News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 2063 - 2087 of 6735
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Local state parks areas such as Steamboat Rock, Osborne Bay, and Northrup Canyon are closed, while Spring Canyon remains open but without services. Steamboat Rock, Northrup Point boat launch, and Northrup Canyon are all closed to the public until at least April 30. Steamboat Rock State Park Park Ranger Jared Liening told The Star on Tuesday that the spots are closed to discourage the spread of the coronavirus. Liening said people have still been using Northrup Canyon despite a sign on the kiosk...
Kids up to 18 years of age have been getting meals from the Grand Coulee Dam School District at their bus route pickup spots while school is out for the virus-related shutdown. That plan changed on Monday. Meal deliveries will now be made at eight specified places from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. just three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Academic packets for students in grades 7-12 will also be available then. Nespelem School District will still provide Grab and Go meals to students in that area at the locations below. Here’s the d...
You can get a college level geology education specific to our area for free on Youtube! Geologist Professor Nick Zentner, who teaches at Central Washington University, has been holding lectures from his Ellensburg home on his YouTube page in a series he calls "Nick From Home." Zentner, who spoke about local geology last year at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center, is "live streaming" his lectures from his yard, and the videos remain available beyond the initial live stream. Topics include...
The spring cleanup ad that ran in this week's Star was a mistake, a sort of unintentional April Fools mishap. The community spring cleanup is delayed until further notice....
In response to the coronavirus epidemic, locals have been making washable, reusable fabric respiratory masks for the local hospital, as well as for individuals and other organizations. A Facebook group has even sprung up called the Mask Avengers, with posts related to mask making. Linda Roberts is one of those making masks, having made 71 as of Monday, and with orders for more. Roberts said those 71 masks took about a week to make, with multiple masks given to UPS drivers (Linda's husband Merle...
Although simple made-at-home masks lack the sophisticated filters that catch 95% of items as small as a virus, there’s heavy debate on whether official recommendations that people who are not sick should not wear them make sense. Current articles in Wired magazine and the Washington Post argue that society-wide wearing of simpler masks could significantly cut down on the spread of the novel coronavirus. All agree that the actual personal protective gear made for medical use should be dedicated to those health care workers on the front lines, b...
Charlie Long has been a member of the American Legion for 60 years! Greg Behrens, vice commander at Post 157 in Electric City, presented the Coulee Dam man with a 60-year certificate March 25. Behrens said he had wanted to do a formal presentation but wasn't able to because of the coronavirus social restrictions. "It was kind of surprising," Long told The Star over the phone on Monday. "I didn't realize it had been that long." Behrens provided a description of Long's tenure in the army:...
Local parents in the medical and emergency field have not yet taken advantage of daycare offered for their children by the Grand Coulee Dam School District, Superintendent Paul Turner told The Star in an email on March 27. “Currently we have no takers,” he said. “If we do in the coming weeks we will do what we need to accommodate their needs.” Schools are required to provide daycare to those students, per the directive of Gov. Jay Inslee, if daycare is needed so that the parents can do their jobs....
Millions of N-95 masks and other types of personal protective equipment are being delivered to Washington State as public health and emergency response officials scramble to obtain the equipment needed to respond to the growing COVID-19 outbreak. Jerrod Davis, assistant secretary for disease control and health statistics at the Department of Health, said there is significant global demand for these kinds of items and right now the state does not have enough to satisfy the needs of its communities. Davis explained that the state’s joint operatio...
In a convoluted process, a raise in dumping rates at the Delano Transfer Station, approved in October by the Regional Board of Mayors, was approved again in March, but still must be approved by the four area towns before it might be implemented, with Grand Coulee so far not wanting to raise the rates. The Star reported in October 2019 that the RBOM had approved a half-cent-per-pound raise in dumping fees at the transfer station, which was said by then-city administrator of Electric City Russ Powers to be on track to lose approximately $29,000...
Grand Coulee 3/21 - A man got his foot caught in the foot brace of his motorcycle while at a stop sign along SR-155, and possibly broke his ankle when the bike rolled back. He was taken to the hospital. His friends took care of the motorcycle. - An officer was called to assist with loud occupants at the Sky Deck Motel who refused to quiet down, but they weren’t in their room by the time the officer arrived. 3/22 - A man on King Street told an officer that another man had punched him in the face for no reason while he was sleeping. The o...
3 Tribes Colville Casinos, including the Coulee Dam Casino, have extended their closure through April 30. An April 1 press release from 12 Tribes Colville Casinos details the closure. "Following guidance from the Colville Business Council, 12 Tribes Casinos has extended closures for all three casino properties- 12 Tribes Resort Casino in Omak, 12, Tribes Mill Bay Casino in Manson, and 12 Tribes Coulee Dam Casino in Coulee Dam," the press release says. "The closure has been in effect since March 17, 2020 and will last through April 30, 2020,...
After days of reports of droves of people not complying with his pleas to stay home, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a mandatory order Monday to shut many public places and non-essential businesses in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Inslee emphasized that the though the orders are legally enforceable, officials would still emphasize voluntary compliance. And sheriffs in Lincoln and Grant counties issued similar statements assuring people that law enforcement's role in the shutdown...
Kids up to 18 years of age have been getting meals from the Grand Coulee Dam School District at their bus route pickup spots while school is out for the virus-related shutdown. That plan will change on Monday, the school district said Thursday. Meal deliveries will now be made at eight specified places from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. just three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Academic packets for students in grades 7-12 will also be available then. Nespelem School District will still provide Grab and Go meals to students in that area...
With Coulee Medical Center officially in emergency mode, a representative updated the Grand Coulee City Council last week on what that currently means. Tyler Donn spoke on behalf of CMC March 17 in regard to the COVID-19, coronavirus epidemic. Donn explained that with a national emergency declared on March 13, it forced the hospital to put their emergency preparedness plan into action. The first goal is to protect all patients and others at the hospital, Donn said, and that entails sending home non-essential staff, ensuring staff have...
The Star is interested in knowing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected your life at home in the Coulee. Please take our survey and let us know how it has changed your home life or work life, and what you've been doing to pass the time spent "social distancing." Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q8ZX7SZ...