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PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“How will you spend Easter?”

“Go to church with my family at the Church of God. My sister and her husband, who is stationed at Fairchild, will come over for a family day.”

Austin Ivy Junior at SHS Sandpoint

“With my family. We will go to the Church of the Nazarene’s service at the fairgrounds at 10 a.m. It is being held there because it is a big space that will allow for social distancing. Then we will participate in the Easter egg hunt afterward.”

Bethany Williamson Art teacher, Kootenai Elem.

Sandpoint “Same as I always do. I will stay home and take it easy. My wife goes to church.”

Mike Stamper Retired Sandpoint

“I will be babysitting a little girl, so we’ll hide eggs.”

Paige Pense Student at Lake Pend Oreille High School Sandpoint

“We usually go to my grandparents’ for dinner in Sagle. We don’t have little kids in the family now, so we don’t dye eggs.”

Logan Johnson Junior at SHS Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

Greetings earthlings. Hope everyone is having a fabulous week out there.

We’ve got another edition chock-full of interesting stories this week. There’s a little of this, a little of that – you know the drill.

As we start to emerge from our COVID shell in the near future (hopefully), more and more events are populating our small calendar section. If you’re hosting an event of any type, please do us a favor and email the information to calendar@sandpointreader.com so we can list it for our readers. We’re looking forward to the day when we can publish that big centerfold calendar section with all sorts of fun happenings.

We’re not there yet, because there are just not enough events to justify that much space. Also, we’re still on a truncated distribution schedule, focusing our deliveries to locations with high pickup rates. I know there are a lot of you who have contacted us to get the paper delivered to your place of business again. Soon, my friends, but for now we’re sticking to our game plan. Stay classy, Sandpoint.

– Ben Olson, publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: William Greenway (cover), Ben Olson, Bill Borders, Susan Drinkard, Lyndsie Kiebert, Kip Folker.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Emily Erickson, Phil Deutchman, K.L. Huntley, Clayton Rau, Ranel Hanson, Andrea Marcoccio, Kenndon Culp, Jim Healey, Owen Bolson.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $115 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink.

Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.

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

Requirements: –No more than 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: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook.

About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken by William Greenway, with a small addition by Ben Olson. They’re hee-eere!

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NEWS

Here We Have Idaho

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Gem State lawmakers remain in recess until Tuesday, April 6 — in what Capitol watchers have referred to as a “historic” suspension of proceedings owing to “a rash” of COVID-19 cases that ran through the Idaho House of Representatives.

According to Kevin Richert and Sami Edge, of nonprofit news organization Idaho Ed News, six members of the House received positive diagnoses for COVID-19 within a week in mid-March, prompting the body to close its doors for 18 days. Reporting from the Idaho Mountain Express added another three cases: one a Senate staff member and two more among House staffers. Lawmakers had hoped to adjourn, sine die, on March 26, ending the 2021 legislative session.

Ponderay Republican Rep. Sage Dixon told the Reader in a March 25 email that Statehouse business will likely wrap up in April. Responding to rumors that the Legislature may return to business in the summer, Dixon said, “We would only reconvene in the summer if we are not able to address the new federal funding [from the American Rescue Plan Act] when we get back in April.

The hope is that we will have a little more direction in two weeks, but no one is sure right now. We will not sine die until after the federal funds arrive so that the Legislature is involved with the distribution.”

As the Boise-based Idaho Statesman reported, even in recess the Legislature costs taxpayers a pretty penny: the sum amounting to about $318,000, according to the paper.

Lawmakers serve part-time and travel from all parts of the state to sit in attendance at the Statehouse in Boise. That requires the supply of living expenses in addition to their salaries. Resulting from an October 2020 decision by the Citizens Committee on Legislative Compensation, legislators receive $18,691 per year, plus expenses for housing and travel during the session, and a constituent service allowance of $2,500. The pres4 /

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ident pro-tem of the Senate and speaker of the House receive an additional $5,000 per year, while other legislative leaders get $2,000 added to their paychecks.

The Statesman reported that 67 lawmakers live at least 50 miles from the capital city, receiving $139 per day during the recess.

The remainder — including those who live within the Boise area — receive an automatic stipend of $71 per day, which is pegged to the federal per diem rate.

Other benefits to legislators include state-funded health care coverage, and those who serve districts 1,000 square miles and larger get a payment of $400 to $3,200 based on the size of the district.

All that amounts to $204,187 just for the recess, according to the Statesman, plus expenses for Idaho State Police security and staff salaries, adding up to a further $113,545.

The wave of COVID-19 cases

What’s happening at the Legislature this week

at the Statehouse could have been prevented, Boise Democrat and House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea said, criticizing the Legislature’s reluctance to put in place more robust virus mitigation measures prior to convening in January.

“We could have done so much better than this,” she said, accord-

ing to Idaho Ed News.

Idaho House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, told reporters that the viral spread stemmed from “basically two committees,” identified as the House Education and Judiciary, rules and Administration committees.

Yet Bedke expressed “no regrets” about the Legislature’s

pandemic approach.

“I will never tell my peers what to do with their lives,” Bedke said, according to Idaho Ed News.

“We could have been a little more careful. I’m not saying we did everything perfectly, but we did pretty well.”

Festival to host first-ever virtual fundraiser auction

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff The Festival at Sandpoint is swinging into the 2021 season with a virtual wine auction, slated to run Monday, April 12 until Saturday, April 17.

Owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Festival is hosting its first-ever virtual fundraiser, geared toward supporting the Sandpoint signature music concert series as it secures the participation of renowned performers to grace its iconic stage and tent. However, the nonprofit is more than a series of summertime concerts — The Festival provides year-round community entertainment and education, particularly for local youngsters.

The organization partners with local schools and arts institutions, as well as businesses and community groups, to support its mission: offering “a rich music experience presenting a wide range of concerts in an intimate outdoor setting accessible to local and regional audiences, cultivate culture and ethnic diversity, foster

a love of music through ongoing youth education programs and stimulate economic growth for our community.”

That means making free music education available to upwards of 1,000 local young people every year via The Festival’s Music Outreach Programs, Youth Strings Orchestra, Instrument Assistance Program, scholarships and more.

That said, it’s been a tough couple of years for FAS. As organizers stated in a news release, “The Festival at Sandpoint was hit hard by the pandemic, causing us to reschedule our 2020 concert series.”

Rising to the challenge, the community stepped up to support the longtime local cultural institution with generous donations — keeping The Festival able to continue its work in the community.

“We greatly appreciate your attendance and support,” FAS officials wrote. “This year more than ever, your donations will help secure The Festival’s future. We hope you enjoy what we have in store for you.”

Speaking of this year’s artists, FAS Board President Bob Witte told the Reader that, “We are actively working on booking,” but will not be making the lineup announcement for at least a couple of weeks — so stay tuned.

Meanwhile, Executive Director Ali Baranski said, “My focus has been consumed by our April 17 virtual auction,” which will open for silent bids Monday, April 12 at 9 a.m. and close that Saturday at 6:30 p.m. Items on offer will be packaged as baskets, which will “account for a wide variety of interests, preferences, and goodies,” organizers stated.

The live auction runs Saturday,

The Festival at Sandpoint’s iconic white tent. Art by Year Round Co. April 17 until 7 p.m. Once the baskets are closed, they will be available for pickup starting Monday, April 19 at the FAS office, located at 525 Pine St., in Sandpoint.

“Our virtual event and live auction will be an occasion you won’t want to miss,” organizers said. “Not only will we have live auction items and chances to bid, we will also have musical performances, Festival updates and more. Participants who stay until the end will be entered to win our raffle basket.”

Go to festivalatsandpoint.com for more information.

NEWS

Idaho closes in on half a million vaccinated residents Data on ‘breakthrough’ cases of COVID-19 bodes well for vaccine effectiveness

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Idaho’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout continues to gain speed, with anyone 16 and older — regardless of comorbid health conditions — being able to access appointments to get their shots starting Monday, April 5. To date, 447,193 Idahoans have successfully received at least one shot, including 11,835 Bonner County residents.

Several health districts around the state, including the Panhandle Health District — which encompasses the five northern counties of the state — have already opened appointments to every resident 16 and older.

“After assessing the situation with our enrolled vaccine providers, we made the decision as a group to move forward in the phases,” PHD Health Services Division Administrator Don Duffy stated in a March 24 media release. “We have the supply and available appointments, but have continued to see a decline in demand.

At the end of the day, we just want to get people vaccinated who are choosing to receive a vaccine.”

Appointments can be made directly through a provider or by pre-registering through the state’s vaccination website: covidvaccine.idaho.gov. If you need help navigating the online appointment scheduling or lack internet access, PHD’s hotline can help. Call 877-415-5225, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

PHD also pointed out that while the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is for people 16 or older, the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are for people 18 or older.

Early data of vaccinated

Idahoans is teaching researchers about how well — and in what ways — the COVID-19 vaccine prevents infection and symptoms. The Idaho Capital Sun reported that officials shared March 30 they’ve identified 97 Idahoans who contracted COVID-19 at least two weeks after they became fully vaccinated against the virus with either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. That’s about .03% of all fully vaccinated residents.

According to the Idaho Capital Sun, of the 97 Idahoans who experienced breakthrough infections — that is, infections that broke past the immunity provided by the vaccine — only half showed symptoms, 80% of those who showed illness had very mild symptoms and only three people ended up in the hospital, according to the Idaho Division of Public Health. To date, no one with a

breakthrough infection has died in Idaho.

Health officials recommend continued now-standard virus mitigation efforts, including mask-wearing and social distancing, even after being vaccinated. PHD restated the importance of these measures in a March 25 media release announcing the identification of a case of the so-called “California variant” of COVID-19 in North Idaho.

“This reinforces the need for everyone in our community to remain diligent in following the precautionary measures to prevent further spread,” said PHD Director Lora Whalen. “There remains much to be learned about the variants. With the vaccine being made widely available, we encourage those who wish to receive one to do so as soon as they are able to help reduce the spread.”

Dr. Chase Williams receives one of the first vaccinations administered at Bonner General Health in Dec. 2020. Photo courtesy BGH.

