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PEOPLE compiled by

Zach Hagadone

watching

*via Facebook

“Do you have a nickname? If so, what is it, and how did you get it?”

“Devlin Jones is my primary ‘nickname.’ It is of my own creation from when I played live music as a younger man, I never liked using my real name it just didn’t sound rock and roll enough, and since everyone thought I was Irish (I am not) I chose Devlin, and Jones came from the term Jonesing for something or a desire to fulfill an addiction.”

Russ Sabin Sandpoint

“Many versions on Ab: Abstress, Aber Dabber, Abalicious, Abbacus, Abs. But in high school it was Abstar because we were a bunch of white kids growing up outside NYC and thought we could ‘rhyme’ and that was my ‘MC’ name. Yeah. I know lol.”

Abby Tighe Spokane, Wash.

“I have been Mango since I discovered as a teenager how much I like mangoes. In the days of the Timber Wars, we would do civil disobedience actions one after another and often change our ‘action names.’ One summer I was Sideshow Bob, Puffball Blowfish, Ricky Ricardo and Pablo; and, yes, the statute of limitations has passed.”

Robert Zweifel Bonner County

“‘Mars’ — a plumber by the nickname ‘Dirty’ gave it to me.”

Marjan Schelling Pullman, Wash.

“‘Rory’ is one, my little sister couldn’t pronounce ‘Forrest.’”

Forrest Schuck Sandpoint

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Anvil Film Co. and the Chapman Springs Team (cover), Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Otto Kitsinger Makayla Smith, Andrea Marcoccio, Doug Jones, Bill Borders Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Kelcie Mosely-Morris, Lauren Necochea, James Ruchti, Ed Robinson, Jen Jackson Quintano, Shelby Rognstad, Marcia Pilgeram Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $155 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

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

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

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

This week’s cover photo features a skijoring team doing what they do.

Photo courtesy Anvil Film Co. and the Champman Springs Team.

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NEWS

Senate GOP backs Woodward in Statehouse fracas Branden Durst alleges Sagle senator was the aggressor in post-vote tussle

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, has come under fire from the hard-right contingent of the Idaho GOP for his vote against the Idaho Parental Freedom in Education Act, fronted by former-Sen. Branden Durst, with the likes of “Redoubt News” condemning him as “a leftist snowflake unworthy of holding office in conservative North Idaho,” according to a Jan. 26 post on the website.

The fracas stems from an incident Jan. 18, when Woodward joined Grangeville Republican Sen. Carl Crabtree and Democratic members of the Senate Education Committee who voted not to print the Idaho Parental Freedom in Education Act, effectively killing it.

Co-authored by Sen. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, the legislation would have given parents the authority to access and review their childrens’ school documents, and enter school buildings and classrooms “without prior consent or notification.”

Lawmakers, including Woodward, have pointed out that Idaho parents already have these rights under Idaho Code; but, the bill went beyond current laws in that it would authorize parents to refuse any medical devices — a.k.a. masks — or treatments — a.k.a. vaccines. If a school resisted, or was “obstinate,” as the bill text put it, the school would face a $1,000 civil penalty.

Durst told the Reader that the bill was his “own doing,” with its thrust gleaned from stories from parents around the state.

“The [Idaho] Freedom Foundation had nothing to do with this at all,” he said, referring to the libertarian think tank/lobby group that has come to hold enormous sway over a number of ultra-conservative lawmakers, and has repeatedly targeted Woodward for being insufficiently in alignment with its goals — especially regarding IFF’s stated priority of 4 /

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Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle. File photo.

Branden Durst. Courtesy photo..

dismantling government-funded education in Idaho.

“I suspect they would have supported it … but they weren’t a part of this,” Durst added.

Members of the Senate Education Committee voted 4-4 to print the bill, which resulted in its death in committee.

After the vote on Jan. 18, Durst allegedly approached Woodward on the committee room floor and, according to multiple reports, threatened the senator with political retribution in the May Republican primary, in which Woodward is facing challenger Scott Herndon, who Bonner County residents will know as the head of the local Republican Central Committee, an anti-abortion activist and key player in the legal dramas surrounding the Festival at Sandpoint’s weapons ban at publicly-owned War Memorial Field.

The exchange involved foul language, and apparently continued into Woodward’s Statehouse office, where Durst alleged Woodward poked his finger into his chest and “leaned over” him in an aggressive manner.

Describing him as “6-foot-5,” Durst told the Reader in an interview that Woodward was “leaning over me and getting in my face.”

Woodward told the Reader that he is in fact six feet tall and weighs 170 pounds. Furthermore, he denies being the aggressor in the encounter.

“It was an unfortunate event initiated by the aggressive action of

someone who found out I am willing to stand my ground,” Woodward said. “We are moving on.”

Rather, he added, he’s focused on sponsoring a teacher health care bill next week “that will put our teachers on par with state employees while also providing property tax relief.”

“I think most all will agree that our teachers should receive the same health care benefits that a Transportation Department or Fish and Game or State Parks and Recreation employee receives,” he wrote in a statement to the Reader. “Providing the additional $175 million in state funding for teacher health care will ease the financial pressure on school districts that is typically dealt with through a supplemental levy.”

Durst confirmed that he “made a flippant comment about [Woodward] being opposed” in the primary, noting that his race is “hotly contested.” Woodward won his last reelection campaign in 2020 by 77.4% over Democratic candidate Vera Gadman. Woodward drew more votes than either Reps. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, or Heather Scott, R-Blanchard.

Durst told the Reader that the encounter in Woodward’s office resulted from his attempt to apologize for that comment n the committee room, but things got out of hand.

“I don’t think he did it on purpose,” Durst said, referring to his allegations that Woodward

leaned over him and poked him in the chest with his finger. “I’m not going to make this out to be more than it was.”

The Idaho Senate majority issued a statement Jan. 21 addressing the altercation, condemning Durst for his actions and writing that he “harassed” Woodward in a confrontation over his vote on the bill.

“Senate leadership has met with witnesses and the Idaho State Police to review the matter,” the GOP Senate caucus wrote.

“Mr. Durst was invited to meet with leadership but did not come to the appointment. It is clear from the information gathered that Mr. Durst acted inappropriately in this situation.”

Further, the GOP Senate leadership added that Durst, who is running for state superintendent of public instruction, has “used social media to politicize the event — publicly attacking Senator Woodward and Senator Carl Crabtree.”

Durst’s campaign Facebook page does include a number of posts related to the incident, including one in which he refers to the Senate GOP statement as an attempt to “assassinate my character.”

He told the Reader that the whole episode is “political,” and insisted that “I’m not trying to be the victim here; I’m not.”

What’s more, he added, “The Senate GOP’s press release is misleading. They’re saying I had to be forcefully removed, and that’s nonsense.”

Durst said he has requested video footage from the Statehouse security system to back up his side of the story, but has yet to receive the material.

He said: “The point I would make is if I wasn’t 100% accurate on what’s on that video footage, why would I ask for it?”

As a former senator, Durst enjoys special privileges of access to the Statehouse, which could be taken away at the discretion of Senate leaders.

“I have not revoked Mr. Durst’s floor privileges yet, but

that is still a possibility,” Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise, told the Reader in an email.

In the Senate GOP statement, Winder and other top Republican leaders stated that they are “reviewing possible sanctions against Mr. Durst,” and that despite claims made by Durst on social media, Woodward is not facing an ethics investigation, he is not the subject of any complaints, nor has any witness come forward to corroborate Durst’s allegations.

“These spurious attacks against members of the Senate, meant to coerce voters and influence elections, should be denounced by all Idahoans,” the Idaho Senate Republicans stated.

For his part, Durst said the hubbub has been unfortunate, insofar as it has sidelined the substance of the bill that Zito and he hoped would get a hearing.

“Parents have been screwed over for the past year and a half and I’m sick of it,” he said, referring to remote learning and other COVD-19 mitigation policies in Idaho schools.

“This is a fundamental issue, which has really risen to a point of considerable consternation for folks,” he said.

Yet, he admitted that the incident with Woodward may in the long term help his cause.

“I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me in the last week … who are now supporting me,” he told the Reader. “I got a campaign donation yesterday saying they were proud of me for standing up for myself. We’ll see. …

“If we’ve moved the needle a little bit that’s great, but I wish we could have done it a different way. I wish they’d just have printed my bill.”

Regardless of Durst’s disappointment, Senate Republicans wrote, “This kind of behavior and harassment does not create the political environment we want in Idaho. Senators must be free to vote their conscience without threat and intimidation.”

NEWS

Connolly to run for third term as BoCo commissioner

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff Jeff Connolly announced Jan. 24 that he is running for re-election for Bonner County commissioner in District 2.

“As a lifelong citizen of this county I see opportunities for the continuation of our longtime values, and opportunities for expanding and improving our quality of life,” Connolly said in a media release. “I will continue bringing forward viewpoints that reflect the best interests of our citizens.”

The 63-year-old Republican first ran for county office in 2016 after serving on the Priest

Jeff Connolly. File photo.

River City Council. After a four-year term on the board,

Connolly ran successfully again in 2020.

Connolly stated that he has “witnessed large amounts of change” in Bonner County, “both good and unplanned,” during his lifetime. While some areas of county government have “improved” to accommodate this change, Connolly shared that he “believes there is room for progress that reflects Bonner County’s values and spectacular environment.”

Connolly’s goals as county commissioner include continuing to tackle land use issues, including revising the county’s Comprehensive Plan “through a collaborative process.”

Hoodoo Valley zone change postponed

“Citizen advisory committees are an important and necessary part of strong and suitable involvement that I respect and encourage,” Connolly said.

Connolly plans to work on property tax reform with Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, with the aim of minimizing the impacts of growth. In addition, Connolly believes collaborating with municipalities to address concerns and ideas about growth “is paramount to the stability of the county.”

“Growth is happening, and that growth should pay for the necessary upgrades to the

county infrastructure and not be put on the backs of the longtime residents,” he said.

Also important to Connolly is fostering working relationships with other elected officials, county employees and his constituents.

“Listening to all points of view and responding as best I can is important to me and to our citizens,” he said. “I plan on keeping my door open and I will do my best to bring different needs and views toward the middle ground in a collaborative manner.

“Government does not need to be intrusive,” he added, “but it does need to be inclusive.”

City again seeks bids for Pine Street sidewalk project

Daum Construction file will now go before commissioners — for a third time — March 2

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff It has been exactly a year since public discourse began around an application to rezone 160 acres in the Hoodoo Valley from agricultural/forestry to rural residential, as well as from a 10-acre parcel minimum to a five-acre minimum. The proposal, brought forward by Haydenbased property owner Daum Construction, would require a zone change as well as a Comprehensive Plan amendment.

While Bonner County commissioners were scheduled to hear the file for a final decision on Jan. 26, that hearing lasted a little longer than a minute.

“The board has been made aware that there was a problem with posting on the property,” said Commissioner Dan McDonald, adding that the county employee responsible for the posting has been out sick. “Our attorney has recommended that we postpone this hearing.”

The file will now be heard on Wednesday, March 2 at 1:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building, located at 1500 Highway 2 in Sandpoint.

The hearing would have been the third time the file went before commissioners. After the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the rezone in early 2021, county commissioners opted instead to approve the request. After a reconsideration hearing in June, commissioners sent the file back to the P&Z Commission, which then recommended denial for a second time on Dec. 16.

