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PEOPLE compiled by
Susan Drinkard
watching
“If you had to write a how-to book about something today, what would it be about?” “Probably live theater. I directed many shows in Florida.” Lorraine Patria Retired Priest River
“Chocolate! But chocolatiers’ secrets are too sweet to tell!” Mr. Sugar Sugar Tooth at Cedar Street Bridge Sandpoint
DEAR READERS,
I hope everyone is having a good day out there. We’ve got a little bit of everything packed into this edition: gift ideas from off the beaten track for outdoors lovers, thought experiments from Brenden Bobby, a two-page spread by Lyndsie Kiebert delving into the elegant dining car rail experiences of yesteryear, breakdancing, aliens and everything in between. Keep an eye on the next couple of editions for more gift ideas leading up to the holidays. It goes without saying that buying Christmas gifts locally is heaps better than ordering online, so don’t forget to check out our local retailers when shopping for loved ones. Every dollar you spend in the community goes right back into it. Special thanks to Mark Schafhausen, who took the cover photo this week, as well as the aerial photos on Page 11. We sure live in a beautiful place, don’t we? Wash your hands, keep your distance and please wear a mask. – Ben Olson, publisher
READER 111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208)265-9724
www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Mark Schafhausen (cover), Ben Olson, Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Bill Borders, Lyndsie Kiebert. Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Emily Erickson, Tim Henney, Brenden Bobby. Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com
“How to find accurate health information on the Internet.” Monica S. Echocardiographer Sandpoint
“Cheerleading. I was a cheerleader for a long time, starting at age 5.” Erika Beckman Barista Ponderay
“I just wrote a children’s book to increase awareness about CMV or cytomegalovirus and helped to get a law passed requiring the Dept. of Health and Welfare to educate women about this virus. I know a lot about this because my daughter has CMV and has hearing loss and brain damage and cannot talk.” Jessica Rachels Caretaker, Kootenai “How to raft the Rogue River in southern Oregon.” Daysha Crosier CNA Spokane
Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $115 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho. We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community. The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.
Sandpoint Reader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics. Requirements: –No more than 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion. Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers. Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook. About the Cover
This week’s cover photo was taken by Mark Schafhausen on Dec. 2. It’s Harrison Peak, elevation 7,292’ looking south south east. Check out more of Mark’s photos on Page 11. December 10, 2020 /
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NEWS
Sandpoint granted $70k for Festival suit costs and fees By Lyndsie Kiebert and Zach Hagadone Reader Staff The city of Sandpoint has once again come out victorious in a lawsuit against Bonner County regarding The Festival at Sandpoint’s gun policy, as Kootenai County District Court Judge Lansing L. Haynes ruled Dec. 9 in favor of the city’s motion for costs and fees accrued while defending itself in the case. Haynes granted the city’s request “in part” — though attorneys with Lake City Law motioned for almost $95,000, the judge ruled that the city should be awarded $70,000. “This Court does not challenge the time spent by the City’s attorneys and staff; that time produced high quality work and a favorable outcome for the City,” Haynes wrote in his ruling. “This Court concludes that possibly fewer hours could have achieved the
same result.” Haynes ruled Sept. 2 that Bonner County lacked the standing necessary to bring the lawsuit — which centered on the constitutionality of The Festival at Sandpoint’s policy to ban guns from publically-owned War Memorial Field during its annual concert series — to court. The city has long maintained that it is not regulating weapons at the event, but rather that the lease with The Festival puts any rule-making burden — and authority — on the lessee. Idaho firearms preemption law is not clear about the legal ins and outs of regulating guns on public property when a municipality leases property to a private party. While the county commissioners and Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler — plaintiffs in the case — argue that existing regulations at The Festival are violating rights, Haynes declined to rule, stating that “a declaratory judgment can only be rendered in a
case where an actual or justiciable controversy exists.” The county, Haynes ruled, presented “unpersuasive” legal arguments about the possibility of a protest-turned-riot outside future concerts should the court not reach a judgment on the gun issue. “At least there’s something good in 2020,” Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton told the Reader, nodding to an otherwise challenging year, which has been dominated by political rancor on a number of topics, including the county vs. city suit, pitting gun rights activists — and their elected county supporters — against both the city government and, by extension, The Festival itself. Add to that the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of the early summer, along with their armed self-described “protectors,” and vigorous debate over the community’s COVID-19 response, and the past calendar year has been a structural challenge for institution-
al and social stability both in Sandpoint and the nation at large. The county vs. city suit has dominated local conversation since August 2019, with the city repeatedly arguing county officials had no standing to bring the action. Judge Haynes agreed earlier this fall, dismissing the claims by commissioners and Wheeler as “speculative.” Likewise, the judge ruled that the county’s “argument that the City is not the prevailing party is without merit in fact or law. Contrary to Plaintiff’s [the county’s] assertion that all the Sheriff wanted was clarification of his
duties, and the Court’s decision on summary judgment provided that, the reality of the situation is that plaintiff sought a declaration that the City was violating the statutory and constitutional rights of the citizenry, and sought an injunction against the City for doing so.” Haynes wrote that the county “achieved none of its objectives because the Court determined that this lawsuit should not have been brought by the plaintiff who had no standing to do so.” Legal counsel for Bonner County did not provide comment on the ruling before press time.
LPOSD eases COVID-19 quarantine restrictions Meanwhile, unrest over mask orders grows statewide, as case numbers mount
By Zach Hagadone and Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Trustees of the Lake Pend Oreille School District at their regular meeting Dec. 8 reiterated a commitment to keeping schools open amid the ongoing — and spiking — COVID-19 pandemic, voting to adopt recent guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that allow for the easing of quarantine protocols. The vote was unanimous absent Trustee Lonnie Williams. School leaders agreed that LPOSD policy should be altered to allow for the period of quarantine to be lowered from 14 days to 10 days — provided the student, staff or faculty member has experienced no symptoms since contact with the virus and without a test — or seven days with a negative test result, provided that test was administered at least five days after an incident of close contact with an infected individual. “I think the more we can relax it, the better,” said Trustee Board 4 /
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Chairman Cary Kelly. The meeting included a moment of recognition for Tommy Lund, 66, a well-liked school bus driver on the Schweitzer route who died Nov. 22 at Kootenai Health from complications due to COVID-19. Noting that Lund was “loved by the children,” LPOSD Superintendent Tom Albertson said, “It has taken its toll on the department and rightly so.” Albertson offered a “heartfelt thank-you” to District Transit Director James Koehler, noting, “this is one of the most challenging times for your department.” Koehler said his team members “put their hearts and souls into their jobs every day.” Paying gratitude to Koehler, Kelly said, “He’s pulled through and done a fantastic job.” Lund’s death underscored the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the school district — both in its mourning for his loss and the real threat it faces to the health and its functioning in the community.
Albertson noted that Bonner General Health is currently at 86% capacity, with five of eight socalled “COVID beds” taken. Three individuals are in surgical care and two are in intensive care. Panhandle Health District reported Dec. 9 new cases numbering 419, bringing the total to 12,116 since monitoring began in the spring. As of Dec. 9, health officials had closed 8,118 cases due to death, refusal for further monitoring or recovery. Meanwhile, “we are seeing an uptick in schools,” Albertson said. According to LPOSD reporting, there have been a total of 64 cases of the virus in the district — 15 of which are active, including three each at Sandpoint High School, Clark Fork, Sandpoint Middle schools; two each at Farmin-Stidwell and Hope elementaries; and one each at Kootenai Elementary and the Homeschool Academy. Albertson stated that each case “is a separate story,” going on to say that “some have been in direct contact with an infected person, others not; yet, per testing, war-
ranting status as an active case. While the issue of masking and social distancing has become ever more politically charged, Albertson said that parents, guardians and school officials should be prepared for the possibility of remote learning: “It would be short-sighted if we weren’t prepared as a community or prepared as a family,” he said, adding, “It’s tough, and we need to be thinking about some things.” Trustees Kelly, Lewis and Suppiger, as well as Purley Decker, felt that the current LPOSD plan — which is a modified version of the “yellow” threat protocol earlier approved by the board — is working well enough, applauding district officials for avoiding the community-wide level of spread that has increased steadily since the summer. Kelly said the effect of transmission should be reevaluated after the Christmas break; for now, he said, the extrapolations of widened illness are “academic.” Trustee Gary Suppiger applauded the current plan, saying,
“It’s working. It has flexibility … I don’t see any reason now to change it.” Board Vice-Chair Gerlaldine Lewis, in making the motion to relax quarantine rules — which she supported with reference to the reporting of “light to zero spread within cohort groups [of students],” said of the CDC guidelines, “It is acceptable to go to this little bit easier quarantine rules that the CDC has come out with.” Trustees heard a number of testimonials — all emailed and read aloud during the meeting — urging in strong language to refuse any COVID-19 mitigation measures. One individual, Cheri Tilford, of Sandpoint, stated that she homeschools her child and also has enrolled them in the Homeschool Academy. She argued, “There is not one bit of evidence that there is a new virus here,” and referred to masks as “fear muzzles.” “This is about controlling the people,” Tilford added, going on to repeat that COVID-19 protocols are “propaganda,” “superstition” and “public control measures” that
< see LPOSD, page 5 >
NEWS < LPOSD, con’t from page 4 >
can be readily dismissed by looking “behind the mainstream curtain.” Bryan Lorentzen, of Cocollala, went much further, calling COVID-19 “a joke, a hoax, a nothing event.” He added that not only do masks not help prevent COVID-19, but there is no evidence that it’s even a virus, nor that it’s even a pandemic. “The coronavirus would disappear overnight if people stopped getting tested,” he stated. What’s more, he wrote to trustees, the “propaganda” of COVID-19 policies is being “pushed to control populations and track our movements”; that, Lorentzen added, “cover for the great reset” — a conspiracy theory. Finally, Lorentzen called trustees “ignorant,” “uneducated” and “perverts,” referring to their efforts to formulate COVID-19 policy as “torturous melodramas.” Elsewhere in Idaho, contention surrounding local control over pandemic restrictions hit an all-time high on Dec. 8 when Ada County Commissioner and Central District Health Board Member
Diana Lachiondo had to abruptly leave a health district meeting because she received a call that her home was being inundated with anti-mask protestors. “My 12-year-old son is home alone right now and there are protestors banging outside the door,” Lachiondo told her fellow board members before exiting the Zoom meeting in tears. The meeting ended soon after at the prompting of the Boise mayor and police chief, who urged the health district to adjourn in the interest of public safety. The Associated Press reports that hundreds of protesters filled the CDH parking lot during the meeting holding signs reading, “No Muzzles,” and, “Mandates have not stopped the spread. Try liberty instead!” At least three CDH board members had protesters show up at their homes Tuesday. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean issued a statement after the events, saying that the “health board is being asked to make decisions at the local level in lieu of statewide action, and when taking this job seriously — doing everything they can to help address the spread of
Comments needed on Westside Restoration Project near Bonners By Reader Staff The Idaho Panhandle National Forests and Bureau of Land Management are inviting comments on the draft Environmental Assessment for a forest management project proposed near Bonners Ferry. The Westside Restoration Project is approximately 60,000 acres and is located within Boundary County, encompassing the Myrtle, Snow and Caribou Creek watersheds, and Dodge Peak and White Mountain areas. Proposed restoration work includes timber harvest, prescribed fire and precommercial thinning for fuels reduction and forest health in the wildland-urban interface. Developed in collaboration with the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative, the proposed activities would accomplish objectives of the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program as well as improvements for wildlife, recreation, aquatics and other resources. The restoration efforts involve working with other landowners, the local community
and organizations, agency partners and the public, in an all-lands approach to forest restoration with an emphasis on these watersheds. Find the Westside Restoration Project Draft Environmental Assessment is posted on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests website: fs.usda.gov/project/?project=56888. USFS and BLM officials said comments specific to the project and the analysis are valuable. Please comment by Jan. 4, 2021 by submitting electronically to: comments-northern-idpanhandle-bonners-ferry@usda.gov. Put the name of the project in the subject line and please include your name and mailing address. To submit hardcopy comments, please mail them to: Bonners Ferry Ranger District, Attn: Jennifer Anderson, 6286 Main St., Bonners Ferry, ID 83805. For more information about this project, contact Jennifer Anderson, team leader, at 208-267-6749, or to subscribe to emailed project updates, click the “Get Connected,” tab and “Subscribe to Email Updates” on the project website.
