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PEOPLE compiled by

Lyndsie Kiebert

watching

SOCIAL DISTANCE EDITION: “If you were a household item, what would you be?”

“I would be a bookshelf. Full of stories and knowledge, some of it useful, most of it not.”

Cecil Jensen Property manager Ponderay

“I would be a mousetrap, because my 15-year-old cat is failing miserably.”

Mary Franzel Retired RN Clark Fork

DEAR READERS,

As Idaho begins the gradual process of reopening amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, please keep in mind that we’re not out of the woods yet. We need to be mindful of not getting too ahead of ourselves, especially if we start to see cases increasing in the county. Everyone wants to get back to business – that’s a given – but let’s continue to be diligent and maintain social distancing according to the guidelines issued by Gov. Brad Little’s four-phase program to open Idaho (see Page 9 for all the information on that).

I’d also like to give everyone a gentle nudge to support local restaurants that are serving take-out food during this period of time. Aside from bars and large venues, restaurants are seeing some of the toughest economic impacts right now.

They are also using a lot of ingenuity in taking payment over the phone, delivering curbside and updating their menus with sometimes limited choices.

Stay strong, North Idaho.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (Staff Writer) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Racheal Baker (cover), Ben Olson, Bill Borders.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie Emily Erickson, Brenden Bobby, Jen Heller, Jaycie Irish, JD Griffin, Matthew Weatherman, Scott Taylor Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $115 per year

“I would be the refrigerator.

I’m always ready for good food and a cold beer.”

Tyler Henderson Head custodian at Clark Fork High School Clark Fork

“After thinking about this question way too much, I would definitely be a spoon.”

Sophie McMahon Respite worker Hope

“Kitchen knife. Shiny, but needs sharpening.”

Will Harrison Software developer Sandpoint

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

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

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

Free to all, limit two copies per person.

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

Requirements: –No more than 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover was taken by local photographer Racheal Baker at the 2019 Festival at Sandpoint.

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NEWS

City receiving further guidance on statewide reopening plan Questions still remain over availability of summer/fall youth sports

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff The Sandpoint City Council received a wide-ranging update on how city services, facilities and programs will emerge from current COVID-19 restrictions amid the unfolding of Idaho Governor Brad Little’s fourphase plan for reopening the state economy.

According to City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton, the major challenge is that reopening guidance “is coming out on almost a daily basis, so trying to finalize something … has posed some challenges for us — particularly on the front of youth programming.”

Questions remain over whether Sandpoint youth sports will be able to function on city-owned fields and other sports facilities this summer and fall remain unanswered, even after a conference call April 29 with the Association of Idaho Cities, which issued new protocols under Phase 1 of the governor’s plan related to youth activities.

“It appears that youth sports could be considered under youth activities now in this Phase 1, but there are a number of guidance rules associated with that, so we need to look at what our require-

ments are going to be so we can get out a policy and procedure and get that to council,” Stapleton said.

The good news, she added, is that “it looks like some of these youth activities, including sports — so long as they meet the guidelines, will be able to resume this summer.”

As for city recreational programs, those will remain closed for the duration — at least until social distancing guidelines and restrictions on gatherings are no longer required.

Meanwhile, the guidelines for retail businesses remain in flux, even as many types of establishments will be allowed to open their doors starting Friday, May 1 (see Page 9 for a deeper look at the governor’s reopening plan).

After a phone call with Little on April 29, Stapleton said state municipal leaders are mulling how to approach the reopening of swimming pools, which would likely be affected by the lifting of restrictions on gyms and workout facilities currently scheduled to occur in Phase 2.

Uncertainty over access to pools may affect the city’s ability to field lifeguards at City Beach, as Parks and Recreation Director

Reader wins Idaho Press Club awards

By Reader Staff

The Sandpoint Reader won several accolades from the Idaho Press Club, which announced its statewide awards online April 25, rather than at its typical annual banquet in Boise, to observe social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Reader earned six awards for its 2019 reporting in the weekly print newspaper category. Editor Zach Hagadone took first place in election reporting for his story, “October Surprise.”

Hagadone and staff writer Lyndsie Kiebert won a dual second-place award for watchdog/investigative reporting for their story, “Bonner County Sues City of Sandpoint over Festival Gun Ban.” 4 /

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Hagadone placed second in political reporting for his story, “Sandpoint Mayor: White Nationalism Gives North Idaho a Black Eye, Here’s How to Fix It,” as well as third place in the same category for his story, “Rep. Heather Scott Features in WA House Investigation into Matt Shea’s Domestic Terrorism.”

Kiebert placed second in arts and entertainment reporting for her story, “The Artists in Repose,” about the celebrated late-area artists Nancy and Ed Kienholz.

She also placed second in crime and courts reporting for her story, “A Tale of Two Guns,” which explored the arrest of Judith Carpenter in the Shirley Ramey murder case.

Kim Woodruff explained at the April 29 meeting.

He came prepared to ask the council to consider suspending the lifeguard program for the season, citing reasons ranging from COVID-19 social distancing guidelines to concern over access to personal protective equipment to difficulty training and certifying guards on an already crunched timeline — and, potentially, lacking pools in which to train.

However, after listening to a detailed presentation, the council balked at sacrificing the program, which has operated at the beach for more than 80 years. Rather, council members asked Woodruff and his staff to return with more options to somehow keep lifeguards at the beach this summer.

The council also delved into how much authority local officials have in managing the reopening of their communities. In short: local municipalities have no power to proceed with looser policies than the governor’s order to slow the spread of COVID-19 but are able to enact tighter restrictions than the state if confronting community spread of the coronavirus or an outbreak of the disease.

That issue has direct bearing on the continuing issue of people traveling from across state borders or county lines to access recreational or other opportunities elsewhere — at the same time risking transporting COVID-19 from areas with higher case rates to those, such as Bonner County, that have so far avoided widespread infection.

“What we don’t want to have happen is for us to open up more

broadly than, say, Kootenai County so now we have people from Kootenai County coming up here and creating unfair practices for business around the state,” Stapleton said.

“We are a very attractive place that has recreational amenities,” said Mayor Shelby Rognstad.

“By having that greater liberty at the local level [to reopen more broadly than the rest of the state], we would be attracting that risk that there wouldn’t otherwise be there with statewide consistency with the stay-at-home order.”

Related to the stay-at-home order and Phase 1 reopening protocols, Councilman Joel Aispuro pointed out that many of the governor’s guidelines read as if they are recommendations, rather than mandates, and what that means for legal enforcement.

“I read a lot of the word ‘should,’” he said. “With the word ‘should’ I don’t see any consequences here. … Are there any ramifications? I think the word ‘should’ is a poor choice of words if it’s a mandate.”

Stapleton and Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon responded to Aispuro’s question, both underscoring that educating the public on the details of the reopening plan and stay-home order are the priority, rather than issuing citations for those found not following state guidance.

That said, Coon pointed out that “it is technically a misdemeanor to not follow the governor’s order,” yet there is a “gray area” in which law enforcement assesses the severity of a violation on a case-by-case basis.

An unoccupied lifeguard stand at Sandpoint City Beach. Photo by Ben Olson.

“As of right now, we have not issued any citations and the businesses we’ve talked to have been very cooperative,” he said.

Councilman Andy Groat touched on the issue of out-ofarea visitors and how that might affect potential legal enforcement when he said, “I for one am really tired of being culpable for Washington and other counties coming in and visiting our town. Now is not the time to come.”

“My challenge is all the outof-state plates that I see and other people potentially bringing whatever’s out there here,” he said, adding that he wouldn’t want to see any local businesses “get put in time out” for serving people who were visiting in violation of stay-at-home orders in Idaho or neighboring states.

Finally, the council voted unanimously for a gradual slackening of in-person restrictions at its meetings.

During Phases 1 and 2 of the governor’s plan, members of the council — as well as committees and commissions — will be able to attend in-person if they so choose, but the public would continue to be prohibited from council chambers. In Phases 3 and 4, members of the public would be welcomed back into the chambers with observance of social distancing guidelines. Even then, council members would be allowed to remain remote participants, as meetings will continue to be accessible via live streaming at the city’s website, sandpointidaho.gov.

NEWS

Legislative, county office seekers participate in virtual forum

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Candidates for contested Bonner County commissioner and District 1 Seat B representative seats faced off April 29 — albeit via video conference platform Zoom — at a “virtual” candidates forum. Sponsored by the Sandpoint Reader and Sandpoint Online, and moderated by Reader Publisher Ben Olson, the forum brought together incumbent County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw and his opponent Butch Horton, alongside incumbent state Rep. Sage Dixon and challenger Gary Suppiger.

All four candidates are Republicans whose names will appear on the ballot in the Tuesday, May 19 primary election, which, owing to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, will be conducted by mail rather than in-person voting at the polls.

(See Page 11 for a guide on how, where and when to request, fill out and return your ballot.)

Each of the candidates stressed at the forum how important it is for voters to request their ballots from the Bonner County Clerk no later than 8 p.m. on May 19 — otherwise they will not be able to participate in the election.

“This is an odd election year and I just encourage everybody to get that absentee ballot and fill it out,” Dixon said in his opening remarks. “It’s very important that we still participate in the electoral process.”

Opening the forum, Bradshaw, who is seeking a second term on the three-person board of commissioners, said that he has kept his promises to voters, pointing to an “overhaul” of county planning and zoning; the elimination of obsolete portions of old county code; doing away with a restriction on long-term residence in RVs, which he called “completely silly and unenforceable”; and efforts to keep taxes low and “the budget tight.”

“It’s basically running a business,” he said. “It’s been fun. It’s been an education.”

Horton, who served six years in the Navy, said he comes to the race with experience in engineer-

ing, hospitality, the auto industry and building clinics through the Veterans Administration Hospital Division.

“Really my background is policy, budgetary management and leadership, and I think that’s what I can bring to the table,” he said.

Dixon emphasized his six years of experience at the Statehouse in Boise, keeping his opening statement brief while underscoring that he’s worked hard to be accessible to his constituents and stand by his conservative principles to accurately represent the interests and people of the district.

“It’s a job that I take seriously,” he said. “It’s a big responsibility and an honor.”

Suppiger, who has served three years as a trustee for the Lake Pend Oreille School District, zeroed in on state education funding as among his primary reasons for seeking a seat in the Idaho House.

Calling public education “the pathway from poverty to prosperity for individuals, for families, communities and the state,” he went on to say in his opening remarks that the state has abdicated its responsibility to fund education, pushing the responsibility onto county property tax payers.

Dixon responded that the education budget amounts to around $100 million each year, and the state has been working to increase teacher pay and support literacy programs.

The candidates found much to agree on — from the importance of keeping government small and fiscally conservative to lowering property tax burdens, though how to accomplish the latter led to some disagreement when Suppiger repeated his argument about decoupling school funding from property tax. Dixon, who serves on the Taxation Committee, said there are a number of ways to address property tax, ranging from a constitutional amendment fixing property values at the point of sale — similar to Prop 13 in California — to indexing property tax to the cost of living. “I’m willing to look at anything,” he said.

Bradshaw and Horton differed on the topic of emergency medical services, with Bradshaw saying

the current arrangement “is working very well. … So why would you fix something that’s not broken?”

Horton countered that the Fire Chiefs Association came to the county last year with a plan to consolidate services “that was really good and in my estimation was pushed aside. … It just doesn’t seem fiscally responsible when you can combine these units.”

