Reader_March24_2022

2 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

PEOPLE compiled by

Ben Olson

watching

“What is the first thing you do after getting home from a trip?”

“Take a shower and lay on my bed.”

Amelia Mathias Sandpoint

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

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

“Definitely don’t unpack. I always clean my house before I leave, so when I come back I don’t even know what to do.”

Amy Lizotte Dover

Contributing Artists: Charlie-Marie Evans (cover), Max Zuberbuhler, Ed Curtis, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Valerie Osier Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Kelcie Moseley-Morris, Tim Henney, Brad Smith, Tim Bearly, Luke Baumgarten, Marcia Pilgeram, Sandra Nicholson Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID

“This time of year, I usually build a fire.

Then I open a beer.”

Topher Sappington Sandpoint

“Unpack my suitcase. If I don’t do it right away, it’ll take me forever.”

Theo Kinman Sandpoint

“Usually we’ll unload the cooler. When we travel to Seattle or wherever, we’ll fill it up with items we buy there.”

Jess Vouk Sandpoint

Subscription Price: $155 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover photograph captures this first week of spring quite well. It was sent to us by the Evans family. Great photo!

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 3

NEWS

County to reconsider 700-acre Selle Valley rezone Hearing scheduled for April 20

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff

Bonner County commissioners voted unanimously March 22 in favor of scheduling a reconsideration hearing for a 700-acre zone change in the Selle Valley, which had been approved in February but is now subject to a challenge by citizens concerned about the potential impacts of a large-scale development in the area.

Located on the east side of Colburn Culver Road, the land in question is owned by the Skinner and Otis families, who are listed on the rezone application as Pack River Partners, LLC. The acreage currently hosts a house and seven outbuildings, according to the application, but is made up of mostly undeveloped pasture and timber.

Pack River Partners submitted a zone change request in June 2021, asking that their property be changed from a 20-acre parcel minimum to a 10-acre minimum. Concerned neighbors see the request as a precursor to a housing development, which could bring more than 70 new homes to the valley.

Despite Don Skinner’s testimony during public hearings on the matter that he doesn’t have “any plans” to develop the land, the June application lists “landowner flexibility” as a reason for the request, as well as an avenue to create “much needed housing for expected population growth.”

While the Bonner County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the application in November on the grounds that infrastructure — such as schools, roads and water availability — would not be able to support development, the board of county commissioners voted 2-1 to approve the request following a four-hour hearing in February.

Commissioners Dan McDonald and Jeff Connolly voted in favor of the zone change, while Steve Bradshaw voted against.

“I get the concerns about 4 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

wells, I get the concerns about water, about impact on wildlife, the school district as well, but that would come only if the applicant chose to develop the property, and at that point there would come a whole other set of hearings,” McDonald said at the time, referring to the subdivision process that would be triggered in the case of development.

Commissioners changed their tune March 22 while deliberating whether to honor a request submitted by land use watchdog group Keep Bonner County Rural and Kristina Kingsland to reconsider the rezone. According to Deputy Prosecutor Bill Wilson, serving as legal counsel to the board, state statute actually requires commissioners to consider potential development impacts as early as the rezone stage.

“The background here is that our code — our local code — does not specifically call out this criteria that requires you to pay particular consideration to the provision of public services by other political subdivisions, like schools, even our own road department,” he said, adding later: “This is a requirement that comes out of the state statute under the Local Land Use Planning Act.” Wilson said that the argument in favor of waiting until the subdivision process to address potential impacts to local infrastructure makes sense when considering only Bonner County Revised Code, mostly due to its “ambiguity.” In reality, however, he said Idaho Code also deserves consideration.

“I think that the state code does actually require us to take those [issues] up and think and talk about them during deliberations — even at the rezone stage,” he said. “That is probably different than how we’ve handled some rezones in the past, and it kind of requires us also to get into hypotheticals because we don’t know what the development will be. But we still have to try to honor the language in

the state statute.”

Wilson acknowledged that while the parties filing for reconsideration leveled nine deficiencies against the board, he only found the alleged failure to comply with the Local Land Use Planning Act worthy of addressing in a reconsideration hearing.

Commissioners agreed, voting unanimously to revisit the decision at a newly scheduled Wednesday, April 20 public hearing to “deliberate and determine that particular consideration has been given to the effects of the proposed zone change on the delivery of services by any political subdivision providing public services, including school districts,” according to the motion.

Also during the discussion surrounding the reconsideration, Wilson acknowledged the “perpetual problems” associated with the county’s method for soliciting comments from agencies when an application such as a zone change comes before the planning department.

Under current operations, planning staff sends a letter soliciting comments from fire districts, state agencies, schools, road departments and more —

most of whom do not respond.

Current county policy interprets a non-response as approval, Wilson said.

This system has drawn vocal opposition at recent hearings, including criticism from Keep Bonner County Rural.

“The planning department is responsible for getting this information. It’s not the agencies’ responsibility. This is not their primary focus, right? If they’re doing schools, they need to do schools. But, they need to be shown how it impacts them,” said KBCR member Susan Bowman.

“So I would recommend that you do it in a different way rather than saying, ‘Well, they didn’t comment so they don’t care,’ because I know that’s not true.

“It’s not an appropriate way to do it, in my opinion,” she added.

Wilson recommended that prior to the April 20 reconsideration hearing, planning staff resend the letter soliciting agency comments on the Pack River Partners zone change.

“If we are going to end up in litigation over this issue, I would hope that a reviewing court would look at the willingness to take the issue back up, and that would be proof that you’re really

An aerial view of the Selle Valley.

Photo by Max Zuberbuhler. trying to honor the state statute and look at those issues before you make a decision,” he said.

Counsel also previewed a potential change to county code which would help mitigate subdivision concerns as early as the rezone stage: a development agreement ordinance, which would allow commissioners to impose conditions to any future development early on.

“We recognize that this is something in our code that needs to be addressed and we’re working on it, but we’re working with the code that we have right now, and that’s why we need to go back and take a look,” Wilson said.

Commissioners will reconsider the file April 20 at the Bonner County Administration Building, located at 1500 Highway 2 in Sandpoint.

“Improvement is incremental,” said Kingsland, who signed the reconsideration request.

“I’m not here to beat you up about anything that’s happened in the past,” she told commissioners at the March 22 meeting.

“I just want to say thank you for moving forward looking at things in a new light.”

NEWS

Big-money Nevada consultants play part in Herndon Senate campaign

Reports: Las Vegas political firm connected to election protests, Proud Boys

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff As the calendar edges nearer to the May 17 primary elections in Idaho, certain campaigns are only growing more contentious — among them, the contest between incumbent Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and challenger Scott Herndon.

Herndon sought the District 1 Senate seat once before, running in the 2018 GOP primary against Woodward and Danielle Ahrens, a race in which he came in third. This time around, he has some additional outside help in the form of a Nevada-based Republican consultancy firm with a headline-grabbing recent history that includes working for controversial Nevada gubernatorial candidate Michele Fiore and Arizona Republican Congressman Paul Gosar.

Most striking is McShane LLC’s ties to groups — including the Proud Boys — that agitated against the 2020 election of President Joe Biden, claiming erroneously that the election had been “stolen” from ex-President Donald Trump.

McShane LLC is no stranger to big-money, high-profile

political campaigns touching on hot-button issues. Likewise, though on a smaller scale, Herndon is well known locally for his leading role in a number of ultra-conservative causes, from “abortion abolition” to gun rights.

Now Herndon’s campaign has its sights on Woodward’s seat in the Idaho Legislature, with widespread mailers, ads and social media posts attacking Woodward as “Liberal Jim” on a range of issues, from COVID-19 mitigation policies to Medicaid expansion to school choice, so-called “critical race theory” and “human sexuality instruction,” among others.

Neither Herndon nor representatives from McShane LLC responded by press time to requests for comment from the Reader. However, according to reports in late-May and early-June 2021 from news sources in Nevada, The Washington Post and The Daily Beast, McShane LLC’s involvement with high-level conservative politics has been well documented.

The Nevada Current first reported in May 2021 that the vice president of McShane LLC worked to “recruit” members of the Proud Boys — which the FBI has defined as an “extrem-

ist group” with connections to white nationalism — to take part in a protest rally in Las Vegas challenging the results of the 2020 election.

In a media release March 8, the U.S. Department of Justice stated that the former national chairman of the Proud Boys, Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, had been arrested following his indictment for conspiracy and other charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Tarrio and five other co-defendants — all leaders or members of the Proud Boys chapter referred to as the “Ministry of Self Defense” — are facing charges.

McShane LLC principal Rory McShane told The Washington Post in June 2021 that the company employee who angled to get the Proud Boys involved in the election protest — Woodrow Johnston — had acted independently, and “not on behalf of any client or organization.”

Further, he wrote in a statement quoted by The Post that Johnston had met with the McShane LLC management team and “he sees the error of what he did.”

However, The Post also reported that McShane LLC leaders had been working with

Scott Herndon. File photo. the Nevada Republican Party to “check the validity of the 2020 election ballots in the Las Vegas area” at the time.

Meanwhile, according to the Nevada Current, McShane LLC raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars from PACs formed explicitly to sway the 2020 election. According to the Nevada Current, one PAC in 2020 paid McShane LLC $72,442 for anti-Biden ads and $495,000 in support of Trump.

Closer to home, and according to campaign finance disclosure information available on the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office website, Herndon’s campaign has raised $67,697 and spent $15,750 since July

17, 2021 — the same date it first engaged McShane LLC, with its offices listed in Las Vegas, for $4,500 worth of “management services.”

The Herndon campaign again paid $178.68 to McShane LLC for “other advertising” on Aug. 2, 2021 and a further $1,600 to the firm on Feb. 7, 2022 for “general operational expenses.”

Of its total expenses since July 17, 2021, Herndon’s campaign has spent $6,278.68 on McShane LLC, amounting to almost 40% of its outgoing cash.

By comparison, during that same time period Woodward’s campaign raised $9,675 and spent a total of $1,010.

Herndon is not the only Idaho Republican candidate engaging McShane LLC for services during this election cycle.

According to the secretary of state, 2022 attorney general candidate Arthur Macomber, Coeur d’Alene City Council candidates Joseph Alfieri and Roger Garlock, and Idaho superintendent of public instruction candidate Branden Durst have also all engaged McShane LLC in various capacities, including for advertising, printing and management.

LPOSD to announce superintendent pick

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

The Lake Pend Oreille School District Board of Trustees is due to announce its pick for superintendent in an early morning meeting Thursday, March 24 at the LPOSD District Office in Ponderay.

According to the agenda, trustees will meet at 7:30 a.m. and, following an executive session, make public the selection between two final candi-

dates: Casey McLaughlin and Becky Meyer. A third finalist, David Dude, rescinded his application and declined to go forward with a further interview on March 22.

McLaughlin, of Sandpoint, currently serves LPOSD as director of Federal Programs and assistant director of Teaching and Learning. He has experience as a middle school and elementary school principal, most recently at Sandpoint Middle School. McLaughlin received an

Education Specialist degree for Superintendent from the University of Idaho and a Master of Education in Education Leadership, also from the U of I. Meyer, of Rathdrum, is the current superintendent for the Lakeland School District, with a population of 4,200 students.

She also has experience as an assistant superintendent for LPOSD, an elementary school principal, as well as a principal and assistant principal at Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille

high schools, respectively.

Meyer holds a Ph.D. from the University of Idaho and a Master of Education degree from

Casey McLaughlin, left, and Becky Meyer, right. Courtesy photos.

City University.

A total of six candidates

< see LPOSD, Page 6 > March 24, 2022 / R / 5

NEWS

Lake Pend Oreille will begin spring refill April 1

By Reader Staff

With spring officially beginning Sunday, March 20, eyes will turn to Lake Pend Oreille as it undergoes its annual refill, which will begin Friday, April 1 when the gates at Albeni Falls dam close.

Once the refill gets underway, the lake level will gradually rise to its summer pool level of 2,062.5 feet elevation on or around June 15. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates Albeni Falls Dam, will monitor for flood risk through the month of May, determining exactly when to stabilize the lake at summer pool.

