Articles from the January 6, 2022 edition


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  • Updated Jan 6, 2022

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  • City Employee Vaccine Mandate Debate Continues

    Jonathan Olsen-Koziol, Cheney Free Press|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    CHENEY – Cheney’s city council is once again debating the efficacy of vaccine mandates amongst themselves and concerned citizens. The Dec. 28 city council meeting started with some routine business before things heated up when Resolution E-959 was brought to the table. Resolution E-959 is the vaccine mandate policy for city employees. The original plan for the Dec. 28 meeting was to vote on Resolution E-959 but emergency action was taken and the vote was moved to its own special meeting on Jan. 10 where the council will dec...

  • Cardinal boys hold off Sandpoint

    Matthew O. Stephens, Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    SANDPOINT – The varsity boys’ basketball team from Medical Lake traveled to Sandpoint, Idaho on December 29 for a non-league game and held on late to win behind the offense of Oran Rhimer. Rhimer led the scoring effort with 31 points on 12 baskets. Six of those were three pointers, and he converted a couple of free throws as well. Eugene Haas III added to the total with ten points as well including a couple of key buckets he made late in the game. The Cardinals started to falter a bit in the second quarter, and Sandpoint put...

  • Eagles win two straight

    Matthew O. Stephens, Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    PORTLAND – The Eastern Washington men’s basketball team traveled to the Viking Pavilion and brought their overall record to 7-6 with the 63-58 win over Portland State on December 30. The Eagles were missing a few players in the lineup but were able to still come away with the victory through a strong team effort. Steele Venters led the Eagles in scoring with 20 points. Venters drained a trio of three pointers, and also had six rebounds, four blocks, and a steal. Right behind him was forward Angelo Allegri who tallied 19 point...

  • Two Cardinal JV wrestlers take first

    Matthew O. Stephens, Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    HANFORD – Hudson Raulston and Aden Carl from Medical Lake both won their respective weight divisions during the Winter Cup wrestling tournament in Hanford. Overall Medical Lake placed tenth. Raulston wrestled in the 113-pound weight division and took first place with four wins and no losses during the event scoring 18 points for the team. He won by fall over Pasco’s Tonkra Phomtanaphun. Raulston also won by fall over East Valley wrestler Alex Zaleski. He also pinned Gabriel Mackley from Richland. Raulston had one victory due...

  • West Plains Police News

    Updated Jan 6, 2022

    Cheney Police Reports Jonathan Olsen-Koziol Cheney Free Press CHENEY – Here are the police reports for the last two weeks from Dec. 20 through Jan. 2. Dec. 20 Verbal dispute on the 1500 block of First Street. Missing 44-year-old male went missing and located later the same day on the 200 block of West Second Street. Washington State drivers license found on the 2700 block of First Street. Clutch purse with IDs and debit card found on 200 block of Second Street. Trespassing reported on 400 block of First Street. Vehicle h...

  • Freeman Winter Classic Results for Cheney High School

    Jonathan Olsen-Koziol, Cheney Free Press|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    ROCKFORD – Here are the results from the Freeman Winter Classic wrestling meet for Cheney High School. 120 Camron Bogle (6-9) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Camron Bogle (Cheney High School) 6-9 won by fall over Brycen Palmer (West Valley High School) 8-8 (Fall 3:25) Quarterfinal - Tomio Yamada (Lakeside) 9-6 won by decision over Camron Bogle (Cheney High School) 6-9 (Dec 7-3) Cons. Round 2 - Calister Crosby (University High School) 4-5 won by decision over Camron Bogle (Cheney High School) 6...

  • Berlin student notices major differences in America

    Sarah Stephens, Staff reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    CHENEY- Noah Fleri, is a 16 year old high school junior from Berlin, Germany who is being hosted at Cheney High school this year. Fleri's host parents while he is here are Cody Kurtis and Jeena Bushnell of Cheney. Fleri was recently in the cross country club and now he is focused on weightlifting and is in the power lifting club and said, "we just lift weights, and that's about it." Although he is not involved in any sports right now, he plans to play soccer when it becomes...

