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SPOKANE — The Department of Labor & Industries has fined Amazon Inc., $85,800 for knowingly putting workers at risk of injury at their fulfillment center at 10010 W Geiger Blvd., Aug. 16. According to a Labor & Industries (L&I) press release, this fulfillment center is one of three other locations across the state which has been cited for similar violations. Amazon is aware of these hazards, the press release said, and that is why the most recent violation is considered ...
CHENEY — With a fire comes the need for a command post and camp to house firefighters and their support crews. For the Gray Fire, Northwest Incident Management Team No. 7, a Southeast Washington response team, set up operations at Cheney Middle School, 740 Betz Road, where it replaced state Department of Natural Resources managing the emergency. The team will be moving later this week due to the back-to-school timetable. Spokeswoman Heather Gibsen said Monday, Aug. 21, that the team is charged with managing the daily l...
ELK - On Monday evening, the Oregon Road Fire grew into the largest blaze in the regional over the last week. At least one person had died in the blaze, officials said. Evacuation notices remain in effect across much of the area surrounding the communities of Elk and Chattaroy. The fire was most active east and southeast of elk, burning in dry grass and timber. An evacuation center was set up at Riverside High School, 4120 E. Deer Park Milan Road, Chattaroy. Another is open...
CHENEY - A local veterinary clinic has been assisting the ongoing animal rescue efforts after the Gray Fire. Many animals went missing or escaped when the fire ripped through Medical Lake neighborhoods Friday, Aug. 18. In the days since, a volunteers have come together to rescue, treat and reunite animals with their families. According to Cheney Veterinary Clinic technician Lillian Nowlin and Assstant Manager Marrisa Dormaier, hundreds of animals have needed rescue and...
CHENEY — Following the departure of a bench full of seniors there will be many new faces in the Cheney High School volleyball program in 2023. The Blackhawks also welcome a new head coach, but someone who is still quite familiar to those in the program. After several seasons leading the team, Heather Zorrozua stepped away to become Cheney Middle School’s vice principal and athletics director. She handed the playbook down the bench to former assistant and volleyball vet...
MEDICAL LAKE - Rain Tuesday, Aug. 22, gave fire crews a break in their effort to stop the growth of the Gray Fire. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, fire officials said the blaze was 48% contained. The new estimated size is 10,016 acres. On Wednesday at 7, officials hosted a community meeting to explain the status of the Gray Fire and hear fire victims' concerns. They were also explain the command post move from Cheney Middle School to Pine Lodge, 721 S. Pine St. That meeting was planned...
SPOKANE - In a matter of minutes, the Gray Fire grew into an aggressive beast that scorched more than 10,000 acres. The fire had authorities calling for Level III evacuation notices for 5,000-plus residents of the Medical Lake and Four Lakes areas Friday Aug. 18. As flames quickly swept over the hills behind Lakeland Village, nearby Medical Lake residents such as Catherine Swan didn't have a lot of time to gather belongings before fleeing. "I knew there was a fire nearby," Swa...
CHENEY - What started as a back-to-school drive has transformed into a clothing drive for victims of regional wildfires. According to Cheney Church of the Nazarene Pastor Chuck Perry, the congregation decided to do some early preparation for a back-to-school clothing drive. Little did they know the Gray, and Oregon Road and Winona Fires would change their plans. "The funny thing is we were actually gathering clothes for kids going back to school," Perry said. "But then the fir...
WINONA - The Winona Fire, which burned 2,535 acres over the weekend, completely destroyed the Rebel Flat Creek railroad trestle. The fire broke out Friday and destroyed the trestle as it raced through dry grass and sage down a slope to the creek and railroad tracks. After the fire had passed, only rails remained in the span over the creek. State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Janet Matkin said Tuesday, Aug. 22, the wooden trestle bridge was about 200 feet long and...
CHENEY — As emergency officials pushed traffic off Interstate 90 and into the city, traffic backed up for miles. At times Saturday and Sunday, traffic was bumper-to-bumper from the Cheney-Spokane Road to the Cheney Free Press building, 1616 W. First St. Periodically, traffic was shifted west to state Highway 231 through Edwall and Reardan. But traffic backups on that small two-lane road and a crash in the southbound lane forced traffic back into Cheney or west to Davenport a...
MEDICAL LAKE — In the midst of the chaos Friday, Aug. 18, one local man stared through the danger to save his disabled neighbor. Tyler Lust was at work in Cheney when he got word of the evacuation notices for his neighborhood in Medical Lake. “I heard that Greengate Road was being evacuated, so I raced home because I have two dogs I wanted to save,” Lust said. “On my way out, I noticed my neighbor was pretty hysterical in her yard. “I asked if she needed help, and she said her husband was stuck in the house and couldn’t...
BY BYRNE BENNETT Free Press Publishing MEDICAL LAKE — A lifelong resident, philanthropist and advocate for area youth died in the Gray Fire on Friday, Aug. 18. The cause of death for Carl Grub, 86, has yet to be released. Grub was born in Medical Lake in 1937. He served in the U.S. Air Force reserves for 22 years, sold real estate and was a cattleman. In 2008, he and his brother, Craig, established the Jensen Memorial Youth Ranch, which serves as a place for 4-H and FFA members from Reardan, Medical Lake, Cheney and F...
