News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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United States District Judge Mary K. Dimke sentenced Lance Scott Michel, age 31, of Nespelem, to 216 months in federal prison after Michel pleaded guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country and Sexual Abuse in Indian Country, a US Attorney’s Office release said. Dimke also ordered that, following his sentence, Michel be placed on a lifetime term of supervised release. According to court documents, in early 2023, Michel began communicating with various minor females on the Colville Reservation over social media. Michel, then 29, provide...
by Jennifer Shutt, Washington State Standard September 30, 2025 WASHINGTON — A government shutdown could have significant economic consequences, though an analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said it’s difficult to pinpoint ramifications without knowing the length of a funding lapse or how exactly the Trump administration will try to reshape the federal workforce. Director Phillip L. Swagel wrote in a four-page letter the agency projects about 750,000 federal workers would be furloughed, leading to a $40...
James Pulley, 35, of Meridian, Idaho, gestures a heart as he crosses the finish line in Run the Dam's half-marathon race Saturday, taking fourth in his age group, 23rd overall, in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 11.4 seconds. Of the more than 440 who registered for the half marathon, 10k and 5k races, 407 actually participated, said organizer Kelly Buche. That's a record for the race, she said. Race results can be found on page 6. - Scott Hunter photo...
The Grant County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) announced Monday that they had appointed Tom Gaines as the “Interim County Administrator, marking an essential step in implementing this newly created leadership role within Grant County.” Hiring a county administrator “will bring continuity, consistent management, and oversight into the daily operations of Grant County,” the commissioners’ office stated in a release. “This position ensures services are delivered efficiently and aligned with the policies set by the BOCC,” they said, so the...
The town of Coulee Dam gained its fifth police officer, completing the department last week. Following his graduation from the Washington State Police Academy, Phillip Ogren was sworn in as an officer Sept. 15 and took the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor in a brief ceremony and reception at the Town Hall Ballroom. Chief Paul Bowden administered the oath of office. City officials, and Ogren's family and friends attended. Coulee Dam's police department also provides policing services for Electric...
The Confederated Tribes of Colville Reservation have been planning on launching fast fiber-optic internet access, including for Elmer City and Coulee Dam. Elmer City’s town council at its last meeting didn’t have objections to a plan for the buildout, including adding some utility poles in town. The town took plans for review and will likely be ready to sign a franchise agreement with the tribes at the October council meeting. That likelihood is a turnaround from a few months ago, when council and staff took exception to a plan presented wit...
Washington's secretary of state on Tuesday denied the Trump administration's request for personal information contained in the state's voter rolls, saying to hand over the data would violate state and federal law. Secretary Steve Hobbs told the Department of Justice he would be willing to provide voter names, addresses, genders, years of birth, voting records, registration dates and registration numbers. But he wouldn't give dates of birth, driver license numbers and the last four digits of...
Several local businesses came together to arrange for weekend snacks and meals for certain local kids who might otherwise go hungrier over the weekend. A Second Harvest van rolled up to Lake Roosevelt Elementary School Thursday with about a month's worth of supplies for feeding 55 kids who can use a little extra help on the weekends. The delivery was the start of Second Harvest's Bite2Go program that partners up local donors with school staff who know which students would seem to benefit from...
The annual Run the Dam races start at 9 a.m. in staggered times Saturday as runners and walkers of all abilities head up hill to North Dam and along Banks Lake. The 5k ends at the finish line in Banks Lake Park. The 10k and Half Marathon runners keep going along Highway 155 to designated distances. A challenging and scenic race, Run the Dam is still "fun for the entire family and for all running and walking enthusiasts and abilities," its promoters say. All races finish in Banks Lake Park "in...
The city council in Grand Coulee voted Tuesday to get started adopting a new ordinance intended to encourage commercial property owners to use their property, clean it up or sell it. Councilmember Tom Poplawski said he’s had no contacts from the owners of what he estimated were 10-15 local properties that are deteriorating instead of housing some business. Poplawski in July had brought to council examples of similar programs in other cities, including an actual ordinance from Medical Lake. A study undertaken in Blaine, Washington was also inclu...
Stewart Williams prepares to cut down the pole Friday that held up the Wildlife Restaurant's parking lot sign (on the trailer in the background) decades after the Midway Avenue restaurant closed and the building housed other successive restaurants, most recently remembered as Pepper Jack's. Williams said he plans to open a Wildlife Tavern in Belfair, Washington, southwest of Bremerton. - Scott Hunter photo...
A volunteer staffs a voter registration table on Midway Saturday during the Wayfinders' weekly demonstration march. The group will also be available to register voters during the Run The Dam event this Saturday at the Run the Dam Festival vendor fair at North Dam Park from 9-5. - Scott Hunter photo...
by Scott Hunter The driver of a late model car left Spring Canyon Road after apparently losing control Saturday afternoon about 3, landing in dry brush and starting a fire. The crash happened right in front of a home at 4550 Spring Canyon Road. Firefighters got there quickly, according to Coulee Dam Police Officer Josh Watkins, who was at the scene for traffic control. No injuries were reported, other than financial. Only a metal hulk was left of the apparently late model car. Firefighters...
