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Where is your favorite place to camp in the region? “I really like to camp outside of Trout Creek in Northwest Montana.” Dane Wales Wildland firefighter Elmira
DEAR READERS,
READER
This is a pretty heavy issue. When we have an opportunity to present journalism in its finest form, we jump on it. This week’s exhaustively researched feature by our former editor Zach Hagadone is one of the finest pieces of journalism we’ve come across lately. That is why we’ve decided to give it so much space in our publication. I urge you to read it. Along with Zach’s feature, we have a column about Sharia Law by Nick Gier and a news piece by editor Cameron Rasmusson involving the presentation given this week by anti-Islam pastor Shahram Hadian. Next week we’ll tone it down a bit and give you our Bike Issue, in commemoration of May being Bike Month. Special thanks to all of you contributors out there who continue to fill our newspaper with your varied voices. We couldn’t operate without you.
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Contributing Artists: Ben Olson (cover), Daniel Cape, Susan Drinkard. Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Nick Gier, Scarlette Quille, Zach Hagadone, Ted Bowers, Dan Eskelson, Kate McAlister
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Sandpoint Reader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics. Requirements: –No more than 500 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 by Ben Olson.
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COMMENTARY
The big scare about Shariah law By Nick Gier For SPR
“Let Jews, Muslims, and Christians of every denomination enjoy religious liberty and don’t thrust them out lest we become our own enemies and weaken this infant state.” —A citizens’ petition to the Virginia State Assembly, Nov. 14, 1785. Idaho State Senator Sheryl Nuxoll and Rep. Heather Scott joined seven other legislators in rejecting a bill that would bring Idaho into compliance with the Hague Convention on Child Support. At risk is $16 million in federal funding for Idaho’s child welfare system and millions of dollars in child support for Idaho’s single mothers. Nuxoll and Scott claimed that Idaho would have to abide by decisions made by courts in the Muslim countries who signed this international agreement. Once again Idaho’s Attorney General had to assure far right legislators that their fears were unfounded. Albania and Bosnia—two Muslim nations who signed the Hague Convention—follow secular, not reli-
LETTERS Dear Editor,
Last Friday afternoon, I received the following message from the director of the Panida Theater, Patricia White—sent via email and posted on Facebook by the [Daily] Bee—regarding the cancellation of this weekend’s movie at the Panida: MOVIE CANCELED DUE TO CONTENT! PLEASE NOTE: “WILD CANARIES” IS CANCELED FOR THIS WEEKEND!! Additional showings of the movie scheduled for this weekend will be canceled due to in4 /
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gious law. Nuxoll and Scott are not the first female Republican legislators to embarrass themselves about their ignorance of Islam. In the 2010 election Nevada Senate candidate Sharon Angle breathtakingly declared that two American cities were now living under Islamic law. We were all relieved that the one town she mentioned no longer exists. Frankford, Texas was annexed to Dallas in 1975. A CNN reporter found only a church and a cemetery. There was no sign of a mosque nor bomb-making equipment. Angle’s second Muslim city is Dearborn, Mich., which is indeed the home of 30,000 patriotic, law-abiding Arab Americans. The first wave of these immigrants were Lebanese Christians, and only later did Muslims from Yemen, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories arrive. Contrary to what people might assume, the majority of Arab Americans are Christians, not Muslims (famous examples are Diane Rehm, Doug Flutie, Frank Zappa, and Ralph Nad-
er). These Christians are obviously not followers of Shariah law, and no American would ever have to subscribe to it. Many of those who suffer from Islamophobia assume that Shariah law is all about the amputation of thieves’ limbs and the stoning of adulteresses, but these “hudud” offenses apply in only nine Muslim countries. From 2000 to 2010 there were three stoning executions in Iran, two in Afghanistan and one in Yemen. Stoning as a form of execution is not found in the Qur’an, but is sanctioned by the Bible. Stoning in Muslim countries was not introduced until the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in the Twentieth Century. It was banned in Afghanistan after the U. S. invasion, and only the Taliban and other tribal authorities continue to carry out this gruesome punishment. In 26 Muslim countries, secular law, not religious law, is enforced. In 20 other countries, only civic matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody follow Islamic
customs. In Muslim-majority Lebanon, the government recognizes 17 different religions (including Jewish and Christian) and allows them to administer their own family laws. The U.S. government allows Jews to administer their own family law. Orthodox Jews have very negative views about women’s rights—just as bad as some Muslim views—so this cannot be used, without showing bias, as a reason for denying the use of Muslim family law. Some years ago, Newt Gingrich cited the case of a family court judge in New Jersey who had ruled in favor of a Muslim husband who claimed that he did not have to have his wife’s consent for sexual relations. Gingrich neglected to mention that the decision was overturned “as seriously flawed” by a state appeals court, where the judges ruled the state’s rape laws trump religious laws and practices. In an article entitled “Who’s Afraid of Shariah?” Sumbul Ali-Karamali lays out the six principles of Islamic law: (1) the right to life; (2) the right to
the protection of family; (3) the right to education; (4) the right of religious freedom; (5) the right to the protection of property and access to resources; and (6) the right to the protection of human dignity. As Ali-Karamali declares: “Well, bless me, as a pledge-of-allegiance-reciting, California-raised Muslim girl, these six principles sound a lot like those espoused in my very own Constitution of the United States.” Ali-Karamali gets the last word: “Focusing only on the nutcases who advocate a return to medieval times is ignoring the vast majority of modern Muslims.”
appropriate content that was not disclosed, nor represented in any of the materials reviewed for this film. It’s unrated status should clearly have been an R rating. It contained subject matter not in keeping with the standards of the Panida and I have chosen to cancel screenings for Friday and Saturday matinee. I apologize for any inconvenience. Please note: The special showing of the film from Sandpoint Men’s Group “The Mask You Live In” will continue as scheduled for Saturday night.
I was disappointed by the news of the cancellation because I don’t believe that the director of the Panida should be in the position of censoring movies for the entire community. I would understand if she had sent a warning that there may be content that the audience might find upsetting/violent/inappropriate, but it seems that adults should be able to decide for themselves whether they will choose to view a movie or not. It’s not the job of the Panida director to make these types of decisions for an entire community. Her note does not even give the reader a hint of what was so objectionable: crude sex, exces-
sive violence, what was so horrible to make a person cancel the showing? In addition, had Ms. White even consulted with the Panida board before she made this decision? Unless this issue is addressed, I will not make any further donations to an arts entity that censors for content, especially in light of the fact that the Panida Theater annually supports the Follies, the Angels Over Sandpoint fundraiser that is billed as “raunchy and risqué.” And raunchy it is! I have attended the Follies a couple of times, but since I found the humor too lewd, I decided not to attend future performances: The fact that one person doesn’t
care for bawdy humor isn’t sufficient reason for the fundraiser to be cancelled, nor would it be right for me to discourage others from attending. It seems that the same could be applied to the movies: If someone decides the movie is inappropriate or offensive, don’t go. I’d like to know if others have raised objections to Ms. White’s decision to cancel “Wild Canaries” and what can be done to prevent future censorship of Panida programs. Thank you,
Patricia Walker White Executive Director
Nick Gier of Moscow taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. Follow the link at www. NickGier.com to read all of his columns on Islam.
