It takes a village and awareness to save lives

Today marks the 54th anniversary of a drunk driving crash that has impacted three families, including mine, for over half a century. On April 23, 1971, Larry Oleson and Rod Hart were passengers in a vehicle driven by their friend. Larry and Rod were 22-year-old Vietnam Army combat veterans when they died at 10:30 p.m. that rainy Friday night after spending time at a Silver Beach tavern.

As they came into Coeur d’Alene on what is now Coeur d’Alene Lake Drive but was then Interstate 90, the driver, at a high rate of speed, rear-ended a pickup parked on the street in front of the Ace of Clubs. Larry and Rod died at the scene and the driver sustained minor injuries. A photograph of the crash with first responders rendering aid, including extrication, appeared on the front page of the Coeur d’Alene Press.

That fall, Larry’s daughter, our daughter, was born. She never knew her father. He never knew his daughter or saw her graduate from high school, serve several years in the Army, marry a wonderful young man and have a son. Her son, our grandson, graduated from high school and served four years in the Navy. He never knew his grandfather. Larry’s mother is now almost 94 years old. She’s grieved the loss of her firstborn son since she was 40 years old. The driver has lived 54 years with regret and guilt at costing his two friends their lives.

The poor choice to drive impaired or ride with an impaired driver often has a heartbreaking, far-reaching, generational impact. When you see statistics such as, in America every day, 34 people die in drunk-driving crashes, or one person every 42 minutes, totaling 12,249 people annually, it’s important to see beyond numbers.

These are people with families who loved them, friends who miss them and lives unlived.

Thank you to the North Idaho DUI Task Force for changing and saving lives through DUI education, awareness and enforcement. It takes a village.

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The Spokane Street Rehabilitation Project began in April and is being completed in phases from Fourth Avenue to Seltice Way, with completion scheduled for the end of May. Monday through Thursday this week, the west and eastbound Interstate 90 off-ramps and on-ramps at Spokane Street Exit 5 are closed.

Spokane Street was overdue for rehab. Pothole patching is temporary and some of those potholes were flat-out dangerous to drivers. So, a month or so of inconvenience and alternate routes seems a small price to pay for future years of driving on an improved street. Full disclosure: I live in Post Falls and use Spokane Street daily and drive I-90 regularly, so I’m one of those being temporarily inconvenienced by alternate routes. I haven’t lost my mind or ranted on social media about the construction simply because I realize you can’t have a fix to the problem without construction.

Similarly, for literally decades, the public, myself included, complained about the I-90 /Highway 41 exchange. It’s been a dangerous mess for years; in fact, locals referred to it as Malfunction Junction. So when finally the Idaho Transportation Department had that redesign scheduled, it was a relief. We already survived a few years of the now-completed north/south Highway 41 improvements before the interchange construction began. It’s impacting I-90 traffic as well as local traffic, but is moving along. That project is estimated to be complete next year.

My suggestion to those up in arms about the inconvenience of our road construction season is to take a deep breath, give yourself more time to get from Point A to Point B, drive the posted speed limit and instead, as I do, be grateful that when the dust settles we get to live in such a beautiful place.

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Earlier this month, I accompanied the 2025 River City Leadership class as the alumni adviser for Government Discovery Day. One of our stops was a tour of the jail with the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. It’s always an interesting and eye-opening tour, with the highlight of having lunch there. In a conference room, attendees are served the same lunch as the inmates. One year, it was memorable boiled hot dogs. This year, it was noodles and a mystery meat sauce, cooked carrots, coleslaw and two slices of sort of buttered white bread. Dessert was two faux Oreo sandwich cookies. While all food groups were represented, the meal offered a great deterrent to a life of crime!

FYI, Kootenai County Jail Bureau commander Capt. Jeremy Hyle said they welcome 18-year-old high school grads to apply for jail deputy positions. It’s a great entry into a career in public safety!

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Happy birthday today to Shelly Enderud, Blair Williams, Troy Speziale, Malika Mills, Kevin Bennett, Charlotte Brown, Tracey Singer, Kathleen Schmidt and Tracy Williams. Tomorrow, Jean Monaghan (93!), Mary Watson, Dan Taylor, Pascale Cafferty, Hayley Gabriel, Dea Lenz, Lori Rogers, Mark McWhorter, Chris M. Willoughby Sr., Mike Regusa, Eric Haakenson, Jordan Ketzenberg and Tim Ketzenberg will celebrate. On Friday, Matthew Wild, Cheryl Burchell, Lori Hess, Patricia Keller, Cathy Biby, Tom Hearn, Krystal Arthur (40!), Eric Haynes and Joey Grunden put on their party hats. Marilyn Desjarlais, Sandy Landberg, Patrick Lippert, Tim Skelton and Doneda Allen celebrate  Saturday. Dee Sasse, Steve Kane, Frank Jackson and Brittney Blaski (30!) will enjoy birthday cake Sunday. Mardel “Tootie” Reynolds, Martin Teall, Sue Barnard, Beth Bollinger, Star Hart, Corinna Whiting, Jana Pool, Kristina Lallatin, Caitlin Rielly and Larry Locke take another trip around the sun Monday. On April 29, Steve Wilson, Tanner Mort, Chris Cooper, Stephanie Brodwater, Jeremy Jones, Patty Muhlhauser and Susan O’Neill make a wish.

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Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email thoreson.kerri@gmail.com.