Sorted by date Results 26 - 39 of 39
CHENEY – Sergeant Chad Eastep has been on administrative leave from the Cheney police department, as the result of an investigation, since June 2021. City administrator Mark Schuller confirmed this, saying "Yes, he is on administrative leave because he is under investigation." When asked if the city made any personnel changes to cover sergeant Eastep's absence, Schuller replied "We've made some organizational changes at the police department to ensure proper supervision of p...
CHENEY – In a public hearing for the 2023 tax levy, finance director Cindy Niemeier proposed changes to levy lift. Oct. 25. “The tax levy, as a whole, is a property tax levy and its how government in general is funded.” Niemeier said. “There was a state law passed a few years ago that limited how much a resident’s property taxes can increase. From 2021 to now, the tax payer’s property values went up 36% on average. That doesn’t mean that property taxes go up by the same amount, because of that state law limit.” Resid...
CHENEY – An electrical rate study, performed by FCS Solutions, was presented to the council and contained projections on electrical energy costs and plan options. Oct. 25 “The rate study was a required study that helps us acquire the necessary data to set rates appropriately.” City administrator Mark Schuller said. “We have to make sure we have enough revenue to maintain the electrical system.” Schuller said. Currently, council is entertaining two separate proposals; the substation bypass project and the Cheney substation reb...
CHENEY – Students at Kappa Sigma fraternity house party report being given an unknown substance in a drinking cup, Wednesday night. Nov. 2. The fraternity house at which the event allegedly occurred is in Cheney, not on EWU campus. “That makes it a Cheney police job.” Interim police chief Rick Bechtel said. “Somebody allegedly saw a post on TikTok about somebody giving out these drugs and reported it to the Cheney police and it is now under investigation.” Bechtel said that he then reported the investigation to Chief Jew...
CHENEY – Tim Steiner traveled with the Inland Northwest Honor Flight as a guardian with a Cheney veteran and several others. Oct. 17. With the honor flight were 2 World War II veterans, 7 Korean War veterans, and over 90 Vietnam veterans. Over 60 guardians were present on this year's honor flight. This honor flight is a chartered trip hosted by INHF for veterans. The purpose of this trip is to give veterans of the inland northwest the opportunity to visit the major combat m...
MEDICAL LAKE – Jaime Clark, owner of Rusty Truck Ranch, commented on the proposed changes to the Medical Lake urban growth area. Oct. 27 Medical Lake planning commission opened a public hearing for proposed changes to the urban growth area. The proposal modifies the size and the location of the growth area, and several residents who could be affected were present. “This would be devastating to us.” Clark said. “If we are re-zoned, or annexed to the city, it would certain...
CHENEY – Todd Ableman brings a revised ordinance (Ordinance Y-27) to the council regarding shipping containers as residences. Oct. 25. This revised ordinance proposed several changes to the city building code that outline how shipping containers can and cannot be used by residents. There is still a moratorium in effect that prohibits residents of Cheney from applying for permits to use shipping containers on their property. The revised ordinance recommends changes to the c...
MEDICAL LAKE – Erin D. Dascher, PhD, of the EWU Geo-sciences department, gave a presentation on the importance of wetlands and of conservation in Medical Lake. Oct. 27. Dascher’s presentation highlighted the effects which humans have on water systems in general, and focused also on Medical Lake’s specific ecosystem. “Ecosystem services” Dascher said “are the benefits which ecosystems provide to the surrounding communities as a matter of their basic nature.” “Medical Lake...
It’s no secret that crime has worsened throughout Washington in recent years, thanks to laws passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature and a decrease in the number of law-enforcement officers in many communities. While we’ve seen a spike in many areas of crime, retail theft and other retail crimes are especially a problem. Retail crimes hurt not only stores and shops, but also consumers because these crimes force retailers to raise prices. The Legislature, the governor and the attorney general need to take action to gre...
By Don Brunell Contributor Demand for Electric Vehicles (EV) is soaring---accelerated by climate change concerns. EVs reduce tailpipe emissions from cars, trucks and buses which are responsible for 30 percent of our greenhouse gas pollutants. The switch to EVs is worldwide and growing. The Simply Insurance website projects by 2040, 58 percent of global vehicle sales will be electric. In 2021, China’s EV sales jumped to 3.3 million. Chinese government officials told a...
State senator, Mark Schoesler, misses the mark again when he complains about the supposed tax and services imbalance between the two different sides of Washington. He calls free public transportation for westside children discriminatory against Eastern Washington taxpayers, who supposedly have to “pick up the tab.” However, children are children, no matter where they live and whether their parents are Democrats or not. Why wouldn’t most voters be happy to pay the extra pittance in taxes to keep children out of the rain and fr...
Beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Joanne Craner, 87, passed peacefully on Oct. 16, 2022. Born in Bowdon, N. D.; Joanne moved a few times before settling in Cheney, Wash. when she was 8 years old. She was married to her husband Cecil Charlton for 33 years and they raised 3 children. She worked for the Eastern Washington University bookstore, with the last 25 years of her dedication as the manager. After the passing of her first husband, she met...
Daryl, lifelong resident of Cheney passed away at the age of 83. Daryl was born at Sacred Heart Hospital on Nov. 22, 1938, to his parents Henry Ivan Franz and Alta Jesse Corley. He recently suffered a stroke and was starting to recover successfully, but took a turn for the worse and died at Sacred Heart Hospital on Oct. 5, 2022, at 6:45pm with complications of hip surgery. He graduated high school in 1957 from Cheney Fisher building, played in the pep band (saxophone) and...
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