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 must fix our broken immigration system and combat the rising food costs every single American across the country is facing right now, and we must do it now. Agriculture producers across the country have been facing a labor shortage crisis for years, and recently, it’s only gotten worse. When I served as the Washington State Director of Agriculture, our governor made the decision to deploy prisoners to help pick apples—because there weren’t enough workers to do the job, domestic or foreign. And we’re no better off now than we were then. Curre...
My wife and I lived the first time in the coulee back in 1953-55. I was a lumber grader down at the mill located above the dam. A fellow by the name of Kirkpatick owned 90% of the operation, and a fellow who ran the logging part of the company the other 10%. Logs were floated down the Columbia River to the mill site. With winter coming on, Kirkpatick advised the workers that the mill would shut down until spring. Not wanting to sit idle all winter, I answered an ad in the Spokesman for a grading job in Livingston, Montana. I threw a few things...
There’s an unfortunate trend continuing in Washington and across the nation that must be stopped: the bad behavior of coaches, parents and fans at high school and middle school athletic events. We’ve all seen it: the yelling, harassing, berating, disrespecting and even physically assaulting referees, umpires, and other officials during and after games. And oftentimes, the harassment continues on social media. Perhaps you’ve witnessed it firsthand or even been one of those offenders yourself. Not only is this behavior unacceptable and embar...
We just completed Summer 2022. Before you say, “wait, summer isn’t over yet,” let me remind you there are two ways to look at our seasons. The information here is based on meteorological seasons, not astronomical. Meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle. On the other hand, Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the sun relative to Earth. Meteorological season are as follows -- Spring is March, April and May. Summer is June, July and August. Fall is Septe...
The Friday night of Labor Day weekend my wife and I both got home very late. Bubba Egbert and the Raiders won their football game and Mrs. A. was very thankful that Jessica Tufts is her assistant cheerleading coach. Bubba and Jessica are LR grads. Lori used to coach Jessica as a cheerleader. Bubba played collegiate football and his expert, leave-it-all-on-the field, no drama style will lead to success for the Raiders. I was returning from the Spokane Tribal Powwow where I saw many local folks. I visited with Soy Redthunder (such a wonderful...
From the time Trump came down the escalator to run for President, 99% of the news media ran very derogatory cartoons of Trump. The Star right along with them. But when he beat the establishment’s chosen one Hillary then the establishment went complete crazy. President Trump was one of the best Presidents in a large percentage of the population view. Yes, his tweets and some comments were not presidential. But remember he was not a politician he was a business man. He made promises and kept them, not like Politicians’ that promise but never do w...
Our oldest son Paul is on Yellowstone Lake on a two-week canoe venture. It is his seventh canoe trip on the lake that lies within Yellowstone National Park. He is alone in a part of the country where there are grizzly bear, moose, elk and deer. At night, while in his tent, he hears wolves howling. He judges these kinds of trips on the benefit, rather than the difficulty. And it defines such trips as being dropped in behind the Brooks Range in Alaska, where there are no roads, only the trails cut in the permafrost by migrating caribou. He was...
President Biden’s student-loan debt forgiveness plan is one of the worst decisions I’ve seen this president make. This debt “forgiveness” would have Robin Hood rolling in his grave—it takes from the poor to give to the rich while making things worse for American taxpayers across the country. Let me be clear: there is no such thing as canceling or “forgiving” student loan debt. This debt will be transferred to hardworking American taxpayers—many of whom did not take out student loans—and will only worsen inflation while rewarding overpriced coll...
The recent suggestion that the area consider forming an emergency medical services district is a good one and could lead to a better service for everyone in the area when help is needed. Local leaders should consider it carefully, openly, and with open minds. They should also be mindful that at its core, the idea may be another attempt at an end run around a fundamental problem this community has always had but never faced constructively: lack of unity, even artificially induced disunity. An EMS district could be a great solution if local fire...
Religious factions which intrude on any government, or pursues the governance of its own nation is a rogue religion. 9/11 is a perfect example of how a religion can be used for its own ends. Let us consider that religion is a calling from God. Whether we acknowledge Him or not, He is our Creator, the Father of all peoples, and as such He has authority over all of us. Yet, it has never been His sovereign intention to force His will upon us, but for everyone to be given the freedom to choose. So that those who would answer His call should do so...
This is a continuation of earlier comments that education in America is not properly funded. I had pointed out that we need to rethink the value of teachers and the way we fund education, teachers included. I read a distressing article the other day that said many of our large cities in the U.S. will have to relocate by the end of the century because they will be unlivable due to climate change. The writer pointed out that regions will get so warm as to make them too hot for people to reside there. What makes this, if true, so distressing, is...
Where does all the money for our county roads come from? You may be surprised to know that, in Lincoln County, only about 15% is generated from property tax revenue that is received from parcels of land in the unincorporated areas of the county. Parcels of land in our towns do not pay property taxes for county roads. About 21% comes from the federal government. Most of this money is for competitive projects that the county has applied for, as well as safety money for guardrails and emergency money for such things as the Porcupine Bay Road...
