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It’s that time of year again. The envelope arrived this week and it’s time to approve spending on the public education system. This year I am voting no. Looking at the numbers as reported by State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Cheney School District is spending $12,604 per year per student. A lot of money. However, when I divide the annual school budget of $88.7 million (Cheney Free Press, 7/02/20) , by the 5,103 students in the district, per student cost is around $17,300. Why does the state say we pay only $12...
I just received my ballot for the upcoming levy for the Cheney School District so I am urging everyone to vote yes for this levy. Last year we paid $1.42 per $1,000 in assessed property value for one of the levies and paid 45 cents per $1,000 on the other on our property for total of $1.87. This year’s levies are asking for $1.65 and 10 cents respectively for a total payment of $1.75 per $1,000. We will save 12 per every $1,000 of assessed evaluation. We should all appreciate the school district being aware of everyone’s eco...
Dear Cheney School District voters, My children are grown and are no longer in school but all went through Cheney Public Schools. And I no longer work for the school district but did so for 23 years. Those are the very reasons I am asking you to vote for the upcoming replacement levy. The current students and staff need your vote. This past year has been a huge disruption as well as a huge challenge both for students and staff. One thing that is needed at this time that the replacement levy will provide is consistency;...
I am a retired Cheney Middle School teacher who worked for the Cheney School District for 30 years and in education for a total of 38 years. I have been involved with our local school district for the last five years with various bonds and levies. I have come to trust this leadership and administration, who have demonstrated a consistent pattern of genuine concern and an awareness of the importance of asking for support of taxpayer dollars. It is important to note that the two propositions in front of voters are replacement...
The replacement Educational Programs and Operation Levy that Cheney School District is asking for a $1,700,000 increase over the old levy. The district and its supporters tout that students “currently enjoy... special programs such as visual and performing arts, extra-curricular sports and clubs...” (letter to editor Jan. 14). Currently? School activities have been shut down since last March. We are fast approaching a year. What happened to the money that was to support last years’ activities? What was the amount banke...
When my husband, Rich, retired from the Air Force 28 years ago, we intentionally moved back to Cheney because we wanted our two daughters to attend Cheney public schools. I think other people move into our district for similar reasons. I am proud of all the schools, students, graduates, teachers, staff and administration. By supporting the levy we are investing in the future of our schools and our commitment to the students in our district. Investing in our schools is investing in our kids. Our kids need our support in these...
There’s an old story about Elizabeth Willing Powel, the wife of the Philadelphia mayor, asking Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Ben Franklin supposedly answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This legislative session, which started on Jan. 11, will require you as a citizen to work harder than ever to keep our representative democracy…well…representative. Access to democracy is a major topic at the start of this year’s gathering of l...
We are parents of a middle school and a high school student in the Cheney School District, and are writing in support of Proposition Nos. 1 and 2 on the Feb. 9 ballot. These propositions would authorize the Cheney School District’s 2021 Educational Programs and Operations and Capital Projects levies. The funds generated by these levies will fund the district budgets for 2022, 2023 and 2024. It is well-understood that students thrive when they have access to small classes and opportunities for extra-curricular and c...
Roger Harnack’s Jan. 7, 2021 Cheney Free Press article, “Pushing back against bureaucratic harassment,” is troubling. Within the article, the governor and state workers are accused of “illegally” and “unconstitutionally” “extorting,” “blackmailing,” “harassing,” “threatening” and “violating the rights of” business owners. In fact, our duly elected (and re-elected) governor has taken legal, medically and scientifically defensible measures to protect the health and lives of Washington citizens. Our legislature, electe...
Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ sudden rush to judgement of President Trump, after enabling him the last four years, rings hollow, given her self-identification as evangelical Christian. Following her reversal, Biblical scripture like Matthew 7:1-5 commands her apology to country and constituents for previously not standing up to Trump — in Biblical parlance, she should repent. Evangelical Christians, by definition, are supposed to bring the good news and love of Christ by witness, so as to gain followers of Christ. Instead, stu...
The proposed Medical Lake School District Educational and Operations Levy Is a replacement for the levy approved by the Medical Lake School District voters in 2018. The levy would provide approximately $1.5 million per year. If passed, that $1.5 million per year will be matched by an additional $1.5 million per year from the state and would take effect in 2022. This rate of $1.50 per $1,000 assessed property value is the lowest amount needed to be eligible for the state matching funds. MLSD uses these funds to pay for COVID...
With COVID-19 vaccines being widely dispensed, will an end to this pandemic halt “work from home?” Will workers return to downtown offices at pre-pandemic levels? Not likely! However, it is not an either/or question, said Stanford Professor Nicholas Bloom, who is co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship program. “Working from home will be very much a part of our post-COVID economy,” he added, “so, the sooner poli...
