Sorted by date Results 201 - 224 of 224
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The South Mintle Street and West 19th Avenue block in Airway Heights is a bit cleaner after a neighborhood cleanup day organized by city code compliance officer Kristina Blake and the God Squad on July 2. Blake saw that the area needed a lot of cleaning, and residents would struggle to be able to afford the dumpsters they needed to tidy up. "This is the hardest-hit street in the mobile home parks," Blake said. "We are really trying to bring in resources to h...
MEDICAL LAKE—Medical Lake Parks and Recreation and the Medical Lake High School tennis program will still host its annual Tennis-A-Thon fundraiser this year. There just won’t be any tennis played. The fundraiser will be Saturday, July 25 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Donations of canned food or cash can be made at the lower tennis courts during that time period. Proceeds will go to the Medical Lake Food Bank and Medical Lake Outreach Program. Volunteers will have certificates from McDonald’s and other prizes to hand out to child...
RENTON — The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) announced Tuesday, July 7, that the start of fall sports practices will be delayed to Sept. 5 for football and Labor Day, Sept. 7 for all other fall sports. “The (Executive) Board will continue to work with staff, member schools and state agencies to monitor the impact of COVID-19,” the WIAA said in a release. Because teams are required to practice for at least two weeks and hold 10 practices in that time span before beginning competition, this rulin...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The Airway Heights Police Department has been fielding calls and trying to identify prime suspects in response to racist propaganda being posted in the Walmart parking lot and on cars around town. Some residents posted pictures and videos to social media over the weekend showing flyers that had been or were being taped to their cars from the group “14 First,” which names itself as a “Pro-white organization,” discourages “race mixing” and promotes other racist, Neo-Nazi and white supremacist beliefs. The...
WEST PLAINS – Two Democrats, Tom McGarry and Christian McLachlan, are running against incumbent Jenny Graham (R) for Position 2 state representative in District 6. Ballots are expected to be mailed July 17 with the primary elections, which will eliminate one candidate from this race, taking place August 4. McGarry advocates for data-driven approach to COVID response, economic recovery A housing attorney and chair of the board of fire commissioners in Spokane County Fire District 9, Tom McGarry is looking to take the next step...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The Airway Heights Police Department has been fielding calls and trying to identify prime suspects in response to racist propaganda being posted in the Walmart parking lot and on cars around town. Some residents posted pictures and videos to social media over the weekend showing flyers that had been or were being taped to their cars from the group “14 First,” which names itself as a “Pro-white organization,” discourages “race mixing” and promotes other racist, Neo-Nazi and white supremacist beliefs. The...
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE – July 1 was a day to remember for the families and 19 members of the 92nd Air Refueling Squadron. Two KC-135 Stratotankers returned to Fairchild Air Force Base after being deployed in Turkey for seven months. It was the longest time period that Stratotankers had been deployed from Fairchild. "I'm pretty excited," said Capt. Kirsten Larson, aircraft commander of the 92nd Squadron upon arrival. "They kept giving us dates, and kept pushing it back." The...
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE-Col. Cassius T. Bentley became the new commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing during a change of command ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base Wednesday (July 1) morning. He takes over for outgoing commander Col. Derek Salmi, who will be “assigned to the joint staff at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.,” according to a press release from the 92nd. Salmi was commander of the 92nd for the allotted two years. Bentley takes over at Fairchild after a sti...
Volz looks to lean on experience to help District 6 amidst COVID crisis Mike Volz has served in Position 1 of state representative in District 6 since 2017, and he’d like to do it for another two years. The twice-incumbent candidate is running for a third term. Volz has two projects he brought up in an interview with the Free Press that he’d like to see completed in a potential third term. One is the North-South highway in Spokane. “I moved to Spokane in 1974 when I was nine...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Airway Heights City Council gave City Manager Albert Tripp their unanimous approval to carry out an interagency agreement for coronavirus relief funding at its July 6 meeting. The funding, which totaled $286,350 per a population-based allocation from the state, can be used only for costs that are related to the COVID-19 fallout, such as medical expenses or business/economic shortfalls directly correlated to the coronavirus. The funding will be provided to the city through reimbursement. Tripp presented resolu...
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE-Col. Cassius T. Bentley became the new commander of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing during a change of command ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base Wednesday (July 1) morning. He takes over for outgoing commander Col. Derek Salmi, who will be "assigned to the joint staff at the Pentagon in Washington D.C.," according to a press release from the 92nd. Salmi was commander of the 92nd for the allotted two years. Bentley takes over at Fairchild after a stint...
MEDICAL LAKE — Global pandemics tend to cause problems and annoyances, some of which are unexpected. In Medical Lake, one COVID-19-related issue is the flushing of non-disposable rags and wipes. City Administrator Doug Ross brought the issue to City Council’s attention at its June 16 meeting. Some Medical Lake residents have been flushing these non-disposable rags and wipes down the toilet, causing potential wear and tear on pumps in the city’s sewer system. Ross said that this wasn’t an issue before the pandemic. However...
