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CHENEY – At the March 13 School Board meeting, Jenna Larson took the floor to deliver a comprehensive report on the district’s financial status and enrollment figures. Larson’s insights provided context for future planning. Larson began her report by addressing enrollment figures. “Our numbers are just below what we predicted,” Larson said.. Around 380 students are enrolled in kindergarten, whereas the prediction had been 400, she said.. Conversely, in fifth-grade, there were 400 students enrolled, surpassing the initial p...
CHENEY - Local police are investigating a rash of vehicle prowls in an apartment complex in teh 1400 block of Second Street. As of March 27, detectives were still trying to identify three suspects. The Police Department released pictures of the suspects, as well as a black SUV believed to have been driving by them. A firearm and other objects were stolen March 18 from an unlocked vehicle in the apartment complex, police said. Social security cards, insurance cards, banks...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – An amendment to the city’s governance manual garnered unanimous support at the March 18 City Council meeting The amendment institutes a procedural update that would impact the voting process when council members are absent. Under the revised guidelines, any council member who is unable to attend a meeting would be automatically recorded as abstaining from voting on agenda items. This measure aims to ensure transparency and accountability within the council’s decision-making process, preventing the absen...
My father-in-law was a gardener. In those days, people like him were referred to as farmers. He grew his family’s food stuff and his wife ‘put up’ the fruits and vegetables of their labor for use all year. She wrangled their five little children, baked bread, tended the chickens and churned milk from their cow into butter to trade for Copenhagen, (chewing tobacco, snuff, chaw) for her husband. When their children were old enough to go to school they sold the farm and moved to town. They brought the cow and the chickens with...
CHENEY — Grab your baskets, kids! With Easter slightly more than a week away, several communities are gearing up for the traditional egg hunts that draw children to area parks in search of eggs, candy and other loot. If they’re lucky, they may even catch a glimpse of the Easter Bunny. In advance of the Easter holiday on Sunday, March 31, several hunts are set for Saturday, March 30, around the area. Scheduled events include: Airway Heights – The Airway Heights Parks and Recreation Department hosts its Easter egg hunt at 9...
Cheney CHENEY — Police responded to the following calls for service from March 18-25: March 18 A firearm was stolen during a vehicle prowl in the 1400 block of Second Street. Jennifer Howerton, 41, was arrested in the 300 block of Erie Street for violation of an anti-harassment order. Credit and debit cards, and a license were stolen in the 1000 block of West First Street. A social security card, driver’s license and bank cards were stolen during a vehicle prowl in the 1400 block of Second Street. Pots and pans, a veh...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The City Council discussed public safety issues and emergent budget needs during a March 25 meeting. Police Chief Brad Richmond led a presentation on emergent budget needs, highlighting staffing requirements for the investigative and patrol division of his department. “Our detectives division currently faces staffing challenges, with only three detectives, a lower number than in 2019,” Richmond said. “Despite this, our team of 37 active major crimes investigators is diligently working on cases, with 54% inv...
County libraries closed on Easter Sunday CHENEY — Spokane County Library District libraries in Cheney, Medical Lake and elsewhere will be closed on Easter Sunday, March 31. While the physical libraries will be closed, the library district’s online services will operate normally on the holiday, officials said. Regular library hours will resume Monday, April 1, officials said. Cheney man appointed to state board CHENEY — A local man has been tapped by Gov. Jay Inslee to serve on a state committee. Steven McCray of Cheney was a...
Music has always played (pun intended) an important role in my life. We sang as kids to my Dad’s ukulele, my Mom’s favorite rounds, like “White Coral Bells” and “Frere Jacques” and “Three Blind Mice.” My parents even claimed that I sang before I talked. The song was “There’s a Great Big Turkey Down on Grandpa’s Farm” which I sang wordlessly but in the right tempo! The words were: “There’s a big fat turkey down on Grandpa’s farm who thinks he’s really gay. He spreads his tail in a great big fan and he struts around all day. Y...
A farmer along Spangle-Waverly Road has erected a hay tribute to the Washington State University Cougars men's basketball team for reaching the national championship "March Madness" tournament. The Cougars, however, have subsequently been eliminated....
CHENEY - The Blackhawks boys soccer team saw its four-game winning streak come to an end and its Greater Spokane League record evened at 1-1 following a 2-0 loss at Ridgeline, March 25. The Blackhawks (1-1 GSL, 5-2 overall) opened the week, and GSL play, with a 3-1 win over Oprah Central at ONE Spokane Stadium, March 22. Ridgeline (2-0, 5-1) snapped a 0-0 halftime tie with an Andre Chaker goal in the 61st minute and Griffyn Rider sealed with a goal it in the 77th minute....
CHENEY — The Blackhawks girls fastpitch softball team started out last week on the rugged side, but finished strong with three consecutive Greater Spokane League victories. The Blackhawks were beaten at home 15-0 by Mount Spokane, but turned things around to capture wins 16-6 at Ferris on March 21, 19-6 at Lewis and Clark on March 22 and 16-6 at Ridgeline on March 25. Scoring seven runs in the first and another five in their next turn at the plate, GSL power Wildcats (4-0 GSL, 5-1 overall) raced to the win. A six-run fifth in...
Golf Cardinals compete in scramble CLARKSTON — The Medical Lake girls golf team competed in a two-person scramble at Quail Ridge Golf Course in Clarkston on March 19. Kali Rowe and Trinity Shull scored 76 followed by Madi Griffis and Brooklynn DeVore with 83. Kristen Dickey and Madi Spring scored 92. — SOCCER Medical Lake wins two games MEDICAL LAKE — The boys soccer team collected a pair of Northeast A League victories to start the week and finished with a loss to a perennial playoff-bound opponent. The Cardinals (2-1 NEA,...
