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City of Cheney officials have relaxed water restrictions imposed on June 30 after one of its deepest and largest producing wells went down with a mechanical failure. The failure, coupled with very hot weather conditions, sent water levels at the city's five reservoirs plummeting from a normal 25-28 feet to 11.7 feet on July 7. Those levels had been slowly climbing, thanks to residents efforts in adhering to restrictions, and had reached 20.23 feet around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday. In a notification on its website, the city said it wa...
For the last year, the Airway Heights building department has been seeking a full-time building inspector to help with the influx of commercial and residential developments sprouting in the city. The department has found their inspector — at least for a year anyways. During its July 3 meeting, City Council approved a 12-month employment agreement with Michael Schelling, an International Building Code certified building inspector. Schelling would receive all of the benefits a city inspector would get, but he will not be a p...
Once the dust from other issues has settled, Cheney officials will revisit a water conservation plan for the city. Municipalities are required to produce and implement water conservation measures under the Water Use Efficiency (WUE) rule, which was part of the Municipal Water Law passed in 2003. Under the WUE, Cheney must establish a water use plan and savings goals for customers, evaluate and implement specific measures to achieve these goals and report annual progress. The city held a public hearing May 2 on proposed...
With Medical Lake Mayor John Higgins not seeking another term, three candidates are vying for his seat in the 2017 August primary election. Two are longtime City Council members, Shirley Maike and Laura Parsons, while the other, Mikael Suniga, is a police officer and former mayoral candidate in 2013. Shirley Maike Shirley Maike said her 20 years on City Council and time as the chief operating officer at Eastern State Hospital has helped her build leadership skills she can...
The City of Cheney has enacted a mandatory lawn irrigation water shutdown for residents and businesses. The shutdown went into effect late Thursday afternoon, July 6. City water resource manager Dan Ferguson said the bearings in Well No. 5’s pump column seized up on June 29. Initially thought to be a quick fix at the top by replacing motor bearings, when the contractor pulled the column apart on July 6 at the Presley Drive well, they found lower bearings along the pump shaft had also seized up. “This will require removing as...
The City of Cheney has enacted a mandatory lawn irrigation water shutdown for residents and businesses. The shutdown went into effect late Thursday afternoon, July 6. City water resource manager Dan Ferguson said the bearings in Well No. 5's pump column seized up on June 29. Initially thought to be a quick fix at the top of the well head, when the contractor pulled the column apart on July 6 at the Presley Drive well, they found some of the lower bearings had seized as well. "This will require removing as much pump piping...
With the gazebo at Sutton Park newly remodeled, it is time to enjoy the summer with free concerts and movies in the park. Back on May 9, the Cheney City Council voted 6-0 to approve a $16,985 bid from Steve Moser Construction of Nine Mile Falls to repair the foundation of the gazebo. Along with the foundation, work also included shoring up the roof supports. The gazebo has a long history as it is dated back to the late 19th century and came to the city of Cheney in 1984 from...
’s June 12 meeting, during which concerns were raised about being able to address residents’ complaints surrounding problems with parking on city streets, especially around Eastern Washington University, and the over abundance of multifamily complexes being built. Since changes to the comp plan are only allowed periodically, commissioners worried they wouldn’t be able to address these concerns until the next cycle. City senior planner Brett Lucas told the commission and the council during the workshop that parking issue...
The Cheney pool was the place to cool off this week from the hot temperatures on the West Plains. The pool hosts open swim Monday – Saturday every week from 1 – 5 p.m. Various free swims throughout the summer are sponsored by local businesses, with the next one taking place July 8....
The Medical Lake Fire Department doesn’t usually have a lot of problems managing outdoor burning in the city. In most cases, when firefighters or Spokane County Sheriff’s Office deputies ask people to extinguish illegal fires, folks oblige. However there are a few incidents with repeat offenders or people who disregard the request to put out the blaze. During the June 20 Medical Lake City Council meeting, Fire Chief Jason Mayfield submitted an ordinance for the city’s municipal code regulating portable outdoor fireplaces and...
Cheney’s City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance changing the zoning of a 3.6-acre parcel of land at the corner of Cedar and North Eighth streets from multifamily residential (R-3) to high-density multifamily residential (R-3H). The increased density will allow the Parkside Commons student-housing project to move forward once the other two readings and final passage are held. Parkside Commons’ request for the zoning changes have been the subject of several well-attended council and planning com...
More units will be added to the Northern Heights apartment complex project. During a special June 21 meeting, the Airway Heights Planning Commission approved a planned unit development (PUD) overlay request to increase the Northern Heights apartment complex from 216 middle-income rental units to 232. The apartment complex will be located on 10.85 acres of property designated multi-family, on the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue and Garfield Street. The project's developer,...
