Local Briefs September 17, 2011

CASA lunch event raises $2,706

COEUR d'ALENE - A good lunch and a good cause proved to be a great combination on Friday.

The Sidewalk Lunch event outside Texas Roadhouse attracted many individual supporters, banks, businesses, CASA volunteers and board members, Executive Director Sandra Gunn said.

Overall, 541 lunches were served, raising a total of $2,706 for the program. The box lunches were donated by Texas Roadhouse.

"We had great success," Gunn said. "It was a lot of fun and it was great greeting and serving all these wonderful people."

Cd'A district board workshop Monday

COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene School District Board of Trustees will hold a workshop on strategic planning and IB/AP data at 5 p.m. Monday at Midtown Center, 1505 N. Fifth St.

The district will also host its first "Community Chat" of the school year at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 26 at Fernan Elementary School.

The public is welcome at both meetings.

About $5,000 raised for Birds of Prey

"A Wing and a Prayer" turned into a lot of money for Birds of Prey Northwest.

About $5,000 was raised for the nonprofit dedicated to raptor conservation during last Friday's fundraiser at the Jacklin Arts and Culture Center in Post Falls.

The money will help pay for a 130-feet long, 30-foot wide and 20-foot tall predator-proof netted area that is being built in St. Maries.

Jane Fink, Birds of Prey Northwest director, said the $50,000 structure is slated for completion by next summer and will complete the rehabilitation process of eagles and other birds of prey that have encountered injury or illness.

"Thorough rehabilitation involves the arduous final stage of rebuilding the flight muscles prior to release," she said. "This requires vast space that assimilates the normal range of motions of flight needed to survive once returned to the wild."

Currently, eagles are exercised on the end of a tether. The new aviary will afford eagles a much enlarged space to complete the final phase of their rehabilitation.

The benefit was organized by Nita Magnuson of Coeur d'Alene and a team of volunteers, and included a program featuring a live bald eagle, a peregrine falcon, an arctic gyrfalcon and several types of owls.

Norwegian Heritage Fair set for Sept. 24

POST FALLS - The Norwegian Heritage Fair will be held Saturday, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Oddfellows Hall, 200 E. Railroad Ave., Post Falls.

Lunch costs $8 and for those under 12, it's $4. Reservations through Mary Holmes, 664-6234, are recommended.

The event also features a silent auction, bake sale, games and demonstrations. Historian Robert Singletary will be the lunch speaker at 12:30 p.m.

Calvary Lutheran to hold fundraiser

POST FALLS - Calvary Lutheran Church in Post Falls will hold a candlelight and rose dinner fundraiser at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24.

Proceeds benefit the church's community and ministry programs. Tickets are $35 per person or $265 for a table of eight. Tickets must be purchased at the church, 1011 N. Compton, by Wednesday, Sept. 21.

Dinner will be a selection of chicken supreme or prime rib with wine pairings included.

Information: 773-5321

American Indian golf tourney Sept. 30

Once again, members of the North Idaho College American Indian Student Alliance are hosting a golf scramble at Circling Raven Golf Club to raise money for the Che'nshish scholarship. The Che'nshish 2011 Scholarship Scramble has a four-person shotgun start at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 30.

This is the second year AISA is hosting the golf scramble, following the success of last year's event. The proceeds will help match a three-year American Indian Education Foundation grant.

The silent auction begins at noon and ends at 5 p.m. Some of the items in the silent auction and raffles include hotel packages at the Coeur d'Alene Casino Resort, the Northern Quest Casino, the Kootenai Tribal Bingo and Casino, and the Wildhorse Resort Casino in Pendleton, Ore.

The $100 cost includes a golf cart, driving range access, luncheon, silent auction and raffle during lunch. The entry deadline is Sept. 23.

For entry information, contact the Circling Raven Pro Shop at (800) 523-2464 at Ext. 7259. Non-golfers are invited to attend the luncheon and no-host bar at 3 p.m. To purchase a $20 ticket, contact Evanlene Melting Tallow at (208) 769-3365.

Squirrel causes grass fire in Kellogg

A squirrel's life was cut short Wednesday morning in Kellogg, but it did not go unnoticed.

The animal chewed a power line and was electrocuted. His burning body fell and caused a 21-foot-by-72-foot grass fire in the Browns Ranch area about 8:30 a.m.

Fire crews quickly doused the blaze, but there was still more trouble attributed to the squirrel.

It also was credited with causing a power outage at the Mountain House on top of Silver Mountain and area communications equipment.

Bonner board OKs Sandpiper expansion

SANDPOINT - Bonner County commissioners approved a 14-lot subdivision at the north end of Priest Lake on Wednesday despite a torrent of objections from neighboring landowners, their attorneys and two environmental groups.

Commissioners Cornel Rasor and Mike Nielsen moved to approve the expansion of the Sandpiper Shores housing development and the motions passed on 2-0 votes. Commission Chairman Lewie Rich did not cast any votes but said after the hearing that he was in favor of the expansion proposal.

The board's votes followed a public hearing that spanned nearly four hours. More than 20 people testified, but only one person voiced support for the project.

Opponents of the expansion contend the project will displace a dwindling amount of critical wildlife habitat and harm the hydrology of a high-quality wetland.

Landowners within the existing Sandpiper Shores development also continue to question whether upgrades to water and sewer systems will be able to sustain the expansion, although the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality asserts that it can.

The plan involves clustering the lots along an existing roadway, away from the 50-acre wetland and the lake. The sewage lagoon would be expanded and upgraded and a boardwalk would be constructed to provide passage around adjacent private property and over the wetland to keep it from being trod upon.

Sandpiper Shores is located between Mosquito Bay and the channel leading to Upper Priest Lake.