Reader_July6_2023

The week in random review

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

superior beings

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.”

— Czech-born French writer Milan Kundera

unemployed wood stove babysitter finds new job

In April, I wrote in this column about how I felt something was missing from my life once we no longer needed a fire going in our wood stove 24/7. “Now that we’ve quit having a consistent fire … I have the constant feeling that I’m forgetting something, and I’m having a hard time finding a spring-appropriate replacement,” I wrote. Well, I found the summer-appropriate replacement: watering the garden. Of course it’s not exactly the same since watering the garden isn’t a round-the-clock commitment, but it does require me to consider several factors, including timing, sprinkler position and weather, to name a few. Now I’m wondering how people who have propane heat and automatic sprinkler systems fill their time?

things that are definitely not relaxing that i find relaxing

1.Hour-long political podcasts providing in-depth analysis of the upcoming GOP presidential primary;

2.Writing large lists of household tasks to be completed before a certain date;

3.Competitive sports.

Less juice, more bolts

I think a lot of people assume that I, as a reporter, live for juicy stories. When I say “juicy,” I mean the stories about people being generally unsavory: rude, deceptive, bombastic, unlawful, etc. Anyone making this assumption who has kept up with my coverage of Bonner County politics over the years might think I’m currently thriving. I would like to state on the record that I do not like when things are juicy. Case in point: Some of my favorite government topics to cover are road construction schedules, solid waste facility updates, procedural land use decisions and — yes — budget season. I much prefer a nuts-and-bolts story over a he-said-she-said one. Still, both are necessary to understand how things do (and do not) get done in county government.

a haiku for bluebird bakery

I say “no romaine”

You oblige, and I love you

Best sandwich in town

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

www.sandpointreader.com

Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

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

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

Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)

Advertising: Kelsey Kizer kelsey@sandpointreader.com

Contributing Artists: Leslie Kiebert (cover), Ben Olson, Bill Borders, Otto Kitsinger

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Clark Corbin, Emily Erickson, Rep. Ilana Rubel, Sen. Melissa Wintrow, Mark Reiner

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID

Subscription Price: $165 per year

Web Content: Keokee

The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho. We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community.

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person

SandpointReader letter policy:

The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics.

Requirements:

–No more than 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion. Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers.

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com

Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com

Like us on Facebook.

About the Cover

This week’s cover photograph was taken by Leslie Kiebert. To view more of Leslie’s photos, check out “Lester K’s Photos” on Facebook.

Following Durst contract approval in W.Bonner School District, trustees face recall

Reader, other statewide media, still waiting for public records on district communications preceding Durst’s selection as superintendent

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Weeks of controversy have roiled the West Bonner County School District, as its trustees have hosted a number of charged public board meetings related to the hiring of Branden Durst as superintendent.

Trustees approved Durst’s contract on a 3-2 vote June 28, as well as declared a state of emergency, which was required for Durst to secure an emergency provisional certification from the Idaho State Board of Education to do his job.

Durst is a high-profile political figure in Boise, who once served as a Democratic legislator before switching to the Republican Party, under which he unsuccessfully ran for state superintendent. He has close ties with the ultra-conservative 501(c)(3) “think tank” Idaho Freedom Foundation, which has its own lobby arm — Idaho Freedom Action, a 501(c)(4) political action committee — and enjoys an outsized level of influence over Idaho lawmakers through its various media channels and “Freedom Index,” which ranks legislators based on how closely they hew to the organization’s free-market, libertarian ideology.

IFF has long opposed public education in Idaho, referring to it as “the most virulent form of socialism (and indoctrination thereto) in America today.”

Durst has served IFF as a senior analyst of education policy, and fronted a plan during his 2022 state superintendent campaign to “establish Idaho’s, and possibly the Nation’s, first ever Christian public charter school … [with] a biblical worldview to train up the next generation in Truth.”

The board’s acceptance of Durst as superintendent over Susie Luckey sparked outrage in the greater Priest River community. Luckey had served as interim

superintendent since March 2022, following a near-40-year career in the district as an educator and later principal. She received an emergency provisional certification to work as a superintendent on June 14, the same day the board voted to no longer consider her for the top job in the district.

Durst holds a B.A. in political science and M.A. in public administration, “but no training or experience with an accredited school,” according to a June 13 report from Boise-based KTVB. His alma mater, Boise State University, declined to give him “an institutional recommendation” for his state superintendent run, citing his lack of “full-time certified or licensed experience working with students while under contract in an accredited school setting.”

According to Idaho Ed News, Durst’s approved contract — in addition to a salary of $110,000 running from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 — includes 12 days of illness, injury or emergency leave; paid vacation totaling 20 days; mileage reimbursement; $2,000 for relocation to the district; he may “undertake consultative, speaking engagements, writing, lecturing or other professional duties and obligations that do not conflict with his duties as superintendent,” pending board approval; and (apparently) may be terminated if he fails to “obtain and maintain an Idaho Superintendent Certification, or a provisional certification.”

Trustee Carlyn Barton, who voted against the state of emergency, said at the June 29 meeting that her role on the board was to “continue to fight for our community as a whole for what is good and right against evil and hidden agendas that will further divide our community.”

Other details are unclear, as the board has not released the contract to the public and the only source for review has been a brief

projection of its text at the June 28 trustee meeting that was captured in a photograph by an attendee and posted to Facebook.

Trustees facing recall effort, with election set for August Meanwhile, WBCSD Chair Keith Rutledge and Vice Chair Susan Brown are subject to a recall effort.

Community members have been loud in advocating to turn Rutledge and Brown out of the board, calling for their ouster in numerous letters to the editor.

Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale told the Reader on July 5 that the recall effort has met its signature requirements. The petition needed 243 signatures to qualify Rutledge for a recall, and 180 signatures for Brown. According to Rosedale, petitioners gathered 337 valid signatures for Rutledge and 243 valid signatures for Brown.

Rosedale said certified letters went out to both trustees on June 30 informing them of the successful petitions, and Rutledge had already responded with his 200-word rebuttal to appear on the ballot. Brown had not replied as of July 5, though Rosedale noted that she had five days from receipt of the letter to contribute her own rebuttal, and the latest she would have received notice from the clerk would have been on the the date the Reader spoke with him.

The recall election will be scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 29.

In nearly identical language, the petitions for the recall of both Rutledge and Brown stated that they have “failed to uphold the oath” to, “in good faith, strive to

improve public schools.”

For example, the petitions stated that both voted to rescind the purchase of a language arts curriculum two months after its approval, costing district funds to return the materials. Further, they do not “recognize that a majority vote makes the decisions and the outcome needs to be supported by all members.”

Petitioners stated that Rutledge and Brown should “be actively involved in policy changes as that is the board’s primary function and should be made after complete discussion at a publicly held board meeting.”

In the recall petition for Brown, the text stated that she must “stop whispering to other board member[s] during public meetings.”

The petitions concluded that the trustees need “to be open, fair and honest,” and alleged they have “a hidden agenda” while failing to “respect the rights of [their] constituents and the opinion and ideas of [their] fellow board members.” What’s more, both trustees have illustrated that they “[do] not have the first and greatest concerns for the educational welfare of West Bonner County School District students attending public schools.”

In his rebuttal, Rutledge wrote that, “Voting AGAINST my recall will keep a conservative majority on the school board that is working hard to improve the outcomes for our district’s children. Voting for my recall will hand control of our district back over to the very same people that are responsible for 60% reading competency rates and call that ‘a success.’”

He further alleged that organizers of the recall are intent on keeping constituents “and the

whole state from seeing the results of our forensic audit,” and furthermore “want to keep you and the whole country from seeing how a conservative-led school district can improve poor educational outcomes and give our children a better chance at actual success. They want to continue with failed tax-and-spend policies.”

Rutledge concluded that voting against his recall would support the forensic audit ahead of another levy — voters rejected a two-year, $4.7 million per year replacement funding measure by only 105 votes in the May election — and would retain “a superintendent that demands better than 60% competency ratings for our students.”

Finally, he wrote in a plea for “responsible administration of our district,” “Your NO vote rejects Critical Theory curriculums in our classrooms,” and “enable this board to keep building better outcomes for our district’s children, their families and all the residents who support it.”

It is unclear what Rutledge intended to mean by his reference to “Critical Theory curriculums.” However, Rutledge in an undated candidate questionnaire posted on the IFF website (idahofreedom.org), wrote that he defined “Critical Race Theory” as “an academic discipline built on the intellectual framework of identity-based Marxism. At its core it teaches racism because the founding father [sic] were white and some of them slave owners therefore racist.”

He also referred to Social Emotional Learning as “just the latest fad and is being interwoven into Common Core. I would not support any form of SEL.”

When asked, “What do you believe is the fundamental role of education,” Rutledge told IFF, “The fundamental role of education is to teach kids how to be life

< see WBCSD, Page 5 >

“[I’m here] to continue to fight for our community as a whole for what is good and right against evil and hidden agendas that will further divide our community.”

— Carlyn Barton, WBCSD Trustee

long learners and not indoctrinate them with leftist ideas [sic].”

Hall replied to an email sent to all five trustees July 5 requesting comment on Durst’s contract, the recall effort, “state of emergency” and nearly month-long delay of release of requested public records to the Sandpoint Reader. Rutledge also responded to the email, but was unable to provide comment by press time.

Hall stated that she intends to “review the signed contract to make sure that the changes discussed and approved were included in the final document,” but would not comment on the recall effort. “My focus is to do the best job I can as trustee for the district,” she wrote.

On the state of emergency, Hall wrote that such a measure would have been approved for either Durst or Luckey, who both required an emergency provisional certification.

Regarding the long-delayed public records request submitted to the district by the Reader, Hall had no comment.

A ‘hidden agenda’ and improper handling of public records

Regarding the alleged “hidden agenda” being pursued by Rutledge and Brown, many West Bonner County School District residents have described in Facebook posts, public testimony and letters to the editor that the pair is bent on installing Durst as superintendent despite his lack of qualifications and associations with anti-public education sentiments expressed both during his state superintendent campaign and by association with IFF.

Accusations that Rutledge has been receiving coaching from outside influences during public meetings have circulated throughout various information channels in the community, citing numerous instances when the board chair has called multiple recesses during hotly contested meetings to leave the room, with both anecdotal and media reports noting that he is frequently seen texting as he exits from public view.

Jim Jones, a former Idaho Supreme Court justice and attorney general, wrote in an opinion piece

circulated to statewide media that, “IFF helped to get far-right candidates Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown elected to the school board in November of 2021, making a three-trustee majority that has been creating havoc ever since.”

