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  • Dow brought personalities to life

    Updated Aug 4, 2016

    Luella Dow was an amazingly large lady in a tiny body. As reported last week, she told the stories of many who would have otherwise gone unnoticed through her Cheney Free Press column “Of Cabbages and Kings.” Her warm, friendly writing style brought personalities to life on the written page. But her presence in the community did not end there. She was a long-time member of Tyler Grange 610 and continued to support that organization even as membership and participation dwindled. While Luella made it clear she did not att...

  • Trump unqualified for president

    Updated Aug 4, 2016

    People are sick and tired of Donald Trump and his nasty attitude. He is a mean, rude and nasty person — he has so much hate in his heart for so many people. The things he has said about our wonderful black and Latino brothers and sisters is incomprehensible, and also many of the media and whites as well. He is without question a racist. Do we honestly want him in the White House? Trump is unqualified, he does not want to lead this great country — he wants to rule. Personally I cannot justify voting for this man who I feel in...

  • Cheney Friends thank you

    Updated Jul 28, 2016

    The Cheney Friends of the Library thank everyone who donated books or purchased them at our recent sale. Proceeds help fund learning and reading programs and the purchase of special materials and furnishings for the Cheney Library. We also give special thanks to the following groups for their help behind the scenes: EWU Women’s Basketball team, West Plains Kidz and Chickz 4-H and Cheney Garden Club. Jeri Morgan Cheney...

  • Vote For Field for 6th Rep.

    Updated Jul 28, 2016

    I would like to thank the Free Press for its honest and fair review of Ian Field’s candidacy for the 6th District seat. Field is the most knowledgeable and best prepared of all the 6th District candidates. He is the only one running who has known and talked with the past FAFB COs about the problems getting the new Tanker stationed at FAFB, has discussed the problems that active duty military face daily. A recent college graduates, Ian fully understand the frustrations of the EWU students at the rising costs of a college e...

  • Thank God for good people and the kindness they give

    Updated Jul 28, 2016

    Thank you to the wonderful farm lady who came over recently to try and help us jump-start our SUV. And thank you also to the other lady for letting us use her higher gauge jumper cable. The next blessing was two wonderful men who took charge and saved the day. Our SUV started. We appreciated all four of those mentioned. I do not know their names. May the kindness that they gave return in the beautiful way it was given. Judy Bridges Cheney...

  • Grade school dropout Henry Kaiser also made America great

    Don C. Brunell, Contributor|Updated Jul 28, 2016

    Between now and November, you will hear lots about “How to Make America Great Again!” Much of our country’s greatness is because of our “entrepreneurial spirit.” It is our unique trait that makes us the envy of the world. America has been blessed with industrious leaders who are optimistic, forward looking and passionate. They are tireless men and women who take calculated risks and pull themselves together after failure. They have the drive to get things done no matter wh...

  • Full story rarely being told in today's political world

    Updated Jul 28, 2016

    Quite the Republican Convention last week in Cleveland, huh? In an event where some figured there would be demonstrations and possible walkouts of delegates over Donald Trump earning the party’s nod to face Hillary Clinton, none of that happened. The biggest controversy centered on speeches delivered at Quicken Loans Arena. There was the dissing of Trump by former rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in a speech last Tuesday night. Also interesting was how so many media outlets thought Trump’s acceptance speech was considered so “da...

  • Politicians might find 'bumper car therapy' beneficial in relieving polarization

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated Jul 21, 2016

    Over the last 35 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex remains largely unchanged. However, our entertainment has changed a lot. We still swim, jump the waves and build sandcastles, but our board games, puzzles and playing cards have been replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart phones and movies downloaded from the internet. We still take lots of pictures, but rather than taking them to f...

  • Imagine a conflict-free world, and take steps towards it

    TOM H. HASTINGS, Contributor|Updated Jul 21, 2016

    With our daily news running to atrocity after tragedy, Americans are frightened and angry. Some are resonating with hate talk radio hosts like Rush Limbaugh or quintessentially enraged TV bloviators like Bill O’Reilly. This gets them pushed toward candidates who use the same or similar self-righteous militarized rhetoric. It paints Americans as victims, the system as rigged against us, and the world full of ungrateful evil misfits who unjustly hate and attack us. This strand of candidates sees its exemplar in Donald Trump, o...

