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 “International Observe the Moon Night,” Sept. 19, is an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation and understanding of the moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. This year it will be part of the Chamber of Commerce’s Harvest Festival planned for North Dam Park and Banks Lake Park, this weekend. There will be two opportunities for the public to take part: from noon to 2 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., on Saturday both at North Dam Park. During the day there will be an obser... Full story
The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking public input on a draft environmental assessment for its proposed plan to build a new fire station. The Bureau has identified two sites to build a 21,500-square-foot fire station. The preferred site, identified as Alternative A, is on land already managed by the Grand Coulee Power Office outside the west administration/industrial area gate, near the intersection with Highway 155 and B Street. Access to the site would be from Industrial Road, off of either B Street or Highway 155. The Alternative B site would... Full story
Area seniors are trying to get their "manor" back. A local apartment complex once reserved for senior citizens no longer is, and some people don't appreciate the change in the neighborhood. In a letter to the Housing Authority of Grant County, the current agency controlling the former "Senior Manor," Birdie Hensley, president of the Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center, outlined a range of problems that reportedly now exist in the 40-unit building. The letter is backed by the senior center board of... Full story
With more than 600 students and staff gathered around, Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson says, "We are all Raiders" in a brief ceremony on the first day of school Tuesday to dedicate the new Raider statue by Smoker Marchand. The artist dedicated the piece, which he said tested him and stretched his ability, to Richard Wippel and Eldon Wilson. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
"Rehab" is beginning even as firefighters have a tough time on the eastern edge of the massive North Star fire, where Interior Dept. Secretary Sally Jewell appeared Monday to visit state and tribal leaders during a push to educate Congress on a need for a different funding model for such fires. The scale of the fires that have burned across about 20 percent of the Colville Indian Reservation made a good backdrop for Jewell to make her case that fighting such catastrophic fires ought to be funded... Full story
City, USBR extend police contract Grand Coulee’s city council instructed Mayor Chris Christopherson last Tuesday to sign an extension of the city’s agreement to provide law enforcement services to the Bureau of Reclamation. It is the second year in a five-year contract in the amount of $567,690.96. City to pay park district The council at Grand Coulee voted to contract with Coulee Area Parks and Recreation District for maintaining North Dam Park as a tourism facility. The city agrees to provide $7,000 to the district for 2016 out of the cit... Full story
Are you proud of your barbecue skills? Does your mouth water when you think of your favorite meat cooked to a tender perfection? Then put a team together and enter the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce BBQ competition during the annual Harvest Festival, Sept. 18-20. Or, if you'd rather just sample, you can do that, too, from some of the best barbecue chefs in the Pacific Northwest. $10 will get you four samples Saturday and Sunday. Top prize is $2,000 and a trophy, and there's a lot of... Full story
Look for a “pig out” for the park this Saturday. The event will raise money for Electric City’s new park behind the fire station. But the community barbecue will happen behind city hall so those preparing the food will have access to power and other needs. City Councilmember Lonna Bussert has pushed the park idea since its inception, and it is about to become a reality. Saturday’s “Pig for the Park” affair begins at noon, and after a brief fanfare, those attending will get to sample an old-fashioned pork BBQ with all the trimmings. The food la... Full story
[UPDATE 5:20 p.m. 9/2] As of this morning, the closest point between the North Star and Tunk Block fires was on the southern end of the fire. It was about 2.5 miles apart on the south end along the highway 155 corridor. On the north end, near the Aeneas Valley, the fires are about 10 miles apart, said Stan Hinatsu, the lead public information officer for North Star and Tunk Block Fires. He said the break in weather had allowed crews to build a fireline closer to the actual fire perimeter with the goal of protecting structures and minimizing... Full story
Fire crews are gaining on the fires with help from the weather and more resources, including troops, who were visited by a four-star general this week. On Monday, Interior Dept. Secretary Sally Jewel will visit the North Star Fire as the administration proposes changes to the way wildland fire fighting is funded in the nation. "Fire seasons are becoming longer and more intense," Interior stated in a press release announcing the visit. "The Obama Administration has called for a new funding...
