Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 100
CHENEY – Washington state aims to increase the penalties for thieves looking to rob their local pot shops. Senate Bill 5927, sponsored by Sen. Jim Honeyford (R-Sunnyside), would increase the sentence of those convicted by a full year if the bill becomes a law. Pot shop robberies have been an issue since mid-2014 when recreational cannabis sales became available to the public. MJBIZDAILY, which has provided cannabis business information since 2011, sites Uncle Ike’s i502 Robbery Tractor listing 60 robberies since January of...
CHENEY – Major staff shakeups continue to play out at the Cheney School District (CSD). In addition to looking for a principal and superintendent and hiring a new spokesman, the District is now looking for a head coach for the boys’ basketball team after coach Tierre Warren resigned. “His vision and the vision the school had weren’t on the same page,” said Cheney High School Athletic Director Tim Kennedy. “When different levels are operating on different plans it’s hard to mesh.” Kennedy said CSD will begin its search for...
CHENEY – The historic Cheney Depot is transitioning to an eatery that will include a restaurant, outside dining area and coffee bar. City Senior Planner Brett Lucas said the most prominent exterior alterations include adding new French doors to the existing sliding doors and putting them in the baggage and freight rooms. They will also be removing the loading dock to make room to raise the existing freight room floor. According to City Building Inspector Terry Mourning, i...
CHENEY – Last Tuesday, March 1, six cars in Cheney were damaged. The string of incidents, Cheney Police Captain Nate Conley said, could be related. “There’s a high probability they’re related based on relation of location and time,” he said. Most of the damage happened between 900 block of Second Street and the 1400 block of Third Street. Vehicle window damage was also located on the 200 block of Elm Street. Two vehicles had their tires slashed, three had window damage and a door was damaged on one other vechile. “We have...
CHENEY – School Board President Mitch Swenson ended the in-person board meeting Feb. 23 when resident Ivan Khala refused to follow coronavirus mandates. "Unfortunately, we had to go to virtual and call the police because he refused to," a visibly frustrated Swenson said. "I don't know what to say." Khala, however, downplayed the disruption. "That's how you do it," Khala said. Khala said he believes the School Board should do everything in its power to end mask mandates. He d...
CHENEY – Mitchel Palmquist, Cheney School District's new communications director, comes to his new position with years of experience working with schools in Spokane County. Palmquist was the communications director for the Catholic Diocese of Spokane for five years, where he oversaw a communications program for the large religious institution, including 13 elementary schools, according to a Feb. 23 press release. "The chances where I got to share positive stories and e...
CHENEY – Shari McMahan is the new president of Eastern Washington University. The board of trustees announced the news in a Feb. 24 press release. McMahan is the 27th president of the university and the second woman president in the institution’s history. McMahan was one of the four finalists out of 60 applicants. She is currently the provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University in San Bernardino. McMahan beat out interim president David May for the job and Monroe Gorden Jr., vice pre...
CHENEY – Washington’s redistricting commission has finally settled on its new congressional and legislative district maps putting Cheney and the West Plains in the fifth congressional district. The West Plains will be in the sixth and ninth legislative districts. Cheney and most of south-eastern Washington will be in the ninth legislative district, while Medical Lake, Fairchild Air force Base, and Airway Heights reside in the sixth district. Current senators like Mark Schoesler will continue representing the new bou...
CHENEY – Cheney High School is officially searching for a new principal as of Feb.15. This search includes input from middle school and high school students from around the district via a Google survey that is available from the school district until March 3. “It is common practice, especially at the secondary level, to include students as part of the interview process for new administrators and teachers,”Kelly Niccolls, teaching and learning assistant director said in an email to the Cheney Free Press. “Students are the cen...
CHENEY – The Eastern Washington University football team has brought on a new coach to tutor their wide receivers, according to an Eagles Feb. 28 press release. Greg Hardin makes his way to Cheney via Oregon State University, where he spent time as the Beavers graduate assistant. He also helped coach the wide receivers, cobbled together scouting reports, worked on passing game concepts, ran the scout defenses and even helped the Beavers recruit. Hardin spent time coaching receivers at Robert Morris University, where he h...
CHENEY – A Feb. 16 post on the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the cause and manner of death of Loghan Starbuck, a 25-year-old Cheney woman who went missing on Dec. 18, 2021. But that information is not being released to the public at this time. On Jan. 10 of this year, authorities pulled her body from the Spokane River. While police cannot release any information during an ongoing investigation, Plan B Forensics LLC, a local forensic and expert witness service in criminal investigations, was heavily inv...
CHENEY – Stephanie Olsen was raised in Cheney, pursued her entire legal career in Spokane County, and is running to be its next prosecutor. She challenges incumbent Larry Haskell in a race that features two Republican representatives. Olsen thinks she’ll be a good fit for the position. “I’ve run a business before, I’m a good communicator, I’m a good listener, and that has been part of the problem (with the current prosecutor),” Olsen said. “I will go to the meetings — I wi...
CHENEY – Keith Fauerso, long-time director of the Cheney Care Center, is retiring at the end of March. Fauerso has been at the helm of the facility since 1988. "We're kind of unique as we are the only not-for-profit skilled facility in the state of Washington that was founded through community effort," Fauerso said. The original care center was located where the El Rodeo Mexican restaurant is. The Washington Department of Social and Health Services closed that facility in t...
