Reader_July13_2023

The week in random review

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

overheard as a couple leaves A restaurant

“Why would you even go out to dinner if you’re gluten free? I mean, what’s even the point?”

city motto?

Sometimes, cities have an official motto. Reno is known as “The Biggest Little City in the World.” New York City is “The City That Never Sleeps” and everyone knows, “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.” But what is Sandpoint’s motto? A quick internet search left me more confused than before I started.

One source claims Sandpoint’s official motto is “Get Social With Nature.” Another source has it as, “It Just Comes Naturally.” Yet another claims “What a Beautiful Pace” is the official motto, pun intended. Rand McNally claims it’s “Enjoy the Great Outdoors, Connect with Friends and Keep Life Simple.” Another states “We Mean Business, But Don’t Forget Your Toys.” One gun nut even proposed the motto should be “Sandpoint: An Open-Caring Community” (har har har, you see what he did there?). Once, while out for a flight with local pilot and talented knifemaker Scott Sawby, I saw a large sign at the Sandpoint Airport that stated, “Sandpoint: Where Quality is a Way of Life.” Meanwhile, Blue Sky Broadcasting has used the tagline, “From the Mountains to the Lakes” for years.

If we were to officially proclaim a motto for Sandpoint, what would be your suggestions? I mean, everyone else has apparently proclaimed Sandpoint’s official motto, so we might as well open it up to the general public. Email your ideas to ben@sandpointreader.com and perhaps we’ll land on a good one. Here are a couple of my suggestions: “Sandpoint: 1,000 Mottos and Still Nobody Can Afford to Buy a House.” Or perhaps, “Sandpoint: We’re Building All Kinds of Stupid Shit.” My favorite? “Keep Sandpoint Shitty.”

the perfect dent

Sometimes in life, an accident can lead to something spectacular. When Dr. Alexander Fleming returned from a holiday in 1928, he noticed mold was growing on a Petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria. Fleming noticed the mold seemed to be preventing the bacteria around it from growing, which ultimately led to the discovery of penicillin and saving an estimated 200 million lives since its discovery.

While the following “discovery” won’t save any lives, it is notable enough to share with our dear readers. Last week, I dropped an unopened beer on the ground while transferring it to an ice chest. The beer can dented right beneath the lip where you drink from, but it remained intact and, upon cracking it open and sipping from it, I found my own penicillin. The perfect little dent in the can gives your bottom lip a groove to rest in, which is now one of my favorite things. So don’t worry when you see me strategically dropping beer cans on the ground — I just found a better way to live. Try it yourself, but beware; once you go full dent, you’ll have a hard time going back.

READER DEAR READERS,

It was a nice treat to see some rain and clouds in the sky earlier this week, especially as we’re seeing the first substantial wildfire starts in the county with the Bee Top Fire about five miles up Lightning Creek Road and the Consalus Fire located 10 miles west of Coolin.

It hardly needs to be said, but please take care while recreating in the wilderness. Drown all your campfires, don’t toss cigarette butts out of your window and don’t even think about lighting off any of those leftover fireworks near our forests. So far (knock on wood) we’ve gotten away without many days of smoky skies this fire season, but we have a long way to go still.

If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, check out the annual Sandpoint Boat Show along the Sand Creek boardwalk to get up close and personal with these relics of the past. Also, check out our events calendar on Page 18 for a full rundown of events coming up this week. Take care and have fun out there.

–Ben Olson, publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com

Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com

Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Kelsey Kizer kelsey@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists: Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society (cover), Ben Olson, Bob Betts, Tammy Zinke, Jon Bonar, Bill Borders, Racheal Baker

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Jen Jackson Quintano, Barbara Russell, Marcia Pilgeram, Danielle Packard, Clark Corbin, Lauren Necochea

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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 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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About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was sent courtesy of the Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society.

Council adopts ‘civility and decorum’ ordinance

New code section would trespass public for range of disruptive, threatening behaviors

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Civility governing interactions between the public and staff at City Hall, as well as decorum at public meetings, are at the core of a new ordinance approved July 5 by the Sandpoint City Council.

Patterned on a similar measure in Norwalk, Calif., Sandpoint’s ordinance is “intended to dispel disruptive behavior during meetings,” City Attorney Andy Doman told councilors.

As the statement of purpose reads: “This section seeks to promote mutual respect, civility and orderly conduct among city of Sandpoint elected officials, employees and members of the public. It is not intended to deprive any person of his or her right to freedom of expression or free speech, but only to maintain, to the extent possible and reasonable, a safe, productive and harassment-free workplace for city staff, and a safe and non-threatening environment for visitors, customers and other members of the public.”

Introduced at the May 17 meeting but tabled until July 5 to hammer out some additional details and fine-tune language, Doman said at the time, “The ordinance was not created in a vacuum,” researching other ordinances in different municipalities, and based on discussions that took place before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic — a period when public meetings took on an increasing, and continuing, rancorous tone.

Doman said it is also based on decided case law, including the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals related to Norwalk’s ordinance and a case decided by the Idaho Supreme Court related to trespassing a citizen from government premises due to disruptive or otherwise threatening and abusive behavior.

“Citizens have an enormous First Amendment right … however, a city council meeting is still just that: A governmental process with a governmental purpose,” Doman said at the May 17 meeting, adding that the Idaho

Supreme Court ruling held that disruption in a facility owned by the public is not protected speech.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that not just on paper … our employees have a safe and worry-free workplace environment,” he said in May.

According to the adopted ordinance, “Any city of Sandpoint official or employee who is directly affected by or witnesses behavior that disrupts or threatens to disrupt city of Sandpoint government operations may direct the person engaging in such behavior to immediately remove themselves from the premises or otherwise cease such behavior.”

Out-of-bounds behavior includes, according to the text of the ordinance:

•Insulting, demeaning, intimidating, or offensive remarks or other communications;

•Harassment or intimidation of any city of Sandpoint staff, elected official or other member of the public;

•Willful destruction or damage of property;

•Conduct that threatens or provokes a violent reaction;

•Continually disruptive behavior in the lobbies, offices or meeting rooms of Sandpoint City Hall or other facilities where official city business is being conducted by city officials or staff;

•Repetitive calls, visits or correspondence to city offices or staff with an associated pattern of disruptive behavior, including verbal or physical aggression and/ or threats, regarding an issue for which city officials or staff has already provided pertinent information or instructions.

The decorum sections of the ordinance are essentially a codification of longstanding practices governing behavior at meetings, including prohibitions on addressing individual members of the government body or staff; abusive or aggressive comments; asking questions of members or staff; approaching the dais; and engaging in clapping, stamping

feet, shouting and other disruptive actions.

Individuals who are alleged to have violated those rules will be provided with a written statement signed by the mayor or council president outlining the grounds for the action, resulting in trespass from city facilities and/or city meetings for up to one year.

However, a person who has been trespassed under the ordinance may still access city premises for emergency purposes and personnel, and are only allowed to contact employees by U.S. mail, email “or other means acceptable to the city.” In addition, they may still attend meetings via Zoom.

Resisting removal or an order to leave the premises or cease disruptive behavior could carry a misdemeanor charge.

Appeals of the trespass order may be made within 10 days of receipt of the written notice, and handled in different ways.

Returning before the council on July 5 with a final draft of the ordinance, Doman outlined the verbiage separating the administrative and legislative appeals processes of the new code section. In the case of violations of civil behavior between City Hall workers and the public, the appeal would be reviewed administratively by the mayor, as the chief presiding officer. With issues arising from decorum at meetings, an appeal would be addressed by the City Council and its president, who is currently Councilor Kate McAlister.

Some residents testified in May that the ordinance would do more harm than good.

Former-Sandpoint Mayor Carrie Logan, who also served terms on the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission, said that

the city’s long tradition of robust public engagement “has suffered in recent years.”

“The ordinance before you tonight further limits opportunities for public involvement,” she said in May, later calling it “very chilling.”

“Or is the city just tired of people talking about issues and challenging staff decisions?” she said. “Don’t get your feelings hurt if the speakers don’t agree with you.”

Citing the often free-for-all nature of many recent Bonner County commissioners meetings — which have included numerous occasions in which Chairman Steve Bradshaw has recessed or adjourned proceedings amid disruptive behavior by attendees — development consultant and former-Sandpoint City Planner Jeremy Grimm in May said, “there’s clearly need for clear rules of engagement” for public discourse, but still worried that the city’s reach may extend its grasp with regards to notions of “redundancy” of communications being considered improper behavior.

Longtime resident Rebecca Holland, who is a regular attendee of city meetings and has been an outspoken critic of a number of City Hall decisions, alleged that the ordinance is being leveraged to “control opposition.”

She stated that she’d been trespassed from City Hall proceedings for three months following an incident earlier in the spring when it was alleged she’d been disruptive by clapping her hands, but has denied the allegation and — at the July 5 meeting — stated that she’d been “flipped off” by an unidentified staff member while leaving the council chambers in April after testifying.

Councilor Joel Aispuro said at the May meeting that elected officials are “free game” and, “When it comes to name calling or anything like that; for me, it is what it is. … It may be annoying, but not harassment.”

However, Councilor Andy Groat said in May that the need for the new code section is real.

“[T]he behavior of some of our community members, it does not make me proud to live here,” he said, later adding, “We have mean, awful, cruel people in our community that abuse and harass employees … and it is not OK.”

“The only reason we’re talking about this is that the conduct of our public has not made me proud,” Groat said.

Mayor Shelby Rognstad in May said that one example of the need for such an ordinance stemmed from the number of public records requests coming into City Hall.

“What we’re seeing now is that public records requests can be weaponized,” he said, going on to say that City Clerk Melissa Ward spends about half her 60-to-75 hours of work per week processing those requests.

“If you’re using city policy and city procedures simply for the apparently sole purpose of overworking staff because you think that that’s funny or something — I don’t know why anyone would do that,” he said.

Councilor Deb Ruehle cast the lone dissenting vote July 5 on a procedural motion to suspend three separate readings of the ordinance, saying it was important to do so because of the measure’s potential effect on citizens’ First Amendment rights. Aispuro was absent. Otherwise, the ordinance passed with unanimous support.

Photo by Ben Olson.

Idaho open primary supporters legally challenge AG Raúl Labrador’s ballot titles Signature drive on hold for initiative while open primary lawsuit plays out in court

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

Supporters of the proposed open primary ballot initiative filed a legal challenge asking the Idaho Supreme Court to throw out ballot titles for the initiative assigned by Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office.

In the filing July 10, the groups Idahoans for Open Primaries and Reclaim Idaho alleged that Labrador’s office provided misleading ballot titles.

“The titles assigned by the attorney general contain material inaccuracies concerning the nature and purpose of the initiative and reflect his public opposition to it,” the court filing reads.

If successful, the ballot initiative would end Idaho’s closed political primary elections and replace them with one primary election that all candidates can run in and all voters can vote in, regardless of party affiliation.

In the filing, Idahoans for Open Primaries and Reclaim Idaho ask the Idaho Supreme Court to instead use ballot titles they have written to describe the initiative. Supporters of the initiative also asked the Idaho Supreme Court to expedite the case and extend the deadline to gather signatures to qualify the ballot initiative for the November 2024 general election.

“Even under an expedited litigation schedule, this necessary challenge to the attorney general’s deficient ballot titles causes great hardship as it shortens the already limited time to circulate the initiative petition for signatures,” Idahoans for Open Primaries and Reclaim Idaho wrote in the filing. “This delay alone may doom the possibility of the initiative reaching the ballot.”

Idaho AG’s Office says it will defend ballot titles in court

Meanwhile, the Idaho Attorney General’s Office stands behind the ballot titles.

“As a rule we don’t comment on pending litigation,” Beth Cahill, communications director for the Idaho Attorney General’s

Office wrote in a statement issued July 3. “Any statement we have to make was provided in our cover letter provided to the Secretary of State’s Office with our letter of transmittal: AG Labrador has furnished a ballot measure title with a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure and without prejudice or partisanship, consistent with his requirements under Idaho law. If it is required, we will be happy to defend the AG’s fulfillment of his statutory duties in litigation.”

