In Seinfeld, Jason Alexander’s character George Costanza had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of all the best public bathrooms in Manhattan, proving once again that George is my spirit animal (actually, it’s show creator Larry David, who conceived Costanza as a more annoying version of himself).
“Anywhere in the city, I’ll tell you the best public toilet,” Costanza tells Jerry Seinfeld in the scene.
“OK, 54th and 6th,” Seinfeld bites.
“Sperry Rand Building, 14th floor, Morgan Apparel,” Costanza responds immediately. “Mention my name, she’ll give you the key.”
I haven’t mapped out all the best public facilities in Sandpoint but there is a clear winner for the best: The restroom on the top floor at the Cedar Street Bridge. From one particular stall, you can look out over idyllic Sand Creek while doing your um... business. The former owners of the Bridge caused quite a stir when they closed off public bathroom facilities from members of the public, but now that the bridge is under new ownership, perhaps it’s time to return. Costanza would definitely approve.
The parrot who poured beer
When I first met my partner, Cadie, we were joined at the hip for the first 72 hours. After a rip-roaring first date that saw us staying up all night beatboxing on the front porch of a friend’s house, we decided to hitchhike out to Hope the next morning. After showing off the Pioneer Cemetery, shooting rocks into the basketball net at the Memorial Community Center and hanging our legs in the lake, we walked over to Murphy’s Lounge up the hill near the Hope Hotel to grab a beer. The bar has since been torn to the ground, but it was once a quaint watering hole owned by Wendel Bergman. As Hope resident Travis Kiebert remembers, “You could buy rifles, fishing poles or Playboys there. At one time they had a grill there and offered hamburgers and stuff like that.” When Cadie and I went to Murphy’s, we noticed a beautiful parrot perched behind the bar. When we asked about it, the bartender brought the bird over to the beer taps, gave it a nudge and, sure enough, it grabbed the tap handle in its beak and moved it to the side, filling a mug with beer. With another nudge, the parrot stopped the flow and sat back with a pleasing squawk. We were impressed, to say the least. It was the first time a bird poured me a beer. Murphy’s, and the parrot, become mascots of sorts for our blossoming relationship. The following summer, we again trekked east to Hope to revisit Murphy’s and see the famous beer-pouring parrot. Except, this time, the perch by the bar was empty. We asked where the parrot was and the bartender shrugged: “Dog ate it.” At the other end of the bar, a brown heeler sat under the pool table with a satisfied smirk. Even though the parrot and the bar are now just memories, they’re our memories and we still cherish them.
READER DEAR READERS,
The Fourth of July is just around the corner, but if you’re reading this on our distribution day (June 27), fireworks will come earlier than that. The first debate between President Joe Biden and former-President Donald Trump will take place at 6 p.m.
Here’s a short list of activities I’d rather do than listen to the piss and vitriol that will come from this debate:
• Get a root canal.
• Hike up Mickinnick Trail naked on Christmas Day.
• Tell an older relative, “No, I want to hear more about your recent medical procedures.”
• “Dig for gold” in the kitty litter box.
• Listen to a Gen Z kid talking for an hour, using only slang.
• Watch a Jerry Springer marathon on TV.
• Bash my head against the wall until things seem normal again.
Kudos to those hardy enough to watch the debate. Strap in; it’s going to be a wild ride.
– Ben Olson, publisher
111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-946-4368
Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (emeritus) Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)
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About the Cover Cover by Ally Unzen!
County approves altered CUP for Panhandle Bike Ranch in Sagle
Residents argue over property rights, safety and the future of a rural neighborhood
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
After six and a half hours of tears, cheers and spirited arguments on June 24, the Bonner County board of commissioners approved an appeal from the Panhandle Bike Ranch, lessening restrictions and affirming their existing conditional use permit. The ruling went against a conflicting appeal made by residents of the neighboring Five Lakes Estates community who sought to strike the CUP, citing private property rights and concerns over safety, zoning regulation and the preservation of their way of life.
Though the county has twice approved developers Scott and Jennifer Kalbach’s CUP, legal counsel, members of the public and Commissioner Asia Williams have repeatedly predicted that the development will be slowed by additional hearings and litigation due to conflicting interpretations of code.
The Kalbachs obtained the initial CUP for a recreational facility in April, allowing them to begin construction on trails across their two contiguous 85.33-acre parcels, zoned Rural-10, off of Jumpline Landing in Sagle. To date, the lots have no power, water, sewer or permanent structures.
A recreational facility is defined in Bonner County Revised Code 12-818 as, “A place designed and equipped for the conduct of small scale and low intensity sports ... operated as a business and open to the public or operated as a private club for members.”
Facilities for activities outside of the “low intensity” classification are considered resorts or “outdoor recreational uses and amusement places” and are not permitted — even with a CUP — in
residential zones.
BCRC 12-333 conditionally permits recreational facilities in rural zoning districts provided that developers demonstrate, “Adequate water supplies for drinking and fire suppression, as well as approval of sewage disposal sites and methods by the Panhandle Health District and/or the state of Idaho.”
Additionally, the site must be developed in such a way as to “minimize any adverse effects on surrounding properties. The use shall not create particular hazards to adjacent properties.”
To comply with these definitions, Bonner County Examiner Jacqueline Rucker limited the hours, days and months of operation as well as the number of race days and daily users, and stipulated that the owners must ban hazardous materials like firearms and fireworks, as well as create a stormwater, grading and erosion control plan for the existing road and future trails.
“When I forecast out the up-front investment vs. the potential revenue, with the current conditions we’re looking at about a 30-year ROI [Return on Investment], so that’s 30 years before we make one penny on the business and that’s just too long,” said Scott Kalbach, presenting his appeal at the June 24 meeting. “With a few tweaks that we’re asking for to the business — not huge changes — we think that we can get that down to 15 years and that’s still a very long time but it’s a timeframe that’s acceptable for us.”
The subsequent decision repealed the earlier restrictions, with the exception of the stormwater, grading and erosion control plan, allowing the business to remain open seven days a week, May through October 15, for hours to be determined by the owners.
The commissioners also granted the request to increase the number of daily riders and workers from 65 to 150 and allow for four yearly race days on the property.
Opponents of the park — represented by Coeur d’Alenebased attorney Norman Semanko — argued that the initial CUP should never have been approved because the bike ranch does not meet the definition of a recreational facility and generates “particular hazards” that will negatively affect the neighboring homeowners.
“A sport where injuries are expected — as you heard in the testimony earlier — and where helipads are required to pick up injured people and take them to medical care are not low intensity sports,” said Semanko, citing statistics that estimated an average rate of 6.8 injuries per 1,000 hours of downhill mountain biking — far higher than downhill skiing, which is not considered a low intensity sport.
“Legally, what’s important is the fact that this fits the definition of a commercial resort or outdoor recreational use, and the staff report and the hearing examiner’s decision do nothing to examine that and make a conclusion
there. And the recreational facilities conclusion is unsupported by facts,” he later added.
Semanko went on to compare the proposed course to Idaho’s nine other downhill mountain bike parks — including Bogus Basin Recreation Area and Silver Mountain Resort — stating that none “are located within an area already established [as a] rural residential neighborhood.” All comparable parks fall within commercial resorts or ski areas and therefore do not require CUPs.
The Bonner County Planning Department staff report, presented by Planner Tyson Lewis, found that “the proposal complies with what a recreational facility is defined as — mountain biking being a low intensity sport that will not dramatically change the forested properties in a detrimental way.”
Before making their recommendation, staff looked for similar businesses that had previously applied for CUPs, including Caliber Disc Golf in Colburn, which is zoned Agricultural/Forestry-10. When asked if they had uncovered any denied CUPs applications on parcels zoned Rural-10
— like the Panhandle Bike Ranch parcels — Lewis stated, “I tried. I wasn’t able to find good data — our new computer system is really finicky with searching for keywords.”
When asked if “low intensity” should be defined by the impact to the land, the recreationists or both, county Planning Director Jacob Gabell stated that the law does not specify, nor does it clarify how “intensity” should be measured.
“We did a minimal analysis — you can call [it] that — but we did an analysis of the definition of ‘recreational facility’ and in that I leaned on the examples that that definition includes,” said Gabell in reference to BCRC 12-818, which lists low intensity sports as including but not limited to “rafting, canoeing, tent camping, swimming, cross country skiing, hiking, hunting and fishing, horseback riding and snowmobiling.”
Gabell based his determination on the relative impact that mountain biking and the creation and maintenance of its trails has on the land, compared especially to horseback
Protesters and supporters gathered at the Bonner County Fairgrounds June 24 to testify before the Bonner County commissioners regarding the Panhandle Bike Ranch in Sagle. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.
Dems rally to support libraries as Idaho’s ‘harmful materials’ bill takes effect
Demonstrators will gather at Sandpoint library on July 1 to ‘show love’ for local librarians
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Librarians around the state have spent a tense several months preparing for House Bill 710 to take effect. The legislation, passed by lawmakers in April and signed into law soon after by a reluctant Gov. Brad Little, provides a mechanism for filing lawsuits against school or public libraries if minors are able to access materials whose contents are deemed “harmful.”
Critics — including Little — have called it a “library bounty,” providing an incentive for litigation based on a suite of definitions of “obscenity” that many on both sides of the partisan divide criticize as vague and, in many cases, a threat to the First Amendment.
Just how H.B. 710 will play out among library stacks and in courtrooms remains to be seen, but as of Monday, July 1, it will become enforceable in the state. Meanwhile, the Idaho Democratic Party is marking that date with a series of gatherings and demonstrations at libraries in communities throughout Idaho — including Sandpoint.
Karen Mathee is one of the organizers of the local event, which is billed as “Rally for Our Right to Read” and scheduled to begin in the parking lot of the East Bonner County Library District Sandpoint branch at 1 p.m. and continue until 3 p.m.
She told the Reader that the event is intended to be “light and positive and hopeful.”
“I’m hoping that it is a family event — I’m bringing my granddaughter, who’s 6 years old ... and I want to explain to her really carefully what this is really about,” said Mathee.
“I want this to be a family event, a community event, and I want to show our librarians some love because they certainly need it right now,” she added.
As a candidate for Idaho House Seat 1A — running as a Democrat against incumbent Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Dover, in November — Mathee said she also hopes that “lawmakers can get it together and realize that this is unnecessary. I’d like to overturn it; I’d like to put things back the way they were. We had processes in place, we still do — processes where incoming materials were reviewed by library boards, elected and accountable to the people.”
Like other critics of H.B. 710, Mathee pointed to an apparent ideological disconnect inherent in the law.
“That vocal minority talks about not wanting government intervention in their lives, but this is the perfect example of bypassing local decision makers and putting government right in the middle of our lives and our choices as parents and grandparents,” she said.
That’s a similar argument made by her November election opponent, Sauter, who voted against H.B. 710 and said at an April candidates forum ahead of the May primary that “our library system works pretty well. ... We believe in local control, so I’m standing with local control — I’ll take the hits.”
Fellow Republican Jim Woodward — who won his primary bid for Idaho Senate in May and will go up against Independent candidate Dan Rose in the November election — also characterized H.B. 710 as government overreach.
“I see it as taking away from a local community,” he said, adding that when lawmakers oppose federal mandates with one hand and take away local control with the other, “I see some level of hypocrisy.”
