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PEOPLE compiled by
Susan Drinkard
watching
“What are your thoughts on wearing a mask in public places to slow the spread of COVID-19?” “I am all for it. I do home health care and I wear a mask and gloves the entire time.” Scott Simpson Health care provider Sagle
“I feel like I’d rather be safe than sorry. I’m hoping by wearing a mask I’m reducing the risk of making someone sick.” Aprill Lytton Self-employed Colburn
“I wear a mask to protect others, myself and my family.” Devyn Jolley Dance instructor Sandpoint
“We lived in Japan for nine years. If a person woke up feeling even a little sick, they would wear a mask to work. That’s how their culture is. It is a shame we have to have people tell us what to do, but common sense is no longer common. We don’t like the overreach. Still, we try to minimize our exposure to crowded areas. Each establishment has its own protocols and it’s important to be respectful.” Nikki Mulder with her son, Drake Retired Marine Sandpoint area
“When I wear a mask, I am showing my respect for others. When I see people wearing masks, I feel they are showing respect for others, including me. The coronavirus can cause scarring on the lungs and, as a runner, that would be detrimental to my running on our beautiful trails.” Thomas Prez Retired school counselor Sandpoint
READER 111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208)265-9724
www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Ben Olson (cover design), Susan Drinkard, BNSF, Bill Borders, FSPW. Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Shelby Rognstad, Luke Mayville, Phil Hough, Jim Mitsui, Karen Seashore, Beth Weber, Janet Dubrow, Marcia Pilgeram, Ammi Midstokke. Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $115 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho. We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community. The Reader is printed on recycled 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.
Sandpoint Reader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics. Requirements: –No more than 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion. Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers. Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook. About the Cover
This week’s cover is a gentle reminder that we all need to be thinking of the health of the community. Please wear a mask in public places. Thank you. July 16, 2020 /
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NEWS
State Board of Ed. releases guidance for school reopening Idaho framework comes ahead of LPOSD plan, expected in early August
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff The Idaho State Board of Education released its guidance July 9 for resuming in-person instruction during the 2020-2021 academic year. In a 46-page document, the state’s top schools authority outlined a three-tiered decision-making framework by which local districts can determine what “learning model” should be put in place at school buildings amid the ongoing — and intensifying — COVID-19 pandemic. Lake Pend Oreille School District Superintendent Tom Albertson told the Sandpoint Reader in an email following release of the guidance that, “This will be the framework LPOSD will be using to develop a plan over the next three weeks.” In a separate email, sent to parents and other LPOSD stakeholders, Albertson wrote that district staff members have been working through the July in preparation for reopening schools this fall. “This plan will include flexibility to accommodate families with varying educational opportunities, including face-toface and online education,” he wrote. “Details of the plans will be released in the first week of August, at least one month prior to the start of school.” The state framework is general by design to account for district-by-district conditions. Broken into three categories, the first is defined as a situation in which no community transmission of the virus is present and school buildings would be fully open as with traditional operations. In Category 2, with “minimal to moderate” community transmission, a “hybrid/blended” strategy would be put in place, including limited or staggered use of school buildings via targeted closure, short-term closure of one to four weeks, or 4 /
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mid-term closure of four to six weeks. As defined elsewhere in the guidance, the “hybrid/blended” model uses remote learning technology and media. In Category 3, with “substantial” community transmission, instruction would move to a full distance and remote learning model with school buildings closed in excess of six weeks. No matter what, as Gov. Brad Little wrote in an introductory letter to the state guidance, the coming school year “certainly will not look the same as in previous years.” Even in Category 1, fully reopened school buildings will operate with physical distancing and sanitation protocols in place. Those policies would remain in place with Category 2 — the criterion of “minimal to moderate” community transmission being defined as “widespread and/ or sustained transmission with high likelihood of confirmed exposure within communal settings, with potential for rapid increase in suspected cases.” The Category 3 definition for “substantial” community transmission includes “healthcare staffing significantly impacted, multiple cases within communal settings like healthcare facilities, schools, mass gatherings, etc.” Yet, as Little wrote in his letter, “I expect all our school buildings to safely reopen in the fall for in-person instruction. Despite incredible advances in digital learning, you can never replace the value and impact of in-person interaction with a professional, dedicated teacher.” However, the reality remains that as case numbers continue to rise dramatically in the runup to early August, the state’s framework contains protocols for handling the near certainty that a case of COVID-19 will be confirmed within a school building. In such a case, administrators and health district officials would begin contact tracing with further recommendations coming
from local public health guidance “on a case-by-case basis.” Responses could include isolation or self-quarantine of those individuals found to have tested positive for the virus, suspected of having been exposed or in close contact with a positive case; dismissal of students and most staff for one or two days; or extended school closure. The decision-making categories include directives for educational and support efforts geared toward families, parental screening of students before they attend school to ensure they aren’t showing any symptoms of the virus, daily health screenings of employees and students upon entry to school buildings, self-reporting of symptoms or exposure to positive cases and closing off facility areas where a sick person has been present in order to undertake a deep clean after 24 hours. The framework draws on input from the governor’s office, State Board Education, Idaho Department of Education, Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and all seven public health districts, and was developed by the State Board of Education along with a committee of K-12 education stakeholders convened by the governor. Though a state-level document, it puts the onus on individual districts — working in conjunction with regional public health officials — to establish in detail how to respond in each category, as well as how they will formulate testing and contact tracing policies, protocols and procedures; the nuts and bolts of how to accomplish social distancing in classrooms never designed for such physical space; personnel policies for responding to positive testing; and everything in between. Not to mention how teachers are to organize their lesson plans to account for the possibility of in-person instruction mingled with distance learning — or the absence of
face-to-face teaching altogether. All the while, the state guidance indicated that “standard operating procedures for the administration of assessments” are to be implemented by districts. Local districts will also be expected to figure out the types, quantities and use of personal protective equipment, as well as how to work with families on how — or whether — their students should attend school and, if need be, provide families with the necessary tools to undertake distance learning. According to Albertson, the initial results of a district survey in June show that more than 75% of local families want to send their students back to school for face-to-face instruction, with the remainder of respondents being unsure. Lack of certainty is baked into the State Board of Education guidance. “As the situation is continually evolving, this guidance will likely change, be amended or augmented as conditions change,” wrote the authors of the document. “The guidelines and best practices are not designed to be overly prescriptive, but seek to provide local education agencies with a framework for decision making as they develop a district contingency plan, using local community health trends and statewide data.” That flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing conditions has not been reflected by top federal officials, including U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who on July 12 told CNN unequivocally that, “Kids need to get back to school, they need to get back in the classroom, families need for kids to get back in the classroom and it can be done safely.” “Situations are going to be different, but the rule has got to be that students go back to learning full time,” she added. Meanwhile, both DeVos and
President Donald Trump have threatened to withhold funding for schools that refuse to fully reopen — a unilateral authority that neither possesses, and a stark reversal of DeVos’s longtime advocacy for local control of education. Rather, the majority of education funding is allocated at the state level, with a portion coming from the U.S. Congress. If executive officials such as Trump and DeVos are to follow through with their threat to close the purse strings on schools reluctant to return to five-day, in-person instruction, that would first have to be approved by Congress, according to The Washington Post. Still, in a meeting on public school reopening July 7, Trump vowed that, “We’re very much going to put pressure on governors and everybody else to reopen the schools.” In contrast, Idaho’s guidance has been that, “Until a vaccine and/or therapeutics are available for COVID-19, schools must be prepared to provide varied learning opportunities to their students using a variety of modalities” — including either fullor part-time distance learning. As Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra said at a July 9 press conference, alongside Little, “There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. When schools reopen this fall, communities will be in different stages of the pandemic. ... So I fully support the direction about local communities and districts deciding how and when to reopen.”
RR tracks closed until July 21 at Great Northern Rd. By Reader Staff
The Bonner County Road and Bridge Department announced the railroad tracks will be closed at Great Northern Road starting July 16 at 7:30 a.m. The tracks will be closed through 5 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21. Detour signs are posted.
NEWS
Bonner County files complaint over state’s CARES Act interpretation By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff The Bonner County Board of Commissioners voted July 14 to file a complaint with Idaho District Court alleging discrepancies between the state’s interpretation of the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), and the functions of the legislation as laid out by the federal government. Commissioners Dan McDonald and Steve Bradshaw voted in favor of moving forward with litigation, while Commissioner Jeff Connolly voted against. The board’s concern rests on two points: first, Bonner County alleges that the state is attaching unlawful conditions to the federal relief funds; second, if the county follows the state’s guidance on the CARES Act, commissioners fear they could be susceptible to federal litigation. In an effort to ensure any blowback from the federal government will not fall on county taxpayers, the suit seeks indemnification from the state. The complaint — filed by Bonner County against Gov. Brad Little, the COVID-19 Financial Advisory Committee and several other state officials — seeks a declaratory judgement to outline “the rights, duties and obligations of the county and defendants in relation to the funds that are currently in defendants’ possession and control.” McDonald told the Sandpoint Reader in an email July 15 that “none of what the state is telling us is found in the outline from the Treasury Department as passed by Congress.” Bonner County argues that, according to Treasury Department guidelines, “the State is generally prohibited from imposing conditions on the County’s receipt of Funds.” According to the complaint, some of those conditions include a stipulation that a majority of the CARES Act funds be spent on payroll, not on personal protective equipment and disinfectant reimbursal; a waiver of the county’s right to increase taxes by the
annually allowed 3% for the upcoming fiscal year; and a waiver of the county’s right to use foregone taxes. The complaint also claims that the state is “pressuring local governments, including the County, to accept Funds without regard to federally mandated accounting and reporting requirements.” As McDonald wrote, “The declaratory judgement should force the governor’s office to come to the table to either indemnify so we can move forward, [if] not … we will remove ourselves from the program.” As it stands, McDonald said following the state’s advice could “put county taxpayers in jeopardy or have elected officials charged with a crime.” Those crimes, McDonald wrote, could be “misappropriation of public funds, violations of bidding laws, etc.,” and added that, “without the indemnification, we would end up
having to pay back all the money plus any interest and fees, and you would see the Commissioners, Clerk and Treasurer charged with crimes.” Connolly said his vote against the legal action stemmed not from the complaint — which he believes has standing — but from the way the board chose to go about raising its concerns. He said he and Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bauer originally discussed informally bringing the discrepancies to the governor’s attention in order to work through those concerns, but the other commissioners pushed for filing a formal legal complaint. “My objection is, here we are, suing another entity, again … I’m saying there’s a better way to do it,” Connolly told the Reader, adding that he’s concerned about the money being spent on outside legal counsel — in this case, Coeur
d’Alene-based Murphey Law Office and Buchalter Law Firm, of Irvine, Calif. Connolly said he also has concerns about the timing of the litigation. “Why didn’t we get in on the front end of this and help make this a better product rather than wait until now?” he said. “Because we’ve all been in on the conference calls for the last two or three weeks on all of these different things that the governor’s been proposing, so it’s not like we were caught flat-footed.” County counsel formally requested a “speedy hearing,” according to legal documents, “based on the urgency of such matters and on the current deadlines for applying for, allocating and using CARES Act funds.” It is unclear when the case will see its next steps.
