News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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My wife and I were recently involved in some training that is taking us one step closer to what God is obviously calling us to do. More on that some other time; I want to talk to you about a little hands-on assignment we had to do in the class. The demonstration was simple enough in the beginning. The instructor talked about the 10 building blocks needed for every person to survive. Things like significant others, values, information, groups, personal identification, jobs, places of significance, your history, and so on. We then would place... Full story
Camp Keller, a 375-man W.P.A. camp, located about 21 miles up river from the dam. – July 25, 1939... Full story
You probably can’t blame the heat; this is the coolest July in recent memory. So maybe some locals are taking their cues about civility, or lack of it, from national movements and leaders. They shouldn’t, but it can be hard to avoid. Reportedly, there was a lot of shouting going on in local public meetings last week. While it’s undoubtedly true that people are frustrated, they are not more so than citizens of the past. Our system of government, never easy, almost ensures some degree of frustration. But when reasoned, heated debate gives way t... Full story
I played football with Geary Oliver, and he was the ultimate teammate. He sacrificed for others; his interest was always in the team and its needs, and he sacrificed his ego for that end. This was 1978, over 30 years ago. We were a good team with a winning record who missed the league championship by one game. Geary has been involved with LRHS football through many of the recent years, thin times often. When he took over the head coaching role, I was very excited to see his team progress and the excitement for football return to LRHS. Despite t... Full story
Over the last 35 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex remains largely unchanged. However, our entertainment has changed a lot. We still swim, jump the waves and build sand castles, but our board games, puzzles and playing cards have been replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart phones and movies downloaded from the internet. We still take lots of pictures, but rather than taking them to film processing centers, we use cellphone cameras to instantly text a... Full story
One of my best friends is a cop. As a matter of fact, I can think of about 10 people I consider friends who are police officers around the country. I was a reserve officer once, myself. I wore a uniform and a badge and qualified with a gun to use only when absolutely necessary. I moved on to the fire and EMS field but remained friends with them and still worked beside them daily. I know firsthand what an officer must deal with during every shift. I also know that the average citizens interaction with law enforcement is only during those times... Full story
"Too Big a Load!" – Although this truck alone weighs almost 60,000 pounds, it is not unusual for one or two huge granite armor rocks to lift the front wheels from the ground. The truck can carry a load of 20 to 30 tons if properly balanced, and frequently a single boulder constitutes a complete load. – July 11, 1950.... Full story
I have been asked by the school board to write a letter of resignation as head football coach at Lake Roosevelt High School. The only reason I was given was that the district wanted to go in a different direction. While I do not agree with this request, I respect the authority of the board to make decisions that they feel are in the best interest of the district. I have agreed to do so. I do not believe this is in the best interest of the district. I have served the district faithfully from 1994 to 2001 and again from 2007 through June of... Full story
With some trepidation, I picked up last Wednesday’s Star newspaper to see what would be reported about the Festival of America event that took place on July 3rd and 4th. I was pleased to see that the “Holiday weekend had its problems” article by Scott Hunter kindly stated the facts of what happened during the festival, but didn’t wander into the nasty rhetoric I had been hearing over the previous few days about the event. I’ve been thinking a lot about how mean and nasty words can hurt feelings and turn a bad situation even worse, and how k... Full story
The recent events in Dallas and around the country have erupted a shockwave of violence and heartache across our land. This has left many of us citizens shaking our heads, our fingers and in our boots. I have a lot to say about what we are watching daily on TV and seeing on the internet, but this column is not that big so I will try and do the subject justice in a few paragraphs. First off, for part of my childhood, I was raised in a black home. I have a mixed-race sister and two black brothers. I saw the prejudice against them in our town. I d... Full story
This is a Centennial Year, and I doubt anyone has thought about celebrating with parades, picnics and fireworks. The event, a world-changing event in fact, is something we mortal folks don’t want to experience ever. The year 1816 is known as the “Year without Summer” and the cause was unknown for nearly a century. Finally, with scientific research and historic records, a determination was made that the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in the spring of 1815 created the year without summer. The news of this event did not travel fast; it was p... Full story
I’d like to publicly thank all the individuals, businesses, and organizations who participate in making Koulee Kids Fest happen. This is the second year I’ve attended with three of my grandchildren, and they have had fun all day long! So, thank you, Grand Coulee Dam area, for “Kids Fest.” My grandkids and I will be back again! Sara Rice Wilbur... Full story
