Reader feb5 2015

READER

february 5, 2015 / FREE / Vol. 12 Issue 3

Solar FREAKIN’ Roadways

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Destination: Nelson, B.C. 10

Is Idaho Falling Behind? 12

Backwoods Solar 2 /

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(wo)MAN

DEAR READERS,

This week’s Reader features a couple of letters to the editor, which compiled by we are always happy to receive. We Susan Drinkard urge you, the reader, to weigh in on Is Idaho being left behind when it comes topics we cover as well as issues that we haven’t yet. to progressive movements that are Also in this issue, we have feacoming out of the West, such as efforts tured a few articles about environtoward sustainability/recycling, curbside mental programs (or lack thereof) in compost, social reform...?

Sandpoint, one being Solar Roadways led by Scott and Julie Brusaw “I think we are definitely being of Sagle. Let us know what you think, left behind as far as recycling and also how we’re doing. Email us goes. Coming from the reservaat inbox@sandpointreader.com. tion in South Dakota—Rosebud -Ben Olson, Publisher Sioux Tribe—we had more recycling than we do here.” secret thai Quentin Little Brave cafe Self-employed Sandpoint

on the street

Dine in or order to go!

“No. Coming from California I’d say Idaho is light years ahead. Because you have to pay for dumping there, people dump their oil, trash, and old refrigerators out in the woods and when you’re out on a bike ride in a pristine forest, you see this stuff. Here you can take your old junk—paint, televisions, oil, and etc. to the dump, and you can shop there too!”

Debra Rawuka Former Teacher/Ski Instructor Dover “Ya think? I recently moved out of town and was shocked to learn of the lack of recycling opportunities. Why can’t the county recycle glass and plastic?”

Joyce DeLaVergne Retired Teacher Sagle “Yes, it is left behind because it is a conservative state, but there are pockets of open-mindedness. In Sandpoint there are people who support progressive movements and people who don’t. It’s rare that we mingle, but we co-exist.”

Vance Bergeson

Carpenter, luthier, musician Sandpoint “I’d say the government could do much more—address the coal and oil trains, for example, and more recycling incentives, but the grassroots is in many ways leading the pack: small, sustainable farming, farmers’ markets, sustainable diets and lifestyles.”

Nancy Gerth Retired Philosophy Professor Book Indexer Sagle

208.263.9960

218 Cedar St. Sandpoint (look for us down the alley!)

$2 off

` any lunch entree (must present coupon) expires 2.28.15

TABLE OF CONTENTS commentary

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Roe v. Wade - 42 years later

By Nick Gier

5

Perspectives ByStephen Drinkard

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News

By Reader Staff

news

feature

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus)

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12

Solar Roadways: the future is so bright

By Cameron Rasmusson Is Idaho falling behind?

By Cameron Rasmusson & Ben Olson

calendar

8-9

The Event Calendar

arts & culture

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13 14

Nelson, B.C.: our Canadian sister

By Ben Olson Eichardt’s Through the Back Door

By Sandi Hale Nicholson Bridges Home CD Release

by Patrice Webb Then & Now

By Ben Olson

Contributing Artists: Jodi Rawson, Daniel Cape, Ben Olson, Sam Cornett, Alejandro Giraldo, David Gluns, Susan Drinkard.

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Nick Gier, Sandi Hale Nicholson, Whitney Palmer, John Goldsbury, Patrice Webb, Stephen Drinkard.

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

Subscription Price: $75 per year Advertising: Jen Landis jen@sandpointreader.com Andrew Sorg andrew.c.sorg@gmail.com Clint Nicholson clint@keokee.com Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism.

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

Requirements: –No more than 500 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

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

About the Cover This week’s cover was done by local artist Jodi Rawson, to illustrate the concept of Solar Roadways, which we’ve featured on page 7. Good job, Jodi! Keep the art coming, people.

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COMMENTARY A barrage of attacks on Roe v. Wade

By Nick Gier For SPR

As we celebrate a woman’s right to choose on the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, much effort has been exerted to undermine that right. As a constraint to this legal over-reach, the Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that states could not place an “undue burden” on a woman’s access to abortion.

During the past four years, over 200 laws in 22 states, more than in the previous decade, have been passed restricting access to abortions. Recently, the most common tactic has been to require abortion clinics to conform to standards that the medical profession considers arbitrary and unnecessary.

Requiring that clinics be upgraded as surgical centers,

Letters

Note From New Zealand

Sir, While exercising my mind with Sudoku in your fine publication, I happened upon Jack Handey’s ‘Deep Thoughts’.

Is he joking—telling kids that rain comes because God is crying over something they did ?

Perhaps I could ask all children to be especially naughty so that rain will come and ease the drought currently affecting the South Island of New Zealand.

John Goldsbury New Zealand Mr. Goldsbury, we’ll get to work on the little ankle-biters.

Note to Readers; our first two letters to the editor have come from Costa Rica and New Zealand. Does this mean we’re going international?

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and requiring clinic doctors to have admitting privileges in local hospitals, have forced hundreds to close in recent years.

In Virginia, the clinics would have to spend about $1 million each to comply.

States have also passed laws that limit the use of drugs, such as RU-486, a safe prescription drug approved for abortions by the FDA. Although the drug can be administered by a nurse, or even self-administered after consultation, these new laws require that doctors dose them in their offices.

In 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a unanimous decision in favor of Pocatello resident Jennie Linn McCormack, who had been prosecuted for taking RU-486 at home. Noting that only two of Idaho’s 44 counties have abortion clinics, the judges ruled that the denial of self-administration placed an “undue burden” on Idaho women.

A report on the public health threat of all this legislation, authored by doctors from three states, warns that these laws amount to a “stunning incursion into the physician’s exam

room,” and “blatant contradiction to evidence-based medicine.”

Several states have required that abortions be performed earlier than the 24-26 weeks prescribed by Roe. A cut-off point of 20 weeks has been based on the unfounded assumption that the fetus feels pain. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that the fetus does not feel pain until 28 weeks.

In Arkansas, abortions must be performed within 12 weeks, and, incredibly enough, North Dakota legislators have stipulated 6 weeks, using a fetal heart beat as the standard. Animal fetuses, however, have hearts and they also feel pain.

Rational abortion legislation requires that we must stipulate a moral and legal distinction between animals and human persons; otherwise we would be compelled to extend a right to life to most animals.

One reassuring electoral result has been the defeat of “personhood” amendments in Mississippi, North Dakota, and Colorado (twice rejected). The

people at Personhood USA use the first dictionary definition of a person as “a human being,” but in the second definition, a person is a “self-conscious, rational being,” which is the one that conforms with English Common Law. This definition does not apply to the fetus until it has undergone significant brain development at the beginning of the third trimester.

Conservatives legislators claim that they are only thinking of maternal health, but evidence shows that mothers around the world suffer horribly where abortion is illegal.

The Guttmacher Institute reports that in developing countries “complications of illegal abortion account for two of every three maternity beds in large urban hospitals, consuming as much as one-half of obstetrics and gynecology budgets.”

