News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Residents pressed Grand Coulee city leaders last week to crack down on long-running nuisance and drug problems they say are driving away tenants, scaring off potential homebuyers and damaging the town's reputation. During a council meeting Thursday night, multiple speakers focused on a cluster of problem properties - especially on Dill Street - where people are living in RVs and tents without utilities, dumping waste outdoors and attracting steady drug activity. "I have numerous rentals in...
Lake Roosevelt’s alternative education program has a new name and, soon, a new home. The district is moving ahead with a disputed plan to relocate the ALE program from the old middle school campus miles away to a controlled classroom in the CTE building on the main Lake Roosevelt campus, even as staff raise safety and supervision concerns. The Grand Coulee Dam School District board on Aug. 24 unanimously approved renaming the district’s ALE program the Lake Roosevelt Alternative Learning and Online Alternative Learning Experience, a change req...
Dust rises from sandblasting on the west end of the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam as the repair crew works at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. The construction crew finished a week of night work Saturday that had closed the bridge for an hour at a time late at night so they could ensure the installation of steel plates on the deck, which had been clamped in place side by side one lane at time as planned, was done evenly across the bridge. Communications Consultant Sebastian Moraga with the North Central...
A great horned owl watching over Crescent Bay on Aug. 3....
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board on Tuesday approved a one-season agreement allowing Nespelem high school students to join Lake Roosevelt High School’s football and girls’ volleyball teams this fall. Nespelem’s board had yet to vote on it. GCD board members voted unanimously to adopt the Interdistrict Athletic Combine Agreement with the Nespelem School District for the Fall 2026 season. The agreement covers only high school football and high school girls’ volleyball, and will expire at the end of the season unless the distric...
Emergency bridge repairs on State Route 155 in Coulee Dam have switched from daytime work to nighttime work for one week. The Columbia River Bridge is closing each evening from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from Monday, Aug. 17 through Saturday, Aug. 22, with brief reopenings every hour on the hour. Travelers should plan for delays of up to one hour. The bridge will reopen during daytime hours, still one lane. Starting Monday, Aug. 24, work is expected to return to daytime hours with delays up to 10...
Ben Dupris outlined an ambitious vision last week for transforming the former theater space into the Coulee Art House, telling the Coulee Dam Town Council that renovations are underway and aimed at creating a year-round community hub for youth, families and elders. Dupris, who is renting the former Village Cinema space from the city, said they have been addressing long-standing maintenance issues in the building, including holes in upstairs drywall and areas in the lobby that appeared to have mold or water damage. They have stripped problem...
Elmer City council members tightened local parking rules and updated rental and utility service fees Thursday night, then heard from an Okanogan County District Court judge making a rare outreach visit to the small town. Parking overhaul replaces 1950 ordinance The council unanimously adopted Ordinance 394, a major update to the town’s parking regulations for vehicles, on city streets, sidewalks and alleys. The new law repeals a 1950 parking ordinance and largely brings Elmer City in line with state standards. It: • bars parking within 30 feet...
Demolition crews work at tearing down the old Coulee House Motel Tuesday whose signage and outside artwork has been salvaged by the folks working to make a Coulee Art House inside the former theater next door. Ben Dupris told the Coulee Dam Town Council Aug. 11 they hope to enlist help from students to restore the mural that used to hang on corner of the building at right. - Scott Hunter photo...
Care and Share Food Bank received a great big gift last week, a refrigerated truck for picking up food from its distributor every month. The food bank, staffed by volunteers, has had to rent a U-Haul every month for the trip to Moses Lake to pick up food from Community Services of Moses Lake (CSML). Care and Share manager Dave Noggles said the new truck will save a lot of time and money. CSML gave Care and Share the truck for its use but will keep ownership of it. The new vehicle, complete with...
Grand Coulee's city council will not meet tonight (Aug. 18), moving its regular city council meeting to Thursday night, Aug. 20, at 6 p.m., an emailed note from City Clerk Lorna Pearce said Monday. The city had also advertised a public hearing on its Six-Year Street Plan for tonight. No reason was given for the postponement....
Following Tuesday’s inspection of their school buildings by their insurance company, environmental consultant, and property restoration team, Nespelem School Superintendent Linda McKay announced the district had been informed that they “will need to delay the first day of school until Tuesday, September 8.” The school’s buildings were inundated with thick smoke during the recent wildfires, and McKay told the school board July 27 that she would have the inspection done. Air Quality Index measurements inside the school remained elevated on Tues...
With no takers for Electric City’s police services contract and a November deadline looming, the city council on Tuesday agreed to modify and reissue its request for proposals while also beginning a deeper look at the cost of creating its own police department. Mayor Blake Martin told council members the city had received no formal bids on its current police contract RFP, which closes Aug. 15. Grand Coulee and Soap Lake have both declined to submit proposals, citing staffing and short-contract concerns, while the Grant County Sheriff’s Off...
