News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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University of Washington students, working for the Grant County Health District, interacted with the community members last week, asking what they think about health in relation to the area. The students, about 15 in total, are in the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice program, earning their masters degrees at the University of Washington School of Public Health. The students attended a school board and a hospital board meeting, spoke to small business owners and people at the senior center, and held a public meeting at Grand Coulee...
The death of a child is always hard, but every holiday thereafter can be especially tough on the surviving parents. Next Sunday, many of them will gather in mutual support to “honor the memory of all children gone too soon,” as The Compassionate Friends website puts it. Locally, Cindy Parra is arranging for a gathering at Lake Roosevelt Elementary. Parra’s 16-year-old daughter, Amy, died in a car wreck 16 years ago. “I guess you learn to cope with it, but you never get over it,” she said. “Holidays are hard.” Parra is arranging for locals wh...
What better way to express the joy of Christmas than a lighted tree? Two lighted trees, of course, said Barbara Durnil, of the town of Coulee Dam’s Parks and Recreation committee. The town and the Colville Confederated Tribes are arranging just that. The town will have two Christmas trees this year, one in east and one in west Coulee Dam, to light the season. First, Durnil said, an evergreen in Mason City Park, across from the post office, will become a new bright Christmas tree for east Coulee Dam, replacing one from long ago. Second, t...
Grand Coulee 11/25-26 - A disagreement over child custody on Fourth Street was eventually resolved with a temporary custody order and a temporary restraining order. The mother took custody of the child while an officer stood by. - A woman lost her phone while in Moses Lake, and while using the “Find My Phone” app, traced it to apartments in Royal City. Grand Coulee Police attempted to contact Royal City Police, but no one was on duty. Grand Coulee Police told her to try to call Royal City Police the next day. 11/26 - A man was reported lyi...
Each of us can recall severe storms we’ve lived through. Major thunderstorms with crashing lightning and heavy rain and hail. Wind events, not unlike some we’ve had right here in the Coulee — those walls of dust moving through, blowing over trees, damaging roofs. There’s the major league storms — tornadoes and hurricanes, and the results they bring. I recall witnessing at least three storms that came close to stopping most all human activity. Ice storms can slow or stop us in our tracks ve...
In a symbolic gesture at their council meeting on Nov. 20, the Grand Coulee City Council unanimously came out in support of the chief of police in Republic, Washington, who has announced he will not enforce a new gun law passed by voters in the recent election. Initiative 1639 passed in Washington state with 60 percent of the vote. In Ferry County, where Republic is located, 73 percent voted against the initiative. In Grant County, where Grand Coulee is located, 68 percent voted no, and in Grand Coulee in particular, citizens voted 175-138, or... Full story
After a year of financial nerves and fiscal restraint, Coulee Medical Center officials delivered good news on progress toward a turnaround Monday night. Hospital commissioners passed a budget that comes close to double what it was in 2014 and projects a positive bottom line for what would be the second year in a row. Following a report by Chief Financial Officer Kelly Hughes, commissioners approved a budget that hits nearly $30 million in net patient revenue for 2019 and ends with a net gain of slightly more than $1.3 million. Hughes said it...
The symmetry of the arches on the bridge on top of Grand Coulee Dam is reflected in the sunny, still waters of Lake Roosevelt Saturday. For the weekly Weather Watcher forecast, see page 8. - Scott Hunter photo...
Foundation rumor unfounded A rumor of a crack in the foundation of the new fire station under construction was put to rest by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Tuesday. Lynne Brougher, public affairs officer for the bureau, told The Star in an email on Tuesday that the foundation is just fine. “An inspection of the Fire Station was completed this morning and the only cracking that was observed is within normal parameters for concrete,” Brougher said. “The building has control and expansion joints per engineered designs to control cracking. It al...
Brenda Covington was chosen Monday night by the Grand Coulee Dam School District directors to join their the board. Covington and Lisa Lyngar were interviewed for about half an hour each to fill the Electric City area spot on the board left vacant earlier this year, with the board choosing Covington after deliberating in executive session. Covington will finish the unexpired term of the position left vacant by Joette Barry, which has less than two years left on it. Covington will have to run for re-election for a four-year term. Covington said...
The state Transportation Improvement Board is covering Grand Coulee’s match in a large grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded to repair street damage from the harsh 2016-17 winter. In late 2017, FEMA awarded Grand Coulee $853,990 in the form of a grant that requires a 12-percent match. The TIB is covering that match, equal to $106,750. The $957,639 total will go toward improving city streets that suffered some damage from the harsh winter of 2016-17, as well as the wear and tear of time. To be repaired are “pieces from abo...
An owner could have his dogs taken away if he doesn’t address the ongoing issue of the dogs barking. The dogs, located on Grand Coulee Avenue, are constantly barking and running at large, resulting in 20 calls made through Multi Agency Communication Center dispatch in 2018 alone. Each call cost the city $29.42, or $588.40 total. Police Chief John Tufts said that whoever reports the dogs doesn’t want to just call the police station directly, and may be calling the non-emergency MACC number, which charges the city the same rate as it would for...
