Reader_Feb6_2020

Sandpo.int mayor, Idaho .Assoc. of Cities re.spond to draft bill stre.ngthening firearms preemption FCC propose:s $13 millio.n fine to racist robocaller Scott Rhodes, who targeted the Re · ader Smelter p.roject 'on hold' Emily Articulated: We are not you·r refuge' Harold and Liz St-eph,enson retire from The Paint Bucket Boooyahl Bamboo, ski poles made in Sa.ndpoint How the weather affects the music you listen· to

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PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“What do you say when someone knocks on the door of the bathroom you are currently occupying?”

DEAR READERS, Welcome back, snow. Good to see you again.

We’ve launched our annual media survey again, so if you’d like a chance to win $100 in dining and drinking bucks from MickDuff’s and Eichardt’s Pub, enter the following URL on your brower: bit.ly/SandpointMediaSurvey2020

“Someone’s in here.”

Alyssa Peters Manager of Burger Express Sandpoint

The survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and at the end of February we’ll select a winner from those who participate. Free beer! Free food!

On a somber note, we said goodbye to a beloved Sandpoint photographer this week. Kirk Miller, famous for taking sunrise photos of our beautiful region, died peacefully at home on Tuesday, Feb. 4. We’ll miss your stunning photographs and gentle way, Kirk.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (Staff Writer) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Levi Bonn (cover), Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Bill Borders, Cate Huisman.

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Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Emily Erickson, Gary Suppiger, Brenden Bobby, Rep. Lauren Necochea, Cate Huisman, Mike Wagoner.

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

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About the Cover

This week’s cover features a photograph taken by Bonners Ferry High School student Levi Bonn of Tabor Dussault from Sandpoint High School. Nice work guys!

February 6, 2020 /

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NEWS

‘A bridge too far’

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Since late January, Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad has found himself on the receiving end of dozens of phone calls and emails from gun rights proponents angry about what they describe as an effort by the mayor to establish “gun-free zones” in Sandpoint.

More than a dozen protesters, many armed, even gathered Feb. 5 at the Sandpoint City Hall to express their commitment to the Second Amendment ahead of the regular City Council meeting, with several accusing Rognstad of attempting to establish “sanctuary cities” and institue “gun-free zones.”

Their ire stems from a letter sent by Rognstad to fellow Idaho mayors Jan. 29, telling them that he is hoping for some form of “legislative relief” at the Statehouse to once and for all end the drama surrounding The Festival at Sandpoint’s no-weapons policy at publicly-owned War Memorial Field.

Yet, despite the memes rampant among local conservative Facebookers and assertions to the contrary on Second Amendment activist sites like nwgunnews.com and ammoland.com, Rognstad is unequivocal: “I’m not proposing any gun-free zones.”

Bonner County residents are by now deeply familiar with the debate over whether the summer concert series is legally allowed to bar firearms from Memorial Field — the issue has dominated the local conversation since at least late August and spurred a lawsuit with the county and Sheriff Daryl Wheeler on one side and the city of Sandpoint on the other.

The former argue Idaho’s firearms preemption law forbids municipalities from banning guns on any piece of public property, while the city maintains that it has done no such thing. Rather, The Festival is empowered by its leasing of the field for two weeks each August to establish its own security policies.

While the existing statute makes no direct reference to private entities that lease public

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property, Wheeler’s interpretation is that the city broke the law when it allowed The Festival to prohibit firearms at Memorial Field.

“In my eyes it’s still illegal, but there’s no penalty for committing that illegal act — that is the rub here,” Wheeler said. “And there’s a disagreement with the Sandpoint Police Department; they’re saying it’s not illegal, their stance is that it’s a contract, and because it’s leased they can prohibit whatever they want. The county and myself are taking the opposite view.”

In order to clarify the intent of the law — and reorient the argument away from preemption and toward public safety in an effort to provide the county with “better standing” — Wheeler has amended the county’s lawsuit to provide legal guidance on how law enforcement is to address the issue of guns at Memorial Field. “[T]he last thing that the sheriff’s office and the sheriff’s deputies want to do is respond to a group of several hundred or even a thousand people that show up to protest this, and then how are we going to interpret the law — if there’s gun play, if there’s safety [concerns] for the citizens that are there at The Festival,” Wheeler said. “It just creates a terrible situation, so I asked the court to make a declaration of finding based on that perceived event that could happen in 2020.”

While that determination remains to be made by a judge, now entering the fray is Rep. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, who has fronted a draft amendment to the preemption statute that would dramatically expand and specify its conditions to outlaw gun prohibitions on public property regardless of whether it’s been leased by a private entity. It also institutes severe penalties — criminal and otherwise — for public officials who “knowingly or willingly” engage in any action to formulate or enforce policies of any kind that can be construed as violating the preemption law as amended.

Rognstad said Zito’s amendment, which has yet to receive a bill number but Capitol insiders say could be introduced in some form as early as Monday, Feb. 10,

goes much too far.

“The reason I was pushing for legislative relief is the larger implications of what’s being put forward by Rep. Zito,” he said.

“It’s not just about Sandpoint, there’s going to be many different jurisdictions, many different events and counties affected by this law should it be enacted.”

Locally, he added, “The effect is going to be killing The Festival. … That’s just clear as day.”

Zito did not respond to a request for comment, but told the Sandpoint Reader on Jan. 29 that “this is an issue we need to address,” citing previous instances when she has worked with Boise-base gun right lobby group Idaho Second Amendment Alliance to overturn violations of the preemption statute in other parts of the state.

ISAA President Greg Pruett did not respond to a request for comment, though his organization has been vocal and adamant that the preemption law was violated

by The Festival’s weapons ban.

“Right now the ISAA is trying to expand gun rights, but they’re asserting rights that they don’t have,” Rognstad said. “What ISAA is doing is flying in the face of common sense. They’re unreasonable. I’m just trying to offer some sane legislative relief.”

Rather than a violation of Second Amendment rights, Rognstad characterized the conflict as one centered on property rights: “This is all about any public entity’s right to lease public property to private entities who then exercise their private property rights.”

Some local examples of instances where no-weapons policies are in place on privately-leased

Sandpoint mayor, Idaho Assoc. of Cities respond to draft bill strengthening firearms preemption

public property include Bonner General Health, which leases a portion of its downtown campus — specifically, the emergency room, patient intake area and helipad — from the city, as well as the Sandpoint business incubator.

In his letter to Idaho mayors, Rognstad indicated that the Association of Idaho Cities, Idaho Chiefs of Police Association and Idaho Association of Counties are all opposed to Zito’s amendment.

While representatives of ICOP and IAC did not respond by press time, AIC Legislative Chairperson John Evans, who also serves as mayor of Garden City, confirmed that the association finds Zito’s draft bill “problematic.”

“There’s just lots of circumstances that don’t fit with that kind of preemption,” he said, adding that specific events have varied security needs, and, “We just don’t think overriding that for a private event is a legitimate function of government.”

Evans agreed with Rognstad that the issue turns more on property rights than gun rights, and lands on the question of whether private entities are empowered to manage their own security policies on leased public property. Such a piece of legislation as Zito’s would only serve, he said, to “open up a whole can of worms” related to lessee-lessor relationships between public and private entities around the state.

“It’s an unintended consequence,” Evans said. “The Association isn’t trying to preempt gun rights; we’re trying to protect the rights of a private entity to conduct their event as they see fit.”

As for what kind of “legisla-

Gun rights advocate Steve Wasylko addresses the Sandpoint City Council on Feb. 5. Photo by Zach Hagadone. tive relief” AIC might support to settle the issue, Evans couldn’t say — “We’re watching is what we’re doing,” he said. “We recognize that your mayor has a legitimate concern.”

Now that the issue has moved beyond the county vs. city lawsuit — which is scheduled for a status conference Tuesday, Feb. 25 at the Bonner County Courthouse — and entered the Statehouse, Rognstad said it will extend into the future.

“It’s not going to go away unless the Idaho Supreme Court makes a determination,” he said.

“It’s a bridge too far,” Evans said of Zito’s draft amendment.

“Certainly, we support the mayor’s philosophical argument.”

Additional reporting by Lyndsie Kiebert.

Council puts turf out to bid

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff The long-debated resurfacing of War Memorial Field with artificial turf took a small but important step forward Feb. 5, when the Sandpoint City Council unanimously voted to permit city staff to put Phase 1 of the project out to bid. The decision did not come without some concerns raised by The Festival at Sandpoint.

Public Works Director Amanda Wilson first provided a presen-

< see TURF, page 5 >

NEWS

Racist robocaller Scott Rhodes, who targeted the Reader, faces a $13M fine from FCC

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Since 2015, Sandpoint area residents have received anonymous robocalls attacking a range of targets, including Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad and, beginning in September 2018, Sandpoint Reader Publisher Ben Olson.

Based on the Reader’s reporting, former Sandpoint resident Scott D. Rhodes was identified as the culprit behind a campaign of racist propaganda distributed at Sandpoint High School. Subsequent reporting linked Rhodes to robocalls around the country. Soon after, Rhodes was evicted from his home in Sandpoint and apparently resettled in Libby, Mont. However, the robocalls — and, most recently — spam emails targeted at the Reader and others, didn’t stop.

Now, following a report from The New York Times in late-2019 linking Rhodes to a similar spate of racist robocalls related to the killing of 18-year-old Barnard College student Tessa Majors, the Federal Communications Commission announced Jan. 30 it is proposing a nearly $13 million fine against Rhodes for “illegal spoofed robocalls.”

Alleging that Rhodes employed “caller ID spoofing in thousands of robocalls that targeted specific communities with the intent to cause harm,” the FCC went on to list a number of incidents from around the country — including Sandpoint.

“The caller apparently made 750 spoofed robocalls in September 2018 to residents of Sandpoint, Idaho,” the commission stated in a news release. “The calls attacked the local newspaper, the Sandpoint Reader, and its publisher, after the paper had exposed the identity of the caller as the robocaller involved in other calling campaigns.

The calls in Sandpoint identified the publisher by name and threateningly called on residents to ‘Burn out the cancer.’”

The commission’s Enforcement Bureau identified six specific campaigns apparently carried out

by Rhodes, including the Septem-

ber 2018 calls directed at Olson.

Other alleged instances of robocalls containing racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic and/or anti-immigrant content occurred in California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Virginia. In Iowa, Rhodes allegedly leveraged the killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, of Brooklyn, Iowa, to push an anti-immigrant message.

FCC stated that the Truth in Caller ID Act makes it illegal to manipulate caller ID information “with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value.” According to the FCC news release, Rhodes seems to have employed “an online calling platform” that enabled him to intentionally misrepresent his calls as coming from local numbers, which is known as “neighbor spoofing.”