City to distribute free masks while motion on face covering ordinance dies in council By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff The agenda item of greatest interest at the jam-packed July 15 meeting of the Sandpoint City Council revolved around the possibility of mandated mask-wearing in public places — a policy that has already been instituted in several cities around the state, including those from populous Ada County to relatively nearby Moscow. As of July 15, the city will not pursue any such mandate, nor did local officials indicate that the Panhandle Health District is poised to front a mask order — though the city does plan to distribute face masks free of charge to the public Friday, July 17 from 8-10 a.m. and 4-6 p.m. at Travers Park. “Community members who need masks, business owners who need masks for their employees, employees who need masks for their employment are welcome,” said Sandpoint City Administrator
Jennifer Stapleton. The drive-through distribution effort will include 3,000 masks, given in batches of five masks at a time. “Should we see heavy demand, we can look at acquiring additional masks,” said Stapleton, who earlier in the meeting stated that, effective Monday, July 20, any member of the public who enters City Hall to interact with staff will be required to wear a mask. Reiterating her previous stance of dire concern over escalating numbers of new COVID-19 cases in the county — and the fact that the tabulation methodology doesn’t take into account seasonal or temporary residents, thus making Bonner County’s number of positive cases necessarily lower than reported by media and PHD — Council member Deb Ruehle floated a motion that would put in place a city-directed mask requirement, saying “the science is there” relative to the efficacy of face coverings in limiting the spread of COVID-19, and pointing out that beyond other Idaho communities,
the governor and even President Donald Trump have donned face protection. “I don’t know what we’re waiting for,” she said. Ruehle’s fellow council members balked at the motion, with Council President Shannon Williamson saying, “Deb, I’m not saying that your idea is not worth considering, there’s just so many details to consider that I think all six of us [council members] have strong feelings about.” According to Ruehle, the horse has already bolted and the time for action may well have already passed. Responding to Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon’s statement that a mask order “would be a challenge to effectively enforce,” she said, “I don’t think that’s an excuse not to do something that’s right.” The motion died for lack of a second, but was followed by a robust period of public testimony, which, as of presstime, was still ongoing.
N. Idaho law firm chosen to help small businesses navigate CARES Act By Reader Staff North Idaho law firm Smith + Malek has been selected to be part of a nationwide program to help small businesses and nonprofits understand their relief program options under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The initiative is backed by the Lawyers for Good Government Foundation — a nonprofit network of more than 125,000 legal advocates spanning every state and aiming “to protect and strengthen democratic institutions, resist abuse of power and corruption, and defend the rights of all those who suffer in the absence of ‘good government.’” Lawyers for Good Government selected Smith + Malek to team up with the Idaho Women’s Business Center to launch a pro bono virtual legal clinic meant to “help Idaho small business owners or nonprofits understand the legislative language in the CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and answer any questions related to employment, contracts, commercial leases, insurance and insolvency issues,” according to a press release from Smith + Malek. “We are honored that Lawyers for Good Government entrusted our firm as the Idaho site for this nationwide legal clinic to assist businesses during the pandemic,” said Smith + Malek attorney and firm co-owner Tara Malek. “Partnering with the Idaho Women’s Business Center is a natural fit for a majority female-firm, and because we know women-owned businesses may have a harder time bouncing back during this uncertain time.” Small businesses and nonprofits with 25 or fewer employees qualify for a free 45-minute phone call or virtual consultation with Smith + Malek attorneys. Visit smithmalek.com/covid-19-support to sign up for a remote meeting. July 16, 2020 /
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NEWS
PHD changes testing protocol as local COVID-19 cases climb Across Idaho, localized measures are put in place to slow the spread of the virus
By Lyndsie Kiebert and Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Panhandle Health District announced that beginning July 14, people seeking tests for the novel coronavirus should use their primary care provider. Moving forward, PHD will only be writing test orders for uninsured individuals who also do not have a primary care provider. “Due to the increased number of COVID-19 positive cases in our community, PHD will be focusing our resources on the public health function of contact tracing in order to slow the spread of the virus,” PHD officials stated in a July 13 press release. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare logged 727 new cases of the virus July 15, bringing the statewide total to 12,445 confirmed and probable cases and 110 deaths. Bonner County reached 87 cases as of noon July 15 — 57 of which were active. That marks a 1,142.9% increase in Bonner County cases since Idaho entered Stage 4 of its economic reopening plan June 13, when the county had only seven cases. PHD — which oversees the five northern counties of Idaho — suggests that those who display symptoms of the virus or who have experienced “recent known or suspected exposure” to a person who had tested positive for COVID-19 should seek testing. PHD lists symptoms of COVID-19 as “fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea.” The health district defines “close contact” with a COVID-positive individual as within six feet of the person for longer than 15 minutes. Those who suspect close contact are encouraged to stay home and maintain social distance with those in their home. PHD also suggests checking temperatures twice daily and watching for virus symptoms. “It’s important not to test too early after exposure as the virus takes time to build in your system and show up on a test,” PHD officials said. “Wait five to eight days after your exposure if you wish to be tested and remain isolated.” The mood in the southern regions of the 6 /
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state is one of alarm. Following a record one-day number of new cases July 13 for both Idaho (509) and Ada County (285), where the state capital of Boise is also the county seat, the Central District Board of Health on July 14 mandated the wearing of face masks in both indoor and outdoor public places where social distancing is not possible. The mandate covers roughly 481,000 people — the largest population center in the state. Meanwhile, leaders from six of the biggest health care systems in Idaho — located in southern and central Idaho — gathered July 14 to issue a series of warnings about rampant COVID-19 transmission and plead that the public, as well as elected officials, do more to stem the tide of infections. Leaders of Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise said they expect their inpatient volume to double by mid-August. St. Luke’s Health System, also in Boise, anticipates admissions will double every two weeks. St. Luke’s and Saint Al’s are by far the biggest health systems in Idaho. “The numbers are frightening, the trends are more than concerning but we know that we have the opportunity to turn this around,” said Saint Alphonsus Chief Clinical Officer Steven Nemerson in the virtual joint news conference. St. Luke’s President and CEO Chris Roth emphasized that “we’re calling on all members of the community to contact your local and state officials, boards, commissions — all those who have the ability to make policy. Please contact them and urge them to require face coverings as a community expectation. We collectively would like to see a mandate relative to masking.” Gov. Brad Little has resisted that such a mandate come from the state; rather, in early July he devolved almost all decision-making relative to COVID-19 response to local communities and health districts. All this comes as health care workers around the state mourn the death of Samantha Hickey, a 45-year-old pediatric nurse practitioner in the St. Luke’s system who died July 13 from complications related to COVID-19. She left behind a husband and four children. “Samantha’s death is a heartbreaking consequence of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic,” St. Luke’s stated in a press release.
Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond
East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling: Dogs at University of Pennsylvania are being tested to see if they can sniff the difference between those with COVID-19 and those without. The WEEK reports that similar work is underway in the U.K. President Donald Trump has tweeted, “It’s totally safe for schools to reopen,” despite continued dramatic increases in COVID-19 cases. He has also tweeted that, “It’s not safe for [Paul] Manafort and [Roger] Stone to be in prison” during the pandemic. (Both high level Trump campaign aides, Manafort pleaded guilty to witness tampering and conspiracy to defraud the U.S., and Stone was found guilty of lying to Congress and witness tampering.) Trump recently commuted Stone’s sentence. California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff told ABC News the commutation is an impeachable offense if the pardon serves to protect the president from criminal liability. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told Fox News that the Trump administration is “very seriously” considering blocking federal funds to schools that don’t plan to reopen for the 2020-2021 academic year due to COVID-19. According to The Washington Post editorial staff, safely reopening schools — affecting almost 51 million students — would require the injection of an estimated $200 billion in federal funds. Those funds, which schools lack, would include investment in masks, ventilation improvements and hiring of more cleaning staff. The U.S. House has passed the Heroes Act, which would allow schools to open safely and carefully with the use of evidence-based best practices. Next step: A hearing in the U.S. Senate. A man in his 30s died of COVID-19 after attending a “COVID Party,” News 4 San Antonio reported. The party was hosted by a person with COVID-19. Similar parties have also taken place in Alabama, CNN reports, attendees putting money in a pot and the first to get the virus wins the money. Trials using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients are so far showing safe and promising results, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. The plasma may provide temporary immunity while a vaccine for COVID-19 is created. Plasma trials began in April at UC-San Diego.
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist
Trump votes by mail but calls the process “substantially fraudulent.” USA Today points out that all 50 states already allow mail-in ballots, and the Military Times supports expansion of vote-by-mail, noting that Union troops during the Civil War also voted by mail. According to CNN, one in four voted by mail in the 2016 and 2018 elections. Due to COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vote-by-mail wherever possible. Presidential candidate Joe Biden’s plan for rebuilding the pandemic-devastated economy includes boosting national production of personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The Hill reports the plan is being called “Build Back Better,” with decidedly less emphasis on economic globalization, and will instead embrace investing tax dollars in U.S. companies, infrastructure, R & D, alternative energy, electric vehicles and “other emerging technologies.” Proposed legislation in Congress — HR40 and S1083 — calls for a study of slavery, discrimination and reparations proposals. According to the Wall Street Journal, COVID-19 cases among the young are soaring in Texas, Arizona and Florida (15,300 new cases in Florida on July 14 alone. The COVID-19 death tally in the U.S. was 138,088 on July 13 (it was 132,764 a week ago), according to Worldometer. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases in the military are expanding at twice the rate of the national average, the Military Times reports. Blast from the past: After the Civil War ended, reparations were paid ($23 million today), not to the formerly enslaved, but to those who “lost” their slaves. They were eligible for payment for each freed person. Those who’d been enslaved were offered $100 to relocate outside the U.S., though few did so. In early 1865 the federal government proposed reparations for the freed people by offering 40 acres and a mule, an offer taken by 40,000 people by spring. After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, his successor, Andrew Johnson, reversed the policy and the new landowners were evicted. The land was returned to whites, forcing many former slaves into sharecropping, which became regarded as a new form of slavery. Attempts have been made ever since at making amends for the lack of reparations to the descendants of slaves, and have been rejected by Congress.
OPINION
Mayor’s Roundtable: Fiscal responsibility pays off By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor
YouTube.com). Also through the CARES Act, the city is participating in the state’s property tax reThe most recent Sandlief program. The program point City Council meeting uses CARES funding to pay on July 15 kicked off the public safety personnel. The 2021 budget process. The resulting savings will go to council set the preliminary city residents in the form of budget establishing the maxproperty tax relief. The city imum level of expenditures will meet the two conditions that cannot be exceeded after required for eligibility in adoption. The electronic budget will be posted to the Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad. the program: 1. Sandpoint will not raise property taxes city’s website (sandpointidain 2021; 2. it will not take the forgone levy ho.gov) by Friday, July 17. There will be from the current fiscal year. two workshops inviting public testimony The city, through good fiscal stewon the budget. The first, on Wednesday, ardship, is in a strong financial position July 22, will focus on performance meathat enables participation in the program sures, staffing, maintenance and operawithout impacting city services. tions. The second, on Wednesday, July 29, The five-year 1% local option tax will focus on capital improvement projects expires at the end of this calendar year. and master planning efforts. The public The tax was leveraged with several grants hearing and final adoption are scheduled and used for the Memorial Field improvefor the Wednesday, Aug. 19 City Council ments that gave us new grandstands and a meeting. new field, which should be complete at the Fortunately, the fiscal impact of beginning of August. COVID-19 on the city has been minimal. Phase 2 is under design currently and Though we expect roughly a $40,000 will go out for construction bid at the shortfall in our bed tax, our revenues are end of the summer. It includes the new otherwise minimally affected. There is no parking lot, boat launch, kayak launch and anticipated reduction in services. What’s other amenities. The entire project will be more, the CARES Act offered relief to citcomplete in the first half of 2021. ies, allowing Sandpoint to cover expenses At its July 15 meeting, council was related to the coronavirus such as increased personal protective equipment and overtime also presented with a $4.7 million budget reduction from the current fiscal year. Exfor first responders. It also enabled signifpiration of the 1% tax, along with compleicant technology upgrades, so we are able to keep city business operational regardless tion of the downtown streets revitalization, are responsible for the bulk of the budget of closures, stay-at-home orders and social reduction from last year. distancing protocols. There are several other significant All public meetings are now open for budget items proposed in the 2021 budget. public participation on Zoom and are rePhase 4 of the fiber optic network in the corded for viewing on the city’s YouTube channel (subscribe to City of Sandpoint on downtown core will continue bringing
high speed, affordable internet access throughout downtown starting with Farmin’s Landing and Bridge Street. For this the city has carried forward $1.1 million from this fiscal year. Other capital improvement projects include a half million dedicated to street maintenance — twice the historical average. The Pine Street sidewalk project will be constructed in 2021 with a $430,000 pass-through state grant. Development of Farmin’s Landing on Sand Creek will begin with $400,000 dedicated to stormwater treatment, bank shoring and other preliminary improvements. Big thanks to Avista Utilities for its contribution to the project, which will place all utilities on the site underground. As the Parks Master Plan is nearing completion, sites turn toward the Little Sandcreek Watershed Plan. The City has dedicated $45,000 toward recreation planning in the watershed. This will begin soon after the environmental assessment is complete this fall. Consistent with last year, another $10,000 will be set aside for trail maintenance in the watershed. Sep-
arately, another $50,000 will be set aside for trail improvements citywide. Lastly, this year the council will consider disposition of several pieces of public property. Most notable is the cityowned Baldy property where the Baldfoot Disc Golf Course is located. The budget sets aside $200,000 from the general fund for purchase of the property from the city wastewater utility, its current owner. This would provide needed recreational and open space opportunities on the north side of town, which is currently underserved. It would also provide trail connectivity along the city’s western corridor and preserve the disc golf course, which has been gifted to Sandpoint by years of hard work, dedication and philanthropy. Thank you Sandpoint Disc Golf Association and all those who have contributed in building this amenity for Sandpoint. Please join me for the Mayor’s Roundtable to discuss all this and more on Friday, July 17, at 3 p.m. on Zoom: bit.ly/2ZvBsF5. You can also watch on Facebook Live through my page: Mayor Shelby Rognstad.
