JACKSON HOLE’S ALTERNATIVE VOICE | PLANETJH.COM | MARCH 1-7, 2017
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Native Sense Can Wyoming’s first Native American woman lawmaker provide a sane Republican alternative to Trumpism?
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| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
2 | MARCH 1, 2017
Elizabeth Kingwill,
MA/LPC
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JACKSON HOLE'S ALTERNATIVE VOICE
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 8 | MARCH 1-7, 2017
14 COVER STORY
NATIVE SENSE Can Wyoming’s first Native American woman lawmaker provide a sane Republican alternative to Trumpism?
Cover photo by Baynard Woods
4 FROM OUR READERS
12 ON THE GROUND
6 DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS
20 MUSIC BOX
7
THE NEW WEST
8-10 THE BUZZ
22 CREATIVE PEAKS 28 COMMENTARY
THE PLANET TEAM PUBLISHER
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Mogren, Scott Renshaw, Ted Scheffler, Chuck Shepherd, Tom Tomorrow, Lisa Van Sciver, Todd Wilkinson, Jim Woodmencey, Baynard Woods
Jessica Sell Chambers CONTRIBUTORS
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March 1-7, 2017 By Meteorologist Jim Woodmencey February is in the record books as the wettest February ever in Jackson, with over five and a half inches of precipitation. Town also had two feet of snowfall for the month, well above normal. We will have to see if March comes in like a lion, or give us a break from winter and acts lamb-like. Normal March precipitation is 1.23 inches; the record March was 1995 with 4.21 inches. Snowfall averages 11 inches; record March was 1985 with almost 27 inches.
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February finished with colder temperatures during the last 5 days of the month than we had during the first five days of the month. Average low temperatures this week are near 10-degrees. The average low temperature for the month of March is 15 degrees. The record low temperature for this week is minus 32-degrees. Yes, 32 below zero! That happened on March 4th, 1966. That is also the coldest temperature ever recorded in Jackson during the month of March.
Not so hot this week, much closer-to-normal for high temperatures are expected. Average high temperatures this week are in the mid to upper 30’s. The average high temperature for the month of March is 40-degrees. The absolute hottest it has ever been here in town during the first week of March is 59-degrees. That happened way back on March 5th, 1925. And you thought all our record hot temperatures happened during the last 20 years. Wrong.
NORMAL HIGH NORMAL LOW RECORD HIGH IN 1925 RECORD LOW IN 1966
36 11 59 -32
THIS MONTH AVERAGE PRECIPITATION: 1.23 inches RECORD PRECIPITATION: 4.2 inches (1995) AVERAGE SNOWFALL: 11 inches RECORD SNOWFALL: 26.5 inches (1985)
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
MARCH 1, 2017 | 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
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For all MEETING AGENDAS AND MINUTES WEEKLY CALENDAR JOB OPENINGS SOLICITATIONS FOR BIDS PUBLIC NOTICES AND OTHER VALUABLE INFORMATION
Visit our website
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.
LESLIE PETERSEN
FROM OUR READERS
Representatives That Don’t Represent I was beyond disheartened that our senators and congresswoman did not show up for us at Friday’s town hall in Jackson. Tucked in with Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, this area, where people save all year to visit, is known as God’s Country. But rather than honor and protect nature, wildlife and natural resources that are all essential to our well-being as humans, I feel like each of them could operate under the motto “Yellowstone for harvest.” Cut down the trees, kill all the animals, drill for oil (never mind possibly hitting a super caldera), mine what you can and dump the waste into the rivers and streams. It’s soul-crushing. Sen. Enzi clearly wants to do away with the EPA, though he won’t answer me directly. He thinks Scott Pruitt is an appropriate choice to head the agency. He called Obama’s measures to protect the environment “harmful and
SNOW PACK REPORT FRUITFUL DAYS
Across the West this winter epic storms with steady snowfall have tipped the scales and ended long droughts, set new snow records and offered endless days of powder skiing. For now cold temperatures have kept mountain snow frozen, but the fruits of our winter will most likely result in flooding and cause future valley problems. Over the past week, everyday pacific disturbances have added two to six inches of snow, slowly burying different crusts layers formed by the rain, sun and wind. Earlier in February our snowpack experienced a drastic warm up, where the snow below 8,500 feet was saturated in rain. Following this event temperatures cooled forming surface crusts, an almost impermeable layer upon the warm snowpack. Wild animals were finally able to move about without wallowing in
Greta Gretzinger’s cardboard Congress cutouts sat in lieu of absent lawmakers at the Jackson town hall meeting Friday.
destructive,” as he believes “we should be working to help promote energy production on public lands” …at all costs, apparently. I know Enzi, Barrasso and Cheney are all eager to bring back coal mining rather than focusing on renewable energy. I would like to know if the three of them supported the seemingly “first on the agenda” bill to dump wastewater from the coal mining industry into streams. One of the first bills to be passed—dump your crap directly into the water table. I assume our legislators supported this, but I won’t have the opportunity to ask them. Enzi claims to “have a deep appreciation of nature, as an avid outdoorsman,” and that he wants a “healthy and clean environment” for his children and grandchildren, yet he wants to “repeal the harmful rules and regulations put forth by the Obama administration.”
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deep powder. New snow covered the crusts and by the end of the month temperatures dropped to below freezing. Faceted snow grains began to appear on the snow’s surface due to the cold temperatures and then disappear below new snowflakes. Check the snowpack for changes, watch how the new snow loads the slope and look for crusts or faceted snow grains, which once loaded with a slab could cause an avalanche. A deep snowpack is oftentimes a strong snowpack. Although this season’s deep pack has proven to be mostly stable, it has also endured many drastic changes. During the month of February, the shortest winter month, there has been almost 150 inches of snowfall with temperatures at 9,000 feet ranging from above freezing to below zero. Check your slopes before riding them and look for those crusts, especially where the wind is loading available snow for transport onto leeward slopes. — Lisa Van Sciver
Let’s drop those kids off for a play date in the streams he’s happy to dump into, shall we? No need—that water will catch up to them soon enough. He says he thinks the EPA, under the Obama administration, overstepped its bounds by using regulation to legislate. But he had no answer when I asked, “Isn’t regulation the purpose of the EPA?” And he had no answer as to what is so “harmful and destructive.” Clearly, it impedes making the extra buck. That’s it and that’s all. I guess you can vacation in Vegas with that extra buck? Just don’t drink the water. On the agenda in the next few days are two bills: one to repeal the “Clean Power Plan” (regulating corporate waste) and the other is to repeal the “Clean Water Rule,” both set forth by the Obama administration as positive measures for the health of all people. I won’t have the chance to ask Enzi, Barrasso
or Cheney if they support that. Sadly, 390 members in attendance. The preI feel certain I know the answer. sentation explained that the Bar J Regulations are put in place is to keep Development includes 46 market priced us safe. It has taken decades to accom- homes and 23 affordable homes, none plish such imperative legislation, but of which will provide for the workforce due to American greed, it will be gone housing needs of this county. in one fail swoop. Three thousand-square-foot marAnother question I’d really like to ket homes would be priced more than ask Wyoming representatives: “Will you $2 million dollars. It was presented indeed protect or will you compromise that these would be “mostly vacation and exploit our national parks?” homes,” thus justifying a lower traffic Perhaps instead I should say, “How burden on 390—an absolutely laughdo I convince you of the inherent value able, ridiculous statement. You can of our national parks and of the unin- guarantee this how? Here comes the terrupted, eternal essence of the natu- best line—“the developers’ motivation ral world?” was simply to obtain the greatest posIt is my innate right as an American sible financial return on the project.” to be free to pursue “life, liberty and Spoken just like a greedy developer. happiness.” I would include “health” Here comes the threat and fear as a part of those things. Real happi- mongering. It was stated that if the ness can be found when we honor and 69-unit proposal were to be defeated, respectfully engage with all life on the Bar J would expand their commercial planet. operation to the “maximum extent pos- Mary Wendell Lampton sible” and “presumably operate it yeararound, hosting weddings and other western theme activities.” This remark 390 Traffic Must Be Studied Recently Steve Hancock and Scott from the Humphrey family who wants Pierson held a required “neighbor- to be done operating and their land is hood meeting” regarding the Bar J for sale? Every commissioner needs to proposal with more than 60 Alliance
witness this unacceptable situation first hand—bumper to bumper traffic from Smith’s to Teton Village at 8:30 in the morning and then again from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. heading south. December was insane. We are in need of a traffic study and it should have been done a year ago. Those of you who have been impacted by the traffic on 390, and you care about the safety of our wildlife, I urge you to contact the commissioners and request this study before any further development is approved. Voice your objection to the application that the developers intend to put forth to change the land use permit that would allow this development. Hancock said, “County planners suggested the developers seek a Master Plan amendment.” We can’t allow this, 390 residents. As soon as this application is filed, there will be much bigger opposition to this project than Alliance 390. This approach to “neighbors” and sales tactics lack honesty, integrity and a genuine concern for what might be best for Jackson Hole. - Carla Watsabaugh
On the web story, “Citizens’ Town Hall Goes Off” “So sad Barrasso voted for DeVos when he had an opportunity to serve the deserving children of Wyoming.” – Jeanette Price “A fundraiser with the folks with money instead of a town hall with [Barrasso’s] constituency. Shows who he represents.” – Leslie Davies “There needs to be a strong grass roots movement to get [Liz Cheney] unseated. I don’t really care if she is replaced with another Republican ... as long as the person is someone who actually lives in and cares about the people of Wyoming. She is a total fraud. It’s a slap to the face of democracy.” – Sargent Schutt Submit your comments to editor@ planetjh.com with “Letter to the Editor” in the subject line. All letters are subject to editing for length, content and clarity.
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From Skater to Hater Tracing Mike Flynn’s transformation from skater kid to conservative. BY BAYNARD WOODS @baynardwoods
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nlike Milo Yiannopoulos, who lost everything at once, retired Gen. Michael Flynn wasn’t entirely ruined when he resigned as national security advisor on Feb. 13. “For your information, we are not throwing Mike Flynn off the Water Brothers surf and skate team.” That’s Sid Abruzzi, owner of the Water Brothers surf and skate shop in Newport, Rhode Island, and a grizzled old head on the scene. I called him when a line in “General Chaos,” Nicholas Schmidle’s recent New Yorker’s profile of Flynn, slammed into me like Chris Miller hanging up at Del Mar in 1985. “A headstrong teenager, Flynn skateboarded in drained swimming pools and surfed through hurricanes and winter storms,” Schmidle writes before quoting Abruzzi. I felt flummoxed—for me, skateboarding still feels anti-authoritarian by nature. When I was a kid, it was a way of reimagining and reclaiming the ridiculous refuse that made up the late 20th-century American landscape: empty pools, parking garages, curbs, and cul-de-sacs. I learned how to scrawl an anarchy sign shortly after I started skating when I was 12. A year or so after that, we were calling the cops chasing us “fascist pigs.” The voice of Thrasher magazine influenced my voice as an alt-weekly writer. But now alt has gone right and the guy too whack even for Trump is an ex-skater. What the fuck? I called Abruzzi because I wanted to hear what Flynn, 58, was like as a skater. I wasn’t really sure why, but I thought it might help me understand something about this regime and the world. Abruzzi was happy to talk about Flynn, whose “family lived probably
100 yards from the shop.” “His older brother Jack surfed all the time, his brother Charlie, his brother Joe, and Michael surfed and skated all the time,” he said. “Most of his skateboarding was done right around the period of time in the late 70s, you know what I mean … obviously riding pools and banks when available in the area— it wasn’t like California or anything— and then skating a lot of the street. And what I call street skating back then wasn’t curbs and benches but housing complexes. They’d build the road first, the pathway, so there were places with driveways … and stuff like that. So he’d be skating pretty much every day, solidly for years, him and his guys. I’m older than he was, but … he had his own crew, guys his age. Most of the time they’d surf and skate when there’s no waves.” He said he still has film of Flynn skating. “He’s a goofy foot, classic style. Really smooth skater. He skated very smooth, very fluid style.” “Aside from the very few mainstream moments, skating and surfing have been a very countercultural, subcultural thing. Was he part of the culture of it?” I asked. “Completely. Absolutely. Yeah, man,” he said. “A friend of mine said he bought a guitar, played guitar. He had long hair. You know what I mean?” “Was he a burner or anything? Was he smoking weed and stuff?” I asked. “I can’t go there. I’m not sure what those guys did. But he was, uh, having fun,” he said. “He was a regular guy, man. Good in sports, athletic. Flawless family.... his sisters and brothers surfed all the time, man.” So what happened to turn this onetime Water Brother into a potential waterboarder? “What happened was, I’ll tell you when he sort of flew off the truck. Not flew off the truck, he’s my buddy. He had a couple things where he had to make a decision in life, I think, and he joined the, I guess, the ROTC,” he said. “He changed his life around, let’s say, and decided to go in the military.” Flynn had a distinguished career, rising to the rank of lieutenant general. But he got a reputation for acting erratically. At the Republican National Convention last summer, he led the crowd in a chant of “Lock her up,” even though army documents obtained by
The Washington Post showed he had improperly shared classified documents in 2010. He retired abruptly— some say under duress—from the Army in 2014, leaving a position as Defense Intelligence Agency director. Flynn started tweeting stuff like “Fear of Muslims is rational,” and he tried to connect Hillary Clinton with pedophilia and other crimes. He was photographed at a dinner with Vladimir Putin in 2015. He resigned as national security advisor to Trump after it was revealed he spoke with a Russian ambassador about the sanctions President Obama imposed for interfering in the 2016 election, and later lying about those talks to Vice President Pence. Flynn’s successor, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, has called for the U.S. to work together with Muslim-majority allies. So it’s not that all military generals are Islamophobic. “Skateboarders are lonely. Skateboarders are not well-loved,” Sean Wilsey wrote in “Using So Little,” a wondrous essay on skating. As I was thinking about the loneliness of outcasts and the connections between Flynn the hater and Flynn the skater, I realized that one of my oldest friends and skate buddies has become a far-right Pizzagater making all sorts of wild accusations under a fake name on Twitter. One of his milder retweets, “Conservatism is the new counterculture,” struck me. Maybe for him—or for Flynn—being on Trump’s side feels the same way it felt to be a skater back in the 70s or 80s. On one hand, it was a “fuck you” to authority, but it was also, in our cases, the rebellion of the young white man who thinks he should be free to do whatever he wants. In some ways, our Powell Peralta skeletons were the Pepe the Frog of their day. So I shouldn’t have been surprised that Flynn was a skater and a surfer. But I’d still like to think that he might have turned out a little better if he’d spent more time surfing waves and less surfing the net. PJH
Conservation Under Siege Lawmakers’ attacks on environmental laws don’t serve states’ best interests. BY TODD WILKINSON
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a very crowded world. Finally, Barrasso and Cheney also continue to rhetorically support the radical push by federal lawmakers in Utah to transfer ownership of public lands to states. Because states could not afford to manage them, this would likely result in those tracts being sold off to industry and wealthy private individuals. By a huge majority, most Americans, including most people in the West, are opposed to such schemes. Just this week, Bozemanbased Headwaters Economics released findings of a new study showing that rural western counties with more federal public lands inside their borders have economically outperformed counties without such lands. You can read the study at headwaterseconomics.org. From the early 1970s until recently, Headwaters found, “population, employment, and personal income on average all grew significantly faster— two times faster or more—in Western rural counties with the highest share of federal lands compared to counties with the lowest share of federal lands. Per capita income growth was slightly higher in counties with more federal land.” Both Barrasso and Cheney have prominent positions on key environmental committees. Will they invite experts from Headwaters Economics to testify at their Capitol Hill hearings about the future of the West? Probably not. Why? Because both have demonstrated a stubborn aversion to listening to any evidence or individual that does not confirm their false narratives of reality. Doing so might make them popular and get them re-elected in Wyoming, but it does nothing to help the state navigate to a better future. PJH Todd Wilkinson is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about the West for more than 30 years. His column, The New West, has been widely read in Greater Yellowstone for nearly as long. You can read it here every week.
