Reader_Jan11_2024

2 / R / January 11, 2024

DEAR READERS,

The week in random review

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

the non-generation

I was born at the end of 1980. Some timelines put me in Gen X while in others I’m a Millennial. Personally, I’ve never felt like my age group belongs anywhere, inhabiting a sort of Non-Generation. Those born in the Non-Generation are old enough to remember the world before the internet and smartphones but young enough to utilize these tools before they entered the workforce. We remember a world of playing outside, eight-bit video games and urban myths that somehow spread just as quick as internet memes do today. We also remember coming of age alongside the internet, infused with hope that this interconnectivity would somehow create a better world (spoiler alert: it didn’t). There are several articles that compare the work habits of different generations, and most come to similar conclusions. Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are more likely to have a traditional mindset in the workplace, valuing an established hierarchy of responsibility and authority. They often don’t need constant feedback about their work, but appreciate insight into opportunities to help them succeed better.

Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) are regarded as independent people who take pride in their entrepreneurial spirit. They often value more relaxed, flexible environments that cater to more productivity vs. more hours at work.

Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) are members of the first generation to grow up in the age of near-constant high-technological advancement. They seek meaningful work to grow and use their creative skills, are technologically savvy and use it to be more efficient, and are often result oriented, helping older generations integrate new technology in the workplace. Finally, Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) are just beginning to enter the workforce. They are often infused with a global mindset and adapt quickly to technological shifts. Gen Z generally prioritizes authenticity and truth in their relationships and expects the same from their managers. Overall, they prefer flexible work environments, clear directions and transparency about their work.

very colloquial

Colloquialisms are phrases or words that aren’t necessarily formal or literary, but have distinct meanings in a particular locale. Whenever traveling from North Idaho, it seems that someone from another region will comment on certain turns of phrase I use, claiming they’ve never heard them before. That got me thinking: Do we have true North Idaho colloquialisms?

Here are a few off the top of my head: • “Half-rack” is a 12-pack of beer. I’ve never heard this used anywhere but North Idaho.

• “Jockey box” is used by some instead of the more standard term “glove box.”

• “Rig” is used to refer to one’s vehicle, usually a truck.

• “Prolly” instead of “probably.”

• “Onry,” instead of “ornery.”

• “Going down.” When driving somewhere, people are always “going down to Coeur d’Alene,” or “going down to the store.” It’s never “going up.”

• “Whistle pig” is used more often than the more standard, “marmot.”

• “Mountain lion” is used more often than “cougar.”

I’m stepping away from my duties as publisher for a couple of weeks to help refill my creative well. It’s always a bit of a slog preparing for some time away from work, but luckily you’re in good hands with Editor Zach Hagadone and Staff Writer Soncirey Mitchell holding down the fort.

Also — as a special bonus — we have invited former-News Editor and current Editor Emeritus Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey to return to the newsroom and help cover some of my duties while I’m away.

If you need to reach me for anything work related, you’re welcome to send an email, but I won’t be checking my inbox regularly. Part of going on vacation is leaving behind the tethers that bind our lives. Please email zach@sandpointreader.com if you need anything and he’ll forward it to the proper contact.

In the meantime, I wish you all a snowy and prosperous January.

– Ben Olson, publisher

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

sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Soncirey Mitchell (Staff Writer) soncirey@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (emeritus) Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Kelsey Kizer kelsey@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Ben Olson (cover design), Soncirey Mitchell, Jan Harrison, Jane Fritz, Schweitzer, Marcia Pilgeram Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Soncirey Mitchell, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Clark Corbin, Mia Maldonado, Luke Omodt, Patricia Ericsson, Tom Eddy, Sandy Compton, Mike Wagoner, Marcia Pilgeram, Jeffrey Keenan, Liz Gollen, Tim Martin, Charles Mortensen, Steve Johnson, Claire Christy, Vickie Graeff, Jim LittleBird, Trine Grillo Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $165 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

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Requirements: –No more than 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: sandpointreader.com

January 11, 2024 / R / 3

NEWS

‘The way you run this meeting is disgusting’ Power struggle brings BOCC regular business meeting to a standstill

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff The Bonner County board of commissioners’ regular business meeting came to several abrupt halts on Jan. 9, as Chair Luke Omodt called for five separate recesses ranging from five minutes to two hours long. The consistent disruptions stemmed from Omodt’s and Commissioner Steve Bradshaw’s continued refusal to second any of Commissioner Asia Williams’ motions.

At the request of various members of the public, Williams added eight items to Tuesday’s agenda, including those in which she proposed moving the public comment section back to the beginning of the meeting but cutting it off at 10 a.m.; once again allowing public comment on each agendized item; allowing public comment on all items agendized by the commissioners; updating an organizational chart to reflect which departments and committees liaison with which commissioners; and requiring that commissioners present updates on the departments and committees that they liaise with during their commissioner reports.

All five motions died without a second or deliberation.

For her sixth action item, Williams motioned “to send out an RFP [request for proposal] for a forensic fair audit with a start date prior to 2023, recommended by an external auditor that has not had a prior relationship with Bonner County Fair for the purposes of auditing.”

Omodt seconded the motion to advance it for discussion.

“Where are the funds budgeted for this forensic audit? It is my understanding that the Office of the Prosecutor spent approximately $40,000 with — I believe it was — Swan Investigation Services [Christopher Swan Private Investigator at Resolve Investigations LLC] on a similar one,” said Omodt before moving to postpone William’s motion indefinitely, thereby attempting to end the discussion.

Omodt maintains that it’s the board’s duty to handle the audit, 4 / R / January 11, 2024

rather than other county agencies.

“The Sheriff and Prosecutor’s offices’ continued intrusion into the county audit lack authority.

The BOCC will do our job and they should do theirs in accordance with Idaho law,” Omodt told the Reader in a Jan. 10 email.

Williams did not respond to a request for further comment by press time.

Williams continued the deliberation while speaking over Omodt.

“I’d actually like to ask you publicly,” said Williams, addressing Omodt. “You wrote a letter on Dec. 4, before a decision was made by this board, and you have been asked multiple times, ‘You wrote a letter to an external auditor [Moscow-based accounting firm Hayden Ross], did you receive legal input, and if so, by whom?’”

She went on to claim that the letter “wasn’t approved” by the BOCC’s legal counsel. What’s more, in her opinion a complete forensic audit is necessary to provide a longer-term review of the fairgrounds’ financial statements. Anything less than that, she argued, would be inadequate.

“Why are there people saying that they ‘want an audit, but not really’? That’s a problem,” Williams said.

The board voted Dec. 12 to draft a letter to Hayden Ross, at the firm’s request, to correct alleged misinformation about the Bonner County Fairgrounds’ financials, which the Fair Board published in an Oct. 16 press release. The letter was intended to clarify that the county had not audited the fairgrounds’ operations in the past, but an independent auditor would include the most recent year’s expenses in the county’s FY’23 statement.

Omodt did not give Williams an explicit answer and instead called again for the vote.

“I’m going to make this meeting not reasonable if you continue,” said Williams. “We’re going to deliberate, so you deliberate or you recess and the community has a workshop on why two board

members don’t want a forensic audit of money that we can say is missing — between $40,000 and $200,000 — because of an objective opinion.”

Omodt continued to call for a vote, at which point Williams produced an additional, louder microphone from beneath the table where the board sat and continued to talk over her fellow commissioners.

The motion to postpone indefinitely passed despite the fact that Williams used her new microphone to open the meeting to public comment.

After only 26 minutes, Omodt called for a recess until 11 a.m. — the scheduled time for the board’s executive session — and he and Bradshaw left the meeting room, at which time Williams continued to host an impromptu community workshop.

Williams, Prosecutor Louis Marshall, Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson and members of the public used the recess to discuss a variety of legal questions, the issue of public comment during business meetings, the continuation of commissioner reports, criticisms of local media and future topics for Williams’ pre-business meeting “Commissioner Chats.”

The meeting resumed, then immediately went into a five-minute recess, followed by an executive session, after which it went back into session. Continuing with the agenda, Williams’ seventh motion

Commissioner Asia Williams hosts an impromptu community workshop with her own microphone during the meeting’s first recess. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell. to stream meetings on Zoom and YouTube during breaks and recesses died without a second. Her eighth motion to archive all responses to public records requests on the county’s website met the same fate, despite the fact that legal counsel “gave their opinion that once they release an item to a member of the public there isn’t a reason that it could not be archived online,” according to Williams.

Omodt brought forward the final action items, including his motion to strike commissioner reports from all meetings, which was seconded by Bradshaw. Both commissioners indicated that they did not believe the reports related to the business of Bonner County.

“The issue about the district report is not because I’m not talking about the business of Bonner County, it’s because the two of you are not talking about the business of Bonner County,” said Williams, who had instituted commissioner reports.

“Just like every single thing this board votes [in] the majority to take away, what do I do? I reinvent it, rewrap it and it becomes amazing. You took public comment away, look how many Commissioner Chats we have. Look how many agencies that participate. Look how much more community involvement you have,” said Williams.

She requested that Omodt

and Bradshaw remove their own reports from future agendas, rather than striking the concept altogether.

“Let me have my little five minutes and we don’t have to talk very long about things unnecessarily, just because you want to avoid a report that I am still going to give — just going to call it something else,” she said.

Williams stated that she will schedule her commissioner report under a different name each meeting going forward.

Omodt’s motion to eliminate commissioner reports passed with Williams dissenting. Omodt ended the action portion of the meeting by discussing the Civil Litigation Fund, which the board uses to pay all related bills. Omodt therefore moved that “all claims and bills from account 03471, lines 7100 through 7200 [from the Civil Litigation Fund] be submitted to the board of county commissioners for bill review, prior to the disbursement of funds, and to direct the risk manager to compile a comprehensive report for all Fiscal Year ’23 claims and expenses from these lines.”

Omodt further explained his motion in a Jan. 10 email to the Reader.

“The BOCC is responsible for the control of all suits and payments of claims against the county. It is

< see BOCC, Page 5 >

NEWS

Council greenlights construction design and development of Travers Park playground

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

In addition to swearing in new members and the mayor, the Sandpoint City Council voted to advance the Travers Park inclusive playground and splash pad at its Jan. 3 regular meeting — though not without some debate.

The agenda called for council to consider accepting the final schematic design of the playground and splash pad, and give the greenlight to proceed with construction documentation and procure the equipment needed to build out the structures.

However, prior to taking up the agenda, Councilor Justin Dick made a motion to table the item in order to give incoming Councilors Pam Duquette and Kyle Schreiber more time to get up to speed on the information contained in the council packet.

Councilor Joel Aispuro seconded that motion, but Councilor Jason Welker — who was named council president later in the meeting — raised his concern about delaying the decision.

“Obviously there’s a lot of passion about it in the community,” he said, referring to a long season of discontent among many in the community who feel that both the Russell Sports Center and playground facility are unnecessarily expensive and disruptive to Travers Park.

“If we postpone the construction design phase of this any further, we risk getting into late fall or early winter,” Welker said, adding later that tabling it “does risk this project not being completed in 2024. We have a strict timeline here.”

Dick rescinded his motion to table after further consideration, noting that he had failed to fully take into account the overall construction schedule.

Park Planning and Development Manager Maeve Nevins-Lavtar provided a presentation on the project, telling councilors that while construction is planned to commence in the summer, prices for construction materials and

< BOCC, con’t from Page 4 > our statutory responsibility to have oversight of where taxpayer dollars are being spent. It’s wrong when elected officials use taxpayer funds without statutory authority,” he wrote.

During the Jan. 9 meeting, Omodt refused to answer Williams’ repeated requests to know if legal counsel approved his motion, and instead called for a vote.

“One of the consequences of this meeting is it will be deemed that you didn’t deliberate and she [Williams] asked a ques-

labor are rising between 10% and 15% every three months, making time of the essence.

“There is a cost advantage to building this summer,” she said, adding that the crews already on-site could bid on the project, and benefit from the fact that they’re already mobilized.

“In addition, I’m trying to order the equipment as soon as possible,” Nevins-Lavtar said.

Construction drawings are still being fleshed out and some changes are anticipated in the final design. Meanwhile, once the project goes out to bid it must follow the Buy America Act, meaning the city can buy off of government procurement lists that have already been vetted.

“The city will get the best price for this, plus we don’t have to lose money to the markup that a contractor will do,” Nevins-Lavtar said.

As it is, the city is chipping in $561,000 for the playground and splash pad, with federal dollars covering the other 50% of the approximate $1.1 million price tag.

Nevins-Lavtar said “there’s still another step,” when staff will return to council and ask for permission to put the project out to bid. Mike Terrell, principal and landscape architect with MT-LA, which is working on the project, went on to say that design refinement and completion of construction drawings will happen before that. Officials will also need to review and incorporate the 270 responses to a survey on the project, then buy equipment and bid for construction. The first major work at the site will be the demolition of the existing restrooms at the park.

