Reader_Dec15_2022

The week in random review

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

$74

The average cost of a Christmas tree in the United States, with the most common days to purchase a tree being the first Saturday or Sunday of December. A sizable number of people wait until the second weekend, however, when costs tend to drop by a few bucks (that’s all according to money.com). I got mine on Dec. 11 and it set me back $60. Meanwhile, during those first few weeks of the month, people in the U.S. buy between 25 million and 30 million “real trees,” per the National Christmas Tree Association.

cornbread nation

Unbeknownst to me until recently — when my aunt and uncle who live in England were visiting Sandpoint — the Brits don’t eat cornbread, and even seem to have kind of a hard time buying the mix for it. This makes some sense to me, now that I’ve thought about it a little harder — corn hasn’t been grown much in England since the early 1800s, but we’ve always grown a lot of it on this side of the Atlantic, which figures why the little boxes of “Jiffy” corn muffin mix come bearing the slogan: “America’s Favorite.” I’ll be returning their visit this week, traveling to England to spend Christmas and New Year’s with my U.K. family, and I’ll be packing two boxes of “Jiffy” mix in my bags. Hopefully customs doesn’t think too strangely of me for it.

something that made my head hurt this week

Having been in the word business for more than half of my 42 years, I thought I’d encountered just about every bizarre literary construction, until the other day, when I became aware of “Escher sentences,” named for the artist M.C. Escher, whose pieces seem to bend the spatial relationships between images. (You know, those drawings in which staircases go on forever, doubling back on themselves in ways that shouldn’t be possible.) An example of an “Escher sentence”: “More people have been to Berlin than I have.” This is apparently known as a “comparative illusion,” in that it seems to make sense at first, but once you think about it for a few seconds, loses all meaning whatsoever. (But don’t think about it too hard, or you’ll have a hard time sleeping.)

truer words...

“Don’t bother me. I’m thinking.”

— Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) in A Christmas Story

DEAR READERS,

Boy do I feel stupid. In my rant last week about the winter parking policy, I meant to write that you are only allowed to park on the even sides of the street. Somehow I got that backwards, despite double checking it. I hate that I may have confused some of you, so please accept my apology. Also, if I made anyone’s job more difficult at the city of Sandpoint, I also apologize for that. Thanks to those who gracefully pointed out my dumb error. Remember: Even good, odd bad.

Editor Zach Hagadone is departing for a well-deserved holiday in England this week, so we’re going to be on a skeleton editorial crew through the new year. Journalists burn out fast if they aren’t allowed time off the front lines, so it’s important for us to have time away to focus on the parts of our lives that aren’t ruled by deadlines, angry emails and phone calls. Wishing him a great trip.

In the meantime, Lyndsie and I will hold down the editorial fort in Zach’s absense. Please direct any correspondence to me or her emails (both printed in the box to the right).

Bon voyage, Zach! –Ben Olson, publisher

READER

111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208) 946-4368

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Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Editorial:

Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com

Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com

Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists:

Amie Borba (cover), Ben Olson, Leland Consulting, Keith Bansemer, Kaleb Keaton, Bill Borders, Dan Eskelson, Karen Hempstead, Joanne Cottrell

Contributing Writers:

Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Shelby Rognstad, Susan Drumheller, Paul Graves, Marcia Pilgeram.

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

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About the Cover

This week’s cover photo, titled “Frosty Cow” was sent to us by Amie Borba (with a little Santa flair added by Ben). Thanks Amie!

‘This is fast’

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Representatives of Portland, Ore.-based Leland Consulting Group returned to the Sandpoint City Council at its regular meeting Dec. 7, filling in councilors on updates to the study the firm has been producing for the past nine months.

Providing projections and policy recommendations on a raft of topics and issues — including area land use patterns, economics, population growth and housing demand — the big takeaway from company President Chris Zahas: “This is a really fast-growing area — even among the shortlist of fast-growing cities in the country, this is fast.”

Putting a finer point on it, the report noted that while annual growth from 2010 to 2020 averaged just under 1.5%, it “leapt” to more than 4% in over the past two years.

The effect that has had on local housing prices is evident to anyone who’s cruised through local listings over the past 24 months.

“Just in the past couple years, since 2019, your average price has doubled,” Zahas said. “Now it’s approaching $700,000 — that’s from April, it may have even gone up a little since then, or down, as markets have been fluctuating.”

Meanwhile, the amount of vacant housing in Bonner County fell from 31% in 2010 to 25% in 2020, with Sandpoint accounting for 16% of all housing units in the county but only making up 7% of the vacancies.

According to the report, there was a big jump in second homes and vacation homes in the decade between 2010 and 2020, representing a rise in vacancies of those properties from 4,111 to 5,652, resulting in there being 1.5 housing units for every resident household in the county.

That said, only 4% of those types of seasonal or short-term

residences were within city limits.

“Some of that may have changed [from 2020 to 2022], but what we’re seeing is it’s a more significant issue in the county than the city,” Zahas said.

What all that boils down to is that while there are enough physical housing units to go around, the inventory left in the city is still tight, as what little of it there was has been taken up by secondand vacation-home owners.

There’s still available land in the county, however, but a much higher percentage of the existing housing units there are standing empty for at least some portion of the year.

That told Leland consultants that second-home housing isn’t hurting Sandpoint so much as it is having an impact on county land use patterns, and that is underscoring the need to expand the area of city impact to the west — a project that Zahas emphasized as “the only growth opportunity that has the scale to move the needle on housing production.”

Simply put: Sandpoint needs more housing units to outrun the exploding demand, but it doesn’t have the necessary space to accommodate them. Still, though, there are upwards of 1,700 units at some stage in the pipeline — meaning anywhere from the preliminary platting stage or currently under construction.

“It’s just phenomenal the amount of projects you have in the pipeline at various levels of planning,” Zahas said, though added that, “Playing the dismal economist role, those aren’t all necessarily going to happen.”

As of August, there were 285 units of housing fully permitted and entering construction; 678 in projects awaiting approval and/or seeking rezone, with at least 80% in the multi-family category; and 738 more in projects earlier in the process.

“If all those come to fruition, that’s a huge impact,” Zahas said.

Looking ahead 10 years, the Leland report foresees potential

Consultants present Sandpoint City Council with revised report on growth and local economics

demand for between 400 and 600 apartment units, with the bulk of that demand coming from the lowest-earners, in the $35,000 per year and lower bracket. Meanwhile, demand is estimated for between 200 and 400 condos and townhomes — primarily among those earning $50,000 and above — and from 360 to 530 small-lot single-family homes, also from the same income bracket. The next decade is expected to draw demand for only 65 to 87 large-lot single-family homes, though by necessity those would be located in the county.

Again, Leland consultants stressed that most of the capacity to build those units would be in the area of city impact, which planners identify as the area west of the railroad tracks and to the foot of Baldy Mountain. However, there are complex hurdles to cross to make that happen, ranging from coordination with surrounding municipal government to ensuring adequate utility infrastructure — all things the report said the city can and should play a critical role in accomplishing, if in no small way to provide “a level of certainty” for the building community, without which “nobody’s willing to make the first move,” Zahas said. “We

put that pretty strongly in the recommendation.”

After taking in the presentation, Councilor Jason Welker asked for advice from Leland on how to appropriately message the need for big changes to land use in the city.

“Higher density is a bad word in this town; building heights, a bad word in this town; sprawl into the rural areas, it’s like sacrilege to talk about that around here,” Welker said, later adding, “What are the costs to the people who live here today if we don’t rise to this challenge?”

Zahas responded: “I think there’s a million cities in Colorado that you could point to that says, ‘if you don’t address it this is what you’ll look like in 10 years.’”

Leland Senior Associate Ted Kamp, who previously lived and worked in Colorado, provided an apt summary of the choices and forces facing Sandpoint both today and the years to come.

“It is a very tough challenge because there are physical aspects to Sandpoint that are just flatout desirable and the supply of places where you can put people is limited, so you have to grow as smart as you can and make density palatable,” he said.

“Just closing the doors on de-

A graph showing Bonner County annual building permits, with green denoting Sandpoint permits and blue the rest of Bonner County. Image courtesy of Leland Consulting.

velopment and growth is a recipe for just really runaway housing prices like the Aspens and Tellurides and even Boulders of the world, where it is very difficult to find someone who knows how to change a tire or make a latte because you can’t afford to pay those people to live close enough to where you are,” he added.

“If you want to maintain a real economy and a decent quality of life, you have to increasingly find ways to make density sane and palatable. …

“There’s not a real silver bullet to the supply, demand and desirability of place that you’re facing.”

Watch the Dec. 7, 2022 meeting of the Sandpoint City Council at the city’s YouTube channel. Read the Leland Consulting Group report at sandpointidaho. gov under “Meetings,” click the 2022 archive on the right side of the page. Go to the last page of the archive and click “Sandpoint City Council Meeting Agenda-Packet 20221207. The report is Agenda Item 7D.

Poll: Many Idaho voters unfamiliar with ‘school choice’ policy debate

Legislators say controversial K-12 policy will be a priority this session

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris Idaho Capital Sun

Likely voters across Idaho showed strong support for more education funding, and mixed support for school choice and education savings accounts, in a poll commissioned by the Mountain States Policy Center.

But a large segment of likely voters in Idaho weren’t familiar with the policy idea of “school choice” that Idaho lawmakers expect to be a centerpiece of the upcoming legislative session, which starts in less than a month.

The policy center is a new organization focused on free market principles that launched in October and held a lunch meeting Tuesday to announce the poll results and host a panel of legislators who talked about the upcoming session.

More than one-third of Idahoans surveyed said they’re not familiar with school choice

Robert Jones, vice president of GS Strategy Group, said the poll included a representative sample of people by gender, age, political party and education level.

Respondents were asked to rate Idaho’s K-12 public school system, and 34% rated it as good, with 3% calling it excellent. More than half rated it as fair or poor.

Jones said Democrats tended to rate schools as fair or poor, while Republicans were more likely to rate them as good or excellent.

“I would attribute that to a very powerful drug called partisanship, which is that Republicans know Republicans are in charge in Idaho, so they want to think well of the people they’ve put in charge,” Jones said. “But even among Republicans, 42%

say excellent or good and 51% say fair or poor.”

The top concerns for Idaho’s education system were academic results and level of funding, followed by 15% who were concerned about critical race theory and 9% concerned about sex education.

Those polled also expressed support for Idaho’s recent increases in funding for K-12 education, with 54% saying they strongly support the increases, including 77% of Republican

respondents.

On the subject of school choice, 40% of those polled said they had a favorable opinion of school choice as an educational policy, but 35% said they had never heard of it.

