News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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When Trump ran into trouble during his first term, he reportedly cried out, “Where’s my Roy Cohn?!” Alas, his favorite thug-fixer-lawyer had been dead since 1986 (having perished just six weeks after he was disbarred for fraud). Nobody in Trump’s embattled orbit was qualified to pick up the torch and run with Cohn’s credo, which, was quite simple: If they hit ya hard, hit ‘em back twice as hard. Back in the day, Trump told the press, “If you need someone to get vicious toward an opponent, you get Roy.” Now he has Cohn 2.0, courtesy of slavish s...
Anyone following state news lately may have observed the following “bridge events”: 1) SR 165 has been closed permanently at the Fairfax bridge over the Carbon River due to bridge support failure. This has closed the northwest entry into Mt. Rainier National Park. 2) The bridge on SR 410 between Buckley and Enumclaw has been closed for bridge truss repair after a Vac Truck struck the bridge. 3) The SR 169 bridge over the Green River gorge area between Maple Valley and Enumclaw has been closed for girder repair. The latter two have resulted in...
Every time I turn on the news, I hear that nothing gets done in America because “we’re so divided.” Meanwhile, I have neighbors, family members, and friends of all political persuasions, and we are perfectly able to collaborate and communicate. Blaming division in the country sounds like BS to me. That line gets repeated so often it’s practically a lullaby; soothing, familiar, and completely misleading. Yes, Americans are entitled to disagree. That disagreement is part of the dynamism of this American experiment. It’s precisely why we elect...
We had a family gathering this past week and the topic became my wife’s recipe for chocolate frosting. Among scores of recipes my wife kept in a steel box was the frosting recipe that was on family’s minds. My oldest daughter, Kathy, took the recipe box to type up a number of recipes and see to it that the entire family got copies. It took her some time to do it because the recipes were handwritten. The chocolate frosting recipe was among them. When we had family gatherings my wife would always bake a chocolate cake and make the frosting. Som...
Politicians have been lying since the dawn of our formerly vibrant democracy. Random examples abound. John Adams and his pamphleteering surrogates said that Thomas Jefferson if elected would shut down all the churches. JFK tried to pump up his anti-Soviet credentials by inveighing against a Republican-created “missile gap” that in truth did not exist. Bill Clinton said, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” But nothing in our history can compete with the industrial strength lies that emanate with fascistic discipl...
I tip my hat to a job well done by Kelly and her entourage who make the Run the Dam so successful each year. They make a complex task seem simple. Our local prep talent Caden Portch won the 5K race with family members in tow. I’m not sure how Randy Spotts and Rick King passed through security. Locals tell me they see me running. I appreciate their kind words, but let’s get real, at best it is not even a jog. It is an old-man trot. I’ve had people walk past me — embarrassing! Recently, a girl and her little brother with training wheels on his bi...
As we barrel towards a government shutdown due to Senate Democrats’ refusal to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), essential programs and services here in Central Washington are now at risk. Congress has the responsibility under our Constitution to fund the federal government, and allowing a shutdown is a disservice to the American people. If the government shuts down, farmers and ranchers in the Methow and Yakima Valleys will lose access to Farm Service Agency employees due to furlough. Farm operating loans, conservation and crop d...
From the Star Archives – October 5, 1950, Safeway Building gets Paint Coating – “Painting of the exterior of the new Safeway building west of the city hall in Grand Coulee is now completed, and work of installing the display cases and interior fixtures is in progress. The grocery firm expects to have the new establishment ready for opening within a few weeks, and plans are underway to make the opening event a gala occasion.” Source(s): The Star Archives Compiled by Bob Valen...
Having good neighbors makes me a very lucky person. Across the street I have the “Dahlia Lady,” Denise Anderson. While writing this I am looking at the prettiest bouquet of flowers you can imagine. Every few days Denise brings over a beautiful array of flowers. She is certainly the “Dahlia Queen” of the city. Well, make it the state. This has been going on for years. The flower’s pollen is a problem for her to keep the flowers in her own home. So, no problem here. She will walk the dahlias over a couple of times a week. I almost always ha...
The mood of the nation is ugly and getting worse. Deadly violence from guns, knives, fire-bombings and vehicles is rising. Social media is toxic. Things have to change for all of our sake. The tone of the discourse is hateful. For those of us who started as journalists in the late 1960s, we are left wondering if public trust can be restored and civility is again possible. Over the last 40 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex is still largely unchanged. As long as...
The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a tragedy and part of a horrifying wave of political violence in America. Kirk was a husband and father of two small children. He was revered by numerous conservative college students. One could be hard pressed to name many conservative political personalities in America who were more well-known or popular on the right, especially among younger people. When I first heard the news, I was shocked. This is a person who was not a family member, relative, close, personal friend, or anyone whom I knew personally....
With the passing of Robert Redford, the world has lost a gifted artist and a staunch defender of animals and the environment. When he learned from PETA that rabbits on angora farms suffer immensely as their fur is torn from their skin while they’re still alive, his Sundance Holdings Group removed all angora from its broad selection of chic cardigans and sweaters online. Long an advocate for horses, Redford joined forces with the former governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, to form the Foundation to Protect New Mexico Wildlife, a group whose...
