News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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We don’t have all the comforts of city life in this community, but we don’t always realize what we do love about life here. When we lose one little aspect of it, even temporarily, we can get cranky. That’s been the experience of many since the emergency repair work began on the SR-155 bridge over the Columbia River as our little region has suffered the absolute injustice of the addition of traffic lights. The horror! Probably, when engineers were faced with an emergent need to specify the deck repairs on the bouncy, clanking bridge surfa...
Why do people vote against their best interests? This age-old question is relevant for many Michael Baumgartner voters. My father many years ago opined that people so dreamt of joining the rich that they closely related to them and voted with them. But economic mobility has greatly diminished, including by the billionaire-friendly “One Big Beautiful Bill” championed by Baumgartner, so those dreams should be rudely awakened by reality. Hard work now may not ensure economic security. Vowing to make Democrat Barack Obama a one-term president, lon...
The recent news that our national debt has swollen to $40 trillion should be the “bucket of ice water” America needs to finally address our financial woes. Our nation is on an unsustainable borrowing trajectory, and it is getting much worse! If left unattended, we will drown in red ink. The federal debt is larger than the entire value of the goods and services produced in our country. Our economy, as measured by gross domestic product, was valued at over $32 trillion in the second quarter of this year, according to the Bureau of Economic Ana...
August 27, 1900, U.S. Army physician James Carroll purposefully infected himself with Yellow Fever using a single mosquito. Carroll developed a severe case of Yellow Fever. This selflessness allowed his colleague, Army pathologist Water Reed, prove that mosquitoes transmitted this deadly disease. Prior to the findings of Drs. Carroll and Reed, yellow fever epidemics were common in the American South. Unknown was how the disease was transmitted. Large numbers of people would leave the South for the entire summer when the epidemics were common....
I have seen 90 birthdays come and go. If I am fortunate enough to be alive in November, I will vote for John Duresky for 4th District Representative in the US Congress. The 4th District is huge and diverse. Congressman John Duresky will be good for ALL in the 4th District. Georgene Fitzgerald...
I have discussed in previous articles about how risk insurance in the state of Washington is out of control. But how did we get here? In the 1960s, Washington lawmakers waived something called sovereign immunity for the state, counties, cities, and other local governments. Sovereign immunity is legal protection that generally keeps government from being sued. Back then, Washington lawmakers chose to remove that protection so people harmed by government negligence could seek fair compensation. That wasn’t wrong, but the state went too far. W...
August 19, 1934, Adolf Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany, with the combined of powers of Chancellor and President. This was the culmination of Hitler’s rise to supreme power that began in January 1933 when he was appointed Chancellor. It took several legislative acts for this to happen, as well as the killing of more than 100 people who were deemed a threat to Hitler’s quest for decisive power. To gain the consolidated power Hitler wanted, and ultimately got, referendums were used as the Nazis believed that they did not need to operate wit...
Thankfully, more Americans are saying “Thank You” again and more frequently. It is the best way to offer your sincere appreciation. A 2026 StudyFinds.com national survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found that the average American says “thank you” more than 2,200 times a year, equating to about six times per day. Importantly, 57% of respondents reported saying “thank you” more frequently than the year before.” The survey also determined that Americans are feeling more thankful overall, with 55% saying they have more to be grateful for this year esp...
As I read through the long article on the sale of the school, I went from an interested reader to an upset one. This increased each time the article noted the comments of the realtor involved as if she represented the district and the community. It was quite clear that, she represents herself and I would think that the Superintendent and Board would have made that clear. They have that responsibility and from the tone of the article neither exercised that right. I’m sad that the use of part of the school wasn’t set up before it was offered for...
Well, well, well… I see in the Spokesman Review that the Washington State Democrats at their state convention in Spokane adopted a party plank to “study and implement” a plan for reparations. Washington became a state in 1889. Long after slavery was abolished. No one in this state has ever been a slave or owned one. What are the Dems thinking? Olympia is broke. Raiding state pension funds, raising taxes, cutting services. Now they want to make payments to a select group? This ought to raise the hackles on everyone’s neck. Maybe the Native...
August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt. It provided a system of Federal old-age benefits, and enabling states to make more adequate provision for aged persons, blind persons, dependent and impaired children, maternal and child welfare, public health and the administration of their unemployment compensation laws. The act was born out of the Committee on Economic Security that Roosevelt created in June 1934. The committee was tasked with creating an economic security bill. The committee was...
Warning lights continue to flash red for Washington’s economy. Employers are becoming more pessimistic about the state economy and increasingly looking outside Washington to expand. At this pivotal moment, Washington needs a long-term economic development plan that gives employers the confidence to invest, grow and build their future here. In the latest statewide employer survey by the Association of Washington Business, just 10% of employers say the state economy is strong, while nearly four in 10 (38%) describe it as weak — up from 26% a yea...
Here is a story you may find interesting: I grew up on Roosevelt Drive in Grand Coulee. There was a nice pool in Mason City (Coulee Dam) just a little ways past the bridge. It cost a quarter to get into the pool to swim and cool off. Around 1951 or so, when I was around 10 years old, on some hot summer days, I would beg a quarter from my mother and walk all the way to the pool — about 3 miles. I walked down Martin Road, past the sewage pond, Weaver’s gas station, the Silver Dollar Tavern, and Dover’s Cafe to the main highway and then towar...
