News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 4818 - 4842 of 6735
Attendance up at schools Grand Coulee Dam schools reported an average of 709 students for the month of February, two students more than was reported in January and 49 students over the budgeted 660 students, and 43 more students than the same month last year. Treatment plant down for maintenance Electric City’s arsenic treatment plant was shut down Feb. 6, and will be down about three weeks. The shutdown will allow the city to handle the waste material developed during operation. City officials said it wasn’t an emergency, just maintenance. Fis... Full story
Electric City has a new crosswalk program that promotes safety, and, if successful, will be expanded to another crosswalk in the city. This week those using the crosswalk to the city's post office will be able to pick up an orange flag to help motorists see them when they cross the highway. They can deposit the flag on the opposite side to be used when they return. Mayor Jerry Sands has been working on the idea as a result of complaints made by Electric City resident Steve Salstrom, and others,... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam School District board declared Center School and its 8.5 acre property surplus Monday night. The board authorized Superintendent Dennis Carlson to move forward and schedule a public hearing so the public could have input on the possible sale of the property. The school district recently purchased the property for $155,000, lending itself the money from its capital fund. Any sale of the property would return the money to the fund. The property was purchased from the Continental Land Company, which years ago made the site ava... Full story
A summit on what to do with the old middle school buidling in Grand Coulee will be held at the site on March 12, from 11- 2 pm. The event is organized by a committee of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, which is inviting various agencies to attend and share their ideas of how the 90,000-square-foot school might be used to better the local area. The “Community Revitalization Summit” will seek to address all of the issues concerning the facility. Those attending will get a tour of the building, and a working lunch is planned whi... Full story
Electric City Mayor Jerry Sands has submitted his resignation, effective at the end of February. In a letter to the editor that appears in this week’s Star newspaper, Sands notes that he and his wife Connie would like to spend more time with family. Sands has steered the city through a major annexation, the construction of the arsenic treatment plant, cleaned the city up through enforcement of the city’s ordinances, and tried to lift the city’s spirit by flags welcoming visitors and getting a holiday lighting program going, all during his a... Full story
A roundup of wild horse on the Colville Indian Reservation was stopped just before noon Sunday due to mounting pressure from tribal members. The roundup had been planned to take about three weeks, gathering between 700 and 1000 of the horses. The process stopped short today, just over a week into it. Ralph Moses, of the Range department, said they estimate 3,000 to 4,000 live across the reservation, creating "hot spots" of over-grazed habitat. Moses said the operation took in a total of 422...
Two teenagers were killed and a third injured in Coulee City Friday night when the car they were in left the road and hit a light pole at the city park. The driver, Auston Frye, 17, of Hartline; and a passenger, Pedro Huitron, 18, of Lind, died in the crash that occurred about 8:30, the Washington State Patrol reports. Another passenger, Roberto Valdovinos, 16, also of Lind, was injured and flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The 1994 Honda Civic, in which they were traveling west on highway 2, left the road to the right and struck... Full story
After 22 months of negotiations, four senators—two Republicans and two Democrats—have unveiled a $15 billion transportation package with an 11.7 cents-per-gallon gas tax increase at its revenue core. “It’s been a thorough and tough negotiation, but we did it with an honest appreciation for each other’s needs,” said Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Curtis King (R-Yakima). King and Sens. Joe Fain (R-Auburn), Steve Hobbs (D-Lake Stevens) and Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo) announced the package during a press event on Feb. 12. The proposal wo... Full story
OLYMPIA—Local communities could have more access to water if legislators succeed in implementing a new system of leasing surplus state-owned water rights. A bill proposed by Sen. Jim Honeyford, R-Sunnyside, would require state agencies to more clearly identify, hold and reassign unused water rights associated with agency-held land. Sen. Doug Erickson, R-Ferndale, is the bill’s co-sponsor. Affected agencies include the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Natural Resources and the Parks and Recreation Commission. Hon... Full story
Lake Roosevelt High School art student Kiana Sam works on her technique in an assignment Friday studying the art of Wassily Kandinsky, one of the founders of pure abstraction in the early 20th century. The school will hold an Art, Music and Poetry Night Feb. 26 in the library. English teacher Brian Daniels said the event is designed to be a place where kids who enjoy exploring their creative side can be featured. "We just don't get the time (in class) to really spend on things like that," he... Full story
Electric City’s council voted to remove any restrictions on the size of accessory buildings at its meeting last Tuesday night. The city’s planning commission had sent up a litany of proposed changes to the building code, the accessory building question one of the items, along with minor changes in fencing and businesses in homes. The council only addressed the size of accessory buildings after hearing a number of people from the audience ask for the proposed size of 1,728 square feet be scrapped. Councilmember Aaron Derr moved to remove the... Full story
Lucinda Parker, a Portland artist who has been selected to create art for the new school, will be here next Sunday, Monday and part of Tuesday. Parker, an abstract painter, was selected from among several artists who were recommended by the Washington State Art Commission to a local committee in charge of the project. The art project will total up to $75,000, under a state requirement that art be placed in new public buildings. While here, Parker will meet with school officials, drive the area, visit museums, and generally get a feel of the... Full story
