Articles written by Drew Peterson


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  • Estrellado seeks spot on board

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Oct 24, 2013

    Marcie Estrellado, a 10-year Cheney School Board member and incumbent for District Position 1 may be running unopposed, but her determination and admiration for her school board duties are at an all time high. “I really love being a part of the school system,” Estrellado said. “Being on the school board not only enables me to see a bigger picture of the entire school district, but it also enables me to see each individual child’s story and how important it is and what our staff is doing to make sure that those child’s...

  • Browne wants to return to CSD board

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Oct 24, 2013

    Residents of the Cheney area might be asking what can Browne do for you? Taking over the Cheney School Board District 3 position in January after previous incumbent Kerry O’Connor resigned, Henry Browne is looking to pick up right where he left off. “I think that there are a lot of good things going on right now and I would like to see us continue the good work we are already doing,” Browne said. Among the things Browne would like to accomplish as a school board in the next four years is becoming more fiscally respo...

  • Overhauser seeks her fourth term on Cheney City Council Position 4

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Reporter|Updated Oct 10, 2013

    Teresa Overhauser, a three-term incumbent for City Council Position 4, believes she still has plenty more to offer to the city of Cheney. “It has been three terms and I really feel like I can still make a difference,” Overhauser said. “I believe I have a different voice on council than my other council members. I find that my interests or the questions I ask and the perspective I bring is different from theirs.” Among the things that Overhauser would like to accomplish if reelected is to continue to work alongside the may...

  • Cheney School Board approves annual I-grant application for bilingual instruction

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Reporter|Updated Oct 3, 2013

    The Cheney School Board approved an annual I-grant application for the State Transitional Bilingual Instructional program at their Sept. 11 meeting. This will ensure language services are provided to students who do not speak English as their primary language. The school district will continue to use a Sheltered Instruction content-based program model in which students are taught academic subjects using English as the language of instruction with support of a para-educator. “We use the content that the students are r...

  • Cheney Trading's Miller hopes to 'bag' a championship

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Oct 3, 2013

    Cheney Trading Company customers take notice. Next time courtesy clerk Mel Miller asks you if you prefer paper or plastic, appreciate the skill and technique that it took to get your eggs and bread bagged quickly and safely and throw a good luck his way. That is because Miller, along with an estimated 12 courtesy clerks from across the state of Washington, will compete for the best bagger title in the Washington Food Industry Association’s Best Bagger State Championship Oct. 22 at the Red Lion Hotel at the Park in Spokane. M...

  • Three join Cheney Fire Department

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Oct 3, 2013

    The Cheney Fire Department has welcomed three local college students to their resident firefighter program, bringing their total outfit to the maximum of six residents. Nineteen-year old Cole Gerard and 18-year-old Slater Stanbaugh, both of Eastern Washington University, along with 22-year old Tanner Steffan of Spokane Community College will continue to learn the nuances of fire fighting in the two-year program which is designed for students who are interested in the fire service, medical profession and/or simply helping peop...

  • Owl brings Hoot to Cheney downtown

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Sep 12, 2013

    Local pharmacies generally don’t couple as the fashion center of a town, but that is exactly what Owl Pharmacy is trying accomplish in Cheney with the opening of their new clothing store expansion Hoot Boutique. While the idea may seem unusual, it is not far-fetched considering the amount of success that Owl has had selling clothing apparel since they began offering more “boutique” like items two years ago. “A couple years ago we started changing the type of clothes we carried...

  • Health care act created Froyo

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Sep 6, 2013

    Cheney residents owe it to “Obamacare” for bringing frozen yogurt to Cheney. Seriously. As outlandish as it may sound, Stephen Kraft, the general manager of the Froyo Earth chain which is now at seven different locations throughout the state, may have never of ventured into the frozen yogurt business if it were not for the passing of the health care act in 2010. “I had been working in the medical device industry for years,” Kraft said. “And then my brother got sick and I took...

  • Eye on the ball

    DREW PETERSON|Updated Sep 6, 2013

    A member of the Cheney Blackhawks’ football team goes through drills this past Tuesday afternoon as the team prepares to meet East Valley of Yakima Friday on the road in their season opener....

  • Cooling off period

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Aug 22, 2013

    Temperatures ranging from the high 80s to the low to mid 90s have made Cheney’s pool a popular place to hang out the past several weeks....

  • Isaiah Rigo races way into Cheney's heart

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Aug 15, 2013

    At 14-years old, Otter Pops, video games and lake days consume most kids’ summers. But for Isaiah Rigo, he was busy competing at the 2013 International Paralympic World Championships in Lyon, France. The Cheney Middle School student made his hometown proud taking fifth place in the T52-1500M as a member of the United States national Paralympic team. And even though Rigo, who was born with arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disorder where joints are stiff and muscles a...

