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  • What a waste of energy

    Scott Hunter|Mar 1, 2017

    Yet again, local cities are forced to waste time, effort and money in a disagreement that wouldn’t exist if they did what may be the logical thing and merged. Electric City is objecting to a spike in their metered sewage flow into Grand Coulee costing Electric City more than a month does on average. If the two cities were one, it would be a technician’s problem only, with nobody else even needing to be aware of it. Like every other time the two cities have disagreed — police services contracts, charges for water or other intercity servi... Full story

  • President Trump should start by building an electronic wall

    Stacy Washington|Mar 1, 2017

    Imagine if President Donald Trump’s much-touted wall cost nothing to build. And if it deterred not only illegal border crossers, but also those who legally come to the United States and then overstay their visas. And if it could be erected almost instantaneously. Impossible? Actually, that wall already exists — electronically. E-Verify is a free, online resource that empowers employers to check whether employees are eligible to work in the United States. It can ferret out illegal workers in seconds. Requiring all businesses to use E-Verify wou... Full story

  • Congressional benefits under ACA spelled out, compared

    William Kilby|Mar 1, 2017

    Congress is currently in the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act, also referred to as the ACA or Obamacare. This seems like a good time to look at the ACA healthcare benefits that are provided to members of Congress and their staffs at taxpayer expense, and how they differ from ACA coverage available to the rest of the citizenry. The exchange from which they may obtain coverage is The District of Columbia’s Small Business Health Options Program, DC SHOP, also known as DC Health Link. For members of Congress and staff the premiums a... Full story

  • Communication - the key to everything

    Jesse Utz|Mar 1, 2017

    Ask any married couple who has a successful marriage and the word “communication” will come up as a key to a healthy, long partnership. Also, any successful business will use the word communication as a key to a thriving venture. In the last week I have taken two trainings on communication, each focusing on different phases and approaches. In the world we currently live in, communication should be so easy, yet we still find ourselves struggling. Communication with our spouses, kids, friends, bosses and co-workers is still a major obstacle in... Full story

  • Sixty-eight years ago

    Mar 1, 2017

    John Berry, a Bureau of Reclamation engineer, observes tensiometer readings of the cable pull during puller machine tests used for maneuvering the floating caisson, maintaining contact with shore stations by short-wave radio. These tests were made by the Pacific Bridge Company, a contractor, as part of repairs made to the spillway bucket section of Grand Coulee Dam. - March 9, 1949 photo... Full story

  • The threats to our representative democracy

    Lee Hamilton|Feb 22, 2017

    With so much turmoil in Washington and around the country these days, it’s easy to get caught up in the crises of the moment. These are, indeed, worth our attention — but so are longer-running developments that threaten the health of our representative democracy. I want to lay them out in one place, so that the most serious problems confronting our system don’t slip from our attention. First, it has become very hard to make our system work. Our country is so large, so complex — and, at the moment, so polarized and divided — that it’s toug... Full story

  • Congressman, communicate with us

    Cam Alford|Feb 22, 2017

    This week, February 18-26, is an in-district work week for the House of Representatives, during which members of Congress are supposed to be meeting and communicating with constituents. Yet it appears that Representative Dan Newhouse will not be attending a single event open to the public, despite numerous requests that he do so. Furthermore, he hasn’t made clear what exactly he’s choosing to do that takes priority over holding a public event. A staffer in Washington, D.C., said she “cannot give [me] the congressman’s schedule for security reas... Full story

  • Crybaby bullies, cowards to boot

    Lou Stone|Feb 22, 2017

    Justice has never flourished on the Colville Indian Reservation (CIR) for tribal members, although federal Department of Justice (DOJ) and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) funds are intended for the very purpose of providing law and order for the benefit and protection of Colville Tribal Members (CTM). Before I mention one major Colville Business Council-administered injustice, let me first show you how tribes may find justice from time to time: On page 3 of the Colville Tribal Tribune February 3, 2017, is a partial story of how Canadian company... Full story

