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AIRWAY HEIGHTS—Council and city manager Albert Tripp discussed tweaking the way the city chooses its mayor at council’s Nov. 23 study session before Mayor Kevin Richey and councilmembers unanimously agreed that the tweak should occur and a ballot resolution should be filed in hopes of bringing said resolution to public vote in February. The tweak, which was first brought up to council by Richey in 2015 to allow for flexibility in the case of circumstances causing a council and/or mayoral vacancy, would change the process for...
MEDICAL LAKE – The state Department of Ecology is proposing “three major” changes to its permit that allows lake managers to use pesticides and chemicals to treat noxious weeds and algae such as Eurasian milfoil. “Very often… the most effective way to treat it is to use a pesticide to initially melt it down and then go with hand pulling or harvesting to keep the population down after the pesticide treatment,” Water quality general permits supervisor Nate Lubliner said. “It’s really the fact that we’ve got that tool while s...
CHENEY – The city’s proposed water reuse project (Purple Pipe Project) took another step towards realization last Tuesday when the City Council authorized officials to apply for a $22.8 million loan from the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Public Works Director Todd Ableman told the council design work on the project had been completed and submitted to the state Department of Ecology for their review. At full buildout, including engineering, and with a “healthy” 20 – 30 % contingency factored in, the project taps ou...
Correction from Oct. 1 issue In an article in the Oct. 1 issue titled “In-person learning to slowly return in Medical Lake,” the writer incorrectly wrote that “populations studying from home include special needs students” due to a mistype. Those populations are studying in-person. MEDICAL LAKE—The district unveiled its plan for an Oct. 12 return to in-person learning Monday, roughly two weeks after its initial announcement that some students could return to the model. The district’s plan falls into two phases. The first p...
CHENEY – The August fire that roared through the Williams and Badger lakes area left a scorched wasteland in its wake, consuming about 90 percent of the vegetation in its path including a large number of trees. That number was added to by a Spokane County decision to take advantage of a recent clearing operation and remove additional apparently healthy trees - a decision leaving at least one Badger Lake family perplexed and a bit frustrated. Paul and Jennifer Mitchell - who l...
MEDICAL LAKE — Fire crews reached 100% containment on a 310-acre fire just east of the city by the end of their shift Aug. 29. Authorities responded to a fire burning in dry grass, brush and light timber north of state Highway 902, east of Bartholomew Road, at 12:32 p.m. Aug. 27. The fire -- later dubbed the Bartholomew Fire -- burned northeast of the city and onto Fairchild Air Force Base. One primary residence and three outbuildings burned, according to Guy Gifford of the s...
CHENEY -- Despite smoke and flames several hundred feet away, some area water enthusiasts have reportedly been trying to launch their boats from the docks at Badger Lake. Accordingly, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a notice reminding people that the public access site at Badger Lake is "closed indefinitely due to a wildfire burning out of control in the area." DFW officials stated that despite evacuations of residents in the area, first responders are... Full story
OGDEN - A conference football season in which Big Sky powers Montana, Montana State and Weber State were slated to visit Eastern Washington University's newly-turfed Roos Field will have to wait until 2021. On Aug. 6 Big Sky athletics directors unanimously elected to move an eight-game conference schedule to next spring, according to a release from EWU. The Big Sky President's Council then approved the decision Aug. 7. EWU athletic director Lynn Hickey said "the handwriting...
CHENEY – City officials have made the decision to close the community's municipal pool for the 2020 season as well as put a pause in an activity recently launched to compensate for the lack of cooling off options for area youth - and adults. City Administrator Mark Schuller told the council last Tuesday, July 15, that he and Mayor Chris Grover made the decision to close the pool for a number of reasons, but mainly because rising cases of the novel coronavirus in the region h...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS — The City Council unanimously authorized City Manager Albert Tripp to sign an interagency agreement for coronavirus relief funding at its July 6 meeting. The funding totaled $286,350 and can be used for costs related to the COVID-19 fallout, such as medical expenses or business/economic shortfalls. The funding will be provided to the city through reimbursement. Tripp presented resolution 2020-014, which would declare financial emergency for the current 2020 expense fund budget due to financial hardships create...
Have you noticed recently that things are collapsing? Sure, the rightwing, nationalist rulers of many countries never stop telling us that they have made their nations “great” again. But we would have to be dislocated from reality not to notice that something is wrong ― very wrong. After all, the world is currently engulfed in a coronavirus pandemic that has already infected more than 12.5 million people, taken more than 550,000 lives, and created massive economic disruption. And the pandemic is accelerating, while, accor...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Airway Heights City Council gave City Manager Albert Tripp their unanimous approval to carry out an interagency agreement for coronavirus relief funding at its July 6 meeting. The funding, which totaled $286,350 per a population-based allocation from the state, can be used only for costs that are related to the COVID-19 fallout, such as medical expenses or business/economic shortfalls directly correlated to the coronavirus. The funding will be provided to the city through reimbursement. Tripp presented resolu...
