092717voice fall 2017

V

Fall 2017

oice

Of the Pend Oreille River Valley

Service for Others Masons • Rotary • Soroptimists • Habitat for Humanity Friends of the Library • Knights of Columbus

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Editor’s Note:

S

ome could argue there is no such thing as a selfless act. We do things for other people not out of the kindness of our heart, but because it feels good.

Whether that’s true or not, there are a lot of people in the Pend Oreille River Valley that give of themselves for the benefit of other people.

Volunteerism is in a decline nationwide. Service organizations are closing up shop because members are too old, and young people aren’t stepping in to fill those shoes. It’s no longer the fashionable thing to do, joining a service organization.

Or so we might think.

In many cases, service organizations in Pend Oreille and west Bonner counties are accomplishing the impossible. The Soroptimists, Masons and Knights of Columbus fill our community’s needs on a very daily, very real basis. Scholarships, warm coats, mentoring – these are all aspects of community life we need for a thriving population.

Habitat for Humanity builds and fixes homes. The Rotary Club most daunting task of hosting scenic train rides for an entire season. And the Friends of the Library support our library systems, which aren’t just a place for books anymore.

It’s true, volunteering does feel good. It’s a great way to experience something new, meet people different from you, and share your talents.

This issue of Voice is by no means an exhaustive list of service organizations in the Pend Oreille River Valley. There’s a virtual endless list of ways you can give back to your community, and feel good doing it.

-MCN

Voice: Published: September 2017 Publisher: Michelle Nedved Writers & editors: Sophia Aldous and Don Gronning Advertising: Lindsay Guscott, Cindy Boober and Micki Brass

VOICE is published quarterly as a supplement to The Newport Miner and Gem State Miner, 421 S. Spokane, Newport WA 99156.

TELEPHONE: 509-447-2433 E-MAIL: minernews@povn.com FAX: 509-447-9222 Reproduction of articles & photographs is prohibited without permission of the publisher. See all issues at The Miner Online: www.pendoreillerivervalley. com

what’s inside: Newport Priest River Rotary Club

Pend Oreille Valley Habitat for Humanity

Newport Soroptimists International

Friends of the Pend Oreille County Library

Newport Masonic Lodge

Pend Oreille County Knights of Columbus

Page 4

Page 8

Page 12

Page 16

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File photo

Newport/Priest River Rotary Club Treasurer Brad Mingay presented North Pend Oreille Valley Lions club president Kim DiRienz with a $20,000 check for four railroad cars, a database and miscellaneous equipment associated with the train rides back in April. The train rides moved to Newport after the track up north required prohibitedley expensive upgrades. The Lions Club sold their interest to the Rotary Club.

Trains, bikes, races keep Rotary Club members busy

By Don Gronning

File photo

Randy Pymm, Newport/Priest River Rotary Club member and former Greater Newport Area Chamber of Commerce President, stands in one of the train cars that will carry passengers on the new excursion train rides, with a route from Newport to Dalkena and back. Volunteers spent Memorial Day weekend preparing the train cars for passengers.

For more information, go to www.sporttrainrides.com.

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Courtesy photo|Brad Mingay

Chicken Poop Bingo raised some funds for next year’s Festivities in the Park, organized by the Newport/Priest River Rotary Club.

Tickets were $1 each. If a chicken pooped on your number, you won half the pot for that round. The Festivities are held during rodeo weekend in late June.

W

hen Rotary president Dean Cummings moved to Pend Oreille County in 1979 he tried to start a Rotary Club. Cummings was a member of Rotary in Las Vegas, where the club had 350 members.

“I tried to start a club when I first got here,” Cummings said. “But people didn’t know a whole lot about what Rotary was.”

So he put his idea on hold. It wasn’t until 1996 that the Newport Priest River Rotary Club was formed.

“I wasn’t a charter member but I joined within six months or so,” member Brian Orr said. “They kind of shamed me into joining. They were doing so much work, I felt I should join.”

“That’s right, I shamed him into joining,” laughs John Linch, one of the charter members.

