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  • State patrol loses troopers over mandate

    Roger Harnack, Publisher|Updated Oct 21, 2021

    CHENEY – As Gov. Jay Inslee’s get a shot or get fired vaccine mandate deadline passed Monday, Oct. 18, schools, health agencies started reporting the impact. On Tuesday, the Washington State Patrol was among the first to paint a picture on the separations and terminations stemming from the gubernatorial proclamation requiring all state, education and health care workers to be “fully vaccinated” against the coronavirus, be approved for an exemption or be fired. A total of 127...

  • Homecoming Time Machine

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Oct 21, 2021

    Rosalia High School classes took turns putting on various era-theme chapters of an overall Time Machine-themed skit during Homecoming festivities Wednesday night, Oct. 13. Freshman went back to the stone ages, with sophomores stuck in the 1970s and juniors in the middle ages. The senior class found itself in ancient Greece....

  • Cheney harriers compete in Richland

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Oct 14, 2021

    CHENEY – The Blackhawks boys junior and senior cross country team finished inside the Top 10 of the 52nd annual Max Jensen Richland Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 9. Meanwhile, the girls junior-varsity team ran to eighth place while the boys freshmen and sophomore harriers topped out at No. 12. The junior and senior boys finished ninth with 210 team points in the 3-mile event. Kamiakin won the event with 19 points, followed by Central Valley with 76 points for second. Hermisto...

  • Blackhawks, Cardinals girls struggle

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Oct 14, 2021

    CHENEY – The Blackhawks girls volleyball team dropped was swept in nine straight sets over the last week, losing games to Mount Spokane, Gonzaga Prep and Central Valley. Cheney (2-8) fell to the Central Valley Bears (4-6), 3-0, on Oct. 5. Set scores were 25-22, 25-18, 25-7. Individual statistics were not reported. Then, on Oct. 7, the local girls were swept by the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups (7-4). Set scores were 25-13, 25-8, 25-15. Cheney’s junior Kate Palelek, sophomore Lil...

  • Halftime show

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Oct 7, 2021

    The Cheney High School Marching Band took to the football field during halftime of Friday night's football game against Mead. The performance portrayed a lonely girl who found companionship through music. The halftime show brought the crowd to its feet....

  • Palouse Falls meeting on proposals rescheduled

    Roger Harnack, The Journal|Updated Oct 7, 2021

    OLYMPIA – Washington State Parks officials have rescheduled a public meeting on a proposal that would end camping and require a hiking permit at Palouse Falls. The rescheduled meeting is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19 online at https://bit.ly/BlueMtnMeeting. The state is also planning to host in-person meetings at 6 p.m. Nov. 8 and 9; the locations have yet to be determined. In addition to rules to prevent “overcrowding” at Palouse Falls, the meeting will include discu...

  • Time for businesses to object

    ROGER HARNACK, Publisher|Updated Oct 7, 2021

    The last week has not been good for small businesses in our part of the state. The U.S. Postal Service began slowing “snail mail” services. Stores were ordered to stop using plastic bags and required to make their paying customers pay for a paper bag. And the state announced the minimum wage would jump to $14.49 per hour Jan. 1. If you don’t own or manage a business, this may seem overly dramatic. Who cares if it takes an extra day for your mail to arrive, right? It’s only 8...

  • Blackhawks boys take fourth in Battle for the 509

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Oct 7, 2021

    CHENEY – The Blackhawks boys took fourth-place in the fourth Battle for the 509 cross country meet Saturday, Oct. 2, at Fairways Golf Course. The boys finished with 187 points, behind No. 1 Mead with 74 points, Lewis and Clark with 121 and Coeur d'Alene with 133. Meanwhile, the local girls finished in 20th overall with 447 points in their division. Lewis and Clark won the girls event with 57 team points, followed by Post Falls, Idaho, with 99 and Sandpoint, Idaho, with 147. In...

  • Schools fall in gridiron matchups

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Oct 7, 2021

    CHENEY – The two high school boys football teams on the West Plains both lost Friday night, Oct. 1. The Mead Panthers rolled over the Blackhawks, 44-0, in Cheney in a Greater Spokane League matchup. And the Cardinals fell, 49-8, to the Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) Eagles at home in Medical Lake. Mead (2-2) racked up 132 yards on the ground on 33 carries, often running off the right tackle. The Panthers were led on the ground by Schuyler Harkness, who rushed 9 times for 53 yards....

