News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Joining somewhat of a movement to recognize this year's high school seniors in a spring that has been deformed by the coronavirus pandemic, Lake Roosevelt High School turned on the lights at Greene Field Friday night with nobody in the stands. Drivers going by honked in salute, fire engines, police cars and ambulances turned on their emergency lights, and cars shown their headlights onto the field from the parking lot. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association encouraged the...
The Colville Tribes and the Colville Tribal Federal Corporation have temporarily laid off nearly 600 employees as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, a letter from the Colville Business Council to their tribal membership explained Tuesday. The letter, shared on The Tribal Tribune’s website and Facebook page late Tuesday afternoon, explains the reasoning behind the decision. “Due to unprecedented challenges our tribe is facing due to the coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, we regrettably made the decision to place 178 employees on temporary lay... Full story
“Distance learning” is getting its moment in the sun, starting this week, for Lake Roosevelt students and teachers. With students and staff “social distancing” during the coronavirus pandemic, educators, told by the state they still have to teach, have had to figure out how to teach without actually being in the same room as their students. “Sometimes good comes out of a difficult situation,” Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Paul Turner wrote in his April 16 email update to parents and the community. “Although social distance is... Full story
The coronavirus pandemic comes along with various types of stress for various types of people, including anxiety about health, the economy, and the future of the world. Throw the depression, boredom, or restlessness due to social distancing on top of it all, and it's easy to see why mental health is important during these times. We contacted Dr. Marilyn Holman, a psychiatrist at Coulee Medical Center about how such times can affect mental health. "This is a difficult time for everyone," Holman... Full story
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Care & Share Food Bank has been open on the second and fourth Fridays of the month at its usual location at the Nazarene Church along SR-174, where food is brought out to patron’s cars. The food bank operates from 2-4 p.m. on those days. Manager Carol Nordine said that on Easter weekend 103 people came to get food; two weeks prior, 93 used the service. “For only being open every other week, it averages out,” she said. “We’ve had a few new people but not a whole bunch.” New clients should bring a driver licen... Full story
Hotels, motels, and campgrounds in Okanogan County have been ordered to operate under restrictions following the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order from the state, until at least May 4, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. An April 14 resolution by the county commissioners and the county public health officer said that the closure applies to hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts, timeshares, campgrounds, RV parks and other short-term rentals. Commissioners passed a new resolution April 21 to amend that language to say those businesses were... Full story
The Colorama Rodeo will not be held this year, a decision Ridge Riders President George Kohout said it pained him to make April 15. Kohout, who worked to bump the rodeo up to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association this year, had been looking forward to a season that would bring in more cowboys than ever and more recognition to the event and the community. But after making calls, he realized Colorama wouldn’t be alone in the disappointment. PRCA told him they’d already had over a 100 cancelations for the season, with more calling every hou... Full story
Coulee Dam police will get a new fingerprint scanner, following the city council’s award of a bid at a special council meeting Thursday. Meeting via conference call, the council voted to give the bid to DataWorks Plus for the LiveScan Fingerprinting system for $15,245. The equipment was funded with a federal grant through the Washington State Patrol, Clerk Stefani Bowden said....
Grand Coulee Police 4/17 - A city employee reported a vehicle blocking a fire hydrant near Dill Avenue and King Street. The owner was warned and moved the vehicle. The owner was also one of a few people at a Dill Avenue address who said that a man left lumber stolen from the city on their property. The people all conveniently couldn’t recall the last name of the man nor how to contact him, the police report noted. 4/18 - The sound of a man yelling was reported near Burdin Boulevard. A party was located and people were told to keep it down. T...
The local public hospital district that governs Coulee Medical Center approved applying for a so-called “loan” Thursday under the federal Payroll Protection Program (PPP) of the CARES Act passed by Congress in March to help keep workers employed during the current pandemic. The commissioners of Douglas, Grant, Lincoln, Okanogan Hospital District 6 approved Resolution 1096 authorizing the issuance of a promissory note for up to $3 million to pay for eight weeks of payroll. CMC, like many other hospitals all around the nation, has stopped ele... Full story
Everyone is encouraged to drive by the Lake Roosevelt sports field at 8:20 p.m. tonight and honk to honor the senior class! The stadium lights will be on and the drive-by celebration comes as the social distancing mandate to slow the spread of the novel Coronavirus has changed the final year for the school’s senior class. An email today from Athletic Director Tim Rasmussen announced tonight’s effort: “Join us tonight, Friday April 17th, as we will will turn on our stadium lights at 8:20 p.m. (20:20) to honor the senior class of 2020. Come... Full story
A home was lost Friday night when a fire started while no one was there. Grand Coulee Fire Chief Ryan Fish said those who lived in the house in Coulee Dam had been down the street when it started to burn. The fire at the home of Shayla and Shawn Deckwa apparently started about 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 10. At least four fire departments were on scene at 1103 Camas Street with equipment and firefighters, dousing the flames on a windy night and spraying down the siding on neighboring houses to...
