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Cheney High School’s inexperienced gymnastics team fought hard at University High School on Jan. 10 but couldn’t quite measure up to Spokane’s larger schools, coming in fourth place in the tournament with 108.350 points. The Lady Blackhawks finished just over 40 points behind University High School’s 148.450 points. Lewis and Clark took second with 154.700 points while Central Valley claimed the top spot with 158.925 points. Cheney sophomore Lauren O’Callaghan made her mark on the competition, placing eighth all-aroun...
Cheney’s boys wrestling team is slowly readying itself for the league championship, collecting a 54-21 win over Pullman Jan. 9 and ranking fifth as a team Jan. 12 at Ellensburg’s Ray Westberg Invitational. Head coach Jason Connor said the team did well against the Greyhounds despite both teams struggling with injuries that shook up their lineups. Weighing in at 145 pounds, Cheney’s Dylan Straley won by 9-1 major decision over Pullman’s Josiah Smith, while Blackhawk grappler Blake Seubert won by a 5-4 decision over the Gre...
Over the weekend, scientists in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics released a study examining the “health-related quality of life” of teens who had suffered concussions or bone fractures while participating in sports. The results indicated that while adolescents regularly reported lower quality of life during their initial recovery period, the deficits did not persist past their clinical recovery. Essentially, though their healing process sucked, once their injury healed they were fine. I could have told you that. Whi...
The Airway Heights Fire Department will have to say goodbye to one of its own at the end of this month, as training chief Alex Turner leaves for a captain's position with Spokane County Fire District 3 (SCFD3). "It's bittersweet," Turner said of the move. "I wasn't looking to move or leave the firefighting family here in Airway Heights, but it's an opportunity for me and my family at home." Turner has been with the Airway Heights department for about five years, but will join...
This year will be Airway Heights Police Chief Lee Bennett's last on the job as he makes plans to retire from his position by the end of January 2020, he announced Jan. 14. Bennett has been in law enforcement since 1982 and joined the city's police department as its chief in 2003. "It's just time for me to retire," he said. Bennett said he hopes to do a lot of fishing, hiking and hunting with his new free time with a goal of being outside and active as much as possible. "We'll...
The Cheney Blackhawks varsity wrestling team kicked off the year with two solid performances in a row, earning fourth place at the Freeman Invite Dec. 29 and bumping their tournament score up to second place against Reardan Jan. 5. The Freeman Invite pitted Cheney against seasoned wrestling teams from University High School and Deer Park, who took first and second-place with 226 and 158 points. Chewelah notched third with 121.5 points, while Cheney came in fourth with 110 points. West Valley followed closely behind with 104...
An Airway Heights family was left homeless a mere two days after Christmas when their manufactured home on 12th Avenue and Loffler Street caught fire Dec. 27. Though the property suffered significant damage, homeowner David Zarbok, his wife and three children escaped the home safely. The home was actively burning when firefighters arrived, primarily underneath the building, said Airway Heights Fire Department training chief Alex Turner. Most of the damage was done to the back of the house, Turner said. The living room was...
Airway Heights’ Exotic Metals Forming Company is set to triple its current facility’s footprint and hire more than 150 additional employees sometime in the next year, according to State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) documents filed with Spokane County in late December 2018. The addition is planned for a land parcel west and adjacent to the company’s main location at 12821 W. McFarlane Road in Airway Heights. Exotic Metals purchased 56.6 acres of property within city limits in 2014, where their existing 150,000 square foot...
While no one actually pointed fingers in the Airway Heights Council Chambers at the City Council’s first meeting of the year, the Jan. 7 gathering was undeniably tense as city officials met with project managers to discuss why the recreation center construction project is significantly behind schedule. The city’s new recreation complex, ringing up at an eye-popping $17.26 million, was intended to be complete and open for business at the end of 2018. That deadline was lat...
The last parcel of land zoned for multifamily residences in Airway Heights is officially moving forward with designs, marking the end of an era for multifamily development — at least for now. Arrowleaf Townhomes, a 52-lot subdivision, will eventually house 72 residential units complete with roadway improvements, stormwater management and a community center. The subdivision will be built on two parcels of land in the northeast area of town on the 13500 block of West 6th Avenue. Though the development is still in the permitting...
It’s January 3. Have you broken your New Year’s resolutions yet? I’ve never been a fan of annual resolutions. There, I said it. I won’t make them. I resolve nothing. In 2019, I’ll be the same bad-habit-having, pasta-eating, sleeping-too-late ray of sunshine I was last year, and I don’t even feel bad. I’m not against self-improvement in any way — far from it. But framing the first of the year as the magical time to make major life changes never struck me as practical. For generations, the beginning of the year has been linked...
The Airway Heights City Council approved an agreement with the city’s Public Safety Guild at a special Dec. 27 meeting following several weeks of unsuccessful negotiations. The new memorandum of agreement gives Guild members a 4.5 percent wage increase every year for the next four years, including 2019. The city will also contribute $1,373 per year to purchase medical coverage for employee’s families. The most recent contract between the city and the Guild, which is comprised of uniformed police officers and select fire perso...
It was a banner year for Cheney High School athletics, which saw several athletes head to state and even more named to All-League GNL teams. The Blackhawk spirit was in full force this year, with fall teams breaking long-held school and team records. Girls swim makes splash at state The Cheney girls swim team gave an impressive performance at the state championships in Federal Way in November, bringing home 12th place overall and smashing a 28-year-old school record in the process. The team earned their spot out of 30...
