Idaho Voices

Winter is here and snow is on its way, and North Idaho schools are prepared for emergency school closures. In the Coeur d’Alene School District, information can be found by calling the district hotline at (208) 667-0784. The information will be updated by 6 a.m.

Here comes winter! We’ve already had an early taste of arctic air, and at least for a day or two, snow blanketed the Inland Northwest. Though Mother Nature has brought in some milder air and rainfall in the days leading up to Christmas, the winter solstice will begin Monday at 9:47 a.m. PST. With the shortest days upon us, cold temperatures, and the beginning of the winter season, you might have had the notion that the earth must be at its farthest distance from the sun right about now.

Filings from Nov. 12-20 Chapter 7 (liquidation petitions)

Coeur d’Alene

As soon as the Sandpoint High School football team qualified for the state championship last month, Barb Hecker went into action. The mother of senior running back Cody Hecker organized a charter bus to bring as many fans as possible to the championship game at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow.

In the modern era of amazing interwebs and electronic thingyboxes, it’s no big deal for local musicians to commit their songs to history and promote their gigs. For both amateurs and professionals, it’s as easy as downloading some recording software and using social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook to get the word out about the undeniable brilliance of your musical endeavors and make a bit of noise on the Spokane-North Idaho music scene.

New listing Rathdrum Knitalong – Group to help each other improve knitting skills. Meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month, 1-3 p.m. at Rathdrum Library, 16780 W. Highway 41, Rathdrum, Idaho. Call (208) 687-1029, e-mail Rathdrum@cin.kcl.org or visit www.ksalibraries.org/Rathdrum for more information.

Folks across the region will be trying to outdo one another this season with the biggest, brightest holiday lights this side of the Vegas Strip. We’ll publish a list of those grandiose displays – with your help.

COEUR D’ALENE – Crime Stoppers of the Inland Northwest is offering a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of suspects involved in two recent malicious harassment incidents in Coeur d’Alene. The first incident occurred on Nov. 19 at the Human Rights Education Institute, 414 Mullan Ave. An unknown suspect placed a swastika sticker on the entry door of the building. The second incident occurred on Dec. 4 at the corner of Third Street and Coeur d’Alene Avenue. A male resident of Coeur d’Alene with Middle Eastern heritage discovered his vehicle had been damaged by spray paint and a slashed tire. The spray paint depicted a swastika and harassing comments intended for the victim.

Students in the Coeur d’Alene School District are helping those in need this holiday season. At Lake City High School, teams, clubs, classes, students and their families have signed up for the “Adopt-A-Family” program. With the help of the LCHS students, their families, and faculty, needy families in the community will be able to have a Christmas this year.

Today “A Little Princess” (Drama) – 2 p.m., Lake City Playhouse, 1320 E. Garden Ave., Coeur d’Alene, (208) 667-1323. Repeats Thursday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Kevin Richert, opinion editor of the Idaho Statesman, and conservative blogger Adam Graham/Give Me Liberty responded to the attack by Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, on Rep. Raul Labrador’s candidacy for Congress. As you may recall, Jorgenson announced in a press release Monday that Labrador shouldn’t run, targeting his fellow legislator’s role as an immigration attorney. Labrador responded that Jorgenson isn’t well liked. (Insert “neener, neener” here.) Now comes Richert: “I think Jorgenson overplayed his hand a bit. Labeling a foe a liberal is never a bad ploy in a GOP primary, but considering Labrador’s legislative record, it’s a stretch.” Blogger Graham chided Jorgenson for attempting to deputize himself as the “purity police” in this situation, noting that Jorgenson’s conservative voting record is a modest 71 percent. Observes Graham: “I’ll take Rod Beck over Mike Jorgenson as a standard for conservatism any day.” However, Richert and veteran Idaho political observer Randy Stapilus agree that Jorgenson may have succeeded in exposing Labrador’s unpopular immigration work to red-meat Idaho R’s. Parts is parts

Schools Rogers High School 50th-60th Reunion – September 2010. Requesting updated information on classmates and faculty. Contact Dora-Faye (Schmidt) at dora-faye@comcast.net, Grace (Ward) at grammagrace1@comcast.net, or Lloyd Apitz at lloapi@juno.com; or visit www.rogers60.com.

’Tis the season. Not like you’ve never heard that before. In this reference, however, it’s the season of winter. Polar Bear Pond, a 3,000-square-foot skating rink, is being installed to take the place of the former Bumper Boat Pond at Triple Play Family Fun Park in Hayden. Customers will walk down a ramp to the rink where they can skate around the sinking ship in the middle of the pond.

BOISE – Idaho House Speaker Lawerence Denney has sent out a memo to all House committee chairs and vice chairs asking them to take steps to wrap up the upcoming legislative session by April 1 to help the state save money. Denney said he’s “trying to encourage people to keep this session as short as possible, because with the holdbacks, we’re going to be, I think, fairly tight as well.”