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OPINION
Sign your name, save our schools By Luke Mayville, Reclaim Idaho co-founder Special to the Reader
For the next 40 days, Idahoans across the state will do something they’ve never done before: Add their electronic signatures to a citizen ballot initiative. Due to COVID-19, volunteers with the grassroots organization Reclaim Idaho have taken to the internet to collect thousands of e-signatures. Here’s the backstory. The “Invest in Idaho” K-12 initiative would invest about $170 million per year in K-12 education by modestly increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy. Up until March of this year, when Gov. Brad Little declared a state of emergency, volunteers including myself worked diligently all across the state to collect tens of thousands of signatures. When the virus outbreak intensified, we were forced to suspend our signature drive. But then, after our campaign filed a lawsuit in federal court, a judge ruled that the governor and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney violated our constitutional rights by not providing a safe way for us to collect signatures during a pandemic. The court ordered the state of Idaho to allow us to collect electronic signatures in support of our initiative. We now have just over 40 days to collect at least 30,000 signatures online. In light of recent events, it’s more important now than ever to put our initiative on the ballot and give voters a chance to invest in our schools. Just last week, Gov. Little ordered $99 million in cuts to K-12 education. This includes a freeze on critically needed raises for teachers. On the same day, the Idaho Statesman reported that Idaho once again ranks dead last out of 50 states in K-12 spending per 8 /
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ho spends per student in rural communities has gone down by $200 over the past three years, while the average amount spent on rural students in other states has increased by $300 per student. Our failure to invest in rural students appears to have a direct impact on student learning. As the report states: “Idaho is in an urgent situation in terms of educational outcomes, ranking among the lowest 10 states on three of our five indicators.” When our schools Luke Mayville. File photo. don’t get the funding student. they need, our kids lose access Some will deny this is a to strong programs in everything serious problem. They’ll insist from arts and music to agriculthat when it comes to education, tural science and welding — the “money isn’t what matters.” But types of courses that give our experience and common sense students a chance to make a tell us that money does matter. living when they graduate. Last year, the annual report of When we fail to fund our the Rural School and Community schools, we deny our kids access Trust found that the amount Ida-
to qualified, experienced teachers. After all, why would we expect teachers to remain in the classroom when they can leave the state — or leave the profession altogether — and find a job that will pay them competitively? Money isn’t everything, but money makes a difference. A big difference. The vast majority of Idahoans understand this, which is why they say in survey after survey that they want to increase funding for K-12 education. Yet, those in power are now enacting some of the deepest cuts to K-12 education that Idaho has seen in decades. They do so while insisting that there’s no alternative. There’s simply no money left to invest, they say, and so the next generation of Idaho kids will need to “tighten their belts.” What if we, the people of Idaho, insisted that there is an alternative? What if, instead of making deep cuts to education, we simply restore the tax rate on corporations to what it was a few decades ago? The truth that many of our lawmakers will not admit is that
middle-income Idahoans pay a larger share of their income in taxes than the richest Idahoans do. What if we level the playing field and call on those making more than $250,000 per year to pay a little more? This is exactly what our Invest in Idaho initiative does: It increases funding for education by $170 million annually, with no new taxes on property and no new taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 per year. It’s time to give the people of Idaho a chance to do what our leaders have refused to do: Save our schools from deep budget cuts and invest in a better future for our children. Please visit reclaimidaho.org today, sign the online petition and help us put K-12 funding on the November ballot. Luke Mayville is co-founder of Reclaim Idaho. A Sandpoint High School graduate, with a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, he is a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University in New York.
Solitude Notes on successful social distancing By Dave Hussey Reader Contributor After three summers in my early and mid-20s living in the isolated environment of fire lookout towers in the Idaho Panhandle, I learned some easy and some harder lessons about being alone, loneliness and self awareness. Today’s situation with social distancing is easier for me, in part, because of those experiences of solitude with no electricity, water or modern conveniences. There was a stove and a small fridge and books and a musical instrument or two, as well as the
ubiquitous CB radio. I learned early on that loneliness was like a shadow that followed wherever I went and whatever I thought. I learned, too, that regardless of outside influence, emotions rise and fall seemingly without reason or apparent outside stimulus. With that in mind, I offer a few suggestions for those struggling to fill the void as a result of our collective limited social contact. • Structure your day: Choose regular times for meals and bedtime. • Communicate with friends: Reconnect with old friends or
make amends. • Reduce the noise: Limit time with news feeds to no more than one hour a day, total. • Learn how to feed yourself: Prepare your favorite foods if you haven’t before. Cooking is a real joy once you start. • Read a good book: Then read another. • Get musical: Pick up a musical instrument and teach yourself how to play a tune. • Get outside in good weather: Walk, hike, bike, boat, sail, swim — anything to get outdoors and in the fresh air. • Start a journal: It’s not about the length of your entries, it’s
about reflection and, eventually, a reference for past experiences. • Practice silence: Yoga and meditation are both excellent ways to pass time and stay healthy. • Learn to relax and live in the moment: Try not to dwell on past or future thoughts, other than planning. • Do some assessment: Examine your attachments and try to understand them. In our modern world there is access to almost every form of educational experience one could hope for — all online. And remember, a positive attitude will almost always carry the day.
FEATURE
To build a train bridge
Construction on the Sandpoint Junction Connector Project is underway — but how, exactly, do you build a bridge?
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff After years of project proposals, permit applications, public hearings and no small amount of controversy, North Idahoans are noticing that work has progressed apace on the Sandpoint Junction Connector Project — the second BNSF rail bridge crossing Lake Pend Oreille, within sight of the Long Bridge and parallel to the existing rail bridge. The average citizen might be able to name a few components to such an undertaking — pilings, concrete, maybe even some track — but what, exactly, goes into a nearly mile-long bridge over water? BNSF General Director of Structures Ron Berry shared some of the finer points with the Sandpoint Reader.
The plan of attack Berry said crews are using existing access roads and staging areas to get materials, equipment and manpower to the shoreline. “That gets them basically out to the lake, then there’s another decision point: How do we get the equipment out on the lake to build a new bridge?” Berry said. “In this case, we used a hybrid approach.” Though permitting agencies allowed BNSF to build a temporary work bridge spanning the lake, the company is using temporary access trestles extending off the shore a short distance, then using barges to move equipment and materials back and forth along the work area. The benefits of the hybrid approach are two-fold, Berry said: fewer temporary pilings are being driven into the lakebed, and construction crews are able to work year round — even as the lake level fluctuates. Additionally, Berry said that with a “long, linear” project like this, “it’s most efficient if you can attack it from both ends.” “That’s how we’re attacking this construction project — both from the north and the south concurrently,” he said.
A sturdy foundation Once staging is complete and equipment is in place, the first order of business is to build the foundation, which is oftentimes the most challenging part of a bridge project, Berry said. “One of the reasons it’s so challenging is because you’re dealing with stuff below the ground that you can’t see,” he said. “You rely on sampling and testing to determine the engineering properties of that soil that you’re going to be putting your foundations into.” A foundation is made up of two basic components: pilings or piles, and pier caps. For the Sandpoint project, Berry said BNSF will use steel pipe pilings and precast, prefabricated pier caps. The pilings can be driven in one of two ways: with traditional pile-driving methods, and with a method called “vibratory driving.” Berry said the latter is BNSF’s preferred method, being the quicker and quieter of the two. With vibratory driving, the company won’t need to deploy bubble curtains around the site — devices meant to mitigate piling-driving noise. However, pilings installed with vibration will need to be impacted at least once, using computer instrumentation to gauge the piles’ carrying capacity. Once installed, the pilings — which are hollow — will have pier caps placed on top. “Oftentimes you might fill a pipe pile with concrete, but because we wanted to minimize the amount of wet concrete we had to handle over the lake, we decided instead to use thicker steel,” Berry said, adding of the pier caps, “Historically, you would have [connected them to the piles] with wet concrete over the lake and let it cure, but in this case we’re using what’s called prefabricated concrete caps that are designed, made [and] fabricated off site in a controlled location, and then brought to the site and installed on top of the piles.” While the existing rail bridge has foundation pilings spaced out every 52 feet, the new bridge will
A view of the barges and tug at the bridge building site on Lake Pend Oreille. Photo courtesy BNSF. feature half as many, with pilings every 104 feet. “That does a couple things: it minimizes the number of foundations we have to build. As far as boaters are concerned, you’re always going to line up between two piers, so we’re not adding any new piers in any of the spaces where boats would pass through,” Berry said. “And it allows us to use longer spans.”
Distributing the weight Spans are the sections of the bridge between the foundation pilings, making up the deck of the railway. Berry said spans are created by first placing girders — sometimes called beams — which distribute the weight of the train between pilings. While most of the bridge’s girders will be made from precast, prestressed concrete, Berry said steel girders will be used toward the center of the bridge, “where the United States Coast Guard has specified a vertical clearance between the top of the water and the bottom of the bridge” to be used as a navigation channel. “The steel beams are stronger and stiffer, and they can also be shallow to carry the train,” he said. Crews will cast and pour a concrete deck on the girder spans, and the track comes next. The railroad track will be installed in panels — made up of rail ties and metal rail — and then surround-
ed by ballast rock, “just like you would see on a normal railroad embankment,” Berry said.
Ready to roll Once track and rock is placed on the bridge deck, crews will use track maintenance equipment to “surface, compact and align the railroad,” Berry said. Surfacing vibrates the track and surrounding rocks in order to get a compact, aligned fit. Next, crews will connect the track at the north end — just north of the Sandpoint Train Depot — and to double tracks already existing south of town. Finally, the signal system for the new rail system will be installed and tested.