Fish and Game postpones meetings, but announces hunting apps and fish stocks

By Reader Staff

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has canceled telephone conference calls scheduled for Thursdays, April 1 and April 15. The April 1 call was to discuss pending legislation, but the Idaho Legislature will be out of session at that time — reconvening on Tuesday, April 6. The agenda items for the April 15 meeting will be postponed and taken up during the May 7 quarterly meeting in Coeur d’Alene.

In the meantime, the commission shared a number of news items, including the application period for controlled hunting of moose, bighorn

sheep and mountain goat, which opens April 1 and runs through April 30. Hunters can apply online or at any Fish and Game office, license vendor, or by telephone by calling 800554-8685.

On the fish front, hatchery staff members have ramped up fish stocking around the state, with trout bound for water bodies in each of Fish and Game’s seven regions. About 213,000 catchable-sized rainbow trout will be stocked throughout Idaho during April — more than three times as many as they stocked in March.

With so many fish stocked in so many places, it can be hard for anglers to sift through

the stocking forecasts and records to identify noteworthy stocking events. To make it easier, Fish and Game has highlighted some stocking events for the month of April.

In Bonner County, that will include 6,600 rainbow trout in Cocolalla Lake. Located near Westmond just west of U.S. Highway 95, the 800acre lake offers a variety of fishing opportunities, with anglers regularly having luck trolling spoons, spinners and flies throughout the lake. Fly fishing can also be a productive technique and anglers often target areas around the inlets and outlet of the lake.

Officials will also release

2,700 rainbows into Jewel Lake — a small, peaceful body of water accessed from U.S. 95 by traveling west on Dufort Road, then traveling south on Jewel Lake Road. There, anglers can catch trout, channel catfish and bluegill — the latter being especially thrilling to young fishers. Located at the lake is a single fishing dock to help with access.

Fish and Game is preparing for season setting for 2022-2024 and asking anglers what changes they would like to see for the upcoming seasons. Anglers can go to the fishing seasons webpage — idfg.idaho.gov/rules/ fish/scoping — and suggest changes for each region.

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NEWS

ID Supreme Court stands by asphalt plant ruling Ruling prompted claims from BoCo’s McDonald of ‘vindictive’ actions by court

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When the Idaho Supreme Court appealed a District Court ruling March 22, effectively voiding the conditional use permit for an asphalt batch plant in Sagle, Bonner County Commissioner Dan McDonald told the Reader in an email that the county “thought it was extremely irregular that the Court awarded attorney fees but only against the County and did not include Interstate [Concrete & Asphalt] or the Linscotts” — the other two defendents in the case.

He went on to say that the ruling “seemed a bit vindictive, and may stem from the fact that we challenged the Governor on the CARES Act disbursement as was originally outlined.” When pressed, he said the “vindictive” party, in his view, was the state’s highest court.

“In our opinion it was an odd ruling, especially the award and how it was structured,” McDonald continued. “Do we have

proof, of course not, but it was highly irregular in that there were two other parties with us in the suit but only one pays attorney fees.”

Nate Poppino, a spokesperson for the State of Idaho Judicial Branch, said that he was not able to provide comment specifically in response to McDonald’s allegation.

“The Idaho Supreme Court speaks only through its orders and opinions,” Poppino told the Reader in a March 30 email. “As a result, I cannot provide a statement for the Court.”

Poppino pointed to the court’s decision on the asphalt plant permit as the best source for understanding the reasoning behind each facet of the ruling.

“However, I would note that as you have seen, the Court’s opinion does explain the claims that were raised in this particular case as well as the legal basis and reasoning for each of its decisions throughout,” he said.

Spring prescribed burning to begin across Idaho Panhandle National Forests

By Reader Staff Officials are eyeing the weather forecast for the coming weeks to provide prescribed burning opportunities across the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Multiple prescribed burning projects are planned this spring, although the exact day of ignitions will depend on conditions, forest managers stated in a news release.

Prescribed burning is part of the annual management program for each U.S. Forest Service ranger district, aimed at reducing hazardous fuels, preparing areas for tree planting and improving wildlife forage.

Fire managers will evaluate weather and fuels to determine when burning can be safely conducted. Burned areas are monitored to ensure that fire remains within the project boundaries. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests works with 6 /

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the Montana/Idaho Airshed Group and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality to minimize smoke impacts from prescribed burning. All prescribed burning decisions are based on the group’s recommendations, given predicted smoke emissions and dispersion forecasts. For additional information on air quality, smoke management, and forecasts, see mi.airshedgroup.org.

The public is urged to stay away from project areas during burning operations and for a few days afterward. Signs will be posted along access roads and near affected trailheads and trail junctions during burn operations. Temporary access restrictions or closures may be necessary for public safety.

Burn status, maps and other information is available at bit.ly/NorthIdahoRxFire.

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling: Tips for enhancing the body’s response to the COVID-19 vaccines, both before and after injection, from Dr. Farah Ingale, director of Internal Medicine at Hiranandani Hospital, in India: For maximum vaccine benefit avoid alcohol and smoking (experts say alcohol can cause gut inflammation, thus compromising the immune system); get enough sleep (a study in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine found that those getting fewer than five hours of sleep prior to their flu shot had half the benefit as compared to those with adequate sleep); exercise regularly, since being fit and a healthy weight reduces risk of chronic illness, the latter making a person more susceptible to complications; and, eat healthy, particularly probiotics, veggies, fruits, whole grains and fermented foods.

Last week Georgia Republicans enacted restrictive voting laws that Democrats immediately promised to take to court, calling the move “flagrantly racist.” Politico says the new legislation includes: a ban on “line warming,” (a practice of distributing food and water for voters forced to wait in long lines); new ID requirements; shortening run-off elections from nine weeks to four weeks; ending special election all-party primaries; shortening the time to return mail-in ballots; a smaller timeframe for receiving absentee ballots; cuts to early in-person voting; less time for requesting an absentee ballot; restricting access to ballot drop boxes, and removal of the secretary of state from chairing the state election board. (The Georgia secretary of state, a Republican, drew heat from other Republicans for not supporting the former president’s claims of election fraud).

Legislative sponsors said their intention is to prevent voter fraud, though, according to Politico, there is no evidence of such fraud. The new Georgia law turns the election board over to the Legislature and provides state lawmakers with the authority to suspend county election officials.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and fellow congressional Republican lawmakers are fighting the For the People Act, which would protect voting, make it easier to vote, end gerrymandering and cut dark money out of politics. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., talking to CNBC.com, said he’d like to ask Republican colleagues, “Why are you so afraid of democracy? Why, instead of trying to win voters over that you lost in the last election, are you trying to prevent them

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

from voting?”

The nation is approaching 550,000 COVID-19 deaths. While there’s a surge in vaccinations, there is also a surge in more COVID-19 cases due to stronger COVID-19 variants. A year ago, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned the count could go as high as 100,000 — at that time 2,500 had died. On CNN, Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the last administration’s COVID-19 response team, stated that the deaths after 100,000 were avoidable, but she witnessed that most of the people in the White House a year ago “did not take this seriously.” According to The Hill, national polling for President Joe Biden’s handling of the pandemic is at 71% approval.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, faces multiple allegations of wrongdoing: sexual harassment, under-reporting of nursing home COVID-19 deaths and ethical concerns over COVID-19 vaccine distribution. The Week reported that 60 of the state’s Democratic lawmakers want Cuomo to step down.

Abolishing the Electoral College will rid the country of the hypocrisy of violating the principle of “one person one vote,” Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece. He pointed out that in this century two men became president without the majority vote, and that the Electoral College is the remnant of a plan to preserve the power of slaveholding states. An alternative to passing a constitutional amendment to toss the Electoral College, Merkley says there is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The Compact, which has legislative support from 15 states and D.C., commits to giving the electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. Merkley cites two advantages: every vote is counted equally and presidential candidates would focus on all states, not just swing states, providing access to voices from outside “our normal echo-chamber bubble.”

Blast from the past: the nation’s first public health care legislation was signed in 1798 by President John Adams. It called for payment for medical care and hospitalization for the Navy and civilian sailors. Both Adams and George Washington participated in quarantine events during the pandemic summers of 1793 and 1798, and both promoted inoculation against smallpox. In a lockdown in Philadelphia (the nation’s capital from 1790 to 1800), due to the yellow fever epidemic, churches could not meet and some quarantine areas were closed for most of the year.

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Bills and semantics

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

Recently, several bills have been making headlines across the country and in Idaho.

Their wording seems to have a way of skirting around each bill’s purpose, encapsulating their intent in benign phrases and ambiguous messaging.

But, sometimes, some things are better when they’re put plainly — peeling back the layers of semantics to expose the raw reality within.

One such piece of legislation is Senate Bill 202, which Georgia lawmakers recently approved as The Election Integrity Act of 2021. The bill’s directive is to comprehensively revise elections and voting within Georgia in a supposed attempt to bolster election confidence among constituents. Its contents described revisions like reducing the number of usable drop boxes for absentee ballots and imposing more stringent voter identification requirements — like needing a state-issued ID to request or return a ballot.

It restricts who can vote with provisional ballots and, most notably, makes it a misdemeanor to give away food or water within 150 feet of the outer edge of a polling place building or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line waiting to cast their ballot.

When peeling back the language, however, this legislation is clearly geared toward restricting who can vote and

Emily Erickson.

how easily they can cast their ballots. With efforts like withholding sustenance from people required to stand in historically long, brutal voter lines, and reducing the availability of absentee voting, the amount of people likely to turn out to vote is diminished. Put even more plainly, if candidates have to suppress voters to earn their seats, we should stop calling this whole thing a democracy.

Another bill, designated as RS 228, was pushed through the Idaho House and Senate and is pending passage until legislators reconvene on April 6.

RS 228 aims to prohibit Idaho public schools from teaching racist or sexist concepts in their classrooms.

Specifically, schools would be barred from teaching: “One race [or] sex is superior to another; An individual is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive because of their race or sex, ‘whether consciously or unconsciously’; An individual bears responsibility for ac-

tions committed in the past by individuals of the same sex or race past by members of the same race or sex; Merit-based systems are racist or sexist; and Idaho or the United States are ‘fundamentally racist or sexist.’”

