News

Turnbull Wildlife Refuge and the Spokane Audubon Society will host a community work party on Saturday, May 15, at the refuge in celebration of International Migratory Bird Day. The work parties are part of ongoing community efforts to restore native riparian habitat to benefit birds and other wildlife species. Volunteers will be helping to plant more than 40 native saplings, along with erecting protective fencing to guard the new trees against deer, elk and moose browsing. Everyone is welcome to attend and help out. The work...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Spokane will not be part of a countywide ambulance contract, but the Ambulance Service Board has every intention of moving forward without the county's largest city. The board has been working to create a contract with ambulance provider American Medical Response for more than three years in an effort to manage prices. The Spokane City Council voted 4-3 to end the city's membership on the board at their March 22 meeting, citing the already low costs enjoyed by Spokane residents thanks to an AMR...

By RYAN LANCASTER Staff Reporter The Airway Heights City Council was joined at their April 5 meeting by Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager and county parks director Doug Chase to discuss a draft memorandum of understanding between the jurisdictions. The proposed deal gives the city roughly 70 acres of undeveloped land in exchange for providing treated wastewater and sewer and water services to the Spokane County Raceway. The agreement also provides the city with first rights of refusal on nearly 30 additional acres,...

A Cheney Free Press Feature By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter It's a long road to travel, from waving to thousands from the top of a float in the Lilac Festival parade to washing your clothes in a bucket in an earthquake-ravaged third-world country. Courtney Leslie took that road, and she says the lessons she's learned are worth the struggle. TSgt. Leslie worked with the U.S. military's relief effort in Haiti, using her training in digital imaging and military intelligence to locate appropriate sites for refugee camps to serve...

CHENEY March 30 A wallet was reported found in the 700 block of West First Street. Theft of beer was reported in the 100 block of West First Street. A runaway juvenile was reported in the 200 block of West Second Street. The subject returned home. An abandoned auto was reported in the 200 block of West Fifth Street. Police towed a blue Ford Escort. March 31 Harassment was reported in the 1600 block of Second Street. Domestic violence was reported in the 300 block of West First Street—verbal only. April 1 Matthew F. Miller, 1...

By JOHN McCALLUM Editor A 23-year-old Cheney woman was killed in a head-on collision Monday morning on U.S. Highway 2 eight miles west of Davenport. According to the Washington State Patrol's accident report, Heather L. Hockett was eastbound in a 2006 Chevy Aveo when her vehicle drifted into the westbound lane around 7:19 a.m. and collided with a 2005 GMC Yukon driven by Kimberly D. Cole, 41, of Davenport. The collision sent both vehicles off the roadway. Both women were using restraint devices. Hockett was pronounced dead...

Spokane County taxpayers have until April 30 to pay the first half of their annual property taxes. Washington state law requires that if payments are mailed to the county treasurer's office via the US Postal Service that they must be postmarked on or before the due date, April 30. Payment options include Internet checks or credit cards. To pay by Internet check or credit card go to www.spokanecounty.org/treasurer and follow the instructions. Or, you can call 1-800-2paytax, using jurisdiction code 5606 when making a credit...

By RYAN LANCASTER Staff Reporter Students at Medical Lake Elementary saw an extra day of spring break Monday while crews cleaned up smoke damage in the south wing of the school caused by the electrical fire. According to incident reports, MLE custodians called 911 after hearing smoke alarms sound at approximately 12:30 p.m. on April 1. Crews from MLFD, Fire District 3 and the Airway Heights Fire Department responded and used portable extinguishers to put out the fire, which was confined to one classroom. Medical Lake fire...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Sometimes teenagers just don't think things through. That seems to be the case in any early morning March 28 fire in the 800 block of Moyer Street, when two teenage boys were pouring gasoline from various containers into a garbage bag. “Apparently they were trying to transfer the gas from the garbage sack into a vehicle, because one of the teens' vehicles was out of gas,” Cheney Fire Lt. Ken Johnson said. The boys were attempting this process in the basement of the home of one of the teens whi...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter A Cheney man has been charged with first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment. Charles V. Huckabee, 47, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Spokane County Superior Court March 30, and was released on a $100,000 bond April 5. Cheney police arrested Huckabee March 16 after the alleged victim reported the crime to a Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputy March 8 after a sexual assault examination at a Spokane hospital. According to court documents, the female victim told...

By RYAN LANCASTER Staff Reporter Spokane County Fire District 10 leaders are hoping an April 27 special election ballot will renew a 10-year emergency medical service (EMS) levy that expires at the end of this year. With 60 percent voter approval Proposition 1 would reauthorize a regular property tax levy of 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value for those who live in the district, which covers roughly100 square miles of the West Plains from Thorpe Road to the south and Seven Mile to the north. “We're not asking f...

