News

Information in the West Plains Police News is a service to the readers of the Cheney Free Press and is only intended to provide information about local law enforcement activities. Any individuals listed as cited, charged or arrested are innocent until proven guilty. CHENEY May 18 A set of keys was found and turned in at the Cheney Police Department. Vehicle prowling was reported on the 500 block of Second Street. Brandon M. Collins, 26, was arrested on the 500 block of West Fifth Street for harassment. A two-car collision wit... Full story

By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Members of the Medical Lake Sheriff Community Oriented Policing Effort met on Monday with Spokane County Sheriff's Office crime prevention Deputy Greg Snyder to hear tips on preventing identity theft and remedies for victims. In the United States, identity theft is considered a serious crime. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), identity theft occurs when someone uses personally identifying information, like names, Social Security numbers, or credit card numbers without permission...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter The sprinkler system in the Boulder Apartments on Simpson Parkway in Cheney prevented serious damage when furniture placed against a wall heater ignited and started a fire, May 13. “It was out when we got there,” Cheney Fire Chief Mike Winters said. The Fire Department received a call at 10:38 a.m. By the time firefighters arrived Winters said the occupants had evacuated themselves so fire crews removed parts of the wallboard to ensure that the flames did not spread internally. Winters det...

Plan to lift levy equalization could prove ‘devastating' to Medical Lake By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Medical Lake School Board held its annual hearing on Initiative 728 last Tuesday, where school officials announced the district won't be getting the initiative funds as promised by the state next year, or the year after. The district intended to spend 100 percent of I-728 money on class size reduction. As total enrollment numbers for the district continue to drop, and covering cost of living adjustments (COLA) continue t...

Eastern Washington University assistant professor Yao Houndonougbo, from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is part of a research team from multiple universities that has received an Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) award from the federal government. The grant is for $2.3 million a year over five years, and was announced by the White House in conjunction with a speech delivered by President Barack Obama at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. The team of researchers, including...

Initiative to form committees to deal with specific comprehensive plan topics By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter The city of Cheney is asking its residents for help. Community development director Brian Jennings is setting the stage for broad public participation by launching “Choices for Cheney,” which is a citizen committee to provide comment and direction on the long-range comprehensive plan rewrite. To assist with the effort, Cheney's Community Development Department is launching a number of committees to address specific top...

By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Airway Heights business owner Jerry Newcomb's J&J Lube station has taken care of local residents' lube, oil and filter needs for over a decade now, and the success it's garnered in that time, the 40-year resident said he considers a godsend. Newcomb's station started out doing straightforward oil changes on mostly cars and pick-ups no bigger than a 1-ton. Some of his customers included fleet vehicle companies, like Budget Truck Rental, who often asked if Newcomb could do more than just the basic...

Photos by John McCallum...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter In an age where obesity and diabetes run rampant, one West Plains fitness instructor is offering help. Jill Sheffels, a nationally certified fitness trainer, is coordinating with Cheney Outreach to begin offering health and wellness classes to low income women struggling with their weight. The classes are through the Cheney Parks and Recreation Department, and are similar to the classes she began in Sprague a year ago. Sheffels said participants in the Cheney classes do not have to be Outreach...

CHENEY April 18 Malicious mischief was reported on the 200 block of Simpson Parkway when the window of a vehicle was broken. Sean C. Kaemming, 19, was arrested on the 100 block of Seventh Street for minor in possession (MIP). Third-degree theft was reported on the 100 block of North Ninth Street. A camera was taken from a residence. A two-car collision with minor injuries was reported on the 100 block of West First Street. April 17 Second-degree theft was reported on the 300 block of College Avenue. A credit card and...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter What was once a fledgling event hosted by Pathways to Progress is now all grown up and ready to go it alone. The Cheney Friday Farmers’ Market has selected a board of directors, chosen a market manager and opened a bank account as it gets ready to embark on its first season as a free-standing organization. The move came just in time. Eastern Washington University, who contributes one-third of the funding to the Historic Downtown Cheney Partnership (HDCP), formerly Pathways to Progress, is g...

By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter The experts at Spokane Asphalt Inc., who’ve delivered area residents top quality service in surface and excavation work for three plus decades, have expanded into the horticulture business with their newly opened, full-service nursery and garden center, Earth & Sky Nursery, located just off of Interstate 90’s Geiger exit. Just follow the signs to its full lot and two nurseries stocking acres of plants, trees, shrubs, flowers, topsoil, stones and gravel. The woodsy-esque retail store is...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter As part of the comprehensive plan rewrite, Cheney planning commissioners Don Nichols and Jason Alvarez began presenting their findings on the current plan and posted question and observations about the contents of their assigned chapters at the commission’s April 13 meeting. In the plan, Chapter Seven outlines land use goals, how to use the land and how to grow the city as dictated by the Growth Management Act. Alvarez described the chapter as well defined. He made the observation that there i... Full story

