February 22, 2012 Star4C copy.indd - The Star of Grand Coulee
February 22, 2012 Star4C copy.indd - The Star of Grand Coulee
February 22, 2012 Star4C copy.indd - The Star of Grand Coulee
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> • FEBRUARY <strong>22</strong>, <strong>2012</strong><br />
Page 3<br />
Good suggestion<br />
still misses the point<br />
<strong>The</strong> mayor <strong>of</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam would like help<br />
from other towns putting on the annual July<br />
4 festivities. He should get it, and be willing to<br />
take the concept several steps further.<br />
Mayor Quincy Snow notes the expense <strong>of</strong><br />
putting on the entertainment. On the cheap, it’s<br />
around $15,000 by the time you add up band<br />
expenses, staging and lighting and sound technicians.<br />
He’s right to think the town shouldn’t put<br />
all <strong>of</strong> it on without help. He’s not quite right in<br />
thinking that it does.<br />
<strong>Coulee</strong> Dam has not been alone in funding the<br />
annual event. <strong>The</strong> overlooked expenses funded<br />
by other towns included more than $6,000 in<br />
advertising last year. It doesn’t do any good to<br />
throw a party and keep it a secret, after all.<br />
But all those expense facts, although accurate,<br />
miss the bigger point: the entire area<br />
benefits from the festival in <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam, just<br />
as the entire area benefits from the Colorama<br />
festival in <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong>. Being picky about who<br />
funds what is counterproductive, and Snow’s<br />
point should lead to a bigger discussion about<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> reserves the right to edit for length, spelling and grammar, but every effort is made to keep the<br />
writer’s intent. Libelous material and UNSIGNED LETTERS WILL NOT BE PRINTED.<br />
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Please include a daytime phone number so we can contact you if we have questions.<br />
Send letters to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong>, Letters, P.O. Box 150, <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong>, WA 99133.<br />
Fax to (509) 633-3828 or e-mail <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> at: star@grandcoulee.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong><br />
Three Midway Ave., P.O. Box 150, <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong>, WA 99133 (509)633-1350/Fax<br />
(509)633-3828. Email: star@grandcoulee.com<br />
Consolidated with the <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> News-Times and the Almira Herald.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Online - grandcoulee.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> is published (USPS#518860) weekly at <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong>, Wash., and was entered<br />
as Second Class matter January 4, 1946. Periodical Postage paid at <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong>,<br />
Wash. 99133<br />
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Elsewhere within the United States $37. Single <strong>copy</strong> price $1.<br />
Scott Hunter .............................Editor and Publisher<br />
Gwen Hilson............................. Production Manager<br />
O P I N I O N<br />
cooperation between the three local towns that<br />
collect hotel/motel taxes, which have to be spent<br />
on promoting the tourism industry.<br />
To its credit, Electric City has instituted an<br />
advisory board to guide their city council in the<br />
expenditures <strong>of</strong> such funds. That’s a good thing<br />
because someone is now <strong>of</strong>ficially considering<br />
how to use that money.<br />
But neither Electric City, nor <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam,<br />
nor <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> exists on some kind <strong>of</strong> tourism<br />
market island, unaffected by the others.<br />
<strong>The</strong> area is one market and needs one overall<br />
plan for using the funds to build the tourism<br />
industry. <strong>The</strong> governing statutes specifically<br />
allow such cooperation between the towns for<br />
this purpose.<br />
<strong>The</strong> three municipalities should get together,<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficially, to marry their hotel/motel fortunes into<br />
one strategy that benefits all.<br />
Scott Hunter<br />
editor and publisher<br />
Should students be paid<br />
to attend school?<br />
Could pocket change have persuaded Ferris Bueller<br />
to forego his day <strong>of</strong>f?<br />
That’s what I wondered when I read about a bold<br />
experiment by Dohn Community High School in Cincinnati,<br />
Ohio. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer,<br />
this alternative school (serving mostly at-risk lowincome<br />
and minority students)<br />
gives seniors a $25 Visa gift card<br />
each week they have perfect attendance,<br />
show up for class on time<br />
and stay out <strong>of</strong> trouble. Underclassmen<br />
receive a $10 gift card.<br />
<strong>The</strong> incentive program is funded<br />
with $40,000 in private donations<br />
and public grants. If more funding<br />
can be found, perhaps they<br />
can <strong>of</strong>fer financial rewards for<br />
Tyrades!<br />
by<br />
Danny Tyree<br />
additional behaviors. (“50 cents for not speculating<br />
on the mystery meat within earshot <strong>of</strong> the faculty<br />
table…75 cents for not critiquing Mr. McGillicuddy’s<br />
comb-over…”)<br />
Critics (including my wife) are incredulous that a<br />
school would pay students to do something they’re<br />
already supposed to be doing (sort <strong>of</strong> the merging<br />
<strong>of</strong> teachable moments and billable hours), but the<br />
principal insists that the school has already tried<br />
everything else to correct the school’s dismaying 18<br />
percent graduation rate.<br />
Dohn has tried learning from the mistakes <strong>of</strong> a<br />
crosstown rival high school and its incentive program.<br />
<strong>The</strong> other school had to cancel $40,000 worth <strong>of</strong> gold<br />
stars and smiley faces because they were made in<br />
China. (“And PETA was all over us about the incident<br />
with the football team and the pony rides.”)<br />
Analysis <strong>of</strong> the handful <strong>of</strong> similar programs across<br />
the nation hints that students can indeed be enticed<br />
to attend school, but they may not learn anything<br />
while putting in their obligatory appearance. Let us<br />
hope that Dohn doesn’t settle for putting warm bodies<br />
in the seats for the head count. (“WARM bodies?”<br />
commented one Chicago politician. “That’s being a<br />
little too strict.”)<br />
If nothing else, the Dohn payouts will teach school<br />
bullies a valuable lesson about punctuality: hang<br />
around the streets all week, then show up right after<br />
Visa cards are handed out and shake down the<br />
nerds who would be attending school even without<br />
the payments.<br />
Personally, I never missed a day <strong>of</strong> school or college<br />
after sixth grade, but I realize<br />
there are families and neighborhoods<br />
that do not engender such<br />
dedication. Skeptics have an outdated<br />
idea <strong>of</strong> the problems faced<br />
by Dohn.<br />
“Ah, the kids are just tuckered<br />
out from walking six miles to and<br />
from school, uphill both ways,”<br />
harrumph the outsiders. “I think<br />
the $40,000 could be better spent<br />
hiring Ward and June Cleaver to give the students<br />
a stern talking to. Ward and June are WHAT?? No<br />
wonder the Beaver never answered my invitation for<br />
a play date.”)<br />
I sincerely hope that Dohn can pull this <strong>of</strong>f. Educator<br />
Horace Mann promoted the “learn by doing”<br />
method, and at least Dohn is DOING something instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> relying on hand-wringing and “tsk-tsking.” I<br />
