Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
CHENEY – For over 35 years, Delmer and Jeanie Fitzner have bestowed the gift of flowers to people passing by their home at the intersection of Betz and Granite Lake roads. Free of charge. No conditions — just be sure to stop by Jeanie’s wagon early because the flowers get snatched up quickly. That practice is likely coming to an end as the couple who celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary next week are moving to a new home on Medifor Road near the Medical Lake-Four Lakes...
OLYMPIA — Two state agencies have banned target shooting on the lands they manage. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the state Department of Natural Resources have banned shooting until further notice. "We implemented several fire risk prevention measures for WDFW lands in Eastern Washington earlier this summer," Fish and Wildlife Lands Division Manager Cynthia Wilkerson said. Hunting is allowed to continue, she said. Target-shooting restrictions will remain in effect until the risk of wildfire decreases, W...
ODESSA — The formerly shuttered livestock processing facility has a new lease on life, with the new owners using the facility to help launch a direct-sales beef program. Miles Curtis, who ranches near Odessa, Ewan and Tokio, bought the facility this spring. The facility had formerly been operated by the non-profit group Cattle Producers of Washington. The new plant, called Limit Bid Packing, processes the beef for Curtis’ direct sales program, as well as processing ani...
Pressman Mark Cordes helped run the press for the last time today, Aug. 20, assisting in printing the Davenport Times, Odessa Record and Wilbur Register. Cordes is leaving Free Press Publishing after 14 years with the company and will begin working at a cabinet shop just outside Cheney....
CHENEY – A series of small wildfires has grown into a 200-acre-plus blaze near Badger Lake about 15 miles south of Cheney. The four fires began around 5:04 p.m. Sunday evening under hot, dry conditions, and were burning in grassy areas dotted with stands of ponderosa pine. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, one was six acres and threatening structures, another was eight acres, the third was between 1-2 acres while the progress of the fourth had been stoppe...
PULLMAN — Police Chief Gary Jenkins has authorized officers to ticket individuals who refuse to wear a mask while coronavirus orders from Gov. Jay Inslee remain in effect. In a press release Wednesday, Aug. 19, on the decision to allow enforcement of mask mandates, Jenkins said his officers “stand between those who are law-abiding and those whose actions risk the health and safety of others.” “Violators of the governor’s proclamations not only put the violator’s health at risk, but the health of our entire community,...
CHENEY—West Plains Angels, a local charity organization, and C & S Auto Sales will host a car wash Aug. 22 to benefit three clubs within area schools. Proceeds will go to Cheney High School Robotics Club, Cheney High School Band and Medical Lake High School “Circuit Breakers” Robotics Club. “We want to benefit organizations in our community that is of service unto others and improves the quality of our community,” West Plains Angels founder Tony Blount said. “Each one of those organizations that we (are supporting)...
Cheney Congregational Church Greetings! Cheney Congregational is currently hosting outdoor Sunday worship services in our parking lot at 8:30 a.m. 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 among other safety precautions. We will be meeting outside in our parking lot for the foreseeable future. We encourage you to bring your own lawn chair, and we will have chairs provided. You are also welcome to pull up in your...
James “Chip” Kepka graduated in 1999 from Medical Lake High School and went on to Washington State University in the ROTC program. He was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant upon graduation in 2003. He was assigned to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona as an aircraft maintenance officer and helped organize a blood drive for two years at the base. In 2007 Capt. Kepka was assigned to a fighter squadron in South Korea. While there he taught an English-speaking program to local elementary school children wit...
Medical Lake and Cheney...
Dianne E. Christensen was born on Aug. 18, 1943, and passed away peacefully on Aug. 8, 2020. She was born in Seattle, Wash. and spent her earlier years from age 10 in Hayden, Idaho. On June 17, 1961 she married Lonnie L. Christensen in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Together over their 59 years of marriage they lived in and around Cheney, Wash. A woman of many talents, along with being a homemaker, Dianne worked at Eastern Washington University as a baker, at both Cheney Junior High a...
Curtis and Candy Faulks, of Seattle, beat the heat by fishing off one of the piers at Clear Lake near Medical Lake Aug. 17. Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees on the West Plains all weekend....
