News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Lake Roosevelt Junior/Senior High School is one of seven schools in Educational Service District 171 to be named a “School of Distinction.” The 2017 award was posted in November, and high school Principal Mark Herndon outlined the award at the school district’s last board meeting. The other schools from ESD 171 are Brewster High School, Brewster Middle School, Grant Elementary from East Wenatchee, Moses Lake High School, Oroville Middle School, and Valley Academy of Learning in Wenatchee. “We are so proud of our schools and their comprehensive...
Christmas crafts stolen Patty Williams works for months making her “towel tops” to sell at Christmas bazaars in the area, but somebody stole them from her basement last week, she told The Star. Williams makes the product, which combines two kitchen towels with a middle piece that lets them hang nicely over an oven door handle, each year. On low income, she uses the money to buy Christmas gifts. She figures she lost $450 to $500 worth of the items, which she sells for $10 each even though she sometimes hates to let them go. She made them bet...
Local school-aged children finally have more to do in the area, thanks to the Nespelem Boys & Girls Club. The Nespelem Boys & Girls club had its official opening and dedication Wednesday, Nov. 29, in the Nespelem Community Center gym. "This has been a long time coming," said Colville Business Councilmember Larry Allen. "A lot of us grew up with just dirt and sagebrush to play with. We have to give [the children] resources for success." "It's a wonderful program; it's working so well in...
There was some good news and “black ink” noted as Grant County Port District 7 commissioners reviewed the past season’s activity at Banks Lake Golf Course. The port district operates the 18-hole golf course and this is the second year in a row that the course has operated “in the black.” Commission President James Keene was quick to point out that the successful operation of the golf course still hinges on the amount of volunteer help provided. Off and on, the three commissioners have had regular duties at the course to avoid paid help and to m...
Leaders of the little government district that has kept North Dam Park from collapsing into disrepair for several years is feeling uncertain about the future. After approving a budget Monday night in which they show spending at about $33,000 next year, commissioners at the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District, all volunteers, discussed the uncertainty of the district’s continued funding. Originally formed with the intent of building a swimming pool in 2003, the district has never collected a tax to help fund its efforts, having been t...
Grand Coulee Police 11/26 - A motel owner showed police damage to one of his rooms where he said the tenant had taken things off the walls and removed covers on various items. 11/27 - About a cord-and-a-half of firewood was stolen from a property on Sunny Drive in Electric City. Police had no suspects. - A Coulee Dam resident was taken to Okanogan County jail after allegedly threatening officers and disrupting services at Coulee Medical Center. 11/28 - An officer backed up a Grant County sheriff’s deputy handling a domestic issue in H...
A proposed sale of Center School fell through Monday night. The school district had prepared a sales contract, and just after Superintendent Paul Turner explained the details of the sales agreement to the Grand Coulee Dam School District board of directors, the prospective buyer backed out. Elijah Kleimenov, owner of Kleim Construction in Moses Lake, Wash., had expressed reservations to The Star earlier in the day. He told the board that he wasn’t ready to commit to the sale. Kleimenov stated that his numbers showed that it would cost him a...
The school board Monday night appeared surprised that many of the school staff and the general public see discipline, or the lack of it, as the number-one issue in the district. The near six-hour meeting, which ended just short of midnight, had barely begun when Chair Joette Barry opened it up for the traditional time when individuals can address the board. And did they ever. For the next two hours, members of the Grand Coulee Dam School District staff and general public told story after story...
About 40 members of the Public Service Employees union attended Monday night’s Grand Coulee Dam School District board meeting to support its officers as they expressed concerns with discipline problems within the district. Many wore specially produced T-shirts signifying support of efforts to get the board’s attention. Addressing the board were union President Aaron Derr and Vice-President Jesse Utz. Derr, in a prepared statement, said union members were coming to the board “as a last hope.” “The union is not happy with the direction that we s...
Two Coulee Dam residents surrendered to authorities Sunday as suspects in a Moses Lake stabbing. Rebecca N. Norton, 28, and 24-year-old Aaron Pfaltzgraff-Miller, both of Coulee Dam surrendered about 4:15 p.m. Sunday, the Grant County Sheriff's Office said. Responders were called about 4 a.m. Saturday to the 11000 block of Road 14 Northeast for an adult male who had been stabbed. Investigators said everyone involved had been at the home for a party. The victim, whom authorities did not name,...
Electric City has moved into “phase 2” of its new parks program. This phase centers on the McNett Avenue park behind the city’s fire hall. Robert S. Droll, landscape architect who won the bid to do the work, will assist City Clerk Russell Powers in developing a grant application to the Washington State Recreation Conservation Office (RCO) to seek funding for half the cost of the McNett project. The projected cost of developing the McNett park is $731,300. The city will seek half of this cost, then would add its 50-percent match by reaching into...
Although they passed a $9.6 million budget unanimously, the mayor had to break two ties to get to that point at a Coulee Dam council meeting Monday night. The sticking points were around changes to rates for utilities that Councilmember Keith St. Jeor said he didn’t recall coming up in budget workshops. It wasn’t about a lot of money — up to $200 in total, the mayor said, for a handful of people eligible to receive lower rates due to low income. But because rates hadn’t been raised or lowered evenly for all, across the board, St. Jeor didn’t fe...
