News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Thank you to the beautiful and magenta Maple trees on Ferry in Coulee Dam who provided shade, habitat, cooling for 90 years. I am sorry you were mowed down for a sidewalk for people to walk on. Which nobody wants to walk on because it is too hot. So sorry nobody could figure out that a walkway through you would be a nice place for people and habitat to live and thrive. I’m so sorry for your loss. Gayle Swagerty...
With the basketball season coming to a close, we will be into baseball. It will be a strange season; I can’t name a single player, on any team. I remember that when I was covering baseball, I kept track of several big league players, many of them from the Boise Valley where I worked for the Idaho Statesman newspaper. Baseball was big in the valley, partially because we had a Milwaukee farm club locally. The Boise Braves were part of the Pioneer League, a class C franchise. But baseball was big for another reason. We had several players from t...
Although New Zealand and Washington are located a half a world apart, they have lots in common — beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams and lakes, and vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are struggling to rid their air sheds of CO2 and other greenhouse gases coming from the burning of carbon fuels (coal, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel) in vehicles, home heating and electric-power generation. New Zealand and Washington share a common goal to be carbon neutral by 2...
The Colville Tribes have reason to be proud of Michelle Stanger. Michelle just returned from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she competed along with 26 other Indian national representatives for national honors and the opportunity to represent Indian tribes, teaching diversity, throughout the world. Michelle was selected as Miss Colville Confederated Tribes last July and has been representing the 12 tribes since then. She won local recognition through competition on the reservation. Michelle and her mother Lucy drove to New Mexico in late April,...
You are invited to attend the re-naming ceremony May 27th, at 1 p.m. in the Tonasket Legacy Park. Highway #20 in Okanogan County will become the “Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Highway.” The ceremony will have the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Honor Guard presenting the colors, the Tribal Singers “The Citizens,” singing the honor song. Louie Wilson will be the master of ceremonies and will introduce the dignitaries in attendance. We have heard from our 4th District Congressman, Dan Newhouse, and our 7th District state represe...
Small businesses play a critical role in creating jobs, driving economic growth, and contributing to the overall well-being of rural communities. In many areas, they are the backbone of the local economy, providing essential goods and services. Spring offers a good reminder of the importance of these entrepreneurs’ contributions, with National Small Business Week, Small Business Month, and other recognitions celebrated in May. For consumers, it’s a great time to research what’s available in their community, instead of hitting the road to shop...
President Joe Biden is seeking re-election. I wish he were younger and I might favor other Democrats — Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Governor, and 2020 presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker come to mind. But Biden’s record is impressive and he may have the best chance of winning the presidency. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated openly, and Republicans have followed, a commitment to oppose everything Democrats proposed from the day former President Barack Obama was inaugurated, even if originally Republican...
I have been to the nation’s capital city. My efforts have been to see as many famous places as a day there will allow. My first visit was a real disappointment. We had hired a tour guide to shepherd us around, believing that we would see more if we didn’t have to worry about the traffic, a wise decision. I recalled these visits when I went out to cut several tulips for the house. We were driving around, and our driver stopped and said, “I’m going to get those tulip bulbs.” There was a large flower bed where someone had dug up the tulips. T...
Some would argue that spring is the most wonderful time of the year in Washington. Throughout our state fruit trees blossom, vibrant tulip fields bloom, and colorful lentils carpeted the fields on the Palouse. It is when photographers and sightseers have a field day. While spring is eye-catching, it is the late summer and fall when our state reaps the benefits of the harvest. It is when crops yield “green,” generating cash in markets around the world. While Washington ranks 14th in agr...
In just a few days, Title 42, a measure which allows border agents to automatically turn away migrants without documentation at the border, is set to expire. And when it does, border officials anticipate tens of thousands of migrants per day to come rushing across our southern border, further exacerbating our already unprecedented border crisis. This is unacceptable, and we cannot sit idly by. The numbers paint a harrowing picture. Since President Biden took office, there have been over 5 million illegal crossings of our southern border, and...
In the April 19, 2023 edition of The Star, one of your readers wrote a letter asking about mental health resources in the Coulee Dam/Grand Coulee area. I am happy to reassure your reader that help is available in your area. Your reader was correct that “a person’s mental and emotional health are as important as their physical health,” especially with all the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, which was a very difficult time for so many reasons. There is a marked increase in the need for behavioral health services as a result, espec...
I found it interesting to read how well the local hospital did last month. It made headline news. Such enthusiasm over more people needing to pay for medical care. It’s unfortunate for the care center that this comes with less government payouts and more insurance forms, since it is harder when you have to show your work. Hopefully they can adjust. I’m glad we do have medical care here, and I know they do much good, but it was a strange article....
So why am I writing this letter? I have asked the Chief of Police for 20 years to have an officer do speed control above the canal on SR-174. The answer is always the same: Ok, Rob. Then there is nothing done. I have asked several officers if they would be traffic control on SR-174. Their answers are, I work for the Grand Coulee Dam Project, or there is no place to sit by the road above the canal. People don’t have to pull over if they don’t want to, and, it costs too much to write a ticket. With the cost of gas and time going to court and peo...
