Good Samaritan Pays CDA Womanâ??S Water Bill

COEUR D’ALENE — A random act of kindness has Coeur d’Alene resident Kathy Mitchell in disbelief. When she needed more time to pay her water bill a stranger picked up the tab.

It’s been a tough couple of months for Mitchell, who is a single mom on a limited income. Sometimes paying the bills isn’t easy.

“We’ve had to go without, new shoes, new clothes, things for school,” she said.

On Monday she called Julia Aho with the city of Coeur d’Alene asking for one more day to pay her $128 water bill.

“She says you know don’t worry about it, we’ll give you until tomorrow at five but if it’s not paid it will be shut off,” Kathy said.

At the same time another customer walked up to the counter where Julia was working and overheard her conversation.

“And when I hung with her the gentleman said I would like to pay her bill, he said I’m able to pay mine, I can pay someone else’s when they are in need,” Julia Aho said. “He just wrote out a check and said here. He said to me, that he was raised by a single mom and knew how hard it was for a single mom to make it.”

In return all he asked is that Kathy turn around and do something nice for someone else now.

Julia Aho won’t reveal the man’s identity, save to say he’s “a very kind man, when he comes in every month everyone says he’s kind.”

Regardless of the man’s identity Kathy considers him a Good Samaritan and she’s now pledging to respond in kind and be a Good Samaritan for someone else.