Reader august18 2016

Aug. 18, 2016 /

The Sandpoint man who went to grade school with

DONALD TRUMP

/ Vol. 13 Issue 33

6 1 0 2 , 0 3 T On AUGUS

S E Y e t Vo L D IS T O O H C S E L IL D ORE

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It’s the most important levy in a generation!!!

VY E L S E I T I L I C S C H O O L FA 0

LAKE PEN

3 g u A , y a Tuesd 8 p.m.

U-PICK Blueberries (208)946-3295

•Gallon buckets and 4-ply Ziploc bags provided •Children welcome •Farm tours available!

8 a.m. to

Vote YES for our schools Our community faces a big decision on August 30, 2016. The Board of Trustees of the Lake Pend Oreille School District is asking voters to approve a $55.1 million plant facilities levy to fund replacement of three schools plus maintenance and upgrades for all schools districtwide. It’s the most important facilities upkeep measure requested by the school district since 1985 – fully a generation ago.

Why a levy?

Many district schools are very aged and require constant repair and maintenance — in addition to subjecting our schoolchildren to substandard conditions in which to learn.

The proposed levy is the culmination of a year-long effort that started with an exhaustive survey by a professional consulting firm of all building conditions in the district. A Facilities Planning Committee composed of citizens reviewed those findings and formulated a long-range facilities plan, ultimately adopted by the school board.

What will it fund?

488 Shingle Mill Road — Just 5 miles from Sandpoint!

The plant facilities levy will fund complete replacement of the Sandpoint Middle School; a rebuild of Northside Elementary School; nearly complete rebuild of Washington Elementary School; new track and athletic fields for Sandpoint High and Middle schools; rebuild the Career Technical Shop at Clark Fork Junior/ Senior High; and special projects at virtually all schools in the district.

know your trout?

Which of these caudal (tail) fins belongs to a

Bull Trout?

What will it cost?

The levy request is for $55.1 million to be raised over six years. For a homeowner with a home assessed at $200,000, who claims the homeowner’s exemption, the levy will add an estimated $200 per year to the tax bill; more details to calculate the tax cost is at www.VoteOurSchools.org.

No question this is a major investment for our community to make in our children’s future. But it is being made with careful stewardship, at a time when needs are becoming critical. We ask: If not now, then when?

Please VOTE absentee!

Vote by absentee ballot anytime up to August 26. It’s easy. Go to Bonner County Elections Office in the County Building, 1500 Highway 2, Suite 124 anytime 9 a.m.5 p.m. weekdays. You may also request a mail-in ballot until 5 p.m. August 24. For more info call 208-255-3631.

Going TO college? on vacation ?

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•Register trout quiz for your ! win chance to

www.VoteOurSchools.org

WIN ME!

On AUGUST 30, 2016

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Get more on the levy, plus how and where to vote:

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TakeNoBull.org

(wo)MAN compiled by

Susan Drinkard

on the street

Over the weekend we had The Festival at Sandpoint, the arts and crafts fair at city beach, the fly-in, a quilt show at community hall, and the Bonner County Fair. Did you attend any of these events, and if so, what were your impressions?

“We had season passes to the Festival for the first time and will do it again next year. Favorite performances were all people I had never heard of—Angelique Kidjo, Railroad Earth, Rabbit Wilde and the Ukrainian pianist that played with the Spokane Symphony.

Meeting everyone from 40-year residents to newcomers while waiting for numbers each morning made for long but interesting days. We’re lucky to live here.”

DEAR READERS,

Are you registered to vote?

If not, do you realize how easy it is? Just go down to the Bonner County Administration Building, 1500 U.S. Hwy 2 (where Division Street meets Highway 2), and check in with the Elections Office on the first floor. They’ll have you fill out a quick form, and you’ll be registered.

Why is it important to register to vote? Because you can’t vote unless you’re registered, and if you don’t vote, you lose all your complaining rights. So, think of it this way: If you want to complain, you need to vote first.

Why is it important to vote? A lot of attention is being given to this year’s presidential election, but there are local and state elections that are equally important to us here in Idaho. As we get closer to the election in November, we’ll publish a large issue dedicated to our local and state candidates. We’ll also be holding a forum the week before the election, so stay tuned.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

Amanda Wion Head cook at Winter Ridge Baldy Mountain Road

“I am sure all the events were wonderful, but I like to stay home and bury my nose in the Reader.”

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Taylor jodi@sandpointreader.com

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

Sarah Betlinger House cleaner Sandpoint

“No. I really wanted to see the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but I work on the weekends. I think the Festival is a little expensive for the locals. I saw Neil Young in Spokane for less than the cost of a Festival ticket. I had no idea the arts and crafts fair was happening until the day it was on.

It is such a fine crafts show. I met three or four groups in here (Winter Ridge) from Portland who came over to sell their arts and crafts.”

www.sandpointreader.com

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Cameron Barnes, Louie de Palma, Tim Henney, Jim Mitsui, John Howard, Jennifer Passaro, Beth Weber, Laurie Brown, Suzen Fiskin, Marcia Pilgeram.

“I would have gone to the arts and crafts fair because it is always a good one, and to the fly-in, but my son was sick this weekend.”

Aryan Riener Handyman Sandpoint

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

Contributing Artists: Kylee Firlit (cover), Cameron Barmes, Ben Olson, Austin Wellner, Susan Drinkard, Tony Rotundo.

Dave Yeats Vacation rentals Sandpoint

“No, I didn’t attend any of the events except for the one I performed in; I played the trumpet with the community orchestra for family night—after the big thunderstorm. I thought the show was well-received.”

READER

Subscription Price: $95 per year Web Content: Keokee

Happy 11th anniversay to my husband, Rick.

Thank you for taking my hand 11 years ago and never letting go.

You will never know what that has meant to me especially this past year.

I am truly blessed to have you as my husband - today and every day.

Love you, “Dear”

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 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

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

About the Cover This week’s cover drawn by Kylee Firlit, who designed the artwork for use by Trout Unlimited to promote their Trout and About Festival coming up next week. Great artwork, Kylee!

Otter August 18, 2016 /

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COMMENTARY The summer signs of Sandpoint

By Louie de Palma Reader Road Warrior

Glistening and salty in the taxi: This is how I enjoy much of Sandpoint’s endless summer while stuck in construction. And if it’s not road work, it’s train crossings. I see so many trains, I begin to see the logos on the box cars as advertisements for exotic Canadian locations. After seeing Saskatchewan and Canada linked to cute little sketches of a wheat stalk or a beaver for the millionth time, I began to think, “I bet those wheat fields are nice this time of year. Maybe I should take a trip. How do their beavers live in wheat fields? It would take forever to build a damn out of wheat stalks. No doubt easier on their teeth though. They have good dental anyway...”

The SOS levy signs are another item I get to analyze while lodged in various construction traps or stalled at trains transporting beaver wheat. It takes me back in rippling flashback fashion to the first levy of my senior year. Myself and a few of my best compatriots were up in limbs over the possibility that the honorable house of Bulldog may potentially lose electives. We had gone to block scheduling, been crammed into portables and already suffered through the fourth-worst ranked education system in the country (keep in mind Sandpoint has a great teaching staff. We are fortunate our geography makes up in beauty and lifestyle for what our state lacks in fiscal incentive).

We knew without art, culture and electives, our senior year would be even more of a drag.

We didn’t want future generations of Bulldogs entering a world with a 46th-ranked education paired with a complete lack of culture.

We organized a march across the Long Bridge in favor of the levy. We stayed up all night in front of the courthouse the night before voting day in the pouring rain, rocking ratty shirts and natty long hair, raising banners, lofting SOS signs and yelling at every car that went by. No one asked us to do this. My friends and I were fueled by the passion we had for the future … and the beer in our coffee cups. Yeah, we were punks, but we were political punks. The levy passed.

Years later it seems we were duped. On the bridge I once marched, I now sit stuck in con4 /

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struction, staring at the exact same signs we used ten years ago. People are saving them. They plan to use them again. It would be more encouraging if they threw them away.

Something is not working. Although I’m appreciative for every dime education has received, the kids are still crammed in portables, electives are still at risk and we’re doing millions of dollars worth of road construction work instead of working on the infrastructure we need to pave a road to the future.

Sometimes I find myself stuck, staring at signs at local parks where I used to play Frisbee with my dog. Eventually, due to more bum signage and a geriatric cop-caller, I discovered no dogs are permitted off leash anywhere in the city of Sandpoint, making fetch very difficult. Ever tried to play fetch with a dog on a leash? It’s hard. You have to run very fast. Once you get to the Frisbee, the dog is confused.

I suggest we build a town only for retired dogs and their retired owners. No need for fetch, no need for education, all the time for construction and nice roads. No industry, no families, no pesky off-leash dogs. Leisure, leisure, leisure, baby. Easy money.

Being an entrepreneur (Idaho is number one in the country for entrepreneurs, even if we have one of the lowest-ranked states for job opportunity, continued education and industry), I have some leisure time between calls. It’s not all sitting and frustration. Yesterday I grabbed a copy of Brautigan’s “Trout Fishing in America.” It’s a great book full of metaphysical life symbolism all based around fishing in Idaho. It was required reading for my dad in high school, and it’s truly an educational, amazing book. I picked it up along with my “Cars”-themed children’s fishing pole and brand new bass lure. I like to read a few passages while I fish in between calls.

I found a primo spot right during bass din-din time under a cute trestle. It was perfect. It was beautiful. The world was ready for me to reap my reward. I was gonna kick bass and Snapchat dames. I hit the button on the pole to release. It sounded an electronic “Cars” vrrooom noise and beeped. My armed swooped gracefully, effortlessly. I was Brad Pitt. The river ran through me. I knew it. I felt it. Then the line snagged and broke, propelling my brand new lure out 30 feet, where it sank to the bottom. It was the only one I had. Exasperated, I threw my head back just in time to see a smug prairie beaver zoom by on the trestle above, grinning its stupid perfect buck teeth.

Pro Life in Sandpoint...

Dear Editor, Some folks have become very upset about the signs that a pro-life group have been displaying at the Farmers’ Market. I have seen one article in the Sandpoint Reader and then another opinion letter in the same periodical. I noted that both seem to come from folks that seem to be against the group protesting. I want to provide some possible perspective about why we should be so thankful that the protesters are in an area that forces parents to have that conversation with their children.

In the opinion letter dated Aug. 11, Crystal Rosenau provides details of having to tell her children, of impressionable ages, that abortion is a personal choice, and it’s safer to have a legal abortion. Hmm, I wonder if the children were horrified of what they saw and that their mother was essentially saying it is OK to murder your own child. No one can argue that the end result of a wanted or unwanted pregnancy is a child. It does not matter when you think life begins, the results are the same 100 percent of the time.

I am not a member of the group that protests at the Farmers’ Market. I have protested at the Planned Parenthood in Spokane.

Am I pro-life? Yes I am and proud of it.

Now let’s get to the real organic meat and heirloom potatoes of the issue. This is a country founded on principles that are found in our Constitution; we can protest!

You see, if you wanted to take the time to protest the protesters, you could, and that is your right. Do you think that people that are protesting want to be there?

