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While elected officials of our increasingly dysfunctional democracy debated “memogate,” the world became more dangerous as President Donald Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review was officially released on Friday, Feb. 2. Ignoring scientific studies of the past decade and growing global sentiment by the world’s non-nuclear states to abolish nuclear weapons, with this announcement the new arms race begins and the Cold War resumes. Scientific studies have demonstrated the potential catastrophic global environmental effects followi...
I see my eye specialist five or six times a year. My normal route to his office takes me past the homeless gathering under the I-90 bridge across from Lewis and Clark High School. They don’t seem to be hurting anybody, and there is no law against hanging out under the bridge, but I can understand school administrators’ concern for the safety of the students. Spokane’s homeless population is far less than I have seen in Portland and Seattle, but the time and resources spent to find a solution is significant. Efforts have...
Have you carefully checked your utility bills lately? Most people don’t unless they are monsters like the ones for garbage in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles. In Vancouver, Washington our garbage and recycling bill now has an added 3.6 percent refuse tax. It costs us $1.29 more every two months. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, in Scranton, residents started receiving a $300 annual trash collection fee which is a 68 percent increase since 2014. In Los A...
Seventy-five years ago in January 1943, the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge received a shipment of 19 Canada geese which they planned to use to establish a flock on the refuge. Learn more about our area’s history at www.cheneymuseum.org....
Cheney Congregational Church Cheney Congregational is now a “provisional member” of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC). This is an association of congregational churches that prizes the autonomy of individual congregations while seeking out the advantages of friendship between congregations. We will take up full membership during the annual conference in San Diego, Calif., this June. We held a special offering for Feed Cheney through the Souper Bowl of Caring – a nationwide charity drive...
Lisa Brown is coming to town! If Cathy McMorris Rodgers doesn’t represent you, then come out Sunday evening and welcome Lisa Brown to Cheney. Lisa will be holding a town hall style meeting from 6–7:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose room of the Wren Pierson Community Center. She wants to hear your concerns and questions, and then will address/answer them. If you’re not familiar with Lisa’s qualifications and experience, check out her web site at www.lisabrownforcongress.com — I think you’ll like what you read. If you can’t make...
Can anyone explain President Trump’s and the Republican’s hostile positions on immigration? Several of our country’s leaders have/had foreign-born wives; think Trump (Czechoslovakia, Slovenia), McConnell (China) and Mnuchin (Scotland). At least one of these wives came to this country under questionable legal status. Melania Trump has several immigrant relatives living in the U.S. What is their citizenship status? Did they benefit from “chain immigration?” Furthermore, Trump’s mother was foreign born (Scotland) and came to...
I want to thank Re*Imagine Medical Lake for all the wonderful events and committees they have facilitated for our community. Founders Day and the winter festival have grown not only in volume but in show casing the best of Medical Lake. Re*Imagine ML and their volunteers have their hearts in the right place. As a member of the City Council and long time resident I appreciate their efforts. It is mind blowing how these events are so well coordinated and wonderful. The events are family friendly and bring in people from...
The signs have been posted around town and the flyers were hung on our doors, but what do the levy measures really mean for our children? As a Medical Lake alumnus and community member with children who will soon be entering school, it is important for me to understand how these propositions will impact my student. So what are these propositions all about? Proposition 1 is a replacement levy to continue programs and operations that we currently have. This includes band, STEM, ROTC, and robotics just to name a few. Also...
After reading the letters to the editor in last week’s edition it is important to make a simple clarification — last year, voters approved a bond that pays for additional classrooms and secure entrances at four elementary schools and Cheney High School. Thank you. This year, you are being asked to renew a levy that supports learning and programs in the schools. The levy supports transportation, athletics, maintenance and other costs not funded by the state. These are two different money pools both of which greatly ben...
I am writing this letter as a supporter of the Cheney Public School’s Replacement Education Programs and Operation levy on Feb. 13. I started working as a paraeducator about nine years ago after moving to Spokane and am now the registrar and attendance secretary at Westwood Middle School. Each day I interact with children who benefit from community passage of the previous levy. A new three-year levy is on the ballot this year, and with this levy, taxpayers will see their property tax decrease from 2017’s $2.90 per $1,000 to...
I voted for Initiative 502 in 2012, not because I wanted to legalize marijuana, but because what we were doing wasn’t working. I thought it inconceivable that the U.S. government would allow any state to openly ignore federal law. At best, I was hoping for a wake up call and Congress would recruit some very smart people to find a solution that worked. I thought the worst case would be for the state to be forced to cease and desist such that we would revert to the status quo. I was wrong — the worst case was that the sta...
Did you know by paying $46,000 a year and change to attend New York University — sans books, room and board of course which bumps the bite to over $63K — it apparently gives some at least the partial ability to see the future? There are no guarantees you’ll get to know stock prices early, or see the Powerball numbers in advance, and earning that NYU degree will not guarantee a job that will easily help you pay off the loans it took to earn that knowledge. What brings about...
Our CHS motto this year, “Count me in!” reflects how CHS students take pride in being invested in their academics and extracurricular — every minute, every day. I have been involved in several CHS programs, one of which is Career and Technical Education. Through CTE, I discovered my passion for technology. Extracurricular activities such as CyberPatriot, continued the development of my skills outside the classroom. CHS is also one of few schools in the PNW that offers Cisco NetAcad, a specialized computer networking curri...
Throughout my four years at Cheney High School, I’ve been involved in several extracurricular sports including soccer, basketball, tennis and swimming. Some of my best memories from high school have been with my teammates at athletic events, particularly district and state swimming and all the bus rides in between. In addition to participating in Cheney activities, I’m also a part of the CHS Jazz 1 and Wind Ensemble. In both these top level ensembles, I have gotten to play at festivals and compete in competitions from the...
Hello Cheney School District. Didn’t we just vote for huge increases for the school district for multiple issues? Did we just not build two or three new buildings? Why are you coming back in less than a year to have us vote? Shouldn’t the school district wait until we see what they do this legislative session? With the McCleary ruling, the state has a primary mission to fund basic education. Should we be funding education further than basic education? Shouldn’t those extra programs be funded in some other means? How about...
When a school district submits a levy proposition to its voters, the role of the district is to provide an objective and fair presentation of facts to the community. Generally, this information is shared through an informational mailer that describes the levy and its impact on the school district and its taxpayers. Individual voters then decide whether to approve or reject the proposition. Under state law, a public entity, such as a school district, may not promote or oppose any ballot proposition. In last week’s edition o...
Cheney High School has presented me with many opportunities to succeed and learn through clubs and activities outside of the classroom such as swim team (which is a privilege to have, not many schools are able to compete in swimming), language clubs to have a deeper understanding of different cultures and service clubs which teach students to love volunteering. Perhaps the most impactful has been my experience through Future Business Leaders of America. Over the last four years, FBLA has given me the opportunity to engage in...
On Tuesday, Feb. 13, a vote for a replacement Educational Programs and Operation Levy will be held. This levy, if passed, will help every single student in the Cheney School District. Since I participate in some activities funded by the levy, I would like to share why it is so important that it passes. Some of the programs and activities funded by this levy are extracurricular activities such as sports and clubs. I am a heavy participant in these. From cross country to track, from Future Business Leaders of America to school...
Over the weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the show “Motown” at the INB Performing Arts Center which is a part of the “Best of Broadway” series. Little fun fact for those students out there, if you show up two hours before the show time with your student ID, you get a major discount on tickets. I was able to score great seats for literally a third of the price. Going into the show, I didn’t really know much about it, other than I knew it would have some great music. I was right about the musical appeal, but...
The news that has come out about his involvement with the hundreds of gymnastics girls has been heartbreaking and disturbing on so many levels. And the worst part seems to be that people and institutions along the way knew about it and could’ve done something, but instead looked the other way. Since the sentencing of Nassar, the president of Michigan State University has stepped down and all the members of USA Gymnastics board of directors resigned after having pressure applied from the United States Olympic Committee (...
On Feb. 13, Medical Lake schools face an important election. By voting yes for the levy proposals on the ballot you will guarantee our schools stay strong. There are two proposals on the ballot this year. The first is a three-year Educational Programs and Operations levy that will maintain many important programs and staffing for our classrooms. It is a replacement levy. The Medical Lake School District Educational Programs and Operations Levy supports many educational programs and activities such as band, choir, after...
The Washington State Legislature is back in session debating ways to balance the budget while fully funding schools and trying to end run the Constitution on gun control. Encouraged by our state attorney general and governor, we have joined 15 other states considering state laws to limit the size of magazines, outlaw bump stocks and ban assault rifles. I have no real problem with any of these restrictions. I don’t even care much for pistols. I used to have one and discovered it was only useful if I wanted to shoot my n...
It’s unfortunate, to say the least, but suicide seems to be in the news lately, especially in our area. The death last week of Washington State University quarterback Tyler Hilinski has garnered much regional and national attention. What draws me to write this column is something a bit closer to home — a suicide that took place Monday evening in Cheney. We don’t know who the individual was, at least as of this writing. It’s possible we may never know, despite statements by law enforcement that the victim’s name will be releas...
With news that the occupant of the athletics director’s chair at Eastern Washington University will be changing in the near future, now is the perfect time to reexamine what the time ahead looks like for the institution. As Bill Chaves, the AD for the past 10-plus years, departs to the University of North Dakota for greener pastures— literally with a nice raise, a much bigger department budget and figuratively overseeing teams wearing the color — Eastern knows the challenges that lie ahead. The biggest of those is figur...
