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  • Seventy-eight years ago

    Apr 5, 2017

    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

  • Colbert says it better than we could RE: Congress giving away your privacy

    Scott Hunter|Mar 29, 2017

  • Thanks for a great science fair

    Scott Hunter|Mar 29, 2017

    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

  • Update regarding Ristine family house fire

    darla orr|Mar 29, 2017

    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 have left an awful mess

    Carl Russell|Mar 29, 2017

    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

  • What to do after you're elected to tribal council

    Arnie Marchand|Mar 29, 2017

    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

  • State carbon tax would be harmful

    Don C. Brunell|Mar 29, 2017

    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 hard row to hoe

    Jesse Utz|Mar 29, 2017

    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

  • Seventy-Five years ago

    Mar 29, 2017

    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 share in pain

    Scott Hunter|Mar 22, 2017

    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

  • Voting not to play

    Mike Anderson|Mar 22, 2017

    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

  • In praise of pragmatism

    Lee Hamilton|Mar 22, 2017

    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

  • A Man's Soap Opera

    Jesse Utz|Mar 22, 2017

    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

  • Seventy-four years ago

    Mar 22, 2017

    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

  • Open letter to the US House of Representatives and District 4 Representative Dan Newhouse

    Brad Halm|Mar 15, 2017

    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

  • Speed limit change should be temporary

    Wiyaka Steinke|Mar 15, 2017

    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

  • Proof that your one vote counts

    Joan Green|Mar 15, 2017

    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

  • Progress on Repairing America's Health Care

    Dan Newhouse Representative 4th Dist|Mar 15, 2017

    Throughout my time representing the people of Central Washington in the U.S. Congress, constituents from across the 4th District have shared with me their deeply personal stories about the struggles and hardships they’ve faced under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. In late 2016, a gentleman from Yakima wrote me in distress as his insurance provider was pulling out of his county: “My wife and I are losing our healthcare coverage. Our financial lives are about to radically change and a literal risk to our health is upon us. The cha... Full story

  • Is it finally here?

    Jesse Utz|Mar 15, 2017

    Although spring does not officially start until March 20, I feel something in the air. Along with feeling the brisk morning air, I am smelling the morning wetness, seeing the sprouting buds, hearing the early-morning song birds and feeling the itchiness that comes with pollen. Yep, spring is here. After being held captive by the ice queen of a winter and the grumpy ground hog, we’ve made it to the thawing and warming process. Gardeners will be out tilling, weeding, raking and pruning, preparing for the bountiful harvest of seeds now in their h... Full story

  • Seventy-nine years ago

    Mar 15, 2017

    Mining raw aggregate at the Brett Gravel Pit with a power shovel and conveyor system. - March 16, 1938 photo... Full story

  • It all adds up

    Scott Hunter|Mar 8, 2017

    It’s not easy to get used to driving 10 miles per hour slower on a short stretch of highway you’ve been traveling daily for decades. That’s a problem many folks face trying, straining, braking to navigate the multi-lane stretch of highway 155 by the Bureau of Reclamation’s Grand Coulee Project, which the bureau slowed from 40 to 30 mph because it’s building a new fire station across from Pole Park. Even if traveling more slowly in front of a fire station is warranted, slowing the entire stretch seems a bit much. Admittedly, that complaint sound... Full story

  • Questions for Rep. Dan Newhouse

    Ian Ross|Mar 8, 2017

    On Feb. 23 constituents of the 4th Congressional District of Washington gathered at the Methow Valley Community Center in Twisp to participate in democracy and make our voices heard by you, our elected representative. You were not present. Had you or a member of your staff been able to attend, here are some questions I would like to have asked. 1. Thank you for your recent support of the BRIDGE Act. You stated on your Facebook page that Congress will come together to build “a reasonable and accessible immigration system going forward.” Wha... Full story

  • Rescuing America's Health Care System

    Dan Newhouse Representative 4th Dist|Mar 8, 2017

    Repealing and replacing “Obamacare” is necessary to prevent Americans from suffering the consequences of this failed and unraveling law. Promises of affordability and lower premiums have turned into the reality of diminishing choices, rising prices, and less competition. Replacement must allow more affordable, more personalized health options. Replacing Obamacare has become a rescue mission to provide relief for American families. I recently had constituents reach out to me to explain that the situation they face because of this law is uns... Full story

  • Senior Profile: Olivia Arnold

    Jesse Utz|Mar 8, 2017

    I sat down with the young lady I call “Live” and learned a bit more about what makes her tick. I have known the Arnold family for a long time and have watched this senior at Lake Roosevelt bloom into an amazing adult, but I heard more than I expected in my sit down chat. When I asked how her senior year is going she answered with an enthusiastic “Great,” followed by, “It is a lot less hectic than I thought it was going to be.” She said all this with that bigger-than-life smile she gets. She went on to explain that she had to make up extra cr... Full story

  • Sixty-eight years ago

    Mar 8, 2017

    Workmen operate prepakt grout equipment as they pump grout into prepakt areas at the base of the right training wall. Equipment shown here includes, at top, two double-drum grout mixers; center, two F.S. Simplex pumps; and bottom, four triplex grout pumps with hose connections. This work was performed by the Pacific Bridge Company, as part of their contract to repair the spillway bucket section of Grand Coulee Dam. - March 1949 photo... Full story

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