The bill further stipulates, “Any school that teaches these topics to students will have its funds withheld by the Board of Education.”

When you break down the kinds of lessons this bill is challenging, the repercussions become clear. If we do not hold space for nuanced education about oppression, or talk to students about our current role (unconscious or otherwise) in upholding the systems we’ve built on top of exploitation, we cannot accurately teach them about racism or sexism at all.

Concepts like privilege, bias and reparations will become taboo, reducing the scope of what students can learn to half-truths and convenient partial histories. In this limited education, without accurate depictions of our complicated past, there’s nothing standing in the way of us making the same mistakes again.

Finally, SB 1110 is an Idaho Bill aimed at restricting citizen-led ballot initiatives and referendums. SB 1110 would increase the number of signatures required to qualify an initiative as ballot-worthy from 6% of eligible voters of 18 districts to 6% of all 35 districts.

This bill was proposed, despite very few initiatives making the ballot since the

18-district requirement was established in 2013. Luke Mayville in the March 20 Reclaim Idaho newsletter explained, “In the eight years since [the 2013 bill was passed], 15 initiatives have been attempted and only two made the ballot. Thirteen of 15 attempts were blocked under the current rules.”

More simply, SB 1110 is an effort to make the path to citizen-led initiatives more diffi-

cult, consequently reducing the public’s ability to participate in our own government.

As a lover of words and a believer in the potential they have to do good, I also recognize their ability to be manipulated; to say one thing while really meaning another. And it’s in these semantics that intentions can get lost, causing widespread repercussions that are difficult to reverse.

Retroactive

By BO

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Big community thanks...

Bouquets: • I’d like to give a Bouquet to Michael Spurgin this week. Michael is one of the “Round Table Crew” who I’ve gotten to know over the years. In the past, Michael has organized fundraising concerts and given all the proceeds to the Reader as a donation. He’s rallied his friends to throw a few bucks in an envelope once a month for the Reader. He’s always got something nice to say about someone, and exemplifies what it means to be a good person in this world.

We’ll miss you when you leave town, Michael. Thanks for always looking out for the free press.

Barbs • Liars. I just can’t stand when people lie right to your face, especially when their claims are easily proven false. I’m not talking about the innocent lies, like, “Fido is at the puppy farm now,” or, “Of course those pants don’t make you look fat.” I’m talking about lies meant to demean and divide us.

I’m talking about lies that attempt to rewrite history, or gaslight people into thinking that they are the ones who are crazy.

In the golden days of yesteryear, there used to be this thing called truth that we all agreed on: The Earth is round, the sky is blue, your truck won’t start on the coldest morning in winter, and cats despise and love humans equally. Now, we humans think we all know our own “personal truths,” and anything that deviates from that stance is “fake” or “biased” or whatever the latest buzzword is. Well, for my part, I still believe in the truth.

With the exception of a couple of fun April Fools’ articles we hid in this week’s edition, the Reader has always made publishing the truth our primary mission. The politicization of the truth in recent years is going to come back and bite us in a big way. Do yourselves and your fellow humans a favor: Honor the truth and don’t traffic in lies. As Thoreau wrote, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth.” Amen to that.

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Dear editor, We all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Jonna Plante of Sagle for her perseverance the last two years in fighting to oppose the Interstate Asphalt Plant becoming a permanent fixture at the Linscott gravel pit in Sagle. The Idaho Supreme Court finally ruled in favor of the Citizens Against Linscott/Interstate Asphalt plant.

An asphalt batch plant operating at the Linscott site would have certainly been a health hazard, causing air and noise pollution, and potential water pollution and decreased property values. Many Sagle citizens opposing the plant, initially testified at Commissioner and Planning and Zoning meetings.

In spite of overwhelming personal testimony and evidence pointing to zoning illegalities and health concerns, county commissioners, local officials and judges kept ruling in favor of Interstate and Linscott.

The Bonner County commissioners and P&Z overlooked and ignored past non-conforming practices, insisting on validating a conditional use permit that would allow the asphalt plant to operate at the Linscott location. Thanks to Jonna, the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that permit is invalid.

As in many civic concerns, people get discouraged and become resigned to the fact that “you can’t fight City Hall.” Fortunately for us, Jonna stuck with it, hiring top expertise and representation to fight for the cause in county, state and finally Idaho Supreme Court. I know we are not alone in offering our sincere appreciation and thanks to Jonna Plante of Sagle for this victory that will benefit us all.

Margie and Jim Corcoran Sagle

Masks in schools protect our students...

Dear editor, My voice and many other parents’ questioning voices have not been heard concerning the LPOSD school board’s 3-2 decision to remove their mask requirement in Bonner County schools following spring break. Instead, wearing masks will be optional. That’s one single vote that removes protection from our kids from contracting or asymptomatically spreading COVID-19.

I realize schools have low numbers of COVID-19 spread, but maybe that’s because our students have been wearing masks. The safest and

smartest decision would be to see through our kids’ protection to the end of the school year.

Maybe you, too, agree that it’s a dangerous and irresponsible choice by our school board to do away with this requirement — especially after spring break, when many students and staff, despite recent vaccinations, have possibly been exposed to COVID-19 or its much more communicable variants due to family gatherings and air travel, even out of the country.

Of course masking somewhat inhibits teaching and we all have COVID fatigue, but our kids are used to keeping with the program of protecting themselves and everyone else — what’s another two-plus months?

Please call our school board members and voice your disapproval. If we’d realized this was on the last LPOSD school board’s agenda, we would have rallied more parents to attend and make their voices heard. Maybe we can still turn this around. Voice your protection for our kids. And many thanks to Geraldine Lewis and Gary Suppinger for your educated votes to uphold mask requirements in our schools.

Lisa Cirac Sandpoint

On Confederate flags: A difference without a distinction...

Dear editor, I read with confused bemusement a letter to the editor last week in which someone decided to “school” another letter writer about their error and confusion regarding the Confederate “stars and bars” flag. He even differentiated between the Confederate battle flag and the Confederate “national” flag, which he says resembled the American flag. Great lesson on a difference without a distinction.

Just like the saying, “A rose by any other name is still a rose,” a flag waved by traitors to the United States of America — regardless if it is the battle flag of traitors or the so called “national” flag of traitors — is still just a flag of treasonous traitors to America.

Pierre Bordenave Sandpoint

Send letters to the editor to letters@sandpointreader. com. We accept letters under 300 words that are free from libelous statements and/or excessive profanity.

Sandpoint’s Aaron Qualls enjoys the Reader with a woodland neighbor camped on his front lawn. Moose can weigh as much as 1,000 pounds and have been frequent visitors to the Sandpoint city limits this season. Fun fact: The word “moose” is an Algonquin term that means “eater of twigs.”

In Sandpoint, however, moose means “eater of tulips and every other dang thing I grow in my backyard.”

Courtesy photo.

PERSPECTIVES

Madame Wu

By Phil Deutchman Reader Contributor

The U.S. Postal Service issued a new, “forever” stamp featuring the portrait of nuclear physicist Chien-Shiung Wu. She is not known to the general public, but is famous to physics students because of her groundbreaking experiment on the beta decay of radioactive nuclei.

When I was a grad student, we referred to her respectfully as “Madame Wu,” with perhaps a tinge of mystery and intrigue involved.

Chien-Shiung Wu was born in a village near Shanghai. She was a very bright student and, at 17, entered the National Central University in Nanjing. She studied mathematics, but later switched to physics. After graduation, she performed research at the Chinese Institute of Physics of the Academia Sinica. Her supervisor, who obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, encouraged Wu to pursue her Ph.D. from the same university.

Wu applied and was accepted.

She and a girlfriend then sailed to San Francisco. When they arrived, they visited the University of California at Berkeley.

Wu also visited the famous Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, named after Ernest Lawrence who invented the first cyclotron.

The physicist, Luke Yuan, who escorted her would become her future husband. However, while in California, she heard that the University of Michigan did not allow women to use the front entrance of its buildings. She immediately changed her plans and enrolled at U.C. Berkeley.

At the lab, Wu studied beta decay and became an authority on the subject. After completing her Ph.D. in 1940, she stayed on to perform post-doctoral research.

In 1942, she and Yuan got married and they moved to the East Coast to accept jobs. Wu taught at Smith College, later accepting

a research position at Princeton.

In 1944, Wu joined the top-secret Manhattan Project, which was assigned to build the atomic bomb.

It is believed that she was the only individual of Asian descent to work on the project.

Wu became a research professor at Columbia University after World War II, where she remained until retirement. Her parents stayed in China and wrote to her not to return home.

So in 1954, she became a U.S. citizen. In 1956, Wu carried out the famous “Wu Experiment,” which would make a valuable contribution to nuclear and particle physics. Her experiment examined beta decay, during which a radioactive nucleus splits or decays into a new nucleus, plus an electron (the beta ray) and a neutrino-type particle. For our purposes, we only need to focus on the electron.

As nuclear and particle physics evolved, numerous conservation laws were discovered. These laws are considered to be “sacred cows,” and if an experiment ever showed that one of these laws crashed and burned when hitting the ground of reality, it would ruin your day.

One of these laws was known as “Conservation of Parity.” Parity, from Latin (paritas), translates to “equal status.” For simplicity, imagine a single nucleus as a microscopic, spinning ball.

By turning on a magnetic field, the nucleus will align its North Pole-South Pole axis along the field line. Parity says that there is an equal chance that an electron may be emitted up from the North Pole or down from the South Pole of the nucleus.

However, in Wu’s experiment, a sample will contain a large number of identical, radioactive nuclei. Very low temperatures are required to prevent nuclei from thermally knocking each other about, and ruining their spin alignments.

For this large number of nuclei,

Remembering a pioneering Asian-American woman of science

parity predicts there should be equal numbers of electrons emitted upward and downward.

Madame Wu tested this claim experimentally.

