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The Cheney girls swim team gave an impressive performance at the state championships in Federal Way last week, bringing home 12th place overall and smashing a 28-year-old school record in the process. The team earned their spot out of 30 schools competing, and their ninth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay broke a Cheney record dating back to 1990. The relay team, comprised of freshman Janie Richards, freshman Jade Gere, junior Echo Mecklenburg and senior Courtney Hansen, completed the swim in 1:58:53 seconds. “It was...
The Airway Heights City Council held a public hearing on Nov. 5 on the city’s 2019 final preliminary budget, and also approved two measures allocating additional monies to the Airway Heights Recreation Complex project. Council unanimously approved the use of money from two separate real estate excise tax funds (REET) to go toward the construction of the recreation center, which has been under construction since November 2017. About $229,000 from REET 1 and $197,000 from REET 2 will go toward the complex’s completion. The cit...
Following a loss to East Valley in the Great Northern League championships on Oct. 30, the Lady Blackhawks varsity soccer team took on Ellensburg in a postseason regional tournament, putting up a valiant effort but ultimately succumbing 3-2 in overtime. Cheney (11-9, 7-5) travelled to Ellensburg to challenge the Lady Bulldogs but couldn’t overcome a lackluster first half to secure the win. A goal by Ellensburg in the 33rd minute left Cheney trailing for the entire first half. A second score from the Bulldogs in the 59th minut...
With Cheney High School’s annual powderpuff football game drawing near, it makes you wonder — how did this become a thing? Who had the idea to give the women the pigskin and shoulder pads and make the men shake the pom-poms? The game is a custom all its own, with unique historical roots that can be traced back nearly a century. “Powderpuff football” is a long-standing fall tradition at high schools all over the nation, and is traditionally a touch- or flag-football game played by teenaged girls, often while boys dress u...
Last week, professional wrestlers John Cena and Daniel Bryan announced that they would not be participating in the World Wrestling Entertainment’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia. The move shocked sports analysts and caused WWE stock to plummet, but Cena and Bryan held firm. In the wake of the brutal murder and subsequent cover-up of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi government agents, they refused to participate in one of the largest events ever hosted by their chosen sport. In recent years, everyone f...
The Cheney School District has begun its boundary review process, creating an online survey for parents and community members to weigh in on the adjustment of school boundaries. According to education officials, the review will help the district balance school sizes and manage its escalating enrollment. The district’s population topped out at 4,832 students as of the beginning of this month, up 288 kids from the final count of the 2017-2018 school year. Enrollment has spiked throughout the district but is particularly high a...
On Nov. 2, more than 17 clubs and classes set up tables at Cheney High School, all offering various activities related to their organization. The French Club? Serving up hot homemade crepes. The floral design class? Hand-making rings and bracelets from real blooms. The event was dreamed up by the Cheney High School Writer's Club, which came up with the idea to showcase the interesting clubs and classes the school has to offer, according to adviser and AP Literature and...
Math can be a difficult subject, and it's common for students to struggle with it as children and young adults. But according to recent test scores, elementary students in the Cheney School District are grasping grade-level math concepts much better than their older counterparts. Third-graders in the Cheney district are meeting math benchmarks at a significantly higher rate than older students. About 66 percent of incoming third-graders met required math benchmarks last year,...
The Lady Blackhawks varsity soccer team finished second in their regular season, dominating both Pullman and Clarkton in the District 7 2A playoffs but coming up short against East Valley in the Great Northern League Championship Tuesday night. The team controlled the field early in the match against Pullman (3-12-1, 1-11), scoring four goals in the first half — two from junior defender and forward Mackenzie Huotari and two from sophomore midfielder Makenna Benson. The pair of early goals from Huotari set the tone for the e...
The Lady Blackhawks varsity volleyball team is done for the season after a solid performance, eliminating Clarkston on Oct. 25 but losing to East Valley two days later in the Great Northern League semifinal. The team delivered against Clarkston, coming out on top in four sets (25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 25-16) and playing a focused game. Junior Shelby Draper had 14 kills, ensuring a Lady Blackhawk victory. “Clarkston was awesome, my girls played amazing,” head coach Heather Zorrozua said. “I don’t really feel like Clarkst...
The Cheney swim team will be sending three relay teams and four individuals to state following a strong showing at their district meet Oct. 27. At the district meet, Cheney dominated the relays, netting first place in the 200-yard relay in 1:58:91 thanks to freshman Janie Richards, junior Echo Mecklenburg, freshman Jade Gere and senior Courtney Hansen. Richards, Hansen and junior Izzy Williams also took second in the 200-freestyle relay in 1:58:86 and Williams, Mecklenburg, Gere and senior Juliette Richards swept first in...
The Airway Heights City Council powered through its Oct. 29 meeting in less than 20 minutes, focusing on the appointment of pro-tem judges through the end of the year. The council unanimously approved the appointment of several Spokane County District Court judges to serve in a pro-tem capacity on the city’s municipal court until Dec. 31. These part-time judges will serve primarily during off-hours such as after 5 p.m. and can also provide warrant services. Previous municipal court Judge Jennifer Fassbender has resigned f...