  • Palouse Falls plan ends camping, requires permits

    Roger Harnack, The Journal|Updated Sep 30, 2021

    OLYMPIA – A new plan for managing Palouse Falls State Park may end camping and require hiking permits if its approved. Washington State Parks officials will take comments on the plan during a virtual 6 p.m. meeting Oct. 5. The meeting will be accessible online at https://bit.ly/3tYuVAo. According to State Parks' Lauran Moxham, the meeting will also include discussions of agency-planned changes for Lyons Ferry and the Lewis and Clark trail State parks Under the proposal for P...

  • Gonzaga Prep dominates Cheney

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Sep 23, 2021

    SPOKANE – It was all Bullpups. A bad snap on the first play from scrimmage cost the visiting Blackhawks 13 yards and set the tone for Friday night's game as Gonzaga Prep rolled over Cheney. Cheney (0-3) heads to West Valley (Spokane) this Friday night to play the Eagles (1-1). Kick off is at 7 p.m. The Eagles opened their season Sept. 3 with a 35-17 win over Class 1A Newport, then fell Sept. 10 to Lakeland (Rathdrum, Idaho), 42-13. Last Friday's West Valley at East Valley (...

  • Inslee extends eviction moratorium

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Sep 23, 2021

    OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee this afternoon extended his coronavirus-related eviction moratorium through Oct. 31. Calling the moratorium a “bridge,” Inslee said his action will allow municipalities to put in place financial assistance programs for those who haven’t paid their rent or mortgages during the 18 months of his orders related to the virus that originated in Wuhan, China. Money is available, he said, adding: “We think this extension provides ample times for these funds to get out to citizens.” In early August, the...

  • WSU orders 4-H volunteers to get vaccinated

    Roger Harnack|Updated Sep 16, 2021

    PULLMAN – The Washington State University Extension Office is applying the governor’s Wuhan coronavirus vaccination requirement to all 4-H volunteers. In a letter dated Sept. 3, Extension Office Director Vicki A. McCracken gave all volunteers until Oct. 18 to prove they have been vaccinated or be removed from their post. “… WSU is required to comply with Governor Inslee’s recent vaccination proclamation requirement,” McCracken wrote. “This health and safety proclamation that h...

  • Wear masks outdoors

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Sep 16, 2021

    OLYMPIA – Under a revised order by Gov. Jay Inslee last Thursday, Sept. 9, residents and visitors are now required to cover their faces when attending outdoor events that attract more than 500 people. The revised edict applies to sporting events, concerts and fairs. As of Monday, Sept. 13, face coverings are required of all event-goers, even if they’ve gotten a coronavirus vaccine and a booster. During the press conference in which he announced the new mandate, the gov...

  • Shot order for 4-H volunteers goes too far

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press Publisher|Updated Sep 16, 2021

    Talk about a bureaucrat with delusions of grandeur. On Sept. 3, Washington State University Extension Office Director Vicki A. McCracken took it upon herself to dictate that all 4-H volunteers now have to be “fully vaccinated” to continue in their position or face being “inactive.” She cited Gov. Jay Inslee’s edict that everyone connected to education – from preschool through the university system – must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18. Apparently, neither McCracken nor...

  • Newman Lake access closed Sept. 12-14 for milfoil treatment

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Sep 9, 2021

    SPOKANE VALLEY — The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is closing the Newman Lake Access Area from Sept. 12-14 for milfoil treatment. A contractor hired by Spokane County and the Newman Lake Flood Control Zone District will apply a herbicide to approximately 55 acres on the south shoreline and 4 acres on the west side of the lake Sept. 13, officials said. The treatment day is dependent on lake and weather conditions. The lake access is being closed to reduce "wave action from boats," which dilutes herbicides used to k...

  • Breaking away

    Roger Harnack|Updated Sep 2, 2021

    Several southern Spokane County residents participated in the Lincoln County Open Rodeo last Friday and Saturday nights in Davenport. Cory Perryman of Spangle was among the ranch bronc riders Saturday, but he didn’t complete an 8-second ride. Hanna Perkins of Medical Lake competed in junior barrel racing on Saturday evening. She posted a time of 23.38 seconds. Roger Harnack | Cheney Free Press...

