Reader_March25_2021

2 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“In what area of your life do you need to spring clean?”

“The tack shed. I need to organize the horse stuff from winter for the five horses in order to get ready for spring riding.”

Cherra Dewey Vet assistant Sagle

“The cellar and my garage.”

What’s in your cellar?

“You name it.”

Richard Beck Retired Bonners Ferry

DEAR READERS,

It’s hard to believe March is almost finished. Time sure flies.

Let’s all be thankful for our health and for the good people in our lives. Our thoughts are with the victims of the recent mass shootings that occurred in Atlanta and Colorado. At this time last year, we were all in a pretty uncertain place. I had to lay off my entire staff for about a month because our ad sales dried up almost immediately after COVID-19 became a reality. Thankfully we were able to secure a PPP loan that helped us get the staff back to work, and since then our advertisers have been wonderful about helping us get through the past year of weirdness. For good reason, too: According to the media survey the Reader and Keokee conducted this spring, the Reader scored as the No.1 most-read publication on the list, with almost 80% of those who took the survey saying they regularly read it. Thanks for reading and thank you advertisers for all your support. We’re happy to bring you another week of “arts, entertainment, bluster and some news,” as our slogan goes.

– Ben Olson, publisher

16

Conquer the Outdoors Again Office Located in the Ponderay Walmart Vision Center Call and make an appointment today: 208.255.5513

“My yard—in preparation for flower beds and a vegetable garden.”

Carrie Scott Customer service Sagle

“The front yard. All the stuff that was covered by the beautiful gleaming snow is no longer covered.”

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Cadie Archer (cover), Ben Olson, Bill Borders, Susan Drinkard, D.C. Compton, POP, BCHS. Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Mayor Shelby Rognstad, Brenden Bobby, Jen Jackson Quintano, Sandy Compton, Hannah Combs, Marcia Pilgeram.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $115 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.

Trish McConnell Front desk at Fry Creek Animal Clinic Sagle

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.

“My home office files. I put it off and put it off...”

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com

Christine Denova Executive director of Life Choices Pregnancy and IdaHope Families Sagle

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken by Cadie Archer, who definitely loves a good fire.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 3

NEWS

Idaho Supreme Court voids permit for Sagle asphalt plant

BoCo Commissioner McDonald: Ruling ‘seemed a bit vindictive’

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff A citizens group opposed to the relocation of an asphalt batch plant to a gravel pit in Sagle have successfully appealed a District Court decision that would have allowed the project to move forward, with the Idaho Supreme Court determining Interstate Concrete & Asphalt’s conditional use permit for the project — issued by Bonner County — invalid.

“Our group has been confident in our case and trusted Gary Allen, our attorney, regarding the laws and how the county ignored their own ordinances, Bonner County Comp Plan and Title 12,” Jonna Plante, founding member of the Citizens Against Linscott/ Interstate Asphalt Plant told the Reader in a March 22 email, adding that the group is “very relieved” that the court determined Bonner County would need to pay its legal fees for the appeal.

Bonner County commissioners did not reply to an initial request for comment on the ruling, but Commissioner Dan McDonald did take to a local Facebook forum March 23, commenting on a news article about the decision: “What’s interesting is based on the language in the ruling it appears now every gravel pit in Bonner County is illegal.”

When asked via email to elaborate, McDonald later told the Reader that county legal counsel was “already moving to remedy this so as to not hurt gravel pit operations that are of vital importance to all our county residents.” “[T]he Court interpreted our nonconforming use statute to say all grandfathered uses, including gravel pits, cannot expand,” he continued in a follow-up email.

“Now that works great for all ordinary uses, but all natural 4 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

resource uses must expand and have been doing so for years, so all the old gravel pits in the County are now illegal according to the courts.”

McDonald went on to state that the county “thought it was extremely irregular that the Court awarded attorney fees but only against the County and did not include Interstate or the Linscotts” after those parties won in the District Court ruling.

“It seemed a bit vindictive and may stem from the fact that we challenged the Governor on the CARES Act disbursement as was originally outlined,” McDonald said, identifying, at the Reader’s request, the party being allegedly “vindictive” toward the county in the Sagle asphalt plant case as “[T]he state Supreme Court.”

“In our opinion it was an odd ruling, especially the award and how it was structured,” he continued. “Do we have proof, of course not, but it was highly irregular in that there were two other parties with us in the suit but only one pays attorney fees.”

Bonner County filed for declaratory judgement against Gov. Brad Little and other state officials in July 2020, alleging discrepancies between the state’s guidelines for distributing pandemic relief funds and federal guidelines. That case has since been settled out of court.

In the asphalt plant suit, the state Supreme Court reversed a portion of the lower court’s decision vital to the relocation of the plant from Sandpoint to Frank and Carol Linscott’s Sagle gravel pit; while the District Court upheld the CUP, the higher court ruled the CUP void. This is due in large part to a separate, simultaneous suit in which the citizens group argued a county code amendment from 2018 — which allowed asphalt batch plants in farming, agriculture/forestry and

Aerial photos from a legal document showing the expansion of Linscott’s gravel pit since 1981, when it obtained grandfathered rights. The photo on the left is from 1981, while the right photo is from 2017. Courtesy images. residential zones with a CUP — was adopted without adequate public notice. Bonner County conceded, the District Court executed a judgement and, in acknowledging that opinion, the Idaho Supreme Court declared Interstate’s CUP invalid, seeing as it depended on the illegally adopted code.

“The County did not satisfy the conditions precedent to exercising its statutory zoning authority,” the court’s decision reads. “Therefore, the Amendment never had any force or effect. Accordingly, the law in existence at the time the Linscotts and Interstate applied for the CUP did not authorize the proposed use and the CUP is invalid.”

The state court also reversed a portion of the District Court decision that gave the county authority to interpet its own code and use discration “in concluding that it need not consider the

Linscotts’ gravel pit’s compliance with nonconforming use ordinances.”

Opponents of the asphalt plant have long argued that the Linscotts have unlawfully expanded their pit.

“We disagree and conclude that the County’s application of its zoning ordinances was arbitrary and capricious,” the new decision reads.

It’s the latest development in the story of the proposed Sagle asphalt plant, which launched in 2018 when Interstate applied for the CUP. Bonner County’s Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the permit in late 2018 and, in early 2019, county commissioners approved it. All the while, neighbors mounted a vigorous campaign against the plant, eventually banding together to file a motion for reconsideration.

When the commissioners once

again upheld the permit, the citizens group took the county, Interstate and Linscotts to court.

When a judge upheld the CUP, the group appealed — it also brought the illegal adoption of county code as a separate matter, requesting a declaratory judgement in June 2020. The parties settled outside of court in July, with both agreeing that the amendment to county code was, in fact, illegally adopted due to a failure to provide adequate notice before the code change saw a vote.

In voiding the amendment that made Interstate’s CUP possible, the Idaho Supreme Court decision states, the CUP also becomes void.

When contacted for statements on the ruling, both Frank Linscott and legal counsel for Interstate Concrete & Asphalt said they had no comment at this time.

NEWS

‘Our best shot’: Vaccines available to all Idahoans over 16 by April 5 LPOSD votes to eliminate mask rule in schools after Spring Break

appointment becomes available in your area, a provider will contact you directly.

The governor’s office reports that “more than 63% of Idaho’s COVID-19 vaccine Idaho’s 65-and-older popurollout is now full speed ahead, lation have been vaccinated as Gov. Brad Little announced March 24 that starting Monday, and almost 30% of individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 April 5, all residents over the age of 16 will be able to sched- have been vaccinated.”

“Folks, with each passing ule vaccine appointments. week as more and more IdahoUp until this point, elderly ans choose to get vaccinated, Idahoans and those with essential, in-person professions have we get closer to returning to normal,” Little said. “The been prioritized. As of March 24, 396,304 Idahoans had been COVID vaccine really is our best shot at protecting jobs and vaccinated, with 247,125 of those considered fully inoculat- saving lives. Please choose to ed, either with a single dose of receive the safe and effective the Johnson & Johnson vaccine vaccine.”

The availability of the or with two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, particularly for Idaho or Moderna vaccines. In Bonteachers, prompted the Lake ner County, those numbers are 10,848 and 6,607, respectively. Pend Oreille School District Board of Trustees to vote Little took the opportunity March 23 to rescind its face to thank those Idahoans with covering requirement, instead his March 24 media release making masks “optional” in about the vaccine. schools starting April 12 — “You have taken one of the most important steps during our after Spring Break. LPOSD pandemic fight to protect lives Superintendent Tom Albertson and get us closer to normal,” he confirmed to the Reader after the meeting that the motion said of those who have chosen pertains to students, staff and to acquire doses. “Hundreds school visitors, including sportof thousands of Idahoans have received the vaccine because it ing event spectators.

Albertson said that all the is safe and it works. If you are board’s decisions have been still unsure about the vaccine, based on COVID-19 data withI encourage you to talk to your in the school district, as well as doctor or health care provider.

There are good reasons most of throughout Bonner County.

“Both of these metrics have them did not hesitate to receive been trending downward,” he their COVID vaccine weeks ago — the COVID vaccine has said.

LPOSD schools will continbeen tested and it is proving to ue to operate on their modibe safe and effective.” fied, shortened-day “yellow” Those who want to sign up for a vaccine can either directly schedules, and will continue to suggest self-isolation if a staff contact local providers (see member or student is within sidebar) or visit covidvaccine. six feet of someone who tests idaho.gov to sign up for a positive for at least 15 minpre-registration list. Once an

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Local enrolled vaccine providers Bonner County: Panhandle Health District — off-site clinic Bonner General Health Kaniksu Health Services Sandpoint Family Health Center Sandpoint Super Drug White Cross Pharmacy — Spirit Lake White Cross Pharmacy — Priest River Yoke’s Pharmacy utes. However, if all parties are wearing masks, no quarantine time is necessary, according to district policy.

Medicine Man Pharmacy — Sandpoint Safeway Pharmacy — Sandpoint Boundary County: Panhandle Health District —off-site clinic Boundary Community Hospital Kaniksu Health Services Safeway Pharmacy — Bonners Ferry

Those in North Idaho with questions about COVID-19 or who need assistance securing

a vaccine can call the PHD hotline at 877-415-5225.

Memorial Field boat ramp construction has begun

By Reader Staff Construction on the third phase of War Memorial Field began March 22, including the expansion of the parking lot and additional landscape/lighting and boat trailer parking, replacement of the boat ramp and the addition of a permanent restroom, non-motorized launch, boat wash station and ADA walkway to the waterfront.

The parking lot will be closed during the construction period and parking will also be restricted between the two driveway entrances on Ontario Street. The newly constructed parking lot and launch will open May 28th for Memorial Day Weekend.

Meanwhile, the city received

preliminary notice of a grant award to fund the new boat docks early next year. Construction is expected to occur before the 2022

Construction has begun on the Memorial Field boat ramp in Sandpoint. Photo courtesy city of Sandpoint. boating season.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 5

NEWS

IPNF projects see financial boost

Improvements to Priest Lake recreation sites and Bonners Ferry trails among planned maintenance

By Reader Staff The Idaho Panhandle National Forests managers announced plans March 17 to initiate 11 projects this year to address deferred maintenance and improve visitor experiences at popular recreation sites.

The efforts will be paid for with help from funding provided by Congress last year through the Great American Outdoors Act. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced March 8 that it would invest $285 million in 2021 to help National Forests and Grasslands across the country address critical deferred maintenance, and improve transportation and recreation infrastructure, with funding established by the federal Act. Part of that investment includes projects on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

Combined with grants from the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, IPNF officials announced that this year’s Great American Outdoors Act funds will allow them to begin improvement projects at recreation sites highly valued by the public, while contributing to economic development in rural areas.

Of the Idaho Panhandle projects that

will be initiated in fiscal year 2021, one will directly benefit the residents of Bonner County: The Priest Lake Deferred Maintenance Reduction Project will replace fire rings and picnic tables at some of the National Forest’s busiest recreation sites around Priest Lake and Upper Priest Lake, including boat-in sites at Bartoo Island, Bottle Bay, Geisinger, Kalispell Island, Navigation, Plowboy, Tule Bay and Trapper.

Other projects will undertake trail maintenance and reconstruction with the help of partner and volunteer groups in areas that have not received trail maintenance in recent years. This year’s plans include brushing out and clearing more than 68 miles of trails in the Mallard Larkins Pioneer Area and the Upper St. Joe River, as well as trail maintenance and reconstruction on the Canyon Creek Trail No. 16, the Red Top Trail No. 102, and the Bussard and Rutledge Trails near Bonners Ferry.

Additionally, this year’s funds will be used on projects to replace outdated toilets at many trailheads, campgrounds, boat launches and other recreation sites across the National Forest with new facilities that meet accessibility requirements.

