Sandpoint Reader - November 22, 2017

Arts, entttainment, blustt and sse news

November 22, 2017 |

FREE

| Vol. 14 Issue 47

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Redoubt profile and explanation Shook twins annual 'giving thanks' concert Roundabout to wrap up construction soon Toys for tots benefit

Recipes from the sandpoint eater, photos from schweitzer' s opening weekend,football, quantumpoetry physics, and much more!

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READER

(wo)MAN compiled by

Lyndsie Kiebert

on the street

111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208)265-9724

www.sandpointreader.com

“What’s your favorite dish on Thanksgiving?”

“My favorite Thanksgiving dish is cornbread casserole, and it’s because it reminds me of my grandmother because it’s her recipe.”

Kim Helms Florist Samuels

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Everything In Store

15% - 20% - 50% OFF

405 N. Fourth Ave. Sandpoint, ID

“Pumpkin pie.”

Jaye Schuck Florist Hope

“Obviously the classics like turkey and mashed potatoes, but this year I think we’re gonna try to do some squash mac and cheese, or some sweet potato desserts.

There’s literally nothing I don’t like about Thanksgiving.”

Johnelle Fifer Understory owner Sandpoint

“Stuffing!”

Brooke Moore Azalea’s owner Sandpoint

(diagonally across from connie’s)

208.265.2886 OPEN Mon.-Sat. 10AM-6pm • CHRISTMAS EVE 10AM-3pm • Closed Sundays

LIVE MUSIC JOSH HEDLUND 7-9pm DEVON WADE 6:30-9:30pm Go Cougs Apple Cup Watch Party Time: TBD

“I like it altogether. My favorite is everything in its entirety — but pie.

F*** pie.”

Erika Cox Tattoo and piercing artist Sandpoint

BREWERY & BEER HALL 220 Cedar St. 209-6700 FAMILY FRIENDLY BREWPUB 312 First Ave.

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Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Taylor Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Ronald Cuyen (cover), Ben Olson, Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Jessie McCall, Lyndsie Kiebert.

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, A.C. Woolnough, Philip A. Deutchman, Mayor Shelby Rognstad, Phil Hough, Jim Mitsui, Brenden Bobby, Emily Erickson, Beth Weber, Amy Craven, Dianne Smith, Marcia Pilgeram.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

Subscription Price: $95 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community.

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.

Sandpoint Reader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics.

Requirements: –No more than 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers.

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook.

About the Cover This week’s cover photo features a photograph by Ronald Cuyan honoring our Native Americans. Thanks Ronald!

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COMMENTARY

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL

By A.C. Woolnough Reader Columnist

A column about the trials and tribulations of Parkinson’s Disease

The Thief vs. A Superhero

not a reliable diagnostic measure.

PD steals our ability to differParkinson’s Disease entiate foods, the is a thief. It is insidiability to snuggle ous. It is sneaky. It is up and appreciate destructive. It sneaks our wife’s new up unsuspected and perfume and does its best to dimineven the ability ish one’s quality of life, to smell spoiled self-esteem and ability foods. It is both to be self-reliant. a quality-of-life A.C. Woolnough.

To understand issue as well as how this happens, let’s a potential health threat. For introduce the word “prodromal.” example, I can no longer tell the It refers to symptoms of a disease difference between cola and root that appear before a diagnosis. beer. Except for texture, broccoli For example, a slight sniffle may herald a full-blown cold — or not. and cauliflower taste the same. Almonds, cashews and peanuts are PD has many prodromal issues. just nuts with different shapes— The most common early sympnot different tastes. I carefully tom, occurring up to 10 years check dates on dairy products so before tremors appear, is loss of as not to drink soured milk. sense of smell. Because so many Another common non-motor other possible causes exist, it is

symptom is a “masked face.” Also called a “flat affect,” loss of fine motor control may make it seem the PWP (person with Parkinson’s) is angry, disinterested or unhappy even though the PWP thinks they are smiling or expressing joy. This masking easily leads to miscommunication and misunderstanding.

My 4-year-old grandson asked me why I was mad while we were building with Lego’s. Have you ever tried to explain facial masking to a 4-year-old? PD steals again.

The essence of PD is the loss of brain cells that produce dopamine — essential for voluntary muscle movement and involved in the pleasure mechanism of the brain. Another way PD steals from us is depression and apathy.

Although clinically different, both symptoms lead to a lessening of joy and appreciation of life, family and relationships. Social isolation

is all too common for PWP’s and often becomes a downward spiral.

Being unable to appreciate the simple joys of life, not wanting to share thoughts and feelings with others or wanting to be left alone all the time is not an ideal existence. PD is, once again, a thief.

Once motor symptoms are manifest, it is apparent that PD often steals from us our balance, our ability to prevent falls, free and easy movements and leaves us with stiffness and pain.

The good news is that superheroes do exist! Parkinson’s Warriors fight the thief every day.

Here is the story of one of them — we’ll call him Bob. Bob was in his late 60s, and his PD had advanced quite rapidly. He was the poster child for what many folks think of when they think of PD — stooped posture, tremors, balance issues, and a shuffling,

Lunch with the Mayor: Part Five

By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor

integrity of our neighborhoods.

I want to thank everyone Council will who came to the first “Lunch consider With the Mayor” at Cedar St. a revised Bistro on the last Thursday in ordinance in October. We had a great disJanuary. cussion on many issues related Sideto quality of life, affordability, walks were growth and the economy. also disThere was much discuscussed at sion about recent changes to Mayor Shelby Rognstad. length. The the short-term rental ordicity has always been challenged nance. Sandpoint has taken the on how to fund and encourage lead statewide in developing a construction of sidewalks. The short-term rental ordinance that most affordable and definitive preserves the historic character of solution is a city-wide bond that our neighborhoods while protectcould be paid off over a generaing long-term rental homes and tion. I suspect this would be a pokeeping rent down. This is still a litically challenging initiative that work in progress, as council had would require two-thirds voter apa workshop last Wednesday to proval.

I’m investigating the issue refine the ordinance. The goal is in hopes that we can find alternato create an ordinance that gives tives to sidewalk requirements and greater flexibility to homeownfunding mechanisms that provide ers and creates greater equity greater incentive for homeowner and consistency in enforcement. participation. Ultimately, the goal I’m confident we can strike the is a complete sidewalk network right balance giving homeowners city-wide. potential income through shortThere was also much discusterm rental while protecting the

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sion about workforce housing and growth. We need growth if we are to have employment opportunities, particularly for younger people and families. Without economic growth and vitality, Sandpoint could become a retirement community for only the wealthy. We also don’t want Sandpoint to grow too much so that we lose the quality of life that attracts us here in the first place. We don’t want crowded streets, parks, parking, long commutes, increased crime and strains on public safety resources.

Yet to sustain economic vitality, we need more housing options that are affordable for working families, young people and elderly on fixed incomes. We want more patrons supporting local businesses so they thrive year round.

Striking the perfect balance is the key to Sandpoint’s success. The city is doing this through proactive zoning and good urban planning.

Our talk ended with a discussion about my vision for Sandpoint. Balanced growth was at the center of that discussion. The city is addressing growth head on

with the current Comprehensive Plan sub-area review around the UI-Boyer Property. The city has hosted four workshops and public hearings since September inviting the public to envision the community’s highest and best aspirations for the future development of the region east of the airport.

Overwhelmingly, the public has expressed greatest interest in using the property for recreation, open space and wetland conservation.

Other desired uses included workforce housing, mixed commercial use and education. All of these priorities support a vision for Sandpoint that accommodates balanced growth, a thriving economy, ensures affordability and preserves our quality of life. Additional workshops will be held in 2018 to consider future development of the UI property based on input from the nearly complete sub-area review. Your participation will make the project a success.

Separate from this effort is a citizen-led visioning for a community recreation center. Identified in our Parks Master Plan, a rec center

painfully slow gait, assisted by a walker. With determination, every morning, Bob would hobble to the kitchen, get a bowl from the cupboard, a spoon from the drawer, cereal from the pantry and milk from the refrigerator. All this took about 15 minutes. Sitting down, pouring the cereal and milk took another five minutes and usually involved spilled milk. Eating was a laborious process as well. Bob’s goal was to complete breakfast in under an hour. Most days, he won — he beat the thief known as PD that was trying to take away his dignity and self-control. That was Bob’s superpower. At least once a day, he was in control. He was able to temporarily lock up the thief known as Parkinson’s Disease.

Think about that: having a bowl of cereal as a superpower!

That’s how I choose to remember Bob, my dad.

has long been a community aspiration. Over the last few years, an informal YMCA citizen advisory council has formed to explore the possibility of a rec center in the region. The citizen advisory council envisions the project on the current UI Boyer property, a central location with great connectivity and integration with residential and recreational use. A rec center would offer affordable, yearround recreation opportunities for residents and visitors improving quality of life, create jobs and support local economic growth. In response, last week City Council approved a grant funded feasibility study to assess public interest and support for such a facility in Sandpoint. I encourage you to let your voice be heard on this issue at future UI property workshops.

Lunch with the Mayor is an open invitation over lunch hour to discuss issues important to Sandpoint. Please join me on the last Thursday, Nov. 30, from 12-1 p.m. at Cedar St. Bistro to discuss issues vital to Sandpoint’s continued success.

OPINION

Thoughts concerning quantum physics

By Philip A. Deutchman Reader Contributor

In the Oct. 26 issue of the Reader, there was a column by Suzen Fiskin about the Science of Quantum Happiness.

The article discusses “experiments” done by a Dr. Masaru Emoto, where he claimed that by thinking happy thoughts on a sample of water, and then super-cooling the sample, the water crystals would be well-formed, whereas bad thoughts would produce badly-formed crystals. However, the veracity of this claim has been seriously questioned.

There are a number of scientific problems with these experiments, such as: super-cooling experiments are very tricky to carry out, and the controls he needed to apply were quite insufficient; in terms of the lack of transparency, he did not reveal much about his exact procedures in what he published; furthermore, his publications were not in a regular, scientific, peer-reviewed journal; and lastly,—the death-knell for any scientific experiment—because his experimental protocols were so lacking, his results were essentially unrepeatable. In summary, the experiments did not prove that thoughts can control the crystal shapes.

Let me say that my comments here are not a personal criticism of Ms. Fiskin, but are a critique of the idea that quantum physics plays a role in conscious thought.

The physicist, philosopher and author, Victor J. Stenger, has spent years studying, analyzing and writing about such matters.