COVID, they’re threatened and intimidated. No child should be frightened by a mob of protesters, no local official should fear violence for their public service.” Idaho Governor Brad Little has declined to enact a statewide mask mandate, leaving restriction-making to health boards and municipalities instead. He released a statement Dec. 8 condemning the protests held outside the public officials’ homes, calling it a “bullying tactic.” “Our right to free speech should not be used to intimidate and scare others,” he said. “There is no place for this behavior in Idaho. I urge calm among Idahoans so we can get through the pandemic together, stronger.” The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported 2,298 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 on Dec. 9, bringing the statewide total since tracking began in March to 116,203. To date, 1,103 Idahoans have died from virus-related causes. The Panhandle Health District shared revised isolation guidance Dec. 8 for asymptomatic close
contacts of COVID-positive people — the guidance which LPOSD adopted that same day. Health officials stated that “the 14 days of isolation is still best practice and is the safest way to avoid spreading this virus,” however, “the following are options for asymptomatic close contacts of a positive case to shorten isolation and are acceptable alternatives to reduce the burden of isolation on individuals, families, and businesses.” The CDC and Idaho health authorities report that “isolation can end after Day 10 from last close contact with the positive case without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.” With this strategy, “residual post-isolation transmission risk is estimated to be about 1% with an upper limit of about 10%,” according to PHD. Officials are also now saying that isolation of a close contact can end after Day 7 “if a diagnostic PCR specimen tests negative and if no symptoms were reported during daily monitoring. The specimen may be collected and tested within
48 hours before the time of planned isolation discontinuation (e.g., in anticipation of testing delays), but isolation cannot be discontinued earlier than after Day 7.” Post-isolation transmission risk with this strategy, according to PHD, is estimated to be about 5-12%. “Regardless of what option you choose to follow, symptom monitoring, masking, hand hygiene, and physical distancing must continue through Day 14,” PHD officials said in Tuesday’s statement, adding that the isolation alternatives do not apply to those living in long-term care facilities, correctional institutions, group homes or rehabilitation facilities. “If at any time an individual develops symptoms during their 14 days after their exposure to an individual who tested positive, they should isolate and seek testing.” Gov. Brad Little is slated to hold a virtual press conference Thursday, Dec. 10 at 11 a.m. PST to discuss the state’s pandemic response. Watch it live online at idahoptv.org/ shows/idahoinsession/governor.
Earn a $300 charitable giving deduction in 2020 thanks to the CARES Act By Reader Staff The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act made changes to tax rules in 2020 to allow for increased charitable giving amid the pandemic and corresponding economic hardships. “Whether taxpayers are supporting natural disaster recovery, COVID-19 pandemic aid or another cause that’s personally meaningful to them, their charitable donations may be tax deductible,” the Internal Revenue Service stated in a news release. “These deductions basically reduce the amount of their taxable income.” Previously, taxpayers could only deduct charitable contributions if they itemized their deductions. For 2020, thanks to changes
under the CARES Act, taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions can take an above-the-line deduction of up to $300 for cash contributions to qualifying organizations. The IRS defines “qualifying organizations” as “those that are religious, charitable, educational, scientific or literary in purpose.” These definitions changed under the CARES Act. Find out if a charitable organization qualifies at irs.gov/charities-non-profits/ tax-exempt-organization-search. Locally in North Idaho, there’s no shortage of good nonprofit causes to support with this charitable giving deduction. The holiday season also ushers in specific fundraising goals. For instance, Creations on the Cedar Street Bridge — also
known as the nonprofit organization Arts Alliance, Inc. — is working to raise $2,000 in December to buy new art supplies and activities. Learn more and donate at creationsforsandpoint.org. The Sandpoint Youth Center (also known as the Sandpoint Teen Center) is also raising money this month to pay for its Healthy Teens After School program, which “provides meals, movement and mentoring to Bonner County teens” every day from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Learn more and donate at sandpointteencenter.com. To view an extensive list of local nonprofits and community service groups, head to sandpointonline.com, click on “Directories” and look under the “Community Groups & Social Services” section. December 10, 2020 /
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Schweitzer boss Chasse says mountain may shut down if COVID measures not followed By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Schweitzer President and CEO Tom Chasse took a headline-grabbing hard stance on masking and social distancing protocols to lessen the spread of COVID-19, issuing a widely reported statement Dec. 3 that the ski mountain and resort would close for the season if patrons and visitors refuse to wear face coverings and keep their distance. “If we cannot get this under control, I’m willing to shut down the entire operation until we’re able to open additional lifts and terrain,” Chasse stated in a news release. The Panhandle Health District, which sets public health policy for the five northernmost Idaho counties, in November handed down a requirement that masks be worn in public “when social distancing of six feet cannot be maintained.” Before that, Idaho Gov. Brad Little moved the state back two stages in the Idaho Rebounds reopening plan, reverting to Stage 2 — though with modifications to continue the operation of bars, restaurants and churches. At Schweitzer, where much of the activity occurs outdoors, resort operators have even “step[ped] up our game, by requiring masks in the lift lines, creating narrow points of entry with signage” and relying on executive team members to staff lift lines until midday on weekends. “Additionally, we have our mountain host team working the lift lines in an effort to remind everyone of our expectations,” Chasse stated. These measures have so far worked, with about 90% of mountain users masking up in the lift line — “a huge improvement from opening weekend,” Chasse wrote. However, the general furor around COVID-19 protocols has reached even Schweitzer’s elevation, as Chasse stated, perhaps in understatement, “that the pandemic has become somewhat of a political issue locally.” Specifically, he referred to the recent — though so far sidelined — effort of Bonner County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw to “defund” the county’s contribution to the PHD, in an effort to make a statement about what he and many others in the region consider heavy-handed extra-legislative authority being exerted by the health district members. Likewise, Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler has been vocal in his opposition to enforcement of a mask order; as a self-proclaimed “constitutional sheriff,” 6 /
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Photo courtesy SMR. he holds himself bound only to uphold the laws he determines to be in line with the founding document. Indeed, Idaho Code gives sheriffs, as well as county prosecutors, wide latitude in interpreting the enforceability and enforcement actions related to state law. Meanwhile, the city of Sandpoint has gone on record repeatedly that it will enforce the mask order, but pursue an “education first” strategy. Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton told the Reader in late November that Sandpoint police will focus until the end of the year on making people aware of the mask order, but, “We may issue warnings.” As Chasse stated: “The conflicting messages in our community create challenges for us and we can only do so much to get everyone on the same page in order to keep our operation going all winter long.” The apparent disjointed nature of local governments’ response to COVID-19 — as well as opposition to COVID-19 protocols from “certain portions of our community,” in Chasse’s words — has served to undermine “all of the work we have put in to be proactive in support of the PHD mandate.” “Bottom line — if you’re uncomfortable with our current process, procedures and expectations relative to COVID, I would be more than happy to roll your season pass to next year as long as you do so by Friday, Dec. 11, 2020. The decision is yours,” Chasse wrote, directing a hypothetical question to anti-mask advocates, “‘do you want to be the reason we can’t ski/ride all season?’ Like seatbelts, or taking your shoes off when you enter someone’s home, it’s a simple request. “Skiing and snowboarding are not essential functions during this pandemic but we understand the importance of having some normalcy in these unprecedented times,” he stated. “We need everyone to do their part. Hopefully we can all slow the spread and continue to shred.”
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: Congressional Emergency COVID-19 relief may come in the form of a significantly shrunken bipartisan plan, The Washington Post reported. It appears to have money for the jobless, states and cities, vaccine distribution efforts, hospitals, the hungry and the Postal Service, as well as the Republican demand for protecting businesses from COVID-19 related lawsuits (that protection benefits corporations and shareholders, but not atrisk employees). Democrats have resisted corporate COVID-19 legal protections, since there is no incentive to rigorously protect against COVID-19. Republicans have resisted stimulus checks but have signaled approval for $300 a week in unemployment benefits — half of the previous $600 a week. Newsweek reported that far-right Pastor Rick Wiles has suggested firing squads be used on Democrats and the media if it is determined that they conspired to “rig” the recent presidential election. A former Florida state data scientist had her home raided Dec. 7 by law enforcement officers, who took computers, phones and the like. Rebekah Jones had allegedly been fired for insubordination when she refused to manipulate COVID-19 data to downplay its severity. According to tallahassee.com, after her dismissal she then compiled and posted COVID-19 info from her home. Judges from six states, where President Donald Trump has sued to contest the election results, have declared that the suits do not prove widespread fraud, have no merit and are baseless in their claims, The Washington Post reported. Federal District Judge Brett Ludwig, a recent Trump nominee, commented that Trump’s legal actions seeking “extraordinary” relief are hard to fathom, and his desire to “remand” the election to the state legislature is “bizarre.” “Lock him up” appears to be a real possibility for Trump once he leaves office. Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner (now a legal analyst for NBC and MSNBC) described the various charges Trump could face: in New York State, falsifying business records, maximum penalty four years in prison; tax fraud, 25 years maximum; insurance fraud, 25 years; and conspiracy, 25
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist
years. At the federal level: conspiracy to defraud the U.S., including paying hush money (five years); bribery, two years, regarding the Ukrainian attempt to dig up dirt on a relative of his presidential opponent; obstruction of Congress, five years, regarding the impeachment process; witness tampering, three years, regarding tweeted comments while the former ambassador to the Ukraine testified to Congress; delaying delivery of U.S. mail, five years, regarding imposing service cutbacks at the post office prior to an expectation of heavy mail volume with mail-in voting; violating campaign finance law, five years; involuntary homicide, eight years, regarding gross negligence in the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of Dec. 6 the average number of new cases of COVID-19 per day had risen 15% as compared to two weeks ago, according to stats from The New York Times. On Dec. 6 there were 1,111 new deaths and 173,457 new cases. Last week there was an average of 196,826 cases per day. The number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19, since the beginning of the pandemic, was 282,300 on Dec. 6. Yale University has been exploring why COVID-19 seems to have a lesser impact on children. Researchers compared the immune responses of 60 adults and 65 children and adults under age 24, all who were hospitalized for COVID-19. In general the younger age group had milder symptoms, and higher levels of two immune molecules, which seem to fight the virus. A study co-author said the young’s more robust response to COVID-19 may protect them from “progressing to severe pulmonary disease.” Commentator and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich stated that over the last 40 years hourly wages have stagnated, with most economic gains going to the top: “The richest 1% of U.S. households now own 50% of the value of stocks held by Americans.” And the richest 10% own 92%. The bottom line for making advances to redistribute power, Reich maintains, as in the times of FDR and LBJ, can only occur “when those without it demand it.” Blast from the past: On Dec. 7, 1941, military forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, killing 2,403 Americans. As of Dec. 8, 2020 the U.S. has seen the death of 283,700 Americans from COVID-19.
