March for Meals to raise awareness

Volunteering to deliver for Meals on Wheels for a year or so was a very meaningful experience for me.

That was about a decade ago, but today I'll join fellow city council member Joe Malloy, Mayor Ron Jacobson, KCFR Chief Warren Merritt, Commissioner Jai Nelson and members of the Post Falls Rotary and Kiwanis clubs in service to seniors by participating in the March for Meals Community Champions delivering Meals on Wheels for the Post Falls Senior Center. Visit www.mowaa.org.

Often for these seniors, the meal is secondary to the human contact and safety check provided by the volunteers who drive the routes three days a week. Some of those volunteers like Dick Harris and Sid Armstrong have been dedicated to the program for decades. Today we hope to bring public awareness to the very real need for more volunteers and the very real need for funding.

I hope if you're able you will consider volunteering. Even substitute drivers are needed. A few hours a week will make all the difference in the world to our senior neighbors.

You can also support the Post Falls Senior Center Meals on Wheels program by attending the Gold Rush dinner dance Saturday at the Greyhound Park. Tuxedo Junction is always a treat and there's a silent auction and a raffle for some great trips. Tickets at Senior Center and the chamber office.

The Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort is celebrating its 21st anniversary with a special powwow at the events center in Worley on Saturday. Free and open to the public, there will be grand entries at 1 and 7 p.m. It will be a wonderful shared celebration of their success and the heritage and culture of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.

I took a lunchtime walk in Falls Park to see the incredible sight of the river flowing through the flood gates. There were quite a few people with the same idea, as it's a beautiful park just two blocks off of Spokane Street with accessible paved trails leading right to the dam overlook platform. On the way back I spotted a little burst of yellow among the pine needles. It reminded me that for many years, the Post Falls Tribune paid a $1 bounty to the first person to bring in a buttercup each spring. We'd run their photograph in the paper, too. Longtime Tribune office manager Jeannie Peugh saw my photo of the buttercup on Facebook and the next evening while Bert and I were out she taped a $1 bill to our front door. Definitely a laugh out loud moment.

Happy Birthday today to Lance Bridges, Taryn Nichols, Kristen Storey, Megan Merry, Troy Jones, Judey Brown, Patsy Andres, Janet Batchelder and Taryn Molter.

Happy first day of spring birthdays tomorrow to Pam Houser, Kristi Granier, John Blanchette, Tad Thompson, Julie Clark, Carolyn Anderson and Matt Hansen.

Friday, Brandie Chapman, Michelle Lewis, Marla Lopez, Trudie Chamberlan, Julie Billetz, Steve Hanson, Jacque Kress, Derek Teal and Jack Crawford mark their special day.

Beverly Larsen, Rich Anstine, Greg Cook, Tyler Huft, Jack Budvarson, Julie Perry, John Little, Bernie Currie, Pam Adams, Boston Pierce and Rob Carpenter will enjoy a slice of birthday cake on Saturday. Sunday celebrants are Tad Leach, Herb Huseland, John Little, Julie Perry, Linda Lewis and Jacey Brockhoff.

March 24 birthday girls are Esther Paul and Nichole Frank. Sharing birthdays on Tuesday are Jame Davis, Ray Oliver, Colleen Brown, Jerry Ausburn, Mike Carle and Alexander Canle.

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 2013 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter #kerrithoreson.