Gallery

<p>Lilian Tucker, 8, pushes her bicycle up to the starting gate Tuesday on the BMX track at Cherry Hill Park in Coeur d'Alene. (JEROME A. POLLOS/Press)</p>

<p> Lucy Evans, right, and Johanna Gilbert, both 8, sketch the vista seen from their vantage point on Tubbs Hill during a May field trip to the recreation area with their second-grade class from Sorensen Magnet School. Students learned about water quality, native plants, conservation, art and the history of Tubbs Hill during the outing.</p>

<p>Eryn Garrett, 8, tries to share her umbrella with second grade teachers Jessica Lamb, center, and Michelle Faucher-Sharples during a celebration for Mullan Trail Elementary students May 29 in Post Falls. Kootenai County Fire and Rescue firefighters used a ladder truck to spray students with water to help celebrate the school's recent 5,200-pound donation for the Post Falls Food Challenge. Students teamed up with the fire department for their "Burn Out Hunger" food drive.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Neal Gernert, left, and his son Tyson Gernert, with Diversified Services Incorporated, check their welding work as they repair screens on the firefighter's helmet playground feature Tuesday at the 9/11 Memorial Park in Coeur d'Alene. The screens on the overside helmet were damaged recently by vandals. "With this being part of the 9/11 Memorial, you'd think people wouldn't mess with it," Tyson Gernert said.</p>

<p>Sheldon Raver, a second-grader at Atlas Elementary, reaches out to touch the head of a pirate sculpture as Lake City High art student Mariah Bell works on her piece Tuesday during the fourth annual Art Tour at the Hayden school. Some 20 artists demonstrated various mediums including painting, drawing, pottery and music.</p>

<p>A flock of ducklings follow their mother Friday as they navigate the waters of Fernan Lake.</p>

<p>Megan Corette tends to flowers and other plants in the school greenhouse Thursday at Hayden Meadows Elementary.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press A horse grazes near an outbuilding Friday on a ranch in the French Gulch area of Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>Reader photo submitted May 7, 2012</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Two foals, born within the last month, play near their mother during a break in the rain Friday on a ranch in Hayden Lake.</p>

<p>Post Falls, spring 2009, following the thaw after a winter that saw one of North Idaho's highest snowfall records.</p> <p>Reader photo submitted May 4, 2012</p>

Falls Park marmot

<p>Wayne Reichenberg, with Fourth Street Electric, clears out electrical conduit under a cloudy sky Wednesday in preparation for the installation of a display sign for Paris Flea Market's new location on Fourth Street near Poplar Avenue in midtown Coeur d'Alene.</p>

Falls Park falls

Falls Park view

Falls Park flower

<p>Sunlight filters through a magnolia tree outside of Lee-Kildow Hall on the North Idaho College campus Wednesday afternoon.</p>

<p>A flowering pear tree blooms beneath the afternoon sun Monday in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>An Osprey carries its catch over the cool waters of Fernan Lake on Tuesday.</p>

<p>Pete Eller test drives his new 14-aluminum boat Monday, April 23, as he casts off from the Honeysuckle boat launch at Hayden Lake. </p>

<p>Magda Staszewska with Lake City Gymnastics performs at the Multicultural Faire at Lakes Magnet Middle School on Saturday.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Taggart's gyrfalcon changes direction in mid flight to close in on a pigeon used during a training flight.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Kate Weppner holds a firing pose Tuesday while portraying Annie Oakley during a faux wax museum at Winton Elementary in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press A motorist drives past a colorful, weathered hillside Thursday reflected in the surface of Fernan Lake.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press A deer wanders through a yard while foraging for food near Stanley Hill Road Monday in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Bailey Burke, 3, holds onto her sister Madison, 5, as they patiently wait for their bowling ball to slowly make its way down the lane Thursday as it skids off the bumper at Sunset Bowling in Coeur d'Alene. The girls made their first bowling trip with their mom as part of a food drive for the Idaho Connections Academy.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Natalie Taylor, a first grade student in Joni Thurman's class at Classical Christian Academy, checks her work during Thursday where her class donned their best "Whoville" hairdos in honor of Dr. Seuss whose birthday which was Wednesday.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press</p> <p>Tarin Drapeau, an eighth grade student at Classical Christian Academy in Post Falls, enjoys punch and a Roman feast Friday after performing for family at North Country Church. More than a dozen seventh and eighth graders enjoyed Mediterranean fare following the performance of four short skits in Latin and then again in English as part of their Latin class.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Thomas Reed gives chase to North Idaho College basketball player Cole Luckett during a field trip to the college's gymnasium Tuesday. Reed and his fellow classmates from NIC's Children’s Center visited the basketball team for a "scrimmage" that evolved into the students chasing the basketball players around the gym. Earlier in the semester the children visited the basketball team and decided to come up with their own basketball team. They developed team jerseys with their own numbers, voted on colors and named themselves the Fire-Huggers.</p&g…

