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The city of Cheney is taking preliminary steps to building a reclaimed water system for irrigation only, thanks to funding from the state Department of Ecology. The city has received $112,000 in what Public Works Director Todd Ableman referred to as a “50 percent principle reduction” payment. That means half, $56,000, takes the form of a grant while the other half is a loan to the city at 1 percent interest. Ableman said the city has between 5 and 20 years to repay the loan, but expects they will take the quicker route to...
Gun or person? Try painting without a brush, try eating without a fork and try killing 49 people without a gun. Tools are needed to get a job done and if you want to do a whole lot of harm to your fellow man, the AR-15 is a great tool. Cathy McMorris Rodgers hasn’t demonstrated the political will to do anything about gun slaughter and violence happening daily. She waits for cues from her ideologically driven party leaders. Nobody is asking her for the elimination of guns but merely attention to the “general welfare” claus...
Yesterday (July 7), I attended a candidate forum set up by the League of Women Voters in Spokane. It was televised. Dave Wilson, Joe Pakootas, and Tom Horne were the only candidates present who are running for the 5th District of the U.S. Congress. When Wilson had a turn to speak he asked the speaker from the LWV if they had indeed endorsed Pakootas as a candidate as was listed on Pakootas’s website. The woman said that the League of Women Voters do not endorse any political candidates. They are a non-profit charity o...
Fed up with our do-nothing Congress? Want an alternative to Cathy McMorris Rodgers? Want to defeat CMR? It is time be bold. Do you want to vote in Democrats or Republicans who are both forced to dial for dollars and not work for us? Do you like the corrupting influence of big money in politics? Are you tired of career politicians who see Congress as a steppingstone to a lucrative career? It is time to be bold. Do you want to continue voting for inaccessible McMorris Rodgers who is focused on her political party rather than he...
It’s no secrete that the GOP was stunned by the meteoric rise of the demagogue Donald Trump and his emergence as their presumptive nominee for president. Their surprise is symptomatic of how tone deaf they’ve been to their own xenophobic, anti-science, anti-government rhetoric. Like Doctor Frankenstein, the Republicans created a monster, but unlike the good doctor, the Republicans created their horrible creature with malice aforethought, working hard at the only thing they worked hard at, which was to convince the Ame...
Accessible, accurate, and secure elections are the cornerstone of our government. All voters must have confidence that our representatives have been fairly elected. Because of this, all election administrators must demonstrate non-partisan actions in their work, lest voters lose trust in elections. We are writing to bring some perspective to the position of Washington’s Secretary of State, our head elections official. Together, we have a combined 37 years of continuous service in the office. We know what it takes to run W...
Thanks to FBI director James Comey’s press conference July 5, there were plenty of post-Independence Day fireworks. His nearly 15 minutes of live, nationally broadcast findings of a many-month investigation into how the likely Democratic candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, handled sensitive emails while she served as Secretary of State, danced along the ledge of guilt. Then came the conclusion where Comey announced that his agency thought Clinton’s conduct — while described in such terms as, “extremely careles...
Hallett Elementary School announced its award winners for May and its “Students of the Year” for June. May’s PACE trait is courage. Hawk —Addison Spangler, Jackson Richards, Lily Gibby, Allison Appel, Mason Womble, Taylor Oberhauser, Marely Martinez-Soltero, Henry Kelm, Layla Armes, Tysan Newman, Melissa Plute, Felipe Gonzalez-Naranjo, Natalie Sturgeon, Taylyn Delgado, Abigail Brown, Sheehan Connors, Kaden Rudy, London James, Megan Reynolds, Calub Lynch and Ryen Gibby. Can —Collin Johnson, Peyton Banks, Lillian Kelm, Del...
Note: The is a continuation of the list of the CHS award and scholarship winners that was printed in the July 7 issue of the Cheney Free Press. The following 2016 Cheney High School graduates were awarded scholarships and honors. Clancine Smith — Honor Cords and President’s Educational Excellence Award. Rose Smith – Honor Cords and President’s Educational Excellence Award, Cords and President’s Educational Excellence Award, Washington State Principal’s Scholar, National Merit Commended, Spokane Scholars Mathematics...
Cheney High School alumna Linnea Kessler (class of 2012) was named to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities’ 2016 spring semester dean’s list. To qualify for the dean’s List, a student must complete 12 or more letter-graded credits while attaining a 3.66 grade point average. University of Minnesota Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn. It is the oldest and largest campus within the University of Minnesota system....
Park University’s Fairchild Air Force Base campus center held its commencement ceremony on June 10 at the Red Morgan Event Center on the base. The university had six students eligible to participate in the ceremony with all of them receiving bachelor’s degrees. Cheney Lassiter H. Dent, management/human resources and Leif J. Swenson, management. Fairchild Air Force Base Marisa T. Jones, business relations and Michelle Lynn Howley, management/marketing. Medical Lake Brandy N. Trego, management/finance and Lois (Cassie) K. Wal...