School choice is a debate over funding for public education. It often includes discussion of programs such as vouchers or education savings accounts that would allow families to use the tax dollars that support students in public schools to instead pay for

Meridian legislator: School choice isn’t meant to help the wealthy

Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, was part of the legislative panel at the Mountain States Policy Center lunch. She said people often frame school choice debates as trying to give preference to wealthy families, but that’s not the case, she said.

“People with means already

have choice,” Den Hartog said “We’d like to expand options for families who don’t have the means to make that choice right now.”

Den Hartog said she’s excited to have new legislators at the table this session and thinks they can “do some big things” this year on the subject of school choice.

The legislative panel also included Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, Sen. Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene and Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale. Toews will be co-chair of the Senate Education Committee in the upcoming legislative session.

“School choice is my priority, it’s what I ran on,” Toews said. “Talking to constituents, going door-to-door … they were really supportive and passionate about school choice and specifically education savings accounts and what that could do, putting the free market principles of that kind of a program to education in our state.”

This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com

BOCC adopts changes to Comp Plan

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Bonner County commissioners adopted updates to two sections of the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan on Dec. 7, marking the latest in the extensive process to amend the guiding document in its entirety for the first time since 2005.

Commissioners Dan McDonald and Jeff Connolly voted to

approve updates to the Property Rights and Recreation sections of the Comp Plan during the Dec. 7 hearing, which saw very little public comment. Commissioner Steve Bradshaw was excused from the meeting.

The adopted changes came as recommendations from the Bonner County Planning Commission, which has been working through each section of the Comp Plan and suggesting updates since late summer. Commissioners vot-

ed to accept all of the planning commission’s suggested changes to both the Property Rights and Recreation sections, as well as to incorporate comments received from Idaho Fish and Game to more completely list the county’s fishing and hunting opportunities under Recreation.

On Dec. 21, commissioners will hear recommended updates to the Goals, Objectives and Policies portion of the Comp Plan, which serves to set the tone for the rest

of the extensive document. Once made available, an agenda for that hearing will be available to view at bonnercountyid.gov/bocc-agendas. Drafts of each section of the Comp Plan, currently under review by the planning commission, are available to read at bonnercountyid.gov/ComprehensivePlanUpdate. The commission canceled its Dec. 20 and Jan. 3 hearings due to a lack of quorum, and will resume its regular schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

other educational pursuits, such as private school or homeschooling.

Courtesy photo.

BoCo planning staff: Camp Bay Road vacation ‘is in the public interest’

Hearing scheduled for Dec. 19

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:

The recent attack on power facilities in North Carolina, Oregon and Washington bear similarities, according to The Guardian. The latter two Western states have experienced at least six attacks, with some causing power loss and many involving firearms. Experts have warned of extremists planning to disrupt the nation’s power grid. Despite safeguards, “the system is still quite vulnerable,” according to engineering Professor Granger Morgan.

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

their products’ hazards in creating a climate emergency, but had no solid plans to address the crisis.

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Bonner County Planning staff has issued its staff report on a file proposing the vacation of Camp Bay Road, set to be discussed at a Monday, Dec. 19 hearing where Bonner County commissioners will vote once again on the application from developer M3 ID Camp Bay, LLC. While the staff report does not list an official recommendation to commissioners, the conclusions of law state that staff finds the abandonment of the public right-of-way “is in the public interest.”

The Dec. 19 hearing, slated for 9 a.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building, will mark the third time commissioners have heard the file, which requests that the last 2,550 feet of Camp Bay Road be vacated to M3. The board ruled that the vacation was in the public interest in April 2021 — a decision that was ultimately remanded back to the commissioners after Camp Bay Road residents Fred and Jennifer Arn petitioned a judge to review the decision.

The county heard the file again in February 2022 and denied it, with the commissioners conceding that they weren’t sure whether the road provided public access to Lake Pend Oreille. M3 petitioned a court for review of that ruling in March, and in September, a judge remanded the file back to the board again.

Now, commissioners will hear a revised version of M3’s road vacation proposal, this time including a “natural dirt trail measuring between four feet to

six feet in width” which would lead from the end of the road’s new proposed public endpoint to a piece of beach access.

In its hearing notice, Bonner County said the Dec. 19 meeting “will focus solely on the proposed walking path and its impact on the public interest in the proposed vacation.”

“Validating the terminus point of Camp Bay Road is not the intended purpose of this hearing,” the notice continued, “and the Bonner County Board of Commissioners will not consider evidence or testimony offered on that topic.”

In a staff report now published on the county website, planners did not offer a recommendation. However, the conclusions of law point to staff finding the vacation in compliance with state and county code.

The report states that “it should be noted that” state laws surrounding road vacations “contain no standards or requirements against which staff can evaluate the public access walking path proposed by the applicant, either as a stand-alone proposal or in concert with the proposed vacation.”

“This evaluation and decision are at the discretion of the elected Board of County Commissioners,” the report notes.

The staff report and other files associated with the proposed vacation of Camp Bay Road can be viewed at bonnercountyid.gov/FileVS0002-21.

A conspiracy against the grid has been backed by the release of an extremist document “guide” for attacking an electric grid using firearms. The U.S. electrical grid has 450,000 miles of transmission lines, 55,000 substations and 6,400 power plants. A coast-to-coast blackout could occur by strategically taking out just nine substations, the Federal Regulatory Commission stated in an analysis.

Talking Points Memo shared 2,319 texts to and from former president Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, about the Jan. 6 insurrection. Even after the insurrection, certain Republicans were urging the declaration of martial law as a “last hope” for keeping Trump in office. The number of texts is limited. Meadows initially agreed to their release, then stopped cooperating. A total of 34 known members of Congress wrote to Meadows calling for changing the outcome of the 2020 election.

U.S. athlete Brittney Griner, after getting a nine-year sentence in Russia for drug possession, was released in a trade for a U.S.-held Russian arms dealer. U.S. citizen Paul Whelan remains in custody in Russia since 2018, under allegations of espionage. His brother had no objections to Griner coming home, and said President Joe Biden is “100% engaged on bringing Paul home.”

The biggest leak in a Keystone pipeline recently spilled 588,000 gallons of Canadian tar sands oil into a creek on a Kansas farm, the AP reported. Containment and clean up began, and could take months — “even years.” Measures to test the safety abilities of pipelines are now in question. Tar sands oil sinks rather than floats, challenging cleanup efforts, which can include scrubbing individual rocks.

The Keystone spill coincided with the release of a House Committee on Oversight and Reform report that included documents from major oil companies, CNN reported. It showed oil interests recognize

According to Americans for Tax Fairness, big corporations are currently lobbying Congress for three tax breaks, despite enjoying their highest profit margins in 70 years. The 10-year cost of the tax breaks would be $600 billion. AFTF instead recommends raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which is still lower than the rate of 35% five years ago. They also advise closing offshore corporate tax loopholes, which currently result in $60 billion in lost tax revenue. Another idea: strengthening the minimum 15% corporate minimum tax on highly profitable corporations, which would raise $90 billion over 10 years.

Fixing inflation by cutting corporate tax rates and making billionaires richer? If that worked, inflation would have been “fixed” long ago, according to Peter Certo, of the Institute for Policy Studies. Harvard economist Jason Furman added: “Corporate tax cuts the Republicans are pushing would add to inflation, add to the deficit and do little or nothing for economic growth.”

As columnist and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich pointed out, the Fed has raised rates seven times in the last nine months, which has resulted in slowing the economy, but not inflation. He recommended windfall profit taxes on corporations and serious antitrust enforcement.

A recent study reported by Politico says the U.S. gun death rate hit a three-decade high, with women victims growing faster than men. The rate of Black women victims tripled since 2012, and gun related suicides more than doubled since 2015.

Blast from the past: In winter 1932, Russia successfully attempted to force Ukrainians into submission for demanding independence by starving them, resulting in an estimated 3.2 million people dead. Then in 1948-’49, Russia tried the same tactic with West Berlin: attempting to starve and freeze the population. But in June 1948 the U.S., the U.K. and France recognized West Germany as an independent state. Russia’s deadly reaction triggered the “Berlin Airlift,” ordered by then-U.S. President Harry Truman: 13,000 tons of cargo were delivered to West Berlin on Easter. Russia ended its blockade a month later, and the airlift concluded on May 12, 1949. Today there are calls for a similar international airlift for Ukraine.

Supporters of recognizing public access at Camp Bay Road gathered for a barbecue in February 2022. Photo by Keith Bansemer.

Mayor’s Roundtable:

The Leland Report: Strategies for quality growth

By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor

Last week the Sandpoint City Council reviewed a report from Leland Consulting, a firm that specializes in economic development, strategic growth and public private partnerships. The city contracted Leland to review its land use policy and provide some recommendations for managing future growth and encouraging the kind of growth that Sandpoint wants.

Our little town has been growing rapidly over the last several years. We’ve seen dramatic increases in property values as our land and housing inventory continue to shrink. Demand for housing dramatically outpaces supply exacerbating the cost of housing. This impacts workers who are unable to afford to live here and employers who are unable to attract and retain a workforce for the same reason.

To develop the report, Leland analyzed demographic and economic conditions, housing, employment and the gap between demand and remaining land capacity. They compared Sandpoint’s data to Bonner County, Spokane and Kootenai counties and the North Idaho region as a whole. Leland was asked to help the city develop a strategy to best allocate its limited land and infrastructure resources to meet the community’s needs as outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. This in turn enables the city to steer private development in the right direction so we get the kind of development that is consistent with the community’s vision. The development community also benefits from a good plan and policies that support a clear vision.

There were a number of key findings that stood out.

Our region, and Sandpoint specifically, has seen incredible growth over the last several years. This growth is almost entirely due to in-migration and those new residents are mostly higher income households. Sandpoint will be challenged to meet that growth as its water and wastewater infrastructure are inadequate to meet future demand.

New development is generally not affordable for those on the lower end of the income spectrum due to construction costs, land prices and financing availability. The private sector is not likely to ever build housing to serve the middle- and especially

low-income earners without public subsidy simply because housing is too costly to build in today’s environment.

Even with increased wages, housing costs are hurting employers’ ability to hire and retain workers. Meanwhile, the shortage of local housing is leading to increased traffic from commuting which adds additional cost and stress to the workforce.

One of Sandpoint’s greatest assets is our diversified economy. Unlike typical resort towns that rely solely on the service industry, Sandpoint is home to healthy manufacturing, health care, education and technology sectors. Leland recognized this strength in its report. However, despite a healthy economic outlook, the shortage of workforce housing threatens the future viability of our economic vitality across all sectors. If we are not able to address the housing problem, the future looks bleak for Sandpoint and our region.