Meanwhile, also in the 1950s, there were two bright young Chinese-American theoretical physicists, named T.D. Lee and C.N. Yang, who were making names for themselves. They, too, were interested in the theory of parity conservation. In 1956, after much theoretical work, Lee and Yang predicted that parity might not be conserved. They searched, but could not find any experimental data for or against parity conservation. Knowing Wu’s work as an expert in beta decay, they contacted her and began working on ideas for an experiment. Realizing that she could be involved with a breakthrough experiment, she immediately started work in May 1956.

Her experiment was designed to measure electrons emitted from the beta decay of radioactive Cobalt-60. It needed a strong, magnetic field to line up all the nuclei spinning in the same way. This is like having a large group of ice skaters individually spinning in the same way, but each holding their own spot on the ice. She also needed low temperatures. Wu contacted physicist Ernest Ambler of the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C, which housed a low-temperature lab. In December 1956, Wu and Ambler experimentally and shockingly discovered that electrons were overwhelmingly coming from the South Poles. This asymmetry was the first evidence that the law of parity was violated.

Although upsetting the physics community, other experimentalists soon confirmed Wu’s results.

In 1957, the Nobel Prize was awarded to Lee and Yang for their theoretical work. Wu was mentioned in their acceptance speech, but not included in the prize.

Regardless, throughout her

The USPS has honored Chien-Shiung Wu with a postage stamp in 2021. Courtesy photo. career, Madame Wu was honored for her achievements. She was elected a member to prestigious science organizations. She received numerous other awards, prizes and medals. She was the first woman to serve as president of the American Physical Society, the first woman to receive the Comstock Prize from the National Academy of Sciences and the first woman to receive a Research Corporation Award. She was awarded honorary degrees from many universities, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

In 1978, she was the first person to be awarded the new Wolf Prize at its first offering. This prize considers candidates who are of Nobel caliber. But still, why not the Nobel? Some of the

most eminent physicists of the day did champion Wu’s case.

Starting in 1958, she was nominated at least seven times, until her death in 1997. A year later, she was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

I thank the U.S. Postal Service for honoring this unique scientist by issuing her “forever” stamp in 2021. Now, the general public can see her portrait with the caption, “Chien-Shiung Wu, Nuclear Physicist,” and wonder: Who is she? Hopefully they are curious enough to find out.

Phil Deutchman is an emeritus professor of physics and a Sandpoint resident.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

the science of flight

By Ben Olson Reader Staff We human beings have accomplished a lot in our short time on Earth. We’ve harnessed the forces of nature to work for us, achieved technological advances that blow other species out of the water — sometimes literally — but one ability we’ve never been able to accomplish is flying (unless you’re Superman or Neo from The Matrix trilogy).

To overcome this, humans have engineered fantastic machines that take us to the air in everything from hot air balloons to supersonic jets. But how exactly is flight achieved?

Put simply, flying is nothing more than overcoming the forces that keep us tethered to the ground. A force is anything that pushes or pulls. Unbalanced forces produce an acceleration of an object in the direction of the resultant force. Four main forces that affect the flight abilities of birds and airplanes are weight, lift, thrust and drag.

With the exception of those unfortunate ones who honestly believe the Earth is flat, most of us know about gravity. It’s the force that pulls everything toward the surface of the Earth. In order to achieve flight, airplanes and birds must be able to provide enough lifting force to oppose gravity, also known as the weight force. Lift is a force that acts upwards against weight and is caused by the air moving over and under the wings.

The power source of a flying object provides the thrust, which moves an object forward. With birds and other flying animals, muscles provide the thrust. For flying machines like airplanes, thrust comes from the engine power. For gliders, which fly by always diving at a very shallow angle (birds also do this when 10 /

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they glide), thrust is provided by gravity itself.

Finally, the force working against thrust is called drag, which is caused by air resistance and acts in the opposite direction to the motion. The amount of drag depends on the shape and speed of the object, as well as the density of the air through which it moves.

The correct amount of thrust can overcome or counteract the force of drag.

Imagine driving on a paved surface, then quickly turning onto a gravel road. The “drag” of the gravel will slow down the vehicle because it “grabs” the tires with more force. To retain the same speed as the paved road, a vehicle must then increase its power.

Heavier air will drag the bird or plane more, so it takes more thrust to overcome this drag.

When an object is in flight, it is constantly engaging in a tug of war between these opposing forces. To achieve flight, the lift force must be greater than the weight force, and the thrust must be greater than the drag force.

Consider a modern jetliner, which weighs anywhere from 300,000 to 400,000 pounds. To get this behemoth airborne — that is, overcoming the weight force pulling it to the ground — jet engines (or propellers) create enough thrust to oppose the drag caused by air resistance. During takeoff, thrust must counteract drag and lift must counteract the weight before the plane can become airborne. If these forces are not equal or balanced, the object will speed up, slow down or change direction toward the greatest force.

When a plane’s engine causes it to accelerate, the acceleration increases air speed past the wing, which increases lift so the jet gains altitude; but, because the plane is moving faster, drag is increased from air resistance, which slows the plane from speeding up as

quickly until thrust and drag are again equal. By balancing these forces, a plane can remain at a constant but greater height.

Approaching the runway, an airplane must lose altitude by reducing thrust. The pilot intentionally allows the drag to become greater than the thrust and the plane slows, losing altitude. A landing is nothing more than a very controlled crash to the Earth.

The wings of an airplane are specially designed to produce enough lift to equal its weight.

The shape of wings are called aerofoils, which generally have a flat bottom and curved, tear-drop shape along the top.

There is some debate over what actually produces lift. The traditional explanation of lift has been attributed to a Swiss mathematician named Daniel Bernoulli, who found in 1738 that when a gas (like air) moves, it exerts less pressure. According to Bernoulli’s principle, the faster that air moves, the less air pressure it exerts because the molecules in the air become more spread out.

Because the airflow is disturbed by the aerofoil shape, it divides when flowing around a wing. The top curved surface means air flows faster along the top of the wing than the air flowing along the bottom, flat part of the wing. Because it’s moving faster on the top of the wing, the air pressure is weaker on top of the wing than it is below, which causes the “stronger” air below to “push” the wing more than the air above, creating lift.

In recent years, scientists have debated whether “Bernoulli’s principle” is really what causes lift.

Some scientists believe the angle of attack is actually what lifts the wing. This can be explained by Sir. Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, which states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Based on this law,

wings are forced upward because they are tilted, pushing air downward so the wings get pushed upward. The angle of attack is the angle at which the wing meets the airflow.

The amount of lift depends on the speed of the air around the wing and the density of the air, so birds and planes will change their angle of attack as they slow to land. This means both birds and planes need wings that are moveable, enabling their shapes to be

changed to control their flight.

Flying may look effortless when we see birds soaring through the air, but behind it all is a lot of cool science that allows us — with some deft accompaniment from machinery — to defy our biology and soar like the birds.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner ish language?

gl Don’t know much about the en • 1 billion people speak English.

That’s one in every seven on earth.

• 80% of information stored on all computers in the world is in English.

• The longest common English word without vowels is “rhythms.”

• A new word in English is created every 98 minutes.

• 89% of people in Sweden speak English.

• The word “bride” comes from an old proto-Germanic word meaning “to cook.” (Yeesh.)

• The word “mortgage” comes from a French word that means “death contract.” (That sounds about right) • ”Time” is the most commonly used noun in English.

• There are 24 different dialects of English in the US. The Pacific Northwest dialect is generally referred to as one that closely resembles a General American dialect.

We can help!

Linguists say it’s easier to recognize the Pacific Northwest accent by the speaker’s usage of slang.

• “Hello” didn’t become a greeting until the telephone arrived.

• “Dreamt” and its derivatives are the only common English words that end in “mt.”

• The only English word with three Y’s is “syzygy,” which happens to describe the alignment of three celestial bodies in a straight line.

• The word “callipygian” means having a beautiful butt.

• The word “ambisinistrous” is the opposite of ambidextrous; it means “no good with either hand.”

• “Bitch the pot” was 19th-century slang for “pour the tea.”

• Charles Boycott, an English land agent, was so hated by the community he became a verb.

• ”Goodbye” is a contraction of “God be with ye.”

PERSPECTIVES

The power of words

Overcoming hate to see ‘the others’ in us

By K.L. Huntley Reader Contributor Nothing warms the heart more than when someone sincerely tells us they love us — when the cat jumps in your lap and begins to purr or you are met at the door by a tail-wagging dog, just thrilled you are home. A card, an email, words with action reaffirming genuine emotions of love.

On the opposite end of that spectrum is another word, one that when heard has a visceral effect, a wrenching in your belly and a sour taste in the mouth.

A word that can bring tears and feelings of powerful wretchedness not only to the recipient but also by the user: hate.

Hate, I heard once, is like a hot coal — the longer you hold it the deeper it burns into you. It burns into your heart and your very soul, frequently spilling out and affecting those around you.

So where does hate come from? A baby generally only knows love from the day it is born, and frequently before.

Hate is acquired. It is an insidious monster that must be fed, fueled and modeled, and is like a cancer consuming from the inside out, the body of its host. Hate is self centered and in some respects self loathing.

The latest mass shooter only wanted to talk to his mother, not fully realizing that he just killed several mothers and fathers depriving entire families and children of parents, brothers and sisters, and the privilege of ever speaking with their loved ones again. The inability forever to say I love you.

Hate dehumanizes its targets. Spewing from the hater’s mouth, mixed with profanity are venomous words targeting individuals of certain ethnicity, religion or sex. They don’t use first nor last names but instead bundle their targets into objects — them and us.

The Bonner County Human Task Force, partnered with our local public library, recently presented a film called, Healing from Hate: The Battle for the Soul of a Nation. The film basically was interviews and narrations from

individuals who had left their various organized hate groups and formed a supportive network to heal. For many it meant leaving family and friends to instead join a society advocating the opposite: compassion and empathy; or, as some would call it, love.

Hate and intolerance are nothing new. Voltaire wrote about the need for tolerance in 1763. more than 250 years ago. I think Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best when he said, “Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.”

It is not an issue of liberal or con-

servate — it is a human issue. Unless you are Native American your people came from somewhere else. Some volunteered to come here and some did not. Whatever your perspective, your religion or your skin color, we are a united and diversified group, all stitched together like a colorful crazy quilt. When we set hate aside we can unite beautifully enriching everyone’s lives with liberty and justice for all.

