Articles from the February 27, 2020 edition


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  • Combining science, math and fun

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 3, 2020

    CHENEY – Most of the time when a teenager is glued to a TV monitor, it’s not necessarily a good thing. For several hours last Saturday at Eastern Washington University’s pool, teenagers staring at TV monitors was a good sign, one of intensity and focus on the task at hand — fitting a small cap onto a traffic cone during one of the challenge courses at the SeaPerch Robotics competition. Sponsored by the EWU American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Office of Nava...

  • O'Callaghan competes at state gymnastics

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    SAMMAMISH – Cheney High junior Lauren O'Callaghan represented the Blackhawks at 1A/2A/3A state gymnastics competition held Feb. 20-22 at Sammamish High School. O'Callaghan competed in three events: vault, bars and floor exercise. Her best finish came on the vault, finishing 41st overall out of 93 gymnasts with a score of 8.300. O'Callaghan also placed 51st out of 94 in the floor exercises with a score of 8.875, and was 57th out of 93 scoring 7.350 in the bars. This is O...

  • 'Only Fools Run at Midnight' registration is open

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Medical Lake — Spring is on its way and so is the 42nd annual “Only Fools Run at Midnight” sponsored by the Medical Lake Lions Club takes place Saturday, April 4. Proceeds to this event support the club’s Sight and Hearing program by providing free glasses and hearing aids to those in need. It also supports local youth scholarships. New this year will be online results for all participants. As always the Pizza Factory in Medical Lake will be open late to celebrate the hard work with specials for all runners and spectat...

  • End of a season, end of an era for Cardinals

    PAUL DELANEY, Staff reporter|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    DEER PARK — Not only was Medical Lake’s 45-44 loss to Deer Park — AGAIN — on Feb. 21 agonizing in itself for all the what ifs, but the game that ultimately ended the Cardinals season also concluded a remarkable career for a group of seniors. In a loser-out District 7 playoff game at Deer Park where the winner advanced to state, Medical Lake’s scoring dried up in the final minutes as they could not find the basket over the final two-plus minutes. The Cardinals finish the seaso...

  • Babcock earns third, fifth place finishes at state swim

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    FEDERAL WAY – Cheney swimmer Trae Babcock wrapped up his high school pool career with a pair of top-five performances at last weekend’s 2A state swimming meet at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. Babcock finished third in the 50-yard freestyle with at time of 21.70 seconds, 77/100ths of a second behind state title winner Dietrich Meyer of Olympia, with teammate and brother Rainer Meyer edging Babcock for second in 21.69. Babcock shaved 15/100ths of a second off...

  • Looking Back

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    1 Years Ago Feb. 25, 2010 Cheney’s City Council approved a Planned Unit Development for the Terra Vista project, allowing developer Steve Emtman to build townhouses on 3.36 acres east of the railroad tracks by shrinking minimum lot sizes from 5,000 to 2,000 square feet. Eastern Washington University launched a marketing campaign asking prospective students to “Start something big.” An EWU student was shot in the hand in an early morning drive-by shooting near the El Rodeo restaurant on 2nd Street in downtown Cheney. 20 Ye...

  • StageWest Community Theatre holding auditions Feb. 29

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    StageWest Community Theatre is preparing for its spring production, “Crazy Ladies” with a casting call for five women, one man and one older teenaged female. If looking to perform in a comedy, this is your opportunity. There is only one audition date, this Saturday, Feb. 9 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. This is a cold read audition, and it will be held at 639 Elm St. in Cheney, with entrance on the side of the building off Huron Street. The dates of this production are: May 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 15 and 16. Tickets for the produ...

  • Haynes are honored as ML 'Senior Volunteers' for '19

    PAUL DELANEY, Staff reporter|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    MEDICAL LAKE — Gene and Carol Haynes were honored as the “Senior Citizen Volunteers of the Year” by the Kiwanis Club of Medical Lake at their Feb. 15 Valentine’s Day Dinner. In his nomination of the couple, Pat Trout wrote that ”Both volunteer everywhere at senior meals with anything that needs to be done.” Gene Haynes, 88, cooks and fetches anything that is asked for before the meal. Carol, 85, sets the tables and vacuums the floors. In addition, Carol also serves as t...

