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MOSES LAKE — Grant Transit Authority (GTA) Board of Directors has approved the contract for their new general manager. The Board of Directors met for eight minutes during a special board meeting on Monday, Sept. 30, to approve the contract between GTA and Greg Wright, according to Brandy Heston, Administrative Services Manager for GTA. They also extended the contract for interim general manager Terry Weed.
Wright will receive a salary of $102,500 per year, starting Oct. 7, 2019. On Oct. 7, 2020, he will receive a three percent salary adjustment. He will also receive $500 a month for travel and a $40 cell phone stipend. His contracted employment term ends on Dec. 31, 2021.
The contract for Weed was extended a few days. It was originally anticipated that his services at interim general manager would end on Sept. 30, 2019. His contract was extended to Oct. 11. The new general managers contracted start date is Monday, Oct. 7.
— Staff report
One turbine-generator unit out of service
PRIEST RAPIDS DAM — Employees at Priest Rapids Dam were evacuated, but no one was injured, last Thursday afternoon when a fire damaged equipment attached to one of the dam’s turbine-generator units.
The fire was reported about 3:15 p.m., said Christine Pratt, PUD public affairs. Priest Rapids employees discovered the fire in a piece of equipment that’s crucial to generator operation, but is not part of the generator-turbine unit itself.
The equipment had a “dedicated fire extinguishing system” that put out the fire, Pratt said, and it was out by 3:30 p.m.
The entire facility was evacuated, but workers were allowed in to get their belongings late Thursday afternoon.
The fire knocked turbine-generator unit No. 1 out of service, but it didn’t affect the other units, Pratt said.
No cause for the fire has been established, and no estimate of damage is available yet, she added.
— Staff report
Barricaded man surrenders after firing gun
MATTAWA – A 35-year-old man was arrested Oct. 3 after reportedly firing a pistol at a parked, unoccupied vehicle before barricading himself in a building, according to law enforcement.
Deputies and Mattawa Police responded around 3:15 p.m. to the report of a man shooting at cars in the 30000 block of state Route 243 about one mile south of Priest Rapids Dam. When officers arrived, the man, later identified as 35-year-old Matt Garoutte, ran inside a building on the property and refused to come out, prompting the Grant County Sheriff’s Office to issue a public notice to stay out of the area.
After about 30 minutes, Garoutte came out of the home and surrendered. He did not fire at responding law enforcement.
Three witnesses at the property, one of whom called 911, said Garoutte had fired the pistol toward SR-243, but so far only a vehicle parked on the property was found to have received any bullet damage. No passing motorists have reported as yet that their vehicles had been struck, though the sheriff’s office is seeking any other vehicles that may have been shot.
Garoutte was lodged in the Grant County Jail on suspicion of felon in possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment.
Anyone who traveled on SR-243 around the time of the shooting is asked to check their vehicle for any damage which may be the result of Garoutte firing his gun. If any damage is discovered, those motorists are asked to contact the Grant County Sheriff’s Office at 509-762-1160.
— Staff report