Reader_Jan25_2024

2 / R / January 25, 2024

DEAR READERS,

The week in random review

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff

Hot chocolate — shaken, not stirred

If you happen to see me ordering takeout, don’t be alarmed if I’m answering to a different name. I’m not an international super spy (or am I?). It didn’t take long for me to realize that giving the name “Soncirey” or even “Sonci” to a barista is a losing game. At my university coffee shop, the workers were too embarrassed to even attempt to say my name when calling out my drink, so they’d just silently set it on the counter. Too many of my orders became “cold chocolates” while I waited in vain to hear my name, so now I go by “Sophie” or “Sandy” or “Sarah” when I get food.

A friend from college refers to these as my “white person names,” though I am in fact a white person regardless of whether I’m ordering lunch.

Low-card diet

I’m not one to judge people by how they eat. I can munch my way through a family-sized bag of Sour Patch Kids in a weekend — which is the equivalent of drinking battery acid in your coffee. Therefore, I certainly didn’t judge an acquaintance I made in high school when I went over to her house for game night. We’d just finished off a bottle of Martinelli’s sparkling cider when, to my right, I heard a strange scraping sound. The girl was dragging her teeth over the outside of the bottle, scraping off the label and swallowing it — glue and all — like she was eating corn on the cob. She was so dedicated to her snack that, to this day, I resist the urge to try it, just to see what I’m missing.

Better ways to crush your enemies

With our current tumultuous political climate, it seems as though voters and officials across the political spectrum are running out of ways to insult one another. If we’re doomed to watch this bloodsport play out at caucuses, debates and in crowded grocery store aisles, we may as well get some morbid entertainment out of it like the broken spectators in The Hunger Games.

Enter, stage right, Country Talk by Dick Syatt, a cornucopia of tried-and-true insults that liven up any heated debate.

Feel free to memorize the following list for use at upcoming family gatherings: • “I wouldn’t send you a bale of hay if you were a donkey in a concrete pasture.”

• “He was born ignorant and he’s been losing ground ever since.”

• “I wouldn’t vote for him to tote feed a bear.”

• “He thinks he’s hot snot, but he’s just cold boogers.”

You may notice that this is the second week in a row we’ve reprinted a lengthy article from the Idaho Capital Sun related to legislation in Boise targeting material deemed “harmful to minors” in libraries around the state. We think it’s an important issue, but this week’s piece (on Pages 4 and 5) addresses the very real possibility that even if these disingenuous bills die in committee or otherwise get sidelined, their malicious spirit could have dire effects on libraries in the form of qualified staff members fleeing the state. This is already happening with health care workers who, amid a political climate hostile to the institutions they serve, have opted either to pull up stakes or choose not to come to Idaho at all. Talk to Idaho educators and you’re likely to hear similar sentiments. A society that chases away its librarians, health care providers and teachers is by definition in decline.

Couple that with Idaho Labor Department numbers showing the job sector in steepest decline from 2022 to 2023 was arts, entertainment and recreation (see Page 7), and you have to wonder just what kind of society some in the Idaho Legislature wish to build.

— Zach Hagadone, editor

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: Mia Maldonado, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Ben Olson, Jim Healey, Brooke Moore, Joe Leonti Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Soncirey Mitchell, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Mia Maldonado, Jen Jackson Quintano, Marcia Pilgeram, Lauren Necochea, Mark Sauter, Diana Dawson 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.

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January 25, 2024 / R / 3

NEWS

Idaho librarians contemplate leaving work — and the state — because of proposed legislation

Survey by the Idaho Library Association finds 60% of respondents said they are considering leaving the profession

By Mia Maldonado Idaho Capital Sun

Maegan Hanson became a librarian because of her love of reading. Her favorite part of her job is helping people discover their next favorite book.

Hanson is the Buhl Public Library director, doubling as its children’s librarian. She has worked in libraries for more than 15 years, and her library serves rural Idahoans in a region where only 40% of the population has access to Wi-Fi. But in her one year serving as library director, she said she regularly considers leaving the profession because of the stress and exhaustion she feels from the state’s increasingly antagonistic rhetoric against librarians.

Hanson is not alone in this feeling. Through an informal survey, interviews and rallies, many Idaho librarians have voiced a sense of demoralization in response to legislation directly impacting their profession.

According to an informal survey conducted by the Idaho Library Association, more than half of Idaho librarians are considering leaving library work as a result of library-related legislation.

Hanson faces a shortage of staff and a perpetual need to train new workers after several of her colleagues have departed because of the stress caused from library-related bills making their way through the Idaho Legislature.

To add to her challenges, an elected official during a town hall meeting referred to her as a “groomer.” Moreover, she said that legislation establishing an “adults only” section would be impractical in her small, oneroom library.

While those bills’ legislative sponsors have said their goal is 4 / R / January 25, 2024

to protect children from mature content, Idaho librarians — like Hanson — said they are coping with the possibility of new laws that could drastically change the way they cater their content to youth.

“I could go to a bigger town, a smaller town or the same size of town and get paid triple of what I’m getting paid now to work somewhere else, but I don’t want to do that,” she said.

“I want to set roots and raise my family here. But if this is the climate, I genuinely don’t know how long we can sustain the good work that we’re doing.”

Idaho library materials legislation was introduced in Librarians and library allies march at the Boise Pride Festival in September 2023. Photo by Mia Maldonado for Idaho Capital Sun. 2023, and it’s back for 2024 According to the American “[Librarians] will be fine,” particularly those in rural areas Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, Library Association, there were he said. “The draft that Sen. with limited resources. the sponsor for HB 384, preat least five bills introduced last “I support the sponsors’ intent Schroeder and I have together viously said in a House State year in Idaho focused on codify- Affairs Committee meeting of this bill to keep truly inappro- combined, it takes what I have ing library selection policy and in place, and it enhances it with priate materials out of the hands that the legislation is intended restricting library content for of minors,” he wrote in the letter. extra layers that they’ll be fine.” to protect minors from harmful minors. This year, library-related materials without banning or “This is an effort I know evlegislation, through bills House Demoralizing, stressful: eryone in the Idaho Legislature burning books.

Bill 384 and Senate Bill 1221, Idaho librarians describe imsupports. I encourage all Idaho“We guarantee that we won’t is once again a focal point for pact of legislation in survey ans who have questions about bankrupt any library here in Idaho legislators.

This month, the Idaho Liany library materials to become Idaho,” Crane said.

Of those bills, HB 384 familiar with the local policies brary Association sent an inforCrane said the legislation sparked significant controversy mal survey to its 260 members of their fully elected library or was inspired by last year’s among Idahoans. statewide, seeking opinions from school trustee board and engage HB 314, which According to Boise State The bill Idaho librarians on the recent after passing both directly with the officials who University’s ninth annual Idaho would have library-related legislation. chambers made oversee them.”

Public Policy Survey, most Idaallowed library The Idaho House of RepreThe survey results, obtained its way to Idaho hoans — or 69% of respondents patrons to sue Gov. Brad Little’s sentatives later failed to override by the Sun, show that of the 130 libraries if they — said they trust library staff with desk. The bill participants in the survey, many the governor’s veto by just one provide “harmbook selection. Meanwhile 23% librarians expressed feelings of vote, the Idaho Capital Sun prewould have proful materials” to of Idahoans said they do not trust hibited libraries stress, anxiety and uncertainty. viously reported. minors. It would libraries and library staff.

Many said they are contemplatHB 384 was sent back to the from providing have also created ing the possibility of relocating House State Affairs Committee “harmful materia policy that from Idaho and leaving their als” to minors, and it would have on Jan. 18, and Crane and Sen. requires community members Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain library professions behind. allowed parents to sue libraries fill out a written notice asking One librarian said in the surHome, said they are working for $2,500 for a violation of the libraries to relocate a library vey they would “absolutely look on a compromise, Boise State bill. item that they deem “harmful” for a new job” if HB 384 were Public Radio reported.

The governor vetoed it in to an adult’s only section. If a to pass.

April.

On Jan. 22, Crane declined library failed to relocate the item Another librarian, with 20 to comment on the details of In a letter to the Legislature within 30 days, then one could years of library experience, the draft legislation, but told the addressing his decision to veto, have sued the library for $250, said for the first time they find Little said the bill’s ambiguity Idaho Capital Sun that it is not as well as “actual damages and targeting librarians. work less enjoyable because of would hurt Idaho libraries — any other relief.”

< see LIBRARIANS, Page 5 >

NEWS < LIBRARIANS, con’t from Page 4 >

Library legislation could cause legal, financial stress as library-related legislation.

ICRMP reduces coverage A third librarian said during Erin Kennedy is the intellecthe last legislative session they tual freedom chair for the Idaho asked their doctor to be put on Library Association, based in antidepressant medBoise. Having ication.

The lack of foresight, spent part of A fourth librarresearch, and empathy coming her childhood ian said they “feel from legislation is tiring, and I in Cascade, hunted” by the see it wearing on those around where she Idaho Legislature. me regularly. Library work is would spend Other findings her teen years from Idaho Library what I was born to do – what am I going to do if I don’t have a at Cascade Association survey community to serve?

Public Library, show: — Anonymous Idaho librarian, Kennedy said Idaho Library Association survey rural libraries • 60% of would still be respondents most impactsaid they ed by fines in library-related are considering leaving library work as a result of legislation.

“It’s a very small, one-room legislative action focused library,” she said of the Cascade on libraries; library. “Any amount of money • 60% of respondents said is harmful to those libraries that they are considering leaving Idaho because of don’t have a budget to purchase actions of the Idaho Leg- books. It might only be $250 for one book plus $1,000 in legal islature in the last year; fees, but that’s still a significant • 77% of respondents said impact to our smaller, rural they know library worklibraries.” ers who have left their While Kennedy said she jobs to find other work because of library-related appreciates that legislators are proposing to reduce the fines, legislation in Idaho; she added that the legislation • 80% of respondents said does not speak to outside costs they know library workof hiring legal representation ers thinking of leaving for each time a library does not their jobs in libraries relocate an item. because of actions of the Like Kennedy, Ada ComLegislature. munity Library Director Mary Crane, on Jan. 22, said that he DeWalt told the Idaho Capital Sun that she is concerned about understands some of the stress paying for legal representation librarians receive, because he because of how library-relatalso receives negative messages ed legislation is impacting her related to the legislation. library’s insurance policies.

“I see the legislation as a According to changes protection for kids and for the outlined by the Idaho County libraries themselves,” he said.

Risk Management Program, or “It’s unfortunate. I don’t think ICRMP, which provides insuranybody should be threatening ance and risk management serothers on either side. I’m sorry vices to various Idaho libraries that’s happening to them, but and public institutions, coverage that’s not anybody’s intention.” for “allegations of materials acIn addition to a decrease in cessed through a library, claimed morale and librarians considering to be harmful to a minor” has leaving their jobs, some librarians are concerned about potential legal been scaled back.

This means that if a patron and financial troubles that would were to file a tort claim against arise should Idaho’s Legislature the library under allegations create regulations on content that of providing items “harmful to is deemed “harmful to minors.” a minor,” legal representation

through the insurance program would no longer be available.

DeWalt cited an instance in 2020 when ICRMP provided a lawyer after a person filed a tort claim against the library regarding its COVID-19 operations.

The case went to court, and the program assigned an attorney to support the library throughout the proceedings.

