Articles from the August 31, 2017 edition


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  • Salnave's Pohl recognized

    Grace Pohl|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Salnave Elementary School secretary Jen Pohl (pictured right) recently received the President's Leadership Award. The award is for public school employees (PSE) members who demonstrate outstanding leadership in their local chapter or who make special contributions to PSE members through their role in their chapter or by serving on state committees. Salnave's principal Celina Brennan (pictured left) presented the award to Pohl in front of the whole district on Aug....

  • Fall Citizens Academy sign up

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Take the opportunity to learn about the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office by signing up for the fall Citizens Academy today. The academy starts Monday, Oct. 2. Participants get to ask questions and interact with deputies, detectives and members of specialty units, including K9, Air 1 and others. Learn “reality” from the deputies who serve you each and every day and how it differs from what some Hollywood writer portrays in some crime drama. Classes are from 6 – 9 p.m. and every Monday night (total of 8 classes) at the Spokane...

  • West Plains Police News

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    CHENEY Aug. 21 A runaway was reported on the 3200 block of Normal Park Road. Individual returned home. Aug. 22 Sam J. Russell, 34, was arrested for third-degree theft/shoplifting on the 100 block of West First Street. Aug. 23 Suspicious circumstances were reported on the 700 block of West First Street. Possible violation of a temporary restraining order, however no indications of direct communication or observable indication of a violation was discovered. Patrick S. Russell, 43, was arrested on a Cheney Municipal Court...

  • Our local newspaper has a lot to read

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Have you read the Cheney Free Press lately? You should. Why? What a better way to get an honest perspective of current events as well as an understanding of the heart beat of Cheney and our neighboring West Plains communities. The Free Press has been part of my life since early childhood and generations before. We were truly blessed with how we were kept informed on current and past events. Remember in elementary school when we were asked to bring something to share with the class? Well, the Free Press was my source to share...

  • Unexpected donation a treasure

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Thank you, whoever you are. Your wonderful donation to the Ben Franklin Store in Oldtown, Idaho, through Cheney Federal Credit Union brought our employees to tears. Happy tears instead of the sad tears that have been shed of late. We hope you can imagine the looks of disbelief when we gave out your donation. Bless you. Nancy and Bill Nation Cheney...

  • EPA seeks to step backward on clean water policy 

    JORDAN RASMUSSEN, Center for Rural Affairs|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    By JORDAN RASMUSSEN Contributor Center for Rural Affairs Since President Trump issued an executive order calling for the repeal and replacement of the 2015 Clean Water, or Water of the U.S. (WOTUS) Rule, my husband has discussed the issue with — and heard the concerns of — his fellow farmers. As any wife would do, I shared with him the facts and premise of the rule: The rule clearly defines which water bodies are protected by the Clean Water Act, eliminating the need for a costly and time-consuming case-by-case evaluation. Th...

  • Taxing robots to slow down worker displacement

    DON C. BRUNELL|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    By DON C. BRUNELL Contributor Last February, the European Parliament rejected a tax on robots, but took the first steps to regulate their development and deployment. The legislation also aims to establish liability for the actions of robots, including self-driving vehicles. Europe’s governing body, while rejecting the tax to be dedicated to worker training, overwhelmingly passed a resolution to study regulating robots. In an interview with Quartz.com, Microsoft co-founder Bill...

  • Get out and root, root, root for the home teams

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    With fall sports on the horizon, the community needs to be reminded what a vital role it plays in supporting the local high schools in the upcoming year. While football is the popular sport at arguably any school in the United States, the other sports need to be supported too. One sport that comes to mind for the fall season is the cross country teams in Cheney and Medical Lake that both have a history of being successful. The teams have been known to send student-athletes to state and have a solid program. Both schools have...

