Reader july21 2016

July 21, 2016 / FREE / Vol. 13 Issue 29

The Reader Interviews

Festival at Sandpoint poster artist Kathryn Weisberg shares her journey

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(wo)MAN

Susan Drinkard on the street compiled by

What did you think about the Republican National Convention?

“I am a Trump fan. He is conservative and agrees with the Constitution. He is not a politician. He is outspoken and honest.”

Bruce Sagen Retired Troy, Montana

DEAR READERS,

We’ve received quite a few emails and phone calls from our readers expressing concern over the changes in land use codes that have been going on within the Bonner County Commissioners’ office. Many complain that the changes are not transparent enough; that they don’t allow the general population enough time to fully investigate how the changes will affect their lives. Some complain that the meetings for said changes occur during normal working hours, making it difficult for the working population to attend these important meetings.

For my part, I think transparency in government is always a good thing. Regardless of how you fall on the political spectrum, I think it’s a shared idea that we all want to understand how a governing body’s decisions affect our day-to-day lives.

The Bonner County Commissioners will be holding a meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, at the Bonner County Administration Building (1500 Highway 2, Sandpoint) to discuss changes to the definition of subdivisions.

How do these changes affect you? Read the news page this week and attend the meeting. We support an informed community.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

“I think it is a big circus.

Trump likes a show.”

READER 111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208)265-9724

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Contributing Artists: Kathryn Weisberg (cover), Ben Olson, Kevin McCarthy, Kestrel Bass.

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Louie de Palma, Jim Ramsey, Kestrel Bass, Brenden Bobby, Jim Mitsui, Jeannette Schandelmeier, Amy Craven, Beth Weber, Laurie Brown, Lyndsie Kiebert, Marcia Pilgeram.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

Melissa Burford Program manager Priest River

Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

Subscription Price: $95 per year Advertising: Jodi Taylor jodi@sandpointreader.com Clint Nicholson clint@keokee.com Web Content: Keokee

“I think it’s sad. I think the country would benefit from a viable conservative viewpoint in our conversations.”

Steve Lockwood Retired technical manager Sandpoint

“I like it. I like all the speakers... I think they did a bit of injustice to his wife. I support Trump, and I am proud to be a Republican.”

Gerald Whitmire Retired utility worker Sandpoint

LIVE MUSIC

turday Friday & Sa Beer Hall N ight @ t he

SCOTT REID

7-9pm

SCOTIA ROAD 7-10pm RON GREENE 7-10pm

“I haven’t looked at it. My sense is the Republican party has lost its ability to pick its own candidate.”

Charlie Glock Academic Sandpoint

BEN OLSON 7-9pm BREWERY & BEER HALL 220 Cedar St. 209-6700 FAMILY FRIENDLY BREWPUB 312 First Ave.

255-4351

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 400 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 was painted by Sandpoint artist Kathryn Weisberg. The painting was featured as the official 2016 Festival at Sanpdoint poster. We’re happy to support Kathryn’s work, as well as the good people over at Festival at Sandpoint.

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COMMENTARY Reader Seeking Cartoonists

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Are you a budding cartoonist looking for an outlet to present your work? Are you a starving artist willing to be taken advantage of by a small arts and entertainment newspaper? Well, my pretties, look no further. We want your art!

As we grow larger here at the Reader, we’re trying to add a lot of features to help propel us forward even more. One such area is cartoons/illustrations.

During the Reader’s first iteration (2004-2012), Zach Hagadone was not only the co-owner and editor, but one of the most amazing political cartoonists around. Hagadone regularly filled the Reader with his insightful, biting, sometimes irreverent wit.

No matter how many bottles of rare whiskey I dangle in front of him, Hagadone simply doesn’t have the free time available to provide us with any more illustrations. I’ve even tried threatening him.

Nada. Zip. Zilch.

Sigh.

Moving forward, we’d like to find a handful of budding artists out there who would like

Notorious BID...

Dear Editor, I was just noticing the beautiful flower baskets prior to reading your article “Notorious BID.” I laughed and was angry at the same time—sort of like reading the “Deep Thoughts” from the same issue.

I assumed the quaint Winter Carnival was put on by volunteer organizers and entertainers, but even if they do need $20,000 to run it, that means each flower basket is around $5,000.

It is hard enough for city businesses to make it without this excess tax, and I think that Creations and the Reader do far more for the business dis4 /

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to submit cartoons in exchange for beer money, er... I mean payment.

Here’s what I’m looking for: I’ve always been a big fan of one panel cartoons. “The Far Side”

by Gary Larson is second only to Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes.” I’ve tried to reprint both, but they are either not available for syndication anymore or simply too expensive.

I want cartoons that are current to our lifestyle here in North Idaho, but that can also touch on larger issues happening around the country and world. I don’t mind if it’s controversial, and I have no problems with ruffling feathers, as long as you ruffle them elegantly. Political cartoonists are welcome from all sides of the aisle. Also, your drawing ability can be sub-par if your wit and originality is superlative.

Send me a note if you’re interested in providing us some material for very little money. Chances are, we’ll build something beautiful together.

Or we’ll just drink whiskey and have some laughs.

Either way, there will be whiskey. ben@sandpointreader.com trict than this tax.

If I were a business owner I would be tempted to do the Boston Tea Party thing and toss these outrageously high priced flower baskets into the lake (from the mini Statue of Liberty), but that would be a sad sight—they are beautiful flower baskets.

Keep making the city beautiful, everyone! Pick up trash, do sidewalk art, play your instruments and busk out—this is our town!

Jodi Rawson Sandpoint

Jodi, while I suspect you’re just being funny, your math is off by quite a bit on cost per flower basket. According to Kim

Cartoon by Kevin McCarthy.

Queen, manager of the Sandpoint BID, the flower baskets cost $50 apiece, not $5,000 apiece.

Comparing these flower baskets with similar products, you’ll find the costs to be in line with the norm.

Also, since six baskets have already been stolen this year, I would not advocate tossing these baskets into the lake from the mini Statue of Liberty. Seems like such a waste of beautiful flowers.

-Ben Olson

Gier’s Response...

Dear Editor: I want to thank Vickey Babayco (July 14th) for praising my rhetorical

skills. I strive for both phrasing that catches the reader’s interest and solid, fact-based analysis. Opinion writers worth their salt always control their message carefully.

Babyco’s charge of verbal abuse, however, misses the mark. Donald Trump, my target in the column, is the worst verbal abuser in modern political history.

Calling women “pigs,” lawabiding immigrants “rapists,” and reporters “sleaze” is beyond the pale.

I don’t have to read Trump’s mind to know he is “clueless,” because he demonstrates his ignorance nearly every time he speaks.

When asked about Britain leaving the European Union, Trump didn’t know

anything about it. When he was in Scotland recently, he praised them for voting to leave when in fact they voted to stay.

As for my religious preference, I must confess that I am a Buddhist.

As a scholar focusing on religious violence, I just published a book that concludes that Buddhism, by far, is the Asian religion that has had the most religiously motivated violence.

I defend Muslims when they are attacked unfairly, just as I defend Christians in India when they are persecuted by Hindus and Muslims. I also use strong rhetoric in doing so.

Nick Gier Moscow

PERSPECTIVES How our state has swung to the conservative right Can it swing back?

By Jim Ramsey Reader Contributor

When we first moved to Idaho in 1971, Cecil Andrus was in his first year as governor. He went on to win three more terms interrupted by a stint as Secretary of the Interior under President Jimmy Carter. Democrats controlled the governorship for 24 years until Republican Phil Batt succeeded Andrus in 1994.

I had bought and was publishing a magazine called The Idaho Fishing & Hunting Guide and, amazingly, Andrus agreed to a one-on-one meeting with me in the governor’s office. And his wife invited my wife, Pat, to a luncheon at the governor’s home because she was a member of the “Newcomers Club.”

I thought, “What an open and friendly state.”

Frank Church, another Democrat, also served for 24 years as a U.S. Senator, and was chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Affairs committee. One writer covering Church noted that the senator was making a speech in “liberal North Idaho.”

Back when lumber and mining were still providing many jobs in North Idaho and labor unions in both industries were active, their members voted solidly Democratic. Idaho was a well-balanced state politically. But by the 1980s both industries were in decline, and so was union influence. Idaho was becoming a “red” state.

In the 1990s, people started to move to Idaho from Washington and Oregon, but most-

ly from California when the unflattering term “the Californication of Idaho” was heard (After the Reagan years, California was becoming one of the bluest states in the nation).

Idaho’s population grew by 29 percent from 1990-2000, and while some were seeking its unspoiled beauty, “many were conservatives, and they were moving to Idaho where they would feel more comfortable,” according to Jim Weatherby, Boise State University political science professor. This “in-migration” turned the state’s traditionally GOP majority into a “super majority” that has lasted for 20 years.

In 1996, we moved to Sandpoint, embracing the “Long Bridge experience” and encountered our 1st District congresswoman Helen Chenoweth at a local diner. In full campaign mode, Helen—nicknamed by some as “our lady of perpetual embarrassment”— asked me where I had moved from. When I told her “California,” her eyes lit up and she smiled, saying, “we like you Californians.” I wanted to tell her that I was not the kind of Californian she liked. I was a Democrat.

Even then a Democrat— Sandpoint’s Jim Stoicheff— represented Bonner County’s district in the state legislature, as did Tim Tucker of Porthill.

Stoicheff was so popular in Bonner and Boundary counties that “no one opposed him for re-election in the 1990s when

District 1 shifted from heavily Democratic to a tossup district,” according to the SpokesmanReview.

Larry LaRocco, a Democrat, had served two terms as 1st District Congressman until the 1994 election. There seemed to be hope for Democrats when Walt Minnick was elected to the seat in 2008 although as a “Blue Dog” he was the only Democrat in the country voting against the 2009 federal stimulus bill.

