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My heart goes out to the children who are caught up in our adult problems: migrant children separated from families and abused at the southern border; Palestinian children in Israeli jails and in the March of Return, Nigerian girls kidnapped from their schools; Yemeni and Syrian children starving and dying from blockades and airstrikes and American children at Sandyhook and Parkland schools, to name a few recent massacres in our country. Of course, with the present administration, more American children may go without food...
Recently I learned that the Washington State Patrol has added additional officers, and resources to Gov. Inslee’s protection detail because of his presidential campaign. This begs the question of why we the citizens of Washington should subsidize the cost of our governor running for another office. The people of Washington elected him to serve as our governor and to conduct the business of our state. Even if no state resources are being used for his campaign, he cannot devote his entire attention to the needs of our state, as...
Medical Lake Dollars for Scholars raised over $15,000 at last week’s Spring Thing dinner/dance/auction. This includes $6,000 toward matching grant funds which will provide additional four-year scholarships to be awarded this June. To all the many individuals and businesses that donated goods and services, a sincere “thank you” for your support. And to the dozens of people from the community who attended and were so generous with your bids and purchases, your support is so critical for your sons and daughters future succe...
It an be tempting to write negative letters complaining about the issues we currently face in America. I would much rather share a bright spot in our community and the next generation. Cheney School bands are doing a wonderful job instructing our kids in music, teamwork, responsibility and excellence. We just returned from a very successful trip to the annual Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival in Missoula, Mont. This year, one of our high school students took home an award for excellent musicianship in sax performance, and the...
The Trump administration is working to slow down the implementation of a major international environmental regulation that’s set to take effect in 2020. The administration hopes that the effort will ease the compliance burden on businesses by phasing in the rules gradually, rather than all at once. Counter intuitively, phasing in the regulation could raise costs on American consumers, rather than reduce costs as the administration intends. It’s smarter to let the rules go into effect as scheduled. The regulation was iss...
I would like to thank those who responded and helped my husband at the incident where my husband passed away last Wednesday, March 20. All emergency responders, all at Cheney Middle School, Cheney high teachers Mr. Marsh and Mr. Scarcello; Brad the 911 operator/dispatcher, Sheriff Deputy Truman, Captain Dustin Flock of Spokane County Fire District 3, District 3 Chaplin Ben Hill, Mike Rossey at Cheney Funeral Chapel, Cheney Public School transportation especially Melanie who drives bus route 59 and my sister Esther Hart,...
Before our country, in haste, dives totally into renewable energy, we must carefully evaluate its impacts. By just focusing on eliminating natural gas, liquid fuels (gasoline and diesel) and coal to combat climate change, we ignore the effects of other forms of pollution generated by processes in which renewable energy components are made. Under the Green New Deal, the United States would become 100 percent reliant on renewable energy in a decade and eliminate CO2 producing...
I was tired of shoveling snow the other day and needed some comic relief, so I decided to read the most recent newsletters sent out by my state representative. Finding out what is happening at our state capitol is challenging. I usually start with the newsletters, then Google for more details. If you don’t get these newsletters, you should. Your representative’s office will gladly add you to their email list. Then you, too, will have something to break up the monotony of late winter. As our governor has been reborn as the...
How times have changed! Current Democratic presidential candidates’ proposed policies labeled “extreme” by Republicans today were actively mainstream when I was young. Examples: 70 percent income tax on the highest bracket. It was over 90 percent throughout Republican President Eisenhower’s 1953-1961 term in office and at least 70 percent from 1936 through 1980. Free college education: Close to reality at public institutions well before and after I went in 1954. Medicare for All: Just a year after the U.S. passed Medicar...
Across the pond, London-based BP and Netherlands-headquartered Shell are looking to invest in innovative electric technology, which is very good news. The two international oil giants, both of which have oil refineries in northwest Washington, recognize the growth in battery storage capacity. Their investments should bring down costs for consumers and bring ground-breaking technology to market quicker. Making electric cars and new batteries for homes and power grids is a...
James Ebisch’s guest commentary on climate change (CFP, March 7, 2019) is rife with misinformation. Given the lack of climate understanding he demonstrates in his commentary, his tone is particularly unfortunate, detracting from his message and making him look foolish in the process. What Ebisch, a geologist, and president of Wyoming Mines, wants readers to believe is that climate change is a natural phenomenon not influenced by human activities. His are a repetition of debunked arguments employed by climate change deniers u...
Homelessness has been cussed and discussed with no solution in sight. With no viable plan, most government officials wring their hands and hope the problem will go away. The latest suggestion is to pay the homeless a living wage. Thus, the unfortunate street people could afford the requisite training to find jobs. I guess this is possible. The evening news interviewed an ex-homeless lady who received money from a private charity and was eventually able to open a coffee shop, thus, becoming a local success story. We sometimes...
When writing this column, I generally try to think about what’s happening on a local, regional or national scale. I like to talk about topics with far-reaching consequences that require diverse perspectives and affect a variety of people. But not today. Today, perhaps selfishly, I can only think about yesterday morning — when I discovered yet another mistreated dog on my front porch. My husband and I have made an accidental habit of being “rescuers.” We keep a bag with treats and a leash in the car for the stray dogs we inev...