Do they not have things that they would rather be doing?

They are there to put a stop to premeditated murder of innocent people that are not getting a voice.

In both articles the big issue seems that the Farmers’ Market is losing money, and Crystal even said as much, or I wonder if people are just getting tired of paying too much for overpriced vegetables and can find organic vegetables at almost all of

the local markets including Walmart, or we can grow it ourselves.

Justin Bates Priest River

Justin, Just to clarify, the protesters at the Farmers’ Market are not pro-life advocates.

They are followers of Abolish Human Abortion in North Idaho. AHA has distanced themselves on several occasions from any pro-life organizations, citing that pro-life advocates don’t do enough to abolish human abortion.

Also, your suggestion to shop at Walmart for organic produce made me shake my head. Nothing says locally grown organic produce like...

Walmart? I’d rather support local farmers than a behemoth corporation that is responsible for the demise of mom-and-pop shops across America.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

Donation Protest...

Dear Editor, I recently visited your fair city of Sandpoint. It is a wonderful town in a beautiful area full of kind and lovely people. An exception to this was Scott Herndon and his “society” and their disgusting anti-choice signs.

Initially, I was upset and frustrated when I saw this.

Then I remembered that I can channel my energy into something positive. I decided to donate to your regional Planned Parenthood on his behalf. I would have never done this if it had not been for Scott Herndon, and I felt so much better after donating.

A quick internet search helped me identify who he was and that I am not alone in having been frustrated by his society. Planned Parenthood does great women’s health work and always needs support. If anyone in your community supports Planned Parenthood and is frustrated with Mr. Herndon, I recommend donating on his behalf. Let him know he inspired your donation by sending him a card or letting him know next time you see him.

Megan Charity Portland, Ore.

PERSPECTIVES

By Tim Henney Reader Contributor Henny Penny isn’t the only one shrieking “the sky is falling!” these days. Crazed murderers armed with military weaponry slaughtering people in churches, schools, theaters, restaurants, clubs. Police killing blacks.

Blacks killing police, including black police. Nervous, suspicious, gullible citizens, once content to own hunting rifles, if any at all, now bristling with military weapons because gun lobby profiteers say the Second Amendment advises so. It doesn’t. Besides, they hint, armageddon is just around the bend. Embrace violence. Ignite confusion and chaos. Despite the carnage, cowardly U.S. legislators offer up American lives, including schoolchildren, for gun lobby campaign dollars.

Minorities, gays, women— fighting for equal pay and equal privilege when it often feels like the Texas two-step—two steps left, two steps right, then repeat.

Two candidates vying for president, neither of whom is thought by thinking citizens to be even close to the cream of the crop.

Millions feel that fear and loathing are replacing courage and collegiality in the national psyche.

In the mid-1800s transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “Things are in the saddle and ride mankind.” If history means anything—and it means everything— then we, mankind, are in the saddle, “things” notwithstanding.

Instead of a gentle lope, our horse is stumbling. We’re clutching the saddle horn and holding on.

But we’ve ridden this bronco before and emerged better and stronger. We’ve endured, and changed, and made headway.

We’ve become better than we were. As dreadful as things are today in America, they have been just as chaotic, just as frightening.

The 1860s, for instance, were no cakewalk. Brother against brother. Nor were such unprecedented catastrophes as the Great Depression of the ‘30s. Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. World War II. And the 2001 World Trade Center attack where almost 3,000 perished. But how about the decade of the1960s. Many of us were there. It wasn’t all hair, hippies, the Beatles,

Is the sky falling? love, peace, dropping out, Twiggy, Timothy O’Leary, and Baez and Dylan strumming folk songs.

In October 1962, the planet almost blew up when the Russians, in the most terrifying moment of the Cold War, surreptitiously put nuclear missiles in Cuba. And our spy plane saw them.

President Jack Kennedy demanded immediate removal. Nikita Khrushchev threatened. Missile silos around the globe opened for launching. I was in Washington D.C. on AT & T business. On the night the world shuddered, afraid it was about to be blasted to smithereens, I was at the historic Hay Adams Hotel, across Lafayette Park from the White House. My 1957 bride telephoned from New Jersey to say my sister, in California, had called. She was terrified. I phoned my sister. She was weeping. So were a lot of people.

I remember feigning bravado as I tried to calm her. I said I could see the White House lights on from my room overlooking the park. Which I could. I had everything under control, I said. Not to worry. As the world held its breath, Khrushchev agreed to remove his missiles providing we dismantled ours, in Turkey and Italy. Ours were aimed at Russia. We did, and they did. The world exhaled.

On the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963, I was in a public affairs meeting with a dozen or so colleagues on the 16th floor of the AT&T Hq. building overlooking Broadway in downtown NYC. The door opened and our boss entered. Alvin von Auw was a brilliant thinker, scholar and writer. Ashen-faced, he took a deep breath and said, “President Kennedy has just been shot and killed in Dallas.”

I had not felt so stricken, so abandoned, since a phone call at

age 16, in Long Beach, Calif., saying my dad, age 46, had just died of a heart attack. For me, JFK’s assassination was the worst day of the 1960s. But it was just one bad day, among many, in one bad year.

As counterpoint to the raging, bloody Vietnam War, non-violent civil rights warriors were being bludgeoned and murdered in America’s Deep South. In June, 1963, black activist Medgar Evers was assassinated in his Jackson, Miss., driveway. A Ku Klux Klan redneck shot him in the back as his children watched. He bragged about it and went free. Evers, an army vet and college graduate, had led early attempts to desegregate the University of Mississippi.

Two months later on a Sunday morning a bomb blasted Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, a headquarters for civil rights marchers. Four little girls died and a fourth lost an eye. Many people were maimed. This was also the year of the Children’s Crusade, in which Birmingham police under Superintendent “Bull” Connor attacked marching, singing kids with fire hoses and dogs.

In 1964, civil rights workers James Chaney, 21, Andrew Goodman, 20, and Michael Schwemer, 24, were murdered by Mississippi KKK members and buried in an earthen dam. African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X was assassinated in NYC in 1965. Race riots

erupted in south central L.A., and as Watts exploded, rioters screamed “Burn, baby, burn!”

Soon after, my 1957 bride, two young children and a baby (son Justin, now 50, of Sandpoint) rented a house in the horsey Southern California community of Rolling Hills on the Palos Verdes peninsula. Watts was just up the freeway, but countless worlds away.

Until things settled down for certain, rich doctors, lawyers and industrialists with John Wayne complexes—who, unlike us, owned their zillion dollar homes— patrolled the perimeter of Rolling Hills on horseback night and day, shotguns strapped to their saddles.

Newark, Baltimore, Memphis, Cleveland and other cities burned.

Detroit exploded. Forty-three died, and 7,000 were arrested.

Dr. King was killed April 4, 1968, in Memphis, and sections of Washington, D.C. went up in smoke. Leading Presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy was assassinated at L.A.’s Ambassador Hotel in June. In August, Chicago police bloodied hundreds of young Vietnam War protestors outside the Democratic Convention. Almost 600 were arrested, and 119 police and 100 protestors were injured. Connecticut Senator Abe Ribicoff compared the police tactics to the Gestapo. Mayor Richard Daley disagreed. He gave his police a pay raise.

The next year was as horrific.

The gruesome Manson family murders in L.A. California governor Ronald Reagan’s National Guard gassed Cal-Berkeley students protesting the Vietnam War in People’s Park. The NYPD raid on the Stonewall Inn in NYC’s Greenwich Village, where for the first time gay customers fought back. (The famed inn, now a national landmark, is three blocks from the Perry Street brownstone where Jacquelynn and I, newly wed, lived in the late ‘50s).

In 1969 I was AT&T’s broadcast advertising manager. We

cancelled the genteel, venerable Bell Telephone Hour after decades on radio and then national TV. Hoping to help halt the bloodshed, we started sponsoring a monthly telecast over NBC called “The Ordeal Of America’s Cities.” A few people watched. It folded.

The chaos rolled on. We continued to pursue the domino theory in Vietnam (if we don’t stop the Commies there they’ll topple the world one nation at a time, and we’ll have to fight them here).

Nearly 60,000 Americans died in that tragic conflict, a war championed by such heroic non-combatant warriors as Dick Nixon and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger.

More than 150,000 were wounded, many maimed for life. And the early ‘70s were just as awful. The bombing of a chemistry lab at the U. of Wisconsin in August, 1970, by student anti-war protestors was typical. Of such activity, historian and author Arthur Schlesinger wrote at the time, “What sort of people are we Americans? Today we are the most frightening people on this planet.”

So we’ve lived through times as edgy as these. But despair, distrust, violence and arming everyone from kindergarten teachers to librarians to great grandmothers is just pouring gas on the flames.

My 1957 bride and I watched a VHS movie on a recent Friday night called “Untamed Heart,” starring Marisa Tomei. It included a continuous piano background of the late 1940s pop hit, “Nature Boy.” Then, as the film ended, the soundtrack featured Nat King Cole’s calming vocal.

The next morning, at the downtown farmers market, a jazz combo performed the very same 1940s song. Coincidence? Chance? Karma? Fate? “...and while we spoke of many things, fools and kings, this he said to me...the greatest thing, you’ll ever learn, is just to love...and be loved in return.”

If we can get back to feeling that way about life, about one another, about our destiny—or somewhere even close to it, we’ll be OK. We’ve done it before. The sky didn’t fall in the 1960s, and it isn’t falling now. Come November we can ensure that it doesn’t.

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NEWS

BGH nurses pass strike authorization

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Bonner General Health is undergoing negotiations with its nursing staff following a union vote to authorize a strike.

The vote, which took place throughout the day last Thursday, does not necessarily mean the nurses will go on strike. Instead, it authorizes the workers’ committee to enact a strike if it is deemed necessary and allows the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to authorize strike benefits should one occur.

“Although the Nurses are not officially on strike, their recent vote to authorize this form of employment action is disheartening,” hospital officials wrote in a press release. “The Hospital believes that both parties and the community would be better served by continuing the efforts to resolve the issues that remain open.”

According to a letter urging union members in good standing to cast a ballot, votes occurred in two separate blocks between 5 a.m.-1 p.m. and 2-9 p.m. last Thursday at the Sandpoint Quality Inn, with a ballot count taking place at 9 p.m.

“As always, our goal is to negotiate a recommended settlement that is acceptable to the nurses,” the letter read.

According to the press release, the hospital is offering the nursing staff a “substantial increase” to the pay scale. The increase puts local nurses in line with typical wages at similarly sized hospitals throughout the rest of the state, and BGH has been informed the raises are acceptable to the union.

Negotiations are also touching on staffing hours, asking nurses in the maternity and emergency departments to accept an on-call schedule. A system already in place in the surgical and home health care and

hospice departments, the on-call schedule helps guarantee that nurses with the proper specializations will be available to cover unplanned absences or increased patient levels.

The occasional nurse position is up for negotiation as well, with the hospital seeking to remove a 16-hour notification requirement before the staffers start work.

If the hospital does not notify them within the time requirements, they are paid a 13-percent premium and a time-and-ahalf rate. According to BGH officials, the occasional nurses are by design intended to fill staffing vacancies, which sometimes crop up unexpectedly. They argue that the 16-hour notification requirement should be removed to better reflect the nature of the position.

