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PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“Why do you like to raise farm animals?”

“I have loved pigs ever since preschool!”

Cole Van Horn age 9 turning 10 with Socks, a very playful pig Naples

“I enjoy being around and taking care of the animals. Pumpkin had a rough start. He lived in the living room the first month. He’s a Jersey cow who likes his belly rubbed and his chin scratched.”

Hannah Craig with pet cow Pumpkin Gen. mgr. Maker’s Long Acres Sagle

DEAR READERS,

I hope everyone is having a great day. I chose this week’s cover photo as a sort of rain dance to help encourage a few more showers to come in and put out all the fires for good this season. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when the rain fell last weekend, I could almost hear the collective sounds of relief coming from across the region.

What a simple, beautiful thing it is to see the mountains clearly, to smell the air without wincing at the smoke, to actually have to bring a long-sleeved shirt in case it gets chilly.

One image during the rainy weekend brought a smile to my face, and I still can picture it. I was walking around town in the drizzling rain. A man emerged from his front door, looked up to the sky and such a deep breath that I heard it from all the way across the street. He smiled and reached up to the heavens, as if he wanted to embrace every drop of rain that was falling. Then he sat on the stoop, cracked a beer or a soda and watched it fall.

Let’s remember to be grateful for these small moments. Elsewhere, a rainy day might not bring such joy, but here in North Idaho after a busy fire season, it’s pure bliss. Go get wet, Sandpoint.

– Ben Olson, publisher “I like pigs because they’re cute, provide meat, they’re fun and unique. Plus not a lot of kids have them.”

Raye Johnson with Snickerdoodle, who is not a breeding or butcher pig, but a pet pig she likes to ride.

He will grow to 900 pounds!

Sagle “Coyotes were a problem, but now I am going to raise one pig every time.”

Brower Lindgren, 11 with Big Finn Gold ‘N’ Grouse 4-H

“They are really fun to play with and I like having them.

They are my favorite animal and they’re super nice and sometimes you go crazy when they really want food. When you work with them it connects you with them.”

Remmington Mort, 10 with Fiona Jr. Gold ‘N’ Grouse 4-H

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Susan Drinkard, Dairs Judd, USFS, Renee Cornue.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Jen Jackson Quintano, Brenden Bobby, Shelby Rognstad, Mel Vining, Ranel Hanson, Jim Mitsui, Jeanette Schandelmeier, Sharon Kreider, Marcia Pilgeram.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $135 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover photo is our little rain dance, hoping that we’ll get a few more showers to put these fires out once and for all!

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NEWS

New state initiatives law gets the boot Reclaim Idaho prevails in ID Supreme Court case arguing that SB 1110 is unconstitutional

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff The Idaho Supreme Court ruled Aug. 23 that a 2021 law to heighten the signature requirements for placing citizens’ initiatives on the ballot violated Idahoans’ constitutional rights.

Prior to the 2021 Idaho legislative session, citizens had to gather signatures from 6% of registered voters in at least 18 of the state’s 35 legislative districts, as well as 6% of voters statewide, in order to qualify an initiative for the ballot. Under Senate Bill 1110, that requirement was increased to 6% of voters in all 35 districts.

The court ruled after a lawsuit brought by Sandpoint-grown grassroots organization Reclaim Idaho, along with the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, arguing that the 35-district requirement went against citizen initiative rights as outlined in the Idaho Constitution, which dictate that Idahoans have a right to legislate directly, without interference from the Legislature.

Plaintiffs also challenged a statute signed into law in 2020 that stipulated a successful

initiative would not take effect until July 1 of the following year, giving the Legislature a full session to overturn the new citizen-enacted law.

The court issued a unanimous decision in favor of Reclaim Idaho and the committee, effectively repealing both pieces of legislation and reverting Idaho law back to the previous initiative requirements and procedures.

According to a summary of the opinion issued by the Idaho Supreme Court, all five justices concurred that by giving “every legislative district veto power over qualifying initiatives and referenda for the ballot,” SB 1110 would “prevent a perceived, yet unsubstantiated fear of the ‘tyranny of the majority,’ by replacing it with an actual ‘tyranny of the minority.’”

Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville issued a statement following the ruling, calling back to the many times in the state’s history that “the Idaho Legislature has attempted to dismantle the initiative process” and the governor or court stopped them.

“Today, the Idaho Supreme Court added a new chapter to our state’s proud history of direct democracy,” May-

ville wrote. “By restoring the initiative process, the court fulfilled its obligation to protect the democratic rights of every Idaho citizen.”

As the plaintiffs celebrated, voices from across the Statehouse also chimed in. According to the Idaho Capital Sun, Speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, maintained that SB 1110 was meant to amplify the influence of rural communities in the Gem State.

“These changes to the voter referendum/initiative process would’ve served to increase voter involvement and inclusivity, especially in the corners of the state too often forgotten

by some,” Bedke wrote. “We believe that all the 35 legislative districts, every part of Idaho, should be included in this important process, unfortunately, the Supreme Court apparently disagrees.”

Idaho Democrats applauded the court.

“This bill never should have been passed in the first place as it was in clear violation of the ballot initiative rights established in the Idaho Constitution,” House Democratic Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, wrote in a media release. “Elected representatives should be working to protect the people’s constitutional rights, not take those rights away as the Idaho

Courtesy image.

GOP did here.”

The Idaho Supreme Court also ruled that the plaintiffs should be awarded reasonable attorney fees in the case.

Reclaim Idaho, the group that successfully put Medicaid Expansion on the state’s ballot in 2018, launched a new initiative campaign in June called the Quality Education Act. If enacted, the new law would increase corporate income taxes as well as income taxes for residents earning more than $250,000 per year, funneling an additional $300 million into Idaho K-12 schools each year.

Fire safety paramount even as restrictions lift Trestle Creek Complex 15% contained

By Reader Staff Public, state and tribal land managers in the Coeur d’Alene Dispatch Zone — which encompasses Bonner County — will rescind fire restrictions on Friday, Aug. 27.

While the decision is driven by “cooler weather and significant moisture” in the region, according to an Aug. 24 media release from 4 /

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the Idaho Panhandle National Forests on behalf of all local agencies, officials shared that average fire danger remains “high” for the area.

“While campfires will now be allowed, hunters and recreationists are urged to continue to use caution, never leave a campfire unattended and make sure it is cold to the touch before walking away,” the release stated, also sharing that “above normal” wildfire potential

is predicted through September.

“Even with widespread precipitation, the zone has reported several lightning-caused fires from the most recent thunderstorms, serving as an indication that fuels are still receptive to fire,” officials wrote.

Large fires continue to burn in the Idaho Panhandle, including the Trestle Creek Complex, located four miles north of Hope. New infrared imaging measures the

blaze at 6,600 acres and 15% contained.

As of Aug. 25, all evacuation orders for area homes have been lifted.

For public and firefighter safety, officials ask that recreationists pay attention to and respect all road and area closures.

Incident Meteorologist Lamont Bain, Nevada IMT-4, Type 3, gives an update on the Trestle Creek Complex fires on Aug. 24.

Photo courtesy USDA Forest Service.

NEWS

BoCo adopts 2022 budget, takes forgone taxes

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

In order to balance the 2022 budget, Bonner County commissioners voted Aug. 23 to take $2.7 million in forgone taxes — a move prompted by new state legislation, increased inflation and historically tight budgeting practices.

“We never ever, ever thought we’d see the day that we’d have to take [forgone], but today has become that day,” said Commissioner Dan McDonald during the evening budget hearing, during which commissioners unanimously approved a $62.4 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Forgone taxes are funds left unused in years when the county has opted not to increase taxes by the allowed annual 3%. By taking forgone in 2022, Bonner County taxes will increase about 9%, averaging out to about 4.7% per tax bill when taking into account the rates imposed by other taxing districts.

The decision to take forgone was based on several factors, one being a new Idaho law passed late in the 2021 legislative session that required municipalities

choose between taking their 3% property tax increase and only a portion of taxes on new construction, or dip into forgone dollars.

With the first option only amounting to about $1.2 million and the budget too tight for that scenario, the county will instead empty its forgone coffers in the amount of about $2.7 million in order to balance the FY2022 budget.

Another factor is inflation.

Bonner County Clark Mike Rosedale said that over the past few years, the board has elected to use “0% or close to 0%” of the allowed annual 3% property tax increase, relying instead on new construction and cash rolled forward to make up for regular rates of inflation. Rosedale calculates current inflation close to 12% — which limited leftover funds from FY2021— and he said predictions place that figure closer to 20% over the coming year.

“They’ve been as conservative, fiscally, as they possibly can with taxes,” Rosedale said of the board of commissioners, “and now it’s just finally come to the point where they can’t hold their breath underwater anymore without coming up for air.”

McDonald said fuel prices have increased 75% over the

past budget year, driving those line items up for 2022, and pressure on wages in order to attract and retain employees has also been a strain on this year’s budgeting process. As a result, many departments were denied requests for new equipment or additional personnel.

While Bonner County will receive about $8.8 million in American Rescue Plan funds as part of the latest federal COVID-19 stimulus package, guidelines from the U.S. Treasury currently dictate the money be used mostly for water and sewer projects, broadband expansion and other things Bon-

ner County does not manage.

Rosedale said that with the exception of only a few things, “we can’t even touch that money.”

“We will have it, but right now, unless they change the rules, we can’t use it,” McDonald added. “It would have been nice to use some of that at least for now to … reduce the blow a little bit, but the problem is when you start using money like that, it’s not going to be there forever.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt both the $62.4 million Bonner County budget and the separate $5 million EMS budget.

Rosedale recognized that

The Bonner County administration building. Courtesy photo. several citizens felt left out of the budgeting process, despite meetings being open to the public. He pledged to work to find a better way to “interface with the community” in years to come.

“Going forward, that will be something that we do better next year,” he said.

Those interested in viewing the FY2022 Bonner County budget can call the clerk’s office at 208-265-1437 to learn how to secure a copy, or email michael. rosedale@bonnercountyid.gov.

Polling places will change in nine BoCo voting precincts Hope, Oldtown and seven Sandpoint precincts among those affected

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Bonner County commissioners voted to change the polling places for nine different precincts Aug. 24, with the change going into effect for the November 2021 election “and beyond,” according to Bonner County Chief Deputy Clerk Clorissa Koster.

Among the changes are a co-location of the Airport, Baldy, Beach, Dover, Humbird, Washington and Wrenco precincts to the Bonner County Fairgrounds; shifting Hope to the Clark Fork-Hope Area Senior Center to co-locate with the Clark Fork and Lakeview

precincts; and moving Oldtown voters to the Priest River Events Center to co-locate with East and West Priest River.

Koster brought the proposal before the board at its regular Tuesday business meeting, sharing that some of the changes were due to previous polling facilities wanting to “get out of the business” — particularly a number of area churches that want to distance themselves from the partisanship of recent elections.

“The last election we had, with some of the political campaign signs, [things] like that,” said Bonner County Clerk Mike Rosedale. “[Churches have] said, ‘You know what, we just don’t want to

do this anymore.’ … We’ve had three places at least that have said, ‘We’re done.’”

During public discussion, Bonner County resident Doug Paterson shared his concern that the changes were too “dramatic.”

