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Feed Cheney will be holding our second annual fundraiser on Super Bowl Sunday — it’s called “The Souper Bowl of Caring.” Last year we met an ambitious goal of $6,000, thanks to collections taken at several Cheney churches and online donations. While the nation is spending enormous amounts of money on elaborate Super Bowl refreshments, clothing, decorations, etc. there are some among us who don’t have a bowl of soup to eat. Enter the The Souper Bowl of Caring. Feed Cheney works year round to meet hunger in Cheney, with a ho...
When casually asked to define an “honest person” the logical response is, “It’s someone who tells the truth.” But when honesty is revered as a character trait we need to go beyond a simple definition and ask: What attributes do we expect of someone who walks down an honest path during the days of his/her life? Fortunately, we have an excellent example to help us address this question — the 16th president of the United States. Yes, Honest Abe. Although it’s generally assumed that Lincoln received the moniker “Honest Abe...
“If a race has no history, it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated.” These are the words of historian Carter G. Woodson, as quoted in the article “Negro History Week” from the April 1926 edition of the Journal of Negro History. Woodson, along with members of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, played key roles in the creation of a week celebrating the accomplishments and history of African-Americans beginni...
Following the Paris and San Bernardino brutal terrorist attacks, reported to be inspired, if not executed, by the Islamic state (ISIS), polls showed that the ISIS threat was uppermost in people’s minds — and understandably so. Yet when shortly following those terrorist attacks the news was that ISIS is using videos of Donald Trump’s remarks to recruit new followers, Trump’s poll numbers didn’t fall at all. And other Republican presidential candidates such as Ted Cruz, also high in the polls, are contributing similar f...
This week marked the anniversary of the Citizens United decision, which exposed American democracy to increasing domination by the country’s very richest and most reactionary figures -modern heirs to those “malefactors of great wealth” condemned by the great Republican Theodore Roosevelt - so it is worth recalling the false promise made by the justice who wrote the majority opinion in that case. Justice Anthony Kennedy masterminded the Supreme Court’s Jan. 21, 2010 decision to undo a century of public-interest regulat...
Sixty times and getting ready for number 61. Republicans have voted 60 times to repeal the law that allows healthcare for all. Cathy McMorris Rodgers stated, in a recent public meeting in Waitsburg, that people should be reflected through their representative. So, with that in mind, a comment and question was asked as to why she continues to vote against the people she represents. If Obamacare were repealed, 81,300 Eastern Washington people, or 11.3 percent of her district, would have no health care at all. Furthermore, the...
It’s been interesting to follow the water crisis in Flint, Mich. and see where efforts to save a buck have turned to passing the buck. That city of some 100,000 has horrible problems with its water that began when in 2014 city officials chose to change water sources from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River. But what has been more intriguing is the finger-pointing and the immediate rush to judgment calling for Republican Gov. Rick Snyder to resign when o...
Most mid-biennial sessions in Olympia don’t end up producing much in the way of substantial, earth-shattering legislation. But thanks to a pair of Washington State Supreme Court decisions, this year’s January – March legislative get together might be different. Those two decisions are regarding K-12 education. One is 2012’s McCleary verdict. Enough said. The other is last September’s ruling nullifying Initiative 1240, which was narrowly approved by 50.69 percent of voters in 2012 creating up to 40 charter schools in the st...
When our Ukrainian neighbors moved into a rundown trailer a decade ago, two large dogs started running loose on our property. Oh man, we thought, more people who move to the country and let their dogs run rampant. So we grumbled, talked to other neighbors and stewed about it for a few days. Finally I decided to say something and armed myself with a jar of homemade grape juice to “welcome” them to the neighborhood — and also kindly ask them to keep their dogs under control. Fast-forward several years. About eight people of al...
The following editorial was published in the Jan. 16 Orange County Register. It does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Cheney Free Press editorial board. New York state offers a classic example of the failings of “sin taxes.” Facing a budget crunch in 2010, the Legislature increased the cigarette excise tax by $1.60 per pack (58 percent), to a total of $4.35 per pack, by far the highest cigarette tax in the nation. In New York City, which additionally imposes its own $1.50 excise tax, on top of the $1....
In Kabul, where the Afghan Peace Volunteers have hosted me in their community, the U.S. military maintains a huge blimp equipped with cameras and computers to supply 24-hour surveillance of the city. Remotely piloted drones, operated by Air Force and Air National Guard personnel on U.S. bases, also fly over Afghanistan, giving U.S. military analysts miles of camera footage, every day. Billions of dollars have been invested in a variety of blimps that various vendors such as Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and...
I appreciated the Free Press article “Cheney voters choose trust and lift levy lid.” (Jan. 7) With trust there is honor. With honor there is respect. In my opinion, Proposition 1 (for continual public safety, etc.) passed because of the needs of the Cheney police and fire departments. In Proposition 1, public safety (police, fire) was emphasized in parenthesis. This made a strong statement in believing that these two departments would take top priority in having their needs met first before any other department. The pol...
