Reader_Nov9_2023

2 / R / November 9, 2023

DEAR READERS,

The week in random review

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

smart aleck

Everyone has probably referred to someone as a “smart aleck,” usually directed at an irritating person who thinks they know everything. Alec Hoag is responsible for the origin of that term. Hoag was a prolific criminal in 19th century New York. His wife, Melinda, disguised herself as a sex worker and while the johns were distracted with her, Hoag pilfered their pockets and took their valuables, paying off the police to help keep the ruse going. The scheme was so successful, Hoag grew cocky and thought he no longer needed law enforcement’s help, so he stopped paying them off. Both Alec and Melinda were quickly arrested. Mocking him, the police ironically referred to him as “smart Alec,” and the phrase stuck, with a “k” somehow making its way onto Alec’s name for modern usage.

Murphy’s pear

Perhaps I’m not doing it right, but every time I purchase pears from the grocery store, by the time I get home and put them in the fruit basket, they are bruised all over and look like I just fought 12 rounds with them. After noticing this phenomenon during the past couple of years, I made it my mission this fall to successfully make it home with pears that weren’t smooshed and bruised all over. Last week, I’m happy to report a successful mission. Sort of. I brought a scarf into the store with me, carefully wrapped the pears in the scarf and placed them in my grocery basket. After checkout, I meticulously wrapped each one in my bag before heading home.

I stood triumphantly in the kitchen, pulling pristine pear after pear out of the scarf and placing them carefully in the fruit basket to be enjoyed without bruises. While placing the last one, I set it on the table to put the bags away, then turned back to watch this demon pear just as it rolled off the edge of the table and landed with a splat on the kitchen floor. I stood there and looked at the mess in disbelief. Pears must hate me.

Edward Murphy, Jr. was the aerospace engineer best known for his eponymous Murphy’s Law, which stated, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” I have no way of knowing or proving this, but I’m 100% certain that Murphy’s favorite fruit was the pear.

Sandpoint has rats

Being born and raised in Sandpoint has its perks, but it’s mostly a curse. While I’ve always been very proud of my hometown, when traveling or talking to friends who don’t live here, I’m sometimes asked to describe it. More often than not I’ll say something disparaging, like, “It actually has a lot of crime,” or, “The summers are OK, but it gets down to 40-below in the winter,” just to make sure no one gets the bright idea to move here. My go-to response is usually, “Sandpoint is nice, but it’s infested with rats.” Recently, while reconnecting with a college friend, they asked me how things were going in Sandpoint. After my usual responses, they asked, “How’s the rat problem?” I went blank, unsure what they were referring to. It was only after a few prompts that I remembered my stock reply about rats and, after several minutes of laughter, confessed that there never was a rat problem, I just didn’t want anyone to move here. I think I’m off their Christmas card list.

Election time can often be hectic for the staff of a newspaper. It’s a time of year when constituents’ passions run high, sometimes to the point of boiling over.

Whether it’s planning and running candidates’ forums, sending out questions and corralling responses for candidate questionnaires or wading through dozens of letters to the editor, we do our level best to make sure our readers have access to all the information they need to make an informed decision on Election Day. Along with coverage at SandpointOnline.com, KRFY 88.5 FM and the Bonner County Daily Bee, voters have a multitude of options to stay informed. It’s up to you, dear readers, to access that information and cast your vote. We’ll keep doing our part if you keep doing yours, capisce?

Finally, Saturday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. If you have a loved one who fought for our country, please reach out to them and tell them how much you appreciate their service and sacrifice. Thank you, veterans.

– Ben Olson, publisher

READER 111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-946-4368

sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Soncirey Mitchell (Staff Writer) soncirey@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (emeritus) Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Kelsey Kizer kelsey@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Dee Ann Smith (cover), Ben Olson, Soncirey Mitchell, Kathleen Huntley Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Soncirey Mitchell, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Mark Sauter, Jyl Wheaton-Abraham, Emily Erickson, Bonnie Jakubos Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $165 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 soybased 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 300 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: sandpointreader.com About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken from the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail

by Dee Ann Smith.

November 9, 2023 / R / 3

NEWS

2023 election results

Voters choose Jeremy Grimm as new Sandpoint mayor, elect Pam Duquette, Deb Ruehle and Kyle Schreiber to City Council

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

For the first time in eight years, Sandpoint will have a new mayor when Jeremy Grimm is sworn in at City Hall in January following his decisive election victory Nov. 7 over Kate McAlister and Frytz Mor. Grimm, who served as Sandpoint city planner from 2007-2015 and currently owns Whiskey Rock Planning + Consulting, took 1,176 votes (or 53.29%), to McAlister’s 781 votes (35.39%) and Mor’s 250 (11.33%).

Sandpoint voters also elected three council members from among six candidates vying for the seats held by Council President Kate McAlister and Councilors Andy Groat (who recently resigned, though had not intended to run for reelection) and Deb Ruehle, who retained her seat in the Nov. 7 election.

Councilor-elect Kyle Schreiber earned the highest vote count of any Sandpoint candidate — including in the mayor’s race — with 1,544 votes, followed by Ruehle with 1,079 votes and Pam Duquette with 1,025.

Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale, whose department oversees local elections, told the Reader in a phone interview Nov. 8 that of the 18,786 eligible voters in the county, 6,519 cast ballots, amounting to a 34.7% turnout.

“All in all, I was expecting a bigger turnout,” Rosedale said, adding later, “We actually printed ballots for 100%, in some cases, for our precincts because we just didn’t know how fired up people were going to be on one side or another, but it was much smaller than we thought.”

The ballot was indeed different for many voters in the county — and some precincts had nothing to vote for at all on Nov. 7, including the Algoma, Gamlin Lake, Kootenai, Sagle, Southside, Westmond and Wrenco precincts.

In Zone 1 of the Lake Pend Oreille School District, east of Highway 95 including Northside, Hope and Clark 4 / R / November 9, 2023

Jeremy Grimm.

Fork, multi-generational county resident Scott Wood took nearly 70% of the vote for a board of trustees seat with 1,049 ballots cast against self-described “Christian wife and mother” Jenn McKnight, who earned 451 votes for a campaign based on opposing “social-emotional learning” and, as she said at an October candidates’ forum, rejecting state funding for technical education and new school buildings.

Wood, however, said he planned not to propose any “sweeping changes” regarding curriculum, but emphasized that the district’s aging buildings and infrastructure need to be updated or replaced, and state dollars must be put toward promoting career and technical education.

Current LPOSD Board Chair Geraldine Lewis ran unopposed to retain her trustee seat in Zone 4, south of Highway 200 including Sagle to East Dufort Road east of Highway 95.

Perhaps most surprising in the school district races were the results in the West Bonner County School District.

In the WBCSD trustee races, incumbents Margaret Hall and Troy Reinbold held onto their seats in Zones 1 and 3, while Kathy Nash bested incumbent Carlyn Barton in Zone 5.

Idahoans across the state have been watching the school district closely since the resignation of former Superintendent Branden Durst on Sept. 25 and the successful recall of Vice-Chair Susan Brown and Chair Keith Rutledge on Aug. 29.

The tumult in the district has made state and regional headlines for months, yet, despite the media coverage, voter turnout was lackluster.

Reinbold — an ally of the three ousted members — beat challenger Elizabeth Glazier for his seat with just 285 votes in total, meaning 60.51%.

Hall won reelection with 539 votes or 59.43%, and Nash earned 406 votes or 59.62%.

By comparison, in the August recall election, 624 voters turned out to oust Brown and 762 went to the polls against Rutledge.

“To those who supported me, thank you so much for your dedication and contributions, in so many ways, to the campaign! It was a team effort!” Hall told the Reader in a Nov. 8 statement.

“We were successful because of what each person brought to the table. We did what we set out to do and in the way we said we would from the start: focusing on the positive but also recognizing work still needs to be done.

“To everyone in the district, WBCSD is facing a variety of challenges,” she added. “Moving forward, the board must work together in order to regain the community and staff’s trust, address any forensic audit findings quickly, address the district’s long-term financial stability, work to minimize community polarization and more. As a board member, my work is cut out for me. It is a tall order but I am committed to do so for the sake of kids and the larger community.”

Neither Nash nor Reinbold responded to a request for comment.

Rosedale nodded toward the long season of political turmoil in the West Bonner County School District and its unusually successful recall election in the summer, and underscored that, “My concern with an election is that it goes

smooth and accurately.”

Even with lower-than-anticipated turnout in West Bonner, there was higher-than-average interest in volunteers watching the polls.

“One of the unique things about this election: We had 35 poll watchers, and most of them were centered around West Bonner County School District trustee zones. We’ve never had that many before, it was off the charts,” Rosedale said. “The vast majority of them were for those zones [1, 3 and 5] … and they were on both sides — both opposing candidates had their people at those precincts.”

Overall, Rosedale said, the vote count went off without any hitches and unofficial results were posted around midnight. The results will be final after canvassing, which will happen in the coming weeks.

“All in all, I was expecting a bigger turnout,” he said.

Sandpoint city offices By far the highest-profile race on the ballot for Sandpoint voters was the contest for mayor, with Grimm taking the helm from Shelby Rognstad, who opted not to run for reelection after serving two terms in office.

Grimm’s campaign centered on basic infrastructure and “prioritiz[ing] residents over tourists,” while reorganizing City Hall to eliminate the city administrator position, currently held

by Jennifer Stapleton since 2015. He also criticized “cotton-candy” projects like the downtown waterfront design concept, and pledged to open dialogue with citizens about the direction of the city, which many feel has been lacking in recent years.

“I could not be more excited about the outcome of the mayoral race. It is a humbling experience to have secured the trust and support of so many Sandpoint residents. Thank you to each and every voter who helped make this day a reality. You did this and your voice was loud and clear,” Grimm told the Reader in a statement Nov. 8. “Moving

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Kyle Schreiber. forward, I will be coordinating with the outgoing mayor to ensure that the transition occurs as smoothly as possible.”

Grimm thanked Rognstad for reaching out to him with congratulations and offering his help going forward.

“The work ahead is significant, maybe the greatest in the town’s history,” Grimm wrote. “First and foremost is to rebuild trust in City Hall through intentional and robust conversations, the review and adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, and capturing and applying the energy of voters as we plan our next steps.

“I want to congratulate Kyle Schreiber, Deb Ruehle and Pam Duquette on their victories,” he added. “I sincerely look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting busy with the important work ahead of us. In this effort, I know that we will draw heavily upon the experienced hands of [Councilors] Justin [Dick], Jason [Welker] and Joel [Aispuro]. Their voices will help to guide and carry the load throughout the countless future hours of public debate and discussion.

“Lastly, I want to pass along my admiration and respect to my opponents and other candidates who ran for City Council,” Grimm continued.

“Their love and passion for Sandpoint as well as those of their supporters … is a strong reminder of how much we all share as a community.”

McAlister’s showing of 781 votes came as a bit of a surprise to some observers, who figured the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, who will close out her term on the City Council as president in January, would have the power of incumbency and benefit from decades of popularity for her various community contributions from local nonprofits to performing on stage as a well-known actress.

Deb Ruehle.

Her campaign focused on managing growth, with both its benefits and challenges, touting “responsible, thoughtful development” and exercising the office as a “strong mayor” focused on “drinkable water, flushable toilets and drivable streets.”

She supported continuing with the city administrator position, but also suggested that if that function would be removed from City Hall, Sandpoint should first establish the mayor as a full-time employee with a livable wage.

