Planet JH 6.22.16

JACKSON HOLE’S ALTERNATIVE VOICE | PLANETJH.COM | JUNE 22-28, 2016

TURNING AWAY FROM THE LEDGE Why the focus has to shift from the aftermath of suicide to prevention.

BY MEG DALY

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

2 | JUNE 22, 2016

HEY DUDE, WATCH YOUR TUBE

Attention Floaters

•

Per Town of Jackson municipal code:

No trespassing on private lands.

Open alcohol containers are strictly prohibited on Flat Creek.

Dogs are prohibited in public parks.

No dogs at large.

Public urination is prohibited.

•

Please respect private property at all times. Utilize designated public access locations when accessing Flat Creek.

• Be considerate of neighbors and environment by limiting noise and disturbance to riparian habitat.

• Respect wildlife.

• Glass containers are prohibited. Please dispose of garbage in designated receptacles.

• Float at your own risk – no safety personnel present. Dangerous and swift flowing cold water, low clearance bridges and shallow water occur in some locations.

Respect our community!

For additional information and maps of public access points the Town of Jackson or the Parks and Recreation Department: www.townofjackson.com or www.tetonparksandrec.org

JACKSON HOLE'S ALTERNATIVE VOICE

VOLUME 14 | ISSUE 24 | JUNE 22-28, 2016

9 COVER STORY TURNING AWAY FROM THE LEDGE Why the focus has to shift from the aftermath of suicide to prevention.

Cover illustration by Mason Rodrickc.

4 OPINION

18 GET OUT

6 THE BUZZ

20 WELL, THAT...

8 THEM ON US

22 FOODIE FILES

16 MUSIC BOX

28 COSMIC CAFE

THE PLANET TEAM PUBLISHER

Copperfield Publishing, John Saltas EDITOR

Robyn Vincent / editor@planetjh.com

ART DIRECTOR

STAFF REPORTERS

Cait Lee / art@planetjh.com

Meg Daly, Jake Nichols

SALES DIRECTOR

COPY EDITOR

Jen Tillotson / jen@planetjh.com SALES EXTRAORDINAIRE

Caroline LaRosa / caroline@planetjh.com

Davis, Kelsey Dayton, Annie Fenn, MD, Elizabeth Koutrelakos, Dr. Monique Lai, Carol Mann, Andrew Munz, Chuck Shepherd, Tom Tomorrow, Jim Woodmencey

Jake Nichols CONTRIBUTORS

Craig Benjamin, Mike Bressler, Rob Brezsny, Aaron

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June 22, 2016

By Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey

T

his week is officially the first full week of the summer season, post-solstice, and it looks like nice weather will hang with us into next week. High-pressure is in control over the Southwestern United States, with very warm air down there. Much cooler low-pressure systems on the Pacific Northwest Coast will be skipping by to the north of us and across southern Canada, that helps hold the hottest air at bay, to the south of us, and moderates our temps a bit at the end of the week.

SPONSORED BY GRAND TETON FLOOR & WINDOW COVERINGS

This past Monday, on the solstice, the morning low was a cool 33 degrees in Jackson.

That was the coolest morning we have seen since June 1, 2016 when it got down to 29 degrees. Clear skies, dry air, and light winds will always allow the greatest overnight cooling, even with the shortest nights of the year this week. The record coldest temperature this week in Jackson is 22 degrees. That happened on June 25, 1944.

Afternoon high temperatures into the 80s sure make it feel more like mid-summer, although that’s still well below the record high temperatures. The hottest we have ever been in Jackson this week is 95 degrees, that was on June 26, 1988. Average high temperatures this week in town are around 76 degrees. But remember, it’s the extremes that make our averages, like the record cold high temperature we had in Jackson this week of 48 degrees on June 25, 1969.

NORMAL HIGH NORMAL LOW RECORD HIGH IN 1988 RECORD LOW IN 1944

76 38 95 22

THIS MONTH AVERAGE PRECIPITATION: 1.63 inches RECORD PRECIPITATION: 4.8 inches (1967) AVERAGE SNOWFALL: 0.1 inches RECORD SNOWFALL: 5 inches (1973)

Carpet - Tile - Hardwood - Laminate Blinds - Shades - Drapery Mon - Fri 10am - 6pm Open Tuesdays until 8pm 1705 High School Rd Suite 120 Jackson, WY 307-200-4195 www.tetonfloors.com | www.tetonblinds.com

JUNE 22, 2016 | 3

Jim has been forecasting the weather here for more than 20 years. You can find more Jackson Hole Weather information at www.mountainweather.com

WHAT’S COOL WHAT’S HOT

THIS WEEK

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JH ALMANAC

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

4 | JUNE 22, 2016

Build it for Piper Vibrant communities focus on the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

BY CRAIG BENJAMIN

I

’ve escaped a hippo attack. I’ve spent the night lost in the Tetons in a blizzard. I once crashed after dropping into Once is Enough. But I’ve never, ever been as scared as I was watching my seven-year-old daughter Piper try to ride her bike from our house in west Jackson to Jackson Elementary School on the other side of town.

Like most kids, Piper loves riding her bike. On this particular day in late May she was determined to ride the two miles from our house to school. Previously we had driven to my office at the base of Snow King and ridden to school from there, but after much practice Piper convinced me she had the skills necessary to navigate the treacherous Maple WayScott Lane jog.

As we turned right on Maple Way off of Powderhorn Lane, I braced myself for this stretch. Piper did her best to stay as far right as she could without hitting the curb, while simultaneously trying not to wobble and get clipped by a car passing what felt like inches to her left. I found myself repeating, “Stay right kiddo, please stay right.” She maintained her composure and remained steady to Scott Lane, staying in the bike lane as it turned left, then stopping at the stop sign. She signaled and turned right onto Snow King Ave. I breathed a sigh of relief; she had done it!

Then, just before the stop sign at Virginian Lane, Piper swerved left to avoid a patch of gravel in the bike lane and crossed the painted line into traffic. My heart stopped as her life flashed in front of my eyes. Time stood still. Thankfully, the passing car was paying attention and veered left so as not to hit my little girl. I can’t imagine what would have happened had the driver been texting or fiddling with the radio.

After Virginian Lane, Piper hopped up onto the curb as I rode next to her in the bike lane—a measly stripe of paint separating me from traffic. I couldn’t stop thinking about that moment and how insane it is that we haven’t made it safe for our kids to ride their bikes across town.

Let’s be clear, we have an incredible pathways network in

PR

Jackson Hole. Over two decades ago our community decided to build a better future and started constructing a pathways network. Since then we have passed a pathways master plan, aligning our investments with our values, and built a worldclass network of pathways across our valley. We can now safely ride on a pathway from west Jackson to the Village, from north of town to Jenny Lake, and soon all the way around South Park.

The best part is we use our pathways. A lot. We use our pathways for walking our dogs, getting to work, going for a morning run, rolling in our wheelchairs, cross country skiing, leisurely strolls with the kids and grandparents, and so much more.

Here’s the thing, despite decades of investment in our pathways network and the completion of nearly every capital project identified in our pathways master plan, we haven’t built the infrastructure necessary to make it safe for our kids to ride across town. But this is about more than our kids; it’s about dealing with traffic congestion through investments in public transportation, bicycling, and walking instead of building new roads or widening existing highways.

It’s about the type of infrastructure we should build to provide thousands of people with the freedom to hop on their bike to make short trips around town, instead of being forced into their car and making our summer traffic congestion that much worse.

Who are these thousands of people? Research from across America shows there are basically four types of people who ride a bike. Less than one percent of folks are fearless and will ride anywhere, anytime—like the guy in spandex on a road bike riding on the shoulder of a busy highway. Seven percent of us are confident enough to ride in traffic if we have to, but we don’t really enjoy it. Thirty-three percent of bikers will just never ride, no matter what—so let’s forget about them for the moment. This leaves a whopping 60 percent of folks who are interested in riding their bikes more, but are concerned because they don’t feel safe on our streets.

These 60 percent are people like Piper. People like my wife.

People like Piper’s grandmother. People who are probably a lot like you, your friends, and members of your family. So what should we do to make our streets safe for these thousands of people to ride their bikes?

We should update the pathways master plan and focus it on building infrastructure that makes our streets safe for everyone to ride—from a seven-year-old girl to her 70-yearold grandmother. This means building protected bike lanes,

CRAIG BENJAMIN

GUEST OPINION

which are like sidewalks for people on bikes because they use physical barriers to protect people from traffic. It means building neighborhood greenways: slow-speed neighborhood streets with minor improvements that make them safe and comfortable for people to walk and bike. It means sharing a few slivers of the one-third of the land in downtown Jackson that’s currently dedicated to parking cars to parking bikes. And it means shifting our focus from large capital projects that crisscross our valley toward smaller, low-cost, targeted projects that improve key neighborhood connections and fix missing links.

Communities big and small across America are taking this approach because it works. They’re also doing it because it supports their local economies, as research shows that lowcost investments in bicycling infrastructure result in a better bottom line for local businesses.

It’s time for Jackson Hole to shift our pathways network to a higher gear. It’s time to make our streets safe for our kids.

By doing so, we'll make our streets and our town better for everyone. PJH Craig Benjamin is the executive director of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance.

Send comments to editor@planetjh.com.

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Choice Take away a woman’s right to choose and she’s left to take matters into her own hands.

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Visit our website: tetonwyo.org/cc | Email us: elections@tetonwyo.org | Or call: 307.733.4430 All absentee ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m. on August 16th, 2016.

JUNE 22, 2016 | 5

To insure that all registered voters have the opportunity to cast their ballot, Wyoming begins absentee voting 45 days prior to each election.

A qualified elector may cast their ballot at the absentee polling site, or request that a ballot be sent to them.

The absentee polling site is located in the basement of the Teton County Administration Building at 200 S. Willow Street, and will be open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., from July 1st through August 15th, 2016 for the Primary Election.

Please contact the County Clerk’s office to request an absentee ballot by mail, or to obtain more information regarding the August 16, 2016 Primary Election and the November 8, 2016 General Election.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

AUGUST 16, 2016 PRIMARY ELECTION ABSENTEE BALLOT NOTICE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

6 | JUNE 22, 2016

THE BUZZ Tenement Tenting Homeless shelters pop up in canyons, mountains, and creeks, prompting electeds to once again consider temporary labor camps.

BY JAKE NICHOLS

A

s the summer season hits full swing, worker shortages continue to be an issue for valley businesses. The final resort for many who have made Jackson Hole their home for the dog days is the Coleman, Kelty, and REI. Tents have sprouted in the usual places—Curtis Canyon, Shadow Mountain, Mosquito Creek—as well as on some of the more remote sections of public land.

Soft-walled housing and car camping have long been a temporary, emergency solution to Jackson’s lack of housing. The practice of pitching a pad in the woods is decades old, but the quaintness of roughing it long enough to buy into a community that is quickly soaring out of reach for many hopeful homeowners is wearing thin.

Talk of creating a temporary camping site for laborers is once again on the table, even after councilman Jim Stanford’s pitch to pop up a wikiup whistle-stop failed to gain traction more than a month ago. This time, mayor Sara Flitner leads the charge in cooperation with the Forest Service.

“We are prepared to keep pushing and looking for sites and infrastructure so things are safe and sanitary. I really applaud the town to keep at it,” Flitner said. “My focus is on more medium and long-term solutions. I’m triaging and looking out five years. Because the policy boat turns very slowly, it’s incumbent upon us to look farther out. But I’m reaching out to services groups for short-term solutions. We are looking at a lot of things.”

Flitner has been in contact with Bridger-Teton Forest supervisor Tricia O’Connor about organizing a labor camp of some kind on forest land. The proposal interests O’Connor for two reasons—cramped conditions at some perennial hotspots worry Forest Service officials. Abandoned campfires, unsanitary conditions, and petty crime are ongoing concerns. And the fact is, the B-T has its own seasonal employees who need places to lay their heads.

“Curtis Canyon is one of those areas that typically sees a lot of traffic. So far things up there have not been too bad but what we are seeing is people camping in other areas, farther out in places where you wouldn’t normally expect to see so many campers. That takes away from the experience of others,” O’Connor said. “I know it’s a tough situation, and we need to house some of our own seasonal employees as well.”

Town administrator Bob McLaurin said he’s flown over Curtis Canyon recently and says, “it’s pretty packed in there.”

Life in woods Steve Gudbranson squatted in Curtis years ago. He remembers the time as bittersweet. He enjoyed the outdoor experience and “cowboying it,” but sleeping on the ground got old.

“There was a lot of partying. I remember a car catching on fire up there one night. It turned out to be stolen or borrowed without permission or something like that,” Gudbranson said.

“We had to move our campsite every five days so basically we would just shuffle around our tents. The girls next to me would move their tent 30 feet over to my site and I would take theirs.

They were my ‘swap’ sisters.”

The five-day camping limit was imposed in 1995, reduced from 16 days, after Forest Service officials noticed squatters were turning their pristine woods into de facto homeless

shelters. Campers using the forest for housing typically scuttle between Curtis Canyon, Shadow Mountain, and Mosquito Creek. They have limited access to water. They defecate in the woods. They shower at the Rec Center, where the parking lot is often filled with an array of dusty Subarus.

To avoid the B-T shuffle, the savvy homeless are opting to bivouac in more secluded spots, free from the prying eyes of forest rangers and the coveting nature of their fellow tenters.

That’s created a noticeable degradation in the outdoor experience many visitors and locals have come to expect from the Wyoming wilderness.

The tight housing market has forced many newbies to gain their foothold in Jackson by pounding in tent stakes and stretching out in the backseat of their car. Former mayor Mark Barron and former Housing Authority head Christine Walker both often cite their camping days as the way they initially made a life in the valley.

But the art of slumming alfresco is not for everyone.

“It was exciting at first but then there was mental hardships.

At times I felt like an adventurer. Other times I felt like a scumbag coming to work with pine needles in my hair,” Gudbranson said. He was a server at a popular restaurant. “I almost got fired numerous times when customers complained I smelled like smoke. It was campfire smoke. Even if I showered—which wasn’t often—it was in my clothes. There was no time to do laundry; I was working three jobs. I probably would have been fired but we were so short-staffed all summer my boss couldn’t afford to let anyone go.”

