News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Nomination letters for The Star’s annual Volunteer of the Year award are published in this issue, on page 2, and online. The honoree is chosen by our readers, either through a written note or an online poll. You can let your choice be known: • by mail to Volunteer, PO Box 150, Grand Coulee, WA 99133, • in person to The Star, 3 Midway Ave., Grand Coulee, or • use the poll below. Responses will be accepted through next Wednesday, Feb. 24. The honoree will be named in The Star March 2. Who should be named The Star's Volunteer of the Year for 201... Full story
One man is in jail and another suspect is being sought after a county interagency task force and the Secret Service raided a Grand Coulee residence early Friday morning. The raid site was lined with police vehicles and slowed traffic that used Burdin Boulevard as a route to get to work. Arrested and jailed was Melvin E. Toulou, Jr., 42, of 308 Burdin Boulevard. The search warrants covered that address and another home at 58220 Spokane Boulevard. Officials said the investigation covers thousands... Full story
Boaters in Washington state born after Dec. 31, 1954, now need to take a boater education course and carry a state Boater Education Card. An online course is offered by a private company for $29.50 at boat-ed.com, but the Boat US Foundation is also offering a free online course. (Thanks to reader Randy Semanko for that tip.) And the Grant County Sheriff’s Office is offering a course, in person, for free as listed below. February 20: Moses Lake – 1274 Lowry Street (Sheriff’s Substation) May 7... Full story
Coulee Dam residents will get an update on the proposed wastewater treatment plant project at a public meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 24, starting at 5:30 p.m. at city hall. In a letter to the editor in today’s Star newspaper, Mayor Greg Wilder stated that the town has “virtually completed the environmental processes and approved the engineering contracts.” He went on to write, “Rural Development, our funding agency, has now approved the engineering contract, and we expect funding in the form of a grant/loan package within a month or so.” The quest... Full story
Grand Coulee’s city council will meet one more time in February, but then will meet only once a month. The council passed its once-a-month ordinance at its meeting Feb. 2. After the Feb. 16 meeting, the Grand Coulee council will meet once a month on the third Tuesday of the month. Its meeting in March will be on the 15th, and meetings will start at 6 p.m. The new ordinance amends the city code. City Clerk Carol Boyce said the once-a-month change for meetings will allow city staff more time to prepare matters for the council, and allow c... Full story
The Chief Joseph Nez Perce Longhouse, destroyed by fire three years ago, may soon be replaced by a new building if a committee working for it can settle with insurance and find more funding. The new replacement building is projected to cost $3 million, a press release from the Colville Tribes said, but a settlement with an insurer still has to be worked out. And the effort must break ground by July 1 this year or face the loss of the insurance funds. At the time of the fire, Dec. 26, 2012, it... Full story
There’s an effort to resurrect “Them Dam Writers,” an organization that encourages people to write. The group had been organized back in the 1980s, but in recent years had dwindled to only a few. The effort to get the group going again started with a brainstorming meeting Saturday afternoon at the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center. Them Dam Writers is a non-profit organization that had many of its members’ articles published in The Star newspaper in a “Reflections” column. The group in the past has featured writers’ workshops, poetry writin... Full story
Tillman named pro tem Jesse Tillman was named mayor pro tem by a vote of council members at Elmer City’s council meeting last Thursday night. He will fill in for mayor Gail Morin when she is away. Blood drive scheduled There will be a Grand Coulee Community Blood Drive on Monday, Feb. 22, at the community room on the Coulee Medical Center campus. The drive is held in conjunction with Inland Northwest Blood Center and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. New PUD manager named Grant PUD Commissioners announced the appointment of former Chief F... Full story
A Selah, Washington man was arrested last Thursday for allegedly trying to break into the marijuana retail store on Burdin Boulevard. Police said Sterling R. Sauve, 22, tried to get into B Street Bud by forcing the back door open. Sauve was arrested by police Chief John Tufts and officer Joseph Higgs. Sauve told police that he came to town to tour Grand Coulee Dam with his electrician class but was late and had missed the tour. He then went to the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce office to inquire where the marijuana retail store was... Full story
Electric City has finally agreed to a contract with Grand Coulee to provide police services. Its city council voted 5-0 for the contract offer, even though some of the language was a bitter pill to swallow. Then there was an ultimatum, the tossing of the gauntlet so to speak. Grand Coulee, tired of the document bouncing around because of language changes, told the folks at Electric City, essentially, take it or leave it. Electric City was told that if the agreement wasn’t signed by March 1, forget it. That didn’t sit well with council mem... Full story
There’s an effort to resurrect “Them Dam Writers” an organization that encourages people to write. The group had been organized back in the 1980s, but in recent years had dwindled to only a few. The effort to get the group going again will begin with a brainstorming meeting at 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 12, at the Senior Center. Them Dam Writers is a non-profit organization that had many of its articles published in The Star newspaper in a “Reflections” column. Them Dam Writers in the past have featured writers’ workshops, poetry writing contests in... Full story
An after-school program promoting values, leadership, family and education received a multi-state award last week when its director, Kim Stanger, was in Washington D.C. to encourage more funding from Congress. The Cultural Enrichment Early Out Monday program at Lake Roosevelt Schools received an award as an "Exemplary Program" in Region 6, the Northwest, of the National Johnson-O'Malley Program in the Bureau of Indian Education. The program takes advantage of the schools' "early out" Mondays... Full story
A popular educator and rising young school administrator was taken from Lake Roosevelt Schools in handcuffs last week, after a Seattle-based task force on Internet crimes served warrants to search his home, office and vehicle. Nate Piturachsatit, 37, was arrested at the school Feb. 3, after law enforcement officers from several agencies, all part of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, arrived at 10 a.m. with a warrant to search his office and computer. When they left, they didn't... Full story
