In brief: Memorial plaza dedication Friday

COEUR D’ALENE – The Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club and the Coeur d’Alene Parks Foundation have invited the community to attend a dedication ceremony for the Fallen Heroes Memorial Plaza on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Cherry Hill Park.

The memorial includes five 12-foot-tall sculptures of public safety officers. The sculptures were designed by regional artist Brian M. Schmid. They are dedicated to Idaho firefighters and law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout Idaho’s history.

A steel artifact from the World Trade Center in New York is anchored in a basalt column at one entrance to the memorial. The Coeur d’Alene Fire Department commissioned two tall basalt columns that represent the Twin Towers.

Bicentennial recalls fur trade history

SANDPOINT – Beginning Saturday, the Bonner County Historical Museum, 611 S. Ella Ave. in Sandpoint, will a host a two-day bicentennial celebration, honoring fur agent and surveyor David Thompson.

Thompson led the construction of a warehouse on the Hope Peninsula to store goods used as currency of the trade that he would establish with Kalispel, Salish and Coeur d’Alene people at Lake Pend Oreille on Sept. 12, 1809. The trade house was named Kullyspel House for the Kalispel people who lived along the lake and rivers of this region.

On Saturday, the museum will have an exhibit and living history demonstration from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Friends of Spokane House will set up a living history fur trade camp in Lakeview Park. At 2 p.m., Thompson historian and author Jack Nisbet will talk about the fur trade camp and the early fur trade at Lake Pend Oreille.

A documentary by filmmaker George Sibley, titled “Shadows of David Thompson,” will be shown at the Panida Theater Saturday evening. Tickets are $7 per person; $6 for Bonner County Historical Society members.

For more information, call the Bonner County Museum at (208) 263-2344.

Texting title goes to 16-year-old

COEUR D’ALENE – Hammond Bradford, a 16- year-old resident of Coeur d’Alene, recently won the “So You Think You Can Text?” messaging competition at the North Idaho Fair.

Contestants were divided into three age groups and were given a script of three sentences, which included punctuation and symbols and were judged on speed and accuracy.

Bradford completed the script in 48 seconds with one error, for a total score of 49 seconds, in the 0-19 age group.