For Cheney Police Department's Ben James, being a dispatcher is just another way of helping people, something he's always felt called to do. James went into financing to help people with their finances. He went into mental health counseling to help people facing those issues. "Anyone who calls 911 is having a crisis, and emergency," James said. "It's (dispatching) rewarding in that aspect. I enjoy helping people in that short term." Because of that approach, and his...
On June 17, Cheney resident Brad Rasmussen was seriously injured after he was hit by a car while riding his bike. Rasmussen has deep roots in Cheney, as he is a teacher at Cheney High School and the head wrestling coach. Since the accident, Rasmussen has been admitted into the St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Center and will be in a body brace for the next coming weeks. The community has started a Go Fund Me account for the family to help with medical costs. So far, almost $20,000 has been donated with the account having a goal o...
The city of Medical Lake received some additional funds to help with its summer street patching. During its June 20 meeting, City Council approved the state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) fuel tax grant distribution agreement for the $23,274 the city received from the board’s 2017 Emergency Repair Program. The money can only go toward fixing the streets that were damaged from the moisture in winter and spring. City Administrator Doug Ross said staff will be renting the equipment and repairing the streets in early J...
Clara Silver puts the closing touches on her talent, using sign language to perform the 1939 classic from Wizard of Oz "Over the Rainbow" at the annual Betz Elementary School talent show June 15. Twenty-two students in teacher Cindy Tilque's class showed off abilities in everything from singing to comedy to gymnastics....
Cheney police and Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Services, SCRAPS, officers aren’t certain if two stray dogs were what killed a cat in the Golden Hills area last Wednesday evening, but are advising the public to keep an eye out for them nonetheless. In an email late on June 22, Kellie Yates said two “large, block dogs” had entered her home on Sunrise Drive by forcing open a heavy sliding glass door. She wrote that they chased her two cats through the house before “killing one of them at 7:44 this evening...
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Normally during the summer, the Airway Heights' splash pad in Sunset Park would be operating and children would be playing on it. However, there have been a couple situations has kept the city from operating the water feature at this time. The first was the recent water crisis where the city enacted water restrictions advising residents and businesses not to use Airway Heights water for consumption from May 16 to June 8. Staff did not operate the splash pad as a cautionary...
Cheney’s City Council reached a consensus at its June 13 meeting on a proposal by Mayor Tom Trulove to approach developers of the Parkside Commons student housing project to see if a negotiated agreement could be reached on the contentious issue. The suggestion to talk with Eastmark Capital Group and Greenstone Development came barely 24 hours after the Planning Commission voted 3-2 to approve a rezone request for the development. Eastmark and Greenstone would like to increase the density on the current multifamily zoning to...
The Airway Heights Municipal Court will go through a new consultant for advocate services that it provides to domestic violence victims. During its June 19 meeting, the Airway Heights City Council approved a $7,500 contract between the city and Ginger Johnson of Relationship Advantage for these services. Based out of Spokane, Johnson is a domestic violence court and community advocate, and a Washington state certified domestic violence perpetrator treatment provider. The city previously went through the YWCA for advocate...
Cheney’s Planning Commission approved a recommendation to allow a zoning change for a proposed student-housing complex across from the city’s pool and Hagelin Park. The 3-2 vote at the commission’s June 12 meeting came after a second public hearing, and included changes and a spirited commission discussion. The biggest change occurred with the commission’s make up. Commissioner Craig Huber announced his resignation earlier in the day due, reducing it to five members instead of the six present during the first go-roun...
The water in Airway Heights is safe to drink again. During a June 8 press conference, City Manager Albert Tripp announced staff received the third round of test results for perfluoro chemical contamination. Twenty of the 21 samples that were sent to Anatek Labs on Monday, June 5, tested non-detect or below the 70 parts per trillion Environmental Health Advisory levels. At the recommendation of the state Health Department, city officials lifted its water restriction advising residents and businesses to not use city water for...
Photo by John McCallum Cheney High School senior class speaker Amber Laura Wohali employed some props to help the audience along with her presentation titled "Once upon a time..." at commencement ceremonies June 9 at Eastern Washington University's Reese Court....
The Cheney Depot Society is considering forming a limited liability company (LLC) to address any potential clean up at a proposed new location for the former Northern Pacific rail station. At the June 1 Cheney Historic Preservation Commission meeting, commission Chair and Depot Society board president Dr. Charles Mutschler said the LLC would only manage the property. The additional “layer” should shield the assets of the society if any environmental remediation is needed at the First Street property previously occupied by Dow...