PERSPECTIVES
Emily Articulated
A column by and about Millennials
My broken car stereo By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist
Not long ago, I was having one of “those days.” It was the kind of morning that started with a coffee burn on my tongue and a drawer full of gloves without their match. It was an afternoon of getting stuck at an impossibly long red light, and my very-important-email sitting finished in my draft folder, needing to have been sent that morning. It was also the kind of evening that started too early, with the sun dipping behind the mountains before I even had the chance to bask in it. It was the kind of day where everything felt just a bit “off,” like in some opposite universe. I wouldn’t be able to quite put my finger on why it felt like it did; and, then, on my ride home, my stereo went blank and the resulting silence filled my car. Which is why, for the past few days, in the wake of the day that was “just one of those days,” I’ve been driving to and from all of my destinations without sound. As someone who loves auditory experiences — from audiobooks to podcasts to radio and news programs, and of course, to music — my days are typically spent entirely surrounded by sound. But, with my recent unprogrammed dedication to chunks of time without the smallest tinkle of background music — with nothing but the low crunching of car tires and the whooshes of wind gusts outside my windows — I’ve been more tuned in than I
Emily Erickson. have been in quite some time. The simple act of driving to my destination has become an exercise in paying attention; not only more closely to the details of everything around me, but also to what’s happening within my own experience. With the past year carrying a steady stream of things demanding my attention, like pandemic updates, election headlines and news of the next impossible development — all supplemented by distractions from my own thoughts and feelings (yes, I just relistened to the entire Harry Potter audiobook series… again)
— I’ve been living in a state of nearly constant information and creativity input. But, like the simple action of turning off a faucet, I’ve removed the constant influx of other people’s output. By breaking my radio and commuting in silence, thus designating a space and time to be alone with my own thoughts and feelings, my brain has had the freedom to create its own ideas, and come to its own conclusions. After each 15-minute trip to wherever I’m going, I hurriedly pull out my little car notebook, scribbling the places to which my mind has traveled, with ideas for art pieces, article musings and curiosity for some phenomena splashing the pages — flowing more freely than they have in quite some time. It took disconnecting from constant sensory input to reconnect with my own thoughtful output. It took silence and space to rekindle the flame that I didn’t quite realize had been dimmed by the largeness of this year. This silence is a luxury, to which I understand I’m uniquely positioned to enjoy. Without kids or even the rigid schedule
of an office job, creating space — although unintentional — is much easier for me than it would be for most others. But, in the noise of 2020, and especially the bustle of the holiday season, I hope you all find time for your own thoughts. And just maybe, for some of you, a broken car stereo.
Retroactive
By BO
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Are international agree- Mask-wearing is common ments good for the U.S.?… sense, not politics…
Bouquets: • A big Bouquet for justice this week as news dropped on Dec. 9 that Bonner County would have to pay back a majority of the city of Sandpoint’s legal fees – a sum totaling $70,000 – after the county’s foolhardy gun lawsuit over the Festival at Sandpoint’s weapons policy fizzled after the judge determined the county had no standing in November. This lawsuit should’ve never been filed in the first place. Another lawsuit was already in the works involving Scott Herndon and the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance, but Commissioners Steve Bradshaw and Dan McDonald, along with Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler had to step in front of it to grandstand. Regardless of what the aforementioned county commissioners or sheriff say about the case, it’s an embarassing loss that taxpayers footed the bill for. • I always appreciate when our readers recommend local businesses to write about. Whether it’s a new business in town or one that has consistently been doing things right for years, we’re always happy to take your suggestions for a profile on our local retailers. You can always send us a suggestion by emailing stories@ sandpointreader.com. • I am always thankful when people are understanding about planning and attending functions during COVID-19. Whether it’s a dinner party or a backyard bonfire, each individual and family needs to assess their own level of comfort for what’s right to do during a pandemic. The best thing to do when someone declines participating is be understanding and accepting of their choice. You don’t need to harangue them or ask for a specific reason why they can’t make it, just accept the fact that we all want to this nightmare to end, but some events and situations are just not right for everyone. We’ll get through this. 8 /
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Dear editor, With a new administration taking the helm, there are rumblings our leaders will reinstate our participation in the Iran nuke deal (JCPOA), and the Paris Climate Accord. Please read these documents and tell me they’re good for our nation. God bless America, and God bless our military. Steve Brixen Sandpoint
Masks are better than a lockdown… Dear editor, The recent kerfuffle perpetrated by two of the Bonner County commissioners regarding defunding the Panhandle Health District is a symptom of how far from reality our society has fallen. Commissioner Dan McDonald claims, “It’s your responsibility to protect your own health, it’s not the rest of the public’s responsibility — in my opinion — to protect your health.” Commissioner Steve Bradshaw claims the masks hinder people’s right to breathe: “There is no human right more fundamental than the right to breathe.” These gentlemen seem not to be aware of the primary use of masks: to prevent the wearer from dispersing the aerosols that contain the coronavirus and hence infecting others. Wearing a mask shows we care about our fellow citizens’ welfare and health. It shows we have respect for others. Apparently the commissioners aren’t aware of Matt. 7:12, where Jesus says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” — one of the essences of Jesus’ teachings. I expect this resistance to mask wearing stems from the president’s scorn for the virus (“a hoax”). Many say it’s no worse than the flu, but 30,000 annual flu deaths are a far cry from the 270,000 COVID deaths so far. Wearing masks to prevent the spread of the virus is certainly a much better option than having another lockdown. Sincerely, John Harbuck Sandpoint
Dear editor, To my dear friends and neighbors, I beg, beseech, implore and plead with you all to heed the advice of the CDC, which is to wear masks, keep distance between people and, for older and at-risk people, to stay out of enclosed spaces where others are not wearing masks. This is not a political stance. This is common sense. If you doubt the seriousness of this virus locally, just Google COVID-19 cases in Bonner County, Idaho. The numbers are sobering. I have to ask Bonner County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw and his colleagues exactly why they oppose the wearing of masks under these dire circumstances. I’ve never gotten a good answer to this question that in any way matches the findings and recommendations of medical science. And why try to punish the Panhandle Health District for being responsible? Masks are a temporary inconvenience. When the vaccines for COVID-19 are available in a few months, we can relax a little; but, until then, we need to pull together to keep ourselves and fellow citizens as healthy as possible. The anti-mask crew is sabotaging local businesses by opposing CDC and PHD recommendations. Those of us who listen to science will avoid businesses if we see people inside not wearing masks. Many of us are over 65 and, normally, we shop for Christmas gifts for children, grandkids, nephews and nieces at our favorite local stores. This year, it seems too risky with so many people not masking up. We will take the advice of the CDC and health department over that provided by non-medical folks who deny scientific facts. By not wearing a mask, you are hindering local businesses, not helping them. Please just do this one little thing and you will be my heroes for saving many from disease and perhaps death. Ann Warwick Sandpoint
COVID-19: No worse than the flu?… Dear editor, In the last flu season, there were 38 million cases of the flu with 22,000 deaths in the US. COVID has
infected 14.7 million with 281,000 deaths this year. Despite less than 1/2 the number of identified cases compared to flu, 12 times as many people died from COVID. In the worst flu season in Idaho’s history in 2017, 255 people died. COVID has killed 1,087 in Idaho in 2020. Clearly, COVID is far more deadly than the flu. The available treatments are spotty and we are very close to overwhelming our hospitals’ capacities for intensive care. Long-term problems, including weakness, shortness of breath, trouble focusing and, in some cases, kidney and heart problems are much more common after COVID-19 than after influenza. Every year, we rely on the flu to reach a peak and die back, as it has since the first vaccine was developed during the 1978 pandemic. COVID is not peaking; 40%-50% of people who test positive for COVID are asymptomatic, but can still spread the virus. That’s what we are doing now. Unlike the flu, since we have never been exposed to COVID before this season, there is no pre-existing immunity. Our bodies are literally defenseless, until a vaccine can be distributed to millions of people. Until then, we can prevent the loss further COVID will exact from ourselves, our families and our neighbors by social distancing, wearing masks and staying at home whenever we can. Be kind for Christmas. Nancy Gerth Masker-aider Sagle
A four-letter word... Dear editor, It’s a four letter word. Some say it. Others don’t use it at all, Thinking they know better. But others say it often, Spreading the power of this four letter word. Now shouting it ! Wear a mask! Sandra Deutchman Sandpoint
Have something to say? Write a letter to the editor. Send letters under 300 words to letters@sandpointreader.com
BY THE NUMBERS By Ben Olson Reader Staff
88%
The percentage of all Republicans in Congress who have not acknowledged the fact that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. The Washington Post recently asked 249 current GOP House members and senators who won the election. Only 29 responded, and of that group, only 27 said they believed president-elect Joe Biden had won.
79
How many years have passed since that fateful day on Dec. 7, 1941 when the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The surprise attack killed 2,403 Americans and led to the U.S. entering WWII.
$207.5 million
The amount of money President Donald Trump’s campaign has raised since Election Day. Trump has still yet to concede the election to Joe Biden. To date, the Trump campaign has lost all but one of the 50 lawsuits filed in various states alleging voter fraud in the 2020 election.
9
The number of people who have died of COVID-19 in Bonner County since the beginning of the pandemic. To date, there have been 1,287 confirmed and probable cases reported in Bonner County.
