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I would like to comment on Rep. Eric Cantor’s defeat in Virginia last week. Finally the American people are waking up and realizing that their do-nothing elected official’s time has come to go! Here is a no-name candidate who only spent $100,000 vs. Cantor’s $5 million. That shows me that “We The People” do have a chance and can beat the big spenders and lobbyist. Our very own Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers should take close notice that her time in Congress is also coming to an end. She has lost all touch with the 5th District...
A great big “Viking whoosh” needs to go out to our local fire station! Our little Vikings cannot thank them enough for the time and energy that they gave during our Betz Field Day on June 6. Ken Johnson gave up his time and volunteered to put together a first aid station for our kiddos and Tim Steiner brought a ladder truck as well as his crew! Amazing! Not only did they come out to run a first aid station for the day, they also brought several of their fire trucks. They gave tours of their trucks, mini first aid les...
I’m not sure if my beagle, Ringo’s muffled woof last Sunday was the kind he uses to remind me it’s time for him to be fed. Or because it was 5:45 a.m. and not the usual 5:15 and that he was letting me sleep in a little on Father’s Day? Ringo seems to be able to tell time twice daily — around 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. when he gets his rations of Iams — fearful I’m sure that if not fed on time his 32-pound frame might instantly waste away. Ever since the kids slowly migrated away...
The 1996, Moses Lake, Wash. school shooting started a timeline of unfortunate, similar events. In the case of the Moses Lake shooting, 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis shot his teacher, wounded two students and held his classmates hostage for 10 minutes before he was restrained by a teacher. The next major shooting was Columbine High School in 1999 where two teenagers shot and killed 12 students, one teacher and wounded more than 20 students. Since Columbine, there have been roughly 19 deadly school shootings, according to an...
Do you feel safer now? Our president has traded the freedom of one American prisoner of war for five of the most vicious, dangerous men in the world. They have probably been planning for months what they will do to America now that they are free. Don’t expect them to say, “Thank you, America.” What they are saying to themselves is “What fools these Americans are. Let’s get busy.” Luella Dow Cheney...
I had intended to write this as a potential graduation commencement speech for Wolf Point High School, similar to Mary Schmich’s essay she wrote for The Chicago Tribune back in 1997 where she recommended that young folks wear sunscreen — among other things. Mind you, I probably wasn’t going to speak at graduation, but I’m sure my words would have at least made print in The Wolf Point Herald News’ back pages. However, before I could divulge my words of wisdom on the Wolf Point graduates, I came home to Cheney. Although...
This year we’ve been fortunate to collaborate with the West Plains chapter of Partners Advancing Character Education (PACE) to help promote good character. The trait for this month is integrity. PACE describes integrity as living with a set of values that includes honesty, a respect for others and a sense of personal responsibility. After examining the trait, we believe that a person’s thoughts and actions reflect their integrity, which can affect the way others perceive them. If someone acts in a way that lowers their integr...
The Cheney Cemetery Association would like to thank all of our wonderful volunteers who helped make this year’s Memorial Day program and breakfast so successful. We appreciate everyone who helped and are very grateful. Thank you to EWU ROTC Lt. Col. Jason Pape, whose voice rang out over the program audience as he spoke about the solemn reason for observing Memorial Day. Special thanks must go to all of the young people who gave their time to honor the fallen American heroes of war on Memorial Day. Cub Scout Pack 365 placed A...
As summer draws near, it is important that our community members be mindful of the amount of water we are using. The issue of wasteful water practices is derived from the lack of awareness that some individuals have when it comes to just how much water they are wasting. On average, a person will unknowingly waste up to 30 gallons of water each day. To eliminate wasteful water practices, we need to increase water efficiency. We can do so by making small changes to our daily routine. For instance, by turning off the faucet...
Only in Washington D.C. can near unanimous agreement on a policy mean there is danger it may not occur. Consider the pending expiration of the ban on Internet access taxes and whether or not Congress will act in time. As reported by the Wall Street Journal: “The idea of taxing email is no more popular today than when President Bill Clinton signed the Internet Tax Freedom Act into law. But a dedicated congressional minority now wants to allow states and localities to tax email — unless these governments are given new powers to...
I would like to write about how the County Commissioners have been squandering our taxpayer’s money. Let’s take a look at what they have been up to over the last few years. 1. $245 million dollars for a new jail, if it passes. 2. $7.5 million dollars on Spokane Raceway Park, that hasn’t made a dime since they bought it, and could cost hundreds of thousands more in environmental cleanup. 3. $2.5 million dollars to buy the old Solar World apartment complex in Airway Heights to save Fairchild. 4. $18 million dollars on failed Pr...
Community members have sometimes complained about their brand new clothes being ruined due to the huge puddle of mush that comes around every winter and spring due to rain and snow. The bottoms of pants get soaked along with a strange white line which remains on the back of pants until it is thoroughly cleaned. However, that is a minimal concern in comparison to the experiences that come with mobility problems for the disabled. Why do people portray helping people in wheelchairs as a bad thing? Of course, the issue at hand...
