Golf to help Turner family

COEUR d'ALENE - A golf tournament is scheduled for Aug. 16 to raise money for a man who suffered a serious neck injury on the Fourth of July.

Grant Turner, 25, a Coeur d'Alene High School graduate, broke his fifth cervical vertebrae and cracked his fourth while swimming in Lake Success in California.

He only has feeling in his body from his breastbone up.

Grant is the son of Steve and Diane Turner, of Hayden.

"He has some sensation in his shoulders, but he's not able to move his hands," said Mike McDowell, a longtime family friend and Kootenai County's elected assessor. "Steve said (Grant) could shrug his shoulders."

Grant and his wife, Ashley, have been married for less than two years. They have been living in Cathlamet, Wash.

Grant was working as a welder before the accident.

His hospital stay is expected to continue for weeks, and he remains in intensive care. He will then receive rehabilitative care.

Once home, he will need medical equipment, in-home accommodations - such as ramps and widened doorways - and a new vehicle for wheelchair access.

Insurance will cover some of the new expenses, but many others aren't covered.

The Turner Family Benefit Golf Scramble is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 16, at the public Coeur d'Alene Golf Club course at 2321 W. Fairway Drive.

Tee times that day start at 10 a.m.

For those with a season pass at the club, the entry fee is $35. For those without a pass it's $60. Power carts are an additional cost.

Players can buy golf stroke "do-overs" or Mulligans for $5, or pick up five for $20.

There will be competitions and prizes for the longest drives and longest putts - men's and women's - and tee shots that are stuck closest to the pin on a par 3 hole.

Net proceeds go to the Turner family.

A silent auction and raffle will be conducted at the course clubhouse following the event. That money will also go to the family.

For more information: Coeur d'Alene Golf Club, (208) 765-0218.