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WINONA – An important wheat link in the railroad network spanning Adams, Lincoln, Spokane and Whitman Counties is nearly complete. "It's pretty much finished," state Department of Transportation's Rail, Freight and Ports division spokesowman Janet Matkin said Monday afterooon, Oct. 16, when asked about the status of the Rebel Flat Creek Trestle. The trestle was destroyed Aug. 19 in the Winona Fire that charred 2,525 acres in Whitman County near the historic town of Winona. T...
KENNEWICK – Free Press Publishing staffers brought home several awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association annual gala celebration Saturday night, Oct. 7. Cheney Free Press staffers Paul Delaney, John Myers and Roger Harnack were recognized individually. Reporter Delaney won second-place for sports profile writing and graphic artist Myers won second-place in front page design. Owner/Publisher Harnack won first place in sports action photography, as well as onl...
SPOKANE VALLEY - A new reporter joined the ranks of the Valley Herald on Sept. 11. An Eastern Washington University graduate, Clare McGraw, 28, earned a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Design in June 2022. McGraw brings a background in photography, graphic design and web-editing. "I'm really looking forward to utilizing my design skills.," McGraw said. "I also really enjoy writing about local people." "I am looking forward to seeing what Clare can do with her camera...
RITZVILLE - A West Richland man is facing multiple charges after allegedly stealing an asphalt truck from the state Department of Transportation's Washtucna shop Tuesday, Sept. 19, and leading law enforcement on a chase that ended miles away. Lance Rogers, 31, was arrested and transported to a Yakima-area hospital after he was appreheneded following the pursuit that ended with the stolen truck catching fire. He remained in custody at the hospital at press time. He is facing...
YAKIMA – The Blackhawks boys and girls cross country teams dominated the Apple Ridge Run Invite on Saturday, Sept. 16, winning both divisions. Cheney won the boys division with a low team score of 20. Rounding out the Top 5 teams are Cedarcrest, second with 47 points, Walla Walla third with 55, and Moses Lake and Selah tied for fourth with 67 points. In the varsity girls team scores, Cheney had a winning team low of 26 points. Moses Lake was second with 51, Chiawana third w...
PULLMAN – The Cheney girls volleyball team struggled to keep up with the Pullman Greyhounds in a non-league match Sept. 7. The Greyhounds swept the Blackhawks, 3-0. Set scores were 25-18, 25-20, 25-15. The loss followed a season-opening win Sept. 5 at Clarkson. There, the Blackhawks downed the Bantams, 3-2. Clarkston won the first set 25-20, and the third set, 25-21. But Cheney won Sets 2,4 and 5, with scores of 25-18, 25-9 and 18-16, respectively. Since those opening g...
Rodeo around the region....
CHENEY - A new reporter joined the ranks of the Cheney Free Press on Sept. 11. An Eastern Washington University graduate, Clare McGraw, 28, earned a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication Design in June 2022. McGraw brings a background in photography, graphic design and web-editing. "I'm really looking forward to utilizing my design skills.," McGraw said. "I also really enjoy writing about local people." "I am looking forward to seeing what Clare can do with her camera...
RITZVILLE – The Broncos showed why they're ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 2B football Friday night, Sept. 9, routing Northeast 2B rival Liberty (Spangle), 60-14. "Not good enough," Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Coach Brendan Bermea said after his Broncos' victory. "We made too many mistakes to say this was a good effort ... we overcame that, but we had way too many." "Big difference from last year," Lancer Coach Brian Harrington said of the loss. Last year, Liberty upset the B...
SPANGLE – The Liberty Lancers girls volleyball team topped the Newport Grizzlies in three straight sets Monday night, Sept. 11. Set scores were 25-19, 25-20 and 25-12. The Lancers (1-1), a Class 2B team, were led by Kendall Denny with 5 kills, 10 assists, 8 aces and 16 digs. Denny was 27-of-28 at the line with 8 aces. Brooke Redder had two blocks for the Lancers. The Class 1A Grizzlies didn’t report any statistics. The victory comes less than a week after dropping the sea...
DAVENPORT – Here are the official results of the Aug. 25-26 Lincoln County Rodeo: Bareback Riding – 1. Duke Hanson, 76; 2. Mason Payne, 73; no other qualified rides. Saddle Bronc – No qualified rides. Ranch Bronc – 1. Steve Maupin, 84, 2. Zoe Johnson, 79; 3. Dustin Hennigs, 67; 4. Devin Newman, 67; 5. Tristan Newman, 61. Bull Riding – 1. Connor Dean, 92; 2. C.J. Schultz, 89; no other qualified rides. Steer Riding – 1. Dustin Dean, 80; no other qualified rides. Chute Doggi...
ELK - On Monday evening, the Oregon Road Fire grew into the largest blaze in the regional over the last week. At least one person had died in the blaze, officials said. Evacuation notices remain in effect across much of the area surrounding the communities of Elk and Chattaroy. The fire was most active east and southeast of elk, burning in dry grass and timber. An evacuation center was set up at Riverside High School, 4120 E. Deer Park Milan Road, Chattaroy. Another is open...
