Reader_July8_2021

2 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“What advice do you have for newcomers to Sandpoint?”

“Slow down.”

Cory Murdock Retired Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

Hello everyone and welcome to another week of summer in Sandpoint.

I have a special message to musicians in the area. On Aug. 27 my band, Harold’s IGA, will be playing a fundraiser show at The Longshot, with 100% of proceeds to be donated to the Panida Theater to help with their restoration efforts.

This got me thinking, “Why don’t we do this every month?” I’m asking all local musicians and bands if they’d consider chipping in one free gig to facilitate a monthly Panida fundraiser show. I know musicians are often asked to play for free multiple times per year, but we all have to chip in to make sure our beloved community theater remains a place for people to gather for theater, concerts, community functions and more.

If there are any musicians out there who are willing to donate a show, please email me at ben@sandpointreader.com and let me know. I’ll take care of booking the shows and setting the dates. I’d like to aim for the last week of every month for the shows.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Be safe and stay classy.

– Ben Olson, publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com

“Embrace the winters. Get out and enjoy the environment. We moved here two years ago from Denver because it is much more family friendly here.”

Michelle Bever Dover

“My advice: Please don’t tailgate us. Please use your blinkers. (I see a lot of rude driving now.) You’re in Sandpoint, Idaho. Relax.”

Steve Voigt Voigt Leather & Upholstery on Baldy Road across from Route 66 Auto body Sagle “Don’t try to change Sandpoint!

Growth is fine, but we are not a big city. We don’t need big-city businesses; you can go to Coeur d’ Alene or Spokane. And quit telling everyone how great it is here.”

Vicky Groeper Bookkeeper Sandpoint

“Most people who live here moved from somewhere else. I would advise newcomers to take advantage of the music scene. At MickDuff’s Beer Hall on Cedar there is free local music, free pool, free popcorn. Come and make friends.

Also, there are 25-cent ice cream cones at Super One Foods and a $2 corn dog meal. You can’t beat that. And make sure you go to Sandpoint City Beach.”

Eric Whitworth Sales Sandpoint

Contributing Artists: Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Michelle Ostrom, Lisa Cirac, Bill Borders, Susan Allen.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Emily Erickson, Tim Henney, Amy Anderson, Brenden Bobby, Jim Mitsui, Loris Michael, Sandra Rasor, Jeanette Schandelmeier, Reid Weber.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $135 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community.

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink.

Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.

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

Requirements: –No more than 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers.

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook.

About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken by Ben Olson. And no, he won’t tell you where it was taken.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 3

NEWS

Council takes on parkland, affordable housing and trails

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Sandpoint City Council members took up a trio of land use-related items during their July 7 regular meeting, including development of a little utilized piece of city-owned property north of the Schweitzer roundabout, a presentation on an “income-based local housing program” from the Bonner County Housing Agency and a permit application from Pend Oreille Pedalers to construct a new trail in the Sandpoint watershed — the latter which the council unanimously voted to approve.

First, City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton and Director of Infrastructure and Development Amanda Wilson briefed council members on the parcel of city property located north of where Schweitzer Cutoff Road and Boyer Avenue meet — a property Stapleton referred to as Sandpoint’s least-known park.

Currently accessible only to pedestrians via Maddie Lane from the westerly-adjacent Cedars at Sand Creek housing development, Wilson said the goal is to make the property more readily available either by extending Maddie Lane or creating a new access point off the Schweitzer Cutoff/Boyer Avenue roundabout, though the terrain in that latter option is steep and much more difficult to engineer.

Regardless, “In the coming

weeks we anticipate seeing the clearing of some trees to facilitate the construction of the road,” Wilson said.

The site runs up against Sand Creek to the east, making it an ideal shallow-water recreation area for both children and dogs, city officials said.

Following that, Bonner County Housing Agency Executive Director Rob Hart described the nonprofit organization’s vision for providing affordable workforce housing, but not before sketching the high hurdles facing local workers wishing to purchase a home.

“We all know that quality housing is hard to find at a price that local workers can afford,” Hart said, adding that his organization had previously focused on helping house individuals at the lowest income levels. “[But] what about locals with good jobs, who have modest savings and perform critical services?” he said. “Now they are shut out of the housing market.”

The reasons for that, Hart said, are twofold: any available housing is snapped up immediately by out-of-town buyers, often sight unseen and far above market value; and local homeowners, seeing the sky-high market, offering their properties for sale at commensurately extreme prices.

“Resort towns across the country are troubled by these house prices that bypass the local workforce,” Hart said.

Meanwhile, the income-based local housing program aims to “reverse engineer” housing so it’s affordable and only available to locals.

Assuming that “we don’t want locals to spend more than 30% of their income on housing,” Hart noted that the area median income for a four-person household is $64,500. With 20% down on a 3% interest loan, that could leverage $306,000 toward the purchase price.

The homes envisioned in the program would be between 900- and 1,400-square-feet and range in price from $175,000 to $550,000 — intended to be “no larger than they need to be.”

“Some homes should be priced on what local workers can afford, not what the market can bear,” Hart said. “This middle market is where we can make the biggest impact.”

The program relies on current

owners signing up to make their land available for development, which in turn adds value to the property and, effectively, “these projects are funded by the project itself,” Hart said, adding that the Bonner County Housing Agency provides customized budgets and site plans at no cost to participating landowners, though they are under no obligation to use those budgets or plans, nor are they required to built a specific product.

Ultimately, though, “Each home in our program is meant to meet the needs of specific types of buyers,” Hart said.

Finally, Pend Oreille Pedalers Executive Director Jason Welker, who also serves as chair of the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission, presented council members with a plan to develop a 2.4-mile single-track hiking/biking trail in the Sandpoint watershed, located at the southern base of Schweitzer Mountain.

The Sandpoint City Council meeting on Wednesday, July 7. Zoom screen capture.

“This has been a well-over-ayear process,” Welker said, noting that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with 111 comments in favor, none neutral and none against.

City Council members voted unanimously to approve Phase 1 of POP’s plan, which Welker estimated would be completed in the space of 10 to 14 weeks. Phase 2 is planned for 2022, including 2.5 miles of lower basin downhill and flow trails. From 2023-2025, POP envisions the so-called “Watershed Crest Trail,” running 12 miles from Uleda Ridge to Baldy and down into the lower basin.

“We believe that recreation is compatible with conservation,” Welker said, adding that getting people out onto the trails, “it becomes less likely that it will be developed for some other use.”

Herndon announces Idaho Senate bid

By Reader Staff

Local home builder Scott Herndon announced June 23 that he is seeking the Republican nomination for the Idaho Senate in District 1, a seat currently held by Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle.

According to a media release, Herndon is running “on a firm belief that now is the time for liberty-minded patriots to take their country back on the state and local levels.”

“Our Founding Fathers had a vision for this country — free, 4 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

sovereign states that govern themselves with minimal federal intrusion,” he stated. “Decisions made by the people most concerned with the results.”

The media release went on to state that “while the Idaho House of Representatives is genuinely conservative, many good bills get killed in the Idaho Senate.”

Herndon’s platform and poltical record are deeply pro-life and pro-Second Amendment. In 2020, Herndon authored a change to the Idaho Republican Party platform to outlaw all abortion in Idaho,

without exceptions. He also wrote HB 56, another anti-abortion bill, introduced in 2021.

Herndon is continuing his legal challenge of the ban on firearms at The Festival at Sandpoint, teaming up with the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance and the Second Amendment Foundation in the suit.

While a judge ruled June 1 in favor of The Festival and city of Sandpoint, Herndon told the Reader at the time that he would continue to stand with other plaintiffs “in any appeals or other actions, as every single one of our team is commit-

Scott Herndon. Courtesy photo.

ted to upholding the God-given right of protecting ourselves and our families and resisting any erosion of those rights as codified in

the Second Amendment and in the Idaho Constitution.”

As a private citizen, Herndon has authored two legislative bills that were signed into Idaho law. In 2020, HB 438 rescinded a state requirement that newborns receive a germicide in their eyes after birth, and in 2021, HB 104 expanded campaign finance disclosure requirements.

“I’ve spent years building homes for residents of Bonner and Boundary counties,” he said.

“Now, I want to help build a freer Idaho in the State Senate.”

NEWS

Wednesday lightning sets fires across Idaho Panhandle IDL: Keep drones away from firefighting efforts

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff A dry thunderstorm the morning of July 7 set off a series of fires in North Idaho, including six northeast of Sandpoint known as the Trestle Creek Fires.

In the last report before press time, fire officials shared that all six burns were three acres or smaller, scattered across the ridges near Trestle and Trout peaks, just south of Lunch Peak Lookout.

The Trestle Creek Fires constituted just a handful of the fires detected in North Idaho throughout the day Wednesday, with local and state agencies attempting to keep the public updated through social media.

“Widespread lightning, accompanied by very little precipitation, moved through overnight impacting the Idaho Panhandle National Forests and the greater region,” U.S. Forest Services officials shared July 7 on Facebook.

“Numerous fires have been

reported and confirmed. The fires are all currently in the initial attack phase with an all-hands-on-deck interagency response. In addition to engines, water tenders, hand crews and helicopters, large air tankers are also supporting fire managers with 3,000 gallon loads of retardant loading from the Coeur d’ Alene Tanker Base,” USFS officials stated. “More information will be available as management shifts from initial attack into extended attack, if needed.”

The Idaho Department of Lands responded to six new fires across the northern and central parts of the state July 7, with assistance from firefighters from the Timber Protection Association, including a 20-acre blaze near Cataldo Mission along Interstate 90 that shut down one lane of traffic.

To stay up-to-date on road closures due to wildfire, visit 511. idaho.gov.

IDL also shared July 7 that a personal drone prevented the agency from launching an aerial

fire suppression attack on a fire near Kamiah, “putting homes at risk.”

“The public is reminded to not use drones anywhere near wildland fires as fire planes cannot fly when a drone is flying,” officials stated. “Drones can put firefighters, homes and resources at risk.”

While fire restrictions are not currently in place in North Idaho, IDL indicated in a media release that fire officials could very likely put them in place soon.

“Fire resources are spread thin and there is the threat of additional lightning storms throughout the week across the state,” IDL reported. “Many regions are considering fire restrictions. With drought conditions and High to Extremely High fire conditions throughout the state, the public is reminded to take every precaution to prevent wildfires.”

Elsewhere in North Idaho, firefighters have been hard at work attacking and containing various burns. The Little Pine Fire, located

seven miles north of Priest River, was reported as contained on June 30. The Hall Mountain Fire, located in Boundary County just one mile south of the U.S.-Canada border, was spotted July 2 and limited to nine acres thanks to a swift response from an air attack, hotshot deployment and several other fire suppression resources.

