News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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by Scott Hunter It's not as evident as the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce's annual Colorama parade through the main business district, but chamber committees have been working behind the scenes on both problems and opportunities, identified with a goal of boosting economic development leading to growth and jobs. And one big lead just opened up. The now vacant Center School in Grand Coulee, along with more than eight acres of land in the middle of the city, could become available to... Full story
Advances in a program designed to help high school students get a leg up on college are raising questions for the local school district. Some juniors and seniors at Lake Roosevelt High School are enrolled in Wenatchee Valley College’s new online version of Running Start, which lets students earn college credit before graduating from high school, for free. Previously, students had to travel to Omak to attend WVC to take advantage of the program, but this year the college is offering it online. Three LR students participated last year. That numbe... Full story
The port district is inching its way into the black at Banks Lake Golf Course. Grant County Port District 7 is about to end its third year as caretaker of the 18-hole golf course. In its first management year, the district invested about $100,000 to keep the course open after making a pledge at a community meeting that the district would not allow the course to close. At a report last Thursday, port commissioners talked about the successes of maintaining the course this past season with volunteer help, increasing membership at the course and... Full story
Mayor suffers stroke Coulee Dam Mayor Greg Wilder reportedly suffered a mild stroke Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning, several sources said. He was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center and is in good condition, relatives said, but he may require help to regain the ability to speak. Wilder returned from the hospital in Spokane late last week after a surgery. Bake sale to end senior hunger Grand Coulee Dam senior meals program is having a bake sale Monday, Oct 6, with funds supporting its “home delivery” meals program. The theme: “Will you h... Full story
The Coulee Dam town council passed a resolution last Wednesday evening honoring school Superintendent Dennis Carlson and State Sen. Linda Evans Parlette. The two were singled out by council members for the work they each did on getting the new K-12 school complex. The joint resolution read: “Whereas, school superintendent Dr. Dennis Carlson and the Grand Coulee Dam school district board have caused to be visioned, planned, designed, and built a new K-12 school complex in the Town of Coulee Dam, and... Whereas, the project would have l... Full story
At the request of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Patrol’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) assumed primary investigative responsibility for the fatal traffic collision involving an on-duty Grant County Sheriff’s deputy and a Jeep Cherokee. The crash occurred at approximately 9:35 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the intersection of Dodson Road and Road 5 NW. The deputy was traveling south on Dodson in a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado pickup when he collided with the eastbound 1996 Jeep. The driver of the Jeep suffe... Full story
Billy Drywater sings and plays at a concert Friday night at the Nespelem Community Center put on to show off and test out the facitlity's new recording equipment on Native American Day. The lineup included several performers from the around the state that ranged from internationally known singer-songwriter and current Colville Tribal Chairman Jim Boyd to two children singing and performing on tradtional drums, and included bands from Everett and Yakima areas. Styles included traditional,... Full story
The Keller Ferry was put back into service early Monday morning, Oct. 6, after a weekend of repairs, the DOT said. Weekend drivers who planned on using the Keller Ferry to cross the Columbia River via State Route 21 will need to find another route. The Keller Ferry will be out of service starting at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 4, for hull repairs. Service is anticipated to resume on Monday, Oct. 6, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Over the weekend, vessel builder Foss Maritime of Seattle will make permanent repairs to a 1 ¾ inch-long hairline crac...
State Sen. Linda Evans Parlette says she is disappointed that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is sticking by its earlier decision to deny financial assistance to individual victims of this summer's wildfires in North Central Washington. "There are many whose lives were turned upside down and could benefit from a hand up – not a handout – from the government as they work to move forward," she said in a statement. "There is only so much the state can do, so the federal government's sta...
At the request of the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, the Washington State Patrol’s Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) assumed primary investigative responsibility for the fatal traffic collision involving an on-duty Grant County Sheriff’s deputy and a Jeep Cherokee. The crash occurred at approximately 9:35 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the intersection of Dodson Road and Road 5 NW. The deputy was traveling south on Dodson in a 2013 Chevrolet Silverado pickup when he collided with the eastbound 1996 Jeep. The driver of the Jeep suffe...
