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“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...
Fall is here and so is election time. There are new and unknown names on the ballot. Voters should do some inquiring, a lot of study and thinking before putting pen to ballot. Some suggestions have been made about changes for the city. Have the people who made these suggestions determined what it will cost the taxpayer for these changes? I think not. Therefore, I will mark my ballot for the person I believe to have the most knowledge and experience to keep Medical Lake financially sound. Please vote and vote smart. Please...
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This is one of my favorite quotes of all quotes. Today, there are those who go against this quote and there are many of us who stand by this quote. I, too, don’t look at someone’s color, religion or social status, but I judge a person by their character. As for those who protest to support this, I support them. However, if you pr...
It is time to set the record straight regarding “policing in Medical Lake.” According to Mr. (mayoral candidate Mikeal) Suniga, he can bring back a local police force with just four full-time officers for our city population of 5,000 citizens. Information from the city of Airway Heights, with a 6,000 population, and for whom Mr. Suniga is an officer, consists of a chief, an administrative assistant and 16 officers. The city of Medical Lake is paying for the full resources of the Spokane County Sheriff’s department, 24-7...
“I came of age in the 60’s and 70’s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.” Have you heard or read these words? If not, your Jeopardy category might have been, “Who said this?” with the answer “Harvey Weinstein,” the former partner in The Weinstein Company. Weinstein of course was fired last Sunday by his own company’s board of directors following the unlikely revelations that the 65-year-old Hollywood producer has had...
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...
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the over 500 victims and their families of the largest mass shooting in U.S. history last Sunday night in Las Vegas. The mass carnage made that city into what can only be described as a war zone. But our response needs to include more than prayers and moments of silence. We need to act to prevent more mass shootings, which are now occurring at an average of more than one per day. The weapons of choice for such mass shootings are known as assault weapons. They were designed for the...
The “old” Medical Lake Cemetery on Thorpe road is maintained by volunteers and member donations entirely. On Saturday, Sept. 16, an annual work party was held at the cemetery to prune trees, rake pine needles, clean flower beds, weed whack, mow lawn and haul refuse away. It’s a big job but made so much easier by the hard-working Medical Lake Junior ROTC. Many thanks to Chief Master Sgt. Al McGowan and approximately 20 young cadets. His program has an outstanding record of community service. There are 61 veterans in the histo...
There is a new machine being tested in Montana which could decontaminate toxic mine tailings while recovering valuable precious minerals for everyday use. Gold, silver and other metals are essential for our cellphones, computers and electronic devices and their sale could offset the processor’s purchase and operational costs. If pilot tests are successful, the inventors envision building them in the United States. The potential market is worldwide because there are over 3...
Here we are again after another mass shooting in the United States with the events that happened in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 1 during a country music festival on the Strip. The whole situation is devastating and there are no answers at this point in time. But I think there is something we should do as fellow Americans. We should be united as one and come out stronger after another event like this. If you go on social media right now, all you see are people arguing over gun laws, politics, race, religion and NFL players...
My education has always been one of the most important things in my life. I grew up with a single mom who demonstrated that working hard and making good choices was a formula for success. Mirroring her responsibility has been the key to my own success. While I did have an adult figure in my life that pushed the importance of education, there were many times that it was left up to me to decide if I was willing to put in the work. One of the first situations in which I had to hold myself accountable for my actions was when I...
I greatly appreciated the article on the front page of the Sept. 21 Cheney Free Press (“Moving on Up”) in which (Medical Lake City Administrator) Doug Ross explains how the process of obtaining grants for street repair works with respect to population. Since Medical Lake will be going over the 5,000 population mark next year this will put us in a larger pool of cities seeking grants. How this will play out in our future applications for grants remains to be seen. Only time will tell. I would like to see a follow up art...
