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MEDICAL LAKE — Local students will be starting the school year mostly online learning model, School District Superintendent Tim Ames announced today, Aug. 7. The decision followed state and regional health recommendations for “high-risk” counties where more than 75 new coronavirus cases have been reported in a 14-day period. “Our school board and administrative team have the obligation to follow the strong recommendations from the health experts,” Ames said in a video posted to the district’s website. “Though it is not the...
CHENEY – The school district board of directors voted unanimously on Aug. 3 to begin the 2020-2021 school year with most students taking part in the remote learning phase of the district’s proposed six-step plan for reopening. Under this stage three of the plan, students in the greatest need of support (educational justice) may participate onsite with in-person instruction. The board also approved a new calendar for the school year, dividing the 180 days of instruction into four separate but unequal quarters and pushing bac...
OGDEN, Utah — A conference football season in which Big Sky powers Montana, Montana State and Weber State were slated to visit Eastern Washington University's newly-turfed Roos Field will have to wait until 2021. On Aug. 7, Big Sky athletic directors moved an eight-game conference schedule to next spring, according to a release from EWU athletics. The Big Sky President's Council then approved the decision this morning, Aug. 7. Nonconference games are still "under review," p...
OLYMPIA — After counting of almost 500,000 late-arriving ballots, Republican candidates have cut into incumbent Gov. Jay Inslee's lead in the Aug. 4 primarily. As of 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, Loren Culp had reached 17.17% of the statewide vote, up about a half-a-point since the initial tally. Gov. Inslee had slipped about the same amount, down to 50.82%. Despite the slip in percentage, Gov. Inslee will still walk away from the primary with a commanding win. As of T...
PULLMAN — Returning university students are bringing the coronavirus with them. Whitman County has 105 total positive COVID-19 tests, with eight cases added Aug. 6. That brings this week's total to 15 after last week's total was down eight from the July 19-July 25 high of 18. All new cases are stable and self-isolating, officials said. To date, there have been two hospitalization — none current — and no deaths. At last month's Board of Health meeting, officials linked the i...
DISTRICT 6 - Tom McGarry will be the Democratic candidate to face incumbent Jenny Graham for District 6 Position 2 representative. The first count of primary ballots showed McGarry holding a 7,159-4,157 vote lead over the position's third candidate, Christian McLachlan. "I think voters are tired of the extremism and they want people to take a scientific approach to the problems that face us," McGarry said after the vote counts came out. "I think that's what this evening shows...
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Dr. H. George Frederickson, the lightning rod president who oversaw the transformation of Eastern Washington State College to Eastern Washington University, passed away July 24 at his home in Lawrence, Kan. having just recently turned 86. Frederickson, a 1961 graduate of Brigham Young University, and who earned his master's in public administration from UCLA and a doctorate down the road at USC, was chosen to replace Emerson Shuck who had served Eastern...
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE – An adage older than the Air Force itself: take care of your people and they will take care of you. Every day there is an air mission and along with it are U.S. Air Force Airmen to complete it; Airmen who are trained, capable, ready and determined to ensure mission success. As the Airmen complete the mission, their leaders in turn provide guidance and oversight to ensure everyone is well taken care of. "This is my team, they're already well e...
Crews from Walker Construction poured the foundation for the relocated Cheney Depot last week. Once foundation and utility work is complete at the depot's new home on 1st Street, it will be lowered into place, likely later this month....
The Medical Lake 24-hour Tennis-A-Thon had a different look this year with COVID-19 restrictions. Despite the challenges, the annual fundraiser collected $11,109 and 350 pounds of food. Sponsors also donated $5,000 to share with the Food Bank, Medical Lake Outreach and a small amount to Medical Lake High school tennis programs....
First responders in Airway Heights and Medical Lake enjoyed a slower than normal year regarding firework incident responses around July 4. The Airway Heights Fire Department responded to three fires that night, according to Fire Chief Mitch Metzger. “(The fires) might have been caused by fireworks,” Metzger said. “Two of them were in trash cans and one of them was a brush fire, but we never actually found it so we called it in and we never did see it.” One person was “checked out” for a firework-related injury but ended u...
CHENEY July 27 Third-degree malicious mischief was reported on the 100 block of College Hills Street. An apartment window was broken. Third-degree theft was reported on the 2400 block of University Lane. Stereo equipment and tools were taken from a vehicle. Third-degree theft/shoplifting was reported on the 2200 block of 1st Street. Three DVD players were taken. Third-degree theft was reported on the 2700 block of 1st Street. Dog food and laundry detergent were taken. A wallet was found on the 200 block of 2nd Street. July...