By “three-trustee majority,” Jones referred to Trustee Troy Reinbold, who has reliably voted in a bloc with Rutledge and Brown on matters related to Durst’s hiring.

“Now, the board majority has voted to install an unqualified IFF employee as superintendent of WBCSD,” he wrote. “… IFF is trying to commandeer other rural school district boards across the state. The WBCSD experience shows that IFF can fail, but it depends upon concerned citizens rising up to protect their schools.”

Rutledge adjourned a rancorous meeting of the trustees June 14 about about eight minutes after it gaveled into session, tabling consideration of rescinding Durst’s contract and addendum. In that meeting, he referred to “evidence which [had] recently come to light” of “improper and unprofessional discussions [that] may have occurred between district employees and legal counsel with regard to this subject; that such discussion may have violated proper procedures following the executive session of June 7, and which requires further investigation.”

Hall, who along with Trustee Carlyn Barton has consistently voted against Rutledge, Brown and Reinbold, called on the board to disclose who had the conversation or conversations regarding Durst’s contract and addendum. She further stated that she wanted to know the names of, “the attorney, the legal firm, and Mr. Durst’s attorney [and] legal firm and the Idaho Freedom Foundation’s legal attorney and firm to make sure … we limit our liability as a board, individually and as a group.”

According to previous reporting, Rutledge said he contacted legal counsel, and would share his written correspondence, per Hall’s request.

The Reader requested records June 9 pertaining to “all written correspondence, electronic or other, from April 1, 2023 to June 9, 2023 between Branden Durst and/or Wayne Hoffman and @sd83.org email addresses and/or the WBSD

office at 134 Main St., Priest River, ID, 83856. The same for correspondence containing the @IdahoFreedom.org and/or @durstforidaho. com email addresses.”

As well, the Reader requested correspondence between the school district and District 1 Republican Sen. Scott Herndon, who also serves as chair of the Bonner County Republican Central Committee and has been an open supporter of Durst, along with keywords including “BCRCC,” “Bonner County Republican Central Committee” and/ or “central committee” within the same timeframe.

WBCSD Board Clerk Steffie Pavey confirmed receipt of those records on June 9, and informed the Reader that they would be addressed with 10-day extensions, as allowed for in Idaho Code.

In an email received at 8:08 p.m. on June 23, Pavey told the Reader that the record request would take 1.6 hours to complete and would cost $312.

The Reader challenged that fee in an email on June 26, citing Idaho Code sections pertaining to public records.

According to statute, “Except for fees that are authorized or prescribed under other provisions of Idaho law, no fee shall be charged for the first two (2) hours of labor in responding to a request for public records, or for copying the first one hundred (100) pages of paper records that are requested.”

Other portions of Code state that public agencies cannot charge fees if the materials being requested are “likely to contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of the operations or activities of the government.”

In repeated phone calls, Pavey has told the Reader that public records in the West Bonner County School District must first be reviewed by legal counsel, which she said is a policy that has been instituted by the board of trustees. As entitled by Idaho Code, the Reader requested an itemization of

the expenses associated with the records request, to which Pavey provided a document indicating an hourly attorney fee of $195 and underscoring the “actual time spent responding to request” as 1.6 hours.

The Reader contacted the Idaho Press Club, which is a membership organization of news media throughout the state, to review the responses from the school district and advise. IPC President Melissa Davlin submitted a letter June 28 to WBCSD reiterating the sections of Idaho Code 74-102 that pertain to waiving fees for records requests that require fewer than two hours of labor, and highlighted the 2019 court case Idaho Press Club v. Ada County, in which the organization successfully sued to obtain records that the county had inappropriately delayed delivering.

The ruling, Davlin noted, affirmed that, “The right of the public to know, in depth, how its public servants handle the public’s business is embodied in the Idaho Public Records Act. It gives the public broad access to the public records at every level, in every form — from state, to county, to city, to every type of commission and board. Public records are presumed to be open at all reasonable times for inspection by the public.”

In a phone call June 29, Pavey informed the Reader that the fee would be waived and the records request processed, pending legal counsel. She could not provide the Reader with a timeframe by which those records would be released, and did not respond to a follow up email June 29 seeking to confirm the substance of the conversation, including the fee waiver, timeline for records delivery and the name of the district’s legal counsel.

On July 5, Reader Publisher Ben Olson called the WBCSD to inform officials there that if the records were not delivered by Friday, July 7, the Reader would pursue other means to secure them, whether in the form of a

complaint or legal action.

Olson asked to speak with the district legal counsel and Durst on the morning of July 5, but was told neither were available.

The paper also informed members of the board of the situation, with Hall responding that she had no comment, but went on to note that Pavey has received a number of records requests, “which have greatly increased over the last year from multiple parties,” and had been until June 30 the acting clerk of the board of trustees, entailing “a workload that has grown exponentially over the last year, and — most critical — she is the WBCSD business manager — now working with the board and superintendent to develop the 2023-2024 budget that has significant challenges needing to be addressed.”

The Reader isn’t the only news organization in Idaho that has been unreasonably impeded from examining public records from the district.

Jones wrote in his op-ed, “School district patrons are concerned about the appearance of backroom dealing by the board majority in arriving at the hiring decision. The Idaho Education News has highlighted what appear to be violations of Idaho’s Open Meeting Law by the IFF-supported board, as well as the board’s refusal to respond to public record requests.”

In a post on idahoednews. org, Managing Editor and CEO Jennifer Swindell wrote June 28 that, “Some of our public records requests are being ignored or postponed — illegally.”

She went on to cite Idaho law that requires a request to be granted or denied within three working days and delivered “no later than ten (10) working days.”

“The public records we ask for don’t belong to a university, school district, board of trustees or an individual — they belong to the public,” Swindell wrote.

As with the Reader, Idaho Ed News requested to examine emails, including those sent between trustees and Durst. In an email July 5, Swindell told the Reader that Idaho Ed News had still not received its asked-for materials.

“The right of the public to know, in depth, how its public servants handle the public’s business is embodied in the Idaho Public Records Act. It gives the public broad access to the public records at every level, in every form...”

— Quoted from the IPC v. Ada County court ruling (2019)

Zone change for gas station at Dufort and Vay roads denied

Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

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

Delaware is considering allowing yet another city, Seaford, to let corporations vote (four cities already do). Critics say that will dilute the votes of real people. According to CNN, a final “yes” requires action by the Delaware General Assembly, which has tabled the proposal until January 2024. Seaford has 5,000 registered voters; only 340 voted in the most recent municipal election. If Seaford’s proposal is approved, 234 companies would become eligible voters. The Lever notes that Delaware “has long been a testing ground for corporate control of democracy.”

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

thereby siding with the military and ruling economic class. Other critics noted that some Congress members siding against student loan forgiveness had their own pandemic loans forgiven; and, Biden can still pursue loan forgiveness via the1965 Higher Education Act. The organization Real Populists suggested that SCOTUS’ anti-student debt relief efforts indicated a willingness by certain justices to say “yes to secret gifts, no to debt relief.”

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Bonner County commissioners ultimately struck down a Comprehensive Plan Map amendment and zone change in June that would have paved the way for a gas station and other amenities at the intersection of Dufort and Vay roads. After eight hours of comment and deliberation over two public hearings (not to mention the Planning and Zoning hearings that took place preceding the BOCC hearings), commissioners ultimately ruled that the proposal was not in alignment with the county’s Comprehensive Plan and zoning code.

Property owners Sean and Laura Hammond applied for a zone change from Rural-5 to Rural Service Center on about 12 acres just south of Willow Bay Resort last year. The board — at the time comprising former-Commissioners Dan McDonald and Jeff Connolly — voted unanimously Dec. 21 to remand the file back to the Planning Department and encouraged the Hammonds to apply for the Comp Plan Map amendment, which the Hammonds did ultimately file, requesting a change on their property from Rural Residential to Neighborhood Commercial. A site plan for the area shows intentions for a gas station, convenience store, boat storage and five one-acre residential lots.

While the board — now consisting of Commissioners Asia Williams and Luke Omodt, as well as Steve Bradshaw, who voted to send the Hammond’s zone change request back to Planning last year — denied the Comp Plan amendment request on June 14, the lengthy hearing was continued after four hours to June 26, during which the board denied the zone change.

During the June 26 hearing, about a dozen community members commented in favor of the zone change and gas station plan, while more than 40 shared comments in opposition. Those against the proposed change expressed concerns about increased traffic, noise, crime, water contamination and fuel spills. Many pointed to existing options for gas and convenience items nearby at the Vay Market, as well as in Priest River and Sagle.

During rebuttal, Sean Hammond called the hearings an “enlightening experience learning so much about myself from people that I’ve never met.”

“I thought I was doing it legally, but I keep hearing all kinds of different stories. I felt like I was being chastised for following the set of rules that was set in front of me,” he continued. “There is nothing we are doing here that is detrimental. It is nothing but a benefit for the entire community and the thousands of people that are in and out of there.”

Bradshaw was the first of the commissioners to comment during deliberation, expressing his commitment to private property rights and stating: “I don’t know how a more appropriate spot could be picked.”

Omodt and Williams, on the other hand, pointed out that the Hammonds knew what the property was zoned when it was purchased. Williams said the file requested what she believed to be “spot zoning” — the act of changing the zoning of a particular property despite it not being in line with existing standards for the area.

Bradshaw ultimately aligned his vote with the other two commissioners, and the board unanimously denied the zone change.

Fox News has agreed to pay $12 million to a former news producer who claimed the network had a “hostile and discriminatory” workplace, and said she was coerced into providing false testimony in a deposition regarding the Dominion Voting Systems case, according to The New York Times. Fox News recently agreed to pay $787.5 million for Fox’s on-air defamation of DVS.

Data from major U.S. cities show the murder rate down 12% in 2023, according to The Times.

There are now 22 states, plus Puerto Rico and D.C., that have passed laws to make their states’ electric power 100% carbon free, the Union of Concerned Scientists has reported.

Last week an end-of-term Supreme Court made several prominent decisions, declaring an end to race-based affirmative action at colleges, allowing LGBTQ+ discrimination by businesses and struck down President Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness plan (up to $20,000, affecting more than 40 million borrowers) for students. The justices’ majority opinions were not unanimous.

Colleges are looking at ways they can still be inclusive without relying on affirmative action, various media reported. Polling: Most Americans agree with the SCOTUS anti-affirmative action ruling.