There are only four of the original 25 members

still living – Linch, Joe Olmstead, Brad Mingay and Larry White.

Linch said Orr, who was the mayor of Oldtown at the time, was interested in building a boat launch. Crown Pacific had donated a couple acres of land that the city wanted to use to build a boat launch but they needed some help. The Rotary Club seemed like the answer.

The Rotary Club had acquired its clubhouse from Albeni Falls Dam for $1, with the idea of moving it to its current location at Rotary Park.

But getting permits to move the building was another matter. After much effort, they couldn’t secure the necessary permit and time was running out.

“It was going to cost about $9,000 to hire someone to move it,” Linch remembers. So the group had one guy with a big enough truck and they decided to use it to move the building.

“The ISP (Idaho State Patrol) said nobody patrolled between 4-6 a.m.,” Cummings said. So that’s when they moved the building.

“We almost lost it once,” Orr remembers. “We were coming around the corner and it started to slide. We could just see it rolling down the hill,” he said.

But the building arrived intact. Linch said the Pend Oreille PUD helped with the power lines.

Rotary Park was the club’s biggest project to date. Linch, who worked as a grant writer for the Forest Service, said there were about $1.5 million in grants and in-kind donations involved in the project.

There was quite a bit involved in setting up the park after the building was moved.

“It was eight feet below the flood plain,” CumContinued on page 7

File photo

Dean Cummings, president of the Newport/ Priest River Rotary Club works on preparing the BMX park located between the Newport Rodeo Grounds and the Hall of Justice, off Garden Avenue, in Newport. The BMX bike course is another Rotary Club project.

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File photo

Riders watch as bandits (Pend Oreille Playhouse volunteers) board the train to “rob” passengers. All proceeds given to the faux outlaws go to the Playhouse.

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mings said. So the Rotary Club bought some fill and brought it up higher than the food plain.

Orr said he was put in charge of the volunteers and he would faithfully show up each Saturday to work on the park.

“We always had six or eight people show up to help,” he said. Interstate Concrete provided some material and the PUD also helped.

It took some time but the Rotary Club eventually acquired the nine parcels that made up what is now Rotary Park, just east of the Oldtown Bridge.

“We would buy them on contracts, with payments,” Cummings said. “As we got them paid off, we would give them to the city.”

There were thousands of hours of volunteer time spent on the project, which resulted in the paved park, clubhouse and boat launch.

Rotary International was started in Chicago in 1905 by Paul Harris, an attorney. According to the Rotary International website (www.www.rotary. org) Harris formed the group so professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships, and give back to their communities. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of its members.

The headquarters of Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation are in Evanston, Ill. There are associate foundations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Rotary is an international organization. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six continents.

Cummings says the group has 3.5 million members in 28,000 clubs, including the 30 members in the Newport Priest River club.

Cummings said the club was put together to do service work, one of the earliest clubs in the country with such a mission.

Cummings put up his own time for Rotary projects. Orr remembers one time the group had a speaker from Kenya give a talk. At the end of the talk, Cummings asked what was the one thing the club could do that would help the most. Without missing a beat the man from Kenya said, “Help us get safe

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Voice photo|Don Gronning

Soroptimist president Terry Miller shares a laugh while Micki Weisbarth, right, rolls the dice at the Friday Bunko game.

Soroptimists help girls, women

By Don Gronning

Courtesy photo|Pend Oreille Historical Society

Sadie Halstead was one of the first Soroptimists in Newport. Here she poses with the plaque of a school bearing her name.

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Voice photo|Don Gronning

Charlotte Demlow puts on the fuzzy dice signifying she won a round of Bunko, a dice game. The Soroptimists recently revived the Bunko games. They played Friday, Sept. 22 at the Hospitality House in Newport.

T

he Newport Soroptimists are probably best known for their annual crab feed, a fundraiser that happens every January.

While it’s fun and delicious, the crab feed is only a means to an end for Soroptimist International Newport, as the club is formally known. The crab feed raises money that supports the club’s various activities, including providing two $750 scholarships for high school senior girls.

