Idaho Voices

Jake Casey, a senior at Timberlake High School in Spirit Lake, has been drawing since he was 3. He later picked up a paint brush, too. His talent has been displayed in a number of school-related art exhibitions and contests, most recently, the Luna Guitar “YourSpace” Design contest sponsored by Northwest Academy of Music in Coeur d’Alene.

Recently, we asked for love stories to fit around Valentine’s Day. Using Huckleberries online, a Spokesman-Review blog, we received an outpouring of stories. Stories that were funny, poignant and wonderful testimonials to what a little work in a relationship can create. One, however, was at first unusual, then astounding. Jim and Jana Tritto don’t just show love and affection for each other; they have a family of 20, with eight still at home.

Bankruptcies Filings from Jan. 15-26

I felt a slight twinge of betrayal when I discovered the amount of calories lurking in a Subway tuna sandwich. I thought I was being so good, so healthful. So proud of myself for sticking to my diet plan, even sacrificing yummy Monterey Cheddar bread for a sensible nine-grain wheat and opting for light mayo. Anyway, I’d always thought of tuna as weight-loss-in-a-can, touted by obsessive bodybuilders as a protein-rich miracle food that can help achieve maximum muscle hypertrophy and give you that fetching Lou Ferrigno glow.

BOISE – Here’s a sign of the times: A bill in the works in the Legislature makes a one-word change in the law regarding annual adjustments in the homeowner’s exemption from property tax. The reason for the change? As House Tax Chairman Dennis Lake, R-Blackfoot, explained to the House this week, “Back in the heady days of 2005, the assumption was made that home values will always go up.” So the law tying the amount of the homeowner’s exemption to the Idaho Housing Index said that changes will match “the annual increase in the Idaho housing price index.” The one-word bill, HB 4, proposed by the state Tax Commission, changes the word “increase” to “change.” That way, if values go down, the exemption, too, would go down.

Two businesses are joining two existing places in Syringa Center in February. The new, 12,000-square -foot building is in the northwest corner at the intersection of Third Street and Locust Avenue in the north end of Midtown Coeur d’Alene. Three suites remain available. Phone Windermere Realtors Joe Fabiano at 699-0764 or Alan Lane at 651-6809.

Coeur d’Alene

Today Battle of the Bands – 6:30 p.m., Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., Sandpoint. $5. 263-9191.

This Week “Rewired” Women’s Ministry – Today, 9:30 a.m. in RLM 1 at Real Life Ministries, 1866 Cecil Road. Contact Jen at 777-7325, ext. 177.

It’s OK to admit it now, I guess. After all, it has been 45 years since I had a “tween” crush on Cathy and Patty – the Lane cousins. Remember them? Before Ginger and Mary Ann, early ’60s television offered rambunctious Patty and her prim and proper English cousin, Cathy, on the “Patty Duke Show.” They were played by the same Academy Award-winning actress who gave the show its name and has lived in Coeur d’Alene for quite some time. I’ve met Patty Duke – or as she prefers, Anna – a couple of times. She’s City Councilman Mike Kennedy’s aunt and mother of actor Shawn Astin of “Lord of the Rings” and “Rudy” fame. I’ve never told her that I was more smitten by her portrayal of the English cousin Cathy than the American one. I’ve always had a thing for a British accent. So why am I telling you all this? Patty is reprising her roles as the TV cousins to encourage us aging baby boomers to sign up for Social Security benefits online. In a press release, which I provided at Huckleberries Online along with a video of an ad featuring Patty Duke as the twins, a Social Security official sez: “It takes just 12 to 15 minutes to fill out the form, compared with the 45 minutes it took with the previous version.” Patty, who has been involved in fundraisers and appeared on stage locally, is 62. I’m three years behind her. I’ve read her book, “Call Me Anna.” She’s autographed a copy of a vintage album I have of hers that features her Top-40 song from the ’60s, “Don’t Just Stand There.” In other words, I remain a fan. Cruelest cut

The Coeur d’Alene basin Citizens Coordinating Council (CCC) will hold a meeting Wednesday, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at The Spokesman-Review Building, 608 Northwest Blvd. Topics for the meeting include updates on the Basin Commission, ROD Amendment, Lake Management Plan and other activities in the lower basin and Lake Coeur d’Alene. The CCC holds quarterly meetings in the Coeur d’Alene basin area. All meetings of the CCC are open to the public.

Students from Lake City High School will compete in the Business Professionals of America 2009 State Leadership Conference in Boise, March 12 through 14, after qualifying at the BPA Regional Leadership Conference, held at North Idaho College on Dec. 17. According to a press release from LCHS, the students will compete with more than 1,500 other conference delegates from across the state to participate in state-level business skill competitions, workshops, general sessions and the state officer candidate campaigns and elections.

Today

January has been an interesting month. After picking up nearly a foot and a half of snow or more in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene during the first week of the month, we’ve been experiencing quite a dry spell.

Kootenai County school lunch menus for the week of Feb. 2-6. Coeur d’Alene School District