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Thank you everyone for your coverage and attention to the Gardeners of Cheney garden club. Our organization strives to provide a friendly environment where garden enthusiasts can learn, share and delight in the marvels of gardening. The Yard of the Month program recognizes homeowners’ efforts in sharing the beauty of their landscapes. The Gardeners of Cheney plant sale in May generates funds for scholarships to Spokane Community College and monetary awards to the high schools in Cheney and Medical Lake for their h...
Some of you may have seen the two decorated trees on the west side of City Hall. I hope you enjoyed a small bright spot in the center of Cheney. Many more could have over the next weeks. Now, no one can, as the lights were stolen the weekend of Dec. 5-6. It’s sad that the small personal gain of a few selfish people can take away the enjoyment of many. Ralph Laws Cheney...
I’m having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. Normally I would have had my tree up and house decorated about a week or so ago. Instead, I just finished getting lights and some decorations on the tree, a couple nutcrackers in place and a few other knickknacks set up. I still have more to go, and I’ve had my boxes of decorations in my living room and kitchen for over a week now. I think part of it is a time thing. Since changing our coverage beats and assuming all news reporting duties, I have had less free tim...
Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year in the coming days. It’s that time on the calendar again when our minds and hearts turn to giving and helping. But the Cheney Free Press Editorial Board could not help but wonder how much more we all might be able to help those less fortunate, and maybe add to our own economy, if we had a little fatter wallet. Perhaps that comes from the savings realized next year by not building a gas station in Afghanistan that pumps only compressed natural gas and cost $43 million of Department of D...
Last week in the Free Press (Dec. 3 issue) offered a guest editorial, written by James Haught, portraying Jesus as a flaming liberal and supporting the political left, Pope Francis and liberation theology. The writer used partial quotes, misinterpretations of Jesus’ words from eight biblical references (in order Mt. 5:3; 19:21; 25:35 and 40; Lk. 14:12-14; 10:25-37; Jn. 7:53-8:11; Lk. 20:25; Mt. 5:9) and ignored contexts. His “conclusions” claimed a higher moral ground for non-churched political left than for both Chris...
The push notification came across my phone promptly at 11 a.m., Dec. 2 with news of a mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Calls placed to local 911 operators from the Inland Regional Center told authorities shots had been fired at a Christmas party for workers of the county’s health department. By 11:04, San Bernardino police were beginning to arrive to survey the carnage — and the story — that was about to unfold, tweeting of a “20 victim shooting incident.” Two hours...
This editorial appeared in the New Bern Sun Journal Dec. 8, 2015. In 2010, the Government Accountability Office concluded that “membership in a terrorist organization does not prohibit a person from possessing firearms or explosives under current federal law.” Indeed, according to the GAO, between 2004 and 2014 suspected terrorists attempted to purchase guns from American dealers at least 2,233 times. They succeeded 91 percent of the time. Sounds scary, particularly in light of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris that wer...
On behalf of the Cheney High School cross country program, we would like to thank the community of Cheney for their support of our eighth annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. There were over 430 walkers, joggers or runners present for this community event that benefits not only the Cheney Food Bank, but also our cross country program at Cheney High School. We would like to especially thank our sponsors: Cheney Free Press, Cheney Trading Company, Cheney Federal Credit Union, Cheney Realty, Copy Junction, Domino’s P...
Finally McMorris Rodgers tells the truth. In her latest letter she said “we need a strong leader now more than ever.” So true! For 11 years she has not been a leader as she has been busy supporting corporations and big money, voting party line 97 percent of the time and skipping meetings 92 percent of the time. Helping the people of the 5th District of Washington has not been her desire, as her voting record clearly shows. Fortunately, we now have Joe Pakootas, who will represent the people of his district. He grew up, and...
This past Thanksgiving left many of us more grateful than, perhaps, at other times. Besides the usual things for which we give thanks — family, health and food on the table among other things — a large number of us offered a heartfelt toast of gratitude to the hundreds of utility linemen who gave us our lights and heat back after the devastating Nov. 17 windstorm. But from now through Christmas, this is also the time of the year where we try to focus on the needs of others, those in our communities who might not be as for...
Jesus sided with underdogs. He championed little people, not the privileged and powerful. “Blessed are the poor” was one of his maxims. He told a noble: “Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor.” Christ’s teachings were virtually a prescription for the compassionate “safety net” upholding people and families in modern democracies. “For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in pr...
It was like something out of one of those Hollywood disaster movies. Last Tuesday, Nov. 17, a vicious windstorm hit Washington, taking out power in various parts of the state, including Spokane County. Earlier in the day, numerous reports of trees falling across roads, highways and parking lots filled the radio. We’d later learn that there were two fatalities as a result of the windstorm. At the Cheney Free Press office, we were grinding away at the Nov. 19 issue of the newspaper when the power went out at the office. A...
Thank you, thank you, and thank you! To the line crews and whoever else helped the power come back on for all of us in Cheney. You may generally seem invisible and not much attention is paid to your daily workload. However, your actions on our behalf every day, not just this week, are appreciated so very much. Please consider this a big hug from every one of us with lights, power and heat. We know a lot of people are not so fortunate. Kathy Fleming Cheney...