Spring conditions affecting National Forest System roads and trails

By Reader Staff The U.S. Forest Service is reminding visitors traveling on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests’ extensive network of roads and trails to be aware of changing conditions and the hazards of driving on soft roadbeds as roads thaw.

Excessive snowmelt causes road shoulders to be soft and unstable. USFS officials advise people to avoid driving on soft roads and be aware that out-sloped icy mountain roads can increase your risk of sliding off the road, particularly when passing another vehicle. In addition, driving on soft roadbeds also can cause significant rutting and resource damage, which results in costly repairs.

6 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

Visitors traveling on forest roads are encouraged to be mindful of changing conditions and snow at higher elevations.

As the snow continues to melt and spring rains create soft trail and road surfaces, it is important to be on the lookout for flood and landslide damage.

“The Forest Service appreciates everyone’s cooperation caring for National Forest System roads and trails so that they are accessible and well-preserved for everyone to enjoy,” officials stated in a March 23 media release.

Report any new road or trail damage to the local Ranger Station. The Idaho Panhandle National Forests posts road and trail conditions, as they are reported, at fs.usda.gov/alerts/ipnf/alerts-notices.

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: A congressional remedy for digital inequalities would make broadband internet more accessible and affordable across the nation, The Washington Post reports. The proposal, the Affordable Internet for All Act, faced opposition from congressional Republicans in the past.

But with the pandemic highlighting how many students could not access an online education, there is now more support.

The director of National Intelligence recently declassified foreign threats to the 2020 U.S. elections: Russian President Vladimir Putin had authorized influence operations to undermine President Joe Biden, to undermine confidence in the electoral process and to amplify socio-political divisions. The report said Russia did not meddle in election infrastructure; but, “even after the election Russian online influence actors continued to promote narratives questioning the election results.” The report had been released to the previous administration on Jan. 7, the day after the Capitol insurrection, but not shared with the public.

Eviction metamorphosis: Pima County in Arizona is no longer playing the “tough guy” with those facing eviction, High Country News reports.

Instead, their officers share information about where to find help for new shelter opportunities, a stance that’s important for healthy outcomes in the face of COVID-19.

“Taxation without representation” has been a sore point for at least 86% of Washington, D.C., residents seeking statehood. They can vote for president but have no representation in the Senate, despite having about 1 million residents — more population than some other states. The proposal has been under consideration in Congress numerous times and is again being debated.

House Resolution 1280 has been introduced to Congress and would forbid the military to transfer war-related weaponry to federal, tribal, state or local law enforcement. That would include firearms, silencers, bayonets, grenade launchers, explosives and “combat configured” aircraft.

Household income loss due to COVID-19, since March 2020: whites,

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

44%; Asian, 47%; Black, 57%; multiracial and others, 58%; Latinos, 62%. Stats are from Mother Jones.

Should you get vaccinated if you’ve already had COVID-19? According to doctors’ observations, Huffington Post reports, it appears that antibody levels start to drop after a few months, especially in cases of asymptomatic and milder COVID-19: those who have had the virus can get it again. An infectious disease expert at Yale said if one has recently had the virus, it does not appear to be necessary to get a COVID-19 vaccine right away. But re-infection can occur within three to four months.

Regarding last week’s Atlanta area shootings that killed eight people and wounded one, with six victims being Asian women: Of the violent attacks on Asian Americans last year, stats show 70% targeted Asian women. The Atlanta murderer said he was driven to kill because of his “sex addiction,” CNN reported, and the region’s sheriff’s department said the man was trying to eliminate his temptation, and he’d had “a really bad day.” U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., responded, “As if it weren’t a far worse day for the women the shooter killed, or their families … As if women have to pay if men have a bad day.”

The U.S. House recently passed the Violence Against Women Act, which expands and reauthorizes the Act, if enacted. The killer initially thought of killing himself, CNN said, but decided to “help” others by shooting.

Blast from the past: Maine joined the Union 201 years ago this month. Wouldbe state officials had failed in their attempt two years prior, since the South objected to adding another slave-free state, which would reduce Southerners’ influence on retaining slavery. The South would only consent to Maine becoming a state if they could add another slave state: Missouri. Congress then passed the “Missouri Compromise,” which prompted Northern politicians to start whittling away at slavery, including outlawing slave sales in the nation’s capital. The whole scenario had angered people in Maine, and a number of them pursued political office to resist “Slave Power.”

That eventually resulted in the creation of the Republican Party.

PERSPECTIVES

Mayor’s Roundtable: Spring updates

By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor Spring has begun and with it comes a renewed sense of optimism and excitement for change. More people have had COVID-19 shots, myself included, and it has provided for me a sense of security and openness to socialize like I haven’t experienced in a year.

For anyone who hasn’t had a vaccine, I encourage you to inquire at Bonner General Hospital. The hospital often has extra vaccines that are made available from those who have canceled their appointments. I know many people who have gotten their vaccine this way.

The sooner we get vaccinated, the sooner we can move beyond COVID-19 and its impact on our lives and our work.

Last week, for the first time, I took my kids out to Memorial Field to kick the soccer ball. It was so much fun playing barefoot on such a quality surface.

It was the middle of March and there were two teams practicing and two family groups all using the field at the same time.

What a blessing to have such a nice field that can be used nearly all year long without turning into a mud bog. I feel very proud of the city for delivering on the promise of an exceptionally high quality field that expands use and playability far beyond its former capacity.

Construction began yesterday on Phase 3 of the Memorial Field Improvements.

Due to be completed by May 28 — Memorial Day weekend — it will include improved parking, new restrooms and an improved boat launch.

This is the third phase of the project that was funded by the 1% Local Option Tax, which expired at the end of 2020. The city acquired numerous other grants totaling nearly $600,000

Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad. that also contributed to the final product. The city is anticipating another $300,000 in grant money over the next year to support building docks at the launch. This will be part of the fourth phase and will include other boat improvements and a dog park.

Also underway, is a remodel of the City Hall Council Chambers. It is the first phase of a City Hall remodel that is designed to improve customer service delivery, workflow and functionality. City Council,

Planning and Zoning, Urban Renewal and other regular city meetings will take place at Sandpoint Community Hall on First Avenue until the project completion, which should occur in May. A remodel of the administrative offices at City Hall is also slated to begin early this summer, if approved by the council in April. It should be a noticeable improvement for anyone doing business or paying a bill at City Hall.

Last week the City Council approved the city’s first Arts, Culture and Historic Plan.

This historic achievement represents the city’s renewed commitment to elevating our cultural and historical identity to support a vibrant arts and events scene. This will have long-term economic and social impacts. The city is opening up applications for new members to join the Arts and Historical Commission. I hope to appoint new members starting in April.

Anyone interested can find an application on our website: cityofsandpoint.gov.

Next month the city will be considering approval of the Multimodal Master Plan. The plan, if approved, provides guidance for future public investment in transportation infrastructure and a prioritized schedule for implementation.

It includes all modes of transportation and a vision for how transportation may change in the future. It is the third master plan to be completed in the past seven months.

A number of master plans are still in development. The Capital Improvement plan is nearing completion and will be before council for approval by the first meeting in July. The Watershed Recreation Plan is on a similar timeline. I expect the city will have a consultant contracted by the end of summer to lead the community engagement and planning process, which will deliver a community endorsed vision for appropriate recreation in the watershed. It will also address open space and connectivity throughout Sandpoint. An

updated Urban Forestry Plan is also underway that will help management of the tree canopy throughout the city.

The Comprehensive Land Use Plan I expect to pick up again later this year and will likely be ready for council adoption by the first quarter in 2022. The Comp Plan will guide future growth and zoning and is the greatest tool the city has to manage housing availability and affordability.

In May, City Council will have a strategic planning workshop to evaluate all of the city’s new master plans, order implementation plans and prioritize public investments in infrastructure. The result will be more efficient budgeting, better project timing, better alignment with public priorities and better governance.

Please join me for the Mayor’s Roundtable to discuss these issues and more Friday, March, 26 at 4 p.m. on Facebook Live: Mayor Shelby Rognstad.

in volunteer roles, most notably her work as co-chair of the Pine Street Woods capital campaign.

The threads of Cox’s life have woven together her deepest passions — a love of the Idaho landscape, teaching and learning, bringing people together and spending time outdoors.

This makes her the ideal advocate for Kaniksu Land Trust.

Plumb is the conservation director of the KLT. A native of eastern Washington, she settled in the Inland Northwest with her young family in 2007. She holds a B.A. in biology from Colorado College and an M.S. in zoology from the University of Wyoming. She has worked on wildlife issues in multiple states and across a spectrum of fauna,

has directed restoration work for the National Park Service and is a certified science teacher.

Plumb has led the land conservation efforts of KLT across far North Idaho and northwestern Montana since 2013. Her professional and personal interests have always shared the common thread of conservation and responsible stewardship The presentation, co-sponsored by Sandpoint Parks and Recreation, will be presented live on Zoom and recorded for later viewing on the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society’s YouTube Channel. When viewed live, there will be opportunities for audience Q&A. To register for this program, go to bit. ly/3cXBjzW.

KNPS hosts educational presentation by KLT

By Reader Staff

The Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society program titled “Kaniksu Land Trust: Education and Conservation,” presented by Katie Egland Cox and Regan Plumb of the Kaniksu Land Trust, will take place Saturday, March 27 at 10 a.m.

Cox and Plumb will talk about KLT’s education and conservation programs, highlighting how they make a nature connection for young students and guiding participants through a typical enrichment program. They will discuss KLT’s collaboration with the Kalispel Tribe for tree and plant identification and in-

troduce their sister community forest, Indian Creek, which is managed by the Kalispel Tribe.

They will also present their most recent venture into rotational grazing and the impact that has had not only on Pine Street Woods, but the community as well.

Cox is the executive director of the KLT. She received her B.S. in education from the University of Idaho and Masters in architecture from the University of Washington. She has focused her professional life in the fields of education and architecture, with a particular interest in building community. For the past decade she has operated her own architecture practice, while also wearing many hats

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 7

Idaho GOP untethered from reality…

Bouquets: • Thanks Mother Nature, for another round of snow! I know, I know; some of you just want this whole winter thing to be over with, but I’m always happy to squeeze in a few powder spring skiing days before the season ends.

• It’s always a sad thing to see your former teachers pass away. It was with a heavy heart that I noticed my old fourth-grade teacher Chuck Randolph passed away last week. I have fond memories of Mr. Randolph teaching at Southside Elementary School. I remember him as always having a smile on his face and a joke or two for his students. Many also remember Mr. Randolph from his longtime gig teaching driver’s education, too.

Rest in peace, Mr. Randolph. I always appreciated your humor.

Barbs • Speaking of driver’s education, there’s a truly asinine proposed bill in the Idaho Legislature right now that would remove the mandatory driver’s ed. requirement to receive a driver’s license.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Brandon Mitchell, R-Moscow, claims that the bill would promote safer driving because parents would be responsible for teaching their children. It would also extend the mandatory six-month learner’s permit period to two years, meaning drivers wouldn’t be able to get a license until they turn 16 years old.

Currently, drivers can receive it at 15 years old.

This is just another example of the nonsensical bills that Idaho Republicans have been promoting.

Perhaps in a perfect world where parents have all the time in the world to teach their kids to drive safely and responsibly, this bill might be beneficial. But this is not a perfect world, and I’m not eager to share the road with anyone who hasn’t passed a course explaining the rules of the road. Is it too much to ask our Legislature to spend their time on meaningful legislation instead of wasting time and energy on these foolish efforts?

8 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

Dear editor, Let me see if I’ve got this straight. The state of Idaho is going to drop participation in the Powerball lottery because Australia has strict gun laws? You’re telling me that Idaho is going to give up millions of dollars dedicated to education because a country literally halfway around the world might take Idahoans guns away? Please explain.

Couple that with the other non-reality-based thinking that made the House pass HB 122. That bill legalizes guns in schools. This, while facing opposition from every Democrat, the Idaho Sheriffs Association, the chiefs of police, the Idaho Education Association, the Idaho Association of School Administrators and the Idaho School Boards Association. The GOP majority legislators completely ignored the concerns of law enforcement and educators, and went with the gun lobby instead.

These two actions by the GOP-controlled Legislature completely unravels any semblance of rational thought.

It goes along with the mindset that believes the state legislative offices are bugged. It is readily apparent that the current GOP is completely untethered from reality.

I’m begging the people of Idaho to wake up! We can’t wait until 2022. We must tell “our” representatives that this is not what we want from them.

Gil Beyer Sandpoint

Bill making citizen initiatives harder is antithetical to Constitution…

Dear editor, As you probably know, Idaho Senate Bill 1110, which seeks to further restrict the rights of citizens to create an initiative, has been passed in the Senate and will be voted on in the House when the Legislature reconvenes. I have written to Representatives Heather Scott and Sage Dixon imploring them to vote no on it.