Fire personnel also responded to and contained a fire near Samu-

Large airtanker fire fighting airplanes (or LATs) leave Pappy Boyington Field in Coeur d’Alene to assist in firefighting efforts across the Panhandle. Photo courtesy UDSA Forest Service. els, north of Sandpoint, on July 4, which authorities reported to the public via the Nixle text message alert system.

To sign up to receive Nixle alerts, text your ZIP code to 888777.

IDFG: Secure food and garbage, avoid bear conflicts The rules apply not only while camping, but also at home

By Reader Staff While it is exciting to see a bear in the wild, it isn’t so wonderful to have one in your campsite at midnight.

Most conflicts with bears occur from July to September and are linked to careless handling of food and garbage. With thousands of campers, anglers and hikers venturing outdoors, Idaho Fish and Game is reminding people that most conflicts can be avoided by being extra mindful of their food and garbage. The same cautions apply to homeowners in bear country.

“Minimize the chances of a bear conflict for yourself and those following you by securing your food and garbage, and anything else that a bear might find tasty,” said Dennis Newman, wildlife manager for Idaho Fish and Game’s Salmon Region.

“Bears are very opportunistic and once they find a food reward, they

will be back for more.”

By taking common-sense precautions, many problems can simply be avoided.

“If a bear does not find anything to eat at your camp or near your home, it will likely just move on,” Newman said.

To minimize chances of a bear causing problems near your camp, store all food, garbage and even toothpaste, soap, lotions and bug spray in your vehicle or camper, or hang in a tree 10-15 feet off the ground, at least 100 yards from your campsite. Make sure that the bag is at least four feet from the tree trunk. Ideally, campers are encouraged to have a bear-resistant food canister to store their camp groceries.

In addition, never cook in or near a tent or keep scented products in a tent; don’t bury food scraps, pour out cooking grease, or leave anything that might be tasty on the ground or in the fire pit; and store barbecue grills or other

smelly cooking gear inside your vehicle or within a sealed bear resistant container.

Finally, never leave food in an unattended or improperly stored cooler, as a cooler is not bear-resistant, and remember that pet food can also attract bears to your campsite.

Around your home, keep garbage in bear-resistant containers or in a closed building; empty and remove bird feeders during the summer months, when songbirds are able to forage on food in nature; clean up fruit that has fallen in your yard, as rotting fruit will attract bears as well as raccoons and skunks; feed pets inside or during daylight hours; store horse and livestock grains inside closed barns; and keep barbecue grills stored in closed buildings.

Black bears are typically shy and unaggressive, but the possibility of a bold bear near your campsite may increase if a bear loses its fear of humans because it

has learned to associate food with campsites. These bears can become nuisances or even threats. In addition, live trapping and moving a bear does not always solve the problem, and bears conditioned to human food leave IDFG officials with no choice but to put the bear down to ensure public safety.

If a bear visits your campsite,

A black bear cub sniffs at lupine.

Courtesy photo. make as much noise as possible such as yelling, waving your arms or banging on pots and pans to quickly scare the bear away. Be sure to give the bear room to easily escape the area.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 5

NEWS

Pathway beneath Long Bridge opens

Though it is a signature feature of the Sandpoint area, the span of U.S. 95 commonly referred to as the Long Bridge hasn’t received a lot of attention from state transportation officials in recent years.

That changed in 2021, as state-level infrastructure planners have focused their efforts on a number of projects affecting the iconic bridge — most recently, the opening last week of a revamped pedestrian and cyclist path beneath the bridge, providing a safe eastwest crossing between Lakewood Avenue and Lakeshore Drive.

Meanwhile, the pedestrian and vehicle bridges are also the subject of a long-range plan that includes new acceleration and turning lanes to help bring both spans in line with a 100-year service life.

For the vehicle bridge, that means making the structure fit for service until 2081 and the pedestrian bridge until 2056.

Idaho Transportation Department officials said deck work on the vehicle bridge is scheduled for 2029, though “we haven’t officially programmed our money out that fair,” according to ITD spokesperson Megan Jahns.

In the meantime, work will focus on easing traffic flow at the south end of the bridge, with a two-phase project beginning this summer.

Phase 1 includes acceleration lanes to help drivers get up to appropriate merging speed headed north or south, as well as transitioning the existing center turn lane on U.S. 95 into a dedicated turn lane for motorists northbound and attempting to make a left turn onto Lakeshore — a traditionally difficult maneuver during times of peak traffic.

Phase 2, slated for 2022, will bring more changes, with a median U-turn installed that would allow drivers to make a southbound right turn onto U.S. 95 from Lakeshore, traveling to Bottle Bay Road, where they could make a turn to rejoin northbound traffic and onto the bridge, avoiding congestion — identical to the alignment in place on U.S. 95 in Ponderay.

Finally, a signal will be put in place at 6 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.

A recent sampling: Latest disinformation and conspiracy theory: Donald Trump will be reinstated as president in August. According to Politico, the Department of Homeland Security is worried about the potential for violence when it does not occur. A recent Monmouth poll reported that 32% of Americans believe Joe Biden is president due to voter fraud — the same percentage found in November.

Hundreds of North Americans died from heat-related illnesses due to the massive heat wave that hit the Pacific Northwest and southwest Canada in recent weeks, Yale Climate Connections reported. A high of 121 degrees Fahrenheit was registered in Lytton, B.C. That province reported 486 sudden deaths, triple the norm for this time of year. Many had underlying health conditions and died alone, without help from air conditioning or fans. Most records were broken by 9 degrees Fahrenheit. As of June 29, a full 81% of the West sweltered under “exceptional drought” conditions.

Annapolis, M.D.’s downtown area flooded 65 times in 2019. Since then, A view of the bike path under the Long Bridge. according to the Union of Concerned Photo by Susan Allen/Facebook.

Scientists, the city has sued fossil fuel companies to damages for their signifiSagle Road. cant role in climate-driven damages.

Jahns emphasized that, despite persistent With bipartisan support Maine recently local rumors, a roundabout is not planned at signed into law the nation’s strongest reU.S. 95 and Lakeshore and future plans for strictions on bee-killing neonicotinoids. the road work will include public outreach, According to environmentmaine.org, including information meetings this fall. the new law prohibits use of neonics for Jahns told the Reader that ITD has residential landscapes. Toxic neonics used received funding to investigate the stretch on plants contaminate nectar, pollen, soil of U.S. 95 that includes the Long Bridge, intended to assess its future needs — all the and groundwater long after use. Scientific evidence links them to massive diemore important amid an ongoing influx of offs in both honeybees and native bees. new residents and the bottleneck nature of Even with glyphosate removed from the bridge. While much work has been done on U.S. 95 in sections from Cocolalla south Roundup, it still kills bumble bees at a to Coeur d’Alene, those four-lane roadways 96% mortality rate, according to a new inevitably funnel down to the two-lane study found in the Journal of Applied Long Bridge, creating frequent traffic snarls Ecology. during the busy summer months.

Five congressional Republicans “That study is going to help us figure out helped negotiate an infrastructure bill what’s the best scenario,” Jahns said, adding that includes funding for road and bridge that it will be a public process with ample repairs; replacing lead pipes to some opportunity for feedback.

10 million households; modernizing the Public comment is open on the draft Ida- electric grid; capping methane leaks on ho Transportation Investment Program until corporate-abandoned wells; upgrades July 31. The seven-year plan is available for railroads, airports and public transporfor review at itd.idaho.gov/funding. For tation; and high-speed internet to rural more information and updates on the U.S. areas. The bill lacks some measures Re95-Lakeshore project visit itdprojects.org/ publicans resist, like investing in human projects/us95lakeshoredrive.

More improvements slated to ease traffic congestion south of U.S. 95 span

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

Bits ’n’ Pieces

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

infrastructure such as child care and clean energy, and upping the corporate tax rate, but those are included in the American Families Plan. Biden said he will not sign one without the other. According to historian Heather Cox Richardson, the bills are reminiscent of post-WWII Congress, when attention was turned to infrastructure, civil rights and social safety nets.

Raising the corporate tax rate to 28% will still be less than what it was before the administration of ex-President Donald Trump, according to Americans for Tax Fairness. That increase can raise $4 trillion for federal revenues.

Plans have been announced in Congress to ask CEOs of fossil fuel companies to testify about their role in blocking congressional action on climate change, Democracy Now reported. The action follows the release of a video of two top lobbyists discussing Exxon’s efforts.

Those interviewed thought they were being recorded by recruitment consultants.

Speaking freely, the lobbyists admitted to working hard to undermine the Biden administration’s infrastructure plan, which includes increases in taxes for large corporations and emissions reductions.

Those the lobbyists cited as likely to help them undermine climate restoration efforts included Republican lawmakers and a few moderate Democrats. The lobbyists said their corporation’s motivation was investments and shareholders.

Jessica Reznicek, 39, was recently sentenced to eight years for damaging equipment at the Dakota Access Pipeline in Iowa, plus $3.2 million in restitution.

She had faced up to 110 years in prison.

Salon reported that Reznicek said she acted out of concern for contamination of Iowa’s drinking water and waterways that empty into the Gulf of Mexico, because the pipeline has a history of leaks.

In an editorial, The Nation pointed out that oil companies have so far largely escaped blame or had to pay any substantive penalties for “the immense damage they have done” while placing profits over the climate emergency.

More than 100 other nonviolent pipeline activists against Line Three were arrested last week and face felony charges.

They chained themselves to equipment and barricaded roads, according to The Guardian.

Blast from the past: “More powerful than any army is an idea whose time has arrived.” — Chinese proverb

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Ultramarathon

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist Last weekend I ran an ultramarathon, my first long-distance race in more than two years.

For anyone who doesn’t revel in extra-long distances or speak the language of a borderline-obsessed runner, an ultramarathon is any race longer than a marathon (which is 26.2 miles). This particular race, Race the Wolf 50k, was a grueling 31.4 miles up, down and around Schweitzer Mountain, with steep climbs and heat-advisory temperatures.

Despite the absurdity of the feat, long-distance racing is, at its core, a perfect mirror for life — the same lessons learned over years of experiences distilled into a single day of effort (and maybe that’s what I love about it).

The first phase of an ultramarathon is nervous excitement. It’s the same sort of prickly-anticipatory feeling that’s felt before anything with significant weight — a first date with someone you’ve liked for a while, an interview for a life-altering job, the confrontation that’s been a long-time coming — the feeling’s strength gaining intensity the closer the event comes to fruition.

On race day I gathered my gear and reviewed my nutrition plan (in long-distance running, your body needs to take in a continuous stream of calories in order to continue performing).

Meanwhile, the chemicals of anticipation and excitement mixed in my body, buzzing in my chest and reminded me that, often, our biggest moments are built on the weight we give them.