  • Hogwash

    Roger Harnack|Updated Sep 2, 2021

    Kelly Cordill of Cheney, 12, gives her Hampshire crosses a drink of water Thursday at the Lincoln County Fair in Davenport. Cordill was among area residents participating in the Lincoln County Fair and Open Rodeo over the weekend in Davenport....

  • Overkill, Gold Rush repeat as winners

    Roger Harnack, Publisher|Updated Sep 2, 2021

    ST. JOHN – Several thousand race fans turned out Saturday for the second installment of Sprint Boat racing at Webb's Slough. The fastest time was posted by the No. 69 boat, Overkill, piloted by Dennis Hughes and navigated by his daughter, Samantha Hughes, both of Greenacres. Sprint boat racing pits a driver and navigator against a maze of channels and the clock. At speeds reaching more than 80 mph, the driver concentrates on making turns as the navigator memorizes the c...

  • High school football kicks off Friday night

    Roger Harnack, Publisher|Updated Sep 2, 2021

    CHENEY – The high school football season officially gets under way Friday night with Cheney at home and Medical Lake and Liberty (Spangle) on the road. The Cheney Blackhawks will host the Mount Spokane Wildcats. Meanwhile, The Medical Lake Cardinals travel to Priest River, Idaho, to take on the Spartans. To the south, the Liberty Lancers head to Jimmie Snider Field in Ritzville to take on the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos. The games all kick off at 7 p.m. Cheney returns a n...

  • Parents protest student masking

    ROGER HARNACK, Publisher|Updated Aug 19, 2021

    SPANGLE — Several hundred people stood on the Liberty High School baseball field Thursday evening, Aug. 12, singing the National Anthem. A World War II-era P-51 fighter flew overhead, piloted by Jared Segebartt of Moscow, Idaho, as the “Stars and Stripes” waved in the wind. Some in the crowd waved American flags; others hoisted signs demanding the governor rescind his edict requiring public school students to be masked when classes resume in the coming weeks. On the dais,...

  • Car overturns west of Cheney

    Roger Harnack, Cheney Free Press|Updated Aug 19, 2021

    Rescue units from Lincoln County and Spokane County Fire District No. 3 responded to a one-vehicle injury crash Monday morning at Milepost 257 of westbound Interstate 90, between the Tyler and Fishtrap exits. According to the Washington State Patrol, at about 9 a.m., a driver lost control of the vehicle, veered on the median and overturned; the car came to rest against some trees. The driver, whose name was not immediately available, was transported to a Spokane hospital with...

  • Parents should push back on Olympia masks in schools mandates

    ROGER HARNACK, Publisher|Updated Aug 12, 2021

    Parents of public school students in the 9th Legislative district have had enough of coronavirus-related mandates from Olympia. Shutter schools, curtail sports, wear masks, limit field trips and restrict access to graduation. Those actions have not been embraced here. And neither has Gov. Jay Inslee’s renewed call for all public school students to remain masked for the upcoming 2021-22 school year. Area parents are pushing back. This week, led by a group from Fairfield, many p...

  • Sheriffs', police chiefs concerned over new laws

    ROGER HARNACK, Publisher|Updated Jul 29, 2021

    SPOKANE VALLEY — Leading law enforcement officers from across Eastern Washington are warning residents that new laws will make it difficult to serve the public on possible criminal activities. During a press conference Thursday, July 22, nine police chiefs and eight sheriffs gathered at Center Place to voice their concerns about Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1310 and House Bill 1054, and Senate Substitute Bill 5066. Those laws went into effect at 12:01 a.m., S...

  • Columbia River Treaty needs renegotiating

    ROGER HARNACK, Publisher|Updated Jul 8, 2021

    Power shortages, rolling brownouts and blackouts? In the Pacific Northwest? One regional utility alone – Avista – had brownouts that affected 15,307 ratepayers last Monday, 6,793 last Tuesday and another 602 last Wednesday. Other utilities, too, had brownouts. I know we’ve had a day or two of record-setting high temperatures. But that’s not an excuse to shut down power to residents and businesses here in Eastern Washington. Columbia River basin dams generate roughly 44% of...

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