Then and now When crews constructed the existing train bridge across Lake Pend Oreille in the early 1900s, engineering practices looked a little different. For example, in order to build a foundation, workers constructed cofferdams, dewatering to the lakebed to drive timber piles and then casting piers with wet concrete. The steel pilings, prefabricated materials and massive heavy equipment seen at the current construction site point to a more modern approach to bridge building. “There are a lot of things that we do now that they didn’t do back then
as far as personal protective equipment, extra training, mechanized tools — things like that,” Berry said. “So it’s a safer process.” Design decisions and installation methods are now also chosen with the environment in mind — more so than they were a century ago. Berry said tools like booms for spill containment are readily available at the job site. “[There’s] an increased level of environmental consideration,” he said, “and that’s understood as a responsibility now.” While basic materials remain largely the same — steel, concrete, timber — Berry said quality has vastly improved, and more testing is performed both off site and on to ensure the integrity of the structure’s components before they enter the water. More mitigation measures for sound and other disturbances are also considered in modern bridge construction, with bubble curtains being one example and turbidity curtains being another. Berry said turbidity curtains “confine any turbidity or any cloudiness in the water to the work area, and over time help it settle back down.” Berry said BNSF officially began placing piles for the permanent bridge structure about a month ago, and work will continue on the project until its tentative completion date in 2023. July 16, 2020 /
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Bouquets: • I’d like to give a Bouquet to Kaniksu Land Trust, the Pend Oreille Pedalers and anyone else who is responsible for the amazing network of trails at Pine St. Woods. It seems every time I go up there, I see a different labyrinth of fun, challenging mountain biking trails to ride. I’m so thankful we have the Pine St. Woods in our community, and I’m equally thankful for our great trail-building organizations like the Pend Oreille Pedalers that employ an army of volunteers to generate more places for us to ride. Barbs: • Being a journalist in today’s ugly social climate is both an honor and a rollercoaster ride. Just for a moment, imagine you held this job — being a journalist in a small, opinionated town. Imagine you got phone calls and knocks on your door at all hours of the day and night from people wanting to pitch a story idea or complain about an opinion article or point out a stupid typo. What if you were a construction worker framing a new house and every third person who walked by — every day — stopped to gripe at you about how you were building the house, criticising your choice of lumber, even nitpicking the size of gravel you’re using in the driveway? Even more infuriating is the fact that most of them have no idea how to build a home, yet they feel entitled to share their opinion with you because this is 2020 and everyone is apparently an expert on everything. That’s what it’s like being a journalist right now. We receive so many encouraging, thoughtful notes from this community, but we also receive so much hate, so much vitriol and anger from those who, respectfully, don’t have a clue what they’re talking about. Remember that next time you’re building a house or serving a drink or working on someone’s transmission. Just imagine how frustrating and annoying your job would be if you had to take crap from people all day, every day who have little or no interest in civil discourse. Be part of the solution, not just another angry person shouting just for the sake of shouting. 10 /
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Brick buildings give downtown its charm…
‘Sandpoint, an open-caring community’...
Dear editor, As young as Sandpoint is, comparatively speaking, we have a very classic, old-looking downtown. One of the more charming characteristics of our town, I feel. However, there is a disturbing trend of painting our beautiful red brick buildings. Specifically painting them gray. I will never understand this and will not be convinced it is better looking than, in my opinion, the most aesthetically pleasing façade of red brick. There is a reason red brick has been used on buildings for so long and in such abundance. There is also a reason some of our longest-standing buildings are made of brick. Like a fine whisky, brick seems to only get better with age and never needs to be repainted. These buildings give our downtown the historic feeling about which we, in the tourism trade, are always boasting. Please, building owners, consider the long-term ramifications of defacing our most lovely buildings in an attempt to modernize the charm right out of downtown Sandpoint.
Dear editor, It’s a strange day when Sandpoint’s mayor, Shelby Rognstad, inadvertently becomes a promoter of carrying rifles downtown. He denounced legally armed citizens for their effort to show support for the local economy and business community. The mayor, who aligns himself with the radical left “N.Idaho Women” has taken virtue signaling to a new level with his recent proclamation. Mr. Rognstad is fostering division as an activist acting as a mayor. As a result of his goading, those who would never think of carrying an AR-15 down the streets of Sandpoint are rallying to start doing that regularly. For tactical reasons I don’t open carry. Honestly, I don’t wish to carry an AR-15 down the streets of Sandpoint, but I encourage people to exercise the freedoms the mayor and his minions would wish to take away. Let’s promote gun safety in North Idaho with a new motto: “Sandpoint, An Open-Caring Community!” In spite of Mr. Rognstad, the community can improve the reputation of Sandpoint because the message of hate has no place here, all are welcome.
Ricci Witte Sandpoint
Leaders protect the health of all constituents… Dear editor, Idaho Gov. Brad Little is a true leader. He understands his ultimate responsibility is the health and safety of all 1.79 million Idaho citizens. He also understands the effectiveness of being proactive, to be ahead of the curve, to not wait until a crisis erupts. He is a patriot who knows individuals are sometimes asked to make some sacrifices for the common good, that a safety mask protects not only the wearer but the elderly, the vulnerable, all of us. I remember some years ago when we would be in a restaurant and someone would light up a cigarette and we would have to leave because my father-in-law had emphysema and could not breathe. My father-in-law died before the Idaho Clean Indoor Air Law took effect in 2004. The citizens and responsible leaders in 2004 realized that a little sacrifice from all of us was necessary for the health of all of us. I support Gov. Little and all responsible leaders. Steve Johnson Sagle
Editor’s note: Mr. Johnson is a Democratic candidate for Bonner County commissioner District 1.
Thomas Leo Cocolalla
What about the right to feel safe?… Dear editor, It is with dismay that I read that Bonner County Commissioner Steven Bradshaw, District 1A Rep. Heather Scott and Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler are defying Gov. Brad Little’s proposals to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus and using “their” constitutional rights to defend their statements. What about my constitutional rights to be safe in my community? Are these people saying that they do not obey public safety laws, such as licensing their vehicles, driving within the speed limit, using seat belts and child safety seats, not smoking in public places, etc.? Bradshaw, Scott and Wheeler certainly do not represent my values. Patricia C. Ramsey Sandpoint
An open letter to Commissioner Bradshaw… Dear editor, On Thursday, July 9, 2020 I came upon a statement by Bonner County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw where he said, “I thought, why do I care what they’re doing. We’re in Idaho. We are not Washington, Oregon, Montana
or Wyoming.” To the contrary Mr. Bradshaw. On the Fourth of July, 2020, my daughter and I drove through Sandpoint City Beach and counted more than 270 license plates from out of the county. A majority were out of state — that is, Washington, Montana, Oregon and points all over the map. By the time we looped through town and reached Joel’s, we were up to 350 out-of-county plates. As of July 9, 2020 it has been reported that there were 57 COVID-19 cases in Bonner County, up from four such a short time ago. Bonner County, if you haven’t noticed, is Washington, Oregon and Montana. It is a tourist hotspot and now is a COVID-19 emerging hotspot. I would like to inform Commissioner Bradshaw that Nevada and Utah share our southern border. I would like to give due credit to those two states, because what they’re doing also affects us. A true man of the cloth is inclusive, not exclusive of his neighbors. If you’re living in a bubble, I suggest you look around, as the bubble is broken. As a duly elected leader in this county, I suggest it’s time that Mr. Bradshaw does care about its people. Watching the news recently, the CDC director pleaded: “Please wear face covering, keep social distance, wash your hands.” It’s time our leaders pull their heads out of “where the sun don’t shine.” People are dying, Mr. Bradshaw, this is why you should care what they are (out of county) doing. Sincerely, William Krause Bonner County
Editor’s note: The comments by Commissioner Steve Bradshaw to which Mr. Krause referred were included in a July 9 story in the Bonner County Daily Bee, “Bradshaw Pushes Against Limits.”
Please join me... Dear editor, I do get those looks that seem to say, “Are you delusional, insane or dangerous?” as I wear my mask. In truth, I wear my mask both for my protection and for the protection of you and your loved ones. Contrary to the internet rumor mill, mask wearing does help stop the spread of disease and it does not make you more likely to catch COVID-19 (unless you expose your mask to a person with COVID-19 then put your mask on inside out, then maybe). I personally cannot look at the faces of the people I am around and be OK with the knowledge that I could be giving them a disease that could kill them, their parents or their children. In addition, I am protecting nurses
and doctors who have to treat the most contagious and too often get sick themselves. As the hospitals fill, the medical community is forced to choose who to treat and who to just let die — a wartime decision that is emotionally devastating. Wearing a mask and social distancing seems a small price to pay to protect the people I am around. I hear the cries for freedom, but should people be free to spread a disease that is killing millions of people worldwide? I will keep wearing a mask and social distancing for as long as the medical community advises. Please join me. It really is OK. Carole Thorell Sandpoint
Bad news and good news… Dear editor, The bad news is Gov. Brad Little just ordered $99 million dollars of cuts in K-12 education when we need support for education more than ever. Idaho spends less per pupil now than any other state in the Union. How low can we go? The good news is the ballot initiative “Invest in Idaho.” It is designed to increase funding for K-12 education in Idaho by $170 million annually, and has won permission by federal court order to use a secure, online platform for collecting the remaining number of signatures needed to get the initiative on the ballot in November. (In-person signature collection was suspended due to the COVID-19 virus.) Gov. Little also tried, but failed, to block online signatures in court to defeat the “Invest in Idaho” initiative. This tells us he does not want our voices to be heard, or our children to be educated. For more information and to sign the petition go to reclaimidaho.org Sandra and Phil Deutchman Sandpoint
Freedom and Liberty Dear editor, For my whole life there have been signs on store and restaurant doors that say: “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service.” Not once have I ever heard of anyone claiming their “freedom and liberty” were being trampled on by this. Nobody has ever died from seeing someone without a shirt or shoes on. So how is wearing a freaking mask for 10 minutes in the store as a common courtesy and to keep your friends, loved ones and our community from getting a deadly disease somehow the end of our freedoms and liberties in America? Pierre Bordenave Sagle
COMMUNITY
2020 Bonner County Rodeo canceled on COVID-19 concerns By Reader Staff Organizers of the Bonner County Rodeo announced July 14 that the 2020 event, which had been scheduled to run Aug. 14-15, will be canceled due to concerns over COVID-19. “It is with a heavy heart that I must advise our Rodeo fans that the 2020 Bonner County Rodeo in Sandpoint, ID will be canceled,” Bonner County Fairgrounds and Facility Director Darcey Smith wrote in a Facebook post. “The Rodeo Committee did not come to this decision with ease.” While the rodeo has been put on hold this year, Smith assured commenters on the Fairgrounds Facebook page that the County Fair is still going forward as planned, scheduled to run Wednesday, Aug. 19-Saturday, Aug. 22. While working to put in place a plan to guard patrons against COVID-19, Rodeo
Committee members had “also been trying to make the most responsible decision,” Smith wrote. “Due to large financial factors for this year’s Rodeo, the decision was made to cancel,” she added. “We hung on as long as we could to try and give our Rodeo family a great event for the contestants and the fans. We are incredibly saddened by this decision, and hope you understand.” According to the Facebook post, full refunds will be given to those who have already purchased tickets. If patrons bought tickets online they will be refunded electronically. Those who purchased pre-sale tickets are asked to bring the ticket to the Fair Office (4203 N. Boyer Road) to get their money back. Sponsors and vendors will be contacted individually. For more information and updates on the 2020 Bonner County Fair, go to bonnercountyfair.com.