Cheney High School alumna Kelly Simonsen made the George Fox University’s dean’s list for spring quarter. Simonsen is currently studying history. Traditional undergraduate students must earn a 3.5 grade point average or above on 12 or more hours of graded work to earn a spot on the dean’s list. George Fox University is ranked by Forbes among the top Christian universities in the country and is a Christian college classified by U.S. News and World Report as a first-tier regional university. More than 3,900 students atten...
At approximately 3:20 a.m. July 3, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of a single vehicle crash in the area of South Betz and South Granite Lake Road in west Spokane County. When deputies arrived, they located a pickup truck off the side of Granite Lake Road. The adult driver and sole occupant of the vehicle had been ejected and was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel. Sheriff’s Office traffic collision technicians were called to the scene to continue the investigation. They bel...
In an effort to keep the state roadways safe during this long holiday weekend of travel, Washington State Patrol (WSP) troopers made approximately 211 arrests or bookings of impaired drivers over the Fourth of July weekend. The data comes from statewide dispatch records from 8 a.m. July 1 to 5 a.m. July 5. By comparison, the WSP made 234 arrests or bookings of impaired drivers in 2015. Impaired driving was a primary cause in 46 percent of all traffic related deaths in Washington State in 2015. Impaired driving also includes...
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a single vehicle fatality crash in the area of West Medical Lake Four Lakes Road and South Granite Lake Road at approximately 3:45 p.m. Sunday, July 10. When deputies arrived, they located a vehicle off the side of West Medical Lake Four Lakes Road. The adult female driver and sole occupant of the vehicle had been ejected and was pronounced deceased at the scene by medical personnel. Sheriff’s Office officials are investigating the accident, including reports that veh...
The Cheney FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) chapter had a successful outing at the FBLA National Business Leadership conference, June 29 – July 2 in Atlanta. At the convention, which was attended by 12,000 high school students and their advisers, Cheney's chapter brought home the most awards in the chapter's history. Cheney had 23 students compete at the conference. Seven students placed top 10 in the nation in five different events and were honred at the FBLA A...
Cheney and Medical Lake students may notice some new or changed features in their school when they return from summer vacation. Both school districts' maintenance departments are working on various projects during the next two months. In Cheney, Salnave Elementary School's main foyer and arena lighting will be replaced with light emitting diode fixtures. Jeff McClure, director of maintenance and operations, said after maintenance crew installs new lighting it will change "the...
You've seen and heard about the big boom in apartment construction in the area. But there's another hot property these days and that's because there is way too little of it - houses for sale. One of the basic laws of economics, supply and demand, is keeping many area real estate agents hopping, particularly, Benji Estrellado at Cheney Realty and Pat Isbell from Hilton Real Estate. "They're selling fast and we're getting multiple offers on some of these houses," Estrellado...
After months of rumors, the sale of the Trading Company stores to Yoke's Fresh Markets was announced July 11 in a press release. The four-store acquisition includes stores in Cheney, Latah Creek, Spokane Valley and Post Falls. Trading Company is operated under Bonner Foods, Inc. Yoke's will officially take over ownership Sunday, Sept. 11. "No changes until then and we will not close the store," spokesman Jon Orton wrote in an email. "We're working very closely with Yoke's to...
The Fairchild Toastmasters has expanded its presence beyond Fairchild Air Force Base and into the city of Airway Heights. The club, which began in 2014, has re-launched as a community club open to military and nonmilitary residents of Airway Heights. The Toastmasters meet on the second and fourth Fridays of every month from noon – 1 p.m. at the Airway Heights Library. The club is a part of Toastmasters International, a supportive and positive learning group that officially began in 1924. According to the Toastmasters I...
At its July 11 study session, the Airway Heights City Council forwarded several items to its July 18 meeting, including a land swap agreement with Spokane Rock Products. The agreement would provide the city with 45 feet of additional right-of-way on 21st Avenue north of the existing 30 feet between Lundstrom and Albert streets. The right-of-way is necessary for the future connection of 21st Avenue westward to Craig Road. In return, Spokane Rock Products would receive portions of unused city right-of-way at Albert Street that...
Crime has seemed to have dropped in the city of Medical Lake - at least in the first five months of the year. According to statistics from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, officers responded to 216 incidents in Medical Lake from January to May. This is a 10 percent decrease from the previous year's number of 241 responded incidents. Property crimes decreased by 19 percent (78 to 63). Theft incidents dropped by over 50 percent (28 to 13), while burglaries (seven) and...
When it comes to Cheney's 1964-era swimming pool, the overriding principal for maintenance and upkeep is pretty simple. "If the budget allows," Kim Best, Cheney's recreation supervisor, said. While operating supplies and maintenance to keep the pool full of clean water are essential, upgrades come with a price somewhere in the city's budget. City Administrator Mark Schuller lists those upgrades as "planned" and "unplanned." Among the planned needs for 2016 was a new...