From what I’ve read, the rationale for this bill is that rural voters suffer from the existing initiative process. This rationale needs addressing. The current rule established an 18-district requirement. Since then (2013), 13 out of 15 attempts to place an initiative on the ballot failed. Two made the ballot.

One of those, the Medicaid expansion initiative, won the majority of votes

in nearly every rural county in Idaho. Clearly, the current process does not make it easy to place an initiative on the ballot. Nor are rural voters unrepresented. Indeed, rural voters can make their statement by… voting!

There is a special arrogance built into SB 1110. It implies that citizens simply do not know what is good for them, but legislators who may have special agendas do. It is antithetical to the Idaho Constitution, which preserves the rights of citizens to participate in our government, including generating initiatives.

SB 1110 seeks to remove power from the citizens and thereby compromise our perfectly good Constitution. This should be alarming to all who are concerned about maintaining the integrity of our Constitution.

Please let your legislators know how you feel about SB 1110. Thank you.

Sincerely, Lexie de Fremery (a rural voter) Sandpoint

A plea for masking…

Dear editor, I couldn’t help noticing in the photo in your March 18 issue [“Photos of the Week”] that only two of the 21 Panida theater volunteers were wearing masks. There is a sign on the Post Office door that masks are required but the clerk told me that local authorities don’t let them enforce the masking ordinance. Only in Idaho do local authorities determine practices in a federal facility.

Similarly, when I went to renew my vehicle registration, only two of the nine people on the line ahead of me wore face masks, as did not the clerk who attended me.

Idaho is one of the states in which COVID-19 cases are increasing. The Legislature is shut down for two weeks due to COVID. Without mask wearing and social distancing, case numbers will continue to increase.

Donald L. Kass Sandpoint

McDonald repeatedly shows poor judgement...

Dear editor, After wasting $320,000 of taxpayers’ money, the Bonner County commissioners finally dropped their ill-conceived lawsuit against the city. Yet even now, Dan McDonald still argues on Facebook that the county should’ve pushed the matter further into a higher court.

Apparently sour with the failure, he

threatened retaliation in the next budget toward Sheriff Wheeler for not wanting to continue the litigation of this contrived scenario.

The county’s litigation fund has ballooned in recent years and most of the details on the various lawsuits are kept hidden in “executive sessions.” In the county’s budget, money padded in one department has become a loss to another. While McDonald claims there’s been no reduction in services for residents, we know that’s not true when we go to the County’s waste stations.

Now under McDonald’s heavy thumb, we are seeing our longstanding community values disregarded.

Both the Sagle and Selle Valley citizen committees are getting his pushback for their efforts to represent their neighbors’ wishes regarding future growth. Every month, numerous land divisions and building permits get approval that contradict established codes. In fact, just recently, a proposed development for Idaho Club was granted 12 variances that deviated away from the protections for waterfront property. The site is at the mouth of North Fork of Trestle Creek, designated as the most beneficial area for the spawning of bull trout for all of Lake Pend Oreille. The risks this poses to the restoration efforts for a sustainable fishery should draw the ire of every local fisherman.

In 2022, we must replace McDonald with someone who has the best interests of our residents in mind and will care for protecting our most precious asset, beautiful Lake Pend Oreille.

Rebecca Holland Sandpoint

‘We are now in COVID overtime’…

Dear editor, The New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons 3428 in Super Bowl LI in 2017. The Patriots overcame the largest deficit in Super Bowl history (28-3) to win in overtime. Due to the comeback, the Falcons’ blown 28-3 lead would enter NFL lore. The game was also the first and currently only Super Bowl to be decided in overtime.

How would you feel about the Patriots if they had given up in overtime?

We are now in COVID overtime.

Patriots don’t quit. We will lose without a final push. Idaho is now a hot spot and Bonner County is a hot spot within Idaho. Please, Get a COVID-19 vaccine. wear a mask to protect yourself and others and stop the spread of COVID-19, stay at least six feet (about two arm lengths) from others who don’t live with you.

Avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. The more people you are in contact with, the more likely you are to be exposed to COVID-19. Even if you have been vaccinated, the data is not in on whether you can spread it or not, and what will happen with the new variants.

A new study indicates that threefeet distance may be enough. The CDC has recommended three-feet distance for school children and is still studying it, but recommends six feet for the rest of us. We have to wait for that measurement to see whether this will be a first down. Hopefully, no one will be off-sides in this last play.

Nancy Gerth Sagle

PERSPECTIVES

Once upon a time, in a seemingly far off land, I was a writer. I woke every morning, grabbed my jar of peanut butter and mug of tea, opened my laptop and the words flowed forth.

Some of it was for assignments, some for pitches, blogs and anthologies, and some for the fun of it. I even wrote a book once — going on a book tour and everything. One night, the line for autographed copies snaked out the bookstore door and onto the street. It was thrilling. I was, in short, The Shit. Or, so I believed.

Then life happened. We moved 1,000 miles north, our business grew and so did our family. Suddenly, instead of being the voice of my desert home, I was way the heck up Rapid Lightning Road, changing diapers in the afternoon dim of our cabin and trying to learn QuickBooks during half-hour nap breaks. These days, I find myself packing school lunches and managing employees and getting home bone weary from full days disposing of trees. My laptop gathers dust. My words rust.

The day does not start with peanut butter and prose but with a small person bounding onto the bed with a belly to fill.

Don’t get me wrong: It ain’t all bad. Not even halfway so. But it also isn’t the writerly life I once pursued.

Today, I don’t create so much as maintain. I am a mechanic in service to the ma-

Jen Jackson Quintano. chine that is the Family Industrial Complex. My husband is in the same boat; he was once an art major. We now embrace the equation that Journalist + Artist = Manual Labor Forever.

Amen. Or, maybe it’s more accurate to say I mostly embrace the equation. There are definitely days during which I mourn the passing of my previously inspired life.

Then I remember the benefits of having transformed into a Responsible Adult: We no longer live in a camper trailer.

We no longer have dance parties to the food stamp hotline hold music.

We now bring more sub-

stantive fare to potlucks than chips and salsa.

Our daughter is clothed and fed and does not have to share anything with the dog (food, bed or otherwise)… unless she chooses to.

We have finally earned the esteem of our families and no longer cause the kind of worry that compels them to slip supermarket gift cards into our wallets unbidden.

These are all good things. I am grateful for the abundance our business has generated.

Yet, I also wonder what is lost when one gives up on her muse. I wonder if it is always necessary to sacrifice creativity on the altar of security.

I wonder if a well-adjusted child only arises from material wealth. I wonder, sometimes, what our life would look like today with a practicing journalist, an engaged artist and a little girl. Would the incessant hustle leave us even more weary and dissatisfied? Would the constant fear of financially failing impinge upon the joy of staying true to our inventive impulses?

I guess I am trying to generate a cost-benefit analysis of sacrifice (Responsible Adult that I am, everything now comes down to balance sheets).

Unfortunately, that is an impossible task since much of what is being measured is intangible and unknowable.

Would my daughter respect me more as a fully realized,

true-to-myself artist? Or will she be more grateful that I gave up childish things so that she might have an unfettered childhood? Will my future self be happier that I generated some small retirement savings (and arthritis), or would she be happier surrounded by the myriad manifestations of her beautiful mind?

If one has a talent, is she beholden to use it? Or is it acceptable to cast it aside in favor of IRA contributions and college savings plans?

One idea that both terrifies and delights me is that my body will not hold up doing this kind of work forever. I am already feeling the effects of disassembling trees by hand.

There will come a day when the Lumberjill can lumber no more. Will we have made enough money by then to step away from the business? Will my muse still be waiting for me? Will my hands be too arthritic to peck at the keys? Will

this transition feel like loss or a welcome reprieve?

Perhaps that’s the way of it, to find one’s passion and purpose early so there is a place to return to when the chicks have fledged and the day is turning to dusk. Perhaps creativity is there to sustain us — mentally, emotionally, spiritually — when productivity no longer can.

Until then, I soldier onward to the wordless whine of two-stroke engines and the rumble of diesel machines. In that space, I witness, I wonder, I mature, so that maybe, when the day for words comes, I will have something more important to say.

Jen Jackson Quintano writes and runs an arborist business with her husband in Sandpoint. Find their website at sandcreektreeservice.com.

See more of Quintano’s writing at jenjacksonquintano.com.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

greenhouses

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Living around here, you’ve likely seen or visited your fair share of greenhouses. Plant nurseries are quite popular for an area this small for two major reasons: people love pretty plants and the idea of self-sustainability.

Unfortunately, our growing season is very short compared to places closer to the equator like California and Mexico, which can support agricultural endeavors year round. Here, if you want to make farming or gardening a perpetual operation, you will need the help of a greenhouse.

The premise of a greenhouse is pretty simple: it lets light in, but doesn’t let heat out. Light emitted from the sun creates heat energy when it is absorbed by objects. That heat energy tends to rise, especially when it is dissipated into the air, as it is on Earth. Darker objects like tires or black plastic barrels absorb the most light, and thus heat up more quickly than something like a white mailbox, which reflects a lot of the light hitting it.

You can use this premise in your greenhouse to your advantage, especially in our chilly neck of the woods. By filling black plastic trash cans with water (which does a great job of retaining heat energy), you can create thermal batteries that will radiate heat throughout your greenhouse.

Warm air naturally rises, so unless you actively circulate the air in your greenhouse with the aid of fans, all of the warm air will sit up in the rafters while your precious plants languish in the cold below. During the 10 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

summer, you would need to actively vent hot air out of your greenhouse, or the entire space will begin to fill up with heat and literally cook your plants inside. Some clever designers created greenhouses with ventilation ducts that circulate hot air from the ceiling down into the foundation of the greenhouse while pushing cooler air up to be reheated and recycled, keeping the internal temperature of the structure stable. Plants love stability.

Creating a good greenhouse is a bit of a balancing act, especially around here. Our summers can hit triple digits while our winters have had a record of snapping to 20-below for the entire month of February. The clear plastic sheeting or glass that makes up most of your greenhouse isn’t particularly good at insulation (keeping heat in and cold out). It’s just there to let the light in and keep some of the heat from escaping.

In order to survive our winters, your greenhouse needs to have additional insulating materials to keep warmth inside.

This can be achieved a number of ways. The most expensive of which is to use a concrete foundation that is insulated on both sides by polyurethane foam.

Additionally, you can use these foam boards to cover walls the sun doesn’t reach during the winter, as well as specialized blinds you can pull down over the roof panels at night.

Additionally, you can build a rocket mass heater, a specialized form of woodburning stove that is usually built directly into the foundation, venting heat throughout the entire structure.

Due to the surrounding stonework absorbing and radiating

the heat from the fire, it requires considerably less fuel to maintain an ambient temperature through the structure than it would for a traditional wood stove to heat your home.

Another viable option for insulating a greenhouse in our area is to bury it. A Walipini greenhouse is essentially just a pit covered by wood trusses and whatever clear roofing material you want to use, whether it’s glass or plastic. Soil is a fantastic insulator, though you probably never would have guessed after slipping and sliding across it on most frigid winter mornings. The cold temperatures only penetrate between four to six inches deep around here, leaving a nice, stable area for your plants to grow below that — provided you can get enough sunlight to reach them.

The processes that go on in a greenhouse aren’t exclusive to small artificial structures.

Any planet with an atmosphere acts as its own greenhouse — sometimes to better effect than others. Earth’s atmosphere holds in just enough heat for plants and animals to survive, though that changes from time to time.

Human beings introducing increased amounts of carbon into the atmosphere from things like industrial facilities, refineries and automobiles creates aerosolized pockets in the atmosphere that acts like the polyurethane panels of a greenhouse: allowing light to pass through, but trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Interestingly, the way Earth deals with this effect is by spouting huge amounts of carbon (as well as other hazardous chemicals) into the atmosphere from massive volcanic eruptions that end up creating a thick layer of

ash and clouds that absorbs most of the light, allowing very little to funnel down to the surface.

While this insulates the planet’s surface for a while, prolonged cover allows the heat to dissipate without being replenished by the sun, leading to a phenomenon called volcanic winter.

If you want to see what happens when the greenhouse effect goes completely out of control,

just take a look at Venus, where the average surface temperature is about 864 degrees Fahrenheit.

That’s about 350 degrees hotter than your oven when you’re broiling something.

It just goes to show you, we live in a giant greenhouse that teeters on a very delicate balance.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner ht Don’t know much about daylig • Daylight Saving Time — the practice of setting clocks back an hour in the fall and forward in the spring — is habitually and incorrectly referred to as “Daylight Savings Time.” It was first introduced in 1985 by a man named George Hudson. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation starting on April 30, 1916.