In his book, “The Unconscious Quantum,” he concludes that consciousness is not necessary for quantum interactions. In a more

recent book of his that deals with the incompatibilities of science and religion, he also states that there is no evidence that quantum mechanics requires the action of human consciousness, or plays a role in mental processes.

Stenger points out that the parts of the brain where consciousness resides are large compared to the microscopic scales of quantum mechanics, which means that quantum effects are too small in size to play a role in the brain.

He also mentions that quantum calculations were carried out that describe the motion of the brain’s neurotransmitters, which show that any quantum effects are lost in a tiny period of time in the brain, far too short for quantum physics to again play a role.

The end result is that in the brain environment, quantum physics reduces to classical Newtonian physics. Therefore, quantum phenomena are not required in the functioning of thought and consciousness. Hence Stegner’s title, “The Unconscious Quantum.”

This reduction of quantum to

classical theory is a great feature of quantum physics. Even though it is an underlying theory of physics, superseding classical physics, under certain conditions, quantum mechanics does connect and reduce to classical mechanics.

This idea was first introduced by the great pioneer of quantum theory, Niels Bohr, which he called The Correspondence Principle. In other words, there is a correspondence between the quantum world and our familiar, classical, macroscopic world.

And, for physics students taking their first course in quantum mechanics, they learn how to take mathematical averages of the laws of quantum physics that lead to the laws of classical physics.

This is a wonderful example of a deeper theory actually containing a previous theory, under the appropriate conditions.

In this way, classical physics is still retained, serving as a good approximation to quantum physics when quantal effects are extremely small in comparison to the surrounding environment.

In terms of my background, I have been a physics teacher at the University of Idaho for 34 years, and spent much of my life learning about, doing calculations in, and teaching quantum theory. I find the theory to be challenging and very subtle. Physicists themselves had much difficulty in the development of the theory’s interpretations, and it is too easy to misinterpret quantum physics. Even the great mathematician and theoretical physicist, Jon von Neumann thought that human consciousness played a role in the quantum-measurement process.

Of course, in those early days, the pioneers were unaware of today’s discoveries in the new area of Decoherence. This contemporary field of study tackles the more difficult problem of taking the physical environment into account, in order to see how it affects a given quantum system, such as an array of atoms. There is now plenty of evidence supporting these new calculations, which show that the environment itself is sufficient to reduce a quantum system to one that is classical, and that human consciousness is not a quantum process.

As mentioned above, the interpretations of quantum theory are very subtle, and sometimes interpretations that go beyond the assumptions of the theory can be erroneously made. Even today, you can find physicists debating amongst themselves about various interpretations. So it is not a simple matter.

However, if one wants to use quantum mechanics for these consciousness claims, I suggest that one should go through the process of including those attributes into the mathematical formalism of quantum theory, and show that the calculated results agree with well-controlled, well-defined, repeatable experiments. Should physicists be the only ones held to this exacting standard for finding the truth? I think not.

Now, I do applaud anyone who tries to promote human happiness or find empirical techniques that lead to a greater sense of well-being. I just don’t think, from the evidence thus far, that quantum mechanics plays the role that some would like it to.

Finally, in a different sense, quantum mechanics has made me very happy! I was so fortunate for the opportunity to be involved with it for a long time. It takes serious study to learn the mathematics, and especially, to understand its interpretations.

Sometimes the process can be frustrating, but this fascinating theory of the microscopic world, where one learns about atoms, nuclei, photons, electrons, neutrons, protons down to quarks and gluons, along with their properties and interactions, has given me great joy.

After all, it was quantum physics that drew me into physics in the first place; and, I find it incredible that this theory of the quantum world has been one of the most successful theories we humans have been able to create.

Philip Deutchman taught Physics at the University of Idaho in Moscow for 34 years. He is retired and lives with his wife in Sandpoint.

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COMMUNITY

Fire on 4th Street Northwest style cooking at its best Bouquets: •I’d like to give a bouquet to all the organizers of last week’s Citizen’s Climate Lobby, which was a great bipartisan discussion about climate change. I am a firm believer that when people don’t agree on stuff, the best way to come to an understanding (or maybe even a compromise) is to communicate, not go radio silence. Let’s have more communication across the aisle.

•This goes out to all of our contributors, who we count on every week to keep the Reader current. While we appreciate your submissions, we do ask that you clarify when sending stories whether they have been sent to any other publications in the area. Lately, we’ve been trying to cut down on running material that has been published in other publications. We try to keep our content fresh and new, which is difficult in a small town. One thing we’re trying to avoid is publishing the same exact story that has been published before. So, when submitting stories, press releases and anything else, please note in the email whether you have sent it anywhere else. Material that has been sent directly to the Reader will be given priority to material sent to multiple publications. Thanks!

•Last weekend, the Panida Theater celebrated her 90th birthday in grand style. For those of you who didn’t make the party, it was a fun night of live music, vintage film clips and skits that took the audience through the decades from the 1920s to today. I appreciate all those who participated in the event, as well as the staff and volunteers that keep the Panida special.

Barbs •No barbs this week, it’s Thanksgiving! Go hug your family and eat some turkey.

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By Reader Staff Wildwood Grilling’s new hire, Chef Matt Curmi, recently teamed up with Pacific Northwest’s Chef Tom Douglas to host the “Glorious Wood Planked and Smoked Pacific Northwest Dinner” at the Hot Stove Society in Seattle.

Chef Matt created a menu for the Hot Stove Society’s 4th Street cooking class, using Wildwood Grilling products to showcase the variety of smoke flavors produced by different wood types – cedar, cherry, red oak and hickory.

Twenty-four students participated in preparing recipes with the help of both chefs.

The class was a success, and each student was excited to learn more about the use of grilling planks. They prepared hickory-smoked peaches, cherry-woodsmoked cocktails, cedar-planked smoked salmon, red-oak-planked roasted shallots, cedar-wrappedand-roasted pears and cedar-skewered beef. The variety of wood used proved to be a great way to add unique flavor to these diverse dishes. Each student came away with recipes to take home and hands on experience.

Chef Matt Curmi was hired October 2017 as the corporate chef for Wildwood Grilling.

Chef Matt dove right into his new role by grilling with the wellknown, high-profile Seattle restaurateur, Chef Tom Douglas. Chef Douglas is known for winning the

Wildwood Grilling Chef Matt Curmi, right, with Chef Tom Douglas, left. Photo by Sara Schrock.

1994 James Beard award for best Northwest Chef and for his appearance on “Iron Chef America,” where he defeated Chef Masaharu Morimoto. He owns a group of diverse and successful restaurants within the Seattle area, including Dahlia Lounge, Lola, Etta’s, Palace Kitchen, Brave Horse Tavern and more. Scottish-born Chef Matt Curmi has worked as a chef in Flagstaff, Ariz.; Bar Harbor, Maine; Portland, Ore., and now Sandpoint. He has also worked internationally in Mallorca, Spain, and London, England.

Wildwood Grilling is a family-run company based out of Sandpoint. They’re the world’s largest grilling plank producer. All of their sustainably sourced, food safe, wood products are manufactured in the U.S.A. For more information visit www.wildwoodgrilling.com.

Shop Small in Sandpoint this season

By Reader Staff ‘Tis the season when newspaper ads, radio and TV commercials, online offers and more are screaming to get your attention. So fill the gas tank and fight the traffic; brave the weather; go to the big, crowded malls . . . or try an old-fashioned, enjoyable alternative: Shop local this year.

Downtown Sandpoint is sparkling with holiday lights and cheer, and many local retailers have extended their normal hours.

Walk leisurely from store to store where you can touch things, ask the sales people how they work, get suggestions for unique gift possibilities and have it all gift wrapped while you browse. Greet friends and neighbors and top it all off with dinner at a local restaurant, then holiday entertainment at the Panida or the Hive.

Get in the spirit on Friday, Nov. 24, at 5:30 pm in Jeff Jones Town Square when local officials flip the switch and Sandpoint’s magical Christmas tree comes to life. Greet Santa as he arrives by fire truck at 6 p.m. Sip hot cocoa and share the joy of being together.

On Shop Small Saturday, Nov. 25, retailers in the Sandpoint Shopping District are offering up thousands of delightful holiday decorating and gift ideas. Discover the variety and richness downtown has to offer. Enter to win a gift basket at all the participating stores and restaurants. Each Saturday, kids can make a special art project at Creations, then visit with jolly old St. Nick from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on the Cedar St. Bridge.

Ladies, put Friday, Dec. 8, on your calendar. Get together with some friends and shop during

Ladies’ Shopping Night from 5-8 p.m. in downtown Sandpoint.

Refreshments, specials, product demonstrations and more will be available at participating Sandpoint Shopping District retailers.

OK, guys, you’ve put it off till the last minute, so come downtown on Friday, Dec. 22, for Mens’ Shopping Night from 5-8 p.m.

You’ll get kid glove treatment with help selecting the perfect gift, gift wrapping, refreshments and more.

Take the hassle out of this holiday season by focusing on what is most meaningful: family and community. Working together, playing together and supporting each other creates our viable, enduring, beautiful town. For more information about these events or the Sandpoint Shopping District, please visit the Shopping District’s Facebook page.

Sandpoint Shopping District Participating Businesses •Alpine Shop •Art Works •Azalea •Carousel •Cedar St. Bistro •Eve’s Leaves •Finan McDonald •Great Stuff •Larson’s •Meadow Brook •MickDuff’s •Northwest Handmade •Outdoor Experience •Panhandle Cone and Coffee •Petal Talk •Santosha •Sharon’s Hallmark •SXS Leather •Whiskey Jack Pottery •Zany Zebra

Teen Center hosts breakfast with special guest

By Reader Staff

Have you had a chance to catch up with Santa and share your Christmas wishes? If not, here’s your chance.

The Sandpoint Teen Center will be hosting Breakfast with Santa at the Sandpoint Community Hall from 8-11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2.

Enjoy pancakes, scrambled eggs, ham, coffee, orange juice and hot cocoa and get a picture with the

big guy himself.

Tickets are just $10 for adults and $5 for kids with all proceeds going to the Sandpoint Teen Center. Purchase tickets online at Eventbrite or stop by Washington Federal or the Teen Center to purchase them in person. Tickets also available at the door.

See you then, and THANK YOU for your support.