As negotiations unfold, BGH officials are pushing back against rumors that the hospital is understaffed or operating on subpar conditions. They say that the same standards for care and staffing are in place, and regardless of the negotiations’ outcome, they intend to maintain a business-as-usual policy.

“Unfortunately, the Nurses’ voting action has been shared with the Community and possibly raised concerns that patient services may not be available or diminished in some way,” officials said in a press release. “The Hospital’s Board of Directors and Administration want to assure everyone that, no matter what may happen as a result of the current debate, the Hospital will remain open and professionally staffed in a manner which will continue to provide all of the services the community has come to rely on.”

The Teamsters Local Union No. 690, which is representing the BGH nurses in unfolding negotiations, declined to comment on this story.

Fifth Avenue work begins

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Sandpoint Public Works crews are busy preparing Fifth Avenue for its coming reversion to two-way traffic.

A necessary step before Sandpoint can reclaim its downtown streets, including Pine Street and First Avenue, from Idaho Transportation Department, the road will eventually be equipped with a traffic signal and flow U.S. 2 traffic through Sandpoint.

According to Sandpoint Public Works Director Ryan Luttmann, the city is working in cooperation with ITD, and reversion is expected to be complete by mid-November.

The road work nears the city toward the long-sought goal of downtown street man6 /

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agement. The first major goal rolled around with the completion of the Sand Creek Byway in 2012, which bypassed U.S. 95 traffic and alleviated some downtown congestion issues. The only step that remains is for U.S. 95 traffic to be redirected, which the Fifth Avenue revisions will accomplish.

Once the city regains control of downtown streets, officials can look into initiating the changes lined out in the Sandpoint Downtown Streets Guide, which the city adopted in 2012. While many of the guide’s projects not dependent on the street reversions have already been constructed, control over First Avenue will give the city more power to introduce functional and aesthetic enhancements to the downtown core.

U.S. Rep. Labrador visits Sandpoint

US Rep. Raul Labrador talks with about 30 constituents at Farmin Park on Monday. Photo by Cameron Barnes.

By Ben Olson with reporting by Cameron Barnes Reader Staff U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador spoke to about 30 constituents at Farmin Park in Sandpoint on Monday. The stop in Sandpoint is part of Labrador’s tour of the First Congressional District to talk with “everyday Idahoans.”

Labrador fielded questions from the audience about everything from land management to climate change. In one question from the audience, a Trump supporter asked Labrador that if Trump were elected, would he stand with Ted Cruz to help uphold the Constitution.

“I’m frustrated with Republicans saying to not support Trump,” said Labrador, who later stated that he would support the Constitution no matter who was elected.

Local author and historian Jane Fritz attended the talk and expressed dismay that Labrador didn’t believe in climate change.

“I do believe in climate change,” Labrador addressed Fritz’s question. “I just don’t believe it’s man-made, like you do.”

“There are about a million scientists who disagree with you,” said Fritz.

When Fritz began asking about oil and coal trains passing through Sandpoint, the crowd began to boo her, prompting Labrador to tell them to “be respectful of her, even though she has been very rude to me.”

“This meeting wasn’t for the constitu-

ents, it was for his groupies,” Fritz told the Reader later. “When a fellow citizen can’t even express their point of view without being booed, that’s too bad.”

When another member of the audience expressed concern about military violence in the Middle East, Labrador responded that he was a “…civil libertarian. War should only happen when the vital interests of the United States are at risk … it’s not our job to nation build in the Middle East.”

Labrador was also asked whether he supported designating the Scotchman Peaks as a Wilderness Area, to which he responded that he “saw no benefit to establishing that area as wilderness.”

Labrador also disagreed with the Convention of States (COS) movement, which is a project that aims to “restore the checks and balances on federal power,” according to their website. Under Article 5 of the Constitution, two-thirds of the states may call for a constitutional convention to propose amendments that would be ratified by three-fourths of the states. So far, eight states have joined the movement.

Though Labrador said he is a proponent of Article 5, his fear with COS is that there would be no way to limit the convention.

“The problem is the moment you call a convention, you open up the entire Constitution, not just the things that you and I agree on,” he said.

Plant levy proponents and opponents to debate on ‘Morning Show’

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Both sides of the facilities plant levy debate will make their case next week on the KRFY Morning Show. Tune into 88.5 FM KRFY Panhandle Community Radio 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24, to hear levy supporters and opponents

detail their arguments. And no matter where you stand on the issue, be sure to vote on Tuesday, Aug. 30. Absentee ballots are available at the Elections Office at the Bonner County Administration Building.

FEATURE

Community draws battle lines over facility plant levy

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

If you need to gauge the temperature of the conversation surrounding the proposed $55 million school facilities plant levy, just log in to Facebook.

Ever since the Lake Pend Oreille School District Board decided to seek voter approval for the six-year property tax levy that would rebuild or renovate several aging school buildings, it has been a matter of sharp debate. As the days until the Aug. 30 vote dwindle, the battle lines between supporters and opponents are fixed on social media, and only time will tell whose messaging will persuade voters.

There’s no question that the facilities plant levy is a big ask. But according to LPOSD Superintendent Shawn Woodward, the proposal is meant to solve an even bigger problem of dilapidated buildings. It was a problem Woodward noticed while touring the schools for the first time during the interview and vetting process prior to his appointment.

“I was very pleased with the academic achievement of the school district but really surprised at the condition of the facilities, and I’m not alone,” said Woodward.

One particular episode of bursting steam pipes at Washington Elementary raised parents’ concerns for the students’ safety and learning experience, Woodward said. It’s just one of the problems attributed to the oldest buildings’ 60-plus year age.

The school board hired an inspection team to review each LPOSD facility’s condition.

Members selected Teater Consulting, a team with a professional background in school inspection and no ties to the district, for the job.

“We wanted to find someone with no skin in the game,” Woodward said.

The inspection team con-

cluded that 7 out of the district’s 11 facilities were rated as either “poor” or “unsatisfactory.” Of the many issues noted by the team, the worstscored schools were cited for failing steam piping and poor ventilation, inadequate roofing for snow loads, damaged doors and windows and deteriorated exteriors.

According to Woodward, the school’s maintenance team has done an admirable job patching up the facilities.

However, he believes the buildings have simply reached the end of their expected lifespans. With that in mind, board members approved a levy that would fund as many new facilities as possible within a six-year stretch. According to Woodward, the board opted to fund the project through a levy rather than a bond, which in Idaho requires a super-majority to pass.

“People ask if we chose the funding mechanism because it had a better chance of passing,” Woodward said. “The answer is yes.”

The board also had to determine whether voting for the levy would take place in May, August or November. According to Woodward, planners didn’t have enough time to hit a May deadline, and scheduling it for November meant delaying construction by a year.

“Once we started turning over stones, we realized there was a sense of urgency on this,” Woodward said.

The most expansive of the renovation projects is Sandpoint Middle School, which earned the lowest score out of all district schools. The school is planned to be rebuilt northeast of Sandpoint High School with expanded space for 675 students. The project also includes room for more gym space and redeveloped fields between the middle and high schools—a somewhat

An artistic conception of the scheduled upgrades to the Sandpoint High and Middle Schools. Drawing by ALSC Architects, map by Google.

controversial measure, but one needed to complete the project all at once, Woodward said.

“Could we have backed off on some of those ideas?”

Woodward added. “Yes, but we also wanted to make sure we listened to stakeholders, and many were saying to do that now.”

Northside Elementary will also be rebuilt. The new plans make way for an increased 180-student capacity. Most of Washington Elementary will require rebuilding, and Clark Fork Junior and Senior High School will receive a new technical career school. The new facilities will be designed to emphasize security and student safety. In addition, other schools will receive selective maintenance, efficiency and safety upgrades.

With so many needs throughout the school district, Woodward said selecting projects to emphasize was a true challenge. In the end, the board prioritized schools serving the most students.

According to Woodward, the school district received cost estimations in line with similarly scaled projects and arrived at a $55 million price point. According to LPOSD

projections, a $200,000 home with a homeowner’s exemption has an expected 2017 school levy burden of $184.

That would increase to $384 per year should the plant levy pass. The new rate would shift the LPOSD levy on property taxes from well below the state average to slightly above it.

According to Woodward, any money generated through the plant levy will go exclusively to fund facility projects.

Despite rumors throughout town and on social media, the levy dollars will not fund salary increases for teachers or administrators. He also assured voters that no other plant levies will be proposed within the six-year period.

Concern over the misinformation is shared by Paul Felter, a retired teacher, superintendent and college professor. Between those who believe the levy will fund salary raises and others who don’t understand the scope of the project, he worries some voters don’t have enough information to make an informed decision.

That’s especially true for the retired crowd, some of whom aren’t able to get up-to-date information on the internet.

“There are lots of us that,

when we retired, we swore we would never have another computer,” he said.

The sheer cost of the project also adds up to a painful decision for many homeowners, especially those living on fixed incomes. While many like Felter want to support schools, they’re cognizant of the difficulty many will have finding a few extra hundred dollars in their budgets.

“I think [the district has] bitten off more than it can chew,” Felter said. “When you go for $55 million with the wages available in this town, you’re shooting yourself in the foot.”

Until the Aug. 30 vote, Woodward said he will stay busy meeting with voters and answering as many questions as he can. While he said he understands critics’ concerns, he believes the plant levy is the most fiscally responsible means to tackle necessary school improvements.

“My task, really, when I was hired was to ensure that we had the best, most optimal learning environment for our students,” Woodward said.

“That’s what we’re trying to do.”

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Rotary donates $50k to LPOSD from CHAFE 150 Bouquets: •Yet again, two great stories this week came our way because two separate readers thought we might be interested and clued us in. We really do appreciate your keeping us aware of story ideas and any other fun ways to keep our publication vital.

Barbs: •A couple of weeks ago, a reader forwarded me a screenshot taken from the Facebook page of Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard). The screenshot shows a photo taken from inside a vehicle looking out over a herd of black cattle blocking the road. The headline for the post reads “Black Lives Matter Protest in Montana.” Checking Rep. Scott’s Facebook page, it appears the post has been removed. I contacted Rep. Scott several times via email to ask what she meant by the post and why she ultimately took it down. As of press time, I have not heard back from her. I think it’s a shame when we have an elected official who promotes this sort of discourse on her social media. It’s also a shame when they refuse to field questions from reporters who speak to their constitency. Isn’t that what a free press is all about?

Rotarians, guests and sponsors proudly show off the $50k check donated to LPOSD. Photo by Ben Olson

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The Sandpoint Rotary and CHAFE 150 Gran Fondo donated a check Wednesday for $50,000 to the Lake Pend Oreille School District (LPOSD) to assist children on the autism spectrum. This is the fourth year the Sandpoint Rotary has presented the event.

“What these monies have allowed us to do is to create a sustainable road map and prepare these kids on the autism spectrum for a quality way of life,” said Dr. Joy Jansen, director of special services with LPOSD. “CHAFE 150’s contribution has made a significant, positive impact for our students. Now we are also able to offer education and support to the broader community.”

