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The old saying, “Water- water everywhere, and not a drop to drink (or irrigate),” these days. It’s no secret that much of the nation is in drought conditions, especially in much of the food production areas such as Southern California and the southern states. The answer? Get the older decommissioned super aircraft carriers out of mothballs, man them with reserve naval personnel and tow them to areas where they can produce millions of gallons of water, daily. Much of the irrigation water piping systems are already in exist...
Have you ever left the bars and suddenly realized that not only did you not have money for a cab, but also the buses had stopped running? During the weekend many people go out to the bars and drink with friends and at the end of the night many people are unable to find a ride home so some decide to walk while others decide to drive. This not only causes an extra amount of drunken people to be wandering the streets, but also causes car wrecks to occur. The bus system now stops running around mid-night, when many people are...
Medical Lake now uses SCRAPS to handle pet license’s. For a neutered/spayed dog the price went from $10 to $25. That’s a little steep for people with multiple pets. Not a very good deal for the people of Medical Lake. Thanks. Jim Phelps Medical Lake...
Another successful StageWest Community Theatre production has come to a close. We had some good crowds for our production of “Perfect Wedding” by Robin Hawdon. There was a lot of laughter coming from the audiences. We would like to thank the congregation of Emmanuel Lutheran Church for the use of their building for all of our auditions, rehearsals and performances. We would also like to thank the people that came from all around the area to watch our production. We had people from Deer Park, Coeur d’Alene and several Red H...
How does Cheney benefit from coal and oil trains? Cleaner air? Not so much. Healthier population? Not so much. Quieter nights? Not so much. Safer and clearer intersections? Not so much. Priority passage for emergency vehicles? Not so much. Fewer fires? Not so much. Improved rail access for Amtrak and farm produce? Not so much. Increased security from derailments or spills? Not so much. Better fishing and outdoor recreation? Not so much. More economic development? How much? Increased revenue for Cheney? How much? More jobs...
Responsible parents looking for ways to supplement the educational and personal growth opportunities for their children should consider hosting a teenage exchange student for an academic semester or year. Children and adults alike by interacting on a daily basis with a new international family member, broaden their perspective on the world and discover new facts and ideas. NorthWest Student Exchange (NWSE) places international high school students with families all over the country. Exchange students add a dimension to the...
Openness is important in maintaining public trust in our governmental organizations. Openness means access to what public officials do. It can be difficult, especially when it comes to obtaining records created by government. But openness also means notification, something a bill moving through the state House of Representatives would impede if it became law. The House Education Committee was scheduled to hear testimony today (Feb. 13) on HB 2319, a bill that would make it easier for school districts to publish notices of...
A new business has drawn the ire and eyes of many citizens in eastern Washington. Daiquiri Factory, a bar and grill that operates in downtown Spokane, revealed their drink menu that features a drink titled “Date Grape Kool Aid,” prior to its Feb. 1 opening. This has caused uproar from the community as protesters, many of whom are rape survivors, have been picketing the business since it opened. They say that the name is offensive, inappropriate and a reference to date rape. Jamie Pendleton, owner of the Daiquiri Factory, sai...
In regards to Kelsey Lavelle’s review of StageWest’s production of “A Perfect Wedding,” I too attended a performance (albeit on a different date) and had a significantly different experience. While I agree with Ms. Lavelle’s assessment of the performances by Jessie Smylie and Phil West, I saw a completely different effort from the rest of the cast than she. Judy, as played by Lindsey Bekemeyer, was completely believable in her embarrassment in the predicament she found herself in as a self assured, mature young woman who...
StageWest Community Theatre had a very successful dinner theater on Saturday night Feb. 1. The food created by Mike Harmon from Willow Springs Restaurant was delicious and carried on the wedding theme from the play. The audience really seemed to enjoy the play as there was much laughter coming from them. We would like to thank the four ladies that made up our audience on Super Bowl Sunday. Though the audience was small, they made up for it with their participation. There are still three performances yet to come, Friday night...
Twelve hours of a football watching smorgasbord last Sunday? Not me. At least not glued to the tube and letting spud roots catch hold in the sofa. The Fox NFL Sunday pregame show was on with host Curt Menefee running herd on Michael Strahan and the perfect hair twins from another mother, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson. Terry Bradshaw unfortunately missed the festivities following his father’s death earlier in the week. They filled the time with introspective looks at Payton Mann...
Cheney and Medical Lake school districts have been promoting character education at all grade levels since the start of the current school year, using a list of monthly traits developed by the Spokane Valley grassroots organization PACE — Partners Advancing Character Education. At the beginning of January they were joined by businesses, civic groups, faith-based organizations and residents as PACE opened its first chapter on the West Plains, making the announcement at the West Plains Chamber of Commerce’s monthly meeting. The...
