News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 974 - 998 of 1386
Grand Coulee Dam School District passed its four-year school levy with a whopping 65-percent approval from the four-county area, Tuesday’s results showed. It caused Karen Depew, who chairs the Citizens for Quality Education committee, to say, “Way to go.” Superintendent Dennis Carlson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. The total vote was 591 yes votes with 325 no votes. Voters approved a four-year $1.13 million replacement levy which will begin in 2016. Voters apparently appreciated the fact that in most cases their school taxes... Full story
To school officials here, and throughout the state, Initiative 1351, passed by voters in November, is just another financial unfunded nightmare. The initiative calls for smaller class sizes, an idea that normally would receive little argument. However, there is no provision for funding. The Legislature, now in session, is faced with the task of funding the number of additional teachers and aides required in smaller classroom sizes, plus classroom space. Locally, Superintendent Dennis Carlson... Full story
The dream of a community swimming pool and wellness center is due for a visible rendering, which architects started to get a feel for Tuesday morning in a field of weeds. In January, the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District awarded the job of helping the community see what could be to NAC Architecture of Spokane. NAC's Keith Comes and Ryan Palmquist met with district commissioners Bob Valen and Phil Hansen Tuesday. They toured two possible sites for a "wellness center" - the old Grand... Full story
Local school district patrons have only six days remaining to mail in their replacement levy ballots. The ballots must be postmarked by Feb. 10, to be counted. The Grand Coulee Dam School District is asking voters to approve a four-year, $1.13 million maintenance and operation levy, which would result in a reduction in taxes to most property owners. This levy is a replacement levy of a four-year levy that ends this year. It asks voters to pay $3.95 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, compared to the current rate of $4.54 per thousand,... Full story
“I don’t have kids in school,” she said, “why should I have to pay taxes for schools?” Someone paid when you were a kid in need of an education, I said. “But I didn’t live here then,” she said. Wherever you were in this country, I said, somebody paid for your education. What goes around, comes around. And if it ever stops, we’re all done. Think about that in relation to the school levy currently sought by the Grand Coulee Dam School District. It’s fundamental to our nation that a good school system must be in place to educate our youth,... Full story
Ethel Y. "Vonnie" George 71, peacefully made the journey from this life the morning of Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015, from her home in Elmer City, Wash., following complications from her courageous battle with lung disease. Born June 23, 1943, in Riverside, Calif., Vonnie moved with her parents to Central Washington during her youth where her father worked on the construction of Grand Coulee Dam. After attending Coulee Dam High School, she met and married Michael M. Paul and lived a life characterized... Full story
At a Lake Roosevelt High School basketball game last Thursday, Rodney Bise shows his support for the upcoming school levy for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. The levy ballots must be in by Feb. 10 with more than half voting yes in order for the district to keep its local tax support and a more than half-million dollar bonus from the state for passing it. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District is loaning itself the money to truly own Center Elementary School and the surrounding property. The board voted last Wednesday to move $155,000 from the district’s general fund to its capital fund to purchase the property. Then later in the meeting the board authorized the superintendent to sign the necessary documents. The district will actually purchase a “reverter clause” in the existing title, and when this is completed will be the owner of the Center School building and surrounding property. The distric... Full story
Town seeking EMT trainees The town of Coulee Dam is redeveloping and growing its ambulance and emergency medical technician program and looking for professional and responsible volunteer staff. “We need about three to five (or more) EMTs ready for training certification,” Mayor Greg Wilder said. “If you are interested, send us a request.” He said the EMT and First Responders examination “may just be your ticket to a Washington (national) certification. We will provide the training, wages/benefits,” with conditions, he said. “With your service,... Full story
Local school district patrons this year have been given a huge, remarkable gift the benefits of which we are still discovering. And we will still have the privilege of maintaining it for a long time to come. Renewing the tax levy that helps do that is a must. Seeking a lower rate than the last four-year levy, school district leaders demonstrate admirable restraint and sensitivity to taxpayers. The slight increase in the total amount the district will take in comes from increased value across the district. Some property owners will likely pay... Full story
School districts in the state of Washington continue to rely on a partnership for funding between state and local resources. Local communities through a levy provide essential resources to augment the basic state school support. Our community has responsibly renewed the local commitment to assure that Grand Coulee Dam Schools are able to depend on stable local funding to enhance the basic state support. Our school board has established a pattern of submitting four-year levies with strong community support. The benefit to the community is... Full story
The reason I accepted the position of chair for the Levy Committee is because I feel that supporting strong schools means … Our kids benefit directly because: • The money stays in the community. • This levy is replacing the existing one, and there isn’t a hike in our rate — it is actually lower. • The state will give our school district over $535,000 when we pass this levy. Our school was completely paid for with state monies. This is our opportunity to maintain and keep it operational so our kids can have a safe, healthy and encouraging... Full story
COULEE DAM—The Grand Coulee Dam School District board will now begin its meetings at 5:30 p.m., its members voted Monday night. The board now meets in the Lake Roosevelt High School library. • The Grand Coulee Methodist Church women donated $100 to the school district to purchase snacks to be used in the school’s health rooms to aid diabetic students. The school board accepted the gift. • Student enrollment for district schools stood at 707 for the month of January. Last year the January count was 667, an increase this year of 40 student... Full story
