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By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter The Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad seems to have successfully survived the perfect storm of a troubled economy and Mother Nature. That combination nearly derailed the short line that winds its way out of Cheney and on to Coulee City. But rail cars full of wheat and steel will continue to roll over old rails after the EWGR reached a new operating agreement on April 6. It came a little more than a month after it was announced that the Washington Department of Transportation (DOT) had planned...
James L. Powers, 57, passed away unexpectedly on April 24 at his home on Mission Lake near Bremerton, Wash. Born Dec. 15, 1951 in Greeley, Colo., Powers moved to Cheney with parents Walter and Myrtle in 1954. He traveled around the world with the family in 1962. Powers attended the American Military Dependent School for two years in Korea, and returned to Campus School in Cheney. During his freshman year he attended Newcastle Grammar School in England and eventually graduated from Cheney High School in 1970. Active in...
Lonnie and Liz Powers will celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary. The couple exchanged vows in a June ceremony held at the Coeur d'Alene Resort boardwalk and Mish-An-Nock marina in Idaho in 2001. The couple has two children, Marion, 2, and Marissa, 7. Reception after the wedding was held at 1916 Lakewood Dr., Lake City Senior Center in Coeur d'Alene. The Powers are living in Spangle, Wash., and honeymooned in Maui, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Liz Powers is a lab analyst technician for PAML. Lonnie Powers is an attendant...
Christina and Kenneth Vann will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. The couple got married and exchanged their wedding vows on Aug. 28, 1995, at Victoria's Mansion in Portland, Ore. The wife is the daughter of Delfin Nacinopa Montenegro and Maria Lydia SanAndres Montenegro of Cheney. The husband is the son of Ben and Faye Vann of Klammath Falls, Ore. A wedding reception was held at Victoria's Mansion. The couple and their two children, Jonathan, 2, and Veronica, 10, live in Portland and honeymooned on the East Coast....
Plan to lift levy equalization could prove ‘devastating' to Medical Lake By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Medical Lake School Board held its annual hearing on Initiative 728 last Tuesday, where school officials announced the district won't be getting the initiative funds as promised by the state next year, or the year after. The district intended to spend 100 percent of I-728 money on class size reduction. As total enrollment numbers for the district continue to drop, and covering cost of living adjustments (COLA) continue t...
Community May 8-10, 15-17 - StageWest Community Theatre will be performing their next production in Cheney at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 639 Elm St. The play is “Love Letters,” by A.R.Gurney, directed by Charles Kenfield, and starring Phil West and Judy Gross. Performance dates: May 8, 9,15 and 16 at 7 p.m., Sundays on May 10 and 17 at 3 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at Cheney Owl Pharmacy, Medical Lake Owl Pharmacy, Cheney Feed and Tack or Bicycle Time, or by calling Mark at 235-4575 to reserve tickets. All tickets cos...
This Friday and Saturday, May 7-8, StageWest Community Theatre of the West Plains will have a special Mother's Day celebration, a special flower for each lady, and a special treat during the break of the play, “Love Letters,” by A.R. Gurney The play is a special love story between two individuals who grew up and grow old together, mostly through letters. Their stories are told in the letters they wrote to each other throughout the years. Even though this is not an appropriate play for young children, we are sure there are...
Cheney may see larger class sizes, but no reductions in labor force By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter Despite the Washington State Legislature slashing school funding statewide, the Cheney School District plans not to let the budget cuts impact the district's programs and teaching levels. District finance director Brian Aiken said during the last legislative session, the state cut 15.8 percent of levy equalization funding and 71.5 percent of Initiative 728 funding. But there is hope, via federal stimulus funding. Aiken said the...
Emmanuel Lutheran Church Join us for worship this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. as we celebrate the fifth Sunday of Easter. Interim pastor Paul Anderson will preside. Emmanuel Lutheran is hosting the following events: StageWest Community Theatre is performing at Emmanuel in the upstairs Fireside Room. The title of this production is “Love Letters,” directed by Charles Kenfield. Play dates are May 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17. Friday and Saturday performances will be at 7 p.m. Sunday performances will be at 3 p.m. Ticket price is $10, and...
When it comes to the state's guidelines for the protection and preservation of ecologically sensitive lands, Medical Lake city planner Glenn Scholten said a lot has changed in the last 20 years. By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter When it comes to the state's guidelines for the protection and preservation of ecologically sensitive lands, Medical Lake city planner Glenn Scholten said a lot has changed in the last 20 years. But the city's existing ordinance on preserving these sensitive land types, particularly wetlands, hasn't...
By SCOTT WILBANKS Cheney Historic Preservation Commission $500 Reward! Many towns have show piece homes of the rich and famous. Our house in Cheney, the Sterling House, is different. It has a primitive beauty that is lost in the concrete and plastic of modern homes. Our house feels almost welcoming when you walk in. Although from appearances, the interior is not currently a welcome sight. Bare board walls appear to be made of what were called bridge planks, what we would describe today as recycled lumber. The walls are thin,...