Dixon and Suppiger engaged in some back and forth over the topic of citizen ballot initiatives, with Dixon defending his stance that the initiative process privileges denser-populated areas of states, which are able to run roughshod over rural interests at the ballot box.

Suppiger supports the current initiative process and said Dixon “tried to handcuff [it]” with his legislation in the 2018 session that would have tightened requirements for getting a citizen initiative on the ballot.

Other topics addressed at the forum included the recent pro-

tests over Governor Brad Little’s stay-at-home order — with all the candidates supporting demonstrators’ rights to do so while questioning the wisdom of the gatherings — how important it is to earn high marks from Boise-based small-government lobby group Idaho Freedom Foundation — candidates agreed that they don’t pay much attention to the organization’s annual “Freedom Index” — and the ongoing lawsuit between Bonner County and the city of Sandpoint over The Festival at Sandpoint’s weapons prohibition on publicly owned War Memorial Field.

Bradshaw defended the suit, saying it came from the city’s refusal to come to the table over the issue, while Horton questioned whether more could have been

From left to right: Rep. Sage Dixon, Gary Suppiger, Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, Butch Horton. Courtesy photos. done to have a productive conversation between the municipalities.

Horton also questioned whether county planning and zoning policies managing growth “have been loosened up to the point that to my mind is dangerous” — specifically regarding water quality — and said he would work to “get ahead” of growth now. Bradshaw said growth in the county will be limited in part by our local terrain.

“You can’t make more dirt; you can’t make more acreage,” he said.

Watch a recording of the entire forum at https://bit.ly/BonnerCandidatesForum2020

BGH announces a ‘measured’ reopening of clinics and services

By Reader Staff Bonner General Health released what it referred to as a “measured process” of reopening its clinics and services in phases to be in concert with Gov. Brad Little’s stages of reopening the state of Idaho amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This will be a very calculated process,” BGH CEO Sheryl Rickard said. “There are still concerns in our community regarding COVID-19; however, we do feel it is time to begin offering services to those community members in need of medical attention.”

Phase 1 of BGH’s reopening will continue through May, or until it is safe to begin Phase 2. Under Phase 1 guidelines, BGH said its diagnostic imaging services began screening mammograms and DEXA scans starting April 27. Ultrasound, MRI and

CT will continue on an outpatient basis. All patients will have a prior screening before appointments.

Starting Wednesday, May 13, BGH will start routine fluoroscopy procedures as deemed medically necessary by the ordering providers on Wednesdays only.

Outpatient surgery will also begin scheduling low-risk patients, who will receive a COVID-19 test 24-48 hours before their surgery.

Sandpoint Women’s Health will continue seeing patients with screening before scheduled appointments. All scheduled labor, delivery and surgical patients will receive a COVID-19 test prior to their surgery.

The Ear, Nose & Throat and Ophthalmology clinics will begin seeing a limited number of patients in mid-May. Those currently waiting for an appointment will be contacted in the coming weeks.

Current visitor restrictions are

still in place. Patients and visitors will continue to be screened for COVID-19 symptoms before entering the hospital or BGH clinics. Patients and visitors will be required to wear a cloth mask while in the hospital and BGH clinics — those who do not have one will be provided with a mask upon entry.

BGH will continue tracking the COVID-19 numbers for the region closely andreassess Phase 1 if necessary.

“We commend our citizens for abiding by the stay-at-home order the last several weeks,” said Dr. Vincent Huntsberger, director of BGH Emergency Medicine.

“We do hope our community will continue to be mindful of basic hygiene practices and social distancing to keep our numbers minimal.”

For more information, visit bonnergeneral.org.

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NEWS

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market postpones opening day

An online marketplace and potential new location will be in place soon

By Ben Olson Reader Staff For more than 30 years, the first Saturday in May has held a special place in Sandpoint residents’ hearts: opening day at the Sandpoint Farmers’ Market. This year, market goers will have to wait a little longer, as market staff announced April 29 that the projected Saturday, May 2 opening date will have to be pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We wanted to go with a modified market,” said Market Manager Kelli Burt, “but then we found out the space on Oak Street wasn’t big enough to accommodate enough vendors and customers to make it a feasible option.”

Burt said that while she and the market board have been putting in a lot of hours to find a solution to open on May 2, the right decision was to put the health of the community first and push back the start date — which is now set for Saturday, May 16, provided conditions don’t change.

“The problem is the crowding,” Burt said. “We want to avoid lingering and crowding on the sidewalks, which, on a normal day [is] impossible to avoid contact with other people.”

The board is now looking into an alternate location to hold the market until social distancing guidelines loosen. Burt said the space at Farmin Park is too big to monitor customers coming in and out, while the

adjacent location on Oak Street is too small to maintain social distancing.

“We are an essential business, so we need to be open,” Burt said. “But, we have to play by the rules. We’re also a special event.”

Burt said that because of Gov. Brad Little’s reopening plan, crowds of more than 50 people aren’t permitted until mid-June.

“We more or less fall in that category,” she said.

To help serve customers, Burt said several market vendors have offered online ordering, sales and drop-offs. Visit sandpointfarmersmarket.com to see which vendors are currently selling online and where they’re available for pick-up or drop-off.

“We’ll have our Farmers’ Market online platform up and running on our website soon,” Burt said. “Vendors will upload their items and customers will be able to order and pick up in a physical location. … It’ll be very close to a contactless method of shopping for the time being.”

Burt hopes the market will open up gradually along with the state, which is embarking this week on the first of four phases of loosening COVID-19 restrictions as outlined by the governor.

“I’d love for people to start shopping through the online platform,” she said. “This is a big hit for our farmers now. They make all their income in a very short period of time.”

To see which vendors offer online sales, visit sandpointfarmersmarket.com.

State parks remind visitors to pay vehicle entry fee

By Reader Staff

After observing visitors disregarding vehicle entry fees, Idaho State Parks officials are reminding would-be park goers that those without the Idaho Park Passport must pay $5 upon entrance to state parks, Parks are open to visit during the COVID-19 crisis, but visitors are asked to pay their vehicle entrance fees to maintain the recreational resources.

While parks are seeing big increases in visitors this spring, park managers said a large majority are not paying the $5 entrance fee. An estimated 75% of non-Passport visitors are skipping the fee altogether and accessing the sites free of charge.

The fees help support the parks, especially in times of financial upheaval such as the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.

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safe, many parks have closed fee kiosk booths, but the entrance fee still applies.

An honor system relies on visitors without Passports to pay their fee at the tube near the entrance.

Idaho State Parks are 90% self-sufficient, meaning that only 10% of funding comes from Idaho taxpayers. Between campground closures and switching to a new registration system, the Parks Department’s reliance on entrance fees has grown at a time when fewer people are contributing.

Parks officials said they cannot maintain the facilities efficiently throughout the year with nearly three-quarters of daily visitors avoiding entrance fees, and asked in a news release April 29 that all park visitors come prepared with $5 cash to place in the fee tube upon entering any Idaho State Park.

Also, visitors are reminded to practice safe social distancing in the parks.

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact, which COVID-19 has illustrated so well. A recent sampling: As of last week, Iceland (population 364,000) was still not in “lockdown” over COVID-19, with stats reported by Business Insider showing the U.S., percentage-wise, had six times more cases of the virus. Iceland has limited gatherings to no more than 100. The lack of restrictions is attributed to easy access to COVID-19 testing, both random and voluntary, and a long-planned and ready-to-go response. So far, data from Iceland shows 50% of those tested were positive but asymptomatic.

There are longer quarantines for a positive test in Iceland, along with detective work to determine those people’s contacts. After the country’s first COVID-19 case, Icelandic public health experts and political leaders rushed to team up with an American-based biotech company to dodge the worst.

There was a breakthrough for understanding of COVID-19 with the discovery that “silent hypoxia,” i.e. oxygen deprivation, is at work. By the time breathing difficulty occurs, COVID-19 patients have pneumonia and dangerously low oxygen levels. Detection of low oxygen levels should begin sooner than later, according to Dr. Richard Levitan, an emergency physician with expertise addressing human airway conditions. That is done with a non-invasive pulse oximeter (costs $17 to $184 online).

With earlier detection of COVID-19, less intensive treatment can begin.

The New York Times shared Levitan’s recommendations: those testing positive for COVID-19 should receive pulse monitoring for two weeks, which is when virus-related pneumonia usually develops. If one has cough, fatigue and fever — but no testing has occurred, or testing showed negative for COVID-19 — they should begin pulse oximeter monitoring, since most Americans are unaware of whether, where or when they have been exposed. Early monitoring of oxygen may help prevent use of a ventilator.

According to Business Insider, 80% of COVID-19 patients in New York who were treated with ventilator intubation have died, and physicians are rethinking how and when to use devices.

Not a case of a penny saved being a penny earned: The first supplemental budget request for responding to COVID-19 was for $4 billion, but an “enraged” White House whittled that down to $2.5 billion, The Washington Post reported. Yet, Congress approved $8 billion in early March, more than a month after public health officials confirmed the first U.S. case.

The first known COVID-19 case was

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

reported Jan. 21, and a scattering of deaths followed in February. By March 26, the U.S. had experienced 1,000 deaths; that doubled two days later. As of April 29, there were more than 60,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19 – surpassing the 58,220 U.S. deaths in the Vietnam War. Mask and ventilator exports from the U.S. rose 22% in January and February, and imports fell 13.5%, according to Democratic California U.S. Rep. Katie Porter’s review of U.S. Department of Commerce data. She also found that promised federal contracts for personal protective equipment, crucial for slowing the spread of COVID-19, will not be completed until September, long after when the virus is expected to have peaked.

The National Governors Association is asking Congress for $500 billion to offset states’ revenue losses from COVID-19.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) advised hard-hit states to declare bankruptcy, however, The Washington Post reports current law doesn’t allow that.

State bankruptcies will collapse the national economy, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo noted. He says New York’s request is not out of line: the state pays $116 billion more into federal funds than it takes out, whereas McConnell’s home state of Kentucky takes out $148 billion more than it pays into federal coffers. New York Republican U.S. Rep. Peter King said McConnell’s bankruptcy statement was akin to Marie Antoinette advising peasants without bread to eat cake, USA Today reported.

While Dems have been lining up to endorse presidential candidate Joe Biden, some Republicans are doing the same. The Lincoln Project, a Republican organization, plans to support Biden; they believe the former vice president will “put country over party.” Why some Republicans are endorsing Biden is explained in the Project’s recent Washington Post op-ed.

The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee has reaffirmed that Russia provided help to Trump’s election. The report also found that politics was not a component of the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference.

Blast from the past: In April 1979, President Jimmy Carter’s fishing trip was interrupted when an angry swamp rabbit, being chased by hounds, swam toward his small boat. It seemed ready to climb on board. Since the sizable creature was hissing and gnashing its teeth, and Carter professed to limited experience with enraged rabbits, he splashed his paddles. A photo shows the rabbit swimming away. In some media accounts, the incident morphed into a presidential attack by a killer rabbit.

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

The boiling frog and society

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist Have you heard of the “boiling frog” fable? If not, the basic premise is this: If you’re trying to cook a frog using a stove top and a pot, and you bring your water all the way to a rolling boil before throwing your a frog into it, the frog will react to the shock of the temperature and jump from the pot in an attempt to save its life.