In her dissent regarding the Supreme Court negating student loan forgiveness, Justice Elena Kagan maintained that Biden had broad authority for the loan forgiveness program, but SCOTUS exceeded “its proper, limited role in our Nation’s governance,” and “substituted itself for Congress and the Executive Branch.” Another take from The Intercept: the Supreme Court’s race ruling made exceptions for military academies — and legacy admissions,”

Historian Heather C. Richardson noted that the Supreme Court’s LGBTQ+ ruling appeared suspect: it involved a plaintiff who cited a case of a gay man seeking her website services — which she did not have at that time — but the man is not gay and his alleged letter to the plaintiff was not received until the day she filed her suit. The man says he never sent such a letter, has been married to his wife 15 years and so would not be seeking a website posting for a gay marriage.

Biden’s “Investing in America” tour, now underway, marks the launch of a $40 billion investment that aims to provide extensive access to affordable and reliable high-speed internet by the end of the decade, according to whitehouse.gov. The administration compares the project to the 1930s New Deal Rural Electrification Act. Each state is slated for more than $107 million to move the effort forward, which will support service and manufacturing jobs — with materials coming from the U.S.

The No Labels Party, funded by “36 wealthy contributors and corporate high-rollers,” appears willing to disrupt the 2024 election cycle, Mother Jones reported. While touting a “unity ticket” that mixes candidates from both parties, MoJo speculates that the party’s real goal appears to be drawing voters away from a Democratic presidential candidate to create a win for a Republican. When soliciting donations, No Labels’ website tries to appeal to people “fed up with the angriest voices dominating our politics.” But MoJo says they fail to disclose that donations are processed by a right-wing tech firm, and a “slice” of contributions goes to Republican and MAGA organizations.

Honey bees aren’t the only pollinators in town. Pesticide Action Network says wasps are both beneficial predators and “surprisingly good pollinators.”

Blast from the past: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.”

— Scientist Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

A conceptual drawing of the proposed gas station at Dufort and Vay roads, for which property owners requested a zone change the county denied June 26. Image courtesy of project proposal files via Bonner County Planning.

Open primary ballot initiative supporters to legally challenge ballot titles assigned by Idaho AG

Attorney General Raúl Labrador also vows to challenge the initiative if it qualifies for the ballot

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

Supporters of a proposed open primary ballot initiative announced July 3 they are challenging the ballot titles assigned June 30 by the office of Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador.

The challenge represents the latest development in dispute between supporters of the initiative and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.

A coalition of groups called Idahoans for Open Primaries is backing the initiative, which would do away with the closed primary elections and replace them with an open primary that all candidates and voters could participate in, regardless of party affiliation.

Supporters of the open primary initiative are holding off on launching their signature collections until the court issues a ruling on the ballot titles.

To qualify the initiative for the ballot, supporters have until May 1, 2024 to meet the requirements to gather signatures from at least 6% of registered statewide voters (about 63,000 signatures) and gather signatures from at least 6% of voters in 18 of the state’s 35 legislative districts.

If the initiative qualifies, it would appear on Idaho ballots during the November 2024 general election and require a majority of voters to approve it.

Under the proposed new system, the top four vote-getters from the primary election would advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

The initiative would also change the general election to create an instant runoff election and ranked-choice voting. Under that system, Idahoans would vote for their first choice of candidate and then have the ability to also rank the three remaining candidates in order of preference on the same ballot. If one candidate wins a majority of the votes, that candidate would be elected the winner. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated and their votes would instead be transferred to voters’ second choice candidate. The process would continue until one candidate has a majority of votes and is elected the winner.

Idahoans would only vote once; there would not be multiple rounds of voting.

AG’s Office says initiative conflicts with state law

On May 31, Labrador’s office issued a review of the initiative that raised concerns about the measure conflicting with the Idaho Constitution and Idaho law. The AG’s review said the initiative violates a section of state law that says initiatives shall deal with only one subject.

Labrador’s office said the initiative makes changes to both the primary election and the general election, which are two different subjects.

The open primary initiative supporters disagreed, saying the initiative deals with one subject: elections.

Then on June 30, the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office cleared the open primary supporters to begin collecting signatures to qualify the initiative for the November 2024 general election.

But supporters of the open primary initiative allege that the ballot titles contain information that is false or misleading. They also allege Labrador injected his own personal views opposing the ballot initiative into the process. On May 2, Labrador posted a tweet about the initiative in which he wrote, in part, “Let’s defeat these bad ideas coming from liberal outside groups.”

“The attorney general is taking a very political approach rather than respecting the law,” Todd Achilles, a volunteer leader with the Idaho Task Force of Veterans For Political Innovation said in a telephone interview.

The Idaho Task Force of Veterans for Political Innovation is a member of the Ida-

hoans for Open Primaries coalition backing the ballot initiative.

Under Idaho law, anybody who is dissatisfied with ballot tiles may appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court.

Coalition says Labrador should recuse himself from process after tweet

Jim Jones, a former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court who has reviewed the open primary initiative and is working to build support for the initiative among Republican former elected officials, also said the ballot titles are misleading to the public.

“The main problem I see is Labrador is setting it up so it will look like there are two subjects on the initiative, which is pure baloney,” Jones said in a telephone interview. “We’re going to ask the court to substitute what [Labrador] has proposed, and we want instead to have an impartial statement of what is contained in the initiative.”

Jones added that Labrador should have recused himself from being involved with the initiative after posting the May 2 tweet.

This is not the first time Jones and Labrador have disagreed. Jones broke ranks with the Republican Party and served as the treasurer for Labrador’s unsuccessful Democratic challenger Tom Arkoosh last year. Jones has also written columns supporting the initiative and criticizing Labrador.

For his part, Labrador still maintains the ballot initiative violates the rule to deal with one subject, and said his office will sue if the initiative qualifies for the ballot.

“Although we have furnished a ballot

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

Efforts to reach Labrador on June 30 were unsuccessful.

On June 20, Labrador’s office issued a written statement about the review of the ballot initiative.

“The initiative proponents incorporated many of the recommended changes our office proposed,” the statement read. “It is no secret that Jim Jones has an unhealthy obsession with AG Labrador. His criticisms at this point aren’t grounded in the law but based entirely on his personal biases. If the media is searching for opposing legal views, surely they can find someone more objective.”

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

Voters fill out ballots at Whittier Elementary in Boise in Nov. 2, 2021. Photo by Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun.

Bouquets:

•Cheers to the Sandpoint Lions Club for their annual hosting of the Fourth of July parade and fireworks at dusk. It was yet another excellent year, with a great turnout for both events.

Barbs:

• It was June 9 when the Sandpoint Reader submitted a public records request to West Bonner County School District. By law, public records requests must be filled within 10 business days. As of press time, we are now approaching an entire month without our request being fulfilled. WBCSD attempted to charge us $312 for the request, which they claimed would take 1.6 hours to fulfill. By Idaho law, up to two hours of labor is included free of charge for records requests, so the decision was not only a weak attempt at obfuscation, but was also unlawful. The same thing happened a few years ago when we submitted a public records request to Bonner County, simply asking how much taxpayer money had been spent on the county’s frivolous lawsuit against the city of Sandpoint because of the Festival at Sandpoint’s no-weapons policy. When the county rejected our request, which they had no legal right to do, I simply pointed out the Idaho Press Club v. Ada County case from 2019, in which a judge came down hard on Ada County because public records requests were “improperly and frivolously withheld.” Here’s a word of caution and advice for government agencies who think they can deny public records requests from the media: You’re breaking the law. Public records are not yours to withhold just because you don’t want something to make the news. They are owned outright by the public and you are merely a steward of these records. When we ask for them, we are 100% within our rights to obtain them. If you don’t comply, you are breaking the law. We will take appropriate actions to ensure we, as well as any citizen, continue to have the right to request and view public documents.

Durst’s ‘avarice’…

Dear editor, I’d like to express my admiration and respect to the parents at the June 12 West Bonner County School Board meeting. Without them, I daresay that Branden Durst — with the cooperation of longtime acquaintance Keith Rutledge — would have succeeded in ramming through a contract that would not have aided the school district one iota.

In fact, because the parents demanded that the board review the contract line by line, I believe the true nature of the application was revealed. Specifically, he is more interested in milking the district for money than he is helping the district get back to financial health. I don’t believe the students or the teachers factor into Mr. Durst’s calculus at all.

Mr. Durst’s avarice is clearly on display:

•A $105,000 per year salary, for a four-day/week school year;

•A monthly housing allowance of $500;

•A vehicle with AWD or 4WD, no older than 10 years, for his personal and official business. If that isn’t audacious enough, Mr. Durst states that the district is to pay for all maintenance, registration and fuel for the vehicle’s operation.

Another red flag that was raised for me is that he’d like not only himself, but his wife as well, to be protected from lawsuits while he’s superintendent. Why would anybody sue his wife? Is Mr. Durst — who is currently not qualified to be a superintendent in Idaho — anticipating making such egregious and reckless decisions that he has to protect his wife from litigation as well?

Add to all of that Mr. Durst’s request to have a supermajority (instead of a simple majority) of the board vote for his termination in case the need arises, and you’ll realize why I don’t think that Mr. Durst has the school district’s best interests in mind.

Glenn R. Hines

Priest river

vironment conducive to learning and growth. Regrettably, it has become evident that Rutledge and Brown have failed to meet the expectations and standards that our students and parents rightfully deserve.

One of the primary concerns is their lack of transparency and effective communication with the community. Open and honest dialogue is crucial in addressing the diverse needs and concerns of students, parents and staff. Rutledge and Brown have repeatedly demonstrated a dismissive attitude and a reluctance to engage in meaningful conversations. This has created a detrimental atmosphere of mistrust and frustration. The educational policies and decisions implemented by Rutledge and Brown, in the decision to hire Branden Durst, have raised serious doubts about their ability to prioritize the best interests of the students.

We need leaders who possess a deep understanding of educational best practices; who can foster a supportive learning environment; and who will collaborate with parents, teachers and community members to ensure the success of our schools. Our children’s education and future should never be compromised due to a lack of effective leadership.

Support

Dear editor,

Durst’s lack of qualifications and unprofessional public statements on social media disqualify him from the position of superintendent of any school district that values their children as WBCSD does. Selecting him as Rutledge, Brown and Reinbold did is a gross violation of trust and responsibility as a trustee of the district. It is either a serious lack of due diligence on their part, or a more sinister hidden agenda. If you live in either District 2 or District 4 of the West Bonner County School District, and are a registered voter, I urge you to sign the petition for recall and then vote at the polls. Support the children of District 83, not a hidden agenda crafted by extremists.

