Sorted by date Results 1 - 24 of 24
MEDICAL LAKE – At its first meeting of 2021, the City Council tabled a discussion on an offer to purchase the former Ball and Dodd Funeral Home location at the southwest corner of the West Brooks Road, North Lefevre Street and State Route 902 intersection until more information to evaluate the offer is known. Chief among that information is the current appraised value of the property by the county and projected sales tax revenue the offer could bring to city coffers. City A...
OLYMPIA — Desperately needed COVID-19 relief is a top priority for this year’s Legislature, and Republicans and Democrats generally agree it will be necessary to get that aid out as soon as possible. The parties are split, however, when it comes to increasing some taxes to erase a pandemic-caused revenue shortfall. House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, outlined on Jan. 7 some of the early action economic relief Democrats have lined up. This included, among other things: at least $300 million for rental and utility ass...
We are parents of a middle school and a high school student in the Cheney School District, and are writing in support of Proposition Nos. 1 and 2 on the Feb. 9 ballot. These propositions would authorize the Cheney School District’s 2021 Educational Programs and Operations and Capital Projects levies. The funds generated by these levies will fund the district budgets for 2022, 2023 and 2024. It is well-understood that students thrive when they have access to small classes and opportunities for extra-curricular and c...
WEST PLAINS — Medical Lake City Administrator Doug Ross admits that when it comes to defining city workers is essential workers — and thus moving them further up the COVID-19 vaccination ladder — he is pretty much a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. Ross and Mayor Shirley Maike broached the subject last Tuesday, Jan. 5, during the City Council’s report section, with Maike telling members they had been in discussions with officials at Spokane Regional Health District about including at least some municipal workers...
CHENEY - With over 1,600 football letter winners in school history, choosing the best is a difficult task. But Eastern Washington University will honor 219 of them when four All-Time teams are rolled out via GoEags.com. The first team to be announced was on Jan. 13, with the re-reveal of the "Z" Team from 1999, a collection of 36 football players chosen by Dick Zornes who made the largest contributions toward the 158 games Eastern won in the 26 years he was passionately...
FARMINGTON, UTAH - With its highest prediction since 2011, the Eastern Washington University women's tennis squad is selected to finish third in the 2021 Big Sky Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced by the league on Thursday (Jan. 7). The Eagles commence the 2021 spring season on Jan. 17 in Spokane, Wash., as they face Gonzaga University at 4 p.m. Pacific time. EWU received 52 points altogether from the conference coaches, with two first place votes. Northern Arizona was sele...
BOISE — Former Eastern Washington University assistant coach Jeff Schmedding is headed to the Southeast – as in the NCAA’s powerhouse Southeastern Conference. The Boise State defensive coordinator is one of two Broncos on the staff of head coach Bryan Harsin following him to Alabama as Harsin becomes the Auburn University new head coach. The Tigers fired head coach Gus Malzahn after eight seasons, including a disappointing 6-4 regular season finish in 2020 capped by a 35-19 loss to Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl. Schmedding...
GEIGER HEIGHTS – A fire Monday evening destroyed a shop and semi-trailer at the Victory Transportation building located at 6207 W. Thorpe Road, just east of the Geiger interchange on Interstate 90 and west of Grove Road. According to information from Spokane County Fire District 10's Facebook page, firefighters received a call of a structure fire at the facility at approximately 5:25 p.m. Dispatchers at 911 also told crews that personnel at the Spokane International Airport t...
CHENEY Jan. 4 Second-degree malicious mischief was reported on the 2400 block of Cheney-Spokane Road. Windows were shot out and damaged. Rape was reported at an undisclosed location in Cheney. A civil problem was reported on the 1000 block of Betz Road. Jan. 5 Harassment was reported on the 700 block of Salnave Road. Dylan J. Douthitt, 28, was arrested for trespassing on the zero hundred block of Columbia Street. A mental health issue was reported on the 100 block of North 8th Street. Subject was involuntarily committed....
OGDEN, UTAH – The Eastern Washington University indoor track team, both men and women, have been picked eighth in the Big Sky Conference preseason polls released Tuesday (Jan. 5) by the league office. The selections were made by the league's head coaches. Coached by Stan Kerr, the men's team received 56 votes ranking eighth, while the women, coached by Marcia Mecklenburg, received 45 tallies also ranking eighth. Northern Arizona men's and women's indoor teams were picked to sw...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The Spokane Tribe of Indians broke ground in early December 2020 on its planned casino expansion. The 20,000-square-foot expansion will double the casino's current size, providing not only additional gamin amenities but also a new restaurant, doubling the size of the bar, Whaluks - one of three current restaurants - and increasing the non-smoking section. Details on the new restaurant are scheduled to be released at later date, as are additional expansion p...