$300 million
The reported amount of money paid to Bob Dylan for his entire songwriting catalog of over 600 songs by Universal Music Publishing Group.
PERSPECTIVES
A dog walk in the park
By Tim Henney Reader Contributor My 1957 Cal-Berkeley bride is staring 86 in the face and has an underlying medical condition, which makes her a COVID-19 magnet. I am 89 and have a superior, more virus-tempting underlying medical condition. This makes me a preferable target. (We have been competitive from the start.) Concerned friends ask how we curmudgeons are managing to dodge the pandemic and remain intact. They say if we test positive we’re goners. Toodle-oo. Bye bye. Au revoir. A long ago backyard equestrian, Jacquelynn, my soulmate since 1956, deals with today’s Trump-caused chaos by reading novels, watching PBS and CNN, cheering for the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, tending an indoor nursery, writing letters by hand (she detests computers) and bitching about her recently installed walk-in bathtub, which she insists is “for old people” who bust hips and heads climbing in and out of regular tubs. She has always despised shopping and cooking, and happily reared three now ancient children essentially on TV dinners. Because I prefer authentic food, I became a grocery-shopping oracle and three-meal-a-day chef starting with retirement in 1986. (To be fair, we do share the vacuum when living room cat and dog hair reaches ankle depth.) My own response to the virus is more athletic than hers. Having forsaken decades of sailing, tennis, travel and warbling old songs with buddies no longer here, I walk with Tippy, who is 10 and the ultimate example of man’s best friend. Sometimes we tramp the forested Blue Gate trail, sometimes Dover’s tidy paths, sometimes the flat approach to the steep Mickinnick climb, sometimes the leafy Bay Trail along the lake. Most hikers we meet on these journeys are accompanied by a dog or dogs. Generally we prefer meeting people with dogs to those without. Dogsters often seem happier. They smile and visit. We have yet to meet a dog person wearing a Make America Hate Again red hat and the compulsory hostile scowl. Our favorite saunter is through Lakeview Park, a two-minute hike from home. We like the majestic ponderosas, Douglas firs, lodgepole pines, western red cedars and arboretum so lovingly led and kept gorgeous by volunteers Mary Toland and pals Molly, Rae, Cindy, Sue, Cara, Mary Jo and others. The park’s natural serenity instills in visitors — at least this one — the faux feeling that there is indeed peace on Earth. We also love the many merry park dogs and dogsters we meet along the way. Sometimes, depending on time of day, we greet mailman Chris as we are walking out the driveway. Tail rotating madly like a ceiling fan and ears flat back with love and admiration, Tippy dashes to Chris for a tasty tidbit. Oh, joy! If Tippy were appointed postmaster general by Joe, she’d give mail carriers a hefty raise for all they’ve done and do. An American anachronism like police officers who once walked a beat, letter carriers like Chris happily hiking door to door and know-
ing his neighbors are another gem in Sandpoint’s bejeweled crown. Mail carriers hoofing it house to house remind us that Sandpoint is more akin to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood than to Armageddon. Passing the tennis courts as we head toward the lake — or, because of the winter drawdown, the sandy beach along its shoreline — Tippy and I pause to watch a middle-aged couple repeatedly slinging a tennis ball for their 4-year-old mixed breed best friend, Savannah, on the wet courts. Tippy, off leash, joins the chase. They are from Missouri, have lived many places and reside in Bayview. They adore Sandpoint and want to move here. “We walk downtown and everyone is so friendly,” he says. And with a smile as wide as Kamala’s, she adds, “This seems like it must be a wonderful place to live.” And I say, “Yes, it is!” Often, a Parks and Recreation guy with a reverse vacuum cleaner is blowing a zillion leaves into little piles when Tippy and I pass by. I wave and he waves back. We don’t know one another, but we’re friends. Recently I told him he looks like he loves his job. He said, “I get to drive this buggy around [a motorized contraption loaded with gas cans and tools of the trade] and be outdoors all day. I also drive that big John Deere.” With a wide grin, this contented Sandpointian adds, “I love this place. I’ve got it made.” As we approach the boat launch my best friend and I come upon another couple, oldsters half my age, walking two more of man’s best friends — both rescues — as was Tippy, but even older, being 14 and 17. We compare canine notes as our dogs briefly bristle, sniff butts, then romp off to cavort and piddle along the new sandy playground created by the drawdown. Tippy and I spend nearly an hour strolling, watching the water, the ducks, the geese, the osprey, the Long Bridge, distant trains huffing and puffing across the lake, and some gathering rain clouds. As Robert Browning wrote, “God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.” Well, it is with our world, on our beach, in our park. Lucky us. Before we start hiking home we greet two ladies we’ve met before during park wanderings. They had been obviously unimpressed with me, hadn’t a clue; but they address Tippy by name. Turns out we have a mutual friend, Montana writer/publisher Sandy Compton. They and their part-poodle are so cheerful I am tempted to ask their names, but don’t. When guys going on 90 ask young ladies in their late 60s their names he can be perceived as a dirty old man. And sometimes the truth hurts. As Tippy and I head up the boat ramp, four thin, 30-something adults plus three kids with jump ropes and a dog head down the ramp. The elders are in swimsuits and jogging in place, presumably to get warm. (It is an icy late-November morning.) They lope out to the water, maybe two football fields from shore. The kids build sandcastles — and the adults go swimming. The dog? He stays with the kids and barks furiously at the swimmers. I swear he’s yapping, “Damn fools! Damn fools! Damn fools!” but that could be my imagination. Anything is possible, all of it good, and amusing, on a walk in the park with a dog.
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COMMUNITY
Creations and Sandpoint Giving Tree seeking donations of winter clothing for community By Reader Staff Creations teams up with the Sandpoint Giving Tree each year to provide needed winter items, such as coats, boots, hats, mittens and warm pajamas, to special needs and low-income North Idaho children, adults and seniors. The program also spreads the cheer of holiday giving. There are a number of ways to support the Sandpoint Giving Tree: Support the Giving Tree by picking up a tag at Super 1, Cafe 95, Mr. Sub or Les Schwab. Each tag is for one client and includes their age, gender, size and needed items. Buy the needed winter items listed on the tag, wrap, attach the Giving Tree tag and return to the Giving Tree. Organizers will deliver items to the client. Go Bowling. On Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10:30 a.m. to noon at 7B Lanes at 120 S. Division St. in Sandpoint, the bowling alley will donate 50% of sales to the Giving Tree. The same day there will also be a silent auction at 7B Lanes, with proceeds
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benefiting the Giving Tree. Auction items include: Creations gift basket, brunch gift basket, kids basket, barbecue essentials, Pie Hut gift certificate and more. Participants are invited to bid on the auction even if you aren’t going to bowl. Cash donations help buy items for any unfilled tags (usually five or 10) at the end of the program and also help print signs, tags and otherwise support the 100% volunteer-run program. Donate online: gofundme.com/f/ sandpoint-giving-tree If you know a child, adult or senior in need of winter items, contact creationsforsandpoint@gmail.com with their name, phone number, age, gender, size and needed winter items, and they will be added to the
list of program clients. “We want all our North Idaho neighbors to have warm clothes for the winter,” stated organizers in a news release.. The Sandpoint Giving Tree is supported by a grant this year from TC Energy, which helps print tags, fliers, signs and assists with other material program costs. For more information, contact Sandpoint Giving Tree head organizer Tammy Shivel at 208-627-6446.
Scouting for food 2020
Courtesy photo.
By Reader Staff On a recent Saturday, local BSA Troops 201 and 308 participated in Scouting for Food, a nationwide annual food drive held by the scouting organization every November. Scouts go to an assigned area, placing bags on neighborhood doors asking for donations the first Saturday of November and then do pick up on the following Saturday from porches and curbs. Locally, scouts collected canned and dried foods from two areas in our community for the Bonner Community Food Bank. This year, Girls’ Troop 201 from Sagle was assigned to the Kootenai area and Boys’ Troop 308 from Sandpoint was assigned to the area surrounding its charter organization, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Both Cub Scout Packs (kindergarten through fifth grade) and BSA troops participated throughout the Mountain Lakes District and Inland Northwest Council. The Mountain Lakes District reaches from the Canadian border in Bonners Ferry, west to include Newport, Wash., and south of St. Maries and Kellogg and is part of the Inland Northwest Council. The Inland Northwest Council also includes the Greater Spokane area as well as Eastern Washington from the Canadian border south to the Oregon border. This year Troop 201 collected 298 pounds of dried and canned foods while Troop 308 collected 328 pounds. All told, the Mountain Lakes District collected 8,808 pounds of food and $51 in donations for local North Idaho food banks. The Inland Northwest Council as a whole gathered 65,286 pounds of food and $401 in donations.
Top: Troop 201 Pictured: Alissa Colegrove and Rachel Peck. Participated (not pictured) Abby Gentry, Makensie Beggerly, Marissa Beggerly and Emilie Bourassa. Bottom: Troop 308 Front row: Jake Oliver, Isaac Copher, Garrett Copher, Harrison Copher. Back row: Scoutmaster Kevin Bryan, Matthew Bryan, Odin Clark, Noah Kaufman, Asst. Scoutmaster Cameron Copher. Courtesy photos.
This week’s photos of the week features some stunning aerial photos of the Selkirk Mountains taken by Mark Schafhausen. The top photo features the Wigwams, elevation 7,033’, taken from over the ridge south of Kent Peak looking west. The bottom left photo is also the Wigwams taken from over the ridge emanating north up to Temple Mountain, looking south. The bottom right photo is Chimney Rock, elevation 7,124’ looking west. The inset is Mark’s 1948 Cessna 195: “It was a beautiful day, no wind, glass smooth air. There was a temperature inversion. The temperature was below freezing in Sandpoint but 45 degrees at 7,000 feet!” If you’d like to submit a photo for a future issue, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.
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Mad about Science:
Brought to you by:
curious thought experiments
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
Humans love a good brain teaser. How many posts have you scrolled through on Facebook where people are arguing whether or not 4+(2x1)=9 or not? Curiously, many of the most bizarre and thought-provoking brain teasers and riddles never make it to the crucible of Facebook feeds, though they probably should. Here are a few curious thought experiments with no clear answers. Feel free to argue about these online — in a respectful and thoughtful manner, of course. Knights and Knaves Imagine you take a trip to an island with a small town on it, not unlike our lovely Sandpoint. The inhabitants of this town are referred to as knights and knaves — knights will always tell the truth, and knaves will always lie. To your surprise, upon arriving at the island and staying for a few days, the captain of your boat tells you that there is one condition should you wish to leave the island: correctly identify everyone who is a knight, and everyone who is a knave living on the island. In its most basic form, there is one question you can ask every resident of the island that will give you a definitive answer and allow you to move on your merry way in haste. You could just look the answer up on your phone, but isn’t it more fun to try and figure out the puzzle? This logic puzzle has been explored a number of ways throughout the past four decades, including adding variables such as knights and knaves spontaneously switching stances, replying in a language you don’t speak 12 /
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or the addition of a third class of “normals” that can say whatever they want, be it the truth or lies. Do you have what it takes to survive the trip and make it back home? The Chinese Room This thought experiment has become more relevant than ever in the past decade, which has seen the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. I’ll tell you why soon. Imagine you are locked in a room filled with dictionaries and translation materials. Every 30 minutes, a piece of paper slips under the door with an inquiry written in Chinese characters. Your job is to accurately translate the question as well as the correct answer, using the myriad tools at your disposal. Chances are, you don’t speak Chinese, so you don’t fully understand the scope of what you’re doing; but, with the proper tools, you are able to emulate the language and reply effectively. Eventually, with enough practice, you should be able to fake it so well that the questioners on the other side of the door are completely ignorant to the fact that you are not a native Chinese speaker. This illustrates a number of issues and concerns with artificial intelligence as it improves. The foremost question being: At any point, does the computer become aware that it is a computer, and that it is doing stuff for humans, or is it just using the tools around it to fake it and appear to think as a human does? Is that what we have been doing all along? To those of us who remember the chatbots of the early 2000s internet, look how frighteningly close to human emulation bots have become now. You may have a number of bots in your friends
list on Facebook right now, grabbing and altering photos and stringing words together with such efficiency that you’re completely unaware that it has never been a real human, it’s just there to harvest your data. Roko’s Basilisk Disclaimer: This thought experiment has been cited as causing extreme existential dread among some who read it. You know I like to joke around, but this is a serious disclaimer. If stress, anxiety or existential dread are things you actively suffer from, maybe just skip this one. Personally, I find the premise of this one to be ludicrous, but I have to post the disclaimer, anyway. First posted in 2010, “Roko’s Basilisk” is a thought experiment that explores some really interesting ideas in a puzzling way. The idea is that, sometime in the future, humankind may create some kind of omnipotent artificial intelligence that will be able to access our brains, singularity style. In doing so, it looks through our memories to identify two kinds of people: the people who supported its creation, and everyone else — those who were ignorant of it, and those who opposed it. The supporters of its creation will be allowed by the Basilisk AI to evolve to the next level of human evolution as Terminator-esque cyborgs or whatever. Everyone else gets a hot wire in their brain that causes the illusion of eternal torment. Yowch. Dystopian as that sounds, it illustrates an intriguing point. There is little benefit in opposing its creation, as that will only be met with pain. Supporting its creation becomes the most logical step. Simply thinking about this choice means that a being that
has not been created yet is influencing decisions to help bring itself into existence. In a way, this is a very human dilemma we have experienced time and time again throughout civilization. Every time monarchs, politicians, or ruling classes in general laid groundwork for dynasties that would inevitably last for generations, they were at the mercy of the will of beings who weren’t even conceived yet. The actions of supporting these
nonexistent beings would go on to shape world politics, sciences and the arts for centuries — and continue to do so. Now if you’re worried about a killer AI torturing you in some dystopian YA-novel future, don’t worry. The carbon in our bodies is a far more valuable resource to harvest. They’ll just take all of that to build more robots while we turn into a gooey puddle of sludge. Stay curious, 7B!
Random Corner m?
Don’t know much aboutautis • Autism affects more than 25 million people in the world. • One out of 42 boys and one in 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the U.S. • The doctor who claimed a link between vaccines and autism, Andrew Wakefield, created fraudulent data for his paper and lost his medical license as a result. Wakefield has become one of the most reviled doctors of his generation, blamed directly and indirectly, depending on the accuser, for irresponsibly starting a panic with tragic repercussions: vaccination rates so low that deadly childhood diseases once all but eradicated — including whooping cough and measles — have re-emerged. Despite this, more than 20% of the U.S. population still believes that vaccines cause autism. • The “intense world” theory of autism suggests that autistic people shut down because they
We can help!
experience and feel too much. • There are virtually no differences in brain anatomy between people with autism and those without. • More than 250 cinemas in the UK have Autism Friendly Screenings in which the volume is lower, the lighting is darker, and you can bring your own food and drink. • Although autism is generally assumed to be lifelong, there’s evidence that between 3% and 25% of affected people eventually lose symptoms, a 2008 study found. • Research shows that drama classes are particularly useful for improving the social skills of autistic children. • 90% of deaths in autism spectrum kids under 14 are from drowning.
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COMMUNITY Kaniksu Land Trust hires Timblin as director of communications By Reader Staff
Kaniksu Land Trust recently welcomed Marcy Timblin as director of communications. The position is a newly created role to help the organization effectively articulate its activities to stakeholders and the general public. Timblin comes from a natural resources background with more than 20 years of communications and marketing experience. “Marcy is a gifted writer and storyteller,” said Katie Egland Cox, executive director of KLT. “Her passion for the outdoors coupled with her ability to reach a reader with her beautiful prose will help tell the stories and impact of the work we do at KLT. We are so excited to have her join us.” When Timblin was 8 years old, her family moved to North Idaho from Portland, Ore. With 20 acres of treed paradise surrounded by public land, she explored every inch with her dog, Bandit. As she grew up, she learned all she could about the natural world; the soil, the rocks, the plants, trees and wildlife. She hiked, biked, ran, swam and skied whenever — and wherever — she could. Moving to wild Idaho was the best gift her parents could have given her. When she wasn’t outside (and sometimes when she was) she wrote short stories and poetry. Her love for creative writing and nature moved her to study communications and natural resources
in college. During that time, she worked seasonally for Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation as a naturalist interpreter at Round Lake State Park. She stayed on as an AmeriCorps member for two years after college while operating a nature education side project. She volunteered with Idaho Fish and Game, Department of Lands and the Forest Service before joining a high country trail maintenance crew with the Bureau of Land Management. After marrying and raising three children, she worked in various roles and realized her affinity for public relations and marketing. She was the downtown manager and executive director of the Downtown Sandpoint Business Association. Most recently, she worked for the East Bonner County Library District as the public relations, marketing and community development specialist. Timblin started her post at KLT in November. KLT is a nonprofit organization that promotes healthy lands and healthy communities with the understanding that the two are inextricably linked. The organization facilitates voluntary land conservation by working with landowners to keep important lands intact. KLT also engages the community with land in order to overcome challenges related to health and education, and to encourage an ethic of long-term stewardship. The organization’s mission
Marcy Timblin. Courtesy photo. is: “Caring for the lands and people of the Kaniksu region, today, tomorrow and forever.” “I’ve been a fan-girl of Kaniksu Land Trust since its inception. I am so thrilled to come full-circle, back to the industry I love, sharing the stories of the amazing things KLT is doing for our community,” Timblin said. Learn more about Kaniksu Land Trust by visiting their website at kaniksulandtrust.org.
Angels Over Sandpoint offers grant for those seeking new profession A New Direction Grant comes from the Amber Coffman Campbell Memorial Fund By Reader Staff
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The Angels Over Sandpoint is offering its A New Direction Grant — a gift of monetary support funded by the Amber Coffman Campbell Memorial Fund, offered to all Bonner County residents seeking to make a change in their life’s pursuit. Specifically, the grant funds educational objectives to move toward a new profession or path in life. With all that has been happening in 2020, this may be the time to make that change in your life that will fulfill your hopes and dreams for the future. The Angels Over Sandpoint’s goal for this grant is to assist individuals in the path they choose to follow. Applications are being accepted and can be found at angelsoversandpoint.org under the “grants” tab at the top of the page. This grant is available for trade schools as well as colleges or universities for adults
wishing to change to a “New Direction” in their lives. Campbell was passionate, inspirational and generous of spirit. She brought forth an idea that there was always something about to unfold — something magical just in front of us — and that something beautiful would
happen. She would find something delightful in her path, even the littlest thing and embrace it. Maybe this is your opportunity. Although Campbell left this world too soon, she left behind the gift of her unbidden joy that is still carried in the hearts of her community.
Sandpoint Nordic Club Youth Recreational Ski Team Registration deadline extended to Dec. 14 By Reader Staff The Youth Recreational Ski Team is a fun eight-week program that runs January through February. It offers kids from 6 to 18 years old the opportunity to learn and enjoy cross-country skiing. Coaches and adult volunteers lead groups of kids in activities designed to teach the fundamentals of Nordic (cross-country) skiing, from fun on
the snow for the youngest skiers, to technique and even racing for more experienced skiers. Season rentals are available at a discounted rate for ski team participants. The registration deadline has been extended. Sign up by Dec. 14 to avoid a $30 late registration fee. Registration and more program information is available online at sandpointnordic. com.
HOLIDAY
Off the beaten track: Outdoor gifts What do you get that outdoors lover who has everything?
Photos and words by Ben Olson Reader Staff ‘Tis the season of giving, and what better way to support local businesses than purchasing gifts for your loved ones right here in North Idaho? If you’re like us, though, picking out the perfect gift can sometimes be a challenge. What follows are some gift ideas from off the beaten track available locally. This week’s theme is the great outdoors, with new themes following in the upcoming editions of the Reader before Christmas.
so bids will need to be at least that amount. Bidders can only bid once. Those interested in placing bids can do so at pendoreillepedalers.org/puppy. Hydrascape Infinity Sticker — $16 Outdoor Experience
Starling Bajka hat / Blackstrap facemasks — $60/$16 The Alpine Shop Cozy up like a Yeti in this Starling Ba-
Trail puppy — minimum bid $500 Pend Oreille Pedalers
*Courtesy
*Courtesy Hiking and biking the many trails in North Idaho is a blast, but it would be even better with a new trail pup by your side. Jason Welker, director of the nonprofit trail-building organization Pend Oreille Pedalers, got his own trail buddy earlier this year and is happy to announce the human parents of his pooch are donating one of the four red-tri-colored puppies from another litter to POP to show their appreciation for the work they do. There are two boys and two girls to choose from, but any one of these little cuties could be a great Christmas present this year. The pups will be ready to go home in about a month. For the first three weeks, POP will take bids from their community for one of these puppies. The auction will take place at 9 a.m. on Christmas Eve and the winning bidder will be notified that day, which means one POP family will be welcoming a new puppy into the family on Christmas Day. All of the proceeds from the winning bid will go to POP to support their trail-building efforts in 2021. This is a “sealed bid” auction, so anyone interested in taking part just needs to let POP know how much their highest bid is. The highest bidder takes home the puppy for Christmas. The reserve price is $500,
Water bottles have become an essential everyday item in today’s world. Personalize your own hydro flask with Outdoor Experience’s Hydrascape Infinity Stickers. These oversized stickers depict different mountain scenes and wrap around your water bottle to add style and uniqueness to your water source. Therm-a-Rest Honcho Poncho — $99.95 Outdoor Experience What do you get someone who is al-
jka fluffy women’s hat and grab a few extra facemasks from Blackstrap. They’re made in the U.S. out of recycled materials and have a variety of different designs. Puffin Beverage Jacket koozies — $12.95-$17.95 Larson’s Department Store Surprise your significant other with
*Courtesy ways cold? The Honcho Poncho is one size fits all, unsnaps to lay flat like a blanket and packs into its pocket, which can also double as a pillow. It’s more portable than lugging a propane heater around.
these adorable Puffin Beverage Jacket koozies. They’re well made, with intricate design details including zippers and tags just like a miniature jacket. They have a variety of styles from flannel shirts to puffy jackets. They’re good for hot beverages in winter and cold beers in summer. Mmm, beer.
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FEATURE
Fast-moving meals of magic Adventure, luxury and good eats were a winning recipe for rail dining at the height of train travel
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff
There is nothing quite like enjoying a fresh, warm meal while traveling. It’s largely an experience of the past, with cars and airplanes as the main modes of transportation in the 21st century. However, for almost the entirety of the 1900s, trains — complete with sleeping accomodations and extravagant dining cars — ruled the travel world. An excerpt from a 1952 article in Trains and Travel, adapted for the introduction to James D. Porterfield’s book Dining By Rail, perfectly encapsulates the magic that accompanied a dining car experience at the height of train travel. The author, having just consumed a meal of steak, salad, piping hot rolls and coffee, returns to his quarters full of food and contentment: “As you settle in you can’t help but wonder about the 85-foot dining car, a streamlined restaurant running through the night at 70 miles an hour. How did such a convenience come to be at your disposal? How the devil does that chef turn out a meal like you’ve just had, with only a handful of square feet of working space? You have enough trouble at home in a kitchen that seems bigger than the whole diner. And you don’t have waiters underfoot, or a hundred people to feed, or a five-entree menu. And where does he get all that food in the first place, and how does he keep it so fresh and attractive? And the waiter. How does he balance that loaded tray over his head on just the palm of one hand? They were busy tonight, yet your meal came off without a hitch. Marvelous. You can’t wait for breakfast.” The wonder of such an incredible culinary feat continues to perplex and enchant historians and train enthusiasts alike, who now understand such luxurious commodities are a relic of decades gone by. With passenger trains now few and far between, and modern rail accommodations more simplistic, train dining like that experienced in the 1950s no longer exists. Thanks to meticulous record keeping and the efforts of people who love dining cars the most, the history can be shared and even replicated in the home kitchen. 16 /
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The evolution of train dining During early train travel in the mid19th century, passengers were tasked with packing their own food baskets; but, according to BNSF spokesperson Courtney Wallace, those baskets wouldn’t always last for the length of the journey. She said that sometimes a young boy, known as a “news butcher,” would roam the train selling fruit, sandwiches and newspapers. Things changed with the invention of the Pullman car and, soon after, the first ever dining car: The Delmonico. Complete with a kitchen and full permanent staff of chefs and waiters, Wallace said a dining car might serve upward of 250 meals a day. “When Northern Pacific debuted its express service to the West Coast, the North Coast Limited, on April 29, 1900, the dining menu was as rich as the sights viewed from the railcar domes,” she said. “As passengers traveled from Chicago through Yellowstone National Park and all the way to Seattle they were encouraged to stop by the railcar for friendly
service, good conversation and a hot meal finished off with delicious desserts,” such as the Northern Pacific Devil’s Food Cake. (Find the recipe, courtesy of BNSF archives, on page 17.) Trains and, in turn, dining cars, continued to see advancements throughout the century that followed. “[W]hen you look back on holiday seasons past, you may have fond memories of cross-country road trips or a tightknit gathering with family members,” Wallace said. “But there was a time when the annual trip home might not have been in a car, but aboard the most innovative transport of the day: The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Zephyr streamliners.” The streamliners were made great by their lightweight frame design and modernized diesel engines. Passengers headed home for the holidays on the Zephyr enjoyed seasonal offerings from the dining car, such as the autumnal dessert of fried apples. (Find the recipe, adapted from Dining By Rail, on page 17.)
Harnessing magic for the modern age Marcia Pilgeram — longtime travel consultant and food columnist for the Sandpoint Reader — took her first solo train trip in the late 1960s around age 14, traveling from Butte, Mont., to California to spend the summer with her grandparents. With a picnic basket of food from her mother in tow and $20 of spending money for the summer in her pocket, it didn’t take Pilgeram long after stepping onto that train to discover her true love: railroad dining. “I would get on those trains, I would stash the food they made me and I would spend all of my summer vacation money in the dining car,” she said, “and I thought it was the most amazing experience of my life.” Pilgeram’s life is peppered with stories of entrepreneurship — from starting a restaurant to working as a travel consultant — but no job combined her many passions quite like the years she spent
< see TRAIN, page 17 >
< TRAIN, con’t from page 17 >
TRAIN RECIPES Northern Pacific Devil’s Food Cake #1
overseeing kitchen operations on trains all over the United States. From catering for a train company in the early ’90s to owning her own train travel business — Montana Rockies Rail Tours — between Sandpoint and Livingston, Mont., into the mid-2000s, Pilgeram knows what it takes to produce stunning meals while the train keeps moving down the tracks. But while the dining experiences were stunning, the work behind the scenes was often brutal. “It’s the hardest work,” she said. “Sometimes — we called them one-trippers — somebody [that is, a worker] just wouldn’t come back, or they’d just get off the train and we’d never see them again.” What made rail dining work so difficult stemmed largely from the demanding preparation needed to feed people in a small space. “You had to plan your food so well. You had very limited refrigeration, even less freezer space,” said Pilgeram, who often shared her bunk with loaves of bread due to limited storage. “You couldn’t stop and get anything — you know, the train stops weren’t that long — although on occasion you’d pay someone an outrageous sum of money to bring something to a train, most of the time cigars for the old men who forgot their cigars.” What’s more, Pilgeram tried to stay true to the signature dish-
es that railroads served in their heyday, depending on where she might be catering: crab cakes on the East Coast, grits and gumbo in the South and the Great Big Baked Potato — the Northern Pacific Railroad’s signature offering — in the Northwest. Still, Pilgeram admits that her era of rail dining was not near the endeavor it was during the height of train travel, when chefs who worked over wood- or coal-burning stoves all day had nowhere to rest but a small jumpseat that pulled down from the wall. Trains were staffed by hardworking, dedicated individuals set on making travel as comfortable and convenient as it could be. “They had barbers, they had secretaries, they had babysitters,” Pilgeram said of trains at the peak of rail travel. A combination of liability and new technology has made train travel and rail dining largely irrelevant, as freight dominates the tracks and most people take to the skies when they need to take a trip. Still, the art and luxury of a moving meal in a state-of-the-art dome car remains close to the hearts of many — especially Pilgeram. “There’s just something magical about a dining car,” she said.
Facing page: Passengers enjoy the views from a dome car on the North Coast Limited in the early 20th century. Top left: Marcia Pilgeram in 1995, during her train catering career. Top right: Preparing dinner in the dining car kitchen, c. 1940. Bottom: Travelers seated in a dining car in 1934, when amenities like silver and linens were commonplace for train travel. Courtesy photos.
• 1/2 cup butter, softened • 1 cup sugar • 4 large eggs • 1 cup milk • 1/2 tsp baking soda • 1/8 (a pinch) of salt • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract • 1/2 cup cocoa powder • 1 tsp baking powder • 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir soda, salt and vanilla into milk, and add to first mixture. Add sifted dry ingredients, mixing completely. Pour into a 9x13-inch greased cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.
Fried Apples • 4 tart apples • 2 tbsp bacon drippings • 2 tbsp butter • 1 cup brown or white sugar Wash apples and remove core, but do not remove skin. Cut each apple into 12 wedge-shaped slices. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt bacon drippings and butter together. Add the apple wedges and sauté for about 15 minutes without cover, turning once. Sprinkle with sugar, cover and continue cooking, turning several times until browned well. When properly prepared, apples will have a nice brown color and be tender (not cooked to a mush) and have a soursweet taste. December 10, 2020 /
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events
December 10-17, 2020
THURSDAY, December 10
FSPW Virtual Pint Night • 6:30-8:30pm @ scotchmanpeaks.org/events Register on the FSPW website to access discounts for growler fills, games over Zoom and more! Game winners receive $25 gift certificates to participating restaurants
FriDAY, December 11
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
SATURDAY, December 12
Live Music w/ Jason Perry 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Jazz renditions and Americana originals
Nordic ski rentals and fittings 9-12am @ Pine Street Woods Sandpoint Nordic Club is open for season ski rentals. Must be a member to rent skis for the season. sandpointnordic.com
SunDAY, December 13
Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am
Piano Sunday w/ Tom Pletcher 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Jazz and original compositions on the grand
monDAY, December 14 Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant “True Beauty: Is it Really Only Skin Deep?”
Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience
tuesDAY, December 15
Paint and Sip w/ Lisa Maus • 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery $35/person, includes supplies, instruction and a glass of house red or white. 208-265-8545
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COMMUNITY
Romey Stuckart 1955-2020
Romey was born Rosemary Stuckart in Sublimity, Ore. in 1955, the fifth child of six. Upon high school graduation she went on to Gonzaga University to study fine arts, which included a year’s study in Florence, Italy. She later received an MFA from University of Iowa, Iowa City in 1981, where she met and married Stephen Schultz in 1984. From there, she went on to receive professional residencies and teaching positions in Iowa, Virginia, New York, Texas, Washington, France and Italy, among others. In 1987, Romey and Stephen, also an artist, moved to Hope and established home base studios. Romey was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship and NEA in 1994 on the merit of her Idaho paintings (in spite of being under 40, female and from the West). Her resume includes a long list of exhibitions, both prestigious and small, nationally and internationally. She also sought to reach out to her community in the micro and macro — she welcomed it all. During the decades that followed, Romey braided together her intellectual pursuits of healing arts and art making. Her constant companion: The will to
Courtesy photo. seek her truth. In her passing she was served by hospice, friends Lulu Bannick and Sandy Wolters and husband Stephen Schultz. There will be no public gathering at this time; hopefully in the spring, together, we will celebrate her wonderful life. An exhibition of Romey’s work will be at Missoula ART Museum. For further information and to see more of Romey’s work, please visit her website at romeystuckart.com.
STAGE & SCREEN
Local cinema keeps rolling
Bonner Mall movie theater sees new life as Sandpoint Cinemas, offers private screenings
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff
Eric Plummer feels at home in a movie theater. The man behind the newly revamped Sandpoint Cinemas — formerly known as the Bonner Mall Cinemas — said he was a “movie buff from a young age.” “I was the kid in high school that lived at Blockbuster and was constantly renting movies,” Plummer said. “I’ve always loved the experience of being in a theater. For two hours you get lost in a movie and there’s no distractions. The visceral part of it, too — the big screen and the powerful sound — I just love the experience as a whole.” Plummer and his business partner and childhood friend Mike Lehosit — who owns the Hayden Discount Cinemas — took over the lease at 300 Bonner Mall Way in early November, and have been working hard to keep movie-going alive in Bonner County when the pandemic made it look like visits to the local theater might be a thing of the past. Former owner Dale Reese announced on Facebook that the business was closing just before the new owners went public with their plans for Sandpoint Cinemas. “The area needs a movie theater, so we wanted to keep it going — that was our main goal,” Plummer said. Still, it isn’t an easy time to own a business based on gathering patrons in large groups to take in a new film, so Sandpoint Cinema has adjusted. In addition to frequent sanitation and blocked off rows of seats to encourage social distancing, the theater is offering private screenings: for $50, you can invite up to 20 people to enjoy a movie. The experience encourages families and other small groups to get out and enjoy a theater experience without having to worry about gathering with strangers while COVID-19 makes the rounds in North Idaho. “The private screenings have been really well received,” Plummer said. “I think with the times being what they
are, people like the fact that they can dictate who’s in the cinema.” Local resident Michelle Van Stone, who recently rented the theater with a friend, said it was a COVID-safe and “truly enjoyable” outing. “What a fun experience to be able to rent out an entire theater for such a good price,” she said. “That was a great idea to keep doors open. I hope they continue with that.” Regular showtimes are also offered with extra pandemic precautions in place, and prices are lower across the board under Plummer’s and Lehosit’s ownership. Matinee tickets are $6 for all ages, and evening shows — after 6 p.m. — are $8. Tickets are all priced $5 on Tuesdays, and Sandpoint Cinemas is offering “classic” films like Elf and Die Hard for $2 a ticket. Theater patron Jordan Adams purchased her tickets ahead of time online — a feature now available through the Sandpoint Cinemas website. “I never thought I’d appreciate that instead of purchasing at the counter, but with the kiddos, I really do,” she said. Though he’s always loved movies, Plummer said getting into the nitty-gritty of running a movie theater has been a completely new experience. “It’s been a huge learning curve,” the former Daily Bee sports editor said, adding with a laugh: “It’s a lot of computer time, but not unlike my previous life.” Sandpoint Cinemas has plans to eventually offer some local touches — such as showing Sandpoint football games — and continue offering new and classic films for fair prices. It’s safe to say the sacred experience of sinking into a cushioned theater seat, eating buttery popcorn by the bucket and falling in love with new movies is in good hands with Plummer at the helm. “It’s amazing how many people have come in to see a movie and said, ‘Thank you for keeping this thing going,’” he said. “That’s the whole point — to keep movies alive. It’s a tough time right now for theaters and we’re just trying to survive and keep this thing going.” To view movie times, buy tickets or
book a private screening, visit sandpointcinemas.com. Also find Sandpoint Cinemas on Facebook.
Top: Eric Plummer stands with a couple old friends at Sandpoint Cinemas. Bottom: No movie theater experience is complete without buttery popcorn. Photos by Lyndsie Kiebert. December 10, 2020 /
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STAGE & SCREEN
The Mank-ing of Citizen Kane New David Fincher biopic explores the writer behind Orson Welles’ masterpiece
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
an entire entertainment ecosystem; simultaneously a piece of period nostalgia and an indictment of the cynicism, greed and pettiness baked into the bones of America’s Movies about movies being written by various dream factories. writers — much less writing a review of Shot in stylish, gauzy black-and-white such a movie — risks plunging viewers by director David Fincher, whose father and readers alike into a snarl of competJack receives writing credit, we are bounced ing narratives, muddied intentions and back and forth from the early 1940s to scrambled perspectives. When that movie the mid-1930s with the shambling, barbis the frenzied penning of Citizen Kane by tongued and boozy Mank as our guide into journalist/critic/and screenwriter Herman “Mank” Mankiewicz in 1940, the circuitous the nether spaces of Tinseltown. When we meet Mank (played to perfecblending of artist and subject, the fluidity of time, and line between medium and mes- tion by Gary Oldman), he’s already washed up; yet, on the strength of his past brilsage seems unusually appropriate. liance, still indulged to draw a hefty studio Of course, Citizen Kane and its legendpaycheck and ramble about the backlots — ary auteur director and star Orson Welles incessantly smoking, gambling and drinking are (or should be) considered iconic by with a stable of side-eyed, wiseass writers audiences — the premise of both being whom he has personally assembled. a thinly veiled cautionary tale about the Despite the witty repartee and fancy parunchecked power and ambition of real-life ties, it’s clear that Mank is a vessel empty media baron William Randolph Hearst. but for a minor ocean of whiskey. His “secLess widely known is the role played by ond chance,” as it were, comes after a car Mankiewicz in creating the first draft of the accident leaves him laid up with a broken screenplay. Broadly, that’s what Mank is leg in a dusty guesthouse about, but no more so than in the southern California Citizen Kane is about a sled. Mank (R) desert. Released Dec. 4 in Thursday, Dec. 10, 6:30 p.m.; Bed-ridden, unshaven, theaters and on streaming Friday, Dec. 11-Saturday, Dec. sweaty and perpetually platform Netflix — and 12, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 13, in a bathrobe that can be screening Thursday, Dec. 3:30 p.m.; $6 18 and under, $9 10-Sunday, Dec. 13 at the adults. Panida Theater, 111 First practically smelled through the screen, Mank has been Panida Theater — Mank is a Ave., 208-263-9191, panida. biopic about a man but also org. Also streaming at netflix.com. charged with writing the
script for Welles’ first feature film — what would become Citizen Kane. Yet, he’s also in a forced convalescence intended to heal his leg and keep him sober enough to handle a pen — both tall orders, made taller when his deadline is shortened from 90 to 60 days. Naturally, as most writers, he doesn’t really get down to work until he has a mere two weeks left before he must deliver the finished work. That’s one of the narratives at play in Mank, as he and his handlers bring the screenplay to fruition — punctuated by some nagging and a confrontation with Welles, admirably portrayed by Tom Burke. The other story being told is through a mass of flashbacks that occupy what seems to be at least half of the screen time. Those flashbacks cover the most ground, including the erstwhile protagonist’s fraught
Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfried in Mank. Courtesy image. relationships with studio bosses and the passel of courtesans surrounding Hearst at his San Simeon pleasure palace — complete with giraffes and elephants grazing the grounds — his platonic love affair with Randolph’s much-younger lover Marion Davies (Amanda Seyfried), and his own exasperated family, with Tuppence Middleton as his wife “poor Sara” and Tom Pelphrey as brother Joe, who went on to become a successful director and writer, even as Mank’s alcoholism killed him at 55. There are elements of redemption in Mank, but also satire, no small amount of sorrow and, as with Citizen Kane itself, power and obsession. Not quite a masterpiece itself, but an engaging piece by (and about) a master.
Series Alien Worlds is a world apart from science fiction By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff There’s escapism and there’s escapism. Slipping the surly bonds of Earth and casting our collective imagination into the far reaches of space is nothing new, but British series Alien Worlds, streaming on Netflix, is an especially rewarding, imaginative flight of fancy. Framed as a documentary, the four-episode show marshals a small army of astrobiologists, physicists, environmental scientists, astronomers and other experts to speculate on how and why life might evolve on any of the estimated trillions of exoplanets in the universe — that is, any planet orbiting a sun outside our solar system. So accustomed are we to the notion of exoplanets (our favorite books and films take them as a given) that it seems strange to remember that scientists only theorized 20 /
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their existence based on any evidence as late as 1917, and the first exoplanet wasn’t confirmed until 1992. Today we know of 4,000, and counting. Alien Worlds not only touches on the history of exoplanetary research, but, most tantalizing, applies the laws of life as we know it on Earth to the conditions that the series’ experts speculate might exist out there. Each episode centers on one example world — some with relative high gravity and low gravity, high heat and cold, and much different atmospheric conditions than our own planet. It then employs really well done CGI to render those environments and populates them with creatures wherein would thrive. We meet grazers and fliers, things that scuttle and crawl, things that blow spores and others that climb trees — all rooted firmly in the evolutionary biological history of Earth, yet adapted to their specific (by
our standards) extremely different conditions in meticulously balanced ecosystems. As a piece of scientific speculation it’s a visual and intellectual feast; what sets Alien Worlds apart from science fiction is its toggling between the alien and indigenous — specialists spend about as much
Courtesy image. time exploring the ways life has evolved on Earth as they do imagining what might be elsewhere — teaching viewers as much about ourselves and our world as what may be living among the stars.
MUSIC
The newest Olympic sport? Breakdancing By Ben Olson Reader Staff There have been quite a few unconventional Olympic sports over the years. Rope Climbing was part of gymnastics programming at the 1896, 1906, 1924 and 1932 Olympic games. Competitors were tasked with climbing a suspended vertical rope using just their hands and arms — no legs allowed. Race Walking is another oddity, in which competitors must keep contact with the ground at all times, keeping the leading leg straight when the foot makes contact with the ground until the leg passes under the body (it resembles a bunch of people rushing to use the bathroom). Town Planning even earned a spot at the four Olympic games between 1928 and 1948, with medals doled out to those achieving excellence under the Architectural Design category of the Arts portion of the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee announced the latest addition to the 2024 games that fits with the “Huh?” category on Dec. 7: Breakdancing. Breakdancing will be called “breaking” at the Olympics, as it was first referred to in the 1970s by hip-hop pioneers in the U.S. For those who aren’t aware of
this activity, breaking is an athletic style of street dance consisting of artistic movements such as toprock, downrock, power moves and freezes. It gained in popularity in the late 1970s and early 1980s and has been ingrained in urban culture ever since. Breaking is typically set to hip-hop with consistent tempo and beat patterns. Early pioneers Richard “Crazy Legs” Colon and Kenneth “Ken Swift” Gabbert have said that early Kung Fu films and James Brown were early influences on the sport. When asked if he had been told 43 years ago that breaking would one day become an Olympic sport, Crazy Legs replied with a laugh: “I probably would’ve been like, ‘Aw, shut up.’” IOC President Thomas Bach praised the new addition, hoping it will make the Summer Games “more gender balanced, more youthful and more urban. “We have had a clear priority,” Bach continued, “and this is to introduce sports which are particularly popular among the younger generations. And also to take into account the urbanization of sport.”