“Thank you everyone who worked on my campaign. I appreciate all your hard work. Especially my fellow council members, Keely Gray, Paula Marcinko, Marcia Martin Pilgeram and of course my wonderful husband Dave Lovejoy,” McAlister wrote in a Facebook post Nov. 8. “Thank you to all those who voted for me. It means a lot. Onward.”

Frytz Mor, whose showing of 250 votes in the mayor’s race came in well below the 612 he garnered in a 2020 City Council bid, ran with similar talking points as Grimm, though emphasized that he had no conflicts of interest or other potential connections that would bias his decision making in office — a point he made in reference to Grimm’s private sector career as a consultant for several high-profile developments, including the Idaho Club’s Trestle Creek project, and McAlister’s work with the chamber of commerce.

Mor had not issued a post-election statement by press time and did not respond to a request for comment from the Reader.

Schreiber, who works in marketing, has been a consistent attendee at City Hall meetings and a frequent commenter, and ran on a campaign emphasizing infrastructure, eliminating the city administrator’s position, expanding public

Pam Duquette. engagement and focusing on affordable housing.

As the highest vote-getter in the Sandpoint elections, he told the Reader in a statement Nov. 8, “I’m absolutely overwhelmed by the support I’ve received from this community. Thank you, Sandpoint, for your confidence in me. I will do my best to represent your voice in our city government.”

Ruehle was the only incumbent councilor to seek reelection, and her win signals the start of a third full term — she was appointed to council in 2014, elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019. Prior to that, she served on the Planning and Zoning Commission for three years and works in the private sector as a physical therapist.

Her campaign, like the other winners, emphasized basic infrastructure and strengthening public involvement with city decisions, though she signaled her opposition to eliminating the city administrator position.

“I would like to thank everybody who supported me; I’m looking forward to reinvigorating our citizen committees, making sure sewage treatment stays on track and protecting the historic character of our downtown core — and getting those updates to the multi-modal plan that citizens have been asking for,” she told the Reader in an interview Nov. 8.

Asked to describe what changes to the multi-modal plan she would pursue, Ruehle said, “Clarifying exactly how people would like the Dub’s intersection and Highway 2 integration with Fifth Avenue to work.”

“We need to get the public to understand that it is a state highway so we don’t always have absolute control over what happens,” she added. “That doesn’t mean we can’t work really hard to get what we want. … To me,

the planning pieces are what’s really important.”

As the currently longest-serving member of council, Ruehle said she’s particularly looking forward to getting the Comprehensive Plan update in place, and excited for the upcoming town hall-style workshops on the project at City Hall on Wednesday, Nov. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 7.

“I’m looking forward to strong turnout from the public because they’ve been working on it for four years,” she said.

Duquette, a retired educator, ran under the slogan “Keep Sandpoint Real,” focused on sustainable development, environmental stewardship and citizen engagement, and also came down on the side of eliminating the city administrator position.

“It has been quite a journey for me these past couple of months, but I know life is nothing if not an adventure in learning!” she told the Reader in a Nov. 8 statement. “This morning, I feel both humbled and honored by the election results placing me on our City Council!

The community support has exceeded any expectations I may have had, and the help from my friends both new and old was amazing.”

She went on to state that looking back on the election win, she “found myself thinking of my mom this morning (no longer living), and how she would have been so proud of me!

Sounds kind of silly maybe! Anyway, I am grateful for the votes of confidence, and I will work diligently to not disappoint! Anyone whose vote I did not earn, I hope to at least gain your respect and support through the next four years.”

Duquette wrote of the “exceptional group of candidates” and recognized that voters had to make some tough calls at the ballot box.

“I am excited to envision how with a strong mayor, council and engaged community members, we can work together for the betterment of Sandpoint and its residents as we continue to grow,” she wrote. “Thanks to you all.”

The other council candidates whose campaigns didn’t deliver wins on Nov. 7 also provided statements, all expressing their gratitude and pledging to continue serving the community in their various capacities.

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November 9, 2023 / R / 5

Bits ’n’ Pieces

< ELECTION, con’t from Page 5 > Boyd told the Reader in a statement, “It was a great run and I enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you to everyone who supported me! I will continue my service to our community while serving as a commissioner on Planning Zoning for the next two years. Congratulations to Deb, Kyle and Pam!” Simmons, also a Sandpoint P&Z commissioner, told the Reader in a Nov. 8 statement, “The election may not have gone my way, but my commitment to Sandpoint remains unchanged. I am grateful for the dialogue we’ve shared and for the support that many of you have shown.

“To those who will take office, I extend my sincerest congratulations. It is my hope that you will carry forward the mantle of responsibility with the utmost integrity,” he added. “To all who have engaged in this election, let us proceed with grace and a collective resolve to nurture the town we all love.

“Thank you, Sandpoint, for the opportunity to dream together,” Simmons concluded. “I look forward to continuing to serve our community in new ways, always with optimism and a spirit of unity.”

Finally, Susnis — who serves as chair of the Sandpoint Arts, Culture and Historical Preservation Commission — wrote to express how privileged she felt to run for office in Sandpoint, “where people care so deeply for their community.”

“I have learned so much from this experience, and met so many wonderful people,” she wrote. “One of my objectives was to raise awareness of the importance of historic preservation in our town. I believe people are now really thinking about what it means to lose our touchstones and places that make Sandpoint so special.

“This is not the end of the race, it’s just the beginning, to guide responsible development without destroying the things we hold dear,” she added. “Even though I won’t be on City Council, I am here to do the work right beside you.

I know you are ready to be involved.

Thank you Sandpoint!”

From east, west and beyond

Scott Wood.

Margy Hall.

Troy Reinbold.

For full results, visit the Bonner County Elections breakdown at bit. ly/464BUt6.

Additional reporting by Soncirey Mitchell.

6 / R / November 9, 2023

Kathy Nash.

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.

A recent sampling: Employers experience a loss of $24 billion annually from child care-related complications, The Washington Post recently wrote. That reverberates as a $122 billion “hit” on the U.S. economy.

After 15 days of testimony, jurors found Sam Bankman-Fried, 31, guilty of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, including money laundering, for his role in the demise of crypto exchange FTX, CBS reported. The convictions carry a maximum of 20-year sentences.

Child labor violations rose 88% over 2019 levels. There were 5,792 minors working in violation of child labor laws in the 2022-’23 fiscal year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. One response: the proposed Stop Child Labor Act. It would carry fines of up to $132,270 for violations and up to $601,150 for violations causing death or a serious injury.

The proposal also seeks establishment of an Advisory Committee on Child Labor and the ability for children harmed by violations to seek compensation.

The publisher has pulled Mark Meadows’ memoir about his time as former-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff after Meadows admitted in court that Trump’s election claims were false, leading to charges of violating his contract when stating “all statements [in his book] are true,” Salon reported. All Seasons Press wants a $350,000 advance returned as well as $600,000 in out-ofpocket and reputational damages. The Hill noted that Meadows did warn Trump against claims about election fraud.

Not safe anywhere: The BBC reports that, while Israel’s military has told Gazans to evacuate to the south to avoid injury, that area is also under Israeli bombardment. Several media sources reported late last week that President Joe Biden has called for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict. Numerous U.S. marches have rallied for a halt on Israel’s targeting of Gaza. For now, the Republican House speaker says there will be a ceasefire when Hamas “ceases to be a threat to Israel.” House GOPers want to tie any funding to Israel with equal cuts to the IRS; but, as The Lever noted, in 2020 the IRS helped identify and cut off a cryptocurrency scheme channeling resources to militant Hamas members.

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

A dissent memo signed by State Department staffers indicates dissatisfaction with Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, according to Politico.

Signers said the U.S. should publicly criticize Israel — such as speaking out against Israel’s support of settler violence, illegal land seizures and excessive use of force by Israel against Palestinians. The U.S. should support a ceasefire, signers wrote; the dissent memo acknowledges that Israel has a “legitimate right and obligation” to seek justice against Palestinian militants of Hamas, who killed 1,400 Israelis in an attack on Israel on Oct. 7. But signers also said the extent of Palestinians killed by Israel since then — 10,000, mostly civilians and children — is “unacceptable.”

Politico noted that Hamas militants have embedded themselves among Palestinians, making it hard for Israel to take out militants without killing Palestinians.

At Trump’s civil fraud trial for financial impropriety in New York, his tendency to go off-topic led the judge to state, “This is not a political rally,” ABC reported. Early in Trump’s testimony, the judge asked one of Trump’s attorneys to “control him if you can. If you can’t, I will.” The judge has warned Trump about the length and content of his answers, commenting that he does not want to hear everything Trump has to say: “He has a lot to say that has nothing to do with the case or the questions.” The attorney general who brought the case is seeking $300 million for “ill-gotten” gains via inflating property values that deceived banks and insurers, and wants Trump banned from doing business in New York.

Trump insulted her from the stand, but she chuckled, later telling reporters that, “He rambled. He hurled insults. But we expected that.” The judge, who will decide the outcome of the case, was there to hear Trump’s testimony about his property valuations and his financial statement records. Trump said his statements to banks had a “disclaimer clause.”

Blast from the past: WWI came to an end 105 years ago on Saturday, Nov. 11.

Initially the day celebrated the end of that war; it was made a legal holiday in 1938.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the day honors those who died as well as those who have “served honorably.”

NEWS

Most Americans want health exceptions in abortion bans.

Political infighting keeps blocking them

Idaho lawmaker says he will keep trying to find solution during 2024 legislative session

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris Idaho Capital Sun The vast majority of Americans — 82%, according to a recent Marist poll — support allowing abortions at any stage of pregnancy to protect the life or health of the pregnant person. But five of the 14 states with abortion bans — Idaho, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wisconsin and Mississippi — do not have language in their laws that would allow for abortion to protect a person’s health, only to prevent death.

In all five states, legislation has been drafted to add a health exception, and in many cases, it is Republican lawmakers who are coming forward with proposals to add it. But with ongoing court battles, partisan fights between Republicans at the local, state and federal levels, and arguments among anti-abortion advocates over policy details, those efforts have failed during each state’s respective 2023 legislative sessions.

Idaho’s Legislature nearly advanced a bill that would have added an exception for an abortion to be performed “to treat a physical condition of the woman that if left untreated would be life-threatening.” Rep. Brent Crane, who took office in Idaho’s House of Representatives in 2006 on the promise of advocating for anti-abortion legislation, worked on the bill for months with the founder of Idaho Chooses Life and the Idaho Medical Association.

The night before the bill was scheduled to receive a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee, Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon sent an email to the party’s distribution list that said the legislation was the medical association’s attempt to bring abortions back to Idaho as part of a “closed-door, back-room deal.” She called the association a “progressive trade organization” with doctors educated “in some of the farthest left academic institutions in our country.”

The Idaho Medical Association has more than 4,000 members,

half of whom are actively practicing physicians and others who are retired physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and medical students.

Crane said his decision to pull the bill was a tactical one, because there was disagreement among anti-abortion groups and a lack of support among legislators as a result. Moon’s email certainly had an effect on the decision, he said, but it wasn’t the sole reason. “[The bill] was going to force lawmakers to have to make the difficult decision between which group they thought had the proper interpretation of what they thought we should do,” Crane said.

At the heart of the disagreement, Crane said, is the idea that a health exception would be used to have “abortion on demand” by extending the definition of health to mental, financial or other forms of health, although Idaho’s law specifically excludes a suicidal pregnant person from qualifying for an abortion.

Rep. Brooke Green, a Democrat, said her caucus decided to walk out of the House chambers when the bill came up for a vote as a form of protest because it only included ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages as exceptions.

