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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Isaiah Rigo's current mental state is somewhat cyclical when he thinks about the upcoming Paralympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. "I get excited, nervous to serious, then back again," the Cheney High School state cross country wheelchair champion said in a July 26 interview. Rigo, who attends the University of Illinois and competes in NCAA wheelchair track and field under head coach and Paralympian Adam Bleakney, was named to Team USA after track and field trials... Full story
By MELINDA MYERS Contributor Enjoy and share the beauty of your flower garden all year long. Pick and dry a few flowers to use in flower arrangements, craft projects or as gifts for friends and family. Pick the flowers when they are at peak bloom and blossoms are dry. Cut flowers for drying mid-day when they contain less moisture to reduce the dry time. Use a bypass pruner or garden scissors to cut the stems above a set of healthy leaves. Remove the foliage and gather them... Full story
SPANGLE — Several hundred people stood on the Liberty High School baseball field Thursday evening, Aug. 12, singing the National Anthem. A World War II-era P-51 fighter flew overhead, piloted by Jared Segebartt of Moscow, Idaho, as the “Stars and Stripes” waved in the wind. Some in the crowd waved American flags; others hoisted signs demanding the governor rescind his edict requiring public school students to be masked when classes resume in the coming weeks. On the dais,...
CHENEY — The future of Cheney public aquatics was discussed at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 10, regarding the plans for an engineering assessment study to renovate the pool and pool house. According to City Administrator Mark Schuller, to advance with any projects relating to the pool, a contractor will need to determine whether any aspect of the current equipment is salvageable, or if a new facility will require a complete demolition of the systems. “To get us down that road we need some experts to come in and...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS — At their Aug. 16 meeting, City Council members elected to postpone consideration of a request by the state Department of Transportation for concurrence with their U.S. Highway 2/West Plains Subarea Transportation Management Plan. WSDOT staff presented a draft of the plan, which included some draft strategies for development, during a study session on Aug. 9. The department was requesting the council provide a letter of concurrence expressing support for those strategies. But at the Aug. 16 regular session, s...
FROM STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES CHENEY — Eastern Washington University student Erin Conroy is the winner of a full-year tuition waiver as part of the university’s EaglesVaxUp incentive program. Conroy is junior from West Seattle and is a pre-nursing major. According to a news release, her waiver’s value is almost $6,900, the cost of three full quarters ($2,299 per quarter) during the 2021-22 academic year. Conroy’s name was drawn from among a pool of students who have success...
SPOKANE — A rapid increase in Covid-19 cases in Spokane County and mounting concerns about the spread of the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has led to a requirement for all students, faculty and staff to wear masks at Eastern Washington University’s semester programs. According to a news release, EWU interim President David May announced on Aug. 17 that all students, faculty and staff in EWU’s semester programs will be required to wear masks while indoors on the WSU-Spokane campus and in the Catalyst building. The m...
COLFAX — Following last month’s USDA designation of 14 Eastern Washington counties as a natural disaster due to drought, the Farm Service Agency is offering emergency loans to producers. The severe drought emergency declaration makes producers in Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman and Yakima eligible to apply. The agency will be accepting and reviewing loan requests until Feb. 22, 2022, officials said....
SPOKANE — The Spokane County Independent Redistricting Committee is redrawing local county commissioner districts, increasing the number of commissioners from its current three to five due to the county’s population exceeding 400,000 residents. The committee is seeking public input on the process, and is holding several public information meetings and hearings to gather residents thoughts. The new commission structure will go into place in 2022, with new commissioners elected during that election cycle and will be ele...
Rescue units from Lincoln County and Spokane County Fire District No. 3 responded to a one-vehicle injury crash Monday morning at Milepost 257 of westbound Interstate 90, between the Tyler and Fishtrap exits. According to the Washington State Patrol, at about 9 a.m., a driver lost control of the vehicle, veered on the median and overturned; the car came to rest against some trees. The driver, whose name was not immediately available, was transported to a Spokane hospital with...
CHENEY — An impassioned debate raged Monday night regarding the Clover Street Rezoning Project, that ultimately culminated in a decision to pass the decision forward to City Council. The neighborhood under debate is identified at the Clover Court/West 6th Street area and is currently designated as an R-2 multi-family zone. The rezoning plan aims to designate the area from R-2 to R-1 single-family structures. A high number of community members spoke during the public comment section or submitted letters expressing their o...
CHENEY — A new three-year contract with dispatchers was approved by City Council at the Aug. 10 meeting. The major features of the contract were a 2% cost of living increase, a 3-5% pay increase for dispatch trainers, and an addition floating holiday for employees with over 10 years of service, and an extra two days for those with over 20 years. City Administrator Mark Schuller praised dispatchers, saying, “That is the toughest position in the city to hire for. It’s a very special and unique skillset, being able to multi...
