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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...
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...
There has been a lot of conversation here in Medical Lake on the topic of having our own police force vs. contracting with Spokane County. The whole issue of contracting police services or not boils down to what uniform someone is wearing. The truth of the matter is that if the future City Council wants to hire their own police force, and somehow they find officers to fill the positions (not easy nowadays with a shortage of officers), those officers more likely than not aren’t going to live inside the city limits (it is i...
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...
By MICHAEL JAMES BARTON Contributor Right now, more than 500,000 federal employees and government contractors are awaiting security clearances. That poses a serious threat. The enormous backlog of clearance applications prevents talented analysts, engineers, and coders from working on today’s most critical national security challenges. Some applicants wait more than 350 days before starting their jobs. Unsurprisingly, many highly qualified and badly needed security officials take other employment due to the unreasonable d...
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...
The Medical Lake Food Bank Association and volunteers would like to thank everyone who helped in the moves while new flooring was put in place at the Food Bank. We thank all the students and advisors, mayor and council members, political candidates and the community. The response to our call for volunteers showed what a great city this is. Thank you all. Shirley Maike Vice President Medical Lake Food Bank Association...
To the Betz Elementary School staff and Cheney police department, and most importantly, the concerned person who called in a suspicious person at the school last week: thank you. Thank you so very much for your alert swift action and selfless act. Thank you for speaking up, for being vigilant. Thank you for being there that day. Thank you for listening to your gut, and your heart and thank you for doing something. The world needs more people like you. Thank you responding officers, and thank you Betz staff, who took every...
Last year, Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates wrote about the similarities and differences between Boeing’s corporate office move to Chicago and Amazon’s plan for a second headquarters. Boeing wanted to leave Seattle in an effort to separate its corporate leadership from manufacturing sites while Amazon, with an unusual strategy, plans to keep its headquarters here but set up a parallel operation elsewhere. Boeing hoped to find a more conservative business cli...
Tim Gainer would be perfect for Cheney City Council at this time for many reasons. Cheney is growing and has been for a number of years mainly due to the success of Eastern’s sports and academics. As an alum, I am happy for this and as for our city, I’m elated. Tim knows there are issues with the city growing as fast as it is and sees our problems before they become a problem. By the way, he is spot on about the water issue. Like myself, Tim is for open government and believes the more our citizens know about an issue, the...
By GRACE POHL Staff Intern The month of October flew by and now it is only a few days away from Halloween, the day where you can dress up and be whoever or whatever you want to be, and then go around asking for free candy. What an interesting concept. I have always thought Halloween is a fun holiday, even though I am the person handing out the candy now instead of going trick-or-treating. It was a day I always looked forward to in elementary school because you were able to dress up with your friends and eat candy instead of...
It was announced back shortly after the huge 48-41 win over Grizzlies, that Eastern Washington University football would not play the University of Montana every year from now on due to new rivalry rights with the University of Idaho entering the Big Sky. The Eagles will now be playing Idaho and Portland State every year instead of the annual Griz game. To give a comparison, the competition with Montana dates back to 1938, while the Eagles have been playing PSU since 1968. The root of the problem is that protecting Portland...
“I am over the passivity of good men. Where the hell are you? You live with us, make love with us, father us, befriend us, brother us, get nurtured and mothered and eternally supported by us, so why aren’t you standing with us?” — Eve Ensler Forget Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Bill O’Reilly and Roger Ailes. But do remember the women. Remember all the women, famous and unknown, who have survived everything from catcalls to rape for as far back as well, forever. The playwright and activist Eve Ensler is right to be past feel...
StageWest Community Theatre wrapped up its production of Gregg Kreutz’s “Academia Nuts” last weekend. Saturday night there were 26 patrons enjoying another great dinner by Mike Hartman along with the very funny play. Sunday matinee welcomed several members of Beta Sigma Phi as well as other patrons. Coming up next are open auditions for our December endeavor of “A Reader’s Theatre” production of Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” adapted by Tony Palermo and directed by Kathleen Bell. Auditions will be held Friday, Oct. 13...
The $5.4 billion spent to expand the Panama Canal is paying off for East Coast and Gulf of Mexico seaports; however, it is putting more pressure on the Northwest to remain competitive. The enlarged waterway opened in June 2016 allowing much larger container ships and tankers to transit between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Ships carrying up to 14,800 containers can now bypass Washington ports. Shippers have a cost-effective alternative to reach midwestern markets from south...
We’re going to keep this light this week, so before reading, head out to the kitchen for something to drink — hot or cold, take your pick. And while you’re at it, pop a batch of popcorn. Back and settled in for another Write to the Point? Good. Hey, October is National Popcorn Poppin’ Month — among other things. That’s right, it’s a month — like we need one but why not — to celebrate those morsels of buttery, salty goodness we have known and loved since childhood. There’s a lot of things associated with popcorn, and a lot...
This space has voiced concerns in the past urging citizens to take some time away from whatever it is they do in their spare time and pay attention to what goes on in City Hall and within their respective school districts. That process involves 10s of millions of collective local tax dollars; real money as they say, real big money. The stewards of that money are our members of the city council and school boards, but as we move towards the Nov. 7 general election, some different numbers jumped off the pages of the Spokane Coun...
