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 Ice Age Park in Electric City may be done as soon as the late summer of 2020. The city council June 11 approved to have SPVV Landscape Architects, who designed the master plan for the park in 2018, move forward with specific designs for the park. The city applied for grant money from the Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office and is ranked 15th out of 91 applicants to get a grant in the amount of $257,649, which the city must match, for a total project cost of $515,298. Jena Jauchius of SPVV said the park will be Electric...
Grand Coulee Police 6/20 - A man was reportedly walking his pitbull on a leash near Coulee Boulevard when a “weiner dog” came running out of a garage toward him and his dog. The dogs fought, and the man was bitten on his hands by both dogs, he said. He wasn’t seeking treatment. The man who owns the weiner dog has been warned in the past about his dog being at large and aggressive. The police report recommends the Electric City Council declare the dog potentially dangerous. 6/21 - Responding to a report of a suspicious person at the entra...
Coulee Dam will move ahead with applying for a grant to fix the sidewalks on Ferry Avenue, several portions of which have been heaving several inches as tree roots underneath push up the concrete. Councilmember Fred Netzel and the city’s consulting engineer Kurt Holland, of Varela Engineering, pulled together a grant application just in time to submit to the state’s Transportation Improvement Board to replace all 1,200 feet of walkways along each side of the street. Coulee Dam is asking for some $103,600 in grant funding. If the state gra...
The Electric City council voted unanimously to not allow short-term rentals anywhere in the city. Short-term rentals are instances in which a home owner who doesn’t live in a residence rents that residence out to someone for less than 30 days. Residents Mark Jenson, Jim Bailey, and Nancy Brown attended the June 11 council meeting to speak against short-term rentals. “I don’t believe they are compatible with residential zones,” Jenson said. Brown said that the primary concerns with short-term rentals were “commercializing and destroyin...
A fire burned a patch of land near the canal near North Dam on Saturday night. A fireworks show put on by the Northwest Pyrotechnics Association went awry when a fire erupted and burned between two and three acres. The permitted event had fire personnel standing by for such an occurrence, with four trucks on standby. A press release from Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Paris said that the fire started at 10:30 p.m. and that Grand Coulee and Electric City Volunteer Fire Departments were called in to assist Bureau of...
Several canoes launched from the Crescent Bay boat launch near the Grand Coulee Dam Friday on an eight-day journey toward Kettle Falls. The Inchelium Language and Culture Association, in association with River Warriors and the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT), organized the event for the third year in a row. A film crew from KSPS was present at the event, which included speakers from these various groups, the singing of a traditional song, and mingling between the paddlers and well-wishers...
The man who leads the state's legal bureaucracy, basically the state's own law firm, told an audience in Grand Coulee last week that the smaller part of their work gets the most headlines, but costs taxpayers nothing. That's because that part of the Attorney General's Office that takes others to court - actually sues other agencies or private companies - is in essence a state-owned law firm that operates off the settlements or judgments from those suits. But the vast majority of their work is...
The city council approved the creation of the position of “city administrator” and to have current clerk Russ Powers fill the position. The council discussed the need for the position and the justification for the added pay that comes with it for Powers at their June 11 meeting. “So the idea here,” Councilmember Aaron Derr asked, “is we’d have someone at city hall that can make more decisions, given that our mayor will typically have a full-time job and can’t be here on a day-to-day basis?” “Correct,” Mayor John Nordine said. “It makes sen...
Imagine how traveling to another country can change your perspective on life. Local cosmetologist Aly Van Geystel doesn t have to imagine, having returned from a month-long trip to Cambodia, where she taught the trade of cosmetology to former victims of sex trafficking so they can start their own careers. She found out about the Justice and Soul Foundation last year, and decided she wanted to be involved in what they do. A lot of the time," Van Geystel told The Star before leaving, former...
The Electric City council last week obliviated the idea of building a $40,000-plus entrance sign to the city. The city conducted a poll at city hall and online of citizens on the idea. Results showed that out of 81 citizens, 62 (77 percent) didn’t want a sign, and 19 citizens did. Citizens running for council or mayor in the upcoming November election, including Diane Kohout, Brian Buche, Cate Slater, Bob Rupe and Cheryl Hoffman, conducted a survey of their own, collecting signatures and asking Electric City residents if they were for or agains...
Grand Coulee Police 6/10 - Electric City Hall reported a bottle of drugs they found in their trash. Police took the bottle to the station for disposal. - A woman evicted tenants from a house she owns on Dill Avenue. She said she had given them 30 days notice and had said she would be there on the 10th. She locked the door and wouldn’t let them gather the rest of their belongings, but told an officer she would put the items on the street for them to gather. The officer told her to make sure to go through the proper channels for eviction, and t...
So what's going on with the effort to consolidate local towns into one? A group of local business owners and residents who have that goal met Thursday at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce to discuss the logistics of the ambitious task. The Coulee Area Consolidation Committee consists of people from Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam and some outlying areas, and those present discussed wanting to bring in someone from Elmer City for the committee as well. The group discussed...
Family and friends record the moment with cell phones as the Lake Roosevelt High School Class of 2019, led by Class President Olivia Ludwig, move their tassles to the graduated side of their mortar boards Saturday. For more graduation news, see page 5. - Scott Hunter photo...
