Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University's volleyball team missed a golden opportunity to knock off the defending Big Sky Conference champions Northern Colorado Monday evening, Feb. 1, falling in a five-set thriller that featured 28 ties and 13 lead changes. Despite two sets being decided by extra points, the Eagles came up short against the Bears, 25-23, 13-25, 25-21, 25-27 and 14-16. "I'm so proud of them," Eagles head coach Leslie Flores-Cloud said. "We were so close and that...
PULLMAN – The Eastern Washington University women's tennis team returns home following a 5-2 deficit in a Jan. 30 match against Washington State at the Hollingbery Fieldhouse in Pullman. The Eagles went 0-3 in doubles play but found success in a pair of freshmen in Jennifer Kida and Scout Mathews as they beat their opponents in singles play, but it was not enough as EWU moves to an 0-2 overall record. "We played with incredible grit and heart today," Eagles head coach D...
CHENEY – City Council took a pair of steps last Tuesday night (Jan. 26) they hope will ensure transparency with city records and negotiations. The first was the approval of the two-year labor contract with the Cheney Police Guild. The agreement, which provides a 2% cost of living adjustment in both years along with changes to some of the document’s language, was originally presented to the council for approval at the Jan. 12 meeting. At that meeting, Councilman Paul Schmidt asked the contract be tabled and returned for con...
SPOKANE – The County Library District is offering a wide variety of programs to keep people busy during the month of February — with topics ranging from spices to Medicare cost savings to trivia. Two programs kick things off on Feb. 17. During “Picture Book Chat” that Wednesday at 1 p.m. participants can explore new picture books for toddlers, preschoolers and emergent readers that they will enjoy reading with you. This program is currently viewable on the district’s Facebook page. The second program gives insights into Medi...
MEDICAL LAKE – The St. John Church Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is holding a fundraiser during Lent. If you’re giving up sweets for Lent, you will want to reward your diligent behavior with a warm ButterBraid Easter morning. Please check the website at butterbraid.com, then call 509-818-4004 to place your order and arrange contact-free delivery. All orders and payments mut be received by Feb. 17. Orders must be pre-paid. Funds will be distributed to the “Annual Charitable Giving” of the WELCA....
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Grace Kirscher and Maisie Burnham each scored 19 points to help the Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team to 73-61 win on the road at Sacramento State Jan. 30. The gives the Eagles a split with the Hornets after dropping the first game, also on the road, 82-76 on Thursday, Jan. 28. Eastern never trailed in Saturday’s game, shooting 52.8 % from the field, 28 of 53, while hitting 9-of 20 3-pointers. Kennedy Dickie added nine points while collecting eight rebounds, with freshman Nuria Cunill,...
CHENEY – It’s Souper Bowl time and once again churches and other organizations across the country will be ready to receive donations to help address food scarcity issues. Super Bowl Sunday is characterized by more money spent on snack food than any other day of the year. This happens while people right here in our community do not have enough food on a daily basis. Please donate at your church or other organization or donate directly to the souperbowlofcaring.com. Local agencies that you could choose to support are Feed Che...
CHENEY Jan. 25 No reports. Jan. 26 Second-degree malicious mischief was reported on the 1000 block of Betz Road. Holes were drilled in the gasoline tank of a vehicle. Second-degree theft was reported on the 200 block of South Cheney-Spangle Road. Fraudulent credit card activity was reported. Jan. 27 Third-degree theft was reported on the 1200 block of West 1st Street. A license plate was stolen. Jan. 28 Mental health issue was reported on the 100 block of College Hill Street. Subject was involuntarily committed. Markell D....
CHENEY - A couple of decisive scoring runs and a career day led the Eastern Washington University men's basketball team to a Big Sky Conference sweep of visiting Sacramento State in back-to-back games Sunday and Monday, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. After a slow start likely resulting from a lack of practice the previous week, the Eagles used an 18-1 run - including a streak of 14 straight points - to stake a 37-22 lead at intermission and held on for a 68-60 win over the Hornets on...
CHENEY - The non-profit organization West Plains Angels held its annual "Christmas Tree Magic" over the holidays, raising $4,000 for a pair of local charities while sprinkling some special holiday gifts among the community. Contributors who purchased tickets to win either one of five holiday trees decorated with a variety of prizes, or a grand prize of a 2009 Chevy Aveo helped produce two, $2,000 donations to local charities. One check went to Eastern Washington University's...
SPOKANE – Avista Utility officials have announced that a planned power outage for the town of Sprague has been rescheduled to Feb. 6. The change was made due to the nature of unexpected repairs to the power system that resulted from the Jan. 13 windstorm According to a news release, approximately 480 Avista electric customers in Sprague and the surrounding area will experience a planned power outage on Saturday, Feb. 6. The planned outage will begin at 9 a.m. and end at noon. No road closures are expected during this o...
CHENEY — In writing a book about preparation for war, former Cheney High School English teacher Darrelyn McDermott drew on her experiences. In selecting a title summing up those preparations, she drew on a more celebrated writer — William Shakespeare. With the latter, specifically Act 5, Scene 2 of his classic “Hamlet.” In it, Hamlet’s friend Horatio is attempting to persuade the Danish prince from engaging in a duel, fearing he will be killed, but Hamlet knows he is destin...
