Fourth of July American Heroes Parade: A heartfelt thank you to the community

The Coeur d'Alene Regional Chamber's annual 4th of July Celebration was a resounding success, bringing the businesses and citizens of this community together in a vibrant celebration of love for our great nation and the men and women who serve in our armed forces.

Alpaca is your solution for the winter chills

Snow is coming soon so be sure to dress yourself with Alpaca! With the cooler days ahead, Alpaca Direct is your destination for all of the items you need to stay cozy and warm. Imagine a fiber that is incredibly soft on the skin and luscious to touch. The fiber is extremely strong, yet lightweight. It contains no lanolin and is hypoallergenic. Finally, this miracle fiber comes in a wide range of natural colors but also accepts dyes to provide the option of natural or dyed garments. Meet Alpaca fiber...

Otter to lawmakers: Stay focused on critical issues

The 2014 session of the Idaho Legislature is more than halfway complete. The critical issues have been clearly defined and healthy discussions are progressing.

Big Government on runaway path

After World War II the U.S. Government wanted to protect our country from further attacks. One finding, learned from the Japanese, was an armed citizenry is the best deterrent . The Japanese stated the one big reason they did not attack the continental U.S. is because every corn field, wheat field, every forest and building or home would hide gun bearing citizens and since they could not fight a never ceasing army of armed citizens their decision was to attack Hawaii instead. We are a gun bearing people. the world knows it and if our rights to bear arms is rescinded, powerful enemies will have opportunity to take over the country. The founding fathers had determined the only way to protect the populace against others who would harm us and even our own government, is to empower the people. The United Nations has some thoughts about us in that respect; hence the International Arms Treaty has been signed by our own Secretary of Defense Hillary Clinton. This treaty will be signed by our Congress at some point, and will require every gun owner in the United States to register their weapons. The government will then know where the guns of our citizens are and can confiscate them at any time. So many regulatory acts, signed into law by the president (illegally, of course bypassing Congress) that if he sends his militia to your home before they get done inspecting your property they will have found several points where you are breaking the law and if you are a threat or use your free speech against them they could arrest you and put you in jail. That is why the President wanted to do away with the Writ of Habeas Corpus which protects us from Government strong arming their citizens.

Lessons learned and lost from 9/11

We learned a lot — and lost a lot — since 9/11.

WIDMYER: For a unified city

Coeur d’Alene is a beautiful city to live in, and as a 70-year-old native, I feel compelled to state my thoughts and visions of our city’s future.

GOP: Real leaders unite the party

I feel that I must respond to a recent column in the Coeur d’Alene Press. On April 30 the Panhandle Pachyderm sponsored a forum at Red Lion Templins. Gov. Butch Otter was our speaker and it was a sell-out crowd. We had to turn people away. Our event was “A United Victory” and the theme was “Diversity is our Strength.”

SCHOOLS: Give 'F' to partisanship

NEWS: Good, bad, ugly

For the good, I would like to highlight our friend, Rita Sims Snyder. She has worked tirelessly in our community for the last several years to help make us a community we could be proud of and she has truly done a fine job of that. Her latest endeavor which will bring joy to all the good folks in our community as well as out-of-towners, is the wonderful carousel being constructed near the ball park. Rita, along with our mayor and many volunteers, have spent many hours bringing this project to life. Come spring, we will all have a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Thank you Rita for all you do and for being a part of our lives. The town and community are a better place for sure.

PRESS: Doesn't respect veterans

Well I see that the Coeur d’Alene Press is up to its old ways. You do not seem to respect our older veterans or veterans in general. We had Pearl Harbor Day and of course nothing on the front page about one of the most important historical events in our history. Now you did put two pictures of the kids at Winton Elementary having a celebration of the day. At least the kids are remembering.

COEUR d’ALENE LEVIES: Vote yes

We need the members of this community to support the two Coeur d’Alene levy requests on the March 14 ballot. Supporting public education is critical for the future of our community and our children. An educated child becomes a responsible and better citizen. 25% of our school district’s total funds come from the supplemental levy. This levy is not just supplemental, it is essential. The safety and maintenance levy would fund deferred maintenance and safety projects not funded from the state. This includes among other things security enhancements. Our students, teachers and staff must be safe! We need to keep resource officers!

ELECTION: Vote for Jimmy McAndrew

This letter is to encourage the good people of Hayden to please support our public schools and vote for Jimmy McAndrew for Zone 2 trustee. Jimmy has lived in North Idaho all his life and has proven himself to be a conservative, productive, intelligent and invaluable member of this community. In addition to a successful career in banking that continues to thrive, Jimmy has served in countless local volunteer positions. Please visit his website yourself to see how he has selflessly dedicated himself to our community.

FAIRGROUNDS: Keep them where they are

Dear Commissioner Brooks, I am writing to express my concern regarding the proposed relocation of our local fairgrounds. As an event owner who brings approximately 4,500 attendees to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds annually, I have witnessed firsthand the significant positive impact this location has on our local economy, particularly for hotels, restaurants and other small businesses.

Veterans, it's our day today

Happy Veterans Day! Yep, it’s our day to celebrate. We gather with veterans

What 'our forests' really means

Many statements are heard these days supporting state management of "our forests." Our forests refers to our National Forests - and locally, to the Idaho Panhandle Forests.

FAITHFUL OBSERVATIONS

By ROBERT SHILLINGSTAD

Tremendous partnership bites into crime rate

When I was in the process of being selected for police chief in 2014, I was surprised to learn that Coeur d’Alene had the highest violent crime rate and Part 1 (UCR) crime rate in the state of Idaho. For those of you who are not crime-stat nerds like me, the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) is a national standard used to categorize crime and is largely regarded as a key societal indicator of community safety. Part 1 (UCR) crime is comprised of the crimes of homicide, aggravated assault, arson, auto burglary, residential burglary, commercial burglary, rape, robbery, theft and vehicle theft.

Our quality of life in Cd'A

There's a lot to be grateful for in Cd'A

There's a lot to be grateful for in Cd'A

NIC trustees’ resignation letter

The following "Letter to the North Idaho College Community" was delivered Friday to NIC Board of Trustees Chairman Todd Banducci.

C1 My Turn: School district deserves its due

Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer shares a plea for the upcoming school board race.