In brief: Dunkers get chilly for charity

The Polar Plunge is going down in Medical Lake on Feb. 28, where participants drop through a hole in an icy lake for charity.

“Everybody I’ve talked to that has actually taken the plunge has said it’s not as bad as it sounds,” said Jennifer Willoughby, administrative assistant for the Medical Lake police department. She describes the event as “cold, but fun.”

Around 76 people showed up last year, said Willoughby, and the proceeds fund the local Special Olympics.

Preregistration begins Friday with tickets costing $50. Participants don a bathing suit, then wait their turn on the shore of Medical Lake, where they will eventually jump into a hole cut through the ice.

“It’s a shelf of ice and they just jump off it and pretty much just run back to shore,” Willoughby said.

You can run and jump in yourself or jump with a group.

Afterward, event staff provides changing tents and space heaters so people can recover from the icy shock. Staff will also be serving a meal and participants get a T-shirt.

Medical Lake city staff hosts the event. You can register on the day of the event. To preregister, contact the local Special Olympics staff, Linda Safford, at 252-5033. You can also register online at www.sowa.org.

Valentine’s dinner planned

A Cheney bar is hosting a Valentine’s dinner complete with steak and lobster on Saturday night.

Eagles PUB, at 414 First St., is also bringing out rice pilaf, soup or salad, dessert, and a bottle of champagne for couples. Tickets are $52 for couples.

“I’m trying new things because we aren’t ‘the college’ bar anymore,” said manager Kim Hartman.

She gestures around the dark interior of the bar during the day, pointing out the section where families can go eat, and the hardened dance floor, which looks like it has seen a party or two. The bar will be open during the dinner.

Rock Bottom, a local band, is playing its last gig that night.

The dinner is from 5 to 10 p.m. Under 21, the dinner lasts until 9.