News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 1852 - 1876 of 3686
Let’s start with the cat. We have a very cuddly and cute kitty named Camaro. She has the sweetest temperament and has stayed pretty small for her age. We adopted her many years ago into our family and she joined Nova and Chevelle in our feline garage. In the beginning, I was not a cat guy. But they grew on me. With every cuddle and purr, I grew fonder and fonder of them. About a month ago, when I was neck deep in graduation and everything that erupts at the end of a school year, we came home lat...
Voters should keep local schools at the same level of tax support voters have been used to for some time. Local school patrons, staff and others have made clear their concerns about local schools. But concerns about discipline issues at the forefront are an entirely separate problem than the one school leaders are hoping to address with the proposed capital projects levy on which voters will decide Aug. 7. That levy would address maintenance and safety issues and swap a burden that has fallen in the past on the general budget to levy dollars,... Full story
As a community we are approaching an important election, the outcome of which will clearly affect the quality of education received by our school-aged children. This election will require a decision by voters on whether our community will continue to financially support the Grand Coulee Dam School District by approving a school levy. The levy is funded through local property taxes. Why is a levy or tax needed? Our community is uniquely disadvantaged because of the large percentage of federally-owned land and land that is not otherwise eligible...
Next month, local voters will have the opportunity to approve the Capital Project Levy for the Grand Coulee Dam School District. This is only a supplemental levy that will address facility and safety needs of the district, as well as offset lost funding from the state. This would not result in an increase of your taxes. The Capital Project Levy’s value would be seen in updated technology, facility improvements, better communication infrastructure, and increased security/safety measures. I’d like to discuss that last item first. The biggest pri...
This last weekend was our annual family campout and this year we welcomed Cairo on his first visit to the “plantation,” our huckleberry heaven. The crop was in good standing this year; an abundance of purple gold was everywhere and everyone ended the weekend with a permanent stain on their picking fingers that you could flavor your coffee with. Karrie and I went up first to grab our coveted spot along the plantation and we went back to our younger days, sleeping on the ground in a tent. It was...
Last month, General Electric lost its place among our nation’s top 30 performing corporations. It was the last member of the original companies which composed the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Since 1896, American investors have looked to the Dow to judge how the top performing companies’ stocks are trading each session. The Dow favors companies with excellent reputations for sustained growth and which have broad investor interest. GE, once the world’s most valuable company, was replaced by Wa...
As we celebrated our nation’s birthday last week, many of us spent time with extended family and friends. For us at the Chamber, it was a busy and somewhat stressful time as we organized and hosted the Festival of America. We’re quite proud of our awesome fireworks show and live music, and if you didn’t have a chance to hear Lila Rose, the Jesse Quandt Band and the Washington National Guard band, you really missed some fantastic music. Last year, with the 4th falling on a Tuesday, we had made the decision to move the festival to the weeke...
Boise, Idaho, was a great baseball town — home to the Boise Braves, a Milwaukee Class C farm club in the Pioneer League. But it was the large number of big-league players that set the tone in the valley. Larry Jackson, Harmon Killebrew and Vernon Law made their home in the city and in nearby towns. Jackson was from Boise, Law from Meridian and Killebrew from Emmett. It was Jackson, a teammate of Stan Musial, who helped me get a long interview with Musial. Jackson, a right-handed pitcher, played with Musial with the St. Louis Cardinals for a n...
Sometimes you never know where your road trip will take you. The plan was to head to Conconully, Washington, to see their annual Independence Day Celebration. We had a plan when we went to bed on Friday, but Saturday morning had its own time schedule. It started with a loud boom that shook the house at about 5:30 a.m. In that half-asleep, half-awake state, I assumed it was a firework, but soon realized I was awake and something was not right. As I got up to investigate, I soon realized that ever...
The most important thing for Americans to remember on July 4, 2018, is that we are Americans. Regardless of political party affiliation, philosophy, religion, creed or race, no matter if we are conservative or liberal, veterans or war protesters, soldiers or civilians, we are Americans. We are petty and noble, hateful and loving, proud and humble, but we are Americans. We may differ, as we always have, on what that even means, or on how to solve our problems, but we will eventually rediscover that we are Americans. So enjoy the national...
Last week I got an email with a photo showing a cloud that had erupted into a rainbow of color. There is a name for what happened: it’s called cloud iridescence or irisation. Some call it cloud rainbows. What happens is individual ice crystals or water droplets in the cloud reflect, refract and disperse incoming sunlight. It’s like what happens when a rainbow develops. A rainbow is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets, causing a spectrum of light to app...
The Jetsons television series about a space-age family featuring “Rosey the Robot” gave us a preview of life with robots, kiosks and interactive television. In 1962, it was a fictitious cartoon; however, in 2018, many of the Jetsons’ conveniences are a reality. Take fast-food restaurants, for example. Faced with a growing shortage of workers and increased costs, some are turning to robots to flip hamburgers and clean grills — mundane, unpleasant and hard-to-fill jobs. Wendy’s installed self-clea...