I would like to think that Idaho is too great to hate but that is going to take a united front and community efforts to embrace our rich diversity and regain global respect. It is up to each of us to open our hearts and see “the others” as us.

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FEATURE

Officials: Lake will be mostly dry in summer 2021 Historic drawdown aims to eradicate aquatic invasive species, limit summertime visitors amid pandemic

By Clayton Rau Special to the Reader Sandpoint residents are about to become reacquainted with the community’s namesake sandbar, as government officials prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime dramatic drawdown of Lake Pend Oreille this summer.

While summer pool levels typically measure around 2,000 feet above sea level, beginning June 31 regulators will drain all but the water needed to generate a minimum amount of power at regional dams. That will leave area docks high and dry and much of the lake bed exposed until the resumption of normal operations in the spring of 2022.

U.S. Engineering Corps Col. Arnold Benedict announced the lake operation in a news release March 31, stating that the unprecedented drawdown is necessary in part to combat rampant aquatic weed growth, as well as implement a public health effort to tamp down summertime visitors amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“With the recent growth in population in the northern counties of Idaho, the USEC and regional water quality monitoring agencies have recorded a dramatic increase in aquatic invasive species such as milfoil, zebra mussels and nitrogen loading from fertilized lawns on lakefront properties,” Benedict stated in the release. “More concerning, lakebed soil analysis has revealed a new water quality threat, which researchers have termed ‘Evergreen Sludge,’ apparently transplanted to northern Idaho by boaters primarily from Washington state.”

According to USEC, the convergence of so many aquatic threats has put Lake Pend Oreille on a collision course with entropic toxicity. While milfoil, zebra mussels and nitrogen are known quantities in area waterways, the 12 /

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so-called “Evergreen Sludge” is a particularly concerning threat, officials stated.

The point source for the pollutant — named for its apparent perennial growth — is still being identified, but appears to stem particularly from pontoon boats purchased in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area since 2016.

Water biologist Katherine Quagga-Smythe, of the Idaho Waterways Health Consortium, based at the State University of Idaho in St. Anthony, described the “sludge” as a thin film that settles on the lakebed, depriving plants and organisms of both oxygen and sunlight, as well as devouring all available living space.

“We still don’t fully understand the constituent elements of ‘Evergreen Sludge,’ but what we do know is that it seems particularly reactive to aquatic sonic vibrations — for example, loud music and powerful boat engines appear to stimulate its spread,” she told the Reader in an email.

“In its basic form, the sludge appears inert, but spreads in huge mat-like formations with increased surface noise and activity.

“Without immediate action, this sludge could achieve near total coverage on Lake Pend Oreille within a year, crowding out all other native lifeforms,” she added.

“Draining the lake” is too dramatic a description, Benedict said in a follow-up interview with the Reader; rather, he said to think of the operation as an opportunity to give the near- and

mid-shore waters a “good scrub, like your toilet bowl,” he said.

“You have to wash that bowl, but it doesn’t work if you shut off the water completely,” he said, noting that the decline in tourism dollars should be compensated by the mass hiring of “pickers” — that is, individuals in the community who will be hired on a seasonal basis to rake and clean the lake bed.

The state has already allocated several thousand dollars to fund the cleanup, paying $12.50 per hour, though the measure saw strong opposition from legislative Republicans who argued that the wage rate is too high and runs the risk of Idahoans becoming dependent on public funds.

What’s more, Rep. Bart McCarthy, R-Spirit Lake, doubted the existence of the water quality threats, calling the drawdown and cleanup “a power grab” by state and federal authorities.

“Look at the science,” he told reporters in Boise.

When asked to elaborate, McCarthy referred members of state media to the blog truthwatch. ru/operationlaketakeover before hastily ending his Statehouse remarks.

Meanwhile, officials with the federal Center for Epidemiological Control applauded the drawdown as an efficient way to limit summertime visitors, noting that Bonner County’s infection rate from COVID-19 has remained high even despite the increased availability of vaccines. In large part, the sustained infection rate has been attributed to out-of-

state visitors flocking to the region over the past year to evade stricter virus control measures in their home communities.

“We’ll have to wait and see whether this has an effect on viral spread — those numbers should be clear by the fall — but in the short-term we feel this is a viable way to protect communities like Sandpoint, which are both benefited and severely harmed by the influx of maskaverse vacationers,” said CEC spokesperson William Hamhand, speaking from the agency’s Northwest Division in Otis, Ore. “We may well recommend this strategy to other resort communities, such as Tahoe, Calif., and South Beach, Fla.,” he added.

Local reaction has been mixed. Longtime anglers are concerned about the near-complete dieoff of resident fish populations, though as Gene Woods — a lifelong resident and once-avid fisherman said — “there’s no fish in this lake anyway.”

Area pontoon boat sellers are angered that their product has been implicated in the spread of “Evergreen Sludge,” as well as concerned that the reduced pool level in Lake Pend Oreille will affect their late-spring and early-summer sales.

“What do people want when they move here? A side-by-side, a 7B license plate and a pontoon boat — that’s, like, the starter kit for everyone moving here,” said Karen Becks, owner of Alpine Mountain Cascade Moose Panhandle North Country Selkirk

A projection of how Lake Pend Oreille will look after it has been drained.

Courtesy photo.

Tree Eagle Action Speed America Motor Sports, located on U.S. 95 adjacent to Meadow View Vista Mega Mini-Storage in the newly-amalgamated Saglegoma Business District.

Others are looking on the bright side — particularly officials with the Transportation Department of Idaho, whose agency is currently reconstructing the iconic Long Bridge.

According to officials, amid their survey of the wear-and-tear on the 40-plus-year-old, two-mile span, engineers discovered that the entire structure would need to come down within the next five years.

With the lake level reduction, construction crews will be able to tear down the bridge and rebuild it from the bottom up.

“This will be a great opportunity to expand and reinforce the Long Bridge, incorporating six lanes — three northbound and three southbound — with two roundabouts and an emergency mid-span helipad for crash response,” said TDI Roadway Commissioner Sid Wheeler from the agency’s offices in Meridian. “You’re all going to need it up there; there’s a lot of traffic headed your way.”

Clayton Rau is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared on numerous blogs, social media locals forums and the papers used to wrap glassware at regional dollar stores.

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HOLIDAY

Hatching egg-ceptional memories An exclusive conversation with the man behind Hope’s giant Easter eggs

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Easter eggs are a staple of childhood. They’re often plastic, filled with candy and money. Sometimes they’re real — boiled, vibrantly colored and enjoyed three meals a day until you think you can’t eat another egg salad sandwich.

I was fortunate to experience both fake and real Easter eggs in my childhood, but also came across another variety: giant foam eggs, easily five feet across and three feet high laying on their sides, littered across my grandfather’s yard.

I distinctly remember the feeling of excitement while loading into the car with my sisters, empty egg buckets in hand. We’d speculate about how many giant eggs there’d be and in which colors.

The sight of them as we crested the hill in front of my grandparents’ house brought a sense of wonder close to Christmas morning. It was our understanding that the Easter Bunny brought them

and there are plenty of photos of us, our cousins and other neighbor kids posed in front of them.

With adulthood comes an understanding that just as parents help Santa, someone had to be helping the Easter Bunny with the giant eggs. I had someone in mind, and decided to pursue the truth.

A phone call confirmed my long-held suspicions. This man — a grandfather to close friends around my age — maintains that he is but the Easter Bunny’s humble servant, carrying out the boss rabbit’s requests to spread holiday joy to the children of Hope. It is vital that his identity remain concealed (with great magic connections comes great responsibility), so for the purposes of this article, we will call him EBA — short for Easter Bunny Assistant.

He can’t recall the exact inspiration for his gargantuan egg lawn ornaments, but remembers that he felt like doing something a bit mischievous.

“I had this impish idea about making a great big egg and putting it somewhere,” he said, noting

that each Easter, he’d deliver his creations around 4 a.m.

EBA admits that his inclination toward large-scale creations is a natural extension of his professional work in carving stone; but, in the interest of anonymity, declined to comment further. The eggs, however, presented a unique challenge for EBA. He created them by gluing together large chunks of foam insulation, shaping the laminated pieces into an oblong form, then painting them various colors: green, blue, orange and more. He created one per year for about five years — each time attempting to master the elusive egg structure.

“An egg is a pretty universal shape, but when you try to do it a piece at a time, it doesn’t always turn out exactly the way an egg should,” EBA said, adding that the challenge of the task kept him beholden to the Easter Bunny, who expected perfection.

Those five or so eggs, in their rainbow-colored glory, have not appeared in the yards of Hope in recent memory. This, EBA said, is because the children who first en-

joyed them are all grown — now in their teens and 20s.

I inquired where the eggs might be now.

“How would I know, I’m not the Easter Bunny, right?” he said, before showing his hand only slightly: “They’re in a secure location.”

Whether the giant eggs will again see the light of day remains to be seen. EBA said there might be something in the works this

Lions’ 2021 Easter egg hunt is a go

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff After canceling its 2020 Easter egg hunt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sandpoint Lions Club is excited to bring the event back in 2021.

The nonprofit is also upping the ante from only eggs by offering 10 kids the chance to take home brand new bikes.

This year’s hunt will take place Saturday, April 3 at 10 a.m. at Lakeview Park in Sandpoint. The hunt begins at 10 a.m. on the dot, signaled by the blast of a horn on one of the Selkirk Fire Department’s fire engines.

Lions Vice President and Treasurer Janice Rader said that Pierce Auto Center teamed up with the club to make the bike 14 /

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giveaway a reality. A child from each egg-hunting age group will win. While the Lions typically gift bikes as part of Toys for Tots around Christmastime, Rader said she hopes to make it a spring tradition so that kids can get the most of their prize while the weather is nice.

Kaniksu Dental will also be at the egg hunt, offering kids toothbrushes to add to their day’s spoils.

In the interest of keeping everyone safe, the Lions Club asks that egg hunters and their families social distance and that “mask-wearing would be greatly appreciated.” Also, if you’re feeling sick, stay home.

To contact the Sandpoint Lions Club with questions about the 2021 Easter egg hunt, message them on Facebook or email sandpointlions@gmail.com.