OPINION

Give thanks for the wild Scotchman Peaks

By Phil Hough Reader Contributor

As we gather with family and friends this week and count our blessings, let’s remember to give thanks for the wild landscapes that we live nearby. Although we may look differently at these natural landscapes and what they represent, in our area we all share a common connection to the world outside our doors and windows.

We should be thankful for the actions of those who came before us. The choices they made ensured these places would still be wild today. We are hopeful that the actions we take today will ensure they remain wild tomorrow.

Special places like the Scotchman Peaks remain wild, and for that, I give thanks.

These wild landscapes have much to teach us. As Henry David Thoreau wrote: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” We need wild landscapes, like the Scotchman Peaks, to learn what nature has to teach.

I am grateful, too, for the many people (over 150 individual in the last year alone) who have volunteered time as advocates or stewards to help preserve the wild character of the Scotchman Peaks. They have contributed many hours to making sure that future generations will be able to enjoy this wild landscape in much the same we as we do today.

On behalf of many (over 7,500) friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, I want to thank Sen. Jim Risch for introducing the Scotchman Peaks

Uber hiker and volunteer Jim Mellen - who turned 69 last week and, according to the author, “will hike the socks off most anyone” - hikes among the bear grass. Photo by John Harbuck, who, according to the author, “is over 70 and is one of the few who can keep up with Jim.” Wilderness act last December and for engaging the public on this important issue throughout the year. The Friends are thankful for the many people from diverse backgrounds and interests who have demonstrated their supported for this action.

Broad public support from diverse stakeholders brings about community consensus and lays the foundation for good public lands policy.

The Scotchman Peaks have garnered support from many corners. Supporters come from very diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Wilderness designation for the Scotchman Peaks is endorsed by many businesses, civic groups, conservation and wildlife groups, as well as community organizations, recreational groups and other stakeholders in public lands management.

But, broad community

support does not mean there is complete unanimity. On important issues, there will always be diverse opinions. We are thankful for them as well.

By listening and responding to diverse viewpoints, questions and concerns, misunderstandings can be cleared up.

Different perspectives may also improve forest service management, public policy and improve legislation.

Using public comments, engagement, input and diverse opinions to refine agency actions and legislation are hallmarks of our democratic legislative process. It is a process that enshrines public involvement and community input, one by which we the people come together. Not only does legislation improve, but we also come to value our differences, and we come together as a community. For that, we are thankful.

Retroactive

By BO

Everyone always looked forward to Thanksgiving day, when crazy Aunt Darla would ride down from the hills on her Pet turkey, Goliath.

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NEWS

Schweitzer Cutoff Bridge and Roundabout open today

Thursday Ladies Night $1.00 off all drinks Unique selection of Excellent Wines Local Beers On Tap

Yummy Tapas Menu

Wine $ Cheese Sampling Wine & cheese sampling Saturdays 12-3p.m. p.m.

Saturdays 12-3 Open 5 p.m. - Closing Thurs. - Sat.

A wide-angle view of the roundabout project, as photographed from a mounted camera courtesy of Superior Traffic Services.

Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Bonner County residents, rejoice: Your long-lost route between Sandpoint and Ponderay is open again.

The city of Sandpoint announced Tuesday the Schweitzer Bridge and newly-built roundabout will be open by noon today — Wednesday, Nov. 22 — after months of work by construction crews. The reopening of Schweitzer Cutoff Road re-establishes a popular connection between Sandpoint and Ponderay via North Boyer Avenue. The finished project should also help relieve traffic congestion on Larch Street and Fifth Avenue, which until this week was one of only a few primary routes open between Sandpoint and Ponderay.

To commemorate the occasion, the city posted a time-lapse video to its Facebook page showing the construction transformation from its previous simple intersection to a torn-up mound of earth and asphalt and finally to a paved, polished roundabout and bridge.

The video is available to view on the city of Sandpoint Facebook page: www. facebook.com/cityofsandpoint.

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and roundabout project, which was dogged by difficult weather conditions and early snowfall. The project was a joint effort by Ponderay and Sandpoint through emergency funding made available through the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council.

It won’t be long before the Schweitzer Cutoff roundabout adds beauty as well as utility to the street. The Sandpoint Arts Commission is preparing a project seeking art proposals from several artists, who must apply for consideration by Dec. 31. In February, a committee will select three short-listed artists to present their projects. The public will then have the opportunity to vote for the favorite project, which will then be created and purchased by the city. The artwork installation should be complete by June 2019, and it will be done in coordination with a landscape designer to create a unified aesthetic impression “I really think that this is a great way to get community involvement in some of the art pieces around town,” said Arts Commission member Ffion Soltis after announcing the project in July. “That in itself is pretty exciting and something that hasn’t happened around town before.”

Ol’ Red’s revives Toys For Tots tradition Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Christmas is only a month away, which means Toys For Tots is doing what it does best: making the holidays a special time for every local child.

It’s a good thing, then, that the community has the Lions Club’s back as they wrangle together another Toys For Tots year. This weekend, the Ol’ Red’s Pub is hosting a benefit filled with music, auctions and fun that will leave a few tykes happy come Christmas morning. The benefit starts 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, at Ol’ Red’s Pub, 202 N. First Ave., Ste. C. “Back in the day the pub used to do this,” said Ol’ Red’s owner Kim Hawort.

“It’s something I wanted to bring back.”

The night will begin with a live auction, and a silent auction will be available throughout the event. After the auction, a variety of local musicians will provide tunes, including a group of local music veterans playing under the name Barnyard Critters.

A great collection of items is up for grabs at the auction. Planners will give away a handmade quilt to one lucky attendee in a drawing. Other items include a 10-night stay in Hawaii, Spokane Indian tickets, a Schweitzer ski pass and more.

To buy drawing tickets, donate items or learn more about the event, call 208-946-0022.

NEWS

Climate change discussion attracts support, skepticism

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Writer

Friday night’s climate change presentation and panel discussion, “Let’s Clear the Air: A Conversation about Climate, Energy and Jobs,” attracted a full Sandpoint Community Hall. And as the night went on, it became increasingly clear that attendees came from either side of the political aisle.

This is something organizers Gabrielle Duebendorfer and Amy Phillips had hoped for. Both women, volunteers with the Sandpoint chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, said in their opening statements that “Let’s Clear the Air” was meant to do just that: create discussion that would hopefully clear up the murky territory of climate change debate.

“This is about solutions, but we are welcoming all perspectives,” Duebendorfer said.

The evening began with a presentation from Steven Ghan, a climate scientist; John Sandvig, a former aerospace executive; and Jennifer Syrowitz, an Audubon conservation manager. Each took turns talking about a different aspect of the climate change issue, emphasizing the “non-partisan” nature of the topic.

The presenters talked about how when people want to prepare for the worst, they buy insurance. They said that even if someone were skeptical of the climate science that points to human-caused warming, wouldn’t they want an insurance policy to protect them from the possible consequences?

“In my mind, this is the issue. This is the challenge of my generation and the generations to come,” Syrowitz said. “I am passionate about working toward solutions that are

going to last into my children’s future and my grandchildren’s future.”

One such solution was the focus of the presentation, which was the last of several presentations on the “Water, Wind and Fire Tour,” put on by CCL and Audubon Washington volunteers. That solution, or “insurance policy,” is called Carbon Fee and Dividend.

Carbon Fee and Dividend is what CCL refers to as “a bipartisan, market-based plan to manage climate risk and grow our economy.”

In short, Carbon Fee and Dividend has three parts. First, there will be a carbon fee placed on fossil fuels at their source, such as a mine or well. Second, the revenue from that fee will be distributed to American households equally in a monthly dividend. Third, business relocation will be discouraged by imposing a border adjustment on imports from countries without a carbon fee.

Sandvig said the Carbon Fee and Dividend concept would cause changes in consumers’ behavior because those who use carbon will pay more than they get back in their dividends, and this will therefore cause migration to alternative energy sources.

Following the presentations, panel members County Commissioner Glen Bailey and Bob Boeh with Idaho Forest Group made introductory remarks.

“In my opinion, you are trying to persuade people … I think that you’re using emotion and scare tactics,” Bailey said to the presenters, going on to present his own research on the effects of green house gases on the atmosphere. “The abusers of science are those who politicize it … The (CCL) proposed a solution that is carbon tax. The (CCL)’s proposed solu-

tion is more regulation. The (CCL)’s proposed solution is to subsidize two-thirds of us receiving a dividend.

The (CCL)’s proposed solution is being promoted as a bi-partisan effort. I don’t think that it is.” Commissioner Glen Bailey speaks to an audience of over 80 people at the “Let’s Clear the Air” presentation. Presenters (from left to right) include John Sandvig, Dr. Steven Ghan and Jennifer Syrowitz Boeh made while Bailey and Bob Boeh, right, were invited to give feedback. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert. a brief presen“It met my expectations for scientific tation on the concept of forest management content and discussion of an economic as a solution to changing climate, but then policy that could go a long way to cutting emphasized the importance of allowing the carbon emissions and stimulating innovation audience to ask questions of the presenters. in many sectors of our economy,” said event “I think the dividend may be a solution, attendee Emily Faulkner. “I thought that our but I think we need more conversation,” county commissioner in particular spoke Boeh said. to a lot of the misgivings that people have District 1 State Rep. Sage Dixon, origibecause they don’t really understand what nally advertised as a panel member, sent in Carbon Fee and Dividend could mean for a statement to read in his absence due to a our country and for our planet.” scheduling conflict. In it he expressed his skepticism toward human-caused climate change, and said he didn’t think the Carbon Fee and Dividend program was a good path OPEN GAME ROOM for Idaho to follow.

11:30 am UPSTAIRS Audience questions ranged from clarification of the Carbon Fee and Dividend plan to questions about other climate science claims about the earth cooling. Several people stayed at the hall after to meet with the presenters and panel members one-on-one.

Columbia Bank launches third Warm Hearts Winter Drive

Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

It’s that time of the year when charity is most keenly felt, and a Columbia Bank charity program is helping to spread the love around.

The bank’s Warm Hearts Winter Drive is back for the third year in a row, helping homeless shelters throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho clothe and shelter residents in need as the cold weather worsens.

The campaign runs from Nov. 20 to Dec. 31.

The goal is to raise $225,000 and more than 10,000 winter wear items, which will be distributed to more than 50 homeless shelters and aid organizations across the Northwest states. Sandpoint can do its part by donating winter jackets and clothes or money at local Columbia Bank locations.

Alternatively, donate online at www.columbiabank.com/warmhearts.

