Articles from the April 28, 2022 edition


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 25 of 25

  • Margaret Eileen (Longbottom) Showalter

    Updated Apr 29, 2022

    Margaret Eileen (Longbottom) Showalter was born on Nov. 18, 1923, and was the middle child of Okanogan Valley homesteaders, Ben and Myrtle Longbottom. Eileen graduated from Okanogan High School and attended the Eastern Washington College of Education. During her life, Eileen held many roles. She taught 4th grade and high school for 18 years, worked constantly on the family ranch, and drove long haul truck for six years with her husband, John. She is survived by her son, David...

  • Tale of a Legend: Airway Heights K-9 officer retires

    Matthew O. Stephens, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS -After serving the community of Airway Heights for five years, Legend, a K-9 narcotics officer for the police department, retired on his last day of duty on April 4. According to his handler, Cpl. Dennis Bachman, it is a well-deserved retirement, although a bittersweet transition. Bachman, who has 13 years with the department, said it was hard to switch gears after serving together for five years, partnering to keep the streets as drug-free as possible. "That...

  • Updated Apr 28, 2022

     PDF

  • Cheney Public Schools names new superintendent

    Bob Kirkpatrick, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY-It's been weeks in the making, but the Cheney Public Schools have finally hired its next superintendent. Dr. Ben Ferney is the unanimous choice of the Board of Directors. Ferney will assume the position on July 1. "I am excited to come and serve in Cheney Public Schools," Ferney said. "The district is moving forward in a positive direction and I look forward to being a part of this great team." For the past five years, Ferney has served as the superintendent of the...

  • Army trying to rebound after COVID-19

    Matthew O. Stephens, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY-In recent years, recruitment numbers have been trending downward, according to Major General Dennis LeMaster, who spoke at Cadet Hall on the Eastern Washington University campus on April 25. LeMaster is the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence and 19th Chief of the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps. He explained that only 4% of Americans are enlisted to serve, and that number has been trending down recently, with COVID exacerbating the issue...

  • Fisherman's Breakfast reels in large crowd

    Matthew O. Stephens, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    MEDICAL LAKE – The annual Fisherman's Breakfast, held at the Medical Lake Fire Station on April 23, marked the opening day of trout season. It was also the first in-person event since the onset of COVID. Mike Meyer, who has been volunteering with Spokane County Fire District 3 (SCFD3) for 11 years, explained the SCFD3 Volunteer Association wanted to get the breakfast going again. So they re-ignited the effort this year. SCFD3 Fire Chief Cody Rohrbach said the volunteers p...

  • Boat flips at Waterfront Park

    Matthew O. Stephens, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    MEDICAL LAKE – A small boat with two fishermen aboard flipped in the lake near Waterfront Park on April 22, prompting a water rescue by officers from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office and Spokane County Fire District 3 (SCFD3). According to SCFD3 Division Chief and Public Information Officer Dustin Flock, the boat overturned at about 1 p.m. Despite the cold-water temperatures, the occupants grabbed onto it and swam toward the shore. According to Flock, the two men were n...

  • West Plains Little League

    Updated Apr 28, 2022

    Four teams took over the two baseball diamonds at Waterfront Park on the evening of April 22 for opening day of the West Plains Little League baseball season. Parents showed up to support the kids and teams that are all sponsored by businesses local to the West Plains....

  • You shall not pass

    Bob Kirkpatrick|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    The Cheney-Spangle road off Main Street was closed all day Friday, April 22, as crews with the street department remove a cold patch over a natural gas line and replace it with regular asphalt....

  • Arrest made in fatal shooting

    Dean Henrich, Valley News Herald|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS—Spokane Valley Major Crimes Detectives, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force, arrested 29-year-old Shayne R. Galloway at the Days Inn in Airway Heights last Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of Joseph B. Quinn of Newport. According to the Spokane Valley Police Department (SVPD), detectives identified Galloway as a suspect in Quinn’s death. Law enforcement located Galloway inside one of the rooms at the Days Inn and took him into custody without incident. Court documents sho...

  • Local woman and child injured in accident

    Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY—Ashley Christensen, 35, and her 9-year-old daughter were transported to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center on Thursday, April 21, with unspecified injuries after Christensen’s car was hit head-on in a Spokane Valley intersection. The incident occurred at around 4 p.m. on East Trent Avenue and North McDonald Road. Authorities investigating the incident said 43-year-old Daniel Burt, from Cheney, was driving southbound in a Toyota Camry and collided with Christensen’s Honda Odyssey while she was stopped in the turn...

  • Seattle World's Fair highlighted electric transportation

    Don C. Brunell, Contributor|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair was awe-inspiring. It previewed developments that would improve our daily lives in the next millennium. While “Century 21” memories have faded, three of its landmarks remain as reminders of the innovations it inspired: The Seattle Center, the Space Needle, and the monorail. One thing many remember is “The Bubble-ator,” a glass ball-shaped elevator in the coliseum (now Climate Pledge Arena) which gradually climbed to the middle of a contoured map of...

  • A Heartfelt Thank You

    Updated Apr 28, 2022

    I would like to than and recognize Cheney businesses that assisted us in making the loss of Mary Daugharty easier. First is the Cheney Funeral Chapel. These people were efficient at their work. The kindness and advice they offered we survivors was most valuable. The Marketplace catered the luncheon food which again surpassed our needs by supplying excellent sandwiches, salads and punch. The Holiday Inn and Express held 10 rooms for our out of town guests. The Town and Country Floral red carnations would have pleased Mary....

  • SURPRISE!

