Sorted by date Results 251 - 275 of 2871
WEST PLAINS – October is when members of the international education sorority Alpha Delta Kappa honor their founders by providing service to the community. The local ADK chapter, Alpha Nu, is continuing this tradition even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic that has changed the look of instruction — which in Cheney, Medical Lake and many other school districts is now mostly online line rather than in person. Alpha Nu member Bonnie Sullivan said the chapter, which is comprised of 50 current and former educators from Che...
CHENEY – While education is their preferred first choice of enforcement, Cheney and Eastern Washington University law enforcement are prepared to take sterner measures with students who continue to violation safety protocols spelled out by the state and/or Spokane County Health District to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In a joint statement today, police officials with both agencies said – while not anticipating arrests, issuing citations or taking individual to jail – officers “will intervene with more punitive actions...
CHENEY – The only warning Malden residents John and Carolyn Bliesner had of the coming disaster was the urgent pounding on their door and yelled instructions to leave - now. The couple's daughter, Connie Marsh, said they only had time to grab a few things before they bolted from their home on West Moreland and fled to nearby Rosalia to seek shelter along with other residents from the firestorm that consumed 70-80 percent of the small Whitman County town. "It's hard to u...
CHENEY – Almost 64,000 Inland Northwest residents were without power late Monday, Sept. 7, after a Canadian cold front whipped through the region bringing strong sustained winds and even stronger wind gusts — knocking down trees, branches and power lines and igniting a number of wildfires. Cheney outages began about 9 a.m. with the report of a faulty switch at the city’s main substation on Cheney-Plaza Road. Light Department Director Steve Marxx said crews responded quick...
CHENEY – The city’s proposed upgrade of its reclamation plant enabling it to produce irrigation-suitable water is on holding pending the outcome of a bid protest by a manufacturer of one of the main components. Nexom, Inc. is protesting the city’s award of the bid to Aqua Aerobic Systems, Inc. for manufacture and installation of a pile-cloth disk filtration system. Nexom, based in Post Falls, Idaho, was the lowest of the two bidders at $349,569, with Aqua Aerobics well above this at $686,031. Nexom’s bid was disallowed after...
CHENEY – Jamie DeAndre says she has a desire to heal things. The 1994 Cheney High School graduate also says she’s always had a desire to own her own business. Both of those desires have come together in Enlightened Hands Massage, DeAndre’s business located inside Diamond Beauty and Boutique, 1322 1st St. DeAndre has worked for years in the physical therapy field, including seven years at Lakeland Village in Medical Lake. It was that experience that led her to get into massage...
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – It takes a lot to succeed in the movie business — time, skill, patience, hard work and a little luck. Cheney High School alums Andrew and Gina DeCesare have been practicing all of those — and it’s beginning to pay off. For writer and producer Andrew DeCesare, that came with recent high ratings for a project he has been involved in through the company he works for, 5150 Action Productions. DeCesare, 5150 owner and president Mike Gunther and vice preside...
SPOKANE – County election officials made the outcome of the Aug. 4 primary official by certifying the election results last Tuesday, Aug. 18. The simplest explanation of what that means was given in an email last week from Spokane County Elections manager Mike McLaughlin. “The Spokane County Canvassing Board (county auditor, chair of the county commissioners and the county prosecuting attorney) go over the results and ‘Certify’ that they are complete and accurate,” McLaughlin wrote. In actuality, it’s a bit more involved, a...
PORTLAND, Ore. — Officials want Washington residents to know there is still time to respond to the U.S. Census — especially residents in Eastern Washington. The count conducted every 10 years is important in that it determines congressional representation, helps with awarding billions of federal dollars to communities each year and provides information that will impact communities for years to come. The Census helps determine how many seats in the House of Representatives each state receives. It also affects funding dec...
CHENEY – For over 35 years, Delmer and Jeanie Fitzner have bestowed the gift of flowers to people passing by their home at the intersection of Betz and Granite Lake roads. Free of charge. No conditions — just be sure to stop by Jeanie’s wagon early because the flowers get snatched up quickly. That practice is likely coming to an end as the couple who celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary next week are moving to a new home on Medifor Road near the Medical Lake-Four Lakes...
CHENEY – A series of small wildfires has grown into a 200-acre-plus blaze near Badger Lake about 15 miles south of Cheney. The four fires began around 5:04 p.m. Sunday evening under hot, dry conditions, and were burning in grassy areas dotted with stands of ponderosa pine. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, one was six acres and threatening structures, another was eight acres, the third was between 1-2 acres while the progress of the fourth had been stoppe...