During flood years, the lake is capable of rising above summer pool — typically occurring in May — as the open dam cannot regulate the amount of runoff flowing into the watershed. Major flood years occurred in 1974, 1997,

6 /

R

2011 and 2018.

Currently, the Idaho panhandle is recorded 88% of average snowpack, according to data shared March 15 by the Lakes Commission, which indicates that the region will likely avoid flooding. “This can change of course,” the commission noted.

Runoff levels and flood risk for the Clark Fork River and Lake Pend Oreille are evaluated in large part by assessing the snowpack in neighboring Montana, from which the Pend Oreille Basin Watershed receives about 90% of its water.

For more information or questions about lake levels or the operation of the Albeni Falls Dam, call the Lakes Commission at 208-265-4658 or email lakescommission@gmail.com. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can also be reached by email at UpperColumbiaWM@usace.army.mil.

< LPOSD, con’t from Page 5 > underwent a series of preliminary interviews March 16-17, with finalist interviews and public forum sessions with McLaughlin and Meyer on March 22-23, respectively.

Current LPOSD Superintendent Tom Albertson announced he would retire in December, effective July 2022.

Appointed in the summer of 2019, Albertson served through a tumultuous period marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the tense politics surrounding it. During that time, he told the Reader, “Tough decisions have been made that not everyone can agree upon.”

Albertson said he is stepping back from leadership of the district — which he attended from elementary school through graduation at Sandpoint High School, followed by a 35-year career as an LPOSD teacher, activities director and administrator — to spend more time with family and pursue other interests.

In his retirement announcement, Albertson said: “I am honored that the school board has trusted me to lead the school district over the last three years, and I have no doubt they will hire a great leader to continue leading LPOSD.” For more information, including trustee meeting agendas, visit lposd.org/ board-of-trustees.

/ March 24, 2022

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: To curb profiteering, Congressional Democrats are proposing a tax on large oil companies’ profits. If approved, the tax would impose a 50% tax per barrel on the price difference between the current cost per barrel and the average cost between 2015 and 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported. Funds collected would provide quarterly checks to Americans earning less than $75,000.

A recent ABC News/Ipsos poll found 87% of Americans blame Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine, and 81% support U.S. and NATO sanctions against Russia.

Russia announced sanctions forbidding entry into Russia — and freezing any assets they may have in the country — on Hillary Clinton and several other Democrats. Clinton tweeted: “I want to thank the Russian Academy for this Lifetime Achievement Award.” Putin’s disdain for Clinton was likely cemented when, on the campaign trail in 2016, she stated that Donald Trump would be Putin’s puppet if elected.

Ukraine-Russia headlines: “Deepfake video of President Zelenskyy ordering Ukrainians to put down their weapons debunked”; “Marjorie Taylor Greene says Ukraine should give up”; “Russia threatens Bosnia and Herzegovina with the same fate as Ukraine”; “Mariupol city council claims Russia is forcibly taking its citizens to Russia”; “3.3 million Ukrainians have fled invasion, 6.5 million displaced”; “Russia bombards a Kyiv TV tower and…

Holocaust memorial site”; “The U.S. warns campanies to stay on guard for possible Russian cyberattacks.”

According to The New York Times, Russian troop deaths are abnormally high, with 7,000 deaths in fewer than three weeks. Meanwhile, Putin has put top intelligence officers under house arrest for poor pre-invasion intelligence and five Russian generals — so far — have been killed due to the use of unsecured communications channels, making them easy targets for Ukrainian forces.

A 350.org leader from western Ukraine, along with climate activist Bill McKibben, recently wrote in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that world banks have “amorally worked to build Russia’s oil and gas industry … that funds the Russian army.” They said links between American banks, oil and Russia’s war-making are “deep and profound,” and banks “happily profited” off

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

their arrangements with Russia. The writers asked readers to imagine banks refusing to deal with oil companies, and using the freed-up capital “for a rapid retooling of our energy world to make it both safe and clean.” For starters, millions of heat pumps could be made and installed in Europe by next winter, putting a “noticeable dent” in oil and gas purchases from Russia.

Parts of Antarctica are registering temperatures 70 degrees higher than normal, while Arctic temperatures are 50 degrees higher. It is rare to see both poles melting at the same time of year, according to ice scientist Walt Meier. The Arctic has been warming two to three times faster than the rest of the planet.

Cases of so-called “long-COVID” indicate a “looming cardiac crisis,” according to The Washington Post. Symptoms have included becoming easily exhausted, heart fluttering and failure to recall simple words.

One way to measure long-COVID is with a dysautonomia test, though getting a test can take months. COVID-19 has so far taken more than 950,000 lives in the U.S., while rendering 1.3 million people too sick to work. Those with long-COVID, also called long-haulers, have experienced a variety of symptoms: strokes, brain bleeds, organ failure and some are forced to use wheelchairs. To reduce risks for long-haulers, internal medicine physician Dr. Richard Becker, who runs the University of Cincinnati Health Long COVID clinic, advises vaccination and “possibly early use of oral antiviral drugs.”

Arnold takes on Putin: In a Twitter video reported by CBS News, Arnold Schwarzenegger told Russians they are not getting the truth about the war in Ukraine.

Schwarzenegger recalled his Austrian father, who fought for the German army against Russia in WWII, and appealed to Russian soldiers not to “be broken like my father” by participating in a “human catastrophe.” He asked Putin why he was sacrificing “these young men for your own ambition,” then said “you started this war … You can stop this war.” To Putin’s claim of denazifying Ukraine, Schwarzenegger said Ukraine’s president is Jewish, and Russian soldiers are seeing the truth. To Russians who are risking jail and beatings by protesting, he said “you are my new heroes.”

Blast from the past: “Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” — George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright, critic and political activist (1856-1950).

NEWS

Rognstad will run for Idaho governor as a write-in candidate

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff After a filing error by Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad’s campaign for Idaho governor prompted the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office to leave him off the May 17 primary ballot, Rognstad has announced a write-in campaign for the top job in the state.

In a Tweet issued March 21 from Rognstad’s “Mayor Shelby” account, he wrote that the secretary of state had denied him a ballot slot “based on a minor technicality not based on law,” yet, “I’ve determined our best option is to file a write in campaign to better represent the people of Idaho.”

The mistake occurred when Rognstad filed his declaration to run for governor as a Democrat

on the deadline of March 11.

However, upon double-checking his party affiliation, it turned out Rognstad was registered as a Republican, as records showed he had been since 2020 — though his campaign later argued that Rognstad had changed his affiliation to the Democratic Party in 2021, state officials could find no record of it.

Regardless, Rognstad re-registered with elections officials as a Democrat on March 11, but after the deadline had closed at 5 p.m.

The Secretary of State’s Office and Idaho Attorney General’s Office concurred that by missing the 5 p.m. deadline to ensure his party affiliation matched his candidacy declaration, Rognstad would be ineligible to appear on the May 17

primary ballot.

“Unfortunately, it’s not enough for Idaho Republicans to win almost every election, now they’re wanting to prevent elections from happening in the first place,” Rognstad’s campaign claimed in a March 14 statement.

Other elections officials, including Bonner County Clerk Michael Rosedale, said it came down to a matter of timing.

“Afterwards is too late, that’s the problem,” Rosedale told the Reader on March 15. “It’s crystal clear: You have to be affiliated with the party you’re running for. There’s no gray area there.”

The deadline to file as a write-in candidate is 5 p.m., Friday, March 25, with the declaration form available at sos. idaho.gov/elections-division/

Shelby Rognstad. File photo. candidate-filing.

Rognstad told the Boise-based Idaho Capital Sun that he regretted not filing sooner during the official candidacy declaration period — which opened Feb. 28 — calling what transpired after the March 11 deadline a “catastrophe.”

“But we are where we are, and you fall off the horse, you get back up and you keep going,” he told the news organization.

Rognstad announced his intention to run for Idaho governor as a Democrat in November, and his campaign has raised more than $118,000 since Oct. 2021 As of March 23, there were 13 candidates vying for Idaho governor: eight Republicans, including incumbent Gov. Brad Little, current Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and Bonner County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw; two Libertarians; one Constitutional Party member; well-known anti-government activist Ammon Bundy as an Independent; and Democrat Stephen Heidt.

Idaho Senate approves gap financing fund for workforce housing Program uses $50 million in federal dollars to help build 1,000 units

By Kelcie Moseley-Morris Idaho Capital Sun The Idaho Senate passed the bill providing $50 million to a workforce housing fund on March 22, using federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars to help build about 1,000 units of housing across Idaho.

House Bill 701 passed 26-9 and was narrowly approved by the House of Representatives earlier this month. The program would provide grants to housing developers to help build units that could be rented at a more affordable rate for working-class residents. The funds would help provide the last dollars needed to ensure a development moves forward after the use of conventional financing and available tax credits, said Sen. Jeff Agenbroad, R-Nampa.

Developers would apply for the funds through the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, which would administer the program.

The fund would be created

in lieu of $50 million that might have been allocated to the Idaho State Housing Trust Fund, a fund created in statute in 1992 that has never been allocated any money by the state.

At the beginning of the session, state budget chief Alex Adams said federal guidance wouldn’t allow for the funds to be put into the trust fund.

Agenbroad said the legislation was driven by the Idaho Workforce Housing Coalition, a group of businesses and organizations who are seeing the effects of rising home prices in Idaho.

“Our state is growing rapidly, and this pace of growth has challenges,” Agenbroad said on the Senate floor. “In almost every corner of the state, young families and senior citizens are struggling to keep up with the cost of housing.”

The funds would be available to nonprofit entities as well as for-profit businesses through an application process, and the bill text specifies 20% of the funds to

be set aside for rural community developments. If the set-aside funds remain unused in rural areas after two years, the dollars would become available to all communities.

Senators differ on constitutional obligations of Idaho Legislature Developers would be required to provide the property at a rent rate affordable to 80% of the area median income population for a period of 30 to 40 years. In Boise, the median income for a two-person household is $60,200, which translates to an affordable rent of $1,505 per month. [Editor’s note: The Sandpoint area median income is generally described in a similar $60,000 per year range, while the 2020 U.S. Census pegged median household income at $46,712.]

The bill also includes a sunset date on the program of Dec. 31, 2026.

Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, said she didn’t support the

bill because the language was too broad, and she didn’t think the Legislature had a responsibility to provide housing resources.

“We’ve seen a shortfall in school facilities, and we have a constitutional obligation to work on those, and I’ve been disappointed with some of the things that haven’t moved forward with that this session,” Den Hartog said during debate.

“I don’t dispute the need, I don’t dispute the effort, I’m just not sure this is the right vehicle and in the right manner.”

Following Den Hartog’s comments, Sen. Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum, became emotional while talking about the arson fire of a building she owned in Ketchum that she was attempting to renovate as workforce housing.

The City Council in Ketchum also considered “temporary tented housing” during the summer months of 2021 as a short-term solution to workforce housing problems.

“When you think about the

responsibility of the Legislature, we have teachers and nurses and principals living in RVs out in the forest because they cannot get housing,” Stennett said.

“And at some point, it does start to break down our systems that we are constitutionally responsible for.”

The bill includes an emergency clause that would make it effective upon approval. It now heads to Gov. Brad Little’s desk.

This story was produced by the Idaho Capital Sun, a Boise-based independent, nonprofit online news organization delivering in-depth coverage from veteran Idaho reporters on state government and policy. The Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit funded by tax-free donations in 22 states. Learn more and follow daily updates at idahocapitalsun. com and statesnewsroom.com.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 7

Just say ‘no more’…

Bouquets: • Kudos to the Festival at Sandpoint for helping put together the awesome Vetiver concert at the Longshot last weekend. Also special thanks to Katelyn Shook for her work making this happen. It was one of the best live shows I’ve seen in a while.

