News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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The city of Grand Coulee is about to take a big step forward into the technology age. Grand Coulee is moving forward on a plan to accept credit cards for the payment of utility bills. There’s a catch … the city will only accept credit card payments online. City Clerk Carol Boyce presented the idea at the council meeting last Tuesday night, and the council gave its OK to move forward. Currently, the city accepts checks, cash and money orders. The city will be working with the firm GovPayNet, which will handle all of the transactions and cut the... Full story
Some 34 injured veterans and 20 host boat captains made a day of fishing on Banks Lake Sunday, the first of what organizers said they hope is an annual event. The Fallen Outdoors organization takes veterans on outdoor excursions and says its mission is to "film and show real-life American soldiers balancing duty for their country and passion for the outdoors." Eastern Washington Team Leader David Atteberry said the event had been planned for March 10 but was postponed because the lake was... Full story
A framework for a new school strategic plan was adopted by the Grand Coulee Dam School District Monday night. The framework was decided by a group made up of school people and community members at a special meeting a couple of weeks ago. Superintendent Paul Turner explained to the school Monday board that the plan was “just the framework” and that the board would be working to put “in specifics and a timetable” for completion. The plan was approved midway through a lengthy meeting that included two executive sessions, one lasting for about a... Full story
A young Electric City man was killed and another man injured last week in a one-car rollover about a mile south of Electric City. Brandon Buche, 23, had recently finished a tour with the U.S. Navy, where he served as an electrician’s mate. He was employed at Safeway in Grand Coulee while working to pursue a career with electricity. Around 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, Buche was driving a 2006 Jeep Wrangler on Bay Area Drive near Coulee View Road when he failed to negotiate a curve in the road, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office reported. The Jee... Full story
A Grand Coulee man awaits sentencing in Grant County Superior Court after being found guilty in a jury trial last week. Melvin Toulou Jr. 43, was convicted Thursday of one count of possession of stolen property in the second degree, a class C felony. The charges stem from a car prowl that was discovered on the morning of Aug. 13, 2016. On that day, victims Gretchen and Brandon Whitelaw, who live on Division Street in Grand Coulee, reported to Grand Coulee police that someone broke into their... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam and Nespelem school districts’ boards of directors will hold a joint meeting tonight (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. at La Presa Restaurant in Grand Coulee to discuss items of mutual interest. The meeting is open to the public. Coulee Dam Superintendent Paul Turner will brief the two boards on what he learned while he was at the recent NAFIS (impact aid) conference in Washington D.C. Turner said he was concerned that President Donald Trump’s budget proposal to Congress shows a 13-percent decline in school funding. Turner said it wasn... Full story
Operating since 2008, the Colville Tribal Recycling Program, based in Nespelem, provides the most comprehensive recycling opportunities in the area, accepting a wide variety of materials, for free, from anyone. The facility, located on Schoolhouse Loop Road in Nespelem, accepts typical materials such as numbers 1 and 2 plastics, magazines and newspapers, cardboard (except the waxed kind), tin, aluminum, copper, steel, and even car batteries and fluorescent lights. The facility also offers... Full story
A man climbs through the rock and mist to get a closer look at Martin Falls near the Devil's Punchbowl on Banks Lake Thursday. The runoff from the spring melt has produced several waterfalls in the Grand Coulee this month. - Jacob Wagner photo... Full story
A meeting is schedule for Thursday this week to move Electric City’s Pathway and Revitalization plan forward. The local committee steering the plan will meet from 3-5 p.m. March 23, at Electric City’s city hall, in the council chambers. The group — made up of Councilmember Aaron Derr, and local residents Cynthia Greely, Lynda Anderson, Clark Perman and Jeff Piturachsatit — will review the final plan from WSU, for the broad-viewed, long-range plan to improve the city and its efforts to be more visitor friendly. The meeting is open to the pub... Full story
There's a fever sweeping over the coulee area that comes about the same time each year, not the kind that the clinic can deal with. It's golf time at Banks Lake Golf Course! The official opening is April 1; however, when the sun is out and the grass is starting to green, golf balls will be on the fly. Already some eager beavers are hitting the 18-hole course, well ahead of the opening date. This week, Port District 7 commissioners were on hand to paint the interior of the golf office, but a bigg... Full story
After racking up multi-million dollar losses in four of the past five years, Coulee Medical Center will put in place a turn-around plan to “stop the bleeding,” CEO Jonathan Owens said, “sooner, rather than later,” and that will include some strategic job cuts. Owens said CMC will be operating in the black within eight months, predicting the restructuring plan will produce a nearly $6.6 million turnaround in 2017 and $3.6 million per year thereafter. The hospital is currently in debt to Grant County and out of sorts with its mortgage loan co... Full story
ELECTRIC CITY, Wash. (15MAR2017) - A 23-year-old Electric City man was killed and another man injured as the result of a one vehicle rollover about one mile south of Electric City early Wednesday morning. Brandon Buche was driving a 2006 Jeep Wrangler on Bay Area Drive near Coulee View Road around 2:00 a.m. when he failed to negotiate a curve in the road. The Jeep left the roadway, tripped on the soft gravel ditch and rolled one-and-one-quarter times. Buche was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. He was taken by Grand...
