News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Next week, thank a classified employee March 13-17 has been proclaimed Classified Public School Employees Week by Washington Governor Jay Inslee. There are 60,000 classified school employees in the state who are involved in nearly every aspect of education, the proclamation says. They are involved in maintaining buildings and grounds, preparing and serving meals, keeping school facilities clean and neat, assisting in the classroom, performing and conducting research activities, and providing information technology and media services. Those... Full story
Richard McBride, superintendent of the North Central Educational Service District 171, leads a discussion on developing a strategic plan for Grand Coulee Dam School District in a Lake Roosevelt school library this week. Composed of both school district personnel and community members, the planning team met Monday and Tuesday to shape a plan that will help the administration and school board tackle issues within the district in the future. District Superintendent Paul Turner helped facilitate... Full story
The National Park Service is offering Lake Roosevelt Vacations, Inc., a one-year contract extension. If accepted, it will continue to operate the NPS-owned marina complex at Kettle Falls through April 30, 2018. NPS officials are offering to extend the contract for one year after listening to community and visitor concerns over the announcement of the marina closure. “It’s our hope Lake Roosevelt Vacations will accept this extension offer so reservation holders unaware of a potential closure can enjoy their planned vacation on the lake,” said... Full story
Workers this week are ripping existing sidewalks up at the entrance to Coulee Dam Casino as they get ready to create a new entrance area. The project includes a new restaurant on the second floor, plus added gaming areas. The upgraded facility is expected to open sometime this spring. The project will also feature outside dining during good weather. - Roger S. Lucas photo... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board had two issues on its agenda Monday night for passage; neither made it in a three-plus-hour-long, marathon meeting. The issues were new high school graduation requirements and a two-year school calendar. The board held the second reading of the graduation requirement policy, which is normally a slam dunk since board members normally get all their questions answered between the first and second readings. It was different Monday night. Seniors graduating in 2019 will need 24 credits, instead of 21. The... Full story
Remember that long, narrow lunchroom at the old middle school? She what the Raiders are using it for now. That second hit would have been at least a base hit. Batting practice from Scott Hunter on Vimeo....
A cool angler sitting amidst the fractured ice and snow, waits for a tug on his line at Crescent Bay Tuesday. Although some high school spring sports started practice with snow too deep to play Monday, highs are predicted to reach into the low 40s over the next week, with lows in the high 20s. Check the weekly forecast on page 8. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District met with Grand Coulee’s planning commission Feb. 15 and received first hand some of the options it faces in selling the Center School property. Superintendent Paul Turner stated late last week that the meeting outlined potential roadways to the zoning process. First, if a potential buyer presents a plan that the commission members approve of, it would be possible to get a conditional-use permit. That process would require the city to hire, at the district’s expense, a lawyer to conduct a public hearing to... Full story
Timing is everything, even when it involves a bill between two cities. A billing issue followed a lengthy discussion among Grand Coulee’s city council members last week as they tried to come to grips with a contract agreement between the city and its employees. The last offer employees had made for their contract would cost the city some $17,000. The council discussed where the city was going to find the money to meet the employees’ offer. It lasted about an hour and was pushed off to the next council meeting in March. That’s when the counc... Full story
Volunteers for the AARP Tax-Aide program provide free tax assistance at the Grand Coulee Senior Center on Tuesday, where Birdie Hensley has organized the program for the past 15 years. From left are Ray Spackman, Nora Jenn, Sally McDowell, Marian Spackman and Roberta Haines. The program is open to everyone from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. each Tuesday through April 11. - Jacob Wagner photo... Full story
Dangerous crosswalk discussed Cheryl Hoffman, president of the local senior center, asked Grand Coulee City Council to do something about the dangers of the crosswalk on Federal Way. She said that seniors use this crosswalk and drivers coming down the hill are often speeding, making crossing the street dangerous to older people. She suggested a “hidden crosswalk” sign or putting in a four-way stop sign at the corner of Federal Way and Main Street. Fire and ambulance calls reported Grand Coulee Volunteer Fire Chief Richard Paris reported tha... Full story
Faced with a mid-week holiday date for an expensive festival designed for tourists, the chamber of commerce is planning its “Festival of America” to start on June 30 this year, with the annual fireworks off the dam on Saturday, July 1. Executive Director Peggy Nevsimal approached the Coulee Dam Town Council last Wednesday to broach the idea with the town that hosts the festival and helps fund it with a lodging tax charged on every motel night spent in the town. Nevsimal said the chamber’s board of directors had struggled with the idea, prefe... Full story
Grand Coulee could soon have a park dedicated to world-champion bull rider Shane Proctor. A proposal was made to the Grand Coulee City Council Feb. 21 by Bob Valen, who made the request on behalf of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Valen is a chamber member and also a commissioner of the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District. Valen proposed that Grand Coulee name its city park, on SR-174, “Shane Proctor Park.” Proctor has distinguished himself on the professional bull riding and rodeo circuits, having won the World Cha... Full story
