News

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter The Cheney School District officially began the final phase of construction funded by its 2010 construction bond with a groundbreaking ceremony for a new elementary school at the corner of Hallett and Holly roads in Spokane County, about a mile west of Windsor Elementary School. The district selected Spokane firm Leone and Keeble to manage the construction, which is scheduled to finish next fall. Site superintendent Steve Frase said the site presents its fair share of challenges, mainly in the...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter One thing has always been a constant in James Thompson's life. “I always had a camera,” he said. After years as a self-taught photographer taking pictures of his family and friends, Thompson has begun his own photography business, JDT Photography. Thompson, who has lived in Cheney for the past five years and has based his business here, said he decided to jump into the role of professional photographer after he was laid off from his longtime job and couldn't find satisfying work. “I thoug...

Local students to have designs printed on youth, adult sizes and get to ride in parade By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter Marissa Bertram from Hallett Elementary and Emma Ransom from Medical Lake Middle School are the winners of this year's Founder's Day T-shirt design contest. Bertram's winning design will be printed on the youth sizes, while Ransom's will appear on all of the adult sizes. Also, both students will be featured in the Founder's Day parade June 16. Founder's Day president Bob Kibling said six designs were submitted...

Planning Commission OKs condensed version of earlier proposals, scraps citizen advisory committee By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Last week the Cheney Planning Commission approved a plan to redo the city's zoning and development code. The final timeline, ending in completion of a new Unified Development Code and zoning map early next summer, includes several opportunities for the public to voice their views on the code at meetings. However, it scraps an earlier plan to form a citizen advisory committee that would have been...

Enjoy spring by experiencing and learning about the exceptional wildlife, habitats, and geology of the unique Channeled Scablands landscape. Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, in partnership with numerous organizations/agencies, is offering a free spring nature festival May 19 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. with activities for families and individuals of all ages. Take a walk on the wild side and discover birds, wildflowers, insects, other wildlife, and catch a glimpse of remnants of the ice age floods that created the diverse...

Life Services of Spokane, a local, nonprofit agency dedicated to helping expectant mothers and their children will be hosting a pair of community open houses starting with its site at 519 B St. in Cheney, Tuesday, April 24 from 4-6 p.m. On Tuesday, May 1, the Spokane Valley open house will run from 4 to 6 p.m. at 1014 N. Pines, Suite 201. Life Services offers counseling support, ultrasounds and a maternity home as well as referrals for housing, medical and financial resources. To learn more, call Sharon Hengy at 590-5929 or...

The Cheney School District is currently seeking input from staff, students and community members concerning suggestions for the name of the new elementary school at Hallet and Holly roads. An online survey is included on the district website, www.cheneysd.org, and a form is being provided on the back page of the upcoming district newsletter, which can be completed and mailed to the dstrict office. Input will be accepted through Monday, May 7. The Name Recommendation Committee will review all of the suggested names and...

Eastern Washington has gained a representative on an important statewide commission that makes recommendations for strategic investments to promote freight mobility. On April 2, Gov. Christine Gregoire appointed Cheney Mayor Tom Trulove to the Washington Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board. The FMSIB is tasked to facilitate freight movement between local, national, and international markets. Washington's economy, which depends heavily on trade in the global marketplace, requires an efficient multimodal transportation...

Community garden expansion completed By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter More than two years ago Cheney Community Garden leaders Carl Ruud and Jon Ballester went to the Park Board to ask for help expanding water lines at the garden. There was demand for more garden plots, they said, but a lack of resources to fix the current irrigation system and extend it to serve the new plots. Parks workers finished the water line extension last week, shortly after Ruud's unexpected death. Ballester, the garden organization's...

By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter The search for Airway Heights fire department's deputy chief of training is winding down, with a decision from Fire Chief Mitch Metzger coming soon. The new position, which would focus heavily on training and include some office managerial work, is meant to take some pressure off assistant fire chief Doug Bonstrom. Once a final selection is made, the position will officially begin Tuesday, May 8, at a swearing-in ceremony. An analysis performed by Metzger when he started last July, showed areas of...

The Spokane County Treasurer's Office reminds county property owners that the first half of 2012 property taxes are due by April 30. Payments mailed to the Treasurer's Office must be postmarked on or before the due date and the public is advised to make sure payments are dropped at a U.S. Postal Service box or station early enough to be postmarked by the tax deadline. State law dictates that county treasurers recognize only the cancellation date applied by the USPS to determine timeliness of payments. Payment options include...

By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter The Airway Heights Planning Commission postponed a decision on its proposed mixed-use overlay and C-2 conditional use permit zones, stemming from last-minute comments received from the city of Spokane. City planner Derrick Braaten said he wasn't able to review the comments, as they arrived only hours before the Monday, April 10 planning commission meeting. Those comments, he said, pointed to discrepancies in elements of the documents between the two jurisdictions. The commission scheduled a...

