News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 2175 - 2199 of 3733
I was very thankful to be asked to sit in on the LRHS Senior Oral Boards! I didn’t realize how much of a rewarding experience this was going to be. One thing I promised to address was the community service requirement. While most didn’t have a problem doing it, it was the wording that caused hard feelings. In a young person’s eyes, you see “community service” and that makes it look like it’s connected to doing something wrong. I heard, “When you’re on probation or in trouble, you get community service,” and I completely agree! I submitte... Full story
I recently took part in some training, and they compared the four generations that are currently in the workforce: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials, all working together and the struggles with communication that occur daily. It is a lot to think about when you compare the different generations and you start to realize just why there is a communication blockade. “We are going to have a meeting.” That phrase alone can mean differences that reflect night and day when an employee hears it and prepares for what might hap... Full story
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the... Full story
Last Wednesday evening, the Coulee Dam Town Council met to consider, among other agenda items, if the Town of Coulee Dam will change its status from being a Town to that of a City. Town Hall made little effort to inform the public and give adequate opportunity for comment on this matter. The relevance of this statement is: If not for the efforts of Larry Price, candidate for Mayor, and Fred Netzel, Bob Poch, Marcia Warnecke and Tim Brooks, candidates for Council-person positions, very few people in Town would have known about the Mayor’s p... Full story
At this past week’s Coulee Dam’s Town Council meeting we observed an extremely angry outburst from Dave Schmidt (a town council member) directed towards some of Coulee Dam’s citizens when they objected to a comment made by Mr. Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt does not have the same views on a lot of issues and that is fine. It doesn’t matter who was right or wrong. What I question and dislike is Mr. Schmidt’s verbally replying in an extremely loud voice in a public meeting. I feel that as an elected official in a public meeting, he should have enough se... Full story
My husband and I were told we had to take our candidate-for-mayor sign down. By law, you can only have signs up so far ahead of the election. The week before we were told to take it down there was a letter in our Star newspaper to vote for a new mayor. That letter was written by our other candidate. So why was the letter allowed but not our sign in our yard? Carol Daily Coulee Dam Editor’s response: Laws about outside election signs do not govern letters to the editor.... Full story
Reading the recent piece about the circus visit, I found a statement to be two-thirds correct. “Jungle cats” is a misleading title for the three big cats that are part of the circus. Lions, specifically African lions, are not jungle dwellers, unlike the tigers. Now, there is an exception. The Asiatic lion, a sub-species of lion, is found primarily in India. It does dwell in a jungle-like environment. When I visited the big cats before the circus shows began, I was not able to ask the lion if he was of Asiatic or African descent. Given the tsu... Full story
I do not consider myself an artist. Yes, I am a writer and an amateur photographer and even have grander ideas about drawing and painting. But I do not consider myself an artist. So when I found myself Monday night in a circle of chairs in the Colville Tribal Museum surrounded by local artists, I felt a little out of place at first. Yes, my wife sat beside me; that was why I was there, but somewhere during the conversation and presentation I found myself actually wanting to do more with my photo... Full story
Chute Section - The feeder canal changes at this point (Sta. 89/50) from its regular trapezoidal section to a rectangular chute section in order to discharge its enormous flow into the equalizing reservoir. - June 15, 1950 photo.... Full story
In and of themselves, two surveys of union members in Grand Coulee Dam schools paint an alarming picture of conditions in the schools, but their hues can be softened or sharpened with other factors that add more light. The surveys, outlined in a front-page story this week, explicitly reveal poor grades for administration by teachers and support personnel, many of whom feel a keen lack of communication and direction in regard to discipline and job expectations. Less explicit may be the unspoken, but important, factors one might read between the... Full story
In a political statement four years ago, Gayle Swagerty talked about getting public involvement. Since taking the position of council person, she has made little effort to get the public involved or even give the public adequate opportunity for comments. Now, Councilperson Swagerty wants to meet with the public she has pretty much ignored over the past years. All registered voters should go and talk with Councilperson Swagerty to become informed about her positions and views concerning our town’s problems. In addition, be an informed voter a... Full story
While I would like to hang up my phone and put down my pen and just wait for the U.S. to heal by itself, I just can’t sit idle. Participation in the direction of our nation is the basis on which our country was founded. We all recognize the phrase “No taxation without representation.” What concerns me more and more is the concept of “representation.” It used to be that we would elect representatives who represented us, their constituents. But ever since the Supreme Court upheld Citizens United, Representative Dan Newhouse and his colleagues lis... Full story
