News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A curriculum focused on students learning outdoors within the Columbia River watershed began locally and has grown to include thousands of students and teachers in the Pacific Northwest. The River Mile was awarded a $100,000 Environmental Education grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in late 2020. Janice Elvidge has worked as the education specialist for the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area since 2005. Her office is at Spring Canyon. Tasked with coming up with an education...
A Grand Coulee man faces at least five years in prison if convicted of lighting a fire in the building housing the Spokane County Democrats last month. Peter James Yeager, 45, was indicted Tuesday by U. S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington William D. Hyslop with “Damage by Fire to a Building Used in Interstate and Foreign Commerce,” Hyslop’s office said in a press release. Independent charges have also been filed by the Spokane County prosecuting attorney. State court documents say Yeager drove from his home in Grand Coulee Dec....
Two men escaped from Okanogan County Jail, it was discovered Tuesday morning, and the sheriff asks that people call law enforcement if they spot them. Kristofer Wittman, 28, with blond hair and blue eyes was in jail for possession of a stolen vehicle, attempting to elude police, obstructing, reckless driving and more. He's 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 170 pounds. Christian White, 53, is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 165 pounds and has gray hair and brown eyes. He was also in jail on...
Grand Coulee Police 12/17 - A car driving with an expired registration was pulled over near Yakima and Wenatchee Avenues. The driver said the car didn’t have a license, insurance, or registration. She was wanted on multiple felony warrants. She was cuffed and placed in the back of the police car, but neither Grant nor Okanogan County would confirm the warrants. The woman was cited for driving without a license, having expired tabs, lacking insurance and registration, and then released. The car was towed. 12/19 - A man rolled a blue Dodge t...
As we head into 2021, COVID-19, which stands for Coronavirus Disease 2019, when the disease originated, is still prominent in local counties as well as the whole of the state of Washington, which has reported over 33,000 cases in the past 14 days. Grant County Health District Tuesday night reported 10 additional deaths, most associated with previously reported outbreaks in long-term care facilities in Moses Lake and Soap Lake. The agency delays reporting deaths until the cause is confirmed on a death certificate and to allow family time to noti... Full story
With 2020 coming to a close, we wanted to follow up on our April survey that asked various questions about COVID-19 pandemic life in the Coulee. Take the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DPVTW7X... Full story
Nearly half the staff at Coulee Medical Center got the shot Tuesday to inoculate against SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes the COVID-19 illness. The process was being managed and administered by Prevention Northwest, a company scheduled to manage the process at some 30 facilities by mid-January, according to CEO Jill Harvey. CMC personnel were receiving the Moderna vaccine and will need a second injection 28 days later. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for emergency use by the Food and... Full story
After 51 years of cutting meats professionally, Ed Moore is retiring from Ed's Meat Market. Located in the back of Harvest Foods, Ed's Meat Market has been a local staple for meat eaters for decades, and now Moore will be retiring but will stay available as a consultant for his coworkers who will be taking over the meat cutting. Moore was raised on a cattle ranch in Benton City, and after graduating high school in 1965, began working at Moon's Grocery Store for about a year before joining the...
We need everyone to do their part to slow the spread and flatten the curve to ensure our healthcare facilities are not overwhelmed. Each personal decision we make will impact our most vulnerable residents. Our most vulnerable community members — elderly, immunocompromised, and those with chronic conditions — are especially at risk of complications due to a COVID-19 infection and we must continue to take measures to protect them from this disease. Your choice to gather with those outside your household could lead to additional cases of COV... Full story
The Electric City council this month approved donating $2 per resident, roughly $2,000, to the Grant County Health District, but not before some discussion. At their Dec. 8 council meeting, Mayor Diane Kohout read a report from Brad Parrish, who is the representative for northern Grant County on the GCHD Board of Directors. and is also a commissioner for Hospital District 6, which runs Coulee Medical Center. Parrish’s report starts by saying the GCHD can use all donations they get, but went on to say he thinks the city’s donation should com...
Opportunity for growth has opened for the town of Nespelem with an upgraded water system now up and running. Mayor Darcy Epperson explained to The Star over the phone on Tuesday that the town actually has two water systems, and needed to repair one of them. "We did two because if our one goes down, we are without [water] and our town has no way to get that water to our customers. So that's why it was such an emergent situation. We have them both up and running now." "The town had been in this...
Coulee Dam 12/21 - Police responded to a report of a female hitting a pickup truck with a stick on Columbia Avenue. Police spoke to a man standing by his truck who said that nothing happened and there wasn’t any damage to his truck. - A woman told police that her package containing a sword had been stolen from outside her River Drive apartment. She said her neighbor had told her she knew the package was stolen and that someone who steals packages lives in Electric City. The woman said she got the sword back but didn’t elaborate on how. 12/...