Diana Parrish, Electric City's new deputy clerk is now on the job. She replaces Russ Powers, who will become city clerk later this month. Her husband, Brad Parrish, who was a city council member, resigned from the council to avoid any potential conflict of interest. Diana previously worked for New Paradigm Physical Therapy in Electric City. - Jacob Wagner photo... Full story
The question of allowing golf carts and off-road vehicles to move freely on Grand Coulee streets came up again at the city council meeting Feb. 21. It was immediately given a cold shoulder by former mayor and present Councilmember Tammara Byers. She stated that mixing golf carts and ORVs with heavy traffic is exceedingly dangerous and she was against it. Councilmember Gary Carriere had a copy of Electric City’s ordinance allowing such vehicles on its streets on hand and appeared to be trying to move it along. Electric City, by ordinance, has a... Full story
What do you do when you win $5 million in the lottery? One Grand Coulee resident, Earl “Ray” McDonald, who won the $5 million lottery last Nov. 28, is probably still trying to figure that out. McDonald, who purchased the winning ticket from the Holiday Station Store in Spokane Valley, said he was going to spend more time with his family, according to a press release just sent out by the state Lottery Commission last week. He told a lottery writer that the 5-million-dollar bonanza came just in time for him to celebrate his 40th wedding ann... Full story
COULEE CITY — Lincoln and Grant County law enforcement officers teamed up Wednesday morning to arrest a Coulee City man suspected of having two stolen vehicles. Bernard A. Brill, 55, is lodged in the Grant County jail on suspicion of two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and two counts of possession of stolen property. The path to this arrest began when Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies learned Brill may have been involved in recent theft-related crimes near Wilbur. Lincoln County deputies contacted Grant County for ass... Full story
Cities and towns that have formed Transportation Benefit Districts have been slowly racking up some extra money for streets, even a little they shouldn’t have. Elmer City and Electric City have both formed the special districts; Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam, while holding discussions about it, have not yet done so. A transportation benefit district (TBA) allows a city or town to collect $10 for each license on cars and trucks. It’s a tool designed by the state legislature to help municipalities make up for the financial hit their street fun... Full story
COULEE CITY — Lincoln and Grant county law enforcement officers teamed up this morning to arrest a Coulee City man suspected of having two stolen vehicles. Bernard A. Brill, 55, is lodged in the Grant County Jail on suspicion of two counts of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and two counts of possession of stolen property. The path to this arrest began when Lincoln County sheriff’s deputies learned Brill may have been involved in recent theft-related crimes near Wilbur. Lincoln County deputies contacted Grant County for assistance. Gra...
A telephone service outage for CenturyLink customers in the Grand Coulee Dam area lasted for several days following a power outage centered in in Ephrata. A spokesperson for CenturyLink said that there had been several phone outages in eastern Washington following an electrical transformer fire in Ephrata Wednesday night. Ephrata and Omak also suffered telephone outages, noted Kerry Zimmer, eastern Washington marketing and communications manager for CenturyLink. Coulee Dam's problem seemed to... Full story
Patrick Hutchins, of the Spokane West Valley Outdoor Learning Center, shows a great horned owl wing to students from Mansfield Elementary during the Balde Eagle Festival last Thursday at the Vets Center in Electric City. He demonstrated to the students how silent the wing is when it flaps,which enables the owl to sneak up on its prey while allowing it to hear its surroundings. Owls, with their asymmetrically placed ears, use triangulation to pinpoint the exact location of their prey. The annual... Full story
Clean clothes, dirty money A Nespelem couple washing clothes at a laundromat on E Grand Avenue Feb. 5, ended up with clean clothes and a counterfeit $20 bill. The couple told police that they were approached by a tall slender, white male with brown hair and carrying a mandolin. The man asked if they could exchange a crisp $20 bill for one that was all folded up, because the crumbled bill would not work in the change machine. The Nespelem man said he had only $16, but they exchanged money and the man left on foot. A few days later it was... Full story
The Nespelem All-Indian Basketball Tournament was held this past weekend, bringing people together to bond over basketball and bringing people to the area during the tourists' off-season. Thirty-two teams, spanning different age groups, participated in the tournament, with each paying $350 to participate. The games took place at the gymnasiums at the Nespelem Community Center, Nespelem Elementary School, Lake Roosevelt High School, and at the former middle school in Grand Coulee. "I think that... Full story
A 17-year-old boy is dead and his twin brother was in custody after an early-morning stabbing in Coulee City Sunday. Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison Monday morning released the identity of the deceased as Shane C. Wachter. Grant County Sheriff’s deputies were called around 2:30 a.m. Sunday to a home in the 300 block of West Washington Street. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His twin brother is in custody for investigation of manslaughter and assault-domestic violence, a sheriff’s office press rel... Full story
Parts of Electric City’s proposed trail system received the most “push back” of any of the features of the city’s Pathway and Revitalization plan. In workshops and before the council, local residents expressed their opposition to a planned Ice Age Floods Trail, particularly one that goes through a residential area on Lakeview. Other segments of the trail system won unanimous approval by an Electric City resident advisory group that voted in unison on most of the trail ideas, but only 50 percent on a shoreline park off Sunny Drive. Two of the... Full story