CHENEY – When it came to a career, being an insurance agent was not on Layne Stoops’ radar. “I don’t think anybody grows up wanting to be an insurance agent,” Cheney’s newest State Farm representative said. Raised in Sun Valley, Idaho, Stoops came to Whitworth University in 2001 with music on his mind, having played saxophone for a number of years. But musical theory wasn’t his cup of tea, so he switched to psychology, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 2006 and a masters of ed...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University has announced that will offer online only instruction after the Thanksgiving/Native American Heritage holiday break. In a news release today, Aug. 12, university officials said the move is designed to keep students safe by minimizing health-related disruptions while maintaining attentiveness to public health concerns. The move should help limit travel to and from Cheney after the Thanksgiving break, Nov. 25 – 27, although students who live in the residence halls may return to campus aft...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustee’s approved a memorandum of understanding with the United Faculty of Eastern (UFE) that would stave off declaration of a severe financial crisis. All of the trustee’s voted for the memorandum with the exception of Trustee Uriel Iniguez, who voted no. “We’ve had a discussion about, and I think the board knows how I feel about some of the components in this agreement,’ Iniguez said in declaring his decision to vote against the memorandum. The board has met on several oc...
CHENEY – Overall crime reports dropped in the city by 9.9 percent in 2019. That’s better than the 11.1 percent increase in 2018, but not as good as the 20.1 percent decline in 2017 and certainly far from the 24.5 percent increase in 2016 for what are referred to as “Group A” crimes. If that sounds like a rollercoaster to you, it is, one officials have speculations about but no hard evidence to point to as to why there is such a swing. Carnival ride aside, Police Chief John Hensley is pleased with the decline in 2019 overall...
CHENEY – Residents will have another option available to them when it comes to internet service in the city. At its Aug. 11 meeting, the City Council approved an agreement with Avista Edge to begin a pilot program “for the provision of fixed wireless broadband internet services” in the city. Details on how Edge will work were not available at press time, but the technology will be installed and available through the city’s electric metering system. The resolution authorizing the agreement originally came before council...
CHENEY -- Despite smoke and flames several hundred feet away, some area water enthusiasts have reportedly been trying to launch their boats from the docks at Badger Lake. Accordingly, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a notice reminding people that the public access site at Badger Lake is "closed indefinitely due to a wildfire burning out of control in the area." DFW officials stated that despite evacuations of residents in the area, first responders are... Full story
CHENEY -- A series of small wildfires has grown into a 200-acre-plus blaze near Badger Lake about 15 miles south of Cheney. The fires began around 5:04 p.m. Sunday evening under hot, dry conditions, and are burning in grassy areas dotted with stands of ponderosa pine. According to a news release from the Washington State Patrol, about 50-70 homes are threatened. Initially, Level 2 "be prepared to leave" evacuation orders were enacted but state Department of Natural Resources...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University has announced that will offer online only instruction after the Thanksgiving/Native American Heritage holiday break. In a news release today, Aug. 12, university officials said the move is designed to keep students safe by minimizing health-related disruptions while maintaining attentiveness to public health concerns. The move should help limit travel to and from Cheney after the Thanksgiving break, Nov. 25 – 27, although students who live in the residence halls may return to campus aft...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustee’s approved a memorandum of understanding with the United Faculty of Eastern (UFE) that would stave off declaration of a severe financial crisis. All of the trustee’s voted for the memorandum with the exception of Trustee Uriel Iniguez, who voted no. The agreement includes financial concessions from the union, including a one-year, 6-percent reduction in salary, a tenure buyout and relinquishment plan and a voluntary retirement and separation incentive. The university a...
FAIRCHILD AFB – If you’re planning on partaking in outdoor activities northeast of Chewelah any time soon, don’t be surprised if you come across a wandering airman. Fairchild Air Force Base officials have announced that the U.S. Air Force’s Survival School is moving its winter training scenarios beginning this month to U.S. Forest Service land in the vicinity of North Fork Chewelah Creek and Drummond Creek around Sand Canyon Road. According to a news release, the change is part of a typical rotation of training areas designe...
CHENEY – Students may be returning to school in name only this fall, but they still need supplies. Cheney schools are slated to resume online instruction Sept. 8, and several organizations are attempting to provide backpacks filled with much needed supplies such as paper, pens, binders, calculators and USB flash drives. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is holding a “Back 2 School Community Event” this Sunday, Aug. 16, from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Sutton Park. Backpacks with school supplies will be distributed along wit...
WEST PLAINS – Cheney High School will have to wait a few more months to make its second appearance in the Greater Spokane League. At a July 30 meeting, the consensus among District 8 athletic directors — which includes the Greater Spokane League and Mid-Columbia Conference — was to move all fall sports to a newly created spring season, a move approved by school principals at a meeting last week in Spokane. The decision is the latest outcome from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s (WIAA) creation of a fo...
CHENEY – What the City Council did for people delinquent with their utility bills they now plan to do for small businesses. The city has set up the CARES Small Business Assistance Grant Program which, like the utility bill program established at the council’s July 14 meeting, will provide money received from the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress in April. Washington received $2.95 billion in CARES funding, sending $300 million of that to cities and counties with ind...
CHENEY – The school district board of directors voted unanimously on Aug. 3 to begin the 2020-2021 school year with most students taking part in the remote learning phase of the district’s proposed six-step plan for reopening. Under this stage three of the plan, students in the greatest need of support (educational justice) may participate onsite with in-person instruction. The board also approved a new calendar for the school year, dividing the 180 days of instruction into four separate but unequal quarters and pushing bac...
