News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 2777 - 2801 of 6635
Grand Coulee Police 7/23 - An officer who was asked by an unknown person to check on the welfare of some chickens on Stevens Avenue in Electric City found the animals to be in good health. - A Spokane woman’s car was damaged in a hit-and-run incident at the La Presa restaurant parking lot. Video surveillance showed a man carrying a child get into a black Ford pickup truck and strike the vehicle, but the footage wasn’t high enough quality to read the license plate. Damage to the vehicle, a dent on the rear passenger side door, was estimated at...
Healthcare professionals at the local hospital were alarmed last week at a big spike in people who had died by suicide. In the space of as many days, seven people took their own lives and one also took the life of another, hospital officials said. Suicide often happens in conjunction with taking alcohol or drugs, which can lead to deeper depression at the same time decision-making capabilities are impaired. If you are someone who is thinking about it, there is help available, if even just by phone through a hotline or by merely calling 911. If...
A young Nespelem man died early Wednesday morning when the motorcycle he was riding went off the highway five miles north of Coulee Dam. Patrick J. Morin, 18, was riding a 2017 Yamaha FZ-09 south on SR-155 when he entered a curve too fast, lost control and struck a tree, according to the Washington State Patrol. The patrol report stated the July 25 crash occurred at 4:21 a.m. at milepost 35.7. That is in the area known as Belvedere. It was not known whether drugs or alcohol were involved, the report stated. Morin did not have a motorcycle... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District will have to figure out how to not go broke in four years. That was one of the darker notes presented at the district board meeting Monday night, where Business Manager Sally Ryan presented the proposed 2018-19 budget, as well as a projected budget for the next four years, which shows the district running out of money by the 2021-22 school year. The 2018-19 school year budget is $12,003,678, up from $11,250,133 last year. With a projected enrollment of 733.5 full time equivalent students (FTEs) in...
A boy slides on a water toy in North Dam Park at the weekly Wednesday evening market sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, which is offering kids activities, along with local goods and produce. The senior center sponsored the slippery coolness that was a big hit last week. North Cascades Bank is offering finger painting tonight (Wednesday) and The Star will sponsor a slime-making activity next week. - Scott Hunter photo...
City gets firefighting agreement with BLM The federal Bureau of Land Management, which has an agreement to operate on United States Bureau of Reclamation land, has entered into an agreement with the city of Grand Coulee. The agreement allows Grand Coulee firefighters to take care of fires on land the BLM is responsible for, and the city can in turn bill the BLM, as well as use resources from them, such as fire-fighting aircraft. “It’s a one-way deal,” said Grand Coulee Fire Chief Rick Paris, referring to the city benefitting from the partn...
Three elementary-age girls walking down Central Drive in Coulee Dam were approached July 20 by a man who asked the girls to get in the truck with him. The girls stated that the man was persistent in his attempt to get them to get into the truck with him before he drove away. The girls described him as having short gray hair, dark red skin and driving a blue or gray pickup truck. Two dogs, one black and white and the other brown, were in the back of the truck, described as an older model Ford with poles sticking up out of it, the kind used when...
What do students think about the educational system? The system, most often run by older people who haven't been students themselves in decades, doesn't receive a lot of input from the student body, at least not in the Grand Coulee Dam School District. But students Ashlyn Olsen and Raven Clark made a presentation to the school board on Monday night. Olsen and Clark expressed their desire for change within the school dress code, making points such as the difficulty of shopping for items that fit...
The city council in Grand Coulee voted to go out to bid for the demolition of the "Vlachos building," on Spokane Way. The building, once belonging to inventor and mechanic Constantinos Vlachos, has been boarded up and abandoned for some time now. Thomas Geiger, an attorney who represents the Vlachos estate, had requested an extension to work out a deal selling the property. The city, tired of granting extensions, moved instead to seek bids to demolish the property that is in a decrepit...
Alpacas allow kids to pet them at the library, brought for a special showing from Spring Canyon Farms. - Scott Hunter photo...
Coulee Dam 7/9 - An officer investigating a report of a .22 caliber gun being fired on River Drive instead found someone using a high-powered air rifle to shoot at gophers in the backyard. 7/11 - An officer took a form to an out-of-town victim of car theft so she would be able to report her vehicle stolen. - A driver on Lone Pine Road was told that his clocked speed of 73 miles per hour was “a little excessive” for the 35 mph zone. The driver was issued a citation for speeding. 7/12 - A burglar alarm was set off by a door not being closed all t...
Buzz LeBret works Tuesday, at his home at 905 Central Drive, on severing tree roots from a dead city-owned tree that was cut down this spring by the city of Coulee Dam. LeBret said city officials initially said they'd be back to take out the stump, at right, with a stump grinder, but later said they couldn't do that because the city would have to rent the equipment. LeBret said he's a Native American who has had his Central Drive home for 25 years and chose to keep his property taxable because...