  • Recapping 2021 at the Cheney Free Press

    Jonathan Olsen-Koziol, Cheney Free Press|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    CHENEY - 2021 marked a year where the community of Cheney and the planet were still attempting to get back to normal. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be a yearly recap without talking about COVID-19. We started this year for all intents and purposes in the middle of a pandemic and it trickled into many aspects of our daily lives, from the food you could find at the grocery store to the way kids were forced to attend classes. The COVID-19 virus took front and center of the state this year and its presence effected the community in...

  • Cheney High school students rank high in Future Farmers of America competition

    Sarah Stephens, Staff Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    On December 15, at Cheney High school, several students participated in a competition called The Sub-District Leadership Development Event for Employment Skills and Extemporaneous Speaking. They also participated in the Potato Evaluation contest as a team in November and placed 7th in the state. This particular FFA team, which is subdivided encompasses a very large area and includes Spangle, Rearden, all the way to Kettle Falls, so it has been divided into two teams. The...

  • Winter Wildlife

    Matthew O. Stephens|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    Porcupines can be found wandering all over Turnbull, and this one was out in the snow looking for snacks on New Year’s Eve....

  • Lyle Raymond Bruce

    Updated Jan 6, 2022

    Lyle Raymond Bruce passed away on Dec. 31, 2021, at the age of 79, in Spokane, Wash. He left this world suddenly, but we can rest assured knowing that the "Spud King" is now in heaven tending to God's glorious potatoes. Lyle was born to Lawrence and Violet Bruce on May 28, 1942. Lyle grew up in the small town of Farmington, Wash. He went to school in Farmington through 8th grade. He attended Oaksdale High School where he was a member of the baseball team. He remained good frie...

  • Looking Back

    Updated Jan 6, 2022

    Looking Back 10 years ago January 5, 2012 New community center, police chief highlight end of 2011 Local businesses made up a big portion of the sponsorship funding the 44th annual Cheney rodeo and the first annual Cheney Jubilee, both set for the weekend of July 8-10. Organizers for both events said that businesses were supportive despite tight economic times. The Cheney Farmer's Market was enjoying brisk business and a growing number of participating vendors every Monday at...

  • Looking beneath the labels

    Updated Jan 6, 2022

    What’s in a word? Think tanks have been very successful in directing our thoughts to the way they want us to act. Lakoff’s book, Don’t Think of an Elephant, suggests that the words we use have consequences. Words often become popular and may be used to our detriment. For example, “tax burden” brings to mind something very unpleasant, maybe unfair. Yet, we all need to pay for the benefit of government provisions, such as roads, schools, libraries and disaster relief. Every American benefits from roads, for example. For years...

  • No shortage of press problems

    Roger Harnack, Publisher|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    The last year ended with a bang. Well, more accurately, 2021 ended in smoke, at least here at the newspaper. That smoke came from the meltdown of our labeling system. And as a result, your newspaper was likely late. And for that we apologize. I want to assure you we are already in the process of resolving the issue. Hopefully, this edition of the newspaper reaches you on time, a sign that the labeling system problem has been resolved. Who would have thought that just getting...

  • Three poached bull elk found on private land

    Updated Jan 6, 2022

    SPOKANE COUNTY- Three Elk were found shot and abandoned on private land roughly 200 yards off the corner of Marsh and Adams Road in Fairfield. At approximately 11:30 AM, Jan. 2, Jason Shuman (Fairfield), discovered three elk lying on the snow covered ground. Upon further inspection, Shuman found that two of the elk had been killed, decapitated, and one was left paralyzed and alive with a bullet wound to the spine. Shuman, who was out riding UTVs and hunting coyotes with a friend, calls this incident “disgusting and s...

