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LETEM Play expands beyond instruments to advocate music education

We first told you about LETEM Play in September, since then the non-profit started by two high school students has grown bigger than they creators could have ever imagined. Now, they are expanding and are offering more than just instruments.

 

LETEM- Life Enhancement Through Education in Music- was started by Katy Dolan and Philip Howard in February 2012. The Central Valley High School Juniors decided they wanted to share something they loved while making a difference in their community. LETEM provides instruments to students who can't afford them.

 

Now, a little over a year later, LETEM has branched off from just providing instruments. Dolan and Howard have also started providing music clinics to schools and groups that are trying to grow their music programs.

 

Footloose in the Palouse turns your attic finds into eBay treasure

Footloose in the Palouse turns your attic finds into eBay treasure

Do you know what collectibles may be lurking in your attic? A new business in Rockford is here to help you turn those attic finds into cash treasures.

 

Laurie and Bill Benson opened Footloose in the Palouse, an eBay consignment business in early March, and so far they've been greeted with great enthusiasm.

 

“Everyday is like Christmas, you never know what's going to walk through the door,” says Laurie adding that they'll sell anything online. The Benson's are working hard to not only sell items on eBay for their clients, but also to educate the community on what has become collectible.

 

Hayden Lake student is state winner for Doodle 4 Google

Hayden Lake student is state winner for Doodle 4 Google

A Hayden Lake student has been selected as the Idaho state winner in the sixth annual Doodle 4 Google competition. Doodle 4 Google is open to K-12 students across the U.S. to redesign the Google logo according to the theme "My Best Day Ever".

Natasha DiBiase is a third grader at Lake City Junior Academy and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. Her doodle is called "Becoming Veterinarian" and features a vet helping animals that spell out Google. DiBiase said she was inspired after her dog got sick.

"When we rescued my dog Satchmo from the shelter he was so sick that we thought he wouldn't live," DiBiase said, "Our veterinarian helped Satchmo get better. It made me want to be able to do the same someday."

DiBiase's doodle is one of the state winners selected from more than 130,000 students who submitted drawings this year nation wide. DiBiase's doodle will be displayed in a special exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York at the end of May along with all 50 state winners.

Crazy for Kendama

Crazy for Kendama

There's a new craze sweeping lunch rooms and it's not the latest phone. It's kendama, a wooden toy hailing from Japan, and it has young teenagers begging their parents for one. The Post Falls Library tapped into the new trend today and hosted a kendama tournament for local kids to show off their tricks and skills.

 

Kendama is a wooden toy featuring a ball attached to a handle with two cups and a spike. Players attempt to catch or spike the ball in various methods. Young Adult Librarian, Morgan Chevally, first saw kids using it after school and it wasn't long before her son wanted one too. She is thrilled to see the kids engaged in something that's not screen based. Chevally saw the kids testing each other's kendama skills through KEN, the kendama's answer to basketball's HORSE, so she decided to host a KEN tournament.

 

Man Rescued From Grain Bin

Man Rescued From Grain Bin

A North Idaho man was rescued near Bonners Ferry after becoming trapped in a half full grain bin.

Jim Shelton was trying to unplug a jammed bin when he bacamed trapped up to his arm pits in grain. Volunteers firefighters and other volunteers worked for several hours to free him. They finally got him free by placing a plastic barrel around him and vacumming out the surrounding grain.

Fresh Start will be open for upcoming cold, wintry nights

Fresh Start will be open for upcoming cold, wintry nights

 

Fresh Start Warming Center in Coeur d'Alene is fighting the mid-winter blues by keeping its doors open more days this year than any in year's past, according to executive director Howard Martinson.

The center expects to be open for at least a few days this week with cold temperatures and winter storms rolling in.

“We've been open a lot this year, more than any other year,” Martinson said, because this year they raised the “trigger point” for opening the center overnight from 20 to 25 degrees. Fresh Start checks the National Weather Service every day and if it is projected to be 25 or less, homeless people in the area can expect to stay at the shelter.

Martinson estimates that the center hosts 17-20 people on average, but they have enough space for 30. If more than 30 people were to show up seeking a place to warm up, an overflow shelter is ready at St. Luke's Episcopal Church.