Articles from the February 11, 2016 edition


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  • Cheney council OKs two ACCESS contracts

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Thanks to three contracts for data storage, the Cheney Police Department has almost made back the money lost when the Eastern Washington University Police Department decided to part ways with the city regarding dispatch services. At it’s Feb. 9 meeting, the Cheney City Council approved memorandums of understanding with two West Plains law enforcement agencies to provide ACCESS system services. ACCESS allows agencies to store, track and retrieve documents such as court warrants and protection orders, stolen vehicle records, ou...

  • Looking Back

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    1 Years Ago Feb. 16, 2006 Planning commissioners discussed Bi-Mart's plans to move a Type 5 stream east of its planned new location along First Street in Cheney. The Cheney Police Department was hoping to become the regional training force for many area law enforcement agencies, including Airway Heights, Medical Lake, Liberty Lake and others. Both the Cheney boy's and girl's basketball teams scored wins over Rogers High of Spokane in the annual rivalry game, taking home the...

  • West Plains Briefs

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    City services observe Presidents’ Day, Feb. 15 Monday, Feb. 15, is President’s Day, and all city of Cheney, Medical Lake and Airway Heights offices and services will be closed in observance of the holiday. City of Cheney solid waste utility customers will see their pickup one day later than usual because of the holiday. Collection in Medical Lake and Airway Heights remains the same. County closures Feb. 15 All Spokane County Library District locations will be closed on Monday, Feb. 15, to observe Presidents’ Day. Regul...

  • StageWest holds auditions for 'Getting Sara Married'

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    StageWest Community Theatre is holding open auditions for its next production, “Getting Sara Married” by Sam Bobrick and directed By Chris Booth. Auditions are Friday Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. and Saturday Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church 639 Elm St. in Cheney. “Getting Sara Married” is a delightful comedy about an unmarried lawyer, Sara, her meddling aunt Martha who takes Sara’s marriage matters into her own hands, a prospective suitor Brandon, a very special delivery man Noogie and a very angry girlfriend Heather....

  • Obituaries

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Terrance James Carlin, 74, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Jan. 31, 2016, at the Nathan Adelson Hospice surrounded by family and friends. He was born May 11, 1941 in Shelby Mont., the son of Thomas Russell Carlin and Margaret Catherine Kimmet. He was the second of four siblings. At the age of 3 his family moved to the Spokane area, where he remained through college. Terrance was a member of the Cheney High School class of 1960. On Aug. 20, 1966 he married his high school sweetheart Marilyn Kay Morehouse. In 1966 he graduated from... Full story

  • Churches

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Cheney United Church of Christ Guest pastor Jan Shannon will deliver the message at the Cheney UCC on Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. Her sermon is entitled “Everyone” based on the text Romans 10:8-13. Special music will be provided by Kate Slyusarev. A coffee hour will follow in the church fellowship hall. You are cordially invited to attend. Men’s breakfast meets at 7:45 a.m. at the Marketplace Cheney prior to services on Sunday, Feb. 14, and each second and fourth Sunday. Everyone is welcome to attend any of our services and activ...

  • LOOKING BACK WITH THE CHENEY HISTORICAL MUSEUM

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    One hundred years ago in 1916, W.D. Harper remodeled the downstairs of the Lakeside Hotel [Amber Lake] and put in a good floor and a balcony for music. He plans to hold dances about every two weeks. He purchased a new $550 piano and has a card room upstairs for those who don’t dance. Learn more about our area’s history at www.cheneymuseum.org....

  • Congress must reject Trans-Pacific Partnership

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Last June, the Republican leadership in Congress, including Cathy McMorris Rodgers, was able to pass Trade Promotion Authority that gave President Obama unconstitutional ability to regulate commerce with foreign nations including the fast tract authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership. A Tufts University study says passage of this massive 5,554 page agreement loaded with new regulations would shrink our GDP by $100 billion, leading to a loss of 448,000 American jobs. On Nov. 9, President Obama notified Congress of...

