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CHENEY – While a lot of uncertainty remains surrounding impacts from the coronavirus pandemic, city civic and business leaders are optimistic it remains posed to continue the growth it saw before the outbreak shutdown businesses and economies. Even with the possibility of double-digit reductions in revenue, Cheney City Administrator Mark Schuller officials told almost 100 participants of a West Plains Chamber of Commerce “zoom call” on development last Wednesday that projects put off due to restrictions imposed to combat the...
TYLER – One person was injured in a single-vehicle rollover accident early this morning on Interstate 90 near its intersection with State Route 904 at milepost 257. According to a Washington State Patrol press memo, at approximately 1:15 a.m. June 3, 75-year-old Louis R. Walter of Olympia, Wash. was eastbound in a white Ford F-150 pickup truck when he drifted off the road to the right. His wheels went off the roadway and he overcorrected to the left, sending the vehicle across the lanes to the median. Walter than o...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustees got a glimpse into the financial future of the institution at its May 29 meeting — and it’s not exactly very bright. Vice President for Business and Finance Mary Voves told the trustees via a virtual meeting that the university will be looking at revenue reductions in a number of areas, mostly because of impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. The first comes from declining enrollment – with operating fee revenue from this source estimated at $12 million. The unive...
CHENEY – The Community Clothing Exchange has reopening for business — at least temporarily. In a May 27 news release, Clothing Exchange Director Connie Oakes said they will be opening on two separate Wednesdays, June 3 and June 17. The Clothing Exchange will be observing social distancing protocols regarding limiting any spread of the coronavirus by restricting entry to no more than three customers at a time, unless customers are in the same household. All customers must wear masks, as will volunteers. “We have set up the c... Full story
CHENEY – Commencement exercises for the class of 2020 will be a five-day affair, culminating in a video to be run on June 12 - the original date for Cheney High School's ceremony. At its May 27 meeting, Superintendent Rob Roettger gave school board members an overview of items to honor seniors, whose normal final year activities have been denied due to restrictions surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The main part of the plan begins June 1, as seniors and up to five m...
OLYMPIA — A U.S. Department of Education ruling could effect scholastic sports in Washington's middle and high schools and colleges. In a ruling Thursday, May 28, the agency found that a Connecticut policy that allows athletes to compete as the opposite sex is a violation of the federal Title IX laws requiring equal opportunity for boys and girls to compete in scholastic sports. The finding threatens funding to schools and related athletic programs that allow boys who "gender identify" as girls to compete in f...
WENATCHEE — Supporters and opponents of Gov. Jay Inslee’s quarantine measures will have to wait a little longer to see if the shutdowns will remain intact. Of the at least seven lawsuits seeking to end Inslee’s orders, two could have preliminary decisions coming in the next few days. On Thursday morning, Chelan County Superior Court Judge Kristin Ferrera ended a hearing by saying she’ll take hours of arguments under consideration before determining the fate of the case, filed by multiple plaintiffs, including former state R...
MEDICAL LAKE — The Medical Lake City Council voted to approve the first firework sales permit application it has received this year. The vote came at the council’s May 19 meeting. The application came from J&M LLC. The issue was brought to the council by city administrator Doug Ross, who felt the business wouldn’t be prohibited by Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 related proclamations. “I was asked the question, ‘Is this even allowed today?’” Ross said. “Quite honestly, this is probably the definition of a drive-through bus...
CHENEY – A major aspect of the coronavirus pandemic is that people age 60 and over are among the most vulnerable to contracting the disease it carries, COVID-19. According to Washington Department of Health statistics, this population only accounts for 31 percent of the cases of the disease, but over 90 percent of the deaths, while in Spokane County, those percentages are 39 and 90 as well. Unfortunately for many non-profit agencies, it’s this age range that makes up most of...
CHENEY May 18 Ruben M. Gutierrez, 31, was arrested for fourth-degree assault/domestic violence and interfering with reporting of domestic violence on the 1000 block of Betz Road. A 15-year-old male was reported as a runaway juvenile on the 100 block of Blackhawk Lane. Identification theft/fraudulent employment claim was reported on the 800 block of West 1st Street. Identification theft/fraudulent employment claim was reported on the 400 block of North 4th Street. Domestic violence/verbal abuse was reported on the 200 block...
Area residents took advantage of the nice weather to get outside this past Memorial Day weekend, including getting onto the water at Fish Lake near Cheney....