In Latin America an estimated 800,000 women are hospitalized each year for abortion-related complications. In Latin America about 800,000 women are hospitalized each year for abortion-related complications. An estimated 1,500

Mexican women die every year due to the complications of unsafe abortions.

GOP congresswomen have blocked the introduction of a bill to establish 20 weeks as the cut-off point. They cited alienation of women voters as their reason. Perhaps America will truly make a significant turn in support of a woman’s right to choose.

By a vote of 5-3, the Supreme Court allowed an appellate court decision to overturn a Texas law, which would have closed of most of the state’s abortion clinics. During Senate nomination hearings, Chief Justice John Roberts assured liberal senators that Roe v.

Wade is “settled law.” Presumably only three justices—Alito, Thomas, and Scalia—disagree.

Let us hope that the five other justices rule that all of these laws constitute an “undue burden” on a woman’s access to safe, legal abortions.

Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. For all of his columns on abortion see www.NickGier.com/AbortionColumns.pdf.

Re: Trapping

were not even filled out fully or correctly, or were obscured, making it very difficult to actualize entirely accurate data.

It is my understanding that the IDFG doesn’t log this data fully or accurately, either, because the only sources of specific numbers of species trapped were from non-profit organizations through public records requests. They weren’t given straight data but stacks of these trapping reports printed off haphazardly from which they tallied the numbers themselves.

Nowhere on the IDFG website were there numbers.

Although I was primarily interested in non-targeted animals, I was astounded by the bobcat numbers trapped in regulation. In the 2011-2012 season, roughly 985 bobcats were trapped. I’m no wildlife biologist, but it seems like

that’s enough to put them on the watch list for population numbers, if it goes on year after year. At a fetching price, these cats are hot on the market, but I don’t believe we are getting a dime of the profit from these lovely pelts trapped on our public lands. They can go for $200-$500, although in one of the reports I saw, a single pelt was reported to go for $780. I saw online a trapper bragging he got $1,100 for one.

To support my consideration of dwindling bobcat numbers, I came across three trapping reports in which the trapper had targeted bobcats, gotten zero and indicated their concern for the species. One trapper wrote; “I have watched the wildlife [devolve] to this sorry condition. … Hunting pressures have been encouraged mostly for the [money]. This year was

the most disillusioning trapping of my life; and I worked very hard at it.”

Considering that I saw some reports with 30-50 bobcats per trapper, and 163 bobcats caught in a single county, I don’t think there are any regulations on how many can be trapped.

Besides the price of bobcat pelts, a key point Mr. Rasmusson brought up was the 2012 trapping of an endangered Canadian Lynx. Some speculate that since this incident, trappers are no longer reporting such catches. The reason being that said trapper was fined for the illegal harvest of the animal and had charges brought upon him, even though he didn’t know at the time that it was a lynx. So if a trapper accidentally traps and/or kills an endangered animal, there is fear of reporting it because of the

Dear Reader, I appreciated your recent feature article that shed some light on the trapping issue. I believe more regulation for trapping in Idaho is needed, as I discovered last year doing research on the subject and digging up some facts (or lack there of, in some regards).

In going through Idaho Department of Fish and Game trapping reports from the entire 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 seasons, there were some things I found problematic. There is no indication of what type of trap is set in the reports, and there is no one to hold the trapper accountable if they might be fibbing on numbers, the amount a pelt sold, or what, if any, non-targeted species were caught. Often, the reports I saw

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PERSPECTIVES

The Art of Debate: or how to argue better

By Stephen Drinkard For SPR The “dialogue” about global warming today is not encouraging.

First of all, it’s carried out mostly in sound bites on TV that don’t properly address the complexity of the issue. People tend to digest only Twitter-size bites of opinion that evince allegiance to one camp or the other.

Secondly, much of the argument of “climate deniers” is simply “faith denial.”They choose not to believe the same scientific methodology that produces vaccines or that transforms electricity.

They remind me of the Monty Python skit in which a man goes to an “Argument Clinic” in order to buy five minutes of an argument. He wants to have a good debate.

The provider, however, simply denies or side-steps everything the man says: “I came here for a good argument.”

“No, you didn’t. You came here for an argument.”

“Well, that’s what I said.”

“No, you didn’t.”

And, on and on in increasing hilarity.

To see the skit yourself, just web search for “Argument Clinic.”

And, third, when you look close at the nature of the arguments they provide a case study in “bad argumentation.”

For instance, when we hear on Fox News that the recent severe winters in America and Europe surely show that global warming is a hoax, this is a perfect example of hasty generalization. Increased global warming heats up oceans. That warmer water produces warm, humid air that collides with cold, continental air, resulting in huge snow events.

Similarly, it would be “hasty” for me to conclude that my experience of increasingly less snow on the ground here since the mid-70’s is due to global warming. Global scientists base their generalizations on billions of data bits and shared and debated experiments from thousands of other scientists arriving at 97% consensus through over 12,000 peer reviewed papers from 1991-2011.

When we hear climate deniers appeal to “reports on Fox News” or to the novelist Michael Crichton (author of “Jurassic Park”), we have to be wary of the fallacious argument that appeals to irrelevant authority. Those lacking proper expertise can’t validate or invalidate the data-based conclusions of scientists across many different disciplines.

If you don’t want to trust

the scientific method, you may find that an analogy helps you re-frame your beliefs. Here is one from my pastor, the Rev. Bob Evans.

“If you go to 10 oncologists and eight of them say you have cancer and one of them says, ‘You MAY not have cancer’ and one says flat-out that ‘You don’t have cancer, and in fact, you are doing great,’ are you going to disregard those eight oncologists? Why would you do that? You would not because your life depends on you making the right choice.”

One can poke holes in analogical thinking, but I think these premises are similar enough to be useful, if not definitive.

Using deductive logic, one does not need to believe or not believe the global warming scientists. Simply follow the meticulous deductive logic of a young man who lays out a matrix of logically airtight conclusions in a 2007 YouTube video.

Search for “The Most Terrifying Video You’ll Ever See.” There is a part two now.

He basically says: If the scientists are wrong about global warming and we completely retool our energy sources, then in the worst case scenario, we could be creating a large economic disruption. It might cost jobs, causing a massive recession or another Great Depression.

From the 2013 “Book of Bad Arguments,” page 14. “One may reasonably appeal to pertinent authority, as scientists and academics typically do. An argument becomes fallacious when the appeal is to an authority who is not an expert on the issue at hand.” Author: Ali Almossawi. Illustration: Alejandro Giraldo

On the other hand, if the scientists are right and we don’t do anything, the consequences will be catastrophic. We won’t just have economic depressions. There will also be massive wars for water and food.

We will lose cities and whole countries on coasts. Huge

Northwest forests will wither due to beetles that never die in a warmer winter.

The deductive choice to me is clear. The worst-case scenarios are not equal in consequences. It’s an undeniable choice unless you work in the “Argument Clinic.”

(continued from page 4) repercussions. Also, there is no incentive to report it, besides good old honesty. Might makes you wonder how much a lynx pelt goes for.

