News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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No pay for council Electric City councilmembers voted not to pay themselves $20 a meeting and to not give Mayor John Nordine II a $50-a-month raise last Tuesday night. Councilmember Lonna Bussert was adamant that she saw serving on the council as a public service. The other councilmembers agreed. The council twice before had voted down paying its members by the meeting. The council also voted not to increase the mayor’s salary from $250 a month to $300 a month. Wages of full-time staff members went up 1 percent for 2016, and this also passed t... Full story
Electric City council agreed to the allotment of hotel/motel tax money for 2016 at its meeting last Tuesday and will consider keeping more than a quarter million dollars in tourism-promotion funds toward funding a pathway. The council tourism committee, made up of councilmembers Brad Parrish and Richard McGuire, recommended allotting the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce $25,000 for tourism promotion, with the stipulation that $3,200 be taken from that amount to make up for overpayments the city made during 2015. That created a debate... Full story
The town of Coulee Dam is set to gain a new sewer plant but lose an ambulance service. The town expects to spend nearly $7 million of its wastewater fund in 2016, when a long-awaited revamp of its wastewater treatment plant is anticipated to begin in late summer. A preliminary budget shows the town ending next year with nearly $857,000 in reserves, even after spending some $10,053,652, most of that on the sewer plant. At the town council’s Nov. 12, meeting there was no discussion on the budget or on Mayor Greg Wilder’s 2016 “budget messa... Full story
The Ridge Riders have received another banner for being named Pro-West "Rodeo of the Year" for their Colorama Rodeo last May. "We couldn't do this without everyone in our organization doing their part," Ridge Riders President George Kohout said. Kohout has been president for the past four years, with the Ridge Riders winning the top rodeo-of-the-year award three of those years. The Professional Western Rodeo Association sanctions about 60 rodeos throughout the West. The Ridge Riders will be... Full story
City hall in Electric City will get a facelift sometime in 2016. The council tucked away a little over $26,000 to dress up the city’s municipal building. The building is targeted for a repair of existing concrete blocks, a paint job, a rock wainscoting on the outside, plus three new air conditioning units. The city is also planning on a new sign on the side of the building and a small readerboard sign to advertise its meetings and other information to the public. The color of the building hasn’t been determined, officials said. In the past two... Full story
In an exercise, Bureau of Reclamation emergency and security personnel stage a response to a possible hazardous waste contamination incident Tuesday morning. Scanner monitors can relax.... Full story
Three important steps are in the works for Electric City’s pathway project. That project would, if everything worked out, build a pedestrian and bicycle pathway from Sunbanks Lake Resort to North Dam Park, in different phases. Phase one would be from Coulee Playland to North Dam Park. No date has been set for the start of the project, but one meeting was held last Tuesday. That phase is estimated at $500,000. One of the first steps will occur next Tuesday when the city council is expected to provide $40,000 from its lodging tax money for a c... Full story
Jo Ayers, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II, accepts a spontaneous ovation after being introduced as one of several Marines, but the only woman Marine present, at the Veterans Day assembly at Lake Roosevelt Schools Friday. Veterans were introduced and honored by service branch, after which each branch's song was performed by the senior choir. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
One of the issues Electric City council members will decide next Tuesday night when they meet is whether they want to pay themselves. The issue has come up twice in the past and both times was voted down by the council. Most small cities and towns pay council members by the meeting, but not all, and never much. City Clerk Jackie Perman said that the resolution will suggest $20 per meeting, and not to exceed two meetings a month. The council as a whole meets once a month, but various members have committee meetings. Also on the agenda will be... Full story
A run over the top of Grand Coulee Dam will be revived, even after its last organizers dropped it, if Kelly Buche has anything to say about it. Buche, a local accountant and active runner, is aggressively planning how to organize, promote and pull off a race that at one time in its long history drew 400 runners. Run the Dam can offer a lot to the running public if promoted the right way and set at the right time of year, Buche told the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District at their Nov. 2... Full story
This could be good news for area bowlers. Riverview Lanes could be opening again, with a new owner, perhaps as early as Dec. 1. “There are still a lot of things that have to happen, but I am working toward that opening date,” said Scott Elmore, a westsider who looks forward to life on the east side of the state. Elmore is working with the owners of the alley, Pat and Sara Zlateff, on the details of the sale, the reconditioning of parts of the alley, and with the town of Coulee Dam. Riverview Lanes was broken into twice in October, and dam... Full story
Pat Zlateff is anything but your typical veteran. Most local people will remember him as owner of Riverview Lanes, where he and his wife, Sara, kept the bowling alley in Coulee Dam open because the couple thought local people deserved a place to go for fun and enjoyment. Pat graduated from Coulee Dam High School back in 1964, having spent two years at Grand Coulee High School and finishing up at Coulee Dam. Then Pat got in some time at Eastern Washington University and played as a running back... Full story
