News

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter The Cheney Police Department will have a new, albeit mournful, depressed-looking face on patrol. “April,” a 16-week-old bloodhound, will be arriving Aug. 28 from the Newberry County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina. Chief Jeff Sale said he knows Newberry County Sheriff, James Lee Foster. The two sit on a national advisory board for the Rural Law Enforcement Technology Center (RULETC). Sale said they began talking about the new advances in law enforcement technology when the topic of old tec... Full story

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter After a busy summer, Cheney's public works director ,Todd Ableman, is ready to get some big projects wrapped up. The wastewater treatment plant expansion, Ableman said, is scheduled to be complete Aug. 31. Though it has had a few set backs, he is pleased with how the $11.6 million project has turned out. “It has gone very smoothly,” Ableman said. The city had to borrow the funds to pay for the expansion, which began last year. In 2007 the plant was approaching its capacity much earlier than expe...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter Despite the name, Pistil Packin' Posies has nothing to do with firearms. Owner Angela Hagedorn said the name of her new Cheney floral business came after just trying some different names to see how they ran to together. Hagedorn officially opened her doors on Aug. 15 when she decided to formally establish her business after an increase in customers. She said her wedding and floral business was built on a word of mouth reputation and it was time to expand. “This just happened out of n... Full story

Crime Stoppers has offered a cash reward for information that solves an Aug. 14 road rage incident that sent a man and woman to an area hospital with significant injuries. The couple was on a motorcycle southbound on the Newport Highway when they became involved in a dispute with the driver of a van that cut them off changing lanes. At the 7900 block of North Division, the van was stopped by other traffic and the two cyclists dismounted and approached the van. The van started to drive off and the male motorcyclist smashed...

Eastern Washington University has been named as a Military Friendly School for 2010 by “G.I. Jobs” magazine, an honor that ranks Eastern in the top 15 percent of all colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide. As a Military Friendly School, EWU will be included with a basic listing in the magazines “Guide to Military Friendly Schools” this September. There are currently about 500 veterans attending EWU, and that number is expected to increase with a new G.I. Bill and the influx of veterans returning from Iraq an... Full story

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The Cheney Recreation Department will be hosting its second annual Moonlight Golf Tournament on Friday, Sept. 11, starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Fairways at West Terrace. Moonlight golf is an absolute blast and all skill levels are welcome. Registration is $40 per person or $160 for a team. The teams are coed and have a four-player maximum. Registration deadline is Friday, Aug. 28. The tournament will be a nine-hole scramble using only the moonlight and glow sticks. The event will include dinner, green fees and glow in the... Full story

By JOHN McCALLUM Editor In the 1979 Blake Edwards movie “10,” actress Bo Derek portrayed actor Dudley Moore's perfect woman, a career-launching role that made her a sex symbol. But is bodily perfection truly what most of us should aspire to or hope to attain? An independent film shot locally by Eastern Washington University graduates hopes to shed light on that question's answer. Cast and crew of “Perfect 10” wrapped up the five-day Cheney portion of their schedule last week; a schedule that had them occupying the halls o...

CHENEY Aug. 16 A vicious animal was reported on the 900 block of West First Street. Kids entered the yard where the dog was kept on a leash and the dog bit the kids. Aug. 15 Agency assistance was requested on the 1100 block of First Street when Child Protective Services removed a child from its home. Vehicle prowling was reported on the zero hundred block of Erie Street when a vehicle was broken into but nothing was taken. Third-degree malicious mischief was reported on the 400 block of First Street when an overhead light on... Full story

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter Two Cheney houses have applied for consideration by the Historic Preservation Commission to be listed on the local registry of historic places. At their Aug. 6 meeting, the commission reviewed reports on the perspectives houses, though no action was taken. One of the homeowners, Jonathan Hulett is waiting for the final closing phases of the house he is buying at 803 Second St. He discovered the house was empty and was within his price range so he made an offer on it and immediately sought...

Independent agency in Airway Heights offers access to many lines of coverages, companies By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter There may be a new guy on the block in Airway Heights selling insurance, but he's hardly new to the business. Tom Benzel, operating Benzel and Associates, Inc. has recently opened his office at 12924 W. Sunset Highway, next to H & R Block and across the highway from Yokes. “I started my own agency two years ago,” Benzel said, noting that he left Big Bend Insurance and was working out of his house the las...

