Voices

For those of us who garden, that first snow comes with mixed emotions. On one hand, we are glad to see the garden go sleep. On the other, we start counting the days until we can be out in the garden again. The latter often leads to human nose prints on the sliding glass door along about the end of January.

For those of us who garden, that first snow comes with mixed emotions. On one hand, we are glad to see the garden go sleep. On the other, we start counting the days until we can be out in the garden again. The latter often leads to human nose prints on the sliding glass door along about the end of January.

The 16th annual Chef’s Culinary Classic to benefit Children’s Miracle Network will be Jan. 24 at 6 p.m. at the historic Davenport Hotel. Gifted chefs from the Inland Northwest will prepare a six-course meal pairing each dish with a complimentary wine.

For 11-29-2008

A suspicious box shut down the Liberty Lake Bank of America Monday morning while police brought in the bomb squad to examine the item. The toolbox was found to contain wires and electronic equipment and was likely left behind by maintenance workers, said Police Chief Brian Asmus. The bank reopened at 11:30 a.m. that day.

The state’s economic downturn hit the East Valley School District Tuesday as a chunk of this year’s budget disappeared without a trace. Gov. Chris Gregoire announced a 3.4 percent cut in levy equalization money given to property-poor school districts, mostly in Eastern Washington, who have assessed home values below the state average.

Spokane Valley Police early Wednesday captured a burglar who was attempting to break into the office and storage units at Skyview Storage, 13400 E. 32nd Ave., said spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan. A witness reported seeing Timothy L. Zacheis scurrying around atop the building dressed in dark clothing. She also reported seeing the suspect attempting to force open slider doors on a storage unit.

Attendant Care Registry – Free service matching disabled adults and children with personal-care providers; sponsored by Coalition of Responsible Disabled; 326-6355. Change Point! program – Ideal for women who are separated, divorced, or widowed, have a disability, or who have been incarcerated; provides free training in computers, resume preparation, job interviewing, communication skills, and conflict resolution techniques; sponsored by the Washington State Displaced Homemaker Program; contact Denise McKinnon at 279-6065.

A combination of optimism and hope for the economy, at least in North Idaho, is with Western States Equipment. Also known as Western State Cats, the company sells, rents and repairs large construction and industrial Caterpillar equipment. Although the company has been operating with 12 employees centering out of an office trailer in Hayden for three years, a 57,000-square-foot building is under construction on 10 acres in the southeast corner of Highway 95 and Lacey Avenue. The complex will include a sales and rental center, a parts warehouse, hydraulic hose repair facility, welding shop and wash and fuel bays.

There were a lot of reports of cars and homes burning in the Valley the week of Nov. 20-26, but most turned out to be minor. Only two of the reported home fires caused significant damage. A heater set a wall on fire in one home and a malfunctioning wood stove caused another fire that caused $5,000 in damage.

Children ages 5 to 11 can have fun, play games, make holiday crafts, watch a movie and eat pizza, while Mom and Dad do some Christmas shopping on Dec. 18 at the Holiday Shop and Drop at CenterPlace, 2426 N. Discovery Place sponsored by the Spokane Valley Parks and Recreation Department. Parents can drop-off and pick-up their children between 5:30 and 9:30 p.m. Pizza will be served for the kids at 6.

Monday Millwood City Council – 7 p.m. at City Hall, 9103 E. Frederick.

I’m not one to say, I told you so (and if you believe that you’ll believe anything), but didn’t I tell you that Idaho’s state quarter was among the worst in the nation? Now we know how lousy our quarter with the giant peregrine head poised over a smaller Idaho outline actually is. In a nationwide poll taken by Wallet Pop blog, Idaho’s quarter was ranked worst in the nation with only 38 percent approval among the 65,000 respondents. That’s 7 percent less than the two quarters that finished second and third from the bottom with 45 percent approval apiece – Pennsylvania and Michigan. Rounding out the bottom five were New Hampshire, 48 percent, and New Mexico, 51 percent. Alaska may have joined the union late. But it was at the top of the quarter rankings with 94 percent approval. The Alaska quarter features a grizzly bear with a salmon in its mouth in an outdoor setting with the words “The Great Land” on the side. Maine was second best and Kentucky third. Other Northwest states outshined Idaho’s peregrine head, too. Washington had 84 percent approval; Oregon, 87 percent; Wyoming, 53 percent; and Montana, 61 percent. In other words, we gave the nation our bird, and Wallet Pop Nation reciprocated in kind. Rexburg blues

BOISE – Forty-one percent of Idahoans have never heard of the state Land Board, according to a new state-funded poll, and 92 percent don’t know who’s on it. The panel, formally known as the Idaho State Board of Land Commissioners, is chaired by the governor, and also includes the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the state controller, and the state superintendent of schools. It’s responsible for managing the state’s endowment lands, whose earnings benefit public schools and other specific state institutions.

The grand opening of The Local Market CdA, 210 Sherman Ave., inside the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s Plaza Shops, is today, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Santa Claus will be stopping by. Children can have their face painted, make holiday crafts with Art on the Edge, and get a free cookie through Christmas at Wild Flour Bakery. Visitors can also enjoy warm, spiced cider and listen to live music.

Fall and winter are the season for banquets, award ceremonies political rallies and such. Each of these events usually has a speechmaker. The speaker captures your attention with a clever opening remark and then gives it back after saying the words, “This evening’s topic is ...”