Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 2797
Medical Lake continues to make some progress in reducing the water it produces and consumes. According to the most recent water efficiency report, Medical Lake produced and purchased 279.2 million gallons of water in 2016. This is about a 3 percent decrease from 2015 when the city pumped and bought about 286.7 million gallons, which was lower than the year before. Water consumption declined as well. Last year, the city consumed a little over 254.2 million gallons a 4 percent drop from 2015. The year before consumption...
Due to incorrect information, a member of the band Incidia’s name was misspelled in last week’s Medical Lake Founders Day special section. Their drummer’s correct name is Anthony Teichmer....
Cheney police are asking for the public's help in locating a man who broke into Cheney High School, leaving behind a trail of blood and making off with trophies from a trophy case. The man, described in his 20s, was captured on video surveillance around 11 p.m. Saturday, breaking in through doors in the rear of the school. He wandered around the building, breaking several lights that cut his hand, trying to open locked doors before leaving with three, cup-style trophies from...
Sunset Elementary School student Henry Kosanke hits the ropes portion of the Falcon Fitness Club's "Sunset Ninja Challenge Course" during a demonstration for parents on May 30. See the story in Education, page 2....
The city of Airway Heights received the results of another round of testing for perfluoro chemicals in its water system on June 2. Four of the 20 samples that were tested were still above the Environmental Protection Agency’s 70 parts per trillion (ppt) advisory level — ranging between 85-141 ppt. The remaining 16 samples showed non-detect or levels below advisory levels. One sample located in the industrial area tested at 1,245 ppt. That area was isolated, closed off and drained to remove contaminants. The area is still cut...
Although the West Plains — and most of Washington state — experienced a wet winter and spring, the city of Medical Lake will still ask its residents to adhere to water restrictions during the summer. During the summer, irrigation in Medical Lake is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., with an exception made for newly-planted lawns. The water restriction was set by an ordinance the city adopted in November 2007. The resolution came in response to a critical water situation the city experienced in 2006. The ordinance inc...
Although the West Plains — and most of Washington state — experienced a wet winter and spring, the city of Medical Lake will still ask its residents to adhere to water restrictions during the summer. During the summer, irrigation in Medical Lake is prohibited between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., with an exception made for newly-planted lawns. The water restriction was set by an ordinance the city adopted in November 2007. The resolution came in response to a critical water situation the city experienced in 2006. The ordinance inc...
For the third time in as many months, Cheney’s Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed rezone of land at the corner of Cedar and North Eighth streets being considered for a student-housing-type apartment complex. The hearing is set for Monday, June 12, at 6 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers. A previous, two-part hearing resulted in a 3-3 split among commissioners on whether or not to recommend the request by Eastmark Capital Group to the City Council. Eastmark, along with partner Greenstone D...
Team Fairchild continues to grow. Tuesday, Fairchild Air Force Base announced it would be the new home of 12 primary-assigned KC-135 Stratotankers and three backup inventory aircraft. The KC-135s are scheduled to transfer from McConnell Air Force Base, in Wichita, Kan., in fiscal year 2020. In a June 5 news release, Heather Wilson, Secretary of the Air Force, announced Fairchild as the "best choice for additional Air Force tankers." Fairchild became the home of six...
The Spokane County Board of Commissioners have been longtime opponents of the Spokane Tribal Economic Project (STEP), and now it appears they are taking the battle to the court room. The commissioners approved a resolution to file a lawsuit against the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Department of the Interior at its May 30 meeting. Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter, the county’s Public Works information and outreach manager, explained the lawsuit is to appeal Interior’s June 2015 determination, issued by assistant secretary Kevin...
Due to incorrect information, it was stated in a photo cut line in the May 25 issue of the Cheney Free Press that Cheney Federal Credit Union donated books to Sunset Elementary School students through a grant called First Book. The books, which numbered over 500, were actually a donation CFCU made to KXLY for The Magic of Storytelling campaign....
Most Cheney residents who are internet savvy will likely have noticed something new about the city’s website — and that is that it’s new. Or at least revamped, something City Administrator Mark Schuller said he and Mayor Tom Trulove have wanted to do ever since soon after Schuller became administrator in July 2014. “We both hated our website,” Schuller said in a recent interview. “We made it a goal to upgrade.” Schuller said the goals were to make the site more user friendly, easier to navigate and also capable of allowing u...
