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 COVID-19 pandemic, having been prevalent in the US for about a year, has had an affect on the lives of people around the world, including an affect on mental health. “The pandemic has been hard on everyone,” Dr. Marilynn Holman, a psychiatrist at Coulee Medical Center, told The Star in an email. “Financial concerns, social isolation, increased childcare, fear for health of self and others – all can worsen stress and mood.” Holman also said that “those with limited internet/phone access have been particularly impacted as many services or...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) reintroduced March 4 the Hydropower Clean Energy Future Act, a bill to expand clean, renewable, reliable, and affordable hydropower production in the United States and promote innovation of the next generation of hydropower technology. Newhouse, who represents Central Washington’s 4th Congressional District, and Eastern Washington’s McMorris Rodgers, 5th District, put out press releases on the bill, which would specifically recognize hydropower as renewable energ...
Essential frontline workers, such as grocery store employees, will begin receiving COVID-19 vaccines later this month, Gov. Jay Inslee announced March 4. Others set to be vaccinated starting March 22 include workers in agriculture, food processing, public transit, firefighters, law enforcement and corrections. Previously, only essential workers age 50 or older who were defined as high-risk were going to be eligible. Also in the next tier are people 16 and older who have a high-risk disability and pregnant women. They join K-12 educators and...
Grand Coulee Police 2/28 - A woman at the Skydeck Motel told police she flew into Spokane to meet a guy and they got a room at the motel. The guy left and never returned. The woman wanted to get back to the airport. Police told her she could catch a bus to Spokane in the morning. 3/1 - Kids were reportedly throwing eggs at several residences along Grand Coulee Avenue. Police didn’t see any kids in the area. 3/3 - A woman on Wenatchee Avenue said that her son pushed her a few times during an argument about the car he was using before he left t...
A young Wilbur man died last night in a one-car rollover, the Washington State Patrol reports. Steven A. Cooler, 28, had been eastbound on SR-174 at the junction with SR-21, just north of the golf course, when the black Audi he was driving veered into the oncoming lane. Cooler overcorrected and lost control. The car rolled and he was ejected, the Patrol investigation found. Cooler had not been wearing a seatbelt. Cooler died at the scene. The crash happened at about 12:46 a.m. March...
The Banks Lake Pumped Storage Project, which would bring an estimated 1,000-2,000 workers to the area during construction and add an extra 500 megawatts of hydropower electricity per hour, is still in the works, if a little Covid delayed. Secretary Manager Darvin Fales of Columbia Basin Hydropower spoke to The Star on the phone Tuesday, with an update on the project for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The gravity-feed system would power two 250-megawatt generating units, or...
A senior trip to Huntington Beach, California is still looking like a go after the board approved the trip contingent on another update in April. About 30 Lake Roosevelt High School seniors are interested in taking the trip on which they would fly to San Diego May 29, bus to Huntington Beach, spend time at an art center, surfing, and at a campfire on the beach before returning to Washington May 31. The trip was discussed at a Feb. 22 school board meeting, but wasn’t yet approved because of confusion as to travel restrictions related to going t...
All eight of Washington's regions are in Phase Two of the state's phased plan for reopening from the COVID-19 pandemic and will be there for "at least several weeks," according to the office of Gov. Jay Inslee. Phase Two of the plan has less stringent restrictions on individuals, schools, and businesses. Regions were required to meet data metrics related to COVID in order to move to Phase Two, and warned that if those stats got worse, a region could move back to Phase One. However, Inslee announ... Full story
After a lengthy discussion with the city attorney, the city council decided Wednesday on a new course for changing Coulee Dam’s animal control ordinance. City Attorney Mick Howe met online with the council to discuss a proposed animal control ordinance. The council had intended to incorporate new language on dangerous dogs, but also tried to address more minor, but common, grievances about dogs, such as barking. Howe advised the council that several aspects of a draft ordinance “simply, we cannot adopt” legally. The council discussed just...
A new book by Colville Tribal member Arnie Marchand titled "What Is Your Name?" describes the way of life of the Okanogan Native Americans, examining the lives of individuals and the history of the people. The book, Marchand's second, is published by Heritage Productions out of Oroville where Marchand lives, and is available on Amazon as well as through the North Central Washington library system, which includes the Grand Coulee Library. "In this work I want to let you know some things about...
Washington’s only private detention center is proposed for closure. House Bill 1090 prohibits any person, business or government from operating private, for-profit detention facilities. It recently passed in the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support, and will receive a Senate vote in the coming weeks. “When you have to report to [stakeholders] that profit, there is a conflict with meeting the needs of those that are incarcerated,” said Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, who was prime sponsor of the bill. “And it’s easy to a...
Grand Coulee Police 2/23 - A woman was banned from the senior center after having been run off from inside and outside the center. The woman has gone through the dumpster multiple times and leaves a mess. Police spoke to her at the post office and told her she was banned. They also asked her about a Safeway cart she had, and she said she would return it. - A veterinary clinic manager was concerned about an employee. Police spoke to the employee’s roommate and a neighbor who both said she was fine the prior evening and didn’t see anything ami...