“Both have demonstrated a stubborn aversion to any evidence that doesn’t confirm their false narratives.”
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hether it’s Yellowstone, Grand Teton, our national forests, wildlife refuges or even private ranches, never in the history of America has preserving land, by keeping its conservation values intact, resulted in huge economic hardship over mid to long-term horizons. In fact, the most thriving, consistent, and sustainable economic sector in the great state of Wyoming is tourism, fueled by the powerful engine of protected public lands in the northwest quadrant of the state. As Gov. Matt Mead and the legislature struggle to deal with budget shortfalls to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars—the vast majority related to the state’s misguided gamble on coal—you still hear elected officials spreading the unsubstantiated rumor that environmental protection is costing the state. Recently, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and Congresswoman Liz Cheney once again claimed the Endangered Species Act, public review requirements as part of the National Environmental Policy Act, and laws enforced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have hobbled the Wyoming economy. While such anti-federal rhetoric certainly resonates with Wyoming voters, there is scant evidence to back it up. Barrasso and Cheney would have their constituents believe that the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, implemented by EPA to control pollution and carbon emissions, was decimating Wyoming’s low sulfur coal industry. But the Clean Power Plan actually didn’t come on line until late last year. Many months before, four of the major coal companies doing business in the state declared bankruptcy not
because of any environmental regulation, but instead owed to a glut of cheap natural gas and oil that became the fuel of choice for power generators. In fact, competition from these other fossil fuels so undercut the commodity value of coal that companies could barely give it away, much less profitably operate coal export terminals to Asia. Now using Obama as a convenient foil and President Trump vowing to unlock $66 trillion of oil shale, Barrasso and Cheney are hardpressed to explain how that strategy, which includes gutting environmental regulations, will advance their cause of reviving Wyoming’s coal future. They can defiantly shake their fists all they want, railing against EPA, but the coal industry’s greatest nemesis is the Gordian knot known as the energy market. And here’s the undeniable irony: opening up more public land to expanded oil and gas drilling is going to make the prospects for coal worse, not better. Moreover, moving to eviscerate EPA’s ability to enforce environmental laws and denying the science of climate change will provide no tangible benefit for struggling coal workers in Gillette; they’re being affected far more by politicians who are espousing 19th century answers to 21st century problems. With regard to the Endangered Species Act, Wyoming’s senior politicians continue to again look foolish, emboldening the state’s self-inflicted victims’ mentality, claiming that recovering grizzlies and wolves has caused huge economic hardship. In fact, the Endangered Species Act, far from being a broken law, has actually worked quite well, and Wyoming has actually reaped huge dividends. Today, both grizzlies and wolves are main attractions in a Greater Yellowstone nature-tourism economy worth at least $1 billion annually. Millions of people, including parents with young children, come from around the world to Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to see these animals in the wild. Why? Because it’s rare and growing ever so in
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THE BUZZ The Game of Risk Recent events in Jackson Hole highlight how people’s decisions in the valley have far reaching impacts on the community. BY SHANNON SOLLITT @ShannonSollitt
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hen Jay Pistono had kids, his wife Patricia told him that if he died guiding, she would personally haunt his grave. As a young climbing guide, Pistono put his life on the line regularly, but having a family put that risk into a different light. “Everybody’s got a certain level of self-preservation,” Pistono said, “but especially when there’s family involved, there should be some sort of adjustment.” Now, his job is to spend time on top of Teton Pass ensuring people are respectful, and responsible, that they are stewards of the area. He’s well known to most backcountry users, but is not always the most popular person out there. Skiers and snowboarders, he says, don’t always take kindly to advice. He never orders anyone on or off the mountain, but questions he poses, as simple as “Why did you decide to ski Glory today?” are enough to induce responses like, “What business is it of yours?” Actually, he reminds them, their decisions “affect all of us.”
Blind trust Winter in the valley has been riddled with accidents reigniting fierce conversations about safe decision-making in a high-risk town. Last week, Teton County Search and Rescue had to retrieve a skier after he spent two nights in Granite Canyon. Mike Syverson of Telluride, Colorado, and his partner Chris Prem lost their way after venturing out of bounds. According to a press release issued by Grand Teton National Park, friends reported them missing around 7 p.m. Monday night. Prem who, unlike Syverson, had touring gear, left his
partner in the hopes of finding help. He reached the top of the tram around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, where he woke a sleeping tram operator. Prem spent the night at the mountain’s summit, while Syverson remained alone waiting for help. Thanks to Prem’s GPS location and Forward looking infrared, Search and Rescue teams were able to locate Syverson at approximately 8 a.m. Wednesday. He had made himself shelter in the snow for warmth. But better decision making and knowledge of the area, some argue, would have resulted in an outcome that did not require a SAR mission—costly missions that often put rescuers’ lives on the line. Meanwhile, in the wake of the now infamous skier triggered Twin Slides avalanche that swept a motorist off the road and shut down the pass for a day in December, Pistono says the conversation about whether to close the pass to recreationists is still ongoing. And recreationists aren’t the only ones in the hot seat. Last Wednesday, a semi truck driver ignored the winter trailer closure and closed the pass for the afternoon—delaying hundreds of commuters from getting home—after lodging his vehicle near milepost 10. The driver was cited for having a trailer on the pass and fined $420. Wyoming Highway Patrol Lieutenant Matthew Brackin could hardly remember the incident from the rest he’s seen this season. “There’s been enough this winter that it’s hard to keep track,” he said. Brackin added that, similar to what irate social media users suggested in response to PJH’s story last week, Wyoming Highway Patrol and WYDOT have had discussions about raising the $420 fine. Ultimately, however, he said it would be up to the Wyoming Supreme Court to change the amounts of fines. Indeed, with each incident, tempers flare and citizens propose ways to ensure that such an accident never happens again. But policy change, officials say, is only effective if people are willing to listen. “It’s a conversation that WYDOT regularly has,” said Stephanie Harsha, public relations specialist for Wyoming Department of Transportation. “What can we do better, how can we inform [people] better? But sometimes they just run the closure anyway.” “At the end of the day, it’s going to rely on drivers to read and adhere to the signage,” Brackin echoed. Recently, Harsha says WYDOT has increased signage on Teton Pass and
worked with the Idaho Department of Transportation to put signs further back on the Idaho side. There are also signs on Broadway at the Y and at the base of the pass in Wilson. Still, increased signs and a $420 fee don’t always deter motorists from illegal travel.
Roads to mountains Recreationists on Teton Pass and at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort also pass posted warning signs before venturing into the backcountry. There are no sanctioned repercussions for accidents in the backcountry, but decisions are often life-and-death. And, like driving over the pass, the impacts of individual decisions are far-reaching. Local big-mountain skier Morgan McGlashon thinks that people don’t often consider that when they put their lives on the line, “they’re putting other people’s lives at risk, too.” Pistono, like Harsha, says that there is only so much communicating he can do. His job is not to stop people from skiing their dream line. Rather, it is to engage them in a conversation about what is at stake. But like Harsha noted, he says not everyone will listen. “A lot of times when you talk to people about repercussions,” he said, “they act like you’re talking about choosing skis. They make it sound so mundane.” Part of that mentality, he said, stems from a social media driven sense of adventure. “It’s gotten to the point for some people where talking about it or having an image of it is almost as important, or more important, than the experience itself. Gotta get the shot,” Pistono said of some brazen skiers and snowboarders. “There’s a certain amount of risk taking involved in that too.” Of course, Pistono said it is inspirational to witness other people “do really cool stuff.” But he would like to see the definition of “cool” shift to include stories of people who “had fun for 40-some seasons and came home to their family every night.”
The female affect Pistono shared a joke in the backcountry community that essentially says if you want to make it home safe, take a woman along. Indeed, in the past 10 years, almost 80 percent of winter Search and Rescue missions were in search of men. Skier McGlashon is not surprised by that statistic. As a woman who skis with men, she almost always makes the more prudent decisions. “The way I approach the
mountains is always more conservative, even if our skill levels are the same,” she said. McGlashon suspects that men and women perceive risk differently. In fact, there is research to suggest that risk itself is constructed as a masculine endeavor. Sociologist Jason Laurendeau published a study in 2008 that posited risk and chaos as typically masculine traits, while order and control (risk management) are constructed as feminine. McGlashon’s conservative tendencies, then, are perhaps inherent, as she believes, but also shaped by constant conversations that attribute risk-taking with masculinity. Those conversations also contribute to a sense of confidence among men that women don’t always feel privy to. “There’s definitely a different attitude skiing with guys,” McGlashon said. “Guys act more confident. Girls are hesitant to carry the same confidence. That’s consistent across the board with everyone I ski with.” McGlashon said that as a female athlete, she also feels like she has more to prove. People often question her legitimacy in the mountains. “As a young female, I definitely feel pressure to make sure things go right,” she said. And it is that pressure that motivates her to make safer decisions. “Just because I’m a 22-year-old female, and you’re second-guessing me because you’re a 45-year-old dude ... I do know what I’m doing here.” The other difference, Pistono speculates, is that women are more likely to ski in groups, and particularly in groups of other women. He estimated that around a third of people who hike up Glory go it alone—and of that third, “a bulk of them are guys.” Aside from the occasional “very mellow” pass lap, McGlashon said she would never risk adventuring alone.
