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  • Grand Coulee to get funding for wastewater plan

    Oct 9, 2019

    Grand Coulee will get a little help from a state agency to assess its options regarding its once state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that is now reaching old age. The Washington State Dept. of Commerce announced last week that it awarded the city $24,000 for a facility plan, one of many awards to rural communities around the state that will total $10.5 million in Community Development Block Grants. Twenty-seven projects were selected from 41 grant applications requesting over $20 million, a press release from Commerce said Oct. 3....

  • Coulee Cops

    Oct 9, 2019

    Grand Coulee Police 9/30 - A man on King Street said he had to use a shop vacuum while repairing a toilet, and once done, rinsed the vacuum and dumped it across the street in some bushes. An officer, responding to a report from a neighbor, told him that that wasn’t the proper way to dispose of that kind of waste. The man said he wouldn’t do it again. - A man told police that three days earlier he had been approached by two “locals” at the Electric City Bar & Grill who said he could purchase some time with a 14-year-old girl. Asked why he didn...

  • Carole Nordine wants to see projects through on council

    Jacob Wagner|Oct 9, 2019

    Having been appointed to the Electric City Council twice, Carol Nordine would like to continue in that role to see projects finished and new ones begun. Now she'd like to be elected to keep her seat at council in Position 4. She's facing challenger Cate Slater. Nordine said the city was only starting to work on the Ice Age Park when she started on the council, and she is happy to see that project coming to fruition. She hopes to see another park with a basketball court completed soon, as well. "...

  • Cate Slater thinks council should be more open

    Jacob Wagner|Oct 9, 2019

    Cate Slater is running for city council Position 4 in Electric City, wanting to give back to the community she's come to call home. Slater said she'd talk with friends, family, and coworkers about what was going on in the city, and when major changes began happening with Western Avenue, a street she drives daily, she decided to get involved. "I have to do something, otherwise nothing's going to change," she said. Slater said she agrees with the idea of projects the city is working on, but not...

  • Spokane man sentenced to five years for beating, stabbing girlfriend

    Oct 2, 2019

    A federal judge sentenced a Spokane man to five years in prison for hitting and stabbing his girlfriend multiple times in 2018. Tommie Joe Flett, 47, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, was sentenced after having pleaded guilty on July 18 to Domestic Assault by a Habitual Offender in Indian Country, the office of the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Washington said in a press release. The sentence imposed by District Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. also specifies that Flett will be under court...

  • Teenage boy missing

    Scott Hunter|Oct 2, 2019

    The grandmother of a 14-year-old boy is asking anyone who sees him to report it to Colville Tribal Police. Cathy Covington says she's been raising Javante Picard since he was 3 years old and that he's had problems at school, with plans put in place to help him. But on Sept. 26, she says, someone picked him up at the bus stop, and he didn't make it to Lake Roosevelt Junior Senior High School. She hasn't seen him since but believes he's near Nespelem. Covington has contacted tribal police and has... Full story

  • City breaks ground on Ice Age Park

    Jacob Wagner|Oct 2, 2019

    Officials broke ground on Electric City's first park, an Ice Age-themed area expected to be finished near the end of July, 2020 at a cost of over a half million dollars. A ground-breaking event at the lot behind the fire hall was attended by a group of roughly 30-40 citizens and their children, current and former city council members, and clerks. The little tykes found hidden toy eggs in the area of the upcoming park, and were awarded prizes including a stuffed wooly mammoth, various toys and...

  • Bussert seeks reelection on Electric City council

    Jacob Wagner|Oct 2, 2019

    Lonna Bussert has been on the Electric City council about 10 years and is running against challenger Cheryl Hoffman to keep her seat. One of the projects she cares about the most is the Ice Age Park that is being built. "I've been working on the park thing for four or five years," she said, "which is to me a family thing. The city needs it, and I really want to see that done. I want people with kids and with families to come to Electric City. You're not going to do that if you don't do...

