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  • Kalispel Tribe, Northern Quest file suit against 3M, Tyco Fire Products

    JOHN McCALLUM, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 5, 2020

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS --The Kalispel Tribe of Indians, its economic authority and the Northern Quest Resort & Casino have filed a $21.27 million lawsuit against companies including 3M and Tyco Fire Products along with the United States government over chemicals used in firefighting foam that have contaminated drinking water sources in Airway Heights, including tribal lands. The lawsuit filed Monday, March 30, in federal court in Washington joins other lawsuits around the country dealing with alleged harmful effects of...

  • Spokane County COVID cases top 200

    JOHN McCALLUM, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 5, 2020

    SPOKANE -- COVID19 cases in Spokane County have topped 200, with the death toll from the severe acute respiratory disease rising as well. In an April 4 news release, Spokane County Department of Emergency Management officials said the total number of individuals with the disease was 209, up from 194 on April 3. The death toll also increased from seven to 10. According to Spokane Regional Health District information, to date 3,711 individual have been tested in the county, with 135 testing positive, 3,574 negatives and 34...

  • Layoffs coming at Eastern Washington University services

    JOHN McCALLUM, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 30, 2020

    CHENEY -- Eastern Washington University officials have indicated there will be some layoffs in response to changes on campus resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The layoffs will take place in the housing and dining services due to a reduced number of students being on campus. The university went to all online instruction earlier this month as a measure to combat the spread of the disease sweeping world, and that instruction will remain online the rest of the 2019-2020 academic school year. Officials are still assessing the...

  • Fairchild announces first COVID-19 case

    JOHN McCALLUM, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 18, 2020

    AIRWAY HEIGHTS, WASH. -- Fairchild Air Force Base officials have announced that one of their airmen has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. In a March 16 news release, officials said they are monitoring the situation after samples sent to a Department of Defense lab produced positive results. The individual is in self-isolation at their off-base residence and base officials have notified Spokane Regional Health District authorities. Additionally, Col. Derek Salmi, the Installation Commander, has declared an on-base...

  • Inslee: 'We will get through this'

    JOHN McCALLUM, Managing Editor|Updated Mar 16, 2020

    SEATTLE - If Washington is to stop the spread of coronavirus and the disease it carries, COVID-19, the most important step is to essentially keep our distance from each other. That was the most important aspect of personal protection outlined by Gov. Jay Inslee and others at a Monday, March 16, press conference in Seattle. That includes not only health directives to maintain a "social distance" of a minimum of 6 feet between each other, but also evaluate our routines and if...

  • Verizon outage hampers 911 service across region

    John McCallum, Cheney Free Press|Updated Feb 12, 2020

    SPOKANE — Eastern Washington Verizon cellular customers were left without the possibility of calling 911 on Monday night, Feb. 10, due to a fiber issue that interrupted service. Service was eventually restored after a couple hours. According to the website Downdetector.com there were more than 2,600 reports of outages, with a map showing Eastern Washington and North Idaho being hit the hardest. Outages were also shown between Wenatchee and Yakima, the Puget Sound area centered on Seattle, north to Everett and south to T...

  • Basketball legend, former Ritzville coach passes away

    John McCallum, Cheney Free Press Managing Editor|Updated Oct 10, 2019

    CHENEY – An Eastern Washington coaching legend passed away last week. According to the family, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Humphrey passed away early Wednesday morning, Oct. 2. Humphrey coached in several high schools in Eastern Washington, most notably Ritzville and Cheney. Born April 4, 1940, Humphrey graduated from Reardan High School in 1958, being part of the Indians basketball lore as a member of the boys' b...

  • Opinion: Look beyond border to solve immigration

    John McCallum, Cheney Free Press Managing Editor|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    We Americans like to think of ourselves as problem solvers of a sort. If something is wrong, or needs fixing, we feel we can get to the heart of the matter and figure out a solution that is best addressed to solve it. There is a problem with immigration in this country — legal and illegal. Always has been, and if we don’t figure things out, always will be. Spending $5.7 billion to build a great, big, beautiful wall — even a not-so-big and beautiful steel barrier — is not a solution. Never has been, never will be. There a...