Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 35
The Cheney City Council held the first reading of five ordinances at its Feb. 25 meeting, most of which dealt with amending aspects of the city’s water and sewer system. Ordinance W-28 amended chapter 1.27, “Civil Infraction System” of the city’s municipal code to include a new section for enforcement procedures for violations of the sewer system regulations, connections and installations along with water system connections, installations and backflow preventions. Public Works Director Todd Ableman told the council the new se...
Judi Steele is one of those rare people who have real compassion for others and gives it generously. Judi, at the age of five came west with her parents and her brother, from Nebraska to Montana. Her mother was a teacher, her father a farmer. "I grew up on a farm," Judi said. When she was 23 Judi briefly attended Kinman University in Spokane. Although she is adept in many other endeavors, in 1967 Judi found her real niche in caring for Alzheimer's patients and those who just...
By KELSEY LAVELLE Staff Intern February rarely has predictable weather for the Inland Northwest but for the last nine and a half years, Marjorie Powell has awoken with her sons to erect flags along local streets in an effort to raise donations for her boy's scout troop. Last President's Day was no exception. Throughout the year, on seven major holidays, Boy Scouts dig holes and raise the American flag on temporary PVC masts. Powell believes this event gives her sons much to...
Emmanuel Lutheran Church Emmanuel Lutheran Church will celebrate the “Transfiguration of Our Lord” this Sunday, March 2 at 10:30 a.m. Christian education classes for grade school children through adults begins at 9 a.m. “Fat Tuesday” is March 4. Plan to join us in our Fellowship Hall for the fifth annual “Festival of Chocolate” to benefit Emmanuel’s Vacation Bible School. No tickets required. A good will offering will be taken at the door. Come and celebrate the day of decadence by indulging in all the sweet treats and chocol...
There are two main things most people would like to know about particular volcanoes: when is the next eruption and how big will that eruption be? Scientists in Iceland have taken another step forward in monitoring volcanoes to best predict when they will erupt and even warn people of the size of the coming eruption. In May 2011, a volcano in Iceland named Grímsvötn erupted. It generated a 12-mile-high plume of volcanic debris that temporarily grounded airplanes as far away as Great Britain. The problem wasn’t as great, tho...
Darlene B. Ruble passed away in Spokane Feb. 4, at 11 p.m. in her sleep. We are truly thankful to Jesus that she passed in her sleep with no pain. Surviving siblings are Sean Ruble and Monte Clippinger, both of Spokane, as well as four grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She was a kind and loving mother and friend to everyone. She would help anyone in need and would give you that last money she had and go without to help someone else....
CHENEY Feb. 18 Domestic violence/verbal dispute was reported on the 2200 block of Lilac Street. Domestic violence/verbal dispute was reported on the 100 block of Alki Street. Domestic violence/verbal dispute was reported on the 700 block of West First Street. The Liquor Control Board was doing a site check on the 300 block of First Street and found a lost ID. A 1991 Nissan 200SX was abandoned on the 100 block of Third Street and was towed away. A deer was euthanized on the 800 block of Front Street. Feb. 19 Third-degree...
After a large snowfall overnight, a person’s worst nightmare is to drive alongside traffic on the snow-covered streets on their way to work or school in the early morning. I propose the streets be plowed and cleared before 8 a.m., which is when most people are preparing to commute to work, and venture out on to the roads of the Cheney and Spokane area. Many people are very nervous and inexperienced driving in the snow, especially people who are not from this area, which is a large population of people who attend the c...
Listen up; there is a great alternative to Cathy McMorris Rodgers. He is Joseph (Joe) Pakootas (puh-KOE-tuss). Many newspaper letters voice disappointment with Rodgers’ votes on food stamps, unemployment benefits, corporate welfare, and more. She consistently represents the wealthy top 10 percent, leaving out important interests of 90 percent of the public. With those voting numbers, we can change this picture. Pakootas would be the state’s first Native American Congressman. He is a proven leader in Eastern Washington, as...
It’s important for a community’s residents to be involved in determining what takes place around them. An example is the current discussion surrounding a parcel of land on Clay Street. Property owner Randall Gillingham has applied for a rezone of his one-third acre property from multifamily (R-3) to high-density multifamily (R-3H) in order to possibly construct a 14-unit apartment building on the site. Gillingham has no firm plans to do this right now, and is simply testing the waters — as it were — at the request of the cit...
It was just intended to be a road trip, an extended weekend winter getaway with my wife and some friends. But last week’s trek to attend the Montana Pond Hockey Classic in sunny one moment, and sideways snowy the next Kalispell, Mont., was also like time spent in Mr. Peabody’s 1960s Wayback Machine. As readers may know hockey and I are somewhat surgically — and I guess genetically — attached at the hip. My grandfather played the game over 100 years ago in Rossland, British Col...
Square dancing in Cheney Beginning square dance lessons are starting again Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. at Cheney City Hall. The Hi-Flyers Square Dance Club in Cheney is the fastest growing club in the Inland Northwest, with a popular young teacher, Adam Christman. Everyone is encouraged to relax, laugh, dance, make some mistakes, but most of all, to have fun. Lessons are $3.50 per person, but everyone’s first lesson is free. Casual clothing is encouraged. CHS athletics to host inaugural dessert and silent auction event The i...
In the spirit of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the Medical Lake School District STEM program held a lab, Feb. 22, centered on athletic events featured in the winter games. Elementary STEM coach Marci Dayton explained to students that different scientific principles can factor into each contest. In hockey, children realized how applying too much or too little force in their shots can cause them to miss the goal. In the bobsled event, they learned how friction and acceleration can help their sleds get down the track at a faster...
