News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Fears over Columbia Basin dams, hydroelectricity grow as agencies lose hundreds of employees by Alex Baumhardt, Washington State Standard May 20, 2025 Grand Coulee Dam is among the most powerful energy-generating dams on earth. It's the bedrock of the federal Columbia River Power System - a network of 31 dams supplying more than half of the hydropower in the Northwest. Grand Coulee alone, overseen by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, generates one-quarter of that. But critical operations at...
The Isle of Flags' annual Memorial Day Flag Dedication ceremony will take place Monday at 11 a.m. at Spring Canyon Cemetery. Nine new flags will be dedicated to those who served in the military and have passed on, with families invited and community members to witness it. The new flags will be added to over 500 that fill the cemetery with patriotic expression each year. They will be dedicated to: Thomas A. Benton, David "Dude" Chapman, Louis S. Dewey, MD, Donald "Don" Fischer, Clifford H....
People walk the sidewalk along Midway Avenue to protest the actions of President Donald Trump's administration with many signs emphasizing protecting democracy. They gather each Saturday at noon and on other occasions. - Scott Hunter photo...
A teacher at Lake Roosevelt Jr/Sr High School thought he was just attending a pep assembly Friday when his name was called to receive a statewide award as educator of the year. Derek Atkins, who graduated from Lake Roosevelt, teaches science there now and revived a club that was important to his own development and direction. The pep assembly turned out to be a well-kept secret to surprise him. Shawn Brehm, a Wellpinit teacher who serves as the chair of the Washington Education Association's Cau...
A bronc looks his would-be dominator in the eye while ascending above him during the "ranch bronc" event at the Ridge Riders' Cleatis Lacey Memorial Bullride Thursday night, which ushered in the Colorama Festival Friday and Saturday. More photos and results are on page 8. - Scott Hunter photo...
The National Park Service says it will offer its Fish Fest event at Spring Canyon again this year. The event, put on with the intent of teaching kids how to fish and more, was a popular day last year. It’s scheduled for Sunday, June 8, from 1-4 p.m....
This year’s election season will focus on local positions: city councils, port districts, school boards and such. Last week was the week to file intentions to seek such an office. Here’s a look at who filed. Three candidates are seeking the mayor’s seat in Grand Coulee, including incumbent Ruth Dalton and challengers Micah Seekins and Chantel Crowe, who is currently a deputy clerk at city hall. Voters will pick two of those three in the Aug. 5 Primary Election to go on to the General Election on Nov. 4. Janet Christy filed to keep the counc...
These included measures to strengthen state power to inspect private detention facilities, prevent coercion in the workplace, and prohibit bail bond agents from enforcing immigration laws. Lawmakers put forward the legislation at a time when President Donald Trump is trying to crack down on people crossing into the country illegally and as his administration presses to deport immigrants already in the U.S. without legal authorization. Here's a look at what the new state laws would do. Detention...
With faces displaying a range of human emotions, first-graders start off in their race at Lake Roosevelt Schools Miini Bloomsday races Friday, the day before the big race in Spokane. See more photos and available results on page 6. - Scott Hunter photo...
An accidental gunshot incident got a student at the Lake Roosevelt Alternative School in Grand Coulee kicked out of school for a year and booked into a Chelan County Juvenile Detention facility last week, one week after it happened. The student — who is not yet 18, which prevents school officials from releasing a name — lost footing while riding a hoverboard in a classroom around other students when the board bumped into another student’s foot. A handgun fell out of the suspect’s jacket at that point, hit the floor and discharged, sending...
Two faces you may recognize will head up the Colorama Parade as the honorary parade marshals on Saturday - Janet Doughty and Vickey Steffens. Both have been working with the Ridge Riders for decades and probably sold you a ticket or two to the rodeo. Janet Doughty has been a Ridge Rider member since 1967, some 58 years. Her Granny Hobart got her started riding, and Janet got her whole family involved from play days and riding drill team to helping with organizing the first junior rodeos held in...
Candidate Filing Week in the state began on Monday, May 5 online and at county elections offices across the state. Declarations of Candidacy and full payment must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 9. In the local area, 55 positions are open for citizens to declare candidacy. Across the state, eligible Washingtonians can declare candidacy for over 3,200 seats ranging from county positions to school boards and cemetery districts. Candidates file through their county elections office. Applicants are encouraged to file online. Complete...
April 29, 2025 5:25pm Demand for electricity in the Northwest could double by 2046, according to a new energy forecast from regional experts. Over the next two decades, demand could increase by between 1.8% and 3.1% annually, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council heard April 29. The projected growth will come primarily from companies building more data centers in the region, more electric vehicles on roads, electrifying buildings, computer chip manufacturing and the production of “green hydrogen” created by running an electrical cur...
