News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1658 - 1682 of 6880
Lake Roosevelt High School’s Class of 2021 graduation is slated for June 12 on the football field in Coulee Dam, with more details still being developed. “Seniors voted to have graduation outdoors on the football field and so we are moving forward with developing plans,” Principal Kirk Marshlain wrote in his report to the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors for their May 24 meeting. “This will allow for graduates to have more guests present for the ceremony. More details to come as we finalize the plans.” During the meeting,...
The annual Memorial Day Isle of Flags ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, May 31 at Spring Canyon Cemetery. The event, which displays over 500 United States flags, will dedicate 17 more this year in honor of Michael R. Bradley, Jerome W. Bussert, Paul G. Dailey, Timothy R. Ehde, Larry Fredin, Benjamin Ross Goetz, Roscoe Goetz, Edward “Peanuts” Haven, Charles Arthur Hayward, Richard “Dick” Jarret, Earl Mustard, Nicholas Newby, Donald V. Richardson, Richard “Dick” Ross, James A. Stansfield, Gerald “Jack” Thune, and Steven Wiyrick. The ce... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center and laser light show will begin on Saturday in time for Memorial Day weekend. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced the re-opening for the visitor center and the "One River, Many Voices" laser light show in a statement May 19. "To safely re-open the visitor center and return the laser light show, Reclamation will be following the recommended guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the release states. "Fully vaccinated visitors are...
Located along SR-174, Grand Coulee City Park, also known as Shane Proctor Park, has experienced incidents of vandalism this spring and the mayor would like citizens to keep an eye out for that type of destructive behavior and report it. This spring, someone smashed the seats of the teeter-totters in the park, and in a separate incident someone crammed the toilet full of toilet paper, a plastic jug, and other garbage. “It’s just a shame,” Mayor Paul Townsend told The Star on Tuesday. “I don’t even know what’s wrong with people. It makes me si...
Vroom vroom! You can see a variety of cars or show off your own at a car show in Grand Coulee on June 19 in a car show being held on Main Street. The Diversity Divine Auto Show, held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., will be held by Coulee Medical Center’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sam Hsieh through his organization The Divine Appeal. “The MO at The Divine Appeal has always been breaking boundaries and challenging the status quo,” a description for the show reads online. “One group that carries this loud and proud is no other than our car scene enthusi...
The demolition of a condemned building on Spokane Way that once belonged to a local inventor seems likely to happen this summer after about three years of delays. The Grand Coulee City Council approved a bid for the demolition of the “Vlachos” building at their May 18 meeting, as well as for an asbestos survey to be conducted prior to the demolition. The building, once belonging to inventor and mechanic Constantinos Vlachos, has been boarded up and abandoned for years. In 2018, the Coulee Pioneer Museum recovered some items from the premises, i...
Coulee Dam Police 5/10 - A driver was pulled over near River Drive and Roosevelt Way for going 41 miles per hour in a 30 mph zone. The driver said she was late for volleyball practice. She was warned about speeding. 5/14 - A man and woman in the Harvest Foods parking lot who don’t get along with another man there reported that he pulled a gun on them. The man denied doing that. Police said they would review security footage and told the suspect to avoid confrontation with the others in the meantime. 5/15 - Police believe there is probable c...
Elmer City may test a force main that carries wastewater to Coulee Dam’s treatment plant to see how long the 40-year-old cast iron pipe is likely to last. The town applied for a grant of $30,000 for the test, which would help nail down the cost of a possible switch from using Coulee Dam’s to building Elmer City’s own treatment facility. Engineer Nancy Wetch, of Gray and Osborne, went over the likely cost differences with the town council Thursday night after having completed a cost study of the alternatives. Wetch explained two alter...
Climate change — or changes in weather trends over a long period of time — has been part of the national conversation for decades, and we’re curious what our readers have noticed in their subjective experiences of weather and climate in the Coulee, or wherever they may have lived. Please take this brief survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/L855W8W and let us know.... Full story
If you see smoke north of Coulee Dam, there's no need to be alarmed as it is a prescribed burn near Chuweah Creek near Nespelem conducted by Mt. Tolman Fire Center. The fire center is close to a target goal of 5,000 acres of prescribed burning this year, according to Mt. Tolman's Lead Dispatcher Debbie Caudell, with prescribed burns this year having taken place near Mt. Tolman, the Swawilla Basin, Omak Lake, and the Straydog area near Inchelium. The prescribed burns target vegetative fuel that could otherwise be burned from wildfires, and have... Full story
A group of people met in Coulee Dam Tuesday to start a discussion about someday replacing the bridge over the Columbia River on SR-155. The current bridge, built in 1935, is half as wide, at 20 feet, as the state Department of Transportation would like - not to mention every truck driver who finds it necessary to wait for traffic before making an illegal wide swing into oncoming lanes to be able to make the narrow, right-angle turns. Discussion ensued about 1 p.m. around a table at the school...
The Electric City Council accepted the resignation of Councilmember Willie Bott at their May 11 council meeting. Health reasons were said to be the reason behind his resignation. Bott’s position is up for reelection this November, and the person who is appointed to the position will have to run for reelection at that time to stay in that position. Don Redfield was appointed as an interim council member and will hold the position until the city reviews any other candidates and appoints one, possibly Redfield himself. Others interested in f...
