CDA: The wonder of it all

Don’t change, Coeur d’Alene. Growing up in Hayden Lake/Coeur d’Alene, I had a wonderful childhood. It was the community that taught me the value of kindness and what “love thy neighbor” truly means. It is the love of the community, of helping one another, that we have tried to pass on to our children — the value of giving back.

Living in Washington the daily news is about riots, Antifa, businesses closing, you can’t walk around a park anymore because human feces is on the sidewalks, driving downtown with the smell of marijuana in the air, meth addicts running in front of your car, schools still closed, defund the police, and on and on.

Then you read the Coeur d’Alene Press and you read heartwarming stories of nursing home residents waving signs of encouragement saying that you are loved, people sending out kindness cards, schools are open, businesses are succeeding, support for local police officers, and there are multiple parks that are safe to walk in and breathe clean air, and on and on.

No wonder so many are moving to Idaho.

I always loved growing up in Idaho, but now that I’m older I appreciate and value all that it has to offer, the beauty of the town and the people.

As new people move in, please have them adapt to the Idaho way. Do not accept the CA/WA/OR ideology. It will destroy what makes Coeur d’Alene the best city in the U.S. Keep the kindness, keep calm and carry on Coeur d’Alene!

LAURA MATSON

Olympia, Wash.