Additionally, Labrador has pledged to file a lawsuit challenging the initiative if it qualifies for the ballot.

“Although we have furnished a ballot tile as required by Idaho statute, for reasons set forth in my certificate of review, we maintain that this petition violates the constitutional and statutory single-subject rule and is therefore ineligible for placement on the ballot,” Labrador wrote in a June 30 letter to Secretary of State Phil McGrane, which was obtained by the Sun. “We will litigate that objection if and when it becomes ripe — i.e. if the sponsors of the petition seek to have it enrolled on the ballot.”

What is the disagreement with Idaho’s AG all about?

The challenge is the latest development in a legal dispute between supporters of the open primary initiative and Labrador’s office.

Under the proposed open primary system, the top four vote-getters from the primary would advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. The ballot initiative would also change the general election to create an instant runoff, or rankedchoice system. Instead of Idaho’s traditional general election, voters would cast ballots for their favorite candidate in the general election and have the ability to rank the other three candidates in order of preference on the same ballot. If one candidate does not win a majority of the votes, then an instant runoff would be created

in which the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated and their votes would instead be transferred to the voter’s second-choice candidate. That process would continue until one candidate has a majority of votes and is elected the winner.

Idahoans would only vote once; there would not be multiple elections or election days because the preferences on their ballots would decide any instant runoffs.

Labrador’s office said the initiative violates a section of Idaho law that stipulates ballot initiatives can only deal with one subject, because the initiative deals with primary elections and general elections.

Open primary ballot initiative supporters disagree. They say the initiative deals with one subject: elections. They disagree with the AG’s legal analysis and say that Labrador should have recused himself from the initiative process after he posted a May 2 tweet about the initiative saying, in part, “Let’s defeat these bad ideas coming from liberal outside groups.”

The ballot titles are important

because they describe to the public and voters what the initiative would do and the ballot titles are the last remaining unresolved issues before open primary supporters could begin collecting signatures to qualify the initiative for the election.

The Idaho Secretary of State’s Office cleared the supporters to begin collecting signatures on June 30, but the signature drive is on hold while the legal challenge is being resolved, Reclaim Idaho co-founder Luke Mayville said.

Supporters of the initiative have until May 1, 2024 to turn in signatures from 6% of Idaho voters and signatures of 6% of voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. But they cannot move forward with the signature drive until ballot titles are settled.

If supporters gather enough verified signatures and the ballot initiative qualifies for the November 2024 election, it would take a majority of votes to approve it.

What do the ballot titles say?

There are short ballot titles and longer general ballot titles up to

200 words.

The short title assigned by Labrador’s office says:

“Measure to (1) replace voter selection of party nominees with nonparty blanket primary; (2) require ranked-choice voting for general elections.”

The short ballot title supporters of the open primary initiative suggested in the July 10 filing says: “An initiative to allow all Idaho voters the right to participate in open primary elections and to establish an instant runoff general election.”

The longer ballot title assigned by Labrador’s office is available online.

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

Organizers with Idahoans for Open Primaries are weighing whether to challenge ballot titles issued by the Idaho Attorney General’s Office. Courtesy of Idahoans for Open Primaries.

Local wildfires prompt aggressive approach

Clark Fork sees gradual growth of Bee Top Fire as Consalus Fire burns near Coolin

By Reader Staff

Two lightning-caused fires are currently burning in or near Bonner County, and both are undergoing aggressive attack from fire personnel.

The Bee Top Fire is located about five miles up Lightning Creek Road near Clark Fork. Discovered on July 1, the blaze was reported at about 40 acres and 16% contained on July 12. Precipitation on July 11 slowed fire behavior, which is burning in mostly dead and downed fuels.

As of July 12, resources allocated to the Bee Top Fire include 151 total personnel, including four hand crews, two engines and three helicopters. Almost six miles of handline have been constructed around the fire as aircraft have engaged the blaze directly with water drops.

There are currently no road or trail closures associated with the Bee Top Fire. However, the public is asked to exercise

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

awareness while recreating and make space for fire personnel as they navigate the area.

Farther to the north, in Pend Oreille County, Wash., but only 10 miles west of Coolin, burns the Consalus Fire. Measured at 248 acres as of July 12, there are currently 186 personnel, half a dozen hand crews, two engines, and other types of logging and firefighting equipment assigned to the blaze.

Officials reported the Consalus Fire 10% contained on July 12, and pleaded with the public in their daily report to not fly drones in the area of the fire.

“If you fly, we can’t,” fire officials stated.

While no roads are closed in association with the Consalus Fire, members of the public are asked to avoid Forest Service roads near the incident as a matter of firefighter and public safety.

For the most recent updates on all area fires, go to inciweb.wildfire.gov.

Repairs continue as new culvert is placed on Dufort Road

County allocates emergency funds, anticipates road will reopen before month’s end

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

The JFK-QAnon cult leader who believed John F. Kennedy and JFK Jr. are still alive, and claimed he met the deceased Michael Jackson in disguise, recently died due to injuries from a dirt bike accident, Salon reported. Michael Protzman in 2021 took fellow believers to Dealey Plaza (where JFK was assassinated in 1963) to witness what he said would be JFK Jr. reinstating Donald Trump to the presidency. Protzman regarded JFK as the reincarnation of Jesus, his wife as Mary Magdalene and Trump as the Holy Spirit

Lowering health care expenses is the goal of President Joe Biden’s new initiatives, AP reported. They include cracking down on “junk” insurance plans (which Biden describes as a “scam”), working to prevent “surprise” medical bills and a plan for reducing medical debt tied to credit cards.

A Forbes investigation indicates Russia has secretly spent more than $300 million to influence foreign elections. The U.S. Federal Elections Commission ruled in 2021 that foreign donors can finance U.S. referendums. The FEC decision, according to the Campaign Legal Center, “reflects a big loophole in the federal ban on foreign money in U.S. elections.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-M.D.) has introduced legislation seeking to eliminate the influence of foreign money in U.S. elections.

ADP, a payroll processing firm, said private sector jobs were up by 497,000 in June, with leisure and hospitality adding 232,000 new hires. Most of the jobs were with companies having fewer than 50 employees. As well, annual pay rose 6.4%.

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

Those disagreeing with the new restrictions say there is no issue to address, since the government is not forcing removal of content, and is instead notifying companies of potentially dangerous messages. Disinformation or misinformation in violation of social media platform policies is typically noted by nonprofits, researchers, or individuals and software at the social platforms themselves.

A Center for Countering Digital Hate spokesperson said the U.S. is “fangless” regarding dangerous content in comparison to places like the European Union and Australia, and needs to update social media platforms’ liability rules. He added: “It’s bananas that you can’t show a nipple on the Super Bowl, but Facebook can still broadcast Nazi propaganda, empower stalkers and harassers, undermine public health and facilitate extremism.”

So far, more than 1,000 people have been arrested for participating in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the nation’s Capitol. The reach of the law is going higher, according to NPR and CBS. Rather than be disbarred, a Trump lawyer who promoted 2020 election lies is instead being allowed to retire his law license. Meanwhile, a Trump aide has been charged with withholding documents and conspiring to obstruct justice over allegations he helped Trump hide documents.

Presidential candidate and former-Vice President Mike Pence has told pro-lifers to never give up, “until abortion is illegal in every state,” according to the National Review.

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Bonner County Road and Bridge crews took a major step in repairing Dufort Road this week when they installed a new culvert to replace the one that failed in early June, disrupting one of the county’s most-trafficked roads.

The culvert — which is 12 feet in diameter and arrived from Topeka, Kans. in two 50-foot pieces — is meant to connect Morton Slough to the Pend Oreille River. The catastrophic collapse occurred June 4, creating a flood risk that required total excavation of the site and rendering Dufort unpassable.

According to Road and Bridge officials, repairs are scheduled to be completed by the end of July.

Road and Bridge Director Jason Topp

gained unanimous approval from Bonner County commissioners July 11 to allocate nearly $300,000 in funding toward the Dufort Road repair efforts. The sum includes nearly $100,000 in unanticipated revenue from the state, a $100,000 emergency grant from the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council’s Local Rural Highway Improvement Program and about $80,000 in forest apportionment funds.

The total cost of the road’s repair is estimated at $800,000, half of which was required to pay for a sheet-pile dam to dewater the area for construction.

See occasional project updates on the “Bonner County Road & Bridge” Facebook page.

Using robots, a facility in Colorado has destroyed some of the last of the nation’s chemical weapons stockpile. Some weapons were in storage for more than 70 years, The New York Times reported.

Last week a federal judge restricted government communications with social media platforms, following a lawsuit from Louisiana and Missouri. The states accused social media of censoring right-leaning content. According to a preliminary injunction, the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI and “other parts of government” are to cease communications with social media for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected speech,” The New York Times wrote.

Speaking recently to Moms for Liberty, North Carolina Gov. Mark Robinson said words from dictators like Adolf Hitler and Mao Tse-tung have been taken out of context and should be reconsidered. Salon reported that Robinson has a history of discriminatory comments and Holocaust denial, and regards communism as a greater threat than Nazism. Moms for Liberty has been pushing book bans in schools and opposes any materials in schools related to the discussion of race, ethnicity, LGBT rights and teaching of the nation’s history of racism.

Blast from the past: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013, anti-apartheid activist imprisoned for 27 years. He negotiated the end of apartheid in South Africa and became the country’s first Black president.

Bonner County Road and Bridge crews work July 11 to place a new culvert on Dufort Road, where the previous culvert failed in early June. Courtesy photo.

If you don’t like Idaho’s values, then leave.

This rhetorical dead end, usually aimed at anyone feeling a modicum of consternation regarding our state’s political climate, was directed at me recently. It was in response to an opinion piece expressing my fears about raising a daughter in a climate of legislated misogyny.

Apparently, misogyny is an “Idaho value.” One worth liking. One worth defending. Fascinating.

If you don’t like it, leave, the readers urged.

As if retreat were that simple. As if a life built of family, friendships, business associations, teachers and mentors, support networks and landscape love can simply be dragged and dropped elsewhere. As if community doesn’t take time and devotion to develop. As if a business doesn’t require a decade of sweat and striving to succeed.

If you don’t like it, leave.

As if discomfort were something to run from and dissension an existential threat. As if life is meant to be all softness and no edges, with “like” as our ultimate raison d’etre and “dislike” a kind of perdition. As if life imitates social media.

If you don’t like Idaho’s values, then leave.

As if Idaho had an immutable set of values, cast in stone, Ten Commandments-style. As if our state were a static and homogeneous entity rather than an ever-evolving heterogeneity. As if dogma were geographically defined.

If you don’t like Idaho’s values, then leave.

As if our nation weren’t founded upon the interplay of conflicting views. As if thinking in lockstep were a sign of greatness rather than stagnation.

Idaho: Love it or leave it.

As if resisting and remaining were incompatible.

Let me assure you: They’re not.

The thing is, I do love Idaho, my dissatisfaction with elements of its governance notwithstanding. I love it for my community, my home, these landscapes, the relative emptiness and wildness. I love it for the way my daughter is supported, the way our business is valued, the way core residents unite to nurture those in need. I love it enough that I refuse to leave. I love it enough to fight to make it a more

equitable and empathic place to call home.

What if loving one’s home is not blindly rolling over when you think it’s in the wrong? What if loving your home is staying? What if it’s fighting the bullies telling you to do otherwise?

I often think back to an interview I heard earlier this spring in which a Russian citizen, at odds with her nation’s brand of governance, shared her dissident’s creed:

“You’re useless in prison or dead. But as long as you’re not in prison or dead — and you’re not facing a significant risk of going to prison or being dead — make a difference where you are.”

As the famous line from Monty Python and the Holy Grail goes, “I’m not dead yet!” So don’t toss me on the handcart for disposal elsewhere, even if Idaho’s current ideological shifts feel like some kind of deadly plague.

It’s one I haven’t yet succumbed to. I can still make a difference where I am. And I’d rather ruffle some feathers in Idaho than add to an echo chamber of West Coast virtue signaling.

I do not want to live in an echo chamber. I want to live in Idaho.