The non-target catches that are reported have pretty high numbers, too. Fishers, which are endangered, as well as bear, mountain lions, eagles, heron, otter, rabbits, wolves, dogs and cats are reported, to name a few. I did not see any wolverines reported, but this highly endangered animal is also of concern for non-targeted trapping. Usually, trapped animals

are found already dead, and if not, they may be released with injury or trauma. The regulations state that non-targeted animals found dead must be taken it in to the IDFG for inspection within 72 hours (and get a nifty $10 reimbursement), but who would know if they abided by these rules?

Whitney Palmer Sandpoint

Whitney, thanks for your thoughtful letter. We appreciate your research on this topic, which will continue to be an important one in Idaho.

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Illustration by Daniel Cape February 5, 2015 /

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NEWS

LPOSD puzzled over slapdash budget proposal

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR Lake Pend Oreille School District officials are scratching their heads following a brief budget overview by Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra.

Ybarra appeared before the Joint Finances and Appropriations Committee last Thursday to outline her budget, which requests a funding increase of 6.4 percent. That’s one percent less than Otter requested in his bud-

get proposal. The presentation lasted only 17 minutes before Ybarra took questions from legislators, according to Idaho EdNews.

“In past presentations, sometimes, there has been a little more detail as to what the budget is going to entail,” said JFAC cochair Sen. Dean Cameron at the meeting.

According to Sen. Shawn Keough, JFAC vice chairwoman, it’s the shortest education presentation she’s seen since she took office in 1996.

News in Brief

Poll examines tax New planning direccuts, campus carry tor slated for May Is anyone out there thinking about Idaho’s millionaires, many of whom have suffered for years owning only one yacht? Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter sure is. He’s proposing cuts for Idaho’s top tax bracket from 7.4 percent to 6.9 percent, the sexiest of incremental tax rates.

While Otter is doubtlessly anticipating some guaranteed invitations to swanky parties, Idahoans are having none of it.

According to a poll by Idaho Politics Weekly, 70 percent of 605 Idahoans polled oppose the idea, betraying their very embarrassing cases of yacht envy.

Surprise: Idaho residents also have opinions about guns.

However, residents are evenly split on whether they should be allowed on campus. So much for contributing to classroom discussions by wildly firing your Beretta into the air while yelling, “The Council of Trent!

1545!”

With former planning and community development director Jeremy Grimm scorning the city for the younger, prettier Kochava, city officials are anxious to spark a new flame.

Mayor Carrie Logan said at Wednesday’s council meeting that she aims to have a new planning director in place by mid-May. Right now, the city is reworking the job description to provide additional clarity. After that’s complete, candidates will have a two-week window to apply. The rest of the time will be spent on a lengthy interview and vetting process. After all, it wouldn’t do to rebound too quickly. Makes you look desperate.

Still, some community and council members are anxious to get the city back on the market.

Since the planning director is a city employee with tremendous influence, they’re not eager to spend months with a rudderless department.

Bet you’ve been enjoying those prices at the gas pump, huh? Well, they could be on the rise again, so prepare yourself for some tear-stained bank statements soon.

OK, maybe that’s overstating things a little. But the Idaho Statesman is reporting that gas prices are increasing both nationally and statewide. According to AAA Idaho spokesman Dave

Carlson, this is actually a pretty normal February trend, and if Idaho cities do see price increases, they should be modest.

According to the Idaho Statesman, average Boise prices bumped by 4 cents since Monday, while Pocatello experienced a 7-cent jump. But down in Coeur d’Alene, prices remained steady. So maybe we’re safe?

Possible false alarm here, guys.

Gas prices slated to jump

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“It was actually refreshingly succinct,” she said.

The presentation leaves LPOSD staff without much useful information to plan their own finances, according to to Superintendent Shawn Woodward.

While the state education budget tends to fluctuate dramatically between early proposals and the approved April numbers, Woodward said they’re anxious to get a clearer picture of the changes coming down the line.

According to Woodward, the proposed revamping of the

career ladder compensation system was particularly vague from Ybarra’s presentation.

“It has us wringing our hands a little trying to figure out how that will happen,” Woodward said.

Given Idaho’s low ranking in school funding, Woodward prefers the higher budget increase requested by Otter. Finally, he hopes to hear more information about Ybarra’s goal to lower class sizes.

“She wasn’t very specific about how that would happen, so we’re a little perplexed about that,” Woodward said.

Keough thinks Ybarra did well at the JFAC meeting under the circumstances. For one thing, she presented a budget developed not by her, but her predecessor, Tom Luna. The requested increase of 6.4 percent was also established by Luna, Keough said. As for the vagueness in the career ladder proposals, Keough said that’s being developed by all education stakeholders—not just Ybarra’s department—so the lack of clarity was understandable.

“I think for her first time ever, she did a really good job picking up the reins,” Keough said.

Map of the proposed Little Sand Creek Watershed Trail, proposed to begin at the top of Mickinnick Trail

New hiking, biking trail proposed

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR Hiking and biking fans could be in for a treat later this year if development begins on a new trail in the Little Sand Creek Watershed.

Council members mused over the proposed Watershed Crest Trail, introduced by Councilman Shelby Rognstad, at a Wednesday meeting that drew dozens of supportive comments. Several members of the Pend Oreille Pedalers, the organization developing the project, showed up for the unanimous council vote supporting the project.

Envisioned as a 25-mile loop around the watershed, the trail’s

development could begin as early as this year, according to Rognstad. It’s a rare opportunity to provide a top-notch amenity for hikers and bikers that offers views of the watershed, Lake Pend Oreille, Priest Lake, the Pend Oreille River and the Cabinet Mountains.

“There’s a point where you can look over your right shoulder and see Priest Lake, and look over your left shoulder and see Lake Pend Oreille,” Rogstad said.

Tourism advocates, meanwhile, believe the trail could be a valuable asset in drawing more visitors to the community.

The trail is proposed to run almost exclusively through land owned by either the city or Sch-

weitzer Mountain Resort, which supports the project. According to Pend Oreille Pedalers members, the trail will only allow bicycles and other human-powered equipment. No horses or motor vehicles will be allowed.

The Pend Oreille Pedalers will be seeking a license agreement with the city to kick the project off. They’re also looking for grant funding to develop and maintain the trail. According to Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk, the project will need to take great care to not contaminate the watershed, a critical local source of water.

“The devil will be in the details of this license agreement,” he said.

The future’s so bright (I gotta wear shades)

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR

Scott Brusaw nearly missed it when his company, Solar Roadways, received a shout-out from the President of the United States.

Already slammed with media inquiries, job applications, business questions, and, you know, actually developing the technology that caught worldwide attention last year, he and his wife Julie had yet another emergency on Jan. 20: a dog in labor. In the midst of the chaos, Brusaw flipped between the news and a football game on TV while Barack Obama delivered his 2015 State of the Union Address on another channel.

“People asked me why I wasn’t watching the speech,” he said. “I told them, ‘Obama isn’t going to be playing in the Super Bowl.”

Suddenly, phones began ringing in the Brusaw’s home. “Solar Roadways was just mentioned in the president’s speech!” family and friends reported.

Sure enough, about a half-hour into Obama’s speech, a sidebar delivering relevant data and factoids flashed up an intriguing reference to solar roads. Apparently, thanks to a free and open Internet, 48,000 people around the world were able to raise $2.2 million to develop the project.

