Open house celebrates PSNI's 'new' home

Staff writer

SANDPOINT — After two years of fundraising and remodeling, volunteers and employees at Sandpoint's Panhandle Special Needs Inc. will have a chance to show the fruits of their labor today at an open house celebration.

PSNI has been a Bonner County mainstay for its work helping local special needs residents, offering life-skills training and a range of employment services. While its service has always been of the highest quality, the same could not be said for the its facilities, said PSNI volunteer coordinator Lois Miller.

Several years ago, Miller saw that the organization's building was equipped and rundown, which spurred her and others to begin a campaign aimed at revamping the facilities from the ground up.

What began with a whimper and a $100 donation soon grew to an $80,000 community-wide campaign.

That money — combined with contributions from the KXLY Extreme Team — transformed the building from what was referred to as a "run-down mess" to a shining picture of modernity, Miller said.

Among the new amenities are two new rest rooms, a kitchen with new cabinets and appliances, new carpeting, lighting and a state-of-the-art central heating and cooling system.

Miller, who by all accounts played an integral role in the renovation, said the open house is meant as a "thank you" to the many community members who worked so hard to bring the project to fruition.

"I feel absolutely overjoyed and thrilled," Miller said. "We could not have done it without this community getting behind it 100 percent. People have donated their time and money and efforts. It's just been phenomenal."

Miller originally had modest goals for the fundraising campaign and was surprised by the amount of public interest she discovered in the community.

"We thought at the very beginning that if we could pay it forward and buy a few dishes for the kitchen it would help, but it's just totally ballooned and grown. It's just an amazing thing that has happened there," she said.

Located at 1424 North Boyer Ave., PSNI's open house begins at 3 p.m. today and runs until 7 p.m. Sandpoint Mayor Gretchen Hellar will deliver a speech at 5 p.m. and Opportunity Industries Founder Paula Kopcznski will speak at 6 p.m.