“It was one of those situations where we were damned if we do, and damned if we don’t,” Green told States Newsroom. “When you have an environment where you’re the super, super minority, these are

the circumstances that play out.”

Crane said he’s continuing to work to find a compromise that will satisfy all anti-abortion groups and plans to introduce another bill in the upcoming legislative session in January.

“It has been such a long fought, highly emotional, very controversial issue, and people have staked out their positions on both sides that, because there are moral underpinnings to the issue, it feels to some folks that we’re compromising,” Crane said. “But we’re not going to be able to push this issue away and say we’re not going to deal with it. It has to be dealt with.”

Exceptions in abortion bans are ‘fake,’ Wisconsin Democrat says For abortion rights advocates, even the states with health exceptions in their ban laws are causing harm, because often the laws lack clarity and do not account for instances of fatal or life-limiting fetal anomalies.

Jillaine St.Michel, an Idaho plaintiff in a lawsuit led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, was 20 weeks into her second pregnancy when her fetus was diagnosed with multiple developmental abnormalities of the organ and skeletal systems at a routine scan. It was so severe that the doctors asked St.Michel if she worked in a factory around any dangerous chemicals. She didn’t.

St.Michel had to spend three

days in Seattle with her husband and 3-year-old child, which made her feel like she was doing something wrong.

“To have to go through that procedure and then go back to an unfamiliar hotel room, and have to heal and go through that process not in the comfort of your own home felt really degrading,” she said. “It felt really insulting that we had to go through that in such a demeaning way.”

Democrats in states like Wisconsin, which had a complete ban without exceptions until a recent court ruling prompted Planned Parenthood to resume its abortion services, think most Republican-proposed bills to add health exceptions are drafted in bad faith.

“The idea of exceptions to abortion bans, it’s absolutely fake, it’s false,” said Sen. Kelda Roys, a Democratic legislator in Wisconsin.

“It’s intended to do one thing, and that is to give political cover to anti-abortion politicians who realize how deeply unpopular their position is and are desperately trying to scramble to appear less extreme.”

Wisconsin Republicans proposed legislation with a health exception in March, but Democrats immediately rejected it, calling it a publicity stunt that came just a few months after Republicans nationwide performed poorly in the 2022 midterm elections. It also came a little more than two weeks before a significant state supreme court

John Oliver mentioned Idaho District 1 Seat A Rep. Mark Sauter in a segment about abortion during Last Week Tonight Nov. 5 on Max. Oliver said, “This Idaho Republican voted for an extremely restrictive abortion ban and has since had second thoughts about how broad it actually is, but listen to him explain just how little thought he put into his original decision,” followed by a clip of an interview with PBS News Hour in which Sauter said, “It really wasn’t high up on my radar other than I’m a pro-life guy and I ran that way. But I didn’t see it having a real big community impact ... You get exposed to something, all of a sudden you go, ‘Wow, there’s a different way to look at this.’” Oliver then followed the clip with, “Look, part of me wants to welcome that man’s ability to recognize his own blind spots there, but are you really saying that you didn’t think about how your vote would affect literally half your consitutuents? You’re a f-cking legislator.” Screenshot taken from youtube.com election, which Justice Janet Protasiewicz went on to win in April.

Protasiewicz openly campaigned in favor of abortion rights.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, also vowed to veto the bill if it passed, after which the bill died. While it passed the House, Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said at the time that the Senate would not hear the bill because, “This is not a topic to use as a political football.”

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.

November 9, 2023 / R / 7

All is well…

Bouquets: • A Bouquet goes out to the Bonner County Elections Department, polling place volunteers and candidates for another successful election cycle. In a time when paranoid delusions about election integrity seem to be infiltrating every voting district in America (thanks to the incessant ramblings of our former president in between his criminal and civil trials), I have no qualms saying that our Bonner County elections are 100% secure.

Kudos to Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale, as always, for doing the heavy lifting and to the many polling place volunteers who donate their time to this democratic institution. Thank you all for ensuring our elections go off without a hitch.

• Special thanks to the staff at Auto Electric in Sandpoint for squeezing my vehicle in for service after a persistent electrical problem had my truck down for more than a month. I haven’t had car trouble for a while, so I wasn’t aware that most mechanics in town are booked out anywhere from a couple weeks to a month. That’s yet another sign that this town is growing out of control.

This is a bit frustrating, since it’s always difficult to lose the use of your vehicle for an extended period of time, but the guys at Auto Electric managed to fit me in and fix the problem.

Barbs: • As a counterpoint to my first Bouquet, I’d like to offer a Barb to the 65.3% of registered voters in the county who didn’t show up to the ballot box on Election Day. Only about a third (34.7%) of registered voters participated on Nov. 7. Sure, it wasn’t a presidential election so many people stayed home — and only certain precincts had anything on the ballot, though Sandpoint did with the office of mayor and three council seats — but I’ll always favor a large voter turnout. It’s the most accurate reflection of an electorate, and voting guarantees you the right to complain and moan until the next cycle.

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Dear editor, Thank you Reader and Paige Belfry for the sweet cover photo on Nov. 2 (which happens to be my birthday — what a sweet gift). I have picked up the Reader several times since Thursday to look at that photo. It almost makes one feel that everything is alright in our little corner of the world. I will definitely be saving this week’s cover!

Lea Sammons Sandpoint

‘Why are we spitting hate at the givers?’…

Dear editor, I am deeply distressed by the nasty tone of the conversation around the new indoor sports facility breaking ground at Travers Park.

This has gone so far as to cause a councilperson to resign, signs suggesting pickleball players hit children and a letter in the Reader suggesting we just take the $7.5 million from those “fancy donors.”

My heart is broken over the vitriol of this conversation, especially because Frank Travers and James Russell would have been best friends.

They were both born here, with long roots in this town. They were passionate about youth sports. Instead, we have this ugly rhetoric that acts like one memorial destroys another.

Travers Park is 18 acres; the indoor sports facility is maybe ½ an acre. How does that destroy the park? How can giving high-school students and others a place to play in the winter destroy the honor of Frank Travers?

For a year we have been talking about this; if there is another place to put this facility, where is it? Instead, I hear lies and insults thrown at anyone who disagrees with the status quo. This is an incredible gift, why are we spitting hate at the givers?

Let us heal this rift and tone down the hate. May I suggest a sign that honors both men at Travers Park and tells both stories. They are the same story of service to the health and joy of Sandpoint.

Mary Haley Sandpoint

‘The military did much for me’…

Dear editor, On Veterans Day I find myself feeling a tad guilty when I compare my three-year Korean War contri-

bution to military service of pals who were bonafide heroes: like Sandpoint’s Barney Ballard and Don Douglas — combat pilots in Vietnam.

Following a year at USC as a journalism major, I enlisted in the Air Force, wound up in Georgia and assigned to the weekly newspaper at a SAC base. In 1951, at the Armed Forces Information School in New York, uniformed media professionals fed us fledgling warriors journalism by the truckload. We toured The New York Times and talked with fabled columnist Ed Sullivan at The New York Daily News. And, voila!, I became scholarly. A miracle!

Whereas I contributed a pittance to military morale, the Air Force gave me the best academic and onthe-job training one could hope for — and a career. After the Georgia launch, where my military betters gave me a typewriter instead of a carbine, I edited eight newspapers and magazines — college, civic and corporate — managed a nationwide company of media professionals, worked on speeches with five chief executive officers, traveled widely, lived on both coasts and several towns in between, and sent three kids to college. I didn’t do much for democracy, but the military did much for me.

Although I wouldn’t know a hand grenade if one walked up and bit me on the backside, I’m damn proud to be a U.S. Armed Forces veteran. And grateful.

Tim H. Henney Sandpoint

Telling the truth about open primaries…

Dear editor, There’s an old adage that a lie can get ’round the world before the truth gets its boots on.

The truth is that more than 1,000 Idahoans from all parties are working around Idaho to get enough signatures of registered voters to qualify the Open Primaries Initiative for next year’s ballot.

Each of us also donate $5 or $10 a month to the campaign. If this citizens’ initiative qualifies for the ballot and voters approve it, each voter in following elections will be able to choose candidates who best represent them.

So, a week ago I took a petition with me when my husband and I were buying winter supplies at Pro X. As we waited in line, a young lady signed. When I asked a man behind us if he had heard of open

primaries, a younger man in front of me butted in.

“That’s where I pick 1, 2, 3, 4 and my vote goes to a liberal,” he said.

I told him that the ranked-choice is optional and only applies to the general election. But as I told him that no political party would be favored in open primaries, he again cut me off.

“I know you’re getting paid for every signature,” he said on his way out the door.

Not surprisingly, the first man declined.

My husband was loading the car at that moment, but he would have vouched for the many hundreds of hours I’ve spent collecting signatures and the hundreds of dollars we have donated to the Open Primaries Initiative.

But some voters refuse to listen to, or read, truthful information when presented to them and spread lies in as many places as they can.

Still, I find it hard not to waste my time and energy on them.

Sincerely, Clarice M. McKenney Bonners Ferry

Save Travers Park…

Dear editor, I have been a city of Sandpoint resident since 1999 and Bonner County since 1995. I am fundamentally opposed to the James E. Russell Sports Center proposed for the “front row” at Travers Park! It would break the open space and skyline by put-

ting up an extra-large building at the “old dump site.” It doesn’t sit right to override the Travers family’s initial gift to our community.

Also, I am opposed to the use of city residents’ tax dollars to pay half a million dollars for a new playground. The generous $7.5 million gift from the Russell family working with our city officials, must have acquired a permit from the Land Water Conservation Fund in order to begin, yet this doesn’t seem transparent!

It is outrageous that this plan has gotten this far and destroyed so many 30-year-old trees on Oct. 27.

Travers Park is a gem of a park that generations of families in the region treasure. Please reconsider building it to the existing tennis courts or the baseball field closest to Pine Street.

Don’t disturb the ground and skyline.

Plant healthy large trees next spring to replace those mature trees.

Lastly, many people went to the April 5, 2023 City Council meeting.

We listened for three-and-a-half hours and learned it went for five hours to cover the primary public interest topic of the “Couplet” as the last agenda item. It truly seemed they didn’t want public comments.

We heard Maeve share exhausting details of the “splash pad” proposed for the new playground. It was not apparent that this sports center was unanimously voted as a done deal! Please be transparent and show more integrity, City Council and mayor of Sandpoint.

Jennifer Ball Sandpoint

PERSPECTIVES

Notes in the margin

An update on the Idaho Launch program

shortages and high cost of living. So “raising” our own workLater this week, Lt. Gov. force has become Scott Bedke will be in town an option worth to talk with our students and a try. school staff about the Idaho Employers Launch program. It’s a grant/ pay property scholarship program for 2024 taxes and hence high school graduates who school fees, even decide to “go on” with their though they don’t education and into high-demand have kids in the careers. Our community needs district. So the plumbers, welders, electricians, Launch program Rep. Mark Sauter. File photo. truck drivers, millwrights, medreinvests some ical professionals and many other of those tax dollars skilled workers. The program promises into the pool for future workers. Statis$8,000 for our students to use over a two- tics have shown the earning potential for year period. those who get certificated and/or journeyThe No. 1 reason students say they are man training is significantly improved in not going on to further their skills and/or a relatively short period of time. education is the funding it takes to do so.

