Reader_Aug3_2023

The week in random review

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

boob tube

The American Historical Association is among the top professional organizations for academic and public historians alike — distinctions that most people don’t know or care about, but which have deep implications for how we construct and debate our shared past. In addition to book reviews, standalone essays and other ruminations, the AHA publishes think pieces about the ways history is consumed and talked about by the public. While academic historians are engaged in research, the production of monographs and teaching, public historians are most often found working in museums, libraries, interpretive centers and the like. As it turns out, according to my recent reading of an AHA report on “Where Do People Get Their History,” neither academic nor public historians are most folks’ go-to source for their knowledge of bygone days. Rather, “the top three choices were all video format …” according to the AHA. “Of note is that such sources are readily available, usually take minimal effort to engage and may ask for little imagination on the part of the viewer.” Asked how they accessed “history,” fully 69% of survey respondents identified “documentary film/TV,” followed by “fictional film/TV,” which 66% of survey-takers named. Third-place for historical knowledge attainment was “TV news,” God help us, at 62%. According to the survey, “history lecture” came in at 12%; then “history-related video game” and “DNA test,” both at 11%; and in dead-last place, “college course,” at 8%.

Zoltar

A few months ago, in the spring, I went with my family to the Oregon Coast, where we threw a few bucks into the Zoltar fortune teller machine and received some hard truths. Zoltar, in all his animatronic Uncanny Valley majesty, told my wife that she needed to get rid of a person in her life who was holding her back (me?). He told me to stop complaining and just make a big move to improve my life (could be any number of things?). I don’t know why we went back for more, but for some reason we now own a pocket-sized Zoltar that spits out advice at the touch of a button. Here’s what he just told me: “Remember, it is a great deal better to do all the things you should, than to spend the rest of your life wishing you had.”

b-ball

This comes pretty close to creeping on the “Read, Listen, Watch” column, but I have to rave about a book at the East Bonner County Library District’s Sandpoint Branch. The Grand Medieval Bestiary is a thing of wonder, which my son checked out in the past week. I reckon it weighs about five pounds; measures more than two square feet; encompasses 500-ish pages in length; and is filled with the most gorgeous, weird and fascinating images since the 15th century. My favorite tidbit: Medieval folks thought beaver testicles were a cure-all, and were convinced that beavers bit off their own testicles (then stood up to display the evidence of their self-castration) to avoid falling under the hunters’ knives. What?

DEAR READERS,

It’s the second and final week of the 2023 Festival at Sandpoint, with another group of talented performers gracing the biggest stage in Sandpoint. If the first week of shows is any indication of the final lineup, we’re in for a treat.

Special thanks to Racheal Baker for her always awesome photographs from the Festival. You can see Racheal’s photos on this week’s cover, as well as the special double-truck photo spread from Week 1 on Pages 12-13. We’ll also publish another double-truck of Festival photos from Week 2 in the Thursday, Aug. 10 edition of the Reader.

Summer is kicking right along, so make sure you check out the packed events calendar on Page 18. The Sandpoint Summer Music Series is returning to Farmin Park for another free concert with the B-Side Players on Thursday, Aug. 10 and the Bonner County Fair is coming up Wednesday, Aug. 16-Saturday, Aug. 19, so mark your calendars.

Hope you all have a wonderful day out there. Now go jump in the lake.

–Ben Olson, publisher

READER

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About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken by the inimitable Racheal Baker. Check out more of her work on Pages 12-13

Investigation into alleged fraud at the BoCo Fairgrounds made public

Release of findings spurs flurry of responses

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office publicized an investigative report and news release July 26 focused on alleged misuse of funds by late-Fairgrounds Director Darcey Smith, who took her own life on Oct. 31, 2022, three days after she was questioned by police amid a probe into the fair’s finances.

An initial criminal investigation by the Sandpoint police ended following Smith’s suicide — which Coroner Robert Beers confirmed upon consultation with a forensic pathologist — after which Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall undertook a personnel investigation to assess the scope of the alleged fraudulent activity and associated losses.

The results of that investigation — prepared by Resolve Investigations, a private investigative firm with offices in Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint and Spokane Valley — identify a number of instances totalling more than $40,000 “where a misappropriation of funds was apparent based on the available evidence and data,” and findings of nearly $207,000, in which “misappropriation of funds was possible, but there was insufficient data to reach a conclusion.”

The report drew on hundreds of receipts found at the fairgrounds office, as well as account records from Columbia and Mountain West banks, PayPal, and records of check and debit card purchases from 2018 to 2022.

“As a result of this investigation, I find there is evidence to support that funds were misappropriated through the misuse of the debit card, unauthorized check purchases [and] unauthorized payments to part-time employees,” investigator Christopher Swan

wrote in the report. “Additionally, the expected cash proceed deposits from the Fair and Rodeo are unaccounted for.”

While the results of the report have been made public, its release has resulted in a number of claims and counterclaims, alongside competing statements from various county officials.

Dueling press releases

In a news release accompanying the report — posted on the BCSO Facebook page — Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler wrote, “The summary narrative reveals weaknesses in Bonner County’s system of financial internal controls, as well as management override of financial controls and state statutes.”

According to the news release, suspicion of fraudulent activity at the fairgrounds dated to the summer of 2022, when Wheeler said the county’s human resources team advised the external auditor of those concerns ahead of an impending audit of the 2022 fairgrounds financial statements.

The BCSO news release went on to claim the county’s internal auditor “should have reviewed the relevant Fairgrounds’ internal controls, including cash controls, prior to issuing 2022 financial statements (based on potentially erroneous bookkeeping data.)”

Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale issued a statement in response to Wheeler’s release July 26, stating, “he suggests that my office did not exercise appropriate oversight over the Bonner County Fair Board. This assertion is factually incorrect.”

According to Rosedale’s release — which included that Marshall and Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson “assisted in drafting and agreed to” the statement, though Marshall later denied drafting or endorsing it in an email to the Reader — “My office

is not, and has never been, responsible for auditing fairgrounds expenses other than salaries and benefits, which are tax funded. All other operational expenses at the fairgrounds are funded by revenues generated at Fair events and are outside the purview of Bonner County’s internal auditors. Likewise, Bonner County’s external auditors have never been tasked with substantive review of fairgrounds operational expenses in their annual audit.”

In a follow-up email Aug. 2, Rosedale told the Reader that county auditing had not been used recently for regular Fair Board operations — “or ever that I am aware of” — “nor has that ever been in the scope of the Bonner County Auditing Department.”

He reiterated that the county auditing staff only reviews the budget for salaries and benefits, which are budgeted.

“All the rest is not known to us,” Rosedale wrote. “It is the responsibility of the Fair Board.”

He added: “Our office was never involved with any conversations with the commissioners, Fair Board or Darcey regarding taking over their finances.”

An external audit of Fair

Board operations would require an additional contract, according to Rosedale.

Other statements in Wheeler’s news release included that Darcey Smith “filed a spurious harassment grievance against the HR Team,” which, “was tailored to hamper the internal investigation [into alleged financial irregularities at the fairgrounds].”

What’s more, the release went on to claim then-Board of Bonner County Commissioners Chair Dan McDonald “supported Smith’s efforts by insisting that the HR Team be taken off the case and by falsely stating that the BOCC would investigate the matter.”

Finally, the news release contended that McDonald “used his authority as Chairman of the BOCC and liaison to the Fair Board to frustrate the Fair Board’s efforts to oversee Fair Board financial activities, including the Fair Board’s efforts in detecting fraud.”

In a phone interview Aug. 2 with the Reader, McDonald called the sheriff’s office news release, “a good exercise in creative writing, for one thing,” and went on to say, “[Wheeler’s] statement about me impeding an investigation is false.”

McDonald said he had no in-

fluence over the Fair Board, either as a member of the BOCC or a liaison to the board: “I didn’t have a vote; I didn’t go to the executive sessions. If there’s a claim to the contrary, it’s absolutely false.”

Rather, he said he’d stepped in during the initial phases of looking into fairgrounds operations, and told the Human Resources Department and Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bauer, “You guys need to stop until we get this sorted out” — that is, if criminal allegations emerged, they should be handled by the proper authorities.

“At no time did I ever impede the police investigation,” McDonald said, later adding, “Why the passion to continue this investigation — it just makes me more curious than it does answer any questions, especially with a woman who can’t defend herself. … A lot of this stuff just isn’t making any sense.”

‘Inaccurate information’ and an appeal to the A.G.’s Office

At the regular Tuesday business meeting of the BOCC on Aug. 1, Chair Steve Bradshaw said during his commissioner’s report that “the [statement] that was released is full of inaccurate information and can tend to be misleading.”

In an email to the Reader on Aug. 2, Bradshaw confirmed that the statement to which he referred came from the sheriff’s office. He did not provide examples of “inaccurate information” in the BCSO press release by press time.

Rather, Bradshaw read from a separate release at the Aug. 1 business meeting, a copy of which provided to the Reader indicated it came to commissioners and Wheeler on July 21 as a draft from Marshall, though not previously published.

That statement repeated much of the same general information contained in Wheeler’s release —

< see FAIR, Page 5 >

including that “rampant speculation” by the public immediately following Smith’s death had included allegations “made based on false information” — but omitted claims related to the county’s internal and external auditing processes, as well as claims made regarding Smith’s HR grievance complaint and references to McDonald.

Marshall confirmed he had not issued a press release, though did draft one that wasn’t sent to the media, and would not issue one in the near future.

Bradshaw went on to state at the Aug. 1 meeting that the private investigator — Christopher Swan — “is I believe to be a solid, honest man. I believe that if the investigation took it directly to his son, that’s where the ax would fall. … That being said, this man worked for Daryl Wheeler in the jail and was an employee previously of Daryl Wheeler and his son is currently an employee of Daryl Wheeler.”

