Our local veterans will be many places this week to commemorate Veterans Day ... in the schools, at memorials and speaking to civic organizations. Let's be sure we remember the reason for this national holiday and sincerely thank these men and women who not only served in our armed forces but continue to serve in our communities, as well as those serving in the military today.

***Veterans Day falls on Friday, 11/11/11 and the City of Hayden will host the area's only Veterans Day Parade at 10 a.m., followed by the Veteran of the Year presentation to Gerald Englebrecht at City Hall. Also on Friday the food bank will benefit from the bounty of the Give Hunger the Bird turkey promotion at StanCraft Boats in Post Falls. It's from 4 to 7 p.m. and you just need to bring a frozen turkey!

On Saturday starting at 4 p.m. take the family to the Post Falls Senior Center for a spaghetti dinner to benefit local teen Masin Hawkins, who's awaiting a heart transplant. Kelly Hughes will provide entertainment. Also on Saturday I'm emceeing the first "Rockin' Out @ the Library" Guitar Hero Contest for grades 6 through 12 at the Post Falls Library from 5 to 8 p.m. Should be a huge amount of fun for all ages and proceeds will provide for new bike and skateboard racks at the library. ***

Tom and KJ Torgerson and daughters took a very special tour of the Dancing with the Stars studio in Hollywood yesterday. DWTS champion Derek Hough was their personal tour guide. Nice.***

Terry Werner bowls in three leagues and is definitely an avid bowler. Last week he earned his first-ever 700 series with 232, 247, and 237 games adding up to 716. I'm lucky to break into the triple digits in any given 10 frames.***

On Veterans Day, 11/11/11 a very special little girl will mark her very first birthday. Bittersweet for Ella's mother Vanessa Beyers. Nate Beyers, Ella's daddy, won't be here to watch her blow out the candle. He was killed in action in Iraq four months ago while serving with the 116th. The depth of the sacrifice takes our breath away.***

As always, I file this column before the polls close on election day. This year the waiting for results will take on a personal feel as my name was on the ballot in Post Falls. When the dust settles, the people who voted will have made the decision on who will be serving on city councils in our communities. Thank you to the candidates and to the voters. The election process works.And if you're reading this early enough on Wednesday morning, I made my return appearance after several weeks to the AM1080 airwaves at 6 a.m. Surely to be riveting live radio on a couple hours sleep in the morning after an election. Hopefully my partner Joe Paisley will have missed me so much he'll overlook the dark circles and sleep deprivation. :)***

Today wish a happy birthday to Todd Tondee, Ben Rae, Dennis Hall, Gratia Griffith, Janine Avila and Matt Lyman. Tomorrow is the 236th birthday of the United States Marine Corps ... Semper Fi (Latin for always faithful.) Sharing the date with the Marines are Jeanne Norton, John Evans, Bret Bowers, Diane Horton, Bev Pogue, Dale Broadsword, Marlow Hindricks, Kathleen Tillman and Gary Ulvan. At 60, Gary Ulvan's not quite as old as the Corps. Friday is Veterans Day, the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 2011, and also the birthday of Ellen Jaeger, Ruth Pratt, Ron Lahr, Ruth Morrow, Kim Malar, Emilia Ovstedal, Aaron Roberts, Eugene Boyle and the most senior member of the Main Street Birthday Club ...104-year-old Betty Owens! Amazingly it was 11/11/11 when Betty celebrated her fourth birthday. 1911, that is. On Saturday Greg Gervais will be 40 and Faith Mitchell, Amanda Behringer, Brenda Murphy and Antigone Twidt mark another year. Timarie Lindquist turns 30 on Sunday, with Matt Backs, Jesi Gabory, Tanya Yost and Desiree Janke sharing a Nov. 13 birthday. Nov. 14 birthdays belong to Jane Hansen, Jill Satterly, Tim Curry with Robert Chatters turning the big 6-0. Blowing out the candles on their cakes Tuesday are Cheryl Siroshton (60!), Mark Fisher, Teresa Peugh, Jan Pollard, Joan Antonich, Charlie Miller and Mary Scalise. ***

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. She was voted Best Local Writer for 2010 by the readers of the North Idaho Business Journal. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri is on the air Mondays and Wednesdays on ESPN1080 AM (KVNI). She can be reached at mainstreet@cdapress.com