Community can’t be taught
McGlashon and Pistono agree that an essential part of backcountry safety is a sense of community. The more people communicate with each other and understand the scope of their actions, the safer they will be. “The only way we’re gonna make things happen is if a whole bunch of us come on board...” Pistono said. “It takes a team of people to make this work out.” But building community takes time. “It’s a lifetime’s worth of appreciation and understanding,” McGlashon said. “Sense of community isn’t something you can teach or put on a sign.” PJH
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MAX MOGREN
THE ON THE BUZZ GROUND 2
Standing Rock Silence Inside the water protectors’ final days and why their message must not be forgotten. BY MAX MOGREN
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ome get me,” read the text Little Wind sent at sunset, several hours after the Army Corps of Engineers (CoE) and associated agencies terrorized most of us out of main camp. Braver than me, she stayed past the official eviction deadline—2 p.m. on February 22—and risked a stint in jail if arrested for the third time in as many months. Hailing from Riverton and only 19 years old, she had been at Standing Rock off and on since August. Her only “crime” was attempting to protect our water supply from the construction of yet another oil pipeline across a place pretending to be the Land of the Free. Despite immediate fears of a
Left: Big Wind and his sister Little Wind at Standing Rock.
federally orchestrated invasion, Little Wind remained alongside her biological brother Big Wind and their extended family of fellow water protectors. She asked for my help getting out only because she couldn’t physically stand— let alone run from cops decked in riot gear with machine guns—due to an ankle injury she sustained a few days earlier. We didn’t know if her ankle was broken because Little Wind refused to go for an X-ray; she only had 27 dollars to her name and didn’t want to leave camp for fear that Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) agents at the newest roadblock wouldn’t let her back in. Folks were being turned away merely for having sleeping bags in their vehicles, so she wasn’t just paranoid as she bore the pain and uncertainty of her situation. By now the highway was completely closed off, so going to get her meant hiking two muddy miles, crossing a partially frozen river, and carrying her out piggy back praying that we wouldn’t get caught. Her injury occurred when she slipped on a muddy hillside while spreading straw from one of the 400-plus bales
that we scavenged from abandoned areas of camp. During the previous week several of us had been operating as the unofficial, unsupervised Oceti Oyate road crew. Our hope was to keep the dirt roads through camp passable while a geo-engineered heat wave turned the place into a quagmire of sloppy snow, slippery ice, sticky mud and standing water. We focused our straw-spreading efforts on the hills and high traffic areas. Things were going well for our little road crew until four days before the February 22 deadline, when federal contractors brought in big trucks to remove piles of snow quietly melting around camp. The overloaded trucks had to be pushed through the mud with bulldozers, tank treads and traction-less tires digging foot deep trenches throughout the encampment. Our roads were pretty much impassable from that day on. Government officials declared that snow had to be removed and searched for human bodies, but that was nonsense just like the notion that the Cannonball River could flood low lying areas of camp at any moment. Just a
few days ago the 4-foot deep river was still six feet below minor flood stage and eight feet below levels that would threaten any of the camp. The NWS Advanced Hydrological Prediction Service does not forecast flooding in the foreseeable future. That river was just an icy trickle, but the state-sponsored BS still flows fast and thick. The phone number given to independent journalists seeking official press passes was bogus, and the requirements proved impossible to meet anyway. The mainstream media showed up for only a few hours and then retreated through a police blockade totally impassable to the rest of us prior to the 2 p.m. eviction order on February 22. Mainstream outlets reported that the camp had been cleared the day before it actually happened and were nowhere to be found when a few hundred militarized police, a few dozen humvees, and a couple MRAPs stormed the camp on the morning of February 23. Snipers sat on the hills surrounding camp, and a Border Patrol chopper chased down our drones and jammed our livestreams.
WE SERVICE THEM ALL …
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MARCH 1, 2017 | 11
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RABBIT ROW REPAIR
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
That morning my friend and fellow journalist Ed Higgins was arrested for reporting the news. The rest of us livestreamers would have been arrested too if we weren’t so fleet of foot or hiding in the rear with the gear from the very real terror your tax dollars just bought. CoE’s representative stated that they would not demolish structures during the invasion, but they did. The big, beautiful construction barn contained at least a hundred thousand dollars worth of tools and equipment, a bank of deep cycle batteries, fuels, motor oil, and other toxic materials. CoE crushed it with an excavator while water protectors were still in camp, contaminating the area. The governor of North Dakota cited public safety and environmental health for evicting the camp, but would not speak on the disturbing presence of Rozol rat poison at the camp that has appeared in blood tests of sick water protectors. After 16 days in camp, my dog is still coughing up blood. I have never seen her so sick and lethargic. Endless story short, under cover of darkness I walked back into camp to retrieve my friend Little Wind, but she didn’t want to leave anymore. I understood why. She was loyal to her cause and her friends despite great hardships brought on by a corrupt government serving corporate greed. After a few nervous hours sitting together listening to cop cars stalking the road 60 feet behind her tent on Facebook Hill, she was ready to go. I picked her up and avoided our friends standing around a nearby fire because we both felt like deserters. The next morning I returned to camp to report the news despite my fears: Little Wind’s brave brother Big Wind was among the 47 people arrested that day. As of press time Tuesday, on orders from Standing Rock tribal chairman “DAPL Dave” Archimbault, who authorized BIA to raid the camps, BIA has closed off access to the remaining encampments—on private land within the Standing Rock Reservation—and threatens to forcefully evict the remaining camps. By the time this report is published the water protectors of Standing Rock may be but a memory. PJH
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
12 | MARCH 1, 2017
THE BUZZ 2 Seeking Safe Places Are policies at Jackson Hole High School stringent enough to dissuade student harassment? BY SHANNON SOLLITT @ShannonSollitt
W
hen school administrators canceled “America Day” at Jackson Hole High School in 2015, much of the student and parent population were up in arms. The themed dress-up day, part of the high school’s Homecoming week, was scrapped due to concerns that some high school students would feel excluded and unsafe. Such concerns were met with protests and heated conversations about what it means to be “American.” Some students decided to go to school in their most patriotic garb anyway. Michelle Tzompa, a Latino student at JHHS, remembers the day clearly. “That day when they were protesting, they were dressed up, calling us mean names, blaming us,” she said. Some of the students in protest, she said, blamed the Latino Leadership Club. “They thought it was our fault, when in reality we knew nothing about it.” Tzompa was a sophomore at the time. Now, as a senior, she is more involved in conversations at the high school—primarily through a group called We the People—but she is no less wary of the racism that she sees in the school’s halls. In fact, she says on the heels of the presidential election, things have gotten worse. “[Students] started [demonizing] the Latino race,” she said. “We were pretty scared. I think that’s why the school is so segregated.”
Protecting against harassment Teton County School District has strict policies on harassment and discrimination, said TCSD No. 1 superintendent Dr. Gillian Chapman. But while on paper, racism is intolerable at Teton County schools, according to some students, it is going unnoticed and unreported. Harassment and discrimination policies in Teton County School District
mandate that “Any student of this School District who believes s/he has been discriminated against, denied a benefit, or excluded from participation in any School District program or activity on the basis of sex, age, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or disability may file a written complaint with the School District Civil Rights Compliance Officer.” They also prohibit “harassment, intimidation, bullying, or retaliation” against another student. Repercussions are serious, but it’s easy for instances of discrimination to fly under the radar. “Our staff deal with discrimination and harassment swiftly,” Chapman said, “however, unless observed directly, the staff must be made aware of the issue. It has been my experience that students are not always willing to report situations to staff. If the staff is unaware of the situation, they cannot address it.” But the process of reporting harassment is an arduous one. Students must file a written complaint, and if the complaint is deemed serious, school staff will conduct an investigation of the incident that includes interviews with both the victim and the alleged perpetrator. Staff will write a written report, then decide on an appropriate disciplinary action, which could include suspension or expulsion. Tzompa said she understands the reporting process, and has in fact gone through it herself. She reported bullying when it happened to her in middle school, but she has never known anyone to publicly come forward and report instances of racism. She feels comfortable making reports, but said that in her experience they didn’t seem to make a difference. “I felt like the school didn’t do much and they just ignored my situation,” she said. The state of Wyoming mandates that schools inform students of such policies at the beginning of each school year. Jackson Hole High School’s student handbook, however, delegates one paragraph in 23 pages to student harassment. It makes no mention of discrimination. More detailed policies can be found on the school district website, under school board policies. Other districts in Wyoming are less vague. Natrona County School District, which houses Casper schools, dedicates pages of their student/parent handbook to definitions of discrimination and harassment, including a definition of “hate activity” which is “any act or attempted act that may cause physical
injury, emotional suffering … harassment, racial or ethnic slurs, bigoted epithet … motivated in whole or in part by hostility to the victim’s real or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.” In Teton County, however, there are also apparent discrepancies about what racism and discrimination actually look like. High school social studies teacher Jim Rooks says that while he hears “racially charged statements” almost every day, “racism is a big word.” “It implies that there’s a discriminatory act based on race itself,” he said, and that’s not always easy to identify. Tzompa suggests, however, that experiences of racism are more than just hate speech and bullying. They isalso segregation. In one of her government classes, students were asked to split into groups. The class was evenly split between white students and Latino students. It was only after Rooks’ encouragement that students tried to integrate.
Young integration Senior Josephine Gwilliam’s senior capstone project explored the more nuanced ways that race mitigates student relationships both in and out of the high school. Her research found that while most students admit to having diverse friend groups, more than half of those students had not invited peers of a different ethnicity to their homes. Only 25 percent of people she interviewed had invited someone of a different ethnicity to their house more than three times over the course of three months. That struck Gwilliam. “Even though a large majority of us have been together the last 10 years,” she said, “half of us still do not intermix.” While staff cannot always identify and discipline moments of racism in school halls, Chapman says the district works hard to ensure that schools are safe spaces for all students. “Our schools provide a variety of ways in which expectations are made clear on how to treat one another,” she said. One such effort was this year’s Martin Luther King Day celebration at the high school. During the holiday, students led discussions on “really powerful,
poignant issues” on everything from race relations at the high school, to feminism and disability awareness, Rooks said. Such efforts are educational and proactive rather than reactive and disciplinary. And Tzompa thinks there might be something to them. She said she has noticed a shift in the way people treat each other in light of recent assemblies, especially the Martin Luther King day celebration. Gwilliam was one of the assembly speakers. Before presenting her capstone project, she asked all Latino students in the audience to stand. The congregation of people in the same area served as a perfect entry point to the rest of her discussion. “It’s tricky to discuss segregational issues when it’s not as blatantly obvious as it was in the 1950s, for example,” Gwilliam said. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still exist. The truth is segregation is still around, sometimes by design. Sometimes by choice.” Other schools of similar demographic makeups, she noted, are “more integrated.” “We have to keep in mind that Jackson is a much younger community … in terms of integration,” she said, “and the progress and effort our community has made in the past 20 years is remarkable. “As inspiring as our community is,” she continued, “there is still a ways to go.” Chapman emphasized that the school district partners with community groups “to ensure students and families have support.” Groups include One22, Teton Youth and Family Services, Community Safety Network and Teton Literacy Center, “among many others,” Chapman said. “Many people are fearful of things outside the control of the school,” Chapman said. “Our schools work diligently in creating an inclusive and supportive culture.” Chapman says she encourages students to come forward and report instances of harassment and discrimination so that schools can more actively combat them. PJH
U-S-A! U-S-A!
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OF THE
n Several death-penalty states continue to be frustrated by whether their lethal-injection “cocktails” make death so painful as to be unconstitutionally “cruel,” and Arizona’s latest solution, announced as a Department of Corrections protocol, is for the condemned to supply their own (presumably less unpleasant) drugs. There was immediate objection, noting that such drugs might only be available by black market—and questioning whether the government can legally force someone to kill himself.
WEIRD
Although discouraging the marriage of children in developing nations has been U.S. foreign policy for years, a data-collecting watchdog group in America disclosed in February that 27 U.S. states have no minimum marriage ages and estimates that an average of almost 25,000 children age 15 and under are permitted to marry every year (“estimates” because some states do not keep records by age). Child marriage is often allowed in the U.S. if parents approve, although no such exemption is made in foreign policy, largely to curb developing nations’ “family honor” marriages—which often wreck girls’ chances for self-actualizing. (However, “family honor” is still, in some states, the basis for allowing U.S. child marriages, such as with “shotgun” weddings.)
Compelling Explanations
Glenn Schloeffel, vice president of the Central Bucks school board in a Philadelphia suburb, recommended that science books be viewed skeptically on climate change because teenage depression rates have been increasing. Surely, he said, one factor depressing students is reading all that alarming climate-change data. n Seattle’s Real Estate Services rental agency has informed the family of the late Dennis Hanel that it would not return his security deposit following his January death because he had not given the lease-required “notice” giving up his apartment. He had cancer, but died of a heart attack. Washington state law requires only that the landlord provide an explanation why it is keeping the deposit.
Runaway Math
John Haskew, who told investigators that he was “selftaught on the banking industry,” evidently thought he might succeed making bogus wire transfers to himself from a large (unidentified) national bank, in the amount of $7 billion. He pleaded guilty in February in Lakeland, Fla. (He said he thought he “deserved” the money.) n Katherine Kempson, 49, deciding to pay “cash” for a $1.2 million home, forged (according to York County, Pa., deputies) a “proof of funds” letter from the Members 1st credit union. Home sales are, of course, highly regulated formalities, and several attempted “closings” were halted when her money kept not showing up. One deputy told a reporter, “I’m guessing that she probably didn’t think it through.”
Just before Christmas, Tammy Strickland, 38, was arrested in Polk County, Fla., and charged with stealing 100 toys from a Toys for Tots collection box. n In February, thieves unbolted and stole a PlayStation from the children’s cancer ward at Wellington Hospital in New Zealand. n Judith Permar, 56, who was found dead, stuck in a clothing donation drop-off box in Mount Carmel, Pa., in February (a result, police said, of trying to “steal” items), had driven to the box in her Hummer.
Recent Alarming Headlines
“America’s Top Fortune Cookie Writer Is Quitting Because of Writer’s Block” (Time magazine, Feb. 3, 2017). “Vaginal Pain Helps Exonerate Man Accused of Murder” (Miami Herald, Feb. 8, 2017) (emergency medical technicians treating his sister corroborated his alibi). “Dresden Protest Against Anti-Islam Pegida Group Banned Over Snowball Fight Fears” (The Independent, Jan. 24, 2017) (previously in Dresden, Germany, religious-freedom demonstrators chose “tossing snowballs” as appropriate for ridiculing Pegida).
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Phallic News From Overseas
In February, doctors at Narayana Health City in Bangalore, India, were successful in a five-hour, 20-specialist surgery normalizing an infant born with the chromosomal abnormality “polymelia”—which resulted in four legs and two penises. Doctors praised the parents, from rural Puladinni village, for recognizing the issue as medical and not as superstition. n In February, police in southern Bangladesh arrested a family that used a fake penis to convince neighbors that the family had the powers of genies (“djinns”). The villagers had known the family had a girl, but overnight the genies had “changed” her into a boy, thus frightening the villagers into making offerings to the family.
Undignified Deaths
Clifford Jones, 58, was killed in a one-vehicle crash in Detroit in January, having lost control of his car because, according to Michigan State Police, he was distracted by watching pornography on his cell phone. He was also not wearing pants. n Leslie Ray Charping, 75, of Galveston, Texas, lived “much longer than he deserved,” according to his daughter, in a widely shared obituary in February, in a life that “served no obvious purpose.” The death notice referenced his “bad parenting” and “being generally offensive,” and closed with “Leslie’s passing proves that evil does in fact die.”
Thanks this week to Stan Kaplan, Vernon Balbert, Harry Thompson and the News of the Weird Board of Editorial Advisors.
Are you motivated, have a sense of humor and do what it takes to get it done? Planet Jackson Hole is currently looking for an Advertising Associate who can help us stay in touch with some of our awesome advertisers as well as be our on-thestreets super star for Planet JH. The ideal person will be outgoing, hard-working, a team player and must have some experience.
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MARCH 1, 2017 | 13
Researchers including Rice University biochemist John Olson revealed in a February journal article that one reason a man avoided anemia even though he had a gene mutation that weakened his hemoglobin was because he has been a tobacco smoker—that the carbon monoxide from smoke had been therapeutic. His daughter, with the same gene mutation, did develop anemia since she never smoked (although Olson suggested other ways besides smoking to strengthen hemoglobin, such as by massive vitamin C).
People With Underdeveloped Consciences
••••
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
n The highest bail amount ever ordered in America—$4 billion for murder suspect Antonio Willis—was briefly in play in Killeen, Texas, in February, set by Bell County’s elected Justice of the Peace Claudia Brown. Bail was reduced 10 days later to $150,000 by a district court judge, prompting Brown to acknowledge that she set the “$4 billion” to call attention to Texas’ lack of bail standards, which especially punishes indigent arrestees with little hope of raising even modest amounts when accused of minor crimes.
Wait, What?
WINDSHIELDS
By CHUCK SHEPHERD
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
14 | MARCH 1, 2017
Native Sense Can Wyoming’s first Native American woman lawmaker provide a sane Republican alternative to Trumpism?
BAYNARD WOODS
By Baynard Woods
Wyoming state Sen. Affie Ellis (second from right), at last week’s Conservative Political Action Committee.
N
ewly-elected Wyoming state Senator Affie Ellis seemed out of place at the ultra-right Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) conference in Washington D.C. last week. In fact, the 38-year-old Navajo woman raised in Jackson who now represents District 8 (Cheyenne and part of Laramie County), hardly seemed to have time for the hubbub and schmoozing of the annual right-wing love-fest. “I’m coming in for a quick visit to Washington D.C. from having been debating serious issues that are before the Wyoming legislature,” she said. “I am coming to this conference with the lens of the seriousness and the gravity of the issues that we’re facing in Wyoming.” That was not a common sentiment. Ellis, a former casino lobbyist, ousted Democrat Floyd Esquibel from the seat he’d held for 20 years. It was a small but important race in a year of great political disruption. But the first Native American woman in the Wyoming Legislature seemed about as far from the Trump train as one can be while still being invited to the conference. “I think our country needs so desperately some thought and some well researched responses,” Ellis said, sitting on the stage with three other “rising conservative stars” and abrasively white Tea Party
moderator Jenny Beth Martin. “I’ve made a commitment that my community and my voters will have all the facts and it will be very transparent and there will be no game playing,” Ellis said at one point. “While bringing up facts,” Martin interrupted her. “And this is to all of you. Fact check. Figure out your sources when you write or say anything ... you’ve got to read it and make sure it’s not fake. Because you don’t want to be accused on the other side either.” Even this was a radical sentiment at this year’s CPAC. “There’s so many times when it’s easy to name call and have these cute hashtags that stick but we have to have strong facts and start communicating those facts in a very effective way,” Ellis continued. “I think the hard part is the devil in the details of policy you’re working on doesn’t fit into small hashtags. Maybe we just need long hashtags.” “I don’t know if they fit in the character limit on Twitter,” Martin said over the crowd’s laughter. “Were you attacked by the media in your campaigns?” The question was clearly designed to elicit a negative response. “Fake news” was one of the most popular exclamations at the conference and always promised a good applause. “Not really,” Ellis replied.
“Those people in Wyoming are so nice,” the moderator said. “We are very, very nice,” Ellis said, but the shiny bright moderator was speaking, condescendingly, over her. “They really are.” “Not the media but we’re most certainly facing some difficult economic challenges in Wyoming. We’re making very difficult budget choices,” Ellis said, deflecting the question. When asked to give advice to “these conservatives out there that you think is important for them if they want to become the next rising star,” she said: “Clear calm heads will always prevail and so to keep your head about you.” It was almost hard not to laugh. The point of this whole conference and its air of aggrieved victory is that clear and calm heads did not prevail.
Deep in CPAC and ‘the enemy of the people’
CPAC was a frenzy of fanaticism, an orgy of irrationality. Nearly every panel or speech was as full of red meat as a truck stop promising a free 72-ounce steak to anyone who can eat it in one sitting. “A few days ago I called the fake news the enemy of the people. And they are,” Trump said in his CPAC
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE | JOE GIORDANO
MARCH 1, 2017 | 15
speech. “They are the enemy of the people.” Just so we don’t forget, two months ago, it was unheard of for a sitting president to call the press “the enemy of the people.” Trump said that he did not attend CPAC—which began in 1974—last year, during the campaign, because he would be “too controversial.” “I would’ve come last year but I was worried that I would be, at that time, too controversial. We wanted border security. We wanted very, very strong military. We wanted all of the things that we’re going to get,” he said to great applause. “And people consider that controversial, but you didn’t consider it controversial.” If this now-adoring crowd ever viewed Trump as too controversial, it was not for long. He got his true political start giving a speech at CPAC in 2012, in which he hinted at running and laid out a lot of his nationalist policies. But that’s the charm of the convention for the extremists within the Republican Party. You are talking to your core, people who are there, able to read between the lines and get the inflections. But the “filthy lying press” that projects it out to the rest of the world, is also there. So words, like Bannon’s “nationalism,” mean different things to different people. Foster Friess, the uber-rich Jackson Hole Republican donor, has often drawn headlines with his CPAC speeches. He may be most well known for his complaint about the cost of birth control, saying, “Back in my days, they used Bayer aspirin for contraception. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.” But at CPAC in 2013, when he was honored by the American Conservative Union, which hosts the conference, he drew huge applause for saying that “Chic-fil-A values are American values,” where Chic-fil-A values are code for religious values that discriminate against people based on sexual orientation or other “sins.” Back then Friess touted far-right long-shot Rick Santorum. But he got behind Trump in the 2016 race and his ideas now dominate—or find an even friendlier home—at the conference. On the same occasion that he talked about aspirin, with NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Freiss alleged that jihadists were setting up camps in Latin America, prefiguring the way that the Trump regime conflates immigration from Mexico with Islamophobia to create a potent cocktail of fear and hate. This is the tenor of CPAC, although Ellis missed most of it—speeches by Kellyanne Conway, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, and Donald Trump, among dozens of others—arriving in Washington around 3 on Saturday morning, only a few hours before her panel. Though a Wyoming native, Ellis was not unfamiliar with Washington, she and her husband had lived there for four years when she worked for late U.S. Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY). Now Majority-leader Mitch McConnell has appointed her to serve on the Indian Law and Order
Commission. Ellis, who, while growing up in Jackson Hole, helped her mother clean valley motel rooms on the weekends, seemed comfortable and natural and even charming on the stage. She was more compelling than the other “rising stars”—she did not electrify anyone. It was not a year for calm heads at CPAC. But this is exactly why Ellis, and others like her, may in fact be the future of the Republican Party, if it can survive Trump in a form that anyone would want to be associated with. But she was not interested in talking much about national issues at the conference or with reporters, and maybe this too was a good thing.
Working class Wyoming
a little bit.” Instead, she talked about hunting. “One issue I supported this legislative session is a bill to allow for a women’s hunt, a one-shot antelope hunt, which has become a premiere event in Wyoming,” she said. “There’s a one-shot antelope park in Lander that is generally attended by men. Several years ago the Wyoming Women’s Foundation started a women’s hunt near Newcroft and it’s become a phenomenal event and I support that event because as we see an aging hunting population we need to grow a new class of hunter and I think that for women, people like me who’ve never really hunted as much as others, this is a really great opportunity to be a part of an event like that and develop a love of hunting.” Now this kind of thing would go over well at CPAC. In fact, one of the other speakers from Wyoming, Ashlee Lundvall, was on a panel called “Armed and Fabulous.” Lundvall first visited Wyoming as a teenager, where she fell onto a pitchfork, which caused partial paralysis—today she is in a wheelchair. But that didn’t keep her away from the state, to which she later permanently returned with her husband, winning Ms. Wheelchair USA and founding the Wyoming Disabled Hunters club. At the conference, the wheels on her chair were camo and the introductory video featured a lot of footage of a rifle on her shoulder as she wheeled through the woods. It was pretty badass, and the crowd—the panel followed NRA head and dystopian social planner Wayne LaPierre—ate her story up.
JOE GIORDANO
16 | MARCH 1, 2017
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
I tried to catch up with her the entire conference, not aware that she hadn’t yet arrived (she joked about not having a staff and answering all of her own phone messages and emails). I waited for her after the panel but couldn’t find her, but eventually we were able to talk on the phone. “Both of my parents are Navajo and they met at a trade school in Brigham City, Utah, and my dad comes from a family of Navajo silversmiths and at the time they encouraged him to be a welder. They moved to Jackson and fell in love with it back when it was a sleepy town in the 1950s,” she said. “Since that time my dad owned and still operates his own welding shop called Jim’s Welding, and growing up in Jackson we were very dependent on the tourism industry.” She was, in fact, first drawn to politics after snowmobiles were banned in Yellowstone in 2004,
which snowmobile advocates say hurt the tourism industry. Thirteen years later, in her first term she has worked hardest on a bill that would allow companies like Lyft and Uber to operate in Wyoming. Her father’s business, she says, is “very much a small business. For a lot of years we didn’t have health insurance and so our approach to healthcare was, do not get hurt or sick.” That last line didn’t sound too far off from Friess’s aspirin as birth control quip—and given that repealing the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, would make it harder for women to get birth control, I asked her how it felt to be a woman as part of the Republican Party this year. Again, she made it clear that she didn’t really want to weigh in on national issues—but instead spins a good yarn that highlights her own values. “Last year I took my daughter to the Wyoming Senate to watch a debate and she looked in the gallery and she asked if they let girls serve as senators. She didn’t see that we had one senator sitting in the room, Bernadine Craft, who was a member and so I pointed out Sen. Craft and it really didn’t sit well with me that Bernadine was retiring and there was a chance that no woman would be serving in the Wyoming Senate and so rather than focus my attention on national level talks about women’s issues I thought, ‘Be the change you want to be and the change you want your daughter to be,’ and so that definitely influenced my decision to run,” she said. When pushed to speak specifically on birth control and the ACA she said, “Let me noodle on that question
conversations we need to be having at the national level.” After three days of everyone’s attempt to mimic Trump’s unrestrained id, Ellis’ caution was as refreshing as it was frustrating. So I finally came out and asked her if she voted for Trump. There was an eight-second pause. “Umm. I did vote for President Trump and, this is a very unusual time for a president to assume office,” she said. “I think there was a pretty strong movement to get him impeached before he even took office, so it’s difficult to say objectively since we’re living in it in the moment how his first few days in office and his first few weeks are taking place this is just a truly extraordinary time in our country. Obviously I want the president to do well because I want our country to succeed.” As we talked, Ellis, who said she was operating on three hours of sleep, mostly seemed eager to stop discussing issues that were above her pay grade as a state senator. Her discomfort is an indication of the path ambitious Republicans will have to walk over the next few years—they have to insulate themselves from the toxicity of Trump’s most outrageous statements and policies without alienating what is now the center of power within their party. Ellis made one thing clear: As she navigates this treacherous course, she is not planning to seek any higher office that would require her to move back to Washington anytime soon. PJH
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
MARCH 1, 2017 | 17
JOE GIORDANO
But Ellis didn’t tell her hunting story on the stage, for people from public land states to be active and even though turning an antelope hunt into a pressing involved in what happens in Washington D.C.,” she said. “Certainly the Dakota Access Pipeline issue women’s issue is a brilliant CPAC tactic. Ellis was also hesitant to address native issues involves tribal interests and public land issues, you in our interview. As the CPAC know we’re talking about a national conference wore on, a large group “I think the environmental policy act review, so of American Indian activists and issues that I definitely care about those issues their allies from around the world and was happy to be part of this are unique were finally driven from Standing conference because I think the to the Rock, the camp where they had issues that are unique to the West been protesting the construction of are important for people in nonWest are the Dakota Access Pipeline under public land states to understand.” important the river adjacent to native land. I was curious about her for people During his Friday CPAC speech, perspective on immigration—one Trump supported the construction of Trump’s key issues, both as in nonof the project, which President public land a candidate and a president. As Obama had halted. an indigenous person, does she states to Ellis said she had not heard view all of us as immigrants and Trump’s remarks and said, while understand.” worry when someone like Steve Bannon talks, as he did at CPAC, she was impressed by the power of the native activists, she did not think their rhetoric about a cultural nationalism. Part of white cultural nationalism was relocating or eradicating indigenous was in line with the reality of the situation. “I think that it’s been remarkable the attention that cultures. “As far as my background as a Native person, I tribal activism has brought to that particular issue,” she said. “But when you review the court documents think that there are some easy jokes to be made and and what the attorneys from the tribes submitted … I’m cautious of making any of them because I don’t the activism you see doesn’t necessarily match some want people to take them the wrong way,” she said. “But certainly we as a country need to be having these of the legal arguments that were made.” She did say that some of the issues involved at conversations and for us to take any broad open door Standing Rock influenced her decision to come to policy I think is a mistake. As far as building a wall, CPAC. “There are a lot of issues that are unique um, there are a lot of folks talking about whether that for the West, which is why I think it’s important is appropriate and I think that those are important
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
18 | MARCH 1, 2017
THIS WEEK: March 1-7, 2017
Compiled by Caroline LaRosa
5:30 p.m. Friday at Center for the Arts’ Theatre Lobby This year marks the 10th anniversary of WhoDunnit? Anonymous Art Sale hosted by the Art Association of Jackson Hole. Enjoy food, drinks, and tons of bidding fun with more than 200 canvases. From youth entries to professional artists, all creatives participate in this anonymous art event. Find unsigned, unlabeled art at one low price for this much anticipated, one-night event. All proceeds benefit art education for the Art Association of Jackson Hole.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1
MARCH AT
THE ‘HOF SPATEN SUNDAY $3.00 PINTS OF SPATEN $2 PRETZELS HOF POLKA BAND 3-6
FONDUE FRIDAY IS BACK 50% OFF CHEESE FONDUES WEEKLY FONDUE SPECIALS 50% OFF PITCHERS WITH A FONDUE
MUG CLUB MONDAY 50% OFF EVERYTHING FOR MUG CLUB MEMBERS MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
SATURDAY APRES DISCO 3-6 DJ 1 SPINS THE TUNES LUNCH ON THE DECK……$5 MENU
TUESDAY ALPENHOF DOG DAYS $1 DOGS……$3 BRATS BEER SPECIALS WINGS ON WEDNESDAY 50¢ WINGS…$3 PERONI PINTS THURSDAY PUB NIGHT TRADITIONAL BRITISH PUB FARE $3 BEERS FROM THE UK
KIDS LUNCH IS FREE EVERYDAY 11:30-3 WITH AN ADULT ORDER.
BASKETBALL ON THE BIG SCREEN
AT THE
307.733.3242
n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Digital Photography 9:00am, CWC-Jackson, 307733-7425 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Adobe InDesign 11:00am, CWC-Jackson, $200.00, 307-733-7425 n Snowshoe with a Ranger 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n Get Your Taxes Done For Free 3:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n PTO 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Open Studio: Figure Model 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307-7336379 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Survivors of Suicide Loss Support Group 6:00pm, Eagle classroom at St. John’s Medical Center, Free, 307-732-1161
SEE CALENDAR PAGE 21
n Scholarship Application Help Nights 6:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Contemporary Violence with Fight Choreographer Michael Johnson 6:00pm, The Black Box Theatre, $150.00, 307-733-3021 n Flies for Every Season 6:30pm, JD High Country Outfitters, $75.00, 307-733-3270 n KHOL Presents: Vinyl Night 8:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n The Bo & Joe Sexy Show 9:00pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-733-3886
THURSDAY, MARCH 2
n Business Over Breakfast 7:30am, Snow King Hotel, $16.00 - $25.00, 307-201-2309 n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Intermediate Throwing 10:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $154.00 $184.00, 307-733-6379
n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307733-2164 n JD High Country Outfitters Brown Bag Fly Tying 11:00am, JD High Country Outfitters, Free, 307-733-3270 n Adobe InDesign 11:00am, CWC-Jackson, $200.00, 307-733-7425 n Teton Toastmasters 12:00pm, Teton County Commissioners Chambers, Free, n Growing Through Grief 1:00pm, St. John’s Medical Center, 307-739-7483 n Beginning Drawing 1:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $145.00 $174.00, 307-733-6379 n Ian Thomas 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n After School Monthly Workshops 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $180.00 $216.00, 307-733-6379 n Stackhouse 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Après Ski and Art 5:00pm, Diehl Gallery, Free, 307-733-0905 n REFIT® 5:15pm, First Baptist Church, Free, 307-690-6539
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
MARCH 1, 2017 | 19
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
20 | MARCH 1, 2017
MUSIC BOX Sibling SavoirFaire The Brothers Comatose and The Rainbow Girls play the Knotty Pine, Buffalo Ruckus roughs up the Mangy Moose. BY AARON DAVIS @ScreenDoorPorch
“W
e were so different then, fightin’ and yellin,’ couldn’t ever really get along until we starting singin’ and playin’ these songs,” brothers Ben and Alex Morrison sing on The Brothers Comatose tune “Brothers” from one of three 2016 releases, City Painted Gold. The Morrisons are referring to a time of teen angst and an interest in much harder music than the Southwestern-tinged, rowdy stringband music they produce these days. The roots music foundation had always been in the background, literally, as their mother’s folk quartet would rehearse at the house, singing beautiful harmonies and hosting jam parties. At one of those parties, a banjo was serendipitously left behind and thus was the beginning of managing split personalities, musically speaking. In addition to the full-length City Painted Gold, the San Francisco quintet released two EPs in 2016—The Covers EP: Vol. 2 and The Metal EP. That’s right, this stringband released metal versions of its own songs. What started as an innocent Kickstarter reward blossomed into a full-fledged, doomy, sludgy, stony, four-song release based on its early influences. Bassist Gio Benedetti did all of the arranging, played all of the
The Brothers Comatose
instrument parts, and even programmed the drums. Philip Brezina (fiddle) and Ryan Avellone (mandolin) round out the band. “Geo is a metal head and really into stoner rock,” Ben explained. “He was majorly responsible for The Metal EP and recorded the parts in the van while we were on tour. Three of us were in hard rock bands in the past, and we still love it. We just always came back to acoustic instruments sitting around the house out of a matter of convenience really.” The Covers EP: Vol. 2, on the other hand, cherry picks the band’s span of influences in a four-song collection including the Ryan Adams/David Rawlings co-written “To Be Young (Is to be Sad, Is to be High),” Cake’s “Stickshifts and Safetybelts,” Hank Williams’s “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in it,” and Huey Lewis’s “I Want a New Drug.” What struck this listener on just
about all of the songs previewed for this piece is the air of authenticity. There are so many bands these days playing this rugged style of music, yet the chemistry is evident, the voices strong and harmonious, and the songs well crafted. As siblings, making a career singing and traveling down the road together came in singular forms. “We have way different personalities,” Ben said of his approach to music compared to Alex’s. “He’s more of the scattered artist and though we have similar influences, he can pull ideas from the ether. I’m more of the organized, formulaic type I guess you’d say. We both sing from the gut, though, and neither of us went to school for music. We recently unearthed some VHS tapes of our mom’s folk quartet singing harmonies and were like, ‘Wow, they were really good, how do their voices make such a big sound?’ We learned by
WEDNESDAY Vinyl Night (The Rose), The Bo & Joe Sexy Show (Town Square Tavern) THURSDAY The Brothers Comatose & The Rainbow Girls (Knotty Pine), Disco Night (Stagecoach) FRIDAY Buffalo Ruckus (Mangy Moose), Dusty Green Bones (Silver Dollar), Eminence Ensemble (Town Square Tavern) SATURDAY Martin Sexton (Knotty Pine), Hell’s Belles (Mangy Moose), One Ton Pig (Trap Bar)
The Rainbow Girls
playing songs in the living room.” Fellow Californians The Rainbow Girls, a trio of ladies that spent the last four years touring Europe and the U.S. as a rock band, will open the show. For this tour, they’ll get back to their folksy roots. The Brothers Comatose with The Rainbow Girls, 9 p.m. Thursday, March 2 at the Knotty Pine in Victor. Tickets are $10 advance, $12 day of show. 208-7872866, KnottyPineSupperClub.com Texas Buffalo stomp north Coming to us from Denton, Texas, Buffalo Ruckus finds a gritty balance between Americana, Texas country, 70s soul, and Southern rock. The band quickly turned heads after winning both the 2014 Texas Music Showdown and the Shiner Rising Star Competition.
SUNDAY Songwriter’s Alley Open Mic featuring Ian Thomas & Wyatt Lowe (Silver Dollar), Major Zephyr & Isaac Hayden (Mangy Moose)
Textures of mandolin, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, drums and bass are organically crafted on its 2016 sophomore effort Peace & Cornbread, produced by Jonathan Tyler. If you haven’t journeyed out to the Mangy Moose for a night show in a while, here’s a worthy excuse. Buffalo Ruckus, 9 p.m. to midnight Friday, March 3 at the Mangy Moose in Teton Village. $5. MangyMoose. com Aaron Davis is a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, recording engineer, member of Screen Door Porch and Boondocks, founder/host of Songwriter’s Alley, and co-founder of The WYOmericana Caravan.
MONDAY JH Hootenanny (Dornans) TUESDAY BOGDOG (Town Square Tavern), Maw Band & Ian McIver (Mangy Moose)
n Advanced Papermaking 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $132.00 - $158.00, 307-733-6379 n One Night Seminars on Fly Fishing 6:30pm, JD High Country Outfitters, 307-733-3270 n Jackson Hole Communty Band 2017 Rehearsals 7:00pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 307-200-9463 n Riot Act, Inc. Presents The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare 7:00pm, Walk Festival Hall, $15.00 - $20.00, 307-203-9067
n Major Zephyr 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939 n Salsa Night 9:00pm, The Rose, Free, 307733-1500 n The Brothers Comatose 9:00pm, Knotty Pine, $10.00 $12.00, 208-787-2866
FRIDAY, MARCH 3
n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Open Studio: Portrait Model 9:00am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $10.00, 307-733-6379
n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Feathered Fridays 12:00pm, Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center, Free, 307-201-5433 n World Day of Prayer 12:00pm, Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church, Free n No School Day Public Planetarium Programn 1:30pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Snowshoe with a Ranger 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n Brain Works 3:00pm, St. John’s Medical Center, $300.00, 307-739-7493
n Wine Tasting on a Budget 3:00pm, Dornans, $10.00, 307733-2415 n Moonshine Mountain Band 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Screen Door Porch 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Friday Tastings 4:00pm, The Liquor Store of Jackson Hole, Free, 307-7334466 n FREE Friday Tasting at Jackson Whole Grocer 4:00pm, Jackson Whole Grocer & Cafe, Free, 307-733-0450 n Après Ski and Art 5:00pm, Diehl Gallery, Free, 307-733-0905
n Whodunnit? 5:30pm, Center for the Arts Theater Lobby, $15.00, 307-733-6379 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307733-3316 n Hunting Film Tour 6:00pm, Pink Garter Theatre, $15.00, 307-733-3270 n Pam Drews Phillips Plays Jazz 7:00pm, The Granary at Spring Creek Ranch, Free, 307-733-8833 n Moose Hockey Game 7:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633
MARCH 1, 2017 | 21
n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307733-3316 n Advanced Excel 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $40.00, 307-733-7425 n Glaze Chemistry 101: A Guide To Creating Custom Glazes and Firing Kilns 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $184.00 - $220.00, 307-733-6379 n The Great Jackson Eclipse of 2017 6:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-739-9025 n Brian Krill Presents: Trends in Youth Sport 6:00pm, Snow King Center, Free, 307-733-6433
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
SEE CALENDAR PAGE 23
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
22 | MARCH 1, 2017
CREATIVE PEAKS Football is over. Let the BRUNCH begin! Sat & Sun 10am-3pm •••••••••••
HAPPY HOUR
1/2 Off Drinks Daily 5-7pm
••••••••••• Monday-Saturday 11am, Sunday 10:30am 832 W. Broadway (inside Plaza Liquors)•733-7901
Bright Lights, Small City A fundraiser for the Art Association asks, “Whodunnit?” while Borbay pays homage to neon. BY MEG DALY @MegDaly1
A
little more than 10 years ago, an ingenious, mysterious idea was born (or perhaps borrowed, not born). The Art Association’s program director at the time, Travis Walker, had the idea for a miniature art show fundraiser based on London’s Royal College of Arts Secret Sale, in which art students and established artists create postcard-sized pieces to sell anonymously at affordable prices. Walker left the Art Association soon after to launch Teton Artlab. So another staffer at the time, Elisa San Souci, took the secret art sale idea and ran with it, creating what is now a time-honored favorite local art party: Whodunnit? Anonymous Art Show and Sale. Each year, artists are invited to pick up a six-inch square canvas from the Art Association, take it back to their studios and use it however they see fit to create a piece of art. Many artists take a traditional approach and paint on the canvas. Others veer from the expected and utilize 3D materials, from fabric to metal to ceramics. The works, which all artists donate, are hung throughout the Center for the Arts lobby and ramp gallery. Each piece is presented anonymously, and people can write their name in to bid on a piece. At the end of the evening, a die is cast to select the winner of each piece. “It proved to be a great fundraiser,” San Souci said of the first event. “The mystery component was awesome. You never knew if you were going to get a real prized piece. Art is so personal, you might not care if it’s by a famous artist or not. You like what you like.” This democratic spirit continues a decade later. “The show captures what Jackson used to be, and still is,” said Mark Nowlin, Art Association director. “It appeals to established artists and newbies because it’s not a major endeavor to make a small canvas, and
A mysterious work for ‘Whodunnit’ (left), and Jason Borbet with his piece ‘Carlos Danger.’
it’s nonjudgmental.” Nowlin says Whodunnit? is one of the big local parties of the year. “It rivals Palates and Palettes. Five hundred people attended last year. It’s a great way to catch up with friends. It’s also a nice entrance for new people in the community.” Tenley Thompson has contributed artworks to Whodunnit? for the past six years. Though she primarily works as a photographer, she prefers to use the six-inch canvas as a springboard for a sculptural piece in either ceramics or wood. “It forces me to create outside of what I would normally create,” she said. “I get to experiment with new styles and ideas that, if I was not forced into the six-by-six size I would have probably not considered.” Thompson said her small sculptures elicit exclamations of surprise from audiences. Her favorite part of the show is discovering the unique ways her peers work with their canvases. The chance to buy a work by a well-known artist is always a thrill, Thompson said. She won an Amy Ringholz painting one year for only $99. She also appreciates the opportunity to bid on art just because she loves it without knowing who made it. “Lots of folks make grids of the works they have won over the years,” Thompson said. “It’s like Jackson art history on a wall.” The canvases are auctioned off for $99. A select number of 12- and 18-inch square canvases will also be for sale, for $299 and $999 respectively. All proceeds benefit the Art Association. 10th annual Whodunnit? Anonymous Art Show and Sale, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 3 at the Center for the Arts Theater Lobby, $15. Buy tickets at the door or artassociation.org
Light up the night
Recent art phenom transplant Jason Borbet opens a show at the brand new venue, Ski Barre/West Bank Dance Saturday night. Borbet, who paints under the name Borbay, will hang three new works along with other pieces in his signature colorful style at the “Art Barre Soiree.” Borbay made a name for himself in New York painting exuberant image and text-based works about hip-hop artists and celebrities. In 2010, Time Out magazine dubbed him the “most creative New Yorker.” One of his ongoing projects is to paint the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan every year for 20 years. His eighth painting in the series will be on display at Ski Barre. Entitled “Neon Guggenheim,” it was inspired by the artist’s painting, “Neon Cowboy.” He will also show “Old Town Bar,” based on a neon bar sign in New York City, as well as his neon sign painting, “Carlos Danger,” which Borbay started before the Anthony Weiner scandal broke. (Weiner, a former New York City congressman, used the moniker “Carlos Danger” when sending women sexting.) Borbay and his wife moved to Teton Valley, Idaho, two years ago, and the artist has found great inspiration from the natural environment as well as fellow artists in the region. “Living at altitude, the fresh air, perpetual silence, numerous blue skies, cross country skiing, ice hockey all keeps me going at full bore,” he said. Borbay also contributed to Whodunnit? so check him out twice this weekend. Art Barre soiree featuring art by Borbay, 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, March 4 at Ski Barre/Westbank Dance, free. 3465 N. Pines Way. PJH
n Riot Act, Inc. Presents The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare 7:00pm, Walk Festival Hall, $15.00 - $20.00, 307-203-9067 n Free Public Stargazing 7:30pm, Center for the Arts, Free, 844-996-7827 n Dusty Green Bones Band 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-733-2190 n The Buffalo Ruckus 9:00pm, Mangy Moose, $5.00, 307-733-4913 n Eminence Ensemble 9:30pm, Town Square Tavern, $5.00 - $10.00, 307-733-3886 n Friday Night DJ with DJN8 10:00pm, Pink Garter Theatre, Free, 307-733-1500
SATURDAY, MARCH 4
n 2017 Backcountry Basecamp 9:00am, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Free, 307-733-2292 n Intro to Silversmithing Workshop 9:30am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $154.00 $184.00, 307-733-6379 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n First Sundays 11:00am, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Free, 307-733-5771
MONDAY, MARCH 6
n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Digital Photography 9:00am, CWC-Jackson, 307733-7425 n Adult Cross Country Ski Tour: Ditch Creek Area 9:00am, Teton Recreation Center, $25.00, 307-739-9025 n Create with Me: Ages 2 & 3 with caregiver 9:15am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $75.00 - $90.00, 307-733-6379 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Kindercreations Ages 3-5 10:30am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $80.00 - $96.00, 307-733-6379 n Foreign Policy Series 12:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-733-2164 n Snowshoe with a Ranger 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n B.O.G.D.O.G - Band On Glen Down on Glen 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n After School Kidzart Club: Grade K-2 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $165.00 $198.00, 307-733-6379 n Handbuilding Plus! 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $150.00 $180.00, 307-733-6379 n Pica’s Margarita Cup presented by JHSC 3:30pm, Snow King Mountain, 307-733-6433
MARCH 1, 2017 | 23
SEE CALENDAR PAGE 24
SUNDAY, MARCH 5
n Quilting - Circles 12:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $100.00, 307-733-7425 n The Cadillacs 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-353-2300 n Major Zephyr 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Stagecoach Band 6:00pm, Stagecoach, Free, 307-733-4407 n Songwriter’s Alley 7:00pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-732-3939
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n Saturday U 8:30am, National Museum of Wildlife Art, Free, 307-690-2680 n REFIT® 9:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-733-6398 n Growing Food in Jackson Hole 9:00am, CWC-Jackson, $75.00, 307-733-7425 n Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga Workshop 9:00am, Teton County/ Jackson Recreation Center Aquatic Area, $35.00, 307-732-5754 n 2017 Backcountry Basecamp 9:00am, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Free, 307-733-2292 n Intro to Silversmithing Workshop 9:30am, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $154.00 $184.00, 307-733-6379 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Teton Valley Winter Farmers’ Market 10:00am, MD Nursery, Free, 208-354-8816 n Contemporary Violence with Fight Choreographer Michael Johnson 10:00am, The Black Box Theatre, $150.00, 307-733-3021 n re. Move, re. Balance Pilates Workshop with Alena Derby 10:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $25.00 - $65.00, 307-733-6398
n Collage 10:00am, Center for the Arts, $60.00 - $72.00, 307-733-6379 n Assemblage 1:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $65.00 - $80.00, 307-733-6379 n Snowshoe with a Ranger 1:30pm, Grand Teton National Park, Free, 307-739-3399 n Music Under the Tram with Wyatt Lowe & The Mayhem Kings 3:00pm, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, Free, 307-733-2292 n Après Ski and Art 5:00pm, Diehl Gallery, Free, 307-733-0905 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Moose Hockey Game 7:00pm, Snow King Sports & Event Center, $10.00, 307-2011633 n Riot Act, Inc. Presents The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare 7:00pm, Walk Festival Hall, $15.00 - $20.00, 307-203-9067 n The Center Presents Reggie Watts 7:00pm, The Center Theater, $47.00 - $57.00, 307-733-4900 n Dusty Green Bones Band 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-733-2190 n Martin Sexton 8:00pm, Knotty Pine, $22.00 $25.00, 208-787-2866 n Hell’s Belles 9:00pm, Mangy Moose, $20.00, 307-733-4913 n Jon Wayne & the Pain 9:30pm, Town Square Tavern, $10.00, 307-733-3886 n Live Music w. Wyatt Lowe 10:30pm, Pink Garter Theatre, Free, 307-733-1500
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
24 | MARCH 1, 2017
TUESDAY, MARCH 7
n Dance & Fitness Classes All Day 8:00am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $16.00, 307-733-6398 n REFIT® 8:30am, Dancers’ Workshop, $10.00 - $20.00, 307-733-6398 n Creating Healthy Work Environments Productive Meetings 9:00am, Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, $20.00, 307-739-1026 n Sleigh Rides 10:00am, National Elk Refuge, $15.00 - $21.00, 307-733-0277 n Toddler Time 10:05am, Teton County Library Youth Auditorium, Free, 307-733-2164 n White Lightning Open Mic Night 3:00pm, The Trap Bar & Grill, Free, 307-3532300 n The Maw Band 3:30pm, Mangy Moose, Free, 307-733-4913 n POP UP: Art FUNdamentals 3:30pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $70.00 - $84.00, 307-733-6379 n Hand and Wheel 3:45pm, Ceramics Studio, $180.00 - $216.00, 307-733-6379 n REFIT® 5:15pm, First Baptist Church, Free, 307-6906539 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Indian Cooking - Tandoori Chicken 6:00pm, CWC-Jackson, $65.00, 307-733-7425 n Intro to Silversmithing 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $154.00 - $184.00, 307-733-6379 n Teton County Library presents Groovin’ with Eric Litwin Family Concert 6:00pm, The Center Theater, Free, 307-733-2164 n Relief Printing, Condensed 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $150.00, 307-733-6379 n Art N Soul 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $88.00 - $105.00, 307-733-6379 n Bluegrass Tuesdays with One Ton Pig 7:30pm, Silver Dollar Showroom, Free, 307-7332190 n B.O.G.D.O.G. 9:30pm, Town Square Tavern, Free, 307-7333886
FOR COMPLETE EVENT DETAILS VISIT PJHCALENDAR.COM
Rage Before Beauty Logan takes the Wolverine to a darker place.
20TH CENTURY FOX
n Free Public Planetarium Programs 3:30pm, Teton County Library, Free, 844-9967827 n Studio Sampler 3:45pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $264.00 - $316.00, 307-733-6379 n Hootenanny 6:00pm, Dornan’s, Free, 307-733-2415 n Great Until Late 6:00pm, Local Stores, Free, 307-733-3316 n Foreign Policy Series 6:00pm, Teton County Library, Free, 307-7332164 n Relief Printing, Condensed 6:00pm, Art Association of Jackson Hole, $150.00, 307-733-6379
CINEMA
BY SCOTT RENSHAW @scottrenshaw
I
f there was any reason to suspect that co-writer/director James Mangold was going to deliver just another adventure for the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) in Logan, he takes approximately two minutes to dispatch such notions. Gone are the trademark muttonchop sideburns, replaced by a full (and graying) beard. The healing powers that have kept him alive for more than 150 years are fading, leaving him limping, coughing and self-medicating through his days. As for the much-publicized decision to make this an R-rated film—well, the first word out of Logan’s mouth is “fuck,” shortly before he skewers and dismembers a bunch of guys trying to jack the rims of the limo he drives as a chauffeur around El Paso, Texas. Stripping the claw-wielding mutant down to his brutal essence—a lonely warrior who never seems to have a shot at finding peace—makes for a fascinating change of pace for a character Jackman has already played in eight previous films. Mangold bypasses many of the trappings of the past decade’s super-hero blockbusters, finding something that’s more mournful, and more packed with a violent sense of consequence, than other entries in this franchise. Yet that new direction also comes with its own set of unique pitfalls. None of that is the fault of the terrific set-up, which finds Logan and the albino Caliban (Stephen Merchant) among the few surviving mutants in their world. In an abandoned building south of the Mexican border, they alternate serving as caretaker for Charles
Hugh Jackman in Logan
Xavier (Patrick Stewart), whose mental powers are now a threat as a degenerative illness results in periodic seizures that threaten everyone around him. But their attempt to stay under the radar is thwarted by the appearance of a mute, nearly-feral young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen) and the robot-handed government operative (Boyd Holbrook) determined to retrieve her. The parental dynamic between Logan and Laura drives much of the narrative in Logan, as the veteran killer accustomed to isolation poses as part of a makeshift family when forced to hit the road with Charles and Laura and seek out a mutant sanctuary rumored to exist in Canada. Jackman has inhabited this character for more than 15 years, and he digs deep to gather all the loss we’ve seen him endure in the other films (along with other revelations that trickle out over the course of this one). If this is indeed Jackman’s farewell to the Wolverine, as he has indicated, he goes out with a renewed vitality, and a recognition of how to fashion Logan’s journey as a parallel of the scenes from Shane that are pointedly included here. Of course, much of Logan’s distinctive sensibility comes as a result of its R-rating, which likely was only made possible thanks to the success of the similarly brutal and foul-mouthed Deadpool. Mangold certainly doesn’t waste his opportunity to make an adults-only Wolverine story, as the severed body parts and fountains of CGI blood accumulate at an impressive rate.