Electric City stepped up to the plate last Tuesday night and pledged up to $15,000 to move the idea of consolidating local cities along, and now the ball is in Grand Coulee’s court. The city council action was a boost for the chamber of commerce, whose efforts to get the subject of consolidation a fair hearing in the months ahead picked up a little steam. Grand Coulee’s council a month ago showed a level of interest by voting a letter of support, but no funding. They would need to vote to spend up to $15,000 also if the full $30,000 budget is n... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce singled out members to honor at its annual banquet last Thursday night at Pepper Jack's Bar and Grille. The Coulee Dam Federal Credit Union was voted business of the year by the membership. The credit union had what President Kerry Higgins said was probably its best year ever, despite the challenges of a year filled with news of identity theft fraud across the country and in their own market. And they've been great supporters of the chamber, said... Full story
Sewer plant updated meeting slated The town of Coulee Dam will hold a wastewater treatment meeting, Wednesday, Feb. 25, beginning at 5 p.m. at town hall. The findings of an alternative analysis for updating the town’s plant will be discussed. The town has been encouraging citizens to attend. “We want to hear from you,” a postcard to residents said this week. Blood drive scheduled The Inland Northwest Blood Center, along with Grand Coulee Community Blood Drive Volunteers led by Sommer Hicks, will conduct a blood drive from 11:30 - 5 p.m., Monda... Full story
After Thursday’s ballot tabulations, the favorable vote for Grand Coulee Dam School District’s special levy remained at more than 65 percent. The final count in the mail-in-ballot election that ended Tuesday, Feb. 10, shows 734 yes votes and 381 no votes. “A levy election is in many ways a referendum on the quality of the programs being offered in our community schools and a statement of the commitment of our community to support — through the election process — continuation of our efforts to improve our schools and programs,” Superintend... Full story
Electric City has voted to put all of its hotel/motel tax money in one account and asked its attorney to draw up an ordinance indicating this. The city council, in response to the chamber of commerce’s objections to the city holding a large reserve fund, voted to fold its reserve account of about $280,000 into its regular hotel/motel account. The city has had a policy of holding back half of each year’s tax collection, socking it away for a future use. And the council had been considering putting most of it into an account that could only be ta...
Council members in Elmer City got a glance of what the sidewalk project that will be funded by a Transportation Improvement Board grant will look like at its meeting last Thursday night. Th town was awarded the $225,375 grant by the Washington State Department of Transportation’s TIB. The grant will provide sidewalks on Front Street and Williams Street, along with safety improvements, a bus stop and signalized crossing across Highway 155. The project will also connect residents to the post office, town hall, park and local business l... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District passed its four-year school levy with a whopping 65-percent approval from the four-county area, Tuesday’s results showed. It caused Karen Depew, who chairs the Citizens for Quality Education committee, to say, “Way to go.” Superintendent Dennis Carlson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. The total vote was 591 yes votes with 325 no votes. Voters approved a four-year $1.13 million replacement levy which will begin in 2016. Voters apparently appreciated the fact that in most cases their school taxes... Full story
To school officials here, and throughout the state, Initiative 1351, passed by voters in November, is just another financial unfunded nightmare. The initiative calls for smaller class sizes, an idea that normally would receive little argument. However, there is no provision for funding. The Legislature, now in session, is faced with the task of funding the number of additional teachers and aides required in smaller classroom sizes, plus classroom space. Locally, Superintendent Dennis Carlson... Full story
By a narrow 3-2 vote, the Grand Coulee City Council refused to pay back a building permit fee to Mike Horne, who wanted to move his automotive business to a new location earlier this winter. The permit fee of $650.06 was only a small portion of what it cost Horne told the city council last Tuesday night. Horne said he had taken out a loan and had attorney fees of his own, in the amount of about $5,000. In an earlier discussion, the council decided not to reimburse Horne for the permit fee, and last Tuesday night he appeared before the council... Full story
The dream of a community swimming pool and wellness center is due for a visible rendering, which architects started to get a feel for Tuesday morning in a field of weeds. In January, the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District awarded the job of helping the community see what could be to NAC Architecture of Spokane. NAC's Keith Comes and Ryan Palmquist met with district commissioners Bob Valen and Phil Hansen Tuesday. They toured two possible sites for a "wellness center" - the old Grand... Full story
Newspaper to close Monday The Star newspaper will be closed Monday, Feb. 16, in observance of the Presidents Day holiday. The deadline for advertising and news is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13. The Star office will open at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. Valentines breakfast planned The Coulee Dam Lions Club will host its 20th annual Valentine’s Day breakfast at the Senior Center from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 14. Pancakes, eggs, sausage and ham are on the menu. Cost is $7 for adults, $4 for children 6-10 years old, and $20 for a family. Tourism g... Full story
Quincy Williams, a sophomore at Lake Roosevelt High School, watches Friday as a 3D printer he programmed builds up a personal name tag with his basketball jersey number on it. The printer, which applies layers of cornstarch-based plastics to make objects, is among several fabrication and design instruments at the school. It was used to make the homecoming crowns last fall. The Grand Coulee Public Library will hold a training for such 3D printers on Thursday, Feb. 12 from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Space is... Full story
Electric City is starting a process that could lead to the building of a pedestrian pathway along SR-155, using hotel/motel tax money. Council members have long hinted that the city would like to do a major tourism project using some $280,000 held in its hotel/motel reserve fund. Councilman Brad Parrish talked about the project at Tuesday night’s council meeting. The proposed pathway would go from Coulee Playland to the Causeway and connect with all three firms that develop hotel/motel tax monies, Sunbanks Resort, Skydeck Motel and Coulee P... Full story