I moved closer to the startline and the feeling ballooned into an almost unbearable, near-bursting

Emily Erickson. size. Then the countdown — and all the anticipation wrapped inside of it — concluded. We were off, collectively scrambling up a mountain face, reveling in the first few minutes of what would be the rest of our day.

The second phase, the early miles of an ultramarathon, is one of calm; a resignation that the time for preparation and planning has passed, and that everything you need to finish is already inside you. This calm is tinged with gratitude and optimism — the expanse of possibility rolling out across the miles of trails and hours of day still uncovered.

I followed the line of racers up a mountain bike trail, savoring every switchback and ray of still-bearable sun. I listened to the chatter of the other runners around me, excitedly swapping stories of longer, more grueling races gone by, or of the incredible feats they’ve baked into future schedules. I was reminded of the power of relativity, the full extension of one person’s limit as another person’s “just beginning,” with every version of pushing that limit and pursuing accomplishment being worthy of the grandest applause.

After miles of ascent were followed by even more miles of

descent, all just to ascend again, we approached the second aid station at the top of the mountain’s bunny hill. The aid station was positioned at the 14-mile mark — nearly the halfway point — and I could see the distant tent bobbing in my vision with every step. The gatorade-like liquid gurgled in my stomach, mixing tempestuously with the ever-growing heat of the blazing sun.

As I doubled over, gagging up the very fuel I needed to keep my body going, with more than 17 miles left to go, I was hurdled into the next phase of an ultramarathon: the part where your precious plan falls apart.

In the recalculating and scrambling to figure out my next best move, I was reminded of how abruptly the smoothest parts of our lives can be interrupted, with “I never saw it coming” or “everything was going so well” being replaced with “what do I have to do to keep going” in the face of adversity.

I decided on a new nutrition strategy and a walk-break to get me through the nausea, and plunged forward into the second half of my race.

Winding down the backside of the mountain, I rallied, allowing myself to be carried by the momentum of the seven-milelong stretch of downhill, entering the next aid station with 21 miles behind me and 10 of the hardest miles still to go. As I trudged step by step up the fully-exposed climb from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain and down and back again, emptying my stomach every 15 minutes, I was swarmed by the flies who I was convinced shared the same sentiment I did (that I’d surely die soon).

In my pure misery, I entered

the “pain phase” of my ultramarathon, and was reminded that sometimes all you can do is keep moving forward, relying exclusively on your knowledge that whatever you’re experiencing cannot last forever.

Arriving at the aid stations and into the helping hands of volunteers, misting my body with cold water and and filling my pockets with ice packs and the fuel I needed to finish my race, I was reminded of all the other times in my life that I’ve had to lean on

others — to humbly accept help to make it through my hardship.

Finally, as I descended into the final stretch of my race, I could relish the “finishing” phase of my ultramarathon. Battered, bruised and definitely worse for wear, I crossed the finish line with a feeling of accomplishment blooming in my chest. Surrounded by friends and family, I was reminded that accomplishments are always better when shared with the people you love (and who love you back).

Retroactive

By BO

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 7

Work ethics are lacking right now…

Bouquets: • This week’s Bouquet goes out to the various fire district commissioners who voted to prohibit fireworks in their districts due to the extremely dry conditions we’re currently experiencing. The city of Sandpoint also voted to ban fireworks in city limits, as did Bonner County to unincorporated areas.

You know, I can’t help but compare this situation with another one we all went through for a year and a half. If you replace wildfire with COVID-19 and banning fireworks with wearing masks, the situations are almost identical. In both cases, experts weighed in and gave their recommendations for the best health and safety of the community; but, with the pandemic, it was politicized very early by a certain ex-president. The difference when it came to banning fireworks was that there was very little outcry from the usual loud voices about their freedoms being “violated.”

Most of them saw the extremely dry conditions and record heat and agreed that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to shower sparks all over the county. Nobody called wildfire a “hoax.” Nobody protested on street corners with signs calling fire district commissioners “tyrants.”

With a few exceptions, nobody said their freedoms were being violated by prohibiting fireworks.

People recognized the situation, listened to the experts and reacted with solidarity — and it was a good result. To date, I’ve only seen one fire start that was potentially linked to fireworks, and that hasn’t been confirmed at press time.

It is my sincere hope that when/ if another situation like this worldwide pandemic hits our shores, we listen to the experts and follow their advice. Let’s not forget: To date, 45 people in Bonner County have lost their lives to COVID-19.

If 45 people died from wildfire in our county, you’d better believe it would be considered a tragedy.

Thank you to everyone who pitched in to make sure we had a safe and fun Fourth of July weekend. Solidarity looks good on this community. Let’s see more of it.

8 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

Dear Editor, I’m having a difficult time hearing restaurants serving food, commenting about not having help.

Even Walmart. No one wants to work. Many restaurants have closed for lunch and shortened their days open during the week.

It seems those who are out of school are waiting around for someone to pay their way now.

Not all of them, for sure, however, hearing their stories while they are standing around at the library, stores or on the streets in town as you pass by is alarming. Work ethics are gone and the comment I heard about having to go to work for eight hours each day cuts into their play period too much. Alarming!

This grandmother of six hard-working boys is so grateful and proud of my boys. They started out from the bottom and worked hard to show they wanted to succeed in their jobs. Each one a father and good supporters of their families.

Making a huge difference in their community.

God bless and protect the group of individuals who have the initiative, drive and respect for our community and their places of work.

You are not told often enough how much you’re appreciated.

Everyone, be sure to let each one know daily by commenting your appreciation for their work ethics, even if just a smile and simple thank you!

Margo Johnson Sandpoint

Stand up for our town...

Dear Gentle Ben (and Not-SoGentle-Ben), Always love your speaking the truth in your “Dear Readers” column and in “Bouquets and Barbs” column!

I always feel so supported and aligned with your real thoughts on “What Is Happening to My Town?!”

I first came up here in the ‘70’s, lived and worked here, left and then came back in 2004. I am appalled and devastated at what I see happening to Sandpoint! My heart and soul are hurting watching the realtors and city officials promoting and condoning the “Riching” and “Resorting” of Sandpoint! Ugh! This town was never meant to be built on money! This town is about community, quality of living, envi-

ronment and heart!

I have lived at wonderful Park Cottages (built by wonderful Steve Lockwood and Molly O’Reilly) since 2009. Now it is being sold to someone who came from out of the area who will be raising rents to measure up to the market rents in Seattle! Most of us living at the Cottages are either living on Sandpoint wages or on fixed incomes.

What will become of us?

I have taken action and spoken to the new owner and let him know what this town is about: heart, community, quality of living and environment. All I can see is dollar signs in his eyes!

Yes, as you said, we need to stand up for our town and not let ourselves be rolled over! It’s past time to take action!

Thanks again for your compassion and honesty and for the wonderful Reader!

Hugs, Bev Newsham Sandpoint

Why Stop with the Rainbow?...

Dear editor, [Kenny] Fearer and [Jeff] Bohnhof want to paint the crosswalk in front of the Panida Theater with the colors of the rainbow to acknowledge that Sandpoint is a beacon of diversity [LTE, “Brighten Sandpoint with rainbow crosswalks…,” June 24, 2021; LTE, “Past time for rainbow crosswalks downtown…,” July 1, 2021]. How diverse are we if we only recognize one group?

How about we show that “Love Lives Here” by recognizing other groups of people? How about the crosswalk at First Avenue and Cedar Street adorned with a “Thin Blue Line” flag; how about the crosswalk at Second Avenue and Cedar Street honoring our first responders? How about recognition of our military personnel at Second Avenue and Main Street — we could even give special recognition to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom at Fourth Avenue and Church Street.

If we really want to celebrate diversity and “co-exist,” as the bumper stickers say, let’s include as many groups as possible so as not to give the impression that the rainbow colors are displayed just to satisfy one group of people.

Bill Litsinger Sandpoint

Did Democrats’ float miss the boat?...

Dear editor, In previous Fourth of July parades, I’ve marched with the Bonner Community Food Bank and Bonner County Health. Since neither group seemed to be marching this year, I answered the call of the Bonner County Democrats, even driving to Kootenai at 7:30 a.m. on July 3 to help assemble the float.

Those who worked on the float worked hard and produced a beautiful float, but they were almost exclusively seniors — as were the marchers. Even the placards, recalling past successes of the Democratic Party, did not seem oriented to younger voters. In fact, some praising Woodrow Wilson (a rabid racist who resegregated the civil service) and LBJ (whose accomplishments in social justice were pretty well negated by the Vietnam War, during which many of the beneficiaries of social legislation were slaughtered) were downright offensive.

After marching against LBJ’s Vietnam policies in the ’60s, I wasn’t going to carry a placard praising him. I did actually destroy one of the Wilson placards.

I’m afraid the Bonner County Democrats are living in the past. Until they get some younger leadership, they will soon find their membership confined to the senior center.

Donald L Kass Sandpoint

In memory of Jeanetta Marie Riley...

Dear editor, I have exhausted my words over Jeanetta Marie Riley (May 5, 1979July 8, 2014), but if you didn’t read them in the Reader or the Daily Bee during the past seven years, you can check out my poem/rap online in the archives (Sandpoint Reader; July 7, 2016; Page 5).

Thursday, July 8, is the seventh anniversary of Jeanetta’s tragic death. To honor her I will again play my Native American flute surrounding the exact time she was shot and killed at 9:16 p.m., pacing the street in front of the hospital where her petite body bled out.

The tunes will incorporate all of my original fears and feelings of this event, my love for this Native sister who taught me so much (though we weren’t able to meet)

and my prayer that our community will never again experience such darkness.

Thank you, Jodi Rawson Sandpoint

Panida on intermission

By Reader Staff The Panida Theater is taking an intermission from regular programming from July through late August.

“These summer months are usually a quiet time for the theater,” said Board Chair Keely Gray-Heki.

“In sync with the community focus on outdoor events during these months, we are planning to focus on repairs and enhancements for our historic theater.”

The board of directors will also dedicate the intermission to selecting a new managing director to lead the theater into increased national prominence as an entertainment venue and foster its role as a focal point for Sandpoint’s thriving arts community during these times of rapid local growth.

“We appreciate our community’s support and understanding as we take this time to prepare for the opportunities ahead,” Gray-Heki says.

“There are exciting times for both Sandpoint and the Panida Theater.”

Bonner County VA to outreach in Priest River

By Reader Staff Representatives from the Bonner County Veterans Service Office will be in Priest River on Tuesday July 20 to answer questions about current veteran’s benefits, assist with ongoing claims, and take new claims for benefits for eligible veterans and their dependents.

The Bonner County Veteran Service Officer will be at VFW Post No. 2909, located at 113 Larch St. in Priest River between the hours of 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Bonner County Service Officer Bryan Hult will be seeing veterans by appointment only.

