News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1964 - 1988 of 6735
The Fourth of July fast approaching, but don’t plan on setting off fireworks from North Dam again this year; it’s still unavailable as a launching location. The chamber of commerce’s Festival of America event, typically held below the Grand Coulee Dam, with fireworks launched from it, also will not be held this year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lighting of personal fireworks from North Dam, a popular spot for years, will not be available, as it was not last year. “Last year on July 4, fireworks were not allowed on top of North Dam bec... Full story
Dean is new principal at Nespelem School New Superintendent/Principal Effie Dean engaged the Nespelem School District Board of Directors in a broad discussion of coming issues Monday night, including a $4 million budget to be prepared with a 20-percent hedge against possible cuts in the 2020-21 school year; the state’s decision to definitely open schools this fall and include distance learning; upcoming bargaining sessions with labor unions; and a well that’s not pumping enough water. Dean will call people this week to set up a task force to wo...
Election results are in for the Colville Business Council general elections in which seven of the 14 positions for the governing body of the Colville Tribes were up for election. Three incumbents were reelected to their seats, while four new members were elected as well. Those elected will serve terms running from 2020-2022, and will be sworn in July 9th, when the Council will elect officers and appoint committee chairs. Absentee votes were counted on Thursday and added to the poll results for the final vote counts. In the Nespelem District Pos...
Anyone in the market for a Jeep? The Electric City council voted on June 9 to put the city’s 2018 Jeep Renegade Sports edition, which has only around 5,000 miles on it, up for bid. The city bought the Jeep just last year when the city had a completely different council, mayor, and city clerk. The minimum bid for the Jeep is $17,000. The council was in agreement that although the trade-in value for the vehicle was around $13,000, trade-in values are lower than the actual value, and that the vehicle’s low mileage made it worth more. The cou...
The Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, which includes Spring Canyon, is increasing recreational access and services, such as camping and vault restrooms, beginning July 1. The National Park Service, which manages the LRNRA, says it’s following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities in this increase of services. “Approximately 61% of our visitors come from Spokane, King, and Snohomish counties (410,000 people),” a June 22 press release states. “Whil... Full story
Grand Coulee 6/15 - Police checked on the well being of a Mead Avenue man on behalf of neighbors who hadn’t seen him in several days. Police found the man to be in good health. - A Grand Coulee woman went to the police station and said a man had hit her. The man said that she and her boyfriend were drinking and asked if he wanted to watch them have sex. The man said he declined that offer and at one point the woman poured his beer on him. The man’s hair and shirt smelled like beer, the police report says. 6/16 - A man at the Continental Hei...
The partial shutdown of Colville Tribal government currently in effect has been extended until midnight on July 12, 2020 by Resolution of the Colville Business Council. "All other COVID-19 related restrictions are also extended to midnight on July 12, 2020," a June 25 press release says. "These include the prohibition of public gatherings or camping in groups of ten or more people, the stay at home order for residents of the Colville Reservation, the prohibition on non-essential business activity on the Colville Reservation, and the closure of... Full story
The institution of public school will look a lot different in the 2020-21 school year due to the COVID-19 health precautions that will still be in place, and schools are now beginning to grapple with freshly issued state guidelines that bring the challenges into focus. Last week, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction released guidelines for how to resume school in the 2020-21 school year in keeping with Department of Health safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The guidelines anticipate a return to the... Full story
The 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino said tonight that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19, so the casino has closed for three to 10 days for “extensive sanitizing.” The casino posted the announcement on its website and Facebook pages. The casino closed at 7 p.m. Thursday night, June 18. “We are working to do an extensive sanitizing of 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino and will remain closed at this time until further notice,” said Chief Executive Officer Kary Nichols in a statement on their website. “We thank our communities for their support a... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School's class of 2020 made it through their final year, graduating Saturday night despite a year that seemed to conspire against them. With the last quarter-plus of the year disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the class that captured at least $191,000 in scholarships, according to the school's information, was denied many of the traditional gatherings of their last year, including spring sports. They adjusted to distance learning, isolation and a graduation ceremony in the a...
If you own a business in Electric City that was hurt financially by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you should soon be able to apply for a grant with the city to receive relief funds for which the city is eligible. City Clerk Peggy Nevsimal addressed the city council on the topic at their June 9 meeting. Nevsimal said she has spoken with the Washington State Department of Commerce about setting up a grant program to distribute some of the $30,900 the city is eligible for as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act p... Full story
A federal judge Tuesday sentenced a Grand Coulee man to 10 years in federal prison for trafficking in drugs after a July 2019 region-wide bust involving multiple law enforcement agencies in and around Grant County. Randall Curtis Gross, 27, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty Feb 11 to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, as well as heroin. Senior District Court Judge Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Gross to 10 years in prison, to be followed by a five-year term of court supervision after he is released....
Koulee Kids Fest will take place this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and one lucky child will win an iPad Mini and a pair of Beats headphones. Children of any age participating in Koulee Kids Fest will pick up a “passport,” then take it to area businesses where they will pick up kits, a treat, or take part in an activity that follows social distance guidelines. Each location will stamp their passport, and six stamps qualify a child to win the iPad Mini and Beats headphones grand prize by dropping their passport off at the Grand Coulee Dam...