    Lisa Conger|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    While in grade school, when my mother was in the hospital for months, my grandmother came to take care of us. She looked stern, but was soft-hearted. She read to us from the Little House series, and told us about her life as a girl on a Montana homestead. She taught us how to make and sail walnut boats in the sink. She wore dark dresses, and sturdy shoes. Fascinating to us, she kept her false teeth in a glass beside her bed at night. When we came home from school for lunch, she made us sandwiches using one slice of white...

  • My favorite brownie recipe

    Eleanor Stilwill-Kirkpatrick|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    My grandmother’s kitchen was a wonderful place where the fragrance of canning spices defused throughout the entire house. There was always something good to eat in her fridge, a variety of home canned fruit and veggies in her pantry, and plenty of ice-cream in the freezer. It was the place her children and grandchildren congregated nearly every Sunday afternoon for dinner. Weekly family gatherings were more common then. My grandparents owned the only appliance/television/music store in Moses Lake. The store was profitable e...

  • Gardening by Osmosis

    Margaret A. Swenson|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    Again, I found myself at the grocery store with a bad attitude. Are you kidding me? I fumed at the produce manager—$3.00 for a green pepper? I stomped out of the vegetable section, bought some packets of seeds and left the store in a huff. I stopped at the hardware store and purchased some “Soil for Seed Starting.” Visions of colorful jars of canned veggies danced in my head all the way home. I had saved stacks of plastic cups and poked three holes in the bottom of each one. To insure there were no contaminants in my recyc...

  • Operation Clean Sweep a big success

    Bob Kirkpatrick, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY—The city of Cheney’s Clean Sweep event on Saturday, April 23 saw more than one hundred local residents turn out to help beautify the community. The popular event has been going on in Cheney for more than a decade. “It was our 15th annual clean up day,” said GIS/Permit Tech Susan Beeman with the Cheney Planning Department. “We had a bout 170 citizens participate. There were several church groups and businesses that put together teams to come out and pick up litter....

  • Cheney High names boys' basketball coach

    Bob Kirkpatrick, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY - Travis Peevey is the new head coach for the Cheney Blackhawks varsity boys basketball team. Peevey will look to turn around the program that's produced just four wins (4-27) in the last two seasons. "I am excited to announce that Travis Peevey will be our next boys' basketball head coach. He has extensive knowledge of the game, built on a lifetime of experiences gained from playing basketball in college and beyond," Cheney High School Athletic Director Tim Kennedy sai...

  • Cheney Track records high marks at Mooberry meet

    Jim Stinson|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    The Blackhawks found much success at Rogers High School on Saturday, April 23. Coach Derek Slaughter had high praise for both the girls and boys team. "It was the best ever performance by Cheney in this long0time meet," Slaughter said. "Almost everyone on the team got a medal or ribbon of some kind and there were smiles everywhere." Eighteen schools from around the area attended the event named after the Jack Mooberry, the legendary Rogers High School and Washington State...

  • Cardinals top Colville and Newport

    Matthew O. Stephens|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    NEWPORT – Cardinal athletes dominated a road meet on April 20, with the Medical Lake boys blowing past Colville 80-64, and outdistancing Newport 89-56. The Lady Cardinals hit the century mark for the third time this season in a 100-48 win over Colville, and a crushing 133-10 defeat of Newport. "Our distance runners dominated both teams," said Head Coach Gene Blankenship. "Reid Headrick quadrupled and still ran a 4:29 1600meters! Which incidentally moved him up on the s...

  • Cheney Baseball continues to struggle

    Bob Kirkpatrick, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY-The Blackhawks losing streak has extended to seven straight after dropping games to U-High and Gonzaga Prep last week. Cheney is now 4-10 in league competition, 4-12 overall, and is in eighth place in the GSL standings. The Blackhawks were shut out, 4-0, at home by the Titans on April 19. Cheney lost a twin bill to the Bullpups by scores of 7-4 and 3-2 on April 21 and 22. The team's ace lefty Quinn Hobbs, who has been nursing a back injury, turned in a strong...

  • Cheney Boys drop two matches

    Bob Kirkpatrick, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY- Back-to-back losses to Ferris and Lewis & Clark last week has the Blackhawks sitting at 2–4 in the Greater Spokane League standings and 5–5 overall with two matches left before the Inland Empire Tournament on Friday. Cheney had momentum on its side when the team hit the road to take on the Saxons on Tuesday, April 19 having pulled out a 4-3 over North Central a few days prior. But the Blackhawks were not able to capitalize on it and dropped the match, 6-1. "Their fir...

  • West Plains Police News

    Updated Apr 28, 2022

    CHENEY April 18 A 15-year-old male was arrested for trespassing in the 400 block of N. 6th Street. Two bicycles were stolen from a car parked in the 100 block of Pine View Place. Knives, jewelry, clothing and equipment were stolen from a vehicle parked in the 1800 block of 7th Street. Reckless burning was reported in the 700 block of W. 1st Street. Bryce D. Smith, 34, was arrested in the 1500 block of 1st street for harassment-threats to kill/DV assault A 2005 Ford F150 pickup truck stolen in the 1500 block of Ridgeview Drive...

  • Incoming

    Matthew O. Stephens|Updated Apr 28, 2022

    Redshirt Senior Quarterback Ryan Kelley throws a pass downfield during the recent scrimmage on April 23. The Eagles are in the midst of Spring training and practice, and set to play the Red and White game on April 30....

  • Eastern's Ishikawa among the best at Big Sky Championships

    Updated Apr 28, 2022

    Junior Jaelin Ishikawa carded a 70 on the final round of the Big Sky Championship at Talking Stick Golf Club on Wednesday, May 20, earning her a tie for ninth place. It was Ishikawa's second straight top-10 finish on the big stage as she tied for eighth at the 2021 tournament. The Eagles shot 904 as a team at this year's event, which landed them in the fifth spot on the leader board. Northern Arizona claimed the Big Sky Conference Championship with an 872....