News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 2752 - 2776 of 6735
Grand Coulee 10/22 - A tow tag was placed on a Honda on Hill Avenue and a letter sent to the registered owner. - A man reported he was being harassed on social media by another man. Police contacted the other man and told him not to contact the first man anymore. - A Roosevelt Drive woman filmed a chihuahua defecating in her yard, then showed the police. The dog was seen at a nearby residence, but the owner wasn’t home. The owner was mailed a $66 citation for having a dog at large. 10/23 - A man pulled over on Banks was cited for having an e...
The city of Grand Coulee voted to put consolidation, or the merging with other area towns, on next year’s ballot, the first of the four local towns to do so. Councilmember Tom Poplawski spoke about the issue at the Oct. 16 council meeting. “We’re in a position now where we have some things moving,” Poplawski said. He had attended a consolidation discussion meeting at The Wine Bar last month. “I believe Grand Coulee should step to the front of this and move to the head of the line and say ‘we are in favor of this,’ and this council shoul...
Community members gather Sunday to eat spaghetti and donate to the cause of Melody Restaurant owner Juan Moreno, who, after running into legal trouble in a domestic dispute last summer, wound up being detained in Grant County Jail on a retention order from from federal immigration authorities. "The response was awesome," said Lonna Bussert. "I was shocked." She and Lynda Anderson headed up the effort that put out about 100 tickets to the event for $15 donations and netted nearly $3,000, Bussert...
Coulee Dam’s sewer plant customers could end up paying three quarters of a million dollars more to add a lift station to carry Elmer City’s sewage to the new wastewater treatment plant, a new cost for which a search for funding will now begin. Meeting in a special session Monday night, the Coulee Dam Town Council voted to pursue one of two options laid out in a hurry by Varela and Associates engineer Daniel Cowger last week following a closed session of the council. Cowger’s $760,000 was described as a “rough” estimate for the cost for the a...
Coulee Dam power rates may rise The rates people pay for electricity in Coulee Dam will likely go up next year. The town council discussed the issue during a special council meeting Monday night. Coulee Dam ratepayers are charged a base rate of $6.07 a month, plus 5 cents per kilowatt hour. Discussion Monday included suggestions of a 40-percent increase to the base rates, plus 5.7 cents per kWh. The council will discuss more on the coming year’s budget at a budget workshop open to the public at 5:15 tonight (Wednesday), just before the r...
Members of the union that represents "classified" school district employees, such as bus drivers, secretaries and more, showed up at Monday night's school board meeting for a direct appeal to the board, following an apparently fruitless second negotiating session with the district through a mediator last week. The school board listened to Jesse Utz speak on behalf on the Public Service Employees, who feel they deserve more money for the work they do. Community members, teachers, and PSE members...
Grand Coulee city council members don’t like having drug houses in the community, and so approved an ordinance that gives them some teeth in the matter. Council approved adding to their ordinances the state law on the abatement of drug houses, Revised Code of Washington 7.43, at their Oct. 16 council meeting. 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. “Any final order of abatement issued und...
If you’ve noticed a bit of smoke in the air, there’s a chance it’s from controlled burns performed by the Colville Tribes. Acting “fuels manager” for the Colville Tribes, John Elliott explained in a phone call to The Star that the burns should be finished before Thanksgiving. “At that time it’s usually getting too cold to have a lot of success burning,” Elliott said. “At the moment we’re probably about half done with what we’re trying to do in the fall.” Elliott said that they are burning some slash piles that were thinned out by loggers....
An independent candidate for the state Legislature visited the Grand Coulee Dam area last Thursday and Friday, knocking on doors and speaking at the chamber of commerce luncheon. Ann Diamond is running to represent the 12th Legislative District, which includes most of the Grand Coulee Dam area. A physician who founded the first family practice clinic in the Methow area, Diamond, said her travels during her campaign have taught her that small towns share in common many issues of concern:...
Grand Coulee Police 10/16 - An officer assisted Colville Tribal Police in standing near while a patient with a history of violence and non-compliance whom they had brought in was treated at Coulee Medical Center. - An Electric Blvd woman complained about a neighbor’s music. The officer asked the neighbor if he could turn down his music, which he did. 10/17 - A woman approached an officer saying she was wanted on a warrant and that she wanted to turn herself in. The officer didn’t find a warrant for her. She said it might be a tribal war...
Salley Bull, who is running for Okanogan County commissioner for District 3, spoke to the Elmer City Town Council at their meeting on Oct. 11. District 3 spans from about Wauconda to Conconully, Bull noted, but everyone in Okanogan County gets to vote in the general election. “My family homesteaded in the Chiliwist Valley,” Bull said. “My relatives were community-minded doctors, nurses, teachers, preachers, council members, and on boards for the school, hospital, and irrigation district.” “I’ve been active in the community on the county level f...
Public Service Employees local union members and others hold signs and encourage drivers to honk in support Monday afternoon in the second of such demonstrations in the last two weeks during the union's negotiations with the Grand Coulee Dam School District. The two sides met Tuesday in another round of talks with an arbitrator. Messages on the signs included "We care about your kids," "Honk in Support of Strong Schools," and "Keep the McCleary Promise." Many cars honked. - Scott Hunter...