Terrell echoed Nevins-Lavtar’s estimate that the playground would be open for use in the fall of 2024, though, “It is unlikely that we’ll be able to open the splash pad when it’s warm enough to use.” Rather, that component is anticipated to be open for play around Memorial Day 2025.

Duquette applauded the design, which incorporates equipment and play structures designed to exceed Americans with Dis-

abilities Act requirements. She also thanked planners for moving the playground site farther to the north, away from the parking area, which several community members had requested.

However, she expressed concern that the latest round of public comments hadn’t yet been reviewed or incorporated into the project — nor had she been given the chance to see them.

“That’s what I feel disadvantaged at,” she said, going on to underscore the importance of public feedback and support for the project.

“Travers Park has been kind of a nightmare for the community; I’d hate to see that continue,” Duquette said, adding that despite the amount of time that’s already been devoted to the project, she still felt the process was moving too quickly. What’s more, she questioned the necessity of the splash pad.

“It’s expensive. We have 9,000 acres of splashing water,” she said, referring to Lake Pend Oreille, and going on to point out that the amenity would be unusable during the winter months.

“I know you guys are really into this.

I’m not poo-pooing it,” she added. “I guess I’m just wondering what a couple of weeks will impact.”

Schreiber, too, thanked planners for their work on the project, but also said he wants to see a “better, more focused design” and to send that out for public review.

“At the very best scenario this is going to be finished right as the snow flies,” he said.

“I think it’s much more important for us to get this right than to get it right now. … I don’t want the next time we address this to be ‘take-it-or-leave-it.’”

Likewise, several members of the public questioned the sense of urgency in getting the project moving toward construction.

“I think we all know that two weeks isn’t putting this project at risk for being completed in 2024,” said Sandpoint resident Molly McCahon, who led protests at Travers Park in the fall, going so far as to chain herself to a mature willow tree slated for removal to

make way for the Russell Sports Center.

Still others testified in favor of moving forward with the project, including lifelong Sandpoint resident Chris Owens, who underscored the importance of adding an inclusive play area not only for local kids, but parents, too. Owens uses a wheelchair after a logging accident 14 years ago, and told councilors that the support he felt from the community enabled him to move forward with his life.

“I think that’s the real identity of Sandpoint — it’s not the nostalgia of certain places or how they look, but it’s the love and all the support that goes into this community and everything we do to help each other,” he said. “So I would just hope that some feeling of nostalgia doesn’t prevent certain people in the community from embracing those who either now have a difficult life or maybe were born with a difficult life.”

Speaking directly to the inclusive playground and splash pad project, Owens said that when he went to Travers Park in the past, he had to remain “close to my children but always from a distance, because I couldn’t get in there to swing with them — or, if I chose to go in, I better have someone help me get back out because my kids couldn’t do it.”

During closing discussion on the agenda item, Welker recognized that while the council had heard both sides of the issue, “This is old business; this is something we’ve been working on for a year,” then made the motion to move into construction design and development with a second from Aispuro.

Schreiber moved to amend the motion to include a design workshop at 60% completion, with a second from Duquette, but that failed with “no” votes from Aispuro, Dick and Welker.

“I’m just not quite comfortable writing a million-dollar check not knowing what we’re buying,” Schrieber said.

The motion to approve the design schematic and proceed with construction documents passed 3-2, with Duquette and Schreiber opposed.

tion, therefore everything is invalid. This was a very long day and we don’t want to redo it,” said Williams.

Omodt’s motion to funnel all civil litigation bills through the board passed with Williams stating, “I’m not voting and you don’t get to bypass my vote,” which her fellow commissioners interpreted as an abstention, despite Williams’ insistence that it was not.

It was unclear by presstime how the official record would reflect her vote.

Omodt attempted to transition into the

public comment portion of the meeting — bypassing the agendized commissioner reports in light of his previous motion.

Williams insisted that his motion would only take effect during the next business meeting, but was cut off when Omodt called for a two-hour recess.

The meeting resumed in order to take public comment, then broke for a five-minute recess, resumed again, then broke again and resumed a final time to allow the board to enter into another executive session.

“I don’t accept this constant idea of pushing the public out because you [Omodt] don’t like that they don’t like the way that you look at them, the way you stare at them, the way you try to dress them down and you do — and have — used rude, disrespectful language to members of the public while sitting here demanding that they treat you better than you deserve to be treated in these meetings,” said Williams, adding, “The way you run this meeting is disgusting.”

January 11, 2024 / R / 5

NEWS

Bits ’n’ Pieces

Idaho’s statewide From east, west and beyond population growth East, west or beyond, sooner or later now-former-NYPD Officer Sal Greco, who events elsewhere may have a local impact. A worked security for Stone, to assassinate outpaced the nation in 2023 recent sampling: Stone’s enemies: House Democrats Jerry

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

By Reader Staff

If it feels like Idaho’s population has risen at a rapid pace over the past year, it’s because it has.

According to new numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, released Jan. 5 by the Idaho Department of Labor, the Gem State grew by a whopping 1.3% between July 2022 and July 2023, when the data was gathered. That’s compared to the national growth rate of 0.5%, which itself was higher than 2021 and 2022, which measured 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.

Idaho’s 2023 population increase ranked it fourth nationally for percentage growth, though it fell seven places to 17th in the nation for numerical growth, with a total population of 1,964,726 as of July 2023. The U.S. population, meanwhile, rose to 334,914,895.

Census officials stated that population increases across the country were bolstered in part by an almost 9% decline in deaths — which made up for an overall reduction in nationwide births — coupled with higher rates of immigration. Taken together, those trends resulted in the largest rise in national population since 2018.

South Carolina and Florida represented the three fastest-growing states, marking increases of 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.58%, respectively, followed by Idaho.

Texas had the largest numerical increase, with more than 473,000 new residents, followed by Florida, with 365,000. That typified the overall growth trend, with the U.S. South accounting for the largest population increase in the nation: 706,000 people 6 / R / January 11, 2024

moved to the region from elsewhere in the country and net international migration totaled almost 500,000 during the year.

While most states experienced a population rebound from 2022 to 2023, only eight saw a decline: New York lost the most, down 0.52%, followed by Louisiana (-0.31%), Hawaii (-0.3%), Illinois (-0.26%), West Virginia (-0.22%), California (-0.19%), Oregon (-0.14%) and Pennsylvania (-0.08%).

In contrast, 18 states saw declining populations from 2021 to 2022, the Census Bureau reported.

A closer examination of Idaho’s 2023 population growth reveals a shift, with 78% attributed to in-migration (primarily domestic) and 22% from natural change (births minus deaths), compared to 10% in 2022. International migration increased from 5% in 2022 to 18% in 2023. In total, Idaho added 25,730 new residents year over year.

The Census Bureau expects to release population estimates for Idaho’s metropolitan statistical areas, counties and cities in the spring of 2024. Full tables are accessible at https://lmi.idaho. gov/census.

Higher minimum wages were recently enacted in 22 states, affecting close to 10 million workers. The wage increase is expected to reduce the cost of government assistance programs paid for by taxpayers.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, if the federal minimum wage increased to $15 by 2025, “annual government expenditures on major public assistance programs would fall” by up to $31 billion.

The unemployment rate has remained steady at 3.7% — the longest duration since the Vietnam War, numerous media reported. As well, 216,000 jobs were added in December 2023.

Colorado, Maine and Illinois have petitioned to have former-President Donald Trump removed from their states’ primary ballots on the basis that the insurrection clause in the 14th Amendment prohibits his candidacy. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case that determines if Trump can even be on the ballot.

Trump recently failed to sign a candidate pledge in Illinois declaring he would not advocate for an overthrow of the government, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The pledge requires the candidate to swear that he or she is not a communist, nor affiliated with communist organizations, and that the candidate does not directly or indirectly “teach or advocate the overthrow of the government … by force or any unlawful means.”

Meanwhile, Trump was in a D.C. courtroom this week regarding his claim of immunity from prosecution by virtue of having been president. CNN reported that Trump’s attorneys argued his prosecution should be avoided because it “would open a Pandora’s box,” such as bringing into question prosecution of President George Bush Jr. for giving false information to Congress, which led to the Iraq war. The Justice Department countered with a statement that no president is above the law. One Trump attorney said a president who ordered the military to assassinate a political rival, or sold pardons to criminals, could only be subject to criminal prosecution if they were first impeached and convicted by Congress.

Trump was previously impeached but not convicted by the U.S. Senate, the BBC noted.

Based on audio conversation before the 2020 election, Mediaite.com reported that Trump-advocate Roger Stone wanted

Nadler and Eric Swalwell. At that time, Nadler had announced that the House Judiciary Committee would investigate then-President Trump’s decision to commute Stone’s sentence for federal crimes. Stone says the audio was AI-generated; Greco had no such denial, but said, “I don’t think your reader is interested in ancient political fodder.”

The U.S. Congress is focused on a 2024 budget bill for avoiding a government shutdown this month. CBS reported that so far budget cuts, which will please Republicans, will include funding cuts both for COVID-related support and the IRS (the latter has generated significant budget revenue by going after wealthy tax cheats). Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said the plans “will not satisfy everyone.” Farright House Republicans have objections.

After Republicans kicked the budget can down the road for months, they now have just days to finalize a solution — or not. A further complication: The House Republican majority is smaller due to the resignations of Kevin McCarthy and Bill Johnson, and the expulsion of George Santos.

At least $7.8 million in payments were made to Trump-owned properties while he served as president, according to accounting firm papers reviewed by the House Oversight Committee. The largest investment of $5.5 million came from China. CNN noted that Trump’s lawyers had said foreign profits from his hotels would be donated to the U.S. Treasury, but 2017 and 2018 donations were “well short of estimated foreign payments.”

The committee report says documents reviewed show Trump frequently violated the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause that prohibits profiting from any “king, prince or foreign state” without congressional consent.

Trump chose Truth Social to distribute a video claiming that God determined his “planned paradise” needed a caretaker, “so God gave us Trump.” Business Insider offered a different take on Trump’s religious state: Mike Pence, who served as vice president under Trump and has a reputation for being “deeply” religious, joked at a Gridiron Dinner that some of the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago were in the president’s Bible, “which proves he had absolutely no idea they were there.”

Blast from the past: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t like them — well, I have others.” — Groucho Marx, U.S. comedian (1890-1977)

NEWS

Gov. Little calls for 10-year project to replace aging school buildings in State of the State speech Governor says state should prioritize investments in transportation, calling for additional $200M in FY 2025 budget to improve local bridges

By Clark Corbin and Mia Maldonado Idaho Capital Sun

Idaho Gov. Brad Little put forth a 10-year, $2 billion plan to address Idaho’s aging, crumbling public school buildings during his State of the State address Jan. 8 at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.

Little and his aides said the proposal would represent the largest investment in school facilities in state history. Little’s recommendation follows a 2022 Office of Performance Evaluations report that estimated it would take $847 million to get all of the state’s school buildings up to good condition.

The report noted that nearly 60% of school district leaders who responded to a state survey described the condition of the school buildings as “fair” or “poor.”

During the State of the State address, Little told legislators he visited a school in Salmon that had sewage seeping into a space under the school cafeteria. It’s time, Little said, to stop kicking the can down the road.

“Folks, we can do better,” Little said in his speech. “The can we are kicking is getting heavier, and we are running out of road.”

Little says education, literacy, raising teacher pay remains a top priority Little used his speech to tout some of the state’s accomplishments in public school education since he was first elected in 2018, including increasing teacher pay, prioritizing a literacy initiative for students in kindergarten through third grade and putting forward his Idaho Launch program, which provides $8,000 grants for Idaho high school graduates and home school graduates who pursue workforce training for an in-demand career in Idaho.

But Little said in his State of the State address that Idaho is not meeting the requirement in the Idaho Constitution to “establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.”

“One area in particular needs work, and that’s school facilities,” Little said in the speech.

“We’ve all seen the pictures and videos from some Idaho schools that are neglected — crumbing, leaking, falling apart,” Little added.

In the areas of education, Little made several recommendations for the fiscal year 2025 budget that legislators will set, including: $75 million in funding to pay for workforce training grants for up to 10,000 Idaho graduates through the Idaho Launch program; $40 million in so-called outcomes-based funding for public schools that meet literacy or math goals, or that meet goals for the number of high school graduates who earn workforce or postsecondary education credentials; $32 million in funding for university infrastructure projects; and $9 million for college and career advisers for high school students.

Little touts Idaho Works plan, including increased funding for transportation Overall, Gov. Little described his FY’25 budget recommendations as the “Idaho Works plan.” In conjunction with his State of the State address and budget recommendations, Little and his staff also reduced the state’s revenue projections down to $5.3 billion. With federal COVID-19 stimulus funds expiring or being exhausted and state revenue growth slowing, Little’s staff said the governor focused his budget recommendations on bolstering a few priorities instead of being able to address all of the state’s wants and needs.