There was also hope locally in 2006 when Democrat Steve Elgar captured Bonner County’s vote for a District 1 legislature position, only to be defeated as a result of losing Boundary County. But the Tea Party group had taken over the state Republican Party and current 1st District Congressman Raul Labrador was swept into office. He played a key role in the near-shut down of the government and the ouster of the Speaker of the House.

New on the scene is the “Redoubt” movement—a group of survivalists concerned about coming disaster, war or societal breakdown, who have targeted Idaho as a “safe place where like-minded, well-armed conservatives can migrate,” according to Betsy Russell of the Spokesman-Review.

In the most recent election, ultra-conservative Republicans Heather Scott and Sage Dixon have taken over the 1st district state legislative seats from George Eskridge (the last

veteran to serve in the state legislature) and Eric Anderson (retired). Republican Shawn Keough, the longest-tenured state senator, continues to receive broad-based support by garnering independent votes as well as Republican.

Democrats might have a chance to become more relative, Weatherby feels, if the GOP moves away from rightwing extremism and becomes more pragmatic—providing “opportunities for Democrats to enter into coalitions as they once did with a significant center in the GOP.” Democrats feel they have a real chance locally this year with better-known candidates like Kate McAlister, head of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, Ken Meyers, of Sagle, Jessica Chilcott of Sandpoint and Stephen Howlett, of Bonners Ferry, running for state legislative seats.

And the party feels that issues—such as prioritizing public education, preserving access to public lands, raising the minimum wage and providing better-paying jobs, and providing accessible and affordable health care—will resonate with independent voters and help elect Democrats to office.

Jim Ramsey is a resident of the Sandpoint area and is a former newspaper reporter, U.S. Air Force pilot and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2004.

Reader seeking opinion/ commentary writers

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Do you ever feel like you’ve got a lot to say and no one is listening? Join the club.

One of the things I love the most about this newspaper is that it is written by and for the community, from a variety of different viewpoints.

Would you like to join the conversation and have your opinion/commentary articles published in the Reader? It’s easier than you think.

We’re always interested in a variety of topics, including arts, entertainment, politics, the environment and humor.

We encourage opinions from the left, right and center, and always give priority to articles that elevate the discussion.

To join the large family of Reader contributors, simply send us an email pitching your idea. Or send us the completed article. It’s always a good idea to keep the word count between 500-800 words and remember to elevate the discussion whenever possible.

Send all queries, finished articles, cookie recipes and treasure maps to ben@sandpointreader.com.

Support an informed community: Write for the Reader.

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NEWS Kochava kicks off move with a bang

Gov. Otter scheduled to attend ribbon cutting

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Kochava is moving on up to a bigger set of digs, and the Sandpoint-based business is attracting some big names to celebrate the occasion.

The tech company, which provides analytics services for mobile devices, is hosting a ribbon-cutting for its new, 32,000-square foot headquarters. Idaho Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is visiting Sandpoint to join Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad and Kochava CEO Charles Manning in marking the occasion. Representatives of some of Kochava’s biggest clients, including Amazon, AOL, Disney, Google, Hilton, Priceline, and Turner Broadcast will also be in attendance.

The ceremony will take place 1:30 p.m. Monday, July 25, at 201 Church St. “[The move] started with the thought: Rather than building a campus, let’s make downtown our campus,” said Charles Manning, Kochava founder and CEO. “The new 32,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility is in the

heart of downtown, adjacent to the lake, mountains, and skiing, where our employees literally have a two-minute commute to the office.”

Following the ribbon-cutting, Kochava will begin moving into the new facility, a task likely to be completed in August. According to Jeremy Grimm, Kochava director of publisher development, the new building, located at 201 Church St., was a labor of love involving several Sandpoint contractors.

“We were thrilled to be able to work with so many talented local contractors and tradesmen during this project,” Grimm said.

Kochava’s move to the new facility is yet another milestone for a local company that has experienced remarkable growth in a few short years. The business has already outgrown one facility on First Avenue, necessitating its move to a suite in the Columbia Bank building. Along the way, Kochava ballooned from 32 employees in 2014 to a current staff of 80, with 20 more jobs expected by the end of the year.

According to Manning, Kochava is an attractive prospect

Long Bridge repairs making good progress

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

A $2.2 million Long Bridge repair project is making progress toward an expected completion early this fall.

According to Idaho Transportation Department resident engineer John Perfect, the construction crews are working hard despite occasionally hot weather and heavy bridge traffic. The work has resulted in slower traffic across the bridge as motorists navigate through orange cones and reduced lane widths.

“It’s always a challenge anytime we have to do anything with the Long Bridge,” said Perfect.

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vehicle and pedestrian bridges began after the Fourth of July and is funded through the gas tax passed last year, which raised the tax rate by 7 cents. Perfect said work is focused on repairing the submerged piers. An epoxy overlay is being applied to the bridge surface, which will improve vehicle traction. Finally, the pedestrian bridge is receiving targeted repairs to structures that support the beams and girders.

The repairs have necessitated slowed traffic and delays, which Perfect said is impossible to avoid for any bridge surface work. However, the project has proceeded safely despite the heavy summer bridge traffic.

for many software development and tech professionals. It’s a chance to pursue a career while avoiding the bustle and stress of the West Coast.

“Many recruits are thrilled to have the opportunity to work for a leader in the tech industry while living in Rand McNally’s ‘Most Beautiful Small Town in

America,’” Manning said. “Our new headquarters will allows us to continue to innovate and build a company based on value-add products that truly benefit our clients, our employees and our community.”

Top: Workers put the finishing touches on the Bonner Building where the Inkwell used to be located. Inset: Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter is scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting on Monday, July 25 at 1:30 p.m.

National heat wave to spare the NW

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

This week, some of the hottest temperatures of the season will hit across the nation with one notable exception: the Northwest.

“The big high pressure ridge bringing the hot weather is centered over more of the central U.S.,” said meteorologist Randy Mann. “When we’re on the ‘back’ side, we often get the cooler and wetter weather.”

Very high humidity and soaring temperatures are expected throughout the week, with cities like Des Moines, Kansas City, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City and Chicago all expected to see temperatures exceeding 100 degrees F. When you take the humidity into account, the heat index may rise to over 120 degrees F.

When extreme heat is combined with elevated humidity, it can prove especially dangerous.

Elevated humidity slows the act of sweating, which is the body’s cooling mechanism.

In 1995, at least 465 people died in Chicago from extreme heat over a five-day period, according to CNN. Hundreds more were hospitalized.

This week, the high humidity mixed with above-average temperatures combined to create a ridge of high pressure known as a “heat dome” over the central U.S. High pressure acts as a lid on the atmosphere. When hot air tries to escape, the lid causes it to sink and the air is forced downward, warming even more.

Another factor that has con-

tributed to this dangerous heat wave is known as “corn sweat.”

Corn releases water from the leaves, and when wind sweeps through, moisture is released into the atmosphere causing humidity levels to soar in surrounding areas.

In contrast to the rest of the nation, North Idaho should expect temperatures this week to hover in the 80s, with a few days possibly running into the 90s. But, Mann pointed out, we should feel some residual effects of the heat wave in the latter part of July.

“The high is expected to expand and give us some warm weather for the rest of July,” he said.

NEWS

Cone and Coffee featured on Buzzfeed

Solar Roadways project given green light

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Following council approval Wednesday, the Solar Roadways demonstration project is on track for an autumn completion date.

The project, which is funded through a $48,734 Idaho Gem State grant, a $10,000 Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency contribution and $1,266 in city grant matching funds, will take up 150 square feet in Jeff Jones Town Square. Comprised of 30 hexagonal panels at a cost of $2,000 per panel, the project will be a pioneering effort for Solar Roadways technology. Given the viral fame the company has achieved, the demonstration has garnered worldwide attention.

“We have national media contacting us regularly looking for the install date,” city administrator Jennifer Stapleton told council members.

According to Stapleton, the project should be completed by late August to early September.

With council approval secured, Solar Roadways staff will begin ordering parts and assembling the panels. From there, they’ll install

the panels and tie them in to the electrical grid. The panels will include 56 clusters of six LED lights, which can be programmed to display a variety of messages, pictures or designs.

Stapleton said company co-owners Scott and Julie Brusaw want to ensure Sandpoint, as the Solar Roadways hometown, maintains a state-of-the-art demonstration project. To that

Solar Roadways crew Scott Brusaw, Julie Brusaw and Alyssa Delbridge stand at the Jeff Jones Town Square, future site of the Solar Roadways demonstration project. Photo by Ben Olson. end, Solar Roadways will replace the Jeff Jones Town Square panels whenever a new model is completed.

“From where they are as a company in terms of development, this will be an important project for them,” Stapleton said.

With Solar Roadways technology nearly ready for its public debut, the company is fielding interest from Missouri, the University of Idaho, Boise State University and dozens of other cities, companies and schools.

County subdivisions under the microscope

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Bonner County commissioners are diving back into land use issues next week with proposed changes to county subdivisions.

Under the amendments, a minor land division will be defined as four or fewer lots, a minor subdivision will become 10 or fewer lots and a subdivision will encompass 11 or more lots. The upshot is potentially increased lot density and quicker turnaround in county review. Commissioners plan to consider the changes at a meeting secheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4, at the Bonner County Administration Building.

As with other changes to county land use code over

the past year, the proposed alterations are creating controversy. County Commissioner Todd Sudick said the revisions would ease the process for landowners to develop properties while bringing county code in line with Idaho code. The motivations are similar to those cited for previous changes, which have included lessening building permit requirements, shortening county processing and and removing the need for Panhandle Health District to permit septic systems.

Opponents argue that by chopping county lands into too many parcels, existing landowners won’t be notified about new subdivisions until development begins. They say that

without sufficient review from the public or other agencies, lots could be poorly planned, creating headaches for Realtors and neighbors alike.

“In short, I worry that in the current zeal to streamline our county building and zoning codes with little to no involvement from the public or other agencies, we are unintentionally creating a county that will be unrecognizable and undesirable to those of us who now

live in, and love, this beautiful place,” county resident Susan Drumheller wrote in a letter to commissioners.