Under-homed Yes, housing has always been a challenge in Jackson Hole, and camping the solution for many 90-day wonders who arrive with the tourist onslaught and blow town when the aspens turn. But many of today’s homeless live here, and raise families here. Brandy Borts is perhaps the poster child for the underhoused. She’s not homeless. She has never really been homeless. But she’s never had a home.

“This month marks my 20th year in Jackson. I have moved 40 times. One year I moved seven times,” Borts said. “I’ve got it down to four Rubbermaid bins and some yard sale furniture.

My current place is under contract. If the sale goes through I will have six months to move. That will be 10 total units right downtown, gone.”

Borts said move No. 41 might be the one that breaks the camel’s back.

“The thought of packing again … it’s no way to live, especially when you are in your 40s. I haven’t stressed myself out about it yet. I’m not ready to have a standoff with the bulldozers or anything. But it’s frustrating and I’m thinking about leaving town this time. I don’t want to deal with the madness—spending 15 or 18 hundred for a small apartment.”

Borts is contemplating a move to Salt Lake if she is once again ousted from her digs. A friend there recently bought a condo for less than $100,000, she says. Borts has been on the lottery list for affordable housing for the past 12 years.

Since 1996, Borts has been fortunate enough to find or make places to rent that were borderline livable.

“I’ve lived in places that were probably a health hazard— black mold and things like that. I’ve always taken ghetto, shantytown places and turned them into tiny house living situations. I’ve lived in a shed before. I’ve lived in a 9-by-13 [foot] cinderblock bunker. All I need is a bed to sleep in and a place to shower,” Borts said. “I’ve always been fortunate enough to find these little places that are under the radar. But now, this is the absolute worst that I’ve ever seen it. We all wish we would have bought something in the 90s but when you are 21 you don’t think of things like that. After 20 years, I have a great job and I feel like a part of the community, but I’ve never felt at home.”

Quick fix Band-Aid? O’Connor has been approached by town leaders about creating a temporary workforce camping area on forest land.

One location suggested was Hoback Junction where WYDOT is currently using B-T land to stage construction for a bridge over

Twenty-year resident Brandy Borts has moved 40 times. Here is house no. 22.

the Snake River that has remained unfinished for years while engineers try to solve a major structural snafu.

Initially, the idea had merit. The site was already disturbed, according to O’Connor, and therefore would not have an adverse impact on the national forest. Such a solution would also alleviate pressure experienced in undeveloped areas of the forest seeing heavy use, O’Connor said.

Then O’Connor ran into roadblocks.

“Most of the site is either within WYDOT’s easement or within a permitted area for their future highway project. We are not sure they would be in agreement to this. They are checking on it but their initial feedback indicated it seemed like an unsuitable site for something like this,” O’Connor said.

“In addition, this being in a wild and scenic river corridor, there are some potential issues to resolve of whether something like this is even compatible with the law. Even if it were, we would have to do some level of environmental analysis, which will take time. The other issue is that we generally do not permit activities on Forest Service land that can be accommodated on private land so I am wondering whether the city has exhausted all options for leasing on private lands.”

Flitner, McLaurin, and others assured O’Connor most every option had been explored and exhausted in the search for immediate temporary housing. Even if a partnership between the town, county and Forest Service does materialize, no relief will be found this summer.

“While this may have looked at first blush like an easy fix, it is not. And we don’t have any other easy fixes for this summer,” O’Connor said.

The forest super added that she was open to long-term solutions with the local government as long as the town or county was willing to operate and manage a permitted forest site.

McLaurin acknowledged the town would be responsible for policing any man camp, and would provide sanitary facilities, screening, transportation and other amenities. ”It sounds like the Hoback site is off the table,” Flitner said.

“But we are exploring two other parcels—one south of town and one on the West Bank.”

Flitner added that several private citizens have shown interest in helping out. “I just talked to two this morning,” she said. One has offered to look into purchasing recreational park trailers (RPTs) from nearby energy fields that are experiencing a severe downturn.

Tim Rieser is one resident who has been actively involved in finding solutions to the valley’s housing crunch. He offered his assistance to town officials in developing a workforce camp in early spring. He is frustrated by the lack of interest he received and the town’s apparent surprise every summer that the situation quickly escalates to crisis mode.

“I sent every elected an email offering my time, money and planning to get a workforce housing campsite in place. I reminded them they did nothing last year and warned them this summer would be worse. Only one of the 10 even bothered to reply,” Rieser said. “We are a week-and-a-half away from the Fourth of July weekend and they are only talking about it now? Town and county are a $90 million a year business. They have the ability to pull off something as simple as this. My only conclusion is they don’t want to until things are on fire.” PJH

NEWS OF THE

WEIRD

WINDSHIELDS

By CHUCK SHEPHERD App Nauseam

In May, the Norwegian Consumer Council staged a live, 32-hour TV broadcast marathon—a word-for-word reading of the “terms of service” for internet applications Instagram, Spotify and more than two dozen others, totaling 900 pages and 250,000 words of legal restrictions and conditions that millions of users “voluntarily” agree to when they sign up (usually via a mouse click or finger swipe). A council official called such terms “bordering on the absurd,” as consumers could not possibly understand everything they were legally binding themselves to. (The reading was another example of Norway’s fascination with “slow TV”—the success of other marathons, such as coverage of a world-record attempt at knitting yarn and five 24-hour days on a salmon-fishing boat, mentioned in News of the Weird in 2013.)

Government in Action!

The Defense Department still uses 1980s-era 8-inch floppy disks on computer systems that handle part of America’s “nuclear umbrella,” including ballistic missiles.

Also, according to a May report by the Government Accountability Office, systems using 1970s-era COBOL programing language are still used for key functions of the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service, among others (including Veterans Affairs, for tracking beneficiary claims). Agencies have reported recruiting retired employees to return to fix glitches in operating systems long since abandoned by Microsoft and others. n In April, police in Boise, Idaho, told KAWO Radio that they will not relax the year-old ban on dachshund “racing” that was a traditional family entertainment highlight at the annual “Arena-Wiena Extravaganza”—because all dog-racing in Idaho is illegal. The station had argued that the law intended to target only greyhound racing; that an exception had been carved out for popular dogsled racing (reasoning: individual dogs were not racing each other); and that, in any event, the “race” course was only about 40 feet long—but reported that the authorities were “dead serious” about the ban.

Can’t Possibly Be True

A watchdog agency monitoring charities revealed in May its choice for “worst” among those “helping” U.S. veterans: The National Vietnam Veterans Foundation raised more than $29 million from 2010 to 2014—but wound up donating about 2 cents of every dollar toward actual help. The other 98 cents went to administration and fund-raising. (Similarly troubling, according to the watchdog, is that the CEO of NVVF is a staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.)

A March video featured a black San Francisco State

WINDSHIELD REPLACEMENT SPECIALISTS

n A March fitness club ad pitch in Sawley, England, picturing an extraterrestrial with the caption, “And when they arrive, they’ll take the fat ones first,” was denounced by an anti-bullying organization as “offensive.” n A May bus-stop ad for a San Francisco money lender (“10 percent down. Because you’re too smart to rent”) was derided for “ooz(ing) self-congratulatory privilege.”

••••

Intermountain

Unclear on the Concept

Gainesville, Florida, performance artist Tom Miller planned a public piece in a downtown plaza during May and June as homage to the music composer John Cage’s celebrated “4’33” (which is four minutes and 33 seconds of purposeful silence by all musicians who “play” on the piece). Miller said his project would consist of local artists “installing” sculpture at 15-minute intervals for five days— except that the “sculpture” would have to be imagined by observers, as (in the tradition of Cage) nothing otherwise perceptible would be there.

The Continuing Crisis

Tex-ass Justice! Convicted murderer Charles Flores was on Texas’ death row for more than 16 years (until June 2 of this year) before the state’s highest criminal appeals court finally ruled that the execution might not be justified if the most important evidence was provided by a witness whom the police had hypnotized. The trial judge, and the jury, had accepted that “hypnosis” could lead to “recovered” memory (a popular hypothesis in the 1980s and 1990s, but largely discredited today). There was no physical evidence against Flores, and the trial court was ordered to rethink the validity of hypnosis.

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(Government) Crime Scenes

The Massachusetts attorney general disclosed in May that state crime-lab chemist Sonja Farak (who was fired in 2013) worked “high” on drugs “every day” in the lab in Amherst, beginning around 2005. Among her preferred refreshments: meth, ketamine, ecstasy and LSD. (Farak worked at a different Massachusetts crime lab than Annie Dookhan, imprisoned in 2013 for improvising damaging lab results on at least 20,000 convicts.)

Thanks This Time to David Lawrence, R.Moore, and Dan Bohlen, and to the News of the Weird Senior Advisors (Jenny T. Beatty, Paul Di Filippo, Ginger Katz, Joe Littrell, Matt Mirapaul, Paul Music, Karl Olson, and Jim Sweeney) and Board of Editorial Advisors (Tom Barker, Paul Blumstein, Harry Farkas, Sam Gaines, Herb Jue, Emory Kimbrough, Scott Langill, Bob McCabe, Steve Miller, Christopher Nalty, Mark Neunder, Sandy Pearlman, Bob Pert, Larry Ellis Reed, Peter Smagorinsky, Rob Snyder, Stephen Taylor, Bruce Townley and Jerry Whittle).

GOT SOME GRIPE-WORTHY ISSUES, OR EVEN… SOMEONE TO PRAISE? MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD WITH A LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

EMAIL EDITOR@PLANETJH.COM WITH “LETTER TO THE EDITOR” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

More Adventures of the Easily Offended

University woman angrily confronting a white student, accusing him of “cultural appropriation” because he was wearing his hair in dreadlocks.

JUNE 22, 2016 | 7

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

8 | JUNE 22, 2016

THEM ON US

By JAKE NICHOLS

‘Bearly’ knew you News outlets across America and across the pond lamented the loss of a famous grizzly bear cub that never got a chance to live long enough to be named. The blond-faced yearling was killed by a hit-and-run motorist sometime last Sunday night between the junctions of Pilgrim Creek Road and Colter Bay. Famed bear 399 emerged from her hibernation with the single cub in tow to the delight of many photographers and wildlife enthusiasts. The hulking sow has usually birthed triplets in the past but she is aging. At 20, the cub some had taken to calling “Snowy,” was likely her last. More than half of 399’s offspring are also dead.

Teton Interagency Dispatch received calls from passing motorists on Sunday night just before 10 p.m. that an adult grizzly was dragging a lifeless cub from the road. It was 399 trying to pull her dead offspring to safety. Park biologists found Snowy about 40 yards from the highway and removed it for study. There have been reports that 399 appeared noticeably distraught following the incident, pacing the scene of the collision and refusing to leave the area.

In the end, it was 399’s own cagey instincts that played a role in her cub’s death. The sow has preferred to frequent roadside areas much to the delight of wildlife viewers. Some experts believed the heavily trafficked habitat chosen by the bear helped keep her cubs safe from attack from other male grizzlies more reluctant to interface with humans. But it was this practice that ultimately put her offspring in harm’s way of vehicle fatality. Two other cubs were also killed by motorists.

Park officials say another bruin was killed in Grand Teton on the same night. An adult female black bear also was struck and killed near Deadman’s Bar earlier that evening around 7:30 p.m. No one stopped or reported that collision, either.

In all, 37 animals are known to have been struck by vehicles on park roadways already this year. One grizzly bear cub, two black bears, nine deer, two bison, nine elk, two coyotes, and one red fox were involved in collisions. On average, 100 animals are hit annually.

“These unfortunate incidents are an important reminder for all of us to slow down and be vigilant when we travel through the park,” said Grand Teton superintendent David Vela. “Especially with the traffic levels that we are seeing during this busy season, it’s important to obey posted speed limits, maintain a safe following distance behind other vehicles, and be especially watchful around dawn and dusk when wildlife are more active.”

Ring my bell Cody, Wyoming’s Luke Bell is enjoying a wave of critical acclaim for his eponymously titled debut album, even if NPR can’t get his name straight.

The original headline for the story that was essentially a written transcript of the radio interview conducted by Scott Simon as part of Weekend Edition Saturday read: Lake Bell Returns to Wyoming in Debut Album.

Lake Bell is an actress from New York City. Luke, on the other hand, is a throwback honky-tonker who has wowed critics with his retro style. His interview with NPR featured a few cuts from his new release. “Hold Me” is currently spinning on Spotify’s Wild Country playlist. He’s made press in Rolling Stone and the LA Times, among other publications. He played the Teton County Fair last summer during a downpour.

Bell is a nephew of Jackson Mayor Sara Flitner.

Start me up A few ingenious ideas sprang out of Central Wyoming College’s Start-Up Institute’s recent Shark Tank-style pitch party at the Jackson campus.

Hopeful entrepreneurs included Taylor Jackson and his idea to apply art to vinyl records; Paul Boice, who hoped to open up the great outdoors to those unable to physically participate by use of drones and Tom Young’s pitch to market healthy foods at fast-food prices.

Marc Wilcox wrote the story for Wyoming Business Report. He was also one of the 20 graduates of the 10-week course. PJH

TURNING AWAY FROM THE LEDGE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

Why the focus has to shift from the aftermath of suicide to prevention.

BY MEG DALY

JUNE 22, 2016 | 9

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

10 | JUNE 22, 2016

TURNING AWAY FROM THE LEDGE Why the focus has to shift from the aftermath of suicide to prevention.

BY MEG DALY

T

his is not the suicide story you are used to.

By now, many Wyoming residents know that the Cowboy State has the highest rate of suicide in the nation, averaging more than 20 deaths per 100,000 people (nearly double the national average). Teton County’s rates are not as high as the rest of the state, but still rank high compared to the country, with 13.4 deaths by suicide per 100,000.

The media’s approach to reporting on suicide tends to focus on alarm and despair. However, because of a new initiative by the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, media now has tools to avoid promulgating misinformation and to instead communicate a hopeful message.