The Medical Lake Junior High, High School and Red Clay combo jazz bands held their annual Java and Jazz Swing Dance Fundraiser, Feb. 21, at the middle school. The theme of the event was "Swingin' Under the Stars." The bands hold the fundraiser every year to raise money for trips and competitions. After friends and families filled up the middle school auditorium, the curtain rose and the high school band began the event with a set of five songs. In addition to the high school...
Westwood Middle School released their Honor Roll for the most recent term. Eight Graders 4.0 — 3.6 GPA — Alsatta N. Bakana, Emily E. Darvis, McKenzie L. Devlin, Daniel A. Diaz, Brette M. Draper, Nicole E. Hague, Jerusha R. Hampson, Meghan R. Krantz, Anna S. Laiminger, Hunter J. Pohl, Jada Kali P. Stelmach, Adam J. Deutsch, Savanah K. Duell, Amber M. Koenig, Mykayla J. Bolieu, Cole V. Hinrichs, Ashley L. Horton, Kristina M. Reid, Kamimila M. Vang, Joshua E. Browne, Logan H. Kendall, Nathan M. Smith, Taya L. Compton, Devin S. D...
Medical Lake High has released the Honor Roll List for their first semester of the 2013–14 school year. Seniors Principal’s Honor Roll: 4.0 — 3.5 GPA — Apiradee J. Anongchai, Maddison N. Armstong, Emily L. Bonsant, Connor G. Cranston, Nathan J. Dingfield, Tavia M. Donahay, Joseph J. Greer, Tabatha A. Grundstrom, William S. Herner, Sydney D. Kelly, Christian C. Koele, Jordan B. Majocha, Ryan Martinez, Eric C. Munson, Kanokporn M. Navykarn, Ricky T. Petersen, Matthew A. Peterson, Molly G. Ryan, Ashleigh J. Schulz, Nadja S...
It starts with a sizzle. Ssst-sst-sssss, Ssst-sst-sssss, Ssst-sst-sssss, Ssst-sst-sssss. It's a technique Westwood Middle School music instructor Liz Stringham uses to quiet her excited 18-student strings class and get them focused on the coming 40 minutes of practice. It establishes a beat, rhythm - initiating a call and response. "There's no percussion in the ensemble so the beat can get lost," Stringham said. "I admit it's a little wishy-washy." But it seems to work. The...
Military officials are conducting a commander-directed investigation after an improper photo was seen on the Internet. Fairchild Air Force Base released a statement that said an investigation has been initiated after a photograph of a Fairchild airman, kissing a Prisoner of War symbol was seen on the Internet, Thursday, Feb. 13. Scott King, a spokesperson for 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs, confirmed that the person identified in the photo is Staff Sgt. Cherish Byers, of the 92nd Security Forces Squadron at Fairchild...
Cheney School District’s Westwood Middle School will be the site of an attempt at a new Guinness Book of World Records Saturday, March 1, as part of the West Coast Conference Wheelchair Basketball championships. Participants will be attempting to set the record for the most consecutive wheelchair basketball free throws in one minute. The competition takes place at the conclusion of the first day of play between eight teams and 100 athletes looking for a slot in the wheelchair basketball national championships April 3-6 in L...
In the Feb. 20 Cheney Free Press story “Spokane Council to Reexamine decision on STEP,” it was incorrectly stated that the Spokane Tribe of Indians is in an agreement with Cheney to provide services to the site of its proposed casino. The city of Cheney is on record as being in opposition to the project because of potential threats encroaching development could have on Fairchild Air Force Base....
Cheney's Levi Walker managed to find and bring the year's first buttercup by the Cheney Free Press office last Thursday before snow blanketed the region Sunday and Monday. Walker was actually out looking for antlers – which he also found – with his mom along Cheney Spokane Road when he spied the yellow flower and earned himself $5....
Eastern Washington University is hosting a memorial service for the two students killed early last Friday morning in an accident on Highway 195. Nancy Zepeda Zarate, 21 and Ashley Gonzales, 21, were not wearing seatbelts and declared deceased at the scene of the accident according to the Washington State Patrol report. Erica Polito Mosso, 21, another EWU student was transported by MedStar to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane. Carmen Gomez Villalpando, 22, was treated for her injuries at Whitman Hospital and has been released....
Cheney Police Department officials have announced the promotion of Officer Chad Estep to the rank of Patrol Sergeant, effective Feb. 25. Originally from Colfax, Estep has over 16 years of law enforcement experience, of which two and a half have been with Cheney since a lateral transfer from the Lynnwood Police Department. He was also Cheney Police's Officer of the Year in 2012, the first officer to receive the award. Police Chief John Hensley said the promotion was made...
Cheney's Rob Beamer was one of many area residents and Eastern Washington University students who stopped by Cheney's fire station Friday to swab their cheeks and register to be a bone marrow donor as part of the event organized by the Cheney Firefighters Union Local 1919 and the donor organization Be The Match. The event was staged to help 7-year-old London Bowater find a donor in her battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. A donor match was found for Bowater prior to last...
The Airway Heights City Council discussed several items at the Feb. 24 study session. Development Services Director Derrick Braaten began the session by discussing the re-appointment of Rita Osborne as chair of the Planning Commission. Braaten mentioned that he is also looking to recruit more members for the commission. “She’s been diligently serving on the commission for most of the term she has served,” Braaten said. Councilwoman Tanya Dashiell said Osborne ran the last Planning Commission meeting “smoothly” and seems to...