The ninth annual CHAFE 150 Gran Fondo took place on Saturday, June 18 in Sandpoint. At 310 participants registered for the ride

this year, it is the highest participation in the event’s history.

The 150-mile route starts at Sandpoint City Beach and makes a loop around the Cabinet Mountains following the lake and river valleys. There are also 80- and 30mile loops for riders not wanting to commit to the full ride.

This year, 75 sponsors helped raise over $50,000 and 120 volunteers helped make the CHAFE 150 a success.

“What’s great about this event is that all of the money raised stays here locally to benefit our students,” said Mel Dick, sponsor chairman for CHAFE 150. “It’s a beautiful ride for a great cause, and we couldn’t do it without the generous support of all of our sponsors.”

PR chairman Elana Westphal added: “Hundreds of people come to Sandpoint for this magnificent ride each year and just love our warm, welcoming community.

They are equally impressed by

Helping children to communicate and connect

By Reader Staff

In partnership with Team Autism 24/7, Lake Pend Oreille School District is honored and excited to sponsor the community event, Helping Children to Communicate and Connect, with Dr. Adam Cox on the evening of Tuesday, Aug.30, at Sandpoint High School from 6-7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Childcare is provided.

Dr. Cox is an internationally renowned clinical psychologist, author, speaker and educational consultant. He is a frequent lecturer on the emotional and cognitive development. He has developed experiential education and advisory programs in the U.S. and abroad aimed at building diverse forms of capability among youth. The author of the first book 8 /

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on “executive functions” for a lay audience, Cox’s Eight Pillar model of executive functioning has been adopted by school districts worldwide.

Helping Children to Communicate and Connect focuses on how to create closer relationships with young people through the power of communication and discusses the challenges so many children and teens have in connecting with adults and peers. Dr. Cox clarifies why communication is fundamental to social and emotional development and explains which kinds of communication obstacles grow from a person’s temperament, and which may be more related to brain differences. In addition, strategies are presented clearly, with many examples.

It’s hard to imagine a topic more important to building great

family relationships than communication. This is especially true because young people’s lives are changing, raising important questions for families and schools: What are the top priorities of youth? What do young people expect from their parents? What is the greatest fear adolescents have about becoming adults?

Please do not miss this important opportunity to think about how to best connect with the important young people in your life. You will leave this program with renewed optimism!

This event is possible due to the generous, continued support of the Sandpoint Rotary CHAFE 150.

For more information or questions, please contact Dr. Joy Jansen at 208-263-2184, ext. 1210.

how committed we all are to making a difference in the lives of children on the autism spectrum.”

After their regular meeting on Wednesday, the Sandpoint Rotary presented a check for $50,000 to LPOSD to help area children on the autism spectrum. In the four years since Sandpoint Rotary has sponsored the CHAFE 150, they have donated $160,000 to LPOSD. Next year’s CHAFE 150 Gran Fondo will take place on Saturday, June 17. Donations are accepted year-round by visiting CHAFE150.org.

Putting it Mildly By Austin Wellner

SPORTS

Going for the Gold: The Sandpoint man who coaches the USA men’s freestyle wrestling team in Rio

By Ben Olson Reader Staff When most people retire, they plan to live quietly and catch up on the activities that eluded them during a lifetime of work. It was no different for Bruce and Karen Burnett, who, after vacationing in Sandpoint for three consecutive years, decided to buy a lot at Dover Bay and build their dream retirement home. Little did they know that Bruce Burnett, who has spent more than 50 years in the world of wrestling—the last 13 as the U.S. Naval Academy head coach— would get a phone call that would ultimately lead him to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Burnett is no stranger to wrestling. The 65-year-old previously coached the men’s national freestyle team for two Olympic cycles, which are considered among the most successful in U.S. history. From 1993 to 2000, the U.S. won World Team titles in 1993 in Toronto and 1995 in Atlanta—the only two times in history. The U.S. also won the medal count at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

But all that was in the past as the Burnetts eased into retirement in Dover. Bruce planned to delve into outdoor activities, including golfing, fly fishing and riding his motorcycle, while Karen reacquainted herself with the piano—an instrument she has a deep love for.

Everything was going according to plan until they received a phone call from USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender, who made Burnett an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“When Bruce had retired from the Naval Academy and went back to Sandpoint, my national teams director Les and I went to Sandpoint to try and recruit Bruce to coach the team through the Olympic games,” said Bender on the phone from Rio. “We were driving across the Long Bridge and I turned to Les and said, ‘We ain’t gonna get this joker out of here with a tractor.’”

Bender was faced with a dilemma. In the midst of an Olympic quadrennium, while most coaches were knee deep in training for the next games, the former national freestyle coach Zeke Jones had resigned to take a head coaching position at his alma mater, Arizona

State University. Bender had to find the right man to take the team to Rio and fast.

“We toyed with the idea of going through a process and advertising and recruiting longer term candidates for the position,” said Bender. “Or, we could talk to Bruce Burnett, our most successful freestyle coach of all time, to come out of retirement and lead our team through Rio. We needed a coach who understood international wrestling and putting athletes on the podium at the Olympic Games. He was our first choice by far.”

For Karen, who has been married to Bruce for 14 years, the decision was not an easy one. In all things, Karen and Bruce are a team, and the decision to come out of retirement was something that they had to agree upon together.

“We had this plan put in place,” she said. “We were retired. We wanted to be [in Dover] full time.

That was our goal.”

Karen said it was also a difficult decision because they were one and a half years into the Olympic quadrennium, and Bruce would get a late start.

“They really do train for four years,” she said. “Bruce hadn’t been following international wrestling that closely, and there are new rules in place. A lot of people don’t realize that about freestyle. It’s not like folkstyle in college.”

Folkstyle wrestling is the more traditional collegiate form of wrestling in the U.S. The main difference between folkstyle and freestyle wrestling used in the Olympics is that you can use moves from the bottom position in folkstyle, while freestyle allows no scoring from below the waist.

“It was a very hard decision,” said Karen. “My husband is a tremendous man of faith. He always said ‘We have to honor the gifts that God gives us.’ When it comes to wrestling, Bruce is a technician. There are components on the technical side of wrestling that he can get so quickly. It’s like he’s a savant in this one area of his life.”

A Bakersfield, Calif., native, Burnett accepted a scholarship to Idaho State after winning two California junior college championships. Then ISU coach Tom Jewell recruited Burnett after learning he wanted to continue wrestling in Colorado.

His first coaching job came in

1974 at Meridian High near Boise.

Burnett turned Meridian into a state powerhouse, coaching four state title teams and four runner up finishes. His dual record was 154-13-2.

Karen said Bruce believed this was a God-given gift and it was his duty to honor it.

“He really wanted to retire, but he understood this is what he was called to do,” said Karen. “How could I not respect his decision?”

So Bruce began the arduous process of coaching the men’s freestyle team for Rio. Karen had to get used to him traveling to locations far and wide, such as Uzbekistan and Turkey, in the name of the sport he loves so dearly.

“Honestly, the first five or six months back were tough, but we got used to it,” said Karen, who hosted a party last week of friends and neighbors to sign an OlymBruce Burnett, right, on this month’s cover of “USA Wrestler” magazine. Photo by Tony Rotundo. pic banner she has carried to Rio. Karen plans to get the entire men’s our country.” drennium? Not likely. He told the freestyle wrestling team to sign the After the games, Karen hopes Spokesman-Review last year: “I’m banner as well and wave it proudly not good at retirement, but this is her and Bruce can continue into as they compete for the gold. my last hurrah.” retirement after this short, epic Bruce was not able to be Bender didn’t pull any punches interruption. While she’s home, reached for comment due to his with his praise for the dedicated Karen plays piano at the Sandpoint heavy schedule in Rio, but he did coach: “The cool thing about Bruce Church of the Nazarene. After he tell the Spokesman-Review last year is not only is he one of the greatest returns from Rio, Bruce hopes to that he had high hopes for the U.S. coaches to ever sit in the corner become better acquainted with fly team: “Americans train as hard as of an athlete, but he is an even fishing and has ordered a surfboard. anybody. The U.S. has the tools better person. He is a fantastic and He plans to attend surf camp in to win. Russia has been dominant wonderful coach and a leader of Puerto Rico. for so long, but we can beat them. men, and we’re so fortunate to have “I am not going to surf camp, That’s what drives us every day.” him. His wife is a big part of that however,” said Karen. “This is not To support Bruce and the USA a team endeavor.” team. Together they are providing Men’s Freestyle Wrestling team, a fantastic service to our team and tune in on Aug. 19-21 to watch them compete.

Login to TheMat. com to find out what time each event will be aired.

Is there any chance that Bruce will stick around for another Olympic quaKaren Burnett, middle behind banner with white hat, stands with friends and neighbors in front of a banner they all plan to sign. Karen will hand deliver the banner to Rio in support of the men’s freestyle wrestling team. Photo by Ben Olson.

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FEATURE

Sandpoint man was grade schoolmate of Donald Trump “He was pig-headed”

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

According to Sandpoint resident Donald Kass, Donald Trump hasn’t changed a whole lot since he knew him as Donny Trump in grade school.

“He was pig headed,” said Kass. “He never listened to anyone in those days. He wasn’t quite as pathological then as he is now, though.”

Kass was one grade ahead of Trump at the private Kew-Forest School in a Queens, N.Y., neighborhood called Forest Hills. They both attended in the late 1950s and both grew up in Queens, though Trump lived in the upper middle class neighborhood of Jamaica Estates.

Trump attended the Kew-Forest School through seventh grade, when his father took him out of the school and sent him literally up the river to New York Military Academy in the Hudson Valley.

Kass remembers Trump as a troublemaker: “He misbehaved.

I don’t know if they actually threw him out, but I think his father decided he should send him to military school.”

Trump’s father, Fred Trump, was a “big wheel” at Kew-Forest, according to Kass.

“He was on the board of trustees,” said Kass. “[Donald] would never have been thrown out of school because the principal at the time, being who he was, was a friend of his father.

If [Fred Trump] would tell them to do something, they would’ve done it.”

It was fairly common for children of notable parents to attend Kew-Forest School.

“I always thought the Trumps were Democrats, but they said they were Republican,” said Kass. “They had to kowtow a lot with the Democratic party because they had all the power in New York City.”

Kass said lots of Democratic politicians sent their kids to Kew-Forest: “There were state senators’ children, congressmen’s children, judge’s children… the first principal had good connections to the colleges 10 /

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so he could assure the parents that their children would get into good colleges.”

For Kass, the memory of Donny Trump was mostly dominated by his stature and his swaggering temperament.

“He was a tall kid, big for his age,” said Kass. “He would get an idea in his head, and he’d be wrong, and you would tell him he was wrong and the next day he would say the same thing.

You could never convince him of anything.”

Kass remembers a trivial incident involving the name of a popular wrestler where Trump refused to admit he was wrong.

“We watched wrestling a lot in those days,” said Kass. “There was this wrestler called Antonino Rocca and Donald referred to him as ‘Rocky Antonino.’ We’d say, ‘No Donald, it’s Antonino Rocca,’ but the next day it was still ‘Rocky Antonino.’ To Donald, it was always ‘Rocky Antonino.’”