  • Mysteries remain in K-12 funding

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter Medical Lake School Superintendent Tim Ames might still remember those days. It’s Christmas morning and the wrapping comes off that enormous gift. There is all kind of excitement until it is discovered that the “some assembly required,” item not only failed to be stocked with batteries, but no instructions to boot. The new version of that present arrived in the form of the Washington State Legislature’s budget, which was painstakingly delivered in the final minutes of the fiscal year on June 30...

  • Cheney officials work on new school funding

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    It’s been a long eight-plus weeks for Cheney School District Director of Finance Kassidy Probert. Probert and other administrators have been pouring over the immense documentation contained in the state Legislature’s House Bill 2242 — the measure enacted that addresses the state’s court-mandated requirement to fully fund basic education. The impacts of that legislation will be a work in progress over the next several years, requiring fine tuning and perhaps significant changes, but Probert sees several areas that carry i...

  • News briefs

    STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Miss Cheney Rodeo applications available Applications to compete and possibly become Miss Cheney Rodeo 2018 are now available. The application process closes Oct. 1, with the competition taking place Oct. 20-21 at the Cheney Rodeo grounds. The packet includes interview requirements and itinerary, application form, Miss Cheney Rodeo rules and expectations, horsemanship patterns, liability release and Miss Cheney Rodeo required events. According to an email from the Cheney Events Association, Miss Cheney Rodeo can appear in up...

  • Ruth G. Hammack

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Ruth Loretta Patricia Hammack (Pene) died on Aug. 25, 2017, in Spokane Valley. She was the first daughter of Ruth Fernberg Gibbons and Charles Anthony Gibbons of Seattle. She had two sisters: Dorothy Marie Speidel of Sacramento, Calif. and Charlynn Ann Coleman (deceased) of Chicago. She was a wife, mother, typist, Avon sales person and oil painter. Ruth was born on Sept. 29, 1922, on the remembrance of the day for St. Michael the Archangel, in Boulder, Colo., where her father...

  • Myrtle Mae (Mueller) Powers

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Myrtle Mae (Mueller) Powers was born in her home on the family homestead at the end of the Oregon Trail, outside Oregon City, on Nov. 28, 1921. She passed away Aug. 22, 2017. As a young child, Myrtle helped work the family farm and prepare meals for the large family, enduring the hardships of the Great Depression. Myrtle always aspired to be a teacher, and she received her teaching degree from Oregon College of Education at the age of 20. Myrtle taught for two years and...

  • ELLO comes to Grocery Outlet

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    On Sept. 2, Everyday Language and Literacy Opportunities (ELLO) will be launching their new project at the Airway Heights Grocery Outlet at 10831 West Highway 2 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. ELLO is a community research campaign out of the Education Department at Eastern Washington University. The project is led by Dr. Allison Wilson from early childhood education and Dr. Shanna Davis from school psychology. According to their website, ELLO creates engaging and interesting visuals that help parents and other adults have meaningful c...

  • What's Happening On The West Plains

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    All events are free unless posted otherwise. To get your event or meeting in the weekly What’s Happening section, email date, time, location and event to [email protected]. Cheney • Sept. 4, Labor Day, city offices closed. • Sept. 5, August Produce Swaps, community library 1 – 5 p.m. • Sept. 5, Flightless Bird Running Club, Barrelhouse Pub and Pizza, 6 p.m. • Sept. 7, Kiwanis Meeting, Sessions Village Clubhouse 2219 N. Sixth St., 7 – 8 a.m. Airway Heights • Sept. 4, Labor Day, city offices closed. Medical Lake ...

  • Looking back with the Cheney Historical Museum

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Fifty years ago in 1967, the city of Cheney dug a new water well, Well No. 4 originally, 616 feet deep in Sutton Park. (825 Washington). Later the depth extended to 2,136 feet. Learn more about our area’s history at www.cheneymuseum.org...