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Mad about Science:
Brought to you by:
backyard telescopes By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Few technologies are more intimately connected with the human experience than the telescope. Put in the simplest terms, it’s a device that makes your eye bigger, enabling it to gather more focused light on a broader portion of your retina, thus giving you super vision at great distances. As such, the telescope was the first of all inventions to magnify — literally and figuratively — one of the primary senses of the human body. In its simplest form, a telescope is a tube with a lens of concave, convex or plane-parallel glass at one end — the “objective lens” — and another, smaller, lens of similar design at the other end, called the “eyepiece.” The objective lens gathers, bends and then focuses light, pulling it down the tube to be gathered by the eyepiece where, as its name suggests, the viewer’s eye conjures the image of the faraway object toward which the device is pointed. The degree of magnification depends on the size of the objective lens — the bigger, the more light can be gathered — and the relative thickness of the eyepiece, which is located near the focal point and pulls together the image and makes it clear. Some eyepieces give you greater or lesser magnification — not unlike a pair of eyeglasses — that will be more or less useful depending on the size of your objective lens. The longer the tube, or “barrel,” the farther back in the instrument the focal point will come together. Depending on the type of eyepiece, this can translate into more power. Short, wide telescopes will have a broader range of vision, as the surface of the objective lens will draw in more light. Long, thin telescopes will bring light to a fine focus, enabling deeper depths of view. 12 /
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Of course, there is much more nuance to the inner workings of this seemingly straightforward design — and the rudimentary explanation above only applies to the type of “refractor” scopes that we think of when we conjure images of pirates at sea. The other main variety, “reflector” telescopes, use curved mirrors rather than lenses to bounce light through the barrel, focusing and refocusing until they reach an eyepiece mounted on the side of the device. This form of scope, invented by Isaac Newton in the 1600s and mostly unchanged in design into the 1800s, is preferred by many for its greater image clarity, owing to the fact that glass is much easier to mar with imperfections. Beyond that there are more than a dozen types of telescopes — from the humongous radio scopes like we see in movies such as Contact to the orbital Hubble (a Cassegrain reflector) to a multitude of reflectors that play with wavelengths, to devices whose names point to their lustrous pedigrees: Galileoscopes, Keplerian telescopes and Newtonian reflectors. Suffice to say, a full analysis of the physics at work in your average backyard telescope reads like stereo instructions, but shot through the mechanics of these instruments are the mystical yearnings of millennia as well as the flowering of science going back to the Renaissance. I know, I ventured into the world of backyard astronomy about four years ago and still don’t fully grasp the magic that seems to occur when I point my Celestron Astromaster 114EQ 114 mm f/8.8 reflector at a bright spot in the sky and suddenly see the moons of Jupiter bangled around the faintly orange-white blob like fireflies. Right now is the best time to become a hobbyist astronomer. As Terry Jones, of Monty Python fame (and who died this year), sang in the Galaxy Song, “Pray
that there’s intelligent life somewhere up in space / ’cause there’s bugger all down here on Earth.” Indeed, grim misanthropy is either a byproduct of or inducement to staring into the endless expanse of space going back to the original telescopists of the 17th century — back when Dutch spectacle maker Hans Lippershey in 1608 came forward with his claim that by grinding glass lenses in a certain way he could produce magnification far beyond what was needed to read the shipping news in Rotterdam. As with all great scientific inventions, there’s a historical cat fight between Lippershey and fellow Dutch eyeglass manufacturer Zacharias Jansen, whose partisans argued that the former stole the first telescope technology from the latter. Today, most scholars agree that while both men came up with the same idea, Lippershey arrived at it first and apart from his competitor. Still, Jansen got his due with credit for inventing the compound microscope. Those Dutch were really onto something in the 17th century. And let’s not forget Galileo Galilei, whose tinkering with a telescope upended centuries of Catholic dogma by suggesting as early as 1609 that the Earth moved around the sun, rather than the (wrong) geocentrism that dominated Western thought since the time of Aristotle. Monty Python taught us that, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition,” and neither did Galileo. Albeit, his tormentors were Italian inquisitors, but they still swooped on him like the flying squad of goons they were and beginning in 1615 tried him for the heresy of heliocentrism. He ended up dying under house arrest at the age of 77 in 1642. Owing to this storied, tumultuous past, the telescope acquired something of a bad-boy reputation. There’s practically an entire genre of art devoted to depicting
grubby geniuses — half mad, half wizardly — flopped out in their weird book- and squalor-filled observatories ignoring the paltry comings and goings of mere mortals to contemplate the spheres. But that’s nothing new, the compulsion to understand what’s above to get what’s going on below has been with us since “we” jumped out of the trees and started making trouble for ourselves — and everything else on the planet — between 3 million and 6 million years ago. From cave paintings to Stone-
henge to the Pyramids and Ancient Aliens, human beings have a need to transport themselves skyward, and backyard astronomy is the quickest, easiest way to do it. See Page 13 for more on the NEOWISE comet, which is visible at our latitude by looking northwest about 90 minutes after sunset. If you don’t have a telescope — and you should — bring out your binoculars for an epic celestial show through Thursday, July 23.
Random Corner ?
Don’t know much about ethics • Put simply, ethics is a system of moral principles that affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is primarily concerned with what is good for individuals and society. • Philosophers tend to divide ethical theories into three distinct areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics. • Meta-ethics deals with the nature of moral judgment. It looks at the origins and meaning of ethical principles. • Normative ethics is concerned with the content of moral judgments and the criteria for what is right or wrong. • Applied ethics looks at controversial topics like war, animal rights and capital punishment, to name a few. • At the heart of ethics is a concern about something or someone other than ourselves and our own desires and self-interest.
We can help!
• An ethical dilemma is a problem in the decision-making process between two possible options, neither of which is absolutely acceptable from an ethical perspective. • An example of an ethical dilemma: You are pulling out of a tight space in a parking lot and lightly scratch the car next to you by accident. What would you do? Leave a note on the windshield? Drive away and do nothing? What if no one witnessed the act? What if someone watched it happen? What if it’s an older car with dings and dents all over the side that you scratched? Does it make any difference on your decision to leave a note or not? Ethically speaking, it doesn’t matter whether or not someone witnessed you scratching the car. Doing the right thing (leaving a note on the scratched car) is not relative to the situation (did someone witness the incident? Is your child watching from the back seat?) but based on ethical standards of honesty, integrity and personal responsibility.
SCIENCE
NEOWISE comet will be in view the next few weeks
Comet will be visible under the Big Dipper with binoculars or telescope
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
If there’s ever been a time to shut off the noise of the terrestrial world and look up to the heavens, now is it. The comet C/2020 F3 (known as NEOWISE) has been in view in the morning hours before sunrise for the last couple of weeks, but in late-July and early-August, stargazers in northerly latitudes will have an opportunity to see it after sundown. NEOWISE is a threemile-wide comet that orbits Earth every 6,800 years. So, unless you’re a vampire or have found eternal life elsewhere — and will be around in the year 8786 when it circles back — this will be your first and last chance to catch the celestial object in our night sky. As of July 12-15, NEOWISE will begin to be visible at dusk, just after sunset. It will appear low on the northwest horizon. After July 15, look just below the Big Dipper to view the comet. Binoculars or a telescope are necessary to see the comet’s tail. NEOWISE will be closest to Earth from Monday, July 22 to Tuesday, July 23, passing some 64 million miles from our planet. It swung close to the sun on July 3, passing at about 26.7 million miles — a bit closer than the average distance from Mercury’s orbit. Unlike some comets, NEOWISE survived the close encounter with the
explosive center of the solar system — some aren’t so lucky and are captured by the sun’s gravitational force, ending their long journeys in a fiery extinction. A “great comet” is one that is visible with the naked eye. The last great comet visible from Earth was HaleBopp, which passed by in 1997. NEOWISE is not a great comet, but is known as a binocular comet because it’s only visible with the naked eye as a blurry smudge. One must train binoculars or a telescope to the sky to view its impressive tail. NEOWISE will continue to be visible in the night sky after sundown until mid-August, when it begins its 6,800-year journey to the outer reaches of the solar system before returning to Earth.
NEOWISE comet photographed in Utah. Courtesy photo.
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rules of the road Ride on the right side of the street •Ride with the flow of traffic. Make full turns into travel lanes. •Ride in the correct direction on one-way streets.
Full stop at red lights •Use extended arm signals when making left and right turns.
The “Idaho Stop Law” •The “Idaho Stop Law” allows cyclists to treat a stop sign as a yield sign, and a red light as a stop sign. •At stop signs, slow down to “Look & Listen” for oncoming traffic. Roll through stop sign if no traffic. •At red lights, come to a complete stop, look for traffic and proceed through the red light only if the way is clear.
Share the road with drivers •Sandpoint’s preferred cycle routes are marked with “sharrow” pavement lines. •Ride single file and keep a steady pace with the flow of traffic.
Sidewalks are for pedestrians •Walk your bike when using downtown sidewalks. •Yield to walkers and give special consideration to the elderly. •Use common courtesy... it’s always appreciated.
Use safety gear •Wear a helmet, use a headlight and taillight after dark. • Lock your bike and take a picture of it with a serial number in case of theft in the future. 14 /
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OUTDOORS
Boater safety on Lake Pend Oreille Courses and advice from the BCSO Marine Division
By Ben Olson Reader Staff With the heat of July and August comes an increase in boater traffic on Lake Pend Oreille. While boating with family and friends on a hot summer day may seem to be a carefree activity, each season provides powerful reminders of how big and unpredictable this lake can be when a sudden storm comes over the mountains. The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office has a Marine Division dedicated to keeping the heavy influx of summer boaters safe on the water. There are six sheriff’s boats in the county operated by a staff of 15 deputies. Five boats are in operation this season, with one at Priest Lake and the others stationed at different locations on Lake Pend Oreille and the Pend Oreille River. “We deal with some interesting things up here,” Lt. Douglas McGeachy told the Reader. “We have deep water in Lake Pend Oreille, and the weather that can roll through can create some hazardous conditions, so it’s nice to take a local class where we tackle some of these local issues.” The Sheriff’s Department conducts a boater safety course a few times each season for anyone who would like to learn basic boating laws and safety. The classes are free to the public and open to residents of any state. The course will teach boaters about safety on the water and the requirements and equipment needed. They also cover basic boating laws and the rules of the road with regard to navigation and boater courtesy. McGeachy said the Marine Division encourages every boater to attend the free courses to get a better handle on boating safely. The free boater safety courses will be offered on July 25, Aug. 8, Aug. 22, Sept. 12 and Sept. 26. All classes start at 9 a.m. at the Marine Division office at 4001 N. Boyer Ave. in Sandpoint. Some boaters may even see a reduction in their insurance upon completion of the class. To RSVP, call 208265-8417 ext. 3125. For McGeachy, there are two issues that rise to the surface when discussing safety on Lake Pend Oreille: life jacket usage and wake zone violations. “It’s important to wear life jackets and make sure that life jackets are readily acces-
sible,” he said. “We had our first fatality on the lake a couple weeks ago. If you look at the first five fatalities we’ve had in the state this year, nobody was wearing a life jacket. It doesn’t necessarily mean the outcome would’ve been different, but it gives people a chance to survive. People carry them on boats, but if you end up in the water quickly with no time to put it on, that makes it tough.” McGeachy said the person who died from the capsized boat incident in June wasn’t wearing a life jacket when their boat went over in large waves. “A few people were able to grab floating life jackets, but couldn’t put them on in the water, especially not in three-foot seas,” he said. “Life jackets are really important, and that includes for people on non-motorized vessels, such as kayaks or stand up paddleboards.” McGeachy said wake zone violations are another hot topic. There should be no wake
thrown within 200 feet of any shoreline, dock, pier, bridge or other structure — as well as any person in the water. There should also be no wake within 50 feet of any other vessel on the water. “While a big part of the wake zone conversation is shore erosion and property damage to docks and boats, another thing to consider is when you get that close to shore, people are swimming off of docks and doing other sports,” McGeachy said. All boaters on the lake and river are subject to a safety inspection conducted by one of the sheriff’s boats. During these inspections, McGeachy said boat owners should be prepared to show they have the basic carriage requirements on board as required by law. These include life jackets on board for all passengers, a Type IV throwable PFD like a square cushion or ring that can be tossed to someone in the water, a noise making device like an air horn or
Bonner County Sheriff Marine Deputy Kurt Poeschel, boat caption of Marine 5, which services the Hope area. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert. whistle and a working fire extinguisher. Also, the marine deputies look for valid registration and invasive species stickers, and small items like ski flags and engine cut-off switches. McGeachy said one of the most useful mentalities to have when boating on the lake is common courtesy for fellow boaters. “If there was common courtesy, we wouldn’t need to be out there most of the time — on the road or the water,” he said. “Be a good neighbor out there. Don’t drive too close to shore or blare your music too loud. Be aware of your surroundings. Those will impact not only safety but quality of life,” he said. “Our fatality was tragic. The more we can try to educate people to avoid those kinds of outcomes is the ultimate goal.”
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TRAVEL
Our walk across England How to ‘ground’ a travel experience By Phil Hough Reader Contributor A virus outbreak in the rural parts of Great Britain brings the agricultural, travel and tourism industries to their knees. After restrictions by governments from around the world, safety procedures implemented by airlines and voluntary prudence by passengers, we canceled our plans for the United Kingdom. Has this happened to you, too? It happened to us in the spring of 2001. This was still a “pre-911” world. Security checks at airports were limited. Tourists generally moved about freely. Travel restrictions were rare events and not to be taken lightly. We reluctantly stayed home. Britain had been suffering from outbreaks of Mad Cow disease, off and on, for a decade. By April 2001 “hoof and mouth” virus took hold in the British countryside, leading the U.K. to slaughter 1 million head of livestock that spring. The rural agricultural economy took a big hit. Travelers flying to and from many parts of the world had to undergo special “washing” procedures for their footwear. Hiking gear — unless it was brand new — was harder to take in and out of U.K. countries. Travel to the English countryside all but stopped. The British tourist economy took a huge hit, too. Nineteen years later, it’s hard to find news accounts of the impact hoof and mouth disease had on the U.K. The events of 9/11 took their toll and overshadowed everything else. Eventually both the British and world economies recovered. When our culture and economy are both under duress, we do well to remember that better days lie ahead. Even now, if we can relax for a moment, we can imagine and create a bright and vibrant future. Back at the turn of the millennium, our U.K. adventure was delayed a year. In August 2002, Deb and I set off to hike across northern England. We were joined by my mom and dad, one of my 16 /
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sisters and her significant other. We followed a path from St Bees Head on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Sea. (West to east, for those unfamiliar with the geography of northern England). This route was pioneered by Alfred Wainwright in his 1973 book A Coast to Coast Walk. A TV series that Wainwright produced a few years later helped rocket the trail to fame and popularity among hikers in the U.K. At about 190 miles, it’s a delightful walk taking in some of England’s most iconic landscapes and best known national parks, including the Lakes District, the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. The route is not an “official” one. Other guidebooks have cropped up and we had three different map sets — each one with slight variations in a number of places. We followed a patchwork of existing trails, rights of way and permitted paths across private land — occasionally having some serious discussion about which trail option looked the best.
Camping is limited, so we found lodging in bed and breakfasts, hotels and hostels found in the small towns and hamlets along the way. We opted to use one of the services that would move luggage ahead each day, so all we had to carry were our daypacks and umbrellas. We would pack a lunch or have one at a pub at midday. We always carried a thermos of tea for the English tradition of “elevens.” (That’s the morning tea time, for those not initiated into this custom.) Of course, we also partook of that other most civilized English tradition: an evening meal at the pub along with a pint and a shot (or two) of single malt. Deb and I are accustomed to long distance hikes. By 2001 we had already completed the Appalachian Trail together and I had hiked all of the Pacific Crest Trail. So our walk across England — during which we averaged 10 miles a day and 10 pub meals a week (we won’t divulge stats on beer or whisky) — felt like a vacation.
For my parents it was a chance for a journey together; one of the highlights of their many travels. For my sister and her significant other it was a test of sorts. By her own admission, her previous longest hike was from the far end of the parking lot to the mall entrance. Granted, this was likely in a big city and probably at Christmas time when the parking lot was full. This walk was more than an athletic accomplishment or endurance contest. It was a cultural experience. We consumed same-day fresh fish and seafood from both coasts. We shared breakfast with other guests and politics with locals over pints in the pub. On one special night, Deb and I played darts (and won) with a team from a local tavern that had played together for more than three decades. For all of us, it was a grand adventure; a shared experience that has bonded us together. All three couples extended their stays both before and after to take in more of the recreational and cultural delights of the U.K. Deb and I complimented our
Phil Hough walks along the cliff beside the North Sea. Courtesy photo. coast-to-coast walk by adding in hikes up Snowdon (the highest mountain in Wales) and Ben Nevis (then highest mountain in Scotland). We also did day hikes along Offa’s Dyke and the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail, both in Wales, and Hadrian’s wall not far from the English-Scottish border. We watched Macbeth performed in castle ruins at St David’s. We visited Tintern Abbey, Loch Ness, and many castles and other sights. We mostly avoided the bigger cities. Though we did stop in Edinburgh to visit friends. There is so much to do and see in the countryside. If you go, get a rail pass, some good guidebooks and allow some time to take in everything you can. The visits we made both before and after the coast-to-coast walk helped bring the walk to life — to really provide a way to “ground” the experience in the culture and customs of the country.
LITERATURE
This open Window
Vol.5 No.7
poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui
aisle 19 Side effects include: Exhaustion, morphing passwords, an inability to remember which aisle the clerk said the pectin was in. I tried to triple my recipe for biscotti, but faulty math made for three extra cups of flour, white. (Whole wheat’s missing these days.) Where’s the rubbing alcohol? In a hoarder’s warehouse, waiting for wealth? The yeast? Good we’ve got Frank’s sourdough.
Thought I’d take some space to express my feelings, and review the origin of this column’s name. Two-time U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins wrote these lines: “By now, it should go without saying that what the oven is to the baker and the berry-stained blouse is to the dry cleaner, so the window is to the poet.” One of the distinctions of poetry is that, contrary to writing fiction, poets often write about memories, real experiences, true details and feelings that they have experienced and seen in life. Good writers of poetry or prose are good observers. They look through the windows of each day and write about what they see and feel. It’s that simple. I’m always looking for new material, especially from writers we haven’t heard before. I encourage you to submit material. Here is a prompt — a place to start writing. This could be done by creating a narrative like your English teacher taught you, in sentences and paragraphs, from origin to conclusion. Or writing in stanzas or a solid block of text, without end-rhyme because that would be like it was in the 19th century. However you can still use rhyme, except it is buried subtly within the lines, and not dangling at the end of lines like a nursery rhyme. Good writing shows, and doesn’t tell the reader what or how to think. Contemporary poetry is relaxed, informal and doesn’t preach. Important areas are an interesting title, a good first line and, most importantly, a last line that’s like the closing of a door. It’s not trying to impress the reader with your vocabulary, not telling or summarizing, or using a concrete image that the reader can visualize. The ending or closure should just happen, like a surprise. Poems don’t end with “The End.” You will sense when a poem is “done.” Don’t repeat the message or make it too obvious. I think it’s the most important moment in a poem. Try it. Pick someone you know, someone close, and say something to them. It can be about anything. Make it real, true and heartfelt. Maybe start writing at a place where you feel comfortable, at a desk or at the kitchen table. Look around and observe, jot down specific details — concrete images — that convey your feelings. Glance out a window and connect your thoughts with what you see. Keep a person in mind; just talk with them as if they are right beside you. Don’t be “preachy,” be honest and truthful. Write them a message or a note. Don’t try to be someone else, like Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson. Be yourself but remember the reader. Keep writing. Sometimes it works to follow your thoughts in a stream of consciousness. Don’t worry if it seems out of place; you’re not writing a composition in English class. Avoid clichés or trite phrases. Depend on good nouns and active verbs (avoid “is’s” and “are’s”). Let what you’ve written rest for a while. Revision is important and necessary. Read what you’ve written aloud — it needs to sound good. Share what you’ve written with someone, but trust your own editing. The three most important things are a good title, a first line or opening line or sentence that grabs the reader, and a strong ending that is not obvious or predictable. Read the following poem, “Pledge,” by Janet Dubrow. Pick someone you’d like to make a promise to. Just start writing them a promise — something you want to do, something you’d like to say to them. Use the prompt poem as a guide, but don’t be afraid to go off on your own “pledge.” Thanks – Jim Mitsui
pledge
fear of eyes
Now we are here at home, in the little nation of our marriage, swearing allegiance to the table we set for lunch or the wind chime on the porch, its easy dissonance. Even in our shared country, the afternoon allots its golden lines so that we’re seated, both in shadow, on opposite
Side effects include: Irritability, snapping at one’s spouse, scalp-itching, hair pulling. What to do when you can’t sleep? When you yawn during yoga class on Zoom, And can’t find the oomph to write back to a friend? Broader, more long-term effects? Too scary to list.
— Karen Seashore Karen Seashore’s social calendar is mostly empty. When she’s not hiking, walking or on her bike, she’s home. Gardening, postcard-writing and reading describe her routine. She feels fortunate to have comfy shelter and a sweet community.
ends of a couch and two gray dogs between us. There are acres of opinions in this house. I make two cups of tea, two bowls of soup, divide an apple equally. If I were a patriot, I would call the blanket we spread across our bed the only flag — some nights we’ve burned it with our anger at each other. Some nights we’ve welcomed the weight, a woolen scratch on both our skins. My love, I am pledging to this republic, for however long we stand, I’ll watch with you the rain’s arrival in our yard. We’ll lift our faces, together, toward the glistening.
Send poems to: jim3wells@aol.com
— Janet Dubrow
I have passed the mandatory class, jumped from a picnic
the ladder to the high dive, shivers on the end of the board
table to a tuck and roll landing in the grass,
too terrified to take that plunge, then shuffles back to the ladder
carefully folded and packed my parachute.
past pitying eyes and before inching back down
Now I stand out here three thousand feet up
shudders by the rails while everyone else
on this little step, hanging on to the wing strut.
has their diving thrill… No! I won’t be that boy!
The others, inside, with their neatly packed parachutes
Once I release my choke hold,
watch and wait impatiently. But like the boy, who climbs
drifting through sky feels quite delightful!
— Beth Weber This poem captures the essence of who Beth is. She had never written a poem before she took my workshop just a few years ago. In a few short months she was writing well enough that she was one of only 10 candidates to attend a workshop by probably the most popular poet in America, Billy Collins. She makes the best fruitcake around, teaches music and plays violin for the Coeur d’Alene Symphony Orchestra, kayaks, can name any bird in North Idaho, scuba dives and it turns out she’s also a skydiver. July 16, 2020 /
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events July 16 - 23, 2020
THURSDAY, JUly 16
Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
FriDAY, JUly 17
SATURDAY, JUly 18 Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park The Market is back at Farmin Park! Paint and Sip 6:30pm @ Cedar St. Bridge Join the “Wild Soul” paper painting paint and sip. $35 (includes all materials). BYOB
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6-9pm @ The Two Tones (Bonners Ferry) Live Music w/ Turn Spit Dogs 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Live Music w/ TBD 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Live w/ Chris Lynch 8-10pm @ The Back Door
SunDAY, JUly 19
Piano Sunday with Peter Lucht 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
monDAY, JUly 20
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills Lifetree Cafe 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant “Making Peace with your Past: A Vietnamese Refugee’s Journey.”
tuesDAY, JUly 21
Sandpoint Teen Center monthly BBQ 12-3pm @ Sandpoint City Beach pavilillion Safe socializing, eating, swimming and boating. If teens want to go boating/tubing, their parent must sign a permission slip.
wednesDAY, JUly 22
Live Music w/ John Firshi 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park The Market is back at Farmin Park!
ThursDAY, JUly 23
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Sam Owen FD annual pancake breakfast canceled By Reader Staff
Live Music w/ Devon Wade 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live w/ Kevin Dorin 8-10pm @ The Back Door
COMMUNITY
The annual Sam Owen Fire District pancake breakfast fundraiser has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. “With an expected annual attendance of over 700 people and crowded indoor seating, it is impossible to provide a safe environment for our guests,” SOFD wrote in a statement to the Reader. “It will be the first time since 2003 that we have not held this popular community event. Summer won’t be the same without serving pancakes to everyone in our community. Hopefully, we can resume the event next year.”
The annual pancake breakfast is the fire district’s only fundraiser. Money generated from the event is used to purchase much-needed safety equipment for the firefighters. The funds are greatly appreciated and a significant source of revenue for the district. “Even though we can’t feed you breakfast this year, we welcome any donations from our residents and supporters,” SOFD wrote. Send donations to: Sam Owen Fire District; PO Box 344; Hope, ID 83836. Contact either SOFD Co-chief Stuart Eigler or Co-chief Tim Scofield with questions at 208-264-5745 or sofd@wow-tel.net.
FSPW schedules volunteer dates for July trail work By Reader Staff Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness has a full summer season of trail work planned. On the Goat Mountain Trail, FSPW volunteers will be working on tread work to maintain a degraded trail on Friday, July 17; Wednesday, July 22; and Sunday, July 26. On Friday, July 31 and Thursday, Aug. 6, the group will rehab an area burned by a 2015 wildfire at the Star Gulch Trail. Community members can also pitch in by adopting a trail and making maintenance a shared project with friends or family, or becoming a trail ambassador to help hikers keep their distance from the wildlife — especially the iconic Scotchman goats.
Brita Olson and Matt Nykiel clear out a fallen tree on a trail maintenance day. Photo by FSPW. To keep everyone safe this summer, FSPW staff have implemented strong social distancing and safety procedures. For more info or to sign up, visit scotchmanpeaks.org/volunteer or email autumn@scotchmanpeaks.org.
STAGE & SCREEN
Comedy for a Cause to benefit the Panida Richie Minervini and Kristi McHugh to provide a night of laughs
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff
“People commented [that] their sides hurt from laughing so hard,” she said. “It With only the slightest tinge of humor is good comedy and in his voice, Richie Minervini shared a he knows his craft. realization he had recently while considHe is never crude ering the coronavirus pandemic. or off-color, and we “The most interesting thing about this had teenagers in the is that it happened in the year 2020,” he audience that laughed told the Sandpoint Reader, “and people and had a good time have 2020 vision — but nobody saw this as well.” coming.” Walker said seats In all seriousness, Minervini knows for the show are limthat the pandemic is taking its toll on historic theaters across the country, including ited, as social distancRichie Minervini, left, and Kristi McHugh. Courtesy photos. ing protocols will be in place. There will one close to his heart: Sandpoint’s own also be marked entrances and exits, as Panida Theater. well as extensive cleaning. he’s talking about. In order to help the theater — which reFor the upcoming show, MinervHe’s also an authority on what makes cently put out a call for more than $40,000 small, historic venues like the Panida in donations to make ends meet through the ini will be joined by comedian Kristi special, having played venues large and end of the year — Minervini is headlining a McHugh, known for her appearances small all over the world. Comedy for a Cause show on Saturday, July on Spike TV, TBS and Comedy Central. She’s also performed alongside Rich Lit“If these theaters close, the people 18 at 7:30 p.m. to raise funds. tle, Dana Carvey, Roseanne Barr, Drew are going to really miss out on a great Minervini first laid eyes on the Panida entertainment experience, and unique in 2019, when he visited his sister in Sand- Carey and Jon Lovitz. Minervini shared high praise for performers come to theaters like this,” he point and stayed for a knee operation. A McHugh, calling her “easy company to said. “And then, you know, you’re sitting self-proclaimed “historian when it comes be with” and her acts “easy breezy.” He at home watching TV. You need a theater to comedy,” the former owner of Long Issaid she’s “on the cusp of breaking really like this. You absolutely need it — it’s land’s East Side Comedy Club said the old big,” but added that up-andimportant.” theater struck him as beautiful. Comedy for a Cause coming acts are always superstitious about “Just to look at Saturday, July 18; doors at 6:30 saying such things. the theater, I was p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.; $20. “But I can assure like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.org. you that she’s going he said. to be breaking in with He said he found comedy or sitcom in the next two the town and its people “very pleasant,” and during his second visit of 2019, decid- years,” he said. As the former owner of the ed to perform his first Comedy for a Cause club where stars like Rosie show to benefit the Bonner Community O’Donnell, Jay Leno, Eddie Food Center around Thanksgiving time. Murphy, Kevin James and Ray Panida Executive Director Patricia Romano got their starts, it’s safe Walker said the show was a hit with to say that Minervini knows what locals of all ages.
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FOOD
The Sandpoint Eater Cooking my heart out By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist My mother had three wellworn cookbooks: a double volume set of Meta Given’s Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking and Household Magazine’s Searchlight Recipe Book. All hold spaces of honor in my kitchen and my heart. As a young kid, I would feign illness to skip school and pour over these books, filled with myriad photos of delectable foods; find a perfect recipe or two; and then start cooking my heart out. I never seemed to fit in with my classmates. Occasionally, when invited to a slumber party, I was up at the crack of dawn, quietly crawling over dead-to-the-world bodies and finding my way to the kitchen to help the hostess-mother prepare breakfast. Secretly, I lived for the praise heaped on me for my culinary efforts. As I grew older, I depended on those volumes — my guide to cooking my way into more than one man’s heart, including my husband. For the next 20 or so years, those three cherished volumes remained with my mother, as I built my own family and cookbook library. Some were obligatory, like Betty Crocker and The Joy of Cooking, and some esoteric for the time, like The Galloping Gourmet, Yan Can and Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. Over the years, I collected close to a thousand cookbooks. A few years ago, I did some downsizing; but, now, after four months of COVID-19 purging, I have culled my collection even more. I’m down to about 400 volumes. It’s not hard to spot my favorites — the pages are worn and sometimes grease-stained with calculations scribbled in the margins to double or triple a yield. Soon I’ll be heading over to the mountains in Montana, gathered 20 /
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with my offspring for our annual retreat. I’m bringing a handful of my favorite cookbooks to pass along to my culinary apprentice, granddaughter, Miley. Even though she’s only 12, her happy place is in the kitchen, and I can well relate, so we’ll spend our time catching up while mixing up big batches of peanut butter cookies and discussing our piecrust techniques. Miley is already a lot like me, using cookbooks more for reference and technique than actual recipes. I was mad to replicate Paul Prudhomme’s recipe for blackened fish (and made it whenever my meat-loving Montana rancher husband was far away for the evening). I remember my first batch of brown butter (a culinary epiphany!), learned from Julia Child. From famous baker Maida Heatter, I learned to grate frozen butter
into flour to yield a perfect light, yet crispy biscuit. Yet another tip I learned with my favorite ingredient, butter, was to whip it (softened) into room temperature chocolate ganache for the lightest and fluffiest buttercream ever. In the past week, I was fortunate to utilize some of my favorite recipes, with a couple of private chef and cooking class gigs. I can’t think of anything I’d prefer to do. I love working with a client to learn about their family and plan suitable menus. I love making shopping lists and prep lists and finding the perfect ingredients, which can be challenging enough in a small town, let alone the COVID-19 shortage element. Over the years of cooking for “well-heeled” folks, I have seen and heard just about everything, and I wish I’d had time to keep a journal of these expe-
riences — though the ones that are “book-worthy” will never be forgotten. For one family, the first dinner was to be a drop-off only and, while there, I planned to scope out the place for the next event: a social-distanced cooking class, followed by a family-style dinner. If you’ve ever cooked with me, you know that we touch and toss and taste as we go, so planning a safe, yet fun and educational experience was going to be a challenge. Now and then, you meet an exceptional family, and from the moment I dropped off the first dinner, I knew this family of seven — parents and young adults — were my kind of people. Everyone was either masked or kept their distance and offered to help unload their dinner. They were thoughtful, helpful and generous, even following up with a text to let me know that dinner was “absolutely
scrumptious.” I couldn’t wait to get back to this house filled with humans. After their cooking class, they headed to the oversized dining room while I put the finishing touches on dinner. As I sliced grilled lamb and sautéed squash blossoms, their howls of loving laughter filled the space. I’ve been lonesome for family, and these lovely people sure gave me a reason to cook my heart out. My Moscow family arrives this week and we’ll be celebrating grandson Alden’s rite of passage to teenagerhood with all things chocolate, starting with homemade ice cream sandwiches. Do yourself a favor and tackle these as a hands-on family project — a lot of fun, a little messy and absolutely scrumptious.
Ice Cream Sandwiches Messy to make but well worth the effort. Don’t skimp on the ice cream. Makes 8-10 sandwiches.
INGREDIENTS: • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour • 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened • 1 large egg • 1/2 cup granulated sugar • 1/4 cup light brown sugar • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract • 2/3 cup half and half • 1 quart high quality ice cream
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 325. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together and set aside. In a standup mixing bowl, beat together the butter, egg, sugars and vanilla at high speed until well combined and creamy. On low speed, add half the dry ingredients, then the half and half and finally the remaining dry ingredients, scraping the bowl between each addition. Batter will be thick. Spread onto a parchment paper-lined large 14-inch by 18-inch cookie sheet and, using a spatula, spread as thin as possible. Tap firmly on the counter before placing in the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until it just loses its shine. Remove the pan from the oven and cool in the pan for about 5 minutes. Cut it in half crosswise to make two even rectangles. Use a fork to prick the top of the cookie slabs in neat rows. When completely cool, wrap each piece and place on the cookie sheet in the freezer. To assemble the ice cream sandwiches: Carefully peel the parchment off the backs of the rectangles. Place one piece bottom up, on the cold sheet pan. Working quickly, spread with ice cream.* Top with the second cookie slab, top side up. Press down firmly to distribute the ice cream evenly
between the cookie slabs. Return to the freezer for an hour. Use a sharp knife to trim the edges of the sandwiches, if necessary or desired. If the ice cream has started to melt, place the pan back in the freezer to firm it up. Once it’s firm, cut the slab into desired size of equal pieces. Return to the freezer to firm up. At this point you can roll the edges in
sprinkles, if desired. Serve immediately or place in paper liners and wrap individually in plastic wrap. Store in the freezer (up to a month). *Square cartons of ice cream work best. You can make slices, about 1-inch thick and place them side by side on the cookie.
MUSIC
Weird instruments
There are some strange objects that make music out there. Here are some of our favorites
By Ben Olson Reader Staff Musicians are weird. I know because I am one, or at least I used to be before the coronavirus pandemic caused all of my band’s live gigs to be canceled for the foreseeable future. Some musicians still bang away on the same cherry-red guitar they’ve played since high school. Others are always on the lookout for a new sound to set them apart from the pack. Here are a few oddball instruments that you’ve undoubtedly heard played before in film, television or music. Remember, as Chevy Chase said in Caddyshack: “The Zen philosopher, Basho, once wrote, ‘A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole is a Danish.’” Away we go.
Theremin
The Theremin is the merlot of weird instruments. This one has been around for a long time. You’ve probably heard it on some of your favorite songs, like “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys (which was actually an electro-Theremin, but the sound is similar). Marked by an eerie, whining sound that more resembles a UFO landing in your backyard than music, the Theremin is one of the only instruments that makes sound without the performer actually touching it. Invented by a Russian physicist named Leon Theremin (born Lev Sergeyevich Termen) in 1928, the Theremin is an electronic musical instrument controlled completely without physical contact by the performer.
