PUD doing better than expected with fiber
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years AGO
The Royal Register News
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | September 14, 2015 6:00 AM
EPHRATA — The Grant County PUD is making more money from its fiber optic network than projected. But fewer people have signed up for its wireless service than anticipated.
Networks manager Warren Miller detailed those and other findings in a report to PUD commissioners at their regular meeting of Aug. 25.
The PUD was supposed to be making about $150,000 on the fiber optic system by mid-2015, according to projections made when the system was set up in 2007. The system actually was $572,747 in the black at the end of June, Miller said.
The PUD builds the system and provides access to Internet service providers (ISP), who provide it to retail customers.
The goal has been to get about 40 percent of potential customers on the system, Miller said. The current participation rate is about 36.5 percent, he said.
The utility has signed up 931 new customers in the first six months, Miller said, which he attributed to more advertising.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Port of Coulee City receives grant for new library, clinic upgrades
COULEE CITY — The Port of Coulee City has received a $200,000 Strategic Infrastructure Grant to start design work for a new standalone public library. Some of the money will be used for upgrades to the ambulance entrance at the Coulee City Medical Clinic, according to a port press release. The grant was awarded by the Grant County Commissioners. “The award enables the port to move forward with construction-ready plans for a new library building. The library is currently operating inside the medical clinic, which restricts clinical space and prevents the facility from functioning at full capacity,” the press release said. “Prior facility assignments have documented the need for a larger, purpose-built library to meet current and future community needs.”
Ephrata man arrested near Quincy
QUINCY — An Ephrata man was booked into the Grant County Jail Wednesday on suspicion of second-degree burglary and resisting arrest after being sought for alleged burglaries and other offenses committed in the Ephrata and Coulee Dam areas. Cody Miller, 34, was also booked for attempting to elude law enforcement and two Grant County District Court warrants, said Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, in a media release. “They’ve been looking for him for a bit,” Foreman said in a separate interview. Miller ran from Quincy Police Department officers Wednesday morning, Foreman said.
PUD seeking comment on 2027 rates
EPHRATA — The public comment period is open for Grant County Public Utility District customers who want to weigh in on proposed 2027 PUD rates. Comments can be made on the PUD website, www.grantpud.org, under the "workshops and meetings" tab. Utility district commissioners will hold a public hearing at 2 p.m. Nov. 10 for additional customer response. People can attend the hearing in person at the commission hearing room, 30 C St. SW, Ephrata. Access also will be available online. The proposed 2027 rates include increases for all customers. The smallest increase, 3.5%, will be paid by residential, small business, irrigation and general service customers. They're designated as "core customers."