News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
Sorted by date Results 685 - 709 of 3557
I want to thank Scott Hunter for his well-thought-out editorial in last week’s edition of The Star. He’s 100% correct — because the levy is asking the voters to approve a lower rate on their home values, it doesn’t mean that the school has fewer needs. Education is an ongoing mission. Community partnership with the schools is vital if that cause has any chance to succeed. This levy will fill important special and pre-K education needs, as well as driver’s ed. The levy will also allow schools to lower class sizes and fund additional support s...
I have known Melissa Chlarson for over 30 years, and I am proud to support her as our county’s next Superior Court Judge. Melissa and I both grew up in the Columbia Basin and attended Moses Lake High School together. Years later, we graduated from Gonzaga Law School and started our legal careers as young associate attorneys in the same law firm in Moses Lake. I argued countless motions in front of Melissa when she served as the Grant County Superior Court Commissioner. She was always well prepared, respectful, temperate, and conscientious of t...
Discussion and debate has always been a part of rural America. From coffee shops to the local co-op, rural residents aren't afraid to show their loyalty for one candidate or another, share their thoughts on the issues of the day, and voice their distrust of the government. Sometimes opinions can spur disagreement and raise tensions. But, in the end, most of us will agree to disagree, shake hands, and go about our day. Lately, this seems to have changed. The divisive politics of Washington have...
My daughter Kim lives in Louisiana. She likes it there, just a ew miles from Denham Springs and on the banks of the Amite River. Two main reasons she likes it there are that most of the storms you hear about go around where she lives, and her neighbors are such caring people. The other morning, the humidity there was over 90%. This allows you to breaststroke from the bed to the kitchen in the morning. After a few minutes, she can go out on the deck and have a bug the size of a half dollar land on her arm, and then looking down, you can see a...
The reduced amount elected school board directors at the Grand Coulee Dam School District are seeking in the upcoming levy should be an easy yes for voters. Sensitive to the times we’re in and emerging from, the board changed course in July after getting feedback on an earlier proposal. In essence, they cut their ask in half. That doesn’t mean the needs are fewer, but it does show there’s flexibility in meeting long-term needs for maintenance and upgrades. Unless your property was assessed this year at more than twice what it was before (high...
My name is Mark Nash. I don’t have children at Lake Roosevelt Schools. But I do have Grandchildren and a Great Grandchild who attend school there. I have some questions for the voters. Who paid for your elementary and high school education? I know the answer to that question and so do you: your parents, grandparents, and the communities where you lived as a child. Just like their parents, grandparents and the people in the communities where they lived paid for theirs. The cost of your education may not have been as expensive then as the cost o...
Grant County Democrats thank the hundreds of friendly people who stopped by our building during the fair in August. Forty-five filled out our survey. It revealed participants’ top concerns: 1st (a tie), healthcare and sensible gun control; 2nd, protecting Social Security; 3rd, women’s rights. If these issues are important to you, we urge a vote for Doug White for Congressional District 4 Representative. Louis Logan Secretary, Grant County Democrats...
On page 42 of the recently sent Voter’s Pamphlet there is an error or typo. This involves the race for Grant Superior Court Judge between Anna Gigliotti and Melissa Chlarson. Judge Gigliotti’s statement says that she was appointed in 2011 when in fact it was 2021 by Governor Inslee. I am sure that this was unintentional, but it is an unfortunate oversight. Just trying to keep the playing field level! Thank you Kevin Danby Ephrata...
The Thai student we sponsored at the University of Washington while living in Bothell keeps coming back to me. His name is Khien, and I have mentioned him in previous columns. He was a college professor in Bangkok and already had his master’s and at that time was working on his doctorate. He had already written a half dozen books and was considered an expert on issues dealing with Mainland China. When I told him I was going to Thailand, he said he would have his nephew take me wherever I wanted to go. His nephew was taking care of his house a...
Over the past few years, there has been an uptick in crime across the nation. Unfortunately, Central Washington has been no exception to this trend. Indeed, the total number of homicides in Tri-Cities for 2022 is already at a record high compared to recent years, according to the Coroner's Office. In Yakima, drive-by shootings are becoming a regular occurrence. And that's on top of the exponential increase in carjackings and fentanyl overdoses. Much of this uptick is a direct result of "defund...
As a community, we are facing a significant decision between now and November 8th, Election Day this year. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, the outcome of this decision will affect everyone in our extended community — young and old alike. The result of this community-wide decision will clearly have an impact on the quality of education received by our school-aged children. As voters we must decide whether we will continue to financially support the public schools in the GCDSD area by approving a school levy…or not. The successful edu...
Recent letters to the editor accusing The Star of bias ring hollow to me. After all, the editorial page regularly runs columns by Republican Representative Dan Newhouse and conservative business leaders. Editorial pages are for everyone to express their opinions — including the publisher of The Star. Opinions as to who was the “best” or “worst” President are as varied as there are presidents, and have been around for all 246 years of the republic. All should be respected for what they are — opinions. It’s history that will make the final det...