I actually enjoy inhabiting places that can accommodate dissenting views. I like having my opinions challenged. And by challenged I don’t mean via statements of the love-it-orleave-it variety, but in actual

civil discourse. Conversation in which we can be open about our fears, our hopes and how they drive our beliefs.

Such conversations today are all too rare.

Let me attempt to begin one.

I work on behalf of bodily autonomy now — on behalf of women — because of my experiences not having such autonomy, of having my body policed, my form seemingly belonging to the collective rather than to me. I do this work because of my experience wearing a heavy cloak of shame for decades — shame over my appearance, my sexuality, my decisions and my boundaries (or lack thereof) — and I don’t want my daughter to grow up in a similar world where ownership of her body and worth are in question.

These are the hopes and fears that drive my work.

Rather than telling me to leave, tell me what my staying makes you fear. Tell me what hopes my words are threatening. Tell me, as Helene Cixous writes about the worthiest of wordbased endeavors, what “makes you tremble, redden, bleed.” Let’s not stay safe in the realm of “like” together; let’s bleed. Together. In a world where the art of debate has resorted to a limited palette of finger paints, let’s pull out the scalpel and make some hard-won collage, shall we?

If you don’t like Idaho’s values, then leave.

I admit it: We talk about it, my husband and I. We talk about leaving. Yet, for me, it is still an

idle thought experiment, play acting with “what ifs.” Even as others depart, I’m not there yet. I’m not dead yet. All it takes is a walk through the woods — awareness cradled by moss and mist and unfurling ferns — for me to dig in anew, plant my flag, stand my ground.

My husband and I wed under a canopy of hemlocks. Our daughter, still small, lay underneath those trees and gazed at greening constellations of new growth, mesmerized. Our love story is firmly rooted here. Why would we — why should we — ever leave?

I love Idaho, and I think it can do better. Is it really too much to want one’s home to return to civility? To expunge extremism in favor of empathy?

Yes, I look at the recent debacles at North Idaho College, West Bonner County School District, the library board race and more, and I feel disheartened. But these are signs of a community in flux. A community that needs all the help — all the fight — we can muster.

If you don’t like Idaho’s values, then leave.

Oh, were it so simple. But it’s not. So you’re stuck with me. I’m not dead yet. I’m not giving up.

Jen Jackson Quintano writes and runs an arborist business with her husband in Sandpoint. Find their website at sandcreektreeservice.com. See more of Quintano’s writing at jenjacksonquintano.com.

Jen Jackson Quintano.

Bouquets:

•The kindness of our community continues to amaze me. I’d like to thank all of those who have donated their antique typewriters to our growing typewriter museum in the Sandpoint Reader offices. It seems every time we mention typewriters in these pages, someone reaches out and tells us they’ve got an old beast collecting dust that needs a new home. In the past month or two, we’ve received typewriters from Jay Shelledy, Keith Booth, John Harbuck and Susan Bates-Harbuck — each of them beautiful machines. I don’t sell them or anything. That’s not the goal of this collection. It’s more to give these misfit antiques a home where they’ll be remembered, instead of just collecting dust in an attic somewhere. Thanks again to all for their thoughtfulness.

Vote against W. Bonner recall and work together for change…

Dear editor,

Fact: Branden Durst carried Bonner County 2:1 when he ran for state superintendent of schools in 2022, with the exception of a few precincts around Sandpoint.

Yet the people behind the recall election Aug. 29 against Board Trustees Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown are among the most vocal to remove Mr. Durst from the position as WBCSD’s superintendent. Claiming Mr. Durst is not their choice, while saying interim-Superintendent Luckey is “their” best choice.

The Aug. 29 recall election will be WBCSD’s most important election for education if you care about improving the education of our students. Wanting their education to be the best we can give them by changing WBCSD’s failed system. A failed, politicized system, where so many within that system refuse to accept change that would improve their schools.

It is disheartening that WBCSD spends $3,000 more per student than any other panhandle district per year while our students stay near the bottom percentages in math and reading comprehension on ISAT testing.

already ruled unconstitutional. Worse, “Nobody Dies” Labrador announced his intention to sue and demand that the initiative be struck from the ballot, and worse, using our tax dollars to pay for the suit. The Idaho Constitution does not grant political parties the right to control who votes in our elections, including our primaries, and our Supreme Court has held the right of citizens to elect their leaders is an inviolable constitutional right. Sign the petition to put open primaries on the ballot. Read more here: reclaimidaho.org.

Democracy only works when voters do.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

Dear editor,

If Commissioner Bradshaw feels that the meetings are just too overwhelming, he may want to look for other employment.

Darwin Jensen Sandpoint

Return City Beach to nature…

Dear editor,

dine on the Trinity patio and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature rather than look at a parking lot full of cars.

This is our city and our beach. Let’s turn our town’s namesake back into a place of natural beauty for all to enjoy, not a fruitless and expensive endeavor geared toward trying to impress a paltry two months worth of vacationing visitors. There are other beaches in the area that are less intrusive to wildlife, if people wish to swim.

Evan Brown Sandpoint

die (nothing “pro-life” about that). But there’s more: the futures of many people are ruined; health care professionals can’t provide necessary care without fear of reprisal, so they leave; labor/delivery units close; other health care services disappear; families move away; and so on and on.

Idaho’s anti-health care laws only focus on half the population (for now), but they affect everyone, even Herndon. What happens when he has a medical emergency, is rushed to the ER and can’t get help because of staffing shortages resulting from his actions?

Barbs:

• Sometimes I try to get in someone’s head and attempt to figure out why they made a particular decision. For example, when you’re camping by the river somewhere and you pull up to a favorite spot only to see it littered with things like coffee makers, bedsprings, Xerox machines and other items that no one in their right mind would ever bring camping. Do people really announce they’re going camping and have their significant other say, “Don’t forget the cappuccino machine!” Then, when they’re packing up to leave the campsite, do they stand there in front of a pile of appliances and say, “You know, we really don’t need that air purifier anymore, let’s just leave it here. Someone will pick it up.” That’s the phrase that drives me crazy. They all think someone else will clean up their mess. If you can’t clean up your crap when recreating in nature, then stay home and fart into your couch, because we’re all a bit sick of cleaning up your trash.

It’s time we work together and demand changes in WBCSD’s failed system, by voting against the recall of Trustees Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown on Aug 29. Mark your calendars so you won’t forget

Bill O’Neil Priest River

Dear editor, Remember when then U.S. Rep. Raúl “Nobody Dies” Labrador said that nobody dies from not having health insurance? We, the voters, then passed Medicaid expansion through the citizens’ initiative process and put that self-serving myth to rest.

Now, in a position to interfere with all citizens’ initiatives, Idaho Attorney General Raúl “Nobody Votes” Labrador is attacking all of us, not just those facing terminal diagnoses.

Ignoring his duty to be impartial and lawful, Attorney General Labrador produced titles for the Idahoans for Open Primaries initiative that are riddled with falsehoods and misleading, partisan statements — a labeling scheme the Idaho Supreme Court has

With a heavy heart and tears in my eyes I recently set off on my weekly walk around City Beach following the announcement that city leaders had authorized the extermination of more than 200 waterfowl who called the beach home. Four days was all it took for more of these beautiful creatures to return. The killings are futile and what the city has done is a despicable crime against nature. I was informed that the so-called “euthanasia” involved liberal usage of buckshot, and there was nothing humane about such a massacre.

Rather than installing artificial turf to replace the grass that attracts geese, I’m rallying for returning City Beach back to nature and into a recognized wildlife refuge.

Which would you rather see: a public space half covered with asphalt and cars, inviting constant traffic and hordes of human visitors that ring the sandy shore like beached belugas, smelly boats spewing oil in the shallow waters and rubbish bins overflowing with mountains of garbage? Or, a non-invasive boardwalk running above a natural shoreline with wetlands that are home to fish, waterfowl, majestic bald eagles, otters and beavers? How wonderful it could be to

Dear editor, The Reader provides trustworthy local news and entertainment coverage for those of us living in Sandpoint. Honest information about local politics is necessary to keep Sandpoint informed about the good and bad of our local representatives. We very much respect and appreciate the Reader for providing this information.

The Reader keeps the ultra-conservative under control by informing us all of misguided disruptive intentions.

My wife and I are neutral, voting for the best candidate, Democrat or Republican. Never voting the party line. Exposing Scott Rhodes in 2017 was phenomenal journalism earning national attention and local respect. Each issue contains such journalism, making our town a safe and desirable place to live.

We are not without our own prejudices. Whenever we see someone with a copy of the Reader we label them as OK.

Mike and Kelly Miller

Sandpoint

Dear editor, Sandpoint’s own Pro-Voice Project has shown the nation, and much of the world, just how messed up Idaho is. Idaho’s anti-health care laws, championed by Sen. Scott Herndon, et al., are impacting every aspect of life in Idaho. This exposure should be a wake-up call to voters everywhere.

What happens when half the state’s population is denied the right to comprehensive health care? Well, obviously, women and babies

Actually, I have no idea what would happen to someone like Herndon. However, most people lucky enough to survive that empty ER might seriously consider finding a safer, more hospitable place to live. When people leave, communities change; not generally for the better. True story.

Idaho is a nice place. We shouldn’t have to be embarrassed, or terrified, to live here.

Please visit theprovoiceproject. com to learn how you can find your voice, help bring sanity back to Idaho and rescue our imperiled future. Let’s get real — choose good candidates: vote.

Katharine Roser Sandpoint

Dear editor,

The road ahead for WBCSD patrons will be tough. But we cannot give up. There is so much at stake — our youth. All through my growing up years I have gone to public school. Extracurricular activities at public schools are a part of molding the future for our youth. To take the option away from them is horrible to even think about. Turning a public school into something else is not healthy. That is what I feel some members of our school board are attempting.

They have their own agenda and it is not in the better interest of our youth and certainly does not represent the wants of the vast majority of the patrons. I wonder why a person like Mr. Durst would be interested in a position in a small community like Priest River. After all, with all the credentials he has, I would think he would want to get back into politics where all the clout is.

In case some people are not

‘Hey, Raúl Labrador — we’re not dead yet!’…

aware, I’d like to point out some facts about our trustees that are being recalled: 85% of the patrons who voted for Mr. Rutledge and 75% of the patrons who voted for Susan Brown signed the recall petition, respectively. Those figures come from the county clerks’ office. Maybe people have changed their minds because they see what’s really going on with the hidden agenda.

We must get out and vote on recall day. Contact your neighbors, friends and even enemies if you have to. We have to vote them out and work to get our district back on track.

The overall numbers of voters for the levy were 38.18%. Pretty dismal. How about we shoot for a huge turnout, like 90%. An awful lot is at stake here. Let’s make it happen. Vote.

Ernie Schoeffel Priest River

‘Values affect our political views’…

Dear editor,

What we value comes out in our views and our politics. I thought it was interesting as I read through the July 6 edition of the Reader that some value the geese who were rounded up and killed because they were a nuisance at the City Beach. They were outraged that there was no compassion for these fellow creatures. A few pages later there was an article by some who place a low value on unborn human beings.

Health care used to be about benefiting the person in need. The goal was for their good. This goal has now shifted with the introduction of abortion. Now, some people are helped while others are actually killed. The controversy then arises as to who decides which ones are to be helped and which ones can be destroyed.

Who or what we value comes out in where we stand on this issue. Every person who has ever lived started out at conception. So, do we value our fellow human beings as much as we do the geese?

I am proud of our current state laws that seek to protect the smallest and most vulnerable among us.

Roselle Caesar Sandpoint

Save the shade trees at Travers Park playground

Dear editor,

An Idaho Land and Water Conservation Grant matched by local taxpayers created Travers Park in 1982. Young trees were planted in the hope that they’d someday provide shade for park visitors. Today, a beautiful red oak casts a 50-foot-wide canopy of shade next to the playground. Nearby, four large maples, three blue spruces, a willow and a sweet crabapple stand strong — but not for long.

The city wants to cut down these 10 healthy trees and remove the sturdy playground equipment to make space for a large tennis-pickleball facility. Should a different location in the park be chosen that doesn’t

destroy beneficial shade trees? If the city cared to ask the parents who regularly bring their children to play there, they’d learn their answer is a resounding “yes.”

