News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Fourteen months ago, the sudden passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia left a void on the nation’s highest court. Not only did the court lose an esteemed colleague, but the nation lost an eloquent advocate for constitutional limits on government and preserving the rule of law. In the intervening months, the question of who should replace Justice Scalia was put before the American people. Now, with Senate confirmation of U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch, a new voice advocating for judicial restraint and original i... Full story
I had the honor and privilege of attending two events this week that moved me in such a way that I will always remember. I attended the Northwest Indian Youth Conference as a chaperone and our son’s wedding, as, well, me. Both were very special. At the conference I got to see a side of some young people that I don’t always get to see. Leaders emerged, responsibility followed and fears were conquered. The list of speakers was astounding. Simon Moya Smith from CNN spoke. He is one of the only Native American reporters working at a major net... Full story
Dry Falls and Falls Lake near Coulee City, Washington. Taken on infrared film. - April 21, 1946 photo... Full story
In support of Arnie Marchand’s letter to the editor, I couldn’t agree more about changing the name of the Colville Confederated Tribes, Indian Reservation, etc. John Colville was some punk Brit who never set foot in the Americas, let alone this area. He had a stake in the Hudson Bay Trading Company, and that is all, and a people with such a rich culture shouldn’t be named after a man with no affiliation with said culture. There are beautiful words in the Salish language. In an essay titled “Identity and Responsibility,” Jeanette Armstrong... Full story
When you lose a child, at any age and whatever the cause, it changes the rest of your life. Each day you wake up wishing it weren’t true, wanting to cry and scream when you realize it is true and then you resolve to finding your new normal in this day, just like every other day since their death. We, like most, were not prepared to make arrangements on his lasts, like you get to when you’re preparing for their firsts. We will never know what his children will look like, how successful his career would have been, and we will never again sha... Full story
After several months of repeated phone calls to Representative Newhouse’s staff, I finally received confirmation that he will be scheduling a constituent meeting during the April in-district work session (sometime between April 10th and April 21st). This meeting will likely take place in Yakima, but all from the 4th district who want their voice heard by Newhouse should plan to attend! Meeting directly with our elected officials is the most effective way to make our voices heard and our beliefs represented in our democratic government. U... Full story
Every once in a while someone surprises me — with their actions, words or change in character. This is especially encouraging when it is a young person. Sometimes we don’t give them the credit that is due to them. We lump them into a generation that we feel is disconnected, entitled or lazy overall. We judge a younger group and figure they are all playing video games all night, binging on NetFlix and drinking energy drinks until they crash into a four-day coma only to emerge with less brain tissue than they had when they started their sugar-ind... Full story
Rain! We’ve had a decent amount of it in the past year. I measured a total of 15.21 inches of precipitation at my home weather station in 2016. Rain is just one of many forms of precipitation. It’s part of the water cycle, more properly the Hydrologic Cycle. Precipitation is water that is released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It’s the main connection in the hydrologic cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to this little planet we live on, Earth. Most precipitation around the plane... Full story
While these six airplanes of the 116th Observation Squadron, from Felts Field, Spokane, enjoyed the 184-mile nonstop, round trip to Grand Coulee. A plane from the unit's photo section got this unusual picture as the aerial sextet was in formation directly above the dam. The picture shows the work as of early 1939. Here the high construction trestle is 180 to 220 feet above the dam foundations, themseves about 135 feet high, although mainly underwater. The trestle is 3,600 feet long and 43 feet... Full story
You hear all the best teachers talk about it, and last Thursday night anyone who attended the PTA’s science fair at Lake Roosevelt Schools got a little taste of it, as well. “It” would be the “Aha!” factor, the real reward that teachers crave when that light comes into the eye of a student excited for having just learned something new. Talking with each of the students who entered their science experiments, it was apparent they’d taken great interest and care in putting together some fairly sophisticated evidence and arguments, and accepted th... Full story
Thank you to everyone who has contributed items to help the Ristine family start over after a fire destroyed their home on January 29th. Friends opened an account on the website GoFundMe, which to date has received almost $2,000. However, due to my work at the senior center, it occurred to me that MANY of our local citizens have gigantic hearts but may not be technologically inclined. If YOU fit that category but would like to make a monetary contribution, you can do so at North Cascades Bank by depositing any dollar amount directly to the... Full story
Shooters that use the gravel pit at Osborn Bay behind Electric City: I have not been back there for over a year. I went out there Wednesday the 23rd of March. When my grandkids come they like to shoot, so we go back there. They burn up lots of powder then spend about an hour picking up garbage. I must say, I am ashamed of what the shooters leave there — whiskey bottles, pallets, bowling balls, all kinds of trash they shoot up, then just leave it. Do you ever wonder why the citizen that doesn’t shoot thinks our pistols and rifles should be taken... Full story