Developable land is dwindling, pushing development to other communities (from

which workers commute) or onto smaller infill sites where construction is less efficient, driving costs higher. Limited land also impacts job growth as larger-scale employers tend to have specific needs for land size, location and infrastructure, so Sandpoint must maintain a variety of commercial/industrial sites to provide opportunities for the attraction and expansion of a range of industries.

Sandpoint’s Area of City Impact — the area into which the city is expected to grow — extends far beyond a serviceable area and is mostly suitable for lower-density residential development, which is very expensive to serve with city infrastructure. The ACI also couldn’t accommodate industrial growth, which makes existing industrial land all the more a precious commodity as it can’t be easily replaced or repurposed once it’s developed.

Leland recommended a number of action items to help the city meet its goals to support housing affordability and economic growth. In my next several articles, I will discuss the most important of these items that are already being addressed by the city, including the city’s water and wastewater infrastructure.

In the meantime, I wish everyone a happy holiday season.

Panida Century Fund gains donations, Avista grant

By Reader Staff

Continued generosity from individuals, the matching donation from Ting Internet and a $5,000 grant from Avista have all combined to boost the Panida Theater’s Century Fund to one of its largest weekly collections to date: $11,910. It brings the fund to a total $225,353.77 toward its Phase 1 goal to raise $273,100.

“We want to give a big thanks to Avista for this $5,000 grant,” said Fundraising Chair Foster Cline, whose very active group of volunteer grant writers are seeking grants for all of the long list of restoration and renovation needs for the entire five-year, $1.9 million Century Fund campaign. The Avista funding will allow the Panida to electrify its exterior poster display frames, where it can promote coming attractions and help build attendance to its events.

Cline noted that along with the Avista grant, individuals this week donated $3,455, which will be matched by Ting, doubling those donations to $6,910 that is earmarked to replace the Panida’s aged and leaking roof.

Cline added that with the end of the

year approaching, the Panida’s nonprofit designation makes donations tax deductible for many. “We have some additional grants submitted to go to the roof repair and are optimistic for those, but for anyone considering a donation, know that you’ll be helping us get our new roof — and thanks to Ting, your donation will do double the work.”

To donate, or see detailed plans for the campaign itemizing expenses, click to panida.org.

Bouquets:

• What an excellent week at Schweitzer. I’m so stoked to be riding powder in the middle of December. Here’s a Bouquet to all the staff up there who work hard to make sure we have fun. Now if they could only get that Colburn Triple open on powder days, we wouldn’t have to endure such a long traverse down the Cat Track and back up the Quad, then over to North Bowl.

•There are still plenty of shopping days left until Christmas. That means you have time to head downtown and shop local for your gifts this year. Every little bit helps to ensure our downtown retailers have a good year. Remember, when you spend money at a box store, it flies out of town quicker than Santa the day after Christmas. When you shop small and shop local, you support your neighbors.

Barbs:

•Here’s a big fat Barb for the Small Business Administration, or SBA. When the PPP loans were introduced as a way to help keep employees working during the pandemic, I thought it was an excellent program. It sure saved our bacon during the worst months of the pandemic when our advertising dried up to next to nothing. Lo and behold, we now learn that we have to pay back the entire second PPP loan we received because the SBA didn’t accept our accounting (which we paid hundreds of dollars to our accountants to ensure was accurate, which it was). This means we’re on the hook to pay back $28,000. We followed their guidelines to a T, used all the money to cover payroll costs and still got the shaft while charlatans cashed their checks and complained about “government overreach” to pander to their anti-government supporters. This is going to be a tough blow for us. We’ll have to buckle down while we pay this loan off the next three years. We’ll survive. I’ll take a cut in my salary to help cover the costs, and we’ll scrimp and save to cover the rest, but bear with us while we adjust to this new reality.

City Beach goose hunt is sad…

Dear editor, I was reading the Dec. 8, 2022 issue of the Reader. When I got to Page 5 [News, “Council OK’s goose hunt at City Beach”], it stopped me in my tracks. There was a picture of the Canada geese at City Beach being rounded up for relocation in years past. I was absolutely stunned to read that the next course of action to rid the beach of these birds is to shoot them and open up the beach to a hunt!

I just have to share how shocked I am by this. But I guess I really shouldn’t feel shocked. It is humankind’s method of dealing with nature when it doesn’t suit our needs in some way. Cut it down, clear the land, dam the rivers, kill the animals. So sad…

Hope Dear editor,

You may have signed a petition by Reclaim Idaho to guarantee more than $350 million per year to all of the K-12 public schools in Idaho. That’s because you know Idaho is at the bottom of the nation in per capita funding of schools per student.

You also may have worked for two years to get more than enough valid voter signatures to put on this November’s ballot. Those of us who worked so hard on the ballot initiative felt confident that good public schools are what most of us want and it would get the necessary votes.

Then, the governor and legislators passed a law that would have invalidated the voter initiative anyway, and their bill promised a little more to schools than the special annual fund.

We knew at that moment that they could not be trusted to keep their promise to fund the schools with their bill, at least not beyond the first year. So we were preparing to hold their feet to the fire.

Now they’re resurrecting a scheme that many citizens complained about in the last legislative session, so it failed to pass. The current attempt to siphon off precious funds from our schools to fund private and homeschool educations is just as unconscionable.

New Hampshire residents, especially of rural communities like

ours, are suffering greatly from their state’s legislation that enacted their voucher program. They’ve also learned the hard way that even the students getting vouchers are not getting a good education using the vouchers.

Not in Idaho!

Public tax funds must not fund religious and other schools or homeschool programs.

Please join me in signing the petition from Reclaim Idaho to stop this latest far right attempt to trash our schools. This is the link: bit. ly/3uFnCil.

Clarice McKenney Bonners Ferry

Raise your voice over Vay-Dufort rezone plan…

Dear editor, Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 1:30 p.m., the Bonner County commissioners will meet to rule on the rezoning of 11.8 acres at the corner of Vay and Dufort roads. Currently, this land is zoned to allow five residential acres per lot (R-5). The owners want it changed to Rural Service Center with five one-acre lots and one larger piece. They state they would like to put up a gas station and convenience store. A convenience store already exists less than one mile away on Vay Road, which is zoned Rural Service Center. However the existing convenience store and Rural Service Center is not shown on the application map nor the staff report prepared by Bonner County planners.

Was the economic impact to this existing business and jobs one mile up the road considered in this request?

How is the need for zoning changes researched, measured and determined by the Planning Department before recommendations are provided to commissioners? This request does not seem to comply with the existing Comprehensive Plan, which states: “of most concern is the preservation of rural character.” Residents who moved here chose to live in a rural atmosphere and prefer to keep it that way!

It is estimated 400 citizens have signed petitions against this zoning change. Consideration must be given to these citizens taking the time to write, call and sign petitions. Our voices need to be heard and keep this area R-5.

Please attend the Dec. 21 meeting at the county building, 1500 Hwy 2 in Sandpoint. If you can’t at-

tend, call the Planning Department at 208-265-1458 and the commissioners at 208-265-1458 and voice your concerns. This rezone request should be denied in consideration of the residents of Bonner County and not just the tourists and residents of Willow Bay.

Linda Nelson Vay

Dear editor, I just saw the landing in the ocean of the Orion, which circled the moon and landed in the ocean. I am impressed!

But then the story was followed by the next goal of placing some sort of a station on the moon that people could somehow live (or survive) on, and I began to wonder about the priorities of this great nation.

Do we not have hundreds of thousands of fellow Americans who are homeless and/or millions who need food assistance on a monthly basis? And what about other Earthlings who need water and food assistance?

I never was in a position to invest in the stock market. I am a Vietnam Veteran who is approaching 80 years of age and live primarily on Social Security with my wife. If we didn’t spend billions of dollars on the moon project and countless billions of dollars on military expenses, would I then receive a few hundred more dollars each month in addition

to my Social Security check?

If it was put to a vote, which I now believe it should be, I know which box I would check. I was never a fan of the song, “Fly Me to the Moon.”

James Richard Johnson Clark Fork

Dear editor,

There is a nice long stretch of sidewalk on Woodland from N. Boyer to Samuelson Ave. It is now winter time. This stretch of concrete is buried under at least a foot of snow, not to be seen again until next spring. Why, I ask, is it not kept snow-free every winter?

Requests for snow removal have fallen on deaf ears since its inception. I have spoken to the airport manager and a realtor at Century 21 in the past. Saying that I received the “runaround” would be an understatement.

Who owns this sidewalk and why isn’t it maintained? When, and if, those responsible do clear the snow there must also be a safe access area so one is able to approach the sidewalk without having to climb over a two- to three-foot drift at Woodland and Samuelson.

Walking on Woodland is not a safe option to reach the plowed access area to get to the sidewalk!

Jo Reitan Sandpoint

Santa arrives in Kootenai and Ponderay

By Reader Staff

Santa Claus will take some time out of his busy schedule to visit Kootenai and Ponderay on Saturday, Dec. 17. He’ll make appearances at the following locations:

•9 a.m. at Ponderay City Hall and Ponderay Village

•10:45 a.m. at Jasper Loop and Carnelian Ave.

•11:45 a.m at Ponderay Mo-

bile Home Park

•12 p.m. at Mt. Baldy Apts.

•12:20 p.m. at Woodland Crossing Apartments

•1:30 p.m. at Mountain View Townhomes, Lupine, Mountain View Apartments, Larkspur

•2:55 p.m. at Starr Lane and Dustarr area

•3:45-4:30 p.m. at Kootenai Elementary School

Time to stop trashing our public schools…

Getting the sidewalk ‘runaround’… (Don’t) fly me to the moon…

Cynthia Mason

Facts support public access claims at Camp Bay

By Susan Drumheller Reader Contributor

The fate of public access to Camp Bay is once again in the hands of the Bonner County Board of Commissioners.

A district judge has sent the matter back to the county to consider developer M3’s offer to build a pathway for the public to walk the roughly half mile to the water, in exchange for the county giving up the last half-mile of Camp Bay Road right of way to the lake.

The hearing has been set for 9 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 19.

In his defense of giving away the public right of way leading to 50 feet of Sagle Peninsula lakeshore, Commissioner Dan McDonald has claimed that the road was never intended to provide public waterfront access.

He selectively quotes the petition from the original homesteaders to the county asking for the road, saying it’s needed to provide access for settlers to the store and post office in Glengary Bay. But he omits this part: “The road is necessary to secure an outlet for the settlers to the lakeshore at Camp Bay.”

People often forget that Long Bridge had not been built at the time of the 1908 petition. It was very difficult for anyone in the Sagle area to get to Sandpoint or their goods to market.