Even Trump has acknowledged the similarities between himself as an adult and when he was a child.

“When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I’m basically the same,” Trump once told a biographer.

“The temperament is not that different.”

Kass also remembers summer outings he and Donald shared with their gym teacher.

“We all went to summer camp in those days,” said Kass.

“There were a couple of weeks in June and September between camp and school. Our gym teacher would take a bunch of us kids in his station wagon to go play, or to the museum, or to the park. We both went, Donald and I. We spent a lot of days together.”

Kass’ impression of the presidential candidate in his grade school years is similar to many of Trump’s former classmates.

Dennis Burnham was four years younger and lived around the corner from the Trumps in the 1950s. Burnham’s mother warned that Dennis should “stay away from the Trumps.”

“Donald was known to be a

bully, I was a little kid, and my parents didn’t want me beaten up,” Burnham told the Washington Post.

Another schoolyard chum, Steve Nachtigall, said he remembers Trump and his friends riding around on their bikes shouting and cursing very loudly.

“It’s kind of like a little video snippet that remains in my brain because I think it was so unusual and terrifying at that age,” Nachtigall told the Washington Post. “He was a loudmouth bully.”

One story that Trump recalled in “The Art of the Deal” involves an incident where he gave a music teacher a black eye because “I didn’t think he knew anything about music, and I almost got expelled.”

Kass said he believes Trump made that story up: “I met the music teacher many years later and asked him about the incident and he said it never happened.”

Kass also remembers Trump as a good athlete in baseball.

“He was a good player, but he always hit the ball to right field,” said Kass. “He never went left, always right. So there you go.”

Kass went on to graduate from Kew-Forest in 1963 and

Donald Trump, center, holding the flag during a 1958 graduation at Kew-Forest School in Forest Lawn, NY.

eventually obtained a PhD from the University of Chicago in agronomy, which is the study of crop and soil science. He lived and worked in Costa Rica, worked for the FDA and recently moved to Sandpoint to be closer to his son and granddaughter, who both live in Creston, B.C.

Will Kass be voting for his old schoolmate Trump in November?

“Not a chance,” said Kass.

“I don’t agree with his politics.

I’m getting social security and a federal pension. I think Hillary will protect social security more than Trump.”

Donald Trump, fourth from left in back row, was in the class one year behind Donald Kass. Photo from Kew-Forest 1958 yearbook.

@ EVANS BROTHERS COFFEE (513 OAK ST. IN SANDPOINT) •Fun and Educational Activities for Kids and Adults •Food & Drink

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Winter Ridge Speaker Series 6pm @ Winter Ridge Learn to make herbal vinegars Live Music w/ David Walsh 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach Flamenco guitar on the beach

Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

Blood Drive 10am-3:30pm @ Bonner General Hospital Walk-ins are welcome, or people can go to BonnerGeneral.org/blooddrive for more information on how to schedule an appointment

f

Throwback Thursd 7-11pm @ 219 Loung Featuring live music and friends, $2 dome Join in playing in this night setting every Th

POAC Artwalk Night and Live Music 5-7:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Featuring live music with Marty Perron an Doug Bond. Come out to support POAC!

Live Music w/ Running With Scissors 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Live Music w/ Mike and Sadie Wagoner 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Sandpoint’s jazz band, featuring A father daughter duo with a great followMaya Goldblum ing here in Sandpoint Live Music w/ Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs Doug Bond and Marty Perron 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Brian Jacobs has an impressive array of catchy 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach songs that you love to sing along with Finally Home: A free home buying class Summer Sounds w/ Mike & Shanna Duo 9am-3pm @ Sandpoint Library 4-6pm @ Park Place Page The Bonner Community Housing Agency h Sponsored by BID and the Holly Eve developed a program to familiarize home bu Foundation. Located near Arlo’s ers with the basic information they need to bu Live Music w/ Chris Lynch a home with confidence. To attend this FRE 6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante class, pre-registration is required - call 263-693

Sandpoint Chess Club Game Night at the Niner 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee 9pm @ 219 Lounge Meets every Sunday at 9am. All are welcome Come down and take part in game night wit Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Bonner County ARES/RACES Meeting 5:30pm @ Bonner Co. Admin Building A free meeting of amatuer radio enthusiasts.

Call 661-203-0335 for more information

Learn to dance the Swing – 7pm @ SWAC Learn the Triple Time East Coast Swing fro Diane Peters. 610-1770 for info Karaoke Night 10pm - Midnight @ 219 Lounge Join your host Pat for some great tunes

Tr 7p

DJ Night at the Niner 9pm @ 219 Lounge Join the 219 house DJ Josh on the patio while he spins up a party

Yappy Hour 4-7pm @ Evans Brothers Coffee Live Music w/ Da Grab your furry friends and live 6-8pm @ Pend d’O music, beverages and fun Latin-inspired flam Throwback Thursdays at the 219 Live Music w/ Marty Perron and Doug Bond 7-11pm @ 219 Lounge 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach Featuring live music with Brian Jacobs A great Sandpoint duo and friends, $2 domestics and $3 crafts Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

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August 18 - 25, 2016

k Thursdays at the 219 219 Lounge ve music with Brian Jacobs , $2 domestics and $3 crafts. ing in this informal open mic g every Thursday night

Music

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Reader recommended

Summer Kids Carnival Live Music w/ Jake Robin 5:30-7:30pm @ Spt. Assembly of God 6-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery A FREE carnival for kids featuring Acoustic rock with pop charisma bounce houses, face painting, balloon art, carvinal games and free food and drinks! Join us for a safe and fun night!

Live Music w/ Tennis 8pm-12am @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall If you’ve never experienced Tennis, get ready.

Sandpoint’s original party band is back and will rock the Beer Hall for all your favorite dance tunes and singalongs. Once upon a time, Tennis was a band that brought the house down at the Downtown Crossing. Their flawless funky style features both originals and covers from all your favorite bands. Wear a sweat band, take a shot of booze and get ready to rock. $5 cover, 21+

Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge Party on the patio with Miah Kohal Band! It’s always a fun time with this great band Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante Live Music w/ the Electric Cole Show 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Featuring a fusion of Jazz, Latin, Rock, Blues, Funk and World

Live Music w/ Still Tipsy and the Hangovers 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge Great music that spans generations! Talent, vocals and an upright bass like you’ve never seen! g class Local author book signing Agency has 12-2pm @ Vanderford’s Books home buy- Four local authors will be signing their books at need to buy Vanderford’s from noon to 2pm this FREE ll 263-6930

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A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com.

2nd Annual Afternoon Tea 2-4pm @ Bonner Co. History Museum Guests will enjoy a traditional afternoon tea in an elegant outdoor setting; tables of 6 and 8 are still available. Call the museum to purchase tickets at 263-2344. Cost is $30 Live Music w/ Dave Matthews 7pm @ Ol’ Red’s Pub Sandpoint’s newest bar is ready to rock!

Head down the stairs and check them out

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks presents ‘Richard III’ 6pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds ‘Tis no excuse not to attend, as admission is free! Medieval festivities including an authentic village organized by the Sandpoint chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, plus revel in music, jewelry making, fencing, juggling, and more. Sponsored locally by Lost Horse Press

Trivia Night 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s

sic w/ David Lane Walsh Pend d’Oreille Winery pired flamenco guitar in the area ug Bond

Live Music w/ Bruce Bishop and Drew 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach

Winter Ridge Speaker Series 6pm @ Winter Ridge Cooking with essential oils

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Farm to Table Dinner

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263-0846

Aug. 26-28 International Fjord Horse Show @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds

Sept. 3-4 Funky Junk Antique Show @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds

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Aug. 28 Lummi Totem Pole Tour @ Sandpoint City Beach

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Tickets $40, includes non-alcoholic beverages. Wine will be available to purchase on-site. Please bring cash or check for purchasing blueberries and wine as credit card processing will not be available.

We open our 2016 Farm to Table Dinner Series with a real treat: Dinner on the farm at Shingle Mill Blueberry Farm!

We will begin the evening at 5 p.m. with a tour and talk by the Omodt's about their great adventure into the blueberry business.

Those attending the dinner will have a chance to pick some delicious blueberries. After picking we will sit down to a meal from locally sourced ingredients. Of course berries will be featured, as well as the bounty of this season. Call 263-0846 for reservations and info.

Emma Fields

A specialized muscle therapy licensed therapist is presenting THE LAST of a once in a lifetime opportunity for you with Myo-Facial Release and Lymphatic Drainage course.

Classes meet once a week for 12 weeks, with 15-20 hours per week of homework. At the end of the course you will receive a certiicate that allows you to work as a therapist. The cost is just $40 per class, plus books and your own massage table and accessories. To register, or for details, call Emma Fields at 208-267-6010. The Myo-Facial Release and Lymphatic Drainage course begins August 28th, so call today!

Call today!

208-267-6010

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List your property with us and get results that benefit you!

Book Signing!

Saturday, August 20 • 12-2pm

VAnderford's Books & Office Products 201 Cedar St., Sandpoint, ID 263-2417

David Mundell “Time to Get Out” Neil Tietjen “Old School Narc” Nick Appl “Snowboard Wisdom” R.D. Vallier “Darkshine”

Listen in Sandpoint to KPND @ 106.7 in HD 14 /

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LITERATURE the beauty of america

This open Window

Vol. 1 No. 7

poetry and prose by local writers

edited by Jim mitsui

The best way to improve your writing, usually, is to join a workshop—unless it’s more of a social gathering to show off your latest writing effort and little or no criticism is wanted. “Pat me on the back, and I’ll return the favor.” There were groups like this in the Sun Cities, Ariz., near where I lived for a while.

Writers who want to grow and improve their writing seek out constructive criticism. Of course it’s important to receive praise but usually people already know what’s good in their poem or story. What they need to find out are errors, mistakes, confusing places, vague or unclear passages, whether the format they’ve chosen is working, and several other issues.

Frequently people try to tell their audience what and how to think, rather than show them and let them make their own decisions.

In my workshop people bring copies of their work and read it aloud. No prefacing comments are allowed. After the discussion (done sensitively) is over, the author is allowed to say whatever they need to say about their piece; answer questions, etc. Frequently during this post discussion process, people will say things that are more interesting than the piece itself and should be incorporated into the poem or narrative in a rewrite.

I’ve said before that the emphasis of This Open Window is contemporary poetry, and since most poems written today are free-verse that has been my emphasis.

Keep in mind what I said in the last sentence of the paragraph above because I opted to include this poem partly because of this comment by my publisher, Ben, and the story behind this account: Here’s what Ben wrote: “A sweet old lady came into my office today and dropped off a hand-typed poem that her 89-yearold husband wrote years ago. She was hoping that it would be considered for your poetry column. I guess her husband, John, has written poetry for more than 30 years, but recently lost his entire file of poetry. This one poem was the only one that was found, and she wanted to see if we’d publish it as a surprise to her husband.”

-Jim Mitsui

by John Howard

We have people here from all over this land, You couldn’t get a better variety if it was planned.

You know America isn’t just the US of A, Our Canadian friends would have something to say.