  • Winter woes will yield to spring

    Jesse Utz|Feb 22, 2017

    “It was a dark and stormy night.” This is considered one the worst beginnings of a suspenseful novel. But we have been living it. Cold weather, lots of snow and now the melt-off. Add very little sunshine and the winter blues hit you where it counts. Multiply in Christmas shopping recovery, political turmoil, tragedy in the area and the yuck bugs going around; we all might lock ourselves in our houses with nothing but Net-flix and Theraflu until the sun shines again. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As the mud rises and the sno... Full story

  • Seventy-five years ago

    Feb 22, 2017

    The motor barge Paul Bunyan moves barges into Marcus bridge. The bridge spans were moved, one at a time, to Coulee Dam to salvage the wood and steel in them. - Feb. 18, 1942 photo... Full story

  • Kettle Falls marina closure could indicate a larger issue for congresswoman

    Scott Hunter|Feb 15, 2017

    After National Park Service officials announced last week that a marina that serves the north end of Lake Roosevelt would close, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers fired off a quick request for the NPS to reconsider and extend the current concessioner’s contract while the NPS answers several questions. Those five questions appropriately hone in on the specifics of the problem at Kettle Falls, where a marina and houseboat operation’s concessioner contract is up at the end of April. It’s possible that a much broader inquiry would be well worth the t... Full story

  • Why is Rep. Newhouse in favor of giving our property away?

    Peter Bauer|Feb 15, 2017

    Here is an open letter to Congressman Newhouse. Please print it in letters to the editor section. Dear Congressman Newhouse: I am a believer in property rights, though my version of them extends beyond my front lawn. My property includes the clean air I breathe, the clean water I drink, and my public lands. If someone poisons my air or water, they are taking away my property without my permission. Similarly, when federal lands are given away to ‘local control,’ realistically that means giving them to corporations to develop, perhaps to des... Full story

  • Rule reversal protects due process and Second Amendment rights

    Dan Newhouse Representative 4th Dist|Feb 15, 2017

    In December, at the very end of the Obama administration, federal officials finalized a rule that could limit the ability of some seniors who receive Social Security benefits to exercise their Second Amendment rights. The federal rule, submitted by the Social Security Administration (SSA), deals with the implementation of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act of 2007. The rule would require the SSA to submit to NICS the information of anyone who receives Social Security and requests assistance... Full story

  • Senior Profile: Will Friedlander

    Jesse Utz|Feb 15, 2017

    I recently sat down with a young man I have known for a long time. Will “The Thrill” Friedlander is a man of few words, as many of you know, but I was able to extract a few things from the current senior at Lake Roosevelt High School. I asked Will how his final year of high school was going and he gave his typical one-word answer, “Memorable.” After a long pause, he explained. This year the class of 2017 has come together, they are enjoying each other’s differences and discovering their similarities. They realized they have been on this jour... Full story

  • Seventy-two years ago

    Feb 15, 2017

    Eight-sided foundation of new field office under construction on the Ryan dump site. - Jan. 29, 1946... Full story

  • Congressman, how will you keep health care affordable?

    Peter Bauer|Feb 8, 2017

    This letter is written to Congressman Dan Newhouse in response to his letter to concerned constituents about the planned repeal of the Affordable Care Act: Dear Congressman Newhouse, As you know, many Americans are concerned about their access to health care if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is repealed without a meaningful replacement. One of the key provisions of the ACA, which you supported in your recent letter to me, is that insurers are not permitted to discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions. In other words, someone... Full story

  • A long history of grants and tree plans in Coulee Dam

    Bruce Bartoo|Feb 8, 2017

    Another grant application for your spending enjoyment has been written by Councilmember Gayle Swagerty and submitted to the Community Forestry Assistance Grant Program, a part of the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. The Project Name for the Town of Coulee Dam is the “Urban Forest Management and Maintenance Plan.” In my letter of Jan. 25, I stated that the next grant application would cost the citizens of Coulee Dam $10,000. Well, I was wrong. The actual cost to the Town of Coulee Dam will be $11,108.45. The total cost of thi... Full story