“Part of the reason why precincts are set up in the first place is to have polling places close to the precinct itself,” he said. “It’s inside [the precinct], so people don’t have to travel a long ways to vote.”

Rosedale responded to Paterson’s concern by stating that the seven Sandpoint precincts being co-located at the fairgrounds were already “in a tight spot,” so voters would experience “nominal additional travel.” He also

went on to describe the Hope and Oldtown changes as “nominal.”

The distance between Oldtown’s previous polling place and the Priest River Events Center is approximately five miles. The distance between the Memorial Community Center, Hope’s previous polling location, and the Clark Fork-Hope Area Senior Center is more than nine miles.

Koster said that the changes are part of a larger movement by the elections office to make voting in Bonner County more “efficient,” and that voting should take the same amount of time under the new arrangements. Commissioner Dan McDonald stated that there’s also been increasing difficulty staffing

volunteers on election days.

“There’s lots of things that go into this,” Koster said. “We’re not just wanting to move people just to move people.”

The board voted unanimously to approve the changes. Koster said the county will send out postcards to affected voters to notify them of their new polling place, as well as share the information on the county website and the Bonner County Elections Facebook page.

The doors of previous polling places will also be posted with information letting voters know where to go.

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NEWS

School Zone speeds reduced

School Zone speed limits were reduced to 15 miles per hour prior to the start of the next school year. Photo by Ben Olson.

By Reader Staff The start of the 2021-’22 school year is just around the corner and city of Sandpoint crews have been preparing to keep kids safe. New signs have been installed in school zones with a reduced speed limit of 15 miles per hour Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. In addition, paint has been added on the street to alert drivers.

Sandpoint police will be conducting emphasis patrols during the school year.

The reduced speed limit from 20 mph to 15 mph in school zones was one of the key recommendations that came out of a safety audit of the Division Street corridor, as part of the city’s multimodal transportation plan.

The audit report noted that a 10 mph reduction in speed is the engineering standard for school zones. In future years, the city will also add flashing lights during those times students are most likely to be present.

Reduced speed school zones in Sandpoint include: Sandpoint High and Middle schools on Division Avenue; 6 /

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Sandpoint Waldorf School, along Pine Street; Farmin-Stidwell Elementary, at Division Avenue/Spruce Street; Washington Elementary, at South Boyer Avenue and Erie Street; and Lake Pend Oreille High School at North Boyer Avenue.

Current speed limits on the remainder of city streets comply with engineering standards and best practices based on the street classification and volume. In the coming months, city staff will be drafting a policy and procedure for consideration by the Sandpoint City Council that will allow residents to request a speed calming analysis in their neighborhood. The result of the analysis could lead to speed tables or other calming features to increase safety.

Other recent multimodal safety improvements also include a new flashing pedestrian crossing at the intersection of Highway 2 and Westwood Drive, where bicyclists and pedestrians enter or leave the Westwood neighborhood and cross Highway 2 to access the paved trail on the north side of the highway.

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

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

A recent sampling: Student debt will be automatically erased for borrowers with total and permanent disabilities, the U.S. Department of Education has announced. An estimated 300,000 people will be affected. According to the Debt Collective, the average debt for those people is $18,000.

Annually international governments provide up to $1 trillion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Oil Change International says that in the U.S. that’s typically $20.5 billion, but “credible estimates” say it can be as high as $52 billion. So, while the price of fuel could be higher at the pump, taxpayers are still paying one way or another. OCI reported at least 75% of known fossil fuels must stay in the ground to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

In Tennessee 25% of annual rainfall recently fell in one morning, causing massive floods and destruction and loss of at least 22 lives, USA Today reported.

Various sources: Commercial airlines have been pressed into service to help evacuate people in the wake of Afghanistan’s fall to Taliban control. By early Aug. 23, 37,000 had been flown out. A bipartisan group of U.S. governors is offering to take Afghan citizens, NBC News reports.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has now been fully approved by the FDA. On Aug. 23 some 75 Florida doctors staged a pre-shift protest about having to treat unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.

Florida leads the nation in daily number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and had 150,000 new cases in the past week, according to Business Insider.

At least 81 children died of COVID-19 between March and July, the CDC reported. A senior health scholar at John Hopkins University told NBC the childhood infections are due to lack of precautions, by both leaders and others, including parents. The overload of COVID-19 patients in hospitals is resulting in declines in staffing due to exhaustion and frustration that people are infected needlessly.

More police officers have died of COVID-19 than from all work-related causes combined, Vice.com reported. Two main contributing factors: police interact daily with the public and law officers have low vaccination rates. Some police forces

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

are now requiring COVID-19 vaccination for officers to keep their jobs.

With a 37% vaccination rate, Mississippi is averaging more than 3,500 new COVID-19 cases per day and more than 20,000 students have been quarantined for COVID-19 exposure, The Washington Post reported. Another problem: People are purchasing the animal de-wormer ivermectin in an attempt to treat COVID-19. In Mississippi, 70% of the state’s poison control center calls are about ingesting ivermectin. The de-wormer can cause rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurological disorders and hepatitis that requires hospitalization. The state’s health officer says ivermectin is approved for some uses in humans, but needs to be doctor-prescribed; the veterinarian version should not be used. Merck, producer of ivermectin, does not support its use for COVID-19 purposes.

Close to 500,000 first-time doses of COVID-19 vaccine are now being administered daily, Bloomberg.com reported. That level was last seen at the end of May, and appears to be driven by awareness of how the delta variant is more easily transmitted.

COVID-19 booster shot primer: free boosters may soon be available, pending FDA and CDC approval, according to The Washington Post. The booster is said to be warranted due to both declines in vaccination effectiveness, and the Delta variant out-competing other COVID-19 strains due to lack of vaccination. So far those fully vaccinated can expect strong protection against hospitalization.

Blast from the past: In the mid-1930s a doctor in California witnessed elderly women scavenging garbage for food. He devised a plan that would help the economy and provide dignity for the elderly: retired people over age 60 would get $200 a month from the government. The idea reached Congress, where the clout of senior voters was noticed. Labor Secretary Frances Perkins led Congress in moving forward on what would become today’s Social Security. The Social Security Committee made little progress until Perkins locked the door on a session, provided “a couple of bottles of something or other” (Perkins’ words) and did not unlock the doors until they had a final plan — at 2 a.m. In the House it passed 371 to 33, and was approved in the Senate, 77 to 6. It became law in August 1935.

NEWS

State endowment lands garner big dollars

K-12 public ed to receive $61.5M while Priest Lake auction pulls in $13.1M

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

The Idaho Department of Lands is reaping a windfall of dollars in 2021, as 16 endowment-owned lakefront lots at Priest Lake recently sold for more than $13.1 million — nearly $3.6 million more than their appraised value. Funds from the sale, which took place Aug. 21 in Coeur d’Alene, go to support public schools.

The Land Board consists of the Idaho governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state controller and superintendent of public instruction. The board administers the funds from state lands, accounting for more than 2.5 million acres of “endowment trust land under a constitutional mandate to maximize long-term financial returns to public schools and a number of other state of Idaho institutions,” according to a news release.

Of the properties auctioned Aug. 21, six were vacant and unleased while 10

were developed with homes or cabins.

According to IDL, eight of the 10 lots were purchased by current leaseholders while two went to non-lessee bidders.

Per state law, the land is owned by endowment beneficiaries — structures and other improvements on them are owned as personal property. Auctions are for the land only, with winning non-lessee bidders now obligated to pay for the land and appraised value of personal property to be reimbursed to lessees.

The auction is part of an effort by the state since 2010 to divest itself of ownership of most cottage sites on Priest and Payette lakes (the latter in the McCall area, about midway between Boise and Lewiston), which to date has resulted in 463 sales. Of those, 315 have occurred at Priest Lake and 148 at Payette Lake, amounting to more than $218.3 million. The Land Board has authorized IDL to offer such auctions of residential lake lots through 2024,

as well as unleased lots at both lakes in Bonner and Valley counties.

Funds raised by the auctions goes to the so-called “Land Bank,” which is drawn on to purchase other lands in Idaho — such as timberland and, on a limited basis, farmlands, per a May 2016 decision — or funneled into a permanent fund, to accrue returns for endowment beneficiaries.

Among the main beneficiaries are Idaho schools, which in FY2023 will receive $61.5 million of a record $100 million disbursement from the IDL and Endowment Fund Investment Board, which manages $3.1 billion in funds.

According to a joint news release, IDL and the EFIB stated that the share of K-12 public schools funding represents a 12.3% increase from the FY2022 disbursement.

“Outstanding investment performance and strong timber revenue resulted in growth in the Endowment Fund

which allowed us to increase beneficiary distributions,” stated EFIB Manager of Investments Chris Anton. “This new record was the result of investment gains of $716.6 million, or 29.7%, and net lands revenue of $59.6 million.”

Other beneficiaries include almost $2 million to the Agricultural College Fund at the University of Idaho (the state’s land-grant university), $7 million to charitable institutions, $6.5 million to teacher education programs at Idaho State University and Lewis-Clark State College, $3.1 million to the Idaho Penitentiary Fund, $6.6 million to the U of I School of Science Fund, $7.5 million to State Hospital South in Blackfoot and $5.8 million to the U of I University Fund.

According to Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra, “Serving on the Land Board has given me a great appreciation for the careful land management and investment that ensure our funding will be consistent and grow.”

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Support rationality in the Legislature...

Bouquets: GUEST SUBMISSION: Bouquets to the generous farmers who donate wonderful produce to the food bank. Thanks.

— By River Burdick.

GUEST SUBMISSION: My husband and I would like to say that it is a real privilege to live in Bonner County where people look out for each other. My husband has had a rough time this past month recuperating from hip surgery, and several times people driving down the street have stopped and offered to help him.

Someone had knocked our mailbox off its post and he was out there with his walker trying to fix it. More than one stranger stopped to see if he needed help. Another day we were buying something at Home Depot when the man in front of us in line stood by and waited for us to pay, then loaded our purchase in the car for us.

Thanks, Zack Ponder. Then today, it was a lost wallet. Some honest person turned it in to Starbuck’s in Ponderay. Bouquets to all the kind and honest people who live here!

— By Velta Ashbrook GUEST SUBMISSION: A Bouquet to the SPOT bus drivers. They are safe, courteous, patient, helpful, friendly and on time! Not to mention, excellent drivers. P.S. The SPOT Bus helps reduce traffic congestion, parking, noise, stress and all that stuff. Oh, and wear and tear on the bike.

— By Bill and Gloria Stuble.

• A very heartfelt thank you to Jessica Vouk, Jeremy Holzapfel and the rest of the crew at Beet & Basil for all the great food and service over the years. Selfishly, I’m bummed they are closing, because they’re one of the best places to eat in town. But unselfishly, I support their decision 100%. I can only imagine the struggles and toil that restaurant workers have gone through the past 18 months. Here’s hoping it improves soon.

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Dear editor, I’m a Sen. Jim Woodward Republican. Having served in the military, he understands the meaning of public service. He is responsive to his constituents. He is rational and sensible in his legislative proposals and votes. I especially appreciate the newsletter he sends out after legislative sessions explaining the bills before the Legislature and his position on each of them.

