Reader_May20_2021

2 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“Do you feel that your local lawmakers are representing you well in Boise? Why or why not?”

“I think there’s a lot of emotionalism rather than logic in Boise right now. It’s crazy the way they’re freezing the government and going home.”

David Horner Retired United Methodist pastor Sandpoint “I don’t trust any lawmakers.

They say they’ll do something and then vote differently when they get to Boise. I don’t see them taking a stand on ‘cancel culture’ and female sports. There is a difference in physiology between a girl and a boy and a girl shouldn’t have to compete against a boy who feels like a girl.”

Ann McClain Retired teacher/insurance Priest River

“No! First of all, Mrs. Scott and Mr. Dixon focus on an extremely vague concept of freedom. Instead, they should be spending time on improving health care eligibility and better educational resources, given we are dead last in the country on expenditures for students.”

Stephen Drinkard Medicare volunteer Sandpoint “I never have felt that they do because most of the money is down in Boise. Boise is 500 miles from my house. They don’t seem to remember the northern part of the state.”

Bonnie Pick Cashier Clark Fork

“Absolutely not! Look at the legislative session this year.

To say I was disappointed, as a retired teacher, would be an understatement.”

Jeanette Schandelmeier Retired special education teacher Sagle

DEAR READERS,

Congratulations to all candidates who won their races on Election Day. It was heartening to see so many voters turn out at the polls on May 18. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again: Voting is the most important voice we have in shaping the government we want. Choose to become an informed voter and take part in democracy whenever you can.

Despite a freeze warning earlier this week, the weather is steadily getting warmer as we move through the month of May. It is still quite dry out there, though, so be sure to practice good fire maintenance, and if you’re burning anything more than a campfire, burn permits are required. Let’s do our best to avoid another busy fire season so we can curtail as many smoke-filled days in summer.

With the CDC relaxing indoor mask guidelines for those who have received the vaccine, the world is slowly resembling what we knew before COVID became a reality last year. I’m definitely looking forward to a fun summer!

– Ben Olson, publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Big Sky Rail Authority, Bonner County Historical Society, Otto Kitsinger, Mary Ann Jeffries Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Brenden Bobby, Brenda Hammond, Jen Jackson Quintano, Jim Healey, Hannah Combs, Marcia Pilgeram, Sen. Jim Woodward.

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

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

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.

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

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

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover features an oil painting on canvas of a summer landscape on an old back road by Svetlana.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 3

NEWS

Incumbents carry May 18 election Nonpartisan board elections took on a partisan hue, helping drive turnout

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Bonner County voters went to the polls May 18, delivering wins for incumbent candidates to the East Bonner County Library Board of Trustees, Pend Oreille Hospital Board of Trustees and Northern Lights District 4 Board of Directors. As well, voters approved both the solid waste special revenue bond and West Bonner County School District supplemental levy.

Incumbent library district candidates Amy Flint and Jeanine Asche bested challengers Jalon Peters and Kathy Rose, pulling 3,804 and 3,700 votes (or 31.49% and 30.63%, respectively), while Rose took 2,384 votes for 19.74% and Peters followed with 2,192 votes or 18.15%.

The breakdown was similar in the hospital board election: incumbents Thomas L. Lawrence led with 3,804 votes or 31.91%, and Parsons took 3,732 votes for 31.3%. Challengers Jessie Peters followed with 2,077 or 17.42%; then Dolores “Dodie” Glass with 1,322 or 11.09%; and Julie Berreth trailed with 986 votes for 8.27%.

The bond election, which allows for the issuance of bonds up to $8.7 million, and WBCSD levy, authorizing up to $3.4 million per year for two years, also met with voter approval. The revenue bond garnered 5,163 (60.83%) in favor to 3,325 (39.17%) against, while the West Bonner levy passed with 1,543 in favor (51.54%) to 1,451 against (48.46%).

Meanwhile, the private election on May 11 for NLI District 4 resulted in a 4 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

win for incumbent David Pemberton, who garnered 538 votes, or 79%, to challenger Thomas Fletchers’ 143 votes, which amounted to 21%.

Kass Larson won the Southside Water and Sewer District director race with 65 votes (52.85%) to Alex Murray’s 58 votes (47.15%), while Gregory G. Field won the Ellisport Sewer District board member position unopposed with 26 votes.

According to Bonner County Clerk Mike Rosedale, who oversees the Elections Department, overall turnout for the May 18 election came to 28.9% of the 30,812 registered voters county-wide.

“This is a little more than I thought we were going to get,” he told the Reader on May 19, noting that the library and hospital trustee races — both of which are for six-years terms — turned out to be the hottest on the ballot, followed by the WBCSD levy.

“It was a very meaningful issue for the West Bonner County levy and they got the vote out there,” he said. “It was slim but significant enough that there’s no question.”

Partisanship in nonpartisan races The library and hospital board elections turned out to be uncharacteristically politically charged, with signs and other campaign materials appearing around the county promoting slates of candidates apparently based on partisan affiliation.

Both the Bonner County Democratic and Republican central committees made known their preferred candidates, with the former endorsing Asche and

Flint for library board, Lawrence and Parsons for hospital board, Pemberton for NLI District 4 and “yes” on the West Bonner levy. Flyers also went out purporting to be an “official sample ballot” supporting “Bonner County’s True Conservatives — Recommended Conservative Candidates” Glass and Jessie Peters for hospital board, Jalon Peters and Rose for library board, Fletcher for NLI District 4 and “no” on the special revenue bond.

“The most interesting thing about this election is that signs showed up in lots of places — in totally legal places — but a lot of people don’t like seeing their opposing issues out in the public,” Rosedale said, adding that his office received “lots of complaints about seeing signs and flyers and banners.”

“For being a nonpartisan election, it was as partisan as a presidential election,” he said.

