Help floods in for victims of fire

When Spokane’s Kate Jensen read Thursday about a 12-year-old boy who lost everything he had in a fire, she thought of her own 14-year-old son and what it would be like for him to suffer such tragedy.

“This poor kid is just trying to have a normal summer day,” Jensen said through tears. She was especially touched that young Joshua Kogler’s friend immediately offered him a television and some of his own clothes.

“Adults need to use that as an example,” Jensen said.

So Jensen became a fundraising machine. Focusing on the fact that Kogler planned to do an Elvis act at a community fair this Saturday, she called a music store and secured a guitar donation. Then she called a sporting goods store and talked managers into donating a skateboard, and a clothing store to find him some clothes for school. She also planned to donate $200 herself.

When tragedy hit this week, people throughout this community responded. Jensen was among many members of the Spokane and Stevens county communities who reached out to four families who lost their homes in the 460-acre Valley Mill fire.

“I come from a really small town, and I know how important it is to feel safe and welcome and supported by the community,” said Morgan Belstad, a manager at Big 5 sporting goods on East Sprague Avenue. When Jensen called the store looking for a skateboard donation, Belstad and fellow manager Choung Cong paid for it with their own money. Belstad said corporate donations take longer, but she wanted to make sure this happened quickly.

Pat Sponsel, owner of Loon Lake Bar & Grill, and customer Ben Pittam were planning a spaghetti feed and silent auction on Aug. 19 for the victims who were uninsured, like the Koglers. Conrad Zachary, a member of the Spokane Masonic Temple, wanted to buy Joshua Kogler some shoes and was trying to learn his shoe size.

And the Airway Heights group Sadir Kahn Grotto, associated with the Masons, planned to donate about $5,000 and is working with the Crossroads Church near the fire site to determine who needs help the most.

“They can use the money to buy whatever they need,” said David Saiz, who belongs to the group, which donates about $43,000 to charities every year.

When Jane McLeish of Hoffman Music Co. heard about Jensen’s quest for a guitar, she said she’d make it happen. McLeish’s husband, Ernie, is president of the company.

“She said she was desperately trying to buy this boy a guitar,” McLeish said of Jensen’s call. “Heck, I’ll donate a guitar. That’s just a crying shame.”

Josh Kogler’s mother, Merlene, said she was touched by the community support and said the donated items will go a long way. It seems her son knows a little about giving back to the community himself. His Elvis act is apparently well-known at senior housing centers around nearby Chewelah.

“He does this all year,” Merlene Kogler said. “He goes into the Chewelah long-term care and housing for the elderly and entertains for them.”