FCC spokesman Will Wiquist told the Reader the commission had gathered information about the robocalls from news reports and consumer complaints to arrive at the allegations and penalty proposed against Rhodes.

“We then investigated and found six different campaigns and were able to work with the online robocall vendor [Rhodes] had hired to get information about where the calls were originating in order to

build our case,” Wiquist said.

When asked if there was definite proof tying Rhodes to the robocalls, Wiquist responded, “Yes.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a formal statement identified Rhodes as the subject of the Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, which advises a party that they have apparently violated the law and puts forward a proposed penalty — in this case, $12,910,000. Neither the NAL nor the allegations are final actions by the commission.

Pai went into some detail on the calls targeting the Reader, including some of their specific — and colorful — claims: “[B]etween September 21 and September 24, 2018, Rhodes apparently made 750 spoofed robocalls to Sandpoint, Idaho residents. He again apparently used a false caller ID to attack the local newspaper and claim that its publisher was ‘a cancer’ and ‘a degenerate bartender,’ urging listeners to ‘burn out the cancer.’”

Rhodes will be given the opportunity to respond to the commission, as well as submit evidence and legal arguments before a final action is taken. He did not respond to an attempt to get comment for this story.

“The way we work is to propose a fine, then Mr. Rhodes

will have a chance to file with us a response,” Wiquist said. “After which, we could decide to move forward with a final fine. After that, we hope to collect.”

Wiquist told the Reader that if payment is not made for the final fine, the FCC will refer the case to the Department of Justice for collection.

“Today, we begin to hold Rhodes accountable for his apparent violations of the law,” Pai wrote in the statement. “Our Notice of Apparent Liability will not undo the harm caused by these spoofed robocalls, particularly to the grieving family of Mollie Tibbetts and the community of Brooklyn.

But it once again makes clear this Commission’s determination to

go after those who are unlawfully bombarding the American people with spoofed robocalls.”

For his part, Rhodes seems to have leaned into his abrupt elevation in national — and international — news coverage. As media outlets ranging from The Daily Beast to the UK-based Guardian and New York Times ran with the story of the FCC action against him, Rhodes took to the internet and announced Jan. 31 that his video blog channel, “is back. New episodes starting February 2020. Watch out Jews.”

Additional reporting by Reader staff.

< TURF, con’t from page 5 >

casted cost of $3.5 million, $3.18 million of which is earmarked for construction contracts and paid for with local option tax funds, and could see a contract awarded as early as the regular Council meeting on Wednesday, March 18 — immediately after which, crews will get to work.

That timeline, however, has Festival organizers worried.

Interim Executive Director Ali Baranski told Council members that she is deeply concerned about the timing of the project and what she described as a situation in which conditions and requirements imposed by the schedule and the work itself have repeatedly changed without adequate warning, making it difficult and costly for the event to plan ahead for the 2020 season.

In addition to $150,000 more in production costs just to protect the artificial turf during The Festival, Baranski said, “we still feel we aren’t being provided with information necessary to put on a successful Festival.”

“Our ability to compromise can only go so far. ... There’s just not enough time and information to do this intelligently,” she said, asking Council to consider pushing back the project — retaining the same design plan — to 2021.

Aside from those struggles, however, she said The Festival remains committed to holding its 2020 season at Memorial Field — despite rumors and reports to the contrary. Neither will the event relocate to City Beach, nor is it actively looking for an alternative, private location.

“If this is being done [by Bonner County], it is not at our request or with our permission,” she said.

City staff assured Baranski that the timeline is doable, but if the bids come back too high or the city hears back from contractors that the timeline is too aggressive, there remains a “safety valve.”

“If it looks like this is not going to be successful, we can pull back,” said City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton.

Councilman Joel Arpaio, however, was less sympathetic.

“I’m hearing a lot of ‘we need to protect The Festival,’ but If I’m not mistaken, they aren’t Plan A,” he said, referring to the primary function of the field as a sports facility. “If the timeline doesn’t work out, then it doesn’t work out, sorry.”

tation on the project phases and timeline — Phase 1 covering excavation and resurfacing of the field, as well as work on lighting and other subsurface infrastructure changes; and Phase 2 focusing on parking lot improvements, perimeter sidewalks, stormwater improvements, and potentially work on the boat launch and restrooms.

The emphasis on Phase 1, Wilson said, was to keep the work as “barebones” as possible in order to meet a timeline that would ensure substantial completion by July 21, leaving some “wiggle room” to pull out of the site in time for The Festival to begin its set-up no later than July 30. That sechedule also clears the way for fall sports to take the field through November.

Phase 1 carries a total fore-

A still frame from Scott Rhodes’ racist video blog site, which shall remain unnamed in this newspaper.

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NEWS

Smelter project ‘on hold’ PacWest CEO breaks silence in letter to WA governor

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff PacWest Silicon, the Canadian company hoping to build a smelter in Newport, Wash., has broken its prolonged silence with a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

The letter is in response to an inquiry

by Inslee sent to PacWest on Oct. 30, 2019, acknowledging the local opposition to the project and seeking an update from the company.

“This letter will serve as an update on our efforts while at the same time filling in some of the inaccurate gaps found in the local narrative,” PacWest CEO Jayson Tymko wrote in the introduction to the correspondence, dated Jan. 15. “And to be clear, this project is on hold. The project is not abandoned, it is on hold for the immediate future.”

Tymko went on to cite several challenges to the project, including failing to secure a meeting with the Kalispel Tribal Council, as well as “bad faith actions” on the part of the Pend Oreille Utility District regarding the cost to connect power to the smelter.

Pend Oreille County PUD General Manager Colin Willenbrock told Spokane Public Radio that the district tried to give PacWest an honest estimate of how long it would take to get electricity to the project. He also said “the scope of the customer’s project had changed and had several different iterations over the last few years,” causing the fluctuation in price and time estimates.

Willenbrock said PacWest had asked for six times the amount of electricity the district provides for the rest of Pend Oreille County.

The PUD voided its outstanding contract with PacWest on Dec. 11, 2019.

Tymko also cited the Pend Oreille County commissioners’ denial of a blanket rezone — which would have designated PacWest’s land as appropriate for industrial uses — as another major roadblock in moving forward with the smelter. He told Inslee that PacWest “sat on the sidelines” for about two years while the Pend Oreille County Planning Commission “could not reach a simple quorum to take up zoning issues.”

“We have never experienced anything like this in any of the countless number of communities we have successfully done business in,” Tymko wrote.

The CEO also acknowledged the “vocal” opposition to the smelter, headed by a number of community groups. He said PacWest is proud of the relationships the company has formed with “countless” smelter supporters in the Newport area, but that those people have been “publicly silenced” by the opposing “vocal minority.”

He said PacWest is especially “sympathetic to the workforce in the Pend Oreille area” due to missed job opportunities should the smelter plans not move forward.

“It is our strongly held opinion that the lack of professional behavior on the part of Pend Oreille County and the PUD has not only cost the local community 150 family wage jobs and economic activity,” Tymko wrote, “it has cost the State of Washington a major investor in the green economic supply chain.”

In closing, Tymko offered Inslee quarterly updates on the project moving forward.

Vet outreach planned in Priest River

By Reader Staff A representative from the Bonner County Veterans Service Office will be in Priest River from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 18 to answer questions about current veterans’ benefits, assist with ongoing claims, and take new benefits claims for eligible veterans and their dependents.

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Veteran Service Officer Bryan Hult will be seeing veterans by appointment only to ensure all are given quality time. Appointments must be scheduled by calling Lyndsie Halcro at 208-2555291. If there are no appointments scheduled for this outreach or winter weather conditions prohibit travel, the outreach will be canceled.

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: Federal minimum wage today would be $22 an hour, rather than $7.25, if it had kept pace with inflation and productivity since 1968, TIME magazine recently reported.

A new book explores external interference in elections — in particular, how the U.S. left its mark on elections in Iran in 1953, Guatemala in 1954, the Congo in 1961 and Chile in 1973. The author of Courage Grows Strong at the Wound, Robert Koehler, points out that the U.S. has thwarted the will of the people in numerous countries. That typically occurs when corporate and military interests that find democracy inconvenient.

With bird populations in North America declining by a third in the past 40 years, there are ways to reduce the mortality rate. One is to reduce birds colliding with buildings, which claim up to 1 billion birds every year. The Atlantic notes that the environmental impact of a billion fewer bird deaths annually would affect the movement of pollen and seeds across the planet. The Bird-Safe Building Act before Congress would limit to 10% the amount of glass in a building’s lower-most 40 feet (since most birds hit glass below the third story); using patterned glass, which birds more easily detect and avoid; and reducing nighttime lighting that can be confusing and fatal to night-flying birds.

New Jersey just became the first state to require severance pay in the case of mass layoffs, according to The New York Times. As well, corporations in the state are now required to provide advance notice of layoffs. The legislation came on the heels of the firing of some 2,000 people employed by five big corporations in the state — those let go received either minimal or no compensation.

Of active duty military donations, more than $185,000 have gone to Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign. For Donald Trump: $113,000, according to figures from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Trending: Legal rights for nature.

The Yurok Tribe has declared rights of personhood for the Klamath River, the White Earth Band of Ojibway has granted rights to wild rice, and tribes in New Zealand have adopted Rights for the Whanganui River. In Ohio voters approved of personhood rights for Lake Erie. Rights of nature have also been created in Co-

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

lombia, Ecuador and India. In a marked departure from human-centric laws, the new rights see nature as transcending the value of merely being a resource, High Country News reports.

An international data assessment from MIT Technology Review has found that classroom technology, like online learning and use of laptops, may actually lower learning outcomes for students.

Trump administration senior officials were required to sign non-disclosure agreements about their time during and after serving in the White House under Trump. A copy of one agreement, which stated there would be a $10 million penalty for every violation, was reviewed by the Washington Post. Legal experts say that, even if signed, it is not enforceable since officials were working not for Trump, but for the American people.

Mislabeled: two thirds of imported woods. A portion comes from illegal logging operations, according to a study

by World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute and the U.S. Forest Service.

While natural gas has been promoted as an essential bridge to a clean energy future, a recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shared satellite data showing that a methane “blowout” last February in Ohio, where hydraulic fracking is used, was an “extreme” methane leakage event — one of the largest recorded in the U.S. The EPA says methane, over a 20-year period, is up to 87 times more potent in its greenhouse impact than carbon dioxide.