By JOHN McCALLUM Editor Ever wanted to do an Ironman Triathlon, but didn’t want to do the distances? Or all of the events? OK, that’s not doing the triathlon, but thanks to Eastern Washington University’s Exercise Science Club, West Plains residents now have a chance to compete in the Ironman events and distances, but at their own, sweet pace. The club is staging the second annual Eagle Ironman Challenge, a competition where individuals swim 2.4 miles, bicycle 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles – Ironman distances a... Full story

By JOHN McCALLUM Editor Faculty and staff at Eastern Washington University are pooling their resources and ideas to create something new for the university – a military service center. The center would be a one-stop shopping center, as it were, for former military personnel enrolled or wishing to enroll at Eastern, EWU Faculty Organization president and associate professor of philosophy and honors, Dr. Terry MacMullan said. “We want them to have one place to go to have their questions answered,” he added. Navigating p...

By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter Officials for the city of Medical Lake confirmed on April 21 that city police Sgt. Joseph Mehrens pleaded guilty to fourth degree assault charges bought against him by a female coworker last year, and will remain on administrative leave from the city while they proceed with the proper personnel review process. Medical Lake city attorney Cindy McMullen said that according to the case's prosecuting attorney, Kyle Treech, the charge was made “without any additional tags” for a sexual mis...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter Even though the country is in a financial crisis and the city suffered damaged from last winter's snowstorms, all is well according to Cheney Mayor Allan Gainer. In a town hall meeting on April 9 that was held in the Cheney City Council chambers, Gainer reassured citizens that, after a recent budget meeting, the city is in good condition. “We're doing just fine,” Gainer said. He added that the city is looking forward to some economic stimulus and federal grant funding and that he is proud of...

By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter When it comes to what to expect with this spring's weather, there's a familiar ring to the prediction Eastern Washington University meteorology professor Bob Quinn offers. April showers should bring May flowers. And some of those showers could still produce enough snow to further add to this season's all-time record, perhaps pushing totals to the 100-inch mark for the first time since records began back in the late 1800s. Quinn has resided in EWU's geography department for more than 40 years...

CHENEY April 12 Domestic violence was reported on the 700 block of First Street. Dispute was verbal only. Jasmine L. Hunter was arrested on the 1300 block of First Street for third-degree driving while license suspended (DWLS). Gene Paul B. Crow, 23, was arrested on the 600 block of Union Street for urinating in public. April 11 A third-degree malicious mischief report was made at the Cheney Police Department. April 10 Rape by force was reported on the 700 block of Chestnut Street. Investigation is ongoing. Second-degree thef...

By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter A store with an eclectic blend of country charm for indoor and outdoor decorating and landscape needs—that just about sums up GardenStone Creations, a new retail business that just opened in Airway Heights. The store, specializing in stone engraving, landscape merchandise and indoor décor, is a division of local landscape company, Cascading Creations, owned and operated by the Tareski family of Nine Mile. The Tareskis' business began about five years ago and steadily grew from home-based he...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter While The Grove has likely shaken up the rental business in Cheney, the student-based housing complex has had a few bugs to work out in its first year of operation. The Cheney Police Department have visited 240 South Cheney-Spangle Road 213 times since its opening in September. Cmdr. Rick Campbell said parking violations and noise complaints generate the most common calls for service. He also said 90 visits were merely a check or a follow up to a previous report and not necessarily a separate in...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter Tears were wiped and Reid Elementary School staff members, some of whom are also Reid alumni, silently wept as the Cheney School Board reluctantly voted unanimously to vacate the 50-year-old laboratory school at the end of the school year. Reid faculty, who will be absorbed into the rest of the school district for next year, and school board members all provided comments before the decision was made. Reid principal Shannon Lawson said Reid brought her career full-circle as she began her... Full story

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter Fairways Golf Course Country Club offered wine and desserts while local educators, public safety employees, and small and large businesses were publicly recognized at the Best of the West Plains Awards held April 2. West Plains Chamber executive director Matthew Pederson said the long running, annual event is held to recognize people in job categories that do not normally receive a lot of acknowledgment. “A lot of folks that work hard year round, and to be nominated by peers and recognized by t... Full story

By CARA LORELLO Staff Reporter As a nurse who worked several years with children in Child Protective Services or foster care, Airway Heights resident and award-winning author Jane Nord saw firsthand the long-term effects abandonment and neglect had on young people left at the mercy of those who were supposed to care for them. Animals, she also found, often experienced the same fate. Not in a position to defend themselves, both often lost the ability to trust after living through bad circumstances. That plight became the...

By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter Maybe you might want to call Marissa Young's successful first journey into the world of art and sculpture one that had unintended consequences. Better yet, make that unintended rewards. “I seriously was shocked,” Young said when her piece of artwork, entitled, “Blowing in the wind,” took home high marks in a recent competition involving over a dozen schools and sponsored by Educational Service District 101. The fact that Young won may not be as much of a shock as wondering how the Cheney High Sc... Full story