In-person school is being encouraged by the state, but Lake Roosevelt is limited on space to keep a safe distance between students and staff. The guidelines for when to open schools to in-person learning were loosened up by Gov. Jay Inslee last week, citing data showing schools as being relatively safe during the COVID pandemic when they’re careful to follow safety protocols. The Washington State Department of Health and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction worked with the governor on the decision. Guidelines from the state pr... Full story
Locals have a lot of ideas for their North Dam Park, a Star survey reveals, including lights, updated playground equipment, a dog park, outdoor movies, and more. Last week, The Star reported on a meeting between Coulee Area Park and Recreation District commissioners in which they discussed areas for improvement at the park, and the need to look into grants to help pay for those improvements. The Star then shared a survey online asking readers their opinions on the commissioners' ideas, and to...
With the approval of federal health care authorities for two vaccines, some local frontline workers were inoculated against the virus that causes COVID-19 this week, and more will be early next week, along with local long-term care patients. Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ryan Fish took the needle in his arm Friday in Moses Lake. He said Tuesday he has felt no effects from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine delivered through Grant County Health District to Samaritan Hospital, where Fish... Full story
The Colville Tribes extended the closure of the Colville Reservation to non-essential visitors until midnight on May 31, 2021, and started a curfew in the Keller District. Chairman for the Colville Tribes Rodney Cawston said in a Dec. 22 press release that the Keller District is “experiencing a severe outbreak of COVID-19 infections.” As of Dec. 21, there are 15 active cases of COVID-19 in Keller and more people in quarantine while they await test results or to see if symptoms develop. “It is absolutely necessary to impose this curfew to prese... Full story
As of Dec. 22, Grant County had reported 6,466 total COVID-19 cases including 73 deaths, eight deaths since Dec. 15. There have been 23 cases in the Grand Coulee Dam area and 39 in the Coulee City area. As of Dec. 21, the county has had 947 cases in prior 14 days for an incidence rate of 969, down from 1,054 Dec. 15. The incidence goal is 25 or fewer cases per 100,000 population. Most local counties are seeing rates in the multiple hundreds, as is the state as a whole. With 15 new cases in the Coulee City area in the last two weeks, that... Full story
The long, controversial story of the imagined Ice Age Park in Electric City has come to an end, but the potential for a park is still there. The city council voted at their Dec. 8 meeting to stop the Ice Age Park project and so to return $28,234.31 of spent grant money to the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. That grant included $257,650 from the state, and an exact match from the city. The city returned their $257,650 match back into their hotel/motel fund which now has $519,275 in it. The $32,190.69 the city spent on the...
Local Democratic Party leadership will meet in early January to elect officers for the 12th Legislative District who will serve for the 2021-2022 biennium. The virtual meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021. Officers elected will include chair, vice-chair, state committee members, secretary, and treasurer. Any Democrat who lives within the 12th Legislative District may run for office. Nominations must be submitted electronically by midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Only newly elected Democratic Party Precinct Committee Officers will...
Public safety laws on the Colville Reservation will be strictly enforced during the current spike in COVID-19 cases, the Colville Tribes says, including with possible fines and jail time. “The Tribal Health Department is issuing specific orders to infected or exposed people, which are intended to control the spread of the disease,” a Dec. 9 press release from the Colville Tribes says. “These orders may be for an individual to quarantine or isolate and avoid all contact with others. Any violation of a Tribal Health order is a criminal Class... Full story
COVID rates are still high in local counties and the state as a whole, with the state reporting over 35,000 cases in the past 14 days. In local counties, cases among those in the 20-40 age range far outnumber any other age group. As of Dec. 15: Grant County had reported 6,035 total COVID-19 cases, 103 reported just Tuesday. The total includes 65 deaths, 11 of those in the past week. There have been 22 cases in the Grand Coulee Dam area and 29 in the Coulee City area, up six in the past week. The county has had 973 cases in the prior 14 days... Full story
A car blurred by a long exposure drives past Coulee Dam's holiday-decorated Douglas Park at the foot of Douglas Street, which leads to city hall. Lighted candy cane ornaments adorn light poles all the way up the street, with this view showing the last one across from the park. - Scott Hunter photo...
Efforts from local scouts to collect food donations from the community last week brought in over 2,000 pounds of food to the Care and Share Food Bank. Carole Nordine, who manages the food bank, said they received lots of mac and cheese, soups, and fruits and vegetables. She felt that this year’s haul from the annual event seemed better than in previous years. “It was awesome!” she said. Combined with the foods already there, the donations brought in from the girls and boys in local Scouts BSA troops will last through about March, Nordine said....
Would you like it if North Dam Park had new tennis courts, lighted ball fields, new playground equipment, and more flowers? We want to know. Commissioners for The Coulee Area Parks and Recreation District last week discussed improvements that could be made at North Dam Park, which it manages. The improvements could potentially be paid for, at least in part, with money from various grants. The commissioners at their Dec. 9 meeting agreed to each look into various estimates for certain improvements to gain firmer cost ideas for any grant writing... Full story
Education looks far different today than when George LaPlace was in school, and he thinks its future is likely to see more amazing changes even though funding inequities currently in place still need work. LaPlace has served as a school board director in the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors since the 2014-15 school year. As chairman since January of this year, he answered questions from The Star over email covering topics ranging from the role of the board, education during...