Legal Notice Town of Coulee Dam Parks and Natural Resources Board Meeting To the Citizens of the Town of Coulee Dam, notice is hereby given that the Parks and Natural Resources Board of the Town of Coulee Dam will hold a regular meeting at Town Hall on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 10:00am. (Publish Jan. 28, 2015) SUMMARY OF ORDINANCES PASSED OF THE CITY OF ELECTRIC CITY, WA On the 13th day of January, 2015 the City Council of Electric City passed the following ordinances. A summary of the content of said ordinances, consisting of the title,... Full story
The Lake Roosevelt High School gym should be ready for basketball again this week, an official from Walker Construction assured the school board last Wednesday evening. Jim Crowley stated that the gym roof is sealed and that the final steel sheeting should be on site in about three weeks. Crowley said final cleaning of the interior of the gym would be completed by the end of last week. High school basketball games and wrestling tournaments were forced to move to the old Grand Coulee Dam Middle... Full story
The school district maintenance and operations replacement levy, on which voters will cast ballots Feb. 10, could actually cost taxpayers less than they are now paying. The Grand Coulee Dam School District is seeking a replacement levy for four years, 2016-2019, asking for $1.13 million each year costing $3.95 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, compared to $4.54 per thousand now being paid with the current levy. A person with a $100,000 house would pay $395 in school levy taxes in the new levy compared to the $454 they are now paying,... Full story
Park district gets compliments from auditor The park district that operates North Dam Park and Event Center passed a state audit, according to Philip Mendoza, of the State Auditor’s Office, who shared the results with the district in a preliminary note. “Overall, the District did an amazing job with their reporting to our office and ensuring that controls are in place for the safeguarding of assets and complying with applicable state laws,” Mendoza wrote Jan. 16 to Phil Hansen, secretary and treasurer of the Coulee Area Park and Recre... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board voted to donate playground equipment at Center School to Electric City and will take a look at giving two portable buildings at the high school to a Carlton Complex Fire group at its next meeting. The district had offered up the playground equipment to other agencies, as required by law, with no takers, and voted to donate the equipment to the city of Electric City, to be used in a proposed park. Some of the playground equipment at Center School has been relocated to the new school site, and the... Full story
IN THE TRIBAL COURT OF THE CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE COLVILLE RESERVATION Colville Tribal Credit Corporation, ) Case No.: CV-CD-2014-37202 a lending institution wholly-owned by ) the Confederated Tribes of the Colville ) Indian Reservation ) )CHIEF OF POLICE ) PUBLIC NOTICE ) OF SALE OF Plaintiff, ) REAL PROPERTY vs. ) Shelley Dick, a single individual, ) ) ) Defendant ) The Colville Tribal Court has directed the undersigned Chief of Police, Colville Tribe, to sell the property described below to satisfy a judgment in the above-entitled... Full story
Below we present several well-thought-out nominations for Volunteer of the Year for 2014. Karen Depew for Volunteer of the Year I would like to Nominate Karen Depew as Volunteer of the Year. I know I only know a very small part of Karen Depew’s volunteer activities, but hope others will fill in the blanks. This past year, Karen has been one of the Coulee Pioneer Museum’s most active volunteers, and, along with Constance Wilson, has organized several displays at the museum, not only bringing the ideas to the museum but rounding up the thi... Full story
A committee to help the Grand Coulee Dam School District pass its Feb. 10 special maintenance and operation levy will meet at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, at the new school secondary library on the second floor, Chair Karen Depew said this week. “We need volunteers to help,” Depew stated. Depew said that she encourages local citizens to turn out and assist the district in promoting the levy. The district is asking voters to approve a four-year levy of $1.13 million annually. The school board accepted the recommendations of a special levy exp... Full story
Jan. 8 • Greg Wilder, the new mayor of Coulee Dam, asked the Douglas County Sheriff to investigate the possible theft of public property and destruction of public records, that of a missing computer used by the former mayor, and the computer’s hard drive. Jan. 15 • A majority of hospital district commissioners voted to immediately hire new legal counsel. The move came as commissioners worked on a turnaround of the administration. Jan. 22 • After receiving extensive burns last Nov. 18 from a fire started by the switch gear for Pump Generat... Full story
Big Bend Community College is offering classes to meet three education goals during winter quarter. Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes are for students desiring to brush up on basic skills prior to enrolling in college or for personal enrichment. GED prep classes are for students wanting to prepare for the 2014 Series GED exams. Traditional and online instruction is available for students who are at least 16 years old and have permission from the local school district to participate. HS21+ competency-based high school diploma classes are for... Full story
NOTICE OF PUBLIC WORKSHOP NOTICE IS HEREBY that the City of Electric City Planning Commission will hold a public workshop at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, January 6, 2015 at the City Hall located at 10 Western Avenue. The purpose of the workshop is to review and discuss proposed amendments to the Zoning Code, Title 18 of the Electric City Municipal Code. The amendments to the zoning code have been developed by the Commission and staff to address: modifying definitions and increasing height and size regulations in 18.40.020 for accessory structures in... Full story
Star takes a long weekend The Star office will be closed for Christmas Dec. 25 and 26. News items and advertisements may be left in the dropbox outside the front office door along with contact information, or emailed to star@grandcoulee.com. The next issue will be published Dec. 30, a day early to avoid publishing on the New Year’s Day holiday. City hall closed, too Grand Coulee’s city hall will be closed Friday, Dec. 26, so staff can be with their families during the holiday. City hall will open for business Monday, Dec. 29. Ridge Riders elect... Full story