Christine Holbert Sandpoint
Illustration by Angela Euliarte I am sick with some sort of plague. You know—the kind that fills your lungs with some sort of liquefied version of mucus mixed with what can only be the first few layers of the inside of your lungs. This has been extremely irritating for me, as I am far too busy and high strung for ridiculous nuisances like colds. Being sick is annoying, but the truly annoying part is when I speak, people say things to me like, “Oh my, you sound terrible.” Or my favorite: “Are you sick?” A little note to those of you who are prone to asking those types of questions: When someone sounds like Doc Holliday and looks even worse, the answer is YES, they are sick. A more helpful comment would be something like, “Hey, let’s go find the asshole who spewed their germs all over common public areas and stick him/her in a pit of rabid raccoons. Afterwards I will bring you a flask of NyQuil so that you may make it through work tomorrow.” That type of comment is healing. As I lay in my tomb/bedroom listening to “Knockin’ on Heavens Door” on repeat, I finally broke down and went to the store to replenish my overthe-counter drug supply. I tried to dress in a way that indicated I was suffering from some sort of severe illness and conversation was discouraged. This is, of course, impossible if you live in a small town. Anyone from a small town knows that if you
leave your house with the intention of not being seen, everyone—including the mayor, and the bitch who stole your man in high school—will be wherever it is that you need to go, and waiting to talk/taunt you. It is a fact of life. As I journeyed to the one store in town that sells everything from pharmaceutical items to shovels to neon thong underwear, I surveyed my own outfit. I believe that sweatpants, unwashed hair, and T-shirts from your high school days are actually the uniform of the average customer. I will not mention this store by name as I have been advised not to negatively address any of our local businesses. However, this isn’t really a “local” business—it’s more of a national chain and … anyway, if you haven’t figured out where I’m talking about, you should probably go ask someone who is coughing up their lungs whether or not they are sick. As I pulled into the parking lot of Hell On Earth, I was greeted by a man with a blow horn flanked with children of various ages holding up picket signs showing Photoshopped fetuses. Apparently, he is angry over the fact that people get to make their own choices when it comes to birth control. He assured me over the blow horn that I was going to hell if I continued to purchase items and support the heathen-run business. This did not scare me, as I already knew I was headed to Hell when I got into my car, and his presence did nothing to dissuade me. I walked in and was stopped by no less than 13 people, each one commenting on how terrible I looked and sounded. I put a canned response on auto-play: “One of my daughters has strep throat, looks like I caught that bug. Yes, I am already on antibiotics. I agree, you should stay far, far away from me.” I was waiting in line to check out, trying to avoid any further
eye contact, judgment, or people seeking social interaction. The line was long—you know, price-check-on-payday long— when one of Satan’s minions dressed in coral leggings and a wolf T-shirt decided it would be a good time to mention how the lady in the front had more than 20 items. Anyone who has been to Hell knows that most of the people there clearly don’t know how to count to 20. Or maybe the 20 items or less sign is really more of a suggestion. I don’t FREAKING know, but that shit is never enforced. And for Wolf Shirt—who had at least 37 items in her own cart—to be pointing this out to me—the person with the NyQuil, a bottle of Ibuprofen and a Gatorade— seemed a bit ironic. I tried to croak out an answer. Upon hearing my lack of
a voice, Wolf Shirt asked about my health and pointed out that I sounded sick. I began my response only to be interrupted: “Oh no, you have daughters? Teenage daughters? Bless your heart, I am so glad that I had sons. I couldn’t bear to deal with daughters.” This type of comment pisses me off on a good day. That day, it sent me to a dark place. “I’m sure they would have a hard time dealing with you too,” I replied through unbrushed, clenched teeth. I felt like blowing my germs on her to just to drive the point home, but my delivery must have been adequate. She began surveying the line for some other poor sap to torture with small talk. For the record, daughters are awesome. They may become a bit angry around the teenage years, but that’s our fault. They grow up in a world where they have to work twice as hard as their male peers, suffering through years of princess toys and people praising them for
looks instead of brains. They have images of perfect women who are 100 percent fake assaulting their self-esteem. They’re bombarded with products they MUST have to be beautiful, because in this world every woman should be spending her time getting beauty treatments and ridding her body of pubic hair. Because if you aren’t pretty, and you do have pubic hair, good luck finding a husband. On top of that, it’s perfectly legal for a man to picket public places with graphic images and shame young women about their choices. In reality, we are lucky our daughters didn’t stick that fairy princess wand up our collective asses a long time ago. What she really wanted for her fourth birthday was an iPad and a concealed weapons permit. Just saying… Sandpoint, you take my breath away, SQ
Kinneys to celebrate one year anniversary at Sunshine Goldmine
By Ben Olson For SPR In 1979, Pete and Paula Mulbarger opened a goldsmith and jewelry shop in Sandpoint called Sunshine Goldmine. Over the years, the little shop on First Avenue became a Sandpoint institution for custom silver and goldsmithing and jewelry repairs. When the Mulbargers retired last year, they decided to keep the business family-owned. They found the family they were looking for in longtime employee Darian Kinney and her husband, Matt. “From day one they said, ‘If you’re interested, we’d like you to take over,’” said Darian, who has worked at Sunshine Goldmine since 2006. The Mulbargers sent her to diamond-grading school and began priming her to take over when they decided to retire. For Matt, the experience has been refreshing. “While I have done a number of things over the years; carpentry, food service, surveying and wine making,” he said, “nothing has sparked my interest and
Matt and Darian Kinney with their two children Anderson (left) and Birch (right). creativity like goldsmithing.” For Matt, every day brings a new piece, a new challenge. “I like that it’s hands-on, and I enjoy being able to fabricate pieces that people have,” he said. “My favorite part of the job is doing custom work. People give me an idea of what they want, I’ll sketch it out and carve an example in wax. I never get bored.” For Darian, jewelry is more than just a piece of metal. “When people buy a piece of jewelry,” said Darian, “they are buying a future heirloom. They
look at it as an investment, that they can one day pass onto their children and grandchildren.” “It’s art,” added Matt. “Wearable art.” For their one-year anniversary, the Kinneys invite the public to Sunshine Goldmine from 3-7 p.m. for a party featuring live music, beer, wine and appetizers. We hope they will celebrate many more.
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NEWS Anti-Islam pastor draws big crowd
Shahram Hadian has ties to tabled child support bill
By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR Shahram Hadian sees the threat of Islam everywhere. For the Iranian-born convert from Islam to Christianity, the religion poses nothing less than an existential threat to American democracy and constitutional values. He claims its influence comes subtly, in the form of international treaties buried in legislation and politically correct propaganda propagated by the Obama administration and an unwitting media. “The point is to pull the wool over our eyes while they come in, infiltrate this nation and bring it down,” he said. The message is the focus of Hadian’s career as a pastor and a political activist. His latest speaking engagement for Bonner County Republican Women drew more than 100 people Tuesday to Sandpoint Community Hall. The crowd proved lively and vocal, quick to applaud his points or jeer the federal government. According to Hadian, the speaking engagement was booked several months ago. However, it received an explosion of media attention after Idaho representatives tabled Senate Bill 1067, a bill needed to maintain Idaho’s child support system. Hadian is a vocal opponent of the bill, saying it makes Idaho vulnerable to Islamic law, also known as Shariah law. Consequently, both Hadian supporters and critics turned out for the occasion. Since the meeting required attendees to register and pay a $5 fee, not everyone listened to the talk. One individual was even turned away after refusing to sign up, and afterward, law enforcement officers arrived for the remainder of the meeting. Others remained outside with signs protesting the endangerment of the child support system and religious intolerance. “I think you could’ve probably in many instances in his presentation substituted the word Islam for Christianity,” said one 6 /
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critic, Connie Taylor. “It’s very picking and choosing, like a lot of Christians do with their Bible. He picked verses, picked examples. I just don’t see how someone who purports to be a Christian can preach the ideology that he seems to be preaching.” However, Hadian retorts he is not anti-Muslim. He is, however, proudly anti-Islam, and he believes militant terrorist groups like ISIS, now infamous for murdering people of differing religions and cultural values, strike closer to the true heart of the religion. “I appreciated how he separated Muslims in general from Islam and how Islam is not just a religion, but is a legal system, political system and economic system,” said meeting attendee Dan McDonald. “Clearly, Islam is not the religion of peace, and we are being misled by some of our leaders and the media.” Islam’s influence, Hadian said, is already degrading the western traditions of European countries like Belgium, and America could be next. According to Hadian, President Barack Obama is also advancing the spread through foreign and domestic policy alike. “If you knew the level of infiltration, you would be on your knees praying every day,” Hadian said. That infiltration is comprised of both immigration and the acceptance of refugees from Islamic countries. For instance, Hadian said the federal government plans to introduce 2,000 Muslim refugees into the Boise area. These newcomers are part of a scheme to boost Muslim populations, implement Shariah law and eventually consume America from the inside out, he added. “I learned [from the presentation] that Shariah law is the constitution of Islam, and that’s why it can never be separated out,” said meeting attendee Danielle Ahrens. Hadian’s concerns over a global Islamic agenda led him to found the Truth In Love Project, which focuses his perspectives into DVD presentations and lit-
erature. It was also the primary issue in his 2012 bid for Washington governor. He ran a campaign also emphasizing the restoration of the 10 Commandments, Second Amendment rights, traditional marriage, strict immigration policies and support for Israel, finishing the race with 3.3 percent of the vote. Despite the loss, he remains a presence in Idaho political life. On March 26, the Spokesman-Review reported that Hadian delivered an anti-Islam presentation to 13 Idaho legislators. Then, on April 10, the Idaho House Judiciary Rules and Administration Committee ruled by a margin of one vote to table SB 1067. Legislators have since claimed media over-emphasized fears over Shariah law in the decision to table SB 1067. However, it was one of the concerns cited by Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood, who testified against the bill during the committee hearing. Regardless, the failure to pass the bill carries potentially serious ramifications. According to the Spokesman-Review, Commissioner Vicki Turetsky of the U.S. Office of Child Support and Enforcement is giving Idaho a 60-day deadline to comply with federal standards or risk losing an immediate $16 million and the tools necessary to enforce $200 million in support payments. Following the decision, many Idahoans responded with outrage at what they perceived as irresponsible governing. “I grew up with a lot of experience seeing what happens to the most vulnerable members of society when we don’t take care of them,” said Sarah Alli Brotherton, a Tuesday protester. According to Sandpoint attor-
Shahram Hadian speaking before a crowd of more than 100 people at Sandpoint Community Hall Tuesday. Photos by Ben Olson. ney Paul Vogel, SB 1067 is similar to earlier child support enforcement legislation previously adopted by all states. This law, however, does add enforcement agreements with foreign courts in compliance with the Hague Convention treaty of 2007. And indeed, the bill could theoretically require compliance with a Shariah court order, just as it would with a German or French court. However, he said the bill also includes numerous procedural safeguards that would allow an Idaho resident to contest enforcement of foreign child support orders. “[The bill] gets very detailed because there are so many safeguards involved,” said Vogel. Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden also stresses that SB 1067 poses no danger to the sovereignty of Idaho law. However, Hadian disagrees and says he has constitutional scholars to
back him up. “[Wasden] has a right to his opinion, and my opinion is his opinion doesn’t hold water,” he said. He also believes Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter, who is considering a special legislative session to address SB 1067, is acting beyond his constitutional authority in revisiting the issue. In fact, Hadian said he may well be working in cooperation with Islamic expansion. As for Idaho’s child support system, Hadian says the state should work directly with other states to set up child support enforcement agreements. And even if Idaho families lose the child support system, he sees it as a necessary casualty in a greater battle. “Would you rather have shortterm gain just to lose liberty in the long term?” he said.