  • Solutions seem miles away in recent headline shootings

    PAUL DELANEY, Staff Reporter|Updated Jul 21, 2016

    Timing is everything, it is said. And the timing of author Heather MacDonald’s recently released book, “The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe,” is tragically so. The recent epidemic of those taking out their frustrations on law enforcement with the rash of murders of police officers, has made MacDonald’s book an off-the-charts best seller with an Amazon waiting list of up to two months. It’s also made MacDonald, a widely read author of...

  • Now is the time for third-party candidates to make a stand

    Updated Jul 21, 2016

    Many registered voters are not looking forward to this November’s presidential election, which will pit Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. According to a July 7 poll from the Pew Research Center, 43 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of Republicans surveyed said they were satisfied with their choices as president. The survey also says roughly four-in-10 voters (41 percent) say it is difficult to choose between Trump and Clinton “because neither would make a good pre...

  • McMorris Rodgers fails to stand up against gun lobby

    Updated Jul 15, 2016

    Gun or person? Try painting without a brush, try eating without a fork and try killing 49 people without a gun. Tools are needed to get a job done and if you want to do a whole lot of harm to your fellow man, the AR-15 is a great tool. Cathy McMorris Rodgers hasn’t demonstrated the political will to do anything about gun slaughter and violence happening daily. She waits for cues from her ideologically driven party leaders. Nobody is asking her for the elimination of guns but merely attention to the “general welfare” claus...

  • Pakootas accused of using 'bogus endorsements' to get votes

    Updated Jul 15, 2016

    Yesterday (July 7), I attended a candidate forum set up by the League of Women Voters in Spokane. It was televised. Dave Wilson, Joe Pakootas, and Tom Horne were the only candidates present who are running for the 5th District of the U.S. Congress. When Wilson had a turn to speak he asked the speaker from the LWV if they had indeed endorsed Pakootas as a candidate as was listed on Pakootas’s website. The woman said that the League of Women Voters do not endorse any political candidates. They are a non-profit charity o...

  • Be bold and vote for Wilson for 5th Congressional District

    Updated Jul 15, 2016

    Fed up with our do-nothing Congress? Want an alternative to Cathy McMorris Rodgers? Want to defeat CMR? It is time be bold. Do you want to vote in Democrats or Republicans who are both forced to dial for dollars and not work for us? Do you like the corrupting influence of big money in politics? Are you tired of career politicians who see Congress as a steppingstone to a lucrative career? It is time to be bold. Do you want to continue voting for inaccessible McMorris Rodgers who is focused on her political party rather than he...

  • GOP's 'lesser of two evils' argument is deceptive

    Updated Jul 15, 2016

    It’s no secrete that the GOP was stunned by the meteoric rise of the demagogue Donald Trump and his emergence as their presumptive nominee for president. Their surprise is symptomatic of how tone deaf they’ve been to their own xenophobic, anti-science, anti-government rhetoric. Like Doctor Frankenstein, the Republicans created a monster, but unlike the good doctor, the Republicans created their horrible creature with malice aforethought, working hard at the only thing they worked hard at, which was to convince the Ame...

  • Experienced and impartial approach is key to successful elections

    SAM REED RALPH MUNRO and BRUCE CHAPMAN, Contributors|Updated Jul 15, 2016

    Accessible, accurate, and secure elections are the cornerstone of our government. All voters must have confidence that our representatives have been fairly elected. Because of this, all election administrators must demonstrate non-partisan actions in their work, lest voters lose trust in elections. We are writing to bring some perspective to the position of Washington’s Secretary of State, our head elections official. Together, we have a combined 37 years of continuous service in the office. We know what it takes to run W...

