A year in the (Slice of) Life, Part II

Editor’s note: Slice of Life looks back at the stories we shared in 2022. Last week, we published story recaps (and links to the full stories) from January to June. Today we cover the remainder of the year. Do you have a story you think our readers would like to see? Send info to Slice of Life editor Craig Staszkow at cstaszkow@dnews.com.

July

Cosmic Crisp recipe winner: When Evie Rudley’s parents heard about the Cosmic Crisp Culinary Challenge, they thought it sounded right up her alley. Rudley, 5, of Moscow, has been helping her mother, Marissa, in the kitchen for much of her life. For the contest, Evie and Marissa created a breakfast pizza featuring whole wheat flour and oatmeal crust with cosmic crisp apple slices and cinnamon. The recipe earned first place in the Kid Chef division. Full story:bit.ly/3vu8CE8

Good times in Viola: Set against the rolling hills of the Palouse is a big red barn style building known as the Viola Community Center. The center was completed and has been in use since 2018 and has a commercial kitchen. It has been used for wedding receptions, birthdays, community theater and dances. Now it can add a playground to its listed amenities. For Teresa Heitmann, the board president of the Viola Community Club, which manages the center, the playground has been a long awaited addition. Efforts to build the playground started in 2016 with a grant from the Idaho Community Foundation and a land donation. With the help of realtor Bill Hall, the club could apply for a Placemaker grant from the National Association of Realtors. Thanks to those funds and countless volunteer hours, the park is finished and open to the public. Full story:bit.ly/3vsZyQ3

A home and a business: Kevin and Sarah Shultz fell in love with Moscow the first time they visited 16 years ago. The decision would end a yearlong road trip to find the right place to settle. They would purchase some property and in 2020 would become part-owners of Moscow’s Spence Hardware & Supply. The Shultzes celebrated two years as co-owners in July. The store opened in December 1995 and expanded to cover equipment rental and services in 2016. The Shultzes oversee the hardware storefront while founder co-owner Brian Spence manages the rental side of the business. Full story:bit.ly/3i3okTH

August

New director on the block: When Sara Beggs and her family first decided they wanted to move to north Idaho they were thinking of places like Sandpoint or Coeur d’Alene, but a week-long stop in Moscow changed everything. Beggs will continue her 20-year career in education as the new executive director at Palouse Prairie Charter School, which she had first looked at for her own daughters, Charlotte and Caroline. The school’s focus on real-world learning, citizenship and community were big draws for her and her husband. Beggs replaced Jeneille Branen, who was executive director from 2016-22, curriculum director from 2013-26 and was a founding teacher in 2009. Full story:bit.ly/3GwtHV6

Stuffing the bus: Yellow school buses have taken up residence in parking lots in both Moscow and Pullman for the Kiwanis Club school supply drive called Stuff the Bus. The buses are parked for a week at a time to collect school supplies which benefit local students and schools, said Louise Regelin, the Kiwanis Club of Moscow treasurer. After the drive is complete, the supplies will be sorted into bags to be handed out at the school’s discretion for students. Full story:bit.ly/3hWbRkU

Library leadership: Cody Allen has taken over as the executive director of the Whitman County Rural Library District. Allen has replaced Sheri Miller, the interim director after Kylie Fullmer recently resigned. Fullmer had replaced Kristie Kirkpatrick, who served for 21 years as the executive director and retired in the fall of 2020. Allen said he had been torn between becoming a high school teacher or a librarian when he moved to Billings, Mont. The move to the Paloluse came from a desire to be closer to family. Full story:bit.ly/3Q21Xuy

September

A good morning: McDonald Elementary School third-grader Laren Paul of Moscow gets a small surprise when she gets on the bus each morning. Her bus driver and student aide say good morning in the Nimipuutimt, the native language of the Nez Perce Tribe. They also say good evening in Nimipuutimt when Paul hops off the bus after school. For Laren’s mother, Gia Paul, it was just another positive experience she’s had with the Moscow School District. For Ken Nuhn, the driver, and Jay Dearien, the aide, it was a natural way to connect with the students on their route. Full story:bit.ly/3VPNrrb