just hope they will be honest in their evaluations <strong>of</strong><br />
success or failure and either tweak or abandon the<br />
program as necessary.<br />
We certainly don’t need the development <strong>of</strong> a sense<br />
<strong>of</strong> entitlement carrying over into the post-graduation<br />
world. (“Yes, sir, I managed to give the customer NO<br />
wedgie and only a cursory swirly. I think that should<br />
be worth at LEAST dental and vision insurance.<br />
What? Oh, man!”)<br />
©<strong>2012</strong> Danny Tyree. Danny welcomes reader e-<br />
mail responses at tyreetyrades@aol.com and visits<br />
to his Facebook fan page “Tyree’s Tyrades”. Danny’s’<br />
weekly column is distributed exclusively by Cagle<br />
Cartoons Inc. newspaper syndicate. For info on using<br />
columns, please email Cari Dawson Bartley at cari@<br />
cagle.com or call 800 696 7561.<br />
Roger Lucas.................................................Reporter<br />
Linda Morgan...........................................Pro<strong>of</strong>reader<br />
Ten Years Ago<br />
Months <strong>of</strong> hard work and<br />
dedication from the <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong><br />
Dam Area Chamber <strong>of</strong> Commerce<br />
culminated last Saturday when it<br />
kicked <strong>of</strong>f its first “Balde” Eagle<br />
Festival. “I felt it went <strong>of</strong>f well,”<br />
Chamber President Tim Alling<br />
said. “ I would have liked a few<br />
more people, but it was a decent<br />
crowd.<br />
Students at Nespelem School<br />
saw and heard a demonstration<br />
by the Lake Roosevelt boys’ basketball<br />
team on how to succeed in<br />
varsity athletics and life.<br />
Seven wrestlers went, and four<br />
returned with medals as the Lake<br />
Roosevelt Wrestling Team took<br />
sixth place at Mat Classic XIV at<br />
the Tacoma Dome this weekend.<br />
Editorial Comic for the week -<br />
“I pledge allegiance to the budget <strong>of</strong><br />
the United States <strong>of</strong> America and<br />
to the defense buildup for which it<br />
spends, one nation, under-funded,<br />
class-divisible, with security and<br />
tax cuts for the rich.” (Remember<br />
this was 10 years ago)<br />
Every morning Mildred Venton<br />
starts her day with 20 sit-ups.<br />
That fact may not seem like much,<br />
except that Venton turns 100 years<br />
old on Friday.<br />
Twenty Years Ago<br />
<strong>The</strong> regional director <strong>of</strong> the<br />
National Marine Fisheries Service<br />
said salmon recovery efforts<br />
initiated by the Northwest Power<br />
Planning Council will accelerate<br />
a recovery plan for endangered<br />
Snake River sockeye by more than<br />
a year.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Raider basketball team<br />
emerged victorious in a packed<br />
LRHS gym Thursday night as they<br />
defeated the Ephrata Tigers in a<br />
crucial game.<br />
Tremendous economic opportunities<br />
are waiting to be tapped<br />
in the greater <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam<br />
area. Working together, the people<br />
<strong>of</strong> the small towns and the Colville<br />
Tribes could prosper, attract business,<br />
provide jobs for younger<br />
generations and form a stable<br />
economic base for the community<br />
at large.<br />
A ruling by the Caribou Trail<br />
League athletic directors last week,<br />
took away from Lake Roosevelt<br />
High School’s Lady Raider basketball<br />
team an astounding 48 to 37<br />
win over top ranked Omak, charging<br />
the Raiders with a state rule<br />
violation. A video tape <strong>of</strong> an Omak/<br />
Tonasket game taken by a parent<br />
<strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the players was seen by<br />
four Raiders. That’s against Washington<br />
Interscholastic Athletic<br />
Association rules.<br />
Thirty Years Ago<br />
David Lyngholm has been<br />
named as chief <strong>of</strong> the Maintenance<br />
Division A <strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam.<br />
In basketball action, the Lake<br />