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Buzzfeed, the Internet repository for all things Millennial, gave Panhandle Cone and Coffee a sweet surprise last week.

The massive web-based publication listed the ice cream shop as the most popular destination in Idaho for a cool summertime treat. Buzzfeed collaborated with business review site Yelp to select the favorite ice cream shop in every state, using an algorithm that factored the number of reviews alongside the average star rating.

Panhandle Cone and Coffee bested every other Idaho ice cream shop in its reviews-to-stars ratio.

“We were pretty excited about it, obviously,” said co-owner Jason Dillon.

The ice cream shop owners first found out about the article when a fan posted it to their Facebook page last week. Since then, it’s whipped up a flurry of activity, with news outlets picking up the story and sharing it on social media. Dillon said a regional TV show even contacted them about potentially featuring the shop, although nothing is set in stone at this point.

“This post by far reached more people than any other on our Facebook page,” Dillon said.

“We got a lot of shares from people that were excited for us.”

The article featured comments from Yelpers, who raved about the quality of both the ice cream and service.

“We were both super excited to try the Huckleberry, as it is the state fruit of Idaho, and we saw it everywhere around Sandpoint,” wrote Jennifer L. “It was DELICIOUS!!!! There were pieces of huckleberry within the buttercream mix — so good.”

“Everything is homemade, all natural, and served up with a small town smile,” Lora W. wrote. “Do not miss the fresh, homemade waffle cones!”

Panhandle Cone and Coffee has become a popular local institution in its short time in business. That’s thanks in part to the shop’s homemade ice cream recipes, but Dillon also credits his employees.

“I think it’s just a testament to quality of our staff,” he said.

“We have a whole crew of people that just love giving people a great ice cream experience.”

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Pancake Breakfast serves community

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Bouquets: •A bouquet to artist Kathryn Weisberg, who painted the 2016 Festival at Sandpoint poster.

One of the great parts about the Festival returning every year is seeing the great local artists’ work on each cover. Can’t wait to set up my lawn chair and listen to some tunes.

•A bouquet to the entire staff at the Sandpoint Library. I must say, every time I visit the library I am continually impressed with the fine people who make it such a great place to be. I’m thankful we have a columnist that works there (Brenden Bobby—“Mad About Science” column) who generates great content for the Reader every week. Keep up the good work, Library!

•I recently bought a new truck (well, not new, but newer than my old, ratty 1980 Chevy pickup that has gotten me by for years).

Wanting to get my new rig detailed and cleaned out completely, I took it over to 5th Avenue Detail Shop and had them do the works on it. Man oh man, when I got the truck back it looked like it had just rolled off the new car lot.

I was super impressed by the level of detail they give to each vehicle. Also, as icing on the cake, owner Erik Ridley (who I’ve known for years) noticed I didn’t have any floormats in the truck so he rummaged around in the back and produced a matching set free of charge. Great service and great part of the community. Well done 5th Avenue Detail Shop.

Barbs: •Those anti-abortion abolutionists that hold enormous signs with pictures of aborted fetuses deserve a big barb.

I don’t care whether you are pro-choice or pro-life, it is not an effective way to spread your message right out in front of Farmin Park where children have no choice but to see these disgusting images and hear such violent preaching through an amplified speaker. Boo! 8 /

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You’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but for the Sam Owen Fire District, it’s also an important fundraiser.

The Sam Owen Fire District will be hosting its 12th annual Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, July 23, at the Sam Owen Fire Station at the junction of Peninsula Road in Hope. The breakfast takes place from 7:30-11:00 a.m. and will be offering a steaming hot breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, juice and coffee or tea for only $5 for adults or $2.50 for children under 12.

The fundraiser has been a staple of the community since Don and Nuala Steinke first began hosting it. Steinke owned the KFC restaurant in Sandpoint some years ago.

“He and his family were the ones who originally thought this would be a good ideas as a fundraiser,” said Jane Holzer, volunteer with the Sam Owen Fire District. “They supplied all the food and did all the cooking.

Don and his wife Nuala still live on the Peninsula and help with breakfast every year.”

Since the early days when the Pancake Breakfast was a way to “give back to the community,” it has since become the only fundraiser of the year

for the all-volunteer Sam Owen Fire District. The monies raised are used for supplies for the firehouse, including uniforms, communication devices and important fire fighting equipment.

“We’ve got 20 volunteer firefighters,” said Holzer.

“They are all volunteer and train three times a month. They answer all kinds of calls, not only fire and rescue, but emergency calls too. We’ve got past medics from the Navy, past wildland firefighters, pilots, CPAs—they all donate their time and expertise.

Holzer said over 70 people volunteer to help serve the pancake breakfast. Last year, they served 855 people in the morning.

“Since we have two RV parks and a campground on Sam Owen Peninsula, there is a tremendous influx of visitors,” said Holzer. “We were very surprised last year when we found that a number of Canadians actually schedule their vacations around when the pancake breakfast is.”

After breakfast, attendees are encouraged to tour the fire station and meet the firefighters. Children will have the opportunity to sit in the trucks, try on the uniforms and meet Phineas the firedog. There are even free prizes for children, including a Dalmatian Junior Firefighter hat.

The Sam Owen Fire District

is committed to providing the highest level of fire protection and emergency services to all its residents, businesses and visitors. With several fully equipped firefighting and rescue vehicles, the district is able to respond to any fire or emergency situation. The rescue vehicle has the latest in extrication, land and water rescue equipment. The four-wheel drive wildlands vehicle can

Area children get to try on the firefighting equipment and meet personnel. Photo courtesy of Sam Owen Fire District.

reach our most remote areas and many of the volunteers have completed intensive training in wildland firefighting.

To learn more about the Sam Owen Fire District and its services, or volunteer opportunities, contact fire chief Bob Wathen at 264-5745.

Crazy Days hits Sandpoint

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Bargain hunters, get out your pocket books. Downtown Crazy Days is just around the corner.

A Sandpoint tradition for decades, Crazy Days brings out the fun for business owners and local shoppers alike as retailers bust out some of the best bargains of the year. The annual sale gets local business personalities into the open air for sidewalk sales that bring the community together. It all

happens Saturday, July 30, in downtown Sandpoint.

Crazy Days is a tradition that goes back as far as some of the community’s most venerable residents. The last Saturday of July has long been a chance for downtown business staffers to show their wilder side, dressing up in costumes or just getting outside for some weekend fun.

For fans of the Panida Theater, Crazy Days is one of

the best chances to support a worthy cause. Those who have LPs, movies, CDs or cassettes they no longer need can donate them to the theater anytime between Wednesday and Friday from 1-4 p.m. The donated items from individuals, record stores and radio stations will sell during Crazy Days until 1 p.m., with proceeds funding a scholarship that helps Bonner County students pursue an education in music, theater, film or

some other art.

According to Panida Theater director Patricia Walker, volunteers Stephen Garvan and Marcella Nelson have been instrumental in organizing the sale for years, but they could use some help to set up, manage sales and tear down afterward.

Email panidatheater@panida. org to offer your support.

COMMUNITY

A Tale of Three Goslings

By Kestrel Bass Reader Contributor Two months ago our neighbor brought over three tiny Canadian geese goslings that had wandered out of the woods and onto her field. Unfortunately, there were no adults in sight, and because we have a small pond, she wondered if we could take them. So along they came to join our other oddball assortment of feathered and furry companions.

About seven years ago, a wild mallard decided that being wild wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and followed our ragtag gang into the chicken coop one evening. He has never wanted to leave, and the gate has always been open.

Larry, our Toulouse goose, immediately became the nanny extraordinaire of our new little group, not allowing another creature anywhere near them including myself. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the little fellows imprinted on me. Whenever they caught a glimpse of me, they would stand up like little soldiers on their oversized webbed feet and run full-bore over to me, tiny wings flapping with delight. This displeased Larry greatly, and his dislike for me has since reached epic proportions.

Larry has taken to my husband but has always had a comical distain for me. He has never really appreciated that I am the one keeping him alive and safe. There has never been an attempt of any sort of affection towards me on his part.

Needless to say, I have to be on constant alert and keep well out of his reach. As old as he is, he can still run or swim extremely quickly if he thinks he can get in a good bite.

We kept the little goslings for a few weeks until I found out that it was illegal to keep them. Oops! It was also becoming apparent that they needed

more instruction on becoming full-fledged Canadian geese than I could give them.

Each spring a few pair would come to our pond, splash about and leave. Rarely would they bring their offspring as walking through the woods never really worked out well for the goslings. But no adult geese came to the pond while we had them in our care.

As I read up on them a bit more, I found that they really did need other geese to learn from and connect with so that they could live happily and independently in the wild, so now what to do?

Our vet told me about the American Heritage Wild Life Foundation in Clark Fork and I called them right away. What a stroke of luck! Founder and wildlife specialist Kathleen St. Clair-McGee and Sara Lendzioszek—a wildlife intern in her final year at Montana State earning her degree in conservation biology and ecology—met me and escorted us to the nursery. Luckily, they had room to take in our little group and, in fact, had themselves gotten four goslings about the same age sometime before our arrival.

They weighed and inspected the goslings for any diseases and then gently put them into a crate until they could acclimate and then join the others.

Looking around, I saw a gaze of baby raccoons and a young raven that had fallen out of its nest during a wind storm.

We kept our voices at a whisper, and I was not allowed to interact in any way with the animals in their care. For their own good they were well-tended, but human interaction was kept at a minimum. This helps return them to the wild with the least hesitation, assimilating them quickly and easily back into their natural habitats.