Elmer City could be up to its knees in a messy problem if leaders don’t find a solution to their waste water treatment facility issue with Coulee Dam, which was discussed by the town council last week. A meeting between council members and mayors of the two towns is planned within the next weeks or so to casually discuss viewpoints on the issue in the hopes of coming to a solution. Coulee Dam is building a new wastewater treatment plant at a higher elevation than the previous facility. The increase in elevation will require new lift pumps to g...
A 385-acre wildfire burned on Washington Flats across the Columbia River from the Seaton's Grove area near Elmer City last week, and was handled by crews from the Department of Natural Resources and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as local firefighters. The fire, first reported at about 2 p.m. on July 11, had helicopters scooping water from the river to dump on the fire, as well as four single-engine air tankers and one air-attack aircraft. People watched the action from the parking...
A human-caused fire that burned 2,773 acres 45 miles southeast of Keller is 100 percent contained, a July 17 press release from the Colville Confederated Tribes Department of Natural Resources stated. The Rattlesnake Fire, which started on July 12, was within the Hellgate Game Reserve on the Colville Indian Reservation, and west of the Lincoln boat launch near Creston. Named after Rattlesnake Canyon, firefighters did have to watch out for the venomous snakes. A crew of about 100 people, down from 200, will remain with the fire to quell hot...
Snyder Hill residents raised a rousing ruckus at the July 10 Electric City council meeting on the agreement made with the city concerning their 2010 annexation to the city. During a public comment time slot on the council meeting agenda, complaints from citizens of Snyder Hill ranged from the city not treating the roads of the area to the failure of the city to plow snow to certain points of the roads, something understood by residents there to be conditions of the annexation. A solution for the snow plow issue is in the works as the city...
Peter Dan Road to be closed July 23, traffic delays in meantime Peter Dan Road, which connects the Elmer City area to the Keller area, will be closed between Highway 155 and Buffalo Lake Road from July 23 through August 21. “This closure is necessary to safely excavate the failed slope above Peter Dan Road,” a July 16 Okanogan County press release states. “A detour route is signed via Buffalo Lake Road.” Construction started on July 16, and traffic control delays are to be expected. Volunteer firefighter accepted Michael Adolph was approve...
Rodney Cawston was named the new chairman of the Colville Business Council July 12 after a ceremony in which seven recently elected council members were sworn into office and positions were assigned to the 14 members of the CBC. At the Lucy Covington Government Center near Nespelem Thursday morning, the oath of office ceremony started with traditional native American songs and drumming, and a prayer from Cawston. Six out of the seven recently elected CBC members are new, with only Joseph...
Electric City Councilmember Rich McGuire addressed the issue of the city’s appearance at the July 10 council meeting, and the council may form a committee to improve its appearance at their August meeting. McGuire said he was responding to a Star newspaper opinion column by Roger Lucas, headlined “Ugliest town in the west can do better.” “The many eyesores along the entrance to the city stood out like sore thumbs,” Lucas wrote, describing the city in his column. McGuire agreed with the sentiments of the Lucas piece. “I walk and I walk and I wal...
The Washington Flats area burns last week as temperatures climb and humidity drops in the summer fire season. See the story on the front page. - Jacob Wagner photo...
Grand Coulee Police 7/7 - An officer pulled over a car at the the overlook area just above Grand Coulee Dam because the registered owner was known to have a suspended license. The driver was the registered owner’s son, who didn’t have a license, and was issued a citation for driving without one. 7/10 - Police told a man sleeping in his car near the fish-raising net pens in Electric City to leave after a report of a suspicious vehicle. - A boy waiting for his grandmother in the passenger seat of a car was warned to turn his music down at abo...
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board Monday night approved the hiring of Ronanda Liberty as the new interim high school principal. Hired for a year, Liberty will serve as the principal while the search continues for the right fit for the long term. “I feel real strongly that her presence with the staff; they know her, it’s not something new. ... She’ll be a great asset for us,” said Superintendent Paul Turner. Liberty, whose home is in Ritzville, served as principal in the 2015-16 school year, the first woman to fill the position in the...
A 385 acre wildfire burning on Washington Flats across the Columbia River from the Seaton's Grove area near Elmer City is no longer spreading, and ground crews from the Department of Natural Resources and the Bureau of Land Management are securing the perimeters. "Threat is pretty minimal at this point," said Jeff Dimke, fire management officer for the Bureau of Land Management. The fire, first reported at about 2 p.m. on July 11, had helicopters scooping water from the river to dump on the fire, as well as four single engine air tankers and...
The Washington National Guard's "Full Metal Racket" rock band gets people on their feet at the Festival of America July 4 at the park below the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam. For more photos of the Fourth, see page 5. - Scott Hunter photo...
There’s more to decide than just the local school levy in the upcoming primary election Aug. 7. With local voters tasked with making choices between some 70 candidates seeking nine offices in the upcoming primary, The Star has reached out to all candidates, asking them to tell readers why they deserve your vote. Voters looking for a reason to pick one candidate over another may look for their responses in our Aug. 1 issue, in which we will publish their paid advertisements submitted in response. Local voters, split up into many different d...