Soroptimists mission is to better the lives of women and girls. Towards that goal, they have Girl of the Month awards for high school seniors throughout the school year. Each year two names are drawn from the girls of the month and they receive the $750 scholarships.

Newport’s Soroptimist club also provides a $500 scholarship to a female head of household who has a dependent. Applicants need to demonstrate a financial need and be pursuing an education, whether it is university, a trade school or a GED. This year’s president, Terri Miller, says the group’s mission of helping women and girls is important to her and club members.

“We try to start as early as possible,” she says.

“We donate to Girl Power and give an eighth grade award.”

Girls write essays about what they think their

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future will hold. Miller is going through club minutes and says the essays are revealing and, since they’re written by eighth graders, pretty cute.

Over the years Soroptimists have done a number of things to benefit Newport.

Among other things, they’ve supported the Family Crisis Center, helped fund hospital equipment, completely furnished a three-bed nursing home room and furnished a birthing room when the hospital was built. They have also offered teddy bears and toys for the sheriff’s office to distribute to children in crisis situations. They’ve contributed for school band uniforms. They’ve bought trashcans and signs for Newport, the clock for Centennial Plaza and funded playground equipment for the city park and schools.

The Soroptimists take seriously the community service goals.

“The reason I joined Soroptimists is that it was not a social club, it was a service club and we did projects for the community,” former club president Gladys Bishop told The Miner in 2006 in a story about the club’s 60th anniversary.

Bishop was involved in starting the first crab feed in 1988.

“We needed some money for scholarships,” she says. Bishop and the late Ann Swenson came up

with the idea.

Today the crab feed is a much-anticipated event, but it wasn’t clear when Bishop and Swenson started the crab feed just how they would pull it off. It involved hundreds of pounds of crab and seating and feeding dozens of people.

“The first one, we didn’t know what we were doing,” Bishop says. “But when you put a bunch of women together in a kitchen, things get done.”

They bought the first crab from a guy who used to sell crab by the Stateline Tavern.

Bishop says the Soroptimists never have had trouble getting crab, which comes precooked.

Spouses and friends help clean and prepare the crab, which is time consuming work.

Micki Weisbarth has been a three-time club president. When she received a letter inviting her to join in 1990, she didn’t know anything about the club. She joined and has served in every capacity but treasurer. She’s been president three times and has served as an officer for District 3, made up of clubs from eastern Washington, northern Idaho and northeast Oregon.

She’s benefitted from being a member.

“It’s personally helped me,” she says. “I was Continued on page 11

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File photo

The annual crab feed is one of the Soroptimists’ beloved annual events, held in January each year. Here a couple Soroptimist supporters clean crab before the dinner.

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quite shy at first.”

The Live the Dream Award, the $500 scholarship that goes to a female head of household, very much goes towards helping women, she says.

“It’s a signature project and I think, a worthy one,” Weisbarth says. Many times it goes to single mothers. Last year’s winner, Lisa Jayne of Sandpoint, won the Newport scholarship and went on to win another $3,000 regional award from Soroptimists.

Women can apply now to be considered for next year’s award. The deadline is Nov. 15. Weisbarth says women can call her at 509-671-2552 for information or check out the club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/siofnewport.

Soroptimist is an international organization for business and professional women. More than 90,000 Soroptimists in about 124 countries and territories contribute time and financial support to community– based and international projects that benefit women and girls.

The name Soroptimist has Latin roots. It comes from the word “soror,” which means sister and “optima,” which means best, and translates roughly to “best for women.”

Over the years the Newport Soroptimist club has had some accomplished members.

One of the more recognized names is Sadie Halstead, one of the first members of the Newport Club, which was chartered Jan. 12, 1946. Halstead was a respected teacher. Sadie Halstead Elementary, now Sadie Halstead Middle School, was named after her.

Pend Oreille County Prosecutor Dolly Hunt is an active member of the club.

“Dolly is a real asset to the organization,” says Bishop. Hunt heads up the Girl of the Month project. Hunt herself was a Girl of the Month when she was a student at Newport High School.