This is a letter to all those vying for a position on the Tribal Council. You should do three things after becoming an elected representative. First: Change the name of the reservation. REASON: Time has long since passed that we continue to call ourselves colvile Indians and understand that there never were any colvile Indians. That we must either change to our language name “Syilx People” or our dominant tribe “Okanogan” (no matter how you spell it)! Second: Change the length of service for councilpersons to four years. All you do now is find... Full story
A major hurdle for lawmakers in Olympia working to finish the next two-year state budget and adjourn is the so-called “carbon tax.” However, Gov. Jay Inslee wants a first-ever levy on CO2 emissions. While it targets coal and natural gas power plants and manufacturing facilities, everyone will pay more. His proposal is part of a grand plan to raise $5.5 billion in higher taxes. That scheme also includes imposing a new tax on investor’s income and increases existing business and occupation (B&O) tax rates on services. Higher taxes are troublesome... Full story
The phrase “Life is just not fair” has been said by many of us many times over our lives or we have heard others say it. Even in my own life I have felt slighted or treated unfairly or even wronged by others or circumstances and just thought the world was against me. Things at times seem like we are sinking in the “quicksands” of life with nothing to grab hold of. We have seen it at all levels, but there are times when a little ray of success blasts through the gloom and lifts our spirts out of the joy-sucking sand. A flower in a weed garden.... Full story
A slide on the east bank of the San Poil River, SW 1/4 Sec. 9, Twp. 29 N. Range 33 E. W.M. on Indian allotment #1193 belonging to Mary Hughes. This view shows the main body of the slide, taken from the top of the bank toward north, looking downstream. – 1942 photo... Full story
If we could partake of the pain of others, and so lift a small portion of it from them, how would it change the world? Perhaps not much, judging by the reaction and feelings spread throughout the community when news hit of young man, full of promise, cut short. The sharing of some small portion of the pain of his family by a large part of the community seemed very evident over the last week — from Facebook posts to meetings canceled, even by some not directly affected. The loss of such a life is not something we can, or should, get over. I... Full story
Three-card Monte, what a wild game that is. In my 60 years I have learned a few things. One thing I learned is that there are only two possible winners for that game. The first possible winner is the people running the game, they control the deck, they make the rules and they have a couple goons ready to pummel any victim that objects to losing money. The only other possible winner, is the people who refuse to play that game. This is exactly why I have chosen not to participate in our political process. I don’t expect everyone to agree with m... Full story
As you watch the healthcare proceedings on Capitol Hill, imagine what things might be like if we lived in more functional political times. In particular, what if Congress were run by pragmatists? It would not change the issues at hand. On the one side, you’d have the Republican majority in Congress, which for the most part believes that the healthcare system should be left to the private sector. On the other side would be Democrats who, to varying degrees, see an important role for government to play. What would change would be how the two s... Full story
Back when I was younger, (yes, that long ago), I found something on television that would change my Saturday-morning cartoon watching forever. If I got up early enough I could watch the Lone Ranger (in black and white) and Sergeant Preston before Bugs Bunny and Road Runner came on. Then one day I got up extra early. Whammo, my imagination was changed forever. Names like Hulk Hogan and Super Fly Snuka became legends in a child’s mind, leading to new games and characters to pretend you were. Sergeant Slaughter and Tommy “Wild Fire” Rich becam... Full story
USBR barge taking soundings of the river bed below Grand Coulee Dam for a study of the erosive effects of summer floods. - March 1, 1943 photo... Full story
I am very concerned about the current state of affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bills are being voted on willy nilly with minimal input from constituents, across the aisle, and from the Congressional Budget Office, apparently in a quest to meet an arbitrary legislative agenda. In the words (through Twitter) of Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) regarding the replacement for the Affordable Care Act: “House health-care bill can’t pass Senate w/o major changes. To my friends in House: pause, start over. Get it right, don’t get it fast.... Full story
I had to chuckle at Scott’s editorial about the speed limit change above the dam, as I too had done the mental calculations! After driving 40 mph through that stretch for 16 years, it’s apparently made its way into my DNA as I catch myself on a daily basis still driving 40 and having to slow myself down. I understand changing the limit during construction of the new fire station, but after completion, my personal feelings are that the limit should be raised again, as I know most law-abiding Americans already know to slow down and pull over whe... Full story
The Moses Lake School Bond passed officially Friday February 24, with a very small margin. For the last few months, I had been encouraging everyone to vote yes for the school bond and our kids. I specially wanted to urge the young people to vote. In talking with them, I got the impression they thought their one vote wouldn’t make a difference. This school bond issue sure shot that theory down, as it was a four-vote difference at one point. I’m not exactly sure when Washington state started mailing out our ballots — but, I do remember befor... Full story