Local high school counselors have Launch funds can be used for traditional been informing their students about the college courses; but, to do so, the courses new program since September. I have atmust be related to an in-demand type of tended excellent parent-student meetings career (for example: certified nursing). in Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry. Their The Idaho workforce development counstudents are beginning to apply. Clark cil has a list of 200 in-demand jobs posted Fork High School seniors will do their on their website. applying as a group next week. HopeThe concept of the program came from fully, students at Priest River Lamanna an earlier Idaho scholarship program for High School and Forrest M. Bird Charter career technical education (CTE). EmSchools will take advantage of the proployers have opined there are not enough gram as well. trained new employees for their workState staff are tracking the number of force needs. Recruiting workers from oth- Launch program applicants. The hope is er areas is tough because of our housing that we increase the number of “go-on”

By Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint Reader Contributor

students from about 40% to 60%. If we can achieve this, employers in our area will have a better chance of filling their employee needs.

The bottom line is this program gives our local students a “hand up” to getting into a good career utilizing in-state training. It gives our kids a chance to stay here. It helps keep our community sustainable. We raise our families here, work here and have generations coming up to fill the needs of our area.

Being a part of programs like Launch has convinced me to run for another term with the House of Representatives.

Expect to see more from me soon about my campaign. I know I will be challenged for my seat.

I ran on a platform of supporting conservative principles like education, job growth, low regulation, tax reform and public safety. I vowed to be a responsible

representative for our entire area. I believe I have remained true to my platform and to our residents. However, we still have work to do. I have a list of things to follow up on in the upcoming legislative session.

I encourage you to do your research.

It’s been said that elections have consequences. With the last primary election in mind, we know there will be attacks on me and my voting record. Names and labels will be thrown about. Feel free to contact me to know more than what an opponent’s campaign flier may offer.

Rep. Mark Sauter is a first-term Republican legislator representing District 1A. He serves on the Agricultural Affairs; Education; and Judiciary, Rules and Administration committees. Contact him at msauter@house.idaho.gov.

November 9, 2023 / R / 9

Mad about Science:

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

polyvinyl acetate

Don’t be scared away by the title, you’ve encountered polyvinyl acetate on a daily basis. What is it? Could it be some kind of noxious chemical polluting our waterways, gassing unsuspecting civilians, melting the flesh from our bones?

No. It’s Elmer’s glue.

PVA glue is one of the most versatile and accessible adhesives available. Beyond its obvious uses in classrooms around the world, it is employed virtually everywhere. From construction to book binding, polyvinyl acetate is one of the most useful tools in our arsenal.

Finding in-depth information about the manufacture of polyvinyl acetate was admittedly difficult.I did manage to suss out that it’s the result of a reaction between a chemical reaction of ethylene and acetic acid (a component of vinegar), along with oxygen and a palladium catalyst.

You’re going to have to ask your chemistry teacher for a more thorough explanation if you want one; because, admittedly, that was one of my weakest subjects in high school.

PVA is often mixed with water to help efficiently disperse the polymer across an area. Adding water to Elmer’s glue thins it out, but it makes it exceptionally good at seeping into cracks and crevices to completely seal an item without leaving big chunky bits of dried glue.

This function of PVA glue is most commonly seen in paint.

Latex-based paint is pigment suspended in a mixture of polyvinyl acetate and water. As the water evaporates from the glue, the PVA forms an extremely thin

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and translucent polymer layer to trap the paint below. It’s a lot like throwing a sticky clear tarp over your garden.

This form of glue is vastly different from another form of powerful glue: superglue, or cyanoacrylate. PVA primarily dries and seals as water evaporates from it, leaving a dry sealant effect over things. Cyanoacrylate instead reacts with water, primarily water in air, to create a rapid polymerization reaction to grip anything it comes into contact with. These features make for two distinctly useful tools when applied in different ways. PVA glue does its best work when it comes in contact with porous surfaces, such as paper, wood or plaster.

Superglue effectively binds two smoother surfaces together, such as plastic or resin.

Bonus fact: If you are struggling to bond two objects together with superglue, try dusting one surface with a little bit of baking soda. The baking soda causes rapid polymerization of the cyanoacrylate. This can be used to fill in the heads of stripped screws, which you can tamp down with your desired sacrificial bit to rip the screw right out with a cordless in seconds.

Bonus bonus fact: Never put superglue in the oven. While PVA is a thermoplastic and will melt when exposed to heat, superglue will break down and create a poisonous cyanide gas.

PVA has surprising uses beyond construction and crafting.

Library nerds rejoice, for PVA is the primary adhesive responsible for binding your books. The fact that it’s not acidic also benefits the book binding process, as other glues would react with the paper and destroy your favorite book over time.

The process of book binding

could fit into its own article, but it’s worth exploring a little here.

It’s not uncommon to have sections of a book threaded together before its total assembly, particularly in important or rare books with a limited number printed.

These bundles are stacked together and slathered multiple times on the spine with PVA glue. Have you ever checked a well-read book out from the library and witnessed little chunks of yellowish substance flaking from the spine? This is glue, and you should probably let a librarian know.

We have a dedicated mender for our library books here at the library, but we cannot offer this service to the public. We have hundreds of thousands of books in our collection and maintaining them is a massive undertaking. If you’re looking for a dedicated mender that could fix your well-loved tome, a librarian can redirect you to a specialist that can perform it for a fee, but the library won’t be able to do the mending for you.

Do you enjoy licking envelopes? Envelope sealant has a distinctive taste, and while your neighbor may view your love of letter-licking as something obscene, you can let them know it’s not any different from chewing gum. PVA is used in both of these applications, in addition to cigarettes — though let’s be honest, a long life of paper cuts on your tongue beats an abbreviated life of coughing up a lung.

My personal favorite use of PVA glue is used to seal flocking grass used in miniature terrains.

Elmer’s glue or Mod Podge mixed with water in a spray bottle gets spread over a foam block covered in flocking, tile grout and whatever else I’ve cobbled together to mimic life at

28-millimeter scale. The water covers everything, evaporates and leaves a nice sealant over the piece that keeps it durable and somewhat waterproof.

This is especially important for modular pieces that link together with magnets, like a teeny-tiny Minecraft world.

Crafters, if this is your cup o’ tea, you know how to reach me.

Finally, PVA has one more amazing application. When mixed with borax and saline solution, something happens to the glue. It

begins to get very sticky, stretchy and just plain… weird!

Slime is a family favorite, and easy enough to make at home with these simple supplies.

It can even be done with baking soda in lieu of borax and liquid starch in lieu of saline solution.

All of these supplies can be found at a department store for next to nothing, providing an evening of scientific experimentation and fun for the whole family.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner Don’t know much about horse • Modern-day horse racing originated in Britain, but people have raced horses for as long as they have been domesticated. Nomadic tribesmen raced horses in Central Asia as far back as 4500 B.C.E., while the first horseback tournaments on British soil took place around 400 C.E. • King James I was so enamored with horse racing that in 1605, he was urged by Parliament to refocus his attention on running the country. To this day, horse racing is referred to as “The Sport of Kings.”

• Most thoroughbreds start racing when they are 2 years old, because at this age, they aren’t too young and weak to withstand a fierce race, and they won’t be too old before they get accustomed to races.

• The names given to thoroughbreds by their owners vary widely, but every name must be approved by the Jockey Club. The queue of protocols many breeders have to go through to get their horses names approved are quite onerous, and

racing?

We can help!

include such rules as no names over 18 characters, and the horse may not be named after stake races or race tracks.

• The United States had its first horse racing track more than a century before the country existed.

The first racetrack opened in 1665 on Long Island.

• Jockeys are specialized athletes. To be successful, they not only need horse experience and racing knowledge, but they also usually weigh between 108 and 118 pounds and stand around five feet tall, give or take.

• The fastest speed ever reached by a racehorse was 43.97 mph, achieved on May 14, 2008 in Grantville, Penn., by the stallion Winning Brew.

• The resting heart rate of humans is between 60 and 100 times per minute, but thoroughbred horses have resting heart rates of just 40 beats per minute, making them supreme athletes.

PERSPECTIVES

Oh you’re Native?

What tribe are you from?

By Jyl Wheaton-Abraham Reader Contributor I was at the laundromat scrolling through social media when I saw a comment that made me laugh out loud. Normally I avoid laughing and speaking to myself, especially at the laundromat, but the humor was so dark I could not control myself. What did it say? “The Niña, the Pinta and the Buffy Santa Maria.”

For those of you who are unaware, the CBC just released a documentary regarding Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to indigenous ancestry. Spoiler alert: She’s probably an American of Italian descent.

This revelation has torn through Native social media, with everyone taking a side.

People are struggling with how to process what was uncovered. Some say she should still be honored for the work she has accomplished, while others can do little more than express hurt and anger for being betrayed by a woman many admired.

People who pretend to be Native but are not are commonly known as “Pretendians.” Oftentimes, they take on an indigenous identity for prestige or profit, receiving awards, grants and jobs meant for Native people. They rely on stereotypes and a perceived ambiguity about indigenous origins and record keeping to support their claims.

When pressed for information, their stories often shift to protect their lies and livelihoods. When they are outed as Pretendians, they often express no remorse for the damage they have caused.

Like many before her, Buffy Sainte-Marie has done all of these. Leading up to the premiere of the documentary, she released a video stating, “My truth as I know it.” In it, she declared she “visited places no one else would want to go to … told stories that no one else would.”

As a Native woman and scholar, these words insulted me. The places “no one else would want to go” are communities that many people call home. The stories no one else would tell are the histories people have passed down through countless generations.

Only an outsider would make decla-

rations such as these — an identity Buffy Sanite-Marie claimed numerous times as a Canadian child adopted by an American family, as a victim of the “Sixties Scoop” (despite being born in 1941), and as a Native woman in a Caucasian-dominated world.

In my last piece, I brought up “remembering,” but it should be understood as “re-membering,” the opposite of dismemberment. Native cultures, communities and individuals were dismembered for the creation of the United States; tribes renamed and displaced; families split up; bodies scrutinized by scientists measuring skulls and nuns cutting braids; our beauty distorted and fetishized for the colonizer gaze.

Sainte-Marie is leaning on dismemberment to bolster her origin story with claims of not knowing her birth family, her birthplace or even her birthday. She has self-identified as Indigenous Canadian, half-Mi’kmaq and of Cree descent.

She wears beadwork and feathers and appears to dye her hair black to embody what non-Natives think Native women should look like.

Like our region’s own Rachel Dolezal, Buffy Sainte-Marie seems to confuse clothing and hairstyles for culture, exploiting real pain for personal gain.

If she truly is an Italian pretending to be a Native woman, she is colonization personified.

To resist colonization, we must all re-member ourselves, especially in this place.

Another social media post said something along the lines of, “Buffy is still indigenous… to Europe! She can always go back and reconnect with her roots!”

What a great point. Too often I hear people refer to themselves as a “Native” of Sandpoint or North Idaho, but calling yourself Native in the United States without indigenous roots erases me and people like me.

Being Native means more than looking a certain way or being born in a particular place. It comes with responsibilities to the land, to the past and the future, and exposes one to the true dangers of colonization, because the ultimate goal of colonization is to eliminate the indigenous population so the colonizers can

become the Natives and no one will refute.

Rather than continue that legacy in our shared place, I encourage you to find your ancestors, honor their stories and struggles, refrain from the urge to play Pretendian and avoid using the term “Native” when describing settlers living in a colonial state.

Jyl Wheaton-Abraham is a member of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho. She has an M.A. in applied anthropology, focusing on archaeology and queer, indigenous decolonizing theory.

November 9, 2023 / R / 11

COMMUNITY

BoCo Human Rights Task Force recognized by Gonzaga University

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

Gonzaga University Center for the Study of Hate and nationally recognized human rights advocates honored the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force on Nov. 2 with the annual Eva Lassman Take Action Against Hate Award. The task force formed in 1992 to counteract a local branch of the Aryan Nations — which sought to establish a white supremacist stronghold in North Idaho — and has worked tirelessly since to combat hate in Bonner County.

