LEVY: Now hear this, strands

“WHAT?!? Another school levy? I don’t even have kids who are in school anymore. Why should I vote ‘yes’ on something that doesn’t affect me??”

If this is you, hang on a minute. I could quote you numbers on how our Cd’A taxpayers have one of the lowest amounts paid to any school district or I could beg for your support on behalf of my five children who have gone to school in our excellent district. But, really, you want to know why you should say “yes” to yet another levy- how spending your hard earned dollars will be a benefit to YOU.

This is how: We live in a “tight-knit” community. Our bond is “tightly woven.” Both of these old sayings are referring to fabric. What makes our fabric (Coeur d’Alene) so tightly woven is the strands that exist here, which we all support. Those strands are our elderly, who, even if we don’t have an elderly family member of our own, we make sure there are plenty of good programs for them. Another strand would be our athletes. We have trails, bike lanes, and parks that provide plenty of safe space for them — even if we don’t use them ourselves. We have the Ironman competition — and even when most of us are not Iron men, we provide volunteers, our roadways, and our support to another strand of our community that makes it great.

We provide food and volunteer hours to the local food banks so that, even if we aren’t in need ourselves, we can support those in our community who are. When one of our strands has an ill family member, we show up and donate funds to help them get the medical help they need. We are an awesome community!

We support those around us who have needs, whether or not they directly affect us. We do this because we all understand that trails, and schools, and senior centers, and art programs, parks, and fund raisers bring our community together as a tightly woven fabric that cannot be torn. Our children will be our future community leaders, our future mayors, school board leaders, assisted living directors, parks department employees, etc. If we give them a good education, they will love this community and grow up to be the next generation of strands who will support one another.

Please vote yes for our wonderful Coeur d’Alene schools. Our country is in the middle of a financial crisis right now and only we, as individuals, can keep our schools from failing. Thank you for being a strand in our “tight-knit” community!

FAITH NORMINGTON

Coeur d’Alene