Student performance at Lake Roosevelt has been going up since the start of the 2020-2021 school year, as students and teachers get used to the routine and gain from more in-person time with teachers, school leaders say. In the first quarter of school, which ended on Nov. 9, Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School, Principal Kirk Marshlain said, roughly 68% of 7th- through 12th-grade students had one or more Fs and/or no credits. On Jan. 4, that number dropped to roughly 60%, and at the end of...
Newly elected Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone spoke with the Grand Coulee City Council during their Feb. 16 meeting held via Zoom. Stone is the first county commissioner from the northern part of the county in recent memory, possibly since Fred Ludolph in the 1940s. Stone introduced himself and told the council that he was available to talk with them. "If you need something," Stone said, "I can't tell you I can always fix or help, but I can sure be a part of the discussion and be...
What does charging an electric car have to do with treating sewage? Turns out, quite a bit! The Grand Coulee City Council last week approved amending parts of their municipal code to address how to add electric vehicle charging stations within the city. The topic of electric vehicle charging stations comes with nuances in the form of types of charging stations, their electrical requirements, where the spaces are allowed, and restricting other cars from using those parking spaces. Adding more complication is that council members felt rushed to...
About 30 seniors of the Lake Roosevelt graduating class of 2021 are interested in a senior trip, a tradition for seniors, to Huntington Beach, Calif., but COVID-19 restrictions might keep them in Washington. The class has raised about $20,000 towards such a trip during their years in high school. According to a report submitted to the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors during their Feb. 22 meeting, the students would fly down to Los Angeles on May 29, busing to Huntington Beach, and spending the next couple days on beaches, at...
Popular local events that didn't happen last year are at least tentatively scheduled to happen this year. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce will tentatively be hosting 10 events in 2021, including Colorama, the Festival of America, and Harvest Festival. "We are really looking forward to providing the community with some fun and excitement this summer," Executive Director Rachelle Haven told The Star in an email. "We have the opportunity with our events to try new things and create a...
A concrete block that provides a barrier at the end of the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam rests on the sidewalk along Columbia Avenue to where it was dislodged by a minivan that hit it Feb. 13 on the Douglas County side of the bridge. Such "ecology blocks" typically weigh about 3,600 pounds. The impact caused the front right tire to break off completely. That was the worst of four wrecks at the end of the bridge on that snowy, slippery Saturday, said a woman who can see the action from her...
The Elmer City fire department, also known as Okanogan County Fire District #2, is interested in getting a new building built behind their old one, and in finding more volunteers. Public Works Director Jimmer Tillman told the town council Feb. 11 that the fire department, for which he has been a volunteer for about 30 years, was interested in a new storage facility for its trucks. He said the city would look into grant options for such a thing, something for which he understands there to be multiple opportunities. Tillman explained that the...
Additional relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is on its way. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law Feb. 19, that appropriates $2.2 billion in federal aide to be used for K-12 schools, public health, assistance to individuals and families, housing and business assistance. “The process of getting to a post pandemic era has just begun,” Inslee said “And we intend to come out of this pandemic stronger, in part because of this legislation.” The package distributes $365 million in emergency eviction, rental and utility assistance and $240 m...
The chairman of the Colville Business Council expressed support Thursday for finding a regional solution to restore salmon in the Columbia River and expressed appreciation for the willingness of Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) to offer a regionwide proposal. Simpson released his “Northwest in Transition” proposal earlier this month, drawing immediate fire from critics of its central tenet of breaching dams on the Snake River, including from Simpson’s colleague in the House, Rep. Dan Newhouse, who represents Washington’s 4th District in Congres...
Grand Coulee Police 2/16 - Police responded to a report of loose pigs on E Street. The owner was told about the loose pigs and corralled them into their enclosure. There is no city ordinance against having “pigs at large”, only for dogs, and so the owner wasn’t ticketed, only warned to keep the pigs on her property. 2/17 - Police received a report that a theft occurred in Coulee City and the suspects were heading towards Grand Coulee in a white Jeep. An officer waited near the causeway and pulled the vehicle over when it drove by. The drive...
Outrage over deaths of citizens in police custody sparked efforts by lawmakers to address racial equity, hiring and training, and the use of force within law enforcement. Now, nearing the halfway point in the 2021 legislative session, the steps toward major reform of police tactics have gained support from both sides, though not without controversy. “I wouldn't argue that we have complete agreement amongst all of them but we're continuing to work to bring people together and to move the bills,” said House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, in...
The North Central Region of the state, including this area, entered the less-stringent Phase Two of Washington State's Roadmap to Recovery planned approach to the COVID -19 pandemic just in time for Valentine's Day Feb. 14. Gov. Jay Inslee announced last Thursday that five more regions would join the Puget Sound and West Regions in Phase Two, with only the South Central region not meeting the four requirements to open up to the next phase. That changed on Feb. 14 when the state Dept. of Health announced that a data error had been discovered in...
Recycling at the Delano Transfer Station has been successful, and Sunrise Disposal, the contracted solid waste hauler in the area responsible for the recycling bins there, is working to make it easier. Recycling bins were placed outside of the Delano Regional Transfer Station in January of 2020. Earl Cole, who runs Coulee View Mobile Park in Electric City, hauls recyclables from tenants there to Delano. Cole told Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout about the difficulty of placing the goods through...