News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 6741
Two local school districts passed budgets for the next school year on Monday after a Friday when the Trump Administration relented on withholding billions that were supposed to have been transferred to states by July 1. In Coulee Dam, school district directors OK’d a budget that plans to spend $416,000 less than in the 2024-25 year just ended, but still will end up next summer with less than a quarter of what it will start the 2025-26 year with amid declining student enrollment. The district will start with just under $2.5 million next month, a...
Superintendent Rod Broadnax said student from Nespelem who want to attend Grand Coulee Dam schools must again “choice in,” that is, formally choose to come to the district, by Aug. 21. The process changed last year as the two districts bumped into regulations on teaching students from other districts. Now, students wanting to transfer to a district not serviing the place where they live must complete some paperwork, either at the school they will attend or online at https://eds.ospi.k12. wa.us/choicetransferrequest. Broadnax told the sch...
A city council member in Grand Coulee says he’d rather not have to pass an ordinance that forces property owners to get their commercial sites up to standards, but he will push for it if no progress is made. Tom Poplawski said at the city’s last council meeting July 15 that he is aware of arguments for and against passing an ordinance with punitive measures designed to encourage owners of empty or unsightly buildings to clean up. “I agree with all of it, actually, but neither one has produced any change,” he said. “And so we’re still stuck...
Local entrepreneur Micah Seekins has announced his candidacy for mayor of Grand Coulee, seeking to fill a two-year unexpired term with a campaign centered on fiscal responsibility and the fundamentals of city governance. Seekins, who has operated a business in Grand Coulee for more than a decade, is making his first run for elected office. He has not previously held elected positions and did not submit information on educational background or community service, according to the Office of the Sec...
Two protesters hold a conversation on Midway Avenue Saturday while walking during a weekly protest against the Trump Administration's policies. The group will walk again Saturday at 11 a.m. during a nationwide event called for by 50501, an organization that started out hoping to get 50 protests going in 50 states on one day. Saturday's protests around the theme "Rage Against the Regime" are reportedly planned in about 300 cities, not including Grand Coulee. - Scott Hunter pho...
SOAP LAKE, WA — Masquers Theater is excited to announce open auditions for the cult classic musical Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Stacey Bresee. Adults of all experience levels are encouraged to audition for this darkly comedic tale of love, ambition, and a bloodthirsty plant from outer space. Auditions will take place August 16 & 17 at 6:00 PM at Masquers Theater in Soap Lake. All roles are available. Those auditioning should be prepared to sing one verse or chorus from any song in the show—ideally one associated with the role they are p...
by Scott Hunter Local volunteers had at least 19 calls to emergencies last week, including four fires and 15 ambulance calls. After 18 of those, the next one came in at 11 a.m. Sunday to put out another fire: a campfire (already banned) at Jones Bay on Banks Lake. They put it out. That was after having left home almost 12 hours earlier to find a red glow near the airport in the middle of the night. The glow turned out to be on the other side Banks Lake up in Barker Canyon, to which Douglas...
by Scott Hunter Nothing like getting thrown right into the fire. Ruth Dalton was new to the city council in January of 2024 when the council chose her to fill the mayor pro tempore spot. That's normally simply who fills in if the mayor can't make the next council meeting. But then-mayor Mike Eylar ended up having to resign for health reasons, leaving Dalton at the helm of the city whose police chief was retiring and whose longtime city foreman was too. "It's been a huge challenge, but I have to...
Chantel Crowe thinks her knowledge of the workings of the city of Grand Coulee, along with her past experiences, would let her help the city to "move forward and upward" at the same time. Crowe has been the deputy city clerk since November of 2023. Even if she's not elected, she said in an interview, she has a goal of finding a way to help people who need it. "We have an elderly community that I would love to see supported even more - or a veteran community, a disabled community ... anybody who...
Another candidate is also running for the office of Grand Coulee mayor, but hadn’t yet returned a call or email before deadline. We’ll have a story on Micah Seekins next week....
A boy makes good use of a big waterslide set up behind city hall during Electric City's annual community picnic July 17 while adults dish up and talk in the background. City hall staffers served up the goods, as Public Works Superintendent Travis Irwin barbecued the hot dogs. - Scott Hunter photo...
Fire took away a family's home Monday morning in Coulee Dam. Randy Adolph's home at 1004 Camas Street, where he lived with his two grandchildren and a great grandchild, went up in flames about 10 a.m. when, a neighbor the next street over said, a very loud boom was heard. Casey Brewster was behind Lake Roosevelt Schools just down the street, taking a photo of his daughter, he said. He got in his truck and drove to the house on fire. Brewster couldn't open the front door but went around to the...