Despite overwhelming public opinion against the idea, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has chosen to ban vehicles from parking on Geezer Beach, located behind the Third Powerhouse of the Grand Coulee Dam. A press release Monday from the bureau announced the decision, emphasizing "safety" as their reason for banning vehicles from the beach popularly fished by elderly anglers who have heretofore appreciated the easy access to the beach. "The Bureau of Reclamation will continue to allow fishing,...
Canoes to Kettle will launch Friday About 80 people will leave in canoes from Crescent Bay, heading toward Kettle Falls on Friday, June 14. A brief ceremony will take place from 9 a.m. until the paddlers leave at 11 or possibly earlier, according to an organizer of the event. Traditional Native American singing may take place, and speakers will be at the launching of the canoes. The paddlers are heading toward Kettle Falls, a traditional fishing spot of local Native American tribes that is now under water. The trip is largely to bring...
Kids and their parents in the region will have plenty to do this weekend, with the local chamber of commerce’s Koulee Kids Fest offering activities all over town and Nespelem’s Millpond Days offering activities there. The chamber event for kids starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and offers 14 different activities around the community, from touring a fire truck to mini-golf, planting a flower, painting a piggy bank to free ice cream to building a dam. Those locations and more are detailed on a map on page 8 in an advertisement. Parents can pick and cho...
Grand Coulee Police 6/4 - Two people were banned from a residence in Grand Coulee after the rightful owner of the property, who resides in California, learned they were there without permission. 6/5 - A man reported damage to his father’s E Street home. Damage to a window appeared to be from a BB gun, and there was also damage to a front-door screen window. 6/6 - A man known to an officer to be wanted on a warrant was sitting in a car in the Safeway parking lot. An officer knocked on the car and the man didn’t exit the vehicle. The officer ope...
Washington state’s top legal officer will speak at local Rotary club’s June 12 meeting. Attorney General Bob Ferguson will be speaking about the work of the Office of the Attorney General and taking questions from those in attendance. The Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club’s meeting at The Siam Palace starts at noon next Wednesday, and the public is welcome to attend. Although not a Rotarian himself, Ferguson has the goal of visiting every Rotary Club in the state, with the local club being the 151st out of roughly 180 in the state, according to a st...
Seventy-nine years to the day after the original Ceremony of Tears, about 80 paddlers will leave Crescent Bay in canoes June 14 for an eight-day journey to Kettle Falls, the site of the original ceremony that mourned the loss of salmon from the traditional fishing spot for Native Americans. The Inchelium Language and Culture Association, in association with River Warriors and the Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUT), have organized the event for the third year in a row. In addition to the 80 paddlers leaving from Crescent Bay for Kettle Falls,...
Officers shoot man in Okanogan County An Okanogan County Sheriff’s sergeant and deputy were involved in a non-fatality shooting near the Aeneas Valley Store, above Tonasket, Monday night, Sheriff Tony Hawley said in a press release Tuesday. Hawley said that Aeneas Valley Fire District 16 had been called to a reported vehicle fire, where firefighters discovered a body in the trunk of the vehicle, then contacted the Sheriff’s Office. Investigation indicated an adult male was reportedly seen leaving the car fire, which was reported at app...
Eagle parents along the Columbia River have their hands full with four eaglets in their nest in the Washington Flats area. Local wildlife photography enthusiast Nora Gabler Jenn, previously profiled in a Star article titled "Nora the Explorer," excitedly told The Star about seeing the eagles on her frequent drives around the area, as shown on her Facebook page. Jenn is watching three nests of eaglets this spring. "Four eaglets is kind of rare, but not too rare," said Eric Braaten, a local...
At 40, he thought he'd left his cross-country bicycling days in his 20s. Then his 6-year-old shared a dream. James Colver and his son Shepherd, now 7, are bicycling across the country, from Anacortes, Washington, to New York City. If they make it, says James, Shepherd will be the youngest person ever to cross the United States by bicycle. Last weekend they visited the Grand Coulee Dam area. James, now a mechanical contractor from Kenmore, Washington, had toured professionally in his 20s,...
An effort to remove a problematic, invasive fish from local waters has united multiple groups towards the common cause. The predatory northern pike are said by biologist to be a threat to native fish populations. Together, the Colville Tribes, Spokane Tribe, Kalispel Tribe, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the National Park Service, and Grant and Chelan PUDs were able to remove 433 northern pike in a one-week period, according to a May 31 press release from the Colville Tribes...
The Ridge Riders Saddle Club and their annual rodeos got a boost Monday as Jess Ford principal Garrett Jess handed a check to Ridge Rider President George Kohout to cover the cost of a new piece of equipment. The $2,400 will pay for a new chute for the team-roping event at the Colorama Rodeo. "I kind of have a soft spot for rodeo in my heart," said Jess, who also competes in team roping on the rodeo circuit. That's something he "can't remember not doing," he said, but he only recognized as an...
Grand Coulee 5/25 - A man called 911 and spoke to an officer at Riley Point. The man said he had been the best of friends with a woman for the past two days, but was now concerned about his belongings because she had driven past him without offering him a ride. The officer said he would drive by the man’s place to make sure no one was taking his things. - A man camping at Osborne Bay called 911 about people shooting toward an old rock quarry while people were also hiking. The officer told the man that although the shooters’ safety pre...