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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...
StageWest Community Theatre has put another successful production in the books. Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” adapted as a Readers’ Theatre by Tony Palermo, was well received by all who came. StageWest would like to thank the cast and crew who made this production a hit. We would also like to thank Mike Hartman, caterer extraordinaire, for the delicious dinner on Saturday night. He even managed to serve plum pudding as dessert. An extra special thank you to the congregation of Cheney Emmanuel Lutheran Church who all...
Those of us who live east of the Cascades seldom pay a lot of attention to local politics in the suburbs of Seattle. However, the implications of the 2017 senate race in the 45th state legislative district extend to our doorstep. The seat is now in the hands of the Democrats, giving them control of both houses of the state Legislature as well as the governorship. For the past several years, the state senate has been the only buffer between us and the free-spending liberals west of the mountains. Gov. Jay Inslee has announced...
I am a member of both the Cheney Merchant Association and the West Plains Chamber of Commerce. All the businesses I have worked for are members of both. The West Plains Chamber is very important if you care about how the Legislature affects your business, school district, city (no matter which you live in) and county. The Chamber has been located in Airway Heights before and it was just as relevant to the Cheney businesses as it was when the office was in Cheney. The Cheney Merchants Association is important for the Cheney re...
By FRANK WATSON Contributor The “Me Too” movement appears to be gathering momentum as more and more women come forward and report long ago incidents of sexual misconduct. Currently, the most noteworthy accused is Alabama senatorial candidate and former state supreme court judge Roy Moore. Moore’s case is noteworthy because he adamantly denies all charges. His denials didn’t stand a chance. He has been tried and convicted in the national press. Republican leaders have repeatedly asked him to step down from his campaig...
It seems to me there used to be a “Bah, humbug” award for people whose comments and/or actions exemplify those from fictional miser Ebenezer Scrooge. If there isn’t such an award, there should be. Either way, I’d like to nominate someone for its receipt this year: Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. Grassley is quoted on several points in a Dec. 2 Des Moines Register story about proposed changes to the federal estate tax enacted as part of recently passed tax reform measures. Both the House and Senate would double the exe...
Medical Lake’s food bank would like to thank the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts of troops 307 and 351 for spending a day collecting food for our community. Their selfless act will not go unappreciated by the families that depend on the food bank. Thank you again for your time and effort. Terri Worl Medical Lake...
Thank you to my campaign committee: Lahnie Henderson, Barb Reis and Bob Kibling for all your support during Medical Lake’s Mayoral campaign. You were committed to helping Medical Lake stay the remarkable city it is and I truly appreciate your hard work and dedication to our city’s future. Thank you all so much. Thank you to the Medical Lake community organizations who hosted the candidates during this election. Kiwanis, Lions Club, Feed Medical Lake, Re*Imagine Medical Lake, Senior Lunch and the Retired State Employees all...
The election is over and most likely none of us had things fully go as we would have liked. That’s the way democracy works. As I see it, the most important thing is to cultivate hope, which means that we live in “expectancy” that good things will happen in spite of so much emphasis on the negative in the media. If we keep biting and devouring one another we only perpetuate problems. I understand that there are many serious issues to be addressed, but nothing will ever improve in the larger world unless it starts with each...
On behalf of the Cheney High School Cross Country program, we would like to thank the community of Cheney for their support of our 10th annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. There were over 530 walkers, joggers or runners present for this community event that benefits not only the Cheney Food Bank, but also our cross country program at Cheney High School. We would like to especially thank our sponsors: Stadium Sports, Cheney Federal Credit Union, Owl Pharmacy, State Farm Insurance, Safeway, Snap Fitness, McDonald’s, Hil...
Recently, the Institute for Justice determined state licensing barriers for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs not only hurts people trying to establish themselves in a profession, but annually drives consumer prices up by $203 billion. Washington requires people in 77 jobs, including driving school buses, well-drilling and operating cranes, to be licensed. That means applicants must successfully complete education and training, pass their exams, and pay...
This is the time of year that we all seem more generous with the holiday spirit around us. According to an article from USA Today, about 34 percent of all charitable giving is done in the last three months of the year. Of those donations, about 18 percent are given in December alone. The idea of giving to those less fortunate than us is great, but we should be doing it yearlong instead of the last couple months of the calendar year. Here at the Cheney Free Press, we started “A Year of Giving” in honor of this idea. Our hop...
The GOP tax plan will crush the middle class and it will decimate students’ educations. Cathy McMorris Rodgers won’t even address the bill with her own constituents. She certainly won’t address education because of the damage she is inflicting on our next generation. Currently, student loan interest deduction allows students to lower their taxable income by $2,500. Cathy supports a tax bill that will take away all student loan interest deductions. One student illustrated how, with the current plan at 15 percent, her yearl...