A big “thank you” to Cheney Real Estate Management for recognizing and valuing the importance of “shopping local” by purchasing gift cards from a small downtown establishment, The Mason Jar, rather than a large, national chain. By supporting our smaller local businesses we ensure vitality, increased choice and a greater revenue stream for our community. Again, thank you! Mary Robinson Cheney...
I didn’t think it was quite time for political season, but it seems to have started. I was just sitting down to dinner when my phone rang. If it had been 30 seconds later, I would have let the answering machine take it even though I was expecting a call from my agent. The caller asked for my wife, and being well trained, I asked if I could tell her who was calling. I guess talking to my wife wasn’t the caller’s highest priority because he went right into his spiel. He started by thanking me for past contributions I have...
Emmanuel Lutheran Church would like to thank the community for helping us with our 10th annual Festival of Chocolate. The turnout was wonderful and all had a great time. We saw folks that come out every year for this event as well as some new faces. Thanks go to the Cheney Free Press for the nice piece in the newspaper and to those businesses in Cheney that allowed a flyer in their windows. We want to thank the Thrivent Action Team for the “seed money” that purchased the needed food and beverages for the kitchen. Marcia Mec...
In life, rarely is anything worth having easily or immediately achieved. Sure, you may experience an immediate reward from time to time — winning the lottery is the obvious example here — but you did not do much, if anything, to earn that reward. Rather, the rewards achieved through hard work over extended periods of time are the most fulfilling. It is through diligence — defined as “steady, earnest, and energetic effort; persevering application” — that we find the most rewarding and fulfilling work. A word used in pop cult...
My wife Sheila reminded me Tuesday morning that life can change in the blink of an eye. It’s a familiar statement that is so true — in many ways. Life changed for many members of the Cheney and Eastern Washington University communities last Sunday evening on a cold stretch of pavement on State Route 904 in Four Lakes. In an incident now well-documented by the Cheney Free Press and various members of the Spokane media, long-time Cheney resident and EWU archivist and interim dean of libraries Dr. Charles Mutschler was killed in...
I spent the major portion of my working years in Cheney so when I need to make a purchase, checking with local merchants is my first choice. This week my choice was 12-foot two by fours at Jarms Hardware so the Cheney Chipsters could make the trucks we build for children. Tom Jarms and his staff rewarded me amply as Tom donated the wheels and axles for our trucks while two of his employees each matched my purchase of the studs. From the Cheney Chipsters: Thank you guys. Dave Daugharty Secretary/treasurer Cheney...
I normally watch the news as I brew my morning cup of tea. As we were experiencing a significant winter storm, I was anxious to check school closures and road conditions. I was disappointed to find all news channels filled with Michael Cohen’s congressional testimony. I could either turn off the TV or watch the proceedings as I prepared my scrambled eggs with toast. I thought I could at least find out how Cohen got into so much trouble. After three cups of tea, I was left wondering why all the hype. I still don’t know what Co...
The other night while watching the PBS news, Washington state representative Pramila Jayapal, from the 7th District, was being interviewed about the “Medicare for All “ Bill 1384 which is to be presented in Congress. I felt so proud and inspired that a representative from Washington state was being a strong advocate for a comprehensive health system for all Americans. My cousin in Minot, N.D., had also seen the interview on PBS and was equally impressed. We both felt the bill should be supported. I’m a retired nurse and v...
Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest because of the trees. The U.S. Constitution guarantees those inalienable rights to which the founding fathers referred in the Declaration of Independence — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Consider your own definition of happiness, then and ask yourself this: do you and your family have the freedom and ability to pursue your idea of happiness in today’s economy? Conversation in mainstream and social media in recent years has u...
The animosity expressed by tone of voice, facial expressions and questions about undocumented people (i.e. illegal aliens ) at political meetings amazes me. I attended a “Conversations with Cathy” (5th District Rep. McMorris Rodgers) meeting in Medical Lake in October 2018 when disdain for the undocumented was expressed by one woman who shouted out “Build that Wall” and others appeared to agree. On Feb. 21, I attended another Conversations with Cathy meeting in Medical Lake. After Representative McMorris Rodger’s opening rema...
This is in response to the Feb. 21 story “Holding out for a hot breakfast” in the Cheney Free Press. Inmates and Gov. Jay Inslee don’t seem to get it. Incarcerated individuals are being punished, not sent to an all-expenses paid country club. They shouldn’t eat any better than the minimum wage workers of America and they definitely shouldn’t be catered to. I think what the state has provided is better than most grade school kids get who eat at home before school. I know my high school sons decided sleeping an extra 20 minute...
I went to college in New York. It was a long way from home, but West Point offered to let me play football in exchange for a quality education and a career. New York was quite a culture shock for a small town farm boy. The drinking age was 18, the voting age was 21 and the only thing that prevented us from smoking was the price of cigarettes. We did most of the stupid things that college kids do, but no one got hurt that I know of, and we didn’t break any laws. Times have sure changed. College kids are now deemed mature e...