“News and entertainment media often convey negative narratives about suicide, especially given the newsworthiness of sensational deaths, system failures, and the like,” the Action Alliance notes.

According to the Action Alliance, some types of stories can increase risk among vulnerable individuals.

A recent article on the National Geographic blog, “Why Are Ski Towns Seeing More Suicides?” although well researched, made the cardinal mistake of describing details about how an individual killed himself.

“Risk of additional suicides increases when the story explicitly describes the suicide method,” the Action Alliance states.

“Describing a suicide method gives people a model to follow,” explained Jacob Richins, a local community prevention specialist. “Someone might think, ‘that guy is just like me.’”

The Action Alliance recommends that media outlets and others focus on positive narratives, not ignoring the issue of suicide but instead highlighting that it is preventable.

Richins agrees. “Most people who are suicidal choose to live,” he said. “Most people survive.”

Mark Houser, who facilitates a peer support group for survivors of suicide loss, sponsored by the Jackson Hole Community Counseling Center, says most people who are suicidal don’t want to die.

“Primarily they want the pain to go away, and they don’t know another way to exit the pain,” Houser said.

Houser acknowledges that just saying the word “suicide” can be triggering to some. “But you can’t break stigma without writing about the issue,” he said.

So here is an article that focuses on stories of hope in an attempt to break the stigma. The Planet spoke to a few individuals about how they survived bleak times and what friends and family can do when they suspect someone is struggling.

OK to use the “S” word

Each month Richins and his colleague Matt Stech teach at least two “QPR” suicide prevention training sessions that teach people how to help a person who

is suicidal. QPR stands for “question, persuade, refer.”

The training teaches people to recognize the signs of suicidal thinking and behavior. They are encouraged to ask a direct question. Houser, who has also led prevention training sessions, said people shouldn’t be afraid of bringing up the word “suicide.”

“We know that asking someone if they are suicidal will not move them closer to suicide,” he said. “It is actually a way of de-stigmatizing suicide.”

Persuading someone to get help starts with simply listening. In the QPR training Richins and Stech offer the notable example of Kevin Briggs, a California Highway Patrol Officer whose successfully persuaded nearly 200 people not to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. One of those individuals, Kevin Berthia, said Briggs listened to him for 90 minutes.

Richins, who spent several years in the Marines, says the first time he had to ask someone if they were suicidal it did feel “monumental.”

“There was a corporal in my platoon who had a serious injury,” Richins said. “His outlook for his job as a Marine was dubious.”

Richins noticed that the normally chipper corporal was withdrawn and anxious. He spoke with the man and recognized warning signs of suicidality.

“So I just asked him, ‘Corporal, are you thinking about killing yourself?’ And he gave a big sigh of relief, and said, ‘No, but I’ve had a lot of thoughts of suicide.’”

Richins said that from there it was easy to connect the young man with the chaplain, who connected him with a psychologist. Within a few sessions, he began to come to terms with what had happened to him and he started charting a new course.

Richins’ situation was ideal in that he was able to accompany the corporal directly to the person who could help. Barring that, have phone numbers available for a suicide hotline and a counseling center. And try to get the person to agree to get help.

Struggle at altitude

Richins was born in Afton, Wyo., and grew up in Utah and Star Valley. He says the rural nature of many Western communities is one of the factors in suicide risk specific to the region. Other factors include the amount of firearm ownership, social isolation, and spotty access to mental health care.

Western states, Richins said, have a stronger culture of “do it yourself” and “fix your own problems.”

“When everything is working, that edict can be protective,” Richins said. “But when things go wrong, feeling like you have to fix it all yourself can increase risk.”

Reaching out to others made all the difference for Alice Vanessa Bever.

Bever has lived in Jackson off and on since 2006, though she currently resides in Naples, Italy.

A dedicated actor, she has pursued her artistic dreams but has also felt haunted by financial worries.

Student loans and other debt have weighed heavily on her.

In spite of this, Bever says her natural tendency is toward optimism. Her calling to be an artist has lit her way in life. When the opportunity arose to pursue a large creative project, she didn’t let finances stop her.

“The project was amazing,” Bever said. “But it totally put me in debt. I went from having school debt to credit card debt, and I started getting really big anxiety about how to handle it.”

She struggled to pay bills and she still didn’t feel that she had succeeded as an artist. Her anxiety and despair started to spiral.

Then, her best friend died suddenly. Bever in sadness, as well was engulfed as feelings of shame and inadequacy.

She said it was

particularly hard to be someone struggling financially in Jackson Hole.

“I was surrounded by people who had the means to support themselves, but I was swimming upstream,” she said. “I felt like I should be appreciating my friends and the mountains but instead I often felt dried up and anxious, wondering if I would make it to the next month.”

“I don’t think many people had a clue about how I was feeling because at the end of the day I have always tried to be positive.”

Internally, Bever contemplated suicide. “Never seriously in a way of actually planning anything,” she said. “But it was a thought that made me feel on a primal level like there could be some relief.”

Bever kept silent about her private situation, not talking to friends or family about it. Finally, when the despair became too great, she opened up to her family.

That helped her turn a corner.

“One of the best things I did was finally tell my family what I was feeling,” Bever said. “It was hard because I felt guilty putting that on my mom. But I felt that it was a moment of recognizing that I needed support.

“Once I was more honest with my family I felt like I wasn’t completely alone. I felt like I did have options.”

Bever says the suicidal ideation was amorphous for her; it wasn’t a cerebral thought. “In the depths of the swampland of depression there are lots of fears that provoke nonsense, which is why it is so important to help people recognize that those thoughts are only mirages,” Bever said. “I feel so tied to my family, especially my nieces, that I would never be able to do anything destructive that would affect their lives.”

For Heidi Ramseur, suicidal ideation was the opposite of a mirage. Instead, she found refuge in imagining killing herself. The elaborate, detailed thoughts were comforting, something she now calls her “kill switch.”

Ramseur, who grew up in Jackson, experienced a lot of trauma as a child. She was molested by a family member. She had a difficult relationship with her mother. She acted out in school. And from a very early age, she contemplated suicide.

Ramseur was 13 the first time she attempted suicide.

The attempt was precipitated by a vehicle accident in which she was driving and a young man was killed. She ended up in the hospital after the

attempt, physically safe but without resources outside of her family. Two years later, she attempted again.

She managed to get through her late teens and early twenties without another attempt.

“I have a very persevering personality,” Ramseur said. “I learned how to learn from everything.”

She got married and pursued her interests – dance, art, cooking, and yoga. But then the memories of the molestation started to resurface. She sought out counseling and spent several years trying to understand and heal the damage from the past.

“There is a direct connection between my tremendous childhood struggle and suicidal ideation,” she said.

“I used to blame myself for having such horrible thoughts. In therapy I learned that what I went through was not normative. Thinking about suicide had become one of my only survival skills.”

In the end, it was a dinner date with friends that was the big turning point in Ramseur’s thinking.

“My friends knew I was going through a divorce and living piecemeal,” Ramseur said. “They both thought of me as someone who really had her shit together.”

“So I wanted to be vulnerable with them and tell them I’ve struggled with suicidality.”

While Ramseur thought she was bonding with her friends, they had a different reaction altogether. They both became angry. One of the friends had recently lost a family member to suicide. She made Ramseur promise to call her if she was ever thinking of ending her life.

“It was a huge wake up call for me,” she said. “This was a new friend, and yet she cared so deeply.”

A month and a half later, she discarded her means of suicide, and stopped thinking about it as well.

“Now that I am on the other side, I can see the value of my work and how well metabolized it is,” she said.

Suicidal ideation still tempts her from the edges of her consciousness.

“I still have a penchant for the morose or morbid,” she said. “I still have to work every day to tell myself, “I am beautiful.

And I’m a work in progress.”

A new path

Feature writer Meg Daly on loss and suicide.

R

JUNE 22, 2016 | 11

eaders may know that I am no stranger to depression. The Planet was kind enough to publish my essay on depression a few years ago. I wish I could tell you I was recovered now, but I’ve continued to battle depression off and on. I am faced with accepting that it is a long-term, chronic condition that I won’t ever be entirely “over.” I’m in the camp of depression sufferers who cannot be completely treated through medication, therapy, and lifestyle changes.

Depression is one of the main risk factors for suicide. Research shows that mental disorders and/ or substance abuse have been found in 90 percent of people who have died by suicide. Check one for my suicide risk. Check two is the fact that I am a suicide survivor, the term used for people who have lost a loved one to suicide. One of my best friends, Stephen Blair, killed himself in 2007 in Portland, Oregon.

But Stephen’s was not the only suicide I’ve known.

One of my beloved post-college writing teachers killed herself. I’ve known two individuals with terminal illnesses who took their own lives. And a few individual relatives from the past made suicide attempts (though they eventually died of natural causes.)

For myself, suicidal ideation has so far not been a major aspect of my depression. Or, not quite. What has begun to develop in recent episodes is a contemplation of death. The internal pain is so deep and awful, I have at times thought it would be a relief to not be here anymore. I’ve never developed a plan, and I am such a wimp I’d never be able to carry it out. But I truly understand wanting to end pain so badly that the mind turns toward death.

I’m sure my psychiatrist would call that disordered thinking. I don’t argue—it is disordered because when you’re deep in depression all your thinking is totally whacked, revolving solely around a central axis of despair. My psychiatrist was quite concerned about these thoughts of mine, as was my husband and family.

These people who care about me are protective factors for me. As are friends, and my cats, and my beautiful backyard looking out across fields at Munger Mountain.

Several years ago a different psychiatrist told me that the silver lining to depression, at least for me in her estimation, was that it expanded my compassion for other people’s suffering. I will say it has been a gift—no other word for it—to have the capacity to hold other people’s stories and pain. One beautiful friend felt safe calling me when she herself felt unsafe, afraid of harming herself. She asked me to take her to the hospital. I felt honored that she would allow me that responsibility, to be with her in her vulnerability and to be part of her self-care.

In fact, I am close to a number of people who struggle with suicidality. Whenever they are going through a difficult time, I am relieved if they will talk with me and tell me how they are feeling. I try to make sure they are safe in the moment, and I ask them to promise to call me if they feel unsafe.

I’m not God (obviously!) and neither is anyone else.

We cannot ultimately be responsible for other people’s lives or deaths. But never doubt the power of simply listening, of being willing to be there with someone in the darkness. It really can help someone get through the night or the day.

Because as long as a person is alive, there is still hope. - MD

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

The worlds of suicide prevention and suicide post-vention are intertwined.

Often suicide survivors become advocates for prevention, not wanting anyone else to go through their loss. Increasingly people who have survived suicide attempts or ideation are becoming vocal prevention advocates too.

Houser, who has been doing post-vention work for 15 years says that, “Often people don’t know how to approach a suicide survivor and have a conversation about what happened.”

But talking can help.

“Survivors benefit when they can re-tell their story,” Houser said. “And when they have the opportunity to talk with other survivors.”

Krista Gorrell’s stepson

Reporter’s Notebook

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

12 | JUNE 22, 2016

Once I was more honest with my family I felt like I wasn’t completely alone.

I felt like I did have options. started showing signs of mental illness at age 14.

According to Gorrell, he was in and out of psychiatric facilities from age 16 to 19. A few days after his last hospital stay, he killed himself.

Gorrell and her husband knew their son was suicidal.

They had seen him struggle for several years. So they were not surprised when they learned he had died. “He had his mind made up,” she said. “He was calm and joyful those last days.”

According to the nonprofit organization Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, suddenly acting happy and calm can be a warning sign. But Gorrell and her husband were to know that only in retrospect. “For me, I kind of stepped back and limited my work,” she said.

“All I wanted to do is run away.”

Her husband, meanwhile, put his head down and dug into his work.

At first, Gorrell was afraid the suicide would tear apart her marriage. But the couple found a way to be there for one another.

She recommends that other survivors be gentle with themselves, and not expect to get back to normal. “You have to discover what is the new normal,” she said.

“That takes time.”

Houser agrees that surviving the loss of someone to suicide is an ongoing process, and help and hope are relative. “For most survivors the only thing that would really be helpful is for their loved one to still be alive,” he said. “Everything else pales in comparison.“The pain never diminishes,” he continued. “But over time we

build our musculature so we can bear the burden a bit easier.”

“I feel like we are still figuring things out,” Gorrell said.

Two years after her stepson’s death, Gorrell and her husband moved to Victor. They had not looked at their son’s things since his death. “We had to decide what do we keep, what do we get rid of,” she said. “I was shocked by how emotional that was for me.”

Resources

Individuals can receive immediate professional help by contacting the Jackson Hole Community Counseling Center at 307-733-2046 (24 hours a day).

If you are at immediate risk or know someone who is, you can call The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or call 911. You can call this number if you are at risk or if you are concerned about someone who is exhibiting suicidal ideation.

Information on suicide post-vention and bereavement can be found at: •

afsp.org/coping-with-suicide-loss

•

suicidology.org/suicide-survivors/suicide-losssurvivors.

General information on suicide prevention may be found at: •

afsp.org, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

•

sprc.org, Suicide Prevention Resource Center

•

suicidology.org, American Association of Suicidology

A support group for survivors of suicide meets monthly on the first Wednesday of each month, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Eagle Classroom at St. John’s Medical Center. This peer led group is for family and friends who have lost someone to suicide. You may access the basement classroom through the Emergency Room entrance at the hospital. More information on the group may be obtained by contacting Mark Houser, 732-1161 or at mhouser@jhccc.org.