Grand Coulee’s city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to direct the city government to write to others who might wish to be part of a new “fire authority” that could combine the efforts of local volunteer fire departments. The idea was the subject of a community meeting in November 2024, when the Regional Board of Mayors sponsored a community town hall meeting to talk about options for either an emergency medical services district or a broader regional fire protection authority, which could start out initially as an EMS provider, proba...
When they wrestled with how to allocate a pay boost not all covered by extra state money last month, school directors didn’t know the federal government had just announced it would not pay far more money Congress had already promised, money that would typically be paid the next day. That was June 30 as the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors learned the $136,000 the state would pay for a 2.5% cost-of-living increase next year wouldn’t cover the $679,000 of actual cost involved, leaving a $543,000 hole in the coming year’s distri...
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has put on hold $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 schools, according to an Education Department notice obtained by States Newsroom. The agency informed states on Monday that it would be withholding funding for several programs, including before- and after-school programs, migrant education and English-language learning, among other initiatives. But the agency notified states just a day ahead of July 1 — the date these funds are typically sent out as educators plan for the coming school year. “The Depar...
Two American bald eagles settle in for the evening on cottonwood trees near the entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park on Thursday just before dusk. - Scott Hunter photo...
The biggest local festival of the year drew thousands to Grand Coulee Dam to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, live music and even the original laser show on the dam. What they couldn't see were the unusual challenges that started the week for Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce officials. With the festival looming on Friday, Krystal and Jillian Fillis, executive directors in training, knew they had a lot of organizational boxes to tick off by Thursday. But Monday morning they...
Firefighters kept at least two smaller blazes from turning into bigger ones this week as wildland fuels turned tinder dry. One blaze took off quickly about 11 p.m. July 5, right after a loud bang at the south edge of the town of Coulee Dam, setting the hillside near the Visitor Center ablaze. Several agencies responded quickly, including the Bureau of Reclamation whose land was burning near the Columbia River Inn. Coulee Dam Volunteer Fire Department requested mutual aid, bringing in Grand...
One of several groups of protesters spread out along Midway Avenue July 4, take an hour on Independence Day to object to the Trump Administration's policies. Several said they'd had a lot of friendly honks but only a couple single-finger salutes. - Scott Hunter photo...
by Scott Hunter Festival organizers getting everything ready for the chamber of commerce's big Festival of America below the dam Friday discovered a key asset had gone missing Monday morning - the beer tent. Apparently, a thief had backed up to the trailer holding the chamber's assortment of festival tents, tables and chairs, and temporary fencing, hitched it up, and drove off. The big tent has been used for several years at festivals where libations are served as a fund raiser. It was also...
Update 7 p.m.: Mt. Tolman confirmed that the evacuation level 2 has been dropped for McGinnis Lake. Online sources are still calling it an active fire, however, with no containment percentage stated. McGinnis Lake residents are advise to be ready to go on a moment’s notice as Mt. Tolman Fire Agency issued a Level 2 Evacuation notice. The Buffalo Lake Boat Launch Fire that started about 3 p.m. has grown from an initially reported 4 acres to 75 as of 5:50 pm, July 7. The Level 2 notice was i... Full story
GCD School District policies around managing students, athletics and money shifted Monday, as board directors voted approval of changes in the junior/senior high handbook, athletics policies on participation in sports, paying to enter events and in some instances park, and even on the kind of bag you can bring into school events — clear only. Some changes address safety issues and society’s changing ways of handling them. “You can’t go into any major sporting event without a clear bag,” Director Shannon Nicholson told Director Rich Black aft...
The Grand Coulee Volunteer Firefighters would like to remind everyone to be careful during the upcoming July 4th holiday and to be careful all summer during outside activities. The weather has turned warm and very dry. We had a good spring with great grass growing weather. We have a lot of grass and other vegetation that has grown well. Now it is dried out and is ready to burn, especially on hot windy days. We hope everyone is able to get out and enjoy the holiday and the summer ahead of us. We just want to remind everyone to be careful with...
OLYMPIA — Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday announced the appointment of Winthrop resident Rachel Hong to the Okanogan County Superior Court. Hong’s appointment, effective July 3, fills the position that Judge Robert Grim’s resignation will vacate. The governor’s office announced the appointment in a release. Hong is a litigation attorney and longtime federal judicial law clerk with more than two decades of legal experience, including more than 10 years at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. As a career clerk to Judge Barbar...
A lot of visiting goes on as people upset with the Trump Administration's policies walk and talk, including with dogs, along Midway Avenue Saturday. - Scott Hunter photo...