I cannot support those who would expel him for baseless reasons. I don’t support those who proudly display Confederate flags. I don’t support those who travel out of state to join with criminals, as with the Malheur incident. I don’t support those who would make it nearly impossible to meet requirements for citizen initiatives. I’m repelled by those who ignore science and recommendations for health care and precautions in this time of COVID. I can’t condone the use of conspiracy fantasies to promote dangerous policies.

I want my representatives in Boise to use logic, reason, facts and concern for the people of Idaho in their approach to legislation. Stunts and theatrics don’t get the job done.

I want religion and government to continue to be separate. I want my government officials to assist everyone’s right to vote. I can’t understand how one can espouse belief in the right to life for fetuses while undermining access to health care for women, thus endangering those same fetuses. And how is the promotion of owning military weapons (which are useful only for killing people) compatible with a right to life stance? And how does blocking health safety fit with the right to life? Wearing masks and getting vaccinated during a pandemic are the only measures available to combat COVID, yet many of our “representatives” oppose these simple solutions.

Let’s elect sensible people like Sen. Jim Woodward to our Legislature. Please.

Ann Warwick Sandpoint

An open letter to Sens.

Risch and Crapo….

Dear editor, The GOP has become a cowardly, irrational and dangerous party ever

since it caved in to Donald Trump.

The party lacks the courage to rebuke or censure this man whose behavior appears increasingly more conspiratorial and delusional. He seems to be a revengeful narcissist with autocratic and, yes, fascist instincts. His rhetoric of fear and hatred incited his followers to carry out a violent insurrection upon our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, while Congress was performing its constitutional duty of certifying the electoral votes from our national election. This violence led to the deaths of a number of Capitol Police who were trying to protect congressmen, congresswomen and our then-vice president from the attack stoked by then-President Trump.

Furthermore, the GOP is complicit in the “Big Lie” of a so-called “stolen election.” By not refuting this lie, in fear of what Trump might say and what his base might do, the party has dangerously allowed conditions for our democratic republic to fail.

The 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments to our Constitution contain the wording: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State.”

Though these amendments individually apply to race, sex, a poll tax and to age, collectively they imply that the basic concept of a citizen’s right to vote exists.

Your state parties are now abridging our right to vote by passing voter-suppression laws. This is an assault upon our republic, whose basic tenet is that supreme power rests in all the citizens entitled to vote.

As senators, you are failing your oaths of office to defend our Constitution and, hence, our nation.

Do you care only about staying in power, with no concern for our county?

Philip A. Deutchman Sandpoint

Postal workers are the epitome of cheerful professionals…

Dear editor, ​​I couldn’t agree with you more about “the front door at the Post Office is the epicenter of kindness in Sandpoint” [Back of the Book; “Opening doors”; Aug. 18, 2021;

by Reader Publisher Ben Olson]. I will go a step farther and take that “front door mentality” to inside the Post Office. Behind the counter are some of the most friendly people in Sandpoint. Matt, Kayla, Carol,

Amanda, Ryan, Teresa, Dave and Rhonda are always cheerful, even when there is a long line of anxious customers. They are service professionals in the truest sense of the phrase. I have seen them calmly handle postal complaints with careful explanations or patiently explain passport regulations and its procedures. The employees at the Post Office in Sandpoint give a new meaning to that familiar phrase “going postal.” If “going postal” is what they are doing, then everyone should “go postal” in their daily interactions with others.

Jim Healey Sandpoint

Getting a vaccine can save more than your own life…

Dear editor, It took more than six months and four doctors to figure out a diagnosis. After some more tests, an outpatient procedure — in a hospital surgery — was scheduled for Aug. 18 to cure my condition. A cure!

Yippee! One day, in and out, then back home to recover.

Then on the 12th, I received a phone call, the hospital canceled my procedure. I won’t get my cure. The hospital can only provide emergency surgeries because they are overwhelmed by COVID cases, most that could have been prevented by vaccines.

Now I must wait, live with symptoms that are growing worse each week, until when? Maybe in time my condition will be an emergency.

Please get a vaccine, please do it for yourself, your family, your neighbors, your community. Your decision affects us all.

Lori Getts Bonner County

Kudos for articles on kindness…

Dear editor, I really enjoyed the article by Gaelan Evans in the Aug. 12 Reader [Perspectives, “The Sandpoint Flood”]. It is so refreshing to hear this sort of opinion regarding our Sandpoint community. I came here in 1978 and it was for the same reasons that Gaelan mentioned. I wanted to live a quiet, peaceful life.

I thought of it as living simply and I’ve held onto that for 43 years now.

Gaelan’s idea to build an ark and maintain our values was terrific.

I also agree that it’s so healthy to emphasize the positives instead of always pointing out the negatives during these times of our growth and expansion. What a great mission it is to live neighborly and friendly. Let’s keep this a place where people love to live.

I also enjoyed the article by [Reader Publisher] Ben Olson on Aug. 19 about the front door of our local post office being the epicenter of kindness [Back of the Book, “Opening Doors”]. It’s so true. My thanks to Ben for his insights and all his efforts in creating the Reader. I look forward to it each week.

Connie Watson Sandpoint

PERSPECTIVES

We received our first negative review recently. It came from someone we’ve never even met, let alone worked for. It came from someone disappointed in our inability to look at his trees.

We were too busy, and there are consequences for that.

This brings up two things for me: 1.) Sandpoint’s opportunities for business are outpacing its current workforce; and, 2.) small businesses live and die by the Google review.

Let me start with the latter point.

As with any form of social media, online reviews have the ability to be helpful but they also allow folks to say things they might never say to another person’s face. The internet is quite literally a screen behind which people hide yet wield great power. It calls to mind The Wizard of Oz: “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! The Great Oz has spoken!” We have these elaborate online personas, but behind the curtain, we’re all just conmen from Nebraska.

(Random fact: Did you know the name of the man feigning to be the Wizard of Oz was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs? Oz came from his first two initials.)

Here are a few fun missives from the wizards of feedback: A reviewer of a local, longtime retail establishment writes, “[P]eople were slow mentally physically fat out of shape, I can say more, do I really need to?

Disgrace. Close down.” Is that helpful? No. Could the grammar and punctuation improve? Yes.

Jen Jackson Quintano.

A local restaurant was told, “Get rid of the cashier, she creates MOST of the problems.

Sorry lady, but you do!” How about addressing the problems instead of the person?

Another local restaurant was given a one-star review because, “They promised ocean views.” Sir, I give you a one-star review for your shaky grasp on geography.

This publication was called a “left wing liberal fake news paper,” though, I guess that’s not a shocker. Can we use it in the masthead?

As Reader Publisher Ben Olson has previously admonished, please just be kind to one another, OK? Be patient. Let’s try really hard, despite our recent rapid growth, to be a community — a cohesive, connected, supportive one. If you take issue with a local establishment, maybe talk it over with management before shouting your frustration

from the electronic rooftops.

Many other negative reviews of local businesses are pandemic-related — people pissed about the abundance or lack of masks — but most others relate to timely service. Either the lines are too long, the wait for food untenable or, as with us, the schedule for services too booked.

This brings me to my second point about supply and demand in Sandpoint. Currently, there is a greater demand for services than there is a supply of available providers. Admittedly, this is a bummer for most residents.

In the age of Amazon deliveries, on-demand television and fully stocked box stores, we’ve come to expect to get what we want when we want it.

Yes, it’s annoying to have to schedule a haircut a month or two out. Yes, it sucks to go to my favorite restaurant and find a 45-minute wait any night of the week. Yes, it’s lame to not get a prompt return call from a service provider. But, holy cow, Sandpoint, that’s a growth spurt you’re going through! And such epic growth is attended by growing pains (just ask me; I hit six feet tall by middle school).

Most of us in the service sector are doing the best we can with limited resources. Have you noticed all the “Now Hiring” signs around town? Help is not easy to come by. We are fortunate to have two amazing employees, but we could probably hire another three people and run a second crew… if there was a competent pool of help to draw from and if we wanted to add further management responsibil-

ities. Neither is true, so the four of us plug away as best we can, trying to hold boundaries around family time and recuperative breaks for our bodies. Our summer was scheduled out before it even began.

I will admit, though, that the busier we get the less time I have to devote to the personal touches that make a business special. I used to engage in more conversation with clients. I used to be able to text with them and answer basic tree-health questions.

I used to send lengthier emails or swap pictures of kids and dogs or offer to pick excess fruit from overburdened trees. I don’t have time for much of that anymore.

These days, I feel a bit more like a robot than a warm and generous human. I answer calls, send estimates and invoices, run noisy machines and stick to the basics of service. To do more would push my already burgeoning working hours beyond acceptable limits.

In that regard, I understand the negative reviews that occasionally come our way as area business owners. Most of us here are stretched thin, and customers often bear the brunt of that. We can only do our best, and often our best isn’t perfect.

A longtime local recently called us and when she heard that we were booking several months out, she pleaded, “Can’t you hold just one day a week open for locals?” I get it. Once upon a time, not too long ago, there weren’t lines for everything here in Sandpoint. Just a few years back, a client could call us and be assured of service within

a week or two. We were keeping up with demand. No longer.

Now our voicemail is overflowing with recent transplants looking for tree help (as a result, I recognize waaaay more California area codes than I ever did before) and locals accustomed to quick service are left hanging.

So, amid this Sandpoint-area supply-and-demand conundrum, what’s a person to do? Again, I return to the admonishments to be kind and patient. Be a cohesive community, even if our bonds are stretching thin from so much goddamn growth.

As business owners, we can embrace the fact that we won’t please everyone all of the time.

And with those customers who we do have time for, we can try to remember to be warm and empathetic, not just workaholic automatons.

As customers we can embrace the fact that, until Sandpoint’s workforce catches up with its population, we’re all going to do some waiting. We can fill that time with a new hobby. Maybe meditation or crossword puzzles.

Or maybe reading Google reviews for fun, shaking our heads at all the Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggses out there, ruling the Land of Review from behind the anonymizing curtain.

Jen Jackson Quintano writes and runs an arborist business with her husband in Sandpoint.

Find their website at sandcreektreeservice.com. See more of Quintano’s writing at jenjacksonquintano.com.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

the science of learning

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist The ability to learn isn’t a human-specific trait. Every organic creature from the blue whale to bacteria have some capacity for learning — otherwise we would never have evolved to become organisms capable of manipulating the world to our needs.

However, human learning is markedly different from animal learning in some key respects.

Not living in a near-perpetual state of survival, humans are able to dedicate more time to learning. Human children spend most of their time learning, whereas something like a baby chick spends most of its time foraging for food and evading predators, learning more efficient methods to complete both tasks with experience, so long as it doesn’t end up dying in the process. That last part is key for humans, as there are relatively few life-ending dangers we have to worry about, especially as children — at least when compared to animals.

The divide in how human brains and animal brains work in relation to learning is worth noting. Our brains have changed and adapted over millions of years to learn more complicated subjects, like speech and mathematics, applying both to be able to change our environment on a scale that most animals aren’t capable of doing. You might be wondering, if birds are the descendents of dinosaurs, then why haven’t they developed to be more advanced than we have? Why aren’t avians building skyscrapers and launching billionaire birds into space?

I really don’t have an answer for that. My best guess is that birds have never had an evolutionary 10 /

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need to develop in that way. Once humans became apex predators, other humans became the dominant competition and required more elaborate methods of thinking and learning to overcome.

