Articles from the May 16, 2019 edition


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  • ML OKs District 3 agreement

    Lee Hughes, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    The big topic of the evening at the Medical Lake City Council meeting on May 7 was approval of a pre-annexation agreement between the city and Spokane Fire District 3. The city and the district will be asking voters to approve the annexation of the Medical Lake Fire Department into District 3 in an upcoming Aug. 6 special election. Assuming approval by voters, the agreement outlines various transitional details, including a 50-year lease of the current MLFD space — at $1 per y...

  • Cardinals send eight to state track and field meet

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated May 16, 2019

    The Medical Lake High School track and field team advanced eight athletes out of District 7 competition last weekend to the State 1A track meet at Eastern Washington University in two weeks, May 23-25. While the district meet isn’t scored, head coach Gene Blankenship wrote in an email that an unofficial team tally put the Cardinal boys second to Lakeside and the girls third behind Lakeside and Colville out of seven teams in the Northeast A League. Jaxyn Farmen, Sophie S...

  • Blackhawks finish third at District 7 meet

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated May 16, 2019

    Cheney High’s contingent to this weekend’s regional track and field competition at Central Washington University in Ellensburg may not be large, but it will be potent. The Blackhawks boys and girls teams earned seven District 7 titles last Friday in competition at West Valley High School. Overall, both teams finished third behind the host Eagles and district team champion Pullman. Camden Verstrate had two of those titles. The senior, coming back from some leg issues, set a n...

  • Kick up your heels

    Jill Weiszmann|Updated May 16, 2019

    Cheney's Mayfest brought hordes of people to downtown Cheney May 10 - 12 to dance, play and celebrate spring. Left: Two young dancers practice their two-step to the musical stylings of the Kelly Hughes Band on Friday, May 10. Above: A child plays in a giant, plastic orb floating on the surface of a pool on Saturday....

  • Churches

    Updated May 16, 2019

    Cheney Congregational Church Everyone is invited to join the Sunday morning worship service at 10 a.m. Pastor David Krueger-Duncan will deliver the sermon. Coffee and refreshments will be served in the fellowship hall following the service. The Pacific Northwest National Association of Christian Congregational Churches conference will be held at the Cheney Congregational Church this Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18. Registration and lunch start at noon on Friday. The conference will go through Saturday afternoon. Sunday,...

  • Looking Back

    Updated May 16, 2019

    1 Years Ago May 14, 2009 After one year as Medical Lake’s code enforcement officer, Don Mayfield announced his resignation at the May 5 City Council meeting, saying he’d accepted a position with another organization. The Cheney High School greenhouse class raised about $575 in a plant sale and planned another one before Memorial Day weekend. Medical Lake High School students Emily Lewan and Jessica Kaufman were recently selected by members of the Medical Lake American Legion Auxiliary Erroll L. English Unit 196 to att...

  • West Plains Briefs

    Updated May 16, 2019

    Bees and flowers talk of the town on May 22 “Flowers that make bees dance” is the subject of master beekeeper Jim Miller’s presentation at Cheney Congregational Church for their fourth Wednesday series “Things I Learned Somewhere.” Jim and Jenine Miller operate Miller’s Homestead outside Cheney and are a source of beekeeping equipment, honey and related products. Jim’s talk will begin at 7 p.m. on May 22 at 423 N. 6th St. (corner of Oakland) and will be followed by honey tasting and refreshments at 8 p.m. The presentations...

  • Phyllis Marie Perrotta

    Updated May 16, 2019

    Phyllis Marie Perrotta, born April 23, 1941, left this earth on May 3, 2019. She was a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, wife and companion. Motorcycles, boating, camping, gardening, painting, beach-combing...Phyllis had an amazing life in her 78 years. Her love for family, quick wit and radiant smile will be missed by all and the stories of her many adventures will live on forever. Phyllis is survived by her children — Debi Judson-Wilgus...

  • His brother's keeper

    Lee Hughes, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    After 27 years, Wes Anderson came to accept who and what he was. So it was that, in 1995, after years of personal struggles he “came out” — as a Vietnam veteran. Two years later he made pilgrimage to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. It took three days of sightseeing around the Capital before Anderson finally made his way toward The Wall, a monument featuring a 246-foot-9-inch long, black opaque wall built of 144 highly polished granite panels sunk unobt...