Barbs: • Every time I travel outside the U.S., no matter how good of a time I have, I’m reminded of the good things I missed while away. I miss simple things, like my favorite dish at Secret Thai, the way the snow-covered Green Monarchs look at sunset, seeing old friends and stopping to chat on a busy downtown sidewalk. One thing I didn’t miss was evident immediately upon returning to the U.S.: The tendency for Americans to broadcast their ideologies and proclivities on their clothing and hats. I’ve always shied away from expressing a message on my clothing, mostly because I think people are heaps more complicated than a slogan. Traveling abroad, it’s clear that the rest of the world feels the same way, because only when returning to the States did I notice all the messages we bombard our fellow humans with daily, just by walking by. There’s the guy at the airport with a snarky T-shirt over his enormous belly loudly proclaiming that his AR-15 “identifies as bolt action.” Or the MAGA couple wearing Trump hats and shirts, glowering at people, almost hoping someone mentions their support or disdain. Or the people wearing face masks that read “I DO NOT CONSENT,” (which is funny, because they actually do consent by wearing the mask, but I digress).

I miss the days when I didn’t loathe someone the moment I looked at their shirt. We’re not sports teams. We’re so much more than identity politics worn literally on our sleeves. If you have a closet full of propaganda, I want you to ask yourself: are you wearing these shirts and hats because you believe in something, or because you want to piss someone off who doesn’t believe in it?

8 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

Dear editor, The following are my opinions regarding people running for public office. I am opposed to: Janice McGeachin, Steve Bradshaw or Ammon Bundy for governor; Priscilla Giddings for lieutenant governor; Scott Herndon for Senate; and Ron Korn for District 3 county commissioner.

You all may remember Mr. Herndon for causing so much trouble and expense to our county regarding the Festival at Sandpoint, which had no external problems for some 20 years until Mr. Herndon and another man felt it was necessary to open carry a weapon into the Festival, as part of their “rights” (forget about everybody else’s rights).

As a separate issue, “just say no”

to the destruction of the beautiful Selle Valley, starting with the 714 acres that the Otises and Skinners want rezoned into smaller parcels.

Stating that they are X-number of generations as ranchers does not mean either they or their heirs won’t subdivide the property. The former County Planning and Zoning Department voted to deny the rezone request, but some of our county commissioners decided “they know best” and want to approve the rezone.

Hello, have the county commissioners investigated the infrastructure, water tables, wastewater dispersal, and the effects on existing properties and their water tables? I don’t think so.

Michael Harmelin Sandpoint

COMMUNITY

ICL and Waterkeeper to host shoreline cleanup

By Reader Staff The Idaho Conservation League, Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper and the city of Sandpoint will host a shoreline cleanup at Sandpoint City Beach on Saturday, April 2 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

All ages are welcome to come help protect Lake Pend Oreille from trash or debris that may have been left on the shores and buried in the sand during the winter.

Volunteers hope to collect any trash that could end up underwater once the lake starts to refill. This event is a great way for the community to show appreciation for our lake and prepare these high-use areas for the busy summer season.

Volunteers should come to the City Beach pavilion between 10 a.m-1 p.m. The focus will be on cleaning up around City Beach and Sand Creek. Refreshments (including coffee provided by Ev-

ans Bros.), trash bags and gloves will be provided. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own work gloves and a recycled bag or a bucket to reduce waste.

This will also be the final cleanup hosted by LPOW, whose water quality monitoring and advocacy efforts will transition to ICL. “For over a decade, LPOW has worked to protect Lake Pend Oreille from pollution and degradation,” the organizations stated in a news release. “We hope you will join us in celebrating LPOW’s years of dedication by attending our Saturday, April 2 cleanup and carrying on their example of care for our lake’s water quality.”

For questions about this transition, ICL and LPOW will be holding a meeting on Thursday, March 31 at 5:30 p.m. at Eichardt’s Pub to discuss the process and outcomes of this change. All are welcome to attend.

OPINION

Would we hang together today?

By Tim Henney Reader Contributor

The Spokane Spokesman-Review is running a series about the perilous journey of former EWU Coach Chris Hansen and his family escaping Ukraine under Russian bombardment. In an early “what if,” the writer envisioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s murderous advance as instead besieging Spokane’s South Hill, Interstate 90, Division Street and Riverfront Park, and visualized local citizens confronting Putin’s tanks in their tracks — as in Ukraine. Sacrificing themselves in defense of their families, their city and their country.

Had Axis paratroopers dropped from the skies over Spokane or North Idaho in, say, early 1942 when America was losing more than winning, U.S. citizens of every creed, color and political bent would have joined together to protect our democracy. But today?

In the world’s most admired democracy we have some 23 million Americans who advocate violence over law and civility if violence will return a maniacal misanthrope to the American presidency. We have a once-honorable Republican Party now morphed into fear-driven saboteurs (Idaho’s two super-silent U.S. senators among them) backing a draft-dodging con man who has called American servicemen and women killed in combat “suckers and losers.”

How can veterans — including this vet, USAF, Korean War — endorse such a villain?

More currently, as Russian guns, bombers and tanks pulverize Ukrainian families,

this American con artist, who is certainly one of this planet’s most vile occupants, has praised Putin as “really smart” and “a genius.”

How in hell can anyone with a conscience, compassion and love of country continue to prop up this hate-mongering predator?

How can local and Boise-based legislators who rant against public education, science, libraries, government-funded health care or any other federal interference in our lives (except social security, government pensions, etc.) applaud “vigilante justice” and scowling civilians with assault rifles, pistols and home-made ghost guns strutting around drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations, parks and banks?

How can these voters and elected politicos look in the mirror without wondering how and when they turned so treacherously against their United States?

Back in the day when militias weren’t mostly gangs of unlettered, testosterone-burdened social failures but actual patriots needed to fight the British, Ben Franklin was said to have said, “If we don’t hang together we shall all hang separately.”

If after ferocious sea battles, missile-firing Russian tanks were somehow unloaded in Seattle, San Francisco, L.A. and San Diego, then blasted and slaughtered their way to the outskirts of Sandpoint, as they rumbled toward us from Spokane on Highway 200 and U.S. 95 and came clanking across the Long Bridge, would we hang together and take them on as we would have in 1942? As in Ukraine?

PERSPECTIVES

Trestle Creek marina construction may soon be permitted

By Brad Smith Reader Contributor A bald eagle lights on its nest in a cottonwood tree above Trestle Creek and Lake Pend Oreille. A beaver methodically places another stick on its lodge down below. Young bull trout and kokanee are about to be swept down the creek and into the lake by spring run off. Under the soil and rocks, there are artifacts from the Qlispé, who once stood at the outlet of the creek before the land was taken from them.

Residents of North Idaho are familiar with the Trestle Creek Recreation area and the opportunities it provides to appreciate the beauty there. Some may not be as familiar with the serene inlet that sits at the mouth of Trestle Creek, tucked away just off of Lake Pend Oreille. This quiet and lush area may soon change in a drastic way before many get a chance to realize what was lost.

The Idaho Club has proposed a marina and residential development in this location, which calls for dredging thousands of cubic yards, including the small inlet and island which are home to a variety of wildlife. Wetlands would be filled to create a flat site for parking and residential construction. Trestle Creek would be confined to a straight,

simplified channel, with no access to its historic flood plain.

Bonner County has already signed off on the project, and the Army Corps of Engineers may soon approve the requisite dredge and fill permit.

Much has been said about increased development in North Idaho. Natural assets are being forever lost to make way for luxury homes and other developments. No trespassing signs are posted where longtime residents were accustomed to accessing the land and water. These changes impact not only the people of this area, but wildlife and their habitats as well.

Perhaps what’s most troubling about the plans for Trestle Creek and other similar developments is that those entrusted with looking after the public interest — local, state and federal agencies — are content with permitting these projects with little or no environmental review.

This lack of adequate environmental review led the Idaho Conservation League, Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper and Center for Biological Diversity to threaten to sue the Army Corps of Engineers for authorizing the proposed marina and residential development without considering recent data about the use of Trestle Creek by bull trout for spawning.

The agency relied on a report prepared

Trestle Creek. Courtesy photo. by the developer’s own consultant to conclude that there were no wetlands present on the site. However, anyone that has been to the mouth of Trestle Creek knows that the quality fish and wildlife habitat exists there because of the wetlands.

The scope of the environmental review was also too narrowly limited. The Army Corps dismissed public comments asking the agency to describe the upland impacts of the Trestle Creek Project. The Corps suggested that they have no jurisdiction because the residential development could proceed with or without the marina. However, the residential component cannot occur without filling the wetlands that the developer’s consultant says don’t exist.

Moreover, the plans call for using the material that will be dredged from the marina to fill the wetlands.

Finally, it is unclear if the site has been adequately surveyed for cultural resources and artifacts. A site that was so frequented historically by the area’s indigenous people surely has artifacts or other signs of historic use. With this development, the site will forever lose any resemblance of what it once was to the Kalispel People.

We hope that the Idaho Club will consider conserving this property for its natural and cultural resources instead of developing it into a marina and residential complex. If they do not, ICL stands ready to hold the Army Corps accountable for not following the letter of the law if the agency approves the project. A much more thorough environmental review must be taken if the proposed development is ever going to move forward.

Brad Smith is North Idaho director of the Idaho Conservation League.

Local donors contribute $134K to Bonner Homeless Transitions

By Bonner Homeless Transitions Reader Contributor On behalf of the Bonner Homeless Transitions Board of Directors, program managers and employees we want to thank all of the donors in support of the Avenues For Hope Housing Campaign fundraiser, Dec. 9-31, 2021. Because of the donations we received, we had another successful drive.

Our mission of “helping families and individuals achieve self-sufficiency and increase the value of their lives” is based on an 85% effective, two-year program which provides case management, employment preparation and enhancement, budgeting and parenting skills as well as providing approximately 10,000 bed-nights annually, with 65% of those belonging to children.

In appreciation of maintaining this

high success rate, Bonner Homeless Transitions also wishes to recognize and thank Bonner Community Health, Sandpoint Community Resource Center, and Probation and Parole for their support and involvement in our program.

With so many year-end community fundraisers occurring throughout the Christmas and New Year season, our community is exceptional in being extremely generous and heartwarming in meeting the needs of so many different diverse community needs — homeless families, women and children, the food bank, the seniors, abused children, our hospital, scholarships, meals on wheels and so many individuals doing their everyday efforts in helping others. All of these organizations and so many people pitching in, makes our community the very special place that it truly is.

It is with heartfelt thanks for the

numerous donors and sponsors, we were able to raise $134,000, which will see us through another year. We would also like to thank the Idaho Housing and Finance Association for sponsoring the Avenues For Hope Housing Campaign, which raised $10,400 in matching funds.

A special thanks to our donors who contributed $1,000 or more to the success of our campaign: The Ambrosiani Pastore Foundation, $25,000; Ethan Murray Fund — Justine Murray, $20,000; Mary Jo Ambrosiani, $10,000; Jack Ambrosiani, $10,000; Limerick Charitable Trust, $10,000; Anonymous, $9,000; Ferguson Family Trust, $7,500; Sandpoint United Methodist Church, $3,565; John and Mary McPherson, $2,500; Malcom and Pam Kinney, $2,000; Pat Gooby — A Arons Self-Storage, $2,000; Alan and

Laurie Lambert, $1,500; Judith Gehman, $1,000; Justin and Shaunavee Dick, $1,000; Sharie Rowland, $1,000; Judith Fry-McCormish, $1,000; Cliff and Carol Warren, $1,000; John and Debbie Darling, $1,000; Dave Schindler, $1,000; Kealy Boychuck, $1,000; and Rosalind and Mike Holland, $1,000.

We are so grateful to all the donors who so generously donated to the success of our campaign.

Bonner Homeless Transitions is Mary Jo Ambrosiani, president; Ann Gehring, vice president; Kim Woodbridge, secretary; Barbara Oler, director; Janet Pultorak, director; Patty Shook, director; Amber Villelli, director; Joanne Barlow, program manager; Mary Jo Knutson, program manager; John Rogers, maintenance; Judy Raynor, accountant.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

printers

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Humans spent a vast portion of civilized history without access to the mass-production of knowledge. The invention of the printing press was arguably one of the most important steps of human evolution of all time. The ability to quickly replicate our thoughts and disseminate information without having to wait months, years or even decades for someone else to write it all down was a game-changer. Even after the printing press was eclipsed by the internet, printers remain an important part of our lives.

