Rainey Coffin

Q: Five people at White Pine Park in Post Falls were asked: Where is your favorite place to visit in the fall?

I woke up early on the morning of Sept. 19 – and I stress early – to my blaring alarm, reminding me that I was supposed to be at the old Itron headquarters, for Balloons Over Valleyfest, where I would take my first ride in a hot air balloon. When I walked onto the lawn, just past 6 a.m. and saw the first of two balloons being inflated, I definitely had a feeling I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

Q:  Five people at Post Falls businesses were asked: How are you handling the current financial situation?

Kristine Deem’s life changed forever five years ago when she found a lump in her left breast. At 37, and with no family history of illness, she never thought it would happen to her. Deem learned the lump was a cyst and had it drained. But it returned six months later. And other lumps followed – in both breasts. Ella Gordan, a nurse at Panhandle Health District, said Deem’s was the worst case of cystic breasts she had seen and encouraged Deem to see a specialist.

Jordan and Chandler Rogers are bonded as brothers and by their passion for wrestling. The boys are just two years apart – Jordan is 14 and Chandler is 12 – and have been participating in the sport since they were both 4. Jordan is a freshman at Mead High School and wrestles year-round. He practices and competes in school and in outside tournaments, then wrestles in camps and tournaments during the summer.

Could one person really make a difference? Nancy Brinker made a promise to her sister, Susan G. Komen, who lost her three-year battle with breast cancer, that she would find a way to end breast cancer forever. But how?

ROCKFORD – The 64th annual Southeast Spokane County Fair in Rockford will be Friday through Sunday and will include all of the traditional family fair favorites, plus a few out of the ordinary activities. Surf and Sun with County Fun opens at 9 a.m. on Friday. Live music will entertain fairgoers all day long, and the carnival begins at 3 p.m. Livestock judging will begin at 4 p.m.

Jordyn Richter has been dancing since she was 7. Now, at 18, she is living every little girl’s dream of becoming a ballerina. Richter was accepted for the third time into Exploring Ballet with Suzanne Farrell, an exclusive three-week ballet training program held earlier this summer at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Approximately 1,000 dancers from around the world, including Bulgaria, China, London and across the United States, auditioned to be a part of the program, and only 31 were selected. Richter was among the chosen few.

Q: Five people at a Post Falls coffee shop were asked, When is it appropriate for kids  to have cell phones in school?

Q: Five people in Post Falls were asked, With gas prices decreasing, are you making travel plans  for Labor Day weekend?

I’ve always wanted to say “I’m running away to join the circus!” I mean, who wouldn’t? The big top. The bright lights. The menagerie. On Tuesday, I got my chance to run away – sort of. At 11 a.m. I met with Doug Karsten, or “Poppa D,” at Carson and Barnes Circus, which he said is the only remaining big top circus. They had rolled into town for a two-day show and were just setting up at the Spokane Valley Mall.

Q: Five people in Post Falls were asked: “Are you excited about the Olympics?”

Gloria Bregger, a nurse at Sunshine Gardens, was at work on July 11 when she learned that her Spokane Valley house had caught fire and burned down. Although the cause of the fire remains unknown, Spokane Valley Fire Department initially suspected arson.

Q: Five people in Post Falls were asked: Do you feel your money is safe in your financial institution?

Residents throughout the region will come together Tuesday and take a stand against crime. Now in its ninth year, National Night Out has brought neighborhoods together through barbecues and potlucks, with people socializing and making a plan to keep their homes and streets safe. South Hill resident Patricia Hansen hosts one of Spokane’s largest NNO parties, with nearly 250 attendees in 2007. She said she only expected around 100 people, but the number grew very fast. “I was pleasantly surprised,” she said.

Q: Five people at Spokane Valley grocery stores were asked: “What are you doing  to save on food costs?”

Air Force Airman 1st Class Keith Schmidt recently graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. He is the son of Colleen Schmidt of Medical Lake.

Christy Finley learned how to speak French when she was in fourth grade. And, during this past year, she taught her mother's fourth-grade students at Trent Elementary School to speak some French, too. Finley volunteered in her mother's classroom for half an hour every Thursday, and the kids, who hadn't spoken the language at the beginning of the year, recently staged "Cinderella" and the "Emperor's New Clothes" entirely in French, for their family and friends.