Community dressed up for Holiday Home Tour

Mark this Sunday on your calendar and make plans to attend the Holiday Home Tour, sponsored by Bonner General Hospital and Bonner Community Hospice.

The self-guided tour will take place from 1-4 p.m. and features five homes. Tickets are only $15 and can be purchased at BGH, Sharon's Hallmark and Eve's Leaves.

All proceeds go to The Healing Garden, a very special place located next to BGH.

Special holiday cheers to Bill and Cassie Gilmore, Rich and Kelly Jenkins, Grant and Jennifer Merwin, Russ and Diane Gartell and Andy and Bev Kee for opening their homes to this very worthy cause.

Each house is unique and all dressed up for the holidays. They are all a short drive from each other.

I still have fond memories at the opening of The Healing Garden just a short time ago. The Rev. Nancy Copeland-Payton captured the essence of The Healing Garden as she envisioned a place for young and old, a place for reflecting, praying, as well as a garden to just get away from it all.

It's been said in this space before, and I'll mention it again, The Healing Garden is a selfless gift to our community from a group of people with huge hearts.

The hearts are ahead of the dollars right now, but I am sure with fundraisers like this, the financial burden of constructing the garden will soon go away.

After the tour, the Hospice Memorial Tree of Lights will be lit at the Healing Garden at 4 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

If you would like to honor a loved one with a light on the Memorial Tree of Lights, drop off a note at the Hospice office at BGH. The cost is $10.

For more information call 265-1179.

The Festival of Trees is also this weekend but the event is sold out. Some of Santa's helpers are planning a free sneak peak and a visit with St. Nick on Friday. Read all about it in today's Bee.

Last week, I asked readers to submit some of their favorite shopping spots. Hope's June Holt is a fan of Whim's in Kootenai.

"I have a lot of summer guests and I always bring them to Whim's and they always buy something," she said.

Some of my favorite stores in town this year have been: Idaho Stone, Sears, Merwin's, Ben Franklin, Sharon's, Ray Kincaid's, Larson's, Vanderford's, Staples, Inkwell and as of Monday, Radio Shack.

What is a uniquely North Idaho gift? Drop me your suggestions at dkeyes@bonnercountydailybee.com. I'll accept gifts in person. Gary Rench tells me the Byway T-Shirts featured in last week's column have been hot sellers. He is donating all proceeds to a local charity and was happy to infuse a little levity into the debate. Stop by Sand Creek Medical to take one out for a test drive.

Windermere is giving a great holiday treat to the area's homeless. There's a story on Windermere's efforts in today's paper.

The best holiday party of the year so far was Holly Eve. The next best holiday party had to be at First American Title. FATCO, at it is affectionately known, purchased the old Sandpoint Library last year.

Mike Sprinkel and his crew have done a great job renovating this great building while keeping its historical allure.

It was a great party. Thanks for the invitation, Rich F.

Downtown Santa-point, Idaho-ho-ho, looks great this year but I miss the pedestrian bridge connecting Connie's and LaQuinta.

I have just heard that a U.S. soldier with Sandpoint connections was killed in Fallujah, Iraq. As soon as we find out more, we'll follow up.

It is hard to believe that our local citizen soldiers are now on the ground in Iraq and Kuwait.

As I sit in my warm office anticipating going home to a nice meal surrounded by loved ones; my thoughts and prayers go out to the men and women who are half a world away in uniform.

David Keyes is publisher of the Bee. His column runs Tuesdays.