News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A city council member in Grand Coulee says he’d rather not have to pass an ordinance that forces property owners to get their commercial sites up to standards, but he will push for it if no progress is made. Tom Poplawski said at the city’s last council meeting July 15 that he is aware of arguments for and against passing an ordinance with punitive measures designed to encourage owners of empty or unsightly buildings to clean up. “I agree with all of it, actually, but neither one has produced any change,” he said. “And so we’re still stuck...
Local entrepreneur Micah Seekins has announced his candidacy for mayor of Grand Coulee, seeking to fill a two-year unexpired term with a campaign centered on fiscal responsibility and the fundamentals of city governance. Seekins, who has operated a business in Grand Coulee for more than a decade, is making his first run for elected office. He has not previously held elected positions and did not submit information on educational background or community service, according to the Office of the Sec...
Two protesters hold a conversation on Midway Avenue Saturday while walking during a weekly protest against the Trump Administration's policies. The group will walk again Saturday at 11 a.m. during a nationwide event called for by 50501, an organization that started out hoping to get 50 protests going in 50 states on one day. Saturday's protests around the theme "Rage Against the Regime" are reportedly planned in about 300 cities, not including Grand Coulee. - Scott Hunter pho...
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...
Larry William Sanders, 85 years old, of Greenacres and Grand Coulee, WA, passed away peacefully on July 16, 2025, at home with family. He was a devoted husband to Beverly for 40 years and a loving father to his children, Troy Sanders and Trina (Sanders) Riley. Larry was born on May 9, 1940, to Bill and Ruth (Hubbard) Sanders in a house in Electric City and graduated from Coulee Dam High School. Under his senior picture it says, "Whoever blushes seems to be good." Throughout High School, he was... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 7/18 - 7/20 - An officer told a woman that a child custody situation, in which the father of the child didn’t show up for an exchange of custody, was a civil matter for the courts, not a police issue. A couple of days later the father told police that the mother didn’t meet to pick up their child and he was unable to contact her. He wanted the incident documented. 7/21 - A used drug needle was found at the lower ball field at North Dam Park. Police took the needle to be destroyed. - A woman reported being the victim of a t...
by Scott Hunter Local volunteers had at least 19 calls to emergencies last week, including four fires and 15 ambulance calls. After 18 of those, the next one came in at 11 a.m. Sunday to put out another fire: a campfire (already banned) at Jones Bay on Banks Lake. They put it out. That was after having left home almost 12 hours earlier to find a red glow near the airport in the middle of the night. The glow turned out to be on the other side Banks Lake up in Barker Canyon, to which Douglas...
Chantel Crowe thinks her knowledge of the workings of the city of Grand Coulee, along with her past experiences, would let her help the city to "move forward and upward" at the same time. Crowe has been the deputy city clerk since November of 2023. Even if she's not elected, she said in an interview, she has a goal of finding a way to help people who need it. "We have an elderly community that I would love to see supported even more - or a veteran community, a disabled community ... anybody who...
Another candidate is also running for the office of Grand Coulee mayor, but hadn’t yet returned a call or email before deadline. We’ll have a story on Micah Seekins next week....
Demonstrators take an extra walk on Grand Coulee's Midway Avenue Thursday on the fifth anniversary of the death of John Lewis, a civil rights era activist and non-violence advocate who was beaten by mobs 45 times in the 1960s as the country convulsed to end racial segregation. Two decades later, Lewis was elected to Congress. "My philosophy is very simple," Rep. Lewis once told an audience. "When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, say something! Do something! Get in...
Coulee Dam Police 7/7 - 7/16 - Reports were filed for different situations without further details about the situations including reports related to a family fight at Sunbanks Lake Resort; a traffic accident at Steamboat Rock State Park; disorderly conduct at a Jones Bay campground; threatening/intimidation on Central Drive; a structure fire on Camas Street; trespassing on Tilmus Street; assault at or near the grocery store in Electric City; a dangerous animal on Crest Drive; driving under the influence near River Drive and Crest Drive; and...
Okanogan County NOTICE OF BALLOTS IN MAIL Ballots for the August 5, 2025 Primary Election are in the mail. If you have not received your ballot by Friday, July 25, 2025, please contact the Auditors Office at (509) 422-7240. Remember your ballot return envelope must be signed. The Auditors Office, 149 3rd Ave N, Okanogan, is open Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM and on Election Day only from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM for the following services. Voter Registration Drop off voted ballots Obtain replacement ballots Disability Access Voting Units Drop b...
Fire took away a family's home Monday morning in Coulee Dam. Randy Adolph's home at 1004 Camas Street, where he lived with his two grandchildren and a great grandchild, went up in flames about 10 a.m. when, a neighbor the next street over said, a very loud boom was heard. Casey Brewster was behind Lake Roosevelt Schools just down the street, taking a photo of his daughter, he said. He got in his truck and drove to the house on fire. Brewster couldn't open the front door but went around to the...