  • Courage counts most when you feel like you are at your worst

    KRISTINE MEYER, Contributor|Updated May 16, 2019

    Imagine what it feels like to lose. Multiply that several times over. How tempting is it to throw up your hands in defeat and get really mad about it? When I was in junior high I went to a small school that wouldn’t be able to field a girls’ basketball team unless every girl in both the seventh and eighth grades turned out for the team. Basketball was not my favorite sport, but I turned out for the team so that the girls who liked basketball would have a chance to play. Turns out we weren’t very good. For two years strai...

  • Georgia reproductive bills should concern us all

    SHANNEN TALBOT, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    An inescapable news topic in recent weeks has been Georgia’s new legislation governing abortion, signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp last week and sparking outrage and debate across the country. The much-buzzed-about “heartbeat bill,” HB 481, is one of the strictest in the country and bans abortions after six weeks. The ban is the fifth in the country to ban abortion after that date, but takes it one step further by granting a fetus full legal personhood. And regardless of your stance on abortion, the precedent set by this...

  • Taves named Cheney Yard of the Month

    John McCallum|Updated May 16, 2019

    The home of John and Jolene Taves has been selected as Yard of the Month for May by the Cheney Kiwanis and Gardeners of Cheney. Taves has been a Yard of the Month selection before, and a regular contributor to Cheney’s Food Bank of fresh vegetables and fruits from their garden and trees. The backyard rock wall is line with yellow basket of gold alyssum, purple aubreitia and several colors of tulips, some which still are in bloom. John Taves said at one point he and a large s...

  • Cheney addressing brown water issues

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated May 16, 2019

    Cheney crews are working to alleviate several cases of brown, stinky water emerging from residents water faucets. Public Works Director Todd Ableman told the City Council at its May 14 meeting they received 11 calls Tuesday morning from residents experiencing brown water coming from their faucts. The annual occurence is a result of iron elements found in the city’s system that enter the water after being stirred up. Ableman said early hot weather last weekend caused the city’s irrigation pumps to turn on, which created a dis...

  • Are you prepared for a long, hot and dry fire season?

    Lee Hughes, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    Enjoy the clear blue spring sky while you can. By all accounts, this year will be host to yet another hot, dry and smoky summer fire season. “We’re already really dry,” Spokane County District 3 Division Chief Dustin Flock said. “The predictive outlook is higher than normal.” He noted that moisture content is low in the area. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources, who is responsible for preventing and fighting wildfires on 13 million acres of public and priva...

  • West Plains Fire and EMS monthly statistics

    Updated May 16, 2019

    Airway Heights Fire Department Emergency Medical Services 127 Fire 12 Total 139 Cheney Fire Department Structure fire 3 Emergency medical service 91 Extrication rescue 1 Dispatched/canceled en route 5 Wrong address/no emergency 1 System operation (no fire) 3 Person in distress 3 False alarms 2 System malfunction 1 Other 18 Total 128 Medical Lake Fire Department Fire 5 Alarm 6 Auto vs. Ped 1 EMS 35 Total 47 Spokane County Fire District 3 Fire 10 EMS 94 HAZMAT 1 Service call 2 Series 27 False alarm 3 Total 137 Spokane County...

  • Air Force partners with West Plains fire agencies for training

    SHANNEN TALBOT, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    Several West Plains fire agencies partnered with the Fairchild Air Force Base Fire Department on Thursday, May 16, for an aircraft collision training scenario in preparation for Air Force events scheduled later this year. Firefighters with the Airway Heights Fire Department, Spokane County Fire District 10 and Spokane County Fire District 3 used metal helicopters to simulate accidents and practice their response to a fictional scenario, Airway Heights Fire Chief Mitch Metzger...

  • EWU's board of trustees creates stadium task force

    Updated May 16, 2019

    Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustees (BOT) is announcing the creation of a task force to conduct a comprehensive study of the football stadium renovation project. Appointed by Board Chair Uriel Iñiguez, the task force is composed of four BOT members and four members of the EWU Foundation Board. Working together in collaboration with EWU Athletics and the newly appointed vice president for advancement, Barb Richey, and her staff, the task force will conduct a fiscally responsible review of facility enhancement co...

