restoration ramps up on the Columbia River above Chief Joseph Dam, it is important to establish balances between those fish already in reservoirs behind dams and salmon being introduced. Completed in 1942, Grand Coulee Dam became the largest U.S. hydropower plant. It generates enough power to supply about 2 million households with electricity for one year. Water stored in Lake Roosevelt, which is 150 miles long and as deep as 375 feet, reduced downstream flooding. Grand Coulee and Chief Joseph dams blocked salmon from migrating...
The Inchelium Red Garlic Revitalization Coalition (IRGRC) hosted a garlic harvest event on Friday, as over 30 reservation residents gathered to learn how to harvest, dry and cure "Inchelium Red Garlic." Named after the community where it was "discovered," Inchelium Red is purportedly the oldest strain grown in North America. Little is known about its history. Garlic not being native to North America, Inchelium Red garlic signifies early exploration and trade networks, organizers of the event...