It’s easy to see why Solar Roadways caught the White House’s interest, not to mention the attention of millions and the financial support of nearly 50,000. The technology purports to do nothing less than revolutionize the nation’s energy and transportation infrastructure.

Essentially, the technology consists of modular panels of solar cells and circuits sandwiched between durable glass plates. The cells collect energy while the glass is tested and graded to replace asphalt. Simple enough so far.

But the features just keep coming.

Heating elements melt snow and ice before it can accumulate. LEDs paint road lines that can be reconfigured by computers instantly for emergencies, warning signs or traffic rerouting. Chambers for electric and fiber optic lines deliver utility service straight to the home without ugly poles dotting the landscape.

Load cells warn drivers if an animal is in the road ahead. Brusaw said Solar Roadways panels could potentially recharge electric vehicles or, when computerized, even communicate with driverless cars.

These are all big claims. Naturally, the big claims have attracted big criticisms, with some calling the project untenable or even a scam. If it’s a scam,

What, no flying cars? An artist’s rendition of how Sandpoint might look with a Solar Roadways makeover. By Sam Cornett.

the Brusaws have a poor grasp on the concept of “take the money and run.”

They’re hiring a team of engineers, with some already on board and more on the way. And they’ve established company headquarters within Sandpoint.

The new digs are possible thanks to a wildly successful campaign on crowdfunding site Indiegogo that kicked off in April. As they prepared to launch the campaign, the Brusaws faced the challenge of pitching their complex idea to all manner of attention spans. With the help of viral Internet wizard Michael Naphan, they found the perfect rallying cry: “Solar FREAKIN’ Roadways.”

It’s the video that launched a company. With more than 19 million YouTube views and untold numbers of shares through social media, “Solar FREAKIN’ Roadways” became a bona fide Internet sensation. Celebrities jumped on the bandwagon. Everyone from George Takei of “Star Trek” to Nathan Fillion of “Firefly” threw in their support. The Indiegogo campaign wrapped in June with $2.2 million generated.

All the media attention earned the Brusaws their first nod from the president. As the campaign charged to a close, the Brusaws were invited to attend the White House’s Maker Faire, honoring innovators from around the country.

Once the dust settled from the Internet campaign, it was time for the Brusaws to get to work. They had already completed a prototype parking lot—the product of nearly $1 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation—that surpassed initial expectations.

Prototypes are one thing, but a commercially available product is quite another. The idea is to have purchasable

panels available by late next year. In order to accomplish that, they’ll need a product that can withstand the full rigors of industrial testing.

“When we’re confident it will pass every test, the next step is to implement the product on residential roads with slow-moving traffic,” Brusaw said.

Each panel’s cost is another open question. It’s a common point raised in any criticism of Solar Roadways’ viability on a large scale, particularly when it comes to the cost per watt generated.

While Brusaw said he’s seen extraordinarily exaggerated numbers thrown around the Internet, he’s not yet able to attach an exact figure until the product moves into commercial development.

As for the near future, the Solar Roadways team continues to refine and develop their panels. They’re also planning to reopen their Indiegogo campaign permanently at the request of the crowdfunding company itself.

Solar Roadways already has a list of

early clients once panels are available, one of them being the city of Sandpoint.

According to Public Works Director Kody Van Dyk, the city is interested in demonstrating the technology at the in-development Selkirk Interpretive Loop Center, the Sandpoint Depot and the new Solar Roadways headquarters.

“It’s still hard to believe that something like this is based in Sandpoint,” Van Dyk said.

If the Brusaws have their way, it’s going to stay based in Sandpoint. While Brusaw said they might have to eventually expand manufacturing into a larger facility, perhaps in Coeur d’Alene, they want to keep the company headquarters in town as they continue to refine their solar roads.

“We’ve traveled the world, and every place we go we compare to Sandpoint,” Brusaw said. “So far, we haven’t found any place we like better.”

LOVE... we have a flower for that February 5, 2015 /

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in me!

Big brown bear and chocolates!

Drawing held February 13th Enter at Sandpoint Super Drug

$100 value!

event t h u r s d a y f r i d a y s a t u r d a y

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Beer Release Party 6pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Beer has vitamin Pee

Alzheimer’s Support Group 1pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center The Clink “Four Women, One Cell” 7:30pm @ The Panida -- Tickets $20 An original jailhouse musical... don’t drop the soap Live Music by Ruff Shod 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Old School mountain music

ful

Open Mic Night Hosted by Scott Reid 6 - 8pm @ Monarch Mountain Coffee Grab your guitar, banjo, fiddle, washtub bass, jugs, harmonicas and spoons

Multi-Media Art Show Opening Reception 5:30 - 7pm @ POAC Gallery

Poetry collection release for Josephine Ranes 4:30pm @ Jalapeños Drop by to celebrate the release of Ranes’ tenth poetry collection, “Never Quite Broken.”

Live Music with Justin Lantrip Mardi Gras Celebration in Hope 5:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 5 - 8pm @ Memorial Community Center Free admission, live music by Cougar Creek Band Live Music by Spumoni Blues 7pm @ La Rosa Club

s u n d a y

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Clark Fork Delta Walking Tour 12pm - 2pm @ Clark Fork Driftyard Boat Launch Idaho Conservation League and Idaho Fish & Game are offering a walking tour of the Clark Fork Delta Restoration Project. IF&G’s Kathy Cousins will give background information about the devastating effects of erosion on the shoreline and the mitigation efforts that are underway. Participants must register online at www.idahoconservation.org or call 208-265-9565

m o n d a y

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Monday Night Blues Jam with Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Speed Dating by North Idaho Singles This ain’t your momma’s blues jam...

6:30 pm @ Idaho Pour Authority unless your momma is Truck Mills.

Register @ 5:30. Early bird gets the worm That would be weird

t u e s d a y w e d n e s d a y t h u r s d a y

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FSPW Wine Tasting Sip ‘n’ Shop Benefit Trivia Night 5pm - 8pm @ Pend Oreille Winery 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s I command thee to Drink wine and support the If you aren’t good looking, at least you Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness can be smart. If you’re not smart, no one wants you on their team.

Karaoke Night - 9pm @ 219 Lounge Unless you’re good looking We dare you to sing “Livin’ on a Prayer” KPND Ski and Board Party 5:30pm @ Trinity at City Beach Always lots of prizes, drinks, food, and howling mad ski bums hungry for snow Cards Against Humanity 7pm @ Neighborhood Pub

Bingo Night 6:15 @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Free for all. Well, not a free-for-all, but free admission for everyone. Except bears

Chocolate Extravaganza 6pm - 9pm @ Cedar Street Bridge Hosted by the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeepers Tickets $15 adv, $20 at door (see ad to the left)

Live Music by The Pimps of Joytime 9pm @ The Hive Presented by Kochava and Pandora Tickets $10 - listen to the band at: thepimpsofjoytime.com

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

Reader recommended

Sandpoint Area Seniors Raffle Drawing Winners picked @ 11:30am Win a 10-day trip to Hawaii or an overnight stay in the La Quinta Hot Tub Suite.

