News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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KELLER – Until further notice, Keller Ferry users who travel across the Columbia River on State Route 21 should find alternate routes. The Keller Ferry (M/V Sanpoil) is currently out of service due to power failure at the north landing site. Crews are waiting on an electrician to restore power service to the landing site to resume normal operations. Travelers planning a trip across the Columbia River on SR 21 should choose an alternate route during the closure via SR 25 or SR 155 and SR 174. Drivers should also plan additional time for t... Full story
Chantel Crowe, Grand Coulee's deputy city clerk, attracted a majority of the votes in the three-way race for the mayor's office in Tuesday's primary. Crowe and Mayor Ruth Dalton will face off in the general election that concludes Nov. 4. The two were selected over Micah Seekins in the primary election. Seekins garnered 12 votes, or almost 8%. Of the 155 ballots cast, Dalton got 54 votes (35%) to Crowe's 87 (56%). There were two votes for write-in candidates, who were not listed in the Grant...
Thunderstorms have kept firefighters busy in Okanogan County and the Colville Reservation, but local area firefighters only got in about an hour's work fighting one fire this week. That was Thursday when a fire was called in alongside SR-174 in a rocky area on the right across the highway from East Heights. Firefighters quickly knocked it down. But that same day, the Mount Tolman Fire Center saw the start of the Kinkaid Creek fire that developed into a "complex" of smaller fires. That one includ...
A group of people that recently adopted the name The Wayfinders meets at Voltage Coffee House Saturday discussing their effort to raise awareness and support for school supplies this year in the face of extra challenges for school budgets. They're putting flyers out listing desired supplies for Lake Roosevelt and Nespelem schools, and solicited support from local cities to help with the cost of clear backpacks for school and public events, a safety item. The group is the same one that has been...
Brook and Fawn, right, dish up free ice cream for shoppers at Harvest Foods and Variety in Coulee Dam for their anniversary celebration Friday, Aug. 1. - Scott Hunter photo...
Chinking in armor riprap - A 100 ton Manitowoc Speed crane is distributing smaller rock among the large individual armor rocks. Even these big rocks could be moved by the wave action if not protected with the smaller rocks in the interstices which wedge the big rocks firmly together, and also cover up large exposed surfaces. - June 22, 1950...
Flanked by his crew, Larry Hernandez cuts a ribbon to formally declare the Village Cinema open July 19 as about a dozen patrons applauded. Hernandez has spent the last year getting the old theater into shape, upgrading it, adding equipment, cleaning and refurbishing it, investing heavily in time and money, and most recently, hiring people. The cinema has been open since May, and even before, for several special events and recently started a regular schedule of movie runs. Hernandez got together...
Update: Below is the current update for the wildfire incident: As of 5:53: Rebecca Lake to Convalescent Blvd is closed to HWY 155. HWY 155 to Rebecca Lake is closed. 07//30/2025 5:41 PM Fire Name: Kiser Canyon Fire Location: 1 Mile South of Agency Campus Estimated Size: 500 Containment: 0% Fire Behavior: Wind Driven in grass and sage brush Cause: Under investigation Structures Threatened: Yes Evacuations/Closures: Click the link to see the evacuation map. You can type in your address to verify... Full story
Two local school districts passed budgets for the next school year on Monday after a Friday when the Trump Administration relented on withholding billions that were supposed to have been transferred to states by July 1. In Coulee Dam, school district directors OK’d a budget that plans to spend $416,000 less than in the 2024-25 year just ended, but still will end up next summer with less than a quarter of what it will start the 2025-26 year with amid declining student enrollment. The district will start with just under $2.5 million next month, a...
Superintendent Rod Broadnax said student from Nespelem who want to attend Grand Coulee Dam schools must again “choice in,” that is, formally choose to come to the district, by Aug. 21. The process changed last year as the two districts bumped into regulations on teaching students from other districts. Now, students wanting to transfer to a district not serviing the place where they live must complete some paperwork, either at the school they will attend or online at https://eds.ospi.k12. wa.us/choicetransferrequest. Broadnax told the sch...
A city council member in Grand Coulee says he’d rather not have to pass an ordinance that forces property owners to get their commercial sites up to standards, but he will push for it if no progress is made. Tom Poplawski said at the city’s last council meeting July 15 that he is aware of arguments for and against passing an ordinance with punitive measures designed to encourage owners of empty or unsightly buildings to clean up. “I agree with all of it, actually, but neither one has produced any change,” he said. “And so we’re still stuck...
Local entrepreneur Micah Seekins has announced his candidacy for mayor of Grand Coulee, seeking to fill a two-year unexpired term with a campaign centered on fiscal responsibility and the fundamentals of city governance. Seekins, who has operated a business in Grand Coulee for more than a decade, is making his first run for elected office. He has not previously held elected positions and did not submit information on educational background or community service, according to the Office of the Sec...
