News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The Williams Flats fire, burning upstream from the Keller Ferry, is 50% contained and has burned approximately 45,000 acres. As of Aug. 13, according to a press release from Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8, there were 812 people working on the fire, down from the 1,203 working on the fire Aug. 10. Firefighters are being re-assigned as more of Williams Flats comes under control. Still assigned to the fire on Tuesday were 16 hand crews, one medium helicopter, one light helicopter, four ambulances, 28 engines, 12 dozers, one...
After decades of absence, the "chief of all of the rest of the fish" returned to the upper Columbia River Friday when a tribal elder slipped an adult salmon into the water of Lake Rufus Woods, followed by 29 more that had begun their journey years ago after coming into existence at a hatchery downriver. A ceremonial song to reintroduce the chinook echoed back from the Douglas County side of the river Friday morning at the Colville Tribes' campgrounds near commercial fish-raising pens along Lake...
Several local offices up for election with no one running have necessitated a special filing period. The special filing period has been set in Okanogan and Grant counties for Aug. 21-23. A four-year position for a Coulee Dam Town Council member is open, as is a four-year term on the Elmer City Council. But in Nespelem, no one has filed for a two-year mayoral term or for five council positions —three four-year terms and two two-year terms. A four-year school director position in the Grand Coulee Dam School District is still open. And a f...
Fire created thunder and lightening Scientists flew through the clouds created by the Williams Flats Fire last week to study the first incidence of a "pyrocumulonimbus" cloud in continental United States this year. The flight was one of the first ever to record data from inside such a cloud. A Seattle Times story about it is here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/environment/washington-wildfire-smoke-just-triggered-a-thunderstorm-nasa-researchers-flew-through-the-middle-of-it/ The time lapse was hotographed by Keller photographer...
Animal control, a common need among local towns, is being addressed by the Regional Board of Mayors, who are looking into contracting with the Colville Confederated Tribes to address the issue. The RBOM met on Monday, when animal control was discussed by Elmer City Mayor Jesse Tillman, Electric City Mayor John Nordine, Coulee Dam Mayor Bob Poch, Grand Coulee Mayor Pro Tempore Tom Poplawski, and Marica Sample, the sole employee of Colville Tribal Animal Control. “It’s a need throughout all of our towns,” Tillman said. Sample said the tribe...
The Coulee Dam Police Department last week took part in National Night Out, a sort of meet and greet event that takes place each August nationwide at thousands of police departments who interact with their communities in a casual way. Coulee Dam Police Chief Paul Bowden said that in 15 years in law enforcement, he had not yet taken part in National Night Out and decided it was time to do so. He plans to do so again next year. "It's just for people to come out and meet us, know where we're...
Grand Coulee Police 8/5 - Police responded to Kings Court RV Park where they were shown footage of two persons entering a room in the laundromat where the public is not allowed. The footage showed a woman appearing to be on the lookout while a male looked in the room. Police were told the door was left open and there are no signs saying “Employee’s Only.” - Police spotted a man they knew to be wanted on a warrant on Kelso Avenue, arrested him, and took him to jail. 8/6 - Police responded to Lakeview Avenue, where a man reported a possi...
In Grant and Adams counties, motorists driving impaired will have a greater chance of being pulled over by law enforcement, as nearly 150 additional DUI patrols begin across the state. Patrols run from August 14 through Labor Day weekend, a time when fatalities from impairment tend to increase. To reduce fatalities, traffic safety officials offer a simple message for drivers who consume alcohol or other drugs: plan before you party. “We conduct the ‘Plan before you party’ campaign during the busy summer travel time because we want everyone to g...
It's smoky outside, not as smoky as last year, but health experts advise being mindful of the amount of smoke in the air and how it affects you. Here are some tools to help with that. On the Air Quality Index on purpleair.com, which uses a color-coded gradient that measures air pollution on a scale from 0-500, the Grand Coulee Dam area ranged from 139-153 as of 11:30 a.m. on August 6. AQIs of less than 100 are generally considered to be healthy. The Environmental Protection Agency's Particulate...
KELLER – Keller Ferry users will get a two-week reprieve on a terminal repair project closure, with work now starting in September. Initially, the 14-day closure and repair was scheduled to be complete by Aug. 30, but delays in obtaining materials have pushed back that work.The ferry vessel M/V Sanpoil will now be out of service for two weeks in mid-September. The closure dates have tentatively been set for the evening of Friday, Sept. 13, through Friday, Sept. 27 - but those could be pushed back if any fires in the area restrict first r... Full story
A fire burning on the Colville Indian Reservation, upstream from the Keller Ferry in the Hellgate Game Reserve area has scorched 18,000 acres and was 25 percent contained, as of Tuesday night, as firefighters have contended with snakes, bears and smoke too thick for airplanes to help. The Williams Flats Fire started Aug. 2, after a band of early morning thunderstorms with lightning moved across the eastern portion of the Colville Indian Reservation, according to Inciweb, a government-run...
Is technology bringing us closer together, tearing us apart, or just sucking up our time in general? A recent poll shared to The Star’s Facebook page just scratched the surface of the complex issue of smartphones, tablets, and their roles in our lives, gathering responses from 23 people on the topic. Respondents were evenly spread out between ages 25 and 65-plus, with no one 24 or younger responding. Four people claimed to look at their phone immediately after waking up, while the majority, 14, said they first looked at their phone from half a...