How do they work?

Let’s start from the beginning. The Gutenberg press wasn’t the first printing press invented, but it had drastically improved the design by adding movable print to the machine, which allowed printers to rearrange letters and words to print things other than the Bible, which it had been initially designed to do.

The operation of the press was simple enough, though it took an immense amount of practice and skill to operate efficiently. It all begins with the plates of movable type. The printer would arrange the letters on the plates according to the desired specification. As an example, let’s say they were printing this very “Mad About Science’’ article. Since it’s all on one page, they would arrange the type in the exact configuration as the letters of this article. Then they would use the inking balls, two softball-sized globes wrapped in goose skin that would be rolled in ink and then dabbed onto the printing plate. The letters on the 10 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

print plate were raised from the rest of the plate, which allowed the ink to stick only to the letters and not sink into the gaps between.

The paper that would be printed was rigged onto an extension of the press called a tympan. This was another surface that emerged from the press at an angle and was covered by a piece of thin hide called a frisket that both helped hold the paper in place and guard the edges from being stained by rogue splotches of ink. The whole contraption would be lowered, setting the paper down above the inked plate, and then it would be fed under the actual press mechanism. This was essentially a large screw with a perpendicular handle that the operator would pull toward themselves to force the mechanism to press into the paper, transferring the ink from the plate into newly formed, letter-shaped recesses in the paper.

The machine would be reset, the type would be altered for the next page, the paper would be flipped over and the process would begin again.

The designers and engineers among you may be wondering how exactly the folks operating these first printing presses ensured that the pages were uniformly printed on both sides, without awkward deviations of the text. Surely the first printers weren’t so skilled and keen-eyed that they could eyeball a perfect approximation 400 times per book. They used a trick that’s still employed by printers today — possibly even by the one that printed this very paper.

There were two small, sharp metal pins in the tympan that would pierce the paper as it was loaded in. These created guide

An illustration of Johannes Gutenberg’s first printing press.

Courtesy imate. holes so that the printer could simply slide the guide pins back into the holes once they flipped the paper around. These imperfections are usually hidden by the spine in books, though it appears at the edges of some newsprint.

Printers developed dramatically in the information age.

The leaps and bounds made by manufacturing meant that engineers could be more precise with how they applied ink to surfaces.

The development of lasers meant that movable type was no longer required. This allowed a device to print multiple pages in rapid succession, without having to wait for someone to swap out all of the words and letters.

Laser printers that use toner are very complicated machines, but I will do my best to summarize how they work in a limited space of words. A number of rollers are inside of the printer, the largest being the organic photopolymer drum (OPC drum). A second roller generates a negative charge along the OPC drum. A rapid-firing laser then scans an image onto the OPC drum as it’s rotating, which creates a positively charged area — this is the shape of the text or picture that you’re printing. Particles of toner are stirred up in a hopper beneath the OPC, before being guided and leveled by the machine toward the OPC drum.

These toner particles are negatively charged, and are drawn toward the positive charge left by the laser. The toner is then transferred to a piece of paper on the other side.

In a color printer, four different colors of toner are used: black, yellow, cyan and magenta. This process is applied to a different OPC drum for each of

the four colors before your print emerges, with each one layering over the other in a specific configuration dictated by your computer. This is all done extremely quickly and is the kind of printer you can find at the library.

Inkjet printers are another form of printer you may be familiar with. While complicated to manufacture, the premise of an inkjet printer is much simpler than a laser printer. The print-

head of an inkjet printer is perforated with lots of tiny holes, from which ink is dropped out of in precise configurations dictated by your computer. This is why the paper will emerge from an inkjet and still be wet, but a laser printer will be hot and dry.

There are also engraving laser printers, which can print on surfaces like stone, wood and metal with remarkable precision.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner Don’t know much about tokyo, • Tokyo has an incredibly efficient recycling system. All combustible trash is incinerated, with the smoke and gasses cleared before release. The leftover ash is then used as a replacement for clay in the cement used for construction.

• There is a “white man cafe” named Butlers Cafe in Tokyo, where Japanese ladies ring a bell to summon tuxedo-clad Caucasians who answer the ladies with “Yes, princess?” and serve them cake.

• Tokyo has been destroyed and rebuilt on average once every five years from 1608-1945. This has largely to do with the fact that the Japanese archipelago sits at the nexus of four tectonic plates, subjecting the island chain to more than 1,500 earthquakes each year, including at least two that measure more than 5.0 magnitude or higher.

• After WWII, a small electronics shop was built in a bomb-damaged department store in Tokyo. Called Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, it only had $530

japan?

We can help!

and eight employees at the time. The company went on to invent Japan’s first tape recorder and, in 1958, changed its name to Sony.

• The allied carpet bombing of Tokya killed more civilians than the atomic bombing of both Nagasaki and Hiroshima combined.

• In the aftermath of the Great Japan Earthquake of 1923, a fire broke out in Tokyo. More than 44,000 people ran to seek refuge near the Sumida River in the first few hours, only to be burned alive at once by a freak pillar of fire known as a “dragon twist,” which we would call a fire tornado. More than 140,000 people died in total after this devastating quake.

• The Shibuya Crossing, located in the Shibuya Ward in Tokyo, is said to be the busiest pedestrian intersection in the world. At peak times, more than 1,000 people cross at the same time, coming from all directions. There is almost no loss of foot traffic at midnight or early morning.

PERSPECTIVES

“I represent the blue-collar, everyday hard-working Americans,” said every politician ever.

Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Politician, but your actions speak so many decibels louder than your insincere and platitudinous words, it’s hard for me to make out (and believe) what you’re saying. But since you are, after all, a “public servant,” please allow me to humbly beseech thee.

Stop pretending to be a working-class hero. You’re no Billy Bragg. You’re the Benedict Arnold of the working-class — the Judas Iscariot. Indeed, when the only legislation that you have promoted throughout your career is “tax cuts for the rich” and corporate “deregulation” and “cuts to social spending,” you can hardly call yourself a “champion of the common man.” Though you may deceive some with your “man-ofthe-people” masquerade, the rest of us can see as clear as day who you really serve: your corporate masters.

You may as well go ahead and sew some corporate patches onto that tricorn

hat that you’re so fond of — at least then you won’t have to worry about maintaining the pretense anymore. Heck, you might even find it liberating. Ah, you love that word “liberty” don’t you?

If you truly value liberty, as you ostensibly do, then is it not incumbent upon you to stand in opposition to anything which is detrimental to liberty? Agreed? Good.

Why then do you turn a blind eye to private sector tyranny, which has become just as detrimental to liberty as government tyranny? Perhaps you don’t value liberty as much as you claim to?

Rather, like Socrates, we should ask a more philosophical question: Whose “liberty” are we talking about? The working man’s liberty? Or the corporations’ liberty?

(You know, now that “corporations are considered people” and all.) Your track record seems to suggest that you value the liberty of the latter more than the former.

Corporations often inhibit the freedom of the individuals of which they are composed, however, it seems that you would

prefer to grant more “liberty” to the corporation than the individual. But what about all of that “individualism” talk? Oh, that’s all insincere as well? Oy vey!

This may be a false equivalence here, but your idea of “freedom” and “liberty” seems to remind me a bit of the slave owner who complained about “President Lincoln taking away our freedom and liberty” because he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. “I should have the freedom to own slaves,” is an argument that obviously shoots itself in the foot.

Freedom is not as black and white (no pun intended) as some seem to think it is.

But alas, I forgot, you never really valued freedom anyway — it was all just propaganda, a pretext for giving more power to the already powerful. Just like your fake “selfmade” man story — yeah, the ol’ fairly tale

you concocted in order to convince people that you clawed your way to the top by being cunning and hard working. Feh! You inherited your wealth from your rich mommy and daddy, so spare us the Ayn Rand tripe.

Everyone is a “working man,” until, that is, there is some actual work to be done.

Real work, like, say, oh I don’t know, how about working on some legislation that actually helps workers?

Like a lip-syncing pop group, you seemingly sing the working man’s blues. “I had to work four full-time jobs when I was still a teenager,” you assert, while the credulous masses listen with amazement. Eventually, however, your charade will be exposed.

Girl, you know it’s … girl, you know it’s … girl, you know it’s true!

Angels Over Sandpoint community grants deadline extended

By Reader Staff The Angels Over Sandpoint is extending the community grant program deadline for the spring cycle. Grant requests for eligible applicants are now open until Monday, April 4. The Angels Over Sandpoint grant process is for $250 to $2,500 to charitable and educational organizations in Bonner County. All services must be for the benefit of Bonner County residents.

Applications can be found on the Angels Over Sandpoint website: angelsoversandpoint.org under the “grants” tab. Instructions and a complete description of the grant are under Community Grants. All requests must be received by April 4.

Organizations eligible to apply must meet one of the following criteria: • An organization holding a current tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)

(3), (4), (6) or (19) of the Internal Revenue Code; • A recognized government entity: state, county or city agency including law enforcement or fire departments, that are requesting funds exclusively for charitable purposes; • A pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 public or private school, charter school, community/junior college, state/private college or university; • A church or other faith-based organization with a proposed project that benefits the community at large; or • A children and/or youth program.

The Angels Over Sandpoint looks forward to helping qualified non-profits enhance the lives of our children, seniors, veterans and all Bonner County citizens.

Each request will get careful consideration.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 11

FEATURE

Matt Shea in Poland

The far-right former WA representative has been quiet lately until he turned up last week at a hotel in Poland, surrounded by Ukrainian orphans

By Luke Baumgarten RANGE Media Late last week, a Polish-born lawyer living in Dallas named Marta Milan began reaching out to people in Spokane, asking for any information they could offer about Matt Shea — the former far-right Washington state representative turned hardline evangelical pastor.

Something strange was happening in a small, historic town in eastern Poland, and Shea seemed to be at the center of it.

At least 60 Ukrainian orphans had appeared and were staying at a boutique hotel and writer’s retreat called Dom Dziennikarza — which translates to the Journalist’s House — in the town of Kazimierz Dolny, with a population of just over 2,500 in Lublin Province. The children are apparently under the care of a group purporting to be a nonprofit that hosts Ukrainian orphans in America called “Loving Families and Homes for Orphans.”

Matt Shea is traveling with that group, and the reason they ended up in Kazimierz Dolny appears to be Shea’s connections to a far-right evangelical pastor, fringe political leader and minor YouTube celebrity named Paweł Chojecki, who has connections to Polish fascists and has been a Shea ally since at least 2018.

Their presence in the town created a storm of suspicion that went viral in Poland and led local residents to appeal to municipal authorities and eventually the embassies of both Poland and the United States.

The concern stemmed from a number of factors, not least of which is the fog of war brought on by the Russian invasion and the tremendous fear and uncertainty that has spread from Ukraine to Poland, and especially the Lublin region, which borders both Ukraine and Belarus.

These fears were exacerbated by the intentional or unintentional secrecy of the Loving Families group and — for people like Marta Milan and Polish journalists who have covered the story — Shea’s presence near the center of it all.

The Timeline It’s hard to pin down exactly when Shea and the orphans arrived at the Journalist’s House, but in a Facebook post discussing how long he had been “on the ground in Ukraine and Poland,” it seems likely he entered Ukraine around March 1.

12 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

By March 7, there had been enough concern from the community in Kazimierz Dolny that the Journalist’s House posted a letter to its Facebook page from Loving Families and Homes for Orphans, attempting to explain the organization’s intent.

The letter thanks the people of the town for their generosity and asks for any additional help they can provide. They say they are a Texas-based organization led by Irina Sipko and that the children are from an orphanage in Mariupol that was destroyed

by Russian forces.

They also contend, “We are in direct contact with the governments of Ukraine and the United States, supported by the highest levels of politicians, international and local church leaders as well as dozens of companies from Ukraine, the USA and Poland,” but provide no supporting evidence for this.