Much of the heat generated in the board of trustees elections centered on the library’s COVID-19 face-covering policy, which drew several protests over the past year and spurred sometimes acrimonious testimony at the library board’s meetings. That policy is due to expire on June 1, per current CDC guidance lifting almost all recommended face covering or social distancing recommendations for fully vaccinated people.

Jalon Peters and Rose both keyed in on the mask policy as indicative of infringement on individual liberties and part of a wider argument that the library board only represented a minority of the area population with a liberal-progressive bias.

Incumbents carried the day at the polls. From left to right: East Bonner County Library Board of Trustees incumbents Jeanine Asche and Amy Flint; Pend Oreille Hospital Board of Trustees incumbents Dr. Thomas Lawrence and Helen Parsons; Northern Lights District 4 board incumbent David Pemberton. Courtesy photos.

As Rose stated to the Reader in its May 13 election guide, “The current board represents the minority of the community and has shown they will bend to them. The library will face future pressures to surrender to cancel culture. It will be subtle at first, but we cannot allow this to creep in and take hold in Bonner County.”

Jalon Peters stated that, “People should have the right to choose what is best for themselves and their family without some bureaucrat or board member mandating something that is outside the supreme law of the Constitution.

Without personal liberties we have no corporate liberties.”

In a statement to the Reader on May 19, Jalon Peters thanked those who voted for him, writing, “I am humbled to have so much support. … Thank you to the incumbents for your time and dedication. I wish you good luck in your roles.

“I love my country and county, and I want to continue to be a part of helping it succeed,” he added. “I am competitive so losing is not easy, but I am glad for the opportunity to run for this position. My family and I are going to stay connected and continue to look for ways to help make changes where

< see ELECTION RESULTS, page 6 >

NEWS

Best or worst legislative session in Idaho history? That depends on whom you ask Legislators’ opinions of 2021 session vary widely from party to party

By Clark Corbin Idaho Capital Sun

can approval was not just limited to the House.

“We accomplished a lot, and we haven’t seen a lot about it,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder, R-Boise, told senators on the floor May 12. “If you go back and look at what we’ve done for funding for education, transportation, tax reductions, all the various things we’ve done, in spite of the fact some will say this is the worst session ever in the history of mankind, well maybe even prior to that even, since prior to creation, that this really was successful.”

The Idaho Capital Sun asked Bedke about the length of the session and the nearly $450,000 expense to Idaho taxpayers since legislators returned from their first recess April 6.

“Pretty good for a pandemic year,” Bedke said.

“Yeah, it took us 122 days, but there was a lot of success in that 122 days.”

a power grab from Republicans, disinformation campaigns and hurtful policyDepending on whom you making. ask, the 2021 legislative session Senate Miwas either a productive success nority Leader on multiple fronts, or one of the Michelle Stennett, worst sessions of all time.

D-Ketchum, said the House Speaker Scott Bedke, state is struggling R-Oakley, said House Republito fund its K-12 edcans achieved the four goals they ucation system and set before the session: about 20 bills were introduced attacking • Passing income and propereducation. ty tax cuts.

“The legislative • Increasing funding for K-12 session has been education. chaotic and unprec• Passing a transportation edented with chalfunding package. lenges and delays; • Addressing emergency unlike most years it orders, the separation of powers took four months to balance a and gubernatorial authority. budget,” Stennett said in a press “It’s been a very successful conference May 14. “Despite session in that we have passed this being the longest session one of the largest, if not the in state history — and not over largest, income tax cut [in state yet — no meaningful legislahistory], along with a rebate tion was passed to actually help that will go directly to every working Idahoans and what Idahoan,” Bedke told the Idaho was done was done in the last Idaho Democrats say 2021 Capital Sun late May 12. weeks.” session was one of the worst in House State Affairs Chairman history House Minority Leader Ilana Brent Crane, R-Nampa, had a Rubel, D-Boise, said the state Democrats, meanwhile, said similar assessment. entered the session amassing the the session was dominated by “The largest budget issues that we surplus in The Idaho Senate adjourned May 13 for promised our state history. constituents Rubel said the 2021 legislative session after a rethat we would this should cord-breaking 122 days in session. Meandeal with, we have been while the House voted 53-9 to reject a have got all of the year the motion from state Democrats to adjourn, those accomLegislature plished,” brought opting instead for an open-ended recess Crane said in full-day that would see the chamber reconvened an interview kindergarten sometime before Dec. 31. As the Idaho May 12 on to Idaho and Capital Sun reported May 13, “The move the House provided floor. “In my is essentially designed to let the House call funding.

15-year caInstead, itself back in session without needing Gov. reer, this has House Bill Brad Little to authorize a special session. to go down as 331, which

By Idaho law, only the governor can call one of the top provided three legislathe Legislature back for a special session $42.1 million tive sessions.” for kinderonce the Legislature adjourns sine die.”

Republigarten, never

made it out of committee.

As things stand now, the state only pays for half-day kindergarten, which is optional for families.

“Many have called this the worst legislative session ever, and it’s hard to dispute that,” Rubel said. “It’s hard to swallow the damage done by the Legislature when viewed in light of the potential good that could have been achieved.”

Democrats also criticized the House’s vote to reject $6 million in federal grant money already approved for early childhood education and said the House should have taken a vote on the rewritten Senate Bill 1193, which would have allowed the state to accept the grant if it passed.

But Bedke stressed in a press conference May 13 that was never going to happen after the first bill, House Bill 226, failed 34-36 on March 2.

“Take my word for it, the votes were not there,” Bedke said.

Democrats said they were particularly upset about the Legislature’s moves to reduce funding for higher education by $2.5

The Idaho State Capitol in Boise. Photo by Otto Kitsinger / Idaho Capital Sun. million after some Republicans claimed universities and professors were indoctrinating students with social justice programs and critical race theory.

Republican leaders say college and universities will be able to tap into federal COVID-19 stimulus relief funds.

“With regard to higher ed, there is a big installment of federal money that is going to come to them,” Bedke told the Idaho Capital Sun on Wednesday. “The institutions of higher education will be OK moneywise.”