You might believe that learning would be a uniform process that happens identically for every person — that a singular system will guarantee expected results along predetermined deadlines. That was the school system we were raised in, and as you might have guessed: It doesn’t always work that way.

Our ability to learn, retain and recall information varies from person to person based primarily on genetics — a factor that is completely out of our control.

The elaborate interaction of genes is a topic too extensive to cover today, but it plays a major factor in our ability to learn.

Genetics influences things like attention deficit disorder or the presence of traits from the autism spectrum, which can hinder an individual’s ability to maintain focus or retain information. Sometimes these traits are hardly noticeable — especially to an outside observer — though the student could be struggling internally and be unwilling to share that plight with anyone around them.

Additionally, our environment plays a major role in our ability to learn. Our brains require calories as an energy source to function. When we aren’t getting enough calories in a daily diet, our brains switch to survival mode and start lowering the priority of nonessential functions. If a student is constantly hungry from the financial hardships that a huge number of Americans face — a bare minimum of 35 million people in our country alone — that student’s

brain will be more focused on surviving than learning.

Motivation is another factor behind our effective ability to learn and one that is difficult to instill in younger learners. Many young adults attend college under the promise of landing a savvy, high-paying job, but recent studies have suggested that financial rewards only provide a modest incentive to long-term learning. Studies have shown that students who are deeply interested in a particular subject are more likely to succeed in learning and retaining information related to that subject, rather than a subject in which their only motivation is money. This is especially true of the scientific community. Have you ever met anyone that worked their butts off for a doctorate so they could make big money in Antarctica?

I sure haven’t, but I know more than one person who did it because science is their passion.

The absence of distraction is perhaps the most obvious factor of learning, as well as the one we have the greatest control over. It’s the reason librarians shush you or your teacher singles you out for talking even though Becca is being far more disruptive. An absence of distraction helps, but some of us are perfectly capable of creating our own internal distractions. If you’ve ever met me in person, you’ve probably wondered why I’m kind of a strange dude. My brain is filled with untold trillions of distractions at any given moment and juggling that while also trying to entertain a conversation is challenging to say the least. It’s likely one of the largest reasons I struggled in school.

Is this a problem you’re suffering from as well? Sometimes a busy classroom isn’t the best place

to learn. That’s perfectly OK. The library offers free tutoring to anyone who needs it, regardless of age. We all have it in us to better our education and sometimes it’s just a matter of needing a little one-on-one help to get there.

That being said, the library is also in need of those willing to volunteer their time as tutors, to help those in our community who are struggling to get where they want or need to be. It doesn’t require a lifetime of classroom teaching, just individuals who are

willing to spare an hour or two of their time each week to help members of our community learn and grow. The library will even provide training, a quiet room and administrative help — even handle the scheduling so you can focus on tutoring.

If you are interested in tutoring, or perhaps need a tutor yourself, give Mike Bauer a call.

He’s the Lifelong Learning coordinator at the library, and can be reached at 208-265-2665.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner rts?

Don’t know much about dese

• Each year, 22,000 tons of dust from the Sahara Desert is carried by air currents to the Amazon rainforest where it is an important source of phosphorus for tropical plants.

• 7,000 years ago, the Sahara and the Arabian deserts were actually grasslands suitable for pastoral farming.

• Wadi Al-Hitan (“Whale Valley”), which is located in the Western Desert in Egypt, contains the fossilized remains of whales that show the species’ evolution from life as a land-based animal to an ocean-going mammal.

• At its center — a place climatologists call “absolute desert” — the Atacama is known as the driest place on Earth. There are sterile, intimidating stretches where rain has never been recorded, at least as long as humans have measured it.

• The “Desert of Maine” is a 40-acre tract of sand dunes caused by soil erosion from poor farming techniques. The area resembles a

We can help!

desert and has become a tourist attraction.

• More people die in the desert due to drowning than due to the heat. This is because people do not prepare for flash floods, which can be very extreme in the desert.

• The Gates of Hell is a fiery crater that has been burning in the Karakum Desert of Turkmenistan since 1971.

• The world’s first astronomical site, Nabta Playa, was built in Africa. It is 2,000 years older than Stonehenge. Located in the Sahara Desert, the 7,000-year-old stone circle was used to track the summer solstice and the arrival of the annual monsoon season.

• The Carcross Desert, located in the Canadian Yukon, is referred to as the smallest desert in the world but it’s actually a dried-up glacial lake bed. Officials wanted to protect it but locals use the dunes for sandboarding and other recreational activities.

PERSPECTIVES

Mayor’s Roundtable: Local option tax supports affordable, accessible quality of life

By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor In this issue I discuss how the local option tax can be used to support quality of life through investment in public spaces that serve everyone. I recognize that this topic can sound tone deaf right now — in the pandemic era amid a housing crisis. However, parks and open spaces that are accessible and designed to serve the whole community offer affordable recreation and quality of life that is important for everyone’s health, well-being and happiness. Quality of life supports economic opportunity and success.

As a community, we should continue to invest our resources in public spaces even while we are focused on other important issues like housing and public health.

In 2015 voters approved the 1% LOT with 73% of the vote. The voters overwhelmingly approved the tax to rebuild War Memorial Stadium, the field and make other improvements at the park. The city leveraged the tax dollars to bring in an additional $700,000 in outside grant funding. The

LOT expired in 2020 and the War Memorial Field, stadium, parking lot and boat launch area are now complete, fulfilling the city’s commitment to the voters.

Each year many thousands of people come to Sandpoint to enjoy City Beach, our parks and services. Yet, aside from some user fees, visitors don’t contribute to their maintenance or improvement of city facilities.

The LOT provides a means for visitors to share in a substantial portion of the cost of city services without increasing property taxes.

In September 2020, the city passed its first comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan. The plan was born out of the city’s most successful public engagement effort to date. It included 17 public meetings, two public forums, 67 stakeholder interviews and more than 1,100 community surveys submitted by the public before the plan was adopted by City Council.

The plan casts a bold vision for Sandpoint’s parks system. Now we need to develop the funding mechanism to implement the plan. A new LOT, modeled after the

2015 1% tax, is the best funding mechanism available. It spreads the cost across all users, not just residents, and grows over time.

The plan envisions a trail network and low impact recreation in the 4,000-acre city-owned Little Sand Creek watershed. It envisions a sports complex that serves more users for more of the year. It envisions a more integrated system that can accommodate tournament play for youth sports while serving a more diverse range of users.

The most exciting element in the plan is a new vision for the downtown waterfront. City Beach will be activated year round, offer an incredible venue for events, improved boat launch, parking and moorage. The plan envisions an active waterfront plaza at Farmin’s Landing with improved access, stormwater management, landscaping and improved parking. On the east side, the plan envisions the Carousel of Smiles and a boardwalk that extends along Sand Creek, under the bridge and connects to City Beach.

While the community’s vision of an active waterfront plaza is clearly called for in the plan, the current zoning code is an obstacle because it doesn’t allow for improvements within 25 feet of the high water mark.

In an effort to move the project forward, the Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing to consider amendments to the code on Tuesday, Sept. 7.

If a LOT were approved in November, it could raise $1.5 million in the first year and likely grow each year. The tax dollars could be dedicated exclusively to the purpose approved by voters. That money can be leveraged to bring in other funding through grants.

A survey on the LOT opens Friday, Aug. 27: bit.ly/3sLb6vP. On Wednesday, Sept. 15, the City Council will consider language for a new LOT to be placed on the November ballot. We need your help to determine how the LOT can best be used to implement the Parks Master Plan and improve quality of life in Sandpoint.

Please join me at the Mayor’s Roundtable this Friday, Aug. 27, 4-5 p.m., at the Council Chambers in City Hall to discuss this and other issues important to Sandpoint.

You can now participate remotely on Zoom (bit.ly/3ki0zEA) or watch the recording on the City of Sandpoint YouTube Channel.

September and October Parks and Recreation programming

By Reader Staff

Adult Doubles Tennis League Subs.

The League plays through Wednesday, Sept.

22. Warm up begins at 5 p.m. Match play begins at 5:30 p.m. Fee: $5 ($1 non-resident fee) to join the sub list.

Coed Youth Volleyball (grades 3-6).

Play split into third and fourth grades, and fifth and sixth grades. New for this year: All play will be Saturday mornings at the Middle School. Play will begin Saturday, Nov. 6 and run through Saturday, Dec. 18. (No play during Thanksgiving week.) There will be a coach’s meeting before play begins.

All coaches will be contacted. Registration deadline: Sunday, Oct 3. Fee: $34.50 ($5.25 non-resident fee).

Coed Youth Flag Football League (grades 3-6). Play split into third and fourth grades, and fifth and sixth grades. Play will be seven-person Alligator format. New for this year: All play will be at Memorial Field on Saturdays. Play will begin Saturday, Sept. 25 and run through Saturday, Oct. 30. There will be a coach’s meeting before play begins. All coaches will be contacted.

Mouth guards are required. One mouth guard will be provided to each player. Registration deadline: Sunday, Sept. 12. Fee: $34.50 ($5.25 non-resident fee).

Teams in the Coed Youth Flag Football and Coed Youth Volleyball Leagues for 2021 will not have individual practice at local schools. There will be a practice/clinic each Saturday prior to scrimmage/game play. Players will show up for two hours on Saturday to get their practice and scrimmage/games in. However, the focus remains on fun and fundamentals.

Scholarships are available for all youth league sports, inquire at 208-263-3613 prior to online registration. Adults interested in coaching the philosophies of fun, fundamentals and sportsmanship will still be needed. Sign up during registration.

A red/white nylon mesh reversible sports jersey will still be required for both youth flag and volleyball. If players do not already

Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces will be offering the following programming in September and October 2021.

Online registration is currently open for:

Ultimate Frisbee League (ages 16+).

League play continues through Thursday, Oct. 28. Play is 5:30-7 p.m. every Thursday and will be held at Great Northern Field 8.

Fee: $20.

own one, they may be purchased online or at the Parks and Recreation Department.

Also allowed are red-and-white reversible jerseys from other organizations. Jerseys cost $14.50.

Adult Women’s Volleyball. Play starts Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 4-5 through Dec. 1314 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds from 6-9 p.m. Format: A-1 and A-2 on Mondays, A-3 and A-4 on Tuesdays. Fees are due in full at the mandatory captains meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will be at the City Hall Council Chambers. New for 2021: Players will call their own games. Only a gym supervisor will be supplied, no officials. League space is limited to the first 24 teams so register early. Registration deadline: Thursday, Sept.

9. Fee: $350 per team.

Adult Men’s Volleyball. Play dates are Wednesdays, Oct. 6 through Dec. 8 at the Bonner County Fairgrounds from 6-9 p.m.

Fees are due in full at the mandatory captains meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting will be at the City Hall Council Chambers. This league has no referees, so teams are responsible for calling their own fouls. Only a gym supervisor will be supplied. League space is limited to the first 24

teams so register early. Registration deadline: Thursday, Sept. 9. Fee: $300 per team.

The city of Sandpoint Outdoor Shooting Range, located at 113 Turtle Rock Road, is currently open for the season.

Range hours of operation are available on our web site on the most currently posted range calendar.

The city of Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department also acts as a clearinghouse to connect the public with other recreational opportunities in the community. Visit the online activity catalog to view listings in this category. Outside organizations and individuals wishing to list their activities are encouraged to contact Parks and Rec. with their program information at recreation@sandpointidaho.gov.

