News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 2026 - 2050 of 3447
The great philosopher Bob Hope once said, “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” He has a point. This time of year, Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true ‘reason for the season,’ as we say, and the Christmas season reminds us to serve our neighbors. Part of what makes this season so special, beyond families traveling long distance to gather together, or the music of Bing Crosby... Full story
As Mario Cuomo said, politicians campaign in poetry but have to govern in prose. Now we have a president-elect who campaigned in tweets ... but still will have to govern in prose. Donald Trump showed great skill as a campaigner, steering his campaign past a slew of professional politicians who underestimated him at every turn. Now the test is whether he can govern — that is, whether he can run the United States government, conduct foreign policy in treacherous times, and reshape domestic policy to fit his goals. This requires a very d... Full story
Winter work of the Government camp maintenance crew. - January 12, 1940 photo... Full story
Last Sunday night was Faith Community Church’s Annual Christmas Dinner and it got me to thinking about holiday traditions. Maybe it was the Archers and their 30-plus years of service to God and church. Maybe it was watching the Hansens’, Moores’ and Lyngholms’ kids, grandkids and elders come up on stage and perform the unforgettable 12 Days of Christmas. Or maybe it was seeing all the little kids running around like their parents did years ago in a church that used to sit on the very spot the new church now sits. It could have been the smell o... Full story
As the 114th Congress comes to an end, it is worth looking back on my first term in Congress and highlight the important accomplishments and the change that Americans should expect before the 115th Congress convenes next year. While there has been much disagreement between Republicans and Democrats in the nation’s capital, progress on issues that earned bipartisan support should not be overlooked. During the 114th Congress, Medicare was put on stronger footing by the “Doc Fix.” This improvement was signed into law to permanently repeal the p... Full story
There was a big change in mean temperature for the month of November, not only here but statewide. Here at the home weather station I recorded a November mean of 44.7˚F. The all-time mean temperature for November is 37.5˚, giving us a +7.2˚ difference. Those extra warm days gave us time to keep working on those fall tasks. Here are the other readings for this past month. Our high temperature was 63.1˚ (all-time high 69˚) on Nov. 3. Our low was 27.9˚ (all-time low -10˚) on Nov. 29. We were up on precipitation with a reading of 1.56 inches (mean... Full story
Workmen preparing to construct an ice deflector on the left training wall. When completed, the deflector will divert the ice that slides down the top of the training wall out into the river, lessening possible damage to electrical equipment on the transformer deck below. -Dec. 6, 1948 photo... Full story
The news story “Thousands of gun crimes go unpunished in Washington,” run by King 5 News on Nov. 16, asked King County Sheriff John Urquhart why prohibited persons are not prosecuted when they attempt to buy a firearm. He plainly stated they do not have the resources. These attempts, sometimes referred to as “lie-and-try,” result in no follow-up law enforcement action because law enforcement does not have the resources. This deficiency was also noted in the attorney general white paper “Access to Firearms in Washington State” dated Oct. 31, 20... Full story
Christmas is a difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. It is especially painful for America’s military families whose son, daughter, spouse or parent was killed while serving in uniform. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over 800,000 donors and volunteers, more than a million wreaths will be laid on the tombstones of our fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen on Dec. 17. The panoramic view of Arlington National Cemetery’s rolling hills, with its white grave markers perfectly align... Full story
This early snow and cold front has me remembering back to my childhood and the fun we had in the snow jungles during winter. We spent almost all day outside, in the bitter cold. Of course, we were stacked up with layers upon layers of long johns, socks, sweats, pants, sweaters, moon boots, snow suits, scarves, gloves, beanies and whatever other clothing we were required to wear. We all felt like the “Michelin Man” as we waddled to our locations. Sledding, snow ball fights, snow angles and many other cold weather events kept us out all day. I m... Full story
Excavation work along the Feeder Canal. Town of Grand Coulee shown at extreme right.- Dec. 19, 1946 photo... Full story
At this time of politics gone wild, let’s turn our attention to a significant local issue that we actually have the power to control: Enloe Dam. I’m amazed how the desire to “have our own dam” has become more important than the simple facts. Over the past 10 years the Okanogan PUD has spent countless hours and approximately $14 million to resurrect Enloe Dam. The PUD plans to spend $40 million to $45 million more to get the dam to produce electricity. After all that, the dam will have a maximum generating capacity of only 9 megawatts (MW). T... Full story
I read with interest a letter from Joe Bialek of Cleveland on changing the election process. He is an avowed Democrat and showed us a way to manipulate figures to show that the United States should drop the “winner take all” electoral college system of selecting a President. His approach was to base selection on the percentage of votes no matter how many candidates. Essentially this would take electoral votes away from both of the ‘leaders” and give votes to candidates who didn’t have a chance to be elected. Therefore, this year Mrs. Clinton w... Full story