One of the Democratic presidential contenders has a plan to address corporatization of farming: stop constant overproduction of commodities; strengthen and enforce antitrust laws to instead prevent ag-monopolies that hurt farmers; cut the billions in farm subsidies that typically go to wealthy agribusiness players; create hands-on programs that free farmers from dependence on multinational food giants; expand opportunities for those regarded as non-traditional farmers, such as women; and, create incentives for farmers to engage in practices that deter climate change.

Blast from the past: Sixty years ago this month, four African-American students ordered coffee at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in North Carolina. They were denied service. More students joined them in the following days, leading to a Woolworth’s boycott across the nation. The chain store opted to rescind their segregation policies.

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

We are not your refuge: An open letter to hate groups looking to resettle in Idaho

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

We are a little town with a big lake and rolling mountains. Our downtown streets have funny one-ways, but not as funny as the one-ways of years ago, I am told. Along those streets are rectangular shops with stickers that say, “Small Business Alliance” and “Love Lives Here,” with their window displays lit up by rope lights and masking tape.

Walking between the stores and on the newly widened sidewalks are the people; the humans who sit in coffee shop chairs and say, “How was the snow on the mountain today?” and “How’s your dad doing these days?” These people are Sandpoint, leaning against bar tops holding bottles and fresh brews, listening to the four-piece string band with the shoeless bassist and banjo player.

Our houses are in neat rows and also sprawled in the mountains, like the kid playing with our LEGO homes got tired and threw the rest of the pieces in a tantrum across the carpet, across the hills. The neat rows have front porches, which fill with life on a sunny day, and the scattered ones are built by those who “just needed more space to breathe.”

Moose with long legs walk in mother-daughter pairs alongside our cars, like it was “take your calf to work day,”

Emily Erickson.

and we all missed the memo.

The big ears of deer twitch and turn from the ditches, deciding whether to leap toward or away from the gravel of the road or the trails on which we walk and play.

We ride bikes with helmets in the daytime and transform under the full moon into glowing, hooting and hollering pedalers enjoying each other’s company; our rowdiness amplified by moonlight and whiskey.

We climb mountains for fun, filling our lungs with crisp, clean air, off trails that we talk about as numbers, not names. Our words are shaped by experiences that are hard to articulate, like, “Did you see the snow ghosts at the top of Trail 444?” or, “Watch out for the family of goats when you get to the Scotchmans scree field.”

We hold rallies for women, which men and boys are welcome to attend, and start movements from big green vans that turn into positive changes for the whole state.

Our newspapers are printed with stories about the fight against smelters and opinions on whether another train bridge is a good or bad idea.

Our old theater shows mountain films, where concession stands are run by our friends, and hosts The Follies, an event filled with laughter and city leaders wearing lingerie. The magenta-cushioned seats support our bodies and also the performances that can’t be described as anything other than “culture.”

But, there’s another part of our town. A small part with a screaming voice, like someone on the playground gave the bully a trumpet. Its loud horn bellows overtop our harmonies, saying “Come one, come all! But only if you look and think just like me.”

We all reply, “Stop playing so loud,” and “You’re the only one in that sandbox,” but our words get lost in the out-oftune blasts.

The bully and his friends are only a few, but think they are kings and queens, marking up our pretty beach signs with swastikas like we all feel the same. They make videos and organize robocalls saying, “Come to this place,” and, “You’re not alone.”

But, you are alone. And we don’t feel the same. We are shouting, “We aren’t a safe haven for your hatred and bigotry!”

We are photographers and writers, roasters and painters, builders and farmers, doctors

and brewers, musicians and entrepreneurs, and we are not your refuge.

Our politics are red and blue and purple and green.

Yet, we all still say “hello” at the grocery store, no matter how anyone voted. And we are not your refuge.

We are small, and northern, and have a history that’s being written and rewritten. And we

are not your refuge.

Because like the signs in the rectangular shop windows explain, “Love Lives Here.”

So “Come one, come all,” only if you think the same.

Emily Erickson is a freelance writer and amateur doodler, with a love of coffee and all things mountains.

Retroactive

By BO

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COMMUNITY Education goes beyond We’ll miss you, Kirk.

Bouquets: • Thanks to Ellen Weissman for her hard work and care during her time at the Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc. We at the Reader wish you the best of luck, Ellen.

• Kudos to Collin Beggs, who recently built the new arbor at the Lakeview Park arboretum with his crew at Collin Beggs Design Build Timber Framing. The arbor looks great and will hopefully greet visitors to the arboretum for many decades to come.

• Happy retirement to Harold and Liz Stephenson at The Paint Bucket. Harold and Liz — both born in North Idaho — have been an integral part of any homeowner’s life for the past 33 years at The Paint Bucket. We wish you luck on your next projects!

Barbs: • It likely surprised no one that Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, our two Republican U.S. Senators, voted to acquit President Donald Trump at his impeachment trial Feb. 5. Just because they share the same party with our president doesn’t give them a pass on whiffing this historic vote. That’s why they both get a Barb this week. In any other time in history except this toxic, kowtowing age in which we live, a president asking a foreign leader to investigate his political rival and then holding up military aid to ensure the investigation is announced would set off alarm bells. I know people say this a lot, but just for a moment try to imagine the storm that would have developed if a Democrat did what Trump did. But our current age seems to be defined by doting loyalty to one’s party leader — no matter how degrading, how many times they break the law or damage American institutions in doing so.

I look forward to the days in the future when we recover from this disease. For now, I miss the country we used to be.

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Kirk Miller 1953-2020

Students raise funds for educational UK trip

Trip will earn students college credit

By Reader Staff Traveling the world is one of the best ways to embrace and learn about different cultures.

Twelve Forrest M. Bird Charter High School students are in the midst of raising funds for an educational trip to London; England; and Edinburg, Scotland.

The scholastic academic cultural trip will not only open students’ eyes to life in the UK, but also earn them college credits.

The Sandpoint Kiwanis Club, Founders Brewing Co. and Idaho Pour Authority are joining forces to help send the FBCS students to the UK with a fundraiser at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12 at Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St. in Sandpoint.

There will be lots of great items raffled off, with tickets costing $1 each, or 25 for $20.

There will also be a silent auction, with all proceeds supplementing the educational tour to help enhance the students’ learning opportunities. Each student will have a chance to earn three college prep credits in their choice of history or literature.

‘personal use’…

Dear editor, A few weeks ago, during a conversation, the topic of funding education came up. Some in the group were supportive of funding our public schools, but there were others who essentially stated that they did not want to pay for something they did not use.

“They did not want to pay for something they did not use.” Please keep this in mind as I share a few details.

One response was from a childless individual who said they shouldn’t have to pay taxes for education, as they didn’t have kids. “Make the parents pay for every child they have,” they declared.

The other response was from a retired person: “I paid for my kids and now I’m done.”

I can understand why people don’t want to pay for what they personally don’t use, but education is not limited to personal use.

While I could understand that all of us should support the education of our young, it wasn’t until two years ago that I had an epiphany. A close relative had a bit of a medical adventure. He and I found ourselves in the middle of that breakneck but smoothly organized response that follows when one complains of chest pains.

I recognized one of the nurses as a former student. Actually she was a former student twice. The first time we met was middle-school science.

The second time was college chemistry. When things had calmed down, we talked a bit and I learned how she became a nurse.

The path to nursing took many turns but, along the way, there were adults who supported her education.

And it was her education that was making a difference the day of the medical adventure.

Whether it is the nurse or the physician who provides our health care or the mechanic who makes certain the car is running, we all depend on the education of others.

That day of the medical adventure, I no longer had any doubt that education goes beyond personal use. It benefits all of us throughout our lives and that is why I support the “Invest in Idaho” initiative.

Mary Ollie Bonners Ferry

Don’t trust lawmakers to fund schools…

Dear editor, In 2006, Senator Risch removed about $260 million worth of property tax levies for schools and replaced it with a penny increase in sales tax (2006).

The emergency situation with school funding has just become more dire: This month Senate Local Government and Taxation Committee Chairman Jim Rice, R-Caldwell, will propose a plan to raise sales tax to 7 cents and phase out property tax levies.

People who pay sales taxes continue to be pinched, while the top income brackets and corporations have paid fewer and fewer taxes, and schools languish.

Our schools need help, not to pay for frills but for basics. Should we tax the bottom end incomes or the top end and corporations? If your answer to this is the top end, don’t depend on the Legislature to do it.

Sign Reclaim Idaho’s petition to put an initiative on the ballot in November and force the Legislature to do the right thing. Then vote this fall for representatives who will fund public schools, not strangle them.

Your children will be glad you did.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

‘Never be a bystander’…

Dear editor, My New Year’s resolution on the 75th anniversary of the Holocaust: “I shall never be a bystander!” Inspired

by President Kennedy, 1961: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.”

Steve Johnson Sagle

Farewell to Ellen Weissman…

Dear editor, During her years of service to the Sandpoint Area Seniors, Ellen Weissman made the center viable with the many grants she was awarded and creative fundraising events.

Under Ellen’s guidance, SASI has become a safe and happy meeting place for seniors to share healthy, delicious meals,and to enjoy many fun after-hours activities.

I know she has helped this introvert to reach out to others in ways I was reluctant to before. I wish Ellen well on her next venture. We love you, Ellen.

Shakura Young Sandpoint

Consequences of gun suit outweigh its cause…

Dear editor It may be legal to drive through a puddle and splash icy slime on an old lady, but does that make it right? When does being a neighbor take precedence over personal rights?

The county has spent $38,000 to sue our city to try to force a private organization, The Festival, to allow guns. The county may be right that the city can’t lease property to people that

don’t allow guns, but does that make the consequences of this lawsuit right?

The Festival has provided music and community good will for 37 years. The county receives millions of dollars of income a year and without it some local businesses will close. Does that matter to the commissioners or sheriff?

Now Sheriff Wheeler is wondering which side he should take if the gun rights people storm The Festival? As he well knows, just his suggesting such a thing hurts The Festival. So, what would happen if an armed person confronted an unarmed Festival volunteer who politely asks him to leave? Does he draw down on her? Push her to the ground and charge inside? Would The Festival then evacuate, and ticket holders and vendors sue the interloper to get their money back?

The Festival can’t get musicians to perform to an armed crowd so it will close or move to a private venue and prices will go up. The real losers will be the gun owners who now enjoy free music cuddling their guns in the park next door.

Mary Haley Sandpoint

‘United we stand. Divided we fall’...

Dear editor, Our country is being attacked.

Dark forces are working from outside and inside our borders to weaken us. Now, many good and innocent people are working to advance the dark agenda. We need to stand united against this enemy that is working to divide us. It uses lies and half truths to demonize our fellow citizens and our friends. It pushes fear and resentment.

We need to find our way in these dark times to reach out to each other: conservative and liberal, rich and poor, native and nonnative, people from all walks of life and all beliefs. In sports we relish winners and losers.