Chris Simpkins Priest River

Dear editor, Today [July 27] there was another wreck at the intersection of Kootenai Bay Road and Route 200.

We are in desperation for a traffic light here, and particularly given the new development of over 100 new homes planned for adjacent the Seven Sisters neighborhood.

This intersection is already a problem, and more than a problem during rush hour.

Please, please, please put a traffic light at this intersection.

building a structure for pickleball and tennis with donated money. Their chosen location is Travers Park in the very front, necessitating the removal of a number of trees and the playground. The building is not stick-built but, rather, as I like to call it, a large tent (38,000 square feet).

I call it a tent because the outer covering is a composite of canvas like material and plastic. This exoskeleton has to be replaced every 20-25 years for a cost unknown to me, as well as the funding source. As I recall, the turf at Memorial Field has to be replaced every 10 years for about $1 million.

I understand there is controversy over the number of courts and the ability for the high school to hold sanctioned competitions. Sixteen pickleball courts doesn’t jive with USTA requirements.

My suggestions are as follows: locate the tent, or preferably a stickbuilt building, at Great Northern in the northeast corner; modify the playground in its current location to be all-inclusive; and, if the tent is built in the currently proposed location, transplant the trees to the site of the new playground.

It’ll be pricey but doable, as was done with the conifers on Fifth Avenue. In fact, one could replace the dead tree on the corner of First and Cedar.

Dear editor, I am writing to express my strong support for the recall of Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown from their positions in the West Bonner County School District.

Our community had entrusted these individuals with the critical responsibility of shaping the minds of our children and fostering an en-

I am writing in support of the recall of Keith Rutledge and Susan Brown, WBCSD trustees. I have come to believe that they do not support the students and teachers of the West Bonner County School District, and are not acting in good faith as trustees. A trustee is held to a higher standard than a typical board member and as such should conduct themselves with a higher standard as well. The actions of Ms. Brown, vice chair, along with another board member Troy Reinbold were not up to that standard when they simply got up and walked out of the board meeting on Monday, June 12. Mr. Rutledge, the board chair, and Susan Brown are supported by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a far-right group that seeks to dismantle public education in Idaho. This is the same group that Brandon Durst, superintendent, works for, and likely how Mr. Durst was invited to apply for the position as Mr. Rutledge has known him for a long time as he stated on Monday at the meeting.

And while you’re at it, this is a reminder that Ponder Point, Whiskey Jack, The Cottages, other individual homes and neighborhoods in this area have just one road to/from our homes from Route 200 (and across the railroad). If there were to be a disaster, it would truly be a disaster.

While the commissioners are green-lighting new housing developments, they seem to be ignoring developments that already exist. Sane people understand that the new can’t happen successfully without adjusting the old to function well with the new. Many of us in the older sections of this county feel that we’re being left behind or sold out.

Please, please, please remember the reasons you are here in Bonner County. I’m reasonably sure you didn’t come here for a quick buck. Rather you came here for a slower quality of life.

Respectfully,

Beth Goodnight Sandpoint

Dear editor, The city has committed to

And please line the courts to accommodate competition in either instance.

Carrie Logan Sandpoint

Rural residents must keep vigilant against sprawl…

Dear editor,

Times they are changin’. In recent decades we, in the Idaho panhandle, have seen population growth with resultant commercial and residential development. Most of the development has been in or near existing town centers but it’s been quietly creeping toward the rural areas.

As Coeur d’Alene’s commercial overdevelopment inches our way there is little left down there that resembles the rural character of north Idaho. Sprawl is coming. When the wild is gone, there’s no getting it back.

In the past several months an informally organized group of like-minded rural residents in Bonner County’s Hoodoo Valley

< see LTE, Page 9 >

Older sections of the county deserve attention, too…

Gary and Linda Go Priest River

‘Trees and a tent’…

have stood their ground against a proposed Comprehensive Plan Map change and a zone change from Rural Residential (R-5) to Rural Service Center. That would have allowed a proposed gas station, convenience store, boat storage warehouses and residential density five times that allowed adjacent or nearby R-5 residents. Dufort Road’s rural character, between Highway 95 and Priest River would have been defaced forever.

In letters, emails and public meetings with County planning, zoning and commissioners, a couple hundred constituents expressed opposition. In the two most recent commissioners meetings, the Comprehensive Plan Map change and zone change were ultimately denied.

Rural residents throughout Bonner County should take note. Eventually requests for change in your vicinity will come before the county bureaucracy; if not so already. If you’re not paying attention, ill-conceived development will slide in without your being aware; too late to object.

Perhaps it’s time for a county-wide organization to stay tuned to commercial development and densification of housing in rural areas. The group in Hoodoo is informally called “Rural Lifers.” Broadening our reach to issues throughout the entire county hasn’t been discussed. If ever we do, you’ll hear about it. In the meantime, don’t stand by while rural character quietly disappears.

George Loustalet Priest River

regarding the negotiations of the controversial superintendent, Branden Durst. An agreement with Durst had been met, but Keith wanted the record to show the decision would fall to him to complete the negotiations by the next morning.

The second action was to hire an independent legal counsel, without any relevant information. I’d guess it’s who was on the phone. A $5,000 retainer was approved. Both Trustees Hall and Barton displayed their disapproval and voted against it. Trustee Hall suggested acquiring three bids like they do for any other contract using district money. It was voted 3-2 in favor of Keith. The two other trustees, Susan Brown and Troy Reinbold, are hardly worth mentioning. I think the two brain cells they have are fighting over where they would rather be. They vote for whichever the board chair suggests. He handed Susan Brown a script and said, “read right here,” she did.

If you haven’t been paying attention, now is a good time to start!

Very concerned parent!

Paul Turco Priest River

Dear editor, I’ve spoken to a fairgrounds employee requesting the possibility of the grounds opening up their road between Samuelson and North Boyer avenues. I was told they would not do this because of the wear and tear it would cause. I also spoke to an employee at the new construction site about the frustration due to confusing signage. According to him, North Boyer was going to be closed sporadically for the next two weeks. Add to that, taking the only alternative — Great Northern Road — has caused on occasion at least a half-hour wait at the train crossing.

Another example of the so-called progress, which favors only a few.

Thank you,

Jo Reitan Sandpoint

Dear editor,

From recent news articles on June 29 and June 30, we learned that the city of Sandpoint had about 170 Canada geese killed because they were pooping on a public beach. Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad is quoted as saying, “The city and its residents value wildlife. City Beach, however, is a public park, not a wildlife sanctuary.”

The city has tried numerous methods of dealing with goose poop and attempted to keep the water fowl off the beach before resorting to killing them. Nothing worked, the city says. The only viable remaining option was a humane roundup and euthanization by USDA Wildlife Services.

Sandpoint. The mayor and the city administration need to go

Evie Leucht Sandpoint

Dear editor,

The June 29 issue of the Reader was packed; Zach Hagadone’s article about the City Beach geese, Jane Fritz’s tragically late plea for sparing the geese and Sandy Compton’s essay sent me on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Sandy’s sensitive and eloquent essay transported me through time and place. His words suggest a way of being in the world and of the world, respectfully, relationally, allowing the dignity of other-than-human beings a space to emerge.

Dear editor,

The situation in WBCSD is becoming more infuriating by the hour. The community’s voices are going unheard. The school board has made decisions that are not in the best interest of the children, at least three of the five have. It must be difficult for Trustees Margaret Hall and Carlyn Barton. My thanks to them for trying to do the right thing. Also, thanks to Steffie Pavey who has walked Board Chair Keith Rutledge through what he can and cannot do, that was until more recently.

In the last few weeks, Keith has been getting outside help. In a 45-minute meeting he called four, five-minute recesses. He denied speaking to anyone on the phone when Trustee Hall asked. A recess would be called when he was questioned about his actions. The first

Dear editor,

Earlier this year, Dorothy Moon, chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party, stressed that the Idaho GOP was “truly a Big Tent movement.” However, after the party’s recent annual summer meeting, I wonder just how big that tent is.

From some of the resolutions that resulted from this two-day conference held in rural Custer County it seems like the “Big Tent” is shrinking.

Not only did conference attendees censure their own Republican governor for his veto of the ill-fated so-called “library bill,” but they also passed a resolution to punish elected Republicans for disobeying the party’s platform by censuring them. Repeat offenders could even be drummed out of the party altogether.

Another resolution stripped voting rights from the Federation of Republican Women, Idaho Young Republicans and Idaho College Republicans.

Like I said, that doesn’t sound like a big tent to me. I think it’s more like a pup tent.

Robin Lundgren Bonners Ferry

Dear editor,

Idaho Republicans hold all state offices, hold a supermajority in the Legislature, and dominate city and county government. Idaho Republicans advocate politicizing school board and other currently nonpartisan elections. Idaho Republicans have a closed primary system heavily influenced by the Idaho Freedom Foundation. IFF is heavily funded by out-of-state political action groups. Is Idaho headed toward a single-party, authoritarian government?

This school board is dangerous. Do not underestimate their power to completely turn this whole community upside down and gut our public school system from the inside out. Brandon Durst will help with that.

I am a fourth-generation Priest River graduate. I hold a master’s degree in counseling and give back to this community by working with children and adults with mental health struggles in a private practice and school setting. I have four children of my own, all under the age of 8. I grew up in this conservative community and identify as a heterosexual with conservative values. I am not trying to push anything on anyone. I just want to draw attention to the atrocities that could be at stake if we do not sign a petition and have these reckless and careless school board members removed. We need a recall!

Perhaps the answer could be to officially designate a north section of city beach as the wildlife sanctuary it has been for centuries. It seems the geese will likely continue to return to their area until every one is killed. Instead of gassing the geese, we could celebrate them. Beach goers could enjoy observing wildlife in their own habitat.

Patricia Ramsey Sandpoint

Dear editor,

Those who justify goose genocide fall into the same entitled thinking that has led to the most heinous devastation. It is a shame we are the same species.

Jodi Rawson Sandpoint

Dear editor,

To those of you who were glad of the brutal and unnecessary gassing of the City Beach geese — it would benefit you greatly to try to lift your consciousness in general.

These geese were here long before us. They will always come here to eat the grass and enjoy the water.

Locals here have avoided the poop by watching where they are stepping.

This is what makes Sandpoint special — the moose who have walked our sidewalks and the geese with their young.

But there are other ways for humans to be in this world. Conflict between humans and other species can result from human-centered thinking. We need to look no further for an example than the clandestine goose slaughter at City Beach on June 23. The secretive nature of the slaughter operation did its job. Now the word is out, and we are left in the aftermath.

This is a time for reflection. For those who participated in the decision and the operation, it is a good time to evaluate the public response and reassess your decision. Is City Beach just a park for humans? Or is it a site that will continue to attract geese who have no way of knowing about arbitrary human rules?

It’s appropriate, I think, to honor the sacrifice of the 170 geese, and to demonstrate transparency to the public. Let the public know the cost to wildlife of what is now a single-use, human recreational park. I suggest the city dedicate a plaque in memory of the geese. Let it be prominently displayed at the park. The preeminence of humans will not be understated.

For those who learned about the slaughter when it was too late, and who may have experienced shock, sadness, anger and disappointment, let our leaders know. The geese can’t talk.

Lexie de Fremery Sandpoint

Andie Flavel Priest

River

We do not need to change Sandpoint. What we need is for you folks to not bring your city mentality here. We do not intend to put up with you wanting to change

We accept letters under 300 words that are free from libelous statements, demonstrable lies, profanity and attempts at trolling. If you want to spew garbage, send it elsewhere. Please elevate the conversation.

West. Bonner schools situation is ‘infuriating’…

‘In memoriam’…

‘Heinous devastation’…

‘Instead of gassing the geese, we could celebrate them’…

Recall ‘reckless and careless’ school board members…

‘So-called progress’…

Idaho GOP’s ‘Big Tent’ is shrinking…

Science: Mad about

geodes

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

Did you know that there are some rocks and gemstones that only exist on Earth? As far as we are aware, there is nowhere else for tens, hundreds, perhaps even thousands of lightyears away where these minerals exist in this configuration.

Before we get into today’s subject, it’s important to look at how rock is formed to get a better understanding of why and how gemstones and geodes exist.

Rock comes in three forms: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock begins its journey as molten rock in the Earth’s mantle that is pushed toward the surface through volcanism. Granite is a great example of igneous rock.

Sedimentary rock is formed when particles are deposited by air or water to form layers that fossilize into stone. A recognizable form of sedimentary rock is limestone, which is formed by the compressed skeletal remains of corals and other calcified critters.

Metamorphic rocks are formed by heat, pressure or chemical reactions that change the composition of the stone into something new. Limestone is sedimentary, but it can transform into marble when the limestone is subjected to immense pressure, forcing the calcium to recrystallize.

Many of the processes involved here don’t happen in the vacuum of space, except perhaps in the very early stages of a star system’s life. Limestone requires living organisms in order to form, but it’s not the only type of rock or gemstone that forms in the presence of life.

Geodes are very unique, not only in appearance but also the way they form.

The first step of a geode’s formation is air. A void must exist within an igneous rock in order to form a geode. This can happen when gaseous air is trapped inside of volcanic rock that is rapidly cooled on the outside, but cools more slowly on the inside. This causes ruptures and allows molten rock to leak out and leave a void of air in the center of the cooling stone. This can also happen in sedimentary rock where a more voluminous structure, such as a piece of coral, may decay and wither to create an empty space encased by solid rock. This process takes considerably longer than it does with igneous rocks.

It’s not immediately apparent when looking at a rock, but many rocks are porous at a microscopic level, similar to a tiny hard sponge. This means that minute amounts of water can travel through the rock and into the larger void within, and then out the other side. As water travels, it carries microscopic particles of other minerals with it, which end up getting trapped inside and begin to form crystal structures as more and more of these minerals are left inside.

Understandably, this process takes an extremely long time.

Due to the nature of a geode’s environment influencing its development, the types of crystals found within igneous geodes, versus sedimentary geodes, can be fairly predictable. Quartz crystals are more commonly found in igneous geodes, while silica crystals are often found within sedimentary varieties.

You may be wondering what causes some geodes to have color, while others appear milky or clear.

Purple amethyst crystals are a telltale purple color due to the iron impurities deposited within the crystal. While it has a different name than milky white quartz, it’s the same mineral with a very sim-

ilar structure, just colored differently by the impure iron. Red and pink amethyst also exist in these hues for the same reason, though irradiation can also play a role in the coloration of these crystals.

Agate found in geodes has a number of unique properties that make it distinct from the quartz crystals often found in these rocks. Groundwater laden with silica particles in acidic and PH-neutral areas will collect over thousands of years, depositing the silica in layers as it does so. It forms a microcrystal structure that appears very smooth to our eyes, as well as creating a unique banding pattern and often completely filling the entirety of the void found within the rock. In some cases, a geode will begin forming with larger crystals at the edges of the void, but high concentrations of silicates will begin to crystallize and fill the entirety of the void above these crystals to create a conversion into a solid chalcedony. There are many types of agate crystals formed by this process with varying patterns of banding and coloration that act like geological time capsules.

These processes are only possible under proper conditions. The presence of liquid water is the most important and the rarest. As abundant as liquid water is on Earth, its presence in a liquid state is extremely rare in our solar system. Without a proper atmosphere to nourish a water cycle like the one we have on Earth, water molecules are prone to freezing into perpetual ice or being evaporated and whipped away into the vacuum of space by solar radiation. The presence of life is also necessary for certain geodes and crystals to form, whether it’s within fossils or voids left by tree roots or decaying coral — there is no place other than Earth where we’ve observed these things.

Keeping that in mind, there are

gemstones that we know originate from space. Peridot is a green gemstone that’s actually made up of magnesium, iron and silica, and it’s been found in meteorites that have fallen to Earth. It’s also believed that the atmospheric pressure of both Jupiter and Saturn are so intense that they crush atmospheric carbon into graphite, then further press the graphite into diamonds, which rain down into the seas of liquid metallic hydrogen.

Before you make plans to journey to Jupiter and dive for diamond sand, just keep in mind how much pressure must be involved to not only crush what is essentially pencil lead into a diamond, but to push hydrogen into a state of liquid metal.

Do diamonds float in hydrogen seas? I don’t know, but I think I just found my new band name. Stay curious, 7B.

•The shoe company Converse was founded in 1908 in Malden, Mass., by Marquis Mills Converse. Before founding his company, Converse was a manager at a footwear company.

•Converse was the official shoe used by the U.S. military in 1941. The Converse star rapidly became a patriotic symbol, with troops wearing white high tops while training.

•Nike purchased Converse in 2003 for a whopping $309 million. One of Nike’s first moves after the acquisition was to bring back popular 1970s styles.

•A pair of Converse Chuck Taylors is sold every 43 seconds, according to Nike. More than 1 billion pairs have been sold since 1908.

•Chuck Taylor was a former pro basketball player who became a Converse salesman after his sports career. Taylor is credited as a main reason why All-Stars are such a popular style of shoe, thanks to his quest to listen carefully to customer feedback and passing on suggestions

for shoe improvements, like adding more padding under the ball of the foot, a different rubber compound in the sole to avoid scuffs and a patch to protect the ankle.

•Wilt Chamberlain scored a whopping 100 points in a single basketball game on March 2, 1962 wearing a pair of Chuck Taylors. The closest person to match that feat was Kobe Bryant, who scored 81 points in a single game in 2006.

•Michael Jordan is known for his association with Nike, but he actually won his first-ever Olympic Gold Medal wearing Converse Fastbreak Mids, a shoe that is mostly worn by skateboarders today.

•The Harlem Globetrotters are credited with coming up with the Oxfords, or “low-top” Chuck Taylors, in 1957 when they chopped off the sneakers’ tops and ran around the court in their low-cut prototypes.

•Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, wore Chuck Taylors in the iconic Rocky training montage.

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Emergency math

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

I was at mile 17 of my 26mile mountain marathon when the straps on the backpack started to feel like they were chafing. By the 18th mile, the chafing escalated into itching and burning, with angry hives spreading from my back to my stomach, and across my arm. By mile 19, I was breathing fast and shallow. I was having an allergic reaction, made more intense by being in the middle of a race. Luckily, I’ve been trail running too long not to carry Benadryl with me whenever I go, which I gulped down at the direction of aid station volunteers. Ten minutes later, I was driven off the course and deposited into an ambulance, an oxygen mask strapped to my face while I waited for the paramedics to arrive.

By the time a second ambulance pulled beside ours, the Benedryl I had taken had fully kicked in. My breathing was back to normal, and my hives had faded from angry welts to dull, achy splotches. My family, who was at the venue to spectate, stood separated from me by the big, square doors of the vehicle. The medic explained, “She’s fine now, but there’s a chance the reaction could flair up again, so we’re taking her to the hospital.”

Immediately, my stomach clenched. I knew ambulance rides were expensive, as were emergency room visits, and, in my restored state, it felt unnecessary. But, it also seemed like

I didn’t have a choice — not just that refusing care might be irresponsible, but that it was an option at all. As they closed the doors, I was separated from my advocates, and the ambulance started to drive. Suddenly, it felt like I was tossed into the spin-cycle of health care, about to be tumble-dried before I could be declared, “good as new.”

At the ER, I was administered precautionary antihistamines along with a bag of saline. While the IV was still in my arm, an office administrator came into the room and confirmed my Social Security number, solidifying that the financial repercussions of my visit would be as firmly attached to me as the needle currently under my skin.

The next morning, while shaking off the grogginess of Benadryl-deepened sleep, I checked my insurance plan coverage. My in-network deductible is $9,000, with a max out-of-pocket payment capping at $8,200. Fifty percent of ambulance and emergency services are covered, but only after I reach my deductible. This plan, which won’t start

helping me with emergency expenses until I spend $9,000 (or $17,000 for out-of-network services), costs me $400 a month — a bill I’d been dutifully paying for two years. It was like a bad math equation. Now, fully entrenched in the numbers, I began tallying up my prospective bill. A quick Google search revealed that the average cost of an ambulance ride has risen from $900 in 2017 to $1,500 in 2023, with additional factors like services rendered, distance traveled, personnel attending and medications administered driving up the cost by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. As for ER costs, they begin as soon as you’re registered with a triage fee, typically ranging from $200-$1,000.

Then, once you’re assigned to a room, you incur a facility charge of around $1,000. This does not include physician fees, medication or supplies used during a visit. I realized, with sinking clarity, that my day in the mountains would cost me somewhere between $4,000$8,000, despite having an insurance plan that had cost me $9,600 in the past two years.

And, the worst part of the equation? I had to count myself fortunate. I was OK. I received good care, with a good outcome. And with a payment plan, the bill won’t financially break me. But for so many others swept up in our health care system, receiving life-saving services comes at the cost of crippling, life-altering debt.

In a study by the Census Bureau, approximately 16 million people owe more than $1,000 in medical debt, with 3 million of

those people owing more than $10,000. In 2022, 14% of people with medical debt plan on declaring bankruptcy to absolve themselves of it.

In a country with some of the best medical services in the world, people are routinely forced to ask themselves if they can live with the cost of being saved. Even when they play by the rules, paying expensive premiums on insurance plans, they can fall through the cracks into

unimaginable circumstances — with repercussions that ripple out beyond themselves, into the people they support and the people who care for them.

It all prompts the questions, “How did we get here?”; “What do we do about it?”; and, “If the cost of good care is X, and the impact on your life is Y, what choice are you left with?”

Now, that is an equation begging to be solved.

Emily Erickson.

Telling the story of the Gardenia Center

By Mark Reiner Reader Contributor

Many people, especially newcomers, have no idea what the Gardenia Center is and what it does. Recently, a nice lady thought it was a garden center, many old-timers believed it was a place where “nutcases” worshiped crystals, or worse. The truth is that the Gardenia Center is Sandpoint’s only metaphysical church. Because metaphysics is not commonly understood and people usually reject that which they don’t understand, many misconceptions have arisen. It is time to straighten out the story.

The group that originally became the Gardenia Center was loosely organized during the summer and fall of 1978, with the purpose of studying metaphysical

teachings and developing individual and collective spiritual consciousness. In December 1978, the group recognized its spiritual goals and purpose would best be advanced by actively practicing meta-

physical principles, and so chose charitable projects upon which to focus.

In 1988, the group formally organized itself as the Gardenia Center. The name was chosen for the fact that gardenia flowers have many petals of equal size and stature. We are all equal in the mind of God. It was in March 1989 that the center leased a conveniently located, vacant church building. The present building at 400 Church St. — across from the post office — was purchased from the Church of the Nazarine by Art and Donna Brattkus and Marilyn Chambers; but, around 1998, solely became the property of Chambers, whose family now leases it to the Gardenia Center Board.

Today the center has remained open as a true non-denominational church with continued in-person church services. As one parishioner put it, “Many if not most people in town prefer a church that promises to do it for you: pledge to follow our dogma and your salvation is assured. Not everyone is ready for a church that just offers pointers and expects them to make the effort.”

Basically, the Gardenia Center has remained the local home for metaphysical speakers, but in an effort to demonstrate the commonality between religions, the main speaker changes every Sunday and includes pastors from other churches, including those outside Christianity.

The parishioner went on to say, “We are an ADE church. A., we become Aware we are on Earth to wake up to our divine self; D., we foster a Desire to wake up by our fellowship through example; and E., we encourage everyone to make the Effort.”

On the front of every Sunday’s

bulletin is the Gardenia Center Creed, which follows. “We are a fellowship of individuals who seek to manifest and encourage the quest and teaching of truth and love with which we can serve our community and world. Our sincere intent and purpose is to reach out and serve others who also feel the urge to awaken and live in joyful harmony with each other. Each person becomes a loving, active guardian of our fellowship and endeavors to fulfill this purpose in a spirit of unconditional love.”

The facility, though older, contains a large meeting room as well as smaller rooms, storage space, a kitchen and serving area. We are currently trying to sell many of our old wooden pews to modernize the sanctuary. Through careful planning and scheduling conducted in an atmosphere of cooperative flexibility, the Gardenia Center is currently providing a space for meetings of many groups, including AA, NA, OEA, weddings, funerals, classes and church services.

In addition, there is a substantial, free lending library holding thousands of books devoted to metaphysical topics. The “Peace Garden” behind the building provides a flowered green space for everyone amid the growing asphalt. A small amount of financial support comes from those organizations and individuals who rent space in the center, donations or tithing. No one is refused entrance if they cannot pay.

Sunday Service starts at 10 a.m. For more information, call 208-217-4842.

The interior of the Gardenia Center in Sandpoint. Courtesy photo.

Idaho women hit hardest by fall of Roe

By Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, and Sen. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise Reader Contributors

It has now been one year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending 50 years of legal abortion access. We recently returned from the White House, where 47 red-state lawmakers met to discuss strategies to protect reproductive rights. As we compared notes, it was jarring to realize that even among red states, Idaho is the worst in America for women’s reproductive rights.

Here are the facts:

•Many red states have six- or 12-week bans. Idaho’s is a total ban with no health exception. Abortion is only permitted to prevent certain death: organ loss, infertility, paralysis and potential death don’t qualify. In 2023, a bill permitting abortion for life-threatening conditions was blocked.

•Idaho allows no exception for fatal fetal anomalies. Where a fetus has no skull, no brain, or otherwise no possibility of survival after birth, a woman is forced to carry to term.

•Idaho is the only state to criminalize transporting a minor to another state for a legal abortion.

•Idaho is the only state where doctors have been threatened with criminal penalties for simply telling patients they can seek abortion in another state.

•Idaho is the only state with a total abortion ban that does not provide 12 months of postpartum maternal Medicaid coverage.

•Idaho is the only state without a maternal mortality review committee. GOP legislators shut it down this year. Our abortion laws are likely to lead to more women’s deaths, and apparently legislators didn’t want a committee collecting that data.

The fallout from these cruel laws has been dire, and will affect far more than just women seeking abortions. Since Roe was overturned last year, two hospitals shut down labor and delivery services, we’ve lost almost half our fetal-maternal medicine specialists, and 73 of 117 OB-GYN doctors surveyed are considering leaving Idaho because of its abortion laws. Unsurprisingly, doctors don’t want to practice where they

might face prison time for treating a hemorrhaging patient. For a state already short of doctors, this loss of providers jeopardizes the health of all Idahoans.

No other legislators we met at the White House had seen such drastic impacts on health care access in their state. Idaho’s laws are the worst in America, and the effects have followed suit.

The infuriating irony of Idaho’s abortion laws is that people who want children are the ones most damaged. Pregnancy isn’t perfect. Complications happen, and denying a woman a necessary abortion during an unsafe pregnancy may cause permanent loss of fertility, forever shutting down hopes of motherhood. Idaho’s current laws make mitigating complications hard and sometimes impossible.

Pregnancy should be celebrated, and pregnant people protected. Right now in Idaho, that’s not the case. Pregnant people are at the whim of lawmakers who overwhelmingly have no medical training and systematically ignore input from doctors. While Idaho’s extreme abortion laws have proven very helpful to politicians seeking wins in closed GOP primaries, they have brought great harm to women and health care access in Idaho.

Idaho Statesman polling shows the public opposes Idaho’s abortion laws, with 85% supporting health exceptions, 61% opposing criminal penalties for doctors and a slight majority supporting legal abortion generally. Very few non-politicians think Idaho’s current law is a good idea.

Remember: You are the bosses. Speak

up to legislators and vote. Idaho women should not be doomed to the worst reproductive health access in America. Our laws can be fixed, and we are here to help. Democratic legislators will work tirelessly to restore and protect women’s safety, and with a nudge from you, our GOP colleagues may someday join us.

Rep. Ilana Rubel is a six-term Democratic lawmaker from Boise, serving as House minority leader and on the Business; Environment, Energy and Technology; Health and Welfare; and Ways and Means committees. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, is in her second Senate term, previously serving three terms in the Idaho House (2014-’20). She is currently the Senate minority leader and sits on the Health and Welfare, Judiciary and Rules, and Transportation committees.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULy!

Photos of the Sandpoint Lions Club Fourth of July Grand Parade by Ben Olson

Kaniksu Land Trust launches wood-products retail and education initiative

By Reader Staff

Kaniksu Land Trust has announced the launch of its community-based forest product retail and education initiative, which aims to provide the community with access to “sustainable wood products while offering educational programs focused on responsible land use practices,” the organization stated.

KLT shares ownership of a portable mill with the Bonner Soil and Water Conservation District at Pine Street Woods, where it efficiently processes timber from the community forest on-site, minimizing transportation needs and ensuring a low carbon footprint. The acquisition of the mill inspired a larger education initiative focused on sustainable forestry, made possible by a grant from the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation.

Kaniksu Lumber’s educational offerings will encompass a range of topics, including general forest health and sustainable management strategies. Through outreach, interpretive signage and on-site classes, community members of all ages will have the opportunity to learn from management strategies and programs at the 180-acre Pine

Street Woods Community Forest.

Interpretive signs will serve as an outreach tool for the thousands of visitors who hike, bike, walk, run and ski at Pine Street Woods each year. Through that signage, visitors will learn about the purpose and function of the portable sawmill, the benefits of sustainable forest management, the coexistence of working forestland with public enjoyment, the ecosystem services produced by healthy forests, and the significance of stewardship and conservation.

The initiative also involves the installation of a training course for the Idaho State Forestry Contest, which attracts hundreds of area youth each spring.

“KLT’s Kaniksu Lumber proposal seeks to reconnect our community, which was largely established to serve a forestry-based economy, with the process of growing and managing healthy forests, producing sustainable wood products and developing community projects to make use of them,” stated KLT Conservation Director Regan Plumb.

“Although our organization has long supported forestry-based education and sustainable forestry initiatives, this program is our first attempt to truly integrate forest

products, ecosystem services, and associated programming directly into the DNA of KLT,” Plumb added.

Kaniksu Lumber is taking orders now. For information on custom lumber orders

for small backyard projects, contact KLT at land@kaniksu.org. For more information about Kaniksu Lumber’s wood product retail and education initiative, visit kaniksu. org or call 208-263-9471.

Courtesy photo.

July Parks and Rec. programming

By Reader Staff

Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces will be offering the following programming in July:

• Adult pickleball. Registration is open for both beginning and intermediate pickleball for ages 18+. All classes will be held 9 a.m.-noon on Saturdays at the Lakeview Park pickleball courts. All equipment will be provided. Participants need to bring their court shoes, water, sunglasses, a hat and layers for cool weather. Each session is $25/ person ($5 non-resident fee). Register by Thursday, July 20 for Session 3 beginners on Friday, July 22. Register by Thursday, July 6 for Session 2 intermediate pickleball on Saturday, July 8.

• Contra dance. Parks and Rec. partners with Emily Faulkner to bring this series, which runs the second Friday of each month, except August. The Friday, July 14 dance at Sandpoint Community Hall (204 S. First Ave.) will take place 7-10 p.m. No experience necessary, all ages are welcome and no partner needed. Beginners are encouraged to attend introductory dancing at 7 p.m. Wear comfortable, breathable clothing and bring non-marking shoes to change into for dancing. No outdoor shoes on the dance floor. A $5 donation is suggested for each dance.

• Game night with the Lions Club. A FREE family game night at Community Hall (204 S. First Ave.) on Friday, July 21. Event runs every third Friday of the month 6-8 p.m. through December. Both card games and board games will be available, or bring your own to share.

• Adult ladies golf. Session 2 of the clinic with local golf pro Mike Deprez will take place Monday, July 31-Monday, Aug. 7. Participants meet at the Elks Golf Course 30196 ID-200, in Ponderay. Register for by Thursday, July 27. Fee $100 ($5 non-resident fee).

• Youth tennis lessons. For ages 4-high school. Weekly sessions offered through Thursday, July 27. Times vary, depending on the age group selected. Lessons average one hour and are held at Lakeview Park tennis courts. Register by the Thursday prior to first class. Fee: $23 ($3 non-resident fee).

• Basic keelboat sailing. Ages 16 and older. Graduates will be able to responsibly skipper and crew a 20’-27’ sloop-rigged keelboat in light to moderate wind and sea conditions. Register by Thursday, July 6 for Session 2, held Monday, July 10-Thursday, July 13. Class meets at the Sandpoint Wind-

bag Marina (Fred’s Deck) from 10 a.m.noon. Fee: $65 ($4 non-resident fee)

• Youth small boat sailing. Ages 1018.Graduates will learn to safely operate a sailing dinghy by participating in both shore-based and on the water activities under the supervision of U.S. Sailing-certified instructors. Register by Thursday, July 6 for Session 2: Monday, July 10-Thursday, July 13.Class meets at the Sandpoint Windbag Marina (Fred’s Deck) from 1-3 p.m.. Fee: $45 ($4 non-resident fee) A swim test will be administered at the City Beach lifeguard headquarters at 2:30 p.m. on Friday July 7.

• Introduction to skateboarding. Beginners and intermediates, ages 7 and older. Participants will learn skate park skateboarding basics, including etiquette. Skateboard and helmet required. Knee, elbow pads and wrist guards recommended. Class meets at the Concrete Lake skate park (2100 Pine St., in Sandpoint) on Sundays, July 16 and July 23 from 8:30-9:30 a.m. Register by Wednesday, July 12. Fee: $35 ($3 non-resident fee).

• Adult tennis lessons. Intermediate Session 3: Monday, July 3 and Thursday, July 6. Lessons run 5:30-6:30 p.m. at Lakeview Park tennis courts. Beginner Session 4 runs Monday, July 10 and Thursday, July 13. Intermediate Session 5 runs July Monday, July 17 and Thursday, July 20. Register by the Thursday prior to first class. Fee: $22 ($3 non-resident fee).

• Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society. KNPS presents a FREE hypertufa demonstration at the Lakeview Park Native Plant Arboretum (901 Ontario St., in Sandpoint) on Saturday, July 29 from 11-noon. RSVP on the KNPS website via EventBrite to receive reminders: nativeplantsociety.org.

• Work for Parks and Rec. Parks maintenance worker, $16.56-$22.88/hour, permanent full-time; City Beach lifeguards, $14.50$15.50/hour; City Beach concession workers, $11-$12/hour. Seasonal parks maintenance workers;, $16.63-$17.33/hour, eight-, sevenand three-month positions available.

Visit the online activity catalog to view listings. Outside organizations and individuals wishing to list their activities are encouraged to contact the department with their program information at recreation@ sandpointidaho.gov.

Register for any Parks and Rec. program at secure.rec1.com/ID/city-of-sandpoint/catalog, visit the office at City Hall (1123 Lake St.) or call 208-263-3613.

MUSIC

Tennis returns

Sandpoint-born party band Tennis visits for a weekend of local gigs

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Fresh off graduating from college and working my summer job at a lakeside restaurant back home in Hope, I found myself in a sort of social purgatory: too old and frankly uninterested in partying with friends from my native east side of Bonner County, but too young and unfamiliar with the night life of Sandpoint to feel like I could take part.

When a co-worker suggested I come with her to a Tennis show at MickDuff’s Beer Hall after work one night, I traded my comfort zone (quite literally the bunk bed at my parents’ house) for a ride into town and the promise of a good time.

Apart from the new friendship and the homemade breakfast burrito that brought me back to life the next morning, what sticks most clearly in my mind from that adventure was the band. Tennis was the soundtrack to my evolution from nervous kid to confident adult. I’d never had so much fun in my life.

Since the band’s formation in 2005, Tennis has maintained a reputation as one of Sandpoint’s most loved party bands, despite only one member of the trio currently living locally. Brian Hibbard (keys) lives on the East Coast, Craig Baldwin (bass) is now a Southerner and Jeremy Kleinsmith (drums) remains a local, but they have made it a mission to reunite in Sandpoint as regularly as they can, and now, their summer cameos are stuff of legend.

town playing five shows in four days from July 5 to Saturday, July 8.While the show at the Fat Pig will have already happened by the time this article is published, Tennis will be at Kootenai River Brewing Co. in Bonners Ferry on Thursday, July 6; The Hive for the first of two shows on Friday, July 7; providing the tunes for Sandpoint Beerfest on Saturday, July 8 and, finally, at The Hive again later that evening.

The Sandpoint Reader caught up with Hibbard just before he embarked on his westward journey from his longtime home in Massachusetts.

Sandpoint Reader: Something I find striking about Tennis is that you guys now live long distance but still prioritize getting back together for your annual (or semi-annual) week of Sandpoint gigs — and people come out. Tennis Week is a big deal around here. Why do you guys make this a priority?

the band, it’s the most fun we have all year.

SR: I’m looking at your docket of shows this coming week, and five shows in four days feels like a lot. How do you power through? Has it gotten easier or harder over the years?

BH: I wouldn’t recommend a prolonged schedule at this pace! But, since we are making the trip, we want to pack as much in as we can muster. The way we’re doing it now seems to be the right formula. We also want to be able to hit as much of our material as we can over the course of the week. Looking through the song list we’re going to be pulling from, there’s something like 200 songs we could likely play, and there’s lots we’d be sad about having to leave out.

SR: As for musical stylings, it would be easy to call Tennis a pop-rock band and leave it at that, but not every pop-rock band could pull the loyal following that

you guys have. What do you think is the special sauce that makes Tennis what it is?

BH: Good question! We are all left-handed — that’s got to be a big factor. Is there some secret ingredient, some kind of difference? Song selection — we’re not afraid to try anything. Having a piano lead, and no guitar, we have to put our own spin on things. Having a dynamic rhythm section, with the chops that Craig and Jeremy display, we give existing songs a shot in the arm. I think the amount of fun we have on stage is noticeable [and] contagious.

We’re having a blast, putting out a lot of energy and the audience reciprocates. … Tennis has really only been a Sandpoint band, [and] the loyalty goes both ways. In the years we were all here full time (2005-2008), we developed a word-of-mouth following, crowdsourcing a lot of the material that has become our standard, eclectic, atypical canon, which set the model going forward, and continues to grow organically over 18 years and counting.

Tennis live in North Idaho

Thursday, July 6; Kootenai River Brewing Co. in Bonners Ferry; 6 p.m. Friday, July 7; The Hive; doors at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 8; Sandpoint Beerfest (City Beach); 1-4 p.m.; and at The Hive; doors at 6 p.m. For more show details, view the events listed on Tennis’ Facebook page at facebook.com/ pages/Tennis/332840557372.

Brian Hibbard: Well, like you said, because people show up! When the members of the band moved on geographically, it obviously became a logistical challenge. Getting together once a year is what makes sense. And when something is only able to occur once every year or two, the demand for it increases. We love that it’s been a big deal in town for the last, say, 10-12 years of us only being able to make rare appearances. We love Sandpoint, getting to reconnect and share with friends and family. For us guys in

This year, the band is back in

Brian Hibbard, Craig Baldwin and Jeremy Kleinsmith are Tennis. Photo by Ben Olson.

COMMUNITY

KRFY to kick off new Friday news program Angels Over Sandpoint awards art scholarship

By Reader Staff

Sandpoint’s nonprofit community radio station, 88.5 KRFY, is launching a local news program Friday, June 30, which will air live each Friday at 8 a.m.

Titled News of the Week, the show will kick off with an introduction from broadcasters June 30, then feature rotating hosts and local journalists beginning Friday, July 7 with Sandpoint Reader Editor-in-Chief Zach Hagadone.

The show will provide a rundown of the biggest local stories of the week, plus insights from the reporters who cover the news.

“The idea is to provide a place where listeners can tune in and get up to speed on local news they may have missed during the week,” said KRFY Associate Station Manager Jack Peterson.

Peterson will serve as one of the News of the Week program hosts, in rotation with three other volunteer KRFY broadcasters: Will Love, Mark Warren and Chris Bessler. Along with Hagadone from the Reader,

reporters from the Bonner County Daily Bee, including Lauren Reichenbach, will contribute. Peterson said other current and retired journalists will be invited, and the program will occasionally include guest interviews with various officials and newsmakers from around the region.

“We want the show to raise interest in local news and help our local residents be better informed,” said Peterson. “We have a pair of excellent local newspapers for such a small town, and we hope the brief treatment we can provide with News of the Week gets residents picking up their local papers to get the in-depth journalism that fuels good decision-making by our local governments and leaders.”

Peterson added that News of the Week is a test for KRFY. Hosts and journalists are committing to a three-month trial, and intend to then evaluate whether the program is providing a worthwhile service to be continued.

To catch the show, tune in Fridays at 8 a.m. at 88.5 FM, or stream it live on krfy. org.

By Reader Staff

Elizabeth Couch is the recipient of the Angels Over Sandpoint and Festival at Sandpoint 2023 joint art scholarship in creative writing. Couch was in the Sandpoint High School graduating class of 2023. During her high school years she was active in the creative writing club and excels in writing fantasy based fiction.

Couch wrote her first newspaper article in sixth grade for the Bonner County Daily Bee, exploring the Farmin-Stidwell student’s passions, such as why some kids are bullies, rescuing animals and the love of horror movies. Couch’s writing skill took off from there.

She plans to attend the University of Idaho to study environmental science, through which she intends to use her writing skills to communicate to communities across the world the impact and importance of caring for the environment.

STAGE & SCREEN Finding humor at home

Local comedian Jody Carroll to host stand-up comedy show featuring countrywide talent at the Little Panida

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Parents about to send their youngest children out into the world are known to take up new hobbies as they anticipate their new lives as “empty-nesters.”

Moms might join clubs and make new social commitments, free of carpooling and constant errands for the first time in years; dads might get into woodworking, or develop an unhealthy attachment to the family dog.

For Jody Carroll, that empty-nest-induced activity is standup comedy, which she began in spring 2019 as she prepared to send her youngest out of the house.

“My husband and I have always loved stand-up comedy,” she told the Reader, “and he has been super supportive of me.”

Carroll will host a stand-up show at the Little Panida Theater on Saturday, July 8, featuring headlining comedian Harry J. Riley as well as fellow New York act Laura Patton and the locally loved Jon Hodge. The show starts at 8 p.m. with doors opening 30 minutes beforehand. Tickets are $20 in advance and available online, while tickets at the

door are $25. The show is limited to audiences 21 and up.

Carroll, who is based in Priest Lake, said she enjoyed hosting a sold-out show at the Little Panida last summer. She said she is excited to highlight Hodge’s “super creative and unique, yet somehow relatable” humor, as well as the “sassy, New York Italian comedy” of Patton. Riley has made a name for himself as a featured performer all over the country and by appearing on the SYFY TV series Z Nation.

“Harry always delivers huge laughs,” Carroll said. “His material ranges from childhood stories to current events, and the crowd always has an amazing, hilarious night when he is on stage.”

Summer Stand-up

Saturday, July 8; doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m.; 21+; $20/advance, $25/ door at the door. Little Panida Theater, 302 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.org. Get advance tickets online at panida.org.

Carroll said living in North Idaho serves her own comedic content well, as she’s known to draw jokes from “outdoor activities, cold weather, simple life and people moving here from California.” Describing life in her neck of the woods usually leads to some hilarity, especially when she performs in other parts of the U.S., she said.

“There are characteristics of living here that are unique to our region and are pretty dang funny when holding that mirror up to myself and other North Ida-

ho residents,” she said.

Apart from living in the remote reaches of Idaho’s panhandle, Carroll said her comedic style draws on her life as “a wife, mom, empty-nester and silly person.”

“My style is very light-hearted,” she said. “I like to bring the audience into my experiences as a foster mom, mom of a very religious daughter and wife to a man who sometimes drives me bananas,” she said, noting that her Alaska childhood provides plenty

of material as well.

“I hope the crowd will see that even though life is difficult and there’s a lot of crazy things going on, we can choose to take some moments to laugh together and agree on the silliness of life sometimes,” she added.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

The Muddy Souls, Matchwood Brewing Co., July 7 Mama’s Broke, The Heartwood, July 9

There’s a comfort and familiarity that bluegrass music provides those of us who grew up in the West. The Muddy Souls from Eugene, Ore. exemplify that vibe with their mix of bluegrass, jamgrass and classic string sounds. This five-piece mixes guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle and bass with contemporary songwriting and tight vocal harmonies to produce a high-octane groove that will get you out of your seat.

With three studio albums

under their belt and more than 150 live shows played across the Pacific Northwest, The Muddy Souls are truly a gem of the Oregon roots music scene and this show kicks off Matchwood Brewing Co.’s Sounds Under the Silo music series.

— Ben Olson

7-9:30 p.m., FREE. Matchwood Brewing Co., 513 Oak St., 208-718-2739, matchwoodbrewing.com. Listen at themuddysouls.com.

Lisa Maria and Amy Lou Keeler of Mama’s Broke will be a long way from home when they come to The Heartwood for an outdoor show on Sunday, July 9, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for the duo based on the East Coast of Canada.

Mama’s Broke is constantly touring, bringing its self-described “dark, fiery folk-without-borders” to audiences across Canada and the U.S., to the U.K. and Ireland, and into Europe. Along the way, the band has amassed a committed following and drawn attention from the

likes of NPR’s Tiny Desk series. The sound is an impeccable, hypnotic mingling of the old-time folk and maritime traditions with haunting, crystalline harmonies and affecting lyrics. It’ll break your heart to miss Mama’s Broke. Little Wolf opening.

— Zach Hagadone

Doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m.; . The Heartwood, 615 Oak St., 208-263-8699, $25 donation/$10 for youth at the gate, mattoxfarm.com. Listen at mamasbroke.ca. Bring blankets, chairs, food and N. A. beverages.

...online how-to forums. Aside from videos on YouTube, online forums always seem to be the best place to find detailed answers to tricky questions on a wide variety of topics. When restoring my sailboat, I utilized sailnet.com, and while working on my old Kawasaki motorcycle, I used kawiforums.com. Whether you’re restoring an old dining room table or rebuilding a classic car, there are people out there who are always glad to give you some advice. It’s the best part of the internet, in my opinion.

READ LISTEN

The 1990s music scene was dominated by grunge, but another subgenre known generally as slowcore or space rock revival contributed quite a few memorable albums. One of my favorite groups of this era and genre is Duster, generally labeled under indie rock, but they were way ahead of their time. The band recorded on cheap and older equipment, giving the music a lofi quality that is en vogue today. Check out their song “Inside Out’’ for a good entry into their sound.

WATCH

Alexander Payne’s films are among the best storytelling efforts in the medium, with such gems as Sideways, About Schmidt and Nebraska among his best works. A great entry into his work is 1999’s Election, starring Matthew Broderick as a struggling high school teacher who ends up thwarting the dreams of a plucky Reese Witherspoon who is running for school president. Like all of Payne’s films, there is comedy and failure always lurking under the drama, and Election pairs them beautifully.

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

Jody Carroll will host a stand up comedy show Saturday, July 8 featuring Harry J. Riley, Laura Patton and Jon Hodge. Courtesy photo.

BACK OF THE BOOK

Sandpoint’s hip Canadian sister Nelson

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

From Pend Oreille Review, July 6, 1917

onslaught of tourism each summer — and to a lesser degree, every winter.

This year’s Fourth of July will go down in history as one of the quietest known to Sandpoint. There was absolutely no excitement in the city during the day - not even a firecracker accident. Many citizens spent the day at the Ridley park picnic, where the chief pastime was dancing. In the evening, dances were also given at the Knights of Pythias hall, the Rink opera house and the Farmers’ union hall on Lake Street.

I’ve been visiting Nelson, B.C. regularly since high school. Back then, I owned the worst fake ID ever created, which was purchased from a shady store in Spokane during my sophomore year. The “Sprague Special’’ was obtained at a strip mall business wedged between a check cashing place and a massage parlor. All you had to do was tell the clerk that you lost your license and they’d put together an ID without asking for any documentation, relying solely on your verbal responses to questions.

When I got mine, I was so nervous I gave them the wrong birth year and wound up making myself 19 years old instead of 21.Since British Columbia had a drinking age of 19, it only seemed natural to try it up there the first time (fun fact: the first bouncer who saw it laughed in my face and cut it in half). It was almost a real-life “McLovin” situation.

County Assessor VonCanon has issued 250 motor vehicle licenses in Bonner county up to date, the amount collected in license fees being $4,138. The whole number licensed in 1916 was 176 and the total fees collected $2,540.

SANDPOINT DID NOT CELEBRATE 250 AUTOS IN THE COUNTY BAND WILL GIVE CONCERTS

Upon request of the city council the city band has agreed to render a series of open air concerts at the band park. It is possible that the first concert will take place on Friday evening of next week.

Despite that, the warm feeling of “away” washes over me the moment I cross the border into Canada. Geographically, there isn’t much difference to be found in the country north of us. The highways are carved between rivers and valleys lined with trees as far as the eye can see. Quaint slow-down, speed-up towns dot the countryside, each with the obligatory small gas station. If the speed limit signs weren’t posted in kilometers, you might not even know you were in a foreign country.

Once you board the ferry and cross fjord-like Kootenay Lake for the final stretch into Nelson, the similarities of that region and ours are striking. Both Sandpoint and Nelson are situated beside a beautiful lake and surrounded by mountains. We are both within spitting distance of a ski resort. We both celebrate the small-town way of life in the shoulder seasons and endure an

Nelson and Sandpoint share “sister city” status, but after spending some time in our northern sibling, you realize that if these two are sisters, Nelson is the younger and hipper of the two. Sandpoint seems almost prudish by comparison.

One immediate difference is the amount of international culture in Nelson. On a typical bar crawl up and down Baker Street, you might stumble across a server from Australia and a bartender freshly arrived from the U.K., then eat at an authentic Indian restaurant and receive directions from a Pakistani couple.

Because Canada is a member of the Commonwealth, young people from other Commonwealth countries often move out West to live the ski bum lifestyle.

Of course, from the tourists’ point of view, everything seems a bit rosier than reality. Nelson has its problems just like Sandpoint does; but, at heart, I can’t help but long for a version of Sandpoint that went the direction of Nelson. Instead of so many separatist retirees and political refugees moving here to escape the problems they see in the world, what if we had young people joining our community to attend college, work in emerging tech industries or even to live the ski bum lifestyle (which is all but impossible in Sandpoint anymore unless you have enough money to pay exorbitant rent, in which case, you’re not a bum at all)?

The fact that we were never able to make a college work here in Sandpoint probably has more to do with our stiff political makeup than anything, because young people often want nothing more than to get the hell out of Idaho when they graduate high school. What if they could stay here? What if there were actual jobs for them here?

So how do we embrace our inner “Nelson-ness” while keeping true to the Sandpoint way of life? One way is to celebrate

Sudoku Solution STR8TS Solution

those who are different rather than fearing or creating outcasts of them. Some do a great job of this in Sandpoint, but overall we tend to view outsiders and newcomers with a large dose of skepticism. Even though it has been cast as a dirty word by the fearful right wing, diversity is a good thing.

Each one of us has a particular lens through which we see and experience the world. It is this mixture of varying viewpoints, opinions and life experiences that helps us solve problems, execute new ways of thinking and become more empathetic people. It is one of our greatest strengths.

Perhaps someday, in the near future, Sandpointians won’t have to drive three hours north to experience culture in a resort town like Nelson because it will also be here in Sandpoint. Perhaps then our young people will realize this place is where they want to live and work the rest of their lives, and they’ll build communities of their own to ensure Sandpoint stays a bit more real, like it’s cool sister to the north.

Crossword Solution

Once I was passing a roadside fruit stand, and I stopped to ask for directions. There was an old grizzled farmer there, with a face that looked like he had seen many things in his life. I asked him which way to go. He paused for a moment, then took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow. I don’t know what he said, because I just peeled out. I don’t have time for guys to pull out handkerchiefs.

Laughing Matter

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

ACROSS

Corrections: We’re free and clear this week.

miasma /mahy-AZ-muh/

1.

poisonous cloud of vapor produced by decaying organic matter.

“The impassable swamp was known for the many miasmata that drifted through the air, threatening to suffocate travelers.”

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Q. 95 express carwash