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CHENEY - "Why now?" It's the question Cheney Public Schools Superintendent Rob Roettger said he gets the most from people when asked about the upcoming Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) and Capital Facilities levies. Especially this "now" - with so many people feeling the negative economic impacts from measures designed to attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, impacts that range from reduced hours to loss of jobs and businesses. Given many families a...
The west entrance to Eastern Washington University's new Interdisciplinary Science Center (ISC) rises towards completion. The project connects to the older Science Building via three second-floor skywalks, and will house a number of laboratories....
MEDICAL LAKE — City Council members have put off further discussion on the possible sale of the former Ball and Dodd Funeral Home property until after an appraisal of the parcel has been conducted. To that end, City Administrator Doug Ross told the council at their Jan. 19 meeting that he has completed the process of hiring Valbridge Property Advisors to conduct an appraisal of the 43,475-square-foot property located at 111 W. Brooks Road. The city has been approached by national retailer Dollar General Stores with an offer t...
CHENEY — Not long ago, putting in a body camera system for Police Department officers seemed to be cost prohibitive. After a presentation at the Jan. 12 City Council meeting, that might not necessarily be the case anymore. An estimate from Axon, a Scottsdale, Ariz. company that develops technology and weapons for military, law enforcement and civilians, shown to council by Police Chief John Hensley indicated initial costs for a system to outfit 14 officers with body cameras could run about $86,220 over five years. The estimat...
CHENEY — The city’s land holdings are slated to soon increase by just over 228 acres. That’s amount of acreage the City Council approved spending $360,710 to acquire at its first meeting in 2021 last Tuesday. The total acreage purchased from the Dare family includes seven separate parcels located in the vicinity of the city’s Utility Building/Recycling Center on Anderson Road, with several straddling Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific rail lines. Five of those parcels — totaling 209.49 acres — border the UP trac...
CHENEY – In what might be somewhat of an irony, keeping legislators out of Olympia during the recently started biennial legislative session could actually increase participation by the public. With COVID-19 health protocol restrictions limiting lawmakers and others access to the normal governing process, several organizations have actually worked to create better access to sessions, hearings and the ability to provide remote testimony. And early indications show it might be working easier than anticipated. In a recent e...
CHENEY — School district re-opening plans for in-person instruction continued this week with a phased return of third-grade students beginning on Tuesday. Third-grade students from families electing to return to in-person instruction were to return in two different groups on different days, with students in Group A in class Jan. 19 and Jan. 21 and students in Group B back Jan. 20 and Jan. 22. Both groups will combine as all third-grade students return to in-person instruction Jan. 25. Also that day, fourth and fifth-grade s...
CHENEY — Sidelined by COVID-19 for most of 2020, the city’s Planning Commission reviewed an aggressive schedule of items for the coming year at its first meeting in 2021, Jan. 11. Senior planner Brett Lucas outlined three areas proposed for deliberations by the commission over the coming months, with an emphasis on zoning code text amendments. The other two were economic development and a time-honored sore spot among Cheney residents — parking, especially the blocks adjacent to the Eastern Washington University campus. Like...
WEST PLAINS - National Weather Service forecasters warned last week that a strong cold front scheduled to pass through Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho beginning late Tuesday night and through Wednesday could bring strong winds, heavy rain and snow in the mountains - with winds potentially gusting into the 40 – 55 miles per hour range. They were a bit off as winds well exceeding those forecasted knocked down power lines, poles and trees leading to power disruptions to tho...
CHENEY — Deferment was the order of busines last Tuesday as the City Council elected to postpone decisions on three of seven agenda items — including a new contract with the Police Guild for 2021 – 2022. The two-year contract includes 2% cost of living adjustments in monthly salaries for 2021 and 2022 over the previous year’s amount. Other than that, City Administrator Mark Schuller said the contract included cleaning up language requiring employees to join guilds, unions or pay dues based on a recent court decision along w...
MEDICAL LAKE – At its first meeting of 2021, the City Council tabled a discussion on an offer to purchase the former Ball and Dodd Funeral Home location at the southwest corner of the West Brooks Road, North Lefevre Street and State Route 902 intersection until more information to evaluate the offer is known. Chief among that information is the current appraised value of the property by the county and projected sales tax revenue the offer could bring to city coffers. City A...
Update at 6:04 p.m. -- In a message to parents and staff, Cheney Public Schools Superintendent Rob Roettger said a decision on whether or not school will resume will be made Thursday morning after officials assess the power situation. Snowdon and Windsor elementary schools along with Westwood Middle School still are without power. All three schools are in the area of Hallett, Grove and Thomas Mallen roads, which has been impacted by a major power line break (see below)....