“We are proud to continue partnering with our neighbors to help those struggling with homelessness during the coldest months of

the year,” said Hadley Robbins, president and CEO of Columbia Bank, in a press release.

“Our combined efforts will provide warmth and comfort for those in need this winter.”

Bonner Homeless Transitions is just one local organization of the many Northwest nonprofits set to benefit from the winter drive. Other organizations among the 58 beneficiaries include Portland Rescue Mission, Seattle Gospel Union Mission, Tacoma Rescue Mission and Eugene Mission.

The Warm Hearts Winter Drive got its start three years ago after Columbia Bank employees noticed the remarkable upswing of people on the streets. As they discussed the trend amongst themselves, they soon began considering what help they could offer.

Their efforts launched the first Warm Hearts campaign, an eight-week period of collecting money and clothing that bank officials deemed an unmitigated success.

It its first year, Warm Hearts raised $150,000 in cash donations and 12,000 winter items for 53 shelters in its three states

of operation. In 2016, Columbia Bank flew past its $160,000 goal to a total $209,400 raised in cash donations.

The Warm Hearts Winter Drive serves a much-needed role in keeping vulnerable Northwest residents safe during the wintertime. More than 36,000 people in Washington, Oregon and Idaho experienced homelessness in 2016, and in Idaho, homeless populations increased by 6.5 percent. The state has the fourth-highest rate of unsheltered people in families with children.

There are troubling circumstances in Washington and Oregon, too, with King County, Wash., the home to Seattle, ranking just below New York City and Los Angeles for the highest number of homeless people.

Washington State also had the second-largest increase in homeless people — a total of 7.3 percent — in 2016. Likewise, Oregon has the second-highest rate of unsheltered homeless people and the highest rate of unsheltered people in families with children.

The Psounbality with Per FRESH FOOD LIVE MUSIC THE BEST NW BREWS

212 Cedar Street Downtown Sandpoint

208.263.4005 A SandPint Tradition Since 1994 November 22, 2017 /

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Mad about Science:

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Thanksgiving is upon us!

Let the tryptophan-induced coma commence!

Well, we would, if it were a thing.

The tryptophan (an amino acid) isn’t what’s putting you to sleep. It’s your body trying to digest a tremendous caloric intake from the massive amount of starches and proteins you just forced down your gullet.

It’s taking energy away from other functions and devoting it to digestion. Thank our primordial ancestors for this annoying function. A day of feasting wasn’t on the survival agenda 50 million years ago.

Everyone’s going to be talking about turkeys and recipes, so it only makes sense that I talk about the science behind food, right?

EHHHH! I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and diving straight into football!

Anyone that’s ever been to or heard of America knows the basics about football. Each team has 11 players (12 in Seattle. Wink), the players tackle each other and the guy with the ball tries to get the ball down the field while the other team tries to stop him. There are so many more nuances, but we’re not going to cover that today.

We’re going to start with records.

Peyton Manning threw a record 71,940 yards in his career. This is just successful passes, nevermind what he did during warm-ups, practices, off 10 /

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Brought to you by:

football

the field, to show off at parties, etc…

That’s 215,820 feet. That’s 40.8 miles. If he did that in a single throw, it would go from Sagle to Coeur d’Alene.

Brett Favre holds the record for getting sacked the most times in a career, at 525. How many times do you think you can take a shot to the gut from a 325-pound defensive lineman?

Emmitt Smith has the most rushing yards in a career, at 18,355. That’s like three 5Ks, except there are 11 dudes trying to run you down while you do it. New marathon idea! Let’s make it happen!

The longest field goal kick in the history of the professional game is 64 yards. Had Matt Prater kicked it straight up, he would’ve hit the Statue of Liberty in the chest with that ball, no exaggeration.

The average football sack is no joke. The guys on the screen make it look like child’s play to be hit by forces in excess of 1,600 pounds. Now, your average defensive lineman doesn’t weigh 1,600 pounds, but he produces that much force in a tackle. Sometimes, that number can go much higher. If all of that force were impacting the area of a ballpoint pen, it would be like getting impaled by a harpoon. Luckily, it’s spread out over a wide area, slightly lessening the chance for a debilitating injury.

You always hear about football players getting concussions, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s a very high-contact sport. These guys are pros, and

they make it look easy, but the reality of it is it’s still two men over 200 pounds colliding at speeds in excess of 18 mph.

The concussion happens during one of these impacts.

Even if their skulls don’t collide, and even if they’re protected by helmets, their brain is still being carried by the energy of their forward movement, so when the skull stops, the brain keeps going until it hits something: the inside of their skull.

This causes bruising. Bruising isn’t a big deal unless it’s in the part of your body that literally controls your ability to be alive.

Really, the helmet is just there to keep their skull from breaking open, which is pretty bad, too.

It has been calculated that the g-forces sustained by professional football players during a hard collision can be as much as 15 times that of a fighter pilot. The reason players don’t instantly black out and/ or die from every impact is because major impacts are rare and sudden, whereas fighter pilots can undergo intense g-forces for several sustained seconds, which causes havoc on their ability to pump blood and oxygenate their brain.

Sometimes, the impact of the game can be felt far beyond the stadium. In 2011, the Seahawks were facing off against the Saints.

Oh yeah, you know where this is going.

Marshawn Lynch broke nine tackles, to score a 67-yard touchdown. The crowd went so completely wild with the

screaming, jumping and applause that they actually caused enough noise to register as an earthquake on seismographs nearby. It became known as the Beast Quake, and is part of Seattle’s interesting tourist facts to this day. Superman, doh!

I’m not going to eat up any more of your holiday, unless you pass the pumpkin pie.

Have a happy Thanksgiving! Be thankful you get to watch someone else spend their day getting crushed by 100 g’s, and not you!

Random Corner ?

Don’t know much about sports

We can help!

• The volleyball comes from a basketball’s bladder (or at least it used to). When he first devised the sport in 1895, William G. Morgan tried to use a basketball, but found it too heavy for what he had in mind. So instead he played with the basketball’s inflatable rubber inside until a custom ball was created just for the sport by A.G. Spalding.

• Despite running about three hours, actual playing time in a Major League Baseball game is under 18 minutes.

• Until 1936, the jump ball in basketball took place at center court after every single made basket.

• Due to so many of their players serving in the military during World War II, the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers combined in 1943 to form one team called the Steagles.

• The 1912 Olympic Games were the last to include gold medals actually made of solid gold. Currently, the gold medals are 93-percent silver and 6 percent copper, leaving about 1 percent (or 6 grams) for the gold finish.

• In Japan, it is customary for golfers who’ve hit a hole-in-one to throw a celebration for their closest companions, though this can also be as simple as buying them all a celebratory gift. Nearly 4 million Japanese golfers carry golf insurance, paying a $65 premium every year for $3,500 in coverage.

• In order to take the slick factory sheen off and allow pitchers to get a better grip, Major League Baseball wipes down each baseball with mud from an undisclosed location on the Delaware River. And it’s been done this way for close to 75 years now.

• An incomplete forward pass in football used to earn teams a 15-yard penalty. Not only that, but if the pass was incomplete and never touched, the defense then took possession of the ball. This was all early in the 20th century before professional football existed and college football was the gold standard for the sport.

OPINION

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist What is a Millennial? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as ... wait, wrong century. You’ve undoubtedly heard the term Millennial before. Just hearing it may summon images of parents’ basement dwelling, selfie-addicted 20-somethings with poor hygiene and an even worse work ethic. You often wonder if their cell phones are actually physical extensions of their arms, and can guarantee sighting troves of them around things like “Dollar Beer Night,” or “Taco Tuesday.”

But, as one of those job-hopping, late-rent-check-signing 20-somethings struggling with mass overgeneralizations and generational biases, I’m here to say we Millennials have more to offer than meets the eye. And that frankly, we’ve gotten a bad rap.

A Millennial is ambiguously defined as an individual born between the early 1980s and the late 1990s and is commonly regarded as being a member of Generation Y. Unique in having grown up alongside the evolution of cellphones and highly consumable internet access, most Millennials remember a time before rampant technology, but also have the intuitive understanding of computers, smartphones and the web that can only come from a half-life’s worth of experience and interaction.

It’s easy to see members of Generation Y doing things a bit differently than generations prior, donning selfie sticks like swords on a battlefield and documenting every consumed cup of coffee on social media, but have you ever wondered why many of them are approaching adult life unconventionally?

Collectively, Millennials are the most highly-educated

What is a Millennial?

Emily Erickson. generation in history, and are consequently straddled with the most debt. According to Make Lemonade, the average amount of post-collegiate tuition debt for our avocado-toast-loving-counterparts is $37,172, with tuition cost roughly 300-percent greater than the cost in 1995. And yes, that’s adjusting for inflation.

Sadly, however, these expensive degrees just aren’t leading to the kinds of jobs a college education afforded in generations past. In the words of Washington Post’s Jeffrey Selingo, “The Bachelor’s degree is becoming the new high school

diploma. Rather than a ticket to a high-paying, managerial job, the four-year degree is now the minimum ticket to get in the door to any job.” So Millennials are supposed to hang up their dollar bill stuffed waitress apron for a nine-dollar-an-hour cubicle job, all so Dad will quit asking what they did for five years at University. Or wait, is that just me?

Additionally, leaving their parents’ basement actually costs a lot. No longer able to handle the passive-aggressive, redink-circled apartment listings their parents keep taping to the Captain Crunch box, they’re moving out, entering the world of landlords and late rent checks, or for the very brave, homeownership, with both options being more expensive for young people than ever before. Census data indicates that rent rates have increased by 64 percent after adjusting for inflation since 1960, and the skyrocketing price tag on houses has pushed the median age for home ownership to 44, as opposed to 25-34 in 1980.

But, instead of dwelling on all of the obstacles in their path, Millennials are simply figuring

out a new way of doing things.

They’re opting out of passionlessly punching a timecard at the prospect of someday retiring and then getting to do all the things they’ve dreamed about. They aren’t guaranteed stacked pensions, social security, and retirement before 70 (if at all), so they are finding ways to live a worthy life while they’re still young.

They seek things to be passionate about outside of things that “get them ahead,” and as a whole tend to be more civic-minded, more likely to practice conscious consumerism, and according to PEW research, a generation defined by being “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change.”

Millennials are innovators and believers in creativity and leading inspired lives. They understand and are excited about technology and all of the advances encompassed within.