First called the “etherscope,” the instrument was renamed a Theremin after its inventor. The performer plays the instrument by standing in front of it and moving their hands in the proximity of two metal antennae. The distance from one antenna determines the pitch and the distance from the other controls volume. For example, the closer one’s hand is to the pitch antenna, the higher the notes that are emitted. They are expensive and clunky instruments (good ones will cost you in excess of $600), so if you ever get a chance to mess around with one in a music store, go for it. Just ignore the glare from the store clerk who has probably listened to people producing ear-splitting tones for weeks. Fun fact: One of Theremin’s other inventions, a listening device known as “The Thing,” was hung for seven years in plain view in the U.S. ambassador’s office in Moscow, enabling Soviet agents to eavesdrop on secret conversations. The listening device was hidden in a replica of the Great Seal of the United States, carved in wood. The seal was presented to the U.S. ambassador by Soviet schoolchildren in 1945 as a “gesture of friendship.” It wasn’t until 1952 when the listening device was accidentally discovered and subsequently removed.
The Singing Saw
If you like the whining, droning sound of a Theremin but can’t afford the price tag, consider a singing saw. For a few bucks, you can pick up a standard carpenter’s saw from a thrift store and a used violin or cello bow and you’re all
set to make that saw sing. A saw player usually plays seated with the handle squeezed between their knees, the skinny end held with the left hand. The right hand then drags a bow over the back edge of the saw (not the serrated edge — that’s a mistake you only make once) to generate a tone. The player then manipulates the saw to bend it into a gentle S-curve, with more bend producing higher tones and less producing lower tones. A “cheat” is a bolt fastened into the hole at the end of the saw (typically used to hang the saw on a tool rack) that gives the sawist more control over manipulating the bend of the blade. Sawists usually play by ear, bending their instrument to find tones that compliment what the rest of the band members are doing. German actress Marlene Dietrich is probably the most famous saw player in the world, after learning to play the instrument in 1927 while shooting a film in Vienna. She later went on to play the saw in a duo with her pianist colleague Igo Sym, who originally taught her to play the saw. One can hear the singing saw throughout film and music history, including the theme song for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, some Tom Waits tunes, and a few other B-side tracks for famous bands such as Ugly Casanova, Sarah McLachlan and others. No-So-Fun Fact: I bought a saw to use in my personal band about 10 years ago and, while paying for it, dropped it on my leg and cut a gash about four inches along my shin. The blood stains are still on the saw, though they’ve been worn away by heavy usage over the years.
than any other. Characterized by a low, thrumming sound, the didgeridoo is a wind instrument that could actually be formed completely in nature. Termites in Australia often hollow out entire trees, creating a long, tapered tube. Eucalyptus branches are most often used. Indigenous Australians created musical instruments out of these piped branches by stripping off the bark and whittling a smooth top for the mouth at the tapered end. Instrumentalists applied gum or beeswax to the end, and the final product was usually decorated in brightly colored paint and intricate carvings. Didgeridoo players employ a circular breathing technique when playing the instrument, allowing some to play for long periods of time without a break in the tone. Circular breathers will store air in their cheeks and continue to push the air through the didgeridoo while simultaneously taking another breath in through their nostrils. It’s a tricky technique, but once mastered can help annoy your neighbors — or enthrall your rapt listeners — for hours at a time. Modern popular artists, such as Xaviar Rudd, incorporate the didgeridoo into their music, helping to bring this unique instrument to a more widespread audience. Fun Fact: The word “didgeridoo” isn’t of Indigenous Australian origin. It was most likely an onomatopoeic word, meaning the word developed based on the sound the instrument produced — a droning, warbling “didjerry didjerry didjerry” sound.
Didgeridoo
We all know someone who went through a didgeridoo phase in college. Or is that just my experience? Of all the instruments making noise out there in the world, the didgeridoo uniquely depicts the landscape and indigenous Australian Outback more
This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone
READ
Historians often look at race, class and gender. In White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, by Nancy Isenberg, the middle framework takes center stage in a brutal recasting of U.S. history that tells us much — maybe more than we want to know — about our current state of the union.
LISTEN
On July 18, it will have been exactly 91 years since the birth of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins — as well, this past Feb. 12 marked 20 years since his death at age 70. Much more space than this is needed to describe the life and work of Hawkins. Suffice to say, his mad, theatrical genius made him one of a kind. Look for him on YouTube.
WATCH
With shows like America’s Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries, audiences were invited to participate in real-life events by watching, then mailing or calling in with tips or info to help close cases. It was riveting. No wonder the reboot Unsolved Mysteries on Netflix has ranked among the top shows in the country since its debut on the streaming service in June.
Left: Alexandra Stepanoff plays the Theremin. Center: Marlene Dietrich plays the singing saw. Right: A didgeridoo player in action. Courtesy images. July 16, 2020 /
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HEALTH
A grain of salt A health column... sort of From Northern Idaho News, July 16, 1920
A GOOD GAME AT HUMBIRD FIELD THE LADIES WERE CONSPICUOUS AND YIELDED GOOD SUPPORT FOR HOME TEAM The Humbird Tigers wiped out their early season defeat by Bayview Sunday by a victory over Bayview on Humbird Field, score 4 to 0. Hammond on the mound for Bayview, pitched a fine game, but his support wobbled at critical moments. Sells pitched an invincible game for the Tigers, striking out 11 and allowing only two hits. He was also accorded splended support, only two errors being charged to the Humbird team. The visitors reached third base only once, and that in the first inning. After that they never had a look in. The Tigers’ runs came as follows: In the second inning, Coleman hit to Hammond, who fumbled the ball, giving him a life on first. Coleman stole second. Berge sacrificed, Coleman reaching third and scoring a moment later on a single by Reece. In the fifth, R. Brandt hit to Workman, who erred, Brandt reaching first and stealing second. Langworth grounded to B. Hammond at third, who threw wild to first, allowing Brandt to score. In the sixth with two down, Berg singled over second, stole second, and was followed up by Reece with a single over first, Berge scoring. Reece stole second on the throwing, scoring with the fourth run of the game on a liner by Sells through third.
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The shame game
By Ammi Midstokke Reader Columnist Okay world, that’s enough. I’m not quite certain where it began — though I suspect there are some strong roots in the Old Testament — but this culture of shame has got to stop. We cannot shame each other into adopting different values. We cannot shame each other into wearing masks, caring about others, accepting the right to bear arms, believing that Black Lives Matter is a hate group or believing that Black Lives Matter. If shame was an effective motivator of change, we wouldn’t have addiction, divorce, obesity, crime, smoking or a pussy-grabbing president. In effect, the emotion of shame is one that scientists believe developed to help our societies form. To experience shame can lead to a fear response (fear of loss = loss of tribe = getting eaten by a tiger in a field somewhere, alone). Shame has been historically an important motivator in the development and adherence to social norms — if any of us remember what those were. Studies show that experiencing shame induces a fear response in the brain to assess whether a fight-or-flight action is necessary. Almost immediately, a whole new cocktail of hormones and neurotransmitters are released to employ safety strategies. Those strategies are either dominant
(manifested as aggression, and for examples check out local Facebook forum attacks on, well, anyone and anything) or submissive (avoidant). It doesn’t take a genius to know that aggression and avoidance are probably not places where common ground can be found. When our brains are firing the neurotransmitters or signaling the surge of stress hormones to respond to these experiences, we are neither emotionally attuned, creative, open to alternative viewpoints or even rational. Shaming each other is not only ineffective, it is abusive — a bully tactic — and lacks emotional maturity. To incite shame is to say, “I have not the intellect nor experience to communicate my position, and thus will challenge your sense of self-worth and devalue you.” It is to say that your own self-worth is attached to people accepting and agreeing with your values, your way, your beliefs. Shaming others does not give us moral high ground, but demonstrates our insecurity. It shuts down the conversation and is the very cause of the divisive and utterly embarrassing discourse we find ourselves surrounded with today. Pick your issue. When I read public officials applying
STR8TS Solution
Sudoku Solution
these methods to attack journalists, the very public they serve, minorities and their community at large, it is clear that we as a people have become deaf to the corrosive nature of the language — but no less sensitive to its impact. Psychologists have also noted an alternative response to shame, something called a Challenge Response. When people believe they can manage the difficulty of a situation or conflict, they respond with an additional hormone: oxytocin. This hormone promotes emotional attunement and a motivation to connect to others. Humans achieve this through curiosity, communication and acceptance. The common ground we aim to find must be sought within this response. It might be challenging, but we have the ability within our communities to rise to that challenge through respectful means of talking to each other. Shame is a weak and shallow attempt to silence a voice. And it would appear that the voices are ready to be heard.
Crossword Solution
The face of a child can say it all. Especially the mouth part of the face.
Solution on page 22
Solution on page 22
Laughing Matter
discomfiture
Woorf tdhe Week
By Bill Borders
/dis-KUHM-fi-cher/
[noun] 1. the state of being disconcerted; confusion; embarrassment.
“To say I feel discomfiture with today’s political climate is an understatement.” Corrections: Last week, we noted that John Firshi’s July 22 show at Eichardt’s will start at 6 p.m. It will actually begin at 7 p.m. Sorry for the confusion! -LK
Copyright www.mirroreyes.com
CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Path 6. Threesome 10. Mouths 14. A Great Lake 15. South African monetary unit 16. Modify 17. Put out 18. Savvy about 19. Scrabble piece 20. Folding portable ladder 22. Satan’s territory 23. House style 24. Wingless bloodsucking insect 25. Wanes 29. Part mortal and part deity 59. Behold, in old Rome 31. Defender 60. Fuss 33. Sorcerous 61. Loads 37. Shoelace hole 62. Clairvoyant 38. Place 63. Existence 39. Demesnes 64. Run away to wed 41. A bladed medieval weapon DOWN 42. Physical examination 44. Not more 1. Not that 45. Radiolocation 2. Iron oxide 48. Termagant 3. Backside 50. Not closed 4. Masterstroke 51. Warehouse 5. Genuflected 56. Praise 6. Trampled 57. Relating to aircraft 7. Haphazard 58. Breathing problem 8. Temporary
Solution on page 22 9. Smell 10. Organized 11. French farewell 12. Bequeaths 13. Inscribed pillar 21. Scrutinized 24. Corporate symbols 25. Type of sword 26. Large coves 27. Decay from overripening 28. Lizard-like amphibian 30. An area of northern Israel 32. Discourage 34. Concern
35. Charity 36. Dregs 40. Female siblings 41. Strangle 43. Tasks 45. Parts portrayed 46. Quickly 47. Two 49. Cetacean mammal 51. Not in danger 52. Iridescent gem 53. Annul 54. Dribble 55. Leisure
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To: Gov Brad Little; Bonner County Mayors; Panhandle Health District 1; Director, ID Dept Health & Welfare; and our local and state leaders: New Cases of COVID-19 Reported by Date in
We urge you to support measures that will allow our economy to safely reopen and will protect our health. While much remains to be learned about the transmission of COVID-19, we already know that there are effective measures that can be taken. We can learn from the experience of other states, some of which have been forced to close down for the second time. Research and COMMON SENSE both tell us that we should wear masks and social distance in public places. These are not extreme measures and are similar to other protective rules we accept, such as seatbelt use.
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Please provide the leadership we need and urge all Idahoans to take care of their neighbors and let us get back to work. You shoulder the responsibility to ACT in a public health crisis. (Sandpoint Reader, July 2, 2020, https://bit.ly/SRarticleCovid). (Governor, city mayors, health districts and the Department of Health and Welfare have the authority to impose restrictions in a public health crisis).
We ask you to
- use your authority to promote use of masks and social distancing; - initiate a comprehensive public awareness campaign to provide accurate information and promote the above.
+350".org SANl>P6INT
Sign this petition at https://bit.ly!BonnerCountymask or 350Sandpoint.org PAID ADVERTISEMENT BY 350SANDPOINT.ORG