The annual Christmas in St. Maries celebration returns Dec. 6.
The event is from 1 to 5 p.m. and will include a scavenger hunt, a Christmas costume contest, the lighting of an area tree, a Stroll on Main, wagon rides, pictures with Santa, craft fairs, a business decorating contest, fire pits and the lighted Christmas parade.
Shirley Ackerman, Sue Shoemaker and Betsy Porter stand with the new lights and decorations the St. Maries Chamber of Commerce will be using to “light up” St. Maries for the Christmas season.
The event is organized by the St. Maries Chamber of Commerce. Those who would like to get involved and help with the effort are invited to attend the organizational meetings every Friday at noon at the Pizza Factory.
Apparel is also available. Hoodies cost $32 and crew sweatshirts are $20. Orders should be placed ahead of the event as only a few items will be available at the Chamber table the day of the event. Some items are available now. Call 245-3563 or 596-1103 to order.
Donations are still being accepted at city hall to help pay for the new decorations that have been put up around town.
Having joined the St. Maries Kiwanis Club only four years ago, Linda Baar never thought she would be named Kiwanian of the Year anytime soon.
“It’s an award that has been given to a longer term member. One that went to all the functions,” Ms. Baar said.
So it was a total surprise for her when she received the award last week.
Linda Baar was named Kiwanian of the Year. Ms. Baar has been a member of the club for the past four years.
“I was not expecting it,” she said. “I was kind of dumbfounded. But it was a nice surprise.”
Ms. Baar said she first went to a Kiwanis meeting to pitch the idea of saving box tops and labels for education.
“I just wanted to ask them to save their box tops and labels because schools can earn up to $20,000 a year to do whatever they want with,” she said. “And I was the one putting the pink boxes out around town.”
The meeting she attended caught her attention, however.
“It was very informal and I liked the people. They sounded like a fun group,” she said. “So I asked if I could join before I left.”
Ms. Baar said during her first year in the club she helped wherever she could. She said the first event she helped with was the Benewah County Fair.
“I suggested they could have a table at the fair and I could sit at it sell tickets for our pig raffle,” she said. “We did well with it and so then we had a table at Paul Bunyan Days.”
Since then, Ms. Baar is often the one behind the table selling tickets for the pig raffle at the two events. She said it is one of the main reasons she was selected for the Kiwanian of the Year award.
“I’m one of the main people who will sit for seven days straight to sell tickets at the fair and then again at Paul Bunyan Days.”
Ms. Baar said she also is the communications officer for the club.
“Whenever there is something that everybody needs to know I will make the phone calls,” she said.
She also served as the treasurer for the club last year and was reelected to serve for the coming year.
Ms. Baar said she has also helped at various events where the Kiwanis cooked meals. She said the club has “quite a following” when it comes to the meals they prepare.
“We have regulars who will come eat with us wherever we are,” she said.
Ms. Baar said after she retired, the Kiwanis Club provided an outlet for her to continue to socialize and meet other people in the community.
“I retired from the post office where I worked the front counter,” she said. “I got used to talking and visiting with people. This allows me to continue to do that.”
She added everyone in the Kiwanis Club has “their own niche, but we always work together to get things done.”
Ms. Baar said her favorite part about being involved with the club was being able to reach out and help those in the community in need.
“All of our money that we send out stays here in the local community,” she said. “If you want an organization that really tries to do good service in their community, enjoys what they do, and has a good time doing it, this is it.”
Projects the Kiwanis supported this past year include providing wood to seniors, St. Joe River Marathon, highway litter pickup, visiting the residents at Valley Vista and organizing parties for them, donating chocolate for the local Easter egg hunt, 4-H, school supplies, swim passes for low income families and swim lessons, Grammies Jammies, CASA, and helped fire victims to name just a few.
“This is a great, great bunch of people,” Ms. Baar said.
The Kiwanis Club meets at noon every Thursday at Benewah Community Hospital’s conference room. On the third Thursday of the month, meetings are at the St. Maries Fire Station.
Anyone who is interested in joining the club is welcome to attend.
Applications are now available for the Toys for Tots program.
They are available at the St. Maries City Police Department, St. Maries City Hall or the Department of Motor Vehicle Office. Applications will need to be returned by noon Dec. 12.
This is the seventh consecutive year Renee Duke will coordinate the local effort for Toys for Tots. The St. Maries City Police Department sponsors the local effort in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corp. Reserve.
Celia Sibert and Renee Duke are gearing up the annual Toys for Tots effort. Applications are now available at the St. Maries Police Department, St. Maries City Hall and the Department for Motor Vehicle Services.
“We provide gifts for children in Benewah County who are 12 years and younger,” Ms. Duke said. “We provided gifts to 140 children last year.”
Ms. Duke said the goal of the effort is to provide children with a new toy for Christmas. Staci Schiermeister added, “everyone comes together to help out.”
Those who want to donate a toy may do so by dropping items in a donation box at one of the following businesses: Jack’s Pharmacy, Harvest Foods, Country Fair, Tri Peaks, AmericanWest Bank, Suntan Etc., The Paperhouse, St. Maries City Hall and Hughes Ace Hardware.
“Toys should be new and they should not be gift wrapped,” Ms. Duke said.