Top: Local children scurry through the trees at Lakeview Park for a past Easter egg hunt sponsored by the Sandpoint Lions Club.

Right: A lucky participant holds a golden egg. Courtesy photos.

Kiebert cousins and friends, freshly hatched from giant Easter eggs. Courtesy photo. year, but “the Easter Bunny is a busy guy,” and they have not yet solidified their plans.

“When is Easter?” he asked me.

“This Sunday.”

EBA was taken aback by the proximity to the holiday, but he quickly composed himself.

“We’ve got work to do.”

OUTDOORS

Dirt-y Secrets

Caring for the birds, butterflies and bees

By Ranel Hanson Reader Columnist “We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.”

— Alfred Austin Birds and butterflies and bees — oh my! Spring is here, and there are so many things to think about as we plan for our future gardens.

If you are fortunate enough to have a greenhouse or a light setup in your house, you can start seeds now. In about six weeks or so, the weather will be good enough to plant the starts outside (fingers crossed). As you decide what to plant, please consider the pollinators and the birds. You’ll want to plant a variety of flowers and vegetables so that you can attract a variety of garden helpers at different times in the summer. Snapdragons, sunflowers, zinnias, coneflowers, nasturtiums, lilies, mint (especially catmint), black-eyed Susans and many, many more.

And, speaking of mint, yellow jackets hate the smell. So, a nice cluster of mint near your outdoor

table is a good plan. But, also remember about yellow jackets: They are pollinators, too. So, if you can keep them away from you but not all of your garden, that is the best scenario. However, if they are a nuisance, or you have an allergic family member, put your traps out in April so that when the queens arrive, you can keep them from establishing a nest in your apple tree. Backyard barbecues will be way more pleasant.

As long as we are talking about pests, let’s consider the Idaho state bird. The mosquito.

They are a good food source for swallows (each bird eats more than 700 per day), as well as other birds, and a major nuisance for people. Reptiles and bats and fish all do their share, too. But bats are the champs. They can eat 1,000 mosquitos in an hour.

To fend off mosquitos, you need a bat house — and some swallow houses And be sure to empty any standing water often: bird baths, flower pot saucers and anything else that collects water.

Mosquitos can lay eggs in tiny amounts of water. Don’t forget rain gutters and discarded tires.

If they have any debris, you have standing water.

One more pest is the lowly slug. They are voracious and hide really well. As I have said before, crushed egg shells mixed with Epsom salts works to deter and kill them if you make sure to renew often. I put the mixture on top of and underneath all kinds of plants. Bonus: Epsom salts are a good fertilizer.

As we have discussed many times, it is imperative to protect pollinators. The Mason bees that I raise can come out of hibernation as soon as the outside daytime temperatures reach 55 degrees and there are blossoms for them to feed on. Mid-April is usually Bee Time. I planted crocuses near my house for this purpose. They will tide the bees over until fruit trees are in full bloom. You can get more information (and order bees) from

crownbees.com.

Don’t forget butterflies. You can plant milkweed to give Monarch butterfly mothers a place to lay their eggs and caterpillars a food source when they hatch.

I am still waiting to see if my milkweed is coming up, but it is worth the extra care to replant if necessary. Monarchs are not only beautiful, but representative of the entire ecological world.

Of course, that means us, too.

All butterflies love pollen-laden flowers and we have lots of natives. Although not endangered like the Monarchs, they need our blooming landscape, too.

By the way, the biggest reasons that Monarchs are endangered are pesticides and herbicides. Please do not use them, even if Home Depot and Walmart and North 40 display them in the front of the store.

Instead, use natural products

(like the eggshells and Epsom salts for slugs, and the vinegar mixture for weeds). There are lots of alternatives online if you Google natural pesticides/herbicides. Also, weeding is great exercise.

If you grow vegetables, you are helping to curb greenhouse gases. When produce is shipped from California or Mexico or Peru, or wherever, the cost of transportation is very high. Not just in dollars and cents, but in the production of greenhouse gases. I don’t personally grow vegetables, but I buy them from our local farmers whenever possible. That reduces greenhouse emissions as well — and it supports our local growers.

Win-win. And our wonderful Farmer’s Market opens May 1.

Until April, happy garden dreams.

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FOOD & DRINK

The sandwich of a lifetime

The Clark Fork Pantry is a bakery, deli and absolute must-visit culinary destination

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Sitting on Highway 200, smack dab in the middle of Clark Fork’s 25 mile-perhour business district, is the Clark Fork Pantry.

For the past 11 years, the Pantry has been feeding the people of Clark Fork and beyond, constantly expanding and improving its offerings, while also consistently whipping up local favorites. The unassuming establishment encompasses a deli, bakery, bulk foods grocery, daily hot lunch selection, ice cream cooler and more. From pie to take-and-bake pizza to soft-serve ice cream, it’s hard to beat the Pantry’s selection — some of which is even gluten free.

The magic of the Pantry, however, lies within the business’ philosophy that nothing is better than homemade, from-scratch creations. Owners Dave and Barbara Shrock have clearly dedicated themselves to serving their customers only the best, and more often than not, the goods you purchase at the Pantry were only ingredients just hours before.

During a recent lunch visit, I looked around at the Pantry’s overwhelming selection with fresh eyes. I’m what some might consider a regular, doing my best to grab a bite to eat locally rather than drive to town (“town,” for you city folks, is Sandpoint). Some months, I am sustained almost entirely by Pantry sandwiches. In all reality, they may be the most healthy meals I eat all year.

How can a cold-cut sandwich hold so much power, you ask? Many factors feed into the Pantry sandwich’s success.

First, there’s the bread, baked on site.

I’m partial to the sourdough, but the honey oat adds a subtle sweetness when it’s desired. Second, the meat and cheese is sliced directly from whole cuts housed in the Pantry’s cooler, not sitting around for weeks in plastic containers. Finally, they don’t skimp on veggies and condiments.

A sandwich made with “the works’’ includes your choice of meat and cheese along with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomato, onion, pepperoncinis and pickles.

Plus, the deli workers are happy to make the sandwich to your liking; I’m a light mayo, no onions gal myself.

Sandwiches are made to order, 16 /

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wrapped in plastic for easy transport and fairly priced. On my most recent visit, I got a ham and provolone sandwich and a Dr. Pepper for $8. I could only eat half the sandwich, taking the other half home for tomorrow’s lunch.

Pro tip: Grab a couple napkins before digging in. Pantry sandwiches very gracefully conceal a lot of moisture, which likes to escape with each satisfying bite and run down the outside of your hand.

The Clark Fork Pantry’s dedication to fresh ingredients, local products and baking everything on site is enough to charge through-the-roof prices, but the Shrocks have been able to keep prices more than affordable. I know the people of east Bonner County appreciate it, and those

Top: A selection of fresh-baked Pantry goodies displayed on top of the deli cooler.

Bottom: A Pantry sandwich, in all its glory. Photos by Lyndsie Kiebert. who come to visit know they’ve found an understated gem.

Still, I think I’d pay any amount of money for a plate of the Pantry’s huckleberry cream cheese danishes. We are mere months away from the season when such creations grace the bakery’s shelves, and there is no faster way to my heart.

Find the Pantry at 204 E. Fourth St. in Clark Fork. Visit clarkforkpantry.com for more info or call 208-266-1300.

FOOD & DRINK

Welcome home, brewer

Matchwood Brewing announces new hire, Sandpoint local Dustin Heeney, as new lead brewer

By Andrea Marcoccio and Kennden Culp Reader Contributors Matchwood Brewing strives to hire hardworking locals year-round. Those of us in the service industry are hoping more Sandpoint residents will consider applying to fill the positions we have posted for the busy summer ahead.

At Matchwood, we believe those raised and educated in Sandpoint are not just great people, but also some of the best employees around. Beer just tastes better when it is made and served by someone who appreciates the lifestyle of the great Pacific Northwest.

In January, we hired a Sandpoint native and Bulldog alum to our brewing team as our lead brewer.

Dustin Heeney grew up in Sandpoint and after graduating from Sandpoint High School, went on to Boise State University to study microbiology before getting his Ph.D. at the University of California-Davis.

His dissertation focused on lactobacillus plantarum — one of the lactic acid bacteria used to make sour beer. He also has

experience as an infectious disease research technician at the Boise Veterans Hospital.

After earning his doctorate, Heeney and his wife, Kirsten, moved to Eau Claire, Wisc.

Heeney became a brewer and quality control technician at a 10,000-barrel-year brewing company called The Brewing Projekt. To put this size into perspective, all four Sandpoint breweries don’t produce 10,000 barrels each year combined.

We feel proud our brewery could help bring home a local kid after years of extensive academic achievements and professional experiences in other places.

But what worries us the most, is the fact that he and his young family are essentially priced out of housing in Sandpoint. After several times being outbid for houses in Sandpoint, Heeney is looking as far afield as Priest River and Clark Fork for affordable housing for his wife and newborn son.

Unfortunately, Heeney is not alone. The affordable housing crisis isn’t just a Sandpoint problem. Earlier this week Coeur d’Alene and Spokane were listed by realtor.com as two of the top 10 hottest real

estate markets in the country.

As more remote workers can afford to live and work from anywhere, we sound the alarm that our favorite establishments, restaurants, breweries and bars will continue to struggle to find and sustain staffing who can afford to live in our community.

Written by Andrea Mar-

coccio and Kennden Culp — co-owners of Matchwood Brewing Company and new parents to Connell Patrick Culp. Matchwood was founded in 2018 and is Sandpoint’s neighborhood brewery, where personal connections foster positive community change through the power of dialogue and laughter — one delicious

Dustin Heeney with wife Kirsten and child make themselves at home at Matchwood Brewing Co. in Sandpoint.

Courtesy photo. handcrafted beer at a time.

This article is the second in a series contributed by local brewers. Look for the next installment in the April 15 edition of the Reader.

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events April 1 - 8, 2021

THURSDAY, april 1

Longshot Trivia 6pm @ The Longshot

FriDAY, april 2

Live Music w/ Jason Perry 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Jesus Chris Superstar film 7:30pm @ The Panida Theater Free showing for Easter!