By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter Upgrades at Spoko Fuel are nearly complete, with a new Arby's restaurant set for its grand opening and a remodeled convenience store interior ready for use. Since last month, the restaurant has been operating under a soft opening. Spoko Fuel operations manager Dale Spencer described the opening as a test run for the restaurant, where there was almost no advertising. This way, the staff could train and garner experience in a low-pressure environment. A grand opening is scheduled for Friday, April 13...

Local contract store operators stay in the business and hope to compete with bigger stores come June By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter When June 1 arrives, numerous liquor sales licenses will take effect. Several West Plains retailers have applied for a license following the passage of I-1183 last November, which allows for some private stores to sell liquor. In Cheney, Bi-Mart, Safeway and the existing contract store have all applied for liquor sales licenses, as of data available Monday, April 9. Both Bi-Mart and Safeway's...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Cheney native Kahla Noel has been busy lately. Not only has she relocated her massage and esthetics business from Zen Hair Studio to a storefront in the complex at First and Cocolalla streets, she's also growing a new business angle: equine massage. The former Miss Cheney Rodeo had horses growing up and has always loved the animals, so when she got into massage therapy, she found an avenue to reconnect with them. “It's a way for me to spend time with horses without all the expense of owning o...

By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter Progress on Airway Heights' 70-acre park moved forward last week, with a second meeting to hear what residents want its uses to be. The city's park board and those in attendance expanded on ideas that were proposed at the first meeting last month. Most of those ideas, according to parks and recreation director J.C. Kennedy, focused on passive, open areas that could be adapted for sports like soccer and rugby. In addition to requests for a dog park, many placed a high importance on versatility....

Aircraft Solutions, formerly XN Air, seeks to be a one-stop shop for private and commercial pilots By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter It's the perfect location for an airplane maintenance shop: right off the runway of Spokane International Airport, the shop's 10,000 square foot hangar bay holds at least half a dozen small planes at once. That's why the shop—at 8125 W. Pilot Dr.—succeeded for six years as part of XN Air. And it's also part of the reason Matt Brown and Bill Ifft decided to purchase the business when it went up for...

Photo Essay By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Cheney's wastewater treatment plant was built in 1972 with a goal of reusing all the byproducts of wastewater disposal. A series of wetlands for natural filtration back into the environment came first, and in 1994, Cheney was one of the first cities in the region to start its own compost facility. Eight years later, many area residents are probably planning to pick up a load for their gardens tomorrow. But how many know what goes into that load of compost? Go down to the plant...

Local jurisdictions can now modify, accept or shelve the document By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter The effects on land owners from Spokane County's Joint Land Use Study proposal were placed on the table last week at a public hearing at a joint meeting of the Board of County Commissioners and the county's planning commission. Better known as JLUS, the document seeks to address non-compatible land uses in areas surrounding Fairchild Air Force Base, which could cause concern for encroachment. The county created a draft document,...

Mixes part of current zoning code with draft proposal By JAMES EIK Staff Reporter The city of Airway Heights took its first step in the Joint Land Use Study implementation process by choosing to meld parts of its current zoning regulations with the latest draft of Spokane County's document. The Airway Heights City Council voted to send a letter to the city of Spokane and Spokane County informing them of their decision. Airway Heights would use a mix of the Air Installation Compatibility Use Zone (AICUZ), which it has...

CHENEY March 12 A 10-year-old male was arrested for malicious mischief at Betz Elementary School after he threw eggs and wrote on doors at the school. March 13 Residential burglary was reported on the 300 block of F Street. March 14 Domestic violence was reported on the 200 block of South Cheney-Spangle Road—verbal only. Kaneshia S. Brooks, 22, was arrested for shoplifting at Cheney Trading Company. Theft of street barricades was reported on the 200 block of Elm Street. A 10-year-old male was arrested for fourth-degree assaul...

By SCOTT PANITZ WNPA Olympia News Bureau As the 2012 supplemental operating budget negotiations froze nearing adjournment of the 2012 session, March 8, the Washington state Legislature did reach agreement on a different major spending plan: the Transportation budget. A bipartisan transportation supplemental budget that overwhelmingly passed in both chambers raises $57 million in new revenue over the remainder of the 2011-2013 biennium with various fee increases. The new money would primarily go toward debt service on a...

By RAECHEL DAWSON WNPA Olympia News Bureau Gov. Christine Gregoire signed into law March 7 legislation that would give financially distressed biomass processing facilities and pulp and paper mills a break from compliance rules dealing with the expensive process of clean-energy conversion. Sen. Brian Hatfield, D-Raymond, was prime sponsor of Senate bill 5575, which calls for a change in the 2006 voter-approved Energy Independence Act (Initiative 937) to further define what biomass-elements may constitute renewable resources....