CHENEY — The track and field took a slimmed-down team to Hart Field on March 23 for the Lewis and Clark Invite but still came away with some notable results. With what head coach Derek Slaughter called a “diminished squad due to 7v7 football, PNQ Volleyball and club basketball,” the Blackhawks landed both school and personal records. Calvin Hilton’s 1:59.21 was good for both a win and personal record in the 800 meters. A 10:50.03 time from Lucas Matos, Kordell Laher, Ethan Martin and Hilton meant a new school record in the...
LaCROSSE - Public Works Supervisor Don Keeney has been on the job for 40 years. On Thursday, March 14, the Town Council recognized him for his years of service and commitment to LaCrosse. “It’s something you have to like to do, or you wouldn’t stick with it,” Keeney said, of being supervisor. “You have to love the work.” Town Clerk and Treasurer Angela Broeckel said Keeney started working March 12, 1984. Keeney said he wouldn’t have stayed so long if it weren’t for the fact that LaCrosse is his hometown. He grew up and gra...
MEDICAL LAKE - Entering what he knew was going to be the toughest part of the Northeast A League schedule, Cardinals Coach Austin Sharp set a goal of exiting a series of games with Colville, Deer Park and Freeman with three wins. Sharp's Cardinals are well on their way to satisfying that wish following a doubleheader sweep of the defending league champion, the Colville Crimson Hawks (formerly the Indians), on March 23 at Holliday Field. Medical Lake broke an eight-game losing...
CORVALLIS, Ore. - For 10 minutes at least in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament game at Gill Coliseum against Oregon State, the Eastern Washington women kept their opponent in check. In the following 30 minutes, however, the Pac-12 Beavers' height and wingspan took over helping them advance to round of 32 following a 73-51 victory over Eastern Washington, March 22. OSU would defeat Nebraska 61-51, March 24 and reach the round of 16 against Notre Dame. Eastern faced an OSU...
WENATCHEE — Rain greeted the Medical Lake track and field team early, but the sun shined both literally and figuratively for the Cardinals later in the day at the Ray Cochram Relays on March 23. “We got lucky with the weather,” Coach Gene Blankenship wrote in a social media post. “It did rain a bit in the morning, but we had sunshine for the rest of the day.” Among those bright efforts was a first-place in the 4x100 Throwers Relay by Allison Appel, Chiche Okemgbo, Feodora Lalicker and Autumn Trout in a time of 56.92 sec...
OLYMPIA — Amid state traffic fatalities reaching their highest point in more than 30 years, Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday, March 26, signed House Bill 1493 into law. The law takes effect June 6, and expands the length of time a DUI conviction remains on a drivers record to 15 years. The final version of House Bill 1493 was passed March 6 by the House on a 69-27 vote. The Senate approved it 49-0 on Feb. 29. The new law takes effect June 6. “This new and overdue law is a major step toward making Washington roads and highways saf...
MEDICAL LAKE – Historic preservation took center stage at the City Council meeting March 19, as council members discussed an ordinance to establish guidelines for the designation of historic properties as landmarks. The proposed ordinance outlines the preservation process and assigns responsibility to Spokane County for processing landmark nominations and certificates of appropriateness. Additionally, it sets the framework for a local review board to oversee historic p...
Farm numbers across the U.S. are dwindling and the mountain states are no exception. Our country lost 7% of farms from 2017-2022, and all of the mountain states were above the national average. As a farmer in the region, I understand the stress of this profession, and if our country continues on its current trajectory our region’s agricultural future looks bleak – more consolidation and less food security. From 2017-2022, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming all exp...
Easter is when potted Easter Lily plants start showing up in nurseries and supermarkets like poinsettias during the Christmas season. They adorn the altars and pulpits of most churches on Easter Sunday, but why don’t sightseers flock to fields to enjoy the spectacular sea of white blooms? The answer is a small group of family lily farmers who are bulb producers. They need to clip the flowers to concentrate the plant’s nutrients on bulb development. Fields of white flowers on...
“Polluters pay. People get a carbon cashback” sums up the impact that the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would have. The EICDA was re-introduced in the House of Representatives last September and is currently languishing in committees. Briefly, the EICDA puts a price on carbon at the source of the fossil fuels – the well, mine, or imported tanker – therefore making it simple to administer and uniform across sources of greenhouse gases. It would take the revenue from the price on carbon and distribute it to every i...
CHENEY - Eastern Washington University's Cyber Defenders will be headed to the national competition in Tampa, Fla., to defend its title April 20. This year's national berth follows a March 16 first-place showing in National Centers of Academic Excellence Cyber Games. This year's team comprises students Daniel Peterson, Eric Leachman, Alexa Darrington, Adrian Fudge, Robert Rutherford, Dennis Vinnikov, Isaiah Bessire, Thomas Longwell, Rhata Bhatia and Lewis Thomas. They are...
David C. Smith (Crockett) was born in Spokane, Washington on April 5, 1955, to Donald E. and Elaine A. Smith. He passed away on Mar. 3, 2024, in Covington, Ga. David attended school in Cheney and Spangle before going into the army. He served a tour in Vietnam before coming back home to Cheney. David had numerous friends and family members who he often spoke about with fond memories. He was a great cook and loved fishing and working on cars. David was preceded in death by one... Full story
