News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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by Jacob Wagner The city of Grand Coulee’s financial records seem to be getting in order after years of chaos, but there’s still a ways to go. “Things are getting back on track, and at least our financial system balances to what our bank statements say we have,” said City Clerk Lorna Pearce, who took the position in 2018. “We’re pretty sure the numbers we have are actually what we have.” According to the audit of the year 2017 by the State Auditor’s Office, “since 2012, we have reported the City of Grand Coulee did not have adequate controls...
OLYMPIA – A bipartisan bill to enable public utility districts to sell and distribute hydrogen fuel and sponsored by 33 senators — well over half the state Senate — unanimously passed the chamber and is now in the House of Representatives for consideration. Senate Bill 5588 would authorize public utility districts to sell renewable hydrogen to consumers via pipeline or shippable pressurized containers. “If you take H2O and you separate the ‘O,’ you end up with H2, which is hydrogen,” said Sen. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee, prime sponsor...
The Electric City council approved the draft last week of a proposal for a 500-foot-wide “no shooting” buffer zone between the main part of the city and Osborne Bay, where shooting firearms would be prohibited. The proposal needs to be approved by the city, the state Departments of Fish & Wildlife and Natural Resources, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and Grand Coulee Police. The city would pay for signs to line the 7,281-foot-long buffer-zone border, and F&W would pay for the posts and install the signs. The signs would explain the buffer zon...
The Colville Business Council, meeting in special session Thursday with all tribal representatives present, expelled fellow councilmember Andrea George from their ranks on ethics charges that she denied in a detailed statement. George, elected last summer to represent the Nespelem District, is a lawyer her supporters insist was being expelled for calling into question procedures and actions the council takes, not for actual ethics violations. Too many of those supporters gathered outside council chambers at 9 a.m. meeting to fit inside the...
Coulee-ites will be treated to a guest lecture from Nick Zentner, a geologist and host of "Nick on the Rocks," which has aired on Pacific Northwest Public Broadcast System stations and is available to watch on YouTube. Zentner will be at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center March 9, at 1 p.m., to discuss geology in a free lecture sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Rotary Club to celebrate their 70th year. "Grand Coulee is famous for geologists," Zentner said in an email to The Star. "Huge valley...
Electric City’s council voted Feb. 12 to go out to bid on a welcome sign to the city. The sign would be placed at Electric City’s southern limits on SR-155 on the south side of Osborne Bay and would read “Welcome to Electric City,” and “Re-energize your recreation,” with the city’s logo suspended between basalt columns. An earlier cost estimate for the sign from Graybeal Signs was $42,000. The council discussed whether to have the sign framed by actual basalt columns or by aluminum made to look like rock columns and questioned how long actual b...
Kettle Falls Marina gets 10-year contract Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represents Washington’s 5th District in Congress, including Lake Roosevelt, recently announced a decision by the National Park Service to award a 10-year concessionaire contract for the Kettle Falls Marina. “Outdoor recreation is part of life in Eastern Washington, and the Kettle Falls Marina has served our community for decades,” McMorris Rodgers said. “I was proud to advocate directly to the National Park Service in support of a new contract and appreciate them fo...
A retired businessman with plenty of experience took a seat on the Coulee Dam City Council last week. The decision to seat Merv Schmidt came immediately following an executive session called to make a hard choice between Schmidt and another experienced former council member, Ken Miles. Schmidt served on the council for many years, beginning in 1984 and including years when the council initially began planning for a new wastewater treatment plan, a project that is just now getting done after year...
A longstanding local group whose efforts have enhanced area fisheries and outdoor sports for decades is likely to disband, says its longtime leader. Promoters of Wildlife and Environmental Resources, or POWER, runs the fish-raising pens in Banks Lake in Electric City and has headed or managed other wildlife-related efforts over the past 30 years, such as feeding wild game birds. It now looks like it will shut down for the lack of someone to manage volunteer work. The group met Feb. 6, and discus...
Grand Coulee 2/11 - A Burdin Boulevard man reported that a neighbor pushed in the mirrors of his wife’s car and opened the door to the gas cap. There was no noticeable damage. There is an ongoing issue between the neighbors. 2/13 - A husky-like dog was reported running at large in the area of West Grand Avenue. The dog’s owner was located and given a verbal warning. - A Coulee City man became angry while on the phone with a hospital employee when she wouldn’t give patient information over the phone. The man reportedly said he would kick the h...
The sale of a cable television and internet provider to Coulee Dam residents will take a few more months, Coulee Dam town council members were told last week. Charter Communications, a nationwide cable, telephone and internet provider, is working on purchasing Country Cable, which has been in business serving Coulee Dam ever since it purchased the Coulee Dam Television Station more than a decade ago. The deal has been in the works for some time and is now expected to close March 1, an email from a company senior manager to City Clerk Stefani...
A levy to support the Grand Coulee Dam School District appeared to be passing with vote counts listed for the four counties in favor by 58.14 percent. Passage of a school levy requires a simple majority of 50 percent plus one. The replacement levy, which asked voters to approve an approximate $1.50 rate per thousand dollars of assessed property value, was approved in each of the counties: by 61 percent in Douglas County, 61-39 votes; by 55.79 percent in Grant County, 260-206; 56.89 percent in Lincoln County, 49-37; and by 61.92 percent in...