Following that, Bradshaw said that in order to “protect” the sheriff and the BCSO, as well as the private investigator, Bonner County employees, the BOCC, Fair Board and “everybody concerned,” he and Marshall had sought the counsel of the Idaho Attorney General’s Office “to put another set of eyes on this investigation. To look for discrepancies, anything that could or might be wrong or to say, ‘Yes, this is a clean and solid investigation,’ to protect everybody involved.”

Marshall, in an email to the Reader, confirmed that he had asked the A.G. “to look into the matter but I want to be very clear, I have absolute confidence in the investigation that was done and the integrity of the investigator.”

Commissioner Asia Williams told the Reader in an email Aug. 2 that, “the report that Commissioner Bradshaw made [on Aug. 1] was not written or released by Mr. Marshall as stated. Marshall did however agree to send the report to the attorney general for review, but not for the reasons that Commissioner Bradshaw stated.

“Marshall has given a written comment that he does not find an issue with the investigation report but is aware that some people

want to devalue the report for reasons unstated,” she added.

Bradshaw wrote that a timeline for the A.G.’s review of the investigation is unclear — “They are slammed with work also,” he wrote, “but feel that with Louis making the request it will help speed up the process.”

Neither Wheeler nor Swan responded to requests for comment.

A call for further investigation into auditing

Meanwhile, Williams said at the Aug. 1 BOCC meeting that she had submitted a request to Marshall for a “root-cause investigation” of internal and external auditing.

Williams said Aug. 1 that such a move was intended “to make sure we actually provide an issue with a resolution.”

In a follow-up on Aug. 2, Williams wrote, “Some of the goals of said analysis are to identify what went wrong and develop a plan of correction/action to reduce and/or eliminate the risk.”

She added: “My statement was referencing the need for Bonner County to perform risk assessments/analysis on the issues that have negatively impacted Bonner County. External auditors are vital, however there is a business expectation that organizations also perform internal audits.”

According to Williams, such an assessment and analysis would not focus on any one department or individual, but “would and should include the Auditing Department not just to look at their process but to utilize their expertise in performing the review.”

Regarding external auditing, Williams was clear that “an issue arising within the organization does not mean that our external auditor made an error and therefore are the subject of an internal audit. … It is my opinion that it is the obligation of the organization to continually audit and address issues and concerns in real time to ensure the overall health of the organization.”

What’s more, Williams stated that given her experience and education in risk management, she has offered to assist the county’s risk manager “as they see fit.”

“It is critical that we ensure that the foundation of Bonner

County is strong,” she wrote. “County employees are the foundation of the operations [of the county]. I will remain available to assist as needed.”

The sheriff’s press release concluded: “It is evident from the report that the losses due to fraud were substantial. However, the Fair is mostly a cash business, so the entire sum cannot be decisively determined. The Fair Board is committed to righting the ship, and for the past several months, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney has been providing legal advice to the Fair Board and assisting to determine the proper roles and separation from Bonner County.”

‘She did not have a criminal’s mentality’ Darcey Smith’s husband, Jim Smith, reached out to the Reader following the release of the BCSO statement and investigative report. He categorically denied the findings, stating, “I was married to Darcey Smith for 21 years and she did not have a criminal’s mentality. … To say that she stole $200,000 — where did the money go? Because I worked like a dog to make ends meet. If somebody was stealing that kind of money, would you need to work two jobs?”

Smith pushed back on portions of the report that claimed he was present in his wife’s fairgrounds office during times when she handled money.

“Anybody who says that I was present while Darcey was present with money wouldn’t be willing to swear under oath because they would then be guilty of perjury,” he said. “I was never involved with Darcey’s business.”

Smith said his late-wife “loved that place,” referring to the fairgrounds.

“When she went over there, there was like a dozen different bank accounts. She consolidated them, she went to the Board and she said, ‘I want all of this to go to the auditor’s office every month,’” he said. “Why on Earth would she turn it around and then turn around and steal from it?”

He also pushed back at the report’s inclusion of 13 checks investigators found had been written to the Smiths’ son over a two-year

period for part-time work at the fairgrounds, though he hadn’t been hired by the county.

Rather, Smith claimed their son’s work had been known and approved by fair officials.

“How dare they insinuate she was filtering money through my son. That’s scumbag shit,” Smith said.

“They have accused me of a crime,” he later added. “I’m taken aback. I’m in shock.”

Smith said he kept the financial records in his household, and from 2016 paid the bills.

“I’m telling you: Never, ever, ever did I have a question of, ‘Hey, where did this deposit come from?’ Or, ‘Hey, what was this withdrawal about?’” he said. “I never had any suspicions. This is someone I do not know — or this is an elaborate cover-up of corruption and conspiracy to get Darcey out of the fairgrounds.”

In public records obtained by the Reader in November 2022, Darcey Smith, in a grievance complaint filed in August that year against county employees — including Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bauer, whose father-in-law is Sheriff Wheeler — alleged that:

“[It] Seems odd that in the middle of what most perceive to be some type of ‘land war’ between the BOCC and the Sheriff that the Sheriff’s son-in-law all of a sudden takes a bizarre interest in the Fair Board and Fairgrounds, attempting to apply Sheriff’s Office policies and place the Fair under Sheriff’s Office technology. All in a very manipulative and intimidating manner.”

Bauer and Marshall both told the Reader in November that in no way were Bauer’s actions related to the Fair Board at the time connected with the series of long-running disputes between Wheeler’s office and the then-BOCC over the use of more than two acres of land at the fairgrounds.

Some have argued those parcels would be best used first as an ice rink and later an RV campground, while the sheriff has argued that the property in question should be devoted to an expansion of the neighboring justice complex.

“I want to make it very clear [that] allegations pertaining to the

fair director did not stem from the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office nor from Scott Bauer,” Marshall told the Reader in November. “They came to me from a few separate sources.”

The investigative report as released July 26 contains multiple redactions to protect the identities of various witnesses and those who participated in interviews with the investigators.

“[M]any of these people have already received threats and intimidation throughout the past year, and we will not accept this behavior towards the Fair Board members and Bonner County employees,” according to both the press release from the sheriff’s office and the draft statement from Marshall’s office. “Secondly the release of confidential personnel investigations has a chilling effect on future witnesses coming forward if they know their interviews will be made public. Whistleblowers must be afforded every protection under the law.”

The report concludes on Page 20, omitting sections titled “Policy Concerns,” “Recommendations,” “Interviews” and “Exhibits.”

The final page of the report contains analysis of Darcey and James “Jim” Smith’s P1FCU accounts in 2021 and 2022, showing “high balances,” according to the investigators, but, “Uncorroborated information revealed they possibly refinanced their home in 2022.”

Jim Smith insisted to the Reader multiple times in a phone interview that no one involved in the investigation ever contacted him, and that multiple parts of the investigative report “could be explained if they simply talked to me.”

“They never asked me to see my bank account,” he said. “If they can get a judge to agree that I’ve done something nefarious, I’d be happy to let them look at it — with a warrant.”

Additional reporting by Ben Olson.

If you or a loved one is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please dial 988 in Idaho to receive help.

< FAIR, con’t from Page 6 >

Changes at the Panida Theater

Director Lauren Sanders tenders resignation, Century Fund update and more new business

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Changes are afoot at the historic Panida Theater, with Managing Director Lauren Sanders announcing July 27 that she is stepping down from running the historic theater after six months on the job.

Sanders participated in her last board meeting Wednesday, Aug. 2 and discussed succession plans with the board. Her last official day as managing director is Thursday, Aug. 3.

“My decision to resign is not easy for me,” Sanders wrote in a news release. “I love stewarding the Panida into greater success, and I envisioned leading it through the centennial in 2027, especially with our new board, which is eager to optimize the internal operations and bolster the health of our organization. However, due to personal reasons, the timing isn’t there right now. I am having our second baby in November, and I have a 2-yearold. My priorities and energy have concurrently realigned.”

Sanders’ resignation marks the fourth managing director to helm the Panida since longtime director Karen Bowers’ tenure ended in 2013. Bowers’ stewardship of the Panida began in 1987 — only two years after the historic theater was saved from the wrecking ball.

“The Panida progressed under Lauren’s guidance and aspirational leadership and the benefits of her positive impact will continue to accrue for years to come,” said Panida Board Member Jeremiah Greenfield. “She was a foundational force in the recent evolution of the Panida.”

Also leaving the Panida staff is Technical and Maintenance Coordinator Josh Meagher, who announced his last day will be Aug. 20.

“I am not leaving on undesirable terms but, instead, have accepted a booking manager position with Spokane Public Facilities District to further advance my professional career,” he said.

Meagher added that he greatly appreciates “the opportunity for professional development and experience the Panida has provided me for the last two years,” and that he is “proud to have been a part of a supportive team and the historic theater.”

With an energized board numbering 11 members and the COVID-19 pandemic in the past, the Panida again began to thrive. Under Sanders’ leadership, the Panida sold out multiple shows with musical icons like Graham Nash and Jim Messina, and she helped curate events like No Man’s Land, which raised more than $7,000 for Kaniksu Land Trust and Pend Oreille Pedalers.

In other news, the Panida hired Mindy Thacker as the grant and fundraising coordinator to help usher in the second stage of the Century Fund, a five-year fundraising effort begun in 2022, which aims to raise a total of $1.9 million to coincide with the Panida’s 100th birthday in 2027.

“We kicked it off last October with the goal to raise $273,000 in the first year,” said Chris Bessler, chair of the Panida Century Fund campaign. “As of July 15 and our most recent financial report, the total of funds raised in the first year adds up to almost $280,000.”

The first phase of fundraising was given a big boost by Ting Internet, which has pledged up to $200,000 to match individual donations and has already contributed almost $70,000.

Bessler also confirmed the Panida has secured an Idaho Gem grant, as well as grants from the Idaho Heritage Trust and the Equinox Foundation, through the Innovia Foundation, totalling another $106,000.

“And we’re actively writing more grants now,” he said.

The first year of fundraising will be devoted mainly to new roofs for both the main Panida and Little Panida theaters.

The Panida Board has begun its search for a new managing director, with Community Outreach Chair Jimmy Matlosz stating anyone interested in learning more about the position should contact the Panida through its contact form on panida.org.

“I hope I can continue to support the Panida and fill in with my skill sets where needed,” Sanders said. “I will miss working with the amazing team of staff, board members and our incredible volunteers. … I wholeheartedly wish the Panida nothing but the best. It is truly a special place.”

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

Under a new president in Brazil, rainforest deforestation dropped 35% in six months, according to The Lever. The Amazon rainforest — 60% of which is in Brazil — is one of the world’s largest carbon sinks; deforestation there is linked to drought, reduced rainfall and changes in global ocean currents.

It cost $22 million to craft the Project 2025 plan, which the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch calls “a blueprint for destroying the planet,” since the rightwing plan includes stopping the transition to clean energy and electric vehicles, and letting the fossil fuel industry proceed with business-as-usual.

Climate change has fed exorbitant heat in many areas of the U.S. — the highest temps in recorded history — and that’s affected business, The New York Times reported. High heat impairs work performance and can reduce hours worked. A study in 2021 found more than 2.5 billion hours of labor were lost due to high temps that year. Similar conditions in 2020 cost the economy $100 billion. According to The Times, when the mercury hits 90 degrees Fahrenheit, productivity drops 25%, then 70% at 100 degrees F. Climate change costs include dying crops, insurance rates hikes and mistakes people make under heat duress. Air conditioning doesn’t always help: Some commercial kitchens with AC show 100 F temps.

There are no national extreme heat regulations at this time. Some states have set their own standards. In Texas — a standout for heat-related loss of productivity — the governor recently eliminated municipally-established standards that included water breaks for construction workers. Some businesses are objecting to national heat standards, saying they are too expensive, according to The Times.

The Times also reported that residents in Phoenix, with the most 115-degree days in a calendar year, are experiencing heat stroke, burns from falling onto asphalt (which can be as hot as 180 F), heat-induced fatigue, heat cramps and death. Saguaro cactuses have collapsed and desert plants have turned yellow. Phoenix faces another two months of summer. Europe is also experiencing life-threatening heat waves.

Dogs being transported from Chicago to Indiana to a police dog training facility recently met a horrifying fate when their air conditioning failed. Some died in their crates, some convulsed and some were

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

euthanized after transport to veterinary care, according to The Times.

Smoke, from an unprecedented number of Canadian wildfires, is also triggering air quality alerts for a third of the U.S. population.

The Atlantic Ocean’s Meridional Overturning Current could collapse as early as 2025, the journal Nature reported. That could profoundly affect the way the Gulf Stream influences weather events.

There were 18 climate-related disasters in 2022 at a cost of more than $1 billion each, the National Centers for Environmental Information reported. Those costs affect individuals, insurance companies and taxpayers. So far, no big oil company has been held accountable; but, in that year, oil and gas industry lobbyists spent $124.4 million blocking U.S. government climate action, according to OpenSecrets.org.

New charges against former-President Donald Trump relating to accusations regarding retention of classified documents have been brought by special counsel Jack Smith. They allege that after the Department of Justice subpoenaed Mar-a-Lago security camera footage, Trump plotted to delete video from the cameras.

According to Reuters, Trump’s $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN has been dismissed.

The second quarter gross domestic product report shows annual growth higher than projected, at 2.4%. Inflation rose at a slower rate of 2.6%. The economy is now 6% larger than before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to analyst Steven Rattner. He notes that at the same time in the recovery from the 2011 Great Recession the economy was just 0.7% larger than it had been in 2007.

Meanwhile, U.S. corporate profits are up by 49%, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The Biden administration announced a $100 million grant program for subsidizing carbon recycling purchases by state and local governments, and by public utilities, according to NBC News. Carbon recycling can embrace the production of car parts, sustainable aviation fuel and plastic products like sunglasses. The deal requires submission of technology to the Energy Department to verify that it will reduce carbon output.

Blast from the past: “The one who plants trees, knowing they will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” — Rabindranath Tagore, Indian poet and philosopher (18611941). He received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913.

Council takes up Urban Area Transportation Plan, moving stoplight from Church to Pine

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Local and regional transportation topics led the regular Aug. 2 meeting of the Sandpoint City Council, with majority votes to increase funding for an updated Urban Area Transportation Plan and approval to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Idaho Transportation Department to relocate the current traffic signal at Church Street and Fifth Avenue to Pine Street and Fifth.

According to City Planner Amy Tweeten, bumping up the contract with Meridian-based AECOM Technical Services by $55,219 is intended “to ensure that some of the priorities in the city’s Multimodal Transportation Master Plan were incorporated, as well as having additional engagement.”

The Urban Area Transportation Plan (UATP) is a multi-jurisdictional agreement between the cities of Dover, Kootenai, Ponderay and Sandpoint; a portion of unincorporated Sagle that, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, is classified as “urban”; and the Independent Highway District.

Federal funds are allocated based on the size of urban jurisdictions, and projects within those jurisdictions become eligible for accessing those dollars if they are included as priorities in the UATP.

Priority projects for Sandpoint are identified in the Multimodal Transportation Master Plan — which itself would be rolled into the UATP as an appendix — and include work on Division Avenue, Great Northern Road and revamping the intersection at First Avenue and Bridge Street.

“Typically, when you have a jurisdiction that has a transportation plan adopted, that

is their plan as to what goes into that UATP — it would be the prioritized top projects,” Tweeten said.

The area transportation plan hasn’t been updated in more than 10 years, after surrounding communities questioned why they should be involved when the bulk of the funding went to Sandpoint projects. It wasn’t until after “much cajoling” by state and local transportation officials that the jurisdictions came back together in the past year.

“We’re trying to select projects that we recognize would benefit all communities, not just Sandpoint or Ponderay,” said Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad.

Councilor Deb Ruehle expressed concern over including Sandpoint’s Multimodal Transportation Plan as an appendix, “because I believe there are deficiencies [in it].”

Resident Kyle Schreiber raised that same concern during the public forum of the meeting, specifically pointing to the long-term East-West Connection concept, otherwise referred to as “the Couplet” or “the Curve,” to which many citizens have raised vigorous opposition over the past decade.

“This wildly unpopular plan will be cemented into the Urban Area Transportation Plan,” Schreiber said, adding that the Multimodal Transportation Plan should be amended first before it is included in the UATP.

Councilor Jason Welker asked his fellow councilors that they “seriously look at some of the components and some amendments” related to the long-term East-West Connection concept so the city isn’t again “battling with the community” over what he referred to as “the zombie plan that comes out every five to 10 years.”

Tweeten told the council that when the UATP advances to a draft status, it will again go before council and undergo a pub-

lic process of review.

Councilors Joel Aispuro, Justin Dick, Andy Groat and Welker voted “yes” to approve the amended contract, while Ruehle voted “no.”

The City Council voted along the same lines to approve entering a memorandum of understanding with ITD to move the Church Street stoplight to Fifth and Pine, but focused much of its discussion on how best to limit current and future truck traffic on Pine.

According to the East-West Connection short-term plan, the signal would move and Pine Street revert to two-way traffic. Meanwhile, intersections at Pine and Sixth Avenue and Pine and Euclid Avenue would be converted to “right in, right out.”

Pine Street is identified in the city’s transportation planning as a east- and westbound truck route, connecting U.S. 95 to U.S. 2.

“I have serious concerns about that,” Welker said, later adding, “The whole purpose of the byway was intended to get traffic out of town.”

Rather, he suggested routing that traffic over Fifth Avenue and the Sand Creek Byway, keeping Pine a local street.

Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said that once the stoplight is moved, it will alter the traffic counts and data, which would then trigger an analysis of truck routes.

“You need to comprehensively look at all the routes,” she said.

Construction Manager Holly Ellis echoed that, adding that approval of the MOU gets the ball rolling on initial design work.

“Let’s get this project implemented, see what the impact is and let’s holistically look at our system,” she said. “Then make our updates from there.”

City to host presentations on design competition entries and historic walking tour

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

The public will have another chance to review submissions for the Sandpoint’s “Envisioning Place” design competition, with in-person viewing and comment opportunities Saturday, Aug. 5 and Saturday, Aug. 12 at Jeff Jones Square (323 S. Third Ave.).

Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton said she will be on-hand both days from 8 a.m. to noon, “so people can conveniently come by and view the submissions and provide input while attending the Farmers’ Market.”

Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad said at the Aug. 2 meeting of the City Council that he would also attend the Saturday presentations, which will feature four large-format informational boards each from the three teams participating in Phase 2 of the competition, which solicits future redevelopment concepts for the downtown waterfront area.

“There’s a lot to see and really contemplate on the boards,” Stapleton said.

The deadline for design teams to file their submissions came on Aug. 1, followed by compliance checks by the competition manager from Aug. 2-3.

Meanwhile, designs from the participating teams will be available for viewing and comment at sandpointidaho.gov.

A full open house schedule is expected to be finalized Friday, Aug. 4, including in-person events at City Council chambers and at the East Bonner County Library District Sandpoint Branch.

According to the competition schedule, the designs will go before a panel of judges Tuesday, Aug. 15, with the time and location to be determined.

“Having had a cursory overlook of the submissions, they’re quite exciting,” Rognstad said. “There’s a lot of great, great

concepts and ideas to respond to.”

Also on Saturday, Aug. 5, the city is hosting the next in its series of Downtown Sandpoint Historic Walking Tours, sponsored by the Sandpoint Arts and Historic Preservation Commission.

The tour begins at 10 a.m., and has been updated in partnership with the Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theatre and Bonner County Historical Society and Museum.

The tour is open to the public and free of charge, lasts about an hour and begins in front of the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave.).

Courtesy image.

Bouquets:

•It was another stellar opening week at the Festival at Sandpoint, with the second and final week still ahead. Every time I attend a Festival show, I’m blown away at the number of talented, hard-working volunteers who give their time each season to make sure this concert series goes off without a hitch. Whether they volunteer to help with the gates and lines, clean up after the show, or educate concertgoers about where to toss their trash and recyclables, these volunteers are the lifeblood of the Festival and we appreciate their hard work.