Only two years ago, the idea of completely rebuilding the playground wasn’t even a concept in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. But a diversion plan was resurrected for a summer splash pad to soften the public’s acceptance to spend $560,000 of local taxpayers’ money to match another grant for a total rebuild.

Many view this as hypocritical to ask the very same conservation agency for more money to build an artificial grass playground with plastic logs for an “Into the Woods” theme while killing the big shade trees this agency funded 40 years ago.

City Council needs to be pressured into backing up to simply add a splash pad to the existing playground with some handicap features for a lot less money. Our community’s initial investment, along with funding many years of care by the city’s Parks Department, shouldn’t be so easily disregarded. Climate issues were never even discussed.

Please convince the mayor and council that established residents want better “family friendly decisions” made ahead of wealthy retirees’ love-set play.

Rebecca Holland Sandpoint

Dear editor,

The definition of good faith is defined in legal terms as a broad word to encompass “honest dealings.” To be clear, Cornell University states that, “Depending on the exact setting, good faith may require an honest belief or purpose, faithful performance of duties, observance of fair dealing standards or an absence of fraudulent intent.”

I must ask the constituents of Bonner County, specifically Zone 2 and Zone 4: Do you believe that the board of WBCSD 83 is acting in good faith? Is it good faith to follow Branden Durst’s advice to push off the budget and disregard Idaho Code in his own favor for a two-year contract?

Let that sit with you for a moment. A man who is representing our district advised our school board who governs him to disregard Idaho law for his own benefit. Is this not an exemplary display of fraudulent intent? Is this a faithful performance of duties?

“Just do it… there is no one to enforce it.” These are the words that came from Branden Durst’s mouth during Wednesday’s meeting.

Encouraging our board members to act against their own district policy, which prohibits superintendents from obtaining any more than a one-year contract.

Encouraging them to ignore Idaho

Code, which states that budgets must be submitted by July 1. Encouraging them to declare a state of emergency to further his ability to obtain a certificate issued by the state to begin acting as superintendent.

Tell me something, Bonner County: Does this seem like good faith to you?

Nikelle Collins, LMSW Priest River

Dear editor,

I know how much some of you love or loved a dog like we did.

Bodie, our beloved border collie, passed away a few weeks ago.

We were told Bodie’s first owner was a ski instructor at Schweitzer and she named him after Bodie Miller, the famous American skier. Later we met Bodie for the first time at a farm southwest of Sandpoint on a tip my wife received from someone who knew we were looking for one of this breed.

It seems the people who ran the farm had small children and that Bodie was intent on “herding them” like border collies (and their Australian shepherd cousins) are famous for when tending sheep.

When I first saw him, he ran straight to me and acted as if he had known me all his life.

From then on for the past few years he has been my wife’s and my constant companion. He will always be in our memory.

Jim Ramsey Sandpoint

Got something to say? Write a letter to the editor. We accept letters up to 300 words long that are free from libelous statements and profanity. Please elevate the conversation. Trolls will not be tolerated.

‘Ode to Bodie: A Sandpoint dog’...

‘Good faith’…

Science: Mad about

lapidary arts

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

I first learned about the Mohs scale in elementary school — a simplified, tiered ranking of various minerals ranging in hardness, each one able to scratch the one beneath it. For whatever reason, this was a particularly fascinating revelation for my class.

Perhaps being given clear instruction on what is best and worst at performing a task — and trying to disprove this universal truth was — a conundrum that spoke to young and curious minds. It made me ponder the world around me. If diamonds were unbreakable, how did we have faceted jewelry? Why aren’t vehicles and buildings just made from diamond?

It turns out that even the universe’s rules are made to be exploited and broken.

Lapidary is a practice of manipulating gemstones to create jewelry and other items, often for aesthetic purposes but sometimes for functional ones as well.

Creating a piece of jewelry calls on many different professions to deliver a final product. We’ll focus less on the work of a goldsmith and more on what a lapidarist, a gem cutter, does. While these are different expertises with different tools, sometimes a jeweler will have access to everything and be able to assemble an entire piece of jewelry in-house.

Gemstones aren’t faceted or even polished in their default state. A raw diamond often looks like a very rough ice cube and, to the untrained eye, likely just looks like a rock. This is just as true now as it was thousands of years ago when humans first started working with gemstones. We don’t have a very clear timeline on when humans first started working with precious gems, though the entire process is very closely related to the knapping process we explored in the June 29 edition of the Read-

er about arrows.

At some point in our distant past, neolithic humans discovered that certain rocks were harder than others and possessed the capability to carve chunks from other stones. It’s likely that some of the first stones used by humans for knapping were obsidian, which sits at a 5 on the Mohs scale.

Surprisingly, silicon, formed into glass, was also another commonly used tool for carving around 2000 BCE. Glass is extremely brittle, but it has an exceptional ability for cutting and scratching other materials.

Sitting at a 6.5 on the Mohs scale, silicon is well-suited for grinding, scratching and even carving softer materials. Sandpaper is commonly used in lapidary to grind and polish gemstones.

Humans used stones to carve other stones directly for thousands of years. It wasn’t until relatively recently that we began using more advanced tools and marrying stone with metal to achieve incredible results. Most contemporary lapidary is performed with metal tools using diamond blades.

Though you may be envisioning a glittering, semi-transparent saw blade made of pure diamond, this is not actually the case. The blades are steel, but they have been embedded with tiny bits of rough diamond that work like sandpaper to generate heat from friction, which allows for manipulation of other stones. Motorized tools give us precise control of large amounts of energy to apply to a surface that our ancestors could only dream of. While pedal-powered machines may have been used, they could hardly compare to an electric-powered saw.

Diamond blades need to have a relatively uniform dispersal of diamonds throughout the structure. This can be hard to achieve with traditional forging techniques, and instead other disciplines are often used to create diamond blades.

Electroplating is common, using electrolysis, which is a process whereby an electrical current is run through structures in a liquid bath to attract a uniform coating of a desired material. Electroplating gold and copper onto jewelry is a common practice, and has been for a very long time — even before the discovery of electricity — with the help of various chemicals found throughout history.

Enough about that, though; how does someone go about cutting their own gem?

This is done in a number of stages, beginning with planning. As with virtually everything else in our lives, it begins with a computer. Using specialized CAD programs, a lapidarist can calculate the optimal size and shape of a finished gem from a rough stone, which minimizes the amount of material lost and retains the maximum weight. In some cases, gems are cut to enhance their natural colors, rather than for their weight.

If a large amount of material needs to be removed from the gem, or if two gems are coming from one rough stone, it must be cleaved. This is often done with the combination of a laser and a diamond blade saw. A cleavage plane is identified, where the atomic bond is at its weakest and most susceptible to breaking, and the laser is used to create a groove, which is then exploited by a saw to cut it along a specified plane and make the piece easier to work with.

The lapidarist will mount the stone to a machine using a jeweler’s putty that hardens at room temperature, but melts when heat is applied. This keeps the gem in place when forces are applied, but makes it easy for people to manipulate as need be.

The machine is a specialized planing grinder with a downward-facing mast the gem is attached to. The cutter will

grind a face of the gem to their desired level, then rotate it by a set amount, usually 45 degrees to create a gem with eight sides. This portion of the process is called blocking, and is similar to blocking out rough shapes of a sketch on a piece of paper.

Creating the extra facets along the top of a gem and polishing them is done by two different people, using a very similar process on a smaller scale. This is the portion where the gem is most likely to be ruined, as even tiny

imperfections may destroy the value of the gem.

A “brillianteer” — the person in charge of polishing — uses extremely fine-grain materials to polish the stone. Sanding materials are graded by the size of their grit, and while you may have used anywhere from 40 to 1,500 ultrafine sandpaper, this process is usually done by materials with a 50,000-grade grit, which is microscopic.

Stay curious, 7B.

•In 1848, John Sutter engaged the services of a local carpenter named James W. Marshall in building a water-powered sawmill. As Marshall got to work, something shiny caught his eye in the water. It was gold. Marshall shared his findings with Sutter, who tried to keep it secret, but the news spread like wildfire. The New York Herald and other publications ran juicy stories about the gold deposits, attracting gold-seekers from all over the country and world, and by land or sea. The California Gold Rush was on.

•Called “49ers,” those who traveled to California in 1849 to seek riches in gold primarily came one of three ways: the Cape Horn route by sea, the Oregon-California Trail by wagon and the Panama Shortcut by ship and land.

•By the end of 1849, the number of people living in the region of the Sutter’s Mill discovery had exploded from 20,000 the previous year to 100,000.

•While some prospectors struck

it rich, the reality for most miners was something quite different. Most found only $10 worth of gold specks daily, and demand for mining tools and food items skyrocketed due to the rising population, so merchants often made more by inflating prices to the miners than the miners themselves. Samuel Brannan was one of the wealthy merchants of the gold rush who never actually mined any gold, but made about $5,000 a day (which is valued at $186,000 in today’s dollars).

•The gold rush had a huge longterm effect on the demographics of California. Because of the demand for mining tools, the state’s manufacturing industry received a boost, and as the population increased, more and more food was needed to feed everyone. Instead of importing food, many failed miners shifted to agriculture and found farming was a great option due to the favorable climate. Today, California alone contributes about 14% of the country’s agricultural products, almost double that of any other state.

Censure and censorship in the Idaho GOP

Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise Reader Contributor

As Idahoans, we value our independence. Self-reliance and the freedom to think independently are woven into the very fabric of our state. We don’t blindly follow the crowd and that’s not what we want from our elected leaders. Unfortunately, actions by Idaho Republican Party bosses prove that anything but blind adherence to their extreme agenda will no longer be tolerated.

Even the highest-ranking Republican official in the state, Gov. Brad Little, has become a target of his own party. At the center of the conflict is his veto of a bill that threatened the future of libraries across the state. House Bill 314 would have established a bounty system to attack libraries and allow parents to sue for cash rewards if their child received materials they found objectionable.

The legislation contained dangerously broad language where even a reference to a gay person could have been considered offensive.

Citing the threat of expensive lawsuits, bankrolled by taxpayers, Gov. Little used his authority to veto the legislation during the 2023 session. Democrats, joined by 14 Republican representatives who held similar concerns, successfully voted to uphold the veto in the House. This angered Idaho Republican Party leaders and allies who have book bans at the top of their agenda.

Retribution came at the Idaho Republican Party summer meeting last month. Gov. Little and the 14 Republican legislators received a rebuke from party leaders in the form of a “vote of no confidence.” Party leaders also approved a rule

change allowing them to censure fellow Republicans — and even block them from running for office — if they deviate from their extreme party platform. It’s a platform that calls for censorship in our libraries, criminalizes abortion as murder even when the patient will die without receiving it and would repeal your right to marry the person you love.

If you think this contradicts what most Idahoans believe, you are right. Polling conducted on behalf of the American Libraries Association found that a vast majority of Democrats and Republicans oppose efforts to have books removed from libraries. Polling from the Idaho Statesman shows a majority of Idahoans support legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community and oppose hardline abortion laws.

The Idaho Republican Party is out of touch with the majority of Idahoans. Yet, its tiny governing body, made up of fewer than 200 individuals, now wields immense power to control the actions and votes of our elected officials.

In our democracy, elected officials ought to answer to the public, not party bosses. We must unite against efforts by Republican insiders to consolidate power and rig the rules in their favor. Idaho Democrats will continue to put people first.

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

Rep. Lauren Necochea

Reflections on Nelson Mandela

By Barbara Russell Reader Contributor

In 2009, the United Nations designated July 18 as Nelson Mandela International Day to shine a light on the legacy of the man born on that date in 1918 and whose life was committed to freedom, human rights and justice for all people across all borders. Rising beyond his resistance to apartheid in South Africa, the words of Mandela have been engraved on statues, taught in classrooms and celebrated worldwide.

As our Founding Fathers believed, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The famous excerpt from the Declaration of Independence has been an inspiration worldwide to people yearning and fighting for their own freedoms.

Mandela was one of those people who understood the meaning of freedom and the loss of it, imprisoned for fighting apartheid in his home country of South Africa.