By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Late last month, nearly 40 law enforcement officers from police departments in Medical Lake, Cheney, Airway Heights, Spokane and Spokane County Sheriff's Office traded in their badges for Red Robin aprons and menus to earn tips at three area restaurants for the Special Olympics of Washington. It was all part of the statewide Tip-A-Cop fundraiser event, where police act as “celebrity waiters” for a day to raise as many donations as possible from Red Robin patrons. The donations aid programs that...
By LUELLA DOW Contributor I recently became aware of this story. You may find, as I did, a tear or two in your eyes. I would add one admonition at the end: “Go and do likewise.” A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference each of them had made. She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. She told them how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then, she presented each one with a blue ribbon, which said: “Who I am makes a difference....
Falling oil prices, more competition help reduce construction material costs on some of city projects By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter The current economic crisis has a silver lining: prices are dropping, which is a big benefit to the city of Cheney. Public works director Todd Ableman said although he doesn't have an exact figure, the city has saved millions of dollars on its projects. He suggested that it's possible that the fewer number of area-wide projects available might also contribute to contractors offering lower bids....
Eastern Washington University assistant professor Yao Houndonougbo, from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is part of a research team from multiple universities that has received an Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) award from the federal government. The grant is for $2.3 million a year over five years, and was announced by the White House in conjunction with a speech delivered by President Barack Obama at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. The team of researchers, including...
Initiative to form committees to deal with specific comprehensive plan topics By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter The city of Cheney is asking its residents for help. Community development director Brian Jennings is setting the stage for broad public participation by launching “Choices for Cheney,” which is a citizen committee to provide comment and direction on the long-range comprehensive plan rewrite. To assist with the effort, Cheney's Community Development Department is launching a number of committees to address specific top...
By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Airway Heights business owner Jerry Newcomb's J&J Lube station has taken care of local residents' lube, oil and filter needs for over a decade now, and the success it's garnered in that time, the 40-year resident said he considers a godsend. Newcomb's station started out doing straightforward oil changes on mostly cars and pick-ups no bigger than a 1-ton. Some of his customers included fleet vehicle companies, like Budget Truck Rental, who often asked if Newcomb could do more than just the basic...
Photos by John McCallum...
Face Clarkston in key Great Northern League match that will measure progress By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter It’s not often that a No. 4 singles tennis match-up commands the attention it did last Thursday. But it was that duel that ultimately decided it for Medical Lake in their 4-3 Great Northern League win on the road against the Pullman Greyhounds. “Probably the match that stands out the most is our No. 4 singles. Austin Schoonover,†head coach Justin Blayne said. “By the time he started out we were tied 3-3. S...
By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter Last week’s lone Great Northern League girls’ 5-2 tennis loss to Pullman might, on the surface at least, be seen as a disappointment to both the team and their coach. But after taking a closer look, coach Dawn Eliassen sees things differently. She’s happy to see some great efforts from members of her team, top to bottom, even though from day-to-day – and maybe even hour-to-hour – the team make-up is in a seemingly constant state of change. Nagged by injuries and illness, Eliassen ha...
By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter A Saturday that dawned blue and beautiful, ended grey and ugly for the short-handed Medical Lake Cardinal baseball team as they suffered a pair of Great Northern League losses, 13-5 and 18-1 to league-leading Cheney. Cheney jumped off early to big leads in both games. The 11-1 Blackhawks led the first game 5-0 after one and in the nightcap were up 12-0 after two as a brutal wind roared out of the west. Medical Lake battled back in the opener scoring three runs in their half of the first on Ryan...
By JOHN McCALLUM Editor Cheney boys tennis head coach Jesse Erickson knew last Thursday’s match with visiting Lewiston would be tough – and he was right. The Blackhawks competed well and battled in every match, but came up short, losing 5-2 to complete a home-away series with the Bengals of Idaho’s 5A classification. James Higuera notched the only singles’ win for the Hawks, while the team of Paul Kauwe and Tanner Tait continued to roll with a win at No. 1 doubles. Higuera, bumped to singles from his No. 2 doubles slo...
By JOHN McCALLUM Editor As good weeks go, last week was about as good as it could get for Cheney’s track teams. The Blackhawks upped their Great Northern League record to 3-0 with wins over Deer Park and Clarkston in double-dual action last Thursday at Cheney, and then posted first and second place team performances at Saturday’s Keith Jewett Invitational in Ellensburg. The Cheney boys had little trouble on Thursday, downing Deer Park 108-37, and Clarkston 130-13, turning around to finish second out of 15 teams at Ellens...
By JOHN McCALLUM Editor First impressions aren’t always correct. For instance, Medical Lake pitcher Shelbie Fritsch struck out all three Cheney batters she faced in the first inning of last weekend’s softball doubleheader between the Lady Cards and the Lady Hawks. A harbinger of things to come for Cheney? Hardly. That first inning was the first, and last, Cheney went scoreless. The Lady Hawks scored two in the second, five in the third and blew the game open with five more in the fourth for a five-inning, 12-0 win in th...
