News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The community was thrown into grief Thursday night as word spread of the death of a mother and her young son in what law enforcement authorities are calling murder. Tribal police found Laura Dick and her 17-year-old son Anthony Vieira, dead in the family home after Damien Martinez Jr. called them and confessed, reported sources, including KXLY, which reported obtaining court records Saturday. Okanogan County Prosecuting Attorney Albert H. Lin issued a statement Monday saying Martinez was being held on two counts of first-degree murder, with...
Chief Paul Bowden said traffic enforcement has gone up in Electric City since two new police officers joined the department. “One is definitely a traffic guy,” said Bowden, who is chief of the Coulee Dam Police Department, with which Electric City contracts for service. Bowden told the city council Dec. 9 that Electric City had had just 14 calls for service in November, but 71 traffic stops had been made. Those included 34 warnings and 37 tickets. “I mean he had one in here that was 96” miles an hour, Bowden noted....
Grand Coulee's Volunteer Fire Department and emergency medical service congratulate this year's recipients of the department's annual awards, Saturday night. From left, Firefighter of the Year Damien Dominguez, Co-Rookie Firefighters of the Year Nate Donn and Isaac McLeod, and EMS person of the year and Member of the Year Kristin Cannon get their photo taken at the station. Their commitment and drive has been exemplary this year, their Facebook site said. - submitted photo...
Updating an interlocal agreement between Electric City and Grand Coulee on running the wastewater treatment plant they both use has been the subject of discussions for a year, but Grand Coulee has decided it won’t move ahead with changes. Under the decades old agreement it supposedly operates on says a joint board made up of representatives of both cities will govern, but just meeting on it has been a challenge, Electric City council members involved in the process said last week. Retiring Mayor Diane Kohout said at the Dec. 9 council m...
Santa gets ready to hear wishes Saturday at the Moose Lodge’s annual Christmas party for kids while also keeping an eye on the Grinch. — Deb Dunlap photo...
The Wayfinders gather on Midway Avenue Saturday from noon to 1 p.m., and have been collecting food and funds for the food bank, plus baby food and diapers for those in need. About 28 people also carried signs about government policies, although one just carried a sign with a broken heart Saturday, for the tragic deaths in Nespelem last Thursday. - Scott Hunter photo...
A local event has been recognized alongside several from across the country as a "champion" of economic impact. Reel Recreation's Triple Fish Challenge was named in the latest issue of Sports Destination Management as a Champion of Economic Impact in Sports Tourism. "We're honored to be recognized alongside events across the country that helped generate over $1.4 billion in economic impact and more than 800,000 hotel room nights over the past year," Reel Recreation, a local non-profit for...
Mayor Diane Kohout presided over her last council meeting Tuesday since taking charge of Electric City six years ago. “I want to thank my council and the staff of Electric City for everything you’ve done over the last six years,” she said. “When I came into this position, it was kind of a rough start. We basically started from ground zero. We had no real staff other than a couple people. We had a whole new council and a brand-new mayor who had never been in city politics before.” The first few months were so stressful, she said, that she got s...
People enjoy the VIP tables at the chamber of commerce's annual Vintners and Brewers Tasting and Auction Saturday at the Coulee Dam Town Hall's ballroom. Although the books are not finalized yet, the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce's largest fund raiser probably realized about $30,000 in support from the community, estimated Co-Executive Director Krystal Fillis on Tuesday. - Krystal Fillis photo...
The federal government will provide $12 billion to U.S. farmers who have been hurt by "unfair market disruption," President Donald Trump said at a White House roundtable event Monday. Trump said repeatedly the funding was available thanks to tariff revenues, framing his aggressive trade policy as a boon to farmers rather than a drag on their global market share as critics of the policy suggest. "I'm delighted to announce this afternoon that the United States will be taking a small portion of the...
Hamming it up for a photographer on Turkey Day, runners in Trot the Coulee at Steamboat Rock State Park ignore a drizzle to complete the 5K run timed for a preemptive strike against later caloric consumption, for which 128 registered. - Rooted Light Studio photo, courtesy of Trot the Coulee...
Coulee Medical Center (CMC) received $3,020,475 in the federal appropriations legislation signed into law by President Trump on Nov. 13, 2025. This funding, which was secured by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA, 4), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), will enhance on-site housing accommodations at CMC for healthcare staff serving Grand Coulee and surrounding communities. In recent years, CMC has explored potential projects to increase the safety and accessibility of housing accommodations the hospital provides to healthcare...
The Bureau of Reclamation's new fire station has won a national award for design, taking the gold in Firehouse Magazine's annual contest. The Magazine announced the winners of its 12th annual Station Design Awards program Nov. 9. The program recognizes outstanding architecture and design from fire departments and emergency facilities nationwide. Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were issued across eight categories of facilities: Career 1, Career 2, Co-Located, Combination, Renovations, Satellite,...