In the words of the civil rights leader we honor this month, “We must never allow ourselves to become satisfied with unattained goals.” Decades later, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words still ring true for all of us, including those who have disabilities. What are these goals for people with disabilities? They include education, employment, active participation in a community, and living as independently as possible. They are the same goals we all share. As the mom of a seven-year old son, Cole, who was born with Down syndr...
Trying new things is scary, especially when it forces us to move out of our comfort zone. Some instances where we find ourselves doing this can range from being hesitant to try a new restaurant that you have never heard of before. Will the food be as good as their clever ads proclaim? Or what about walking up to a person who catches our attention and starting a conversation with them? Will they take their recently bought glass of beer and throw it in my face if I say the wrong thing about their favorite football team? These...
The power outage that hit both Cheney and Medical Lake last Wednesday was only momentary. However what lingered was pause for thought on how strongly we are connected to the grid and how high our expectations are when we flick the switch on the wall for that instant illumination. Less than 60 seconds in the dark was somewhat of productivity killer because it took time — albeit brief — to get the Internet running again. We were probably not at all alone. That was unlike months ago when service was down for a few days. It mad...
Anyone sitting through the Jan. 14 hearing on a proposed marijuana growing and processing facility in Cheney likely took away any number of observations. What struck me was the emotion those opposing the facility projected during testimony. The heartfelt desire for maintaining a good, strong, family-oriented community wasn’t just expressed, and expressed well, but was a virtual physical presence. But several statements caused me to pause and wonder – how well do we really know our community. How well do we really know tho...
Alexandra Ammonette’s letter of Jan. 9 calling for support of alternative energy sources and a carbon tax seems more an emotional plea that a logically consistent argument based on fact. She begins with a false claim, “We know we can’t keep polluting our atmosphere with fossil fuels without causing a destabilized climate system.” Sorry, but we don’t “know” that. Many of us speculate, theorize and give out opinions, but the science is not settled. Based on that claim, she calls for bipartisan support to “stabilize it...
This past week, state Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, announced his intentions to introduce a bill in legislative session in regards to a $10,000 incentive to state workers who agree to switch from their state pension plan to a 401(k)-style retirement plan. Ericksen’s proposed bill is similar to Boeing’s recent campaign of paying up to 31,000 machinists a $10,000 signing bonus for training their pensions as part of the contract extension that guarantees assembly of the 777X in Washington state. As a result of the con...
There are legitimate reasons why we voters have been a lot more willing to trust the tough job of president to governors -- 11 separate times, with Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush -- rather than senators, which occurred only once in the 88 years between 1920 and 2008 with John F. Kennedy. Like mayors, governors actually do something. We hold them accountable for the decisions they make about how to spend taxpayer money. They decide through whose neighborhood the new highway...
The news cycle and what garners the attention of editors, producers, talking-head anchors and reporters is a crazy and most unpredictable thing. Sometimes it’s actually driven by events that affect people. Like the bitter cold that gripped much of the nation recently and let us get to know about a term – the Polar Vortex – most all of us had never heard of before but has been around forever. Other times it’s pure timing, such as the chemical spill that last week threw a stenc...
My deepest appreciation and thanks to the citizens of Medical Lake and nearby areas who have helped get my mini-van equipped with the wheelchair lift I needed installed and new tires. Just a few practice runs this week of loading and unloading my wheelchair and you’ll be seeing me actually driving it. Thank you, again, for this loving and wonderful blessing. Joanna Williams Medical lake...
If there could be guarantees that lifting the almost 40-year-old ban on exporting U.S. crude oil would drastically reduce gasoline prices we’d say doing so should be a no brainer. Lift the ban. Unfortunately there are many factors that determine the price of gasoline at the pump besides supply, including predictions of possible weather conditions that could impact production, political turmoil and speculators making guesses. All of this means that while the price of oil per barrel might drop the price of gas we put in our c...
The last two issues of the Free Press have had great opinion articles about the problems of our economy, if you are for unrestrained capitalism. Last week Don C. Brunell of the Association of Washington Business proclaimed his usual dislike for over regulation by government. While acknowledging that some regulation is necessary, he attacks the Affordable Care Act, the Washington Department of Ecology for “pursuing new water quality regulations” and Governor Inslee for advocating “California-like climate change regul...
Editor’s note: The following letter is in response to an OpEd piece by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers that was published in the Dec. 15, 2013 issue of the Tri-City Herald Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Tri-City Herald, Dec. 15, p. C1) writes that to get jobs we need to promote economic certainty, champion bipartisan compromise, and reduce regulations. The fossil fuel industry, and politicians who support it, say that without coal, oil, and natural gas, our economy will collapse. But we know we can’t keep polluting our...
Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize. One of the most striking aspects of his acceptance speech is the hope he expressed in humanity’s ability to overcome war. This was no mere idealism on his part. Less than five years earlier, the world had come to the brink of thermonuclear destruction because of Cuba. The United States and Soviet Union eventually diminished their threats and, in 1963, signed and ratified an agreement to end the open-air nuclear testing that was blanketing the planet with radi...