Serving the needs of these early residents was the Northern Navigation Company, which ran a steamboat between Bayview and Sandpoint, stopping at multiple points between — including Lakeview, Whiskey Rock, Glengary Bay and Sunnyside. A timecard, published in the Sept. 22, 1911 Pend d’Oreille Review, shows that the steamer stopped at Camp Bay at noon on its way from Bayview to Sandpoint.

In another article published in the Jan. 8, 1909 Pend d’Oreille Review, an editor wrote of the difficulties farmers and ranchers had on the peninsula due to the pre-dam fluctuating lake levels: “Situated as we are on the peninsula, with the lake as our only practical route in and out, one can readily understand what a benefit we would derive from a given water level.”

The editor then lists a number products that had to be carried from 10 to 100 feet to get them aboard a boat, and write, “There are several public landings on the peninsula, the more important being those at Glengary, Garfield Bay, Bottle Bay and Camp Bay.” (Bottle Bay and Glengary Bay no longer have publicly owned lake access.)

Since this issue emerged last year, those who support abandoning the public road have confused the facts, disparaged critics of the county’s initial decision to give this public asset away, and cast doubt on whether this 50-foot strip of waterfront was ever,

in fact, public.

But the facts support the contention that it would violate the public trust if the county were to uphold its original decision and give up the road to one of the most beautiful bays in the county, allowing a private developer to gate it off.

You can’t find it anymore on the county’s website, but the initial application to vacate the road never disputes the public lake access. Instead it states: “Camp Bay is an unpaved road from Sagle Road to the termination at the High Water Mark of Lake Pend Oreille. According to conversations with County Staff, there are no plans or funding available to construct public improvements in this area.“

The public doesn’t need it, they argue, because “there are fully developed public accesses to the Lake just minutes away in Garfield Bay and Bottle Bay which serve the needs of the community.” (Bottle Bay has a commercial marina, but no guaranteed public access.)

Here’s a few other reasons why the public has good reason to believe we have a right to access the lake at the end of the county’s right of way:

•The district judge said the county erred in its staff report when it said there was no public access, even while noting the road ends at the high-water mark. The judge’s order states, “This conclusion is erroneous. … [U]nder the public trust doctrine, ‘the state holds the title to the beds of navigable lakes and streams below the natural high-water mark for the use and benefit of the whole people,’ and that the doctrine ‘preserves the public’s right of use in such land.’”

•In a statement to the commissioners, real estate attorney Toby McLaughlin wrote: “The public right of way over Camp Bay Road was dedicated by means of a 1913 viewer’s report that established the public right of way all the way to the shore of Lake Pend Oreille. At the time, the lake level was lower than it is currently due to later construction of Albeni Falls Dam in 1953. This right of way allows the public to access the lake at Camp Bay, which is a not insignificant resource to the public.”

•In a May 16, 1986, the U.S. 9th Circuit

Court of Appeals (Swanson v. the United States) made a decision concerning ownership of land down to Lake Pend Oreille at Talache. Justice Stephens made these two statements that apply to the Camp Bay Road right of way: “Before 1950, Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho was a navigable water of the United States with an ordinary high-water level of 2,051 feet above mean sea level.” And, “the landowner held (and holds) title defined by state law as extending to the old, natural high-water mark.” This means the public owns its 50-foot-wide right of way on Camp Bay Road below the current 2,062.5-foot high-water mark to the lower and older 2,051-foot elevation.

•The county prosecutor and sheriff acknowledged established law and public use when defending the rights of the public to use the 50-foot-wide beach during a recent dispute.

In what appears to be an admission that public access exists now, the developer is offering to build a walking path from the gate a half-mile from the water to the bay. The proposed lake access point would not have the same expansive view as the existing one, it would lack vehicle access and would be next to a community dock by the outlet of a small creek.

Is it an equal trade to exchange nearly three acres of public land and 50 feet of vehicle-accessible waterfront for a dirt walking path to another location controlled by a private entity?

While we may value this site primarily for recreation, we could someday need that access for any number of reasons that we can’t imagine now.

Sometime between 1908 and the present, the public lost two of three other “public landings” on the Sagle Peninsula — Glengary and Bottle bays. It would be a travesty to lose another by allowing a private developer to take over our existing, valuable waterfront access in Camp Bay.

For more information about this issue and the public’s efforts to save Camp Bay access, go to 50feet.net.

BY THE NUMBERS

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

$3.8 million

The “conservatively estimated” direct economic impact the Festival at Sandpoint has on Bonner County, according to the Festival’s annual report. They also stated that the annual summer concert series generated over $233,000 in Sandpoint, Bonner County and State of Idaho taxes and creates an average of 37 full-time equivalent jobs throughout Sandpoint.

$13,261.43

The total donations received so far this year by the Sandpoint Lions Club for their annual Toys for Tots program. The philanthropic club set a goal to raise $50,000 to help provide upwards of 1,000 local children within the Lake Pend Oreille School District with toys this holiday season. Donations can be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

7,200

The approximate number of hate crimes reported nationwide in 2021, about 1,000 less than the year prior. More than 60% of the reported incidents were based on race, ancestry or ethnicity and about 1 in 6 were based on sexual orientation. One in 7 were classified as religion-based crimes.

4,000

The new character limit for Twitter posts, as suggested by “Chief Twit” Elon Musk. The current limit is 280 characters, already double the original amount of 140.

5.5 million

The approximate number of Americans who have signed up, so far, for health insurance for 2023 under the Affordable Care Act. Those still looking to enroll have until Jan. 15, though if they’d like to be covered by Jan. 1, a plan should be chosen by Dec. 15. About 1.2 million of the people who have registered are new enrollees.

The view of Lake Pend Oreille from Camp Bay. Photo by Dan Eskelson.

Science: Mad about

cheese

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

Delicious curdled milk has been consumed by humans for at least 10,000 years. Some experts argue that cheese has hidden health benefits, though that probably doesn’t apply once it’s been melted over a slab of burger meat.

We don’t know exactly when cheese was first developed, though we have records of its development from at least 8,000 BCE. Our best speculation is that someone had converted the chambered stomach of a calf into a storage container for milk and left it to sit there for a bit too long. Beyond all logical reasoning, someone decided to eat it and enjoyed the first taste of cheese.

You might be thinking that’s a very vivid and specific example for not knowing a lot about the origins of cheese, and you’d be right. The final chamber of a calf’s stomach contains enzymes that break down the sugars in milk and cause it to curdle. It’s possible that this chambered stomach was used as a long-term storage container or a sort of traveling canteen.

By 100 BCE, cheesemaking had become an artisanal craft, with hundreds of varieties of the foodstuff. Romans especially loved cheese. As they could store it for long periods of time, it was highly portable and mixed with just about anything. The Romans’ love of cheese spread throughout their empire and beyond, becoming an important staple in Europe and the Middle East.

Interestingly, cheese wasn’t particularly favored in eastern Asia. Though there is evidence that it had been either independently developed in — or

at least the knowledge of its creation had been exported to — China by 1615 BCE, it wasn’t remotely as popular as it was in parts of the Global West.

Cheese didn’t appear in the Americas until European colonization, beginning in the late 15th century. Large, milk-producing animals like cows and sheep were a big part of Europe’s development, but they weren’t native to North America. I don’t know about you, but I have no intention of ever trying to milk a buffalo or alpaca.

Cheesemaking became popular in America by the late 1700s, with New York being the primary cheese producing center. Post-Revolution, Ohio became the next logical step for U.S. settler-colonists to begin producing cheese. The Ohio River allowed for expedient transportation from Pennsylvania all the way to Kentucky, as well as accessibility to the Great Lakes. Ohio and New York were the primary cheese producers on the continent for more than five decades.

In the 1830s, immigrants from Germany, Norway and Switzerland began to settle in Wisconsin by way of the Great Lakes. They brought immense knowledge of cheesemaking with them; and, unbeknownst to the immigrants, would eventually inspire a bunch of people to put cheese on their heads and scream at the TV on Sundays.

Last year, Wisconsin produced 3.5 billion pounds of cheese, followed by California at around 2.4 billion pounds. Idaho was actually the No. 3-producer of cheese in 2021, producing just more than 1 billion pounds. Idaho only produced 14 million pounds of potatoes last year, so it might be time for a rebranding: “Idaho — Land of Potatoes Au

Gratin.”

Enough history, how exactly is cheese made?

One method is to use the enzymes in a calf stomach, as mentioned above, but that’s inefficient, unsanitary and cruel. Instead, we can emulate that process by pouring milk into a vat and adding bacteria to it. There are two specific types of bacteria we add to make cheese, and this type will drastically alter the outcome of the finished product. Mesophilic bacteria like temperatures between 68 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit, and are responsible for milder cheese flavors like cheddar. Thermophilic bacteria like it hotter, between 113F and 252F, and are responsible for cheeses like Parmesan and Romano — you know, stuff with a bite.

These bacteria will cause the sugars in the milk (lactose) to ferment into lactic acid.

Fun bonus fact: You can actually take the lactic acid, pull the water out of it and create the filament we use in the 3-D printers at the library. The lactic acid causes a reaction of the casein (part of the protein found in milk) molecules in the milk, making them unfold and link together and coagulate until the milk begins to form a funky, rubbery substance called a curd.

If you want your cheese to be harder, you’re going to have to add something called rennet. Rennet possesses the chymosin enzyme from cow stomachs we learned about earlier. This enzyme causes a polarizing reaction in the protein that pushes away water and locks in milkfat, while also causing a rapid coagulation. This isn’t done in every kind of cheese, but it’s an important step for certain ones like Swiss cheese.

Cheesemakers will take the curd and send it down the line to be pressed. Some cheeses aren’t pressed for long and have uniform slabs sliced from them to create the block cheese you buy at the supermarket. Others are just pressed into a big cheese wheel and left to age for up to 20 years. The aging process further ferments the cheese, enhancing the flavor and breaking down the lactose — the primary reason

why people with lactose intolerance don’t have a reaction from aged cheese.

Other cheeses, like cream cheese, generally don’t get pressed and just get packaged and shipped. No one wants a rind on their cheese cake, after all. Would you believe it? We’ve already reached the end of the article and I haven’t made one cheesy pun. How gouda am I? Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner

Don’t know much about the movie elf?

We can help!

•Released in 2003, Elf, starring Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart and Zooey Deschanel and directed by Jon Favreau, has quickly become a modern-day Christmas classic.

•This isn’t Ferrell’s first Christmas performance. While he performed with L.A.-based comedy group The Groundlings, Ferrell once dressed up as Santa for an outdoor shopping mall in Pasadena. Chris Kattan was Ferrell’s elf at the time. The two would later reunite as cast members on Saturday Night Live.