This story was produced by the Idaho Capital Sun, an independent, nonprofit online news organization delivering in-depth coverage from veteran Idaho reporters on state government and policy. The Idaho Capitol Sun is part of States Newsroom, a national nonprofit funded by tax-free donations in 22 states.

Learn more and follow daily updates at idahocapitalsun.com and statesnewsroom.com.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 5

NEWS < ELECTION RESULTS, con’t from page 4 > necessary. Thank you all! You made the journey enjoyable!”

The hospital board election didn’t draw quite as much controversy, but still incorporated some pointed rhetoric about financial transparency (or the lack thereof, according to challengers) and “reduc[ing] the fear that has been generated” surrounding COVID-19, as Glass stated in the Reader’s May 6 election guide.

Lawrence, also in a post-election statement to the Reader, wrote, “I am thankful for all the help the community gave to the election. I am happy with the results as our hospital has done well through COVID. I am confident we can continue to expand our medical care in our three clinics.”

The breakdown Digging deeper into the election results reveals some distinct trends rooted in the larger partisan geography of the county. In the library board race, Asche and Flint had their strongest showings in the populous Airport, Baldy, Beach, Humbird and Washington precincts — in which both candidates were no more than seven votes apart. The Washington Precinct alone delivered Asche 541 votes and Flint 538, and spurred the single largest number of votes (1,349) for a 40.22% turnout.

However, Jalon Peters and Rose both prevailed in their races elsewhere in the county: Careywood, Cocolalla, Colburn, Edgemere, Kelso, Southside and Westmond. What’s more, Rose bested both Asche and Flint in Laclede, drawing the most votes of any candidate with 79; and beat Asche by one vote, 129-128, in the Selle Precinct.

The hospital board race presented a nearly identical precinct-by-precinct accounting, with Lawrence and Parsons handily winning in Airport, Baldy, Beach, Humbird and Washington — in those precincts no more than eight votes apart. As with the library contest, the biggest turnout came in the Washington Precinct, delivering 543 votes for Lawrence and 550 for Parsons.

Of the hospital board challengers, Jessie Peters mounted the most successful campaign, winning her race in Careywood and Cocolalla; coming out as the top vote-getter in Colburn, followed

by Parsons; winning in Edgemere and Kelso; and again earning the most votes 6 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

of any candidate in Southside (again followed by Parsons) and Westmond (followed by Lawrence).

Berreth won her race in Edgemere and Kelso, while Glass won in Careywood and Cocolalla.

Overall, the Washington Precinct, covering south Sandpoint, emerged as the single strongest base of support for the incumbents, while the Edgemere Precinct, encompassing areas along Hoodoo Creek south of the Pend Oreille River and west of U.S. 95, was far and away the greatest center of votes by sheer number for board challengers, as well as opposition to both the revenue bond and West Bonner levy.

Co-location A big change for the May 18 election was the combination — or co-location — of a number of precinct polling places. Unlike years past, Clark Fork and Lakeview voted at the Clark Fork-Hope Area Senior Center, East Priest River and West Priest River voted at the Priest River Event Center, and Beach (covering a portion of east Sandpoint) and Washington voted at the First Lutheran Church.

Rosedale said the new process “went very well.”

“It was great to have those co-located,” he added. “We get great facilities, better parking.”

As for whether those co-locations will continue into the future, Rosedale said it’s uncertain.

“This is always a work in process and politics is a changing thing,” he said. “Depending on the climate we’ll have to ebb and flow with different polling places as we go forward.”

In the meantime, Rosedale reiterated the need for poll workers, who can be as young as 17.

“Calling all young people: If you like Sandpoint, if you like Bonner County, and you want to stay here, that is a fantastic way to get to know people,” he said. “You’ll get to see everybody in your neighborhood and attach a name to a face up to four times a year.”

The canvas of the May 18 results will take place at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 27 in the third floor meeting room of the Bonner County Administration Building (1500 US-2 in Sandpoint). To view all the election results, visit the Bonner County Elections webpage at bonnercountyid.gov/departments/Elections.

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: Starting in 2022 all agricultural workers in Washington state will be eligible for overtime pay, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic. The article noted that ag workers put in long hours at great personal risk during the pandemic, and will now be paid for all the work they do.

A year of tuition 40 years ago was around $2,400, in 2019 dollars. Today, according to The New Republic, it is four times that and one in six adults owe “outstanding student loan debts.”

COVID-19 variant cases rose dramatically in Florida after spring break, causing 67 deaths and more than 240 hospitalizations, ABC News reported. More than 10,000 cases were reported by the state’s department of health.

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for those ages 12 to 15. Trials of 2,260 vaccine recipients and a placebo group showed 18 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 infection in the placebo group and no cases in the vaccinated group. Side effects were comparable to those seen in ages 16 and older, although fevers were “slightly more common.”

With a decline in COVID-19 cases attributed to vaccinations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced that face mask guidelines have been eased: The fully vaccinated can stop wearing masks in most places, with the exception of crowded locations. Nonetheless, not all areas have the same rates of vaccination, so state and local governments will make final decisions. The unvaccinated are still advised to wear a mask to avoid endangering people who are at risk but cannot get vaccinated. National Nurses United spoke against the CDC guidance, saying it has caused confusion and is endangering health care workers. They added that hundreds of people are still dying daily from COVID-19, and COVID-19 variants are on the rise.

The largest jump in consumer prices in nine years came in March, Bloomberg. com reported, noting that “almost half” the overall rise was due to a 9% jump in the price of gasoline.

Gaslighting: After a voice vote (no one had to go on record for their vote) U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., was removed from her position as conference chair last week for her refusal to back away from saying President Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, as well as that former-President Donald Trump influenced the Jan. 6 Capitol

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

insurrection. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., switched gears, saying no one questions the legitimacy of the election, despite having himself challenged the election as “fraudulent” the previous week.

