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The buzz at Roos Field is growing, and it's not just what's in that plastic cup. Food, friends, maybe a few beverages: the tailgating scene at Eagles football games has never been better. While some folks don't like the structured approach Eastern has taken to tailgating—with the designated lots, tickets and rules—it seems to be working well. There's room to spread out and there are rules so that a few bad apples don't end up spoiling everyone's Saturday game day, at least most of the time. Eastern has been selling tic...
Vote no on Initiative 1183 to prevent liquor sales to children Initiative 1183 would make beer, wine and hard liquor more readily accessible, not just to adults, but to children and teenagers as well. The more places that sell alcoholic beverages, the more opportunities for it to get into the wrong hands. It is simply not a good idea. Vote no on I-1183 to protect our communities. Christie Bruntlett, Cheney We need vision to see what kind of future we want in life What is it that we see when we are away from home, whether at...
Every so often you have to speak up and ask that truth be spoken in so much that the truth is or can be known. That's the case with regards to public education funding in this state. Don't misjudge me, I believe in and support public education and I feel the state needs to do better in meeting its constitutionally required obligations to provide equal educational opportunities for children within its borders. What I am asking is that school administrators and supporters cease...
With so much dour economic news these days you want to latch onto any ray of sunshine breaking through. We thought we saw such a beam when Washington state's Department of Revenue issued a press release Sept. 23 saying tax revenues had increased in fiscal year 2011, which ended June 30. After a peak of $17 billion in FY2008, state tax revenues dipped to $15.6 billion in FY2009 and $15.1 billion in FY2010, so an increase of 5.9 percent in FY2011 to $16 billion seems to be a sign of hope. Granted we don't want state lawmakers...
(This editorial was written by Merrill Matthews, a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation in Dallas, Texas) A widely recognized economic principle is that when you subsidize something, you get more of it, and when you tax it, you get less. Unfortunately President Obama's guiding economic principle is to impose more taxes on profitable companies and subsidize those that can't make a dime. It's no wonder the economy is struggling. Nothing better exemplifies the president's economic principle than his continue...
Thanks for hosting fundraiser for Lorna Jarms' transplant A heartfelt thank you to Brad and Syrie Barsness. Last Thursday Brad allowed us to hold a bowling fundraiser at Cheney Bowl. A total of $776 was raised for Lorna Jarms' heart transplant fund. Thank you to Brad, his hardworking staff and everyone who came out and bowled. Lorna Jarms, her co-workers and friends, Cheney When college students arrive, so do mass amounts of trash In an effort to locate and reclaim the things that had been stolen off of our front porch I...
With the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks just three days after President Barack Obama's big jobs speech to Congress, you'd think it would inspire unanimous support for at least one of the president's proposals: to create big tax credits for companies that hire military veterans. Not so much. When it comes to our obligation, in Lincoln's phrase, “to care for him who shall have borne the battle,” too often the line stops at the unemployment office. The White House says that as of June, the une...
It's only with just a little bit of pride and glee that I watch some of my friends start yet another year of college at Eastern Washington University. For the first time in 17 years, I don't have homework, busy work or those unnecessary beginning of the year icebreakers. And that's quite a relief. Click to read more from James Eik The past four years at Eastern were challenging and full of growth. I met new people who would test my mental strains, some who I consider mentors and some who really don't belong in higher...
If you get your hip replaced in the United States, the orthopedic surgeon who performs the procedure will earn, on average, about $4,000 from your private insurance company, assuming you have one. A comparably educated and trained surgeon doing the same operation on a privately insured patient will get about $2,200 in England, $2,000 in Australia and $1,340 in France, according to a new study published this month in the journal Health Affairs. If you're covered by Medicare or Medicaid in this country, the difference in price...
StageWest is moving, but still needs a permanent home StageWest Community Theatre of the West Plains is moving once again, to perform our plays, back at The Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Sixth and Elm. StageWest is a not for profit community theatre and our mission is to keep the prices of our plays down low so that we can hopefully bring theatre to those that cannot afford to go to the more lavish theatre shows. Therefore, we feel that we can get more people excited about live theatre and have them want to become involved. Sho...
We at the Cheney Free Press editorial department are keenly aware of the role the media plays and has played in the creation of our country. Our field is unique in that our founding document provides the media with a certain degree of protection and as such endorsement as an agent in the promotion of democracy. I'm referring to the Constitution's First Amendment of course: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of t...
Webster is the right choice for open City Council position We are supporting Graeme (Webster) for his election bid to continue service on council. Graeme was appointed by Mayor Tom Trulove to serve in his open seat since Tom was elected as our mayor two years ago. Graeme is service with professional distinction and dedication and is a proven team player in support of the current city's administration and budgetary processes. It is a known fact that our city has been successfully planning and budgeting during these difficult...