Two protesters hold a conversation on Midway Avenue Saturday while walking during a weekly protest against the Trump Administration's policies. The group will walk again Saturday at 11 a.m. during a nationwide event called for by 50501, an organization that started out hoping to get 50 protests going in 50 states on one day. Saturday's protests around the theme "Rage Against the Regime" are reportedly planned in about 300 cities, not including Grand Coulee. - Scott Hunter pho...
SOAP LAKE, WA — Masquers Theater is excited to announce open auditions for the cult classic musical Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Stacey Bresee. Adults of all experience levels are encouraged to audition for this darkly comedic tale of love, ambition, and a bloodthirsty plant from outer space. Auditions will take place August 16 & 17 at 6:00 PM at Masquers Theater in Soap Lake. All roles are available. Those auditioning should be prepared to sing one verse or chorus from any song in the show—ideally one associated with the role they are p...
by Scott Hunter Local volunteers had at least 19 calls to emergencies last week, including four fires and 15 ambulance calls. After 18 of those, the next one came in at 11 a.m. Sunday to put out another fire: a campfire (already banned) at Jones Bay on Banks Lake. They put it out. That was after having left home almost 12 hours earlier to find a red glow near the airport in the middle of the night. The glow turned out to be on the other side Banks Lake up in Barker Canyon, to which Douglas...
by Scott Hunter Nothing like getting thrown right into the fire. Ruth Dalton was new to the city council in January of 2024 when the council chose her to fill the mayor pro tempore spot. That's normally simply who fills in if the mayor can't make the next council meeting. But then-mayor Mike Eylar ended up having to resign for health reasons, leaving Dalton at the helm of the city whose police chief was retiring and whose longtime city foreman was too. "It's been a huge challenge, but I have to...
Chantel Crowe thinks her knowledge of the workings of the city of Grand Coulee, along with her past experiences, would let her help the city to "move forward and upward" at the same time. Crowe has been the deputy city clerk since November of 2023. Even if she's not elected, she said in an interview, she has a goal of finding a way to help people who need it. "We have an elderly community that I would love to see supported even more - or a veteran community, a disabled community ... anybody who...
Another candidate is also running for the office of Grand Coulee mayor, but hadn’t yet returned a call or email before deadline. We’ll have a story on Micah Seekins next week....
A boy makes good use of a big waterslide set up behind city hall during Electric City's annual community picnic July 17 while adults dish up and talk in the background. City hall staffers served up the goods, as Public Works Superintendent Travis Irwin barbecued the hot dogs. - Scott Hunter photo...
Fire took away a family's home Monday morning in Coulee Dam. Randy Adolph's home at 1004 Camas Street, where he lived with his two grandchildren and a great grandchild, went up in flames about 10 a.m. when, a neighbor the next street over said, a very loud boom was heard. Casey Brewster was behind Lake Roosevelt Schools just down the street, taking a photo of his daughter, he said. He got in his truck and drove to the house on fire. Brewster couldn't open the front door but went around to the...
Grand Coulee’s city council voted unanimously Tuesday night to direct the city government to write to others who might wish to be part of a new “fire authority” that could combine the efforts of local volunteer fire departments. The idea was the subject of a community meeting in November 2024, when the Regional Board of Mayors sponsored a community town hall meeting to talk about options for either an emergency medical services district or a broader regional fire protection authority, which could start out initially as an EMS provider, proba...
When they wrestled with how to allocate a pay boost not all covered by extra state money last month, school directors didn’t know the federal government had just announced it would not pay far more money Congress had already promised, money that would typically be paid the next day. That was June 30 as the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors learned the $136,000 the state would pay for a 2.5% cost-of-living increase next year wouldn’t cover the $679,000 of actual cost involved, leaving a $543,000 hole in the coming year’s distri...
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has put on hold $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 schools, according to an Education Department notice obtained by States Newsroom. The agency informed states on Monday that it would be withholding funding for several programs, including before- and after-school programs, migrant education and English-language learning, among other initiatives. But the agency notified states just a day ahead of July 1 — the date these funds are typically sent out as educators plan for the coming school year. “The Depar...
Two American bald eagles settle in for the evening on cottonwood trees near the entrance to Steamboat Rock State Park on Thursday just before dusk. - Scott Hunter photo...
The biggest local festival of the year drew thousands to Grand Coulee Dam to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, live music and even the original laser show on the dam. What they couldn't see were the unusual challenges that started the week for Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce officials. With the festival looming on Friday, Krystal and Jillian Fillis, executive directors in training, knew they had a lot of organizational boxes to tick off by Thursday. But Monday morning they...