Birds of Prey Presentation 6:30pm @ Bonner County Wildlife Building Free admission, featuring wildlife educator Beth Paragamian and many of her feathered friends

The Clink “Four Women, One Cell” 2pm @ The Panida -- Tickets $20 Written by locals Tom Cooper and Kristin Cooper Herby, Dir. by John Allred

February 5 - 12, 2015

Bridges Home CD Release Concert 7pm @ the Heartwood Center Free admission. See story on pg. 13

Live Music with Marty Perron and Doug Bond 5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Upcoming Events Feb. 11 - 22 - Sandpoint Winter Carnival Feb. 13 - Parade of Lights and Bonfire Downtown Sandpoint.

Cirque de Sandpoint at Pend Oreille Winery Feb. 13 - 14 - McManus In Love @ The Pearl in Bonners Ferry

thee? s! e v o l I o d w ay Ho count the w

Let us help

you

’s r Valentine u o y r e d r O

ay! owers tod 211 Cedar St. Sandpoint, ID

Our cupids deliver!

208.263.3024

www.niemanssoral.net

sandpoint’s premier Find out why we’re a

A DOWNTOWN FAVORITE!

OVER 3OO BEERS IN STOCK PLUS 12 ROTATING TAPS

located on the historic

2O3 CEDAR STREET

Exploring the Ice Age Floods by Bruce Bjornstad 7pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall - FREE Lecture by the author of field guides on the Ice Age Floods.

Presentation will include video images and refreshments.

(Note: this is not a lecture about those silly movies, but about the actual Ice Age. You know, the one that actually happened)

CEDAR ST. BRIDGE

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craft beer store

in Sandpoint, Idaho

DOWNTOWN SANDPOINT, ID

k www.cedarstbistro.com

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES

2O8.597.7O96 | IDAHOPOURAUTHORITY.COM February 5, 2015 /

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W

in me!

Big brown bear and chocolates!

Drawing held February 13th Enter at Sandpoint Super Drug

$100 value!

event t h u r s d a y f r i d a y s a t u r d a y

5

6 7

Beer Release Party 6pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Beer has vitamin Pee

Alzheimer’s Support Group 1pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center The Clink “Four Women, One Cell” 7:30pm @ The Panida -- Tickets $20 An original jailhouse musical... don’t drop the soap Live Music by Ruff Shod 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Old School mountain music

ful

Open Mic Night Hosted by Scott Reid 6 - 8pm @ Monarch Mountain Coffee Grab your guitar, banjo, fiddle, washtub bass, jugs, harmonicas and spoons

Multi-Media Art Show Opening Reception 5:30 - 7pm @ POAC Gallery

Poetry collection release for Josephine Ranes 4:30pm @ Jalapeños Drop by to celebrate the release of Ranes’ tenth poetry collection, “Never Quite Broken.”

Live Music with Justin Lantrip Mardi Gras Celebration in Hope 5:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 5 - 8pm @ Memorial Community Center Free admission, live music by Cougar Creek Band Live Music by Spumoni Blues 7pm @ La Rosa Club

s u n d a y

8

Clark Fork Delta Walking Tour 12pm - 2pm @ Clark Fork Driftyard Boat Launch Idaho Conservation League and Idaho Fish & Game are offering a walking tour of the Clark Fork Delta Restoration Project. IF&G’s Kathy Cousins will give background information about the devastating effects of erosion on the shoreline and the mitigation efforts that are underway. Participants must register online at www.idahoconservation.org or call 208-265-9565

m o n d a y

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Monday Night Blues Jam with Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Speed Dating by North Idaho Singles This ain’t your momma’s blues jam...

6:30 pm @ Idaho Pour Authority unless your momma is Truck Mills.

Register @ 5:30. Early bird gets the worm That would be weird

t u e s d a y w e d n e s d a y t h u r s d a y

10 11 12

FSPW Wine Tasting Sip ‘n’ Shop Benefit Trivia Night 5pm - 8pm @ Pend Oreille Winery 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s I command thee to Drink wine and support the If you aren’t good looking, at least you Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness can be smart. If you’re not smart, no one wants you on their team.

Karaoke Night - 9pm @ 219 Lounge Unless you’re good looking We dare you to sing “Livin’ on a Prayer” KPND Ski and Board Party 5:30pm @ Trinity at City Beach Always lots of prizes, drinks, food, and howling mad ski bums hungry for snow Cards Against Humanity 7pm @ Neighborhood Pub

Bingo Night 6:15 @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Free for all. Well, not a free-for-all, but free admission for everyone. Except bears

Chocolate Extravaganza 6pm - 9pm @ Cedar Street Bridge Hosted by the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeepers Tickets $15 adv, $20 at door (see ad to the left)

Live Music by The Pimps of Joytime 9pm @ The Hive Presented by Kochava and Pandora Tickets $10 - listen to the band at: thepimpsofjoytime.com

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

Reader recommended

Sandpoint Area Seniors Raffle Drawing Winners picked @ 11:30am Win a 10-day trip to Hawaii or an overnight stay in the La Quinta Hot Tub Suite.

Birds of Prey Presentation 6:30pm @ Bonner County Wildlife Building Free admission, featuring wildlife educator Beth Paragamian and many of her feathered friends

The Clink “Four Women, One Cell” 2pm @ The Panida -- Tickets $20 Written by locals Tom Cooper and Kristin Cooper Herby, Dir. by John Allred

February 5 - 12, 2015

Bridges Home CD Release Concert 7pm @ the Heartwood Center Free admission. See story on pg. 13

Live Music with Marty Perron and Doug Bond 5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Upcoming Events Feb. 11 - 22 - Sandpoint Winter Carnival Feb. 13 - Parade of Lights and Bonfire Downtown Sandpoint.

Cirque de Sandpoint at Pend Oreille Winery Feb. 13 - 14 - McManus In Love @ The Pearl in Bonners Ferry

thee? s! e v o l I o d w ay Ho count the w

Let us help

you

’s r Valentine u o y r e d r O

ay! owers tod 211 Cedar St. Sandpoint, ID

Our cupids deliver!

208.263.3024

www.niemanssoral.net

sandpoint’s premier Find out why we’re a

A DOWNTOWN FAVORITE!

OVER 3OO BEERS IN STOCK PLUS 12 ROTATING TAPS

located on the historic

2O3 CEDAR STREET

Exploring the Ice Age Floods by Bruce Bjornstad 7pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall - FREE Lecture by the author of field guides on the Ice Age Floods.

Presentation will include video images and refreshments.

(Note: this is not a lecture about those silly movies, but about the actual Ice Age. You know, the one that actually happened)

CEDAR ST. BRIDGE

8 /

R

/ February 5, 2015

craft beer store

in Sandpoint, Idaho

DOWNTOWN SANDPOINT, ID

k www.cedarstbistro.com

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES

2O8.597.7O96 | IDAHOPOURAUTHORITY.COM February 5, 2015 /

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TRAVEL

Nelson, B.C.: Our sister from another mister

Photo by Destination B.C. / David Gluns

Story by Ben Olson

Traveling to Nelson is like visiting Sandpoint in an alternate reality.

