News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 4265 - 4289 of 6735
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
Don Richer, 52, of Coulee Dam, threw a perfect 300 game last week at Riverview Lanes. It wasn't his first - he has three official 300 games to his credit. But it was exciting just the same, both for him and for others at the lanes at the time. A perfect 300 game is 12 strikes in a row in the same game. Most people get excited when they throw a single strike, but 12 in a row puts you in a special class. Richer said the first six or seven strikes for him are without pressure. But after that,... Full story
The Star is still accepting nominations for the annual Volunteer of the Year award. Each year, the community selects between several worthy people nominated for the honor. One person is honored. Groups are not eligible. Nominations can be made until Feb. 11. 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 e-mail, through the U.S. Postal Service, or in person as follows: • b... Full story
Voters will decide Feb. 9 whether to continue property tax support of Nespelem Elementary School by paying only about a tenth of the amount of money the levy actually would bring to the school. The school teaches about 120 students in pre-school through eighth grades. That count is up from last year, says Rich Stewart, superintendent of the district, whose board of directors budgeted for only about 100 students this school year. "We are hoping this trend continues as our program has made... Full story
Wildlife staff from the Colville Tribes' Fish and Wildlife (CTFW) Department released 52 pronghorn antelope in the early morning hours last Thursday, a department press release announced Friday. They were released on the southwest corner of the Colville Indian Reservation. "The capture process went great, fairly smooth and without incident," said Kodi Jo Jaspers, Resource Protection biologist for CTFW. "The helicopter crew used net guns to capture pronghorn on the ground, and then anywhere from... Full story
Fish passage now possible, legislators told In Olympia Tuesday, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony in favor of their support of a “memorial” bill that would tell the federal government the Legislature favors reintroducing salmon and steelhead above Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee Dams. “While salmon passage over high-head dams such as Chief Joseph and Grand Coulee may have been deemed impossible when they were constructed 50 and 80 years ago, that is not the case today,” said D. R. Michel, executive directo... Full story
A free class will teach young teenagers, ready to earn money by babysitting, how to do it safely. The class offered at Coulee Medical Center will teach them “the safety skills they need for themselves and the children they are watching,” according to the hospital. It’s scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the hospital’s on-site training room, 411 Fortuyn Road, Grand Coulee. Students need to bring a sack lunch. Drinks and snacks will be provided. Space is limited. To register, call Molly Morris at 633-6354 or email mmorris... Full story
The town council last week narrowly repealed a vote it took in December to remove two town-owned trees along the 300 block of Stevens Avenue after one council member said he felt deceived and embarrassed. Coulee Dam Councilmember David Schmidt said a letter he had signed as a member of the Parks and Natural Resources Board had the wrong addresses on it, not the addresses where two trees they’d inspected needed to be removed. “We didn’t look at either one of those trees,” Schmidt said. “We never would have approved their removal because t... Full story
What to do with an old stone church? The old stone community church in Coulee Dam is vacant and needs a new tenant. The subject came up at the Coulee Dam Town Council meeting last Wednesday night when Councilmember David Schmidt stated his regrets that the church had closed and commented that there should be some public response in support for the church. Councilmember Ben Alling responded that he would like to see it used for a convention center, using hotel/motel tax funds to accomplish that. Schmidt said he hadn’t meant to suggest that t... Full story
Interest in acquiring Center School for a fiber mill is on hold. Vicki Eberhart, president of the North American Wool Cooperative in Oroville, said Tuesday that her group is active in another project in Oroville and will make a decision on Center School after the current project is complete and a feasibility study is made. The NAWC had indicated an interest in developing a small fiber mill in the old school and using it for an education center for the industry. Eberhart said Tuesday that the project of a mill in the Oroville area has taken... Full story
A fee schedule for the use of town of Coulee Dam equipment was set by the council at its meeting last Wednesday night. Fees cover the use of town equipment by other public works departments in the area. Hourly rate fees are: Ford truck, $75; bucket truck, $100; crane, $100; chipper towed by truck, $100; backhoe, $100; dump truck, $50; sweeper, $100; portable welder, $50; international dump truck, $75; compactor, $30; tank truck, $75; sewer jet truck, $100; and sewer camera, $100. Trash pump rental is $30 a day. In the event an equipment... Full story
Electric City’s leaders met for a “retreat” in Ephrata Saturday to consider matters that don’t fit well into monthly city council meetings. “I think every city council should have a retreat,” Electric City’s city clerk Jackie Perman said this week. “A retreat gives council members an opportunity to ask questions and learn about their roles in city government,” she added. The city’s attorney, Katherine Kenison, led council discussions on a range of subjects. She explained the role of a council member and the mayor. She led the group through p... Full story
Governmental agencies and some local people crowded into a meeting room at Coulee Medical Center Wednesday as agencies made presentations at the Electric City Pathway and Trail meeting. Representatives from Bureau of Reclamation; the National Park Service's Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance; Washington State University Rural Communities Design Initiative; Grant County Health District; Washington State Department of Transportation; and Gray & Osborne, Electric City's engineering firm,... Full story
Bonuses given out in 2014 to hospital executives prior to a turnover in leadership will likely result in a “finding” from the State Auditor’s Office, Coulee Medical Center’s top executive told her board Monday night. “The auditor has alerted me that we could very possibly receive a ‘finding,’” CEO Debbie Bigelow said. “We may not have been that administration, but we are that hospital.” An auditor’s “finding” is the strongest criticism possible. Bigelow said bonuses given to executives in early 2014 for work performed in 2013 caught the audito... Full story
The woman who took the helm of the troubled hospital she’s spent most of her career at will not renew her contract, opting instead for some time with grandchildren, she reiterated to commissioners Monday. Debbie Bigelow had sent a letter to commissioners in December to that effect, encouraging them to get started finding a replacement soon. Bigelow underscored that point at the Hospital District 6 Commission meeting Monday, but said she will stay on long enough for an orderly transition. She took over as an “interim” chief executive offic... Full story
Paul Turner, the assistant principal at Lake Roosevelt Junior and Senior High School, has been offered the position as superintendent of schools for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. The board made the decision Monday night. The school board will now need to negotiate a contract with Turner. If successful in the contract issue, Turner will replace Dr. Dennis Carlson, who has been in the district for the past six years. Carlson will retire June 30, but could remain in the district for a... Full story
How to save money at the ER A woman visiting Coulee Medical Center’s emergency room recently will actually save money after hospital staffers caught the fact that she had some redundant medical insurance coverage, CMC’s Debbie Bigelow reported to hospital district commissioners Monday. She said CMC’s staff figured the woman, who is on Medicare, could save $287 a month, a healthy chunk for a person living on about $900. Volunteer award delayed The Star’s annual Volunteer of the Year award will be delayed until February. Tribal recycling open Sa... Full story
A former Grant County Mosquito District 2 clerk appeared in Grant County Superior Court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to two charges, one of theft and the other misappropriation of funds by a public official. Charged by the prosecutor’s office was Karyn M. Byam, 40, from Electric City. The charges stem from her period as clerk of the mosquito district, 2010 to 2014. She had been clerk of the district for 20 years but the charges were confined to that period after a state audit report turned up irregularities showing she had received over $... Full story
Soon the Beavers, Tigers and Savages may make their marks on the new school. There’s a drive afoot for some type of monument statue depicting the old Coulee Dam Beavers, Grand Coulee Tigers and Nespelem Savages. Lonna Bussert, who was at the school board Monday night, asked the board for a space for the statue, somewhere on the new facility grounds. “We think it would be neat for people to be reminded where the ‘Raiders’ came from.” The three schools all funneled into what is now Lake Roosevelt Schools. Bussert said that, with the board’s o... Full story