News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Spectators watch and take photos as a pickup gets pulled from Banks Lake July 4. A Kennewick man got the expensive car wash when his GMC truck rolled into Banks Lake at Coulee Playland. He backed his truck up to the boat launch to load up his jetski, and when he got out of the truck, the truck rolled into the water, about 50 feet from shore and 20 feet deep. A licensed diver volunteered to dive down and connect a tow chain to the truck to pull it out. The police report for the incident...
Most people can count very close friends on one hand. That’s why it is so sad that I lost such a friend, Myron Finkbeiner. Myron and his wife, Gwen, and their family had been in and out of our lives for many years. He was a native Washingtonian, with a lot of family in the central part of the state. We first met in Nampa, Idaho, and enjoyed many family outings together. Myron was a star basketball player at Northwest Nazarene College, where we both attended, although at different times. Myron went on to get his master’s degree and had been a te...
Traffic backs up behind a heavy equipment hauler on the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Monday night while a driver figures out how to get a too-tall piece of equipment low enough to pass under the horizontal spans of steel across the bridge. The trailer's air suspension equipment was lowered, allowing enough space to back up a few feet, then unfold and lower the equipment's boom until the truck could be driven off the bridge. It was the second time within 10 or so years that such equipment...
Grand Coulee police 7/6 - A suspicious man was reported near the post office and tavern in Electric City, talking to himself and picking up rocks. He told police he’d just picked up a rock to look at it, not to throw it at anyone or anything, and that he was waiting for a ride to Coulee City. 7/7 - Police were requested to check on an elderly man on Wenatchee Avenue who hadn’t been seen by his neighbor in some time. Police checked the residence but no one was there. They later learned the man was in Montana for the holiday. 7/8 - A camper at...
Local popular target-shooting spots are technically illegal because of federal laws, but state agencies say they are unable to enforce federal laws. A Star article June 16 examined the legality of a popular shooting range at Osborn Bay where a wildfire took place last month. The fire didn’t start at the main shooting range, as “Wildfire brings scrutiny of illegal shooting range” had reported, but at a former shooting area located roughly a quarter to half a mile south of the main shooting range, according to Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne...
Five fires sparked by lightening Monday night have consumed more than 10,000 acres on the Colville Reservation, forcing evacuations around Nespelem, killing livestock, and burning seven homes so far, three of which had been occupied. The Chuweah Creek/Joe Moses fires near Nespelem have burned about 10,000 acres, a Mt. Tolman Fire Center release this afternoon said. It is 0% contained and burning in tall grass, sage brush and timber, driven by wind. Level 3 evacuations are still in place for resi... Full story
The boat launch at the “Million Dollar Mile” area along SR-155 will be getting a makeover to the tune of $965,000 in grant money from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. “The Department of Fish and Wildlife will use this grant to redevelop the Million Dollar North Access Area on Banks Lake in Grant County, about 9 miles north of Coulee City,” a description of the project reads. “The department will pave the entrance road and parking lot and install a restroom, loading platform, a concrete boat launch, and large boulders...
With four new hires working in the department this year, the Grand Coulee Police Department has some new faces. New officers hired include Andrew Kline, hired in January, and Mackenzie Shaffer, hired in May. They both worked for tribal police. Blake Martin was hired last September to fill a vacancy, then graduated from police academy in May. Matthew Gilbert, who served as a police officer in Shelton, Washington, was hired in May. With Sgt. Gary Moore retired at the end of May after 18 years with the department, six as sergeant, Sgt. Dan...
B Street’s closure has been extended as construction on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s fire station remains at a standstill. Grand Coulee’s city council passed a motion last month to allow Mayor Paul Townsend to sign a new agreement with the USBR for the continued closure of B Street near the construction site of the bureau’s fire station. Officials of the bureau attending the June 15 meeting via Zoom included Doug Anderson, chief engineer at the Grand Coulee Dam; Colby Clifford, the contracting officer for the fire station; and Misty Gates,...
With major park improvements on the horizon, Grand Coulee wants to address the issue of vandalism at Shane Proctor Park. The park between the gas station and the Mexican restaurant on SR-174 has experienced numerous incidents of vandalism in recent months, including someone breaking the seats on the see-saws, and trashing the restroom. Since The Star reported on these incidents in May, the restroom has been trashed multiple times, leading to the city simply locking and closing the restroom. Mayor Paul Townsend said the city is looking into...
Two cool kids bullet down a giant inflatable waterslide at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce's Festival of America in front of Grand Coulee Dam on the Fourth of July. The chamber brought in a Spokane firm to keep kids cool and entertained in near-record heats as the festival resumed after a year in which nearly no events happened across the state due to the pandemic. Find more photos of the event, which also featured live music, vendors, food, and fireworks, on page 5. - Scott...
You may soon be able to bet on sports at Colville Tribal casinos. After more than a year of negotiations, a tentative agreement has been reached between the state of Washington and tribes within the state regarding authorizing them to offer betting on sporting events. “The proposed amendment to the existing compact will enable the Colville Tribes to effectively offer sports betting to its casino patrons,” a press release states. “The agreement is comprehensive, covering a wide range of concerns that include money laundering and integrity of spo...