CHENEY – The City Council gave its approval to several projects last Tuesday, July 28, allowing a residential development to proceed along with a long-anticipated move towards utilizing reclaimed wastewater for irrigation purposes at public places. The latter involved accepting a pair of bids to install filtration systems at the city’s wastewater treatment plant allowing future construction of a “purple pipe” system from the plant to Cheney parks and other publicly owned spaces requiring irrigation. That system could be expan...
CHENEY – The City Council took steps to bolster the city’s water reserve fund while protecting rate payers from subsidizing new development by approving increases to water connection charges at its July 28 meeting. The increases were discussed at council meetings in February and March but put on hold over questions raised by local developers about the charges, with allegations rising from several that the city was instituting a potential “no-growth” policy by implementing increases in excess of what other nearby cities...
Cheney Congregational Church Greetings! Cheney Congregational began hosting outdoor Sunday worship services in our parking lot on Aug. 2 at 8:30 a.m. (we chose an 8:30 a.m. start time to protect against the summer heat. We had a “soft opening” Sunday morning service on July 19 to check out our process. We have developed a Covid-19 safety plan that is in compliance with guidelines set up by the state. Masks are required, and we are using social distancing. We encourage you to bring your own lawn chair, and we will have cha...
In his column, contributor Mel Gurov frets that President Trump might not accept the results of the fall election if they are not in his favor and sheds considerable crocodile tears over the consequence to democracy. Honestly, Mr. Gurov, where have you been for the last four years? Neither the President nor his adoptive party are the ones threatening representative government. The members of the inaptly named Democratic Party have done everything in their power to reject the 2016 election and undermine the Trump...
My Dad was born in October, 1917, in New Cumberland, West Virginia, my Mum in November, 1919, in Somerset, England. During Dad’s first year of life, the 1918 flu pandemic struck; Mum’s first year was during the second year of the same pandemic, during a time when medical care was not as advanced as now and before inoculations for many diseases were generally known or available. Isolation, social distancing and face masks were used then also, and folks complained but most complied and overcame the pandemic to the benefit of...
To ensure that coronavirus vaccines and treatments are “available at a price affordable to all people,” Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky and several other House Democrats recently proposed a radical solution to the coronavirus pandemic — commandeer any lifesaving, yet-to-be-created vaccine and allow the government to set “reasonable” prices. Although this may sound like it would benefit people, it would be a disaster for patients. Intellectual property protections aren’t a barrier to care. Just the opposite. They’re res...
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, and on July 27, the West Plains Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with other regional partners launched the OPENTogether Small Business and Non-profit Grant program to help small businesses and non-profits offset safety and operating costs, rent and other allowable expenses with $10 million of Spokane County-allocated CARES Act dollars. Our small businesses and nonprofits are facing a number of hardships and need additional financial relief now, whether that is to...
POST FALLS — Braeden Havens of Airway Heights placed third out of 26 racers at the Idaho 200 race at Stateline Speedway Event Center in Post Falls over the weekend. He overcame a lost alternator, motor issues and only seven functioning cylinders near the end of the race to do so. After rolling off ninth in a 12-car invert, the 26-year-old Havens managed to take the lead around lap 120 despite his car’s motor beginning to “miss” around 50 laps in. “That was caused by the alternator failing,” Havens said. Havens then had to...
WEST PLAINS – Cheney and Medical Lake school districts have teamed with other districts around the state to hopefully prove there is power in numbers – especially when it comes to buying personal protective equipment needed to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Both school districts have placed orders through Educational Service District 112 in Vancouver, Wash. to purchase a variety of supplies ranging from reusable cloth face masks to isolation gowns, disinfecting wipes and infrared thermometers. The idea came after indiv...
MEDICAL LAKE — Superintendent Tim Ames and Assistant Superintendent Kim Headrick presented a draft of the school district’s re-opening plan to the board at its meeting July 28. The board approved a school start date of Sept. 2. School buildings will open and staff orientation will be held Aug. 19. The two weeks between the buildings opening and school starting will be used for staff preparation. Five-year-olds and preschools wouldn’t be required to wear masks in an in-person model, consistent with state mandates that say t...
CHENEY — Eastern Washington University President Dr. Mary Cullinan has announced that she is retiring from her position, effective immediately. The university’s Board of Trustees has named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. David May to serve as interim president. The announcement came at a virtual board of trustees meeting this morning, Aug. 4. “I have been honored to serve as Eastern Washington University’s first female president,” Cullinan said in a news release. “EWU is a valuable asset to this region...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Spokane County Fire District 10 officials felt asking the public to support their Emergency Medical Service levy renewal in the midst of economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic was a gamble. It was a gamble that paid off as the district’s levy was well on its way to passage at press time Tuesday night, Aug. 4. According primary results from Spokane County Elections Department, the levy was passing 67.21 percent to 32.79 percent with 1,299 of the 1,912 returned ballots as of Tuesday hav...
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