Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 36
Cheney Light Department’s No. 1 goal for 2014 is pretty simple and pretty obvious: Keep the lights on. “If we don’t keep the lights on we’re missing our core objective for this city,” Light Department Director Joe Noland told the City Council during budget presentations Nov. 12. That task has been made a bit more challenging in 2014 thanks to a 9.56 percent increase in power and transmission charges by the Bonneville Power Administration, and a 1.3 percent growth in the system. That led to the city reaching its allowable purc...
Bill Jackline sat at a table and said with a friendly smile, "In May of this year I will have spent 35 years working as a school psychologist in some way, shape or form. During those 35 years I've worked with all age groups from toddlers to adults and saw as many people as there are in some small towns that would equal together the whole population of the state of Washington." In the early days Jackline had not expected to pursue a career in psychology. He said, "Psychology...
Hoarding Disorder Awareness Week is Dec. 1-7, 2013 in Spokane. Lightening the Load, a local organization that offers help, hope, and healing to aid those affected by hoarding will be hosting several events during the week. On Wednesday, Dec. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Lightening the Load will be opening their doors to the public with an open house at their new location, 2702 N. Perry in Spokane. Additionally, the public is invited to “Beyond Clutter and Collecting” a Hoarding Disorder Awareness Presentation that wil...
City of Cheney • Nov. 22, Story time, Baby Play and Learn ages 0-18 months, Cheney Library, 10:30 a.m. • Nov. 22, Ease the Family Freeze Festival, Cheney Middle School, 5 p.m. • Nov. 26, Friends of the Cheney Community Library Book Discussion Group, Cheney Library, 7 p.m. • Nov. 27, Toddler Play and Learn Story time (ages 1.5-3), Cheney Library, 10:30 a.m. • Nov. 28, Thanksgiving, Library closed City of Medical Lake • Nov. 25, No School, No Problem, Medical Lake Library, 1 p.m. • Nov. 27, Play and Learn Story time (ages 2-...
Billie Paradiso passed away at her home on Nov. 11, 2013. She was born in Lewiston, Idaho to Earl and Beryl Backster on July 23, 1956 and was the youngest of nine children. She is survived by her daughter Shawna Holland, son Joshua Klein, four stepchildren, grandchildren, step-grandchildren, great-grandchildren, five sisters, numerous nieces and nephews and close family friends. Her parents, a sister, two brothers and her husbands, Tim Klein and Danny Paradiso, preceded her... Full story
Emmanuel Lutheran Church Emmanuel Lutheran Church invites you to worship with us this Sunday, Nov. 24 as we celebrate Christ the King Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Christian education begins at 9 a.m. Fellowship hour this morning will include a Harvest Fest potluck and dessert auction. All are welcome. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for our weekly Advent mid-week beginning Wednesday Dec. 4. A soup and bread supper will be served at 6 p.m. followed by Holden Evening Prayer at 6:30 p.m. United Church of Christ If you read this...
In response to the editorial of James Eik, concerning the multitude of deer in Medical Lake: Yes they eat my flowers, they eat my roses, especially the prized yellow ones, and they like my tulips a lot. But I like to see them laying down in my back yard, I like to watch them walking so stately through town, stopping at the crosswalks, waiting for the cars to pass. I do not feed them, and I have learned to plant daffodils instead of tulips, I do not feed the birds either, because the deer really like bird seed, no matter...
When President John F. Kennedy died, the wooden floors started to disappear. People still have wooden floors in their houses, of course, but so many of them in new houses are installed as a kind of a cozy wink. When the wrecking ball took the 19th-century cotton mill where my immigrant grandmother worked 14 hours a day in hellish heat and humidity, they sold the old wooden floors for flooring in new houses, where it will go well with the ecru walls and granite-topped kitchen counters. When Kennedy was elected president, I...
Microsoft is about to see big change in the upcoming year as its CEO Steve Ballmer steps down in the coming months. Ballmer has been the main guy at the company since 2000, during which operating systems from Vista to Windows 8 were unveiled. Think about it, in the past 13 years, a lot has changed. An article in the Wall Street Journal went through Ballmer’s heights and pitfalls as CEO, touching on the company’s growth and expansion while failing to make that big splash in a market that’s diversifying. I dabble in both Windo...
Last weekend (Nov. 8-9), two accidents occurred on State Route 904. One of those was a head-on collision with multiple injuries. Accidents on SR 904 are not isolated occurrences. The last fatal crash on 904 was only three months ago; more than 65 accidents have occurred since 2009. SR 904 from Four Lakes to Cheney is the main route to Eastern Washington University and the Cheney School District, with 17,000 to 19,000 vehicles per day forced into a two-lane, no-passing highway. Clearly, this is a highway with an antiquated,...
The long string of taillights on SR 904 that greeted those traveling out of Cheney Nov. 9 well after the conclusion of the Big Sky Conference football game between Eastern Washington and Montana State was a telltale sign. Because by 4:45 p.m. that day most all of the more than 10,000 fans that packed Roos Field to watch the Eagles dismantle the Bobcats 54-29 should have safely passed through the five-mile gauntlet that bottlenecks traffic traveling to reach Interstate 90. Instead of clear sailing through to various...
Book club talks ‘Hedy’s’ The true story of a movie star who was also a brilliant inventor is the November selection of the Book Discussion Group of the Friends of the Cheney Community Library. The group meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26 at the library. The book is “Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World” by Richard Rhodes. While working as an actress in Hollywood during World War II, Lamar and composer George Antheil, invented a radio signal to guide torpe... Full story
In a twist on the old "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" axiom, those that run the Prime Time Mentoring program might want to promote the importance of what they do with their own catchy line. An hour a week may pave the way, perhaps? "If you mentor an at-risk child four hours a month, which we're doing at the lunches in the elementary (schools) they will more likely graduate," Alise Mnati, the program's quality director said. With that in mind, Communities in Schools of S...