Little called for spending an additional $200 million in the FY’25 budget to improve local bridges. If the Idaho Legislature approves the funding, it would add to $400 million in funding that legislators approved for bridge repair and replacement projects over the previous two years. Little also asked for an additional $50 million in bonding authority for the Idaho Transportation Department.

During the speech, Little said Idaho is home to 900 bridges that are rated as poor or pre-date the 1969 moon landing.

“Our Idaho Works plan also calls for the repair or replacement of the last onethird of dilapidated bridges throughout our state,” Little said in the speech.

“Let’s prioritize the transportation projects that will benefit generations of Idahoans so we can keep Idahoans safe and enjoy more of what we love,” Little added.

Idaho schools chief, legislators react to Little’s 10-year schools facilities proposal Moments after Little finished delivering his speech, Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said she is excited about what the state could accomplish with $2 billion for school facilities needs.

“Many of our communities have struggled getting bonds passed. We have aging facilities, a rather recent report came out a year or so ago saying that there was a billion-dollar deficit and things are more expensive,” Critchfield said in an interview at the Idaho State Capitol.

“I am thrilled that we now have the attention of our legislators, our governor and I’m excited,” Critchfield added. “I will be at the first of the line to support and promote this as it moves its way through the Legislature.”

Later on Jan. 8, legislative leaders from both major parties expressed interest in Little’s school facilities proposal.

House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, said the funding is sorely needed, but still would not be enough to take care of all of the state’s aging and damaged school buildings.

“We need a billion dollars today for our school facilities, and that is just to repair the ones we’ve got, that’s not to build new schools for all the influx of new people coming here. That’s not accounting for the things that are going to break next year, or the year after or the year after,” Rubel told reporters.

“Ten years from now, we are probably going to need $6 billion to fix our schools.”

Also on Jan. 8, House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said Republicans in the Idaho House agree on the need for facilities work, but the detail of the proposal will matter to legislators and determine their support. Moyle voiced an interest in using the property tax reduction package in House Bill 292 from 2023 to direct additional funding for facilities to schools.

But Moyle also criticized Little’s budget proposal for including what he called budget gimmicks. Moyle and House Republicans released a chart from the Legislative Services Office in the afternoon of Jan. 8 that challenged Little’s bottom line on the FY’25 budget, which House Republicans said calls for a 7.8% increase in state general fund spending — not the 2.2% spending increase Little described.

Moyle and House Republicans said the difference comes down to Little requesting to shift funding and revenue within the budgets. “[There is] a lot of concern about his budget — it’s a little higher than I think what we’re being told it is,” Moyle told reporters.

Idaho Democrats anticipate culture war fights, attack on vulnerable groups The Idaho Democratic Party provided a statement to the press after the governor’s speech, addressing some of the party’s goals to provide quality education, health care and infrastructure.

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, told the press that the party is excited that Little wants to prioritize improving school facilities, but that it “never should have gotten to this point in the first place,” noting that there are Idaho schools with faulty wiring, leaking roofs and sewage problems.

Wintrow said the party will oppose a “renewed voucher scheme,” or legislation that would help Idahoans fund private education with public funds.

In the health care realm, Wintrow said that the party is concerned for the direct care workforce and doctors at risk of criminalization under Idaho’s abortion law. She said the party will advocate for increased Medicaid coverage and to restore the state’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee — the committee that previously reviewed maternal deaths related to pregnancy.

Rubel said she anticipates “culture war distractions” this session, and that there will be attacks on vulnerable minority communities, libraries and voting rights.

“We, Democrats, will continue to stand up to those attacks,” she said. “And we will work to protect all our freedoms, from reproductive rights, voting rights, freedom of expression, and we will fight hard for the things we know Idahoans actually want and will benefit from such as well-funded schools, workforce training, affordable housing, property tax relief, safe roads and bridges, public safety and health care access.”

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

January 11, 2024 / R / 7

Letter to the editor...

Don’t let nostalgia stand in the way of inclusion…

Bouquets: • Here’s a Bouquet for Justine Murray, owner of La Chic Boutique in Sandpoint and president of the Ethan Murray Fund, whose mission is to empower and support individuals in need by providing financial assistance for mental health services in our community. Murray took a personal tragedy and turned it into a vehicle to help others in need, and we’re all better off for it. Keep up the good work, Justine. You’re an inspiration to all of us.

• A special thanks goes out to Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, our former news editor, who agreed to come out of retirement to sit at my desk and help out while I’m away on vacation. The rest of the staff really appreciates having her back to help ensure they don’t get too overloaded putting together the upcoming editions in my absence. Good to have you back, Lyndsie, even if I’m not there to hang out.

Barbs: • Here’s a Barb to all three of our Bonner County commissioners. I understand the difficulties of having a public-facing job, especially in a small community like Sandpoint. However, I have grown tired of the weekly dumpster fire that has become the board of commissioners meetings. We pay these people close to six figures a year, and it seems 80% of their time is spent arguing about the same nonsense each and every week. Hell, I do that for a fraction of the pay, and no taxpayer funds go into my salary. Also, a Barb goes to the group of about a dozen citizens who march into the BOCC meetings every week with, it seems, the sole goal to waste time, sow doubt, self-aggrandize and cast aspersions on the commissioners. I’m all for public testimony at government meetings, but I also want to remind these incessant nitpickers that this is a county of more than 50,000 people. You represent about 0.04% of that total population. Your opinions are no more or less important than the other 99.96%.

8 / R / January 11, 2024

Dear editor, “The real identity of Sandpoint is not the nostalgia of certain places or how they look, but it’s the love and all the support that goes into this community and everything we do to help each other. I would just hope that some feeling of nostalgia does not prevent certain people in the community from embracing those who either now have a difficult life or maybe were born with a difficult life.”

These words were spoken during public comment on the Travers Park Inclusive Playground schematic design at the Jan. 3 City Council meeting by a generational lifelong local who has himself experienced firsthand the struggle that Sandpoint’s lack of truly inclusive infrastructure imposes on those in our community who have different

abilities. Council, in a 3-2 vote, went on to approve advancing the playground to the construction design phase, with the expectation that construction will begin in the spring and Sandpoint’s first inclusive playground will open later in 2024.

The City Council, with two new members and chaired by our new Mayor Jeremy Grimm, will continue to advance improvements at Travers Park, and will continue listening to those in our community whose experiences can best inform the needed investments going forward to make Sandpoint truly livable by all, regardless of their level of physical ability or economic standing.

Sandpoint’s community master plans are not, despite what some would say, about building glitzy amenities for tourists; they are about implementing needed infrastructure investments that will improve quality of life for Sandpoint residents. Those who want to slow

down or pause the implementation of these master plans should first understand who they are for and why we have invested so much in developing them over the years.

All of Sandpoint’s master plans can be viewed at sandpointidaho. gov/your-government/master-plans.

Jason Welker City Council member Sandpoint

No party affiliation required…

Dear editor, Lucky for us, a team of 107 unpaid, Bonner County citizens have collected 2,569 signatures for the Open Primaries Initiative. Boundary County’s 16 volunteers have collected 434. Each signature will be individually verified by the Bonner and Boundary Elections Offices. We don’t have to spend anything like the $800,000 said by some experts to be “all” that is necessary for paid signature collectors. Signature gatherers throughout Idaho are volunteering to do this for free!

Moreover, if signatures were collected by paid workers, it would not be a citizens initiative, it would be a whoever-has-or-can-raise-$800,000 initiative.

Our legislators in Boise should be supported by more voters. Presto! The Open Primaries Initiative guarantees that the winner of local and state elections has that broader support. After the initiative passes, everyone will vote in a single primary — including about 275,000 independent voters — that’s 30% of voters in Idaho!

How would you like to see more than one Republican on the ballot in the general election?

Sign the petition at La Chic Boutique (107 Main St., in Sandpoint) to put the Open Primaries Initiative on the ballot this November, so we can find out whether voters want it.

Then vote for it this November.

No party affiliation required.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

Turkey talk of the town

By Patricia Ericsson Reader Contributor A flock of wild turkeys invaded South Sandpoint in mid-October.

Numbering up to 16 birds, these prehistoric-looking fowl survived Thanksgiving dinner and in early January are still strutting through the neighborhood, inciting normally unruffled dogs into fits of barking, lunging and end-of-leash acrobatics. Some human residents, having taken a dislike to the invasion, can be heard hissing, yelling, clapping and even banging pans to deter the invaders. Neither the canines nor humans have had a lasting deterrent effect. The dudes abide.

One local dog walker commented that the flock seems to have “lookouts” who watch the paths and streets to warn flockmates of oncoming humans and canines. The largest birds seem to take on this role, although wandering splinter groups of two or three birds can be observed. Another regular Lakeview Park dog walker has learned to recognize turkey calls and can sometimes avoid the flock and resulting canine antics.

Partial to the fenced area of the wastewater treatment plant and the tree cover of the North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum,

these new South Sandpoint residents roam to the west on Birch Street, happily checking lawns and gardens for meals of seeds, berries, buds, leaves, fern fronds, roots and insects. As omnivores, wild turkeys will occasionally eat small amphibians and reptiles.

Known as agile flyers, they head for sturdy branches of large conifers near twilight for a safe sleep. They also use these large trees for cover during high winds and snow storms.

Despite hanging out in the Native Plant Arboretum, these turkeys are not native to North Idaho. Three turkey subspecies were introduced to Idaho starting in 1961, but more than 90% in the Panhandle are reported to be Merriam’s wild turkeys.

If you are not fortunate to experience the South Sandpoint turkeys, there is plenty of wild turkey fun to be found online.

One particularly engaging story is “My Life as a Turkey,” which features video of wild turkeys playing with deer and squirrels.

Although that behavior hasn’t yet been observed in South Sandpoint, no interaction would please this writer more than seeing a moose calf cavorting with the local flock of Meleagris gallopavo merriami.

Weekly Wednesday Line Dancing Lessons 6:30-8:30pm

207 N. First Ave. Sandpoint LiveFromTheHive.com

OPINION

Highlights from a year on the BOCC Look past the drama to see the real accomplishments of 2023

By Luke Omodt, District 1 Bonner County Commissioner Reader Contributor

As a retired soldier and teacher with 25 years of public service, including 15 years in a classroom and multiple overseas deployments, I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into when I was elected as your Bonner County commissioner. Local politics is a rough-andtumble sport. Fortunately, I grew up on a farm and am an avid gardener, so when I’m given manure I choose to recognize it as a future growth opportunity.

Here in Bonner County, your local Board of County Commissioners, BOCC, are a dynamic bunch. If you take a break from the slights, mud slinging and booger flicking, we are actually working and — more importantly — accomplishing our statutory responsibility, which is to serve you, the taxpayer.

There have been bumps and bruises along the way, but here are some of the highlights and accomplishments from my first year in office.

1. The EMS Station 1 construction project will be completed in 2024, modernizing EMS, Veterans Services and Coroner’s facilities. This project has been funded through wise and prudent fiscal policy that will modernize and serve Bonner County for decades to come.

2. The Bonner County Road and Bridge Department has received approximately $25 million in grants, with zero county match, funding six replacement bridges.

We’re chasing a seventh bridge replacement, and are submitting a $2.75 million grant to upgrade the Merritt Brothers Bridge in Priest River.

3. Bonner County has updated and adopted 13 of 16 required components to the Comprehensive Plan with multiple opportunities for public input. It’s not too late to make your voice heard on the remaining three, which will be completed in spring 2024.

Luke Omodt. File photo.

4. The Planning Department has posted all of its monthly updates for 2023 and will continue in 2024. The growth in Bonner County is slowing, but still growing. There have been fewer Comprehensive Plan amendments, zone changes and minor land divisions in 2023 than years past.

5. The BOCC has returned human resources and risk management to where they statutorily belong, fixed a dysfunctional federal procurement policy to better serve Bonner County and required the Prosecutor’s Office — our legal counsel — to attend business meetings in accordance with Idaho Code 31-2607, all to better protect the taxpayer and to meet our statutory obligations 6. The regular business meeting agenda and packet is calendared on our website homepage and we are in the midst of a much needed update. The update will improve site navigation, be less clunky and have more self-serve options.

Check out our existing site at bonnercountyid.gov to see what your county government is up to.

7. The Bonner County Fairgrounds is going to receive an independent outside audit for the first time in decades. Bonner County will continue to receive independent outside audits as required by law.

8. The Emergency Management Department BonFire Program continues to protect private property at no cost to private landowners by removing hazardous fuels, ladder fuels and increasing tree spacing. We have one of the best programs in the state. Check it out, protect your property and tell your neighbors about it, too.

