Sorted by date Results 1773 - 1797 of 3207
I recently listened to a speech by the Spokane director of the Washington Policy Center. His opening claimed the center is an organization dedicated to improving our state, he then, in my estimation, proceeded to explain an agenda detrimental to our state. The booklet he presented to us confirms my suspicions. Examples are: 1. Any tax increase should only be passed by a supermajority. Such an action ensures tyranny by the minority. Is this a democracy? 2. Medicaid expansion should NOT be increased. Judeo-Christian and Greek...
I attended the school board meeting on Feb. 25 and got to listen to the staff of the school district belittle those who dared question the bond issue for nearly two hours. Various teachers and students demanded and insisted they “deserve” or “have a right” to my tax dollars in various ways. Not a single one said, “please” or “thank you” for the tens of millions of dollars we already give them. My tax dollars are not a “right” and as a voter I am entitled to know they are being spent carefully and all due diligence is being...
The notion that the NO vote for the high school bond issue was a vote against kids lacks respect of possible voter wisdom, or more importantly, people’s pocketbooks. In the early 1990’s Cheney school district officials put forth a bond issue to enclose the high school — converting it from California-style buildings to one facility. I remember well listening to the district presentation in the high school’s Little Theatre and thinking at the conclusion: I hope there’s a Plan B. When that bond issue failed to receive a 60 perc...
As I watched the drama performance this past Friday at Eastern’s Showalter Hall, something seemed to be not quite right. Watching my fellow high school students perform very admirably on a stage that wasn’t their own seemed again, not quite right. Without a remodeled high school, the Cheney community has made it difficult for our drama performers and others to have a place they can call home for years to come. After evaluating my four years at the high school, the time has never been greater for a refurbished high sch...
You had to like that nice Christmas present, and maybe some of the extra cash with gas costing under $1.75 a gallon provided, right? I know my wife and I enjoyed saving about $300 a month from the fuel bills that were nothing short of overwhelming eight years ago when I first started working at the Cheney Free Press in the latter half of 2007. That’s when gas hit the mid-$4 range and the minimum 50-mile daily round trip was quite a shock to the wallet and budget. Especially f...
Bill Johns has argued that renovations to Cheney High School can be accomplished for $11.65 million. He presented this option to the citizens’ committee, school board and in newspapers. The truth is that his plan is simply inadequate. While his plan would add classrooms and a small alternative school, many needs would be left unmet and CHS would still fall short in key areas. Sports teams would still be short gym space, leaving them practicing late in the evening or busing to elementary schools, which displaces elementary act...
Somebody is going to have to cut the cancer out. When it comes down to defining a strategy on how to deal with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or of Iraq and the Levant, depending on your preference, that statement is pretty much it in a nutshell. The question then becomes, who is going to do it? Who will take the lead in removing from the world a terrorist organization that revels in beheadings and burning people alive to enact its vengeance and to enforce its form of ultraconservative, theocratic form of government?...
Thank you so very much for your overwhelming support of our Educational Programs/Maintenance and Operations Levy! This local funding provided through the levy ensures the continuation of our programs and the staffing levels on which we rely to provide a quality educational experience to our students. The levy supports virtually all areas of district operation in each and every school in our district. We appreciate your support and will continue to make the best use of the resources that you have provided. The School...
I find it tremendously sad that I have to write this letter to the residents of the Cheney School District, when over the years, you have been consistently telling Cheney’s youth, “We believe you are important and worth the investment.” So what happened? We received 58.4 percent yes votes, just 100 votes shy of passing this high school construction bond. This is proof that every vote matters, and being close is not enough. The situation at the high school is critical! This is a big problem that is not going away. We are alrea...
Sean Dotson, of the Cheney School District, was quoted in the Spokesman Review, Feb. 12 issue, “If we don’t pass it, we will have to reach out and educate about the need.” I voted against the bond with full knowledge of what is truly a necessity while keeping in mind that we have additional needs coming within a few years. I prepared an alternative that would only cost $11.6 million instead of the $44 million. During the campaigning leading up to bond votes, the districts and their YES Committees often imply that we who v...
Vaccinations have been a hot subject over the years but it has been put at the forefront due to the recent outbreak of measles in the United States. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 121 cases of measles throughout the U.S. in 17 states. The Spokane County Health District confirmed that there are no cases of measles in Spokane County. The CDC stated that the majority of people who have contracted the measles were unvaccinated. The disease can spread throughout communities among...
I am writing this letter to voice my sincerest concerns over the news that our Cheney School Districts bond on the latest ballot did not pass. As happy as I was to learn that our renewal Levy passed, I was heartbroken to learn that our current Cheney High School would not have the bond funds available to provide the crucial improvements and remodeling of which it is in such desperate need. We have been living in the Cheney School District for nine years now. We never realized just how badly the high school was in need of...