Local boards and councils have been holding telephonic and internet-based meetings, on orders from the governor, so that business can still get done while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. But there’s a limit on what’s allowed in such meetings. A Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting was held on March 23 using Zoom, video conferencing software that allows people to attend a meeting electronically. A Coulee Area Park & Recreation District meeting is also scheduled over Zoom for today. The April 13 Regional Board of May... Full story
Taxes due April 30 Grant County’s treasurer said Monday that taxes on real, mobile home and personal property are due by April 30, but those laid off or businesses closed for the state of emergency will get a longer time to pay. “Like most counties in this state, there will be no blanket extension of the due date,” Treasurer Darryl Pheasant explained. “Our hospitals, fire districts and other districts are dependent on tax collections to not have a major disruption to their cash flow. “I am, though, providing a grace date or special full-year...
The annual early-May Colorama festival has been called off by the organizing chamber of commerce due to the uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic and the cancelation of a major vendor, the carnival. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors met in special session last week, a time when preparations either had to move ahead or refunds made to vendors who had applied to work the event. Although starting at the end of the second week in May the event would have come after the statewide emergency is set to...
Some people have found themselves with extra time to work on projects due to the social distancing mandated during the coronavirus pandemic. Responding to a post on The Star's Facebook page, people shared pictures of projects they've been working on. The variety of projects included paintings of construction machinery for a young boy's bedroom, Easter baskets, a raised garden bed made out of a bedframe, changing an engine out of a 1970 Chevelle, a "cold frame" flower/garden bed, a fort built by... Full story
Everybody is anxious to get back to their normal lives, but with spring budding out all over, local golfers are really champing at their putters. Jim Keene, president of board of commissioners for Grant County Port District 7, which owns Banks Lake Golf Course, said Monday he sees some confusion among local golfers, some of whom believe the decision to shut down the course in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s general shutdown proclamation was optional. It was not, Keene said. He cites Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” March 23 proclam... Full story
The bathrooms at North Dam Park are closed, but the park itself is open. Commissioners for the Coulee Area Parks and Recreation District voted to close the bathrooms at North Dam Park during an April 8 meeting held via Zoom, the video conferencing app frequently being used during the social distancing of the coronavirus pandemic. The park itself is still open. Other projects the group is interested in pursuing, such as bringing swimming lessons to Spring Canyon, as well as installing an electric vehicle charging station at North Dam Park, are... Full story
Grand Coulee Police 4/6 - An officer spoke to two roommates on Roosevelt Avenue. A woman said her roommate threatened to smack her for leaving a basement door open. The man said he didn’t say he would smack her but that she would get smacked. He likes the door closed to prevent a draft. 4/7 - A man reported his vehicle being hit by a pellet gun while driving near E Street and the highway to Bridgeport. An officer spoke to three boys shooting a BB gun. They were shooting cans but shooting toward the highway. An officer told them of the danger o...
Most kids won't enter their classrooms again this school year, following Gov. Jay Inslee's announcement Monday afternoon that in-person teaching would not be allowed in any schools in Washington at least for the remainder of the school year. The decision was based on the latest data available on the trend curve of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus that had sickened nearly 8,000 in the state and killed 338 as of Sunday night, Inslee said, even as some noted what might be an... Full story
A home was lost tonight. Those who lived in this house on Camas Street in Coulee Dam were down the street when it started to burn; no one was home, Grand Coulee Fire Chief Ryan Fish saiid. The fire at the home of Shayla and Shawn Deckwa apparently started about 8:30 p.m., Friday, April 10. At least four fire departments were on scene with equipment, housing the flames on a windy night and spraying down the siding on neighboring houses to keep them cool as neighbors watched from a sidewalk...
Among 10 people who tested postive for the novel coronavirus in Okanogan County as of Tuesday, five are on the Colville Reservation, one a local woman whose daughter posted on Facebook that her mother and siblings were sick. “I want our community to know that the virus IS HERE,” Micki BearCub Hudson posted April 1. Okanogan County Public Health said four cases are in the Methow and one other is in “South County,” an area it did not specify in a Tuesday update. The agency noted that two of those cases have fully recovered. Grant County has had... Full story
Grocery stores have been one place people must go even with the social-distancing requirements of the coronavirus epidemic. Precautions have been taken to protect customers and store workers, and more are being taken in the busiest local store. Additional safety changes coming to Safeway stores include limits on the number of customers who can shop at a given time, and one-way aisles, the company says. “Throughout this week, Safeway and Albertsons will be further enhancing safety measures in all their stores in Washington State,” an April 6 c... Full story
Grant County Health District has detailed how to use homemade masks effectively to avoid exposure to coronavirus. An April 4 press release explains how the masks can be effective in protecting yourself from exposure to coronavirus infected droplets, as well as how to remove them and clean them. “All of us involved in the COVID-19 response know that protecting our health workers and first responders is vital for each and every one of us,” the health states. “That is why our limited supplies of commercial Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) have... Full story
The coronavirus has affected work life and home life in the Coulee in multiple ways, an online Star survey reveals, with lots of stress for some but some silver linings for others. Asked if they are working from home because of social restrictions, 17 out of 37 of those who responded said they are, with some loving the home office and others not. Slow internet speed is listed as an issue, as well as boredom, but several respondents said the experience was positive. Responses included: • Not as productive working from home. • Difficult to foc... Full story