Likewise, Democratic candidate for Idaho House 1B Kathryn Larson, who will face Republican Cornel Rasor in November, said at the April forum that after meeting with librarians and reviewing the list of books containing sup-
posed harmful materials, she found that none of them even came from the state of Idaho.
“This is very clearly a culture war issue that has been brought to this state,” she said.
Beyond the politics, EBCL Principal Librarian and Interim Director Vanessa Velez has worked since April to understand the law, how it might be applied and how the library can adapt to comply with it.
She underscored that the library is not sponsoring the July 1 event, and granted the Bonner County Democrats’ request as long as they adhered to the EBCL Code of Conduct policy, which states, “Petitioners on library property will not block, hinder or interfere with visitors and staff wishing to enter or exit the buildings, nor intimidate patrons or staff into signing a petition or accepting information.”
Ultimately, she told the Reader in an email, “It’s impossible to predict how H.B. 710 will play out. Since it’s a new law, there is no legal precedent or case law in Idaho, but there is precedent for libraries being sued for violating the First Amendment rights of citizens when items are removed or sequestered, so we are not preemptively moving anything to an area with ‘adult access only,’ as the law requires if an item is deemed ‘harmful to minors.’”
In the near-term, the library has altered some of its policies, including amending its Collection Development Policy and expanding its Request for Reconsideration form from one to four pages, in order to accommodate more details on Idaho Code 18-1517B, as H.B. 710 will be known after July 1.
“Long-term, it’s harder to say [how the law will be applied],” Velez said “If the board denies a request for relocation, the decision as to whether or not an item actually qualifies as ‘harmful to
minors’ will be made in the court system following Idaho Tort Law proceedings. Or the board can approve the request and relocate items to a locked case — currently housing the Special Collection; rare or fragile materials — or behind the circulation desk so people (adults only) have to ask staff to retrieve these items for them.”
Velez said taking that route “essentially disappears these items,” since most patrons won’t make the effort to ask staff for an item or may feel uncomfortable doing so.
“It creates an additional barrier to access,” she added.
Restricting access is one thing, but Velez said the larger challenge is determining what is meant by certain specific terms in the law — especially “obtain” and “promote,” as they relate to “harmful materials.”
“They don’t even have to check it out, they just have to obtain it,” she told the Reader in a phone interview. “Some libraries are trying to take the stance that it’s a check-out situation ... but I don’t read it that way. It’s whether they can see it or grab it from a library shelf.”
Then there’s H.B. 710’s definition of “obscenity,” which among other things contains a host of examples of “sexual conduct,” including, “any act of ... homosexuality.”
“The First Amendment doesn’t protect ‘obscenity,’ but the problem is Idaho is making up its own definition,” Velez said, and that has introduced a broad gray area for librarians to navigate with much at stake.
Though H.B. 710 provides $250 in statutory damages for plaintiffs whose challenges are successful, it goes on to open the way for the award of “actual damages and any other relief available by law, including but not limited to injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the defendant school or public library from violating the re-
quirements of this section.”
“That’s the problem — it’s vague, and that is what’s really worrying our libraries because what’s being described as ‘obscene’ can be described in a lot of different ways,” Mathee said, later adding, “It’s a little bit deceptive, because $250 does not seem like a huge amount of money, but when you consider the time and the resources if our libraries have to go to court, there’s no funding for that. There’s no limits. That’s the problem with a lot of these bills that don’t seem so punishing on the surface, but there’s a lot of hidden costs there that add up.”
Velez also underscored that, “it’s important to note that we don’t believe the library has anything in its collections that is harmful to minors. That definition in the law, however, is occasionally vague and contradictory.”
While the July 1 event at the Sandpoint library is intended to show support for libraries and librarians, Mathee recognized that it comes at a time when those institutions and the people who shepherd them are under considerable stress. A recent survey from the Idaho Library Association found 60% of respondents employed in the library profession were thinking of leaving their jobs.
“That’s one of the messages that I want to get across with this rally, is anything we can do to show our libraries and librarians respect and appreciation is welcome,” Mathee said, later adding, “It’s the same with our teachers — we can’t recruit and we can’t retain teachers in our public schools because of disrespect and micromanagement. We’re doing it with our teachers, we’re doing it with our librarians, we’re doing it with our doctors and the result is an exodus out of our state.”
Idaho law enforcement prepares for 4th celebrations
By Reader Staff
Starting this week, regional law enforcement partners are working together to ensure the safety of North Idaho travelers and recreationists during the Fourth of July holiday with an allhands-on-deck approach to targeting impaired driving and boating.
While this patriotic holiday is a time of celebration for most, it is also one of the deadliest days of summer across the nation due to the operation of motorized vehicles while impaired.
Last July, there were 171 impaired driving crashes and 16 fatalities across our state, with two of those deaths occurring in North Idaho. Officers, troopers and deputies take DUI enforcement seriously year-round but will be mobilizing resources for enhanced patrols on highways and backroads alike from Monday, July 1 through Monday, July 8.
The Office of Highway Safety provides grant funding opportunities for local police agencies to help enhance resources for increased patrols surrounding major holidays like the Fourth of July.
Meanwhile, with hot weather and an abundance of lakes and rivers, boating is one of the most popular recreational activities in the Idaho panhandle, but it’s not without risk. Every year marine deputies encounter impaired boaters who put themselves and others in danger after a few too
Bits ’n’ Pieces
From east, west and beyond
East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:
Ending no-fault divorce, which is currently legal in all 50 states, is a new target of conservative lawmakers, The Guardian reported.
The first presidential debate between Trump and Biden will be Thursday, June 27 on CNN, 9 p.m. (Eastern). Both sides agreed to no studio audience and muted mics, except for when it’s their turn to speak.
Under a new program requiring no receipts, more than 300 House members were reimbursed $5.8 million for food and lodging for “official business,” The Washington Post reported.
The Libertarian think tank, The Cato Institute, has critiqued Trump’s proposal to eliminate income tax and replace it with a high tariff on all goods coming into the U.S. “Terrible economics aside, there’s simply no possible way it could work,” the institute stated.
many on the water.
This year, in conjunction with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, and as part of the North Idaho DUI Task Force’s dedicated enforcement operation, police agencies will deploy marine patrols across all North Idaho waterways to target impaired boaters from Thursday, July 4 to Saturday, July 6.
Consequences of driving or operating a boat under the influence are largely the same as those of operating a vehicle, including the possibility of jail, boat impound, court fines and community service.
Plan ahead for a sober ride home. Authorities underscored that a sober driver is someone who has not had anything to drink at all, not just the one who has had the least to drink.
If you spot a drunk driver on the road, report it by calling 911 or *ISP. Always wear your seatbelt.
To help with planning for a safe ride from, or to, all your inebriating festivities, Watkins Distributing has sponsored a ride share promotion through Uber for a QR Code for Free Uber.
Limit $30 per use, locations valid within approximately 20 miles of Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint, Wallace and Bonners Ferry from July 4-6.
Along with economic uncertainties, Americans would import less due to higher costs, and fewer imports would lead to a smaller tax base. If tariffs are raised too high, there could be basically no imports at all, and “thus no revenue. Oops!” According to the institute, Trump’s plan would put a larger burden on low earners, since they generally pay more of their income for traded goods as compared to wealthier households. There is a need for “bold” tax and spending reform, the institute argued, but relying on tariffs for that is “unicorn math all the way down.”
The Congressional Budget Office reported that Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will cost an estimated $1.9 trillion before its 2025 expiration, and did not generate the promised $1 trillion in new revenue
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled 8-1 to uphold a federal law prohibiting people with restraining orders to possess guns. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the lone dissent.
The Surgeon General declared firearm violence a public health crisis. TIME magazine noted there have been 247 mass shootings this year, and close to 50,000 die annually due to gun violence.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said he will arm North Korea if western countries continue to provide
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist
military aid to Ukraine, CNN reported. Russia recently launched its eighth attack since March on Ukraine’s power grid, according to Business Insider.
In New Mexico, wildfire preceded floods after a recent tropical storm dropped downpours and humongous hail in what The Guardian called a new type of catastrophe supercharged by the climate crisis. In the Midwest, various media reported flooding followed by a heat wave, with an impact on 44 million. The top weather-related killer in the U.S. is excessive heat, according to the National Weather Service.
Doctors can now be certified in Colorado in climate medicine, CNN has reported. The journal Lancet has warned that climate change is the “biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” Coursework includes responding to a weather disaster, what to do if a hospital generator fails, dealing with failed energy generation and addressing compromised supplies of goods.
In Hawaii, 13 youth climate activists won a settlement that forces the state’s Department of Transportation to take action to decarbonize its transportation system by 2045. The plaintiffs argued that the Hawaii’s pro-fossil fuel transportation policies violated their constitutional rights and created “untenable levels of greenhouse gas emissions.” After the settlement, The Guardian reported that the plaintiffs spoke of feeling hope after a lifetime of witnessing disappearing beaches, vanishing coral reefs and immediate impacts on farms. Similar cases are pending in Alaska, Florida, Utah and Virginia, and against the EPA.
Blast from the past: On June 27, 1936, in his acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination, Franklin D. Roosevelt labeled the wealthy as “economic royalists.” He said they governed “without the consent of the governed,” resulting in the average man being a “pawn to the mercenaries of dynastic power” with laws “imposed by this new industrial dictatorship.” The royalists objected and said their foes, like FDR, opposed “the institutions of America.” Working in favor of FDR’s reelection was the fact that the crash of 1929 and the Great Depression had discredited “economic royalists” — and voters had direct experience of their disregard for Americans’ well-being.
Bonner County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division at work on the patrol boat. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.
Update on Back Rock cleanup: ‘At
this point, there isn’t going to be any movement’
Plans are in place, but regulatory ‘glitch’ has pushed back timeline
By Reader Staff
For the better part of 15 years, the communities of Ponderay, Kootenai and Sandpoint have collaborated to create, sustain and expand the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail — a 1.5-mile stretch of shoreline that is unique not only for the partnership that made it possible, but that it is publicly owned and among the most popular amenities in the area.
During that time, among the goals of the partners — which include the Idaho Conservation League and Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail — remained to clean up the northernmost section of the property, referred to as “Black Rock” and the site of industrial pollution left as a legacy of smelting operations more than a century ago.
Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Brownfields Analyst Steve Gill went before the Sandpoint City Coun-
cil on June 20 to provide an update on the project, sketching its history and indicating when work might begin on remediating the Black Rock site.
“The city’s view on all of this property is to keep it more in its natural space and trails and very minimal amenities. No development of condos, restaurants or marinas or anything like that,” Geiger said.
Cleaning up Black Rock is a critical step toward a longer-term — and longplanned — extension of the muchused Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail, including establishment of a park area at Black Rock and ultimately connecting the shoreline to the city of Ponderay via an underpass beneath the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railroad line — what Ponderay city officials call the Front Yard Project.
local option tax that brought the Black Rock cleanup effort within reach. IDEQ’s plan to clean up the site went out for public comment in the fall of 2023 and was later approved, which started the agency down the path to beginning the work.
Officials had hoped to get moving on the project this year, and Gill told Sandpoint councilors that “this really comes down to, ‘When are we going to do this?’”