The column by Jesse Utz on huckleberries touched on a subject of special interest to me. Hopefully, the Colville fire areas will bounce back at a quicker pace than Jesse projects in regard to the huckleberries. The intense heat in these cases is obviously the problem. If the underground rooting systems were destroyed, the slow recovery will possibly result. Fire is the best friend of the huckleberry, but the massive, hot fires change the equation. Hopefully, Jesse will provide follow-up columns in the coming years on the recovery. Thank you,... Full story
“As The Stomach Turns” is possibly how many of us Tribal Members felt, who read the Bill Of Impeachment content against former Colville Tribal Court Chief Judge Scot Stuart in November 2015. While we read it with interest, many of us rolled our eyes with the anticipation of another routine Clowncil effort in FAIL. Sure enough, we could see right away, the Clowncil would avoid its duty to lawfully impeach under the weight of the most numerous, immorally disgusting, and egregious of offenses as outlined in the Bill of Impeachment. The usual sus... Full story
The last few days, Karrie and I spent with friends who have adopted us as family. They have a large family with a lot of moving parts and we blended in the best we could and felt like a part of the root system of this great tree. We became an intricate part of a great machine that helped in the kitchen, learned in the garden and laughed in the family room. The reason I mention this, is because that is how we should be as a community. You have heard me say this before, but I think it is worth repeating. We need to look out for one another, help... Full story
In the presidential campaign leading up to the November elections, hopefully we will hear about ways to “Make America Great Again!” One of the most effective strategies is to entice U.S. companies with foreign factories to relocate back home. Another is to encourage those who remained in America to reinvest here. Discussions about bolstering domestic production of goods and services did not start this year. They are largely rooted in our nation’s anemic job creation over the last decade. A “Reshoring Institute” launched in 2014 at the Unive... Full story
Date unknown Nespelem pow wow grounds...
I didn’t know Jim Boyd well, just enough to like him and admire his talent. So it came as a complete surprise when the sudden news of his death overwhelmed me last week. That reaction likely has something to do with being nearly the same age, but it was more than that. Boyd was an artist who was a leader, someone who could articulate for those of us on the outside of his culture, his tribe, the importance of the commonplace and of the sacred. Because he had that ability, politics somehow seemed less about self-interest than about grappling w... Full story
Over the past three years, the current county commissioners have outsourced jobs to contractors in other counties. I assume they want to reduce the size of government and lower expenditures. But this has very negative outcomes on all of us. Okanogan County has the lowest annual income average of its citizens, the smallest population and largest land mass of any of Washington’s counties. Does it make sense that decent middle-class salaries of county workers are sent to and spent in other counties? We don’t like this type of action when big bus... Full story
How old were you when you first learned about Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, and the First Amendment? Fourth grade? High School? It is disturbing that our county commissioners publicly questioned whether a critical editorial comment in the Omak Chronicle violated its contract as newspaper of record. Fortunately, their attorney urged the commissioners to drop that thought like a hot potato. While ignorance of basic founding principles of our country is often tolerated in friends, we expect much more from elected officials. Reassurance... Full story
The elections process is not usually grist for inflammatory rhetoric. But this year has been different. Republican Donald Trump labeled the GOP primary process “crooked.” Democrat Bernie Sanders suggested his party’s use of super-delegates made its nominating process a “rigged system.” For many voters, the intricacies of voting rules quickly became a topic of overriding interest. Now that the primaries are over, I hope Americans remain just as intrigued by the laws governing general-election voting in their states. Because at the moment, t... Full story
My wife and I have had it on our hearts for years to be foster parents. We even looked into adoption at one time and almost adopted a little girl from North Dakota. For many different reasons things just never panned out and we put a value on our family time and time together over other things. But here we are again at a crossroads, and this time we hear Gods calling loud and clear. We made the first step this past week, with many more steps to come. But how we got to this point is the better story. I already told you we have thought about... Full story
In 1938, this scenic site was leased to C.D. Newland, who subsequently erected and equipped The Green Hut restaurant, shown in the foreground, and landscaped the adjoining grounds. – July 4, 1939 photo... Full story
On June 14, I was part of a group of interested people who met with the Okanogan County Commissioners and staff members of the Juvenile Justice Center to listen to a presentation of their work with our troubled kids. The presentation included statistics, but most interesting was a description of how the group worked with our kids. Two statistics did stand out to me. The Center, over the past four years, has served an average of 16 kids daily. Over the past month there were 73 visits to the kids by family members. This, to me, indicates that a... Full story
It was an honor to accept the award for POWER as Organization of the Year, but the real honor goes to all the volunteers over the years who have made the projects possible. A special thank you to Pat Holbert, Dick Berry, Ray Burge and Doug Patrick for all the years they spent feeding the fish; without their dedication to take control of the feeding for years, POWER could not have accomplished that. Also, thanks to the Bureau of Reclamation here in Grand Coulee & Ephrata for all their help and cooperation — very much appreciated. A special n... Full story