While DeWalt appreciated ICRMP’s assistance during that incident, she expressed concern for almost all Idaho library districts and city libraries without the legal representation the program would offer in case of a tort claim.

“We would have to hire an attorney on the side to represent us, which, as you can imagine, would potentially get very expensive,” she said.

Without access to this coverage, DeWalt and her library colleagues are exploring alternative options. However, she noted that securing coverage for just one item might be expensive, as most insurance companies typically don’t cover individual situations like that.

Review policies for materials are already in place, librarians say Among concerns with financial and legal costs of the legislation becoming law, Idaho librarians say that they have policies in place to ensure youth are accessing appropriate material.

Librarians interviewed by the Sun described the selection of books for their inventories as a rigorous process that includes responding to book requests from the public, while also making purchase decisions based on reviews and recommendations from publishers and book lists.

Librarians also shelve books in locations that indicate the level of difficulty and maturity of their content.

At the Buhl Public Library and some Boise libraries, youth cannot hold their own library card by themselves until they are 18, otherwise a parent is responsible for making that card.

At those libraries, parents can put restrictions on their child’s

Attendees hold books in support of Idaho libraries at the “Idaho Freedom to Read-in” event held at the Idaho Capitol Building on Jan. 13, 2024. Photo by Mia Maldonado for Idaho Capital Sun.

card, such as preventing them from checking out video games or movies. Parents also receive notices of what their children are checking out.

Meanwhile, at The Community Library in Ketchum, youth above the age of 14 are allowed to obtain their own library cards, according to its director, Jenny Davidson.

Davidson said that in the past 10 years that she’s worked at The Community Library, it has circulated more than 1 million books, with 142,000 checkouts of books in 2023 alone. Yet, the library has never received a formal request to remove a specific book from the library.

“That tells me that there is not a problem,” Davidson said in a phone interview. “That tells me that this is a problem that is being manufactured.”

Librarians say Idaho legislation targets LGBTQ+ community Hanson and Kennedy said that legislation like HBl 384 that defines “sexual conduct” as something that includes “any act of homosexuality,” is vague and targets LGBTQ+ youth.

According to the American Library Association, books with LGBTQ+ characters or those that parents claim are “sexually explicit” rank among the most frequently challenged. And Idaho libraries are no exception to the growing national trend of book challenges.

In recent years, conservative groups have scrutinized Idaho libraries for programs or literature connected to the LGBTQ+ community. Instances include religious protesters in North Ida-

ho objecting to a library program for LGBTQ+ teens; Mass Resistance, a national anti-LGBTQ+ group, protesting a drag story time event at a Pocatello library; and the Idaho Liberty Dogs, a far-right group, protesting books on sex education in the Meridian Library District.

“The way the bill is written, children who are LGBTQ+ or have families with LGBTQ+ members will be disproportionately affected,” Kennedy said.

“That is a big segment of our community that’s not seeing themselves reflected at the library. And in fact, they’re being told that their identities are not appropriate.”

Kennedy said that libraries serve as safe havens for individuals from all backgrounds.

Whether someone is facing homelessness, lacks a place to go after school, needs assistance with job applications or lacks internet access, Idaho libraries are there to support them.

“None of us want to see pornography in the library,” Kennedy said. “But we want our patrons to feel safe, happy and to know that their kids are safe and happy. But we do have to keep in mind that we serve a really diverse population and what one person may find appropriate for their child may not be the same for another family.”

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 25, 2024 / R / 5

NEWS

Brian Domke launches campaign for Dist. 1 county commissioner Reader Staff

The May 2024 GOP primary has gained another candidate, with Brian Domke announcing he’ll run for the District 1 Bonner County commissioner seat currently held by Steve Bradshaw — who has yet to announce whether he’ll seek another term — and setting up a primary challenge to Republican Brian Riley, who made his own Dist. 1 BOCC bid known in late-November.

According to his announcement, sent to local media, “Domke has been observing and participating in the Board of County Commissioners business meetings throughout the past year,” and is “concerned with the lack of humility and respect shown between members of the board and the community.”

“This dysfunction is preventing the county from fulfilling its duties in an effective and efficient manner,” his campaign stated, referring to the pattern of fractiousness that has characterized BOCC meetings since current members Bradshaw, Luke Omodt and Asia Williams took office in January 2023.

“Domke believes the citizens of Bonner County have the right and responsibility to demand the individuals elected to the office of Bonner County Commissioner conduct the business of our local government with truth, accountability and transparency,” the campaign stated.

According to the campaign website, Domke spent his early life in central New York, later moving to Bonner County with his family in 2014, where he worked as an engineering manager with Kodiak Aircraft Company. A landscape architect by trade, Domke’s campaign touted his 25 years in the construction and design sector, having “overseen the planning, design and construction of over $1 billion in public works projects, including single projects of over $100 million.”

Locally, he has volunteered as chair of the Priest River/Oldtown Sub Area Planning Committee and served on the Bonner County Natural Resource Committee, Priest Lake Search and Rescue, and the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office Volunteer Search and Rescue, as well as 4H leader, and assisted Love INC of Bonner County to provide firewood for those in need. “[I]t was an honor to serve our community in each of these volunteer roles, and now I am ready to serve our community in an even more important role 6 / R / January 25, 2024

Brian Domke.

Courtesy photo.

as one of our county commissioners,” he stated in the announcement.

Domke’s campaign describes him as “a conservative Christian Republican,” and stated that he will focus on goals under three categories: “Listen and Serve,” “Protect Our County” and “Build Trust.”

Under those categories, the campaign identified “acting as a true public servant, promoting public input and reducing special meetings,” as well as “planning and zoning reform and the defense of medical freedom,” respectively. On the topic of “medical freedom,” Domke’s website states, “It’s vital that we enact ordinances to protect the inalienable God given rights of our county’s citizens from any attempt to force or coerce the use of medical devices, treatments or testing.

Brian has previously accepted the personal risk of standing for medical freedom and he will continue to defend the rights of the people.”

He also pledged to “Build Trust between county government and the community through enhancing fiscal responsibility and removing barriers between county offices and departments.”

Other watchwords in his campaign announcement included vows to “promote truth, accountability and transparency within our local government.”

Get more info at domke4bonnercounty.com or the Facebook page “Brian Domke for Bonner County Commissioner District 1.”

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling: Prior to a door panel recently dropping off a Boeing 737, both Boeing and a parts supplier spent years lobbying in D.C. to weaken safety regulations related to production, according to The Lever.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland recently released a 2023 video of a legal response from Donald Trump, taken from part of a case claiming fraudulent activity by the former president to obtain bank loans that — according to NBC — “he otherwise would not have been entitled to.” One Trump statement: “I became president because of the brand, OK. I think it’s the hottest brand in the world.” A verdict in the case is expected soon.

A member of the House Oversight Committee informed Trump he needs to return “at least” $7.8 million his businesses received from foreign governments while he was president, MSNBC reported.

The Senate recently crafted bipartisan immigration reform measures; but, when the legislation reached the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said now is not the time, because the issue is “complicated.”

Inaction allows Trump to use unresolved immigration measures as a political issue, various media reported.

According to NBC, in exchange for Mexico increasing its border enforcement, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has proposed the U.S. invest more in Latin America and Caribbean countries, suspend the blockade with Cuba, ease sanctions against Venezuela and make it easier for migrants to work legally in the U.S. There were 92-extreme weather-related deaths last week in the U.S., the BBC reported. Five people, presumed homeless, died in Seattle. Ice caused 16 deaths in Oregon. Meanwhile, above-average temperatures this week threaten to result in flooding, which recently hit southern California.

Nature reported that Greenland’s ice sheet — which is three times the size of Texas — has been melting much faster than previously thought. The difference may be affecting the distribution of heat around the world.

After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he opposes a Palestinian state after the war ends, Jewish and progressive members of Congress criticized the U.S.’s “unconditional support” of Israel.

The Guardian reported that President Joe Biden wants to create long-term security

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

in the area via a Palestinian state. According to the BBC, Netanyahu is “increasingly unpopular” in Israel (only 15% of Israelis support him retaining power).

Israeli war cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot said Netanyahu shares a “sharp and clear” responsibility for not protecting his country when attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Now the U.N. Secretary General António Guterres has condemned Israel’s killings in Gaza and “massive destruction.”

He wants an immediate ceasefire and says refusal to initiate a two-state solution is “totally unacceptable.”

In 80% of states the richest 1% pay a lower tax rate than middle class and low-income residents, according to the nonpartisan report “Who Pays?” from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

The ITEP took into account taxes on goods, services, sales, fuel and property, along with income taxes. In the 10 states with the most regressive tax systems, the middle 60% paid an average of twice their income as opposed to the top 1%. The poorest 20% paid three times as much as the wealthiest.

Trump and Nikki Haley are the two remaining candidates in the 2024 Republican primary presidential race. In Iowa, Trump got less than 3% of the population’s vote.

Haley has questioned Trump’s mental fitness after he apparently confused her for former-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times in a campaign speech.

If Trump era tax cuts were made permanent, it would add $3.5 trillion to the national debt, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Electric cars, parked or moving, can now be charged wirelessly on a new stretch of road near Detroit, Axios reported. It is the first such road in the nation.

As many as 60,000 lives were lost due to the politicization of COVID-19 science, according to a study from Yale’s school of public health. Their stats showed that, once vaccines were available, registered Republicans in Ohio and Florida saw 33% more deaths, while Democrats saw 10% more.

Blast from the past: “Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last.” — Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British statesman who helped lead Britain to victory in WWII. He served as the nation’s prime minister twice.

And another blast: “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” — Churchill (again).

NEWS

BOCC alters rules for public comment, terms for employees’ tuition reimbursement

By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff The Bonner County board of commissioners continued its months-long streak of argumentative business meetings on Tuesday, Jan. 23, when members sparred over public comment, Commissioner Asia Williams’ agenda items and tuition reimbursement for county employees.

Chair Luke Omodt opened the meeting with a motion to add a 12th standing rule to the code of conduct, which the BOCC initially adopted on Dec. 19, 2023.

“Rule 12 says that all members of the public wanting to give public comment in the regular business meeting must sign up prior to the meeting being called to order. Members of the public wishing to give public comment via Zoom must submit a completed form prior to the call to order,” said Omodt, claiming that the rule will help maintain order and make it easier for the commissioners to follow up on any issues or questions posed by the community.

After Williams questioned whether legal counsel approved the new rule, Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson testified that counsel had not, though he expressed neither approval nor disapproval during the meeting.

“Historically, legal has made the comment that either we do public comment or you don’t do public comment,” said Williams, “but if you’re going to place restrictions around that public comment you open yourself up for a negative outcome.”

She further argued that members of the public often can’t prepare their comments in advance because questions and ideas arise during the commissioners’ discussion.

Despite Williams’ protests, Omodt’s motion to adopt the 12th rule passed with a second from Commissioner Steve Bradshaw.

Bradshaw then moved to amend the agenda to strike all 21 of Williams’ items, which covered legal opinions, her upcoming pre-business meeting “Commissioner Chat” guests, events, projects, community issues, open meeting laws and the July 26, 2023 investigative report regarding the fairgrounds’ fraud.

She divided each topic into three separate items labeled Action Chat, Discussion Chat and Decision Chat.

