Cindy Hval

Val Vissia has always been plagued by poor vision. ”I need to put my glasses on to find my contacts,” she joked. But after she turned 40 her vision problems worsened. Eventually she was diagnosed with optic neuritis, an inflammation of the optic nerve.

The holidays evoke generosity in many folks. Each year, organizations like the Christmas Bureau, Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign help make the season enjoyable for those in need. But as Post Falls resident Julie Wasson discovered, humans aren’t the only ones who could use a little extra help during the holidays.

The holidays evoke generosity in many folks. Each year, organizations like the Christmas Bureau, Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign help make the season enjoyable for those in need. But as Post Falls resident Julie Wasson discovered, humans aren’t the only ones who could use a little extra help during the holidays.

From the plethora of tiny footprints leading up to Jen Macakanja’s front door on Dec. 17, you’d think the north Spokane resident had been visited by lots of Santa’s elves. However, the piles of boots, mittens and coats stacked just inside her front door, combined with the excited shrieks of small children, revealed Macakanja was hosting the monthly meeting of MOMS Club of Spokane-North.

There’s a new cook in town, and he’s already winning awards. Joshua Martin, lead banquet chef at The Davenport Hotel, recently competed in the European Culinary Challenge in Lucerne, Switzerland. His polished performance and imaginative recipe in this Iron Chef-style contest earned him a silver medal.

It’s not unusual to see a group gathered outside the Shadle Library waiting for the doors to open. But the crowd that waited on Dec. 4 was a bit different. Dozens of tiny toddlers clutching everything from bald baby dolls to furry plush tigers were eager to get inside for the library’s Teddy Bear Tea. Sally Chilson, youth services coordinator for Spokane Public Libraries, said city libraries have hosted Teddy Bear Teas each December since since 1992. “It’s a tradition,” she said. “The kids love them.”

He’s been a dishwasher, a school teacher, a research chemist and a business owner, but these days Clyde Decker is better known as the Hillyard Santa. For the past five years, the 70-year-old Hillyard resident has handed out hundreds of toys to area children. In 2003, at the CHAS clinic (Community Health Association of Spokane) in the Northeast Community Center, Decker heard about children who needed Christmas gifts. Clinic coordinator Tenny Sanelli, who started the Kids Christmas in Hillyard program, recalled, “I ran into Clyde as he was coming through the door. I told him how many families we served.” She also told him they were running out of toys. That’s all it took.

Teens love to hang out at the mall. They cluster in groups at the food court, or prowl the shops looking for bargains while keeping an eye out for friends. Now at NorthTown, teens have a place of their own. On Nov. 15, P.O.N.Y.T.A.LE.S Youth Services (PTYS) celebrated its grand opening.

Stepping into the Bark Canoe Store can be a surreal experience. The small shop, just off busy Division Street, is an oasis of quiet. Woven birch pack baskets hang from one wall. Spruce root dangles from the rafters, and the air is redolent with the scent of wood shavings. Small decorative canoes line the shelves. Full-size bark and fiberglass canoes in various stages of completion lie in the shop and in the yard behind it.

Social networking Web sites can get a bad rap. Parents often worry about Internet predators trying to contact their children. But sometimes these sites actually bring families together. On Nov. 1, Bill Ridihalgh, a disabled Iraqi war veteran, met his daughter, Carol Gibson, for the first time – thanks to MySpace.

Most people remember their first set of wheels, and for many that first taste of open-road freedom came on the seat of a shiny, red tricycle. Some folks have never forgotten the thrill of racing down the sidewalk on their three-wheeled chariot – folks like the members of the Spokane Tricycle Racing Association.

Social networking Web sites can get a bad rap. Parents often worry about Internet predators trying to contact their children. But sometimes these sites can actually bring families together. On Nov. 1, Bill Ridihalgh, a disabled Iraqi War veteran, met his daughter, Carol Gibson, for the first time – thanks to MySpace.

Don Quixote battled them. Holland is renowned for them. And Garden Springs resident Hugh Grim restores them. Forty years ago, Grim saw a windmill lying in pieces in a neighbor’s yard. He offered to buy it, and his neighbor agreed. Grim gathered the scattered bits and pieces and stored them in his shop, which is where they stayed until last year.

Sometimes the simplest idea can yield the most amazing results. Such is the case with the Rotary Home Harvest program. Bob Slyter was troubled by the amount of fruit he’d seen rotting on the ground each autumn. He asked his Spokane-West Rotary club if they’d be interested in gleaning fruit from private residences and area orchards and donating it to Second Harvest.

Carson Lueders had a busy summer. He competed in the Colgate Country Showdown, a national talent competition designed to find the most promising country music talent. He was interviewed and sang on local radio station KIX96, and he won a motocross race at the Coeur d’Alene fairgrounds. And that was just one week. On a recent Wednesday afternoon the second-grader at East Farms Elementary sat with his guitar instructor, Spencer Ramos, at Creative Music in Spokane Valley. Carson launched into a rollicking rendition of “Secret Agent Man,” a song made popular by Johnny Rivers decades before he was born.

The crowd that gathered for the one o’clock show at the Garland Theater on Oct. 25 sported fancier duds than the usual Saturday matinee throng. Some gentlemen wore suits and ties, and many of the ladies wore dresses and heels. That’s because the afternoon’s special feature was the wedding of Amy Keppler and Randy Elkins.