Awareness week opens with vigil

Annual events to mark National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in Coeur d’Alene begin Monday with a candlelight vigil at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store, 108 E. Walnut.

St. Vincent de Paul, which operates homeless shelters in Coeur d’Alene, is offering tours of its facilities from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, beginning at the store. Participants will receive a $5 gift certificate.

An open house is planned from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at St. Vincent’s Transitional Housing Center at 1425 N. First St.

And through the end of the week, collection boxes around town are gathering peanut butter and soup to help feed the occupants of the shelters. Donations also can be made at the thrift store.

Meanwhile, Lakeland High School cheerleaders are collecting hats, gloves, socks and scarves and plan to pile them up in the high school gym on Thursday before donating them to St. Vincent de Paul.

Next Friday night, students at Coeur d’Alene High School are planning to continue their tradition of marking Homeless Awareness Week by sleeping overnight in cardboard boxes on the school football field.

For more information, call St. Vincent de Paul at (208) 664-3095.

Vehicles burglarized in Post Falls

A string of auto burglaries is under investigation in Post Falls.

Seven vehicles were broken into from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, according to a police press release. The auto burglaries were reported in the 100 to 400 blocks of East Second and Third streets and in the 1800 block of Spokane Street.

Entry was gained to several of the vehicles by smashing a side window, the press release said, causing several hundred dollars in damages. Items were stolen from some vehicles, but other victims said nothing was taken.

Anyone with information on the crimes is asked to call Post Falls Police at (208) 773-3517 or access the department’s Secret Tip Web site at www.postfallspolice.com.

Deputies to collect for food banks

Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies assigned to patrol Hayden will be helping collect food for the community this weekend.

In past years, the deputies have collected donations for the Hayden Food Bank, but the food bank has since closed its doors, a press release said. Donations this year will go to the Helping Hands Food Bank at Real Life Ministries.

Deputies will be outside the Albertsons and Super 1 Foods stores in Hayden to collect nonperishable food donations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Bonner County sets land-use hearing

Another public hearing on the Bonner County proposed land use map and land use section of the comprehensive plan is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, in the Bonner County Courthouse.

The land use map and land use component of the comprehensive plan guide development in the county by designating appropriate uses for certain geographic areas, based on current growth patterns and existing uses and philosophies. In July, the Bonner County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the comprehensive plan amendments, including the land use map, which is the first countywide amendment to the land use map since 1995, when it was amended to address suburban-zoned lands. The board continued the public hearing from Tuesday to deliberate on testimony and discuss possible revisions to the plan.

Scouts out Saturday in annual food drive

On Saturday, scouts from the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America will be picking up bags of donated food products throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho for the 23rd annual Scouting for Food Drive.

Last week the scouts delivered 300,000 bags to homes in the area.

Sponsored by Rosauers, the food drive is expected to collect more than 300,000 pounds of food for local food banks.

Donors also can drop off bags of food at the following locations on Saturday: the Rosauers in Lincoln Heights, 2610 E. 29th Ave.; the Rosauers in north Spokane at 9414 N. Division St.; and United Paint and Coatings, 19011 E. Cataldo. For more information about the Scouting for Food Drive and other drop-off sites, call (509) 325-4562.