Litter mates
DEVIN WEEKS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 10 months AGO
Steve and Lisa Honig draw Lynne Foresman's winning name out of 22 entries Wednesday morning. Foresman won a Hillpig self-cleaning cat litter box, which the Honigs donated to Companions Animal Center to encourage feline adoptions in February.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Skipper, left, and Gilligan are settling in with their new family after being adopted from Companions Animal Center by Lynne Foresman and her husband. Because they adopted cats in February, they had two entries in a drawing to win a Hillpig self-cleaning cat litter box, which they ended up winning.
Devin Weeks is a third-generation North Idaho resident. She holds an associate degree in journalism from North Idaho College and a bachelor's in communication arts from Lewis-Clark State College Coeur d'Alene. Devin embarked on her journalism career at the Coeur d'Alene Press in 2013. She worked weekends for several years, covering a wide variety of events and issues throughout Kootenai County. Devin now mainly covers K-12 education and the city of Post Falls. She enjoys delivering daily chuckles through the Ghastly Groaner and loves highlighting local people in the Fast Five segment that runs in CoeurVoice. Devin lives in Post Falls with her husband and their three eccentric and very needy cats. | March 3, 2023 1:00 AM
A local animal lover has hit kitty cat pay dirt.
Lynne Foresman, who lives in Fairfield on the Idaho-Washington border, is the lucky winner of a Hillpig self-cleaning cat litter box, valued at $600.
That's not all.
She won the litter robot by entering a monthlong drawing held by Companions Animal Center (formerly Kootenai Humane Society) in February. She had two entries because she adopted two kitties — Gilligan and Skipper, the true prize in this tale of tails.
"They were a bonded pair," Foresman said Wednesday afternoon after she received the news that she had won the drawing.
"We were going to adopt one," she said. "My husband is not necessarily a cat person, but I was going to let him have the reins and choose. But he just fell in love with their green eyes. He said, 'I just love them.'"
The self-cleaning cat litter box was a gift to Companions Animal Center, a no-kill, nonprofit animal shelter, from Steve and Lisa Honig of Hayden. They bought one online for their son and daughter-in-law for their cats but it never arrived, so they received another one only to find out later the original was at the post office.
With no cats of their own, they decided to donate the robotic kitty loo and hold a drawing to encourage people to adopt shelter cats — one entry per adopted cat. Companions Animal Center Development Director Vicky Nelson reported 22 cats were adopted in February.
"Our hope was that it would increase adoptions and encourage people not to just take one, but maybe two cats and have two entries to win this $600 spaceship," Steve Honig said with a chuckle. "It's a space toilet."
The late Ernest Hemingway, an award-winning author and famous cat lover, once said, "One cat just leads to another." This is a happy truth for Gilligan and Skipper and their new family, who will get to spend less time scraping boxes and more time enjoying each other's company.
"Our shelters are full of dogs and cats because of breeders and they need to stop," said Foresman, who is passionate about animal adoption.
"The best thing a person could do for their animals is to spay or neuter them," she said. "Don’t buy your animals. Adopt or foster."
ARTICLES BY DEVIN WEEKS
Youths participate in first winter kids' camp at Lake City Playhouse
Youths participate in first winter kids' camp at Lake City Playhouse
It has been said that first impressions can only be made once. That rule was turned on its head Monday at Lake City Playhouse as winter kids' camp participants dreamed up new personalities and showcased an impressive array of quirks and characteristics while introducing their new selves to each other several times. Maddox Long, 9, of Coeur d'Alene, flopped his long shirt sleeves over his hands and did a silly walk. “He is definitely a comedian,” said his mom, Jolena Long, who serves on Lake City Playhouse's board of directors and helped coordinate the three-day winter break camp.
Spirit Lake twins compete in national chess competition
Spirit Lake twins compete in national chess competition
When asked about his favorite piece on a chess board, 12-year-old Jax Green is all in on the knight. "A knight is one of the best pieces because it’s the only chess piece that has its own personal set of things," Jax of Spirit Lake said Monday. Other pieces can't copy the versatile knight's ability to move in an "L" pattern, two squares in a vertical or horizontal direction and one more in a perpendicular direction. Jax said it's a handy piece for forcing opponents to move their kings and rooks. "The knight is a sneakier way of doing things," he said.
DAR honors Newby-ginnings founder
An unwavering dedication to the military community and the strength to turn personal tragedy into a beacon of hope for thousands has earned Theresa Hart the respect of countless individuals and organizations near and far. The ladies of the Daughters of the American Revolution Lt. George Farragut Chapter honored Hart for that dedication during a presentation Friday morning at the Hayden Lake Eagles.