President Joe Biden likes to promote “union jobs” whenever he can, recognizing the tremendous contribution the union movement made in American history in the last century. This century, it’s less clear cut, as union numbers were decimated in most industries over recent decades, but it’s still worth recognizing and pondering. Today, some argue that with the emergence of artificial intelligence and robotics coming on, the role of human workers is actually somewhat questionable. Note that China is planning a large new hydroelectric dam — to be...
I appreciate these letters and I hope people are reading them. So far, we have been lucky in our interaction with the school, and I hope to see that continue — and that is the point of view that I am commenting from. There have been issues here and there but they have ultimately been handled appropriately. I think that an explanation of the specific ways in which the district’s hands are tied with respect to discipline would help the community understand why the school handles certain behaviors in the way they do rather than how people may thi...
With covid numbers down, people have resumed long delayed travel interest. My family is no exception. It’s a test to balance caution and adventure. It started with my grandson, William, from Portland, closing out last year with a nine-week trip through Europe. How you can talk an employer into letting you go for nine weeks and still have your job waiting for you is beyond me. But he did. As a caution, William donned a mask when around large numbers of people and made the best of it. The overwhelming interest on the trip, which included n...
In the early part of the 20th century, some people developed the notion that they could improve society by preventing undesirable people from reproducing. They called their idea eugenics, which means the good gene. The concept was widely adopted by the elite of American society. They would sterilize undesirable people so that those people could not reproduce. The idea won favor with U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. It was endorsed by various members of the American Academy of Medicine and the...
Tensions have steadily risen between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for years now. From the pandemic-era trade wars to military drills around Taiwan, it’s clear the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which controls the PRC, is pursuing its goal of creating a new world order relentlessly. What many aren’t aware of, however, is China has already begun making moves within our own borders. For over a decade, China has continued to expand its global reach with its Belts and Roads Initiative, now with new energy and infra...
A neat trick in American politics is taking advantage of our collective unwillingness to really pay attention to what’s being said. So, when they talk about a real problem, attributing it or at least insinuating it’s due to some nefarious plot or stupidity by the other side, we nod our heads and sleepily agree when in the next sentence they offer a solution that is completely unrelated but liked by their own side. They’re relying on us to be long-blinking right past the propaganda, especially in the dog days of summer. That’s like naming a colu...
This is the last of three letters intending to bring clarity and facts to the community about the Grand Coulee Dam School District. This installment will address the complicated and challenging issue of school discipline. ISSUE: School Discipline This issue may be the most complex problem to quantify and eventually resolve in large part because it requires an all-hands effort to succeed. In short, there are no easy answers here. It is accurate to note that public school discipline is a wide-ranging challenge covering nearly every school...
I was excited to learn Norway’s government is investing €10 million over five years to develop cultivated meat and precision fermentation. For those who don’t know, cultivated meat is grown from animal cells, without slaughter. It’s better for the environment, public health, and livestock. “We can increase self-sufficiency in food in Norway, and we do not have to kill animals to produce the necessary protein,” said the project’s leader, Sissel Beate Rønning. “In Norway, we have both the expertise and the money needed to develop new tech...
There is a national shortage of teachers, leaving some districts short of covering all their classrooms. While current events are creating problems in education, not the least of these problems are politics and financial resources. That teachers are underpaid is pretty well understood and agreed upon nationally. Teachers should be paid at least 25% more than they now receive. Something needs to happen nationally to shut down the vast exodus of teachers leaving. In order to provide new teaching recruits, we should provide four-year scholarships...
Inflation has soared from 1.4% in January 2021 to 8.5% in July of this year, and parents are bearing the brunt of these increased costs as they face their annual back-to-school shopping trips — on top of the mounting costs for just about everything else they buy. Retailers are being faced with increased wholesale costs, which they’re forced to pass on to consumers. For instance, at a local grocery chain in Richland, hamburger meat is $12.99 a pound and milk is $3.29 a gallon — on sale. And as parents try to manage these price increases, they...
This letter is an effort to bring clarity and facts into the conversation about the financial operations of the Grand Coulee Dam School District rather than unsubstantiated opinions. This is the second installment of three total letters addressing issues related to the GCDSD. This installment will address financial management. ISSUE: School District Fiscal Management THE FACTS: Despite what some may suggest, the Grand Coulee Dam School District is not broke, but it is financially challenged. Public education in this country is a very, very...
After two years without the ability to open our doors, we are again at the end of our sale season as we come to the community to thank everyone for a fantastic TEN week run at the VET Center. Our American Legion Post appreciates everybody who has stopped by and shopped with us during our sale. Although it seemed like a very 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 this year shortened by three...
After two years without the ability to open our doors, we are again at the end of our sale season as we come to the community to thank everyone for a fantastic TEN week run at the VET Center. Our American Legion Post appreciates everybody who has stopped by and shopped with us during our sale. Although it seemed like a very 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 this year shortened by three...