Further gaslighting: Senate Minority Leader McConnell, R-Ky., commented that, “I don’t think anyone on our [Republican] side has been arguing that [voter fraud] has been pervasive all over the country,” despite such claims since the election and a flood of Republican-led state-level proposals to deter voting.

And even more gaslighting: Georgia Republican Rep. Andrew Clyde said the Jan. 6 footage of the insurrection — which caused five deaths and two suicides, resulted in more than $30 million in damages and more than 400 criminal charges — was indicative of a “normal tourist visit” and calling it an insurrection was a “bald-faced lie.”

Will backing off from Trump help the Republican Party? An Axios focus group found nine out of 14 would be willing to vote for a Republican next year, but of those, eight would not back a Republican who supported the lie that Trump had won the 2020 election.

A Call for American Renewal, signed by more than 100 prominent Republicans announced plans to explore creating a third party free of Trump’s influence. Liz Cheney, on NBC’s Today show, stated that Republicans cannot persuade voters to trust them “if we are building our party on a foundation of lies.” The coalition behind the letter says it “cannot stay quiet in the face of rising political extremism.”

Blast from the past: Historian Heather Cox Richardson says the contemporary — mostly conservative — interpretation of socialism bears little resemblance to the system in practice. Socialism as many in the nation regard it today, had its roots in the aftermath of the Civil War, when Southerners claimed elected Blacks would waste white people’s money by encouraging government funding of hospitals, roads and schools. Elected Blacks, they suggested, would implement socialism and destroy America. It wasn’t until the Great Depression that the negative perception of socialism shifted, as government regulation of business, erecting social safety nets and promoting infrastructure gained appeal. There’d been no relief from the moneyed interests that contributed to the Depression, and voters were willing to try President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

Ever since, certain moneyed interests have struggled to undo the New Deal.

NEWS FEATURE

Full steam ahead

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When Bonner County commissioners voted unanimously to approve a letter of support for the “North Coast Hiawatha Restoration” as part of their May 11 business meeting consent agenda, the item saw very little pomp and circumstance.

It’s not uncommon to see the BOCC issue letters of support on a variety of topics, but in the case of the North Coast Hiawatha Restoration, Bonner County is entering a national conversation on passenger rail, aligning itself with counties throughout Montana whose stakeholders and leaders hope to see the North Coast Hiawatha route reinstated after more than 40 years.

Deputy Clerk Jessi Webster told the Reader that the commissioners drafted the letter at the request of Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority: a group of Montana counties that formally joined forces in November 2020 to advocate for revitalizing passenger rail in the West, starting with the North Coast Hiawatha route, which from 1971-1979 ran from Chicago to Seattle, making its way through southern Montana — and Sandpoint — along the way.

“As America considers the future of its transportation infrastructure, we fully agree with the BSPRA that passenger rail should be an integral part of that future,” stated the letter of support.

“Passenger rail service provides an affordable, efficient means of transportation, good-paying jobs and economic opportunity to the communities it services.”

The letter, addressed to Idaho Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch along with Reps. Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson, acknowledges that “Bonner County [is] intimately familiar with the multiple benefits of passenger rail service through Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which generates an estimated $327 million in annual economic activity for the communities it services.”

The Empire Builder route runs through Sandpoint, along the

northern border of Montana and into North Dakota.

“I looked at this a few different ways, but the most important factor was that passenger rail would connect the more populated areas of Montana, giving those folks the ability to hop on a train to visit our beautiful county,” BOCC Chair Dan McDonald told the Reader. “It will bring additional economic prosperity to our local businesses and provide an easy and economical form of transportation both ways versus having to make the drive.”

With its letter, Bonner County joins a bipartisan effort that is seeing new life after four decades of failed attempts to make rural voices heard in Washington, D.C., when it comes to restoring passenger rail in the sparsely populated West.

According to Missoula County Commissioner and BSPRA Chair Dave Strohmaier, “there is finally some real consideration of a major infrastructure package for this country.”

Strohmaier referred specifically to President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion “American Jobs Plan,” which allocates $80 billion specifically “to improve and expand the nation’s passenger and freight rail network,” according to NPR. “We are in the thick of it right now, creating the organization itself from scratch, and also recognizing that we’re in a pretty unique time, I think, politically and socially in this country to maybe have a real shot at making this happen this year,” Strohmaier said, “and not simply conducting another study that gets the dust blown off it 10 years down the road.”

Part of that hope comes from the bipartisan nature of the effort, exemplified by a blue Missoula County-born idea garnering support from traditionally red Bonner County, and several other conservative counties across Montana.

“I’ve rarely seen an issue where you could bring together as diverse a collection of counties —

BoCo supports Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority’s effort to restore passenger rail in the rural West

geographically, demographically, ideologically, politically — as with passenger rail,” Strohmaier said, adding later: “We’ve managed to rally around an issue that really demonstrates that it’s possible in this country to agree on a few things even in the midst of this really ... divisive political rhetoric that we have grown accustomed to.”

Arguments for restoring the North Coast Hiawatha route range from economic to cultural to simply practical: Across large swaths of Montana, driving is the only way to get around. For an aging population, that can mean driving — in all kinds of weather — up to 170 miles to the nearest urban center for health care services.

Still, critics worry about passenger rail creating competition for freight, with one Yellowstone County commissioner telling High Country News that the effort “doesn’t make sense for commerce.”

While reinstating passenger rail in southern Montana will require an investment of $40 million-$50 million to upgrade existing tracks and stations along the route, Strohmaier argued that passenger rail should receive the same treatment as all transportation infrastructure — the question should not be whether the system

A map of the state of Montana, showing the existing Empire Builder passenger rail route in blue and the decommissioned North Coast Hiawatha passenger rail route in orange. Counties highlighted in dark green are on board with the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority’s efforts to reopen the route, while those in light green have yet to sign on. Map courtesy of Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority. “pays for itself” but, rather, how it could boost local economies and improve the lives of the people who utilize it.