I asked if I could attend their release date and both

The goslings totter around with their temporary adopted parent. Photo by Kestrel Bass. women were more than happy to tend to the many orphaned American Heritage Wildlife to have me be there. and hurt animals in our area Foundation: Last week, I got to see them and to teach and inspire the again for the first time in about rest of us to live alongside 59895 ID-200 six weeks. They had grown the wonderful creatures of the Clark Fork, Idaho 83811 into young, majestic birds now, forest and waterways. They can 208-266-1488 strong and healthy and ready always use the help and donaahwf@sandpoint.net to be independent. Our little tions are happily accepted. caravan of cars drove them to Should an injured or very a quiet part of the Clark Fork young, abandoned or lost wild anRiver where they were let go. imal cross your path please don’t It was hoped that they would hesitate to call or email them. join up with fellow geese already in the area but it seemed they were a happy little family on their own swimming and splashing in their new environment. We all watched with such joy while taking lots of pictures.

The American Heritage Wildlife Foundation is a blessing to our community. It is a fully voluntary organization The American Heritage Wildlife Foundation releases the fully grown geese into the wild. Photo by Kestrel Bass. whose purpose is July 21, 2016 /

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

SPIDERS

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Oh no, oh no, oh no. Not spiders!

My girlfriend absolutely hates them and wishes them all removed from this world, but I have a vastly different outlook.

I’m one of those weird guys that, unless I know it’s venomous, will try to scoop it up and drop it outside.

Spiders are an important part of the ecosystem, and you can look at it like this: Would you rather have one creepy spider that just sort of hangs out in the corner, or do you want a total infestation of disease-spreading flies, gnats and roaches crawling all over your walls, counters, dishes and food?

If your answer was “neither,” I can agree with you, but that’s a luxury we can’t afford. The world has bugs, and lots of them.

Unfortunately for us, those bugs like to go everywhere, especially our homes when there aren’t many other bugs around.

Spiders help keep infestations in check. They are the silent guardians of your home, whether you like it or not. The only case for killing them is if you know they’re dangerous to the well-being of your family.

Lucky for us, we don’t have a whole lot of spiders in this area that are very dangerous to humans, and the few that we do have are pretty easily identifiable.

Hobo Spiders. They’re weird little guys, with a bite that’s not totally understood by the medical community. It’s believed that their bite can cause necrosis similar to that of a brown recluse’s bite, and it’s fairly universally known that the bite hurts. They aren’t particularly aggressive unless you’re all up in their business, but it’s usually hard to tell where 10 /

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a spider’s business begins and ends.

Hobo spiders are a light brown color with a dark brown abdomen and light chevrons up and down their butt. Usually, you don’t want to get close enough to identify that part of the spider, so if you suspect it might be a Hobo Spider and can see some variation on the tush, it might be a good idea to evict it from your home.

The Brown Recluse.

This is the spider that every nightmarish spider you’ve ever fought in video games happens to be modeled after. They are a fairly large spider, some being larger than a penny with slender bodies and long, bent legs. You’ve heard to look for the violin on their abdomen, but this isn’t a definitive means of identifying a recluse. Instead, the eyes are a giveaway. While most spiders have eight eyes, the Brown Recluse has six.

Personally, I don’t want to get close enough to one to gaze dreamily into its eyes while it decides whether or not to bite me on the nose. The Brown Recluse bite is famous for causing necrotic skin lesions and sending people to the hospital. This is caused by a powerful hemotoxin injected by the spider’s fangs when it bites. If hemotoxin sounds terrifying, that’s because it is. It’s designed to damage red blood cells and stop clotting.

Luckily for us, Brown Recluse bites are pretty rare, and necrotic skin lesions only occur about 40 percent of the time.

They usually only bite when they’re hiding in our clothes. It’s a horrifying thought, but a quick shake-out before suiting up will usually solve that threat before you have to worry about it.

Black Widows. We don’t really have to worry about them up here. They aren’t normally found in this area, but it’s perfectly possible for them to migrate here from items shipped into the home or bought from a store where the item was shipped from across the country. You don’t even really need me to tell you what a Black Widow looks like. You already know.

It’s the spider you think of when someone says the word “Spider”.

Inky black, fat, with a deadly little red hourglass on its butt.

Only the females are dangerous, and despite their claim to fame, they’re more dangerous to their mates than humans. Their bites can cause what is called latrodectism, named after their genus. Latrodectism is pretty nasty. It causes muscle rigidity, vomiting, sweating and pain, though it rarely kills.

You may not know this, but I used to work in a produce department. Random, right? Just wait.

Most people that have worked in departmental retail know that the best-selling item in the nation by a wide margin is bananas. Really random, right?

What does this have to do with spiders?

Sometimes, very rarely, the shipments of bananas will carry a fun stowaway from Central America that absolutely no one wants here.

They’re called Brazilian Wandering Spiders.

These are huge spiders that like to sit in the palm of your hand, and

they’re one of the most venomous spiders in the world. Fortunately for us all, their ability to survive in these climates is pretty poor, and most that sneak in usually don’t survive the brutal process of shipping.

Even luckier, one of these particular spiders only happens accurately about seven times out of every 150 sightings, which happens once in every few thousand boxes. Don’t worry, your bananas are safe! Spiders don’t really lay eggs inside of the tips of bananas. That’s just a silly myth.

Speaking of giant spiders, let’s talk about the Golden-Silk Orb Weaver. These spiders are crazy awesome, producing a silk with a unique gold color. They’re extremely colorful, beautiful spiders (though some will argue those two words never belong to-

gether) hailing from all over the world. Some variations of these guys have been recorded to reach almost 6 inches across. We’ve even found remarkably well-preserved fossils of a Gold-Silk Orb Weaver’s great, great, great (this will go on for a while…) grand-nanny. If you didn’t know that we have found spider fossils before, you do now!

But Brenden, what about those nasty, horrible little things that like to bite me and suck my blood?

Ticks! Ticks aren’t spiders.

Ticks are the spawn of pestilence and evil and worthy only of being eaten by my rafter of turkeys. They are arachnids, but they are not spiders. Scorpions are also arachnids, but they are most certainly not spiders. We’ll talk about them another time!

I hope I’ve helped convince you to not to crush that harmless little spider curled up in the corner of your house. Wait, who am I kidding? I probably just made your arachnophobia exponentially worse! My bad.

Random Corner SPIDERS

t those creepy crawling

Here are some facts abou

eight-legged freaks.

• Spiders can walk on water, and breathe under it, too.

• Spiders eat their own webs to recycle them.

• 95 percent of the spiders in your house have never been outside.

• The chances of us eating even one spider in our sleep throughout our lifetime is close to 0 percent.

• Spider silk is about five times stronger than steel of the same weight.

• Spiders are scared of ants due to the formic acid they contain.

• The last time somebody died from a spider bite in Australia was in 1981.

• Spiders don’t have penises. They mate with the appendages on their face.

• Spiders, lobsters and snails have blue blood due to the presence of hemocyanin, which contains copper.

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event t h u r s d a y

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s u n d a y m o n d a y t u e s d a y w e d n e s d a y t h u r s d a y

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Live Music w/ Jake Robin 6-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Acoustic rock sounds with pop culture lyrical charisma Live Music w/ Scott Reid 7-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Bluegrass standards, and folk rock covers

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Throwback Thursdays at the 219 7-11pm @ 219 Lounge Featuring live music with Brian Jacobs and friends

Kalispe 10:30a A spec Shawno Mythw strong— the Koo

Live Music w/ These Two Guys Shangri La At The Lake G 9pm @ 219 Lounge 5:30-9:30pm @ Shangri La 1 Everyone is welcome for this fun, family friend- Hilber and Mike are making the C ly evening of eating, drinking, and dancing, live 1500 mile trek to Sandpoint to play a and silent auctions, catering by Ivano’s and pre- some music and enjoy the summer S sentations by Compassionists, Educators, and Live Music w/ Chris Lynch N Students. Shangri La is at 116 Bella Circle, Sagle 6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante @ Polly O’Keary and The Rhythm Method T Live Music w/ Devon Wade and Band 7:30pm @ Di Luna’s Cafe y 9pm @ 219 Lounge Polly O’Keary is an award-winning and g Enjoy some Sandpoint grown country world-touring bass player, vocalist and songwritL from Devon Wade and his Band er performing a mix of soul, funk, blues and rock. 5 Live Music w/ Matthew Frantz Tickets $10 in adv., $12 day of the show. Doors at 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery 5:30pm with dinner served before the show Matthew’s music is soulful, hones, gritSandpoin ty, and relevant to what’s gong on the Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser 9-1pm @ 7:30-11am @ Sam Owen Fire Station the world now Great loc Get a great breakfast for only $5/adults, Northwest Yoga Feast and crafts $2.50/children and support the Sam @ the Eureka Center (Sagle) Owen Fire District. Plus, meet the vol- live music Garden of Artistry Fine Art Show unteer firefighters, meet Phineas the fire Live Mus 10am-5pm @ Ponderay Garden Center dog and try on firefighting equipment! 6-9pm @ T Live Music w/ Chris Lynch Featuring 6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Game Night at the Niner 9pm @ 219 Lounge

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Airplanes with Quest Aircraft 10:30am @ Spt. Library Discover the world of aeronautics at this free Tuesday Fun program for kids and families

f

Six-Pack Alleycat Ride – 2pm @ Greasy Fingers Think of this as a scavenger hunt on your bicycle. Plan for 12-15 mile ride, register at 1pm. 255.4496

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Trivia Night 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s

Karaoke Night 10pm - Midnight @ 219 Lounge

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park Great local produce, fun arts and crafts, yummy food and live music by Beth Pederson and Betsy Hammett

Learn to dance the Swing – 7pm @ SWAC Learn the Triple Time East Coast Swing from Diane Peters. 610-1770 for info

Winter Ridge Speaker Series 6pm @ Winter Ridge Applied Vitiflex (Vitality through the reflexes)

‘Charades at 6pm @ Panid Enjoy a fun c You must buy is $27 and inc and Chicken

Hard Cider Tasting event 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Featuring hard cider tastings from Finnriver Farm and Cidery. There will be six different ciders on hand at a $6.00 tasting fee along with our complimentary appetizers.