Electric City is looking into adopting a drug nuisance ordinance, similar to one Grand Coulee passed in October, that would allow the seizure of known drug houses for up to a year. State law on the abatement of drug houses, Revised Code of Washington 7.43, says that If a house is regularly the scene of police enforcement, drug use, drug dealing, or otherwise, the home could be evacuated and boarded up for a year to effectively remove any ongoing nuisances. The process requires superior court approval to seize a house. “If Grand Coulee is going...
Vehicle crashes attributed in part to icy roads killed three people in the region in the last week, authorities said. Richard Howe, 62, of Omak, died about 8:35 p.m. Nov. 21 on SR-155 six miles south of Disautel Pass. Howe was wearing a seatbelt in the 2004 Ford F350 pickup as he lost control just after passing another vehicle, according to a Washington State Patrol investigation. The pickup, headed north, fishtailed several times, went onto the shoulder on the southbound side of the road into an embankment and struck two trees, coming to rest...
Grand Coulee Police 11/20 - A Young St. man was cited with animal cruelty after allegedly abandoning his dog, which had reportedly been chained up outside in freezing temperatures and without food and water. A neighbor reported the man, who had left the residence several days earlier after an assault case also was reported at the residence. - A man wanted on a warrant was seen on Van Tyne, where he was arrested and taken to Coulee City, from where a Grant County Sheriff deputy took him to Grant County Jail. 11/21 - A driver received a speeding...
The topic of consolidating local towns into one came up at the Electric City council meeting Nov. 13, where councilmembers, the mayor, the city clerk, a lawyer, and a citizen spoke on the issue for roughly half an hour. The Grand Coulee council had voted last month to put consolidation on next year’s ballot. Electric City talked about doing the same thing, but ultimately decided not to come out for or against it being on the ballot until more information comes out regarding the logistics of consolidation. If a petition for the cause gathers s...
In partnership with the Grant County Health District nine graduate students in the University of Washington Community-Oriented Public Health Practice (COPHP) program will visit Grand Coulee to learn about important health issues facing the local community, and how Grand Coulee residents support each other to live healthier lives. The visit will take place during the week after Thanksgiving, from Monday, November 26th - Thursday November 29th. During that time, the students, led by Sharon Bogan,... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School Board will be meeting Monday, November 26 (tonight) at 6:00 p.m. in the LRHS Library.... Full story
Many of the details on exactly how consolidation of municipalities can happen in Washington were changed to accomodate a Grand Coulee Dam area push in the mid-1990s to do just that. An article in The Star on May 3, 1995, details some of the issues of consolidation as affected by Senate Bill 5275, which was signed into law at that time by then-Governor Mike Lowry. The details answer some questions being asked today, as the conversation on consolidation heats up. “One major objection to consolidation of the four local towns stemmed from the s...
The engineer in charge of the new wastewater treatment plant in Coulee Dam says funds may be available to pay for the extra lift station needed to bring Elmer City’s effluent to the plant. With costs estimated at three quarters of a million dollars, that could be a big help to Coulee Dam, which authorized Varela engineer Daniel Cowger to look into possible finance option with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture’s Rural Development fund, which financed the rest of the plant. Cowger told the town council Wednesday night that his conversations with key...
The Electric City council discussed putting a large sign at their southern limits that would welcome people coming into town from the south on SR-155. The sign would read "Welcome to Electric City," and "Re-energize your recreation," with the city's logo suspended between aluminum columns made to look like basalt rock. The motto is the winner from a contest held in 2007 to come up with a motto for a potential sign, which was submitted by a citizen. The council voted to have City Clerk Russ Power...
Grant Transit Authority meeting to discuss changes Grant Transit Authority will be holding a public meeting at Grand Coulee City Hall on November 28, from 11 a.m. until 12 p.m., to discuss changes to their transportation services that would take effect on Jan. 2. Comments can also be made by calling (509)-765-0898. Coulee Dam looking at hit to reserve funds The town council is considering a budget that will further tap into several reserve funds next year by nearly $410,000. Reserves for fire equipment, streets, the electric utility, water, and...
Ken Miles, of Coulee Dam, and Susan Kennedy, of Electric City, converse over good books and food at an event the Friends of the Grand Coulee Area Library held Nov. 14 at The Wine Bar in Grand Coulee with a "book tasting" event they called "Reading Between the Wines." The event included books for donations, activities, conversation and free food. - Scott Hunter photo...
A few weeks after fire, water and smoke destroyed his Elmer City home and studio, artist Ric Gendron signs books at the opening of his new showing at the Moses Lake Civic Center Friday night. "Rattlebone" was written by longtime patron Ben Mitchell. The two of them talked about Gendron's work and career in a presentation in the center's auditorium. The Moses Lake showing had already been planned before the fire. Gendron said he only lost a few of his more recent paintings, but most of his work...
Firefighters in Coulee Dam want to clean up areas of the town that could contribute to a much worse fire season than the last one under the wrong circumstances. Judah Pope told the city council Wednesday the Coulee Dam Volunteer Fire Department had its eye on several areas of town that, if ignited, could cause serious problems. Pope listed several areas, including Fiddle Creek on the west side of town, where understory brush is thick and close to homes that could easily catch fire if the area were to ignite. But Fiddle Creek is the only area...