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We often hear, “If you see something, say something.” I agree, but who should I say something to and what should I say? If I see a disturbed person, I think that my first impulse should be to speak to that person to let them know I see them as a valuable soul. Of course that could be dangerous for me, but how wonderful it would be to awaken that truth in someone who has forgotten it or never knew it. Jeremy Street Cheney...
By FRANK WATSON Contributor My wife and I just got home from a winter vacation in Argentina. It was a great trip. I learned more about the southern hemisphere than I thought I ever would. We went fishing for a week in the largest swamp in the world and toured four of Argentina’s largest cities. Oscar was our guide through the wine country of Mendoza. We were together long enough to discover that we had much in common and became friends. Oscar was well versed in the geography, politics and history of his country. He related th...
It now looks like Boeing will add at least two more aircraft to the U.S. Air Force fleet which flies our country’s leaders around the world. They are the most recognizable — the 747s traditionally called “Air Force One.” The recent news that President Trump’s administration now approves replacing the current presidential jets with larger and more modern 747s cements the deal. It means the new Air Force One, a 747-8, could be flying presidents within five years. That’s go...
I don’t want to insult anybody’s intelligence, but still feel compelled to state the obvious: If U.S. Congressional members are forced to resign by sexual harassment charges, what about our president? Congressional Democrats have generally been willing to force resignations, including those of their own offending party members. But considerably more pressure is required by congressional Republicans to effect the president’s resignation. Unfortunately, as pointed out in a prominent Eastern Washington newspaper’s 12/7/17...
To be consistent at anything in life, the characteristic of diligence must be present. To care and act as such, one must have diligence at a foundational level. This characteristic has multiple ways to describe its definition. The partial definition of the word as an “energetic effort” certainly stood out because of its close association with the word “care.” To show or use diligence at a high level, you must care about whatever it is you are attempting to do or accomplish. Diligence is not something you can obtain overnig...
Cheney taxpayers, congratulations you just raised your taxes by $375 per year, the highest amount in Spokane County. That’s what happens when you don’t watch what’s happening in Olympia. Distant state legislature adds more property tax to fix basic education. School district didn’t say much about this in their propaganda brochure they sent out about the levy vote? Your increase taxes are a direct result of voting by your feelings and not holding your school district fiscally accountable. All you good intenders, can you get...
Questions, questions, questions and yet still no answers. What is it about the most recent school shooting — at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. over two weeks ago on Valentine’s Day — that has sent the usual week-long news cycle working well into overtime, if not maybe even double or triple-overtime? By my count this was No. 145 since Jan. 1, 2010. That number, by-the-way, did not come from the anti-gun group who practices what even the Washington Post...
By FRANK WATSON Contributor I read an article in a medical journal the other day that said people who eat faux-burgers made from peas or beans eat 12 percent fewer calories at their next meal. I was astonished. Have you ever eaten that stuff? A couple veggie burgers can ruin your appetite for days. I studied at a Seventh Day Adventist School in Spain one semester. The Adventists are vegetarians and had a plant on campus that made imitation beef patties, weenies and chicken nuggets. I could never figure out why they had to...
Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death in our country and these deaths are preventable. We get angry and demand those in Congress do something. Truth is, many members of Congress have presented bills, but they go absolutely nowhere in the Republican controlled Congress. Here are a few bills that Republicans refuse to address: a bill to strengthen background checks on gun purchases, a bill to ban assault weapons, a bill to prohibit the sale of bump-stock devices, a bi-partisan bill that would prevent anyone...
Emmanuel Lutheran Church would like to thank the community for helping us with our ninth annual Festival of Chocolate. The turnout was wonderful, and all had a great time. Thanks also go to the Cheney Free Press for the nice piece in the newspaper. We want to thank the Thrivent Action Team for the “seed money” that purchased the needed food and beverages for the kitchen. Marcia Mecklenburg headed up the “Get Fit Bag” and the congregation helped fill it with great items. The “Get Fit Bag” was won by Christie McKee of Lutheran...
I drove over to Wenatchee last week for a meeting. As is normal for me when I travel alone, I enjoyed the countryside and day-dreamed most of the way. As I drove pass the irrigation canals, forests of electric transmission lines and crossed the bridge at Vantage, it dawned on me that we have transformed this planet into a habitat for humans. Not long ago, Central Washington was an expanse of arid sage brush. Now it is crisscrossed with paved roads, and the sage brush scrubland has been replaced with lush cropland. As a boy I...
Do good military commanders make good education leaders? That is a question which Montana’s Higher Education Commission will answer in the coming years. However, if the new University of Montana president follows the pattern set by former Seattle Public School Superintendent John Stanford and Clark College President Bob Knight, the answer will be a resounding yes. Seth Bodnar, 38, is the youngest UM president since World War II. He started in January. He doesn’t have the cov...
I am all about discovering some new and good country music. And at the end of 2016, I found my favorite country band to date when I attended an Old Dominion concert at the Knitting Factory in downtown Spokane. I had heard a few of their songs on the radio before, but hadn’t thought much of it. They were good songs, but not my favorite at the time. I had seen them previously when they were the opening act for Kenny Chesney at Centurylink Stadium, but they sang only a few songs and I didn’t really get to enjoy their full pot...
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...
Like many people watching the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony Friday night, I felt some pride and a sense of hopefulness during the entry of the unified Korean team. South and North Korean athletes marching together, under the same flag and joining to light the Olympic cauldron was inspiring given their history — one beginning with bloodshed and since filled with animosity and mistrust. In light of recent events, not only between the two Koreas but also North Korea and the U.S., it served as an illustration of t...
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...