9. Bonner County and Pend Oreille County, Wash., have had a mutual aid road maintenance agreement since the early 1970s. The last update was in 1995 and our two counties updated this agreement on Jan. 2, 2024, continuing this long-term relationship into the future and benefiting both counties’ and states’ taxpayers.

10. The BOCC worked with the Sheriff’s Office to raise detention wages to retain and recruit highly qualified and valued detention staff to maintain public safety.

I revert to my teacher days as a reminder that what we are experiencing in Bonner County, the United States and the world is not new.

George Washington wasn’t a member

of a political party and the first and only president elected unanimously by the electoral college. The election of 1796 was bitterly partisan, with John Adams smearing Thomas Jefferson and vice versa with barbs of sexual infidelities, fat shaming, vote manipulation and so on. The presidential rematch of 1800 got worse…

Jefferson’s supporters called Adams a hermaphrodite and Adams’ supporters said Jefferson would openly promote prostitution, incest and adultery. The race ended in a tie, leading to the 12th Amendment and Aaron Burr killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel shortly thereafter.

You do not see caravans of people fleeing the United States, Idaho or Bonner County. In fact, it’s just the opposite for good reason. Vigorous debate and disagreement is not a sign of dysfunction but of a working democratic republic.

This is a great place to work, live and play.

I’ve made mistakes but I’m learning and remain steadfast in my optimism and commitment to Bonner County. If you have questions email me at luke. omodt@bonnercountyid.gov. If you are going to attend a weekly business meeting, bring popcorn.

Luke Omodt represents District 3 on the Bonner County Board of Commissioners, comprising the areas immediately north of Sandpoint and the eastern portion of the county.

January 11, 2024 / R / 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

space in 2024

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist 2024 is set to be a landmark year when it comes to scientific pursuits. Fusion energy is racing toward reality with multiple repeated ignitions from around the globe. Electric vehicles are leapfrogging battery capacity and racing toward a complete overhaul of transportation for both people and cargo. Artificial intelligence is making astounding, albeit terrifying, gains that could completely redefine what it means to be human.

All of these exciting developments make it easy to miss a lot of exciting things happening above our heads.

This year will be the first time since 1972 that humans orbit the moon. The Artemis II mission seeks to expand on the success of Artemis I in 2022, when an unmanned spacecraft took off from Earth, whipped around the moon and returned safely home. This time, a crew of four — including the first woman to orbit the moon, astronaut Christina Koch — will make the trip around the moon and back.

If the mission is as successful as Artemis I, it will lay the foundation for Artemis III in 2025, when humans will set foot on the lunar surface once again — a generational first.

The goals of the Artemis missions are far greater than NASA simply showing off.

These missions seek to explore the viability of long-term human habitation on the moon. Earth’s gravitational field, while keeping us safe and sound from all sorts of non-Lovecraftian cosmic terrors, also creates a number of difficulties when trying to 10 / R / January 11, 2024

travel to other places in the solar system.

Trying to pull mineral-rich asteroids to Earth without accidentally leveling a city or wiping out an entire ecosystem also becomes tricky when taking gravity into account. Luckily for us, we have a low-gravity neighbor that sports virtually zero risk of collateral damage. Additionally, the low gravity of the moon also means we need considerably less energy to move a payload from the lunar surface than we would from Earth.

Using the moon as a sort of truck stop from deeper in the solar system gives us the ability to safely quarantine potentially hazardous materials, minimize polluting our own environment on Earth and gives us the opportunity to use less fuel to travel much farther.

NASA isn’t the only entity pushing limits in 2024. SpaceX will continue testing Starship, which it tested twice in 2023.

You may remember news of both tests ending in explosions, which sounds much more dramatic and terrible than it actually was. The data collected by these missions — explosions and all — was above and beyond what the engineers had hoped to acquire from the tests.

In 2025, SpaceX will be assisting NASA in the Artemis III launch as Starship carries the Orion spacecraft and astronauts central to the mission. This year, SpaceX will be working to learn how to refuel Starship in orbit as well as on the lunar surface. The strides already made by SpaceX regarding its reusable rockets and boosters will go a long way when it comes to setting up an orbital and lunar refuel. This will be the first time in human history

that anything like this has ever been attempted.

This year, NASA has its sights set on targets much farther than our nearest celestial neighbor. Europa Clipper will be departing from Earth this year and is set to make nearly 50 passes

by Jupiter’s icy ocean moon, Europa. The nearest approach the craft is set to make will be 16 miles above the icy crust.

This mission is big for a lot of reasons. The first is that it is literally the biggest planetary mission spacecraft NASA has ever developed. Once the solar arrays have deployed, the craft will stretch nearly one-third the length of a football field, while its core will be 16 feet high. In the case of this mission, size matters. Jupiter emits a tremendous amount of radiation, which can easily fry sensitive electronic equipment. The guts of Europa Clipper will be well armored to prevent that from happening. The gas giant is also at least five times the distance from the sun as Earth, so powering those electronics will require the massive 100-foot array in order to capture enough sunlight to continue working.

The mission’s primary goals are to try and glimpse the ocean beneath the moon’s massive ice sheets. It’s the second-most likely body in our solar system to support life after Earth, and being able to confirm the presence of microbial life could tell us a lot about life in general — for better or worse.

There exists an idea called “The Great Filter,” which could explain why we have yet to find any intelligent life outside of Earth. The idea of The Great Filter is that something prevents life from evolving past a

certain stage — at the moment, that appears to be abiogenesis, or the transition from chemicals into organic life. Finding actual microbial life on another planet that, until 2024, has had absolutely no contact with life from Earth, could mean that life is not that rare and that we as a species have not yet bumped into The Great Filter.

Sounds exciting, right?

Finding evidence of living microbes outside of Earth would

actually mean that abiogenesis isn’t that rare, and that instead we’re much more likely to face the cause of our extinction as a species at any moment.

Of course, it’s also possible that we’re just the metaphorical bison in an interstellar Yellowstone preserve, left to our own devices until some starfaring tourist decides to get too close with a selfie stick and catch a nuclear hoof to the face.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner s?

Don’t know much about guitar • The first guitar-like instrument dates back about 3,500 years to ancient Egypt, though it more resembled a lute or banjo than a guitar. The “Lute of Har-Mose” was a skin-headed tanbur found in an Egyptian tomb. It had three strings and was played with a plectrum, or flat pick, which was still attached to it by a horsehair cord.

• The Guinness Book of World Records bestowed the title of “World’s Biggest Functioning Guitar” to one made by the Academy of Science and Technology in Texas.

The instrument is just over 43 feet long, which is longer than a Greyhound bus. The instrument is playable and weighs 2,255 pounds.

• The shortest guitar is just 10 microns, which is roughly the size of a solitary human cell. With the proper equipment (an atomic force microscope), one could strum this instrument, but at inaudible frequencies.

• The first electric guitar was invented in 1937 by G.D. Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker.

We can help!

It was dubbed the “Rickenbacker Frying Pan.” • The Martin 1959 D-18 acoustic guitar that Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain played during the band’s MTV Unplugged performance in 1993 sold at auction in 2020 for a whopping $6 million, earning it the title of the most expensive guitar ever sold.

• Irishman Dave Browne set the record for playing the guitar for the longest period of time in 2011. Browne played 114 hours and 20 minutes straight. He was allowed a 30-second break between songs, plus a 40-minute break every eight hours. Now that’s a long guitar solo.

• Leo Fender, whose name has become synonymous with guitars, didn’t know how to play the instrument. He didn’t even know how to tune them.

• An “air guitar” was once sold on eBay for $5.50 after the seller claimed it was used at a Bon Jovi gig.

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

Right: For the past several years, the Community Assistance League has partnered with Sandpoint Area Seniors to deliver unexpected gifts. CAL members adopt an anonymous senior, buy him or her gifts, wrap them in a single package and take them to the Senior Center in Sandpoint.

From there, SASi takes over and distributes the appropriate packages to the volunteer drivers of the Meals-on-Wheels program, which delivers the packages with the day’s meal. CAL is funded by proceeds from its thrift store, Bizarre Bazaar. Photo submitted by Jan Harrison.

Bottom left: A fairy castle rises from Lake Pend Oreille’s frozen mud.

Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

Bottom middle: Emma the cat likes to devour the Reader every week.

“She likes the covers unless I remove them right away,” said photographer Jane Fritz.

Bottom right: Ooo Ooo the Poodle’s big adventure in the wintertime.

Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.

January 11, 2024 / R / 11

PERSPECTIVES

A refresher on Skier Safety Month As the snow starts to pile up, remember how to stay safe on the slopes

By Tom Eddy Reader Contributor Welcome to the new year from Schweitzer Ski Patrol!

January looks to bring new (and much needed) snow to the region, and also the National Ski Area Association Skier Safety Month. As part of Skier Safety Month, we would like to offer you the newest version of “Your Responsibility Code.”

This code first appeared in 1962 and the most recent revision in 2022 added three more points for a total of 10. The new version also changes the language a little bit, offering a more direct message.

Whenever you purchase a lift ticket or season pass, you agree to follow this code for your safety and that of others around you. Let’s take a closer look at “Your Responsibility Code” and provide a little additional translation.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Always stay in control. You must be able to stop or avoid people or objects. Adapt your skiing or riding style to the conditions as well as the crowds.

Physics dictates that harder conditions contribute to longer stopping distances. More crowded slopes require a slower, more controlled pace, as do low-visibility conditions.

People ahead or downhill of you have the right of way. You must avoid them. Regardless of the actions of the person downhill, it is your responsibility to avoid them. A class of beginners winding their way back and forth across the trail? You need to yield to them.

Stop only where you are visible from above and do not restrict traffic. Please don’t stop below a terrain feature that blocks you from above. Nor should you stop in the middle of the run as this could impede the flow of skiers.

Look uphill and avoid others before starting downhill or entering a trail. Just as in a car, check your surroundings and make sure the coast is clear

A Schweitzer safety worker, and four-legged partner, makes sure everyone stays safe on the mountain.

Photo courtesy of Schweitzer.

5.

6.

7.

before pulling out into traffic.

You must prevent runaway equipment. Retention straps or brakes are required on all snow-going equipment. Also secure your equipment properly while visiting the Sky House — we have recovered many runaway snowboards from North Bowl.

Read and obey all signs, warnings and hazard markings. We use bamboo, ribbon, rope lines and small flags to mark hazards. If you see a “SLOW” banner, slow down. If terrain is marked “CLOSED,” it is closed unless Ski Patrol is assessing it. One thing to consider, if all of the gates uphill are closed, you are not allowed to traverse back into that terrain from the next open gate.

Keep off closed trails and out of closed areas.

We do have avalanche terrain here at Schweitzer,

‘Do you guys do any Willie?’

By Mike Wagoner Reader Contributor New Year’s Day has a kind of feeling to it doesn’t it?

Sometimes, not a very good one. For me, this time around I found myself lookin’ back at all those years I played and sang in bars for grocery money and, if tips were good, a little fancy beer. It began to dawn on me that for the most part I played other people’s tunes. I benefited from their work… not in a huge way, but I had some fun and drank for free a lot, which is sort of interesting. What other job is there where drinking is not only tolerated but sometimes even encouraged.

“I’ll buy you a beer if you play Country Roads again.”

12 / R / January 11, 2024

“OK.” I remember one gig really well… it was the mid-’80s… I had a trio called “Trapper Creek.” We were booked at a place in Sandpoint on First Avenue… It was either called Shenanigans or the Middle Earth Tavern. When we pulled up in our band rig to set up, there were 14 Harleys parked out front in a tight formation… each front tire was angled the same way. We sorta looked at each other thinkin’ “this might be interesting.”

Turns out they were the real deal … not white collar weekend guys. They were the “Gypsy Jokers.” We knew right away ’cause it said so on the back of their seasoned jackets. They had some women with ’em too, who also looked like they could tear you a new one.

It was during our first set in between songs when one of them scampered over and asked, “Do you guys do any Willie?

See that big guy at the pool table lookin’ over? He really likes Willie… Do you do any? I hope so.”

and that is a big reason why we close terrain. Early season, we close terrain because of lack of coverage or the dangers involved in a potential medical response. We’re not saving it for ourselves. Ski Patrol assesses terrain every day and our goal is to always provide as much skiing as we can. Be patient and as we receive more snow, we will open more runs as soon as we can. Please respect our closures as we may conduct avalanche mitigation in closed terrain at any point.

8. You must know how and be able to load, ride and unload lifts safely. If you need assistance, ask the lift attendant. Also, please do not throw snowballs or other items off the lifts. Bouncing or swinging the chair may sound like fun but could actually cause an extremely dangerous situation.

9. Do not use lifts or terrain when impaired by alcohol or drugs. Pretty self-explanatory.

10. If you are involved in a collision or incident, share your contact information with each other and a ski area employee. Idaho Code states that collisions on snow are akin to those on the road — you are legally required to stop, check on the other party and share your contact information with them.

Failure to do so could bring legal repercussions.

The goal of NSAA’s “Your Responsibility Code” is to ensure that, “Your knowledge, decisions and actions contribute to your safety and that of others” (nsaa.org), and it’s our goal as well. If you ever have any questions about any information presented here, please ask. We encourage you to share this information with your partners and children as well.

We hope that you enjoyed this refresher as much as our newly fallen snow and remember, be aware, ski or ride with care!

Tom Eddy is the hill safety supervisor at Schweitzer and head of the Mountain Host program, writing on behalf of Schweitzer Ski Patrol.

Well, the man he was alluding too could have had his own climate. We took a break… I grabbed my guitar and said, “follow me.” We went into the bathroom and I showed them three Willie tunes I had recently learned… he was all over the radio in those days, and luckily most of his stuff is three or four chords.

I also had played around with trying to sound like him and had pretty good luck with it. Most any voice coach would have told the guy, “You’re not singin’ right, Willie. You’re too much in your head… it’s too nasally sounding.”

Well, Willie probably never had any formal training… neither did Bob or Neil right.? They all did just fine.

Anyway… back to live action. We went out… played the tunes probably two or three times over the course of the night… they bought us beers… shook our hands and helped us carry our stuff out at closing time.

I feel like I owe numerous artists for the mileage I got out of their work, but especially to Willie Nelson for that particular night. I feel he may have just saved me from a rather awkward situation.

PERSPECTIVES

On being worried and enraged in 2024

By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist

It’s time to write something clever about the new year. Or at least something.

We get an extra day in 2024, and we get to go through an election season. Oh, boy!

Mudslinging, prevaricating, science-denying, character-assassinating and false-promising will be colossal and maybe the most disgusting ever. I can hardly wait.

For that and other reasons, I’m grateful not to have a television. It saves me time being enraged that I can spend on more important things, like trying to get something done on my house without some small disaster. Very recent case in point: clearing a jammed stapler, I stuck a screwdriver into the web between my thumb and index finger, causing a medium-sized hole that will heal slowly, considering the web is required in most activities requiring the use of hands.

Now, that is something to get enraged about, don’t you think?

At least, I can still type. Plus, I’m in just the right mood for writing a column: recovering from having a good old-fashioned temper tantrum and still half-pissed.

So, even though I don’t have a TV, and even though David Letterman hasn’t been doing this for a while, I put together a Letterman-like “Top Ten List Of Stuff To Worry Or Be Enraged About In 2024.”

To start, I just began writing down topof-the-brain random thoughts. Some led to dead ends, but some were saved and led to the following list: 10. Will Keith and Mick survive the 2024 Rolling Stones tour?

9. Will Taylor and Travis stay together longer than Brad and whoever’s next?

8. The preponderance of paedomorphism (look it up) in celebrities and certain drivers.

7. Inflation.

6. COVID variations.

5. The radical “Christian Right,” which ain’t (right, that is).

4. The unwillingness of legislators ranging from county seats to Congress to agree on or do anything that doesn’t directly benefit themselves.

3. War in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine.

2. Global warming and the lack of action to mitigate it by almost everyone.

And, (drum roll, please) the number 1

Sandy Compton. reason to be worried and/or enraged in 2024 is: Will Donald Trump be elected dictator...

I mean, president?

I wish I could make the list more fun, or at least less frightening, but reality is not fun all the time.

So, let’s take a look at the reality: 10. No worries. At over $100 a cheap seat, the Stones have plenty of motivation to live, even if they don’t need the money.

Maybe they’re just doing it for the satisfaction.

9. Kelce and Swift could grow old together and raise a bevy of tight ends and pop stars, but I suspect they suffer from paedomorphism (have you looked it up yet?).

8. Celebrities make their living via paedomorphism. Some drivers just act that way.

7. Part of the cause of inflation (currently about 3.5%) is the willingness to use money we don’t have to buy stuff we don’t need.

6. Trust the medical world to stay ahead of COVID. In reality (there’s that word again), they’ve done a fine job of fighting it. Some died for the cause. Get vaccinated. It only hurts a little.

It helps a lot.

5. At close look, the radi-

cal Christian right isn’t all that Christian.

If they are singing “Jesus loves the little children,” it’s their own they are referring to, not the other “red and yellow, black and white” urchins of the world.

4. This could be number 1. Plenty to be worried and enraged about, both. Our only chance is to be informed voters. Too bad we may have to choose the lesser of two evils.

3. In Ukraine and Gaza, the fight continues over religion and real estate. In both cases, and others, innocents are dying by the thousands, and U.S. aid is being used as a weapon. I have no solution, dang it.

2. The simplest start to containing global warming is for “First World” countries and their corporations to accept that it’s real and do small and large things to slow it. As individuals, we can drive less. Buy carefully.

Quit cutting trees for no good reason. Think of alternative energy. Plan ahead about three generations. Leave as much carbon in the ground as possible.

1. Those who believe Trump and his helpers will lead us out of our mess might remember that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Mao, Stalin and Hitler “neutralized” anyone even suspected of not agreeing with them. None were safe from their megalomania. Thousands of psychiatrists assert that Trump is a megalomaniac and narcissist. He is also possibly suffering from paedomorphism.

My wound will heal, if I take care of it.

Our country and the world can heal as well, if we get together and take care of it — a thought that may be both radical and right.

Sandy Compton is always looking for new words. If you haven’t got out the dictionary yet, “paedomorphism” is defined as, “retention in adults of infantile or juvenile characteristics.”

January 11, 2024 / R / 13

14 / R / January 11, 2024

LITERATURE

Welcome to the third annual Sandpoint Reader 208 Fiction contest, in which we invited any and all writers to submit a work of fiction totaling exactly 208 words for consideration by a panel of judges including Reader Publisher Ben Olson, Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone and Staff Writer Soncirey Mitchell.

More than 50 entrants paid $5 per piece for consideration this year, with first place winning $150 in cash and second and third place finishers receiving gift certificates courtesy of the Reader and its advertisers.

We enjoyed every one of the entries. Thanks to all those who participated and we extend our hearty congratulations to the winners and honorable mentions.

— Reader Staff

‘Bo Breaker: Face facts’

By Jeffrey Keenan

Breaker parked outside the warehouse. He already knew what was inside, but he dreaded it anyway.

Someone had to do the dirty work.

Two linebackers guarded the door.

“It’s Breaker!” one said.

“Hey,” Breaker said, “you got something on your face.”

“Huh?” said the first man.

Breaker threw a switchblade into his forehead and the man dropped.

The other ran at Breaker.

“You have something on your face, too,” Breaker said, roundhouse kicking the man. “Got it,” he said.

He walked inside. Children were working in the sweatshop, wearing onion sacks and Kleenex boxes. Standing over them was a man with an Uzi. “Hey, there’s something on your face right there,” Breaker said, throw-

Winner of $150 cash prize !

ing a ninja star into his cheek. He roundhouse kicked the Uzi from his hand. Breaker caught the Uzi and shot three henchmen in the face and one in the gut.

“Damn,” he said.

The children screamed and ran.

Breaker cartwheel-double-punchdouble-kicked another henchman.

Breaker stopped and grabbed a kid and said, “Where’s the big man?”

The kid’s eyes bugged, “He’s up there.”

Breaker saw the big man, sitting on a pile of cash, twisting a kitten.

“Time to make a withdrawal,” Breaker growled.

“What’s that!?” the big man shouted.

“You’ve got something on your face.”

‘The hunt’

By Liz Gollen “He used to be a crack shot.”

Chester Kane’s grandchildren sat in the fug of their grandfather’s living room.

The whitetail from Gold Mountain, the muley from Bonners and the moose from Hoodoo hung as proof.

“Face it, he’s losing it.”

“Massively.”

“Maybe he’ll get The Old Boy this year!”

Stink eyes all around at that statement.

“Tomorrow’s the day,” their grandfather promised last night at dinner. “No more

pussyfooting around. Me and The Old Boy go head-tohead.”

Furtive looks passed like a red-hot potato around the dinner table. Words like “dementia” and “delusional” hung unspoken in the candlelight.

Grandma patted his hand, “The Old Boy won’t dodge the bullet this time, Chester.

You’ll see.” A few thumbsup rose and, reconsidering, dropped.

The next morning, Chester Kane froze behind a bull pine.

One thick antler was barely

Judges’ notes: Zach Hagadone: I don’t even know where to begin with this one.

For me, it’s the winner because of how wide the author was able to go with 208 words. We have an entire character formed out of one line: “You got something on your face.” Just from that, I can conjure Bo Breaker: muscle shirt, acid-wash jeans, wraparound sunglasses and a whoopass mullet. It’s a perfect example of ’80s cheeseball action movie satire — right down to the Uzis, ninja star and “the big man, sitting on a pile of cash.” Not to mention that I can’t stop laughing every time I read it. Bravo. Now someone please make a short film featuring everyone’s roundhouse-kicking hero, Bo Breaker.

Soncirey Mitchell: This piece proved the age old English major belief that short stories are the most impactful written form. Not only did I cry while reading it, but I’ve been saying “You’ve got something on your face!” every day for three weeks. In summary: life-changing.

Ben Olson: This one crept up on me slowly, like a mulleted hero about to snap the neck of a henchman from an ’80s action film. At first read, I thought, “Huh?” It wasn’t until I re-read it with tears of laughter running down my cheeks that I was convinced this was our winner. It’s just so ridiculous. The author understands modern satire and had a rollicking good time jam-packing these 208 words with truly iconic lines. All the little details are perfect. The children wearing, “onion sacks and Kleenex boxes.” The big man “sitting on a pile of cash, twisting a kitten.” Even the single, “Damn,” uttered

by Breaker after the Uzi bit. It’s too much. Take the money.

Winner of $25 gif certificatt e Eichardt’sto

discernible above a copse of spirea. It was him — now a six-pointer, a monster.

“Two more steps, you rascal, just two.” He raised the Winchester thirty-thirty as the buck slowly stepped out.

Chester Kane’s rheumy eye sighted the bead above the beast’s shoulder; he eased his calloused finger against the timeworn metal of the trigger.

He smiled.

He lowered the rifle to his side.

“Merry Christmas again Old Boy, Merry Christmas.”

Judges’ notes: ZH: This story checks all the boxes: Every word is obviously chosen precisely for its function — add or take away one and it’s diminished.

It has a story that’s advanced by dialogue; a beginning, middle and end; and the ending contributes to the whole in a satisfying, somewhat unexpected way. This writer is clearly very well practiced in their craft, managing to construct an entire family dynamic with its inner and outer worlds out of precise, evocative details. A textbook example of 208-word fiction.

SM: Gollen immediately drew the reader into the story by developing a unique voice for each character, painting a vivid picture and wrapping it up in a bow. This is technical perfection incarnate.

BO: Of all the stories, this was the most rounded effort. It’s a tender story and the author uses each word in the right place. I like stories where the hero overcomes assumptions, and this one checks that box beautifully.

Well done.

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Winner certificat of $20 gift e to MickD uff’s

‘The price paid’

By Tim Martin

Royce, during his twelve years, had often heard his grandfather say, “The beauty of our Lake is not free. It comes with a price.”

Today, if the legend were true, the bill would be paid.

Royce paddled, his grandfather and father riding up front, heavy in the ancient canoe.

He lifted his paddle and drifted. The men stayed still where they were.

“Is it really here, waiting, just like you always said, Grandpa?” Royce murmured, rising, moving forward between them,

scanning the water and trying not to tip the canoe.

Royce knelt. He hadn’t expected to be here for many years and never imagined both these men would be with him.

The sun rose over the Cabinets. It was time.

The surface of the water roiled and foamed as the Paddler broke the surface, creating a swell that nearly threw the boy overboard.

Royce used the motion to his advantage, rolling the men — limp and twisted from the terrible crash on the bridge — over the side.

The enormous creature took them and dove, a shadow, fading, then gone.

It had been this way forever. Each generation taking its turn.

Alone, Royce turned the canoe toward home… thinking of the future, and when the next payment would come due.

Judges’ notes:

ZH: Yes! Ask for Lovecraftian Paddler fiction and ye shall receive. I love the idea of turning the Paddler into some amorphous, semi-supernatural beast that must be appeased, and I really like that the ritual (which at first appears to be a sacrifice) is left kind of vague — cueing up the apparent twist toward the end that the main character’s dad and grandpa appear to have been dead the whole time. Overall it has an eerie, dreamy vibe that ends with a touch of grim suspense as a chef’s kiss.

SM:This piece felt like the beginning of a horror novel that I’d read in one sitting. It strikes a great balance between dialogue, imagery and ambiguity. In other news, I won’t be swimming this year.

BO: This one about the Paddler hit the right note. I love the unspoken “tribute” that is paid to the creature and the ethereal vibe throughout this story.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

‘Blanket’ By Charles Mortensen The feathers were key. He had often used them to hide the children.

Jane and the colonel, clueless as ever, of course, were known to bore the snot out of cocktail guests with endless renderings of what they thought were whimsical stories about Patches and his love of birds.

I once happened upon cousin Patches out on Blanket Island during the early years of the cormorant invasion before their droppings had completely killed off the cottonwoods.

The hunting cabin was still standing, despite the random vandalism of incurious townies. I had paddled the canoe out in a gale. My bones were strong then and I was brave.

Patches was sheltered in the cabin playing a game of old maid with a band of waifs he’d picked up on Grindstone. The children were festooned in cormorant feathers, and Patches, dazed, was smeared in what appeared to be blood and cormorant feces.

The Barque, filled to the gunwales with dead cormorants and listing nervously to starboard, was anchored on the lee side, motor running. I waded out, hauled in the anchor, ran the bilge pump, and headed to the mainland.

I never heard how Patches got all those kids off the island in the canoe, but we haven’t spoken since.

ZH: Shades of Winesburg, Ohio. There are really rich images and settings here, with hints of exotic mystery that are made all the more compelling by a sinister undercurrent. One thing’s for certain, I wouldn’t want to accidentally come upon Patches’ cabin in what feels like could be some forgotten corner of a delta backwater.

SM: The vivid and surprising details — coupled with all that was left unsaid — makes this piece feel like a story your grandfather might tell you while perched on a park bench.

BO: I like stories that leave us wanting more. I feel like I just whizzed by at a low altitude on this one, getting a brief glimpse before speeding away. The author blended cryptic imagery and ideas beautifully on this one.

‘Growing Pains’ By Claire Christy They all died and the town died too.

Papa Christy died first. His ’91 white Ford pickup had an American flag sticker, “Proud?

You bet.”

Every night after, when the horses were fed, I kissed his sign in the barn that read “please turn off the lights.”

Grandma was next. I stayed with her, cared for her. Mostly, I learned from her. We had our 10-acre, $450 holdout rental at the base of that mountain. Parts of me died with her, but I held onto home for as long as I could.

Then came my mother. She was too young, unexpected. Her Pine Street chair is still there.

Her morning glories too.

The last was my father in June. He was the derby man, the hunting man, the recluse that no one knew.

They all left town before I could. Right on time, I’m sure. This world was not meant for them. The trees, the payphones, and the credit line at the local store… all gone.

Dad and Papa built that big ol’ bank, what a feat. A betrayal to the town they loved and chose. If not them, who?

How do I make my own roots now that they’re all gone? What do I do? Where to?

ZH: Pretty heartbreaking and all-to-familiar to anyone who has more than one generation of family history here. I really appreciate how all the characters are distinct, despite not having any dialogue and only being described second hand.

SM: The line, “If not them, who?” sold me on this piece. A poignant and timely story that reflects both the trauma of the past and fears for the future.

BO: I dig the dour tone of this one. It evokes a sense of loss and hopelessness, which many of us in Sandpoint feel in one way or another.

16 / R / January 11, 2024

‘Flat Rock’ By Steve Johnson

The old field has been cleared again — trees and rocks removed and brush piles burned. This spring, I’ll prepare the seedbed and plant timothy and orchard grass. I will farm around the large, flat rock that has anchored the old field for generations. I will await the blessings of rain and sunshine and marvel at the miracle of tiny green sprouts.

The Flat Rock will wait with me. It nurtures the field, the farm. It nurtures me.

I stand silently on the Flat Rock. I find Mom and Dad, find my brothers, find my sweetheart and our children. I embrace that vibrant life before the dementia, before the

morphine drip, before the pancreas quit working. I hold the gift of life as the cord is cut and tied. I hear “Silent Night,” smell the fresh evergreen and taste the foamy cocoa.

I stand on Flat Rock and know I’m with family — with sacred Earth. I feel the certainty of “I do,” the passion of “I have something to tell you” and the finality of “I’m not really leaving.”

When the moon comes over the mountain, when the snow melts on my upturned face, I will find you here. All of you here, with me, on the Flat Rock.

ZH: Lots of nostalgia, which makes me suspect that there’s more non-fiction than fiction here. It is really nicely written, though, with strong, evocative sense-heavy images.

SM: Johnson captured the essence of short fiction by conjuring strong feelings of love and loss.

BO: The things the author says between the lines are important and leave me wanting to find out what plagues them, what feeds them, etc. I want to know more about the Flat Rock, yet I’m satisfied with this brief glimpse.

‘Not Local’ By Vickie Graeff

My name is AInette.strong. I moved to this ZIP last year. I have not met any humans yet, but I am trying.

Does it really matter where anyone is from?

It only really matters where we are going.

My next-door neighbor, a local, has a robo dog — so far my only friend. The dog’s name is “[whistling sound] Buster.” My neighbor calls him from his front door. That is how I know his name. The dog’s.

So where am I going? Today I am going to collect images of trees. Endangered trees.

Then I am off to the library to upload several volumes of banned, soon-to-be-erased, books.

Later, I will be able to photograph, and there-

fore immortalize, the moonrise, the path of Jupiter and Sirius and hopefully some shooting stars. Big data!

Zip 208 — what a beautiful place! I hope to meet someone interesting today, or at least, someone who will say hello back. But, after all, I am just a panegyrized chip juggler.

I grab my bicycle after I look up the word “loneliness” in my dictionapp.

As I am hopping my bot onto my cyberbike, a little girl says, “Hi neighbor!” and hands me a fistful of dandelions. I feel my algorithms sparkle.

“Wanna play?”

ZH: I like that it localizes the story, and I’m not sure if it was the writer’s intent, but I interpreted this to be somewhat of a dystopian scenario in which Idaho is gobbled up and processed by “friendly” A.I.; which I guess reminds me that a tech dystopia wouldn’t look dystopian to the tech. “Wanna play?” comes off way more ominous to me in that context.

SM: The narrator’s distinct voice set this story apart. I’m holding out hope that AInette.strong and her young neighbor will rekindle the world’s curiosity.

BO: It gives a glimpse of a dark future without any of the soul. It’s hard to tell a story in 208 words, but I wanted a bit more from this one, because it had a lot of potential. Extra points for swinging for the fences.

Close, but no robo-cigar.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS ‘Last visit to Cocolalla’ By Jim LittleBird I lift Molly out of the Suburban by the top of the ramp. As the old Retriever’s paws touch the ground, she tries to balance her arthritis against gravity for one more short stroll to the water’s edge. She looks around for the dock — as her two favorite spots are lying on it or patrolling underneath it — but it has been removed for the winter. The old dog puts two and two together and paws at the water, and I see her surprised expression as she realizes it’s not iced over. I don’t think that she will get the chance this winter to walk on the water one more time.

We both sit by the lake’s edge, feeling melancholy. Lots of memories are buried here, along with her cousin Buddy. Molly gives a little whimper and nuzzles me for a head rub. Maybe her arthritis is overly bad today, maybe she misses the love and joy that used to happen here, or maybe she knows that sooner or later everyone and everything leaves and her ashes will be scattered here too. Like Bud, she’s been a good dog; my best friend here through it all. We’ll come to Cocolalla only one more time, to lay Molly to rest.

ZH: I like this one, but felt like it sacrificed imagination for blunt emotion. Also, it doesn’t feel very fictional. More of a sad memory than a full narrative.

SM: How dare you make me read this. I need to go cuddle with my dogs.

BO: Damn, this one got me. I love the subtle line, “I don’t think that she will get the chance this winter to walk on the water one more time.” That’s the story in a single sentence. It’s the disjointed feeling we get in North Idaho when winter is nothing but rain and fog, coupled with the immensely difficult experience of losing a friend in the near future. Really good job by the author.

‘Bud’s truck’ By Trine Grillo

“Where’s my truck?” cried Grandpa Bud. He shook a fist and ducked beneath a tree.

“I’ll get you, thief!” I didn’t see a thief under there.

Gram said, “Bud’s thoughts are like sea waves. Some roll high and clear. Some lie flat, slipping in and out like his memories.”

When Bud had high waves he remembered my name, and fireworks. Once when his waves were flat, Bud dug a hole.

“My keys are here,” he said.

Gram whispered. “That old rattletrap broke down years ago, Bud.” When he rushed toward the highway, “Bud! We’re not allowed on the road!” We held hands and walked home. Everyday Bud dug.

When I tripped, “Graaam! Tell Bud to stop digging!”

When he drove my truck through puddles, I grabbed it.

“No! That’s mine!” Bud sat beside the puddles, mumbled in Italian and cried. I shouldn’t have grabbed it like that. I parked my truck under the tree. After supper, I went with Bud to search for the thief.

“I knew it!” he said. Bud hugged my truck.

Then a high wave came.

“My truck carried you the day you were born,” he said.

I let him hold mine a while. Afterwards, we built a road in the mud through the puddles.

ZH: I like this one quite a bit — especially how it flips the script on “Grandpa Bud” being more child-like than the narrator. There’s also some sweetness amid the essential tragedy. I love the lines, “Every day Bud dug,” and the emotional crusher, “My truck carried you the day you were born.”

SM: There are some lovely, heartbreaking elements — “ … he remembered my name and fireworks” is my personal favorite. Replacing some of the dialogue with description would really make it shine.

BO: It bogs down a bit with the clunky dialogue. I want to lose myself in the cryptic characters and actions, but I don’t have enough imagery or information to form a parachute to make the leap.

But, the character is built well and carries us forward. Good job.

The Festival at Sandpoint welcomes new staff and board members

By Reader Staff The Festival at Sandpoint is welcoming some new faces while saying goodbye to another, with the announcement Jan. 9 that Patrick Hoffman would join the full-time staff of the arts nonprofit and Doug Hawkins Jr. would take a seat on its board, while longtime Festival Board member and volunteer Bob Witte would step back from organization.

Hoffman will be joining the team as the Festival’s Programming and Hospitality manager, with FAS Executive Director Ali Baranski stating, “After such a successful 2023 season, we are excited to be in a financial position to have six full-time staff members.”

Hoffman has an extensive background in hospitality and business management, having held previous roles in several high-end restaurants and resorts.

As a musician himself who has attended hundreds of concerts, Hoffman’s perspective on programming comes alongside his years of experience in private event coordination and guest experience enhancement.

“Patrick brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our organization that will only better the Festival at fulfilling our mission and serving our community,” Baranski stated. “We cannot wait to see the improvements, innovation and thoughtfulness that

From left to right: Bob Witte, Patrick Hoffman, Doug Hawkins Jr. Courtesy photos. he will add to the organization.”

Witte’s departure follows more than 20 years of service on the FAS Board, though he has been involved in the organization for most of its 40-year history. Most recently, he filled the position of board president from 2019 through 2022.

“Bob took on the presidency during some of the Festival’s most challenging and transformative years and led with kindness and optimism,” according to Baranski. “I want to express my deepest thanks for his selfless service and the profound impact Bob has had on the Festival at Sandpoint.

His belief in our mission, dedication to our

cause and inspiring leadership have left an indelible mark on the organization.”

Meanwhile, the Festival welcomed Hawkins as the newest member of the board of directors, noting that he is a sixth-generation Sandpoint resident, and he and his wife and their six kids are active in the Bonner County community and enjoy attending the Festival at Sandpoint every year.

Hawkins currently works at Litehouse and has served in numerous roles in sales, marketing and innovation throughout his career. He brings more than 20 years of leadership and marketing experience,

including event marketing, fundraising and project management.

Hawkins previously served on the Sandpoint City Council and as a member of the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation. He currently also serves as the chair of the Pend Oreille Economic Partnership and nationally serves as the chair of the Association of Dressings and Sauces.

To learn more about the Festival at Sandpoint’s staff, board of directors and nonprofit mission, visit festivalatsandpoint. com.

January 11, 2024 / R / 17

events

January 11-18, 2024

Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com THURSDAY, January 11

LPO Rep Theater’s Speakeasy Fundraiser 7pm @ 219 Lounge The annual Speakeasy fundraiser supporting LPO Rep Theater. A musical “whodunit,” songs, dances, comedy and more. Tickets sell out fast, so don’t delay. lporep.com Live Music w/ BTP 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Classic rock Live Music w/ Ron Keiper Trio 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Smooth jazz Live Jazz w/ Bright Moments 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Game Night 7pm @ Tervan Tavern Bingo night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Artist reception for SHS art students 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Emmett Adams will also play live acoustic guitar from 5-7pm

FriDAY, January 12

19th annual Backcountry Film Festival 7pm @ Panida Theater Films that celebrate the outdoors, with proceeds benfiting the Snow School program hosted by Selkirk Outdoor Leadership & Education, or SOLE $10/$15/$30

COMMUNITY

The Buckley Storms 8:45pm @ The Hive Rock ’n’ roll free show, with doors opening at 7pm

Live Music w/ Jacob Robin 6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ Live music, BBQ & beer, the perfect trio

Live Music w/ The Sweet Lillies 8:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub $10 cover, listen: sweetlillies.com Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Karaoke 8pm @ Tervan Tavern

Live Music w/ One Street Over 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Rock, blues, classics

Comedy Avalanche: Andrew Rivers 8pm @ Panida Theater Rivers’ comedy specials seen on Drybar Comedy and The Laugh Button Live Music w/ Snacks at Midnight have amassed millions of views 9pm @ 219 Lounge Live Music w/ Emma Greenwood No cover, 21+ 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

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

Tipsy Trivia Tuesday 5:30-7:20pm @ The Back Door First glass regular price, second $5

Karaoke 8pm @ Tervan Tavern

monDAY, January 15

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

Trivia 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

tuesDAY, January 16

Live Piano w/ Jennifer Stoehner 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

wednesDAY, January 17

CHAFE 150 registration begins Register at chafe150.org

Live Piano w/ Peter Lucht 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Sip and Shop for FSPW 4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery A percentage of proceeds will be donated to Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness Game Night 7pm @ Tervan Tavern

Letters Aloud 7:30pm @ Panida Theater From humble beginnings to adoring fans to looking back on achievements, chart the course of fame through correspondence from people like Stephen King, Andy Worhol, Elvis, Tom Hanks and more. $10/$35

18 / R / January 11, 2024

Karaoke 8pm @ Tervan Tavern

SunDAY, January 14

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

Documentary film deals with how mental health affects mountain towns like Sandpoint

Contra Dance 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Comm. Hall Dance to live music, prior experience not necessary. Beginners encouraged to arrive at 7 for intro lessons. Sugg. donation $5

SATURDAY, January 13 Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Rock / bluegrass

Free screening of The Paradise Paradox

Open Mic Night 6pm @ Tervan Tavern

Live Music w/ Sheldon Packwood 8:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

ThursDAY, January 18 LPO Rep Theater’s Speakeasy Fundraiser 7pm @ 219 Lounge The annual Speakeasy fundraiser supporting LPO Rep Theater.

A musical “whodunit,” songs, dances, comedy and more. Tickets sell out fast, so don’t delay. lporep.com Bingo night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

By Reader Staff A free screening of the documentary film The Paradise Paradox has been scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at the Panida Theater, with doors opening an hour before.

The film is a thought-provoking documentary that delves into the mental health crisis affecting residents of mountain towns across America, as well as shedding light on innovative solutions being developed in response.

The screening is presented free of charge by Schweitzer, which aims to raise awareness about the profound mental health challenges such as depression, addiction and the stresses associated with struggling to keep up financially and socially in small mountain communities where wealth and opportunity disparities abound — mirroring experiences many might encounter in towns like Sandpoint.

The film is presented in conjunction with the Ethan Murray Fund, an effort led by Sandpoint’s Justine Murray to empower and support individuals in need by providing financial assistance for mental health services in the community.

“We believe that this event will be a valuable opportunity for our community to come together, share insights and strengthen our collective understanding of mental health issues,” Murray stated in a news release.

STAGE & SCREEN

Comedy Avalanche kicks off 2024 series with Andrew Rivers at the Panida

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

It’s a new year, which means it’s time for the new series of Comedy Avalanche shows at the Panida Theater, kicking off 2024 with a show Saturday, Jan. 13 headlined by Andrew Rivers and featuring Chase Mayers with a guest spot by Jody Carroll.

Based in Seattle, Rivers has performed on stages across the country and in Europe, entertaining audiences with his brand of whip-smart storytelling. As his online bio puts it, Rivers “was rejected from Netflix and The Tonight Show and was cut from a bad

Andrew Rivers. Courtesy photo.

standup show NBC did a few years ago too. But his comedy specials from Dry Bar Comedy (2018) and The Laugh Button (2021) have millions of views on YouTube anyway.”

A regular opener for Christopher Titus, Rivers has also toured with Steve Hofstetter and appeared on Laughs on Fox and The Bob & Tom Show.

“After being constantly bullied, his only defense was to develop an acid wit, which has made him a great comic, but a terrible boyfriend,” according to the event page.

Featured comic Mayers is described as “a long-haired laid back comedian from southern Louisiana who recently won ‘Funniest MotherF*&@!a’ in Ta-

coma and ‘Best in Fest’ at the Burbank Comedy Festival.”

Carroll is a Priest River-based standup who has made a name for herself with her irreverent takes on North Idaho life, being an empty-nester and more on regional stages and TikTok, where she has amassed 1.2 million likes and just shy of 100,000 followers.

Presented by Phillip Kopczynski, tickets to the show are $25 general admission and $55 for VIP (not including fees).

Doors open at 7 p.m. and the comedy starts at 8 p.m. Get tickets at the door (300 N. First Ave.) and at panida.org. Check out the comics online at andrewjrivers. com, instagram.com/chasemayers and instagram.com/jodycarrollcomedy.

Back to backcountry: SOLE’s annual film festival fundraiser Reader Staff

Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education hosts the 19th annual Backcountry Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 12 from 6-10 p.m. at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave., in Sandpoint). Their partner, Boise-based activist group Winter Wildlands, curates an inspiring selection of professional and grassroots short films meant to ignite a passion for environmental conservation and outdoor adventuring.

Sandpoint is just one stop on the festival’s tour, which spans five continents — including Antarctica. Festivalgoers can also participate in raffles and a silent auction featuring goods from local vendors.

Proceeds from the Panida show support SOLE’s SnowSchool Experience Program, which helps local youth overcome socioeconomic hurdles, giving them the opportunity to enjoy the area’s wintertime wonders. Children enrolled in the SnowSchool develop outdoor living and travel skills as they learn snow science,

Left: Shot from the film Bloom by Kyle Hilken.

Above: Shot from the film Beyond Begbie by Zoya Lynch. Courtesy photos.

winter ecology, conservation literacy and avalanche education. The school has served more than 3,000 kids of all ages over the past 11 years — and their current comprehensive program at the Mountain

Field Campus is open to all Lake Pend Oreille School District fifth-graders.

Tickets cost $10-$30 and are available at panida.org. For more info, visit soleexperiences.org and winterwildlands.org.

POAC brings Letters Aloud to Sandpoint Reader Staff

The Pend Oreille Arts Council will stage a production of Letters Aloud, bringing dramatic readings of private letters to the Panida Theater on Thursday, Jan. 18. The national program, founded in 2013, highlights the beauty of handwritten letters while giving audiences a glimpse into the personal lives of the famous and infamous.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and local actors will begin their renditions of letters penned by Stephen King, Andy Warhol, Elvis Presley, Emily Dickinson, Bruce Lee, Marilyn Monroe, Tom Hanks and more beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $35 for adults and $10 for youth at panida.org.

Left to right: Marilyn Monroe and Tom Hanks are two of the icons whose letters are featured in Letters Aloud.

Courtesy photos.

January 11, 2024 / R / 19

FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Hello sunshine

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

Come to Arizona, they said. It will be fun and warm, they said.

I’m not sure how often it snows in Tucson, but of course, I was there for it!

The weather was mostly warm and sunny though, and those few days in Tucson — along with time in Scottsdale and the Nevada desert — filled my cup. And my plate. I love Mexican cuisine, and north of the border, in Tucson, you’ll find no finer authentic flavors.

Whatever your budget, you can experience the best Mexican food ever at one of many food trucks in the city. For a more traditional meal, restaurants offer full menus that might include tableside salsa preparation and lively mariachi bands.

I’m always happy when I find a cheese crisp on the menu.

It’s nothing more than a flour tortilla, buttered and baked, topped with lots of cheese, and baked again until it’s crispy on the bottom and covered with melted Mexican cheese. The first bite is always the best, taking me back to the time I spent in Arizona as a child. The secret to a good cheese crisp is the tortilla; nothing can replace the taste of a thin, homemade flour tortilla.

Last week, after a day spent eating, drinking and shopping in colorful Tubac (about an hour south of Tucson), we stopped at a small market so I could grab some bottled water.

At the counter, I spied aromatic packages of fresh, homemade tortillas. The clerk noted my interest and quickly informed me that every Saturday, a father and his young daughter drove up from Sonora, Mexico, to de20 / R / January 11, 2024

liver the tortillas that his wife makes at dawn. I’m glad the clerk convinced me I needed a dozen paper-thin, lard-rich tortillas.

Sonoran, Tex-Mex, New Mexican and Baja are all styles of Mexican cuisine. The Sonoran area is rich in cattle and wheat production, influencing many of their dishes. Sonoran style is most prevalent in Arizona, and many dishes, such as carne asada and enchiladas, focus on beef.

Machaca (dried and shredded beef) is another delicious Sonoran dish.

There’s no shortage of great Mexican food in Tucson, and if you want to get serious about

sampling, head there next October to experience “The 23 Miles of Best Mexican Food Festival,” hosted by the Tucson International Mariachi Conference.

Tempting, right?

Lots of my friends head south for the winter, and I can see why. “Snow-birding” is the perfect respite from our long, cold winters. Besides visiting my generous hosts, warming up in the sun and filling my belly with Mexican food, I was spoiled with just-ripe backyard citrus that was mine for the picking!

Friends in Scottsdale and Tucson have beautiful and fragrant citrus trees: oranges, lemons, tangerines and grape-

fruit, all heavily laden with fragrant, ripe fruit. The soil and sun are the perfect combination for growing fruit. Friends and neighbors are generous with one another, exchanging oranges for grapefruits, lemons for tangerines and picking bags full of fruit to share with the local food banks.

In Tucson, my hosts put out the word that we needed lemons, and a nearby neighbor welcomed us to her yard. Initially, our request for lemons was merely for cocktail ingredients, but visions of sunshine cake danced in my head when I spied her small tree filled with sweet-smelling Meyer lemons, named for Frank N. Meyer, an

agricultural explorer who brought the lemons from China in the early 20th century. They’re believed to be a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange: thin-skinned, smaller and much sweeter than a typical lemon.

Meyer lemons are perfect for baking and are an excellent, tangy addition chopped in salads, rind and all. There’s also nothing tastier than homemade Meyer lemon marmalade.

I’m glad I brought a few of those luscious lemons home because, looking ahead at the weather forecast, I think a sunshine cake is just what the doctor ordered.

Whole lemon sunshine cake

This cake is best made with sweet, thin-skinned Meyer lemons. It’s a dense cake that is perfect for tea time or dessert.

The lemony glaze is the perfect icing on the cake. Makes one eight-inch cake.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Cake batter: • 3 small Meyer lemons • ½ cup granulated sugar divided • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened • ⅓ cup Greek yogurt • 3 large eggs room temperature • 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour • ¼ tsp fine sea salt • 1 tsp baking powder • ½ tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line an 8-inch pan (springform if you have one) with parchment paper.

Spray bottom and sides with non-stick spray. Flip parchment over and spray again, so both sides are coated.

Sprinkle 1 tbs of flour into the pan and tap to distribute an even coating.

Knock out any excess flour by tapping the pan upside down.

Cut the lemons in half. Remove the seeds. Put the lemons in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until fairly smooth. You should have a generous ½ cup of thick lemon puree.

In a small bowl, whisk flour together with salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

Beat the stick of softened butter with the sugar and yogurt in the bowl of a standup mixer, with paddle attachment on medium speed, until fluffy, about 3 or 4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time.

For the glaze: • 1 cup powdered sugar sifted to remove any lumps • 1 tbs plain Greek yogurt • 2-3 tsp fresh lemon juice

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the lemon puree to the mixer.

Beat until combined. Add the flour mixture and stir just until the batter comes together with no streaks. Spread the batter evenly into the pan. Tap the pan against the counter to air pockets.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until the top of the cake springs back to the touch, or toothpick inserted in center is clean.

Cool the cake in the pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, stir together all the ingredients until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake and let it set for 10 minutes before cutting.

Wrap leftovers well and refrigerate.

It will keep well for 2-3 days.

STAGE & SCREEN

Banff Mountain Film Festival returns to the Panida

Annual series of mountain culture, sport, lifestyle and environment films screen Jan.19-21

nature.

Named “Best Short Film,” U.S. entry School of Fish is Since 1995, the Panida a compelling portrait of the Theater has been the local home millennia-spanning relationship of the Banff Mountain Film Fes- between the salmon and Indigtival, which last year expanded enous people of Bristol Bay, for the first time to three nights Alaska, exploring their knowlof screenings featuring some of edge of harvesting, preserving the best outdoors and adventure and sharing fish, all of which shorts in the world. are central to their culture and Beginning Friday, Jan. 19 and contain important lessons. continuing Saturday, Jan. 20 and Chronoception, from France, Sunday, Jan. 21, more than two focuses on Thomas Delfino, Léa dozen films covering mountain Klaue and Aurélien Lardy as culture, sport, lifestyle, the envi- they follow the trail of nomadic ronment and everything between peoples and the ancient Silk will be shown, with an average Roads on an expedition to reach of eight entries per night. one of the most remote places in Presented by Mountain Fever the world.

Productions, tickets are $18 in Films on Saturday night inadvance at panida.org and $20 at clude One Degree° #Peru, from the door (300 N. First Ave.).

France, following a kitesurfing Among the opening night adventure combining outdoor entries is Cross Countries, from adventure and activism that France, which showcases current 2024 Banff Mountain environmental follows mountain biker Kilian Film Festival changes among Bron on a tour Friday, Jan. 19, 7 p.m.; Satur- some of the highthrough some of day, Jan. 20, 7 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. est alpine lakes in the most beau21, 6 p.m.; doors open one hour the world in the before the screenings; $18 ad- Andes. tiful trails in vance, $20 at the door. Panida North America, Winner of Theater, 300 N. First Ave., and The As“Best Film: Ad208-263-9191, get tickets at cension Series: panida.org. Visit banffcentre.ca/ venture,” Canadibanffmountainfestival for more Morag Skelton, an entry Subterinfo and complete film listings. from the U.K., ranean introduces focused on a audiences to two deaf mountain climber who teams of hobbyist cavers who believes nothing should get in are poised to break records for the way of anyone experiencing the longest and deepest caves in

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Canada. One effort seeks to push the caving depth record with a descent into the Bisaro Anima cave in the Rockies, while another attempts to link two tunnel systems to create the longest known cave in the country.

Closer to home, U.S. film Range Rider looks at the conflict and controversy surrounding the repopulation of wolves in Washington state, where ranchers and push back against the presence of the animals, and range rider Daniel Curry finds himself in the middle — patrolling wild areas on horseback to create a buffer between wolves and the cattle herds that graze on public lands.

The film fest concludes Sunday with a number of “Best Of” films, including Soundscape, from the U.S., which earned the “Creative Excellence Award” for sharing the sightless experience of climbing a mountain via echo location, touch and imagination.

The film features Erik Weihenmayer, a global adventure athlete and author who is fully blind, as

Courtesy photo.

he ascends a massive alpine rock face deep in the Sierra Nevadas.

Ranked “Best Film: Snow Sports,” U.S. film The Blackcountry Journal is the story of a skier who contemplates his connection to skiing and the mountains as he hurries through the streets of L.A., where his path takes a turn after bumping into a jazz musician who helps him discover the correlation between jazz and skiing — described as “an expression of art, skiing and Black culture.”

Finally, Canadian film Leo & Chester — named “Best Film: Mountain Culture” — focuses on Leo, a sought-after rock star with a promising career, who turns his back on the industry to pursue a life on the land with a herd of buffalo.

Film blocks start at 7 p.m. on Jan. 19 and Jan. 20, and 6 p.m. on Jan. 21. Doors open an hour before the show. For more info and full film listings, visit banffcentre.ca/banffmountainfestival.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint The Sweet Lillies, Eichardt’s Pub, Jan. 13 It’s hard to find comparisons to The Sweet Lillies’ sound without running to big names in the world of folk-bluegrass-Americana like The String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon and the Infamous Stringdusters. Dig a little deeper into the band, and the reason for that becomes apparent.

The Boulder, Colo.-based quartet has performed and/or worked on album production with members of all those groups, and it’s clear that they belong among the company they keep.

A collaborative effort between Julie Gussarofff, Becca Bisque, Dustin Rohleder and Jones Maynard, The Sweet Lillies are a pitch-perfect old-time-inspired acoustic string band with a distinctly contemporary bounce, bolstered by stellar harmonies.

— Zach Hagadone 7 p.m., $10. Eichardt’s Pub, 208-2634005, eichardtspub.com. Listen at sweetlillies.com.

Buckley Storms, The Hive, Jan. 12 The Buckley Storms — formerly the Buck Storm Band — has been bringing down the house in venues up and down the West Coast since they emerged at the epicenter of Southern California’s alternative country scene in the late ’90s. Now focusing on rock ’n’ roll with an indie slant, they’ll play one of their trademark unpredictable, high-energy shows at the Hive on Friday, Jan. 10 from 9-11:30 p.m. Their fresh lineup only adds to their charismatic stage presence, which makes

each performance a feast for the eyes and ears. Drop by and rock out to innovative covers and their original catalog — including some of their newest singles, “Scene of the Crime” and “Lonely/Halo.”

— Soncirey Mitchell

This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone

READ

Imagine if Amazon controlled one of the largest militaries on Earth, deploying its forces to countries around the world and instituting colonial rule. That’s what it was like throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries in the places where the British East India Company held sway. It’s easy to forget how influential the EIC really was — luckily there’s The Anarchy, by William Dalrymple, which is a gripping account of the most powerful corporation in the history of the world. So far. Find it at the library.

LISTEN

People spend a lot of money on subscriptions and purchases of audiobooks, but there’s a free alternative: LibriVox, a YouTube channel that collects readings of novels, essays, poems and everything in between read by regular folks. Of course, that means the readings aren’t always as polished or professionally produced as their pay-to-play counterparts — and the texts are out of copyright, and therefore old and/ or otherwise obscure — but you can’t argue with free.

WATCH

It often feels like little more can be done with sci-fi stories about technology — especially artificial intelligence — gone rampant. And, while elements of The Creator do seem familiar in the A.I.-run-amok department, the 2023 film from Rogue One and Godzilla director Gareth Edwards is uncommonly smart, good looking and grim in its rendering of a future world wracked by conflict that feels far more contemporary than it ought to. Stream it on Hulu.

9-11:30 p.m., doors at 7 p.m, FREE, 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com. Listen at thebuckleystorms.com.

January 11, 2024 / R / 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

Mother, homemaker, world builder From Northern Idaho News, January 8, 1904

PLUCKY 14-YEAROLD CLARK FORK GIRL DISPATCHES MOUNTAIN LION Miss Tessie Edwards, a miss of 14, residing near Clark Fork, bounded into fame with a jump last Sunday when, alone and without assistance, she brought down a huge mountain lion with two shots from her rifle.

Tessie and her father were out rabbit hunting at the time and were over on Blue creek, six miles from Cabinet. They had separated in their quest for smaller game and when the father returned to his daughter and asked “what luck,” she coolly informed him she had shot a mountain lion. The father was so surprised that he could not believe it, but the little girl pointed to the spot where the big game lay. The lion measured 11 feet.

Miss Tessie showed a nerve in the dispatching of the big king of the forest which would have well made a man proud. When she was confronted by the huge beast she was going along a little pathway in the mountains, and the lion came toward her. She brought up on him but the first shot only wounded the beast. He made a bound for her, but she took deliberate aim a second time and this time the unerring aim of the little miss brought the lion to the ground with a broken back. Snarling and crawling toward her, he tried to reach her, but was unable to do so, the wild animal dying almost at the feet of the child. When her father came to her and they both realized in what imminent danger she had been, the girl became a little weak in the knees for a minute or so, but regained her nerve in a short time and assisted her father in taking the big quarry back to their home.

22 / R / January 11, 2024

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff Recently, upon a Christmas tidings visit to the Reader office, Publisher Ben Olson asked me a perfectly polite and simple question. It was something along the lines of: “Do you feel disconnected at all from the outside world?”

He was of course referring to the drastic life change I underwent in 2023: The transition from newspaper news editor at our esteemed local weekly to stay-athome mom of a baby boy named Liam.

It was a choice I made willingly and excitedly. Still, despite the breezy answer I gave Ben about how I stay up on current events and find ways to get out of the house even with a baby attached to me, I keep mulling over the question.

Do I feel disconnected? The answer, as it turns out, is complicated.

First, it might help to define my inner world — one of feeding schedules, sleep regressions and increasingly labor-intensive diaper changes. My 5-month-old little boy is in 18-month clothing, eating his first solids and trying desperately to balance his giant noggin well enough to sit up on his own. All this growing is exhausting for all parties involved, though luckily one of us has the benefit of caffeine consumption to keep her going.

As far as co-workers go, we have cattle dog Mac and black cat Pistol. They are never far from Liam, which in recent weeks has come in handy more than once.

An expression of consternation dissolves into pure joy whenever one of the pets walks into the baby’s line of sight. Their mere existence delights him, which

warms my heart.

My inner world as of late is certainly small in a physical sense. We spend most of our days between the rocking chair, nursing and laughing; the kitchen, playing and cooking; the driveway, walking and napping; and the changing table, wiping and cursing.

For the first time in seven years, I pick up the Reader and find myself unaware of what story awaits me on the next page.

I run errands so infrequently that store remodels and road construction projects seem to begin and end with lightning speed. My small talk is deeply out of practice. I sit on unread emails for days longer than I have since, well, ever.

But on the other side of all that disconnect lies a powerful fact I learned in recent weeks: Every second, a baby makes somewhere around 700 new neural connections. Every second of each day I spend in my new, slow life of child rearing and home making, Liam is literally learning how to be a person.

He is making new connections at a truly unfathomable rate.

I’m leaning into this fact, providing narration to nearly everything we do together: make muffins, fold laundry, throw the ball for Mac. His eyes track my hands and watch my mouth move as I talk. He observes with such intensity that I’m sure he will join in at any moment — and in some senses, he has. Liam has started interjecting his own babble into conversations as my husband Alex and I swirl around him each evening, discussing our days while we make dinner together and the baby sits perched on the kitchen island in his bouncy seat. As of late, he has things to say.

STR8TS Solution

Sudoku Solution

“Tell us all about it, buddy,” Alex says to him. “How was your day with mama?”

I am genuinely curious what he would report, but glad my terrible singing and dancing — all necessary baby entertainment — remain a babble-protected secret for now.

To Liam’s rapidly developing brain, we are the world that he spends every waking moment observing, learning how to take part. Are we two people in a kitchen making dinner and catching up, or are we an entire universe? It really is a matter of perspective.

I am certainly not as connected to the outside world as I used to be, but I hardly have time to be sad about it. Why worry about being connected to a world when you can build a world? My only hope is that I can make it a good one.

Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey is a writer, mother and editor emeritus of the Sandpoint Reader.

Crossword Solution

Instead of burning a guy at the stake, what about burning him at the stilts? It probably lasts longer, plus it moves.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

boilerplate /BOI-ler-pleyt/

Woorf tdhe Week

[noun] 1. the detailed standard wording of a contract or warranty.

“The company’s terms and conditions included a boilerplate clause that protected their intellectual property rights.”

Corrections: Nothing to report this week.

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

ACROSS 1. Not fat 5. Courts 9. Illegal activity 14. Designed for flight 15. Ow! 16. Hell 17. Bestower 19. Cast out 20. Artist’s stand 21. Female server 23. Tyrannizes 25. Tall Indian palm 28. K 29. Ignited 32. One more than ten 33. Jewel 34. Moral weakness 35. Assistant 36. Sleighs 38. Largest continent 39. Droops 40. Golf ball support 41. Not shorter 43. East southeast 44. Type of umpire 45. Disputants 46. United in a twosome 48. Magic charm 50. Spear 54. Greens with dressing 55. Mileage counters 57. Give a speech 58. Location 59. Ages

Solution on page 22

60. Uninterested 61. Believe or trust (Scottish) 62. Several

DOWN 1. Adhesive strip 2. Wife of Zeus 3. Angers 4. Plunges nose first 5. Was victorious 6. Surpass in cunning 7. Sea

31. Rips 33. G 34. Corroborates 37. Farthest to the left 42. Bless with oil 44. Forayed into 45. Indicate 46. Dish 47. Low point 48. Tropical root 49. Winglike 51. Detective ____ Wolfe 52. Pack to capacity 53. Being 54. Cry loudly 56. Kitten’s cry January 11, 2024 / R / 23

8. Uttered a shrill cry 9. Bright red 10. Goes ballistic 11. Mid-month days 12. Clutter 13. Estimated (abbrev.)

18. Run off to wed 22. Trucker 24. Ogres 25. Josh 26. Assumed name 27. Shelf 29. Fine thread 30. More aloof

Invitation to Play!

MUSICMATTERS! PLAY. PERFORM. GROW.

Visit us! The Music Conscrvatoqr of Sandpoint is located at no Main St. in Sandpoint Music Matters! class descriptions, schedules and registration information online Enrollment is open now for Orchestra, Choir, Little Mozarts & Instrument Carousel www.sandpointconservatOt)'.org • mcs@sandpoi11tconservat01y.org • 208.265.444 4