CHENEY – An aging connection’s failure led to a power outage early Sunday morning, leaving a number of customers without heat. According to Light Director Steve Marx, around midnight on Saturday, Jan. 30, a “hot tap” failed and burned through a main power line and tripped feeder No. 6 at the city’s main substation on Cheney-Plaza Road. A hot tap is a connection to a main power line which over time can fail due to the elements, wind and vibrations that can loosen the connection. “This creates small gaps at the connection...
Donald Henry "Don" Thorstenson (1944 -2021) Donald Henry "Don" Thorstenson, 76, of Medical Lake, Wash. entered into his Heavenly home, surrounded by his loving family, during the early morning hours of Jan. 30, 2021. Born on Nov. 23, 1944 in Mobridge, S.D., Don was the second child and only son of Henry Theodore and Anne Marie (Stepenenko) Thorstenson. Though born in Mobridge, Don spent his childhood on the family farm in Timber Lake where he attended a one room schoolhouse cl...
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...
Why are Roger Harnack’s opinion pieces labeled as news articles instead of being in the editorial section (“Gov. Inslee keeps Eastern Washington locked down,” Cheney Free Press online, Jan. 21, 2021). Terms like “so called” and “teased” are clearly point-of-view and call into the reader’s mind questions about whether journalistic rules and ethics of writing are used in the stories. How can we trust that facts are being reported with such clearly slanted yellow journalism? Joan Mamanakis – Cheney...
For a young man, Conner Mertens has had quite an impactful life. Most people know Conner as the brave, vocal activist who made headlines by being the first openly LGBTQ college-football player as a freshman kicker at Willamette University in Oregon. But I came to know the Tri-Cities native when he showed up at my door with an idea for saving the lives of students at risk of suicide, bullying and various other forms of school violence. That idea — a tip line and mobile app to allow students to confidentially report p...
MEDICAL LAKE — Call it a COVID-rich environment at the Jan. 26 Medical Lake School Board meeting. No, there had not been an actual outbreak amongst the board — minus the absent Laura Parsons — nor staff. It’s just the agenda had a natural COVID color to it from top to bottom. That would be a natural considering the district’s middle and high school students went back to in-person classroom instruction Monday, Feb. 1. It’s the first time that’s happened on a large scale s...
The culture, heritage and history of Eastern Washington — indeed all of Washington and Oregon history — is under fire again in Olympia. I’m talking about an effort this year in the House to erase Marcus Whitman’s significance from the halls of the Capitol building in Olympia and the national statuary in Washington, D.C. Pushed by lawmakers, who obviously lack a full understanding of Whitman’s significance, House Bill 1372 seeks to replace the bronze Marcus Whitman statues w...
CHENEY-Eastern Washington University's Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies Program and the Women's and Gender Education Center are the lead organizers of the Activist In Residence (AIR) program on the EWU campus. For an eighth year, AIR has brought an activist to campus to work with EWU students, staff, faculty, and community members during winter quarter of 2021. Jac Archer (they/them/theirs) is an activist in the Inland Northwest. Archer moved to the Spokane area in 2013...
CHENEY—School district officials and board members are bracing themselves for what the new year could bring in the form of legislation and funding adjustments — adjustments that could negatively impact operations. In presenting the financial update, Finance Director Jamie Weingart noted there wasn’t a huge change in the district’s fund balance at the end of 2020. The operating fund balance dipped slightly, dropping from $5,860,779 in November to $5,854,744 in December. Budget projections show it continuing to decline through...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS - For close to 70 years since it first took root along Sunset Highway as a stopping off spot to tend to the needs of the gigantic Fairchild Air Force Base just down the road, Airway Heights has grown as if its seeds were sown by West Plains wind. The recently reenergized City of Airway Heights U.S. 2 Corridor Plan will look to provide a roadmap to address, among other things, what the thoroughfare that dissects the city will look like, as well as dealing with...
Cheney High School students practice social distancing by taking their SAT tests last week in the school gym. Both high school and middle school students are slated to return to some in-person instruction as the district’s hybrid model begins on Feb. 8....
CHENEY — The City Council approved several portions of an expansive remodel of the Finance Department space at City Hall as part of their busy Jan. 26 meeting. The council originally approved the beginning of the work at their Nov. 10 meeting, which included a $64,630 labor and materials bid from Big Timber Contractors, LLC. The city was also to provide about $34,000 of materials for the project, including an upgrade of the foyer’s HVAC system, roll-down fire-proof teller doors for the three new teller stations built where th...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS —The citizens of Airway Heights got a peek at the future composition of its city council and a jump start on how its main street might look like following actions of the council at its Feb. 1 meeting. In a move that required a brief executive session, council pared a list of 13 applications down to six in an effort to fill a pair of vacancies that have existed since a pair of recent resignations. Steve Lawrence announced his intentions to resign Dec. 14 from h...