However, “we’ve run into a slight glitch,” he added.
starting date of June 2025.
“Because this is a lot larger cleanup than we normally do, because it’s on Lake Pend Oreille, which is the Kalispel Tribe’s birthplace ... [the statutes] turned everything over to the Corps of Engineers; they’ll work on all this,” Gill said, referring to the work of issuing notifications and interacting with various agencies and the tribe.
However, he added, the hope is that the NHPA process can be completed before next June, which would push the first stabilization work at Black Rock out to January or February 2026 — at the earliest.
The plan has proceeded steadily through property acquisitions by participating communities, including a $500,000 grant secured by Ponderay five years ago and the passage of a 1% riding and snowmobiling. Williams emphasized that while she supports the bike ranch in theory, she did not believe that it met the requirements to exist in an area zoned Rural-10.
“I think it’s a great idea, but it’s not in the right zone, and conditionally, low intensity was based on the sport. It was based on the number of people that were going to use that [facility] ... It is a commercial activity, but it is not situated in a commercial zone,” she said.
Semenko maintained that the development did not fall under the definition of a recreational facility, and further argued that, even if it did, it would still be in violation of the requirement to provide “water for drinking and fire suppression.”
The bike ranch has yet to publish a plan to mitigate or prevent potential fires caused by, among other things, their shuttle truck engines, exhaust or fuel; heat sources brough by campers; lithium batteries on electric bikes; and sparks emitted by pedals striking rocks, such as the one that caused the 2016 Rock Creek Fire in Washington.
Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm, speaking on behalf of the bike ranch developers in his capacity as owner of Whiskey Rock Planning + Consulting, argued that maintaining the health of the forest would mitigate fire risk, as would the bike trails themselves, which would act as barriers for any potential spreading wildfires.
“The state of Idaho’s fire suppression standards are one gallon of water on site with a fire,” he added.
Bonner County Commissioners Steve Bradshaw and Luke Omodt agreed that the bike ranch’s location within the Sagle Fire District was proof enough of an adequate water supply for fire suppression; however, the bike ranch will have to submit a fire suppression and prevention plan to both the Sagle Fire District and the Idaho Department of Lands for approval before they can officially open the park.
Water access could prove more difficult than developers anticipate, as locals warned during public comment. Residents of Five Lakes Estates, located downhill from the bike park, have a median well depth of 465 feet, with the deepest being 804 feet. Panhandle Bike Ranch’s elevation gain potentially places it even farther above the water table.
According to Gabell, the Department of Environmental Quality stipulates that a facility providing water to “more than 20 people more than 60 days a year” requires an approved public water system. To address that, commissioners added a condition to the CUP requiring developers to dig a well and receive DEQ’s official approval before the permit takes effect, thereby satisfying the requirement for a proposed 10-spot campsite.
In addition to the potential fire danger, Semenko argued that water runoff and erosion caused by frequent
In May this year, the agency got word that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had a different timeline centered on gaining approval under a section of the National Historic Preservation Act. That came as a response to concerns from the Kalispel Tribe and the Idaho Historic Preservation Office, which means the Corps will have to complete its work before the Black Rock project can commence. Gill said the Corps’ timeline shows a
road and trail system use would affect the 56 homes directly downhill from the development, potentially resulting in property damage.
Using statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency, he calculated that traffic to and from the park would generate as much as 34.9 tons of dust per year, negatively impacting the health of residents and the longevity of their appliances.
Bradshaw stated that the county had no power to enforce maintenance of the private road; however, developers tentatively agreed to consider spraying magnesium chloride to mitigate dust.
After hearing testimony from more than 45 community members — the majority of whom argued against the project — and rebuttals from both sides of the issue, the commissioners spent more than an hour deliberating before approving the Kalbachs’ appeal in a 2-1 vote.
“This is about a private property owner who purchased two pieces of land, and are we going to honor the right for that property owner to do with his land as is conditionally permitted according to Bonner County revised code? [Speaking] for myself, I am,” said Omodt, arguing on behalf of the developers.
Williams, the lone dissenting vote, again acknowledged the merits and potential benefits of the bike ranch, but ultimately agreed with protesters that the Rural-10 zoning does not sup-
“At this point there isn’t going to be any movement,” he said, later adding, “Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, this delay; maybe it gives us this time to really get our logistics done. It is what it is, that’s all I can say.”
For more information about the Front Yard Project, visit cityofponderay.org/thefront-yard-project.
port a facility of this magnitude.
“We know it’s so far above what we would use a conditional use permit for, you have a page of additional conditions that even [the developers] don’t want to follow, because they wouldn’t have to follow it if the conditional use permit was very cut and dry but it’s not ... It isn’t a property right to get a conditional use permit. If you want to guarantee that commercial activity, there is a zone for it.”
As of press time, the Panhandle Bike Ranch site will include an emergency helicopter pad, one acre or less of parking, one acre or less of outbuildings — including the ticket and rental booths, portable restrooms and a bike washing station — as well as an acre or less of tent camping.
According to a statement from the Five Lakes Estates appellants and shared with the Reader by Semanko in a Jun 26 email, the protesters have yet to determine their next steps, though they encourage community members to check the website stopthesaglebikepark.com for future updates.
“We are disappointed in the outcome of the hearing, but it was not unexpected,” they wrote. “We have recently seen multiple commercial projects approved in areas not zoned for the specific proposed commercial use, only to be later challenged and eventually overturned by the courts.”
Bouquets: GUEST SUBMISSION:
• “My deepest gratitude goes to the cadre of passionate, brilliant and dedicated volunteers who made the Worth of a Woman exhibit (now at Matchwood Brewing) a reality. The display was seven months in the making and would not have been possible — let alone as impactful — without this group of women. Special thanks to the Reader’s own Emily Erickson for her remarkable design work. I feel lucky to share a community with all of you.”
— Jen Jackson Quintano
Barbs:
• Recently, we’ve noticed an uptick in letters to the editor that we’ve had to reject because the authors are not rising to our editorial standards. To start with, if the entire premise of your letter is to promote doxxing a private individual because of their politics, you’d have a better chance trying to find a house under $200,000 in Sandpoint than seeing your letter printed in the Reader. Also, we’re not interested in your conspiracy theories, misinformation, hatred, trolling statements, veiled racism or irrelevant tangents. We aren’t a government organization, which means it isn’t a “violation of the First Amendment” or “censorship” if we don’t print your letter. Just as we consider it a public service to publish letters, it’s also a service to kill off the ones that are inappropriate or otherwise don’t rise to our standards. Finally, if you read a letter or article in another publication and it pissed you off, write your letter to the editor of that publication. We often write, “please elevate the conversation” when giving information about how to send letters to the editor. Those aren’t just empty words.
‘The Rock Pile’…
Dear editor,
Picking up rocks. What can be learned from picking up rocks? I have spent a fair amount of my spring and early summer picking up rocks in the old field. Softball-sized rocks, mainly, that I can toss into the tractor loader bucket. An occasional rock the size of a volleyball. And several times a rock too large to lift, whereupon I set the tractor bucket flat on the ground and roll the rock into the bucket.
At the edge of the field I dump the load of rocks among the accumulated piles from generations before.
I’ve learned a few things from these solitary and very physical hours.
Rocks are kind of like problems — there are small ones, medium-sized ones and occasionally ones that are too big to lift by myself and require additional resources.
Rocks are kind of like people — they come in many sizes and shapes and personalities. Some are stubborn and stuck in the dirt. Others can be moved with determination and encouragement.
Manually picking up rocks reminds me of the history of this place, my home and farm. The accumulated piles of rock from a century of farming speak to the vision and strength of multiple generations.
Each of us contributes our faith and energy and love.
We all add to The Rock Pile at the field’s edge.
Steve Johnson Cocolalla
Reader response…
Dear editor, Soncirey Mitchell summed up the myriad emotions and human reactions to the death of our loved ones [Back of the Book, “Still, there is pizza,” June 20, 2024].
When I attended the Lutheran funeral service of my then-mother-in-law, I was shocked that no one — not even my husband, her eldest son — chose to speak on her amazing life. So I stood and recounted how she had raised three sons almost single-handedly and employed two of her sons in the furniture store she founded. Then I shared the joy from the previous year of watching my husband dance with her and her sister at a family reunion in another state. It was made especially poignant because Ellen had just recovered from a stroke that had paralyzed her.
When I sat down, there continued to be total silence from the gathering of friends and family. Later, at the private dinner in one of their homes, I was just as shocked that during all of the conversations, no one spoke of her or even said her name. This time I let it be.
I finally decided that stoicism was part of their Norwegian heritage, but it’s not part of my English/Irish/Scots background, so the memory of that funeral still stings.
And, I loved Steve Johnson’s poignant poem (that’s what I call his letter) about losing his home [Letters, “Door Jamb,” June 20, 2024]. Blessings from his Old House Foundation of Family and Love.
Clarice McKenney Sandpoint
Soliciting survey takers…
Dear editor,
Please take the “Rural Character Survey” regarding the future of Bonner County at surveymonkey. com/r/FJY2QL7 or bit.ly/3KLCpjl. Thank you,
William Atwood Priest River
POTHOLE OF THE WEEK
by Ben Olson.
‘On the lighter side’…
Dear editor,
For a fresh breath of air on the lighter side of world happenings, I offer a few quotes by W. C. Fields with some adjustments I have taken the liberty to perform:
• Money will not buy happiness, but it will let you be unhappy in nice places.
• I never vote for anyone; I always vote against.
•First place was a week in Spokane. Second place was two weeks.
•It’s funnier to bend things than to break them.
•Remember a dead fish can float
downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.
•Reality is an illusion that occurs due to a lack of alcohol.
James Richard Johnson
Clark Fork
Followers...
Dear editor, Everywhere I go, they follow me. The idle rich and gentrification. Eugene, Tucson, Sandpoint, I’m running out of places to escape to. Oh well, I’m old and fading fast. “The End is Near” in a number of ways.
Jim Wood Sandpoint
This cavernous abyss of potholes is one of many among the residential streets of Sandpoint. Photo
Aquatic invasive weed control in Lake Pend Oreille
By Jennifer Ekstrom Reader Contributor
When I started working to protect water quality in Lake Pend Oreille in 2009, our community was highly concerned about chemical herbicides being sprayed in the water in attempts by public agencies to eradicate eurasian watermilfoil. In the following years, flowering rush was added as another targeted aquatic invasive weed. People were concerned about the impacts the herbicides might have on human health and aquatic life, and also about the dearth of information available to the public prior to the chemicals being added to the water. Chemicals were being applied near drinking water intakes and public beaches with very little public notification.
Due to endless pressure applied by the Idaho Conservation League and Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper (which I worked for at the time), we gained cooperation from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture to avoid using the most toxic herbicides and avoid applying herbicides near drinking water intakes and swimming areas. We also worked hard to gain a common understanding that in a water system as large as Lake Pend Oreille, eradication was a futile notion. At best, invasive weeds could be controlled, but never fully eradicated. Weed control by means of bottom barriers or diver pulling could maintain boat paths, docks and swimming areas with no risk to public health.
Upon returning to the work of protecting North Idaho’s great lakes after a decade out of the area, last summer I again received phone calls from community members concerned about herbicide application. Flyers had been posted on docks
and shorelines indicating that chemicals would be applied to the water in order to kill these same weeds. Both ISDA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had resumed herbicide use in their efforts to manage aquatic invasive species in the lake.