Appointments must be scheduled by calling Lyndsie Halcro at 208-255-5291.

If there are no appointments scheduled for this outreach, or winter weather conditions prohibit travel, the outreach will be canceled.

OPINION

Breakfast with Billie and Willie

By Tim Henney Reader Contributor

When my 1957 bride stops on Cedar Street to ask out-of-town guests dining at cozy Baxters or Di Luna’s sidewalk tables if she might pat their leashed dogs, they always smile and say, “Sure.” So do their smiling dogs. An immediate bonding develops, because dogsters understand one another. My mutt-loving mate can, with any luck at all, schmooze with 20 to 30 pooches passing and piddling by just by standing near John Bairs’ famous fruit stand for a half hour at the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Visitors in these cases come off feeling warmly (about 106 degrees) at home. My soulmate feels pleased to have welcomed such fine folks to our hospitable town.

However: Concerned friends and distraught authors of letters to the Bee and Reader are increasingly angry at the current transition — we used to say “change,” but “transition” sounds more intellectual — of happy, friendly Sandpoint into a scowling mini-metropolis.

We ain’t alone.

Starting after World War II, once pristine southern California, where I grew up starting in 1931, came under the heel of greedy transitioners and today it’s a disaster. The same “progress” is underway in Park City and Moab, Utah; in n Coeur ‘d Alene and Sun Valley, Idaho; in Jackson Hole, Wyo.; in Santa Fe, N.M.; in Sedona, Ariz. — in every former “Last Great Place” in the American West.

Too many people, too much money, too much greed, too much leisure time, too much frenzy in pursuit of more bucks to get bigger and busier and faster. And to be less kind to one another ‘cause there’s just no time for niceties.

(Bucking the trend, local restaurateur Karen Forsythe has a sign in her cafe window: “Be kind. It’s contagious”).

But those who think enough is enough — that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” — are rebelling. In Moab, for example, where my wife and I have spent many pre-pandemic winters, locals are demanding that the town’s back-slapping promoters stop building new hotels, ease up on costly global market-

ing and spend those dollars instead on cleaning up visitors’ trash, rebuilding hiking and biking trails wrecked by gluts of marauding guests, and restoring ancient petroglyphs desecrated by swarming tourists.

Has anyone visited Moab’s neighboring Arches National Park lately? Well, don’t — unless suffocating congestion is what floats your boat. (Nothing that zero population growth wouldn’t fix, but that’s not gonna happen).

Our vaunted capitalism is clearly the best economic system anywhere. But every economic apparatus has its downside — where the yin overpowers the yang, or vice versa, the balance shifts, and things go to hell in a handcart.

Right now, thanks to well-intentioned chambers of commerce, realtors, developers, social media and travel publications taught to believe that more means better, Sandpoint is being gamed.

Traffic on Highways 2 and 200, as well as downtown, is like Seattle at rush hour. Restaurants can’t find help and, if they do, workers can’t afford to rent or buy here. Increasingly, once sane citizens are lugging guns because — because why? Because they suddenly fear their neighbors?

Some folks with out-of-state license plates are hurrying and honking and tailgating, car intimidation seeming to have become a new tough guy amusement. (Especially, it seems, for frustrated social failures in lifted pickups, whether local or out-of-town).

Houses here are now marketed at stratospheric prices (the current area champ, in crowded Coeur d’Alene, is boastfully listed at $27 million — routine in those once idyllic towns listed above, but a much-ballyhooed breakthrough in formerly contented if economically unsophisticated North Idaho).

And fewer people seem to be saying “please” and “thank you,” once de rigueur when rearing kids or interacting with other adults. What happened to Willy Loman’s “smile and a shoeshine” from Death Of A Salesman? What happened to a grin and a “hi” when passing one another on a sidewalk or in Super Drug?

(What happened is political — and this writer is no longer disposed to

discuss the maniacal misanthrope who wrought America’s new social fury, hate culture and abandonment of our rule of law. Let’s just let him golf and hope, for the good of civilization that he, like the wind, gets gone.)

The tub-thumping transitioners who are leading Sandpoint and similar last great places from paradise to purgatory must realize that in nurturing uncontrolled growth they are shredding the culture that attracted them here in the first place. They might wind up with more money, bigger houses, cooler cars and more important professed friends, but they quash the magic and the comfort.

Growth is natural, and OK, but when hometowns become boomtowns it’s, “Katy, bar the door,” if one wants to keep the good vibes one has. The late folk singer John Prine put it like this: “Make me a poster from an old rodeo... just give me something I can hold onto...” Amen.

Here’s a mellow suggestion for fretting locals: At breakfast, ask Amazon Music’s Alexa device, if you own one, or click on Youtube if you don’t, for a vocal soundtrack of jazz giant Billie Holiday and country legend Willie Nelson. (Yin and yang, for balance and harmony.) Listen to Billie sing Solitude, I’ll Be Seeing You and The Very Thought Of You. Ask Willie for Crazy, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain and Always On My Mind. Relax. Chill. Sing or hum along.

That’s what we do — but then music, not loaded pistols, is what makes us happy.

If it’s a weekend or you’re retired, after breakfast take a hike through a park or on a forested path, preferably with a grateful dog or two. Walk slowly, smile, don’t scowl. Nod greetings to those you might meet along the way.

That’s how to kickstart the proverbial “nice day” and to discourage the rampant “progress” that rapacious mover-and-shaker wannabes cannot resist.

As we sang in the olden and gentler days at summer camp in the mountains of California, “A friend on the left and a friend on the right... vive la compagnie... in love and good fellowship let us unite ... vive la compagnie.” Let’s tamp down the tempo and hold onto love and good fellowship here.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

birds-of-paradise

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Color is a double-edged sword in the natural world. A bright and colorful animal is less likely to capture prey that may see it coming, and is far more likely to be eaten by a camouflaged predator that it doesn’t notice. However, bright colors and reflective sheens are appealing to other members of the same species and make it far more likely for a flamboyantly hued creature to procreate with potential mates.

Birds-of-paradise are a prime example of living a colorful life to its fullest.

Members of the family Paradisaeidae, comprising more than 42 species, these tropical birds primarily inhabit rainforests and swamps and are native to New Guinea and the eastern coast of Australia.

The species within the family of Paradisaeidae are extremely diverse and, because of this, generalizations about them cannot be made with only a few exceptions — those being that they are generally extremely colorful and the males tend to make very elaborate courtship dances and displays to woo potential mates.

As an example, the males of the Carola’s parotia species are often pitch-black in color with bright white and orange plumage on their wings, and special iridescent scale-like feathers on their necks, similar to hummingbirds. The males of this species will congregate on the ground in large numbers and begin an elaborate courtship 10 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

dance to impress females, in a process known as lek mating.

The Carola’s parotia has been recorded as displaying one of the most complex dances seen in the avian world, with the pitch-blackness of their feathers making them appear to completely change shape as they move.

Another curious behavior displayed by many of these species is polygamy. Many birds are strictly monogamous creatures, such as swans, which are renowned for bonding to a mate for life. During their mating season, many birds of paradise will engage in polyamorous displays that could make Caligula blush, occasionally with the interjection of other species slipping in and creating hybrids.

The plumage of many birds-of-paradise seems completely outlandish to virtually every other bird species on the planet. Some have specialized breastplates lined with iridescent feathers, which they can puff up and expand to form a reflective collar. Others have wispy feathers jutting from their sides that look like strands of fur. Stranger yet, some have little whip-like feathers jutting from their heads that make them appear as though they have extra eyes on stalks.

You may wonder how such colorful birds haven’t been driven to extinction by predators, and that’s a fair thing to ponder. Luckily, birds-of-paradise have relatively few natural predators in New Guinea.

Many stick to the highest levels of the rainforest canopy, heading to the forest floor only

to bathe in puddles or dance for mates. Hawks and snakes share territory with the beautiful birds, but only the occasional chick seems to be worth the energy to hunt. As with virtually every other animal species on the planet, however, humans encroaching on their homes have begun to threaten the birds-of-paradise.

Due to their tendency to stick to the canopies, they are incredibly difficult to study, so we don’t know a tremendous amount about their eating habits. The few we have in captivity at zoos seem to enjoy a wide variety of fruits in their diet, and we have observed some boring out holes in trees with their bills in order to reach the insects. Similar to common jungle fowl and our chicken flocks at home, many are likely opportunistic feeders, and will gladly snap up anything they can fit into their beaks.

While the adult males of most species are quite fanciful, the chicks are actually born naked of feathers, and won’t open their eyes for almost a week after hatching. Additionally, unlike chickens, which can brood as many eggs as they can fit under their fluff, most birds-of-paradise will rear only one, sometimes two chicks per mating season.

They also take a considerable amount of time to mature, in comparison to other birds.

Females will take a little more than a year to reach maturity, while males will take between two and four years. Additionally, most males won’t develop their spectacular plumage for up to three years after that. The

average chicken will reach sexual maturity by 6 to 8 months and is ready to brood its own clutch of chicks by the following spring.

If you’re interested in seeing some of the glorious displays of plumage and avian debauchery, check out the library’s nonfiction section. Birds of the Photo Ark, by Joel Sartore, can be found at 598 in the nonfiction section, along with an im-

pressive display of other photo books showcasing the animal kingdom. Better yet, go onto the library’s website and put a hold on it before someone else checks it out.

Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go step outside and pretend I’m in a tropical paradise. It’s certainly hot enough.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner Don’t know much about food?

• Pound cake got its name from early recipes, which called for a pound of butter, a pound of eggs and a pound of sugar. Just make sure someone pounds on your chest to restart your heart after eating it.

• The most expensive pizza in the world costs $12,000. It takes 72 hours to make and includes toppings such as three different types of caviar, buffalo mozzarella, lobster from Norway and pink Australian sea salt.

• Ranch dressing is white because it is dyed. Titanium dioxide — which is the same ingredient used in sunscreen to paint for coloring — is used to make ranch look whiter.

• Ketchup used to be used as a medicine. In the early 1800s, people thought tomatoes had medicinal qualities, with one doctor claiming they could treat diarrhea and indigestion. This doctor made a recipe for a type of tomato ketchup which became a pill. Mmm.

We can help!

• White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate. It’s really just a mixture of sugar, milk, vanilla, lecithin and cocoa butter.

• A common red food dye called carminic acid is made from the crushed bodies of a beetle called the Dactylopius coccus. This acid is used in maraschino cherries, strawberry and raspberry-flavored candy and lipstick.

• Cheese is the most stolen food in the world. About 4% of all cheese made around the globe ends up stolen. There’s even a black market for cheese.

• McDonald’s sells 2.5 billion hamburgers per year — that’s 75 burgers every second, every day — or 6.5 million burgers per day.