Bradshaw called her items “redundant” and stated that they had “absolutely nothing to do with the Bonner County business meeting.”

Before the commissioners could vote, public protests derailed the meeting, causing Omodt to call for a recess. Bradshaw’s motion eventually passed with Williams dissenting.

The rest of the meeting’s debate was largely dedicated to a proposal by the county’s Human Resources Department — following up on a Jan. 4 workshop — to rewrite Tuition Reimbursement Policy 2500, which helps coun-

ty employees afford necessary education. The proposed changes would, among other things, shorten the application for reimbursement and make it available to a wider number of employees.

Williams expressed concern that part-time employees, and those who receive grades as low as a “C,” are eligible for reimbursement.

“In terms of the overall investment in the county, investing in a permanent, full-time employee provides a greater benefit than a part-time employee,” said Williams, stating that making tuition reimbursement exclusive to fulltime employees would encourage part-time employees to aspire to permanent positions.

Bonner County Commissioners Luke Omodt, left; Asia Williams, center; and Steve Bradshaw, right. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

“A major portion of our Road and Bridge employees — maybe as high as half of them — started out as part-time employees, and through this education thing they were able to get on full time,” said Bradshaw, expressing his support for the program.

The commissioners voted to approve the changes to the policy with Williams dissenting.

The meeting came to an abrupt end in the middle of the public comment portion, when Omodt recessed the meeting until the scheduled 11 a.m. executive session.

End-of-year ID unemployment holds steady: Growth in government jobs, decline in arts, entertainment and recreation

By Reader Staff

The percentage of unemployed Idahoans stayed steady in December 2023 at 3.3% — a figure carried over from November with a number of trends canceling each other out.

While overall employment increased 0.1% month-over-month by 1,178 to 942,919 (spurred by statewide growth in the number of eligible workers), the labor participation rate fell from 62.5% to 62.4%. Labor participation rate is the percentage of residents 16 or older who are either working or looking for employment.

According to new numbers

released Jan. 19 by the Idaho Department of Labor, federal and state government employment led the industry sectors with the greatest job growth between November and December, rising 1.4% and 1.2%, respectively. Employment in the information sector grew 1%, followed by transportation, warehousing and utilities, with an increase of 0.6%.

Nonfarm jobs in Idaho fell by an overall 400 to 862,400 in December, with the biggest losses occurring in arts, entertainment and recreation (-2.3%); private educational services (-1.6%); nondurable goods manufacturing (-0.7%); professional and business

services (-0.6%); and wholesale trade (-0.5%).

Three of Idaho’s six metropolitan areas had over-the-month nonfarm job increases in December: Pocatello with 0.5%, followed by Coeur d’Alene (0.4%) and Idaho Falls (0.1%). Boise saw a decrease of 0.2% while Lewiston and Twin Falls were unchanged.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Bonner County was 4.4% — identical to Boundary County — while Kootenai County’s rate was 3.8%. Shoshone County’s rate was among the highest, at 5.1% and Clearwater County topped the state with 6.6% unemployed in December.

While Idaho’s 2023 jobless rate is lower than the national figure of 3.7%, it is an increase year-over-year from 2.8% in 2022.

Looking back on the changes in the workforce from 2022 to 2023, the Labor Department reported that 20,764 new residents joined the working population — an increase of 2.2% — which offset an increase of 6,264 in unemployed Idahoans. Total nonfarm jobs increased 3%, or 25,000, during the year period, with most sectors seeing growth except nondurable goods manufacturing, which fell 5.8%.

Arts, entertainment and recreation also experienced a steep

decline year-over-year of 4.4%, followed by real estate, rental and leasing with a decrease of 2.6%.

Retail trade fell 1.3% and administrative, support and waste management services dropped 0.2%.

All of Idaho’s MSAs saw year-over-year nonfarm job gains in December. Pocatello had the greatest increase at 4.8%, followed

by Idaho Falls (4.3%), Boise (3.3%), Coeur d’Alene (3.3%), Twin Falls (2.8%) and Lewiston (1%).

The Labor Department plans to release labor force and nonfarm jobs data for January 2024 on March 11.

Get more info at lmi.idaho.gov.

January 25, 2024 / R / 7

Trump isn’t above the law…

On a recent afternoon, a woman visited the Reader office while I sat in the captain’s chair (a.k.a.

Publisher Ben Olson’s desk) and worked on the week’s newspaper design. My 6-month-old son Liam sat nearby, bobbing up and down in his bouncy chair.

The woman asked me something along the lines of, “How do you guys make it happen week after week?”

I could have fed her one of the lines all of us salty journalists have teed up in past conversations — something like, “We don’t really know how we do it, either,” or, “Lots of caffeine!”

Instead, I welcomed her to glance over my shoulder and get a peek at the process. I told her about Friday editorial planning meetings, and how Monday and Tuesday are wordsmithing days while Wednesday — well, Wednesdays are deadline.

Even now, six months since my transition from news editor to stay-at-home parent, I wake up on Wednesday mornings with a knot in my stomach, the phantom of so many deadlines past still lurking in my nervous system.

The woman thanked me for the glimpse behind the scenes and, after she left, Liam and I continued doing what those in the captain’s chair do: We made it happen.

During the past few weeks of filling in for our fearless leader while he galivants across lands much warmer than North Idaho, I’ve had a blast. It helps that Liam is truly a roll-with-anything kind of baby, but mostly it helps that the Reader remains home to the greatest co-workers of all time.

The addition of Staff Writer Soncirey Mitchell is the best thing that could have happened for our readership. She is a gem, and brings a renewed sense of excitement to my old desk.

How does the Reader happen each week? It takes hard work, and a community that believes in the mission. Let’s keep making it happen.

8 / R / January 25, 2024

Dear editor, In honor of my Norwegian grandfather, I write this paraphrase of one of his often-said basic truths: “If it looks like an insurrectionist, talks like an insurrectionist, gestures like an insurrectionist, encourages like an insurrectionist then by God it’s probably an insurrectionist.”

Trump is clearly an insurrectionist by word and action. He clearly took an oath to defend the Constitution four years previously on Jan. 20, 2017.

The GOP apologists can try to change the narrative over Jan. 6, 2021, all they want. But millions of Americans and people around the world cannot unsee the attempted coup that occurred on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C. Any rational individual reading the 14th Amendment can clearly see that Trump meets the criteria for denial of any public office.

Being on the ballot is another matter. If his supporters really want to nominate him to any federal office, that’s their choice. Nominating and being elected are two very different things.

If elected, Trump should not be seated simply because he clearly violated the provisions of the United States Constitution’s 14th Amendment. None are above the law. Especially anyone that tried to overturn the democratic process of an orderly transition of power after an election.

Gil Beyer Sandpoint

School infrastructure bill isn’t quite what it seems …

Dear editor, Scott Herndon wrote an article that was published in the Reader on Dec. 27, 2023 touting all the great things that he did for Idaho schools.

He brags about his support for HB 292, which tackled property tax relief and provided some funding for school infrastructure.

Based on Idaho Education News, districts across the state are getting around $106 million from the fund.

However, a recent study showed that it would take about $850 billion to bring all public school facilities in the state up to good condition.

What Herndon failed to mention is that buried within this bill was a new election regulation that prohibits the state’s March election date, which is when many school districts run elections for school bonds and levies.

Since the state continues to deny funding to public schools, our districts rely heavily on levies and we must

have the right, as a community, to vote on those levies.

Do not be fooled, HB 292 was not about improving public schools and Herndon is not a champion for public education.

Sara Trautwein Sandpoint

‘The law hasn’t changed’…

Dear editor, Every two years, we go to the polls and elect all 105 members of the Idaho Legislature. In the May primary election, we choose a candidate within our party. In the November general election, we put the party candidates up against one another to determine who will represent our legislative district.

There has been a lot of discussion this year about the GOP rules for the primary election. This past summer the Republican Party did change the party rules regarding the primary election. For example, party rules now say that a person must affiliate with the GOP by Dec. 30 of the year preceding the election to vote the Republican ballot in the May primary.

In fact, voting in Idaho is governed by the Idaho Constitution and state law, and neither has changed.

The rules of a private organization do not determine the laws surrounding a public election. Party rules can be viewed as the desire of those controlling the party rule-making process, but the party rule change did not change Idaho voting laws.

Unaffiliated voters, who make up a quarter of Idaho registered voters, can still show up on election day, May 21, 2024, and vote in the Republican primary. Voters affiliated with a political party in Idaho may change to a different party by the March 15, 2024 deadline.

Voter information is available at voteidaho.gov for registration, party affiliation and to request an absentee ballot.

Shawn Keough Sandpoint

Counting calories and cents…

Dear editor, I just saw an ad for a $130 dinner at a Sandpoint restaurant. While as a vegan, there was little I could eat, even Diamond Jim Brady would be hard put to down the six courses at one sitting. While everyone is entitled to spend their money as they please, even a person like myself, who gets enough from pensions to feed myself adequately, would ask if this is a good way to spend my money.

It is possible to eat wholesomely and adequately in Sandpoint for $20

a day. The excellent salad bar at Winter Ridge costs $10 and yields enough food for two meals. You can get a decent-sized pizza from Babs or Second Avenue Pizza for $20. You can add a can of beans to a $5 minestrone soup at Super 1 and eat very well for two days on $7.

To patronize local businesses, I try to go out twice a week, but rarely spend more than $40 (including tip) for a perfectly adequate meal and an alcoholic beverage. If I spend more, I have to spend a half hour on the step to work off the unnecessary calories.

I cannot imagine anyone in Sandpoint under 25 years of age downing a six course meal without unfortunate consequences for their health.

There are many people in Sandpoint who cannot feed their families on their earnings. I could probably afford a $50 meal if at least $10 of it went to the food bank, homeless shelter or pet rescue. I used to volunteer at food banks and soup kitchens in Sandpoint, but tired of people who were mostly there to show off their wealth.

I am not a communist or socialist but think there’s a better way to spend $130 than getting indigestion or endangering one’s health.

Donald Kass Sandpoint

What’s truly ‘objectionable’?…

Dear editor, Plato, Aesop, Socrates, Aristotle, Homer, Cicero, Justinius, Chaucer, Shakespear, Twain, Orwell, Steinbeck, Joyce, Updike, Salinger, London, Kesey and Faulkner are just some of the many famous authors whose works would likely fit the criteria of “objectionable sexual or violent content,” thus unavailable to anyone under 18, if Idaho’s latest misguided library book ban bill is passed.

Supporters say it isn’t technically a “book ban.” It’s just triggered by anyone who complains about the content of any literature they find objectionable, such as the works of the above authors and many others.

The $2,500 fine is now just $250, plus “awarded attorney’s fees, actual damages and other relief provided by law.” Also, the attorney’s fees for the library or school to respond to every lawsuit.

Yup, that shouldn’t cost us taxpayers much.

Basically, every library will need a large room to house all the “objectionable” works and authors only accessible by those older than 18. Meaning essentially every school library — and most community libraries — will need to shut down because they are only

one room, or do not have a separate room or multiple staff to police access to the “objectionable” room.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free,” (John 8:32).

The truth is that one can find many references in the Bible of pretty explicit and inappropriate sexual and violent content, including incest, rape, gang rape, promiscuity, obscenity, infidelity, abortion, prostitution, slavery, genocide and regular murders committed out of jealousy, hate or uncontrolled anger.

Surely, the Bible shouldn’t be locked in a room where only those over 18 can access it. Should it?

Pierre Bordenave Sandpoint

‘Cold snap’…

Dear editor, I am renting this winter in Sandpoint — too hard for me out on the mountain. My pipes froze in the rental. Sandpoint to the rescue! A plumber, an electrician, a telephone system, roads, clean water (hot and cold), these are all basic services that could not exist without local, state and federal government.

For more than 20 years I have lived remotely, relying on government help: fire, roads, library, plumbers and electricians — licensed by the government. Gasoline and the internet, giving me access far beyond our tiny community. Plowing the roads!

Government-provided communication infrastructure means we have KRFY. I rarely ask community members whether they carry guns or have had an abortion. Whether they send their children to public or private schools, homeschool or take them to the library. I do not ask what their political opinions are. Community is more important than that.

All of these necessary things are impossible without people willing to serve as city council members, county commissioners, mayors, representatives, senators, governors. They must figure out how much government we need and how much is too much.

So much depends on those who oversee our transportation, waste, energy systems and water, a hospital and a library. Those who are trying to figure out how to stop the forest fires.

And are putting them out. We can’t thank you enough!

Next time the cold snaps, think about voting for people who support these government functions. The ones who make our community possible.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

PERSPECTIVES

Fight or flight

By Diana Dawson Reader Contributor I was 16 when I had my first transformative political experience. It was 1967 and I had been selected as an American Field Service student. I, along with 700 other U.S. students, boarded a ship headed to Europe. On arrival we all headed to our assigned countries — destinations known, experiences to come unknown. Five of us departed to Portugal, then ruled by the dictator António Salazar.

Today, I direct the nonprofit organization North Idaho Voter Services, and have daily conversations with as many people as possible about our government, our candidates and our current issues. What I constantly hear is that confidence in our government and public officials is low — so low that many voters do not want to participate at the ballot box. It feels like we’re poised on the cusp of another political transformation, with some choosing flight and some choosing fight.

As a teenaged AFS student in Portugal, the most challenging adjustment for me wasn’t the new bed, the food or the language. Instead, it was the authoritarian rule and how it permeated the country and the family with whom I lived.

As an American born into freedom and liberty, I had no perception of censorship. I quickly learned the value of freedom of speech, forced to carefully craft anything I said in public. In my AFS family, I stifled my horror when I learned that the father with whom I was staying had arranged a marriage for his oldest daughter; despite the fact she was in love with a different man. Instead of voicing my outrage, I learned to share my sorrow and tears with his daughters behind closed doors. I learned about the insidious nature of authoritarianism. I learned to channel my anger into promises for the future and the country I loved.

When I left the U.S. I was on track to become a veterinarian. When I returned, my major was quickly changed to political science. When our ship sailed into New York, every single

Idahoans have a choice in setting the trajectory for our politics

student was on deck to wave to the Statue of Liberty. When we stepped off the ship, we entered a world of turmoil — protests over the Vietnam war, a draft that killed many of my friends and teachers, the assassination of great men like President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

It was a tough time indeed, equally as bad then or more so than now.

Yet the sanctity of democracy, liberty and freedom — and my desire to protect it — prevailed. Many of us chose to fight for the greater good and the improvement of our country. It worked, but nothing is permanent. Once again in our country, and especially here in North Idaho, we are witnessing a changing political paradigm. With growing prevalence, I’ve witnessed candidates and campaigns that put our traditional, conservative values and our foundation of independent thinking on the line.

Notably, changes are at work including an influx of far-right individuals, supported by out-of-state dark money and extreme ideological determination.

These individuals have gained control of the Idaho Republican Party, becoming a superminority with the power to influence every level of our political system. Their effects on our institutions are both immediate and long-lasting.

Beginning in North Idaho, these efforts have now spread throughout the state.

In the past two years alone, school levies were defeated, respected teachers were unfairly targeted, patient/doctor relationships were disrupted, librarians faced baseless accusations and elected officials were censured by Republican central committees seeking to undermine voting rights.

When identifying how this superminority has come to power, the main culprit I blame is low voter turnout, especially in primaries. Since 2016, voter turnout in Idaho Legislative District 1 primary elections has averaged less than 35% — which contributes to the election of more extreme candidates who capitalize on the fatigue and apathy of the majority.

January 25, 2024 / R / 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

pasta

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Chances are that you’ve probably eaten pasta at some point in your life. Most people consume premade pasta from the grocery store. Dried and pre-packaged pasta saves the consumer an immense amount of time and physical labor — as anyone who’s watched MasterChef can attest, making your pasta is no simple feat.

Pasta itself is relatively straightforward. It’s unleavened dough rolled into thin sheets and cut into shapes or strips.

Unleavened dough is just dough that wasn’t exposed to a rising agent like yeast. Generally, you don’t want pasta to puff up like bread or pastry dough. Pasta is meant to be a vehicle that soaks up the surrounding flavors to create a medley of taste and texture in your mouth, and sucking in too much air would often make that process less enjoyable.

That’s not to say that pasta is exclusively unleavened — raised pasta does exist, usually made from sourdough, but unleavened pasta is far more common.

Despite what your Italian grandmother may tell you, there is virtually no limit to the size and shape of pasta you can create. Numerous types exist currently, each with their own specific function and flavor profile.

Classic spaghetti noodles are a bit of a workhorse on this side of the Atlantic. They have great utility as a pasta, being round and thin, which makes them easy to store and easy to cook uniformly. Their sticky nature makes them great for soaking up sauce and bits of protein, and 10 / R / January 25, 2024

they’re simple to eat and even simpler to dispose of whatever hasn’t been consumed.

Note: Your Italian grandmother will beat you with a spoon if you break your spaghetti in half.

There’s no real chemical or physical change to the pasta if you do or don’t break it in half, but it does make it easier to twirl around your fork when it remains unbroken.

Some may argue that it’s easier to keep al dente, or slightly chewy, when a third of the pasta hasn’t cooked for as long as the rest.

Pasta used in lasagna is noticeably wider than spaghetti.

This is almost exclusively to help create neatly divided layers when constructing the lasagna.

Other large noodles, like bow tie pasta noodles, introduce a different amount of air into each bite, which can influence the texture and flavor of a dish. This is likely the reasoning behind unstuffed penne pasta, which can help alter the amount of air consumed while eating. This would be harder to control if the pasta were raised by yeast, so the uniform nature of pasta noodles lends itself to consistency both in the cook and the consumption.

Most pasta is made from eggs, water and wheat flour. As dietary needs have changed for a growing population of humans on a global scale, so too have pasta recipes. Numerous gluten-free variants exist, some that are packed with even more protein than classic gluten-rich types.

Spoiler alert: The gluten protein is what makes a dough.

Working the gluten and giving it time to rest builds molecular bonds that create a “stickiness” to the dough that gives it structure, particularly while it’s proofing or rising in the oven, which pasta doesn’t do. Extra components

are required in gluten-free dough to make the structure behave as gluten would.

The most common ingredient to facilitate this reaction is xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is produced by allowing the Xanthomonas campestris bacteria to digest a number of simple sugars through fermentation, producing the polysaccharide xanthan gum as the final product. Unsettling as this may be, it’s not quite as gross as artificial vanilla using castoreum. Trust me, just Google it.

Pasta has a very long history.

You may have heard that Marco Polo returned to Europe with noodle recipes from East Asia and gave Italian chefs their first crack at creating wheat-based pasta. This is critically wrong.

While it’s completely possible that this happened, we know for a fact that this was not the first instance of pasta being created, cooked and consumed in Europe.

More than a millennia before Marco Polo’s voyage, pasta was left in an Etruscan tomb in Italy in the 4th century B.C.E. The Greeks even cited the god Vulcan as inventor of a device that created strands of dough similar to spaghetti.

Despite Italy being considered the pasta capital of the world, the French have played a much greater part in bringing pasta to North America. Thomas Jefferson, founding father and the guy on the $2 bill, brought a macaroni-making machine back to the U.S. with him from France.

(As an extra bit of fun, the term “Macaroni fashion,” which is famously referred to in the traditional song “Yankee Doodle,” isn’t actually referring to the pas-

ta, per say. It originated from the practice of high-faluting English dudes to enjoy the then-relatively exotic dish while traveling abroad and dressing with ostentatious luxury — making them a subject of derision for their affected and often outlandish style of dress and behavior.)

The first pasta factory in the United States was started by a Frenchman in Brooklyn, N.Y..

Fast forward to 2024, and the total revenue generated by pasta

in the U.S. hovers a little north of $9.2 billion. This number is expected to grow, especially as more luxurious food sources become more difficult to acquire due to the effects of market change, inflation and economic uncertainty.

Just how much of that $9.2 billion worth of pasta is French?

I’ll let you figure that one out.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner ogs?

Don’t know much about Hedgeh • All 17 species of hedgehogs are native to Europe, Asia or Africa, and are members of the subfamily Erinaceinae.

Though they’re now extinct, a genus of hedgie called Amphechinus likely lived in North America during the Miocene — from 5 million to 23 million years ago. Hedgehogs’ closest relatives are moonrats, shrews and moles.

• Like human hair and nails, Hedgehog spines are made of keratin. Adult hedgehogs have between 5,000 and 7,000 spines on their body, which they shed over time as new ones grow in.

• A hedgie can contract its panniculus muscles to curl into a ball, protecting its soft belly from predators in a cocoon of spikes. Though these hogs are born with around 150 quills, they’re initially hidden beneath fluid-filled skin to protect the mother.

The swelling goes down after birth, revealing the hoglet’s first spikes.

• Hedgehogs are largely insectivores, though they can eat birds’ eggs, carrion and even small rodents, chicks, frogs, lizards and snakes.

Some species enjoy a salad of leaves, fruit, roots and seeds alongside their meaty main course.

We can help!

• Sir Brian May, astrophysicist and founding member of the band Queen, advocates for the protection of Britain’s hedgehogs through the charity Project Amazing Grace. Animal rights activists rescued the eponymous Grace as a hoglet and helped her recover from a terrible neck wound. Inspired by her perseverance, “Grace’s Army” now catalogs hogs throughout Britain and teaches gardeners how to make their outdoor spaces safe and inviting for the little pincushions.

• Any Idahoan dreaming of adopting a European hedgehog as a pet will require special permitting from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture for “possession of Deleterious Exotic animals,” which IDAPA 02.04.27 defines as, “Any live animal, or hybrid thereof, that is not native to the state of Idaho and is determined … to be dangerous to the environment, livestock, agriculture, or wildlife of the state.” According to the San Diego Zoo, hedgehogs share this classification with animals like cheetahs and leopards because they can bite and may harbor parasites in their quills.

• As of 2020, Idaho considers African hedgehogs household pets, making them exempt from the aforementioned law under House Bill 471.

PERSPECTIVES

Idaho’s budget committee loses integrity Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise Reader Contributor

yielded a default skeletal budget to fall back on, creating a “hostage” legislative leaders may Dr. Martin Luther King be willing to shoot, with Jr. said, “Budgets are moral harmful repercussions documents,” because they for Idahoans. show our real values. AllocatAdditionally, the ing our public dollars demands house speaker can thoughtful, transparent delibunilaterally hold any erations. Unfortunately, recent bill, including bills that moves by Republican legislacorrect budget holes. tive leaders have compromised It’s reminiscent of the Idaho’s process with serious power House RepubRep. Lauren Necochea consequences. licans in Congress gave The integrity of our nationally lauded each member to recall Speaker McCarthy. budgeting process started eroding last year.