Please rest assured that, no, the summer did not suddenly vanish in the blink of an eye. And no, we’re not in a Labor Day theme about the length of one’s work life. The topic of longevity on the job recently surfaced when the Cheney School District singled out employees and honored them for their varying degrees of service at a year-end ceremony. Some had been on the job for 40 years. So it prompted the Cheney Free Press editorial board to ask the question: How long is too long when it comes to time spent on the job, or wit...
Based on a recent article in the April 17 Cheney Free Press — “Cheney council finds county weed proposal noxious”— and comments made by the Cheney City Council, I would like to explain the Washington state Noxious Weed Law and the role and function of the Spokane County Noxious Weed Control Board. Ultimately what has been happening is that incorporated cities and towns such as Cheney have been receiving the same service as the unincorporated areas of the county, Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, but bearing little of the cost....
How times have changed. From 1960 until 1980 I voted for several Republicans, including Richard Nixon against Jack Kennedy in my first presidential vote, and Washington Gov. Dan Evans three times. On some issues, such as the corrupting influence of big money, the Republican Party then was left of the Democratic Party now; e.g., President Eisenhower warned about the military-industrial complex and maintained the 90 percent income tax rate on the richest. Today’s Republicans seem intent on turning government into an o...
“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.” Or so wrote Laura Gilpin, an American photographer who ironically had my same birthday, April 22, but way back in 1891. Gilpin, I’ve discovered really had it right. For the better part of the past 40 years I have been wedded to the moving water of rivers. It’s also as long as I have been married. Not long after our wedding my wife took a trip to Portland, Ore. to visit her college “bestie...
Do we own a “right to be forgotten” regarding things in our past? Do we own all the information generated about ourselves? A recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in a public records case out of Spain might have provided a resounding “Yes” to both questions. On May 13, Europe’s highest court gave individuals the ability to expunge their online records of past indiscretions such as old debts, previous arrests and other unflattering incidents by requiring search engine companies like Google to honor the...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed an executive order creating a task force to design a “carbon emission limits and market mechanisms program” that establishes a cap on emissions, and includes “measures to help offset any cost impacts to consumers and workers, protect low-income households and assist energy intensive, trade-exposed businesses in their transition from carbon-based fuels.” Inslee’s “emissions limits and markets” program is, like a rose by any other name, a cap and trade program. The Western Clima...
StageWest Community theatre has wrapped up our 2013-2014 season with a successful run of Jack Sharkey’s “Honestly, Now” directed by Phil West and produced with special arrangement by Samuel French Inc. We had a largest ever dinner theatre on Saturday May 3 with an audience of 39. There were many compliments to the wonderful food provided by Mike Hartman and Willow Springs Restaurant. StageWest had a great 2013-2014 season and we would like to thank the congregation of Emmanuel Lutheran Church for their gracious use of their...
By Al Stover Staff Reporter This past Mother’s Day made me reflect on all of the ways my mother helped take care of us as I was growing up. Being the primary breadwinner in our family, she worked to make sure my sister and I had everything we needed, whether it’s making sure we had a roof over our heads and food on the table. In my senior year of high school, she paid for my tuxedo for prom, my yearbook and my fees to make sure I graduated along with the rest of my class. I was fully capable for paying for all of those thi...
Every year the Cheney Free Press awards a $500 scholarship to a male and female Cheney High School graduating senior. All that is required is their parents have to be a subscriber and they must write an essay about why they would like the scholarship. In the past we have had several male and female applicants, but that has dropped in the past couple of years. This year we had just two, one male and one female, both of whom are very qualified applicants. The decline in Free Press scholarship applicants created concerns with us...
Public transportation is as popular as ever. Ridership just reached its highest level in 57 years. Americans took 10.7 billion trips on subways, buses and trains in 2013. But this trend may hit a roadblock if Congress does not take action in the coming months to reverse a tax inequity that took effect this year on commuters who use public transportation. Fortunately, the Senate Finance Committee recently voted to put public-transportation riders on the same tax footing as drivers. The rest of Congress must follow suit. As...
The feeling of unease is still palpable. Last summer in Guatemala we were preparing to sit down for breakfast at the hotel we were staying at just outside the town of Purullha. We were preparing to make a second journey to visit the Pocomchi Mayan people in the Baja Vera Paz Mountains of north-central Guatemala. Sitting waiting for the plates of tortilla shells and bowls of refried beans — yes they serve those for breakfast and they’re the best in the world — I noticed a couple come into the dining area looking for a table...
The federal government sends out nearly $77 billion each year to physicians participating in the Medicare program. The taxpayers footing those bills deserve to know where the money is going. And data about Medicare payments can be crucial in rooting out organized fraud or poor oversight of Medicare spending. That’s why last week’s release of a massive payment database by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is so valuable. For the first time, Americans can see where Medicare dollars are being spent in their com...
Dogs are starting to become human accessories, tagging along wherever their owner goes. While it is not uncommon to see service dogs in public — because they do act as guides for their owners — some people bring their animals — dogs — to public places, not only the parks and beaches, but also grocery stores and businesses — places where dogs have no reason to be there. Even at events where dogs are prohibited — like Hoopfest — people still bring them, despite the possibility of getting stuck with a fine or being asked t...