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This 1987 photo shows Katie Bartlett president, Leona Raven, secretary, Avis DeRuyter, District 3 Director of Soroptimists International of the Americas, Gladys Bishop, first vice president, and Virginia Bridges, past president.

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Voice photo|Sophia Aldous

Some of the Newport Masonic Lodge No. 144 members, back row: Jim Matthews, John Tucker and Gene Findlay. Front row: Marv Gerking, Dave Porter, Everett Miller, Don Kendrick and David L. Burch.

Masons: ‘Making a better man out of a good man’

By Sophia Aldous

A

t 112 years old, Newport Masons Lodge No. 144 is the oldest charitable organization still active in Newport. With 31 members (12 active), the Lodge is a pillar of good deeds in the community, dating all the way back to 1905.

“Our motto is to make a better man out of a good man,” says Jim Matthews, a Very Worshipful Brother at the Lodge and a member of the Masons more than 40 years.

Masons (Freemasons) are members of the largest and oldest fraternity in the world, dating back to the Middle Ages. An officer called the “Worshipful Master” heads each lodge. “Worshipful” means, “highly respected” or “honored.” The term comes from the judicial system of England and carries no religious implication, says Matthews. “Master” means “leader,” or “best qualified.”

According to Worshipful Master Don Kendrick, the Masons remain focused on philanthropy, especially through their annual scholarships awarded to high school students in Newport, Cusick and Selkirk high schools. The Masons also orchestrate Bikes for Books and the annual stuffed toy drive for area kindergartners. The organization also helps sponsor the annual walk to support Family Crisis Center and is involved with Youth Emergency Services (YES) in Pend Continued on page 14 Voice photo|Sophia Aldous

The cornucopia is a symbol of plenty and sharing the bounty. The Eye of Providence at the top often represents the all-seeing eye of God and is a reminder that man’s thoughts and deeds are always observed by God.

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Voice photo|Sophia Aldous

These chairs, which sit at the head of the Newport Masonic Temple, are more than 100 years old and came from New England. They formerly belonged to the Masonic Temple in Spokane, but were gifted to the Newport Lodge in 1999.

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Oreille County.

“Our aim is simply that, to do good in the world,” says Kendrick.

The organization’s history comes with a long line of conspiracy theories and misinformation that may be more entertaining than the actual facts.

“No, we’re not on the dollar bill,” says Senior Warden Dave Porter, smiling.

“Basically, any Mason Lodge around the world does what we do here in the states. We have rituals, but we’re not a religious organization. We don’t meet in secret. I mean, our Lodge is right here in town with our names and phone numbers on the front door. We aren’t hard to find.”

While the Masons don’t actively recruit new members (you won’t see them with a booth at the local fair anytime soon, for example), new members are welcome and all one need do is inquire. The organization is open to men only and that person must have no felony record. The prospective member submits an application and that application is voted on by the existing membership.

“I have found them (Masons) all throughout my world travels, including Japan, Taiwan and Korea,” says Lodge Marshall Everett Miller, who, along with several other members, is also a member of Boyer Mountain Lodge No. 134 in Deer Park.

The Newport Lodge was built in 1961 and is located on 4th Street and South Warren Avenue. The Masons occupy the upper floor of their building, renting the lower floor to a firm of engineers, surveyors and planners. The entrance to the Masons’ Temple is on the west side of the building, at which is also located a medium sized parking lot, with more parking available at the front of the building.

To contact Lodge No. 144 about membership, names and contact information are posted on the front door on the west side of the building. n

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Students from Pend Oreille County’s three school districts enjoy lunch at the Newport Masonic Lodge Thursday, April 14 after the junior achievement ceremony.

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Construction is done completely by volunteers and by the partnering family. Some work, such as plumbing and electrical, is contracted out.

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Habitat for Humanity works to stabilize Pend Oreille Valley One project at a time

By Michelle Nedved

H

ome ownership doesn’t just benefit the person who owns the home. According to U.S. News and World Report – and a myriad of others studies – home ownership benefits the homeowner’s family and their surrounding community, including improved health and school performance for children, increased civic engagement and volunteering, reduced crime, and higher lifetime wealth.