• Speaking of the Festival at Sandpoint, it always does my heart good to see talented people receive the recognition they deserve. When photographer Racheal Baker first started snapping photos of the Festival for the Reader, we recognized her talent immediately. She has a knack for capturing the fun of the Festival through her lens, and we’re so proud to see that she’s become the Festival’s main photographer in recent years. Chances are, when you see a photo in the Reader from the Festival, it came through her. Check out more of Racheal’s work at rachealbakerphotography.pixieset.com.

Barbs:

GUEST SUBMISSION:

• “This starts with a Barb towards the people at the Festival who stand up in the low-seating area and dance, thereby blocking the view of everyone behind them — despite a designated dance area very nearby. But this is really a Bouquet to the Festival Crowd Control fellow who politely got the clueless people to sit down. Good job!

— By Anonymous

Civility at public meetings…

Dear editor, Previous to the Idaho Republican Party this year and their county central committees, the only political parties I am aware of that enforced adhering to their platforms were communist — in Russia, China and North Korea. Platforms here used to be aspirational: a guide for voters, candidates and electeds for generally what to expect. Censuring and excluding some electeds from the party is alarming.

An elected person in the U.S. swears to uphold the laws and the Constitution. Not any party. Whole libraries exist interpreting the Constitution. Perhaps the BCRCC should consult nationally noted constitutional scholars before rendering judgment? Please remember: If it looks simple, you almost surely don’t have all the needed information.

Apparently the BCRCC is concerned because public comment is not currently allowed at the County Commission (BOCC) meetings. But issues should be the focus of comments, not personal attacks. We have plenty of important issues. Constructive comments are the most effective.

Commissioners cannot enforce the ordinance requiring civility. They aren’t bouncers. So their option is to eliminate the comments/ attacks. Enforcement is the duty of the sheriff and prosecutor.

BCRCC: Please ask these gentlemen to enforce the ordinance. Sandpoint police do that for their City Council. We elect the sheriff and prosecutor to enforce the laws, including civility at public meetings. I used to attend BOCC meetings but today I’m among those intimidated to attend, and so our freedom is being trampled. I would appreciate your constructive help in changing this.

Thank you.

Molly O’Reilly

Sandpoint Dear editor,

For the record, I 100% support new features being added to the bike-skills area in Travers Park and appreciate Pend Oreille Peddler’s efforts, for which I’m a member.

And I’m pleased Councilman Welker reported in his letter to the editors that no trees will be cut down for this project. However, regarding the trees surrounding the playground area, the councilman played dodgy

with the truth.

City Council voted essentially to destroy 10 healthy trees when they decided a large Tencel-covered structure “designed for tennis and pickleball” (their words) will take the playground’s location. Our community’s initial investment, plus 30-years of paying Parks Department employees to care for these trees, gets wiped out. Easy to say “mature trees will be replanted,” except it’s not possible to successfully transplant 50-foot-tall trees like the red oak or trees with 75-foot-circumference trunks like the willow standing next to the playground.

On the heels of a lofty proclamation praising the value of trees at a Council meeting, city officials are being hypocrites for not making a better, environmentally sound decision. Saving these beautiful mature trees should be a priority considering their carbon sequestration values and their cooling benefits for a public park with rising summer heat.

Truthfully, it’s not too late to choose instead to add more features to the sturdy existing equipment and build their large, tall structure in a treeless area of the park. Besides, for numerous safety reasons, it’s poor site-planning to obstruct an open view into the kids’ bike-skills park with a big building.

And yes, I support the addition of a splash pad for our kids’ summer play — especially because this Council has refused to tackle the question, “How does a 10-year old ride their bike safely to City Beach?” for those living in this northeast area of town.

Rebecca Holland Sandpoint

in water where diquat was used.

According to the private spray applicator who was hired by the marina and residents of Dover, there are herbicide-free options but they “cost more.” Although we may not all agree about all local issues, aren’t we as a community all concerned about having clean water? Many of us depend on our lake for drinking water. Swimming and fishing and other water sports abound here. I know that there are many others that feel as concerned about being exposed to poisons as I am. Let’s form a coalition!

This is a call to action before more spraying is done and there is more spraying planned for next week! Starting on Aug. 8, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning on spraying glyphosate in six locations! Yes, the same poisonous herbicide that is causing so many health issues that Bayer/Monsanto is paying out over $11 billion in damages! The sign with more details is hanging in front of Winter Ridge.

Please join me in calling Jeremey Varley with the Idaho Department of Agriculture to register a complaint at 208-332-8667.

Meryl Kastin and neighbors Sandpoint

Dear editor,

Thanks to Lauran Reichenbach for reporting the shenanigans of the Bonner County Republican Party Central Committee (BCRCC). (Daily Bee, “BCRCC: Pair falling short in representing party,” July 29).

The BRCC has “empowered itself” to remove elected Republicans they disagree with from the party. This means the BRCC is deciding who can run in their primary — any Republican they don’t like doesn’t get on the ballot.

I don’t get to vote on who they will kick out.

When voters question the conduct of elected officials, we can vote them out in elections — like the one in West Bonner County this month to recall two school board members. The voters will get to decide this one, not the BCRCC.

The BCRCC has much more power than I do. They are silencing me and you with their shenanigans, no matter which party you belong to, or none.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

Dear editor,

Our lake was sprayed with an aquatic herbicide for invasive plants in several locations, all of which are not very far from public swimming and fishing areas as well as home for ducks and other wildlife. Just by chance, I became aware of spraying at Dover Bay Marina, right next to the Dover City Park and Beach, as well as the surrounding private sloughs, at the end of June.

The chemical being used, diquat, has already been banned in Europe since 2018 due to concerns about its effects on people and birds. In a recent phone conversation, a DEQ employee stated that he wouldn’t swim

At present only Republicans can vote in their primaries. Independents and Democratic voters have already lost the choice to decide who goes on the ballot.

Now, even Republicans won’t get to decide who runs — Republican voices will not be heard in their own primary!

It’s not technically illegal — a party is not regulated by the Constitution. But citizens already exercise their right to an equal voice and an equal choice by evaluating our elected officials by voting. I lose those rights when one political party preempts them.

Since I am not a BCRCC member,

Dear editor,

In reading about the proposed Providence subdivision, I see that the city of Sandpoint has given a “will serve” letter to the developer for water. This is in direct opposition to what the city of Sandpoint’s current Comprehensive Plan states (CD-2, Policy E): Water service is only to be extended to development within urban and incorporated areas.

The State Land Use Act also discourages this kind of extension of service. So why did the city provide a “will serve” letter to a development that is not within the city limits of Kootenai but rather within their ACI? Under what authority was that water service offered up? And at a time, according to Mayor Rognstad in a recent KRFY interview, when volume capacity and flow are already challenged in that area?

It makes no sense to me and the city would be wise to withdraw that “will serve” letter.

Carrie Logan Sandpoint

Got something to say?

Write a letter to the editor. We accept letters addressed to letters@sandpointreader.com that are under 300 words which are also free from libelous statements and excessive profanity. Please elevate the conversation. Trolls will be ignored.

‘Half-truths and poor decisions for Travers Park’…

One thing we can all agree on is having clean water…

City should withdraw ‘will serve’ letter for subdivision water service…

‘Shenanigans’…

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Barbie

This article contains spoilers about the Barbie movie. Steer clear if you’re still planning on watching (and also, what are you waiting for?).

My $14 ticket to Regal Cinemas contributed to the $162 million other sales brought in by the Barbie movie during its long-anticipated opening weekend. I was gobbled up by the film’s massive marketing campaign, thrust into my theater seat by sheer hype and the star power of director Greta Gerwig and co-leads Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

From the opening scene to the closing credits, the live-action Barbie movie joyfully and self-deprecatingly explores the world of Barbie — a pink, plastic and matriarchal utopia in which Barbies hold all positions of power, from the Supreme Court to the presidency. Its introductory “Hi Barbie,” montage features Doctor Barbie, Astronaut Barbie, Pilot Barbie, Nobel Prize Barbie, Lawyer Barbie, Construction Site Barbie and many more classic Barbie characters (including Midge, the discontinued Pregnant Barbie).

This fantasy realm is contrasted by the hyper-reality construct of the “Real World,” or present-day Los Angeles, in which patriarchy is still alive and well, if not quite as stark as Barbie Land.

The worlds inevitably and hilariously begin to mingle, with pieces of the Real World seeping into the perfect life in plastic enjoyed by the main character — Stereotypical Barbie — manifesting as irrepressible thoughts of death, morning breath, flat feet and cellulite (gasp!).

Barbie, with Ken in tow, must

venture from Barbie Land into the Real World to repair the portal that has opened between them — specifically, by finding the sad human who’s playing with her and make her happy again.

The plot unfolds in a series of ridiculous occurrences, following Barbie as she navigates an unfamiliar male-dominated society, which she’s shocked to find doesn’t unanimously celebrate her. Ken, on the other hand, feels relevant and powerful for the first time in his life and is dazzled by the concept of patriarchy. It’s simple, playful and benignly feminist.

Which is why the roar of backlash by popular conservative voices vilifying the movie feels laughably outsized. A review by far-right media figure Jack Posobiec called Barbie a “man-hating Woke propaganda fest.” This was matched by Sen. Ted Cruz declaring it “Chinese propaganda”; author Peachy Keenan describing it as “insidious packaging of feminist cliché and trans grooming”; and media personality Ben Shapiro ranting for 43 minutes on YouTube (which he opened by lighting Barbie dolls on fire), claiming the central message of the film was, “Either you’re a third-wave feminist who hates men — truly hates men — or you’re brainwashed.”

These reactions were so ex-

treme and off-base that the people sputtering them either didn’t watch the movie or were so triggered by the direct use of the words “feminism” and “patriarchy” that they missed the point entirely (which, I guess, coming from the same voices that would rather rewrite history than acknowledge a modicum of privilege, isn’t that far of a stretch).