The Teton County Suicide Prevention Coalition holds monthly meetings. For more information, contact Jacob Richins at jrichins@pmowyo.org. The coalition operates under the umbrella of the Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming. PJH

THIS WEEK: June 22-28, 2016 | Compiled by Caroline LaRosa CALENDAR CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22

n Fitness & Dance Classes All Day! 7:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Coffee with a Ranger 7:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n Belay On!: Creating the Relationship Necessary to Reach New Heights 8:30am, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-739-1026 n Strollercize 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Story TIme 10:00am, Valley of the Tetons Library Victor, Free, 208-787-2201 n Tech Tutor 10:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 ext. 218 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-733-9212 n Storytime 10:00am, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201

n Walking Tour of Jackson 10:30am, Center of Town Square, Free, 307-733-2141 n Fables Feathers & Fur 10:30am, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Free, 307-733-5771 n Open Build 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-354-5522 n Summer of Code 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Movie Afternoon: “The Good Dinosaur” 2:00pm, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-7332164 n Murie Center Ranch Tour 2:30pm, Murie Center, Free, 307739-2246 n Chess Club 3:30pm, Valley of the Tetons Library - Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n JH People’s Market 4:00pm, The Base of Snow King, Free, n Free Solar Astronomy Program 4:00pm, The Base of Snow King at The People’s Market, Free

n Covered Wagon Cookout 4:15pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 - $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Jackson JR’s Community Golf Clinic 4:30pm, Snake River Sporting Club, $15.00, 307-200-3092 n Cache Creek Mountain Bike Race 4:30pm, Mike Yokel Park n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370 n Covered Wagon Cookout 5:30pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 - $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Barbara Trentham Life Drawing 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307-733-6379 n Cribbage Club 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-354-5522 n JH Shootout 6:00pm, Town Square, Free, 307-733-3316 n Wednesday Community Dinner 6:00pm, Presbyterian Church of Jackson Hole, Free, 307-7340388

n Cribbage 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Disc Golf Doubles 6:00pm, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, 307-733-2292 n Byron’s Guitar at Jenny Lake Lodge 6:00pm, Jenny Lake Lodge, Free, 307-733-4647 n Bluegrass Wednesday with PTO 6:00pm, Cafe Genevieve, Free, 307-732-1910 n The Ballad of Cat Ballou 6:30pm, JH Playhouse, $35.00 $65.00, 307-733-6994 n TGR’s unReal to benefit the Skyline Trail 7:00pm, Center for the Arts, $10.00, 307-733-4534 n JH Rodeo 8:00pm, Fairgrounds, $15.00 $35.00, 307-733-7927 n KHOL Presents: Vinyl Night 8:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n Songwriter’s Alley Open Mic 8:00pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939

n Sandie Brooks 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

THURSDAY, JUNE 23

n Fitness & Dance Classes All Day! 7:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Coffee with a Ranger 7:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n The 25th Jackson Hole Writers Conference 8:00am, Center for the Arts, $365.00, 307-413-3331 n Tech Tutor 10:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 ext. 218 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-733-9212 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-7332164

n Walking Tour of Jackson 10:30am, Center of Town Square, Free, 307-733-2141 n Storytime 10:30am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-7332164 n Beginning Throwing 11:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $165.00, 307-733-6379 n Summer Activity: Puppet Making 2:00pm, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-7332164 n Murie Center Ranch Tour 2:30pm, Murie Center, Free, 307739-2246 n Covered Wagon Cookout 4:15pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 - $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Simply Health Chamber Mixer 5:00pm, Simply Health, Free, 307-201-2309 n REFIT® 5:15pm, First Baptist Church, Free, 307-690-6539 n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JUNE 22, 2016 | 13

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Warriors of the Pen JH Writers Conference inspires new and seasoned scribes.

BY KELSEY DAYTON @Kelsey_Dayton

T

he yellow legal pad sat blank in Nanci Turner Steveson’s parents’ kitchen in Atlanta, Georgia.

All her life Steveson loved words. She closed Black Beauty after reading it the first time as a child and knew one day she would write her own book. She first fulfilled her own prophecy at 9 years old, but it wouldn’t be until she was in her late 50s when Steveson saw her first book published.

Swing Sideways by the now Jackson-based writer came out in May. Steveson, a Jackson Hole Writers Conference board member, has attended the conference before. But at this year’s conference, which starts Thursday, she’ll sign her recently published book as well as teach a class on breaking into the children’s literature market.

On Thursday, more than 80 writers from around the country will spend several intense days honing their craft, critiquing work and accepting criticism of their own, and trying to network with agents, editors and other writers. People can still sign up for the full-conference or buy day passes, said Connie Wieneke, assistant director of Jackson Hole Writers.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the conference and craft workshops target a variety of genres from fiction and non-fiction to poetry to young adult and children.

Steveson writes books for children 8 to 12 years old, a nod to the time period during which she fell in love with books.

“That’s where you capture kids and their interest in reading,” she said.

If things had been different Steveson thinks she might have been a teacher, but life pulled her in a different direction. She married young and bypassed college. By her mid-20s she had a family and after a divorce, she raised her kids as a single mom. She knew she wanted to write and she kept at it when she could.

Nanci Turner Steveson’s book, Swing Sideways, reminds writers that getting published has a lot to do with perseverance.

Then in 1996 she saw the legal pad and put her pen to the paper. Within a few years she was fully committed. She attended conferences and workshops. She threw herself into her work until an agent picked up her manuscript. But it didn’t sell.

In 2011 Steveson was taking care of her dad who was dying of cancer when she read Walk Two Moons. It inspired her to write again. It was something about that time in her life that resonated with her, she said.

It captured loss without being maudlin. A year later she sent her agent the manuscript for Swing Sideways. Several revisions later, Harper Collins bought the book. It came out in May as Steveson was entering her late 50s. Her next book is set to publish May 3, 2017, and she’s already working on a third.

“It can take a while,” Steveson acknowledged.

“You’ve got to be tough to make it work.”

Steveson developed that toughness by attending conferences. While the Jackson Hole Writers Conference is the only one she attends not specifically for children’s writers, it, and the other conferences, she saud, offered priceless learning opportunities.

She took every critique she could. She listened and absorbed feedback, avoiding getting defensive about her work. “Every

writer, every editor, every person with more experience than you has something to offer,” she said.

The range of writers who attend the Jackson Hole Writers Conference make it valuable for established writers, as well as those trying to see their first book in print.

More than half of this year’s participants have attended in previous years, Wieneke said.

The event attracts writers like Lynne Sharon Schwartz and editor Peter Hubbard, who edited American Sniper.

Gretel Ehrlich, author of about a dozen books, including The Solace of Open Spaces, will speak on climate change at the only public event. She’ll talk at 8 p.m. Thursday in the Center Theater. The free-event is co-sponsored by the Teton County Library.

But for most attendees the draw is the chance for manuscript critiques and also the access to agents, editors and other writers.

“I think writers come because they like to be stimulated and around other writers,” Wieneke said. “I love being in a workshop where there is a writer I admire and I have access to that writer and can learn from them.” PJH

The Jackson Hole Writers Conference is Thursday through Saturday at the Center for the Arts. Full registration costs $395. Day rates are available.

For a full schedule and more information visit jacksonholewritersconference.com.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

JUNE 22, 2016 | 15

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

16 | JUNE 22, 2016

MUSIC BOX

Wyoming Songwriters Highjacked Dixieland jazz group Jackson 6 releases covers album, Marc Broussard plays the Center and Texans invade Tavern.

BY AARON DAVIS @ScreenDoorPorch

A

fter a year of research and three years of sporadic recording, local Dixieland and New Orleans-style jazz ensemble Jackson 6 will celebrate the release of its

Left: Local flavor abounds on Jackson 6’s release, Highjacked. An album release party happens Monday at the Stagecoach.

Right: Marc Broussard‘s bayou doused soul sweetens Center for the Arts on Monday. sophomore album, Highjacked, at the Stagecoach Monday, June 27.

Bandleader John Kidwell’s concept of “ripping off” his favorite Wyoming songwriters and re-arranging their songs has been casual bar talk for the better half of the last decade, and he did well to chase it down. After seeing how many musicians were involved (19) and the number of songwriters (12) that were hijacked, it was a multi-faceted project that shines light on Wyoming’s burgeoning scene, one that has largely remained off the radar to folks in other parts of the country.

“It took a while because we were assembling songs that we’d never done before and we wanted to get the local artists that we really wanted,” Kidwell said from his Lander abode.

“I narrowed the list of songs down from about 17. Most were recorded at The Henhouse [in Victor] with some guest tracks recorded in London, Oklahoma City, Portland and L.A.” The Wyoming songwriters covered are Michael Batdorf, Mike Dowling, Jalan Crossland, Pam Phillips, Justin Smith, Pete Muldoon, Jo La Fevre, Jack Tolan, Peter “Chanman” Chandler, Aaron Davis (yours truly), Keith Phillips, Anne and

Pete Sibley, and one cover of a cover—Bill Briggs’ arrangement of a traditional song originally recorded by Uncle Dave Mason. While one can expect a Dixieland vibe to a little more than half of the album with a Kidwell croon, there’s also a fair amount of straight-ahead country feels (“Bosler,” “Getting By,” “Buddy Won’t You Roll Down the Line”) and two guest vocalists—Bill Briggs singing his own arrangement and Batdorf singing Crossland’s “Bosler.” The core studio band is Keith Phillips (keys, accordion), Jason Baggett (drums) and engineer Ben Winship (bass, mandolin, backing vocals) along with Kidwell on lead and backing vocals, trombone and percussion.

Kidwell has been a staple in the local scene for over a decade and is a frequent stage guest to many acts including Pam Phillips Trio and Boondocks. He’s also a member of Chanman Roots Band.

Please note that there is a new jazz band in town with a similar name, J6, which is the spin-off project of former Jackson 6 member, saxophonist Jason Fritts.

Jackson 6 album release party, 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 27 at the Stagecoach Bar in Wilson. Free. 733-2207.

WEDNESDAY Songwriter’s Alley Open Mic feat. Tasha Ghozali & Rob Sidle Band (Silver Dollar), Byron Tomingas (Jenny Lake Lodge) THURSDAY Mike & the Moonpies with Sam Riggs (Town Square Tavern); Major Zephyr (Silver Dollar) FRIDAY DJ Souly Hitz of Head 2 Head (The Rose) Two nights of top-notch bands at Town Square Tavern this week. Top: Midnight River Choir anoints audiences Friday.

Bottom: Mike and the Moonpies saddle up with honky-tonk Thursday.

Broussard’s bayou soul The term “Bayou soul” could only come from one place— Louisiana. Marc Broussard embodies that Southern swagger of funk, blues, R&B, rock and pop much like his friend and occasional collaborator Anders Osborne. With a vocal style that hints at Otis Redding, Broussard has been a road dog for much of his career supporting big acts like Maroon 5, Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt among others. His rootsy folk-rock was last documented with 2014’s A Life Worth Living followed by a Christmas album, Magnolias & Mistletoe, last year. He’ll be in tow with Chad Gilmore (drums), Joe Stark (guitar), and David Raymond Jr. (bass).

Marc Broussard, 8 p.m. Monday, June 27 at the Center Theater. $49-$59. JHCenterForTheArts.org; 733-4900.

Choir born from the river The sleeper show of the week goes to Midnight River Choir—a well-produced group from New Braunfels, Texas, that brings raw rock energy with a soulful, harmony-ladened vocal attack. Up-tempo, bluesy boogies with a double

Double Texas country From honky-tonkin’ to country and Western two-stepping, you’d think Austin’s Mike and the Moonpies might have found their way to the Silver Dollar, Cowboy Bar or Stagecoach Bar, yet this dance party will be at Town Square Tavern. On the band’s third album, Mockingbird, lead man Mike Harmeier sings, “With my Levi jeans and snakeskin boots, I dress like 1982.” You’ll get plenty of classic sounding Texas country with opener Sam Riggs, who just released Breathless, a set that veers toward the mainstream with a foot in Red Dirt country.

Mike and the Moonpies with Sam Riggs, 10 p.m. Thursday, June 23 at Town Square Tavern. $5. 733-3886. PJH

Richard & Claire generously present Teton Valley Foundation’s

Teton Valley, Idaho

on main

SUNDAY The Stagecoach Band (Stagecoach Bar) MONDAY Jackson 6 Album Release (Stagecoach Bar); Marc Broussard (Center Theater) TUESDAY One Ton Pig (Silver Dollar)

THIS WEEK: THURSDAY, JUNE 23

SEASON KICK OFF!

DOORS OPEN @ 5:30PM

RICHARD & CLAIRE $5K CHALLENGE NIGHT Band of Heathens w/ Screen Door Porch

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

music

guitar are this quartet’s bread and butter while lead singer Eric Middleton gets plenty of choir help from his brethren.

Strength in numbers was the realization when the band met on a Guadalupe River float trip and started singing together as strangers. Sometimes things are just meant to be.

Midnight River Choir, 10 p.m. Friday, June 24 at Town Square Tavern. $5. 733-3886.

SATURDAY Sneaky Pete & the Secret Weapons (Silver Dollar)

SPONSORS

JUNE 22, 2016 | 17

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

18 | JUNE 22, 2016

FRIDAY, JUNE 24

n Fitness & Dance Classes All Day! 7:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Produce Fest at Jackson Whole Grocer 7:00am, Jackson Whole Grocer & Cafe, Free, 307-733-0450 n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307739-3594 n The 25th Jackson Hole Writers Conference 8:00am, Center for the Arts, $365.00, 307413-3331 n Strollercize 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n World Series of Team Roping 9:00am, Teton County Rodeo Grounds, 307733-5289

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 19

GET OUT

ELIZABETH KOUTRELAKOS

n Covered Wagon Cookout 5:30pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 - $45.00, 307-7335386 n Young Professionals of the Tetons Summer Social 5:30pm, Smoking Iron BBQ at Hotel Jackson, 307-733-4091 n Whiskey Experience 6:00pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, Free, 307734-1535 n JH Shootout 6:00pm, Town Square, Free, 307-733-3316 n Band of Heathens w/ local opener Screen Door Porch 6:00pm, Music on Main, Free, 208-201-5356 n Byron’s Guitar at Jenny Lake Lodge 6:00pm, Jenny Lake Lodge, Free, 307-7334647 n Community Party Neighborhood Dinner & Dance 6:00pm, Old Wilson Schoolhouse, Free, 307413-9507 n The Ballad of Cat Ballou 6:30pm, JH Playhouse, $35.00 - $65.00, 307733-6994 n You Can Be FREE from Pain & Stress 6:45pm, Medicine Wheel Wellness, Free, 307699-7480 n JH Community Band Rehearsal 7:00pm, Center for the Arts Performing Arts Wing, Free, 307-200-9463 n Backcountry Zero and Headwall Sports present “State of the Summer” 7:00pm, Headwall Sports, Free, 307-734-8022 n Major Zephyr 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307732-3939 n Summer Workshop Series 7:30pm, Riot Act, $5.00, 307-203-9067 n Gretel Ehrlich: The End Of Ice 8:00pm, Center for the Arts, Center Theater, Free, 307-733-2164 n Salsa Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307-733-1500 n Mike & the Moonpies w/ Sam Riggs 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, $5.00, 307733-3886 n Sandie Brooks 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

Icy Heat Sun, snow, and (seldom) solitude in the park.