AIRWAY HEIGHTS—The city continues to face a $1.9 million budget gap, but council elected to not declare its financial state an “emergency” at its legislative session August 17 after such a recommendation from city manager Albert Tripp on August 10. Tripp informed council August 10 that the intent of the emergency declaration was to spread awareness about the city’s financial state, which he felt could potentially lead to some federal aid in the form of CARES Act money. However, as Congress continues to grapple over the pos...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS-The Highway 2 and Hayford Road intersection is "one of the busiest in the county," according to public works director Kevin Anderson. The city hopes Phase 1 of the West Plains Connection project will help amend that. The project, which is a collaboration between Airway Heights, Spokane and the Kalispel Tribe, has been in various discussions and traffic for over 10 years, but a recent plan for a 6th/10th/12th corridor has finally gained traction after funding...
CHENEY Aug. 11 Third-degree malicious mischief was reported on the zero hundred block of Cheney-Spokane Road. A gas line on a vehicle was cut. Davon J. Henderson, 34, was arrested for second-degree assault/domestic violence and violation of a domestic violence no contact order on the 400 block of Leinum Court. Domestic violence/verbal dispute was reported on the 700 block of 2nd Street. Aug. 12 Third-degree theft was reported on the 2300 block of University Lane. Prescription medications were taken. Third-degree theft was rep...
Donald Trump and his staff have finally gone beyond a point of no return for me. The occupation of Portland, Oregon by some type of federal police violates several amendments in the Bill of Rights, most noticeably the Fourth Amendment. The violation is “The right of people to be secure in their person” which are the beginning words of this amendment. People are being detained by federal authorities attired in black with no visible identification on the clothing. The presidential staff claims these persons are border pat...
The U.S.-Canada border will remain closed for non-essential travel until at least Sept. 21. President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau mutually agreed to seal the world’s longest non-militarized border back in March to slow the spread of COVID-19. But while cross-border road trips and shopping excursions have come to a halt, commerce has continued as usual. That’s a good thing — Canada is one of our most important trading partner. Now more than ever, we must strengthen this relationship and eliminate the existing regul...
If Americans are to receive all of their electricity without coal and natural gas by 2035, they will need nuclear power. Even if Washingtonians, who already procure over 70 percent of their electricity from the hydro, are to be completely devoid of fossil fuel generation by 2045, they must have nuclear. Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act passed earlier this year by the legislature leans heavily on renewable fuels, particularly wind and solar. It calls for e...
SPOKANE – The Library District is calling all junior scientists, nature explorers and challenge seekers to investigate some pretty cool, if not yucky stuff. Spokane County Library District has partnered with Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency, Spokane County Water Resource Center, and Spokane Regional Solid Waste System to offer three online programs for the Spokane County EnviroKids’ Club. According to a news release, kids taking part in the programs will discover how they can help clean the air while doing some exp...
CHENEY – When it came to a career, being an insurance agent was not on Layne Stoops’ radar. “I don’t think anybody grows up wanting to be an insurance agent,” Cheney’s newest State Farm representative said. Raised in Sun Valley, Idaho, Stoops came to Whitworth University in 2001 with music on his mind, having played saxophone for a number of years. But musical theory wasn’t his cup of tea, so he switched to psychology, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 2006 and a masters of ed...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University has announced that will offer online only instruction after the Thanksgiving/Native American Heritage holiday break. In a news release today, Aug. 12, university officials said the move is designed to keep students safe by minimizing health-related disruptions while maintaining attentiveness to public health concerns. The move should help limit travel to and from Cheney after the Thanksgiving break, Nov. 25 – 27, although students who live in the residence halls may return to campus aft...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustee’s approved a memorandum of understanding with the United Faculty of Eastern (UFE) that would stave off declaration of a severe financial crisis. All of the trustee’s voted for the memorandum with the exception of Trustee Uriel Iniguez, who voted no. “We’ve had a discussion about, and I think the board knows how I feel about some of the components in this agreement,’ Iniguez said in declaring his decision to vote against the memorandum. The board has met on several oc...
CHENEY – Overall crime reports dropped in the city by 9.9 percent in 2019. That’s better than the 11.1 percent increase in 2018, but not as good as the 20.1 percent decline in 2017 and certainly far from the 24.5 percent increase in 2016 for what are referred to as “Group A” crimes. If that sounds like a rollercoaster to you, it is, one officials have speculations about but no hard evidence to point to as to why there is such a swing. Carnival ride aside, Police Chief John Hensley is pleased with the decline in 2019 overall...
CHENEY – Residents will have another option available to them when it comes to internet service in the city. At its Aug. 11 meeting, the City Council approved an agreement with Avista Edge to begin a pilot program “for the provision of fixed wireless broadband internet services” in the city. Details on how Edge will work were not available at press time, but the technology will be installed and available through the city’s electric metering system. The resolution authorizing the agreement originally came before council...
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