Being mad about a movie depicting the “life” of Barbie — a doll literally created to help little girls imagine themselves as women with careers, dream homes and campervans, with Ken sold separately as an accessory — because it addresses feminism is like being mad at the movie Elf for talking about Christmas.

Contrary to the backlash claims, the Barbie movie was meant to be a lighthearted caricature of feminist ideas and rudimentary feminist critique. This was driven throughout the movie by quips and jokes like Lawyer Barbie describing her professional experience: “I have no difficulty holding both logic and emotion at the same time, and it does not diminish my powers. It expands them.”

Then there are the primary character arcs and narrative points, like Real World mom Gloria, played by America Ferrera, having to save the Barbies from the patriarchy wreaking havoc in Barbie Land — a phenomenon introduced by Ken (who, admittedly, was only motivated by horses and owning his own “mojo dojo casa house”), that spread like a virus within the previously unexposed matriarchal Barbie society.

Poking fun at itself, the movie has Gloria save the Barbies by introducing concepts of feminist critique in a monologue that serves as an ideological inoculation to patriarchy, thus restoring their empowerment.

In the monologue, Gloria explains to the Barbies the com-

plicated and contradictory expectations that make womanhood uniquely challenging. “You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin… You have to have money, but you can’t ask for money because that’s crass. You have to be a boss, but you can’t be mean. You have to lead, but you can’t squash other people’s ideas.

“You’re supposed to love being a mother, but don’t talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but

also always be looking out for other people… I’m just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don’t even know.”

I know, if that doesn’t scream “man-hating, woke and Chinese propaganda” then I don’t know what does. *Queue a very dramatic eye roll beneath my Barbie-pink plastic sunglasses*.

Retroactive

Emily Erickson.

Science: Mad about

ceramics

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

I know what you’re thinking: “Oh great, an article about pots. I guess I’ll turn the page.”

Or maybe you’re thinking: “Oh great! An article about pots! I guess I’ll wait to turn the page!”

Whether you align with the former of the latter, there is something cool for everyone in the world of ceramics.

Ceramics are among the most ancient and pivotal of human technologies, developed right alongside heavy hitters like the wheel and the archer’s bow. Creating leak-proof containers allowed humans of 29,000 B.C.E. to transport fluids like water, milk and even honey. Pots that could be sealed were also great for keeping pests like mice and insects out of human food.

The ability to easily transport lots of loose items inside of an easily manufactured ceramic container cannot be overstated. Do you really want to carry your food around in a leather pouch or the stomach lining of the former-family calf, or would you rather rinse out a big pot and call it a day?

Beyond that, you may be wondering: What is a ceramic? A ceramic is a nonmetallic, inorganic chemical structure that becomes denser when exposed to high heat. In ancient times, this was achieved by mixing mineral-rich clays with water and forming them into pottery before baking them in a kiln. Today, there are countless applications for ceramics, ranging from the mundane to the incredible.

Considering just how long humans have known how to manipulate clay to make ceramics, there is a shocking amount of chemistry that’s applied to

the process, which are natural processes that just happened to coincide with the technology that was available throughout antiquity. It’s easy to ruin a piece of pottery, especially with modern technology.

There are often a large amount of silicates trapped inside clay, giving the substance a crystalline structure at a microscopic level. Adding water allows this crystalline structure to be viscous and malleable, so that we can form it into shapes. The easiest and most uniform way for us to manipulate clay into something useful is to apply centrifugal force, spinning the clay on an axis and applying pressure on its surface to form it into cylindrical or spherical shapes. This is the exact process that makes planets spherical, as they are spinning on an axis while gravity is pulling loose mass toward the center.

The crystalline structure of the clay is the key to its hardening process. Once the piece is sufficiently dry, it can be placed into a kiln where it is slowly heated. Flash heating pottery is extremely dangerous, as there is still water trapped inside of the clay and rapid heating leads to sudden and violent expansion of the water into steam. This is great for powering a locomotive, but it’s bad news for your belated Mother’s Day gift.

Slow heating allows water to evaporate in a less explosive manner, yet extremely high temperatures are required for the real magic to happen.

Carbon, sulfur and other organic compounds need to burn off from the clay, which happens in a temperature range of 572 and 1470 degrees Fahrenheit. If these materials aren’t burned off, they can compromise the finished structure.

The silica in the clay is a

form of quartz; and, once the temperature reaches 1,060 F, a process called quartz inversion occurs. You’d have to check out a book from the library or talk to a chemist to get the nitty-gritty details about this process, but essentially this causes the clay to expand by up to 2% during the heating process as the quartz molecules change.

By the time the kiln has reached 1,650 F, the clay begins to fuse and transform into a ceramic. This is called sintering, and it’s the critical moment of transformation from earth to earthenware.

Once the quartz molecules have transformed, other chemical compounds trapped in the clay have melted to fill the porous gaps in the structure. Aluminum silicate within the clay is transformed by the heat into long, needle-like structures that act as a binder for the ceramic. In some cases, red clay with an abundance of iron acts as a flux, which helps to bind everything together.

The cooling process needs to be gradual in order to avoid catastrophic shrinkage, which can create cracks and other structural damages to the ceramic.

This process may vary slightly depending on the type of ceramic being produced. Ceramics used for things like stopping ballistics or cooling space vehicles during reentry will be subjected to different levels of heat than that botched clay cat your grandmother uses as an ashtray.

Ceramic plates placed into body armor for soldiers or security personnel are designed with their destruction in mind. Rather than completely halting a ballistic projectile, the ceramic is designed to fracture and deform the nose of the bullet while

simultaneously spreading the energy of the projectile throughout a larger surface, which is further reduced by rippling it throughout multiple fractured pieces.

These plates are extremely durable, but they’re not intended to be reused — especially in the case of private or civilian body armor that’s intended to be lightweight.

Ceramics are also used extensively in the space industry. Ceramic structures are lighter than metals while also having a

spectacularly insulatory effect. Some structures, called ablative plating, are actually designed to absorb heat and flake off from the body of a spacecraft, carrying the heat away with the shed material.

I bet that thousands of years ago, when someone first wedged a brick into a fire, they had no idea they were laying the foundation for humans to safely explore the stars.

Stay curious, 7B.

•Glassmaking happens by melting sand mixed with soda ash and limestone. Soda ash saves energy when making glass by lowering the sand’s melting point; however, adding it makes glass dissolve in water, so limestone is added to stop that process. Afterward, molten sand is then cooled and forms glass.

•Glass isn’t a liquid or a solid. It’s classified as an “amorphous solid,” which is a solid that does not form crystals and has irregularly arranged molecules. Glass molecules still flow, like liquid, but really slowly. This is why glass isn’t considered a solid object, despite looking like it’s solid.

•Annealed glass is the most common type of glass, and is usually found in windows and glass structures. Annealed glass is thermally treated and cooled slowly, mitigating its internal stress and increasing its durability.

•Tempered glass is considered safety glass, because when it breaks (rarely) it shatters into tiny pieces instead of shards like annealed

glass. Tempered glass is made from annealed glass, but goes through an extra process in which it’s heated to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit before being rapidly cooled. Tempered glass can’t be shaped or cut, though, so annealed glass needs to be altered before it gets tempered.

•Clear glass bottles aren’t great for beer because they make the contents smell and taste bad due to ultraviolet rays. This is why beer bottles are usually green or brown, so they can block UV rays.

•Prince Rupert’s drops are created by dropping molten glass into cold water, which causes the finished product to solidify into a tadpole-shaped droplet with a long, thin tail. The counterintuitive properties of this phenomenon means the bulbous end can withstand a blow from a hammer, bullet or even a hydraulic press without breaking, while the tail can completely disintegrate if it’s even slightly damaged. In nature, similar structures called “Pele’s tears” are produced under certain conditions in volcanic lava.

In AG Raúl Labrador’s office, chaos is the only constant

By Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise Reader Contributor

Idaho’s attorney general is the top law enforcement officer in our state. We rely on them to protect the public interest, hold wrongdoers accountable and provide sound legal guidance to our state agencies. From upholding the rule of law to defending our rights, the attorney general holds a serious office requiring serious leadership. In six short months, Raúl Labrador has demonstrated his top priorities are advancing his extreme agenda, fueling his political ambitions and embroiling Idaho in costly lawsuits.

In one of his first moves, Labrador dismissed trespassing charges against one of his most ardent campaign supporters — despite objections from the local chief of police. Soon after, he launched a politically motivated “investigation” into cash-strapped private nonprofits serving children.

The organizations had already provided all the necessary reporting for state grants they received, but Labrador served them with a demand to produce thousands of pages of unrelated and invasive documentation, including staff texts. This frivolous case will only harm our kids and waste precious state dollars.

Instead of safeguarding our freedoms, Labrador finds every possible opportunity to undermine them. He published an opinion arguing it is illegal for Idaho doctors to inform patients about their options for lawful abortions in other states. Such a gag order would subvert our right to freedom of speech. He rescinded the opinion without offering clarifying guidance for doctors, spurring another costly lawsuit against the state.

Most recently, Labrador signed onto a lawsuit seeking access to your private medical records for care you receive out of state, in his quest to prosecute abortions outside his jurisdiction.

Democrats are not alone in our alarm. More than 50 prominent Idaho Republicans — including former-Gov. Phil Batt and former-Secretary of State Ben Ysura

— endorsed his Democratic opponent. Labrador’s level of dysfunction is just what these respected Republicans feared, if not worse.

Sitting Republican legislators are frustrated that Labrador refuses to deliver requested legal analysis — a service they relied upon for decades — and hired an out-of-state staffer lacking critical legal credentials for a top post. Republican representatives helped kill the proposed A.G. Office budget to communicate their discontent.

Meanwhile, the office has lost dozens of dedicated, experienced staff. In a resignation letter, one attorney warned of Labrador and his allies, “They instead appear intent on dismantling government, and doing so without regard for the people who believe in public service who fall in their wake.”