BY ELIZABETH KOUTRELAKOS @EKoutrelakos

D

uring this brief time in the solar year, the sun actually feels warm here in Jackson. One of my favorite ways to enjoy the heat entails hiking up Paintbrush and out Cascade. This seemingly benign hike by “Jackson standards” is actually 18 miles and climbs to a 10,720-foot divide. I invited a wonderful friend who is a great walker but has little experience traveling on snow. This gal grew up outside of Yosemite. I imagined her communing with rock faces as a small child, being one with those large slices of granite, so I didn’t think she would have a problem on the hike. After discussing the need for an ice ax and crampons during planning stages, she responsibly informed me of her uncertainty traveling in snow covered terrain.

I considered this, since Paintbrush Divide is steep and one can get seriously hurt if not properly prepared. After a little contemplation, I told her we could do some snow training on the way up and if she didn’t feel comfortable, we would simply go to Holly Lake. With the 18-mile loop now posed as a possibility instead of a necessary goal, she relaxed a little and mulled over joining me for an adventure. I assured her that I would actually teach and practice with her to let her decide how far she wanted to venture. After she realized I wasn’t going to abandon her on a steep snowfield mid-hike, she felt even more solid in her decision to partake in said

Left: Nikita Lopez hurries to escape the cold water of Lake Solitude. Top: A tiny human forges up Paintbrush Divide. Bottom: Soaking in sun and snow from the top of the divide. walk.

We began at String Lake parking lot and hiked the trail up Paintbrush Canyon.

The sun began to scorch us and my friend stopped to change into her shorts. The trail rushed with running water. Finally, I got a chance to see all of these drains in action.

After passing by a couple hundred drains, the snow began just before Holly Lake. The signs were buried, and as we ventured onto the snow, we ran into a group of people that had turned around. “There’s blood everywhere, we couldn’t make it,” one person said. I asked them more details about this blood and the group just kept repeating, “It was everywhere we looked.”

Having perfect strangers inform me of such a disturbing observation made me a bit tentative about taking my dear and novice friend to the divide. We ventured onto the snow and spent some time practicing different types of walking with crampons, self-arresting techniques, and general snow safety protocol. After a while, she felt more comfortable and learned to walk and self-arrest on steep terrain. She decided she felt good about making the loop.

We were still looking for the blood when it struck me. The strangers must have thought that the red streaks of watermelon snow, or chlamydomonas nivalis were blood. In fact, this species of green algae loves freezing water and thrives in spring snow environments. Comforted that there weren’t real streaks of blood, we carefully made our way over the divide.

The way down to Lake Solitude was beautiful, but equally engaging. Some of the switchbacks had completely melted out, while other parts were steep, post-holy

snowfields. The careful navigation combined with the blazing hot sun made me feel like I was in the Sahara desert. Even with my giant sun hat, scarves and a buff covering my body, I could feel my skin searing in the high altitude.

We hurried our way down to the lake.

For about three minutes, we did not see any people. I found a little spot of partially melted ice water where it was possible to go for a short swim. While refreshing, swimming in a mostly snow covered lake and drying off barefoot on the snow definitely took the heat crazed feeling out of my soul. My friend jumped in just before about 30 people showed up and began hooting and hollering.

Although Lake Solitude lacked actual solitude, it was still beautiful and pleasant. We experienced our little moment of swimming in a snow-lined lake and that brief period of time was as glorious as I could ever ask for.

Upon heading out, we passed about 40 people going up to the lake. Sometimes, passing people can be awkward, it can even ruin the flow of walking, but since there was snow the first couple of miles down from the lake, we slid right on by, glissading here and there without a care in the world. The sun felt like a high noon sun when we got back to the car.

In actuality, it was already 6 p.m., but the warmth of the sun on our resting legs felt glorious. It was then that I saw the remnants of a missed sunscreen application on the back of my friend’s legs. The area of skin behind her knees appeared to be coated in beet juice, or sunburn—the gift that keeps on giving.

Yes, the sun is strong here for a short period of time, so we must surrender to it by both enjoying it and protecting ourselves from it. PJH

JUNE 22, 2016 | 19

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 20

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Portrait Drawing Club 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307-733-6379 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-7339212 n Teton MudPots Summer Sale 10:00am, Art Association Ceramic Studio & Sidewalk, Free, 307-733-6379 n Book Art with Jenny Dowd 10:30am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-733-2164 n Community Safety Network Summer Luncheon and Birdhouse Auction 11:30am, Teton Pines Country Club, $150.00, 307-733-3711 n Murie Center Ranch Tour 2:30pm, Murie Center, Free, 307-739-2246 n Star Wars Festival: “The Phantom Menace 3:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-7332164 n Electronics/Tech 3:30pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Free Wine Tasting 4:00pm, The Liquor Store & Wine Loft, Free, 307-733-4466 n Free Friday Tasting 4:00pm, Jackson Whole Grocer, Free, 307733-0450 n Covered Wagon Cookout 4:15pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 - $45.00, 307-7335386 n Grand Opening Archery Range and Pro Shop 5:00pm, High Country Outfitters, Free, 307733-3270 n Friday Night Bikes 5:00pm, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, $10.00, 307-733-2292 n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370 n Covered Wagon Cookout 5:30pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 - $45.00, 307-7335386 n Teton County Relay for Life 5:00pm, Snow King Ball Field n Friday Night Meditation 6:00pm, Zendler Chiropractic, Free, 307-6998300 n Whiskey Experience 6:00pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, Free, 307734-1535 n JH Shootout 6:00pm, Town Square, Free, 307-733-3316 n Byron’s Guitar at Jenny Lake Lodge 6:00pm, Jenny Lake Lodge, Free, 307-7334647 n The Ballad of Cat Ballou 6:30pm, JH Playhouse, $35.00 - $65.00, 307733-6994 n Pam Drews Phillips Plays Jazz 7:00pm, The Granary at Spring Creek Ranch, Free, 307-733-8833 n Full Draw Film Tour by Backcountry Hunters 7:00pm, Pink Garter Theatre, $13.00 - $15.00, 307-733-1500 n Sneaky Pete & The Secret Weapons 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Bar, Free, 307-732-3939 n Free Public Stargazing 9:30pm, Rendezvous Park, Free, 307-413-4779

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

20 | JUNE 22, 2016

n Friday Night DJ featuring Souly Hitz 10:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n MIdnight River Choir 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, $5.00, 307-733-3886 n Sandie Brooks 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

SATURDAY, JUNE 25 n Fitness & Dance Classes All Day! 7:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Mountain Man Triathlon 8:00am, Alpine Wyoming, 3071-885-5956 n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n The 25th Jackson Hole Writers Conference 8:00am, Center for the Arts, $365.00, 307-413-3331 n World Series of Team Roping 9:00am, Teton County Rodeo Grounds, 307-733-5289 n REFIT® 9:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-733-6398 n LSR Fence Project 9:00am, Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve, Free, 307-7390968 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-733-9212 n Teton MudPots Summer Sale 10:00am, Art Association Ceramic Studio & Sidewalk, Free, 307-733-6379

n Targhee Hill Climb: Wrun for Wray 10:00am, Grand Targhee Resort, $25.00 - $35.00, 307353-2300 n Children’s Musician Jim Gill 11:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Family Concert for Parents, Caregivers and Kids 11:00am, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Camera Color Calibration with Lightroom and X-Rite 1:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $65.00, 307-733-6379 n Play Is a Child’s Art: Adult Workshop 1:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Wild West Skateboard Contest Series 1:30pm, Hailey, ID Skatepark, 307-733-6433 n Covered Wagon Cookout 4:15pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370 n Covered Wagon Cookout 5:30pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Whiskey Experience 6:00pm, VOM FASS Jackson Hole, Free, 307-734-1535 n JH Shootout 6:00pm, Town Square, Free, 307-733-3316 n The Ballad of Cat Ballou 6:30pm, JH Playhouse, $35.00 $65.00, 307-733-6994 n Sneaky Pete & The Secret Weapons 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Bar, Free, 307-732-3939 n JH Rodeo 8:00pm, Fairgrounds, $15.00 $35.00, 307-733-7927

n DJ Simotaneous 9:30pm, Mangy Moose, $5.00, 307-733-4913 n WYOBASS 10:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886 n Jameson Black Barrel Music Series presents: The Fritts Project 10:30pm, Pink Garter Theatre, Free, 307-733-1500 n Sandie Brooks 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

SUNDAY, JUNE 26

n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n World Series of Team Roping 9:00am, Teton County Rodeo Grounds, 307-733-5289 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-733-9212 n Whiskey Mornin’ Duo 4:30pm, The Deck at Piste, Free, 307-733-2292 n Sunday Summer BBQ 5:00pm, Q Roadhouse & Brewing Co., Free, 307-739-0700 n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370 n Stagecoach Band 6:00pm, Stagecoach, Free, 307-733-4407 n The Center Presents Neal Conan 8:00pm, Center for the Arts, $25.00, 307-733-4900 n Hospitality Night - Happy Hour 9:00pm, Pink Garter Theatre, Free

SEE CALENDAR PAGE 21

GUN SH W

BUY • TRADE • SELL

WYOMING SPORTSMANS GUN SHOW

July 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Friday 3-7pm • Saturday 9am-5pm Sunday 9am-2pm

Virginian Lodge • Jackson, WY Next show: Riverton - July 8, 9, & 10

For table information call 307-760-1841

CLIP COUPON OUT FOR $1.00 OFF ADMIS SION PRICE

MARK HOUSER

WELL, THAT HAPPENED

Town Square Tribute Gleaning hope from Jackson Hole locals and visitors after the Orlando tragedy.

BY ANDREW MUNZ @AndrewMunz

S

ometimes it’s easy to forget that beyond our small town reality, beyond these tremendous mountains that contain us, there is a completely different world out there.

These are the places where tourists and transplants come from, and the places we travel to when we need an escape. With the exception of the occasional hometown tragedy, such as the untimely death of Kayden Quinn Tapia, 16, last week, we are far removed from the chaos transpiring in much of the world.

Since we’re so removed from reality, it’s not uncommon to read about a tragedy like a mass shooting and not feel affected. Perhaps you’ll shake your head at the notion of senseless violence as you stand in line at Pearl St. Bagels. Normally, it’s not until we read about events close to home—a bison attack or a poor soul who got boiled alive in a Yellowstone hot spring that we start to really have a visceral reaction.

But when I read about the shooting in Orlando, Fla., where 49 members of the LGBT community were gunned down by a deranged, self-hating gunman, the news hit me like a charging buffalo.

Knowing that this happened in the safety of a gay dance club, where revelers were celebrating LGBT pride month and Latin night, absolutely floored me. I myself have partied in gay dance clubs in Chicago and in Europe, and, in the middle of such a caring, supportive, and energetic community, my own insecurities and self-doubts were shrouded in love. And while this type of armor can block out hate and bigotry, it cannot stop bullets.

I spent much of that Sunday hiding tears and crying in private. I was cooking a three-course meal for my parents and their friends that day, so I was thankful for the distraction of food prep and cooking. But I still felt a rock in my stomach, because my more conservative-leaning family wasn’t going to discuss the murder of these innocent men and women without politicizing it. When my step-brother Caelan arrived, he

The author speaks to a crowd that came together last week to honor the victims of the Orlando mass shooting.

gave me a hug and told me he loved me. It was a small gesture but it meant the world. My appetite was minimal. I watched them eat.

Luke Zender, a dancer at Dancers’ Workshop, texted me asking if I wanted to help organize a pride walk. A day later, my friend and Planet reporter Meg Daly sent a Facebook message to a few LGBT members of our community, myself included, asking whether we wanted to get together for a drink in solidarity.

I realized we had to do something more than just a toast. We had to do something that captured the spirit of Meg’s idea while gathering a group big enough for Luke’s vision.

So with Luke and Meg’s blessings, I sent out a Facebook post on Tuesday morning to get our community together for a gathering on the town square. I didn’t know what exactly we were going to do or what I was going to say, but I knew the most important thing was to gather as many people as we could to stand in solidarity with the victims.

Mark Houser, local coordinator for the Jackson Hole chapter of PFLAG, was first to arrive and I soon joined him for a Jackson Hole first: hanging LGBT pride flags in the town square. Soon after people began filtering into the square, 10 folks, 20 folks, then more. Meg and I looked at each other wondering what to do next—we hadn’t really planned further than this very moment. But when we stood in front of the crowd, I couldn’t hold back the tears.

Having grown up in Jackson, I’ve never seen so much local support for the LGBT community in one place. It was a moment of sheer triumph not just for us local members of the LGBT community, but for the victims in Orlando as well. The people of Jackson as well as a handful of tourists passing by were uniting because they too were affected by what happened 2,000-plus miles away. And we stood in solidarity and hugged and shared stories. For a once-closeted gay kid growing up in conservative Wyoming, it was the most beautiful, overwhelming moment that I can remember.

This column is about adventures and rediscovering the beauty of my hometown.

On Tuesday, I saw that beauty in every single face that stared back at me as I read aloud the names of the Orlando victims. Because what’s absolutely certain is that while love and support can’t physically stop bullets, they can dissuade the people shooting them.