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press C.J. Caruso, 9, swings through the air with his Seuss-inspired crazy critter hat flowing in the wind Friday as his classmates wait for him at Fernan Elementary. Students celebrated Dr. Seuss' 103rd birthday at school throughout Coeur d'Alene various activities including with pajama days, games based on Seuss' books, and green eggs and ham for breakfast and roast "beast" for lunch.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Gus, playing the canine companion to the lead character in the Christian Youth Theater production of "Annie", relaxes as Kiara Klinkefus, 12, discusses her experiences in the play Wednesday with children at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library. The play opens Friday at the Kroc Center and will run through March 4.</p>

<p>Staff Sgt. Ryan Rogers of Post Falls tries out his new quilt after receiving it from the Quilts of Valor on Sunday.</p>

<p>Mary Powell lifts Paris from a wash basin after a washing.</p>

<p>Post Falls' Seth Anderson drives passed a Lake City defender in the third quarter.</p>

<p>Brandon Montang, left, as Benny Bennet, and Alex Eddy as Phil Bennet, work under the whip of the slave master played by Dan Baumer.</p>

<p>A pair of cats take over for the watch dog as they keep a lookout on the front yard of their owner's home Thursday on the 900 block of Sixth Street in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>Jayden Holt, 4, tugs on her father's arms as she enjoys a sunny day outing Tuesday at Cherry Hill Park in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>George Maupin gets a big hug from Angela Moran during the Celebration of Stars.</p>

<p>Ryan Phillips played in the 2001 Super Bowl while he played the outside linebacker position with the New York Giants. The University of Idaho graduate now lives in Hayden with his family.</p>

Sexy snow lady

<p>Carol Stevens' dog Visa, a 2-year-old Chihuahua, peeks out from her jacket Friday during a sunny, but chilly, afternoon walk on the Centennial Trail in Coeur d'Alene. "I take her everywhere," Stevens said about her dog. "When it's cold like this, she doesn't last too long walking so I have to keep her warm." (Photo JEROME A. POLLOS/Press)</p>

<p>Northern Lakes firefighter Cody Moore helps set up a ladder before the start of a practice routine inside the fire department's training tower Wednesday under the supervision of Lt. Mike Mather at the Coeur d'Alene Airport.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press A three-year-old blue heeler mix, Daisy, leaps into the air after pet owner Bobby Miller tossed up a play toy Thursday on the Rathdrum Prairie.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Devon Loy from Coeur d'Alene High breaks through the Lakeland defense for a layup in the second half.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Jim Mundy uses a snow blower to clear snow from his Coeur d'Alene driveway Tuesday as it continues to snow around him. The winter storm is expected to drop several more inches of snow through Thursday afternoon.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Kelsey Sonius, 10, speeds to the bottom of Cherry Hill on her sled Tuesday another sledder makes their way up the popular sledding hill in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press</p> <p>Wyatt Josephson, 3, follows behind his father and sister determined to pull his sled up Cherry Hill by himself during an outing Tuesday at the popular sledding hill in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Torben Begines was selected to umpire the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn., later this summer.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press A bald eagle scans the waters of Lake Coeur d'Alene near Higgens Point as seagulls trail behind the bird Wednesday.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Jacinta Raymond, left, 11, is chased by her sister Philomena, 12, during a game of tag Friday while ice skating on Fernan Lake.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Joe Roberts sits in front of his "icescape" he created in the front yard of his Garden Avenue home in Coeur d'Alene. Roberts used the leftover 6,000 pounds of ice from a recent display he helped craft for a New Year's Eve event to construct a bench, a few dinosaurs, an ice fence and other structures. "We usually dump the ice in a field at a friend's property, but I thought it I'd do something with it," Roberts said. "Kids walking home from Sorensen have stopped to look at it and I've had a few people slowing down to check it out."&…

