Small town community makes a big difference

To the naysayers who insist that we’ve lost that small-town feel, I hope they’ve been paying attention in the month since the tragic ambush of our firefighters in Coeur d’Alene. The embracing and lifting up of the families of Frank Harwood, John Morrison and Dave Tysdal is extraordinary. To those of us who love where we live, it has been extraordinary but not surprising. It’s who Frank and John were and Dave is, it’s who we are as a community.

On Sunday, the Community Rises Benefit at Stateline Speedway arena drew thousands for an afternoon and evening of country music by a dozen bands. All of the musicians donated their time and talent and hundreds of volunteers showed up to keep things flowing. Every penny raised is going to the Red and Blue Foundation specifically for the Harwood, Morrison and Tysdal families. The final number raised was $213,000.

While so many were instrumental in pulling off and supporting an event this size, it was the brainchild of Jeremy McComb, a Nashville musician who grew up in Post Falls and got his start as a teen playing with Kelly Hughes’ band.

On the morning of June 30, just hours after the June 29 shooting made the national news, Jeremy posted an emotional Facebook live video bearing his heart about feeling angry, helpless and heartbroken. He said the shootings in his hometown felt very personal, even though he didn’t know the three firefighters. Feelings that echoed what most of us were feeling that first morning. He said he wanted to do something positive for the families and mused he was just “spitballing” ideas like a benefit concert. Jeremy said he’d contact his business partner, Bob Kreaman, at Nashville North and see what they could come up with. Despite Jeremy being on the road with his national Honkey Tonk Circus Tour, the planets aligned and the Community Rises Benefit came to fruition. Jeremy headlined the show, even getting Tysdal on the phone from his Colorado rehabilitation center to see and hear the crowd while Kelly Hughes performed.

Summer is a busy touring time for working musicians and the fact that nearly a dozen of the biggest names in the region juggled schedules and donated their time to take the stage for an afternoon and evening is phenomenal.

So if you ever hear Jeremy say he’s just “spitballing” an idea, it just might be magic.

• • •

Here’s an opportunity for bicycle lovers to volunteer to fix and repair donated bikes for the Bikes for Kids program. Even a few hours of your time would be a huge help at the Lake City Bike Co-Op and a blessing for the kids who receive the bikes.

Contact Tom Morgan at 208-740-1502 or [email protected].

• • •

I can’t decide if it’s my age that makes me want to slow the calendar down, especially in the summer.

This time of year, we seem to be evenly divided into two camps: those eagerly looking forward to cool, crisp evenings, the changing colors of the foliage and a fire in the fireplace and those who cling tightly to the beach towels, sunscreen, toes-in-the-sand, aroma of fresh-cut lawns lifestyle of summer. Count me among the latter.

• • •

Happy Main Street birthdays today to Sharmon Schmitt, Dianne Ansbaugh, William Disney, Jacob Hester, Nicole Choquette (40!), Terra Karl, Kalie Bell, Brenna Meehan and Peggy Coleman. On the last day of July, Patricia Richardson, Annabelle Disney, Adam Durflinger and Tab Bray celebrate birthdays. On the first day of August, Tatiana Harrison, Bev Moss, David Noordam, Duane Oliver, Patricia Kaufman, Dennis Harlan and Dodge Gonzales will be singing the birthday song. On Saturday, wish happy birthdays to Austin Viles, Mandy Averill and Matt Odd. Sunday, Ronda Smithson, Jessica Hendricks and Steve Cox put on their party hats. Amy Evans, Jennifer Custer, Ben Fairfield, Jack Glinski, Sara McDrummand, Toni Caywood, Joel Bertsch, Michele Wood, Erin Delaney and Amy Ford take another trip around the sun Monday. On Aug. 4, Kristin Kilmer, Doris Weaver, Dave Holinka, Jonathan Thomas Burnett and Danna Ziegler turn the page on the birthday calendar.  

• • •

Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email [email protected].