Live Music w/ Chris Lynch and Fiddlin’ Sarah Jean 5-8pm @ Pend Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes 2-4pm @ Gourmandie at Schweitzer

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

SATURDAY, april 3 Live Music w/ Mike Johnson Jazz Trio 7pm @ The Longshot

Friends of the Library Book Sale 10am-2pm @ Sandpoint Library Lots of books on gardening and cooking.

Paperback mysteries and non-fiction 4/$1

SunDAY, april 4

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

Piano Sunday w/ 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery The Dog Who Saved Easter film 7:30pm @ The Panida Theater Free showing for Easter!

monDAY, april 5

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience

tuesDAY, april 6 wednesDAY, april 7

Live Music w/ Ben Raider 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

ThursDAY, april 8 Open Mic at the Longshot 6-9pm @ The Longshot Sign up in advance: longshotsandpoint@gmail.com

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STAGE & SCREEN

Panida to show free Easter films

By Jim Healey Reader Contributor Spring is here, and the Panida Theater is going through a rebirth.

The pandemic has impacted the theater, but slowly and surely entertainment is returning to its stage.

As a “thank you” to the community, which continues to believe in the Panida and has remained with the theater during this past year, the Panida is showing two free films this Easter weekend.

On Friday, April 2, the 1973 version of Jesus Christ Superstar will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7 p.m. On Easter Sunday, April 4, a film for the entire family will be shown. The Dog Who Saved Easter will be shown at 3:30 p.m. Doors will open at 3 p.m.

Jesus Christ Superstar, based on the 1970 rock opera of the same name by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, focuses

on the tension between Judas and Christ during Holy Week leading up to Christ’s crucifixion. The anachronistic film is directed by Norman Jewison and contains many of the actors from the Broadway show. Beside the title song, other well-known songs in the film include “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Hosanna” and “What’s the Buzz?”

As the poster for The Dog Who Saved Easter states, “It’s an eggcellent adventure!” Zeus, the hero dog in the film, is left behind as his family, the Bannisters, depart on a family cruise. Left in a doggie day care center, Zeus becomes involved with bumbling villains who try to close down the business. This film is the fifth in a series of holiday movies about Zeus. According to a statement promoting the film, “the spirit of the film is light, cartoonish and always predictable. In keeping with the springtime theme, there

are many shots of cute kids, cute animals, pretty flowers, budding romances and happy resolutions.”

Audiences will be treated to a sparkling Panida Theater. Volunteers and board members have worked tirelessly in the past weeks to make the theater shine. Carpets have been cleaned; seat cushions have been vacuumed and washed; gum has been scraped off the floor and from under seats; and tiles have been scrubbed in the bathrooms and lobby. The theater has been waiting patiently to open its doors to the community, and the Panida is ready.

These free Easter films are sponsored by our generous Panida friends including these businesses which, in addition to their donations, are offering discounts to everyone attending either film: The Corner Bookstore is giving a 20% discount on all their gently-used children’s books; and in the Cedar Creek Bridge, Creations

Discovery Museum & Art Studio and Sugar Tooth Candy are both offering 10% discounts! Also, the 219 Lounge is offering a discounted single drink after “Jesus Christ Superstar” after Friday night’s film.

Treat yourself to a downtown

experience this weekend. Support local businesses — do some shopping and dine out — and then come to a free film at the Panida.

Board members and volunteers will enthusiastically greet you back again.

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OUTDOORS

Every skier by their right name The different types of people who barrel down the mountain

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

A few weeks ago, we explored the different names people call the varying types of snow at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. A few of you reached out and said you enjoyed that piece, so here’s a companion article highlighting the different types of people one sees while skiing at Schweitzer.

Park Rat Either skiers or snowboarders, the Park Rat spends most of their time on the rails and jumps at the terrain park on the front side. They’ll spend all day hitting a particular feature, unstrapping, hiking up and repeating.

Watching Park Rats is pretty fun, as some of them are quite talented flipping and spinning through the air effortlessly. Don’t make the mistake of trying to imitate their gravity-defying feats in the air — a face plant and a snow enema is the likely conclusion.

Powder Hound The Powder Hound is always on the lookout for the untouched stash. They hike the T-bar on weekdays, wrestle through thick trees to reach their hidden lines and howl like the wind when surfing the fresh untouched glory of a powder run. Groomed runs are only a means to reaching the powder stashes, and don’t make the mistake of asking for their coveted stash runs because unless you’re family or friends, they won’t share.

Groomer Boomers The Baby Boomer skier population is alive and well, with a healthy contingent of middle-aged and above skiers (and some snowboarders) whose main enjoyment is getting out and enjoying what the mountain has to offer — as long as it’s not 20 /

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off the groomed runs. They’re perfectly happy spending the day skiing the corduroy, taking long luxurious lunch breaks at the Outback and finishing the day with an apres bottle of wine in the parking lot with their associates. Pound for pound, Groomer Boomers are sometimes in better shape than kids half their age — a fact they’re happy to point out to anyone who will listen.

carve down a run. A normal snowboarder uses a soft boot, but a Hard Booter clicks into a special square-shaped board and almost lays down perpendicular to the slope when making their soulful carves down the run.

Before there were snowboards, there were monoskis, which is basically a snowboard with the ski bindings placed side by side facing front like a skier. It’s rare to see a monoskier, but there are a handful out there still rocking this retro gear.

Free the Heelers Telemark skiers are cut from a different mold. As the saying goes, “Free the heel, free the mind,” or something like that.

For those not in the know, Telemark skiing combines elements of Nordic and Alpine skiing, and is named after the Telemark region of Norway where the style originated. Only the hardiest of skiers can master Telemarking, as it’s like doing lunges down a steep hill for hours straight.

Telemarkers can be seen wearing vintage snow gear and sharing microbrews with their buddies, and all of them must have huge calves. I’m always impressed.

Little Groms You can always tell the kids that started skiing about the same time as they started walking. A flash of ski gear about three feet tall will whiz by you on the mountain as a Little Grom aims straight down the pitch without turning an inch. What’s most impressive is they never seem to fall, even though they must reach terminal velocity at times. Kudos to those parents of Little Groms for getting them started early.

SARS Little Groms sometimes grow up to join the Schweitzer Alpine Racing School, or SARS, where they wear matching jackets and absolutely rip down the mountain. Schweitzer has produced so

Denim Warriors They don’t frequent the mountain as much as back in the day, but it’s still possible to catch a rare sighting of a Denim Warrior, or a skier clad in jeans and sometimes a cowboy hat. As you might imagine, denim is not the ideal material for keeping you dry in the snow. You may look like a sexy beast downtown in your Levis, but take one fall on the mountain and your Canadian Tuxedo will get wet, then freeze hard as a rock. Ever try to sit on a chairlift with frozen jeans? It’s best to just imagine the pain on your nether regions.

Carl always was a legend in his own DayGlo mind. Courtesy photo. many talented downhill racers over the years. Parents love it because their kids can split and hang with the SARS crew while they enjoy the mountain elsewhere, meeting up to discuss the day on the trip down the mountain. Long live SARS skiers.

May your edges always be sharp.

pitched slope, so their yard sales turn out to be nothing more than a mere free pile on occasion. The good news is, once you learn the ropes, you’ll graduate to skiing and riding the rest of the mountain, so keep at it and don’t forget to look uphill from time to time.

Noobs Look, we’ve all been there.

When I first started snowboarding, I remember I couldn’t sit down for days after falling on my tailbone so many times.

Luckily, the bunny hill mostly contains the Noobs on a shallow

Hard Boot Snowboarders / Monoskier Unicorns The unicorn of Schweitzer must be the Hard Boot Snowboarders and monoskiers. You don’t see many of them on the mountain, but when you do, take my advice and watch them

Prime Timers Believe it or not, there’s a population of skiers in their 80s and above who regularly ski Schweitzer. Were you to see them walking downtown, they’d just appear as an average elderly person, but strap skis to them and they transform into the inner kids they’ve always been. I’m continually awed by how fast and agile these senior citizens are on the mountain. They give us all hope that if we keep taking care of our bodies, we can all become a Prime Timer someday — although judging by the way I feel now after a powder day, I can only imagine the aches and pains that will come 40 years later.

MUSIC

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

‘We’ll be back’

READ

Lost in the ’50s canceled for 2021, but organizer has hopes for the event’s 35th installment next spring

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

For the second year in a row, Sandpoint’s Lost in the ’50s — a celebration of the cars, fashion and music of the 1950s — has been canceled.

“It’s not gonna happen,” organizer Carolyn Gleason told the Reader March 30. “There are reasons, and it’s not because I don’t want to do it.”

A major reason is the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel.

Lost in the ’50s relies on musical performers from the era — many of whom are not yet traveling, Gleason said — as well as tourists from surrounding states and Canada, the latter remaining under a border closure put in place by Ottawa last year.

Additionally, many outof-towner fans of Lost in the ‘50s are part of the “older generation,” as Gleason put it, who are not ready to venture to Sandpoint for the array of annual events, including a parade, street dance, car show, concerts and more.

“I have people in Spokane go, ‘You know, we’re still not going anywhere.’ And they’re car show people,” she said, adding later: “I just feel like next year we have a better possibility, as people get more vaccinations, [and] the travel is not so skeptical for everybody.”

Gleason has been organizing Lost in the ’50s since its inception more than three decades ago, funding it through an annual breakfast fundraiser, T-shirt and ticket sales, and donations from local businesses. Gleason has been open in recent years about waning

Many know Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson from Treasure Island or The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but if you haven’t read his 1886 novel Kidnapped, you’re missing out on what is arguably his greatest work.

The novel is based on true events known as the “Appin murder,” in which a recently-orphaned 17-year-old is kidnapped by his paranoid uncle and sent on a ship to be sold in the Carolinas.

LISTEN

The Lost in the ’50s Car Show in 2017. Photo by Kip Folker. financial support for the event, and the uncertainty surrounding attendance in 2021 makes it a “risky” endeavor in her eyes.

“I want to put the streets down. That costs money,” Gleason said. “We want to put the sound up. That costs money. I want to do the shows.

I want to do the street dance for the kids.”