This is not a time for political pandering and Islamophobia. This is a time for awareness, for community support, for unconditional, enduring love. PJH

n I Choose to Dance 10:00pm, Transformative Fitness, $20.00 - $120.00,

MONDAY, JUNE 27

TUESDAY, JUNE 28

FOR COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS VISIT PJHCALENDAR.COM

JUNE 22, 2016 | 21

n Fitness & Dance Classes All Day! 7:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Coffee with a Ranger 7:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n REFIT® 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-733-6398 n Old Pass Road Wildflower Walk 8:30am, Old Pass Road Trailhead, $10.00, 307-739-9025 n Camp Cornerstone Vacation Bible School 9:00am, Pink Garter Basement, $10.00 - $35.00, 307-690-0444 n Teton Plein Air Painters 9:00am, Outside, Free, 307733-6379 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-733-9212 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library, Free, 733-2164 ext. 118 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n Walking Tour of Jackson 10:30am, Center of Town Square, Free, 307-733-2141 n Suicide Prevention Training 12:00pm, St. John’s Medical Center Moose Room, Free, 307-264-1536 n Spin 12:10pm, Teton Recreation Center, $8.00, 307-733-5056 n Summer Reading 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Summer of Code 1:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Murie Center Ranch Tour 2:30pm, Murie Center, Free, 307-739-2246 n Writer 3:30pm, Valley of the Tetons Library, Free, 208-787-2201 n Covered Wagon Cookout 4:15pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 $45.00, 307-733-5386

n Alive@5: Second Nature 5:00pm, Teton Village Commons, Free, 307-733-5898 n REFIT® 5:15pm, First Baptist Church, Free, 307-690-6539 n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370 n Covered Wagon Cookout 5:30pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Language Exchange 6:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Driggs, Free, 208-3545522 n JH Shootout 6:00pm, Town Square, Free, 307-733-3316 n Town Pump Bouldering Series 6:00pm, Teton Boulder Park, n Jackson Hole Bird & Nature Club Meeting 6:00pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium B, Free, 307-733-2164 n Beginning Throwing 6:00pm, Center for the Arts, $195.00 - $234.00, 307-7336379 n Teton Trail Runners 6:00pm, Location Varies Check Schedule, Free, n Beginning Throwing 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $165.00, 307733-6379 n Byron’s Guitar at Jenny Lake Lodge 6:00pm, Jenny Lake Lodge, Free, 307-733-4647 n Preview Screening: Hunt for the Hidden Killer 6:00pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 801-375-6214 n The Ballad of Cat Ballou 6:30pm, JH Playhouse, $35.00 - $65.00, 307-733-6994 n Create Your Own Dreamcatcher 6:30pm, Medicine Wheel Wellness, 307-699-7480 n Isaac Hayden 7:00pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Stackhouse 7:00pm, Mangy Moose, 307733-4913 n Bluegrass Tuesdays featuring One Ton Pig 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Sandie Brooks 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

n Fitness & Dance Classes All Day! 7:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Coffee with a Ranger 7:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n American Indian Guest Artist 8:00am, Colter Bay Visitor Center, Free, 307-739-3594 n Native Inspired Ceramics and Sculpture 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $475.00, 307733-6379 n Camp Cornerstone Vacation Bible School 9:00am, Pink Garter Basement, $10.00 - $35.00, 307-690-0444 n Pottery for Preschoolers 9:30am, Art Associaiton of Jackson Hole, $100.00, 307733-6379 n Historic Miller Ranch Tour 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, Free, 307-733-9212 n Kinderclay 11:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $100.00, 307733-6379 n Murie Center Ranch Tour 2:30pm, Murie Center, Free, 307-739-2246 n Maker Monday’s 3:00pm, Valley of the Tetons Library Victor, Free, 208-7872201 n Covered Wagon Cookout 4:15pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Nonprofit Pint Night 5:00pm, Grand Teton Brewing, Free, 208-354-3871 n Bar J Chuckwagon Supper 5:30pm, Bar J, $25.00 - $35.00, 307-733-3370 n Covered Wagon Cookout 5:30pm, Bar T 5, $37.00 $45.00, 307-733-5386 n Library Book Club: “Infidel” by Ayan Hersi Ali 5:30pm, Teton County Library Ordway Auditorium B, Free, 307-733-2164 n JH Shootout 6:00pm, Town Square, Free, 307-733-3316 n Hootenanny 6:00pm, Dornan’s, Free, 307733-2415 n The Ballad of Cat Ballou 6:30pm, JH Playhouse, $35.00 - $65.00, 307-733-6994

n The Center Presents Marc Broussard 8:00pm, Center for the Arts, $47.00 - $57.00, 307-733-4900 n Sandie Brooks 9:00pm, Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, $5.00, 307-733-2207

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

22 | JUNE 22, 2016

THE FOODIE FILES

Taste the Wild Side When storied meats meet the Middle East.

BY ANNIE FENN, M.D. @jacksonfoodie

M

ost locals I know have a chest freezer out in the garage full of food that has been lovingly hunted, fished and

foraged.

When I open the lid to my family’s freezer I also find that it is filled with stories. The neatly wrapped packages of ground antelope remind me of the day my 15-year-old son and his best friend each shot their first big game animals. I remember the looks on their faces, humble and proud, as they recounted the story of the hunt.

There’s half a lamb sourced from a woman in Bondurant who treats the Dorper lamb she raises like children. Not only does she raise lamb and steer, she watches my dogs when I’m out of town, so they get to help do farm chores amongst the animals that sometimes end up in my freezer.

All year there was a bison roast perched between the piles of Hungarian partridge and sharptail grouse, some breasted and others frozen whole, feathers and all. This bison was the last animal harvested by my friend Stephen, a passionate and dedicated hunter.

Stephen has been gone a whole year now, and it took me a long time to finally defrost my small piece of his bison. I liked seeing it there in the freezer, even though it always made me

Left: Get your wild game out of the freezer and onto the grill with these Middle Eastern spiced kofte kebabs. Right: Clockwise from the top—sumac onions, fresh mint, cucumber yogurt sauce, muhummara, and baba ganoush are all perfect accompaniments. feel sad, but with time it made me smile more and more to think of him. Finally, the time came to turn it into something wonderful for supper—a bison porcini pot roast served over creamy polenta. I think Stephen would have approved.

And this year we have venison, lots and lots of venison. My husband hunts mule deer every fall but only rarely takes a shot; last October all the elements of the hunt lined up perfectly and now we are cooking up venison every which way.

If there’s wild game in your freezer, whether it is moose, elk, venison, or antelope, chances are you are grilling lots of burgers.

Once you are ready to try something new, mix up that ground wild meat with some Middle Eastern spices and make my kofte kebabs.

I first created this recipe to cook up a moose that took up most of my freezer last summer. (There is a story behind the harvest of that moose, but I’ll have to relay it another time.)

Kofte is the Turkish name for the Persian ground meatballs, kofta, found all over the Middle East. Ground meat is mixed with garlic and spices, rolled into meatballs, skewered and grilled. I haven’t traveled in the Middle East but I have read that every street vendor has his own version of kofte, and regional variations abound.

Spiced with cumin, cinnamon, Aleppo pepper, and garlic, these are like spicy little lamb burgers. You will want to serve them tucked into pita bread, drizzled with a yogurt cucumber sauce, and alongside an easy

eggplant dip like baba ganoush or muhummara. Or, if you are an eggplant lover like me, make them both.

My kofte are part of a menu that can be made entirely in advance—perfect for having friends over in the summer. The kebabs can be mixed and formed up to a day ahead and actually improve with time as spices infuse the meat with flavor.

Don’t be put off if you don’t have a chest freezer full of wild game and great stories.

Most ground lamb, beef, or even turkey would make really good kofte. But surely you know a hunter who doesn’t mind trading his or her wild game meat for something you can offer in return. Just be sure to get the story behind the hunt.

How lucky we are to live in a place where we can eat so close to the land.

“When I open the lid to my family’s freezer I find that it is filled with stories.”

Wild game kofte kebabs Za’atar is a spice blend that can be purchased or made at home. Sumac is a paprika-like brick red powder with a lemony aftertaste. And Aleppo pepper is the milder cousin of the red pepper flake, yet adds great color and flavor to everything. All can be sourced online and have dozens of uses in your cooking. (Try these spices on avocado toast.)

• 2 pounds ground wild game meat • 1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped • 1 cup Italian parsley or cilantro, chopped • 2 Tablespoons olive oil • 2 teaspoons cumin seed, toasted and ground, or cumin powder

• • • • •

1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 1 teaspoon Aleppo or paprika 2 teaspoons Kosher salt Handful of fresh mint, slivered, for serving.

In a large bowl, combine meat, onion, parsley, olive oil, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, Aleppo pepper and salt. This is best done using your hands, being careful not to overmix the ingredients.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. To make the kofte, scoop up ¼-cup of the meat mixture and form into a 3-inch oval meatball. Place on the baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the meat.

Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour and up to one day.

Heat the grill to medium, clean the grates well, and brush with oil. Thread the kofte onto skewers and place on the grill. Each skewer will take about five minutes on each side. Once the meat is nicely charred on all sides and grill lines are visible, transfer the kebabs to a tray and cover with foil until ready to serve.

Serve with warm pitas, dipping sauces, and fresh mint.

Yogurt cucumber sauce with za’atar • • • •

2 cups full fat, plain Greek yogurt 2 cucumbers, peeled, halved, and removed of seeds, and chopped 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1 teaspoon Za’atar

(To make your own za’atar: Toast 2 tablespoons white sesame seeds in a pan until golden and fragrant. Grind in small batches

ANNIE FENN, MD

A delicious aroma rises from the grill as these kebabs cook, commanding everyone to the table. in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, being careful not to totally pulverize. Combine with 1½ teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled between your fingers, and 2 tablespoons sumac.)

Place yogurt, cucumbers and salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Just before serving, sprinkle with Za’atar.

Eggplant muhummara • • • •

• • • • • • •

to PERK

UP

Fab foodie events Wine tasting at the top of the gondola? Meeting celebrity chefs and sampling their latest groovy dishes? Yes, please. The Jackson Hole Wine Auction, a three-day fundraiser to benefit the Grand Teton Music Festival is not to be missed by foodies who love wine. I’ll be helping out at the Taste of Jackson Hole on Thursday, June 23, and the auction and gala dinner on Saturday, June 25. Come out and say hello! Tickets at jhwineauction.com.

Happy Birthday Rendezvous Bistro! Raise your hand if you remember which restaurant Rendezvous Bistro replaced when it took over its Broadway location back in 2001?

A: Denny’s. The date: July 17, 2001. Which means it’s time for the Bistro to throw a 15th birthday bash with a week full of special foodie events starting July 12 leading up to a FREE party at the Bistro on Sunday, July 17.

I’m bookmarking my calendar to get tickets for the food and wine pairing dinners with visiting chefs and wineries. Top on my list: July 12 at the Bistro—a special dinner with James Beard Award winning Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, paired with Scarpetta wines. Never been to Frasca?

Now’s your chance. PJH

1110 W. Broadway • Jackson, WY Open daily 5:00am to midnight • Free Wi-Fi

JUNE 22, 2016 | 23

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once simmering, add the eggplant cubes and sauté until softened and browned. Set aside on paper towels.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the eggplant, peppers, walnuts, jalapeño, 3 more tablespoons of olive oil, pomegranate syrup, cilantro, parsley, garlic, lemon juice,

ways

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

• •

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes 1 cup piquillo peppers (find these in jars at the grocery store) 1 cup toasted walnuts 1 jalapeño, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped 5 tablespoons olive oil 4 teaspoons pomegranate syrup (or substitute honey) 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice ¾ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground ½ teaspoon Kosher salt 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper

cumin, salt, and chili flakes. Process until smooth. Taste; add more salt or lemon juice if needed.

When serving, if the muhummara seems dry, stir in a bit more olive oil. Serve at room temperature with warmed pita as an appetizer, or alongside kefte kebabs.

cool

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

24 | JUNE 22, 2016

THE LOCALS

FAVORITE PIZZA 2012, 2013 & 2014

Featuring dining destinations from buffets and rooms with a view to mom and pop joints, chic cuisine and some of our dining critic’s faves!

•••••••••

$7

$4 Well Drink Specials

LUNCH

ASIAN & CHINESE

SPECIAL

KIM’S CORNER

Slice, salad & soda

Korean and American style, from breakfast sandwiches, burgers, chicken tenders, Philly cheese steaks to rice bowls and noodles.

Something for everyone! Open Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. At base of Snow King between the ski patrol room and the ice rink.

100 E. Snow King Ave. Take out and Delivery: (307) 200-6544.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

TV Sports Packages and 7 Screens

Under the Pink Garter Theatre (307) 734-PINK • www.pinkygs.com

TETON THAI

FAMILY FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT PIZZAS, PASTAS & MORE HOUSEMADE BREAD & DESSERTS FRESH, LOCALLY SOURCED OFFERINGS TAKE OUT AVAILABLE Dining room and bar open nightly at 5:00pm (307) 733-2460 • 2560 Moose Wilson Road • Wilson, WY

A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965

Serving the world’s most exciting cuisine. Teton Thai offers a splendid array of flavors: sweet, hot, sour, salt and bitter. All balanced and blended perfectly, satisfying the most discriminating palate. Open daily. 7432 Granite Loop Road in Teton Village, (307) 733-0022 and in Driggs, (208) 787-8424, tetonthai.com.

THAI ME UP Home of Melvin Brewing Co. Freshly remodeled offering modern Thai cuisine in a relaxed setting.

New tap system with 20 craft beers. New $8 wine list and extensive bottled beer menu. Open daily for dinner at 5pm. Downtown at 75 East Pearl Street. View our tap list at thaijh.com/brews.

307-733-0005.

CONTINENTAL ALPENHOF @ SNow King

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL

20%OFF ENTIRE BILL

Good between 5:30-6pm • Open nightly at 5:30pm

733-3912 160 N. Millward

Make your reservation online at bluelionrestaurant.com

Napolitana-style Pizza, panini, pasta, salad, beer wine. Order online at PizzeriaCaldera.com

11am - 9:30pm daily 20 W. Broadway 307.201.1472

Cafe

RICE BOWLS NOODLES BURGERS

NOW OPEN

Take Out and Delivery 307.200.6544 Mon thru Sat 10:30am - 4:00pm 100 E. Snowking Ave. (between Ski Patrol & Ice Rink)

the latest happenings in jackson hole

pjhcalendar.com

and a loyal crowd. Come get a belly-full of our two-time gold medal wings. Open at 11 a.m. daily.

