Articles from the March 12, 2015 edition


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  • More heavy rail traffic ahead for Cheney

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    The Spokane County Planning Commission took a step closer to the possibility of increasing train traffic on the West Plains — and consequently through Cheney — by approving a proposal at its Feb. 26 meeting to change zoning in the rural and resource lands zones to allow the siting of intermodal freight transfer/railroad yards. The commission made a pair of changes to the proposal that went through a public hearing at the Feb. 12 meeting, adding the requirement for a conditional use permit and “expanding the use from stric...

  • Churches

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Emmanuel Lutheran Church All are welcome to worship with us this Sunday, March 15. You may also watch our pastor’s sermons at www.emmanuelcheney.org or on YouTube at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Cheney. Come early for Christian education classes for grade school through adult. Please plan to worship with us during our mid-week Lenten worship services. They are held on Wednesdays through March 25. A simple soup supper will be served at 6 p.m. followed by worship at 6:30 p.m. Mark your calendars for Sunday, March 29 and plan to w... Full story

  • Looking Back

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    1 Years Ago March 10, 2005 In anticipation of presenting a unique dual bond to voters May 21 to fund both a new elementary school, and additions to the middle school, the Medical Lake School Board heard a presentation of election history from people representing bond sellers. The planned $20 million Eastern Washington University Student Recreation Center was set to soon move into the construction phase. The measure recently received a nearly 80 percent approval in a vote of the student body. A 43-32 victory over Pullman sent...

  • Looking for laughter

    StageWest Community Theatre|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    What are Leona, Millie and Connie (left to right Judy Gross, Jalesa Austin and Brenda Wheeler) looking for? You! There are only two performances left for the hilarious comedy "Exit Laughing" by Paul Elliott, Friday March 13 at 7 p.m. and the special dinner theatre on Saturday March 14, at 6 p.m. Dinner theatre is by reservations only and reservations must be made by Friday, March 13. Tickets are $25 per person for the dinner theatre and tickets for Friday's show are adults...

  • 'Messiah in the Passover' presentation at Westside Chapel

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    “Messiah in the Passover,” a vivid and exciting demonstration showing how Jesus fulfilled the ancient feast of Passover, will be held Sunday, March 15, 10:30 a.m. at Westside Chapel. Alan Shore of Chosen People Ministries will conduct the presentation. Chosen People is an over 100-year-old mission founded in 1894 by Leopold Cohn, a Hungarian rabbi who came to believe that Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Hebrew scriptures. From humble beginnings in Brooklyn, N.Y., Chosen’s “Messiah in the Passover” begins with the tradi...

  • What's Happening on the West Plains

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    City of Cheney • March 13, Baby Play and Learn Storytime (ages 0 – 18 months), community library, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. • March 13, Free AARP Tax-Aide, community library, noon – 5 p.m. • March 13, Indoor Movie Night, “ET, The Extraterrestrial,” Wren Pierson Community Center, $5 single admission, $10 family of four, concessions for purchase, 7 p.m. • March 14, Family Construction Zone, community library, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. • March 16, Dance Class, Wren Pierson Community Center, 7:15 – 8:15 p.m. • March 17, Senior Light Fitness,...

  • Thank you from Feed Cheney

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Thank you Cheney, for your generous support of Feed Cheney during the “Souper Bowl of Caring” on Super Bowl Sunday. In addition to the special collections at eight local churches — United Church of Christ, United Methodist, Church of the Nazarene, Emmanuel Lutheran, St Paul’s Episcopal, Cheney Faith Center, Cheney Community Church, and St. Rose of Lima Catholic — donations were received from the Cheney Kiwanis Club, as well as from individuals who donated directly through the Feed Cheney web site. The goal of the fundraise...

  • Please support HB 1735 and SB 5740

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    I am asking for readers’ support of House Bill 1735 and Senate Bill 5740. Your support is needed to help “finish the job” and fully implement Extended Foster Care (EFC). So far EFC has been successfully implemented for four out of the five eligibility categories allowed by the federal government. The last group that remains is unfortunately the most vulnerable of the vulnerable — youth with documented medical conditions that prevent them from participating in school, work, or other programs that would help them obtain...