For Parks and Rec. program registration, shooting range hours of operation and other community programs, visit the Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces website at sandpointidaho.gov/parksrecreation, visit the department’s office at 1123 Lake St., or call 208-263-3613.

Panhandle Health District recommends following CDC guidance: stay home if sick, reduce physical closeness when possible, wear a mask if possible and clean hands often.

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OUTDOORS

Dirt-y Secrets Perseverance is key in this long, hot summer

By Ranel Hanson Reader Columnist

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Endless summer. Be careful what you wish for. Personally, I look forward to summer all year. If I could bottle it, I would. But… as Reader Publisher Ben Olson recently wrote, “Summer, I am breaking up with you.” Enough already! We have all watered until we are exhausted and still our trees and plants suffer. And, our poor firefighters — they are heroes, for sure. They deserve our thanks and our gratitude.

Climate change is certainly real and it is scary. Smoky skies, burning trees and brush; hot, hot, too-hot weather; too-warm lake water — is this our future? We gardeners will persevere and, for once, look forward to fall.

We have moose in my neighborhood. Not unusual, as we usually get a visit or two at this time of year. But we have two big bulls with huge antlers and a juvenile who drops by often.

Two or three at this point, but a bit more plentiful and for longer than usual. I theorize that food is scarce in their usual stomping grounds and, of course, the Trestle Creek fire has to be a factor.

So our fruit trees and willows are providing sustenance for our big, powerful and beautiful animal friends — and receiving a nice trim in the process.

Apple trees are preferred, dogwood will do, willows are delicious.

The same goes for our less powerful, but more stealthy, deer. They too seem hungry and looking for fresh, green browse like sunflowers, lilies, hosta and other garden flowers. I try to protect the ones I don’t want to lose with mint and blood meal, and remind myself that sharing is virtuous. We are all so fortunate to be able to observe wildlife in our own backyards.

(A word of caution to visitors and new residents: Moose look slow and benign but they can run faster than you — unless you can run 40 miles per hour — and they can weigh more than

1,000 pounds. Do not get close to take a picture or try to entice them to move.

An angry, charging moose can easily overtake you. And keep your dogs away from them, too. Moose have been known to kill dogs who annoy them.)

Some plants are due for a trim about now. Petunias get leggy and dry, lobelia just can’t take the heat and many others will be revitalized by a haircut. My oriental poppies just began blooming again after I cut them almost to the soil a month ago. For most plants, just cut away the sad parts and pull the dead plants. There is still time to replant those pots that look pathetic and you can find great deals at all the nurseries on annuals, especially. There is likely a lot more summer left.

Pollinators are busy right now. Honey bees, of course, and all of the other bees. Also, all the wasps. The wasps seem especially agitated now, and one of their stings will ruin your day — and the next several days. First the painful sting then the swelling then the itching, which can go on for a week or two. Empty standing water and beware when watering. If you do get stung, douse the sting with spray Benadryl and ice. The old standby baking soda paste helps, too.

The honey bees are swarming on my

Courtesy photo. mint, as they do every year. They seem to love those mint blossoms (I think mine is either peppermint or spearmint) and will work from dawn ’til dark on it. I feel so glad to be helping our bees survive because, as we all know: no bees, no food. As I have said before, though, plant that mint where you won’t mind if it spreads (or in a pot). Then congratulate yourself for being part of the solution. Put a sprig in your iced tea.

And here’s an even better idea: mint chocolate chip ice cream! My brother made it for my birthday.

The secret to Brother Rick’s mint chocolate chip ice cream is in the preparation of the mint. You can use any vanilla ice cream recipe as a base.

Add mini chocolate chips when you put them in the freezer.

When you heat the milk and cream, add quite a few sprigs of mint. Leave the leaves attached to the stems because that makes them easier to remove later. Store in your refrigerator overnight. Remove the mint and freeze in your ice cream freezer. This tastes the freshest and mintiest of any ice cream, anywhere.

Eat your heart out and, most important, persevere.

OUTDOORS

Voices in the Wilderness The cadence of the trail

By Mel Vining Reader Contributor Cadence: “The beat, time, or measure of rhythmical motion or activity.”

OK, I had to look that up. I knew other words for it: rhythm, tempo, beat. But the definition eluded me. I have always loved the word cadence the best. It is just a beautiful word.

Last week, I took my horses and mules into the Hells Canyon Wilderness with an Idaho Trails Association volunteer youth trail crew. After what may qualify as the busiest summer I’ve had since the 2000 wildfire season, or maybe since the summer I had a toddler and a new baby at home, I relished three hours on the trail.

My saddle horse’s hooves played first chair in the band, beginning with the hollow ringing of metal shoes on rocks, then the low thumping as the trail passed through deeper forest soils. Pack mules’ hooves accompanied. The cadence of the trail. The sound that makes life make sense to me; makes it slow down and puts nature front and center, no matter the season or the time of day. The cadence of the trail is both slow and soothing, exciting and energizing.

Leaving 12 years with the Forest Service for a job with the Idaho Trails Association was scary. Leaving colleagues I trusted, job duties I knew by heart — it all spelled risk.

It begged the question, “What if it doesn’t work out?” or “What the heck am I doing?”

But then, here was the chance to make trails the center of my work universe: to make it a job requirement to find the cadence of the trail and help others find it, too; to make it possible for more people to walk, or ride, down more trails, their tempo uninterrupted by the unceremonious and clumsy scaling of logs or errant boulders.

This year has been for me, as one ITA board member foretold, like “drinking from a fire hose.” There is so much to learn about running a nonprofit — so much to digest, from budget to project planning to outreach to fundraising. Fire hose indeed. The cadence of the first six months was akin to stampeding cattle.

Then I spent a week this spring in Hells Canyon with our board and staff clearing the Bernard Creek trail. The cadence of my feet climbing the trail each day as we worked higher and higher, of my breath finding the right rhythm for the pitch. Looking back and seeing a dozen other people, most of whom I’d just met, embracing this trail as I was, caring for it. Wow.

Mel Vining, out in nature with her horse. Courtesy photo.

The April Hells Canyon trip was followed by a week in the Frank Church Wilderness with my youngest son, clearing trail with him and a mentor, the retired ITA executive director and one of its founders.

We joined a crew that was led by a woman who worked on trails in “the Frank” for 30 years. She was now volunteering to teach her skills to others.

Time with these wonderful people and riding with my son, listening to our animals’ hooves pass over trails that had been used for centuries, “What the heck am I doing?” was a faint echo replaced with, “Look what I get to do!”

All told, I have been able to spend weeks in various wilderness areas this summer. I have been alone, with family (my wonderful husband volunteered one

of his precious few days off as a wildland firefighter to hike in to deliver supplies to a youth crew just last weekend), and with friends, new and old. We are united by our love of the backcountry, and the trails that allow us to find our perfect cadence. Clop clop, scuffle, thud… ahhhh.

Before becoming the executive director of the Idaho Trails Association, Melanie Vining worked for the USDA Forest Service in several roles, including hotshot crew member, smokejumper and hydrologist, and taught English in public schools. She lives in Council, Idaho, with her husband, teenage sons and a growing four-legged family of horses, mules and dogs. Everyone in the family spends as much time outside as possible and loves calling Idaho home.

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LITERATURE

sunflowers are popping up everywhere

This open Window

Vol. 6 No.6 poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui

first in the freesia pots then in the abandoned metal watering can by the back door.

The strange growth poking out of the prayer plant hanging on my front porch turns out to be a sunflower seedling too.

And now I remember how cute that little chipmunk was gathering seeds under the feeder once the finches left.

— Jeanette Schandelmeier, Sept. 12, 2020 Jeanette is a retired educator who grew up on an Alaska homestead. An ardent gardener, she lives on Talache Road with her cats, chickens and bees.

what's this?

A small shiny stick in my path after the downpour.

No, it’s a pretty long-toed salamander

on a beach in sri lanka The branches laden with crimson bloom bow to almost touch the ground, their heady scent so rich I can taste it — sweet like sugar, salty like the sea.

with a jagged chartreuse stripe down its back edged in black and tiny dots along its sides.

Just three inches long it’s my gift for waiting out the storm.

I wait for him under the tree canopy so long that I lean on my backpack; the heat lulling me into a late afternoon siesta.

When I open my eyes, a baby monkey is about to reach into my rucksack, notices I am not asleep and scampers away chirping as if to scold me.

The sun filters through the beautiful hibiscus and I breathe deep and long and wonder if I will ever visit this extraordinary oasis again.

— Jeanette Schandelmeier, Sept. 26, 2020 Jeanette is a retired educator who grew up on an Alaska homestead. An ardent gardener, she lives on Talache Road with her cats, chickens and bees.

Send poems to: jim3wells@aol.com 14 /

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— Sharon Kreider

FEATURE

Becoming a better roleplayer

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

As an introvert, the idea of stepping into the spotlight, putting a part of myself out there and playing a role is terrifying. Before I’ve even opened my mouth, countless thoughts collide in my brain like a hundred-car pile-up: “What if I sound stupid?”

“What if I upset someone at the table?”

“What if I make a complete ass of myself?”

There is a brief moment of hesitation with all eyes on me and a seemingly insurmountable fear. I push past, and belt out the worst Scottish brogue this world has ever heard as my dwarf leaps into battle, axes at the ready to take on any threat.

Some people at the table might laugh, but laughter is a good thing. Sometimes laughter isn’t transactional; it doesn’t always come at the expense of someone else’s enjoyment — sometimes it’s from joy or excitement.

Committing to a character in a tabletop role-playing game doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Your accents don’t have to be perfect — in most cases you don’t even need an accent.

I’ve compiled a small number of basic tips and tricks to help you level-up your role-playing experience, and maybe even help conquer that performance anxiety in yourself or a newcomer to your tabletop role-playing game.

Posture — Think about your character. A battle-hardened half-orc warrior would sit tall, confident, with chest out and shoulders up. Before you muster the courage to attempt any voices or accents, alter your posture and see how quickly it changes your decision-making process. A confident character

will begin to build confidence in their player and open the door to new experiences. Conversely, slouching or leaning away from other players could broadcast that your character values self-preservation, privacy or even some villainous attributes such as treachery.

Vocal pitch — Raising or lowering the pitch of your speaking voice is the first step to building a voice for your character. It’s a fairly simple trick that anyone can do. It signals to the party that when your voice is altered, you’re not speaking as yourself but as your character. This will make them more inclined to reply as their characters and maintain the immersion at the table. Are you a dragonborn barbarian with a troubled past?

Lower your natural octave and throw in the occasional snarl or growl. Playing as a gnome warlock, instead? Raise your octave a little, speak a bit more quickly and with more excitement — imagine how a child might speak about a situation.

Develop a fidget — This one is a bit more advanced, but it can bring out an unexpected level of depth to characters.

Characters that have experienced some kind of intense trauma in their past may develop a habit or a reaction to certain scenarios. Perhaps your human cleric suffered an incident from a traumatic fire as a child, now every time your character sees fire, they begin to massage their palm with their thumb. Small, but physical actions like this can help you connect with your character as well as foreshadow their development to the other players.

