Veterans Day activities aplenty for the VFW

By Doug Boyer

With a full week of Veterans Day activities just past, the veterans and the auxiliary at the VFW were kept quite busy.

Due to the fact that there was no school on Friday (Veterans Day, Nov. 11), area schools held their assemblies throughout the week.

So we started off the week on Monday, Nov. 7, with a wonderful assembly put on at Orofino Jr./Sr. High School, where we judged the art class Veterans Day posters. This was followed by a presentation of the “POW/MIA” table and the Armed Forces medley, and presentation of white carnations to the veterans in attendance.

This was followed up on Thursday at noon, when the VFW presented a new flag to the students and faculty at Peck Elementary, followed by a flag raising with the Pledge of Allegiance and then an assembly hosted by the school and followed up with some great food. 

Also on Thursday, we had the honor of attending a music-filled tribute to veterans at Orofino Elementary.

On Veterans Day, we started the day at 7 a.m. with the help of 48 veterans and community members, and posted over 160 U.S. flags at the Orofino and Weseman cemeteries.

We also held Buddy Poppy sales throughout the community, and had a great chili and stew lunch and bake sale hosted by the VFW Auxiliary.

At 3 p.m., we had the honor of presenting Certificates of Appreciation to veteran residents at Clearwater Health and Rehab. Our day concluded with a Quilt of Valor ceremony, where 15 deserving veterans were each presented with a beautiful handmade quilt by the Quilts of Valor Federation in conjunction with the Central Idaho Quilt Guild.

What a wonderful week, and we thank everyone in the community for showing us their appreciation.

A busy holiday season is fast approaching

The U.S. Marine Corps will be kicking off their annual Toys for Tots program for the 2016 season on Friday, Nov., 25 and the VFW is one of the collection centers in our area.

Please help the USMC help the less fortunate by dropping off your new, unwrapped toys at the VFW in Orofino. 

The VFW will be holding its Christmas party this year in conjunction with Orofino American Legion Post 53, Auxiliary members and their families at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, at the VFW hall. Turkey and ham will be supplied by the VFW, so just bring your favorite side dish to share.

There will be door prizes, Christmas music, and plenty of holiday cheer. 

Speaking of Christmas, it is not too late to reserve our smoke-free VFW hall for your holiday party or get-together. Dates are filling up fast, so call the VFW today at 476-4117 for an inexpensive holiday party rental.

An engraved brick makes for that perfect Christmas present

We still have plenty of room for more bricks in our “Brickyard of Memories,” and it is not too late to get you or a loved one’s memories engraved.

Please keep in mind there is absolutely no military affiliation required in order to purchase a brick. You can celebrate your children, grandchildren, friends or yourself with anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, births, deaths, years in Orofino—the sky is the limit!

They make a great birthday, Christmas or anniversary present, too! There are currently over 140 bricks in place, with room for hundreds more. 

The 4” x 8” bricks are $40 each with your engraved message, and the 8” x 8” bricks are only $70. These bricks, along with some older bricks from the old junior high school, are placed between the two sidewalks leading up to the VFW building.

For further information or to purchase your brick, please call the VFW at 476-4117 or stop by and pick up an order form. Thank you to everyone who has already purchased a brick or bench! 

The VFW holds their monthly membership meeting on the first Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. The Auxiliary meets at 6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month.

The VFW and Auxiliary are updating their records and are requesting that all members let the VFW or Auxiliary know of any email, address, or phone number changes. 

Want to join the VFW? We would love to have you! Too busy? Don’t worry, we won’t put any pressure on you to do something. Just contact any VFW member, bring your DD 214 down to the VFW at 330 Michigan Ave., or call 476-4117 for more information.

Not eligible for the VFW? The Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars is now accepting both men and ladies as members to the Auxiliary. Just be a blood relative of a combat veteran and you too can be a member! Give us a call for more info.

A big thank you to everyone in our community who helps support our veterans and Harold Kinne VFW Post 3296.

Dr. Hanna Konarzewska, Cardiac Electrophysiologist, implants first S-ICD (subcutaneous implantable cardiac defibrillator) in Lewiston

Dr. Hanna Konarzewska is a Board Certified Cardiac Electropysiologist specializing in diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and palpitations. She implants and manages devices such as defibrillators, pacemakers, and loop recorders to aid in diagnosis and management of these arrhythmias.