They have morals and care about upholding them, even at the expense of cushy futures.

Millennials may not have everything figured out and certainly look a bit silly from time to time, but they surely are making their own way. And yes, they have created an app for that.

Emily Erickson is a freelance writer and bartender originally from Wisconsin, with a degree in sociology and an affinity for playing in the mountains.

Retroactive

By BO

HOUSE FOR RENT

For rent in Sandpoint (in the Selle Valley): 3 bedrooms on 20 acres, wood and electric heat, garage, close to town, pet considered. $1000/month + deposit. Call Dennis at (406) 293-7424.

WHEN YOUR FRIDGE JOINS A CULT November 22, 2017 /

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Live Music w/ Ben & Cadie Live Music w/ 7-9pm @ Beet & Basil Josh Hedlund A duo who will be drinking 40-ouncers all night 7-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Live Music w/ RFB An amazing local singer/ 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub songwriter with a great Right Front Burner: the funkiest band in town catalog of original songs

Live Music w/ Bob Beadling 6-8pm @ Cedar St. Bistro Wine Bar Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA 9pm @ 219 Lounge Join this indie rock trio for a special night of all ‘80s and ‘90s cover songs Live Music w/ Daniel Mills 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ The Somethings 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority A new Sandpoint duo with Chris Lynch and Meg Turner Live Music w/ Devon Wade 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Country music from a fun Sandpoint artist

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Tap Takeover by 5-8pm @ 219 Lou Grand Teton, Idaho be on hand serving

Live Music w/ Truck Mills 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Blues Man Truck Mills is always great to listen to

Shop Small Saturday All day @ Sandpoint Discover the variety and richness downtown has to offer!

Over 20 downtown retailers Live Music w/ High Treason Ammunition participating in fun sales for 7:30pm @ Eichart’s Pub the whole family Montana punk trio

Fugly Sweater P 8pm @ Connie’s Break that ugly mas sweater o mothballs and down to Conni drink specials, and fugly sweat lore. The raffle p Shook Twins & Friends - “Giving Thanks” concert will benefit Pan 7:30pm @ Panida Theater Sandpoint’s own Shook Twins are back for their annual holiday Special Needs show, this year featuring special guests Marshall McLean and John and there will Craigie with a sprinkle of Bart Budwig. Tickets $20. Also, all mer- music by the Mi hal Trio chandise proceeds will be donated to Puerto Rico’s relief fund

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am. All are welcome Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Night Out Karaoke 9pm @ 219 Lounge Don’t listen to the others - you actually have a lovely voice

Game Night at the Niner 9pm @ 219 Lounge

KPND Monday Night Football P Host Bob Witte will have tons of p tickets, KPND new music samplers

Tuesday Backgammon Tournament 5pm @ Laughing Dog Brewery The tournament takes place every Tuesday with beer specials and prizes

Geezer Forum 2:30-4pm @ Columbia Ba This week’s topic is Hol Leftovers, and how holida nourish us. Free and open

Northside Elementary School PTA Fundraiser 5-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority A fundraiser for the Northside Elementary School PTA with Lagunitas Brewing beer on tap, live music by Marty Perron and Doug Bond, raffle prizes and complimentary appetizers Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

KPND Thursday Night Football Party 5:30pm @ 219 Lounge Watch the Cowboys take on the Redskins with host Bob Witt giving away tons of prizes from area restaurants, concert tickets, WSU football tickets, KPND new music samplers and much more. Drink specials, plus food by Mandala Pizz

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8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

eover by Grand Teton Brewing @ 219 Lounge eton, Idaho’s oldest craft brewer, will nd serving some of their best brews

Sweater Party Connie’s Lounge that ugly Christweater out of alls and head to Connie’s for specials, prizes gly sweaters gahe raffle proceeds enefit Panhandle Needs (PSNI) ere will be live by the Miah Koo

A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com.

Reader recommended

10th Annual Turkey Trot 9am @ Travers Park Join SWAC and the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Dept. for the 10th Annual Turkey Trot and food drive on Thanksgiving morning.

This low key event features a 5k, 10K or whatever distance you want to run or walk (no bikes and no dogs please). This fun run is free if you bring a nonperishable food donation. (208) 263-3613

The Back Door Grand Opening Party 9pm @ Back Door (below Baxter’s) Celebrate the grand opening with Neighbor John and the Atomic Blues Band!

“Preserving Lands and Waters that Sustain Us Today and Tomorrow” 9:30am-12pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall Presenter is Eric Grace, Executive Director for Kaniksu Land Trust. Free and open to the public Cedar St. Bridge Public Market 10am-2pm @ Cedar St. Bridge Come enjoy indoor shopping on the bridge spanning Sand Creek The Back Door Grand Opening Party 9pm @ Back Door (below Baxter’s) Celebrate the grand opening with Neighbor John and the Atomic Blues Band!

Music by DJ Josh 9pm @ 219 Lounge

Tree Lighting and special storytime 5pm @ Jeff Jones Town Square This year’s traditional community tree lighting program includes a Christmas story reading along with a performance by Allegro Dance Studio. Free and open to all!

Go Cougs Apple Cup Watch Party TBD @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall everyone who attends in WSU colors gets $1 off pints and $4 off pitchers all game long! Food by Edelwagen Food Truck Toys For Tots Benefit Auction 4pm @ Ol’ Red’s Pub Have a fun night out at Ol’ Red’s Pub, and help Toys For Tots make some kids happy this Christmas Organic Seed Saving 1pm @ Sandpoint Library Discuss organic gardening and seed saving. Bring food and seeds to share if you can (if you can’t, come anyway!)

Annual Giving Tree Fundraiser

ootball Party • 5:30pm @ 219 Lounge tons of prizes to give away from area restaurants, concerts tickets, WSU football c samplers, and much more. Drink specials, plus food by Mandala Pizza

3D Printing Workshop for Adults 5pm @ Sandpoint Library lumbia Bank Building pic is Holiday Emotional This beginner class explores the potential of 3D ow holiday emotions can printing and designing a 3D printable object.

Pre-registration required by calling 208-263-6930 and open to the public SFN Movie Night 7pm @ Panida Little Theater Join Sandpoint Filmmakers Network for a screening and discussion of “Citizen Kane.”

Suggested $5 donation

Bob Witte s, concerts samplers, dala Pizza

Festival of Trees (Family Night) 4-6pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds Three days of events that will benefit Kinderhaven. Thursday night is Family Night, which is open to the public and free of charge. Bring the whole family to the Fairgrounds for hot cocoa, cookies, Santa, and enjoy all the magically decorated trees

Thursday, Dec. 7 @ 5:30pm

Dec. 1 Pray For Snow Party @ 219 Lounge Dec. 1 Icicle Brewing Beer Dinner @ Di Luna’s Cafe

(208) 265-5700 320 S. Ella Ave. www.IdahoVet.com

•Pet Costume contest (prize for best costume) •Holiday treats for pets •Meet and Greet new Veterinarians and staff •Meet Schweitzer Avalanche Rescue Dogs •Hot Chocolate Bar •Compassion Fundraiser for local families in need of emergency veterinary care

Dec. 2 Jack Frost Fest @ Panida Theater

partied too hard at the office party again?

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LITERATURE

This open Window

Vol. 2 No. 19

poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui

In a recent Reader in his Bouquets & Barbs column, Ben talked about the treatment of contributers, specifically the rejection of submissions. I began writing poetry at a relatively late age; I was 28, and the reason I signed up for the beginning verse writing course at the University of Washington was because I had been assigned a Creative Writing class at Hazen, a new high school in Renton, Wash., and I didn’t want to walk into class without having done some “creative writing.” I brought a page of awkward haiku, and discovered that the person on my left had just had a poetry book published and the person on my right was working on her PhD. I almost dropped the course the next day, but something in me said to try it out. So I understand the process and the occasional pain involved in having your writing judged.

I wish I could respond to everyone who submits material to this column, but I can’t. As Ben said, “If we turned down your work in the past, it isn’t because we don’t appreciate your effort. Try again and keep creating.” Here are some suggestions.

•Length. I’m limited to one page, less the space taken by the logo and my prompt/commentary. Prose especially has to be short. As you know, short stories can be several pages long (but I do wish more prose pieces, especially memoirs would be submitted).

•Avoid clichés and trite phrases unless your speaker is using them in dialogue. Try for original use of language, and fresh concrete imagery.

•Always have a good title. Sometimes it’s best to wait until a piece is finished before giving it a final title. Be sure it doesn’t “give away” your ending.

•The ending should not be predictable or obvious.

The most interesting writing is when the reader learns something. As I’ve said before, trust your instincts and let the ending come out of “nowhere” and just happen on the page. Rely on stream-of-consciousness and don’t hesitate to jump to an idea or thought that doesn’t seem like it should connect but probably does.

•If you insist on writing traditional verse (with end rhyme), avoid sounding “sing-song” and try for half- or slant-rhymes instead of perfect rhymes, like a nursery rhyme.

The best rhyming poems are ones where you’re unaware that end-rhyme is being used because it sounds natural. A good

musician to dirt-guy, fondly

by Beth Weber

My third day away, I’m relaxing on this ridge-line patio.

Monday workers tune up, a prelude to the new neighborhood in the bottoms. Excavator clanks a rumbly tune, scoots along the edge of hydro-seeded grass, digging a ditch inside a rim of concrete curb. He spills no dirt on pavement. I think of you.

Skid steer waiting at the roadside sustains a diesel drum roll. Hot day. Two men in dirt-guy tuxedos (ragged shorts, t-shirts blue-stained with pipe-glue) wander the site, waving plastic water bottles at each other, point, wiping their brows with their biceps, conducting what dirt-guys conduct, far enough away I can’t hear their lyrics. One accents invisible lines on grass with a spray can of pink paint. Like you do.

They fiddle with white plastic tubes that stick up from the ground. You would know the motif. I find beauty in it, yet understand so little about this kind of symphony, same way you understand Gustav Mahler.

-Beth Weber When I first moved to Sandpoint I sensed the interesting and invigorating combination of artistic, literary people, blue collar types, professionals and North Idaho natives. Beth, who lives in Cocolalla epitomizes this status, ranging from her violin & teaching skills, writing world-class poetry, knowing the names of just about any bird that you see, and helping in the renovation of a house in Sandpoint.

