News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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by Scott Hunter Electric City residents let the city council know in no uncertain terms that they wanted action. A property at 105 5th Street was perpetually in unacceptable condition, as they described it, and they wanted the city to do something about it. One man, who didn’t give his name, told the council April 8 that neighbors a couple doors down “have an abundance of trash that’s high as the ceiling, been there for last two and a half years, and … it’s starting to smell.” John Avey, who has lived next door to the property in question fo...
A police officer with plenty of local experience has been approved to take over as Grand Coulee’s chief of police. Matt Ponusky, who has worked for Coulee Dam’s police department for three years, will move up to the chief’s spot in Grand Coulee. He had also served as an officer at Grand Coulee for eight years before making a move to Coulee Dam. The Grand Coulee City Council voted to approve the hire Tuesday night by a unanimous vote. Ponusky, who was not present at the meeting, will likely be sworn in this week, City Clerk Lorna Pearce said....
The Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department was busy Saturday, starting at 12:30 a.m. when Reclamation Fire called for mutual aid for a reported fire at the John W. Keys III Pump-Generating Plant at the top of the dam. Crews assisted in shuttling water and with ventilation of the facility, after a trailer brought inside to use as an office caught fire. Then at 11:46 a.m. crews responded the Lakeview Terrace area for a utility pole power line problem....
Janet Christy will fill the Position 1 seat on the Grand Coulee City Council following the council's decision Tuesday night. A Roosevelt Drive resident, Christy said she retired from USBR a year-and-a-half ago after 10 years there, following a 27-year career in the U.S. Army, retiring as a master sergeant in 2015. Asked by Councilmember Tom Poplawski if she had experience with budgeting, she said she did in the army. "I don't know everything," Christy said. "I can learn."...
Parents of kids up to 10 years old can treat them to the Lions Club’s annual Easter Egg Hunt Saturday at the old middle school athletic field in Grand Coulee this Saturday, April 19. Don’t be late. The event starts at 11 a.m. The “hunt” usually ends in less than 10 minutes, even with separate starts for age categories, leaving time for visiting on the field afterward....
The city council in Grand Coulee voted to OK Axion Enterprises’ offer to supply body cameras for city police for a five-year agreement totaling $11,682.83. The deal approved Tuesday night includes storing the videos and handling of public records requests, City Clerk Lorna Pearce told the council, a point that swayed several, including her. Pearce said she had long been hesitant about body cameras for just that requirement, at which point police officer Hopper stated, “No, we need them.” The council voted to approve the purchase, altho...
Reel Recreation guys Ian Turner, left, and Brian Walters, who is netting a big fish, help young people try out angling from a dock at Coulee Playland during the organization's Fun Friday, the lead up to their Triple Fish Challenge weekend tournament. They rig up netted fishing areas, which are stocked with big trout donated by Pacific Seafood, the company that operates the aquaculture operation downstream on the Columbia River. Some 300 fish were donated to the event, including some big...
Protesters on Midway objecting to the Trump Administration's actions don't lack for subject matter for their signs. They walked for an hour on Saturday and will again this coming Saturday from noon to 1 along Grand Coulee's Midway Avenue as another large, nationwide demonstration is planned. - Scott Hunter photo...
Nearly 50 people walked along Grand Coulee's Midway Avenue Saturday with signs expressing frustration with the direction of the federal government, about twice the size of the group that has been making the gathering a weekly event for weeks. They were joining a national push to make an impression across the country as millions hit the streets in cities large and small carrying signs and conversing about a range of complaints, from President Donald Trump's rapid changes to the federal...
The term “public health” takes in a lot of territory, and even in relatively less populated Grant County it takes a lot to do the job of watching out for the public’s health. This is public health week, and Grant County Health District met with local media last week to encourage some coverage and enhance understanding of just what’s involved. GCHD has a staff of 38 people in several departments, all working to keep our air and water clean, ensure our food is safe, prevent disease, and promote healthier communities. “From ensuring food safety th...
Reel Recreation will again offer their Triple Fish Challenge on Banks Lake this week, starting with Fun Friday on April 11 from 12-7 p.m., featuring a Pacific Seafood "trout pond," an Eastern Sky climbing wall, a Ninja climb, face painting, gold panning, golf and more. activities, live music and food booths. Then the challenge part starts in earnest on Saturday and Sunday, with anglers of all ages trying to catch three species of fish each day for a total of six fish and a grand prize of...
Local cities and towns will help get the community cleaned up in the next couple weeks with the annual Spring Clean-up program. Local residents can take organic yard waste to the Delano Transfer Station free of charge on Tuesday through Friday, April 22-25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and on Saturday, May 3. No household waste is allowed on these days, just yard waste like grass, leaves and tree limbs and other woody waste, but no stumps. The chipper Loads must be covered for transport. ID is required to show you live in the area. The areawide...