A special thank you goes to Dannee St. Pierre and Cindy Parra, who prepared the food and hosted the fundraiser at Auntie Dannee’s Restaurant Friday in a fundraiser to help people affected by recent fires. Their hard work, hospitality, and generosity made the evening possible. The Coulee Dam Wrestling Club would also like to recognize the generous community members whose donations helped make the fundraiser such a success. Claudia Hevener donated the bread, Lonna Bussert donated the cookies, and Sam Halvorsen donated the meat. Their kindness a...
August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been adopted by many southern states after the Civil War, like literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting. The act came 95 years after the Fifteenth Amendment to our Constitution. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s brought focused attention to the issue of voting rights. In the Southern states, African Americans faced many obstacles to simple act of vote. There were poll taxes, literacy tests, and e...
According to Cosmopolitan, the shag haircut of the 1970s has become all the rage in 2026. That makes me grumpy because I’m still upset about the David Cassidy shag haircut my sisters made me get in 1973, when I was 11. Mimicking a Teen Idol As I explain more fully in my book, “Misadventures of a 1970s Childhood,” Cassidy, the heartthrob star of TV’s “The Partridge Family,” was a huge star in 1973. Like millions of teenage girls, my sisters had a major crush on him. They told me I’d be the first kid at St. Germaine Catholic School to part my ha...
There is a bruhaha in the Federal Legislative and Executive branches. The flap is caused by wildfire smoke. Specifically, wildfire smoke originating in Canada. The President and some congressional representatives, following his lead, are demanding that Canada properly maintain its forests, prevent wildfires, and keep the smoke from crossing over the United States border. All the while, the United States is in the midst of an active wildfire season. According to the National Interagency Fire...
If I ever had to pick someone worthy of the title, it would be my eldest son, Paul. Paul completed 35 years as manager of the Seven Lakes Water District over a year ago. To celebrate, Paul bought a sleeping trailer and with his pickup headed for Alaska. He wanted to give himself a present. He spent three months wandering throughout Alaska, on his own. I talked to him almost daily by phone. He gave himself some sort of gift. He was alone, as he has been on most of his outings. Here are a few of his outings, not necessarily in order. Paul cut...
While my family was in South Korea recently for our youngest and quietest daughter’s senior trip, from which she brought home the country’s entire inventory of cosmetic products, I noticed several things that Korea does better than we do here in the U.S., namely toilet technology, public transportation hygiene, and professional baseball diversions (i.e., cheerleaders). But there were also a few things that I missed about America (other than chips and salsa) while I was expanding my cultural, culinary, and K-Pop horizons in South Korea. Fir...
Some of our nation’s thinkers are coming around to the conclusion that maybe our inclination to keep things fair for all individuals all the time has been accidentally making things worse in a number of ways for all of us, with some serious consequences. But one idea could suggest a way to solutions. Take our housing shortage, for instance. Any diehard capitalist will cite the principal that if you discourage supply, demand will rise, along with prices, as supply goes down. That pretty much describes the current housing market, the paucity o... Full story
As I exited a convenience store the other day, in a red town in upstate New York, a tabloid newspaper headline caught my eye. It blared that “DON” (no last name needed) was threatening to slap new tariffs on Canada as punishment for its wildfire smoke. A trio of local dudes – working stiffs, judging by the tools on their belts – paused with their coffees to read the headline. They vocally guffawed. “Now he’s blaming Canada!” said one. “What a moron!” said another. That’s where we are right now. The guy is a laughingstock. Trump’s latest denu...
Millions of people across America and Canada are choking from wildfire smoke. Unfortunately, it has become an annual occurrence. Currently, thick smoke from hundreds of active Canadian wildfires has triggered widespread air quality alerts across at least 20 northern states. Wildfires are a natural part of forests – of which Canada (and U.S.) have vast swathes. Those massive infernos have worsened in recent years. For example, in Canada in 2023 fires razed 37 million acres– an area larger than England – while the 2025 blazes burned 20.5 million...
This might be worth contemplating, or not, but for the first time in at least 30 years, we heard no fireworks in Coulee Dam other than the official show off the dam. Police actually wrote a report to say that they had no fireworks reports. Local firefighters did not have to respond to fire emergencies in local towns. The closest local report came from Steamboat Rock State Park. Fire, and firefighting, are not as simple things to figure out as one might assume, with as many possible scenarios as the infinite mix of factors such as wind...
Now, I’ve lived here just a little over half my life, 41 years to be exact. Most of the other years were spent in what could be called a real company town. Yes, they controlled the jobs, business, the media (newspaper, radio station), churches, schools, and etc. Things aren’t perfect here, but it’s sure a lot better than where I came from. Kind of refreshing to hear more than one side of the stories. Thanks for providing many sides. Yours truly, Robert F. Piekarsk...
If you are planning an international trip, here are three things you need to take along: money, money and money. Ask your bank to research the money exchange rate for the countries you plan to visit. They will stall around, but assure them someone in their banking system does this on a regular basis for their clients. If they give you negatives, you are with the wrong bank. Now the work begins. Go to the travel experts whose books will give you a lot of information. Start reading and taking notes. This is work, but also fun. Your library is a...