A regional tactical response team training at Center Elementary Wednesday surrounds a sneaky suspect, Ryan Fish, after finally finding him and ordering him onto the floor. Officers from the Grant and Adams county sheriff's offices, plus Othello and Moses Lake police departments, attended. Moses Lake Cpl. Aaron Hintz said the big, empty building provides a perfect training ground. On their first pass through the building, the team missed Fish, who had originally showed up to simply shut off an... Full story
A former vice principal at Lake Roosevelt Elementary School was sentenced in federal court Monday to seven years in prison for receipt of child pornography. Nathan Piturachsatit, 38, pleaded guilty to the charge Nov. 29, 2016. Sentenced by United States District Judge Salvador Mendoza Jr., Piturachsatit will be supervised by the court for 10 years after release and must register as a sex offender. He also surrendered his iPhone, with which he had traded sexually explicit images with a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl using Instagram. Piturachsatit... Full story
Anyone who has wondered about the growth of the local widlfire season and of the size of the fires that have struck the region in the last few years may want to catch up on the work of Dr. Paul Hessburg. They’ll have a good chance next week. That’s when Wildfire Project’s “The Era of Megafires” will be presented at the new Lucy F. Covington Government Center Auditorium in Nespelem on Tuesday, March 21. Another presentation is scheduled for the Omak Performing Arts Center the next night. Both presentation begin at 6 p.m. Dinner will be availa... Full story
You've heard it said that "the check is in the mail." Well, this one is in the hand! That check for $250,000 arrived last week for Elmer City's "Complete Streets" project. City Clerk Gary Benton and public works director "Jimmer" Tillman didn't waste any time in moving forward with the grant funds. The town has three years to use the funds. Tillman said Friday the project will likely be done in 2018. The grant is from the state Department of Transportation's TIB (Transportation Improvement Board... Full story
School boards to meet together The boards of Nespelem and Grand Coulee Dam school districts will hold a joint meeting Wednesday, March 22, at La Presa Restaurant, in Grand Coulee, at 6 p.m. The joint board meeting is open to the public. Park board considering bids The Coulee Area Park and Recreation District is considering bids from three companies interested in taking care of North Dam Park. Bids were opened at the commission’s regular meeting March 6, and commissioners are weighing price, experience, proposed work and references in their deli... Full story
An Electric City man has received one of two scholarships offered by the state to study structural firefighting. Joshua Reeding, who recently moved to the area from Victorville, California, won an 11-week training scholarship recently, and will be going to the North Bend Fire Center for instruction. The training runs from April 7 through June 25. "It is a great honor for Joshua and for our volunteer fire department," fire Chief Mark Payne told the Electric City Council last week. Reeding was a v... Full story
City officials in the four towns will be more than happy to see winter end, but they all fear what is going to happen to city streets in the region. Ken Dexter, public works director for Electric City, summed it up last week when he stated, "It has been the worst winter I've seen in 20 years or so." Dexter has been with Electric City for over 30 years and will be retiring at the end of March. City streets there are showing signs of breaking up, with frost heaves just showing up. Typical of... Full story
A former Mosquito District 2 clerk pled guilty to one count of first-degree theft in Grant County Superior Court Monday. A second count of first-degree theft, relating to an alleged misappropriation of funds of just over $129,000, was dismissed under the plea agreement. Under the agreement, Karyn Byam, 41, of Electric City, is to pay $800 in court costs, with restitution to be determined at a special hearing within 180 days. There was no confinement time under the agreement. Byam pled guilty to the first-degree theft charge which had to do... Full story
The Grant County Mosquito Control District #2 is calling an emergency meeting for Tuesday, March 14,at 7 p.m. at the Electric City Hall. They will be entering executive (closed) session regarding bid applications....
Electric City Mayor John Nordine II reads to Jessica Tufts' second grade students at Lake Roosevelt Elementary School last Thursday, Dr. Seuss's birthday, taking part in the Read Across America program. The school brings in community members for the program, which the National Education Association describes as its year-round program for "motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources." It is now in its 20th year. - Roger S. Lucas ph... Full story
Colorama will have a new carnival this year, Rainier Amusements, out of Portland, Oregon, the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce announced this week. The new carnival is one of the featured attractions for this year’s Colorama Festival, May 12-14. “We are pleased that we have been able to contract with such a highly respected amusement organization,” chamber Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal stated. The final details of the contract with Rainier Amusements were signed late last week. The Portland amusement group stated in its news relea... Full story
A contractor will be on site next week to start work on a new fire station for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which means two portions of local roads will be closed for that project. Innovative Construction & Design Ltd., a small business based in Post Falls, Idaho, was awarded the $13.6 million construction job last September. The company is scheduled to be on site Monday, March 13, Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said Monday. The portion of B Street from Division Street to Industrial... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District has had its problems with the harsh winter, and will have to repair sidewalk and playground concrete walkway problems when spring arrives. Sidewalks in front of the new school have had surface problems and the same problems have cropped up on playground surfaces, Superintendent Paul Turner advised the school board at its last meeting. The surface in front of the school appeared to partially be because of using snow and ice removal chemicals. Turner said that he didn’t think that personnel used salt. In a... Full story