News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 3569 - 3593 of 6880
Peter Dan Road, which connects the Elmer City area to the Keller area, has a temporary passage up and over a landslide that occurred in March, and the beginning of the removal process is anticipated to start in the fall. The dirt road over the landslide is meant for locals, with no large trucks or other such vehicles allowed. A sign near the landslide warns motorcycles to use extreme caution. Cache Creek Road near Nespelem is another way over to Highway 21, as is the Keller Ferry route,...
New officer in Grand Coulee The city of Grand Coulee has a new police officer, Matthew Ponusky, bringing the police department back up to eight officers. Ponusky recently graduated from the police academy and is assigned to the graveyard shift. Food bank closes for holiday The Care and Share Food Bank will be closed Friday, Sept. 1, for the Labor Day weekend, according to Pastor Shawn Neider. People put it on the card More than 20 customers have used the new third-party credit card system to pay their utility bills, Grand Coulee City Clerk... Full story
Electric City has received word that it is receiving two grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency totaling $183,000 for emergency street repairs. City Clerk Russell Powers said one grant was for $60,000 and the second for $123,000. The FEMA grants will pay for 75 percent of the work accomplished with them, with the remaining costs split between Electric City and Grant County. The city suffered a number of street problems from frost heaves last winter, and the grants are for repair of these streets. Powers said the grants cover 19...
Electric City has taken more of its “butt ugly” trees out. City work crews have removed several trees that hinder the vision of motorists coming onto SR-155 from city side streets. The city council, back in March 2013, authorized the removal of a number of what then-councilmember Brad Parrish called “butt ugly” trees. The trees were planted several years ago by longtime mayor Ray Halsey, and lined both sides of the city’s main thoroughfare. They grew up fast, and many of the trees are now mature and about 10 feet tall. At critical intersect...
The town of Elmer City has set Sept. 14, as the date for a public hearing on assuming the rights, powers and functions of its Transportation Benefit District. The hearing will be at 6:45 p.m., just prior to the town’s monthly council meeting at 7. The town passed its TBD ordinance on Dec. 10, 2015, creating the boundaries as the town limits, and has since collected about $3,800, which is allocated for street improvement. The public hearing will deal with the town council assuming the duties of the district and will take input on what streets m...
Barbecue lovers might want to mark Sept. 16 and 17 on their calendars. Those are the days you can go to Banks Lake Park and sample barbecue specialties from a host of grillers who are after the grand champion prize of $2,000, the trophy that goes along with it, and bragging rights. The BBQ competition is part of the community Harvest Festival put on by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Grillers will get set up and rely on their special recipes to please the “sampling” crowd and gain the attention of the judges as they compete for...
Coulee Dam utility customer charges for sewage treatment will likely rise $5-$6 a month to around $61-$62 per household equivalent when the town builds its new wastewater treatment plant, Mayor Greg Wilder told the town council at its Aug. 9 meeting. Construction is beginning on the $7.7 million project now with the contractor on site. Wilder said if Elmer City decides to build its own plant in eight years, when a contract between the two towns ends, the ERU (Equivalent Resident Unit) rate Coulee Dam residents would pay would rise to about...
Grand Coulee ambulance volunteers prepare to transport a man whose car ended up on a lawn just north of the Visitor Center at Grand Coulee Dam Friday. A Coulee Dam police officer at the scene said the late-model Honda minivan had traveled about 140 feet after the driver started drifting, hitting two median curbs for the turn into the park below the visitor center, going somewhat airborne at a low rate of speed and jumping the curb between a stop sign and street light post, then coming to rest...
Grand Coulee’s city council accepted the recommendation of its planning commission in dealing with the dog rescue issue that has been going back and forth in the community. Dorothy Harris had appeared at the planning commission recently to tell planners that she no longer was seeking “dog rescue” status, but wanted to concentrate on advising people on what they might do with unwanted dogs. Planners had told Harris on several occasions that she couldn’t have a dog rescue operation in a residential neighborhood. The council had earlier support...
Grant County Mosquito District 1 reported this week that a mosquito sample collected from a trap west of Moses Lake, near the intersection of Dodson Road and I-90, has tested positive for West Nile virus. This is the first detection of the virus in Grant County this season and is the 11th such report in the state this year. During the 2016 season, 51 samples and one horse were reported with WNV in Grant County. Statewide last year there WNV infections in nine people, 27 horses and 95 mosquito samplings. There have not been any human or animal...
Grand Coulee 8/10 - Officers were called to a reported fight near Federal Avenue. When the officers arrived, both parties had fled. - An officer driving near Kent Street in Electric City observed a person known to be wanted on arrest warrants. The person tried to flee, but after about a 50-yard chase he stopped and was taken to Grant County jail. One of the warrants was for a felony case. - USBR Plant Protection advised police that there was a man at the gate at the 500 kV Switchyard gate. Police found the man, who was a Bureau of Reclamation...
The Bridge Creek Fire 13 miles north of Keller was only 29 percent contained and had grown to 2,640 acres, officials reported Wednesday. The fire was caused by lightning and over 450 personnel are assigned to it. Officials stated that a strong front is expected to pass over the area on Thursday with wind gusts up to 25 mph. Temperatures are expected to drop 10 degrees or more, and very dry air will move into the area. After the front moves over the area, the 8- to 14-day weather outlook calls for higher-than-average temperatures. Resources to...