The Cheney School Board discussed its upcoming boundary review and heard several project updates at their Oct. 24 meeting, including an assessment of the Cheney High School athletics program by Athletics Director Jeff Chandler. The board heard the reasoning for the boundary review being undertaken by the district, which will evaluate current elementary and middle level attendance areas. The goal of the review is to gather community input regarding priorities and recommend new attendance area boundaries. The last boundary...
Sunset Elementary physical education teacher Nels Radtke received the "Educator of the Year" award from the West Plains Chamber of Commerce at the Best of the West Gala hosted by the chamber Oct. 26. Radtke has been teaching young students at Sunset for more than 10 years. He is also the coach for the varsity girls soccer team at Cheney High School and teaches a before-school fitness club for students in the spring. His selection for the accolade came as a total surprise,...
The race for Spokane County Commissioner in District 3 has heated up in recent weeks, as incumbent Al French takes on political newcomer Robbi Anthony. French has served as County Commissioner for nearly eight years. The GOP candidate currently serves on a variety of boards and committees, including the Washington State Association of Counties and the Spokane International Airport Board. Anthony is a first-time candidate, running as a Democrat. She owns two small businesses in Spokane, has sat on the board of two local...
Cheney’s varsity girls soccer team finished their regular season second in the Great Northern League, securing their spot in the postseason with a 4-0 victory over West Valley on Oct. 18 in one of their best games of the season. The Lady Blackhawks (9-7, 7-5) played strong against West Valley (9-6, 7-4) with nine shots and five saves. Junior midfielder and forward Kaitlin Teeters came through with two goals for Cheney, including the first of the game in the 13th minute and the fourth in the 50th minute. Junior defender K...
The Lady Blackhawks varsity volleyball team bye week couldn't have fallen at a better time as they wait to see what their future in the postseason will hold. The team is ranked solidly in fourth in the Great Northern League with a 4-8 win-loss record, and as of press time who they'll take on in their Oct. 25 match was still up in the air, dependent on the Oct. 23 matches between West Valley and East Valley and between Clarkston and Pullman. "We'll stay in fourth; there's no...
Cheney officials and 6th District legislators christened the redrilling of Cheney's Well 3 on Oct. 12. The legislators were responsbile for getting $750,000 in state funding to help the city get it's $1.8 million project underway. From left to right are Cheney Mayor Chris Grover, City Administrator Mark Schuller, City Councilwoman Jill Weiszmann, Rep. Mike Volz and Rep. Jeff Holy....
With Airway Heights facing transportation challenges across the city, local officials think they may have found a solution to some of the issues stemming from the surge of recent growth in the West Plains — bypasses. A bypass is a road or highway that avoids a town or city and is specifically designed to reduce congestion and improve road safety. Airway Heights is considering implementing two, one off of U.S. Highway 2 on the north end of town and the second on 21st Avenue. The first of these is off of U.S. 2 to the east o...
As the city of Airway Heights prepares to present $10 million agenda to the state Legislature for the 2019 session, staff is debating which projects in need of additional funding should be prioritized, and it looks like the city’s recreation complex may be put on the back burner. For the last several months, city officials have discussed the possibility of requesting $2 million in Capital Budget funding to complete phase two of the Airway Heights Recreation Complex. This phase would have a second baseball/softball field, a...
It was a momentous week for Cheney's Assistant Superintendent Sean Dotson as he celebrated a significant achievement - earning his doctorate in educational leadership from Washington State University. Dotson has been working toward his Ph.D. for nearly five years due to having small children at home and a demanding job, he said. "It's always been something I was interested in, the chance to reach that highest level of education," Dotson said. "It's really exciting." A study...
The construction of several new classrooms in multiple schools could not have come at a better time for the Cheney School District, considering it’s in the process of adding several classrooms due to the influx of students since school started this year. School officials have added a last-minute kindergarten class at Sunset Elementary and are working on adding more core classes at Westwood Middle School to accommodate a surge of sixth-grade enrollment, Assistant Superintendent Sean Dotson said. District Finance Manager J...
The Cheney School District School Board listened to several staff reports at their Oct. 10 meeting, where they gave their approval for staff to submit multiple grant applications. The board unanimously approved a grant application for STEM equipment to increase student access to scientific technology in the classroom. Funds received would be used in classes like sports medicine, computer science and wood shop. Also unanimously approved was the application for a transitional bilingual program meant to help English learners in...
The Airway Heights City Council held a public hearing at their Oct. 15 meeting on revenue sources for the current expense fund for the 2019 budget, sparking conversation about possible property tax increases. In the budget, a 1 percent property tax increase of $11,802.10 is proposed, as well as a 1 percent increase of $1,352 for EMS. An EMS tax levy was approved by the voters on Nov. 3, 2015 in the initial amount of $0.25 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. An excess bond obligation levy was also approved on Aug. 2, 2016 in the...
It's no secret that students who miss significant portions of the school year struggle with academic achievement. But new data indicates that in the Cheney School District, chronic absenteeism and class failure may be more closely linked than previously thought. To be "chronically absent," a student must miss at least two days a month, about 18 a year. That's one-tenth of the entire school year, and missing even this small amount of class time can have a significant effect on...