Want to serve on Electric City’s Pathway committee? All you have to do is drop a note off at city hall. The city council will make a selection of four local citizens to serve, along with city Councilmember Brad Parrish, on an advisory committee regarding matters pertaining to the proposed trail. Chairing the committee will be Tiffany Quilter of Grant County Health District. A representative of Washington State University’s Rural Community Design Initiative, and a representative from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conse... Full story
A public workshop will be held this Thursday night at the Electric City fire station to develop survey questions for the proposed Pathways project. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend and take part by sharing their thoughts and vision of Electric City. A large group of stakeholders met in January to get the discussions going on an Electric City trail system but couldn’t agree on a set of questions for a community survey. Deputy Clerk Russell Powers, who is organizing the meeting, said the group will develop q... Full story
Volunteer nominations close Thursday Those who wish to nominate someone for Volunteer of the Year have until midnight Thursday. Letters of nomination should be as specific as possible about why the candidate should be honored, including contact information for the nominator and for anyone who could speak about the nomination. Send nominations by email, through the U.S. Postal Service, or in person as follows: • by email to star@grandcoulee.com • by mail to Volunteer, PO Box 150, Grand Coulee, WA 99133 • in person to The Star, 3 Midway Ave.,... Full story
Coulee Dam Town Council agreed on two leases at its meeting Jan. 27. Council members agreed to leases for The Melody Restaurant and Riverview Lanes, the town’s two tenants in the building it owns. The Riverview Lanes lease, covering two years with the firm’s new owner, Scott Elmore, calls for $480 lease payments each month from May through September and $675 a month from October through April. The higher price is during the months that league play is most active. Elmore took over the operation in December after spending several weeks get... Full story
Electric City will be working on its new “no name” park this year. The park site, behind the city’s fire station, is yet to be named, and is promoted as a “neighborhood” park. It is the brainchild of Councilmember Lonna Bussert. The city has over $35,000 in its budget for some development this year. Targeted will be fencing, irrigation and the placement of some surplus playground equipment that came out of the Center Elementary School recess area. Last year a community yard sale held at the Vet’s Center and a “Pig in the Park” picnic provided s... Full story
A levy to support Nespelem School District passed by a large margin Tuesday night with only 14 percent of the ballots in Okanogan County left to count. As of Tuesday night, 52 voters said yes to the measure that will tax property owners at about $2.49 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, compared to 17 against it. The 75.36-percent margin assures the passage of the levy, which will directly bring in only about $34,000 a year, but makes the district eligible to receive state “levy equalization” funds of nearly $318,000 more. The fou... Full story
A levy to support Nespelem School District passed by a large margin Tuesday night with only 14 percent of the ballots in Okanogan County left to count. As of Tuesday night, 52 voters said yes to the measure that will tax property owners at about $2.49 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, compared to 17 against it. The 75.36-percent margin assures the passage of the levy, which will directly bring in only about $34,000 a year, but makes the district eligible to receive state “levy equalization” funds of nearly $318,000 more. The fou... Full story
The Regional Board of Mayors set their spring and fall residential cleanup schedules for 2016 at their meeting Monday. The spring cleanup will be April 2-9, for those who haul their own garden debris to the Delano Regional Transfer Station, and April 11-15, for those who rely on curbside pickup. For next fall, the mayors have set Nov. 12-19, for garden material free dumping. Three of the local towns and cities assist with free pick-up arrangements: Electric City, Grand Coulee and Elmer City. Donna Deckman, from Electric City’s public works d...
Alumni from Grand Coulee’s Tigers, Coulee Dam Beavers and from Nespelem’s Savages got the go-ahead from the school board recently for a space on the new school campus for a statue showing that the Raiders grew out of the three earlier schools. Coulee Dam Beaver graduates plan a reunion Aug. 5-7 this year and will use the occasion as a fund-raiser for the statue. The reunion is for classes from 1935 through 1974. As part of the fund-raising effort, the Beavers are selling different levels of tables for the reunion dinner. Sponsorship table lev... Full story
A Grand Coulee man is in jail today after a raid Friday in Grand Coulee. Melvin E. Toulou, Jr., 42, is in the Grant County Jail for investigation of possession stolen property. A task force led by the Grant County Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET) and the U.S. Secret Service served a search warrant on Toulou’s home at 308 Burdin Boulevard in Grand Coulee and also at a home at 58220 Spokane Boulevard near Grand Coulee. Along with illegal drugs, officers found thousands of dollars worth of property believed to have been stolen d...
“Rocket scientists they are not.” That was the way Coulee Dam’s interim police chief described villains who brag about their escapades on Facebook. Interim Chief Larry Hall said that he often looks at Facebook to catch up with some law breakers who aren’t too smart and tell what they have done for everyone to see. “When we have a a few vehicle prowls and a few garages are being broken into, I call the jail and ask if certain people are still in jail,” Hall said. “As far as major crimes,” he said, “we’re really blessed.” Consumeraffairs.com h... Full story
A popular educator and rising young school administrator was taken from Lake Roosevelt Schools in handcuffs today, after a Seattle-based task force on internet crimes served warrants to search his home and office. Nate Piturachsatit was arrested at the school today after law enforcement officers from several agencies, all part of the regional task force, arrived with a warrant to search his office and computer. When they left, they didn’t take the computer with them, but they did take his cell phone. Piturachsatit is the vice principal of L... Full story