Cheney Middle School Honor Roll First Quarter 2013-2014 Sixth Grade 4.0 GPA – Kayla Bennett, Kassie Brennan, Jocelyn Cone, MaKean Dodson, Madisyn Duilio, Kailey Estrellado, Annika Fiala, Abby Fillmore, Evan Fleskes, J.T. Gasper, Bastiaan Holland, Alexander Kingrey, Alyssa Larson, Madison Lindemann, Megan Little, Samuel May, Lucy Nester, Brianna Nielson, Taylor Passey, Nicolas Preisig, Maisie Short, Katarina Smith, Maggie Smith, Noah Smith, Kaitlin Teeters, Alexis VanHorne, Tess Vasecka, Seth Wilcox, Abby Witt. 3.9 – 3.5 GPA...
Cheney High School’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Club placed two teams in the top-three of national competition in the Virtual Business Challenge. According to a high school news release, the second place team, Team FLASH, qualified for the national FBLA conference to be held in Nashville, Tenn. next summer. Team FLASH edged Team Rohirrim by $46 in competition, $609,949 to $609,903. Team Rohirrim finished third but unfortunately did not qualify for nationals as only one team from each state is allowed to go t...
Cheney School District board of directors voted unanimously at their Nov. 13 meeting to approve the acceptance and authorize the commissioning of the district’s two new middle schools. The move comes after receiving recommendations to do so by the district’s project manager, OAC Services, architect NAC Architecture and Director of Maintenance and Operations Jeff McClure. All three certified that the scope of work on both projects had been completed and done in accordance with contract requirements. It also allows both gen...
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Transportation is now accepting public comment on the draft 2014-2017 Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) which includes more than 1,000 transportation improvement projects across the state. WSDOT developed the list of projects in coordination with the metropolitan and regional transportation planning organizations to ensure that the projects are consistent with local, regional and state plans. The 2014-17 STIP includes improvement projects utilizing $1.8 billion i...
The biggest change for Cheney's Public Works Department in 2014 isn't financial. It's administrative. Community Development Director Brian Jennings departure last May left an opportunity for city officials to do some more downsizing, and the office responsible for planning and building construction services was rolled under the responsibility of Public Works Administration, with Public Works Director Todd Ableman and City Administrator Arlene Fisher splitting director...
The Medcial Lake City Council passed the first reading of the city’s 2014 budget at its Tuesday, Nov. 19 meeting. Prior to the budget’s first reading, the council held a public hearing to go over some of the finer points for next year. City Administrator Doug Ross said not much has changed from 2013, given the city’s generally flat revenue stream year-to-year. “We’re not adding stuff,” he said. Finance Director Jennifer Hough echoed Ross’ point, noting that there were limitations to the city’s budget. “You’re still limited as...
More transportation planning was the focus at the Monday, Nov. 18 Airway Heights City Council meeting. Spokane Planning Department’s Louis Miller went through the latest transportation study conducted by the department, which projects traffic out to roughly 10 years into the future. “This began in earnest a little less than a year ago, after the annexation took place,” he said. The plan not only focuses on automobile transportation, but freight and bicycle traffic as well. Miller said the size of the West Plains study area...
The city of Airway Heights is in dire need of planning commissioners. After several meetings were canceled this year due to a lack of quorum, it’s beginning to affect some proposed projects in the city. The latest meeting, Wednesday, Nov. 13, was among those canceled. The Planning Commission’s membership held fairly steady at the beginning of the year, but commissioners started leaving toward the start of the summer due to other commitments or time constraints. The commission’s newest member attended only one meeting befor...
The Cheney Free Press will be closed Thursday, Nov. 28, in observance of Thanksgiving. Therefore our publishing cycle has been moved forward one day, with printing taking place Tuesday, Nov. 26. In accordance, deadlines for submissions for the Nov. 28 edition have been changed. The deadline for legal notices is Friday, Nov. 22 by 5 p.m. The deadline for letters to the editor and public service announcements for the West Plains briefs is Friday at noon. The Cheney Free Press will reopen for business Friday, Nov. 29, at 8...
Cheney's Bas Holland (left) and Beckett Schoenleber (right) both won their individual divisions at last Saturday's USA Track and Field Inland Northwest Association's cross country championships at Mead High School in Spokane. Both boys, along with five other Cheney runners, compete for the Spokane Mercury and will be heading to regional action this Saturday in Monmouth, Ore....
Cheney's Planning Commission wrapped up workshop discussions on revisions to its zoning code Monday night, dealing with eight sections of Chapter 21 during the one hour and 45 minute meeting. Most of the work were housekeeping items, adjusting language to be more consistent to other parts of the code along with moving or eliminating subsections. One section, 21.41, Solar Development, was eliminated entirely since there had not been any call for its use since being adopted seve...
Much of Medical Lake’s 2014 preliminary budget remains unchanged from this year. Overall, the city has a $9,291,652 total budget for 2014, up from the projected $9,090,791 budget for 2013. The Current Expense fund is set to increase from $2,930,148 to $3,230,629 in 2014. Property and excise taxes are the largest sources of revenue for the general fund. The City Council held a public hearing on the preliminary 2014 budget at its Tuesday, Nov. 19 meeting. One noticeable decrease in the 2014 budget is the streets fund, which d...