“As one who personally knew and deeply admired Eva for her work and contributions to human rights for years in the Inland Northwest, I can think of no organization more deserving of this award,” said Tony Stewart, secretary of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations, in his letter nominating the BCHRTF. Lassman was a holocaust survivor in Spokane, Wash., whose educational programs helped her community oppose racism, antisemitism and the roots of hate that lead to the rise of Nazi Germany. In her honor, Gonzaga recognized the BCHRTF for its 31 years of service

12 / R / November 9, 2023

supporting human rights through education, outreach and action.

“I felt that our steadfast work was affirmed by credible groups who have been doing this work for a long time, which was encouraging and inspiring and provided me with motivation to continue the work,” Sharon McCahon, BCHRTF board member, told the Reader.

Serendipitously, Eric K. Ward — who was instrumental during the early days of the task force — received the Eva Lassman Award in the individual category on the same night. Ward is an expert on authoritarian movements and preserving democracy, and has served as the executive director for Western States Center and as a senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Race Forward.

“He gave us knowledge and resources, through his work with the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment, to dig deeply into our responsibility as a human rights organization,” said Linda Navarre, co-president of the task force.

“His demeanor is always uplifting and his smile and hearty laughter warm the room.”

Also among those honored was author and journalist Leah Sottile, whose true crime work exposes human rights violations and hate groups in the American West.

“There were so many activists doing so much important work honored at the gala,” said Navarre. “Journalism is an important part of truth and justice for all of us — it is not to be bullied by hate-filled folks. We must combat hate and false representation.”

The task force encourages anyone interested in fostering a kind, welcoming community in North Idaho to reach out

From left to right: Founding Director of Gonzaga’s Center for Lifelong Learning Rachelle Strawther, Linda Navarre, Eric Ward and Professor Kristine Hoover. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

or visit their website for volunteer and educational opportunities.

For more information about the task force, visit, bchrtf.org.

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Change

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist As I’m writing today, we are on the cusp of change (just as we are around every Election Day). Each voting cycle brings new ideas, misgivings, hopes and fears, inciting a new way of thinking and feeling about where we live and the systems that govern us. I’m writing before the results have been tallied and the up-for-grabs positions have been claimed; because, regardless of who collected the most votes or who we’ll be addressing as, “mayor” or “councilor,” we’ll all wake up to our own version of this change after it’s over.

This is the part in movies where a montage shows its subjects continuing with their routines. They still make coffee and wake their kids, get the mail, put out the trash and walk the dog — but the color of the scene and the tone of the music have near-imperceptibly shifted, either with a golden-hued light and hopeful melody or added contrast and the ominous creep of minor chords.

Everything is the same, but the background is different.

Change is funny like that, sometimes large and looming, with newness so big it stops us in our tracks, causing our way of life to crumble and reform around it. Other times, it’s as subtle as a key change in the background music of our everyday life — only perceptible when we pause long enough to name it.

This impending change of

Emily Erickson. leadership in our town has me thinking about all versions of change and the way that, big or small, it is inevitable (yes, I see you, Heraclitus, “The only constant in life is change”).

Although eye-rollingly cheesy, this concept is ubiquitous for a reason. It resonates, on some level, with everybody.

Change is in the last day you let your mom hold your hand before climbing on the school bus despite never actually deciding to stop, and the clicking sound a combination lock makes when opening your first school locker. It’s in driving away with your car loaded to move, but lingering on the rearview because you know it — and you — will never look the same again. It’s in first loves and monumental heartbreaks, mortgages and home repair videos, in “I do’s” and “I promise,” and new little fingers wrapped around yours. It’s in, “It’s nice to meet you,” “It’s been too long,” “I don’t know when I’ll see you again” and, “I can’t believe this is goodbye” — and all the little and big moments in between.

Change is what happens

around us, too. It’s in new neighbors and the passing of seasons; in expanding pavement and updated plans for a city park. It’s in speckled fawns and ripening fruit, and in the leveling of trees to make way for another row of storage and housing units.

Change is in every “under new management,” “now open” and “coming soon,” in the reclamation of old sledding hills, and in the updated names on the ledger of people in our community in positions of power and leadership.

Change’s impact and our reception to it seems hinged on two factors: how different our lives feel because of it and the speed with which it happens. When changes occur that don’t significantly alter our day-to-day life, they’re easier to accommodate. When changes happen incrementally over time, we’re less likely to notice (less likely to care). But, when changes happen all of a sudden or all at once — when they affect how we go about our lives, or how we feel about ourselves and the space we occupy — they loom, creating high-impact craters in our worldview.

This can become an equation, a balancing act of normalcy and change, in which we have our hands on only one side of the scale. When high-impact change occurs inside or outside of our control, we can choose to lean more heavily into the things we know to be constant — the friends who always pick up when we call, the bar at which we can always find a familiar face or the hidden trail we’ll always find

empty on a Tuesday morning.

When change happens fast, we can decide to slow down and find unaltered pieces of our routine that remain, no matter how much of what we once still stands.

By the time this is printed, we’ll all have experienced a little change. We’ll feel a bit different about our town and the people in it. But whether it adds minor chords or a softly glowing light to the background

of the rest of your life, I hope you find balance in all the things that remain — all the things that will be unequivocally the same.

Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at www. bigbluehat.studio.

Retroactive

By BO

November 9, 2023 / R / 13

COMMUNITY

‘There is power in realizing that you are not alone’

United Against Hate program seeks to prevent hate crimes

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff Federal, tribal and local government officials, in conjunction with the human rights task forces of Bonner and Boundary counties, will host an outreach program exploring how community members can prevent hate crimes and be better allies to marginalized groups.

United Against Hate: Connecting Community Voices and Strengthening Law Enforcement Partnerships, runs from 2-3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, and will feature Idaho District Attorney Josh Hurwit and representatives from the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, FBI and the Department of Justice.

“The increase in harassment, abuse and threats of violence online has risen exponentially. Fact: since 2016, every year the

number of hate crimes break the record for the past year,” Linda Navarre, co-president of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, told the Reader.

Speakers at the program will explain how to identify and report hate crimes, opening up a dialogue and encouraging trust between citizens and law enforcement. The task force encourages residents to report all “hate-fueled incidents” — regardless of whether or not they’re crimes — to local authorities and the FBI. “The pattern of behavior can be established, which provides motive and helps law enforcement to bring charges against perpetrators in the future,” said Brenda Hammond, BCHRTF board member and former president.

During her years on the board, the local community and the task force have united again and again to counteract hate speech

through various petitions and programs.

“We asked people who received hate mail and wanted to oppose it to donate to the task force to fund scholarships for youth to attend a Human Rights Institute in the summer,” said Hammond. “For every contribution we received, we sent a thankyou card to the distributor of the hate mail, saying, ‘As a result of your mailing, the task force has received yet another contribution.’”

BCHRTF members hope that United Against Hope will strengthen connections within the community and build a network of vigilant, informed allies.

“There is power in realizing that you are not alone,” said Navarre. “What do we want our community to look like? Is our democracy important to us as Americans?

Think of the person who smiles and holds the door for you — don’t we all want the

same things?”

Notify the police and the BCHRTF of any hateful stickers, graffiti or printouts in the area. You can also pick up a sticker-removal kit from the task force or black out any words or symbols with a permanent marker.

“As citizens, we must speak out against hate speech,” said Navarre. “Do not let it slide, even if you feel uncomfortable.

Someone else in your presence may feel even worse.”

Admission to United Against Hate is FREE. Check-in begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St. To register, visit UAH_sandpoint.eventbrite.com. For more information on the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, visit bchrtf.org.

Sandpoint Teen Center secures new location

By Reader Staff The Sandpoint Teen Center will be located at the First Lutheran Church (526 Olive Ave.) from Monday, Nov. 27 through the end of the school year, serving all Bonner County teens from seventh through 12th grade.

The center has a pizza and activities party planned for Thursday, Nov. 16 from 2:30-5:30 p.m. to celebrate acquiring its new location.

Attendees will meet new faces on the staff, which includes some former Teen Center attendees. There will be a variety of activities and games running during the pizza party and organizers said they are excited to hear from the teens about what they want at the center this year.

Starting Nov. 27, the center will be open

Monday through Friday from 2:30-5:30 p.m., with early open Fridays at 1:30 p.m.

The center will follow the Lake Pend Oreille School District calendar and open every afternoon that school is in session. The center is also on the lookout for guest chefs from local restaurants to come in for a day to prepare a meal alongside teens in the kitchen.

“The Sandpoint Teen Center will continue our tradition of healthy snacks, hot meals, fun and challenging games and activities, homework help and teen mentorship,” organizers stated in a news release.

“We want the community to know we were very encouraged by all the support helping us look for a Youth Center in Sandpoint,” they added. “We had many businesses, volunteer groups and individuals searching and offering labor and materials if we found a home. It gave us the boost

Courtesy photo.

we needed to not give up! Thank You for believing our teens are valuable and deserve a safe place after school.”

For more Teen Center info, visit sandpointteencenter.com or Facebook at facebook.com/SandpointTeenCenter.

Keeping the community warm with Coats 4 Kids

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff Coats 4 Kids brought its annual October fundraiser to a close and has begun handing out everything Bonner and Kootenai county community members need to stay toasty this winter: hats; gloves; scarves; snow pants; boots; and, of course, coats. The charity received 1,551 gently used coats and $3,375 in donations to buy new ones, bringing the total to 1,686 coats in all.

“The needs are pretty consistent year 14 / R / November 9, 2023

after year. Over the 10 years I have been doing this, the quality of the coats has improved, and the community awareness is higher,” said Karen Battenschlag, who spearheads the event in Sandpoint.

Coats are available for pickup at the Bonner Community Food Bank branches in Sandpoint and Priest River, but you don’t need to be a member of the food bank to qualify.

“Everyone can fall on hard times and knowing it’s OK to get a coat can really change a person’s outlook. Food, shelter

and warmth are basics in life that everyone deserves,” said Battenschlag.

Kids and adults are welcome to take a light jacket or sweatshirt in addition to one sturdy winter coat each, while supplies last.

Coats 4 Kids accepts donations yearround at Tomlinson Sotheby’s International Realty (503 Cedar St., in Sandpoint); KXLY Community Partner Foundation (500 W. Boone Ave, in Spokane); or online at KXLY.com/weather/coats4kids. All funds are tax deductible and go directly toward purchasing new coats.

“Imagine being a child on a playground in North Idaho during our cold seasons without a coat or gloves,” said Battenschlag. “Enjoying our snow isn’t much fun if you can’t stay warm while you play — and when you play, you develop all aspects of your personality and character.”

Pick up a coat at one of the Bonner Community Food Bank branches: 1707 Culvers Drive, Sandpoint, 208-263-3663 or 45 S. McKinley, Suite 107, Priest River, 208-448-4989.

COMMUNITY

A Halloween whodunit at FBCS

By Bonnie Jakubos Reader Contributor There has been a murder at the Forrest Bird Charter School Mansion! Not really, of course. Those suspicious people are the staff and administrators dressed up as characters from the game “Clue” for Halloween. Every year, the staff chooses a secret theme for costumes. This year the “Clue” theme morphed into an all-day murder mystery for students to solve.

The victim was Mr. Body, a.k.a., Orion Syth. He also created the entire mystery, complete with clues and backgrounds for each character.

Syth, looking pale but not bad for a corpse, didn’t share the solution with anyone before the big reveal at the end of the school day. Even his co-workers had to wait for the answers.

