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Cheney residents got an unexpected Christmas gift this year. Cheap gas. In a throwback to the 1960s - except one needs to add about $2 to the price-per gallon - as gas stations in the city engaged in an old-fashioned "gas war." These were popular marketing schemes perpetuated when one station operator on one corner would peel back prices. That forced his neighbor across the street to do the same. Prices would routinely hover between 25-30 cents a gallon, and sometimes even...
Cheney Police Chief John Hensley has a concern about the new contract with the city’s Police Guild. Hensley’s concern is with what he feels might be unrealistic expectations from the public and City Council members that new staffing levels contained in the agreement will lead to an end in overtime expenses — expenses that have been annually over budget for several years. It’s a sentiment shared by City Administrator Mark Schuller. “There will be overtime, but we hope to manage the overtime and not let it get to levels it got...
1 Years Ago Jan. 12, 2005 A strange up-tick in suicide calls over the 2004 holiday period was reported by the Medical Lake Police Department. While no deaths occurred, Police Chief Tony Harbolt said the increase was unusual. Cheney High School got pins in its final four matches as the Blackhawks scored a 43-30 Greater Spokane League wrestling victory over Shadle Park. Travis McKenzie’s 9-0 major decision was one of those wins. 20 Years Ago Jan. 12, 1995 Cheney’s director of community development, Steve Worthington, said he...
One hundred twenty-five years ago, the winter of 1890 brought heavy snow and a series of cold snaps in January and February with minus 23 degrees on Jan. 5. Settlers suffered losses of livestock and game animals. Learn more about our area’s history at www.cheneymuseum.org....
All events are free unless posted otherwise. To get your event or meeting in the weekly What’s Happening section send an email with date, time, location and event to jmac@cheneyfreepress.com. City of Cheney • Jan. 9, Baby Play and Learn Storytime (ages 0 – 18 months), community library, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. • Jan. 12, Planning Commission meeting, City Hall Council Chambers, 5:30 p.m. • Jan. 12, Dance Class, Wren Pierson Community Center, 7:15 – 8:15 p.m. • Jan. 13, Senior Light Fitness, Wren Pierson Community Center, 9 – 1...
Greg and Sheila Oliver celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with friends in Spokane and family in Seattle. Their children are Shannon Olsen and C.B. Oliver. They were married Dec 16, 1964 in Sandpoint, Idaho....
Nominations are now being accepted for the Medical Lake Kiwanis’ annual Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year award. Nominations for individuals who have greatly contributed of themselves for the good of community and others in 2014 should be submitted in writing to the Kiwanis by Feb. 5. Reasons for nominating someone need not be confined to the past year, but may extend as far back as considered relevant. Residents are encouraged to nominate someone who has not been previously chosen. The Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Y...
A Cheney School District bus driver was ticketed following a Monday morning collision with an SUV at the top of Sunset Hill in Spokane. According to a Spokane Police Department accident report, the bus was pulling out of a driveway onto the Sunset Highway just east of Lewis Road when it was struck on the driver’s side by a westbound SUV. No one was injured in the collision and students on the bus were eventually transported to school on another bus. Both vehicles were towed from the scene. The driver of the Cheney bus was c...
CHENEY Dec. 30 Second-degree theft was reported in the 3000 block of Meadow Glen Lane. A purse and its contents were taken from a vehicle. Jan. 2 Kenneth B. Barton, 37, was arrested on the 2800 block of First Street on a Washington state Department of Corrections felony warrant for escape from community custody. Robert M. Parkhill, 38, was arrested on the 400 block of First Street for disorderly conduct, third-degree malicious mischief, resisting arrest and a weapons violation. Jan. 5 A mental health issue was reported on...
The passing of Mario Cuomo recently, brought back some personal memories of the former governor from the great state of New York. In the latter part of the 1980’s, my own father passed away in Ottawa, Canada and it fell to me and my elder brother to sort out all his personal and professional papers which were extensive to say the least. Surprisingly, we discovered personal letters which the former governor had written over the years to my father. They were strictly professional in matters pertaining to issues which the g...
My wife and I would like to thank Cheney School Superintendent Debra Clemens, the school board (especially former president Rick Mount), Mike Stark and Kurt Holland for naming the Cheney Middle School track for us. It is a great honor for both of us. We hope to see many of our former Cheney Track Club members at the Cheney School Board meeting Jan. 28, 2015 for the formal dedication. I would also like to thank all the people that have visited, sent cards, and prayers to me after hearing of my battle with cancer. At the last...
I’m responding to the Opinion page of the Dec. 25 paper. I moved out here to Medical Lake in September 2013, to enjoy living in a small town. Medical Lake is nicknamed by some as “the Mayberry of Spokane County” and I have found it to be such — warm, friendly, down to earth people — just what I wanted. The library is fantastic in that it combines the technology of a larger system with a small town coziness, especially the reading area with a fireplace. The staff here are amazingly dedicated to serving this community...
The men and women of the law enforcement profession are under attack these days, both literally and very much figuratively. The heat has been turned up most recently on the national stage with a number of headline-worthy incidents. Most notably was the killing of robbery suspect Michael Brown in August 2014 by former Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson. And most recently, members of the New York Police Department were charged in the death of Eric Garner, who officers were attempting to arrest for selling illegal cigar...