St. Joseph Regional Medical Center proudly recognizes Dr. Konarzewska and her team at the St. Joseph Heart and Vascular Center, providing award-winning healthcare.

An ICD device monitors a patient’s heart 24/7, sending an electrical shock to the heart if it detects a life-threatening heart rhythm in order to restore the heart to its normal rhythm, preventing sudden cardiac arrest.

This device is different from a regular implantable cardiac defibrillator. The ICD lead, which senses the electrical activity in the heart, is tunneled under the skin to rest next to the heart on the breast bone, and a small pocket on your side houses the device. 

There is no need to access the vessels of the heart to place the leads as with a regular implanted defibrillator – leaving the heart and the blood vessels untouched and intact.

For patients, this means less lead related complications such as lead fracture, lead migration, or arrhythmia, as well as, less opportunity for infection in high-risk patients as the heart remains untouched. 

A physician would help determine which device is right for each patient. For more information, visit http://www.bostonscientific.com/en-US/products/defibrillators/emblem-s-icd-system.html.

Oversized loads to move through Lewiston starting Nov. 13

LEWISTON - Throughout the month of November, freight trucks will haul large building components from the Port of Lewiston to the Clearwater Paper Corporation during overnight hours with minimal impact to motorists.

Thirteen oversize loads are scheduled to make the 2.9-mile trip between the hours of 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. starting on November 13. You can see a map of the route here and a preliminary schedule below.

Traffic on the Memorial Bridge may experience some delays. Flaggers will also block the intersection of Highway 12, the Main Street Bypass, and Main Street. This could create a delay of 15-20 minutes.

Omega Morgan is the company hauling these loads. They have partnered with ITD, Lewiston Police, the city of Lewiston, Nez Perce County, emergency services, and public utility outlets to make this move as smooth and successful as possible.

The cooperation on this project highlights ITD's commitment to safely transport goods and services throughout the state.

Preliminary Schedule of Hauls:

Every night from Sunday, November 13 through Tuesday, November 22.

Then every night from Monday, November 28 through Friday, December 2.

Work done to clear travel path:

- Temporarily remove street lights between Idaho 128 and Main St.

- Install temporary rotation traffic signal arm at 3rd Ave. North and U.S. 12.

- Relocate overhead utility lines.

The Idaho Transportation Department is responsible for all highways on the State Highway System – interstates, state highways and U.S. routes. All other roads are under the jurisdiction of the local, city or county entity.

The Idaho Foodbank celebrates new facility

Lewiston, ID – On Thursday, Nov. 3, The Idaho Foodbank cut a ribbon and celebrated its new north central Idaho facility with a ceremony for local business leaders and donors.

This is the culmination of years of planning and effort. The new facility will provide programs and/or services to the 9 northern-most counties in the state. It will help the Foodbank, which has operated out of Lewiston since 1994, reach more people than ever before.

Chairman of the Foodbank’s Statewide Steering Committee for the Fresh Approach campaign, Patricia Kempthorne said, “Even as the economy improves and hunger numbers in Idaho level off, we still need to do more to reach the people in need in every part of our state. This new facility will enable the Foodbank to bring in more of the nutritious food that doesn’t just solve hunger, but does so in a healthy way.” 

The building comes at the perfect time, as the Foodbank launches its “Hope for the Holidays” campaign. The new facility will play an integral role in the goal of distributing the food for more than 2.5 million meals. Some of that will come from the current “Feed the Foodbank” effort in Lewiston, with more than 25 companies working together to collect food to fill the new structure.

Feeding America’s annual hunger study “Map the Meal Gap” estimates more than 17,000 people in north central Idaho are food insecure, meaning they may not know where they’ll get their next meal. More than 4,000 of those people are children.

“Our community is in need and the Foodbank has worked for more than 12 years to help those who are hungry in north central Idaho,” said Joanna Alford, Local Campaign Committee Co-Chairman. “North central Idaho looks after its own and this new building is a symbol of the great work being done to help our friends and neighbors. More help is needed. We still hope to raise the funding needed for this new building.”