News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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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
OLYMPIA – June 25, 2021 – Washington State Parks is prohibiting wood campfires and charcoal use in state parks east of the Cascades beginning today, June 25. Western Washington state parks may have local restrictions. With extreme hot and dry conditions affecting the entire state, the campfire ban is necessary to help prevent accidental wildfires. Eastern Washington state parks are under a level 3 campfire ban or higher. A level 3 ban prohibits wood and charcoal fires but allows for gas and propane camp stoves and firepits.. For areas in wes...
Olympia – June 23, 2021 – Hot, sunny weather is in the forecast for the next week. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures statewide will be in the 90s and 100s.The Washington State Parks Boating Program urges boaters and paddlers to be extra cautious on the water. Even though the air is warm, water in rivers and lakes remains cold from snowmelt runoff. Most river and creek water temperatures range from the upper 30s to the mid-40s — temperatures that can easily cause cold-water shock. “One of the best ways for boaters and pad...
Grand Coulee Police 6/22- A man and woman on Roosevelt Drive apologized to police for arguing outside when police responded to the location because of the argument. - Police responded to Eden Harbor where a man reportedly was screaming profanities near the docks. Police found the man at the docks taking his clothes off, then jumping in the water. While he was in the water police asked him what was going on. The man admitted to screaming profanities. Police told him he was scaring people and to stop. Police have seen the same man screaming at...
The MS Sanpoil, which ferries traffic across Lake Roosevelt on SR 21, is out of service until further notice, the state Dept of Transportation said tonight. The notice came less than an hour after an earlier notice advised the ferry would be down until 9 p.m. tonight due to mechanical problems. DOT did not specify what the mechanical problem was.... Full story
Following poll votes last Saturday, unofficial election results for the Colville Business Council came in showing a squeaker in the Keller District, a challenger ahead of the current CBC president and two Finleys leading in Inchelium’s districts. Absentee votes will be certified Thursday, June 24 and could make a difference in results. In the Nespelem District, Allison Boyd-Ball was leading 64-50 over CBC Chairman Rodney Cawston for Position 1, but Jarred Erickson had a healthy lead over Randy Friedlander, 74-44. For Keller’s Position 1, inc...
A fire broke out along SR 174 on the hill in the canyon between Grand Coulee and Wilbur about 4:30 p.m. The road was closed and traffic continued to back up until at least 6 p.m. while firefighters fought the blaze. A large helicopter equipped with an attached bladder and a hose for loading it repeatedly dropped loads of water on the fire, high on the steep, rocky hillside. Another aircraft, a fixed-wing plane reportedly joined the fight about 7 p.m. At one point a Level 1 Evacuation notice had...
An additional 25 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in local towns in just over a month. There have been 48 COVID-19 cases in the Grand Coulee and Electric City areas of Grant County since the pandemic began over a year ago, with nine of those cases coming in the past month. On May 19, when The Star last compiled an update on local numbers, Grant County Health District was reporting 39 cases in the Grand Coulee area. Since then, GCHD has listed cases in the local area on May 27, June 3, and June 21. GCHD recently switched to only reporting ne... Full story
With a historic vote finalized Monday night, the 80-year-old credit union that originated in Coulee Dam will merge with one 23 times its size based in Spokane. After 1,045 votes cast either by paper ballot sent in or online through a third-party election firm, 84% of those voting found the benefits of joining with STCU outweighed the loss of the name Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union. At a member meeting on the front patio of the Coulee Dam headquarters, CDFCU CEO Collene Manley urged people to...
Two new city leaders have been sworn in this month in two local cities. Kevin Black was selected two weeks ago to fill Council Position #1 in Coulee Dam, left vacant by Fred Netzel's resignation last month. The city council voted to put Black in the seat, which will be up for election in November for a four-year term. Councilmember Merv Schmidt said that he felt both candidates who applied were qualified, but that Black's experience with utilities, being the manager at Nespelem Valley Electric,...
“Koulee Kids Fest was such a great time!” Grand Coulee Dam Area Executive Director Rachel Haven about last Saturday’s event. “I believe it was a success. Kids were smiling from ear to ear all over town.” Three-year-old Cairo Billups won the iPad Mini and Beats headphones grand prize drawing that kids entered by participating in the event. This year’s Koulee Kids Fest featured L-Bow the Clown. “L-Bow the clown was so much fun!” Haven said. “L-Bow’s act included unicycling and juggling, making balloon animals and hats, and the grand finale of a f...
With temperatures set to soar to record-breaking levels in the next week, all fires at Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area are prohibited effective 12:01 am, Friday, June 25, 2021 until further notice. No open flames are permitted. This includes, but is not limited to, all fires in NPS provided fire rings and boxes, shoreline fires, charcoal fires, tiki torches, incense burners, candles, and propane campfires. Self-contained propane or gas stoves and lanterns are still allowed during the full fire ban. For the most current information... Full story
After growing up in Grand Coulee, Michael Thomas now jumps out of helicopters in Bahrain. After graduating from Lake Roosevelt High School in 2016, Thomas went to Western Washington University to pursue a computer science major. But after a semester there, Thomas headed in another direction. His father Dale Thomas had been in the Navy, and friends had joined other branches of the military, so Thomas spoke to a recruiter who showed him the path to becoming an aviation rescue swimmer, someone who...
Grand Coulee Police 6/15 - Police didn’t observe any puppies at large near Bachelor Square but did talk to the owner who wasn’t sure how the puppies could have gotten out. - A woman was pulled over on Midway Avenue for driving with a shattered windshield. An officer noted that she seemed indifferent about the shattered windshield. She was cited for the windshield as well as for driving without insurance. 6/16 - A woman on Electric Boulevard reported that she never received a package from her aunt containing stitched fabric of a family tre...
GRANT COUNTY, WA – In response to the high temperatures we are experiencing across the Columbia Basin, the Grant County Health District is issuing a heat advisory and urging people to take extra precautions to avoid heat related illnesses. Extreme heat often results in the highest number of annual deaths among all weather-related hazards. Heat-related illnesses are preventable. It is important to learn the symptoms and what to do if you or a loved one shows signs of having a heat-related illness. In extreme heat, evaporation is slowed, and t... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School graduates took deep breaths of fresh air at their graduation ceremony Saturday after two school years boxed in by a global pandemic. The class of 2021, 56 in all, took their seats on the bleachers above the football field, facing a throng of families strategically distanced from each other in groups on the field below. Unlike last year, the weather cooperated on a beautiful day. Speeches from the valedictorian, salutatorian and two class speakers tried to summarize...
With a recent wildfire started by a ricocheted bullet adding to safety and noise issues, target shooting at Osborn Bay is a concern for some, and the federal agency that owns the area says it is illegal to target shoot on their lands. In response to the June 5 fire at Osborn Bay, Electric City resident Jerry Kennedy submitted a public comment in an email that was read at Electric City’s June 8 city council meeting. The area lies within city boundaries. Kennedy lives less than a mile north of a common, unofficial shooting range there where a s...