  • Inslee's proposal will improve the state

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Let’s see if I have this right. According to Paul Delaney, Feb. 26, 2015, now is not the time to tackle climate change because he’d have to pay more to fill up his tank. Delaney is taking Gov. Jay Inslee to task for his “Don Quixote quest,” of “singlehandedly” combating climate change by “adding ethanol to our fuels.” According to Delaney, making him pay more to drive to and from work at the Cheney Free Press is not only onerous, it’s unnecessary. Why? Because by Delaney’s “math,” the Earth has only warmed 1.4 degrees sinc...

  • Raise in minimum wage has many unseen problems

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    On the surface it certainly sounds good. Bumping the minimum wage in Washington state from its current $9.47 per hour —the highest in the nation — to $12 could help some people elevate themselves out of poverty. House Bill 1355 recently passed the Democrat-leaning chamber of the state Legislature and is now in the hands of the Senate, primarily a Republican body. The conjecture is it will either die there, or undergo significant changes before it reemerges. But before it might see daylight, what are some of the other costs be...

  • Widening SR 904 is about more than helping football fans

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    I’ve been thinking about Coral Muscarella lately. I’ve also been thinking about Lorissa Green. The latter many area residents will remember as the Cheney High School 16-year-old girl killed in a Jan. 17, 2009 collision at what used to be the at-grade intersection of Cheney-Spokane Road and State Route 195. Thanks to the dedicated, focused efforts of her mother, Debbie Hammel, who worked tirelessly to make legislators aware of the dangers, that deadly intersection is no more — replaced by a safer, $11 million inter...

  • Cheney School District receives gold star award from state

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Washington Gov. Jay Inslee notified the Cheney School District last month that it was one of the top-performing districts in the state in terms of sign-ups for the College Bound Scholarship program. According to a school district news release, the number of students who signed up for this program from Cheney public schools was far above the state average. Information from the Washington Student Achievement Council listed Cheney as one of 100 school districts in the state that had a College Bound Scholarship signup rate of 90...

  • ML Circuit Breakers finish eighth in regional robotics competition

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    The Medical Lake High School Circuit Breakers robotics are off to a good start to their season after they scored 41 points and finished eighth out of 28 teams March 7 at the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Pacific Northwest District competition at West Valley High School. The challenge for the competition was "Recycle Rush." Medical Lake, in an alliance with two other teams, scored points by having their robots stack totes on scoring...

  • Cheney's Patrick Purviance - senate page

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Cheney High School freshman Patrick Purviance departed for a week as a Washington State Senate page not knowing what to expect. After five days traversing the grounds of the state's capital in Olympia he has a better idea of how government works and an insight into the future. Purviance took part in the second week of the annual Legislative Page School program, Jan. 19-23. The program provides an opportunity for up to 35 students, ages 14 – 16, to serve as pages assisting l...

  • Did You Know?

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Over half the ballots returned in the Feb. 25 special election were returned between Jan. 30 and Election Day. Also, 175 more individuals voted on the Cheney School District Proposition 2 ($44.88 million high school expansion and renovation) issue than Propostion 1 (Maintenance and Operations Levy)....

  • Spokane County's Target Zero to conduct DUI patrols

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    SPOKANE COUNTY – Law enforcement will be conducting DUI patrols in Spokane County during this upcoming St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The Target Zero troopers, deputies and officers will be looking for alcohol-and drug-impaired drivers in Spokane County all weekend. According to a news release, The Target Zero Team has arrested a total of 1,630 impaired drivers in Spokane County since July 1, 2013. Because of this effort, Spokane County is seeing a decrease in impaired driving fatalities. To help St. Patrick’s Day revelers make s...

  • Airway Heights to hold K9 dog walk/run in April

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Airway Heights residents who love to run 5Ks but always wanted to bring their canine companion will get a chance to later this spring. The Airway Heights Parks and Recreation Department is bringing back its 5K9 Fun Run and Walk event April 18 at 9 a.m. at Sunset Park. Airway Heights’ parks, recreation and community services supervisor Andy Gardner and Director J.C. Kennedy started the event to give local dog owners and their animals a chance to meet each other. “We wanted to have a pet expo, but pets aren’t typically welco...