CHENEY March 24 Fourth-degree assault was reported in the 1000 block of Salnave Road. Accidental damage to a patrol car was reported. A rim was bent when the vehicle hit a curb. Harassment was reported in the zero hundred block of Cheney-Spokane Road. The incident stemmed from a dispute between exes. Theft of a computer was reported in the 200 block of South Cheney-Spangle Road. A suspicious circumstance was reported in the 1700 block of Seventh Street. Middle school students were reportedly bullying elementary students. Marc...

By RYAN LANCASTER Staff Reporter About 15 Medical Lake School District employees and parents gathered at Medical Lake Middle School Thursday, March 25 to discuss how students will be moved into new grade configurations following facilities construction. The meeting, the group's second in as many months, yielded more answers than questions, signifying progress toward a handoff of recommendations to the school board before construction starts on additions at MLMS and Hallett Elementary in late summer. Cheney Middle School...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Emergencies can happen at any time, in any place. The American Red Cross is better prepared to handle emergencies thanks to their fleet of 12 Emergency Communications Response Vehicles (ECRV). One of the vehicles is based in Spokane, and came to Cheney last week during a meeting of the Cheney Rotary Club. ECRV driver/operator Ken Hemmelman said the vehicles have significantly improved the Red Cross' ability to respond to emergencies since they were deployed in the early 2000s. “These are d...

By RYAN LANCASTER Staff Reporter Construction is slated to begin soon on a two-story, 47,000-square-foot structure just east of Airway Heights, an $11.5 million office building developers hope to fill with medical and professional businesses. Lowell McKee, who is one of the project's investors, estimates construction of what's been named the West Spokane Professional Building will be complete in about eight to 10 months. The building will be located at the southeast corner of Highway 2 and Deer Heights Road near the Airway He...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge has begun tracking elk migration patterns in the refuge area, thanks to funding and volunteers from a number of organizations. The tracking study, begun in mid-March, is meant to measure the effects of a limited elk hunt planned for this fall, which is ultimately meant to keep elk from relying on the refuge for food and shelter. Refuge biologist Mike Rule said he hopes the study will show that the hunt influences elk to spread out to different areas, reducing...

CHENEY March 10 Charles V. Huckabee, 47, was arrested for first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment in the 1200 block of West First Street. March 15 Theft of health and beauty supplies was reported at Ben Franklin. Investigation is pending. Theft of a laptop and tailgate of a pickup truck was reported in the 200 block of West Third. Eric C. McCullough, 28, was arrested for violating a no-contact order at the Cheney police station. March 16 An unoccupied hit and run accident occurred in the 100...

Long-time establishment reopens with new name, new management after two years of gathering dust By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter Eric Thompson said he needed something to do and it appears he's definitely found what he sought to occupy his time. The former contractor, and man of many hats, recently opened the One 14 Bar and Grill - the former Dirty Shame - in Medical Lake a few weeks ago and admits that if you want to find him, there's a good chance he'll be there. Thompson says he's there 16 hours a day, running the bar and...

CHENEY March 8 A mental subject was reported in the zero hundred block of B Street. Malicious mischief was reported when a car was keyed in the 200 block of College Avenue. A 17-year-old female was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia in the 900 block of First Street. Harassment was reported in the 300 block of Cherry Tree Court. March 9 Theft of textbooks was reported in the 1500 block of Third Street. Theft of an iPod was reported at Cheney High School. A patrol vehicle was damaged when an officer driving hit the...

Annual EWU festival will present a live showing of Public Radio International's “Selected Shorts” program Eastern Washington University's Get Lit! Festival presents a live showing of PRI's “Selected Shorts” at 7 p.m., Friday, April 16 at the Bing Crosby Theater. Symphony Space's artistic director Isaiah Sheffer will host this well-known radio show, at which actors read classic and contemporary short fiction before a live audience. This will be one of the headlining events at this year's Get Lit! Festival, taking place A...

By RYAN LANCASTER Staff Reporter County leaders have clarified that they have no plans to add Medical Lake's Pine Lodge women's prison to a list of possible jail replacement sites and are instead focusing on wrapping up their current siting process. Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich joined Spokane County commissioners Bonnie Mager, Todd Mielke and Mark Richard in a tour of the facility on Wednesday, March 10. Staff members and local officials were also present, including Medical Lake Mayor John Higgins and Airway Heights Mayor Patrick...

By BECKY THOMAS Staff Reporter Spokane County is reducing its service at Fish Lake County Park northeast of Cheney, citing budget difficulties. Fish Lake is one of seven county parks that will see garbage pickup eliminated, bathrooms locked and all but minimal maintenance work ceased this summer. Cheney area residents greeted the announcement with concern and frustration. Two Cheney citizens complained to City Council last week, saying that Fish Lake is the only county park in the southwestern portion of the county. Cheney...