“There should be no difference in [critics’] expectations between passenger rail as a mode of public transportation and our other public infrastructure such as roads and highways,” he said. “Let’s just clear the decks of that argument and hold passenger rail to the same standard that we would any other mode of transportation and make investments necessary to make it happen.”

Strohmaier said that people can support BSPRA’s efforts by contacting their federal representatives to encourage them to restore the North Coast Hiawatha route and advocate for the renewal of passenger rail across the rural West.

“We can join together … and say, ‘We, the region, value passenger rail and want to see the federal government step up and support rural America in a way that it has not in the past,’” Strohmaier said, adding, “You can look at a map of the United States and see the gross underservice of passenger rail in the western United States — particularly the northwestern United

States. I want to remind folks in the administration and with Amtrak that people actually live here, and that rural America is not to be overlooked anymore.”

Strohmaier said that while the attention of counties tends to end at their political borders, passenger rail is a regional — and national — cause worth fighting for.

“What you lose sight of at times in simply focusing inward is that we have the ability to benefit our constituents within our jurisdiction — in this case in a profound way — by working together with other jurisdictions beyond ourselves,” he said. “This is the case with passenger rail …

This will be a transformational, economically and socially, project for our region. The only way we’re going to have that very localized benefit is if we work across boundaries, across jurisdictions to make it happen.”

To learn more about the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority and efforts to restore the North Coast Hiawatha passenger rail route, visit bigskyrail.org. Contact the authority at hello@bigskyrail.org.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 7

COMMUNITY

June Parks and Rec programs

By Reader Staff

Bouquets: GUEST SUBMISSION: • Paul the postmaster at the Dover Post Office deserves a Bouquet. He’s the best mail slinger in the whole county, despite working in a tiny cubby of an office. He’s so helpful, friendly and a true prize for the Dover community. Thank you, Paul!

-Submitted by Kim Bledsoe.

• A big Bouquet goes out to Jim Healey this week. Jim, thank you so much for your generous contribution to the Reader. It was such a thoughtful gesture. We really appreciate having readers like you. Hope to see you around town soon.

Barbs • I was riding my bike past the baseball field next to Dub’s and saw something incredibly inappropriate. There was a tee-ball game going on with a few dozen young children playing on the field and parents watching along the side. Parked right in front of the field in full view of these young children was a truck with two large flags perched on the back. The flags read, “F-ck Biden and f-ck you for voting for him.”

It doesn’t matter if you voted for Trump, Biden or Mickey Mouse in the past election, displaying that kind of flag — outside a teeball game — is a sign that you’re a complete and total buffoon. I believe in the First Amendment, but I also believe that we have a duty to protect our children from this kind of vulgar language. Do us all a favor and just stop already. You can have an opinion without using profanities, and you can choose a better place to park your stupid truck than at a tee-ball game. When I see you driving around town with your truck and flags, I feel only pity for you, because you’re clearly an insecure fool who doesn’t know how to act like an adult.

8 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

Plan ahead for June — especially as the kids will be out of school — with a selection of programs offered by Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces.

Online registration is currently open for: Adult Doubles Tennis League (ages 16+), through Wednesday, Sept. 22. Warm up begins at 5 p.m. Match play begins at 5:30 p.m. Fee: $70. Sandpoint Tennis Association members receive a $45 discount. Online registration deadline extended to Friday, May 21. Three more players are needed to round out the league. If the league is full, register for the sub list: $5 ($1 non-resident fee.

Ultimate Frisbee League (ages 16+), tentative start day Thursday, June 3. League requires a minimum of 20 players to begin.

Play is 5:30-7 p.m. every Thursday on Field 8 of Great Northern Field at the Sports Complex. Fee: $20. Online registration remains open through Thursday, Oct. 28.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:

Panida board making ‘bad choices’...

Dear editor, To the Panida Board: I’m disappointed that the Panida as a nonprofit did not participate in the Idaho Gives campaign. I’m also sad to see that the movie, Shakespeare In Love, is shown as a “date movie.”

You as a board need to get current with more creativity to draw people in rather than a VHS rental to fill seats. Hopefully the lack of ticket sales will make you realize that you are making bad choices in your programming.

It is also sad to see that your chairman is having her own theater group doing events at the 219 rather than at the Panida, which would fill seats with revenue into the Panida.

Robert Moore Sandpoint

Adult 7v7 Flag Football League (ages 18+), Sundays, June 6-Aug. 1. Weekly games played at 1 p.m. on Field 2 of Travers Field at the Sports Complex. Fee: $100/ team. Online registration deadline Sunday, May 23.

CPR/First Aid class offered every other month on the first Monday of the month. Fee: $35 CPR and an additional $25 for First Aid. Online registration is currently available for the Monday, June 7 class, located at the City Council Chambers in Sandpoint City Hall (1123 Lake St.) from 4-8 p.m. Registration deadline Thursday, June 3.

Sand Creek Paddlers’ Challenge, a four-mile paddle up and back on Sand Creek, Saturday June 5. Check in and late registration at the City Beach Pavilion, 9-9:30 a.m. Race starts at 10 a.m.

Fee: $10/boat.

Brownells/NRA Daughters and Sons Day at the Range (ages 8-18), Saturday, June 19 or Sunday, June 20. Various time slots offered but limited to 14 per time spot. FREE. Sponsored by Brownells/NRA Day, the Bonner County Sportsmen’s Association and Sandpoint Parks and Rec. Ammo, .22 rifles, snacks, beverages, shooting benches, targets, hearing and eye protection, and volunteer NRA-certified instructors and range officers will be provided.

The City of Sandpoint Outdoor Shooting Range (113 Turtle Rock Road) is currently open for the season. Range hours of operation and calendar are available on the Parks and Rec. website.