Rumors have swirled that Gleason has simply given up Lost in the ‘50s for good — rumors that she told the Reader are simply not true — not yet.

“I have said over and over, we will do Year 35,” she said.

The last events, held in 2019, were part of the 34th Lost in the ’50s.

“I’m not going to end on a no-show, no-go kind of thing,” she added. “That’s not fun.”

Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton told the Reader that the city’s relationship with Gleason is a “partnership”; while Gleason organizes the events, the city provides support by permitting, closing down and sweeping streets, and coordinating law enforcement. However, Stapleton emphasized that the decision to cancel the event is entirely Gleason’s.

“While we are disappointed that the event will not go as it has in prior years this year, we certainly understand her reason for that,” Stapleton said. “We very much look forward to working with her next year on her event.”

While Gleason’s Lost in the ’50s might not be happening in 2021, Stapleton said that

a seperate group might look to host a smaller-scale event downtown in May to kick off Sandpoint’s summer event season. Nothing is permitted or set in stone yet, Stapleton said.

She also noted that, if permitted, the event would be a “onetime” thing, as the city “look[s] forward to partnering with Carolyn next year for a very successful” Lost in the ’50s.

For now, Gleason said she is looking to 2022 to be the year for the 35th Lost in the ’50s.

“I’ve told everybody that’s called me, all my car people, all my people that come to the shows — get your dancing shoes on, polish up that chrome, get a new car, do whatever you’ve got to do,” she said. “We’ll be back.”

When Volkswagen used an obscure English lad’s song for a car commercial in 1999, they hoped it would sell more Cabrio cars.

The result was the mainstream world took notice of a songwriter with a silky voice and brooding lyrics named Nick Drake, who died before his fame could be realized. The song was “Pink Moon,” which appeared on Drake’s album of the same name. It’s yet another example of how some TV commercials have the potential to bring quality work back to the forefront.

Drake’s album is one of those that you can listen to front-to-back and flip the record over to start again.

WATCH

Whenever a film or television adaptation is made from Stephen King’s horror stories, the results usually leave something to be desired (with the notable exception of The Shawshank Redemption).

The new CBS series The Stand is about par for the course.

While the production value is loads better than the 1990s era TV mini-series, the latest take on King’s apocalyptic horror novel doesn’t quite capture the essence of the original novel. However, it tries to breathe new life into this story of a viral flu that wipes out 99% of life on earth (sound familiar?). Watch it on Paramount Plus.

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BACK OF THE BOOK

Space aliens invade North Idaho to escape ‘galactic tyranny’ From Pend Oreille Review, April 1, 1921

SOMMERS MATCH FACTORY GOES UP IN SMOKE The Sandpoint match block factory of the Sommers Brothers Match company of Saginaw, Mich. located just east of the north end of the Humbird lumber mill yards, approximately a mile north of the city, was completely destroyed by fire Tuesday night, together with two railway cars, one loaded with blocks ready for shipment, and about $500 worth of culled blocks which were stored in bins for sale as stove wood in the city.

The total damage, as estimated at the scene of the fire by John Lidbaum, assistant manager, and E.M. Hamilton, bookkeeper of the company, is $27,500. This does not include the boxcars which are worth several thousand dollars each. It is practically all covered by insurance in teh Lumbermen’s Indemnity Exchange of Seattle.

The largest item of loss is the motor power and cutting machinery which had a book value of $15,000, with the building itself the next highest, $6,000.

The carload of matchblocks was worth $2,000 and there were about $4,000 worth of blocks in the building ready for shipment. There was also a quantity of white pine lumber, ready for manufacturing into blocks, inside the building but this would not exceed a couple of hundred dollars in value.

The origin of the fire is unknown. No watchman is employed at the plant and the flames were first discovered breaking from the factory roof about 9 o’clock in the evening by one of the night watchmen at the Humbird mill who turned in an alarm on the Humbird signal system.

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By Owen Bolson Reader Staff North Idaho has been under siege by space aliens, as it has been recently targeted as a place free from “galactic tyranny” for interstellar travelers of another kind. The aliens began arriving last year en masse, buying homes sight-unseen at above-market value and immigrating to Earth to settle in North Idaho.

Their presence in the region has caused some concern for local residents.

“I was born and raised in this town and I don’t recognize it anymore,” said Herb Johnson, a retired logging truck driver.

“Used to be you could find a parking space anywhere downtown to go shopping or whatnot, but with all their flying saucers parking everywhere, I never see a spot anymore. Can’t they just hover or something?”

The aliens originally came from a distant galaxy of an unpronounceable name, referred to on Earth charts as Rigel 13. Blorp, the Supreme Commissioner of the alien invasion force, told the Reader in a telepathic interview that his community decided to move away from their home system because the galactic overlords were instituting too many onerous regulations for their liking.

“We have witnessed galactic tyranny that has torn our species apart,” Blorp said.

“We heard that North Idaho was basically a free-for-all without regulations or rules, so we set our sights on settling here to build our next galactic empire.”

While humans sweat from various pores in their bodies, the alien life forms release “off-gassing” from their posteriors as part of their natural body processes. On Rigel 13, these off-gasses have built up in their atmosphere, creating an existential dilemma where the life forms are actually degrading their home planet to where it’s almost

STR8TS Solution

become inhospitable.

Blorp said that when the galactic overlords instituted a mandate for all alien life forms to wear a special filter over their posteriors to capture and scrub the toxic offgas before it can be released into the atmosphere, it was a step too far.

“They have no right to tell me what to wear on my mudge,” Blorp said, using an alien term for the posterior. “My mudge, my choice. Are we killing our home planet?

Sure. But it’s our right to do it. We hope your local overlords will respect our wishes to not have tyrants dictating what we do with our offgas.”

The presence of these interstellar visitors has also shaken up the politics of North Idaho after Bonner County commissioners granted the aliens voting rights late last year, following the election of a Democrat to the county board. As a result, some treasured local institutions have since been voted out by Blorp and his invasion force. Since the alien life forms’ offsprings are born omniscient and possess all the knowledge in the universe — according to Blorp — the aliens have built up a sizable voting bloc to shoot down school levies and education funding in general. Recent votes canceled all funding for the Lake Pend Oreille School District, forcing humans to finance their children’s education with bake sales and change jars at local supermarkets.

The aliens, who all carry ray blasters on their utility belts, also set their sights on taking down the Festival at Sandpoint because some were turned away at the gate for sporting their weapons.

“We wear our blasters everywhere,” Blorp said. “Even while we offgas in your bathrooms. No one tells us to take our weapons off! We want to listen to your Earth music, too. Your oppressive laws will not deter us from doing what we want.”

At a special town hall meeting held last week, Blorp met with Sandpoint civic leaders to discuss how the two species would get along in the future.

“We have opinions that may not be acceptable to you humans, but you need to respect our right to a difference of opinion,” Blorp told those in attendance.

A woman from the audience took the floor next, saying, “I just think we all need to find a way to get along and — .” At that point, Blorp promptly vaporized her with his ray blaster and told the audience, “We do not accept this opinion. Is there anyone else who would like to speak?” The meeting disbanded shortly after.

With their numbers set to overtake humans in the coming months, Blorp and his coalition of aliens are primed to seize control of Sandpoint soon, he said.

“You have a lovely town here,” Blorp said. “Soon it will be ours and you will all bow to Blorp. Long live Blorp!”

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution I think there should be something in science called the “reindeer effect.” I don’t know what it would be, but I think it’d be good to hear someone say, “Gentlemen, what we have here is a terrifying example of the reindeer effect.”

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

ACROSS

fustigate

Woorf tdhe Week

/FUHS-ti-geyt/

[verb (used with object)] 1. to criticize harshly; castigate.

“He fustigates only the lamest bills proposed by the Idaho Legislature.”

We have a couple of things on which to set the record straight this week: First, in the March 18 article “Road Rules,” we incorrectly described Bob Ashbrook’s background: Rather than a driver’s ed instructor, Ashbrook was a driver’s license examiner for Washington and Idaho for more than 50 years. Also, he became involved with driver’s licensing when he applied for a job with the Washington State Patrol, not the Idaho State Patrol.

Second, we had a spelling goof in the March 18 article, “Idaho Supreme Court voids permit for Sagle asphalt plant.” The word “discration” should have been “discretion.” The former is not a word. (Though maybe it is now?)

Third, in the March 10 article “BoCo v. Governor suit over CARES Act funds sees ‘amicable resolution,’” the governor’s office informed us that, contrary to the reporting, “Bonner County’s proposal to be added to the [property tax relief] program was denied by CFAC, and CFAC did not create a new program.”

Believe us, we regret the errors. — ZH

1. Crunchy 6. Hens make them 10. Found on rotary phones 14. Cowboy sport 15. Filly’s mother 16. Data 17. Eclogue 18. Very dry, as wine 19. Whirl 20. Deadly nightshade 22. Certain 23. Adjust again 24. About a US quart 25. Anagram of “Crab” 29. Tedium 31. Filling material 33. A systematic plan for therapy 37. Stew 38. Ending in a threadlike process 39. Thought 41. On account of 42. Heartwood 44. Anagram of “Deer” 45. Pass over 48. Make fun of 50. Offended 51. The coldest season of the year 56. Cocoyam 57. Against 58. A radioactive gaseous element

Solution on page 22 59. Biblical garden 60. Unable to hear 61. Make improvements 62. Combustible pile 63. Evasive 64. Davenports

DOWN 1. Baby’s bed 2. Was a passenger 3. Bucolic 4. Peddle 5. Located near the poles 6. To shelter closely 7. Earn 8. Squealer

9. Bristle 10. Unalike 11. Enter data 12. All excited 13. Hermit 21. Disputant 24. Reasonable judgment 25. A heavy open wagon 26. Nursemaid 27. Anger 28. Type of chalcedony 30. Protection from harm 32. Buddhist religious leaders

34. Pout 35. Existence 36. Require 40. Daytime performance 41. Exalt 43. Not physical 45. Bird sound 46. Reddish 47. Law and _____ 49. Made a mistake 51. Walk in water 52. Docile 53. Midmonth date 54. A religious figure 55. Terminates

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