Sorted by date Results 276 - 300 of 2871
CHENEY – The City Council gave its approval to several projects last Tuesday, July 28, allowing a residential development to proceed along with a long-anticipated move towards utilizing reclaimed wastewater for irrigation purposes at public places. The latter involved accepting a pair of bids to install filtration systems at the city’s wastewater treatment plant allowing future construction of a “purple pipe” system from the plant to Cheney parks and other publicly owned spaces requiring irrigation. That system could be expan...
CHENEY – The City Council took steps to bolster the city’s water reserve fund while protecting rate payers from subsidizing new development by approving increases to water connection charges at its July 28 meeting. The increases were discussed at council meetings in February and March but put on hold over questions raised by local developers about the charges, with allegations rising from several that the city was instituting a potential “no-growth” policy by implementing increases in excess of what other nearby cities...
WEST PLAINS – Cheney and Medical Lake school districts have teamed with other districts around the state to hopefully prove there is power in numbers – especially when it comes to buying personal protective equipment needed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Both school districts have placed orders through Educational Service District 112 in Vancouver, Wash. to purchase a variety of supplies ranging from reusable cloth face masks to isolation gowns, disinfecting wipes and infrared thermometers. The idea came after indiv...
CHENEY — Eastern Washington University President Dr. Mary Cullinan has announced that she is retiring from her position, effective immediately. The university’s Board of Trustees has named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. David May to serve as interim president. The announcement came at a virtual board of trustees meeting this morning, Aug. 4. “I have been honored to serve as Eastern Washington University’s first female president,” Cullinan said in a news release. “EWU is a valuable asset to this region...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Spokane County Fire District 10 officials felt asking the public to support their Emergency Medical Service levy renewal in the midst of economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic was a gamble. It was a gamble that paid off as the district’s levy was well on its way to passage at press time Tuesday night, Aug. 4. According primary results from Spokane County Elections Department, the levy was passing 67.21 percent to 32.79 percent with 1,299 of the 1,912 returned ballots as of Tuesday hav...
Aug. 4 4:19 p.m. -- This story has been updated to reflect a press release issued today noting the district will start in stage 3 of its six-stage plan. 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) will receive in-person instruction. The board a...
CHENEY — Eastern Washington University President Mary Cullinan has announced she is retiring from her position, effective immediately. The university's Board of Trustees has named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs David May to serve as interim president. The announcement came at a virtual board of trustees meeting this morning, Aug. 4. "I have been honored to serve as Eastern Washington University's first female president," Cullinan said in a news release. "...
CHENEY – The popular Friday Night Movie series is reviving a format popular years ago when the automobile was king. The Parks and Recreation Department has moved the series to a drive-in movie style venue that will be held in the Cheney Middle School parking lot on Betz Road. Normally held at the Sutton Park gazebo, City Administrator Mark Schuller said they made the move last week after consulting with Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Dr. Bob Lutz. Movies are not considered live entertainment, which is p...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustees have approved using more cash reserves and an allocation of reduction targets in order to close a $22.54 million operating budget shortfall. At a special meeting today (July 24) held via Zoom, the board voted 8-0 in approving expense reduction targets of 13.5 percent for all university areas except Diversity and Inclusion and Academic Affairs. The latter will look for ways to come up with a 22.3 percent reduction in expenses while the former will be exempt from red...
CHENEY – The Fire Department’s fledgling emergency medical services cadet training program received a financial shot in the arm recently with a one-time $5,000 grant from Providence Health Care. The program is a collaboration between the department and Eastern Washington University to help students interested in a medical career receive real-world learning and training while also expanding the number of trained personnel capable of responding to emergencies in the city. Students who complete the coursework and field tra...
CHENEY – Public comment is being taken on a 46-lot housing development proposed on 16.98 acres of land north/northeast of Cheney High School Parkside 2nd Addition would plat 31 single-family lots an d 15 duplexes on property east of North 6th Street, west of Boulders Apartments, north of the Cheney Care Center/Plum Tree Court and south of Simpson Parkway. Access to the development would mainly be from Simpson Parkway via new extensions of two existing streets — Bethany and Annie Place. Annie Place would connect to its sou...
SPOKANE COUNTY – The Aug. 4 primary election is right around the corner, with ballots required to be mailed and postmarked by no later than next Tuesday to be counted. According to information from the county Elections Department website, as of Monday, July 27, 49,607 of the 340,883 ballots mailed had been returned — meaning just 14.53 percent of voters have made their decisions on statewide races such as governor and secretary of state to local levy issues. On the West Plains, 14.24 percent — 14,17 — of the 104,060 ballots i...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustees have approved using more cash reserves and an allocation of reduction targets in order to close a $22.54 million operating budget shortfall. At a special meeting today (July 24) held via Zoom, the board voted 8-0 in approving expense reduction targets of 13.5 percent for all university areas except Diversity and Inclusion and Academic Affairs. The latter will look for ways to come up with a 22.3 percent reductions in expenses while the former will be exempt from red...