  • Winter Wonderland

    Matthew O. Stephens|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    This photo taken on New Year's Day shows how Mystic Falls in Spokane is a sight to behold when frozen and is conveniently only 20 minutes from Cheney. It is a great place for an easy to moderate hike and is one of the area's hidden treasures....

  • News Briefs

    Updated Jan 6, 2022

    Spokane District Library announcement SPOKANE – The Spokane County Library District has announced Beanstack’s 5th Annual Winter Reading Challenge, “Read for a Better World.” A press release from the district said, “A New Year’s resolution of reading more can make a better you. Even reading for just 20 minutes a day can reduce stress levels, improve your memory, and help us all be more empathetic.” The library invites readers to sign up through links on their website, and those participants can also track their reading throu...

  • City Council Meeting Briefs

    Jonathan Olsen-Koziol, Cheney Free Press|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    CHENEY – Here are all of the other resolutions and topics the city council discussed during the Dec. 28 meeting The fire district for the city of Cheney presented a budget amendment to increase the wages of two key positions at the station: battalion chief and lieutenant. If this amendment is approved by the council in a future meeting, it will make these positions’ salary much more competitive with other departments in the region. Resolution E-972 was approved and it renewed a contract with Asplundh Tree Expert LLC for 202...

  • Airway companies penalized for import violations

    Matthew O. Stephens, Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Three companies local to the area have been recently penalized according to records obtained from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Northern Imports LLC located in Airway Heights was issued a notice of suspension from the safety administration on December 15, and the letter states the company’s “registered importer registration” is suspended for 75 days. Northern Imports was initially in the hot seat for six violations, but after investigations, three of the allegations were dropped because...

  • Semi crash sends one to hospital

    Matthew O. Stephens, Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    SPOKANE – Eastbound traffic on Interstate 90 was completely blocked for hours due to a crash near the Garden Springs exit that was caused by a semi driving too fast for conditions according to the accident report. 36-year-old Semen V. Ivanov from University Place, Washington was driving the 2001 Freightliner semi eastbound and tried to pass 39-year-old Jennifer L. Mojena from Medical Lake in her 2015 Chevy Volt. Ivanov lost control of the commercial truck and collided with multiple concrete barriers jack knifing the truck a...

  • Presents with a Purpose Serves 80 Cheney students this year

    Sarah Stephens, Staff Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    Former long time Cheney resident Andrew Graham, 26, is a real estate agent who is still making a difference in his hometown with Presents With a Purpose. His organization began three years ago serving children of all ages in many areas, including Cheney. "We provide Christmas presents for kids in the school district. I meet with the principals and counselors to determine which kids are in need of Christmas presents and get them the items on their Christmas wish list." he...

  • Kennewick woman killed in crash

    Olivia Harnack, Special to The Free Press|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    FOUR LAKES - A fatal New Year's Eve crash on Friday, Dec. 31, blocked traffic in the high-speed lanes of Interstate 90 Angela Kondratyuk, 28, of Kennewick, died of injuries she sustained in the crash near Milepost 274, the Washington State Patrol reported. Kondratyuk lost control of her eastbound 2004 Toyota Avalon and was struck by a 2021 Freightliner truck and trailer, the patrol said, noting the truck was also eastbound. Kondratyuk's car spun 360 degrees and the driver of t...

  • Medical Lake swears in, Mayor, council members

    Matthew O. Stephens, Reporter|Updated Jan 6, 2022

    MEDICAL LAKE – Terri Cooper was sworn in as the newly elected mayor of Medical Lake, and two new members of city council also recited their respective oath of office. Dawn Olmstead and Bob Maxwell are the two newest council members, and Mayor Terri Cooper also appointed them to departments for their service term. Olmstead was accepted being appointed to the Finance Committee and the Parks and Recreation Department. Maxwell was put on the Public Safety and Public Works Departments, and as mayoral appointments those p...