The big festival came back with giant waterslides, vendors, games and live music by Lila Rose , Jesse Quandt , and Hometown Hooligans. - Scott Hunter photos...
Grand Coulee Police 6/28 - A woman on Lewis Street was concerned that a young fawn near her home didn’t see the mother nearby. Police told her that sometimes the mothers will leave the young for a while and then return, and to contact fish and wildlife if it was still there in the morning. 6/29 - The bathroom at the city park was vandalized with wet toilet paper, grass, and feces on the walls, ceiling, and hand dryer. - Police checked on a dog in a car at Safeway. The air conditioner was running in the car and the dog was not panting. Police s...
A heat mirage, not water, shimmers across the causeway on SR-155 at Osborn Bay in Electric City Saturday as local temperatures under a "heat dome" built up Saturday toward 108 degrees or more, only to be outdone on Monday and Tuesday, when at least one local read got to 114 degrees, with more on the way. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning through Sunday. - Scott Hunter photo...
In a special meeting Thursday afternoon Grant County’s leaders declined to ban the sale or use of fireworks in the county, after fire officials across the county had urged them to do so. A motion by Commissioner Danny Stone, of Hartline, to ban the sale of fireworks did not receive a second motion from either Commissioner Cindy Carter or Commissioner Rob Jones, and so did not move on for a vote. “My position was, I felt like our fire marshal had made a good case,” Stone said later. County Fire Marshal Nathaniel Poplawski had urged the commi... Full story
Buying or selling fireworks, or having any open fires are prohibited on the Colville Reservation beginning today and lasting until October 1. The Colville Business Council passed several emergency resolutions on July 1 to mitigate the fire risk due to extreme fire conditions on the Colville Reservation and surrounding areas. A July 1 press release from the tribes says that "the sale and ignition of fireworks are now prohibited within the Reservation boundaries. In addition, open fires are prohibited within the Reservation boundaries. All... Full story
Grant County Commissioners will meet in a special session Thursday to consider banning the use and/or sale of fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county. The expected 10-minute session will start at 3:20 p.m. July 1. County Fire Marshal Nathan Poplawski recommended in a letter to commissioners temporarily banning the sale and use of fireworks under the current extreme conditions, invoking Grant County Code 6.04.030 which allows such a move. Poplawski said that he didn't make the recommendation lightly, and that all but two of the fire...
Don't even think about lighting a firework, smoking or target shooting on public lands in these conditions. The Bureau of Land Management on June 29 announced fire restrictions in the BLM's Spokane District, a temporary ban that takes effect on July 1 in 21 counties including Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan, Douglas locally, as well as Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Kittitas, Klickitat, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima. "The fire... Full story
It’s the Fourth of July weekend, and with local towns all forbidding or severly restricting fireworks use this year, local residents will just have to enjoy the professional fireworks show that launches from the Grand Coulee Dam on Sunday, July 4, at about 10:30 p.m. following the laser show. In the wake of historically high heat over the last week, some municipalities that simply align with state fireworks laws are banning them this week. That includes Electric City, which held an emergency council meeting on June 29 to outright forbid ... Full story
The Colville Tribes will soon have a new chairman, as current Chairman Rodney Cawston has been voted out in the recent election for seven Colville Business Council positions. Absentee vote tallies were added to poll votes and certified Thursday for a final vote count in the general election for seven of the 14 positions on the CBC, which governs the Colville Confederated Tribes. Alison Boyd-Ball defeated Cawston 418 votes to 322 in the race for Nespelem District Position #1. Cawston was first elected to the council in 2017, becoming chairman...
A big effort to support a young man with cancer garnered a large amount of support last weekend, including a pulled-pork barbecue and a softball tournament, both taking place in high heat conditions. People turned out anyway. Mike Shear's pulled pork sold out Saturday, and the softball tournament at North Dam Park included 10 teams with members from as far away as Spokane and Hermiston, Ore. Two more teams had to drop out, said organizer April Smith, but no matter. "It filled up in less than 24... Full story
An additional 28 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in local towns since May 19, and an additional nine deaths were reported in Grant County this week. Grant County Health District Tuesday reported nine additional Covid deaths, including a man in his 30s from Royal City; a woman in her 40s from Moses Lake; a man in his 50s from Moses Lake; a man in his 60s from Ephrata; three men in their 70s from Moses Lake; and a man in his 80s from Moses Lake. Nine of those recently confirmed dead from Covid were not vaccinated, the district said, and... Full story
With, the extreme weather conditions along with the holiday weekend coming area firefighters ask everyone to be extremely careful with all their activities. On Monday June 28, we were under a Red Flag Warning because of the expected temperatures of 107 F and windy conditions. Recent fires show how quickly fires can become big and dangerous rapidly, both vegetation and structure fires. We ask people to look around their property and take precautions, make sure weeds and grass are cleared/cut low around buildings. Remove accumulated dry...
OLYMPIA – The Secretary of Health’s mask order will remain in place even after June 30, which means that people who are not fully vaccinated need to continue to wear a face mask in public indoor settings even when things start to go back to normal as the state reaches a reopening milestone. All people, regardless of vaccination status, are still required to wear masks in certain places, such as schools and health care settings, the state Dept. of Health said in a release Tuesday. In most other settings, people who are fully vaccinated do not... Full story