Syth’s love for roleplaying developed in high school, where he could usually be found at the “Dungeons and Dragons” lunch table. The school was FBCS, where he graduated in 2017. He had no idea that he would be hired back as head custodian a few years later.

When asked about his transition from student to staff, Syth admitted that at first it was “a little weird.” Former teachers

were now co-workers. Adjustment didn’t take long, and now he looks forward to coming to work every day.

“I am so lucky to work with such kind and intelligent people. Forrest Bird Charter School is a community that includes everyone — the students, staff and administration,” he said.

Of course, some days are just murder.

Everyone enjoyed Syth’s major contribution to the tradition. FBCS teachers and administrators appreciate the chance to have fun. They also think it’s important for students to see a more approachable “human” side to school authority figures.

Students were obviously enjoying the game as well. A small group of eighth-graders prowled the high school,

FBCS teachers, staff and administration pose in their ‘Clue’ costumes. brazenly peeking into classes as they searched for characters with clues. While the older students weren’t quite as overt, conversations between classes revealed that they were definitely on the case.

So, whodunit? She may have looked innocent, but Dr. Orchid was the killer — with a rope in the entry.

Holiday Cottage Market at SASi

By Reader Staff The holiday Cottage Market at the Sandpoint Senior Center (820 Main St.) will take place between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Saturday from Nov. 11 until Dec. 16. Come meet Santa every Saturday in December.

The Senior Center will showcase many local crafters and artisans. Everything from

leather works, homemade knives, candles, soap, candies, baked goods, jewelry, drums and many more perfect gifts for the holidays will be available.

Also, there will be a raffle for a gingerbread chalet created and donated by the Confectionery Chalet. All proceeds from the raffle will go to benefit Sandpoint Senior Center.

Course on winter driving offered in Sandpoint

By Reader Staff In advance of the snow season, the Idaho State Police and Idaho Transportation Department are hosting a winter driving safety course, scheduled for 10 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 18 in the North Building Auditorium of North Summit Church (201 N. Division Ave., in Sandpoint).

Experts with ISP and ITD will provide attendees with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate the roadways safely through the winter months.

The class will feature tips for driving in

snow, ice and adverse weather conditions; vehicle maintenance and winterization advice; information on winter driving regulations and what to do if you get in a crash; snowplow safety; and Q&A sessions to address winter driving concerns.

“Whether you’re a seasoned winter driver or a newcomer to the challenges of snowy roads, this course is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge to ensure a safe winter driving experience for yourself and others on the road,” organizers stated.

Visit fb.me/e/1CvXssD5x to register.

November 9, 2023 / R / 15

COMMUNITY

‘Come What May, We Will Play’

New exhibit opens at the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff The Bonner County Historical Society and Museum presents a brand new exhibit celebrating human perseverance in the face of unprecedented hardship. Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, “Come What May, We Will Play” explores the ways people in Bonner County, and around the world connect and play during events like the Great Depression and past pandemics.

“A lot of people know the major events throughout history that have caused some hardship, uncertainty and deprivation, so we just wanted to shine a light on the good things that can come out of that — the little things you can do if you don’t have much or you’re separated,” said Olivia Fee, the museum’s outreach coordinator and the exhibit’s curator.

The exhibit features sections on art, outdoor recreation — like

16 / R / November 9, 2023

sledding, skiing and huckleberry picking — music, toys and storytelling. Visitors will enjoy more interactive elements than ever, including a doll-making station where kids and adults can take inspiration from the museum’s artifacts while crafting their own pieces of history.

“We want people, and especially adults, to remember how to play,” said Fee. “Something a little different about this exhibit is that storytelling is a main driver. In every little area we have some oral story that we reference from our collection.”

Visitors can read these tales on the exhibit’s placards or listen to them via “tin can phones” hung around the museum.

Organizers also hope to collaborate with the Kalispell and Kootenai tribes to tell stories and make shadow puppets around a simulated campfire within the museum.

In honor of Bonner County’s natural resources, museum-goers can also spend a quiet moment

sitting inside a massive foam tree trunk at the center of the display.

On the way out, pick up a card with a social prompt or game suggestion to try at home, as well as one of the museum’s seasonal maps that show the best spots across Bonner County to play outdoors.

Be the first to explore the

new exhibit at a special preview on Thursday, Nov. 9 from 4-7 p.m. Tickets are $30 at bonner-county-history-museum. square.site/product/exhibit-preview-night/888. The museum will also host a free opening reception on Friday, Nov. 10 from 4-7 p.m.

“It’s really inspiring to see people come together as a community.

The Bonner County History Museum.

Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

We feel so far away a lot of times from people in the past — their lifestyle and culture was so different — but we’re all human and we’ve all faced nature’s cycles,” said Fee.

COMMUNITY

Local artists finish mural on wall at Hope Bridge

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

art.

When the world gives you graffiti, make

After Hope resident Kathleen Huntley began noticing more frequent incidents of graffiti on the prominent wall beside the Hope Bridge, she decided to take an artful approach. The wall sits below the Pioneer Cemetery, where former Hope-area settlers and Chinese railroad workers from the late 1800s are buried.

“The wall was an occasional target for graffiti,” Huntley told the Reader. “But also an ugly thing being [on] the corridor to Hope and East Hope. I had thought and mentioned for years that it would be a great mural wall.”

It was the potential paperwork and bureaucracy that kept Huntley at bay, until she indulged herself and called the Idaho Department of Transportation and asked what the steps were to paint a community mural on the wall.

“Surprise, they were so nice, so positive — a delight to do business with,” Huntley said. “They sent me the paperwork.”

With the first hurdle cleared, Huntley then began thinking how she could bring the communities of Hope and East Hope together to make the mural an object of pride.

“The state required permission/endorsement from both communities, so off to the council meetings I went, again to be met with a great deal of positive reinforcement and enthusiasm.”

Huntley formed a committee that in-

cluded herself, Terry Ginelli, Kathy Gorup, Larry Bledsoe, Gene Merica and Tom Newbill. She began casting a wide net for design ideas.

“We solicited designs from Trestle Creek to the Montana border,” she said.

After collecting numerous design concepts, the committee met at the Hope Memorial Community Center and rolled the ideas out onto the floor one by one. The only problem? No one could decide which design to paint on the wall.

“So we merged them,” she said. “We looked at them and made a conglomeration of the submissions. Everyone liked the big fish designed by the fifth-graders at Hope Elementary.”

After the committee agreed on a concept, Huntley sent it off to ITD, which, after one small request for a color change, approved the design.

With the paperwork out of the way, the committee then faced its next challenge: funding. Because of its location beside a busy highway, the mural committee would have to hire flaggers to direct traffic, eating into their already depleted funds.

“That was about the time of the annual pancake breakfast, when the local fire

department was out stopping traffic on Highway 200,” Huntley said.

She then realized the firefighters are all trained flaggers; and, what’s more, Sam Owen Fire District Chief Tim Scofield was “more than enthused” about volunteering to flag traffic while the artists began painting on the wall.

The next task was securing the paint — a tricky move with no funds. Again, the committee received a leg up from the community.

When the committee approached Mallory Paint Store, and Benjamin Moore Manager Virgil Bowman to ask about paint donations, he told them he’d see what he could do.

“I reached out to Benjamin Moore and they said, ‘Yes, of course, we’re happy to help,’” Bowman told the Reader.

Also donated were applicators from Wooster Company and an anti-graffiti coating donated

by Rustoleum.

“Historically, Benjamin Moore has always liked partnering with the community and doing things of that nature,” Bowman said. “It was a great opportunity to be able to help out and have several of our vendors help out as well.”

After a donation of approximately 35

Top left: The mural was painted on the retaining wall beside the Hope Bridge and underneath the Pioneer Cemetery. Top right: Two students from the Hope Elementary fifth-grade class who helped come up with the original concept for the big fish two years ago now chip in and help paint it. Inset: A closeup of the completed fish. Photos by Kathleen Huntley.

gallons of paint and supplies, and almost two years of preparation, the mural committee was finally ready to gather volunteers and begin work in the summertime.

“We had over 20 volunteers at one point or another,” Huntley said. “The youngest was 5-and-a-half with her grandmother.

The oldest was 83. We had folks from every walk of life. Cancer survivors, major-injury folks. Democrats, Republicans. All kinds of religions. We had three generations from one family, a guest from the Philippines and a Native American gentleman. There were musicians and city planners and two consistent members from the Hope City Council. Much to my delight, some of the Hope Elementary kids who painted the original big fish were able to come and actually paint the big one on the wall. …

“They were now in seventh grade, but several of them who worked on the concept came back to paint it,” she added.

The group completed the mural in October, after many hours of work and the combined efforts of the community.

“I could not have done it without the enthusiasm and help I found everywhere I turned,” Huntley said. “This truly was a community project.”

November 9, 2023 / R / 17

events

Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com THURSDAY, november 9

Preview of Come What May, We Will Play exhibit 4-7pm @ Bonner County History Museum, 611 S. Ella Ave. Inspired by the shared, contemporary emergence from the COVID pandemic and how creating experiences and light-hearted enjoyment in play can ease the weight of hardship Bingo Night at IPA 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Live Music w/ Mobius Riff 5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33 Live Music w/ Ron Kieper Band 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Professional and soothing jazz Live Music w/ Mason VanStone 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

COMMUNITY

November 9 - 16, 2023

West Coast Swing Dance Lessons Thursday Night Football at the Hive 4:30-5:30pm @ Yellow Room 5:15pm @ The Hive Head to 102 Euclid Ave for this Doors open at 4:45pm. BYOF. 21+ weekly class. $5-$10 fee Artist Reception for Russell Cash and Live Music w/ Steven Wayne 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery November Artist of the Month Russell Cash w/ live music! Enjoy

FriDAY, november 10

Rockabilly Space Force Concert 7-9pm @ Panida Theater Rock ’n’ roll from the 1950s and beyond, with music from Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and more from this Spokane band. Tickets $35 at panida.org

Contra Dance 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Comm. Hall Dance to live music, all ages welcome and no partner needed.

Beginners encouraged to arrive at 7pm for intro. $5 donation

Opening Reception for Come What May, We Will Play exhibit 4-7pm @ Bonner County History Museum, 611 S. Ella Ave. See Page 16 for more info Live Music w/ Truck Mills 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Live Music w/ Jackson Roltgen Trio 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

SATURDAY, november 11

Live Music w/ Scott Dodson 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery 1970s and 1980s country rock Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh and Bill Krutz 6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Rock and bluegrass Live Music w/ Ian Newbill 5:30-8:30pm @ Ice House Pizzeria Country and classic rock

SARS Ski Swap Warren Miller’s All Time 8am-2pm @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds 7pm @ Panida Theater Find great deals on snow and recre- One part documentary, one part love letter, All Time is a film that ational gear at this beloved annual honors why Warren Miller films event. $5/person or $10/family. have been a thing since 1949 Holiday Cottage Market 10am-2pm @ Sandpoint Senior Ctr. Held every Saturday until Dec. 16.

