The art of seven local high school students will be featured at The Gallery on Main in St. Maries this month.
They include Kalie Harvey, Kinzie Dittman, Emily Rottini, Ivy Ingram, Sam Mueller, Chad Martinell and Alix Reiss.
The work of advanced art students Kinzie Dittman, Kalie Harvey, Ivy Ingram, Sam Mueller, Chad Martinell, Alix Reiss and Emily Rottini of St. Maries High School will be featured at The Gallery on Main for the month of March. The students will be available to the public from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 6 at the gallery.
Emily, a senior, said art helped her get through grade-school.
“I couldn’t read as a child because I have dyslexia, so I used to draw words instead of write them,” she said.
She became more dedicated to art as she grew older and spent a summer at the Springdale School of Art in Burley when she was 15 years old.
“I served as a janitor and later also helped teach the youngest students (4-5 year olds) in order to pay for the classes that I took,” she said.
Emily enjoys drawing people with pencil above all else, but also enjoys painting with acrylics.
“I love to use pencil best, but it’s hard not to smudge it,” she said. “I mostly enjoy doing portraits and portraying human activity, people doing things.”
She plans to use her talent in a future career in the illustration field.
“I want to draw every day and get paid for it,” she said. “God gave me a gift, and I need to share that.”
Kinzie, a junior at St. Maries High School, said she has been drawing since she was three but didn’t become serious about her work until she was in middle school.
She also prefers pencil drawing. As an eighth grader she participated in an art show at the local gallery and more recently she has won a poster contest organized by the Benewah County Humane Rights Coalition for two years running.
Kalie, a senior, has also been interested in art since she was young.
“Since I was young, I have been complimented on my work,” she said. “I find art relaxing and a good way to express myself.”
Kalie prefers to paint.
“I love water color and acrylic paint is a close second,” she said. “I really enjoy painting portraits.”
The showing at the gallery this month will be a first for Kalie.
The public is invited to meet these up-and-coming artists from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday (March 6) at The Gallery on Main (within The Paperhouse) in St. Maries. The students’ work will be included in a special display and featured throughout the month.
A passion for flying and a desire to serve her country prompted this Kootenai High School student to apply for acceptance to the U.S. Naval Academy.
Katey Mae McInturff received notice of her acceptance into the academy last month.
The school, which receives more than 20,000 applications each year, has a 6 percent acceptance rate. Ms. McInturff will be one of about 1,200 in the freshman class this year.
Katey Mae McInturff, a senior at Kootenai High School, recieved notice of her acceptance into the Naval Academy last month.
Ms. McInturff received nominations from Rep. Raul Labrador, Sen. Jim Risch and Sen. Mike Crapo for the school. She plans to earn a degree in an English-related field before going into special naval training.
Once she has completed her traditional schooling, she hopes to become a Navy pilot.
“I’ve wanted to learn to fly since my grandfather took me up in his bi-plane when I was younger,” she said. “He flew me around a few times, did some aerobatics, loops and turns and even let me fly a little bit.”
Since then she’s been up in planes and has decided she likes it enough to try to make a living at it.
“I wanted to do something I like and also something where I could serve,” she said. “I like the thrill and excitement flying gives you and being in the Navy allows me the chance to give back a little bit of what I’ve been given.”
After research, Ms. McInturff decided to take a closer look at the naval academy and registered for a week-long visit last summer to the school in Annapolis, Maryland.
“After the academy, graduates get to name a preference for where they’d like to go for training,” she said. “About 80 percent get their first choice.”
Ms. McInturff has been enrolled in the Kootenai district since kindergarten. She serves as class president, is a member of The National Honor Society, and plays basketball, runs cross country and pole vaults for track in the spring. She is the daughter of Doug and Darcy McInturff.
Enjoy tacos and a game of bingo at the annual Hospice Family Bingo and Taco Feed Sunday, March 1 at the Eagles Lodge.
The taco lunch will begin at 12:30 p.m. with bingo to start at 1 p.m. Admission for the event costs $5 for adults or $2 for children ages 6 to 12. Children under 5 are free. The cost of admission includes a door prize ticket and one bingo card.
Robin Hodgson, director of Hospice of Benewah County, displays the flier for the Hospice’s Family Taco Bingo fundraiser, which is Sunday, March 1.
A St. Maries firefighter will travel to Seattle next month to compete in the 2015 Scott Firefighter Stair Climb.
This will be the fifth year Ronnie Dickerson has participated in the event, which is purported to be the largest firefighting competition in the world and raises money each year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“Every year after I do it I say I’m not going to go back,” Mr. Dickerson said. “But at each landing there are pictures in memory and when you see that the majority of the people in the pictures are 25 years or younger it breaks your heart.”
