In brief: Arbor Day button contest
The local Arbor Day Committee is hosting its annual Arbor Day button art contest, which is open to public, private and home-schooled middle school and high school students living within the Coeur d’Alene, Lakeland and Post Falls school districts.
Buttons and seedlings are given to local fourth-graders.
Button artwork must include the words “Arbor Day” and reflect a tree-planting message. It must be round and reduce well to fit onto a 2 1/4-inch round button. Entries are due by 4 p.m. March 14.
The winner will receive $50, a T-shirt with his or her artwork and 25 buttons. The runner-up will win $25.
More information about the contest is available by contacting Urban Forester Karen Haskew at 769-2266.
Coeur d’Alene
Hypnotist performing at NIC
Comedic hypnotist Doctor Trance will have attendees in hysterics as he turns audience members into the stars of his hypnosis show at 7 p.m. Feb. 26 in the North Idaho College Edminster Student Union Building Activities Center, on the lower level of the building.
Doctor Trance is Brian Dean, an internationally recognized performer presenting shows at colleges across the nation. Dean is also a hypnotherapist with the National Guild of Hypnotists and the managing director of Hypnosis Center USA.
The presentation is free. 665-5459.
Donate food for library fines
Patrons with overdue fines on their library cards can wipe the slate clean and help the food bank during the “Love Your Library Food For Fines” drive this month at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave.
Through next Saturday, the donation of nonperishable food items – either for people or pets – will result in the removal of late fees on a patron’s record. The Food For Fines amnesty does not apply to charges on a library card due to lost or damaged items.
Food collected during the two-week drive will be given to the Community Action Partnership Food Bank in Coeur d’Alene. Donations should be unopened, commercially packaged foods and not home-preserved items. Pet foods collected by the drive will be given to the Humane Society.
Library patrons who do not have outstanding fines are also encouraged to donate food to this drive.
Rotary student of the month
North Idaho College student Bryan Cossairt was selected as January’s Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club Student of the Month.
Cossairt was born and raised in Bonners Ferry, graduating from Bonners Ferry High School in 2005 as one of six valedictorians. He holds an associate’s degree in architectural drafting and is working on a degree in general studies at NIC.
Cossairt is a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the national honors society for two-year colleges, and is on the NIC dean’s list. He played basketball at NIC for one season and was honored as an Academic All-American. He has worked as the audio/visual technician assistant in instructional media services for three years, where he has filmed and operated the audio board for the NIC Public Forum television show.
New route for CdA marathon
Coeur d’Alene Marathon runners will take a new route during this year’s race, starting at Riverstone and then winding through Coeur d’Alene and along the lake.
Last year’s race route required marathoners to run the half-marathon loop twice. The new out-and-back route will avoid that duplication.
This year’s event, sponsored by the North Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation, is May 25 and features full marathon, and half-marathon options along with a 5K fun run to benefit ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) charities.
Last year 1,509 racers participated.
More information is available online at www.cdamarathon.com.
Scholarship finalists named
Coeur d’Alene High School seniors Elise Fabiano and Mitchell Kohles have been named by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as National Merit Finalists.
Fabiano is the daughter of Joe Fabiano and Lynn Fleming. She carries a 4.37 grade-point average, has taken a wide variety of International Baccalaureate courses and is the only student in the Northwest to score a perfect seven on the International Baccalaureate Spanish Standard Level examination last school year. She plans to major in international business or law and is currently applying to nine universities.
Kohles is the son of Derek and Julie Kohles. He currently has a 4.3 grade-point average in a variety of honors and International Baccalaureate courses. He is applying to a variety of colleges and has been active in student government and Pathfinder mentoring. He also played varsity soccer his senior year and is a correspondent for the Vox, a student-produced newspaper run by The Spokesman- Review.
The National Merit Scholarship Program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships. High school students enter the program by taking the Preliminary SAT /National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.
Library offers workshops
Patrons who want to learn about basic computer functions and how some of the most common programs work now have easier access to workshops at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave.
Registration was previously required to participate in classes taught by Christopher Brannon, the library’s information technology coordinator. The workshops will now be offered on a first-come, first-served basis in the computer lab.
Each workshop can accommodate nine participants who are asked to arrive 15 minutes prior to scheduled starting times. All classes are from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on various days. Participants should have basic typing skills.
Workshops to be offered for the rest of February and during March include:
“Basics in PowerPoint (Presentations) – Tuesday. Workshop will provide the basic skills to begin creating visual presentations through slide manipulation, object use, and transitions with helpful hints for creating an effective presentation.
“Basics in Excel – March 8. Workshop explains the parts of the spreadsheet, basic formulas, basic formatting, and editing.
“Introduction to Computers – March 11. Workshop gives an informative tour in the basics of computer parts (the hardware), the Windows Operating System (the software), and terminology associated with each. If you have never touched a computer before, or have worked with computers but have not felt very comfortable with them, this workshop is for you. The workshop is based around the Library’s Internet Workstations, which are equipped with Windows 2000. Some Windows 2000 information may be applicable to other versions of Windows.
“Intermediate Excel (Spreadsheets) – March 22. Workshop focuses on Excel’s database functionality, creating charts and graphs, and creating more effective formulas on the run.
“Surfing the Web: Searches on the Internet – March 25. Workshop will provide a basic understanding of how to search the Internet using search engines, such as Google, Hotbot, and Yahoo!
Future workshops will include basic and intermediate classes in Word (word processing programs) and Basics in Publisher (desktop publishing).
For more information about the library call 769-2315, send e-mail to info@cdalibrary.org or visit www.cdalibrary.org.
–From staff reports