Five more people have died from COVID-19 in Grant County, including the county's first death of someone in their 20s. The deaths, announced in a May 18 press release from Grant County Health District, include: two Moses Lake women in their 60s, a Soap Lake man in his 50s, and two Moses Lake men - one in his 80s and the other in his 20s. The deaths bring Grant County's total Covid death count to 125. "COVID-19 continues to kill people from our community," Grant County Health Officer Dr. Alexander Brzezny said. "These reported deaths are not... Full story
A Senate Democrat and a House Republican have teamed up to introduce a bill that would benefit a local push to build a new energy plant in Grand Coulee. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04) reintroduced legislation this week to improve permitting for pumped storage hydroelectric projects and protect tribal interests in the process. The bill will also help increase renewable energy production, storage, and job growth in the...
Campgrounds in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, including Spring Canyon, have increased their fees. The LRNRA says camp fees are now $23 a night, up from $19, and that all vehicle-accessible campgrounds are now reservation only. Reservations must be made at recreation.gov or by calling 877-444-6777, with LRNRA recommending making reservations ahead of time from home because cell phone service can be spotty along Lake Roosevelt. Boat-in campgrounds and shoreline camping are still available on a first-come, first-served basis. The...
Grand Coulee Police 5/11 - A man at Coulee Playland reported about $10,000 worth of fishing equipment stolen from his boat, including nine rods and reels, lures, and more. Photos were taken and a case report provided for the man’s insurance claim. - A man at the hospital refused to put a mask over his nose to see his doctor. The man said he has a medical condition that could cause him to pass out if both his mouth and nose were covered. He felt discriminated against and said that the mask mandate was not a law. An officer told him the h...
With a hunger for getting out built up among rodeo fans, the first one in the state since pandemic lockdown set attendance records and put Grand Coulee on the national rodeo map. Ridge Riders President George Kohout said Tuesday he'd watched The Cowboy Channel's TV segment on last weekend's Colorama Rodeo twice and "just about teared up a little bit." Friday night's attendance at the Colorama Rodeo "set a record, and Saturday night's blew that all to hell," Kohout said. That took some doing. The...
With poll and absentee votes both now certified, twenty-six candidates have been narrowed down to 14 in the primary for seven seats on the Colville Business Council, with only one incumbent knocked out of the running. There are seven out of 14 total positions up for election to the Colville Business Council, the governing body of the Colville Tribes. Primary polls opened May 8, with poll votes certified on May 10, and absentee votes were certified May 13. The top two candidates in each race will move on to the general election June 19 with...
Sara Kennedy will be Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School's new principal starting with the 2021-22 school year. Kennedy, who has worked as the school's dean of students since 2019, was approved as the new principal at the May 10 Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting. After 40 minutes of the board being in executive session, and prior to the board's approval of Kennedy, Superintendent Paul Turner said, "I wholeheartedly recommend Sara Kennedy to take over the position. She's done...
Although there will be no tours of the Grand Coulee Dam this year, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is working on a plan for the return of the Laser Light Show and for opening its visitor center. USBR Public Affairs Specialist for the Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region Erika A. Lopez told The Star that tours will not be conducted this year at Grand Coulee Dam “because of CDC–recommended COVID-19 restrictions.” “Visitors will be unable to safely maintain social distancing of six feet on the tour buses and dam elevator,” she said. Lopez also said...
During a Grant County Leadership ZOOM meeting May 5, people from various organizations discussed how to market COVID-19 vaccines more effectively. Misty Aguilar, public information officer for the Grant County Health District, said that Grant County’s numbers continue to increase. “We get several cases every day,” she said. “The majority of the cases are coming from ages 19-40.” She said that if Gov. Jay Inslee hadn’t paused the phases of the state’s Covid recovery plan, Grant County would have been rolled back to a more restrictive p...
Candidate Filing Week is May 17-21, and the Office of the Secretary of State is joining county election offices across Washington to accept applications for public office, including about 30 local positions in the Grand Coulee Dam area. “People who run for public office and serve as an elected official have an opportunity to help shape the future of our state, counties, and communities,” said Secretary of State Kim Wyman. “Most of these offices up for election this year are local and have the greatest impact on people’s daily lives.” There are...
You may learn a thing or two about local history if you pick up a copy of a new book titled "Dry Falls and Sun Lakes" from Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series, which includes early and rare photos of that area. Local man John "Jay" M. Kemble compiled the book following his 2020 publication titled "Steamboat Rock" in the same Images of America series. "I hope I am presenting several stories that tie together to create a larger whole," he said about "Dry Falls and Sun Lakes," which...
A seat is open on the city council in the town of Coulee Dam following the resignation of Councilmember Fred Netzel. Netzel’s letter of resignation, which was approved by the rest of the council at their April 21 meeting, said that he reached the decision to resign after speaking with his family and doctor. Those interested in the position can contact Coulee Dam Town Hall at 633-0320 or email at cdclerk@couleedam.org. Applicants must be a resident of Coulee Dam at least 18 years of age and a registered voter. The council-appointed position w...
Grand Coulee Police 5/6 - A Burdin Boulevard man had his pitbull inside his house when police asked him about a dog-at-large complaint. - A Honda Accord backed into a Chevy Equinox in the hospital parking lot. The drivers had already exchanged information prior to police arrival. A police report was written for insurance purposes. 5/8 - Police went to Kent Street to investigate a 911 call but found nothing of note when speaking to residents. - Vehicles were moved from an alleyway near E Street, which allowed a man to access the back of his...