Ronnie Dickerson will compete in the 2015 Scott Firefighter Stair Climb in Seattle in less then two weeks. This is the fifth year he has participated.
Firefighters from across the country participate in the 69-story climb up the Columbia Center, the second tallest building west of the Mississippi, while wearing more than 50 pounds of firefighting gear, including boots, pants, jackets, gloves, helmet and self-contained breathing equipment.
Tim Kraack participated in the event with Mr. Dickerson for three years, but to due a knee replacement he no longer does the climb. Mr. Kraack still helps with fundraising and provides support to Mr. Dickerson.
“He changes out my bottle and he’s my coach. He goes and trains with me,” Mr. Dickerson said.
Mr. Dickerson said the climb is “ridiculously hard.”
“I do it for the people who can’t,” he said, adding he has been training since before December.
Last year, Mr. Dickerson completed the climb in 39 minutes 53 seconds.
“I took five minutes off my previous time last year and hope to do the same this year,” he added.
This year’s event is March 8, which means in less than two weeks Mr. Dickerson will be headed to Seattle. As part of competing in the event, he is required to do some fundraising to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“I want to raise at least $1,500 because that guarantees me a spot in the stair climb next year,” he said. “If you lose your spot it is hard to get back in.”
Mr. Dickerson said people may make donations online at http://www.llswa.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ff_home.
“Click on the donation tab and then you select the amount you want to donate,” he said. “You have to do $5 minimum. It will also give you the chance to put the donation under my name.”
Donations can be made locally at the St. Maries Fire Station, AmericanWest Bank or directly to Mr. Kraack or Mr. Dickerson. All donations must be made by March 28.
Mr. Dickerson said he has pictures of a few individuals he will be taking with him to pin up during the climb. Anyone who wants to give him additional pictures can do so.
“Just call me at 245-6639 or Tim at 689-3681,” Mr. Dickerson said.
He added he is dedicating this year’s climb to Joyce Sindt and Tish Knowland, both of whom died of cancer.
Thanks to the generosity of a few people and the work of many, the St. Maries community will have its very own hospice house this spring.
A 2,400 square-foot home, located across from the fire station on Jefferson Avenue was purchased by an anonymous person who is providing owner financing at a low rate for Hospice of Benewah County.
The move allows hospice to place all of its services at one location, and to expand its offerings, decrease overhead costs and become more financially self-sufficient.
Director Robin Hodgson stands with volunteers who are helping renovate this house and property to be used as the new location for Hospice of Benewah County.
Plans for the building include office space, a curiosity shop and storage for medical supplies and equipment.
Before that can be realized, much work must be done to the building and property including a complete renovation of the home, demolition of the unattached shop and landscaping.
“We have some volunteers helping with that but we need more,” Director Robin Hodgson said. “We need people to donate the supplies and others to do the work.”
Both skilled tradesmen and general laborers would be appreciated to help with the renovation. Material donations of appliances, furniture and building supplies including paint, flooring, siding, door locks and sheetrock.
Those with specific skills in carpentry, electrical, plumbing, demolition, sign-making and people to tend the shop once open are also needed.
Benewah County Master Gardeners have agreed to landscape the yard for the organization.
The biggest project onsite will be the demolition of a two-story garage/shop adjacent to the house.
“It is a very old, but unsound building with lots of stuff left in it including fans, hydraulic jacks, a huge, laminated beam and a lot of other equipment,” Ms. Hodgson said. “We’d like to sell the stuff and are willing to entertain offers. Once we get everything out of it we will need someone to tear it down.”
The attached garage will be turned into a curiosity shop to generate funds to help support day to day operations of the organization. Donated items will also be needed to fill the shop.
At this time the organization is focused on renovating the upper floor of the home. At a later time the group hopes to also renovate the downstairs portion and use it for a library and offer the bedrooms to those traveling to the area to visit with dying family members.
Currently the organization has an office across from the courthouse on College Avenue, and stores its medical equipment in a shed adjacent to the fire hall.
“I had this vision and God handed it right to us,” Ms. Hodgson said. “Eddie and Suzy Epler of St. Maries Realty heard about our need and found the good-willed investor and Gayle Wemhoff found the property that made the dream a reality for us.”
Organizers hope to have the building ready to open by the end of March.
“Obviously that depends on the number of volunteers we get and how quickly we can renovate the house,” Ms. Hodgson said. “This is huge for St. Maries to have something like this that they support and own. Hospice has been here since 1980 and never owned anything. “
Call the office at (208) 245-5734 between 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for additional information.