One of my favorite phrases is “Don’t Panic,” which is found in Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” In an interview with Sci Fi Weekly, author Arthur C. Clarke said Adams’ use of the phrase as the “best advice to humanity.” I’ve muttered this phrase to myself several times in the last year, not because I was traversing through the stars with a motley crew of characters, but while I was learning to drive. I used the phrase less as my driving skills improved. In some situations, I would say, “Don’t panic” then add...
Hallett Elementary announced the Partners Advancing Character Education (PACE) award winners for November and December. PACE/Pride award Levi Garcia, Ashtyn Butterfield, Samantha Sallas, Waylon Grimes, Marcus Durbin, Audrey Hall, Brookleyn Gallup, Joseph Shcherbina, Hannah Meckel, Connor Preeo, Jessa Gonzalez, Jamison Cook, Lindsay Kuster, Isabelle Rhoads, Riley Chiamulon, Mia Talley, Jenna Abell, Lauryn Gerry, Eugene Haas, Liam Horne, Asa Smith, Braden Durbin, Trystan Dimick, Hailey Scott, Isaiah Miles, Rianna Layton,...
The Cheney basketball teams will travel to Medical Lake to engage in the annual Spirit Game Wednesday, Jan. 14. The theme this year is "Back To The Feather," a play on the movie, "Back to the Future," which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2015. The date is much earlier than in the past and on a weeknight. "We were forced to play the game on a Wednesday this year due to league scheduling conflicts," Medical Lake High School assistant principal and athletics director, Chris...
Cheney School District Principal Matt Beal has been selected by elementary school principals in the Northeast Washington region as one of 18 distinguished principals in the state for the 2014-2015 school year. According to a Dec. 18 press release, Beal will now be considered for the Distinguished Principal state award, with the winner serving as the nominee for the National Distinguished Principals Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National...
The Medical Lake City Council started the year with a quick Jan. 5 meeting that was focused on education. The City Council voted unanimously to support the Medical Lake School District’s operations and maintenance renewal levy, which is up for vote on a special Feb. 10 ballot. During the meeting, Medical Lake School District Superintendent Tim Ames explained that the levy rate will remain at $2.20 per $1,000 assessed property valuation and funds will go toward supporting school programs and activities. Councilman Howard J...
The city of Cheney is inviting public comment on its notice of application making changes to the city’s municipal code chapter Title 21 — Zoning while also moving forward with the public hearing process. The comment period, which runs through Jan. 21, is required because the original draft that came back from the city’s third-party codifiers contained errors and inadvertent omissions, the result of boiling 156 pages of comments and changes into a 36-page document. “They just goofed up on some things,” city planner Brett Luc...
SPOKANE COUNTY — Starting January 2015 the Spokane County Target Zero Task Force will be sponsoring monthly distracted driving and seat belt emphasis patrols in Spokane County. As per the governor’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Target Zero, the task force is committed to improving the safety of our roadways by education and enforcement. In 2013, researchers at the UW/Harborview conducted the first ever observations of driver texting and cell phone use in Washington state. They found out that 14.5 percent of Spokane County d...
Feed Medical Lake Jan. 12 Need a New Year’s resolution? Attend Feed Medical Lake each month for a free meal and groceries. The next meal is Monday, Jan. 12, 5-6 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 223 S. Hallett St. There will be oven-fried chicken, dinner rolls, tater tots, salad and pudding with fruit will be served. For more information contact Joanna Williams at 714-1150. ML book club meets Jan. 12 The Medical Lake Book Club welcomes author Christel Decker Bresko to speak at their Jan. 12 meeting. The meeting starts with...
The city of Airway Heights is laying out the groundwork for a future park, located on the eastern part of the city. At its Jan. 5 meeting, the City Council approved the purchase of 2.06 acres of land from Vandervert Development Inc. for $100,000 for the purpose of park development. The land is located off 12th Avenue, adjacent to Walmart. At its Dec. 14 meeting, the city’s Parks Board agreed to forward a recommendation of purchasing the land to the council. According to parks, recreation and community services director, J...
Firefighters devote their time and lives to make sure the community is safe from blazes throughout the year, but several fire departments on the West Plains gave back to families during the holidays. In December, Spokane County Fire District 10 raised almost $1,000 in gifts for toddler Aidyn Parret and his family. According to Fire District 10 chief Nick Scharff, the American Childhood Cancer Organization Inland Northwest recommended Parret's family to the department. Parret,...
Customers who browse through the Care and Share's men's department and glance at the corner above the sorting room will see a security camera with a sign hanging below that has a yellow smiley face drawn on it. This security camera is one of the several that the Care and Share, a second-hand store that donates all of its sales to the Medical Lake Food Bank, installed back in November 2014. Volunteers can watch the cameras from the monitor located next to the cash register. Acc...
The Airway Heights City Council kicked off the new year with some old business at its Jan. 5 meeting. The council approved a change order for the Hayford Road Overlay project. Public Works Director Kelly Williquette explained that as staff was paving Hayford Road they found a significant drop off. Staff later added gravel to the shoulder of the road to level it off and protect the asphalt. The council also approved change orders for the Shared Use Path project along Highway 2 near Hayford Road. Staff filled a gap that was...