Neighbors of the property, located on Spirit Lake Cutoff Road, have been vocal about concerns about the area’s capacity for increased development.

“I apologize to everybody who came out today,” McDonald said at the brief Jan. 26 hearing, adding that the board only learned about the issue a half hour before the scheduled meeting time. “We were ready to go with this thing and, unfortunately, a step was missed, so we cannot proceed until that land is properly posted.”

Learn more about the proposed rezone and Comprehensive Plan Amendment and other current Bonner County land use files at bonnercountyid.gov/ departments/Planning/current-projects.

A crumbling sidewalk on Pine St. Photo by Ben Olson.

By Reader Staff For the second time, the city of Sandpoint will seek bids for a range of pedestrian improvements along Pine Street between Boyer and Division avenues.

The project, estimated to cost between $200,000 and $400,000, includes the removal and reconstruction of old sidewalks, construction of new sidewalks and curb ramps, as well as tree removal, traffic controls, asphalt restoration and landscape restoration.

The city put the Pine Street work out to bid in July 2021 but cancelled the solicitation when no bids came in. This

time, bids will be accepted until 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 17, with a non-mandatory pre-bid conference scheduled for 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at Sandpoint City Hall, 1123 Lake St. Bids will be publicly opened immediately after the Feb. 17 deadline. The opening may be attended in person at the Sandpoint City Council chambers or remotely via Zoom at bit.ly/3u04qMV. Registration is required for virtual attendance.

Find bid documents at sandpointidaho.gov under “solicitations.” The bid number is 21-3170-1.

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NEWS COVID-19 surge prompts reactivation of crisis standards in southern Idaho

Statewide testing positivity rate rises to 34%

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff Two months after crisis standards of care were deactivated in most of the state’s health districts, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reinstated the resource-saving measure Jan. 24 in three southern Idaho regions: Southwest District Health, Central District Health and South Central District Health.

According to IDHW, crisis standards of care are “guidelines that help health care providers and systems decide how to deliver the best care possible under the extraordinary circumstances of an overwhelming disaster or public health emergency.”

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise, fueled by the highly infectious omicron variant of the virus, health care facilities across the state have been overwhelmed both with full hospital beds and health care staffing shortages as providers become infected and must be quarantined.

“The guidelines may be used when there are not enough health care resources to provide the usual standard of care to people who need it,” the department stated in a Jan. 24 media release. “The goal of crisis standards of care is to extend care to as many patients as possible and save as many lives as possible.”

The three health districts reverted to those guidelines, which surround the Boise-Nampa, Twin Falls and Sun Valley areas, which are experiencing “severe staffing and blood shortages” amid the surge of the omicron COVID-19 variant, according to IDHW.

Boise-based Saint Alphonsus Health System requested crisis standards of care activation, prompting IDHW Director Dave Jeppesen to virtually convene the CSC Activation Advisory Committee on Jan. 21. While the committee recommended that the emergency status be activated statewide, Jeppesen decided to activate only in southern Idaho after reviewing regional hospital capacity.

According to IDHW, other regions of the state are likely to move into crisis standards of care if current COVID-19 trends continue.

“The highly contagious omicron variant has thrown us a curveball,” Jeppesen said. “Once again, the situation in our hospitals and health systems is dire — we don’t have enough resources to adequately treat patients.”

Officials are reporting a record-breaking 34.1% test positivity rate in Idaho, as reported by Idaho News 6.

On top of that, about 40,000 positive tests have yet to be processed and put toward Idaho’s daily case counts, and positive at-home tests are rarely included in official state logs.

Just over a month ago, IDHW was reporting a statewide 8.1% COVID-19 positivity rate.

“Please get vaccinated and boosted if you can, and wear a high-quality protective mask in public places,” Jeppesen said. “Omicron is so much more contagious than previous variants, and even though a lower percentage of cases are ending up in the hospital, the record number of cases is still putting strain on our health care system.”

VA outreach planned for Clark Fork

By Reader Staff Bonner County Veterans Service Officer Bryan Hult will be at the Clark Fork Public Library on Tuesday, Feb. 8 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. to answer questions about current veterans’ benefits, assist with ongoing claims, and initiate new claims for benefits for eligible veterans and their dependents.

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The Clark Fork Public Library is located at 601 Main St. in Clark Fork.

Veterans will be seen by appointment only to ensure all are given quality time.

Call 208-255-5291 no later than Friday, Feb. 4 to schedule an appointment.

If there are no appointments scheduled for the outreach, or winter weather conditions prohibit travel, the outreach will be canceled.

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.

A recent sampling: The Pentagon has ordered up to 8,500 troops to be on standby for Ukraine in the event of a “lightning attack” by Russia.

Russia has 106,000 troops on Ukraine’s border, The Guardian reported. President Joe Biden has been heartened by European allies who favor pursuing diplomacy and punitive measures in the event of Russian aggression.

A 33-year-old Idaho mother with a blood infection urgently needed an ICU bed, but there were no beds in Idaho, Washington or Oregon. According to her obituary, “There were no beds available thanks to unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.

Please, get vaccinated… your actions really do affect others.”

The Biden administration is planning to distribute millions of free high-quality COVID-19 masks to the public via pharmacies and community health centers, according to the White House.

NPR reported that the Washington, D.C. attorney general is suing the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for their role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The suit claims the groups coordinated and plotted violence to disrupt a peaceful transfer of presidential power.

According to Politico, the Oath Keepers had “quick reaction teams” established for getting guns to the Capitol building, including a 30-day stash of “essentials.”

The Supreme Court voted 8-1 to deny former-President Donald Trump’s request to block the release of National Archives Records linked to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. The dissenting vote: Clarence Thomas. Efforts to dodge the releases, Justice John Roberts wrote, “raise serious and substantial concerns.”

The House Jan. 6 Select Committee now has more than 700 pages of records Trump tried to shield from them, including a draft executive order — never acted upon — that would have authorized the seizure, retention and analysis of all voting machines. That could have kept Trump in power until “at least mid-February of 2021,” Politico reported.

Fifteen former Trump aides have been meeting to determine ways to deter the violence, extremism and damaging rhetoric that has been dividing the country with increasing intensity since Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election, The Hill reported.

Why do some in the same household test positive for COVID-19 and others don’t? Dr. Lucy McBride, a D.C. physician

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

and medical news contributor, said variations are linked to how much virus comes from an infected person, indoor conditions, the status of each immune system and vaccination status.

It’s been 12 years since five of nine U.S. Supreme Court justices decided that unlimited amounts of money could be spent by special interest groups on political campaigns, a decision that ruled corporations are people, in that cash contributions counted as free speech.

Americans for Tax Fairness assessed that decision: Since then, billionaires have spent 39 times more on federal elections.

Today the ultra-wealthy, aided by weak taxation on their wealth and “anemic” regulation of campaign fundraising have “outsized political influence” that threatens to outweigh the voices of everyone else.

An open letter pleading for tax increases on the wealthy was recently signed by more than 100 millionaires and billionaires. The Patriotic Millionaires chair, Morris Pearl, a former managing director with BlackRock, stated that the injustice of the international tax system inflates the wealth of the world’s richest while much of the world remains condemned to “preventable poverty.”

“We need deep, systemic change, and that starts with taxing rich people like me,” Pearl said.

Why does the Republican Party resist enhanced voting rights? Two years ago Trump stated that voting reforms such as vote-by-mail, early voting and same-day voter registration would mean never having “a Republican elected in this country again.”

The party has been ultra-aware of conservative activist Paul Weyrich’s 1980 statement that “our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down,” The Guardian has reported.

Blast from the past: Thursday, Jan. 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Based on a September 2020 random survey in the U.S., it appears that Holocaust knowledge is dim for adults under 40. The survey found that close to twothirds of those surveyed did not know that 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust — 36% thought the figure was about 2 million. Other survey figures: 23% thought the Holocaust was a myth, 12% had not heard of the Holocaust and 11% believed Jews had caused the Holocaust. More than twothirds of respondents said holding neo-Nazi views is not acceptable. Wisconsin had the best knowledge score (42%), and Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas had the worst scores, averaging 18%.

NEWS

Public records lawsuit against Idaho representative will wait until session is over

Rep. Priscilla Giddings invoked constitutional privilege against civil suits, counsel says

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris Idaho Capital Sun The court proceedings for a public records lawsuit against Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, won’t take place until after the adjournment of this legislative session, according to legal representatives.

Giddings, who is running for lieutenant governor, is the subject of a civil complaint filed

by Erika Birch, a Boise attorney who represents the 19-year-old legislative intern who accused former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, of rape in April.

Birch’s complaint states she sent a public records request to Giddings on Aug. 19, 2021, for any written or electronic communications between Giddings and von Ehlinger that were related to her client, who is referred to as Jane Doe to protect her identity.

Birch’s request encompassed the ethics committee complaint and hearing involving von Ehlinger in March, as well as the ethics complaint and hearing for Giddings in August. Her request also included communications between Giddings and David Leroy, an attorney who briefly represented von Ehlinger during the ethics investigation.

The Idaho Statesman was first to report on the complaint.

Two days after Birch’s request, Giddings responded to Birch by saying, “My office does not have any public record related to your request that isn’t already public. I have asked the Legislative Services Office to search their databases as well. My office considers this request closed.”

In an emailed response, Birch said she did not know what Giddings meant by her statement and cited two sections of Idaho Code related to the Idaho Public Records Act that Birch said

Giddings did not follow with her response, including identifying a statutory authority for the denial of the request.

According to the complaint, Giddings did not respond after Birch’s follow-up email. Birch then sent an email in December reiterating her request to “avoid initiating a lawsuit” that also went unanswered, according to Birch.

Giddings could not be reached for comment by the Idaho Capital Sun. She has posted about the lawsuit on her campaign page on social media.

“This lawsuit is over a ‘public records request’ for records that don’t exist,” she wrote. “The legislative services office even searched all my files and found nothing related to their request.”

Lawsuit is over process and compliance with the law, Boise attorney says Under Idaho’s Public Records Act, the request would include letters, emails, text messages, chats, instant messages or any other communication, whether or not it took place on state-run devices or platforms. If the content of the messages was about Jane Doe or the Ethics Committee proceedings, the records would be subject to public disclosure.

Wendy Olson, who is representing Birch in the civil suit, said it doesn’t matter whether the documents exist or not.

“The request was made for public records, and then rather than responding substantively, Rep. Giddings responded the way she did,” Olson said.

“That’s not an appropriate response under the public records law, so the purpose of the lawsuit is to enforce the [law].”

In Idaho, legislators can invoke a constitutional privilege against civil suits during a legislative session, and Giddings has taken that option, Olson said.

“We want the records, we want an appropriate response to see if there are any records, and we have agreed with the [Idaho] Attorney General’s office to hold off on resolving this issue until the completion of the legislative session,” Olson said.

According to court documents, Deputy Attorney General W. Scott Zanzig has been assigned to represent Giddings in the case, but the office declined to comment on the matter.

“Based on the pending nature of the litigation, our office will not have comment beyond the contents of the court filings,” AG spokesman Scott Graf said.

Boise attorney has also filed civil complaint against the Idaho Legislature The Idaho House of Representatives voted 49-19 to censure Giddings in November, following the recommendation of the House Ethics and Policy Committee that was formally issued in September. Republicans and Democrats in the House lodged

a complaint against Giddings over the summer that said she engaged in conduct unbecoming of a legislator. On her Facebook page, Giddings posted a link to a blog that named and included the photo of the intern who said von Ehlinger raped her.

Von Ehlinger, who represented the Lewiston area and resigned his legislative seat following the ethics hearings on his behavior, was arrested on felony charges of rape and forcible penetration with a foreign object on Oct. 8. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in November, and the case is scheduled to go to a jury trial on April 26. Von Ehlinger has maintained his innocence and testified before the Ethics Committee in April that the sexual contact was consensual.

Birch has also filed a civil suit against the Idaho Legislature on behalf of Jane Doe, citing a violation of the Respectful Workplace Policy, emotional distress and defamation of Doe’s character.

In this file photo, Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, greets supporters in the House gallery before the session at the Statehouse in Boise on Nov. 15, 2021.

(Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

According to reporting from the Idaho Statesman, the tort claim filed in September against the Legislature also mentioned Giddings’ Facebook post that revealed Doe’s identity. The claim also stated von Ehlinger and his attorney, Leroy, were told that they should not identify Doe, but claims Leroy did release her information.

This story was produced by the Idaho Capital Sun, a Boise-based independent, nonprofit online news organization delivering in-depth coverage from veteran Idaho reporters on state government and policy. The Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit funded by tax-free donations in 22 states. Learn more and follow daily updates at idahocapitalsun. com and statesnewsroom.com.

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Kim…

Bouquets: • I was invited to attend the Sandpoint Rotary Club lunch on Jan. 19 where they presented a $75,000 check to LPOSD to fund their Book Trust program from CHAFE 150. Every time I attend a Rotary lunch as a guest, I’m always impressed by the club’s dedication to community causes big and small. Thanks for all you do!

Barbs: • Picture this: It’s a beautiful sunny afternoon at Round Lake State Park. Anglers are out on the ice, huddled in their huts and hoping for a big fish to haul through the hole in the ice. Families hike single file down the pleasant trail around the lake, smiling in passing. It’s a glorious Sunday in North Idaho. Then, on a section of trail across the lake, my partner and I view some scat in the snow and attempt to identify it.

“It’s not a bear,” I frown at the mess. “Not elk or deer, either.”

“Is it a cat?” Cadie asked.

“No, I...” it dawns on me what we’re looking at. My eyes glance from the scat to a couple of holes with size-9 boot tread right beside it.

“Oh god, get away, it’s human!”

Sure enough, some daring hiker managed to step just an inch off the main trail — a heavily trafficked corridor in all seasons — and drop trow to share the content of their bowels with all the other hikers that passed by.

My friend Jake splits human beings into roughly two groups: surface poopers and non-surface poopers. The former just do their business when out in nature, not bothering to dig a hole or even cover their mess up, leaving behind their corn chowder surprise for everyone to find, along with used toilet paper.

The rest of us dig a hole and bury the waste with dirt so nature doesn’t turn into a Sweet Pea Port-a-Potti.

Don’t be a surface pooper, and if you are, make damn sure you step at least more than an inch off a popular trail before doing your business. I don’t know why I have to remind people of this in North Idaho, but here we are.

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Dear editor, There once was a parks director named Kim / Who used the word “dude” always on a whim / He dedicated his life’s work so all ages could play / Citizens of Sandpoint were so lucky, I say / No vision was ever too big or too small / Kim always made sure he was looking out for all / Whether pedaling to Moscow or the CHAFE 150 on his bike / I could never tell if his face had a grimace, or he was just psyched / Kim, thank you for your leadership on Memorial Field / A great gift to the community was this build / I enjoyed working with you my friend / Heartfelt best wishes on retirement I am here to send / Now, more time to cheer on the Vandals and sail the big lake, / Again, thank you for all the years of service, I know it was not always a piece of cake.

Best wishes, Tom Albertson Sandpoint

Life lesson learned from the myth, the man, the legend, Kim… Dear editor, I never thought I’d hear the word “retirement” behind the name Kim Woodruff! Someone who loved their job the way Kim did, with such passion, I just never thought the day would come. I worked for Kim in the ’90s in the Recreation Department. Kim was passionate about his work and play.

One attribute I learned from Kim as my boss is you can “work hard and play hard” and strike a balance between the two while accomplishing your goals in life. What I know for sure is that we can all learn something from him.

Thank you, Kim, for teaching me the “powder clause” (wink wink) and how we need to enjoy life (and powder!) in the present moment.

Congratulations on all that you have accomplished through your time at the city of Sandpoint. Well, I know where to find you when I come visit!

Sail on my friend!

Melisa Streubel Driggs, Idaho

It has been my pleasure serving Sandpoint with you…

Dear editor, I have had the pleasure of volunteering alongside Kim as a Sandpoint Parks and Recreation commissioner since 2010 and as Parks Plan

Steering Committee member since 2019. I have learned so much from my professional engagement with Kim, who I’ve come to also consider a friend, and know he leaves big flip flops to fill!

When I moved to Sandpoint in 2006 I had just graduated from Central Michigan University with a M.A. in recreation, parks and leisure services administration, and was so eager to put my education to work.

Kim has been a guiding post-graduate professor/coach of “real life” to me as a young professional pursuing a career in parks and recreation.

While there are many qualities which have led to his successful career, in reflection of my time and experiences with him, I’d have to say his ability to encompass all sides of a situation and find workable solutions seems to rise to the top of my most respected impressions.

And he does so with ease, a smile on his face, and a calming grace.

When I walk the Pend D’Oreille Bay Trail I reflect with gratitude on people like Kim who make securing recreational property a priority and a reality for all people who choose to live in this amazing place we call home. I look forward to running into you on the lake, bike trails and in the parks with your grandbabies, too. Kim, kudos to you for all you have accomplished over the years!

P.S. Perhaps we could continue our volunteer work together over at Litehouse YMCA? We would love to put your expertise to work on our advisory board when you are ready!

Gwen Victorson Sandpoint

A sunset to sail off into…

Dear editor, May you sail off into many beautiful sunsets in your retirement, Kim. You deserve all the pleasures that retirement life has to offer.

Thanks for all of the years of dedication to making Sandpoint a beautiful place to live. Let’s pickle!

Best to you always!

Tish Litvin Sandpoint

Thank you to a friend…

Dear editor, Kim Woodruff and I became friends a long time ago as recreation majors at the U of Idaho. He moved to Sandpoint as their new recreation director and he convinced me to move here a year later.

He introduced me to the mountain

bike trails and skiing at Schweitzer, but the most amazing of all was he reintroduced back into sailing. He taught me how to sail an 18-foot Hobie Cat, then monohull sailboats.

When I finally got my own, we raced. He was very competitive and once in a race we collided because of a right of way disagreement. (I was wrong, but… he could have moved.

Lol.) No damage at all, but we still discuss the race once in a while and laugh. The funny part was the two of us discussing the move and the only other boat in the race behind us passed us both.

I found it just as much fun to sail and race with him as race against him. Thirty-plus years of hanging out with Kim, one of my very best friends, sailing on the lake with our families and enjoying the place he introduced me to, thank you!

Mike Brosnahan Sandpoint

A public servant…

Dear editor, Within the space of a typical day we take so many public goods and services for granted. Roads, public education, sewage systems, piped water, mail services and loads more.

A lot of public work is in fact so public that its awesomeness isn’t valued. Shoot, I can send a letter to Japan for about a buck! That’s nuts.

One such goldmine of public goods and services here in Sandpoint is our very own Parks and Recreation Department. My pops, Kim Woodruff, has been running the city Parks and Recreation show for the past infinity years (Keenan et al, 2022).

He is a man who searches for what his townspeople need and then works grindingly, tirelessly to get it done. Grandstands and three-season playable field? He worked and pitched and planned for years.

Skatepark funding and creation?

Made it happen. Improved children’s park equipment? Yep. Implementing new and unique community classes?

Sure thing. (looking at you, Hair Braiding and Death and Dying) Expansion of the Windbag marina?

Creation of new parks? Putting on triathlons? Organizing youth sports teams? Sure darn diddly.

Here’s the deal (as my dad would say): If you have lived, worked or played in Sandpoint in the past 36 years, you have seen and likely benefited from the effort of this really great guy. So if you see him around… don’t thank him. Instead,

utilize and appreciate your fantastic parks, youth sports, classes, and other Parks and Rec. services (and for crumbsake, respect the ones with “No Dogs” signs).

This is exactly the thank you he would want. Love you, pop.

Hope Keenan Sandpoint

Kim Woodruff…

Dear editor, I would like to offer my congratulations to Kim Woodruff, Parks and Recreation director for the city of Sandpoint, who has been my friend and boss since he hired me 20 years ago. Now, after a full 36 years of dedicating himself to the people and recreational growth of Sandpoint, he will be retiring at the end of this month.

Kim always told me that he never viewed his job as work, but instead as living his passion.

Laughter was always coming from his office; it was fun and infectious.

On the phone and in person, fellow staffers and community notables would make special trips to share their recreation dreams and adventures with Kim. His open-door policy paved the way for many creative partnerships that will continue to benefit our town for years to come.

Most notable in my mind, Kim created a Parks and Recreation youth scholarship program. Originally funded by community supporters, the program continues to be made available to our local kids. He made art accessible with local watercolor paintings gracing the cover of every Parks and Recreation Activity Booklet and by his support of public art in city parks.

Refurbished tennis courts at City Beach, the Concrete Lake Skate Park, the ADA accessible playground at Travers Park, the refurbishment of the Windbag Marina, playgrounds at Lakeview Park and the Bonner County Fairgrounds, the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail and, most recently, the Memorial Field and Grandstand improvements are all a part of the joint legacy he built with all the parents, kids, special interest enthusiasts and organizations he worked with during his career.

Kim, I’ll miss my daily dose of your good humor, integrity, and Eagle Scout honesty at City Hall. It has been a real privilege to serve my hometown on your team.

Kami Omodt Sandpoint

OPINION

GOP tax policies leave working families behind

By Reps. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, and James Ruchti, D-Pocatello Reader Contributors

We came into this session with high hopes for what we could accomplish for Idahoans. Our strong revenues meant we could finally deliver broadly shared priorities that have been on the back burner for too long: reducing property taxes, repealing the sales tax on groceries and strengthening our schools. Last year’s lopsided tax bill favored profitable corporations and people at the top of the income spectrum. This could be the year we focus on working families. After all, local economies depend on a thriving middle class.

We were disappointed to see our high hopes dashed so quickly when the GOP rushed to advance House Bill 436. In doubling-down on the trickle-down approach from last year, Republicans are closing the door on important policies Idahoans want.

It is past time we prioritize working families. Every major tax bill the Legislature has passed for

more than a decade has prioritized profitable corporations and people at the top of the income spectrum.

We must balance this by focusing on the needs of everyday Idahoans, such as repealing the sales tax on groceries, increasing property tax assistance and using state funds to plug the holes in school budgets that must be filled by supplemental levies paid for with property taxes.

With a $600 million price tag, HB 436 will gobble up dollars we need to deliver far more critical tax solutions.

Just like last year’s tax bill, the benefits of HB 436 are completely lopsided. The priorities of GOP legislators are upside down when they want to send $8,000 checks to households in the top 1% and $75 to Idahoans who work for modest wages. The ongoing tax benefits follow a similar pattern. The top 1% will receive an ongoing yearly tax cut of $5,000, on average. Idahoans with modest incomes will receive little to no ongoing benefit.

We should instead be putting more dollars in the hands of

working families. This is not only popular among Idahoans, it is better for our economy.

Working Idahoans power our local economies when they buy groceries, get an oil change or have their hair cut. Small businesses depend on a strong middle class to thrive.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make the state of Idaho a place where working families can thrive and live their best lives. Let’s use the dollars available What we do not need to provide are more tax cuts for meaningful profitable corporations.

Rep. Lauren Necochea. File Photo.

Rep. James Ruchti. File Photo. tax reform to HB 436 would result in Neither of us has been contacted working Idathe lowest corporate tax rates of by a single constituent asking for hoans and improve our schools. this century, landing at just 6%. this bill. Even in committee, every Let’s do what Idahoans are asking Yes, corporations would pay the constituent who testified opposed us to do. same tax rate on their profits that it. Only lobbyists testified in favor. regular Idahoans pay in sales tax Rep. Lauren Necochea serves Our political system is seriouson food, diapers, medicines and as the assistant Democratic leader ly broken when the GOP superother necessities. in the Idaho House, and is in her majority rams through a bill that Bad economics aside, this bill second term representing District voters are asking us to reject. We is troubling in another way. As we 19 in Boise.

Rep. James Ruchti don’t believe the Legislature has write this, we are still receiving was elected to the House in 2020, ever thrown such a hefty sum of emails from regular Idahoans and represents District 29 in money ($600 million) at someasking us to oppose HB 436 and Pocatello.

He previously served thing Idahoans clearly don’t want. instead reduce property taxes, in the body from 2006-2010.

Both Idahoans deserve better. They derepeal the grocery tax and make are members of the House Reveserve leaders who will listen and sure schools are well funded. nue and Taxation Committee. deliver the policies they support.

Keep the Scotchman Peaks Wild and Open

By Ed Robinson Reader Contributor The Scotchman Peaks is a magical place. Having worked in the forests of the Idaho Panhandle for 35 years, I don’t say that lightly. This is also not news to anyone who has explored even a small part of this awe-inspiring landscape. From the top of wild and rugged peaks the panoramic views extend in all directions. Deep and steep valleys hold hidden waterfalls. The wonders of this area inspire all who visit. Few places remain as wild as the Scotchmans.

That’s why more than 10,000 people have become friends in support of keeping the Scotchman Peaks wild. They want to make sure the Scotchmans stay open for our kids and grandkids to find their own special wild place. They want to make sure mountain goats, wolverines and grizzly bears can still roam free in our wild back-

yard. They want to keep North Idaho and northwest Montana rugged and wild.

The 4.5 million acres of the Kootenai and Idaho Panhandle National Forests have plenty of room for many uses. There are places for mining, timber production, forest restoration, grazing and wildlife habitat. There is room for motorized recreation, mountain biking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, hiking and wilderness. However, not every use is advisable in every area — some areas are best suited for certain activities. Designating the Scotchmans as wilderness is the best use for the 88,000-acre Scotchman Peaks area.

The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness is working alongside snowmobilers, industry groups and other community stakeholders to come to an agreement on how to manage our public lands. We are active members of the Panhandle Forest Collaborative and the Kootenai

Forest Stakeholders. We are part of an emerging collaborative to develop winter travel plans for snowmobiles.

From the early 1970s, when the Forest Service began its first “Roadless Area Review and Evaluation,” to the development of forest management plans in 1987 and the current revised plan in 2015, the Forest Service has consistently recommended the Scotchman Peaks for wilderness.

During all this time, locals from Idaho and Montana have called for it to become designated wilderness. Folks from all backgrounds love the Scotchmans. Hunters, horsemen, hikers, miners, millers and others believe the Scotchmans are worth saving.

In the end, what matters most is not the planning of the past, but the actions we take for the future.

The Forest Service and Congress should act so that the Scotchman Peaks will remain wilderness for future generations.

I’d like our grandkids to grow up and explore lush cedar forests.

I want them to hike summits and hunt in the backcountry. I want them to be able to find a place where wildlife can still roam free.

I want them to find that wilderness right here in our backyard.

The Scotchman Peaks in winter.

Photo by Ed Robinson.

Ed Robinson worked as a forester on the Idaho Panhandle for 35 years for the Idaho Department of Lands, retiring as area manager. Ed is a board member of Friends of the Scotcham Peaks Wilderness.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

photopolymer resin

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Have you ever gone to the dentist to have a cavity filled and wondered what in the world they’re doing inside of your mouth? They squeeze a tube of something onto your tooth, put on some orange TRON goggles and blast your mouth with a flashlight from CSI. This strange, gooey stuff is called photopolymer resin, and it has a huge variety of uses in the modern world, from dental work to 3-D printing extremely fine details.

In its uncured form, these resins come in a wide variety of consistencies, from something like cold milk to toothpaste. Resins with a thicker, malleable consistency are preferred for dental work as your dentist can shape it and reduce pockets that could become cavities later. Runnier resins are generally used for 3-D printing.

You might be wondering how it works. On a surface level, once you expose the liquid resin to ultraviolet light for a certain amount of time, it will harden and cure, taking on the shape into which it has been formed and becoming very strong, as in the case of dental resin.

It becomes a much more intricate process when you zoom in and look at how the process unfolds at a molecular level.

At its core, the photopolymer resin is made up of a series of molecules: oligomers or binders, monomers and photoinitiators.

Oligomers are structures composed of a few basic, sometimes repeating molecules, and these dictate all of the important features of the resin: how well it resists heat, how durable or pliable it might be and how strong it will be at resisting external forces like impacts. You can almost think of 10 /

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these like the frame of a house.

Monomers are much smaller molecules, often made up of a few atoms that can link up with other monomers to create a polymer chain of several monomers. This is the basis of just about every plastic you can think of.

Photoinitiators are small molecules that can be split by light, particularly on the ultraviolet spectrum. When these molecules are split, they fling off into random directions and begin interacting with the binders and monomers, which causes a sort of chain reaction. Generally, once split by the UV light, these photoinitiator molecules become radicals, which means they have an odd number of electrons. When a molecule with an odd number of electrons interacts with another molecule that has an odd number of electrons, they create a molecule with an even number of electrons, which becomes stable. However, if odd interacts with even, it creates a new radical, which will then likely collide with another particle until there are relatively few radicals left. This all happens very, very fast, and an actual chemist would likely explain it much more accurately than I ever could.

It’s important to note that chemistry is like the Jedi religion, in that it doesn’t deal in absolutes.

Instead, the success or failure of a chemical reaction is largely statistical. If the vast majority of a substance behaves the way you want it to, that’s great! The molecules are all too tiny for us to see, so we don’t need to worry about 100% efficiency. There will be molecules in the finished product that have not undergone a reaction and that’s to be expected.

Now that you’ve seen both the macro and the micro of how photopolymer resin works, how does it work in a 3-D printer?

Most hobby printers that use resin are referred to as “SLA,”

which stands for stereolithographic apparatus. While that might be a big and scary word, you’ve already seen how the whole process works. These printers have a small vat with a transparent bottom that you fill up with liquid resin.

Beneath the vat there is an LCD screen, similar to your phone’s screen. Unlike your phone’s screen, the screen beneath the vat of the printer is designed to emit ultraviolet light.

The printer’s build plate, which acts as the foundation for your print, will descend into the vat and stop a fraction of a millimeter over the bottom of the vat. The printer will then project an image of the very first layer of your print for anywhere from 40-60 seconds, barraging a fairly precise area with UV light to trigger the reaction that will cure the resin and harden it into the shape of the layer projected on the screen. It’s important to bake this layer for longer, because the rest of the print will need a solid foundation to adhere to.

After this time has passed, the build plate will move up very slightly and the printer’s screen will flash the image of the next layer — generally for a range of two to six seconds, though I’ve found that 4.5 seconds provides some nice, crisp details. This process continues until your print is completed. After the print has completed, it’s always imperative to clean off the model and the build plate with isopropyl alcohol, then give the model one more cure — this time with a UV torch or a curing station that utilizes a turntable and a UV lamp. This gives your print a nice and durable shell and makes it safe to handle with your bare hands.

Stereolithiography can make extremely precise prints with some boasting details as sharp as 35 nanometers. However, it’s worth noting that the resin is a se-

A 3d-printed sculpture made with photopolymer resin.

Courtesy photo rious skin irritant, produces toxic fumes, and requires a great deal of caution and care to effectively use.

You always want to wear gloves and a mask when handling this stuff until your model has completely cured, and it’s important to wear UV-safe protection when dealing with a UV torch or lamp.

If you would like to see a layman’s explanation of how the entire process works in 3-D printing, I wholeheartedly invite you to watch “Ph.D. Chemist Explains

3D Printer Resin” on YouTube, from Goobertown Hobbies. Brent, the aforementioned chemist, speaks very clearly and breaks down an extremely complicated subject in an enjoyable way.

Also, his painting videos are the bomb.

Next week, we’re going to take an in-depth look at another form of 3-D printing that you can use at the library.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner an?

Don’t know much about batm • Artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger are the creators of the original Batman character.

• Batman’s fame came from the comic Batman, released in 1940, but he first appeared in Detective Comics No. 27 in 1939.

• Batman’s first well-known TV performance appeared in the 1966 TV show named Batman. This ran for 120 episodes until it stopped in 1968. His first TV appearance was actually in 1943, though.

• In order of appearance, the actors who have played Batman are: Lewis G. Wilson, Robert Lowrey, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Bruce Thomas, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Will Arnett (voiceover) and Robert Pattison. Affleck’s rendition of the Caped Crusader is identified by most fans as their least favorite.

• Before Michael Keaton was cast for Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, the role was offered to various other stars, including Harrison Ford

We can help!

and Pierce Brosnan, who refused the role because he thought the idea of playing a “guy who wears his underpants outside his trousers” was a joke.

• Keaton was offered the lead for 1995’s Batman Forever, but the role was given to Val Kilmer because Keaton demanded too high of a salary.

• The name Gotham City came from writer Bill Finger, who randomly chose the name of a jewelry store named Gotham Jewelers from a telephone book.

• Frank Miller is credited with restoring Batman to his old gritty self with his four-issue series of comics The Dark Knight Returns, published in 1986.

• Batman has had many villains over the years. Some include Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, Poison Ivy, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Hugo Strange, Bane, Harley Quinn, Two-Face and Ra’s Al Ghul.

PERSPECTIVES

It finally happened — the thing I’ve been dreading for the two years since the last time it happened: classroom closure due to COVID. Two years later, and we’re still shutting down classrooms.

Sigh. Haven’t we learned that letting mom and dad go to the bar but keeping kids home from school — for safety, of course — is a strange ranking of priorities? Haven’t we learned over the course of two years how to safeguard the bodies, minds and psyches of our little ones, of our very future? Maybe we adults missed a couple crucial years of education somewhere along the line, too, and I forgot about it.

We’re certainly not acting the part of brilliance and resilience right now. But bless us for trying in the midst of bewildering times.

I received an email last week from my daughter’s school informing me that her class was exposed to COVID and that she should not return to the classroom for five days. She is now back at school, but tentatively.

The next quarantine feels imminent. Omicron is on a warpath through the school.

Yet, we are the lucky ones here in North Idaho. We haven’t seen nearly the amount of school disruption as other parts of the country. Sylvie’s kindergarten year went off without a hitch (a shout-out to the Selkirk School for being amazing in the face of adversity). I shouldn’t be surprised about this class quarantine (and I’m not), nor should I be upset. We’ve had a good run. But just because other people have had it harder than

Jen Jackson Quintano. us, doesn’t mean we’re doing anything right. Just because we’re lucky, it doesn’t mean that we’re good.

I don’t understand the piecemeal approach to the COVID threat in our schools. Why do we not adhere to recommendations to social distance, to mask, to get our vaccinations, yet we do adhere to the advice to quarantine entire classes? I wish we could either agree that this is a pandemic worth taking seriously — masking, quarantines and all — or agree to not take it seriously in totality. As in, I’m not going to mask, but I’m also not going to worry or be surprised when a kid gets COVID at school. He or she can stay home, and my kid can still receive an education.

If we truly want our children in school, we need to choose one path or another, but this strange

reactive middle ground is not serving students or teachers.

I am fortunate in that this is our quieter season with work.

I can roll with the punches of school cancellations more easily (if not gracefully). This would be a whole different ball game if my husband and I were rushing off to job sites each day. I would not be able to easily facilitate Sylvie’s remote learning (such as it is), and her schooling would happen from the cab of the truck to the tune of whining chainsaws. This would leave her destined for a future of… well, manual labor, like her parents. Might as well get her on payroll now, seeing as she’s not going to school.

In reality, we would/will likely take turns going to work, leaving the crew short staffed but attending to our daughter’s needs. We are also fortunate that, in owning our own business, we have the flexibility to step away at times. Many are not so lucky, forced to forgo income and ambition to instead nurture the next generation. It shouldn’t have to be a choice, but at this moment in our nation, it is.

There is so much internal decay in our society now laid bare by this pandemic. Our health care system is on the brink of collapse. Domestic violence, suicide and overdoses have spiked. The supply chain is about as stable as a latestage game of Jenga played with shipping containers. And educators are hanging on by a thread… if they’re still hanging on at all. Many aren’t, and I don’t blame them.

Sylvie’s small school alone has a nearly insurmountable staffing shortage to contend with. Forget COVID — if two teachers come down with the common cold simultaneously, we’ll likely see more education days canceled. There’s no one jumping in to fill the gaps. And why would anyone want to? As a teacher in the age of COVID, you’re not just covering the “three Rs,” you’re also fielding angry emails from parents like me, on both sides of the issue.

You’re having to assess the seriousness of every cough and tummy ache in your classroom.

You’re having to plan for distance learning, just in case.

You’re having to consider your own safety in a room full of snot-nosed mouth-breathers.

And you’re not getting paid a dime more for your added anxieties.

Of course there are teacher shortages. Just like there are gaps in health care staffing and restaurant work. The pandemic has colored us all varying shades of anxious and umbrageous.

Verbal semi-automatic fire meets all messengers of bad news, whether that news is that your kid’s class is canceled, you’ve just tested COVID-positive or the steak you ordered is not available. There is so little we have control over right now, we are apt to rail at the nearest target. So, yeah, of course all the messengers have now left the building. God bless our COVID-weary souls.

Just as I will figure it out for the foreseeable future (e.g., sending invoices while grilling

cheeses), we as a nation will figure it out someday, too. Or, that’s the hope. Remember the quote, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”?

If we want school to return to normal, we might have to alter our COVID approach. Reactive quarantines and distance learning aren’t cutting it. For anyone. As hard as this is for us as parents, it’s even harder for our children.

Thirty percent of my daughter’s lived experience is with this pandemic. Thirty percent of her time on this planet has been spent assessing the risks of birthday parties and playdates, the pros and cons of masking, the chances of school continuing. She wants to know if COVID will still be here when she goes to college. Sadly, I don’t have the answer.

In fact, I don’t have any of the answers. Instead, I have hopes, fears and frustrations.

I have rants like this one. We all do. Maybe the solution is to stop conflating our feelings with facts (this article, for instance, is just one Big Feeling), and come together for the shared goal of returning our kids to educational normalcy. Even if normal is a whole new entity in this COVID-colored world.

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 January 27, 2022 /

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PERSPECTIVES

Mayor’s Roundtable:

By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor

grocery tax is a much fairer tax because it provides a real, lasting effect for lowI’ve spent the past week in er-income earners.

Boise as your District 1 board Saving a little money member for the Association every time you go of Idaho Cities. There are to the store makes a a couple updates from the big difference when Idaho Legislature that I want you don’t have much to share with you that are to begin with. Plus, relevant to Sandpoint. the one-time rebate House Bill 436 proposof $75 doesn’t even es a one-time rebate based amount to what a on 12% of your 2021 Idaho Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad. family would save income tax bill, or $75 per in grocery taxes over person (whichever is greater). a year, year after year. Plus, most of that It also eliminates the top tax bracket and refund would stay in Idaho, benefiting reduces corporate income tax from 6.5% Idahoans. to 6%. Unfortunately, in supporting this For someone making $1 million in bill the Legislature will no longer consider annual taxable income, they would receive eliminating the grocery tax, which has a $8,000 one-time rebate. In addition, been before the Legislature a couple times under HB 436, they would receive a $5,000 in recent years. annual tax cut every year. It’s worth menThis is particularly concerning for working-class families. Elimination of the tioning that more than 80% of that refund

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Big Brother approach limits local government and favors the wealthy over most Idahoans ends up leaving the state to outside entities, making Idaho poorer. Clearly, the benefit is lopsided and favors the wealthy over working-class Idahoans. A tax cut for Idahoans is a good idea, but it should especially benefit those who need it most, which represents the vast majority of Idahoans.

As AIC convened, we were joined by Gov. Brad Little. I asked the governor if he regretted signing HB 386 last session.

The notoriously unpopular HB 386 caused an uproar from mayors and city councilors across the state like I had never seen. It capped budget growth for local jurisdictions at 8% regardless of their population growth. It steals urban renewal funds from local jurisdictions (cities, counties, fire districts, library districts, transportation districts, etc.) upon sunset of the urban renewal districts — when historically those funds would revert back to the local jurisdictions. It kicked many seniors and those on a fixed income off of rental assistance.

The governor himself said this was a bad

bill and would have negative unintended consequences… and then he signed it.

For a city like Sandpoint or Ponderay, we are seeing unprecedented growth and could likely exceed the 8% cap. Some small cities are already exceeding this growth rate. This means that our citizens will get a reduction in city services. The urban renewal portion of the bill would mean a 7.3% reduction in tax revenues for Sandpoint. For Dover, this would be a reduction of 134%. Not only is this devastating for cities and other local jurisdictions that are already having to do more with less, the impact isn’t applied equally.

Mayors across the state, including myself, are talking with legislators to repeal the bill. It seems hopeful that the Legislature may repeal the urban renewal portion of the bill, but the rest will likely remain intact.

HB 442 is another bill that has been proposed to prevent local governments from regulating rental application fees for housing.

Both of these bills are an example of a growing trend to take away control from local government. Idaho has always been defined by small government and trusting that local government best represents the interests and will of the people. I hope we can return to traditional Idaho values and elect legislators and state officials that respect that tradition and support local government control. The “big brother” approach we increasingly see coming out of the Capitol represents the growing extremism that is taking over our state.

There will be no Mayor’s Roundtable this week. I’m in quarantine recovering from COVID for the remainder of the week.

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

Right: Niko Savarese and Makayla Smith stand with their children outside of the igloo Niko built in the backyard. “It has been a fun family project! Perfect for drinking hot cocoa in the afternoons,” Makayla wrote. Photo by Makayla Smith.

Left: One-year-old Connell searches for someone he might know in the “People Watching.” Photo by Andrea Marcoccio.

Bottom collage: Jim Healey took the Reader along on his recent trip to Washington, D.C. Lookin’ good, Jim. Photos by Doug Jones.

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COMMUNITY

Ethan Murray Fund donates $20K to Bonner Homeless Transitions

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

First, Justine Murray launched a nonprofit. Then, she and her partner, Matt Connery, hiked and whitewater rafted 850 miles from the southern border of Idaho all the way to Priest Falls in the panhandle, raising more than $60,000 in donations, pledges and with a post-hike slideshow event.

Each of these steps were taken with Murray’s son, Ethan, in mind.

Ethan, who struggled with addiction and mental illness, was shot and killed by a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy in May 2019. It was an event that sent Justine Murray on the path she is now, running the Ethan Murray Fund, which aims to “offer financial support for mental health, homeless and addiction services in North Idaho.”

The nonprofit is now making good on that promise of financial support, as Murray, Connery and other Ethan Murray Fund board members Val Plaster and Judy Colegrove presented a check Jan. 25 for $20,000 to Bonner Homeless Transitions.

“I like everything they do,” Murray

Ethan Murray Fund board members Judy Colegrove, Matt Connery, Val Plaster and Justine Murray present a check for $20,000 to Bonner Homeless Transitions board and staff, including Patty Shook, Joanne Barlow, Kim Woodbridge, Mary Jo Ambrosiani, Mary Jo Knutson, Barb Oler, Janet Pultorak and Ann Gehring. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

told the Reader. “They are very transparent with what they do, and I really appreciate that.”

This isn’t the first time Murray has found herself chipping in on BHT’s operations. For years now, her downtown Sandpoint business La Chic Boutique has been collecting socks for BHT’s clients.

“Not only do they get housing for people, and stability, but they also go beyond that and they help them get back into the community, back on their feet, with things like transportation, medical [help], parenting classes, nutrition classes,” Murray said.

BHT aims to give people a “hand up” rather than a “hand out,” according to board vice president Ann Gehring, by providing people with transitional housing and other resources meant to help them help themselves.

When Murray came to her with the sizable donation, she said she was “flabbergasted.” Asked if there was anything she’d like the community to know about BHT’s operations at

this time, Gehring emphasized that the group is actively housing families when they are most in need.

“We just want to shout from the mountaintops that we are helping children,” she said. “They have some stability in their life that maybe they didn’t have. It’s really, really a good thing for children.”

Murray handled introductions between her board and BHT members at the Jan. 25 check presentation, during which the BHT board and staff expressed their gratitude for the gift.

Murray shared her thanks for their hard work supporting the local homeless.

“You guys were on our mind the whole hike through Idaho,” she said.

To learn more about BHT, go to bonnerhomelesstransitions.org. To learn more about the Ethan Murray Fund, visit ethanmurrayfund.org or follow the nonprofit on Instagram @ ethanmurrayfund.

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OUTDOORS

Ski bums and cowboys

Chapman Springs Ranch in Clark Fork to host inaugural (and sold out) skijoring event Jan. 29

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

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Old-time North Idahoans reminisce about the days when hippies and loggers joyously coexisted. Some argue they still do.

A similar symbiotic relationship will be on display at Chapman Springs Ranch in Clark Fork on Saturday, Jan. 29, when ski bums and cowboys will unite at the ranch’s first-ever skijoring competition, during which horseback riders will tow skiers over snowy terrain to break time records and, in some cases, catch big air.

Jenna Mickelson, manager at Chapman Springs and one of the organizers of the event, said she and the ranch owners were inspired when they attended a skijoring competition in Utah last year.

“We kind of just fell in love. … We had never heard of skijoring in this area,” Mickelson said, noting that she did later learn of past skijoring events at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. Regardless, the Chapman Springs crew resolved to bring the sport back to North Idaho on a grand level.

That endeavor appears to be a resounding success, as tickets officially sold out Jan. 25. Mickelson said the limit was due to parking capacity at the ranch. / January 27, 2022

She estimates that 700-800 people will be making the trek to Chapman Springs this weekend, including the 100 teams of riders and skiers registered to participate.

Some are coming from as far away as Colorado and Alberta, Canada.

Traveling from just across the border in Montana is participant Bradley Fitchett, whose company, Elk Creek Contracting, is responsible for building the skijoring courses.

“Skijoring has been a fun winter activity the last few years,” Fitchett said.

“It’s hard to do much with your horses with the winters we get around here, so we have ‘skijored’ for fun in the fields for something to do with the horses.”

This will be Fitchett’s first-ever “real” competition, he said.

The Chapman Springs Skijoring event will feature three divisions — beginner, sport and pro — with two courses and various obstacles to achieve different challenge levels.

“I’m really looking forward to watching all the other competitors who are coming from all over the country, and even Canada, to try their hand at winning this event,” Fitchett said. “The ‘big air’ event is also very exciting. Watching a full-speed horse let an experienced skier or snowboarder loose onto a giant ramp to see how high and what tricks they can do

Skijoring in action at the Chapman Springs Ranch in Clark Fork. Photo by Anvil Film Co. and the Champman Springs Team. will be pretty awesome, to say the least.”

While Friday, Jan. 28 is reserved for participants to get registered and settled in at the ranch, the action officially kicks off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, as the gates open to ticketed guests.

While this year’s event is sold out, those interested in future skijoring events are encouraged to follow the ranch on social media, as this is likely to be the first of many at Chapman Springs.

“I think it brings a great group of people together,” Mickelson said. “The horse community, or the Western community, and the ski community are so different.

That was one thing that we loved when we went to our first skijoring event — just the different people that we got to meet and talk to from all over the United States and all different backgrounds.

“It was just fun to bring such a diverse group of people together to have a good family time,” she added. “The adrenaline rush is like no other, it’s crazy — even just watching it.”

Follow Chapman Springs Ranch on social media, including Instagram (@ chapmansprings) for updates on future events at the ranch.

OUTDOORS

Schweitzer offers slate of free activities

By Ben Olson Reader Staff We’re right in the thick of winter and Schweitzer has a few events coming up that will provide access for free, as well as a few other interesting events to help you get the most out of your winter experience on the mountain.

Toyota Free Ski Friday For Toyota, Scion or Lexus vehicle owners, Friday, Jan. 28 is your day at Schweitzer. Those who drive the aforementioned cars or trucks can receive one free lift ticket for the day.

To receive a free ticket, look for the Toyota and Schweitzer representatives stationed at the Red Barn Shuttle Parking at the bottom of the mountain, as well as the roundabout on the way up to the on-mountain parking lots. One free lift ticket will be given for each Toyota vehicle driven to the resort. Tickets are only valid on Jan. 28.

Tickets can be picked up after 1:30 p.m. at Guest Services. You must present your vehicle registration and a valid ID to get a ticket. Registration is required to prove ownership of a Toyota, Scion or Lexus.

Call the Schweitzer Activity Center at 208-255-3081 for more information.

Winter Trails Day With more than 32,000 kilometers of trails to explore, Schweitzer has you covered when it comes to snowshoeing, Nordic skiing and snowbiking. Winter Trails Day on Saturday, Jan. 29 is when all trail fees are waived for your Nordic adventures.

Nordic trails vary from easy out-andback loops to intermediate trails with rewarding views of the valley below. Some have upward of 600 feet elevation gain, while others only climb a couple hundred feet. When conditions are right, all Nordic trails are accessible by snowbikes, which can be rented from the Ski and Ride Cen-

ter in the Schweitzer Village. When snowbike status is “red,” snowbikes will be limited to the GRR and Overland trails.

Transceiver Sundays with Ski Patrol Do you own an avalanche beacon? If you spend any time in the backcountry or are a regular tree skier, it’s a good idea to carry one at all times so Ski Patrol can help track you down in the chance you are caught in a slide.

Left: Toyota Free Ski Day will be Friday, Jan. 28.

Right: A man and woman snowshoe on the vast trail system atop Schweitzer. Photos courtesy Schweitzer.

Come practice using an avalanche transceiver and receive a tutorial Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. by the clock tower, then head to the beacon park for handson practice. It’s always a good idea to be safe on the mountain.

Outdoor education program teaches winter ecology

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

The winter world is the subject of an outdoor education program scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 29 in Libby, Mont., with attendees going into the field to study the interactions of area wildlife with their environment.

Meeting at 9 a.m. (Mountain Time), in the Viking Room of the Venture Inn at 1015 US Highway 2 in Libby, participants will first learn about specialized predator-prey relationships, such as the one between Canadian lynx and snowshoe hare, and other species interesting winter relationships in the wild. The group will also focus on botanical terminology that will inform the spotting and identification of area coniferous trees, evergreen shrubs and other flora.

In the field, the group will visit two to four types of habitats, searching for tracks, sign and scat of area wildlife and birds; identifying both evergreen and deciduous vegetation; analyzing habitats; and connecting animal behavior with their environments.

Attendees are asked to come prepared with full gas tanks, winter clothing, lunch, water, good boots, snowshoes and/or ski poles (if available), cameras and binoculars.

The class, designed for adults, will consist of road tours in participants’ own vehicles, including short hikes on private lands that will wrap up around 2:30 p.m. (MST).

The class is sponsored by Libby Hostel Base Camp, which can be found online at Airbnb. All participants must register to attend. Email b_baxter53@yahoo.com or call 406-291-2154.

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events

January 27 - Feb. 3, 2022

THURSDAY, January 27 FriDAY, January 28

Toyota Free Ski Day at Schweitzer All day @ Schweitzer Own a Toyota, Lexus or Scion? Drive it up to Schweitzer today and receive a free lift ticket good for 1-28-22 Live Music w/ Jackson Roltgen 6-8:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Roltgen is a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter from CDA who explores blues, soul, pop and Americana music White Noise documentary film - FREE 7pm @ Panida Theater

Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner Trio 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Skijoring (Jan. 28-29) 4pm @ Chapman Springs Ranch One horse, one rope, one skier. This horse-powered skiing event is like no other. Racers must register Jan. 28 by 4 p.m.

Gates open for spectators at 8 a.m. on Jan. 29 when races begin. Chapmanskijoring. com for more info

SATURDAY, January 29

Live Music w/ Doug & Marty 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Sandpoint’s guitar and mandolin duo Live Music w/ Joe & Maya 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Paint and Sip w/ Kem Davis 1-2:30pm @ The Idaho Club Hosted by artist Kem Davis, the painting is “Sunset on Snowy Pines.” No experience required! Ticket includes one glass of wine and appetizers are available for purchase. To reserve tickets, please email events@theidahoclub.com (attn: Maddie)

Live Music w/ Alex Cope and Steven Wayne 9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge It’s bartender Emma’s last night, so come down and wish her luck

Winter Trails Day All day @ Schweitzer Come enjoy a complimentary day out on teh other side of Schweitzer. Explore 32K of trails on snowshoes or Nordic skis, with trail fees waived Jan. 29 Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band 9pm @ A&P’s Bar and Grill Sandpoint’s outlaw country rock band

This Winter Night presented by POAC, Allegro Dance Studio & Suzuki String Academy 2pm & 7pm @ Panida Theater A special evening of live music and dance featuring local performers. Matinee performances Jan. 29-30 at 2pm, evening shows both days at 7pm. Pre-show gala includes a hot chocolates bar, small dessert bites from local restaurants, art gallery display and raffle including a hand-painted violin by Lisa V. Maus. Raffle funds will benefit scholarships for local students. Tickets $35-$45 and are available at artinsandpoint.org. For more information, email info@suzukistringacademy.com

SunDAY, January 30

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

monDAY, January 31

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

Group Run @ Outdoor Experience 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome, beer after Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant “Has God Left the Building?”

tuesDAY, february 1 wednesDAY, february 2

Live Music w/ Jake Robin 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ Tim G. 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

ThursDAY, february 3 Opening Reception art show with Tom Kramer and Robens Napolitan 4-6pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Light refreshments served. Artwork will be shown until Feb. 26 18 /

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STAGE & SCREEN

Documentary White Noise paints a portrait of alt-right provocateurs

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

surface of the 2020 documentary White Noise: Inside the Racist Right, screening Friday, Jan. 28 at the Panida Theater, though Journalists, documentariit’s probably not the one director ans and certain types of social Daniel Lombroso wanted to put in scientists have for a long time the storefront. been familiar with the conundrum Produced as the first feature of researching and reporting on documentary from The Atlantic subjects with corrosive ideas. magazine, White Noise is the After every hate crime, every result of Lombroso’s four-year efinstance of hate speech or hatefort to embed himself in the lives filled demonstration, it’s always and activities of three prominent the same question that gets asked voices on the so-called “racist in newsrooms, pitch meetings or right.” Through them, he accesses academic conferences: What’s the a larger world of white supremaworth of giving perpetrators or cist thinking and action, drawing peddlers of bigotry more attenthroughlines from tion? Is it better to White Noise: Inside online provocation ignore them and therefore starve the Racist Right (NR) to real-world violence and social them of an audiFriday, Jan. 28; 7 p.m.; FREE. disruption. ence, or is it better Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.

Picking up just to expose them so org. More info at theatlantic. after the election of that their ideologies may shrivel in com/white-noise-movie. Theater former-President capacity will be limited to 225 Donald Trump, the bright light of guests per show. The Panida which prompted an public scrutiny? strongly encourages all guests to wear a mask, regardless of explosion of white That question vaccine status. nationalist rhetoric runs beneath the

— including from Trump himself — the film focuses on Richard B. Spencer, Mike Cernovich and Lauren Southern.

Spencer is a well known leader of the “alt-right,” famous for his agitation at the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., and spreading an apocalyptic vision of white “replacement” by people of color and the subsequent collapse of the social, political, economic and cultural order.

Cernovich is a “men’s rights” blogger most notable for perpetuating the phony “Pizzagate” scandal, which falsely claimed in 2016 that members of the Democratic Party were connected to a pedophilia ring operating out of a pizza parlor in Washington, D.C. Southern is a Canadian anti-feminism, anti-immigration and white nationalist activist, best known for participating in efforts to obstruct the search and rescue of refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. Southern has positioned herself as a

reporter in the past, even being granted to press briefings at the White House in 2017.

Lombroso gained deep access to these provocateurs, capturing both their private and public lives,including confessional-style oneTwo women pose for a selfie flashing the ‘OK’ sign, now associated with the white nationalist on-one interviews in which his movement. Screenshot from White Noise. subjects describe their beliefs, how they see them fitting into the larger socio-political narrative and nature of its subject, other reviews providing a glimpse of the human have praised White Noise as “the being behind the hate monger. scariest documentary of the year,” It’s the latter part that some and named it among the best doccritics have questioned. Writing umentaries of 2020. Reviews on for rogerebert.com, Nick Allen rottentomatoes.com add up to an argued that Lombroso only man87% critics’ score and 73% score aged to reveal “some cracks in from audiences. their performative nature,” mostly Presented by KRFY 88.5 FM succeeding in giving his interand the Bonner County Human viewees additional, emboldening Rights Task Force, there’s no attention. The New York Times doubting the timeliness of White wrote that the film “sometimes Noise, as the country continues to risks coming across as ‘extremists reap the whirlwind fanned by the are just like us.’” likes of Spencer, Cernovich and In keeping with the divisive Southern.

Local music, dance talent share the stage

POAC, Suzuki String Academy and Allegro Dance Studio present This Winter Night at the Panida Theater

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff Three local arts groups are better than one, as evidenced by the return of This Winter Night — a production of dance and music brought to the community by the Pend Oreille Arts Council, Suzuki String Academy and Allegro Dance Studio.

This Winter Night will grace the Panida Theater with two matinees and an evening performance Saturday, Jan. 29 and Sunday, Jan. 30. According to a POAC media release, the show — which is part of the nonprofit’s annual Performing Arts Series — blends the talents of local musicians and dancers to create an elaborately costumed “Mozart-meets-Coldplay” music and dance experience.

“We are thrilled to present a celebration of our community’s considerable artistic talent,” said

POAC Executive Director Tone Lund. “Join us for a magical evening of music, dance and art.

This is a very special opportunity to ‘dress up to come to the ballet’ in your own hometown.”

Both Saturday and Sunday will offer 2 p.m. matinee performances, while Saturday night’s gala performance will begin at 7 p.m.

All performances include a pre-show reception in the Panida Little Theater, decorated as a festive Winter Wonderland featuring a hot chocolate bar, art gallery display and raffle including a hand-painted violin by local artist Lisa V. Maus. Raffle funds will go toward scholarships for local students. Young concertgoers will also have the opportunity to meet and pose for a photo with ballerinas from the show.

Tickets to the Saturday gala performance also include complimentary wine and small dessert

bites provided by City Beach Organics and Trinity at City Beach.

Suzuki String Director Ruth Klinginsmith and Allegro Director Paige MacDonald named classically trained violinist and dancer Lindsey Stirling as a main point of inspiration for “This Winter Night.” Klinginsmith noted that the show includes a piece by Stirling performed by violin student Jacinta Howard.

“Her upbeat and energetic music has inspired many young musicians and dancers,” Klinginsmith said of Stirling. “I love that there is a variety of music genres being represented at this event.”

MacDonald described This Winter Night as a “whimsical and interactive” production.

“It’s a gift from us to the community showing them how talented their kids truly are,” she added.

Klinginsmith called the production a “great way to showcase

our local students, to have them work toward something and polish something and have it at this level to share with others.”

“We started this production to highlight local talent and give students the opportunity to be a part of a larger production,” she added, noting that the added benefit of raising funds to go toward student scholarships. “It is a unique experience for this community for musicians to play alongside live dancers and dancers to be able to dance with live music.”

Suzuki String Academy musicians featured in This Winter Night include Bianca d’Avila Do Prado, Scott Boekenoogen, Jacinta Howard, Mallory Pierce, Even Schwenk, Marianne Wall and Klinginsmith.

Local dancers from Allegro Dance Studio include Riley Beck, Sophia Binnal, Angel Blackmore, Kate Blackmore, Stella Brown,

Taylor Burrows, Lilian Giles, Lucy Giles, Lillian Grant, Ada Greve, Nora Kendall, Sawyer Klind, Kiana Klinginsmith, Xadrian Knepper, Abbey Lambrecht, Jared MacDonald, Moira MacDonald, Paige MacDonald, Tayla MacDonald, Chika Orton, Maisie Rose, Asah Shackleford, Charlotte Solly, Willow Solly, Caelin Varcoe, Lila Wassif and Solana Zmuda.

“Dress up and bring the whole family for a magical Winter Night experience,” Klinginsmith said.

Tickets to This Winter Night are available at the POAC Office (110 Main Street, Suite 101), online at artinsandpoint.org, or by phone by calling 208-263-6139.

Matinee tickets are $35, while the Saturday evening gala tickets cost $45. All proceeds will benefit Suzuki String Academy, Allegro Dance Studio and the Pend Oreille Arts Council.

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Catholic cuisine

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

Who else preserves their holy cards in cookbooks? When I was in parochial school, holy cards were doled out like morning donuts at a police precinct. If you grew up Catholic, you know what I am talking about. For every spelling contest, lunchroom duty (a.k.a. child labor) and act of general benevolence we were rewarded with holy cards, often blessed (consecrated) by whichever priest happened to be roaming the halls.

By high school, they’d frankly lost their luster, but fearing the wrath of a greater power, I never parted with a single one.

Today, my home is a sanctuary for these gold-rimmed, colorful likenesses of Mary, Joseph, Jesus and a plethora of (so many) pious saints. Besides my collection, I am the multi-generational keeper of all things holy: family bibles, baptismal certificates and, yes, the hallowed cards of my forebears, who apparently also feared the wrath of a great power.

I never know where I’ll find one — tucked into books, file drawers, address books, old purses… — but, coming across them evokes childhood memories of my grandmother’s house. She had holy cards, more prominently displayed than mine, tucked everywhere; behind picture frames and mirrors were favorite spots. Small holy water fonts were also sprinkled liberally throughout her home, often accompanied by a consecrated card of Saint Joseph, well within kneeling distance.

I didn’t know the provenance of these prizes. I think I cherished some of them simply because they pictured beautiful, worthy women, like Saint 20 /

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Clare of Assisi. Others were favorites because I loved the way the saints’ names rolled off my tongue, like Saint Catherine of Siena. In the eighth grade, I signed a pledge card to consider a vocation to the church (it’s true), which brought me a whole bevy of beautiful cards. My principal at the time, Sister Kevin Marie Flynn (her cupboard full of shiny new cards), hailed from Ireland and was devoted to Saint Brigit. So, of course, was I. I paid no attention to my Irish heritage at the time, and knew little about Saint Brigit’s good deeds, but I yearned for the traditional cross associated with her. The cross is typically woven with stiff grass, like rush, and has three or four arms with a square in the middle. The nuns were master weavers of these

coveted crosses, doled out in spring, for good behavior.

There is evidence that Brigit was a devoted friend to Saint Patrick, and it’s said that their friendship was so great that they shared one heart and one mind.

Like Saint Patrick, Saint Brigit is also a patron saint of Ireland, and, every Feb. 1, the Irish celebrate her. This date is known as The Feast of Saint Brigit.

In pagan times it was referred to as Imbolc to celebrate the arrival of longer, warmer days and the early signs of spring. It is one of the four major “fire” festivals (quarter days), referred to in Irish mythology from medieval Irish text, dating back to the fifth century.

It’s a sacred Holy Day and, more recently, an Irish national holiday that’s celebrated

throughout Ireland, but especially in Kildare, Brigit’s ancestral home. The homes are adorned with Saint Brigid’s crosses set over doorways and windows to protect one’s home from harm.

Traditionally, food is made and left on the doorsteps of friends and neighbors. Brigit is closely associated with dairy goods, like milk and cream and eggs. I am sure we’re related.

She is the patron saint of poets and printers and children of unmarried parents. She’s also the patron saint to farmers and ranchers, and I like to think she keeps a good watch over my son Zane, his children, and their cows and crops.

If you’re interested in honoring Brigit, try your hand at making some butter, a favorite Irish activity for children of

all ages — my kids and theirs love this easy activity. Fill a quart canning jar a third of the way full with heavy whipping cream, screw the cap on the jar, vigorously shake until you are at the whipped cream stage.

Keep shaking and, soon after that, you will hear the thud of the lump of butter. Pour off the liquid, knead the butter to remove pockets of liquid and serve with fresh bread.

We won’t be celebrating spring weather quite as early as our Irish counterparts, but we can still make some tasty foods to honor Saint Brigit. Right now, in the produce section, you’ll find some beautiful young asparagus. So go ahead and pick up some and try your hand at some Catholic cuisine with this savory cheese custard.

Spring tart with goat cheese and asparagus This recipe is best with the earliest, tender spring asparagus available.

Perfect for holidays spreads, like Easter brunch.

INGREDIENTS: • 2 cups cream or half and half • 1 whole sprig fresh thyme • 1 whole garlic clove • 3 eggs, plus 2 extra yolks • Pinch of cayenne pepper • 1 tsp sea salt flakes • ½ tsp ground white pepper • ½ cup grated swiss cheese • ½ cup goat cheese • 12-20 young asparagus tips (depending on size), snapped close to the tip, rinse

Serves 4

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pour cream or half and half in a small saucepan with thyme and garlic. Simmer/scald until it begins to steam — watching carefully.

Whisk eggs, cayenne, salt and pepper in a medium bowl until well blended. Remove thyme and garlic.

Add a tiny bit of hot cream to eggs, whisking constantly, so as not to curdle the eggs. Continue the process until the eggs are tempered (warmed up), then gradually add the rest of cream to the egg mixture, whisking constantly.

If using 1 dish, sprinkle grated cheese and spoonfuls of goat cheese into a 1-quart dish. If using ramekins, sprinkle ¼ grated cheese and ¼ goat cheese (by spoonful) into each ramekin. Pour egg mixture over the top mixture into a 1-qt. dish or 4 ramekins. Top with asparagus tips.

Put 1-qt. dish or ramekins in a deep baking pan and pour boiling water into the

baking pan, to within about 1 inch of the top of the dish or ramekins, careful not to spill water into the custard.

Bake until mixture is barely set — it

should still jiggle in the center — about 30 minutes for ramekins and 5-10 minutes longer for baking dish. Remove from the oven and serve warm.

MUSIC

Sweet sounds in a small setting Vetiver returns to Sandpoint for a special show in March

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The last time Andy Cabic of the popular folk group Vetiver played in Sandpoint, he stood on the biggest stage around at the 2015 Festival at Sandpoint. This time, the band will perform in one of the most intimate rooms in town.

Vetiver will play a special show Sunday, March 20 at The Longshot (102 S. Boyer Ave.), presented by the Festival at Sandpoint and Katelyn Shook, sponsored by the Reader. Tickets are available for $15 and can be purchased in advance at festivalatsandpoint.com. If there are any left, tickets will be available the day of the show for $20.

Cabic’s music strongly resembles the sweet, fragrant grass for which his band is named. His songs are honest and fresh, carried forward with a thoughtful arrangement of acoustic instruments and melodic lyrics sung in his breezy voice. His is the type of music that sounds best with the window down on the first warm day of spring.

In his nearly 20 years of making music, Cabic has recorded seven studio albums as Vetiver, the latest release being Up on High in 2019, which captures the wistful mood from earlier records such as To Find Me Gone, released in 2006.

When asked in a phone interview to compare the recording process for Up on High with his earlier albums, Cabic told the Reader, “It was both the same and

different. Same because I worked with the same producer and engineer that I’ve done all my records with — Thom Monahan — but it was different, because we’ve worked together so long on each album, we can look back on what we did before and talk about what we wanted to do differently.

“But with [Up on High], we did it more live, but in a stripped down way,” he added.

Cabic said he gathered with Monahan, drummer Josh Adams and bassist Gabe Noel in a friend’s house near Joshua Tree, Calif., and laid down all the tracks before moving on to the final steps.

“It was a quick experience, then a prolonged thing that took place over many months,” Cabic said.

The result is an album that creates a feeling Cabic has developed as a brand: plaintive, thoughtful and introspective, with songs that keep your foot tapping and lyrics that make the synapses fire a bit faster.

Vetiver has shared the stage with many big names over the years, including Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Wilco and more. The band is currently on tour with the Fruit Bats, and is able to play this special Sandpoint show because of a brief window in touring.

“I’ve done less touring, as you can imagine, than I’ve done in years leading up to the pandemic,” Cabic said. “I’m just excited to be out traveling again and playing.

I’ve only been to Sandpoint once, playing the Festival. My time there was very brief, but I got to walk around downtown a bit. I’m really looking forward to having more time there.”

Though Cabic is the driving force behind Vetiver, the band has undergone several different iterations over the years, which Cabic said he enjoys. The current tour will include Cabic, drummer Miles Wintner, Tim Ramsey on guitar and Aaron Olson playing bass. Fun fact: Aaron Olson is Bob Witte’s son-in-law. If you don’t know who Bob Witte is, you probably don’t live in Sandpoint.

“I’m really excited to play with these guys. They’re great musicians,” Cabic said. “The band always changes based on who’s around and available. … This lineup, they’ve all known each other a

When it comes to Tim G, variety is the spice of the gig, with beloved covers and original music joining forces to create a complete music experience.

The Spokane-based singer-songwriter boasts a catalog of covers from every imaginable decade, capable of conjuring the tunes of artists from John Denver to The Doors, The Beatles to BB King, The Everly Brothers to Coldplay, and much, much more.

Tim G’s original works are also part of his appeal. His original song

“I Think I’ll Go to Idaho” showcases the artist’s intricate guitar work and rich, seasoned vocals. What’s more, it features lyrics that sing to the hearts of locals: “There are sandy shores in Idaho/ It’s just something few folks know.” Cheers to that, Tim. Just don’t go telling too many others.

— Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey

Andy Cabic of Vetiver. Courtesy photo. long time and they all live in L.A. except for me. … We did one tour with this group and it was one of my favorites I’ve ever done.”

Tickets went on sale for the March 20 show at The Longshot, which has closed as a business but is still available for pop-up music shows. The show is expected to sell out quickly, as a band of Vetiver’s caliber doesn’t often play intimate shows like these. Proof of vaccination or a negative 72-hour PCR test is required at the door for entry.

To listen to Vetiver, visit mamabirdrecordingco.com. For more information or questions about tickets, contact the Festival at Sandpoint by emailing info@festivalatsandpoint.com or by calling 208-265-4554.

6-8 p.m., FREE. Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St., idahopourauthority.com. Listen to Tim G and stay up-to-date on upcoming gigs by visiting timgmusic.com.

Alex Cope and Steve Wayne, 219 Lounge, Jan. 29 What do you get when you combine a singer who performs the national anthem at the Festival at Sandpoint with a prize-winning songwriter?

Answer: Alex Cope and Steve Wayne.

This powerhouse duo of accomplished local musicians will be bringing down the house at the 219 Lounge on Saturday, Jan. 29, with their combined soulful powers.

And big bonus, it will be beloved bartender Emma Stan-

READ

There was a brief period of time in high school when I thought of becoming a lawyer.

Thankfully, I chose another profession (no offense to lawyers — it’s just not my bag). But I’ve always been interested in stories about the law, especially the moral questions that arise from being a defense lawyer. Michael Connelly has written several great books from this perspective, The Lincoln Lawyer being the most well-known. Think of Connolly as a grittier, more insightful John Grisham.

LISTEN

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Tim G, Idaho Pour Authority, Feb. 2

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

ford’s last night slinging drinks.

On a personal note, her’s is the first face we see after a long Wednesday (deadline) night, and we’re going to miss her.

Get down to Alex and Steve, and don’t forget to tip your server — whether they’re serving tunes or brews.

— Zach Hagadone

I go through periods in my life when I don’t listen to music in the truck while driving.

I’m onto books on tape and podcasts now, until I grow tired of them and move back to tunes. Right now, I’m deep into a podcast called Cults that explores the rise and fall of cult leaders from the distant past to the present. It’s fascinating to see the similarities of these leaders and how they dupe their followers into going down the rabbit hole with them. You can find Cults on Spotify.

WATCH

Speaking of cults, there’s a documentary series called Wild Wild Country on Netflix that follows the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his community of followers called the Rajneeshpuram community, which attempted to take over a small town in Oregon in the 1980s. Like many cult leaders, you’ll find yourself asking, “Why in the world are these people following this man?”

As the title suggests, this documentary is pretty wild, going into intricate details about the rise and fall of this cult.

9-11 p.m., FREE, 21+. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208, 219.bar.

January 27, 2022 /

R

/ 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

The best vacation ever From Northern Idaho News, January 21, 1908

M’CLAMMY IS IN TROUBLE Mark McClammy and wife, formerly of this city, are having troubles as will be seen by the following special from Coeur d’Alene: Mark McClammy swore to a warrant this morning before Judge Geo. F. Steele charging his wife with embezzlement of more than $700 and the abduction of their two children, aged 8 and 5 years.

According to McClammy, when he returned home last evening at a late hour he was surprised to find his home vacated by his wife, two children and about $700 in cash.

He had no inkling of the move on the part of his wife. Diligent search during the night could not locate the missing wife and children.

Toward morning he ascertained they had taken the last train for Spokane. At 5 o’clock this morning he appeared before Judge Steele, swore to the complaint and took the first train for Spokane in search of his fleeing wife.

This is not the first time the officers have been called upon to effect a peace settlement between McClammy and his wife. About two weeks ago, when he was late returning home at night, she was gone, having taken a room in a lodging house for the night. She claimed he was cruel to her. It is claimed the $700 is her own money, having been inherited from her parents’ estates.

The woman was arrested at Spokane today, but was released.

After pleading for over an hour in the drill hall of the police station in Spokane, McClammy gave up the task as hopeless and the couple agreed to disagree and separated, the father retaining custody of their 8-year-old son and the mother that of ther 5-year-old daughter.

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/ January 27, 2021

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

For the first time in what feels like years — and probably is years — I came to work on Monday feeling relaxed and rested. Optimistic. Enthusiastic, even. This is not my normal state; or, at least hasn’t been since sometime in late 2019 and definitely not since spring 2020. You see, I took a vacation.

I’ve gone places since 2019, of course, but they’ve been obligated by family or holiday events. We all know those are never vacations; they’re “trips,” after which you need a vacation more than ever.

This time, my wife, two kids and I got away to a place where we swam in an indoor pool and luxuriated in a jacuzzi, sipping drinks and reading books in deck chairs. We sampled exotic local cuisine, hiked through unfamiliar countryside to take in its natural beauty and even won enough at the casino to (almost) pay for the whole trip. We topped off this adventure with some shopping for delicacies that are hard to find — or even afford — locally, and returned home feeling refreshed and happy.

I guess that’s the social media version of what we did. The reality is that we drove an hour and a half to Libby, Mont., to stay less than 24 hours at the Venture Motor Inn — billed as the home of “Libby’s only indoor pool and hot tub.” The scenic hike was a

STR8TS Solution

0.8-mile walk from a parking lot on the side of Highway 2 through the snow to look at Kootenai Falls, which really is worth seeing if you haven’t.

The “exotic local cuisine” was breaded chicken gizzards dipped in ranch dressing at the Sidewinder Restaurant and Lounge — next door to the Venture Motor Inn — where we also won a little under $400 at the “casino,” which was really just a few banks of video slots behind a half wall to keep out the under-18 crowd.

Our shopping excursion was to the Grocery Outlet in Bonners Ferry, where we realized just how much we’ve been spending on just about anything anywhere else. No joke: We found jars of Vlasic pickles for 97 cents, clarified duck fat for about $3, ghee butter for under $5, a 12-pack of Nori seaweed snacks for $6 and Wagyu ground beef for $4 a pound. The wine selection alone would have been worth the trip, with bottles that would retail for $25 to $50 anywhere in Sandpoint selling for between $9 and $18.

When we checked out, the cashier told us that we’d saved almost as much as we’d spent, and we’d spent enough to meet our whole week’s grocery needs.

It’s embarrassing to say how overjoyed we were walking the aisles, marveling at how little we were paying for milk, eggs, bread and cheese — so much so that my 7-year-old daughter kept saying we should move to Bonners. Needless to say, I shushed

her — the last thing anybody wants in any community around here is more people moving there to exploit its lower cost of living.

So I’m not exaggerating when I say this was the best vacation my family has undertaken, maybe ever, which is both funny and sad. How mundane have our lives become when hot-tubbing and eating chicken gizzards in Libby ends up being the highlight of the past 30 months? How stressed and strapped and hemmed in by unrelenting social, political and economic grimness have we been that we felt joy and relief that we could buy groceries without constantly comparing price-to-weight ratios?

I’m aware that I shouldn’t feel this good after a mere 24 hours in the Mountain Time Zone. I’m grateful that I do, but it serves as a wakeup call that we really need to get out more often.

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution

A man doesn’t automatically get my respect.

He has to get down in the dirt and beg for it.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

epicurean

Woorf tdhe Week

By Bill Borders

/ep-i-KYOOR-ee-uhn/

[adjective] 1. fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, especially in eating and drinking.

“His epicurean tendencies at restaurants always just left enough in the bank account to pay the rent, but not much more.”

Corrections: In the Jan. 20 Reader, I was mistaken in a point of fact in the story about Kim Woodruff’s retirement. I wrote that Woodruff was hired when the Parks Dept. merged with the Recreation Dept., but that was an error. The two departments didn’t merge until Mayor Ray Miller’s term when Parks Director Maurice “Bub” Dunn retired. Woodruff stated that Bub was the “true visionary behind our current park system.” Apologies for the error and thanks for the clarification, Kim. Also, in the same edition, we spelled P&Z Chairman John Hastings’ name wrong. Sorry John. —BO & ZH

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. A period of discounted prices 5. “Odyssey” sorceress 10. Cocoyam 14. Russian emperor 15. Smells 16. Make secure by lashing 17. Offensive 19. Ancient marketplaces 20. Mineral rock 21. Mosquitoes 22. Fend off 23. On the right 25. Exclamation expressive of regret 27. Record (abbrev.)

28. Surrogate 31. Film 34. Coquetry 35. Spy agency 36. Margarine 37. Inclination 38. Playlet 39. Manner 40. A village outside a castle 41. Fertile area in a desert 42. Loudest 44. Autonomic nervous system 45. Not last 46. A part of a broadcast serial 50. Stratum 52. Relative magnitudes 54. Chap 55. Allies’ foe

Solution on page 22 56. Beggar 58. Pepper____ 59. Express audibly 60. Abominable Snowman 61. Diatom 62. Inebriated 63. Existence

DOWN 1. Endured 2. Sky-blue 3. Type of rubber 4. Mistake 5. French brandy 6. Something to shoot for 7. Part of a plant

8. Campaigning 9. S 10. Outcome 11. Certain scoring plays in rugby 12. Challenge 13. Iridescent gem 18. Yes 22. Awestruck 24. Threesome 26. A titled peer of the realm 28. Warn 29. 8 in Roman numerals 30. Dines 31. Groan 32. Hodgepodge

33. Substantiating 34. Thwart 37. Foot digits 38. Back talk 40. Ethiopian monetary unit 41. Scallion 43. Afternoon nap 44. Bee house 46. Aromatic solvent 47. Leers 48. Songs for two 49. Lofty nest 50. Tibetan monk 51. Angle of a leafstalk 53. Kitty (poker) 56. Tavern 57. Coloring agent January 27, 2021 / R / 23