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Tim Elder, general sales manager for Sunset Motors, left, is helped by volunteer Pedro Dos Santos Thursday in unloading a van full of food donations at Community Action Partnership in Coeur d'Alene. The car dealership staff collected nearly 1,000 pounds of items for the food bank in one week.</p>

<p>Kiani Klinkefus, playing Annie in the Christian Youth Theater's upcoming production, tests how well a terrier takes direction on Saturday at auditions for the role of Sandy the dog.</p>

<p>Andy Renfrew, a Lake City Playhouse board member, waits for ticket purchasers an hour before showtime Friday for the sold out, opening night performance of "Rent" at the Coeur d'Alene theater.</p>

<p>Coeur d'Alene High students jump out of their seats Friday after Ty Higbie sunk the game-winning three point shot at the buzzer to end overtime with a 51-48 win over Post Falls.</p>

<p>The road between Anchorage and Valdez, Alaska, is quite clear, but you probably don't want to drive off the road.</p>

<p>Brynn Adamson eagerly raises her hand to answer a question by guest author Deby Fredericks.</p>

<p>Barbara Taylor puts her hand to her chest Thursday while describing how she felt during a Tuesday incident where two pit bulls attacked her black lab mix service dog.</p>

<p>Shift leader Cyndi Woltz handles perishables Monday at Community Action Partnership in Coeur d'Alene. The food bank, which distributed 2.2 million pounds of food last year, will benefit from a regional food drive with a goal of 300,000 pounds of food called Dump Hunger.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press David Albertini walks his two dogs around the Riverstone pond Monday as he looks out over the water.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Minnie McDonald, a sales associate at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Coeur d'Alene, wraps an item for a customer Wednesday during her shift. McDonald has worked at the shop for nearly 40 years.</p>

<p>Courtesy photo Standing from left, Rathdrum City Council member Fred Meckel, Mayor Vic Holmes and council member Debbie Holmes, all re-elected in November, are sworn in during Tuesday nightÕs council meeting. Sitting are council members Paula Laws and Mark Worthen.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Lake City's Mitch Bevacqua lands on Coeur d'Alene High School's Ty Higbie after getting knocked down by another Coeur d'Alene player in the fourth quarter Friday during the Fight for the Fish cross-town rivalry boy's game.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press After nearly 34 years of operating the business with his wife, Rose Mary, the Peaks are undecided if he can keep the restaurant open due to health issues and financial strain.</p>

Support for the unborn_2

<p>A six-vehicle accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m. near Cocolalla on U.S. Higway 95 on Saturday. A driver from Texas was killed, the Idaho State Police said.</p>

<p>A sample of water that the Brooks took from their tap shows discoloration even after a filtration system has been put into place.</p>

<p>Past and present members of the 3Cs gather at Sunset Bowl. Front row from left, Gratia Griffith, Hazel Fox, Carol Peterson and Flo Watson. Back row from left, Corrine Larsen, Marjorie Peak, Lydia Sargent, Dona Cofield and Jeri Robideaux.</p>

<p>Ron Cava, a client with TESH, Inc. reacts as he is recognized by KHQ meteorologist George Maupin Thursday during the eleventh annual Celebration of Stars. The event honors all TESH Clients for the progress they've made toward independence throughout the year.</p>

<p>Vickie Nostrant, left, and Trudy Elliott decorate the new Dirne Community Health Center office space Wednesday for Valentine's Day. The team of volunteers from North Idaho Home Health spent an hour hanging ribbons, placing balloons and stuffed animals, and hanging paper hearts with photos of Dirne care providers in the office space at 1090 West Park Place Drive in Coeur d'Alene. (Press photo/JEROME A. POLLOS)</p>

<p>Groundhog Club handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog this morning during the 126th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Phil saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter weather. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)</p>

'Two great competitors'

DoubleDiscount 2-2.jpg

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Lake City High's Austin Porter is bent backwards as Coeur d'Alene's Matt James applies pressure in the 285-pound match.</p>