  • Hegney wins August Yard of the Month

    DREW PETERSON|Updated Aug 15, 2013

    Colleen Hegney (right) stands with Gardners of Cheney members Ralph and Sandy Laws and Kiwanis Club’s Pat Isbell as she is presented the Gardener’s of Cheney “Yard of the Month,” for the month of August. Hegney, who is the secretary of the music department at Eastern Washington University, has lived at the 1306 Gary St. residence since 1988 and spends hours a day maintaining her lawn and garden....

  • Meyer's 'spring fling' helps Shock quarterback rediscover love for game

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Aug 1, 2013

    The grass has been ripped up and replaced by red turf: the field changed from Woodward to Roos. But no matter the changes, Eastern Washington University will always be home to Erik Meyer. And home is where the 2005 Walter Payton Award winner returned when he hit a crossroads in his playing career, or rather when the crossroads hit him. After throwing for 10,261 yards and 84 touchdowns in his four-year EWU career, Meyer led a nomadic lifestyle as he struggled to find a home in...

  • J&M Fabrication building themselves quite the reputation

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Aug 1, 2013

    J&M Fabrication runs like much of the work Justin Miller and his employees perform: a few individual parts welded together to create something much greater. What is now a six-man operation performing work across the nation, all began on the farm of Miller in the early 2000s. Miller, a Cheney High School graduate, had been working at a Spokane fabrication shop while taking agriculture business classes as a student Spokane Community College. After successfully completing his...

  • Spencer applies finish to SHC Woodworking Co.

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Jul 25, 2013

    Richard Spencer is used to putting things back together. Since 1989, the Shadle Park graduate has been putting his woodworking talents on display building furniture, cabinetry and performing repairs and modifications, which eventually led to a career when he opened up his own business, Spencer Heirlooms & Craft, in 2006. But after the 2008 economic recession, Spencer was forced to close up shop and was dealt perhaps his toughest repair task; rebuilding his own company. “I was pretty discouraged,” Spencer said. “I did feel...

  • Call of the wild: Turnbull holds waterfowl hunts this fall

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Jul 18, 2013

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is calling all area youths to the Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to participate in the 2013 fall waterfowl hunt. And just how any huntsman would have it, the registration will come in the form of competition. Due to a limited amount of space on the refuge, youth hunters are urged to apply to be placed into a random drawing for one of the up to eight hunting sites that will be created throughout the wetlands of the Turnbull Refuge for the fourth annual hunt. The two-day hunt, which will...

  • Klink's undergoes name, tenant change

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Jul 18, 2013

    Regulars of Klink’s Resort at Williams Lake may notice something slightly different this summer season. While everything may appear the same at first glance, the wildly popular Klink’s restaurant has undergone a tenant change and is now The Bistro at Williams Lake. While the restaurant bears a new name, the look and feel of the place is much the same after longtime business owners and married couple Jerry Schrader and Robin Riemcke took over the restaurant as the new leasehold tenants. “Jerry was working there last year...

  • Cheney graduate reaches 'Breaking Pointe'

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Jun 26, 2013

    At 21-years-old most people are experiencing the highs and lows of impending adult life and the stressful process of preparing to pursue the “American Dream.” But unlike most 21-year-olds, Ian Tanzer’s journey is being documented on national TV. The 2010 Cheney High School graduate will appear in the second season of the CW Network ballet reality television series “Breaking Pointe,” which follows the dancers of the elite ballet company “Ballet West” as they compete and prepare...

  • Cheney war veteran selected as finalist by 'People' and MLB

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Jun 21, 2013

    On June 9, Cheney resident and Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Phil Kiver was chosen as a finalist for People magazine and Major League Baseball’s “Tribute for Heroes,” campaign which will send 30 military veterans to be recognized at the 2013 MLB All-Star game on July 16, in New York City. MLB and People, with the help of two retired generals and a cast of MLB players including Justin Verlander, Nick Swisher, Barry Zito, Jonny Gomes, Brad Ziegler, Chase Headley and Craig...

  • Generating local excitement

    DREW PETERSON, Staff Intern|Updated Jun 21, 2013

    It might be a busy summer for the Cheney Farmer’s Market if last Tuesday was any indication of how the rest of the season will play out. The market, which opened June 11 in the City Hall parking lot at 609 Second St., provides an opportunity for Cheney residents and surrounding communities to sift through a vast selection of locally produced foods and crafts from nearby vendors. “There was a lot of excitement about the market this year and we were as busy as I’ve ever seen the Cheney Farmer’s Market last Tuesday when we open...