  • Cheney commission recommends Marijuana Overlay Zone

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    The Cheney Planning Commission is unanimously recommending adoption of an ordinance creating Marijuana Overlay Zone in the northeast portion of the city. The recommendation, made after a public hearing at the commission’s March 9 meeting, will restrict the location of any marijuana outlet to the zone that encompasses all of the Farmers and Merchants Center at the southeast corner of First Street and Cheney-Spokane Road. The commission conducted a workshop on the ordinance at its Feb. 9 meeting. City planner Brett Lucas s...

  • West Plains Briefs

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    AARP Safe Driving Course The AARP is offering its safe driving course, Saturday, March 21 at the Medical Lake City Hall Auditorium. Class starts at 9 a.m. and there will be a break for lunch. The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for non-members. Those who attend will pay with a check at the time of the class. The class may lower insurance costs. Drivers should contact their insurance agent to confirm. To register, contact 565-5007. Space is limited. Tax help through April 15 If you worked in 2014 and made less than...

  • Voters asked to renew juvenile justice, jail tax on April ballot

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    SPOKANE COUNTY – Tuesday afternoon, March 10, the Spokane County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution that will ask voters to renew the current one-tenth of 1 percent sales and use tax for juvenile justice and jails on the April 28 Special Election Ballot. The tax was first approved by voters in 1995 and has been renewed three times (1998, 2003, and 2008). The current tax, approved by over 63 percent of voters in March 2008, is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015. If renewed, the sale and use tax would resume o...

  • Prescribed fire at Turnbull Wildlife Refuge

    Updated Mar 12, 2015

    This spring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge may conduct prescribed burns. Depending on weather conditions, burning could occur sometime between March and mid-May. Prescribed burning activities should have little to no impact on access to the majority of Refuge public use areas. These burns will accomplish Refuge management objectives for; improving wildlife habitat, reducing potential wildfire fuels by decreasing hazardous accumulations of vegetation and forest debris, and decreasing...

  • 3 Green Thumbs just wants to help

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    When it came to opening a medical marijuana dispensary, the owners of Cheney's 3 Green Thumbs had two goals in mind - to relieve the pain of individuals suffering from various maladies, and to do right by the community where they would be located. Dennis Turner and Michael Schofield, two of the dispensary's "green thumbs" opened for business in January in the Farmers and Merchants Center at the corner of First Avenue and Cheney-Spokane Road. So far business and the reception...

  • Richard Cook retires after 11 years as Airway Heights clerk-treasurer

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Airway Heights residents who stop by City Hall or attend City Council meetings may notice a familiar face is no longer there. Clerk-Treasurer Richard Cook will officially retire from his position March 13. He has worked for the city of Airway Heights for 11-and-a-half years. Cook, who is originally from Spokane, started working for what used to be the city's auditor's office as an accountant after he graduated from Gonzaga University. "When I started there were about seven or...

  • Willow Springs Station Restaurant closes abruptly

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    Another long-time Cheney business has shut its doors. Willow Springs Station Restaurant is closed, and the status of the restaurant that hosted meetings for local organizations and served as an early morning breakfast stop for many locals is uncertain at this time, owner Mike Hartman said. Contacted Monday morning, Hartman was reluctant to expand upon the reasons for the businesses closing. Hartman has been attempting to sell the restaurant for about eight years without many...

  • Paikuli is back on ML council

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Mar 12, 2015

    The Medical Lake City Council welcomed a familiar face to its fold at its March 3 meeting. They voted 4-0 to reappoint John Paikuli to the council. Councilwoman Shirley Maike and Councilman Art Kulibert were absent from the meeting. Paikuli will fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Councilwoman Brenda Redell in December. Paikuli served on the council from 2007 to 2011. During his speech, Paikuli said his interest to return to the council wasn’t because of any specific agenda but rather he wanted to once again serve t...

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