CHENEY – High school officials are hoping a plan they have submitted for holding commencement will receive official state approval. At the Wednesday, May 13, school board meeting, Superintendent Rob Roettger said they had submitted a plan to Gov. Jay Inslee's office to hold a commencement ceremony for this year's graduating class. Large gatherings of more than 10 people have been banned as one of the measures enacted in late March to slow the spread of the coronavirus, w...
CHENEY — With Gov. Inslee relaxing some restrictions on outdoor activities, people are free to visit many local, state and national parks and recreational areas. One new restriction that is in place is that people recreate close to home. This means people are encouraged to not driver further than necessary to engage in their preferred activity. For hikers and wildlife enthusiasts, Turnbull Wildlife Refuge Area’s auto path and hiking trails are open to the public. In fact, area manager Alice Hanley says they never closed. “Th...
FOUR LAKES – Fishing will resume here and on other lakes and rivers statewide beginning May 5. Following two weeks of growing protests over the state’s ban on fishing, Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday, April 27, announced that outdoor recreation is allowed to resume May 5. “Based on the data we have now received, we are close to the point where we can enjoy the outdoors again,” Inslee said during a press conference announcing the reopening. “This includes fishing, hunting and the a...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The Kalispel Tribe of Indians has filed a $21.27 million lawsuit against companies including 3M and Tyco Fire Products along with the United States government over chemicals used in firefighting foam that have contaminated drinking water sources in Airway Heights. The lawsuit filed Monday, March 30, in federal court in Washington joins others around the country dealing with alleged harmful effects of polyfluoroalkyl substances, referred to as PFAS, used in firefighting foam and other products. Fairchild A...
CHENEY – Most changes involved in slowing the spread of the COVID-19 disease have been announced publicly. One, however, was done almost quietly in the dead of night. Gov. Jay Inslee signed a proclamation March 24 amending his state of emergency declaration by suspending aspects of the Open Public Meetings and Open Public Records acts that involve public contact. The proclamation noted the suspension of these requirements runs to midnight April 23; however ,the Inslee’s office has indicated it is considering extending lim...
CHENEY – It was just a matter of time. Spokane County and the rest of Eastern Washington found itself finally caught up in the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 disease pandemic with a series of rapidly occurring events last week. Gov. Jay Inslee's declaration closing all K-12 public and private schools along with the restricting of public gatherings of no more than 250 people on Friday, March 13, was quickly followed by the announcement of the region's first three COVID-19 cases l...
SPOKANE -- The Spokane medical community, and other partners have come together to help ease some of the increased patient volume hospitals and clinics are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic by setting up a drive-through screening site which opens Friday March 20. The site, at the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, will act in conjunction with existing on-line and phone screening systems set up by hospitals and clinics throughout the region. It is not a self-referral, guaranteed testing site. Health care professionals... Full story
SPOKANE -- Spokane County officials are taking further steps to protect its employees and the public during the COVID-19 outbreak by limiting access to the fourth floor of the Public Works Building until further notice. The fourth floor is the location for the Environmental Services Department, including Sewer Billing and the Regional Solid Waste System. According to a March 18 news release, sewer bills are due by Wednesday, March 25. County officials are asking residents to make their payments by phone, mail or online, but... Full story
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee signed several executive orders today extending previous requirements to close K-12 public schools and limit large gatherings to no more than 250 people in efforts to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. School districts will be closed beginning Tuesday, March 17 through April 24. Inslee took similar measures earlier this week with schools and large gatherings in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. In taking the action the governor noted the virus has spread to 15 counties in... Full story
CHENEY – With the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak growing, officials at Eastern Washington University have taken additional steps to safeguard students, faculty and staff from possible contact with the virus. While no cases have been reported on campus, university officials announced changes last week to winter quarter final exams, asking faculty to forego in-person finals during the scheduled exam week of March 17-20 and instead hold those finals online. If online finals...
CHENEY – A public hearing has been set for March 9 on changes to a pair of ordinances, one addressing residential occupancy issues and the other designed to encourage water conservation. Both ordinances changes acome after repeated concerns from citizens. The most vocal has been the issue of residential occupancy, specifically the concept of “functional family” and how that definition impacts such things as parking and noise complaints in neighborhoods. According to the Notice of Application from the city publishing the p...
Oligarchy. I like the sound of the word. It kind of rolls off the tongue, but I don’t like it as a form of government. Winning an election does not grant the victor wisdom beyond those of us who have never run for office. Those whom we have selected to represent us in Olympia seem to believe it does. Rather than be accountable to the electorate, our elected officials consider themselves a cut above the general public. It would seem private citizens, both individually and collectively, are viewed as a source of revenue, of n...
OLYMPIA -- A measure designed to protect the health, safety and overall well-being of domestic workers in has been sponsored by Democratic senators at the request of Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson. If passed, Senate Bill 6247 would guarantee that domestic workers be paid at least minimum wage, $13.50 per hour. Workers must also receive meal and rest breaks, and overtime pay, if applicable. A written agreement between employees and employers would also be required, as well as a two-week termination notice, e...
