LUNCH: Participants made Vernon Baker event

Thank you everyone who participated in the fourth annual Vernon Baker Free Lunch for Veterans this Memorial Day. Our participating restaurants were Michael D's Eatery, Capone's Pubs (both Coeur d'Alene and Post Falls) and Fedora's Pub & Grille.

Our local Edward Jones office volunteers included: Eric Soles, Julie Bailey, Patti and Charlie Leach and Scarlet Jordan.

We received a total of $705 in donations from Charlie and Patti Leach, Daryl and Louise Soles, David Aquino, Dick and Shirlee Wandrocke, Jason Graham, R.R. Bradley & Associates, Dave and Sue Nussear, Sandra Kay's Inc., Richard and Julia Leach, Tom Leach, Kevin Smith, Namsik Smith, Tad and Sue Leach and William Conore. We were logistically supported by VFW Post 889 in Coeur d'Alene.

Thanks to all of these great volunteers, donors and participants, we were able to feed 173 veterans for free! Thank you all for supporting such a good cause and thank you to anyone who has sacrificed in order to protect American freedoms.

ERIC SOLES

Coeur d'Alene

TOURS: Thrilling for our 6-year-olds

I want to thank the staff of Super 1 Foods in Hayden for the tours they provided to the students of the Kindercenter. The children were thrilled with the entire experience. If you haven't seen 6-year-olds get excited about a machine that crunches cardboard or the bread slicer, you need to.

The tour guides were enthusiastic and kind. Super 1 Foods provided gift bags, including T-shirts for each student. Their smiles, giggles, ohhhss and ahhhhs were priceless. My son loved every minute of it.

Super 1 Foods is a local business that supports education. For that, they get an A-plus in my book.

MARC STEWART

Coeur d'Alene