Matt Gaetz used it to leave our nation with GOP leaders knocked House Democrats a non-functioning government for weeks down to just one member on the budget while Republicans haggled over who would committee, taking away our proportional become the next speaker. representation. This month, Republican

These changes put undue power into the hands of a few who can manufacture budget space for their personal agenda items, such as the school voucher scheme that both budget committee chairs have endorsed.

Idahoans deserve a budget that goes through a fair process and is responsive to constituents. It’s more important than ever that Idahoans speak up about their budget priorities.

Rep. Lauren Necochea is the House assistant Democratic leader, representing District 19 in Boise on the Environment, Energy and Technology; Resources and Conservation; Revenue and Taxation; and Ways and Means committees.

co-chairs ushered in new procedures, beginning negotiations by cramming through skeletal budgets at the outset instead of studying funding needs first.

The speed-budgeting spent about $2 billion per hour. This meant many omissions and errors, including one that nearly slashed annual teacher pay by $6,359. My Democratic colleagues rightfully voted against this careless approach.

The skeletal budgets leave critical initiatives unfunded, such as the LAUNCH scholarships for in-demand job training, interventions for the dangerous quagga mussels threatening our water and upgrades to bridges that pose a safety risk.

Small in scope, but still important, are items like guardian ad litem programs, which advocate for children as they navigate foster care.

Budget committee leaders claim they will add funding, but they have backed Idaho into a devastating default budget. And they made it difficult to resolve harmful cuts. Once a budget is passed, rules require that two-thirds of the committee vote to reopen it, or seven of the 10 members from the House and Senate. This threshold means a “no” vote counts more than twice as much as a “yes” vote. A few fringe legislators have the power to keep slash-and-burn budgets in place.

What is the supermajority’s motivation?

It appears to be about power. Traditionally, House leaders will hold off on approving one budget bill to prevent the Senate from adjourning before they get something they want, and vice versa. The new process

January 25, 2024 / R / 11

PERSPECTIVES

Greetings from Boise

By Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint Reader Contributor The 2024 Legislative session started on Jan. 8 with a cautiously optimistic State of the State address by Gov. Brad Little. His proposed budget includes continued support for public education, tax cuts, infrastructure and public safety. However, there are other — less optimistic — opinions in the Capitol as well.

We are already seeing trends for this session. Things are moving quicker. We have seen bills introduced on a constitutional amendment, Medicaid changes, judicial reform, drug trafficking sentencing, library operations and abortion. Some of these bills have been pulled back and are already being amended.

We are also seeing changes unfold in the operations of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC). Typically, state agencies submit their budgets to the governor in the fall. His staff works through them and produces a recommended budget for each department/division. JFAC then reviews each budget and adjusts as it sees fit. Historically, it’s JFAC that sets the final budgets, not the House or Senate. More than 99% of the JFAC-recommended budgets are

12 / R / January 25, 2024

A look at some trends in the 2024 Legislature

approved by the House, Senate and governor without changes. In the past, budget presentations have taken about 90 hours of time (six weeks of morning meetings). No budget actions were taken before the entirety of the presentations were completed. But, this year, agency budgets are being presented in an abbreviated manner. The members of JFAC will also not be waiting to hear all presentations before beginning to make their budget recommendations.

To my knowledge, this has never been done this way or so quickly.

At this point, most representatives (including myself), are accessing the previously mentioned bills (and many more) and beginning their research. Many bills will require additional study and contacts to subject matter experts at home to determine the best path forward. There is a history of combining the details of similar bills as well.

The House Education Committee held a print hearing for a major rewrite of charter school policy (House Bill 386, 31 pages).

“House Ed’’ voted to print the bill and will schedule a full hearing of the bill in two to three weeks to allow the committee members adequate time to read through the bill,

research it and speak with constituents. The governance of charter schools could change significantly.

The House Judiciary and Rules Committee has held several hearings over the past two weeks. Bills covering criminal use of artificial intelligence, mandatory minimum sentencing for those found guilty of trafficking fentanyl in certain quantities, and judicial oversight for criminal activity of minors under the age of 10 have all been introduced.

All the above-mentioned issues signal some of this session will likely be a continuation of the last one. Libraries, abortion, education and other current issues will continue to be on the “dashboard” for representatives and a source of attention for the media.

I plan to spend considerable time reading 2024 bills, asking questions, learning more about the subject matter, checking in with our district and forecasting the consequences before I make my final votes. I encourage those interested in these and the other issues for this session to do the same.

Thoughts, comments, feedback? I can be reached at msauter@house.idaho.gov or 208-332-1035. This session I will be writing a newsletter. If you would like me to send you

Rep. Mark Sauter. Courtesy photo. one, please send me your email address.

I’m driving home on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, Jan. 27, I plan to host three meetand-greets in Dist. 1. Details as follows: Tyee Coffee (50 Main St., Ste. 105, in Priest River) at 9 a.m.; Kokanee Coffee (509 Fifth Ave., in Sandpoint) at 10:30 a.m.; and Mugsy’s Tavern (in a meeting room at 7161 Main St., in Bonners Ferry) at 1 p.m.

Hope to see you there and hear from you.

Rep. Mark Sauter is a Republican legislator representing District 1A. He serves on the Agricultural Affairs; Education; and Judiciary, Rules and Administration committees.

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

Right: John Hagadone, left; Birch Kinney, center; and Anderson Kinney, right, show off their warm hats to photographer Ben Olson.

Bottom left: Doug Jones took the Reader on a day of ice skating at the National Gallery of Art rink on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on the last day of 2023. In the background is the National Archives Building. “Hell, everything is ‘national’ around here!” wrote photographer Jim Healey.

Bottom center: Joe Leonti brought the Reader along on a trip to Europe. He can be seen here at the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey, which is located next to modern-day Selçuk.

Bottom right: Two nostalgic buttons from Sandpoint’s past, photographed by Brooke Moore. Last we checked, these buttons are still for sale at the Museum Guild shop, located adjacent to the Panida Theater at 300 N. First Ave. in Sandpoint.

January 25, 2024 / R / 13

PERSPECTIVES

Senate President Chuck Winder, ostensibly the senior-most adult in the Idaho Legislature’s Romper Room, recently commented that, if it weren’t for abortion, there would be no workforce labor shortage.

Let that sink in.

Women, apparently, are shirking the responsibility of churning out a capitalistic proletariat. I can see the propaganda posters now: Uncle Sam wants YOU to LABOR for the sake of LABOR! Or Rosie the Riveter might be pictured doing kegels rather than a bicep flex, accompanied by We can do it! Baby factories strengthen factories!

Winder — a Republican of Boise — specifically mentions the service sector’s shortage of workers, and it makes me wonder: Should I have carried my abusive ex-husband’s child so that said child could be serving Winder a Big Mac today?

How could I have been so selfish? I have robbed the U.S. economy at large. And Winder, specifically. With my abortion, I absconded with my freedom, my health, my sanity, my future. And we, as a nation, suffer for it.

In our business, yes, I’ve noticed the labor shortage. Yes, I’ve despaired at how hard it can be to find qualified, engaged people willing to show up day after day, let alone year after year. Our business is a Jenga tower, teetering on the diminished base of a depleted labor pool, one ravaged by workforce housing shortages, an exorbitant cost of living

14 / R / January 25, 2024

Jen Jackson Quintano. ($16 craft cocktails?!) and Tinder offerings as shallow as the local splash pad in July. A lack of help is the greatest threat to our business’s continued survival.

However, I do not lay that burden at the feet — or the uteri — of desperate women. Rather, I think about how Winder and his colleagues (among other things) refused to accept $38 million in federal grant money to help expand child care availability, because they did not want to “make it more convenient for women to come out of the home.”

Child care challenges cost our economy $525 million each year, with parents caring for children rather than working.

What about the female half of the workforce, Sen. Winder?

Or is their work only to birth and bring up the babies who will fill the jobs?

And what about those ba-

bies? Why are we considering quantity of life over quality? I think of the child I might have had 18 years ago. Who would he be? Would Sen. Winder celebrate him as an employable answered prayer? I play out this scenario often.

I was young and in a brandnew relationship with a much older man when I got pregnant.

That relationship went on to become a torturous marriage wherein my movements were tracked, my connections to others surveilled and severed, and my essence assailed as untrustworthy, unevolved, unlovable. I lived in a state of fight or flight, alert to when my husband’s mood might unexpectedly shift, when I might be the target of his pain. My heart perpetually ached and raced.

I still have dreams about him in which my heart returns to its steeplechase antics, and I wake up queasy. It’s been more than 15 years since I left him.

What might it have been like for a child in such an environment? Whom might that pregnancy have become?

Studies show that high cortisol levels during pregnancy lead to premature birth and a higher incidence of cognitive, behavioral and emotional problems in the child. Risks for depression, psychosis and heart disease increase. Such stress is a precursor to postpartum depression in the mother. My child would likely have come into the world disadvantaged, his development warped by my fear. He would have matured in

a household with a depressed mother and an unpredictable father. Who would he be today, at age 18? What would his demons look like? How might he cope with them?

In this way, I believe my abortion was a mercy. Both for me and for the child who never was.

If Sen. Winder wants to talk about my bodily offerings in economic terms, I would assert that my abortion was also a gift to the economy. While I was in a relationship with my ex-husband, I was allowed to work little. I had no money. My existence was subsidized.

However, with my freedom, I was allowed to partner anew, to build a business, to employ people in my community, to pump money back into the local economy. I was able to birth and raise a happy, well adjusted child who will likely contribute to the workforce in positive ways.

My daughter is a shining light, a stark contrast to the dark shadow of what might have been.

But the thing is, you can’t look at a living being only in economic terms. Women and children are not baby factories or factory workers. I refuse to be reduced. We should all refuse.

My ex reduced me, and that was integral to the abuse.

Republicans in the Idaho Legislature believe a woman’s sole purpose is to birth children or die trying. A woman’s only good is as a mother, and her rights should be restricted to support that. The Legislature is currently considering a bill that

would lead to the ascendance of a fertilized egg’s rights over the fully formed person carrying it. As Nampa Republican Sen. Todd Lakey said last year, a woman’s health “weighs less, yes, than the life of the [unborn] child.”

In this way, we are living The Handmaid’s Tale.

I know such allusions are getting old. We’ve been making them for years. But the thing is, they are only becoming more apt. The similarity is of greater urgency even as we assimilate to that urgency.

That is also key to abuse: its normalization.

My ex-husband told me that every couple fights. Raised voices and pain are natural.

This is just the way things are. Get used to it.

But let’s remember: This diminishment of bodily autonomy is not how it was for our matriarchs. There is no modern-day precedent for such regression.

This is entirely not normal.

I will not be a victim to Idaho’s reductive views.

I am so much more than the potential contents of my womb.

I am a multifaceted and worthy individual. And I am a fighter.

Mayday.

Will you join me?

Jen Jackson Quintano writes and runs an arborist business with her husband in Sandpoint. Find their website at sandcreektreeservice.com.

See more of Quintano’s writing at jenjacksonquintano.com.

COMMUNITY

Ponderay Rotary Club seeks support for annual scholarship fund drive Reader Staff

For students lacking financial support, pursuing higher education can seem overwhelming and unattainable.

To help lighten that burden, Ponderay Rotary offers a number of scholarships aimed at giving students the opportunity to take control over their educational journey and career aspirations. However, the service organization needs to raise the funds to make those scholarships possible, and is seeking support for its annual scholarship drive.

Any donations or sponsorship are welcome, with the club’s sponsor levels and benefits detailed at ponderayrotaryclub. com. Donations can be mailed to P.O. Box 813, Ponderay, ID 83852, or through the website. Donations are tax deductible.

Scholarship applications will open in February — and available on the Rotary website — while the fund drive will end Monday, April 15.

Ponderay Rotary distributed $35,000 to area students in 2023 and has given out $300,000 in educational support over the past 17 years. The club hopes to offer at least $35,000 again in 2024.

The scholarships can be applied beyond traditional college to various educational programs, including trade schools, beauty schools, vocational training or any other form of education beyond the conventional college route. Applicants of all ages are invited to apply.

“Together, let’s invest in the potential of our students and pave the way for a brighter, more inclusive future,” the club stated in a news release.

January 25, 2024 / R / 15

Paid for by Tim Henney.

16 / R / January 25, 2024

STAGE & SCREEN

Bangers and meh

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Most critics agree that television is currently experiencing a heyday. Where before it was considered a lesser tier to feature films, it’s now common for A-list celebrities to participate in shows and limited series.

One aspect of the TV show that has remained roughly the same for the past half century is the theme song. It’s only in recent years that traditional theme songs have begun to disappear from new shows.

Some shows have intros that, like Pavlovian dogs, we hear and feel that all’s right with the world.

For the next 30 minutes or so, we can sink into the couch and join these fictional characters on their merry adventures.

Then there are the songs that make you tear out your hair while you scramble to push the “skip intro” button as quickly as possible.

Here are some of my favorite small-screen bangers over the years, and a handful of meh songs that should probably be buried in a vault somewhere.

Banger: The Office (U.S.) Not only is the U.S. version of The Office one of the most highly praised shows in the history of television, but its title sequence and montage at the beginning of every episode is near perfect. It’s short, to the point and never seems to get old. Composed by James Ferguson, the intro song almost didn’t make it, as producers planned to use a few other options, including a song called “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra and “Better Things” by The Kinks.

Fun fact: The drive-by videos of Scranton, Penn. in the intro were actually taken by actor John Krasinksi, who played Jim Halpert. After learning he was going to be cast in the show, Krasinski decided to celebrate by going on a trip with a couple of friends, during which he filmed the different shots of Scranton. They were ultimately used at the start of every episode.

The best and worst TV sitcom theme songs

Meh: Orange is the New Black When I first heard Regina Spektor’s “You’ve Got Time” as the intro for the show Orange is the New Black, I thought it was pretty cool. Then, after multiple episodes, I grew tired of the screeching, grating quality of the song. It sets the vibe for a show about a prison, but since this series came out before Netflix introduced the “skip intro” button, we were all forced to listen to it over and over again, like our own individual jail sentences.

Banger: Stranger Things Sometimes a theme song will fit the mood of the show flawlessly. The composition by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein of the synth band S U R V I V E absolutely stuck the landing for the Stranger Things intro. It’s haunting and dark, with synth elements that give a nod to the decade in which it takes place, but there’s nothing old or tired about it.

Meh: The Golden Girls I might be showing my age a bit, but I still remember watching episodes of The Golden Girls with my parents when I was a kid.

These feisty senior ladies were living their best lives in some kind of age-restricted community in Miami, tackling heavy subject matters along the way. The theme song, however, makes me shudder.

“Thank You For Being a Friend,”

by Andrew Gold but re-recorded

by Cynthia Fee for the show, is a sappy, unbearable song that didn’t do the series any favors. It’s mediocre at best.

Banger: Twin Peaks Both the theme song and the music throughout David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks is some of the best in television history. The dreamy instrumental gently washes over the viewer with a vibrato quality, setting the mood for what is truly one of TV’s most iconic and surreal shows. Even decades after its finale, Julie Cruise’s “Falling” is still considered a dream-pop hit,

and it has also been celebrated as one of the “Top 100 songs of the 1990s” by New Musical Express, labeling the song, “An eerie ’50s-flecked ballad.”

Meh: Friends I realize I’ll probably get some hate mail for this, but I remain steadfastly annoyed by The Rembrandts “I’ll Be There For You,” which kicked off every episode of Friends. Sure, it’s catchy. It’s nostalgic. It fits well with the goofy, oversized suit-wearing actors dancing around like dorks in a fountain. But it’s such a cheesy song. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Rest in peace, Matthew Perry.

Honorable mentions (before listing the final banger, here are some honorable mentions that should be included, not necessarily because the songs are great, but more for their nostalgic properties).

X-Files For what it’s worth, the X-Files theme song fits perfectly into what the show was all about. It’s a spooky tune created literally by accident, as composer Mark Snow’s elbow struck his keyboard and created the sound that he’d been looking for.

Full House With that boppy quality that only music in the 1980s achieved, the opening credits to Full House will forever be stuck in my head.

Written by Jesse Frederick and Bennett Salvay, the song evokes feelings of family and memories of the past.

Perfect Strangers This Odd Couple-style show featured two likable characters tossed together into strange, comedic situations. While Larry Applegate was a bit uptight, his cousin Balki Bartokomous from the small Greek Island of Mepos was flamboyant and carefree. The theme song always felt uplifting, with lyrics such as, “Standing tall, on the wings of my dream / Rise and fall, on the wings of my dream / The rain and thunder, the wind and haze / I’m bound for better days / It’s my life, and my dream / Nothing’s going to stop me now.”

Cue the ’80s harmonica outro.

Curb Your Enthusiasm You either hate Larry David or love him to death. I’m in the latter category. The moment you hear that womp-womp-womp-womp intro for Curb Your Enthusiasm’s theme song, you know you’re in

“Cheers was filmed before a live studio audience.”

Courtesy photo.

for another bout of lunacy that only David can create. The music comes from an obscure piece by Italian composer Luciano Michelini (“Frolic”) that David once overheard in a bank commercial and instantly wanted to use for his cringe-comedy spectacular.

The song has since taken on a life of its own on the internet, being used as the go-to meme music to play right after someone screws up badly.

Final Banger: Cheers Who doesn’t want their home bar to be a little like Cheers? The opening theme for this long-running comedy was performed by Gary Portnoy, who co-wrote it with Judy Hart-Angelo. From the opening piano keys of “Where Everybody Knows Your Name” viewers are instantly transported to their favorite underground Boston bar, where, indeed, everybody does know your name.

January 25, 2024 / R / 17

events

Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com THURSDAY, January 25

January 25 - Feb. 1, 2024 Game Night 7pm @ Tervan Tavern Bingo Night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Happy Family Hour 4:30-5:30pm @ Matchwood Featuring live music with Buster Brown and a specialty shareable platter featuring Matchwood’s favorite bites!

By Reader Staff

FriDAY, January 26

Live Music w/ BTP 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Classic rock

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

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

Live Jazz w/ Ron Keiper 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ The Ronaldos 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Sammy Eubanks 6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ

Karaoke Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 8pm @ Tervan Tavern 5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33 Live Music w/ Ian Newbill Live Jazz w/ Truck Mills 6-9pm @ 1908 Saloon 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Country and classic rock

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World 7pm @ the Panida Free showing presented by KRFY

SATURDAY, January 27

Live Music w/ Tim G. 6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Singer-songwriter classic rock

Live Music w/ Ben Vogel 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Live Music w/ B Radicals 9pm @ 219 Lounge

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

Karaoke 8pm @ Tervan Tavern

Live Music w/ Steven Wayne 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Heat Speak Album Release Party Sandpoint Dance 7pm @ the Heartwood Center 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall Doors open at 6:30pm. Mama Llama to open Anniversary dance event. Doors open at 6:45, basics of salsa lesson at 7 followed by general dancing 8-10.

Refreshments, door prizes and fun. $8 cash entry. Couples, singles and all levels of dancers welcome

SunDAY, January 28

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

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

Open Mic Night 6pm @ Tervan Tavern

Karaoke 8pm @ Tervan Tavern

Keeler, Morse and Webb: Songs in the round 2pm @ Pearl Theater in Bonners Ferry Award-winning songs from three of the Northwest’s singer-songwriters. Swing, blues and folk. thehistoricpearltheater.org

Live Jazz w/ The Sevens 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

monDAY, January 29

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

Trivia Night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

tuesDAY, January 30

wednesDAY, January 31

Candlelight Concert w/ Suzuki String Academy 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Tickets will include a performance, wine and food

Spanish Wine Dinner 5-7:30pm @ Baxter’s $130 per person. Reservations required

ThursDAY, february 1 Game Night 7pm @ Tervan Tavern 18 / R / January 25, 2024

Bingo Night 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Outdoor education class focuses on animal tracking and winter birding

The Libby Hostel Base Camp is sponsoring a winter outdoor education program Saturday, Jan. 27 on animal tracking and winter birding, beginning with an info session at 9 a.m. (Mountain Time) in the Viking Room of the Venture Inn (1014 U.S. Hwy. 2, in Libby Mont.).

Instructor Brian Baxter will lead the class, bringing more than 45 years of field experience, including live trapping and radio-collaring of mid-sized carnivores from 1990 to 2004, as well as extensive research on goshawks, owls and more. With degrees in forestry and wildlife management, Baxter has also worked on projects in northwest Montana, eastern Washington, southeast British Columbia and North Idaho. Most recently, he authored the article “Winter Raptor Ramblings” in the winter 2024 edition of Sandpoint Magazine.

The upcoming animal tracking and winter birding session will include visits to several field sites featuring different habitats, consisting of road tour stops at observation points and short light- to medium-intensity walks on roads and private lands.

Participants should arrive with full gas tanks, proper layers of winter clothing — preferably natural colors or camouflage and winter boots — water, lunch, binoculars, spotting scopes, tracking and bird field guides, and a good sense of humor. Snowshoes and cross-country ski poles are optional.

The class will wrap up at approximately 3 p.m., and pre-registration is required. To register, email b_baxter53@yahoo.com or call 406-291-2154.

STAGE & SCREEN

At the Max-ness of Madness True Detective — Night Country leans the streaming series ultra Lovecraftian

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Look no further than the first lines of H.P. Lovecraft’s 1931 novella At the Mountains of Madness to get a decent grip on the opening of the fourth season of Max neo-noir streaming series True Detective — Night Country: “I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why. It is altogether against my will that I tell my reasons for opposing this contemplated invasion of the Antarctic — with its vast fossil-hunt and its wholesale boring and melting of the ancient ice-cap — and I am the more reluctant because my warning may be in vain.”

Substituting the North for the South Pole, that might as well be the nutgraf of every review of the show. Here’s the setup: A bunch of “men of science” are working in a laboratory outside the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska (based on the real-life North Slope Borough, in the very far north of the state). We don’t know what they’re doing, exactly, but when one of their number experiences a strange fit of derangement, we know their labors may be ill advised.

Jump forward 48 hours into the long polar night, and the delivery guy brings the scientists their supplies only to find that no one’s home.

Enter the cops. Specifically, Chief Detective Liz Danvers (played by no less than living legend Jodie Foster, summoning all the exasperation and low-key rage in the cosmos), who shows up on the scene along with her super-suspicious-and-obvious-slimeball colleague Hank Prior (John Hawkes) and Prior’s supertrueblue-but-kind-of-dopeyyet-lovable son, Peter, who’s a junior officer being cantankerously mentored/mothered/ tyrannized by Danvers.

They suss out the sussy scene and find a human tongue on the floor of the kitchen. And the game is afoot (or atongue)!

If there are still fans of True Detective after its disastrously bad second season and only marginally better third installment, then they will know the basic vibe of the series: Psychologically damaged and morally conflicted detectives confront crimes so deranged and awful that they verge on (and maybe even spill into?) the supernaturally evil. Think of it as X-Files if it had aired on Cinemax.

The first season of True Detective streamed in 2014 and starred Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConoughay as “bad lieutenants” in the bayous of post-Andrew/pre-Katrina Louisiana. It is no hyperbole to say that not only was TD Season 1 one the best things ever put on what passes for “TV” these days, but at or near the pinnacle of both actors’ careers.

This season is shaping up to be a worthy successor to that first fabulous hellbroth of swampily cosmic terror.

Writer, director and showrunner of the fourth season of the True Detective series Issa López has clearly read her Lovecraft; pity that the “men of science” didn’t, meeting with a fate as grisly as it was icy and bearing clear throughlines to HPL’s oeuvre. (For evidence: A VHS copy of The Thing — the 1982 film adaptation of At the Mountains of Madness — is visible on the shelf behind Danvers in one of the first scenes. Oh, and “Danvers” is the name of the psychiatric hospital to which several of Lovecraft’s characters were shuttled off after their mind-shattering encounters with the ineffable, and served as the inspiration for his invented Arkham sanato-

rium, which itself inspired the Arkham Asylum of Batman fame.)

What were the scientists trying to find in their ice core samples? What events precipitated them winding up as a “corpsicle”? (As the internet has gleefully termed the condition in which their bodies were found. Look it up, but only if you’re on the hunt for spoilers.)

More than that, what deeper forces are at work in the long arctic darkness, where caribou inexplicably jump to their deaths at the dying of the light, one-eyed polar bears wander the desolate streets of Ennis and visions of the dead appear to the locals with such regularity that their presence is explained with a shrug: “It’s Ennis.”

Even more central to the mythos: What are the connections between the occult

Kali Reis and Jodie Foster star in season four of True Detective.

Courtesy photos. trappings of the murders in Season 1 and the hints and facts surrounding the season four deaths of the scientists and the earlier murder of an Indigenous woman — a cold case pursued with furious zeal by the obviously damaged Army veteran Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis), who has a yet-tobe-explained relationship with Danvers that went so bad that the former was busted down to trooper and neither intended ever to work together again… until their cases (and maybe stars?) aligned.

For real, True Detective — Night Country has it all, and we’re only up to two episodes as of this writing. Stream it on Max every Sunday. I know I will be.

Remembering erased history Screening of Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World Reader Staff Pop culture has whitewashed the history of rock ’n’ roll, famously highlighting men like Elvis Presley rather than people of color like Big Mama Thorton or Otis Blackwell, the latter whose songs made Elvis famous.

Society is slowly remembering the African-American creators

who founded the genre, but the documentary Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World exposes another facet of erased history by demonstrating the integral roles that Indigenous people played in the development of rock.

Screening at the Panida Theater on Friday, Jan. 26 and presented by KRFY Radio —

with funding from the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force — Rumble explores the lives of artists like Robbie Robertson, Charley Patton and Jimi Hendrix, and their respective effects on pop culture. The film was initially inspired by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian’s exhibition, Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in

Popular Culture, created by the documentary’s producers, Stevie Salas and Tim Johnson.

Filmmaker Catherine Bainbridge traces traditional Native music through the years as it morphed into different forms of rock across the U.S. and Canada.

Influential creators like Martin Scorsese, Steven Tyler and Iggy Pop also lend their voices,

sharing how the musical contributions of Indigenous artists shaped the industry.

Celebrate a rich cultural history and rock out at this free showing, which promises to be both illuminating and inspiring. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the film begins at 7 p.m. For more information, visit panida.org.

January 25, 2024 / R / 19

FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Generational fare

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

Call them what you may — miners’ pasty, Cornish pasty, Butte pasty or meat hand pie — no other food evokes stronger food memories for me.

I grew up on them. Looking back, I can’t believe how fortunate I was to have Myrtle and Myrtle (yes, two same-named ladies in my school’s cafeteria).

Our “lunchroom ladies” in East Helena, Mont., made these labor-intensive, savory pastry pies for many a schoolkid. I’m now ashamed to admit that I doused mine with catsup (sorry ladies).

You could pretty much count on eating pasties every day except Friday in our Catholic-dominated community. They were always similar but different.

Some of the ladies used hamburger, but other cuts of cheap meat were used, too (they are so much work and highly coveted by my clan, so when I go to this much trouble, I now use only sirloin cuts).

Everyone prided themselves on their favorite (often secret) pie crust recipe. Some ladies swore by lard, but others used butter or Crisco, or a combination of fats.

You were worth your weight in potatoes if you could turn out a flaky pastry for your pasties. I remember being mesmerized by these neighborhood cooks with a floured and furrowed brow, leaning into their work, carefully crimping the edges of each pie with a signature twist.

In Butte, Mont., even esteemed U.S. Sen. Mike Mansfield loved miners’ pasties, and his wife Maureen was well known for her homemade version (her 20 / R / January 25, 2024

recipe is featured in the Butte Heritage Cookbook).

The Irish miner immigrants brought the hand pie recipe to Butte. Off to the mine, they were packed in a sturdy handled pail and practically standard fare for every laborer. I’ve learned that friends from Michigan and Arizona who grew up near copper mines were also raised on pasties, and they’re still a favorite in those regions, too (on my most recent trip to Arizona, I was surprised to see a pasty shop in Tempe).

There were many years when I would have given anything to whip up a batch of Butte pasties, but my pie crust left much to be desired. I marveled at how my mother could deftly turn out the loveliest and flakiest pastry with seemingly no effort (and no recipe). I give her due credit for her patience and technique as I learned my way through many failed attempts, often including

tears and trash.

When I finally felt confident enough, I’d spend an entire day preparing them for our hired cowboys (who’d eat anything after a long day’s work) and finally for friends or bankers who frequented the ranch. The gravy was equally important, and I finally mastered that, too.

Thanks to many years of watching skilled Butte friends, I became adept at cocktail pasties, a Montana mainstay for weddings, funerals and baptisms. For my daughter Ryanne’s wedding, I made more than 200 of these miniature versions.

I’m proud to say that, these days, I can turn out a pretty tasty pasty. I have a swarm of vegetarians in my growing clan, so I have also become proficient at making a tasty, meat-free version of them as well.

Like many, when the first COVID-19 lockdown hit, I marathon-watched an entire series on

Netflix. I’m embarrassed to admit the series I chose was Tiger King.

Afterward, I felt so ashamed of the time I wasted that I remained (mostly) productive for the next long year of lockdown. The day after binging on the last slimy episode featuring Joe Exotic, I felt a real need to purge. I began prepping fillings for pasties, which turned into another marathon, which was more satisfying.

Speaking of pasty marathons, Ryanne et al. are coming for the weekend. We are all set for a day of pasty-making in early anticipation of St. Patrick’s Day. I’m in charge of the filling and passed the pastry torch onto Ryanne.

She can’t believe it (I learned she even called a Butte friend to brag). Ryanne is an excellent baker, and when she was only 12, her apple pie garnered a blue ribbon at the Missoula, Mont. county fair, so it is fair to say I leave the pastry-making in capable hands…

Her 9-year-old daughter Fern (my mother’s namesake) wants to learn pie making now, so it will be an eventful time in my kitchen. I’ve assured Ryanne I’ll (try to) look the other way when they whip up the dough in my food processor.

There are many narratives about the origins of the pasty.

Some legends say Catholic priests in Ireland first created this staple. It was hearty and offered needed sustenance as they walked hundreds of miles, preaching good works and the word of God (I rather like this version).

I’m just happy that my family will carry on the tradition of pasty making, a food that deeply connects me to my Montana roots, my Catholic youth and my Irish heritage. I hope you will gather up some family and try the recipe.

Irish pasty recipe

Some people swear by the rutabagas, I only use rutabagas when making vegetarian pasties.

I chop/dice all the ingredients into approx ½-inch piece. The meat cuts best when partially frozen.

Yield: 8-10 savory pasties.

INGREDIENTS:

Filling: • 2 pounds boneless sirloin steak diced • 2 cups diced rutabagas (to replace meat for vegetarian pasties) • 1 cup peeled and diced carrots • 4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced • 2 cups finely chopped onion • ¼ cup butter • Plenty of salt and pepper, to taste • 2 tbs butter Pie dough: • 3 cups flour (pastry) • 1 teaspoon salt • ½ cup cold, firm shortening (or lard) • ½ cup cold, firm butter • ½ cup cold water (or less) Egg wash: 1 room temperature egg 2 tbs room temperature water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400° Fahrenheit.

For the filling, scrub and peel the potatoes, carrots and rutabagas. Keep in cold, salted water until ready to use (after you make the dough). Drain well, add the onion, and salt and pepper.

Keep the meat separate until ready to add (so it doesn’t discolor the potatoes).

For the dough, sift flour and salt together; cut in cold shortening and butter until pea size, then add just enough water to form a shaggy ball (too much water will make the dough tough). Roll on a floured board or pasty cloth. Cut into 5-inch circles. Place ½ cup filling onto half of circle, dot with butter. Dab each circle’s edge with a wet finger, fold in half. Seal and crimp the edge. Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.

Whisk egg and water, brush each

pasty, cut a slit to vent.

Bake at 400° for about 45 minutes, reduce heat to 350° and cook another 15 minutes. If the crust is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. Remove

from heat and rest about 5 minutes before serving. Serve with your favorite brown gravy.

Cover and refrigerate leftovers.

MUSIC

A meditation on the science of musical taste

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Contributor I recently revisited what can only be described as a cinematic and musical masterpiece of the 21st century: the 2003 film School of Rock, starring Jack Black and a cast of talented children who I can only hope went on to lead fulfilling lives after taking part in a project impossible to top in their subsequent careers.

If you don’t believe me, ask Rotten Tomatoes, where SOR boasts a 92% critic rating.

The film tells the story of washed-up, unemployed rockstar Dewey Finn, who needs to come up with his half of the rent before his pushover best friend’s nagging girlfriend finally kicks him to the curb. A clandestine phone call leads to Dewey impersonating his best friend as a substitute teacher at a well-to-do private elementary school, where he quickly discovers his students have musical talent. He hatches a plan to redeem himself at the local Battle of the Bands competition, ultimately unlocking the most punk truth of all: With the right attitude and some teamwork, everyone can rock.

I saw School of Rock shortly after its release, sometime around my eighth birthday.

Already an avid music consumer thanks to my older sister, Jack Black’s goofy persona and the classic-rock-drenched soundtrack (think Led Zeppelin and Stevie Nicks) unlocked something in me.

During our recent rewatch, I joked to my husband, “I based my entire personality in elementary school off this movie.” Except it wasn’t a joke. I asked for a guitar for Christmas. When guitar lessons tapered off, I learned to play the drumset. I had fishnet, fingerless gloves. Seeing School of Rock, attending my first concert at age 9 (Avril Lavigne), and the influence of my dad’s Lynyrd Skynyrd collection proved to be a perfect storm. To this day, there is a little piece of me that never stopped being a rockstar girl living in a small town world.

It all got me thinking: How do we develop our taste in music? Does something that feels so deeply personal actually just come from the media and environments we’re exposed to as children?

According to science, the answer is yes — and no.

It is true that part of our musical taste is drawn from what we’re raised on. Musicologist and author Nolan Gasser makes the argument that because babies are born

READ

with the capability to make any sound from any language on the planet, that capability is slowly whittled down over the first few months of life depending upon what sounds — language, music, etc. — to which they are exposed. This creates a natural affinity for what is familiar, and explains why I still find comfort in popular country songs from the ’80s and ’90s (thanks, Mom).

Over time, however, music becomes a distinct identity marker, and a convenient outlet for the natural desire to differentiate oneself from the powers that be (sorry, Mom).

This desire peaks around the same time that hormones are primed for the acquisition of new identity markers: age 14, according to experts at McGill University. While we were all walking around like raw nerves in puberty, our brains were best equipped to find and love new expressions of self — new music, in particular.

Think about the music you found and loved in your earlyto-mid-teens. Odds are that this is still some of the music you love most today.

This is certainly true for me. It was around age 14 that I discovered what my friends and family fondly refer to as my “sad white girl” music (think early Bon Iver and the like).

This was also around the time that I started getting seriously involved in sports, and jock rap — think Drake and Lil Wayne — was at its peak. As a result, my listening habits see a constant rotation of 2010s indie folk and hip-hop playlists.

The little rockstar inside me may not be proud of this fact, but there’s no denying that pubescent musical imprinting.

And besides, isn’t the great life lesson of School of Rock to own who you are and stick it to The Man? I think I’ll take a note from the Dewey Finn playbook and own my convoluted music taste.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Heat Speak, Heartwood Center, Jan. 27 B Radicals, 219 Lounge, Jan. 27 The indie ensemble Heat Speak has graced the pages of the Reader several times in anticipation of their newest album de bouquet ok. At long last, the wait is over. Spokane-based Heat Speak hosts a rockin’ release party at the Heartwood Center on Saturday, Jan. 27 to celebrate their fifth and most innovative record.

Eccentric band Mama Llama, also of Spokane, will open the show at 7 p.m., before Heat Speak takes

the stage complete with guitar, djembe, congas, keyboard, accordion, vocals and much more — plus their hallmark genre-bending sound. Don’t miss this one-of-akind musical experience.

— Soncirey Mitchell Doors at 6:30 p.m., $12 adults and $10 ages 17 and under. Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St., 208-2638699, heartwoodsandpoint.com.

Listen at heatspeakmusic.com.

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

As our winter wonderland turns to slush city — and more days of rain than not in the next week or so — finding ways to stay entertained, and probably indoors, will be critical. And so it will be the B Radicals to the rescue, braving the less-than-ideal conditions on a trek from their homebase in Spokane to the cozy confines of the 219 Lounge for a dance-happy Saturday, Jan. 27 featuring the band’s signature “Tool for hippies” vibe.

Melding influences ranging

from Jimi Hendrix to James Brown to Bob Marley, the B Radicals conjure up a signature style of rock, jam and funk.

As the event promotion from the Niner puts it, “It’s gonna be a great night to up our snow dances (BIG DANCES), blow off some steam from this garbage weather and party with our friends!”

— Zach Hagadone

9 p.m.-midnight, FREE, 21+.

219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208-263-5673, 219.bar. Listen at bradicals.com.

I read John Updike’s Rabbit series of novels in my early 20s and felt like I witnessed an entire life between my fingers. Recently, I’ve picked up his first entry, Rabbit, Run and forgot how much I enjoyed Updike’s writing.

His intimate details make characters come to life, which is something I always struggle with in my creative writing.

LISTEN

There is a subgenre of folk music that involves a lot of horns, band geeks, gypsy beats and cosmopolitan lyrics that only the band Beirut inhabits. I love this band so much, I once rolled my truck going to see them in concert and didn’t regret it. Check out their latest album, Hadsel, is on all the streamers. After a couple of albums that slightly departed from their sound, Hadsel returns to what we know and love about Beirut.

WATCH

It’s always a great feeling when you slip into a new TV series that grabs your attention. I resisted Ted Lasso for a long time, mostly because Apple TV is kind of a graveyard, but I recently took the plunge and fell in love with the world of Richmond, U.K. It’s damn good television, filled with refreshingly unique characters and real heart behind it.

January 25, 2024 / R / 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

Hosed by pipes Winter in a ‘Sandpoint house’ Throughout my lifetime in Idaho, I can count on two fingers (especially the middle one) the number of times my pipes have frozen in the winter — and both have been at the rental in which I currently live.

We’ve been in this house since the summer of 2019, and while a Christmas tree looks nice in the living room, it is not always the greatest place in which to spend a winter. The pipes froze in mid-January 2023 and, despite every effort, didn’t start flowing again for almost a week. At least we got a day or two of staycation at a motel with a pool. Well, it happened again — I’m pretty sure on the precise anniversary of the previous incident — during our most recent cold snap.

My wife and I are not dummies. We were prepared for the weather this time around. We opened all the cupboards in the kitchen, put space heaters in strategic locations, kept the wood stove pumping out BTUs day and night, and dripped every faucet in the house. My dad even brought us four hay bales to pile around the under-insulated exterior wall that we assumed to be the focal point of our 2023 deep freeze.

Still, on a recent Friday, we awoke to find that the drips had stopped and we’d been hosed by our pipes yet again.

Needless to say, I was unamused. I stormed out into the below-zero morning and stalked, grumbling, from store

to store trying — and failing — to find heat tape. Still, I bought foam pipe insulation and foil-backed fiberglass pipe wrap, a new cover for the backyard faucet, indoor weather stripping, a minispace heater and the second-to-last fullsized unit on the shelves at Walmart.

I took all that home and none of it did a damn thing. So I went to the bar.

There I commiserated with others who were undergoing their own arctic ordeals. Something we all had in common: living in early- to mid-20th century houses wherein the original builder-owners thought it was a good idea to feed the main water pipe through a north-facing wall. Our best theory for why that should be the case: Maybe Sandpoint people in the old days weren’t really used to indoor plumbing yet and didn’t care if they had to melt snow on the stove to wash their armpits.

In my case, whoever built the house I live in sometime around 1909 also decided to incorporate a crawl space with about 10 inches of clearance and didn’t bother to insulate any of it — especially under the kitchen and even more especially around that water pipe someone so ingeniously located not only on a wall that faces due north, but one that has probably never seen the sun. (Yet these are the homes that routinely sell for half-a-million dollars or more. Go figure.)

I suppose an 8-year-old coal miner in 19th-century Wales would have felt at home in my crawl space, but there was no way my six-foot-three, 190-pound, 43-year-old body was ca-

STR8TS Solution

Sudoku Solution

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

From Pend Oreille Review, January 22, 1925

SHERIFF AMBLIE STAGES ‘POURING’ PARTY Liquor to the retail value of several hundred dollars found its way into the sewer Saturday afternoon when Sheriff John Amblie staged an impromptu “pouring party” at the county jail. There were no witnesses other than the curious reporter, aside from the officers. The bulk of the liquor was the accumulation of nearly a year’s activities and consisted of about 30 gallons of “moonshine” and a dozen or more bottles of home-brewed beer of more or less excellence.

Included in the assortment of liquors was some of the plain “white mule” type, and a small quantity of the kind that under the pure food act would necessarily have to be labeled “artificially colored.”

Some was apparently clear nad free from sediment, while other samples were so thick with the latter that it would take a chemist to say whether it was liquod or a solid. A few of the samples were almost free of odor, so much so as to make it difficult to say whether it was hard liquor or not, while other varieties “stunk to high heaven,” and apparently were a combination distilling of carbolic acid, onion juice and essence of skunk cabbage. At any rate there was enough potential horsepower in the lot to have blown up the courthouse and tipped over the jail, if there was a way of putting the concentrated energy to work, and the atmosphere was so volatile during the ceremony that no one even dared light a match, to say nothing of taking a long breath.

The pouring was free from fatality, however, if one overlooks the one bottle of home-brew that exploded, throwing glass and drenching the raiment of George Hesser, whose wife might have had reason to inquire into his whereabouts when he returned home Saturday evening reeking of booze.

22 / R / January 25, 2024

pable of getting down there — and certainly not wriggling the 20 or so feet from the entrance point to the pipe, and absolutely not with any device that could generate warmth.

To raise the temperature in that catand-mouse-turd infested underworld we had to position a box fan over the hatch and direct our most powerful space heater at its open maw.

We ran with this system — while also applying all the other seemingly ineffectual strategies we’d deployed — throughout the weekend and into the following Monday, when I showed up to work feeling unable to think because I’d had one shower in three days. Finally, on that Tuesday, the water started moving and we could stop dumping buckets of dirty snow melt into our toilet tanks to accomplish an adequate flush. It felt good to join the 1920s, but that’s life in a “Sandpoint house.”

Crossword Solution

One of the bad things about panning for gold is maybe sometimes you’ll get a crawdaddy in your pan, and you start to wonder if you should give up on the gold and just go for crawdaddies. I can’t make that decision for you.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

bonanza /buh-NAN-zuh/

Woorf tdhe Week

[noun] 1. a source of great and sudden wealth or luck; a spectacular windfall

“The tech startup struck a bonanza when it received a generous investment from a major venture capitalist, propelling its business to new heights.”

Corrections: Absolument rien.

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Insignia 6. Arrears 11. Cut short 12. Heartfelt 15. Imbecile 16. Struggle or scramble (archaic) 17. Paintings 18. From dawn to dusk 20. Browning of skin 21. Rodents 23. Hearing organs 24. Large northern deer 25. Curved molding 26. Tight 27. Delight 28. Sleeping platforms 29. Unit of energy 30. Rosary components 31. They’re found on many beaches 34. Motionless 36. Letter after sigma 37. Streetcar 41. Stepped 42. Distribute 43. Infinitesimal amount 44. Any time now 45. Drill 46. Slices 47. Police officer 48. Photograph devices 51. Make lace 52. Excited

Solution on page 22 33. Consumer of food 8. Boast 34. Dimwit 9. Explosive 35. Torrid Zone 10. Colonized 13. Quenches 38. Mundane 14. Anagram of “Sent” 39. Assails 15. Chocolate 40. Sail supports substitute 42. Instant DOWN 16. Butchered 44. Cigarfish 19. 10 in a decade 45. Maestro’s wand 1. Bombardment 22. Legislative 48. Enclosure 2. Assisted meeting 49. European 3. Tiny circle mountains 4. Electrical distribu- 24. Stretchable 26.

Blue-green 50.

Classify tion system 27. Gooey stuff 53. Faucet 5. Europe’s highest 30. Color of 55. In high spirits volcano a clear sky 6. Exile 7. Deservedly receives 32. Antiquity January 25, 2024 / R / 23

54. Philosophies 56. Figure with ten sides 57. Caper 58. Exhausted 59. Eye infections

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