Tuesday’s speech drew a half dozen protesters outside Sanpdoint Community Hall
An (unsuccessful) attempt to find the eastern Idaho farm boy who became a contract ‘torturer’ Story and Photos by Zach Hagadone For SPR
Bruce Jessen has been called a war criminal. A torturer. An “American Mengele.” The retired Air Force colonel and trained psychologist was, according to a 2014 report from the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, an architect of the “brutal,” “inherently unsustainable” and “deeply flawed” detainee interrogation program that “damaged the United States’ standing in the world” in the years following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. His alleged actions involved helping design—and in many cases personally administer—methods of interrogation that groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to Amnesty International and the United Nations have labeled as torture. Those methods, according to the report, were applied in secret throughout the Central Intelligence Agency’s now infamous network of “black sites” where detainees were held without charges in “dungeon”-like conditions. Jessen was not alone. Fellow retired Air Force colonel and psychologist James Mitchell helped design, advise, apply and assess the program—operating in a system with almost no checks and which the CIA’s own attorneys admitted would require a “novel” legal defense “to avoid prosecution of U.S. officials who tortured to obtain information.” While Mitchell has publicly pushed back against the report, calling it “bullshit” in a December 2014 interview with ABC News, Jessen has avoided speaking to the media—the silent partner in a global scandal that continues to strain foreign relations; inflame already-volatile cultural, political and military situations; and threaten the United States’ moral standing even after nearly 15 years of continuous war. The contents of the almost 600 pages of the Senate report are as harrowing as they are detailed, except when it comes to the backgrounds of Jessen and Mitchell, referred to pseudonymously as Drs. Dunbar and Swigert, respectively. Their true names weren’t known until a 2007 Vanity Fair report, which presaged
much of what would come to light in the 2014 Senate report. Eight years later, as HBO has optioned the rights for an original film based on the article, “Rorschach and Awe,” Mitchell is less mysterious but Jessen remains an enigma. His road to the secret prisons of Afghanistan, Thailand and Poland, however, began in eastern Idaho—literally, on Highway 20, in a small town at the foot of the Teton Mountains.
‘Not Much of a Talker’
As Highway 20 runs north from Idaho Falls, the suburbs give way to run-down trackside buildings. Trash-strewn ditches and fields of cattle are interrupted by lonely monochromatic housing developments. Billboards advertise Internet service and professional-technical degrees, and protest against wind power and same-sex marriage. The road narrows north of St. Anthony, with the Henry’s Fork of the Snake River running to the west and the Tetons rising hazy-blue on the eastern horizon. A few miles farther, at the gateway to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest and West Yellowstone, Mont., is the town of Ashton—set in a wide, flat valley punctuated by a cluster of grain silos. At the base of the silos is Chriswell’s Trails Inn, a popular restaurant filled with wood paneling, taxidermy animals, and historic photos and newspaper clippings. One of the article includes Warren and George Cordingley, the great-uncle and grandfather, respectively, of Bruce Jessen—the famous son of Ashton whom almost no one seems to have known. Main Street in Ashton is a collection of mom-and-pop shops—an auto parts store, hardware store, liquor store, senior recreation center, two bars and three churches. A two-story brick building, which houses a ground floor flea mart, dates from 1907—a year after Ashton was founded. Trucks rumble by almost constantly, carrying grain and seed potatoes to the silos that dominate the west side of town. Glance down
the side streets from Main and the residential neighborhoods quickly give way to fields. It is off-season in Ashton. Springtime is blustery and cold, and potatoes are more plentiful than people. “It’s time to plant the silly things again,” said Barbara Moon, who works part-time as Ashton’s archivist. “It used to take the whole town [to plant and harvest], but not anymore.” The Jessens were a potato family. Jessen’s father, Jack, worked their land south of town. “He was a wonderful man, but not much of a talker,” Moon said. It was Nieca, Jessen’s mother, who was the family’s social link. “She loved people, loved talking to them,” Moon said. Bruce, meanwhile, was quiet, like his father. “To say I know him—no, I really didn’t,” Moon said, navigating the stacks of yearbooks, family histories and mountains of newspaper clippings in the small archive office located in the chamber. “I went to a party once [at the Jessen farm] and talked with him and his wife and met his children, but that was it,” she added. Asked if she had heard of the Senate report or read any coverage of its revelations about Jessen’s work with the CIA, she said she “had not.” “I didn’t even know about that,” she said, though added that she was aware Jessen worked for the government in some capacity in Spokane, Wash. Moon has lived in Ashton for 50 years— long enough to know just about everyone in town but, because she wasn’t born there, she gets teased occasionally that she’s not a native. “Like all small towns it has its good sides and its bad sides, but it’s a wonderful place to raise a family,” she said. Jessen’s family goes back a long way in the Ashton area. His mother was born in nearby Marysville to the Cordingley family, whose members to this day are “every-
where,” Moon said. “You have to be careful what you say around here,” she added, “because everybody knows everybody.” Of Jessen, Moon could only repeat that she didn’t know him well, though she did add that one of his two sisters is among her best friends. “What little I knew of him, I thought he was nice,” Moon said. “And quiet is right. Very intelligent.” According to Moon, the Jessens were a tight-knit family and Bruce was especially close with his adopted brother, who recently passed away. The Jessens took in the boy when he was about 8 years old. He and Bruce were close in age, graduating from high school in the same class. Inviting another child into her family was in line with Nieca’s personality, Moon said. “Nieca was that kind of person,” she said, adding that each spring the matriarch would host a party for the senior high-school girls “just because she wanted to.” Another yearly party would be thrown for Sunday school teenagers. “Everybody in the town was there,” Moon said. “Everybody loved her in town.” For Bruce, active in high-school sports, intelligent and good-looking, Ashton probably started to feel too small. “He had to work; dig potatoes and plow—I know he did that,” Moon said. “No wonder he wanted to go do something else.”
‘Something Not Previously Seen’
In August 2002, Jessen was a long way from Ashton. By that time, he and Mitchell had secured a contract with the CIA that would come to be worth upwards of $180 million by 2006. Their job: travel through the agency’s prison system to help coordinate the application of “enhanced interrogation techniques” that they developed based on their work as former training experts in the SERE program—short for Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape. Intended to train United States military personnel how to withstand harsh interrogation at the hands
(See JESSEN, page 8)
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(JESSEN, con’t from page 7)
of unscrupulous enemies, Jessen and Mitchell had reportedly “reverse-engineered” the techniques to craft what has been referred to as the U.S. “torture program.” At a CIA black site in 2002, which was later reported to be located in northeast Poland, Jessen and Mitchell were preparing for the biggest test of their methods yet. Abu Zubaydah had been captured in Pakistan in March 2002 and was being held on suspicion of running an al Qaeda site there. When enhanced techniques—including the now well-known practice of simulated drowning called waterboarding— were approved for use on Zubaydah, only Jessen and Mitchell were to have contact with him. Based on the plan developed by Jessen and Mitchell, Zubaydah was subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques on a “near 24-hourper-day basis” for 17 straight days, according to the report. He was shackled, hooded and stripped on the first day of interrogations, as an interrogator slammed him against a wall. He was unhooded and made to watch as interrogators brought in a large “confinement box” that was placed in his cell to mimic a coffin. If Zubaydah did not offer the asked-for information, he was slapped or grabbed by the face. His first waterboarding resulted in coughing, vomiting and “involuntary spasms of the torso and extremities.” He maintained that he did not have any additional information, and Jessen and Mitchell were not authorized by CIA leadership to ask any questions other than to demand Zubaydah’s knowledge of plans to attack the United States. According to the report, this “frustrated” Jessen and Mitchell, as “they kept beating Zubaydah up on the same question while getting the same physiologic response from him.” Nonetheless, the enhanced techniques were continued, with Zubaydah being waterboarded two to four times per day for more than two weeks in what the report called the “aggressive phase of interrogation.” During that time—a total of 20 days—Zubaydah spent 11 days in the coffin-size confinement box and 29 hours in a smaller box, which measured 21 inches wide, 2.5 feet deep and 2.5 feet high. Among the most reported features of the interrogations has been the use of “rectal rehydration,” “rectal feeding” and other invasive practices involving the rectum. According to the report, at least five detainees were subjected to having liquids—whether water or pureed food—injected into their rectums, including Zubaydah. At least once, according to the report, he was also the subject of an “unexpected rectal exam” as part of the detention
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site’s security protocols. At the end of his August 2002 interrogation, Zubaydah was found to have been telling the truth that he had no new threat information. Meanwhile, he had lost an eye at some point during his detention and several video recordings of his interrogation were destroyed. He was waterboarded 83 times. Zubaydah is currently imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba—a prisoner held without charges for more than 12 years. According to the report, Zubaydah would never have been an especially valuable source for information—despite the CIA’s belief that he was the “third or fourth” highest ranking al Qaeda, he turned out to be a low-level administrator. What little intelligence was gathered from Zubaydah came in the two months before Jessen and Mitchell arrived with their techniques. Nonetheless, in a cable written by Jessen and Mitchell, the interrogation was seen as a success, with the “aggressive phase” of the questioning recommended as a “template for future interrogation of high value captives.” Their reasoning was not that the tactics produced useful information, but that they confirmed what Zubaydah didn’t know. “Our goal was to reach the stage where we have broken any will or ability of subject to resist or deny providing us information (intelligence) to which we had access,” Jessen and Mitchell wrote. “We additionally sought to bring subject to the point that we confidently assess that he does not/not [sic] possess undisclosed threat information, or intelligence that could prevent a terrorist event.”
