REMEMBERING LOST LOVED ONES

The Cancer Network of Sanders County (CNSC) raised $1,610 in its annual Chinese Lantern Launch fundraiser, selling 161 lanterns at the Sanders County Fairgrounds Saturday night, but every cent will go right back into the community, said Shelley Bertrand, president of the nonprofit organization.

More than 60 people spent time at the fairgrounds Saturday to send their heart warming messages handwritten on the lanterns to lost loved ones. Once the event got underway, it looked like the dark night sky was littered with colorful stars. "It reminds me of, if you love it, let it loose," said Barb Wooden of Thompson Falls, who helped launch several lanterns during the event. Several CNSC members were also on hand to help. The weather hovered in the mid 40s as the lanterns were sent off into the night in quicker succession this year, mostly because volunteers Michael Bertrand, Nick Ferrara and Brian Reed used blow torches to force hot air into the foot-long rice paper lanterns. They used the torches a little last year, but they mostly used hair dryers in the past. A few held the lanterns over the fire and let the heat from the fire fill the devices.

This was the 11th year for the group to hold its lantern launch at the fairgrounds, although they used to do it on the evening of New Year's Day. "We did it for four years and we froze our butts off and then we moved it to the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it was colder than January that year, but it's been better ever since," said Kathy Miller, whose been with the CNSC for 21 years and is the group's treasurer and a past president.

"I am very pleased with the turnout and the fact that the weather held out," said Bertrand, president for the last two years. Visiting from California, 2-year-old Robin McNeil, great granddaughter of the fairgrounds caretaker, Kim McNeil and his wife Margaret, was the youngest to send up a lantern. Several other children took part, including the Plains Franks family - Levi, 5, twins Darley and Ashlynn, 7, and mom, Madalyn. They launched a lantern in memory of Madalyn's father, Norman Taylor, who passed away nine years ago.

People wrote different types of messages on their lanterns; some simply wrote the names of the intended heavenly recipients. Most of the participants bought lanterns in honor of cancer victims and survivors, but some were for relatives and friends who passed away for other reasons, said John Clark, a board member and a president of CNSC. "It helps people feel like they're saying something to a loved one," added Clark, who is a cancer survivor himself. 

Bertrand believes the launch might be a way for people to be closer to passed loved ones. For some, it's a way to bring closure to families. "I lit a few for my mother and said hello and goodbye. It's about just saying goodbye no matter what took them from us," said Bertrand.

The lantern launch is one of the CNSC's biggest fundraisers of the year, said Bertrand. Twenty-nine states, including Idaho, have banned the lighting and launching of Chinese lanterns due to a fire hazard and because they can be harmful to the environment. "I think it would be a shame to ban them. I understand why the states have because of fire danger, but we do it during the winter," said Bertrand. In addition, Bertrand said their lanterns are biodegradable and the organization has a $1 reward for each found lantern returned to Paws Here, the dog grooming business in Plains owned by Bertrand. "I think it helps, so no one thinks we do not care about any mess that is left," said Bertrand. Forty-five were returned last year for a reward. She said it would be a big blow to the CNSC if they weren't allowed to have the lantern fundraiser.

The event included free hot cider, hot chocolate, and coffee. Fifty lanterns were sold by the students of Plains High School's Jobs for Montana Graduates class. About 110 lanterns were launched during the hour-long event Saturday. Some people who bought lanterns preferred to launch theirs privately, said Miller. This year, only one got stuck in a fairgrounds tree, but it was extinguished and retrieved. 

The CNSC was established 30 years ago by the late Joyce Longpre, who died of cancer in 2008. CNSC originally gave out a one time offering of $50. Since its inception, the group has presented $782,900 to 1,372 people - all in Sanders County. The gifts today are $900 and can be applied for annually instead of one time only. The organization has given away $49,500 to 55 people this year, as of November 1. The only conditions are that they have to be Sanders County residents and are undergoing cancer treatment. All of the board members and organization officers are volunteers and receive no pay. Recipients can use the money however they like. "All proceeds raised stay in our county to help our own citizens with their battles with cancer," she said.

The lantern launch is only one of a handful of fundraisers each year. Other functions include a Music For Mom in Thompson Falls in May, the Skunk Alley Run in June in Hot Springs, the Fall Extravaganza in Plains in October, and they participate in the Yard Sale-ing in Plains in June. The group is presently raffling a custom rifle, a full pig cut, and a breast cancer quilt. Tickets are $20 apiece or $100 for five tickets. The drawing will be held when all tickets are sold.