Jill Fraser has been passionate about dogs her whole life, grooming her first one at age 10 when she decided her aunt's cocker spaniel could use an upgrade. Since then, she's pursued a career around dogs, showing breeds at 16 after leaving Spokane for California on her own, then getting into the grooming business in Portland, Oregon that year when she worked for a veterinarian as the boarding and grooming manager, she says. "I know what dogs are supposed to look like, regardless if it's a show c...
Someone illegally flew a drone into the temporarily restricted airspace over the Williams Flats and Lundstrom Butte Fires Tuesday, forcing a stop to all flights by firefighting aircraft. “The incursion caused all firefighting related aircraft — helicopters, Fire Bosses and large retardant planes — to suspend operations and return to the airport,” Northwest Interagency Incident Management Team 8 said in a late fire update Tuesday night. No flights were allowed in the area until it could be verified that the drone had left it. “During the suspe...
Spring Canyon and Keller Ferry are two National Park Service sites listed Tuesday for possible closure next week during a project to redo or upgrade all asphalt surfaces in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. The project is part of a national paving maintenance effort led by the Federal Highway Administration. Last spring, the NPS announced it would stop taking reservations for the park because, beginning July, contractors would be resurfacing and restriping all National Park Service-managed asphalt surfaces within the boundaries of...
Man drowns in Lake Rufus Woods A 26-year-old Bridgeport man drowned Sunday near Chief Joseph Dam while swimming with friends, Douglas County Sheriff Kevin W. Morris said. Responding to the call, deputies found Manuel De Jesus Galarza-Martinez lying on the shore unresponsive. Deputies attempted lifesaving measures, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Martinez had been swimming with friends when he went under the water. After he did not resurface, friends dove in, found him unresponsive, pulled him to shore, and then called for help. No flame...
Grand Coulee Police 8/1 - A gas station attendant at Jack’s Four Corners turned in a brown paper bag found in the parking lot by a customer. The paper bag had a plastic bag and a small condiment container inside, both containing crystal-like substances. One substance tested negative for methamphetamine, and resembled sugar. The other substance tested positive for methamphetamine. Everything was destroyed as per department policy. - A man gave a pistol he deemed unsafe to police, wanting it to be disposed of property. The weapon was cleared, r...
Two fires were started early Tuesday by suspected arson in the Osborne Bay area near the gravel pit on the east side of SR-155 on July 30. Electric City Fire Chief Mark Payne said there were two fires started about a quarter mile apart in the area. Outbuildings and recreational vehicles in the area were threatened, he said. A man camping there told police he smelled smoke half an hour after a vehicle, possibly a Jeep, had driven through his camp early in the morning, according to Officer Adam Florenzen of the Grand Coulee Police Department....
A wave boarder gets up to speed on Banks Lake Monday afternoon in not-too-hot conditions. Check the mostly sunny weather forecast on page 8. - Scott Hunter photo...
The school district will draw on reserves to run Lake Roosevelt Schools for the next couple years, a budget approved last week shows, but financial losses are projected in later years, an issue the superintendent hopes to solve. Grand Coulee Dam School District directors at a July 22 meeting approved a 2019-20 school year budget of approximately $12.9 million in expenditures, up from $12 million last year. With an anticipated enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grades of 701 students, that makes for an average of $18,400 per student. Much...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) introduced a bill in Congress last week that would rename the Third Power Plant at Grand Coulee Dam as the “Nathaniel ‘Nat’ Washington Power Plant.” “The designation recognizes the work of Nathaniel “Nat” Washington, Sr., and his son, Nat Washington, Jr., who were instrumental in the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam and in harnessing hydropower as a renewable energy source for the Pacific Northwest,” a press release from Newhouse’s office states. Introduced on July 23, H.R. 3937 recognizes lif...
Planning the future of the Grand Coulee Dam Airport was the topic of discussion at a July 29 Grant County Port District 7 meeting, where commissioners were joined by citizens, the airport manager and members of J-U-B Engineers, the consultants working on the airport master plan. The master plan is in the works, and members of J-U-B explained where they were in the process, what the next steps are, and took comments from those present. Ideas discussed for the future of the airport include making fuel available at the airport, installing...
A paraglider comes down from the sky into a field on Strahl Canyon Road just north of SR-174 in Douglas County, after taking off from Chelan Butte July 13, the final day of the US Open of Paragliding. - Chelan 2019. The seven-day event tested the skills of about 170 participants. Seventy of them made their goals on this Saturday. Other tasks on earlier days included flights from Chelan to Omak, Wilbur, Brewster and elsewhere. "Really good day, a lot of happy people," said Matt Senior, organizer... Full story
Coulee Dam's wastewater customers will shoulder an additional $2 a month on their sewer bills after the city council solved two big problems with one vote last Wednesday. The council voted 3-1 to accept an additional $1.2 million in loan and grant money to pay for two new lift stations for pumping sewage to the new wastewater treatment facility. The additional $304,000 in a 40-year loan and $909,000 in grant money, with an additional $39,000 from the town budget, brings the total project cost to...
Every two years, the Washington State Legislature’s House Healthcare and Wellness Committee takes a tour of facilities in rural areas, but they’ve never been to Grand Coulee. That will change Sept. 23, when the committee led by Rep. Eileen Cody ends a tour here with a “robust” meeting at the end of the day. Cody’s staff asked if Coulee Medical Center would be willing to participate, Chief Executive Officer Ramona Hicks told the commissioners of Hospital District 6 Monday. “They’re bringing 20 people in a bus,” Hicks said. In other business at t...