  • Today's railroads emphasize innovation and safety

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    In January, the American Association of Railroads or AAR published its first-ever state of the railroads annual report focusing on the industry’s economic value, innovations and emphasis on safety. The nation’s railroads have been around for about 180 years and maintain 180,000 miles of track. Trains move over 51 million tons of freight each day which is about 40 percent of the nation’s freight. Rail has been a vital transportation link in the Pacific Northwest since 1883. Tha...

  • Oregon militants should stand down before it's too late

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Sometimes there are events in life that are straight out of a television show or a movie. On Jan. 2 an armed group affiliated with the U.S. militia movement occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon. This was following a peaceful march in protest of the jailing of Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven Hammond, who were convicted of arson on federal land and sentenced to five years in prison. According to the Oregonian article “Oregon militants: Why the Bundys’ Mormonism matters,” Ammon...

  • It's (past) time for action on McCleary

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    On Jan. 25, Washington’s House of Representatives passed House Bill 2366 by a 64-34 vote, meaning there was support. According to a story by Washington Newspaper Publishers Association’s Olympia Bureau reporter Izumi Hansen, HB 2366 sets up a task force, with help from a consultant, to look into the issue of teacher compensation and provide recommendations to the Legislature on how to fully fund teacher pay in 2017. The bill also specifies action be taken to eliminate school district’s reliance on local tax levies by the e...

  • Cheney FBLA club members qualify for state

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    The Cheney High Future Business Leaders of America completed a great 2016 Northeast Regional Winter Conference at the Eastpoint Church in Spokane Valley, Feb. 3. Cheney had 56 of its 67 attending members place in the top six, 159 different times in the competition’s 58 different events. Students who finished in the top six are eligible to compete at the State Business Leadership Conference in Spokane on April 20-23. Of the 51 events that Cheney placed in, it had 34 first place finishes and 35 second place finishes. The f...

  • Mint Condition donates time, services for Give Kids a Smile Day

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Several children in the Cheney area received special dental treatment from Mint Condition Dental for Give Kids a Smile Day, Feb. 5. Give Kids a Smile Day is a program organized through Communities in Schools (CIS), a Spokane organization that coordinates with Cheney and Westwood middle schools to select qualified students through referrals from teachers and counselors and consists mainly of those who do not have insurance. According the CIS website, the program, started by...

  • Corner Closet Boutique changes owners

    PAUL DELANEY, Staff Reporter|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    If energy and attitude are crucial in the success of a business, then the Corner Closet Boutique in Medical Lake should do just fine under its new owners. Peg Asbury, along with partner Annie Cherry, recently took over the business located at the corner of Lake and Lefevre streets in the center of Medical Lake. Asbury bubbles with enthusiasm for the adult clothing store, which is a partnership between longtime friends. "We just bought this from Jen Tappero who had this little...

  • Highline shuttle facility in Four Lakes nears start-up

    PAUL DELANEY, Staff Reporter|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    All the parts are nearly in place for Highline Grain's shuttle facility in Four Lakes and the $30 million project will begin accepting and shipping grain soon. "We have a tentative target date for substantial completion, which is not finished but is finished enough to where we can move grain into it, that's Feb. 26," Keith Bailey, general manager and CEO of Ag Ventures and the operations officer for Highline Grain said. A string of rail cars has been staged for about three...

  • CMS and Westwood FBLA students place in business conference

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    The FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) chapters from the Cheney and Westwood middle schools represented the school district spectacularly at the 2016 Northeast Winter Business Leadership Conference this week at Eastpoint Church in Spokane Valley, Feb 3. This is the fourth year CMS's FBLA chapter competed at the regional conference and the third year for Westwood's FBLA chapter. CMS was represented by 21 students and Westwood was represented by seven students, both from...

  • Medical Lake chosen as a STEM Lighthouse School

    Updated Feb 11, 2016

    By AL STOVER Staff Reporter The state Office of Public Instruction (OSPI) selected the Medical Lake School District as one of the Washington STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Lighthouse Schools for 2016. According to OPSI’s website, Lighthouse Schools provide technical assistance and advice to other educational institutions and communities in the initial stages of creating a STEM-focused learning environment. Other STEM Lighthouse Schools in Spokane County include the Mead School District and Spokane V...