By AL STOVER Staff Reporter Well folks, Valentine’s Day is two days away. To some people, this holiday is a concoction conceived by the candy, floral and greeting card companies on Feb. 14 to make some extra cash. For others it’s the day to express their love for their significant other and shower them with affection, candy, chocolate, flowers — or in some cultures a chicken. I don’t have a problem with Valentine’s Day. I like the bright colors, the candy and the core message of expressing the love and joy in our hearts. I...
The train derailment in Cheney just weeks ago is an alarming realization that train derailments do happen — whether minor like this one or catastrophic like the one in Lac Magnetic, Quebec that killed 47 people. With an average of 52 Burlington Northern Santa Fe and 12 Union Pacific trains per day running through Cheney, it is a matter of time before the big one hits. Now there is concern about the possibility of other ports on the coast opening to accommodate more oil shipments. Between the two opposing oil transportation s...
Somewhere Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley, David Brinkley and Peter Jennings are either turning in their graves, rolling their eyes — or both. Brian Williams, the anchor and editor of NBC Nightly News, has peacock egg on his face after having been “outed” for largely fabricating accounts of being an imbedded reporter during the early days of the Iraq War in 2003. Seems he “misremembered” a sequence of the events where he was either on board an Army Chinook helicopter that took enemy fire and was forced to land, or not. It w...
If you haven’t yet voted, please join me in supporting our kids by voting for the Cheney School District bond and levy. Nothing is more important to our future than a good learning opportunity and environment for our kids. Thank you. Tom Trulove Mayor, city of Cheney...
Every now and then, we are asked to make an investment in the future for our children. Now is that time to help with the overcrowding situation at Cheney High School. Please join us in voting “Yes” for the Cheney Public School bond and levy on the Feb. 10 ballot. We have two children who have attended the high school and taken part in numerous extracurricular activities. They have been a part of the growing classes of students. This growth has resulted in using eight portable classrooms placed in the front parking lot for...
Four weeks reading the internationally-oriented, Taipei-based China Post while visiting family in Taiwan rekindled musings on the fundamental question of whether U.S. Middle East military action creates more terrorists than it eliminates, particularly considering the empowered terrorist recruitment inevitable when innocent civilians and children are killed. Dismissing this question, the Bush administration attacked Iraq and attempted nation building despite no initial internal revolt, a big failure as evidenced by the recent...
Hi. How you doing? Are you still angry? Blood pressure still up? I hope not. It’s not good for you, not a healthy thing to retain anger, hold grudges. I’ll not rehash the way last Sunday’s Super Bowl ended for our boys in the Emerald City, the Seattle Seahawks. Not only would it be akin to rubbing salt in wounds with sandpaper, but I think there’s a certain amount of sadism too. Besides, we’ve got years of that to look forward to on our multitude of sports channels. Like Seahawks fans everywhere, I too was sent into a st...
Come this Sept. 5 in Eugene, Ore. a player who’s been not just an integral part of the Eastern Washington University football team for the last three years, but more-or-less its face, could possibly be opposite his teammates and friends on the turf of Autzen Stadium. “Big Play V.A.,” otherwise known as quarterback Vernon Adams, could very well take his incredible athletic skills south and don the uniforms of many colors worn by the Oregon Ducks. The thought of Adams departing evokes all kinds of conjecture, questions and l...
As retired schoolteachers who have both taught and coached in the Cheney School District and had our sons attend school from kindergarten through high school graduation, we encourage the community to support our school district in the upcoming vote for the bond and levy measures. Local support of our school district is important for the continuance and improvement of our numerous school programs at all levels. Our Cheney School District has always had an outstanding reputation for being progressive and supporting our student...
I am writing in support of the Medical Lake School District levy. I was an educator and coach for 44 years, 24 at Medical Lake High School. During that time, four of my six children graduated from Medical Lake High School and they were foruntate to attend Medical Lake Schools. I believe the Medical Lake School District is a great place to educate children, as well as a great place to raise them. Many, many of our graduates have accomplished unbelievable goals as a result of their basic education here. The community always...
As a parent of three Cheney School District students as well as employee of the Cheney School District, I am encouraged by the everyday opportunities made available to both students and employees of our school district. My own children continue to grow and learn through the extra time and effort put forth by many school district employees. If our students are to experience the same level of educational opportunities, we need to pass the upcoming Educational Programs and Operations (Maintenance and Operations) Levy and the...
Half a nurse. That’s how much the state of Washington pays the Cheney School District in order to have a health care professional ready to address a sick or injured child at any one of the district’s eight schools. But in a district the size of Cheney, it takes three nurses to adequately meet student health needs. It also takes more than the state pays to provide teachers for class size reductions, all-day kindergarten, school counselors, student transportation and other needed functions essential to a good, well-rounded edu...
Tuesday Feb. 10, voters in the Cheney School District will be asked to approve a 21-year construction bond for renovations to the overcrowded Cheney High School. There is no doubt the renovations, a mixture of expansion and modifications, are not only much needed but long overdue in modernizing, alleviating overcrowding and enhancing safety at the 50-year-old building. The Cheney Free Press supports making these renovations. In order to pass the $44.88 million bond, 60 percent of 40 percent of voters who voted in the last...