A lot can happen in a week or two. From Father’s Day to the 4th of July is a busy time in most families. Camping, vacations, fishing trips and camps can take up a lot of this timeframe, but sometimes things can change, and things can look a little different. Also, depending on who you are, things can change. I could write about a little blue truck or a union gathering. But I am not today. I could talk about the “Best Father’s Day Ever” or on running into a Proctor in Pasco, but I will wait on...
A certain seemingly innocent, even holy-sounding, reference made recently by a high government official in defense of an unpopular policy should give Americans pause. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sought to shore up the position of the government by using the authority of scripture, quoting the Apostle Paul when he advises following the laws of the earthly government. “I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of o... Full story
As a former employee at the Grand Coulee Dam School District (30 years plus), I would like to respond to the article in last week’s Star entitled “High staff turnover this year in GCD school district.” I am now retired from the district, and I have to say that I was so “thankful” to be able to do so when I did and to “get out” of the school district. I couldn’t agree more with Aaron Derr’s statement: “On several occasions we have formally expressed our concerns about discipline inconsistencies, bullying of other students and staff and not being...
I know you are a liberal but at least you could try to be objective in your selection of the guest editorials. For instance, the so-called Americans for Tax Fairness. This organization is not for fair taxes; they are for higher taxes for everyone. Let me ask you a question. 1- Why do you think the economy is booming? 2- Where is the employment coming from? 3- Who hires workers, the poor? 4- When the economy gets better, what happens to the taxes coming into the treasury? 5- His statement on the wages going down is totally false according to...
I entered Electric City the other day through its southern portal, and was shocked. I don’t know why; I had entered the city through its south end a hundred times before. But this time the many eyesores along the entrance to the city stood out like sore thumbs. There are a number of eyesores — all, I think, owned by individuals — that would shock anyone. I wondered, are all these landowners from Kansas, and why had they all settled here? Maybe the former city attorney had it right after all. He painted a welcoming sign on the front of his b...
Amid all the confusion about zero tolerance and executive orders over the crisis at the border, one thing is clear. At least 2,000 children are still detained away from their parents in shelters across the country. Many — no one knows exactly how many — are under age 5, housed in “tender age” shelters in South Texas. Government officials claim they are safe and well cared for, but nothing could be further from the truth. Years of research shows us that group care is harmful to children of all ages and especially toxic for infants and young c...
Grand Coulee Dam Area Lions participated this weekend in the annual Koulee Kids Fest and Coulee Cruizers Auto Show. The Lions have sponsored a station for the Kids Fest for several years. The Grand Coulee Dam Area Lions was chartered in 1936 and has had an active club in the area since. Sometimes the Lions are not on the front lines or as visible as some, but each year they are active in the community. This kind of fundraiser by the Lions puts money into the club’s project fund, which is used for several projects throughout the year. Some of t...
This is the time of year for final report cards, so it’s a good time to grade President Trump and congressional Republicans on their massive tax cuts mostly benefiting the wealthy and corporations. Six months after enactment, their new tax law is seriously underperforming, failing to achieve passing marks in one important subject after another. Tax Fairness: Once the law is fully phased in, 83 percent of the benefits will go to the wealthiest 1 percent. Those one-percenters will get an average tax cut of over $50,000 this year. Folks making und...
Justin Trudeau may be the annoying, youthful avatar of chic progressivism — but he’s not our adversary. After leaving the G-7 summit, President Donald Trump blasted the Canadian prime minister on Twitter as weak and dishonest, in the kind of invective once reserved for “Little Rocket Man.” The Trump presidency routinely produces unprecedented events, and here is another: Never before has a president of the United States spoken as scornfully in public about the head of state of a friendly, allied country. Particularly one who has appeare...
First off, a disclaimer: I know many of you will disagree with me on this topic, but please bear in mind that if we want change, we have to be the change. For years, Lake Roosevelt schools have gotten a bad rap. I am not saying it is not deserved, and I am not saying that everything is perfect now or that everything is fixed, but we are making progress and trying. The main issue, in my opinion, is the way we speak of our own schools. The way we portray things is just as important as the history.... Full story
Every so often, I jot down a list of the things that discourage me about our country. There’s the widespread disregard for our core values of tolerance and mutual respect, for instance. Or our declining national optimism. There’s wage stagnation, income inequality, a high poverty rate, failing infrastructure, inadequate healthcare coverage, a dysfunctional Congress. … You get the idea. This is not really a list of failings. It’s a to-do list. How do we make progress on it? Well, I’ll tell you: politics. American politics can be an inefficie...
It happened not long after graduation started in the Lake Roosevelt 2018 ceremony. A shift occurred. One more graduate was added to the class, and there was not a dry eye in the gym. It first appeared in the class speaker’s address. A slight mention of a teacher that “roasted” students, then as the valedictorian’s speech turned from one of them to one of him; followed by a video sequence that told everyone that there was one more to be added to the program. If we did not know yet, an award f...
Each year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes billions of dollars in payments to farmers across the country. Farmers rely on this money as part of a safety net, which helps them mitigate risks involved with working in agriculture. Congress put in place common-sense limits on farm program payments, but left damaging loopholes. Currently, farmers are required to be actively engaged in farming to receive these payments. “Actively engaged” farmers should be on the farm or in the tractor, as well as investing in land, equipment, or pro...