We met with the agencies last year and discussed the concerns that we had heard. We were assured there would be a collaborative process with opportunities for public input as plans were developed for the summer of 2024. Then, at a public meeting earlier this month, the agencies gave presentations to a largely empty room. It was in stark contrast to the level of interest our community has expressed, and we were disappointed we weren’t notified about the meeting in time to help get the word out. At the meeting, ISDA laid out its plans to conduct a eurasian watermilfoil survey, likely in mid-July, when the plants reach at least three feet. The survey will include the entire lake area near the shoreline that is not managed by the Corps. For areas they target with chemical application, they expect to begin in early August. Notices will be posted on docks 24 hours before chemicals are applied, and after 14-day notices have been given to those who are registered water rights holders within 1/4 mile of the areas to be treated. Municipal water suppliers within a “reasonable distance” will also be given notice.
We are pleased to be assured that City Beach and Sand Creek in Sandpoint continue to be treated by ISDA for flowering rush with mechanical removal, and that the agreement with the city of Sandpoint to avoid chemicals in the high-use swim area persists. ISDA has no plans to chemically treat submerged flowering rush this year.
You can learn more about ISDA’s plan as they develop it, at: invasivespecies.idaho. gov/treatment-plans.
The Corps manages limited acreage in the Pend Oreille system, and their herbicide use will target only flowering rush. They will conduct a survey in late July to determine chemical application areas. The Corps is tentatively planning to treat 28 acres in August.
Protections for bull trout, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, restrict the timeframe of chemical herbicide application to July 15 through Aug. 31.
Although this process may be more protective of people and special places than in years past, with chemicals applied to much smaller areas than previously, there is still room for improvement. As a voice for clean water and protector of the great lakes of North Idaho, the Idaho Conservation League hopes to work with the agencies to:
• discontinue use of the most toxic chemicals;
• ensure that drinking water intakes and public beaches are avoided;
• reduce the acreage of chemical application;
• urge agencies to focus on control methods other than chemicals, including bottom barriers and mechanical removal, where appropriate;
• develop a system where shoreline homeowners can “opt out” of chemical herbicides, similar to the system used on roadways;
• ensure the public is informed and has robust opportunities to voice concerns prior to chemical applications.
North Idaho’s lakes are scenic wonders, priceless economic assets and the foundation of our way of life. We must leave these waters better than we found them, so we can enjoy them for generations to come.
For more information
about aquatic invasive species plans for this summer, contact:
Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Jeremey Varley, Jeremey.Varley@isda.idaho. gov or 208-993-0950; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Taylor Johnson, taylor.m. johnson@usace.army.gov or Andrew Huddleston, Andrew.j.huddleston@ usace.army.mil. Both can be reached at 208-437-3133.
Jennifer Ekstrom is North Idaho director for the Idaho Conservation League.
Paddlers on Lake Pend Oreille. Courtesy photo.
Science: Mad about
broken bones
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
Trigger warning: If you’re squeamish, turn the page. I love telling this story for its gross-out effect, but it’s pretty graphic. You’ve been warned. — BB
I’ll never forget what my grandfather told me as a child: “A broken bone doesn’t really hurt.”
I found out he was lying when I was 19 and suffered a compound open fracture of my tibia and fibula.
To be fair, I also impaled my leg from the inside out with the bone, so I probably hit a few nerves in the process. Regardless, it was the most extreme and indescribable pain I’ve ever suffered in my life.
The most curious thing about the entire process was that in fewer than 90 days I was back to work and walking normally.
An adult human possesses 206 bones in their body, and every single one of them can suffer breakage. In my case, a six-foot drop with forward angular momentum onto an uneven surface was the cause of the shearing force that snapped the two bones. My heel hit first, but the rest of my body kept moving at a forward and downward angle, which put an amount of shear force equal to just about my entire body weight and then some on the weakest point of the bones. I suffered an open compound fracture, where the bone was broken in two and emerged through the skin. Believe it or not, this was actually the best case scenario, considering the forces involved.
Compound fractures are extremely jarring and require medical attention to properly heal. The bone needs to be set back into place and will
require surgical assistance. A doctor is likely to fuse your bones back together and hold them in place with titanium plates and screws to keep the bone from moving around during the healing process. In the case of an open fracture, a doctor may also need to repair damaged blood vessels, muscle tissue and skin.
The truly wild part is what happens when you begin healing. Bones are calcium structures that act as anchor points for our muscles, like bedrock beneath a thick layer of soil. After a fracture, your body identifies the damage and begins to clot blood around the broken parts of the bone, and if the two pieces are where they should be, these clots will bridge the gap between them. Your body will then begin fusing the two broken bones together with a flood of fibrous cells and cartilage, which is a flexible tissue that acts like a shock absorber in your joints and can also be found forming the structure of your ears. This structure is called a soft callus, and it’s markedly different from the calluses that may appear on your feet. The soft callus replaces the blood clot and appears between two and six weeks after the initial fracture. Over the course of the next two to three months the cells of this callus are replaced with cells matching the rest of your bones to create a hard callus, and what is effectively new bone growth.
Throughout the rest of your life, these cells — along with the rest of the cells of your skeleton — will be replaced by a process called remodeling. There are numerous types of bone fracture, which can then be subcategorized by how the bone has or has not shifted because of the break. We’ve already discussed compound fractures, which don’t always
pierce the skin, but when they do are referred to as an open compound fracture or an open fracture. A transverse fracture is when the bone fractures horizontally and can be categorized as a non-displaced fracture, where the bone hasn’t moved at all, or a displaced transverse fracture where the bone has shifted or off-set.
An oblique fracture is similar to a transverse fracture, except that the break is diagonal rather than horizontal. This is likely to happen when angular pressure is involved in the break, similar to mine. A comminuted fracture is when the bone breaks into three pieces. A great deal of force is required to break a bone in this way, and it’s commonly associated with things like car accidents or falling from a roof, where the downward force of impact may allow the top of the bone to act like an ax head slamming down into the lower portion of the bone.
Greenstick fractures are partial fractures and more common in children with developing bones. These are common injuries from sports, where a leg may flex just a little too far, but not far enough to cause a transverse fracture in the bone.
Hairline fractures can take the form of transverse or oblique fractures. These are generally very thin cracks in the bone that may compromise the bone’s effectiveness in maintaining your body’s structure and counteracting external forces. If left untreated, it’s possible for this kind of break to become a more serious injury.
You may be wondering why it hurts so badly when you break a bone. It turns out that our bones actually have quite a few nerves traveling through them in addition to blood vessels. These nerves are import-
ant sensors for our brain that let us know when something isn’t right — if your bone is being stressed by a lot of running, these nerves send pain signals to your brain that are telling you to ease up before something bad really happens. During a critical break, like the one I had, multiple nerves in numerous places were severely compromised. The nerves within the bones themselves sent critical signals to my brain when they were sheared, which were heightened by the nerves in my calf saying they had been compromised by something very sharp. The nerves in my skin were quick to remind
me that I was an idiot for hurting myself in such a way. The pain signals continued for several days because of the swelling involved in the break — this was essentially my body saying: “Hey doofus, stay off this thing for a while, we’re trying to fix it.”
Despite permanently losing some feeling in my ankle, I got better; and, now I have a cool story to share over drinks. Now if you ever manage to catch me in shorts, I’ve got some awesome scars to prove it. And, no, I don’t set off metal detectors at the airport.
Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
• The “alcohol” in alcoholic beverages is actually ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, the only type of alcohol you can drink without causing serious damage to your body.
• According to a 2015 survey, 86.4% of adults reported having drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime, 70.1% reported having a drink in the last year and 56% had one in the previous month.
• About 12.7% of American adults meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder.
• Alcohol-attributable deaths are the third-leading preventable cause of death in America. More than 178,000 people die each year from alcohol-related causes in the U.S.
• Dark liquors, such as red wine or whiskey, are more likely to result in severe hangovers. White or clear liquors are less likely to result in a hangover.
• The youngest legal drinking age in the world is 15 (Mali and Central African Republic both allow
people to drink by that age) and the average age is 18 around the world. Seven countries — most located in Africa — don’t have a minimum legal drinking age.
• In 1984, the U.S. passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, requiring that states prohibit persons under 21 from purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages as a condition of receiving state highway funds.
• In Wisconsin, those under the legal drinking age of 21 may be served, possess or consume alcohol if they are with a parent, legal guardian or spouse of legal drinking age.
• Muscles absorb alcohol faster than fat, so people with more muscles and less body fat have higher alcohol tolerance.
• The commonly held belief that wine or beer won’t make you as drunk as hard liquor is a myth. All types of alcohol contain the same active ingredient.
PERSPECTIVES
Saving the libraries
By K.L. Huntley Reader Contributor
It is high time for everyone to sit down and quietly come to their senses. Eons ago I wrote a bad song (all of them fall a little flat) inspired by my less-than-stable family. I titled it “Fault Lines — or Fault Lines... Whose fault or the San Andreas?” The word itself is fascinating because it can be a noun, as in blame, sin, mistake; or it can be a noun, as in fractures in the Earth’s crust that allow blocks of rock to move. The meaning all depends on the use of the word in a sentence.
The fault line in my family went right down the living room floor and tore it all apart. I hesitate to blame whose fault House Bill 710 is or was, but it has the potential of tearing apart access to our public library and bankrupting our school system. Two birds with one blow.
House Bill 710 states that it “amends and adds to existing law to prohibit certain materials from being promoted, given or made available to a minor by a school or public library, to provide for a cause of action, to provide for damages and to provide for injunctive relief.”
In short folks, as of July 1 of this year, any family who believes “certain material” is inappropriate for their child can sue our school district and/ or our libraries for $250 in “statutory damages,” “as well as actual damages and any other relief available by law, including but not limited to injunctive relief sufficient to prevent the defendant school or public library from violating the requirements of this section.”
Furthermore, who is to define which “certain materials” are inappropriate? What is appropriate to one may be deemed inappropriate to another. There are those walking among
us who deem anything with rainbows inappropriate. Have you ever met a child who doesn’t love rainbows? Whose face lights up in awe when they see one arching across the sky? How silly is that?
Make no mistake in thinking this “doesn’t affect you.” It affects us all, as these public institutions are supported by your tax dollars. Going to court is clearly an extremely expensive undertaking. Our library and school systems could be quickly bankrupted. And whose fault would that be?
Gov. Brad Little signed the bill on April 10 of this year and it goes into effect Monday, July 1. He signed the bill in spite of almost 3,750 more citizens contacting him in opposition than those in favor.
This is not a partisan issue. Intelligent folks on both sides of the fault line — including the independent thinkers — can clearly see this. I think Thomas Jefferson, the father of the Library of Congress, is probably rolling over in his grave.
Monday, July 1 there will be a gathering at the Sandpoint library parking lot to show support for the Bonner County library system. It will be held from 1-3 p.m. Please attend
to be supportive and contemplate how to overturn this Machiavellian concept of suppressing public access to the written word.
And for those who do not want their cherubs to read something they don’t approve of, may I suggest they consider taking (rather than sending) their children to the library. I did!