The Cheney varsity wrestling team powered through a series of valiant opponents at their Dec. 19 dual meet, relying on their middleweights to propel them to a 52-22 victory over East Valley — the first win against the Knights on the mat since 1988. Three major wins in a row from middleweight competitors put Cheney well on the path to success, as Cheney’s sophomore Jackson Showalter won his match against his East Valley opponent by a 10-0 major decision after a long battle. In the 160-pound weight class, sophomore Blake Seu...
The line to sit on Santa’s lap and pick out a toy stretched halfway across the meeting room at the American Legion Hall Post 72 in Cheney on Dec. 19 as kids waited excitedly to tell Mr. Claus what they wanted for Christmas. Happy shrieks of small children bounced off the walls and around the brightly decorated room, decked out with long tables featuring holiday crafts for kids to try. Infants, teenagers and kids of every age in between decorated sugar cookies, made candy cane ornaments and painted paper gingerbread men. The A...
One person is dead and five more were injured following a three-car accident on U.S. Highway 2 near Christensen Road three miles west of Airway Heights at 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 19. Spokane resident Ryan Labreck’s Subaru Crosstrek was stopped in the left turn lane when it was struck by a 2002 Dodge Caravan driven by Thomas Aripa, 45. The Crosstrek was pushed into the eastbound lane, where it was hit by a Ford F350 pickup truck carrying two adults and two children. Labreck, 36, was pronounced dead at the scene. Aripa, the driver o...
Can you have too much of a good thing? The Cheney School District was left wondering that this year as its enrollment numbers skyrocketed past earlier projections, making the ongoing school construction more vital than ever. School officials watched as the district’s population continued to climb steadily throughout the year, reaching its peak last month. The district has added nearly 300 students to its rolls since the end of the last school year in June. Enrollment at s...
The tone of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Dec. 19 was decidedly uneasy as a panel of local experts discussed the state of housing in the West Plains. The message was simple: there aren’t enough houses. At least not yet. “We’re in a scary situation as far as housing is concerned, and we may not be able to meet this new demand,” said Joel White, an executive officer at Spokane Home Builder’s Association (SHBA). “This growth is not what we’re going to have to see going forward.” The looming housing shortag...
The Cheney High School gymnastics team is slowly improving its scores, taking third place at its Dec. 13 North Central meet. Cheney slid into third with 105.975 points, beating North Central (96.200) and Rogers (66.150) by a significant margin but coming in well under second place Central Valley and first place Mead. Central Valley and Mead topped the competition with 143.725 points and 156.225 points respectively. Senior Makayla Miller continued to make waves in multiple events, taking fifth place on bars with a 7.050, 11th...
Still reveling in last week’s decisive victory over Medical Lake, the Cheney High School wrestling team is looking forward to its league season with anticipation, hoping to beat East Valley’s team for the first time in nearly 30 years. In the matchup against longtime rival Medical Lake on Dec. 17, Cheney came out on top, winning 54-18 and taking 10 out of 13 matches. “Against Medical Lake last week we were really happy,” head coach Jason Connor said. “We were really impressed with how the guys responded.” At 170 pounds, Che...
When I was a kid, I played soccer with a girl who wore the same sparkly barrette in her hair every single game. It didn’t match our uniforms and it didn’t have any particular sentimental value to her, but she was wearing it when we won our first big game. From then on, the barrette was there to stay. Athletes in every sport, of every age and skill level, have traditions and rituals that precede games. In that way, they’re a little like sailors: superstitious, because so much of their livelihood depends on circumstances out o...
The Cheney School Board buckled down for a long night at their Dec.12 meeting, approving several policy revisions and tackling housekeeping measures to help ease the way into the new year. The board held elections at the start of the meeting, unanimously selecting director and former vice president Stacy Nicol to serve as president, while director Mitch Swenson took the newly vacated vice president seat. Former school board president Henry Browne has served in that position for three years. A new voting order for the...
One hopes that the Cheney School District likes the color green, because they’ll be seeing a lot of it this upcoming school year. Superintendent Rob Roettger announced at the Dec. 12 school board meeting that the district will be the recipient of a $1.92 million grant from the state STEM Capital Grants Program, which provides school districts with construction funds to build or modernize classroom spaces and labs. Just seven districts across the state were awarded funds from the $10 million appropriated by the state L...
Thanks to a new lease agreement with the Spokane County Raceway in Airway Heights, county sheriff’s deputies will be gaining nearly 100 training days a year on the track in exchange for a reduction in the raceway’s annual fees. The Spokane County Commissioners approved the agreement last week, dropping raceway operator Craig Smith’s payment from $32,500 per year to about $10,000. “This was a way to get the fee reduced and bring in more police training, which is good when you sit around and look at all the crime that’s...
The Airway Heights City Council focused on wrapping up loose ends for their last meeting of the year on Dec. 17. In a unanimous vote, the council approved a resolution finalizing Sekani Fourth Addition, a 28-lot single-family subdivision on Ninth Avenue north of Walmart in Airway Heights. According to city documents, the city received an application to finalize the 6.8-acre lot into a subdivision on June 11, but the project was actually vetted and deemed vested by Spokane County in 2012 prior to annexation into the city....