  • Comey's Clinton decision ignites partisan fireworks

    Updated Jul 15, 2016

    Thanks to FBI director James Comey’s press conference July 5, there were plenty of post-Independence Day fireworks. His nearly 15 minutes of live, nationally broadcast findings of a many-month investigation into how the likely Democratic candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, handled sensitive emails while she served as Secretary of State, danced along the ledge of guilt. Then came the conclusion where Comey announced that his agency thought Clinton’s conduct — while described in such terms as, “extremely careles...

  • Deputy Pendell speaks to retirees

    Updated Jul 7, 2016

    Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Pendell, spoke to the Retired Public Employees Chapter 14 on June 22, describing his work as the resource officer for the Medical Lake School District as well as the types of scams that target retirees. As the school resource officer, he works with staff and counselors, supporting positive behavior, and preventing poor behavior from escalating into criminal behavior. Pendell said that there are many types of scams. One scammer called 200 people before finding one who fell for his s...

  • Do not leave children and pets in cars on hot days

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Jul 7, 2016

    Last week, I spoke with Medical Lake City Administrator Doug Ross and Fire Chief Jason Mayfield, who hoped the city’s residents would not be careless with lighting fireworks during the Fourth of July holiday because of the current cooler temperatures. This got me to thinking about some of the other warnings we hear about in the summer, mainly the ones relating to children and pets in hot cars. Every year we have to be reminded about this issue and it seems like a simple task to not leave children and pets inside of a hot v...

  • McMorris Rodgers' support for constituents questioned

    Updated Jul 7, 2016

    This past spring, Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, our 5th District Representative in Congress for 12 years and trying for another term, has been holding “Conversations with Cathy.” I attended one in Spokane Valley on Monday morning, April 4 at the HUB. The majority of questions swirled around finances, taxes and banking. It was interesting that McMorris Rodgers supports a flat tax, opposes retirement protections (regulations to protect consumers retirement funds) and supports dipping into the “entitlements” to balance...

  • A responsible conversation about guns is needed

    Updated Jul 7, 2016

    “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.” Transmitted from Congress to the individual states on Sept. 25, 1789, ratified on Dec. 15, 1791. Our nation has an issue with guns. Possession of firearms has been enshrined in our nation’s main governing document, something that can’t be taken away without changing that specific portion of the document — despite what fear-mongers say about the government coming to take your guns...

  • Watch South Carolina closely - their ports are gaining on us

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated Jun 30, 2016

    Washington state leaders need to keep an eye on South Carolina. It is a state that is becoming a strong magnet to attract business. A couple of years ago, the front-page news was the competition between Seattle and Charleston to lure Boeing’s 787 assembly production. Now, it has grown to include international trade and the associated economic development and jobs. Washington and South Carolina are among our nation’s leaders in international trade. Our state’s ports proce...

  • Believe it or not, news reporting is better today

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Jun 30, 2016

    “By allowing the general public unprecedented access to the original papers, this book lets us learn firsthand what many modern historians claim: Without newspapers, there would have been no American Revolution.” That claim was made by writer Todd Andrlik during a February 2015 interview about his then latest book: “Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before it was History, it was News.” The role of newspapers, and by extension the news media, in history is sometimes overlooked. Yet newspapers, and the ability to publish...

  • We've changed - but we're still a great country

    Updated Jun 30, 2016

    Ask anyone their thoughts on the Fourth of July holiday and you’re likely to get as many different answers as there are individuals. Some lament the loss of the home-fireworks display, a staple of many past celebrations. Those old enough might remember cavorting in their yard twirling bright sparklers in the warm, twilight air, watching sizzling, black snakes uncoil — staining dad’s nice front sidewalk — while fountain fireworks blossomed and, now and then, Roman candles chugged their multi-colored charges into the night s...

  • Beyond the fears, there are advantages to STEP

    Updated Jun 23, 2016

    June 7 and 8 were a couple of banner days for the Spokane Tribe of Indians. On June 7, they received word they had been designated a Promise Zone by the federal government, a move putting them near the top of the list when they apply for economic development grants and other assistance. The next day, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee concurred with a 2015 U.S. Department of the Interior ruling that the tribe’s casino project should move forward despite opposition from the Spokane County Commissioners, Greater Spokane Incorporated a...

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