In life, if one side dominates another, both are weaker.

It is by respecting all voices and moving forward carefully and respectfully, that we can find the best path in a spirit of negotiation and compromise.

In this election, please look for candidates that care about the whole and not just a single issue or agenda: someone who is honest and kind and treats all people with respect, someone who can work with people and is able to compromise when needed to keep us moving forward, someone who will not allow us to bog down in a “my way or the highway” mentality.

In the words of our founding fathers, “United we stand. Divided we fall.” Let us find a way to stand together as Americans, and respectfully try to understand those with whom we disagree.

Carole Thorell Sandpoint

OPINION

We must make real investments in Idaho schools

By Gary Suppiger Special to the Reader The 2020 legislative session has been an eye-opener. More than 7,600 high-paying jobs in technology, construction trades and health care are unfilled in our state because we lack education and training. I expected a bold plan from Gov. Brad Little to pull us out of a half-billion dollara-year income gap and set our great state on a path toward prosperity. The only way to do that is by investing in our public schools. Because Gov. Little says he supports education, I was hopeful his State of the State Address would lay out a real plan toward success for Idaho’s children. I support Gov. Little. He is a native Idahoan, graduated from the University of Idaho, served years in the Idaho Legislature and as lieutenant governor.

Little knows our state and his intentions are in the best interests of Idaho.

However, his State of the State speech and agenda for this year’s legislative session failed to meet the challenge.

The governor is proposing a 4.1% increase in the state’s K-12 public school’s budget with an emphasis on improving K-3 literacy. I couldn’t be more in favor of that goal. It is critical that children read at grade level by the third grade. If they don’t, they will probably never catch up and struggle all the way through high school and beyond.

The governor’s overall approach to pulling Idaho out of its crisis falls short.

He called the 4.1% increase in K-12 education a “down payment.” He’s right about that. However, the “down payment” is far too small an investment if our schools are to succeed.

Our governor convened an education task force last year and asked them to come up with a short list of our most urgent needs. The No. 1 recommendation from the governor’s own task force was for Idaho to fund all-day kindergarten. Idaho is behind most other states in this regard.

Our state only funds half-day kindergarten, although some Idaho districts support all day kindergarten using local levy dollars. Children who attend all-day kindergarten have better social skills, literacy and math skills going into first grade, and are much more likely to read at or above grade level when they finish third grade. If our children and schools are going to suc-

ceed, every child in Idaho should have access to free allday kindergarten in a public school.

According to the National Education Association, Idaho is dead last in the country in per-pupil investments in K-12 public education.

That’s right: No state invests less in their public school system than Idaho.

To be fair, Idaho Gary Suppiger. is not last in terms of performance. That’s because of the outstanding teachers we have throughout the state who work hard despite the limitations. Without significant additional support for our schools, Idaho will continue down a path to failure. We must invest in our children if we want to keep them here.

I see the needs from the boardroom in Sandpoint, where I serve as a school district trustee. We need resources to support our rural schools, activities, and special education. Many of our schools are old and showing their age. Some need to be replaced. The problem is, no Idaho school district receives a dime from lawmakers for new facilities or school renovations. We also need resources to invest in materials and technology. Our class sizes are larger

than the national average. Most of all we need to support our teachers.

The goal of our district and every district in Idaho is to recruit, train, support, and retain great teachers. We lose great educators every year to districts in other states that pay much more than Idaho does. We do not have a teacher shortage in Idaho. We have a teacher retention shortage.

If Gov. Little wants to make a real down payment on our schools, the first installment should be the $170-$200 million being proposed by Reclaim Idaho through its Invest in Idaho ballot initiative. The petition drive to put this initiative on the November 2020 ballot is currently under way. If successful, every Idaho school district will receive $550-600 per student to support K-3 literacy and whatever else the local school boards determine is necessary.

I believe in local control of our public schools. No state bureaucrat or legislator knows the needs of a school district as well as the locally elected board members. Between the governor’s down payment and the proposed Initiative in Idaho, we may climb out of the cellar when it comes to investing in our kids.

I believe in jobs, prosperity and security for our communities. A change is needed not just in how we invest in our kids, but how our elected leaders look at investments in the first place.

Gary Suppiger is a member of the Lake Pend Oreille School Board of Trustees.

Laughing Matter

By Bill Borders

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

awesome african-american scientists

Part 1

Dr. Jane C. Wright.

Dr. Louis T. Wright. especially when you consider list is Alice Augusta the Civil War. a few paragraphs, and in even that he was a professor for TusBall. Alice graduated This drive attempting I feel that I’m doing kegee University in Alabama. from the University lasted for three them a great disservice. At the St. Elmo Brady went on to of Washington in When I was in school, we very least, I hope I’ve piqued generations, teach at Howard University in Seattle with two learned about one black scienas Jane went your curiosity enough to dig a Washington, D.C. and then at degrees in pharmatist: George Washington Carvon to identify little deeper, to discover more Fisk University in Nashville, ceutical chemistry in er, whom my history book at methotrexate, about these important scientists, Tenn.

— another state that had 1912.

Unfortunately, the time summed up as: “The one of the most and learn from the challenges lingering secessionist feelings in she would only live African-American scientist that critical drugs they’ve faced and overcome in the wake of the Civil War. Brady for another four invented peanut butter.” their lives. in the applicaspent much of his career fundyears, but in those Alice Augusta Ball.

That’s a pretty disgracetion of chemotherapy.

Look forward to Part 2 next raising and breaking barriers, four years accomplished what ful summary of an extremely It’s impossible to sum up week. having established the first grad- every generation before her hard-working and prolific scienuate studies program for a black failed to do in an entire lifetime: these incredible people in only tist who helped lay the foundauniversity in the U.S. Discover a treatment for leprosy. tion for our understanding of the Next up, hitting a little closer Ball pioneered a technique ways that agriculture impacts to home, is Dr. Shirley Ann to make chaulmoogra oil, the our environment today — one Jackson. viscous oil of the chaulof, if not the most, important Dr. Jackson moogra plant, injecttopics related to our survival as a is the theoretable under the skin of species for the next 50 years. ical physicist patients suffering from It wasn’t until I was out of We can help! whom you have leprosy. She unfortuschool and curious about science nately passed away 2013 allows men to marry their • The average married couple that I really started to learn about to thank for your lightshortly after her discov13-year-old adopted daughters. has sex 68.5 times a year, which the incredible contributions that ning-fast fiber ery, and the professor is slightly more than once a week. black scientists have made to • From 2000 to 2010, 4,080 with whom she worked One in every five couples has a our world. While I’d love to talk optic internet. children in Idaho were married — She was the took sole credit for her sexless marriage, having fewer more about George Washington the highest rate of child marriage first woman of discovery.

In time, and than 10 encounters a year.

Carver, his scientific career has in the U.S. The youngest minor wed color to earn a through the diligent efbeen extensively covered and in Idaho was 13. Under current • 75% of people who marry doctorate from forts of her colleagues, you can easily find a copy of his partners from an affair eventually Idaho law, there is no minimum MIT in theoretiBall was posthumously biography at the library, as well age for child marriage. For a child divorce.

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. cal physics, and given scientific credit as a host of other books for all under age 16 to marry, only paren• The word “bride” comes the second to earn a doctorate for the discovery, and would ages detailing his career. tal and court consent is required, from an old proto-Germanic word in physics in general. Her most forever have it named after her: Today, I want to focus on along with a physical exam. For mimeaning “to cook.” notable scientific contributions The “Ball Method.” other African Americans that nors 16- to 17-year-old, only parenare in the telecommunications Finally, we have Jane C. made some great contributions • About 300 couples marry in tal consent is required. In either field, helping pave the way for Wright and her father Louis T. to the human race.

Las Vegas every day. case, the consent of the children inventions like portable fax Wright.

First on the list is Dr. St. is not needed. A bipartisan bill • People who endure a daily machines, touch-tone phones In one of the most aweElmo Brady, the first African was introduced in January 2019, commute of 45 minutes or more and fiber optic cables for data some and inspirational stories American to earn a doctorate proposing to set the minimum age are 40% more likely to divorce. transmission.

I’ve ever read, these two were for chemistry in to marry at 16 and requiring the While those pioneers of cancer research who • A 99-year-old man divorced the United States. consent of the minors themselves, first two might actively worked together to lay his 96-year-old wife after 77 years in addition to parents and the Born in 1884, not not seem incredthe foundation for chemotherapy of marriage after he learned of an even a full two court. It was voted down by the ibly relevant methodologies that would go on affair she had in the 1940s. decades after the Idaho House 39-28. these days, just to save untold millions of lives conclusion of the • First marriages that end in a • Couples who spend more monremember that and prolong countless more.

Civil War, this divorce usually last approximately ey on their wedding have a higher the smartphone in The Wrights were a family with man faced chaleight years. rate of divorce, a study found. your pocket was a history of medicine. Louis’ lenges most of • There are 100 divorces built upon those mother, Dr. Ceah Ketcham us couldn’t even • In 1960, 59% of American every hour in the U.S. technologies.

Wright, was born a slave, then begin to wrap our adults aged 18-29 were married.

Third on our earned a medical degree after brains around — • An Iranian law enacted in Today, only 20% are married.

Dr. St. Elmo Brady.

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

Random Corner age?

Don’t know much about marri

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OPINION

Idahoans deserve real solutions for property taxes

By Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise Special to the Reader

Idahoans rely on effective local governments. First responders and law enforcement keep our communities healthy and safe. Adequate roads allow residents to arrive at their destinations without harm. Libraries provide opportunities for enrichment and job training. And our courts protect our constitutional right to due process.

Unfortunately, state policies and market forces are making it extremely difficult for local governments to keep up with these vital services. State policies have dramatically shifted the property tax load away from business real estate and onto homeowners. Meanwhile, rapidly rising home values are adding to the perfect storm.

Residents are feeling these

Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise. impacts as they see their property taxes rise. The state must act urgently to adjust the homeowner’s exemption in ways that protect residents and keep them in their homes, increase property tax assistance and pass policies that allow growth to pay for growth.

Our homeowner’s exemption used to be indexed to rise with market values. That way,

when home values went up, the value of the homeowner’s exemption (the amount that wasn’t taxable) also rose. The Idaho Legislature caved to lobbyists in 2016 and capped the homeowner’s exemption. This was a big win for big business and a loss for Idahoans. We are seeing the impact play out now in our property taxes. In one Idaho county, residents paid 56% of the property taxes at the turn of the century, while businesses paid the rest. The portion that residents pay has risen to 72% today.

What will not help Idahoans is the sledgehammer approach the state is considering.