Meet Santa in December. Vendors and crafts. Benefits SASi

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Magic with Star Alexander 5-8pm @ Jalepeños Up close magic shows at the table

Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 7-9pm @ The Back Door GriefShare: Surviving the Holidays 10am-12pm @ New Fire Ministries A seminar for people facing the holidays after a loved one’s death. $5

Super Fire Cider Making Class 12-3pm @ Tendril Apothecary Cost is $30. To register, call 208-5977944 or tendrilapothecary.com

SunDAY, november 12

monDAY, november 13

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi Outdoor Experience Group Run Monday Night Football 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 5:15pm @ The Hive 3-5 miles, all levels welcome Doors @ 4:45pm. BYOF. 21+ Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s “A Renaissance of Wonder”

Weekly Trivia Night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority With rotating hosts

tuesDAY, november 14

United Against Hate • 2pm @ The Heartwood Center Engage with federal, tribal and local officials and community stakeholders to combat hate CASA Purse Party 4-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Proceeds benefit child victims of abuse while shopping for a new bag

wednesDAY, november 15

Wednesday Line Dancing Lessons 6:30-8:30pm @ The Hive Lessons are just $10, followed by open dancing from 8:30-9:30pm. 21+

ThursDAY, november 16 Get Plowed fundraiser for PSW Sip and Shop Fundraiser 5-8pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. 4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Bring pocket change to contribute Proceeds benefit Rock Creek Alliance. to help keep Pine Street Woods Live music by Alysoun Johnston and plowed for the winter!

Kristi Wilkerson from 5-7:30 Thursday Night Football 5:15pm @ The Hive Doors open at 4:45pm. BYOF. 21+ 18 / R / November 9, 2023

Bingo Night at IPA 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

West Coast Swing Dance Lessons 4:30-5:30pm @ Yellow Room Head to 102 Euclid Ave for this weekly class. $5-$10 fee

Sandpoint Teen Center pizza party 2:30-5:30pm @ First Lutheran Church Pizza and fun activities party to celebrate the Teen Center’s new location at First Lutheran Church, 526 S. Olive Ave.

Sandpoint Nordic Club’s fundraiser a success A warm welcome to winter and the community

By Reader Staff The spirit and generosity of the community was on full display Oct. 28 at the Sandpoint Nordic Club’s annual Winter Welcome fundraiser, where attendees gathered at the Outdoor Recreation Center in Pine Street Woods for an afternoon of raffles, a silent auction, beverages, bonfires, s’mores and more.

“The event not only showcased our shared love for Nordic skiing, but also highlighted the generosity that defines our community,” organizers stated, adding, “The event’s success is owed to our dedicated members, returning and new, and our local businesses that support our mission and believe in the power of outdoor recreation and community engagement.”

In addition to membership dues, funds raised during the event enable the club to maintain seven kilometers (more than four miles) of trails, provide educational programs and ensure that Nordic skiing remains accessible and affordable.

The Sandpoint Nordic Club extended its thanks to local partners, including: Alpine Shop, Azalea Handpicked Style, Barrel 33, Bella Terra Boutique, Bellissima, Burger Dock, Carousel, City Beach Organics, Dave Brown, Eichardt’s Pub, Finan McDonald, Grace and Joy, Mountain Lake Therapy, Matchwood Brewery, MickDuff’s Brewing Co., Outdoor Experience, Papillon Beauty Boutique, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Rane Stempson, Sandpoint SOMA Body Therapy, the Meyer family, Schweitzer, Spuds Waterfront Grill, Stylebar Beauty Bar, Syringa Cyclery, Thunder’s Catch, Whiskey Jack Pottery and Zwazo Nich, whose contributions enabled the club to reach its fundraising goals.

Registration is still open for 2023-’24 season memberships with the Sandpoint Nordic Club.

Visit sandpointnordic.com for more information.

STAGE & SCREEN

Warren Miller’s All Time film looks back at seven decades

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Miller and a look forward to where the sport will go next.

Anyone who has seen a Warren Miller ski film is familiar with the format.

After the leaves fall and the first traces Featuring athletes at the top of their game taking everything from powder runs to of white are seen on the mountaintops, a park hits, the annual films have a lightfew hundred locals gather at the Panida hearted, humorous take on winter sport Theater to participate in a longtime tradition before every ski season: watching the that always elicits excitement for the ski season. Narrated with a folksy, slightly newest Warren Miller snowsports film.

This year, Warren Miller Entertainment nasal voice that sounds like everyone’s favorite grandpa who still shreds, Warren announces its 74th installment, All Time, which is a nostalgic look back at seven de- Miller films are as iconic as the man himcades of winter glory. All Time will screen self, who passed away in 2018.

After Miller’s death, the tradition has at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 11. Tickets are continued, with no signs of letting up. available for $15 at panida.org.

Less a documentary than a love letter, The penultimate film before Warren All Time will feature sevMiller Entertainment’s eral top-level athletes like 75th anniversary is a bit All Time (G) Glen Plake, Scot Schmidt different than the usual Saturday, Nov. 11; 7 p.m.; and the Egan Brothers, cinematic fare. Nar$15. Panida Theater, along with Michelle Parkrated by and featuring er, Marcus Caston, Seth renowned skier Jonny 300 N. First Ave., 208Wescott and more. With an Moseley, All Time dives 263-9191. Get tickets emphasis on looking both deep into the evolution of at panida.org. Learn backward and forward in mountain culture and the birth of ski towns like Sun more at warrenmiller.com. the sport, All Time will also introduce the next Valley and Aspen, as well generation of skiers and riders at Woodas the icons and innovators who made ward Park City in Utah. the sport of skiing what it is today.

Sandpoint is but one of 300 cities It’s both a nod to the legacy of Warren

Chamber welcomes Hickey Law Firm

By Reader Staff The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce welcomed Hickey Law Firm to the Chamber on Sept. 14 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

After graduating from the University of Idaho Law School, Andra and Josh Hickey moved to Sandpoint and started their respective law careers. After practicing law for 10 years, they made the decision to start their own firm and opened their practice in June 2023, which focuses on areas including estate planning, probate, personal injury, medical malpractice, civil litigation and more.

Both born in Idaho, the Hickeys have a thorough understanding of state law.

“With exceptional legal skills, practical solutions and professional integrity, they work hard to get the best possible results for their clients,” the chamber stated in a news

across the country showing Warren Miller’s film, and at each screening audience members will have the opportunity to win ski trips, gear, swag and prizes from sponsors like Cutty Sark, Helly Hansen, Backcountry.com, Peak Skis, Four Wheel Campers, SKI Magazine, Gaia GPS and Outside magazine.

The local presenter of All Time is

release.

Jennifer Albert, also born in Sandpoint, serves as their legal assistant.

“Having our own firm is something we have looked forward to for a while and we are excited to continue serving the Sandpoint area,” Andra Hickey stated.

When they aren’t in the office, the Hickeys enjoy outdoor activities along with their two sons.

Hickey Law Firm is located at 120 E. Lake St., Ste. 103, in Sandpoint. For more info, visit hickeylaw.law

Mountain Fever Productions.

Tickets are available to purchase at panida.org or at the door if they don’t sell out.

Casting call for Missoula Children’s Theatre production of King Arthur’s Quest audition, and rehearsals are expected to take place for Auditions will open to lo- approximately four hours and cal students Monday, Nov. 13 15 minutes each day, Monday for between 50 and 60 roles through Friday before the in the upcoming Missoula show opens.

Children’s Theatre producPart of the nonprofit tion of King Arthur’s Quest, Missoula Children’s Theatre’s which will come to the Pani- international touring project da Theater main stage with and presented by the Pend two performances Saturday, Oreille Arts Council, King Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Arthur’s Quest presents the All students in grades age-old tale of the legendary K-12 are invited to attend king as he reigns over Mediethe audition, which will take val England with courage and place from 3:30-5:30 p.m. confidence — or did he? at Forrest M. Bird Charter Doors will open for the Schools (614 S. Madison Nov. 18 performances one Ave., in Sandpoint). Aspirhour before showtime. ing thespians are asked to Tickets are $20 for adults arrive at 3:15 p.m. and plan and $5 for youths, available to stay for the full two hours. at the Panida box office (300 No advance preparation is N. First Ave.) or artinsandnecessary. point.org/mct. For more Some cast members will info on Missoula Children’s be asked to stay for a rehears- Theatre, visit mctinc.org. al immediately following the

By Reader Staff

Courtesy photo.

A photo of Warren Miller in the 1950s during filming. Photo courtesy Warren Miller Entertainment.

Sandpoint Parks and Rec. to offer Japanese pop music dance class

By Reader Staff Japanese dance pop is a genre of music that combines elements of traditional Japanese music with modern electronic dance music. Characterized by upbeat, catchy melodies, it often incorporates traditional Japanese instruments such as the shamisen, koto and taiko drums.

Hosted by Sandpoint Parks and Recreations, Chika Orton will lead a J-Pop instructional dance class on Wednesdays, Nov. 15 and Nov. 29 and Dec. 6, 13 and 20. The deadline to register for classes will be Monday, Nov. 13.

Orton will use theme songs from famous Japanese anime such as Demon Slayer and Oshi No Ko. Participants will learn easy-to-follow, entertaining dance moves.

Classes will meet at the Sandpoint Community Hall, 204 First Ave., and the fee is $55 for all five classes. Sign up at sandpointidaho.gov or call 208263-3613.

November 9, 2023 / R / 19

PERSPECTIVES

A plea for time and deliberation

By Ben Olson Reader Staff I remember exactly where I was the day they cut the trees down along the corridor that would later become the Sand Creek Byway. I was shoveling snow off the roof of the long-gone Downtown Crossing bar after a particularly heavy snowfall that saw many other business owners doing the same on their roofs.

We leaned on our shovels and watched the cottonwoods come down, one by one. It was like the pillars that held up the foundation of our town were crumbling before my eyes.

Memories of old Sandpoint flooded in as we got back to shoveling. I thought of how many times I’d ridden my bike down that janky trail from the rope swing at pre-beach to the Cedar Street Bridge. There used to be a dilapidated dock there where I once kissed my high-school girlfriend and skinny dipped under a meteor shower.

Watching those trees come down was like losing a piece of the past, which I’d argue is exactly what some of those who protested the trees coming down at Travers Park felt last week.

If anyone asked me all those years ago

on that roof what I thought of the plans to install a bypass around Sandpoint, they’d have been met with a sneer and a few choice words for the project. I, along with many others, were convinced it would destroy the small-town Sandpoint vibe we cherished. The idea of a giant wall stretching the entire length of our city sent shivers up my spine. Visions of the freeway overpass in Wallace likely kept many locals up at night in the early aughts.

After it opened for traffic in July 2012, I swore I’d never travel that section of road.

That would show them, I thought.

Then, a strange thing happened. I began noticing a change in Sandpoint that I didn’t loathe. Gone were the logging trucks billowing black smoke along First Avenue and the cattle carriers sending stockyard fumes into downtown businesses as they trundled past. Instead of clogging the downtown streets, these big rigs — and a lot of passenger vehicles — now whizzed past on the fancy new road. It was as if the downtown streets breathed a sigh of relief.

Ask me today what I think of the Byway and I’ll say it’s one of the best things to have happened to Sandpoint. I’m stubborn enough to hold onto some of my weak posi-

tions, but I’m also humble enough to admit when I’m wrong about something. I was wrong about the Byway.

Do you know why it turned out to be such a success? It took more than 50 years of planning to pull it off. No, that isn’t a typo. Fifty years of hair-pulling. Fifty years of contentious meetings, injunctions, scrapped plans and heated emotions.

Do I think every project in Sandpoint should take half a century to complete?

Of course not. However, I can’t help but applaud those generations of people who lobbied for and against this project, which had the potential to change Sandpoint more than anything ever before, because after all that back and forth, they ended up with a plan that very few complain about today.

Our incoming city leaders might take note of the Byway process before their swearing-in ceremonies, because when it comes to altering the core of what Sandpoint is — be it a highway, a “revitalized” downtown or a parking garage — time and deliberation are our friends, not our foes.

