At a house just off main street, the Boundary County/ Bonners Ferry Special Olympics Team held their second ever bake and yard sale on September 19th and 20th from 9am to 3pm.  

Several athletes were in attendance, enjoying the event and greeting those who visited. Homemade desserts for sale included huckleberry cheesecake and set up around the yard were clothes and other assorted items.  

There were no set prices on any food or items at the sale and payment was as much or as little as the buyer wanted to give. 

According to John Beck, the head coach, money generated from the bake and yard sale will help the team buy equipment. This includes new bocce ball sets needed with an increase in participation. Funds will also be used to pay for places such as the local bowling alley, where the athletes will be bowling at 10am on Saturdays starting on September 27.  

Beck discussed the work that has occurred to increase awareness of the special Olympics team.  

“What we've done in the last year is we've had a booth at our county fair to sell those raffle tickets (for the Tundra), but it's also turned into a source of information to get the word out that we have a Special Olympic team,” Beck said. 

The outreach efforts have worked. Last year, there were just ten athletes. Now, there are 24. According to Doreen Beck, a volunteer and wife of coach John Beck, the current age range of the athletes is 8 to 83 years old.    

Athletes present at the sale included Ladonna Gaston, who won two gold medals in cycling this past June at the Special Olympics State Games in Idaho.   

Candace Tweeton, a volunteer with Special Olympics, praised the efforts of everyone who made the bake and yard sale possible. 

“Pretty much the entire team (helped),” Tweeton said. “They’ve baked, (their) families have baked, everybody’s participated.” 

Events like these, as well as sporting activities, are ways to give the team a sense of community. 

“Some of these athletes, they don’t have many friends outside of their family,” Tweeton said. “This brings them in (with) people that are like themselves. The community is very important to us.”  

The Special Olympics Team has other events throughout the year, including a polar plunge hosted by the Sheriff’s office and a booth at the County Fair. Currently, there is a ticket raffle for a 2025 Toyota Tundra that will be given to one winner in Idaho. 

For more information on the Bonners Ferry Special Olympics Team call John Beck at 986-205-1244 or email [email protected].