CHENEY - On the morning of Aug. 21 Spokane County Fire District No. 3 firefighters responded to several brush fires burning along Mullinix Road. At one point, 5 acres burned quickly, but were doused. District No. 3 firefighters received additional support from Cheney Fire Department, Spokane County Fire District No. 10 (Airway Heights), Turnbull Wildlife Refuge and the state Department of Natural Resources. The cause is under investigation....
PALOUSE — An airstrip on Grinnell Road north of town caught fire the night of Wednesday, Aug. 16, damaging a large hangar building. Local volunteer firefighters out were paged at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Palouse Fire Chief Wil Edwards said. Volunteer firefighters responded from Garfield, Albion, Colfax, Endicott and Farmington, he said. Palouse firefighters were cleared around 11:30 p.m. “So, we were out there around 3 hours,” Edwards said, adding that no one was injured in the fire. Garfield Fire Chief Chris McCully was on sc...
DUSTY - State Highway 26 was briefly closed Thursday, Aug. 17, after a grain truck caught fire near Milepost 17. The vehicle fire was reported at about 4:45 p.m., the state Department of Transportation reported. The burning truck ignited a dry field along the westbound side of the highway. The highway was closed until 6:11 p.m., when Transportation crews were able to reopen one lane with flaggers directing traffic. The highway fully reopened at 11 p.m., officials said. The...
On Friday afternoon, Aug. 18, our spirits were high. I’d just finished work for the day and was planning to grill some brats and cook baked beans for an enjoyable barbecue dinner. Summer weekends were running out, and we wanted to make them count. Little did we know, that naive plan was about to go out the window. After resurfacing from my home office on the north side of Medical Lake, I noticed a massive plume of smoke to the south. I instantly knew it was a wildfire, and my first instinct was to be concerned for the farmers...
A quip on a social media post said it all: “Harrington has never been so busy.” That tongue-in-cheek post was in reference to the diversion of Interstate 90 traffic between Spokane and Sprague through Airway Heights, Reardan, Davenport and Harrington as the Gray Fire encroached on the highway over the weekend. The fire broke out Friday near Eastern State Hospital and Medical Lake. As it grew toward Four Lakes and Cheney, someone decided it was a idea to detour traffic at dif...
Many fingers are again pointed at electric utilities because downed power lines are suspected of starting another horrific wildfire---the one that raced through Lahaina killing hundreds of unsuspecting people. Who would have imagined that one day, the historic Hawaiian capitol on Maui would be a thriving tourist destination and 24-hours later it would be piles of smoldering rubble and ashes which included remains of people? Cellphone video reveals that high winds down live electric lines which ignited bone-dry grass and...
MEDICAL LAKE — Eastern State Hospital and the Department of Social Human Services is now involved in two lawsuits initiated by two former employees, both of which have trial dates set in August and October, according to Spokane County Court documents. One of the lawsuits has been filed by Sheri Hendon, who is a licensed psychiatric social worker formerly employed by the hospital and alleges that she was retaliated against for filing a complaint against a supervisor, Deanna B...
MEDICAL LAKE — The City Council voted unanimously to approve two bids — one for soccer goal modifications and one for holiday decor. The approval came at the council’s regular meeting Aug. 15. Resolution 23-617, awarded funds for the purchase of soccer field goals from BSN Sports, LLC. in the amount of $11,107.80. The city required the purchase of new soccer goals due to deterioration of current soccer goals; and had previously published a request for proposals for new socce...
PULLMAN – A state appellate court has affirmed the conviction of a local man arrested after a January 2022 social media sting intended to catch drug dealers. On Aug. 17, the state Court of Appeals Division III filed an unpublished opinion affirming the arrest and conviction of William Patrick McBride, 59, of Malden. McBride was convicted of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) with intent to deliver after communicating with a fictious person on social media,...
ROSALIA - A Salon and Barber is open in Rosalia right across from the Welcome to Rosalia town sign on 317 North Whitman Avenue. Owner Lisa Hill, 56, Spokane, has been a hairdresser for 38 years. She explained that she feels there's a need for a salon in Rosalia, and many community members had approached her saying they were tired of driving so far to get a haircut, "and just how expensive gas was," she said. Hill's husband, a Rosalia native since he was a high school junior,...
Airway Heights Police The Airway Heights Police made the following arrests between Aug. 15-20: Aug. 15 Tasha R Meyers was arrested on the 1800 block South of Lawson Street for fourth-degree assault, domestic violence. Kathleen S Hartsoch was arrested on the 200 block South of Airlift Street for Driving a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Aug. 20 Triston V.L Andrew Paul was arrested on the 1200 block South of Hayford Road for Third-degree theft. Destiny L Abrahamson was arrested on the 1200 block South of...
MEDICAL LAKE – A long time bluegrass musician and experienced fiddler has once again participated in the annual Blue Waters Bluegrass Festival held Aug. 11-13. JayDean Ludiker, Owner of Ludiker Music said she tries to get involved in as many community events as possible because she is very passionate about music. "I grew up in Spokane Valley in a family where everyone played an instrument," Ludiker said. "I watched my father play, and he took me around the country as he played...
MEDICAL LAKE - A rookie head coach no more. Hailey Van Soest has a lot better understanding as she enters her second season with Medical Lake High School volleyball. One thing Van Soest learned in 2022 with a team that finished 5-13 was how to depend on herself as a coach. Good thing because she'll not have an assistant this season. Van Soest, who spends her daytime hours "coaching" kindergarteners at Hallett Elementary, went through a series of trial-and-error periods she...