Online registration opens Tuesday, May 25 for: Family Fun in the Forest, FREE to the entire family Sunday, June 13 or Sunday, June 27 from 2-4 p.m. at the Lakeview Park Pavilion. Learn more about getting the most from your hiking and camping experience and brush up on safety/First Aid skills. No registration required.

Ladies Golf Clinic, Session 1 runs Monday, June 14-Monday, July 12, 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Elks Golf Course (30196 ID-200, Ponderay). Fee: $100 ($5 non-resident fee). Registration deadline June 10th 2021.

Adult Intermediate Tennis Lessons, Monday, June 18 and Thursday, July 1 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Lakeview Park Tennis Courts. Fee: $22 ($3 non-resident fee). Registration deadline: Friday, June 25.

Junior Advanced Golf (ages 9-13), Tuesdays, June 15-July 6.

Play is 3:30-4:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Elks Golf Course. Fee: $80 ($5 non-resident fee). Prior play experience is required. Registration deadline: Wednesday, June 9.

Adult Coed ASA Softball (ages 16+), play is Monday-Thursday, early-July through August with games played at Travers Softball Fields 1 and 2. Fee: Sponsor Fee $300/team and Players Fee $365/ team. Registration deadline Sunday, June 13. Mandatory captains meeting Thursday, June 24. All fees due at captains meeting; completed rosters are due the first night of play.

Youth Tennis Lessons (ages 4-18 broken out by age). Sessions meet one hour a day, four days a week, beginning the week of Sunday, June 13. Session 1 runs Tuesday, June 15-Friday, June 18, times vary based on age group. Rackets are available to borrow at no charge.

Fee: $23 ($3 non-resident fee). Tiny Tots, ages 4 and 5 meet twice a week for 45 minutes. Fee: $13 ($2 non-resident fee). Partial scholarships available. Online registration deadline is Friday, June 11.

Beginner Sailing (ages 1018); Monday, June 21-Thursday, June 24. Class runs noon-2 p.m. each day at the Sandpoint Windbag Marina. Fee: $45 ($4 non-resident fee). Registration deadline: Sunday, June 13.

Adult Beginning Tennis Lessons, Monday, June 21 and Thursday, June 24 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Lakeview Park Tennis Courts. Fee: $22 ($3 non-resident fee). Registration deadline: Friday, June 18.

The City of Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department also acts as a clearinghouse to connect the public with other recreational opportunities in the community. Visit the online activity catalog to view listings.

Outside organizations and individuals wishing to list their activities are encouraged to contact Parks and Rec. with their program information at recreation@sandpointidaho.gov.

For Parks and Rec. program registration, shooting range hours of operation, and other community programs, visit the Sandpoint Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces website at sandpointidaho.gov/ parksrecreation, visit the department’s office at 1123 Lake St. or call 208-263-3613.

Panhandle Health District recommends following CDC guidance, stay home if sick, reduce physical closeness when possible, wear a mask if possible, and cleaning hands often.

OPINION

Legislative recap

By Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle Special to the Reader

median assessed value will not be eligible for the circuit breaker exemption.

The 2021 Idaho legislative The property tax desession is complete, for now at ferral program will least. For the first time in our 130 still be available for years of statehood, the Idaho House those homes. and Senate have not concurred in The business adjourning sine die. In a typical personal propyear, the House and Senate convene erty exemption in early January and adjourn for the is increasing year at the end of March. In 2021, from $100,000 to we convened in early January, had a two-week recess in March to stop Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle. $250,000. Also, transient personal a COVID-19 outbreak, and finished property, such as logging and construction in the second week of May. A positive equipment, will not be taxable starting in to this year’s legislative session was the 2022. accommodation of remote testimony in Finally, HB 389 set new limits on allowcommittee hearings. It is beneficial to rural able budget growth for cities, counties and Idahoans. all other taxing districts.

Why was there disagreement about A significant commitment to our transadjourning for the year? Most of the debate portation system was made in HB 362, centers on federal funding and the ability which provides $80 million in ongoing of the executive branch to spend it. Ameritransportation funding from existing sales can Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are on tax collections. The $80 million will be the way to Idaho. Prior to leaving Boise, used for bond payments that will facilitate the Legislature created a law that requires approximately $1.5 billion in new transporappropriation of ARPA funds through the tation projects statewide. normal legislative process. There is poIn total, seven bills were signed into law tential for other funds, such as a federal that change how Idaho manages emergeninfrastructure package, to flow to the state, cies. Senate Bill 1217 placed a 90-day limbut the governor made clear in a written letter that if an urgent situation arose requir- itation on emergencies unless the Legislature is called into session. This requirement ing spending authority, he would call for a applies if the emergency is in 12 or more special legislative session. counties.

In my mind, we could have adjourned HB 391 prohibits any limitation on as we have every year since statehood. The firearms or the right to peaceable assembly Legislature is a policy-setting body. The or free exercise of religion during a state of executive branch carries out that policy. I disaster emergency. HB 392 prohibits the believe we have policy in place that will executive branch from altering, adjusting guide us from one year to the next without a year-round Legislature and that any weak- or creating any provision of Idaho law. HB 393 prohibits unnecessary restrictions on nesses in policy that became evident in the the ability of a person to work or provide past year have been corrected. for their family.

Moving on to tax policy, the Legislature SB 1060 requires that county commisreduced the Idaho income tax rate for indisioners approve county-wide or health viduals and corporations from 6.925% of district-wide public health orders. HB 67 adjusted gross income to 6.5%. The change and HB 68 change the authority for closure was made in House Bill 380, which also of schools, community colleges and univerprovides for one-time tax relief in the form sities to the governing body instead of the of a 9% rebate based on your 2019 Idaho health district. tax amount.

Other notable legislation included: House Bill 389 made changes in tax law HB 126, which legalizes industrial hemp for real property and personal property. The production, processing, research and transhomeowner’s exemption will increase to portation. Idaho was the last of the 50 states $125,000. The circuit breaker exemption, to take this step. which reduces property tax liability by SB 1102 authorizes electronic vehicle $1,320, is changing to $1,500. The circuit registration through automobile dealers. breaker income limitation is going up from Hopefully this will help with the backup at $28,000 to $31,900.