One aspect of the last 18-plus months that has struck me is how life can sometimes imitate art. Specifically, for me, how some events with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic correlate to the Steven Spielberg summer blockbuster “Jaws.” In the movie, a woman is killed while swimming. The movie’s unwilling hero, Sheriff Martin Brody, gets a report from the medical examiner that the death was caused by a shark attack. But under pressure from the mayor and city council of the island town of Amity, the examiner backtracks, saying “yes,...
“There is no military solution to the conflict.” That was the conclusion reached by the Biden administration earlier this year, which set into motion the plans for the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of August. Nearing the termination of this process, in a few short days we witnessed the collapse of the Afghan government, the takeover by the Taliban, desperate Afghans trying to flee the country or seeking other sorts of protection, and international NGO workers holing up in safe places in the cap...
Is this it? Is this all we can expect now from the Cheney Free Press in terms of local area news and commentary? Publisher Harnack’s opinion piece on Aug. 12, 2021 (Parents should push back on Olympia masks in schools mandates) leaves a reader with big dose of “huh”? Of all the critical local issues swirling about, we get a commentary from Publisher Harnack on how parents should rise up and reject mask mandates for students to return to school. No discussion on why masks are again necessary, no discussion on why our child...
Roger Wayne Horton July 26, 1958 – Aug. 10, 2021 Roger Wayne Horton was born to Howard Franklin Horton and Verdetta Evalo Landon in Hudson, Michigan on July 26, 1958 and died in Spokane, Wash. on Aug.10, 2021. He was raised in a family with five brothers and three sisters. Roger graduated from Hilltop High School in West Unity, Ohio, and earned his degree in Forestry from Michigan Technical University in Houghton, Mich. He married Mary Lynn Wolfrum in Spangle, Wash., on May 1... Full story
A few years ago I attended a retirement party for a friend retiring from the railroad where he had worked for over 40 years. The dinner was good, and his co-workers provided good-natured ribbing at Blake’s expense. One coworker had been his partner for over 25 years. He told this story they both swear was true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. Marvin and Blake were on their way to work driving down a rural road when they passed a deserted farm house nestled in a grove of trees. Suddenly Blake cried out, “Sto...
Cheney Congregational Church Greetings from Cheney Congregational. You’re invited to join us for our “Church in the Park” events on Aug. 29. Partnering with a couple of other churches, we are holding our Sunday morning services outside in Sutton Park at 9:30 a.m. on those Sundays. We hope you’ll join us to learn about God’s creation while physically being in it. We hope to see you there! Also, we welcome you to join us on Sunday mornings for in-person worship at 10 a.m. Masks are no longer required. However, there will be m...
Cheney-area crews contained a blaze to about 140 acres late Monday afternoon. The incident started about 3 p.m. as a barn fire and spread to dry timber, prompting evacuation notices for residents in the area of Scottie Dog Lane and Pine Meadows Lane. Four Fire Bosses and two helitack units helped local crews suppress the blaze. One cottage and seven outbuilding were destroyed....
CHENEY - The Eastern Washington University women's soccer team is inching closer to the start of the 2021 fall season. The Eagles have been training hard under newly named head coach Missy Strasburg and are excited for the upcoming season that looks to be operated in normal fashion following an unusual 2021 spring season. "As a staff, we are very happy and impressed with the extra energy shown so far," Strasburg said. "From the resilience displayed to the quality of play, we...
Ty Schlecht of Cheney and Justin Solomon of Spokane Valley competed in team roping during the Sunday matinee performance of the Omak Stampede and World-Famouse Suicide Race in Omak. They were among dozens of competitors in the event during the four-day rodeo....
DAVENPORT — Masks will still be a part of sports this year, but face covering rules won’t be as restrictive to start the 2021-22 school year. The state Department of Health released new guidelines that mandate masks in some athletic settings, but not in others. The guidelines come on the heels of the state once again requiring masks in K-12 schools this year, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. Athletes won’t have to mask up during competition or practice for any outdoor sport. Masks aren’t required for low or moderat...
WASHTUCNA — Visitors and area residents will be able to enjoy Palouse Falls and Lyons Ferry state parks along state Highway 261 without paying a fee Wednesday, Aug. 25. Washington State Parks will open all of its parks for free access that day, a requirement of the legislation that created the agency’s Discover Pass, a pay-for-play program designed to supplement tax allocations for maintenance of publicly owned lands. The state Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources will also allow free access Aug. 25 to pub...
CHENEY Aug. 9 Theft of a firearm from a vehicle was reported on the 100 block of Terra Vista Lane. A .30-06 rifle was reported stolen. Civil problems were reported on the 500 block of West 6th Avenue. Identification theft/online fraud was reported on the zero hundred block of West 5th Street. Aug. 10 Third-degree theft was reported on the 200 block of 1st Street. Money was reported stolen from a vehicle. Allison M. Fox, 36, was arrested for fourth-degree assault and third-degree malicious mischief on the 1500 block of 1st Str...
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