Here are some observations and thoughts on Donald Trump’s tirade against National Football League players protesting what they feel are racial injustices by kneeling during the playing of the national anthem at football games. First, let’s not lose sight of who started this in the first place: Trump. His comments, delivered in the safety of a campaign rally in front of ardent supporters, were inflammatory, divisive and for some, personal attacks on their mothers. After all, that is what you’re saying when you call someone a s...
Key tax policies emanating from the east and west coasts are like passenger trains passing one another heading in opposite directions. One train is loaded with elected officials proposing changes to reduce taxes while the other is packed with those pushing for new and higher taxes. The cumulative effect of those modifications will impact all of us and our economy, jobs and ability to compete as a state and nation. The adjustments will determine whether we grow, limp along or...
It was perhaps appropriate that the release of Hillary Clinton’s book, “What Happened,” came in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Harvey. The tour to promote the tale of arguably the most astonishing political defeat in this nation’s history in Clinton’s loss to Donald Trump last Nov. 8 skipped across the nation like the tornadoes spawned by the recent spate of terrible tropical storms. Except the difference between the twisters and the book tour was that on Clinton’s...
If not for the quick thinking of a school custodian, and a jammed rifle, the Sept. 13 shooting at Freeman High School could have been worse — much worse. Not to lessen the impact of one student killed, three others wounded and dozens of lives traumatized forever, but as these types of incidents go, a possible bloodbath was avoided. And once more, we find ourselves asking the same questions we’ve asked after every school shooting from Moses Lake to Columbine to Sandy Hook. Why did this happen? How could this have been prevente...
International Day of Peace, Sept. 21, will be celebrated at Cheney Congregational Church, 423 N. Sixth St., starting with a sandwich lunch for all at noon in the fellowship hall. There will be a rededication of our peace pole which has stood vigil outside the sanctuary for 15 years. Dr. Lisa Brown, who taught economics at Eastern Washington University for 20 years, has served as a state senator and Washington State University Spokane campus chancellor and is now a congressional candidate, will speak to peace in the Cheney...
Though most of the people who stopped in to the westbound Sprague rest stop Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 will not see this, I still want to send out a huge “Thank You!” Your generous donations have enabled us to not only secure meals for the Feed Medical Lake patrons, but to also designate a portion of the funds to Thrivent Financial Disaster Response for the Houston victims of flood and Montana victims of fire. Some Feed Medical Lake volunteers have relatives in Houston and loved ones in Montana. We pray for God to shield and pro...
At last count firefighters were battling 82 major wildfires in 10 western states. The fires have already scorched 2,300 square miles of forests and range lands, dislocated thousands of people, and burned hundreds of homes and buildings. This has been the third worst forest fire season on record prompting western congressional members to add billions to emergency hurricane relief legislation It isn’t over yet. The cost of fighting fires already broke this year’s U.S. For...
Hurricanes and fires have been devastating to the United States Even though the smoke seems to have cleared in the Cheney area, the damage is far from over after this disastrous summer of natural disasters. The headlines these days seem to be mainly about the hurricanes now plaguing the East Coast after already having significant damage to Houston, Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Some people have been in an uproar because the fires in Montana and numerous other states are not more talked about nationally than the...
Say someone walks up to you, and asks you where you’re from and you say, “America, the United States.” How would you answer them if they then asked, “Describe being an American. What does that mean?” How would you answer? We hear a lot about “American values,” the “American way,” and other attributes. In times of national stress, these are often invoked as a rallying point. But what are they? After all, we are a nation unlike any other in history. We are a mixture, a blend, a “melting pot” of different cultures and ethnicit...
Walter Becker passed away last Sunday, Sept. 3. Most people reading that probably think “That’s sad, but who’s Walter Becker?” Those of us in the know, well, we know. Our response would be “Have you heard of the rock band, Steely Dan?” That would likely bring an “Oh, yes, I love” such and such a song, usually something off their 1977 platinum selling — over five million copies — classic “Aja,” or maybe their biggest hit, 1974’s “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number.” Someone a bit more into music might add in tunes like “Reelin...