A busy day at Hauser Lake

Hiker registrations provide Pulaski Tunnel Trail data

24 hours for Hank

A busy day at Hauser Lake_2

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Cheryl Sutton stands outside the mobile home Monday where she was renting a room in when a fire destroyed the residence early Sunday morning trapping a four-year-old girl inside. The girl's father was able to break out the window and rescue the girl with Sutton's assistance.</p>

Idaho Division of Tourism

<p>Janelle Poulsen tried and failed to complete high school three times before finding the Idaho Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program at North Idaho College, which helped her earn a GED and receive training as a certified nursing assistant at the same time.</p>

<p>North Idaho College Idaho Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) Adviser/Data Analyst Judith George, left, counsels Chealsie Roberts and Victor Barbierri, seated, along with NIC I-BEST Coordinator Molly Kreyssler.</p>

<p>Katie Weppner, 9, bags up cat food for the pets of homeless clients who works with the St. Vincent de Paul H.E.L.P. Center in Coeur d'Alene. The Winton Elementary fourth-grader has been raising funds and collecting donations to provide the food for approximately two years.</p>

<p>Sandpoint High 220-pound wrestler Matt Lockey uses the arm of American Falls' Diego Cerna to gain an advantage. Lockey went on the win the championship match 5-3.</p>

<p>Lakeland's Brandon Yount puts Tanner Reikena of Post Falls to the mat with a single-leg takedown during the North Idaho Rumble 138-pound finals match.</p>

<p>Allen Foote of Timberlake earns near-fall points by turning Orofino's Trevor Hopkins to his back in the first period of the 285-pound championship match.</p>

<p>Post Falls' Tyler Booth takes Nate Partenfelder, of Lake City, to the mat Saturday during the 152-pound finals match of the North idaho Rumble wrestling tournament in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>A.J. Cada discusses how insurance paid for a $50,000 electric wheelchair, but will not cover the cost of a $3,000 manual wheelchair so he can undergo physical therapy and have mobility for day-to-day trips with his girlfriend and primary caregiver Amanda Hotine.</p>

<p>Hikers walk past the imprints of dog paws Friday left along the trail of Tubbs Hill.</p>

<p>Rachel Maughan, director of marketing at the Human Rights Education Institute, takes a picture of Laurie Hassell with her note supporting the Add the Words campaign.</p>

<p>Timberlake High's Kara Wenstrom elevates to the basket in front of Shayla Christensen from Snake River.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Justice Daniels, walks his dogs, Merlin and Baloo, during an outing Thursday along the shoreline of Lake Coeur d'Alene near North Idaho College where a number of rocks stacks have been constructed on the beach.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Willow Smith, 8, sizes up Natasza Springer's hat she donned for Dr. Seuss' birthday celebration Tuesday at Bryan Elementary in Coeur d'Alene.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Joel Palmer, principal of Bryan Elementary, shows the illustration for the "Cat in the Hat" while reading to his students at breakfast in his own Cat in the Hat attire.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Mia Bashaw serves up green eggs and ham quiche to a student while Chris Prosser, 7, waits his turn in line in the Bryan Elementary cafeteria.</p>

<p>SHAWN GUST/Press Dakota Budd, far left, Cayci Engelbrecht, and Kaylen Triana, right, react while listening to a reading of Dr. Seuss' "The Tooth Book" Tuesday at Frederick Post Kindergarten in Post Falls. Life Care Center staff and clients visited the youngsters to read Dr. Seuss stories and deliver cookies. The Post Falls senior care center helps sponsor the class taught by Tracie Schmidt.</p>

<p>JEROME A. POLLOS/Press Joan Boyd walks under a canopy of bare branches as rain and wind coming off the lake cause a soggy walk to the downtown area Monday.</p>

<p>GABE GREEN/Press Cars drive through heavy rain South bound on Highway 95 Tuesday afternoon.</p>

<p>Photos: GABE GREEN/Press Rain falls on West Wyoming Avenue on the Rathdrum Prairie Tuesday afternoon. Rainfall reached record levels Tuesday.</p>

<p>GABE GREEN/Press Two horses take shelter from heavy rain Tuesday afternoon in their stalls off of North Meyer Road on the Rathdrum Prairie.</p>