Send poems to: jim3wells@aol.com example is Donald Hall’s poem “Mourning Over the Crib of a Deaf Child.” You can read the whole poem and not realize that it rhymes. But rhymes are still important to contemporary poetry, they just don’t happen at the end of each line, it just doesn’t happen on the end of each line. David Wagoner used to tell me, “Don’t forget that you’re also a musician.”

•Steer clear of “cause” poems, like politics, war, etc.

Yes, certainly, write a love poem or a poem for someone’s birthday or your anniversary, but make it original and not melodramatic, maudlin or predictable.

•Read some good contemporary poetry. Here are some suggestions: Ted Kooser, Billy Collins, James Wright, Donald Hall, William Stafford, Elizabeth Bishop, Tess Gallagher, Sharon Olds, Richard Hugo, Mary Oliver, Linda Pastan, Mona Van Duyn, Gary Snyder, C.K. Williams, Peter

dogs in england

by Amy Craven A massive and dark fluff of Newfoundland greets us in a Dartmour inn She soundlessly asks to be let out into the garden by pawing against the door I ask the young and flamboyant barkeep if it’s alright He says he’ll do it and the Newfie ambles out toward the flowered bushes In Wells in a pub, Alvin, a pale Golden sits under a table His mistresses nurse their pints The dog gazes upward at our oohs and how adorables His eyes look kohl-lined and softly pensive On the lawn of the Wells Cathedral two Jack Russels cavort One scampers after a ball and the other wrests against his lead Their old master explains the two temperments, one frolicky, one apt to roam away In St Ives there are no seven wives with cats and kits but a veritable dog parade Breeds promenade by our seaside table I drink my tea and Rob, his cider Labs, Westies, boxers, Dalmatians, collies, Yorkies, pointers, setters, spaniels, French bulldogs All pass by in the mild Cornish weather There is a wet cavalier spaniel climbing up through the Tintagel mist as I precariously find my footing down the winding way I hold the railing, not trusting the treads on my Adidas soles to cling to the glistening rock steps Dual whippets on leash in Bath explode from restraint to run over the lawn below the Royal Crescent there It’s a small miracle that they run to their owners in intervals and don’t sprint into the next shire Do the English love their dogs more than we Americans? — Maybe they realize an errant hair in their fish and chips is worth the warmth of a dog’s chin against their leg.

-Amy Craven

I always tell my students to be observant, to take advantage of any opportunity for a poem. Here is a good example; while traveling in England, and being a dog lover, Amy recorded the fact that people world-wide love their dogs.

Pereira, Kim Addonizio, Jane Kenyon. A couple of excellent anthologies edited by Billy Collins are “180 More Extraordinary Poems for Every Day” and “Poetry 180: A Turning Back to Poetry.” Another book that I highly recommend is Ted Kooser’s “The Poetry Home Repair Manual.”

•Find a good workshop. Get some experienced instruction. Find people who write what you like to write, and put yourself around them. When I lived in Arizona I became aware of Poetry societies or clubs where people just want to hear praise and no criticism while they sip their tea. If you want to improve you need feedback and positive support.

But also honest unbiased opinion.

Good luck. And keep submitting your work like I did back when I was trying to get published in Poetry Northwest.

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The American Redoubt Series

Part 2

The Redoubt, as told by founding voice James Wesley, Rawles

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Writer

James Wesley, Rawles was not interviewed for this story.

Citing bad experiences with the Coeur d’Alene Press and Spokesman-Review, among others, Rawles responded to my request with an email detailing how he’d been burned in the past by reporters associating him with extremists, racists and anti-Semites.

“When there is such an overt war on against the truth, there is no point in using anything but my own words, in my own venue,” he wrote. “Thankfully, I have a blog with a wide circulation.”

That blog is SurvivalBlog.

It is read around the world and is what Rawles refers to as “a virtual community of some of the most brilliant people that you could ever meet.” He writes on the website’s “About” page that despite their differences, everyone on SurvivalBlog has an interest in preparedness.

Beyond preparedness, SurvivalBlog is also the home of an essay titled “The American Redoubt — Move to the Mountain States,” which was first posted on SurvivalBlog in 2011 and last updated in May 2017. It boasts a tagline which reads, “Note: This essay launched The American Redoubt movement.”

Thanks to this essay, James Wesley, Rawles’ name (spelled with a comma to denote his given and family names) is often associated with any discussion of the American Redoubt movement. However, in his everyday work, Rawles uses both his blog and personal consulting as platforms to help people get ready for TEOTWAWKI — “the end of the world as we know it.”

That “end” could be brought on by any number of threats according to Rawles, including a plague or pandemic, terrorist attack, food shortage, monetary collapse and much more.

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The proposed American Redoubt. Photo illustration by Ben Olson.

Rawles is a former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and technical writer who has also published several fiction and nonfiction books on survival. In the prepper world, Rawles is a leading voice of authority.

It is a fact that Rawles named the overall concept of the Redoubt with that initial essay on SurvivalBlog, and some would even say he could be considered the “leader” — though Redoubters take pride in being members of a leaderless movement.

Rawles writes that the name “American Redoubt movement” derives from the “Réduit Suisse,” or Swiss National Redoubt: the Swiss government’s plan to defend against foreign invasion starting in the 1880s. A straightforward dictionary definition of “redoubt” yields results all referring to barricades, defense and perhaps most telling, “a secure retreat.” The origins of “redoubt” do not stem from the same roots as “doubt” or “redoubtable,” according to Merriam-Webster.

The Redoubt movement is for those who want some chance at stability when TEOTWAWKI comes around, and according to Rawles, those people will be God-fearing Christians.

“In calamitous times, with a few exceptions, it will only be the God fearing that will contin-

ue to be law abiding,” he writes.

“Choose your locale wisely.”

The essay names that locale — now widely known as the American Redoubt — as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, eastern Oregon and eastern Washington.

Rawles addresses the exclusion of Utah as unsuitable for feeding its own population, and the exclusion of the Dakotas because they aren’t very “defendable” in the case that a war breaks out.

The initial essay provides a checklist for those looking to relocate to the Redoubt and some ways to appropriately settle in once they’ve arrived. Tips on these checklists focus heavily on some tenants of survivalism: self-sufficiency, practicality and emphasis on finding a like-minded community.

The article has seen several addenda since its conception.

These include an analysis of the parallels between Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel “Atlas Shrugged” and modern-day America, tips for finding a “prepper-friendly” church, a list of reformed churches in the American Redoubt and other notes.

Oftentimes Rawles prefaces his articles with disclaimers meant to deter “hate mail,” which it seems he receives often. One such disclaimer can be found in the Redoubt essay

James Wesley, Rawles. Free-use photo. under the header “To Clarify: Religious, Not Racial Lines.”

“I am a separatist, but on religious lines, not racial ones,” Rawles writes. “I have made it abundantly clear throughout the course of my writings that I am an anti-racist. Christians of all races are welcome to be my neighbors. I also welcome Orthodox Jews and Messianic Jews, because we share the same moral framework.”

It is the racial aspects of encouraging people to move to a predominantly white area that has some critics questioning Rawles’ motives. In response, Rawles again emphasizes the religious drive behind the movement.

“I’m a white guy,” he writes.

“But I have much more in common with black Baptists or Chinese Lutherans than I do with white Buddhists or white New Age crystal channelers.”

Beneath the tangible guidelines of food storage, self-sufficient energy sources, homeschooling and the like, Rawles’ writings — including the Redoubt essay — conclude with the reminder that a true Redoubter has strong faith. Prayer is as essential as land, food and water

for a genuine Rawles-esque survivalist living in the American Redoubt.

“I am hopeful that it is in God’s providential will to extend his covenantal blessings to the American Redoubt,” he writes. “And even if God has withdrawn his blessings from our nation as a whole, he will continue to provide for and to protect His remnant.”

Learn more about the ins and outs of Rawles’ ongoing work by visiting www. survivalblog. com, and go to www.survivalblog.com/biographies to read Rawles’ complete biography in his own words.

While Rawles is considered the voice that named and “launched” the American Redoubt movement, there are two other predominant Redoubt characters: Alexander Barron and radio personality John Jacob Schmidt. The Reader will explore the lives and works of both in later parts of this series.

Editor’s Note: Next week, we’ll talk about the religious aspects of the American Redoubt.

Profiles of the Redoubt

Part 2

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Sean Statham grew up and went to school in Boise.

Seven or eight years ago, Statham and his wife came to the decision that Boise wasn’t working for them anymore.

“We were tired of the desert,” he said. “I don’t love the summers down there.”

Statham was originally born in Oregon, and his wife is from West Virginia and Tennessee. He said a motivating factor for leaving was to find a place that had more trees, shade and water.

“We did a little research and looked at other areas of the Northwest where I could make a good income as a business analyst,” said Statham.

“We looked at Portland, Eugene, Salem... but we also felt like we wanted a place with a smaller population.”

Part of Statham’s research came from reading the writings of James Wesley, Rawles – the author of several books and caretaker of survivalblog.com, where one of his essays helped launch the idea of the Redoubt movement.

“I’d read an awful lot of Rawles,” said Statham. “I really enjoyed his fiction. Post-apocalyptic is a favorite genre of mine.

I was aware of his website and the kind of things he teaches and why he loves this whole area.”

Statham said the factors that influenced his moving to the Northwest were mostly aligned with those that Rawles lauded on his website and writings – that the Northwest was a region with lower population and an abundance of water.

“If power went out, Boise is a desert,” said Statham. “Water is not going to flow. We were also living in a subdivision. Life was really easy ... too easy.”

The fact that Statham had close friends living in Cocolalla was enough to convince him and

Sean Statham. his wife to make the move north where Statham found work at Coldwater Creek.

The couple moved into a place north of Sandpoint and began practicing self-reliance.

“We’ve always kept a backup supply of several months worth of food,” he said. “We have redundant means of purifying water and filtering it. While we have an electric well pump that serves the house, it also has a manual pump jack that we could use to pump water into buckets. We also have a creek in the backyard.”

Statham is on grid electric power, has central propane heating and connection via phone and internet, but he also has wood-fire heating and backup systems in case of any power failures.

“I don’t think it’s likely that our grid is going to go down,” he said. “It’s possible, though, and the consequences ... ‘catastrophic’ doesn’t even come close to describing it.”

Hailing from the urban area of Boise, Statham found that he and his wife had to learn new methods and life skills to adapt to their new rural environment.