We’re all part of this great American continent, From the Yukon to the Gulf we all are sent.

From Atlantic to Pacific and all in between, Every state and province can be seen.

They are all beautiful in their own way, Which is best, who can say.

You may like it flat with the desert breaks, Or up north with ten thousand lakes.

I’ve been lucky, like most of you, Been in most states and provinces and enjoyed the view.

Out on the prairies with its waving grain, Blessed with the precious life giving rain.

Fields of tall waving corn so high, Like the song says, up to an elephant’s eye.

Or way up north in the deep snow, Across the open spaces where the wind does blow.

I was raised out west near the Cascade high, They looked like they poked holes in the sky.

All mountains have a beauty of their own, Weather far away or near your home.

There is nothing like the Poconos in the fall, Colors bright, you hear the wild birds call.

You can follow the parkway to Gatlenberg, And on to Dollys in Pigeon Ford.

Down to the outer banks where the Wrights first flew, They didn’t fly far, but they started flying and how it grew.

Headind west and on to Branson, You can see the shows and not pay a king’s ransom.

They to Texas and in Dallas, man does it rain, Sounded like a fast moving train.

We’ve been lucky to live near our neighbor to the north, With Banff, Lake Louise and Calgary coming forth.

Heading on east to Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa and Montreal, It’s beautiful crossing the prairie, but it’s a long haul.

We were once asked where we were traveling to, We said to Arizona via Nova Scotia true.

We’re lucky to live on a continent so beautifully diversified, Everywhere you go the people have such pride.

It would be nothing if it wasn’t for the people you meet, Americans of all races and creeds they can’t be beat.

i didn’t come to your dad’s funeral

a stranger offends nature in an urban setting

by Jennifer Passaro

by Beth Weber

Love, I know how you must have turned to wait, the sun ocher with sky, to wait for the prairie to stop its hush, for one jay to light the willows to pour your father into the creek.

I couldn’t go there to you, to the swirl of balsam on the water you said you would tattoo around your wrist around and around and around when he finally finished passing the bottle to himself and lay down.

—Jennifer Passaro

Jennifer Passaro graduated from the University of Montana’s Creative Writing Program. She has lived in Sandpoint and is working this summer for the Forest Service in Pocatello, Idaho. Jennifer has a gift for expressing complex thoughts and feelings through amazing imagery.

The loudest aspects of civilization, except war, constantly permeate this sanctuary of Sand Creek.

The bypass blares along the east bank.

The traffic of the main drag bleats in the west. Stampeding coal trains thunder over bridges. Private jets beller above. A black helicopter lowers, like a dragonfly amplified, to the site where the sirens go.

Yet the ducks float, calm in their cattail refuge. Cedar Waxwings feed, unruffled, on ripened hawthorne berries. A careful heron hunts for fry or frogs.

A flicker jabs at a snag for grubs.

All the birds, comfortable in a blanket of boom and zoom, carry on naturally. But when I paddle by, in my quiet yellow kayak, they scatter in screaming panic.

Want to see your poetry in the Reader?

Send in your submission to: jim3wells@aol.com.

—Beth Weber

August 1, 2016

This poem catches Beth in her yellow kayak on Sand Creek. This Sunday morning I listened to her playing the violin and leading her youth musicans, entertaining the crowd. Versatile!

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Gardening with Laurie:

Home buying class offered at the Library

Designing with Foliage

By Laurie Brown Reader Columnist When thinking about designing a garden, most people immediately think about the flowers they want. But most plants flower for only a short part of the growing season, while foliage, for the most part, is there for the whole growing season; some is there for the entire year.

Foliage offers variety in both form and color. Think of the difference in form between low, leafy ajuga (which also comes in many colors) and spiky but soft blue fescue.

They are both low growers, but have a totally different effect.

Giant foliaged plants, like rodgersia, ligularia, and giant hostas like Sum and Substance, give a primeval, jungle feeling to the space. They also, oddly, make an area seem larger, too.

Giant leaves make a statement; they draw the eye immediately.

Lacy ferns, depending on what they are planted with, can either say ‘Victorian’ or ‘jungle’.

The stiff, sword-shaped leaves of iris varieties contrast well with large, rounded leaves. It is a great plant for ending a bed of giant leaves, a sort of ‘full stop’ exclamation point. Iris itself offers variety; it comes in

all sizes from tiny miniatures to the four-foot tall I. spurias.

Plants with tiny, dainty foliage, like Nepeta faassenii or lily of the valley, encourage the viewer to stop and look closer. Tall, clump forming, grasses can be stand-ins for fountains; ‘Karl Foerster’ grass (a sterile variety that neither seeds nor runners) stands five feet tall and looks marvelous right up until winter snows weigh it down.

Mix up forms; put that ‘Karl Foerster’ grass behind a patch of hardy geraniums like ‘Biokovo’, with its intricate, deeply cut leaves; its flowers are white so it gives the effect of foamy water at the foot of the fountain. Put the shiny oval leaves of bergenia next to something soft, like the fuzzy leaves of lamb’s ears. Lacy ferns with hostas is a common combination; they take the same cultural requirements and the contrast in leaves is beautiful.

Foliage isn’t just a monolith of green; there are plants with leaves that are gray, gold, dark maroon, variegated, light green, blue green, and dark green; if you start looking at plants like coleus, you can get the whole rainbow! Vary the colors of foliage and use it to set off flower colors; gray foliage sets off pinks wonderfully, while blues

By Reader Staff

like blue spruce and blue junipers make a perfect background for oranges and reds. Variegated foliage comes in a big variety of patterns; many pulmonarias have spotted and speckled foliage, while hosta leaves may be wildly streaked with white or gold. Beware of using too many plants with variegated foliage together; it can become too busy, the eyes have no place to rest, and people really won’t want to spend time looking at it.

Don’t restrict your designing to just perennials and shrubs. Even vegetables can provide beautiful foliage. Look at the lovely dark red lettuces or the shocking pink ribs of

5,000-mile tribal journey to stop in Sandpoint

By Reader Staff

The 2016 totem pole tour of the Lummi Nation’s House of Tears Carvers is underway across the western United States and Canada.

For the past three years, the group has handcrafted a special totem pole and hauled it along the route of the coal exports, stopping in communities on the way to raise awareness about the risks to the tribe’s way of life, as well as to communities along the route, if giant coal terminals are built on the West Coast.

The goal of the group is to defeat proposed fossil fuel export projects while laying the foundation for a broad-based alliance on future issues of common concern related to fossil fuels and climate change.

This is the first time the Lummis and their master carver, Jewell James, have brought one of their special totem poles to Sandpoint, a city that could be greatly impacted by increased coal and oil train traffic.

The totem pole will stop from 9-11 a.m.

Sunday, Aug. 28, at Sandpoint City Beach.

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A blessing ceremony will take place at 9 a.m. with special guest speakers from the tribe, local environmental and faith organizations and municipalities.

The 22-foot ceremonial totem pole will be on display until 11 a.m. before it is packed up and group members begin their journey to Winnipeg, Manitoba, their final destination.

The journey follows the May 9 decision of the Corps of Engineers to deny the permit for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal coal terminal at Cherry Point based on its potential impacts on the treaty fishing rights of the Lummi Nation.

The new, and just as significant, threat to the Lummi and other tribes is the dramatic increase in fossil fuels from the Bakken oil fields in the United States and the Alberta tar sands oil fields. If the proposed expansions are approved, it could mean up to a tenfold increase in fossil fuel exports from Washington State and British Columbia. It would also mean a significant increase in

some Swiss chard. If you really want to have a jungle effect, use warm season plants like canna lilies and elephant’s ear plants. They can be kept over winter just like dahlias and gladiolas. And don’t forget foliage in your container plantings; think about things like Japanese blood grass, coleus, and colored sweet potato vines to keep them interesting.

If you design with foliage and have a variety, the garden will be interesting and beautiful even when nothing is blooming.

While not quite the ‘bones’ of the garden like trees and shrubs are, foliage is certainly next in importance.

The prospect of buying a home can be a daunting one if you are not familiar with the many details that make up the process. Thankfully, the Bonner Community Housing Agency (BCHA) has developed a program to familiarize home buyers with the basic information they need to buy a home with confidence.

BCHA will present Finally Home, a home buyer class designed to help individuals understand the home buying process from start to finish, at the East Bonner County Library Sandpoint Branch, 1407 Cedar on Saturday, August 20, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Completion of the classes will take participants one step closer to the dream of home ownership. There is no cost for the class. With the classes you receive a detailed workbook and five hours of instruction from local experts.

Topics covered include budgeting, mortgages, working with lenders, working with Realtors, inspections, insurance, Title and Escrow.

Pre-registration is required.

Call 263-6930 to reserve your spot. Happy home hunting.

oil trains and additional tanker traffic in the Salish Sea. The transport, storage, and eventual shipment to China of these products would create a major threat to environmental and community health, and to the way of life of the Native peoples on the region.

“We need to be heard as many people and one voice,” said Jewell James, master carver of the House of Tears Carver.

“We need to let them know they People reach out and touch the totem pole in one of its stops around cannot in the name of profits do the country. Photo by Paul Anderson. this to the people, the water, the land and to the future generations. We will at the Yakama Nation, the Spokane Tribe never give up. They must not pass!” and Cheyenne River Indian Tribe.

The 19-day journey will begin in The Sandpoint event is cosponsored Bellingham, Wash., and include events in by the Idaho Conservation League, Lake Vancouver, Seattle, Longview, Sandpoint, Pend Oreille Waterkeepers and the city of Missoula, Edmonton and Winnipeg, where Sandpoint. it will be installed at The Place Where the Two Rivers Meet. It will also include events

Trout and About Festival swims into town

By Cameron Barnes Reader Staff One evening in Missoula, Reg Crawford of Trout Unlimited walked into the Top Hat Bar which had begun showcasing children’s bands.

She thought they were a blast, so she couldn’t understand why no one was hanging out.

“They’re really trying to reach this demographic of young parents in a way that mixes learning and the energy of a music festival to make education more fun,” she said.

It was then the lightbulb flicked on for Trout and About, a hybrid event combining the fun and energy of a music festival with important lessons on fisheries and water quality in Idaho. Intended for kids and adults who are kids at heart, this event will have many fun trout-related raffles, giveaways, education and activities including glitter tattoos, coloring, a mini-hooping clinic, cornhole and fly casting lessons, to name a few.

Kicking off the festival this year will be Missoula-based band The Whizpop, who will be playing “The Bull Trout Song.” This tune was made specifically for the Panhandle Trout Unlimited and Idaho Fish and Game to support the “Take No Bull – Protect Bull Trout” program.

The Whizpops are known for their multi-genre, science-based, educational songs that entertain, teach and groove all ages. According to the event website, The Whizpops worked with the Nation-

A bull trout, or char, which can be identified by the black markings along the caudal (tail) fin. Photo used by permission. al Wildlife Federation in May 2016 to put together a new album “Ranger Rick’s Trail Mix Vol. 1.” The song “The Stream I Call Home: The Bull Trout Song” is included on the album.

