News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Dry, windy weather expected for parts of the region on Saturday prompted a “Fire Weather Watch” from the National Weather Service in Spokane. The caution was issued Wednesday afternoon for Saturday in the Okanogan Valley, Central Washington Cascade Foothills, the Waterville Plateau and Western Columbia Basin areas. Winds are expected to reach 15 mph with gusts up to 25, but relative humidity will be low in the 10-20% range. That combination means fires can easily start and rapidly spread. “A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weath... Full story
A man who has been operating his house on Central Drive as a short-term rental took exception to a cease-and-desist letter from the city that said that activity is illegal. Danny Wiyrick didn't back down at a city council meeting June 14, had his arguments ready to go point by point, and had council members wanting to find a way to make it legal before the end of the meeting. But tonight (June 28) they consider a draft resolution declaring a moratorium on such rentals as Wiyrick's Airbnb...
Andrew C. Castrodale, M.D., is the recipient of the 2023 UW School of Medicine Alumni Service Award, the school announced last week. The award recognizes a University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) alum whose dedicated and determined efforts have benefited UWSOM and/or the Alumni Association and/or their community. Dr. Castrodale, a 1994 graduate of UWSOM, is being celebrated for his dedication and service to his community in his roles as clinician, mentor and educator in family...
The Bureau of Reclamation is prohibiting fireworks on North Dam for the Independence Day holiday. Reclamation is taking precautionary measures to decrease the potential for wildland fire and is reminding the public that use of fireworks is prohibited on Reclamation lands and waterbodies. Reclamation will allow the permitted fireworks display at Grand Coulee Dam to occur for the Fourth of July festivities. There is a low risk of fireworks reaching the surrounding lands from the top of the dam, so the show can proceed. The fireworks show begins...
Officials and workers from four cities attend the delivery and training in the use of a new woodchipper June 14. The chipper was bought with a grant from the state Department of Ecology to the Regional Board of Mayors, which includes Electric City Mayor Diane Kohout (in sunglasses) who applied for the grant, and Grand Coulee Mayor Paul Townsend, third from right. The equipment was delivered to the Delano Transfer Station. - Scott Hunter photo...
Average gasoline prices in Washington are actually lower than they were a year ago, although they have risen 10.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.92 a gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 2,666 stations in the state. Prices in Washington stand 54.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago but are 34.2 cents higher than a month ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 0.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.84 per gallon. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Washington was p...
Kids from all over the area took part in the annual Koulee Kids Fest Saturday, organized by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and supported by businesses and organizations. About 17 of them put on little activities for kids from 10 a.m to 2 p.m., when the day capped off with a learning opportunity as The Reptile Man taught and entertained kids with live snakes, an alligator, and other reptiles. At least two activity sponsors offered prizes in drawings. Kids who filled in a...
Their house didn't burn, but firefighters couldn't save the garage/shop at Bill and Heather Williams' home in Electric City Monday when fire cut short their plans to work on an old pickup. Searching for the bright side as firefighters sprayed down the charred wood and hot metal siding, Heather Williams said at least they wouldn't have to decide what to keep from a collection of belongings they'd moved into the garage to sort. Electric City Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Payne said Bill...
Students from four area schools got to stomp around a field on the Colville Reservation in a citizen science experiment that continued this June. The students, from Nespelem and Keller schools on June 6 and from Lake Roosevelt and Inchelium schools June 7, had prepared in class a lot of "seed bombs," for planting native wildflowers on a field of native bunchgrass. The bombs, which a year ago had been made of clay and a pinch of seeds for the same experiment, this year had a bit different makeup...
Forty students graduated from Lake Roosevelt High School Saturday as the class of 2023 gathered for that last time - on the stage at the gym in gown and cap. Much about the speeches echoed those sentiments that rightly drip from every high school graduation - "the last time," "the next chapter," and so forth. But the tone, the affection, the familiarity - as in, family-like - seemed something more. "The friendships that we have made over the years have shaped us into the young men and women...
Parents, especially dads, can rely on Koulee Kids Fest to offer plenty of ways for special parent/kid memories to form this Saturday as the chamber of commerce organizes kids' events put on at local businesses. See the map on page 8 for a list of places and activities from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to take part in and qualify to win a prize. At 2 p.m. on Main Street the Reptile Man will present kids with all kinds of snakes, turtles an alligator and more. Scott Petersen is a zoologist and educator who...
With the face of Grand Coulee Dam as a backdrop Tuesday, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's top official wrapped up a tour of facilities in celebration of the agency's 120-year history and the 81 years since the first filling of Lake Roosevelt. Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton listed Reclamation stats the crowd could be proud of, perhaps part of the purpose of the visit and tour. It's not always popular being the "nation's largest wholesale water supplier" in an era when folks in the...