I am writing in support of efforts being made by “Stronger Together Coalition Spokane” to reopen our state’s fitness centers and coach-led fitness facilities. They are not the problem in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, but a weapon in the fight against it. They are safe. Time and again, science has shown that fitness facilities of all kinds have one of the lowest rates of transmission (less than 1%). They are committed. They have done their best to pivot their businesses and operate under state-mandated closu...
Feed Medical Lake says “Thank You” to all who supported our free meal program throughout a very difficult year. To our supporters and patrons, we wish for you a better 2021. May God bless every second of it for you. Not familiar with Feed Medical Lake? Check out our Facebook page or visit our web site at feedmedicallake.org or call me at 509-714-1150. Joanna Williams Feed Medical Lake Director...
As a small follow-up to Don Brunell’s thoughtful column about the Wreaths Across America program in the Dec. 24 Cheney Free Press, I’d like to commend the efforts of Gerri Johnson and the Re*Imagine Medical Lake group for remembering the many veterans buried at our own Medical Lake Community Cemetery with wreaths this holiday season. While it may not be a veteran’s cemetery, per se, the remains of soldiers from every conflict since the Civil War can be found there. Thank you, RIML, and thank you as well to the Medical Lake...
The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is finally in sight. Both Pfizer and Moderna have received emergency FDA authorization to distribute tens of millions of doses of their vaccines across the country. This is fantastic news. Unfortunately, the scientific community can’t rest on its laurels. An even worse pandemic is already looming. And this time, developing treatments will prove much more challenging. This coming pandemic may not stem from a virus, but from drug-resistant bacteria and fungi known as “superbugs.” These micro...
Now that vaccines are available, we hope our lives will return to the way they were before the coronavirus pandemic blanketed the globe. That is not likely to occur. Last March our booming economy was clobbered by COVID-19. A worldwide pandemic ensued. There was no vaccine to counter it and even though vaccines were developed at “warp speed” lots of things changed and have become imbedded in our daily lives. Futurist Bernard Marr, columnist in Forbes, believes employers qui...
While the coronavirus and its devastating effects on people and economies worldwide were unfortunately the top 2020 stories, the massive impact of western wildfires can't be ignored. It was catastrophic. The National Interagency Fire Center's western states tally shows a record 8.6 million acres were incinerated in 2020 compared with 4.6 million acres in 2019. In Washington just over 700,000 acres were burned; however, California and Oregon were not as fortunate. By...
I don’t often write notes to the editor, but feel compelled to do so this week. The residents of Cheney should be congratulated for going above and beyond with their Christmas decorations and lights this year. There are so many homes and businesses that have done an amazing job of making our city a little more joyful to end a difficult year. I wish I could call out what I’ve seen, but would suggest a drive around the city neighborhoods is worthwhile for you and your family. You might be just as amazed as I was and find joy...
Yesterday, my 13-year-old son asked me about the election, and the fraud charges leveled by President Trump and his supporters. I thought about my answer for a bit, then used the O.J. Simpson trial, and that jury verdict, as an example of how humans who want to believe something badly can be convinced that an enormous “preponderance of evidence” should be ignored. In the O.J. case, the evidence, both physical and circumstantial, was overwhelming. He was obviously guilty. Sadly, a jury predisposed to mistrust police and sup...
On Dec. 18, 1917, Congress proposed the 18th Amendment, which would later make it illegal to make, buy, sell or drink alcohol. Two years later, after ratification Jan. 16, 1919, prohibition became the law of the land. For nearly 14 years, Americans who wanted to have an adult beverage were forced underground. They danced, dined, drank and gambled in what became known as a “speakeasy.” Law enforcement and other public employees often knew about their clandestine watering hol...
Everything that comes out of the White House today — the lies, the false claims of election fraud, the absurd lawsuits — makes me retreat and recoil. But I feel a particular sense of dread whenever I am watching the TV news and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany steps up to the podium in the White House briefing room. Even before McEnany says her first word, I cannot help but notice the gold cross she wears around her neck, right at her throat, highly visible to the camera. The cross, I believe, is intentionally obvious and is...
Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. Try adding a crippling killer virus into that mix. That is the tragic reality of 2020. Even though the traditional ceremonies attended by thousands went virtual this year, more than 1.7 million holiday wreaths were placed against grave markers of fallen service men and women. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over hundreds of thousand donors...
Would you believe in the future when a cement truck shows up to pour your foundation or patio, the mixture will likely contain ground-up wind turbine blades? As a part of new agreement between GE Renewable Energy and Veolia North America (VNA), old blades, consisting mostly of fiberglass, are shredded at a processing facility in Missouri and then shipped to cement plants across America where they replace coal, sand and clay in manufacturing. Like the coronavirus vaccine, the...
Dec. 10, 2020 marked the 7nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Two related documents also celebrate significant anniversaries this year: the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Principles on Tolerance and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations Charter. Both declarations and the charter provide a framework for building unity in a diverse world. The impetus for creating the Declaration on Tolerance was, as the Declaration’s Preamble states, “the current rise in acts of intolerance, violence, ter...