Labrador was ushered into office with big money from deep out-of-state pockets. Their goal seems to be positioning their far-right darling for higher office. We mustn’t allow one man’s political ambitions to undermine our rule of law, our freedoms or our right to functioning state agencies. Idahoans deserve better.

Rep. Lauren Necochea is the House assistant Democratic leader, representing District 19 in Boise on the Commerce and Human Resources; Environment, Energy and Technology; Revenue and Taxation; and Ways and Means committees.

Rep. Lauren Necochea. File photo.

All photos on Pages 12-13 were taken by Racheal Baker, whose Festival at Sandpoint photographs have become legendary. The only photo Racheal didn’t take was the one to the left, which Terry Owens snapped while she was hard at work. Check out more of Racheal’s work at rachealbakerphotography.pixieset.com

Idaho author Dick Sonnichsen’s latest book takes the novel approach

Montana publisher Blue Creek Press announces release of Whipsawed, its 40th title

By Reader Staff

After six volumes of nonfiction, Idaho writer Dick Sonnichsen has turned his hand to fiction. His latest book, Whipsawed: Agony, Joy and Destiny at a Mountain Pond, is the story of an ill-planned felony and the ensuing complications. The story is set in the small towns of Sandpoint and Coeur d’ Alene, amid the Selkirk Mountains in the northern Idaho panhandle. In a reverse spin on the “whodunit” crime story, Whipsawed outlines the events arising from the arrest and imprisonment of the perpetrator.

Freddy Delcore’s decision to rob the First National Bank in Coeur d’Alene in 1963 set loose a long series of unintended consequences, changing the lives of Freddy; the teller he robbed; the FBI agent who arrested him; Freddy’s sister, Sandra; and Father Ron, a Catholic parish priest who Freddy never met — and never will.

After being tracked down and arrested in Sandpoint a year after the robbery by Spe-

cial Agent Marty Thomas and a slam-dunk trial in Coeur d’ Alene, Freddy served hard time in Lompoc Prison. Fifteen years after the robbery, Freddy is out of Lompoc, back in Sandpoint and obsessed with revenge on the FBI agent. Through familial blackmail, he recruits Sandra — a liberated and somewhat libertine woman — to dispatch the now-retired FBI agent.

In a serendipitous meeting, Marty Thomas, Sandra Delcore and Father Ron cross paths at a Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast in Sandpoint, precipitating a long, complicated exchange between Sandra and Father Ron of psychological, theological — and physical — emotions.

Sonnichsen called on local knowledge and prior experience for the setting and plot of Whipsawed. He grew up in Coeur d’ Alene and, after a three-decade career in law enforcement and consulting elsewhere, moved back to Idaho.

He and his wife, Sally, settled in Kootenai — just east of Sandpoint on Lake Pend Oreille. He graduated from the College of Forestry at the University of Idaho, and worked in the timber industry before being drafted to serve in the U. S. Army. He served in the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) from 1961 to 1963. In 1964, he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation and served for 30 years as a special agent investigator, inspector and senior executive.

Sonnichsen retired as the deputy assistant director in charge of the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Audits. After retiring from the FBI, he worked providing management consulting and taught evaluation and social science research methods as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Southern California.

Whipsawed has the distinction of being the 40th title published by Blue Creek

Press, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in business.

Prior to his foray into fiction, Sonnichsen created a half-dozen well-researched books of social commentary on subjects including the impending collapse of the Catholic Church (A Church in Peril), the gender wars (Why Don’t Men Like Women?) and a recipe for the return of civility and bipartisan cooperation in United States politics (Enlightening America). All of Sonnichsen’s seven books have been published by Blue Creek Press, which is based in Heron, Mont.

In Whipsawed, the breakfast encounter between Sandra Delcore and Father Ron prompts a series of hikes to a hidden pond in the Selkirk Mountains that the priest has claimed as his personal Eden. His desire to reveal the restorative solace of wilderness to his new friend at the pond is distinguished by comedy, anxiety, intrigue, and private mental and emotional battles. Romance is messy and neither wants to be first to share their authentic emotions for fear of rejection. In the meantime, Freddy keeps pushing for Marty’s demise, honing in on a fateful winter night encounter in a First Avenue bar in Sandpoint.

Though it might be known from the beginning of the book “who done it,” Sonnichsen’s telling of the tale keeps readers wondering who’s going to do what next.

Whipsawed (262 pages, $14.95 paperback, $9.99 on Kindle) is available in paperback at local bookstores or on Amazon. Get more information at bluecreekpress.com

Author Dick Sonnichsen, left, and his newest release Whipsawed, right. Courtesy photos.

BoCo Gardeners Assoc. debuts its first-ever food garden tour

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

With the number of school and community gardens on the rise, the Bonner County Gardeners Association is beginning a brand new tradition Sunday, Aug. 6: a food garden tour. Attendees will spend the day exploring everything from commercial farms to small city plots, getting inspired and learning how to grow food in their own backyards.

The BCGA has seen an increasing local interest in growing food — a pastime that can be emotionally, physically and financially rewarding. The educational tour is a first step for anyone seeking to increase their self-sufficiency.

“Folks want quality, locally sourced food, and have found great rewards in producing a part of their menu items at home,” BCGA member Ann Warwick told the Reader

The gardens promise to be as

beautiful as they are functional, and will showcase in-season crops like beans, corn, peppers, tomatoes, berries, fruit and more. Proceeds from the ticket sales help the nonprofit organization fund its “home horticulture” classes and local beautification projects, including contributions to school gardens.

The tour will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $15 per person and are available at bcgardeners.org or in person at any garden on the tour. See the BCGA website for a comprehensive list of gardens.

Newport ‘Rock ’n’ Roll Revival’ show returns for 12th year

By Reader Staff

Northwoods Performing Arts, Inc. announced the return of its Unleashed show “Rock ’n’ Roll Revival,” with six performances scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 4-5; Aug. 11-12; and Aug. 1819 at the Circle Moon Theater in Newport, Wash.

Directed by Lee Duke, this night of musical nostalgia in a dinner theater experience will cover some of the biggest hits from the Rock ’n’ Roll era performed by a talented Northwoods cast.

Tickets are $35 per person

for dinner and the show, or $14 for an adult show only. Seniors 55+ and students can attend the show for $12.

Dinners are provided by Edgewater (barbecue beef, Aug. 4-5); Country Snack Shack (roasted chicken, Aug. 11); Owen’s Catering (country fried steak, Aug. 12); and Mi Pueblo (beef enchiladas, Aug. 18 and beef carnitas, Aug. 19).

Tickets can be purchased by calling 208-448-1294, online at northwoodsperformingarts.com or at Seeber’s Pharmacy (336 S.Washington Ave. in Newport). Unleashed shows in the past have sold out quickly.

A participating garden in Bonner County Gardeners Association annual tour. Courtesy photo.

Mosey on over to Sandpoint’s two rodeos

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

The Sandpoint Rodeo returns Friday, Aug. 4 and Saturday, Aug. 5 with a bevy of cash prizes for talented cowboys and cowgirls. Bull riding, barrel racing and steer wrestling are just a few of the events that will have audiences on the edge of their seats.

Current rodeo royalty will be bedecked in their hats and sashes to sign autographs, and the new 2023-’24 Rodeo Queen will be announced during the festivities. The excitement begins at 7:30 p.m. when the first chute opens.

The Sandpoint Rodeo will share the spotlight with Rascal Rodeo on Aug. 5 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. The nonprofit organization brings classic rodeo entertainment to multiple states, “[h]elping

those with physical and developmental disabilities discover unknown abilities in a unique, safe and modified rodeo environment,” according to the group’s mission statement.

There’s no cost to participate in Rascal Rodeo. More information is available at rascalrodeo.org.

Tickets for the Sandpoint Rodeo are only available online at bonnercountyfair.com/p/tickets-and-merchandise for $17. No tickets may be purchased in person.

For more information and a complete list of events, visit sandpointbonnercountyrodeo.com.

Right: Don’t flip out, head to the Bonner County Rodeo Friday and Saturday, Aug. 4-5 at the Fairgrounds. Photo by Leigh Livingstone.

events

THURSDAY, august 3

Festival at Sandpoint: Family Show with Michael Franti & Friends • 12pm @ Memorial Field Bring the kids for a wonderful and fun musical experience. Gates open at 11am. Tickets $14.95 and are available at festivalatsandpoint.com

Festival at Sandpoint: Michael Franti & Spearhead with SOJA • 7:15pm @ Memorial Field

The acclaimed reggae artist is back! Gates open at 6pm. Tickets are SOLD OUT for this show

Live Music w/ Marty Perron & Doug Bond

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

FriDAY, august 4

Festival at Sandpoint: REO Speedwagon • 7pm @ Memorial Field

Iconic rockers who have sold more than 40 million albums around the globe. Gates open at 6pm. Tickets are SOLD OUT for this show

Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner and Utah John

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ Molly Starlite and the Sputniks

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Live Jazz w/ Ron Kieper Trio

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Steven Wayne

3-5pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ Hogwire

9pm-12am @ The Hive

Sandpoint’s newest country group, playing the Aftival and after-rodeo party. FREE show. Doors at 8pm Movies on the Mountain

8pm @ Schweitzer

Free outdoor screening of High School Musical

August 3-10, 2023

Free Family Show: DC League of Super-Pets

10am @ Sandpoint Cinemas

Live Music w/ Poi Rogers

7pm @ Create Arts Center (Newport)

Original and vintage country music

Bonner County Rodeo @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds

6th annual! See Page 13 for more information, or sandpointbonnercountyrodeo.com

Live Music w/ Biddadat

9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge

Endlessly funky original touring band with two Sandpoint locals. Smokesmith BBQ food truck on site and serving food

SATURDAY, august 5

Festival at Sandpoint: Ashley McBryde • 7:30pm @ Memorial Field

Award-winning country artist Ashley McBryde and opener Zach Top. Gates open at 6pm. Tickets are $54.95 for this show

