News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Update 6-17-26 4:10 pm The Kartar and Omak Road Fires have merged and now total about 6500 acres burned. The Level 3 evacuation is still in place. Roads are still closed. Firefighters were prepping around structures and holding fire along control lines, according to an update from Mount Tolman Fire Center. The fire currently has 40 personnel fighting it. Air support currently includes an air tactical plane, a DC-10 Type 1 Very Large Tanker, A DC-9 Type 1 LAT, and a Type 2 Airtanker. A Type 3... Full story
Several wildland fires were burning in the region last night as "Red Flag" conditions predicted by the National Weather Service proved accurate. Around 8 p.m. fires along the Columbia River Road and Omak Lake Road were spreading in the windy and low-relative-humidity conditions that prompted an "immediate evacuation" order for a large area and closed roads. The Kartar Fire was estimated to have burned 1,700 acres before 9:30 p.m. The Omak Lake Road Fire a few miles north was still listed at 50 a... Full story
Nearly $3 million in federal grants since 2008 have helped Grant County Port District 7 improve the Grand Coulee Dam Airport, adding equipment and technology that saves lives and property. Airport officials say the upgrades have made the airport increasingly important for emergency medicine, firefighting and regional transportation. A review of Federal Aviation Administration records identified at least $2.89 million in confirmed federal airport grants awarded to the district since 2008. State m...
If Electric City and Grand Coulee do not come to an agreement on the operation of the wastewater treatment facility they share, a lawsuit may follow. The Electric City Council June 9 discussed what that city views as a violation of an interlocal agreement between it and Grand Coulee. The 1984 agreement established joint ownership of a wastewater treatment facility, although operations have historically been performed by Grand Coulee employees. After a departure and a retirement of two separate...
The Grant County Board of Commissioners announced Monday that the county will be accepting applications for the Grant County Treasurer position, following the announcement of Treasurer Darryl Pheasant’s retirement. He is set to vacate the office June 30. Pheasant had stated earlier this year that he did not intend to seek re-election, but his current term would normally end at the end of this year. By state law, the county treasurer is responsible for the custody of the county’s money and is the administrator of the county’s financial trans...
Bureau of Reclamation workers mount U.S. flags on the light poles around a curve along SR-155 June 12, ahead of the June 14, which was Flag Day and President Donald Trump's birthday.... Full story
If Lake Roosevelt High School's graduating class of 2026 hadn't actually thought about it, the speakers representing them at Saturday's graduation ceremony certainly did: The end of high school is a time of profound change, one the 38 seniors advanced to together. The class heard traditional speeches by the valedictorian and salutatorian, plus two elected class speakers, and a "guest speaker," who, for the second year in a row, was chosen from their own faculty. Each observed or even probed...
While fielding complaints about cuts to programs, teachers and others for the third school board meeting in a row, district leaders announced Monday night that some cuts had already been reversed because of over $800,000 in unexpected funds that came from more than one source. Superintendent Rod Broadnax said the money came, in part, from the state after its Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction determined a miscalculation in March of the amount due the Grand Coulee Dam School District for “apportionment,” that is, for the num...
by Alex Baumhardt, Washington State Standard June 4, 2026 Key points - Electric utilities in Oregon and Washington are increasingly leaning on the use of gas generators to help data centers meet their energy demands, as well as buying more gas-powered electricity from other states. - Utilities' growing use of gas to meet the new demand, and data center owners connecting facilities to on-site natural gas and diesel generators, means both states could miss 2050 targets for dramatically reducing...
A new city park next to the Electric City fire station is nearing completion, with officials eyeing a July 16 ribbon-cutting to coincide with the city's annual barbecue. Fire Chief Mark Payne told the City Council May 14 that the sidewalks in and around the fenced play area are finished and the new restroom building has passed its insulation inspection. The restroom, has been sheetrocked since that meeting, will include a baby-changing station and a storage area for some supplies. A contractor...
Emergency management plan formally adopted The Coulee Dam City Council May 27 unanimously adopted Resolution 2026-02, signing onto the Okanogan County Emergency Management Plan. Mayor Bob Poch described the document as a 47page, comprehensive plan based on the Incident Command System (ICS), noting that the town is required by law to participate. No changes were requested and no objections were raised before the vote. State Dept. of Licensing renews lease at city hall The council approved a fiveyear lease with the Washington State Department of...
Cayla Zlateff sings the national anthem at the Isle of Flags ceremony on Memorial Day at Spring Canyon Cemetery Monday as breeze unfurls flags around her and others at the front of the audience. - Scott Hunter photo...