A number of local donors, both individuals and businesses, purchased over 100 large pizzas and delivered them to firefighters on the Colville Indian Reservation Friday and Monday. Tim Whittaker, who took charge of the deliveries, loaded 51 pizzas in his vehicle Friday and delivered them to the agency grounds and then made a repeat trip on Monday with a like number. The pizzas were quickly transported to "spike camps" to reach "hot shot" fire crews who work in remote areas. Whittaker said the... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District Superintendent Dennis Carlson announced Wednesday that both he and Nespelem School District Superintendent Rich Stewart agreed to delay the opening of their respective schools until Sept. 8. Both schools had been scheduled to begin Sept. 1, but with the problem of wildfires and smoke, they decided on the delay. In Nespelem, Sept. 8 will actually be a training day for teachers, not a school day for students. Nespelem’s annual welcoming barbecue is set for Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. The first full day of classes is T... Full story
Like to play foosball? Now here's a chance to really get into foosball. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Harvest Festival will feature a live, human-size foosball competition at Banks Lake Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19. It's a case of humans becoming the pins in a real foosball shootout. "It's the newest, and most hilariously fun, addition to our ever-popular Harvest Festival!" the chamber's website says. Teams of six can enter the challenge with a... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District is going to try to make it easier for parties to take another look at purchasing Center School and its adjacent property. The district had advertised for bids earlier this summer for the vacated elementary school sitting on about 8.3 acres of property. No one submitted a bid. District Superintendent Dennis Carlson told members of the school board that real estate tax issues prevented at least one local party from making a bid on the building and property. Grant County had appraised the building and property... Full story
Earthquake hits A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck at 9:42 a.m. Tuesday, shaking the area just enough to trigger an automatic check of local dams. The quake, which hit about seven miles north of Nespelem and six miles beneath the surface, shook windows in the new tribal government administration center being built there, where some people assumed it was a construction accident. Investigation moves local The investigation of financial irregularities at Grant County Mosquito District 2 has now moved to the Grand Coulee police department. Chief Joh... Full story
Can you bake a cherry pie? Or a cream pie? Then dig out grandma’s favorite recipe and enter the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce’s pie-baking contest Saturday, Sept. 19, at North Dam Park during Harvest Festival. No store-bought crusts or fillings here. This is the real McCoy! Pie organizer, Darla Orr, said it’s simple: Make two pies — one for the judges to taste and the other to auction off — and get them to the pie booth by 11 a.m. that Saturday. There will be prizes for the winners and their extra pies will be auctioned off aroun... Full story
The city of Grand Coulee will hold a public hearing to receive any comments from citizens on declaring surplus small strips of land on both the east and west sides of Main Street between Spokane Way and Midway Avenue at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. City Clerk Carol Boyce stated the problem occurred “ages ago” and the strips of land are so small that they are unusable by the city. The land strips, if eventually approved by council, would go to Sharon Cox on the east side and Marlene Oddie on the west side. The council voted Aug. 17, to vacate the... Full story
A Veteran Stand Down Benefit & Job Fair will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m,. at the Grant County Fairgrounds 4H building in Moses Lake. Representatives from the VA, veteran organizations, and community partners will be in attendance. Coordinated in partnership with the Grant County Veterans Advisory Board this fair is for veterans of all eras, service members and their families. For more information call Eileen Boylston 509.766.4111 or eboylston@esd.wa.gov.... Full story
New owners and friends of The Grand Theatre on Main Street put on a variety show last weekend that included song, skit and even film shorts. Now that sidewalk construction on the block is over, they plan to resume a regular schedule of movies and offer the facility for other community uses, such as an upcoming Missoula Children's Theater production by the PTA. In this comedy skit, the fly on the wall proved a nuisance repeatedly to the doctors trying to perform a surgery. - Scott Hunter... Full story
Omak, WA -- Weather moderated fire behavior for North Star and Tunk Block Fires early this week but there is still a lot of work to be done. With more than 360,000 acres of fire, officials calculate that there are more than 370 miles of perimeter between the two fires. North Star Fire has about 195 miles and Tunk Fire has 178 miles excluding the spots and perimeters around unburned islands. According to a publication produced by the Forest Service in 2011, fireline production rates for a 20 person crew are between 6 and 12 chains per hour for...
In this morning's (9/7/15) fire report, the Colvilles assert they're ready to rebuild, even as fire fighters are strengthening their defense lines. North Star and Tunk Block Fire incident commander's report: Yesterday’s Activities: The fuels in the fire area began drying after the rain Saturday. Parts of the southwest and northwest corners of the North Star Fire dried sufficiently for small burnouts to secure containment lines. Hand and dozer lines to control fire spread continued to be c...
Grand Coulee’s city council last week approved a $375,000 settlement with long-time police officer Sean Cook, who filed suit last fall, claiming the city had not provided public records he had requested, violating the state’s Public Records Act. The financial part of the settlement was outlined in three parts: • a lump-sum payment of $175,000 for settlement of Cook’s public records claims; • a $125,000 settlement for Cook’s tort, disability, discrimination and employment-related claims against the city; and • a payment of $75,000 to Cook’s att... Full story
At 150,000 acres, the North Star Fire is still threatening Nespelem and, now, Republic. More resources to fight the fire are being added each day to fight the fire, occurring in what Incident Commander Rich Nieto called “epic conditions, historical conditions” at a community meeting Saturday at Lake Roosevelt Schools. But it’s been slow getting the resources that would normally be added quickly, only because of the hundreds of fires throughout the dry West. Officials said the fire was the larges single fire burning now. That doesn’t include... Full story
A Coulee Dam-based effort to help out firefighters on the North Star Fire is catching on like wildfire. It started with a GoFundMe effort to raise money for a continuing effort to supply baked goods and other small items that fire- fighters might need. But it has expanded to include minor medical supplies to the growing force based at the Nespelem Community Center and to other fire-fighting centers, said Glo Carroll, who with her husband Rob started the site and organize deliveries. A small... Full story
Good people of the coulee area have already sought a way to donate clothing and other items for any evacuees from the fires, but the Red Cross shelter at the school is not the place to take them, officials there said Thursday. Stepping up to fill that role is the American Legion Post 157 in Electric City, which will take such donations in clothing and other necessities, or in cash, to give to people in need because of the fire. The post doesn’t have manpower to staff the center all the time, but members will meet people there quickly, given a... Full story