Articles from the January 28, 2021 edition


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  • Life during COVID-19

    KARLEE VAN DE VENTER, Contributor|Updated Jan 29, 2021

    (Editor's note: The following story appeared in the Jan. 20 issue of The Easterner.) There's no denying that the college experience has drastically changed from what it was before March 2020. The old stereotypical college day no longer consists of fighting to stay awake in a lecture hall, eating dining hall food, going on campus walks, long study sessions in the library and ending it all by letting loose with friends. Nowadays, it's turning off the camera and microphone on...

  • Slow starting Eagles drop pair to Bears

    PAUL DELANEY, Contributor|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    CHENEY — After crafting a five-game winning streak to say good-riddance to 2020 and hello to 2021, the Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team has run into a cold spell. That was well-illustrated Jan. 21 and 23 when the Eagles dropped a pair of Big Sky Conference contests to Northern Colorado, 58-55 last Thursday and 74-55 Saturday at Reese Court. In both contests slow starts came back to haunt them. The setbacks, which dropped Eastern’s record to 4-4 in confe...

  • Eagles manage road win at Northern Colorado

    STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    GREELEY, COLO. – It's never easy winning on the road in the Big Sky Conference. So in this season of Covid-19 when teams are playing home-away matchups in one location – getting at least one win can be particularly fulfilling. Eastern Washington University's men's basketball team managed that feat last week by earning a split in their series with Northern Colorado. The Eagles fell in the last minute, 78-76, on Thursday, Jan. 21, but used a late 7-0 run to pull off a win in...

  • EWU Football spring schedule

    STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    CHENEY — After changes necessitated by four Big Sky Conference teams bowing out of the upcoming six-game winter/spring football season, the Eastern Washington University football team will play at home and away on the same dates from Feb. 27 through April 10 despite the change of several opponents. Eastern will host Northern Arizona on March 6, Cal Poly on March 27 and Idaho on April 10. Road games will be at Idaho on Feb. 27, Idaho State on March 13 and UC Davis on April 3. The adjustments were approved by the Big Sky C...

  • Nominations being accepted for Senior Citizen Volunteer of the year

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    FROM STAFF AND NEW SOURCES MEDICAL LAKE — Even with all of the challenges 2020 brought, area senior citizens have still remained very active in their community – and it’s time to honor them. Medical Lake’s Kiwanis Club is now accepting nominations for its annual Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year. In a news release, organizers stated that reasons for nominating someone for the award don’t necessarily need to be limited only to what they did in 2020, but can go back as far as the person making the nomination considers...

  • Darlene Midgley Isaacson

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    Darlene Midgley Isaacson (66), graduated from this life on Wed., Jan. 20, 2021. She was a beloved wife, mother, grandma, sister, aunt, and friend to all who knew her. She was born in Ogden, Utah on July 5, 1954, to loving parents, and grew up in Utah, Ind., Calif., and Wash.. After graduating high school in Cheney, Wash., Darlene attended Brigham Young University where she met her husband, Jeff, and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. After a short stint as an...

  • Roberta "Bobbi" Rako

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    Roberta "Bobbi" Rako (1930-2021) Roberta "Bobbi" Rako (Age 90) Roberta peacefully went to Heaven on Jan. 8, 2021, at her daughter's home in Cheney, Wash. with family and friends by her side. Misty her dog went ahead of her on Jan. 3, 2021. Bobbi was born to Robert and Addie Lincoln on July 3, 1930, in Spokane, Wash., and was raised in Tekoa, Wash. She moved to Spokane, Wash. at the age of 15 and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School. Bobbi was one of the first women city...

  • Rose Marie Reilly

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    Rose Marie Reilly (1959-2021) While a resident of Cheney, Wash. in recent times, Rose Marie Reilly a.k.a. Wissy was always a Cincinnati kid. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio to Rebecca & Samuel E. Reilly, Jr. on Nov. 7, 1959, she joined two siblings, at the time; and, in fairly short order, became one of five including: Mary Reilly Mulligan (Lenore), John Reilly, Paul Reilly (Lenny) and Becky Reilly. Rose attended St. Williams Elementary School and graduated from Seton High School in...

  • Churches

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    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...

  • More money is not the solution to education issues

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    It’s that time of year again. The envelope arrived this week and it’s time to approve spending on the public education system. This year I am voting no. Looking at the numbers as reported by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Cheney School District is spending $12,604 per year per student. A lot of money. However, when I divide the annual school budget of $88.7 million (Cheney Free Press, 7/02/20) , by the 5,103 students in the district, per student cost is around $17,300. Why does the state say we pay only $12...

  • ML levy passage essential to student, family support

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    My husband and I, both having gone to school in Medical Lake, could provide countless examples as to how the school levies helped support us directly over the years through academics and athletics. The unconditional support Medical Lake School District has shown our son through his early speech challenges, is unbelievable. My son has been able to attend school at Hallett Elementary since he was three years old and receives one-on-one therapy, which improved his speaking tremendously. Because of these early childhood...

  • Cheney levies take economic issues into account

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    I just received my ballot for the upcoming levy for the Cheney School District so I am urging everyone to vote yes for this levy. Last year we paid $1.42 per $1,000 in assessed property value for one of the levies and paid 45 cents per $1,000 on the other on our property for total of $1.87. This year’s levies are asking for $1.65 and 10 cents respectively for a total payment of $1.75 per $1,000. We will save 12 per every $1,000 of assessed evaluation. We should all appreciate the school district being aware of everyone’s eco...

