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James Comey originally identified as a Republican. He first gained public acclaim for his integrity while serving temporarily as Acting Attorney General under John Ashcroft in 2004 where he rushed to Ashcroft’s intensive-care hospital bedside to thwart President George W. Bush operatives from obtaining Ashcroft’s approval of a secret surveillance scheme that Comey deemed illegal. The Justice Department later agreed and Bush retreated. Subsequently, Comey’s reputed integrity won him a near-unanimous 93-to-1 Senate confi...
We shall soon be celebrating Independence Day (the Fourth of July) when we are supposed to remember how valuable our freedoms are. Part of this celebration for many involves discharging private fireworks. Such a practice is not only a terrible fire hazard when things are usually very dry, but also very painful to many citizens who have served in the military, who are seniors or who suffer from disabilities, especially mental issues. I totally support honoring those who have served in the military but it doesn’t make any s...
One question that has been raised among residents during Airway Heights’ water situation centered on the city’s water billing process. City Manager Albert Tripp said staff were contacted by residents who were concerned about the increase in their water bill from this last billing cycle — April 19 to May 18 — and wondered if the perfluoro chemicals in the city’s water contributed to the increase. On May 16, the city notified residents that two of its wells tested for perfluoro contamination above the city’s Environment...
The all-clear siren was sounded last week for the people in Airway Heights to come out of their bottled water shelters. The water crisis, or whatever it will be referred to in the days and years to come, has apparently flowed on by. But through all the reporting, that admirably began in our paper back on April 20 with a story that private groundwater wells would undergo testing, I found one thing largely missing among dozens and dozens of other media accounts, both print and...
Sometimes, headlines say a lot more than expected. Take this one from the June 1 issue of the Cheney Free Press: “Second STEP opponent files.” The story is about the Spokane County Board of Commissioners’ decision to sue the U.S. Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Indian Affairs over the approval of the Spokane Tribe of Indians economic development project (STEP) near Fairchild Air Force Base. In explaining their unanimous May 30 decision, county spokeswoman Martha Lou Wheatley-Billeter, said the lawsuit is to appea...
The West Plains Time of Remembrance Veterans and Families benefit raffle was a great success. Rhonda Edinger was the lucky winner of the raffle, which included dinner for two at Anthony’s Restaurant, free movie passes to the Village Cinema Theater and a one-night stay at the Hampton Inn’s Emerald Suite. A heartfelt “thank you” to the Marketplace Bakery & Eatery; Cheney and Airway Heights businesses: Copy Junction, Rosa’s Pizza, Pizza Hut and Yoke’s; Medical Lake Denny’s Harvest Foods, The Lefevre Street Bakery in Medical La...
President Trump and Republican Congressional leaders justifiably want to curb the alarming growth in government healthcare spending. Their proposed solution? Cut $880 billion in federal funds from Medicaid over the next 10 years. Their plan wouldn’t necessarily reduce government spending. At best, it would just shift the burden from federal taxpayers to state taxpayers. In fact, such cuts could increase overall government spending. That’s because Medicaid is the most important financing source of mental health services. Exp...
Have you ever heard someone in this state say, “I wish Washington were more like New Jersey?” You’re more likely to see Bigfoot. But the Washington State Supreme Court has left state government at a crossroads. Unless caution is observed, Washington will become more like New Jersey — when it comes to taxes. At issue is basic education, the paramount duty of our state government. Public support for education is strong. Our aerospace and high-tech jobs depend on an educated workforce. Yet for decades, elected officials allowed...
By MEL GURTOV Contributor Donald Trump’s visit to NATO headquarters last week was consistent with two of his foreign-policy views: the need to pursue close relations with Russia, and skepticism about NATO’s utility. Despite affirmative comments about NATO from his secretary of state and Vice President Mike Pence, Trump persists in accusing NATO members of failing to pay the “massive amounts of money” he says they owe. Rather than reaffirm the US commitment to NATO’s collective-security principle, as its ministers had expected...
In the last decade, there has been a highway construction boom in Texas. On the other hand, lawmakers in Olympia still scramble to fund road maintenance. Texas, a state with a population of 27 million, is flush with cash thanks partly to a 10-year voter approved initiative which will pump $2 billion a year into highways. Then recently, that state’s legislature added $9 billion to further help relieve traffic congestion. What’s Texas doing that we aren’t? The answer is priva...
The weather is heating up and so are the plans to move the Cheney Train Depot to a new home on First Street. It has been a long winter, but just as with Mother Nature, preparations for spring and summer have been going on during the gray days and snowy weather. For over two years now, the Cheney Depot Society has been steadily working toward relocating the historic Cheney Depot from its current location between two sets of railroad tracks where it currently sits, to a prominent location on First Street. Researching relocation...