Starting in 2022, homes with an assessed the DMV offices.

SB 1211 changes the requirements value greater than 125% of the county-wide

Highlights from a historic, difficult, 2021 session regarding hunting and trapping of wolves in an effort to better manage livestock and ungulate predation while maintaining a sustainable wolf population.

Finally, SB 1110 changed the voter initiative petition signature gathering requirements. The total number of signatures required to place an initiative on the ballot will remain unchanged at 6%, but the signatures must come from all 35 of Idaho’s legislative districts.

The legislative website is legislature. idaho.gov. The bills can be found under the “Legislative Sessions” link. Each bill is listed with a statement of purpose, the actual bill text and the voting record.

As always, it is a privilege to represent the district. I appreciate your input and look forward to future conversations. I can be reached at jwoodward@senate.idaho.gov.

Sen. Jim Woodward is a second-term Republican legislator from Sagle serving District 1. He serves as vice-chair of the Transportation Committee and holds seats on the Education and Joint Finance-Appropriations committees.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

jaguars

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist There are few animals in the world with the capability of preying on humans. Most larger animals will suffer lethal injury if they attempt to hunt humans; because of this, they won’t even try. Big cats are generally an exception to this rule — and jaguars in particular.

Jaguars aren’t the most prolific man-eating cats on the planet, nor is their body count as high as tigers, but make no mistake: The jaguar is perhaps the most dangerous and efficient big cat on the planet.

The jaguar has one of the largest ranges of any big cat on the planet, living as far north as Arizona and as far south as Argentina. What’s more, they are quite large for a feline, with males reaching up to six feet in length and 250 pounds in weight. Essentially, jaguars are the size of football players, but with teeth and claws designed to separate flesh from bone.

The awesome terror incited by these facts is compounded by the fact that the jaguar can leap up to 40 feet in a single bound.

That’s a distance greater than two short box trucks parked end-to-end.

This incredible evolutionary feat is exactly what earned the jaguar its name. Yaguar is a word of the Indigenous peoples of South America that means, “he who kills with one leap” — and what a leap it is.

Despite being built like a tank, jaguars are actually some of the most stealthy predators 10 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

on the planet. Their fur often displays patterns that break up their silhouette when creeping through the trees, and they possess an incredible level of control over their muscles, which enables them to stalk silently through brush and bramble. The only time a jaguar’s prey notices the big cat is the moment the big cat has driven it to the ground, and not a moment sooner.

A jaguar’s bite is incredibly powerful, so it’s likely that the prey feels next to nothing before it is dispatched by this incredible hunter. The jaws of a jaguar are capable of exerting up to 200 pounds per square inch of bite force. Putting that number into context, we humans exert up to 126 pounds per square inch at our absolute maximum. Only a handful of animals surpass the biting power of a jaguar, and that includes muscular titans like the hippopotamus and the great white shark.

Despite the fact that jaguars are built to dominate the largest prey in the jungle, they are actually opportunistic predators and will eat just about anything with a heartbeat — including creatures as small as monkeys and turtles, the latter of which can have its shell cracked open by a jaguar’s teeth much in the same way humans crack open sunflower seeds at a baseball game. Jaguars will frequently feed on other predators as well, including caimans, which can reach up to 88 pounds.

Unlike your cat at home, a jaguar isn’t afraid of getting a little wet. In fact, a jaguar may spend a considerable amount of

time hunting in the water, as they are some of the most proficient mammalian swimmers on the planet.

Most jaguars have a camouflaged coat with a number of dark ringlets scattered all over.

These ringlets are broken up and form a number of individual spots and speckles that differentiate it from leopards that lack these spots. There is also a genetic mutation among jaguars that makes their entire coat a solid obsidian black, making them appear almost like panthers. This mutation is fairly rare outside of the dense jungle, as jaguars with a coat like this are less likely to survive to an age to reproduce in an area where there isn’t considerable shade from thick tree cover.

Speaking of reproduction, jaguars are legendary Casanovas — while breeding, jaguars will copulate up to 100 times per day. This will usually result in a litter of one to four cubs after three and a half months. Each cub is about the size of a loaf of bread when it is born, and on top of being one of the cutest things on the planet will actually squeak like a large kitten until it grows large enough to eviscerate you in a single pounce.

Jaguars are at-risk in the wild, with experts estimating there are somewhere around 15,000 still left in nature. Their pelts are highly sought-after by poachers and the selfish jerks who fund them, and their forest homes are being cleared away to make room for luxury crop plantations including

coffee, chocolate and vanilla.

An unknown number of jaguars are a part of private collections around the world, including a number in the United States and United Kingdom, respectively.

Owning an apex predator that could eat your skull with the ease that you eat sushi seems like a terrible idea to me.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner usic industry?

Don’t know much about the m • Digital sales generate almost 90% of total music revenue, as of 2018.

• More than 1 trillion songs are streamed annually — greater than a third of them originating from the United States.

• Vinyl is back. After being largely replaced by cassettes and CDs in the ’80s and ’90s, vinyl record sales have climbed to more than $700 million in 2019, from a low of $36 million in 2006.

• Songs are gradually getting shorter. The average length of a song is three minutes, 42 seconds — nearly a minute shorter than the average in 1995.

• Artists only get paid if a track is streamed for more than 30 seconds, prompting some artists to load their albums with shorter songs.

• The popularity of CDs in the ’90s and early 2000s pushed the average length of an album from 12.5 songs in 1992 to almost 16

We can help!

songs in 2003.

• With 52 gold and 31 platinum albums, Barbra Streisand exceeds all other female singers and all other recording artists except for Elvis Presley.

• Ringtones for mobile phones raked in $1 billion in revenue from 2005-2007.