•In a memorable scene from Elf, in which Ferrell’s character Buddy is put in charge of testing jack-in-the-boxes, Ferrell’s reaction to them opening was genuine. A crewmember controlled the trigger to the toys, timing them just right to create Ferrell’s anxiety.

•Jim Carrey was originally tapped for the lead role a full 10 years before Elf was made; but, by that time, he was already tied up with another project and Ferrell snapped up the role.

•Much of the music was added to the film by director Jon Favreau after he realized Zooey Deschanel’s singing talent.

•The tiny elves in Elf weren’t CGI. They used an old trick called “forced perspective” to make the elves look small compared to Ferrell.

•Peter Billingsley, who played Ralphie in the 1983 classic A Christmas Story, made a cameo as Ming the Elf, but he’s not credited in the film.

•After shooting came to an end in New York City, Ferrell walked around the city dressed as Buddy, with Favreau and a cameraman collecting extra footage to use as B-roll. Ferrell leapfrogged across a pedestrian walk, accepted flyers and got his shoes shined — all of which made it into the film.

•Ferrell turned down $29 million to star in a sequel to Elf, saying “I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights: ‘Buddy the middle-aged elf.’”

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A ‘contrarian elder’ speaks up against hate speech

By Paul Graves Reader Contributor

Hate speech and fear speech are alive and active in North Idaho. They seem to scream a desire to impose their particular mix of far-right politics and religion on certain institutions in our communities — like libraries, schools, city councils and county commissions, not to mention our state Legislature. It’s past time that we who are alarmed at their destructive tactics speak up to counter their extremism.

“The best criticism of the bad is to practice the better.” This bit of wisdom is one of the core principles of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, N.M. Admittedly, to practice the better may be the best criticism of the bad, but it isn’t the only criticism available, or sometimes needed.

As an elder who usually tries to practice the better, I have times when my contrarian impulses move me to push against a trend that I know is unhealthy to individuals, to our community and to our nation.

The hate-speech pattern we hear almost constantly these days is one of those trends that needs to be strongly, consistently challenged.

But we need to be strategic and courageously gracious as we challenge those whose fear and/or hate result in anti-LGBTQ+ speech, or against whatever group of “others” they choose to rant about.

The mass shooting in a gay club in Colorado Springs, Colo., is only the latest in an epidemic of mass shootings that seem to be the consequence of hate speech.

But it won’t be the last. That’s pretty much guaranteed as long as political

leaders on the state and national levels, extremist TV and radio commentators, election deniers or ordinary citizens let their heart-fears stir the “hate pot” until another act of violence happens in our country.

Too many speak hate, while too many others stand in complicit silence.

Hate speech is actually protected by the First Amendment. We know that — even when we think the First Amendment argument becomes an excuse for unbridled verbal chaos.

Yes, proving that hate speech is actually responsible for violence (like the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on our Capitol and democracy) is difficult to prove.

Still, we who believe there is a connection between hate speech and violence on groups or persons marginalized in American society need to stop standing around with our mouths muzzled. If you believe in free speech, then don’t let the hat-

er-speeches shut you up.

Your right to speak, in whatever forms you are ready to use, is not only available to you. Consider it a responsibility you need to exercise. Freedom of speech is “free,” but it isn’t cheap. Part of the cost of that freedom is being responsible, accountable, for what we say and how we say it.

The people who speak hate — and try to legislate hate — don’t seem willing to take responsibility for their “freedom.” They dismiss their moral obligation to respect those whose lifestyles, identities, beliefs or opinions are contrary to their own. They seem to conveniently put their moral compasses in a box and definitely don’t “practice the better” for all persons.

Geraldine DeRuiter writes the “Everywhereist” blog. Recently, she spoke of people who welcome free speech, but are victimized by abusive speech.

Abusive speech impacts us all in different ways.

Perhaps her distinction between free speech and abusive speech is helpful. So how can we move toward free, responsible speech while we challenge abusive speech? Here are a few suggestions:

•To address hate speech, we need more constructive speech to counter the hate speech.

•Before you speak, do your research and be sure to get your facts accurate.

•We need to take seriously that tackling hate speech is the responsibility of all.

•We need a new generation of digital citizens, empowered to recognize, reject and stand against hate speech.

•We need to connect with larger groups that advocate justice and compassion, so we know we’re not solo voices in the wilderness.

My contrarian inclinations are not simply because I’m an elder. They’re inflamed because I’m a human being who is tired of being reluctant to make waves. I’d rather be criticized for seeking a better alternative to hate speech and the violence it can spawn, than be a mob-member of the silent majority.

Each of us needs to decide what “better practice” we want to choose to criticize “the bad.” Please decide, and then get practicing.

Get contrarian about making our communities better.

Paul Graves is a retired United Methodist pastor and longtime Sandpoint resident, where he served on the City Council and as mayor. He also works as a geriatric social worker, serving as “Lead Geezer-in-Training” for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry on aging issues.

Paul Graves. Courtesy photo.

COMMUNITY

Jacey’s Race honored as December Volunteer of the Month

By Reader Staff

Though the board of directors of Jacey’s Race decided to end the event after 20 successful years, the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce has named the fundraising fun run its December Volunteer of the Month.

The first Jacey’s Race in Sandpoint took place in 2005, but the event actually began in Colorado in 2001, when 4-yearold Jacelyn Lawson was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Jacey endured several surgeries, three chemotherapy agents and total lung radiation treatments.

Incredibly, her cancer was no longer

detectable by the end of the first year of treatment. Before the end of that first year, a close group of friends decided they wanted to do something to help support Jacey. They put together a fun run as a way to celebrate Jacey and show her how much the community cares. Not only did she survive her ordeal, but she flourished with the love and support of a caring community.

Jacey and her family moved to Sandpoint in 2005. When some friends heard her story, they decided they wanted to keep the event going in North Idaho, with the mission to assist local kids with cancer and also expanded to include kids with other types of illness.

The total number of beneficiaries to date is 66 — including 57 kids and nine organizations who support beneficiary kids and families.

Jacey is now a happy, healthy 26-yearold after surviving a second primary cancer diagnosis that required two additional surgeries in 2018.

“Jacey’s Race has become much more than a family fun run,” the chamber stated. “It became the family fun event of the season. It takes the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers to put on such an event.”

The Chamber’s Bob Witte, center, presents the December Volunteer of the Month award to Karla Kirby, left, and Karen McClelland, right. Courtesy photo.

Right: Juliet Barba cuts hair at the Sandpoint Senior Center as part of Wildflower Spa and Salon at Seasons’ outreach to give massages and hair care to local seniors.

Photo by Ben Olson

Far right: A glorious winter morning in North Idaho. Photo by Karen Hempstead.

Middle: Lillian Lassen gives a massage to a lucky senior at the Sandpoint Senior Center. Wildflower Spa and Salon at Seasons is also giving free massages to seniors as part of their outreach program. Photo by Ben Olson.

Bottom: A deer spotted near the Third St. Pier in Sandpoint. Photo by Joanne Cottrell.

To submit a photo for a future edition, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.

The wordsmithing women

Sandpoint Monday Writers publish Sandpointed, a collection of poetry and prose

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Estimates place the Sandpoint Monday Writers’ origins sometime in the 1990’s, and at the hands of founding member Karen Seashore. The group has seen several iterations over the years, both in membership and locale, but the intent remains the same: to offer a set time each week for women to write.

Upon closer inspection, that intent has led to so much more.

On one recent Monday, four of the group’s members — Robens Napolitan, Desiree Aguirre, Sandra Rasor and Nishelle Gonzales — gathered in their customary meeting place. There were cut-out newspaper headlines on the shared table to serve as prompts (one of the group’s weekly traditions, facilitat-

ed by Napolitan) and a clear sense of shared purpose in the way the women talked about their work and reasons for attending. Craftsmanship and friendship exist hand-in-hand when it comes to the Sandpoint Monday Writers.

“We’ve been through a lot of physical illnesses, we’ve been through emotional things — all kinds of stuff,” Napolitan said. “It’s a women’s support group that writes.”

With the exception of Gonzales — the group’s newest member — the rest of the writers in attendance that particular Monday had just wrapped up the final touches on a book made up of their collected works. They anticipated that their own hard copies of the book, titled Sandpointed, would arrive sometime in the next day, and they were right. Sandpointed is now available for purchase at Foster’s Crossing, Monarch Mountain

Coffee and Sand Creek Quilting.

The book, published by local Turtle Moon Publishing, came to be at the prompting of group member Jackie Henrion, who also has work featured in the collection along with Sandy Lamson and Rhoda Sanford. The six writers’ combined efforts have created a book which captures the unique voices of North Idaho women.

Henrion called the end result a “funny and shocking” collection.

“Just like life, we nod and honor the deepest stuff and then laugh together to heal,” she said, adding that she hopes Sandpointed may play some part in inspiring other local women to start similar groups.

Rasor said she appreciates the “acceptance and encouragement” she has experienced as a part of the Sandpoint Monday Writers.

“I remember joining, and they asked me to say who I was and I was reluctant to say, ‘I’m a poet,’” she said. “Robens said to me, ‘You write poetry?’ and I said yes, so she said, ‘You’re a poet.’ She helped me say, ‘Hey, yeah — I am a poet.’”

As much as Mondays are a time for the group to share inspiration and get words on the page, the weekly meetings are also a sort of salve for each of the women’s souls.

“We laugh more here on Mondays than we do all week,” Napolitan said.

“But we also cry,” Aguirre added.

Sandpointed provides a glimpse into the challenges and joys that local women share, and the group hopes these

published works will resonate with readers. The book marks not a culmination, but rather, a new chapter for the Sandpoint Monday Writers, who will no doubt continue their weekly cycle of composing, communing and caring for one another.

“It adds sparkle to our days to remember and look forward to our Mondays together,” Henrion said.

Find copies of Sandpointed for sale at Foster’s Crossing, Monarch Mountain Coffee and Sand Creek Quilting. Also find the book on Amazon. Those with questions about Sandpointed or the Sandpoint Monday Writers can contact Robens Napolitan at tomandrobens@ gmail.com.

The cover of Sandpointed, featuring a piece of artwork titled “Growth Spurt” by Robens Napolitan. Courtesy image.

In the can

By Reader Staff

In partnership with Kaniksu Land Trust, Matchwood Brewing Company is releasing the first-ever Community Can. The beer was brewed to support KLT’s fundraising efforts to “Save the Sled Hill” — a large hill that has served as a community recreation site for half a century.

“Our collective goal is to preserve the rural values of the West Pine neighborhood and support creative opportunities that benefit sustainable land stewardship,” said Andrea Marcoccio, co-owner of Matchwood Brewing Company

“We are thrilled that the Save the Sled Hill fundraising effort was chosen as the first Community Can for Matchwood Brewing Company,” said KLT Executive Director Katie Cox.