An American flag was dedicated to William (Bill) Myers during the Isle of Flags Memorial Day ceremony. His last name was misspelled in a June 1 article. The Star regrets the erro...
Readers of The Star may notice some changes next month, including weekly full color on some pages and a narrower width of the newspaper, but they come at great cost to Grant County. The venerable Grant County Journal, the Ephrata newspaper where The Star and The Star Buyers Guide have been printed for decades, will cease publication at the end of June after 116 years of serving that community and promoting community journalism in eastern Washington by backing independent publishers. The change means we will be printing at the Cheney Free Press...
The Grant County Port District #7 will hold a Special Meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at 3:45pm by telephone conference call. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss and accept an additional FAA AIP Grant Offer and an additional FAA BIL Grant Offer, both providing additional funding for the new Runway PAPI & REIL's project. No other business will be discussed or considered. The call-in number for the meeting is (978)990-5000 with an access code of 373595#. (Don't forget the #.)...
The Bureau of Reclamation is planning to host an event next Tuesday at Grand Coulee Dam to celebrate the Bureau's 120 years of service in the Pacific Northwest that will include the national head of the agency. Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton will be the keynote speaker at the event. Grand Coulee Dam is the main feature of the Columbia Basin Project and Reclamation's largest multipurpose project. The event will be held in the park below the Visitor Center at the dam, Tuesday,... Full story
Hot, simmering, smoldering is how patrons of the "First Friday" chamber of commerce event were describing the refractive heat, bouncing off the concrete sidewalk last week. But thankfully, firefighters were present with ultimate water power, and the chamber placed cooling locations in the nearby park Upon arrival, it was dominated by dedicated business, with vendors selling goods ranging from popcorn, cheeky shirts, eccentric jewelry, and scrumptious (i.e., "nom nom") food from the Siam Palace....
Grand Coulee Police said Tuesday that their department email account had been “hacked,” after they were notified about 9:45 a.m. of a potential spam email that had been sent from Chief John Tufts account, containing an unknown attachment. The list of recipients was not known, but multiple organizations began notifying the MACC (Multiple Agency Communications Center) dispatchers that they had received the suspicious email, which contained an altered disclaimer and department name that indicated it was of a foreign origin. “Chief Tufts and Offic...
The Nespelem School board Monday OK'd an agreement with the Grand Coulee Dam School District to split the federal Impact Aid money received in the 2023-24 school year for Nespelem students, with 75% going to the GCD district, and 25% going to Nespelem, both for K-8 students and for older students who would normally transfer to Grand Coulee Dam for high school. The two districts have been in negotiations on a new "tuition agreement" the federal Dept. of Education said was needed to make the...
Family and friends applaud high school students Tuesday night at Lake Roosevelt Schools as one of several groups completing the AVID course of study this year. With 50 students in all participating, each group from seventh grade up received certificates of excellence in the program that readies them for their next phases of education by providing skills in organizing, note taking, planning, and more in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) class. From left, AVID district director...
A hummingbird rests in her nest atop the end of a sycamore twig in Coulee Dam. It may be the same bird that abandoned its nest and egg on the same tree, on the same small branch, a year ago during last summer's high heat. - Scott Hunter photo...
More than 600 American flags fluttered in a gentle breeze Saturday as a couple hundred or more locals and relatives gathered at Spring Canyon Cemetery Memorial Day for the annual Isle of Flags service to remember the fallen veterans and dedicate flags to them. "I stand in awe of the decorations here today," said Grant County Commissioner Danny Stone, in his keynote address. "These flags that line these roads, these pathways around these graves ... It's a fantastic memorial. And it's the first...
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington said last week that office has gotten funding to hire for seven new full-time assistant U.S. attorneys and two support staff “dedicated to combating terrorism, fraud, drug trafficking, and violent crime, including in Indian Country.” U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref said in a release that the positions would be spread through the district’s three offices in Spokane, Yakima and Richland. The Department of Justice allocated the funding through last year’s federal budget. “We’re especially...
People listen at a memorial celebration of life for Bubba Egbert May 26 at the Ridge Riders Rodeo Arena. Egbert, a highly respected rancher and Lake Roosevelt Raider football head coach, died in an accident on his ranch May 5. A crowd of about 500 people attended, including those pictured here and many more in the grandstands and around the facility. On page 3, Justus Caudell, a teacher Egbert recruited as an assistant coach, gives his perspective on Bubba Egbert and his approach to life: do...
The city of Coulee Dam will get nearly $393,000 for upgrading crosswalks and adding “speed feedback” signs, flashing beacons, and more to improve the safety on routes to school. The Safe Routes to School grant is funded through the Washington State Dept. of Transportation budget, signed earlier this month by Gov. Jay Inslee. A project schedule indicates engineering will begin in October this year, with an estimated contract award date in May 2024. The project includes installing a new crosswalk, pedestrian scale crossing illumination, rec...