Lisa Leinberger

CHENEY – Three Cheney city parks should have $190,328 worth of new playground equipment next year. The City Council on Tuesday OK’d a proposal by Paul Simmons, parks and recreation director, to get new playground equipment for Centennial, Sutton and Lower Salnave parks.

CHENEY – The Cheney Police Department is now fighting crime with high-tech tools to let its officers spend more time patrolling the streets and less time doing paperwork. Police Cmdr. Rick Campbell said the new computers in patrol cars went live the evening of Sept. 11 and were used a short time later during an early morning arrest on Sept. 12.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, 4340 W. Fort George Wright Drive, will present pianist Jody Graves, director of keyboard studies at Eastern Washington University, Sunday at 7 p.m. Performing with Graves will be violinist Jason Bell and soprano Susan Windham.

The theme of this year’s Cheney High School Homecoming celebration is “Unmask the Night,” and T-shirts are on sale for $10. The school will also have special events through Saturday.

AIRWAY HEIGHTS – Watering lawns between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. during the hottest months of the year is a thing of the past in Airway Heights. The City Council unanimously passed the watering restriction Monday.

Gonzaga University will present its 39th annual Pilgrimage to the Mission of the Sacred Heart in Cataldo, Idaho, on Saturday. Students, Jesuits, faculty, staff, alumni, family and friends are invited to gather at College Hall Circle on the campus of the school at 7 p.m. and travel to Enaville Resort in North Idaho.

MEDICAL LAKE – A resident who wanted to complain in public to the City Council about a police sergeant accused by a city employee of sexual misconduct didn’t get her chance Tuesday. City Attorney Cynthia McMullen told the woman that her complaint against Sgt. Joe Mehrens would be better heard in private. The woman later told a television reporter she was assaulted by Mehrens at Deaconess Medical Center, where she works.

MEDICAL LAKE – A resident who wanted to complain in public to the City Council about a police sergeant accused by a city employee of sexual misconduct didn’t get her chance Tuesday. Cathy Litts was told by City Attorney Cynthia McMullen that her complaint against Sgt. Joe Mehrens would be better heard in private. Mehrens is on paid administrative leave after a city employee filed a criminal complaint with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office alleging Mehrens touched her breast while wiping juice off her shirt, according to news reports. The employee filed a restraining order against Mehrens on Aug. 21 and a sheriff’s detective has recommended he be charged with fourth-degree assault with sexual motivations, a gross misdemeanor. Initial complaints against Mehrens were made in April.

CHENEY – The Cheney City Council on Tuesday agreed to spend $7,885 for the emergency cleanup of asbestos that was uncovered during the remodel of City Hall. Joe Noland of the Cheney Light Department said the project is more than halfway finished.

Spokane City Forum will present its first luncheon on Wednesday from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Spokane First Presbyterian Church, 318 S. Cedar St. This month’s speaker will be Gary Chamberlain, a professor and ethicist from Seattle University. He will speak on the topic “Water Wars – the Global Water Crisis.”

Healing Rooms Ministries will present its 10th annual Spiritual Hunger Conference on Wednesday through 13 at the Spokane Convention Center, Group Health Exhibit Halls, 334 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. This year’s featured speakers include Bishop Joseph Garlington of Covenant Church in Pittsburgh, Bill Johnson of Bethel Church in Redding, Calif., and Cal Pierce of Healing Rooms Ministries.

CHENEY – Don MacDonald, the public works director for the city of Cheney, has resigned his position after 14 years in the department. The city received his letter of resignation Aug. 28. “He is looking to lend his expertise to another entity down the road,” said Arlene Fisher, the city administrator.

CHENEY – City code enforcement officers no longer need to wait for a formal written complaint before warning residents to rid their yards of junk cars, garbage and perform some yard maintenance. The City Council on Tuesday OK’d a resolution allowing the officers to act on potential code violations they see themselves.

CHENEY – The Cheney Public Works department will begin traffic count studies along Simpson Parkway and other busy streets to see if repainting the lines on the roads will be a feasible option to slow down speeders. In addition, the Cheney Police Department will begin a traffic emphasis program to emphasize that the speed limit is 25 mphour.

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 316 E. 24th Ave., will present its annual Hymn Sing Sunday at 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Local musicians Ann Fennessy, Debbie Hansen, Carol Miyamoto, Dan Keberle, Andy Plamondon, Tom Molter, Melinda Keberle and Paul Raymond will perform hymns.