Yet while Logan isn’t nearly as gleeful as Deadpool in flaunting its license to kill and drop f-bombs, the action sequences begin to take on a numbing sameness— and that’s even after Laura is shown to be nearly as dangerous an adversary as Logan himself. Even a grown-up’s idea of a comic-book movie can’t entirely shed the expectation that the fights will get bigger and bloodier right up to the climactic showdowns. It’s hard to complain about the ambition Mangold shows in Logan, considering how rare it is to find such an approach to these carefully-protected intellectual properties. At times the narrative seems on the verge of getting even stranger and wilder, including a subplot involving an agribusiness conspiracy that feels under-developed and tossed off. But Mangold is impressively dedicated to making the most of his character beats, especially in the messy but genuine relationship between Logan and Charles that benefits from the long cinematic history shared by Jackman and Stewart. Perhaps it’s impossible to completely shed the tropes of the comic book movie, but Logan at least earns its emotional moments by committing to a tale of the damaged man inside the Wolverine. PJH LOGAN BBB Hugh Jackman Patrick Stewart Dafne Keen Rated R
TRY THESE Shane (1953) Alan Ladd Jean Arthur Not Rated
Children of Men (2006) Clive Owen Michael Caine Rated R
The Wolverine (2013) Hugh Jackman Tao Okamoto Rated PG-13
Deadpool (2016) Ryan Reynolds Morena Baccarin Rated R
BEER, WINE & SPIRITS
Uvas Perfectas España’s economic wines. BY TED SCHEFFLER @critic1
I
t goes without saying that France’s winemakers produce some of the world’s finest wines. But then, just to the south, so does Spain. The difference is that España oozes good wine bargains, while French values are harder to come by. The fact is that Spain is now the world’s biggest wine exporter. However, according to The Independent, Spanish wines sold abroad garnered, on average, less than a third of the price of their French counterparts. Buying $8 wine is a risky proposition—that is, unless it’s 5 Viñas Tempranillo ($7.99) from Luis Gurpegui Muga family-owned winery. This light, easy-drinking, 100 percent tempranillo wine is loaded with fruit (plum and strawberry) and is fairly low
in acidity. It’s delicious to slurp with grilled and roasted pork dishes. I love it with Mexican-style carnitas. In a recent blind tasting of Garnacha wines from Spain, Bodegas Tintoralba Capitulo 8 Garnacha ($15.95) was easily my favorite, a full-bodied wine showing subtle balsamic and black cherry notes. The winery is situated in Spain’s La Mancha regions, and Capitulo 8 (Chapter 8) refers to Don Quixote and carries a windmill on its label, along with a quote from Chapter 8: “Fly not, cowards and vile beings, for a single knight attacks you.” The stunning, Technicolor passion flower image on a bottle of Tarima Monastrell ($9.99) is eye-catching. But it’s the wine in the bottle that wins the day. Made from gnarly, ungrafted vines in the rugged Alicante that average 35 to 40 years—and aged in stainless steel— Tarima’s semi-sweet notes of chocolate, anise, huckleberry and blackberry garnered 91 points from Wine Advocate’s Robert Parker. I can certainly see why. It’s unfortunate I can’t recall the restaurant server who turned me on to Señorio de Astobiza Txakoli ($12.99),
IMBIBE because I’d sure like to thank him or her. Although this white wine is slightly fizzy, it’s also very dry, high in acid and low in alcohol, which makes it a delight as an aperitif or to drink with tapas and pinchos. Rosé wines from Spain are particularly good values, and that’s the case when it comes to El Coto de Rioja Rosado ($10.75). A 48-hour maceration of tempranillo and garnacha grapes by winemaker Cesar Fernandez to extract color and flavor, is followed by cold fermentation and bottling. Tangy strawberry and cherry flavors dominate, and healthy acidity makes this Rosado a versatile wine to enjoy with salads, spicy foods, Mediterranean and Spanish fare or just as an aperitif to sip on the porch in warm weather.
Another Spanish rosé worth tracking down is Cune Rioja Rosado ($13), made from 100 percent tempranillo. It’s terrific with fish, seafood and lighter meats like pork and chicken. Ribeiro wines from northern Spain are frequently good bargains and Coto de Gomariz Ribeiro Blanco ($19.99) is one of them. This is a stunning blend of treixadura, godello, loureira and albariño, with honeysuckle and pineapple aromas, plus mandarin orange, lime and passion fruit flavors on the palate. Bone-dry and acidic, Coto de Gomariz Ribeiro Blanco is a real beauty, especially with grilled seafood like octopus, bluefish and swordfish. Grown in northwest Spain, the albariño varietal is one you really should get to know. Veiga Naúm Albariño ($13.99) is produced in Spain’s Rías Baixas DO (Denominación de Origen), and is a solid expression of albariño’s rich, ripe, clean fruit flavors. Salud. PJH
THE LOCALS
FAVORITE PIZZA 2012-2016 •••••••••
$7
$5 Shot & Tall Boy
LUNCH
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.
SPECIAL Slice, salad & soda
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
TV Sports Packages and 7 Screens
HAPPY HOUR Daily 4-6:00pm
307.201.1717 | LOCALJH.COM ON THE TOWN SQUARE
SALES@PLANETJH.COM OR CALL 307.732.0299
MARCH 1, 2017 | 25
CONTACT YOUR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE TODAY TO LEARN MORE
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
Lunch 11:30am Monday-Saturday Dinner 5:30pm Nightly
Under the Pink Garter Theatre (307) 734-PINK • www.pinkygs.com
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
26 | MARCH 1, 2017
ASIAN & CHINESE TETON THAI
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
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL
20%OFF ENTIRE BILL
Good between 5:30-6pm • Open nightly at 5:30pm Please mention ad for discount.
733-3912 160 N. Millward
Make your reservation online at bluelionrestaurant.com
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.
Two- fer Tuesday is back !
Two-for-one 12” pies all day. Dine-in or Carry-out. (LIMIT 6 PIES PER CARRYOUT ORDER, PLEASE.)
®
CONTINENTAL
11am - 9:30pm daily 20 W. Broadway 307.201.1472
PizzeriaCaldera.com
Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally FRESH FOOD at reasonable prices, is a always a FUN PLACE to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel RIGHT AT HOME and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit. Reservations at (307) 733-4913 3295 Village Drive • Teton Village, WY
www.mangymoose.com
ALPENHOF
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 Alpenrose, call 307-733-3242.
THE BLUE LION
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
A Jackson Hole favorite for 38 years. Join us in the charming atmosphere of a historic home. Ask a local about our rack of lamb. Serving fresh fish, elk, poultry, steaks, and vegetarian entrées. Live acoustic guitar music most nights. Early Bird Special: 20% off entire bill between 5:30-6:0pm, Open nightly at 5:30 p.m. Reservations recommended, walkins welcome. 160 N. Millward, (307) 733-3912, bluelionrestaurant.com.
CAFE GENEVIEVE
Serving inspired home cooked classics in a historic log cabin. Enjoy brunch daily at 8 a.m., Dinner Tues-Sat 5 p.m. and Happy Hour TuesSat 3-5:30 p.m. featuring $5 glasses of wine, $5 specialty drinks, $3 bottled beer. 135 E. Broadway, (307) 732-1910, genevievejh.com.
ELEANOR’S
Enjoy all the perks of fine dining, minus the dress code at Eleanor’s, serving rich, saucy dishes in a warm and friendly setting. Its bar alone is an attraction, thanks to reasonably priced drinks 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
LOCAL & DOMESTIC STEAKS SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK @ 5:30 TILL 10 JHCOWBOYSTEAKHOUSE.COM 307-733-4790
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.
Large Specialty Pizza ADD: Wings (8 pc)
$ 13 99
Medium Pizza (1 topping) Stuffed Cheesy Bread
for an extra $5.99/each
(307) 733-0330 520 S. Hwy. 89 • Jackson, WY
ELY U Q I N U PEAN EURO
F O H ‘ E TH
R DINNEAGE I H LUNCTETON VILL I T S IN FA BREAKE ALPENHOF AT TH
AT THE
307.733.3242
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) 201-1717, localjh.com.
LOTUS CAFE
Serving organic, freshly-made world cuisine while catering to all eating styles. Endless organic and natural meat, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free 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. 140 N. Cache, (307) 734-0882, tetonlotuscafe.com.
MANGY MOOSE
Mangy Moose Restaurant, with locally sourced, seasonally fresh food at reasonable prices, is a always a fun place to go with family or friends for a unique dining experience. The personable staff will make you feel right at home and the funky western decor will keep you entertained throughout your entire visit. Teton Village, (307) 733-4913, mangymoose.com.
MOE’S BBQ
MILLION DOLLAR COWBOY STEAKHOUSE
SNAKE RIVER BREWERY & RESTAURANT
America’s most award-winning microbrewery is serving lunch and dinner. Take in the
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 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 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
The locals favorite! Voted Best Pizza in Jackson Hole 2012-2016. Seek out this hidden gem under the Pink Garter Theatre for NY pizza by the slice, salads, strombolis, 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.
PIZZERIA CALDERA
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.
MARCH 1, 2017 | 27
Jackson’s first Speakeasy Steakhouse. The Million Dollar Cowboy Steakhouse is a hidden gem located below the world famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. Our menu offers guests the best in American steakhouse cuisine. Top quality chops and steaks sourced from local farms, imported Japanese Wagyu beef, and house-cured meats and sausages. Accentuated with a variety of thoughtful side dishes, innovative appetizers, creative vegetarian items, and decadent desserts, a meal at this landmark location is sure to be a memorable one. Reservations are highly recommended.
TRIO
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
Opened in Jackson Hole by Tom Fay and David Fogg, Moe’s Original Bar B Que features a Southern Soul Food Revival. Moe’s Original Bar B Que offers award-winning Alabama-style pulled pork, ribs, wings, turkey and chicken smoked over hardwood served with two unique sauces in addition to Catfish and a Shrimp MoeBoy sandwich. Additionally, a daily rotation of traditional Southern sides and tasty desserts are served fresh daily from recipes passed down for generations. With a kitchen that stays open late, the restaurant features a menu that fits any budget. While the setting is family-friendly, there is a full premium bar offering a lively bar scene complete with HDTVs for sports fans, music, shuffle board and other games upstairs. Large party takeout orders and full service catering with delivery for any size group for parties, business lunches, reunions, weddings and other special events is also be available.
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.
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
28 | MARCH 1, 2017
COMMENTARY
WRITERS WANTED · UNTOLD STORIES · · ALTERNATIVE VOICES · · EDGY PERSPECTIVES · BE AN IMPORTANT VOICE IN THE COMMUNITY WHILE SHARPENING YOUR STORYTELLING SKILLS. EMAIL CLIPS TO EDITOR@PLANETJH.COM
SUDOKU
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.
NRA Leaders Should Support Bill of Rights BY MIKE BRESSLER
I
n his recent speech to the Conservative Action Conference, Wayne LaPierre, the executive director of the National Rifle Association, drew cheers from the crowd for his attack on protests opposing Trump Administration policies, going so far as to suggest that protesters are terrorists. Since its inception, the NRA has provided an unbending defense of private gun ownership and often provided a voice in support for all freedoms Americans hold dearBut LaPierre’s verbal assaults against free speech are not unlike those given by gun control advocates against the Second Amendment. Partial quotes from the First and Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights: “Freedom of speech … the right of the people peaceably to assemble … to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” And “the right of the people to keep and bare arms.” These and other rights of the people granted in the Bill of Rights are liberties most people in the world don’t have, not even in their dreams. Gun owners that I know locally, and those I’ve met from across the country while working as a hunting guide, support not only the Second Amendment, but the entire Bill of Rights and believe it provides critical protection from possible (read probable) abuses of the majority government. The Bill of Rights was in fact created for constitutional protection for individual liberties and lists specific prohibitions on governmental power. The Civil Rights Movement, even the American Revolution, came into being from protests. More recently, the
Tea Party became a national movement through protests, many of their protesters carrying signs paraphrasing a quote by Jefferson, “Remember: Dissent is Patriotic.” How right they were. And while an exceedingly small number of protesters have engaged in destructive action, destructive action is against the law and perpetrators may be prosecuted. It is no different than a gun owner using a gun to rob a liquor store; the NRA insists it is the action of robbing the store that should be condemned, not owning a gun. It is worth noting that while political violence cannot be condoned, the number of incidents after the election of Obama and Trump, two politicians immensely disliked by opposition parties, were few and the cost of damages was much less than that of a December 16, 1773 tea party sponsored by Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty. The idea that freedom means freedom for those with whom we agree and everyone else is a traitor is nothing new. Various communist governments of the past century, politicians pushing McCarthyism in the 50s, and fascist movements in Europe in the 30s voiced outrages at political opponents similar to those stated by LaPierre. Such words spoken by a self-proclaimed defender of the Bill of Rights go beyond self-righteous hypocrisy and cowardliness; they encourage the blatant surrender of America’s most precious freedoms to our enemies, a dimming of the brightest light in a darkened world. The pages of history are filled with timid souls who sold their principles to promote their cause. In the end, they lost not only their cause, but their self-respect and even their country. As a gun owner, I am beyond embarrassed by LaPierre; I am ashamed. Gun owners cannot leave the NRA in protest; no one else will give voice to their concerns. But one hopes NRA members will demand leadership that will be steadfast in support of gun rights while respecting that the Bill of Rights is not something that applies to the chosen few in power, and “We the People” doesn’t mean the people who agree with us, but every single American. PJH
“The pages of history are filled with timid souls who sold their principles to promote their cause.”
WELLNESS COMMUNITY
These businesses provide health or wellness services for the Jackson Hole community and its visitors.
DEEP TISSUE • SPORTS MASSAGE • THAI MASSAGE MYOFASCIAL RELEASE CUPPING
Oliver Tripp, NCTM MASSAGE THERAPIST NATIONALLY CERTIFIED
253-381-2838
180 N Center St, Unit 8 abhyasamassage.com
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 No physician referral required. (307) 733-5577•1090 S Hwy 89
www.fourpinespt.com
Enjoy
TM
®
Transcendental Meditation Center of Jackson Hole Introduction - Instruction Refreshers - Advanced Programs
307-690-4511
www.tm.org/transcendentalmeditation-jackson
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
MARCH 1, 2017 | 29
TO ADVERTISE IN THE WELLNESS DIRECTORY, CONTACT JEN AT PLANET JACKSON HOLE AT 307-732-0299 OR SALES@PLANETJH.COM.
| PLANET JACKSON HOLE |
30 | MARCH 1, 2017
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY
BY ROB BREZSNY
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Your immediate future is too good to be true. Or at least that’s what you, with your famous self-doubt, might be inclined to believe if I told you the truth about the favorable developments that are in the works. Therefore, I have come up with some fake anxieties to keep your worry reflex engaged so it won’t sabotage the real goodies. Beware of dirty limericks and invisible ladders and upsidedown rainbows and psychic bunny rabbits. Be on guard against accountants wearing boxing gloves and clowns singing Broadway show tunes in runaway shopping carts and celebrities telling you classified secrets in your dreams. ARIES (March 21-April 19) I predict that you will have earned the title of Master Composter no later than March 26. Not necessarily because you will have packed your food scraps, wilted flowers, coffee grounds, and shredded newspapers in, say, a deluxe dual-chamber tumbling compost bin. But rather because you will have dealt efficiently with the rotting emotions, tattered habits, decrepit melodramas, and trivial nonsense that has accumulated; you will have worked hard to transform all that crap into metaphorical fertilizer for your future growth. Time to get started! TAURUS (April 20-May 20) It’s a good time for you to wield your emotional intelligence with leadership and flair. The people you care about need more of your sensitive influence. Any posse or tribe you’re part of will benefit from your thoughtful intervention. So get out there and build up the group morale, Taurus. Assert your healing ideals with panache. Tamp down the insidious power of peer pressure and fashionable nonsense. You have a mandate to wake up sleepy allies and activate the dormant potential of collective efforts. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) If you were ever in your life going to be awarded an honorary PhD from a top university, it would happen in the next few weeks. If there were even a remote pos-
sibility that you would someday be given one of those MacArthur Fellowship “genius” grants, now would be the time. Likewise if you had any hopes of being selected as one of “The World’s Sexiest Chameleons” or “The Fastest, Sweetest Talkers on Earth” or “The Planet’s Most Virtuoso Vacillators,” the moment has arrived. And even if none of those things happen, I’m still pretty sure that your reputation and status will be on the rise. CANCER (June 21-July 22) You’re wandering into places you’ve always thought you should be wary of or skeptical about. Good for you! As long as you protect your innocence, I encourage you to keep exploring. To my delight, you have also been fantasizing about accomplishments that used to be off-limits. Again, I say: Good for you! As long as you don’t overreach, I invite you to dream boldly, even brazenly. And since you seem to be in the mood for big thinking, here are other revolutionary activities to consider: dissolving nonessential wishes; transcending shrunken expectations; escaping the boring past; busting irrelevant taboos. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) I did a good job of raising my daughter. She turned out to be a thoughtful, intelligent adult with high integrity and interesting skills. But I’m not sure my parenting would have been as effective if I’d had more kids. I discussed this issue with Nathan, a guy I know. His six offspring are all grown up, too. “How did you do it?” I asked him. “Having just one child was a challenging job for me.” “I’ll tell you my secret,” Nathan told me. “I’m a bad father. I didn’t work very hard on raising my kids. And now they never let me forget it.” In the coming weeks and months, Leo, I recommend that you pursue my approach in your chosen field, not Nathan’s. Aim for high-quality intensity rather than scattershot quantity. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) In her poem “Not Anyone Who Says,” Virgo writer Mary Oliver looks down on people who declare, “I’m going to
L.A.TIMES “IN OTHER WORDS” By Jim Holland
SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2017
ACROSS
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. be careful and smart in matters of love.” She disparages the passion of anyone who asserts, “I’m going to choose slowly.” Instead she champions those who are “chosen by something invisible and powerful and uncontrollable and beautiful and possibly even unsuitable.” Here’s my response: Her preferred formula sounds glamorous and dramatic and romantic—especially the powerful and beautiful part. But in practice it rarely works out well— maybe just ten percent of the time—mostly because of the uncontrollable and unsuitable part. And now is not one of those times for you, Virgo. Be careful and smart in matters of love, and choose slowly. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) The poet Rainer Maria Rilke bemoaned the fact that so many of us “squander our sorrows.” Out of self-pity or lazy self-indulgence, we wallow in memories of experiences that didn’t turn out the way we wished they would have. We paralyze ourselves with repetitions of depleting thoughts. Here’s an alternative to that approach: We could use our sadness and frustrations to transform ourselves. We could treat them as fuel to motivate our escape from what doesn’t work, to inspire our determination to rise above what demoralizes and demeans us. I mention this, Libra, because now is an excellent time to do exactly that. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) It’s time for the Bliss Blitz—a new holiday just for you Scorpios. To celebrate it properly, get as buoyant as you dare; be greedy for euphoria; launch a sacred quest for pleasure. Ah, but here’s the big question: Can you handle this much relief and release? Are you strong enough to open yourself to massive outbreaks of educational delight and natural highs? Some of you may not be prepared. You may prefer to remain ensconced in your protective sheath of cool cynicism. But if you think you can bear the shock of unprecedented exaltation and jubilation, then go ahead and risk it. Experiment with the unruly happiness of the Bliss Blitz.
1 For every one 5 Attempts 10 Asian vine leaf 15 Came down to earth 19 Cadenza, e.g. 20 Kidney-related 21 Together 22 Suvari of “American Beauty” 23 At center stage, literally 27 Pond buildup 28 Talk about incessantly 29 Floor-length garment 30 Asian New Year 31 Lao Tzu principle 33 Apple core, for short? 34 Chopin work 36 Start the day cheerfully, literally 42 Numskulls 43 Rock’s __ Lobos 44 Start a pot 45 Tazo offerings 46 CPO’s org. 47 Links transport 49 Smart Simpson 51 Made out 55 Milne character 56 Elevator innovator 59 Pic source 60 “A Streetcar Named Desire” wife 61 Gather 63 Collar 65 “What’s the __?” 67 Withdraw by degrees 68 Track runner, to a tout 70 Stinging rebuke, literally 74 Farm house dweller 75 Get into shape, with “up” 76 “Not __ long shot” 77 Gob 78 Start to freeze?
80 82 85 87 90 91
1956 Triple Crown winner Pampering place Linguist Chomsky Logician Turing Rubs the wrong way Johnny’s 2014 Olympics figure skating co-commentator 93 Fills with cigarette output, as a room 96 Squealer 97 Part of DMV: Abbr. 99 Withered 100 “Sweet as apple cider” girl of song 101 Spirited mount 104 Request reassignment, literally 108 Iron-attracting magnetite 110 Byron’s “before” 111 Sass 112 Sentimental sounds 113 Heavy reading? 114 Is incapable of 117 Comes up short 121 Delivers, literally 125 Skinny fish 126 Sambuca flavoring 127 “On Narcissism” author 128 Went lickety-split 129 Staff symbol 130 Bum __ 131 Nourishes 132 See 4-Down
DOWN
1 Movie role played by Skippy 2 Sci-fi writer Frederik 3 First name in fashion 4 Oft-fried food 5 Indian title of respect 6 High-__ 7 “Diana” singer 8 Tinker Bell’s creator 9 Make a subtle exit 10 German road 11 Approx. repair cost
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) In his book The Horologicon, Mark Forsyth gathered “obscure but necessary” words that he dug out of old dictionaries. One of his discoveries is a perfect fit for you right now. It’s “snudge,” a verb that means to walk around with a pensive look on your face, appearing to be busy or in the midst of productive activity, when in fact you’re just goofing off. I recommend it for two reasons: 1. It’s important for your mental and physical health that you do a lot of nothing; that you bless yourself with a healing supply of refreshing emptiness. 2. It’s important for your mental and physical health that you do this on the sly as much as possible; that you avoid being judged or criticized for it by others. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) I wish your breakfast cereal came in boxes decorated with Matisse and Picasso paintings. I wish songbirds would greet you each morning with sweet tunes. I wish you’d see that you have more power than you realize. I wish you knew how uniquely beautiful you are. I wish you’d get intoxicated with the small miracles that are happening all around you. I wish that when you made a bold move to improve your life, everyone greeted it with curiosity and excitement. And I wish you would let your imagination go half-wild with fascinating fantasies during this, the Capricorn wishing season. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) “You’re a different human being to everybody you meet,” says novelist Chuck Palahniuk. Now is an excellent time to contemplate the intricacies and implications of that amazing truth—and start taking better advantage of how much freedom it gives you. Say the following statements out loud and see how they feel: 1. “My identity isn’t as narrowly circumscribed as I think it is.” 2. “I know at least 200 people, so there must be at least 200 facets to my character.” 3. “I am too complicated to be completely comprehended by any one person.” 4. “Consistency is overrated.”
12 Oh so very 13 Surround 14 Release 15 Pal of Pierre 16 Soup bean 17 Swallow 18 Preferences 24 Annoying situation 25 Mark, for one 26 Office phone unit 32 “__ piece of the rock”: Prudential slogan 34 Support for the sheriff 35 Now and then, literally 36 Subj. with x’s 37 Yucky stuff 38 Nobel Peace Prize city 39 Degenerate from disuse 40 Toon flapper Etta 41 Primary 46 Hidden 48 Pay no admission price, literally 50 Río contents 52 “Red Balloon” painter 53 Dash 54 Blocker of “Bonanza” 57 Elite group 58 ’40s-’50s pitcher Maglie 62 Ideally 64 Cricket club 66 Brooklyn Bridge seller, say 68 First captain? 69 Vogue editor-in-chief Dame __ Wintour 71 Bridge position 72 Mythical flutist 73 Back again 75 Film watcher’s channel 79 (Has) come down with something 81 Causes 83 San Diego player
84 __ code 86 Little helper? 88 “Yeah, right!” 89 Art class subject 92 Show up 94 Word with hygiene or history 95 Two more than an eagle 98 Disgust 101 “The Name of the Rose” actor Christian 102 American sparrow relative 103 Citation and Corsair 104 Stir up 105 Toddler’s outfit 106 Academic security 107 Parts of kettles 109 Inquisitor __ de Torquemada 114 “Moonstruck” Oscar winner 115 Arch style 116 Sound of a flop 118 Train station 119 Stocking shade 120 Wood finisher? 122 Chicago winter hrs. 123 “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats” monogram 124 Burnable media
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