Chief Warrant Officer Marine Chaplain Grant Maassen salutes the grave of a veteran interred at the Medical Lake Cemetery as a family looks on during Memorial Day ceremonies on Monday....
After the first round of flushing its water system, six of Airway Heights' wells are still over the Environmental Protection Agenciy's perfluoro chemicals advisory levels of 70 parts per trillion. The good news is flushing the system, which used over 15 million gallons of water, seems to be working. In a May 26 news release, the city announced it had received test results from Anatek Labs that afternoon. Of the 17 samples that were taken from different sources throughout the...
Airway Heights continues to make progress on reducing its recent water contamination issues. On May 16, the city announced that two of its wells tested over 70 parts per trillion for contamination by two perfluoro chemicals. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency updated its health advisory levels for the chemical concentration to 70 parts per trillion. That day, staff immediately deactivated the wells and recommended residents not drink the water, though it is safe for...
The Cheney Free Press will be closed Monday, May 29, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Deadlines for the submittals for the June 1 issue have changed. Legals and classified ads must be submitted to the office by 11 a.m. Friday, May 26. All submitted editorial content — including churches, public service announcements and letters to the editor — must be submitted by noon on Friday. The Cheney Free Press will reopen for business Tuesday, May 30, at 8 a.m....
Medical Lake’s water is safe to drink. That’s according to City Administrator Doug Ross, who informed City Council at its May 16 meeting that their wells tested as non-detect levels of Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and/or Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination. In a May 18 interview, Ross said staff sampled two of its wells out of precaution because of the PFOA and PFOS contamination in private wells near Fairchild Air Force Base’s and in the city of Airway Heights. Ross said as soon as he got off the phone with...
Cheney's annual Memorial Day observances are under new management, and for the most part, are taking place as they have in the past. For years, the Cheney Cemetery Association organized and sponsored the activities, which included a breakfast, walk to Fairview Cemetery and observance ceremony. But in a late-March press release, the association said its board of directors decided at their February meeting they could no longer continue the practice, saying it was "time for a...
With a major repaving of State Route 904 through Cheney slated to begin in late June, state Department of Transportation officials hope to answer questions and allay residents concerns at a project open house on June 1. The open house will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Wren Pierson Community Center. WSDOT's acting project manager, Tom Brasch, said in a May 22 interview the department had just executed a contract for the $1.62 million project last week with successful l...
Two statements in last week’s story on the Cheney Congregational Church were worded incorrectly. Pastor David Krueger-Duncan said direction from the national church was congregations should welcome LGBTQ individuals by pointing out the differences between them and other members. The correct statement following this should have noted this was a position he and the Cheney congregation could not embrace. Krueger-Duncan was then quoted as saying: “Our congregation wants to welcome you by saying, ‘you’re one of us and we’ll s...
Fairchild Air Force Base, along with local municipalities and regional regulatory partners have scheduled a town hall meeting on May 23 at the Medical Lake High School auditorium. The meeting is for residents to learn more about the recent well testing happening around the base. Subject experts will be on hand to address questions and concerns and provide additional information about perfluorooctanesulfonic (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acids (PFOA) chemicals and the effects it has on groundwater. Engineers contracted by the U...
Brodie Millican got to jam on stage with the Kelly Hughes Band during the Friday Night Street Dance at last weekend's Mayfest in downtown Cheney. The event, in its fifth year, had a plethora of activities for residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy....
There are several road projects happening on the West Plains over the summer. In Cheney, State Route 904 will be resurfaced with hot mix asphalt through the city from Betz Road to Mullinix Road. Shamrock Paving will be the contractor on the $1.62 million project In a separate project, the Washington state Department of Transportation has already done some of the work with some Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that will take place until mid-June. The city also plans to do...
Cheney’s Planning Commission has taken the unusual move of tabling approval of the city’s comprehensive plan — the document governing planning decisions over the next 20 years. In doing so, the commission raised the possibility the city could be out of compliance with state law, which requires entities updating their plans to have those approved and submitted to the Department of Commerce by July 1. Cheney senior planner Brett Lucas also told the commission he needed to check with Commerce to see if there were ramif...
During a May 16 press conference, officials from Fairchild Air Force Base and Airway Heights announced that two water wells used by the city tested over 70 parts per trillion for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and/or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) contamination, which is above Environmental Protection Agency lifetime health advisory levels. The city tested two of its wells in light of the private wells located near Fairchild Air Force Base that were tested for PFOS and PFOA contamination. These chemicals are classified...