• French fries originated in Belgium, not France. Also, they’re called “French” fries because that’s how they’re cut. The “french” cut, or julienne, is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is cut into long, thin strips.

PERSPECTIVES

Housing development threatens Coolin wetlands, south Priest Lake

By Amy Anderson Reader Contributor Tricore Investments in April 2021 received a 65-acre parcel of wetlands on the south end of Priest Lake after a property dispute with John Stockton and a business partner, who were attempting to preserve the wetland area. When Tricore Investments purchased the property in 2016 — before the dispute — the company had planned to develop a housing project on the wetland site.

Tricore’s plan was to purchase wetland credits from local Valencia Wetlands Bank, which would allow the company to develop the site.

Selkirk Conservation Alliance is working to inform the public about the critical importance of preserving Panhandle wetland ecosystems and the potential permanent loss of a critical Class I Idaho Panhandle wetland site/wetland system on the south end of Priest Lake.

Identified as Chase Lake in the 2004 Conservation Strategy for Idaho Panhandle Peatlands, the Coolin wetland site has been identified by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game’s Idaho Conservation Data Center as one of the most important wetland sites in the Idaho Panhandle.

Why wetlands are so important: Wetland ecosystems are among the most biologically diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet. Wetlands provide habitat for thousands of species of aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals — including many rare and endangered species.

In addition, wetlands provide many free ecosystem services to the public, including flood control and protection, water quality protection including water filtration, aquifer recharge and shoreline erosion control.

Sadly, wetland ecosystems are also among the most threatened (and quickly disappearing) ecosystems on the planet. In Idaho, wetlands make up only 1% to 2% of the land mass, yet they are critical for the survival of 80% to 90% of the state’s species. Currently only 44% of the original wetlands in the state of Idaho remain.

Why the Coolin (Chase Lake) wetlands are especially critical to protect: Extensive studies by Bursik and Moseley (1995) identified 45 sites considered critical to conservation of the full array of peatland biota and wetland communities of the Idaho Panhandle region. Each of the 45 sites was ranked on richness, rarity, condition and other values, such as wildlife and fisheries.

The Coolin/Chase Lake wetland area

was ranked in the top five of outstanding Idaho Panhandle wetlands-peatlands, standing out as having the greatest ecological diversity of all 45 sites identified as being critical to and for Idaho wetlands conservation. The Coolin/Chase Lake wetlands contained all 12 of the ecological features used to rank and prioritize Idaho wetlands. Further, according to IDFG, this wetland site contains the most extensive floating mats known in the region and the largest bog microsites in the state.

Why you should care: Land development and housing construction on this 65-acre site would entail the filling in (with vast amounts of sediment), ditching, draining and destruction of this important and finite wetland ecosystem. Development would equate to the permanent loss of numerous wetland species of both flora and fauna, and many ecosystem functions (which greatly benefit humans) at the south end of Priest Lake — including, but not limited to, flood control, water filtration and aquifer recharge.

When wetlands are filled, the water that normally occupied the site annually and during flood or rain events is rapidly diverted to neighboring properties and downstream to Priest River and regional streams causing increased erosion — especially shoreline erosion and property damage. Sewage wastewater treatment is also of concern and has the great potential to further degrade regional surface and ground water quality if not managed properly. The Coolin wetland is located over the Priest River Aquifer and plays a critical role in water filtration and recharge for the aquifer.

The Bonner County Comprehensive Plan recognizes and articulates a growing concern over the compounded effects of human activity on and in the watershed stating, “The Upper and Lower lakes and tributaries are of very high water quality with a watershed dominated by federal, state and private forest land offering exceptional natural aesthetics. In recent years, there has been a growing concern about maintaining the high water quality of Priest Lake, given the expanding shoreline development of homes and businesses, the capacity of existing sewer treatment facilities, and increasing recreational use of the lake.

“There is also major timber harvesting activity in the watershed on state and federal lands,” according to the plan.

What you can do: The wise management of growth and development around the southern end of Priest Lake must be a

top priority for Bonner County commissioners responsible for and entrusted “to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the state.” Bonner County will be responsible for the review, issuing and oversight of many of the permits that would allow the Coolin wetlands to be developed.

1. Contact the Bonner County Planning Department (Director Milton Ollerton and Floodplain Manager Jason Johnson) at planning@bonnercountyid. gov, phone: 208-265-1458 and let them know you are opposed to developing the Coolin wetlands.

2. Contact Bonner County Commissioners Steve Bradshaw (District 1), Jeff Connolly (District 2) and Dan McDonald (District 3) at bonnercountyid.gov/ contact-us and let them know you are opposed to developing the Coolin wetlands.

3. Sign and share our online petition http://chng.it/VTs8zt5Gkb. 4. Join and support SCA. SCA works to cultivate an environmentally conscious and responsible public in the Priest Lake Basin.

Find more information at scawild.org.

For the past 34 years SCA has engaged in the struggle to conserve, protect and restore the crucial and sensitive natural resources of the Selkirk Mountains, their watershed, forests, lakes, streams and rivers in an area that encompasses the northernmost counties of Idaho. SCA advocates for regional natural resource stewardship and seeks to facilitate cooperative decision making on environmental issues through public education and the promotion of grassroots activism.

Many of the benefits that wetlands provide primarily aid the general public and greater community — not private developers. Developers have few incentives to conserve wetlands, which is why it is up to us, as a community, to stand up for and protect these valuable ecosystems for current and future generations.

We truly cannot afford to develop any more critical, functioning wetland ecosystems regionally or globally for the spectrum of services they provide to humans and wildlife.

Amy Anderson is executive director of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 11

LITERATURE

This open Window

Vol. 6 No.6

poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui

my 60th reunion, north platte, nebraksa • O' h to be young again’ I fly from Spokane to Denver. Two of my floozy friends pick me up in a bright red Cadillac with “Foo Foo’s” on the license plate. After spending the night in Loveland, Colorado, we head for North Platte, reminiscing about old times. I will be staying with another floozy and our assignment is to help make “tastees” for the Friday night gathering at the Holiday Inn. The recipe involves 30 pounds of hamburger, ketchup and lots of spices. It is cooked all day. No chance for food poisoning.

After catching up with more friends on Thursday night we head to the Holiday Inn to decorate. My friends have accumulated items for the “First Aid Station” consisting of a tin urinal, a tin bed-pan holding fake flowers, syringes filled with red jello for “blood” transfusions, an oxygen refill station, crutches and batteries for hearing aids. We set up a starting gate nearby for the “walker race” and three will enter the race, wearing their oxygen — none of them will finish.

I want to be young again!

Friday night we enter the banquet room. I peek in and I see a lot of old people. We are issued our name tags, the first name printed 3 inches high. I wear it but I am uncomfortable as everyone stares at my chest or gets way too close trying to see who I am. There is a photographer in the hall and we are directed to get our pictures taken. I insist that he not photoshop me this year. My picture from the 55th reunion made me look 35!! Yipes.

do you see that old-fashioned lilac standing alone in a field on Algoma Road? Behind it once stood a farmhouse, and there were other trees, maybe a fence, a dog—children. And here, on this old logging road you’re exploring, a seep runs from a level gravelly spot to where blue and white scilla bloom. A cabin once stood up there, maybe with other flowers, a catch basin that’s collapsed and overflows into this trickle.

Here’s where memories live: under that stooped and gnarled lilac, up by the worn out pond that once held household water. Not in manicured cemeteries by graves that hold only lifeless bones.

— Jeanette Schandelmeier

Jeanette enjoys her quiet space in the woods, gardening, raising chickens & writing. A retired educator, she grew up on a homestead in Alaska.

On Friday night, we have the “tastees” and I eat mine with a fork as they make the bun way too soggy. We continue to remember old times. On Saturday, we return to the Holiday Inn to watch the Huskers play and lose yet another game. As the game is so bad, we take time to freshen up the tables for Saturday night’s banquet. We

R

/ July 8, 2021

After eating, and acknowledging all the work that went into our reunion, we listen while the class president speaks, his voice cracking as he remembers the deceased and, because my friends are hard of hearing and talking amongst themselves, a fellow classmate reprimands them — WHAT!! ARE WE STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL? I want to be young again!

Well, at about 9:15 p.m., everyone starts yawning. I guess it’s time to go. We old folks can’t stay up too late.

As we leave one of my friends slips and although using a walker falls to the ground. She is lifted by a handsome, buff young man who is looking for the front desk. While thanking him we learn is on his way to speak at Sunday service in Kearney, Nebraska.

I know that God sent him to pick up my friend. Bless the Class of 1958.

I want to be young again.

— Loris Michael Loris grew up in Nebraska and currently resides on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. June is a month for high school reunions, and this account reminds us of those memorable days. Incidentally, I was also a member of the Class of ’58 (Odessa, WA).

dreading winter poem August approaches one anniversary one birthday away

Snakes and slugs inhabit the Hostas predator and prey

June’s longest day slipped silently by no fan no fare

Wind murmurs through garden chimes winter winter winter

Spring’s potential is in the surprising growth of two tomatillo plants spreading gloriously shaming their tomato brethren whose leaves curl

— Sandra Rasor

A rare Sandpoint native, an avid gardener and observer, Sandra reminds us that despite our current hot spell, winter is relentlessly approaching. Early darkness, heavy snow and icy roads.

for reasons they keep to themselves Water a little or a lot?

Send poems to: 12 /

return to my friend’s home to freshen up and arrive late, as people are already entering the buffet line, dishing up midwest food, consisting of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken, and rolls. Surprisingly good. And, as is typical at any buffet, plates are piled high. None of the food goes to waste as many return for SECONDS.

jim3wells@aol.com

HISTORY

The brick barons of Sandpoint

By Hannah Combs Reader Contributor

Peter LaFond had been playing the real estate market, carefully buying properties and trading up for more valuable investments. With a house in town and a 20-acre lot on Bottle Bay in his back pocket, in 1906, he saw the opportunity he had been waiting for.

The brick business had boomed in Sandpoint only four years earlier, when the Sandpoint Brick Company discovered a shelf of clay on the fringes of town that averaged 40 feet in depth. Two years later, W.G. Hunt set up the Hunt Brickyard near the intersection of Great Northern and Gooby roads. The huge brick farmhouse (later the County Poor Farm) and hotel he’d built nearby were a testament to the prosperity of his venture. If LaFond didn’t break into the market this summer, he was going to miss his chance.

He bought property just to the east of Hunt’s brickyard and hired men and a team of horses to start clearing the land. But the following spring, he couldn’t resist buying a 40-acre lot closer to Sand Creek. The prospect of rich clay soil beckoned.