William F. Wolrehammer William (Bill) (Mr. Bill) F. Wolrehammer passed away peacefully at the age of 88, May 8, 2020 in his home in Cheney, Washington after a long battle with illnesses stemming from his time served in the Vietnam War. Bill was born January 5, 1932 to John and Jennie Wolvekammer and raised in Clifton, New Jersey. From early on Bill always had a job. Whether it was on the milk truck before school or working on the rations truck during WWII, he always did what... Full story
Marilyn Ann Baugh, 84, was the only child of Thomas and Wilhelmina Schworer. She was born in the tiny town of Orleans, Nebraska in 1936. The war years did provide multiple construction work opportunities for people willing to travel, which they did, all over the western USA. After the war, Marilyn and her parents settled in Reno, Nevada. With her scholastic achievements at the Bishop Manogue Catholic High School, she went into college at the University of Nevada in Reno. Not... Full story
Ruth Thomas, 86, passed away on May 18, 2020. She was born March 22, 1934, in Fossil, Oregon, to Mary and WP Thomas, the last of ten siblings. She grew up on a farm south of Richmond, Oregon, attending a one-room school. She graduated valedictorian from Wheeler County High School. Ruth obtained a job with the railroad and the beginning of a life-long love of trains, opting to take a train over any other model. She arrived in Spokane in the worst recorded winter of 1951 and... Full story
Cheney Congregational Church This Sunday our pastor is preaching on the practice of waking up to God. It can be hard to feel as connected to God when our normal church routines are interrupted. But the good news is that we worship a God who we can encounter anywhere and everywhere, not just in a church building. So this week pastor Matt Goodale is preaching on the grace we can experience in the simple act of waking up. Goodale continues to send out a recording of his sermon each week along with an at-home worship guide. If...
The coronavirus has roiled global commerce. How will this pandemic influence trade policy? The upcoming US-UK negotiations will serve as a test. A U.S.-UK trade deal has been in the works for years. It gets outsized attention because Britain’s “Brexit” from Europe presents both sides with a “greenfield” opportunity to get things right. In the face of the coronavirus, this will be challenging. The United States and Britain enjoy deep economic ties. The UK is America’s single largest source of foreign direct investment,...
In recent years, papermakers in Pacific Northwest have been losing ground. However, today there is a ray of hope. Surprisingly, that optimism results from the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first days of the pandemic, grocers couldn’t keep toilet paper on store shelves even though paper mills were running 20 percent higher than normal capacity. Cardboard plants also were operating full bore making shipping boxes for medical supplies and personal protective gear. As Amazon and onlin...
FROM STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES SPOKANE – Officials at Avista Utilities are warning customers of attempts to trick them into providing financial information to individuals portraying themselves as company employees. In a May 19 news release, the utility said individuals impersonating Avista employees or a contractor contact customers either in-person or via the telephone and demand to speak to the customer about their bill. Hundreds of customers in the utility’s Washington and Idaho service area have reported the scam this wee...
MEDICAL LAKE – A local veterans group has submitted a proposal to rename State Route 902 through Medical Lake as the "Gold Star Memorial Highway." The Eastern Washington Veterans Task Force has submitted the proposal to rename the 12.36-mile route that runs from Interstate 90 exit 272 through Medical Lake and returns to I-90 at exit 264 to the Washington State Transportation Commission. The commission is schedule to take up the proposal once it reconvenes as COVID-19 phase r...
COLFAX – Preceding the start of the virtual Washington State FFA Convention, the National FFA Organization and National FFA Foundation announced recipients for its 2020 scholarships. Eastern Washington FFA members were well represented in awards. Of the 1,324 scholarships that were awarded nationwide, five of the recipients came from eastern Washington. More than 6,800 students completed the application process, each with the potential of being considered for multiple scholarships. The recipients include Jessica Swain, C...
Despite not being able to hold a traditional ceremony this year, the Washington State Veterans Cemetery northwest of Medical Lake was still visited by a number of people Monday who paid their respects to servicemembers no longer with us on Memorial Day....
CHENEY – The Public Schools Board of Directors approved an application at its May 13 meeting to apply for an emergency request waiving the number of school days and hours required set forth by the state to be met in order to determine the minimum level of basic education. The resolution approved the adoption of the district’s continuous learning plan that was implemented in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s closure of K-12 public schools on March 13 due to the spread of the coronavirus and subsequent extension of that closu...
CHENEY – A financial fraud apparently launched in Africa has found its way to the West Plains. According to police, as of May 25 at least 22 incidents have been reported of an unemployment scam authorities are calling very sophisticated, immense and seemly targeted at Washington state, although other states have also been impacted. While fraud, Cheney is classifying the incidents as identity theft. “We chose to classify them as identity theft because the victims’ names and social security numbers were used in an attem...
MEDICAL LAKE — The city of Medical Lake has been granted $150,000 from the CARES act. The funding is part of the money the bill provides to state and local governments to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. City administrator Doug Ross told the city council at the May 20 council meeting that there are limitations to what the money can be spent on. Currently, he said, he’s trying to gage where the need is. “I have been calling some of our businesses to see what they need, outside of money,” Ross said. “Personal protectio...