However, if you put the frog in the pot when the water temperature is manageable then slowly and subtly increase the heat, you can bring the water to a boil without the frog noticing as it is complacently cooked alive.

Despite this story making my frog-loving stomach turn, the idea behind it informs my perception of our current circumstances.

Before the pandemic, we were the slow-cooking, complacent frogs in our own culture, with the heat of progress slowly and subtly rising, bringing us closer to a rolling boil each day. With a small succession of little changes, we weren’t feeling the shock of how long we’d already been cooking and what the highest heat could mean for us as a society.

But, at the onset of COVID-19, with all of its health, economic and social implications, it’s as if the low simmer we were experiencing suddenly ratcheted to high, allowing us to feel the end-game heat of our prior trajectory. We were able to experience the jolt and discomfort of our culture at a boil, giving us a unique opportunity to change our current course and — maybe — hop out of the pot altogether.

“Wait, what the hell are you talking about?” Let me explain.

First, let’s examine one of the

Emily Erickson. ways in which this pandemic has taken a phenomenon we were already experiencing and simply “turned up the heat” with social isolation.

Through quarantine measures, humans around the world are physically distancing themselves from other humans. To best navigate this, there has been a shift in almost all in-person interactions taking place virtually, instead of face-to-face.

Birthdays are being celebrated with a string of Facetime calls, music concerts are being tuned into through Facebook live streams, non-emergency patients are seeing doctors through telemedicine, and Netflix and video games have become most people’s primary forms of entertainment. Meanwhile, work meetings are attended on Zoom from new improvised home offices, and grocery shopping has shifted from carts and aisles to button clicks and pick-up stations.

Because of the all-encompassing intensity of our isolation, we miss the feeling of giving our loved ones a hug, the energetic buzz of a full office space, the joy of attending a live show and the camaraderie in a shared pitcher of beer. Yet, before the pandemic, weren’t we still moving our lives

and interactions increasingly online? Wasn’t this technology already trending? Wasn’t our time in isolation and virtual reality already at a low burn?

Another example of an existing phenomenon being brought to a boil by the society-wide coronavirus response is our access to public lands. Following health and safety measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many local, state and national parks temporarily closed to help fight the spread of COVID-19.

We’re experiencing the discomfort of searching for places to run, hike, camp and enjoy natural spaces as we are met with closed park gates and locked doors. We reminisce about family vacations piled into park tour busses and feel the claustrophobia of our wild boundaries closing in on us.

However, before the pandemic, weren’t many of our public spaces being purchased for private development and natural resource extrapolation? Weren’t the places we designated as collective property being reduced every day?

Finally, another instance in which the pandemic prompted a social phenomenon to be cranked up to a previously unexperienced intensity is the awareness of an emerging two-tier class system.

In the case that COVID-19 will subside in the way of some other viruses, with post-infection immunity for those who successfully recover, a new, binary social class system is bound to emerge: the Immune and the Susceptible.

Those with immunity will experience a drastically higher quality of life than those still susceptible, being in-demand for jobs, getting to safely utilize public services and enjoying the simple pleasures of anxiety-free

human interaction. Those who have yet to gain immunity will continue to feel the strain of the pandemic on their economic, social and health opportunities.

Before this possibility became imaginable, weren’t we already ever-more starkly divided between rich and poor? Weren’t we seeing the middle class becoming more obsolete every year? Wasn’t quality of life and opportunity becoming increasingly tied to the class — and, often related, geographic location — into which a person was born?

All this is to say, the discomfort we are experiencing as the result of the coronavirus pandemic is an opportunity. With the world currently paused, we are afforded unique insight into where our progress was taking us and, in an unprecedented way, is allowing us to continue pursuing the things that serve us while redirecting our course away from the things that don’t.

We can decide whether we want to stay in the pot and boil or if we want to find a better, more comfortable future.

Retroactive

By BO

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Dixon walks the talk...

Bouquets: • I received a guest submission asking to give a “Bouquet” to Bonner General Health volunteers, who have stepped up during the stay-at-home order to aid their community. These amazing volunteers have made face masks, clips for holding masks in place, scrub hats, tummy pillows, baby Christmas stockings and blankets for newborns. Kudos to Debby Stutler, Beck Stone, Jo Ellen Baker, Karen Anderson, Patty Auden, Darlene Rogers, Bette Shreve and daughter Audra Mearns, along with all of those who have delivered and provided additional masks for volunteers staying at home. Great job!

• Six weeks ago, I began volunteering Fridays at the Bonner Community Food Bank to help deliver meals to those who are isolating at home. In that time, my respect for the work that these people do has grown exponentially. One recipient told the Food Bank that they didn’t need to be restocked on a particular week, but mentioned that they missed having cheesecake. Well, the next week, I delivered a cheesecake to this person and it meant the absolute world to them. Thank you, Food Bank staff and volunteers — you are doing such a great job for this community. Please consider supporting the Food Bank if you’re looking for a place to spread your stimulus money around.

Barbs: • I’ve been called stubborn on occasion (along with a hilarious list of other pejoratives) by those who know me. While in high school, I remember something a teacher said to me after a point I had made was almost immediately proved wrong and I tried every which way I could to talk my way out of retracting my statement. This teacher said to me, “Ben, when you admit fault or concede a point, it’s not a weakness, it’s a strength.” That little aphorism has stuck with me over the years.

If you know someone who refuses to admit fault, no matter how small, “Barbs” to them. Remember, refusing to admit fault is a sign of weakness, not strength. No one and nothing is 100% certain (except that old duo Death and Taxes).

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Dear editor, I’d like to thank Representative Sage Dixon for his continual support for the Lake Pend Oreille School Districts Early Learning Center. We have had a dream of creating a smaller, more adaptive playground for our youngest special needs students.

After hearing my story about trying to raise funds for this project, Representative Dixon committed to giving us the proceeds from a walking contest he participates in annually in Boise. He has purposefully participated and earned the money knowing it would go to this project because he believes in it. He has raised over $2,000 toward our goal of $20,000 for fencing and play equipment.

Thank you from all of us!

I personally appreciate his attentiveness to our county and his calm presence during this time of the “stay home order.” He has been working to bring attention to struggling small businesses and to keep the public calm but aware. Another Thank You from my family.

We will be casting our vote for Sage Dixon in May. Kathy McDonald Sagle

Opinion is not fact…

Dear editor, Up until about 20-plus years ago I suffered from Partisan Blindness Syndrome (PBS), i.e., I believed everything I saw, heard and read as long as it fit my partisan, tunnel-visioned ideology. This affliction permitted me to go airborne if anyone dared disagree with me.

Can you confidently declare you’re getting the truth from NBC, FOX, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, PBS, CBS, your favorite paper or our 116th Congress? If you can, your PBS, in my opinion, is terminal.

And remember, opinion is not fact… it’s just opinion.

God bless America, and God bless our military.

Steve Brixen Sandpoint

Sign stealing is undemocratic…

Dear editor, As a participant in the American electoral process, I put up a campaign sign for a candidate that I support: Butch Horton. Imagine my surprise to find big truck tracks in my driveway and the sign gone today. I can only assume that the thief is a supporter of Butch’s

opponent, Steve Bradsaw. Is this person an opponent of the democratic process? Is he or she afraid that Bradshaw is going to lose? Are they aware that it is against the law to remove someone else’s campaign sign? Does this say anything about Bradhswa’s voter base? Pathetic.

Susan Bates-Harbuck Sandpoint

‘The real facts’…

Dear editor, I would have attended the “Disobey Idaho” protest, but I found out about it too late. I later learned from a Reader staff opinion article [“Misery Loves Company,” April 23, 2020] I’d be joining “a tantrum thrown by bored, angry, frightened people,” described as “self-important brats with too much time on their hands and a wicked case of Dunning-Kruger syndrome.” (A fancy term for “stupid”.) If I continued listing all of the article’s character attacks, I’d run out of room here...

I’d like to respond, but with a more civil tone.

To begin with (and perhaps to the author’s surprise), a robust debate is being waged in the medical and nutrition communities between Germ Theory vs Terrain Theory. A growing number of professionals are questioning Germ Theory, which when repeated by a local protester, the author called “the stupidest thing said there...” I recommend the author research Pasteur, Béchamp, and where the debate stands today.

Oh, and an apology may be in order.

For those open to scientific information not being widely discussed in the media, search for videos by Dr. Thomas Cowan and Dr. Andrew Kaufman. They offer some intriguing insights into what we’re dealing with.

Can we get the real facts from the CDC and the WHO? Research the CDC Spider Papers, the WHO’s collaboration with the drug companies and the corruption and deceit reported in both organizations.

Despite disparate viewpoints, hopefully we can maintain an intelligent and productive dialogue.

Lynn Settle Cocolalla

Editor’s note: I appreciate the sentiment pointing to an intelligent and productive dialogue.That’s hard to do, however, when one party brings demonstrable falsehoods to the discussion. In graduate school I worked under a professor who specializes in the history of public health. I am not “surprised” to hear

that there is a “robust debate” over germ theory because there is no “robust debate” over the germ theory of disease. Most of Béchamp’s theories have been long disproved (though his attention to the importance of the microbiome has been accepted as legitimate and of great value to human health). Both Drs. Cowan and Kaufman are conspiracy theorists.

Fund International Disaster Assistance…

Dear editor, In a world where “someone can sneeze in China and you or I can catch a cold the next day,” we are truly all in this together. After a month of staying at home, social distancing and wearing a mask in public, I’m getting cabin fever. In many parts of the world, however, people are crammed together and unable to social-distance at all.

Approximately 168 million people around the world, half of whom are children, would jump at the chance to avoid the COVID-19 virus.

I was always taught that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” For a world experiencing a pandemic, that is especially true. Right now, U.S. International Disaster Assistance funding is helping prevent people in places like Syria from contracting and spreading COVID-19.

COVID-19 has shown us that we are all connected.

I call on my congressional representatives, Senator Jim Risch, Senator Mike Crapo and Representative Russ Fulcher, to support strong funding for International Disaster Assistance.

It’s up to Congress to protect our nation’s ability to respond to the world’s greatest humanitarian needs and limit their impact on the United States.

Rev. Stanley Norman, World Vision Advocate Ponderay

Rep. Sage Dixon: The Right Choice...

Dear editor, Rep. Sage Dixon’s primary opponent is running on lowering property taxes, but fought to have a permanent, significantly-inflated property tax levy, remain in place.

Rep. Sage Dixon’s primary opponent wants Idahoans to report on those who

ignore stay-at-home edicts.

And Rep. Sage Dixon’s primary opponent is supported by some of the most radical, far-left Democrats imaginable.

On the other hand, Rep. Sage Dixon has worked to lower property taxes, has secured grants for area schools, and stands steadfastly for freedom and our right to free speech and assembly as well as our right to self-defense.

So the question is this: Do you want a representative who presents himself as something he’s not? Or do you want an honest representative with unwavering principles who will always stand on the side of smaller government and maximized freedom?

The choice is clear: Vote Rep. Sage Dixon on your May 19th primary ballot.

Steve Wasylko Sagle

Full-dress hazmat…

Dear editor, Just wondering: For Trump’s address to the graduating cadets at West Point — that is to be “nice and tight” — shouldn’t the uniform of the day be full-dress hazmat suits?

G. E. Beyer ETC USN (retired) Sandpoint

FEATURE

(Almost) open for business

As Idaho rolls out its plan for reopening the economy, Sandpoint business owners prepare to make the required adjustments

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Governor Brad Little will hold a press conference Thursday, April 30 at 11 a.m.

Mountain Time to share protocol for Stage 1 of his Idaho Rebounds plan — a four-step process meant to give businesses a timeline for opening between now and late June, depending on Idaho’s success in “flattening the curve” of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Though businesses are due to open if the state meets certain criteria, Idahoans will likely be facing a new normal for an unforeseen amount of time. Restaurants, bars, gyms, salons and large venues won’t be saying goodbye to distancing and sanitary protocol as soon as they reopen their doors.

According to the Idaho Rebounds guidelines, the effect of COVID-19 on social spaces — including Sandpoint businesses — is likely to persist even as the state attempts to find economic footing in the wake of the pandemic.

The criteria The Idaho Rebounds plan draws from three categories of statistical criteria to determine the ability of the state to move from one stage to the next: syndromic, epidemiologic and health care. These data — which measure emergency room visits for COVIDlike illness; positive coronavirus tests; the ability to treat patients without crisis standards of care; available ventilators, ICU beds and personal protective equipment; and testing availability for health care workers — are measured by the state’s disease tracking systems.

All criteria are measured over a 14-day period. For example, to pass the epidemiologic criteria, Idaho must see a “downward trend [in documented COVID-19 cases] over [the] most recent reported 14-day period, or less than 20 patients per day on average reported statewide over the same 14-day period.”

All criteria must be met before moving onto the next stage of the Idaho Rebounds plan, meaning dates are subject to change.

Stage 1: May 1-15 The first official stage in the Idaho Rebounds plan marks the end of the governor’s stay-at-home order, which went into effect March 25. However, the state is still urging vulnerable people — particularly those with pre-existing conditions — to continue practicing self-quarantine measures until Stage 3. Gatherings are still discouraged in

Stage 1, as well as non-essential travel. Outof-state visitors should still self-quarantine for two weeks upon entering Idaho during Stage 1.

Employers are encouraged to continue implementing telework during Stage 1, if possible, but are allowed to return their employees to work in phases if distancing and sanitation guidelines — as provided by local health districts — can be met and maintained.

A Stage 1 business protocol checklist from the Panhandle Health District makes a number of suggestions, including staggering work hours to limit crowding, displaying signage to remind patrons to socially distance and performing a “health check” on employees prior to their shift.

During Stage 1, churches and day cares may reopen and some youth activities may resume. The PHD released specific safety guidelines for these practices on April 29 (find them at panhandlehealthdistrict.org/ covid-19).

Restaurant dining spaces, salons and indoor gyms remain closed, but the Idaho Rebounds guidelines encourage those businesses to “develop plans for reopening and ability to meet business protocols in order to open in Stage 2.”

Also during Stage 1, visits to senior living facilities and other sites, such as jails, where people gather remain prohibited.

Bars, clubs and large venues — like movie theaters — remain closed with no guidelines to plan for opening.

Stage 2: May 16-29 During the second stage of the Idaho Rebounds plan, gatherings of fewer than 10 people are no longer discouraged, as long as “appropriate physical distancing” is in play.

Visits to senior living facilities are still not allowed in Stage 2, and bars, clubs and large venues remain closed. Salons and indoor gyms “can open if [they have the] ability to meet business protocols.” Restaurant dining rooms “can open once their plans have been submitted for approval by local public health districts.”

MickDuff’s Brewing Company co-owner Duffy Mahoney, whose business operates a brewpub on First Avenue and its Beer Hall on Cedar Street, said he is waiting for specific directions from PHD on how to submit such a plan. However, he said he imagines MickDuff’s will need to implement six-foot spaces between tables, strict sanitizing and other practices the restaurant already had in place before dining rooms were required to

close in March.

Unlike restaurants, salons are not required to present a plan to their local health districts to open during Stage 2. Michelle Ostrom said her Sandpoint salon and tanning business, Botanica, has a number of safety protocols in the works. She said clients will wait outside until the time of their appointment, use of a sanitation station will be required upon entrance to the salon, clients and employees will wear masks, and all services will be performed in separate rooms.

“We’d rather be more cautious than not at this point — for the time being — until we can normalize again,” Ostrom said.

Botanica is tentatively set to open its doors June 1 — two weeks after the state plans to start letting salons reopen. Ostrom said that is partially because the Idaho Rebounds dates are subject to change, and she doesn’t want to be caught off guard.

Also, she wants to see how the health district-mandated protocols pan out for other salons across the state.

“It makes it hard for someone to do their job because you can’t be six feet away from [the client],” she said. “Part of the reason we are waiting [is because] we’d like to see how this all comes through.”

Stage 3: May 30-June 12

By Stage 3, gatherings of 10-50 people are allowed and vulnerable Idahoans “can resume public interactions, but should practice physical distancing” by avoiding places where distancing is not possible.

Non-essential travel can resume to places that allow it and do not have active COVID-19 transmission, while out-of-state visitors to Idaho will no longer need to self-quarantine.

Visits to senior living facilities continue to be prohibited in this stage, and bars, clubs and large venues continue to be closed, though they may “develop plans” for opening in Stage 4.

Stage 4: June 13-26 At the final stage in the Idaho Rebounds plan, gatherings of 50 or more people — with appropriate distancing — are allowed.

Employers are able to resume unrestricted staffing and telework is no longer considered necessary.

Visits to senior living facilities can resume, and large venues may reopen as long

as physical distancing criteria is met.

Among the last to open will be bars and nightclubs, who may resume operations during Stage 4 “with diminished standing-room occupancy, where applicable and appropriate,” according to the Idaho Rebounds guidelines.

Mel Dick, owner of the 219 Lounge, said he plans to reopen his business June 13 with the necessary modifications. He said the number of people allowed into the bar at one time will be limited, as well as the number of tables and bar stools available indoors and on the patio. Places will be marked as designated seating areas to discourage patrons from moving tables and chairs. Dick said the exact number of patrons allowed into the 219 will be determined before the bar reopens.

“I would anticipate our capacity will be 50% or less than normal,” Dick said.

Due to the social distancing guidelines and the challenges they pose for traditional dance bands, Dick said entertainment at the 219 will transition to more solo or duo music acts and karaoke. He said strict sanitation practices will be in place, employees will wear protective equipment, hand sanitizer will be offered at each table and all employees will have their temperature checked before starting work. Anyone showing signs of sickness will not be allowed to work, he said.

In following the Idaho Rebounds guidelines, the 219 Lounge — along with many other Sandpoint businesses — will look different than they were before the onset of the pandemic. Still, Dick is focusing on the positive aspects of how the bar’s character will change.

“I anticipate the atmosphere at the bar will be more laid back,” he said, “with our patrons enjoying music in more of a ‘mini-concert’ environment while they enjoy a great cocktail, a great selection of craft and other beers, or a great glass of wine.”

Watch the Governor Brad Little’s Stage 1 press conference on Thursday, April 30 at 11 a.m. (Mountain Time) on Idaho Public Television or at the governor’s Facebook page.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

awesome aquarium fish

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

As the days of responsible isolation stagger onward, many of us have found ourselves exploring new hobbies. Some people have started drawing and painting, others are learning about all of the cool things you can make out of toilet paper, while others are stepping into the wild world of hobby aquariums.

While not as dangerous or sexy as owning your own exotic cat zoo, setting up a home aquarium is far more socially acceptable and responsible.

Having your own aquarium can be a lot of work, but it can be an extremely fulfilling experience that is both interesting and addictive. You might think it’s all goldfish and bowls, but it’s so much more.

Let’s start with my personal favorite freshwater aquarium fish: the silver arowana. The silver arowana is a bony-headed fish from South America.

Aside from appearing very elegant, it is a lively and energetic fish as well as a voracious predator. Due to these traits, you can’t put an arowana in a tank with just any other fish.

Large fish like cichlids, certain plecostomus catfish and knifefish make good tankmates for the silver arowana. As a general rule, never pair a fish with another fish that could fit in its mouth — it will only end in heartbreak.

Though not directly related to the silver arowana, another unique and extremely rare fish is the Asiatic golden arowana.

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of these guys from a pet store unless you’re flush with cash, as illegally bred ones will usually start around $10,000 per fish, with adults easily selling for over $300,000. In China, the fish is believed to bring good fortune to anyone that possesses it, though it appears to me that anyone in possession of a golden arowana already had some great fortune.

Another popular freshwater fish is the cichlid. Cichlids traditionally hail from the African great lakes and come in a huge variety of patterns and colors.

The most widely known breed of cichlid is the oscar, which originates from South America rather than Africa and, because of this, doesn’t mix well with the colorful African cichlids.

One of the only animals on the planet with a natural shade of blaze orange on its body, oscars are gregarious and intelligent, as far as fish go, happy to socialize with the human that feeds them. Given enough space, the oscar cichlid can also grow to an immense size, which is made doubly impressive by its stark orange and black body color contrast.

Having raised oscars before, I can tell you they are great fun to watch when feeding time comes around and they’re relatively easy to raise.

If the appearance of these fish is a little too bland for you, why not give the dragon goby a try? Dragon goby fish, also known as the violet goby, are snake-like fish with a prehistoric appearance.

Native to the brackish water bays of both North and South America, they prefer a little salt

in their water. Despite having sharp teeth and looking like a creature from your childhood nightmares, their primary method of feeding is filtering through the substrate for scraps of expired food.

Dragon gobies are generally shy fish, which only makes their frightening appearance that much more special when they finally emerge from their hiding place.

Ever wanted to raise your own shark? There are a shocking number of freshwater sharks for every skill level of aquarist. My late grandfather’s favorite fish, the red tailed shark, is a small, stealthy fish with a brilliant red tail that is surprisingly hardy. Another, larger alternative is the bala shark, a silver freshwater shark that can grow to be more than a foot long and will school with other bala sharks in the tank.

These guys are fun to watch while you hum the Jaws theme, sprinkling their preferred fish flakes into the tank to trigger a feeding frenzy.

Speaking of feeding frenzies, ever wanted to raise piranha? While raising piranha is illegal in most states, you can easily raise the freshwater pacu, a direct cousin of the feared piranha. An adult pacu can reach up to 30 pounds in captivity — as much as three fully grown cats. Unfortunately, irresponsible aquarists have released their huge fish into the wild and created a cascading ecological disaster throughout North America. The pacu is extremely hardy and highly invasive, capable of destroying an aquatic ecosystem in years,

Orange blotched peacock cichlid. Courtesy photo. requiring millions of dollars of your taxes to eradicate — all because someone didn’t want to be a responsible pet owner.

While all of these fish are really cool, it’s paramount to be a responsible pet owner, whether your pet has fur, feathers or scales. If you aren’t ready for all of the challenges involved with owning a pet, you shouldn’t own that pet. It’s

always important to do your research before shelling out cash for a fancy new pet and never release it into the wild if you get bored or overwhelmed.

It’s cruel and inhumane to the pet and the ecosystem you’re dropping it into. Don’t be that person.

Stay responsible, and stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner Don’t know much about fish?

• Some fish, like the triggerfish, can swim backward.

• Most brands of lipstick contain fish scales.

• Herrings communicate through flatulence. (So did my uncle Bob.) • Sharks kill 12 people per year while people kill 11,417 sharks per hour.

• There’s a shark in Greenland that eats polar bears and can live up to 200 years. The Greenland shark has been known to grow to more than 23 feet long — longer than the great white shark.

• One puffer fish contains enough poison to kill 30 people.

• Thousands of marine creatures die every year by mistakenly swallowing plastic bags that resemble jellyfish.

• Starfish do not have blood.

Their blood is actually filtered sea water.

• ”Rain of fish” is an annual

We can help!

weather event in which hundreds of fish rain from the sky onto the city of Yoro in Honduras.

• Goldfish can distinguish the music of one composer from another.

• When anglerfish mate, they melt into each other and share their bodies forever.

• About a third of male fish in British rivers are changing sex due to pollution, especially from contraceptive pills.

• A sardine is not a species of fish, but a name that can apply to many small varieties of pickled fish, including herring and pilchard.

• The salema porgy is a species of fish that can cause hallucinations when eaten. In ancient Rome it was consumed as a recreational drug.

• In Ohio, it is against state law to get a fish drunk.

ELECTION

Voting in the age of coronavirus How Bonner County is planning to handle the May 19 primary elections

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

It didn’t take long for Bonner County elections officials to realize that the coronavirus pandemic would require major changes to how they managed the polls for the May 19 primary election, which covers federal, state legislative and county seats.

“It was apparent that we would have problems with our polling places,” said Bonner County Clerk Mike Rosedale, noting that most local poll workers are in their 70s, thus putting them among the high-risk populations for complications related to COVID-19. “We didn’t want to expose our people to that.”

What’s more, the social, communal nature of polling places would have posed an undue risk for viral transmission. Looking at populous Canyon County, next door to Boise in southern Idaho, Rosedale said social distancing guidelines would have limited an elections operation that normally employs 500 poll workers to only 25 — “It would have been a total failed election,” he said.

Recognizing elections are “between a rock and a hard place,” Rosedale is emphasizing how, when and where area residents can both request and cast their ballots on Tuesday, May 19.

First of all, ballots are being sent by mail only — but, unlike absentee voting, voters must ask for their ballot, which will then be mailed to them.

“That’s the biggest thing: You must request your absentee ballot,” Rosedale said. “You have to affirmatively request an absentee ballot and which one you want.”

Because of the Idaho Republican Party’s closed primary, only registered members of the GOP can vote on the party’s primary ballot. The Democratic Party opens its ballot to both declared members and unaffiliated voters.

Requests for the appropriate ballot must be made by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19. Pre-registration has been suspended for the May 19 primary, which means voters can register any time up to

and including Election Day. To request a ballot online, go to idahovotes.gov/ vote-early-idaho. Follow the directions, but be aware that the online system is operating under strain from the numbers of Idahoans trying to fill out or download the ballot request form and so has experienced some errors.

Rosedale said the county clerk’s office will accept the ballot request form in a number of ways: by mail to 1500 U.S. Highway 2, Suite 124, in Sandpoint; email to elections@ bonnercounty.id.gov; or by phone to 208-255-3631. Voters may also simply take a picture of the form with their smartphone and email it, he said.

Rosedale added that a table outside the office with the necessary forms and staff will be available until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Once filled out, the ballots must be signed on the back of the envelope and returned either by mail to the Bonner County clerk or delivered in the office’s drop box by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2. The signature on the back is crucial — if it’s not on the envelope or differs widely from the voter’s normal signature, county officials will call to confirm whether that voter actually submitted a ballot.

If the ballot is missing a signature because the voter simply forgot, they will be required to sign it in person at the county administration building or it will not be counted.

The deadline for declaring party affiliation has come and gone, as has the deadline for filing as a partisan write-in candidate for federal, state legislative or county office. According to Rosedale’s office, only a handful of write-in candidates will be accepted on the ballot — Cindy Marx, running as a Democrat against incumbent Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, as well as Daniel Lawrence, Michael Stout, Richard Harter and Sarah Matlock, running for Republican precinct committee positions in Laclede, Priest River, Clark Fork and Oldtown, respectively.

Any other write-in names will be discarded as ineligible because they did

DATES TO REMEMBER Tuesday, May 19

Tuesday, June 2

Deadline for requesting a ballot in the federal, state legislative and county primary election, with polls open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Deadline to return your signed ballot to the Bonner County Clerk, open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

IMPORTANT WEBSITES Bonner County Elections:

bonnercountyid.gov/departments/Elections

Idaho Votes:

idahovotes.gov (provides downloadable ballot request form)

Idaho Secretary of State Elections Division: sos.idaho.gov/elections-division

Sandpoint Online Elections Central: sandpointonline.com/news/elections

not file by the April 21 deadline.

“If you didn’t file for a write-in, you’re out of luck,” Rosedale said. “The write-in slot is reserved for eligible write-in candidates.”

Rosedale said he’s confident that Idaho’s absentee voting procedures will ensure the upcoming election is fair and free of fraud, and Bonner County is better positioned for vote-by-mail than some other municipalities in the state.

“We build our own ballots and nobody touches our machines,” he said.

“Nobody can infect it with some funky switcheroo.”

Rosedale expects a good turnout for the primary — in part because “our country is more polarized than it was four years ago, unfortunately, and I imagine that intensity is going to increase” — but the vote-by-mail system will be able not only to handle the vol-

ume of ballots but continue to be useful should COVID-19 linger into another election cycle.

“It’s a whole lot more work for my office, but we’re able to manage it. I think it’s going to go really well,” he said. “If we have to do it again it’ll work again.”

However, he added, “My biggest concern is that somebody will go to their regular polling place and it will be closed and they won’t vote.” That’s why Rosedale advises county residents to pay particular attention to the idahovotes.gov website, the county’s elections site at bonnercountyid.gov/ departments/Elections or simply call 208-255-3631 with questions.

“We’re taking calls all day long,” he said.

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COMMUNITY

Helping hands

By Reader Staff

The novel coronavirus pandemic has given rise to hardships, as well as profound acts of support from businesses and other organizations. Two groups looking to make a positive difference in the lives of struggling Idahoans are the local Bonner County Economic Development Corporation and Boise-based Molina Healthcare of Idaho.

The BCEDC has created an Economic Response and Recovery Fund to offer direct financial support to Bonner County businesses in crisis.

“From the beginning of this crisis, one of our goals as an economic development corporation is to provide meaningful assistance to businesses,” said Andrea Marcoccio, executive director of BCEDC. “After hearing from over 100 businesses, we began to envision a locally-driven mechanism for financial support.”

The BCEDC has received initial funds

from the Innovia Foundation to launch the program, and is partnering with Bonner County and the city of Sandpoint for additional support. These funds will help the BCEDC continue to expand the support offered to businesses in the coming weeks with the goal of rebuilding the economy across the county.

Businesses in crisis need the advice of professionals and experts to help them make a plan to survive, recover and eventually thrive in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, right now, many businesses are not in a financial position to incur the expense of these needed services. The initial goal of the BCEDC’s financial assistance program is to connect and provide free professional support to businesses, or to financially cover any already incurred expenses related to COVID-19.

A business can participate in two ways: apply to access and receive free support from participating professional services providers, or apply and request

Local and regional organizations launch programs to support businesses, families amid COVID-19 pandemic the BCEDC to cover the expenses of professional services after they are obtained.

All businesses and service providers must be located in Bonner County.

Participating businesses must meet the requirements outlined in the application, available at bonnercountyedc.com.

Those qualified to offer financial, business, accounting, legal or marketing services, the BCEDC encourages those businesses to complete the survey on their website to join the program. Professional service providers can expect questions from local business owners about government relief programs, employee management, legal nuances, financial projections, cash-flow management, and e-commerce or marketing strategy.

Members of the community interested in contributing to the BCEDC’s Economic Response and Recovery Fund can contact Marcoccio at andream@bonnercountyedc.com.

On a regional level, Molina Healthcare of Idaho — which provides govern-

ment-funded health care to low-income individuals — has announced its plan to donate $13,000 to relief efforts in the wake of COVID-19. Molina will provide funds to food banks and other community-based organizations across the state that are working tirelessly to provide for their communities.

“With this donation, Molina will help get more food and supplies to people in need. We know that in the toughest of times, a warm meal and the certainty that families and children will have enough to eat is of the utmost importance,” said Brandon Hendrickson, plan president of Molina Healthcare of Idaho. “These direct donations will go toward helping the communities where we live and work get back on their feet.”

Molina Healthcare is providing assistance to nonprofits across Idaho, including the Bonner Community Food Bank in Sandpoint.

Visit molinahealthcare.com to learn more about the provider.

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COMMUNITY

Quick facts about COVID-19 However, the novel coronavirus is pretty new to the “infecting humans” gig, and it manifests itself quite differently in What are the symptoms of various individuals.

COVID-19?

Diarrhea and bowel distress can be The Centers for Disease Control and one of the earliest signs of a coronavirus Prevention has done an amazing job at infection, particularly in children. Loss publicizing what I personally call the of taste and smell are common among “Big Three” COVID-19 symptoms: fever, patients in a number of studies, and doca cough and shortness of breath. tors in hard-hit New York have described a distinctive, tell-tale redness around the edges of many of their patients’ eyes.

The fact of the matter is, we’re still In this photo short on tests. So, if I personally start taken before displaying some of these less-common the COVID-19 warning symptoms, I’m still probably not outbreak, Shangoing to be granted access to a test until non and Gaiya more severe symptoms manifest. However, M B Reitan hold knowing these less-common symptoms a copy of the helps us remember that we need to immediReader during ately isolate ourselves from others when we their travels to India where they experience signs of any flu-like or infectious illness. By doing so, we are helping to took a course in the study of sound isolate and contain all forms of disease for the betterment of our community. and the science If the game of “name your condition” of sound and feels overwhelming, there are a lot of mantra. “It was quite the trip and charts online comparing the common symptoms of COVID-19 to the flu and we literally flew around the world common cold. with all this hype Don’t be paranoid, but do be careful. around the virus,” Gaiya told the How can I help my local health care Reader after they providers? had self-isolated Yes, health care practices love donated for 14 days when masks, shields and PPE (personal protecreturning home. tive equipment). But we also love it when Gaiya and Shan- you help us reduce traffic in our clinical non own New spaces. That means — whenever possible Earth Center in — please don’t bring ancillary children Sandpoint. Glad or family members to your appointments you both made it with you. When someone does come back safely!

By Jen Heller Reader Contributor

THE READER IN INDIA

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along, kindly have them wait outside or in your vehicle.

Also, please call us with any questions.

We love being helpful, even from afar, and we’ll do our best to do just that — help from afar — whenever possible. We are looking forward to chatting with all of you face-to-face when things settle out.

Tell me about COVID-19 and my eyes It’s fairly common for a COVID-19 infection to affect the appearance and surface comfort of your eyes, just like a normal head cold or virus can do. The best way to determine what is making your eyes red is, as always, to be seen by an eye doctor. Take comfort in knowing that very few long-term effects on vision have been reported in most COVID-19 cases.

In the meantime, some people have asked if it is safe to keep wearing contact lenses. The most current guidelines we’ve received from the American Optometric Association say that, yes, you can wear your contact lenses as prescribed by your eye doctor.

That said, be smart and don’t bend the rules. Always wash your hands before touching your eyes or face for any reason.

Clean and dispose of your contact lenses as prescribed by your doctor. As always, do not wear your contact lenses if your eyes ever look red or feel irritated or painful. Remove them immediately and seek professional help.

Jen Heller manages a trio of local eye clinics, including Pend Oreille Vision Care in Sandpoint. Check the practice’s website (pendoreillevisioncare.com) or Facebook page for more COVID-19-related news and updates.

FEATURE

The year that never was

Part 3

Sandpoint High School seniors share what it’s like to have their graduation year sidelined by the coronavirus

Editor’s note: We reached out to a few graduating seniors at Sandpoint High School to ask how the coronavirus has affected their final year of secondary education. We asked each student how their lives have been altered by the closure of schools for the rest of their senior year, what they were most looking forward to this year, if there are any positives that have come out of this situation and how students are reacting to distance learning. Special thanks to SHS social studies teacher Conor Baranski for putting us in touch with some of his students.

Jaycie Irish

JD Griffin

Who knew one day we would wake up and be told we can’t go to school, go play our favorite sports and hang out with our best friends? If someone would have told me that would happen my senior year of high school — during the best moments of my life — I would’ve told them to stop lying, because that sounds absolutely terrible. Sadly it’s our new reality.

Our incredible last months at school have come to an earth-shattering halt because of COVID-19 and it is heartbreaking. Prom, spring sports, graduation and many other events are all affected by this virus and it’s very painful to live through.

Being stuck at home isn’t that bad.

I get to stay in my pajamas as I do my online school work, but motivation toward school has dramatically declined.

I had my hopes up that school would come back after spring break, and then after April 20, but now I just want it to be over.

School isn’t school anymore — it’s hop on a computer and complete assignments and then move on to the next class and complete those assignments.

I feel like we are doing the same thing over and over, and that’s not helping us educationally. I understand that this is pretty much the only option that we have for school, but it is not ideal.

Idaho’s high-school spring sports have officially been canceled as well.

I have been playing softball for eight years and have dreamed of my senior-year season. I went numb when I heard about the final cancellation.

I always had a “what-if” in my head; what if we can play a couple games in May, or what if we just have a tournament and the season is over?

Looking at all of the goals I had for this season, and for our team, I can’t help but get angry because I won’t be able to fulfill them. I’ve wished and

Since school has been closed and the stay-at-home order has been implemented, my life has slowed down considerably. Before the quarantine, I was practicing lacrosse for two hours every day after school, riding dirt bikes and fishing with my friends, and working toward my private pilot’s license.

In my final semester at Sandpoint High School I was looking forward to my last season of playing lacrosse.This season, my entire team was working very hard and progressing very quickly in practice. I was certain that this was going to be our most successful season yet, so it is very disappointing that it had to end so soon.

Distance learning has been different, but I enjoy the ability to play with my dogs during the day and catch up with friends and family. I have also been able to help my family by working on various projects and chores around our house and property.

Distance learning has presented a unique situation. I don’t mind working on school work from my home, but I do miss seeing my friends every day and interacting with my teachers in the classroom. I am also in multiple honors and dual credit courses, so the material can be difficult to understand at times, but my teachers have been very helpful by posting videos, answering any questions and providing other resources.

I believe that the

Jaycie Irish. waited for this season to come since fifth grade. I wanted to be the awesome senior who leads her team to victory, but that dream has fallen apart. All of the seniors on my team have worked so hard for this final high-school season.

It’s truly heartbreaking that I will never step on a field with them again.

Many people say senior year was one of the best years of their highschool career. They had an amazing prom and graduation, but we still don’t know if we will get either of those.

Prom has been postponed, but will likely be canceled. Even though graduation hasn’t been officially scrapped, I’m sadly expecting that it will.

I’ve been seeing many colleges and high schools resort to alternate graduation schemes such as a parade or online ceremony, but that’s not graduation. I want the walk to grab my diploma and I want the cap throw. I want what every senior would normally get. We all want that.

It’s hard to adjust to this new world we are living in. I feel like the memories I should be making have been ripped away from me. I should be playing softball and experiencing the senior night I’ve been waiting for my whole life. I should be preparing for prom and graduation. But instead I social distance to help keep my family, friends and community safe.

Hopefully some good will come from the situation we find ourselves in, and I hope it comes soon.

JD Griffin.

average high-schooler is taking the stay-at-home order and distance learning seriously. I believe that students are getting used to these unique circumstances and realizing that the fastest way we can get back to normal and stop the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home as much as possible and limit exposure to others.

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FEATURE

‘Building the airplane while we’re flying it’

Two area banking professionals on how the Paycheck Protection Program has played out locally

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Trying to describe the rollout, administration and distribution of funds from the Paycheck Protection Program, national media headlines in recent weeks have been filled with words like “chaos,” “extremely disappointing” and “troubled.”

The so-called PPP, a component of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stimulus Act rushed through Congress and signed

by President Donald Trump in March, is an emergency lifeline administered by the Small Business Administration and intended to help employers cover payroll while their businesses are shuttered, customer traffic is nil or cash flow constraints demand their workers go on furlough.

An initial round of $349 billion in funding approved by Congress ran dry within two weeks of the program launch on April 3.

According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the SBA processed 14 years worth loan applications in those 14 or so days.

Almost immediately after the coffers emptied April 16, complaints surfaced that big public corporations and giant financial institutions had taken more than their fair share from the program, which was intended to help small business.

A second round for the PPP opened April 27 with an additional $310 billion in funding and some new rules to make access more equitable for smaller banks and borrowers, such as limiting access to lending institutions with less than $1 billion in assets through April 30. Yet, the systems used by SBA to receive the applications crashed amid the crush of traffic coming from lending institutions scrambling to file on behalf of their clients.

Even with those constraints, analysts predict the second tranche of funding will be claimed even faster than the first.

However, according to some area banking professionals, all things considered, PPP has played out more successfully on the local level than the national reporting suggests.

“Under the circumstances, the SBA was given virtually no notice or lead time or any sort of runway to develop the Paycheck Protection Program operating procedures,” said Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Mountain West Bank, a division of Glacier Bank. “I would commend the SBA for getting done what they did get done — essentially building the airplane while we’re flying it, and really getting the program up and running.”

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While recognizing that the SBA has “taken a lot of shots and some criticism,” Anderson, speaking from Coeur d’Alene, pointed out that lending institutions, borrowers and regulators alike are in uncharted territory, trying to navigate processes and guidelines that can change often within a day.

“It’s been all hands on deck here at Mountain West Bank,” he said. “It’s a significant disruption to our routine … and our routine has already been altered by the COVID-19 stay-athome order and social distancing. This is just an additional challenge thrown into an environment that we haven’t been operating in for very long.”

Eric Paull, vice president and relationship manager at Washington Trust Bank in Sandpoint, also said it’s been a “hectic” experience trying to keep up with the pace of demand for loans, as well as ensure that all the guidance is being followed while also meeting aggressive timelines — all while racing the clock to transmit borrowers’ information before the funding pool runs out.

That said, Paull added that Washington Trust began preparing for what managers knew would be a fluid, high-intensity period by “digging in and getting ready for it the week of March 16.”

“We were ready the weekend of April 3-4 and started contacting our client lists,” he said. “We were proactive in getting what we knew out to them.”

With 40 offices in Idaho, Washington and Oregon, Paull said his institution processed and approved upwards of 3,500 applications worth a combined $1.21 billion in the first round. He personally processed more than 60 loans during that time — all of them for local small businesses.

“It was pretty busy,” he said, though added that he was “batting 1,000. Everybody that I touched got funded.”

Speaking only for Mountain West Bank and its 21 branches in Idaho and eastern Washington — not its parent company Glacier Bank — Anderson said the institution successfully approved, closed and funded more than 1,500 loans in the first round.

The North Idaho team processed 308 of those loans, totalling $22.7 million and representing 2,716 jobs. Anderson said about 20% of all loans processed by Mountain West Bank during that time were in Boundary and Bonner counties. He expects round two will exceed 500 loans division-wide.

Asked to describe the average PPP borrower among his banks’ clients, Anderson said they are “all over the board.” That said, “we don’t have any large, publicly traded customers applying for PPP loans.”

“Businesses had to have less than 500 employees, which is pretty much all of our employers here in North Idaho,” he said.

“Business with less than five employees I would guess accounts for about two-thirds of that volume.”

As with Anderson, Paull applauded the SBA for “a marvelous job, considering what was thrown at them and the unknowns.”

“I would not point a negative finger at them,” he said.

According to Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kate McAlister, who also serves on the Sandpoint City Council, in talking with local business owners she has heard that “those who went through their banks, the process wasn’t too bad; others who had done it on their own seemed to have a few problems, but they don’t do this for a living.”

For local employers who either haven’t yet applied for PPP funds, or are still waiting for loan approval, she recommended going through their local banking institution, connect with the local SBA organization or contact the chamber and Bonner County Economic Development Corporation, the latter which has secured funding to support local businesses with a range of needs.

Though both Anderson and Paull reported success in working with their clients to work through the program, there has been frustration and anxiety as borrowers try to navigate the ever-evolving system — sometimes finding their applications held up by incomplete information or other paperwork problems to the extent that they miss the window for available funds.

Anderson said accurate, easy-to-understand applications can be entered into the SBA system in about five minutes; however, missing or incomplete information or documents can drag out the process by hours or even days of back and forth between the lender and borrower.

“There is pressure coming from a couple of different directions: a scarce resource disappearing — program funding — and then trying to get the pig through the snake, if you will, here internally doing a significantly larger amount of volume in a busi-

ness day or per hour or while our network is able to be up and available to do that sort of stuff,” he said.

The swiftness with which the guidance changes can also be nerve wracking, as can occasional slow communication from the feds.

“We got information on the 24th of April that says, ‘Here’s how to calculate the loan program,’ well, we’ve been doing this since April 2 or April 3,” Paull said. “We took the initial guidelines and we’re pretty confident that the way we calculated it, our clients are OK. But there are other nuances that when SBA says they might do something differently in the future, it kind of makes you nervous.”

For instance, Paull added, he has some clients that even after four weeks are still hearing guidance on how to calculate their eligibility, but is “confident it’s all going to work out.”

A big point of uncertainty — beyond whether a specific borrower will be approved — is how to approach the debt forgiveness portion of the program. According to current guidelines, PPP recipients have eight weeks in which to expend their loan, after which time they are required to report to the bank how they spent the money. The bank then forwards that information to the SBA, which has 60 days to issue a determination on whether the borrower followed the terms of their initial application.

Depending on whether discrepancies are found in those records — and their magnitude — borrowers could be on the hook for some or all of what they received from the program. Repayment would occur at a rate of 1% over a two-year term, amortized over 18 months.

“You’ve got to make sure you account for every penny exactly how it should be spent [based on the approved application],” Paull said. “We’re hopeful that the majority of our clients will get the forgiveness. …

[But] it’s going to be hectic during those few days because everybody is going to be wanting that forgiveness.”

Anderson agreed that the next six months will be the real crucible for the PPP. “Where the rubber meets the road on this is with how smoothly the debt forgiveness part goes,” he said. “I use the metaphor of building the airplane while we’re flying — the debt forgiveness part of this I would liken to the landing gear: an important piece of equipment to flying the airplane that was still being constructed as we were taking off and getting it into the air.”

GAMING

What kind of Puzzler are you?

By Matthew Weatherman Reader Contributor In these times, more and more folks are turning to their game cupboards for inspiration. Whether your quarinteam has many members or you are isolating in solitude, puzzles are a popular choice.

Did you know that jigsaws have never been used in the commercial production of puzzles? Or that the first puzzles were made of wood? Those early puzzles were maps used for teaching geography. Since those formative years, jigsaw puzzles have been made of any and everything, in a myriad of shapes, not just squares and rectangles. There are even 3-D puzzles.

The shelter-in-place order has helped puzzling reach a popularity peak that hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.

You don’t have to have caught puzzle fever to get through a box of 500, 1,000 or even 2,000 pieces — all you need is to figure out which type of puzzler you are, sign up your teammates and begin your project. Puzzled? Keep reading.

The Shapist All puzzle pieces are different, but if you are just looking at the number of inlets and outlets in a piece, a kind of kindredness begins to appear between pieces. The Shapist is all about finding the right-shaped piece to fit a given negative space. Often baffling to their teammates, a Shapist will try all the possible pieces in a space, regardless of color or context, only to surprise everyone by finding that one weird fit that no one else could figure out.

The Generalist More of a sorting task, the Generalist groups the greens with the green, the blues with the blue and the grays with the gray. They leave it up to others to find out where the pieces actually go, whether the blue is the sky or the sea. The Generalist may or may not participate in the actual placing of pieces, but their organizational skills are vital to the longevity of any puzzling project.

The Missing Piece Not necessarily a participant, the Missing Piece is filling waters, making lunches, finding literal missing pieces that might have fallen off the table or been nabbed by curious pets. This support role is vital for those all-day/all-night puzzling sessions. While they haven’t caught puzzle fever (yet), their love of the puzzling participants keeps them a part of the puzzling project.

The Edger Often seen as a “beginner role,” the Edger is there for one thing and one thing only: to find all the edge pieces. Their ability to detect an actual flat line helps them discern the “false edges” from the true. Once their rectangular frame is complete, their obligation to the puzzling project is done. Many an Edger ends up retiring as a Missing Piece. Yes, technically, The Edger role is a sort of specialized Shapist role.

The Specificist Whether or not they are using the box as reference, the Specificist is all about finding exactly where a piece goes.

Courtesy illustration.

Sometimes that is as a way of connecting already fit pieces, sometimes they just leave a random piece floating where no connections have yet been made. These puzzlers are often seen asking, “Is this red the same as that little spot of red there, or is it a different red?” Their attention to detail helps sort the sky from the sea.

The Connector Without using the box, or paying too much attention to the shape of the pieces — or their colors, even — this participant seems to have an uncanny knack for grabbing a random piece and finding its pair. More of a now-and-then puzzler, this role baffles the hard-working Specificists and Generalists in the group. Also helpful for joining together two clumps of already solved pieces.

The Puzzle Master Anyone willing to open a puzzle box with the determination to finish. Their skills are often made of a hodgepodge of the roles listed. They just have that little something extra that pushes them forward when everyone else has given up. And extra table space. And the time and energy to stare at little oddly shaped pieces of paperboard. Whether it takes a day, a week or a month, they are determined to finish the puzzle.

Whether you are a Master or a Missing Piece, consider opening up that dusty puzzle that’s been lingering on your shelf for who knows how long. None of us knows how long this will last, so you definitely have time for a puzzle or two.

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STAGE & SCREEN

Where the bananas belt

The Masked Singer is the dumpster fire we all need right now

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

The local libraries have been closed for more than a month and my personal collection of DVDs has run dry. The TV antenna, which captures about four channels, is seeing more action than ever before, and it’s led to some questionable decisions.

During past DVD droughts, my household has been known to gravitate toward whatever sitcoms air on Fox 28 in the evenings. Big Bang Theory has its awkward charm, and even the slapstick brand of conservatism that Tim Allen is selling on Last Man Standing is endearing at times. But when I started seeing ads on the channel for The Masked Singer in early 2019, I couldn’t help but feel that deep, familiar pain that so often accompanies the observation of American pop culture.

“Who thought of that?” I remember asking my partner.

“And who the hell watches it?”

It’s been a year and one quarantine since I first witnessed the dumpster fire that is The Masked Singer, and I can now answer my own question: I do. I watch it, along with nearly 8 million other Americans.

The show puts celebrities in costume, concealing their identities, and then has them perform musical numbers. Their voices are distorted whenever they are not singing, but “clue packages” are revealed every so often to provide the judges and the audience with fodder for guesses. At the end of each episode, a singer is kicked off and unmasked.

The Masked Singer is definitely as cringe-worthy as it appears at first glance. Most of the celebrities are not professional singers, and the show

relies heavily on witty banter between host Nick Cannon and the panel of judges. The panel is a good microcosm of the random smattering of fringe talent that populates the show: musician and producer Robin Thicke; TV personality Jenny McCarthy; Pussycat Dolls frontwoman and actress Nicole Scherzinger; and the admittedly adorable comedian Ken Jeong, best known for his role as Leslie Chow in the Hangover movies.

A few of the contestants kicked off of season three so far have been Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison, dressed as the Banana; comedian Drew Carey as the Llama; and perhaps cringiest of them all — former Alaskan governor, vice presidential candidate and Sandpoint native Sarah Palin as the pink and blue fuzzy Bear.

Is it possible to enjoy something so outrageously awkward and try-hard? Apparently yes.

I can’t look away from this season of The Masked Singer.

It’s like watching a toddler

look into the business end of a hose: they’re going to get water up their nose, but it’s going to be funny.

Aside from the obvious hilarity that accompanies NFL players and reality TV stars trying to sing and dance, there is surprising talent on The Masked Singer. You don’t think you’d ever say the words, “Wow, the Turtle’s rendition of ‘Kissed By a Rose’ was really powerful” until you’ve said them.

The costumes are the stuff

of theater-kid dreams, there are talented backup dancers and elaborate sets, and an intoxicating sense of real, unbridled anticipation when someone is about to be unmasked.

The best part of this whole mess is when you’re positive that you have someone figured out. I am 100% sure of the Astronaut’s identity, and I yell at the judges each week as they make horrendous guesses.

The Masked Singer is the epitome of American network

An LSD flashback or The Masked Singer? You decide. Courtesy photo. television: a simple-minded, ostentatious spectacle peppered with plenty of commercials.

But it’s also a lot of fun — the silly kind of fun where the competition is friendly and the music is good. Come to think of it, The Masked Singer might be what we all need right now.

Escapism at its best

Panida hosts virtual screening of Supa Modo, an endearing Kenyan film

Jo loves watching superhero action films, and though her body is failing, Jo’s mind and The Panida Theater’s Virtu- spirit are strong as she believes in the possibility that she may al Viewing Rooms series will herself become a superheroine. be screening Supa Modo, an After returning to her endearing Kenyan film that has Kenyan village after a terminal critics and audiences raving. diagnosis, Jo’s big sister Mwix Directed by Likarion Wainbegins a secret campaign to aina, Supa Modo is a superbly rally the commuwritten film that Supa Modo (NR) nity behind Jo to centers on Jo, a support making Streaming Friday, May 1-Thursvibrant 9-yearday, May 7; viewing available her wildest suold girl who anytime for 72 hours after perhero fantasies has just been diagnosed with a payment; $12. Access the film at come true. These panida.org/event/supa-modo. acts vary from terminal illness.

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

having Jo open a jar at the dinner table to “stopping” a purse thief and saving the day.

Supa Modo is one of those films that will bring tears of joy to your eyes, while also taking the viewer for a ride on Jo’s personal brand of escapism. In the end, viewers will

Courtesy image. leave with a greater appreciation for the things that we too often take for granted in life: health and family.

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LITERATURE

Camus’ The Plague should be required reading right now

By Ben Olson Reader Staff In 1947, at the age of 34, Albert Camus penned a novel called The Plague, which chronicles a fictional bubonic plague outbreak to the Algerian coastal town of Oran.

This book should be required reading right now, as we deal with the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic in modern-day America.

It’s important to note that COVID-19 is nowhere near as destructive as Camus’ plague. In the 14th century, the “Black Death” killed about one-third of the people in Europe. Three hundred years later, it rampaged through London killing nearly a quarter of its population. When treated with antibiotics, the plague had a death rate of 10%, and untreated up to 90%, many times higher than coronavirus mortality rates.

That being said, the true value of Camus’ The Plague is in his examination of the connection between a physical and psychological infection when an outbreak affects a society.

The book starts with a sudden onset of rats dying on sidewalks and street corners in increasing numbers. The main character, a doctor named Rieux, is one of the first people in Oran to notice this strange phenomenon. His friend Michel expresses outrage, believing the rats have been planted by young “scallywags” as a prank. Michel’s response serves as foreshadowing to the way many in the U.S. reacted to the coronavirus outbreak. Michel misinterpreting signs of a pandemic as an annoyance, possibly due to shoddy work by the sanitation department, is analogous to networks like Fox News, which in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak likened it to a “hoax” or an engineered plan by Democrats to damage the economy and, as as result, hurt President Donald Trump’s reelection chances.

When Michel falls ill and dies, Rieux recognizes the symptoms of the plague but hesitates, stating that, “The public mustn’t be alarmed, that wouldn’t do at all.” The town leaders agree, believing the plague is nothing more than “a special type of fever.”

It is only when the deaths dramatically increase in pace that Rieux rejects the attempts to downplay the disease and town leaders are forced to take action.

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quarantines imposed, cutting off Oran’s inhabitants from one another, as well as the outside world. Rieux embarks on a mission to treat the town’s residents, in the process shedding valuable light on the collective mentality of a city under quarantine.

Camus brilliantly weaves stories from a range of interesting characters to capture the emotional fallout of the plague, including the feelings of isolation and fear many of us have felt amid our own pandemic.

After the plague lingers for the better part of a year, it departs just as suddenly as it appeared, “slinking back to the obscure lair from which it had stealthily emerged.”

Camus reminds us, in wrapping up his novel, the importance of correctly recognizing “bewildering portents,” stating that while this disruption will not last forever, others will emerge one day.

Fast forward to today, the parallels between The Plague and our own coronavirus outbreak are astounding — with one notable exception: Oran’s inhabitants had no virtual community in which to connect with one another. Camus paints a vivid picture of how many inhabitants fought their desperate isolation by dressing up for no reason, brazenly strolling along the empty streets, eating at restaurants while poised to flee if another diner should fall ill. He shows “the frantic desire for life that thrives in the heart of every great calamity” by reinforcing the strength (and comfort) of community in a time of crisis.

When we examine our own community’s reaction in the wake of this global pandemic, I am left wondering how history will remember those who sought to violate social distancing guidelines out of fear, hubris or pure ignorance. The crowd that recently gathered on the Long Bridge to protest Gov. Brad Little’s stay-at-home order could easily have been written into existence by Camus himself, showing that not all in the community viewed the overall health of its citizens as important enough a reason to follow the rules.

Most important, it’s remarkable how a fictional novel written nearly 70 years ago can accurately predict the way another group of people will react when a “plague” reaches their shore. If and when another outbreak like coronavirus happens in the future, let’s hope we can learn from this experience instead of starting all over at zero again.

MUSIC

The modern mix

From mixtapes to digital streaming platforms, the power of a good playlist persists today

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff I can remember, in detail, the best mixed CD I ever received.

Titled Lyndsie’s Awesome Mix No. 7, it was part of a series of mixes my older sister, Cassie, burned for me with our parents’ Dell PC. Mix No. 7 kicked off with Avril Lavigne’s rendition of the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song, featured an ample portion of The Killers’ Hot Fuss album and also included “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy),” by Big & Rich. I don’t remember if “Lips Of An Angel” by Hinder also made the cut, but based on the tracklist I do recall, there is at least a 90% chance.

Looking back, I can’t rationalize why I loved Mix No. 7 so much. Cassie made me at least 20 mixes over the years, fostering my love for various boy bands, singer-songwriter classics and octane rock that was certainly too heavy for the average 8-year-old girl. But Mix No. 7 was a constant companion. It lived permanently in my backpack, tucked into an orange CD case, and came out often to be played in my butterfly-clad Walkman as I rode the bus to and from school.

I suppose my infatuation with the mixes had more to do with the person making them. I wanted nothing more than to be just like my older sister. I viewed mix-making as a profound act of love, and began burning mixes of my own when she went off to college.

I continued gifting my friends handmade CDs through high school — mixes for driving to tennis practice, for breakups, for birthday roadtrips.

My laptop no longer sports a CD port, so I’ve had to turn to Spotify playlists to accurately express my affection through song. You can’t draw with Sharpie on a digital play-

This week’s RLW by Ed Ohlweiler

READ

If Rumi were alive today he would be, well, old — more than 800 years old, in fact.

Hopefully he would be respected as an elder whose poetry and prose on everyday life, the fantastic, the divine, philosophy, art and love contain enough wisdom for several lifetimes. Check out The Essential Rumi (which the translator, Coleman Barks, read from several years back at the Panida), or if you suffer commitment issues, google “Rumi quotes.

LISTEN

Photo illustration by Ben Olson. list or slide it out of a car visor, but streaming platforms host millions of tracks to choose from and don’t require overheating your computer to create a compilation. Despite nostalgia, it’s been a fairly easy adjustment.

Among my current hobbies, I’d list baking, reading, playing with my dog and curating personal playlists. I still believe in the power of one song perfectly following another. Each playlist on my Spotify account serves a purpose, whether literal (“I listen to this one while I work out”) or contributing to the obsessive archiving of my life (“This one is made of songs we listened to constantly the summer we met”).

They are named for lyrics that I love, quotes from the people around me — each one, a place in time.

This pastime got me wondering: What creates the many playlists promoted on streaming platforms? Turns out, people are creating those ones, too.

As a Buzzfeed piece from 2016 put it: “The algorithm that can judge the merits of new Gucci Mane, or intuit that you want to sing ‘A Thousand Miles’ by Vanessa Carlton in the shower, has yet to be written. Until that day comes, the job has fallen to an elite class of veteran music nerds — fewer than 100 working

full-time at either Apple, Google or Spotify — who are responsible for assembling, naming and updating nearly every commute, dinner party or TGIF playlist on your phone.”

My first thought upon learning this was, “How the hell do I get that job?” The next was, “Thank goodness.”

Over the many decades since music made its way onto vinyl, we’ve seen several evolutions of the playlist: from mixtapes to mixed to CDs to the behemoth

that is digital music sharing.

One thing has remained largely true through it all — people are creating these things. There is human intention and care going into these playlists, no matter the format.

It’s true that algorithms grow stronger every day, but the power behind Lyndsie’s Awesome Mix No. 7 remains in play: people are still listening, building and — most important — sharing music. These days, that feels more important than ever.

New live stream lineup Thursday night

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The Sandpoint Reader’s Thursday Night Live stream concert series airs its sixth episode tonight, Thursday, April 30 from 7-8:30 p.m. with a new lineup of local musicians.

Jenna Bowers and Matthew Weatherman will kick off the show from 7-7:45 p.m. Bowers was born and raised in Sandpoint, but lives in Portland, Ore., with Weatherman. They play in a band called Swoon in Portland, but are quarantining in Sandpoint to be near Bowers’ family.

The second act will be Sandpoint’s own Justin Landis, best known for playing with Cedar and Boyer, Little Wolf and formerly with the Marshall McLean Band. Landis has a special treat in store for listeners: he plans to play the enter Weezer Blue album from start to finish.

To watch the free live streamed concerts, which are sponsored by the Reader and Happy Tech Services, just follow the link below at 7 p.m., or find the Sandpoint Reader Podcast Series channel on YouTube.com.

Not being a huge fan of pop music, I was caught off guard

by Queen Latifah’s The Dana Owens Album.

It features not only her true name, but a break from her signature sound to delve into big band jazz.

The list of session musicians is seemingly endless, drawing on all the talent her star power could attract in 2004. Giving credit where it’s due, her voice is more than up to the task in this ambitious project

WATCH

Garbage Warrior is an inspiring documentary about eco-architect Mike Reynolds, who strives to make sustainable, environmentally conscious homes that utilize discarded materials and natural objects. Instead of being heralded for the visionary he is, he spends a frustrating amount of time battling lawmakers and corporate interests, but really shines when he is called upon for hurricane relief. Stream it on Amazon.

https://bit.ly/ReaderLive2 April 30, 2020 /

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PERSPECTIVES The

From Nothern Idaho News, May 26, 1905

MAKING PRESSED BRICK Sandpoint Second Brick Factory Turns Out a Fine Product of Dry Pressed Brick Sandpoint now has two excellent brick yards in operation. In addition to the W.G. Hunt Brick company which was started a year ago and which manufactured the brick for the building of the Northern Idaho News and the Northern Mercantile company, this town now has a pressed brick manufacturing plant.

Mrs. Riley, who conducts the boarding house at the Great Northern, called at the News office Wednesday and left a sample of the pressed brick made at the new yard of the Dry Pressed Brick company of Sandpoint. The brick is one of the most perfect that has been turned out in the west.

The new company expects to turn out about 10,000 per day as soon as they get to running in good shape and will run their yard night and day. Between 30 and 40 men are employed already and as soon as another brick machine is received the company will put on a larger force and manufacture not only pressed brick, but wire cut brick as well.

The Dry Pressed Brick company is composed of Spokane capitalists who have ascertained that the clay at this place is the finest for the manufacture of pressed brick that is found anywhere in the western country and they expect to make the Sandpoint plant one of the largest producers in the northwest, selling their brick through all of the northwest territory.

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Late Night Buddhist

Never miss a good chance to keep your mouth shut

By Scott Taylor Reader Columnist When I was teaching I used to have a few quotes posted around my classroom, including the title of this piece. I found it in a collection of “Zen sayings,” but have no idea if it can actually be attributed to Zen teaching. Of course, most of the 13- to 16-year-olds ignored it, but it was a great reminder for me when I was fed up and ready to unleash a tirade upon whichever student had chosen to be “most irritating for the day.”

However, every once in a while, I’d hear a student direct the attention of one of their classmates — the latter having opened wide and begun the process of devouring their own foot — to the poster and I would quietly chuckle.

It’s really just a less polite way of saying, “Better to keep your mouth shut and appear a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.” Yet, here I sit, violating my own advice, babbling on about the teachings of some shaven-headed monks in saffron robes.

Admittedly, I’ve done my share of opening my big yap about this or that, only to realize — sometimes years later — that whatever was spewing out was wrong, ignorant, passe, hypocritical, sanctimonious... I could keep going. Because of this, in recent years

STR8TS Solution

I’ve taken to (usually — I can be a slow learner) sitting quietly while those around me jabber on, or holding my tongue when folks are ranting on the internet, frustrating as it is.

My friends know me as being generally quiet and subdued — though I can hear my nearest and dearest cackling now: “Oh yeah? Put a couple pints down him and see what happens!” Regardless, I’ve found that my peace of mind and contentment are easier to find when my mouth isn’t running. I’ve also found that, of the thousands of words we utter each day, at least 90% of them are unneeded, being frivolous and redundant.

Yes, we all experience those moments when others’ actions or words prompt us to respond, sometimes in unkind ways. But, despite what we tell ourselves — “I’ll feel better if I just unload on this moron” — we know in our hearts and souls that we won’t. We may as well just swig a glass of poison. I know that any time I lost my self control and lambasted a kid at school, I ended up feeling bad about it and my happiness suffered.

That isn’t to say we can’t express our grievances in a calm, rational manner.

Then again, as my previous neighbor said, in his normal pirate voice, “Sometimes ya gotta get a little loud and cuss to get a ‘strong emotional reaction’ from ‘em!’”

When I hear the lines, “Ain’t it like most people? I’m no different/ We love to talk on things we don’t know about,” it reminds me of the title of this column and of one more Zen saying: “He who says does not know; he who knows does not say.”

Finally, I ask myself, “Does this really need to be said? Will it help anybody? Will it contribute to my or others’ happiness?”

Maybe I should stop talking now.

Be happy!

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution Love can sweep you off your feet and carry you along in a way you’ve never known before. But the ride always ends, and you end up feeling lonely and bitter. Wait. It’s not love I’m describing. I’m thinking of a monorail.

Laughing Matter

Woorf tdhe Week

taradiddle

By Bill Borders

/tar-uh-DID-l /

[noun] 1. a small lie; fib.

“I told her a taradiddle to get her to come to the party.”

Corrections: We had a couple of misspelled words in a news story last week. We dropped an ‘o’ in Sandpoint and dropped an ‘e’ in Stapleton.

Sorry about that, folks. We’ll blame it on the coronavirus. -BO

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Where two pieces meet 5. Ancient Greek unit of length 10. Church alcove 14. An acute inflammatory disease 15. Adult male singing voice 16. Agent 007 17. Conciliator 19. Male deer 20. 3 in Roman numerals 21. More prudent 22. Spirited 23. Weblike 25. Shorthand 27. Mineral rock 28. New innovative businesses 56. Sketcher 31. Abatement 58. A jaunty rhythm 34. Bumbling 59. Nosed (out) 35. Caviar 60. Apollo astronaut 36. Send forth Slayton 37. Sharpshoot 61. Type of sword 38. A splitting tool 62. Tiny balls strung 39. Aspire together 40. Mongrels 63. At one time (archaic) 41. Woman’s sleeveless undergarments 42. Makes ready DOWN 44. “Eureka!”

45. Tall structure 1. Killed 46. Envisage 2. Lofty nest 50. Ellipses 3. Bounds 52. Spelunked 4. Japanese apricot 54. Holiday drink 5. Hit 55. Mongolian desert

Solution on page 22 6. Make fun of 7. Kitty (poker) 8. Door thresholds 9. Mistake 10. Not present 11. Medley 12. Break 13. Jittery 18. Simpleton 22. Flippant 24. Boor 26. Adhesive strip 28. Piques 29. Defecate 30. Stitches 31. Bound 32. Arab chieftain 33. Schedule

34. Mediate 37. Certain 38. Banner 40. Mouths 41. Tint 43. Respectful 44. Restitution 46. Overgrown with ivy 47. ___ alia 48. Recesses 49. Heron 50. Leer at 51. Voice Over Internet Protocol 53. Seaweed 56. Debutante 57. Citrus drink April 30, 2020 /

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