Apartheid, meaning “apartness,” is a system of racial segregation and discrimination based on the ideas of racial superiority and fear. In South Africa, as in America during the Jim Crow era, different racial groups were forced to live and develop separately, creating severe disadvantages. Attempts to stop interracial marriage and social integration between racial groups was a suppression of freedom.

The African National Congress (ANC), formed in South Africa in 1912, introduced the Programme of Action in 1949 as nonviolent resistance to apartheid and included strikes and protests. Similar to the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., the ANC’s Defiance Program in 1952 called on people to break apartheid laws such as Black people using “white buses” and “white toilets” knowing they’d be arrested. Mandela, an attorney and one of the leaders of the movement, was arrested in 1961 and acquitted. He was arrested again in 1964, along with other ANC leaders, and sentenced to life imprisonment — confined to a cell without a bed or plumbing, and doing hard labor. Yet, his loss of freedom did not break his

resolve to work for a better world.

“Thus, shall we live, because we will have created a society which recognizes that all people are born equal, with each entitled in equal measure to life, liberty, prosperity, human rights and good governance,” Mandela said in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 1993.

He also said: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Mandela was released after 27 years in prison in 1990. In 1993, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work and a year later became South Africa’s first Black president.

Mandela also saw poverty as a weapon of enslavement:

“Millions of people in the world’s poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved and in chains. They are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free.”

He said: “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human

right, the right to dignity and a decent life.”

And another quote: “While poverty persists, there is no true freedom.”

Mandela devoted his life to free the oppressed and became a global advocate for peace and social justice until his death in 2013. He established the Nelson Mandela Foundation in 1999, which today continues its work on critical social issues. Its vision is one of a just society, “one which learns from its pasts and listens to all voices.”

Mandela’s commitment to human rights, freedom and justice are a source of inspiration to choose dignity over humiliation, bring attention to and fight injustices, and forgive rather than hate.

Mandela’s message that everyone has the ability to make a difference and transform the world is a call to action.

“As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest,” he said.

As he said: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Barbara Russell is the chair of the Boundary County Human Rights Task Force.

The Swede takes to the water in local ceremony

Freedom for all people Boat is one of last on Lake Pend Oreille built by Herrick “Swede” Heitman

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

A wooden boat built by renowned local boatbuilder Herrick “Swede” Heitman began its second life on July 4 as new owner Brian Scott launched it under its new moniker “Swede” at Glengary Bay, where it was built some 65 years ago.

A gallery of onlookers watched as the 26-foot craft was slowly launched into the water just feet from where Heitman first constructed the boat in 1948.

Originally called the Mary Marge, the boat was originally owned by local dentist Malcom “Mac” McKinnon, who was born in Sandpoint in 1900. McKinnon commissioned Heitman to build him a large boat that could make the speedy transit across Lake Pend Oreille while also handling large waves with ease.

It is quintessentially the perfect vessel for Lake Pend Oreille, with a high, proud bow, large pilothouse and strong twin 120-cubic-inch Chrysler Crown engines in a V-drive configuration that purrs with a confidence only a boat built decades ago can achieve.

Swede’s daughter Marjorie Trulock now owns and operates the marina at Glengary Bay with her husband Tom. Marjorie remembers christening the launch with a bottle of champagne in 1954 when she was

just 6 years old.

It was with great joy that onlookers watched as Marjorie smashed another bottle across the bow on July 4, as the MaryMarge was officially renamed Swede in honor of her father. The Swede then took to the water and began its second life after a long period of dormancy.

The Swede underwent several years of restoration by Scott, who is proud to carry Swede Heitman’s name on the vessel to celebrate the rich history of Lake Pend

Oreille. Scott said he remembers the boat from seeing it in passing years ago.

“My father-in-law used to keep his boat here, so I probably first saw the MaryMarge 50 years ago,” he told Sandpoint Magazine for a feature article published in the summer 2022 edition. “I’ve always looked at it and thought it was a cool boat. Having known Swede and that he built it, that it was born right here, gave me some good feelings.”

Keep an eye out for the Swede at the

2023 Wooden and Antique Boat Festival, Saturday, July 15, in downtown Sandpoint.

For a full story on the restoration efforts, see the summer 2022 edition of the Sandpoint Magazine, pages 47-50.

Above left: The Swede is launched in Glengary Bay on July 4. Marjorie Trulock (Swede Heitman’s daughter) is visible in the white tank top and hat to the right of the frame. Photo by Bob Betts. Above right: The vessel’s original launch on Sept. 4, 1954 as the Mary-Marge. Photo courtesy Jon Bonar from his family collection.

The Festival at Sandpoint reveals 2023 Fine Arts Poster

By Reader Staff

The Festival at Sandpoint kicked off its summer celebration July 11 at its annual Sponsor Appreciation Event, revealing its 2023 poster art created by local, self-taught acrylic artist Tammy Zinke.

The FAS Fine Arts Poster has been a tradition since the beginning of the organization in 1983, though this year marked the first time the artist was selected in an open competition. Submissions started coming in during the fall of 2022, resulting in Zinke’s win for her piece titled “Harmonies in Nature.”

Inspired by the William Shakespeare quote, “The Earth has music for those who listen,” Zilke stated in a news release, “I strove to combine the musical spirit of nature with the musical spirit of the instruments played by humans. The Festival brings young and old the inspiration of music combined with the love of nature.”

The poster depicts a curving pathway of piano keys extending from beneath the iconic Festival tent — rendered as a leafy green canopy of trees — to a dock over the waters of the Pend Oreille River. Rays of light stream from a setting sun, glowing

from the interior of a guitar laid sidelong across the horizon beneath an ethereal twilight sky dotted with musical notations.

According to the Festival, the piece began the way all of Zilke’s pieces do: on canvases she made from scratch with kilndried wood and cotton canvas.

Zinke, who grew on the Oregon Coast and has lived in Sandpoint for the past 30 years, draws her inspiration from nature.

“I focus on the way the atmosphere enhances, moment by moment, the changing mood as light and shadow bring, right before her eyes, a vision of the next painting, another beautiful portrait of Mother Earth,” she stated.

Zinke has donated the original piece to be auctioned, with funds raised supporting the Festival’s non-profit mission.

Zinke’s online art portfolio can be found at tzinkeartstudio.com or on Facebook at T Zinke Art Studio. She can also be found every Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at her studio located at 205 Vermeer Drive in Ponderay.

In addition to the 2023 Fine Arts Poster Art Contest winner, Maximillian Bazler, who is pursuing a degree in graphic and web design from North Idaho College, was selected

as the 2023 Series Lineup Poster Artist.

The auction for this year’s artwork began July 11 and will conclude at the Grand Finale performance on Sunday, Aug. 6. Bids supporting the auction can be placed at the Festival’s office through Wednesday, July 26.The original art will be displayed at each evening concert of the Summer Series, which begins Thursday, July 27.

Approximately 20% of the Festival at Sandpoint’s annual revenue consists of donations. “Participating in the annual fine arts auction is a great way to support a local nonprofit and hopefully add a one-of-a-kind piece by a local artist to your collection,” the organization stated.

Signed prints of this year’s poster, as well as prints of all past posters, are now available for purchase at the Festival’s office at 525 Pine St. for $15.

T-shirts and other limited 2023 merchandise are also on sale at the FAS office and will be available to purchase at the merch booth during the concerts.

Local artists are encouraged to enter the poster contest starting Friday, Sept. 1 to be considered as next year’s Fine Art Poster. The submission deadline for the 2024 poster contest is Feb. 1, 2024, at 5 p.m.

To learn more about the Festival at Sandpoint, the Fine Arts Poster Contest and past poster designs, visit festivalatsandpoint.com.

“Harmonies in Nature,” by Tammy Zinke was chosen as the 2023 Fine Arts Poster for the Festival at Sandpoint.

The magic garlic bus

Ben and Claire Ronniger make their annual trek north with a bus stuffed full of garlic

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

It’s safe to say that most everyone knows it when Ben and Claire Ronniger’s magic garlic bus rolls through town. Eight tons of garlic crammed into a 40-foot bus does tend to potpourri the air.

The Ronnigers have made their annual trek from Mexico back to the family farm north of Bonners Ferry — selling some of the best garlic grown in the world all along the way — for the past 16 years.

Ben said when he bought a piece of his Uncle Dave’s farm 16 years ago, on land that he’d been farming for 10 years before that, he saw garlic as the prime crop to grow and sell.

“I saw it as my means to get out in the winter,” Ben told the Reader. “You could put a crop in in the fall and it takes care of itself until late spring. I was stoked on that crop and it provided a good price. I wanted something fun to grow that people were into, so I chose garlic.”

Ben said in the off season he was able to visit family, go hiking and camping, and eventually began taking trips south across the border while North Idahoans were shoveling snow and scraping windshields.

Ben said he began frequenting Baja California in winter, and eventually connected with a growing partner, starting a garlic partnership that flourishes to this day.

“I had a friend who went down there and brought back these beautiful garlic braids,” Ben said. “He told me I should check these

out, so the next year I went and sought out a farmer and said, ‘Do you want to grow some more garlic?’ We figured out a way to do that, got more ground, more land for him and helped finance him and got things going. We’ve been partners ever since, and this is year 17 now.”

The Mexican farmers Kompi and Lupe Meza Villa Vicencio plant their garlic in early October — same as the Ronnigers do at their farm 3,000 miles north. The Ronnigers then make their annual journey south in an empty 1992 International 40-foot bus, sometimes spending months in the Baja harvesting, cleaning and braiding garlic with Kompi and Lupe. Then, they start the slow migration north, stopping to sell their crop until arriving back home to North Idaho.

Harvest

As one might imagine, harvesting garlic at the Baja California location is a tough endeavor.

“It takes about two weeks and we do it all by hand,” Ben said. “It’s brutal and we’ve usually got about five or six of us in the field. Fifteen people is the most we’ve ever had. The field we harvest is exactly one hectare, or about 2.2 acres.”

The field usually yields about eight or nine tons of ajo morado, or “purple garlic,” coveted by foodies and connoisseurs for its plump bulbs holding clusters of purplish cloves with a distinctive flavor that is less sharp and has an almost citrusy complexity. Food and Beverage Magazine called the ajo morado variety “the best garlic in the

world.”

After harvest, the bulbs are then laid out in the sun on a south-facing slope to cure.

“You don’t want the bulbs to get burned by the sun, because they’ll literally cook,” Ben said. “We cover the bulbs from one row starting at the top of a hill, then we’ll lay a big row of garlic out and use the stalks to cover the bulb of the layer before.”

With zero chance of rain, the sun and air dries the garlic for about a week to 10 days before cleaning.

“Cleaning means we basically rub the paper off, pull the roots off and get it looking pretty and graded into sizes for braiding,” Ben explained. “We’ll have big piles of garlic graded out into different sizes

and we’ll take those and cover them with a tarp, sprinkling the stalks with a little bit of water, and the next morning they’re more pliable and ready to braid.”

Braiding is an ancient Mediterranean style of preserving garlic.

“Garlic is a living plant, so if you cut it it’s going to want to start growing quicker,” Ben said. “These guys have been growing garlic in this valley for generations. It was brought here by missionaries from Spain in the 1700s.”

Top left: Ben and Claire Ronniger. Top: The Ronnigers with Kompi and Lupe Meza Villa Vicencio gather after harvest in Baja California, Mexico.

Above: Claire stands in front of their iconic 40foot garlic bus. Courtesy photos.

Braids come in different sizes and styles, usually containing 10, 15 and 25 bulbs. Then there are bouquets, resembling a flower bouquet, which is how they utilize small garlic tied into a spiral.

The trek north

After harvesting, cleaning and braiding the garlic, the Ronnigers say farewell to Kompi and Lupe, stuff their bus full of garlic and head north, selling to health food stores, independent co-ops and organic food suppliers en route.

“We only deal with small, independent grocers,” Ben said. “We don’t sell to corporations. Only to people selling organic stuff.”

That’s an integral part of the business to the Ronnigers, since they believe strongly in independent grocers and organic farming.