Electric City will shift dollars from a project city council members decided to give up on after years of setbacks, spending it instead on a popular park project that is taking shape but needs a financial boost. The city park being built just uphill from the fire station, but will eventually need more funding that what was currently available, despite fundraising efforts. Mayor Diane Kohout said a vote was taken at a special council meeting Aug. 28 to drop the Shoreline Waterfront Trail project that now would cost about $1.4 million to...
Since Lake Roosevelt School are now on a four-day school week, students won't be there for Friday meals, which is a problem for many students. The school district directors agreed Monday to change that with an amendment to their contract with Chartwells, the company that provides the food service, which noted they lost 20 percent of their revenue under the contract when the district went to a four-day week. Superintendent Rod Broadnax said he told Chartwells the district would not pay full...
Mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus have been detected near Crab Creek in Grant County, the Grant County Health District said Sept. 4. The blood suckers were collected during routine testing on Aug. 24, and the positive result was confirmed at Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Sept. 3. It is possible there could be mosquitoes carrying the virus in other areas. Most people infected with WNV will not get sick, but in some cases it can be serious. About 1 in 150 people who are infected develop a severe illness affecting the central nervous...
Over 700 firefighters are battling two blazes on the Colville Reservation that have burned more than 23,000 acres of forested land. The Rattlesnake Fire started Sept. 1 from lightning and had burned 19,367 acres as of early Wednesday morning in the southeast corner of the reservation. It's 33% contained. The Lynx Mountain Fire has burned 4,226 acres since its Sept. 2 start from and undetermined cause. It is 5% contained. There are 762 firefighters on the fires. Evacuation levels have been set...
Friends and family gather to help Roger Lucas celebrate his 95th birthday Thursday evening at Auntie Dannee's, where he is a regular at breakfast. Lucas, who still writes his weekly column for The Star on page 2, joined the paper in 1989 after working at newspapers for decades and retiring from managing a weekly in Bothell, Washington, then returning to the Grand Coulee Dam area where he and his wife, Dorothy, had lived early in their life together. From bottom left, Lacey Ward, granddaughter...
After a relatively easy early fire season, September started with a rash of new fire starts amid high temperatures and thunderstorms, resulting in thick wildfire smoke socking us in for a time on the first day of school in Coulee Dam. The Grant County Health District issued a warning that the smoke was thick enough across much of the county as to be "unhealthy" and warrant limiting time outside. "Poor air quality conditions are expected to continue as wildfires in Washington and neighboring...
Rod Broadnax has goals for Lake Roosevelt Schools. He wants Lake Roosevelt students safe and learning, in a school that is recognized for its academic rigor, as well as its athletics programs, and is fiscally solid, while increasing student enrollment and parental engagement. That's a lot. And big changes have been made to address the challenges ahead. The Grand Coulee Dam School District superintendent took time to speak with the Rotary Club Thursday, the same day he was explaining new...
Grant County Health District (GCHD) continues to observe a rise in COVID-19 in Grant County. The increase in COVID-19 activity has resulted in a rising number of people with COVID, including a significant outbreak in a local long-term care facility. The outbreak has affected more than 45 residents and staff, with two lives lost and one additional death under investigation. “Everyone, particularly those 65 years of age and older and children aged 6 months to 23 months of age, should get the updated COVID-19 vaccine,” GCHD said in a release. “Th...
That roadside trail between Electric City and North Dam may get built yet, providing a safe path for pedstrians along the highway. The city council, frustrated with a lack of progress, in July had decided to explore starting over with their new engineering firm, but that firm talked them out of it at their meeting Aug. 12. Marissa Siemens, of TD&H Engineering, said the city's previous contracted engineering firm, Century West, has the plans about 90% complete for the project that would add a...
Nespelem School District Tuesday awarded the job of constructing its new CTE building to Lakes General for $1.38 million. The project may look more like a shop than a typical school builading, and the budget currently allows for not much more than an outer shell and a few rooms, including a bathroom. Add-ons could include specialized rooms for special purposes to fit the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The district exceeded its $1 million budget for the CTE building project, a part of the district’s expansion plan that has result...
A boat with a blue light cruises on Banks Lake at sunset Tuesday with a pink sky reflected in the water as thunderclouds rise in the west. - Scott Hunter photo...
Coulee Medical Center has received a Critical Access Hospital Achievement of Quality Excellence award from the Washington State Hospital Association for its Quality Excellence Program. The Association presented the award to Coulee Medical Center during its Rural Hospital Leadership Conference in Chelan on June 25. WSHA represents more than 100 hospitals and health systems in the state, including those that are non-profit, investor-owned, and county, state, and military hospitals. CMC, a 25-bed Trauma Level IV Critical Access hospital, earned...