Grand Coulee Dam School District directors Tuesday accepted and countered an offer for the sale of the old middle school to a local company, but the sale is contingent on successful negotiations of specifics. “I think the biggest comment is that we are still trying to do this for what’s best for our students,” noted Director Alex Tufts in a special board meeting called mainly to approve the offer. “We’re not going to make the sale of this if it’s going to harm our students.” Superintendent Rod Broadnax agreed. “Just going to negotiate, and if i...
Sue Dickey, right, accepts an ice cream bar from Harlan Holt as Harvest Foods and Variety gave out ice cream, lemonade and hot dogs to customers to celebrate the store's 50th anniversary Friday. Ray Duclos, center, sips a lemonade instead of working. The founder is now retired but showed up for the day and visited with patrons, including Dickey. She was there when they opened five decades ago, too, and won a drawing. At left Kota and his mom, Sarah Holt help Stephanie Duclos staff the welcoming...
August 10, 2026 Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an emergency proclamation Monday to temporarily suspend some state laws in order to fast-track the recovery process from wildfires ravaging central and eastern Washington. The announcement comes as fires have burned over 700,000 acres in Washington this year, destroying more than 871 homes. "We're in for the long haul on this as a state," Ferguson said during a press conference in Spokane, where fires that began at the start of the month tore...
The Coulee Dam Wrestling Club partnered with Auntie Dannee's Restaurant Friday evening for a successful spaghetti dinner fundraiser, bringing the community together in support of families impacted by the recent fires. The event, held from 5- 7 p.m., saw a large turnout as community members filled the restaurant to enjoy a delicious meal while supporting an important cause. Many others stopped by to pick up to-go orders, while others simply made monetary donations to support their neighbors...
Grand Coulee Dam School District Directors will meet in a special meeting, online only, at noon Tuesday, Aug. 11, to discuss the sale of the old middle school in Grand Coulee. The Zoom link to the meeting is https://gcdsd.zoom.us/j/89474772041?pwd=Zk5pNnB6MWovOUNLMEtUcTR1MEsyQT09 Or you can go to the district homepage at https://www.gcdsd.org and scroll to the bottom for the link and directions. The school board had planned last Monday to meet online in the next few days to vote on the sale,...
There are 51 large wildfires across the states of Washington and Oregon. There are two large fires currently burning on the Colville Reservation. The Kaiser Canyon fire is more than 136,000 acres. The Modrite fire is more than 51,000 acres. Both were started by lightning strikes and have expanded rapidly because of high winds, hot temperatures, low humidity, and fuel conditions that caused Washington State Department of Natural Resources to issue a “Fuels and Fire Behavior Advisory” on July 14. Gov. Bob Ferguson made a formal request for an...
Staff, community and school board members heard and voiced concerns during a hearing July 27 about the proposed upcoming sale of the old middle school that the Grand Coulee Dam School District seeks to sell. Most of the debate centered on longterm access to the gym and safety for student athletes. Athletic Director Casey Brewster urged the board to slow down until a clear plan is in place for replacing the facility, saying the gym and adjacent spaces are heavily used yearround by school and community programs. Brewster said losing the building...
Local firefighters quickly quashed a fire on the hillside above the south side of Grand Coulee Monday afternoon near the road going to Almira. Firefighters from Grand Coulee, Electric City, Coulee Dam and Elmer City FD #2 responded to the Grand Coulee Hill Road for a reported brush fire in the area. Crews got there by 4:30 and had the fire in mop-up status by 4:42. They completed mop up around 7:30. "We are very thankful for our mutual aid partners and all the quick response and quick attack!"...
by Shyleigh Gray and Scott Hunter Republican congressional candidate Jerrod Sessler came to Grand Coulee Saturday amid outrage regarding statements he had made in Moses Lake about the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. Arriving at the Voltage Coffee House Saturday, Sessler was met with extreme disapproval from the small crowd that gathered. Sessler's opening statements were an attempt to explain himself and his comments. "Most of what I have seen has been totally misconstrued in...
The National Night Out street party in Coulee Dam scheduled for Aug. 4 has been postponed. The Coulee Dam Police Department's annual participation in the nationally promoted community get-together, always scheduled for the first Tuesday in August, was coming up at a poor time to hold a celebration, the city said in a broadcast text message and in an email to The Star. "We feel it would be unsafe to have people out in these smoky conditions," explained City Clerk Stefani Bowden in an email...
More than 1,000 personnel are assigned to the fight against the Kaiser Canyon Fire on the Colville Reservation, officials said Tuesday morning, 12 days after its start from lightning July 16. Fire took out more homes in Nespelem, too, on Friday, although an information release said that fire was not considered part of the larger conflagration and was named the HUD fire. Tuesday morning the fire's size was said to be 126,402.2 acres, considered 16% contained. Then later in the day, a new flareup...