• George Hudson was an entomologist who first proposed DST because he was frustrated because he had to do most of his bug hunting at night and lamented how early the sun set during the summer months.

Hudson reasoned that springing the clocks forward would allow more daylight for bug collecting — and other activities — leaving the clocks to be switched back in the winter when people (and bugs) were less likely to be found outdoors. First derided as pointless, Hudson’s idea spread across the developed world in two decades.

• When Germany adopted DST in 1916, it was born out of an effort to conserve coal during World War I. Britain and other European nations

saving time?

We can help!

were quick to follow suit. The United States began practicing DST a year after entering the war as a practice to save electricity.

• Proponents of the recent effort to end the clock-switching practice claim that DST is a health hazard. It is true that some studies show the extra hour of sleep lost by springing the clocks ahead can slightly increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke and seasonal depression. However, another study notes a decrease in crimes such as robberies in the spring due to DST. • The candy industry lobbied for an extension of DST because the traditional end of DST occurred on the last Sunday in October — right before Halloween night. Lobbying went on for decades. According to one report, candy lobbyists even placed tiny pumpkins on the seats of everyone in the Senate in 1985 to influence their decision. A law extending DST into November finally went into effect in 2007.

• DST is not mandated by federal law, which means some states such as Arizona don’t follow it.

PERSPECTIVES

On the ‘wall’ that is really an inefficient fence

By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist Having survived COVID-19 and feeling sort of — but not completely — immune, I recently traveled down Mexico way. I didn’t go into Mexico, except just a tiny bit, because: a.) I didn’t take my passport with me to Arizona, and b.) even if I had, I didn’t want to sit in traffic for an hour to get in and several hours to get back out. Instead, I stuck my left hand through “the Wall.”

It’s not really a wall, by the way, but a fence of 18- to 30foot steel palings set in concrete and topped by vertical pieces of plate steel. It isn’t at all efficient.

It has gaps in it. Big gaps, sometimes miles wide. And much of it simply replaces what had been in place for decades. The old border fence at Douglas, Ariz., was much more intimidating than the new chunks south of Bisbee. An able-bodied human desperate to get into the Estados Unidos de América might be able to scale the new fence. With a rope and grappling hook, no problem.

Someone with a Sawzall and a generator might make a hole in it. And they have.

As I wiggled my fingers in Mexican airspace, my traveling companion said, “Don’t do that,” as if someone might be watching. Someone is watching. Some portion of the nearly 17,000 Border Patrol agents (plus 4,000 National Guard soldiers) keep watch 24/7 along our 1,954-mile southern border. Between wages, benefits, equipment and miscellaneous items like fuel and ammunition, the annual cost ranges upward of $1.8 billion. On top of that, there are private contractors out in the desert helping keep watch. Also, the annual electric bill for the lighting along the fence must be terrifying.

If the fence works so well, why do we need all that? Because it doesn’t work, except to interrupt the natural order of things in the wild spaces of the Southwest. An adult rabbit won’t fit through the fence, much less a javelina or a deer. And they don’t have Sawzalls.

By the way, Mexico is not paying for the wall, as former-President Donald J. Trump promised. We are. According to administration estimates in 2017, the fence was supposed to cost about $22 billion. This was quite a surprise for the budget guys, because DJT promised we could fence the entire border for $8 billion while campaigning in 2016. By January of this year, we had spent $15 billion on construction, and we weren’t half way there. Congress authorized $5 billion. DJT used executive power for the other $10 billion.

That’s $20 million per mile constructed. Less than 50 of those miles have been built where no barrier already existed.

Four decades ago, my thenwife and I entered Mexico illegally and quite by accident.

As we drove through the lettuce fields of the Imperial Valley on our way from San Diego to somewhere else, she noted that the traffic signs (what few there were) were in Spanish. Oops. We turned around and scooted back into the U.S. No fence. No wall.

No problem. It wasn’t as if there was no smuggling or illegal immigration then. The current combination of population pressure, rampant poverty south of the border, obvious prosperity north of the border and huge profits made from drug smuggling have changed the game dramatically.

I have some personal social theories about that. I suspect the failed “War on Drugs” has escalated the price of illegal sub-

stances to a point where really bad and really greedy people make so much from trafficking that it has become more worth the risk and the trade has become valuable enough to protect by any means. Ironically, most of the drugs coming across the border are being smuggled through highway checkpoints. This is not a new development.

Tell me again what that fence is for.

The remote border is still dangerous. Friends told of meeting a group of “Mexican soldiers” in northern Mexico who were armed with the latest weapons, including grenade launchers.

They were indeed soldiers; but not in the Mexican army, rather in the army of a drug cartel. It was made clear that my friends would be better off elsewhere, which was accomplished without suffering violence; just long moments of terror.

These “armies” also smuggle humans, a number of whom end

up dead in their desperation to reach the “promised land.” Many others end up in cages along the fence, then detention centers and then on buses back to Mexico or planes to South America.

When I say “cages” that’s what I mean. Every few miles along sections of the new fence are 10-foot-on-a-side steel cubes enclosed with metal mesh and topped with razor wire. They have a dirt floor and no roof.

They are not quite as hospitable as a dog kennel. The Border Patrol has similar facilities at its permanent highway check stations as well. Being locked in one of them must be terrifying for an adult. I can’t imagine how a kid would feel.

What alternatives to stopping — or at least slowing — illegal entry and the drug traffic there might be, I can’t say. It’s a longterm challenge that won’t be solved easily. It is exacerbated by a huge variety and disparity of opinion, self-serving political

These cages are spaced every few miles along the new sections of border fence. Photo by D.C. Compton. posturing and ignorance-based fear. I’ve heard people who live much closer to Canada than Mexico declare their xenophobia in no uncertain terms. “Build the wall,” they exclaim, though it’s highly unlikely that they have or ever will have seen it, much less know how it works — or doesn’t. But, as citizens of a country that uses these measures (and our money) to keep people out, or to capture and hold them once they get in, it’s our right and responsibility to know what measures we are paying for, how much we are paying, how they are implemented and how well they work.

The “wall” is really just a porous fence; an ugly, environmentally disastrous and expensive failure; and an embarrassment to our country. That’s what I think.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 11

NEWS FEATURE

Road rules

Idaho bill would eliminate driver’s ed requirement; instructors fear that’ll make the roads less safe

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Learning how to drive is a rite of passage — for most teenagers, it’s their first brush with adulthood and a critical step toward independence. Often, getting their driver’s license goes hand-in-hand with a teen’s first job. It means no longer having to rely on parents for rides to sports and school and, with it, signifies that a young person can move about the world with responsibility and accountability.

All that said, the process of learning — going through the classroom and practical aspects of driver’s education — gets taken for granted. Meanwhile, a bill working its way through the Idaho Legislature would eliminate the state driver’s ed requirement, giving parents the choice of whether to enroll their teen in a course or take on the role of driving instructor themselves.

House Bill 320 is sponsored by Moscow Republican Rep. Brandon Mitchell but fronted by Plummer-Worley resident Bonnie Voves, who told the Reader that the impetus for the measure came from her personal experience with teaching her son to drive at age 14 in Alaska.

Voves said she moved to Idaho with her family from Alaska six years ago, and had already trained her son to operate a vehicle.

Coming to the Gem State, she discovered that her son would be required by law to take a driver’s ed course — a step that’s not required in her home state.

“I just didn’t think that was necessary, and the cost was high — some of these classes are up to $400,” she said, zeroing in on the financial burden to some parents, which she argued creates an unequal situation in which “people with the means can afford to have their kids take driver’s ed, but others can’t.”

Her bill, Voves said, is looking for equal access and opportunity to get kids trained to drive in the way — and for the cost — that parents, rather than the state or driving schools, think is right. “What’s to 12 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

keep them from charging $1,000 [for a lesson]? Nothing,” she said.

What’s more, she added, it’s a parents’ rights issue: “With driver’s ed under the Department of Education, why can’t it be operated similarly to home schooling, where it’s the parents who have the choice?”

To top it off, Voves said she was disappointed that when her son was taking the course, students were assigned to describe some of the things their parents do in the car that aren’t correct. He didn’t want to answer that question.

“I’m glad you didn’t answer that question,” Voves told her son.

HB 320 would remove mandatory driver’s ed in Idaho and replace it with a new law requiring learners aged 14 to apply for a permit and pass a written test and log a minimum of 50 hours of supervised driving with a licensed parent or guardian aged 21 or older. For 16-year-olds, the law would require learners to apply for an intermediate license, pass a state driving exam and adhere to graduated driver’s license rules, “which have been proven

to be safer and more effective than driver’s education classes,” according to the bill’s statement of purpose. The law would not change for those 17 and older, who are currently not required to take driver’s ed — simply pass the written exam.

For local driving instructors, HB 320 is not only a solution in search of a problem, but will create more problems than it solves.

“The No. 1 killer of young people is auto accidents. It’s a serious thing,” said Wayne Johnson, who operates Buckle Up Driving School, which serves students at Forrest Bird Charter Schools, as well as learners in Priest River, Sandpoint and Clark Fork.

“We’re in it together — driver’s ed and the parents,” he added.

“But they want to just drop off the teacher part.”

Johnson came to driver’s ed after retiring as a school administrator, offering driving courses in Post Falls and Washington. After retiring — yet again — and finishing building a house in Laclede, longtime former local driver’s ed instructor Joan Head asked him to

“I’m marking you down for failure to yield, wide get back behind the wheel, after turns and for not doing the dishes last night which he worked for the Lake when your mom asked you to.” Courtesy photo.

Pend Oreille School District for license program. That adds up to several years, until the district stopped offering driver’s ed as part about 50 hours of instruction with parents, under the current system. of its curriculum. He then went to the charter school, where he offers Julia Klontz, owner and courses — subsidized so that the instructor at Panhandle Driving cost runs about $15 for students.

School in Sandpoint, provides Meanwhile, private in-person similar levels of instruction and prices, underscoring that there courses cost $275. are avenues for parents to find (The local driver’s ed commufinancial assistance — particunity remains tight-knit — locals larly through the state-afforded who took driving lessons in the Advanced Opportunities program, 1990s will remember Mrs. Head, which can reduce course fees to as well as Charles Randolph, between $25 and even free. who died at 79 on March 16 — “None of our students who the latter a Sandpoint resident have applied have been denied since the mid-1940s, U.S. Army that, as far as I know,” said Reserves veteran, Sandpoint High Klontz, who has operated PanhanSchool teacher, basketball coach dle Driving School since 2017 and and driver’s ed instructor for 40 boasts a stable of five teachers, years. When the Reader spoke to including herself.

Johnson, it was a day after he’d Both Johnson and Klontz attended Randolph’s funeral.) oppose HB 320, underscoring that Johnson said instruction involves 30 hours of online work, six standardized driver’s ed training not only makes the roadways safhours of behind-the-wheel instrucer, but instills a range of intangible tion and six hours of in-car obserskills like being cognizant of other vation. Students then receive their road users — from other motorists permit and work with their parents to motorcyclists, bicyclists and for six months on the graduated

< see DRIVER ED, page 13 >

< DRIVER ED, con’t from page 12 >

pedestrians.

“Really it affects all of us who drive and use the roadways,” she said.

“When I was in kindergarten, running a driving school wasn’t something I necessarily thought I’d be doing,” added Klontz, who transitioned into driving instruction after working in banking. “It was not on my radar that I would be teaching driver’s ed. Now that I’m here, in this stage of my life, I wouldn’t take any other profession. Being able to have that direct impact on the safety of our teenagers and our community as a whole, I feel really good coming home at night and knowing that I have made a difference.”

That’s an especially big deal for Klontz, who with her husband Ricky have two young children — the youngest a 5-year-old, whom she wants to keep as safe as possible, giving her work a level of personal importance that goes beyond the job itself.

“I don’t want someone driving irresponsibly when my 5-year-old is out there crossing the street or playing on the sidewalk,” she said.

While Klontz and Johnson agree that parents are important to — and should be involved with — teaching their teens to drive, there’s a reason that drivers for decades have relied on trained professionals to teach them the finer points of operating a motor vehicle.

“I fear that not all parents would cover all the topics that we cover and in the detail that we do,” Klontz said. “That’s the hard part.”

Bob Ashbrook, now retired after decades teaching driver’s ed and managing testing locally, put a finer point on the legislation.

“It’s asinine,” he said.

Ashbrook began his career as a driver’s ed instructor in the late 1960s and came to the job after exploring joining the Idaho State Police. Rather than a patrol officer, he discovered that teaching driver’s ed fulfilled the public safety aspect of the job, but took a proactive approach — instilling the good habits that would hopefully avert the kinds of roadway tragedies (and costly tickets) that highway police often have to contend with.