CHENEY – City officials have made the decision to close the community's municipal pool for the 2020 season as well as put a pause in an activity recently launched to compensate for the lack of cooling off options for area youth - and adults. City Administrator Mark Schuller told the council last Tuesday, July 15, that he and Mayor Chris Grover made the decision to close the pool for a number of reasons, but mainly because rising cases of the novel coronavirus in the region h...
CHENEY – Residents economically impacted by COVID-19 now have somewhere to turn to for help paying their city utility bills. At their July 14 meeting, the City Council approved creation of the CARES Utility Assistance Grant Program, dedicating at least $25,000 of the $372,300 the city is eligible to receive in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the purpose. The program – which began July 15 – can provide up to $200 in one-time utility assistance to Cheney customers who have seen their house...
CHENEY – School district officials are evaluating the pros and cons of three proposed models for reopening schools this fall. The first is onsite/in-person instruction, a direction 70 percent of respondents to a recent survey indicated they preferred. Option two is a K-12 hybrid that features a split schedule of in-person instruction with online learning, while option three would provide K-5 onsite learning with a grades 6-12 hybrid. All three options are being evaluated by three separate committees, who are due to report o...
CHENEY – The City Council gave its go-ahead to two construction projects while putting a third briefly on ice at its July 14 meeting. The council elected to delay giving final plat approval to Phase 1 of the View Acres 5th Addition, postponing the decision until its July 28 meeting. Phase 1 would allow construction of 16 of 28 proposed homes on the 14.2-acre parcel at the end of Ridgeview Drive near Salnave Elementary School. The decision to defer final approval, which is contingent on three conditions developer Gary Geschke...
WEST PLAINS – Fire chiefs in Spokane County issued burn restrictions on Monday to all residents due to hot weather conditions expected throughout the week. The restrictions apply to all jurisdictions within the county. “We did converse, as the County Fire Chiefs, and agreed that given the high temps this week with low relative humidity along with dry fuel conditions, it was time to invoke burn bans for recreational fires,” Cheney Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said in an email. The restrictions apply to all unauthorized recre...
CHENEY – Residents economically impacted by COVID-19 now have somewhere to turn to for help paying their city utility bills. At their July 14 meeting, the City Council approved creation of the CARES Utility Assistance Grant Program, dedicating at least $25,000 of the $372,300 the city is eligible to receive in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to the purpose. The program – which began July 15 – can provide up to $200 in one-time utility assistance to Cheney customers who have seen their house...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University administrators and members of its board of trustees have outlined one path to take to deal with the university’s budgeting problems. Now, the university’s faculty have proposed another. At a July 6 special meeting held via Zoom, Faculty Organization legislative liaison and English professor Sam Ligon outlined part of a proposal to fill a projected $22.54 million budget hole through increased use of reserves and salary concessions negotiated with faculty and staff. The budget probl...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Asking taxpayers for money is an uncertain proposition even in the best of times. During a health pandemic, it’s even more of a gamble. Spokane County Fire District 10 Fire Chief Ken Johnson acknowledges that, and hopes voters will still understand their needs and support the district’s emergency medical services (EMS) levy renewal request on the Aug. 4 primary ballot. “In the back of my mind, I’m thinking there’s a lot of people out there who are hurting, st...
CHENEY – The best laid plans of mice and men can these days fall victim to bugs. That’s the gentle way of saying the Parks and Recreation Department’s plans for resuming the annual Concerts in the Park and Friday night movies at Sutton Park has been delayed due to measures surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. In a story in last week’s Cheney Free Press, city officials had hoped to launch both series this week, with the first concert July 15 and movie July 17. The concerts would run each Wednesday through Aug. 19 – except for...
WEST PLAINS – A statewide order requiring all businesses to prohibit customers from entering their facilities unless wearing a mask kicked into gear on Tuesday, July 7. The “No mask, no service” order from Gov. Jay Inslee last Thursday, July 2, expands on a previous order issue June 26. That order required masks in businesses specifically in Yakima County, which has been dubbed the “epicenter” of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state due to a rapid increase in positive cases that maxed out available hospital space. Inslee’s...
CHENEY – Webster's Dictionary describes the word "vision" as "a thought, concept or object formed by the imagination," or even as "a mode of seeing or conceiving." Eastern Washington University President Dr. Mary Cullinan and members of the administration laid out a vision for the university at the May 29 board of trustees meeting that she described in a June 26 interview as "leaner and more focused." It's a vision - called "Eagle Flight Path" - shaped by a two-year internal p...
CHENEY – Summertime Parks and Recreation programs are a mixture of the old and the new this year. While many planned offerings have been canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic health and safety restrictions, Cheney staff have worked to preserve a few staples of previous years while offering something new for kids and parents. One of those new activities is “Mobile Rec (coming to a park near you). Like the title, Parks and Recreation staff will be loading the department van each Wednesday from now through Aug. 13 with act...