  • Washington has lots riding on NAFTA

    Don C. Brunell|Feb 8, 2017

    In 1993, President Bill Clinton was pictured holding a Washington state apple while promoting the virtues of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). That photo only underscored the importance of the agreement and our trade with Mexico and Canada. Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the nation. The Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) reported last November that Washington state exported at least $134.5 billion worth of goods to Canada and Mexico since the agreement was signed. The dust-up over NAFTA focuses on Mexico from... Full story

  • The week of "supers"

    Jesse Utz|Feb 8, 2017

    The Super Bowl was Sunday, and if you missed it you missed a little bit of NFL history. Tom Brady and Coach Bill Belichick solidified their spots in the annals of Best QB and Best Coach of all time. Granted, I do not care for either of them, but the results of Sunday’s game made it perfectly clear. Tom Brady must be mentioned with the likes of Montana, Manning, Favre and Elway as the greatest of all time; and, yes, I must admit, as much as it hurts to say this, he may be on top of that list. T... Full story

  • Seventy-two years ago

    Feb 8, 2017

    The O'Donnell brothers, Colin and "Spud," emerge from the waters of the Columbia River, below the downstream face of Grand Coulee Dam. These professional divers were engaged by the Bureau of Reclamation to assist in the river channel improvement operations. – Feb. 20, 1945 photo... Full story

  • Time to burst the bubbles

    Feb 1, 2017

    Readers of The Star should understand that opinions published on these pages do not necessarily represent this newspaper’s position. We print many articles that do not. That we would do so seems to surprise some. That very surprise is, in and of itself, an indicator of something that has gone terribly wrong in our society, and it’s getting worse rapidly. The concept that civil discourse, our ability to argue a subject and hear all sides, is a necessary skill for democratic society, seems to be getting lost. Or perhaps “violently explo... Full story

  • Grant applications will cost money

    Bruce Bartoo|Feb 1, 2017

    To all of the residents of Coulee Dam: With Mayor Wilder PLEADING for passage, the Town Council voted three to two and approved the Recreation Trails Programs Resolution #16-2322 for the Candy Point/Crown Point Trailhead Restoration Project Grant. So, residents of Coulee Dam, you may have just won the opportunity to build a brand-new public bathroom and it will only cost you a mere $25,500, and that is not all you may have won. If this grant is funded by the state and passed by the Town Council, you will also get the chance to pay for all of... Full story

  • Re: "My fellow Americans" (Jan 25) Jesse's article right on

    Linda and Herb Sherburne|Feb 1, 2017

    My wife and I are in our seventies and have voted in local, state and national elections many times. You win sometimes, you lose sometimes. Jesse’s article was right on point. Very well done. Herb and Linda Sherburne Coulee Dam... Full story

  • Require common sense and accountability for public lands

    Dan Newhouse Representative 4th Dist|Feb 1, 2017

    As Washingtonians, all we have to do to enjoy some of the most beautiful natural scenery anywhere is to look out the window or take a short drive to one of our spectacular national parks or forests. We treasure our access to public lands, but we also demand accountability and transparency for the way those lands are managed. We keep in mind the legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt, who once said, “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not impaired in v... Full story

  • Continue helping the youth

    Jesse Utz|Feb 1, 2017

    Our youth can sometimes get a bad rap. A small group of rebellious teens can sometimes make an impression on an individual that defines an entire generation in that person’s eyes. The words disconnected, lazy, distracted and entitled are some of the terms used today to describe the upcoming adults who will be leading us before we know it. To be honest, if I look back at my own childhood and think about where I saw myself then, I did not see me standing where I stand now. What was important to me then is not now, and the maturity that can h... Full story

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