Cheney Free Press -

By SHANNEN TALBOT Staff Reporter March was fraught with conflict for educators and parents across the county when the U.S Office of Management and Budget proposed the elimination of nearly $18 million in Special Olympics funding. Lights. Smile....

If you have been reading the Cheney Free Press with any kind of regularity, you will have noticed something troubling. At least it’s troubling to me. In the last year, especially the last six months, Cheney has had to say goodbye to some people...

I would like to thank Paul and Martha Harris, for helping us in a dire time of need. Very recently my father passed away and a few days later our pump broke. It was very overwhelming, for my family and I. We didn’t think we could make it through...

Our democracy has become dysfunctional, and it’s all part of the sideshow of distraction. Meanwhile, special interests — read moneyed interests — have taken over the legislative decision-making processes that are intended for all, not just...

Trustworthy is the PACE character trait for April. As a former school counselor and now teacher, I’ve learned a lot about trustworthiness working with students and families. To be trustworthy means to be someone that others can trust and count on t...

Yippeee! I finished my taxes. I was concerned after the media horror stories of taxpayers who expected considerable refunds only to discover they owed thousands to the IRS. I didn’t know what to expect. I was happy to discover my small refund was...

Recently I learned that the Washington State Patrol has added additional officers, and resources to Gov. Inslee’s protection detail because of his presidential campaign. This begs the question of why we the citizens of Washington should subsidize t...

My heart goes out to the children who are caught up in our adult problems: migrant children separated from families and abused at the southern border; Palestinian children in Israeli jails and in the March of Return, Nigerian girls kidnapped from th...

I was tired of shoveling snow the other day and needed some comic relief, so I decided to read the most recent newsletters sent out by my state representative. Finding out what is happening at our state capitol is challenging. I usually start with...

Before our country, in haste, dives totally into renewable energy, we must carefully evaluate its impacts. By just focusing on eliminating natural gas, liquid fuels (gasoline and diesel) and coal to combat climate change, we ignore the effects of...

The Trump administration is working to slow down the implementation of a major international environmental regulation that’s set to take effect in 2020. The administration hopes that the effort will ease the compliance burden on businesses by...

I would like to thank those who responded and helped my husband at the incident where my husband passed away last Wednesday, March 20. All emergency responders, all at Cheney Middle School, Cheney high teachers Mr. Marsh and Mr. Scarcello; Brad the...

Medical Lake Dollars for Scholars raised over $15,000 at last week’s Spring Thing dinner/dance/auction. This includes $6,000 toward matching grant funds which will provide additional four-year scholarships to be awarded this June. To all the many...

It an be tempting to write negative letters complaining about the issues we currently face in America. I would much rather share a bright spot in our community and the next generation. Cheney School bands are doing a wonderful job instructing our...

When writing this column, I generally try to think about what’s happening on a local, regional or national scale. I like to talk about topics with far-reaching consequences that require diverse perspectives and affect a variety of people. But not...

Homelessness has been cussed and discussed with no solution in sight. With no viable plan, most government officials wring their hands and hope the problem will go away. The latest suggestion is to pay the homeless a living wage. Thus, the...

Across the pond, London-based BP and Netherlands-headquartered Shell are looking to invest in innovative electric technology, which is very good news. The two international oil giants, both of which have oil refineries in northwest Washington,...

James Ebisch’s guest commentary on climate change (CFP, March 7, 2019) is rife with misinformation. Given the lack of climate understanding he demonstrates in his commentary, his tone is particularly unfortunate, detracting from his message and...

How times have changed! Current Democratic presidential candidates’ proposed policies labeled “extreme” by Republicans today were actively mainstream when I was young. Examples: 70 percent income tax on the highest bracket. It was over 90...

My wife Sheila reminded me Tuesday morning that life can change in the blink of an eye. It’s a familiar statement that is so true — in many ways. Life changed for many members of the Cheney and Eastern Washington University communities last Sunda...

In life, rarely is anything worth having easily or immediately achieved. Sure, you may experience an immediate reward from time to time — winning the lottery is the obvious example here — but you did not do much, if anything, to earn that...

I didn’t think it was quite time for political season, but it seems to have started. I was just sitting down to dinner when my phone rang. If it had been 30 seconds later, I would have let the answering machine take it even though I was expecting...

Emmanuel Lutheran Church would like to thank the community for helping us with our 10th annual Festival of Chocolate. The turnout was wonderful and all had a great time. We saw folks that come out every year for this event as well as some new faces....

A big “thank you” to Cheney Real Estate Management for recognizing and valuing the importance of “shopping local” by purchasing gift cards from a small downtown establishment, The Mason Jar, rather than a large, national chain. By supporting...

Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest because of the trees. The U.S. Constitution guarantees those inalienable rights to which the founding fathers referred in the Declaration of Independence — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness....