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  • Airway Heights customers get 'Water Billing 101'

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Jun 15, 2017

    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...

  • Thank you West Plains for remembering our veterans

    Updated Jun 8, 2017

    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...

  • Neglecting mental health services bankrupting healthcare system

    KENNETH E. THORPE, Contributor|Updated Jun 8, 2017

    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...

  • Would you rather live in Washington or New Jersey?

    SEN. PHIL FORTUNATO, Contributor|Updated Jun 8, 2017

    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...

  • Thanks to recent comments, all is not quiet on the Western front

    MEL GURTOV, Contributor|Updated Jun 1, 2017

    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...

  • Texas is flush with tons of transportation cash

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated Jun 1, 2017

    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 Cheney Depot Society is rolling along

    BONNIE MAGER, Contributor|Updated Jun 1, 2017

    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...

  • Class of 2017 - get out and meet new people

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Jun 1, 2017

    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...

  • ML food bank thanks post office for food drive

    Updated May 25, 2017

    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...

  • Donation of flowers brightened neighbor's day

    Updated May 25, 2017

    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...

  • Callaway family thanks community for support

    Updated May 25, 2017

    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...

  • Many made Cheney's Mayfest a success

    Updated May 25, 2017

    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...

  • Memorial Day should serve as recommitment

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated May 25, 2017

    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...

  • Cooler heads should prevail in AH water crisis

    Updated May 25, 2017

    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...

  • A short lesson in respect meant to last a lifetime

    Updated May 18, 2017

    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...

  • Disaster relief depends on secure supply chains

    Updated May 18, 2017

    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...

  • Long journey for health insurance leads nowhere

    Updated May 18, 2017

    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...

  • Looking Back

    Updated May 11, 2017

    1 Years Ago May 10, 2007 The West Plains Community Fair held its "Sweet Social" where the fair royalty were crowned. Amanda Hansen, a junior at Cheney High School was crowned the queen while CHS sophomore Meagan Roberts was named princess. Several moving companies hauled off a house that had been sitting on land behind the Cheney Trading Company. The property the house formerly sat on was the future site of the new Bi-Mart membership store. The Cheney High School boys soccer...

  • Taking a stance helps foster understanding

    Updated May 11, 2017

    Thank you for your (In Our) Opinion on not taking a stance...taking a stance (Cheney Free Press April 27). This decision is more than dismaying, it is a disservice to students who expect options in a liberal arts education, an education that provides diverse opportunities and gives them a chance to explore and see something for themselves. Although they can learn in a variety of places, given tuition rates, most students will make every minute count, meaning they’ll do what they get credit for. How sad that Whitworth’s lea...

  • Remembering Eastern Washington's farm-kid governor

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated May 11, 2017

    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...

  • Support for Alzheimer's funding appreciated

    Updated May 11, 2017

    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...

  • Volunteers for Mayfest help keep it blooming

    Updated May 11, 2017

    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...

  • It's time to ax Amtrak passenger service to Chicago

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated May 4, 2017

    Last month, a Wall Street Journal editorial hit the nail on the head recommending Amtrak focus its limited funds on shorter more heavily traveled routes between Washington, D.C., and Boston. The money is needed to prevent more derailments. The situation will only worsen unless Amtrak plows additional funds into rebuilding its dilapidated northeast railroad infrastructure. It must quit subsidizing runs greater than 750 miles. One is the Empire Builder, the passenger train...

  • There's never a place or a time for hate speech

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated May 4, 2017

    “Hate radio, hate speech, hate groups, hate crimes really don’t fit in, in the America that we know today,” — Kweisi Mfume, former President/CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. I’ve seen hate speech in different forms, but vandalism seems to be one of the more common types of spreading it. One example of this was last Friday (April 28) when graffiti was found on the back door of the Community Building in downtown Spokane. It’s not uncommon to come cross graffiti in a city like Spokane or...

  • Court may make final Parkside Commons decision

    Updated May 4, 2017

    It’s a bit disappointing that there is no resolution to Cheney’s Parkside Commons rezone issue. At its last meeting, the City Council made the decision to send the proposal, which would change the zoning of a section of land near Eastern Washington University from multi-family (R3) to multi-family high density (R3-H), back to the Planning Commission for further review. We applaud the council’s decision to be thoughtful and thorough. But it’s difficult to see what more information might be out there. The biggest concern...

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