Love of the game: Colin Criss McNamara likes to play golf, and he’s good at it, too. Criss McNamara plays golf just like everybody else but all his clubs have hickory shafts. He is a member of the Society of Hickory Golfers, a group dedicated to preserving these clubs by using them instead of simply putting them on the wall or in a bookcase to admire. Criss McNamara has an estimated 70 clubs in the two-bedroom Pullman apartment. He’s also a poetry and creative writing teacher at Washington State University. Full story:bit.ly/3vqPOpl

A fresh look at the sky: The University of Idaho observatory has acquired a new 20-inch Dall-Kirkham telescope to replace the nearly 60-year-old telescope which has been showing its age for decades. The new telescope will give the students a clearer picture of the sky and allow them to take part in more occultations. Occultations, according to UI professor of physics Jason Barnes, are used to learn the shape and size of different objects in space and occur when one object passes in front of another. Full story:bit.ly/3VuaEyM

October

Biking for beginners: There is now a beginner friendly mountain bike trail at Phillips Farm County Park north of Moscow. Dubbed the Red-tailed Hawk Trail, it has switchbacks and gentle elevation changes and is less than a mile in length. There are plans to add a second section in the future which will double the trail in length. The trail is a combined effort of the city of Moscow, Latah County, the Friends of Phillips Farm and the Moscow Area Mountain Bike Association. Full story:bit.ly/3GtXrSc

A lifetime achievement: Lena Whitmore Elementary School Principal Kendra McMillan has been at the helm of the Moscow school for the last 13 years. Outside her office, there is a sign engraved with the words, “nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care,” which is a philosophy which has been a driving force in her management style. In recognition of her work at Lena, she was named a 2022 National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Full story:bit.ly/3G5Kywj

From Moscow to Boise: McDonald Elementary School fifth-grader Koharu Nomura recently traveled to Boise to take part in the Idaho Student Advisory Council. She was named to the council by Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra. The council gathers students from across the state to provide feedback on a variety of topics. For Nomura, it’s a chance to share her thoughts on the school districts in Idaho based on her time in New York and schools in Japan. She is the youngest in the group of students and will take part in four meetings throughout the year. Full story:bit.ly/3jvTUtA

November

Remember the names: Former Washington State University’s President Ernest O. Holland started collecting the names and information on WSU students who would go to fight in World War II to compile into a book. The book was never finished but now, decades late, WSU history professor Raymond Sun has picked up the project and is working to create it in a digital format. The project Sun said has taken the last five years and counting and is currently about half way complete. The project is completed by undergraduate volunteers during the school year and then graduate students in the summer. Full story:bit.ly/3VAZvMJ

A slice of patrol: For Pullman’s Adrien Ramella-Pezza, making films has been a hobby. Recently, that hobby spawned a reality show depicting what a weekend in Pullman is like on College Hill, home to about 6,000 people and a mix of permanent residents and students. The show, “PPD - College Hill,” follows Pullman Police Officer Garrett Willis. Ramella-Pezza said he wants to use the show to help educate the public on the job and what goes into a police foot patrol on and near a college campus. Full story:bit.ly/3i6dVXt

December

A health hero: Gritman Medical Center pharmacy director Colleen Cochran received an Idaho Rural Health Hero Award for her leadership of her department the past few years. Cochrane has been with Gritman Medical Center since 2014 when her and her husband moved to the Palouse to be closer to their grandchildren. The award specifically recognized Cochrane for her work on the Gritman vaccine clinics which provided more than 14,000 to residents across the Palouse. Full story:bit.ly/3vqXQi3

A fight all her own: For Moscow resident Gloria Grachanin, being a professional martial arts fighter is a dream come true and now she has a winning professional fight under her belt. In November, Grachanin traveled to Denver to compete in the Sparta Sports and Entertainment, a fighting league which focuses on mixed martial arts and boxing matches. She won her match in the second round with a technical knockout against Byelka Soto from Colorado. Grachanin is an instructor at V7 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Functional Fitness in Moscow and Pullman. Full story:bit.ly/3IdvwYf

Spreading holiday cheer: A group of Moscow Cub Scouts returned to Aspen Park of Cascadia senior facility once again to spread holiday cheer by singing holiday carols for the residents. The children sang songs like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Deck the Halls.” The scouts had taken a break from caroling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Full story:bit.ly/3VucT5a