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KAHLOTUS - Washington State Parks has released a list of the parks that will be opening May 5 for outdoor recreation, provided visitors keep their distance. In Eastern Washington, the initial list of openings include: Alta Lake Bridgeport Columbia Plateau Trail Conconully Ginkgo Petrified Forest Goldendale Observatory Lake Chelan Lake Wenatchee Lincoln Rock Lyons Ferry Mount Spokane Nine Mile Falls Recreation Area Palouse Falls Perrygin Lake Potholes Reservoir Riverside...
PASCO – Franklin County cherry orchardist and pilot Dave MacHugh was landing his private airplane at Tri-Cities Airport after a four-hour trip to Tacoma and back Friday afternoon, May 1. Unbeknownst to him, as his plane touched down and taxied to the hangar, Gov. Jay Inslee was in the process of ordering Washington state to remain under quarantine until at least May 31. Although the weather was ideal for a general aviation flight, MacHugh wasn't on a pleasure trip. He had f...
CHENEY – Public Works officials are taking steps to restart the city’s recycling program, sidelined in late March due to restrictions enacted to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The city of Cheney announced on May 1 that it was reopening its Recycling Center from 8 – 11 a.m. Tuesdays – Saturdays to allow residents to get rid of the products that had previously been filling up the city’s yard waste bins and regular garbage collection. There is a caveat in that residents will not be able to leave their vehicles, but rathe...
DUSTY — A duststorm caused near-zero visibility and led to at least three crashes in the area Monday, April 27. According to the Washington State Patrol, three people were cited in a four-vehicle crash for allegedly driving too fast for conditions on state Highway 25 three miles west of town. The crash occurred when one driver slowed due to thick dust blowing off adjacent farm fields, the patrol reported. That vehicle was struck by another motorists, who was then struck by a...
Over the past dozen years, two former Eastern Washington University football players have gone to Italy to check out the world of European football. There was Craig McIntyre who played at Eastern in 2004 and 2005, seasons where the Eagles won back-to-back Big Sky Conference championships and in a pair of postseason appearances. His takeaway from the Italian Football League at the Parma Panthers: becoming part of the inspiration for novelist John Grisham’s book, “Playing for...
FOUR LAKES – Fishing will resume here and on other lakes and rivers statewide beginning May 5. Following two weeks of growing protests over the state’s ban on fishing, Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday, April 27, announced that outdoor recreation is allowed to resume May 5. “Based on the data we have now received, we are close to the point where we can enjoy the outdoors again,” Inslee said during a press conference announcing the reopening. “This includes fishing, hunting and the a...
WEST PLAINS – Like everyone else, the Spokane and Kalispel tribes have been feeling the impacts of COVID-19, physically and economically. Particularly the latter, where shutting down of casinos and retail outlets has drastically reduced the revenue streams supporting essential services such as police and medical facilities. Spokane Tribe of Indians Chairwoman Carol Evans told West Plains Chamber of Commerce members during a virtual stakeholders meeting April 22 that the state’s orders on March 16 required “special actio...
By JOHN McCALLUM Managing Editor RESTON, Va. – Cheney School District Principal Dr. Erika Burden has been named the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ (NASSP) 2020 Advocacy Champion of the Year, the association announced in an April 21 news release. Burden was honored during a virtual presentation attended by leadership from NASSP, the Association of Washington School Principals and Washington 5th District Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. “Dr. Burden has worke...
CHENEY April 20 A mental health issue was reported on the 200 block of Simpson Parkway. Subject was involuntarily committed. Anthony P. Nowak, 48, was arrested for third-degree theft/shoplifting on the 2700 block of 1st Street. Suspicious circumstances/damage to a window screen was reported on the 200 block of South Cheney-Spangle Road. April 21 Second-degree assault was reported on the 100 block of Blackhawks Lane. April 22 An abandoned auto was reported on the 500 block of 3rd Street. A white, 2004 Chevy Cavalier was...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS — Hope Baptist Church in Airway Heights is holding a weekly Sunday church service, drive-in movie style. With churches not counted as essential under Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order, indoor religious services have not been able to take place since March. Hope Baptist Church pastor Jon Schrock decided to pay homage to drive-in theaters and have an outdoor service where people stay in their cars. “We wanted to worship the Lord in an old-fashioned way, if yo...
FROM STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES CHENEY – The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 11326 has elected Dan Hillman to continue serving as its Commander, according to an April 11 news release. Also elected or appointed to officer positions for 2020-2021 were Todd Luce, Jr. as Senior Vice Commander; Richard Mattausch, Vice Commander; Alan Gainer, Quartermaster; John Loehne, Chaplin and Sabrina Savage, Service Officer. “We look forward to continuing to serve the veterans and general military community of Cheney,” Post 11326 officials state...
An osprey that claimed one of the nesting platforms along the Columbia Plateau Trail near Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge takes flight last Friday. The osprey was apparently agitated when a bald eagle flew close to the nest, taking off but eventually returning...