“What image inspires community more than a place where our youngest and oldest members can come and feel the thrill of gliding down a snow-covered hill, or a child learning to fish with her grandparents on a hot summer day, or the community tending the orchard for the benefit of the food bank,” she

added. “This property will bring our community so much joy for generations to come.”

Matchwood’s India pale lager is a clean golden color, dry hopped with Mosaic and Citra hops, and brewed with lager yeast to let the hops and grains shine without distractions. It offers a slightly bready taste, balanced with sweet fruit and citrus aromas and flavors.

It will be available in four-packs of 16-ounce cans Matchwood Brewing (513 Oak St.), Bluebird Bakery (329 N. First Ave.), Winter Ridge (703 Lake St.) and Idaho Pour Authority (203 Cedar St.).

Proceeds will go directly to the fundraising campaign and donated to KLT.

Set along Pine Street Loop,

Matchwood Brewing and KLT ‘Community Cans’ aim to save the Pine St. Woods sled hill

Pine Street Woods is a 48-acre parcel including forest, meadows, a large pond and structures associated with a historic homestead. The most notable feature is the large hill, which has served as a community recreation site for a half-century.

KLT staff and board have made no secret of their dreams for this property. Prime for conservation, education and recreation, this parcel will augment the community benefits of Pine Street Woods.

Its location lends itself to a new potential access point for the Syringa Trails network; enhanced educational programs, including Kaniksu Folk School; and a dedicated home for programs and operations of Kaniksu Lumber.

Local restaurateurs and bar owners are invited to sell and promote “Save the Sled Hill Community Cans.” Email orders@matchwoodbrewing.com for more information.

Katie Cox, executive director of Kaniksu Land Trust, joined Matchwood Brewing Company’s production team for Save the Sled Hill canning run on Dec. 5. Courtesy photo.

Matchwood co-owner Kennden Culp and general manager Cole Hooper prepare another batch of the new beers. Courtesy photo.

‘A very high strength-to-weight ratio’

Festivus event at the Panida brings Seinfeld to Sandpoint

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Aside from Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin and perhaps Yogi Berra, the hit television show Seinfeld is responsible for more additions to the American lexicon than one might imagine. Even those who never watched the show, which ended almost 25 years ago, are unable to escape the inane and often hilarious references the show’s creator Larry David unleashed onto the world.

Be it the “Soup Nazi” or “yada, yada, yada” or “sponge-worthy” or perhaps being “master of your domain,” Seinfeld has seemingly tackled every awkward social situation and captured it for eternity on film, to be laughed at by future generations.

wholly invented by the Seinfeld writers, it was actually founded back in 1966 by writer Daniel O’Keefe to commemorate the first date with his wife. O’Keefe’s son Dan, who worked as a writer on Seinfeld, brought Festivus into popular culture once and for all when he co-wrote the episode “The Strike,” cementing Festivus as both a playful resistance to the sickly consumerism of Christmas, as well as an alt-holiday for people to celebrate when they want something a bit more awkward than what Christmas can provide.

For Keaton and friends, celebrating Festivus became an annual tradition in which they playfully poked fun at the holiday season and its frequent overindulgence in emotional confection.

“Everyone comes together and enjoys seeing each other during the holidays,” Keaton said. “But the whole sugar-coated, ‘Everything is all great for everyone’ is not accurate. When families come together, it’s not all smiles and everything’s good. Usually there’s some drama in some shape or form and petty things start to creep in. That’s why it’s fun to shake off that tension by laughing at it, laughing at yourself and the context of the holidays. Humor and comedy can go a long way toward breaking the ice of social awkwardness.”

this will be a big opportunity to explore not just Seinfeld, but Sandpoint, too.”

Along with Keaton, several friends will assist in the performance, including Lonnie Williams playing Jerry Seinfeld, Cat Aster Phey playing George Costanza, Leslie Spohn playing Elaine Benes, Lindsey Klein playing Cosmo Kramer and “Cheryl Klein’s son” (as he insisted on being identified) playing Frank Costanza.

One lasting Seinfeld reference is “Festivus,” featured in the episode “The Strike,” which aired in the penultimate season. In the show, George Costanza’s dad Frank, played hilariously by Jerry Stiller, introduces a non-commercial holiday in which celebrants gather around an aluminum pole (which Stiller points out has a “very high strengthto-weight ratio”) to air grievances during the Festivus meal — each attending telling the group all the ways they have disappointed them over the past year. The holiday is continued with feats of strength and labeling easily explainable events as “Festivus miracles.”

Kaleb Keaton, a local Sandpointian who has celebrated Festivus with a group of friends and family for more than 25 years, has decided it’s finally time to take the act on stage. Keaton and friends are hosting a special Festivus celebration event Friday, Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Panida Theater.

Festivus

The show will feature all the hallmarks of a traditional Festivus celebration, including airing of grievances, poetry reading from locals and feats of strength, but will also include Seinfeld trivia and a script reading of the episode featuring local actors. Of course, there will be an aluminum pole.

Friday, Dec. 23; doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.; $9 advance, $15 at the door. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.org.

Think of it as the anti-hero Christmas.

While many assume this holiday was

“We’ve been Seinfeld fans since high school and we’ve celebrated Festivus every year since then,” Keaton told the Reader. “One of the reasons we gravitated toward Festivus is there’s an awkwardness to it. I always loved the self-deprecating humor in Seinfeld. We weren’t popular in high school, so we were always tackling insecurities. Seinfeld does that so well.”

Keaton is no stranger to comedy, having performed stand-up in Boston and during his undergraduate studies at Florida State.

“I think comedy is something that’s important to allow it to be,” Keaton said. “It’s a front for exploring ideas and pushing people and their comfort levels to an extent. Comedy explores the human condition and it’s a great way to build bridges and connect with people. The authentic feeling of cheer that comedy has — without overthinking it — is what I love most about it.”

While last year’s Festivus was held at the Bonner Mall, Keaton is excited to bring the production onto the Panida main stage for what will prove to be an interesting night.

“Expect something different,” he said. “This is not going to be a traditional show. There’s going to be an abundance of Sandpoint references because it’s Festivus in Sandpoint. It’s an all-Sandpoint cast, so

Keaton said there will be lots of audience interaction, but those attending shouldn’t expect to see a Broadway performance.

“It will be sporadic, well-tuned, but not to the extent of being crisp and pristine,” Keaton said. “It’s not going to be cookie-cutter perfect. It’ll be raw and edgy, because that’s how you get a good Festivus. But the humor is never at anybody’s expense.”

That’s the most important part when celebrating Festivus — not taking anything too seriously. It’s a chance to laugh and make merry, to perhaps be mildly offended in an entertaining way and push a boundary or two for the sake of the aluminum pole.

“As somebody who gets a little overexcited about things, I think it’s going to be a good show, a good turnout,” Keaton said. “Here’s the beauty of it: If it’s a good show, it’s a good show. If it bombs, if it’s terrible, it’s a good Festivus. We can’t lose!”

Top left: Frank Costanza, played by Jerry Stiller, shows off his Festivus pole during the episode, “The Strike.” Courtesy image. Top right: Kaleb Keaton and crew rehearse their lines at the Bonner Mall prior to Festivus 2021. Photo courtesy Kaleb Keaton.

Gift guide 2022

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

The irony of me writing a gift guide is as thick as molasses in wintertime. I’m terrible at buying obligatory gifts. I know there are others like me who are also overcome with anxiety at the mere thought of shopping for their friends and family during the holidays.

Sure, sometimes buying gifts can be easy — especially when you’re buying for someone who loves everything you get them. Then there are those who are, let’s say, “difficult.” If they wanted a particular item, chances are they bought it for themselves.

What do hapless gift-buyers like myself do in this situation? We think outside the box. Then we turn to Google. Here are a few ideas for people who are tough to buy for:

Asian sauce sample pack

between those who want quality shades, but don’t want to break the bank. For anywhere from $30-$45, you can get a pair that look great and will stand the test of time; but, if you lose or break them, it won’t hurt quite so much. The best part? You can customize exactly how you want them to look, including colors of frames and lenses, as well as styles. Visit knockaround. com and purchase a gift card for whatever amount you’d like, then the person you give the gift to can go online, design their own pair of shades and have them sent directly to their homes. Don’t forget to check if they have a 15% off “first time customer” coupon code.

Travel game pack

of pairs of Smartwool socks that they’d never buy on their own? Better yet, if they’re skiers or snowboarders, put a pair of expensive socks designed for winter sports under the tree and they’ll be happy campers.

Containers for leftovers

What to get those who are difficult to buy for

Fancy long matches

Even difficult people have to eat. If your difficult person also loves Asian food, this sampler pack of Asian sauces will take their rice stir fries or noodle bowls to a whole new level. The set includes 15 starters that will help make more than 45 meals, which includes Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Vietnamese and Thai starter packs for $65. Check it out at omsom.com.

Custom sunglasses

I swore off expensive sunglasses long ago, right after diving in the lake and losing a $130 pair just hours after purchasing them. Knockaround is a company aiming to fill the gap

I’ve often been out with friends and wished I had a deck of cards or some dice to play a game with them. Why not give your loved ones a game pack that gives them the option to carry these items for spontaneous fun? My partner Cadie sews little canvas carrying cases that hold six dice and a small instruction booklet explaining popular dice games — often without the need for pen and paper. They make travel versions of most games, so do some research and find out what games your gift recipient likes, then surprise them with these little gems.

Socks

I know, I know. When you’re young, socks are the abso lute worst gift to receive. But, the older you get, the more you appreciate a warm, comfy pair of socks. Part of the fun of buying gifts for difficult people is anticipating what they would or would not spend money on. Does your recipient only buy 12-packs of tube socks from Walmart and wear them until their big toes are escaping? Why not surprise them with a couple

This can also be filed under the “boring” category for anyone under 30, but for those who regularly cook and have to store leftovers, it’s a boss moment when they open a present and find a half dozen new, sparkly containers that are oven/microwave safe, lightweight and have locking lids to prevent spillage.

Reusable grocery bags

Maybe others don’t burn themselves as often as I do while lighting candles when the wick is low in the glass, but, if they do, it’s a no-brainer to give them a few packs of fancy long-handled matches. They also make Bic lighters now that have a one-inch extension that make lighting hardto-reach candles much easier.

Cold, hard cash

There’s no shame in giving people cash, especially if they

aren’t particularly well-off. But there are creative ways to give the cash that make it more fun. Here are some ideas: roll up your cash tightly and insert it into a balloon before you tie it off, then give it to them with a pin.