This technique can also be utilized to give a character a tell during an interaction, which can reduce the need for

insight checks and also wordlessly communicate intent with other party members if you’re planning something big, but don’t want the non-player characters to know about it.

Know when to share — A tabletop RPG is a collaborative story. You may think you’re Michael Jordan, but you have to know when it’s time to pass the ball to Scottie Pippen. It’s important to allow other players to embody their characters, especially if your own performance has emboldened them to start trying something new. You can even employ some physical performance during moments of your silence — show your fellow players that you’re engaged in what they’re saying without breaking character, interrupting them or hogging the spotlight.

Accents — Utilizing an accent is the most obvious way to let others know that you’re in-character. However, it’s important to be respectful when

speaking with an accent. Some accents were designed to be disrespectful, and others may seem like an attack on another person’s race. Any use of accents should always be covered during the group’s first session together, especially if the group plans on live-streaming their game or performing for a live audience.

It’s also important to know what kind of accent you’re trying to emulate. It’s easy to say, “My elf wizard speaks with an English accent,” but what kind of English accent? Is it the Queen’s English, Cockney, Northern Irish, Brummie or Scouse? A badly-executed attempt at an English accent can even sound like someone trying to make fun of an Australian or a New Zealand accent, which could offend other players at the table or even drive some away from roleplaying altogether.

Mastering an accent is no easy affair, and there are some steps you can take to improve your ability to speak with that

Photo by Brenden Bobby. accent. There are numerous podcasts available hosted by accent specialists that are designed specifically to teach you how to better emulate your targeted accent for a role-play environment. Watching documentaries where people are speaking with that accent is a great way to learn, as you can pick up on lots of nuances of the dialect, such as facial movement and pronunciation.

Ultimately, everyone has gathered around the table to have fun and build an entertaining story. If role-playing makes you uncomfortable, don’t do it! If role-playing only makes you uncomfortable because of the cacophony of voices in your head warning you not to, tell them to shut up — your dwarf fighter has an axe to put through some kobold skulls. Opening yourself up a little might be a lot more fun than you were expecting.

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COMMUNITY Rock Creek Alliance fundraiser to be held at Matchwood Brewing

By Reader Staff The Rock Creek Alliance is inviting one and all to join the nonprofit for its annual fundraising party, this year held Friday, Aug. 27 from 5-8 p.m. at Matchwood Brewing in Sandpoint.

The organization will use this year’s party to celebrate “recent victories” in its fight against the proposed Rock Creek Mine near Noxon, Mont., which opponents believe will damage wildlife and water sources in North Idaho.

Attendees can learn more about Rock Creek Alliance’s mission, listen to live music from local band BareGrass and bid on silent auction items including Schweitzer passes, lake cruises, a Golden Growler from Matchwood, gift baskets and more.

Matchwood Brewing is located at 513 Oak St. No-host beer, wine and dinner will be available.

Those with questions about RCA’s annual party can contact Sandy at 208-610-9987 or Mary at 406-827-4896. Learn more at rockcreekalliance.org.

Angels’ Lazy A .08K slated for Aug. 28

By Reader Staff

don’t worry — you’ll be able to reload on your carbs halfway through.

And, for those thinking, ‘Wow, can At its core, the Angels Over Sandpoint has a simple and effective I even run .08K?’ don’t you worry.

The course isn’t really that long.” goal. As stated on the nonprofit’s General entry to the race is $25 website: “What we do best — have and includes a pre-race beer and fun, make money and give it all swag bag. VIP entry is $50 and away.” includes a pre- and post-race beer; a The group is staying true to that spirit with its second annual Lazy A VIP swag bag; “special VIP treatment,” according to the Angels; and .08K Race, held this year on Sattransportation across the course. urday, Aug. 28 at MickDuff’s Beer After the race, everyone can enHall (220 Cedar St.). Check-in begins at noon, with the children’s race joy more beer, food, live music and at 1 p.m. and the adult race just after. games. All proceeds benefit those in “The runners will face numerous need in Bonner County.

Those with questions can reach obstacles they will have to overcome the Angels Over Sandpoint at 208throughout the course,” organizers shared, also noting that the course is 290-5895 or contactus@angelsoveracross the parking lot and back. “But sandpoint.org.

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Daris Judd named POAC Artist of the Year

POAC Art Party sold out, slated for Aug. 27

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff The Pend Oreille Arts Council will host its annual Art Party on Friday, Aug. 27, offering a sneak peek at the nonprofit’s upcoming 2021-2022 Performing Arts Series and honoring various community members for their work in supporting Sandpoint’s art community.

Also up for recognition at the Art Party is POAC 2021 Artist of the Year Daris Judd.

“It is a complete honor to be chosen,” she told the Reader.

Judd is a multimedia artist, dabbling in everything from silver smithing to encaustic wax to fiber art to acrylic painting.

“I love making and getting my hands dirty,” she said, noting that she is active in POAC’s art program for local students, Kaleidoscope. “I enjoy sharing my skills with everyone.”

Judd’s work can be viewed in the POAC Office Gallery, located

at 110 Main St., Suite 101, in downtown Sandpoint.

“I have worked at my art most of my adult life either to support myself or my family,” Judd said. “At this point in my life, I’m at a retirement age.

I don’t feel we ever retire if we are creative. … When we can do what we love, we never grow old of heart.”

The 2021 Art Party, which will take place at the Sandpoint Organic Agricultural Center on North Boyer Road, will feature dinner by Ivano’s Ristorante, a no-host bar, auction items and entertainment from Allegro Dance Studio, Suzuki String Academy and singer-songwriter Queen Bonobo. Guests will also be given a special look ahead at POAC’s

yet-to-be-released 2021-’22 Performing Arts Series lineup.

Tickets to the event, which cost $95, have all SOLD OUT. To learn more about the Pend Oreille Arts Council, which aims to make

experiences in the arts accessible to all North Idahoans, visit artinsandpoint.org.

Top left: An example of Judd’s work. Top right: POAC Artist of the Year Daris Judd at work in the studio. Courtesy photo.

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events

August 26 - September 2, 2021

THURSDAY, august 26

Orchids Awards Ceremony • 4:30-6pm @ MickDuff’s Restaurant Public is welcome to celebrate the award given to MickDuff’s from Preservation Idaho for Excellence in Historic Preservation. Cake and a celebration in honor of MickDuff’s and Mickey and Duffy Mahoney, who received the award in June in Boise Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

FriDAY, august 27

Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band 9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge Outlaw country rock on the patio Live Music w/ BareGrass 7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Good ol’ Sandpoint bluegrass and Americana from this local band of heroes

Rock Creek Alliance annual party 5-8pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Tip some brews and toast some great news, including live music and a silent auction, no-host beer, wine and dinner available. 208-610-9987 for more info Night of the Bards (Aug. 27-29) 7:30pm @ Panida Theater Enjoy five original one-act plays by Sandpoint playwrights on the main stage. $15

Panida Fundraiser and live music w/ Harold’s IGA 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Enjoy live music by indie folk rock band Harold’s IGA with all donations received going to the Panida Theater. The Reader will match donations 100%

POAC Fundraising Gala and Art Party 5:30pm @ Sandpoint Organic Ag. Center A gourmet dinner by Ivano’s, no host bar, live music and entertainment. Support POAC! Live Music w/ Honey and Lynch 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Fun, funky tunes from Fiddlin’ Sarah Jean and Chris Lynch

SATURDAY, august 28 Live Music w/ Alex & Maya 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 2nd Annual Lazy .08K 1pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Registration begins at noon at the Beer Hall, kids’ race starts at 1pm, followed by adults. Runners can hydrate beforehand with high quality beer before facing numerous obstacles and carbo-loading halfway through the event. Live music, food on-site and games. $25, includes beer and swag bag. All proceeds go to help those in need in Bonner County.

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park Live music w/ John Firshi

Live Music w/ Pamela Benton 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Dynamic, versatile and one of the finest soloists originating from the San Francisco bay area. Indie rock, groovy jazx, folk blues and new age are in the bag

Night of the Bards (Aug. 27-29) 7:30pm @ Panida Theater Enjoy five original one-act plays by Sandpoint playwrights on the main stage. $15

Live Music w/ Steve Rush and Chris Paradis 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

SunDAY, august 29

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

Night of the Bards (Aug. 27-29) 2pm @ Panida Theater Enjoy five original one-act plays by Sandpoint playwrights on the main stage. $12

monDAY, august 30

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant Preventing meth tragedies

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

wednesDAY, september 1 Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park Live music w/ Monarch Mountain Band 18 /

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

COMMUNITY

Women of Wisdom from 2020 recognized

By Reader Staff

The Women Honoring Women organization is committed to recognizing Bonner County women who have contributed to the betterment of the community through their service and leadership. The committee looks for women who have vision, achieve goals through collaboration, the love of learning, a commitment to the community, leadership skills, grace, courage, integrity and an inspiration to others.

The organization has recognized more than 115 women since 1999.

“Thank you to all the people who sent in written nomination letters,” the organization wrote in a news release.

“There are so many exceptional women in our community it makes the selection process difficult.”

The Women Honoring Women committee is happy to re-announce the 2020 Women of Wisdom: Carol Warren, Debra Heise, Diane Green, Judy Dabrowski and Nancy Lewis. The committee was

unable to honor these women in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and plan to do so in 2021.

“All of these women over the course of their lives have contributed to the betterment of the community through their leadership and service and have served as inspirational role models in Bonner County,” the organization wrote. “We invite all family and friends to attend the luncheon to recognize these outstanding women.”

The gala luncheon honoring the Women of Wisdom that was scheduled for May 9, 2020 has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11 at the Ponderay Events Center (401 Bonner Mall Way, in Ponderay). Reservations for the gala luncheon can be made with Diane Stockton at 208-290-6362 or by emailing stockton_diane@yahoo.com.

Tickets are $30. The luncheon includes a program introducing the 2020 Women of Wisdom to celebrate their Lifetime Achievement Award.

STAGE & SCREEN

Night of the Bards highlights local playwright, actor talents All proceeds to benefit Panida Theater

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff The premise of Night of the Bards is simple — Sandpoint is home to great thespian talents, so why not put them on display for everyone to enjoy?

“There’s a lot of talent in this town, and we have a few playwrights, and these playwrights — they need a venue,” said Night of the Bards organizer and playwright Ron Ragone. “What better venue can you think of than the Panida Theater?”

As a result, Night of the Bards — showing Friday, Aug. 27-Sunday, Aug. 29 at the Panida Theater — will feature five original one-act plays. Participating playwrights have also been fortunate to discover some young gems while casting their projects.

Ragone said the 2021 Night of the Bards acting lineup features talents ranging from ages 12 to 80.

The event — which will feature showings at 7:30 p.m. on both Aug. 27 and Aug. 28, as well as a matinee on Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. — will serve as a showcase of all the acting and writing chops the town has to offer.

“We thought to combine both of those and put them in the best venue in town ... That’s a winning combination,” he said.

Playwrights featured in the 2021 Night of the Bards include Ragone himself and his granddaughter Megan Ragone, as well as Janice Simeone, Bob Simeone and Teresa Pesce.

“Between the five of us, we hope to put on a very good and entertaining show this coming weekend,” Ragone said.