I’m heading to court from my home in Portland, Ore. to Missoula, Mont. Leonard Higgins is going to go on trial in a Montana courtroom for his role in the Oct. 11, 2016 coordinated shutdown of several of the dirtiest tar sands oil pipelines that increasingly and dangerously traverse North America. Higgins simply shut off a valve, turning off the Express pipeline in Montana, an act of supreme nonviolent symbolism because he and everyone involved knew the pipeline company would open the valve quickly and get the filthy tar s...
By KIMBERLY LiVECCHI Contributor (Editor’s note: The PACE (Partners Advancing Character Education) character trait for November is citizenship.). “I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” Abraham Lincoln Citizenship is defined as the state of being vested with rights, privileges and duties as a member of society. Being part of a society or community affects an individual as much as the individual affects the community. The rights and privi...
Don’t get me wrong, Christmas is a most wonderful time of the year. It’s just that I find it hard to easily embrace as the colors of the season shift from the orange of Halloween to the reds and greens. Normally in our house the endless loop of holiday music on the radio that my wife loves officially becomes legal on Black Friday, or the first snow, whichever comes first. Oh wait, silly me, I don’t make those rules do I? But last Saturday night I found myself fully engag...
Imagine you’re diagnosed with a rare cancer. There are no FDA-approved treatments. But after frantically searching the internet, you discover hopeful news — a pharmaceutical company is developing a possible cure. Unfortunately, the drug is in the early stages of development. It’s not FDA approved — at least not yet. There’s no guarantee the medicine will work. There might even be serious, unknown side effects. But, of course, you’re eager to try it — the alternative is certain death. The good news is that under current law,...
Twenty-five years ago, business took a beating in Olympia. The swing to the left in the 1992 general election was swift and potent. It drove higher costs to employers and more government regulations. Warning: Today’s political winds are blowing in that same direction. In the 1992 election, Democrats across America scored big wins promising a new health care system and bigger government. Bill Clinton upset George H.W. Bush for president and Congressman Mike Lowry knocked off R...
It just blows my mind that a week from today is Thanksgiving. This year has flown by. But I am also very excited as it is one of my favorite times. My family and I don’t have too many traditions but last year was the first year we did the Turkey Trot at Cheney High School and we plan to continue it this year. We also have found the Holy Grail in dinners at Cracker Barrel in Coeur D’Alene, which offers “bake at home” food and cater Thanksgiving meals. So that means we do not have to bake, clean dishes or stress about having...
You did it again, Cheney. It will be a warmer winter for many thanks to the hard work and generosity of the Cheney community. A total of 374 coats were donated to this year’s coat drive and 309 were given away at three separate distributions. The remaining coats have been donated to the Cheney clothing exchange. Special thanks to the Cheney Kiwanis without whose work this event could not happen, Big Wash for laundering many of the coats, Copy Junction for printing the publicity fliers and AAA storage where coats were s...
Since last Veteran’s Day, Ken Burns’ in-depth documentary on the Vietnam War has aired. It is a powerful reminder of an unpopular war in which many “baby boomers” fought and died. It also prompts memories of the brutal treatment of American POWs and 1,350 who were listed as missing in action after the war ended. Some remain lost today. Among the 571 American prisoners released in the winter of 1973 was U.S Army Maj. Ed Carlson, whose last assignment was senior Army advisor...
It’s a topic that’s come up in all Medical Lake City Council races as well as the mayoral contest. Should Medical Lake stay with its contract for law enforcement services with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office or sever that and restart its own police department? Most of the candidates for office have stated they are in favor of remaining with the Sheriff’s Office for services, rather than restart the ML force, and perhaps renegotiate elements of the existing agreement. We think that’s wise, for a number of reasons. The bigg...
I think it’s time for us to admit that the society of the United States is a violent society. Let’s just look at gun violence. As of Nov. 7, there were 52,606 reported incidents of gun violence in this country this year. Staying with current news, Sunday’s shooting in Sutherland, Texas was the 307th mass shooting this year, according to the website Gun Violence Archive — mass shooting defined by at least four victims, dead or injured. Nov. 7 was the 311th day of 2017. So far, there have been 13,219 deaths associated with fi...
While Seattle is growing rapidly, our rural areas continue to struggle. They don’t have the corporate giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing creating jobs and economic opportunities. Farms are predominantly family-owned. Today, there is a rejuvenated effort to bring prosperity to Washington’s rural communities. While agriculture is the largest sector, timber, manufacturing, high tech and energy provide opportunities as well. Rural jobs and economic revitalization are nat...
When should a news story out of Portland have relevance to the readers of the Cheney Free Press? Probably not much of the time is the short answer. But in this instance, let’s hope it is NEVER! What got my attention, and made my blood pressure probably elevated to unhealthy levels, were recent stories in the Portland Oregonian about Norman Scott and the Portland School District. Scott, a retired teacher, was one of those bad apples that ruin the rest. He was found guilty r...