‘He Argued High, He Argued Low’
In mid-April snow still lay in the playground next door to the Zion Lutheran Church in Ashton. Across the street is the Ashton Library, which, along with North Fremont High School and the Mormon church a few hundred yards down Main Street, is the nicest building in town. It was also the busiest place in town on a recent Monday morning, as an exercise class took place in an attached gymnasium. A song by Adele echoed loudly down the hall. The librarians were friendly, pointing out the reference section where various Ashton historical records are kept. Among them, a two-volume collection titled “Ashton Family Histories,” 1906-2006 and a stack of North Fremont High School yearbooks. Between those sources, a basic picture of the Jessen family begins to take shape. It is clear that the Jessens remain well known in the Ashton area—they are profiled on 11 pag-
es in “Ashton Family Histories,” not counting extended relations. When asked about the family, the librarians were quick to name several members, including Jessen’s sisters—going so far as to dig out a phone book and start finding phone numbers. When the subject of Bruce Jessen came up, they, like Moon, said they didn’t know him well. John “Bruce” Jessen was born July 28, 1949 in St. Anthony, Idaho, the youngest of three children in the family of John “Jack” Jessen and Nieca Cordingley Jessen. He grew up in Ashton, where, according to an entry in “Ashton Family Histories,” his family could trace a “history of early settlement” and count “six generations of childhood.” The Jessens were an active, prominent Mormon family in the community. Aside from working as a farmer, Jack was a member of the volunteer fire department and served on the Potato Board. Nieca worked at a variety store in Ashton, was assistant manager of an irrigation company, served as president of the local LDS relief society and taught Sunday school. She volunteered with the Ashton Chamber of Commerce and served a term as president. Both Jack and Nieca officiated at the Idaho Falls LDS Temple for 23 years. Jessen spent his childhood on a century-plus-year-old homestead that the family bought two-and-ahalf miles southwest of Ashton on Highway 20. Affectionately called “the farm” by family and friends alike, the Jessens raised their children in an idyllic rural setting. Photos in “Ashton Family Histories” show a rolling lawn and orchards. In later years, a small bridge was built over the property’s canal and a playhouse and trampoline were set up for the grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One photo shows a smiling Nieca seated on a golf cart, ferrying around a passel of kids. Nieca described her home as “this beautiful little valley in Ashton, Idaho. To the East lies the majestic Teton Mountains. To the North the Snake River, and the beautiful forest with pines, aspen and mountain ash trees. To the West, the rolling sand hills, and the South, on to the big city. It is no wonder they settled here in this little valley in the 1800s.” In the 1980s, the Jessens sold the farm and turned it into an R.V. park and bed and breakfast, which became a family gathering place and stopping point for tourists on their way to Yellowstone and the ski resorts of western Wyoming. Nieca ran the park until her death in 2013, and it is now operated under a new name by new owners, though a roadside sign still bears the name
Jessen’s high school yearbook photo. “Jessen’s R.V. Park.” (A call to the current owners went unanswered.) Jessen attended elementary school in Ashton and graduated from North Fremont High School in 1967, where he was involved in a range of activities: four years in the North Fremont Club, four years in the ski club, two years in band, one year in assemblies, four years in Boys’ State, one year in baseball, four years in football, one year in basketball, three years in track and two years in wrestling with the North Fremont Matmen. Photographs in his senior yearbook show a handsome, athletic kid. In one snapshot he flexes for the camera in a football jersey; in another, he confidently sits with fellow officers of a school club, a large ring on his right hand. In the ski club group photo, he is the only student wearing a hat—which bizarrely appears to be a German military helmet. The quote below his senior portrait reads “He argued high, he argued low, he also agrued [sic] about him,” a line taken—apparently— from the short poem “Sir Macklin,” by W.S. Gilbert from his “Fifty ‘Bab’ Ballads,” published in 1889. Considering his future career path, the poem is oddly appropriate. Sir Macklin, a hard-nosed priest, descends on a group of youths lounging in a park and harangues them for their idleness and not observing the Sabbath. During the impromptu sermon, Macklin
argues high, argues low and also argues about him so long that the boys fall asleep. Seeing their heads resting on their chests, Macklin assumes they are bowed with guilt and begins to dance. As he celebrates his victory over the sinners, the bishop walks by and, seeing the priest dancing and his “congregation” asleep, drags him away. After high school Jessen attended then-Ricks College, now Brigham Young University-Idaho, a few miles down the road from Ashton in Rexburg, going on to graduated cum laude from Utah State University in 1974, where he majored in psychology with a minor in aerospace studies and Italian. He went on to earn his doctorate in psychology, with an emphasis in professional-scientific psychology, from USU in 1979. During that time he was enlisted in the Air Force and completed an internship in clinical psychology at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Jessen’s doctoral thesis—approved for public release by the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1980—was titled “The Effect of Family Sculpting on Perceptual Agreement Among Family Members” and focused on a technique for family therapy. Of the six USU faculty members who advised Jessen on his dissertation, only two are still living. Asked if she remembered Jessen as
(See JESSEN, page 9)
(JESSEN, con’t from page 8)
a student, Dr. Jean Pugmire, who still lives in Logan, Utah, said, “No, I really don’t.” “I think you’ll find that most of the people that would have been involved with him are dead,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember him at all.”
‘The Agency Erred’
Only one detainee is known to have died while in custody at any of the CIA’s secret prisons, and he died shortly after being interrogated by Jessen. Gul Rahman was an Afghani arrested by U.S. agents and Pakistani forces during an attack inside Pakistan. His capture took place on Oct. 29, 2002. Less than a month later he was found dead at the notorious “Salt Pit” detention site in Kabul, Afghanistan—stripped from the waist down and shackled to a wall in such a way that he would be forced to sit on the concrete floor in freezing conditions. Jessen personally interrogated Rahman days before he was found dead, on Nov. 20, 2002, using methods that were not authorized, according to the Senate report. According to the report, those techniques included the “insult” slap, auditory overload, total darkness, isolation, cold showers, 48 hours of sleep deprivation and “hard” or “rough” takedowns, in which CIA officers would burst into Rahman’s cell “screaming and yelling at him to ‘get down.’” He would then be dragged outside where his clothes were cut off. Restrained with Mylar tape and wearing a hood, Rahman would be forced to run up and down a long hallway, with CIA personnel slapping and punching him along the way. When Rahman’s body was discovered, he was found to have abrasions on his shoulder, pelvis, arms, legs and face. A CIA autopsy report said his cause of death was “undetermined,” but the Senate report notes that the “clinical impression” of the medical officer who performed the autopsy was that Rahman died of hypothermia. His death ushered in a phase of increased scrutiny of the detention and interrogation activities from CIA Headquarters, but, the report notes, “many of the same individuals within the CIA … remained key figures in the CIA interrogation program and received no reprimand or sanction for Rahman’s death.” In the meantime, in 2005, Jessen and Mitchell established their firm—Mitchell, Jessen & Associates—in Spokane, which from 2005-2009 was paid $81 million for its services. Prior to 2005, the pair was being paid a reported $1,800 per day. In 2013—more than a decade after Rahman’s death—the CIA issued a response to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as part of a report on the rendition, detention and interrogation program: “We acknowledge that the Agency erred in permitting the contractors [Jessen and Mitchell] to assess the effectiveness of enhanced techniques. They should not have been considered for such a role given their financial interest in continued contracts from CIA.”
‘Uncharted Territory’
With a freshly minted doctorate from Utah State University, Jessen went to work in the SERE program, helping train airmen to “survive, evade, resist and escape” the in-
humane interrogation methods used by Cold War-era Communist countries, as well as enemies who could not be expected to abide by the Geneva Conventions. These methods, according to a senior CIA interrogator quoted in the Senate report, amounted to “physical torture” intended to supply “confessions for propaganda purposes.” In keeping with the dangers soldiers could be assumed to face in enemy captivity, SERE training is brutal. Over a multi-week series of sessions, trainees are taught the academics of survival and evasion skills, then taken into the field to learn land navigation, techniques for finding potable water, how to hunt and trap small animals, build shelters and identify edible plants. During the field portion of the program, soldiers experience all the hardships of subsistence living: hunger, cold, fatigue, fear and discouragement. The final phase of the training includes setting trainees loose in the field to evade searchers. Once captured, they are imprisoned in a mock POW camp where they are subjected to even harsher conditions, including verbal abuse, sexual humiliation, painful “stress” positions and, in some cases, waterboarding. Jessen was stationed at more than one training facility, including Fort Bragg, in North Carolina, but primarily at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, where he and Mitchell were colleagues. According to the Senate report, the pair would go on to develop “theories of interrogation based on ‘learned helplessness,’” drawn from their experiences with SERE. That wouldn’t be enough reason to put them in charge of the U.S. interrogation program, according to the Senate’s findings. “Neither psychologist had any experience as an interrogator, nor did either have specialized knowledge of al-Qa’ida, a background in counterterrorism, or any relevant cultural or linguistic expertise,” the report noted. Jessen’s resume, which he submitted to the CIA in 2003, contained redacted examples of his role as a “debriefer” as well as details of a one-week Defense Interrogation Course in 2002. He and Mitchell had drafted academic and research papers on various psychological aspects of interrogation as they related to the Air Force’s SERE program, “all of which were relevant to the development of the program,” according to a 2013 response to the investigation by the CIA. “Drs. [Mitchell] and [Jessen] had the closest proximate expertise CIA sought at the beginning of the program, specifically in the area of non-standard means of interrogation,” the CIA wrote. “Experts on traditional interrogation methods did not meet this requirement. Non-standard interrogation methodologies were not an area of expertise of CIA officers or of the U.S. Government generally. We believe their expertise was so unique that we would have been derelict had we not sought them out when it became clear that CIA would be heading into the uncharted territory of the program.” Speaking to Charlie Rose on Dec. 15, 2014, shortly after the release of the Senate investigation, former CIA Deputy Director Mike Morell pushed back against the assertion that Jessen and Mitchell were unqualified. “These two contractors, who by the way the Senate committee said have no experience as interrogators—absolutely true. But
they have a lot of experience with interrogation,” he said. “These two guys worked for the U.S. military and they were training, for years, U.S. soldiers how to resist these techniques. That was their job, for years, their company trained U.S. soldiers how to resist waterboarding. And what they saw in the training of U.S. soldiers was that these techniques worked. So that’s why they suggested them to the CIA.” In his first-ever on-camera interview, which Vice News posted to YouTube on Dec. 10, 2014, Mitchell called the idea that he and Jessen “reverse-engineered” SERE into a torture program a “myth” but, citing a nondisclosure agreement, wouldn’t go into detail on the origins of the program, his role in it or even whether he was the psychologist referred to in the Senate report as “Dr. Swigert.” Meanwhile, he told The New York Times in December 2014 that he was “just a cog in the machine.” “The idea that I was managing things and running things is not true,” he told the paper. In the Vice interview, Mitchell did mention Jessen by name, referred to their work together in the SERE school and described the thrust behind enhanced interrogation techniques. “It’s almost like a good cop/bad cop kind of set up, you know, with a really bad cop,” he said. “It was to facilitate getting actionable intelligence by making a bad cop that was bad enough that the person would engage with the good cop.” Mitchell said it’s not true that he and Jessen “showed up at the gates” of the CIA with a plan to interrogate terrorists. Rather, post-9/11, “we all wanted to be part of the solution,” he told Vice. “So I was willing to help any way I could,” he added, through tears. While Mitchell has been public with his attacks on the Senate report, Jessen has kept a low profile, refusing to speak with reporters other than repeat, as he did to Reuters news service, that “It’s a difficult position to be in. You want to set the record straight.” A call to Jessen’s Spokane phone number went unanswered, but, in the days after the release of the Senate report, staff writer Jacob Jones, of the Spokane-based Pacific Northwest Inlander alt-weekly newspaper, confronted Jessen outside his $1.2 million home south of Spokane. “There’s a lot going on,” he told Jones. “It’s a difficult position to be in.” Jessen wouldn’t go into detail about the contents of the report, also citing a nondisclosure agreement, but told Jones that media reports had contained “distortions.” He noted a “No Trespassing” sign and told the reporter, “You know, they didn’t prosecute Zimmerman.” “In hindsight, this seems like a clear reference to the legality of deadly force in so-called ‘stand your ground’ situations,” Jacobs wrote. “So that’s where his mind went.”