We are just one month away from the start of hot commissioning at the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) at Hanford, a milestone in the cleanup effort more than 20 years in the making. Throughout my time in Congress, I have supported the Hanford mission and helped deliver resources to the project through my role on the House Appropriations Committee. While federal spending levels and policies change over the years, one thing remains true: Hanford will make history with the vitrification of radioactive waste this fall. Last week, reporting on the U.S....
I was in the Palouse Days parade last Saturday where I was invited to be in it by Janet, who was a St. John when I first knew her. Her dad, Don St. John, was one of my best friends while growing up in Palouse. He and I started in the first grade. Janet and her sister and brother stopped in to see me in Electric City a couple of weeks ago. I was able to tell them things about their parents that they didn’t know. Don invited me out to the farm many times during our early grades. His mom and dad always treated me in a kind way, so it was fun v...
I began a Prayer Vigil for peace and forgiveness in 2010 after I watched a self-proclaimed preacher preaching hate and violence against Muslims. I believed his actions were contrary to the Way of Christ Jesus and dishonored the victims of 9/11 and their loved ones. On Thursday, Sept. 11, we are coming together once again in the spirit of peace to honor those who were killed on 9/11 in 2001 by men who believed that hate and violence are the answer to God’s calling. Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord. And as Christians we must understand that G...
Both at President Trump’s inauguration and at a recent meeting with him, we have seen the richest men in the world from our country cozying up to Trump to be in his good graces. They have all sold their souls for 30 pieces of silver, as Judas did, pushing the less fortunate people in our society to suffer and tough it out. Where is their guilt to go with it? Sincerely, Roz Luther...
The Palouse River used to ice up to a foot thick or better. It was so thick that people ran their cars out on the ice. Cars were a lot lighter back then. The locals would saw the ice to store in the icehouse for families that didn’t have refrigerators. Our icehouse was located across the bridge and adjacent to the river. My dad was in construction at the time and had a yearlong job in Moses Lake. He would come home for the weekends. We had an old-style ice box that was attached to the house and was accessed through a kitchen window. We would p...
In July, Congress passed an unprecedented Working Families Tax Cut, delivering tax relief for families and small businesses while making reforms to Medicaid to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability. Two months prior, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed the biennial state budget which included over $780 million in cuts to Medicaid over the next two years. In fact, the Governor held a performative press conference in Kennewick calling my position on H.R. 1 “morally bankrupt,” even though his signature on the state budget reduc...
September 13, 1959, Soviet satellite Luna 2 became the first spacecraft to make physical contact with another celestial body when it impacted the Moon. The first three attempts to reach the Moon by the Soviets occurred in 1958, all ended in launch failures. Luna 2 impacted in an area about 160 miles from where Apollo 15 landed 12 years later. The satellite carried two metallic spheres with Soviet emblems. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev presented a replica of the spherical pennant to U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower. That sphere can be seen...
Sept. 1 marked five years since the devastating Labor Day Firestorm of 2020 swept through Washington State — one of the most destructive wildfire events in our state’s history. And a day I will never forget. In just 72 hours, over 600,000 acres burned. Entire communities like Malden and Pine City lost 80% of their homes and structures in just a few hours. Hundreds of homes were lost. Families displaced. Lives forever changed. And we lost a little boy’s life as his family tried to outrun the Cold Spring fire. It was a wake-up call. But it was a...
As a kid it was fun to go to the barber shop for a haircut. The barber was Jack Sheets, and the kids all liked him. He had a long, hard bench against the wall, and sometimes, usually on Saturdays, it would fill up. But you never had to worry that someone would take your place in line. Jack always remembered where you stood in the lines, and if you were local he would call you by name. The price then was 25 cents. That was back in the 1930s. Next to the barber chair was Jack’s brass spittoon, usually streaked by near misses. He would let some to...
(Warning: unfair, but hilarious, Colorado stereotypes ahead!) Well, it finally happened. My eldest and most expensive daughter truly left the nest this time. We recently schlepped her from glorious Texas to a mysterious and unaffordable land known as Colorado, where she’ll start a life of her own dodging blizzards, patrons stumbling out of brewhouses, and billowing clouds of smoke from the devil’s lettuce. But not only have we lost our first baby to semi-grown adult-ish-hood roughly a zillion miles away, getting her there was pure “H-E-double h...
September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian Chief of Government Omar Torrijos signed the Panama Canal Treaty and Neutrality Treaty. The agreement relinquished American control over the canal and transferred authority to the Panama Canal Authority. The agreement began on December 31, 1999. The creation of the canal started on May 4, 1904 when Panama granted the United States the right to build, and operate the canal, as well as control the five miles of land on either side of the water passage in exchange for annual payments....
Once again, we come to the community to thank everyone for a fantastic Summer Season at the VET Center. Our American Legion Post appreciates everybody who came by and shopped with us during our sale season. Although it seemed like a really long stretch for those of us who worked every week to gather and prepare all the treasures that we had for sale, the time flew by as we greeted many of the same people on a weekly basis. With all the community support, our sales assisted us with gaining the funds we need to help Veterans in the area. Our...
The local Wayfinder group’s backpack and school supply drive has come to a close with gratitude overflowing for the support in donations and contributions received throughout the communities of Electric City, Grand Coulee, Coulee Dam, Elmer City and Nespelem. Thank you to Electric City Council, Grand Coulee City Council, Jess Ford, Grand Coulee Police Department, Coulee Dam Police Department, Elmer City Council, Coulee Wall Variety Store, Wayfinder members, and residents who supported our quick efforts to assist teachers, families and s...