Nelson, named in the late 1880s after British Columbia’s Lieutenant-Governor Hugh Nelson, shares much of the history and geography that Sandpoint does. Their stories are so similar, it’s like looking through the Canadian looking-glass.

In 1876, gold was discovered at Forty-nine Creek, nine miles west of Nelson.

Later, in 1887, another strike was made at nearby Toad Mountain. The usual boom took place, leading to the town of Nelson being incorporated in 1897.

Because of its close proximity to the railway, Nelson became a mining industry hub. Mills were established and the timber industry soared. Nelson quickly turned from an uncouth boom town to the cultural center for the West Kootenay region of British Columbia.

How to get there To reach Nelson, our official sister city, you will travel along the International Selkirk Loop. Take Highway 95 north and turn left on Highway 1 just south of the international border. Cross at the Porthill Port of Entry.

When you reach Creston, B.C., you can choose one of two routes to reach Nelson. The first is to travel Highway 3 west and then Highway 6 north through Salmo. Or, you may take my favorite route; Highway 3A north from Nelson to the Balfour Ferry across Kootenay Lake.

Both routes wind through the Selkirk Mountains and follow the waterways that were used for transportation by native tribes, early explorer David Thompson, and gold seekers on the Wild Horse Trail.

The route offers exceptional vistas, wildlife viewing opportunities, funky small towns and quiet spots to pull off and picnic along the way.

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What to do in Nelson When you first reach Nelson, park your car and walk Baker Street, a symbol of the town’s adaptive agility.

In the early 1980s, the local sawmill closed and sent Nelson into an economic recession. A large shopping center opened and took business away from the downtown corridor. Nelson was in danger of losing to blight.

In response, the town leaders revitalized the Baker Street district. Aluminum facades were stripped, historical buildings were recognized and restored. By the end of the decade, the town had transformed itself anew.

Now, there are over 350 designated residential and commercial heritage buildings that capture the Victorian aesthetic. There are sidewalk cafes, chic organic eateries and breakfast nooks (my favorite is Oso Negro on Ward St.), fun shops with every budget in mind. It seems that every restaurant and public center doubles as an art gallery.

The town has long been noted for its liberal population, some say because of the influx of American draft dodgers during the Vietnam War. It is said that there were as many as 10,000 resisters that populated the small town. Many stayed and raised families, became artisans and members of the burgeoning community.

Walking the streets, you’ll run into every type of counter-culture character imaginable. Groups of hippies populate the park where a farmer’s market is held, some openly selling marijuana to American tourists. Groups of teenagers dressed in punk and goth styles congregate amongst street performers. Bars feature a mix of live music styles. Electronic and dance music is exceptionally strong in Nelson.

What to do outside of Nelson Whitewater Ski Resort is just 20 minutes outside of town. With over 2,000 miles of vertical drop and almost 1,200 acres of skiable terrain, Whitewater is known for heavy powder falls. An average of 40 feet of the good stuff dumps every year. Don’t forget, if you show your Schweitzer season pass, you’ll get $20 off a lift ticket.

If mountain biking is your thing, there are dozens of great trails nearby. The Nelson Salmo Great Northern Trail follows the railbed of the old Burlington Northern Railway for 30 miles. It is a family-friendly trail that is easily accessed from the top of Elwyn Street. Bring your mosquito repellent.

There are dozens of hiking trails that pepper the area around Nelson, ten awesome hikes alone in the nearby Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park. One local favorite is Pulpit Rock, which is short but relentless, and offers fantastic views of Nelson and the surrounding lake and wilderness.

Hot springs are all over in the West

Kootenays. The closest destination is Ainsworth, just a half-hour from Nelson, where the water comes out at an astounding 117 degrees Fahrenheit and has to be cooled before people can soak in it.

Where to stay?

You can go the hostel route and check out the Dancing Bear Inn, right downtown. Beds start around $25 a night. There are plenty of beautifully-restored hotels such as the Hume and the Best Western.

In the warmer seasons, the best option is to bring your tent and camp. There are dozens of great campgrounds in the area.

My favorite option is to strap the canoe to the roof of the car and put in somewhere on the Kootenay Lake between Nelson and the Balfour Ferry. There are lots of free camp spots lining the lake shore on the opposite side from the highway.

No matter which season you travel to Nelson, remember to kick back and take it easy. There is very little hustle and bustle in this free-spirited community, our sister from another mister.

By Sandi Hale Nicholson & Reader Staff For SPR

More than 20 years ago, Jeff Nizzoli drove from Northern California to Sandpoint, where a newly-purchased building awaited him. He was riding on a dream to open a pub—not a bar, but a pub—like the ones he’d seen in his world travels.

That pub would become Eichardt’s, a well-known name to any local resident.

The first night in Sandpoint, someone broke into Eichardt’s through the backdoor, so they kept it locked, Nizzoli said.

It wasn’t long before an old Eichardt’s regular told him he was locking out potential customers. From then on, Nizzoli kept the door open during business hours, inadvertently establishing a local tradition in the process.

It’s a practice that fits into Nizzoli’s idea, mirrored in stories of the U.S. Constitution being shaped over discussions at Philadelphia’s downtown pubs, of a local establishment that doesn’t just fill bellies—it also connects minds. Community radio station KRFY, for instance, was dreamed up around the Eichardt’s C-bar, Nizzoli said. On other occasions, people coming from lost jobs or low places cooked up new careers over a few pints with like-minded strangers.

“This is what I love about the idea of a commonwealth pub … a place where as much gets done in the evening as in the daytime,” Nizzoli said. “[It’s a place] where ideas are created by a community.”

Being a community pub, Eichardt’s is a place for children, women and men alike. The kids make it their own, too.

From an abundance of games to the slateturned-chalkboard under the pool table, the signs of Eichardt’s family-friendly atmosphere are everywhere. For Nizzoli, it’s essential to the pub’s identity. When one patron complained about all the children, he threatened to hang mobiles above every table.

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Hot Springs Pool and Cave

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Accommodation

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Dining

Likewise, the furnishings and decorations reflect Eichardt’s community-first sensibilities. Even the building itself, dating back to 1912, possesses a sturdy, aged wisdom, and every bauble amongst the décor carries a unique story.

The tables, chairs, posts, frames and bar stools, mostly handcrafted by beloved locals like Barry Barush, Johnny Hutto and Chris Hecht, reflect their creator’s personality and character.

“I remember Chris telling me that he was instructed by the [building’s previous] owners to make furniture that’s ‘hard to throw,’” said Nizzoli. “But you can’t be in Eichardt’s without seeing Barry’s hands everywhere—the bar stools, the frames, the purple ‘Barry’ chair.”

From the beginning, Eichardt’s was a music destination. In the days before texting and social media, longtime patrons spread the word through phone calls and word of mouth, and the place was always packed. Since then, local musicians have helped make Eichardt’s a hub for the outof-town musicians, like Sol Jibe and Delta Nueve.

“Mondays are one of my favorite shifts,” said Eichardt’s staple Blissa Nizzoli. “You know it’s going to be good when Truck Mills is hosting. You nev-

Photo by Ben Olson

Eichardt’s through the back door

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” er know what’s going to happen. I love that!”