The Green Knight:

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff It’s hard to find a more archetypal story in the Western European cultural canon than the chivalric adventures of King Arthur and his knights. So embedded in literature, film, art, even the music of the English-speaking world, it’s a fool’s errand to attempt a counting of the representations of the mystical British king and his court — which makes the 2021 film The Green Knight so exciting for the degree to which it stands out.

Based on the Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, which was written anonymously sometime in the 14th century, there is little to spoil in this tale — unless audiences haven’t been paying attention since the 1300s.

Nonetheless, director David Lowery takes the 800-year-old coming-of-age story and conjures up an arresting, dream-like melange of symbols, images and characters that somehow feels as aesthetically and thematically authentic as its source material.

There are some distinct adaptations in Lowery’s vision, chief among them the title, which drops

“Sir Gawain” altogether — a sly twist on the protagonist himself.

In both the original poem and this re-telling, Gawain is the nephew of King Arthur; however, the 14th-century version has him already serving as a knight when the story begins. In The Green Knight, he’s a feckless wastrel, spending his time drinking and whoring away his family wealth rather than stacking up the mighty deeds that would win him a seat at the Round Table.

Portrayed by actor Dev Patel, this Gawain is a charming yet wasted youth — though we get the sense that his “youth” has teetered onto the wrong side of manhood.

“Why don’t you get a job?” seems to be the frustration underpinning the sighs of his mother (Sarita Choudhury). If Gawain is to become a knight, he will certainly be a “green” one, lacking any experience with the finer points of honor, duty, bravery or self-possession.

This becomes painfully apparent on a Christmas morning, when the story opens with Gawain rushing from the bed of his bawdy house lover Essel (Alicia Vikander) back home for a quick chastisement from his mom and a rough-and-ready rinse to prepare

As far as the content of the entertainment, Ragone said each performance will be a stand-alone piece, taking on its own themes and genre.

“It’ll range from light comedy, to comedy-drama, to hard-hitting and very thought-provoking drama,” he said.

Tickets to Night of the Bards cost $15 for the Friday and Saturday evening shows, and $12 for the Sunday matinee. All proceeds from the three showings will benefit the Panida Theater, which is working to raise funds after a very difficult couple of years attempting to operate during a pandemic.

Ragone said he hopes the community will take this opportunity to once again enjoy live theater, while also supporting Sandpoint’s best venue.

“The main intention is to get

people to go to the theater again,” he said.

Buy tickets to Night of the Bards at Eve’s Leaves, panida. org or at the door of the Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave. Doors

The cast of Eli, Eli from left to right: Tari Pardini, Alora Weisz, Miriam Robinson and Kelly Draggoo. Courtesy photo. open 30 minutes before the show.

Learn more at panida.org.

A coming-of-age story for the ages for the yuletide festivities at his uncle’s court.

The ailing Arthur (a brilliantly frail-yet-still-powerful Sean Harris) invites his wayward nephew to sit beside him and tell a story so as to get to know him better. Queen Guinevere (Kate Dickie) warns the young pup that he’s in the company of legends, so he better come up with something good. He can’t.

Meanwhile, Gawain’s mother — who we are to assume is the sorceress Morgan le Fay — has convened with a pair of other enchantresses to summon an entity: the Green Knight.

Just as Gawain is realizing his profound failure, the Green Knight — half man, half tree — rides on his supernatural horse into the center of the court and issues his challenge to a “Christmas game.”

That is, he invites the “boldest of blood” among Arthur’s knights to strike him. Whoever does so will win his giant battle axe but with a catch: Whatever wound they inflict on him will be returned in full on the following Christmas Day. Gawain leaps at the chance for glory, hacking off the Green Knight’s head and winning a measure of fame — at least for a

“too-short” year. Of course, the Green Knight gathers up his head and rides off laughing.

All of that is mere setup for the quest to follow, as Gawain must first decide whether he will fulfill his end of the “game” and journey the six days north to the Green Knight’s chapel and receive the decapitation that is almost certainly awaiting him. This is where Lowery’s film unfolds with masterful staging, as Gawain progresses through a literal and figurative thicket of portentous events and places.

There are shades of Heart of Darkness here, as the influence and vitality of the Green Knight — an

avatar for nature and its inevitability — infuses the entire landscape into which Gawain penetrates further and further. Subtler themes emerge about reciprocity and balance and the insignificance of human striving — yet, along the way, every scene, every piece of dialogue and image holds significance.

Most compelling is that The Green Knight teases out the notion of storytelling itself, and how the narratives we weave entangle us for good or ill. If nothing else, it proves how a good story is a good story, even after 800 years.

In theaters now or rent it on Amazon.

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Tots and tots

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

After months of planning and anticipating the arrival of youngest daughter Casey’s family (the Chicago Four), their move to Spokane is (mostly) complete. For the first time in a month, I am utterly toddler-less. In between their Sandpoint arrival and departure, we ventured to a lush mountain meadow in Montana for our annual retreat.

I look forward to our Montana week more than I look forward to Christmas. It’s the one time of year I’m assured, without a doubt, that we’ll all gather (even though it falls smack in the middle of haying season for my son, Zane). It usually takes me a couple of weeks to organize and plan menus, shop and load the wagon (SUV) for the great adventure. It was a challenge to plan and pack amid two curiously unsettled toddlers and, though I forgot a few things, it was well worth the chaos in my home.

From the east, west and south, our caravan arrived mid-afternoon — the first time all nine of my delightful grandbabes shared a meal under the same roof. It was also the first time for most of the clan to meet Runa, Casey’s youngest. Other firsts, too, included Runa’s first faltering steps and Casey’s young son Sammy’s first pie-eating contest. We filled our mornings with hearty breakfasts and long hikes, followed by dangling our feet in the coolness of the clear, cool stream. Sandwiches and ice cream occupied most of our 20 /

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long afternoons, and evenings were filled with more food and, later, with libations, stories and raucous laughter.

This year Zane brought a treat for the entire family: Rocky Mountain oysters. And after a 25+ year hiatus, it turns out I haven’t lost my knack for preparing them. Even vegetarian Casey celebrated her westward move home and rite of passage by partaking in the family ritual. Felt like old ranch times, for sure.

As the oldest, I think Ryanne worries the most about looking after me when I’m worn out, and this is the first year she didn’t scold me for “overdoing the menu.” I have to admit, my food snobbishness got knocked back a notch or two this season, and I learned

that humans (especially my grandkids) are still eating and enjoying tater tots. I also discovered that they come in different sizes. Sammy and Runa love the tiny tots, while the older kids like the ones that are branded as “puffs.”

They also prefer dipping their treasured tots in ketchup (over the secret sauce that I’d prepared for the oysters.

They’re also pretty damn happy with a shelf-stable bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing as the go-to condiment for everything else on the table — including fingers).

Speaking of condiments, in anticipation of getting my house ready for a house swap with a delightful young Swiss couple who live in a Brooklyn brownstone (I’ll wait for fall to enjoy

their home), I deep cleaned my refrigerator. I was reminded that many friends bring me back goods from their travels, and my favorite travel experience is also shopping for local ingredients.

I’m not sure if I should be proud or ashamed of the treasure trove (hoard) of accumulated sauces, dressings, oils and mustards. I have mustard from France, Ireland, Germany and Canada; hot sauces from Korea, Thailand and Mexico; sweet pomegranate sauce from Turkey; rabbabarasulta (rhubarb) sauce from Russia; and other finishing sauces from parts unknown, as I can’t even read the foreign labels.

I think it’s time for a condiment-sharing party, and I’ll humbly admit that I am entirely out of ketchup. Speaking of

ketchup, I just wiped up the last of the toddler food fingerprints, and the house is back in good order.

My kids are gone for a while, my kitty is gone forever and for the first time in 15 years, I don’t have anyone to worry about leaving behind, so I am footloose, though still unsure of which direction I’ll go, I have 10 days to get there.

I’m bringing an insulated cooler, just in case I come across a condiment or two I can’t resist.

Meanwhile, everything is ready for my house guests, including a welcome bag of Evan’s Bros coffee beans and a homemade loaf of Peaches and Cream bread (which I could barely resist not cutting into).

Peach season is here. Make yourself a loaf or two.

Peaches and cream bread

Makes two delicious loaves, serve for breakfast or tea (or even dessert).

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

• 4 cups (white or yellow) peaches.

Peeled, slice one peach into thin slices and cut the other two into chunks • 1/2 cup fine chopped toasted pecans (reserve a few for the tops of loaves) • 3 cups Flour • 1 tsp salt • 2 tsp baking powder • 1 1/2 cups sugar • 1 cup butter • 3 eggs • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt • 1/2 cup milk • 1/2 cup loose brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease two 9”x5”x 3” loaf pans and line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, set aside.

In a large mixer, cream butter and sugar and add vanilla. Add eggs and beat well. Add yogurt and milk and mix until smooth. Add flour, mixing just until flour is incorporated. Fold in peach chunks and pecans and spread batter evenly into prepared pans.

Sprinkle tops with half the brown sugar, lay the sliced peach decoratively over top. Add remaining pecans and brown sugar and drizzle all over with the heavy cream.

Bake for 75-90 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely and remove from

• 1/4 cup heavy cream

pans, carefully loosening edges with a knife.

Serve as is or dust with powdered

sugar. Wrap and refrigerate any leftovers

MUSIC

Creativity in chaos

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When the going got tough, the Stillhouse Junkies got creative.

When the pandemic put a hold on live music in spring 2020, Colorado string trio Stillhouse Junkies — Fred Kosak, Cody Tinnin and Alissa Wolf — had to cancel 200 shows, including their first ever international tour. As an alternative, they launched the Rolling Junkies Revue.

“We hopped in our van and had folks in our local community sign up for 30-minute acoustic sets in their front yards and driveways,” Tinnin said.

The Rolling Revue, along with a ticketed nine-part online concert series, kept the Stillhouse Junkies doing what they loved, and even gained the recognition of the International Bluegrass Music Awards.

The band has been nominated for the 2021 IBMA Momentum Award, which recognizes innovative moves by bands early in their careers. The awards will take place in September, with the Stillhouse Junkies performing at the event as a showcase band.

“To have that kind of recognition from the IBMAs — it’s very humbling,” Tinnin said. “We’re very proud of that.”

But before they can hit up the IBMAs, the Stillhouse Junkies are spending the summer on an extensive tour, including a stop in Sandpoint’s Farmin Park on

Thursday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. as part of the free and family-friendly Sandpoint Summer Series.

Kosak started the Stillhouse Junkies in 2017, the band earning its name as it played every Friday night in a small distillery in Durango, Colo. Over the years the band’s configuration has evolved into its current makeup: Kosak on guitar and mandolin, Tinnin on standup bass and Wolf on fiddle.

All three musicians contribute vocals.

“The string band market, especially in Colorado, is pretty crowded, so we try to do our own thing in a way that people will hopefully remember when they walk away from a show,” Kosak said. “The highest compliment we can get is when people say, ‘I don’t even know what to call you guys,’ which is what we’re going for. … I’m sure there are many strategic reasons to try to be more consistent with your sound, but we want to make musical chaos our calling card — where you don’t get an easy handle on what we do by hearing a couple songs.”

Despite a tendency toward chaos, the Stillhouse Junkies are clearly refined musicians. Rather than shy entirely away from bluegrass sound, this trio leans hard into the traditions of storytelling and white-hot jam sessions to create immensely emotive and fun music — more of which is on the way soon, according to Wolf.