“There’s a pretty large divide between urban and rural people,”

he said. “(Urbanites) have lived in town all their lives and haven’t had to rely on those skills as much. …

(Rural) skill and knowledge has been passed on from generation to generation. I don’t think you can live in the country without intelligence and developed skills. … But that goes the other way, too. Rural people have no knowledge of urban skills in the city. It’s setting us up into two different subcultures, and we often don’t understand each other on the other side of the divide.

There’s demonization in both directions.”

As a former Army intelligence officer — four years active, two years with the Reserve — Statham acknowledges that soldiers are trained to stay in tune with current events, and to also vet their news sources accordingly, a task that is becoming increasingly more difficult. He understands the power and necessity of an independent media, but notes that the media habits have changed in recent years.

“Journalism has suffered from the pressures of money,” he said. “The news is not there to sell ads, it’s a public service. The Fourth Estate serves an important part of our system. Obviously that’s changed. Some of the most successful media outlets that have drawn the most people have the deepest agendas. How do we relearn critical thinking? How do we teach our children to not take things at face value? The first thing is to identify the echo chamber and stop consuming information from outlets that are skewed. I don’t need any reinforcement for my beliefs. I want objective information.”

It was the Reader’s stated aim to remain objective during this series on the Redoubt movement that influenced Statham to contact the editors and agree to an interview.

“I was impressed by the statement that you were going to do your best to be objective and

show fair representation of the movement, although I don’t know if we’re even members of a movement,” said Statham. “I know the term ‘like-minded people’ gets bandied about a lot. Sometimes that’s a dog whistle for things related to race or religion.”

Statham acknowledged that while he identifies with the Redoubt movement in terms of self-reliance and geographic relocation to areas with lesser population and better living conditions, his political and religious views differ from what he considers the norm of the Redoubt.

“My views tend to lean left somewhat,” he said. “Although they have been moderated more toward the center with age. I do have a military background, which colors my thinking. …

I have a lot of friends that are dyed in the wool conservatives.

I’ve been drawn to people who think differently because it’s more interesting.”

As far as religion goes, Statham said it wasn’t a “big factor for the move. I won’t discuss what faith I adhere to, but it’s one of the larger ones.”

When it comes to the Redoubt movement, Statham follows the happenings, but also recognizes that it’s not any organized type of movement, but more a philosophy that some agree with.

“There aren’t any meetings,” he said. “We don’t go to monthly meetings of the Redoubt chapter or anything. I haven’t really met a whole lot of people where we pass the secret Redoubt handshake before.”

One of Statham’s most pressing issues today is the polarization of the country and identity politics.

“You’re either this or that,” he said. “That’s always been there, but it’s something that has been increasing the better part of my life. Trump’s entrance onto the world stage is enormously polarizing. I’ve been interested in politics since I was a little kid, but it really feels different now.

There’s an atmosphere around

our politics that I haven’t seen before. I’ve had to make my political views as off limits as possible. I try to keep my mouth shut and filter my more strident views and only share with a small amount of people.”

Statham doesn’t necessarily believe there is a big influx of right-leaning individuals coming to North Idaho: “I think the right has a strong foothold in North Idaho, but it’s not the only worldview that’s represented.”

When asked whether race has had any impact on the Redoubt movement, Statham believes it has not.

“I think we’re in an environment now where a lot more people are comfortable expressing views that not long ago were not welcome in polite society,” he said. “But as far as the Redoubt bringing an increased concentration of racists to North Idaho, I think those people are everywhere. I think they’re louder now, but I don’t think that’s why most people are here. They’re here because of families or any number of other reasons. I’d like to think that racism as a motive for coming here is a pretty small slice of the pie.”

When asked his thoughts on the elected representatives that come from North Idaho, Statham said, “I don’t think they’re all that bright, to be quite blunt. They take the easy, lazy road, pandering to not the best parts of us.”

For those interested in the Redoubt movement, Statham said the best advice is not to jump in over your head in the beginning.

“If you’re motivated by the whole Redoubt movement mindset, start small,” he said. “Start with research. Don’t go buy five pallets of MREs. Do a lot of research before you start tilting your whole lifestyle. Try to find people who live in the way you want to live. There are all kinds of forums online. Most are not what you’d call ‘preppers.’

That’s just how they live.

“Do a lot of research before you start tilting your whole lifestyle.”

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OPENING WEEKEND AT SCHWEITZER

When Schweitzer Mountain Resort opened for business Nov. 18-19, it marked the third-earliest opening since the mountain began keeping track in 1974-75. Schweitzer received a healthy dump of early snowfall and low temperatures that has accumulated a season total of 82 inches thus far.

As of Tuesday evening, the summit snowpack is at 39 inches, while the village is recording 27 inches. Above are several photos taken by Schweitzer Mountain Resort during opening weekend. Top: A snowboarder rides down the front side with Lake Pend Oreille in the background. Inset: A skier catches the first powder turns of the year. Photos

by Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

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Neighbor John is in the house!

Nov. 22-23 @ 7:30pm | nov. 24 @ 1:30 & 5:30pm Nov. 26 @ 3:30pm | Nov. 27-30 @ 7:30pm

“murder on the orient express” saturday, nov. 25 @ 7:30pm

shook twins and friends “giving thanks” concert featuring special guests marshall mclean and john craigie friday, dec. 1 @ 7pm

2017 backcountry film festival Saturday, dec. 2 @ 5pm

jack frost fest

Four great americana bands playing live, including: BareGrass, Sasha Bell Band, Moonshine Mountain and Shakewell

Sunday, dec. 3 @ 7pm

Eugene Ballet’s ‘The nutcracker’ The timeless christmas play, presented by pend oreille arts council Sunday, dec. 3 @ 3:30pm

Frost Fest Weekend Sunday Animation Matinee tuesday, dec. 5 @ 6:30pm

“Elf” starring will ferrell coming soon: “Victoria and Abdul” and “The Showman”

November 22, 2017 /

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Living Life:

Fugly Sweater Party at Connie’s to benefit PSNI

Become the Voice for a Foster Child:

Become a CASA

By Dianne Smith Reader Columnist A foster child’s journey is one like no other, and often they feel unheard. They are placed in the homes of strangers where they are left to figure out all the unwritten rules and norms of that family system as well as wonder about their future.

To help guide and support them and to be their voice are Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Bonner and Boundary counties are in need of new CASAs to provide support for those newly entering the system. As the opioid crisis gets worse, and children are left without adults to care for them, the need will continue to grow. Studies on resiliency show that just one significant adult can make all the difference in the life of a child and studies on volunteerism show that by volunteering you extend your life and increase you contentment with life.

So being a CASA is a winwin; a win for you and win for the child.

The next training begins this January which is a way to start the new year off with a new passion and no special experience is required. You receive all the training you need from my wonderful friend, Jan, and then are assigned a mentor who helps you with your first case.

You will visit with your child and learn what they want and help them learn to speak for themselves. You will also meet with the family, so you can make recommendations for your child about what is in 20 /

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By Ben Olson Reader Staff

their best interest. You develop a significant relationship with that child so they know you are their support system during a very difficult time. You can be the one adult who makes all the difference in the life of a child.

Please support my passion of 40 years and be the voice for a foster child.

We are so blessed to have so many great nonprofits in the area and so many wonderful ways to give back. Supporting others is a way to help to continue to make this an awesome place to live and raise children.

Foster children are part of our future and need that extra support that CASAs can provide.

Sound interesting and like something you might want to do? Do you have the time to give and would like more information? Call or email Jan Rust, advocate trainer, at 509-879-1793 or janisrust@ northidahocasa.org and she will gladly answer any questions.

Editor’s Note: This will be Dianne Smith’s last “Living Life” column for the Reader.

We appreciate all the insightful words you have written over the last year and a half and wish you the best of luck, Dianne.

Time to dig out that ugly Christmas sweater from the depths of the attic. Connie’s Lounge will be hosting a Fugly Sweater Party on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 8 p.m.

The party features a bit of something for everyone. A metal Rebel Yell cooler stuffed with goodies like a crock-pot, blanket donated by Mountain West Bank and a bottle of Rebel Yell whiskey – all proceeds will benefit Panhandle Special Needs (PSNI). There will also be small prizes and party gifts.

Also, there will be a competition for the best fugly sweater – you must be present to win.

The Miah Kohal Trio will be playing live music, so make sure you bring your dancing shoes, too. There will be games, a special menu and drink specials, so make sure you mark your calendars and show some love to a good cause.

We’re thankful for you, dear readers!

Special thanks to all of our Patreon supporters who support us each month.

www.patreon.com/sandpointreader

The vision of panelized, realized.

Crossword Solution

www.mehomes.net (208)264-6700

Dan McMahon, Gen. Contractor dan@mebldg.com

MUSIC

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

READ

‘Giving Thanks’

The 6th annual Thanksgiving concert by the Shook Twins at the Panida Theater

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Katelyn and Laurie Shook have a lot to be thankful for. For the sixth year in a row, Sandpoint’s own Shook Twins have returned to their hometown to show some love to those who have helped launch them into a career of music that only keeps getting better.

This year’s concert, titled Shook Twins & Friends “Giving Thanks,” will take place on the main stage of the Panida Theater on Saturday, Nov. 25. The doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase at Eichardt’s Pub, Pedro’s, at the door or online at BrownPaperTickets.com and Panida.org for $20 plus tax.

The indie folk pop group is spearheaded by Katelyn and Laurie Shook, who were born and raised in Sandpoint. If forced to sum up Shook Twins into a single word, it would be “versatile.” The five-piece band features a dynamic mix of sounds and styles that harmonize almost as beautifully as the twins themselves.

Band member Niko Slice adds his signature flair to the group, with electric guitar, mandolin and vocal work. Slice also lends his own strange and beautiful songs to the mix, giving the group another twist of style. Barra Brown holds down the drums, vocals and drum pads, and Josh Simon’s bass work rounds out a full, enthusiastic live performance you have to see to appreciate.

While the twins live in Portland, Ore. and spend a good portion of their time touring around the country, Sandpoint is always a welcome stop during the holidays to reconnect with friends and family.

At every holiday show, Shook Twins invite some special guests to share the main stage with them. This year, longtime collaborator and friend John Craigie will play, along with

Thanksgiving is for families, and one of the best novels I’ve ever read about an extended family is John Steinbeck’s masterpiece, “East of Eden.”

If you’ve never read it, clear the decks for a month or two and delve into it. Of the two families in the novel - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - the latter are supposed to be based on Steinbeck’s own maternal grandfather.

For extended reading, check out “Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters,” which follows Steinbeck’s progress on the novel through letters to his editor.