Long Bridge Swim @ Long Bridge

An annual tradition! For full event info, longbridgeswim.org

Natural Connections

10am-4pm @ Sandpoint Library

Participate in movement, yoga, drum circle and more

Live Music w/ The Ronaldos

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Bonner County Rodeo @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds

6th annual! See Page 13

Live Music w/ Birds of Play

7-9:30pm@ Matchwood Brewing

Sounds under the Silo outdoor music series, featuring Colorado-based quartet Birds of Play covering Americana, bluegrass and folk in their special way

Live Music w/ Steve Neff and Carl Rey

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Festival at Sandpoint: Grand Finale: The Princess Bride in Concert 7pm @ Memorial Field

An inconceivable grand finale! Gates open at 5pm. festivalatsandpoint.com

Ice age flood class & field trip

9am @ Farragut State Park

Join Tony Lewis for a presentation about the ice age floods that shaped our region. To RSVP email imn.sandpoint@gmail.com

Rock ’n’ Rol Revival show

7:30pm @ Circle Moon Theater Head to Newport, Wash. for this dinner theater experience awash with musical nostalgia. See right for more details

Live Music w/Brandon Jackson Band with Klerissa Fairchild

9pm-12am @ The Hive

Sing along with your favorite country hits from this high-energy band. FREE show. Doors at 8pm

Live Music w/ Double Shot Band

7-9pm @ Connie’s Lounge

The Mason brothers from Priest River have become a Connie’s fav

Live Music w/ Jacob Robin

1:30-4:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band

9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge

Outlaw country and classic rock. Smokesmith BBQ serving food

SunDAY, august 6

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

Live Music w/ Steve Neff

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

monDAY, august 7

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ Jacob Robin

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Benny on the Deck

5:30-8pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Magic with Star Alexander 5-8pm @ Jalepeño’s Up close magic shows at the table. FREE

Outdoor Experience Group Run

6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome

wednesDAY, august 9

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park

Produce, crafts, food and more

Live Piano w/ Dwayne Parsons

5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Sandpoint Summer Music Series: B-Side Players

Friends of the Library book sale

10am-2pm @ Sandpoint Library

Great selection of sci-fi and fantasy books, media for adults and children and special prices on one-of-akind books

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

9am-1pm @ Farmin Park

Produce, crafts, food and more. Music by Suzuki String Academy

Local Cottage Market

10am-6pm @ Farmin Park

Vendors selling artisan wares, leather works, pottery, etc.

tuesDAY, august 8

Free Family Show: Mummies

10am @ Sandpoint Cinemas

An Evening with Richard Thompson (live concert)

8pm @ Panida Theater

Legendary Richard Thompson holds a spot on Rolling Stone’s top 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time and will perform one night only at the Panida. Doors at 7pm. Tickets at panida.org

ThursDAY, august 10

6pm @ Farmin Park (FREE outdoor music with food, drinks)

Live Music w/ John Firshi

6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Free Family Show: Mummies 10am @ Sandpoint Cinemas

Dive in, swim on Long Bridge

Swim marks 28th year on Aug. 5

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

In 1995, 68 swimmers joined founder Eric Ridgway on the sandy shoreline of Dog Beach to celebrate the completion of the first-ever Long Bridge Swim. Participants took the scenic route, traversing 1.76 miles of open water. Since then, the annual swim has grown into a local phenomenon that takes more than 250 volunteers to organize on race day alone.

Everything from transportation to medical support will be covered by volunteers, as a few thousand spectators gather along the pedestrian bridge Saturday, Aug. 5 to cheer on the swimmers.

Approximately 600 swimmers from multiple countries are expected to test their cold-water tolerance and athletic ability — and many have been training for months.

“One of the aspects of the swim that I really enjoy is [the] large number of locals who swim from Dog Beach out along the pilings next to the causeway, training for the swim from sometime in May until race day,” Race Director Jim Zuberbuhler told

the Reader. “[I]t is a diverse bunch: young, old, girls and boys; women and men; slow and fast, but everyone is excited about the upcoming swim.”

Since its inception, the Long Bridge Swim has been dedicated to ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to join in the fun. Competitors requiring specific accommodations — such as deaf, blind and paraplegic swimmers — have all competed with assistance from the nonprofit organization.

“Swimming is freedom for them in a very special way,” said Zuberbuhler.

The Long Bridge Swim works to extend that freedom to all by dedicating 100% of its sponsors’ donations to funding water safety classes and swim lessons for all ages. Since 2010, the organization has helped more than 9,000 people learn to swim, fundamentally changing their relationship with water.

For the race schedule or to register for the Long Bridge Swim, visit longbridgeswim. org. Registration is $55 if completed on Thursday, Aug. 3, after which the price will increase. There is no race day registration.

Sandpoint area children hit the high notes at free music camp

By Rick Reed Reader Contributor

Forty-two children enrolled for the free music camp run by the all-volunteer organization

Music Bridges Borders and hosted July 17-20 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, featuring nine instrument options that students experienced and explored. Including violin (with three teachers), piano, percussion, tuba, trumpet, trombone, guitar, flute and cello, students took introductory lessons and those with beginning skills were able to improve and even play solos at the July 20 wrap-up performance.

Along with the music lessons, attendees played games including musical chairs, line tag, dodgeball, skipping games and verbal/memory games in groups. Following lunch, participants attended a percussion workshop with Sandpoint Middle School teacher Ryan Dignan. The workshop included all of the children, as well as the camp instructors.

Students also enjoyed a piñata after the final performance, as well as a tie-dye workshop at the end of the day on Tuesday with elementary school art teacher Sharon

Gunter. Each child made a scarf/ bandana, which they wore during the Thursday performances.

The core camp instructors were the seven students from Tijuana, Mexicali and Ensenada, Mexico. These are advanced music students from the large community orchestra program in Mexico. Music Bridges Borders thanked Daniel Octarula Yamada (percussion), Karla Victoria Montoya Lopez (cello), Miguel Angel Gonzalez Gastelum (trumpet/trombone), Mario Abraham Romero Alvarado (trumpet), Carlos Jamil Ayala Sanchez (violin) and Kathya Angelica Aviles Melgoza (flute).

Local instructors included Noelle Bastow for violin, Chris Paradis for guitar, Max Reed for violin and Loree Campbell for piano.

Upon ending the camp, the young students came away with a better understanding of music, and often with a favorite instrument they want to learn more about. To capitalize on that, parents were informed of the Festival at Sandpoint’s free orchestra, and/ or encouraged to utilize the music program at their local school or locate area teachers.

This is the eleventh year Elinor Reed has organized and brought

students from Mexico.

The Mexican students also had the opportunity to participate with their musical peers at the Spokane Youth Symphony’s “Sensational Summer Music Camp” held July 24-28 at Whitworth University. They performed solo at the Jacklin Art and Cultural Center in Post Falls on July 27, as well as with the SYS for their final concert on July 28.

Eichardt’s Pub and Coffee House and Matchwood Brewery host the Cinco de Mayo event and the Local Artists Showcase event, respectively. The events are an example of community support fundraisers that benefit the nonprofit Music Bridges Borders, which funnels money raised back into the Sandpoint and Northwest community/economy. Music Bridges Borders is a 100% volunteer organization. There are no “salaried” members.

Organizers thanked the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their various volunteers for warmly opening doors to the community and making the experience possible. Major cash sponsors of Music Bridges Borders include: The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force, Believe in Me Foundation, Ziply

Fiber, Evans Brothers Coffee, Eichardt’s, Stacey McDermott and family, and Pam Lippi and family. Sandpoint Super 1 also contributed food.

Rick and Elinor Reed founded the nonprofit cultural exchange program Music Bridges Borders.

Photos from the free music camp hosted by Music Bridges Borders were taken by Rick Reed.

MUSIC

Festival lineup — Week 2

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

The 40th Annual Festival at Sandpoint opened with a bang — a firework show seen for miles. Now, the second week kicks off Thursday, Aug. 3 with five more shows guaranteed to entertain the whole family. See below for the upcoming acts. Tickets are available at festivalatsandpoint.com.

Thursday, Aug. 3 (noon)

Family Concert with Michael Franti and Friends

Activism and music are inextricable for Michael Franti, whose songs take beloved reggae, pop, rock and hip-hop sounds, and uses them as a conduit to promote peace, kindness and environmentalism. His positive concert will have the entire family dancing to familiar hits like “Sound of Sunshine,” “Say Hey (I Love You)” and “I Got You” — all three earning Billboard’s No. 1 spot.

This will be a seated show, meaning the area in front of the stage is general admission shortchair and blanket seating only, and dancing areas can be found to the left and right sides of the stage. General admission tickets are $14.95 before taxes and fees. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the music begins at noon.

Thursday, Aug. 3

Michael Franti & Spearhead w/ SOJA

After his family show, Michael Franti returns to the stage with his band Spearhead with SOJA for a night of upbeat tunes with his signature poetic lyrics. Franti’s music is a call to dance and to action — a call he answers with his dedication to altruism around the globe. His self-directed documentary, Stay Human, follows Franti as he meets with remarkable individuals who help him to overcome the cynicism that so often colors our vision of the world. As part of his commitment to spreading positivity, Franti also founded the nonprofit Do It For The Love, which gives people with severe medical issues access to their favorite concerts.

This will be a standard show, meaning the area in front of the stage is standing-room only. General admission tickets are SOLD OUT. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the music begins at 7:15 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 4

REO Speedwagon w/Charlie Farren

After 56 years spent wowing crowds with hits like “Can’t Fight This Feeling” and “Keep On Loving You,” REO Speedwagon needs no introduction. The iconic rock band’s album Hi Infidelity earned RIAA’s 10X Diamond Award for selling more than 10 million units in the United States after spending 15 weeks in the No. 1 slot. The band has achieved eight Platinum albums, with many more reaching

Gold and Silver status. With vocalist and founding member Kevin Cronin heading the band, this concert is sure to reward longtime fans and new listeners alike.