This year’s festival will also showcase a second act, the Kitchen Dwellers. This Bozeman-based band has been blowing up on the festival circuit, playing alongside the likes of Railroad Earth, Greensky Bluegrass, The Infamous Stringdusters and Twiddle. Their high-energy performances have been dazzling bluegrass fans across the country.

Despite the heavy-hitting musical line up, we can’t forget that the star of the show is the bull trout.

You may have seen the bull trout signs at Sandpoint City Beach and for good reason, as they most certainly are endangered. Once flourishing in many states, they now are non-existent in California, and most of the remaining population is within their stronghold here in Idaho and Montana.

The Take No Bull organization’s initial slogan “no black, put it back” was relabeled to avoid any confusion, beginning two years ago with “take no bull” and most recently with “no black on the fin, put it back in.” In order to protect the Bull Trout, their aquatic environment must adhere to the 4 C’s: Clear, Cold, Complex and Connected. The last of these four is extreme-

ly important, because if bull trout cannot connect upstream, reproduction becomes impossible.

Another top priority is to educate youth on the dangers of invasive aquatic species, most notably mollusks and flowering rush.

Flowering Rush in essence wants to become part of the sediment, which accumulates at its roots. These invasive species, if not cleaned properly from the underside of boats can make their way from other bodies of water to Lake Pend Oreille. There will also be a macro-invertebrates (insects) booth that illustrates their importance to our area and what they can tell us about a healthy water system.

Unfortunately, the timing of last year’s Trout and About was plagued by rainy weather

which surprisingly also overlapped with a dangerous and stressful fire season.

“We’re not going to talk about last year—this year is going to be bigger and better then ever,” said Crawford, who is the bull trout protection and public education project leader with the Panhandle chapter of Trout Unlimited.

This year, the event is sponsored by Avista, Panhandle Chapter Trout Unlimited, Idaho Fish and Game, and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Park. The organization has also received support from the likes of Evans Brothers Coffee, Eichardt’s Pub, Eureka Center, AFS and through their partnership with the Clark Fork Settlement agreement.

Doors open at 11:00 a.m.,

Aug. 28, at the Granary and Evans Brothers Coffee.

The Whizpops begin at 12 p.m. and the Kitchen Dwellers at 3 p.m. Tickets are only $3 for adults, and kids get in free.

This is an outdoor event, so please remember to bring a camp chair. Chairs will also be available for rent at a $1 suggested donation.

A raffle drawing will be held at approximately 2:30 p.m. for local gift certificates and a YETI Hopper valued at $400. Food and beverages will be provided by Eichardt’s Pub, Jupiter Jane Café and Evans Brothers Coffee.

Please visit the organizations new website, www. takenobull.org for more information.

Acclaimed band The Whizpops will be playing the Trout and About Festival next week. Courtesy photo.

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Opening hearts and minds

By Suzen Fiskin Reader Columnist What do the Declaration of Independence, Columbus’ sails, and Henry Ford’s first Model T have in common? Give up?

They were all made of hemp, and the Model T was not only made of hemp plastic, but ran on hemp fuel as well!

Yes, the vilified hemp plant is the kissing cousin of the psychotropic marijuana plant; both are varieties of cannabis sativa L. Hemp will never get you stoned—not that there’s anything inherently wrong with an intoxicating substance.

However, there has been a public smear campaign maligning industrial hemp for the last 80 years because it is truly a disruptive technology and threatens many ecologically nasty industries.

Cannabis is Mother Nature’s miracle gift to humanity. It will feed you, clothe you, house you, transport you, heal you and much more. It has been used for thousands and thousands of years yet it has been illegal to grow in this country since 1937 when it was declared to be a narcotic—a huge lie brought to you by a public relations campaign led by William Randolph Hearst, of newspaper fame.

One acre of hemp will produce the same amount of paper pulp as four acres of trees. It grows almost anywhere in any soil, and only takes three to four months to grow to 15 feet verses a decade or more for trees. Plus, hemp doesn’t require pesticides, herbicides or insecticides, and hemp pulp doesn’t need the bleach that nukes our water systems that wood pulp does in papermaking. Hearst blurred the line between the intoxicating weed and benign hemp to protect his investment in forests.

This is true for scads of other industries that hemp will revolutionize after it’s fully legal again.

It will replace anything made from petroleum in a bio-friendly and biodegradable way like plastics, pharmaceuticals, fuel and more. Taking on Big Pharma and the oil industry alone would 18 /

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Can hemp save our planet? be daunting enough, but let’s not forget about the military industrial complex. No petroleum means no wars!

Besides taking the petroleum out of pharmaceuticals, hemp will pull the rug out from Big Pharma because it’s been shown to be so effective in treating or curing a wealth of maladies from MS, depression, epilepsy, chronic pain, Tourettes and PSTD. Marijuana is proving to be quite effective in treating and even curing cancer.

The touted healing properties of hemp are created by a substance called cannabinoids.

There are two flavors of these: CBD (cannabidiol) which is not psychoactive and THC (tetrahydrocannibinol) which is the stuff that gets you high. We have can-

nabinoid receptors all over our bodies, which leads scientists to believe that we evolved ingesting cannabis. We wouldn’t have these receptors if we hadn’t.

The building and lumber industries will take a huge hit.

Hemp concrete made from hemp fiber and lime is fireproof, waterproof and rot-proof; it’s easy and cheap to make; and it’s breathable. It is one-eighth the weight of concrete, is a great insulator, floats on water and does not allow for the growth of mold.

Hemp seeds are a near perfect superfood. They contain all of the amino acids our bodies require, have the ideal balance of essential fatty acids, contain 11 grams of protein per ounce, provide an excellent source of

fiber, and are a great source of magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron. Plus they have a pleasant, nutty taste.

For cloth, hemp is beyond compare. It is soft, toxin-free and incredibly strong. The oldest relics of human industry are bits of hemp cloth. The first pair of Levi’s and Betsy Ross’ flag were both hemp. In WWII, farmers were encouraged to grow hemp for supplies for our war effort. Over 150,000 acres of hemp were cultivated for our “Hemp for Victory” campaign.

Historically, hemp and cannabis have been revered all over the globe. George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp. It was illegal not to grow hemp in some states in colonial times because it was

New face at the Reader

You may have noticed a new byline in the Reader lately. The newspaper has grown so much lately that two people simply can’t keep up anymore. Therefore, we’ve hired Cameron Barnes as a photographer and reporter. Yes, we understand it’s awkward and downright silly to have two guys named Cameron work for the same paper. But no matter how nicely you ask him, Ben refuses to change his name to Cameron also.

We asked our new addition to tell us a little about himself.

-Ben Olson Cameron recently relocated from Brooklyn, NY, to Sandpoint in February to live near

Cameron Barnes.

family members, who have lived in the Sandpoint area for 12 years.

He was born in San Diego, Calif., in 1988. After moving to Connecticut in 1998, he was introduced to his passion of photojournalism upon discovering the epic photographs from the

Vietnam War by Eddie Adams, Larry Burrows and Nick Ut. After studying Photography at Arizona State University, he moved to New York City to continue his studies at The School of Visual Arts.

Upon graduating, Cameron received the Brian Weil Memorial Award for his focus on photojournalism and social injustice, as well as becoming NYPD press certified. From 2008-2014, Cameron has built his portfolio with numerous international assignments in Thailand, Indonesia, Palestine/ Israel, China, England, Canada, Egypt and Nigeria; as well as domestic assignments including the Occupy Wall Street

needed for cloth, ship sails and rope.

It’s legal to import hemp but not to grow it. We import 50 percent of Canada’s annual yield of the plant, and a whole lot more from China. To date, 29 states have removed many barriers to hemp cultivation.

Idaho is one of a handful of states that has tossed out all bills to allow the hemp industry in our state.

In 2014, President Obama signed a Farm Bill that permitted industrial hemp research. Finally a crack in the crackdown of this miracle plant has appeared.

I propose that hemp can truly help save the world!

The United States is in dire need of a new, green and viable industry to provide jobs, reduce our environmental impact and to be the leaders of the world in eco-friendly industry.

If you’d like to see us hoist ourselves up by our own bootstraps, please consider writing your state representatives about making industrial hemp legal to grow in our beautiful state!

Suzen Fiskin is a marketing maven, Happiness Coach, and inspirational speaker. She’s also the author of the book, Playboy Mansion Memoirs. If you have any questions or comments, here’s how to find her – (208)572-0009 or suzenfiskin@ yahoo.com

movement and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, among others.

This curiosity has led him to be robbed at gunpoint in a Palestinian refugee camp within Israel, endure copious amounts of tear-gas in Cairo during the revolution, trek through the Sumatran rainforest in search of the pseudo-scientific creature know as the Orang-Pendek, and view death from feet away in the West Bank, all in order to hone the consistency of his mind’s eye in its goal of snapping the best moment.

Publishings include Newsweek, International Business Times, Univision, CNN.com, Ragga Revista, The Nation and The Daily Trust.

STAGE & SCREEN

Hast thou forgotten about Shakespeare in the Parks?

By Ben Olson Reader Staff This weekend, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks (MSIP) will take us back to the days of traveling bards and minstrils with the performance of “Richard III” at the Bonner County Fairgrounds.

The performance is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 21. The gates will open at 1 p.m. and the show begins at 6 p.m.

The play is directed by MSIP executive artistic director Kevin Asselin and hosted locally by Lost Horse Press, an independent nonprofit poetry press owned by Christine Hobert.

Audience members are encouraged to arrive early with chairs, blankets and picnics. A medieval village activities will begin when the gates open, and will include food vendors, live entertainment and arts and crafts vendors.

Everything from tribal belly dancers to live music on the hammer dulcimer by Desiré Aguirre will take place in the village.

There will also be vendors offering wares that fit in with the medieval theme.

There will be a hand-dyed yard and spinning wheel demonstration by Kim and Brooke Spencer and an herb- and basket-making demonstration. Lost Horse Press will feature poetry books as well.

Food vendors will serve lunch and dinner beginning at 1 p.m. Recycling of trash will be accomplished by Sandpoint’s Green Team.

MSIP features 10 professional actors selected from national auditions who tour without technical assistance to

Sam Pearson as the title characters in ‘Richard III.” Photo by Winslow Studio and Gallery. bring live theater to mostly rural communities throughout Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota and Washington. The stop in Sandpoint marks the only play MSIP performs in Idaho.

“This will be the first time in MSIP’s 44-year history that we’ll bring ‘Richard III’ to our stage,” said artistic director Asselin. “‘Richard III’ will fit right into what is already an active political year, reminding us how Shakespeare stays relevant even 400 years after his death.”

The tragedy “Richard III” depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of King Richard III of England. A classic anti-hero, the character of Richard III appeals to his audience as if they were co-conspirators.

It’s easy to be enamored of his rhetoric while being appalled by his actions.

Lost Horse Press is a community host for “Richard III” and has been responsible for raising the funds necessary to bring the troupe to their community. Lost Horse Press would like to thank grantors who have helped make this play possible, including the Idaho Commission on the Arts, Bonner County Fund for Arts Enhancement in the Idaho Community Foundation, Community Action League, Kochava and Northern Lights.