WINONA - Local fire crews contained the Winona Fire after it decimated 2,525 acres over the weekend. The fire destroyed Whitman County Emergency Management Director Bill Tensfeld, reported an fire management team that arrived Saturday to help local crews departed Monday, Aug. 21, after assisting with containing 90% of the blaze. Whitman County Fire District No. 6 is monitoring the smoldering Rebel Flat Creek train trestle that burned Friday and watching for remaining hot...
MEDICAL LAKE - Rain Tuesday, Aug. 22, gave fire crews a break in their effort to stop the growth of the Gray Fire. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, fire officials said the blaze was 48% contained. The new estimated size is 10,016 acres. On Wednesday at 7, officials hosted a community meeting to explain the status of the Gray Fire and hear fire victims' concerns. They were also explain the command post move from Cheney Middle School to Pine Lodge, 721 S. Pine St. That meeting was planned...
WINONA - The Winona Fire, which burned 2,535 acres over the weekend, completely destroyed the Rebel Flat Creek railroad trestle. The fire broke out Friday and destroyed the trestle as it raced through dry grass and sage down a slope to the creek and railroad tracks. After the fire had passed, only rails remained in the span over the creek. State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Janet Matkin said Tuesday, Aug. 22, the wooden trestle bridge was about 200 feet long and...
CHENEY — As emergency officials pushed traffic off Interstate 90 and into the city, traffic backed up for miles. At times Saturday and Sunday, traffic was bumper-to-bumper from the Cheney-Spokane Road to the Cheney Free Press building, 1616 W. First St. Periodically, traffic was shifted west to state Highway 231 through Edwall and Reardan. But traffic backups on that small two-lane road and a crash in the southbound lane forced traffic back into Cheney or west to Davenport a...
A quip on a social media post said it all: “Harrington has never been so busy.” That tongue-in-cheek post was in reference to the diversion of Interstate 90 traffic between Spokane and Sprague through Airway Heights, Reardan, Davenport and Harrington as the Gray Fire encroached on the highway over the weekend. The fire broke out Friday near Eastern State Hospital and Medical Lake. As it grew toward Four Lakes and Cheney, someone decided it was a idea to detour traffic at dif...
PULLMAN – A state appellate court has affirmed the conviction of a local man arrested after a January 2022 social media sting intended to catch drug dealers. On Aug. 17, the state Court of Appeals Division III filed an unpublished opinion affirming the arrest and conviction of William Patrick McBride, 59, of Malden. McBride was convicted of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) with intent to deliver after communicating with a fictious person on social media,...
SPOKANE — Innovia Foundation has opened a Wildfire Emergency Response Fund to support nonprofit organizations, businesses and community organizations working to meet the needs of those impacted by the Grays, Oregon Road and Winona wildfires. The Oregon Road Fire has burned more than 8,000 acres in Elk area of Spokane County. The Winona Fire burned more than 5,000 acres of wheat land and sage steppe in the Winona area of central Whitman County. And the Gray Fire destroyed at least 185 homes and killed one person in the M...
CHENEY - The incoming incident management team hired to oversee Gray Fire response doesn't expect to have the blaze contained until Aug. 30. In an update on the fire released at 8 p.m. Saturday night, Aug. 19, the team reported the fire is 0% (zero percent) contained, burning in dry timber, 2.5-foot-tall grass and brush. The team said the fire is believed to have burned 9,500 acres; 234 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze. Because of smoke, only one helitack team was...
CHENEY — Fire officials are expecting gubernatorial candidate and State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz to visit the fire-ravaged areas in Medical Lake and Cheney on Sunday. At last estimate, the Gray Fire was between 8,000 and 9,500 acres in size - and growing. At least 185 homes, were destroyed Friday, and more succumbed to the flames Saturday. As the state Department of Natural Resources prepares to turn over management of the growing fire to a Type II Incident M...
CHENEY — An area here that was under a Level 2 evacuation notice has been upgraded to Level 3 because of the encroaching Gray Fire. This includes the area east of Interstate 90 south of Salnave Road, west of Mullinix Road and North of State Highway 904. Level 3 notices mean fire is imminent and those choosing to evacuate should do so. A new area has been put under a Level 2 notice, as well. A Level 2 notice means fire is approaching and residents who want to evacuate should be...
CHENEY – Traffic has been lined up for hours throughout the city as the Gray Fire continues to burn near Interstate 90. Currently, the fire is most active in the Salnave area west of Cheney and in the Tyler area. Smoke, and actively burning fires have forced the continued closure of both the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-90, so traffic is being filed through Cheney from both sides. The interstate is closed at Sprague for eastbound travelers and Geiger for folks trying t...
MEDICAL LAKE - Smoke from the growing Gray Fire has prompted the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency to advise residents to reduce steps to reduce their exposure. The fire had grown to between 8,000 and 9,500 acres, according to local fire officials. Airborne particulates and ash were falling around Medical Lake, Cheney, Four Lakes, Tyler and other areas. Because of the air quality deterioration, several activities have been canceled in the area. In Cheney, Eastern Washington...