WEST PLAINS — Medical Lake City Administrator Doug Ross admits that when it comes to defining city workers is essential workers — and thus moving them further up the COVID-19 vaccination ladder — he is pretty much a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. Ross and Mayor Shirley Maike broached the subject last Tuesday, Jan. 5, during the City Council’s report section, with Maike telling members they had been in discussions with officials at Spokane Regional Health District about including at least some municipal workers...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The Spokane Tribe of Indians broke ground in early December 2020 on its planned casino expansion. The 20,000-square-foot expansion will double the casino's current size, providing not only additional gamin amenities but also a new restaurant, doubling the size of the bar, Whaluks - one of three current restaurants - and increasing the non-smoking section. Details on the new restaurant are scheduled to be released at later date, as are additional expansion p...
CHENEY – What do you do when you are in-between quarters in school and not getting many hours at work? Start a business, of course. That was Cheney resident Myrinn Kern’s answer to such a dilemma. The third-year Eastern Washington University student who is not attending right now was not getting many hours as a line cook at Bene’s Restaurant due to the pandemic. Needing some revenue, Kern took a look around at the dining options in the city — especially for college student...
CHENEY — Thanks to some online ingenuity and extra donations, a holiday tradition continued this season for local low-income students and families. The Cheney Middle School Holiday Store has been a fixture since founder Sherry Syrie asked her sixth, seventh and eighth-grade art students in 2011 to bring in new and like-new items to be regifted to students in need. The response was so great that Syrie went on to work with middle school staff and community members to make the store an annual fixture — something that this year f...
WEST PLAINS – Local first responders and selected health care workers have begun receiving vaccinations of one of the COVID-19 vaccines — with plans being discussed on how to more widely distribute doses once those become available to the general public. According to a Spokane Regional Health District news release, the district began administering the Moderna two-dose vaccine on Monday, Jan. 4, to first responders at a drive-thru clinic at the Spokane Fire Training Center. The district is coordinating with Spokane County EMS...
CHENEY — One could forgive school officials if they choose to take a victory lap around the 365-square-mile district. In presenting COVID-19 information and contract tracing data to the school board at its Dec. 16 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Tom Arlt spelled out the bottom line to all the work district staff have been doing in preventing the spread of the virus among students and staff in school — a number of total positive cases with “Epi” link that registered zero. No two or more cases that, according to the Center fo...
CHENEY - If you ever have a burning desire to find something that accentuates any feelings of inadequacy in life, here's a suggestion on how to accomplish that - attend an Eastern Washington University Mechanical Engineering and Technology Department student capstone presentation. On Dec. 2, seven teams composed of 6 – 7 senior students presented their solutions to a variety of problems posed to them by MET instructions Dr. Matthew Michaelis and Dr. Alex Bae - challenges r...
CHENEY — It took a while, but Eastern Washington University’s women’s basketball team finally got into the win column. The Eagles started slow, but combining an offensive outburst with solid defense, rebounded from an 11-point first quarter deficit to down visiting College of Idaho Yotes 59-46 last Thursday, Dec. 17, for Eastern’s first win of the 2020-2021 season. The Eagles had three score in double figures, led by Kennedy Dickie with 19 points and nine rebounds while Jenna...
CHENEY — School district officials have made some modifications in the phasing in of onsite, in-person instruction – plans they feel are on the right track thanks to recent updated guidance released by the state Department of Health and Gov. Jay Inslee’s office. At the Dec. 16 school board meeting, Superintendent Rob Roettger said the district is pushing back the start of third-grade return to classroom from the original Jan. 13 to Jan. 19. Staff felt the move was neces...
Addressing infrastructure needs CHENEY — While it’s been a difficult year, the overall state of the city is good, Mayor Chris Grover told participants at last Wednesday’s virtual “State of the Cities” event sponsored by the West Plains Chamber of Commerce and Multicare. The city has felt its share of the economic impacts from COVID-19 protocols imposed by the state, particularly small businesses, Grover said, but has managed to escape some of the more devastating fallout. Most local small businesses have stayed open to d...
CHENEY – With little fanfare or comment, the City Council took care of two budgets at its Dec. 8 meeting. The first involved passage of an ordinance adopting the city’s nearly $32.74 million 2021 budget. The budget included appropriations revenues and expenses of $9.99 million for the Light Department — revenues officials have acknowledged may be about 10 % lower than projected due to reduced activity at Eastern Washington University as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget also includes just over $8.5 million in to...
CHENEY – It may not seem like a lot, but the annual city practice of writing off uncollectable utility bills could grow larger over the next several years thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. At its Dec. 9 meeting, the City Council approved a resolution writing off $22,890.70 in uncollectable utility accounts resulting from utility bills under $50, small credits and bill from owners who have passed away with no collectable estates and accounts no longer within the legal period of collections. While less than the $32,282.06 w...
CHENEY – Doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine hit the tarmac at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport Monday - with a final destination in the arms of health care workers and first responders this week, along with some of the more vulnerable individuals to the infection as early as next week. According to a state Department of Health Dec. 14 news release, Washington has received 62,400 doses of Pfizer's vaccine - the first of a half dozen vaccines being developed. The first d...