Youth Photography Seminar 12-5:30pm @ U of I extension office (fairgrounds) A free seminar for youth aged 12-18 with acclaimed photographer Monte Stiles. Includes photography workshop, a sack lunch, an afternoon of wildlife photography at Round Lake. Sponsored by the 7B Drug Free program. 208-699-0919 for info

Live Music w/ Ben Olson 7-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall A rare solo show by frontman of Harold’s IGA. Ben will be playing a smattering of B-sides that don’t make it into the normal rotation

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ful

July 21 - 28, 2016

Kalispel-led lake tour 10:30am @ City Beach e A special tour of the lake on the c Shawnodese hosted by the Idaho d Mythweaver and led by Anna Armstrong—educational director for the Kootenai tribe. 265-8323

s

A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com.

Reader recommended

Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry Learn to use a compass 2:30pm @ Sandpoint Library Learn to use a compass and then track down treasure for free!

Garden of Artistry Fine Art Show 1-5pm @ Ponderay Garden Center the Come see over 30 local artists at the play annual Garden of Artistry Fine Art er Show. Opening reception from 6-8pm Northwest Yoga Feast @ the Eureka Center (Sagle) od The 7th annual Yoga Feast, combining yoga with culinary masterpieces. Also ng and great art and live music ongwrit- Live Music w/ John Firshi nd rock. 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Doors at ow

Live Music w/ Chris Laterzo and Buffalo Robe 9pm @ 219 Lounge KPND welcomes this folk, rock, and alt-country cowboy rock performer from Los Angeles

Live Music w/ Bill Price 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery It is our yearly gift of music from Bill Price, an acoustic guitarist, singer/songwriter touring from Indiana.

Live Music w/ Running with Scissors 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach

Plan for

SWAC ing from

Northwest Yoga Feast @ the Eureka Center

Live Music w/ Ron Greene 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Greene’s intimate stage presence has gained him a reputation as a passionate singer Rails to Resort Hill Climb 11am @ Red Barn Parking lot Cost is $15/rider, and is open to all skill levels who like a challenge. Late regisSunday in the Park tration and check-in will be from 9:30 1-5pm @ Farmin Park a.m. until 10:45 a.m. in the Red Barn Live Music w/ Lot, with pre-race meeting at 10:45 Bruce Bishop and Drew a.m. and an 11 a.m. race start.

6-9pm @ Trinity Live Music w/ John Hastings 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

arades at Five’ Dinner Theater m @ Panida Little Theater oy a fun comedy full of missed opportunities, misleads and misdeeds. u must buy your ticket early to book a seat for this dinner and a play! Cost 27 and includes a delicious dinner featuring Penne alla Vodka Chicken Chicken Waldorf Salad; there’s also a vegan Waldorf Salad option

of ng n’t n

craft beer store

A DOWNTOWN FAVORITE! er with us!

Celebrate summ prices!

Fresh food, great

OVER 3OO BEERS IN STOCK PLUS 12 ROTATING TAPS

located on the historic

2O3 CEDAR STREET

Live Music w/ Scotia Road 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Four-piece family band from Newport, Wash.

Late Night at the Museum: Cinema in the Park 8:30pm @ Lakeview Park (near museum) BCHS will be showing “The Princess Bride.” Gen. Adm. only $2. Sit under the stars!

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market Summer Sounds 9-1pm @ Farmin Park 4-6pm @ Park Place Stage Great local produce, fun arts A summer concert series that takes and crafts, yummy food and place downtown (near Arlo’s) and ive music by Mobius Riff features live music by the Wagoners Live Music w/ Arthur and Mia 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach Featuring music by Arthur and Mia of Bright Moments Garden of Artistry Fine Art Show 10am-3pm @ Ponderay Garden Center

sandpoint’s premier

Find out why we’re a

July 29 Korby Lenker in ‘Charades at Five’ Dinner Theater co ncert @ Di Luna’s Live Music 6pm @ Panida Little Theater w/ Ron Greene Cafe Yappy Hour 6-8pm @ 4-7pm @ Trinity at City Beach Pend d’Oreille Winery July 30 With music by Marty and Doug A soulful rock mix on Crazy Days @ downthe patio! town Sandpoint Throwback Thursdays at the 219 7-11pm @ 219 Lounge August 4—14 Featuring live music with Brian Jacobs Th e Festival at and friends, $2 domestics and $3 crafts. Dollar Beers!

Sa 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub nd point @ MemoJoin in playing in this informal open mic Good until the keg’s dry rial Field night setting every Thursday night

CEDAR ST. BRIDGE in Sandpoint, Idaho

www.cedarstbistro.com

DOWNTOWN SANDPOINT, ID

2O8.597.7O96 | IDAHOPOURAUTHORITY.COM

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES

Upstairs in the Cedar St. Bridge

Crazy Days...

Great sales throughout the store

20-70% OFF On selected items Saturday only July 30, 2016

carousel.sandpoint@gmail.com • (208) 263-4140 • 334 N. 1st Ave. • ‘Like’ us on Facebook!

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-jersey and angusJersey and Angus are the best of friends who are snug on a rug!

Marsha J. Papaleo Sandpoint

Listen in Sandpoint to KPND @ 106.7 in HD 14 /

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Y U B AL! C O L it helps

LITERATURE

reminiscing at north 40

opera scene

by Jeanette Schandelmeier

This open Window

Vol. 1 No. 5

poetry and prose by local writers

edited by Jim mitsui

For traditionalists, here’s a little bit about contemporary poetry—more specifically, free verse. Robert Frost once said that writing free verse was like playing tennis without the net. In other words, too easy—just hit the ball back and forth without the structure of a net. I have a different take: It’s like playing tennis without the net but imagining where the net is and deciding whether your serve ticked or hit the net or was a legal serve—which actually would be harder and involve some honesty and judgment. The trouble with a lot of traditional verse is that, sooner or later, your message becomes compromised by the rhyme scheme that you have to follow.

Also, avoid too many perfect rhymes; slant or halfrhymes help break up any kind of sing-song effect.

Contemporary poetry emphasizes what it is that you have to say, but it has to work. How your lines sound—the rhythm and flow of your writing, including internal rhymes, alliteration and writing that is clean—is essential. So are specific concrete imagery, showing and not trying to tell the audience what it is that you’re trying to say, emphasizing active verbs and not using passive voice are some of the judgments that a contemporary poet must contend with.

The best rhyming poems are those where end-rhyme is not noticeable. Some of the best contemporary poets who wrote traditional verse are Elizabeth Bishop, Donald Hall, Theodore Roethke, Howard Nemerov, and Billy Collins. So the next time you play a game with some sort of net, think about playing it without a net. Writing free verse is not just chopping a paragraph into lines; it has a definite structure, format, natural sound, and most importantly—a point, a message. And it has more form and structure than you may think.

Please submit your work to this column; jim3wells@ aol.com. Especially you men and high school students. I know you are capable.

-Jim Mitsui

Want to see your poetry in the Reader?

Send in your submission to: jim3wells@aol.com.

by Amy Craven I know I’m interrupting but you didn’t see what I just saw

Yesterday I found myself chatting with a stranger—not about the best this or that, but how it usta be. We cross paths in the game smoker aisle.

there, down to the right of my chair underneath the deck’s glass railing, right here while the air cooled around us and the shadows lengthened in the early evening

He’s in the right place, I’m passing through looking for canning supplies, stop to answer a question and to marvel at what’s in those huge

the scene from an insect opera

boxes. Does this mean I’m turning into my father? He was the master of shootin’ the breeze. (Mom would never do that; she had only terse

a smallish beetle meandering on its way was covered, pounced on, rendered immobile by a wasp

responses to the friendliest comments while shopping.) We discuss raising beef calves and pigs, ways to get greens into your chickens in winter, and feeding

almost matched in size but with no frenetic duet or duel just a covering of body over body

goats the best third cutting alfalfa hauled down from Bonners. And the feed and grain mill in town, where you could buy a gallon of molasses to take home and add to your

the wasp helicopterd the beetle up in a snatch it clutched the bug and exited stage left abruptly

grain for goats getting ready to kid. And Bill Ramsey, the mobile butcher with “Have Gun Will Travel” painted on the side of his truck.

Afterward I feel like I’ve made it to Old Timer.

leaving me to sing the aria with a gasp

Jeanette was born in Anchorage and raised on a nearby homestead. After receiving her degree in Special Education she came to Bonner County 37 years ago and taught for 32 years. Now retired, she spends her time gardening, writing, meandering about nature, and trying to outwit ravens and deer.

Amy grew up in Baltimore and lives in Sandpoint near the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. She still hopes that some of you will fall under the spell of poetry. This poem combines her background as a singer and another keen observer of nature.

but for the glee of horses in setting sun

by Beth Weber

Beside the highway near Heath Lake Road the swamp usually sprawls relaxed, inconspicuous,

afternoon as I pass by, horses, the color of hay, toss their manes in apparent joy,

still as a tarnished mirror reclined for the vanity of riparian grasses & sedges, a serene

and gallop its length, hooves shattering their reflections into upward sprays. Look! between

incubator for mosquito wigglers, placid rest stop for an occasional migratory goose. But this

darkened mountains, a tangential wand of sunlight, cast by the sky’s alchemist

illuminates tiny flying shards, shifting them into shimmering diamonds.

Beth Weber lives in Cocolalla, overlooking the lake. A musician, director, and glass artist, this poem displays her keen observations of nature and the joy of galloping horses.

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Gardening with Laurie:

Toxic Garden Plants

By Laurie Brown Reader Columnist A garden is a source of beauty and joy. The foliage, flowers and wildlife they attract add a lot to people’s lives. But a surprising number of common, gorgeous garden plants can be toxic—some can easily poison and even kill.

Most gardeners are aware that rhubarb leaves are poisonous, and that those pretty nightshade vines with their dark green leaves, purple flowers and bright berries are too, but there are a lot of other perils in the average garden. Did you know that sweet peas are toxic? It takes a lot of them to actually poison a person, but it happens. If the person happens to be a small child, it takes much less to create an emergency situation.

The list of toxic garden plants is extensive. Some merely create dermatitis when handled; others can bring on serious health problems. For instance, aconite (monkshood, wolf’s bane) can create severe problems if any sap gets into your skin via small cuts or sores.

One thing I’ve noticed is that if a plant has milky sap, it may cause skin irritation. I’m sure there are exceptions to this.

These tend to not be deadly poisons, but if you swallow the sap it can make your mouth and throat get a rash and itch just like it does your hands!

Do you need to avoid all these plants in your garden?

The garden would be very bare if we avoided them all. If you have small children, I’d certainly avoid the worst ones like aconite, datura, castor bean plant and daphne with its shiny red berries—or I’d at least remove the berries as soon as they start to form. One idea is to plant all the poisonous plants in one area, and fence it off from children and livestock. I throw weeds and cuttings into the chicken pen, but do not throw anything on this list in. Don’t forget that while plants like the rose are non-toxic, have edible hips and can be made into tea, they’re still poisonous if they’ve been 16 /

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treated with insecticide or mildewcide. I always wear gloves and long sleeves when gardening. Even a very light-weight shirt will protect your skin from poisonous plants unless you’re mashing them up!

There is a good list of poisonous plants at http://ucanr. edu/sites/poisonous_safe_plants/ Toxic_Plants_by_Scientific_ Name_685/ They rate the plants by toxicity: very toxic, mildly toxic, oxalates which cause irritation of the skin, mouth and stomach and ones that cause dermatitis.

Here are some of the common garden plants that are toxic: Anything in ranunculi family-the various plants can cause vomiting, liver inflammation, paralysis, and even death: •Delphinium •Clematis •Thalictrum •Columbine-gastric irritation, arrhythmias •Anemones •Larkspur- vomiting, lowers heart rate; can kill In 6 hours •Aconite (ranunculi but super toxic—wear gloves) heart arrhythmias, cardiac and respiratory arrest •Bleeding heart-trembling, agitation, respiratory problems •Wisteria •Daphne berries and leaves— very corrosive to digestive track, convulsions •Hellebore •Lily of the valley-headaches, hot flashes, hallucina-

tions, lowered heart rate •Daffodils—the worst is the small flowered, fragrant narcissus-vomiting and death •Datura •Ricinus (Castor bean plant) •Iris (mostly in rhizome) •Gladiola (mostly in bulb) •Laburnum (Golden Chain Tree) low potency; dose would have to be large •Elderberry (only the ripe berries are safe) •Milkweed •Holly berries •Potato and tomato leaves •Primrose •Rhubarb leaves—oxalic acid; corrosive to throat and stomach; can lead to kidney failure •Hydrangea—cyanide type toxin, especially in the flower buds •Foxglove—vomiting; larger amounts cause heart rate problems •Mountain laurel and azaleas- kidney failure; even honey made by bees visiting it can be poisonous •Onion and ornamental alliums—poisonous to cats but not humans •Peony—all parts, skin irritant, nausea, diarrhea As with any poison, when in doubt, call the poison control center if someone ingests any plant and starts to have odd symptoms. If you don’t know what the name of the plant is, take some with you to the emergency room.

Garden of Artistry show coming July 22-24

By Reader Staff The Garden of Artistry Fine Art Show opens for its fifth year July 22, 23 and 24 at the Ponderay Garden Center. In the last four years the show has gained a reputation for exceptional art and artists. Most of the 40 artists exhibiting are professionals with national reputations in their media.

As in years before, several emerging artists have been invited—those whose careers are just getting started. One of the original goals of the show has been to encourage newer artists, giving them a chance to interact with long time professionals and benefit from their years of experience. Visitors to the show will find the artists willing to share their knowledge both about their mediums and marketing art. Many of the artists also offer workshops on a yearly schedule.

Visitors will find painters, photographers, jewelers and sculptors. They will be able to meet the artist in person and learn about the art and the person behind each creation.

For many it is a second career as they made the gamble to develop the talent that could no longer

be denied. Many artists got their motivation to move forward by talking with the exhibitors they met at shows like this.

Many of these artists live in our region. Our area has long attracted artists—some may be your neighbors. Our community has a history of supporting the arts—not only is the Garden of Artistry presented by the Ponderay Garden Center, but many local businesses have contributed. The first 100 families will receive a gift tote bag that contains materials from these businesses. The artists wish to thank: Route 66, the Blue Heron Cafe and Samuels Store, ASAP Tax and Accounting, Pierce Auto Sales, The Co-Op Country Store, the Bonner County Daily Bee, Steve’s Import Auto, Connie’s Cafe and Lake RV for being our sponsors this year.

The Ponderay Garden Center is located just north of Walmart and North 40 on Highway 95. The hours are Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. with an Opening Reception from 6 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendance and parking are both free.

Senior Center happenings

By Reader Staff

Here are a couple of fun events coming up at the Sandpoint Senior Center.

“Widows Helping Widows” got off to a great start last month at the Sandpoint Senior Center. Four gals shared information about their common experiences. They also talked about referrals to services and resources in the area for repairs that their husbands had done in the past. They came up with a motto: “Women getting strong together!”

The next meeting will take place on Monday, July 25 at 10 a.m. in the SASi conference room. For more information contact SASi at

263-6860 to leave a message for group coordinator Vivian Kirkwood. Women who have gone through divorce are also welcome to attend.

Summertime visitors Lee and Lea Soltis have brought “Silver Sneakers” to SASi. The Richard Simmons videotape is a great 40-minute workout that they do daily and has made them stronger and more fit.

The classes take place Monday mornings at 8:15 a.m. in the Sandpoint Senior Center, 820 Main Street. Participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothing and sneakers (of any color!) for this gentle stretching and movement class.

For more information, contact SASi at 263-6860

Painting a Life

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Intern

Artist Kathryn Weisberg is the kind of woman who, while having a conversation about all the interesting things she’s done in her life, forgets to mention that she lived in the wilderness by choice for six months at the age of 24 until a half an hour into the interview.

It is safe to say that in a life chock full of world travel and occupations ranging from computer technology—where she managed the team of “geniuses” who invented scalable font—to diving tour guide—where she led Florida tourists on underwater treks to see sharks—it might be easy to omit a stint in the woods with nothing but a small book on edible plants and a Swiss Army knife. This, more than any story Weisberg could tell about her life, exemplifies just how many stories there are to choose from.

Still, despite her undeniable flexibility of occupation, one thing about Weisberg has never changed. Above all, she is an artist — something she’s known since age 10.

“There were a lot of artists in my family — a lot of musicians, dancers, artists.

It wasn’t really something I decided, it was just something I couldn’t get away from. It wouldn’t leave me,” she said.

Weisberg was chosen as the 2016 poster artist for the Festival at Sandpoint.

As far as her style goes, Weisberg said she spent the first 25 years of her art career attempting to depict the souls of wildlife with her paintbrush, but she now dabbles in impressionistic works.

This year’s poster, unveiled last Thursday, depicts a cello in the sand of Lake Pend Oreille’s shore beside a pair of sandals. In the background, the blues and greens of the lake meet a pale blue sky graced by fluffy white clouds. Weisberg said the inspiration for her rendition of the festival poster came to her as she lay in bed back in January.

“I thought about how I personally feel in Sandpoint in August,” Weisberg said.

“And I personally feel the sensation of Sandpoint is very spiritual. It is a spiritual sensation that says, ‘Be outside, don’t be indoors. Get out.’”

Weisberg went on describe the specifics of this sensation — right down to the sand in her toes, the cool breeze, the warm sun, the chiseled mountains that surround the lake and the bald eagles flying overhead. She said that this sensation is unique. For her painting, she imagined what it would be like to be a cellist

visiting Sandpoint with the Spokane Symphony who had to practice indoors all day prior to their performance.

“They want to go to the beach. They don’t want to sit inside all day and practice. So off they go with their cello, kick their flip-flops off, stick the cello in the sand and practice,” Weisberg said.

“I love how Kate got into the heart and soul of a festival performer to create this amazing piece,” said Dyno Wahl, executive director of the Festival at Sandpoint. “The Festival at Sandpoint is a relationship between the audience and the artists who enjoy playing here. As is the case with the cellist in this painting, many musicians venture out into our town and environs and find our community to be one of the most beautiful places they’ve ever experienced. This painting represents the feeling many of them have described to me.”

It was her art that led her to Sandpoint in the first place, Weisberg said. After growing up on horseback in the rural outskirts of San Francisco where her parents owned a cattle ranch at the foothills of Mt. Diablo, Weisberg attended the Academy of Art in San Francisco. She then launched into an extensive career in the field of font technology, working for Xerox, NASA, Apple and Adobe. Amidst her high-tech career, Weisberg, who also holds degrees in psychology and business, said she never stopped painting.

Since the early 1990s, her work has consistently been shown on an international level.

“I paint every single day. I don’t believe in painter’s block. I believe you just pick up your paintbrush and keep painting,” she said. “The art degree sustained me spiritually, but the engineering and the high tech [backgrounds] sustained me financially.”

And it cannot be understated: Weisberg has been around the world. Well, except for India, China, Africa and the Middle East — but they’re on the list, she said. So how does a well-traveled Californian artist choose little ol’ North Idaho as her new home?

“I used to go to Glacier [National

Local artist Kathryn Weisberg unveils 2016 Festival poster, and shares her journey

Park] quite often, and I’d go through Sandpoint,” she said. “And once you drive through Sandpoint year after year after year, you start to realize it’s a pretty nice place.”

Weisberg said she decided that California was too crowded and it was time to leave, so she set her sails for Sandpoint in 2003. “[North Idaho] seemed like a logical location for someone who paints wildlife and landscapes and wants to be away from a lot of people. And of course the lake was a heck of a draw,” she added.

Weisberg is also a signature member of the nonprofit, international organization Artists for Conservation, and has spent much of her travels seeking out and appreciating rare landscapes and animals with her art. She won’t paint anything she hasn’t seen, she said.

“Grizzly bears, I go find them in the Arctic. Moose, I go find them in Sandpoint,” she said with a laugh.

By her own off-the-cuff tally, Weisberg said she has painted upward of 2,000 works, and has sold nearly 400. She said that she won’t sell a piece if she doesn’t feel good about it. “[A painting] doesn’t just get sold because I want money. It’s not about the money for me,” Weisberg said. “If I think it’s something that’s

Kathryn Weisberg painting al fresca in Clark Fork.

Courtesy photo.

going to make someone happy, feel good … I want it to be an emotional connection, so that every time they look at it, it takes them to a good place.”

Weisberg said she won’t paint anything dark or depressing. She said she likes people to lighten up when they see her art.

“There is enough struggle in people’s lives,” she said. “When they look at paintings they shouldn’t go to a struggling place.”

Crossword Solution

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Block out your summer celebration

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist We’re a hearty bunch here in North Idaho, and a few raindrops didn’t dampen our party spirits last weekend.

Whether you gathered near the lake, on the lake, in the woods or in a neighborhood backyard, inclement weather didn’t quell our “it’s summer, let’s party” attitudes. While we love our summer lake living, you really don’t even need a lake environment for a great summer event.

A couple of years ago in Chicago, I was out for walk on a warm summer evening, and as I rounded a corner I came upon more than a hundred people performing the Macarena, smack in the middle of the street. Yep, the Macarena, as far down the street as I could see (don’t judge me, but I hadn’t seen a Macarena lineup since I’d bribed an adolescent Casey with $20 to get one going at a Montana wedding reception). Fascinated and curious, I ventured down the street to have a better look. Closed to traffic, three city blocks were lined with grills, coolers brimming with ice and beverages and tables heaped with an array of potluck foods. Dancers of all ages bopped to party music blaring from overhead speakers, kids armed with squirt guns darted between houses and young parents gathered in the middle of the street to share a cold one while the oldsters, in sturdy lawn chairs, bantered and kept a watchful eye on a brood of sleeping babies. The street was loud and alive with such an abundance of community spirit that I for a moment, I longed to live smack in the middle of the neighborhood.

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By the time I reached the end of the barricade and the party, I’d met some great and generous people, sampled delicious homemade foods including crispy barrel pickles, spicy kielbasa and sticky poppy seed cake. I sipped homemade wine, polished off a bottle of local beer, and made plans to return someday for this annual event, still going strong after more than 40 years.

You can imagine how delighted I was to learn my own Ponderpoint neighborhood was hosting their first annual community block party. Last Friday evening, dozens of neighbors spilled into the street for grilled hot dogs and a potluck of sides.

It was a great occasion to meet new neighbors and catch up with old ones (and shamefully

acknowledge that I have neighbors I should have made an effort to meet years ago). Many of us had visiting friends and family, so they came along and everyone, but especially the children, blended effortlessly.

As I had my young grandbabes in my watch, I retreated early, but with sleeping kids, a quite house and the backdoor open, I could hear lingering conversations and laughter for several hours, reminding me that the community spirit I was drawn to Chicago was alive and well in my own backyard.

The day after the block party I headed out to Laclede to yet another potluck, this one a housewarming for a delightful friend who was recently displaced from a rental she’d called home for more than 20

years. The place she found suits her to a tee, and we gathered to rejoice in her find and celebrate her new home with huckleberry chipotle chicken, mounds of sides and salads, assorted spirits and a lot of love.

Driving home from Laclede with Ryanne and talking about parties, I learned about the neighborhood block parties in Moscow. They take their festivities seriously, closing the street for dance parties, neighborhood parades and, of course, lots of food.

Block parties are allowed in Sandpoint, but Marty, the city clerk I spoke with, said she had never processed an application for one. Prices vary depending on the number of anticipated guests, number of blocks closed and length of the

party. The application requires a first aid plan, a security plan, a cleanup plan and a discussion with someone in police administration (good luck with that, I left three voice mails). You can find the public assembly permit application at the city of Sandpoint’s website: http:// cityofsandpoint.com.

Though the application process may sound daunting, you have to admit, a block party sounds real fun. Doesn’t it? What a great way to gather, love your neighbor and celebrate summer. Now, don’t forget how much I love a good block party! I’ll bring the Pesto Pasta Summer Salad, along with a vegetarian version.

Pesto Pasta Summer Salad

Serves 12-16. Omit the meat for vegetarians. Serve as a side, or as entrée on romaine leaves and served with crusty baguette. This is a great way to use up last summer’s frozen pesto ( or Costco offers their own very good brand, in the deli case). When traveling with this salad, pack it in gallon-sized food bags and placed in an iced cooler. When ready, pour into serving bowl and garnish.

INGREDIENTS: •1 12 oz package Rotini pasta •1 cup fresh basil pesto •½ cup olive oil •2 tbs lemon juice •1 cup grated parmesan •8 oz jar fire roasted red pepper, drained and chopped •8 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped •1 green pepper, seeded and diced •1 cup shredded carrots •1 cup Italian salami, julienned •1 cup cold, cooked chicken breast, diced •1 tbs lemon zest •10 ounces grape- or small cherry tomatoes •Salt and pepper to taste •1/3 cup pine nuts •Several fresh basil leaves, some whole and some coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS: •Cook pasta according to instructions on the package. Remove pasta from heat and strain.

•While the pasta is cooking, toast the pine nuts until lightly browned in a small pan over medium-high heat. Remove from pan to cool.

•In a very large mixing bowl, whisk pesto, olive oil and lemon juice, add pasta and toss well to coat.

•Add next seven ingredients and toss again. Add tomatoes for a last, gentle toss. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with basil and pine nuts.

•Chill.

STAGE & SCREEN Dinner and a play: Panida to host dinner theater

By Mark Watson Reader Contributor Charades: the art of representing something through a set of clues, actions and misdirection, creating endless possibilities of unexpected efforts to solve the clues. “Charades at 5,” the upcoming offering by the Panida Theater in its acclaimed Panida Playhouse Dinner Theater series, is a laugh-out-loud funny one-act play that takes online dating, self-representation, perception and desire to an unexpected set of encounters.

Five local actors put on a quick-witted, fast-paced, revealing performance in the Panida Little Theater, just north of the Panida, while the limited seating audience enjoys a catered, gourmet meal. The story twists and turns as we see Max, played expertly by Ron Ragone, meet an impressive CFO and her selected online meetup for the evening... or does he?

As the couple fall in and out of attraction for each other, they also reveal themselves to Max, the bartender, who knows more than he lets on. Once others show up, the swanky bar suddenly seems a bit too crowded with people the couple would rather not be seeing.

The entire show is presented with

Helen (Skye Palmer) strangles Zack (Jeremiah Campbell). Photo by Robert Moore. smooth timing and edgy situations, highlighted by quips and comedy as Max tries to keep order in the rapidly changing reality around him.

It all adds up to an hour or so of modern-day humor, played by local actors that have really put a lot of effort into the production of this play. Excellent performances of the challenging roles include Helen, played by Skye Palmer; Zack, played by Jeremiah Campbell; John Rhys Kensington III, portrayed by Michael Clarke and CFO Helen VanNess, depicted by Miriam Robinson. “Charades at 5” showcases the writing talent of author R.J. Waterman and the Panida Playhouse in serving up a delicious July offering.

Dinner is once again catered by the fantastic Bistro at Home, and is part of the cost of admittance. Seating is limited and menu choices for each person attending needs to be made online when ordering tickets at Panida.org. This is an RSVP only event, to guarantee menu choices and seating availability.

Additional information is available online at Panida.org, or by calling the Panida at 208-263-9191. Performances take place 6 p.m. July 26 and 28.

july 21 @ 7:30pm / July 23 @ 5:30pm

“hunt for the wilder people”

This New Zealand dram-com is a hilarious, touching crowd-pleaser!

july 22 @ 5:30pm / July 23 @ 8:30pm Sunday, july 24 @ 3:30pm

“me before you”

Saturday, july 30 @ all day!

crazy days - lp/dvd/misc. sale! little theater

july 26 & 28 @ 6pm

“Charades at 5” dinner theater

A fun comedy full of missed opportunities, misleads and misdeeds. must buy ticket early to book a seat for this dinner and play. $27; three dinner options. Must RSVP

july 29 & 30 @ 8:30pm

reader reels: “Swiss army man” disarmingly odd, well-acted and impossible to categorize Aug. 4 @ 7:30pm / aug. 5 @ 5:30pm Aug. 6 @ 7:30pm / aug. 7 @ 3:30pm

“free state of jones” starring matthew m conaughey c

Watch for more news on the Film Noir Series DEPARTMENT Q Trilogy!

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MUSIC R E D A E R e h T Interviews

John McEuen reflects on 50 years of music

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

er—35 or 38 years. I left for a while and came back. So in that course there’s been other players we’d bring in … but it hasn’t been a group that’s changed personnel. It’s grown and shrank again … it’s a living, breathing thing.

If time is a necessary ingredient in cooking up a legend, then the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has servings to spare. The countryfolk-rock outfit marks its 50year anniversary this year and is bringing the celebration to the Festival at Sandpoint stage Friday, Aug. 12.

Longtime band member John McEuen took the time to chat with us about the band’s legacy and his experiences on stage. He also gave us the inside story about making his forthcoming solo album, “Made in Brooklyn,” where he’s joined by guest artists like Steve Martin, John Cowan, David Bromberg, John Carter Cash and many more.

SR: I think that impression speaks to the longevity of the band. Can you tell me what keeps you guys doing what you’re doing?

Sandpoint Reader: So the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is back in Sandpoint for another performance at the Festival at Sandpoint. How does it feel to be returning?

John McEuen: Come on, the Dirt Band doesn’t want to go to Sandpoint and play a great festival with a few thousand people that love us! No, we don’t want to do that!

SR: Yeah, why on earth would you want to do that?

You know, the Dirt Band is local favorite not just here, but really all over the area.

What are your expectations following up from your last show at the Festival, which I 20 /

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The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (left to right): Bob Carpenter, Jeff Hanna, Jimmie Fadden and John McEuen. Courtesy photo. think was in 2010?