Coulee Medical Center has been going through masks like hotcakes during the COVID-19 pandemic and would be grateful to receive more from local mask makers. “Our mask utilization has increased significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” CMC Chief Nursing Officer Marlene Elliott told The Star in an email Monday. “We are currently requiring universal masking for all staff, as well as any patient or visitor who enters our facility. … Average mask utilization for staff is approximately 30 to 50 per day using conservation methods... Full story
People are evidently cleaning up, and so is the local dump. Increased business at the Delano Transfer Station has brought in enough extra money this spring to offset much of a projected loss, so rates will rise only slightly. Dump rates will be raised $2 a ton, a negligible amount for casual dumpers, while spring cleaning has led to an increase in dumping and extra cash for the transfer station. Originally, in October of 2019, the Regional Board of Mayors had voted to raise dump rates at the Delano Regional Transfer Station half a cent a pound,...
Grand Coulee Police 6/8 - A man from another state working in Grand Coulee told police that a woman he sent personal pictures to on a dating app threatened to show the photos to his family if he didn’t give her $300. Screenshots between him and the online person were shared with the officer. The officer told him to contact the authorities in Eugene. 6/9 - A man reported that his Smith & Wesson semi-automatic rifle had been stolen from the trunk of his Honda Civic while he was camping near the dam. He wasn’t sure of what campground he’d been...
Schools are looking at how to successfully implement changes that will be put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new Star survey seeks the opinions of local parents, students, and staff members. Tonight's Grand Coulee Dam School District meeting can be attended on Zoom at https://gcdsd.zoom.us/j/677070515\ Tonight's Nespelem School meeting is at https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79112198202?pwd=dndzTERja0VNRXVSQUlOeHVtRVdQdz09... Full story
The people have spoken! Results are in from a Star poll on the topic of wearing masks in public during the COVID-19 pandemic, a controversial topic nationally. Last week The Star posted an online poll asking readers if they wore masks in public, and why or why not. The poll received 214 responses as of Tuesday, the most of any poll conducted by The Star in recent years. The majority, 118 (55.14%) said they do wear a mask when out in public near people; 74 (34.58%) responded that they don't; and... Full story
T-Mobile restored service to its text and voice plans across the country Monday night. CEO Mike Sievert posted the following on the company's website at 8:45 p.m., then announced at just after 10 p.m. that service was fully restored: "This is an IP traffic related issue that has created significant capacity issues in the network core throughout the day. Data services have been working throughout the day and customers have been using services like FaceTime, iMessage, Google Meet, Google Duo,... Full story
The Star has created a special digital issue of this week's special section saluting the Lake Roosevelt High graduates of 2020, one you can easily share online. Special sections are always viewable to subscribers of this site by clicking on the PDF icon on the home page toward the upper right (if you haven't tried that, you should). However, non-subscribers can't see that feature. We wanted to make this particular section viewable and shareable to all, since this year's graduates have missed... Full story
Potatoes, apples, and onions oh my! Anyone who’d like some free produce can get a box with a bag each of potatoes, apples, and onions at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, June 13, beginning at 9 a.m. The church is located at 806 Spruce Street in Coulee Dam. The giveaway was organized by the church in collaboration with Chelan Fresh, with the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce helping to get the word out over their Facebook page. Chelan Fresh takes part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Fam... Full story
People who spend recreational time at Spring Canyon told the National Park Service their concerns over potential changes for the park. The NPS collected 83 comments on their Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Draft Visitor Use Site Management Plan and Environmental Assessment before the comment period ended on May 30. The draft plan lists potential changes to nine sites along Lake Roosevelt, including Spring Canyon. A list of potential actions relevant to all sites along Lake Roosevelt,...
CORRECTION: This article has been amended to show the correct graduation date for Lake Roosevelt, which is June 13. Okanogan County enters Phase 2, meaning locally, among other things, that Lake Roosevelt’s modified graduation ceremony can go on as scheduled; however, reservation restrictions vary from the county’s. On June 5, Okanogan County entered Phase 2 of Washington State’s Safe Start plan for reopening businesses and activities in Washington. “While moving to Phase 2 is an important step, we still have work ahead of us to stay in Phas... Full story
Black Lives Matter demonstrations have been taking place across the nation, including in Omak, in response to the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis, Minnesota May 25 from cardiopulmonary arrest resulting from an incident of police brutality. About 300 people took part in a peaceful demonstration June 4, the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release Monday. The demonstration started about 5 p.m. and ended about 7. Along Main Street, a “group of local business owners and other supporters, many of whom were arm...
The top federal prosecutor in Eastern Washington said June 4 that it was “great news” that Grant County was named a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). William D. Hyslop, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington said the sheriff’s office had achieved the designation that will “bring greater information sharing and intelligence within the HIDTA network of law enforcement agencies to attack the ever-present drug problem. It will enable the County to be eli...