The more families that own a home directly correlates to the strength of a community. The Pend Oreille Valley Habitat for Humanity affiliate is putting that concept into action.

“Right now, we own property and we’re looking for a family to partner with to build them a house,” said Geoff Jones, the current chairman of the local board, and physician at Newport Hospital and Health Services. “The whole point is to stabilize families and

communities.”

The local chapter – or affiliate as its called in the Habitat model – has built seven homes in the Pend Oreille Valley, since it was started in the 1980s or 90s.

They cover all of Pend Oreille County, and parts of west Bonner County to about Priest River. There are neighboring affiliates in Spokane, Colville and Sandpoint.

Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976, and is headquartered in Americus, Ga. The concept is simple: the affiliate, made up of volunteers, partners with a family and together they build a house. The labor is mostly volunteer, and the family pays a zero-interest mortgage for the cost of supplies.

Homes built locally have cost anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000, and families have ranged from an individual to a family of five.

“We build for families and families are how you define them,” Jones said.

The goal for Habitat is stabilizing communities and families through home ownership. “Sometimes you can stabilize a whole family or a whole community by building a house for one person.”

Pend Oreille Valley HFH’s latest acquisition is an empty lot on Fifth Street, down the way from Newport schools. The affiliate bought the property at a relatively low cost about two years ago.

“We’ve only been actively looking for a family about a year. One, we didn’t have the money to start construction after we acquired the property, and we were finishing up a small project, so we didn’t have the human resources either,” Jones said.

Now they’re ready for a family, but finding one to partner with isn’t as easy it might seem.

Continued on page 18

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A Habitat for Humanity home mid-construction. In all, the local affiliate has built seven homes in the Pend Oreille Valley. They are looking for a family to partner with for property they purchased in Newport.

“We have to be very selective about families and it has to be the right family,” Jones said.

There are criteria that must be met, and the Pend Oreille Valley has a different kind of housing need. It can take up to a year or even two to build a Habitat house. Most people here that are need of housing are in a crisis situation. “We aren’t able to respond to the crisis housing,” Jones said.

Homeowner partners have to be willing and able to put in a minimum of 200 volunteer hours. At least half of that has to be in construction, preferably on their own house.

“We don’t look for people with talent or construction skills,” Jones points out. One family said they could clean up. And that’s what they did. “It was the nicest, cleanest construction site.” Other support can be office work such as putting together mailers.

Families also have to have the ability to pay off the loan.

They also have to currently live in substandard housing. There’s not a specific definition for substandard housing, but living is unsafe or too small housing, or owing more than half your income in rent or a mortgage are a few of them.

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Once a home is completed and the family begins paying on the mortgage, that money is used to start a new project.

“As you can imagine we can run into problems when people don’t pay their loans,” Jones said. However, the local affiliate has not had anyone default on their loan and they’ve never foreclosed on a home.

The mortgage is serviced through one of the local title companies, but the money goes right to Habitat.

Their last house closed in 2013, located on the corner of Sixth and State in Newport.

Serving on the board along with Jones are two of his co-workers: Newport Hospital and Health Services CEO Tom Wilbur, and Tim Chavis, head of Outpatient Services. Other intermittent committee members come and go. The board is always looking for volunteers, whether that’s someone with board experience, project management experience, or contractor and construction experience. They meet every month or two, and there are no paid employees.

The board looks for future projects and land to purchase, discusses working with other entities, such as the newly formed Pend Oreille County Housing Coalition, and plans advertising.

“Our last home we had a sign up for about a month and had applicants,” Jones said. “This time, not so much.”

When building a house, some of the work is contracted out, especially plumbing and electrical. Everything is subject to inspection, just like any construction site.

“If you have volunteers who have the skills and know how to do it, you can do a lot of stuff,” Jones said.

A lot of affiliates get volunteers from the construction industry, but not here. Jones points out contractors in the Pend Oreille Valley are busy.