For more information about the play and the complete tour schedule, visit MSIP’s website at www.shakespeareintheparks.org

Tickets on sale for George Winston

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Tickets are on sale for the upcoming concert featuring acclaimed pianist George Winston at the Panida Theater.

The show takes place Thursday, Sept.

23 at 8 p.m.

Inspired by the seasons and topographies, Winston’s concerts feature a variety of styles including melodic folk piano, New Orleans R&B piano and stride piano. He performs from his seasonal favorites “Autumn,” “December,” “Winter Into Spring,” and “Summer,” as well as the “Peanuts piece” from his Vince Guaraldi tribute albums “Linus& Lucy – the music of Vince Guaraldi,” and “Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Vol. 2.”

Tickets are $26.50 and are available on www.Panida.org.

The Department of Q trilogy

The pitch black film adaptation of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Nordic crime novels were a hit in Denmark

Aug. 20 @ 3:30pm Part 1: “Keeper of lost causes” Aug. 18 @ 5:30 & 8pm / Aug. 20 @ 6pm Part 2: “absent one” Aug. 19 @ 5:30 & 8pm / Aug. 20 @ 8:30pm Part 3: “a conspiracy of faith” Aug. 23-24 @ 7:30pm

retro reels - “cinema paradiso” $5 movie only or $10 includes Special Desserts!

Sept. 1 @ 7:30pm / Sept. 2 @ 5:30pm Sept. 3 @ 5:00 & 7:30pm / Sept. 4 @ 3:30pm

“Florence Foster Jenkins” tuesday, sept. 20 @ 8pm

Gallagher’s last smash tour Thursday, sept. 23 @ 8pm

George winston in concert August 18, 2016 /

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Lessons from the woods

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist

I’m back from my annual family retreat in Montana. Prior to this year’s trip came a caveat from Ryanne, the spokesdaughter of my bossy children.

“Mom,” she admonished, “this year we’d like to spend the week with our mother, not Marcia the caterer. Will you join us, please?” Ouch. It’s true that my culinary adventures can take on a life their own, so with a lot of give and take, I relinquished a good third of the mealtime duties to no one in particular. I still purchased the week’s food, though it nearly gave me a panic attack to place boxes of macaroni and cheese and giant parcels of cereal into my cart.

By the second day, I realized that my gang meant business, and I left the kitchen duties behind for a long walk in the forest with all the girls of our clan. We crawled under barbed wire fences and over muddy marshes to explore all the woods had to offer. We gathered rocks and moss for gardens and flowers for pressing. I endured and answered questions about my youth and offered unsolicited life advice.

We returned to the cabins for a lunch of sandwiches and store-bought cookies, and I not only survived, I found myself looking forward to more adventures. With no lunch to prepare, I had dinner prep done before our extended Helena clan showed up for dinner and had some time on my hands to actually sit down and visit over cocktails.

Since I can remember, our celebrations have included handmade mints from the Parrot Confectionary in Helena, a gift from Aunt Grace. My oldest granddaughter, Jaidyn, cov20 /

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ets these creamy fondant mints, so with another kitchen-free day on my itinerary, we girls headed to town to buy Jaidyn her very own supply. The Parrot, as their tag line declares, “speaks for itself.” Nothing much there has changed since my first visit more than 50 years ago. You can seat yourself in one of the worn and initial carved booths or spin at the counter while waiting for a cherry or Mexican lime phosphate. The chocolates are still hand-dipped in house, and the jukebox still spins classic 45s.

Jaidyn can’t believe it’s exactly as it was when I was her age, and she also can’t believe I never brought her there before.

Neither can I. The following day my son was adamant that pancakes were his specialty, and turns out he was right. He was so at home with my oversized pancake griddle that I sent it home with him.

I had plenty of time in the kitchen, but I had even more

time with the grandkids. We spent a day fishing on the lake at our old ranch. I discovered that my kids are happier to pack me up, along with a basket full of sandwiches, than leaving me behind to prepare a dinner for their return. Hearing the little ones squeal while each caught their limit was a memory that will linger longer than any culinary masterpiece I could have prepared that evening.

I’m not saying it was easy to see two dozen doughnuts replace my homemade scones, but the kids preferred me out of the kitchen and in the thick of the day’s activities, which revolved around little more than watching the little boys set live-traps for critters, real and imaginary.

A week without internet or phone service gave me some much needed time for reflection, especially about something that I’ve put off for years: preparing my will. I’ve had the discussion with several

friends, and for many of us, the thought of writing a last will and testament is so daunting that avoiding the discussion and paperwork is just easier.

Not knowing when all three of my kids would be together again, I wanted to spend some time hearing their thoughts and getting some input. But one evening, long after dinner, sitting in that old cabin and listening to my children discuss their careers and futures, the perfect plan became crystal clear. They all have two feet firmly planted and level heads to ensure fiscal responsibility.

But will they always have or make time for one another once I am not around?

I’m sure attorneys have heard of crazier trusts than the one I am now drafting. Granted, it needs some fine-tuning, but all of my assets will go into a family trust for the sole purpose of an annual vacation for my children and grandchildren.

I’d like to think of it really as a gift of time. And I hope my

own children will heed their own advice when their children remind them to get out of the kitchen and into the woods.

There were still plenty of home-cooked meals that included fresh-caught brown trout fish tacos, macaroni and shrimp salad, homemade dill pickles and warm blueberry/ rhubarb cobbler. But Ryanne and I agreed that our favorite meal might have been a simple homemade Rueben sandwich, washed down with a cold beer while we stole an hour, tucked away behind a cabin, just the two of us.

I am learning a lot from these kids of mine, and no doubt more life lessons will emerge if I let them. Last night’s lesson was turning the kitchen over, unsupervised, to my youngest daughter, Casey.

I’m grateful I did because her roasted beet and heirloom tomato salad is going to be a standard at my table. I think you’ll like it too.

Roasted Beet and Heirloom Tomato Salad Serves 6 This salad is especially pretty using red, yellow and orange tomatoes and red and golden beets. Nice side with grilled salmon or lamb.

INGREDIENTS: •6 medium red beets, trimmed, halved lengthwise • 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil • 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary • ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt • 4 -6 ripe heirloom tomatoes, quartered (about 2 lb.)

• ½ lemon, juiced • ¼ teaspoon pepper • ½ cup small mint leaf, minced

DIRECTIONS: •Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. •Toss beets in bowl with olive oil and rosemary.

•Place beets, cut sides up, on parchmentlined, rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoons salt. Cover with foil and bake until tender, about 35 minutes.

•Remove foil and roast another 15 minutes.

(Beets can be prepared and chilled overnight).

•Arrange beets and tomatoes on a serving platter. Drizzle with oil and lemon juice, and season with remaining ¼ teaspoons salt and pepper.

•Scatter mint over top, garnish with lemon wedges and mint springs.

MUSIC

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

Festival at Sandpoint Photos from Week 2

It was a beautiful final burst of fun at the Festival at Sandpoint last week. We thought we’d share a handful of photographs taken by Cameron Barnes, our new photographer/reporter. We hope everyone had a great time and look forward to 2017’s lineup!

READ

I long for the days of discovery that have been eclipsed by the modern age. One story that has always moved me is the story of Ernest Shackleton’s great Antarctic expeditions, and ultimately, his heroic tale of survival when his ship, the Endurance, was trapped by sea ice and crushed.

“Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing has all the immediacy of a first hand report and all the drama of a Melvillian sea tale.

After reading this book, I felt as if the generations born today somehow lack that hardy spirit that once was.

LISTEN

Songwriters that touch a tender part of your soul are few and far between in these days of empty pop.

Joe Purdy numbers as one of the good ones. In 15 years, the prolific folk singer has released 12 albums—all of them chock full with emotional tributes, thoughtful ballads and genuinely good music.

My favorite is 2007’s “Canyon Joe,” featuring the song of the same name that still gives me shivers when I hear it.

WATCH

Crossword Solution

From top, moving clockwise: Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals wow the dancing crowd on Saturday night; Angélique Kidjo was one of the surprise favorites this year at the Festival; A mother gives her child a smooch on the dance floor at Thursday’s show; A couple loads in for a night of fun; John McEuen plays the fiddle at the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band show Friday night. All photos by Cameron Barnes.

If you’ve never watched the Academy Award winning documentary “The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara,” I’d say it’s time to check it out.

The film—directed by Errol Morris and featuring an original score by Philip Glass—is the culmination of over 20 hours of interviews held with then 85-year-old former U.S. Secretary of Defense McNamara.

The documentary focuses on McNamara’s life and times, but also gives an intriguing perspective about the art of war in modern times.

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w o N & Then compiled by

rnes

Cameron Ba

Each week, we feature a new photograph taken from the same vantage point as one taken long ago. See how we’ve changed, and how we’ve stayed the same.

Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.

The Farmin Building and Blanche Page house (on the right). First Avenue and Cedar Street are in the center of photograph. Photo taken from Third Ave.

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

c. 1910

ACROSS

The same view today. You can see the Farmin Building to the right of the frame.

On the left is the home of Sandpoint Pediatrics and North Idaho Urology.

2016

Woorf tdhe Week

nixie

/NIK-see/

[noun] 1. A letter or parcel that is undeliverable by the post office because of a faulty or illegible address.

“If the envelope of a nixie holds no clues to the addressee or sender, it ends up in the dead letter office.”

Corrections: I botched the jump lines in the “Abolitionist” feature last week, mixing up page numbers. My apologies - BO. 22 /

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/ August 18, 2016

1. Fiber source 5. Damp 10. Sweater eater 14. Sexual assault 15. Small African antelope 16. Dogfish 17. Again 18. Accusation of wrongdoing 20. Talk about 22. Perturb 23. Frequently, in poetry 24. S S S S 25. Feelings of ill will 32. Gowns 33. They hold up heads 34. Cotillion girl 37. Arab chieftain 38. Wish granter 64. Tendon 39. Expunge 65. Cravings 40. Donkey 41. Analyze syntactically DOWN 42. Back tooth 1. Actor Pitt 43. Occurring by turns 2. Hindu princess 45. A pungent stew 49. Former boxing champ 3. Mimics 4. Tenderfoot 50. Arm bone 5. Lifting devices 53. Anagram of “Reenact” 6. Coffee dispensers 57. A diplomat of the 7. Central highest rank 8. Footnote note 59. Radiate 9. Cut into cubes 60. French for “We” 10. Mommies 61. Muse of love poetry 11. Portents 62. Old stories 12. Slight color 63. Tall woody plant

Solution on page 21 13. Despises 19. Amount of hair 21. Flying saucers 25. District 26. French for “Names” 27. Nile bird 28. Unreactive 29. Anxious 30. Less friendly 31. Barely manage 34. Sandwich shop 35. Dash 36. Large mass of ice 38. Woman 39. In an indulgent manner

41. Couples 42. Man 44. Thin 45. Cantillate 46. The quality of being funny 47. Suffuse 48. Rental agreement 51. Applications 52. Indian dress 53. Pigeon’s home 54. Found in some lotions 55. Ripped 56. Female sheep (plural) 58. A tribe of Israel

Basically, this is the way the economy works: I do a service for you, and you pay me, even if you claim you didn’t want the service and that I “ruined” something of yours.

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