Easter baskets stand ready at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Senior Center after volunteers put them together recently for the center's annual fund raiser. They are now on sale. - Gwen Hilson photo...
It only happens about every other year, but Community Shred Day is almost upon us. The local Rotary Club started organizing the event several years ago to bring in a paper shredding truck to get that job done right after tax-filing time means people have old records they no longer need but would like to shred, not just toss in the garbage. This year, the local Lions Club is joining in the effort, too. April 26 will be the day this year that people can head to North Dam Park by the Gerkhe Windmills to have their documents shredded, for free....
Grant County’s 2025 tax year statements on real, personal and manufactured homes, including those with delinquent taxes and assessments, were mailed March 28, county Treasurer Darryl Pheasant said in a statement. “We are also working on updated statements for those parcels that had changes that were processed after the original statements were created,” he added, explaining that new software had required making “some major changes to process tax payments. The combined statements of the past are no longer available so every parcel gets its own...
This story was updated at 10:24 a.m. EDT, April 8 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court Monday said the Trump administration could continue for now to use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to carry out rapid deportations of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members — but they must be given a chance to challenge their deportations in court. The 5-4 decision, which lifted a temporary restraining order by a District of Columbia federal judge, will allow the Trump administration to deport Venezuelans 14 and older who are suspected of Tren de Ara...
Three hospital leaders trekked to the other Washington last week to make the case at Congress for support of Coulee Medical Center. "During our meetings with Sen. Patty Murray, Sen. Maria Cantwell, and Rep. Dan Newhouse we discussed CMC's workforce housing needs, overdose prevention efforts and recent success in increasing breast cancer screening, as well as the significance of federal Medicaid funding to maintaining accessible healthcare services in our region," Chief Executive Office Kelly...
When Sam Peterson got the call, it was already too late. The National Park Service was offering to give him his job back, but he'd taken a job in Oregon and three days earlier signed a lease on an apartment. He needed to follow through on the commitment. "We have bills," Peterson said, "and a dog." Peterson, 26, had just started as a federal employee in June 2024 and was still in probationary status in February when the Trump administration started its Valentine's Day Massacre of federal...
Dozens of local students attend schools out of the Grand Coulee Dam School District, according to numbers compiled for the school board at their request. Director Alex Tufts had asked earlier this year that the district develop an exit interview as a matter of course to track reasons for students choosing to leave. The district has averaged 645 students across all grades this year, but is currently down by 22 students from the beginning of the school year. Director Rich Black asked at the March 24 meeting what reasons are for the migration. “So...
The Washington state House passed its budget just after midnight on Tuesday, setting the stage for negotiations with the Senate and the governor on a spending blueprint to address a looming multi-billion dollar shortfall. The House approved the two-year $77.8 billion operating budget on a 54-44 vote in which five Democrats joined all Republicans in opposition. The decision followed a roughly six-hour debate in which majority Democrats rejected more than two dozen Republican amendments to curb taxes and fees, boost special education funding,...
A woman walking along SR-155 was struck by a car Wednesday night and later died at a Spokane hospital. Michelle Boord, 55, had been walking north along the shoulder of the road but moved into the roadway at milepost 22, about a half mile south of Electric City, according to the Washington State Patrol. She was struck by a northbound GMC Sierra just before 8 p.m., driven by a 73-year-old Grand Coulee woman. Alcohol was not involved in the accident, a WSP press memo indicates, and no charges were filed. Boord, who was living with relatives...
April 5 & 6, 1916, civic leaders, conservationists, and several government officials provided testimony before Congress in favor of the establishment of the National Park Service. Congress was debating the management of the growing system of national parks, that, up to this point, were being protected by the U.S. Army. Appropriations were sought to create a bureau of national parks and resorts, under the “supervision of a competent commissioner, with a suitable force of superintendents, supervising engineers, landscape architects, i...
Students at other school districts will no longer be able to participate in Lake Roosevelt’s sports programs following a vote Monday night by the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors. The new policy takes effect in the next school year. Currently, and for many years, students whose own nearby schools have not offered a sport have been able to arrange to participate in practices and play in Raider sports. But recent changes have drawn attention to the policy. Athletic Director Casey Brewster told the board Monday that the d...
A sixth-grade teacher at Lake Roosevelt Elementary will leave to join her husband in Astoria, Oregon. The school board voted Monday to let her out of her contract to leave before the end of the school year. Ashley St. Aubin-Clark's husband, Sam Peterson, was a first-year National Park Service employee at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area when the Trump Administration started cutting federal jobs across government services, starting with employees in probationary status. St. Aubin-Clark...