Another wish warmly granted

Ryan Knapp, of Post Falls, loves the sound of the river, the water cascading then trickling over the rocks.

He loves summertime, being outside and being warm.

Though Ryan can’t speak because of severe cerebral palsy, his mother, Laurie Knapp, knew exactly what to ask of the Wishing Star Foundation for her 15-year-old son: a hot tub.

The foundation grants wishes to children with terminal or life-threatening illnesses. Ryan’s school nurse referred him to the foundation last summer. A flood of requests last July and the cost of Ryan’s wish delayed the hot tub installation until last week.

Knapp carries her son over to the six-person Kodiak Mountain Spring hot tub, complete with a volcano jet and waterfall.

She leans in for a kiss. He’s not too happy about it. Some of the men who donated labor and materials are huddled around. A few women are, too.

“Oh, I know. Typical teenage boy,” she says smiling, noting his embarrassment.

The next day, Knapp holds Ryan in the steaming water. He seems a little scared at first as the water soaks his dark blue swim trunks and T-shirt. Knapp picks his arms up and brings them down slowly into the water. He begins to crack a smile.

The hot tub is on a brand-new patio that Kenny Olvera, owner of All-American Construction in Coeur d’Alene, replaced at no cost.

“At the time, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” Olvera said.

Olvera contacted other companies to donate time and materials, including Sandstone Materials, TNS Electric, Lake City Rental, Coeur d’Alene Building Supply and CPM.

Olvera also talked to Rob Schulhoss, owner of Crystal Clear Pool and Spa in Coeur d’Alene, who sold the hot tub at a discount.

The average cost per foundation wish is a little more than $3,000. Ryan’s wish was one of the most expensive the foundation has granted.

The damage to Ryan’s brain was caused by the cytomegalovirus, which Knapp passed to him during pregnancy. Calcifications on both sides of his brain interfered with motor skills, speech and growth development.

Carley Dryden

Community center undergoing facelift

The Fairfield Community Center is starting to sparkle as it is slowly refurbished.

Gone are the old, drafty windows. Gone is the chipped, peeling paint. Gone are the banners on the wall boasting of the Triangle Grange wins in the Rodent and Vermin Control contest in 1932, 1933 and 1934.

The center, on Main Street next to the post office, was the Triangle Grange until members sold it to the city in 2002.

“What we’ve done up to this point is mainly infrastructure, all the hidden stuff that’s necessary,” said volunteer Carl Felgenhauer, who is overseeing the renovation efforts.

All the renovations have been paid for by donations. The effort got a kick-start in 2004 when agricultural products marketer and distributor Wilbur-Ellis donated $10,000 to paint the interior of the building. The wooden dance floor also was refinished. New siding and windows soon followed, but then the effort stalled.

Some walls have been moved and energy-efficient lights have been installed. A wheelchair ramp was built at the main entrance. There are new handicap-accessible bathrooms on the main floor and the basement. “We didn’t have any bathroom facilities on the main floor,” Felgenhauer said.

The work has been done as donations came in and fundraisers are held regularly. “Our main marketing has been word of mouth,” Felgenhauer said. “We do as we can.”

The building is still in use, hosting events such as dinners and wedding receptions. Felgenhauer said the improvements have been well received by the community.

“I sense some community pride with this,” he said. “As the moneys come in, we’ll keep making improvements. We’ll keep pecking away at it.”

Nina Culver

Myers’ Park residents prepare to move

When the city of Cheney won its lawsuit against Thomas Myers last month over his mobile home park, several residents of the park lost their homes.

Many of them own their mobile homes, and it is expensive to move them.

To help alleviate the costs, Arlene Fisher, the city administrator, called the Office of Manufactured Housing.

By state law, a $100 fee is imposed on the sale of every mobile home in a mobile home park. The $100 is put into a fund to help in situations such as the one in Myers’ Park. The applicant must meet certain qualifications and can receive $7,500 to move a single-wide mobile home or $12,000 to move a double-wide.

There is a catch. The applicant must pay up front and be reimbursed by the state.

In an unusual move, the city is offering to front the cash to the residents; the city then would be reimbursed by the state.

Fisher said she inherited the problem of Myers’ Park when she took over as city administrator at the beginning of the year. She added that the situation has been upsetting to her, and she even got a little choked up when speaking to the residents.

“I build communities,” she told them. “I don’t take communities apart.”

Park residents have been caught in the middle of a more than 10-year dispute between Myers and the city, which has asked him to comply with code, such as providing adequate fire hydrants and road access to the park.

The dispute came to a head last month when the courts ordered Myers to close the park and work with the city to shut down its utilities or face jail time. That sentence was stayed when a judge ordered Myers to clean the premises of all garbage, maintain weed control and continue paying for the water at the park until another hearing Sept. 26.

None of the residents will be asked to leave before then, and Fisher said she expects the last of the tenants to have moved by the middle of September.

Lisa Leinberger

Post Falls urges more recycling

Stagnant recycling rates in Post Falls are prompting city and waste disposal officials to launch a campaign to encourage people to sort more newspaper, aluminum and plastic out of their garbage.

Since Post Falls residents were offered curbside recycling about 10 years ago, recycling rates have held steady, with about 33 percent of households participating. In 2007 that amounted to 334 tons of newspaper, aluminum cans, tin cans, plastic jugs and cardboard.

But officials say the city can do better.

“As the city has grown, the rate has remained the same,” said Phil Damiano, of Post Falls Sanitation.

Recycling more could save Post Falls citizens money in the long-term.

To encourage that, Post Falls Sanitation and the city have each pledged $5,000 a year for the next 10 years on educating the public about recycling.

Kootenai County averages eight pounds of garbage per resident per day, said Roger Saterfiel, the county’s solid waste director. That’s double the national average.

Amy Cannata