News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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A health care provider of nearly 20 years at Coulee Medical Center is resigning from her full-time position, citing adverse health affects from working with what she calls an incompetent and hostile administration. Dawn Lovelace, a nurse practitioner and nurse midwife who has delivered about half the babies at the hospital for two decades, tendered her letter of resignation Monday. Her departure will increase the pressure on the two remaining doctors who deliver babies, Andrew Castrodale and Jacob Chaffee. That responsibility and their... Full story
The new K-12 school facility in Coulee Dam is beginning to show its colors. A walk of the place last Wednesday revealed painted classrooms, some finish work on the final red metal roof and the beginning of rock work on the outside of the elementary wing. School patrons and taxpayers in general may be in for a pleasant experience and surprise. The new school is huge. Many of the classrooms are large with every type of teaching technology device available. The walk through was in concert with... Full story
At one point, the Grand Coulee Dam School District was worried about a declining student population; now it is worried that it could end up with too many students. The issue came up Monday night at the school board meeting with Superintendent Dennis Carlson telling the board that the new school facility could be maxed out when it opens next fall. He asked the question: “Are we going to have a lot of students come here because we have a new school?” When plans were made for the new school, the student population trend line had followed a dow... Full story
Park supported by city Grand Coulee City Council voted the $9,000 it pledged to support the maintenance of North Dam Park. The funds will come from the city’s hotel/motel tax monies and be given to the Coulee Area Park & Recreation District, the organization managing the park. The council had earlier made a pledge of support in its 2014 budget and voted the funds in its recent meeting. Meeting canceled Tonight’s Coulee Dam Town Council meeting has been cancelled due to a lack of a quorum, town officials said this week. The next council mee... Full story
About 4 inches of fresh snow blankets a gravel road at North Dam Park Tuesday morning, following a good 10 hours of snowfall on Monday. - Scott Hunter photo... Full story
The first step in developing a Gay/Straight Alliance Club at Lake Roosevelt High School was approved by the Grand Coulee Dam School District board of directors Monday night. The board has asked the group to return in March with a set of bylaws, a purpose statement and financial cost to the district. Associated Student Body President Brandin Smith and LRHS counselor Andrea Sperberg presented the idea to the board. Its members gave a unanimous vote for the idea with a request for more information. The club would provide a place where gay... Full story
The all new laser light show is still on schedule for a late May showing this year. Bureau of Reclamation Public Affairs Officer Lynne Brougher said this week that LumaLaser, the firm designing the show, has made revisions to the story line, graphics and text, and is progressing through the project, the development of which is “well along.” LumaLaser, a Eugene, Oregon firm, landed the $1.6 million contract and has been working with a stakeholder group here as the work on the project continues. The project was supposed to be off and running las... Full story
The school board Monday night agreed to advertise for one administrative post and delay a decision on a second so it could discuss it more during its March 12 work session. The district begins advertising for a 7th-through-12th-grade principal this week, one that would take charge of the new grade lineup for the new school. Delayed was a decision on hiring a full-time dean of students, activities director and associated student body advisor, all rolled into one position. Brandon Byers is currently principal of Lake Roosevelt High School and is... Full story
Lenten worship services will begin at the Grand Coulee United Methodist Church with an Ash Wednesday devotional on Wednesday, March 5, at 6 p.m., followed by a potluck meal and a Lenten fast. Grand Coulee UMC traditional soup suppers will continue each Wednesday, March 12, through Wednesday April 2. On Wednesday, April 9, we will celebrate with a potluck meal. Everyone is invited to come and share in the 40 days of repentance to prepare for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. The first 25 people will receive a free g... Full story
Meeting last Friday, the Colville Business Council unanimously decided to give the voting members of the Omak District two weeks to work on developing recommendations to present to the Council for filling the recently vacated Council position in that district, the Colville Tribes announced Tuesday. “The membership came forward with ideas, and was heard. The (Colville Business) Council fully supports the desire of the District to thoughtfully deliberate the best way to fill the vacant position in a way that suits and honors the voting members o... Full story
Grand Coulee Mayor Chris Christopherson got another grilling from police officer Sean Cook Tuesday night after information in the city’s “Key report” was published in The Star newspaper, Feb. 12. Cook had confronted the mayor at the city’s previous council meeting, Feb. 4, concerning a number of concerns he had raised earlier and the lack of responses he had received. Tuesday night Cook was told he had five minutes to express his views. When he was told his time was up, he protested that the allotted time had not expired. Christopherson gave hi... Full story
Lawmakers in Olympia passed more than 200 bills this week, working late into the night on Monday and right up to the deadline for action on non-budget bills at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18th. Following is a selection of interesting bills that were acted upon. Senate Bill 6523, Expanding higher education opportunities for certain students. Passed the House on February 18, 2014 by a vote of 75-22. This bill is commonly referred to as the Washington State Dream Act but has also been cited as the Real Hope Act, because it provides up to $5 mil... Full story