JM: Yeah, that sounds about right. I’m excited to play anywhere with this band because it’s the best version of the Dirt Band that’s been out there. …

We’ve put in some old songs that are so old they’re new. Can you imagine being in a group and having songs you did 40 or 50 years ago? Jim Photoglo, the man who wrote “Fishin’ in

the Dark,” he’s having a great time seeing people respond to his song. He plays bass, so we’re not just taking him out to have dinner back-stage. And Bobbie Carpenter who joined the band in 1978 … when he first got into the group he had a song that went number one.

SR: With all the musicians that have gone through the Dirt Band line-up over the

years, is it tough to cohere together, or has that not been a problem?

JM: It shouldn’t be said that the band line-up has changed frequently. … [Jimmie Fadden] and [Jeff Hanna] have been there all 50 years. I’ve been there most of the 50 years. And Bobbie Carpenter has been in the Dirt Band longer than most groups have been togeth-

JM: What keeps me doing what I’m doing is this is what I do. I try to make things in the entertainment business. I have a radio show on XM Satellite Radio in its eighth year. I produce other projects for people, like Steve Martin’s album “The Crow” that won a Grammy a few years ago. I make my own albums—still playing with the Dirt Band, but when the group isn’t working I do my own solo albums. So what keeps me going is that there’s people out there that like it, so how could you not do it? How could you be a plumber sitting in your house saying, “I’m only going to be a plumber in my house.” … I’d say nothing makes me do it. I get to do it.

SR: Let’s talk about this solo record you have coming out, “Made in Brooklyn,” which is coming out on Sept.

30. When did you have the idea for that, and what was the inspiration behind it? see DIRT, page 21

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

DIRT, con’t from page 21 JM: I had the idea about three years ago, but it takes a while to get things together and get the timing where everyone I wanted was available. Eventually they were and the record company was ready, so we said OK. The inspiration was that in the work I do, I’ve met and played with a lot of people over the years. And I have a lot of road friends that are musicians.

But they don’t know each other, so I brought a bunch of them together in one place. … And boy, we’re they happy to play together. Everybody just fit together. It was great.

We knocked out the album, and Steve Martin was sitting there playing banjo on the song I’d asked him to play on. He said, “What are you calling the album?” I said, “I don’t know.”

He said, “Why don’t you call it ‘Made in Brooklyn,’—that’s where we are.” And I couldn’t get it out of my head.

We only recorded for two 12-hour days, but it seemed like three-hour days. It’s really wonderful to start at 10 in the morning, wind up at 9:30 at night and have players going, “What else can we do?” I said, “Well, how about going home?” “Oh. Well, OK.” SR: I imagine it’s no easy thing to get musicians in such high demand together at once.

JM: The most difficult part was the schedule, to get three days where everyone was available. These are people who are in 10 different worlds.

We had some time set for February, but it was just going to be too cold to record, because we were recording in a big, old church in Brooklyn. Another chance came in April, and I’m glad we waited.

SR: How does the music compare to the Dirt Band? Is it much different in style or tone?

JM: The overall description might just be Americana or country folk or something.

There’s a bluegrass song

READ

From high school to post-college, I read as many literary novels as I could, eager to check them off the list. Some I loved, some not so much.

One of the things about being in your 30s is that you no longer have to have a prominently displayed Dostoevsky to show the world you are indeed an intelligent reader. I simply don’t care now. I’ve been on crappy genre fiction kick lately—because it allows my mind to rest for a moment.

Enter the “5th Wave” books by Rick Yancey.

It’s no “Catcher in the Rye” but I enjoy it just the same.

LISTEN

An archived photo of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, c. 1980s. Courtesy photo. followed by a 1940s-sounding song followed by an instrumental using traditional instruments in a way that’s different followed by a song that’s funny.

It’s a collection of material— half of it is original and half is written by friends, which is a very common thing for me.

SR: Getting back to the Dirt Band, is there any message you want to send to fans before your Festival show?

JM: I think the most important thing is getting people out to the Dirt Band show, which in Sandpoint, I don’t think we’ll have much trouble.

But if someone’s on the fence thinking, “Well, I’ve seen them before,” let me tell you, they haven’t seen us like this.

I think everyone’s appreciating the fact that 50 years have been sunk into this. This is going to be a longer show, and yes, I think it is better than ever. Since it’s a weekend show, there’s going to be a lot of energy. This isn’t like we’ve been doing five shows beforehand. And it’s interesting: Jeff has been playing better guitar than I’ve ever heard him play, Jimmie’s harp is as good as ever and the vocals sound better than they ever have.

SR: I wanted to end on one funny story I just heard, even though I guess it’s a pretty well-known one. I understand that in the early ‘90s, President George H. W. Bush mentioned the Dirt Band and kind of butchered the name, calling you guys the Nitty Ditty Nitty Gritty Great Bird. What did you think about that at the time?

JM: He said that because on his desk, he had the phrase, “If you want to see a rainbow, you have to stand a little rain,” which is a song that Bobbie Carpenter sang that went number one when he first joined the group. How do I feel about it? That’s the president of the country quoting your band!

And mangling the name, that’s understandable. Most people couldn’t say the name after a big night anyway.

And that’s OK! Maybelle Carter used to call us the Dirty Boys: “I just recorded with the Dirty Boys!”

SR: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk.

Before I let you go, are there any last comments you want to make?

group gets to come back to places like Sandpoint. I’m hoping to see if people will want to take a listen to the “Made in Brooklyn” album and see if they like that.

Here’s the thing I’d like to see happen. People ask us, “Where have you been playing?” and we tell them, “Sandpoint, Idaho.” If they’ve never heard of it or been there, then the next thing is you tell them what it’s like, which is always a fun thing to tell them about. “It’s like Aspen was in 1972. It’s like an old Colorado ski town.”

The other thing I’d like to have happen is when people leave the concert, hopefully the next day when people ask them what the show was like, they’ll just say, “You should have been there. I can’t describe it.”

Catch the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with opener Luke Bell Friday, Aug. 12. Tickets are $44.95 and are available online at www.festivalatsandpoint.com. Gates will open at 6:00 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30 p.m. And look out for John McEuen’s solo album “Made in Brooklyn” when it releases Sept. 30.

I was surprised to find out a couple weeks ago that Radiohead released another LP. I love everything about Radiohead, especially the way they surprise their fans with full-length studio albums that keep getting better.

“A Moon Shaped Pool” is everything a Radiohead fan wants: there are elements of electronic and rock swimming around an orchestral arrangement dominated

by Thom Yorke’s limitless voice.

Check it out.

You won’t be sorry.

WATCH

Are you a fan of time lapse videos? I thought so.

Last year, I took a time lapse of the Festival at Sandpoint’s preparations in setting up the tent and the grounds for the coolest music show of the year in Sandpoint.

It was a daunting task. I had to return to the press box at Memorial Field and change out a battery in the GoPro camera every two hours for three days straight.

If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out by going to YouTube and typing “Festival at Sandpoint time lapse.” My favorite moment is when the big white tent goes up like a flower blooming.

JM: I’d just say that audience reaction is the reason the July 21, 2016 /

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w o N & Then compiled by

Ben Olson

Each week, we feature a new photograph taken from the same vantage point as one taken long ago. See how we’ve changed, and how we’ve stayed the same.

Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.

2008

The same view today. The Hive now occupies the space to the left, and Thai Nigiri is at street level. The 219 Lounge to the right has undergone its own facelift.

2016

Wortdhe of

Week

puissant

/PYOO-uh-suh nt/

[adjective] 1. literary. Powerful; mighty; potent.

“His puissant spirit was untamed by today’s standards.”

Corrections: I switched around ticket prices for the “Cinema in the Park” at the Museum event. Members pay $2, non-members pay $5. My apologies. -BO 22 /

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CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

The old Pastime Building on First Avenue. It was being painted in anticipation for the opening of The Dive (a short-lived bar) and Spar/Synergy (other shortlived bars upstairs). You can still see the Pastime sign on the left and the old facade of the 219 Lounge to the right.

ACROSS 1. Lit to a higher degree 6. Money owed 10. Flat float 14. Earlier in time 15. Paris airport 16. Arab chieftain 17. A riotous brawl 19. Ancient marketplaces 20. Black Sea port 21. Female deer 22. Regretted 23. Typewrote 25. Analyze syntactically 26. Bristle 30. Bloated 32. Advanced screening 35. Artificial tooth 39. Have in mind 40. Makes amends 41. Adolescent 43. Fables 44. Metamorphic rock 46. Oxen’s harness 47. Jibe 50. Songs for two 53. Study hard 54. Mouth (British slang) 55. Inequitable 60. Kid 61. Fealty 63. Portent 64. Foot digits 65. Moon of Saturn 66. A musical pause

Solution on page 17 67. Picnic insects 68. Small slits

DOWN 1. Style of hairdo 2. Goad 3. Connects two points 4. Charged particles 5. Secret meeting 6. To make a fool of (archaic) 7. Worn away 8. Of unmixed ancestry 9. Kid 10. Recalcitrant

11. French for “Love” 12. Infernos 13. Exchange 18. Alcove 24. Church bench 25. Kind of bean 26. Expectoration 27. Sea eagle 28. French for “Head” 29. Vengeful punishment 31. Food from animals 33. Absurd 34. Border 36. Pearly-shelled mussel

37. Stink 38. Being 42. An apparition 43. South southeast 45. Sublease 47. He plays a role 48. Filth 49. Scrapes gently 51. Pull 52. Piques 54. Nurse shark 56. Prison 57. “Do ___ others...”

58. Leave in a hurry 59. 10 10 10 10 62. S

Instead of a trap door, what about an area of the floor that just shoots up real quick and smashes the guy against the ceiling?

DID YOU KNOW IT DOESN’T COST YOU ANY MORE TO HAVE GREAT COVERAGE CO THROUGH SUMMIT INSURANCE?

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