LaFond’s first big break came that summer when a Spokane

contractor ordered 300,000 bricks to build schoolhouses in Rathdrum and Athol. In another savvy real estate transaction, LaFond traded the Catholic Church $1,200 and 100,000 bricks for three prime business lots on Cedar Street and Fourth Avenue.

The old Catholic church (now the Heartwood Center) was built from the bricks he traded. Business was booming with the brick plant churning out 1,500 bricks per hour and more than 100 days’ worth of labor booked out.

A huge opportunity arrived in 1908 with a proposed contract for 1.4 million bricks. Half would be used to construct a Northern Pacific roundhouse in Kootenai, and the other half would build a similar project in Paradise, Mont.

A roundhouse was a “stable for iron horses” used to store and service locomotives in individual stalls. A rotating turntable outside the roundhouse could easily swivel an uncoupled engine or other railroad car and hook it up to a new load.

Roundhouses were hubs for railroad activity, and an assortment of smaller outbuildings often accompanied them to store equipment. With one contract, the awarded brickyard would be guaranteed almost half a year’s worth of work for their employees. The only trouble was, it became an

incredibly competitive bid.

The LaFond Brick Company was one of the first to submit a bid, but it ultimately faced 42 other brick companies from Duluth, Minn., to the West Coast — including the Hunt Brickyard.

After waiting in suspense for two months, the bid was awarded to W.G. Hunt.

As crushing a blow as this might have been to LaFond’s pride, it was considered good business for Sandpoint in general.

This contract solidified Sandpoint’s reputation as a prominent brick supplier in the country.

And LaFond was by no means hurting for business. He had acquired contracts to supply brick for all of the Spokane International train depots and associated shops throughout the Northwest.

Another Sandpoint-based brick manufacturer, the Dry Press Brick Company, was contracted to build all of the Catholic schools and hospitals in Spokane.

Managing a brickyard was not all about negotiating contracts and winning bids. The daily operations were strenuous, involved, and occasionally grisly. From quarrying clay, to packing it into molds and firing it in a kiln, it involved hard physical labor and careful attention. One article from the Pend Oreille Review related an incident in which

a “mud mixer” was caught in an auger in the factory, losing an arm and his life.

Despite this tragedy and other day-to-day challenges, LaFond’s business flourished during the next few years. He traveled to other brickyards in the regions, picking up a few new ideas here and there, but mostly assuring himself that he was already doing everything better than everyone else. Investing in a new machine that cut bricks with wires instead of by hand increased his production capacity to 50,000 bricks per day. In 1910, he changed the company name from LaFond Brickyards to Bonner County Brick Company and hired additional men, confident he could keep a crew of 25 employed year-round.

1910 was not so kind to LaFond’s competitor W.G. Hunt.

In February, he struck a deal with the Spokane Brick and Lime Company to buy his business for $20,000, not including an inventory of 15,000 bricks, which he would have the opportunity to sell separately. Hunt planned to move to Conrad, Montana to set up another brick company. The deal was expected to “put Mr. Hunt in fine condition financially.”

Whether the deal fell through or there were other undisclosed circumstances, merely days later,

Left: LaFond brickyards circa 1910, photo courtesy of Dan Evans. Right: The 22-stall Great Northern railroad roundhouse in Kootenai, circa 1910, donor unknown.

the sheriff posted a notice that the W.G. Hunt Brick Yards were facing foreclosure. With outstanding debts to Citizens State Bank amounting to $7,686.50 (equivalent to more than $200,000), Hunt was forced to sell his company and all effects, down to the last brick and wheelbarrow, to satisfy his debts.

In 1911, LaFond also faced foreclosure, though for a much smaller debt. He sold the factory, and he and his wife Amelia packed up and moved to Spokane, where they enjoyed a comfortable retirement.

Oscar Anderson bought the remnants of Hunt’s brickyard in 1913 and established the fifth and final brickyard, Anderson Brick, which operated until 1918.

Despite the relatively short period in which Sandpoint produced bricks, the legacy of the industry lives on today. Drive by any large brick building from Sandpoint to Spokane, and it’s likely that the bricks were cut right here in Bonner County.

Research provided by the Bonner County History Museum, Maggie Mjelde, Will Valentine, and Dan Evans.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 13

It was a wonderful Fourth of July holiday weekend here in North Idaho. Here are two pages of photos to enjoy.

To submit a photo for a future edition, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.

Top: The Grand Parade makes its way down Church Street in Sandpoint while onlookers take their positions on the sidewalk.

Photo by Ben Olson.

Bottom left: Local pup Bonnie enjoys some Fourth of July time on the water. Photo by Michelle Ostrom.

Middle right: The Sandpoint Lions Club Honor Guard lead the way in the 2021 Independence Day Parade. Photo by Ben Olson.

Bottom right: The annual Fourth of July fireworks show at Sandpoint City Beach. This unique angle was captured by Lisa Cirac.

14 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

Top: The Daughters of the American Revolution float during the parade. Photo by Ben Olson.

Middle left: A Sikorsky H-34 helicopter makes its way down the parade. Capt. Bill Collier, a former Marine helicopter pilot who fought in Vietnam, has saved this chopper from the boneyard and has been restoring it over the years. Photo by Ben Olson.

Bottom left: The Community Assistance League float always turns heads at the Fourth of July parade. Photo by Ben Olson.

Bottom right: Local children hand out candy to parade attendees. Photo by Ben Olson.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 15

COMMUNITY

MCS announces 2021-’22 honor students and pre-honor students

Bottom from left to right: Brittany Hagen (theater, honors/intern); Summer Birch (piano /pre-honors); Terra Converse (flute/pre-honors); Lark Waldrup, (piano/honors) Top row left to right: Amelia Polocz (violin, honors-intern); Shayden (piano, pre-honors); Sophia Capodaglia (violin, pre-honors); Raegan Samuels (flute/honors); Aaron Wilcox (piano/honors); Aalana Dixon, (voice/honors); Cody Moore (piano/honors); Gigi Phillips (piano/honors); Lucinda Meshberg (voice/honors); Jubilant Duvall (voice/honors).

Staff: Dr. Matt Goodrich (left), John Fritzgerald (right) Returning honor students not in picture: Levi Hill (piano/honors) and Alyssa Howarth (piano/honors).

Congratulations to all students who will be on an exciting musical journey under the care of Matt Goodrich as the honor student track advisor.

Basic orienteering class offered July 10 in Libby

By Reader Staff The Libby Hostel Base Camp is hosting a course entitled “Basic Orienteering with Map & Compass” on Saturday, July 10.

The class will meet at 9 a.m.

Mountain Standard Time at the Venture Inn at 1015 West 9th Street, U.S. Highway 2 in Libby, Montana. If the Hostel is full, the Venture Inn has accommodations and a restaurant available for participants. The class will begin at 9 a.m. with a classroom session, to be followed by a field session.

The course will begin with introductions and an overall review of map and compass basics. Back up your GPS unit with the fail safe orienteering method utilized by the majority of professional orienteering experts of the world and practical scientists long before GPS 16 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

systems were created. Participants will learn valuable lessons and methods for point to point navigation, that alone or in combination with GPS will prepare you for wilderness travel and challenges.

Participants will learn about calculating point to point azimuth and distance to and from locations, map reading and scales, contour lines and elevations, topographic maps, aerial photos, legal descriptions, latitude and longitude, finding section corners, and other valuable orienteering skills.

The classroom session will last a couple of hours, and then the group will head to the field to practice navigational techniques utilizing the Silva Ranger adjustable declination orienteering compass. This compass is known as the professionals choice, and if investing in a compass make

sure you get one with declination adjustment.

Class will wrap up at approximately 2:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. All participants must register by emailing b_baxter53@ yahoo.com, or calling 406-2912154. Please come prepared for the day with full gas tanks, water, lunch, appropriate layers for the weather, hats and sunscreen. For the classroom session, bring pencils, small write-in-rain or paper notebook, calculator, ruler or scale, reading glasses and hand lens if needed. Instructor will have a few compasses and maps for students.

The instructor has over four decades of orienteering experience. Come out and learn an invaluable skill, meet other outdoorsy folks and enjoy Montana’s beautiful outdoors.

Teen Summer Camp hosted by the Sandpoint Teen Center

By Reader Staff

The Sandpoint Teen Center is hosting a series of summer camp activities Monday, July 26-Friday, July 30.

Culinary skills will be a fun part of the camp, with croissant and cookie making at Bluebird Bakery, organic cooking at City Beach Organics and Heart Bowls, yogurt and cheesemaking at Selle Valley Creamery, and roasting coffee at Kokanee Coffee.

Other activities will include bike maintenance, archery and hunter safety, swimming, disc golf and more.

The camp is open to all

young people aged 13-17, and participation costs $99 per attendee. Spaces are limited.

Contact Teen Center volunteer JoAnna Quick at 970-402-7816 for more information.

Visit the Teen Center website (sandpointteencenter. com) or on Facebook for more information about the teen camp, teen barbecues and more this summer.

Contact JoAnna if you would like to know more about the Teen Camp for a newspaper article: JoAnna Quick 970402-7816 / joannaquick1313@ gmail.com.

COMMUNITY

For the fighters

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Jacey’s Race is more than an annual run. According to Sandpoint resident Jacey Lawson, the event has grown to represent a philosophy. Jacey’s Race, and the families it has helped over the years, represents a more loving, community-minded way of living.

“We are all powering through this life with our unique challenges and experiences, but yet we all have common ground to walk on,” she said. “Jacey’s Race has opened the doors for these families to find that common ground with people in their community. We hope that this event shows the community the uniqueness of struggles and the realities of living with an illness or having a family member with an illness, and in turn allows us all to offer more kindness and support to one another.”

That kindness and support is a legacy that was launched 20 years ago, with Lawson as the race’s namesake beneficiary at age 4. In 2021, the list of local kids with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses

2021 Jacey’s Race, slated for July 11, will benefit two local children

who have benefited from Jacey’s Race is more than 50 long. Now, Lawson serves as a board member for the nonprofit.

“I feel lucky to know so many incredible people because of this organization,” she said. “I am constantly in awe at the strength of these children and families.”

The 2021 Jacey’s Race, happening Sunday, July 11, will benefit two local children: 2-year-old Colton Byers and 16-year-old Ally Mason.

Byers has been diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Jacey’s Race officials shared the following about him: “Colton is a happy and energetic boy, although he has faced much adversity in his short life he continues to play and knows no difference. Colton’s favorite colors are blue and green. He loves playing outside, digging in the dirt, wheeling around his trucks, and all things dinosaurs. Colton is so loved and adored by his older sisters, Alexis and Chryslynn, and by parents Brooke and Michael.”

Mason is being treated for thyroid cancer, with Jacey’s Race officials sharing: “Ally just finished up her sophomore year at

Sandpoint High School. She loves to read, especially mystery/thriller books. She is up for any adventure and is always looking to try new things and have new experiences.