A Coulee Dam financial non-profit is proposing a way to increase available housing in the local area and will offer financing to make it possible. Northwest Native Development Fund Executive Director Ted Piccolo said last week that NNDF will dedicate up to $1 million to finance a two-pronged approach to addressing a local shortage of housing in the $150,000 to $180,000 price range. “The goal is that within two years there are 10-15 additional home owners in the region purchasing homes in the neighborhood of $180,000,” Piccolo said in a pre...
A tribal council member facing ethics charges amid controversy and backlash from tribal members was placed on administrative leave last week under an “Emergency Action Order.” Andrea George, elected to represent the Nespelem District of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation last summer, was placed on paid leave by the Executive Committee of the Colville Business Council, of which she is one of 14 representatives voted in by members. The Executive Committee issued the Emergency Action Order “for a situation that poses an immed...
The Colville Tribes responded with a press release last week regarding a controversial decision to approve a contract to round up approximately 1,250 horses from the reservation. The nearly $500,000 contract awarded to Sun J Livestock was approved on Jan. 24. "The Colville Business Council responsibly addressed the need to better protect our lands, water, wildlife and native plants on the reservation with these decisions," Colville Business Council Chairman Rodney Cawston said in the release,...
Steven Flowers poses with a pen Feb. 6 at Lake Roosevelt High School, where Flowers signed a letter of intent to play football for Eastern Washington University. From left, behind him are his mother, Jaleen Flowers; brother, Bobcat Flowers; and father, Josh Flowers. The story is on page six, near a two-page salute to LR athletes, who are doing very well in their post-seasons. - Jacob Wagner photo...
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson warned sheriffs and other law enforcement officers Tuesday that they are required to enforce a gun control law passed by voters last November. Sheriffs in four local counties cite Second Amendment concerns about enforcing Initiative 1639, as do law enforcement officials in more than half the state’s 39 counties. I-1639, which took effect on Jan. 1, raises the age limit for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Beginning July 1, it requires purchasers to pass an enhanced background check, show p...
Look out your window for flying pigs, because the coulee area may get recycling in 2020. The towns of Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, and Elmer City will be deciding on a recycling option to choose in a new contract with Sunrise Disposal, which performs garbage service in the area. One option is to place a 25-yard container with separate sections for various materials at the Delano Transfer Station to be taken to the Okanogan County Recycling Center on an as-needed basis. This option is said to have no additional cost in the...
Tiny houses are a trendy new housing option that are often considered affordable; however zoning requirements and other laws make them difficult to legally place. A tiny house is usually between 100 and 400 square feet but can range up to 1,000 square feet. District 25 Senator Hans Zeiger, R-Puyallup, is the prime sponsor of three bills to overcome obstacles to tiny house developments. The Senate Housing Stability and Affordability Committee heard public testimony on two of Zeiger’s bills, Wednesday. SB 5382 deals with tiny houses as d...
Tribal hunting and fishing licenses are being offered at Coulee Playland again after a brief hiatus. The Colville Tribes are transitioning to an online-only system, and were no longer offering paper licenses through third-party sellers, which complicated things for local business Coulee Playland. The Star reported on the change in the Jan. 30 issue. Colville Tribes Fish & Wildlife Director Cody Desautel said the return of the paper licenses could be because of a time lag on the transition to the digital system. “This is our first year, so t...
Companies in Grant County that “mine” cryptocurrency with high-powered computers have filed a lawsuit against Grant PUD, whose commissioners voted in 2018 to raise electric rates for the emerging industry. The companies say they chose to locate their businesses in Grant County because of the cheap power rates, and that increased rates will inevitably hurt their businesses. They are seeking money for financial losses they say they face, and they’re asking the court to order the electric utility not to implement its new “Schedule 17” rates for...
Grand Coulee 2/10 - A man at the Hill Street apartments reported that a man who had been banned the previous day was at the apartments. The man, sitting in his vehicle, said he didn’t exit the vehicle and therefore was not trespassing. The reporting party said he saw the man knock on the door of the apartment manager, who was not home. The man denied this. The officer reminded him he was banned from the property and left the scene. - A Safeway manager reported that two females had hidden alcohol in a bag, then went through the checkout w...
Local county sheriffs are weighing in on Washington’s controversial Initiative-1639 which is related to guns and is being challenged in the courts. I-1639, which took effect on Jan. 1, raises the age limit for buying semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. Beginning July 1, it requires purchasers to pass an enhanced background check, show proof of firearms training, and wait 10 days before getting the gun. The new law also makes gun owners guilty of “community endangerment” if their gun is not properly stored and is accessible by a child or by an...
A stray dog found its way into Lake Roosevelt Elementary School and has been a staple there ever since. The 8-month-old, black Labrador female dog, now named Raider, had been hanging out around the school for about a month last fall when eventually school employee Cindy Parra found her by the football field eating a bag of chips out of a child's backpack. Parra grabbed her, and Shamara Steffler, the dean of students at the school, adopted her. The school board in October approved for Raider to...
Free tax preparation offered Free in-person tax preparation will be available at the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center for people of any age. The program, which is offered by the American Association of Retired Persons, is open to the public on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. between Feb. 13 and April 10. Deported, returned, jailed A Bridgeport man was sentenced to five years of prison Friday after he had been deported, came back to the United States and was captured again, U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Harrington’s office announced in a press r...