The man who died Thursday in a fire in a wooded area off Interstate 90 on Potlatch Hill was Robert Wayne Parkinson, 56. Coeur d’Alene Police detectives and the Kootenai County Coroner’s Office released Parkinson’s identity Monday following an autopsy. Parkinson, a veteran, was homeless in the Coeur d’Alene area for several years. “Every year, for as long as I can remember, Robert Parkinson put in a very simple request to Press Christmas for All, this newspaper's holiday charity program,” said Coeur d'Alene Press City Editor Maureen Dolan. “I remembered his name immediately.” The Press published Parkinson’s Christmas for All request anonymously in 2011, exactly as he wrote it: “Homeless veteran. Could use help to stay warm with propane canisters and candles"/Jeff Selle, Coeur d'Alene Press. More here.

Question: Does this tragedy put a face on the homeless population that surrounds us in the Coeur d'Alene area?