After unloading a large amount in San Diego and Orange counties in California, the Ronnigers head east to the Rocky Mountains for another big selling point, then swing north toward home.

“For 17 years I’ve built up this route,” Ben said. “We have a lot of friends along the way or we stay at great camping spots. But the trip is centered around selling to these health food stores. Some of them are starting to get bought up by Whole Foods, so it’s getting harder and harder every year.”

Closer to home, after five weeks of selling garlic across the West, the Ronnigers arrive to sell their garlic to local outlets, such as Pilgrim’s Market in Coeur d’Alene, the Moscow Food Co-op and Winter Ridge in Sandpoint. They also maintain a vendor

booth at the Sandpoint Farmers’ Market every Saturday. Chances are, if you’ve bought fragrant garlic with a purplish hue, it came from Ben and Claire Ronniger’s hard work.

Aside from their direct sales, the Ronnigers operate a website called allicinsranch. com, named after allicin, the chemical in garlic responsible for its health benefits. Those interested in ordering garlic directly can do so at the website.

It would take a separate article to list all of garlic’s health benefits, which includes everything from boosting your immune system to reducing high blood pressure and serving as an antibiotic. Aside from that, it is an essential item in anyone’s kitchen.

Maintaining a tradition

After streamlining the routine each year, the Ronnigers have kept true to their roots, only making minor changes from time to time.

“We’ve tricked out the bus over the years and I’ve been taking more and more stuff out of it to make more room for garlic,” Ben said. “I mounted a seat next to mine for Claire when we got married. Then we had our daughter, Isabell, and mounted another seat for her. Apart from that, we just have a kitchen sink and stove and the rest of the bus is for the garlic. When we’re fully loaded, it takes up the bus from the driver’s seat all the way to the back door, about four or five feet deep. We can’t smell it after two days, but everyone always says they can smell us coming.”

Now back home, the Ronnigers are busy farming and maintaining their online sales.

They mentioned they’d like to hire a “jackof-all-trades” type person who can help with office work, field work, deliveries and anything else that might pop up.

The Ronnigers are thankful for their annual garlic migration, giving them a chance to step away from the farm every winter to spend time with their Mexican growing partners and see all the familiar faces along the way.

“This is a tradition their family has passed down for generations and they want

to keep it alive just like we do,” Ben said. “They’re such an amazing family. We love them so much.”

To learn more about the Ronnigers’ garlic business, or to order some of the ajo morado garlic for your own kitchen, visit allicinsranch.com.

Left: The Ronnigers’ bus is packed from the driver’s seat to the back door when leaving Mexico for their annual sales trek north. Above right: The next generation learns to dry and braid garlic after harvest. Courtesy photos.

Buoyant and bigger than ever

Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society to host 19th annual Sandpoint Boat Show

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Whether you’re the captain of your own vessel or an aspiring skipper with an affinity for unique, vintage and stylish watercraft, first mates and deckhands of all stripes are invited to enjoy the lakeside view as the Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society hosts its 19th annual Sandpoint Boat Show on Saturday, July 15 at the Sandpoint Marina and along the city boardwalk.

The show is slated for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a boat parade taking over Sand Creek at 3 p.m.

Local organizer Don Robson told the Reader that the 2023 Sandpoint Boat show will be bigger than ever before.

“Our focus this year was to get increased boat presentation, and we are happy to say our efforts paid off, as we are going to set a boat count record this year,” he said.

Robson said that Sandpoint’s boat display will feature watercraft from seven other chapters of the Antique and Classic Boat Society.

“We are also excited that 30% of the

boats are being presented in Sandpoint for the first time,” he added.

Inland Empire Chapter President Ron Yandt commended Robson’s work on the event, saying that the local commitment as well as the setting make the show special.

“The city dock is a great venue for both the participants to show their boats and for the public to view,” Yandt said.

Robson said he has told marina and city personnel to expect a packed boardwalk this year.

“We are so appreciative of the community allowing us to occupy these docks for the event each year,” he said.

To learn more about the Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society and Sandpoint Boat Show, visit inlandempireacbs.com.

Right: Onlookers stroll down Sand Creek boardwalk and check out the vintage boats on display at the 2022 Sandpoint Boat Show. Photo courtesy Inland Empire Antique and Classic Boat Society.

Sandpoint Teen Center eyes new location

By Reader Staff

The Sandpoint Teen Center is currently working on moving to a new location slated to open in fall 2023. The center is seeking volunteers and donations to help renovate the building to be ready for opening.

The new location is located at 1323 Michigan St. at the intersection with Division Avenue across from Sandpoint High School.

“We are working hard to renovate the facility to serve our area middle and high school students when school is out of session each weekday afternoon,” the center wrote in a press release. “The need for this facility is tremendous, as Sandpoint lacks any type of facility where teens can congregate after school in an environment where they receive meals, mentorship and movement through activities. Teen mentoring through the relationships our staff and volunteers build with our teens

is important because studies say that it takes just one important relationship in a teen’s life to decrease their risk of suicide, addiction and school drop out.”

The Sandpoint Teen Center, which provides a safe and fun environment for Bonner County teens every day after school, announced an opportunity with the new building owner where volunteers provide much-needed renovations in exchange for reduced rent for five years.

The fundraising goal has been set at $100,000 for the necessary renovations in order for the facility to be ready to open in the fall.

“We are also tapping into our amazing network of local builders, electricians, plumbers and painters to help us complete the project,” the center stated.

Those interested in donating or reducing the cost of building materials can emailsandpointteencenter@yahoo.com; call Board President Joan Avery at 208-

The Sandpoint Teen Center’s new location at 1323 Michigan St. in Sandpoint. Courtesy photo.

send donations to Sandpoint Teen Center, PO Box 1066, Sandpoint, ID 83864; or visit sandpointeencenter.com.

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Since its 2021 inception, the Sandpoint Pride Festival has only grown in scope and support, now launching into its third year as a summer staple advocating for the local LGBT+ community and its allies.

This year, the rainbow-bedecked celebration will take over the Granary Arts District on Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15 with various speakers, performers and dance parties planned over the twoday event.

According to organizers, the Sandpoint Pride Festival is meant to “affirm the equality and dignity of [the] LGBTQ2S community, to acknowledge and appreciate their contributions to society, and to inspire engagement with and support for the ongoing movement to secure the rights, freedom and safety of queer and trans individuals.”

“The community effort

Third annual Sandpoint Pride Festival aims to celebrate ‘Liberation for Every Body’

behind the making of the third annual Sandpoint Pride Festival is deeper than ever,” said Sandpoint Pride Chair Andrea Marcoccio. “From volunteerism and partnerships to art and performances, Friday and Saturday will be a true reflection of Sandpoint’s core values: love and kindness.”

The 2023 event theme is “Liberation for Every Body,” which is attached to a logo designed by Sandpoint artist Nellie Lutzwolf. According to organizers: “Nellie was inspired by the concept of bodily autonomy — that everybody deserves to be free from oppression and exist safely within their own bodies. The message is intended to be empowering and encourage resilience.”

2023 Sandpoint Pride Festival

Friday, July 14; 5-10 p.m.; Saturday, July 15; 2-10 p.m.; FREE. Granary Arts District, between Oak and Church streets near Sixth Avenue in Sandpoint, sandpointpride.com.

The logo, which features a sculpturesque figure of a headless human body, “is intentionally androgynous, erasing the binary,” organizers stated.

Leaning into that theme will be Friday night Pride presenters Pro-Voice Project — a local group committed to collecting and sharing stories of

women’s reproductive rights. Gates will open at 5 p.m., with a keynote address from Idaho political activist and TikTok influencer @socialistlyawkward to follow at 6 p.m. Rounding out Friday night Pride will be a “secret” musical performance by “Sandpoint’s favorite look-alike duo” and a silent disco at 8:30 p.m., during which dancers will each tune into provided headphones and choose a channel to inspire their groove.

Saturday will consist of Sandpoint’s signature all-day, all-ages Pride event, featuring booths from more than 20 community organizations, a bounce house, crafts, food, beverages and more. Gates open at 2 p.m. with various speakers, music, spoken-word poetry, Pride attire contests and a drag show to follow.

For the most detailed schedule, go to sandpointpride.com.

“We will affirm the dignity of LGBTQ2S individuals, acknowledge and appreciate their role in our community, and spread joy together,” Marcoccio said.

All photos taken by Racheal Baker at the 2022 Pride Festival in Sandpoint.

Live Music w/ Max & Britney

6:30-9pm @ Matchwood Brewing

Based in Houston, Max and Brittney Flinn’s sound is neo-traditional country meets Texas roots

Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh

6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Live Music w/ Biddadat

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Neo-funk good times, featuring two Sandpoint locals. If you caught them at the Festival, you know how good this band is! Free show

Live Music w/ Bright Moments

5:30-8pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante Jazz and Italian food pair well

Live Music w/ Ian Newbill

6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Rock and country

Live Music w/ The Cole Show

5:30-8pm @ Barrel 33

Live Jazz w/ Bright Moments

7-9pm @ Connie’s Lounge

First jazz performance in the Saturday night format of Connie’s

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

9am-1pm @ Farmin Park

Produce, crafts, food and more. Performance by Bella Note

Live Music w/ Chris Paradis

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Sandpoint Chess Club

9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee

Meets every Sunday at 9am

THURSDAY, July 13

Summer Surprise Film Series

7pm @ Panida Theater

You won’t know what film it is until it starts! Clues: It’s set in the 1960s. The Great Bambino. $5 tickets

July 13-20, 2023

Sip and Shop

4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

A portion of sales will be donated to the Friends of the Panida

Omak Free Family Show: The Bad Guys

10am @ Sandpoint Cinemas

Sandpointcinemas.com

Live Music w/ Doug Bond and Marty Perron

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

FriDAY, July 14

Live Music w/ Oak St. Connection

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Sam and Crystal play jazz classics and rock and roll

Live Music w/ Katie Mintle and Chad Irish

7-9pm @ BlueRoom

Acclaimed folk duo from Colorado

Schweitzer’s Northwest Winefest offers wine, music, views

Game Night

6:30pm @ Tervan Tavern

Sandpoint Pride Festival

5-10pm @ Granary Arts District

Join PFLAG Sandpoint in celebrating pride. Welcome Happy Hour from 5-10pm with Pro-Voice Project speaking program, live music and a silent disco party. See Page 17 for more info

SATURDAY, July 15

Opening Art Reception

4-8pm @ Hope Gallery & Studio

Artwork by talented local artists, food and refreshments. 620 Wellington Place in Hope

Live Music w/ Ponderay Paradox

5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Folk and country tunes

Northwest Winefest

11am-7pm @ Schweitzer

Sample regional wines from around the PNW and take in the views from the top! Also local food vendors, Schweitzer village activities and live music. For lineup, see story to the right --->

Sandpoint Pride Festival

2-10pm @ Granary Arts District

Join PFLAGSandpoint in celebrating pride. All-ages, family friendly event featuring live performances, community art, guest speakers, dance, bouncing and more. For more information, see Page 17 or visit sandpointpride.com

Free Student Concert

7pm @ Church of Jesus Christ

Latter Day Saints

Talented musicians from Mexico, Spokane Youth Symphony and Sandpoint will perform instrumental solos and Mexican pieces

SunDAY, July 16

Live Music w/ Steve Neff

6-9pm @ BlueRoom

Magic with Star Alexander

5-8pm @ Jalepeño’s

Up close magic shows at the table

Northwest Winefest • 11am-5pm @ Schweitzer

See story to the right --->

monDAY, July 17

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Outdoor Experience Group Run

6pm @ Outdoor Experience

3-5 miles, all levels welcome

tuesDAY, July 18

Tree Cookie Tuesday • 9am-12pm @ Lakeview Park

Introduce elementary aged kids in your life to the fascinating world of beetles, spiders and ants. Pick up a clue and follow posters along the paved path to solve an insect critter mystery. Nativeplantsociety.org

wednesDAY, July 19

Contra Dance Series

7-10pm @ Sandpoint Comm. Hall

Dance to live music. Beginners encouraged to arrive early for intro lessons at 7pm. Suggested donation of $5. Held on the second Friday of each month except Aug.

Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band

6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Classic rock and outlaw country

5th annual Clark Fork community-wide garage sale

9am-3pm @ Clark Fork

Lists of participating addresses available at Clark Fork gas stations, Clark Fork Pantry and Monarch Market

Sandpoint Boat Show

10am-3pm @ Sand Creek boardwalk

Check out some beautiful old boats at this beloved annual event. Kids’ activities available, all are welcome. Vintage boats will be on display along Sand Creek boardwalk from 10am-3pm, then watch the boat parade up Sand Creek at 3pm

Local Cottage Market

10am-6pm @ Farmin Park

Vendors selling artisan wares, leather works, pottery, etc.

By Reader Staff

Schweitzer is swinging — or sipping — into summer with its annual Northwest Winefest, this year slated for Saturday, July 15-Sunday, July 16, when attendees can sample the viticultural wares of 20 regional wineries, plus enjoy local food vendors, a slate of live music and all the signature mountain activities..

Pricing for the 2023 event, open to those 21 and older, is $40 for a nine-ounce Wine Festival glass and $45 for a 15-ounce glass. Entrance to the tasting requires the purchase of the 2023 glassware, with both options including six tasting tickets for use at the 10 tasting tents that will be on site, as well as live music and additional tickets: $5 for one ticket, $20 for five and $30 for 10. All pours are two ounces.

The event begins July 15 with activities open at 11 a.m., followed by wine tasting and music from the Katie Mintle Duo beginning at noon. General Mojos will play at 2:30 p.m. and Biddadat will go on at 5 p.m., when activities close. The tasting event will end at 7 p.m.

Live Music w/ Reese Warren

7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Sandpoint local guitarist hero

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market

3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park

Produce, crafts, food and more

Sandpoint Summer Music Series: Bon Bon Vivant

6pm @ Farmin Park

Free Family Show: Shrek 2

10am @ Sandpoint Cinemas

Sandpointcinemas.com

Live Music w/ Just Us Trio and Lenny Thorell

5-7:30pm @ Hope Memorial Community Center

ThursDAY, July 20

Live Music w/ John Daffron

6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Activities begin again on July 16 at 11 a.m. with tasting and the Sam Leyde Band at noon. Kaitlyn Wiens will play at 2:30 p.m., then the tasting event and activities will close at 5 p.m.

A free live music show presented by Mattox Farm Productions

Game Night

6:30pm @ Tervan Tavern

Benny on the Deck 6-9pm @ Connie’s Lounge

Free Family Show: Shrek 2

10am @ Sandpoint Cinemas

Sandpointcinemas.com

Shuttles from the Red Bar will be available up and down the mountain on both days. The first bus up on July 15 will depart at 10:30 a.m., with shuttles running every 30 minutes until the last bus down at 7:30 p.m. The schedule will be the same July 16, though the last bus down will be at 5:30 p.m.

For more info visit schweitzer. com.

3,000 Years of Longing… for John Wick 4

A movie mashup warmup for ‘Barbenheimer’

By Danielle Packard Reader Contributor

Across the country, moviegoers are preparing for the cinema mashup “Barbenheimer.” What is a cinema mash-up you ask? Like a blue moon it happens rarely and should be celebrated. In this case, two very, very different movies are being released in theaters on Friday, July 21. Oppenheimer (a dark biopic on “father of the atomic bomb” Julius Robert Oppenheimer) and its seeming-polar opposite, Barbie (a very pink-infused imagining of Barbie coming to life) are both being lauded as probable summer blockbusters. The mashup suggests the best way to approach both is to watch them back-to-back.

As the Insider wrote: “It’s clear the vibes don’t mix, that’s what makes this double feature so appealing.”

There is some contention over the order in which these films should be viewed — I’m an Oppenheimer first, Barbie second sort of gal — but either way, it ought to be memorable. While any dissimilar movies are open for a mashup, there are two general rules to follow: 1. Watch them back to back and 2.Find someone else to watch them with. To get ready for such a full and bizarre cinematic experience, I recommend a

practice mashup. Two films that have recently been released to streaming offer just the right range: 3,000 Years of Longing on Netflix and John Wick 4 for rent on Amazon Prime (and reportedly Max sometime in the near-ish future).

Start with John Wick 4, a techno luxury, action orgy of brilliantly choreographed fight scenes featuring any number of accessories (playing cards and pencils rank high in this sequel).

Keanu Reeves as the titular Wick is no longer the star of the franchise, but rather a frame for the sumptuous cityscapes, weapons, battlegrounds and bombastic speeches that have made the Wick franchise so popular.

Completely unneeded if you have seen any of the John Wick movies, but here is the basic plot: Wick fighting other assassins to get to the extra-bad assassin leader, the Marquis (played by Bill Skarsguard). Along the way he meets, and sort of befriends, two other assassins who ultimately help him out. There’s also a dog involved.

It’s long and by the end you may feel as exhausted as John Wick looks, so take a break before moving on. Grab some beers and discuss your favorite action scene, best unusual assassination method and whether they could even make another John Wick without completely

destroying the reason it was great in the first place.

Then get ready for 3,000 Years of Longing, an almost psychedelic modern-day fairytale by the director of Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller). Both films share a lush attention to setting, which makes the differences that much starker. The biggest difference is the main characters.

By the fourth movie, John Wick seems to be openly trolling main actor Reeves’ lack of emotional range with the minimal amount of dialogue. Happily, Tilda Swinton picks up the slack, showing a mastery of nuanced performance that makes her obsessively watchable.

3,000 Years of Longing is based on the short story, The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye,

by A.S. Byatt, who glories in magical-realism and Victorian overabundance, and which the film takes straight to its heart.

The film centers on scholar and “narratologist” Alithea, played by Tilda Swinton. While attending a literary conference in Turkey, Alithea finds a strange bottle that (surprise) has a djinn (played by Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes to satisfy her heart’s desire.

Trained in the study of fairy tales, Alithea refuses these wishes, knowing full well that they always end badly, leading the djinn to tell her of his attempts to free himself and the women he bestowed wishes upon.

Like John Wick fighting through one gorgeous landscape after another, the movie moves from one “Oriental” time period

to another as the djinn tells of his 3,000 years of longing for freedom. Alithea eventually makes her three wishes and the movie ends on the consequences that occur. While some scenes feel over the top in decadence (a claim easy to make about John Wick as well), it works as a surreal vision of our longing and desires, and the stories we tell to remember them.

Whether you choose the theater or your own home, get ready for the power of a movie mashup.

As the taciturn eponymous Wick responds to any question: “Ye…ah.”

Rent John Wick 4 on Amazon Prime or keep an eye out for it on Max. Stream 3,000 Years of Longing on Netflix.

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

I said July would be a big month, and it is! Did you know July is National Baked Bean, Hot Dog, Ice Cream, Pickle and Picnic Month? It’s true, and I did my best to honor all those distinctions mentioned above on the Fourth of July alone. I don’t remember a more idyllic holiday weekend. The Moscow Five came up, and we hiked to Kootenai Falls, swayed across “that bridge” and walked among the stately Ross Cedars — and that was just on one day!

The next day we rose at dawn, and I helped the crew pack up for their annual trek up Scotchman Peak. They are hearty; even 8-year-old Fern made it to the summit (fortunately, someone had to stay behind to look after their dog). The following morning, my tired hikers rallied as we were invited to celebrate the Fourth of July at a friend’s slice of paradise (just a couple docks down from Bottle Bay Resort). Amid happy kids, dogs, paddle boats and boards, and myriad inflatables, our day and food were perfect.

We shared menu responsibilities for the traditional picnic fare: barbecue ribs and chicken; macaroni and shrimp salad; deviled eggs; potato salad; baked beans; homemade sourdough bread; and tall frosty, root beer floats.

Doesn’t get any better than that!

With all that talk of food, it seems fitting that July is also National Culinary Arts Month, celebrated to honor hardworking professional chefs, bakers and cooks.

When I started in the food business, there were limited opportu-

The Sandpoint Eater The art of food

nities to attend an accredited culinary school. Many of us received training on the line — “cooking in the trenches” — and earning certification through the American Culinary Federation (ACF).

Today there are hundreds of schools where you can become an accredited chef. There are also online courses, virtual academies and apprenticeships where you can learn the art of cooking and more. Schools offer specialty courses and certification for caterers, food truck operators, butchers, bakers and chocolatiers. The ACF even has a Young Chefs Club.

Some of these schools can set you back as much as a degree from an Ivy League school. The Culinary Institute of America offers prestigious culinary degrees in the U.S. at its Hyde

Park, N.Y.; Greystone, Calif; and San Antonio, Texas campuses. Internationally, Darina Allen’s Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork, Ireland, offers a world-class program.

The most notable international culinary program is Le Cordon Bleu, founded in Paris in 1895. Le Cordon Bleu has campuses worldwide, and though the 16 U.S. campuses closed in 2017, the school still has a presence in New York to assist U.S. student placements worldwide.

The famous film Sabrina was set in Paris, starring Audrey Hepburn, who took classes at Le Cordon Bleu and learned to make a classic French omelet.

Renowned chef and cookbook author Julia Child studied there in 1948, beginning her illustrious culinary career. She

was not only known for her teaching, but also entertained us while she whipped up classic French cuisine. Armed with the Le Cordon Bleu Complete Cookbook and televised tutorials from Julia and her great pal, Chef Jacques Pépin, I did learn to master a lot of French dishes.

I’m not crazy about many of today’s celebrity chefs on the Food Network Channel, but I learned a lot in the television kitchens of Julia and Jacques. Many of their recipes were simple, and while they took their craft seriously, the pair of fun-loving gourmands weren’t over-the-top intimidating. I learned a lot of helpful food handling and cooking techniques from the shows and their cookbook, Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.

Before farm-to-table crusades became popular (thanks partly to Alice Waters, owner/chef of Chez Panisse and a founder of the Slow Food movement), Julia encouraged us to use all the fresh seasonal foods — especially vegetables and fruit.

In honor of National Culinary Arts Month (and a great harvest of huckleberries), it seems the perfect time to prepare one of my favorite huckleberry desserts. And it was fortunate that Ryanne left me with a partial loaf of her perfect homemade sourdough bread. The tanginess of the sourdough balances nicely with the sweet ingredients. It’s a favorite dessert at my house and never lasts long.

I’m sure Julia and Jacques would even ask for seconds if they were here. Bon appetit!

Huckleberry bread pudding

The perfect huckleberry recipe for a potluck or picnic dessert, as it travels well. This can also be made in individual small Mason jars or ramekins. For variation, add 1 cup white chocolate chips with the huckleberries. Serves 6-8.

INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:

•4 large eggs

•4 large egg yolks

•½ tsp salt

•1 cups white sugar

•½ cup brown sugar

•1 tsp pure vanilla extract

•1 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated if available)

•1 medium orange, zested

•3 cups whole milk

•2 cups heavy cream

•1 loaf dry sourdough, cut into ½-inch slices

•½ cup melted butter, divided

•1 pound fresh huckleberries

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, salt, white sugar and brown sugar together in a large bowl until mixture turns light and frothy, about 1 minute. Add vanilla, nutmeg, orange zest, milk and cream. Whisk again until well mixed.

Fill a dish that’s large enough to hold the baking dish ⅓ full with water (a water bath). Place in oven and preheat to 375 degrees (a water bath will ensure a creamier pudding).

Brush 2 tablespoons melted butter in the bottom and sides of the 9x11-inch baking dish or 2 qt oval casserole.

Tear ⅔ of bread and place in buttered baking vessel. Pour ½ egg mixture over top, press bread down to soak up egg mixture. Add the huckleberries and gently press them down into the bread. Add remaining bread, and pour remaining custard batter over top and brush with remaining melted butter. Let sit 15-20 minutes so custard soaks into bread.

Lightly dust top of pudding with granulated sugar and carefully place in the preheated water bath, in oven. Bake until it’s puffed and golden brown, about 45 minutes. Turn oven down to 325 and

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey MUSIC

Her own kind of blues

Cristina Vane to play the Heartwood Center lawn concert series July 18

trying to perfect it, either.

Me Again.