Marta Milan says the letter made the situation worse, less for what it said than for what it lacked: • Despite referencing Sipko, the letter was unsigned.

• It gave no indication of a previous connection to the Mariupol orphanage.

• The adoption organization’s website was broken.

• It also seemed as though the letter was not written by someone with any sort of grasp of Polish, Milan says: “I believe the original announcement was translated from English to Polish by Google translate or something similar because the Polish version does not always make sense and is grammatically incorrect — like any regular Google translation.”

How closely could this organization be tied to Polish authorities if they couldn’t write a letter in passable Polish?

Also important for a lawyer like Milan: The organization has a state incorporation but no discernable federal nonprofit designation and no federal nonprofit tax returns on file.

Perhaps most importantly, Milan says the letter didn’t even address the community’s chief concern: Rumors had been circulating that an unknown group of Americans were planning to take the children back to America as quickly as possible, stoking fears of human trafficking.

The Journalist’s House post didn’t get much engagement on Facebook, but others referencing the letter did.

One post in particular went small-town viral on March 7, and two days later that same poster followed up to say she had reached out to local authorities and the Polish embassies of both Ukraine and the United States. She said the US embassy staff assured her they were taking the concerns seriously.

Katarzyna Lazzeri, a reporter for TVN24, a Polish 24-hour news station (and subsidiary of Discovery Networks), traced the rumor of pulling the orphans out of the country to one of the volunteers in Shea’s entourage. Via email with RANGE, she outlined the questions she asked Shea and how his responses fell short of an adequate explanation: “After they came, one of the American volunteers informed local authorities that they wanted to take children soon to the United States of America (to Ukrainian families living in the USA). First, [that is] against Polish law. Second, we asked the pastor Matthew Shea to show any documents that would confirm he has a right to do it. He only gave the name of the foundation but with no contact information or even signature. For me, the big question is whether this organization has a license that gives it the right to conduct adoption processes.”

Rather than provide that information — or offer any context for the statements from the volunteer about taking the kids out of the country — Shea and Chojecki pivoted

Matt Shea on stage in Poland.

Photo illustration by Valerie Osier. to labeling the concerns a Russian disinformation plot.

On March 10, Pawel Chowecki’s rightwing YouTube channel Idź Pod Prąd (“Go Against the Tide”) wrote that the concerns were “Russian propaganda against American aid” and accused the controversy of scaring other Ukrainian orphanages into refusing help. It’s vital to note that no other media outlet has corroborated this story.

Shea also railed against the accusation that he or Loving Families and Homes for Orphans were engaged in human trafficking, saying his organization (he didn’t specify which organization) had made an “award winning documentary” against sex trafficking.

That same day, TokFM, a large, mainstream Polish radio station, reported that authorities had checked on the kids and they were healthy, and that the matter was being referred to family court.

By March 14, in an interview with SDP, a Polish news outlet that Lazzeri characterizes as “conservative, far-right,” Shea continued to push the Russian disinformation line while clarifying that the orphans would be staying in Poland: “Matthew Shea, a spokesman for Loving Homes and Families for Orphans and a pastor of one of the Evangelical churches, commented on the Moscow fakes: ‘Such a fantastic lie could only arise in a sick

< see SHEA, Page 13 >

< SHEA, con’t from Page 12 > head. Neither we nor our partners have any intention of taking the children to the US. Moreover, it is neither legally nor organisationally possible,’ Shea emphasized.”

The Pastor and His Flock Besides Shea, the two major players in this story are Paweł Chojecki and Irina Sipko, and their personas couldn’t be more different.

Chojecki, his church Kościół Nowego Przymierza (“Church of the New Covenant”), and his YouTube channel Idź Pod Prąd (“Go Against the Tide”), have been under scrutiny in Poland for years by Stowarzyszenie “Nigdy Więcej” (“Never Again” Association) — a Polish anti-racism, anti-xenophobia and far-right watchdog group.

According to Rafal Pankowski of “Never Again,” in addition to his pastorship and YouTube channel, Chojecki is a leader in the 11 November Movement, a small, far-right political party he co-founded with former Polish presidential candidate Marian Kowalski, “a former leader of the fascist National-Radical Camp ONR.” Pankowski uses quotation marks when referring to Chojecki’s religious operation, but says it is well funded and has difficult-to-document ties to the U.S.: “The ‘church’ is a very small evangelical sect, consisting of Chojecki, his family and some followers. It is, however, very well funded, owns real estate etc. — apparently thanks to U.S. links (we don’t know details of these links). The main form of their public activity is through many hours of daily broadcasts on YouTube.”

In a report “Never Again” produced documenting xenophobia and Sinophobia in Poland surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Chojecki’s name comes up at least a dozen times on discrete dates throughout 2020, sowing the conspiracy that COVID is an intentional biological attack. In one passage, “Never Again” documents a long diatribe Chojecki posted to his YouTube channel in which he claimed “the World Health Organisation has infected the whole world,” and that not only have communists taken over the United Nations, “The UN was precisely created with the participation of Russian and Chinese communists.” The section concludes with, “Wherever you look — whether at the Health Organisation or at the Polish military academy, there are communist spies everywhere.”

Chojecki is also vehemently anti-Catholic — uncommon in a country that is over 90% Roman Catholic and less than .5% Protestant — but to Pankowski, that’s of secondary importance. “Chojecki has been publicly extremely offensive towards Catholics,” he says, “but the main issue from the point of view of the ‘NEVER AGAIN’

Association is not his religious beliefs but his right-wing extremist political propaganda activities.”

Shea and Ukraine Matt Shea has connections to Ukraine through his wife, Viktoriya, who was born in Kharkiv and met Shea in Spokane. Boris Borisov, a former Spokane city planner and current pastor of Pacific Keep in West Central Spokane, says he had heard that Shea was in Poland to help with orphans, and that doesn’t surprise him.

“Lots of my Slavic friends are trying to get their loved ones from Poland to the U.S.,” he says.

Shea’s connection to Loving Families and Homes for Orphans appears to be through Irina Sipko. In a Facebook post from March 8, Shea shares a “Go Against the Tide”-produced video of the journey from Ukraine and talks about traveling with the orphans from Mariupol and members of Viktoriya’s family.

The post begins, “LOVE ALWAYS WINS IN THE END,” and Shea tags Chojecki and Sipko.

Prior to his arrival in Poland, Shea had kept a low profile for almost a year, a marked departure from his previous six terms in the Washington Legislature where he was ultimately accused of “domestic terrorism against the United States” for his role in three armed conflicts, including using his legislative office to try to extract intelligence from FBI officials during the Malheur standoff.

[Editor’s note: Idaho District 1A Republican Rep. Heather Scott, of Blanchard, also featured heavily in the report on Shea’s alleged activities, depicting her as one of his close associates, including at the Malheur standoff in 2016.]

Shea was always a political outsider, even in the Washington GOP, but was immensely popular in his Spokane Valley District. The domestic terrorism allegations gave state Republican leadership a little room to move, though, and the party kicked him out of its caucus after the investigation.

Shea decided not to seek re-election in 2020. That May, he took a job as campus pastor at Covenant Church and spent much of the pandemic resisting reproductive rights at the church’s rolling “The Church at Planned Parenthood” (TCAPP) protest.

He was active in the pandemic-reopen protest scene through mid-2021, but the reopen protests dwindled over time and he had a falling-out with Covenant and TCAPP last May, about a year after they joined forces.

Shea has been notably quiet since, at least publicly. And while he may be cultivating new associations, it even seems as though his influence is dwindling in Spokane Valley.

Loving Families and Spokane’s Slavic Community Though Loving Families and Homes for Orphans is a Texas- and now possibly Florida-based nonprofit, its executive director Irina Sipko lived — at least until recently — in Spokane.

The organization is incorporated in Texas, but does not appear to be a 501(c)3.

The site is indexed on Google, but it failed to load in multiple attempts over five days and now the homepage at www.lfhorphans. org/ redirects to a domain registration service. An old, text-only Google Cache of the site doesn’t offer very much information, other than to say that the organization facilitates adoptions for orphans. On “Go Against the Grain,” Shea gave further detail, calling it, “a hosting organization for Ukrainian orphans in America with Ukrainian families with the intent that ultimately that ends in adoption.”

In the organization’s incorporation documents from 2018, Sipko is listed as a founding board member living at an address southwest of Spokane near Cheney-Spangle Road. Sipko has also been listed as the owner of Onyx-Pearl Salon and Spa in downtown Spokane, though it appears that business is closed. Several local people know her as a part of Spokane’s large Slavic community, though no one we spoke with knew her particularly well.

It now appears she may have moved to Palm Coast, Florida. The house in Southwest Spokane she listed as her residence sold in July 2021.

Last month she registered a new nonprofit with the State of Florida, called LOVING FAMILIES AND HOMES FOR ORPHANS, INC with different board members than the Texas organization.

It’s unclear if the organizations are state branches of the same organization or separate organizations. Marta Milan notes it would be easier to incorporate separate branches in their respective states. The only board member the incorporation documents share is Irina Sipko.

It remains unclear if these state-level nonprofits have a federal 501(c)3 charitable designation. RANGE was unable to find any 990 federal nonprofit tax returns on file for any organization with that name. It is rare for domestic nonprofits to operate without a federal 501(c)3. It seems even less likely that a nonprofit engaged in foreign adoption assistance would operate without one.

We were unable to reach Sipko for comment, though if she gets back to us, we will update this story.

While the lack of clarity surrounding Shea’s intentions and the incomplete legal details surrounding Loving Families has people in Poland justifiably on edge, it’s common for church congregations in Spokane’s large Slavic community (The Spokesman estimated there are 30,000 Ukrainians alone in Spokane County) to

support orphanages in former Soviet bloc countries.

Borisov says most of the Slavic community in Spokane are first-generation immigrants, meaning family, community and cultural ties to their former homes are still extremely tight, and the people who have made it to Spokane have a strong desire to “share in the economic opportunities they’ve been able to develop here in the U.S.” Borisov is no longer part of a Slavic congregation, but he says while he was, supporting orphanages in places like Ukraine, Russia and Moldova was common.

“The support would be financial, but also every year teams would go over there to help,” he says, “I think many Slavic churches are still very involved, so when the war in Ukraine broke out, many have orphanages they’ve been working with over the years under bombardment and/or evacuating. They are of course trying to do everything possible to help these groups try to survive the invasion.”

Because the need is so great and so many people from outside the Slavic community have been asking for ways to help, Borisov says a coalition of Slavic churches and Pacific Keep put together the Spokane Loves Ukraine campaign to take donations and help ensure they make it to trustworthy organizations and nonprofits in Ukraine and countries like Poland tackling the refugee overflow.

With the information we have, it’s hard to know if the plan to take the orphaned children to America as quickly as possible was real, or the result of an uninformed volunteer speaking out of turn. Because of that, it’s hard to know whether the decision to keep them in Poland to work through an official process was always the idea or a response to public outcry.

Shea’s trip to Ukraine may well have had humanitarian goals: a rescue operation to retrieve Viktoriya’s family and orphans in genuinely dire need with at least a tangential connection to Spokane. But in arriving, he’s working side-by-side with a regional right-wing religious extremist, partnering with a mysterious nonprofit that no one can track down, offering no provenance and claiming that any concerns are just Russian disinformation.

The local community in Poland is worried about children there, and they deserve answers.

Shea did not respond to a request for comment from us or The Seattle Times.

Luke Baumgarten is a longtime regional reporter and the founder of RANGE, a reader-supported publication based in Spokane.

Help it grow by becoming a paid subscriber.

This article originally appeared March 17 on rangemedia.co. Visit the website for more information.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 13

14 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

COMMUNITY

The 2022 Women of Wisdom announced

By Reader Staff The Women Honoring Women organization is committed to recognizing Bonner County women who have contributed to the betterment of the community through their service and leadership.

The committee looks for women who have vision, a love of learning, commitment to the community, leadership skills, grace, courage, integrity, achieve goals through collaboration and are an inspiration to others.