Airway Heights restaurant offers Korean cooking prepared traditionally, or to taste By JOHN McCALLUM Editor A leisurely drive along Highway 2 through Airway Heights might lead one to ask this question: Is there room for any more Oriental restaurants? For Chang Kim, the answer to that question is a resounding yes, and he and his wife, In, hope to prove it through Fusion Cuisine's Korean restaurant. Fusion Cuisine isn't exactly new; it's been at its location next to Ginny O's Dog and Cat Grooming since March. And if the name so...

A Level III sex offender has registered a new home address, Spokane County Sheriff's Office sex crimes investigators have announced. Justin Ray Stevens, 32, of Rambo Road in west Spokane County. This is the second time he has listed this address. He also listed this address in February 2008. Stevens is a white male that is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds. He has brown hair and green eyes, and has tattoos on his left fingers, lower left arm, upper right arm, chest and right shoulder. He was convicted in 1995 of...

Department leases two new cars, are plagued with building maintenance repair expenses By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter In what believed to be a slow time of year for the Cheney Police Department, there were seven crimes against persons, including two child abuse cases and five assaults, according to the department's July Monthly Accountability Review. Cmdr. Rick Campbell said the number of child abuse cases increased sharply and are reported as assault. Usually there is one case reported a month. “At the end of the year, w... Full story

Zachary White, a 2005 Medical Lake graduate was killed in crash near Reardan By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter Zachary White will be remembered by his former employers at the Wallowa Lake Resort in Joseph, Ore. as, “carefree, dependable, funny and just a great kid to be around,” Gina Barstad noted in an e-mail. White worked for the couple in 2007 and 2008. “We enjoyed his small town farm boy style,” she wrote. “He always wore a worn out baseball cap and had a chew – against my better judgment,” she added. Medical Lake High Sch...

CHENEY Aug. 10 A peeping Tom was reported on the 2200 block of First Street. Aug. 9 Residential burglary was reported on the 700 block of West First Street. Computer game station and games were taken. Residential burglary was reported on the 2300 block of University Lane. Nothing was taken. Aug. 8 Possible child abuse was reported on the zero hundred block of West Second Street. Domestic violence was reported on the 300 block of Erie Street. Dispute was verbal only. William F. Gable, 20, was arrested on the 200 block of...

What exactly is a healthy forest? How do you know if your forest is healthy? How can you prevent your forest from becoming unhealthy? The Washington State University Extension office in Spokane may have some answers in an upcoming workshop/field day. In this forest health workshop, participants will learn about the insects and diseases that affect a forest's health. They will learn to recognize forest health problems and how to manage a forest so that it maintains a healthy condition. The daylong event is on Saturday, Aug....

Area Camp Fire members are launching the 16th annual “Kids Helping Kids Back to School” school supply drive this coming weekend. Cheney Camp Fire members and volunteers will have collection barrels set up at Ben Franklin on Saturday, Aug. 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 9, from noon to 6 p.m. Camp Fire will have barrels set up at Ben Franklin on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15-16, also at the same times. Camp Fire is looking for donations of school supplies, which will be distributed to Cheney-area students thr... Full story

##M:[Read more here] The Cheney Light Department will be delivering compact fluorescent bulbs to its 4,000 customers by Sept. 30. Cheney residents should use the new lower energy bulbs to replace their high-use incandescent bulbs. The five-pack of compact fluorescent light bulbs is part of Bonneville Power Administration's program that requires the city to spend $64,000 on energy conservation. A resolution passed by the City Council at it's July 28 meeting allows the Light Department to claim $12.50 per package under the...

By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter The initials DPT have a new meaning, especially to a former Cheney resident. Sharon Hall earned the initials at the end of her name, DPT, when she received her doctorate in physical therapy from Boston University in January. She said she is especially grateful that she accomplished the academic feat debt free as she continued to work her current job while completing her degree. Hall was born and raised in Cheney. She left the area while in high school and then began pursuing a degree at Walla... Full story

Also, Chet's Flowers now offers tux rentals By DAVID TELLER Staff Reporter A new business has appeared in downtown Cheney. The doors of Cheney Tech opened on Tuesday, Aug. 4, the second and newest computer support and service business in Cheney. Owner Jason Alvarado said the primary function of his newest venture is offering service on personal computers and laptops having problems with upgrades, virus removal and reformatting. He can also do data backup recovery, which is salvaging information from a computer when the hard... Full story

Fire agencies in Washington state have reported 31 fire deaths so far for 2009. This is a 29 percent increase over the 24 fire fatalities reported during the same time period in 2008. “The leading preventable fire causes are electrical-related and smoking. Prevention is the best defense against deadly fires,” State Fire Marshal Mike Matlick said. The Office of the State Fire Marshal recommends that every household take charge of fire safety by following the suggestions below: Electrical Safety: Routinely inspect electrical wi...