One Electric City council member’s dream of a city park could soon be a reality. Lonna Bussert, who has shown interest in park matters ever since she has been on the city council, has finally started the ball rolling on getting one. Mayor Jerry Sands has advised the Baptist Church board that the city is interested in purchasing part of the Baptist Church’s school play area. The area being looked at is 80 feet by 180 feet, and is all of the playground’s lower tier and part of the upper tier. Bussert sees acquiring the property as a start. She t... Full story
Despite a rocky start to the new school year, Nespelem School directors were optimistic at their Monday meeting, pointing to new leaders and attitudes in school administration. The last school year had ended with a flurry of late resignations, including that of then-superintendent and principal John Adkins. The school was bracing for budget hits as some students would switch to the new school in Coulee Dam. And as of Monday, the person they had planned on teaching fifth grade starting in October, had said she wouldn’t be coming. Despite t... Full story
Vern Crim and several other Bureau of Reclamation workers apply a fresh coat of paint to the concrete in the median on SR 155 near the Visitor Center last Wednesday. The concrete is shaped to look like paving bricks. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
Police Chief Mel Hunt retires next Tuesday after 39 years of service in Grand Coulee. It all started for him in 1975, when Hunt signed on as a reserve officer. Then things happened fast, and he was named chief in 1979. It was a big step then for an Oklahoma farm boy who had lived there and in Colorado before moving with his family to Grand Coulee, where his father, Lester Hunt, took a position with the Bureau of Reclamation. The idea of retirement came crashing in on Hunt at last Tuesday's city... Full story
The Grand Coulee Dam Senior Center's new bus garage will house two buses they use to transport members to various outings including such things as shopping, doctor appointments and entertainment events. The building, off Federal Avenue, was built by Claw Construction, of Coulee Dam. From the left are Brandon Whitelaw, John Whitelaw and Jason Clark, all from Claw Construction; and Bob Schryvers and Larry Curtis from the seniors. - Roger S. Lucas photo... Full story
Grand Coulee Dam School District had 719 students for its official start-of-the-year count last Thursday. That’s about a full classroom more than the district had at its first day count last September. The official count was 719 students. This shook down to 712.71 “full time equivalent” students, since some are only part time. Still, it was an abrupt increase as new facilities attracted new students. The secondary wing, the senior and junior high, had 330 students; the elementary wing had 389. The totals were down from the initial openi... Full story
New time for council Grand Coulee’s city council voted last Tuesday night to start its meetings at 6 p.m. Prior to the new time, the council had been meeting at 6:30 p.m. The council regularly meets on the first and third Tuesday each month. Petitioner pushing for stops at 4-corners Ray Wells, an Electric City resident, asked Grand Coulee’s council for support for a petition drive to get the Department of Transportation to put in a four-way stop at Four Corners intersection. He told the council that he has collected 1,100 names on the pet... Full story
The two new libraries at Coulee Dam schools have a lot of new books. And more are on the way. A good share of the new books in the elementary and secondary libraries have been placed there by North Central Library District, and Director Dan Howard said this week that a lot more are on the way. North Central, the hub for nearly 30 community libraries in Central Washington, connected with the Grand Coulee Dam School District because doing so fit the organization’s goal of creating an environment where lifelong reading can take place. District o... Full story
Coulee Dam town officials had their fingers crossed that a new clarifier would arrive before the old 35-year unit quit on them. It came Tuesday, and true to operator Tim Lynch's report to the town council, the new one was installed the same day. Lynch said it should be operable by the end of the day. But it took the combined efforts of a manufacturer's representative, a heavy equipment company and several town employees to pull it off, literally. The town council had voted $40,000 to replace... Full story
Since 2011, Grand Coulee hasn’t billed Electric City for its share of the cost of operating and maintaining the wastewater treatment plant the two cities jointly own. Grand Coulee City Clerk Carol Boyce acknowledged Tuesday that the billings haven’t been made since 2011, and that she estimates the total billing to bring the account up to date will be about $240,000. Electric City Clerk Jackie Perman said the annual billings for the wastewater treatment account ranges from $70,000-80,000 a year. Electric City owns 37 percent of the plant, whi... Full story
The new school complex in Coulee Dam opened Monday without a serious glitch. But there were kids, kids, and more kids. Following years of declines, student numbers on Monday were 22 percent more than the district had budgeted, a number that can substantially boost the amount of operating money the state allocates to the district. The first-day count was 394 for the elementary wing, plus 350 in the junior-senior high wing for a total of 744 students. The official beginning count won't be taken... Full story
Coulee Dam residents got a taste of the difficulties in coming up with a fair water rate for the town at a public meeting last Wednesday night. The audience got to hear and see how an increasing block rate would work in determining future water rates. Mayor Greg Wilder, who had prepared the presentation, said that he planned a total of four public meetings to discuss possible ways to equalize the way people are charged for water in the town. When it became a town in the late 1950s, instead of two federal construction housing projects, Coulee... Full story
A business owner and local citizen proved that you can take on city hall, you just don’t always win. Ray Duclos had a lot to say about a pavement issue near Harvest Foods, the family business, and the cleaning of a restroom at Mason City Park at last Wednesday’s town council meeting at Coulee Dam. It was the second time Duclos has asked the town to fix a pavement problem where the Harvest Foods and Coulee Dam Casino parking areas empty out onto Roosevelt Way. Councilmember Shawn Derrick replied that the council was about to put together the... Full story
Electric City may be getting a park. The mayor was instructed by the city council last week to contact the Baptist Church School officials in Electric City and develop an offer for the northern portion of the playground area. The city has for a long time wanted a park. Councilmember Lonna Bussert told the council Sept. 9 that the northern half of the church school playground might be available for purchase to establish a park. She said the site is centrally located in the city and there would... Full story
Renée and Bill McCarty, managers of the Moose Lodge, get ready Sept. 3 to deliver school supplies collected by lodge members to help out students. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story