“They are extraordinarily busy here. It’s just tougher here,” he said.

Construction plans come from Habitat International, which provides plans that can be downloaded and used for free. The international organization also gets discounts on building supplies and appliances with big supplier such as Home Depot. “We get appliances for our homes at a big discount,” Jones said.

Jones joined the local affiliate 13 years ago a treasurer. He became involved with Habitat well before that, through his wife Shannon, whose sister Patrice was active in Habitat. When she was diagnosed with brain cancer, her family decided to build a Habitat house in

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Courtesy photo|Pend Oreille Valley HFH

Habitat for Humanity International began in the 1970s and is headquartered in Americus, Ga. Local affiliates are the Newport-based Pend Oreille Valley affiliate, Sandpoint, Colville and Spokane.

her honor. In all the family has built eight houses, the first two of which Patrice was alive to see finished. She passed away in 2001.

Along with building houses, the affiliates also complete “A Brush with Kindness” projects, quick fix ups or critical repairs for those in need. They’ve done two of those projects in the last three years.

Jones points out that affiliates like this one, which is rural and all volunteer, doesn’t have the resources

to build houses all the time. Homeowners self-identify projects that take a couple of days, a small crew and a supply budget of $500 or less.

Being a homeowner is key to being eligible.

“We do not fix up properties for slum lords,” Jones said. “We’ve fixed roofs, ceilings, improved safety of a stairway.” One family was living in a house with unfinished walls. Habitat finished the walls in some of the rooms including the bathroom, from drywall to paint.

Whether you’re looking for someplace to donate your time or skills, or think you might be a good fit to help build your own house, contact the Pend Oreille Valley Habitat for Humanity.

The best way to contact the board is through email: povhfh@gmail.com. Visit the Facebook page to learn more.

“We have this great property just a few blocks from the schools. We’d love to find a family,” Jones said. n

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Sandy Loskill, President of the Friends of the Pend Oreille County Library District, looks at where the Friends are going to place their bulletin board in the Newport Library with member Sharron Schueman at the Friends’ June meeting. The board has the names and pictures of the officers of Friends of the Library, the organization’s goals and how to contact them.

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iteracy. Engaging the community. These are just two of the goals the Friends of the Pend Oreille County Library District (FOPCLD) have tasked themselves with. The Friends are a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization established to support local libraries in Pend Oreille County, from Metaline Falls to Ione, Cusick, and Newport.

“From story times with parents and toddlers and STEM materials, to book clubs and cultural celebrations, Friends of the Library members help our librarians enrich lives no mater the age or interest,” says Katherine Schutte, Friends member and board member of the Pend Oreille County Library District. “Libraries need all the Friends they can get.”

The organization, headed by Sandy Loskill as president, raises funds through book sales and other community activities that are then put back into the

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These school kids helped the Friends of the Library set up for the Friends book sale, recently held at United Church of Christ in Newport.

library and the community in a variety of ways, like the annual purchasing of book bags for new kindergarteners, funding educational and recreational programs for all ages, and funding summer reading incentives to help prevent summer learning loss, among others.

Each branch has an active Friends group that works for their community.

While Schutte was unable to confirm how long the Friends group has been operating in Pend Oreille County, and Loskill wasn’t available for comment, Friends groups are nothing new. Since the beginning of the American library movement in New England in 1629, Friends groups have been formed by citizens using their talents and resources to support public libraries.

“Friends are only successful because of generous community members that donate time, money, books and other media, and turn around and purchase books from the Friends,” says Schutte. “It’s a win-win relationship.”

Those interested in becoming a friend can stop by any branch to grab a membership form or send an email to Sandy Loskill at hloskill@yahoo.com.

Membership is $5 per year, but the fee is optional. Members can be as active in the organization as they wish or choose to be inactive and join simply in support of the mission.

The Friends of the Library accept donations of quality used books and movies that can be either added to the library’s collection of materials or sold in book sales with proceeds going to the library. Book donations are tax deductible and can be left at the branch of your choice. However, the Friends appreciate it if people not donate Harlequin romance novels, out-of-date textbooks, Reader’s Digest condensed books, or encyclopedias.