Courtesy image.
Republican party bosses double down on extreme agenda
By Rep. Lauren Necochea, D-Boise Reader Contributor
“We the People” are the beginning words of the U.S. Constitution. They speak to the guiding principles of our country. Similarly, political parties create platforms to express the values that guide them. The new platform adopted by the Idaho Republican Party should concern all Idahoans. It spells out a deeply dangerous and unpopular agenda that is far out of step with the majority of Idahoans.
The Idaho GOP’s stance on reproductive freedom is particularly alarming. Two years ago, we were shocked that Idaho Republicans endorsed a platform to ban
abortion care even when the woman faces death. This year, they went even further by seeking to criminalize in-vitro fertilization.
The extremism doesn’t end there. The platform opposes funding for education after high school, targeting LAUNCH scholarships, public universities and
community colleges. Additionally, the platform calls for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which would mean loss of health care coverage for people with preexisting conditions, young Idahoans who use their parents’ insurance plans, people who rely on tax credits to buy coverage and others. It calls for costly school voucher schemes when the state isn’t adequately funding our public schools and certainly cannot afford to subsidize a shadow private school system. And it doubles down on absurd ideas like returning to the gold standard, repealing the 17th Amendment to have U.S. senators appointed rather than elected and privatizing Social Security.
Most startling, the platform opposes any govern-
ment function not expressly mentioned in the Constitution. This would end subsidies that protect our agricultural sector from ups and downs, Veterans Services, Medicare and Medicaid, libraries, parks, broadband infrastructure in rural areas and much more.
One may be tempted to ignore this laundry list of dangerous ideas. But with the hardline ideologues running the party — led by the newly reelected Chair Dorothy Moon — this isn’t a document that sits on a shelf. Rather, it’s a tool the Idaho GOP uses to intimidate elected officials directly, do an end-run around voters and even try to prevent certain candidates from running. They have empowered local party bosses to use
tribunals and censures when they decide elected Republican lawmakers have strayed from the party platform. In sum, they want elected officials to serve the party, not the voters they are purported to represent.
We must reject this out-of-touch and harmful agenda at the ballot box this November. By standing together, we can ensure a future that reflects Idahoans’ broadly shared values and aspirations.
Rep. Lauren Necochea is the House assistant Democratic leader, representing District 19 in Boise on the Environment, Energy and Technology; Resources and Conservation; Revenue and Taxation; and Ways and Means committees.
Rep. Lauren Necochea. File photo.
OUTDOORS
Dirt-y Secrets A time to celebrate life
By Ranel Hanson Reader Columnist
“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly.”
— Pablo Neruda
This is the month gardeners wait for all year. Seeds are planted and sprouting up, flower baskets are getting more beautiful everyday, birds are everywhere, bees are working hard and we have the whole summer ahead of us. What a time to celebrate life!
But, this year, there is a sadness attached to transition into summer. Now is when we see what harsh, snowless, windy and frigid conditions — even into the spring — delivered to us. Lots of winter-killed flowers, trees and shrubs. Most cherry trees succumbed and some plums, too. Many Japanese maples were damaged or killed. Roses, persimmons, some grapes and lots of others. Mother Nature sure delivers some painful realities at times.
I have a decorative birdhouse on my front porch. For the second year, a mother swallow has decided that it is suitable for nesting. This, despite the all-day comings and goings and a very curious dog who just can’t get over the whole thing. A sassy bird who is just out of reach but will enter into a stareoff at any time is great summertime entertainment.
Hummingbirds disappeared for a while in June while they nested. They like some privacy while they take care of their eggs. But, before you know it, they are back bringing the babies to your flowers and feeders as they teach them where to find food. Be sure to keep those feeders clean and filled. When the weather is hot, sugar water spoils quickly.
What don’t disappear are slugs They seem unusually large and gross this year, but maybe that is because they just decimated my beautiful wave petunias. I was asleep at the wheel and neglected to use my tried-and-true slug deterrent. It bears repeating here: crushed egg shells mixed with Epsom salt. Spread that all around the plants where slugs do their nasty business. Meanwhile, I have planted milkweed for the past three years and it is
now spreading and very robust. A local group, The Mighty Monarchs, promotes milkweed planting as an aid to monarch butterflies. It is the insects’ only food, and they must lay their eggs on it so that when the caterpillars hatch, they can get right to eating. It is also beautiful and deer resistant. We are not on the main monarch migration route, but we do get some, and the more milkweed we have for them, the more will come. They are in danger of extinction so it is well worth our while to attract and care for them. If you are interested in knowing more, you can contact TheMightyMonarchs@gmail. com. They even give away seeds. My mason bees are pollinating like crazy and laying eggs in the houses I provide for them. If you aren’t familiar with these hard-working garden helpers, they are certainly worth getting to know. They don’t sting and don’t live in hives, but they pollinate furiously. You can go to crownbees.
com to learn more. They sell all the equipment you need (hardly anything) and you can buy your starter bees there next spring, too. All of our pollinators need help — especially right now — as do our flowering plants. Bee balm, mint, allium, alyssum, sunflowers and salvia are some of my favorites. And, by the way, hummingbirds flock to these, too. It looks like a banner mosquito year. Birds, bats, lizards, snakes, frogs, fish — all should be able to eat their fill. But, to discourage these obnoxious bugs, empty all standing water, avoid tall grasses and beware at dusk. I also have heard (though I haven’t experienced it) that ticks are abundant. Wear long sleeves, tall socks and long pants for the woods. And check yourself and your pets after walks and during camping trips.
Despite the unusually slow process of bringing our lake to full summer
pool this year — and frustration it has caused boaters — let’s remember how supremely lucky we are to live next to a spectacular lake and squeeze every bit of fun out of it this summer! And, don’t forget that anything you spray or pour on your yard eventually ends up in our incredible lake. There are alternatives to poisons. For weeds, use 30% vinegar mixed with salt and dish soap. Or pull them or whack them. But, please, no Roundup or any other poison. Love our lake! Until July.
The ubiquitous garden slug, coming for your petunias. Courtesy photo.
BY THE NUMBERS
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
22%
The percentage drop of OBGYNs practicing in Idaho during a 15-month period after the state criminalized abortion in 2022. At least two hospitals ended labor and delivery services during the same period, including Bonner General Health in Sandpoint.
6 to 3
The breakdown of votes by U.S. Supreme Court justices to allow emergency abortions on a temporary basis, according to an opinion in Moyle v. United States, No. 23-726, which was reportedly released by accident June 26 before it was retracted. The official ruling has not been published yet, but the document shows the Supreme Court is poised to allow abortions in medical emergencies in Idaho. The forthcoming decision also signifies that, in several circumstances, abortion may be the only option to protect the health and life of the mother. The U.S. currently has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the developed world.
4.5 billion
The estimated age of the moon in years, based on theories developed from studying samples brought back by astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969. This week, Chinese astronauts brought back the first samples from the dark side of the moon, which could confirm the age estimate proposed by scientists.
10 million
The number of mosquitoes dropped by helicopter into the forests of Maui in an attempt to save endangered honeycreepers disappearing due to avian malaria. The modified mosquitoes are all male and are unable to reproduce, helping suppress the overall mosquito population.
Florida man arrested and charged after kicking park swans in head for ‘karate practice’
Gichin Funakoshi, known as the “father of modern karate,” once said of the discipline: “The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of character.”
Perhaps Florida man Rocco Mantella should listen closer to Funakoshi’s words.
Mantella was at Lake Eola Park in Orlando in 2018, where he decided it was time to improve his karate skills. Perhaps seeking to increase his leg swing power, Mantella began kicking swans directly in the head, and, according to bystanders, laughing about it when asked to stop by witnesses. He was also observed kicking a swan “as hard as possible” in its hindquarters, according to arrest records. It wasn’t just swans on the wrong side of Mantella’s foot that day, but also a sleeping duck.
Orlando police were called to the scene and arrested Mantella on a charge of felony aggravated animal cruelty, alleging that he intentionally tried to cause injury or death to the birds.
The 34-year-old was sent to Orange County Jail and was banned from entering Lake Eola Park, as well as nearby Disney Park.
Ottomaton Behind the music with Otto’s Eclectic Mix on KRFY
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
There is a burning question in the minds of many KRFY Panhandle Community Radio listeners: Who is this “Otto” and where does he find the inspiration to put together his famous “Eclectic Mix”?
For the uninitiated, Otto’s Eclectic Mix is a long-running program on KRFY 88.5 FM known for playing an accumulation of songs that don’t normally get airtime. Otto has been a staple of KRFY’s programming since the station first started broadcasting in 2011, and nobody seems to know who Otto really is.
“Everyone is curious about Otto,” said Programming Manager Jack Peterson. “It’s a question we get from time to time.”
Perhaps Otto is a hermit, working 12 hours a day poring over and selecting misfit songs that are often outshined by the more popular tunes that permeate the airwaves. Maybe Otto is second-cousin to Harvey the Rabbit, an amalgam of radio deejays invented to soothe our jagged souls, one song at a time.
The truth, at long last: Otto isn’t a living, breathing deejay, but rather, a complex automaton engineered to give KRFY listeners the opportunity to listen to music from off the beaten track.
The mix is really just a list of about 6,000 songs, of which about 2,000 are in the top tier for selection. The algorithm declares that no song will be played that has been on the air within the previous three weeks, and nothing will play from an artist whose work has been in rotation for the past hour. Once a song on the mix has seen a lot of airtime, it doesn’t come out of the mix entirely, but it shows up less often. Also, while Otto’s selections are often from familiar artists, it doesn’t usually include their hits. If the mix cues up Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA album, KRFY listeners are much more likely to hear “Glory Days” than “Born in the USA.”
“We have a memo called ‘The Philosophy of Otto’s Eclectic Mix,’” Peterson told the Reader.
All deejays that have spent time at KRFY have added to the memo. The mix was started by Jeff Poole back in 2011, but now it’s mostly KRFY board
member Jim Healey who manages it. Healey also hosts Folk Music Thursdays and The Morning Show on Thursdays.
“When we went on the air in 2011, there was a time when we didn’t have a lot of local programmers,” Healey said. “The station was mainly dependent on computer-selected songs out of groupings of songs we put together. It became ‘Otto’ as a spinoff of the word ‘automatic.’”
When it comes to adding songs to Otto’s Eclectic Mix, everyone has the opportunity to suggest inclusions, which are then ratified by the board.
“Someone might call up and say, ‘Here’s a great song I heard, can you put it in the mix?’” said Peterson. “The goal is to play stuff you don’t often hear and definitely not to overplay it.”
Peterson said the mix is a way to help KRFY fulfill its mission to provide a different spin on radio.
“It’s community radio,” he said. “Our mission is different from commercial radio. We’re not as driven by advertising or profit motive at all.”
At one point, there was a “no Beatles” rule to Otto’s mix, because The Beatles got their own hour of playtime on Sundays, but fans of the Fab Four will rejoice knowing the boys from Liverpool are back in the mix.
“We even have a spoken word piece in the rotation,” said Peterson. “It’s Sean Connery reading the Beatles’ ‘In My Life.’”
“What’s nice about Otto is, it’s a collection of different genres, decades and different kinds of music,” Healey said. “You don’t know what you’re going to get.”