The organization has recognized more than 125 women since 1999, and this year the Women Honoring Women committee announced its 2022 Women of Wisdom: Karen Applegate, Diane Arrants, Sherry Ennis, Roxie Lowther and Patti Speelmon.

“All of these women over the course of their lives have contributed to the betterment of the community through their leadership

and service and have served as inspirational role models in Bonner County,” committee members stated in a news release. “We invite all family and friends to attend the luncheon to recognize these outstanding women.”

The gala luncheon honoring the Women of Wisdom is scheduled for 11 a.m., Saturday, May 7 at the Ponderay Events Center (401 Bonner Mall Way). Luncheon reservations will be accepted until Thursday, April 28 from Diane Stockton at 208-290-6362 or stockton_diane@yahoo.com, tickets are $30. The luncheon will include food as well as a program introducing the 2022 Women of Wisdom to celebrate their Lifetime Achievement Award.

“Thank you to all the people who sent in written nomination letters,” the organization stated. “There are so many exceptional women in our community it makes the selection process difficult.”

Community cat spay and neuter day at BTAA

By Reader Staff Better Together Animal Alliance is hosting a community cat spay and neuter day on Thursday, March 31, when it will open 30 appointments as part of its wellknown Trap Neuter Return (TNR) program.

TNR is a method of managing community cat colonies humanely and effectively. Community cats are captured using live traps with food as bait. They are then spayed or neutered to prevent unwanted litters and eliminate the excess of cats entering shelters.

To participate in this month’s community cat TNR day, schedule an appointment by calling 208265-7297 ext. 100. Each person

can schedule a maximum of three cats and the cost is a $20 donation per cat. Because this is a special event with limited appointments, BTAA will not be able to accept any cat or client that does not have an appointment. Drop off times will be given at the time your appointment is made.

TNR services include spay or neuter, FVRCP vaccine and rabies vaccine if the cat is age appropriate. All cats will have their left ear tipped to help identify they’ve been altered if ever questioned or trapped in the future.

To learn more about BTAA’s TNR program, visit bettertogetheranimalalliance.org.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 15

FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater For the love of feta

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

I haven’t had a bite of Greek food since a delightful, multicourse lunch last December in Cannes. Greek cuisine is at the top of my food chain, and I eat it every chance I get. For many years, when I made frequent trips to Chicago, I’d choose a night and head to Pegasus, my favorite ethnic restaurant in Chicago’s Greektown. I always started my meal with an icy, cold vodka and hot, fried cheese, saganaki. The cheese was set ablaze and ceremoniously served as the waiter shouted, “Opa!” On several trips, as I headed home, I’d take a detour on my way to the airport to stop at Jerry’s Fruit and Garden, a mighty mecca filled with ethnic foodstuffs. I’d purchase (and carefully package for travel) authentic blocks of Greek feta cheese, preserved in brine.

Last week, I was heartbroken to learn that the person responsible for my love of Greek food, Milt Datsopoulos, had passed away. He was a Missoula, Mont. legend, and one of the best humans I’ve ever met. I’m not alone in my admiration — his well-written obituary captured much of what made his greatness, stating, “He represented billionaires and indigents and was equally proud of both.”

I’d say I fell somewhere in the middle of those demographics. Milt was not only my attorney, he was a friend, confidante, client and business associate.

16 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

When my husband and I were first displaced from our Gold Creek ranch and relocated to Missoula, Milt and his wife Joan made sure we had invitations to acquaint us with the “city folks.” After I decided to open a restaurant and catering business, Milt and Joan were my first clients.

He was proud of his heritage and, more often than not, their party menus were Greek-focused. I learned from the Datsopoulos’ Greek recipe vault to make keftedes, moussaka, tzatziki, tiropita, and Milt’s favorite, Greek salad with lots of lemon juice, briny

Kalamata olives and “authentic feta cheese.”

At one of their standout parties, I met Dennis and Phyllis Washington, billionaire owners of Montana Rail Link. Dennis loved the lamb I’d prepared that night and, soon after that, I had my first MRL assignment — cooking onboard the Silver Cloud, their first opulent passenger car. More than 30 years ago, that introduction led to 20-plus years of a unique career in the private passenger car industry.

My restaurant was across the street from Stockman’s Bar and down Milt’s law office

block. His legal assistants did their best to keep him on schedule, guarding him against drop-ins. Though it was challenging to secure a bona fide appointment with Milt, you’d find him a couple of nights a week at Stockman’s, holding court. He rendered so many hours, anchored to the bar, doling out free advice to anyone in need of counsel, that he was assigned his own key on the cash register.

The son of Greek immigrants, he grew up on Railroad Avenue, not too far from Stockman’s Bar. He was raised among other immigrants who

mainly worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad.

The NP depot was just down the street from his home, where Milt spent time selling newspapers and cigarettes to waiting passengers.

Milt was fond of saying, “I don’t collect things because I don’t care about things; I collect people.” I’m grateful I was part of his collection. I’ll think of him fondly, every time I gather lemons, garlic, oregano, Kalamata olives and authentic feta cheese for his favorite (and mine) Greek salad. Opa, Milt!

Greek salad and dressing Serves 6. Serve with warm pita bread.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Dressing: • 3/4 cup good quality olive oil • 2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice • 1 garlic clove, crushed and minced • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano • 1/4 tsp salt • Freshly ground black pepper

Dressing: In a glass canning jar, add all the dressing ingredients, secure the lid tightly and shake vigorously until emulsified.

Salad: • 1 head romaine lettuce • 1 cucumber, partially peeled, cut lengthwise, seeded, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into long strips • 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced • 1/2 cup Kalamata olives • 6 oz good quality block feta cheese (in brine); remove feta and break into big chunks. Reserve some chunks for top of salad

Salad: Wash and spin or pat dry the lettuce.

Just before serving, tear and place lettuce in a shallow serving bowl (or deep platter), arrange cucumber, green pepper, tomatoes, red onions, olives and chunks of feta (don’t cut). Drizzle with the dressing and toss gently. Top with remaining feta, sprinkle with dried or fresh oregano. Season to taste and serve. Store remaining dressing in the fridge.

FOOD & DRINK

Legendary local brews

Paddler’s Alehouse offering up beer, folklore and much more in Ponderay

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff After years of working for other people, Chris and Stephanie Wiens decided to become captains of their own ship — one with a host of delicious local beers and the occasional lake monster sighting.

In reality, that ship is Paddler’s Alehouse — a new taphouse in Ponderay brought about by the Wiens’ desire to become their own bosses.

“With our love of Laughing Dog and all the other breweries in town, we decided to start our own [business],” Chris said, “and bring everything under one roof.”

Paddler’s Alehouse, which opened in February, came to be with that local spirit in mind, named for North Idaho’s very own cryptid water-dweller: the Lake Pend Oreille Paddler.

“We had many, many, many names,” Chris said with a laugh, adding: “There are so many things that are reused and don’t stand out. With the whole local theme, we wanted to find something that represented the local area — just this area.”

You can often separate real locals from newbies by bringing up the Paddler and its mystical past. For those out of the know, the creature is essentially a Loch Ness Monster figure, but specific to the fifth-deepest lake in the United States.

“Of course we tell a lot of people the story who don’t know it,” Stephanie said.

Just like their name, Paddler’s Alehouse plans to pay tribute to all the best locals have to offer — from the beer on tap to the art on display to the merchandise for sale.

“The true basis of everything we have done, or at least tried to anyhow, is local,”

Above: A flight of beers from Paddler’s Alehouse, currently on special for $6 and featuring all North Idaho brews. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

Right: Chris and Stephanie Wiens stand behind the bar of their new taproom in Ponderay. Courtesy photo.

Chris said, noting that both he and Stephanie were raised in North Idaho.

“Supporting local, supporting everything we grew up in and loved in the community that we raised our kids in,” he added. “With that in mind, everything we’ve done we’ve tried to find local vendors, local suppliers — anything we can to support what’s here.”

Paddler’s Alehouse features 24 taps offering beer, cider and hard seltzers, as well as local wine, non-alcoholic options and free coffee. There is also a lengthy list of “bar treats,” as Stephanie called them, like chicken wings, corn dogs, fries, pizza pockets and more. All snacks are baked, not fried, and come with a choice of more than 10 sauces.

Drafts range from $5-$8, and snacks from $4-6. Paddler’s is currently offering a flight special of four pours for $6.

On a recent Friday afternoon, this reporter tried the establishment for the first time. My husband ordered a blonde ale from Coeur d’Alene-based Paragon Brewing (which he loved) and I opted for a flight featuring beers from MickDuff’s, Laughing Dog, Post Falls Brewing and Tricksters Brewing, also in Coeur d’Alene. (MickDuff’s Lake Paddler Pale Ale remained the favorite, and no doubt an appropriate choice for this outing.)

For snacks, I had the soft pretzels (which came with two), and my husband had the mini tacos (which came with 10).

The excursion was affordable, delicious

and supremely laid back — all in all, a great pitstop on the way home from grocery shopping. What’s more, it was Stephanie and Chris themselves who served us at the bar, highlighting their hands-on approach to the business.

“We’re all about the human interaction and supporting local and good beer,” Chris said.

The Wiens hope to foster those connections — between patrons, but also between local products and consumers — as Paddler’s Alehouse gains steam.

“We’re going back to the roots of what a pub and taphouse should be,” Chris said.

Paddler’s Alehouse is located at 100 Vermeer Drive in Ponderay. Find the business on Facebook at facebook.com/paddlersalehouse to stay up-to-date on events and specials.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 17

events March 24-31, 2021

THURSDAY, march 24

Wild Trivia at Matchwood Brewing Co. 6:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Do you geek out about local wildflowers, mushrooms or other natural wonders? This is your time to shine! Come with a group of friends or solo. Scotchmanpeaks.org

FriDAY, march 25

Live Music w/ Hardwood Heart 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub A Missoula string band playing bluegrass, rock, jazz and Americana for the people Live Music w/ Maya & Joe 6:30-8:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Live Music w/ Mike & Sadie 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Classic rock tunes & familiar folk/country Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 7-9pm @ The Back Door

N.I. Philharmonia: ‘Between Earth & Heaven’ 7:30pm @ Panida Theater Jan Pellant leads the N.I. Philharmonia in a concert. Works by Mozart, Saint Saens and more, featuring a 31-piece orchestra. Portion of proceeds will be donated to the Ukranian Red Cross. $30/adult. $15/student Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Outlaw country rock ‘n’ roll

SATURDAY, march 26 Live Music w/ Mobius Riff Cabin Fever Dance and Salsa lesson 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 7-10pm @ Ponderay Event Center Doors at 6:45, Salsa lesson at 7, followed Live Music w/ Joey Anderson by general dancing at 8pm. $9/adults, $5/ 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall teens 13-18. 208-699-0421 Debut night for this country artist BCRCC County Office Candidate Forum 2,400 Feet of Schweitzer Schweitzer hosts the world’s longest Giant 1-4pm @ Bonner County Library Slalom to benefit the Cystinosis Research Hosted by the Bonner County Republican Central Committee Foundation. 24hoursforhank.org North Idaho Philharmonia presents “Carnival of Animals” family concert 2pm @ Panida Theater • Music by classic French composers Camille Saint-Saens and Maurice Ravel. This is a great show for families. $12/adults, $7/students Live Music: Chris Lynch Duo w/ Sarah Jean Live Music w/ Right Front Burner 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery 9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge Live Music w/ Steven Wayne Fundraiser for Angels Over Sandpoint 7-9pm @ The Back Door 7B Baggers Cornhole Tournament • 9am @ Bonner County Fairgrounds Starting w/ singles blind draw, followed by doubles. sandpointcornhole@gmail.com Missoula Children’s Theater presents Alice in Wonderland • 3pm & 6pm @ Northside Elementary School - presented by the students of Northside

SunDAY, march 27

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Inside Out film at Panida - FREE! 2pm @ Panida Theater See the Pixar animated film Inside Out free of charge, benefiting Kinderhaven

Live Music w/ Oceanography 6-8pm @ Old Ice House Pizzeria Oakland musician Brian Kelly will play indie rock at this Hope venue

monDAY, march 28

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi Group Run @ Outdoor Experience 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub 6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome, beer after Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s “Luggage: A Discussion About Forgiveness”

tuesDAY, march 29

Bonner Partners in Care Free Clinic • 5:30pm @ BPICC (2101 Pine St.) Clinic for the uninsured

wednesDAY, march 30

Live Music w/ Justyn Priest 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

18 /

R

/ March 24, 2022

Tap Takeover w/ E9 Brewing All Day @ Idaho Pour Authority Community fundraiser for SOLE from 5-8pm and live music w/ Joe & Maya from 6-8pm

STAGE & SCREEN

Free documentary film at Panida to benefit PSNI

Oscar-nominated Crip Camp helps bring awareness to people with disabilities

The screening will help PSNI raise funds for its various programs, as well as feature a silent Panhandle Specials Needs, Inc. auction to benefit the developmentally disabled community living in is one of those local organizations you can’t help but love. Dedicated Bonner and Boundary counties.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. for to providing a safe, productive the silent auction and the film will environment for disabled adults, begin at 7 p.m.