LISTEN

Marshall McLean and his band.

The Shooks are excited to return home after coming off a coast to coast tour.

“We went all the way across the country, Portland to Portland,” said Laurie Shook. “We got to do a couple of cool little festivals, officially became friends with Ani DiFranco, sang with her and sat in.

It was so cool.”

The pair have also recorded a new side album without the band as another twist to the story.

“We got a new manager recently, which is cool,” said Laurie.

“It was his idea to do a duo EP, to do it simple and stripped down.

We’ve never done that before.”

Katelyn and Laurie were honored to work with producer Mike Coykendall, who has produced a lot of amazing albums including M. Ward’s “Transfiguration of Vincent.”

“We just went into his living room and played live and he recorded to tape,” said Laurie.

“It was really simple, we kept it really straightforward. We’re pretty excited about it.”

The EP is titled “Two” and is available for purchase online. It can also be streamed on Spotify.

The group also has a fulllength album ready to drop at some point in the near future, which will be their first studio album since 2014’s “What We Do.” “We’re feeling like we have more connections in this world,” said Laurie. “Hopefully that will help us get a record label. We just wrote two new songs that will be on there, too. We’ve finished tracking, and it’s all mixed.”

Bart Budwig mixed the forthcoming album, and will also join the twins on stage at the Panida.

The Shook Twins have shared the stage with award-winning artists all across the country, including Ryan Adams, Gregory Alan Isakov, Mason Jennings, Blitzen Trapper, David Grisman, Laura Viers, The Fruit Bats, The Indigo Girls and many more.

Each year, Shook Twins donate a portion of their proceeds from the Panida shows to a worthy cause. This year, they’ll be donating all merchandise

Katelyn and Laurie Shook, as photographed by Jessie McCall.

proceeds to Puerto Rico.

“Every year when we do this, we want to give back to something and give thanks for what we have,” said Laurie. “Last year we gave to Standing Rock. We’ve actually been trying to find a charity to donate to consistently.”

This year will see a bit of a change of direction for the identical twins, with Katelyn planning to move back to Sandpoint for the winter to be closer to her boyfriend, Kyle.

“This is going to be the first time we haven’t officially lived in the same place,” said Laurie. “We spend so much time together, every time we’re apart, we get back together and have so much to share with each other.

I’m going to put a lot of intention to write some new songs.”

To hear the Shook Twins for yourselves, check them out on Spotify or www.shooktwins.com.

When people refer to “family bands,” the obvious lame images of The Partridge Family, or worse, Hansen, might pop into your mind.

There are other groups out there that don’t suck and do contain family members.

Take The National, for example.

This moody, reflective indie group has definitely made their mark on the music world, but many don’t know that the band behind Matt Berninger’s melancholy voice consists of two pairs of brothers.

WATCH

I enjoy watching films based on dysfunctional families way more than those picture perfect films of family bliss.

One of my favorites is “The Squid and the Whale,” starring Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney and a younger Jesse Eisenberg.

Set in Brooklyn in the mid1980s, “Squid” follows the pretentious quiet lives of intellectuals raising children. It’s hilarious at times, disturbing at others, but overall an entertaining look at real dysfunction in a family that doesn’t end with everyone smiling and happy, but doesn’t end in disaster either. Kind of like life, huh?

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater From Festival to Fromagerie

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist When the turkey’s been picked from the carcass, the stuffing polished off and that stuffed-belly feeling wanes, we’re left to reflect on the holiday that brought us together in the first place: The day we gather and give thanks. I’m thankful that my house is warm and my cupboards full. I’m thankful for seven adorable grandchildren and one more on the way my youngest daughter is expecting her first child. Though she is achingly far away, I’m thankful she has a mother in-law who loves her so much that she peels and seeds pomegranates and drives 20 miles to hand-deliver Casey’s favorite fruit. I’m especially thankful to call this little piece of North Idaho my home. It’s the most giving community. The soul of Sandpoint is her generosity, and it’s not limited to Thanksgiving.

My thoughtful neighbors, Chad and Meggie Foust, recently served more than 300 free steak dinners to local area veterans at their eatery, Sweet Lou’s. My little buddy Lou was there too, greeting and thanking all who served in the military.

Along with Ponderay Rotary, Cancer Care Services just hosted their largest fundraiser of the year, “A Night to Remember,” raising money to support those in our community affected by cancer.

“Sandpoint Style,” another November fundraiser by Angels Over Sandpoint, raised money to assist those in need in Bonner County. Generous area restaurants donated the food for this annual event. Celebrating their 20th year, the Angels have raised and given away $1.5 million!

Last Saturday at the Community Bank Building, my pal 22 /

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Judy Colegrove of Tango fame served up her tasty potato leek soup for the “Empty Bowl” event that raised funds for the Bonner Homeless Transitions and Bonner Community Food Bank.

The Food Bank relies heavily on these donations, and for Thanksgiving they gave away about 900 turkeys, along with fixings for traditional sides, potatoes, yams, pumpkin, cranberries and stuffing mixes. Their needs are greater over the holidays, when children are home without school meal programs to supplement their daily nutrition.

Bistro at Home has been raising funds to provide a traditional, free, pre-reserved Thanksgiving dinner for four. Thanks to generous donors, they’ll provide dinner for more than 60 families.

Beet and Basil has been fundraising too, and have reservations to serve their free meal to more than

100 guests, in two seatings, at their new restaurant. It warms my heart to see these newer establishments (and a younger generation) carry on the tradition of giving.

Multigenerational (and always generous) friends Wendy and daughter Savannah, along with an army of volunteers, will host their annual Hoot Owl Thanksgiving Dinner between 1-5pm. If you’re hungry, just show up for a free, traditional meal and some companionship.

Tomorrow is SWAC’s 10th annual Turkey Trot, starting at 9 a.m. I’ll be there, and I hope you will too! Arrive early to sign a waiver (minors need a parent or guardian signature). Entry fee is a can of food for the Bonner Community Food Bank.

This will be my 23rd Thanksgiving in Sandpoint. How well I remember the first one. My family was fractured by marital

discord, and my only son was 200 away. I woke up wondering how I’d ever muster the energy to drag myself out of bed, let alone prepare Thanksgiving dinner. It would have been easy to skip dinner that year — it was just me and the girls — except for the little old neighbor guy, Al, whom I’d impulsively invited, as repayment for catching and returning our wayward Holstein heifer (bovine Hannah, apparently feeling as displaced as the rest of us, frequently wandered away).

Somehow, I made the motions, made the dinner and waited for Al, who showed up a half an hour early (that day and forever after). He was our antidote for misery and fit our family like a glove. He was the father I’d always longed for, and I was the daughter he never had.

He helped Casey with her homework and helped Ryanne build a cow-proof fence, and for

Curried Turkey Salad The Indian flavors are a nice variation from traditional leftover turkey sandwiches.

Serve in warm nann bread or as lettuce wraps

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

•½ cup mayonnaise •½ tsp grated orange zest •2 tbsp orange juice •1 tsp curry powder •2 tsp freshly grated ginger ( or ½ tsp ginger powder) •2 ½ cups diced turkey (white, dark or both) •½ cup golden raisins •¼ cup fine chopped dried apricots •¼ cup thinly sliced green onions •½ cup finely chopped celery •¼ cup chopped unsalted cashews •1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

•Whisk the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl until well blended. Add chicken and blend.

Add remaining ingredients, mix lightly until well blended. Refrigerate.

•4 (6-inch) naan breads and/or small head of butter lettuce

•Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture onto each naan.

the next ten years we never left home without him. He accompanied us on vacations, cruises and family reunions in Montana. Until he passed, he shared our dinner table every single Sunday. He peppered my meals with praise, telling me that my lasagna was better than any he’d ever tasted (even in NYC’s Little Italy), and if I wanted to make it commercially, he would provide the start-up funds.

I’ve often said no one ever loved me more than Al, and I still believe that’s true. And every day, but especially this time of year, I give special thanks for The First (Al) Thanksgiving.

If you’ll have an empty seat at your table, it’s not too late to invite someone. Who knows?

It could be life changing. I hope your turkey is moist and abundant, and you give this recipe a try with your leftovers. Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

4-6 servings

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS

I’m telling you, just attach a big parachute to the plane itself!

Is anyone listening to me?!

Woorf tdhe Week

atemporal

/ey-TEM-per-uh l/

[adjective] 1. free from limitations of time.

“Oh how I long for the atemporal days of childhood again.”

Corrections: In last week’s Redoubt profile, I referred to James Wesley, Rawles as “John” by accident. Sorry about the mistake. Also, I listed the wrong date for a Music Conservatory concert on the calendar. My apologies. -BO I also made an editing typo in Bret Johnson’s Veterans Day column, placing a semicolon instead of a comma in his second paragraph. Since Bret is careful to teach his students proper semicolon usage, we regret the mistake! -CR

1. Allow 6. Outbuilding 10. Among 14. Radiolocation 15. Tropical tuber 16. Arrived 17. Large Asian country 18. Peel 19. Jacket 20. Defaced 22. Desire 23. Chunk 24. Less difficult 26. Jump 30. French for “Friend” 31. Ribonucleic acid 32. Skilled 33. A climbing plant 35. Practical 39. Gatekeeper 41. A medieval steel helmet 43. Colonic 44. Wildebeests 46. Ear-related 47. European peak 49. Type 50. Snack 51. Bathhouse 54. Decay from overripening 56. Monster 57. Driven by lust 63. Thug 64. Doing nothing 65. Dried coconut meat

Solution on page 20 66. Relating to urine 67. Adolescent 68. Peal 69. Rational 70. Where the sun rises 71. Feel

DOWN 1. Electrical or crossword 2. Hindu princess 3. Contributes 4. Childlike 5. Path 6. Playing a guitar 7. A 180-degree turn of a road

8. Sea eagle 9. Totter 10. Blame 11. New Zealand native 12. Picture 13. Discourage 21. Exotic jelly flavor 25. Rectum 26. Stow, as cargo 27. Black, in poetry 28. Balm ingredient 29. Imperishability 34. Exuberant 36. Within 37. Wreaths 38. Carve in stone 40. French Sudan

42. Requested 45. Small bites 48. Respectful 51. Phony 52. Ancient Greek marketplace 53. Loins 55. Check marks 58. Notion 59. Not a single one 60. Not closed 61. Website addresses 62. An exchange involving money

November 22, 2017 /

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