‘Where His Mind Went’
“This is a train wreak [sic] waiting to happen and I intend to get the hell off the train before it happens.” Those words were written by the CIA’s chief of interrogations in a 2003 email to colleagues, announcing he would be “retiring shortly,” before Jessen could report-
edly renew interrogation of Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, one of the alleged plotters in the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole and East African U.S. Embassy in 1998. By then, al-Nashiri had been in U.S. custody for about a year, bounced from CIA black site Cobalt in Afghanistan to Detention Site Green and, finally, Detention Site Blue—secret facilities later identified as being located in Kabul; Udon Thani, Thailand; and Szymany, Poland, respectively. In Thailand and Poland, al-Nashiri had been subjected to waterboarding and was judged “compliant” by interrogators. According to records cited in the Senate report, he was judged to be offering “logical and rational explanations” to questions, but CIA Headquarters pushed for continued use of enhanced techniques despite a recommendation that they be discontinued. “[The] bottom line is that we think [al-Nashiri] is being cooperative, and if subjected to indiscriminate and prolonged enhanced measures, there is a good chance he will either fold up and cease cooperation, or suffer the sort of permanent mental harm prohibited by the statute,” interrogators wrote in a cable from the detention site. Nonetheless, a CIA officer was dispatched to administer enhanced interrogation techniques on al-Nashiri even though he had no training in interrogation and was said to be “too confident, had a temper, and had some security issues,” according to colleagues. With the go-ahead from the detention site chief of base, the officer violated policy by forcing al-Nashiri to stand with his hands “affixed over his head” for more than two days and, blindfolding him, held an air pistol near his head and “operated a cordless drill near al-Nashiri’s body.” He was also slapped, had cigar smoke blown in his face, given a bath with a stiff brush and told that his mother would be brought to the site and sexually abused. According to the report, the detention site chief of base authorized the unapproved techniques because he was under heavy pressure from headquarters to uncover information from al-Nashiri. In January 2003, about three months into al-Nashiri’s interrogation, Jessen was called in to assess whether al-Nashiri could withstand any more interrogation and, if so, give recommendations on what techniques should be used on him. Jessen’s recommendation was that interrogators would have the “latitude to use the full range of enhanced exploitation and interrogation measures.” That included waterboarding, but it would require the assistance of Mitchell. It was at that point, with Jessen primed to resume interrogations of al-Nashiri, that the CIA chief interrogator aired his intentions to “get the hell off the train.” To CIA Headquarters, the chief of interrogators wrote a cable intended to be shared among officers at Detention Site Blue—however, according to the Senate report, it does not appear to have been disseminated. He had reservations about the use of enhanced techniques and was also concerned about Jessen’s role, specifically: Not only was he administering the interrogation, but assessing its success. April 23, 2015 /
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(See JESSEN, page 13)
event t h u r s d a y
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Justin Lantrip - “Live @ The Office” 6pm @ Sandpoint Reader Office Come see Sandpoint native Justin Lantrip in the most intimate of settings. It’s like a house show, in an office. Past shows have filled up fast, so make sure you stop by the Reader office and get your tickets early. $5 each until the room is full. Office address is 111 Cedar Street Suite 9. Doors open at 5:30pm Live Music w/ Claude Bourbon 7:30pm @ Di Luna’s A breathtaking acoustic fusion of blues, jazz, folk, classical and Spanish guitar from a stunning guitar virtuoso. Advanced tickets $18. Come early at 5:30pm for dinner service
A Midsummer Night’s D 7pm @ Panida Theater See William Shakesp comedy with the whole ly. Presented by the Sand Waldorf School’s eighth class. Tickets $5
Fly Fishing Film Tour 7pm @ Panida Theater Great collection of fly fishing-inspired films, sponsored by North 40 Fly Shop. Doors open at 6pm for social gathering. Tickets $15 at door, or cheaper at Eichardt’s and North 40 Fly Shop.
Dig up the Flowering Rush! 10am @ Sandpoint City Beach Flowering rush is an invasive species that is infesting bays around Land Pend Oreille. Come out and help control it by digging it up. Please bring boots, gloves, a trowel and a bucket Sagebrush Steppe Presentation 9:45am - 11:30am @ Spt Comm Hall Sagebrush Steppe Ecosystem, has experienced a 98% decline since European settlement in the American West. Free admission, public welcome. Sponsored by KNPS
K&K Spring D 6pm @ Spt. Elk Lake Pend Ore hosts a pin aucti K&K Derby! O Live Music w/ 5pm - 7pm @ I Fun originals a
International Fly Fishing Festival 7pm @ Panida Theater Doors open at 6 p.m. for a pre-event social gathering and door prizes
Get All d Feat store resta Live Music w/ Rylei Franks divid 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery in th A unique mix of pop vocals, country ter a lyrics, and rock and roll rhythms up to
Live Mu 5pm - 7p
‘Air’ A Dance Performance Art - 5pm @ the Panida Theater A Moondance Production-Local Dancers & Musicians Learn the Cha Cha! 7pm @ SWAC (but you don’t have to be a member) Call Diane at 610-1770 to sign up or for more information
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Weekly infusion of blues and rock from the Man
Karaoke Night 9pm - Midnight @ 219 Lounge Trivia Night 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s Just because you’re a know-it-all doesn’t mean you know it all
Bingo Night 6:30 @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Get your beans ready, my friends
“Wizard of Oz” film 6:30pm @ Panida Theater The classic film on the big screen. $5 tic and costume contest. Don’t miss it!
CHaFE 150 Happy Hour 5:30pm - 7:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Come meet fellow bike riders and learn more abou takes place in Sandpoint on June 20. Live music w free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Sand about the ride at CHaFE150.org or e-mail ride@ch
Spa Day to Support Education All day @ Wildflower Day Spa Enjoy a spa service and make your own bath salts. Wildflower Spa will be donating 25 percent of all services to Sandpoint Waldorf School. Call the spa at 208-263-1103 and schedule a pedicure, massage or facial
Yappy Hour 4pm - 7pm @ Laug Bring your dog and benefit with live m Live Music w/ Hig 6pm @ Monarch M Great blues and cou
ful
April 23 - 30, 2015
A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com. Reader recommended
Dream Indulging Artists Paint Night 6pm @ Cedar Street Bridge peare’s The group will be painting a tribute to fami- Peter Max, a pop artist who designed the dpoint 1974 postage stamp commemorating the grade World Fair in Spokane. Cost is $35 per person. Call 208-597-0626 to register.
Poetry Open Mic Night 6pm - 8pm @ Monarch Mountain Coffee Come share, come be inspired. No cover
Mastermind Genius Evening 5pm @ Ivano’s Ristorante Sandpoint business owners come together in an environment of sharing knowledge and expertise to propel and support our business’s forward in 2015
Derby Auction ks Golf Course Festival at Sandpoint Wine Tasting eille Idaho club 5:30pm @ BoCo Fairgrounds ion for the Spring This is the big fundraiser for the Festival at Open to the public Sandpoint. $65 per person (plus tax) includes / Ben & Cadie wine tasting, dinner & Riedel wine glass Idaho Pour Authority and covers from two young lovers
Live Music w/ Powell Brothers 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Luthiers and songsters from Sanpdoint show off their various skills
Dancin’ in the Rain Ballroom Dance Hope Pie Run 7pm - 10pm @ Spt Comm Hall 9am @ Hope’s Memorial Country 2-step lesson taught at 7pm, then Community Center general dancing until 10pm. Lots of fun! Register the day of the event, entry fee is $5 and a pie (one Used Book Sale pie per family or couple) 10am - 2pm @ Bonner Mall Vino and Van Gogh The public is welcome to 5pm @ Di Luna’s bring books and sell them; there’s no cost and tables are Create your own “Starry Night.” Cost is $35 provided. Shoppers, this is a for a 2-3 hour session that includes all art usic w/ Truck Mills materials and your first glass of wine. Live pm @ Idaho Pour Authority great chance to find books at music by Doug Bond a huge discount! K&K Spring Derby “Wizard of Oz” film Kicks off and runs until 1:30pm @ Panida Theater The classic film on the big screen. $5 tickets, May 3. Good luck anglers! and costume contest. Don’t miss it!