Monetary donations are also tax deductible and welcome. Cash or checks made out to the Friends of the POCLD can be left at any branch.

For more information, call 800-366-3654. For more information about the Friends of the West Bonner Library District, call the Priest River Library at 208448-2207. n

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Courtesy photo|Knights of Columbus

The Fourth Degree Knights were in full attendance as they escorted the Lady of Fatima statue and all attendees at the Fatima statue celebration at St. Anthony’s parish in July. St. Anthony’s was the sole parish in the Spokane diocese that hosted the Lady of Fatima statue.

Knights of Columbus step in where they see need

By Michelle Nedved

T

hough just 10 years old, the Pend Oreille County Knights of Columbus council is thriving. At more than 50 members strong, the fraternal service organization that calls St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Newport home, is about to reach Star Council status, meaning they are leading the way in membership, insurance and service program activities.

Grand Knight Stephen Sommer and his wife joined St. Anthony’s parish when they moved to Priest River in 2014.

“I wanted to become more involved in the community, because that’s how you meet people,” Sommer said.

The Grand Knight is much like the president of the local council, followed by a vice Grand Knight, and other officers similar to most organizations. St. Anthony’s Parish includes all the Catholic churches in Pend Oreille County, including Newport, Usk, Ione, Metaline Falls and the Kalispel Reservation.

“Our function is to help community, parish, state through charitable acts,” Sommer said.

This year, the Knights are helping Youth Emergency Services with their coat drive. They donate money to the food banks of Pend Oreille County and Oldtown, as well as hold weekly food collections, and participate in the Veterans Honor Flight program.

New this year, they are helping the Newport Priest River Rotary Club host the Scenic Pend Oreille River Train rides, providing three to four men each day of the rides.

“If you develop programs that people see are a worthwhile investment, they will want to become part of that

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Courtesy photo|Knights of Columbus

One of the many projects the Knights of Columbus tackled last winter was the total gut and remodel of the “Knights Room” in the basement of St. Anthony’s Church. Greg Meyer is pictured here refurnishing the laminated beam that had been previously hidden above ceiling tiles.

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Courtesy photo|Knights of Columbus

Ed Zupich is about to remove the heat ducting from the old storage room in preparation for installation of the new walls and sheet rock in the basement of St. Anthony’s.

because it makes them feel good,” Sommer explained. That’s part of the reason his service organizations is 53-men strong. The entire Pend Oreille Parish has 199 families registered as members.

The Knights pay dues and hold fundraisers throughout the year. The annual Italian dinner is always a success.

“We literally were turning people away the day of,” Sommer said. The next dinner is set for May 19, 2018.

They also organize a football pool, which is also sold out.

The annual yard sale they held last month as a joint project with the parish’s Altar Society netted the biggest sales so far.

Sommer said one of the challenges he noticed when he joined the Knights was the quietness of their involvement in the community.

“One of the challenges, the Knights traditionally have held very closely within the walls or confines of the parish,” he said. “One of the things that I recognized is we need to be more active in the community.”

The Knights observe where help is needed.

“It’s really what do we observe and then some might come to us,” he said.

“A lot of organizations won’t ask. But if we see there is that silent need,” they jump in to help.

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Last year, the Knights disbursed close to $12,000 in charitable contributions.

Coming in Sept. 28-29 is the Tootsie Roll drive. Knights will set up in hightraffic places and give away Tootsie Rolls, collecting donations for the Special Olympics. (Sommer points out that they give out the big Tootsie Rolls.)

It’s a national program, where 20 percent of proceeds go to the state Special Olympics organization and 80 percent stay with the local Special Olympics team. In the past, the local council donated funds to the Selkirk Superstars in Pend Oreille County. This year, money will also be donated to the Priest River Special Olympics team.