This will be a standard show. General admission tickets are SOLD OUT. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the music begins at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 5

Ashley McBryde w/Zach Top Grammy award-winning superstar Ashley McBryde is bringing Nashville to Sandpoint with her celebrated country sounds. Her 2020 album Never Will made history when it was nominated for Country Album of the Year by the ACMs, CMAs and the Recording Academy — all in the same award season. She went on to earn the 2022 CMA International Artist Achievement Award “for the most significant creative growth, development and promotion of the country music industry outside of the United States,” according to the Festival’s press release. Concertgoers will soon discover why McBryde’s accolades are too numerous to list.

This will be a standard show. General admission tickets are $54.95 before taxes and fees. Gates open at 6 p.m. and the music begins at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 6

Grande Finale: The Princess Bride in Concert w/Taste of the Stars wine and beer tasting

The Princess Bride, released in 1987, is perhaps one of history’s most beloved films. The exciting tale of true love, adventure and friendship has captivated generations of audiences — but never like this. The Festival at Sandpoint Orchestra will make its debut led by the esteemed Morihiko Nakahara, a former resident conductor of the Spokane Symphony for 16 years. The Festival’s personal orchestra will feature more than 60 musicians from the Inland Northwest performing a version of the film’s score specifically arranged for a symphony orchestra.

This will be a seated show. General admission tickets are $44.95 while youth (12 and under) are $12.95 before taxes and fees. Gates open at 5 p.m. and the music begins at 7 p.m.

See the festivalatsandpoint.com for full biographical details about each artist and more information.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

Aftival/After Rodeo shows, The Hive, Aug. 4-5 Richard Thompson, Panida Theater, Aug. 9

Polish up your dancing boots, because it’s going to be a rootin’ tootin’ good time at the Hive’s annual Aftival music concerts, so named because they offer Festival at Sandpoint concertgoers and Bonner County Rodeo fans an “after party” option to keep the night going.

Sandpoint’s newest group Hogwire will play Friday, Aug. 4, playing their Southern rock and country tunes to keep your boots stomping on the dance floor.

Brandon Jackson Band will

bring their high-energy vocals and twangy guitars Saturday, Aug. 5 to let your inner cowboy or cowgirl shine. Both shows are free to attend.

—Ben Olson

Hogwire, Friday, Aug. 3; Brandon Jackson Band, Saturday, Aug. 4; doors at 8 p.m., shows at 9 p.m., both nights; FREE; 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com.

There is no shortage of accolades for Richard Thompson, who has been a standout guitarist since the late 1960s. In that time, he’s released 19 albums — the most recent being 13 Rivers — and along the way been called “the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix” and “a versatile virtuoso guitarist.” His 1991 song “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” made it onto TIME magazine’s “All-TIME 100 Songs” from 1923 to 2011, and Rolling Stone named him among the top 20 guitarists of all time.

An Evening with Richard Thompson at the Panida will feature an intimate, acoustic theater setting with no opener. Multiple ticket options will be available: $99 for the first two center rows, $59 for leftand right-front rows and remaining center rows, $45 for main floor seats and $132 for loveseat locations in the balcony.

— Zach Hagadone

Doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; $45-$132. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, get tickets at panida.org.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia proves herself a master of the Gothic tradition in her chilling novel Mexican Gothic Set in Mexico in the 1950s, the story follows a young socialite as she navigates a world of colonialism and white supremacy, and fights for her own bodily autonomy. Moreno-Garcia’s writing is spellbinding as she blends history and the supernatural in a twisting narrative that makes this novel impossible to put down.

READ LISTEN

Hozier’s third studio album, Unreal Unearth, drops Aug. 18, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait. Five songs have been released ahead of time, including the soulful single “Eat Your Young,” in which Irishman Hozier shoulders the legacy of his countryman Jonathan Swift, author of “A Modest Proposal.” This album — inspired by Dante’s Inferno — will showcase Hozier’s trademark religious imagery with a sound that blends blues, soul and folk.

WATCH

This week, I’m taking us time traveling to 1969 — or stardate 5423.4 — with Star Trek: The Original Series’ episode “The Mark of Gideon.” The crew of the starship Enterprise faces an overpopulated planet in crisis, yet the government refuses modern contraceptives. Drastic action is taken and a father must decide whether or not to sacrifice his daughter for his beliefs. William Shatner’s overacting can’t hide the relevance this episode has in our current political climate.

This week’s RLW by Soncirey Mitchell

Photo by Racheal Baker.

From Northern Idaho News, Aug. 4, 1905

TELEGRAPHERS STRIKE

All union telegraphers on the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways went out on a strike Tuesday evening, since which time the two roads have been operating under great difficulties.

The strike has been threatened for several weeks, representatives of the telegraphers having been at St. Paul for over a month holding conferences with the officials of the two roads in an effort to get satisfactory wages arranged. The strike was brought on by the two railroad companies attempting to force their operators to sign a wage scale, threatening that if they did not do so within a few days to close the office.

While the railroad companies have been able to move the passenger trains and a few of the freights, still the business of the two roads is in a terribly demoralized condition, for the reason that out of over 2,000 operators between St. Paul and the coast along the lines of the two roads, fully 1600 are out.

The trains are being run by flag system, assisted by orders from such stations as there are operators located at.

Between Missoula and Spokane all operators walked out, excepting one man at Trout Creek and one at Rathdrum. These two men have assisted the railroad in moving the trains by sending orders to freight crews by the passenger trains.

Both the railroad company and the strikers claim they will win, and both sides are preparing for a long drawn out contest.

BACK OF THE BOOK About the real West

By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist

They’re making hay in southwestern Montana; cutting record harvests in the Big Hole, Horse Prairie, and the Beaverhead and Madison valleys. These water-rich bottoms are sandwiched between spectacular Montana ranges — the Pioneers, Anaconda-Pintler and Beaverhead; the Ruby, Gravelly and Madison. These stony sources feed the rivers that coalesce into the Missouri at Three Forks: the Red Rock, Ruby, Wise, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin. It is big country, anchored economically to the critters that eat the hay come winter. A lot of “what’s for dinner” starts in Beaverhead and Madison counties.

Horse Prairie is so named because it’s where the Corps of Discovery traded with the Shoshones for horses. Five friends and I meet here annually at Horse Prairie Station, an ancient Forest Service line cabin — complete with mice — in the upper reaches of Horse Prairie Creek. The Station is southwest of notso-urban Dillon and Bannock, ghost-townturned-state-park and first territorial capital of Montana. It’s far enough up slope toward the Continental Divide that we can almost see Clark Reservoir on I-15, 20-plus miles away.

Halfway between the cabin and the Interstate on Montana Highway 324 is Grant, consisting of a drive-up dumpster site; a two-room school; and a conglomerate of well-weathered buildings, dilapidated corrals, abandoned farm equipment and various vehicles in miscellaneous states of repair.

Patched together in the middle of this hodgepodge is Horse Prairie Stage Stop, a steakhouse serving decent draft beer and local beef. The bar television’s only setting is rodeo.

Two tiny outposts in the Big Hole proper are Jackson and Wisdom, each with a little survival store. Wisdom has a gas station for the desperate. And Jackson has Jackson Hot Springs. But Dillon is where the ranchers go for supplies and equipment.

Dillon may have a college — University of Montana Western — and a Patagonia outlet, but the permanent population is a bit less than 4,000, about the same as it was in 1960. The Dillon High School Beavers excel at football and basketball. The Montana Western Bulldogs have a pretty fair football program, but their real sport is rodeo. They are a perennial force at college rodeo nationals.

Patagonia outlet or no, Dillon is firmly rooted in the land in which it sits. It has an authentic Western flavor, including that sense of things left behind that many small Western towns have: the grand old hotel turned to cheap apartments, a repurposed Masonic Temple and an elegant Union Pacific passenger depot converted to a museum. Dillon’s close-to-Main Street residential section reflects the late-Victorian age, including a beautiful Carnegie Library. It’s not yet turned downtown into a reproduction Deadwood.

East of Dillon, Virginia City — second territorial capital of Montana— and Ennis — cowtown refitted as fly-fishing resort — have embraced tourism and the benefits and challenges such embrace inspires. Both look like Western theme parks, where one might expect a faux gunfight at any moment. Local ordinance prohibits anything that looks newer than 1870. Jackson and Wisdom are far enough out of the way to have escaped this fate and the hordes it brings.

I’m the native Westerner on these soirees. The majority grew up in the mid- or Deep South. Two live in the East. The oth-

Sudoku Solution STR8TS Solution

ers moved west — well, to live in the West.

They are smart, well-informed men deeply involved in public land and wilderness policy. Their discussions boggle me; about law and process and the frustrations of being in the business of the preservation of wild places. But sometimes I feel a like a translator of “Westerness.”

We’ve gathered here often, and note a house that mushroomed out of the plain, possibly during our last long absence. A brand-new gravel driveway convinces at least me that the house is truly new. I posit that it may have been built for a kid who decided to stay home and work the ranch so Mom and Dad might get a winter off sometime. No matter if I’m right about this particular house, it happens here often enough to keep the hay-making machines running. Which is good.

As I leave this year’s gathering, I find a young couple on horseback pushing a herd of cows along the right-of-way of Montana 324.Maybe the couple is living in that new house. Cow dogs keep frolicking calves and their recalcitrant mothers in line. I slow to a crawl as I pass, not wanting to cause a spontaneous rodeo.

A few hundred yards down the road, a car with “foreign” plates is paused. I see them pull a U-turn in my rear view mirror. I figure they are going back to take pictures. At least they will get a partial view of what it really means to live here, and not some contrived idea of how things used to be. Hopefully, they won’t get in the way.

Sandy Compton has been studying the real West for decades. Find more of his place-based essays at bluecreekpress.com/ write-on.

Crossword

Laughing Matter

Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

“The

Solution on page 22

The next time you go to the doctor, go ahead and bring in a stool sample. They might need it. Better go ahead and bring some for the dentist too.

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