Voices

Sometimes a regular class assignment takes on a life all of its own. That’s what happened at M.E.A.D. Alternative High School a couple of weeks ago, when students were asked to do some research on plastic bags, their impact on the environment and recycling. “I guess we all just got into it,” said Ashley Keen, 17. “And now we are doing all this.” The reusable bag project has taken most of the students’ time lately, and Keen and about 25 other students were at the Saranac Building on West Main Avenue Wednesday, to hang informational panels they’d produced in the lobby there.

Fishtailing and shoveling was the order of the day as the South Hill dug out from two feet of snow Friday. As the snow stopped and the sun peeked through the pines, people stuck their heads out backdoors and assessed the mounds of snow. The hum of snowblowers could be heard across neighborhoods, almost as loudly as the squeals of sledding kids whose Christmas break started early because of the storm.

From the plethora of tiny footprints leading up to Jen Macakanja’s front door on Dec. 17, you’d think the north Spokane resident had been visited by lots of Santa’s elves. However, the piles of boots, mittens and coats stacked just inside her front door, combined with the excited shrieks of small children, revealed Macakanja was hosting the monthly meeting of MOMS Club of Spokane-North.

Lydia Quinones is a textile artist. But not really. Artist Ben Shahn (1898-1969) noted that “if it were left to artists to choose their own labels, most would choose none,” and Quinones would choose none. Still, she finds it necessary to answer when people ask her what her medium is. “If I reply I’m a textile artist I’m less likely to get looks and they leave me be, and it’s better that way,” she said.

It all began as a clerical volunteer job back in 1991, when Patricia Kimmons, 83, decided to volunteer for the Children’s Administration a couple of hours a week. She helped with filing and organized background checks on the drivers that take children to and from appointments. Kimmons also got involved with the Holiday Project, which at the time provided a Christmas present to about 100 children who were living with relatives, in foster homes or being monitored by Child Protective Services.

Eighteen-year-old Tony Locascio loves to hang out with his sixth-grade brother’s friends. In fact he makes a point of spending at least two nights a week with them and every Saturday. It’s not every high school senior who looks forward to spending so much time with a group of 11-year-old-kids, but then again he isn’t just any big brother. A basketball enthusiast, Locascio has focused the last several months on forming and training young teams to compete in the Amateur Athletic Union competitive league. His efforts have resulted in two Sandpoint boys’ teams – his brother Daniel’s sixth-grade team and a younger fifth-grade team – competing this fall in the Post Falls AAU basketball league.

It’s been said that Rick Giampietri is built the way he is for good reason. The barrel-chested football, wrestling and golf coach at Central Valley, known to everyone as Coach G, needed the extra space to house the big, soft heart he has for all the students and athletes he’s had over his long, long career at Spokane-area high schools. And with each passing year, it swells just a bit more. He has more kids to love.

The annual food drive at Central Valley High School was a rousing success, collecting more than 16,000 food items and $10,000 in cash for the Valley Food Bank. “They can get six pounds of food for every dollar,” said student activities coordinator Leanne Donley. “Today we raised almost $200 at lunch just from passing the bucket around.”

Spokane Valley firefighters probably spent more time getting water out of buildings than putting it on them in the past week. A flood of broken fire-sprinkler pipes and domestic water lines contributed to what Fire Marshal Kevin Miller described as “about as big a week as I’ve ever seen.”