Foundation rumor unfounded

A rumor of a crack in the foundation of the new fire station under construction was put to rest by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Tuesday. Lynne Brougher, public affairs officer for the bureau, told The Star in an email on Tuesday that the foundation is just fine.

“An inspection of the Fire Station was completed this morning and the only cracking that was observed is within normal parameters for concrete,” Brougher said. “The building has control and expansion joints per engineered designs to control cracking. It also is reinforced with rebar. There are no structural issues with the building.”

Brougher also said that construction will not pause through the winter.

“Construction will continue until the facility is complete,” she said. “The roof is being put on and there are no plans to stop work until the building is done.”

Stanger to serve on state board

Butch Stanger, who has served on the Grand Coulee Dam School District Board of Directors for about 10 years, has been elected to serve on the board of the Washington State School Board Association.

Stanger was elected by representatives from the school boards of region seven to serve. There are seven regions in the state, each of which elects three representatives, making a total of 21 board members for the association. Stanger will attend meetings and bring back information on policies and any other school matters back to the area.

He was nominated by fellow local board member Rich Black to the state organization.

Sunrise chosen for solid waste disposal

The Regional Board of Mayors has chosen to keep Sunrise Disposal as the contractor for garbage-hauling service in the area. The five-year contract will be negotiated in 2019 and take effect in 2020, and will include a five-year renewal clause.

Grand Coulee PUD office to alter schedule

Starting the week of Dec. 10, Grant PUD’s office in Grand Coulee will cut back the number of days it’s open. The office will be open to drive-through traffic on Wednesdays and Fridays. On those days, the office will maintain its normal hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the PUD said Monday.

Since last year, the Grand Coulee local office has been a drive-through-only office. At that time, Grant PUD entered into an agreement with the city of Grand Coulee that allows the city to accept Grant PUD payments.

Customers will still have the opportunity to pay their Grant PUD bill at city hall. Payments will be accepted at city hall Monday through Friday during the city’s normal business hours.