  • Spokane County Library District seeks levy approval

    MARCO VARGAS, Staff Intern|Updated May 16, 2019

    The Spokane County Library District is seeking levy restoration for maintenance and operations of its 11 libraries to keep services at existing levels throughout Spokane County, increase digital materials and replace outdated building heating and cooling systems. The district is asking voters to consider this measure. According to communication and development director Jane Baker, the district’s levy rate is currently at 43 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, and the district wants to restore the rate to 50 cents p...

  • Cheney band enters to win $100K in instruments

    SHANNEN TALBOT, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    Cheney High School announced on Thursday, May 9, that it has ­­­entered the running for a $100,000 instrument grant from award-winning musician Barry Manilow. Manilow and his foundation, the Manilow Music Project, are conducting a nationwide contest to award one high school band $100,000 in musical instruments and uniforms in response to budget cuts in public schools, according to a press release. Schools were asked to upload videos explaining who they are and why they need the instruments. According to the release, while se...

  • Cheney High School April Students of the Month

    Leann Burton|Updated May 16, 2019

    Cheney High School’s April Students of the Month are pictured above from left to right: Nicole Murray, Abigail Blazon, Kaylee Sullivan, Corrina Storkson, Seth Wilcox, Ryan Reimer-Golden, Chloe’ Daqust, Mykenna Williams and Kelsie Des Jarlais. Not pictured Alyssa Larson, Caitlin Cunningham and Ariana Fletcher-Alton....

  • Medical Lake High School JROTC receives award

    Updated May 16, 2019

    The Medical Lake High School Washington 81st Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps is scheduled to be awarded the Silver Star Community Service with Excellence Award at a ceremony tomorrow, Friday, May 17, at Medical Lake High School according to a unit press release. The keynote speaker will be Brigadier Gen. Gratton O. Sealock (ret.). The Silver Star Community with Excellence Award is given to JROTC members for attaining a high level of community service and organization....

  • Cheney adopts new elementary math curriculum

    SHANNEN TALBOT, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    It was an unusual start to a school board meeting as Cheney district officials, employees and families gathered in the Cheney Middle School cafeteria on May 8 for the district’s Employee Recognition Night. Several teachers were nominated for awards by their students, and a few of those students took turns reading their nominations. Superintendent Rob Roettger presented “You raise me up” awards to Salnave Elementary counselor Gwynn Moe, nominated by Lily Escalera-Alton, Westwood Middle School eighth-grade teacher Lucas Jense...

  • Airway Heights officials: 'Much ado about nothing'

    SHANNEN TALBOT, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    Airway Heights residents were alarmed over the weekend when the city’s Public Works Department announced that one of two interties with Spokane was to be shut down for relocation and asked all residents to begin conserving water immediately. That alarm quickly turned to relief when city staff amended their statement on Monday, May 13, saying water operations could resume as normal because the intertie connection relocation would be completed in phases, with some to take place at a later date. The original announcement, which...

  • EWU dedicates restoration, center projects

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated May 16, 2019

    Eastern Washington University officially launched two long-time initiatives with dedication ceremonies last Wednesday. A crowd of around 100 people stood by on the wind-swept hill near the university's water tower to help kick-off the Prairie Restoration Project with a blessing and acknowledgement of the land by the Spokane Tribe of Indians. Spokane Tribe chair Carol Evans told the assembly that there were also representatives from the Coeur D'Alene, Kalispel and Flathead trib...

  • Air Force response to AH claims is silence

    SHANNEN TALBOT, Staff Reporter|Updated May 16, 2019

    Representatives from several levels of the United States Air Force had little to say last week in response to an Airway Heights letter demanding nearly $47 million in damages because of the 2017 contamination of its water supply. Fairchild personnel originally referred queries seeking a response to the letter to the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) in San Antonio, Texas, which has played a large part in water testing and other contamination-related activities on the West Plains. AFCEC spokesperson Mark Kinkade said he...

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