Your Spring On! day @ Downtown Sandpoint turing sales at participating es in downtown Sandpoint, aurant specials, events in indual stores, and kids’ events he Cedar Street Bridge. Enat multiple locations to win o $500 in gift certificates
Upcoming Events May 1 - Charley Packard Benefit Concert @ Panida May 8 - The Wishing Boot Fund concert @ Panida Country concert to benefit Tammy Davis with music by Devon Wade
ckets,
ut the CHaFE 150 that with Devon Wade, prizes, dpoint Rotary; learn more hafe150.org. 208-946-3436
May 14-17 - Lost in the ‘50s Weekend!
Home Orchards 6pm @ Ponderay Events Center Presented by Jim Clements, this workshop is part of the Spring Home Horticulture Series sponsored by Bonner County Gardeners Association. Cost is $10; for more info call 208-265-2070
ghing Dog Brewing Company d enjoy a Panhandle Animal Shelter music, beverages and fun ghway 1 Mountain Coffee untry music
Children Performing for Children: A Little Bit of Mozart 7pm @ Panida Theater This educational presentation and performance focuses on the life and works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Free admission; sponsored by the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint and Pend Oreille Arts Council
April 23, 2015 /
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-Ruuko-
Broadcasting in Sandpoint on 106.7 FM and in Digital HD
A bit of a running joke is, when people ask about his name, we tell them Ruuko is the Finnish god of cold water. In reality Ruko is the Finnish word for haystack. People seem to be more impressed with the first definition. He’s going on 7 months old now, but was probably 4 or 5 months in the photo. We took him out to Oden Bay to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather we had in February. This was the first time he had been off the leash outside, and he was loving playing around the rocks out there. The rocks and trees in the foreground will be an island when the lake comes back up. Taylor Long Sandpoint
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K&K Spring Fishing Derby kicks off this week By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR The rainbow trout is a fighter, that much is certain. That characteristic isn’t news to many Lake Pend Oreille fishers. They know the thrill of a hard pull on their line, followed by a flash of scales as the fish breaks the water’s surface. It’s when they know their skills will really be put the the test. A rainbow trout will thrash and jump until it has nothing left in it. But the rainbow has also fought through lean times of waning populations and inadequate food supplies. That’s due in large part to the mackinaw, a ravenously hungry fish that thrived from an abundance of food sources and jumps in population growth. Never count a good fish down, though—the rainbow is making a comeback, and the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club couldn’t be happier about it.
(JESSEN, con’t from page 9)
CIA Headquarters ignored the chief interrogator’s worries and went forward with Jessen’s plan for al-Nashiri, which included shaving him, removing his clothing and forcing him into a “standing sleep deprivation position with his arms affixed over his head.” Between June 2003 and September 2006, al-Nashiri was moved to five different CIA sites around the world and diagnosed by some CIA psychologists with anxiety and major depressive disorder. According to the report, he was belligerent and uncooperative, at one point embarking on a hunger strike that “resulted in the CIA force feeding him rectally.” In 2004 Jessen and another interrogator wrote in a report that al-Nashiri had given “essentially no actionable information.”
‘No Comment’
Before the CIA’s detention and interrogation program was “effectively ended” in 2006—and the contract with Mitchell, Jessen & Associates was canceled in 2009— the psychologists were involved in several interrogations of other high-profile detainees, including alleged 9/11 plotter Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was waterboarded a reported 183 times in 2003. Along with finding that psy-
According to Clint Nicholson, Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club board member and avid fisherman, the rainbow trout has shown tremendous growth in recent years—a far cry from circumstances still fresh in memories. And that adds up to some good fishing when the K&K Spring Fishing Derby rolls around starting this weekend. “In the last two years, we’ve seen a big increase in the number of rainbows,” said Nicholson, who added that favorable conditions for the fish have reached “a perfect storm.” According to Nicholson, the jump isn’t just good news for the rainbow trout—it’s also a welcome change for LPOIC’s fishing derbies. The yearly events were hugely popular in their heyday, and winners took home spectacular prizes and high prestige. While participation has dropped in recent years, Nicholson be-
lieves the derbies could make a comeback along with the rainbow. The K&K Spring Fishing Derby kicks off Saturday, April 25 through May 3. This year a new Junior Division for students ages 14 to 17 is available
in addition to the younger youth divisions. The entry fee for adults is $40. Youth fish for free. A pin auction fundraiser starting at 6 p.m. Friday, April
24, at the Sandpoint Elks Golf Course will herald in the derby. All are welcome to attend. Visit www.lpoic.org for more information.
chologists helped inflict “immeasurable damage to the United States’ public standing, as well as to the United States’ longstanding global leadership on human rights in general and the prevention of torture in particular,” the Senate report called into question the fruits of their interrogations. Dating back at least to 2009, with the release of memos detailing the interrogation program, the American Psychological Association has repeatedly issued statements condemning both Jessen and Mitchell, though neither are members of the organization and its own role in facilitating the establishment of enhanced interrogation methods has been called into question. “If the allegations are true, what this pair did was pervert psychological science to break down and dehumanize detainees in a misguided effort to extract information. It is clear to me that their actions constituted torture,” 2014 APA President Nadine Kaslow wrote in a statement issued Dec. 23, 2014. As recently as Feb. 18, 2015, Jessen held a current, though inactive, license to practice psychology in Idaho. Though not due to expire until July 28, 2015, a check of the Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licenses in early April showed that his licensure—formerly PSY195—had disappeared. It is still
unclear on what grounds Jessen is no longer licensed in the state. “I do not have any other information regarding Dr. Jessen other than he is not currently licensed under the Board of Psychological Examiners, therefore he will not appear on our website,” Bureau of Occupational Licenses Management Assistant Cherie Simpson wrote in an email. According to Idaho Statute, a psychologist’s license may be “revoked, suspended, restricted or otherwise disciplined” if the holder is “found by the board to have been unethical as detailed by the current, and future amended, ethical standards of the American Psychological Association.” Mitchell’s license to practice psychology in Texas has been challenged dating back to June 2010, but the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists dismissed the complaint. Jessen was appointed in 2012 to serve as bishop of a Mormon congregation in Spokane, but resigned shortly thereafter amid protests from human rights groups. At the time, Spokane Stake President James Lee, who proposed Jessen for the office, stood by him. “He’ll take a beating in the press before he sets the record straight,” he told the Spokesman-Review, which has routinely reported on
Jessen since his identity was revealed. “The whole story has not been told.” Meanwhile, calls for accountability have come from around the world, including Amnesty International, which advocated in December 2014 for “a full investigation, prosecution and remedy for victims,” and the United Nations. “It is now time to take action,” stated Ben Emmerson, UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, in a statement issued in Geneva following release of the Senate report. “The individuals responsible for the criminal conspiracy revealed in today’s report must be brought to justice, and must face criminal penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes.” The U.S. Justice Department has already said it does not plan to pursue charges against those named in the report, which notes that preemptive protections from legal fallout came as early as 2002, when the CIA drafted a letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft asking the DOJ for “a formal declination of prosecution, in advance, for any employees of the United States, as well as any other personnel acting on behalf of the United States, who may employ methods in the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah that otherwise might subject those individuals to
prosecution.” The report mentions that there are no records indicating whether the letter was ever actually sent to the attorney general. Asked if it had a stance on the APA’s statements regarding the allegations against Jessen, the Idaho Psychological Association drew a blank. “We haven’t been involved in any of that and his name does not ring a bell for me,” said IPA Executive Director Deborah Katz. That appears to be the case with Bruce Jessen, generally: referred to as “Dr. Dunbar” in the Senate report, holder of a vanished Idaho psychology license, living quietly in a rural mansion in Eastern Washington and part of a small-town family that everyone—from the local librarians to the city archivist—seems to know, except for him. Asked to respond to the report and give some insight into their brother, one of Jessen’s sisters did not respond; the other, reached by phone at her home, was quick to answer. “I have no comment.”
Kenny Harden poses with his monster rainbow weighing in at 23.80 pounds and 38 inches long.
Zach Hagadone is editor-in-chief of the Boise Weekly and was the first owner and editor of the Sandpoint Reader. A version of this article first appeared in the Boise Weekly.