CHENEY – Winter sports officially wrapped with the swim and wrestling teams representing well at the state tournaments. The Blackhawks sent three wrestlers to the Mat Classic in Tacoma this past weekend, Feb. 18 and 19. Junior Joe Showalter competed in the 132-pound weight class, Junior Dalton Taylor wrestled at 152, and senior Ezra Anderson competed 182 pounds. "All three of these guys really peaked at the right time of year and their hard work during the season and out of se...
Cheney Police Reports Reports from 2-15 to 2-21 By Jonathan Olsen-Koziol Cheney Free Press Feb. 15 1994 Black Honda Civic abandoned on the 700 block of Chestnut Street. Harassment reported on the 2300 block of University Place. Jeffrey W. Pontier, 54-year-old male was arrested on felony harassment on the 200 block of North Eleventh Street. Tools and clothing stolen from garage on the 1000 block of Betz Road. Feb. 16 Stuffed animals and pillows stolen from the 500 block of Buena Vista Street. Feb. 17 Vehicle window broken on...
CHENEY – Emotions were high again during the public participation segment of the Feb. 8 School Board meeting.over COVID-19 safety protocols like school mask mandates and social distancing requirements that removed lunch tables, forcing students to sit in rows and eat lunch from trays in their lap. Ivan Khala, a frequent contributor at the board meetings, let his thoughts be known. "Since the school board directors are voted in by the people, the people should have a say in m...
CHENEY – The Cheney City Council is as tired of the discussion revolving around vaccine mandates as you are. Once again, the subject of requiring vaccinations for employees of the city of Cheney reared its divisive head during the regularly scheduled council meeting on Feb 8. Resolution E-993 was the latest document regarding vaccine mandates for future city employees and a vaccine incentive for all employees. This resolution states that vaccinated employees would receive a monthly reimbursement of $50, going back to January...
CHENEY – The Schoolhouse Lofts is one of the most unique buildings in Cheney. The structure, built in 1931, was the original Cheney junior high school until 1967. In 2017, it was retrofit into a residential apartment building that houses many of today’s Eastern Washington University students. The Lofts stands as one of the best examples of how to take an old building and retrofit it into something that has utility in modern-day society. “That was a particularly well-done prese...
SPOKANE VALLEY–Students from Cheney High and Westwood Middle School represented their community well with outstanding performances at the 2022 Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Northeast Regional Winter Conference at the Valley Assembly Church in Spokane Valley on Thursday, Feb. 3. "It's good to be back," Adam Smith, career and technical education director at Cheney High School, said with relief. "I was pleasantly surprised with the student's success due to the massive...
CHENEY – Veteran journalist Bob Kirkpatrick has joined the Cheney Free Press to reinvigorate the newsroom and help bring a new look to the newspapers. Kirkpatrick came to the media industry later in his life. It had always been a passion of his. But he couldn't pursue it until his kids were grown and out of the house. "Growing up in the '60s, I developed a watchdog mentality of what's happening around me and felt there was a need for accountability," Kirkpatrick said. K...
CHENEY – Shantell Jackson, program director for the Spokane Arts, is teaming up with Eastern Washington University’s (EWU) Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies (GWSS) to host two programs aimed at educating students, staff and the Cheney community about healing within the black community as part of Black History Month. Jackson is a visual storyteller and writer and has been the Spokane Arts program director since October 2021. This year, Jackson serves as GWSS’s ninth annual Activist in Residence. “I am very excited for the o...
CHENEY – Members of the Cheney Historic Prevention Commission (CHPC) gathered for the first time in just under a year on Thursday, Feb. 3. The commission was on an extended hiatus because of COVID-19 restrictions, and two of their former board members were forced to resign because of various health issues and family commitments. The commission tried to gather for a meeting late last year but could not find times that worked for everyone, further delaying the regularly scheduled meetings. During the meeting last Thursday, t...
CHENEY – The Eastern Washington University Eagles are getting ready to soar into the 2022 season. Off the heels of an incredible season led by Walter Payton man of the year Eric Berrier, the Eagles look to replicate that team’s success with a new roster helmed once again by head coach Aaron Best. This season’s schedule is highlighted by a pair of FBS matchups against the Oregon Ducks and the Florida Gators. This is the third time the Eagles have faced two FBS teams in a single season. The Eagles begin this year’s confere...
CHENEY – The spotlights flooded the center of the Cheney high school gym on Tuesday night for a wrestling showdown between the Blackhawks and the Ferris Saxons. The Saxons may have been in enemy territory, but they made themselves right at home in Cheney. Between the cheerleaders domineering spirit and the wrestlers performances, the Blackhawks were definitely challenged in their home turf....
CHENEY – Here are the notable results for the Cheney Blackhawks final swim meet of the season. Ben P. Schreiber placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.68. Luke Wilcox placed eleventh in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:21.23. Maxwell T. Hemenway placed seventeenth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:33.79. Cheney placed fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:57.85. Cheney scored fifth in the 200-yard medley relay with...
