CNSC moves lantern launch

The Cancer Network of Sanders County will be launching its lantern launch from a new site this year.

The nonprofit organization will have the annual fundraiser on the Saturday after Thanksgiving — Nov. 25 — starting at 6 p.m. on the greenway along Railroad Street across from Colleen’s Country Store. The CNSC has normally held the event at the Sanders County Fairgrounds, but switched to downtown Plains this year to combine the event with the Plains Lions Club Christmas celebration, according to Shelley Bertrand, president of CNSC.

The biodegradable lanterns, which come in an assortment of different colors, cost only $10 apiece and bring a brilliance of color to the dark sky. “I love the lantern launch, it’s a beautiful event,” said Bertrand, president for the last four years. People can buy the lanterns at the launching or ahead of time at the Sanders County Ledger newspaper office in Thompson Falls or at Plains sites Paws Here pet grooming on the corner of Hubbard and Lynch Streets, or at Garden, Gift & Floral on Railroad Street.

The CNSC was established in 2001 and the lantern launch began as one of its fundraisers in 2010. It had always been held at the fairgrounds, though the nonprofit organization used to do it on the evening of New Year’s Day, but it was often brutally cold. It was changed to the November time period in hopes of warmer weather. All money raised by the CNSC stays in Sanders County to help Sanders County residents. The mission is to present those going through cancer treatment with a monetary “gift” to help defray some of the costs. This year, the organization gift is $900. The CNSC relies on its fundraisers to remain afloat in order to continue helping local residents get through a tough time, and all its officers and board members are volunteers, said Bertrand, who’s been the president for the last four years.

Many people send their lanterns aloft with a message to their lost loved one or to recognize a cancer survivor. People in past launches have even sent up lanterns for those lost in vehicle accidents, heart attacks or other forms of passing. “It helps for closure and saying goodbye. We all lose loved ones throughout the year. It doesn't have to be from cancer, it is just a good way to safely say goodbye and hello to our loved ones,” said Bertrand. Volunteers will be on hand to help people with their launching or if someone can’t make it, but wants their lantern launched that night.

“Cancer survivors do it for a lot of reasons, for closure and for hope,” she added. She noted that cancer patients have to travel a minimum of 100 miles per treatment and costs can quickly add up. “Having cancer is devastating to a person and then to their finances. Nine hundred dollars is a drop in the bucket but it helps,” said Bertrand. The CNSC has given out $955,700 since it began and $86,600 this year alone as of Oct. 17.