832 W. Broadway, (307) 733-7901.

FULL STEAM SUBS The deli that’ll rock your belly. Jackson’s newest sub shop serves steamed subs, reubens, gyros, delicious all beef hot dogs, soups and salads. We offer Chicago style hot dogs done just the way they do in the windy city. Open daily11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Located just a short block north of the Town Square at 180 N. Center Street, (307) 733-3448.

LOCAL Local, a modern American steakhouse and bar, is located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Our menu features both classic and specialty cuts of locally-ranched meats and wild game alongside fresh seafood, shellfish, house-ground burgers, and seasonally-inspired food. We offer an extensive wine list and an abundance of locallysourced products. Offering a casual and vibrant bar atmosphere with 12 beers on tap as well as a relaxed dining room, Local is the perfect spot to grab a burger for lunch or to have drinks and dinner with friends. Lunch Mon-Sat 11:30am.

Dinner Nightly 5:30pm. 55 North Cache, (307) 2011717, localjh.com.

LOTUS CAFE Serving organic, freshly-made world cuisine while catering to all eating styles. Endless organic and natural meat, vegetarian, vegan and glutenfree choices. Offering super smoothies, fresh extracted juices, espresso and tea. Full bar and house-infused botanical spirits. Open daily 8am for breakfast lunch and dinner. 145 N. Glenwood St., (307) 734-0882, tetonlotuscafe.com.

Serving authentic Swiss cuisine, the Alpenhof features European style breakfast entrées and alpine lunch fare. Dine in the Bistro for a casual meal or join us in the Alpenrose dining room for a relaxed dinner experience. Breakfast 7:30am-10am. Coffee & pastry 10am-11:30am.

Lunch 11:30am-3pm. Aprés 3pm-5:30pm. Dinner 6pm-9pm. For reservations at the Bistro or MANGY MOOSE Alpenrose, call 307-733-3242.

Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally fresh food at reasonable prices, is a always a fun place to go with family or friends THE BLUE LION A Jackson Hole favorite for 38 years. Join us in for a unique dining experience. The personable the charming atmosphere of a historic home. staff will make you feel right at home and the Ask a local about our rack of lamb. Serving fresh funky western decor will keep you entertained fish, elk, poultry, steaks, and vegetarian entrées. throughout your entire visit. Teton Village, (307) Live acoustic guitar music most nights. Early 733-4913, mangymoose.com.

Bird Special: 20% off entire bill between 5:306:0pm, Open nightly at 5:30 p.m. Reservations SNAKE RIVER BREWERY & recommended, walk-ins welcome. 160 N. RESTAURANT Millward, (307) 733-3912, bluelionrestaurant.com. America’s most award-winning microbrewery is

Serving inspired home cooked classics in a historic log cabin. Enjoy brunch daily at 8 a.m., dinner nightly at 5 p.m., and happy hour daily 3-5:30 p.m. featuring $5 glasses of wine, $5 specialty drinks, $3 bottled beer. 135 E. Broadway, (307) 732-1910, genevievejh.com.

serving lunch and dinner. Take in the atmosphere while enjoying wood-fired pizzas, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. $9 lunch menu. Happy hour 4 to 6 p.m., including tasty hot wings. The freshest beer in the valley, right from the source! Free WiFi. Open 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 265 S. Millward. (307) 739-2337, snakeriverbrewing.com.

ELEANOR’S

SWEETWATER

CAFE GENEVIEVE

Enjoy all the perks of fine dining, minus the dress code at Eleanor’s, serving rich, saucy dishes in a warm and friendly setting. Eleanor’s is a primo brunch spot on Sunday afternoons. Its bar alone is an attraction, thanks to reasonably priced drinks

Satisfying locals for lunch and dinner for over 36 years with deliciously affordable comfort food.

Extensive local and regional beer list. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. features blackened trout salad, elk melt, wild west chili and vegetarian

specialties. Dinner 5:30 to 9 p.m. including potato-crusted trout, 16 ounce ribeye, vegan and wild game. Reservations welcome. (307) 733-3553. sweetwaterjackson.com.

BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER 7:30-9PM

TRIO Owned and operated by Chefs with a passion for good food, Trio is located right off the Town square in downtown Jackson. Featuring a variety of cuisines in a relaxed atmosphere, Trio is famous for its wood-oven pizzas, specialty cocktails and waffle fries with bleu cheese fondue. Dinner nightly at 5:30 p.m.

Reservations. (307) 734-8038 or bistrotrio.com.

ITALIAN 307.733.3242 | TETON VILLAGE

®

Large Specialty Pizza ADD: Wings (8 pc)

Medium Pizza (1 topping) Stuffed Cheesy Bread

$ 13 99

for an extra $5.99/each

(307) 733-0330 520 S. Hwy. 89 • Jackson, WY

CALICO A Jackson Hole favorite since 1965, the Calico continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in the Valley. The Calico offers the right combination of really good food, (much of which is grown in our own gardens in the summer), friendly staff; a reasonably priced menu and a large selection of wine. Our bar scene is eclectic with a welcoming vibe. Open nightly at 5 p.m. 2560 Moose Wilson Rd., (307) 733-2460.

MEXICAN EL ABUELITO Serving authentic Mexican cuisine and appetizers in a unique Mexican atmosphere.

Home of the original Jumbo Margarita.

Featuring a full bar with a large selection of authentic Mexican beers. Lunch served weekdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nightly dinner specials. Open seven days, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

385 W. Broadway, (307) 733-1207.

PIZZA

Trio is located just off the town square in downtown Jackson, and is owned & operated by local chefs with a passion for good food.

Our menu features contemporary American dishes inspired by classic bistro cuisine. Daily specials feature wild game, fish and meats.

Enjoy a glass of wine at the bar in front of the wood-burning oven and watch the chefs perform in the open kitchen.

Dinner Nightly at 5:30pm 45 S. Glenwood Available for private events & catering For reservations please call 734-8038

Love Local

FOR THE

OF

JULY 20 SUMMER FOODIE EDITION

Dig in to discounted ad rates for this special edition.

Lunch 11:30am Monday-Saturday Dinner 5:30pm Nightly

DOMINO’S PIZZA Hot and delicious delivered to your door. Handtossed, deep dish, crunchy thin, Brooklyn style and artisan pizzas; bread bowl pastas, and oven baked sandwiches; chicken wings, cheesy breads and desserts. Delivery. 520 S. Hwy. 89 in Kmart Plaza, (307) 733-0330.

PINKY G’S

PIZZERIA CALDERA

Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

BYOB

145 N. Glenwood • (307) 734-0882 WWW.TETONLOTUSCAFE.COM

Contact 307.732.0299 or sales@planetjh.com

307.201.1717 | LOCALJH.COM ON THE TOWN SQUARE

JUNE 22, 2016 | 25

••••••••• Open daily at 8am serving breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Jackson Hole’s only dedicated stone-hearth oven pizzeria, serving Napolitana-style pies using the freshest ingredients in traditional and creative combinations. Five local micro-brews on tap, a great selection of red and white wines by the glass and bottle, and one of the best views of the Town Square from our upstairs deck. Daily lunch special includes slice, salad or soup, any two for $8. Happy hour: half off drinks by the glass from 4 - 6 daily. Dine in or carry out. Or order online at PizzeriaCaldera. com, or download our app for iOS or Android.

Open from 11am - 9:30pm daily at 20 West Broadway. 307-201-1472.

HAPPY HOUR Daily 4-6:00pm

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

The locals favorite! Voted Best Pizza in Jackson Hole 2012, 2013 and 2014. Seek out this hidden gem under the Pink Garter Theatre for NY pizza by the slice, salads, stromboli’s, calzones and many appetizers to choose from. Try the $7 ‘Triple S’ lunch special.Happy hours 10 p.m. - 12 a.m. Sun.- Thu. Text PINK to 71441 for discounts. Delivery and take-out. Open daily 11a.m. to 2 a.m. 50 W. Broadway, (307) 734-PINK.

Local is a modern American steakhouse and bar located on Jackson’s historic town square.

Serving locally raised beef and, regional game, fresh seafood and seasonally inspired food, Local offers the perfect setting for lunch, drinks or dinner.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

26 | JUNE 22, 2016

SUDOKU

SAVE UP TO 50% OFF KIM’S CORNER CAFE

FULL STEAM SUBS

CORE CHANGES WITH CAREY

$25 VOUCHER TO ANY MANGY MOOSE ESTABLISHMENT FOR $12.50

$10 VOUCHER $5

ONE DROP IN CLASS FOR NEW CLIENTS FOR $9 ($18 VALUE)

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1 HOUR OF COMPUTER REPAIR/ CLEAN UP FOR $47.50

TETON COUNTY SOLID WASTE & RECYCLING UP TO 100 LBS OF E-WASTE RECYCLING FOR $20.00

$10 VOUCHER FOR $5

Complete the grid so that each row, column, diagonal and 3x3 square contain all of the numbers 1 to 9.

No math is involved. The grid has numbers, but nothing has to add up to anything else. Solve the puzzle with reasoning and logic. Solving time is typically 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and experience.

MANGY MOOSE

CHASING TAILS 30 MINUTE DOG WALK FOR $15 ($30 VALUE)

S hop local, Save big!

OPEN

REDEEM THESE OFFERS AT HALFOFFJH.COM

L.A.TIMES “VICE VERSA” By Mike Peluso

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016

ACROSS

10 Offed, biblically 60 Matter 11 Big D school 14 Exchanges from centers 19 Dash dials 20 Canadian skater Brian 21 Mother __ 22 Forum garments 23 Butt ends 24 New car option 25 Like some exercises 27 Optimal payment arrangements?

30 “Sugar Lips” trumpeter 31 Lord Grantham of Downton Abbey, e.g.

32 Some hosp. areas 33 Fifth-century pope 34 “Spare me the specifics” 35 Black-and-white predator 37 Eight-time Coty Award winner 38 Bigwig 42 Mideast cry of despair?

47 Response to a sinking feeling?

49 Radiate 50 Finalize, with “up” 51 Lining fabric 52 Yorktown __, N.Y. 53 Scrabble 8-pointer 54 In the sky 56 Lorre’s “Casablanca” role 59 Yelled excitedly 61 Election figure 64 Tic-tac-toe loser 65 Writer: Abbr.

66 Govt. benefit 67 Gems kept in inventory?

71 Attention 74 Bring up, or something to bring up 76 Want ad letters 77 “Apollo 13” co-star 80 Trustbusting period

83 Berra famously jumped into his arms during the 1956 World Series 86 Defiant retort 87 Egglike 88 Morse code bit 90 Senses, as trouble 93 Diarist Anaïs 94 Former prime minister who grew up in Milwaukee 95 __ culpa 96 Like one brandishing a Super Soaker?

99 Area for growth?

101 Heavy hammers 103 Santa Monica landmark 104 It’s charged 105 Inactive 106 Jump shot shape 107 Former VOA overseer 111 It has finals in June 114 White stallion at school?

118 “In Rainbows” Grammywinning rockers 120 One-celled critter 121 City west of Youngstown 122 __ in itself 123 Madre’s hermana 124 Like forks 125 New Hampshire college town 126 Unkempt 127 Spots 128 Stiff collars 129 Maritime birds

DOWN

10 Assert 20 One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” 30 Brownish shade 40 “Terror has no shape” sci-fi creature 50 Latin 101 verb 60 Monk associate 70 Double Stuf treats

80 “Wild Blue Yonder” mil. branch 90 Tweeting site 10 Sapling 11 Peres of Israel 12 Most unkempt 13 Digit in diez 14 Mariner’s patron 15 Reason for cowboy unemployment?

16 Farming prefix 17 Au __ 18 Shakers, but not movers 26 Compulsory British subject 28 L.A.’s environs 29 Roger of “Cheers” 36 Breakups 37 City near Anaheim 39 Pace 40 With 109-Down, uncommon eagle 41 Due 42 “Stat!” relative 43 HR dept. concerns 44 Base runners 45 Introduction to science?

46 Heart test: Abbr.

48 Warren Commission subject 52 Numerical prefix 53 Write (down) 55 Coquette education?

57 Rodeo competitor 58 Ring site 60 Sudden silence 62 Peter or Paul 63 It retired its spokesbaby in 2014 68 Breton or Gael 69 Ukulele wood 70 Take more People 72 Quaker Oats product suffix 73 “Mr. Mojo __”: repeated words in The Doors’ “L.A. Woman” 75 Rare shoe width

78 United choice 79 Lennon work 80 Pyramid, to Tut 81 Economical Chevy 82 __ accompli 84 Latvia and Estonia, once: Abbr.

85 “Unbelievable” band 89 Diamond hit 91 Watches one’s mouth?

92 Canon competitor 95 Chatty bird 96 Empty 97 Improve, as one’s game 98 More smashed 100 Opposite of a star 102 Avia competitor 106 Truman veep Barkley 108 Sound during a chase 109 See 40-Down 110 Actress Moorehead 111 Rail vehicle 112 Maui’s scenic __ Highway 113 Paradise 115 Radiate 116 Ashcroft’s predecessor 117 One leaning against a garden fence 119 Greek vowel

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HELD AT THE

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

28 | JUNE 22, 2016

Untimely Death Employing a metaphysical perspective to help cope with tragedy.

N

othing can take away the sadness, grief, shock and outrage we feel when innocent people die as the result of wanton acts of violence. There is no excuse for our inhumanity to one another. But for the time being these heinous events can bring us closer together. At a higher level, tragedies come with an urgent call and opportunity for humanity to evolve.

The metaphysical perspective always asserts that our souls are never destroyed; there is more to us and more going on than our limited senses can perceive. This bigger picture understanding is expressed in the world’s esoteric wisdom teachings, and offers an added dimension of meaning and comfort in the face of horrific loss, such as when groups of people perish together. An expanded understanding of untimely deaths can help us to harness pain and loss to progress and to upgrade the world.