Her favorite colors are purple and red. Ally is recovering from a complete thyroidectomy as a treatment for her thyroid cancer.”

Proceeds from this year’s race will also support Community Cancer Services and Bonner General Health Pediatrics.

Participants in the 2021 Jacey’s Race are able to complete their run either in person at Sandpoint High School on July 11, or virtually by emailing their time to jaceysrace@ gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 10 to be considered for awards.

The in-person 5K will see a gun start at 8:30 a.m. on July 11, although racers can begin running in a staggered fashion any time between 8:30-9 a.m. The 1K, which is open to all ages and not timed, begins at 9:30 a.m. The races will be followed by the chance to browse vendors, a silent auction and plenty of activities for the kids, including a cakewalk, snow cones, an arts and crafts table, large lawn games and more.

Adult registration costs $25 for the 5K

and $15 for the 1K. Children 12 and under race for free. Register at jaceys-race.com.

By all accounts, Jacey’s Race is a day of fun with a cause that’s hard to beat.

“I wrote this to past beneficiaries many years back and I think it sums up how many of us board members feel to know and be touched by these amazing families in our community,” Lawson recalled, sharing those words with the Reader: “To the kids whose diagnosis we cannot pronounce, whose treatment plans are unknown, whose smiles light up more than just the room, whose hearts give to no end, and to whose bodies want nothing more than to play with and be treated like all of the other kids, thank you for your guidance, your inspiration, and your constant reminders to give this life all we have and to love all those whose paths cross our own.”

Contact Jacey’s Race at 208-2656367 or jaceysrace@gmail.com. Those unable to race but who still want to make a donation can visit jaceys-race.com, or send a check — made out to “Jacey’s Race Fund” — to 471 Ravenwood Drive, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 17

events July 8 - 15, 2021

THURSDAY, July 8

Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Live Music w/ Dylan Taylor 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Trivia Night at the Longshot 7-10pm @ The Longshot Prizes awarded to the winners!

FriDAY, July 9

Live Music w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Live Music w/ Tennis!

7-11pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall One of Sandpoint’s favorite dance bands is back for their annual shows in Sandpoint. Don’t miss them!

Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 8-10pm @ The Back Door

Live Music w/ Nick Weibe 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Special guest Ken Mundel joining on sax

Silent Disco Dance Party 7pm-late @ The Longshot Strap on your headsets and let go

Bridges Home in Concert (July 9-10) 7:30pm @ Circle Moon Theater northwoodsperformingarts.com

SATURDAY, July 10

Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA 9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge With special guests!

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Wold & Bell Illustration Workshop 5-7pm @ The Longshot Join Nellie Lutzwolf for this illustration workshop. $20, max 20 students BeerFest 12-5pm @ Sandpoint City Beach Sample local and regional brews and enjoy a festive beach party Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 8-10pm @ The Back Door Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee

Live Music w/ Red Blend 7pm @ Matchwood Brewery Live Music w/ One Street Over 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery All your favorites from the ‘80s to today Outdoor concert w/ Hanna Rebecca 8-10pm @ The Longshot A soulful singer songwriter from CDA Live Music w/ Mich LS 11am-12pm @ Davis Market (Hope) Live Music w/ Tennis!

7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Sandpoint’s favorite dance band

SunDAY, July 11

Jacey’s Race jaceysrace.com

Bianca d’Avila do Prado w/ Simon Pranaitis 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Sunday music session Interactive Bingo 6-7:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

monDAY, July 12

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Blind Beer Tasting w/ Lagers & Pilsners 6pm @ Idaho Pour Authority -- $15

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s “Kids Without a Country”

tuesDAY, July 13

Live Music w/ Cruz Contreraz • 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub From the notable band The Black Lillies

wednesDAY, July 14

Live Music w/ Sheldon Packwood 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Live Music w/ Patrice Webb 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Live Music w/ Samantha Carston 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Benny on the Deck - Live Music 5-7:30pm @ Connie’s Lounge patio Weekly live music with Benny Baker.

This week’s guest: Brian Grise

Live Music w/ Ben Olson 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

CHAFE 150 happy hour party 5-7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Join CHAFE 150 riders for this fundraising event for Sandpoint Rotary’s annual bike ride. Live music w/ Truck Mills @ 7

ThursDAY, July 15

Live Music w/ Truck Mills 7pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. 18 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

PERSPECTIVES

Reimagining the ‘American Dream’

By Reid Weber Reader Contributor The American dream is planted into our minds at a young age, with the idea of growing up, making a living and owning a home being a symbol of truly making it in this world.

This concept originated in 1933 in James Truslow Adams’ Epic of America, in which he wrote, ”It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.”

This ideology was bolstered by the Federal Housing Administration in the 1930s, when the government agency provided the modern mortgage structure we still use today. The difference between then and now, is that our home size in the 1930s was about 1,000 square feet and the average family size was about 4 people. Today, our average home size has almost tripled, with many homes surpassing the 2,500-squarefoot mark, despite family sizes decreasing to 2.5.

As the cost of materials, labor and new home prices continue to climb, and with modern homes being built with third and fourth bedrooms that sit empty 358 days of the year (which we’re now tasked to vacuum once a week), it begs the question: How much space do we really need?

While a larger home once stood for freedom, it now means having a larger mortgage, more home maintenance and repairs, and less time to pursue a living wage and passions outside of the house (a version of freedom millennials and gen-Zers aren’t as willing to accept as previous generations and with empty nesting boomers looking to downsize).

These ideas of growth and development, as they relate to idealized ways of living, have gotten a little closer to home in recent years, with migration to Sandpoint lowering the available supply and increasing the demand of both land and homes.

Before I fall into the trope of being another local condemning newcomers, I acknowledge that most people — even the generations-long local families — moved to North Idaho at some point. This makes the idea of a local a nebulous one.

So instead of spending energy discussing who should live here and who shouldn’t, I’d rather contemplate (through the lens of policy and change) the space we truly need to live and thrive as a community. Looking forward to what it would take to keep Sandpoint an affordable place to live, we’ll have to be more creative and resilient in planning and developing.

One such solution is adjusting policy in the county, allowing for centers of density and saving open space — a major reason why people move to North Idaho — while not subdividing every buildable half-acre into isolated neighborhoods, far from any amenities like grocery stores, gas stations and civic institutions. There is irony in the ability for one person to build a 10-bedroom home with an accessory dwelling unit, while another person on an identical and neighboring lot being unable to build a duplex or triplex and rent to multiple families.

Another solution to the higher cost of living in the county is “cottage housing,” which essentially doubles the potential residences on your project. Cottage housing residences have a few stipulations from Bonner County jurisdiction, but they provide that “missing middle” housing of smaller, more affordable homes. The allowed area per home is 1,500 square feet, which is a reasonable space for a two-bedroom, two-bath home and a sizable living room, kitchen and dining room.

The county also has stipulations for shared open space and this model lends itself to housing as a community. In the case of a one-acre lot zoned “suburban,” which typically only allows one residence, you can add a second residence following the “cottage housing guidelines.” With the addition of one tiny home, built on a mobile structure, you could potentially have three small families on a one-acre lot. This would lead to affordable housing by increasing the supply.

As an alternative to the cottage housing model, we can look at the example of a R-5 lot (five acres per single family home). A resident today can build the following: a single family home, a two bedroom ADU and the recently allowed addition of two tiny homes to park on a property (adhering to the minimum setback requirements of 25 feet at the road and five feet on the other

Courtesy photo. sides). This would create the opportunity for one large family, a younger or retired couple, one fresh-out-of-school entrepreneur, and a local tradesperson to all live and share the same piece of land.

There is room on a five-acre parcel for autonomy and privacy, while also offering a sliver of community and as one’s own social cluster.

We are social creatures and sharing land is part of our DNA. This hub makes for simple and easy social connections. It also takes a mortgage or construction loan of $800,000 to about $500 per month per

resident.

The power to think creatively when it comes to homes, properties and participation within a community lies within every resident of Bonner County. Together, we can foster healthy density, affordable housing and a reimagined take on what it means to build an American Dream.

Reid Weber, a Sandpoint native is an architect at North Root Architecture. For the original article and references, see northrootarchitecture.com/north-idaho-housing-solutions.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 19

20 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

MUSIC

Connecting ‘the hippies and the cowboys’ The Black Lillies’ Cruz Contreras to play solo show at Eichardt’s July 13

connected them to the Texas Red Dirt music circuit.

Contreras’ ties to the Gem State run even deeper — and Americana singer-songwritfarther north — as he spent time er Cruz Contreras is headed to in 2019 recording his yet-to-beIdaho, bringing his newly minted released solo album, Cosmico, solo act to Eichardt’s Pub on at Cider Mountain Recording Tuesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. While his solo work might be fairly new, Studio in Athol.

“Even the last Black Lilfans of roots music know Contrelies record — if I went song ras best for founding chart-topby song that I’ve written, it’s ping band The Black Lillies. possible that I’ve written more His years of touring the West songs in Idaho than anywhere, gave the Tennessee-based artist somewhere between Idaho and ample opportunity to collect Montana,” he said. “I think it’s favorite places — Idaho being [because] I’m out there in the one of them. summer. I have a little time on “It’s right up my alley,” he my hands … I really like the said. “Post-COVID, where am climate. It energizes me.”

I going to go? I’m going to the While Cosmico is still on places where I want to be. So hold for the time being, Conthis summer I’ll be in Idaho in treras is hitting the summer July and Montana in August.” circuit hard with his live solo Contreras said he’s played act, embracing the liberties that consistent tours through Idaho come with striking out on his with his band, including the own after a decade as The Black Braun Brothers Reunion, an Lillies’ frontman.

Americana festival in Challis.

“When you have a band, peo“That just opened a bunch of ple start to expect doors for us,” he Cruz Contreras a certain sound, said, noting that a certain look, a Tuesday, July 13; 7 p.m.; FREE. the outing got certain lineup,” Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., The Black Lillies 208-263-4005, eichardtspub. he said. “I think signed with a repcom. Listen at cruzcontreras.com. I’m attracted to resentative who

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Cruz Contreras.

Photo by David McClister. the freedom of being a solo artist and having that artistic license.”

By utilizing his country, rock and blues influences, Contreras said he subscribes to the belief that music can connect “the hippies and the cowboys.”

“Whatever your political or religious [leanings] … we can all agree on this: good music,” he said.

That camaraderie is what keeps Contreras returning to the road.

“I’m what they call a lifer, and that’s not self-proclaimed,” he said. “People are like, ‘Oh, you’re a lifer.’ I see music as connected to everything, whether

it’s nature or society or communities. I love playing small towns and I love playing mountain towns, and the type of music I play really thrives in those areas.

I get to meet great people.”