After this year, four matriarchs in the school district will be cuddling grandkids, snow birding, and beach combing. All four have left their marks on the youth of the area, and as the youth turn into adults they will take the lessons learned from these four and apply it to their lives. So let’s take a look at the four as they ride into the sunset. Kathy Proctor: Her business instincts and instruction go way back at Lake Roosevelt. She even taught me once, and many of you also. She is ingrained in the Raider Wrestling Program and in local r... Full story
Privately owned boats and docking facilities of the Coulee Dam Yacht Club were damaged by the heavy winds of June 9, 1948, which drove driftwood across Lake Roosevelt into the dock area. - June 11, 1948 photo... Full story
For some time, The Star has published just about all of its stories online as well as in print. That practice will continue, but by the end of this month, online access will not be free. Why? Because we can’t afford to lose you, and we are starting to. Across the country, newspapers have increasingly turned to charging for online access to the work of their journalists. It’s time The Star followed that course, and many seem to expect and understand that move. We hope our loyal readers will keep reading us wherever they prefer, in print or onl... Full story
As you probably know, the current Coulee Dam mayor has chosen not to file for another term, and with that decision, we need to elect a new mayor. I’ve been active on Town Council for almost four years. I serve on town committees with well-thought and balanced service. I have worked with the current administration from the beginning of the Waste Water Treatment Facility, Transportation Improvement Board roads/sidewalks grant applications, and other projects and programs, and am able to provide a seamless transition as we construct the f... Full story
Really, do trees migrate? The answer is a yes. A little clarification here, though; trees don’t actually move themselves. What does occur: tree populations can shift over time. A recent study confirms that, over the past three decades, trees in the eastern United States are shifting their population centers west and north. Several tree species common in the east, such as white oak, sugar maples, and American hollies, have shifted their population center west since 1980. The study also shows that more than half of the species studied also m... Full story
I was honored to be asked to go on the senior trip this year. This class is jammed full of special personalities, funny characters and future stars looking to make their mark in the world and on each other. So here is a recap of our trip to Seattle. At 5 a.m. Friday we met at the school, zombies staggering around with bags on our shoulders, sleep in our eyes and begging for coffee. We started our journey across the state; soon sleepiness turned to anticipation as we left the desert and entered the plush greenness on the other side. First stop w... Full story
Water rages downstream past the town of Coulee Dam in this 1948 photo showing the west bank of the Columbia River. During the 1948 flood, extensive damage was done to the riprapped slopes on both banks for nearly a mile downstream. To protect critical areas, government forces worked around the clock for nearly two weeks, hauling replacement riprap. The discharge on this date was 535,000 cubic feet per second.-June 1, 1948 photo... Full story
The Turkish government is obviously familiar with the concept of “chutzpah,” if not necessarily the word. Ankara summoned the American ambassador to protest allegedly “aggressive and unprofessional actions” by the Washington, D.C., police. Their offense? Intervening after Turkish security personnel mauled peaceful protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington. Video of the incident is jaw-dropping. About a dozen people protested Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- arriving at the ambassador’s residence after a Whi... Full story
In the last decade, there has been a highway construction boom in Texas. On the other hand, lawmakers in Olympia still scramble to fund road maintenance. Texas, a state with a population of 27 million, is flush with cash thanks partly to a 10-year voter approved initiative which will pump $2 billion a year into highways. Then recently, that state’s legislature added $9 billion to further help relieve traffic congestion. “What’s Texas doing that we aren’t?” The answer is private-public partnerships. Since 2011, the state’s transportat... Full story
Thirty-plus years just does not feel like enough time. The Peacocks are about to pull up roots and travel the nation on a permanent road trip. We have gotten used to the snow bird effect, but this time it will be for much longer. Barry and Viv are spreading their wings and are going to soar. Barry has been helping people for years. With the city, with the church and with friends, he is a man’s man. He has helped many a person over the years and has been a staple to the area. He has helped Karrie... Full story
The sheep of Joe Hodgin travel from winter quarters at Adrian, Washington, to their summer range in the Colville National Forest. - May 9, 1945 photo... Full story
Our congressman, Dan Newhouse, (R-4th Dist.) has repeatedly advocated for “market-based health insurance,” promising that for-profit health insurance companies will deliver on the goals of less expensive, higher quality, and more available healthcare in the U.S. He is not alone in pushing this mantra. Neither he nor others provide evidence to support their infatuation with market-based health insurance. On the contrary, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that market-based health insurance provides very expensive, lower quality hea... Full story
The world is changing at a fast pace, making it difficult to keep up and even more difficult to know what it all means for us and our children and grandchildren. Only a generation ago, 60 percent of college students in American colleges were men. Today, that is reversed; 60 percent of college students are women. When men were drafted for military service during World War I, government administrators were surprised to discover that those men typically had only six or seven years of schooling. Today, 61 percent of young people say that completing... Full story