Another fun idea is to look up how to fold dollar bill origami. There are great designs online for making hearts and other objects to add a bit of flair to your gift. Finally, you can get really literal and put some money in a plastic bag, then submerge it in a bowl of water. Place the container in the freezer and let it freeze overnight, then hand them a block of ice with something to break it apart. Cold, hard cash, baby.

If your gift recipient comes home from the grocery store with a dozen plastic bags in tow, it’s time you brought them into the 21st century. Reusable grocery bags are not only better for the environment, they also carry a lot more items, don’t rip from being overloaded and are easier to carry. You can find fun designs anywhere. Don’t forget to buy extra so they can keep some in the car in case they forget to grab them before leaving the house.

events

December 15-22, 2022

THURSDAY, december 15

Paint and Sip with Nicole Black

5:30-7:30pm @ Barrel 33 $45 for a night of creativity & fun

Live Music w/ Ian Newbill

5:30-8pm @ Ice House Pizza Country and classic rock hits

Sandpoint Nordic Club Youth Ski League Early Registration

This after school program is perfect for getting your kids outside and active. Scholarships available. Cross country ski classes held at Pine Street Woods. To register: sandpointnordic.com. Prices increase after Dec. 15

FriDAY, december 16

Live Music w/ Ron Kieper Trio

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Your favorite jazz melodies

Live Music w/ The Miah Kohal Band • 9pm @ The Hive Outlaw country and classic rock from this local quartet, playing at the newly reopened Hive under new ownership! Free show

Karaoke 8pm-cl @ The Tervan

Holiday Ball dance

7pm @ Cocolalla Community Hall

One hour of salsa lessons, general dancing 8-10pm. $9/person

Live Music w/ Pamela Benton

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Electric violin and vocals

Holiday Ball and Dance

7-10pm @ Cocolalla Comm. Hall Refreshments, door prizes and fun. Couples, singles, all levels of dancers welcome. $9/person

SATURDAY, december 17

Yoga & Mimosa w/ Ellie 9am @ Barrel 33

Sign up at barrel33sandpoint.com

An Evening with Thom Shepherd and Coley McCabe 7:30pm @ The Heartwood Center See story on Page 21

Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band 9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge Sandpoint’s outlaw rock band

Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Live Music w/ Headwaters 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Local bluegrass/string group Live Music w/ Steven Wayne 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 6-8pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.

Live Music w/ Bright Moments 10am-1pm @ Evans Bros. Coffee Sandpoint’s prolific jazz trio

Live Music w/ Bright Moments 4:30-7pm @ Barrel 33

Karaoke 8pm-cl @ The Tervan

Amahl and the Night Visitors annual MCS Christmas concert 5-6pm @ Little Carnegie Hall

Sandpoint Chess Club

9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Jingle Jam and Caroling

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

Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s “Reboot Your Life: The Art of Turning Your Life Around”

SunDAY, december 18 monDAY, december 19 tuesDAY, december 20

Group Run @ Outdoor Experience 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome, beer after

Craft Beer Trivia • 6-7pm @ Utara Brewing Co. Prizes, fun, beer, food, friends!

wednesDAY, december 21

Industry Night • 3-8pm @ Utara Brewing Co. If you are in the food and beverage industry, let us know so that we can give you an additional discount on Wednesdays

Trivia Night

5-8pm @ Paddler’s Alehouse Prizes include free beer, apps, swag

Living Prayer film (FREE!)

7pm @ Panida Theater This deeply moving film takes you into the lives and practices of the monks at some of the most revered monastaries in Christianity

4pm @ Cedar Hills Church Games and sing-alongs, the traditional telling of the Christmas story. At 5pm, there will be carols, cookies and cocoa around an outdoor fire

Live Piano w/ Bob Beadling 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

On the grand piano

Open Mic Night

6:30pm @ The Tervan

ThursDAY, december 22

Holiday Family Event

3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Cookies, hot cocoa and cider, plus a piano performance by Bob Beadling

This is a children’s opera by Menotti, hosted by the Sandpoint Music Conservatory Stabat Mater Christmas concert 6pm @ Little Carnegie Hall Presented by MCS and Bel Canto Opera: Stabat Mater by Pergolesi. Donations accepted for this ticketless performance

Confessions of a ballerina

Danceworks’ annual Christmas show brings back memories of dancing in Sandpoint

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Before the stage lights come up and the music begins, there is a certain electricity in the dark air of a packed theater.

The electricity, in my experience, was made of a mixture of horrible nerves and giddy anticipation. The sounds of people shifting in their seats and parents shushing their rowdy toddlers are layered in my memories with the smell of popcorn and the feeling of tulle in my fingertips. The slight unevenness of the Panida stage under my ballet shoes grounded me, and the gentle rustling of my fellow dancers let me know I wasn’t alone in the darkness.

Then the lights would render us temporarily blind, the music would arrive loud and familiar through the theater’s sound system, and, suddenly, it was showtime.

I performed ballet in two annual productions for Sandpoint studio Danceworks from around 7 years old until high school, when I had to choose between dance class and sports. The studio is still going strong under the direction of owner and teacher Becky Lucas, and is slated to host its annual Christmas show on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 3 p.m. at the Panida Theater.

I’ll be there, sitting on the opposite side of that electric darkness and cheering for my niece — as well as the dozens of other dancers from preschool-aged to teen who are brave enough to take the stage.

It’s hard to overstate what dance did for my confidence as a young person. For one, it offered routine and discipline like nothing else in my life. The movements were equal parts expression and athleticism. There was also an element of teamwork, especially as each performance came closer.

ography. It was hard, demanding work. We were ballerinas, and we were strong because of it.

Dance offered a perfect combination of brutality and beauty, especially once I’d graduated to pointe shoes. Our hair taut in neat buns and our leotard straps perfectly placed, we walked onto the stage of each show with a sense of power — or, at least I did.

Looking back on the bond I was able to form with my classmates, I like to think they felt it, too. We trusted one another and trusted that we’d dedicated enough time and energy to that particular performance. I’ve never watched footage of any of those shows, and I’m not sure I want to. In my memory, we executed perfection, and the crowd went wild.

Danceworks

Christmas

Saturday, Dec. 17; doors at 2:30 p.m., show at 3 p.m.; $15. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208263-9191, panida.org/event/ danceworks-christmas. Get tickets at the Danceworks Studio (409 N.Fourth Ave.) or at the door the day of the show.

Our ballet teacher, Debi, held us each to a high standard while still emphasizing our individual strengths with her chore-

I may have stopped dancing, but never lost the lessons that ballet taught me about self-discipline and self-confidence. Now, I get to see young people in our community continue to benefit from dance lessons and the grand performances that bookend the long hours of learning. I am so proud of my niece, and proud to have been a Danceworks kid myself.

May the show go on.

The author in her dance days. Courtesy photo.

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

Man does not live by bread alone; though, I must say, the French were giving it their best shot during my visit last week. There was much to celebrate on the avenues of Paris, as their iconic and beloved baguette was just recognized on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. It joins other foods such as Neapolitan pizza, Moroccan couscous, and Korean kimchi as an integral part of human culture.

The name baguette translates to “baton,” and was first created about 100 years ago in Paris. During that period, it was illegal for workers to bake between the hours of 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Since the baguette was quick to make and bake, breakfast bread could be offered in about three hours. Not all French bread is baguette-style, though certainly, baguettes are the most popular of the more than 200 varieties of bread offered in France.

While I didn’t sample that many types last week, I did eat my way through my fair share of the 10 billion loaves produced annually.

According to Decree 931074, of Sept. 13, 1993, a baguette can only be made of flour, water, yeast and salt. It must be 65 centimeters to one meter in length and baked on the premises where it’s sold. To the French, their daily bread is a ritual and a way of life — toasted for breakfast, sliced for a midday sandwich and served with the evening meal. Because of the simple ingredients (and no preservatives), this bread

The Sandpoint Eater

The upper crust

tastes best when consumed within 24 hours.

It’s easy to spot the best boulangeries in Paris. Just look for a long line of Parisians, sometimes winding around the block, waiting to make their morning purchase. While a French bakery might sell a variety of pastries and loaves of bread, a boulangerie sells only bread baked on the premises. Little compares with the first bite of a warm baguette, and it’s not uncommon for people to buy two loaves at a time (though often Parisians arrive home with only a single loaf).

There is an annual competition in Paris to choose the best baguette. I’ve heard that one can apply to be a judge at that

competition (you know what’s now topping my to-do list).

On the morning of the competition, hundreds of bakers line up and enter two of their best baguettes. Unfortunately, some don’t even make the cut, as they didn’t follow the strict requirements (in this contest, baguettes must measure between 55 and 65 cm long and weigh between 250 and 300 grams), and they are turned away. During the day, each juror must sample and score 50 baguettes based on several criteria.

The winner is awarded about €5,000, and the Elysée Palace (the official residence of the French president) will serve their bread for a year. This year’s winner is Damien

Dedun, artisan baker of the Frédéric Comyn Boulangerie at 88 Rue Cambronne, in the 15th Arrondissement. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it over there, but I did sample plenty of others that I still found perfect, with a crispy upper crust, soft interior and fragrant to the nose. Though baguettes are best eaten the day they’re made, leftover loaves are often used in dishes like French onion soup. Last week, on a chilly afternoon, after touring the opera house, my nose led me to the perfect bowl of French onion soup I have ever eaten. I nearly passed by Le Grand Café Capucines, but the aroma drew me right inside the noisy café that’s been serving opera-goers

French onion soup

Peel onions and slice in half lengthwise, with cut side down; slice into thin, even slices. Over medium heat, melt the butter and oil in Dutch oven or heavy saucepan.

Add the onions and stir to coat. Reduce heat, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes.

Stir in salt, pepper and sugar, and cook the onions for 40 minutes to 1 hour: Turn the heat up to medium and cook, uncovered and stirring every few minutes, until the onions are deeply browned. Stir often so the onions don’t scorch.

Add the flour to the cooked onions and stir for an additional few minutes, stir in the red wine.

Heat broth in separate vessel. When hot, add to the onions and the herbs. Stir, lower heat and simmer for an hour.

Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Now, add the sherry.

(At this point, you can chill overnight and reheat.)

On a heavy cookie sheet, place small crocktype, oven-safe bowls. Divide the soup between bowls. Top each with a round or two of browned baguette and sprinkle grated cheese in a thick layer over the bread and up to the edge of the bowl (if some of the cheese clings to the sides of the bowl, it won’t all sink).

Place in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes, then turn oven to broil for 1-3 minutes (depending on your oven), until the cheese is lightly browned and bubbly. Don’t let it burn!

Remove carefully from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

for almost 150 years.