On Dec. 17, 2015, Rep. Donald Beyer (D-Virginia, 8th District) introduced House Resolution 569, titled “Condemning violence, bigotry, and hateful rhetoric towards Muslims in the United States.” As of Jan. 12, 107 other Democrats had signed on to sponsor the resolution, but unfortunately, no Republicans. The title speaks for itself, and the full text can be found online. The website GovTrack.us gives the resolution an 8 percent chance of passing the House, 9 percent to make it out of the committee. There is plenty of evi...
The following editorial is reprinted from the Jan. 12 Orange County Register. It does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Cheney Free Press. For the second year in a row, government was the largest problem facing the nation, according to Gallup polls. Based on Gallup’s monthly polls of the most important issues facing the U.S., an average of 16 percent identified government as the top problem, followed by the economy with 13 percent and a tie between unemployment and immigration with 8 percent. It was the h...
With a new year comes a chance for new starts and for ways we can improve from last year. Here are some things the Cheney Free Press Editorial board would like to see in 2016. First, we would like to see more participation from the community at local meetings. The Airway Heights and Cheney city council meetings have little-to-no attendance from citizens. Residents who do attend only come to address council about an issue that affects them personally and they’ll leave after they’re done speaking. Medical Lake council mee...
Just before Christmas we learned that over the past 13 years some 3,200 inmates from the Washington State Department of Corrections facilities had been prematurely released. When I heard the news, the initial thought was at least this bureaucratic screw up didn’t result in the loss of millions, if not billions of taxpayer dollars. But it wasn’t long before the price became incalculable with the loss of lives. At least two deaths that we know of have now been the result of a so...
France and Russia’s military responses to mass murders in Paris and Egypt echo the U.S. response to mass murders in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania in 2001. Islamic State (IS) has welcomed this warlike response to its latest atrocities. Al Qaeda similarly counted on an aggressive response to 9/11. The U.S. invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and the concentration camp at Guantanamo became the most valuable assets in its propaganda and recruiting campaigns, now complemented by the terror of drone strikes a...
On behalf of the ladies who devote their time to the Care and Share, I would like to thank all those in Medical Lake and outlying towns, who bless us by donating their treasures for resale and support our cause through their purchases. One hundred percent of the revenue from these sales supports the Medical Lake Food Bank Association. Because of you we were able to help so many in need in 2015 and look forward to continuing to serve in 2016. God Bless You All. Anne Starr Medical Lake Care and Share Director Medical...
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped at Feed Medical Lake in 2015! You put in many long hours and did a superb job. Thank you also to all who came to the meals. We greatly enjoy your company. Please continue to join us in 2016. Joanna Williams Feed Medical Lake Director Medical Lake...
Editor’s note: Capitalization, phrasing and line breaks from John Lennon’s song “Happy Christmas” used in this column have been retained in keeping with the original meaning of the work. I’m not sure why but once I heard John Lennon’s 1971 song, “Happy Christmas,” it was one of those tunes that became permanently trapped inside my head. Surely you know the lyrics: “So this is Christmas, And what have you done, Another year over, And a new one just begun,” just as you do “Jingl...
This editorial appeared in The Orange County Register, Dec. 27, 2015. Almost all mass murders committed with guns prompt calls for tougher gun laws. The problem is, in pretty much every recent mass shooting in America, any newly proposed gun control law would not have stopped the crime, even if perfectly enforced. In this month’s horrific attack in San Bernardino, the guns were legally purchased, then illegally transferred and altered. California’s gun laws already encompass most of the supposed “commonsense gun safet...
We rely on the media to keep our leaders honest and accountable. Sadly the last debate showed that the moderators are either stupid or lazy. Here are a few examples of the lack of knowledge by the candidates and the hosts. Jeb Bush says we can’t disallow Muslims into America. “That would upset our Kurdish allies who are all Muslim.” Fact Kurds are not Arabs, and they practice 6-10 forms of religion. Some Kurds are Muslims. Grade: D- Rand Paul says “Mr. Trump you can’t take away the first amendment, you can’t change the...
I stepped out the front door of our new home to get some groceries from the car. We’d just moved in and I was stocking up. A young boy hurried over from across the street and said, “Welcome to the neighborhood!” “Well, thank you,” I said, surprised by this kid’s enthusiastic welcome. “How do you like it here?” he asked. He was a slender kid, with black hair, dark eyes, and an infectious smile. “We just got here,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “It’s a nice neighborhood,” he said, and turning to look across the street sa...
StageWest Community Theatre has wrapped up the final production for 2015. “Miracle on 34th Street” was a great hit. Thank you to all the audience members that came to the different performances, the cast and crew and their families for all their hard work, Mike Hartman for another delicious dinner and most of all to Emmanuel Lutheran Church for their unselfish use of their building for our auditions, rehearsals and performances. We have truly been blessed by all your support. We would like to wish the people of the West Pla...
“Star Wars” is everywhere. Like the Death Star’s tractor beam, there’s no way to escape it. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the latest installment in the multi-billion dollar franchise, opened last week, bringing fans — young and old — to the theaters in droves. Not surprisingly, the film has brought in an estimated $247 million in the United States and at least $358 million worldwide, according to the Hollywood Reporter, beating last summer’s hit “Jurassic World” in both categories. My social media timelines were filled...