As far as parents’ ability to teach those skills, Ashbrook sees why and how they should be active participants in their teens’ learning, but really it takes a professional to ensure new drivers have access to all the best practices.

“Sandpoint drivers are… well, let’s just say they have a lot of bad habits,” he told the Reader, specifically noting the huge influx of newcomers to the area in recent years, many of whom have come from states where driver’s ed is not mandatory or road rules and infrastructure conditions are vastly different.

The enormous population changes not only in Idaho but Bonner County have

also been felt by driving instructors. Both Klontz and Johnson said there is tremendous demand for courses. Klontz, being both an owner and instructor, is on the road several times almost every day with her students.

Meanwhile, Johnson said he has such a backlog of students that he’s considering offering two full courses over the summer.

Some of that is due to the population boom, but also delayed instruction due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As more people are vaccinated for the virus, they are returning to the nuts-and-bolts aspects of daily life, and that includes booking teens into driver’s ed.

“We’re signing kids up for this fall right now because the classes are full,” Johnson said.

The future of HB 320 is unclear. As the Legislature remains in recess due to a wave of COVID-19 infections among lawmakers, and the end of the session already in sight, “I hope they take it up when they come back,” Voves said, but she’s not optimistic that the bill will make its way out of committee before the end of the session.

Rep. Mitchell could not be reached for comment. However, Ponderay Republican Rep. Sage Dixon has stated his support for the bill, telling the Reader in an email that the bill will not go forward this session, though he expects Mitchell to bring it again in the 2022 session.

“I am always in favor of parents having the ability to make decisions about their children’s education, and, having taught five of my seven children how to drive, I do not believe a private party has more interest in a child being safe on the road than a parent does,” he wrote. “Ultimately, the student has to pass both the written and practical driving exam, so it really doesn’t matter who does the instructing so long as they meet the ability standard required by the state.”

As Dixon pointed out, the issue touches on a number of critical issues — among them, what role the state should play in requiring various kinds of education, including driving.

“It creates kind of that gray area,” Klontz said. “How do we know that every homeschool curriculum is teaching a student everything they need to know? … As driving instructors, we just want students to be getting all the information and knowledge they need.”

Regarding the bill, she added, “There’s always room for improvement with the driver’s ed experience. … We want to find a happy medium between what [the bill is] demanding and what we offer.”

For Johnson, teaching driver’s ed remains a job that not only creates safe drivers, but helps teens transition from kids into good citizens.

“I wouldn’t be doing this as a retirement job if I didn’t feel strongly about it,” he said.

OUTDOORS

Pend Oreille Pedalers: Building community through trails

A group of young riders meet at the Little Sand Creek Basin Trails in Sandpoint. Photo courtesy POP.

By Reader Staff Sandpoint’s local bike club and trails organization, Pend Oreille Pedalers, has a full calendar of programs and events lined up for the community in 2021, including group mountain bike and road rides, trail work parties, kids’ clinics and camps, and club meetings.

The club, formed in 2004 to develop trails in Dover’s Sherwood Forest, took on its first ever paid staff person last year, with longtime volunteer and board member Jason Welker stepping into the role of executive director.

Since then, POP has overseen the expansion of local trails in Pine Street Woods and VTT (both recent additions to the Syringa trail network, accessible via the Greta’s Segway Trailhead or the Pine Street Woods parking lot off of West Pine Street) and in the Little Sand Creek Watershed, where the club has a license agreement with the city of Sandpoint to build and maintain trails in the Lower Basin.

In 2021 the club plans to build a new, three-mile, climbing trail from the Lower Basin trailhead on Schweitzer Mountain Road to allow for safer uphill travel for both mountain bikers and hikers. This trail is the first phase of a two-year Lower Basin buildout that will be followed in 2022 with a new flow trail higher up in the Basin and a new downhill trail to further broaden the options for non-motorized users of varying ability levels.

Meanwhile, in the Syringa system, POP is working with Sandpoint residents Julie and Steve Meyer to develop and build several new trails on the 100-acre VTT property, which, lying immediately south of Pine Street Woods and west of Sherwood Forest, was acquired by the Meyers last year and will soon be placed into a permanent conservation easement with Kaniksu Land Trust. By late summer this year there will be a new trailhead close to Highway 2 on West Pine Street, with parking for 15-20 vehicles and a kiosk with maps and other information about the

property. This trailhead will provide access to a nearly two-mile VTT “perimeter trail,” known as “Rotary Green Heart,” after the local Rotary Club, whose generous donations will make the trail possible. Trailhead infrastructure is being funded by a national Placemaker grant secured by the Selkirk Association of Realtors. The new trail will provide a beautiful loop around the lower flanks of the VTT property, and offer a 200-foot ascent up rocky slopes to connect with the narrow trails of Pine Street Woods.

Beyond its many trail projects in 2021, POP is also expanding its youth programming and opportunities for group rides for its membership. On March 28 registration for a six-week after-school mountain bike clinic opens up, which will see 30 area youth join four coaches for instruction on the beginner friendly trails of Pine Street Woods. Over two weeks in mid-July the club is offering summer mountain biking camps for up to 64 kids aged 7-12. More information about POP’s youth programs can be found at pendoreillepedalers.org/programs.

As a nonprofit, member-supported organization, POP depends entirely on community support, with a robust sponsorship program and membership fees providing 100% of its operating budget, with the generosity of local groups like Sandpoint Rotary Club and Selkirk Association of Realtors providing funding for projects like the expansion of the Syringa Trail Network. Meanwhile, state and federal grants, as well as support from the city of Sandpoint, allow POP to expand opportunities for outdoor recreation on the public lands in the city’s watershed and beyond.

To learn more about Pend Oreille Pedalers, attend its first club meeting of the year at Matchwood Brewing at 5:30 on Wednesday, April 14. More information, including a full calendar of events, programs and club activities, are at pendoreillepedalers.org.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 13

FEATURE

The first camp of the year Mud, snow, smokies and a spirit of adventure

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Around this time of year, those who enjoy spending their weekends outdoors — like myself — begin feeling antsy for camping season to begin. The ice skates have all been put away, the winter gear box is out and readily accepting the scarves and mittens that dominate our winter months in North Idaho. Soon it will be packed away until the snow flies again next winter. Kids appear on bikes and longboards downtown, and everyone has a glow that only a change of seasons can bring.

While shopping at an outdoors store recently, Cadie and I lucked upon a huge car camping tent that sleeps six people. It originally sold for $450, but was returned because of “bent poles” and was in a bargain bin for $100. We scooped it up immediately and that set the wheels in motion for our first campout of the year.

On Friday afternoon, Cadie and I both finished our work tasks as quickly as we could and began the frenzied packing of the truck. In mid-summer our gear is always organized, but after a winter dormant in the shed, we had to weed through the necessities and begin anew.

We threw bottles of beer in the cooler, grabbed a jug of rye with just a few fingers remaining and packed a random assortment of snacks in a bag before blasting out of town in a blaze of glory.

We’ve always frequented the off-the-beaten-track spots to pitch our tent when car camping. In the summer season, there’s always a feeling of anxiety that someone might’ve already nabbed one of our favorite spots, but as we barreled up a county road next to a river, I had no fear it was taken. Nobody would be camping that night.

After the pavement ended, our smiles slowly faded as the snow along the side of the road got deeper. It’s easy to forget when living in town that all it takes is a short drive up in elevation and winter is still very much a thing.

14 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

Then the road became muddy and huge ruts formed. Bonner County roads are famous for their mud-holes this time of year. I remember once when I was a kid and my mom got our family station wagon stuck up to door handles in a mud hole. When it finally settled, it looked like someone had cut away the top of a Toyota and placed it on the road surface.

These ruts weren’t that deep, but I did halt at one point to back up and get more speed. There was about a mile to go to our spot and the road was getting worse and worse.

“Maybe we didn’t really think this through,” Cadie said.

When do we ever think anything through?

Thanks to some speed and four-wheel drive, we managed the soft spots and blew clear past the road leading to our spot because it was plowed over with a snow berm. I had to back up and pass back through the mud to find our road. There were easily two feet of snowpack past the three-foot berm.

“Hmm,” we both said at the same time.

Well, we didn’t drive all this way for nothing, I thought, and blasted through the berm. We plowed through the snow for a bit, almost reaching the spot and promptly got stuck.

After some creative rocking, I managed to get out of the deep snow and we found our spot snowed in except for a perfect tent pad under some trees where there was bare ground. Pushing through the remaining bit of snowpack, we finally parked to offload the gear.

There were only a couple hours of daylight left, so I built the fire while Cadie began setting up our new tent. There was the usual firepit full of trash left over from the last campers of 2020, which we found after digging the snow out of the pit. When will people learn?

Thanks to some well-seasoned wood we brought from home, we had a roaring fire crackling in no time and finished setting up our mansion of a tent. As we

suspected, it was perfectly fine.

The “bent poles” didn’t affect anything. Score.

With beers cracked and chilling in the snow beside our chairs, we cooked our simple dinner of Woods jalapeño cheese smokies — an absolute staple of outdoor life in North Idaho. Occasionally a foul death smell would waft into camp, which turned out to be from a rotting elk carcass just a stone’s throw from the firepit. All that was left was a huge rib cage and an amorphous sack of organs the size of a bean bag. It was then that I remembered I forgot the bear spray. Oh well.

The temperature dipped with the sun, reminding us that it was still winter. The fire had burned a small bare spot around the pit, but we were sitting in chairs perched atop the snow, so it was like hanging out atop a freezer.

When we tossed the last log into the fire, we knew it would soon be time for bed. Unlike our backpacking tent, this mansion didn’t trap the heat so well in its giant interior. Lucky for us I threw two crucial items in my pack at the last minute: super-sized hand warmers that claimed they produced heat for 18 hours. We wriggled into our sleeping bags and broke the seal on the warmers, each taking one to hold inside the sleeping bag. Thus, we slept sound

and warm through the night.

We awoke and threw open the tent door, laughing to discover it had snowed two inches. We layered up and emerged into the sunny morning, only to notice we had no firewood left with which to cook our morning breakfast.

It was a damp, cold morning and we both looked at each other with our eyebrows raised.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Cadie said. We pulled down the tent with a quickness and got inside the truck to warm up, already dreaming of the lazy Saturday we’d just earned.

Some might ask, “Why drive through the mud and snow to sleep shivering in your tent, only to pick up and leave right after waking?”

The simple answer is that we do this because we live in a place that caters to those who like adventure.

All my life I’ve been surrounded by friends who push the envelope, camping in the snow or bushwhacking through the wilderness to reach a rarely-seen mountain lake. One friend in high school made the front page of the paper for doing a backflip on Schweitzer in the morning and doing another backflip on a wakeboard that afternoon. Another friend decided one day he would ski down the steep face of the Green Monarchs.

In short, it’s why I still hang around this place. There is a

Taking down the new tent in the morning after waking to a couple inches of snow. Photo by Ben Olson.

hardiness that I love about those who choose to live in North Idaho; those who choose to take a risk, to climb an unknown peak, to endure the wilds in an effort to soothe that driving voice inside that keeps saying, “Keep going!”

As more and more newcomers discover Sandpoint for their own, I fear this hardy spirit may wane in the years ahead if we don’t remind ourselves that this isn’t a retirement community or a quiet place to avoid the hectic nature of the world. It’s a vibrant city surrounded by wilderness that’s ready to eat your lunch if you’re not prepared.

That’s why we do it. To claim our small corner of the Earth here in the name of fun, adventure and even misfortune, rather than slowly dying before the blue light of the television or computer screen.

As we trundled down the mountain and watched the snowpack fade to green and brown earth, we exhaled and began planning our next adventure — it’s never enough to satisfy that voice inside, forever telling us to “Keep going.” I’m listening to it with ears wide open.

HISTORY

A match made in Sandpoint

How a small local company set the match business on fire

By Hannah Combs Reader Contributor According to an article in a 1917 issue of the Pend d’Oreille Review, the history of the match industry “reads like a romance.”

Match factory workers of the mid1800s afflicted with “phossy jaw” and victims of the other disasters of the white phosphorus match production period would probably disagree, but that’s another story.

For the North American timbermen with endless resources at their disposal and a booming market for the new “safety matches,” romance was in the air.

The transition from white to the safer red phosphorus match heads snuffed out the large-scale health emergencies and fires that had plagued the industry, but it wasn’t until Diamond Match Company opened its patent for the first non-poisonous match in 1911, at the urging of President William Howard Taft, that matches became a trusted household convenience for even the most cautious.

At this point, match production, which was already a steady industry in the United States, really boomed. With dozens of mills and factories around the country, Diamond had a firm grasp on the industry. The company operated a huge mill in Priest River and one near Newport (Diamond Lake is named after the company). But a trio of brothers were about to give them a run for their money.