Michael Marchand, chairman for the Colville Confederated Tribes, referred to President Donald Trump’s recent “Pocahontas” comment as “racist and insensitive.” In a Nov. 28 press release, Marchand expressed disappointment in Trump’s remarks at a Nov. 27 event honoring World War II Navajo Code Talkers. Trump used the occasion to attack his political opponent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, by referring to her as “Pocahontas.” “Unfortunately we have become accustomed to the president’s divisive and disrespectful speech,” Marchand said. “But Mr. Trump...
Coulee Dam cuts back on tourism funding The town of Coulee Dam will likely put less money into funding tourism promotion next year following a town council OK on a first reading of the proposed budget Monday. City Clerk Stefani Bowden said less money has come into the fund than expected, and the city will fund its own parks work first, before using the money for advertising for tourism. The city budget presented Monday shows the city spending $14,000 on “advertising,” which it has designated to go to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerc...
Grand Coulee Police 11/21 - A man who resides on F Street told police that someone had gotten into his unlocked vehicle and taken his laptop. - A woman on Kelso Avenue told police that a stray dog had been in her yard for a few days. The officer found a chow-wow type dog that was shivering. The dog did not have a license tab and was taken to the veterinary clinic. - A disconnected radiator hose stalled a vehicle on Roosevelt Drive. The driver told police that he was waiting for the radiator to cool and that everything was OK. 11/22 - Two unlock...
An Electric City woman was ordered by Grant County Superior Court Monday to repay nearly $139,000, for unauthorized personal payments to herself while a clerk for Grant County Mosquito Control District 2. The repayment is to be made to Enduris Insurance, which had already repaid the Mosquito District for its losses. Karyn M. Byam, 42, entered an Alford plea to theft in the first degree in March 2017, with a restitution hearing scheduled within six months. That hearing was held Monday, and the court ordered full restitution of $138,810,...
Grant County detectives are looking for two Coulee Dam people named as suspects in an early morning stabbing near Moses Lake. Investigators are looking for 28-year-old Rebecca N. Norton and 24-year-old Aaron Pfaltzgraff-Miller, both of Coulee Dam. Responders were called about 4 a.m. today (Saturday, Nov. 25) to the 11000 block of Road 14 Northeast for an adult male who had been stabbed. Investigators said everyone involved had been at the home for a party. The victim, whom authorities did not...
Electric City has received word that it was awarded a $735,000 grant for major street repair. The grant requires a 5-percent match of nearly $37,000. City Clerk Russell Powers said the state Transportation Improvement Board grant will enable the city to put in new streets, curbs and sidewalks that will connect the city’s two new proposed park sites. The work “is planned for 2018,” Powers stated, as soon as bid specifications and engineering can be finished. The grant will provide funds for curbs, sidewalks and new streets on Grand Avenu...
Larry Price, in the process of planning his term as mayor of Coulee Dam, emphasizes the need to bring people together. “People in the town have been battling each other, and we need to come together,” Price stated in an interview last week. Not only that, but people see two separate towns: one, the engineers town, and the other, the part that is on the reservation. “After all, it’s just a bridge,” Price said. Instead of the bridge separating the two distinct parts of town, he says, “the bridge also brings us together.” He sees shorter counc...
Shoppers place their penny bids in cups at the Penny Auction Saturday, a fund raiser for the class of 2018 at Lake Roosevelt High School. With 170 donated items, the class of 45 seniors profited about $3,100 at the event, taking in $3,500 from community supporters in the cafeteria. "It would not have been possible without all the donations from the local businesses," said class advisor Tammy Norris. "The community supported us greatly and we are very thankful." - Scott Hunter...
Newspaper office closes for holiday The Star office will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving, plus Friday. Garbage more costly Garbage rates are going up in Electric City on Jan. 1, 2018. The good news is, not very much. If you use a 65-gallon container, your rates will go from $27.35 per month to $28.17. It’s all in keeping up with costs. Garbage collector Sunrise Disposal received a cost-of-living adjustment and the city is passing this cost on to its customers. The last time Electric City had a garbage rate increase was in 2012. F...
The spirit of giving can be found in different areas of our community. Just a few examples include giving presents to children in poverty, food to the hungry, coats and winter clothes to children in need, and backpacks and winter clothes to the homeless. The Trees of Sharing program, which helps low-income children receive Christmas presents, has been spreading joy in the community for over 30 years. Started in 1983 by five ladies from St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, the program has grown over...
Classes will be held soon to develop badly needed emergency medical responders to bolster ambulance services. The Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Department has scheduled an informational meeting for 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 4, at the fire station on Spokane Way. Fire Chief Rick Paris stated, "We are looking for individuals from the area to become Washington State-certified Emergency Medical Responders by completing 60 hours of special training." Interested parties should attend the Dec. 4 meeting to...
There is a facility in Moses Lake that receives dogs, cats and other animals, as well as non-game birds, when people don’t know what to do with them. Camron Derting, administrator for Grant County Animal Outreach, appeared before the Grand Coulee City Council last month to let people on this end of Grant County know of their services and willingness to help people who have animal problems. If you have an animal (pretty much any animal) that you want to get help for, the Moses Lake facility is there to help, Derting pointed out. “We would lik...
The Regional Board of Mayors will purchase its new transfer trailer next year through BuyBoard, a national purchasing cooperative, officials stated Nov. 13. The 2018 budget, that has been approved by all four towns and cities in consortium headed by the RBOM, had set aside $90,000 for the purchase of the new transfer trailer, making the trailer the third at the transfer site. Electric City Clerk Russell Powers, who does the financial reports for the four mayors, said Monday afternoon that the difference between the $90,000 budget projection...