A brewing lawsuit between two towns has likely been averted after leaders took legal arguments seriously last week and a desire to work with neighbors prevailed. Coulee Dam has decided to explore options and get cost estimates to build a lift station needed to carry Elmer City's sewage to the new wastewater treatment facility being built. The treatment plant that Coulee Dam is building is about 22 feet higher in elevation than the old one that the towns currently share. That requires extra...
The Coulee Dam council Wednesday approved an agreement with the Colville Confederated Tribes, allowing them to install and maintain 144 strands of fiber optic cables through parts of the town. The tribes still need to approve the agreement before it is official. The fiber could make high-speed internet possible in the town, and be mutually beneficial for the town and the tribes, who are working to bring fiber optics to communities all around the reservation. The new, tribally owned fiber would connect to Grant County PUD’s fiber, which e...
Library adds Saturday to schedule, moves storytime The Grand Coulee Library will be open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays, in addition to their usual Monday through Friday hours. Additionally, their weekly storytime has been moved to Fridays at 11:30 a.m. Electric City water rates going up The Electric City council voted to raise the water rates by $2.50 in 2019, another $2.50 in 2020, and a dollar per year each year after that. Starting with the January 1, 2019 bill, rates will be $41.49 per month for up to 10,000 gallons for residents...
The North Central Regional Library system, of which the Grand Coulee library is a part, has more opportunities than the public may be aware of, and is working on adding more. Library patrons have the option to borrow movies, music, audiobooks and e-books digitally. "We have Hoopla, the Netflix for libraries," said Executive Director Barbara Walters. "Hoopla can be used anywhere at anytime by our library patrons." Those with a library card can access the Hoopla website and download a limited...
Grand Coulee Police 10/9 - While responding to a call from Plant Protection regarding a man fishing near the canal at North Dam after hours (about 7 p.m.), an officer was informed that the man was leaving. 10/12 - Two women and a man were taken separately to Grant County Jail after an altercation at Coulee Gas. There was yelling and some pushing by those arrested, who had been drinking that night, which prompted someone to call the cops. The man was taken to jail on a misdemeanor warrant, and the two women were taken on assault and obstruction...
As the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District works on a list of projects to help bring North Dam Park into compliance with federal law on providing access for those in wheelchairs, it increases the likelihood of starting other projects, such as a community garden. Still, the list is long. CAPRD manages North Dam Park, which is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The USBR has a list of items that need to be done to bring the park up to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, accessibility projects concerning parking, pathway...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors will be holding a Special Board Meeting at 6 p.m., on Monday, October 15, at the high school library.... Full story
A boulder fell onto the highway along Banks Lake sometime in the early hours of the morning Tuesday, blocking the 60 mph northbound lane. Unfortunately, Shaian Gomez found it in her Ford Focus. Gomez, 23, was northbound on SR-155 just before 5:21 a.m. when the Washington State Patrol got a call. Her 2002 Focus hit the rock, which state Dept. of Transportation Maintenance Supervisor Ryan Smith estimated could weigh up to 2,000 pounds. Smith said the rock was about 4 feet across. The big hunk of...
The topic of animal control was brought up at the Regional Board of Mayors meeting on Monday, a problem all the towns have in common. Electric City Clerk Russ Powers said Electric City has issues with dogs running at large, feral cats, unlicensed animals, and other animal-related issues. He said that Lorna Pearce, city clerk in Grand Coulee, told him the problems are the same in Grand Coulee. Elmer City has their share of dog issues. Mayor Pro Tem Don Bonertz cited an incident of dogs scaring a little girl in Elmer City. Coulee Dam Mayor Pro...
CAPRD approves future kiosk at park Kiosks to tout the features along the Coulee Corridor are looking like they will finally get put up after about 10 years of effort, if a paper discussed at the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District is an indication. A local kiosk will detail the history and geology of the area and be placed at North Dam Park in Grand Coulee. It will be one of a total of five along the Coulee Corridor National Scenic Byway, joining others in in Coulee City, Soap Lake, Othello, and Warden. Total cost for the project going...
A fire that destroyed four homes in Elmer City last week left the fire chief thankful for his neighbors, who he said likely prevented a larger catastrophe. Okanogan Fire District 2 Chief Dave Finch said some 41 firefighters from every local department were in Elmer City Tuesday night to fight the fire that started about 6 p.m. in high winds in the Grand View Trailer Park just below SR-155. The first trucks had just arrived on scene when the wind blew the fire across the highway, he said. Finch s...
Two candidates for leadership of the public electric utility in Grant County laid out their cases for election last Thursday at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Siam Palace. Nelson Cox and Judy Wilson both feel the Grant County PUD has amassed too much debt while serving large industrial users of power, such as server farms. And they take issue with some of the top management living out of county. Cox, a Warden area farmer, said the PUD has done great things but its finances are out of control. “I really don’t und...
Electric City council Tuesday night approved the details on how to distribute the city’s lodging tax revenue. On the recommendation of the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, Councilmembers Lonna Bussert and Rich McGuire, the council voted to distribute $48,100 to the city itself for the construction design of Ice Age Park, pending approval of a grant, as well as for general tourism advertising. Electric City is distributing $15,000 to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce for general operations and advertisements of all area events, p...