A week in the life
Coming in contact with so many incredible, brave, inspirational and giving people in our communities each week is a blessing beyond description. There's Carla Gentry, who a year ago was inspired to create special Quilts of Valor for soldiers returning home from war. Carla broadened that mission into the the reality of working with other quilters in the area and around the state to craft 279 quilts that were gifted to the soldiers of the Idaho Army National Guard 116th this past Sunday.
Then there's Steve Bell and Gene Salios, who were the keynote speakers at the Kootenai Alliance for Children and Families Lunch and Learn on Friday. Co-sponsored by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), Kootenai Behavioral Health and ACES Community Health Services, the program was titled In Our Own Voice. Steve and Gene provided their voices and their compelling personal experiences and diagnoses of bi-polar and depression. They shared their stories with grace, generosity, truth, humor and hope. The stigma of mental illness still exists but in their presentations these two men did much to open the lines of communication for a community dialogue and acceptance. Capping off the week was receiving a phone call from Kathy Pierce with the wonderful story of her mother Betty Hove finding her teenage love after 70 years. I'm a fool for a good love story and this one makes me smile. As mother and daughter were heading to the airport to fly to Georgia this weekend for the reunion, Betty was singing, "Fly Me to the Moon."
We should all aspire to be filled with love and adventure in our eighth decade of life.***
Sam Springli, CHS Class of 2007 and recent graduate of Grand Valley State College in Michigan, is a Top 50 finalist in Major League Baseball's Fan Cave 2012 contest. He played baseball for the Vikings and with local American Legion teams so winning the contest would be right up his alley. You can help Sam hit a contest home run by voting for his video at www.MLBFanCave.com ***
Happy Birthday today to Mindy Hatcher, Tracy Dickinson, Jeff Conroy, Craig Smith, Donna Montgomery, Joe Doellefeld and Art Sullivan. Thursday birthdays will be celebrated by Stephanie Smith, Paula Rehrmann, Deanna Goodlander, Robin Moss, Jim Wilson, Bruce English, Adam Averill, Morgan Dickinson, Quinn Kennedy, Tom Thompson, Craig Bronson and Diana Farquhar. On Friday Mike Kennedy, Helen Pischner, Chuck Ethridge, Steve Mills, Dewey Berndt, Colleen O'Brien, Mary Button, Don DuBois and Dorene Russell will blow out their candles. Saturday birthdays belong to Jill Monroe, Lucy Dukes, Susie Bingham, Maxey Ryan and Abbie Nowland. On Feb. 19 Kandi Johnson, Rob Colvin, Rebekah Newbry and Teri Runge Nipp are marking another year. And on Monday Rick Seward turns 82 years young, sharing a birthday with Maycie Goodlander, Barb Eveland and Jared "Mike" White. Tuesday birthday girls are Megan Lee and Donna Pfeiffer.***
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2011 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri is on the air Mondays and Wednesdays on 1080 ESPN AM (KVNI). She can be reached at [email protected]
Thoreson
Main Street
Radden sought on felony sex abuse warrant
The North Idaho Violent Crimes Task Force is seeking information leading to the arrest of Chad Andrew Radden.
Radden, 21, is being sought based on a Kootenai County felony warrant charging him with sexual abuse of a minor under 16 and a escape from community custody warrant out of Washington.
The Kootenai County warrant has a $40,000 bond with United States extradition warrant.
Radden is 6 feet tall, 170 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair. He was last known to be living in the Spokane area.
Anyone with information regarding this subject or other fugitives being sought for violent crimes should call the NIVCTF at 665-1471. The identity of callers will remain confidential and reward money is available.