Museum calendar fund raiser starting Coulee Pioneer Museum’s 2016 calendar, goes on sale next Thursday. The calendar sells for $10. Add membership in the museum and you get both for $30 (a $35 value). The sale opens at the Chamber of Commerce meeting at noon Thursday at the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, but can also be purchased from Birdie Hensley, 631-0303. Give blood Monday, save lives There will be an Inland Northwest Blood Center blood drive at the community room at Coulee Medical Center, Monday, Nov. 16. Donation hours are 11:30 a.m. ... Full story
A new project aimed at refurbishing very old structures atop Grand Coulee Dam, like so much of the dam, is likely to yield the largest such device ever built. The 11 drum gates used to control the lake level, at 75 years old, are in need of major refurbishing, not just annual maintenance, explains Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher. But that poses big problems without a way to plan long-term projects around the operation of a reservoir used to control the flow of the Columbia River, for... Full story
There will be some new faces on both the Electric City and Coulee Dam councils in 2016. In Electric City, former council- woman Birdie Hensley will have a seat back on the council, after defeating Gladys (Carol) Nordine, 142-126. Nordine had led in the Position 3 race at the end of polling Tuesday by a single vote, 81-80. Nordine had been appointed to her position this summer to fill a vacancy. In other Electric City council races, Richard McGuire won re-election to Position 2, by defeating Daniel Greeley, 168-74. Brad Parrish won his Position... Full story
The relationship between the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and Electric City reached a new low this past week. While the relationship has been simmering for a long time, it spilled over Oct. 22, when the chamber’s weekly meeting was devoted to a perceived problem in how Electric City handles its hotel/motel money. There was even a suggestion that the chamber sue the city. The situation got worse last week when the chamber sent registered letters to all Electric City’s council members, its mayor, city clerk and the city att... Full story
The Star print edition next week will be out two days early, on Monday, due to the Veterans Day holiday falling on the newspaper’s normal Wednesday publication day. The issue will include our annual salute to area veterans, and we wanted it in most readers’ hands before the holiday. Accordingly, deadlines for the issue come very early. Community news, announcements and advertising needs to be in by Thursday at 5 p.m....
Coulee Dam police have arrested an area man in connection with two recent burglaries at Riverside Lanes. Arrested and now in Okanogan County Jail is Michael Shane Snyder II, 26. Coulee Dam Police Sgt. Larry Hall said Snyder is being charged with second-degree trafficking in stolen goods, third-degree theft, and third-degree possession of stolen property. Police are still investigating, and additional charges may be added. Riverview Lanes was broken into twice in one week. The bowling alley has been closed since late summer, and the break-ins we... Full story
After a task-force investigation lasting more than two years, a 23-year-old Moses Lake man has been arrested and is facing charges including multiple arsons, domestic violence assault and burglary, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday. Kolton J. Dana was arrested Friday after investigators developed information which helped tie him, they say, to a long list of unsolved local crimes that started in 2013. Those crimes include a string of arson fires in the Soap Lake, Moses Lake and Ephrata areas. He is in the Grant County Jail, w... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam could get a new fixture for help in repairing the big gates at the top of its spillway, one of which has been leaking since last summer. The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public comment to identify issues and concerns to be addressed in an Environmental Assessment for a proposed drum gate maintenance structure at Grand Coulee Dam. A major leak on drum gate three this year prevented the bureau from spilling water for a backdrop for the Laser Light Show. At that time, the agenc... Full story
Only Electric City and Coulee Dam watched races in the battle for city council positions in the election returns last night. Electric City produced the tightest race, for a four-year term on the city council’s Position 3. Incumbent Gladys (Carol) Nordine had 81 votes, while her challenger, Birdie Hensley, had 80. Nordine won an early seat on the council this summer, filling a vacancy, and is the mother of Mayor John Nordine II, who was unchallenged for mayor and garnered 117 votes. Hensley served earlier on the council and had resigned b... Full story
A queen of hearts and a minion are among dozens of costumed kids at the Moose Lodge on Halloween day, circling on musical squares, hoping for pies, cakes and goodies if they land on the right number. The pool table at left was filled with the baked treats. Kathy Baty, at right, keeps them moving until the music stops. The lodge threw the free party for any kids who wanted to come. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
Author wins statewide award A Spokane teacher with local ties has won the Washington State Book Award for his second novel. Bruce Holbert’s “The Hour of Lead,” which a Seattle Times reviewer called a “riveting and beautifully written” novel, took the honors in the fiction category Oct. 10 at an event in Seattle. Holbert graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School in 1978. He now lives in Nine Mile Falls and teaches at Mount Spokane High School north of Spokane. His father, Pat Holbert, lives in Electric City. Attendance strong at schools T... Full story
Margaret Ricks blows leaves onto Douglas Street in Coulee Dam ahead of the town's fall leaf pickup service Monday morning. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
Port District 7 commissioners approved a $216,500 budget for 2016 at their last meeting. No changes to the budget were made from an earlier proposed preliminary budget. Chamber event tickets available Tickets for the Chamber of Commerce’s Vintners and Brewers Tasting and Auction, Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Coulee Dam Community Room, went on sale this week. Tickets cost $40 for individuals, $70 for a couple, or $300 for a table for 10. Tickets are on sale at the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce office, 17 Midway Avenue... Full story