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A local builder’s green adventures in Fiji By Ted Bowers For SPR
In 2004, Gini and I had the great opportunity to work on an undeveloped tropical island in the Fijian chain of islands. Our job was to perform cabinetry for three guest cabins (bures in Fijian) in a “green” resort. I had gone there in 1998 with a small band of hardy individuals to break ground on the resort. That in itself is quite a story, but I want to write about our experience on the second tour. We arrived after a 10-hour flight from L.A. to the main island of Viti Levu. Since we left the day before, crossed an international date line and landed the day after, Gini missed her birthday. So instead, we celebrated the fact that she didn’t age another year. We then caught an island hopper to Gau, where we landed on a grass airstrip at the southern end of the island. From there, we hefted our bags from the air strip through jungle and tidal flats to our ride, a
20-foot fiberglass boat with a Yamaha motor. It took us about an hour to arrive at our destination, Nukuyaweni Outpost on the Bay of Angels. The resort was the brainchild of Kevin Wunrow, who had dreamed and schemed of building a green resort on a remote island. He negotiated a deal with the native chiefs of the island for a 99-year lease on 26 acres along Gau’s western shore. More than a mile of beautiful sand beach nestled in a bay between rocky headlands jutting 40 feet above the water. We were on the leeward side of the island, protected for the most part from heavy winds by a 2,500-foot spine of volcanic mountains. A barrier reef a mile out from shore shielded us from wave action. The first cabin that we framed up in ‘98 had been finished in my absence, and we had the pleasure of living in it during our stay. It sat atop the northern headland and had a stunning view of the bay and sunsets. Paradise? Yes! The
place was all beautiful land and sea, crystal-clear warm water full of colorful sea life and warm, friendly native Fijian people. But was it easy livin’? No! There was no running water, and if you’ve ever tried to take a bath in salt water, you know it ain’t easy or fun. We had a solar power system that was adequate when the sun shone, but we were there during the rainy season. We had days of minimal power, which meant no fans to keep the bugs away. Mosquitoes swarmed us all day long as we sweated away at work. We put in 40-50 hour weeks on the project, and the days were often hot and humid. Being in the lee of the island, the winds weren’t constant enough to provide much relief. The upside of the rainy season was that rain was our only source of fresh water to bathe in. I set up a gutter system on our bure to collect water in buckets and jugs, which we transferred to our solar shower on the patio by the cabin—nothing
How to build a waterfall
tainly don’t want a large, three foot wide falls. One of the most common mistakes in waterfall building results from the desire for a tall waterfall at a level building site. Large amounts of soil are importFor SPR ed to build the falls up to a three- or four-foot height. Yes, you will achieve a dramatic waThe number one most-asked terfall, but the total effect will question that I receive about look more like an out-of-place water features is, “How do I volcano. A falls of just two feet build a waterfall?” will produce a very satisfactory The first advice I give is to effect both visually and audibly. visit local natural waterfalls or To build a waterfall on a at least study photos and watch level site, with an average videos. Don’t try to memorize size pond of 11 by 16 feet, the precisely. Just get a general idea amount of soil needed to surhow the water flows around and round the biological filter and over the rocks. create a slightly raised berm is The exact design of your just about equal to the amount falls will depend on topography, of soil excavated from the pond. pump, length of water flow from It works out quite well. To furpump to falls, pond size (unless ther enhance or enlarge the you have a pondless waterfall) berm, you may want to import and your personal preferences. a little more soil, large boulders Keep the elements of your wa- or other features. Again, avoid ter feature in scale; if your pond the “volcano” effect by creating is just four by six feet, you cer- a gently sloped berm. 14 /
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If you are working on a slope, you have the option of placing the biological filter (waterfall source) uphill from the pond and creating a series of cascading falls. It is definitely an exercise in visualization to predetermine exactly how the water will flow down the falls and stream. If you should make a slight underestimation of the total flow, it’s fairly easy to rearrange your rocks to widen and/or change the flow. Even on a level site, it’s often preferable to place the falls six to eight feet from the pond. This will create a short but aesthetically pleasing cascading stream into the pond. Be sure to use a wide EPDM rubber liner under the falls and stream. This will allow for twists and turns in the course of the water and also contain splashing. A ten-foot-wide stream-liner is recommended. A geotextile underlayment under the falls and stream liner is usually not required unless your soil contains very sharp rocks. When your excavation is
compares to a good sun-heated shower after a hot sweaty day of work! Sometimes in the evening, if it was raining, we would bypass the shower and stand in the rain for our bath. And when the solar batteries were low and we couldn’t use the fan on those hot tropical nights, we trained ourselves to wake up when it rained and run outside to stand naked in the cool downpour. The common kitchen where we ate all of our meals with Kevin and his family was a quarter-mile hike through the jungle above the beach—a love-
ly stroll along a flower-lined path. The entire grounds of the resort were covered with thousands of tropical flowers, planted by Kevin and his local crew of Fijians from Somo Somo, a fishing village a mile along the shore north of us. These folk and the work we performed alongside them will be the subject of my next installment of these Fijian chronicles. Thanks for accompanying me on this very enjoyable trip down memory lane!
complete and liner is in place, add your stone. Don’t be in a hurry—try several combinations and visualize how the water will flow. When satisfied with your arrangement, use black waterfall foam to direct the water over the stone instead of under it. A continuous bead of the foam applied under the back upstream edge of each stone will direct the water around or over the stone instead of underneath it. The foam expands greatly, so don’t use too much and wear
gloves! Though building a waterfall requires some creativity and patience, building your falls will be extremely satisfying. Be sure to include preliminary research, but you’ll learn most when you actually tackle the project. Just do it! In addition to being the focal point of your landscape, you’ll find that your water garden is the most relaxing and enjoyable part of your yard. Garden Questions? Visit http://clearwaterlandscapes. com/questions
Ted and Gini Bowers in Fiji
STAGE & SCREEN Waldorf School’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ hits Panida stage By Kate McAlister For SPR Fans of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” are in for a treat with the Waldorf School eighth grade presentation at the Panida this evening. Under the direction of teacher Julie McCallan and stage direction by Jesús Quintero, the students rise to the challenge in their individual and ensemble performances. I was enthralled from the moment the gods and goddesses entered and sang a capella to open the show. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” one of William Shakespeare’s most widely produced comedies, takes place on the eve of the wedding of Theseus, Duke of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Relationship issues abound among characters like Hermia, Demetrius, Lysander and Helena. And when the mischievous Puck gets involved, everything is turned upside down. In the end, everyone has fun in the woods, and the wedding goes off without a hitch. Every class at the Waldorf School produces a play. However, only the eighth graders perform at the Panida, their plays covering everything from Norse mythology to the Old Testament. It fits nicely into some of Waldorf’s primary educational objectives: public speaking, teamwork and perhaps most importantly, confidence-building that gives students the self-assurance to achieve their goals. This production was made possible by many volunteers, including each of the students’ parents. The delightful sets designed by the amazing Peter Goetzinger, the lighting and sound by Jeff Poole, the costumes by Alana Seifert and her team of seamstresses and the program and poster design by Olivia Merithew all add a special touch to the production. And flautist Leaf Lovetree adds his beautiful music during scene changes. This performance is the final fundraising effort to support the annual eighth-grade trip. For the first two weeks in May, students will be traveling to the Southwest to join Deer Hill Expeditions. Their adventure includes a raft trip on the San Juan River through red rock canyons and ends with a community service project with the Hopi Indian Nation. In a previous year, students visited another indigenous culture. They painted houses and in return were taught how to bead according to the local customs. I highly recommend this performance and look forward to the next project un-
dertaken by Waldorf students. Please attend and help support the field trip and cultural experience. Encouraging our children to explore our world and all its aspects makes all of us better human beings. Brava kids, brava! The sole performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream takes place tonight, April 23, at 7:00 p.m. at the Panida. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Eve’s Leaves, Eichardts, Monarch Mountain Coffee, Winter Ridge Foods, the Sandpoint Waldorf School and at the door.
The cast of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at a dress rehearsal in anticipation for their appearance at the Panida Theater on Thursday.
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OUTDOORS
My favorite (free) camping spots Story and photos By Ben Olson For SPR I’m a camper. I have been since I was a kid, and I probably will be until the day I die. It’s just something I can’t live without; listening to the waves lap against the shore at sundown, the crackle of a fire, the stars overhead being the last thing I see before going to sleep. I grew up in Westmond, so most of our camping was done at Round Lake. While these childhood memories are precious to me, I no longer do any camping in pay sites, but instead, seek the free, primitive spots to pitch my tent. While these are some of my favorites, I have intentionally left out my absolute favorites. Nothing personal, but giving out my top camping spots would be nothing short of high treason.
Green Bay
This is the quintessential free camping spot in Bonner County. There are around a dozen fire rings spread across two beaches of rounded rocks. With views of the Green Monarch Mountains, you’ll get good early sun and great star gazing opportunities at night. There is a cliff jumping spot
between the two beaches, but scout out your landings carefully as it can be dangerous when the lake is down. Mineral Point Trail leads up the mountain from the beach a couple of miles, and further to Lost Lake. Green Bay is a busy place. Lots of high schoolers, lots of out of towners. Best times to camp are weeknights. There are a couple of mooring balls if you must take your powerboat, but a canoe or kayak will keep you busy all day. When the water is low, check out a cool cave as you round the point heading into Garfield Bay.
Maiden Rock
This hidden cove is a great alternative if you don’t want to deal with the Green Bay crowds. To access the trail, turn off Highway 95 onto Blacktail Road just south of Cocolalla. Turn left at Butler Creek Road and follow until the trailhead. The hike down to the beach is only about two miles, but beware, the return trip is much more difficult. Pack only what you need for a night of camping, or put in a canoe at Talache and access via the water. The views are much the same as Green Bay, with the Monarchs and the quiet big part of Lake Pend Oreille. At night, you’ll see the flashing lights of
the floating platform above the underwater acoustics array at Farragut. For a morning challenge, ascend the prominent outcropping of rock for which the area is named and touch the lonely tree growing on top.
Monarch Beaches
These spots take a bit of work to reach, but they are well worth it. Put in your canoe or boat at Johnson Creek and head down the Clark Fork River past the delta. For the tame at heart,
Green Bay’s famous rock-lined beaches and views of the “big lake” make this a campers favorite you can set up camp at the delta, where there is a public toilet and dock, but it is usually occupied with plenty of boats and campers. Keep to the shore on the left a mile or more, stopping wherever you see a good looking spot. The beach goes on for miles, and all face directly at the setting sun for a fantastic end of the day. You can usually glimpse some wildlife coming down the tall Monarch Mountains. Bring your bug spray, as mosquitoes can be thick along the beach.