Hearing the deadly dust storm on Monday caused me some alarm. The storm was reported to be in Indiana, where I have a close friend. So I called Warner Bartleson, who is well known in the coulee. Warner was hospital administrator here for four years in the early 1990s, during the struggle to save the hospital. Warner said they had the wind, but no dust. However, the area was visited by four tornadoes recently. Warner’s wife, Sara, had recently suffered a bad fall and is still recovering from that. He remarked that the years he was here were r...
Intentionally, the Washington State Legislature, Governor Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, are completely destroying our state. The Democrat controlled legislature has singlehandedly absolved you from having any say over the health of your children as it pertains to gender identity. If your child runs away from home and seeks shelter at a state facility, while seeking gender-transitioning treatment, including puberty blocking drugs that can render a child sterile for life, the state will not contact the parent or guardian. This bill,...
Central Washington is home to a diverse and reliable energy portfolio, and with abundant natural resources at our doorstep—from hydropower to wind energy—we are proud to play a leading role in our nation’s energy independence. If we are to ensure the United States remains at the forefront of energy production and innovation, then our federal policy must take a page out of Central Washington’s book and aggressively pursue an “all-of-the-above” energy approach. The idea of “all-of-the-above” energy is simple: we utilize all available sourc...
It seems to be our human nature to blame someone when events take a turn that we don’t like. When deadly contagious disease struck the ancient Greeks and Romans, they thought that humans had displeased the gods, and the gods were punishing the human race. During the Middle Ages, there was a time now known as the “little ice age.” The summer weather in Europe was cold and wet for years or decades at a time. Crops failed and people suffered from hunger and starvation. People blamed minority elements of the population for the bad weather, and t...
I would like to know how much of our city budget goes to our police department. How long do they get to destroy our city finances? We have eight officers and a sniper. I do notice there is a new SUV in the sniper’s garage (unmarked). I do notice the force also has a new unmarked SUV plus a unmarked cruiser with a police bumper sticker. We lost the Electric City contract, but we did not lose an officer. We hire officers that do not work for the city; they work for the Grand Coulee Dam Project, but where will there retirement come from? Not t...
President Biden is unwisely “throttling up” plans to ditch carbon fuels unilaterally despite the extreme consequences of doing so. He wants to accelerate replacement of gas/diesel vehicles with electrics (EVs) which will be recharged by electrical grids energized by solar, wind and hydro power---- not coal, natural gas, or nuclear fuels. Additionally, in our state, Governor Inslee mimicked Berkeley (CA) building codes stopping the installation of natural gas stoves and water heaters; however, a federal appeals court overturned the ban. The cou...
I think there’s a song about that. In a few days it will be 75 years since I graduated from Palouse High School. Palouse will always be where I am from, and my home away from home. We had 24 in our graduation class, 15 of us attending all 12 grades together. We didn’t have kindergarten back then. Palouse is at the center of a rich farming area — never a crop failure, farmers like to say. So, the kids don’t move around much. In addition to the 15 who stuck it out together, another two left after their junior year. Among my classmates, one bec...
Right now, there are more job openings in the United States than people looking for work. Allowing anyone to qualify for welfare when they simply don’t want to work isn’t making things any better. Medicaid and food stamps were originally designed as a safety net during a time of need. However, it has expanded much beyond its original intent and is now disincentivizing work for able-bodied adults. Congress must reorient these programs toward what they were originally designed to do—help Americans who are in need to be strong members of the workf...
I appreciate the “public service announcement” in last week’s Star newspaper concerning sexual abuse and information about available hotlines and help. Since not everyone, especially teens, seniors and those with special needs, is able to travel 50 or more miles to receive emergency or ongoing care for their mental health issues, what, if any, services are available closer to home? I realize our community sits in extreme corners of several counties and that it’s difficult for our hospital to persuade medical professionals to work in our are...
Our youngest son, Nathan is visiting the 37 courthouses in Oregon with the intent to create a book. He received his bachelor and master degrees from the University of Oregon. For the past 25 years he has been teaching at a private school in Portland. He proposed getting a sabbatical from teaching to do the book and was granted a leave. Nathan got the idea after stopping by and taking photos of the courthouse in Davenport. All of his active life as far back as high school, he has had something to do with photography. When I was involved with a...
Rural small businesses and agricultural producers looking to save money by reducing energy costs may be eligible for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). With a boost in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the program is offering $1 billion in grants and guaranteed loans to assist with investments in renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. This may include the installation of hydropower, geothermal, wind, or solar energy systems, updating heating and cooling systems, or switching from a diesel to an electric...
Today, employers continue to struggle finding enough workers while attempting to bring people back to the office (work sites). A key problem is there simply aren’t enough people to fill available jobs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported at the end of February, there were 9.9 million job openings and 5.9 million unemployed workers. The Chamber added if every unemployed person in the country found a job, there would still be 4 million vacant positions. As America emerges from the Covid-19 p...