The Pend Oreille County council is part of the Fourth Degree, which is an optional patriotic wing of the organization. They present the color guard at funerals, Confirmations, and weddings, as well as assist the bishop. The local Fourth Degree covers Deer Park, Newport, Chewelah and Colville. Only about 25 percent of men in the Knights do the Fourth Degree, of which Sommer is part.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus.

There are more than 1.7 million members in 14,000 councils.

An Irish-American Catholic priest, the Venerable Father Michael J. McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Conn. The primary motivation for the Order was to be a mutual benefit society.

With 53 members and Star Council status on the horizon, the Pend Oreille County Knights of Columbus deserve to be commended. “We’re doing fairly well getting men involved,” Sommer said. “The men need to be complimented on doing that, but also their wives. If they didn’t have the wives’ support behind them, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.” n

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Nordvedt presented her with her Girl of the Month pin. “It was great to be recognized for my achievements,” Hunt says.

Miller, the current club president, is also accomplished. She is the elected county treasurer, serving her second term.

In addition to being a service club, the Soroptimists also socialize. They recently revived the Bunko dice game at the Hospitality House in Newport.

There were 25-30 people gathered on a recent Friday night to roll the dice, competing for prizes and prize money, pausing to eat and socialize before going back to the spirited game, which also involved a fair amount of socializing. The women switched tables with each Bunko, which is when the prescribed three of a kind are rolled.

The Soroptimist club has had as many as 40 members.

“Like all organizations, attendance goes up, blossoming, then goes down, then goes up again,” Bishop says. There are currently about 25 club members.

The club meets twice a month, at noon on the first and third Tuesday of the month at the Pine Ridge Community Church in Newport. The first meeting is a business meeting and the second a social meeting, when the Girl of the Month is presented. There is also a guest speaker most months.

While the group is a community service club, that doesn’t mean the women aren’t there to socialize as well.

“We so socialize,” Weisbarth says. “You make friends from all over the country. It’s a good way to network.” n

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Rotary president Dean Cummings makes himself useful during the opening of the Newport train rides.

Continued from page 7

water.”

The Kenyan school children couldn’t go to school when the dry season came because they would have to spend the day walking to carry water when the local sources dried up.

“Dean took it upon himself to raise money and went,” Orr said. Cummings made a valuable contribution that was appreciated. There are little boys running around over there named in honor of Cummings.

“He took quite a few people from here over there,” Linch said.

The Newport Priest River Rotary Club’s first president, Joe Olmstead, has made several trips. Usually four people from here would go on the trip. Rotary clubs are encouraged to help with international projects.

The group didn’t always have to dig new wells, sometimes fixing the pumps on existing wells was enough, Olmstead said.

Today the Rotary’s big project is the Scenic Pend Oreille River Train, the train rides from Newport to Dalkena. For years the North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club ran the highly successful north county rides until the track became too costly to repair.

The Rotary Club bought four railroad cars, a database of past customers and various pieces of equipment that go with the ride.

Rotary projects include two bike rides, the Great Northwest Fall Tour and the WaCanId ride. Both rides usually take place in September but had to be canceled this year because of smoke.

In June, the Rotary Club puts on Festivities in the Park during the Newport Rodeo weekend. That started two years ago and is a popular addition to rodeo weekend.

The Rotary Club also provides six $1,000 scholarships each year. They also have started a BMX bike track near the Hall of Justice in Newport.

The Newport Priest River Rotary Club is truly a service organization.

“It’s a fine organization,” Cummings said.

The club meets every Wednesday, except the fourth Wednesday of the month, at 7 a.m. at Rotary Park; the second Wednesday of the month at a local restaurant, and the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6 p.m. at Rotary Park. n

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TURNING 200 YEARS INTO 2,000 JOBS. Helping our neighbors just as we help our own has been at the core of Kalispel culture for centuries. It’s how we’ve become one of the largest employers in Spokane and Pend Oreille Counties. We provide nearly 2,000 jobs which put millions of dollars into our local economies every year. We’ve also given $17 million to local charities in support of education, healthcare, arts, social services and environmental conservation. Now, as we look to the future, we see even greater growth ahead for our people, land and the community.

kalispeltribe.com