SPOKANE –Washington Gov. Jay Inslee paid a visit to Spokane June 25 to meet with essential workers, members of the medical community, local leaders and media. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Spokane County, Inslee’s message was clear: wear a mask. Masks are mandated by law to be worn statewide in public places as of June 26. Inslee noted there is reason for concern about the spread of the virus in Spokane County. “Spokane is right on the verge of a very dire situation because of this pandemic,” Inslee said. “What w...
MEDICAL LAKE — If a return to in-person learning occurs in the Medical Lake School District next school year, health guidelines seem to mandate that it won’t be what students and teachers are used to. That was the sentiment given by Superintendent Tim Ames during his report at the June 23 school board meeting. The information came in wake of discussions Ames and other Eastern Washington superintendents had with the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). According to Ames, OSPI is mandating that if...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Airway Heights City Council approved City Manager Albert Tripp’s interagency agreement for coronavirus relief fund agenda item to be moved to its regular meeting on July 6 for final approval. Tripp brought the proposal to council at its regular study session June 22. The agenda wording read “The City Council is asked to consider entering into an interagency agreement with Washington State Department of Commerce to obtain coronavirus relief funds.” The relief funds would come as a result of the federal...
SPOKANE-Washington governor Jay Inslee paid a visit to Spokane today (June 25) to meet with essential workers, members of the medical community, local leaders and media. As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Spokane County, Inslee’s message was clear: wear a mask. Masks will be mandated by law to be worn statewide in public places beginning June 26. Inslee noted that there is reason for concern about the spread of the virus in Spokane County. “Spokane is right on the verge of a very dire situation because of this pan...
Hello readers, my name is Drew Lawson and I’ve recently come on as a reporter for Free Press Publishing, working for both the Cheney Free Press and Davenport Times. I grew up in Vancouver, WA, surrounded by my parents and three younger siblings. I’m a huge sports fan, particularly the NFL, NBA and NCAA football and basketball. My favorite teams are the Seattle Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Mariners. I enjoy hiking and road trips while exploring places I’ve never been before. I graduated high school in 2016....
RENTON- The WIAA released guidance for opening high school athletics and activities in accordance with Gov. Jay Inslee’s four-phase state re-opening plan Monday. The guidance document detailed guidelines for schools for each of the four phases. The document also noted that if a school or school district is closed over COVID-19 concerns, then all training, practices and games for that school or district should be canceled. Points of emphasis for all four phases included decreasing exposure to respiratory droplets through p...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – A suspect is in custody Monday after Kalispell Tribal Police responded to a report of theft and trespassing at Northern Quest Resort and Casino in the parking lot behind the M&D Theater around 12:50 p.m., according to Erin Johnson and Chief Brad Richmond of the Airway Heights Police Department. Officers located the suspect, whose name was not released, within minutes and attempted to apprehend them. Instead of cooperating with the initial investigation, the suspect fled the scene, got into a car and crashed i...
MEDICAL LAKE- Scalding flames enveloped the front and right side of a duplex on 513 S. Jefferson St. in Medical Lake on Saturday, June 13, leaving much of the building severely charred and damaged. Eighteen Spokane County Fire District 3 firefighters responded to the call at 3:51 p.m. that day. The fire had started in a couch and began to spread, according to District 3 Deputy Chief Don Crawford. Firefighters managed to limit the fire to one side of the duplex, Crawford said....
After some discussion, Medical Lake City Council carried Resolution 524, which authorized the adoption of the Spokane County multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan, at its June 16 meeting. The carried motion was among the notable moments from the council meeting. According to the meeting agenda, the municipalities of Spokane County have been working on a plan that “identifies potential disaster mitigation projects and by adopting the plan makes those projects eligible for FEMA grant funding.” Medical Lake was the las...
CHENEY- “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” “I can’t breathe!” “Say their names! George Floyd! Breonna Taylor!” These were some of the chants ringing as around 30 people participated in a Juneteenth march in Cheney Friday in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Organized by EWU super-senior Justin Heller, a history major, the march was mostly students, although there were some locals who joined as well. The roughly 90-minute event started with a walk from Showalter Hall on the EWU campus before heading down College Avenue,...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – A suspect is in custody Monday after Kalispell Tribal Police responded to a report of theft and trespassing at Northern Quest Resort and Casino in the parking lot behind the M&D Theater around 12:50 p.m., according to Erin Johnson and Chief Brad Richmond of the Airway Heights Police Department. Officers located the suspect, whose name was not released, within minutes and attempted to apprehend them. Instead of cooperating with the initial investigation, the su...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The approval of recommendations presented by City Manager Albert Tripp that will deal with connecting recovering businesses to residents in lieu of the COVID-19 pandemic was among the action items of Monday’s Airway Heights City Council meeting. The recommendations, originally presented at a previous council meeting, were updated to include a partnership with the Cheney School District that would prepare parents for use of online platforms due to the possibility of online classes continuing in the fall. The...