A list of problems detected at the Delano Regional Transfer Station by its insurance company will have to wait a little longer for repair, and maybe until next budget year. The Transfer Station had advertised for bids recently and the Regional Board of Mayors (RBOM) was scheduled to accept the lone bid Monday. But things got in the way. At the mayor’s meeting a motion was made to accept the lone bid of $54,904, made by DWK Fowler Construction. It died for a lack of a second. It may be dead for a long time. At the end of the meeting, mayors w...
A Coulee City man died Monday afternoon as he rode a three-wheeled motorcycle down Highway 17 toward Soap Lake. Benjamin L. Coates, 78, was southbound about 13 miles north of Soap Lake when, according to a Washington State Patrol investigation, he passed three vehicles in a no-passing zone before a curve, moved back into the southbound lane, then lost control of the trike and drove off the right shoulder, hitting a rock wall. The crash happened about 12:26 p.m. at milepost 89. Coates was riding a blue 2011 Harley Davidson Tri Glide...
A girl flips her hair to form a circle of water at the Spring Canyon swimming area on Lake Roosevelt Friday. Despite still-smoky skies, plenty of people were at the beach. - Scott Hunter photo...
A continuing “dog rescue” issue got a full hearing before Grand Coulee’s planning commission last Tuesday night, with some resolution. Dorothy Harris and her sister-in-law Dee Harris argued the finer points of the city’s zoning code during some heated discussions, but in the end they can say it isn’t over until it‘s over. The two told planners that they no longer want to pursue a “dog rescue” operation, and in fact, Dorothy Harris said, “We no longer have a dog rescue” operation. Planners also softened their position, though not backing...
A lightning-caused, 1,150-acre fire that started at 3 a.m. Aug. 9, is burning a mile off of Bridge Creek Road, about 12 miles northeast of Keller, and is 18 percent contained, according to an Aug. 15 press release from the Colville Confederated Tribes. The crew of 313 personnel has been facing steep slopes and rattlesnakes to fight the fire burning in grasses and timber. Eight crews are on the scene, along with various machinery, including aircraft scooping water out of nearby Twin Lakes to dump on the fire. Total aviation resources used have...
With the impending solar eclipse very close, it's nice to know the science of what is happening; humanity doesn't react to the old mythologies that surrounded past solar or lunar eclipse events. The scientific explanation of what we see has brought us beyond the myths. Many cultures have explained eclipses - solar or lunar - as animals consuming either the sun or the moon, or that demons are the culprits. The Viking sky wolves are a favorite of mine. My Viking ancestors saw a pair of wolves in t...
The Colville Confederated Tribes are considering changing their name and are welcoming input on the decision. A new section on the CCT’s website, titled “Reclaim The Name” at www.colvilletribes.com, has information on the name change, videos of tribal members weighing in on the topic, as well as a form to suggest a new name, or voice comments. So far about 60 people have submitted their thoughts on the matter, according to Meghan Francis, the public affairs officer for the CCT. The reason for the name change is that the current name, Colvi...
Coulee Dam voters will get a drop box Coulee Dam residents can look for ballot drop boxes to placed in town in the near future. Douglas County Auditor Thad Duvall visited the Coulee Dam Town Council Wednesday to explain that the county needs a place to put a drop box, which has been required by state law. Duvall said he’d been authorized to also ask for Okanogan County by that county’s auditor, Lori Thomas. The two counties used to operate a polling place at the town hall each election day. That ended in 1997, Duvall said. The town council vote... Full story
Inland Northwest Blood Center along with the Grand Coulee community blood drive volunteers led by Leha Bodeau are planning a blood drive for Monday, August 21. Donation hours will be from noon – 4:30 p.m. at the community room in Coulee Medical Center. INBC needs an average of 200 blood donors every day to meet the needs of more than 35 hospitals in the Inland Northwest. A single donation can save the lives of up to three people! For more information contact Tina Lingo 509-981-7023....
You can almost hear the ground gasping with a slow, agonizing, parched voice, pleading for some water. A bit dramatic, I guess. Certainly, it has been dry around and in the Coulee. There were some recent isolated showers here and there, nothing to have any real effect. My home weather station hasn’t recorded any precipitation for 59 days as of this writing. Feast or famine, they say. For the month of July, I’ve measured two days exceeding the 100˚F mark — on the 6th, at 101.7˚F, and on the 7th, with 103.8˚. The low for the month was on the 1...
OLYMPIA – July 27, 2017 – With eight weekends left of summer and warm, dry weather in the forecast, Washington State Parks’ Boating Program wants paddlesports enthusiasts to be sure they understand boating laws and risks before they head out on the water. According to a 2015 report from The Outdoor Foundation, paddlesports use increased 14 percent between 2010 and 2014. Unfortunately, the number of fatalities also has increased with the rise in popularity of canoes, kayaks, stand-up paddleboards (SUP) and other small craft. Last year’s Recreat...
Grand Coulee Police 8/8 - A man told police that someone had attempted to break into his apartment on Continental Heights. Officers could not find evidence to support the claim. 8/9 - Police noticed activity at a house on West Grand Coulee Avenue and talked with a man who used to live there. He said the place was under foreclosure but it was still in his name and he had returned to get some tools in the garage. - USBR Plant Protection was concerned about a person on a bicycle taking pictures of the dam. He told police that he was a...
US 2 roundabout construction begins on Thursday, Aug. 10 near Airway Heights and Fairchild Air Force Base west of Spokane AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WA – Construction of a multi-lane roundabout on US 2 just west of Airway Heights begins early Thursday, August 10. When all the construction lane restrictions are in place, US 2 will have two westbound lanes and one eastbound lane for the duration of the work. Lane restrictions will be in place 24/7. Drivers on US 2 between the Fairchild Air Force Base Main Gate and the Airway Heights city center should be a... Full story