Two proposals came up in the Legislature last week that would force cuts at the local level without offering any help or correcting the tax shift to residents. The sponsor of the bills even acknowledged that this approach would not reduce people’s property taxes. This is because home values will likely continue to rise faster than the value of commercial property.

Those of us working in the Capitol cannot, in good conscience, support a sledgehammer approach when we don’t

know what these forced cuts will mean for residents in Idaho’s 44 counties. Every county faces different challenges so we can’t predict the impacts.

What will happen to ambulance response times in large rural counties? Will a small county facing an expensive murder trial have to cut basic services for its grieving residents? Will we have to cut county fairs that have a strong tradition of bringing communities together to pay for law enforcement?

The state ought to collaborate with local governments, find resources for property tax reduction and increase property tax assistance — a program that has not been updated since 2006. Allowing the collection of new kinds of impact fees will help growth pay for itself.

And it will cost the state nothing to update the homeowner’s exemption to restore a fair balance of the load between residents and business.

Counties do not have a lot of flexibility in their budgets.

They are mandated by the state of Idaho to provide public defense, court systems, jails, juvenile detention and coroner

services. Yet the state only provides a fraction of what it costs to provide these mandated services. Nor does the state allow counties to charge for their true cost to provide services.

For example, Ada County property taxpayers subsidize the cost of issuing every driver’s license by $7 because the state prohibits the county from charging people for the full cost to the county. Counties do not have the ability to make “growth pay for itself” in this or many other instances. A modest increase in state support for mandated services and fee-setting flexibility could ease the pressure for all property taxpayers.

Property taxes are complex, but solutions exist. I hope the Idaho Legislature will join me in supporting them.

Lauren Necochean is a firstterm legislator representing District 19 in Boise. Previously the director of the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy, she serves on the Local Government, Resources and Conservation, Revenue and Taxation committees.

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event t h u r s d a y

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t u e s d a y

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Edgar Cayce Study Group 9-11am @ Gardenia Center Meets every Thursday

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Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Live Music w/ John Firshi 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Indie folk rock originals and covers Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes 2-4:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.

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

Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Thursday Night Singer-Songwriter series with a solo performance by Kevin Dorin

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz Live Music w/ Right Front Burner 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge Live Music w/ Truck Mills & Carl Rey Sandpoint’s funk, disco, groove trio 5:30-8:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Jim Beam promo party Truck and Carl are blues masters!

9pm-cl @ A&P’s Bar and Grill Live Music w/ Baker/Thomas/Packwood No cover. Prizes and giveaways.

8-11pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Live DJ music with DJ Shanner Trio playing classic rock favorites

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Dollar Beers!

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

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

Live Musi 6:30-9:30p Celebrate F country mu

First Frida 5-6:30pm @ Truck and

Piano Sunday w/ Bob Beadling and Athena Robins 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Beadling stirs the room with his original spin on conte a piano instructor with Bella Noté studios will treat us

Trivia Night 7pm @ MickDuff’s Show off that big, beautiful brain of yours

Wind Down Wednesday 5-8pm @ 219 Lounge With live music by blues man Truck Mills and guest musician Andrew Browne

Joker film 7:30pm @ Screening – nomina Awards

Fire & S’mores Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 2-6pm @ Match 8-10pm @ Connie’s Lounge A timeless comb Playing with Brian Klemm, LA/ international touring guitar player Live Music w/ 9pm-12am @ 2 Jim Beam promo party Five-piece Spo 9pm-cl @ A&P’s Bar and Grill pop/indie ban No cover. Prizes and giveaways. ing modern al Live DJ music with DJ Kevin synth-laden ‘80

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Karaoke 8-close @ Tervan Night-Out Karaoke 9pm @ 219 Lounge Join DJ Webrix for a night of singing, or just come to drink and listen

f

Lifetree Cafe 2pm @ Jalepeño’s Mexican Restaurant An hour of conversation and stories. This week’s topic: “Modern Romance”

Ou 6p A tio

Djembe class 5:45-7:30pm @ Music Conservatory of Sandp Join Ali Thomas for this djembe (drum) class Pictionary at Utara 6pm @ Utara Brewing Co. Individuals and teams welcome. Winners get $10 gift cards. Happens every Tuesday night

Magic Wednesday 6-8pm @ Jalapeño’s Enjoy close-up magic shows by Star Alexander right at your table

Fundraiser for Kiwanis Club 5-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Send 12 Forrest Bird Charter School s educational trip to the UK. Founders Bre on tap, live music by Marty and Doug, and raffle items. Complimentary appetiz

Dollar Beers!

Musical For Life Sip and Shop 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub 4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Good until the keg’s dry Support the nonprofit Musican For Life, which provides instruments and lessons to kids in need

Valentine Paint and Sip 6:30-8:30pm @ Cedar St. Bist Paint a romantic vintage pictu of red called “First Kiss.” Co instruction and a glass of sang up at Uncorked paint.com

ful

February 6-13, 2020

Joker film 7:30pm @ The Panida Theater Screenings of the film Joker – nominated for 11 Academy Awards

Judy film 7:30pm @ The Panida’s Little Theater Film about legendary performer Judy Garland and stars Renee Zellweger, who is nominated for an Oscar for her performance

Live Music w/ Devon Wade :30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Celebrate First Friday with a night of ountry music by Devon Wade

irst Friday art event -6:30pm @ POAC ruck and Carl are blues masters!

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

Live Music and artist reception 4-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Feat. work by Alison Barrows-Young and live music w/ Pamela Benton Student art show reception 5-7pm @ POAC, various See the local student art show at Columbia Bank Plaza, POAC Gallery and Powerhouse lobby Sadie and Desiree Farewell Concert 7pm @ The Panida Theater A final performance by Sadie Sicilia and Desiree Bernhard. Tickets $12/general, $10/youth. Panida.org

First Friday art event 5-6:30pm @ Artworks Gallery Art makes a great Valentine’s Day present! Three artists are showing their work: Colleene Auble, Brandon Puckett and Diane Kinney. Free to attend

& S’mores Karaoke @ Matchwood Brewing Co. 8-close @ Tervan eless combination Embody Studio 4th Music w/ Lavoy 12am @ 219 Lounge Anniversary Celebration piece Spokane alt- 4-6pm @ Embody Studio ndie band blend- A free event! Check out emmodern alt-pop and bodysandpoint.love for info laden ‘80s nostalgia

na Robinson

n on contemporary favorites and Robinson, ill treat us with classical favorites. Free!

Psychic Dynasty Father-Daughter Mind-Reading Show 1pm @ Panida Theater A 60-minute show with mind-boggling predictions revealed, spirits summoned and flair for the innovative. A real-life father-daughter team! $15 tickets. 360-774-2965

Sunday Brewery Brunch 10am-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. With their famous DIY mimosa bar

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Run rant 6pm @ Outdoor Experience This A chill, three-mile(ish) group run with optional beverages to follow

y of Sandpoint um) class for adults

ners get ay night

y School students on an nders Brewing Co. beer nd Doug, silent auction ry appetizers served

Piano Music with Dwayne Parsons 4-6pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Parsons plays original tunes on the grand piano, and his talent is not to missed. Free and open to the public The Conversation presents Carol Deaner 6-8pm @ Ivano’s Ristorante Come be inspired and hear about how you have the potential to create art, especially if you’re over 60. Carol Deaner with POAC presents “Geezer Art Lessons.” Free to attend.

Sip ar St. Bistro Wine Bar tage picture in black and white with a pop Kiss.” Cost is $35, includes all materials, ss of sangria. No experience needed. Sign .com

Feb. 13-16 Love Letters play @ Panida Theater Feb. 14-23 Sandpoint Winter Carnival @ downtown Sandpoint

Feb. 14 Parade of Lights KPND Ski and Board Party @ downtown 5pm @ Trinity at City Beach Drink specials, giveaways and fun Sandpoint

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FEATURE

Hanging up the rollers after 33 years Longtime owners Harold and Liz Stephenson retire from The Paint Bucket

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The interior house paint of the year in 1987 was called “barely-there pink.” The color of the year for 2019 was known as “blueprint,” advertised as a mid-tone that’s “warmer than denim and softer than navy.”

While color schemes and styles have changed over the past three decades, Harold and Liz Stephenson have remained the experts that local builders and homeowners rely on at The Paint Bucket. After a long and successful run, the duo decided to retire at the end of January to begin the next phase of their lives.

The Stephensons got into the paint business “by accident” as Harold tells it.

“Liz’s folks started The Paint Bucket in 1972,” Harold said. “It was known as Wright’s Paint back then.”

Liz’s parents later sold their successful business to new owners, who ended up

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closing the store a few years later.

“Months later, we thought about buying the old paint store from them,” Harold said.

“We’re not sure why we did it. It seemed like something interesting to do at the time.

It’s a job that’s ongoing — people need paint.”

Liz grew up in Sandpoint while Harold is a Bonners Ferry native. At the time, Harold was working at Safeway and Liz was a stay-at-home mom raising the couple’s four children.

Harold quit his job — leaving behind security and benefits — and he and Liz embarked on a colorful 33-year career that has given them a chance to get involved in their customers’ lives.

Over the years, The Paint Bucket has helped with all aspects of home decorating and renovation — not just selling paint.

The business has provided all the supplies needed for interior and exterior painting, answered decorating questions, picked color schemes and helped with other elements of design.

“We’ve even been asked to pick out what kind of rocks they should put in front of their house,” Harold said. “Because we’ve been helpful with paint, some people figure we should be helpful with every other aspect of their lives.”

The first store was located at 204 Main St., where the current Tomlinson Sotheby’s office is located. The Stephensons moved to the current location at 714 Pine St. and built the building in 1991.

“That’s why we’ve stuck with it for so long,” Harold said. “Our customers become our friends. We help them with their houses, their kids’ houses. We develop a close relationship with our customers and they become basically our family. We have people that come in and visit with us all the time. That’s going to be the biggest transition for us — not seeing the people we see everyday. They’ve sure made it fun.”

The Stephensons stepped away from The Paint Bucket on Jan. 27, exactly 33 years to the day from when they first opened.

They’ve seen many ups and downs in those three decades, including the explosion of box stores, a recession and an ever-changing building market in Sandpoint.

Harold remembers when Walmart first moved to the area and how many people panicked that it would be hard on momand-pop businesses like theirs.

“But it’s the personal relationship that makes the difference between success and failure,” he said. “When the recession hit,

it affected sales, but at the same time, homeowners fixed up their houses because they weren’t going to sell, so that kind of evened everything out.”

Justin Schuck, whose construction business Idagon Homes regularly works with The Paint Bucket, remembers working at the shop before he was one of their customers.

