Idaho Voices

For several weeks the ponies have patiently waited. They’ve been stoic when little noses pressed against the glass and looked longingly at them. Meanwhile, in the silence of the Carrousel building they’ve submitted to the tender, loving touch of Bette Largent, president of the National Carousel Association, and restoration expert. Their ears have been touched up, their saddles painted, their stirrups polished and some of their tails replaced. In addition, each horse’s shoes received a fresh coat of silver paint. “My dad used to say, ‘You can’t go out unless your shoes are polished,’ ” Largent said with a grin. All this sprucing up is in preparation for the Monday reopening of the Looff Carrousel and a yearlong celebration of the Spokane icon’s 100th birthday.

The Lakeland-Post Falls Leadership Academy is off to a great beginning, according to University of Idaho Educational Leadership program coordinator Kathy Canfield-Davis. “I think this program is off to a terrific start, and we were pleased with the number of people who enrolled,” she said of the community-centered program that offers a master’s degree in educational leadership and administrative certification to educators.

Dealing with the loss of a child can be an unimaginable challenge, but for Debi and Jason Hammel, that loss has been tempered a little thanks to their children and a project to make the road where her daughter died safer. Lorissa Green died on Jan. 16 after an accident at Highway 195 and Cheney-Spokane Road. Her family has been channeling their grief into something positive – hopefully saving other lives in that area. Debi Hammel will testify when a new bill is introduced to the state legislature March 16 to make the corridor between Interstate 90 and Hatch Road on the highway safer.

It was pretty at first but that Cascade concrete now covering our gardens is hiding a major problem; broken and smashed shrubs and small trees that we won’t know about until it all melts. While most of the larger trees seemed to do pretty well with the snow loads, shrubs and small trees that are still buried may not be so lucky. To add insult to injury, plants around buildings may have been dealt a second blow when the roofs above them were shoveled off adding to the icy load. As a result, we may be dealing with a lot of broken branches when they emerge from the ice.

“Home” has a new meaning for Kristy Petersen and her family. For three months, home was a series of motel rooms, a collection of Rubbermaid totes that contained the essentials.

Jake Norris thought the worst had happened. The 160-pound Coeur d’Alene High School wrestler was trying to get away from his opponent in a tournament in early January when he felt his left knee pop.