Cheney Congregational Church Although we cannot worship together in person, Cheney Congregational is still offering worship resources and sermons that can be accessed through our website cheneycongregational.org. Our prayers go out for the whole Cheney community and for our world during this difficult season. We are grateful for all medical staff, grocery store workers and other essential employees who must put themselves at risk to help others. As a community we are stronger together. Cheney Community Church Our on-site...
Christie Diane Brooks passed away quickly and unexpectedly at home in Cheney, Washington on Sunday, April 5, 2020 due to complications during her brief battle with cancer. On December 30, 1941 she entered this world as Christie Diane Newcombe in the small town of Yerington, Nevada, the second of three children born to Charles “Charlie” and Ella “Babe” Newcombe. Her childhood in Yerington was filled with loving memories of small town mischief and everyday life that was shared...
OLYMPIA – As the state sees more spring weather, drivers are reminded that the extension given to remove studded tires expires May 15. The original date of March 31 was extended first to April 30 and then to Friday, May 15, due to Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” orders to counter the coronavirus outbreak. Studded tires are legal in Washington from Nov. 1 to March 31. State law gives the Department of Transportation authority to extend the deadline when circumstances call for it, most commonly when a forecast indicat...
MEDICAL LAKE – While the Food Bank has been serving the community for years, volunteers at the city’s resource for low-income residents are concerned many people may not know where it is located. Volunteer Terri Cooper said she did a recent Google search of the facility and said it produced the location on Lefevre Street of Care and Share, the local thrift store that sells second-hand goods and clothing. Care and Share revenue help support the Food Bank, Cooper said, but it is not the location. “The problem is the Care and S...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS — Public events may be canceled for now, but that did not stop the Airway Heights City Council from thinking about the future in its study session Monday night. Code Enforcement Officer Kristina Blake joined the virtual meeting to present her proposal to ban fireworks in the city. Blake gave the council a 185-page packet containing info, stats and arguments in support of her proposal. Her presentation itself was short and focused on safety. “I haven’t been able find anything statistically, or any studi...
CHENEY – The Police Department is investigating a report of 17-year-old female who has been missing since January 2020. Cheney High School student Kasandra Kuuipo Cabarloc is 4-feet-9-inches tall with dark hair and brown eyes. Her family reported her as a runaway in January, and since that time she has been in communication at times with family and friends via social media, according to an April 28 departmental press release. Police Capt. Rick Beghtol said at one point they h...
Cheney High School senior Shelby Draper shows off her graduation cap during a drive-through cap and gown distribution last Friday. High school staff gave each member of the class of 2020 their graduation attire on the school’s bus loop....
By JEREMY BURNHAM Staff reporter CHENEY — With Eastern Washington University going online only for the rest of the year, most lab classes have been canceled. That left the science lab with some extra chemicals on hand. EWU chemistry Professor Jeff Corkill had the idea to put some of those chemicals to good use. Corkill and EWU lab manager Fred Joslin have mixed the necessary chemicals to make hand sanitizer that they are calling Eagle Sanitizer. Corkill says the plan is to h...
CHENEY – With any luck, the Mayfest celebration may coin a new phrase this year — “May-tember.” Or maybe not, but the if all goes well with efforts to reopen the state amid the coronavirus pandemic, organizers hope Cheney’s eighth-annual celebration of community will take place this fall. Originally scheduled for the second weekend in May, Cheney Merchants Association secretary Douglas LeBar said they are moving the festival to Sept. 25-26 — which would coincide with the opening of instruction at Eastern Washington...
MEDICAL LAKE — No public event will be approved in Medical Lake city limits until Oct. 31 at the earliest, city administrator Doug Ross announced at the April 21 city council meeting. This means events like Founders Day and the Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival will not happen this summer. Ross said several large events in Spokane were being cancelled or pushed back by the sponsors. After talking with several people, he decided to pause events in Medical Lake as well. Ross told the Free Press that event organizers need time t...
SPOKANE – An April 22 protest against Gov. Jay Inslee’s quarantine orders was led by several Cheney-Medical Lake area residents and business owners. More than 300 people turned out for the protest on West Spokane Falls Boulevard, where motorists drove by honking support for the call to lift the coronavirus-related rules that shuttered businesses, hospitals and other aspects of life in Eastern Washington. Clear Lake resident Patti Usselman, who owns Patti Usselman Hair Co. in...
RITZVILLE – Tons of spuds - 20 tons to be more accurate. About 40,000 pounds of potatoes were given away along Main Street today, April 29. Another 20 tons scheduled to be donated in Grant County tomorrow morning, courtesy of Marvin Wollman from his farm near Othello. Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, who helped organize and attended the event, said the potato giveaway shows the generosity of farmers while highlighting the dire situation of the potato industry from COVID-19 r...
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