Life is continuous A bottom line in esoteric wisdom teachings, now also corroborated by science, is that the universe is a living, interactive matrix, of which we are a part. Our souls are the eternal aspect of who we are, and though physical bodies perish, the consciousness of the soul is not destroyed.

Since we are part of the living matrix, when large numbers of people perish at the same time, everyone in the world is impacted by the energies of loss, whether we are aware of it or not. Some people, however, are more sensitive than others.

When global media broadcasts the horrific news, the effect is more noticeably contagious.

A love bridge

received into a higher state of existence. At the same time, there is an outpouring of love among those left on earth as we mourn and comfort one another. (Grieving itself is a function of love; if you did not care, you would not grieve.)

The as above so below flow of love creates a love bridge, a very important and palpable earthly and celestial exchange of love. This flow of love between realities occurs with the passing of every person, and brings with it the opportunity to heal personal, family, ethnic and global karma.

Groups of souls When many people perish at the same time, whether or not they knew each other in their lives, the collective group of souls exiting together releases unfathomable amounts of love into the universe. And the global love wave which follows on earth, now further expanded via social media, combined with the celestial unconditional love is exponentially powerful.

Two higher purposes A very important function of the global love wave, generated by millions of people opening their hearts, is that this powerful energy dissipates negative planetary and cosmic forces. Love breaks up fear. It foils the intent of the perpetrator. This love and compassion are like a booster shot, upgrading the planetary frequency and all life on earth.

The second and related higher purpose is a call to action for all of us in this world to make a lasting shift in our lives to a loving, compassionate and collaborative state of being. This means living through the lens of the heart. Typically, all the good will on earth passes quickly, and people go back to business as usual.

The most awesome opportunity When enough of humanity is able to sustain the higher frequency of love, we will create the tipping point to a whole new world of inner and global peace, where love as a state of being prevails. Then, we will naturally come together to support the greater good of all life and revel in exploring our full creative potential.

May this past week of horror herald the promised shift to heaven on earth. It’s always up to us. PJH

It is also said that when the soul leaves the body at death, there is an outpouring of love energy from the soul as it is

Carol Mann is a longtime Jackson resident, radio personality, former Grand Targhee Resort owner, author, and clairvoyant.

Got a Cosmic Question? Email carol@yourcosmiccafe.com

TO ADVERTISE IN THE WELLNESS DIRECTORY, CONTACT JEN AT PLANET JACKSON HOLE AT 307-732-0299 OR SALES@PLANETJH.COM

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These businesses provide health or wellness services for the Jackson Hole community and its visitors.

Enjoy

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Anti-Aging from the Inside-Out Regain Your Energy Balance Your Mood & Hormones Fix Your Low Thyroid Find Your Food Sensitivities Fix Your Leaky Gut Lose the Fat Have Great Sleep Naturally Try Hyperbarics for Oxygen

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JUNE 22, 2016 | 29

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MenoClinic.com | Wilson, WY

Professional and Individualized Treatments • Sports/Ortho Rehab • Neck and Back Rehab • Rehabilitative Pilates • Incontinence Training • Pelvic Pain Rehab • Lymphedema Treatments Norene Christensen PT, DSc, OCS, CLT Rebekah Donley PT, DPT, CPI Mark Schultheis PT, CSCS Kim Armington PTA, CPI

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

30 | JUNE 22, 2016

PSYCHIATRIC TRAVEL R.N.S NEEDED

For all MEETING AGENDAS AND MINUTES WEEKLY CALENDAR

for positions in Evanston, WY. Eight, ten and twelve-hour shifts offered.

Weekend only scheduling available.

Fully employer-paid medical & dental insurances, 401(k) with 6% employer match and immediate vesting.

Numerous travel nurse assignments are also available including: Alaska, Guam, Hawaii and throughout the U.S. mainland. Travel nurses are needed for all specialties, especially psychiatry, corrections and addictions medicine. Phone Sam at 866633-3700 for details. Fax resumes to 877-375-2450 or email sgiordano@ worldwidetravelstaffing.com

JOB OPENINGS SOLICITATIONS FOR BIDS PUBLIC NOTICES AND OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION

Warm Weather Wisdom A few ways to enhance your health while the sun is shining.

TetonWyo.org The public meeting agendas and minutes for the Board of County Commissioners and Planning Commission can also be found in the Public Notices section of the JH News and Guide.

JULY 20 SUMMER FOODIE EDITION

Love Local

This July 20 edition spotlights some of the local efforts, from chefs and restaurants to farms and purveyors, making Jackson Hole’s food scene more vibrant and sustainable. Bon Appétit!

Dig in to discounted ad rates for this special edition.

307.732.0299 or sales@planetjh.com

to a variety of diseases including diabetes, allergic diseases, children’s behavioral conditions and fertility, to name a few.

There’s no arguing with the convenience of fast food, but if you need to grab something quick, I recommend that you go to one of the supermarkets and pick up a whole chicken and some greens from the salad bar, or another prepared food. I always advise my patients to have a back up meal in the freezer, maybe some shrimp and broccoli.

Just defrost and steam. You’ll feel and look better if you go this route instead of the drive-through.

Start the day right

BY DR. MONIQUE LAI

D

uring summer in Jackson people go into activity overdrive. Who can blame them? Summer here is fleeting but so sweet, with an array of recreation and entertainment options.

Remaining energized enough to get the most out of a Jackson Hole summer takes a bit of planning, but eating better is the best place to start. Now I’m not suggesting a total dietary makeover, instead just three tips to get you moving in a direction that will have you feeling and looking better fast.

Dig into local

Visit our website

FOR THE OF

NATURAL MEDICINE

I’ve never liked to eat in the morning, but I recently started having a smoothie every mroning and now I’m a smoothie convert.

The surge of energy I feel kick starts my day.

Remember Popeye after he ate the spinach?

It’s like that. The following recipe is healthful and delicious. One of my patients said to me last week, “This smoothie is not like Gatorade, marketed as healthy but not really healthy.” He’s right— Gatorade is loaded with chemicals and artificial sweeteners.

This, on the other hand, is a health food smoothie, not a milkshake in disguise.

See how you feel after enjoying it for a week.

“Higher residual levels of Roundup are being measured in people of all ages.”

As farmers markets sprout up, it’s a great time to take advantage of the organic locally grown fruits and vegetables available to us in the valley. Last Wednesday was the first Peoples Market at Snow King, 4 to 7 p.m.. The Jackson Farmers market starts July 8, 8 a.m. to noon on the Town Square.

The organic food found at the markets has more vitamins and minerals and far lower levels of pesticide and toxic weed-killing substances like glyphosate (Monsanto’s Roundup), a proven carcinogen. The use of Roundup in food production has skyrocketed in the last five years and higher residual levels are being measured in people of all ages.

Science has gained a greater understanding of the relationship between your gut microbiome and your health. The organisms in your microbiome are very negatively affected by Roundup.

Minimize the toxins Not only does fast food deliver very high amounts of calories, a recent study from George Washington University found that regular fast food customers are receiving a very toxic extra: phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals used as plasticizers (increasing flexibility in plastics); they get into the food through processing.

These foods have been on conveyer belts, handled by people wearing plastic gloves and stored in plastic, all of which passes along phthalates. They have been linked

Green smoothie for two • • • • • • • • • •

2 stalks of organic celery 1 cup of organic frozen mango (more for children to increase sweetness, less if you are watching your sugar) 1/3 carton organic spinach or kale 7 ice cubes 1 tsp. chia seeds 1 tsp. flax seeds 2 tbsp. almond butter I cup coconut milk (SoDelicious brand in the green carton) 1/2 cup hemp milk (vanilla unsweetened) 1 cup water (more or less for desired consistency)

The old saying is true - You are what you eat. And you will profit from the investment you make when you give your body cleaner fuel to burn this summer. Start with these three tips and let me know how you’re doing.

PJH

Dr. Monique Lai has been practicing naturopathic medicine for 20 years. She is an alternative health expert with a family practice in Jackson where she works with patients to restore their health.

For more info visit drmoniquelai.com.

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19) “The past lives on in art and memory,” writes author Margaret Drabble, “but it is not static: it shifts and changes as the present throws its shadow backwards.” That’s a fertile thought for you to meditate on during the coming weeks, Aries. Why? Because your history will be in a state of dramatic fermentation. The old days and the old ways will be mutating every which way. I hope you will be motivated, as a result, to rework the story of your life with flair and verve.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) “Critics of text-messaging are wrong to think it’s a regressive form of communication,” writes poet Lily Akerman. “It demands so much concision, subtlety, psychological art— in fact, it’s more like pulling puppet strings than writing.”

I bring this thought to your attention, Taurus, because in my opinion the coming weeks will be an excellent time for you to apply the metaphor of text-messaging to pretty much everything you do. You will create interesting ripples of success as you practice the crafts of concision, subtlety, and psychological art.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) During my careers as a writer and musician, many “experts” have advised me not to be so damn faithful to my muse. Having artistic integrity is a foolish indulgence that would ensure my eternal poverty, they have warned.

If I want to be successful, I’ve got to sell out; I must water down my unique message and pay homage to the generic formulas favored by celebrity artists. Luckily for me, I have ignored the experts. As a result, my soul has thrived and I eventually earned enough money from my art to avoid starvation. But does my path apply to you? Maybe; maybe not. What if, in your case, it would be better to sell out a little and be, say, just 75 percent faithful to your muse? The next 12 months will be an excellent time for you to figure this out once and for all.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) My meditations have generated six metaphorical scenarios that will symbolize the contours of your life story during the next 15 months: 1. a claustrophobic tunnel that leads to a sparkling spa; 2. a 19th-century Victorian vase filled with 13 fresh wild orchids; 3. an immigrant who, after tenacious effort, receives a green card from her new home country; 4. an eleven-year-old child capably playing a 315-year-old Stradivarius violin; 5. a menopausal empty-nester who falls in love with the work of an ecstatic poet; 6. a humble seeker who works hard to get the help necessary to defeat an old curse.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) To celebrate my birthday, I’m taking time off from dream-

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) The royal courts of Renaissance England often employed professional fools whose job it was to speak raw or controversial truths with comedic effect. According to the Royal Shakespeare Company, Queen Elizabeth once castigated her fool for being “insufficiently severe with her.” The modern-day ombudsman has some similarities to the fool’s function. He or she is hired by an organization to investigate complaints lodged by the public against the organization. Now would be an excellent time for you to have a fool or ombudsman in your own sphere, Sagittarius. You’ve got a lot of good inklings, but some of them need to be edited, critiqued, or perhaps even satirized.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Capricorn journalist Katie Couric is a best-selling author who has interviewed five American presidents and had prominent jobs at three major TV networks. What’s her secret to success? She has testified that her goal is to be as ingratiating and charming as she can be without causing herself to throw up. I don’t often recommend this strategy for you, but I do now. The coming weeks will be prime time for you to expand your web of connections and energize your relationships with existing allies by being almost too nice. To get what you want, use politeness as your secret weapon.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) “The water cannot talk without the rocks,” says aphorist James Richardson. Does that sound like a metaphor you’d like to celebrate in the coming weeks? I hope so.

From what I can tell, you will be like a clean, clear stream rippling over a rocky patch of river bed. The not-really-allthat-bad news is that your flow may feel erratic and jerky.

The really good news is that you will be inspired to speak freely, articulately, and with creative zing.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Every now and then you may benefit from being a bit juvenile, even childlike. You can release your dormant creativity by losing your adult composure and indulging in free-form play. In my astrological opinion, this is one of those phases for you. It’s high time to lose your cool in the best possible ways. You have a duty to explore the frontiers of spontaneity and indulge in I-don’t-give-acluck exuberance. For the sake of your peace-of-soul and your physical health, you need to wriggle free of at least some of your grown-up responsibilities so you can romp and cavort and frolic.

Go to RealAstrology.com for Rob Brezsny’s expanded weekly audio horoscopes and daily text-message horoscopes. Audio horoscopes also available by phone at 877-873-4888 or 900-950-7700.

JUNE 22, 2016 | 31

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Renowned martial artist Bruce Lee described the opponent he was most wary of: “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” In my astrological opinion, you should regard that as one of your keystone principles during the next 12 months. Your power and glory will come from honing one specific skill, not experimenting restlessly with many different skills. And the coming weeks will be en excellent time to set your intention.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) No pressure, no diamond. No grit, no pearl. No cocoon, no butterfly. All these clichés will be featured themes for you during the next 12 months. But I hope you will also come up with fresher ways to think about the power and value that can be generated by tough assignments. If you face your exotic dilemmas and unprecedented riddles armed with nothing more than your culture’s platitudes, you won’t be able to tap into the untamed creativity necessary to turn problems into opportunities. Here’s an example of the kind of original thinking you’ll thrive on: The more the growing chamomile plant is trodden upon, the faster it grows.

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Joan Wasser is a Leo singer-songwriter who is known by her stage name Joan As Police Woman. In her song “The Magic,” she repeats one of the lyric lines fourteen times: “I’m looking for the magic.” For two reasons, I propose that we make that your mantra in the coming weeks. First, practical business-as-usual will not provide the uncanny transformative power you need. Nor will rational analysis or habitual formulas. You will have to conjure, dig up, or track down some real magic. My second reason for suggesting “I’m looking for the magic” as your mantra is this: You’re not yet ripe enough to secure the magic, but you can become ripe enough by being dogged in your pursuit of it.

ing up original thoughts and creative spurs. For this horoscope, I’m borrowing some of the BOLD Laws of author Dianna Kokoszka. They are in sweet alignment with your astrological omens for the next 13 months. Take it away, Dianna. 1. Focus on the solution, not the problem. 2.

Complaining is a garbage magnet. 3. What you focus on expands. 4. Do what you have always done, and you will get what you have always gotten. 5. Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides. 6. Success is simple, but not easy. 7. Don’t listen to your drunk monkey. 8. Clarity is power. 9. Don’t mistake movement for achievement. 10.

Spontaneity is a conditioned reflex. 11. People will grow into the conversations you create around them. 12. How you participate here is how you participate everywhere.

13. Live your life by design, not by default.

32 | JUNE 22, 2016

| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |