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(wo)MAN compiled by
Susan Drinkard
on the street
What do you think about all the marches around the world on Saturday? “I thought it was a magnificent show of solidarity by women and men around the world for equality and justice for all.” Sandra Deutchman Retired art professor Sandpoint
“I agree with them.” Mark Kennedy Construction worker Sandpoint
DEAR READERS,
If you were one of the 900+ people who marched to the City Beach last Saturday, you saw a community come together in a positive, constructive way. Too often, people are grouped into categories and stereotypes based on one or two pieces of information. If you are against Trump, you are automatically viewed as a flaming liberal socialist. If you are for Trump, you are seen immediately as a racist, a bigot or a sexist. As with everything in life, there is so much more to a person than which “team” they play for. Politics has become a sports match these days, with people blindly rooting for their team without understanding that we are all on the same team, that we all care about the outcome of the game. Imagine, those of you on the right, that perhaps the liberals you despise so much might actually love their country just as much as you do. Imagine, those of you on the left, that perhaps the conservatives you love to poke fun at are actually compassionate people who are concerned with the direction the country is headed. I only heard of one negative action that took place during the march on Saturday. A truck bearing a Confederate Flag pulled up right in front of the Panida while people were assembling to march and “coal-rolled” the crowd (spewed a big cloud of black Diesel smoke). The reaction of the crowd, however, was the best; nobody got worked up, nobody made a scene. People just turned their heads and continued marching. That’s class, Sandpoint. To the troubled man in the truck (and embarrassed woman in the passenger seat); if you thought spewing black smoke on a group of positive-minded people would somehow stop their mission to stand up for equal rights, you were wrong. Grow up. In other news, if the Reader looks different this week, it’s because we’ve undergone a small face lift. We now offer color on every page. If you want to be one of the advertisers who reach 5000+ people every week in Sandpoint’s hottest publication, give Jodi Taylor a call at (208) 627-2586. We’re committed to always moving forward. Happy last week of January!
-Ben Olson, Publisher
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www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Taylor Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Shepard Fairey (cover), Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Mitch McConnell, Cort Gifford, Phil Longden, Katie Botkin, Jake Sullivan, Coral Rankin Photography. Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Nick Gier, Mindy Cameron, Desire Aguiree, A.C. Thompson, Cort Gifford, Brenden Bobby, Dr. Gabrielle Duebendorfer, Jim Mitsui, Beth Weber, John Pasternak, Suzen Fiskin, Katie Botkin, Tom Eddy, Dianne Smith, Drake the Dog. Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash. Subscription Price: $95 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. The Reader is printed on recycled pa paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.
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Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook. About the Cover This week’s cover by renowned artist Shepard Fairey to commemorate the Women’s March on Jan. 21.
January 26, 2017 /
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COMMENTARY
Obama and Reagan: assessing their legacies By Nick Gier Reader Columnist
Ronald Reagan would have been 106 on February 6, so I would like to compare Obama’s achievements with Reagan’s. Republicans love to paint Obama and the Democrats as big spenders, but the facts simply do not support that charge. The Reagan administration did not return to Jimmy Carter’s lower level of spending until 1984. Data from the St. Louis Federal Reserve shows that Reagan reduced, as a percentage of GDP, federal spending by only 2 percent at the end of his two terms. In his first six years Obama reduced federal spending by 2.7 percent. By the time, Reagan left office, federal employees (not including the military) had increased from 2,825,000 to 3,124,000. By the end of Clinton’s 8 years, the number had gone down to 2,704,000. By the end of 2014, there were only
Letters to the Editor Scotchman Peaks... Dear Editor, As a kid of 10 years old I wanted to thank you, Sandpoint Reader, for quoting me in your article about the information meeting in Clark Fork last week regarding the Scotchman Peaks wilderness designation. I went to the meeting so I could voice my concerns about the loss of more Idaho lands. After hearing many others speak it was my turn, I wanted to ask a simple question before I addressed my concerns. I asked, if this wilderness designation passes would it affect our current rights to carry a hand gun for self protection? As you know, the panel assured me we could definitely carry a gun even with the “no mechanical device” restriction and this designation would not change 4 /
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22,000 more federal employees than Clinton and 398,000 fewer than Reagan. Obama’s decision to save the auto industry was a great success: $79.7 billion in federal dollars were invested, and $70.4 billion was returned to the Treasury. Mitt Romney promised that he would not made this wise investment, so just think how the economy would be today without GM and Chrysler. Ford supported the bailout because it relies on the same auto parts companies that would have been devastated by a Romney administration. Let’s now assess the success of TARP, Obama’s attempt to save the banks and insurance companies. The government invested $245 billion, and already by 2011, $244 billion had been returned to the Treasury. When the books were closed in 2014, tax payers had made a tidy $15.3 billion profit. Let’s now turn to the Obama stimulus, which cost $825 billion, including $275 billion in personal and business tax cuts. Because of the stimulus, the Gross Domes-
tic Product rose by 3.2 percent, and the Congressional Budget Office found that the stimulus “lowered the unemployment rate by between 0.7 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points” and “increased the number of people employed by between 1.4 million and 3.3 million.” When one talks about the national debt, it is not fair to count that inherited from one’s predecessors. Currently the most recent components of our nearly $20 trillion-dollar debt, starting with the largest share first, are the Bush tax cuts, the loss of revenue due to the Great Recession, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and then Obama’s stimulus. Obama borrowed money at very low interest rates to save the economy, but Reagan and the Bushes sold federal bonds to wage war, one cold and two hot. Because of his tax cuts and defense spending, Reagan was forced to increase taxes 7 times in his 8 years, but he still tripled the national debt. The claim that Reagan won the Cold War is an exaggeration.
Every president from Truman to Reagan should get credit for the firm bipartisan stand against the Soviet Union. Reagan stood at the end of the slow economic collapse of a failed ideology and had the good luck of dealing with a pragmatic Soviet leader. Obama’s campaign against ISIS has been so successful that they can claim only their capital Raqqa and the western half of Mosul. Terrorist attacks will continue, and they well increase if Trump follows through with his promise of indiscriminate bombing. Both Reagan and Obama were superb speakers, but Reagan succeeded far better than Obama in uniting the American people and persuading them, including many Democrats, that his policies were the right ones. Therefore, I must agree that Reagan was a transformational president, even though I believe his policies have been bad for the nation. Obama failed to reverse the Reagan legacy, because he could not convince the public that government can do good and that
taxes are the price one pays for civilization. Obama also did not, as Lyndon Johnson did so effectively, keep his fellow Democrats in line. Ann Wroe of The Economist writes that Obama did not “embroil himself in the dirty business of elbow-twisting on Capitol Hill, but sat apart, like Rodin’s Thinker, in noble and lofty silence.” The new Congress just passed a budget bill that will add $1.7 trillion to the deficit over ten years. With tax cuts more severe than George W.’s, and new spending that Trump wants for infrastructure and defense, we will go much deeper in debt. Unlike Reagan, Trump will most likely read Bush, Sr.’s lips: “No new taxes.” The predicted economic growth of 4 percent will not happen, so we will be faced with a fiscal disaster of epic proportions.
our rights. After that meeting my dad and I researched what they told me about the wilderness designation. For a kid trusting the words of adults and leaders is very important and when this trust is broken it is hard to get back. This is what we found when we researched it.
and honesty is. What else about that are you not being honest about? I need to know you are protecting my Idaho.
Thus we can expect to see continued outbursts such as Scott’s claims that her “apology” did to result in reinstatement to her former committees so she again lashed out at the Speaker or Trumps lashing out at “elites,” a group he belongs too but apparently doesn’t feel accepted by, in the Inaugural Address. To quote Trump... SAD!
much for me to ignore. Cliff: it appears you voted for a celebrity; Donald Trump would not be President except for his celebrity and apparent ability to entertain you and others charmed by his act; he is President because too much of the media saw his celebrity and chantable (and empty) sloganeering as an inexpensive and audience grabbing way to fill air time (OK, the Russians helped a lot too, which is why John Lewis is right—Trump’s Presidency is not legitimate—but Cliff seems unaware of that as well).
Code of Federal regulations; Title 36, Section 261.57 Prohibitions in a national forest wilderness (C) possessing a firearm or fireworks This seems clearly worded to me. So I ask, am I missing something or did the panel just straight up lie to a 10 year old and everyone else? Would you please explain this for me? To be very clear, carrying a gun is not the main issue, truth
Ryan E. Durbin Sandpoint
Trump, Scott... Dear Editor, If you believe as I do, that hurt people hurt people then one can only conclude Donald Trump and Heather Scott are very hurt people. Their public out lashes demonstrates this. I was a hurt person and it took me a long to time understand this and get help to change. But then I am not a narcissistic demagogue, as these two demonstrate they are, so it is unlikely they will ever gain the insight to understand this and seek help to end their pain.
Ed Karasek Sandpoint
Irony ... Dear Editor and Cliff Katner: I have never responded to another reader’s letter to the editor in any publication, but Cliff Katner’s letter (The Reader, January 19) and its complete unawareness of the irony of his rant against participation by celebrities in our politics is too
Nick Gier of Moscow taught philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. Read the long version of this column at www. SandpointReader.com.
Stanley Birnbaum Sandpoint Got something to say? Write a letter to the editor at letters@sandpointreader.com. Under 400 words, and please elevate the discussion.
OPINION
A journey from Election to Inauguration - in Canada On November 8 Bill and I traveled from Sandpoint to Seattle to be with friends on election night. We brought champagne to celebrate Hillary’s victory and settled in to enjoy the comfortable surroundings of our friend’s home overlooking the ship canal. Two more couples arrived and soon wine made us giddy with anticipation. Eight years earlier we were in the same place to share the joy of Barak Obama’s historic victory. This night, of course, was different. When it became clear early in the evening that the unexpected was happening I fell into a stunned silence. I paced around the kitchen and dining room watching - and trying not to watch - the small television perched on the corner of the eating bar that separated the kitchen and dining room. We had just finished a supper of tasty stew made by our host. Now I was caught up in a dark stew of emotions – disbelief and dread, fear and anger – unlike anything I had ever experienced in a lifetime of political junkie-hood. Conversation ebbed into a babble of “how could this have happened?” and “ohmygod!” Guests soon left. Bill and I were staying at our friend’s house.
We skipped dessert and stopped drinking wine. In those moments I centered all my anger on that little television. That one TV became all the television sets I had watched – sometimes obsessively – over the past year and a half, watching as That Man degraded and demeaned not only his opponents, but anyone who dared speak a critical word about him. Well, she’s not running a great campaign, I thought to myself in those months, but there’s no way this country will elect a man so clearly unfit for the presidency. A narcissist who prides himself on being so smart he doesn’t have to read or listen to others because he can figure it out all on his own. Now he was – I couldn’t say it, much less imagine it – president-elect. All the civic impulses I’ve stored up and relied on for decades drained from my brain, from my heart. In just a few hours everything I thought I knew about America’s goodness vacated my body. Nothing was left to fill that space, but anger – anger at the feckless and reckless cable news talking heads and their incessant blather with surrogates for Him and for Her and for the several others. Television – any television set – became the vessel for all that anger, which by morning had
morphed into a dread that felt like a physical weight, like carrying a too-heavy backpack, as my husband I sought refuge in the soft, misty fresh air of a long, long walk along Market Street in Ballard. The usually bustling neighborhood was silent, as lifeless as I felt. Coffee shops were nearly empty. We wandered down to Chittenden Locks. More emptiness. How, we wondered together, would we manage this going forward? I imagined inauguration day and the inevitable scene of the Obama family moving out, the Trump family moving in. It sickened me. A few days later I had my antidote. Canada beckoned. On January 20, 2017, why not be with our friends at the Empress Hotel in Victoria? We could have High Tea in the elegant British style, so distant from the boorish ways of our president-elect. We could celebrate friendship and all that remains good about America even as we fret daily about what the next four years hold. And so we did. Pieces of my heart were with sisters, nieces and friends who marched in Portland and Seattle, and friends who took to the streets of Sandpoint. But my Inauguration Day self-exile in Victoria, Canada, gave me what I needed to move into a troubling
Alternative Media...
Trump’s Negative Tone...
Dear Editor, In regards to the article “Liar-in-Chief” as well as other articles by Nick Geir – they are incredible. This man has not done his homework in regard to what the truth is. Our national media has for a long time been controlled by five major corporations to keep us dumbed down. It is my opinion that you have to go to other outside sources (alternative media) to learn what is really occuring.
Dear Editor, The negative tone of our new President’s inaugural address and the massive protests (led by women) throughout the nation on the following day were unprecedented in the recent history of our country. In his inaugural speech, in which Donald Trump followed the tone of his angry, shouting campaign rallies, he missed the opportunity to try to reunite a deeply-divided country. Largely ignore, were the majority of Americans who voted for someone else. After losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly
3 million votes, Trump’s approval rating declined to a record low --.Just 40% of Americans hold a favorable impression of Trump, according to a recent poll –significantly below the 46% of Americans who voted for him on election day. The dark picture of our country Trump portrayed, playing to his base of discontented, white male workers, did not reflect how much of the country feels—with a growing economy, unemployment at its lowest level in seven years, the stock market up, crime down and salaries increasing. The massive rallies the following day, with more than a million
Thank you, Evie Leucht Sandpoint
new era with a renewed sense of purpose and protest. Driving home last Sunday I renewed my vow to never turn my TV to cable news (I haven’t since November 9), and to never accept as normal - as just a different kind of president - the man who now resides
in the White House. People don’t change. We know what kind of person he is.
protesters marching through the streets of America, in towns such as Bend, Ore., and, yes Sandpoint, ID., as well as New York, Boston, Washington, New York and Los Angeles highlighted the fear and disapproval of an agenda laid out by the incoming President. “Not for decades, since 1960 protestors took the streets against the Viet Nam war has a chief executive faced such visible opposition. And never in memory has a new president faced such widespread and intense criticism in the first 24 hours of his
term,” writes Cathleen Decker, of the Los Angeles Times. While it’s unlikely we will see the unseating of our new president, unless he breaks the law, these courageous marchers have made it known that millions of Americans will not be afraid to speak up if any of our basic human rights are threatened by government policies in the future.
Mindy Cameron is former opinion editor of the Seattle Times; she retired to Sagle in 2001. Illustration by Mitch McConnell
By Mindy Cameron Reader Contributor
Jim Ramsey Sandpoint
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COMMUNITY Bouquets: •What an amazing turnout to the Community March last Saturday. I estimated around 800900 people attended the march to City Beach. I appreciate those who put the march together and those who spoke peacefully at the Panida Theater beforehand. It was the first glimpse of hope in a long, long time. Barbs: •I think Donald Trump had a real shot at starting his administration off on a good foot during the inauguration, but instead, he gave one of the most divisive, negative and jingoistic speeches ever given by an incoming president at an inauguration. Whether it’s quoting the anti-Semitic “America First” slogan, to the constant references to the “carnage” of the inner cities, Trump proved that he is not interested in uniting this deeply fractured nation, but instead, that he simply wishes to instill more fear in the hearts of Americans. Fear equals loyalty. What really irked me was when he kept referring to the fact that we have outsourced so many jobs, and that we need to buy American, etc. The whole time, I kept thinking of how utterly hypocritical this is, when Trump proudly outsources his own brand of products to 12 different countries, including China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea. If it’s really so important for the man to promote items made in the US, perhaps he should look to his own house before tweeting vitriol to other companies doing the exact same thing he’s doing. Stop drinking the Trump Kool-Aid, people. Not only is it made in Bangladesh, it’s causing you to abandon all reason and compassion. 6 /
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Why I Marched By Desire Aguiree Reader Contributor It’s called democracy. You know, where everyone counts, gets to be heard, and gets to have an opinion. I marched because I believe in women’s rights, freedom of religion and freedom of speech. I marched because I think we need to invest in our future with clean energy rather than continuing to suck up the oil and polluting our water (because, hello, we need water to live). I marched because I believe in affordable health care for everyone (like maybe if my brother Rex had health insurance he’d still be alive today to march with me), and I am an active participant in democracy. I marched because I care. I marched to send a message that I will not be silenced, because we the people—no matter our gender, color, race, age, political affiliation, IQ, or financial status—matter. Best of all, when I marched, I felt a part of something bigger than myself. My hope, my faith, my heart were filled with love and laughter, as I trudged through the snow and ice with my mom, my sister, and my fellow Sandpointians.
Top right: Around 900 marchers cross Bridge St. heading toward City Beach. Bottom Right: Pat Wentworth speaks to a boisterous crowd at the Panida Theater before the march. Bottom Center: The Panida Theater was at capacity, so hundreds of people spilled out into the streets waiting for the march to begin. Bottom left: a man holds a sign at City Beach on Saturday. Top right: A mother and daughter from Coeur d’Alene hold signs during the march to City Beach. Photos by Ben Olson.
FEATURE
Teens report onslaught of bullying during divisive election
Photo illustration by Ben Olson.
by A.C. Thompson For ProPublica Used by Permission A new national survey of more than 50,000 teens charts a surge in abusive and hateful behavior among young people since the beginning of the presidential election campaign. “Our biggest takeaway was that 70 percent of all respondents had witnessed bullying, hate speech or harassment since the 2016 election,” said Allison Turner, assistant press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, a prominent LGBT advocacy group that conducted the survey. HRC polled a large, though not demographically representative, sample of the nation’s youth. Race, sexual orientation, and immigration status were the factors most often linked to bullying and social marginalization, according to the survey, which documented the experiences of adolescents between the ages of 13 and 18, many of them gay, lesbian, or transgender; some 45 percent of the teens who participated identified as heterosexual. Most of the teens surveyed said hateful incidents have been on the increase since the start of
the highly contentious presidential campaign, which culminated with the inauguration of Donald Trump on Jan. 20. In recent months, phone calls, texts and instant messages have been pouring into the Trevor Project, a crisis center for LGBT young people, said social worker David W. Bond, a vice president with organization. The day after the election, Bond and his colleagues were deluged with young people seeking help. “The volume has continued to be higher than typical levels for November and December. This is very indicative of a higher level of emotional distress” for LGBT youth throughout the country, he said. “They’re clearly more distressed, so much that they feel the need to reach out for help.” In the survey, high school students described bus rides bristling with homophobic and racist epithets and attacks on student groups like the GayStraight Alliance. “The election results and the rhetoric going on in the media are enabling what would otherwise have been latent discrimination,” Bond said. His organization, he said, is now counseling youth confronted by a wave of more “obvious and
observable discrimination that is seemingly more welcome in the public eye, unfortunately.” After more than 18 months of political invective aimed at Mexico and Mexican immigrants, Latino young people are, unsurprisingly, rattled. The survey found Latinos were “20 percent more likely than other youth to have been personally bullied.” Hate crimes and bias incidents are a national problem, but there’s no reliable data on their nature or prevalence. We’re collecting reports to create a national database for use by journalists and civil-rights organizations. See the project. An 18-year-old Californian reported a fear of speaking Spanish in public, while a young person in Illinois wrote, “My family and I go shopping and wash clothes at 2 am to avoid seeing and hearing people’s comments.” To conduct the survey, HRC and allied organizations used social-media platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram to engage young people during December and January. The technique, called “convenience sampling” by researchers, in this case was likely to draw in participants who have experi-
enced abuse, or are supportive of LGBT equality. Michael S. Pollard, a sociologist with the RAND Corporation who evaluated the survey and its methodology for ProPublica, said the study “was not designed to be representative of all US teens,” but its findings should be considered seriously because of the “very large group of adolescents” who took part. The surveyors acknowledged the limitations of the data, writing that “although the
sample’s demographics do not reflect the full racial and ethnic diversity of the nation’s youth, the large number of participants allows us to nonetheless learn first-hand about the experiences” of young people across the nation, particularly those who may feel targeted. “We saw a lot of hateful speech during the election season,” said Turner of HRC. “We can see through our findings that this is affecting young people in a profound way.”
What to do if you are bullied:
•Walk away when the bully approaches you. Imagine you’re walking away from a stranger. •Concentrate on thinking about something else (a band concert coming up, an important test, a new outfit you just bought). •When the bully approaches you, count to 10 and keep walking. •Yell “Stop” and walk away. Don’t turn around, no matter what they say. •When a bully harasses you or calls you names, look them in the eyes and laugh. Walk away without any additional conversation. •Remember to be positive. Think of all the things you do well, and remember that you are a valuable person. •Be confident. Bullies usually pick on people that they think are weaker than they are, so stand up to them. •Talk to your counselor at school, a trusted adult, or anyone else who can help put a stop to dangerous situations that could get out of hand. •Try not to respond to your bully’s taunts. This always makes it worse. WALK AWAY and get assistance if you need it.
North Idaho Crisis After-Hours line - a free call center available to anyone who is needing help: Seven days a week, 5pm - 8am - 208-946-5595. January 26, 2017 /
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NEWS Risch: Still time to weigh in on Scotchman Peaks wilderness bill
Bleacher project marks milestone
By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Following a Clark Fork meeting that drew several people opposing the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, is reminding people that there’s still plenty of time to make opinions known. Risch, who sent staffers to the Clark Fork meeting to gather feedback, is pleased constituents are interested in voicing their opinions on the proposed wilderness bill, which he introduced in December. However, he is surprised that some people feel they’ve been shut out of the conversation. “I’m hearing through the grapevine that some people are saying, ‘We’ve been left out of the process,’” Risch said at his Washington, D.C., office last week. “There has been no process. We’re at the beginning of the process.” “They’re going to have the opportunity to get their two cents in,” he later added. According to Risch, he introduced the bill after observing that it had broad-based support among the timber industry, elected officials, businesses, newspapers and sportsmen. Among those who have endorsed the proposal are the Bonner County Board of Commissioners and the Idaho Forest Group. “Nothing’s been decided yet,” Risch said. “I only introduced this because support seemed to have reached critical mass from a large cross-section of people.” Significant push-back only emerged recently at the Clark Fork meeting, where many individuals offered testimony urging that the bill be dropped. According to Risch staffer Darren Parker, who reviewed their comments, their concerns were 8 /
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Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho
largely ideological, although he said Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler had some practical concerns about conducting search and rescue operations in wilderness. According to representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, however, search and rescue shouldn’t be an issue should the bill be signed into law. According to Risch, he understands the impulse to be leery of federal activity, even if the land under consideration is already managed by federal agencies. “I’m one of those people,” he said. “I’m very leery of anything that has the federal government attached to it.” “I’m the most conservative member of the United States Senate, according to the National Journal so I understand the … theoretical arguments and ideology” he later added. However, Risch reminds locals that should the region be declared wilderness, there won’t be any significant changes. The main purpose of the bill will be to ensure that Scotchman Peaks is protected as a pristine environment in perpetuity. “There’s an argument to be made that if this is designated as wilderness, it gets the federal government out of it, because they’re not going to be in there pounding up signs saying that you can’t do this or that,” he said.
Steel is delivered at the Memorial Field job site on Monday. Photo by Cort Gifford. By Cort Gifford Reader Contributor There were no cheering crowds, scent of hot dogs, or brass bands to stir the hearts of the faithful, but after weeks of seeming inactivity at the construction site for the new bleachers at War Memorial Field, a major milestone occurred this week. The steel
girders which will form the uprights and cross beams were delivered to the job site. Now that the foundation is ready, the next task will be to erect the superstructure. Heavy weather-proof blankets were draped over the walls and heated to cure the concrete. “Once we get the uprights, the roof finished, and the walls framed, we can wrap every-
thing in plastic and start working on the inside,” said project supervisor Gannon Reynolds. Reynolds guesses this next phase will begin in March, leaving less than 90 days for Northcon, Inc. to fulfill its contract requirement that the bleachers be ready in time for graduation ceremonies.
Idaho rule eases restrictions on hiring police who’ve smoked weed in the past By Ben Olson Reader Staff
A new rule approved Wednesday eases restrictions placed on hiring prospective police officers in Idaho involving marijuana use, the Spokesman-Review reported. Those seeking to become a police officer will be barred from certification if they’ve used marijuana in the past year, rather than in the past three years as the rule formerly read. “This is a minimum standard that agencies will not be able to drop below,” Victor McCraw, division administrator
of Peace Office Standards and Training for the Idaho State Police told the Senate Judiciary Committee. McCraw told senators that it doesn’t matter whether a prospective officer’s past marijuana use was legal or not—just whether it happened. Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Moscow, expressed concerns that this easing of standards might lower the recruiting standards. “I personally would like to see the stricter standards stay in place,” Foreman told the
Spokesman-Review. “I don’t have any tolerance for illegal drug use, I’ve seen its effects.” Foreman ended his comments by making the motion to approve the rule. It was seconded by Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston, and passed unanimously. Unless rejected by both the House and Senate committees, the agency rule will become final in Idaho.
FEATURE
Inauguation Day vs. Women’s March By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff
Editor’s Note: Cameron Rasmusson has been in Washington, D.C. the past ten days and is reporting based on first hand observations of Inauguration Day and the subsequent Women’s March. Donald Trump is president of the United States. Millions of Americans are terrified at what that means for them or their loved ones. Those two facts inevitably characterized inauguration weekend, which saw the New York billionaire assume control of the world’s most powerful office. It also saw, according to the best projections by crowd experts, nearly 500,000 people take to the streets to protest that assumption, demanding that religious, racial, sexual identity and gender expression protections and women’s health and reproduction rights not be curtailed. Polarized Trump supporters and Women’s March attendees mixed with predictable volatility in Washington, D.C., including a series of protests that turned violent on Inauguration Day. It was also a weekend of unexpected grace, at least for those who looked for it. “I really don’t think the divide [between conservatives and liberals] is as bad as the media makes it out to be,” said Travis Thompson, a Sandpoint-based Trump supporter who helped organize the D.C.-bound motorcycle group 2 Million Bikers for Trump. Thompson arrived at that conclusion after spending time at the Women’s March, where he said he spent the day talking with marchers and hearing their stories. He said that for the most part, he was able to maintain calm and constructive conversations despite profound ideological differences. “They were conversations where both people could discuss different ideas and still leave
feeling [like they were] better off,” he said. Thompson had an unexpected ally in Van Jones, a liberal political commentator and Women’s March speaker. He cautioned the overwhelmingly left-wing masses about the dangers of despising one’s ideological opponents. “Liberals and progressives, we’ve got to be better liberals and progressives,” he said. “I’m tired of hearing us say ‘love trumps hate’ but sometimes sound more hateful than Trump. I’m tired of us—and I’ve been guilty of it— putting down red state voters and saying that they’re all stupid and they’re all uneducated. We have to stop that.” Nevertheless, Jones didn’t let Republicans off the hook for their support of Trump, a figure he finds antithetical to the spirit of conservatism. “We love the conservatives enough to tell them they have to be better conservatives than this,” he said “… Real conservatives love the Constitution, and we have a president who seems to be an authoritarian. Real conservatives stand up for and believe in clean government, and we have a president who seems to be committed to a kleptocracy.” Other speakers struck less harmonious notes. Madonna mentioned that she “had thought a lot about blowing up the White House,” a comment she later walked back and claimed was taken out of context. Jones and Madonna were just a fraction of the Women’s March speakers, which included everyone from feminist luminaries like Gloria Steinem to Hollywood and music superstars like Scarlett Johansson and Alicia Keys. For liberals, it was an abundance of riches, and perhaps too much of a good thing. The crowd grew impatient as the rally ballooned an hour past the scheduled 1:15 p.m. march time and event organizers continued to introduce speaker after speaker. Cold, weary of standing and in many cases unable to access bathrooms, the
Hundreds of thousands gathered for the Women’s March on Sat. Jan. 21. Photo by Cameron Rasmusson. crowd began chanting, “March! March! March!” When at last the marching began, the crowd movement turned out to be more of a shuffle. The sheer numbers slowed movement to a snail’s pace. Indeed, the Women’s March achieved its goal even before the walking began. According to organizers, the crowd sprawl extended to its Washington Monument end point through size alone. Crowds eventually gathered on the Ellipse near the White House’s southernmost gate, where many chose to leave their signs demanding equal rights and protections under the law. In the balance, it was a peaceful day despite the massive turnout. According to NBC News, D.C. police had no reports of arrests by 6 p.m. on the day of the march. It’s a stark contrast to the previous day, when groups of masked anarchists turned some Trump protests into scenes of chaos. They lit a limo on fire, broke shop windows and injured several police. In turn, law enforcement used harsh enforcement measures like batons, pepper spray and concussion grenades, ultimately arresting 230 people. The rioting followed an inaugural ceremony and address the
likes of which historians struggled to find parallels. Trump built upon the narrative established during the presidential campaign, characterizing America as a nation of forgotten everymen trapped under the thumb of a corrupt elite. “This American carnage stops right here, and it stops right now,” he said. The crowd of inauguration attendees, dotted by the now-iconic “Make America great again” hats, responded enthusiastically to Trump’s message. They were less receptive to remarks by Chuck Schumer, booing so loudly that in the blue standing section near the U.S. Capitol, the New York senator could no longer be heard. After the ceremonies ended, the crowd dispersed without incident. It was an exhilarating day for Thompson, a chance to enjoy a moment he believes represents a positive cultural shift. Having secured tickets for the event, he and his companions met an elderly woman who had been separated from her group. After the inauguration, he escorted her back to her hotel room. “She basically became our adopted friend for the day,” he said. As an organizer for a large, pro-Trump biker group, he also received attention from major media outlets, including NBC
News, ABC News, People Magazine and Agence France-Presse, a French international news organization. Initially hesitant about the reporters’ intentions, he followed through on interviews with several. On the other hand, he faced an initial suspicion when he attempted to engage the leaders of other pro-Trump biker groups. Thompson said he’s no stranger to overcoming a sense of tribalism. “I’m just going to try and help everyone out, because for me, it’s all about the big picture,” he said. It’s anyone’s guess whether America will achieve the renewed sense of unity that people like Thompson or Jones seek. With a historically unpopular president at the nation’s helm— Time places Trump at a 40-percent approval rating, the lowest of any recent incoming president— it’s easy to side with the pessimists. Jones, in his Women’s March speech, urged Americans to resist that impulse. “This movement has an opportunity to stand up for the underdogs in the red states and the blue states, to stand up for the Muslims and the dreamers and the black folks but also to stand up for coal miners who are going to be thrown under the bus by Donald Trump,” he said. “… When it gets harder to love, let’s love harder.” January 26, 2017 /
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Mad about Science: By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist If you haven’t noticed by now, I like astronauts. A lot. In this day and age, we are fairly saturated by space-related media. We have a revolving crew of people in the International Space Station, ensuring that it’s manned 24/7. It’s just another run of the mill thing in our age, right? Not really, no! Did you know that only 536 people have been in space? Not even a full thousand since 1961, when we first started flinging humans into space strapped aboard giant tubes full of explosive fuel. Astronauts are a big deal. If we have even a sliver of a prayer for surviving as a species and outliving the Earth, astronauts are our future. Think about it: If we don’t know how to get off this rock by the time that either our climate completely collapses (an inevitability with or without our intervention) or the sun goes Red Hypergiant, everything we’ve ever worked for as a species will be completely destroyed. Every symphony, every home video, and every taco will be gone… If not for astronauts. Yeah, I like astronauts. We also like firsts, and Ellen Ochoa has definitely claimed some firsts. Most notably, she was the first Hispanic woman in space, aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1993. Hispanic women are very, very underrepresented in STEM fields and especially in aeronautics. She isn’t just an astronaut, however, she’s also an engineer specializing in optical systems. If you’re not sure how that 10 /
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ellen Ochoa
relates to your day-to-day, have you ever noticed how the camera on your phone gets all fuzzy and weird, but corrects itself after a second or two? She is the co-inventor on one of three patents that laid the groundwork for your phone to be able to do that. Thanks to her work, you can snap the perfect selfie. Though her patents in optical engineering were initially designed for uses in space (cameras and robotics, primarily), as virtually anything designed at, with and by NASA, it had many powerful civilian applications fueling multi-billion dollar markets. Her work also reaches into the domain of robotics, both aboard the International Space Station and here on the ground. It makes sense, right? The more clearly a robot can see something, the more likely it will be to complete its task with precision. I wouldn’t want to try threading needles with sleep in my eyes, I’m sure a robot wouldn’t want to, either! Throughout her career, she’s flown on four space flights and clocked in over 978 hours of time in space (around 41 days). Just like Mae Jemison, Ellen Ochoa is a Stanford alum having received her Doctorate in Electrical Engineering. She also has four schools named after her, which is four more schools than most of us will ever have named after us; especially cool since she’s still alive! She’s also collected a mountain of awards and accolades from NASA, as though having the honor of being in a
club that only about 500 other people are a part of wasn’t awesome enough. Another really cool thing she did was the first docking to the International Space Station before the first crew arrived. That’s a pretty incredible feat when you think about it. The entire process of launching a vehicle into orbit to intercept a station traveling at 4.76 miles per second without crashing and exploding into a million pieces is pretty phenomenal. Then coming back to Earth without it happening on the way down! Did I mention she was the go-to person to wield the robotic arm on the space shuttle? She retrieved several satellites using it. She also had the privilege of using the robotic arm on the space station to move crewmembers and the S0 truss into position. Remember trying to win the stuffed bear from the claw machine as a kid? Imagine that the size of a building and swinging people around in the void of space. Oh man, awesome. I want that job. If you were wondering what she’s up to now, she’s currently the director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston Texas. Remember “Houston, we have a problem” (Worth noting, the actual quote was: “Ok, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”), this is the Houston they were talking about. She’s the big boss of the whole space center, and the first Hispanic woman to have that job. Another first! Talk about climbing the career ladder. She’s also a classically
Astronaut Ellen Ochoa plays the flute in space. Photo courtesy of NASA. trained flutist, which I thought was an interesting tidbit worth sharing. It certainly adds a human element to a figure that’s accomplished such otherworldly feats, right? I hope you’ve enjoyed this month of reading about all of these incredible women as much as I’ve enjoyed research-
ing them for these articles. If nothing else, I’ve become totally inspired by the incredible acts these women have achieved, and I feel like I can go out there, get my hands dirty and accomplish anything I put my mind to. I hope you walk away feeling the same way, you deserve it!
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• Men and women’s clothes are buttoned on opposite sides because in the past few centuries, in high society, men generally dressed themselves whereas women were dressed by servants. Reversing the buttons on women’s clothes made the job faster and easier. • Women were allowed to enter combat roles in the Israeli army. They performed at a level equal to men, but the program was still abolished for two reasons; Islamist fighters refused to surrender to women, and the men in the unit would lose all combat discipline when a woman was injured. • As First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt allowed only female journalists at her press conferences, ensuring that newspapers would have to hire women. • In Saudi Arabia, women are allowed to fly aircraft, though they must be chauffeured to the airport because it’s illegal for them to drive a car. • Some women can have a genetic mutation which causes them to gain a fourth color-vision cone in their eyes, allowing them to see millions of more colors. • On April 5, 2010, there were four women in space at the same time, the largest female gathering off-planet to that point. • The Parliament of Rwanda is the only governing body in the world where women outnumber men.
OPINION
The Mysterious Elite By Dr. Gabrielle Duebendorfer Reader Contributor I ended part two of this series of articles with the suggestion of being willing to listen to each other’s needs and concerns in an open discussion and treat everyone with a sense of humanity. So if we look closer at the “elite” having ignored the needs of blue-collar workers we see that this perception is grounded in truth. An article on Globalization and Unemployment in Foreign Affairs explains that in the U.S., while overall GDP income has increased, less educated workers in manufacturing jobs have faced more unemployment and stagnant incomes. The reasons for this are very complex and cannot be simplified with just blaming outsourcing of jobs or loss of jobs due to technology. However, considering that China and India make up 40% of the world’s population with rising economies, it is a simple fact that globalization has caused a permanent, irreversible change on U.S. and world economy.
When Germany’s tradable work sector came under competitive threat, German labor, business, and government worked together to protect employment at the expense of a rapid increase in overall income. As a result the ratio of the average income of the top 20% of population to the bottom 20% is 4 to 1 compared to 8 to 1 in the U.S. This U.S income inequality is higher than in most other industrial countries and is rising. What might account for that? The article suggests that companies’ private interest, i.e. profit, has trumped the public’s interest, i.e. employment. This is where in my opinion the U.S. “elite” has failed the public. There has not been a fundamental goal of creating rewarding employment opportunities for all Americans in the face of unavoidable global change. Changing that, again, is a very complex issue and I would like to focus on the aspect of education here, as future job growth will depend on the educational level of U.S. workers. I find this quote from the Foreign Affairs article
Part 3 of 3
very insightful and important: “A lack of commitment to education in families and in communities makes the entire field of education seem unattractive, demoralizing dedicated teachers and turning off talented students from teaching. That, in turn, reduces the incentives of communities to value the primacy of education.” The above-described voters’ resentment against U.S. intelligentsia might count for this lack of commitment to education. However, if one takes time to study the economic situation, it becomes obvious that increased educational levels of workers are necessary for the U.S. to stay competitive and keep jobs here. As we see in Germany, though, this needs to be coupled with the promise of rewarding employment as a necessary incentive. In order to achieve that, labor, business, and government have to work together instead of taking hands off and trusting that businesses will look beyond their own pocket book. In conclusion, I understand now the resentment against the
‘Taking Flight’ - photo by Phil Longden
“elite” to be rooted in basic economic injustice as a result of unavoidable global changes that can be remedied with concerted efforts. Putting the blame on U.S. intelligentsia as a disenfranchising elite takes away commitment from efforts to couple education with rewarding employment. Falling prey to emotional uproar about perceived injustices due to an “entrenched, closed, arrogant group that sees fit to tell people what to say and think” distracts from sifting facts from fiction and actually addressing the situation in a constructive way. I, as an educated individual, do not feel like I am a target of this wide-spread resentment against the elite anymore. I want to close with a description of news media in Germany, where I spent the good part of last year. The main TV stations there are public and I watched a good number of debates where participants presented both sides of a topic in an open discussion. The news hours similarly presented news in a more neutral tone compared to U.S. TV. Politicians regularly participated in
public discussions like this. Facts are still difficult to sieve out even under such circumstances but at least one can form an opinion based on arguments from both sides. Having grown up in post war Germany in the ‘60s and ‘70s I was raised to be acutely aware of being swayed by emotions rather than facts, and to speak up at perceived injustices. Throwing out political correctness and “dishonest” reporters for the sake of keeping everything nice and pretty is like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. A healthy democracy needs freedom for everyone to speak, respect for the humanity for others, freedom for reporters to sift out fact from fiction, and responsibility for everyone to not react emotionally – but most of all it needs the willingness to listen to each other and to respond accordingly. Dr. Gabrielle Duebendorfer practices naturopathic medicine in Sandpoint Idaho and has a keen interest in global and political issues.
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Phil Longden snapped this photo at Denton Slough on Jan. 16 of a bird taking flight in the snow. Thanks Phil! January 26, 2017 /
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Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Live Music w/ One Street Over 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery A dynamic father-daughter duo from Nashville, TN “Certain Women” film 7:30pm @ Panida Theater
Live Music w/ Marty Perron & Doug Bond 5:30-7:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Riff Hangers 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall A mix of country, blues, and swing Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 6pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante
Teen Wr 3:30pm @ Teens w brainstor
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
s a t u r d a y
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Live Music w/ Justin Lantrip 350Sandpoint.org climate meeting 7-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall 5-7pm @ Sandpoint Library Part of Thursday Night Solo Series Community action for a safe, just climate Sandpoint Weavers Art Opening Learn to dance the Country Two-Step 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Complimentary appetizers and some very 7pm @ Sandpoint West Athletic Club With instructor Diane Peters. 610-1770 unique locally made art on display and for sale
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Western Pleasure Snowshoe Roundup Live Music w/ Still Tipsy & The Hangovers 8am-1pm @ Western Pleasure Ranch Races include 5k and 10k distances for 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall ages 13 and up, and a Buckaroo Race short distance snowshoe for kids 12 and How to organize 2 million bikers under. No experience necessary, and 7pm @ Panida Little Theater everyone is invited to participate! Form Meet Travis Thompson, organizer of available at WesternPleasureRanch.com a biker rally that traveled to D.C. for Trump’s inauguration. Free, donation Thomas Jenkins Art Exhibition 5-8pm @ Evans Brothers Coffee Legislative Town Hall “Purveyors of Joy” art show featuring 12:30pm @ Holiday Inn Express live music by Sadie Sicilia and chalk Join Rep. Sage Dixon for an update portraits by Thomas Jenkins on the 2017 legislative session Live Music w/ The Nth Power - 8pm @ The Hive This relentlessly funky and soulful band believes in music as a higher power tapping into an energy that is simultaneously sexy and spiritual. $12/$15 Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Canning Dried Beans Class 1-4pm @ UI Extension (4205 N. Boyer) Learn to use a pressure canner to can your own dried beans. Pre-registration is required by calling 208-263-8511 Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Sandpoint Photo Club 5pm @ Sandpoint Library Dollar Beers! 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry
Make It 3pm @ Spt. Library Create with robotics, Arduinos, needlework and Legos
Ann 7-10 The taug gene and a gles, The Ced 10am Com span
Live 6pm
Sandpoin 9am @ Ev Meets eve
Fit and Fall Proof Cla 11am @ Cedar Hills Ch This new fitness class fo Panhandle Health Distri adults to improve flexib strength. Free and open formation, contact Vick
3D Printing Workshop for Adults 4pm @ Clark Fork Library This beginner class explores the potential of 3D printing and designing a 3D printable object. Pre-registration required by calling 266-1321
Art 1:3 An ing You
The Eclectic Collector 12pm @ Sandpoint Library Merging literature, art and artifacts. You are invited to share with Paul Rawlings, librarian and creator of Book Haven, sonal library in Bonners Ferry. This presentation illustrates collects, groups and arranges his 13,000+ titles into unique
ful
January 26 - February 2, 2017
A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com. Reader recommended
Woodland Empire Ale Craft Brewing release party 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Featuring 6 unique delicious hand crafted beers from this eclectic Idaho brewery e very Live Music w/ Devon Wade Dollar Beers! for sale 8pm @ Ol’ Red’s Pub 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
7B Hope presents “Cyberbully” film 5:30pm @ Panida Theater This is a free evening, featuring a free movie, free drink and popcorn. For teens only, there will be a free raffle - prizes include three iPad Minis and Schweitzer day lift passes. Sponsored by Summit Insurance and 7B Drug Free
Friends of Scotchman Peaks celebration 6pm @ Little Panida Theater In celebration of 12 years of Friends of Scotchman Peaks, there will be a film, some Teen Writers Club music, refreshments and a silent auction 3:30pm @ Sandpoint Library Toyota Free Ski Day Teens who write, unite! Enjoy collaboration, peer reviews, @ Schweitzer Mountain brainstorming activities; writing supplies and refreshments Own a Toyota? Get a free lift ticket!
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Live Music w/ Still Tipsy & the Hangovers 9pm @ 219 Lounge A great trio of lounge swing music
Annual Anniversary Dance 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall The night begins with a 1 hour beginning Waltz lesson taught by a professional instructor and is followed by general dancing, refreshments, mixers, door prizes and a drawing for 1 month of free dance classes. Singles, Couples, and all levels of dancers are welcome! The cost is $9 for Adults and $5 for Teens Cedar St. Bridge Public Market 10am-2pm @ Cedar St. Bridge Come enjoy indoor shopping on the bridge spanning Sand Creek Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 6pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante
More than a store, a Super store!
tough day on the mountain? Don’t worry... We have the largest assortment of orthotic braces, wraps and sports bracing in the Pacific Northwest
4th Annual Fatty Flurry Fest 10am-2pm @ Round Lake State Park Fatty Flurry Fest is a celebration of Fat Bikes in North Idaho. If you have never tried a fat bike and always wanted too, here is your chance... for free. Free Fat Bike Demo from 10-12:30 p.m. Group Rides starting at 1 p.m. (rental bikes available). Sponsored by Greasy Fingers Bikes n’ Repair. State Park Pass required, or pay $5 entry
“What is Killing the Trees? Drought and recent insect activity in Idaho” 9:45-11:30am @ Sandpoint Community Hall With Tom Eckberg, IDL Health Specialist and Program Manager. Free admission, public welcome
MONDAY-FRIDAY 8AM-8PM / SATURDAY 8AM-6PM / SUNDAY 10AM-6PM
Sandpoint Chess Club Game Night at the Niner 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee 9pm @ 219 Lounge Meets every Sunday at 9am. All are welcome
Proof Class r Hills Church ss class for seniors is sponsored by the alth District, and is designed for older ove flexibility, mobility, balance and and open to the public. For more inntact Vicki Longhini at 612-987-3802
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Night Sky - The Moon & The Planets 6:30pm @ Great Northern Road View the night sky through telescopes with astronomer Sandy Nichols. Weather-dependent and organized by the East Bonner County Library District. Contact Suzanne Davis for details at 208-263-6930
Art Classes with Gene Merica 1:30pm @ Memorial Community Center (Hope) An extensive review and advancement of topics covered in previous drawing classes, including; color theory, perspective, portraiture and shading. You must pre-register at 264-5481. Classes ever Wednesday in February
ed to share an hour k Haven, his perillustrates how he to unique displays
Alzheimer’s Support Group 1pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center A support group at 1 p.m. for families, caregivers and friends of those with dementia, Alzheimer’s and any related disorder. Free respite care provided at the DayBreak Center
Feb. 2 Follies tickets go on sale! Feb. 3 The Atomic Blues Band w/ Neighbor John @ Eichardt’s Pub Feb. 4 Comedy for a Cause @ The Panida Theater
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Happy Birthday Mumsie! When she turned 80 two years ago her stunned husband, who never imagined being married to an old lady when they met in 1956 in Berkeley, noted the event with a Daily Bee ad. This week Jacquelynn (Mumsie) turns 82. In the interest of fairness and decency, the Reader merits an ad. This photo was taken yesterday.
To submit your own pet photos, please send a photograph and a little bit of information about your special friend to ben@sandpointreader.com. Please put “PET PHOTOS” in the subject line.
No, hold it. Wrong photo. This was Block Island, Rhode Island, moments aaer her sparse 1957 wedding. About to board a borrowed boat to cross the channel back to the Connecticut coast. Then to a iend's car and home to NYC's Greenwich Village. A walk-up brownstone with fireplace and terrace, but no kitchen, on a cobblestone lane. No honeymoon (no money). Next morning, at dawn, she'd hike a few blocks through historic, twisty Village streets to "catch the A train" up G. Bridge. Then a bus over the Hudson to the thru Harlem to the G.W. Jersey burbs. Then another hike to her new job teaching school. Lucky kids. Later in the morning her loutish husband would rise and stroll to his downtown Manhattan cubicle. Destiny has since led Jacquelynn om life a million miles out on Long Island's north shore to California's Palos Verdes peninsula. And to many happy towns and buddies in between. She has three kids (now borderline geezers themselves), four grandkids and two kids-in-law -- all of them gorgeous, brilliant, athletic, damn near perfect. Clones of her husband. We couldn't find a more recent photo, Mumsie, so 1957 will have to do. Heaps of love om your Park City and Sandpoint families. And om Ella, who whinnied, reared, bucked and farted when told you were now 82. She loves you anyway. So do we.
-lucyGot snow? This is Lucy. She’s a 4-year-old Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. You may recognize her by the way she jumps for joy all around town. Or surfs the food table at every Yappy Hour. Or chases any shadow. She’s adorable. Mitzi Hawkins Sandpoint
Listen in Sandpoint to KPND @ 106.7 in HD 14 /
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LITERATURE
opening of a new year phone call in which no one mentions capote by Beth Weber
This open Window
Vol. 2 No. 2
poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui
I’ve been encouraging all of you to work on and write your own memoir; something to give to your family members and maybe your friends. I always encourage stories that happened to you, and a good place to start with are your first memories—they have stayed with you because they were significant, pivotable and influenced the person that you have become. These can become a collection of anecdotes, like chapters in your life. Don’t worry about being perfect, just tell your stories. Try to use specific details: names of people, places, schools, addresses, teachers, coaches, bosses, co-workers, restaurants, sports and activities, cars, vacations, pets—the possibilities are endless. This doesn’t have to be earth shattering or dramatic. Sometimes the best things to write about are simple, everyday, common. Set an objective, like a page a couple of times a week. Set a fairly regular schedule but don’t turn it into a job. If you don’t like to write, or think that you’re not a writer recruit someone, like a daughter or grand-daughter, to write down your story. Everyone has a “story.” Here’s another option: Start a journal, a place to jot down ideas, memories, stories. You can find journals at your grocery store. I discourage the use of spiral notebooks because it’s too easy to tear pages out. What you write doesn’t have to be perfect. Your sophomore English teacher isn’t going to grade your entry. Don’t think of your journal as a diary, a place to feel sorry for yourself and complain. Just write down the stories that express your feelings, your experiences in life. Avoid being melodramatic or maudlin. Stay away from cliches. Good writing comes about because of nouns and verbs. Go back and circle all of the “is’s” and “are’s” in your sentences and replace many of them with active verbs. How many ways can a person be in a room?“John is in the room. John waits in the dark kitchen. John sweats in the dusty workshop.” Use actual verbs like the last two sentences, instead of using the infinitive “to be.” Here are some other things you could do in a journal. Look around, wherever you are located, like a boring waiting room, and describe what you see, what you feel, what you hear. Start making all kinds of lists. Your dreams, goals, a bucket list. Write a review of a book, a movie, a meeting, your latest dream. Write someone famous a letter. Start a list of quotations that you like. A scar. Things you’ve lost, or found. Talk about the people who most affected your life. Write about your father and your mother. Write about some of the houses that you’ve lived in. If you keep at this writing in your journal, as often as you can, you will discover the beginning of your memoir. Take your journal with you, throughout the day—you’ll be surprised at how much material that you’ll end up with. Keep your journal on your nightstand. Next time I want to talk about the importance of the physical importance of writing. Not texting, not depending on a keyboard.
“I’m guarding my fruitcake.
‘you should use that whiskey in your fruitcake.’
I hear Mr. Haha Jones has the best whiskey.”
So I drag out my Grandma’s messy old recipe
It’s my college roomie from back in the sixties.
and make my annual alterations.
I get her drift. We share a heritage.
Littlest grandkids, kitchen assistants, get busy with scissors
“You’ll love this” I tell her. “Ya see,
snipping dried papayas mangos, pears medjools and pineapples.
about twenty-two years ago, just before I meet him,
We add the pecans almonds, cashews, pistachios and cranberries
Marco buys this hundred dollar bottle of whiskey.
then soak it overnight in that whiskey.
We stow it unopened over the fridge,
After the baking I baptize those loaves with whiskey
until this fall. We’re watching football.
each week all the way to Christmas.
The free safety for Green Bay makes a great interception.
Then right before shipping that one you’re guarding
Player by the name of Haha Clinton Dix.
I christen it “Yours”, with a last good splash of his whiskey.
Right then, Marco turns to me saying
a winter's morning
by John Pasternak The stars chose not to sleep this morning They greeted my awakening by falling oh so gently to the ground They allowed me a glimpse of their mystery For as I ran outside to hold them they melted to my touch And returned to the night sky to shine again
a mid-winter's night by John Pasternak
Winter was dressed in all her glory With frosted white crystals of ice Clouds of lung driven steam The crisp crunching of feet walking Thru sub-zero snow And a cold chill that came as snow Dropped down necks When branches were brushed in passage The birds like all the other sounds Had left the woods to seek warmth Except for one lone woodpecker with a vibrant red cap Who came to provide music With his rhythmic unsyncopated search for breakfast The crackle and glow of the campfire Proved not that man could overcome the elements But that both could co-exist and rejoice in each other For without the woods there would be no fire And without the man no light this night This night sleep was not easily accomplished The uncompareable grandeur of sharing A night with the woods was Liken to a child on Christmas eve. As the fire sang and danced And the snow crunched The forest greedily drank it in How far have we really moved from These our roots —John Pasternak
—Beth Weber
Send poems to: jim3wells@aol.com
Born with the curse of a gyspsy soul, John Pasternak spent more than a decade sailing about the world with his wife on their sailboat before they found a spot hanging off the side of Black mountain near Naples. John enjoys recording his intersections with nature whether on land or sea.
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Opening hearts and minds By Suzen Fiskin Reader Columnist I don’t have much of a history of being a social activist, but I knew that I had to participate in the Women’s March the day after the inauguration when I first heard of it. I have a strong feeling that this will be the launchpad of a whole new era of human evolution and activism, and I’m on the program. I had a business trip to Los Angeles and decided to wrap my time there around this coming together of “We the People” in my hometown. I knew it would be big. When the folks organizing the Women’s March in Los Angeles first applied for a permit for January 21 in downtown L.A., it was for 1,000 people. They had NO idea! My dear friend Roxy and I hit the road at 8 a.m., ready to brave the crowds at the new train that wends its way from Santa Monica beach to downtown. California was deluged with torrential rains on the days before and the days after the march. It was as if the cosmic “Powers That Be” parted the clouds and gifted the city with stunning blue skies, puffy white clouds, and a warm sun tucked in between the storms. We were blown away when we saw the throngs at the train waiting to participate in what is possibly the most attended international march ever. Estimates are between three to four million people in 50 countries stood up for their belief in social justice and equality for all. When we finally squeezed onto a train so filled with standing room only crowds, I had to hold my jacket against my waist at each exit to allow 16 /
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Rebirth of a Nation the doors to close next to me. I managed to control my claustrophobia with my commitment as a journalist to cover this story. I did a lot of deep breathing! We got downtown in an hour and walked out onto streets teeming with a cornucopia of diverse humanity topped with a sea of pink “pussyhats.” It was amazing. There were infants strapped to their daddy’s chests carrying signs celebrating their feminine power and centenarians being wheeled by their caregivers; people of every size, shape and color imaginable; kids dancing; jugglers juggling; and many wrapped in bizarre costumes. I’d estimate that at least onethird of the crowd was men. We navigated the jammed streets along the edges so I could take photos and deal with my challenges with being in crowds. The energy was beautifully uplifting with absolutely no negativity anywhere in sight. In fact, with estimates of well over 2 million people marching in over 650 different towns and cities across the U.S., there wasn’t a single arrest anywhere. Not one! Peace and love prevailed. There were placards everywhere, many simply stating “Peace,” “Love Trumps Hate” or “He’s Not My President,” while others waxed more specifically around women’s issues, “My Body, My Choice,” “This Pussy Grabs Back,” and “This Feminist Has Balls.” Some signs had entire paragraphs written on them. The crowds in L.A. are estimated to have been around 750,000, nearly 50% larger than the march in Washington
D.C. The police presence was nominal and non-threatening. I saw maybe 20 police officers all told that day, and they were on bicycles and wearing shorts, interacting with the crowd in a friendly way. There were no hecklers nor pushback that I could see, nor any reported elsewhere. It truly was a peace march for human rights. Many of the scheduled speakers didn’t speak because they couldn’t get to the podiums. I never heard a single speech. There really wasn’t a point of focus in the gathering, but rather hundreds of thousands of people walking and mingling and sharing their quest for true equality. I truly believe that “We the People” are much more alike than we are different. If you ask most folks what’s important to them, you’ll find that people on all sides of the political aisle to be much more aligned than the media would have us believe. We want the freedom to speak our minds, live in peace, have good jobs, access to healthcare, enjoy a healthy environment, quality education for our kids, food on the table, enjoy the rights guaranteed to us by our Constitution and more. We may have different ideas about how to achieve these goals, but our
Suzen Fiskin marching in Los Angeles on Jan. 21, 2017. Courtesy photo.
fundamental values are most often in sync. “We the People” have been asleep at the wheel and apathetic since Vietnam war. We shrugged our shoulders and did little when we talked about political agendas that were for “We the Corporations” rather than the general population. That was then, this is now. What I saw in Los Angeles was the rebirth of our nation. An awakening of our citizens standing up for what we believe in as did the founders of
our country. I am proud that I braved the crowds to be a part of this extraordinary day. May it be a day that stands out in history as the beginning of the beginning. Wakey, wakey y’all! Suzen Fiskin is a Happiness Coach, marketing wiz, and inspirational speaker. She’s also the author of the book, Playboy Mansion Memoirs. If you have any questions or comments, email her at: SuzenFiskin@ yahoo.com.
s e i cuAbn ia t i l i b i s s o p sland of By Katie Botkin Reader Contributor In Cuba, buying a pair of shoes can take multiple days, even if you’re walking around barefoot — traveling cross-country barefoot. And the best and worst of the place can be summed up this way: when an unknown Cuban man finally lends you a pair of secondhand, too-big flip flops, they become for a moment the most magnificent pair of shoes you’ve ever slipped onto your feet. On a recent ten-day trip to Cuba, my boyfriend decided to be clever and bring only one pair of shoes. Leather-sandal Earth Runners. Hiking in the mud of a washed-out trail in Eastern Cuba, they broke. We tried to find him another pair of shoes in the nearby town of Viñales, to no avail. It was Sunday, which meant any shoe shops (such as they existed) were closed. We ate dinner on the front porch of a place, and he tucked his bare feet under the table before anyone could see. The next day, we traveled eight hours to the sixteenth-century town of Trinidad, six of them crammed with 14 other foreigners into a 1950s-era army truck with plastic seats bolted to the floor. The uninsulated floor burned with heat and the exhaust fumes coming through the open window covered our sweaty faces in a gritty film. When we arrived at our casa, it was too late to buy shoes in Trinidad. I told our host, an endearing older woman who chattered at me in Spanish like I could understand her, of my boyfriend’s predicament. I had researched and memorized a couple of phrases for this occasion. The woman found this situation wildly amusing, and enlisted several neighbors to find a pair of old flip-flops that he could borrow. My boyfriend is fastidious about most things, including sharing foot germs with strangers, but he had apparently come to terms with the realities of being barefoot in Cuba and was genuinely ecstatic. So we went to find dinner. We passed one place that I said looked nice, and my traveling companion objected that it was too fancy. But I convinced him. It was not too fancy, that’s just Trinidad, where everything is fancy, in stark opposition to the day’s ordeals. We sat on a rooftop terrace, just the two of us with the full moon overhead, and ate three courses and drank pina coladas and some local honey-infused cocktail, all for less than $30. “This town is awesome,” we toasted, standing up, because the hard plastic seats imprinted on us and there was
no way we could sit down more than was absolutely necessary. The next day, we went looking for shoes to buy. The first place we went, a spot the locals frequented, had an impossibly limited selection. We got directions to a little boutique and purchased imported shoes for a price I doubted any local could afford, as well as some cheap flip-flops. The flip-flops did not come in many sizes so we got the closest match. Transportation and a limit of goods seem to be some of the biggest challenges facing both tourists to Cuba and the Cubans themselves. The U.S. embargo has certainly not helped the situation; Cuba’s resistance to capitalist interference in their daily lives has also been a factor. There is no McDonald’s, no Starbucks, and in large part Cuba’s staunch determination to be its own thing, to go its own path, is what makes it so vibrant, so culturally rich. Tourists come because the architecture is unmarred by neon lights, because the Caribbean shorelines have not been exploited by resorts, because teams of horses pull hay wagons in the streets. Because taxi drivers stop to high-five one another through their open windows. Because people live face-to-face, and network over phones; everyone seems to know everyone without ever resorting to social media stalking. The Cuban political system is complex, in that its nuances have shifted many times over the years. The death of Fidel Castro in December brought on national mourning; over breakfast at our casa, a couple from the Netherlands told us they’d extended their trip by ten days because for ten days following Castro’s death, there was no music, no celebration. No live music in Cuba is virtually unheard of; when the power went out in Trinidad, and the city plunged into full darkness, the music did not stop. The café owners lit candles and the music played on. We walked streets lit by moonlight and listened until the power reignited, whereupon we turned around and went back to our casa. The older generation remembers before the revolution, speaks proudly of how their literacy rate rose out of the gutters to one of the highest in the world afterwards. Some of the younger generation compare their lot to what they see elsewhere, and wink a bit when they say the government system is good. They describe how the government pays a set price for 90% of their tobacco crop, a low price, and how they make most of their money from the remaining 10%, selling hand-rolled certi-
Top: In Trinidad, Cuba, cowboys pause in a rare wifi zone to check the internet. Bottom: A rainbow of antique cars used as taxis line up in Havana near the capitol building. Photos by Katie Botkin. fied-organic cigars to tourists. Cuba’s exports and imports have long been a matter of political wrangling, from the time the Spanish landed there onwards. Castro’s push to diversify the country’s exports and economy has landed partly in the laps of the tourists who flock there: despite any embargo or lack of comfort,
the tourists love it, and they pay. They are scanned by metal detectors when they land in the airport, just to be sure they’re not importing another assassination attempt. They are finagled by the network of everyone-who-knows-everyone, since everyone wants a small booking cut. But they come, and they are welcomed in Cuban fashion. January 26, 2017 /
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OUTDOORS A column all about snow safety
By Tom Eddy Reader Columnist As the Snow Safety Supervisor for Schweitzer Ski Patrol, my main job involves tracking the weather over the course of the season. Every morning, I make my manual observations at our base area weather plot and then I compile data from our remote weather stations. From these observations, I develop a daily forecast of any hazards of concern and figure out how changes might affect our pack. Most days, this process is fairly routine, it gets more interesting when we experience more unusual weather. Temperatures, precipitation, and wind are the three primary focal points as they have the most direct influence on how the snowpack changes. Temperatures, for me, have a greater import than just deciding what layers I need for the day, they actually dictate what metamorphosis process occurs. The temperatures this season have so far been below normal resulting in lighter density snow and promoting faceting within the pack. Whereas our typical Pend Oreille Premix usually arrives around 20% water content, this season our snowfall has been a more continental 7-11%. The Arctic masses that have settled over us do not promote bonding of the snow crystals in the pack; instead, large temperature gradients break down the bonds between crystals resulting in “rotten” or “sugar” snow. The long periods of cold and clear concern me as while this makes for nice skiing, this pattern actually weakens the snowpack. Precipitation represents direct new load and stress 18 /
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Weather’s Effect on the Snowpack
Examining the crown after mitigation work in South Bowl at Schweitzer in 2014. Photo by Jake Sullivan. added to the snow pack whether it arrives as fluffy crystals or the dreaded clear liquid. Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) over a certain time period tells me how much weight has been added to the pack- lighter density snow holds less water, resulting in less weight and concern. Rain adds heat and weight to the pack rapidly and also breaks down bonds between crystals. Rain on snow events can result in widespread natural avalanche cycles that are difficult to predict and may not react to our typical mitigation efforts. Snow is what we’re always hoping for but for me, can be the source of stress.
Precipitation rate and intensity can mean the difference between calling for an early morning or knowing that we can enjoy some pre-opening face shots; the harder the snow falls and piles up, the greater the concern for avalanche activity as more load stresses the existing snowpack. How new snow bonds to the existing surface depends on many factors including storm temperatures. Light density snow on a rough surface? No problem. Heavier snow on a smooth surface? Probable avalanche activity. Of the three weather factors I mentioned earlier, wind can have the most rapid effect on
the pack. Even in the absence of snowfall, wind transported snow is one of the fastest ways to load a slope. Direction is a major factor in loading patterns and what I look at first. Last week’s northeast winds raised no alarms for me because the aspect of our start zones is susceptible to loading from southwest flows. Wind speed dictates how much snow gets moved around and how quickly. Three modes of wind transport exist dependent on wind speeds and result in different loading patterns. Rolling occurs in light winds when snow crystals remain on the surface, not resulting in drifting
or cornice build. Saltation is a product of moderate to strong winds (16-35 mph) when crystals bounce or jump across the surface. This movement creates a lot of friction and damages snow crystals, causing them to pack densely together as drifts, cornice, or firm wind slabs. The last mode of transport is turbulent suspension which occurs during extreme wind events causing snow crystals to become fully airborne. Snow loading can be difficult to predict due to the force of transport. There are benefits to wind as well: wind can destroy weak surface layers such as surface hoar and can reduce the risk of wet avalanche cycles by cooling the snow surface. You do not have to be a weather forecaster to be able to observe the effects of weather on the snow pack. Have to shovel your driveway before heading to the mountain? Rain in the valley but snow by switchback four? The stop sign at the corner rattling in a strong north wind? These are all clues that I use to form an impression of what’s going on with the pack before I even reach the mountain. Watch the weather and remember significant events over the course of the season. If you’re interested in learning more, please check out my daily (M-F) weather observations on the Friends of the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center Facebook page. In addition to serving as a Sandpoint city councilman, Tom Eddy is the Snow Safety Supervisor for Schweitzer Ski Patrol.
Fatty Flurry Fest kicks off at Round Lake 3rd Annual Fatty Flurry Fest Features Free Fat Bike Demos and More
By Reader Staff Fat bikes are bicycles with specifically wider-spaced frames to accommodate wide rims with 3.8-5” tires. These wider rims and tires provide needed flotation and traction to ride snow, ice, mud and sand. Fat bikes have solidified themselves as another option to get out and enjoy our long north Idaho winters. Whether commuting to work, riding the nicely groomed trails at Schweitzer Mountain Resort, Western Pleasure Guest Ranch or Farragut State Park or adventurously tackling the snow covered single track trails around Sandpoint, fat biking has gained popularity. Greasy Fingers Bikes N Repair will be hosting the Fatty Flurry Fest on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at Round Lake State Park with free fat bike demos and group rides. Now in its third year, Fatty Flurry Fest is a celebration of fat bikes in North Idaho. If you have never tried a fat
bike and always wanted to, here is your chance. And if you already have a fat bike, come and ride some fun trails with fellow bikers. Greasy Fingers will have all the trails groomed and riding should be great… if the weather cooperates. Free fat bike demos featuring Salsa Beargreases will be from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (sorry, no kids bikes or riders under 18). The group rides will start at 1:00 p.m. (rental bikes available if you do not already have a fat bike, reservations recommended). Please only bring fat bikes with 3.8” or wider tires for the group rides. Post ride, Greasy Fingers will have hot drinks and refreshments on site to keep you warm. All events will be held at lake parking lot/event pavilion. Round Lake State Park is south of Sandpoint, Idaho. A state park pass is required and can be purchased on site. To reserve a fat bike or for any questions, call 208.255.4496 or email brian@greasyfingersbikes.com. Fat bike riders at Round Lake. Courtesy photo.
Thursday, Jan. 26 @ 5:30pm (FREE)
“Cyber Bully”
Friday, Jan. 27 @ 6pm
friends of scotchman peaks wilderness tlihtetleatre 12th anniversary celebrate a dozen years of working for wilderness in the Scotchman Peaks jan. 27 @ 7:30pm | Jan. 29 @ 3:30pm
“Certain Women” film
Three strong-willed women (Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Michelle Williams) strive to forge their own paths amidst the wide-open plains of the American Northwest
Saturday, Jan. 28 @ 6:30pm
Jazzy nutcracker - $15/$8 for students Saturday, Jan. 28 @ 7pm (FREE)
Travis Thompson & 2 million bikers
little e theatr
Feb. 2 @ 7:30pm | Feb. 3 @ 5:30pm | Feb. 4 @ 1&3:30pm
“Things to come” film
little theatre
Saturday, Feb. 4 @ 7:30pm
Comedy for a cause
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Living Life:
Giving thanks back to the community
Do You Know Where Your Pills Are?
By Dianne Smith Reader Columnist I am always so impressed by passion of people in the community who want Sandpoint to be a safe place to live, raise children and grow old. One of the passionates, as I call them is Erica McCall with 7B Drug Free and the Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention. Preventing substance abuse is Erica’s passion and I think we would all agree that substance abuse free is what we would like for our community. I don’t know if everyone is aware of the problem that exists not just with adults but also our youth with prescription drug abuse and the impact on the community. In trying to provide that sense of community I think it is important to look at the risk to our youth through increased prescription drugs accessibility and what adults can do to help. Have you heard of a “Pharm Party” or a “Skittles Party?” Youth bring a handful of prescription pills to a party that are either prescribed to them or that they have access to through family or friends. Maybe they are stealing them from grandma because she doesn’t take them regularly and she is forgetful and probably won’t notice. Or parents keep medications that they might use in the future but don’t really pay attention to the number of pills. They toss them in a bowl and anyone can grab a few of what could be a potentially lethal mix of medication. Easy prevention is for adults to dispose of medications when they are no longer going to be taking them and to lock up medications that could be abused. Sad as it is, this includes cold medications and other over the counter medications. Coricidin Cold Medication is abused by taking multiple pills to get high and if you take enough you can hallucinate. This is true for many cough 20 /
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syrups also especially those with codeine. Yes, those who want to use will find a way but adults also don’t have to make it easy access. Open communication with your teen that you hope they make good choices, be safe and stay substance free is important. Research supports that teenagers whose parents talk to them on a regular basis about the dangers of drug use are 42 percent less likely to abuse drugs than those whose parents don’t. Another step that parents can take for more insurance that your child will make wise decisions is to have regular discussions, especially before weekends and big events such as prom. Idaho has one of the highest rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States. It is our responsibility as community members to try and provide as safe of a community as we can. In a recent survey done of local high school students over 13% admitting to using prescription drugs not prescribed for them. By eliminating access through proper disposal or locking them up we decrease use. By having heartfelt discussions with teens about our hopes and expectations we continue to decrease use. 7B Drug Free has many resources on their web page to help parents become more informed and to facilitate discussions with youth. Dianne Smith, LMFT is a licensed counselor who works with both children and adults. She has offices in Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint and can be reached at 951-440-0982.
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve been given by the community after Jake’s accident. Not only did people we know and love shower us with their support, but we received money and gifts from so many people we knew just a little or not at all. In what could have been such a hard time for our family, we were shown time and time again that generosity and genuine care are what make our community so very special. For our two kids, it’s been an amazing time to teach them about receiving graciously and giving generously when we’re able.” The Luikens Family (from left to right): Meagan, Roan, Asher and Jake.
McManus in Love By Patrick F. McManus Starring Tim Behrens th
Sat, Feb. 11 7:30PM
ater Panida Theah o Sandpoint, Id
s show Special Valentine’ celebrating Love… McManus Style…
Tickets: www.panida.org More info (208) 263-9191
www.McManusPlays.com
MUSIC
This week’s RLW by Ben Olson
Sadie Sicilia concert hopes to draw big at Panida
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
For a musician eager to keep moving forward, it’s always important to challenge the boundaries and to keep experimenting. For Sadie Sicilia—formerly Sadie Wagoner—opening for Ben Harper at the Festival at Sandpoint last summer was a dream come true, but also a catalyst for breaking out and trying a new sound. “Patricia Walker reached out to me and my mom after [the Festival show] and wanted me to have a show at the Panida,” said Sicilia. “It’s been talked about for awhile—a lot of Sandpoint locals have been telling me to do it.” The golden-voiced singer-songwriter is planning a show at the Panida Theater on Friday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. to showcase a brand new arrangement. “We haven’t played with this arrangement before,” said Sicilia. “It’s all super new, so I’m obviously a little nervous, but really excited.” Sicilia is hoping to show her fans another side of her that is different from the performances that she has taken part in with her mom and dad. The arrangement is enough to fill the Panida’s main stage; joining Sicilia will be her father Mike Wagoner on guitar, Reese Warren from Still Tipsy and the Hangovers on guitar, Sicilia’s mom Tammy Wagoner on bass, Chris Lynch on keyboard, Chris Terraciano on drums, Desiree Bernhardt on piano and Paz Rainbow on trumpet. “This Panida show is an opportunity to show people what I really want to do with my music career,” said Sicilia. “What I’ve been doing with my dad over the years has been super fun, but it hasn’t been me; singing Bonnie Raitt covers and stuff.” Sicilia said she has been writing her own music lately, and is eager to showcase it at the upcoming Panida show. “I’m figuring out my own musical identity,” she said. “Folk, pop, I have a funk song that sound like something that James Brown would dance to. I want to make a point to get out of my comfort zone—I’m not just going to be playing with my dad in bars anymore.”
Sadie Sicilia’s Panida Theater show will take place Feb. 10. Photo by Coral Rankin Photography. Singing on stage is nothing new to Sicilia, who has been performing with her dad since she was little. “I started out as a super little kid who could sing a Janis Joplin song and people got a kick out of it,” said Sicilia. “So I felt like nobody ever wanted to see that change, they just wanted me to stay that young girl who could sing these songs.” In her new experiment, Sicilia is focusing more on writing her own original songs – a departure from her normal routine. One of Sicilia’s biggest motivations for songwriting is her own internal battles with depression. Some who have seen one of Sicilia’s shows have noticed how frank she has been with mental health issues that afflict a big part of the population. “My songwriting so far is mainly influenced with my personal struggles with depression and anxiety,” said Sicilia. “One of my main goals is to connect with people over that.” Sicilia said she first starting feeling these issues come up during high school. “Nobody ever talks about mental health issues,” she said. “You don’t learn about it in your health class. I had no idea what was going on. Finally, I reached out to my dad and it turns out he had all the same symptoms in his 20s. As soon as I knew that, I thought, ‘I’m not crazy, someone else has
experienced this.’” While enjoyable in itself, writing music is also a way to deal with her emotions, said Sicilia: “It feels better to get it out instead of just holding it in.” Along with her dream of having a family and touring the world with a record label, Sicilia also would like to be an advocate for mental health. “I have dreams of having my own foundation called The Mountain Revolution to help people get affordable mental health care,” she said. Sicilia will be playing at an art show at the Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters on Friday, Jan. 27 to help spread the word about her upcoming Panida show. Though she doesn’t have an exact time to start yet, she said she’ll be playing a handful of songs anywhere between 5 and 8 p.m. “I have to say a huge thank you to everyone in Sandpoint,” said Sicilia. “Opening up for Ben Harper and having this opportunity wouldn’t be possible without their support.”
Sadie Sicilia and her very large band play at the Panida Theater on Friday, Feb. 10. The doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available for $12 at www.panida.org or at the door the night of the show.
READ
History has a nasty way of repeating itself. That’s why I majored in history in college. That’s also why I’m an avid reader of historical works that explain reasons why. “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” by William L. Shirer is one of those books that takes some time to get through. But it explains the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler and his stranglehold on Germany and the rest of the world. Clear a month or two from your calendar and try to read this book. It has faults, but at the heart, it’s a journalistic account of a nation that went down a dark path under the leadership of one terrible man.
LISTEN
To hear a truly inspiring speech, listen to President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address. Full of optimism, hope and forward thinking, Kennedy’s speech is often quoted and remembered as one of the most inspiring of all Inauguration Day speeches. For a surreal effect, listen to President Trump’s Inaugural Address first, then Kennedy’s. They could not be more different than one another.
WATCH
Movies that inspire hopeful feelings are few and far between these days. One film that I saw recently left me feeling saddened, but uplifted at the same time. “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” starring the inimitable Zach Galifianakis, is the story of a young man who checks himself into a mental hospital for suicidal thoughts. While dark at times, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, or too lightly. Galifianakis’ humor helps break up the tough moments, but overall, you’ll end this film with a feeling of inspiration and hope.
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The Straight Poop:
The quest for dog-friendly businesses in North Idaho
By Drake the Dog Reader Pet Columnist
LARSON’S Department Store
Where am I taking my humans today? The snow keeps coming, the wind is howling, it’s single digits, the Missus has been grounded with an ear infection, and I need to get a birthday gifts for the both of them. Can you guess where I’m headed? •The name of this place included ‘princess’ at one time •One staff member has worked there since junior high •A cat on a leash was spotted sitting on a chair there •Mike and Ike is the best selling candy •This establishment will celebrate its 77th birthday (the week before Easter) in the same location. Brrr, baby it’s cold outside! I am so glad that I didn’t get my locks trimmed, as I need all the warmth I can get! I quickly lift a leg at the Dalmatian fire hydrant, bang out a few bars of “How Much Is that Doggie in the Window” on the community piano in front of the Music Conservatory, and round the corner onto Main St. My pads are gripping the ice covered sidewalks, sans boots! This boy is on a mission! Finally, I am thawing out inside Sandpoint’s oldest Haberdashery, Larson’s Department Store, located at 327 N. First Ave. This downtown store has been an institution since 1940. Owners Dick, Linda and Lindsay Larson live their mission of “a quality driven value oriented company with an attitude and commitment to customer service everyday.” Dick shared a bit of history with me. His grandfather, Lloyd started the store in 1940. Originally, it was only a one-floor shop occupying the north side of the building (where the men’s department is today). In the late ‘50s Lloyd bought out his partner, Thor Larson. During this time, there was a ladies clothing store next door called Marjeans. Lloyd acquired the store and renamed the entire establishment. Wait for it…wait for it…b (Hint: it’s not a simple name like Selfridges, which I have been binge watching!). LARSON’S MEN’S AND BOYS SHOP AND THE PRINCESS SHOP! (Dann Hall… do you have a picture of that marquis in the archives?). In 1974, Lloyd bought the entire building from owner Jim Parsons Sr. and 22 /
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remodeled it. After a few years, Lloyd retired to Arizona, and in 1983, after he graduated from U of I, Dick, his son, (who started working at Larson’s in junior high) took over. Today, the three level Sandpoint store boasts 10,000 square feet, and I found awesome merchandise everywhere! And speaking of everywhere, the family also owns Larson’s in Bonners Ferry (since 2006), and Grangeville (since 2010). As I continue to look around, I recognize some favorite labels from the Mister and Missus’ closets—Dockers, Helly Hanson, Sorel, Kamik, Pendleton, Under Armour, Erin London, and Woolrich, just to mention a few. Whew—now I know that my gift selections will be easy-peasey, as Larson’s has quality merchandise at reasonable prices. Did you know they rent tuxedos? Winter formal, Homecoming and Prom here we come! Maybe I’ll find something that the Mister can wear with his blue suede shoes. I had to rely on Lindsay and Nancy’s expertise in the selection and the gift-wrapping process. By this time, Duke, Lindsay’s 12-yearold Australian Shepherd mix (aka Dick’s grand dog) was chomping at the bit to take Grandpa down the street to his favorite watering hole. According to my research, shopping with your dog can be a bonding experience, while helping with socialization and confidence boosting. Look for the Reader paw-print sticker in the window of dog friendly businesses.
Top: Lindsey Larson takes a break from her busy day to hang with Drake.
Crossword Solution
Larson’s Rules: 1. Bring your “get along with other humans behavior” 2. Leashes please 3. No running up and down the stairs, or chewing on the shoes or gloves 4. The hydrant is only a block away 5. Kiddos—find the Mike and Ike candy 6. Mark your calendar for the 77th birthday bash in April
If you’re a cowboy, and you’re dragging a guy behind your horse, I bet it would really make you mad if you looked back and the guy was reading a magazine.
16
Conquer the Outdoors Again Office Located in the Ponderay Walmart Vision Center Call and make an appointment today: 208.255.5513
Copyright www.mirroreyes.com
CROSSWORD ACROSS
humbuggery
Woorf tdhe Week
[noun] 1. pretense; sham.
/HUHM-buhg-uh-ree/
“The humbuggery of American politics makes me depressed.” Corrections: You really want there to be a big mistake here, don’t you? Well, look somewhere else, bub. Next week, Cameron will be back from his gallivanting in Washington, D.C. and I will not have to edit this beast by myself anymore. Seriously, thanks to all of you who seek to make us better by pointing out our flaws. If a newspaper can’t spell a word right, than what the hell are we doing here anyway? -BO
1. Bushbaby 6. Small island 10. Gossip 14. Love intensely 15. Shower 16. Fit 17. Graven images 18. Region 19. Operatic solo 20. Syndicate 22. Russian emperor 23. Alkaline liquid 24. Promises 26. Develop 30. Handbag 32. Eagle’s nest 33. Backlog 37. Tall woody plant 38. Flip over 39. Male cow 40. Corpulence 42. A ring-shaped surface 43. Thumps 44. Become fixed (on) 45. Young kangaroos 47. Drunkard 48. Eve’s opposite 49. Liable 56. Gumbo 57. ___ fide 58. French for “Love” 59. Blood vessel 60. Coil 61. Crown 62. At one time (archaic) 63. Wanes
Solution on page 22 64. Relieves
DOWN 1. Nonclerical 2. Cocoyam 3. Natural satellite 4. Website addresses 5. Clear up 6. Angry 7. Indian dress 8. Place 9. Bewitched 10. Babbler 11. Abrasive 12. Assumed name 13. Rip
21. Type of whiskey 25. An Old Testament king 26. Dines 27. Green 28. Chocolate cookie 29. Officer 30. Iron 31. Coffee dispensers 33. Copied 34. Emanation 35. Oversupply 36. If not 38. Useless 41. Your (archaic) 42. Measure in a lab 44. Enemy 45. Wisecracker
46. German iris 47. Trades 48. Relocate 50. Newbie (slang) 51. Prig 52. Dogfish 53. Feathery scarves 54. Attraction 55. Historical periods
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