It’s June and for many of us it’s graduation season. I don’t need to talk about what a big accomplishment it is for a high school senior to walk across the stage to acquire their diploma and begin the next stage of their lives. Many high school students will go off to college — many are staying close to attend Eastern Washington and Washington State universities while others will travel across the country to chase their degrees. Some will attend a trade school, join the military or enter the workforce. There’s no real wron...
The Medical Lake food bank would like to thank the employees of our post office for doing a food drive on Saturday, May 13, and our community for donating 668 pounds of food. It was a great success. Terri Worl Medical Lake...
When I stopped by the Cheney library on Saturday shortly before closing, I was greeted by a lovely bouquet of fresh flowers sitting on top of the big litter can out front. There was a note with them from Jeffry, asking that someone give them a home, indicating that they were from his garden and he had no one to give them to. I took them to my neighbor, who is giving them a good home. Thank you Jeffry, for your random act of kindness. Christie Bruntlett Cheney...
The family of Joyce Callaway would like to thank the community for their outpouring of support following our mother’s passing. We especially would like to thank the members of St. Anne Catholic Church for their wonderful help and sympathy, and her friends and co-workers at the Medical Lake Food Bank for their expressions of love and caring. Shirley Maike Medical Lake...
A big thank you to those on the committee who worked so hard throughout the year to make Cheney Mayfest a success. Although Mother Nature only partially cooperated in giving us May-type weather — it could have been warmer — everyone pushed on to make this community event lots of fun for all. Those who attended know what I mean. For those of you who missed out on this wonderful gathering, make it a point to join in next year. You will be glad you did. Again, thank you, thank you to all those committee members, volunteers, par...
Monday is Memorial Day, a day marked in many ways. There will be barbecues, picnics and other activities. If the weather is nice, some will head to the lake to get a start on summer, go for long hikes or work in their yard. There will be memorial services at cemeteries to honor those who gave their lives in service of their country. Having attended these ceremonies, I find them moving and meaningful. But I’m not going to get preachy to encourage others to go because honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact of where I work, I proba...
By now the West Plains — and probably all of Spokane County — knows the situation with Airway Heights’ water system. On May 16, city officials announced that two of its wells tested above Environmental Protection Agency lifetime health advisory levels for two perfluoro chemicals. This is a result from testing of wells on and around Fairchild Air Force Base that had contamination above advisory levels. Both the city and Fairchild are doing everything possible to provide residents and businesses with alternative water sourc...
By PAUL DELANEY Staff Reporter In the daily flood of stories that makes headlines these days — be they real, rushed or contrived — one stood out last week. And I can tell you it was not for reasons that may be at all obvious. The appearance by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on May 9 as the commencement speaker at Bethune-Cookman University in Florida drew boos, cat-calls from an audience largely composed of those graduating from college. Been there, done that I recalled — when I was about 10. Still, over 50 years later...
By EMILY LORD Contributor A FedEx warehouse might save your life. When hurricanes are approaching, FedEx allows the Red Cross to stock emergency supplies in its warehouses. By pre-positioning these supplies, disaster relief workers drastically reduce the time it takes to get medicines and other lifesaving aid into victims’ hands. Similar partnerships between private companies, humanitarian organizations and government agencies are flourishing across the globe. They’ll prove vital to stopping the next pandemic, whether it...
Just what does finding peace in the Middle East and the key to affordable health insurance have in common? Not much other than each seems like an endless quest. The debate over paying for health care, however, predates the modern battle for land between the Israelis and the Palestinians by decades. And unfortunately, the solutions for either seem to not be on anyone’s radar. “If you want to understand today, you have to search yesterday,” author Pearl S. Buck once said. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette newspaper published a lengt...
There was nothing pretentious about Mike Lowry. What you saw is what you got! Lowry was one of Washington’s most colorful governors. He served one term from 1993 to 1997. He died on May 1 at age 78. There was nothing subtle about Lowry. He was not afraid to mix it up publicly nor put his political future on the line when he believed in a cause. For example, in 1993 Lowry pushed legislation dramatically reforming our state’s health care laws. He and his Democrat colleagues jam...
This year, the annual cost of caring for individuals living with Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementias will reach $259 billion, $175 billion of which comes in direct costs to Medicare and Medicaid. Yet in 2016, for every $100 the U.S. government spent on Alzheimer’s Disease research, $16,000 was spent by Medicare and Medicaid to care for those living with the disease. Thankfully, Congress is taking action. Just recently, a $400 million increase in Alzheimer’s disease research funding was approved. I am thankful that senat...
We are only a day away from Cheney’s fifth annual Mayfest celebration (May 12-13). Both Friday and Saturday feature several activities that residents and visitors should enjoy. Mayfest is a huge production and what folks may not realize is most of the work that goes into putting it together is done by a committee of board members and a few worker bees who already spin several plates. Some of these people are having difficulty balancing their work schedules along with the hours they are committing to Mayfest. Community events...