When pressed on what Otto would look like if transformed into a real entity, Peterson likened his appearance to “Otto” the blow-up pilot on the movie Airplane, while Healey claimed Otto would “probably be a montage of all the local KRFY programmers; Jack Peterson’s nose, Bernie Moser’s ear, Suzy Prez’s mouth,” and so on. “It would be a little bit of everybody.”
There is a cold comfort in automation. The precise machinations, efficient algorithms and unwavering dedication to the completion of a task can inspire us mortal beings to get the most out of our time here on planet Earth. If we reach, as R.E.M. calls it, “The End of the World as We Know It,” and life on Earth morphs into a
Mad Max-like existence, music lovers will be pleased to know that even in post-apocalyptic times, Otto’s Eclectic Mix would still keep churning out the tunes — as long as there’s power.
“It would keep playing as long as the battery backup system works,” Peterson said. “It can go unattended indefinitely, as far as I know.”
Somehow, the image of an imaginary deejay named Otto spinning the tunes well into the afterlife on Earth just works.
Until then, listeners can catch Otto’s Eclectic Mix most days from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and again through the wee hours from 2-5 a.m.
Jason Mraz & The Superband with Molly Miller Trio
Blues Traveler with Justyn Priest
Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw
When not sharing his eclectic mix with radio listeners, Otto moonlights as an airline pilot. Courtesy photo.
Support Better Together Animal Alliance and win prizes at Utara Brewing Co. fundraiser Leaving a lasting impression
Monet-themed Art Party raises funds for POAC
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The Pend Oreille Arts Council will draw inspiration from the father of impressionism, Claude Monet, Friday, June 28 for its annual Art Party fundraiser. “Monet’s Soiree” will run from 5-8 p.m. at the Heartwood Center (615 Oak St.) and includes live music, food and dazzling displays of art available for purchase to support the nonprofit.
“The annual Art Party Fundraiser holds significant importance for POAC, as it plays a crucial role in securing essential funds to sustain our various programs. While POAC receives support from foundations, grants, sponsorships and individual contributions that contribute to covering a portion of program costs, these sources only cover approximately half of the total expenses incurred in producing these programs,” Executive Director Tone Lund told the Reader
To help further its mission to support and promote the arts, POAC organizers have planned an evening that captures the essence of summer, beginning at 5 p.m. with drinks and a silent auction.
Attendees can bid on works in various
styles and mediums that range from landscape photography to abstract sculpture — and the more adventurous can even test their luck by bidding on mystery canvases purchased sight unseen.
The catered dinner, provided by Ivano’s, includes various options to accommodate dietary restrictions and will segue the evening into performances by POAC’s 2024 scholarship winners, Aidan Bates and Evan Schwenk, and the final live auction. Diners could walk away with once-in-a-lifetime prizes such as a three-night trip to New York to take in a Broadway show.
“We have set a fundraising goal of $30,000 for this event, with the intention of directing the proceeds towards supporting a variety of vital projects under POAC. The funds raised will benefit POAC’s educational programs: Ovations, Kaleidoscope, Expressions and Art for Life,” said Lund.
Tickets are available at artinsandpoint.org for $125 per person or $1,100 for a table of eight.
“If you are interested in attending the event or making a donation to show your support, we invite you to visit our website. Your involvement, whether through attendance or donation, helps us greatly,” said Lund.
By Reader Staff
Utara Brewing Co. and Better Together Animal Alliance are teaming up to support local pets in need — and host an afternoon of revelry and prizes.
The event kicks off at the brewery — located at 214 Pine Street, in Sandpoint — on Saturday, June 29 at 2 p.m. with a fundraiser featuring activities with a chance to win one of a trio of prizes. In addition, attendees will have the chance to meet animals looking for homes in an on-site adoption event.
After 4 p.m., Utara owners David Kosiba and Christina Stecher will reveal the breeds of their two dogs, who were recently DNA tested, and prize winners will be announced. Then it’s all about beer drinking and socializing. It costs $10 to enter for a chance to win prizes, with all proceeds going toward BTAA, which serves as an animal shelter as well as a resource center
for pets and their families — including lost-and-found services, in-facility and home-to-home adoptions, microchip and vaccine clinics, education and more.
First, second and third prize at the June 29 event all include a Utara Mug Club membership through September 2025 (giftable if the winner already has one) and a Dickies brewer shirt embroidered with their name. In addition, first, second and third prize include gift cards of $200, $100 and $50, respectively.
Altogether, the prizes are worth more than $700.
“We’re passionate about the mission of Better Together Animal Alliance and the incredible work they do,” Kosiba stated. “This event is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together, have fun, and support a great cause.”
For more information, visit bettertogetheranimalalliance.org and utaraidaho.com.
Annual State of the Scotchmans event slated for June 29 in Heron, Mont.
By Reader Staff
The Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness is hosting its annual State of the Scotchmans event on Saturday, June 29 from 2-6 p.m. (Mountain Time) at the Blue C Ranch in Heron, Mont., located at 127 Highway 200 All are welcome to the gathering, this year themed “Bear Aware” and featuring live music, food, volunteer awards, yard games, raffles, live speakers and — most important — an update on the Scotchman Peaks.
FSPW Executive Director Phil Hough will provide the update on work toward gaining federal wilderness designation for the Scotchman
Peaks. Other speakers will include Wayne Kasworm, with the grizzly bear recovery program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist Michael Tovey; Rob Morris, a grizzly bear education specialist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game; and Austin Terrell, from the Idaho Department of Species Conservation. Bryan Lloyd will provide live musical entertainment. Among the raffle prizes include a flight over the Scotchmans in a bush plane, bear safety bundles and more.
Get more info at scotchmanpeaks. org/hikes-events-schedule.
Chamber cuts ribbons for The Float House, Northwest Realty Group
By Reader Staff
The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce joined with The Float House owner Eddie Sneva, his wife and staff members to celebrate the new ownership of the business and membership with the chamber.
Located at 47394 Highway 200 in Hope, The Float House takes over one of the most prized and unique restaurant sites on the lake — literally floating on the water in the marina at Hope Marine Services.
The Float House offers dining and cocktails seven days a week, Monday-Saturday from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m.–9 p.m.
The chamber also celebrated the grand opening of Northwest Realty Group’s new location on the second floor of the Bellwood Building (301
Cedar St., Suite 203, in downtown Sandpoint).
Realtor/broker/owner Marcello Conigliaro welcomed friends, family, business partners and chamber members with a reception and ribbon cutting.
To learn more, visit thefloathouseidaho.com, northwestrealtygroup.com and sandpointchamber.org.
Top right: Northwest Realty Group and chamber ambassadors cut the ribbon to mark their new location.
Bottom right: The Float House staff and Chamber ambassadors meet to cut the ribbon to celebrate new ownership. Courtesy photos.
Epicurean nibbles
By Reader Staff
Anyone who has dined out in Sandpoint knows we are lucky to have so many talented local chefs for such a small town. Hosted by the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, the Sandpoint Summer Sampler brings the finest restaurants and caterers together to present tasty bites of their gourmet cuisine in a casual, al fresco setting in downtown Sandpoint.
The Summer Sampler takes place Thursday, June 27 from 5-8 p.m. at Farmin Park on the corner of Oak Street and Fourth Avenue in Sandpoint. Those in attendance will nibble their way through the best foodie delights the area has to offer.
This event has always drawn a big
crowd, as many locals look forward to sampling the creations from our local chefs. This year will feature 10 participating booths, including Barrel 33, Connie’s Cafe, The Crow’s Bench, The District, Ivano’s, MickDuff’s Brewing Co., Pend d’Oreille Winery, Smokesmith BBQ, Sweet Lou’s and Trinity at City Beach.
In addition to fine food, there will be both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks provided by each vendor, giveaways and family friendly fun. Cole & the Thornes will play live music during the event, presented by Mattox Farm Productions and sponsored by Ting. IDs will be checked at the gates and wristbands will be given to anyone wishing to drink adult beverages.
For more info: sandpointchamber.org.
Meet the falcons
By Reader Staff
Nothing takes your breath away quite like a bird of prey. Step into the fascinating world of these majestic birds and meet five falcons native to the Western U.S. with local advocacy group Birds of Prey Northwest and the East Bonner County Library District.
Birds of Prey Northwest will offer two separate opportunities to meet and observe the falcons on Thursday, June
27, first from 3-4 p.m. on Thursday, June 27 at the East Bonner County Library Clark Fork branch (601 Main St.), and from 6-7 p.m. on Thursday, June 27 at the Sandpoint branch (1407 Cedar St.).
Attendees will witness the beauty of native falcons and learn about their unique characteristics and behaviors. The staff and volunteers at Birds of Prey Northwest offer this opportunity geared toward families with children
Sandpoint’s best cuisine
aged 6-10, but also bird lovers of all ages who have a curiosity and appreciation for the wonders of nature.
Learn more at ebonnerlibrary. org/events and birdsofpreynorthwest.org.
Interactive experience with Birds of Prey Northwest hosted at local libraries
Sandpoint Summer Sampler offers a taste of
Courtesy photo.
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
Summer Sampler
5-8pm @ Farmin Park
The finest Sandpoint chefs come together to offer sample bites of their best dishes. A popular annual event
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz
5-8pm @ Pearls at Beyond Hope
Game Night
Cribbage Club
THURSDAY, June 27
Adventures in Falconry
3pm @ Clark Fork Library
6pm @ Sandpoint Library
Check out some live birds with Birds of Prey Northwest as they introduce you to five regional falcons
Live Music w/ Chris Paradis
6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
June 27 - July 3, 2024
Alone Family Camp karieleeknoke.com
Do your kids have what it takes to be on Alone? Join Karie Lee Knoke for this family camp catered for Alone fans.
Woods Wheatcroft collage night
5:30pm @ Woods Wheatcroft Studio
7pm @ Connie’s
6:30pm @ Tervan Bingo Night
Live Music w/ Cafe Gas Boys
5:30pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Son of Brad
6-9pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ BTP (classic rock)
6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Jackson Roltgen Trio
6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Rock, folk and Americana
Live Music w/ Bridges Home
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Hogwire
8:45pm @ The Hive
Free dance lessons 7:30-8:30pm
Historic Walking Tours
10am @ In front of Panida Theater
Free walking tour of Sandpoint’s historic downtown. No RSVP, just show up!
Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA / Blird
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Harold’s IGA (indie rock) will transform into Blird (shoegaze) for the last set
Live Music w/ Mike Wagoner
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
Rock Out Cancer Concert
2pm @ Granary Arts District
Annual fundraising event benifiting Community Cancer Services, including live music, food trucks, raffles, and fun for the whole family
Live Music w/ Scott Reid
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Camden Morris
6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Sandpoint Chess Club
9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am
Irish Folk Jam
3-6pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
FriDAY, June 28
Live Music w/ Double Shot Band
5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Ben Olson
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
‘Newcomer Cucumber’ History Tour
2:30pm @ 212 N. First Ave. Guided tours highlighting key historic families, businesses and stories. $15/ adults, $12/locals, $5/youth
$5 movie: Brokeback Mountain
7pm @ Panida Theater
Live Music w/ Steven Wayne
5-8pm @ The Back Door
Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes
6-9pm @ 1908 Saloon
SATURDAY, June 29
Live Music w/ The Cole Show
2-5pm @ Schweitzer (Crow’s Bench)
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6-8:30pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante With Sam Cornet
Live Music w/ Chris Traylor
5-8pm @ The Back Door
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market
9am-1pm @ Farmin Park
Missouri Breaks: The Ballad of Missouri Bill
6pm @ Panida Theater
Filmed exclusively in Idaho, this film premiere features a local cast and crew. Tickets $10 at panida.org
SunDAY, June 30
Magic with Star Alexander
5-8pm @ Jalepeño’s Up close magic shows at the table
Sandpoint SummerFest (June 28-30) @ Eureka Institute
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi
7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Benny on the Deck concert series
5-7pm @ Connie’s Lounge w/ Sammy Eubanks
Drop in and make your own collage with supplies included for $20
Wright Way Block Party
1-5pm @ Corner of Baldy and Division Celebrate grand and re-opening of several local businesses with a food truck, beer truck, raffles, bounce house
POAC’s Annual Art Party
5pm @ The Heartwood Center Seating limited. artinsandpoint.org
Sandpoint SummerFest (June 28-30) @ Eureka Institute
Incredible music, performance art, open mic, face painting, kids parade, disc golf tourney, magic show, food, free camping and parking. eureka-institute.org
Live Comedy w/ Ben Burke 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Sandpoint SummerFest (June 28-30) @ Eureka Institute
First Lutheran Church Yard Sale 8am-2pm @ 526 Olive Ave. A fundraiser for the 2nd Harvest Mobile Food Truck that serves local families in need. Lots of treasures
Joel Gibson, Jr: Electric Outlaw Tour 8:45pm @ The Hive Opener Jordan Pitts 7:30pm
Live Music w/ Ali Thomas & Sheldon Packwood
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Cottage Market
10am-4pm @ Farmin Park
Every Sunday until Aug. 25. See up to 40 unique vendors in this laid back outdoor shopping experience. New vendors welcome: 509-319-9493
monDAY, July 1
Outdoor Experience Group Run
6pm @ Outdoor Experience
3-5 miles, all levels welcome
wednesDAY, July 3
Trivia Night
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Film Missouri Breaks: The Ballad of Missouri Bill premieres at the Panida
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Local filmmakers will celebrate the culmination of more than a year’s worth of work with the premiere of Missouri Breaks: The Ballad of Missouri Bill on Saturday, June 29 at 7 p.m. at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave., in Sandpoint). The classic Western film is a celebration of Idaho’s people and landscape, starring local actors shooting on location up and down the state.
film shot here to showcase how beautiful Idaho is, and demonstrate the immense talent of the people who live here,” said Jarrod Christman, who produced, edited, wrote, co-directed and acted in the film, among other roles.
Missouri Breaks: The Ballad of Missouri Bill
“I’ve been all over this state, seen and experienced every region it has to offer, and I deeply love every square mile of it. I wanted the entire
Saturday, June 29; doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.; $10. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, get tickets at panida.org.
Roley Schoonover, Silas Anselmo, Mac Hege, Robert Chavez, Christman and his co-director Weston Grillo star in this 91-minute, PG film, which follows Missouri Bill, a man running from his bloody past to the wilds of the 1880s Idaho Territory.
“While he tries to hide from his true calling by chasing adventure in the West, the people he loves suffer the consequences. At
Panida brings Brokeback Mountain back to the big screen A wild ride in the Wild West
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
When Brokeback Mountain first screened in theaters in 2005, it was almost immediately recognized as a watershed moment in American cinema history.
The film, based on the eponymous 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar — a rodeo cowboy and ranch hand, respectively, who fall in love in 1963 Wyoming.
Far more than that, it’s a powerful, often heartbreaking story about loyalty as well as love, self-discovery and invention, desire and commitment, as its protagonists marry their girlfriends Alma (Michelle Williams) and Lureen (Anne Hathaway), yet maintain their relationship in painful secrecy for 20 years.
this crossroads Missouri Bill is forced to choose: confront the past and embrace his purpose, or lose everything he holds most dear,” said Christman.
Before taking on a life of its own, the film began as a series of music videos pro-
moting and accompanying the hard-rock, outlaw country songs of Christman’s band Missouri Breaks. The original soundtrack is currently available on all major streaming platforms.
In celebration of Pride Month, the Panida Theater is bringing Brokeback Mountain back to the big screen as part of its series of $5 films on Friday, June 28, with doors at 6:30 p.m. and the show at 7 p.m.
Upon its release, Brokeback Mountain exploded myths about mid-century American sexuality and Western masculinity at the same time, resulting in significant backlash from social-conservative commentators but near-universal critical acclaim.
Directed by Ang Lee and written by Proulx, Diana Ossana and her longtime writing partner Larry McMurtry, the late-Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Lonesome Dove, the film won 141 awards — including Best Picture at numerous film festivals around the world and even “Film of the Decade” from the L.A. Film Critics Association.
Among its many accolades were Oscars for Best Director, Best Writing/Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. Brokeback Mountain also received Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor for Ledger, Best Supporting Actor for Gyllenhaal and Best Supporting Actress for Michelle Williams.
Presented by the Panida Theater, tickets to the R-rated film are available at the door (300 N. First Ave.) or at panida.org.
“My hope is that the film will inspire people in our community to challenge the idea that great things can’t come from small places,” said Christman. “North Idaho can produce great art without assistance from or reliance upon anyone but the talented people right here at home.”
Presented by Rising Tide Media, tickets are $10 at the door or online at panida. org. Watch the full trailer at youtube.com/@wearemissouribreaks.
“If for nothing else, come to see just how much we North Idahoans can do, and how good it can actually be, with a tiny fraction of the money and resources of other film studios,” said Christman.
Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain. Courtesy photo.
A screenshot from Missouri Breaks: The Ballad of Missouri Bill. Courtesy photo.
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist
Remember plucking petals off the daisy and reciting, “He loves me; he loves me not”? This month, plucking petals, I find myself saying, “Summer’s here; no it’s not.” Fingers crossed, though — I think it’s safe to say we’re getting close!
I’ve already been sampling lots of my traditional summer pastimes, like harvesting plump, luscious strawberries at my favorite u-pick spot. It was the loveliest field of berries, ripe and red, bursting with flavor, and our timing was perfect for picking. It’s not a huge farm, but there are rows and rows of thoughtfully tended organic plants, and I’m always amazed that birds or beasts haven’t ravaged the straw-lined rows of plentiful fruit. I don’t know farmer Amanda’s secret, but it is one fine field.
The best part is paying by the honor system: weigh the berries and Venmo or place your money or check into a slot on the top of the cash box affixed to the fence. It warms my heart every time I (over) pay, just because. There’s something so good about trusting and being trusted, right?
Last Saturday, I ate lunch at the Oak Street Food Court, another spot I love to support. I usually head straight to the back, to Ohn’s Thai Plate. I never need to order because, for years, I’ve eaten the same menu item every time I go. Ohn and I exchange big smiles and greetings and she deftly preps my order. If you have yet to
The Sandpoint Eater Sampling Sandpoint
try her shrimp spring rolls, get there soon. She is in her third location in the food court, and has found the perfect spot to suit her business. I hope she’s there forever. You’ll find her serving delicious food from 11 a.m.2:30 p.m., Tuesday- Friday, and 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
Like lots of you, I am delighted that Justin Dick has managed to squeeze in one last season at City Beach. My creature habit (and appetite) leans into his grilled Caesar salad. I ate there last week; and, as always, the kitchen grilled my salad to perfection and tossed it in the best Caesar dressing north of the border. Occasionally, I double down with the crawfish chow-
der, but I never skip the salad I first tasted at the original Trinity (so many!) years ago. I hope that Averill Hospitality sees the merit in Trinity at City Beach remaining on the site to serve us for many summers to come.
Some days, when our busy schedules allow, I’m lucky for an early morning meet-up at Connie’s. In the same booth, with the same two friends, I have eaten the same Denver omelet for eons. Though this meal has seen me through several ownership changes at Connie’s, they still get this omelet right nearly every time I order it.
Once I get to town, I usually park my car off the traffic-heavy streets and walk between shops and food stops.
On an average errand day, my usual route nets me about two miles on my fitness app.
Speaking of summer sampling in Sandpoint, let’s remember the Summer Sampler in Farmin Park on Thursday, June 27: Plenty of our favorite vendors, including previously mentioned Trinity and Connie’s, will be there. Another favorite, Sweet Lou’s (hailing from my neck of the woods in Ponderay), is my go-to for crispy chicken wings. I’m not sure what they’ll serve at the Sampler, but I know it will be delicious.
The fun begins at 5 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Tickets will be on sale for $1 each. Most food and beverage items will cost three to nine tickets. Most vendors sell out early,
so don’t dally!
The complete lineup will offer myriad choices of tasty food and refreshing libations: Barrel 33, Connies, Crow’s Bench (Schweitzer), The District, Ivano’s, MickDuff’s, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Smokesmith BBQ, Sweet Lou’s and Trinity.
Coming on the tails of the Sampler is the annual Lions’ Fourth of July Parade, followed by the 10th Annual Beer Fest on Saturday, July 6. Who has time to cook? Luckily, this tasty salad recipe, full of local summer berries and crisp cucumbers, is popping with flavor and can be assembled in minutes, leaving you lots of time to sample all that our sweet community has to offer!
Strawberry and cucumber salad
Strawberry cucumber salad combines fresh strawberries and cucumbers with feta cheese and fresh mint. Add the strawberries last and toss with a light hand!
INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:
• 1 ½ pounds strawberries, washed, hulled and halved or quartered, depending on size
• 2 cucumbers, partially peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 8 ounces brine-packed feta cheese, cubed
• ½ cup fresh mint, coarsely chopped
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbs sherry wine vinegar
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, red onion, feta cheese and fresh mint. Pour olive oil into a small bowl and slowly whisk in vinegar lemon juice until emulsified. Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the bowl and toss gently. Once all the ingredients are coated with dressing, add the berries and pepper and toss again, gently. Serve immediately.
MUSIC
Sandpoint SummerFest celebrates 30th years
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
It’s been 30 years since the first annual event once known as Jerryfest, which over the past three decades has morphed into SummerFest — an all-out seasonal party full of local, regional and national musical artists; games, food and camping; special events and camaraderie, which adds up to a one-of-a-kind good time at the Eureka Center.
“There is not another festival value that compares in the country,” said Eureka Center President John Edwards.
This year’s SummerFest kicks off Friday, June 28 at 2 p.m., with the first musical act scheduled to take the stage at 4 p.m. The festival concludes Sunday, June 30. In the meantime, there are more than a dozen artists and groups on the lineup, plus activities including an 18-hole Frisbee golf course, ping pong, corn hole, horseshoes, hula hooping, dance sessions, yoga and more.
Musical offerings run the gamut, from the eclectic gypsy-jazz, reggae and soul-infused sounds of Cole & The Thornes to the indie, trance and psychedelic Django-inspired jazz of Banshee Tree to junkbox duo Hillstomp, indie folk group Heat Speak and techno from DJ Coral.
