News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 5142 - 5166 of 6735
A local registered nurse worked with the Red Cross shelter at Omak over the weekend. Nurse Alan Cain, of Grand Coulee, who went to Omak Thursday, returned home Monday night when the shelter was closed, but expects to return where needed later. “The shelter housed about 100 people the first night and it was down to about 60 the next night,” Cain reported. “By the second night many of those who had been displaced had found other places to stay.” As a nurse, Cain ran what turned out to be a clinic for those with a wide variety of ailments. The she... Full story
The hallways are polished and colorful. The elementary gym is ready for play, and all marked out for basketball and volleyball. Hoops are up. Racks are in the library and both libraries are ready for books and other materials. The kitchen is fully equipped with walk-in coolers and freezers, and soup will soon be on for students. You can almost hear the laughter from the various playground areas. Just 27 months after the state Legislature approved funding to build it, a tour of the Grand Coulee... Full story
Outdoor burning is banned The Grant County Board of Commissioners issued a temporary ban on outdoor burning effective, Wednesday, July 16. The ban prohibits all outdoor burning until further notice and will be lifted when conditions improve. If citizens are caught burning they could face fines and other consequences, a news release noted. The county ban affects all areas not already covered by a permanent outdoor burning ban within cities and towns and their Growth Management Act boundaries. Bank collecting for relief Relief donations for fire... Full story
When a storm system moved across the region July 14, lightning started multiple fires just as temperatures would reach into the 100s for days, feeding what would become the largest wildfire in state history. Local firefighters from Grand Coulee, Electric City, Coulee Dam and Elmer City would answer calls for help as Brewster and Pateros evacuated and a hundred homes burned. As of Tuesday, the largest complex of fires, the Carlton Complex, had consumed 250,000 acres of timber, an area four times... Full story
Mt. Tolman Fire Center personnel are concerned about weather reports of a storm and possible lightning strikes that is going to pass through the area this Thursday. Kathy Moses said Tuesday that firefighters have welcomed the change in the weather Tuesday and are bracing themselves for whatever might happen Thursday. The Colville Indian Reservation had a hit of 700 lightning strikes just over a week ago and had some 11 small fires contained or extinguished from that storm. While a number of very large fires are occurring in North Central... Full story
Differences regarding wastewater treatment billings between Coulee Dam and Elmer City are slowly getting resolved. The two council committees met July 17, and agreed to two adjustments between the two towns. Representing Coulee Dam were council members Shawn Derrick and Ken Miles, meeting with Donna DeWinkler and Don Bonertz for Elmer City. Two issues were resolved. Coulee Dam has agreed to credit Elmer City $1,069.14, for electrical overcharges for the years of 2007 through 2012. Additionally, Coulee Dam is crediting Elmer City $1,656.51, for... Full story
Coulee Dam employees could be on the road to wellness. Town clerk Stefani Bowmen is working on a plan that will enhance the lives of town employees in several ways. The plan also, if enough participate, would enable the town to get a 2-percent discount on its insurance from the Association of Washington Cities. Bowmen instituted such a plan when she was deputy clerk at Wilbur. The plan would attempt to improve general health by encouraging employees to eat right, exercise, work safely and encourage employees to get along, which would... Full story
Coulee Dam employees could be on the road to wellness. Town clerk Stefani Bowmen is working on a plan that will enhance the lives of town employees in several ways. The plan also, if enough participate, would enable the town to get a 2-percent discount on its insurance from the Association of Washington Cities. Bowmen instituted such a plan when she was deputy clerk at Wilbur. The plan would attempt to improve general health by encouraging employees to eat right, exercise, work safely and encourage employees to get along, which would... Full story
A clarification on a brief report about Steve Salstrom commenting before the Electric City council at its last meeting follows: Salstrom says loud music at Electric City Tavern does not keep him awake at night (Salstrom lives a block away), and he wasn’t the one who turned the loud music complaint in (the story doesn’t say he was). He had earlier asked the council to look at the city’s ordinance and consider altering it to allow a change in summer hours for music at the tavern. He said his comments at council were to support such an ordin... Full story
Grand Coulees six-year street plan was derailed last Tuesday night when Fire Chief Richard Paris took issue with it. The council sent the plan back to committee to digest what Paris had to say. Paris asked the council why the six-year plan focused on streets south of SR 155 (Midway) but nothing was targeted on the north side of the highway. Paris noted that the council members all lived on the south side. Paris lives on the north side. He proposed that the council include the street approaching the hospital in the plan. Paris often is with the... Full story
It's difficult to grasp the size of the fires burning in Washington when some says they've burned 168,000 acres. But most of us are familiar with our area on maps. Here's a map of the area, with red dots representing the burn area and arrows giving wind direction. The fires at Brewster and Pateros are more than 40 miles away. The smaller R Road fire near Leahy Junction is about 14 miles away as the ash flies. That fire is just smoldering. The Carlton Complex is not contained and grew at... Full story
It was Grand Coulee’s turn last night to address where its police contract with Electric City is going. Two council members were instrumental in working out an arrangement that would extend Grand Coulee’s police contract with Electric City for one year, allowing time to study how or if the two cities could develop a joint police department. Councilmembers Erin Neilson and David Tylor met with their Electric City counterparts, Aaron Derr and John Nordine, July 3 to hammer out the plan. The current contract between the two cities ends Dec. 31, 20... Full story
A brush fire that started south of Leahy Junction Wednesday afternoon had consumed nearly 7 square miles of grass and brush by this morning after some short-range jumping and fast movement late Wednesday. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Eric Braaten discovered the fire about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. With crews totaling 20 firefighters and three fire engines, what's now called the R Road fire set local mutual-aid agreements into play, and firefighters from Grand Coulee and...
OLYMPIA -- A state of emergency was declared late Tuesday, July 14, in 20 Eastern Washington counties in response to multiple wildfires threatening homes, businesses, public infrastructure, and natural resources in many parts of the state as fire crews face continued severe fire weather conditions. The proclamation was signed at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday by Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, acting for Gov. Jay Inslee, who is on state business in Washington, D.C. Firefighters are battling multiple fires in eastern... Full story
The Grant County Board of Commissioners have issued a temporary ban on outdoor burning effective, Wednesday, July 16. The ban prohibits all outdoor burning until further notice and will be lifted when conditions improve. If citizens are caught burning they could face fines and other consequences, the news release noted. Elmer City council voted to allow Jeremiah Seekins and a Young Life group to use its basement room. The town will charge $10 a week for use of the room, which Seekins said will be about two hours a week. The council at Elmer... Full story
With hundreds attending, the Sunday afternoon pow-wow, held at the Nespelem Circle Grounds, marked the closing of the annual 10-day Fourth of July Celebration, where Native American dancers, from youngsters to elders, dressed in regalia and costumes, paid tribute to their families, friends and ancestors in a ceremonial grand entry dance, led by Colville tribal elder, Bill Timentwa (far right) and flag bearers, with traditional songs sung by local and visiting drums, an invocation and prayer and... Full story
A brief storm, with high winds, lightning and rain hit north of Elmer City, and north of Nespelem and Keller Monday. Mt. Tolman Fire officials said there were over 100 lightning strikes on the Colville Reservation. A few small spot fires were being handled Tuesday. Winds caused damage to a carport and broke limbs from trees in the Belvedere area and an inch of rain was reported by one resident there. Another reservation resident noted on The Star’s Facebook page that he recorded a 61.5 mile per hour gust of wind in the brief storm. The storm t... Full story
You can capture the fun this weekend when the Ridge Riders feature their Junior Rodeo, beginning at 10 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Bring your cameras and capture some of the most exciting type of rodeo activity you will ever see. Watch youngsters show their mettle, and who knows, you may be watching a future rodeo star. It’s all happening at the Ridge Rider Rodeo Grounds in Delano. Features include, but are not limited to, bareback riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, and steer wrestling, all junior style. Then there are t... Full story
One Central Washington fire has been put out and firefighters are making progress on two others, officials reported Friday. Crews mopped up the Highland Fire, just east of Bridgeport early Friday. Two strike teams that were preparing to leave assisted Douglas County firemen. This fire started last Wednesday and didn’t damage any structures. The fire was managed by the Spokane County Management team. A 240-acre fire near 25-mile Creek on the south shore of Lake Chelan was reported 90% contained Sunday. Kari Grover-Wier, Chelan District R... Full story
A 28-year-old man who was arrested by Spokane police after an incident at Deaconess Hospital is a person of interest in an ongoing investigation by Grand Coulee police. Cameron A. Trevino, listed from Nespelem, was involved in an incident in Electric City, June 30, and has been sought by police after he allegedly pointed a gun at another person while committing an armed robbery of a cell phone and laptop computer. Trevino was initially arrested Friday by Spokane police for first-degree assault with a firearm and unlawful possession of a... Full story
A veteran who "was surrendered" by Bataan military authorities to the Japanese in World War II, was a visitor to Grand Coulee Monday. Dan Crowley, who enlisted in Hartford, Connecticut, in early January, 1941, reported to Ft. Slocum, N.Y., and shortly after found himself on a troop ship to the Philippines. After being surrendered on Bataan, a small group of a couple hundred, decided to swim after dark the half mile to Corregidor, where they continued to fight for another month before "being... Full story
Illness outbreak investigated Grant County Health District staff are investigating three laboratory confirmed cases and 210 people who have come in contact with ill individuals with whooping cough (pertussis) in Mattawa and Quincy, No one has been hospitalized. “We are responding to a cluster of whooping cough cases among migrant farm workers. Dr. Alexander Brzezny said. “Because of a large number of exposed and ill individuals in a very well-defined area, we are considering this a local outbreak,” Between July 3 and July 7, 210 patients recei... Full story
Four Western Washington men were convicted last week in Grant County Superior Court for poaching on Banks Lake, using gill nets to catch dozens of fish Dec. 5, 2013. “There really is no excuse for this behavior,” Grant County Prosecutor Angus Lee said. “We will be asking the court to impose two months of county jail time on each of these four defendants.” Arrested at the time were Vladimir Savchenko, 36, Edmonds; Peter Zhezhelev, 46, Kenmore; Aleksandr Kashnikov, 45, Everett; and Sergey Mitsevich, 38, Everett. The four were charged with using g... Full story
Of the 81 workers who lost their lives while working on Grand Coulee Dam, 79 have been identified by researcher Susan Dechant. Dechant has been researching the accident incidents for the past several years and only recently reported that she was able to identify two more victims. The Colville resident spoke before the Coulee Dam Town Council this spring when council members showed an interest in developing a monument to honor the victims. It would be a replacement monument since one that was placed here in the mid-30s was taken back by the... Full story
Some lucky child is going to end up with a playhouse this weekend. It's the annual one built by DWK Fowler Construction and given to the Ridge Riders for a special drawing, this year at the Junior Rodeo. Tickets for the raffle drawing are $1 each and may be purchased from Cindy Edwards at Loepp Furniture on Grand Coulee's Main Street, or at the rodeo grounds before the drawing. You can even check the playhouse out in front of the Loepp Furniture store. Fowler Construction has been building and... Full story