Grand Coulee’s city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to direct the city government to write to others who might wish to be part of a new “fire authority” that could combine the efforts of local volunteer fire departments. The idea was the subject of a community meeting in November 2024, when the Regional Board of Mayors sponsored a community town hall meeting to talk about options for either an emergency medical services district or a broader regional fire protection authority, which could start out initially as an EMS provider, proba...
When they wrestled with how to allocate a pay boost not all covered by extra state money last month, school directors didn’t know the federal government had just announced it would not pay far more money Congress had already promised, money that would typically be paid the next day. That was June 30 as the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors learned the $136,000 the state would pay for a 2.5% cost-of-living increase next year wouldn’t cover the $679,000 of actual cost involved, leaving a $543,000 hole in the coming year’s distri...
Grand Coulee Police 6/29 - A woman. was taken to jail for assault following an argument with her boyfriend that involved her allegedly pushing and pulling him out of her home and him getting multiple scratches in the process. 7/1-7/7 - A trailer holding equipment for a chamber of commerce 4th of July event was stolen from behind the chamber building on Midway Avenue, towed away. Police spoke to a man. He admitted to taking the trailer, which ended up parked on a street behind JC Penny’s in Wenatchee and later towed to a safe location. Some i...
Larry Lee Hall 76, passed away on Saturday, June 28, 2025 at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center due to complications of a hip fracture, and unresolved blood issues. Larry was born on Friday August 13, 1948, in Richland, WA to Charles L. Hall, and Leta J. (Johnson) where they lived until they moved to Coulee Dam, Quincy, E. Wenatchee, and Elmer City, WA. He graduated in 1966 from Quincy High School, after which he joined the United States Army, graduating from Fort Lewis in 1968, and serving... Full story
Notice of ElectionOkanogan County, State of Washington Primary Election Tuesday, August 5, 2025 A Primary election will be held in the below mentioned districts for the purpose of submitting to the voters for their approval or rejection the following. City of Oroville, Proposition No. 1, Oroville EMS, Proposition No. 1, Tonasket EMS, Proposition No. 1, Public Hospital District No. 1, Proposition No. 1. The registration deadline for online registrations, mail-in registrations and transfers is July 28, 2025. Any qualified elector who is not... Full story
The biggest local festival of the year drew thousands to Grand Coulee Dam to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, live music and even the original laser show on the dam. What they couldn't see were the unusual challenges that started the week for Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce officials. With the festival looming on Friday, Krystal and Jillian Fillis, executive directors in training, knew they had a lot of organizational boxes to tick off by Thursday. But Monday morning they...
Firefighters kept at least two smaller blazes from turning into bigger ones this week as wildland fuels turned tinder dry. One blaze took off quickly about 11 p.m. July 5, right after a loud bang at the south edge of the town of Coulee Dam, setting the hillside near the Visitor Center ablaze. Several agencies responded quickly, including the Bureau of Reclamation whose land was burning near the Columbia River Inn. Coulee Dam Volunteer Fire Department requested mutual aid, bringing in Grand...
The Grand Coulee Star is a weekly community newspaper. It covers local news, community events, births, weddings, obituaries, police reports, and school happenings. It has an editorial page that regularly showcases conservative voices, including GOP Representative Dan Newhouse and business columnist Don C. Brunell, as well as letters from local citizens, and a political cartoon —a time-honored American tradition. Accusations that it is “liberal” are laughable. It’s a fantastic community resource that we should all be proud to support. It’s ne...
I had written earlier that the Grand Tetons in Wyoming was my favorite place. They are, as far as scenery goes. However, as far as my personal experiences go, my best place would be the Snake River from one end to where it empties into the Columbia River. My wife’s family had a 350-acre irrigated farm near Buhl, Idaho overlooking the Snake River canyon. At about 4 p.m. each day, hundreds of pheasants would fly up onto their farm area from the canyon below. You could stand on the rocky ledges and see the canyon below come alive with pheasant. W...
Coulee Dam Police 7/2 - Reports were filed without further details, including one related to trespassing on Miller Avenue and one for a verbal disturbance on 3rd Street in Electric City. - A man reported that after returning to his property on Coulee Boulevard after some time in Arizona he found his residence had been burglarized with someone entering through a rear window and taking multiple items including a coin collection, personal documents, marijuana, and more. The man said that his girlfriend’s fifth-wheel trailer had also been broken i...
by Scott Hunter Festival organizers getting everything ready for the chamber of commerce's big Festival of America below the dam Friday discovered a key asset had gone missing Monday morning - the beer tent. Apparently, a thief had backed up to the trailer holding the chamber's assortment of festival tents, tables and chairs, and temporary fencing, hitched it up, and drove off. The big tent has been used for several years at festivals where libations are served as a fund raiser. It was also...
The Grand Coulee Volunteer Firefighters would like to remind everyone to be careful during the upcoming July 4th holiday and to be careful all summer during outside activities. The weather has turned warm and very dry. We had a good spring with great grass growing weather. We have a lot of grass and other vegetation that has grown well. Now it is dried out and is ready to burn, especially on hot windy days. We hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy the holiday and the summer ahead of us. We just want to remind everyone to be careful with...