Charles, Sylvester and Frank Sommers had each begun working at different match companies as boys (Frank at age 9), and in 1903 they joined to buy a deserted factory building in Saginaw, Mich. Frank, the business genius, invented the “double dip” match in 1904, which was so reliable and efficient that it stole the market. Imitators sprang up immediately, but the brothers were still successful enough that by 1909, they had expanded into a five-story factory, took the business public and rebranded as the Sommers Bros. Match Co. For lumber sourcing, the broth-

ers wanted only the best, which led them to the great white pine forests of North Idaho. The grain of old growth white pines was so straight that it could be split into the tiniest shards with virtually no waste, making it the perfect medium for matches. The brothers acquired timberland near Sandpoint bountiful enough “to last them for the next 50 years” — an incredible amount, as the Saginaw factory was producing more than 86 million matches per day at its peak. Logs were cut and milled in Sandpoint and shipped to Saginaw to be dipped and packaged.

Between the felling of the trees and the finishing of the matches was a clever process that gave the Sommers brothers a crucial edge over Diamond for a brief period of time. In addition to the lumber mill they set up west of Sandpoint, they also acquired 40 acres north of the Humbird lumber yards on Sand Creek for a second facility. In 1909, this property became the “match block factory” under the supervision of a man named John H. Bolin.

Only 60% of raw white pine ultimately turned into salable matchsticks, the rest being waste on the factory floor. Frank, once again, came up with an ingenious solution. If they could pre-cut the logs into small match “blocks” the precise height of a matchstick, they could pack these blocks onto trains headed to the Saginaw factory and virtually dispense with any wasted space or weight, saving money on shipping.

Overnight, the Saginaw plant was able to boost production to levels that were competing with Diamond’s immense output. The Sandpoint block factory bustled along, becoming one of the largest employers in the town.

Any blocks with knots or other imperfections were weeded out at the Sandpoint factory and sold to the Sandpoint Ice & Fuel Co. They resold them to individuals looking for conveniently sized pieces of wood for their stoves, which became an immensely popular product among locals.

Things went along without incident for a handful of years, until early 1917, when two employees aged about 20 years got in a serious fight over a grudge that ended with one slashing the skull of the other several times with a hand axe. The injured man (Bolin’s brother-in-law) received stitches and returned to work the next morning.

The assailant did not return to work, and was never seen again.

In September 1917, factory manager Bolin asked the city to dam Sand Creek, so that the match block factory could expand with a reliable year-round millpond.

The Sommers Bros. Company had recently acquired the Sand Creek frontage that had previously housed the LaFond brickyard.

Bolin stressed that the factory was being enticed to move elsewhere (probably to Newport, rumors of which Bolin had been refuting for the previous seven years).

Such a move would have cost the community $160,000 (about $3.3 million today) in jobs and local contracts; and, as the city was deeply in debt at the time, town leaders were eager to cater to the match factory’s needs. A special task force of local businessmen was recruited to raise funds for the proposed dam and to set a timeline for construction. Newspapers are unclear about whether this particular effort ever came to fruition, though an article from 1930 mentions a concrete dam with a wooden spillway on Sand Creek that was in terrible disrepair.

On March 29, 1921, disaster struck when the match block factory burned to the ground. All of the employees had gone home mid-af-

Left: An advertisement for Sommers Bros. matches in an old newspaper.

Right: Frank F. Sommers. Photos courtesy Bonner Co. Historical Society. ternoon, and the factory didn’t keep a night watchman. Around 9 p.m. a watchman at the Humbird mill set off an alarm, and great efforts were taken to prevent the fire from reaching the Humbird lumber yards. The match factory was surrendered as an insurance claim.

“The flames were allowed to roar on without opposition,” the newspaper reported, lighting up the night for a crowd of more than 1,000 people who had gathered to watch.

Bolin reassured employees that they would immediately rebuild; but, by August of that year, the Sommers brothers had given in to an acquisition offer from Diamond Match Co., and the local factory workers were out of work. However, prior to the fire, Bolin had been experimenting with improvements to his machinery, and that summer he patented an automatic block cutting machine that would greatly increase production capacity. He pledged to rebuild and reestablish the block factory himself if he could secure enough independent contracts.

Good to his word, Bolin rebuilt and reopened the factory in September, in a new location between Lake and Superior streets on the western edge of Sandpoint. Several years later, Bolin traveled back east to visit family and decided not to return. The newly reformed Sommers Bros. Co. purchased the new factory from Bolin and operated it for a brief period. The building burned down in 1928, four years after being abandoned.

Looking back on the era of trust-busting and the toppling of industry titans, it’s romantic to think of the little block factory outdoing a megalithic corporation. In reality, the fluidity and opportunity in the timber industry meant that companies scrambled over each other to make the most of whatever they could pull out of the woods.

But for a short burst of time — a momentary flame — the Sommers brothers were a propitious match for a little town in North Idaho.

Research provided by the Bonner County History Museum and the University of Michigan.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 15

COMMUNITY Idaho Humanities Council releases grants, including $4K for Sandpoint-based Idaho Mythweaver

By Reader Staff The Idaho Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit organization devoted to enhancing public awareness, appreciation and understanding of the humanities in Idaho, recently awarded $33,960 in grants to organizations throughout Idaho — including one in Sandpoint.

Voices of the Wild Earth: People of the Salmon and People and Trees are two half-hour documentary/podcasts produced

by Sandpoint-based Idaho Mythweaver, which is directed by longtime local author and journalist Jane Fritz.

The projects received $3,000 from IHC’s major grants fund. In addition, People of the Salmon was awarded a $1,000 opportunity to grant to support production of a radio/podcast project that will explore not only the return of wild ocean fish runs in the Columbia River system to the Wallowa mountains and val-

16 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

ley, but also spotlight the people who first called this northeast Oregon region home but were forcibly removed — the Joseph Band of Nimi’ipuu, or Nez Perce people, the first people of the Wallowas.

According to IHC, the documentaries will blend new interviews with experts with historical records from the Mythweaver’s own archives. To learn more about Idaho Mythweaver, visit facebook.com/idahomythweaver.

Elsewhere in North Idaho, the Human Rights Education Institute in Coeur d’Alene received a major grant award of $4,500 to host a month-long series of programming around the book Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism by Christian Picciolini, an author and former extremist who founded the Free Radicals Project, which works to help individuals and families disengage from violent extremism.

The events will include

focus groups, community conversations, classroom introductions and an author talk. The program will also bring in local experts and historians to present a visual exhibition in the HREI gallery. The project director is Jeanette Laster.

Grants were supported in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Idaho Humanities Council’s Endowment for Humanities Education.

The next deadline for major grant proposals is Thursday, April 15 for the initial application and May 17 for the final submission. IHC recommends that prospective applicants contact staff to discuss their project ideas before completing proposals. Grant guidelines and application instructions are available on IHC’s website at idahohumanities.org or by calling 208-345-5346.

Innovia Foundation awards $1.2 million to regional organizational partners

By Reader Staff The Innovia Foundation announced the more than $1.2 million in grants awarded to 133 organizations in eastern Washington and North Idaho through the recent Community Grant Program and Arts and Culture Recovery Grant Program.

Innovia Foundation awarded 14 grants to organizations in Bonner County, many of which serve residents in both Bonner and Boundary counties.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the region, Innovia made intentional changes to its traditional grant practices, which included increasing giving for COVID-19 relief, reducing the reporting requirements and other restrictions on existing grants, awarding operating grants and actively engaging with communities hardest hit by COVID-19.

The foundation gave priority to organizations especially hampered by COVID-19 and area wildfires — particularly disproportionately impacted communities along with a separate pool of funding to support arts and culture organizations.

“We know that organizations were hit hard in 2020 by the pandemic and the wildfires in our region. By providing more flexible dollars and a streamlined grant reporting process, we wanted to make sure that funding would go

to those organizations supporting our most vulnerable,” said Innovia Foundation CEO Shelly O’Quinn.

In response to the ever-changing needs emerging as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaniksu Land Trust is prioritizing innovative outdoor education programs for children that serve a range of demographics. A $20,000 grant from Innovia Foundation to connect classrooms and children with nature will support educational programs that directly address issues created by the pandemic, such as physical and mental health, academic consistency and nutritional support.

Grants ranging from $4,950 to $20,000 will support the following organizations and programs serving Bonner and Boundary counties: Angels Over Sandpoint, Better Together Animal Alliance, Blanchard Area Seniors Incorporated, Bonner Community Food Center, Food for our Children, Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness, Kaniksu Land Trust, Panhandle Alliance for Education, Panida Theater, Pend Oreille Arts Council,Priest River Ministries, Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc., Sandpoint Community Resource Center, and Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education.

For more information contact Sarah Bain, sbain@innovia. org, call 509-624-2606 or visit innovia.org.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 17

events

March 25 - April 1, 2021

THURSDAY, March 25

Live Music w/ Maya and Alex 7pm @ The Back Door Bar

Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

FriDAY, March 26

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Duo 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Jazz and wine go together beautifully Live Music w/ Benny Baker 7pm @ The Back Door Bar

Live Music w/ Tonedevil Brothers 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Americana from a local duo

Live Music w/ Chance Long 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

SATURDAY, March 27 Live Music w/ Ben Vogel 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Smart pop music surging w/ rock energy Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 7pm @ The Back Door Bar

Live Music w/ Baker/Thomas/Packwood 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Classic rock by Benny Baker, Ali Thomas and Sheldon Packwood

KNPS presentation on KLT 10am @ link at nativeplantsociety.org “Kaniksu Land Trust: Education and Conservation,” virtual presentation.

Cabin Fever Dance 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall Salsa lesson taught 7-8pm, followed by general dancing. $9/$5 - 208-699-0421

SunDAY, March 28

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

Piano Sunday w/ Dwayne Parsons 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Bingo at the Winery 3-5pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Ultimate 10,000 Easter Egg Hunt • 11am @ Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church Free and open to everyone. Categories for different ages from toddler to 12 years old.

Children are encouraged to bring their own baskets. corsandpoint.org - 208-263-7516

monDAY, March 29

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant “Who Was Jesus – Really?”

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

tuesDAY, March 30 wednesDAY, March 31

Live Music w/ Scott Taylor 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

ThursDAY, april 1

18 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

COMMUNITY

101 Women Sandpoint offers $10,000 grant opportunity for local nonprofits

By Reader Staff The coronavirus pandemic is having far reaching effects across our region and area nonprofits have been greatly impacted. Unable to hold fundraising events due to restrictions limiting crowds, and with donor dollars dwindling, these nonprofits are in dire need of funds to continue their worthwhile endeavors.

Despite the pandemic, the nonprofit funding organization 101 Women Sandpoint is equipped to help these local nonprofits and has opened its latest grant cycle to award a $10,000 grant this fall.

101 Women Sandpoint is a membership group made up of 101 Bonner County women. The group leverages 101 smaller donations to create sizable grants that are awarded to two local nonprofits each year.

In the group’s current fall grant cycle, not-for-profit organizations that offer art, education, recreational or environmental programs — and are located and operate in Bonner County — are eligible to apply for a grant. Eligible organizations are encouraged to submit a simple online application by the Oct. 1 deadline.

Three applicants will be chosen from those that apply by the group’s grant committee through a weighted and judged system. The top three applicants will then be asked to present their organization’s purpose and need for funding in a short, pre-recorded presentation.

The presentation will be viewed online by 101 Women Sandpoint’s members between Nov. 16 and Nov. 22. After viewing the digital presentations, the members will then cast their votes to choose the winning organization to receive the $10,000 award.

Normally, the 101

Women Sandpoint membership meets in person to hear live presentations from the organizations at the group’s bi-annual meetings. The new, online meetings will remove any possibility of contributing to the spread of coronavirus while giving the organizations a chance to explain the important services they provide the community.

Interested nonprofit organizations can find more information about the grant cycles, eligibility and the application, online at 101womensandpoint.com or by emailing 101womensandpoint@gmail.com.

101 Women Sandpoint is continually seeking and accepting new members to register for future giving opportunities. Each member is required to donate $200 annually toward the grant awards and pay the yearly registration fee of $25 to help cover the organization’s modest operating expenses.

Member information and registration is available at 101womensandpoint.com or by emailing 101womensandpoint@ gmail.com.

STAGE & SCREEN

Shakespeare returns

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Hang onto your goffered frills, Shakespeare is returning to Sandpoint.

Since 1973, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks has brought the plays of William Shakespeare to rural communities throughout Montana and Idaho to help expose small towns to the English plawright’s seminal work. Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traveling troupe was unable to stage its free performance, but announced last week it was planning on returning to Sandpoint with a production of the lesser-known play Cymbeline on Aug. 21.

Local host Christine Holbert of Lost Horse Press said the details are still being worked out, but so far the

performance has a green light.

“Just about a week ago I got the call and they decided to go ahead and make the whole tour, hoping that everybody will stay safe by summer,” Holbert told the Reader.

“Many of us will be inoculated by then, and also we usually do it in a big enough area outdoors, so groups coming in can keep to their COVID pods and easily keep six feet away from others.”

The venue has yet to be chosen, said Holbert, but she’s narrowing in on a few options, including Lakeview Park and potentially downtown Sandpoint, if the city government allows streets to be blocked off for the performance.

Except for the lost year due to COVID-19, this will be the seventh year since Montana Shakespeare in the Parks has visited Sandpoint.

Red Pilled

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff “The minute God crapped out the third caveman a conspiracy was hatched against one of them.”

— Col. Hunter Gathers, OSS (ret., also fictitious) QAnon checks a lot of psycho-social boxes. Human beings are risk-averse animals. We are skittish by nature, and rightly so.

Millennia of experience tells us that we are weak in all ways other than mental — weak of bone, weak of muscle, prone to cold and heat. Rodents, before apes, are our predecessors, and many rattish qualities we retain. Look in the woods in the night and you see faces, hear voices. They are not there (maybe?).

This is evolution speaking to you through the misty ages.

You, human, are hardwired for fear, pattern-making and the problem-solving skills needed to navigate it. These traits are why you are here, alive, now — some rodents, then some apes, then some proto-humanoids and the whole line of your human ancestry somehow managed to marshal these defense mechanisms to

their advantage to the degree that, as Col. Gathers said, you were “crapped out”... immediately dumped into conspiracy.

By way of preamble, this is to say, the human mind — given no constraints of food, shelter and sex — will fly to the furthest reaches of mental and physical endurance to defend itself. Enter: QAnon.

The HBO docu-series Q: Into the Storm, which as of press time has aired two hour-long episodes, attempts to dissect the “mega-conspiracy theory” (as one expert put it), tracing its digital DNA back to the raunchy image boards of the late 1990s to the violent Capitol insurrection of Jan. 6. Along the way, the filmmakers manage to secure interviews with some of the prime movers behind the Q phenomenon, including a shady father-son duo engaged in a number of businesses in the Philippines (including a pig farm, organic market and hosting Q’s online home 8chan), a powerful web moderator in South Africa who seems to be missing most of his teeth and a coterie of “regular folks” who have chucked their normal lives to devote all their time and treasure to living out a digital fantasy of revolution, revenge and

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks announces it will return to Sandpoint this summer

Prior to the traveling series being hosted here, it was performed in Heron, Mont., since 1973.

Holbert is one of many local hosts who write grants and help facilitate the actors and stage hands. Through her nonprofit Academy of Northwest Writers and Publishers, Holbert has organized many large, complicated events in the past, such as Spokane’s Get Lit and the Lost Horse Northwest Writers’ Conference, but this one is always a pleasure to host, she said. It’s offered free to all thanks to grants and local funding in each community.

“I feel like if I get grant money with different organizations, I should be doing something publicly with it, not just publishing books,” she said.

In past years, Holbert said local

families would host the traveling actors, but this year they’ll be staying in hotels due to the pandemic.

Cymbeline is a tragedy set in ancient Britain and based on the legends surrounding the early Celtic King Cunobeline.

Although it’s listed as a tragedy, critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance or comedy.

Holbert said one reason why Shakespeare’s works are so well received hundreds of years later is because, “Human nature

stays consistent through hundreds of years and Shakespeare was such a genius, he was able to get the essence of that and instill it in these wonderful plays.”

Cymbeline will be performed on Aug. 21 at 6 p.m. at a location to be determined. It will be preceded by pre-play activities starting at 1 or 2 p.m. featuring live music, art exhibitions and potentially a play performed by local theater students. It is free and open to all.

HBO docu-series Q: Into the Storm provides the anatomy of a digital conspiracy obsession suspicion.

For the uninitiated, QAnon is the general belief that a cabal of super-powerful individuals (comprised of liberals, “the media,” Satanists and anyone who doesn’t believe in “Q”) are engaged in a global effort to control all aspects of human existence — bending the species to its fell tyranny by way of sex slavery, including the rape and cannibalization of babies.

Hints, clues and instructions for how to overthrow this sinister plot are dropped online by an anonymous individual known only as Q, purportedly so named because he or she is a highly placed government official with “Q security clearance.”

QAnon adherents believed that former-President Donald Trump was secretly waging war against the cannibal pedophile elite, and the time of vengeance was to sweep the world in the so-called “storm,” which many thought would occur on Jan. 6 — a moment when Trump would overturn the 2020 election and lock up (then execute) all the bad guys.

None of that happened, of course, though the belief went a long way to triggering an event

that brought the United States closer to civil war than it’s been since the 1860s.

Q: Into the Storm spends less time on the specifics of the QAnon phenomenon — in part because it’s the tangled reins of a dozen whack-brained hobby horses — and more on the individuals and processes that have constructed and spread its reach.

Described as part interactive game, religion and political movement, QAnon is revealed in the documentary to be something like a mental virus, spread virtually on the strength of the technologies that laid the foundation for social media.

“It creeps into your brain,” as the filmmaker says at one point, and there’s a good reason for that.

A screenshot from Q: Into the Storm featuring Fredrick Brennan, who developed the site 8chan where “Q Drops” regularly appear. Courtesy photo.

Humans crave unified theories — something that can explain everything is comforting, even if its implications are dire. Humans also crave esoteric knowledge; in an uncertain world, where individuals feel powerless, access to secret information has always been the best defense against threat.

Q: Into the Storm illustrates what happens when that big, beautiful human brain goes haywire — its own evolutionary defence mechanisms sending it spiralling into the face-filled mental jungles of paranoid delusion. Stream it on HBO Max. March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 19

FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Celebrating spring

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

What a difference a day makes. Exactly 14 days past my second Moderna vaccine, I headed into Eichardt’s and saddled up to the bar, where Doug (by memory) drew my favorite brew while I waited for an order of their crispy fish and chips. A week later, I have eaten in more restaurants than I had in the previous year. It feels strange but good to be seated in an indoor setting, scanning an authentic menu, in hopes that my favorite food item outlived the pandemic But what I missed even more than going out to eat was cooking for others — especially Sunday dinners. I’ve now hosted a couple of them, and I can tell you that these small get-togethers have renewed my spirit.

It feels so good to surround myself with friends, gathered in my kitchen, sipping a little wine, while I cook my heart out for them.

It was one thing for me to lack guests at my dining room table and something entirely different for a restaurant, which depends on guests at their tables every day to support an entire staff of food service workers.

Our restaurants have struggled mightily, and I’m really impressed (and happy) that they all held on with warrior-like perseverance to survive the past year. I’m hopeful the worst is behind them.

Segments of the food industry other than restaurants have also suffered severe impacts. I was sad to learn that Liberty Orchards, the maker of Aplets and Cotlets, is closing its doors after more than 100 years operating 20 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

this three-generation business.

Locally, Yokes carried the most extensive selection, and for the past 20 years, it was my goto-stop for these fruit-and-nut confections. I packed several gift boxes as host gifts on nearly every trip that I took. The company’s factory and retail shop in Cashmere, Wash. (located halfway between Wenatchee and Leavenworth) was always well worth a stop, too. I can’t imagine a trip to Ireland without including this traditional gift that delighted my hosts.

I’m finally allowing myself to think about Ireland again. My travel phone is beginning to ring; this past week, several people signed up to join my groups headed to Ireland and Tahiti in 2022. Even with a stress fracture in my foot, I haven’t had this much pep in my step since I

discovered a block of well-aged Wexford Cheddar (just in time for St. Paddy’s Day) buried in the depths of my refrigerator.

It feels good to, well, feel good. Just in time, too, for the rebirth of springtime, my favorite holiday (Easter), and my birthday. When I was 6 years old, my birthday fell on Easter, and I thought that the festivities were just for me. Turns out I was wrong (after many years of Catholic school), and by the time my next birthday fell on this vital holiday (I was 17), I’d figured it out. In between those two birthdays, the nuns introduced me to the perpetual Catholic (Gregorian) calendar, and I memorized all my Easter birthdays. I’ll be waiting a while for the next two birthdays (when I’m 97 and 101, respectively) that I hope to celebrate.

Meanwhile, I’ve got many eggs in my basket: teaching Zoom cooking classes, sharing some fun radio time with the dynamic Witte father/daughter duo of Bob and Ricci. I’ve also been planning a couple cooking classes to be auctioned for Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. The online auction will take place between April 15 and April 29, and I hope you’ll place a bid or two.

I’m also busy getting ready for the arrival of my grandbabies, who are showing up for the Easter holiday. In anticipation, my living room is decorated, and the transformation would even make Beatrix Potter envious.

Sensible daughter Ryanne has long accused me of going overboard for the holidays. It’s true, I do tend to go big, but we’ve learned to reach a com-

promise. While I promised not to carve the Stations of the Cross out of butter, I have prepared bunny-shaped pats of butter for each guest’s place setting.

My seedlings have sprouted, and while I won’t have homegrown tomatoes for a few months, I was gifted with a box of tomatoes, shipped to me from Phoenix, my dear friend, and former resident, Jenni (who tended a vast garden, known as the Yarden, on Ontario Street). It might be the most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received. It’s certainly the first time I ever cried over a ripe tomato. Also, she sent me beautiful lemons and oranges ripe from her garden. And when life (or a friend) hands you oranges, you make your favorite Orange Chiffon Cake, just in time for Easter.

Zesty Orange Sponge Cake

This cake is a wonderful springtime dessert. Like an angel food cake, it needs to be baked in an ungreased and non-Teflon pan. You can glaze with orange juice and confectioner’s sugar, or simply dust with Confectioners’ sugar and a little sprinkle of orange zest. Best enjoyed within a day or two of baking.

INGREDIENTS: • 6 egg whites • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (½ cup for whites, 1 cup for yolks) • 6 egg yolks • 1 ¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour • ½ tsp salt • 6 tbsp fresh orange juice • 2 tbsp grated orange zest • Confectioners’ sugar (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS: Separate eggs, and In large mixing bowl, let egg whites warm to room temperature-for an hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Sift flour with salt; set aside.

At medium speed, beat egg whites until foamy. Slowly beat in ½ cup granulated sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised (spoon egg whites into another bowl and use mixer bowl to beat egg yolks and sugar — no need to wash).

Beat egg yolks on medium speed until very thick and lemon-colored — about 3 minutes. Do not underbeat. Gradually beat in remaining 1 cup granulated sugar; continue beating until mixture is smooth.

At low speed, blend in flour mixture alternately with orange juice, begin and end with flour mixture. Add orange zest.

With spatula, carefully fold into whites just to blend. Pour batter into an ungreased 9 ½-to-10-inch kugelhopf pan or 10-inch tube pan.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until cake

springs back when gently pressed with fingertip. Invert pan over neck of bottle; cool completely — 1 hour. Loosen from pan. Using an up-and-down motion, run spatula around edge of cake and tube.

Invert onto a serving plate. Sift confectioners’ sugar over top of cake. To cut cake: Use bread knife, with a serrated edge. Cut gently, going back and forth with sawing motion.

MUSIC

Oops! What have we done to Britney?

A pop culture reckoning: Framing Britney Spears is making people uncomfortable, and it should

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When The New York Times-produced documentary Framing Britney Spears hit FX and Hulu earlier this year it captivated audiences, but not in the way that a sold-out Spears stadium concert might have in the early aughts.

Framing Britney is an hourlong, largely chronological journey through Spears’ rise to fame, and her fall from stardom: a flaming train wreck that people couldn’t just not look away from, but which they actively fanned.

The documentary is focused around the growing #FreeBritney movement, led by activists that find the conservatorship under which Spears lives to be unlawful and manipulative. Conservatorships are legal arrangements typically reserved for elderly or otherwise disabled people who are incapable of making their own medical and financial decisions. Spears’ father took control of his daughter’s money, estate and other affairs under such an arrangement in 2008.

What led to her supposed mental instability making the conservatorship possible is a multifaceted — though familiar — story of misogyny and the human fascination with celebrity. Spears grew up in the Bible Belt, and when she started to find fame in her teens, her popular image drew

a volatile response from all sides.

Somewhere between childhood and adulthood herself, Spears played it both ways: she was sexy, but also innocent. As one analyst in Framing Britney put it, it wasn’t the sexiness that drew young people in — it was the control Spears exhibited, over her work and her body, that made her a female sensation in a world of boy bands.

Meanwhile, she became an enemy of upstanding institutions.

Kendel Ehrlich, wife of Maryland’s governor at the time, was on record saying that she’d shoot Spears if given the chance. When her courtship with Justin Timberlake ended, iconic newscaster Diane Sawyer asked Spears on national television what she did to ruin the relationship. When she became a young mother and divorcé, the tabloids ate it up. Matt Lauer grilled her about being an unfit mother — another shining moment in the network television dissection of Spears from the inside out.

The instances in which Spears faced sexism are impossible to recount, but populate Framing Britney throughout. At 10 years old, TV personality Ed McMahon complimented her appearance and asked her if she had a boyfriend.

When she said no, McMahon asked if he could be her boyfriend.

“Well,” she replied, displaying the signature discomfort that every woman knows all too well. “It

depends.”

As most remember, Spears hit her breaking point in 2007, culminating in shaving her head and weilding an umbrella against a paparazzo’s truck. Other incidents followed, including hospital visits, and the conservatorship — first temporary, then made permanent — was put in place.

Some believe that Spears only agreed to the conservatorship in order to keep contact with her children. However, once a conservatee enters the agreement, the documentary explained, it is very difficult to dissolve it.

The most current court documents show that Spears wants out of the arrangement. Framing Britney shows protestors outside of a hearing on the conservatorship, one of them reporting that during the proceedings, Spears’ legal counsel said that she is afraid of her father and refuses to work until he is no longer in control of her life. While Spears does have an active Instagram account — which people love to comb for clues about her well-being — she has not mentioned her legal battles.

What Framing Britney does so effectively is remind the viewer that we are all complicit. Each and every one of us who willingly consumed big media’s narrative of Spears’ life had a hand in the disastrous position in which we now find her: trapped, seen as

incompetent and untrustworthy, known for manufactured scandals over any of her multi-platinum musical successes.

Also part of what makes the documentary so profound is the increasing societal willingness to confront wrongs done against women. There is still much work to be done, but the #MeToo movement has emboldened more people to shed light on the widespread, deeply patriarchal treatment of women — particularly high-profile figures like Spears.

Thanks to documentaries like Framing Britney Spears, we can all hope that young stars being asked about their breasts and sex lives is a thing of the past. The evils of the industry are certainly still a reality, but the more people are willing to speak out against misogyny, the better.

Next step: Free Britney from the confines of her disturbing conservatorship. There is work to be done. Or, as Spears sings in her throbbing club dance hit from 2013, “You better work, bitch.”

Under the blanket of quarantine

Sandpoint musicians release work during the pandemic

By Ben Olson Reader Staff One of the harder-hit industries during the past year of pandemic has been the live music business — it’s creators and venues, alike.

Without the usual number of live gigs to keep their coffers full, some local musicians have used the downtime to create new work.

Alyssa Nunke, who plays under the moniker momo and lives south of Sandpoint, released an album titled Quarantimes: Vol. 1 in January.

The seven tracks evoke a hopeful melancholy that many of us have felt during these uncertain times.

In “The Times,” Nunke’s clean electric guitar chords pair with a vintage vocal track that makes it a perfect song for a quiet weekend afternoon at home. Other tracks, like “Dumpster Fire,” highlight some of the chaotic events that have dominated the news cycle this past year: “From murder hornets, to tsunamis, to losing RBG, this year was a dumpster fire,” Nunke wrote on her Bandcamp page.

“I’m a severely empathetic person, so I found the pandemic to be a fairly easy topic to write about,” Nunke told the Reader. “I think sad music or music about sad topics is where the magic really happens —

songs that give you goosebumps and make you think have always compelled me more than catchy pop songs and dance music.”

Listen to Quarantimes: Vol. 1 on Bandcamp, Spotify, Soundcloud and more streaming services by searching for “quarantimes momo.”

Meanwhile, Maya Goldblum, who plays under the name Queen Bonobo, released a new single called “Throw Me In,” on March 12 which is available to listen to here: publicdisplaypr.com/epk/ queenbonobo.html.

Goldblum relocated to Ireland in 2016 for three years to study the music of her ancestral roots, where

she released an EP titled Sail From This Life.

“Throw Me In” is the first track on the EP, created at the start of Goldblum’s time away at university, when she was feeling estranged and overwhelmed with being alone on her 21st birthday in a new country.

Goldblum’s jazzy voice undulates throughout “Throw Me In,” punctuated by a funky mix of harp, Rhodes piano and double-bass that gives the track a unique dissonant quality.

Listen to “Throw Me In” at the link above, or on Spotify by searching “Queen Bonobo.”

This week’s RLW by Zach Hagadone

READ

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, nor its title. However, in the case of University of Pennsylvania historian Kathleen M. Brown’s book Good Wives, Nasty Wenches and Anxious Patriarchs, the cover, title and contents are as good as they get. A multi-award-winning history of colonial Virginia life that centers women in the story, it makes a powerful argument that gender prefigured race in formulating the earliest notions of American colonial identity in the 1600s.

LISTEN

The appetite for history podcasts is clearly much stronger than school kids’ interest in the class. Good news for adults: Dig: A History Podcast tackles some of the thorniest historical topics with a “narrative-driven” (that is, “story oriented”) easily digestible yet academically rigorous format that combines “the worlds of popular and academic history with an explicitly feminist perspective.”

Find it at digpodcast.org.

WATCH

David is a man with a plan: sell the house, quit the job, buy a narrowboat and cruise the 2,000 or so miles of navigable canals in Great Britain. It’s the English version of RV-ing, and I want to sign up for it. His homemade documentary, Cruising the Cut, is a freaking delight. Sure, David is a bit of fussy git, but his slowspeed sojourns are picturesque while the technical details of his boat life are fascinating. Best of all are the folks he meets on the watercourse. Check it out on Amazon Prime.

March 25, 2021 /

R

/ 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

Raised in Zag Mania

The 2021 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has this lifelong Gonzaga fan feeling sentimental

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

From Northern Idaho News, March 19, 1918

BONNER’S SHARE 7 IN NATIONAL DRAFT Idaho is required to forward to Camp Lewis March 29, a total of 246 men under the recent draft order issued by the war department to make up the 95,000 more men ordered from the nation into cantonments. Adjutant General C.S. Moody has issued to the county exemption boards the following quotas of men as apportioned among north Idaho counties: Benewah 5, Bonner 7, Boundary 2, Clearwater 3, Kootenai 8, Latah 10, Lewis 3, Nez Perce 7, Shoshone 18.

The names of the seven men who will constitute the first call of the second draft from this county are as follows: The following list shows Bonner county’s men called to service: Woodard, Noah Munroe M’Cracken, Raymond F. Stockman, Benj. Gustav Foster, Allen Mills, George Edward Benson, Peter Archer, Ovie

22 /

R

/ March 25, 2021

When Adam Morrison threw himself onto the hardwood after losing to UCLA in the third round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, I remember feeling some semblance of what he must have felt.

Morrison, who played on the Gonzaga men’s basketball team from 2003 to 2006, was my absolute idol at 10 years old. As a fourth-grader, I cared an inordinate amount about collegiate basketball — specifically, the Gonzaga University men’s and women’s programs. The men were about seven years out from their Cinderella run to the annual tournament’s Elite Eight round, and had made the tournament every year since.

In March 2006, when the Zags — led by Morrison, the Co-National Player of the Year — blew a 17-point lead to lose to the UCLA Bruins, I remember a heaviness in my chest as I watched the clock run out. In an emotional Big Dance moment that persists in people’s minds, Morrison collapsed onto the court in tears, pulling his Navy-blue jersey over face as his junior year ended in the Sweet 16.

He would go on to be the third pick in the first round of the NBA draft, opting to forgo his senior season to join the pros.

His career ended with two championships beside the late-Kobe Bryant, but he played very little, and retired in his mid-20s. At the end of the day, Morrison is remembered for averaging nearly 30 points a game and being a completely focused machine on the court. He was also a quiet guy with a bad mustache and a jump shot like butter — a perfect representative for a small Jesuit school with big dreams.

Those dreams have since been realized.

Gonzaga’s streak of NCAA tournament appearances persists, as the Bulldogs entered the 2021 NCAA tourney last week ranked No. 1 overall. The team, led by Head Coach

STR8TS Solution

Mark Few since 1999, even made it to the 2017 National Championship, ultimately falling to North Carolina.

I watched the game from my college newsroom, in awe that my Zags were facing such basketball royalty as the Tarheels in the biggest game in that level of the sport.

When we lost, I called my dad from a secluded stairwell, sobbing into the phone.

“It’s stupid that I care this much,” I remember telling him, but he understood.

I grew up watching the Zags with my whole family — it was such a group activity that even now I have a hard time watching basketball without them. I would cut out photos of my favorite players from the pages of the Spokesman-Review. They covered my bedroom walls: Morrison, Matt Bouldin, Courtney Vandersloot, Kevin Pangos, Vivian Frieson, Elias Harris, Heather Bowman, Rob Sacre. I was fortunate to meet any of my favorite women’s team players when I attended a weeklong basketball camp in eighth grade.

My sister Leslie, probably 11 years old at the time, ran into seven-foot-tall Sacre at the Kellogg McDonald’s one summer. My mom, a diehard fan herself, requested a photo. My sister’s head barely reached the man’s hip as they posed side-by-side.

There are people who call Gonzaga men’s basketball overrated. The team plays in a fairly weak conference, and that’s proved to be a weakness in itself some seasons when the Bulldogs face late-season opponents from powerhouses like the Big 10 or ACC. However, there’s a sense of dominance in the way this year’s team plays. It gets comfortable and cruises. It attacks from all sides. Gone are the days that one gangly man with a bad mustache leads the offensive effort — now, Coach Few counts on top recruits all over the court to deliver. Still, some team members occasionally grow bad facial hair; must be a college guy thing.

Robert Sacre of the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Photo licensed by Creative Commons.

My dedication to Gonzaga has waned in recent years, thanks mostly to a lack of television and the general busy nature of adulthood. Still, I filled out a bracket for this year’s tournament. After one weekend of games, it is completely busted, aside from one part: I have the Zags in my championship; and, this time, they’re winning.

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution Any man, in the right situation, is capable of murder. But not any man is capable of being a good camper. So, murder and camping are not as similar as you might think.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Laughing Matter

flummoxed

Woorf tdhe Week

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS

By Bill Borders

/FLUHM-uhkst/

[adjective] 1. utterly bewildered, confused, or puzzled.

“I’m flummoxed by your decision to wear flip flops in winter.”

Corrections: Nothing to note this week. – BO

1. Resist 5. Month before April 10. Acted like 14. Found in some lotions 15. Ancient Roman magistrate 16. Scottish hillside 17. A type of craftsman 19. Thorny flower 20. Anger 21. Pontiffs 22. Channels 23. Car shelter 25. French for “Storehouse” 27. Frozen 28. Skeptics 31. Instruct 34. Puts on 35. Twosome 59. A person who is 36. Rodents owned by someone 37. Heart artery 60. Small island 38. Domesticated ox 61. Back talk 39. Arrive (abbrev.)

62. Banana oil, e.g.

40. Graphic symbols 63. Red vegetable 41. Made from apple juice 42. Slowpokes DOWN 44. Indian bread 1. Introductory 45. Iron 2. Extreme 46. Transverse flute 3. One who murmurs 50. Community spirit lovingly 52. Bumbling 4. Barbie’s beau 54. Container 5. Retentiveness 55. Large open farm 6. Attune wagon (archaic) 7. Ascend 56. Drowsiness 8. End of business sales 58. Type of sword

Solution on page 22 37. Cards with 1 symbol 38. Brass component 40. Midmonth date 41. Desert plants 43. Pilotless planes 44. Child 46. Annoy 47. Overweight 48. Fine thread 49. Beginning 50. Female sheep (plural) 51. The thin fibrous bark 53. Tidy 56. South southeast 57. Pen part March 25, 2021 / R / 23

9. Female chicken 10. Rude 11. Continued 12. Where the sun rises 13. D D D D 18. Historical period 22. Applies lightly 24. Photos 26. Brass instrument 28. Mends 29. Yokel 30. Not sweet 31. Snare 32. Nobleman 33. Withers 34. Doorsteps

OUR SPONSORS MAKE IT HAPPEN. WE THANK YOU! PRESENTING SPONSOR:

GOLD SPONSORS:

ti,) LIKEMEDIA ORGANIZED BY:

�?n��!�-

�Rf/MAX

• IN ACTION

� TIMBERu .mw--llUCOPTDIS

SILVER SPONSORS:

ting

WES

KOCHAVA* GARY & JULIE

FRENCH

A�

Jffl!/.��w,:r ::LAN/\ 6io, �

Wsshi� Trust Bank

PARKER SUBAR.U

�

�ndOreille rMe<:h3Jtic:aJ

F.dwardJones . ,

w...........'°'or111>'f:fm1$

.............

PHA

"° DA

�

O

NNr

•,ri lL 11 8

uNrY

HENDRICKS ARCI 111 CCTURE

E E

Norm Ettinger