Daily Run Benefits Boys To Men
B.J. figures he gets chased and picked on at school anyway, so he might as well learn how to run fast.
He slips into his running shoes two or three times a week and takes off with the men who thunder down his block at noon. He’s only 15, but he’s welcome with this crowd.
“At first I didn’t know Karl was a probation officer,” B.J. says. “I thought he just liked to run. But he is a probation officer and that’s cool. It’s cool to talk with him when you run.”
That’s one of the reasons Karl Thompson runs with B.J. and other boys on probation.
“It breaks down barriers and it’s amazing what they say,” he says.
Running at lunchtime became a routine for Kootenai County probation officers when the office moved into a building with a shower in November 1995. The men ran right past Coeur d’Alene’s Anchor House, where most of their charges live, so they invited the boys along.
The boys were as diverse as the men. Some were natural runners. Others struggled over the two-mile course, walking half the time. No one pushed them to move faster.
“For a lot of the kids, it’s the first time they’ve accomplished anything,” Karl says.
Officer Brad Baker admits pride kept him moving.
“I, personally, wasn’t going to die in front of Anchor House,” he says.
Running makes the officers more human to the boys. Their mutual sweat and strain bonds them to each other like nothing else has.
“We can’t help but see the kids differently,” Karl says.
The boys who ran with the officers last year have moved on. They ran Coeur d’Alene’s Spring Dash. One even ran a half-marathon. The discipline that kept them running spilled over into other areas of their lives.
B.J. joined the group last fall and has run all winter.
“I have this low-confidence deal. I want to be the best at everything,” he says. “Running tells me I can do anything I put my mind to if I just keep pushing.”
High energy
Just because the North Idaho Community Action Agency is having money problems, people panicked. But money is there for Energy Assistance, just not for people to run the program, says Gary Domanski.
Gary’s one of those who runs the program and is working harder than usual this year because his staff is smaller. Rather than sit on money people need for heat, Gary cried for help and the Panhandle delivered.
If you need energy assistance and can’t get in to Gary’s office, here are some agencies that have offered to help: Marley Community Services and Home Health Care in Coeur d’Alene; St. Vincent de Paul and most churches in Shoshone County; Head Start, Bonner General Hospital and the Bonner County Homeless Task Force in Bonner County.
County welfare and Region One mental health programs throughout the Panhandle also will help distribute the energy money.
Gary’s almost speechless at the response. “I’m thrilled by what’s going on,” he says.
The bear facts
Post Falls’ Neadda Baird doesn’t expect anyone to recognize her husband’s great-great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison Baird. But he’s a family hero who’s inspired generations of Bairds.
He and a grizzly went at each other back in 1864 near Grants Pass, Ore. Both lost. Baird shot and stabbed the bear but, according to an old newspaper account, “the bear ketched him.”
Both died, but Baird left 16 children to tell the tale. His rifle and bullet pouch are exhibited at the Southern Oregon Historical Society.
What belongs on display from your family? Some relative’s bizarre hair? Your great-grandmother’s journal? Trumpet your treasures to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; send a fax to 765-7149, call 765-7128 or send e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo