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PEOPLE compiled by

Ben Olson

watching

SOCIAL DISTANCE EDITION: “Have you witnessed an act of kindness recently? Tell us about it.”

“When I go to work at the hospital, there are checkpoints and they have a person handing out homemade masks that have been donated. So I guess it’s not one single act, but more something a whole community is doing. I get to see it in action, every time I come to work.”

Cadie Archer Speech Language Pathologist Sandpoint

“So many little things, such as people stepping aside when you pass them walking – giving a knowing smile or wave.

We know we are all in this together and there is a feeling of kindness, unity, and support in our little town.”

Suzy Prez Station Manager 88.5 KRFY Sandpoint

“Coming home to a surprise gift certificate left on our front porch to the Pie Hut left by our awesome neighbors, Tracy and Tom! A perfect ending to a stressful day! #RuthAveStrong.”

Andrea Marcoccio & Kennden Culp Co-Owner, Matchwood Brewing Co. Sandpoint

“This might seem a little self-serving, but all the support for the Reader is probably what has touched me the most. Friends of mine placed donations when they learned how hard the pandemic hit the paper. It’s more important than ever now to support local media.”

Cameron Rasmusson Journalist Communications specialist Sandpoint

“We were hit hard by the blizzard and lost so many old friends—giant white pines.

We are grateful to work with a very honest and hardworking logger, Luke Peterson, who has gone many extra miles to clean up this mess.”

Susan Drinkard Social work/writer Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

I’m happy to announce some good news: we’re bringing our staff back from their three-week furlough, effective Friday, April 10.

I was forced to furlough the entire staff on March 19 when it became obvious that our revenues from advertising were petering out due to mass closures from the coronavirus pandemic. It hasn’t been easy the past three weeks, as I’ve struggled to do the work of four people, so I appreciate your patience with our humble weekly offering not being as robust as usual.

I was able to make the decision to bring the staff back because of two reasons: First, we successfully applied for the Payroll Protection Program, a part of the C.A.R.E.S. Act which is the federal stimulus package that aims to aid the economy during this unprecedented health crisis. It wasn’t an easy process, and it’s not a perfect program, but in the long run I encourage every business owner in North Idaho to move quickly and speak to their bankers or accountants to find what program will work best for your business. Special thanks to Eric Paull at Washington Trust Bank for walking us through the details, and to my business partner Chris Bessler and Reader bookkeeper Sandy Bessler at Keokee, who both worked hard to compile all the essential documents needed to apply for this historic stimulus package. I couldn’t have done it without them – especially while keeping this newspaper functioning on a daily news cycle as we have been since the beginning of social distancing guidelines.

Second, and most importantly, we couldn’t have weathered this period of uncertainty as well as we have without the tremendous show of support from our readers and fellow community members. Thank you so much to all of you who donated to the Reader the past few weeks. It’s incredibly humbling to know that so many people in this community value what we do every week and fought to make sure we stuck around.

Personally, I think the value of local news – both from our news outlet, as well as other outlets such as the Bonner County Daily Bee and Sandpoint Online – are so crucial right now, when social media rumors seem to take over the conversation. I encourage you all to donate to, subscribe to, and advertise in local news outlets to ensure you continue reading vetted, accurate accounts of what’s really going on instead of bluster and emotional tirades on Facebook. This will remain important moving forward.

We’re not out of the woods yet. It’s going to be a tough landscape for an ad-based free newspaper to navigate, but with your continued support and readership, I think we can see some light finally. Please continue to follow the advice of health professionals – it’s for the health of the communty that we make these sacrifices. Don’t forget that.

-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: Ben Olson (cover), Bill Borders, Bonner County History Museum.

Contributing Writers: Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Jason Welker, Buth Horton, Brenden Bobby, Jeanna Hofmeister, Hannah Combs, Pierre Bordenave, Jane Fritz, Marcia Pilgeram.

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

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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.

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

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover reflects the CDC’s latest guidance that everyone should be wearing a face mask in public settings like grocery stores.

Let’s follow those guidelines, no matter how silly we may look.

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NEWS

Idaho AG defends stay-at-home order

After Bonner Co. Sheriff Wheeler’s letter to Gov., AG claims order is ‘clearly defined’ in Idaho law

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

The Idaho Attorney General’s office responded to claims put forth in a letter by Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler that Gov. Brad Little’s stay-athome order issued March 25 was “unconstitutional.”

“The law in this area is clearly defined,” Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, a Republican, said in response to Wheeler’s letter. “I have no problems with providing a legal defense of the governor’s order and stand ready to do so should the need arise.”

In a letter sent to Gov. Little April 2, Wheeler cited another letter making the rounds in social media from a Florida businessman named Alfie Oakes. Oakes’ letter claims the coronavirus has been blown out of proportion by media “fear-mongering” and that there was a fear of a “takeover of our great country by the Globalists (a.k.a. New World Order),” referring to a right-wing conspiracy theory which claims a secretive power elite is conspiring to rule the world through an authoritarian world government.

Oakes also questioned in his letter the reliability of the information disseminated by the World Health Organization.

“In the spirit of changing the course, I am urging you to call up the full Idaho Legislature and assemble them for an emergency meeting in Boise to discuss these points,” Wheeler wrote in his letter. “I do not believe that suspending the Constitution was wise, because Covid-19 is nothing like the Plague. We were misled by some Public Health Officials, and now it is time to reinstate our Constitution.”

Gov. Little’s stay-at-home order issued March 25 required citizens to self-isolate at home, not just if sick. It excludes healthcare, public safety and other essential workers as defined in the order.

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Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler.

that the governor’s order violates the Constitution, and urged the governor to change his course.

“In the spirit of liberty and the Constitution, you can request those that are sick to stay home, but at the same time, you must release the rest of us to go with our normal business,” Wheeler wrote.

At the time of this writing, over 434,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported nationwide, with over 14,700 deaths in the U.S. attributed to the disease. Idaho has reported 1,232 cases across 31 counties, attributing 18 deaths in the state to COVID-19. Bonner County reported its first case of the COVID-19 virus on March 29 and currently has three confirmed cases.

The Idaho Attorney General’s office offered an explanation on its website to show Little’s order is clearly defined in Idaho law.

“The Governor is the Commander of the Militia under Article IV, § 4 and Supreme Executive Power is vested within the Governor under Article IV, § 5 of the Idaho Constitution,” the AG wrote. “It is important to note that both the Director of the Department of Health and Welfare and local public health districts have authority to issue orders of quarantine and isolation.”

The Idaho AG’s office also pointed to a recent case brought before a court in New Hampshire where plaintiffs requested an “emergency and permanent injunction” on New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu’s emergency declaration to render it

“advisory rather than mandatory,” arguing that the governor “does not have the authority” to issue such an “unconstitutional” order.

The judge dismissed the lawsuit, claiming that the governor’s order was “enforceable, and it is constitutional.”

Wheeler’s call to assemble the full Idaho Legislative body during a worldwide health pandemic caused some to question the timing and reasoning behind his request. National news outlets such as The New York Times reported on Wheeler’s letter April 7, also mentioning a plan

by Ammon Bundy – the man who led an armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon – to defy Gov. Little’s order and host a church service on Easter Sunday with a potential crowd of 1,000 people.

Of the over 1,000 comments on Wheeler’s Facebook post containing his letter to Gov. Little, some were in support of his reasoning but a majority voiced opposition.

Patrick Ream urged the sheriff to “... stop playing politics, abusing the platform of your office and worry about your daily duties. If you want to write this letter as a private citizen so be it.

If there was concern about this being unconstitutional the Attorney General should be taking this up not you.”

Wheeler is currently running unopposed for his fourth term as Bonner County Sheriff.

Local public health officials also questioned Wheeler’s logic.

“Calling the legislature into session at this time will only put the legislators and the state of Idaho at risk,” Bonner General Health Medical Chief of Staff Dr. Morgan Morton wrote. “…

We strongly encourage the public to heed our advice to protect yourself, your family, and your community. … If we let down our guard prematurely, the sacrifices of the past two weeks will have been for naught.”

“We will continue to follow CDC guidance and guidance

placed by our Governor,” Panhandle Health District public information officer Katherine Hoyer wrote to the Reader.

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners released a statement April 3 in response to Sheriff Wheeler’s letter, claiming that, “It’s imperative that we all have the freedom to express our thoughts and ideas and that expression is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The Sheriff’s letter is the kind of suggestion that the Governor welcomes, just as he welcomes ideas and opinions from all citizens of Idaho. The Sheriff’s letter does not have the force of law and again, is strictly his opinion.”

Commissioner Dan McDonald clarified to the Reader via email that Sheriff Wheeler “is an elected official however his opinion does not have the force of law. His job is to enforce the law, not create it. The Commissioners had no idea he was putting this opinion out but again, he’s an elected official and he has the right to make statements.”

McDonald concluded that “…the County will continue to follow the Governor’s order to the letter.”

Wheeler did not respond to requests for comments on his letter, but did speak to KREM2 News in Spokane saying that Gov. Little’s order “punishes” people who aren’t sick.

“I want well people to be free to conduct their normal business and I want sick people to stay at home,” Wheeler told KREM-2.

“Unfortunately, I think the governor has chosen to punish the well people.”

When KREM-2 noted to Wheeler that up to 25% of people infected with the COVID-19 virus may not show any symptoms and can unknowingly spread the disease to vulnerable people, Wheeler said, “Sure, well, the issue I have is I really believe that private businesses are voluntary associations as such and should be treated as such, and every private business

needs to communicate with their own clientele and let them know the rules of their premises and that every individual can decide if they want to patronize that establishment or not.”

Wheeler is not the only elected official from North Idaho pushing back against Gov. Little’s stay-at-home order.

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard has also called Little’s order “unconstitutional, un-American and NOT the Idaho way” in a legislative update emailed to constituents. Scott urged Idahoans to “Stand firm on your God-given rights and exercise your authority as a citizen and push back on unconstitutional edicts that would control every aspect of your life.”

Rep. Scott did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

When asked if he would reconvene in Boise to debate the order, Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay said he would do what was necessary of him.

“I am willing to go back to Boise,” Dixon wrote to the Reader. “I also would expect that necessary precautions would be in place for our safety, and the safety of our constituents when we head back home.”

Dixon pointed out that he does “not question the guidelines given by the CDC and the Trump Administration.”

As local debate rages over Wheeler’s letter, a Facebook commenter who claimed to be a verdant supporter of the sheriff offered a fresh perspective on the matter.

“If everyone obeyed the Shelter in Place we would be getting thr[ough] this, but I think we are in for a very bad outcome,” Todd Liken-Savage wrote on Facebook, who said he voted for Wheeler and would do so again. “… Let’s all just agree to take care of our families and stay at home and get through this quickly. Left or Right or Libertarian, we are all in this together, let’s act that way.”

NEWS

COVID-19 updates for the week

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Idaho has reported 1,232 cases of the COVID-19 virus statewide as of April 8 at 5 p.m., with 18 deaths attributed to the disease. Bonner County is currently holding at three confirmed cases, the first of which has been determined to not have been community transmitted. Panhandle Health District officials confirmed April 7 that the second and third case were both travel acquired The Panhandle Health District has reported a total of 45 positive cases in the 5 northern counties, 42 from Kootenai County, where community transmission

has been confirmed.

Sandpoint city administrator Jennifer Stapleton reported 143 tests have been administered by Bonner General Health, 123 of which have come back negative, leaving 20 test results pending. Stapleton also said Sandpoint Police Dept. has been issued Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and officers have begun carrying masks on their person. Any time Sandpoint PD officers respond to a call or interface with the public, they will be wearing masks to help fight the spread of COVID-19.

On April 3, the CDC issued a new recommendation for everyone to wear cloth face coverings in public settings like grocery

Idaho schools to close for rest of the school year

Local districts retain option to reopen if certain criteria met

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The Idaho State Board of Education voted Monday, April 6 to extend the soft closure of all public school buildings in the state through the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. The board voted for the plan unanimously, also establishing a condition that local school districts will retain the option to reopen their schools if local social distancing orders are lifted and districts meet a set of criteria which will be determined by the board at the meeting next week.

“We respect locally elected trustees to make decisions and their role in making decisions in their areas,” State Board President Debbie Critchfield said during the online SBE meeting. “I just want to emphasize that in the motion is the word ‘or.’ So this will provide some flexibility and an opportunity for local districts to be able to make those decisions.”

A soft closure means prohibiting instruction of students in school buildings, but allows school districts to continue distance learning, as well as distributing meals to students.

Shawn Keough, who formerly represented District 1 as Idaho State Senator for 22 years and serves as a SBE board member said the board has met weekly since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Keough said a sub-committee of SBE members have held daily conference calls with participation from State Superintendent Sherri Ybarra, the Idaho Education Association, school district trustees, superintendents and even Gov. Brad Little.

“As an individual Board member my perspective is that many professionals from across the state are working on the criteria and the foundation is to be tied to only

opening the buildings if the local medical professionals at the local health districts determine it is safe to do so,” Keough wrote to the Reader. “There is also concern about determining delivery of lessons to finish out the year online or through materials picked up at the schools recognizing that urban and rural districts and their families face very different challenges.”

LPOSD superintendent Tom Albertson said he believed this decision was made to protect the health of students and staff.

“The health of students, staff and the community will always be the most important factor in any decision made on the duration of ‘distance learning,’” Albertson told the Reader. “The reopening of schools will not be considered until the social distancing order is lifted in our community.”

Albertson said the decision was not an “educational decision, but a health decision made by the health experts and Governor’s office.”

“While the buildings have been closed, teachers, support staff, administrators, school board members have been working every day – 7 days a week – to completely retool delivery of learning both online and materials for pick up, delivery of food, and to be available to students and families,” Keough wrote to the Reader. “This is no easy task. It would be an error to believe that the work of our school personnel and our administrative staff and school board members has stopped. Quite the opposite, they’ve risen to this challenge and double down the best they can individually and as districts to try to provide some level of continuity of service. … I personally appreciate the work and sacrifices of their personal and family time to serve and know that each member of the SBOE does as well.”

stores and pharmacies where social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

“We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms and that even those who eventually develop symptoms can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms,” the CDC wrote on its website. “That means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity – for example, speaking, coughing or sneezing – even if those people are

not exhibiting symptoms.”

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare issues daily updates to their coronavirus website at coronavirus.idaho.gov.

The Panhandle Health District has a toll free hotline available for any coronavirus questions at 877-415-5225.

Check the Sandpoint Reader Facebook daily for updates and breaking news.

Battery charge dismissed in County kerfuffle

By Ben Olson Reader Staff A charge of battery involving Sandpoint residents who were involved in an incident after a Bonner County Board of Commissioners Business meeting in January was dismissed March 26, according to the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office.

The battery charge stemmed from an incident that occurred during the regularly scheduled Bonner County Board of County Commissioners business meeting on Jan. 28 involving Rebecca and Don Holland and Steve Wasylko.

The incident occurred after the public comment period had ended on Jan. 28 where the Hollands and Wasylko had each made public comments regarding the ongoing weapons ban lawsuit between Bonner County and the City of Sandpoint.

The Hollands and Wasylko exited the hearing room, where minutes later, raised voices could be heard down the hallway.

Wasylko told the Reader on Jan. 28 that Don Holland asked him to “talk in the hallway,” when Wasylko claimed Holland began acting “super belligerent” and “grabbed [him] by the arm,” when Wasylko tried to leave.

“He asked me if I knew someone who was a white supremacist that lived in Bonner County,” Wasylko said. “That’s when I said, ‘When you compare me to a white supremacist this conversation is over.’”

Holland contended that he was not attempting to compare Wasylko to a white supremacist, but rather was sharing an experience he had with a white supremacist in which he met with the man several times to “create a dialogue” between people on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

Holland said he was attempting to open the same sort of dialogue with Wasylko about the gun issue when Wasylko tried to walk away from the conversation.

“[Wasylko] mischaracterized what I said,” Holland told the Reader, adding, “this needn’t be a binary issue.”

A video of the incident, captured by Rebecca Holland, shows Don Holland and Wasylko speaking in the hallway during the BOCC business meeting. The video shows the moment when Holland briefly contacted Wasylko’s right arm with his left hand when the latter turned to leave the conversation.

Wasylko instantly reacted to the touch, telling Holland in a raised voice, “Do not touch me, sir.”

A county employee escorted the Hollands from the Bonner County Administration Building and notified Sandpoint Police of the incident. A day later, Holland notified the Reader that he had picked up his citation for misdemeanor battery. The BOCC announced shortly after the incident that they would suspend all public comment at BOCC Business meetings until further notice – a policy that was rescinded a week later.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall confirmed the charges were dismissed after Holland sent a letter of apology to Wasylko.

“That was an idea that I came up with and I ran it by Steve and he was OK with that,” Marshall told the Reader. “I then presented that to Mr. Holland’s attorney.”

“I apologize for the mistake of touching you as you started to walk away from our conversation on January 28,” Don wrote in the letter to Wasylko. “I did not intend to offend you. I certainly was not comparing you to an Aryan.”

Wasylko said he was satisfied with the dismissal, noting that he believed Don was “sucked into” the interaction by his wife Rebecca.

“Honestly, if it was Rebecca who had touched me, I would’ve kept the charge pressed,” Wasylko told the Reader. “I think Don got sucked into this whole thing and it wasn’t fair that he got a battery charge against him when I think Rebecca was the instigator.”

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NEWS

Fake letter targets Life Care Center in Sandpoint

Letter falsely claimed there was a COVID-19 case at facility

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

A fake letter identified as being from Panhandle Health District alarmed Life Care Center staff members this week when it falsely claimed there was a potential case of coronavirus at the facility in Sandpoint.

The letter, first reported by KREM2 News, falsely claims that Panhandle Health District officials had recognized a potential case of COVID-19 at the extended care facility in Sandpoint and that the staff had been notified.

The individual who wrote the letter dated April 1 used Panhandle Health District’s letterhead at the top, deliberately spreading misinformation about coronavirus in Bonner County.

“There was a fake letter last week that falsely claimed there was a probably case of COVID-19 at Life Care Center in Sandpoint,” PHD public information officer Katherine Hoyer wrote the Reader. “This is absolutely false and was fabricated. We were glad when this was brought to our attention, so we could stop any misinformation from spreading.”

Hoyer told KREM-2 that the fake letter caught Life Care Center staff’s at-

tention. The staff then contacted PHD to confirm the validity of the information and was told it was bogus.

The letter also falsely claimed that all Life Care Center of Sandpoint staff – including their family members – had been asked to self-quarantine for 10 to 14 days, adding that quarantine was precautionary pending the outcome of the patient’s test results. Those claims were also false.

Sandpoint Police Department confirmed that the letter was fake, and the Bonner County Daily Bee reported that Capt. Tim Hemphill of the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office said his department is investigating the matter.

The letter was likely intending to caused alarm since a Life Care Center location in Kirkland, Wash. is thought to be the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington. Two-thirds of the Kirkland facility’s residents and 47 workers fell ill to the virus, and 35 people ultimately died from the disease.

PHD has not reported any cases of the COVID-19 virus at nursing homes in the five northern counties of Idaho.

As of Wednesday, April 8 at 6 p.m., Bonner County has reported 3 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Lake inches toward summer height

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced April 6 that the spring fill of Lake Pend Oreille began at the start of April. Albeni Falls Dam is reporting an outflow of 10,000 cubic feet per second, which is expected to increase the lake level gradually within the 2,052-2,053-foot range this week, with a target lake elevation of approximately 2,055 by the end of the month.

The Corps said the summer operating range of Lake Pend Oreille is 2,062-2,062.5feet in a typical non-flood year, which they expect to reach in mid- to late-June.

Albeni Falls operations during May and 6 /

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June will be set according to observed and forecast conditions in order to manage flood risk, the Corps said. The Corps monitors snowpack and weather forecasts in order to determine the proper timing to reach the summer operating range by mid- to lateJune. The current seasonal water supply forecast for April-July inflow volume is 96% of average.

The Albeni Falls Dam closed its visitor center March 14 through April 13 to help slow the spread of coronavirus in North Idaho. Critical operations staff will continue working at the facility to support water management and hydropower production for the region.

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 (C-19) has illustrated so well. A recent sampling: USA Today points out the nation’s C-19 recession can end when it’s logical health-wise to stop broad quarantines; a big increase in C-19 testing will show who can be freed to work. Two months after the first C-19 case, many still can’t get tested.

February saw a dozen tests daily in the U.S., in contrast to South Korea, which ran 20,000 tests daily. John Hopkins University says the U.S. needs to do up to 150,000 tests a day, and there is the capacity. At the end of March 40,000 U.S. tests were run daily.

The nonprofit One Fair Wage has set up an Emergency Relief Fund to provide cash help for those unemployed due to C-19, such as restaurant and tipped workers. Over 100,000 people signed up within days.

OFW also offers to help recipients register to vote.

Investigative journalist Sonia Shah, author of Pandemic: Tracking Contagion from Cholera to Ebola and Beyond, says that since 1940 microbial pathogens have emerged either where they’d never previously been detected, or for the first time, such as Ebola, Zika and HIV. She says 60% are from animals, where the pathogens typically live in a harmless state. They become deadly when their wild terrains endure resource extraction and development, resulting in creatures living in closer proximity, and animals living closer to humans. The result: microbes cross over and become deadly. Shah gives an example: with northeastern U.S. forests encroached upon by suburbs, opossums, which control ticks, have been displaced; populations of white footed mice and deer, which host ticks, increased, and seven tick-borne pathogens have emerged. For further details, see Shah’s recent article in The Nation.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick of Texas told Fox News recently that “lots of” grandparents might be willing to die [from C-19] to restart the American economy for their grandchildren.

The Trump Administration is suspending enforcement of environmental laws during the C-19 crisis. Inside Climate News says that will increase asthma rates, thereby increasing vulnerability to C-19.

A Super Pac that ran strung-together clips of the President’s C-19 statements has been sued by the Trump Campaign’s attorney, who says the TV ads should not be run because they are “false and misleading,” despite containing the President’s exact words.

Canada has been testing 10,000 people daily for C-19, as well as rapidly increasing

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

production of emergency medical equipment and medication, Reuters says. Their C-19 stimulus bill includes $2,000 a month for four months for people affected by C-19.

The $2,000 per month figure was proposed to U.S. Congress, but vanished during partisan negotiations in favor of Republican’s one-time check for $1,200.

People tend to relinquish their freedoms when feeling threatened, and some leaders are quick to capitalize, says Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic. She’s in Hungary during the C-19 crisis, where Parliament granted indefinite dictatorial powers to their prime minister. It’s not known if that will be suspended after the crisis ends.

Currently Hungarians face imprisonment for spreading false info causing unrest; it’s uncertain who defines “false.”

And in the U.S. the Department of Justice secretly asked Congress for the power to detain Americans without trial, indefinitely, during an emergency (Trump has declared C-19 a national emergency), Politico reported. The DOJ request wanted to apply that power to civil disobedience as well. Politico says the DOJ request is not likely to get past the Democrat-controlled House.

New York State, unable to get help for medical supplies at the federal level, is paying private entities 20 cents for medically protective gloves that normally cost a nickel, $7.50 for 50 cents masks, and a quarter million for portable x-ray machines that cost at most $80,000, according to Inequality Media.

Tight federal budget: due to Trump’s signature tax cuts, the federal budget had $64 billion less in the year following the 2017 tax overhaul. Those earning $40,000 to $50,000 had a 14.5% tax decrease, and those making $250,000 to $500,000 had a 14.4% decrease, MarketWatch.com says.

If Bernie Sanders became president, he would push for an 8% wealth tax on fortunes over $10 billion. For ultra-rich Jeff Bezos that would provide $9 billion for federal coffers in just one year.

Another federal fund-raising angle: Economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman say a wealth tax of two percent on assets over $50 million, and three percent on assets above $1 billion, would, over 10 years, raise $2.75 trillion. Trump’s tax cuts created a loss of $2 trillion, The Progressive reports.

Blast from the past: During the 9-11 crisis then-President George W. Bush’s approval rating increased by 39 points.

President George H.W. Bush’s ratings went up 16 points at the start of the Gulf War. President Trump’s ratings have seen a 3 point rise during the C-19 crisis.

OPINION

‘Welcome to socialism, America’

By Jason Welker Reader Contributor With the passage of the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, signed into law by President Trump on March 27, the United States has just entered a new era of macroeconomic policy, in which decades of conservative, small government, anti-deficit doctrine have been thrown out the window to save both the US economy and the Republican party from total collapse.

To truly understand the extent to which the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus bill pulls back the curtain on a half century of Republican economic ideology, we need only look back to the first months of President Obama’s first term, during which unemployment was climbing towards 10%, millions of Americans were defaulting on their mortgages, and economic output turned negative as the country spiraled into its deepest recession since the 1930s.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a Democrat-sponsored stimulus package, passed the House of Representatives without a single Republican vote and the Senate with just three Republicans voting to save the US economy.

How could the country ever afford the $831 billion price tag, asked Republicans? The Obama stimulus sparked such outrage that it gave rise to an entire movement grounded in fiscal responsibility and small government. The Tea Party would go on to place dozens in congress whose primary objective was to promote small government and balanced budgets, achieved, of course, not by raising revenues but by slashing government spending on social programs and entitlements. Dismantling the social and economic welfare state became the guiding principle of the Republican party throughout the Obama years.

Yet in the first year of a Republican administration, conservatives in Washington revealed their true motives. Balanced budgets and fiscal responsibility were never their concern; Trump’s tax cuts of 2017 added over $2 trillion to

the national debt, yet Republicans voted almost unanimously for it. While only three Republicans supported an $831 billion stimulus package to help keep America out of a second Great Depression, almost every one of them voted to pass a tax cut costing $2.3 trillion in an economy already at full employment.

And here we find ourselves today. A Republican in the White House and a senate controlled by many of the same conservatives who voted against Obama’s stimulus 11 years ago. So what has changed? Is the economic impact of the coronavirus going to be so much greater than that of the housing market collapse and the subsequent financial crisis of 2009? Maybe; we just don’t know.

What we do know is that fiscal stimulus works, and it can be done at almost zero long-run cost to the United States economy and to the taxpayer. It worked in 2009 and it will work in 2020. What does it mean to say it will work?

It means that five years from now we can expect the US economy to be humming along at or near full employment. It means that we are not going to spiral into a decade long depression characterized

by falling output, deflation, and persistently high unemployment.

It does NOT mean that we will avoid all economic hardship in the coming months. For sure, millions will lose their jobs and many businesses will be shuttered.

But just as a ventilator can keep a sick COVID-19 patient alive, the correct dose of fiscal stimulus can keep the US economy on life support until this disease has passed.

In the coming months, the US government will inject roughly 10% of our country’s annual income into the economy as additional spending and as cash payments to Americans, and when the current stimulus has worked its way through our economy, another will likely be needed to keep the economy alive.

So you are probably asking, what about the cost? Where will this money come from? Won’t we collapse under the resulting burden of debt? Let me assure you, these are not, nor have they ever been, genuine concerns.

That’s right, the entire basis on which the Tea Party was formed, the objections to Obama’s stimulus in 2009, and all arguments that our country somehow cannot “afford” to support our businesses

and households during economic crises are bogus.

Money, it turns out, is one resource that is not scarce, particularly in a country like the United States: the world’s largest economy with a currency that is acknowledged the world over as the reserve currency, the “gold standard,” and the safest haven during economic downturns. As the world’s stock markets fall, much of that wealth is being pumped into the US economy by investors seeking to hold US government bonds, meaning the US government can borrow at almost zero interest during economic crises. Furthermore, our Treasury Department, with the help of the Federal Reserve, can lend money directly to the US government and essentially inject cash into the system without having to collect taxes or issue new debt.

In fact, the only reason our government even needs to collect taxes is NOT to finance government spending (we can print all the money we need, after all!) but to control inflation. Someday, years from now, when we’re back at full employment and economic growth is ticking along like it was until three weeks ago, taxes might

be raised, but not to reduce the deficit or to pay down the debt, rather to keep inflation in check.

For now, however, our country faces an unprecedented economic crisis and, just as in 2009, fiscal stimulus is an absolutely correct and necessary response.

So just a message to all those small government conservatives out there whose economic ideology was articulated by President Reagan in his first inaugural address, in which he said, “Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” Your government (led by Republicans) just voted unanimously to massively increase its role in our economic lives, and thereby put our economy on life support until this pandemic has passed. If you truly believe that government is the problem, then I suggest you tear up that $1,200 check you’re about to get in the mail and put your faith in the free market to solve our problems!

Welcome to socialism, America!

Jason Welker is an economics teacher. You can view his lessons on his YouTube channel, www. youtube.com/JasonWelker

Bay Trail Fun Run Rescheduled

By Reader Staff Given the to the uncertainty surrounding public gatherings in the next couple of months due to the COVID-19 virus, the Bay Trail Fun Run has been postponed.

The new date for the Bay Trail Fun Run is Sunday, Aug. 30. Registration is currently open, and participants can register from a link on the Friends web page, www.pobtrail.org.

This year marks the 8th Annual Bay Trail Fun Run, a family-friendly 5K and 10K run and walk along the shores of Lake Pend Oreille and Sand Creek in scenic Sandpoint, normally held in June. However, given that the number of virus cases are still growing in the United States, it is only prudent to wait until late

summer to hold the event.

This unique professionally timed run is known for its lowkey vibe and great views of the lake and the surrounding mountains. The race starts and finishes at Sandpoint City Beach in front of Trinity Restaurant, the host of the event.

Registration can be done online through a link at pobtrail. org and is $30 in advance or $35 the day of the race. Kids 12 and under can register for free. Team categories are also available.

Everyone who registers for the event is entered into a raffle to win a pair of Brooks running shoes, courtesy of Outdoor Experience.

Racers also receive T-shirts, water bottles and other goodies, while winners are awarded medals.

Participants can enter the 5K,

which is an out and back along the Bay Trail, a wide, natural surface trail, or the 10K, which continues along the paved Creekside Trail along Sand Creek. Refreshments are provided for racers by Trinity at City Beach.

The Bay Trail Fun Run is the signature fundraising event for the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay

Trail, a Sandpoint non-profit that is dedicated to working with the community to expand and enhance a lakeshore trail connecting the communities of Sandpoint, Ponderay and Kootenai.

For more information, visit www.pobtrail.org or find Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail on Facebook.

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China and the World...

Bouquets: • I appreciate all of our readers and contributors sending in so many ideas for articles, as well as submitting finished articles to help me fill the paper with intriguing content. I’ll ask you all to please be patient with me, because now I have a huge backlog of articles and a reduced page count to print them.

• I’m thankful for all the essential workers out there who are dedicated to their jobs, even in the midst of a worldwide health pandemic. Life doesn’t stop because of a stay-at-home order.

Barbs: • Over 1,000 people weighed in on the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page after Sheriff Daryl Wheeler posted a letter he sent to Gov. Brad Little urging the governor to reconvene the Idaho Legislature in Boise to debate what Wheeler called an “unconstitutional” stay-at-home order. I will refrain from writing what I really feel about Sheriff Wheeler’s letter since I am operating as not only the publisher, but the main staff writer and editor right now. But I will say that the decision to issue a private opinion under the seal of Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and then to blast it all over social media was an illthought-out stunt that has alarmed many county residents. Many of you contacted me directly to share your reaction to Sheriff Wheeler’s letter, as well as Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard’s email statement calling for Idahoans to “push back on unconstitutional edicts that would control every aspect of your life.”

We all have the right to an opinion – no matter how ignorant it may be – but to use an elected office as the vehicle to deliberately sow confusion and spread misinformation is shameful, especially during a time of public crisis.

This is not the time for political grandstanding. This is the time for a community to stand together and get through this.

I urge our readers to listen to health experts and tune out the noise – even when it comes from those elected to represent you.

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Dear editor, After the current situation resolves itself, this country and the rest of the world needs to re-evaluate it’s fundamental relationship with China. This is what, the 5th odd disease that has come out of that country and so far this is the most serious. Why? Because of their cultural way of raising, slaughtering and processing their livestock.

If China wants to be a part of the international community, they need to utilize modern techniques instead of something from the Ming dynasty.

They have for years practiced economic and intellectual warfare.

Now while these viruses are most likely inadvertent, they will have to change. What about the next time, something as bad or worse than Corona? If they don’t change, the world needs to evaluate their options in regards to that country.

Lawrence Fury Sandpoint

Pandemic Construction...

Dear editor, We could not believe our eyes when the heavy equipment moved into our neighborhood this week and began tearing down the Memorial Field baseball stands! How on earth does that make any sense in the midst of this unprecedented health/financial crisis? As a general dentist (healthcare), we are not seeing patients for anything except emergency care.

How does a construction project in a city park get designated as “essential” in anyone’s mind? Please make a better decision for our community. Call a halt to the Memorial Field project until our community, our country and the entire world are on more stable footing.

Rob Harrison Sandpoint

Native Words of Wisdom...

Dear editor, As I work with historic recordings of the Idaho Native peoples as part of The Idaho Mythweaver’s Native Voices preservation project, in its final stages of completion, I find so much wisdom in the words of the Native peoples who I interviewed so long ago for features and documentaries for public radio.

When I interviewed Shoshone-Bannock tribal member, Ruby LeClair, then in her late 20s, and a planner for the Targhee National Forest, I asked her about her thoughts for Earth Day 1990, and what nonnatives could learn from

the Native people about how to live in harmony with the natural world.

She was raised with traditional tribal values, and this was her answer: To respect everything. In our prayers are the rocks. We call them rock people. The rocks are alive. Everything is alive. If you stand alone, you could listen to the trees whisper.

And, you know, if if you open your heart and just stand and think, you know, why are you here on this Earth? You know, why is this water here for us? You know, you think of something like that. And everything is precious. Don’t take anything for granted. Because we’re destroying it if we do. And everything will be taken away from us one day. And what’s going to happen? You know you just gotta respect life for what it is. And remember that the trees are here for us, and the air that we breathe is here for us, and that Mother Earth is given to us as a gift. And we should respect her, respect her just like you would your grandmother or your mother.

And then then you’ll see the beauty of what you know, what life is about.

As we grapple with an unseen virus, caring for the rest of creation and living in harmony with all life must be part of the lesson we are learning. I believe Ruby’s words bear repeating for Earth Day 2020.

Jane Fritz Sandpoint

1% Sales Tax Decrease...

Dear editor, I hope the city council and thus the citizens of Sandpoint will be given an update at their April 1 [meeting] about the impact of decreased revenues due to the virus and plans to mitigate same.

Revenues from the hotel bed tax must certainly be impacted and those funds are used to support a number of departments and services in this year’s budget.

Likewise with decreased sales the 1% sales tax collected for Memorial Field and parks improvements is probably impacted but perhaps to a lesser degree since the biggest contributor is grocery stores.

I would also have concerns about the amount of sales tax that will be returned to the city from the state.

City finances are multi sourced – property taxes, state revenue sharing, user fees and other revenue sources. What is happening or anticipated to happen can be reported by the city finance director. Hopefully that information will be shared with the public soon – it’s our services that will possibly be impacted.

Carrie Logan Sandpoint

Dereliction of Duty...

Dear editor, I am dumbfounded, saddened, and dismayed by the behavior of Sheriff Wheeler and Heather Scott in their recent claims of constitutional infringement. I include GOP governors and gun rights advocates (Essential businesses? Really?) who advocate ignoring legal, stayat-home orders. These people are advocating putting the rest of us at risk of harm during the coronavirus pandemic crisis. I also ask, where was Trump when this all started?

Was he looking out for the health and safety of the country? No he wasn’t! Instead of putting plans in place to protect the country, he was trying to downplay the crisis to make himself look important, delaying actions that would have saved many lives, and trying to bolster his chances of re-election. Shameful!

Trump himself calls the fight against the coronavirus a war and boastfully stated that he is a wartime president. Trump’s wartime president analogy hit me hard. During times of war, a soldier or military leader tasked with orders of duty and responsibility, and who fails to uphold these orders, can be held in dereliction of duty. “The shameful failure to uphold one’s obligation.” This is a serious offense. Did his actions put other soldiers in harms way? Did this behavior or lack thereof lead to deaths? If so, he could be stripped of his rank and put in jail. As a wartime president, Trump has failed miserably to uphold his duty as the Commander-in-Chief. In fact he is in dereliction of duty and should be held accountable, as should Heather Scott and Sheriff Wheeler. Trump doesn’t know the first thing about being a president much less a wartime president.

Don Moore Sagle

Scott and Wheeler...

Dear editor, I’m amazed that Bonner County Sheriff Wheeler whose job is to enforce the laws and to protect the people of Bonner County and Rep. Heather Scott saw fit to use their “power” to criticize the state’s stay at home orders implemented by Gov. Little. More so their reliance on the Constitution stating that such an order is unconstitutional is patently ridiculous . The intent of the Constituion is to protect the people and provide for their general welfare. Gov. Little is well within his rights to invoke such an order; and it’s obvious it’s what the people want. The US President chose to

relinquish his right under the powers of war which he invoked to declare a national stay at home order and thereby left the states to do what they could to stop this heinous disease. I appauld Gov. Little for taken up the slack sooner rather than later and declaring a stay at home order for Idahoans.

I suggest that Wheeler and Scott stick to the duties and job description for which they were elected and let the health experts and Idaho’s Executive branch do whatever is necessary to stop the Corona Virus from spreading further so that the people can once again enjoy their freedoms as set forth in the Constitution. Perhaps in their spare time Wheeler and Scott could read up on Constituional law.

Beth Allen Sandpoint

You Can’t Fix Stupid...

Dear editor, After reading local newspapers about some local leaders unique interpretations of the U.S. and Idaho Constitutions I’m reminded of comedian Ron White’s tagline, “You can’t fix stupid!”

Our nation is in crisis. A crisis caused by a virus. A virus doesn’t respect borders. The virus isn’t cogent, it isn’t even alive. Our leadership from the very top down to the local level has done things that, in retrospect, qualified as ignorant.

They just didn’t know what they were facing. One of the Peter Principle maxims goes something like this; those that remain calm when all those around them are running in circles don’t understand the gravity of the situation.

The stupidity came from those same leaders and policy makers that made decisions based on political and/or economic considerations.

The federal government failing to take any coordinated leadership action forced the states to act piecemeal. Results are mixed with California and Washington doing better than most. The failure of federal leadership has led to bidding wars for medical necessities.

The Federal leadership has failed us. These decisions qualify as stupid. That stupidity trickled down to local levels. Ignorance can be corrected with education and reason.

There is no cure for stupidity.

Gil Beyer Sandpoint

Send letters under 300 words to letters@sandpointreader.com

OPINION The role of public servants in times of crisis

By Butch Horton Special to the Reader

In a time of crisis, public servants should be a unifying voice. We need to calm fear and bring people together in support of each other.

The health and wellbeing of our community should be our highest priority. I am so grateful to the people who are serving us at possible risk of their health to make sure our daily needs are met.

Nurses, doctors, healthcare and hospital workers, police officers, EMTs and firemen, grocery clerks, bank tellers, pharmacists, delivery drivers, food bank volunteers and many others face heightened risks. We must take action and precautions to protect these frontline heroes.

Following guidelines put out by our governor and local officials to limit contact with others is the best way we can support them.

Many local churches were among the first to follow the social distancing guidelines in order to slow the spread of disease.

We each must do our part to keep our families safe and communities strong. Science tells us that the virus is often carried by those that show no symptoms. Staying at home will keep us all as safe as possible.

We can find new ways to connect. Reach out to family, friends and neighbors in need.

Pick up the phone and let them know you care.

I look forward to going out again for meetings and social events. If we keep our distance now, we will be able to do that sooner.

Our lives and economy have been turned upside down. Our officials are working to help restore both. They need our support to focus on that important business. There is no room here for the politics of fear and blame.

We won’t go back to business as usual.

Now, we are more aware of how connected we all really are. Determination, kindness and compassion, as shown by our frontline heroes, will get us through this. Let’s all practice these qualities as we come back together.

The economic impact from this virus will be great. We need leaders that bring people of different beliefs and ideas together. Creativity, vision and hard work will be required. We are blessed with an amazing community of people who value serving others, independence and hard work. I believe that these values will help us come out of this as a stronger, more unified community.

Butch Horton is running for Bonner County Commissioner District 1 position against incumbent Steve Bradshaw. You may reach Horton at 208-304-4702 or visit butchforbonnercounty. com. Commissioner Bradshaw did not respond to an email offering equal editorial space.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

tibia, fibula and more

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Fair warning: This article, like most medical articles, isn’t for the faint of heart. I’m sure you gathered that from my lovely X-ray from 2009. Don’t worry: I got better.

Our legs are pretty miraculous when you stop and think about them. Our feet are one of the most sensitive parts of our body and their entire purpose is to take a beating day in day out so the rest of our body doesn’t have to.

Our legs are equal parts shock absorbers and locomotion devices, propelling us around the world while mitigating the amount of energy transferred to our sensitive organs. Big meat burritos wrapped around bone fillings.

Our bones are the hardest structures in our bodies, but they’re also spongey, designed to flex under pressure. If they were rigid like concrete, they would be very dense and would require more muscle mass to move, which would require us to eat more food to fuel something as simple as walking.

After several hundred millions of years of evolutions, our bodies have figured out how to develop efficient, if not slightly unusual bones to fulfill their specific tasks.

Enter the tibia and fibula.

The tibia is the large bone you curse at every time you bang your shin into something.The tibia is one of the strongest bones in your body, designed to support not only more than 90% of your body weight, but also protect it from the shock of impact with the ground every time you take a step. It is also very exposed as far as bones go, separated from open air by little more than a thin 10 /

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membrane and your skin. This is why it hurts so much every time you bang your shin into something – there is very little fat or muscle to lessen the impact.

Your tibia isn’t the only bone in your lower leg. It works in tandem with the fibula, a small and thin bone buried deep within the muscles of your leg. The fibula connects your knee to your ankle just like your tibia, and runs parallel to it. It works as a stabilizer, helping you stand erect while bearing a minimal amount of weight in relation to the tibia. Under normal circumstances, this helps balance out the distribution of force while walking, so that your tibia doesn’t flex and snap.

The tibia and fibula are connected by something called the interosseous membrane, a fibrous tissue that is more elastic than bone that further helps divide the stress between the two bones. As well, the interosseous membrane allows a safe, semi-rigid structure in which your bone’s blood vessels may pass through and be well protected inside of your leg.

This structure is also present in your forearms, between the radius and ulna, serving an identical purpose.

Your bones are extremely strong. If you were to take a cubic inch of healthy bone and set it next to a cubic inch of steel, you would find that the bone could support the weight of up to five pickup trucks on top of it.

However, as I can tell you from personal experience, accidents happen, and sometimes bones will break under conditions that steel could easily withstand.

When pressure is applied to weak points in the bone or force is applied in a direction the bone hasn’t evolved to withstand, it

can very easily break.

Sometimes, your bones can break without your knowledge.

This is especially common for the tibia and fibula, as they bear more pressure than most of your bones. Microfractures are small fractures that can occur in your bones that come from activities like dancing, sports, or even missing a step on the stairs. In some cases, you won’t even notice any pain or discomfort, and others you may feel varying degrees of pain for several weeks or even months. Microfractures will mend over a period of a couple of weeks, or up to twelve weeks, but may take up to six months to ossify, or turn into bone.

In the case of a compound fracture, where the bone is broken into more than one piece, a surgeon may need to intervene with a technique called “Open Reduction and Internal Fixation” or ORIF. In the open reduction portion, your surgeon will position their bones to their normal alignment, then apply a titanium rod and screws to keep the bone fixed together in the internal fixation phase.

In my case, the surgeon secured my tibia with a titanium rod and screws below my knee and into my ankle, while simply aligning the fibula and letting it heal on its own without any hardware. In later X-rays, I saw a small bulbous growth around the broken portion of the fibula, which my surgeon informed me was completely normal. I was in a splint for about two months and was back to work in under 90 days. The fracture didn’t ossify and fully heal for several months, but I was able to walk again much earlier than that.

It wasn’t an experience I would particularly recommend

for leisure.

If you’re curious about how and why I turned two bones into

four, that’s a story for another day. Until then, stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner Don’t know much about sleep?

• Humans spend a third of their life sleeping. That’s about 25 years.

• Sleeping less than 7 hours each night reduces your life expectancy.

• Before alarm clocks were invented, there were “knocker-ups” who went tapping on client’s windows with long sticks until they were awake.

We can help!

• John Lennon sometimes liked to sleep in an old coffin.

• You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

• Women experience significantly more nightmares than men and have more emotional dreams, a research found.

• A snail can sleep for 3 years.

• A baby’s brain can use up to 50% of the total glucose supply, which may help explain why babies need so much sleep.

• Most people can survive for up to 2 months without eating, but people can only live up to 11 days without sleeping.

• Morphine derives its name from Morpheus, the god of sleep and dreaming in Greek Mythology, for its tendency to cause sleep.

• Sleeping on the job is acceptable in Japan, as it’s viewed as exhaustion from working hard.

• In darkness, most people eventually adjust to a 48-hour cycle: 36 hours of activity followed by 12 hours of sleep. The reasons are still unclear.

• Sea otters hold hands when they sleep so they don’t drift away from each other.

• Cats sleep for 70% of their lives.

• It’s illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on in North Dakota.

FOOD

Free Meal Initiative aims to feed those in need

Eureka Center, Sandpoint Curry, Eichardt’s and Matchwood Brewing team up to offer free meals

By Ben Olson Reader Staff As everyone adapts to a new unusual way of life, many are asking what they can do to help. Born from a desire to be of service the Eureka Institute has teamed up with Sandpoint Curry, Eichardt’s Pub, and Matchwood Brewing Company to launch a “Free Meal Initiative,” on April 3, providing free meals each week for those in need.

Free meals can be picked up between 3-6 p.m. at three different locations: Eichardt’s Pub on Tuesdays, Matchwood Brewing Co. on Thursdays and Sandpoint Curry on Fridays. Eichardt’s Pub will host Free Tostada Tuesdays with vegetarian and meat options available for contactless curbside pickup from 3-6 p.m. Matchwood Brewing Co. will dole out free meals on Thursdays at 3-6 p.m., offering wraps, soups and chips from their patio. Sandpoint Curry, which initiated the program with the Eureka Institute, will offer three different curries and rice, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options available from 3-6 p.m.

“There is no better time than now for all of us to look out for one another and make sure everyone is properly nourished,” said Pete Hicks, owner of Sandpoint Curry. “Providing this service has been a dream of mine for the past 4 years and I’m thrilled that the community is stepping up to make it happen, especially now.”

For those without transportation, free delivery can be arranged within the cities of Sandpoint, Ponderay and Kootenai with 24 hours advance notice by Sandpoint Curry. Call the meal hotline at 404-565-3131 to place an order.

At Matchwood Brewing Co., owner Andrea Marcoccio said they will setup the patio outside to distribute meals.

“We’re going to ask folks to respect social distancing,” Marcoccio told the Reader. “We’re pretty excited about being a part of this program. The hardest part is that the community is in need, but it’s a sign that we’re all sticking together.”

Marcoccio said customers who come to Matchwood during regular hours to buy food or beer to go can also purchase an extra meal, which will be donated to those who can’t afford one on their own.

“We’re going to keep doing this as long as the need arises,” Eichardt’s owner Jeff Nizzoli said, who noted that over 120 free meals were given out at Eichardt’s at their first Free Tostada Tuesday on April 7.

Both Matchwood and Eichardt’s are also offering a Neighborhood DropOff online ordering program for locals to order food and beer for Monday or Friday delivery to Sagle, Samuels and Dover. Visit matchwoodbrewing.com for more information.

“This is an incredible partnership ... and I’m so grateful that our board of directors is stepping up to help fund this initiative,” said Steve Holt, executive

director of the Eureka Institute. Each day costs approximately $620 for 120 meals and the intent of the program is to continue as long as funding is available, necessary and utilized. Donations to the program will be accepted through the Eureka Institute and Sandpoint Curry websites at: eureka-institute.org and sandpointcurry.com.

The program raised close to $5,000 in its first week, according to Holt.

“This absolutely shows the integrity and generosity of our community and I’m honored to be a part of it,” Holt said. “If this program continues to fund at this level we’d love to work with other food providers to offer a variety of meals more often.”

For questions about this program please feel free to reach out to Steve Holt at info@eureka-institute.org or call 208-263-2217, or Pete Hicks at hicks-

Curry options from Sandpoint Curry.

Courtesy photo. peter@gmail.com or call at 404-5653131.

To learn more online visit www. eureka-institute.org/free-meal-initiative. html.

KRFY 88.5 offers new programming

By Ben Olson Reader Staff KRFY 88.5 FM Community Radio is broadcasting on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week with the help of their automation programs Radio Logik DJ and Scheduler.

Because of social distancing guidelines, their regular Morning Show has not been possible, but KRFY has announced alternative programming to help keep local listeners informed of

important discussions on local issues.

Community Conversations will begin airing on April 14, and will air Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m.

Some of the Morning Show hosts will present 20-30 minutes of pre-recorded interviews focusing on relavant and timely topics of

community interest. Tune in to 88.5 FM to get informed and inspired.

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HISTORY

The threads that bind us

By Hannah Combs Special to the Reader Courtesy of the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum

On a fine summer morning in 1918, seven women gathered at the home of Mrs. Norman Campbell in Sandpoint.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, they finished their tea, arranged their stiff-backed chairs in the garden, tied their white aprons around their waists, and settled in for a long morning of knitting socks. One of the younger women may have cheered “Knit for Sammie!” before settling onto the lawn next to Anna Sund’s collie dog with her knitting needles and basket of wool yarn.

“Sammie,” a nod to Uncle Sam, referred to the thousands of American soldiers in France during WWI, who spent the winter of 1917-18 trudging through cold, wet trenches in Pershing boots. With iron soles, no insulation, and insufficient waterproofing on their boots, soldiers often wore two pairs of thick wool socks at once to survive the frigid weather. If they did not change their socks regularly, they could become incapacitated by “trench foot,” a fungal infection.

Receiving requests from the War Council, the American Red Cross put out an ambitious call for knitters across the country to produce one and a half million each of wool sweaters, mufflers, fingerless gloves, and pairs of socks.

The Red Cross provided patterns and materials and coordinated delivery of knitted goods to the front, mobilizing thousands of American citizens to aid the war effort.

Knitting permeated through every facet of American life that year. Women knitted at home, at work, even at church. Those who didn’t know how to knit learned from their mothers, friends,

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and neighbors. Children were directed to do more of the household chores so that their mothers could focus on knitting. They were reprimanded for getting holes in their clothes while playing outside, because no time could be wasted on mending when so many garments needed to be sent overseas. When the Junior Red Cross was created in 1917, the organization taught thousands of schoolchildren to knit, both girls and boys, using washcloths as an initial project. At a primary school in Seattle, one teacher recalled that washcloths would be delivered to her desk covered in grime, because the children would knit while chasing each other around the playground. The washcloths would have to be washed before sending to the Red Cross, but every effort was appreciated.

By mid-1918, when Anna Sund and her friends gathered to knit together, the nation had halted the production of everything except socks, which were in more critical need than ever. Knitters had to pivot and adapt to the changing needs from the front. Yarn retailers were required to turn over any yarn dyed in service colors to the war effort, so that knitting would not be halted.

But even as the soldiers were desperately awaiting supplies, their service in Europe was giving hope to the folks back home. The end of the war was in sight. After knitting all morning, the Sandpoint women talked in the garden, poring over a map and pointing out the site of the Allies’ most recent victory.

When the war ended in November 1918, the influenza pandemic that had been spreading throughout the country that summer cast a shadow on the celebrations. Finally relieved from the horrific experiences of the war, the American people were facing another devastating crisis that would take the lives of hundreds of thousands.

Now we are experiencing another global pandemic, but if we look to the past, we know how well-equipped we are to face it. This community has risen before to support our nation’s needs, and we will do so again. In the 1950s Dr. Forrest Bird adapted his inventions in aeronautical breathing technology to help with the polio epidemic, and right now, the descendents of those inventions – ventilators – are being produced here in Bonner County to provide urgent resources for hospitals around the country.

Masks are the new socks, and people throughout the community are speedily stitching to stock up our hospital’s supply and provide protection for our vul-

A photo shows local Sandpoint women knitting socks for the war effort. Courtesy Bonner County History Museum.

nerable neighbors and friends. We too have to listen every day to the changing needs, as we receive new health guidelines and improved mask patterns. We have to be nimble, but we cannot forget that we are together, even when social distancing makes us feel alone. The garden party on Mrs. Campbell’s lawn is only a video chat, a sewing machine, and some comfy pajamas away.

If you don’t know how to sew, ask someone to teach you, or simply stay home and appreciate those you love.

Thank you to everyone who is creating history right now by generously offering your skills to our collective effort, whatever they may be. Eventually, this will end, but our sense of community never will.

Research courtesy of the Bonner County History Museum and HistoryLink.org.

COMMUNITY

Love letters for today

By Jeanna Hofmeister Reader Contributor

I

f you were 15 in the 70s, long before the days of free long distance and the internet, you lived and died by the daily mail, hoping your summer boyfriend from Sandpoint sent a letter to you.

That was my experience, growing up in Seattle, but spending every summer on our family’s farm in Samuels. Each letter made a connection that went beyond teen love.

It was deep. It mattered, especially when long distance cost $3.50 a minute. (Yes – it once did.)

That boy I fell in love with is thankfully now my husband, but the gravity of his handwritten letters has never been lost on me.

In fact, even now, when I pick up the mail, all the bills and trash mail are quickly cast aside to tear into the occasional handwritten birthday or holiday card.

Handwritten letters are powerful. They’re the kinds of communication we save for months – for some of us, maybe years. I never wonder why. The handwritten word is a serious indicator that someone actually cared enough about you to take the time to pen a personal note. Even better if it’s a few pages that speak of their lives and experiences at the moment.

I still have the letters my father wrote my mother more than 60 years ago. I reread them sometimes as a way to ground myself in the fact that I was a loved and wanted child, even though I was conceived out of wedlock – a shocking diversion for the cultural norm of the ’50s.

But it seems to me, we’ve perhaps lost the power of a handwritten word. Given it away for the ease of a quick text or email.

Maybe, if we’re lucky, there’s a phone call to check in, but once it’s gone, it’s gone. It’s simply not the same as that letter you read, and then maybe reread a half dozen times more, just in case you missed some important nuance of a loved one’s life.

My nieces have been coached by their single father to start writing us handwritten letters. The best thing is their literal way of looking at the world through the lens of a kid. Oh my gosh, those will be words we’re giggling about years later and will share with them when they’re old enough to know how to spell all the words right.

This week we received the first of our “quarantine letters.” One with a set of clues to be solved and responded to. One from our daughter in Missoula to say she

and her husband are locked down and doing just fine. Another, a postcard from a sister in Coeur d’Alene with just a few meaningful words – “We’re thinking of you and loving you.”

While we’re so busy physically distancing from one another, there’s never been a better time to pen a handwritten letter to someone you love. It could be that bright spot that keeps them hanging on to hope at a time when things, frankly, feel a little damned bleak.

It doesn’t need to be anything profound. It only needs to be an expression of you. A few lines that

give someone else some insight into your day, whether you’re far away – or close. No rules around writing to your local peeps too.

If you’re out of practice, consider it a chance to polish up your cursive writing skills. If you’re writing to your grandkids, it might be a lesson for them in how to read and learn cursive! But even if you print that handwritten note, count on knowing that right now, there’s one thing that’s certain in an uncertain time: you love who you love, and there’s never been a better time to say so.

I equate my worth with my productivity. It’s something I’ve discussed with counselors and worked to manage, but it’s a problem I face every day.

I know many people who struggle with this, and let me be the first to say: this pandemic situation is not helping.

Still, I’ve found ways to feed my obsession. Though I may be temporarily laid off from the Reader, my days tend to pass quickly as I catch up on home projects and wrap up lingering freelance deadlines. But as I write this, on day 14 of staying largely at home aside from drives to grocery pick-ups and stronger Wi-Fi, I’ll admit — the productive projects at my disposal are dwindling. I find myself asking, “What should I do next?” I have to get things done. And when I can’t muster the energy, I am ashamed.

“You can’t be tired,” I tell myself. “You haven’t done anything.”

But here’s the deal — I’m exhausted, and I’m going to allow myself to feel it. I am going to lay on the couch the rest of the day and read a book. I’m going to walk the dog without counting my steps or planning what chores I’ll do when I get home. I’m going to cook a large meal and veg out for the entire evening chatting with my partner and watching TV. Because we are all experiencing trauma right now. Our lives have been upended in a major way. We are mourning our routines, our expectations, and in some parts of the world, a great number of people who have died.

So don’t worry about what’s getting done. Stay home, and remember: productivity does not equal worth. Everyone deserves a little grace right now.

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OPINION

‘We can coexist peacefully’

The City of Sandpoint’s plan to curb goose poop at City Beach continues to draw criticism

By Jane Fritz Reader Contributor

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We are living in a time of uncertainty.

And so are wildlife. Consider the Canada geese at Sandpoint City Beach Park whose future is dire.

As if last year’s removal and relocation of 144 geese wasn’t invasive enough, this year’s plan is deadly. Nearly 50% of the relocated geese returned within a month of capture, and this year in June, while molting adults and their young are flightless, the city plans to round up and kill up to 150 previously leg-banded adults, along with their 4-6 week old goslings. The very young can’t exist without their parents even though the broods regularly mix. Juveniles stay with their parents up to a year.

Then the city will proceed to capture up to 200 more birds, leg-band all but the smallest, and relocate them all somewhere else. The public records don’t show where, but most likely south of Coeur d’Alene again, although some experts feel that moving them north makes more sense.

Destroying families of geese, adult pairs that mate for life and their young?

I’m sorry, but aside from the pandemic, my compassionate City of Sandpoint has lost its moral compass. It is poised to annihilate a wildlife community. Instead it needs a change of heart.

But 2020’s scenario is only if the city’s 2020 permit application for this inhumane plan is approved. It is currently under review by the Portland office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (503-2312271). USFWS is the federal agency that normally protects wild migratory birds like Canada geese, but with good cause will allow depredation. I reviewed the city’s sketchy application.

The city claims that the geese are a safety and health hazard — despite providing no supporting data or health complaints — and that geese fecal matter has a negative impact on the economic engine called tourism. No economic data required by USFWS was provided to support this claim. There are other shortcomings, like counting large numbers of geese in October and November that are simply migrating through.

Last year I spent dozens of hours researching, interviewing wildlife managers and biologists, investigating park practices

in Coeur d’Alene and Nelson, B.C. Several others got involved and we discovered several effective nonlethal options being used in other places. We repeatedly tried to convince the Mayor and Sandpoint City Council in limited, three-minute statements, to reopen the issue for scientific biological review, more citizen participation, and to consider nonlethal options.

In addition, we made phone calls, wrote letters, and editorials, garnered front-page press, and letters to the editor, and submitted petitions. We pleaded to put the plan back on the agenda.

Instead, we still have this ill-conceived, 3-5 year plan which our newly elected council members have never weighed in on. Sandpoint Parks and Rec director, Kim Woodruff, who has no biology background, and his committee are driving the plan. The city is tired of dealing with geese and their excrement. There’s the fake coyotes and dog hazing which works but needs to be consistent. If you examine goose poop, it is composed mostly of water and grass, which breaks down quickly. The city’s expensive raking machine for the beach has tines so far apart that they just break up the feces into smaller pieces and then mix them into the sand. It’s not enough.

We recommended Geese Peace, which involves locating nests and addling (oiling) eggs so they don’t hatch. It’s like birth control for prospective geese parents. Too late for this year, it would be dollars better spent by the city than paying USDA Wildlife Services to repeatedly kill native waterfowl. Instead, the city continues to consult with, and then hire this agency to handle the dirty work. It’s

Wildlife Service agents capture 144 geese at Sandpoint City Beach on June 26, 2019.

Photo by Jane Fritz. like paying the fox to help you manage the henhouse.

The city could also revise the 25-yearold dog ordinance that prohibits dogs at City Beach. Simply allowing dogs on leash only, like in Nelson, B.C., would do an amazing job of keeping the geese off the beach and grass where they feed and rest.

All geese go to water at night. They permit dogs at the Windbag Marina, so why not the rest of the park? Today I observed a man with a dog on leash approach a dozen or so geese couples, who alighted when the leashed dog was within 25 feet. Dogs would be a cheaper, more effective way to keep geese from feeding on the lawn.

Sandpoint is a dog loving town.

One local resource person, with years of experience in geese management, told the city early on that the plan wouldn’t work. Biologists we spoke with concurred. Each year, new geese from the ecosystem would fill in, because that’s what geese do. So why continue this insane plan? Is it primarily worry over tourism which drives much of city policy?

Capture, and kill and capture, hasn’t and won’t work. It’s time, especially now with the pandemic, for the Mayor to issue a moratorium on this year’s expanded lethal geese plan. And then create an ad hoc citizens advocacy committee to deal with geese management at City Beach and other city parks. There are more humane, compassionate ways to deal with unwanted geese feces. We can coexist peaceably.

OPINION

Open letter to Mr. Wheeler and Sheriff Wheeler

By Pierre Bordenave Special to the Reader To Mr. Wheeler: As an individual citizen, I support and vigorously defend your right of free speech and to believe whatever you wish to believe, or choose to not believe in data and reports from our international, national, and state scientists, health agencies, or even local health professionals. And no one can, or should, prevent your writing a personal letter to our governor espousing your personal beliefs and disbeliefs.

To Sheriff Wheeler: What I cannot support is the public spectacle of your letter being front paged to request an end to the Governor Little’s Emergency Declaration and Order, which was issued after long deliberation and caution, but correctly in recognition of his duty to protect the citizens of Idaho from contracting and transmitting COVID-19. I cannot support using your status as our sheriff to present your personal opinions, while appearing to imply that is what all, or even most of the citizens of Bonner County want. And I cannot support using an official position of authority and respect in our community to impart legitimacy to a personal opinion that COVID-19 is being foisted on us by “globalists” controlling the governments and health organizations of the world to reach some mysterious and undefined end… and keep us from going to church?

It was interestingly ironic you chose the very day we passed one million people confirmed infected worldwide, hit the over 5,000 Americans dead milestone, and over 1,000 people in Idaho testing positive, to imply this highly contagious virus was perhaps still a hoax, and by extension encouraged people who respect and listen to you, to expose themselves, their loved ones, and our entire community to this plague.

Regarding your dismissive statement that “it’s not like this is the plague.” I assume you are referring to Bubonic Plague, which kills less than 20 thousand people a year. Worldwide we will be far past that mark in a few months, and for information, “Plague” is defined in the Merriam Webster Dictionary as follows: 1. a disastrous evil or affliction; 2. an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality; 3. a sudden unwelcome outbreak.

You seemed to define your interpretation of our Constitution being the government has no emergency authority to issue a protection order keeping us from congregating, regardless of the emergency. You have

ready access to lawyers employed by, or on retainer to, the county; as well as judges at the county, district, state and federal level, whose job and duties are to interpret laws and our constitutions. I believe the duties of our law enforcement / peace officers are exactly that: enforcing state and federal laws, keeping the peace, serving and protecting the citizenry. I don’t remember reading in any civics lessons or legal documents where the duties of sheriff included the interpretation of the Constitution and enforcing only the laws that he personally believes in.

I remember back when you first ran for sheriff many years ago; coming to our businesses, public meetings, forums, and to many of us individually to tell us how you intend to be a sheriff for all the people of Bonner County – those of us who voted for you as well as those that did not. I am curious under what role of serving and protecting, keeping the peace, and enforcing legally enacted laws and executive orders would you place personal interpretation of the Constitution?

You are up for reelection. You will be judged worthy of our vote based on your doing the job for which you are elected, not for personal or political beliefs.

Regarding our right to worship freely: God can hear any of us, any time, and anywhere we wish to connect. I doubt God is impressed by, or needs, public appearances in a crowded congregation. And I cannot imagine anyone’s belief includes a God who wants any of us to cause the death of fellow worshippers for such a foolish thing as touching or breathing the virus from the forced close proximity of a congregation.

When one chooses to go to a crowded church and expose themselves, they choose to expose their family, their friends, our schoolchildren, teachers, store checkers, pharmacists, hardware store clerks, mechanics, deputies, first responders, the entire health care community – and then they expose everyone they contact. I live with one of those people whose immune system is such that if they get this, they will die. There are thousands of people in North Idaho; tens of thousands in Idaho; hundreds of thousands regionally; millions in our country; and tens of millions in the world with similar conditions.

A narrow interpretation that the right of a fraction of the population to endanger themselves by gathering for group worship, is not more important than – nor should override – the right of the vast majority of the population who choose not to be exposed to this deadly plague. As you say, let us choose for ourselves. Your request to the governor chooses for us.

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Tracks of my years

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

Last week was a milestone birthday for me, and I’m sure you can only imagine how distraught my children were that I would be celebrating it alone (if you don’t count the three-legged cat, Laurel). If you know me, you know that no one loves a party like me! My people were long faced and sad, but the thing is, I more prefer to be the host than the guest anyhow.

For years I was a private chef and event coordinator for a few very high-net worth individuals, and no party idea was too over the top or too over budget. It was like bringing my favorite Dr Suess book, Mulberry Street, to real life. These were often multi-day parties, starting in one city and ending up several cities (and states) away, because with private rails cars and jets comes much privilege.

I distinctly remember one such occasion: a 70th birthday celebration where we pulled out (at) all the stops.

With twenty-some guests and four private cars on the back of the westbound Empire Builder, our party originated in Chicago and terminated four days later in Seattle. Midway through the trip, we arrived in Whitefish and were greeted at the station by uniformed drivers, who whisked away the passengers in waiting Jammers (red busses).

Later, after the rail cars were disengaged from the train and sided on a spur track, our guests arrived back at the siding and were treated to their very own miniature version of a wild west show in a neighboring park.

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Native Americans in full regalia performed traditional dances, buckskin-wearing cowboys galloped on fancy horses, and a pretty saloon girl entertained the affluent audience with her precision pistol skills, all while the train porters passed out Rocky Mountain Oysters, Whitefish Lake Caviar and other tasty samples from the local foods I had carefully purveyed.

A couple days later we arrived in Seattle, with our small fleet of rail cars on their own private short track parked at Union Station. I can’t recall the day’s activity for the gentlemen, but dressed in my best chef coat (emblazoned with galley car’s logo), the ladies and I walked the stalls at Pike Place market, hand selecting seafood, fresh pasta, cheeses and produce that would be transformed into the evening’s feast.

There were no iPhones back then, so I didn’t have access to my credit card bill, but it was not unusual to come home, review my statement and find two or three thousand dollars’ worth

of charges from one day at Pike Place.

Another memorable party involved a smaller group, onboard the Southwest Chief (the Amtrak train that operates from Chicago to Los Angeles). Once the train reached Albuquerque, the cars were transferred to a short line and we were hauled backwards to Santa Fe, where we’d spend three or four days sided in the sunshine. On this trip, the client, who was chairman of a local institute, was hosting a dinner onboard the static train for his very important board of directors. I was looking for something spectacular to serve, and, after wandering around Santa Fe, I came upon The Spanish Table, the most impressive paella supply store I’ve ever encountered.

The next day, I executed one of the most daring and difficult dinners of my career. Each guest was presented with their own individual pan of paella, complete with tiny side dishes of gremolata (minced lemon zest, parsley and garlic) and cloth-wrapped lemon halves. The accoutre-

ments were just as I had imagined. What I had not thought through well enough was the cooking procedure, and I can assure you that shaking 12 small, hot pans on a huge gas range is not for the faint of heart.

I’ve been quarantined for almost a month now, so I’ve spent a lot of time cleaning, organizing and sorting all the stuff my kids don’t want. In an upstairs closet hang a row of chef coats, each one embroidered with my name and the name of the rail car where I spent hundreds of hours, sometimes on my feet for ten to fourteen hours at a stretch. There is nowhere to donate such a garment, but I am going to wash them, cut them up and hope that they will make much-needed face masks.

Yes, how my priorities have changed over the last few years. I have attended some great events this past couple of weeks, thanks to Zoom and Facetime. With much clapping and fanfare on my part, my youngest grandson, Sammy, is proud to show off his skills

that involve a deluxe new potty chair. I was able to watch and listen to my Montana grandkids, squealing in delight, when my son, Zane, surprised them with an orphaned Angus calf to bottle raise. Closer, yet just as far, in Moscow I helped a grandson through his roughest quarantine hours, and our vision became reality. The next day, his kitchen was transformed into an ice cream shop, complete with homemade waffle cones (not sure my daughter Ryanne will call for any additional ideas).

I’ve been spending most days cooking in the kitchen and most evenings in my old leather chair. I am surrounded by a lot of memories and sorting out the ones that matter. So many of my memories involve food. And crazy enough, of all the foods I crave the most, it’s my mother’s tomato soup. It is similar to the soup that was served in every 4 B’s in Montana. It brings me comfort. It’s simple, and hopefully you have the ingredients to make it. I hope it will bring you comfort as well.

Montana-style Tomato Soup Served best with saltines, if you have them. Otherwise a grilled cheese sandwich will do nicely, too.