PSNI has been a beacon of light Crip Camp has made quite since opening its doors in 1975. an impact since it was released In the nearly 50 years since, the in 2020. Along with its Oscar agency has served 80-100 clients per year, featuring specialized em- nomination, Crip Camp has some impressive executive producers, ployment training, individualized too. Former President Barack and life skills training, an adult day First Lady Michelle Obama served health center, a retail greenhouse as executive producers for the film and a retail thrift store. under their Higher To help raise Ground Producfunds for this wor- Crip Camp (R) tions banner. thy organization, Saturday, April 2; doors at Winning the a free showing of 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m.; FREE. 2020 Sundance the Oscar-nomiFilm Festival’s nated documentary Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, Audience Award, film Crip Camp panida.org. Presented by Crip Camp will be offered to Panhandle Special Needs, highlights Camp the community on Inc., panhandlespecialJened, a summer Saturday, April 2 needs.org. camp in New York from 6-10 p.m.

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

described as a “loose, free-spirited camp designed for teens with disabilities.” The documentary follows the stories of Larry Allison, Judith Heumann, James LeBrecht, Denise Sherer Jacobson and Stephen Hofmann, all former campers who became activists for the disability rights movement.

The film follows their fight for accessibility legislation.

The idea for the film came from LeBrecht, who was born with spina bifida and uses a wheelchair for mobility. LeBrecht mentioned to a co-director named Nicole Newnham he had worked with for 15 years that he’d never seen a documentary related to his life’s work as a disability rights advocate. LeBrecht mentioned Camp Jened, and told Newnham he wanted to give people the experience themselves: “Arriving at camp, checking out the scene, maybe feeling a little bit uncomfortable, not sure what’s going on, not sure if they speak

the language. Then, over time, they’d come to feel like this is a world that is fun and joyous and liberating for them as viewers, just like it was for Jim. Jim’s personal story would bring you into that,” Newnham said.

The film was a critical success, earning a coveted 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based

A screenshot from the film Crip Camp. Courtesy photo. on 99 reviews.

Crip Camp is free and open to all who would like to view it.

Please consider making a contribution to PSNI for the excellent work they do for our local disabled community members.

The French Dispatch is a gem of a film with an incredible cast

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff It was two years ago — almost to the day — that I plugged Wes Anderson’s “new” movie The French Dispatch in the Sandpoint Reader. Of course, we all know what happened in March 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic effectively put a stop to almost every normal form of human activity, and that included the release of The French Dispatch.

Fans of Anderson’s inimitable twee sensibilities and penchant for stellar ensemble performances had to wait for almost a whole year before the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in July 2021, and it wasn’t until Oct. 2021 that it actually made it into civilian theaters. Finally, after its unusually long journey from filming to release, The French Dispatch is streaming on HBO Max. That’s a good thing, because the film is so jam-packed with delightful details, sight gags and subtleties that it more than rewards multiple viewings. To

date, I estimate that I have viewed it at least six times — which is a lot, but if there was a “target audience” in mind for The French Dispatch, I’m pretty certain that I would be part of it.

Generally described as a “love letter” to journalism (or at least its most charming incarnation), the film centers on a fictional magazine located in a fictional town somewhere in mid-20th century France.

Using an anthology structure, viewers are introduced to the quirky staff members of the titular publication through their respective stories, which we’re led to assume have at some point been printed for the edification of a readership focused on the hometown of Editor Arthur Howitzer, Jr. (Bill Murray) in miniscule Liberty, Kan. Hence, The French Dispatch is better understood as the foreign bureau of the local paper, a literal and figurative world away.

By stages we get to know the town of Ennui-sur-Blasé, first over the handlebars of Herbsaint Sazerac — “The Cycling Reporter,” played by Owen Wilson,

whose métier is to explore the romantic seediness of his adopted community. Next, Tilda Swinton stars as culture writer J.K.L. Berenson as she unfolds the tale of homicidal artist and jailbird Moses Rosenthaler (Benicio Del Toro), his prison guard/muse Simone (Léa Seydoux) and discovery by a neurotic art dealer named Julien Cadazio (Adrien Brody).

“The Concrete Masterpiece” is one of the strongest of the vignettes in The French Dispatch, followed by the less-enraptured “Revisions to a Manifesto,” which centers on a fuzzy-minded student uprising led

by Zeffirelli (Timothée Chalamet), his star-crossed crush Juliette (Lyna Khoudri) and reported with dubious personal ethics by hard-bitten correspondent Lucina Krementz (Frances McDormand).

By far the best of the stories — and the last in the cycle — is “The Private Dining Room of the Police Commissioner,” standing as a love letter all its own about the fine art of food writing, and what it can tell us about life itself.

Expat journalist Roebuck

Wright (Jeffrey Wright, channeling a melancholy version of James Baldwin) recounts from memory his dramatic observation of a kidnapping that involved the local chief of police, his young son, the brilliant police officer-turned-chef Lt. Nescaffier (Stephen Park, with dead-pan genius) and a bunch of criminals played by the likes of Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe and Saoirse Ronan, among others.

Also making cameo appearances throughout are Jason Schwartzman, Henry Winkler, Christoph Waltz, Liev Schreiber, Elisabeth Moss and no less than Anjelica Huston as the narrator.

Courtesy photo.

If that feels like one of the greatest casts ever assembled, it’s because it might well be. Storylines, production design, score and all else aside, The French Dispatch is simply a joy to watch for the work of this jaw-dropping ensemble — which of course brings together some of Wes Anderson’s favorite performers from across his earlier films.

It might have taken us two years to get this film on a streaming service, but it was well worth the wait, and even more worth revisiting.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 19

PERSPECTIVES

Recognizing Indigenous land and the debt owed to Indigenous peoples

By Sandra Nicholson Reader Contributor Have you heard of the Kootenai War of ’74? The story begins with the Treaty of Hellgate. Ratified in 1855, it wasn’t until 1871 when the local Indigenous peoples — the Ktunaxa (Kootenai), Kalispel and Schitsu’umsh (Coeur d’Alene) nations, according to native-land.ca — were forced by President Ulysses S. Grant to join the latest “Trail of Tears” without a site survey and with no visit by Grant to the Flathead Indian Reservation to which they were forced.

The Ktunaxa, being willful and resilient people, initially refused to sign the treaty offered to these nations, which means that their land was stolen. In fact, the entire local region considered Ktunaxa territory was built on stolen land.

However, after being almost wiped out and forced into a small spot of land in Bonners Ferry, in 1974 these Ktunaxa people, often referred to as the Idaho Ksanka, requested to be allowed to reconsider the treaty. Upon being denied, they turned to declaring non-violent war on the U.S. government, insisting on being offered into

20 /

R

the treaty in order to save their nation.

This necessity to be included in the treaty was not voluntary, this was forced in the face of the extinction of an entire people.

Their war ended in success, when President Gerald Ford agreed to grant them 12.5 acres, which today has grown to 2,500 acres of land.

To the people standing on the corners in Sandpoint hiding as cowards behind their masks holding signs that read: “Stop white genocide” and “White lives matter” and “No white guilt,” the land you were standing on was surrendered (by force of extinction) to the Treaty of Hellgate. It is shameful to feign oppression standing on an oppressed people’s stolen land, stolen by force of arms and genocide — all while hiding your face. You seem to want “oppression” so bad.

Have the respect of knowing the history

Ktunaxa (or Kutenai) girls, photographed

by Edward S. Curtis in 1911. of the land you stand on and reverence to the rightful “owners” by recognizing who, indeed, are the oppressed people of the land on which you stand. Know who those people were, who were almost wiped out by genocide on the land on which you stand.

This is a native etiquette tradition: You do not approach tribal territory outside of your own without identifying yourself in your native tongue, identifying your tribe and asking permission to enter a territory not your own with reverence and with an understanding and respect for their ways.

For further information, watch “What if the U.S. Honored Native Treaties?” and “Idaho’s Forgotten War” on YouTube.

Also, access the app native-land.ca to learn about Indigenous territories, languages and treaties, and read the article “Blast From the Past: Treaty of Hellgate 164 years old today” on charkoosta.com I acknowledge I am on stolen land, stolen by my ancestors; land now governed by a Constitution that is legally bound to uphold the treaties as the law of the land.

I support upholding treaties as the No. 1 priority of local officials and reconciling the effects of hundreds of years of not upholding them. I believe in reconciling the effects of my ancestors remaining on stolen land by force up to just 48 years ago. We are in debt to the native tribes of this land until the effects of these are reconciled.

See how easy that is? We can at least face the sins of our grandparents by knowing our history, and feeling the natural human soul-response called guilt, meant to ignite actionable change.

Sandra Nicholson, is Cymraes ydw i, a Welsh woman, written in Cymry, her native language, and living in Ktunaxa/Kalispel/ Schitsu’umsh national territory in the Kamanquku (Sandpoint) region.

/ March 24, 2022

MUSIC

‘Between Earth and Heaven’

North Idaho Philharmonia’s upcoming shows celebrate orchestral music

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The newly formed North Idaho Philharmonia wowed attendees at its inaugural concert in December 2021, and Artistic Director Jan Pellant plans to bring down the house again with a second concert, slated for Friday, March 25 at the Panida Theater.

The doors will open at 7 p.m. for a pre-show chat with Pellant, and the performance will begin at 7:30 p.m., featuring a 32-piece orchestra playing works by Mozart, Saint-Saëns and Dvořák.

“The concert will begin with Mozart’s Symphony No. 5,” Pellant told the Reader. “Mozart was only 13 years old when he composed this piece.”

Containing three movements, Mozart’s Symphony No. 5 is a “very energetic, lively piece,” according to Pellant.

Following Mozart, Pellant will lead the orchestra with 19th century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’, “Carnival of Animals,” which features two pianos and an orchestra of more than 30 performers in 14 movements.

“The pianos and orchestra are imitating voices and sounds of all kinds of animals,” Pellant said.

“It’s very friendly, easy going music that is great for families.”

After a brief intermission, the Philharmonia will play the works

of Czech-American composer monia will also play a second Antonín Dvořák. concert Saturday, March 26 at 2 “I’m originally from the Czech p.m., which is only an hour long Republic,” Pellant said. “North and caters more to families. This Idaho has a very similar landscape concert will include the “Carnival as Czech Republic, so I thought of Animals” and works by another this would contribute to this wonFrench composer, Maurice Ravel. derful community and landscape.”

Soloists include Dr. Matthew Dvořák’s symphony has five Goodrich and Melody Puller, both movements and expresses the Sandpoint residents and piano inpeople who live in the villages, structors at the Music Conservatodepicting how they dance and ry of Sandpoint. Sarah Caruso and enjoy their lives.