Ms. Duke receives help from Lt. Robert Loe, Chief Margaret Lehmbecker, Petey Slegel, Celia Sibert, Kriss Gibson, Staci Schiermeister, Sandi Auer, Boy Scout Troop 442 and leader Tom Jarvi. City police officers and county deputies help out by delivering toys to those who cannot pick them up.
Coordinating the effort has been worth it, Ms. Duke said, because it is supported by the community each year.
“I can’t thank everyone enough. I just appreciate them so much,” she added.
For more information on Toys for Tots call 245-2577 or 245-5102.
Area children are invited to try their hand at the annual Elks Hoop Shoot.
This year’s free event is from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 23 at St. Maries High School gymnasium. The contest is for ages 8 to 13.
Eligibility to participate is determined by the age the child will be on April 1, 2015. If the contestant will be age seven on April 1, he or she is too young too participate. If the contestant will be age 14 on April 1, he or she is too old to participate.
Local children are invited to participate in the Elks Hoop Shoot Nov. 23 so they should start practicing now. Pictured here are organizers Jim McCuaig and Bryan Chase and some local basketball players including Trista Janssen, Chandra Renner, Sami Badgett, Gracie Barden, Ashlyn Buell and Hope Aasgard.
“The children that want to participate will need to bring proof of their age to register,” said Jim McCuaig of the Elks. “This can be in the form of a birth certificate or whatever.”
Each competitor will have 25 shots. The individual who makes the most shots of 25 will be the winner of their age group. There are three age groups.
“The winner will then have the chance to compete at the regional level in Lewiston in January and then if they do well they can go on to compete at the state level in February in Blackfoot,” Mr. McCuaig said. “Then there is also a national competition.”
Mr. McCuaig said it is a fun experience for the children that do compete.
“Those who have participated before have gotten quite a kick out of it,” he said.
Bryan Chase is heading up the effort this year, Mr. McCuaig said, with the help of Dwaine Sieler and the support of the Elks Lodge and local basketball teams.
For more information, visit www.elks.org/hoopshoot.
After three months working as the acting head administrator of Benewah Community Hospital, the board made it official.
“Jim Broyles proved himself capable and talented in his position during the last three months,” Mike LaPlante, the hospital board chair, said. “He had to make some difficult decisions and has handled some tough situations well. Additionally he has brought unity and harmony to the facility, and we are optimistic for the future. We expect good things from him.”
Mr. Broyles accepted the full-time position as the hospital’s CEO last week.
Jim Broyles (white jacket) accepted the CEO position at Benewah County Hospital last week. Here he is surrounded by doctors, nurses and other staff he works with daily including Dr. Karen Libsch, Janelle Buell, Meloni Donohoe,Tonia Thaut, Tracy Schwartzman, Susanne Reep and Kristi Masterson.
“My goal was to not act like an interim employee, but to work as if I already was the CEO, making necessary judgments and moving the medical center in a positive direction,” he said. “Frankly I’ve been so busy that I never thought about being an interim, I just did what I felt needed to be done.”
Part of that work included guiding the hospital through the recertification process. For the first time in eight years the hospital underwent a federal inspection. The facility passed inspection exceeding expectations in each area especially when it comes to infections.
“In reviewing national statistics we champion our zero percent hospital acquired infection rate and zero percent surgical site infection rate,” Mr. Broyles said. “This sets us way above national standards and makes this a premier place for people who need surgery and post surgical care.”
Mr. Broyles will also continue as the director of nursing.
“Though both jobs are full-time, 24 hours a day 7 days a week positions, I am a registered nurse, I have an assistant and the roles really do complement each other in a smaller facility such as ours,” he said. “We may find a need to hire somebody for the nursing position in the future but for now the board would like me to continue in the dual role.”
Mr. Broyles accepted the position because of the tremendous support he received from the community and staff and because he felt it is the right place to be.
“The incredible support I have received energized me and I felt that I could not refuse the offer,” he said. “Also the successful recertification gave me more confidence that I was in the right place, doing the right thing.”
Mr. Broyles said the hospital is making some changes and planning for future projects and programs.
The hospital now offers a full team of certified nurses and pharmacists in the chemotherapy program, and is restructuring the clinic to improve service.
The clinic has a doctor every day who is dedicated to walk-in patients without an appointment. The hospital is working to revitalize the childbirth education program, and recently started offering low-dose CT scans for assessing tobacco users for lung cancer.
New equipment includes a cardiac treadmill that will send data to a cardiologist located elsewhere in real time, making it possible for a patient to get feedback from their regular doctor and a specialist in the same visit. Mr. Broyles said in the future the hospital would like to start a community asthma education program, and have a great presence in orthopedics.
Two significant projects Mr. Broyles said he is working on is a plan to add behavioral and mental health to the hospital’s list of services and organize a hospital chaplaincy program through the local ministerial association.
Mr. Broyles said he plans to work in the position for as long as he is needed.
“I really am doing it for the right reason,” he said. “I am not worried about the next big promotion in life. It is an honor to be here. How many people are blessed to do the things they love every day? I live in St. Maries, help manage the hospital, get to see patients, teach at the high school and get participate in a community music program. All of these things give me incredible self satisfaction.”
The public is invited to a reception to recognize Mr. Broyles’ advancement between 4 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19 at the Blue Spruce Café.
