BY THE NUMBERS

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Dear editor, Our neighbors and residents across the country are fighting to stop a zone change and a Comprehensive Plan map amendment intended to support a spot zone which would ultimately create a commercial property use for an 11.8-acre parcel at the corner of Vay and Dufort roads. This is currently zoned R-5.

Dear editor,

I am one of “those people” who moved to Sandpoint from another state. I am not a white nationalist nor a member of the Redoubt movement and, God forbid, a member of the Taliban, as the mayor suggests. I do have many friends and none of them fit the mayor’s mold either. I do feel that if the mayor hates Sandpoint and the state of Idaho that much, the good citizens should, by all means, terminate his time remaining as mayor and assist him in moving to an area where he does feel safe. Chicago might be a good place to resettle.

Pete Merritt Sandpoint

Editor’s note: The letter-writer above is referring to a 2022 interview with a Dutch television documentary crew, in which Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad spoke about North Idaho’s long and often remarked upon history with extremist politics, including right-wing religious movements. In the piece, Rognstad described some religious fundamentalist groups moving into the region as the “American or Christian version of the Taliban.”

The interview has since sparked outrage mostly among readers of the ultra-conservative blog redoubtnews.com, which provided a link to the video in a commentary published in April. In the video, produced by the current affairs program Nieuwsuur, avowed white nationalist activist Vincent James Foxx states flatly that a “right-wing

A hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. on June 14 at the Bonner County Administration Building, 1500 U.S. Highway 2 in Sandpoint.

Why should you care?

Are you concerned about unrestrained development, the lack of infrastructure, the aquifer, our loss of agricultural land, wildlife and the loss of our beautiful rural areas? Think about what has happened in the Rathdrum Prairie!

What you can do: Please attend the hearing in person or on Zoom and let the commissioners know you oppose the zone change, File ZC0012-22, and the Comprehensive Map Amendment, File AM0002-23, due to the harm it will cause Bonner County ‘s agricultural land, wildlife, rural lifestyle and the property rights of those who live nearby. Please ask them to deny these changes.

Upgraded infrastructure must come before more development. Our rural character needs to be saved!

Sandy Sparling Priest River

The number of Bonner County assessor finalists chosen by the Bonner County Republican Central Committee to replace Grant Dorman who have any experience in appraisal. Dorman announced his resignation in May citing health reasons. Thomas Brown, Dennis Engelhardt and Dan Rose were chosen as finalists over a handful of applicants who were more familiar with the job, including three employees of the Bonner County Assessor’s Office and another resident who ran an appraisal business. The BOCC ultimately chose Engelhardt as Dorman’s replacement.

6,000 years

The age of an ancient earth oven uncovered by the Kalispel Tribe on the banks of the Pend Oreille River near Newport, Wash.

“This is some of the oldest technology used by humans to cook food anywhere in the world,” archeology professor Shannon Tushingha told the Spokesman-Review. “And here, we have some of the oldest ovens in North America.”

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The approximate number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills that have been introduced in state legislatures already in 2023. More than 70 have been signed into law.

3.7 million

The approximate number of babies who were born in the U.S. last year — about 3,000 fewer than the year prior.