  • ML levy important to students in many ways

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    To the Medical Lake Community: Many peers and I value the activities the levy affects, for many reasons it should be supported. My personal experience as a student has been shaped by many resources and activities such as Chromebooks, the robotics team, STEM activities and mental health services. One of the biggest resources are Chromebooks. Chromebooks have become a really big part of our learning system and especially due to recent circumstances they have become even more so. They provide diversification of our resources aca...

  • ML school levy dollars cover many needs

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    It is that time again, where we as citizens get a chance to vote on an upcoming levy to support the Medical Lake School District. This levy was last approved in 2018, so it is not a new one that will increase our costs, but a vote to sustain the existing funding levels. This levy is essential for our schools to continue to provide excellence in education in our community. It funds many key educational activities from technology to extracurricular. My family has three students in the district: eighth-grade, fourth-grade and...

  • Legislature must take chronically impaired drivers off the roads

    SEN. MIKE PADDEN, Contributor|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    As much as we would love to see an end to impaired driving and with it, the need to keep sponsoring DUI legislation, we unfortunately know there is still much work to be done. Last week the Senate Law and Justice Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 5054, a measure I introduced with the support of Sen. David Frockt, D-Seattle, to strengthen the state’s felony-DUI law and reduce the number of people who become victims of impaired drivers. Washington law now makes the fourth DUI conviction a felony, but courts may c...

  • School district funding essential in trying times

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    I am writing in support of the Feb. 9, 2021 Replacement Levy for the Cheney School District. This levy is vital to our community in the continuation of services, programs and facility improvements to provide high quality education and services for our youth. Now, more than ever, our kids need our support. This past year has been especially difficult for so many in a multitude of ways and our youth has been impacted greatly. As a proud parent of Cheney graduates and as a retired educator or 37 years, (the last 17 years spent...

  • Ball and Dodd offer corrected

    Updated Jan 28, 2021

    In the Jan. 15 Cheney Free Press story “Offer made on Ball and Dodd property” the offer amount was incorrectly stated. The actual amount being offered for the property by Dollar General Stores is $200,000....

  • Eying the future in spite of the present

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    CHENEY - "Why now?" It's the question Cheney Public Schools Superintendent Rob Roettger said he gets the most from people when asked about the upcoming Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) and Capital Facilities levies. Especially this "now" - with so many people feeling the negative economic impacts from measures designed to attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, impacts that range from reduced hours to loss of jobs and businesses. Given many families a...

  • Six West Plains students on Whitworth honor roll

    STAFF AND NEWS REPORTS|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    SPOKANE — The following undergraduate students have achieved Provost’s Honor Roll status for the fall 2020 semester at Whitworth University. To be named to the list, undergraduate students must maintain a grade-point average of 3.75 or better during the semester. Cheney students named to the Honor Roll are Cole Hinrichs and Megahn Short. Medical Lake students named to the Honor Roll are Justyce Brant, Sierra Brock, Megan Goertz and Emma Ransom. Located in Spokane, Whitworth is a private, liberal arts university aff...

  • Medical Lake Schools hope you'll say 'YES?'

    PAUL DELANEY, Contributor|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    MEDICAL LAKE — Before the voters in Medical Lake cast their ballots on Feb. 9 for the renewal of the school district’s Educational Programs and Operations levy, superintendent Tim Ames asks that they scratch the surface and look a little deeper. Because during what are perceived to be strange times over that last year, those who have historically supported asks for supplemental funding beyond what the state provides might be asking things like: But your school buildings hav...

  • Swanger named to OSU honor roll

    STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    CORVALLIS, Ore. — Zane B. Swanger of Medical Lake has been named to the Oregon State University Scholastic Honor Roll for fall term 2020. Swanger is a sophomore majoring in agricultural sciences. To be named to the honor roll, a student must earn a minimum grade of B-plus (3.50) or better and carry at least 12 graded hours of course work. At OSU last fall, a total of 8,378 students made the listing. As one of only two land, sea, space and sun grant universities in the nation, Oregon State serves Oregon and the world. I...

  • EWU receives Krumble Foundation donation

    STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    CHENEY – Eastern Washington University has announced receipt of a major scholarship pledge from a local charitable organization. In a Jan. 21 news release, the university said Spokane’s Krumble Foundation had pledged $1.35 million in scholarship support to four programs. In making the announcement, the Foundation also said it would include a match challenging other donors to “give and help change the course of these students’ lives during this difficult economic time.” “EWU is very grateful to partner with the Krumble Fou...

  • Science rising

    John McCallum|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    The west entrance to Eastern Washington University's new Interdisciplinary Science Center (ISC) rises towards completion. The project connects to the older Science Building via three second-floor skywalks, and will house a number of laboratories....

  • Appraiser hired for Ball and Dodd property

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    MEDICAL LAKE — City Council members have put off further discussion on the possible sale of the former Ball and Dodd Funeral Home property until after an appraisal of the parcel has been conducted. To that end, City Administrator Doug Ross told the council at their Jan. 19 meeting that he has completed the process of hiring Valbridge Property Advisors to conduct an appraisal of the 43,475-square-foot property located at 111 W. Brooks Road. The city has been approached by national retailer Dollar General Stores with an offer t...

  • Community trust on record

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 28, 2021

    CHENEY — Not long ago, putting in a body camera system for Police Department officers seemed to be cost prohibitive. After a presentation at the Jan. 12 City Council meeting, that might not necessarily be the case anymore. An estimate from Axon, a Scottsdale, Ariz. company that develops technology and weapons for military, law enforcement and civilians, shown to council by Police Chief John Hensley indicated initial costs for a system to outfit 14 officers with body cameras could run about $86,220 over five years. The estimat...

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