  • Churches

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Cheney Congregational Church During this season of Lent the adult education class will encounter Jesus in the book of Luke. The class will follow a Lenten devotional that is optional. Classes begin March 1 at 9 a.m. Pastor Matt Goodale is continuing his series on “The Kingdom of God: Backwards and Upside Down.” There is a children’s area in the sanctuary. Service starts at 10 a.m. Join us for fellowship, conversation and refreshment following the service. Please visit our website at www.cheneycongregational.org for previ...

  • Blackhawk senior competes at Miss Spokane

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    SPOKANE – When Julianne Mewhinney saw the Facebook ad for the 2020 Miss Spokane competition, she viewed it as an opportunity to talk about her volunteering focus to a larger audience. The Cheney High School senior competed with 15 other area women for the title Feb. 15-16 at Shadle Park High School, undergoing an extensive interview session on Saturday followed by Sunday’s pageant where the winner, 21-year-old Gabby Dansereau, was announced. Miss Spokane is the first step in...

  • Democratic lawmakers budget would spend excess funds

    CAMERON SHEPPARD, WNPA News Service|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Democratic caucuses in the House and Senate rolled out separate spending plans that include hundreds of millions of dollars to address climate change, homelessness, and behavioral health. Without imposing new taxes, the proposed expenditures unveiled on Feb. 24 would add $1.5 billion to the existing budget. Lawmakers’ credit increased revenues the state has enjoyed to strong economic growth, but $318 million of the money comes from one-time sources. The budget proposed by Senate Democrats is a 2.2% increase in spending, b...

  • Teachout named Ritzville Adams County Journal editor

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    RITZVILLE – Katie Teachout has been named editor of The Ritzville Adams County Journal. Teachout replaces Brandon Cline, who recently resigned to return to his childhood home west of Goldendale to work as a reporter at the Chinook Observer. The Ritzville Adams County Journal is owned by Free Press Publishing, which owns the Cheney Free Press, Davenport Times, Odessa Record, Davenport Times and most recently the Whitman County Gazette in Colfax. “Katie will be a fantastic addit...

  • Helping hands

    PAUL DELANEY|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Big Sky basketball referee Martin Cichocki took a moment during a timeout at the Feb. 20 men’s basketball game between Eastern Washington and Sacramento State at Reese Court to tie the loose shoe laces for ball boy Grady Zehm....

  • Rob Chase officially announces congressional 5th District candidacy

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    SPOKANE – Former Spokane County Treasurer Rob Chase has announced he will be running for Congress in Washington’s 5th District. Chase will challenge incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is seeking a ninth term as the district’s representative in Washington D.C. Chase was county treasurer from 2011-2018, and has lived in the district since 1974. A former real estate agent, he is a graduate of Eastern Washington University with a bachelor’s of arts degree in business administration. Chase is the second challenger to file ag...

  • Spokane Transit Authority briefs council on route changes

    RHONDA MADISON, Staff reporter|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The city of Airway Heights moved the regular Monday night council meeting to Tuesday, Feb. 18, due to the President’s Day holiday. The Spokane Transit Authority (STA) made a presentation on significant route changes under consideration for the Airway Heights area including: discontinuing service on Fairchild Air Force Base with the bus stopping outside the gate only, citing low ridership and difficulty for drivers to get on base; shrinking the paratransit service area, increasing frequency to the air...

  • The Colorado River water problems are worsening

    DON C. BRUNELL, Contributor|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Last week, we visited the Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona. It is part of our National Parks “bucket list.” The trip was a real eye-opener. The Canyon is spectacular. It is hard to believe over a billion years ago it was flat ground and covered by ocean waters. In ancient times, there was too much water. Today, it is a deep gorge with a ribbon of water running through it. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, over a mile deep and 10 to 18 miles across. The fam...

  • Big deal, so I 'flunked retirement?'

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    By PAUL DELANEY Staff reporter SPOKANE — Under cover of darkness. Sneaking in the back door. Or better yet, call it making good on a pledge. Quietly, my old byline that was officially retired to the Cheney Free Press archives Dec. 31, 2018 has returned. After a little over a year in my self-imposed role of a “recovering journalist,” the request came from CFP managing editor John McCallum asking what it might take to coax me back into the game in a relief role following the departure of Lee Hughes. BTW, Lee heads “home...

