Hospital lauded for excellence
Bonners Ferry, Idaho Boundary Community Hospital has been awarded its second L. Jean Schoonover Award of excellence in care at its extended care facility, by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
In addition, the state declared the extended care facility to be deficiency-free following an annual survey, the hospital announced Monday. In a congratulatory letter, the agency’s chief of the Bureau of Facility Standards, Debra Ransom, wrote to the hospital that “in today’s world with numerous regulations, it is indeed impressive to see a facility functioning as a team at this level.”
Citizens can check out city business online
Post Falls is giving people another way to keep updated on city business. In addition to being able to watch meetings live on Adelphia cable channel 13 and request minutes, audiotape or videotape of the meetings afterward, people can now listen to audio recordings online.
City Council meetings, plus meetings of the Parks and Recreation Department and Planning and Zoning Commission, will be recorded.
The audio recordings are available at the city’s Web site, www.postfallsidaho.org, and should be posted the morning after a meeting takes place.
To access a City Council recording, for example, click on agendas, then City Council agendas, and scroll down to City Council audio recording.
Yard sale to benefit rape, stabbing victim
A benefit yard sale is planned for Saturday to raise money for a 12-year-old rape and stabbing victim.
Keller Williams Realty is hosting the sale, which will be held at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Donations can be dropped off from noon to 4 p.m. Friday.
Proceeds will go to the 12-year-old daughter of John Rollins Tuggle and her family, according to a news release. Tuggle pleaded guilty last month to a charge of first degree rape and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 7 in Shoshone County.
The benefit is co-sponsored by Napa Auto Parts, Windermere Realty and the Coeur d’Alene Press.
For information, contact Brenda Zehm at (208) 699-5348.
Food bank boss quits after request denied
Less than a year after taking the job, the executive director of the Post Falls Food Bank is gone.
Mike Hillard resigned Aug. 31after his request for a three-month leave of absence was denied by the food bank’s board of directors, board member Tony Vandever said on Monday. The food bank is in danger of closing due to a lack of funds, Vandever said, and the board didn’t think it was the right time for the executive director to be away.
Hillard declined to comment on his resignation.
In a Spokesman-Review article that ran in March, Hillard spoke about his goals for the food bank. He said he would use his business background to streamline work at the nonprofit organization and ease the workload through the use of computers. He planned to improve public awareness of the food bank to increase the donor base.
Board members will help fill the position for now, Vandever said, and hire an executive director once the organization’s financial standing improves. The food bank – which is supported by food and monetary donations – has enough money to sustain itself for about two more months.
ISU men to don heels for fund-raising walk
Pocatello, Idaho Some men at the Idaho State University want to walk a mile in women’s shoes – literally.
As part of the “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes,” fund-raiser on Oct. 7, men will make laps around the university’s main square in stiletto heels. With each lap, they’ll earn pledge money for the school’s Project Hope Advocacy Program, which provides support to those who have suffered from domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.
The effort will likely make heads turn, said organizer Kim Talbot, and that’s the reaction she wants.
“When you see a man wearing high-heeled shoes, you ask questions,” she said. “We start a dialogue.”
Last year, 30 walkers raised $2,300 for the program, Talbot said. This year she hopes to raise more. A portion of the money will be donated to the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault to help victims who were raped in shelters after Hurricane Katrina, she said.
Air museum renews mothers’ special day
Nampa, Idaho The Warhawk Air Museum is bringing back a World War II-era tradition: a special day for mothers who have lost a child in battle.
A mother never gets over the death of a child, said Sue Paul, the World War II museum’s executive director. For the past four years, Paul has offered mothers of slain soldiers free admission and a flower on the last Sunday of September.
That was the day selected by Congress in 1936 for “Gold Star Mother’s Day.” Paul said it was commonly observed during World War II.
“We hope the nation will embrace it again and more Gold Star mothers will come out to places like the Warhawk Museum,” she said.
The name comes from service flags that were placed in the windows of families whose sons or daughters were on active duty, especially during World War II. If the child was killed, the blue was filled in with gold.
“I think it’s a very important day,” Paul said.