  • Cheryl Hoffman running for council

    Jacob Wagner|Oct 2, 2019

    Cheryl Hoffman is running for a seat on the Electric City Council. "I chose to run because I disagree with a number of decisions the council has made," Hoffman said in an interview with The Star. "I don't think they're bad people; I don't think they're stupid people; I just disagree with some of the decisions they've made, and I think we need to rethink how we're spending the city's tax dollars and the state's tax dollars." "I disagree with the decision to close off Western Avenue," Hoffman...

  • Newsbriefs

    Oct 2, 2019

    Hospital gaining ground Coulee Medical Center is beating its budget for the year, having gained $1,166,551 more than it’s spent to operate through August, Chief Financial Officer Kelly Hughes reported to hospital district commissioner Monday night. A good August helped, with CMC posting three times the gain for the month that Hughes had budgeted. That $384,329 gain for August put the facility past its budgeted gain for the year by an extra $290,913. Councilmember steps down Coulee Dam Councilmember Marcia Warnecke resigned that position last m...

  • Cultural Awareness

    Oct 2, 2019

    Lake Roosevelt Schools held a" Cultural Awareness Gathering" Sept. 26, the day before Native American Day, on their sunny football field in Coulee Dam. "The goal of Cultural Awareness Gathering is to increase the knowledge of American Indian Culture, showcase our traditions and build relationships outside the classroom," said LR Indian Education Director Kim Stanger. "The event provides several opportunities for us to display traditions for the American Indian Culture, engage in socializing...

  • Tribes changing to four-day work week

    Scott Hunter|Oct 2, 2019

    The Colville Business Council, the governing body of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, has approved implementation of a four-day work week, with 10-hour days. The switch was set for Sept. 30, after the CBC approved Resolution #2019-569 on Thursday at its full Council meeting. But due to the 2019 General Membership meeting set for Friday, Oct. 4, the CBC agreed to postpone the implementation of the new work schedule until Oct. 7. That schedule will apply to all government programs except those deemed “essential,” such as polic...

  • Local artists nominated for national music awards

    Jacob Wagner|Oct 2, 2019

    Local men Tim Brooks and Faran Sohappy both participated in the recording of a song nominated for both the Indian Summer Music Awards and the Native American Music Awards. "Grand Coulee resident Faran Sohappy worked as an engineer and Coulee Dam resident Tim Brooks played the flute on a song called Nature Walk, written by singer/songwriters Joan Hammel and Rebecca Slone Rivera," a Sept. 21 press release from Hammel's company Paxton Productions states. Hammel and Slone Rivera are based in...

  • Coulee Cops

    Oct 2, 2019

    Grand Coulee 9/24 - An officer assisted Coulee Dam Police with a burglary alarm on River Drive, where police thought the wind may have set off the garage door activation. All windows and doors were secured. - A woman in a yard on 4th Street in Electric City refused to leave. An officer found her walking down the street and determined she was intoxicated because of her slurred speech and unsteadiness on her feet. The woman was wanted on a warrant, but the jail was on restrictions. She was given a courtesy ride to her Grand Coulee home. 9/26 - A...

  • Weapon allegedly brought to school sparks action

    Scott Hunter|Sep 25, 2019

    School officials got a tip after classes were out last week that a student may have brought a weapon to Lake Roosevelt Jr-Sr High School and a student has reportedly been referred to juvenile authorities. In a statement, the Grand Coulee Dam School District alerted the public of the incident on its website and on its Facebook account two days later. The school administration got the tip about 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16 and immediately began an investigation, the statement said. “Our school administrators and Coulee Dam Police questioned w...

  • NWS says to watch for snow in the hills

    Scott Hunter|Sep 25, 2019

    Snow was reported on the highway between Davenport and Reardan this morning, as well as on Sherman Pass east of Republic, and the NWS is advising of snow possible at 2,000 feet. Here’s the winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service: Winter Weather Advisory URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Spokane WA 242 PM PDT Sat Sep 28 2019 ...EARLY SEASON SNOW AND STRONG WINDS THIS WEEKEND... .A cold storm system will bring the potential for heavy snow in the mountains this weekend. In addition, expect wet, slushy accum... Full story

  • Joint wastewater treatment facility wins awards but is getting old

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    Grand Coulee’s wastewater treatment plant, which it shares with Electric City, is getting old, and officials are beginning to look into upgrading or replacing it. A representative from the state Dept. of Ecology presented Grand Coulee Sept. 17 with its fifth straight award of excellence for consistently staying up to par and presenting quality reports on time for their wastewater treatment plant. But the facility was completed in 1985, 35 years ago. “The plant is in need of some serious maintenance/upgrades,” Grand Coulee City Clerk Lorna...

  • Newsbriefs

    Sep 25, 2019

    Clarification Electric City mayoral candidate and Councilmember Aaron Derr said after a story on his candidacy that the council had indeed had survey results concerning auxiliary buildings prior to a vote, not afterward. There was a miscommunication on the topic. No arrests yet in homicide The Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office continue to investigate the killiing of a person whose body was found June 3, in the trunk of a car that burned in Aeneas Valley Fire District 16. The body was not identifiable when firefighters discovered it, but an a...

  • Pulling a switch

    Sep 25, 2019

    Mark Piturachsatit said he told the kids it was their turn to push as they neared the finish line in the 5K Run the Dam race Saturday, which he finished in a little over an hour. See results and more photos of the chamber of commerce's Harvest Festival on page 5. - Scott Hunter photo...

  • Townsend wants to keep mayoral work

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    Grand Coulee's incumbent Mayor Paul Townsend is seeking reelection. "I'm looking forward to another opportunity to continue on serving the community, and hopefully we just keep growing and improving our position," Townsend told The Star on Monday. "Bottom line is we need information and support from the citizens in the community. The council very seldom gets information in response from citizens until it's something negative. We need to know what the citizens want. We're making decisions. We...

  • Whitney running for mayor of Grand Coulee

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    Cameron Whitney, mayoral candidate in Grand Coulee, is hoping to boost the curb appeal of the town. Having travelled to Grand Coulee throughout his life, Whitney settled here with his partner Tracey Wright, who is running for city council in Grand Coulee, both of them moving here to get out of the rat race of their corporate backgrounds, Whitney said. "We wanted to live a slower pace, so we started to downsize our lifestyles," Whitney told The Star in an email, saying he didn't have time to...

  • Torn up area scheduled for November completion

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 25, 2019

    Construction continues in Electric City, where more than a million dollars in street, sidewalk and water projects on Western Avenue, Coulee Boulevard, and Grand Avenue are underway. "Crews have successfully pulverized the asphalt and installed most of the stormwater facilities," a Sept. 19 update on the city's website, www.electriccity.us stated. Crews will continue stormwater facility work through this week, and water main construction should begin today (Sept. 25) to be completed the second...

  • Our summer weather for 2019

    Bob Valen|Sep 25, 2019

    This time around we’ll be looking at the historic weather results for our summer – June, July and August and the summer of 2019. We’ll also take a look-see at what is being predicted for our upcoming winter – December, January and February 2019-20. First, let’s delve into the world of predicted weather as provided by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC). The CPC, as I’ve mentioned before, is a service of the National Weather Service, an agency under the broader umbrella of the National Oc...

  • Coulee Cops

    Sep 25, 2019

    Grand Coulee Police 9/17 - A vehicle parked in the alley behind the senior manor on Continental Heights was blocking access for the city to do repairs. The owner was told by an officer to move the vehicle. They said they would. - A Child Protective Services employee asked an officer to escort her to a Dill Avenue residence. The person she wanted to talk to wasn’t home. 9/18 - A mother was concerned for her son who wasn’t at his home in Electric City. An officer checked, and the son is in jail. He was unable to reach the mother back to rel...

  • Electric City Fire Department still exists

    Jacob Wagner|Sep 18, 2019

    Following the firing of former fire chief Mark Payne last week, the other members of the Electric City Fire Department are still there and plan to stay there. “As of right now, we’re going to ride it out and see where it goes,” said Assistant Chief Gary Roscoe. “It’s our department, and we don’t want to disband. Most of us are hoping there’s a new mayor and some changes so we aren’t fighting this constantly. As volunteers, it’s hard to volunteer if they’re constantly pushing you out the door.” “The Mayor and myself will work with the remaining...

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