INGREDIENTS: • 29 ounces diced tomatoes canned • 10.5 ounces chicken broth • 2 tablespoons butter • 2 tablespoons sugar • 1 tablespoon chopped onion • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda • 2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS: In a large stockpot mix tomatoes, chicken broth, butter, onion, and baking soda. Simmer for 1 hour. In a separate pot, heat cream over low heat until hot, watching carefully so it doesn’t scorch. Once heated, add to tomato soup.

Makes 8 Servings

MUSIC

A landing place for local live music

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Like multi-packs of toilet paper, rubbing alcohol and common sense on social media, live music has become a thing of the past in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past few weeks, local musicians have turned to a new method to reach their fans: livestreamed concerts.

In the weeks since the coronavirus health crisis caused music venues to close and Gov. Little to issue a stay-at-home order to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus, a variety of local musicians have taken to streaming live concerts on a regular basis.

Some of Sandpoint’s most prolific performers have recorded concerts, including Bridges Home, Brian Jacobs, Chris Lynch, Cedar and Boyer, Harold’s IGA, Josh Hedlund, Jake Robin, Benny Baker, Scott Taylor and more.

When local music lovers Shawn Aller and Sandy Gale saw what was happening, they quickly stepped in to create a landing place for all of these concerts to be easily accessible to the listening public.

“We said, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to setup a site for all the local performers to advertise, and maybe get some tips?’” Aller told the Reader.

Aller and Gale – whose business AllerGale Design offers web design and marketing – setup the website livemusicsandpoint. com and began populating it with livestreams that had been recorded recently.

“The streams are linked directly to whatever platform they are recorded on,” Aller said. “So far we’ve got about 16 of them up.”

Aller said any local performer is welcome to message them to have their own livestreamed concerts included in the lineup – those interested can contact Aller and

Answers to riddles on page 18

livemusicsandpoint.com collates local livestreams

Gale through the website.

The biggest goal to Aller and Gale is to help local musicians find an outlet to promote their music and offer ways the public can donate to help support them when everyone’s gigs have been canceled far and wide.

“What we really wanted to do is set it up so we could get tip jars for people,” Aller said.

Aller recommends for artists to set up their own donation account through whatever platform they want – Patreon, Ko-Fi, PayPal, Venmo, etc. – so that listeners

can donate while listening to the livestream.

“We have another client that has done really well with a tip jar since they’ve been doing livestream music,” Gale said “People don’t necessarily have to catch the live stream, because if there was a tip jar there for that artist, they could in retrospect get paid and tipped for that performance.”

Aller and Gale said they’re more than happy to provide a landing page for local performers to showcase their work.

“We love live music,” Gale

The landing page at livemusicsandpoint.com. said. “It’s been hard keeping track of the dates lately, because we don’t have our usual Friday/Saturday night live music schedule.”

“You see us around town all the time going to shows,” Aller added.

“It just makes sense that we wanted to support the local artists.”

To access past livestream shows and donate to local musicians, be sure to bookmark livemusicsandpoint.com on your browser and check back often.

Friday Night Live to host Honeysuckle, Shook Twins

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Over 60 people gathered last week to listen to live music... on the internet, that is.

The Sandpoint Reader Podcast Series channel on YouTube has launched several videos by furloughed staffers, as well as hosting Friday Night Live, a weekly livestreamed concert featuring local musicians every Friday night from 7-8:30 p.m.

Friday, April 10 will feature a 45-minute livestream by Honeysuckle, the Boston-based band featuring Sandpoint’s own Holly McGarry. Honeysuckle will perform a set from 7-7:45 p.m. and local musician Mark Remmetter will play from 7:45-8:30 p.m.

To watch Honeysuckle and Remmetter April 10, point your browser to this link: bit.ly/FNL-3.

The following week’s FNL on Friday, April 17 will feature a special performance by Shook Twins, a nationally-touring band

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert

READ

Alan Minskoff, a journalism professor based in Boise, recently released The Idaho Traveler.

The book chronicles his journey through Idaho’s small towns in 2018 — 40 years after he originally made the trek while working for Idaho Heritage Magazine. For this follow-up book, Minskoff interviewed current inhabitants of the same small towns he visited in the ‘70s. He even interviewed me, after having met my grandfather during his last visit.

Find my interview in the chapter titled “Hope and East Hope: The Kiebert Loop.”

LISTEN

I recently discovered the lovely, laid back synth pop of Goth Babe.

The man behind the sound, Griff Washburn, moved from Tennessee to live in a tiny house in the Washington mountains and create music. The results are obviously well loved, as Goth Babe garners almost 1.3 million listeners each month on Spotify. Washburn’s soothing voice along with easy beats and simple guitar create a winning combination.

WATCH

with Sandpoint locals Katelyn and Laurie Shook.

The link to the Shook Twins livestream will be advertised in next week’s Reader, as well as on our Facebook page.

Also on the Sandpoint Reader Podcast Series are several video podcasts like 13 Minutes of History with Zach Hagadone and Happenings at Home with Lyndsie

Holly McGarry, left, and Chris Bloniarz of Honeysuckle. Courtesy photo.

A hasty trip to the library prior to my current state of extreme social distancing resulted in me grabbing the first two seasons of Friday Night Lights. The series, which first aired in 2006, tells the dramatic but often heartwarming story of the Dillon Panther football team and everyone who has a hand in the players’ lives. Relatable characters — particularly Head Coach Eric Taylor and his wife, Tami — make FNL binge-worthy.

Kiebert.

Anyone interested in donating to this podcast series, with all donations supporting furloughed staffers, can donate here: PayPal. me/ReaderPodcast.

Stream on, Sandpoint.

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1. A candle. 2. A map. 3. All the people on the boat are married. 4. Silence. 5. ENT (the letters stand for Eight, Nine, Ten OTTFFSS refers to One, Two, Three, Four and so on.

Newspaper woes from 128 years ago Riddle me this...

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

From Northern Idaho News, Jan. 7, 1919

GOVERNMENT CONSIDERS SANDPOINT POSTOFFICE That the federal government is already taking up the construction of federal buildings where it left off when the war started is indicated by a letter received in this city from Senator Nugent. The senator has been looking into the proposition and says that the condition of the material market may have considerable to do with determining whether or not it will be erected this year.

“I have investigated the matter of the erection of a federal building at Sandpoint,” he says, “and the treasury department advises me that within the next few months bids for the construction of said building will be advertised for, and that because of the labor and material situation at this time it is impossible to state with any degree of certainty whether or not the building will be erected this year. I shall be further advised in the matter within the next few weeks and after bids for other federal buildings have been opened and considered. You may depend upon it that I shall do all that lies in my power to bring about the construction of the building at an early date.”

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Local historian Nancy Foster Renk said she has been passing her time of quarantine by reading through old newspapers (available online through the East Bonner County Library – ebonnerlibrary.org).

In an email to the Reader, Renk said she came across an article from the Pend d’Oreille News dated April 2, 1892 that showed newspapers back then “also struggled with difficult times.”

The short article referenced being “burned out this morning at 2:20 and having

to get out a paper this afternoon,” and apologizing for leaving out “items of interest” to its readers.

Renk explained that there was a big fire the night of April 1 that burned 6 buildings, including the one housing the News.

Thanks for the perspective, Nancy. It’s important to look back through the pages of history to remember that we’ve gotten through tough times before. This paper managed to put out an edition after a fire destroyed their offices. Impressive. Though the road may seem daunting, I think we’ll get through it, folks. Hang in there.

Here are a few riddles to tease that brain of yours. Answers are printed upside-down on page 17.

1. You measure my life in hours and I serve you by expiring. I’m quick when I’m thin and slow when I’m fat. The wind is my enemy. What am I? 2. I have cities, but no houses. I have mountains, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I? 3. You see a boat filled with people. It has not sunk, but when you look again you don’t see a single person on the boat. Why? 4. What disappears as soon as you say its name?

5. What are the next three letters in this combination? O T T F F S S

Crossword Solution

STR8TS Solution

Sudoku Solution MAYBE in order to understand mankind, we have to look at the word itself. Basically, it’s made up of two separate words — “mank” and “ind.” What do these words mean? It’s a mystery, and that’s why so is mankind.

Solution on page 18

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

Solution on page 18

ACROSS 1. Flower holder 6. Wan 10. Dash 14. Creepy 15. District 16. Type of sword 17. Negatively charged particle 18. Male deer 19. Flexible mineral 20. Impasse 22. Burden 23. Creative work 24. Political refugee 26. It forms on a wound 30. Genus of macaws 31. “___ the season to be jolly” 32. Forearm bone 65. Submarine 33. Humid 66. Decorative case 35. Relaxes 67. Suspend 39. Contraband 68. Flora and fauna 41. Pleasant 69. Moist 43. Condition 70. Picnic insects /KREJ-uh-luhs / 44. Sea eagle 71. Something of value 46. Former Italian currency [adjective] 47. Delay 1. willing to believe or trust too readily, especially withof the out proper or adequate evidence; gullible.

49. American Dental DOWN Association “Tammy is so credulous, she falls for every prank we pull on her.”

50. Anagram of “Dome” 1. Oceans 51. Assent 2. Canvas dwelling Corrections: In last week’s story about the May 19 primary, I listed an in- 54. Ailments 3. Diva’s solo correct phone number in the article. The number listed goes to the Bonner 56. Angers 4. King of the jungle County Clerk’s office, when it should have been the Election Department’s 57. Unmixable 5. Japanese stick fighting office. The correct number is: 208-255-3631. Apologies for the error. -BO 63. Pervert 6. Forage 64. Observed

Word Week

credulous

Solution on page 18 7. Craftsperson 8. Loyal (archaic) 9. A young eagle 10. A young unmarried woman (archaic) 11. Mimicking 12. Happen again 13. Make fun of 21. Garden tool 25. Like a bog 26. U-boats 27. Coagulate 28. Dwarf buffalo 29. Heavily armored warship 34. Sticks and twigs for a fire

36. Skidded 37. Novice 38. Fraud 40. Its symbol is Pb 42. Bargains 45. Clothing 48. Japanese hostess 51. Suffered 52. Chalk 53. Part of the large intestine 55. Aqualung 58. Average 59. Nile bird 60. Razzes 61. Tardy 62. French for “State” April 9, 2020 /

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