  • Churches

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Emmanuel Lutheran Church Emmanuel Lutheran Church invites you to worship with us this Sunday, Sept. 3. You may also watch our pastor’s sermons on YouTube at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Cheney. Christian education will resume Sept. 24. There is still time to buy raffle tickets for Emmanuel’s “Garden Basket.” Ticket price is $1 each or six for $5. Tickets are available through the church office Monday through Friday from 8 a. m. – noon or Sunday morning before or after worship. The drawing will take place on Sunday, Oct. 1 at noo...

  • Looking Back

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    1 Years Ago Aug. 30, 2007 Medical Lake City Council unanimously approved an amendment to allow the Spokane Sports Officials Association to provide officials to supervise the city's adult sports activities. Airway Heights City Council approved of putting a measure on the ballet to have a new municipal building in the city's future. Robyn Smith was named the new Cheney High School girls soccer coach while Jennifer Harmer was the new face to lead Blackhawk volleyball. 20 Years A...

  • West Nile virus confirmed in county sample

    Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) officials reported on Aug. 29 the laboratory confirmation of West Nile virus in a mosquito sample from Spokane County. Five local horses were also confirmed to have the virus this month. West Nile virus is spread through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is well established that some types of mosquitoes common to Spokane County can transmit the virus. No human cases of West Nile virus have been confirmed in the county in 2017. Washington State Public Health Laboratory confirmed the...

  • Airway Heights council discusses sewer extension

    Grace Pohl, Staff Intern|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    At the Aug. 28 study session, the Airway Heights City Council was presented information about a sewer extension to properties south of Highway 2 and west of Lundstrom Street from Public Works Director Kevin Anderson. "This is strictly just informational right now," Anderson said. "But I wanted to keep the council up to date with the situation." The plan would extend a 10-inch diameter, 1,900-foot long public pipe to provide sanitary sewer service to an area from Lundstrom...

  • Fight turns deadly in Airway Heights

    Grace Pohl, Staff Intern|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    On Aug. 25 in Airway Heights, two young men were arguing outside their apartments in the Copper Landing complex, 10913 W. Sixth Ave. located on Kalispel Tribe Reservation land, early in the morning when 53-year-old Terry Toner came out and asked them to quiet down. The fight turned deadly as the young men beat up Toner with a baseball bat and left him unconscious. Despite lifesaving efforts, Toner was pronounced dead at the scene. One of the teenagers, who was later...

  • Cheney has contaminated land for sale

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    Cheney’s City Council unanimously agreed to surplus a small parcel of land owned by the Street Division along First Street just east of Spokane Transit Authority’s K Street Station, but not without some questions regarding its price and condition. Public Works Director Todd Ableman told the council the half-block parcel was part of a larger piece that was sold to STA for the transfer station. The property served as the location of the city street/shop maintenance building prior to construction of the current facility on Ander...

  • Keeping up with the codes

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Aug 31, 2017

    BCheney Police Department Capt. Rick Campbell spent the summer of 2016 chasing a couch around town. Obviously, Campbell performed other duties, but part of his new role of code enforcement officer had him watching for “free” signs placed on indoor furniture and appliances that are then left along a property’s street side. Doing so is a violation of the city’s municipal code 19.18.050, with violators subject to a possible $513 fine. Campbell said the couch was quickly taken from in front of a home, only to appear again i...

  • EWU Final Preseason Scrimmage

    Paul Delaney|Updated Aug 30, 2017

    Will Eastern Washington University begin to hang its hat on the defense rack in 2017? Probably not, but for the second time in a week in preseason camp scrimmages it has been the "D," that has been making a lot noise. Having held the vaunted Eagle offense out of the end zone on Aug. 19, the likelihood of that happening again was not a high probability. Eastern's offense did have its way for a while that is - scoring twice early - in the final tune up for the Eagles' season...

  • CHS Football Scrimmage

    Grace Pohl|Updated Aug 30, 2017

    The first annual Black and Red scrimmage was an exciting event as the community got a taste of the Cheney High School football season. The varsity and JV teams were put to the test as they were on the field for about an hour-and-a-half running drills and practicing plays against each other....

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