On Monday, the Cheney Planning Commission traveled to Spokane to tour the Kendall Yards development. As the commission gears up to tackle code updates, much of what developer Jason Wheaton said about dealing with the city of Spokane is reminiscent of Cheney's development issues and should be taken as a lesson to avoid future problems with housing and commercial development in the city. As Wheaton led the group of commissioners and other city officials through a model townhouse overlooking the Spokane River and downtown...
At a time of so much economic suffering, a flawed decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is threatening to add further harm to Eastern Washington's economy, specifically our forest industries. The Court's decision that forest stormwater runoff produced during logging must be regulated by the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) rather than by state forestry laws overturn 35 years of federal environmental policy. If upheld, it will severely cripple one of Eastern Washington's most important industries and cause the needless...
Thanks to many who made the Tree of Confidence a success I would like to express a heart felt thanks to the members of the community, my friends and family for making the 1st annual Tree of Confidence a great success. I truly appreciate all the people who reached out to me to make my vision a reality, and the start of the school year a happy one for many deserving children. Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Martin, Shirley Dacey, Vickie Roig, Cara Phillips, Misty Smith, Debi Roconnova, Colleen Brogan, Chris and Angie Segroves,...
I remember watching on TV as the World Trade Center's South Tower collapsed. Sadly, I didn't realize the incredible event that was taking place thousands of miles away. Seeing a skyscraper on fire was hardly what I expected to wake up to that morning. I watched some with my mother, who was in her room at the time. We didn't say too much to each other, but the weight of the event was incredibly heavy. Even at school, many hadn't understood that the country was under attack. Click to read more from James Eik At that age, I...
With the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks taking place this Sunday there will be much said and relived about the two-plus hour long event that set the tone for the first decade of the 21st century. Each of us will remember it, mark it and analyze it in our own individual way. In light of that, we thought it might be more proper for each editorial board member to provide some insight into where they were when the planes struck, what they felt and how we see its impacts today. As...
Maybe it was all the fried-food-on-a-stick pandering in Iowa a couple of weeks back, but I'm already sick of election season. Saying I'm sick of it isn't really accurate, though. I'm actually angry, really angry. Because I know that the presidential election, which is 15 months away, is going to get in the way of the federal government actually getting anything done to help the country. I'm starting to think that our country is not going to come out of this recession, at least not in one piece. Click to read more from Becky...
America is a nation of laws. But lately it seems that we might be legislating ourselves to death. There's been a lot of talk lately about government regulation. How much is too much? Where's the line between promoting health, safety and responsibility and stifling economic recovery with regulations that are impossible to satisfy? It's not an easy question. Different people have different ideas about regulations based on their own experiences. One Cheney resident might have a beef with the city government over the permitting...
The addition of Texas Gov. Rick Perry to the Republican presidential campaign field upstaged the results from Iowa's Ames straw poll this past weekend. After mounting speculation that Perry would run, the official announcement sent ripples throughout the country. It's really quite impressive when you take a step back and realize what happened. Click to read more from James Eik. Let me get this out of the way: I am in no form offering my vote to Perry nor any other candidate in the 2012 election field. It is far too early in...
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, personal bankruptcy filings in the U.S. dropped 7.9 percent in June from the same time one year earlier. That's good news, considering filings nationwide had virtually tripled since 2006. There are still some concerns though, and one is bankruptcy fraud. Bankruptcy fraud is the number one fraud currently taking place in this country. Some of us have seen or know these people. They're the ones that have filed a personal bankruptcy claim, or just had their claim discharged to th...
No doubt about it, Congress is the big news buzz these days. Just about anything wrong today is traced back to congressional action, or lack thereof. Everyone has some beef with Washington D.C., even us, as this week's editorial details. More to the point, most everyone has a way to fix it – if they could. Click to read more of what John McCallum has to say. The reason I write those last three words is because ideas to fix Congress – make them more representative of citizenry than special interests – right now would only...
A “what if” scenario circulated through the Cheney Free Press office last week. Just what if our editorial staff simply got tired on one of our long Tuesday — sometimes into Wednesday — newspaper production days? What if we just left that story on a crucial city council decision off the front page, opting instead for a big blank space? Or what if that big advertisement a merchant needed to promote a sale never made the paper because the graphics staff was tired and they decided it was simply time to go home? There would s...
We're not on the gold standard, but on the fear standard This may be the dumbest suggestion of the day — but — if there is more gold in Fort Knox than we know what to do with; and with the recent ‘slight' correction of the stock market, plus everybody worrying about the national debt etc-etc; then why don't we just sell the bloody stuff on the bearing market price (now over $1,700 per ounce) and just pay off the national debt in one fell swoop. Then again — maybe not. The true measure of the wealth of the country is not bas...
The most important document for any democratic form of government is its constitution. It doesn't matter at what level that takes place, national, state or local, a constitution is the foundation, the bedrock upon which democratic government is built. Constitutions are guides created to establish how we create laws governing the daily functions of government. It's imperative then that changes to any constitution be a difficult and involved process, one that doesn't subject itself to the ever-changing directions of public...