Pyramid Lake
A quiet afternoon at Pyramid Lake 16 /
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To access Pyramid Lake, take a left on Riverside Road in Bonners Ferry and follow the Kootenai River to the Wildlife Refuge, then left at Trout Creek Road. The trailhead is at the end. The total driving time from Sandpoint to the trailhead is roughly one and a half hours. The hike into Pyramid Lake is a short one, just over a half -mile with a slight elevation
gain. It’s an easy stroll, with some pretty views along the way. When you get to the lake, you can snag one of the handful of camping spots, or, if they are full, you try your luck at one of the Ball Lakes further down the trail.
Lake Estelle
Another mountain lake off the same trail system as Moose Lake. To access the trail, take Trestle Creek Road 16 miles to Lightning Creek Road 419, turn left and follow for one mile, then right on Moose Creek Road 1022, follow for two miles and park at trailhead. About a mile into the trail, you’ll split off left to go to Lake Estelle, which is just shy of three miles from the trailhead. There are two or three campspots around the lake and a great crumbling granite ridge where moose have been known to frolic. Hike to the top of the ridge to see a great view of Moose Lake, Gem Lake and Lake Estelle.
MUSIC
This week’s RLW by Cameron Rasmusson
Charley Packard benefit promises to bring together a lifetime of music Story and Photo by Ben Olson For SPR
Few names in Sandpoint music are as well-known and revered as Charley Packard. With his easygoing style, gravely smooth voice and accessible songs that speak to the poet in all of us, Packard has certainly left his mark on this little town. Like so many famous singers and songwriters, Packard got his start singing in a church choir. “I was real little and I could sing harmonies,” he said. As he grew older, Packard became enamored with the pop music he was listening to on the radio. “I wanted to sing it,” he said. “I started playing guitar to accompany myself so I could do Buddy Holly songs.” Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis also captured his attention. In 1967, his career surged ahead with a collaboration known as Charley D. and Milo. “I’d finished college, moved to California and got signed to Epic Records,” said Packard. Packard, Lon Milo DuQuette and band mates enjoyed a brief success, sharing the stage with the likes of Arlo Guthrie, Hoyt Axton and Sammy Davis Jr. “We were very fortunate when we got signed,” said Packard. “We had a couple of singles that got a lot of airplay.” When asked if the recording industry has improved since the early days, Packard mentioned that artists now have the ability to become more accessible. “Back then, you couldn’t record your own stuff,” he said. “You’d run out of tape, or run out of time. Nobody knew how to package it, distribute it. “Now,” Packard continued, “with the advent of digital, it’s open to everybody. You can do it all yourself. You write the song, you record it, you master it a little bit and package it. I like that.” After quitting the fast lane and moving north to Sandpoint,
READ In 2003, first-time director and actor Tommy Wiseau became a cinema legend with the release of “The Room,” a movie so utterly incompetent yet simultaneously fascinating that it generated a cult following. “The Disaster Artist,” a behind-the-scenes account by costar Greg Sestero details both the making of the film and Wiseau himself, painting a picture of earnest failure that is at once hilarious and heartbreaking.
LISTEN
Packard began to focus on his songwriting and country rock style, incorporating a poetic cadence to his songs that many in Sandpoint have grown to enjoy. A half-dozen albums later, Packard still knows how to wax poetic about the art of songwriting. “For me, it’s almost a prayerful experience,” said Packard. “There’s just a cloud of a billion words all up there, just waiting. It can just be one line that touches someone. You just gotta find it.” Packard’s songs invoke images and feelings of a simpler time. They cover heartbreak and humor, joy and sorrow, and breed reflection. “[Charley’s songs] cover universal feelings,” said his wife Karen Bowers. “That’s why people are moved by them. Some of them still bring me to tears.” Most people who know Packard refer to him as “The Reverend Charley Packard,” because of how many weddings he has presided over. “I’ve married over 1,700 people,” said Packard. “The very first being Karen and Ted Bowers. She was the very first, and now she and I are partners... isn’t that serendipitous? Ted and I always get a kick out of that.” Last year, when Packard underwent chemotherapy to treat esophageal cancer, he credited Karen with helping him get through it in one piece. “She’s been such a great
support,” he said. As of now, Packard is cancer-free and on the road to recovery, though weakened by the radiation. “Right now I’m hanging in there,” he said. “I feel stronger every day.” “I’ve been involved with hospice before, as a chaplain,” he said. “To observe death from that perspective was one thing, but to be in a situation where you’re facing it is another. I’m sure when I start writing again, there will be some interesting observations about that.” When Natalie Miller cooked up the idea for a benefit show, she shared the idea with Jeff Nizzoli and Doug Clark at Eichardt’s Pub, and the community began to rally behind the effort. Billed as a tribute benefit concert, more than 20 different Sandpoint musicians will take the stage with Packard to cover their favorite song he’s penned. “At first I was real embarrassed by the whole thing,” said Packard. “But people told me to relax and shut up and let it happen, so that’s what I’m doing. I’m super honored that people would spend
their time and energy on this. Sandpoint is known for that. I’ve never seen a community so willing to help their neighbors.” Always the optimist, Packard continues to shine a light on those around him. “What I try to encourage everybody is to find the joy in music,” he said. “If you can create it, my gosh, treat it like it is. It’s a creation. You’re creating something new and something musical and poetic... But be sure and keep your day job.” Tickets for “An Evening With Charley & Friends” are available at Eichardt’s, Eve’s Leaves and www.panida.org for $15. Proceeds go toward Charley Packard in his battle with cancer. The show will take place at the Panida Theater May 1 at 7:30pm.
Crossword Solution
Perhaps my favorite album ever, “Black Sheep Boy” by Austin, Texas, band Okkervil River reached its 10-year anniversary this month. Still band frontman Will Sheff’s best work, the album showcases his knack for poignant, incisive lyrics matched with memorable alt-country compositions. Be sure to check out the Definitive Edition, which includes the mandatory “Black Sheep Boy Appendix” EP.
WATCH
While U.S. action movies are still alive and kicking, international offerings like “The Raid,” “Ip Man” and “13 Assassins” are pushing the genre in daring new directions. “The Man From Nowhere” by Lee Jung-beom (2010, South Korea) is another great example. It’s basically “Taken”—former special forces agent runs afoul of a brutal crime boss when thugs kidnap a young girl—but with real emotional resonance and superior action choreography and editing.
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w o N & Then compiled by
Ben Olson
Each week, we feature a new photograph taken from the same vantage point as one taken long ago. See how we’ve changed, and how we’ve stayed the same. Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers (special thanks to Olivia Morlean, Will Valentine, and Allen Robertson). If you have any scrapbooks or old photographs taken in Bonner County that you would like to see Then & Now’ed, please submit them to the Museum so they can digitize and return the photographs to you. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.
c.1920s
The same view today. Bonner General Health is to the left, with the new skybridge under construction over Third Avenue. The new medical building under construction can be seen to the right behind the telephone pole.
2015
Corrections this week: None this week. Huzzah!
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CROSSWORD
Copyright www.mirroreyes.com
Looking south down Third Avenue from about Poplar Street. The building on the left is the Humbird Office (later the J.M. Brown Jr. Park). On the right side is the First Pennington Residence, and the Bottling Works, owned by Otto Greenhood and Bill Nieman worked there.
ACROSS 1. Ancient Hebrew vestment 6. Cocoyam 10. Information 14. Exotic jelly flavor 15. Head covering 16. Holly 17. Interlace 19. Achy 20. Record player 21. Chief Executive Officer 22. A basic knitting stitch 23. Style of interior furnishings 25. Soft drinks 26. A style of design 30. Cherubim 32. Supercilium 35. Stretchable 39. Decrease 40. Mountain range 41. Gist 43. Stress 44. Unpleasant odor 46. Male offspring 47. Accumulate 50. Blithely 53. Medium-sized tubular pasta 54. Arrive (abbrev.) 55. Overnight bag 60. “Do ___ others...” 61. Impulsive 63. A soft sheepskin leather 64. Not odd 65. Despises 66. Makes a mistake 67. Bristle 68. Exchange
DOWN 1. Auspices 2. Kick 3. Despise 4. Not under 5. Acted presumptuously 6. Night before 7. Church official 8. Deviate 9. Margarine 10. Deprive 11. Not silently 12. Latin name for our planet
13. Skating jumps 18. Suffering 24. Bird call 25. Killed 26. Expunge 27. Visual organs 28. To tax or access 29. Fixations 31. If not 33. Leases 34. A single time 36. Threesome 37. Press 38. Tins
Solution on page 17 42. Etch 43. Your (archaic) 45. Rug 47. Sky-blue 48. Of lesser importance 49. Fragrant oil 51. 56 in Roman numerals 52. Luxury boat 54. Air force heroes 56. Teller of untruths 57. Greek letter 58. Sought damages 59. Being 62. Ribonucleic acid
One bad thing about Lassie, she was always warning you about something. Let me be surprised for a change.
Annual Wine Tasting, Dinner& Auction (208) 265-4554
Friday, April 24, 2015 5:30 pm Bonner County Fairgrounds “Wine Garden” Wine Tasting Presented by Trinity at City Beach Sponsored by
www.festivalatsandpoint.com
Or Call:
Odom, Vehrs, Idaho Wine Merchants, Click, Hayden Beverage, Pend D’ Oreille Winery, Woodward Canyon Winery * Silent & Live Auctions * Gourmet Dinner Catered by
Dish at Dover Bay *Entertainment by Selkirk Society Band $65.00 per person (plus tax) * includes Wine Tasting, Dinner & Riedel Wine Glass ~ Minimum Age 21 ~
Benefitting
FesTival aTsandpoinT The
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