“If you come to our shows,

Stillhouse Junkies to play final Sandpoint Summer Series show Aug. 26

including Sandpoint, you’re going to get to hear a lot of those tunes that we haven’t recorded yet,” she said.

The Junkies’ show Aug. 26 will mark the third and final performance in the 2021 Sandpoint Summer Series — free concerts put on by local outfit Mattox Farm Productions.

“The series has gone great this year,” said Mattox Farm founder Robb Talbott. “The attendance has exceeded expectations. Both bands and concert goers have all seemed very pleased and happy to be together again.”

Talbott started the series in 2019, but put it on hold in 2020.

He said it’s been a challenge to relaunch in 2021, but all signs point toward the series being a beloved community event. The Talbotts have also welcomed two children into their family over the past couple of years, further motivating them to keep the family-friendly shows alive.

“My wife and I feel that it is important to have events like this, where our community can gather

The Stillhouse Junkies.

Photo courtesy Renee Cornue. and enjoy a variety of music in a safe environment,” Talbott said.

“And the community has spoken loudly by supporting the series — the sponsors have been amazing, attendance has been great, and the volunteers that come out to help set up and tear down let us know we are on the right track.”

The Stillhouse Junkies are sure to end this year’s series on a high note. With plenty of new material ready for the studio, award nominations in limbo and a seemingly insatiable appetite for playing shows of any size, the Stillhouse Junkies are on the up-and-up, and happy to be there.

“We’re trying to stay busy,” Tinnin said. “It’s been a crazy last year and half, but we are very motivated to do this and we’re just really thankful that we get to do it.

We’ll keep on keeping on as long as we can.”

Listen to the Stillhouse Junkies at stillhousejunkies.com, or wherever you get your music.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Pamela Benton, Pend

Harold’s IGA, MickDuff’s Beer Hall, Aug. 27 d’Oreille Winery, Aug. 28 One of Sandpoint’s favorite indie folk, singer-songwriter bands — Harold’s IGA — is kicking off a monthly series of fundraiser concerts benefiting the Panida Theater.

Harold’s, known for its lyrical originals mingling soulful balladry with sly humor and inventive instrumentation, is first among local bands to donate a night of free live music in hopes that audience members will provide donations to benefit

restoration efforts at the Panida. What’s more, all donations will be matched by the Sandpoint Reader.

According to Harold’s frontman (and Reader Publisher) Ben Olson, the series is set to continue on the last weekend of every month at various locations “until we run out of bands,” he said.

— Zach Hagadone 6:30-9 p.m., FREE. MickDuff’s Beer Hall, 419 N. Second Ave., 208255-4351, mickduffs.com. Listen at haroldsiga.bandcamp.com.

Coeur d’Alene-based singer-songwriter Pamela Benton is a woman of many talents, especially in the realm of live music performance. When she’s not producing or engineering music, or teaching others how to play, the multi-instrumentalist lights up the stage with her signature indie rock and smooth jazz sounds.

Most often found on the electric violin or guitar during

her solo sets, the San Francisco native combines her relaxed style with friendly vocals to create easy-listening tunes for any environment.

Learn more about Pamela and hear her work at pamelabenton.net — Lyndsie Kiebert 5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., powine.com

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

READ

... the Idaho Supreme Court’s decision striking down the anti-initiatives law recently passed by Idaho Republican lawmakers. The court ruled the law, which aimed to make it tougher for citizen-led initiatives to reach the ballot by increasing the signature-gathering requirements, was unconstitutional. Kudos to Reclaim Idaho for continuing to yet again stick up for our rights. Is it any surprise that we won’t hear accolades from the fringe right, even though this very much puts rights back into the peoples’ hands?

Read the decision here: isc.idaho.gov/appeals-court/isc_civil

LISTEN

Ambient pop is a genre that is on the rise these past few years.

One of my new loves is Cigarettes After Sex, a Texas-based band with an ethereal, dreamy, glossy sound that reminds me of Beach House, with a little touch of The Paper Kites.

The tracks “Apocalypse” and “Nobody’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” are some of the finest of this dream pop/shoegaze genre.

WATCH

I always enjoy a sci-fi film with a realistic portrait of the future, albeit one that may be a bit dark.

The new film Reminiscence has a mood to it that fits the current dour view of the future.

Set in Florida after the waters have risen and flooded most low-lying areas, Reminiscence presents a future that doesn’t sound too far off.

The wealthy barons have seized dry land and people only come out at night because of the hot temperatures during daytime. Giving up on the future, people instead pay money to experience memories of the past. The music, the set design, the acting — it’s all top notch.

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BACK OF THE BOOK

Damp and happy From Pend Oreille Review, Aug. 28, 1914

DETAINED AS SPIES Peter Dellinger and his nephew, Bernard List, both residents of Sandpoint, are prisoners or war in France, being held there under suspicion that they are German spies. Information to that effect was received here Wednesday by letter which Mr. Dellinger wrote to his wife, and steps have already been taken through the proper channel at Washington to obtain the release of the two.

Messrs, Dellinger and List left Sandpoint on June 1 on a visit to relatives in France. They arrived in that country June 15 and had spent the time since in visiting in Paris and other French cities and also journeying into Alsace-Loraine.

The letter which Dellinger wrote to his wife was dated August 1, but the postmark upon it bore the date of August 8, indicating that it had either been held up or he had not had opportunity to mail it. The postmark indicated that the letter was mailed at Bologne, Hte Marne, and was received here simultaneously with several other letters he had written. The particular letter which related to his captivity read: “Dear Wife and Children: I must let you know that we are prisoners now, and are being shoved from one place to another. If I will be able to send this letter and you receive it, tell Theodore to do all he can for us as soon as possible. I am writing these few lines with the first cup of coffee I have had for a week. Do all you can for us, so we can come home soon.”

Mrs. Dellinger at once placed the matter in the hands of County Attorney W.J. Costello who Wednesday afternoon wired Congressman Smith at Washington. Yesterday morning came the response that the case had been laid before the secretary of state so it is thought that ere this time pressure has been brought to bear on the French authorities and Dellinger and List may even now be at liberty.

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By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff After inhaling what felt like a lifetime’s worth of dust, my olfactory system was pleasantly surprised this past weekend to wake up to the scent of petrichor — that is, the technical and not-so-pretty name for the glorious smell of rain hitting the earth after a particularly dry spell.

At this point, “dry” is an understatement.

The grass in the hard-to-reach areas of my lawn has never been so crisp. Every siren on the highway seems to signal a new fire, and the dust — don’t get me started on the dust.

So when rain — a genuine, wetting rain — finally fell Friday night, the collective North Idaho sigh was nearly audible Saturday morning.

To honor the momentous occasion, my dad issued an extended family group message inviting any and all to join him in cutting trail Saturday morning. Having kept my distance from the woods for most of this dry, dry summer, I jumped at the opportunity. Our modest, last-minute crew met on private land we are fortunate to hunt each fall and made our game plan.

I’ve been familiar with the art of trail cutting since I was old enough to be trusted with a handsaw. A successful operation requires some key figures: a sawyer, a few muckers, and someone willing to pack the gas and oil.

In practice, the sawyer cuts downed wood, the muckers clear it from the trail and the pack mule brings up the rear, enjoying the maiden voyage on the new path.

These roles can overlap, but for premium efficiency, the sawyer — usually my dad — should be unencumbered by anything other than their saw. Muckers — most often my husband and a sister or cousin — wield only gloves and the occasional loppers for cleaning up stray branches and intrusive, juvenile grand fir.

STR8TS Solution

Reveling in the art of the post-rain trail cut

In recent years I’ve happily taken on the role of pack mule, hauling water, snacks and the shed flannels of the sweaty muckers in my pack, as well as a jug of fluids for the chainsaw in my hand. My dog, Mac, has been joining the fun lately, keeping up morale, running herself ragged between the sawyer and the pack mule, supervising the muckers and returning prized sticks back to the trail.

We spent Saturday’s excursion reopening an old logging road. Our goal was to open a small manway through the brush — a task that goes beyond simply clearing a path through downed logs.

Trail cutting requires foresight only possible if you’ve spent some time trying to be quiet and invisible in the woods. Dad told us to envision this particular trail under eight inches of heavy, wet snow. Thanksgiving snow. Deer season snow. Branches dripping August rain seven feet above ground are perfect candidates for dumping snow down your collar in November. It’s hard to stay warm, invisible or quiet when all of the limbs are weighted to face level while you’re trying to hunt.

We mosey along in mostly verbal silence, partially because of the saw and also because there is nothing to say. Sharing in a collective goal is the only communication required. It is quiet and soothing work, where everyone is small beneath the trees — pines and cedars and cottonwoods that have seen the land change and change again, our marks only the latest in a hundred lifetimes of storms, harvests and hot, dry summers.

Saturday morning felt like a holiday, with everyone’s spirits clearly lifted by the rain. We took a break in a clearing toward the end of the route and my dad checked the group text to learn that several family members had opted to go fishing. One asked if

Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert. we — the trail crew — were getting wet.

We all, smelling of moist wool and with the hair on our necks wet with sweat and rain, agreed that we’d never been so happy to be damp in the woods.

“We’re celebrating,” my dad said with a smile, making a gesture toward the sky as a slight drizzle started up again.

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution

Remember, kids in the backseat cause accidents; accidents in the backseat cause kids.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

CROSSWORD

By Bill Borders

ACROSS

beastie

Woorf tdhe Week

/bee-stee/ [noun] 1. a small animal, especially one toward which affection is felt.

“The old man was always a friend of beasties, patting dogs on the head and feeding squirrels from his pack of peanuts always in his pocket.”

Corrections: Contrary to reporting in the Aug. 19 Reader, there was a meeting of the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 18. Watch a video of the meeting at the city of Sandpoint’s YouTube channel. —ZH

1. Perspiration 6. Something of value 11. Kind of bean 12. Aristocracy 15. A mastiff 16. A head of state 17. Autonomic nervous system 18. Coach 20. Needlefish 21. Violent disturbance 23. Portent 24. Obtains 25. Audition tape 26. Tall woody plant 27. Sea eagle 28. Killed 29. Request 30. Gladden 31. Pleasantly 34. A Great Lake 36. Conceit 37. Within 41. Annul 42. Extent 43. Search 44. Concludes 45. Flower stalk 46. Sister and wife of Zeus 47. In the past 48. Crane

Solution on page 22 51. Not wet 52. Ancient Roman officials 54. Shoulder firearms 56. The junction between two neurons 57. Outsider 58. Welcome 59. More awful

DOWN 1. A breed of dog 2. Attractive 3. Terminate 4. “Smallest” particle 5. Roman robe 6. Orbital high point

7. One more than 6 8. Clairvoyant 9. Mistake 10. Touching upon 13. Small chin beard 14. Makes a mistake 15. Poets 16. Game wardens 19. Like the Vikings 22. In the direction of 24. Neither black nor white in color 26. Mountain pool 27. L 30. Black, in poetry 32. Slime 33. A long-legged S. American bird

34. Famished 35. Demise 38. Sewing tools 39. Terrestrial 40. Approves 42. Avenue 44. Dines 45. Feel 48. Hoodwink 49. A pouch in some birds 50. Prefix meaning 1000 53. Hinder 55. Coniferous tree

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