While music and events come and go at Eichardt’s, the presence of a friendly bartender is always a sure bet. One frequent patron described how, after a rough day, the staff had a glass of wine ready and waiting for her despite a packed crowd. Perhaps it wasn’t the glass of wine that was needed so much as the pub itself, a place where familiar people care and want to be there for you.

“Sandpoint is like this vortex, and

Eichardt’s is a vortex within that vortex,” Blissa Nizzoli said. “I feel I’m serving a community. Eichardt’s fosters community and that serves me as well, to be fostering community.”

Eichardt’s has fostered community for more than two decades as a warm place that nurtures the commonwealth of its community. And what is a community’s commonwealth, anyway? Whatever it is, you can find it through the backdoor of Eichardt’s Pub. Eichardt’s Pub is located at 212 Cedar Street. Reach them at (208) 263-4005.

www.hotnaturally.com

1-800-668-1171

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FEATURE Idaho: How we are being left behind Idaho is falling behind.

In order to look into the future, one needs only to look at our neighboring states. Whether it be all-inclusive recycling plans to social programs that recognize the changing nature of the world, the western states have continually led the way.

It seems, however, that there is a void in Idaho; a “no-progress” zone. Is it lack of vision? Party line politics? We plan to re-visit this issue over the next few months, focusing on different angles.

Recycling In Sandpoint, we only have single stream recycling for residential areas.

“We accept glass, plastic, aluminum, paper and cardboard,” said Robin Freedman of Waste Management. “The cans are picked up curbside and sorted in facilities in Spokane.”

The problem is that there are no provisions in place for business recycling. All commercially-generated paper, plastic and organic matter that would normally be recycled is ending up tossed directly in the landfill, unless the business owner hauls the recycling to their home can.

According to Mayor Carrie Logan, over a year ago the city facilitated a survey among businesses to see the level of interest in a business recycling plan.

“With those results,” said Logan, “we approached Waste Management about adding a commercial component.

Because of the costs for equipment and staffing they were unable to put together a plan.”

“The survey was informative but also presented a challenge,” Freedman said.

“Respondents indicated that they were interested in recycling but without any added costs to them ... Adding more services will affect costs and businesses are not inclined to pay more for that service.”

To see a recycling program that truly works for the people, look to our neighbors in Portland, Oregon, where businesses are required to recycle.

“If you’re not having the large generators recycling, it’s counter-intuitive,” said Bruce Walker, the Solid Waste and Recycling Program Manager in Portland, Oregon.

Curb-side Composting Organic material like food scraps, soiled paper and yard debris is the single largest item we throw away in our landfill.

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Over 30% of our trash is made up of this 100% compostable material.

The average single-family home throws away about 48 pounds of food scraps and food soiled paper every month.

This includes vegetable and fruit trimmings, meats, fish and poultry scraps and bones, plate scrapings, egg shells, coffee grounds, paper towels and napkins.

“I’ll bet if you asked ten of your friends, nine of them would say ‘that’s not me,’” said Walker. “But when you measure it out, by weight basis, it’s absolutely true. We are throwing away recoverable materials.”

Portland’s curb-side composting program has been around since 2011 and has been met with overwhelming support by the community.

Private haulers are paid a small sum to take the material away (much less than a garbage service would charge to take it to the landfill), and facilities then generate compost for soil conditioning and gardening applications. Our trash becomes the medium to grow our food. What a concept.

How do we change the system?

Whose responsibility is it to initiate the change in the system? Is it up to Waste Management? The city government? The People. In short, yes to all.

“We would like to expand our recycling programs, absolutely,” said Freedman. “Yet it will take additional resources including new equipment and additional logistics for our local district office.”

Translation: we the people will have to pay a little more if we want our businesses to recycle, or if we need to include features like curb-side composting.

Freedman also noted that one additional challenge to expanding recycling programs involves the volatile commodity market.

“For the past 20 years, we have been exporting our materials... to China,” said Freedman.

In recent years, China has implemented higher standards on imports of recycled material via Operation Green Fence, which has forced the recycling industry in the U.S. to create higher standards, which also translates to higher costs to the customer.

The onus is on us, the people, to enact these changes. Call or write to your city, county and state representatives to let them know that you want to join your neighbors in the West and expand your recycling program.

in the

West

By Cameron Rasmusson For SPR After years of courtroom sniping and legislative fighting, gay marriage is legal in Idaho. For proponents of LGBT rights and protections, the federal court action on Oct. 15 that legalized equal marriage rights was a huge milestone.

Last week, optimism gave way to discouragement when GOP lawmakers killed HB 002, better known as the “Add the Words” bill, in the House State Affairs Committee. The bill would have added “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the protected classes under Idaho’s human rights law. Idaho now stands in stark contrast to neighbors Washington and Oregon, which both protect their LGBT residents under state law.

The vote, which political commentators across the state called a foregone conclusion, highlights how Idaho hasn’t taken any action on its own to protect its LGBT citizens. Indeed, the state is being dragged kicking and screaming into the national trend of guaranteed rights and protections for gays and lesbians. And its clawing at any handhold it can find to move backward.

“This legislature goes out of its way to discriminate against LGBT people,” said Tim Walsh, a coordinator of the Add the Words campaign.

Walsh said he was floored by some of the comments delivered against the Add the Words bill. Dozens compared homosexuality to bestiality or pedophilia. Many said the bill would put children at risk for sexual abuse in public bathrooms. And Idaho grandmother Laurie Birchfield claimed the bill’s passage would lead to an explosion of sexual practices dark enough to make the Marquis de Sade blush.

“The words ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity’ are undefined and open up a Pandora’s Box of sexual preferences which minimally include … as many as 70 sexual preferences worldwide,” she said.

“Do you really want to legalize pedophilia,

Ilustration by Daniel Cape

By Ben Olson For SPR

sadism, necrophilia, bestiality, exhibitionism, polygamy and many others?”

For Walsh, the Add the Words defeat is just another instance of Idaho lawmakers going out of their way to attack the LGBT community.

Take, for instance, the several non-discrimination ordinances passed by Idaho cities over the past few years. In 2011, Sandpoint carved its own place in Idaho history when it passed the state’s first non-discrimination ordinance protecting employment, housing, public accommodations and more regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Several other Idaho cities followed suit.

A resolution passed by the Idaho Republican Party’s state central committee in 2013 sought to undo that work. Party members recommended that the state legislature take action to invalidate non-discrimination ordinances. While the resolution was not binding, Walsh said it demonstrated a clear intent to dictate LGBT policy from the top down.

It’s not the only instance that’s frustrated Walsh and other Add the Words activists. Early last year, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee required same-sex couples to file taxes separately. Not long afterward, Rep. Lynn Luker proposed a plan that would protect business owners’ ability to deny services to homosexuals.

When crafting ordinances and legislation protecting the LGBT community, it’s important to include measures that protect religious rights and expression. Sandpoint’s own non-discrimination ordinance contains measures that do just that.

But Walsh says Idaho lawmakers are going well beyond protecting religious liberty. He sees their actions as a direct attack against the citizens they’re elected to serve.

As the Add the Words movement reorganizes from their defeat last Thursday, he said it’s important to remember that attitudes are changing—and faster than one might think.

MUSIC

Deep Roots and a Legacy of Love…

By Patrice Webb For SPR

Sandpoint is a community that is rich in culture. The fact that much of this culture is of such high quality only serves to underscore that this little community has something to offer for everyone.

The beautiful harmonies and original songwriting of multi-instrumentalists Dave and Tami Gunter, best known as Bridges Home to music lovers all over the Northwest, offer a perfect window into the world of Sandpoint music and culture. Just as the title of their new album “Deep Roots” indicates, their eclectic sound is grounded by an appreciation of their music’s heritage while adapting it to modern ears.

The Gunters’ partnership formed in the late 1990s, and apparently went well, given that they married in 1999.

Tami Gunter is a classically trained soprano, while Dave has played in various rock and R&B bands. The process in which those backgrounds combined into a new, unique sound was, as Dave Gunter often describes it, “interesting, to say the least.” Fortunately, both their personalities and their voices happened to blend very well. The rest is history.

Bridges Home started six years ago when the Gunters began performing cover songs sprinkled with a few originals in various venues around Sandpoint. Gradually, the Gunters’

LISTEN

For a twilight drive along the lake, or a candlelit dinner, listen to Mama Doll’s first album As the Crow Flies.

The booming rhythms of Austen Case’s ubiquitous tomdrum bolster Sarah Berentson’s musical muse started to awaken, and original songwriting became a hallmark of their live performances. In 2012, the duo released their first CD, “The Celtic Album,” and in 2013, they released a second CD entitled “Legacy of Love.” The next year found the couple playing festivals and theaters throughout the Northwest. That experience, combined with a fresh swell of original music, resulted in “Deep Roots,” which brings the listener 13 new original songs as well as one traditional Celtic song.

As a songwriter myself, it’s always an inspiring experience when new music from my fellow songwriters comes into my life. I feel that the best things in life are those closest to home, and this vibrant lit-

tle collection of tunes really speaks to that idea. The organic homegrown is underscored by the presence of Dave Gunter’s son, bass player Paul Gunter, as well as guitarist Bruce Bishop, banjo and guitar player Dennis Coates, and sound engineer Bob Kincaid—all musicians who call Sandpoint their home.

For fans of traditional music, there is a lot here to love.

The album’s acoustic approach brings a warmth and naturalness to the 14 cuts, with styles ranging from the bluegrassy sound of the opening track to bits of the blues, country, Celtic, folk and folk rock.

As both a songwriter and a former broadcaster of Americana music, I’ve had many CDs pass over my desk with one or two standout tracks

mixed amidst perpetual sameness. In “Deep Roots,” the Gunters have done a great job of keeping the listener engaged from track to track. Every song is worth a listen. Taken as a whole, the CD really has it all: musicianship, songwriting, first-rate production and attractive packaging.

When it comes to quality song-crafting, the ability to play many instruments certainly helps. A healthy dollop of talent never hurts, either. Both qualities combine into a big step forward for a duo poised for bigger and better things.

Bridges Home is hosting the first of several release shows for “Deep Roots” Friday at the Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St. The show is free to the public and starts at 6:30 p.m.

“The Secret Art of the Performer” Workshop Set for March 1st

By Reader Staff For SPR American Laboratory Theatre is proud to present the dynamic workshop, “The Secret Art of the Performer,” with International Theatre Director, Jesús Quintero, Sunday March 1, 2015, 10:00am to 4:00pm, at Hope Marketplace, 620 Wel-

If you need an escape from the drudgery of winter, sink into Erin Morgenstern’s enchanting fairytale The Night Circus.

Stroll down the twisting paths between tents holding ice gardens and cloud mazes, marvel at the impossibility of the contortionist, and witness the beguiling magic of the illusionist. The circus shows up unannounced and opens at dusk; once you enter the gates you’ll revel in the wonders until dawn, and wish you never had to leave.

lington Place, Hope, Idaho.

During this intensive workshop, Mr. Quintero will draw from his decades of theatrical research and studies abroad to work closely with participants in the core of their craft. Students will explore: What is an impulse? What is the difference between “Acting” and a “Living Action?” What are

those unique qualities within each performer that captivate an audience? What is truth on stage? This workshop will concentrate on the necessity for participants to get to know themselves, their sensorial skills and imagination, feelings, memories, and creativity.

Class size is limited and the cost is $125 per participant.

Pre-registration and payment is required. For more information and to reserve a space, visit www.americanlabtheatre.com.

Contact Jesús Quintero for information at 208-534-1140 or email amerianlabtheatre@ gmail.com.

vocals as their voices merge and blend, splitting into eerie harmonies. Sandpoint’s own Jen Landis holds it down with sexy slinky bass lines.

Based out of Spokane, the band is currently undergoing some personnel changes. As the Crow Flies recently won runner-up for Album of the Year at the Bartlett Awards in Spokane.

WATCH

The title of the comedy film In a World... comes from every cheesy movie trailer you’ve ever seen.

Lake Bell writes, directs and stars in this fictional portrayal of the voice acting scene.

Bell’s deft touch brings hilarity to the reality of being a woman in a man’s world. It features a great ensemble cast, including the understated humor of Demitri Martin and Nick Offerman. Lucky you, it’s streaming on Netflix.

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Written by Jenna Bowers and Matthew Weatherman

READ

compiled by

Ben Olson

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

Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers (special thanks to Olivia Morlean, Will Valentine, and Allen Robertson). If you have any scrapbooks or old photographs taken in Bonner County that you would like to see Then & Now’ed, please submit them to the Museum so they can digitize and return the photographs to you. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.

The southwest corner of Second Avenue and Cedar Street, looking south. This brick building was the Thomason Brothers Hardware store. At the time it was the largest exclusive store building in the city.

Later it became the Idaho First National Bank, and then Selkirk Stationary.

c. 1916-1926

The same corner today. Vanderford’s Books & Office Products has occupied the building for the past 37 years.

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w o N & Then

This Week’s Sudoku

If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let ‘em go, because, man, they’re gone.

A few listings pulled from Sandpointonline. com’s free classified section. Check the site for more information.

Stuff for Sale: Cedar Chest 1947 Lane Cedar Chest Good condition Style 2169 Serial 742230 $325 (Located in Sandpoint). Posted 2/4 by Icuradrummer Help Wanted: Watershed Coordinator The Lower Clark Fork Watershed Group in Sanders County, Montana, is seeking a part-time contractor to coordinate on-the-ground restoration projects in the Lower Clark Fork River watershed. Posted 2/3 by rwatkins Personals: Dugeons and Dragons players wanted Looking to get together for a nostalgic game of “Dungeons and Dragons;” Contact me at Planetbobb.org for details. We currently have just a few members but are looking to fill the ranks. We use 2nd edition rules. Posted 1/28 Bukru95 Rentals: One Bedroom Apartment in Town Furnished upstairs, clean one bedroom with large living room and separate kitchen space. Walking distance to downtown. Rent is $700 per month plus $700 deposit, $1400 total move in cost. Posted 1/30 by eNelsen

February 5, 2015 /

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