Slow down the process and allow deliberation, community input and time to smooth over the jagged edges. Your future self will thank you for it.

NOVEMBER 9

Florida man accused of offering police officer chicken dinner for sex A Florida man was arrested after allegedly offering to pay a female undercover police officer $3 and a chicken dinner in exchange for sex after the officer posed as a sex worker for a sting operation. The man was arrested for soliciting prostitution and released on bail.

20 / R / November 9, 2023

MUSIC

Rockabilly Space Force to land at Panida Spokane band plays interstellar rock from 1950s and ’60s

By Reader Staff The five-piece band Rockabilly Space Force will make its planetary debut in Sandpoint for a special show Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Panida Theater.

Hailing from Spokane by way of Deimos, the small potato-shaped moon orbiting Mars, Rockabilly Space Force is known for being an out-of-thisworld rock ensemble playing the music of Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, Janis Martin, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and more. These Space Age tunes are appropriate for all ages, and will certainly get the crowd at the Panida up on their feet dancing.

Fronted by Maui-based multi-instrumentalist and singer Dayan Kai, the band also includes the talented Olivia Brownlee on vocals and standup bass, Robert Folie on sax, to form the classic sounds of Andy Bennett rock ’n’ roll that on drums, and Rockabilly made those deGarrin Hertel on cades so popular Space Force vocals and guitar. for music.

Friday, Nov. 10; doors at The rockabilly RSF is touring 6:30 p.m., concert at 7:30 sound dates to around the West p.m.; $20. Panida Theater, 1950s America, to help promote 300 N. First Ave., 208-263blending western 9191, get tickets at panida. the podcast The musical styles Adventures of the org. Listen at rockabillyslike country with paceforce.com.

Rockabilly Space rhythm and blues

Force, which is slated to launch in the fall on all podcast streaming services, with a 16-episode season.

The podcast will sound like a 1950s radio show, with the story following the band roughly 75 years in the future as its members navigate the “Second Space Gold Rush” in the inner solar system, living on Mars’

Courtesy photo.

moon Deimos. Each podcast will be 10-20 minutes long and includes a freshly recorded song, many of which are covers of rockabilly classics, both famous and obscure, as well as some original songs written by Kai and Brownlee.

Truck Mills, Idaho Pour Authority, Nov. 10

Ron Kieper Band, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Nov. 10

The Sandpoint music scene has been blessed with the talents of Truck Mills for decades. Not only is Mills an accomplished blues guitarist, but he is a musical explorer who regularly dives into intriguing genres of music from all cultures. One song might find him fingerpicking an intricate gospel song while the next will see him diving into Afro-Latin influenced barrelhouse blues ballads.

At the foundation, though, is

Coeur d’Alene saxophonist Ron Kieper brings his smooth jazz stylings to the Pend d’Oreille Winery on Friday, Nov. 10. Kieper is an accomplished performer who tours throughout the Inland Northwest either as a solo act or with an array of artists to create powerful collaborations. With more than 25 years of experience in the music industry, Kieper currently performs as the lead alto chair for the Bob Curnow Big Band and is the

6-8 p.m., FREE, 21+. Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St., 208-597-7096, idahopourauthority.com. Listen at truckmills.com.

READ

Bouncing between 2013 L.A. and the ’70s-’80s punk scenes in New York and London, The Vicious Circuit Trilogy by Robert Brockway is a tale of safety pin piercings, booze and tar-monsters in the sewers. The three novels follow a punk rocker and a stunt woman as they battle “the unnoticeables” — nightmarish embodiments of the uncanny valley.

If you’ve ever looked at Iggy Pop and thought, “That’s not human,” then these are the books for you.

LISTEN

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint his deep love of American roots music like the blues, and specifically the country blues, as he reworks and rebuilds the classics of the genre to present a comfortable mix of songs that audiences carry with them when they leave a gig.

— Ben Olson

This week’s RLW by Soncirey Mitchell

musical director for the Spokane All City Jazz Ensembles Program.

Spend a cold, fall night by the winery’s fire, enjoying passionate renditions of songs from his debut album Nothing Major.

— Soncirey Mitchell 5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St, 208-2658545, powine.com.

The Beatles have been my favorite band since birth — I even listened to them in the womb.

Now I’m alive to see the release of their final song, “Now and Then.” John Lennon wrote the love ballad and partially recorded it in 1977, three years before his assassination.

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr completed the piece by meshing new recordings with Lennon’s original demo and guitar tracks by the late George Harrison. Take a few minutes to listen to a reunion that’s 43 years in the making.

WATCH

American media’s depictions of highschool-age girls are blatantly fetishized, so there’s nothing more refreshing than watching Derry Girls on Netflix and seeing teenagers who are resilient, hilarious and sometimes downright stupid. Set in 1990s Northern Ireland during “The Troubles,” this heartfelt comedy shows that kids will be kids, even in the face of political and military strife. Learn a bit about Irish history as you watch these five friends navigate Catholic school, parties and first crushes.

November 9, 2023 / R / 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

Why are you like this?

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

From Northern Idaho News, November 7, 1907

HOUSES TO BE NUMBERED, CTY DIRECTORY ISSUED The regular meeting of the city council was to have been held Tuesday night, but there was not a quorum present, so no business could be transacted and a few matters were discussed informally.

It was reported that some of the businessmen of the city were buying up the city warrants as fast as they could be obtained, the purchases being made for the interest of 7 per cent.

William Hubbard and A.M. Brown were in attendance representing the Hubbard-Brown Amusement company, who desire to establish a moving picture show in this city and wished to know what the license fee would be. They stated that the show would be strictly first class and the entertainment wholesome, so that even the most fastidious might attend and find enjoyment.

It was reported that through the kindness of Mr. Humbird the council had obtained permission to use two acres adjoining Chuck Slough and south of the brick yard as a city dump.

Messrs. D.M. Williams and B. Caldervale were present and asked the council about their project for the numbering of the houses of town. The plan proposed by them was briefly this: That the council should order the numbering of all residences and pieces of business in town and give them permission to do the numbering, the prices charged to be 50 cents for the numbering. The charge was to be obtained from the residents and at the same time the promoters of the plan offer to make a census for the purpose of getting out a city directory and providing a copy of the same for all institutions in the city.

The plan as outlined would cost the city nothing and was viewed favorably by the council.

22 / R / November 9, 2023

It’s come to my attention that my life story — such as it is — could be considered less than normal, due to the presence of ghostly apparitions and other such supernatural phenomena. Some might even attribute my current state as a bumblebee-dungaree-wearing, monster-loving journalist to these otherworldly entities. Case in point, at our recent editorial meeting, Publisher Ben Olson asked if I’d chosen a topic for this week’s “Back of the Book”: “Are you finally going to reveal that you’re a changeling, swapped at birth by fairies?”

His question backed me into a corner, as my need to publicly share every weird aspect of my life chafed against the understandable fear of upsetting my fae overlords.

I think I turned out this way because of my three honorary siblings; but, to be fair, we did spend our childhoods together chasing fairies and gnomes through the woods.

I saw — or hallucinated — a fairy at their house in the second grade while having a sleepover with my best friend, Caden, as we did practically every night. Like rational tiny humans, we made a pact to stay up and watch the sunrise for the thrill of it.

I’ve never been one to shy away from sleep deprivation. As the sky grew brighter, I watched as a small light floated in through the open window at the foot of our sleeping bags. It looked like a two-inch piece of tinsel, and faint, blue sparks trailed behind it.

“Caden!” I yelled, smacking him as hard as I could.

When he finally stirred, the little light flew straight at me and disappeared inside my chest. Though we searched the entire room, we couldn’t find a hint of fairy dust.

Caden and I had a childhood’s worth of supernatural encounters, but perhaps the

most magical part about growing up was the ridiculous situations we got into. As the middle child — and honorary middle child — Caden’s sisters subjected us to frequent character-building exercises.

The eldest, PK, was a very creative playmate who would often invent special games like “Dodge Sharp Rocks.” You can probably guess the premise.

Our most famous misadventure happened one December, as we walked along the outskirts of Dover in four layers of snow gear. Caden and I were having a competition to see who could smash the most icy puddles and there, before us, lay the motherlode: an untouched pool at least six-feet-long.

I leapt into the center of the puddle and fell into freezing water up to my belly button. One of my legs went straight down and never touched the ground, while the other slammed into a solid metal lip.

Caden only laughed for a few seconds before pulling me out of my would-be watery grave. I lay down on the sidewalk trying to catch my breath, only to watch PK push Caden into the puddle. The twig of a kid was the least buoyant object known to man, and he sank into the water up to his shoulders before I could yell, “It’s not a puddle!”

It was, in fact, a flooded, uncovered storm drain.

We waddled back home soaking-wet, accompanied by the wailing of his little sister, AK, who thought we were actively freezing to death. We were.

It’s a miracle that Caden and I still have all our digits. When we would ignore AK in favor of playing on the Wii or attempting “Magic the Gathering,” she would get our attention by grabbing the sharpest object in the house and chasing us with it.

“You’ll poke your eye out!” I’d yell over my shoulder at the 8-year-old brandishing a

STR8TS Solution

Sudoku Solution

chef’s knife.

Caden and I would hide anything dangerous on top of the refrigerator, but that only bought us a few extra minutes while AK scaled the kitchen cabinets.

I promise that we all loved one another and grew up to be non-murderous adults.

Despite the near-death experiences — or because of them — I couldn’t have asked for a better childhood. We had our own magical world where ghosts haunted the basement and dragons scratched holes through the drywall.

There’s something otherworldly about first best friends. They sink into your ribcage and write themselves into your skin in hundreds of tiny scars, each with their own story.

I probably wasn’t abducted by fairies, but Caden and I stole each other, and that was far more life-changing. I am who I am because of him and our wacky, hilarious, traumatizing adventures.

Crossword Solution

When I found the skull in the woods, the first thing I did was call the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

machinations /mak-uh-NEY-shuhnz/

Woorf tdhe Week

[noun] 1. crafty schemes; plots; intrigues.

“Through cunning machinations and hidden alliances, the spy infiltrated the enemy ranks and gathered vital intelligence.”

Corrections: Free and clear. Yeehaw.

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Alliance 5. In the center of 9. Young lady 14. Designed for flight 15. Relocate 16. Electronic letter 17. Sweetener 19. Neighborhood 20. Serpent 21. Brine 23. Without a will 25. Lettering device 28. Employ 29. Male adult 32. Vocation 33. Paintings 34. Anagram of “Mail” 35. Equips 36. Master of Ceremonies 38. Excited 39. Freudian topics 40. Band performance 41. Cast out 43. Consume food 44. Mother 45. Cougar 46. Office notes 48. Grotesque products of the imagination 50. Delete 54. Keyboard instrument 55. Came into 57. Aromatic solvent

Solution on page 22 58. Long, long time 59. Memo 60. Fatigued 61. Not more 62. Bridge

DOWN 1. Low in pitch 2. Not fatty 3. Whale 4. Assertiveness 5. American Medical Association

30. Shad 6. Choice bit 31. Not day 7. Wall climbers 8. Make undrinkable 33. Play a role 34. Clementines 9. Arrive past due 37. Monument 10. Overact 42. Birch relative 11. Shoestring 44. Retentiveness 12. Teller of 45. Cleans untruths 13. Addition 46. Mineral excavator 18. Therefore 47. Scope 22. Trash can 48. Give as an example 24. Boring 49. Laugh 51. At the peak of 25. Landslide detritus 52. Bristle 26. Coniferous forest 53. Biblical garden 27. Grain disease 54. Church bench 56. S 29. Wizardry November 9, 2023 / R / 23

CAUT

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