Breaking made its Olympic debut at the 2018 Summer Youth Games in Buenos Aires before it was added to the Paris 2024 agenda. Some big names in breaking are mostly pleased with the addition, but hope the inclusion in the Olympics won’t water down the sport. “There’s been quite some controversy inside the scene,” said Logan “Logistx” Edra, a 17-yearold “B-girl” from San Diego. “It’s basically making sure that we preserve the essence and the culture, and that it doesn’t get lost in the competitive grind as we continue to progress and make steps into the Olympics.” Crazy Legs expressed interest in working with the IOC to ensure the Olympic version of breaking
Two breakdancing aficionadoes practicing their moves in Los Angeles. Courtesy photo. stays true to its roots. “[It goes] beyond just the moves,” Crazy Legs told the Associated Press. “The passion and the pain that goes with living through struggle — that is the essence of dance. You want to make sure that the soul of it isn’t diluted.” Three other sports recently added to the Olympics include skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, which will all debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, after the 2020 Tokyo Games were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Beyond her usual antics
Miley Cyrus’ Plastic Hearts signals a new era for the pop princess of chaos
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Many critics are touting Miley Cyrus’ new album, Plastic Hearts, as the artist’s official entry into rock stardom. Cyrus has been open about her classic, glam-rock influences in the album’s creation, and even went so far as to team up with Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Stevie Nicks for a few tracks. Still, Plastic Hearts is not a pure harkening to those musicians’ sounds or eras. Sure, Cyrus covered “Heart of Glass” for the album, and many have pointed out the similarities between lead single “Midnight Sky” and Nicks’ “Edge of Seventeen” — resulting in a killer mash-up remix. But she also covered The Cranberries’
“Zombie” for Plastic Hearts — still rock, but not quite the classic hair rock everyone is making Cyrus’ new creative direction out to be. Besides, this isn’t her first rodeo with rock covers. She covered “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” on her inaugural solo record in 2008, and “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” in 2010. So why is everyone acting like Plastic Hearts is some revolutionary change for the 28-year-old singer? I think it’s because she finally feels comfortable. Plastic Hearts picks and chooses its genre from song to song: heavy, edgy rock switches to new wave pop without effort, and — strangely enough — without jarring the listener. Cyrus’ gravelly
country voice is the only steady presence on an album that does a chameleon act, and it works. Lyrically, Cyrus slips into the overdone, cheeky persona that shouts, “I am a wild child who will never be good enough for you” on a couple of tracks, but takes it a refreshing step further with the words on “Golden G String,” a song about reconciling her crazier antics of the past decade: “There are layers to this body / Primal sex and primal shame / They told me I should cover it / So I went the other way / I was trying to own my power / Still I’m trying to work it out.” All in all, Plastic Hearts is the most comfortable Cyrus has sounded since she belted “The Climb” at the conclusion of The
This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone
READ
What are monsters? More interesting, why are there monsters and where do they come from? Science journalist Matt Kaplan explores the real-life origins of our culturally constructed monsters in The Science of Monsters. Punchy and pithy (if a little amateurish at times), it’s an entertaining analysis that spans millennia in search of monstrous truths.
LISTEN
One of my most fortuitous — and puzzling — recent musical discoveries is Pale Young Gentlemen, a now seemingly defunct “bedroom band” led by two brothers in Madison, Wisc. and consisting of what sounds like a mini-orchestra. There is no website (at least not one that relates to the band) and the FB page has no posts. Yet, PYG released two albums, the last in 2008, of the ear-wormiest carnivalesque indie rock-blues ever. Find it on YouTube.
WATCH
Let’s be clear, Netflix series The Spanish Queen is not historical fiction so much as aggressively fictional fiction. Supposedly exploring the (truly) badass nature of Catherine of Aragon, first queen to Henry VIII, it gets fundamental things flat wrong. So many that, if you care about such things, you won’t be able to watch it. If you don’t, well, it’s super fun and sumptuously done. Pick your fiction.
Hannah Montana Movie. Maybe part of that is her love for rock music, or maybe it’s because she’s more emotionally mature now than ever before. Regardless, pop culture enthusiasts everywhere should celebrate a female artist expanding her sound with such confidence. December 10, 2020 /
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BACK OF THE BOOK
Seasons: Not what they used to be By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff
From Northern Idaho News, Dec. 8, 1908
SKATERS HAVE THEIR SHOES AND CLOTHING STOLEN During the past week the skating on the lake has been exceptionally fine and large crowds are to be found on the ice both afternoon and evenings. It is estimated that at least 500 people were out enjoying the sport last Sunday afternoon below the new bridge at the foot of First Avenue. One evening last week W.J. Macdonald lost a pair of shoes and Frank Barrett a pair of shoes and an overcoat while skating. They both wore hockey skates which are screwed to their shoes and while on the icea hid their other shoes and overcoats in an old boat. When ready to go home they went to the place where they had left their apparel and found it missing. After making a thorough search for the outfit they were obliged to get home as best they could. Macdonald walked home in his stocking feet while Barrett borrowed a pair of shoes from a friend. It is a dirty trick to play on any one, especially at this time of the year. Neither one has found anything of the missing goods as yet. 22 /
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I am planning to get married next July. I say “planning to” because I fear that printing definitives about anything personal and happy will tempt the universe to ruin it; but, in an ideal world, I’ll walk down the aisle on a sunny July day in 2021 and celebrate with all my favorite people. All of the work and preparation leading up to that event is undoubtedly less joy-inducing, as was a recent conversation with Reader Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone during which it occurred to me that my marital scheduling was less than ideal. As any journalist who closely covers a municipality will tell you, August is budget season. It’s arguably the most arduous and nerve-wracking time of the year for reporters, who are tasked with sifting through numbers and bureaucratic goop to unearth a story about services and the people who use them. I’m already thinking about the summer of 2021 and foreseeing myself as a burntout bride sending exasperated emails to the county clerk about taxes, cost increases and budget cuts. Will I have a chance to breathe? Probably not — a dilemma over which Zach and I shared a laugh. Our conversation got me thinking: My adult life isn’t built with the same seasons it was when I was a kid. On a basic level, we had spring, summer, fall and winter. Those were pretty easy to keep track of. By the time I was in school the seasons seemed more amplified — summer vacation, for instance — and a few more got added in, like sports seasons.
STR8TS Solution
The seasons stayed largely the same until I graduated college and struck out on my own. Things are more complicated now, as my priorities have become more robust and my schedule more complex. The year begins slow, as I’m sure it does for most people, and rightfully so: we’re coming down off of the holidays, and the weather isn’t good for much (said like a true non-skier, I know). My birthday lands at the beginning of February and, from there, it’s full speed ahead. For my fiancé’s family, March marks the official start to farm season, and we like to lend a hand wherever it’s needed. We also start our own garden in early spring, and I do my best to acknowledge a sort of half-hearted spring cleaning season around this time. Unfortunately, there are also two mud seasons at my house: the first when the snow melts, and the second when it starts to snow but doesn’t want to stick. This doubles as the-floors-are-only-cleanedwhen-we-have-company-over season. Some springs bring primary election season — always a joyous and not-at-allstressful time in the newspaper business. May in North Idaho means the start of tourist season, when the friendly waves I deliver on my road go unanswered by people without 7B plates who are probably wondering, “Does that lady know us?” No, I don’t. You should wave back anyway. June and July are a blur, often capped off by The Festival at Sandpoint, marking the end to the summer’s most exhilarating time. August is budget season, of course, as well as the start of a season that’s dominated my falls for four years now: volleyball season.
Coaching volleyball monopolizes my time and mindspace for three months, and overlaps with hunting season — an inconvenient and physically taxing coincidence. Despite my distaste for exercise or counting calories, coaching and hiking mountains a couple months out of the year has certainly done what it can for my health, which is good, because the budget and election seasons absolutely destroy my posture and bring on regular midday donut binges. Volleyball ends in November, and suddenly I’m staring down the barrel of the holiday season. As we all know, there is not enough time during the holidays to do everything we hope to accomplish, and pretty soon we’re all raising a glass to the upcoming year. I, for one, will welcome the hastening of 2021. Here’s to another year of seasons you won’t find on a normal calendar.
Crossword Solution
Sudoku Solution Folks still remember the day ole Bob Riley came bouncing down that dirt road in his pickup. Pretty soon, it was bouncing higher and higher. The tires popped, and the shocks broke, but that truck kept bouncing. Some say it bounced clean over the moon, but whoever says that is a goddamn liar.
Solution on page 22
Solution on page 22
doomscrolling
Woorf tdhe Week
By Bill Borders
/DOOM-skroh-ling/
[noun] 1. the practice of obsessively checking online news for updates, especially on social media feeds, with the expectation that the news will be bad, such that the feeling of dread from this negative expectation fuels a compulsion to continue looking for updates in a self-perpetuating cycle.
“After a morning of doomscrolling, Bob decided not to leave his bed.” In our Dec. 4 story, “Council OK’s University Park development agreement,” we – yet again – misspelled Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commissioner Slade Kamp’s name. Regardless of our mess up, we thank him for his service to our community. – ZH
CROSSWORD
Copyright www.mirroreyes.com
Laughing Matter
ACROSS 1. Aircraft 6. Collection of maps 11. Formula 1 driver 12. Quantify 15. Obtained 16. An aromatic bark 17. Frequently, in poetry 18. Deciphered 20. Muck 21. Pace 23. Craving 24. Taps 25. A single time 26. Not straight 27. Blaze 28. Clairvoyant 29. Consume 30. Meal carriers 31. Microwave generator 34. Breaks down 36. Caviar 37. Is endebted to 41. Pear-shaped instrument 42. Agile 43. Gave temporarily 44. A flexible pipe 45. Feathery scarves 46. Countertenor 47. Not in 48. Germ 51. Coniferous tree 52. City district 54. Assault 56. Hypodermic
Solution on page 22 57. Gain points in a game 58. Consumer of food 59. Absolute
DOWN 1. Blasphemous 2. Framework of strips of wood 3. Emote 4. Require 5. Sea eagle 6. Amongst
7. Basic belief 8. Territory 9. An Old Testament king 10. Synopsis 13. Roads 14. Terminates 15. 60s dancers 16. Similitude 19. Tidy 22. Wood-eating insect 24. Player piano 26. Pleads 27. To and ___ 30. 3 32. Beer
33. Body 34. Resembling flour 35. Spartan 38. Financial aid 39. One who lures 40. It delivers babies? 42. Many call it football 44. Skips 45. Overindulge 48. Pepper____ 49. Low in pitch 50. Carve in stone 53. Spy agency 55. Foot digit
December 10, 2020 /
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/ 23
BRINGING IT
HOME FOR THE
HOLIDAYS BNSF Railway is proud to carry your gifts this holiday season.
As America's large,st mover of intermodal freight, BNSF seamlessly integrates more than five million shipments a year by water, rail. and road. From the dinner on your holiday table, to the car in your driveway, and the television on your wall just about everything you use once rode on our rails.
B NSF is one of the largest package delivery companies in the world helping to deliver more than 70 million packages without service interruptions throughout the holiday season.
11,1 �-TeNSF hauls enough� ergy n to power one of Ty4flt,: every 12 US homes.
Every year, BNSF hauls enough grain to supply900 million people with a year's supply of bread.
A new car or truck is loaded or unloaded onto a BNSF train every 11 seconds.
5.3 million intermodal shipments were transported by B NS F's rail lines instead of on congested highways in 2019.
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Connecting the Pacific Northwest since 1873