With Russian President Vladimir Putin cutting off natural gas supplies, Northern Europeans are scrambling and reverting to firewood to heat their homes, boil water and cook. It is rapidly becoming a hedge against skyrocketing energy prices and uncertain fuel supplies. Cuts in shipments of Russian natural gas, used to power electricity grids and heat homes, is the biggest factor driving rates higher. Suddenly, Europeans are facing firewood scarcities and bulging orders for wood furnaces. West Ber...
My boss at the Idaho Statesman in Boise told me when he hired me that when his reporters traveled, they went first class. True to his word, he would always ask me where I was going to stay when assignments took me out of Boise. If he thought of a better place he would ask the lady who made arrangements to change mine. I remember when I was sent to cover the Rose Bowl he changed my hotel accommodations to the Hollywood Hotel, a small but rather luxurious place near Hollywood and Vine. I came to understand that my boss was talking about land...
Wondering why NASA sent a car-sized satellite to crash into an asteroid? Let’s take a look and see why. An “impact event” is when an astronomical object, like an asteroid, causes measurable effects on impact. When an asteroid hits Earth, depending on its size, it will, and they have, caused measurable results to many things, including the weather. Earth is regularly hit by meteoroids, the things we call meteors. Meteors are a meter or less (over 3.3 feet) in size. We see them shooting acros...
I’ve read a few of the recent letters to the editor and there seems to be some confusion on how newspapers function. Yes, one of their roles is to disseminate news and keep their readers apprised of events that may concern the public. These articles typically deliver facts and quotes from the principal players concerning the public matters. The Star seems to thoroughly cover the area in this regard. However, newspapers have an editorial responsibility, as well. Election season, newspapers all over the country come out for or against p...
In the spring of 2022, LR teachers and principal Natalie Kontos sat down and discussed the state of the school, behaviors, and teaching. Major changes were decided upon, and now that there has been several weeks of implementation, the payoffs are becoming evident. Instantly noticeable is the lack of phones in students’ hands. This zero-tolerance policy helps students to be more attentive to teachers, keeps the possibility of cyber bullying or planning violence/vandalism minimized during school hours, and fosters real-life conversations at l...
Why should the vendetta that John Adkins has against the GCDSD Superintendent, negatively affect our children’s education? Your participation in this year’s School Levy is critical to the future of our children. Your voice and support is what will pass this levy – we can’t do it without. Join us for an important School Levy meeting on Thursday, September 29th at 3:45 pm at the High School HUB. Pizza and beverages provided. This meeting is an opportunity to hear the facts about how this levy will benefit our children, our school distric...
Remember LR grad Cade Egbert. I see him from time to time and he always gives me a big smile. Cade was special as an athlete. He may not have been the most talented, but no matter what year you think of, he would be a starter for any of the Raiders past basketball teams. Cade was always exciting to watch and passionate about the game. He was ultra-competitive and fearless, but most importantly he was having fun. I’ve never seen a high school athlete attack the basket as hard as Cade. He would score, draw a charge or be shooting free throws. I...
We all know the role music plays in our lives. Want to raise your spirits? Turn on some music. I have started to hold nightly concerts for my own benefit that can start by 9 p.m. and last until the early hours. I will come back to that in a minute. While living in Bothell years ago, I used to go down to Seattle to an old book and record store — Filippis, no longer in business. In looking through the old 78s, I found a couple of early-day Sons of the Pioneers music. You know, Tumbling Tumbleweeds and such. I bought them along with comedy r...
From September 26 to September 30, we are recognizing National Clean Energy Week, an opportunity to celebrate the clean energy advancements taking place across the country. In Central Washington, we have extra cause to celebrate because we have not only embraced clean energy as a critical part of an all-of-the-above energy portfolio, but we’re leading the country in the use of these technologies. We are home to our state’s largest wind and solar farms, emerging hydrogen technologies, the Pacific Northwest’s only nuclear power plant, and our n...
Rep. Dan Newhouse’s call on this page for the U.S. Senate to pass his Farm Workforce Modernization Act repeats his longtime call for reform, and it’s by most accounts a reasonable and necessary legislation for all the reasons he states in his column on this page. There are factors he doesn’t mention that you might want to know, and I have one question. First, not everyone agrees the bill is a good one. Some farm workers organizations say it would cause hardships on their constituent population and even allow pitting them against one anoth...
A well-deserved thank you to Carl Russell’s article last week. I am so glad someone finally stepped up and made the paper realize how bias it is with their week after weekstupid jabs at Trump and the Republicans. I thought that we as Americans have theright to vote and follow any party we want. Being a Democrat or Republican is one thing, but still attacking Trump is another. Get over it! This newspaper should remain neutral and give insight to what is happening with all parties, and as Carl Russellmentioned, it is not like that, and the S...
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...