“I actually worked for Harold and Liz when I was 16,” Schuck said. “I worked in trade for them letting me use their 1969 Mach 1 Ford Mustang so I could take Lisa Chaiet to the prom. To this day I’ve been trying to buy that car from him.”

Schuck said he prefers to work with The Paint Bucket not just because they are locally owned and operated, but because of their expertise.

“They know what they’re doing,” Schuck said. “They deliver materials on time. Liz is great with colors, what works, what doesn’t. … When you’ve got local customer service like that, with someone who knows the industry, you realize they’re not just trying to sell you something. They really care.”

The new owners of The Paint Bucket are from Coeur d’Alene, where they operate a Benjamin Moore store in Hayden Lake.

While the Stephensons have stepped away from the business, they’ll be right next store working on renovations of the former Pine Street Bakery house, which they purchased in 1991 and have since rented out to a number of businesses.

“We’ll keep a hand in whatever they need help with,” Harold said. “We’ll spend some time in the store running them through how everything works. We want them to be every bit as successful as we have been.”

The mural on the outside of The Paint Bucket’s building always helped to identify it as a unique place.

“Maria Larson did the last one, but Nan Cooper used to help Maria with them,” Harold said. “We try to make the store a happy place. We have kids coming in and yelling and screaming that they want to go

Harold and Liz Stephenson share a smile with their dog Sadie during the renovation of their home next door to The Paint Bucket. Courtesy photo. to the paint store because we put a kids’ room in there. Sometimes when the parents are done, they have to drag the kids out.”

The new owners will continue the tradition of working alongside their family pets, which Harold and Liz did well before it was in vogue to bring your pets to work.

“We always had dogs in the store,” Harold said. “A lot of other stores in town started doing the same. We have grown-up people who run into us at the grocery store and say they still remember the pug we had in the store when they were a kid. Where did all the years go?”

“We’ve covered generations of families,” Liz added.

The Stephensons are hosting an open house on Friday, Feb. 21 from 5-7 p.m. at the Sandpoint Community Hall to thank all of their customers for their friendship and support over 33 years.

The Paint Bucket is located at 714 Pine St. in Sandpoint. It is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m.-noon. Call 208-263-5032 for your painting needs.

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COMMUNITY

A new arbor for the arboretum

By Cate Huisman Reader Contributor

When members of the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society asked local builder Collin Beggs if he would build something to replace an aging arbor at the Lakeview Park arboretum, he willingly agreed.

Beggs builds handcrafted timber-framed buildings. This involves both designing buildings around the wood he can find, and always being on the lookout for unique pieces that will make a good building.

“We don’t cut synthetic curves,” he said. Instead, Beggs finds trees that have grown the curves that meet the needs of the building.

While straight timbers are necessary for uprights and rafters — and trees inherently provide many of those — he searches also for curving pieces to support them.

For the new arbor, Beggs used uprights and rafters of white oak left from another project. This wood is particularly well suited for an arbor because of its weather resistance. For the braces, he used the curving branches of a walnut tree.

“Our entire craft is based around trees,” he said.

Beggs estimated that he and his crew — which includes Dave Brown, Dave deLeeuw, Brandon Mimbs and Mike Austin — put in 80 to 100 hours of shop work to get ready to erect the arbor, which went up Jan. 31. The timbers were prepared and the fastenings tried out, the triangular rafters put together and the walnut braces sawed to fit.

A variety of forms of traditional joinery hold the arbor together; the pegs that are typical of timber-framed structures are everywhere evident in this one.

In contrast to the long preparation time, once all the craftsmen, materials and equipment

were on site, the arbor went up in a morning. The actual day of construction was determined by the availability of a forklift to hoist the rafters into place, making last Friday, Jan. 31 — with its unrelenting deluge of hypothermia-inducing rain on snow — the day that everything came together.

Beggs and his crew arrived by 8:30 in the morning and were finished by noon, when one hopes they were able to retreat to someplace warmer and drier.

Their willingness to work in the weather was not surprising.

According to Beggs, “Timber framing signifies a commitment to the place.”

The arbor, which Beggs’ company built entirely as a donation, represents a commitment both to his craft and adopted hometown of Sandpoint.

Like all timber-framed structures, it is unique. But the dark heartwood of the walnut exposed in the arbor is particularly appealing. The arbor itself inspires an appreciation for trees, making

it a uniquely fitting addition to the arboretum.

YMCA announces ‘Membership for All’ program FBCS open enrollment starts Feb. 1

By Reader Staff

When winter arrives in Sandpoint, even the thought of having to brave the elements can send some people into hiding until spring. When it’s challenging to find the motivation to leave a warm, comfortable space, it’s important to have something or someone to help keep us active and engaged in the dark winter months. Litehouse YMCA in Sandpoint wants to be that someone — for everyone.

In addition to fitness classes and swimming lessons, the Y offers a wellness center; cardio studios, featuring free weights; child watch; indoor basketball; racquetball courts; and a lounge area.

Encouraging area residents to take advantage of these offerings, the local YMCA is announcing its Membership For All program, which Litehouse YMCA Branch Executive Tammy Campbell said “is designed to allow people 16 /

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in our community to have full access to our facility at a cost that works for them.”

The program adjusts membership fees on a sliding scale based on household income — even personalizing membership tailored to individual situations.

“At the Y, we believe that everyone should have access to living a lifestyle that encourages a healthy mind, body and spirit,” Campbell said. “Whether it is a medical, family or work issue, we want to step alongside individuals and families during challenging or transitional times.”

The program is supported by donations made to the YMCA’s Annual Giving Campaign. “It’s just an example of our community helping our community stay engaged and connected,” Campbell said.

For more information about Membership for All or to donate to the campaign, visit ymcainw. org/join-the-y/financial-assistance.

By Reader Staff

Forrest M. Bird Charter Schools is excited to announce it is now taking applications for the 2020-2021 school year. The charter schools will accept requests for enrollment in the upcoming academic year from Saturday, Feb. 1 until March 19 at 3 p.m.

“This is an exciting time each year,” said FBCS front office assistant Maddie Herron.

“We love meeting prospective families and their students. It is an opportunity for us to answer questions and introduce people to our wonderful school.”

Herron also stated that during this time families often stop by seeking a tour or just to ask some questions.

“Our buildings are rather secluded, so we encourage families to reach out if they need details to find us,” she said. “I’m always excited to share our school with new people.”

As a tuition-free public charter school, FBCS does not discriminate against any student who would like to apply. However, the school is limited on the number of students who may attend. If more applicants apply than available seats in a given grade, then every student who has applied is entered into a lottery.

The lottery will take place March 19 at 3:30 p.m. There are currently 11 openings in the high school, two openings in the eighth grade, 16 openings in the seventh grade and 20 openings in the sixth grade.

For more information call FBCS middle school at 208-2557771 or FBCS high school at 208-265-9737. Applications can be picked up at either building or found online at forrestbirdcharterschool.org. Parents or guardians of students interested in enrollment are welcome to call and set up a tour.

The newly built arbor at the Lakeview Park arboretum.

Photo by Cate Huisman.

Teen Center seeking volunteers

By Reader Staff The Sandpoint Teen Center is currently seeking volunteers to help with all aspects of their Health Teens After School program.

Those interested should like to prepare food, play games, bowl and share interesting hobbies and stories with Bonner County’s youth.

Specifically, the Teen Center is looking for volunteers to help with fundraisers, website maintenance and updating, database work, as well as those interested in working after-hours with teens playing games, bowling, cooking food and sharing interests.

Those interested should contact Executive Director JoAnna Quick at 208-946-6901 or email sandpointteencenter@yahoo.com

STAGE & SCREEN

The Joker and Judy

Trauma and stardom collide in these Oscar-nominated films

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Aside from the tribalism of professional sports and the bloodsport of political shitposting on Facebook, the gleeful deconstruction of celebrity ranks among 21st-century Americans’ preferred pastimes. Two films released in 2019 tackle the latter, approaching celebrity from widely divergent starting points but ultimately arriving in strangely similar places: how recognition, either striven for or attained, can ravage a person.

Both screening Thursday, Feb. 6; Saturday, Feb. 8; and Sunday, Feb. 9 Critics weren’t so sure about what at the Panida Theater, Joker, starring they saw on the screen, and a good many Joaquin Phoenix, and Judy, featuring Renee Zellweger, present the fanatic drive turned in revulsion from the repulsive deeds both performed by and on the for celebrity from below and its tragic “protagonist,” if he can be called such. descent from on high.

While roundly praising Phoenix’s clearly In Joker, for which Phoenix won a punishing commitment to the grotesque Best Actor award at the 73rd BAFTAs role, more than a few culture commentaand stands poised to nab an Oscar on tors wondered aloud whether we should Sunday, Feb. 9, the titular insane clown really be rooting for this guy. The mesgets a decidedly un-canon origin story from the iconic DC comic villain and Bat- sage being sent by a traumatized misfit wreaking vengeance on an uncaring uniman archnemesis. Batman doesn’t even verse seemed for some to be dangerously feature in the movie, though it is set on — irresponsibly — close to validating the the mean streets of an ambiguously dated persecution complexes that fuel so many Gotham City. real-life perpetrators of mass violence.

Navigating the urban hellscape is Audiences, however, took a much Arthur Fleck, a street clown whose traumore enthusiastic view of the film. While ma-born social dysfunction is matched ebert.com gave Joker two stars, ripping only by an all-consuming desire to make the film as simultaneously “chicken-livit as a stand-up comedian. Beneath his ered” and “genuinely ugly winsome yet obsessive and disgusting” (adding desire to make people that its social commentary laugh is a soul so flayed Thursday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.; is “pernicious garbage”), by abuse and cruelty Saturday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m.; and viewers gave it an 88% that it writhes in agony Sunday, Feb. 9, 3:30 p.m.; $8.72 on rottentomatoes. monstrous enough to adults, $7.67 seniors, $6.62 com. Reactions were students, $5.46 children. Paniseep, then burst pell mell, even more polarized on da Theater, 300 N. First Ave., through Fleck’s grease208-263-9191, get tickets at notoriously picky review paint and onto the society panida.org. site metacritic.com, with that dealt him so dirty. critics coming down on The burden of psyJoker with a measly 59 cho-social and physical torout of 100 and audiences ment twists Fleck-the-desThursday, Feb. 6, 7 p.m.; Saturraving with a rating of perate-entertainer into day, Feb. 8, 7 p.m.; and Sunday, 9.1 out of 10 — a “must the Joker — with all the Feb. 9, 4 p.m.; $8.72 adults, see.” What’s more, this maniacal mayhem that $7.67 seniors, $6.62 students, supposed “pernicious moniker implies — earning $5.46 children. Little Panida garbage” is nominated Theater, 300 N. First Ave., him a cultish following of for 11 Academy Awards, 208-263-9191, get tickets at violent copycats in a civil panida.org. including Best Picture and upheaval.

Joker (R)

Judy (PG-13)

Best Director for Todd Phillips.

So what gives? Is it really that brilliant? Is it a love for anti-heroes? Genuine sympathy for and identification with the downtrodden, whose gifts and dreams of stardom are crushed beneath the wheels of a broken society? Or, to riff off another iteration of the Joker, maybe some people just want to watch the world burn — and get famous doing it.

In Judy we get a much more straightforward treatment of celebrity, though coming from the top down as Judy Garland struggles for redemption and relevance — even for her life — in the waning days before her death at 47 from an accidental overdose of barbiturates.

Garland has long stood as a symbol of the damage done specifically to child stars, implicating the Hollywood system in a now-familiar story of sexual, financial and psychological exploitation. In Judy, we enter the tale in its final act as the former superstar has been laid low by decades of harm both at the hands of others and her own.

As with Joker, here we have a performer broken to her core by decades of mistreatment by virtually everyone she’s ever come across. Poverty-stricken and in ill health, Zellweger’s Garland is still out there on stage belting it out in the hopes that it’ll all mean something.

Unlike Joker, response to the film has been more measured — and balanced.

Rotten Tomatoes gives scores of 82% and 85% while Metacritic sits at 66 out of 100 and 6.8 out of 10 for critics and audiences, respectively. Ebert.com, in keeping with its apparent sourpussing of late, booed the

Left: Joaquin Phoenix plays the Joker in Joker. Right: Renee Zellweger plays Judy Garland in Judy. Courtesy photos. biopic with a two-star rating and trashed Zellweger’s performance as an “imitation,” the cinematography as occasionally “artless,” and the whole production as “contrived” and lacking vital “humanism.”

Never mind all that: Zellweger will be up there with Phoenix as a nominee for Best Actress at the Oscars. Maybe — just maybe — audiences know best and the star-crossed stars of the 92nd Academy awards will be the Joker and Judy.

Father-daughter mind-reading duo at Panida’s Little Theater

By Reader Staff A father-daughter “mind-reading” duo is performing at the Little Panida Theater on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m.

The hour-long show features “mind-boggling predictions” by the father-daughter team of Joey and Phina Pipia, including “spirits summoned from the beyond” and “thoughts pinched effortlessly out of thin air.”

“Every effect you see is entirely original,” Phila said in a statement announcing the show. “Our goal is to give audiences an experience they have never had before, and that they will never forget again.”

The fast-paced, funny show includes tightly scripted dialogue and unbelievable reveals. Each act is steeped in the unexpected, with often hilarious conclusions.

Tickets are $15, available at Brown Paper Tickets or at the door. Learn more at thepsychicdynasty.com or by calling 360774-2965.

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GAMING

Hitler must die

Board game ‘Black Orchestra’ makes you a conspirator in the plot to off Adolf

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Auteur director Quentin Tarantino took some heat from certain quarters for the ending of his 2009 Nazi-Western revenge fantasy flick Inglourious Basterds. If you haven’t seen it yet (hugely outdated spoiler alert), the eponymous rag-tag band of Jewish military commandos blow away Adolf Hitler and the whole Nazi leadership in a fiery orgy of historical-revisionist violence.

Some critics took exception to the hyper-gory demise of der fuhrer — in large part because it turned the notion of assassinating Hitler into an over-the-top laugh line. Others pushed back against the very idea of writing a fictitious ending to the Third Reich, suggesting its Dirty Dozen-style hit job erased the frequently unsung, selflessly gallant efforts of countless real-life resistance fighters.

Audiences felt differently — the vast

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majority rejoicing in the ignominious demise of one of history’s preeminent monsters. No less than Der Spiegel reviewer Georg Seeslen wondered aloud why no previous director had killed Hitler on the big screen before.

True: It’s really satisfying to see the entire Nazi edifice explode in a blaze of gunfire and flames, but rather than rewatch Inglourious Basterds for your dead-dictator fix, try killing Hitler yourself in the devilishly clever board game “Black Orchestra.”

Taking its name from the moniker Schwarze Kapelle — the pejorative nom de guerre given by the Gestapo to the historical network of German military officers, civilians and intelligence operatives who tried to off Adolf — the game drops one to five players into 1936 Europe, armed with their wits, sense of timing and cooperative skills to end the nightmare of Nazi rule in one fell swoop.

Beyond the premise, it’s the cooperative aspect of the game that really makes “Black Orchestra” unique (ironically providing the rare ability to play the game solo). Rather than compete with one another to be the “lone gunman,” players must work together to navigate the rush of events — revealed by decks of cards organized into roughly chronological stages encompassing the period from 1936 to 1945. This is accomplished by collecting and deploying useful items from the various geographic locations on the board, as well as drawing plots, special actions and abilities from a deck of “conspirator” cards.

All the while, events send Hitler and his chief henchmen criss-crossing Europe on their own foul business, potentially making or breaking the would-be assassins’ carefully laid plans. Even worse, the Gestapo could swoop in at any time and trundle you off for interrogation, further derailing your efforts or — more acutely — ending the game altogether.

The core strategy is to manage your character’s levels of “motivation” and “suspicion,” which rise and fall based on the event(s) in play. Higher motivation enables certain abilities and plots while higher suspicion makes it harder to execute plots and increases your chances of getting netted in a Gestapo raid.

Making matters even more complex,

as Hitler’s military support rises or falls based on events, it becomes correspondingly more difficult or easier to successfully execute your plots.

Using luck and guile, players must also do what they can to ensure the dictator’s grip on his fighting forces remains as weak as possible in order to strengthen their chances of a successful assassination. (Examples of plots include train derailment, poisoning, abduction, the historically accurate suitcase bomb and good old fashioned shooting, among others.)

Gameplay is therefore a race against time and circumstances in which you must plan for uncertainty, weigh constant risks of exposure, and maintain the flexibility to strike when and where you’re able.

“Black Orchestra” is clearly designed with hard-core history buffs in mind — evidenced by its subject and adherence to historically accurate characters and events — but it’s equally attractive to players who relish strategy, puzzle and cooperative gaming. Beyond that, Starling Games, which released it in 2018, has created a simply good looking game — filled with thoughtful aesthetics that bring together vintage war movies, tactical maps, spycraft and the starkly elegant look of early-20th century Art Deco.

Perhaps most important — and most satisfying — is the feeling of successfully beating the odds and putting Hitler six feet under. We promise, it’s a lot harder than even Tarantino makes it look.

‘Black Orchestra’ $67.99, find it on Amazon. For more info, visit starling.games/black-orchestra.

OUTDOORS

Bringing sustainability to the slopes

discover

cross country skiing

AT PINE STREET WOODS

Booyah! bamboo ski poles calls Sandpoint home

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Nearly two decades ago, David Rogers began designing and building bamboo fly rods. Though his interest in fly fishing played a part in the venture, Rogers said he was more enamored with the process than anything.

“It’s a cross between craftsmanship and art,” he said, “and there’s a lot of science in there, as well.”

That passion became Headwaters Bamboo Fly Rods, a company Rogers oversees while outsourcing the manufacturing to China. With spring and summertime product lines, Rogers decided he’d pursue a product to cover the other seasons. As a result, Booyah! bamboo ski poles were born.

Rogers started out making ski poles from the same bamboo from which he made the fly rods: Tonkin bamboo.

After being approached by an Indian bamboo farmer specializing in Calcutta bamboo, Rogers recently made the shift.

While Tonkin is known for its fibrous and hollow structure, Calcutta bamboo features more solid segments, resulting in a stronger, more flexible ski pole.

When Tonkin bamboo is used to make fly rods, Rogers said it is split and restructured into a hexagonal rod.

When using Calcutta bamboo to build ski poles, stalks are kept in their natural state and only shortened to fit length specifications.

The Calcutta bamboo supplier with whom Rogers partners harvests the crop once a year, drying and straightening the stalks with heat before sending them stateside. The crops regenerate in two years, making a strong case for the sustainability of Booyah! poles over traditional aluminum ski poles.

“The renewability of the product is pretty exciting for us,” Rogers said.

Unlike his fly rods, Rogers builds the Booyah! ski poles himself in Sandpoint. Currently, he said he is looking to replace the less sustainable elements

Adult and youth ski & snowshoe rentals available at the Pine Street Woods Outdoor Recreation Center.

Go to sandpointnordic.com for rental hours.

See you on the trails!

of the poles — like the nylon straps and rubberized cork grips — with materials like hemp, pure cork and bioplastics.

Rogers said he and his family moved to the area seven years ago following a business partner in a totally separate project, but he said they have since parted ways. He is now dedicating himself entirely to his bamboo business ventures in both fly rods and ski poles.

Rogers said North Idaho is a fitting home for Booyah! and Headwaters bamboo products.

Booyah! Bamboo ski poles are made right here in Sandpoint, Idaho by David Rogers. Photo by Levi Bonn.

“You have so much in this area, with the lake and the mountains,” he said.

“It’s a good place to be.”

Learn more about Booyah! Bamboo ski poles at booyah.ski or on Facebook at facebook.com/booyahbamboo.

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First Friday plays host to art receptions around town

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

From local students just dabbling in the world of art to established artists looking to share their work in new studios, Sandpoint will have them all on display Feb. 7 as part of a plethora of First Friday art receptions.

The 16th annual Pend Oreille Arts Council Student Art Show receptions — part of the nonprofit’s mission to support young local artists — are happening in three locations: the POAC Gallery (110 Main St.), the Power House (120 E. Lake St.) and Columbia Bank Plaza (231 Main St.).

The POAC Gallery will house the work of Sandpoint High students; art by students from Lake Pend Oreille High School, Forrest M. Bird Charter Schools and Clark Fork High School will be shown at the Power House; and third- through sixth-graders in Bonner County schools who participate in Kaleidoscope — POAC’s elementary art education program — will have their art displayed in the Columbia Bank Plaza.

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Each reception is 5-7 p.m. and free to attend. All student artwork will remain on display into the spring.

Other receptions, celebrating the work of local artists and photographers, will take place at the same time elsewhere around town as part of Sandpoint’s First Friday events.

A reception at Pend d’Oreille Winery, also hosted by POAC, features the work of local painter Alison Barrows-Young. Her work is largely influenced by nature, and she sees art as an essential element of self-expression as well as a way to make connections.

Barrows-Young’s reception

will take place 5-8 p.m. at the winery, 301 Cedar St. This month’s POAC First Friday events are sponsored by Pend d’Oreille Winery, Kochava and SOK design studio.

Artworks Gallery (214 N. First Ave.) will also host a First Friday event Feb. 7, featuring three new artists on display: pho-

tographers Colleen Auble and Brandon Puckett, as well as Diane Kinney, known for repurposing glass candle holders to create her art. The Artworks reception is slated for 5-6:30 p.m.

Those with questions about the POAC events can contact the office at 208-263-6139. Reach Artworks at 208-263-2642.

MUSIC

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert

Rainy day blues

READ

How the weather affects the music you listen to

By Ben Olson Reader Staff It rained most of last week, and as a result I’ve found myself listening to work by more melancholy, contemplative artists on our office Spotify account. Or, as staff writer Lyndsie Kiebert calls it: “sad bastard music.”

The truth is, the weather plays a vital role in the type of music we listen to. So much so that Spotify teamed up with AccuWeather in 2017 to find out what people listen to in different weather in order to introduce a new playlist called “Climatune.”

Spotify correlated an entire year of weather data from AccuWeather with more than 85 billion Spotify streams to create the playlist, which lets listeners check out the weather in their region, as well as listen to a playlist that reflects the weather in a listener’s area. Spotify accessed listening data to correspond with five types of weather: rain, clouds, snow, wind and sun.

Some of the analytics are what you’d expect. Spotify found that sunny days typically spur higher energy, happier-sounding music that feels fast, loud and noisy, as well as cheerful, euphoric tunes.

Rainy days brought lower-energy,

sadder-sounding music with more acoustic than electronic sounds.

Instrumental songs are most preferred when it snows.

“There is a clear connection between what’s in the skies and what’s on users’ play queues,” said Spotify data researcher Ian Anderson. “For almost all of the major cities around the world that we studied, sunny days translate to higher streams of happier-sounding music. Sunny weather has an even bigger impact in Europe.”

Some cities bucked the trends, however. Both New Yorkers and Philadelphians are the most affected by bad weather — residents of these cities substantially changed their listening habits when it rains. Instead of listening to quieter music when it rains, Chicagoans actually get excited and stream happier music.

Music lovers in Seattle and Miami don’t care about cloudy days; both cities’ populations listen to more energetic music on cloudy days. San Francisco, on the other hand, leans in hard on cloudy days and plays the saddest of “sad bastard music.”

Houston music lovers respond the strongest to rain — they ditch electronic sounds and drum machines and increase listening to acoustic instruments by a whopping 121% when it’s wet outside.

Another question some researchers are asking is whether climate change will shift the ways we react to certain songs. Will we be as eager to queue up The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” when slogging through another long, sweaty heatwave? Will we so joyously scream Buster Poindexter’s line, “Feelin’ hot hot hot,” when a drought continues unabated for years?

“These assumptions we have about certain weather being good and certain weather being bad, like sun being good — that might change,” researcher Karen Aplin of the University of Oxford said at a European Geosciences Union meeting in Vienna in 2015.

Aplin looked into how many song titles, band names and lyrics contain references to weather and found about 800. Of the 500 greatest songs of all time, as Rolling Stone called it in 2011, 7% were weather related. Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the most prolific in this category, Aplin found.

While the sun was referenced most often, rain came in a close second. “Frost” and “blizzard” were at the bottom of the list. Love and relationships were the biggest single category for weather metaphors. No surprise there.

“What we found about pop music was that the lyrics can be used very clearly to link the weather to a particular emotion, and usually the sun is positive and the rain is negative,” Aplin said.

One exception to this is country and western songs, which refers to rain as a positive — notably because of its vital connection to agriculture.

Aplin’s researchers were also intrigued to find that in the 1950s, which was an active decade for hurricanes, more music was written about wind and storms.

She believed that potential shifts in weather might also bring about a change in musical themes as climate change brings ever-more frequent extreme weather events.

Instead of carefree songs about sunshine and gentle breezes, Aplin said darker, more dramatic songs could be created instead.

“You might find more songs about severe weather because that is more part of people’s lives, or a backdrop to their lives, than the weather we have now,” she said.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Sadie and Desiree Farewell Concert, Feb. 7, Panida Theater

It’ll be the end of an era when local singer-songwriter Sadie Sicilia and pianist Desiree Bernhard part ways this month, as the latter makes a move to Seattle to pursue a career as an aerospace engineer. Fret not, Sandpoint fans, the duo will take the Panida stage for a farewell show Friday, Feb. 7, celebrating a musical partnership that has brought something unique to regional audiences.

Drawing on Desiree’s lifelong training in classical piano, the pair performs a mix of jazz, ’40s standards and more contemporary tunes with a classical twist. Overtop it all is Sadie’s powerful vocal talent, which packs a wallop while packing in the kind of nuance one expects to hear in the biggest of the big rooms.

Just as parting is sweet sorrow, this’ll be a sweet show and one not to miss.

— Zach Hagadone 7 p.m.; $12 general, $18 youth 18-under. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave.; 208-263-9191; get tickets at the door, by calling 208-255-7509 or online at panida.org.

Lavoy, Feb. 8, 219 Lounge

By layering modern indie pop over elements of ’80s synth and adding a dose of energized vocals, it seems Spokane-based four-piece Lavoy has unlocked a genre heavy in nostalgia and poised for a night of dance floor fun.

Somewhere between the punchy pop of COIN and the finessed synth-rock of Future Islands, Lavoy promises an animated performance full of spirited, pulsing tunes.

Tyrell Tompkins, Ryan Monson, Kipp Riley and Ivan Brik are well on their way to perfecting a sound Lavoy first brought to the regional music scene in 2014 — a sound best heard live and that has been on the rise ever since.

— Lyndsie Kiebert

This week’s “read” is more a pro-tip for when you’re reading content on the internet: check out the URL — also known as the address in the search bar that appears when you click on a link. When vetting the source, it’s important to give the URL a glance. Have you heard of this news source? No? Then do some digging. Finally, if this “news” organization aims to tell only one side of the story, then find your news elsewhere.

LISTEN

Hayley Williams, frontwoman of American pop-punk outfit Paramore, has dabbled in solo work in the past, but it appears she is now all in with her project Petals For Armor. Williams is an explosive vocalist and experienced songwriter, and the album’s first two singles reveal a darker, more refined version of her abilities. For a woman whose been in the mainstream music industry since her teens in the early 2000s, Williams appears to just be getting started.

WATCH

Seth Rogen’s work is hit-ormiss for me, but the 2019 politically inflected rom-com Long Shot with Charleze Theron definitely went beyond my expectations. Rogan plays a dorky, windbreaker-clad alt-weekly newspaper reporter. Theron is the classy U.S. secretary of state, poised for a run at the presidency. Thanks to a wild twist of fate, Rogen becomes her speech writer, and an outrageously funny and shockingly charming plot ensues.

9 p.m.-midnight, FREE, 21+. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208263-5673, 219.bar. Listen at lavoymusic.com.

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By Mike Wagoner Reader Contributor From Pend d’Oreille Review, Feb. 1, 1906

BRUTES TAKE COWARDLY REVENGE Beat up a defenseless woman, burn her clothing and chop up her trunk Five drunken men visited Laclede’s bawdy house Sunday night and got into an altercation with the woman over money matters, she claiming they had robbed her while they claimed she had gone through their pockets.

The woman was terribly beaten by the five men, after which they smashed up the furniture, chopped up the woman’s trunk, shot up the mirrors and burned her clothes.

Two of the men were apprehended Tuesday by Constable Campbell, and the other three made their escape on learning the woman had warrants out for them.

One of the men arrested, Conklin by name, was found guilty before the justic at Laclede and was sent up for 30 days. The other man, Hannegan, was found not guilty.

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/ February 6, 2020

Ice is cool I was walkin’ around my property one winter’s day — beer in hand — when I stopped by my little pond. It had a layer of ice on it. Well, that’s when the little kid in me came out and I just had to reach out with a foot and break some of it up.

As I watched the pieces of ice float on the surface, the realization came to me: Most any liquid becomes more dense when it freezes, but not water. It expands by around 10%. It can be very stubborn about it. It’s a property that those of us who have dealt with frozen and broken pipes are very familiar with.

But, anyway, it floats.

I started to imagine what type of world (planet) we would have to contend with if ice ever decided to sink instead. Lakes, even ocean basins relatively close to the poles would stand a good chance of filling up with layers of ice over time like pancakes as each annual layer would sink to the bottom. They could build up over time, eventually approaching the surface and lowering the temperature of Earth to a very annoying degree. Our world would become a very different place.

But as it is, it remains on the surface so the sun can have its way with it each spring. Cool.

Crossword Solution

When I think of all the arguments Marta and I have had, I realize how silly most of them were.

And it makes me wonder why she wanted to argue over such stupid things. I think I’ll go ask her.

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS

sagacious

Woorf tdhe Week

/suh-GEY-shuhs /

[adjective] 1. having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense

“My grandfather gave me sagacious advice on working well with others.”

Corrections: Nothing this week, gentle readers. Be well.

1. Antiquated 6. Musical finale 10. Anagram of “Ties” 14. Remove the pins from 15. Pinnacle 16. Coffee dispensers 17. Impasse 19. Rhythm 20. Detects 21. Copy 22. Head of hair 23. Loss 25. Made from apple juice 26. Nurse shark 30. Horse sounds 32. Environmental science 35. Definitive 39. Flourish 40. American songbird 41. Preachings 43. Belly 44. Chooses by voting 46. Following 47. Shorthand 50. Parts portrayed 53. Legal wrong 54. Poetic dusk 55. Disbursal 60. Tropical American wildcat 61. Rejuvenate 63. Lascivious look 64. Pond gunk 65. Mortise and _____ joint

Solution on page 22

66. Countercurrent 67. You (archaic) 68. Oozes

DOWN 1. Kitty-cat 2. Kitty (poker) 3. Extent 4. Transgressions 5. Ceased 6. Feline 7. Narcotic 8. Obscurely prophetic 9. Spindle 10. Compliance 11. Step 12. Absurd

13. A chemical compound 18. South southeast 24. One or more 25. Common beet 26. Obtains 27. Dull pain 28. Unit of pressure 29. Nutritious 31. A compact mass 33. Convex molding 34. Heredity unit 36. A few 37. Holly 38. 1/100th of a dollar 42. A high-pitched noise

43. American Sign Language 45. Found in most mouths 47. Inscribed pillar 48. Trifled (with) 49. Made a mistake 51. A very long period 52. Hard fats 54. At one time (archaic) 56. Tall woody plant 57. Alley 58. At the peak of 59. Cravings 62. An uncle

February 6, 2020 /

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