The Grant PUD is paying $41,516,398 for luxury improvements at Crescent Bar. Grant PUD ratepayers need to understand that they are paying for a golf course and a 61-slip boat marina, and these items contribute to higher monthly electric bills. The federal government required Grant PUD to make improvements at Crescent Bar as part of the re-licensing process. The improvements were approved by a split vote of the PUD Commission, with Commissioners Bob Bernd, Terry Brewer and Larry Schaapman voting to protect the privileges of the 410 residences... Full story
Last week I started telling you about my story, using only the three important parts that I thought were most relevant to my story. Sometimes what we think is important or a part of us is not essential to the heart of the person listening to our story. The important things to us are not the key elements to a life-changing tale. To tell your life story, you must have the potential to change the life of the person listening. With that being said, let me pick up where I left off last week. I had just packed my stuff and left. I had no idea where I... Full story
The start of excavation for the removal of over-burden from the west tailrace slide area at Grand Coulee Dam. - Dec. 9, 1940... Full story
The framers of the US Constitution created the Electoral College as a result of a compromise for the presidential election process. During the debate, some delegates felt that a direct popular election would lead to the election of each state’s favorite son and none would emerge with sufficient popular majority to govern the country. Other delegates felt that giving Congress the power to select the president would deny the people their right to choose. After all, the people voted for their representatives to the federal legislature. The c... Full story
Hundreds of local residents showed up last week in Pasco for a debate that many thought had long been settled. We again find ourselves making the case that proposals to breach the Columbia and lower Snake River dams would hurt our local community, and that negative impacts would far outweigh any benefit. I attended the meeting in Pasco to add my voice in strong opposition to proposals to remove the four dams. I was one voice among many, seeing firsthand the passionate feelings on the matter. Last week’s meeting was a glaring example of the i... Full story
In Washington, an abundance of low cost, reliable hydropower spurs economic growth. It is a key reason why energy intensive industries locate here. Today, our nation has a profusion of carbon-based energy. Unlike a decade ago when we relied upon imported natural gas and crude oil, fracking technology put us on the path to be the world’s largest producer of processed petroleum. While fracked gas and oil are a boon to America’s economy, they are a big problem for traditional oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia. The Wall Street Jou... Full story
It starts with a question. That question can be difficult for some to answer, or for others it can release the flood gates of time and you end up knowing everything about them. A simple question, “What’s your story?” can require a person to dig deep within themselves and uncover things seldom thought about, much less talked about. For others, they spew the information out like they are counting grains of sands in the desert, a task that goes on and on. So why am I bringing this up? I was recently challenged to tell my story. I was met with... Full story
Excessive snow on December 8, 1985, made it possible for artist Perry Ferguson to create this sculpture of an Indian on a horse. Assisted by Joe Kiehn, the sculpture was begun on Dec. 8 at 10:30 a.m., and finished by 11 p.m. It was near Kiehn's Pawn Shop parking lot on SR-174.... Full story
Most of the Town was built over 80 years ago and we can’t expect that the infrastructure will last forever… and that includes our sidewalks. So for now, let’s skip the myriad of other issues/problems and let’s look at our sidewalks. At first, the Town just presumed that each of us “homeowner’s” would be required to individually repair the (their) sidewalks – and that was (and still is) a requirement of state statutes (laws). However, as is usually the case, assumptions and perceptions are usually interpreted as a requirement for someone els... Full story
I made the decision in 2012 to run for county commissioner to bring effective leadership to the county. I ran for reelection to continue that leadership of balancing budgets, adopting land use plans that were kicked down the road since 1965, and updating the county facilities plan. We did all of these things while maintaining a balanced budget and putting over $2 million dollars back into county roads. I am proud of my service and the work achieved by commissioners Campbell and DeTro. Okanogan County has many great employees dedicated to their... Full story
Thank you to the voters for helping us to better serve the Public Safety needs of Lincoln County! The modest Public Safety sales tax increase was approved by 58 percent of the voters and will greatly help us to serve you better. We are very appreciative of your vote of confidence in us and will continue to do our best to manage the money that we have. Speaking of voters, Lincoln County had the second highest percentage of voter turnout of all 39 counties in the state at 83.64 percent. Great job, Lincoln County, that is just awesome! We are... Full story
Aren’t we all so grateful that this fiasco of an election year is over! For those young people who were experiencing their first presidential election, please don’t be turned off by all of it. The media has stated “never in our history have we ever seen anything such as this.” Hopefully it will never happen again! The one bright spot for our family was campaigning for Nick Wallace for Grant County Superior Court Judge. Putting up signs, marching (huffing and puffing) in parades, etc. Certainly we were disappointed that the results were not wha... Full story