Community Thanks April 17, 2011
RAFFLE: Thanks for donations
Hayden Meadows Elementary School would like to thank everyone who helped make our Spring Raffle fundraiser such a tremendous success. A special thank you to all those who donated:
Anew Start Rejuvenation Center, Avondale Golf Club and Pro Shop - Dan Porter, Coeur d'Alene Public Golf Club, Dr. Michael Bloom Family Dentistry, H.I.P - Hair Inspired Professionals, Shannon Harrison, J. Miller Salon - Andie and Jennifer, Linda Owsley Permanent Cosmetics, Manthos Day Spa - Sally, Prairie Falls Golf Club, Relief Workers Association, Studio Essentials Salon - Myranda Wheeler, Super 1 Foods - Hayden, Wholesale Sports, Teresa and Tamara Balderrama, Mike and Brandie Chapman, Bob and Shelby Drummond, Dr. and Mrs. Kladar, Mike and Lisa Overby and Carrie White.
Sincerely,
HAYDEN MEADOWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
RUN: One of the best in the area
To all who were involved in the Hauser Lake Icebreaker Run on April 3... what can I say, but THANK YOU! What a success and all because of the energy put forth by all the volunteers to ensure that this run is one of the best runs in the area! 239 registered runners! More than 100 more than last year! More Second Seed qualifiers for Bloomsday!
The community came out to support the efforts of the Hauser Lake Watershed Coalition's fundraiser and their efforts to maintain the quality of their lake. Tasks were cheerfully accomplished such as cutting up the fruit to the late registration desk, the distribution of the beautiful 2011 event shirts to course monitors, parking crew, flaggers, water stop crews, finish line team, race result runners, data input, even clean up around the lake... all showing that they "cared enough to make a difference." Thanks to the Hauser Fire Department for the lead and chase teams, the Angela-Marie Project for playing music on the course, and Stein's IGA for the donation of fruit.
To all the sponsors a HUGE thank you: Hauser Lake Watershed Coalition, Centennial/Michelob Ultra, Hauser Lake Lions Club, Avista, A Natural Medicine Institute and Saturday Night Inc. A special thank you to the Race Committee: Coalition President Jonell DesMarais whose leadership skills and organizational talents pulled it all together. Jabet Wheeler-Fantastic shirts! John Wallis for assuring we had parking, bathroom facilities and working with Nick at the Kootenai Park Department. Jim and JoAnn Wallace for doing a special job keeping our wonderful little lake clean and coordinating with the Post Falls Highway District. What a great crew! My hat's off to all of you.
To my lovely wife, Cristene, for putting up with me the last few weeks as the demands grew greater as the race drew closer and for donating all of the coffee and cookies for the volunteers and runners and working at the finish line. You are the greatest!
We have new ideas for next year's run to make it even larger and better then this years (that will be a tough one)! All of the runners just love this course - it's fast, it's early in the year and it's a Bloomsday qualifier. The HLWC has now had the race in its lap for three years and it has grown each year and gotten better each year. See you next year!
DUANE JUSTUS
Race Director
Member HLWC/Hauser Lions Club
ECO: Thanks for all you do
The Post Falls Police Department is celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunications Week April 10-16 to honor their Emergency Communications Officers (ECO's) who work behind the scenes to answer calls for help every day. Post Falls has some of the best-trained Telecommunications Officers. The citizens and visitors are the beneficiaries of their outstanding service. Each year, the second week of April is dedicated to the men and women who serve as Telecommunications Officers. In October 1991, Congress made a formal proclamation to recognize this week as National Telecommunicators Week. Mayor Larkin and the Post Falls City Council have also written a proclamation to recognize our ECO's.
The ECO's are on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They work holidays and miss special occasions with their families to protect the lives of those needing assistance and provide necessary information to the officers dispatched to the calls. These ECO's have saved lives, reduced the potential for increased injuries and have eased suffering through their direct interventions.
The ECO's are rarely seen. They are the voices who answer, "911, where is your emergency?" They are there when you call for help in the middle of the night. They are, in effect, the first responders. They determine what kind of aid is needed and send assistance to those in need. Many times they instruct you on how to do CPR, render first-aid or even deliver a baby. They ask questions about the situation and the risk factors officers might face when arriving, such as are there any weapons, the location of the offender or victim, and other pertinent questions for the safety of everyone involved. They are the police officers lifeline when they are on patrol, and they can direct the fire units to the exact location of a fire or accident. They answer hundreds of questions and provide information to locate businesses and roads.
Join me in thanking these dedicated professionals for their hard work, dedication, ability to remain calm while multi-tasking, providing clear and concise dispatch information to responding units, and taking care of requests in a timely manner. Thank you for all that you do every day, you are truly appreciated.
CHARLENE HOLBROOK
Post Falls
Police Dept.
ROAD WORK: A job well done
Kudos to the men and women who recently worked on the road repair at Blackwell Slough on Highway 95 in Coeur d'Alene. Traffic control was very well maintained! At no time did I experience a wait that was longer than several minutes. The usage of temporary stop and go signal lights helped keep the traffic flowing! Again, thank you for a job well done!
ELIZABETH ANDERSON
Coeur d'Alene
FIRE: Response was very fast
Recently, Battalion Chief, John Morrison, and his crew responded to a reported fire in one of our rental units in Coeur d'Alene. Not only was your response fast but you did a fantastic job securing the area, checking the units for occupants and putting out the fire with the least amount of water damage possible.
For 30 years, my husband was a police officer and I was a deputy sheriff and many times during our career, we responded to assist the fire department to help keep the area safe. It was a surreal feeling to stand on scene as a civilian. Since our retirements more than 10 years ago, we spent five weeks in Pensacola, Fla., during Hurricane Ivan and five weeks in New Orleans, La., for Hurricane Katrina was Red Cross volunteers. We've certainly felt the pain and grief that victims of a disaster suffer and it was never so apparent as being victims ourselves.
Thank you Coeur d'Alene Fire Department for your great work and kindness you showed to us. Thank you to our daughter and her husband, Shelley and Armando Hurtado, for being on scene even before us. Thank you to the neighbor who called and alerted us to the fire and thank you to all our tenants who have been so understanding.
So quick we are to complain and too slow to praise so we just could not let this incident go by without giving each and every one of you our heartfelt THANKS! You are our heroes.
Sincerely,
DAN AND SANDY BERTUCCELLI
Hayden Lake
TAXES: Another successful season
Another successful tax season has come to a close. Although many taxpayers have thanked us, the volunteers of AARP Tax-Aide, our presence would not be possible without certain individuals and organizations in our community.
Our free income tax preparation service is only possible due to our valuable community partners. A huge thanks to the Rathdrum Senior Center, the Athol Community Center, the Post Falls Senior Center and the Lake City Senior Center for making taxpayer appointments. These locations as well as the Silver Lake Mall, have also generously "housed" our organization for three to four months each winter.
We want to thank Frontier Communications for their willingness to donate phone lines and Internet access necessary to facilitate our electronic filing requirements. Cricket Wireless donated three months of cell service.
Our volunteers who tirelessly give hours and donations to support our efforts are our lifeblood. For those of you juggling classes at North Idaho College, working full time, fully or partially retired, new or returning volunteers, we appreciate and thank each and every one of you.
AARP-Tax-Aide, an AARP Foundation program, is the nation's largest volunteer-run income tax preparation and assistance service. It is available free to taxpayers with low to moderate income, with special attention given to those aged 60 and older.
The Tax-Aide team members would also like to thank their local Idaho District 02 leadership for their continued support and guidance.
DOREEN IRVING
Coeur d'Alene