Rosalie C. Williamsen Long time Medical Lake resident, Rosalie C. Williamsen, 91, passed away peacefully in her sleep Jan. 2, 2021 and joined her husband, Rev. Stanley Williamsen in heaven. Rosalie was born in August of 1929 in Edinburg, N.D. to parents Amund and Helen Nygard. At age 16, Rosalie graduated high school from Hillcrest Academy in Fergus Falls, Minn. Following graduation, she moved to Seattle to attend the Lutheran Bible Institute and be near her sister Arlett. She...
Cheney Congregational Church We have made the decision to suspend in-person Sunday morning worship for the time being. This is a difficult decision, and we make it with the whole Cheney community in mind. We will continue to host live Sunday morning services on Zoom at 10 a.m. You can request a Zoom link through our website, www.cheneycongregational.org. You can find copies of the sermons on our website. We are also hosting outdoor “Fireside Chats” with groups of five to create social connection and combat the isolation of th...
CHENEY – Residents Elsa Martin and Allison Hahn wanted to do something for holiday decoration, but felt they couldn’t compete with the beautiful light displays of Cheney residents. They brainstormed and decided they could do Snowman decorations. The two women went door-to-door to their neighbors, asking for their support and participation. They were surprised at the number of neighbors agreeing with their idea and wanting to take part – enough to place snowmen on homes along...
Roger Harnack’s Jan. 7, 2021 Cheney Free Press article, “Pushing back against bureaucratic harassment,” is troubling. Within the article, the governor and state workers are accused of “illegally” and “unconstitutionally” “extorting,” “blackmailing,” “harassing,” “threatening” and “violating the rights of” business owners. In fact, our duly elected (and re-elected) governor has taken legal, medically and scientifically defensible measures to protect the health and lives of Washington citizens. Our legislature, electe...
Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ sudden rush to judgement of President Trump, after enabling him the last four years, rings hollow, given her self-identification as evangelical Christian. Following her reversal, Biblical scripture like Matthew 7:1-5 commands her apology to country and constituents for previously not standing up to Trump — in Biblical parlance, she should repent. Evangelical Christians, by definition, are supposed to bring the good news and love of Christ by witness, so as to gain followers of Christ. Instead, stu...
The proposed Medical Lake School District Educational and Operations Levy Is a replacement for the levy approved by the Medical Lake School District voters in 2018. The levy would provide approximately $1.5 million per year. If passed, that $1.5 million per year will be matched by an additional $1.5 million per year from the state and would take effect in 2022. This rate of $1.50 per $1,000 assessed property value is the lowest amount needed to be eligible for the state matching funds. MLSD uses these funds to pay for COVID...
With COVID-19 vaccines being widely dispensed, will an end to this pandemic halt “work from home?” Will workers return to downtown offices at pre-pandemic levels? Not likely! However, it is not an either/or question, said Stanford Professor Nicholas Bloom, who is co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship program. “Working from home will be very much a part of our post-COVID economy,” he added, “so, the sooner poli...
Spokane County Clerk Tim Fitzgerald administers the oath of office for 6th District Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane at the Spokane County Public Works Building - an official event that usually takes place in Olympia but due to COVID-19 restrictions was performed at city and county court houses around the state. In a news release, Graham - who is beginning her second term and has had COVID-19 - said, "Now, more than ever, we're going to have to get creative to find solutions and...
CHENEY – What do you do when you are in-between quarters in school and not getting many hours at work? Start a business, of course. That was Cheney resident Myrinn Kern’s answer to such a dilemma. The third-year Eastern Washington University student who is not attending right now was not getting many hours as a line cook at Bene’s Restaurant due to the pandemic. Needing some revenue, Kern took a look around at the dining options in the city — especially for college student...
SPOKANE – Approximately 480 Avista electric customers in Sprague and the surrounding area will experience a planned power outage on Saturday, Jan 16. The planned outage will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. No road closures are expected during this outage. According to a news release, the planned outage was originally scheduled for Dec. 15 but cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. During this time, Avista crews will perform maintenance to their Sprague substation. The routine maintenance will increase reliability and r...
CHENEY — Thanks to some online ingenuity and extra donations, a holiday tradition continued this season for local low-income students and families. The Cheney Middle School Holiday Store has been a fixture since founder Sherry Syrie asked her sixth, seventh and eighth-grade art students in 2011 to bring in new and like-new items to be regifted to students in need. The response was so great that Syrie went on to work with middle school staff and community members to make the store an annual fixture — something that this year f...
CHENEY – School district officials have announced the resumption of student meal pickups that include several updates from Nutrition Services. According to a news release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended waivers to provide free meals to all students through June 2021. The extension allows Cheney Public Schools to continue its free meals program for all youth ages 1 – 18 for the remainder of the 2020 – 2021 school year. District officials remind participants tha...
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. – The 336th Training Group held a graduation ceremony for its most successful Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Specialist Apprentice Course Jan. 8, with an all-time low attrition rate of just 7 %. Prior to becoming SERE specialists, candidates go through a strenuous six-month training pipeline where normal attrition rates average about 50 percent due to the rigorous nature of the training, which takes them from San Antonio, Texas, to h...