My waiter was attractive and attentive and helped me choose a selection of Brittany oysters as a starter and a Bordeaux to accompany the soup. When the aromatic and bubbling soup arrived, I made my way through several layers of cheese to find the savory chunks of baguette bathed in a sublime, rich broth.

When I inquired about obtaining the recipe, the waiter’s English disappeared. Fortunately, I have a recipe I’ve used for years that I am pretty happy with, and I pulled it out of the Reader archives so we can all enjoy a bowl of this classic soup. I promise, it’s the perfect December meal. Bon appetit.

Don’t be in a hurry — cook the onions low and slow to develop the color and flavor of the soup. I like to use a mixture of all three cheeses. If you aren’t making your own beef stock, Better than Bouillon is an excellent base for stock. Serves 4-6.

MUSIC

The Miah Kohal Band, The Hive, Dec. 16

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

There aren’t many Sandpoint groups that bring the ruckus like the Miah Kohal Band does. The outlaw country, classic rock quartet has earned quite a following in North Idaho for their energetic shows that always keep the dance floor popping. Whether playing their spot-on covers or dynamic originals, this upbeat band always puts on an excellent show.

The newly reopened venue The Hive will host the Miah Kohal Band in all their glory for

a free concert on Friday, Dec. 16 at 9 p.m.

Located at 217 N. First Ave., The Hive has seen some notable acts come through Sandpoint, including Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Yonder Mountain String Band, Sir Mix-a-Lot and many more. With new ownership breathing life back into the venue, which has been shuttered since before the pandemic, we’re hoping for more great shows in the future.

9 p.m., FREE. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., livefromthehive.com. Listen at reverbnation.com/ miahkohalband.

Amahl and the NightVisitors, Little Carnegie, Dec. 17-18

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Many contemporary audiences may not be familiar with Amahl and the Night Visitors, but for a substantial chunk of the 20th century, it was almost as seasonally ubiquitous as It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story are today.

Premiered on Dec. 24, 1951, Amahl and the Night Visitors is a one-act opera composed by Gian Carlo Menotti at the behest of NBC, making it the first made-for-TV performance of its kind in the United States. The Christmas

Eve broadcast went out across the country, drawing a record-setting audience of approximately 5 million viewers.

From its debut until 1978, the opera aired every year on NBC as a tentpole of its Christmas programming — for many years including the same cast and crew — and there were also performances broadcast by the BBC and in Australia.

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint is bringing Amahl and the Night Visitors to its Little Carnegie performance space at 110 Main St., for two performances as a children’s

opera at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17 and Sunday, Dec. 18.

The story is of a young boy and his mother facing financial straits, who receive a magical visit from the three kings — or magi — of the Christmas story. Presented by MCS and Bel Canto Opera, it’s a holiday classic.

Saturday, Dec. 17-Sunday, Dec. 18; 5 p.m.; $5 students, $10 adults. Music Conservatory of Sandpoint: Little Carnegie, 110 Main St., 208265-4444. Get tickets at the MCS office or online at sandpointconservatory.ticketspice.com/amahl.

17

READ

You may know John Irving from his novels The World According to Garp or Cider House Rules, but a lesser known gem called The Last Chairlift. Set in Aspen, Colo., in 1941, the main charater Rachel is a slalom skier who manages to thwart her career and slinks back home to New England to be a ski instructor. Years later, her son Adam returns to Aspen looking for answers. It has plenty of Irving’s trademark wit and sexual politics, but also serves as a bit of a ghost story, too.

LISTEN

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Thom Shepherd and Coley McCabe, known locally as Thom and Coley, are a force to be reckoned with. They’ve been recognized four times as the Trop Rock Music Association Duo of the Year, have several No. 1 songs to their credit thanks to a long career in Nashville, and have won countless awards for their country songs that have resonated with audiences nationwide.

The duo will play a special concert at The Heartwood Center, produced by Mattox Farm

Productions. Expect some of your favorite country tunes, including platinum-selling songwriter McCabe’s “Grow Young With You”; Shepherd’s two No. 1 country hits, “Riding with Private Malone” and “Redneck Yacht Club”; and many more.

7:30-9:30 p.m.; $8 youth (6-17), $15 adult in advance, $20 adult admission at the door.

The Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St., 208-2638699, heartwoodsandpoint.com. Get tickets at bpt.me/5666971. Listen to Thom and Coley at thomandcoley.com.

Dec. 17 Jingle Jam and Caroling, Cedar Hills Church, Dec. 18

I don’t often listen to podcasts, but one has captured my attention of late. Lost in Panama covers the confusing story of two Dutch women who disappeared while hiking a trail in Panama. The official story is that they both drowned and their remains eaten by animals, but get a few episodes into the podcast, you realize something much more sinister probably happened. I won’t give anything away, but it’s worth listening to. You can stream it on Spotify.

WATCH

There are many layers to Pamela Benton’s creativity: from watercolor, graphite, ink and pastel fine art, to music ranging from contemporary jazz to Celtic fusion and “StringzOnFire!” — the latter being her electric violin and guitar solo show.

Hailing from San Francisco, and now based in Coeur d’Alene, it is as StringzOnFire! that Benton will be returning

to the Pend d’Oreille Winery from her home base in Kootenai County, bringing with her a songbook that includes blues, indie folk, rock and originals.

— Zach Hagadone

5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., powine. Find out more at pamelabenton.net.

Warm up that singing voice and kick off Christmas week with holiday fun for the entire family as Cedar Hills Church hosts backto-back events the evening of Sunday, Dec. 18.

First, there will be games and sing-alongs at 4 p.m., as well as the traditional telling of the Christmas story, which organizers promise will engage listeners of

all ages.

Then, at 5 p.m., attendees are invited to head outside to the church’s new event space to sip cocoa, eat cookies and sing Christmas carols around a campfire.

— Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey

4 p.m., FREE. Cedar Hills Church, 227 McGhee Rd., 208265-8500, cedarhillschurch.com.

When too many Christmas movies has you feeling a bit too sickly sweet, turn to the dark side and check out the worst Christmas movies ever made on Rotten Tomatoes. Choose one, then turn the volume off and gather around the television with a group of friends and take a page out of Mystery Science Theater 3000. For those who haven’t watched, that means you provide your own voiceover for the actors. It’s fun to make up your own tales, which are probably better than Christmas with the Kranks, which weighs in with a stellar 5% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

Pamela Benton, Pend d’Oreille Winery,

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

An evening with Thom Shepherd and Coley McCabe, The Heartwood, Dec.

Courtesy photo.

Courtesy photo.

From Pend d’Oreille Review, Dec. 15, 1911

SMALLPOX EPIDEMIC

That residents of Blanchard, a village in the southwestern part of Bonner county, have been continuously exposed to smallpox for several weeks and that no effort has been made to quarantine such households as were infected, were the facts learned by County Physician McKinnon when he was called to Blanchard last Saturday by Dr. Prindle of Spirit Lake.

It was learned that the smallpox epidemic at Blanchard had broken out early in the fall. The smallpox patients had the disease in a mild form and it seems that an effort was made to keep the facts quiet. Last week Almer Bohm contracted the disease in its most virulent form. County Physician McKinnon was called to Blanchard to investigate the conditions and found that four families had smallpox patients in their midst. A quarantine was immediately declared and the schools were ordered closed. A.L. Bennett was appointed quarantine officer.

The first of the week Mr. McKinnon learned that the quarantine regulations established at Blanchard were not being complied with and that members of quarantined families were mingling with neighbors. Sheriff Kearns went to Blanchard Tuesday to see to it that the quarantine regulations were observed.

BACK OF THE BOOK

An ode to the makers

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Christmas brings to mind the iconic imagery of Santa’s workshop.

It’s been depicted many ways over the years, but the basis remains the same: There is a place, at the North Pole, where elves work tirelessly to bring children’s dreams to life in the form of toys. Dollies, skateboards and everything in between are each made with care by small, magical creatures, wrapped up and transported via sleigh straight to the home of the child who dreamt it up.

Far-fetched as it is, the concept enthralled me as a kid, and seems to be doing the same for the majority of the children I know today.

People who can make things still enthrall me. Count me among the plebeians who can’t honestly call myself an artisan in any way, shape or form. When it comes to making things, I’m best at messes, and pretty good at plans. But beautifully handmade works of utility or art? Absolutely not.

Luckily, North Idaho seems to be a maker’s haven. There are some seriously talented people in our neck of the woods. I am reminded of this every time I stroll the Farmers’ Market in the summer months, and again in winter as creators peddle their wares in hopes of playing a part in customers’ gift-giving obligations.

I recently attended a craft fair at the Clark Fork-Hope Area Senior Center (which, for the record, hosts all sorts of events and serves more than just seniors, which is a message that the center’s organizers are adamant about spreading). There were around 20 vendors selling everything from quilted tote bags to clay brooches to charcuterie boards.

I learned that a friend I graduated high school with now makes incredible candles,

and also found a woman who makes delicate, beautiful resin jewelry with real flowers. These people often take on these labors apart from their daily obligations of work and family, and manage to make our community a cooler place because of it.

The awe I hold in my heart for people who can make something out of nothing seems to have played a vital role in who I chose as my partner. I say “seems” because I don’t think my husband checked any conscious box for me — “He makes stuff! He’s worthwhile!” — but, looking back on our courtship, I did find myself amazed with his creative powers on more than one occasion.

For instance, when we decided to move in together, I discovered that most of the furniture he owned, he’d made. To this day, I am still learning that many of the things we have — wood, metal, mechanical — exist because he built, welded or fixed them up.

On several occasions, I’ve made offhanded comments about things we could use in our home, and he’s made those things a reality. The first time this happened, he produced a bread box made of repurposed wood in a single afternoon. The second time, bookends. The desk at which I sit and the bookshelf that holds my favorite novels all came to be because my husband made it so. That’s nothing short of magic, to me.

’Tis the season of the makers, among which I don’t count myself in any serious way. Still, there is something undeniably therapeutic in trying to create without the expectation of a good outcome. It’s in this spirit that I occasionally draw — mostly flowers, which my husband tells me are

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beautiful. It’s rich, coming from a guy with talent comparable to Santa’s elves.

I appreciate it, all the same.

I guess if I was starving to death I would eat a dog. But not a collie, because I don’t like the taste of collie.

The author’s husband works his magic on her prized bookshelf. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

Laughing

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

Corrections: In last week’s news story about the City Beach goose hunt, we wrote that the vote passed unanimously, but in fact, Counsilor Justin Dick voted against the measure. Also, in the “Dear Readers” we wrote that parking wasn’t allowed on the even sides of the streets in Sandpoint, but the opposite is true. Remember, parking is only allowed on the even side of the street Dec. 1 - March 1. Sorry for the confusion (to be honest, I almost screwed this up again. Thank god for editors). —BO