Nobody gets out of here alive, but before the inevitable, we'd all like to keep living the best life possible. Evelyn Wright has had some success at that, but in her later years (she's 92 now) she's had to accept that she can't really go it alone. "I'm extremely healthy, but that may be not the same six months from now," Evelyn said in an interview April 24. "I don't know what's going to change for me, but it was tough for me to finally admit that I have to turn over most of my life to my...
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs Sign Memorandum of Agreement OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) formalized a partnership Monday aimed at enhancing services for Native American veterans and their families. The collaboration is made possible by a memorandum of agreement (MOA) which allows WDVA to provide in-kind support and resources to the Tribe’s veteran service officers. This MOA under...
Rainen Pakootas takes the top spot in the Junior Boys Steer Ride with a 70-point score at the Nespelem Junior Rodeo Sunday. The two-day event offered 44 competitions across four age categories and starts the local rodeo season. The Colorama Festival starts next week, with the Ridge Riders' Cleatis Lacey Memorial Bull Riding & Ranch Broncs event on Thursday to kick things off. More photos and junior rodeo results are on page 5. - Scott Hunter photo...
Grant County commissioners said last week that they are seeking interested citizens to serve on a homeless task force, and they want someone who knows what they’re talking about. It’s a “Lived Homeless Experience” vacancy on the Grant County Homeless Housing Task Force (HHTF), and if you’ve never been homeless you don’t qualify. Once appointment, the selected candidate will serve a two-year term as a voting member of the HHTF. Applicants must reside in Grant County, be of at least 18 years of age, either currently identify as homeless or...
A small pile of significant tax bills is getting delivered to Gov. Bob Ferguson. Collectively, they form the financial linchpin to the state’s next budget and would generate the revenue needed to erase a chunk of a shortfall Ferguson has pegged at $16 billion over the next four fiscal years. The tax package is expected to net around $9.4 billion over that time. Democrats drew up the bills. They used their majorities in the House and Senate to pass them over the opposition of Republicans and a few moderate Democrats. It is not known if the first...
Protesters on a break in front of the U.S. Post Office Saturday laugh at a suggestion they're participating in a "sit-in." The group had been walking steadily for over nearly an hour in a weekly exercise of free speech to object to President Donald Trump's policies and direction. They'll walk next at noon this Thursday, May 1, as part of MAYDAY 2025. - Scott Hunter photo...
OLYMPIA – The Employment Security Department will host a virtual job fair on May 15 for current and former federal government workers who live and work in Washington. The job fair, part of Employment Security’s rapid response efforts, will connect federal workers with state, county and city government job opportunities. “We recognize the dedication, skills and experience federal workers bring to the job market,” Employment Security Commissioner Cami Feek said. “Partnering with employers from state and local government will help federal wor...
Directors of the two school districts impacted by a recent policy change got together for a meal and sometimes spirited discussion Tuesday night. The full Nespelem School District Board of Directors and two from Grand Coulee Dam School District met at Hometown Pizza, a meeting prompted by discontent at Nespelem over a new policy at GCD that will not allow students from other districts to participate in their sports programs, beginning next school year. Its passage laid bare perceptions that came out during the discussion. Nespelem didn’t a...
People walked the sidewalk on Midway Avenue in Grand Coulee on Saturday, April 19, holding signs to protest various policies of the Trump Administration. Signs addressed a plethora of issues Trump has addressed, often with executive orders but sometimes by shrinking the employee base of the federal agencies charged with handling them, with courts sometimes ruling the administration's actions illegal. Among the signs: "Keep the Refugees, Deport the Racists", "When Injustice Becomes Law,...
Kids dash to pick up eggs on the Saturday before Easter. Once they get past toddler stage, kids get increasingly adept at spotting and picking up plastic eggs with prizes inside. It happens every year in the annual Lions Club Easter Egg Hunt at the former Middle School in Grand Coulee. To see winners of the prize baskets, see page 7. - Scott Hunter photo...
Democratic state lawmakers dropped their bid Monday to repeal a voter-approved limit on property tax growth in Washington, excising one of the most controversial revenue-raising ideas they’ve pursued in this year’s legislative session. The proposal, embedded in House Bill 2049, sought to allow an increase in the growth factor from the current 1% cap to as much as 3%. It would have applied to a state levy that supports schools, and for cities and counties, as well as special purpose districts. But Rep. Steve Bergquist, D-Renton, the bil...
Flu was worse than COVID-19 this season, which the Grant County Health District said last week is pretty much over. The Grant County Health Officer, Dr. Alexander Brzezny, has officially announced the end of the epidemic phase of the 2024/2025 respiratory illness season. Since March 2025, emergency department visits in Grant County related to COVID-19, influenza (flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have remained below thresholds set by the health officers in our region. Other indicators show that respiratory virus activity is...