Those great people are all hoping for a chance to enjoy live music — especially after the hiatus many artists have taken during the pandemic. Luckily, musicians like Contreras are more than ready to share the love.

“I enjoy the traveling, I enjoy the networking, I enjoy seeing family and friends, making new friends and helping people,” he said. “I think music helps people.”

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Lucas Brookbank Brown, Festival opener, Aug. 7 The Festival at Sandpoint is excited to welcome special guest Lucas Brookbank Brown to open for REO Speedwagon on Saturday, Aug. 7.

Spokane native Lucas Brookbank Brown is a musical jack of all trades as a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Brown’s contemporary mix of folk, rock and pop has been compared to the Lumineers, Tallest Man on Earth and Jason Isbell.

He pairs his witty lyrics with twangy guitars and dynamic rock sound. He recently released his first solo EP, Everything Means Something Out Here. Brown is also a fixture in the music culture of Spokane as the guitarist for the long-running

funk band Left Over Soul, frontman for blues-rock act BREADBOX and member of the hip-hop fusion collective Kung Fu Vinyl.

With the help of his friend, Brian McClatchey, Brown has founded his own record label, Basaltic Records. He hosts regular open mic and jam nights at the Red Room Lounge.

Lucas Brookbank Brown also performed at The Festival at Sandpoint’s final concert of its brand new Live from 525 concert series.

— Ben Olson Get tickets to REO Speedwagon and see The Festival at Sandpoint’s full lineup at festivalatsandpoint.com.

Bridges Home, Circle Moon Theatre, July 9-10 Tami and Dave Gunter — known together as Sandpoint musical duo Bridges Home — are taking their act just across the border to Newport, Wash., to play two dinner shows at the Circle Moon Theatre, home of nonprofit Northwoods Performing Arts.

With rich two-part harmonies and an impressive repertoire of Americana and roots music, Bridges Home is known for uplifting performances full of familiar favorites and memorable original works. The Gunters are seasoned multi-instrumentalists, playing everything from guitars to accordians to washboards in the course of a gig.

Tickets can be purchased for

both dinner and the show, or for a show only. Show-only tickets must be bought in advance. Local business Owens’ Catering will provide dinner for both events.

Buy tickets for either performance at Seeber’s Pharmacy in Newport, online at northwoodsperformingarts.com or by calling 208-448-1294.

— Lyndsie Kiebert

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert

READ

I read “The Really Big One,” a 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker story by Kathryn Schulz, while I was studying for my journalism degree. My professor shared it as an example of supreme science reporting, as the author informed her readers about a long overdue earthquake that will wipe out the West Coast as we know it. The writing is amazing and the topic engrossing. Find it on the magazine’s website.

LISTEN

It is always a pleasant surprise when a band you’ve loved for many years releases new music and stays true to the sound that made you fall in love, while also elevating the quality and consistency of that sound.

Modest Mouse has achieved this delicate balance with its 10th full-length album, The Golden Casket. The veteran indie outfit is still wacky, still groovy and still worthy of a full-volume head-banging session. Check out tracks “We Are Between” and “Walking and Running.”

WATCH

Netflix docuseries The Last Dance follows the rise of the legendary 1990s Chicago Bulls NBA team, led by the unmatched talent of Michael Jordan and the league’s best ever second-best player, Scottie Pippen. The series sucks you in with the same charisma as the top-notch basketball of the era — full of behind-thescenes dirt and glimpses into the relationships that built the Bulls.

Plus, the soundtrack of ’90s rap is hard to beat.

Dinner at 6:30 p.m., curtain at 7:30 p.m.; $25 per person for dinner and show, or $12 for show only, seniors and youth $10; Circle Moon Theatre; 3645 Highway 211 in Newport, Wash.; 208-448-1294; northwoodsperformingarts.com.

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

Let’s show our restaurant workers some love

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

From Pend d’Oreille Review, Aug. 20, 1920

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE TOURISTS SAY? Tourists from a dozen different states pass thru Sandpoint every day — What is their impression of your town?

The general verdict is, “awful.”

Why? Our famous Fourteen Points: Weeds all along the main street, dirty pavements, no sprinkling, unkempt school grounds, untrimmed trees, hay crops instead of parkings, unmowed lawns, tumble-down buildings and vacant shacks, lack of pain, ungraded streets, streets littered with rubbish and weeds, dilapitated fences, cluttered-up railroad property, a beautiful beach strewn with driftwood and junk, general lack of attractive residence property.

What is the answer? Are we a shiftless community? Are we careless, or are we just thoughtless?

The Chamber of Commerce and the Civic Club of Sandpoint are working for you and your city. They are selling Sandpoint to the world as a place to live and work. These organizations are your advertising agents. Let’s give them the right kind of goods to sell.

Every citizen, every individual can either help or hurt. Let’s all help! Homecoming week will soon be here — can we show the folks we have a real city?

Let’s go!

Chamber of Commerce City Beautification Committee.

*This gem was sent to the Reader by local historian Nancy Foster Renk, who commented: “Maybe we should revert to being shiftless!”

My how times have changed.

-Ben Olson, publisher 22 /

R

/ July 8, 2021

Like many of you, I’ve put in my time working in the service industry. My very first job, in fact, was working as a dishwasher at The Garden Restaurant (which has long since been demolished to make way for a condo building). I’ve tended bar and waited tables, I’ve worked as a busser and prep cook.

I remember the hot summer days walking behind the line and watching the cooks sweat and grumble their way through the hot night.

I thought it was hot behind the dishwashing station until I walked behind the line, which felt like a blast furnace in your face.

I can only imagine how incredibly hot it must’ve been for our local kitchen staff to work when temperatures peaked last week at 106 degrees in Sandpoint. Not only was the heat a factor, but walk-in coolers often can’t keep up with these high temperatures, let alone the fact that restaurants have been hurting for months trying to keep themselves staffed for the busy summer season. I applaud those restaurants that decided to close for a couple of days during this heat wave.

I was quite dismayed, however, when I noticed several posts on social media whining about where the tourists were supposed to eat if our restaurants were closed left and right.

Are tourists helpless? Do we need to treat them with kid gloves and Kindergarten voices, as if they are unable to find food for themselves? Do they know how to shop at a grocery store?

For local restaurant owners to close down — many of them for the entire Fourth of July weekend — is not a preferred outcome. These busy weekends are usually great sources of revenue for our local eateries; so, when they decide to close, I know it’s not because they are lazy or want to slight the tourists — they are overwhelmed with the heat and staffing issues right now.

Give them a break, people.

Unless you’ve worked a busy summer

STR8TS Solution

night waiting tables, cooking on the line, working in the kitchen or serving drinks, you probably have no idea how hard these people work for not a lot of money. They sweat and run around from the start of their shifts to the end. They deal with scowling people who demand instant attention. They take guff from impatient customers.

If you think I’m exaggerating at all, you’re wrong. If anything, I’ve only scratched the surface. Working as a bartender on a busy summer night, I’ve encountered so many great customers, but also a fair share of self-important wannabe grandees who seem to think that servers are from a lesser caste.

Unfortunately, I don’t see this situation changing in the near future. With housing prices through the roof and a demographic of newcomers who move here with their nest eggs to escape from the world, our local working stiffs will continue to be shunted out of the town that they love.

So let’s show our restaurant workers some love. Be kind and patient with them. You only see the front of the house, where things are often more orderly than the kitchen. Trust me, if you peek behind the curtain, you’ll see back of the house crews working as hard as they can to provide you with your precious meals.

If a restaurant closes because of extreme heat, support them in their decision.

If your dinner comes late, or an order gets mixed up, be courteous and understanding with your servers, because they’re trying their best to provide you with excellent service while being understaffed.

I fear we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg regarding the shortage of workers in town. It’s happening all over the country, but in resort towns like ours, it’s becoming a major problem. When a home sells to an out-of-towner who doesn’t rely on working anymore, it potentially displaces a working member of our community who can’t afford to pay double what they paid before being evicted. I’ve seen this caste system develop

at other resort towns across the West with my own eyes.

In Park City, Utah, for example, most of the service workers live far out of town and commute because all the real estate has been gobbled up by rich people. The ones who do live in town reside in cell-like employee housing and pay rents that are barely manageable with a blue collar income. It’s a weird dynamic that we don’t want in Sandpoint.

Next time you’re dining at one of our local restaurants, do them a favor and be a good table. Show them respect, make them smile and tip them well after your meal. It’s the very least you can do, and they deserve it.

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution Don’t ever get your speedometer confused with your clock like I did once, because the faster you go the later you think you are.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Laughing Matter

lilt

By Bill Borders

/lilt/

Woorf tdhe Week

[noun] 1. rhythmic swing or cadence.

“She walked with a distinct lilt after winning $500 in a scratch ticket.”

Corrections: Nothing to report this week. Have a great weekend out there, Sandpoint. — BO

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Whines 6. Cushions or mats 10. Money 14. Quickly 15. Chills and fever 16. Savvy about 17. France’s longest river 18. Give and ____ 19. Food thickener 20. Constrained 22. Neuter 23. Not fluid 24. Gown fabric 25. Smudge 29. Liquor 31. Math 33. Bullfighter 37. Palisaded 38. Hit the sack 39. Smiled contemptuously 41. Gist 42. Extend 44. Give 45. Shore 48. Flower jars 50. Therefore 51. Gather responsibilities and authority 56. Voice Over Internet Protocol 57. Forearm bone 58. Leg bone 59. Feudal worker 60. Accomplishes

Solution on page 22 61. Gives forth 62. Lower limbs 63. Agile 64. Impudent

DOWN 1. Wan 2. Atop 3. Nonclerical 4. Beige 5. Appears 6. Kneecap 7. A type of fungus 8. Duchy

9. Sow 10. Changed into a solid mass 11. Cherub 12. Procrastinate 13. Mob 21. Lodger 24. Carries 25. Wood-cutting tools 26. Scheme 27. Leer at 28. Tools for star gazing 30. More abrasive 32. A bed on a ship 34. Eat

35. Killer whale 36. Bobbin 40. Gain through experience 41. Bliss 43. Leather maker 45. Chamfer 46. Jagged 47. Growing old 49. Satisfies 51. Wads 52. City in Peru 53. Nile bird 54. Pimples 55. Not difficult

July 8, 2021 /

R

/ 23

®

the

COME JOIN AN AMAZ NG TEAM! Full and Part-Time Positions Available.

• Lifeguard/Swim Instructors - $250 sign on bonus available • Member Services • Maintenance and Facilities Lead • Youth Development

pl.y Online: Ymca'inpw org/career s

Or call 20 8 263 6 . For

mo e 633 informatrion

YMCA OF THE INLAND NORTHWEST Litehouse YMCA • 1905 Pine St. Sandpoint, ID • 208 263 6633