In a boost for wildlife, recreationists and public lands last month, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) received from a conservation group the Big Bend Ranch, a 2,135-acre property featuring 1.5 miles of Columbia River frontage, for permanent inclusion with the Big Bend Wildlife Area. Western Rivers Conservancy (WRC) conveyed the project it said conserves excellent habitat for one of Washington's most imperiled species - Columbian sharp-tailed grouse - while opening new...
School district directors heard from surprised teachers Monday night as the district sought permission to make budget changes to meet the reality of shortfalls, stemming from many causes. Depending on whose estimate you’re looking at, the deficit could be from $600,000 to $1.2 million next year. Administrators want to find ways to cut back now to avoid blowing through all the reserves by the end of the current school year. Superintendent Rod Broadnax asked for approval of an emergency measure to allow the district to adjust as needed, i...
Coulee Dam’s town council heard a seconds-long discussion on the town’s lease of the Village Cinema space that had dominated the Nov. 12 council meeting a week earlier. At the end of the Nov. 19 special meeting, which mainly dealt with items like paying the bills, passing the budget for 2026 and a few other items, Mayor Bob Poch addressed the single item listed under Discussion Agenda, the theater lease. No one had anything to say except City Attorney Mick Howe. He said he didn’t have much to add to what had already been said, but he added that...
Bureau of Reclamation workers on Monday morning inspect and repair links between the floats that form a barrier for boats on Lake Roosevelt to keep them away from Grand Coulee Dam. That float line, which stretches all the way across the lake, has broken several times this year. - Scott Hunter photo...
The new commissioners of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District meet in a hallway of the Centerline Building Friday discussing a range of issues, plans, hopes, solutions, and uncertainties, such as exactly where will the money come from to accomplish what they need to. The commission plans to normally gather in the building's meeting room, but it was occupied that day. Clockwise from bottom left, Elizabeth Armstrong, secretary; Brad Oliver, treasurer; Ruth Randolph, president; and...
November 17, 2025 Voters decided this month to allow payroll taxes collected for Washington’s new long-term care program to be invested in the stock market. But they will have to wait a while for the decision to begin paying dividends. Nearly 58% of voters approved Senate Joint Resolution 8201 amending the state constitution to end restrictions on the types of investments that can be made with dollars flowing into the WA Cares fund. The state constitution generally bars investing public money in the stock of private companies, limiting state an...
Larry Hernandez asked for community support and got it as he presented his case to Coulee Dam's town council for an alteration of his lease for the Village Cinema. The council meeting room crowd was standing room only Nov. 12 and spilled out the door as the council wrapped up an earlier meeting and budget hearing, then opened up to hear comments on the city's decision to terminate the theater's lease in the city community building. Hernandez detailed a timeline of starts and stalls with working... Full story
by Scott Hunter The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes) and Open Access Technology International, Inc. (OATI) announced a landmark collaboration last week to “advance tribal energy sovereignty and resilience through the design and deployment of multiple microgrids across the reservation.” The Tribes’ 1.4 million acre reservation, which includes parts of two counties is served by five different electric utilities, and power outages are getting worse, said the Tribes’ Business Council chair, Jarred-Michael Erickso...
The town of Coulee Dam is offering to buy a piece of property owned by STCU, following a town council vote taken Nov. 12. The part of the lot north of the credit union’s building in Coulee Dam is to be acquired by the town for $65,750, the price offered by STCU. The council voted to approve the purchase, although Councilmember Keith St. Jeor “recused” himself from the vote. “I think in my own mind, it would be a good addition to the city if the city owned that property,” Mayor Bob Poch said. “We have no place else to go for any major impro...
Mayor Ruth Dalton leads Chantelle Crowe by just 18 votes in the election to decide who the next mayor will be. Dalton has 53.91% of the 230 votes cast, while Crowe’s votes at last count on Nov. 14 stood at 46.09%, 124-108. Grant County’s elections office will count the remaining 30 ballots Nov.19 at 5 p.m. Those 30 ballots left to count are for all races in the county’s 81 precincts. It’s not impossible for that small number to make a difference, again, in another Grand Coulee election. The race for the city council member 2 seat has flipped tw...
The town of Coulee Dam is terminating its lease of the Village Cinema to the proprietor who has spent over a year coming up with new ways to breathe life into the shell that had been vacant for over a decade. Larry Hernandez posted on the theater’s Facebook last week that he’s been ignored since August when he proposed mediation to come to an agreement about his rent going forward and that he waited for 10 months for the city to propose new language in the lease after the town council wanted to have the city attorney clarify it. “This build... Full story
An enterprise seeking to convert the old Center School into the "Center Senior Living" assisted living project has made significant progress. In fact, they now own the building. The project, driven by a dedicated board including local professionals and community members, aims to address the lack of local assisted living facilities, which forces seniors to move far away. The project has secured a $1 million federal grant for hazmat abatement and demolition, and they've raised $291,000 in local...