Roosevelt girls are going into District<br />
tied at first 9-1 with Okanogan.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Lady Raiders finished<br />
the season with a win over Liberty<br />
Bell 59-32. Shawnee Haugen<br />
scored 15 with Heidi Roberts 14<br />
and Marie Frost 13.<br />
<strong>The</strong> “POPEYE” group entertained<br />
during halftime <strong>of</strong> the<br />
LRHS varsity basketball game<br />
last Friday. <strong>The</strong> group includes:<br />
Collette Helseth, Nancy Ballod,<br />
<strong>Coulee</strong> Recollections<br />
Billie Mattson, Shelly Stine, Kim<br />
Jurgensen, Cheri Cody, Gidget<br />
Young, Dawn Lippert, Meredith<br />
Presler, Shani Ayling, Kari Kuehne,<br />
Kim Benson, Krissie Depew,<br />
Amy Langley, Michelle Long, Carla<br />
Whitaker, Heidi Overman, Dawn<br />
Bjorkland, Heather Duke and Tiffany<br />
Grier.<br />
Forty Years Ago<br />
Congressman Tom Foley said<br />
the Bureau <strong>of</strong> Reclamation plans<br />
to call for bids on two major construction<br />
projects in North Central<br />
Washington in March and April.<br />
One will be the completion contract<br />
for the third powerhouse at<br />
<strong>Grand</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam. <strong>The</strong> other will<br />
be for building 35 miles <strong>of</strong> laterals<br />
and distribution pipeline for the<br />
Manson project.<br />
Emil A. Gherke will celebrate<br />
his 88th birthday Feb. 27, with an<br />
open house at the Senior Citizens<br />
Center.<br />
Kathleen Streble was the guest<br />
<strong>of</strong> honor at a surprise birthday<br />
luncheon at the Melody Grill last<br />
week. Those attending were Dixie<br />
Tillman, Jo Carey, Pat Munson,<br />
Lou Chamberlain, Ann Marie<br />
Tipton, Bonnie Stone, Jo Switzer,<br />
Irene Benton and Doris Finch.<br />
Fifty Years Ago<br />
Newly elected <strong>of</strong>ficers for the<br />
Sagebrush Gang 4-H Club are:<br />
Joyce Wisinger, president; Gwen<br />
Davis, secretary; Marilyn Mc-<br />
Coy, historian; Sheila Campbell,<br />
reporter and Linda Wisinger,<br />
town-crier.<br />
Mrs. Jess Casey and Mrs. Roy<br />
Kunz entertained with a bridal<br />
shower at the Jess Casey home<br />
at Nespelem Wednesday evening<br />
in honor <strong>of</strong> Sharon Aumick. <strong>The</strong><br />
honored guest was a recipient <strong>of</strong><br />
many lovely gifts.<br />
Marilyn Brown’s twirlers will<br />
perform at the half time during the<br />
Hartline/Warden game Feb. 14.<br />
Sixty Years Ago<br />
Ray Caviness <strong>of</strong> <strong>Coulee</strong> Dam<br />
was listed as tenor singer with the<br />
Eastern Washington College choir<br />
which is appearing on a broadcast<br />
over station KHQ at 7:30 p.m.<br />
Monday.<br />
Among those from Electric City<br />
attending the ski tournament in<br />
Leavenworth were Mr. and Mrs.<br />
C.D. Bowers, Mr. and Mrs. Simon<br />
McSweeney and Mr. and Mrs. Dick<br />
Nicolle.<br />
Jeanne Seaton was honored at<br />
a prenuptial shower at the home<br />
<strong>of</strong> Mrs. Edgar Allen on Feb. 3. Invited<br />
guests were Mrs. John Green,<br />
Minnie Gropp, Mrs. Al Gust, Mrs.<br />
Mike Bowers, Mrs. Robert Gross,<br />
Mrs. Dick Nicolle and Mrs. William<br />
Flowers.<br />
Sixty Years Ago<br />
A birthday party in honor <strong>of</strong><br />
Vesta Peone was held at the Peone<br />
home in Electric City.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Service Club <strong>of</strong> <strong>Grand</strong><br />
<strong>Coulee</strong> High School received five<br />
new members which included June<br />
Copple, Ruth Ingalls, Joyce Flowers,<br />
Roy Bernd and Madge Bates.<br />
Sixty-two Years Ago<br />
Spillway bucket repair, block 54. this view, inside the working chamber <strong>of</strong> the<br />
floating caisson, shows the finished surface <strong>of</strong> the replaced concrete in the apron<br />
section, which is at the downstream end <strong>of</strong> the bucket. Workmen are removing<br />
I-beams that were used to hold the forms for the pour.<br />
— Pacific Bridge Contract. — March 20, 1950