  • Cheney drama gears up for two stage productions

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Cheney High School's Drama Club has two plays coming up. They will stage "Little Women" in the Little Theater, Feb. 18-20 at 7 p.m. and then "Beauty and the Beast French Style" at Eastern Washington University's Showalter Auditorium, from Feb. 25-27, at 7 p.m. The club came off a successful two-night run of the musical "Way, Way Off Broadway" in December. Club adviser Rita Tingley said "Way, Way Off Broadway" was an opportunity to help students prepare for musicals and gain...

  • Turnbull closed a second time

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    The apparent revolving door that is access to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge was shut this past weekend, but is now once again open. After Cheney-area resident Gregg Houff reported the refuge had been closed several days the last week in January, a Feb. 1 call to the refuge was answered by a staff member who while acknowledging the closure, added they were open for business. But on Friday, Feb. 5, Houff returned to the refuge to get in an exercise routine on one of the...

  • Marijuana retailers, producers fear public records requirement compromises privacy, safety

    LAVENDRICK SMITH, WNPA Olympia News Bureau|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    OLYMPIA—When he entered the marijuana industry a little more than a year ago, Jim Mullen said he wanted to help dismantle stigmas surrounding pot. The co-owner of The Herbery — two marijuana shops in Vancouver — Mullen is one of many licensed business owners in the state who have entered the market since 2012 when voters approved Initiative 502 to legalize the recreational use and sale of marijuana to adults. “I see a huge opportunity for growth in this industry,” Mullen said. “We want to position ourselves to be someone who...

  • Volunteers needed to bring Relay for Life back to Cheney

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    With a little luck and some help from local volunteers, the Cheney Relay for Life may make a come back this spring. The popular fundraising event held each May for the American Cancer Society, beginning in 2002, was absent from local event calendars last year. The relay was originally held at Eastern Washington University's Woodward, now Roos Field, but was moved to Cheney High School in 2011 and re-christened the West Plains Relay. After two years at Tom Oswald Field, the...

  • News Briefs

    STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Planning Commission elects officers Cheney Planning Commission members decided to stay with the status quo by retaining the current chair and vice chair at their regular monthly meeting Feb. 8. The commission reelected Commissioner Vince Barthels, who was absent Monday night, to serve as chair and Commissioner Vara Lyn Conrath to serve as vice chair. The commission’s main order of business was to hold a public hearing on the city’s proposed capital facilities plan, and hear a presentation on the upcoming review of Che...

  • Commissioners hear EWU PUB expansion overview

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    The Feb. 3 meeting of Cheney's Historical Preservation Commission was mostly an "FYI" affair. The commission did take care of a couple low-key action items. The commission approved a change to their recently established bylaws, removing the term "pro-tem" and replacing it with "vice chair" for the member who is elected to take charge of meetings should the chair not be present. And with regards to those positions, the commission voted to re-elect current chair Dr. Charles...

  • ML council approves medical equipment upkeep contract

    John McCallum, Editor|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    Medical Lake’s City Council voted unanimously at their Feb. 2 meeting to renew two contracts that help maintain firefighting and medical service readiness in the community. The council renewed a contract with Providence Sacred Heart Engineering Services for periodic maintenance of selected medical equipment used by the city: specialty equipment listed as anesthesia, ventilators, tissue processors and open-heart consoles along with general equipment biomedical, laboratory and physical therapy equipment. Periodic maintenance r...

  • AH council forwards order for recreation center design

    AL STOVER, Staff Reporter|Updated Feb 11, 2016

    The Airway Heights City Council moved some items forward at its Monday study session to its Feb. 16 meeting. Council forwarded an approval of a task order for scope of work from ALSC Architects for the proposed recreation center on 70 acres near the Spokane County Raceway. On Jan. 19, council voted to move forward with the process of placing a bond initiative before the voters to construct a full service recreation center and authorized staff to begin the process. City Manager Albert Tripp explained that council approved a...

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