  • Immigration issues focus of EWU lectures

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Eastern Washington University’s Women’s and Gender Studies Program and Women’s and Gender Education (WAGE) Center has been taking a look at immigration issues through a quarter-long program dedicated to educating the community. EWU’s 2020 Activist in Residence Lili Navarrete has been providing a focus on these issues to non-immigrants through the lens of an immigrant in a series of Wednesday lectures, which continue through March 11 at Monroe Hall. Navarrete immigrated with her family to Spokane from Mexico City in 1988, e...

  • Airway Height connects with the community

    RHONDA MADISON, Staff reporter|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS – The city of Airway Heights held its Community Connect event at the Recreation Center on Monday afternoon, Feb. 24. Ice Cream donated by the local Dairy Queen was distributed by the police to attendees and prizes were raffled. Displays filled the meeting space to explain the city’s Comprehensive Plan updates and budget. Officials were present to answer questions and visit with the public. Law enforcement representing the city, Fairchild and the Kalispel Tribe w...

  • Medical Lake band, choir compete at All-State

    PAUL DELANEY, Staff writer|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    MEDICAL LAKE — All-state honors in any sport shine the spotlight on a job well done on the field, track or court. The same is true in other disciplines and with Medical Lake that has and does ring true on a regular basis with its music and band program. The school is regularly represented in the competition. Recently, band teacher Craig Johnson returned from taking a record number of students to participate in the All State Bands/Choirs competition in Yakima. “It’s just a hug...

  • Westwood Middle School honor roll - sixth-grade

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Westwood Middle School officials have released the names of students making the second-term honor roll. Last week the Cheney Free Press ran the seventh and eighth-grade list. This week the list is completed with the sixth-grade. 6th-grade students Gage C. Adams 3.7, Thomas K. Adderley 4.0, Brayden M. Anderson 3.6, Zakaya Andrews 3.2, Trinity A. Auckerman 4.0, Rachel S. Bae 4.0, Davian Z. Baker 3.1, Dimitry Y. Balakirev 3.1, Alexander T. Balcom 3.1, Charice V. Ballard 4.0, Aurora R. Baty 3.9, Victoria L. Baycroft 3.8, Brian...

  • FBLA students excel at regional conference

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Cheney High School’s FBLA Club (Future Business Leaders of America) competed at the 2020 Northeast Regional Winter Conference at the Spokane Valley Assembly of God church in Spokane Valley on Feb. 6. Cheney had 45 of its 48 attending members place in the top six. As a team, club members placed 96 times in the competition. Students who place top six are eligible to compete at the State Business Leadership Conference in Spokane on April 8-11. Of the 96 different times that we placed, Cheney had 16 first-place finishes and 14 s...

  • ML council updated on fire, water

    Updated Feb 27, 2020

    By PAUL DELANEY Staff reporter MEDICAL LAKE — The Medical Lake Council received updates on both the annexation of the city’s fire department by Spokane County Fire District 3 and some changes that will be taking place to water service. At the Feb. 18 meeting, Fire District No. 3 Chief, Cody Rohrbach spoke to the transition that will replace the fire department that has served the citizens of Medical Lake for 115 years. Work continues on the remodel of the Medical Lake fire station so it will be better able to accommodate hou...

  • February's buttercup

    Venus Bratsveen|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    Sixteen-year-old Cheney High School student Mayah Spakousky brought in the season’s first buttercup by a female this past Monday, earning her $5 from the Cheney Free Press. The first boy to bring in a buttercup did so in January....

  • What was that?

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Feb 27, 2020

    CHENEY – Several residents inside and outside Cheney were awakened early Thursday morning, Feb. 20, by something they had never heard before and can’t explain its source. Marie Shepard said she and her husband Tim were awoken around 2:45 a.m. in their house across State Route 904 from the Bi-Mart Arena rodeo grounds by a very loud, sustained noise. Shepard said the noise was hard to describe, but sounded somewhat like a medium-high pitch machine whine that didn’t vary in pitch or intensity. The noise lasted about 5-10 minut...

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