Kent Kimball will also contribute “It’s a very to the orchestra North Idaho Philharmonia as spoken word melancholy presents ‘Between Earth piece, but at the artists, guiding the and Heaven’ same time, is audience through Friday, March 25, 7:30 p.m.; filled with all the “Carnival of Saturday, March 26, 2 p.m.; kinds of moods: $15 for students, $30 for adults. Animals” while the happiness, Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., music plays.

208-263-9191, panida.org. Musadness, anger,” The Friday, sic Conservatory of Sandpoint, Pellant said.

March 24 concert 208-265-4444, sandpointcon- will include some The North servatory.org.

Idaho Philharinformation about

Artistic Director Jan Pellant leads the North Idaho Philharmonia at the Panida Theater in December 2021. Courtesy photo.

the war in Ukraine, as well as a call for donations to help support those affected by the conflict.

“This concert is a little reminder of what’s going on over there,” Pellant said. “Our hearts go out to the people in Ukraine and with this concert together we can raise funds to help.”

A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the Ukrainian Red Cross to help during this humanitarian crisis.

Admission prices are $15 for students and $30 for adults, and tickets can be purchased at sandpointconservatory.org/northidahophil, at MCS, 110 Main Street in Sandpoint, or at the door on the day of the show.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Joey Anderson, MickDuff’s Beer Hall, March 26 One of the area’s up-andcoming country voices will rock the Beer Hall for the first time when Spokane artist Joey Anderson takes the brewery stage on Saturday, March 26.

Anderson has already made a name for himself in the region as one to watch in the county-rock scene, having snagged the title of Top Newcomer from the Inland Northwest Country Music Awards in 2019. While his style leans heavily into the country genre, Anderson uses his vocals to achieve

blues-like flavoring and extremely heartfelt, vulnerable inflection, as heard on his song “Giving In” from the 2021 release The Lilac Smile.

This songwriter promises a good time at his shows, so he’s sure to fit right in here in Sandpoint.

— Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey 6-9 p.m., FREE, 21+. MickDuff’s Beer Hall, 220 Cedar St., mickduffs.com. To listen, find Joey Anderson on YouTube or Spotify.

Möbius Riff, Idaho Pour Authority, March 26 The encyclopedia Britannica describes the Möbius strip — named for German mathematician August Ferdinand Möbius — as exhibiting “interesting properties.” Given that, it’s no wonder that John Sarchio, Larry Higgins, Tom Duebendorfer and Larry Guldberg adopted the eponymous curiosity for their band’s moniker, Möbius Riff.

Just look at their instrumentation, which includes clarinet, flute, alto and soprano sax, mando-bass, electric cello, mandola and electric octave

mandolin. Just listen to their sound, which is described as an instrumental melange of Celtic, jazz, Middle Eastern, classical and originals.

As with the elegant complexity of the Möbius strip, Möbius Riff is a sonic experience that takes audiences to unexpected places.

— Zach Hagadone 6-8 p.m., FREE, 21+. Idaho Pour Authority, 203 Cedar St., 208-5977096, idahopourauthority.com. More info at mobiusriff.com.

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

READ

There are some writers who have such a gift. Their characters are interesting, plots unique and turns of phrases hilarious. Don DeLillo is one of those writers. His 1985 postmodern book White Noise is one of those you can’t help but love. It follows the tale of a college professor who teaches “Hitler studies” while his family wrestles with a strange “airborne toxic event” after a train car emits a noxious cloud, causing the small midwestern town to panic and evacuate. It’s funny, dark and so damn good.

LISTEN

Reader News Editor Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey often fills our office Spotify with some questionable artists — coughTaylorSwiftcough — but she nailed it on the head when she got me into Ruby Haunt, a slick duo from L.A. producing minimal pop that lives in its own aesthetic, rather than inside a genre. Their dedication to synth ballads and smooth electronica make each album a melancholy joy to listen to. Sugar is my favorite album.

WATCH

Eddie Murphy used to be box office gold, with his excellent performances in the Beverly Hills Cop films, Trading Places and Bowfinger to name a few. His career in later years turned a bit stale, with some really boorish roles in Norbit, Daddy Day Care and The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Murphy was at his best with the ’80s comedy Coming to America, where he starred alongside Arsenio Hall.

Both actors played a variety of funny roles that kept the laughs coming, but overall the film showcased Murphy’s charisma and talent when he was still on top of his game.

March 24, 2022 /

R

/ 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

An exercise in frustration Traveling in the age of COVID makes even the most seasoned traveler feel inept

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

From Northern Idaho News, March 30, 1909

SUMMER RESORT FOR SANDPOINT Sandpoint is to have a summer resort of the most modern type with accommodations to care for summer tourists from all sections of the world, and amusements provided to assist in passing away the time pleasantly. This resort will be equipped with a large modern hotel, dancing pavillions, row boats, launches and steamers, as well as huge barge dancing pavillions, while the grounds surrounding the resort will be laid out by a landscape gardener of experience and the whole place made a beauty spot. Such in brief is the plans of the backers of the Pend d’Oreille Boating & Amusement company, a corporation which is being organized with a capital stock of $250,000, with a principal place of business at Sandpoint.

The gentlemen behind the proposition are men of means from Butte and Spokane, who have become enamoured with Sandpoint and Lake Pend d’Oreille and propose to build up here one of the greatest summer resorts in the Pacific northwest.

The company will operate a line of steamboats from Sandpoint to the resort, which will be located across the lake, the exact site not being designated as yet, as the papers have not been signed for the sale of the land to the parties who propose putting in the resort. The company will have work commenced in this city within the next ten days on the construction of three steamers, one of which will be 62 feet in length and the other two will be 80 feet in length.

Charles A. Cottrell of Butte who is one of the promoters of the new company will return to Sandpoint in a week or ten days and will bring five families interested in the enterprise.

22 /

R

/ March 24, 2021

It’s official: traveling is back. Though the number of people passing through TSA checkpoints hasn’t quite reached pre-pandemic levels, the seven-day average is the highest it has been since March 2020.

For avid travelers who have sidelined their international excursions for more than two years, this is good news. Nothing quite satisfies the soul like strapping a pack on your back and exploring the world at large.

Having just returned from a sailing voyage in the Caribbean, there are still a lot of kinks to be worked out before traveling becomes the joy it once was.

With different countries requiring different levels of testing, and each with their own bureaucratic forms to follow, traveling has become an exercise in patience and frustration in the age of COVID. Some countries require only a rapid antigen test (that’s the one where they shove a long Q-tip up your nose until you feel it ram into your frontal lobe), which is cheaper and produces quicker results. Others demand the PCR test, which is free in some places and exorbitantly expensive in others.

Flying into St. Lucia from the U.S. requires the traveler to submit a negative PCR test taken no more than five days before arrival. Taking into account that results often take one or two days to arrive, this window can be tricky, as Cadie and I found after we missed our first flight.

We chose to get free tests at Walgreens in Coeur d’Alene, but since the lab technician typed my name as “Ben” instead of my legal name “Benjamin,” the St. Lucia travel authorities denied our travel until they matched. Sounds simple, right? Just call Walgreens and have them send a new form, right? Wrong. With the clock ticking louder and louder, I called and called, getting the same corporate response that any changes

STR8TS Solution

would take 24 hours to process. After a day, with our departure the next day, they said the email would arrive “any time now.”

The test results also had to be printed out and handed to the ticketing agent at the airport, so I nervously checked my emails all day during my final workday, finally driving to the airport without the important form in hand.

A final call with the lab reassured me that the new results should appear at “any moment.”

At the airport, the ticketing agent took one look at our papers — which we had painstakingly filled out — and pursed her lips, ready to deliver the bad news. There was no way to board the plane without the printed negative COVID test results.

With only an hour left to go before boarding closed, I opened my laptop and took matters into my own hands. I opened the original results letter in Photoshop and doctored my first name to match my legal traveling name, then resubmitted the phony form to the St. Lucia travel authorities, but they had all gone home for the day, so we missed the flight.

Walgreens never sent the new results letter. St. Lucia accepted my doctored file and granted authority to enter the country.

If I hadn’t been an able graphic designer and bent the rules, we’d have missed the next day’s flight and our vacation would be delayed at least another three or four days to wait for another PCR test result. Luckily, Delta was able to find seats for us and re-book at no extra charge (big tip: always join a mileage club with the airlines. Who knows if they would’ve been so kind if I wasn’t a SkyMiles member).

After the rest of the boat crew arrived, we all shared our travel woes. Each one of us had trouble with the bureaucratic hoops one must jump through, but we all made it.

When it came time to sail to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, we all had to get another round of PCR tests, which were free in the U.S. but cost $185 each in the islands.

On top of that, we had to have printed test

results with us when arriving at the new islands. It’s not an easy feat to find a printer in the islands, but we made it happen.

These examples are all what fully-vaccinated travelers must endure for international travel. I didn’t look into — nor do I care about — what the non-vaccinated travelers have to do. Voyaging about the world for most of my adult life, I always considered myself a savvy traveler, but these new requirements made even veterans feel like total newbies.

For those thinking of their own international adventures, be forewarned that it can be a nightmare if even one of the many steps goes wrong somewhere along the way.

Research and triple check everything before you leave for the airport, because the stress you might feel getting stuck or hung up can cancel out the rest and relaxation you are seeking in the first place.

After we flew into Spokane and drove home to Sandpoint last week, the only thing I could think of when crossing the threshold of my place was, “I’m so glad that’s over.”

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution Instead of a trap door, what about a trap window?

The guy looks out of it, and if he leans too far, he falls out. Wait. I guess that’s like a regular window.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

erlking

Woorf tdhe Week

By Bill Borders

/URL-king/ [noun] 1. a spirit or personified natural power that works mischief, especially to children.

“What caused you to track mud all over the house?”

“Well, ma, I suppose it was the power of the Erlking at work on me.”

Corrections: In our story “Official May primary candidates list released” from the March 17 issue, we incorrectly spelled the name of Scott Trotter, a candidate in Idaho’s U.S. Senator race. Sorry, Scott, and thanks for the kind email letting us know. —LKC

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

CROSSWORD ACROSS 1. Laugh 5. Two times two 9. Part of an ear 13. Black, in poetry 14. Enter data 16. Impoverished 17. Graphic symbol 18. Protrusion 19. Catch 20. Put one’s foot down 22. Endorser 24. Top of a house 26. Electrical pioneer 27. A surveying instrument 30. So very much 33. Malcontent 35. Pigpens 37. French for “Friend” 38. Liberated 41. Feline 42. Utilize again 45. Vitamin B1 deficiency 48. Egg dish 51. Permit 52. Unexpired 54. Kind of moss 55. Given names 59. Drops 62. Food thickener 63. Covered with linoleum squares 65. Henhouse 66. Bristle 67. Go in

Solution on page 22 68. Emanation 69. Part of a foot 70. Malodorous 71. Sounds of disapproval

DOWN 1. Not his 2. Adjoin 3. Money paid for a service 4. Windflower 5. Lie 6. Burden 7. Lit to a higher degree 8. Tough

9. Nouveau-riche 10. Not stereo 11. Wild hog 12. Unrestrained revelry 15. Anxious 21. Ritzy 23. “Oh my!”

25. Feudal estate 27. Russian emperor 28. Juliet’s love 29. Black gunk 31. Lacking moral discipline 32. 10 in a decade 34. Cotillion girl 36. Anagram of “Ties” 39. Snake-like fish

40. Trickle 43. Some 44. Distinctive flair 46. Anagram of “Dice” 47. Raccoon-like carnivore 49. Gladden 50. Scheduling 53. Triangular formation 55. To vex 56. Curved molding 57. Be worthy of 58. Appear 60. Pig meat 61. Resorts 64. Not wet

March 24, 2021 /

R

/ 23

Uoo1AK

INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY.

BUILDING CAREERS IN AEROSPACE.

NOW HIRING The Kodiak Aircraft Company is hiring and training in all aspects of aircraft manufacturing and support.

• • • •

Signing Bonus Excellent Benefits Immediate Openings Competitive Wages

For more information and applications, visit: kodiak.aero/careers

•• The Kodiak Aircraft Company is a division of Daher, the worldwide aerospace giant.