The chamber of commerce named two of its own to awards last Thursday night as the "Achiever of the Year," and "Business of the Year." The awards are made by the vote of members of the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. Named "Achiever of the Year" was Bob Valen, the chamber's own vice president and a retired National Park Service employee. Valen served over 35 years with the NPS, and in retirement has been as busy as ever. He also now serves as chairman of the Coulee Area Park &... Full story
Trees. That’s what dominated talk among town council members last Wednesday night. First, it was a move by the town’s public works department to call for bids on someone to clear branches that have grown too close to power lines. Public works director Barry Peacock said the town does this every four years. It prompted town councilmember Bob Poch to say, “The two places people plant trees is over sewer lines or under power lines.” The limb trimming advertisement for bids will go out soon. Then Mayor Gregory Wilder asked the council for authori... Full story
Electric City firefighters had a sensitivity training session last Wednesday night at the firehall. It all came about because of Fire Chief Mark Payne’s issue with illegal burning on two separate occasions recently. Mayor Jerry Sands made the announcement at a city council meeting Tuesday night and stated that firefighters were going to hear about what is a legal fire and an illegal fire. When asked if he was going to put a letter of reprimand in Chief Payne’s file, the mayor said “yes” but didn’t elaborate. Payne had been turned in for burni... Full story
Fishermen stand around a fishing hole in the melting ice of Banks Lake Feb.12 just off Coulee Playland in Electric City. At that point a week ago, the ice was still about 6 inches thick. - Gwen Hilson photo.... Full story
Hazardous waste collection day set The Regional Board of Mayors has set Sept. 12, as the household hazardous waste day for the Delano Regional Transfer Station. Details of the hazardous waste collection day will be forthcoming soon. Civil service commission coming Coulee Dam Mayor Greg Wilder wants to name a three-member civil service commission to start the process of helping to select a police officer to fill a vacancy that now exists on the town’s police force. The town council OK’d his request. Meeting cancelled The Feb. 26 Town Cou... Full story
Suspended students in the Grand Coulee Dam School District will soon be able to work off one day of their suspension by attending a special Saturday school. The district’s board of directors approved the plan at a recent meeting and the Saturday school is now in effect. Superintendent Dennis Carlson said Tuesday that it will take an effort by both the student and his parents to make the Saturday school work. Say a student receives a three-day suspension, and the parents and students want to take advantage of the special school time to get t... Full story
With eyes on the future, the Electric City Council voted last week to move ahead with a 10-inch pipeline for the proposed Sunbanks Lake Resort water project. It will cost the city between $18,000 and $20,000 to expand the size of the pipeline from one that is 8 inches in diameter to a 10-inch pipe, but the move will put the city in a good position to deal with anticipated future housing expansion on the south side of Osborn Bay. The 10-inch line will go some 1,700 feet from the old vacated western store on highway 155 to the entrance to... Full story
Randall Friedlander, a tribal member, was recently hired as the Colville Tribes’ Fish and Wildlife (CTFW) director. Friedlander will provide strategic planning and management oversight of 130 employees with an operating budget of over $20 million, a department press release said. Friedlander served as the interim Fish and Wildlife director for approximately a year. Prior to that, he worked for the department as the wildlife program manager for three years where he provided oversight and direction to about 20 staff members. “I look forward to... Full story
The Colville Confederated Tribes have issued seven burn bans from November, 2013, through January of this year, officials said this week. Currently, no burn bans are in effect on the Colville Reservation. The report issued by Kathy Moses, of the Mount Tollman Fire Center, stated that the tribes’ Air Quality Program and the federal Environmental Protection Agency closely monitor air quality on the reservation and in part of Okanogan County. When issued, tribal burn bans include part of Okanogan County. The tribes have sent out public notices t... Full story
Electric City could land one of a handful of kiosks being planned along the Coulee Corridor. The "corridor" covers the area between Othello and Omak and is recognized nationally for the many unusual landscape features along the route. Birdie Hensley, who has been active in the Coulee Corridor organization from its inception, appeared before the Electric City Council a week ago to ask if the city was interested in getting one of the informational kiosks. She explained to city officials that it... Full story
Large groups wanting to use North Dam Park will be charged according to a new fee schedule approved recently by the Coulee Area Park and Recreation District Commission. Individual users and small family groups will not be charged, but organizations planning to dominate one or more areas of the park will. Arranged by area and length of time, a fee schedule grid lays out fees that range from $150 for a fill day of using the picnic shelter and lawn area to $10 for use of an “Electric Plug-In.” A refundable damage deposit of $200 will also be col... Full story
An investigative report issued by the city of Grand Coulee’s risk management firm details infighting between the chief of police and the mayor, charges and counter charges of nepotism and favoritism, micromanagement by the mayor and a breakdown in authority fueled by a lack of respect, personality conflicts, and an inability “to work together for the good of the city.” The Star obtained a copy of the year-old report after it was referenced in a city council meeting last week. At the Feb. 4 council meeting, Police Officer Sean Cook took issue... Full story
This week's photos are now online. More than 80 photos taken in the last week, some we really wish we could have used in the paper, are ready to view. Here's a slide show: 2-12-14 Star - Images by Scott Hunter... Full story