Multiple times per week, two local people drive hours away in pursuit of gaining life-saving aid for their community. Merlee Liberty and Mike Shear are undergoing extensive education in order to become paramedics. Liberty and Shear, who live in Coulee Dam and Electric City, respectively, both travel around two hours to school and work. Their graduation as paramedics will be in early June. At the same time, their community has also engaged in discussion about creating an emergency services...
by Scott Hunter Grand Coulee Dam School District teachers and staff pressed board members and administrators for clearer budget information and a different approach to staffing cuts during at Monday’s school board meeting, saying the current reductions are eroding morale and will ultimately harm students. Several elementary teachers described rising class sizes, increased responsibilities, and what they see as a lack of shared sacrifice between district office staff and those working directly with students. “I would like to see the real dat...
The Ridge Riders will once again be sponsoring a junior rodeo and co-sanctioning with Eastern Washington and Caribou Trail Jr. Rodeo Associations May 30th & 31st at the Ridge Rider Arena in Grand Coulee. Some 223 Contestants travel from all over the Pacific Northwest to attend these junior rodeos, which are becoming fewer and fewer due to rising costs, organizers say. The youth equestrian competition allows kids from ages 3 to 18 to learn and compete in core rodeo events in age-related...
Connor Shillam can play just about every musical instrument in the band room at Lake Roosevelt Schools, where he’s just finishing up his second and last year in the school district. Shillam has lost his job to the current cutbacks at the district. He offered to give his perspective on the situation in an interview. We spoke over Zoom. Obviously, he thinks music education has value to students, so what does it offer, I asked him during our conversation. His answer didn’t have anything to do with quarter notes, but everything to do with eve...
The region's canola crop was in full bloom Monday, which lasts about two weeks every year in May. Vast expanses on the hillsides north of Wilbur to Coulee City are full of the bright yellow flowers. - Scott Hunter photo...
The Colville Business Council has banned the sale, ignition and use of all fireworks within the boundaries of the Colville Indian Reservation for the 2026 season. The council approved the ban May 7, acting on a recommendation from its Community Development Committee. The resolution says the action is intended “to protect Tribal lands and the safety of the Membership and reservation residents.” The resolution cites dry conditions as a factor, noting that the Washington State Department of Ecology issued a drought declaration in April for all...
The Isle of Flags, the annual display of hundreds of American flags over the Memorial Day weekend at Spring Canyon Cemetery, will be put up by volunteers at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 23. Volunteers are welcome to help. Eight new flags will be dedicated at this year's ceremony on Memorial Day. It begins at 11 a.m. May 25. The Isle of Flags Association was formed to collect, care for, and fly the burial flags of our deceased veterans, on appropriate occasions at Spring Canyon Cemetery. Flags will...
John Duresky stopped in Grand Coulee Friday on a trip to talk with people in the far north end of the Washington's Fourth Congressional District, which he'd like to represent in the other Washington. The longtime Democrat lists 37 years of government service to his credit, 10 of those working at Hanford after a career in the US Airforce where he attained the rank of major. Retired from all of that, when Duresky learned Dan Newhouse, the Republican currently representing the Fourth District, had...
Senior Center members, "to celebrate maturity in life," as Stan Cass put it, constructed a fun float that took the blue ribbon high award for local clubs, in Saturday's Colorama Parade. "A group of energetic seniors gathered together creating something from a flatbed trailer, donated and driven by Jerry Sands, to share with the crowd expressing the joy we share as mature citizens and leaders in our community" Cass said. Senior Center Members participating were Jerry Sands, Cass, Cindy Johnson,...
Aaron Derr told the school board Monday that cuts to personnel were going drastically in the wrong direction to satisfy budget tightening needs in response to lowering enrollment. Derr, a teacher at Lake Roosevelt, said he'd used data from the state website for the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the lead K-12 education agency in the state, or OSPI. The Grand Coulee Dam School District has lost 120 students in the last three years, he said, and OSPI recommends about the...
Kindergarten kids take off in the first heat of the Mini Bloomsday run at Lake Roosevelt Schools' ball field Thursday. The first Mini Bloomsday occurred in 1979, 47 years ago. The idea came from a first-grade teacher at the time, Carolyn McNeil. in 2026, the weather was way too perfect for the kids to be inside anyway. - Scott Hunter photo...
An early peek at a survey done by the Grand Coulee Dam School District to gauge feelings about the transition to a four-day school week for students indicates most parents are more pleased than not with the change, Superintendent Rod Broadnax says. Broadnax presented the school board the results so far at the last school board meeting April 27 and discussed it at an informal meeting with constituents at Voltage Coffee House the next morning during his bimonthly "Coffee with the Superintendent"...
by Scott Hunter As the Colorama Rodeo comes barreling at them, volunteers on Monday were fixing up the rodeo grounds to get ready, from minor to major improvements or repairs. John and Cheryl Pryor were concentrating on the stock chute gates, apparently fixing some small detail. Mike Clanahan and Randy Willette were placing huge concrete blocks inside a newly excavated flat space to hold more bleachers east of the Rattlesnake Saloon. Wayne Fowler, who got elected president after George Kohout di...