READ

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Born a globetrotter to parents of both Sicilian-American and Guatemalan backgrounds, Cristina Vane could speak four languages and had lived in three countries before moving to the U.S. at age 18 to attend college. Her far-flung experiences and lack of roots point to a sort of irony when learning that Vane, a recording artist now based in Nashville with two albums under her belt, is a prolific blues musician.

So how, after all her travel and upbringing as a kid mostly interested in indie rock music, did she land on traditional American roots music?

“That is such a hard question to answer — not because I can’t tell you the step-by-step of what happened to get me to where I am today, but I always say that it’s kind of like asking me why I like the color blue or why I like chocolate,” she said. “It always resonated with me.”

“When I first heard slide guitar, I was captivated by it,” she said. “I never went back.”

That path led her to her current tour, which comes to Sandpoint on Tuesday, July 18 for an outdoor lawn show at The Heartwood Center. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and Spokane singer-songwriter Matt Mitchell will kick off the music at 6:30 p.m.

Cristina Vane live at the Heartwood

Tuesday, July 18; gates and vendors open at 6 p.m., show starts with Matt Mitchell at 6:30 p.m.; $14 advance, $18 at the gate. The Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St., get advance tickets at mattoxfarm.com. Listen at cristinavane.com.

She described that resonance as a “soul connection,” despite the lives of 1920s Delta blues artists being “an experience potentially the furthest away you can get from mine.”

Neither rhyme nor reason seem to play a part in Vane’s musical style, which exists on its own plane — thriving on heartfelt lyrics, sure-footed vocals and down-home instrumentation.

Vane is keenly aware that she isn’t reinventing the blues-rock wheel, and she isn’t

“I don’t think my calling is to learn to play exactly like Blind Willie Johnson played — that is a noble quest and it’s impressive, but I have a lot to say,” she said. “I’m not going to be able to pull off the traditional approach anyway, and honestly, I love rock music — I love drums and performing and all these other things, so it never felt like it would be the most authentic choice for me to only play blues, or only play guitar and not have a band.”

That marrying of the old and new is evident on Vane’s sophomore album Make Myself

“I wanted to really have in mind what I grew up playing,” she said. “I also wanted an album that reflected, a little more, the live show.”

That live show will be in full force on The Heartwood’s lawn, as she and the band stop off in the panhandle during a fast-and-furious tour of the American West. Vane wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s a happy accident that touring is important for my business and writing music, and I happen to love it,” she said. “It’s fulfilling for me to see how different people live, and I get to share my deepest and most sacred feelings and creations.”

Friends of the Panida sip-and-shop at P.O. Winery to benefit theater

By Reader Staff

The nonprofit Friends of the Panida organization will host a sip-and-shop fundraising event Thursday, July 13 at the Pend d’Oreille Winery (301 Cedar St., in downtown Sandpoint), inviting attendees to drop in from 4-8 p.m. and enjoy a glass of wine and a bite to eat.

A portion of sales during the sip-and-shop will be donated to the Friends of the Panida, an independent 501(c)(3) group that raises and distributes money to support a variety of projects at the historic

Panida Theater in Sandpoint.

All money raised is dedicated for the historic theater, such a recent donation by the organization of funds to cover the cost of materials needed to construct the new outside stairs at the Little Theater. For more information on Friends of the Panida, contact FOP President Steve Garvan at steve@garvanmarketing.com or 303-809-1676. Contributions can be mailed to Friends of the Panida, 4964 Colburn-Culver Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

Tylor & The Train Robbers, The Hive, July 15 Biddadat, Eichardt’s Pub, July 14

Since forming in 2014, quartet Tylor & The Train Robbers has played more than 200 shows per year in ever-widening circles away from their home in Boise.

Fronted by Tylor Ketchum and backed by his brothers Jason and Tommy Bushman, and Ketchum’s father-in-law Johnny “Shoes” Pisano, the band has released three independent studio albums, the most recent being Non-Typical Find, all showcasing TTR’s airtight Americana-roots-country ensemble sound.

These train robbers pull into the sta-

tion at The Hive on Saturday, July 15.

For his part, Ketchum has been described as “a quintessential singing cowboy,” mingling vocal strains of Joe Ely and Arlo Guthrie, layered over lyrics steeped in vivid Western imagery. Or, as Americana Highways described it, “bulleye roots rock Americana songwriting.”

—

Zach Hagadone

Doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; $15 pre-sale (plus taxes and fees), $20 at the door; 21+. The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., 208-920-9039, livefromthehive.com. Listen at tylorandthetrainrobbers.com.

Some bands have that magical ability to get you out of your seat dancing, whether you want to or not. Biddadat is one of those bands.

Featuring Sandpoint High School grads Cameron Brownell and Kyle Miller, Biddadat has gained prominence as Seattle’s go-to neo-funk band, where they combine the nostalgia of funk and blues with contemporary rock and electronica. They don’t take anything too seriously, but they make seriously excellent music.

Lived experiences lead to great writing, and the lived experiences of fire lookout Philip Connors are no exception. Connors’ 2011 book Fire Season: Field Notes from a Wilderness Lookout draws on his years watching for smoke from the seven-by-seven-foot confines of a lookout in the New Mexico wild, retold within the window of a single fire season. This book provokes valuable reconsideration of the human relationship with both fire and solitude.

LISTEN

It’s been a minute since I recommended a female solo artist breaking into the indie rock scene who knows her way around an electric guitar. One such artist is Nashville-based Katie Pruitt, who captured my attention with her cover of Lucinda Williams’ 1992 song “Something About What Happens When We Talk.” Pruitt makes the track her own by stripping back Williams’ twang to use vocals and instrumentation more romantic and understated than the original. Pruitt’s style has evolved from singer-songwriter to rootsrock icon in a few short years, so she’s one to keep an eye on.

WATCH

“Biddadat is probably my favorite local group; they’re making what Stevie Wonder would be making if he was growing up now, and it’s sick,” wrote one Seattle reviewer.

If you miss them at Eichardt’s, catch Biddadat on Saturday, July 15 at Schweitzer’s Northwest Winefest.

—Ben Olson

8 p.m., FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-2634005, eichardtspub.com. Listen at biddadat.com.

The second season of FX’s The Bear arrived on Hulu this summer, delivering a scathing 10-episode expansion on the world of embattled Chef Carmy Berzatto and his cast of Chicago friends and cousins as they embark on opening his dream restaurant. The plot might sound upbeat, but those who have worked in kitchens know that “cutthroat” doesn’t begin to describe the realities of restaurant life. The Bear is delightfully dark, with layers thicker than muck on a grease trap. Viewer beware: Jamie Lee Curtis will never be the same.

Cristina Vane. Courtesy photo.

From Northern Idaho News, July 14, 1925

USES BUTCHER KNIFE TO CUT SISTER’S NOSE

Mrs. Peter Morrow objected to her sister, Bessie Alford, keeping company with her husband. In a regular wild western fashion, Bessie engaged in a fight with her using a butcher knife, Mrs. Morrow being equipped with a pocket knife which she was unable to get open before Bessie had her down and had cut her nose off.

The affair took place at the Clarkia restaurant in Priest River July 8, according to word received at the sheriff’s office where a warrant has been sworn out for the arrest of Bessie Alford, charging her with mayhem on the person of Mrs. Peter Morrow.

Bessie not only cut off the end of Mrs. Morrow’s nose but cut her seriously about the mouth.

Mrs. Morrow entered the restaurant where Bessie is employed carrying a jackknife in her hand, which was closed, so it is reported. Before she could get it open Bessie attacked her with the butcher knife with serious results.

Bessie left Priest River after injuring her sister and Morrow is said to have left the following day. Bessie was arrested in Spokane Sunday but is fighting extradition to Sandpoint to stand trial. Morrow was not arrested.

I’ll be your hurtleberry

In appreciation of our signature berry bush

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

It’s a confession I make at the risk of committing blasphemy, but I’ve never thought huckleberries are much of a novelty. That’s not to say I don’t like them, nor that their introduction to anything from pancakes to wine doesn’t result in improvement; just that they’re not that big of a deal.

I’m sure this is due to long-term exposure. Growing up in the forest in Sagle, we had a huckleberry bush growing out of a stump in our driveway. It didn’t take much effort to pick them, and we did quite often.

During our frequent summer hikes and camping trips, my family would casually graze from the patches along the trails, and I have a distinct recollection of having access to so many huckleberries that a neighbor kid and me would dump them in his bathroom sink, fill it up with tepid water and bob for them like apples. One of our favorite summertime refreshments was a glass of warm water filled with huckleberries and muddled with a sickening amount of sugar.

Later, when I lived in a house on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Cedar Street, we even had a huckleberry bush inexplicably sprouting among (and hidden within) the weeds next to the sidewalk. It appears to have since been dug up and removed, so don’t go looking for it.

In my experience, it’s rarer to find a strawberry or raspberry in the wild. I’ve almost never found a blackberry outside the grocery store — or Oregon.

So it is that I’ve always found it weird but amusing that people make such a huge fuss over huckleberries. I’m shocked to hear what price they’re fetching on the “market”

each summer. Last I heard, you can get upward of $80 for a gallon, which translates into a lot of money — especially for the people I’ve heard of who make picking their summer job, sometimes gathering hundreds of gallons in a season.

That’s nuts to me, but to each their own berry patch.

That doesn’t go for the “commercial pickers” who come in and rake the plants like gillnetters — a low-down practice that harms both current and future generations of berry bushes and robs the many animal species that rely on their wild profusion for sustenance.

Anyway, this is all to say that maybe I’ve taken huckleberries a bit for granted. This was made clear to me on a recent picking foray with my mom, wife and kids to a particularly rich though undisclosed location. As kids do, mine cut right to the most interesting question: “Why are they called ‘huckleberries’?”

I had so little idea that I couldn’t even make up an answer. As it turned out, I was due to host Monday night trivia at Idaho Pour Authority the next day, and so decided to do a little research in order to use that information in the form of a question.

If you were at IPA that night, you already know this, but here’s what I found out: What we regard as huckleberries are indigenous to parts of North America, with varieties also growing native in the Andes Mountains and the highlands of Brazil. While known to and consumed by the peoples of those places for millennia, they were totally new to the Europeans who invaded and colonized the hemisphere with increasing voracity in the late-15th, 16th and 17th centuries.

When those Europeans — especial-

Sudoku Solution STR8TS Solution

ly Anglo-Europeans — came upon the bushes, they assumed they were a strain of blueberries, with which they were well familiar back home, and called “bilberries,” “whortleberries” and, significantly, “hurtleberries.”

For whatever reason, that last one stuck, and from at least the late-1600s on that’s what they were called. Over subsequent decades and maybe centuries of changing dialect, “hurtleberry” morphed into “huckleberry,” and here we are today.

I have no explanation for why the blue huckleberries that grow in the eastern part of the continent are called “dangleberries.” They do things different over there.

So there you have it: Huckleberries got their name because of a 400-ish-year-old misidentification; rooted in a 500-ish-yearold Middle English term, whose etymology is unknown; and a “New World” mispronunciation.

Rest assured, I won’t be taking our signature fruit for granted anymore.

Crossword Solution

In the first castles, I bet a common mistake was putting the torture room next to the master bedroom. Boy, you’re just not going to get the good sleep that way.

CROSSWORD

Laughing Matter

By Bill Borders

Word Week of the

1. the state or quality of being clouded or opaque, usually because of suspended matter or stirred-up sediment.

“The turbidity of the muddy puddle only increased as a family of geese and goslings waddled through the water.”

Corrections: In the July 5 article “Following Durst contract approval in W. Bonner School District, trustees face recall,” we mistakenly omitted that in addition to B.A. and M.A. degrees, Branden Durst also holds an education specialist degree in executive education leadership. We regret the oversight.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Education that Inspires

Sandpoint Waldorf School provides an education that inspires students to become confident, reverent, and well-rounded individuals with an enthusiasm for life and learning.

Education Includes:

•Literacy and Numeracy

•Astronomy

• Ancient Cultures

• Chemistry

•Physics

• Geometry/Algebra

•Art, Woodwork, and Handwork

•Music, Drama, and Orchestra

•World Language {Spanish and Japanese)