According to a recent study by the Center for Public Integrity, Washington state is the 12th best in the nation for openness, which isn’t saying much apparently as it received a D-plus and the ranking reflected a decline when it comes to governmental openness and integrity. In Spokesman-Review writer Jim Camden’s story on the study, Washington Secretary of State spokesman Dave Ammons noted the state typically gets high marks in other studies for its public records disclosure laws and governmental transparency. “But it’s...
There has been growing recognition of the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease lately, but the funding to find a cure lags dramatically behind what is necessary. I lost my mother to this terrible disease in April; she was only 77 and as we reflect back we realize she was showing some signs of dementia as early as 65. My family was greatly affected and we are all now working with the Alzheimer’s Association to find a cure and increase awareness. In 2010 Congress unanimously passed legislation that set a goal of finding a tre...
Freedom fries. Remember those? Changing the name of French fries to freedom fries was just one of the ways we derided France for not joining us in our 2003 invasion of Iraq. Back then their reason for not hitching their horse to former President George W. Bush’s crusade to rid the world of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was that doing so would destabilize an already unstable region. It could also lead to an escalation of terrorist attacks around the world. Ironic, isn’t it? Perhaps the French ability to predict the future res...
Reprinted from the Detroit News, Nov. 17, 2015 The Islamic State made it quite clear in Paris on Friday (Nov. 13) that it is not contained, and that containment is not an effective strategy to combat this particularly bloodthirsty strain of terror. This latest attack on western soil should ignite a passionate commitment to destroy ISIS at its roots. An angry and distraught French President Francoise Hollande threw down the gauntlet immediately after the killings ended, vowing a “pitiless war” against the Islamic State and say...
Thank you to all the Cheney School District voters who participated in this year’s Cheney School Board Elections. I am honored to be a newly elected to the Cheney School Board and I look forward to working with my other team members to continue to move our District forward through the next four years. As we all know Cheney continues to grow, and as it is said “ The only constant in life is change.” I look forward to be participating in this evolution of our district and of our community. I wish to sincerely thank all past...
On behalf of the Cheney Police and Fire Departments we would like to thank the voters of Cheney for your support of public safety by passing Proposition 1. With the funding generated through passage of this levy lift, we are now in a position to increase police staffing, and purchased much needed equipment for both police and fire departments. In the beginning, our primary goal with bringing forth this proposal was to keep Cheney a safe and peaceful place in which to live, work and play in. Passage of Proposition1 is but one...
In last week’s paper it was reported that nearly one-quarter of voters casting ballots did not vote for either candidate in Cheney School Board’s contested races. This was presented as some kind of mystery. It is no mystery to me. Our family recently moved back to Cheney after 25 years of serving in the U.S. Army. I spent several hours searching for the pros and cons of the different issues presented on the ballot. I could find almost no information on the candidates running for the Cheney School Board. There was not a word s...
Thank you to everyone who purchased items at the Cheney Friends of the Library book sale on Nov. 7. All funds raised by the sale are used to purchase materials and support programs at the Cheney Library. We also appreciate your donations of books and electronic media; donations can be made at the library whenever it is open. And a special thank you to the Cheney High School Key Club members who carried up over 100 boxes of books and helped us set up the sale — without your help the sale would have been in jeopardy. Also s...
Recent incidents of sexual assault occurring on and near Eastern Washington University’s Cheney campus have raised awareness in the community. It’s unfortunate that sexual assault on college campuses is a topic that does not receive much discussion or media coverage. EWU is one of many entities that are continuously attempting to talk to students about sexual assault prevention. The university’s Health, Wellness and Prevention Department has several resources for preventing and responding to sexual assault incidents, inclu...
The recent Republican Presidential Debate staged Oct. 29 in Boulder, Colo. and aired on CNBC rocketed the business news channel’s ratings — for several hours at least — into places they never have been, nor likely ever will again see. The utter shock of actually having one Republican, let alone a handful, take issue with, challenge, and kick sand back in the faces of a profession that lives to make them look bad, made America take notice to the tune of some 14 million viewe...
(Editor’s note: Capitalization, phrasing and line breaks from Walt Whitman’s poem “An Artilleryman’s Vision” used in this column have been retained in keeping with the original meaning of the work.) When I did not receive my weekly email of his political rants, I was uneasy. When I emailed him to inquire and it got kicked back as “undeliverable” I felt worse. When I called his cell phone number and it was disconnected, I knew what had occurred. This Air Force veteran friend of mine lived on his family’s estate in Keene...
The volatile and emotional fight over engaging in prayer on the grounds of a public school recently jumped back into the headlines, and did so with a regional flavor. Bremerton, Wash. High School assistant football coach Joe Kennedy was placed on paid administrative leave because he ignored orders to stop engaging in group prayer before and after football games. The practice, which began in 2008, has only recently got the attention of administrators and naturally has ignited a firestorm of opinions. Kennedy has of course...