Those are just a few of the acts on the lineup, which also includes local and regional
favorites like ’60s garage rock-infused blues and R&B outfit Fat Lady, Americana from Headwaters and Brenden Kelty & Friends and what’s SummerFest without some Grateful Dead, provided by Spokane is Dead, billed as “the Inland Northwest’s premier Grateful Dead/JGB tribute band” and fronted by longtime SummerFest alum Lucas Brookbank Brown. Find more info about the full lineup at eureka-institute. org/ssflineup.
Located at 6162 Eureka Road in Sagle, the property features a grassy, shaded amphitheater and includes the Main Stage and Forest Stage, which Edwards said “projects the best sound in Bonner County.”
This week’s RLW by Soncirey Mitchell
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“I really feel that this festival feels like an amazing house party in the woods, with the friendliest crowd you could ever meet,” Edwards said, going on to applaud the professional sound and lighting provided by Mattox Farm Productions and the food from Eichardt’s, which has long been the festival’s purveyor of hot eats and cold beverages — both adult and otherwise.
“One thing that a lot of folks miss when they look at ticket pricing is that this is an all-inclusive event,” Edwards said. “That means you receive dinner Friday, breakfast Saturday, dinner Saturday and breakfast Sunday, and all your beverages (yes that includes beer and wine and a variety of non-alcoholic beverages). Parking and camping are also included.”
A
Attendees are invited to bring as much cold and precooked food as they want, but must leave their camp stoves and pets at home. Find more important festival information at eureka-institute.org/ssfthingstoknow.
Tickets run from $150 plus fees for an all-weekend adult pass (for festival goers 16 years old and up), down to $30 plus fees for youths 10-15 years old on Friday only. Kids under 10 get in free. See all the ticket options and buy online at eureka-institute.org/ssftickets.
Edwards said that while the past two years of the festival have been by donation, SummerFest returned to a ticketed event this year in part to raise funds for the Eureka Institute’s Construction Basics Initiative program, which teaches leadership and construction skills to local youths from ages 13-18. The program’s most visible recent project was to build the SPOT Bus shelters around Sandpoint and Ponderay.
As a concert venue, the Eureka Center is hard to beat.
“Families and particularly the kids love this festival. Bands seem to play some of their best sets in this setting (with most wanting to return),” he added. “People who have come, want to return. People who come for the first time, question why they have not attended in the past.”
Looking back on the longevity of SummerFest, Edwards said, “So much love goes into producing this festival. We have done it and continue to do it for our community. A huge thank you to all our sponsors, patrons and volunteers for their support over the years. We wouldn’t be still doing it if our community didn’t show up. We need you.”
As long-time attendee Joe Sweeny summed it up: “Sandpoint SummerFest is like fine wine, it just keeps getting better and better.”
Find everything you need to know about the 2024 Sandpoint SummerFest at eureka-institute. org/ssf.
snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint
Son of Brad, Barrel 33, June 28
Don’t let his band name confuse you — guitarist and singer Daniel Mills is no SOB. Taking inspiration from his father, Son of Brad combines the improvisation and playfulness of jazz with traditional Americana sounds, somehow managing to evoke an early post-grunge emo style. When he’s not touring around Washington and Idaho, Mills shares his expertise as a guitar instructor at Burt’s Music and
Sound and owns and operates the entertainment management company Inland Talent. It’s clear from his 20+ years of experience that anyone enjoying a wine flight at Barrel 33 Friday, June 28 will be in good hands.
— Soncirey Mitchell
6-9 p.m., FREE. Barrel 33, 100 N. First Ave., 208-920-6258, barrel33sandpoint.com. Listen at sonofbrad.com.
Jackson Roltgen, Smokesmith
Some descriptions of Jackson Roltgen’s sound include words like “Americana” and “folk” — elements of which are definitely woven through his oeuvre — but listen to some of his originals like “Hesitant Love” or his cover of “Smile” by Nat King Cole, and some other words might come to mind: mellow funk, groove and soul, even R&B.
The Coeur d’Alene-based singer-songwriter has a polished vocal style boasting
A long time ago (23 years) on a June day like this one (maybe), master fantasy author Neil Gaiman published American Gods, reimagining ancient myth’s place in our young country’s ethos. The old gods — brought to the U.S. through immigration, colonization and human trafficking — are on the brink of war with new deities born from technological advancement. Tell your friends you’re busy all weekend because you won’t want to put this down.
June 28
an impressive range and ultra-smooth texture, complemented by the rock-solid backing of the trio bearing his name. And speaking of perfect pairings, kick back and relax to the sounds of the JRT with some BBQ at Smokesmith for a perfect summer Friday night.
— Zach Hagadone
6-8 p.m., FREE. Smokesmith Bar-B-Que, 102 S. Boyer Ave., 208-920-0517, smokesmithidaho.com. Listen on all the music streaming services.
LISTEN WATCH
Multi-instrumentalist Cosmo Sheldrake draws inspiration from his parapsychologist father — that’s right, he studies paranormal phenomena — and his biologist brother, Merlin. In other words, the dude is weird with a capital “W.” I highly recommend “The Tardigrade Song” and “Birthday Suit,” which sound a bit like someone handed Lewis Carroll a sousaphone while he enjoyed a glass of laudanum. Listen at cosmosheldrake.com.
I shouldn’t have to remind my fellow Americans how important the first week of July is in our nation’s history... I’m of course referring to the upcoming 18th anniversary of the premiere of Psych, the greatest detective show in the world. All 120 episodes featuring fake psychic detective Shawn and his BFF Gus are national treasures and should be preserved in the National Archives Museum with other culturally significant documents. Stream it on Amazon Prime for endless belly laughs.
Bar-B-Que,
Sandpoint SummerFest. Courtesy photo.
From Northern Idaho News, Jiune 26, 1923
RIGHT WEDDING; WRONG GIRL
A READER POINTS OUT AN ERROR IN A NEWS REPORT
“Your account of my wedding in last week’s News was all right, except that you had me married to the wrong girl,” said James B. Benedict, office manager of the Majestic Bottling works and Glacier Candy company upon his return with his bride from south Idaho Thursday. “You never can believe what you read in the papers.”
Let’s set this right. It was Miss Constance Kinney and not her sister, Miss Whilden Kinney, who divided the star roles with Mr. Benedict at the wedding at Pocatello a week ago yesterday. The confusion brought about by the item as printed was largely due to the striking resemblance of the sisters and to the inability of the person who informed the News of the event to remember “which was which.”
The News dislikes to reveal the source of its information of a week ago, but it was Mr. Otto.
Anyway, it isn’t everybody that gets his wedding written up twice in the same paper.
The people’s river
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
The Pack River begins its life high in the Selkirk Mountains.
Starting as melted snow that accumulates in Harrison Lake, it spills down the mountain. The clear alpine freshet crisscrosses trailheads to Beehive Lake, Chimney Rock and Fault Lake, wetting the boots of those who leap across her banks. The rocks are large, misshapen boulders that tumbled from the peaks at some point in geologic history — maybe a couple hundred years ago, maybe tens of thousands. The rocks never tell.
The Pack then gains momentum from the numerous tributaries that feed it. The creeks are well known to local mountaineers, who hunch over their maps by lantern light and slowly mouth names like Hellroaring, McCormick, Torrent and Jeru creeks, each with their own stories to tell of the highlands they drain.
Flowing beside the primitive campsites where high-schoolers have partied for generations, the Pack takes on a more grown up appearance. There are the occasional large boulders littering the riverbed, but most of the rocks have been worn down to spheres the size of bowling balls, sometimes clacking as they churn over one another in a heavy spring flow. Secret swim holes and rock slides are coveted locations for the locals, and many a hot summer day is spent listening to the wise voice of water moving over rock.
Farther down, the river gentles as it passes Buck & Edna’s, as if giving a nod of reverence to all the thousands of hearty North Idahoans who spent hot days drinking Olympia beers
behind its hallowed walls before they burned to the ground.
Here the river still runs true, devoid of any meandering that happens downstream. The rocks begin to give way to grass and mud banks, and small islands host a few shrubs that have taken hold. It widens, and instead of the rushed gurgle we heard upstream, there’s almost a collective hush as the water calms and prepares for a more contemplative journey past homes and through hidden lands, the oxbows forming and the rocks along the bed growing smaller, separated by long stretches of flat water before it begins to find depth and real flow, finally reaching the bridge at Highway 95 with its fish mural landmark.
Here, families swim, kayakers and canoeists dump their vessels in the cool water and, at this point, the Pack River becomes the people’s river.
For the next few hours, floaters disappear down the bend, swallowed into a world that exists beyond the pavement. In spring, the flow is brisk, but in summer it’s a lazy current that has been known to lay waste to an entire day, leaving sojourners sunburned, bug-bitten and blissfully full at the other side.
The flora along the river is subtle but striking. In one glance, you might see a dozen varieties of trees. There are western larch, ponderosa pine, birch, yew, the odd juniper, firs, spruces and the ubiquitous cottonwoods that have told travelers where the water flows for generations.
Songbirds flit among the trees, many of which have exposed roots that reach down into the water as the banks erode around them. Others lean far over the water, caught in a slow-mo-
tion fall that might take a human’s lifetime before they finally crash into the river.
Sandy beaches pop up around every few bends, providing quick respites, impromptu bocce ball games or long, lazy siestas that end with a howling dip in the cool water before pressing on. There are numerous places to pull out along the way, first at the western Colburn Culver Bridge, and again at the jumping bridge on the same road just east of Northside Elementary School. From here, the river enters its golden years, growing fat from all the tributaries that have fed it over the miles, making wide, meandering turns that sometimes grow landlocked from the tons of sediment that moves down its waters every year.
By the time you reach the Pack River Store, most floaters are ready to call it a day, drink a beer and have a sandwich before they shuttle back to the dropoff point. The long-haulers will continue downriver for its final leg, past the golf course that will always be Hidden Lakes in my heart. Here, at Highway 200, waters that originated high in the mountains empty into Lake Pend Oreille, eventually finding its way to the sea before making the long journey back to us, perhaps on the back of a snowflake that falls at the top of Harrison Peak.
Floating the Pack is a rite of passage for North Idahoans. It’s also a damn fun thing to do in summer.
Here’s hoping your next float ends with a smile.
Solution on page 22
Laughing Matter
By Bill Borders
expeditious /ek-spi-DISH-uhs/
Word Week
of the
[adjective]
1. characterized by promptness; quick.
“The company’s expeditious response to customer complaints improved its reputation.”
Corrections: In the June 20 news story “Sandpoint P&Z opens the way for new hotel project at City Beach,” we mistakenly wrote that the conditional use permit and variance approved by Planning and Zoning would now go to the City Council for review. CUP and variance decisions are made at the Planning and Zoning level, and are not required to go before council — unless they’re appealed. We apologize for the error. — ZH
If you had a school for professional fireworks people, I don’t think you could cover fuses in just one class. It’s just too rich a subject.
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. An analytic composition 6. Floral leaf
11. String quartet instrument 12. Rein 15. Shabby 16. Vex
17. Fire residue
18. Brother or sister 20. Bog
21. Anagram of “Tine” 23. L L L L 24. Happy
Departs
Salute 27. Interruption
Stops 29. Play a role 30. Moves briskly 31. Philosophy of beauty
Small and light boat 36. Caviar 37. Streetcar 41. 2.53 centimeters 42. It has a palm and fingers