• Musicians add 40,000 tracks to Spotify every day.

• Americans bought about 943 million CDs during their heyday in 2000. Since then, CDs have fallen out of fashion, selling just 46.5 million in 2019.

• Despite the popularity of streaming music online, radio still has the most reach of all platforms. Radio touches 92% of all U.S. adults at least once a week.

• The vast majority of albums — 94% — sell fewer than 1,000 copies. About 80% sell fewer than 100 copies.

PERSPECTIVES

Thoughts on the vandalized ‘welcome banner’

By Brenda Hammond Reader Contributor The banner at the Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center has generated discussion in the community — especially after it was slashed in two, repaired, and put back up. The banner originated with a group of local people to convey the message that Bonner County is a place where each individual is valued, respected and, therefore, safe. It was hung in solidarity with the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force whose creed states, “We believe in the inviolable dignity of each human being,” and “We oppose discrimination, intimidation, harassment and the denial of equal protection in any form.”

The placement of the banner was timely, following the appearance of a mailing that stated, “We need a country of our own — for White People ONLY!” For those who have lived here for a while, this message is reminiscent of the Aryan Nations, the Ku Klux Klan and others who have vowed to seize this beautiful corner of our country to make it an Aryan homeland.

It is clear from talking with many current residents, of various political perspectives, that this is not the vision of the majority in our community. However, those years spent taking a stand against this movement have left a stain on North Idaho.

Therefore, it is important that we do not let this reputation define us. What defines us is that we have stood against this ideology for more than 30 years so

the groups shouting this abusive and hateful agenda have not flourished here.

Speaking to one community friend, it was pointed out that the use of the word “diversity” on the banner was provocative, like poking a stick in the eye of those who feel threatened by it. However, the BCHRTF Board, after meeting to discuss an appropriate response, feels strongly that we support the use of the word “diversity.” That, after all, is the concept that is directly being attacked by those seeking an all-white state.

We feel it is our responsibility to speak out for anyone who feels marginalized because of color, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or socio-economic status — people who don’t feel safe speaking up for themselves.

We see diversity as a fact. Our planet is made up of people of many colors, traditions, languages, cuisines, as well as many values and dreams that have common threads. Diversity is American.

We are a country founded on the ideals of equality and justice for all, although we have a ways to go before we achieve them.

It has been proven as well that diversity is good for business. We want our community to thrive; to offer jobs that will encourage our young people to stay here.

We understand diversity to also mean diversity of opinion, and we seek an environment where people with different ideas can meet together to talk and listen in an atmosphere of mutual respect. We hope to be able to provide some opportunities for this to happen in

the near future. Stay tuned.

This is the time of year that we are visited by people from all over — especially now that the threat of COVID-19 is apparently diminishing. We need to let everyone coming to visit our lovely town know that, “We the People of Bonner County Welcome All!”

The welcome banner hanging outside the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce that was slashed. Courtesy photo.

Brenda Hammond is president of the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 11

12 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

PERSPECTIVES

Dear reader, allow me to let you in on a little secret: Your hired laborers, though they may appreciate you as an individual, do not enjoy your presence on the job site. Please, once the scope of work is agreed upon, just leave your plumber in peace, let your carpenter craft, allow your landscaper silence. If you do this, your task will be done more efficiently and will likely cost you less money. The latter fact isn’t just an issue of timeequals-money, but sometimes, there’s an unwritten surcharge for annoyance. Really. Don’t incur this expense.

It’s especially troublesome during tree removals. Most of our clients are well-intentioned, friendly individuals, but it should go unsaid that the combination of chainsaws and trees indicates danger. If I have my helmet on, it’s a sign that you should stay away.

I understand that, especially during a pandemic, people are lonely. We’re all hungry for connection. A visitor to one’s home is a rare treat. I understand that there’s much of interest to be learned from a tradesman, especially an arborist when you live in a forested environment. I understand that it’d be nice to acquire the skills necessary to do the tree removal yourself next time. And I absolutely understand that it’s pretty freaking cool to watch the top of a giant tree float safely down to the earth. That’s why I’ve taken about 500 photos of this event for our website.

Mexicans on sight at the border.

We learned much about which part of the border, what kind of gun and the laws that he would uphold in his efforts.

First, let me acknowledge the monumental inhumanity of these statements. All lives matter, not just white American ones (a topic to be explored more fully at another time).

That duly noted, let’s discuss the difficult position in which this puts me as a worker-for-hire:

Jen Jackson Quintano.

However, I have enough on my plate in managing my own safety and that of your home. I don’t want to have to think about you, too. You do you, OK? We can chat when the state of my helmet hair is visible.

The worst, however, is when a client is present and wanting to discuss political matters. It’s one thing to have everyone focused on the tree, but it’s quite another to throw immigration or election fraud into an already tense mix.

Please. Just don’t.

Years ago, on a job that sadly required little in the way of hearing protection (i.e., more handsaw, less chainsaw), a client spent much of our time espousing his views on immigration.

Actually, that’s something of a euphemism.

He espoused his views on wanting to shoot all

a). You are paying me, and I am grateful. b). You are seemingly heartless and callous, and I feel angry. c). I want to share my outrage, but this puts our working relationship (see point a.) in jeopardy. d). If I don’t share my outrage, then I feel complicit in your viciousness.

What is the appropriate response in such a situation? Does the transactional relationship require me to submit to my client’s views? Or is it my duty as a human being to decry injustices wherever I find them, paycheck — and the ability to pay my employees — be damned?

In the aforementioned incident, I simply silently raged… with sharp implements in hand.

Things could have gone so much worse.

Normally, as much as I dislike discussing politics with clients, I can diplomatically navigate the conversation. I don’t have to agree with the statements made, nor do I have to acknowledge them. Just let them slide and tactfully return the conversa-

tion to trees. There is already too much bellicosity in the political sphere for me to add to the clamor. Yet, when the statements are so egregious, diplomacy feels improper.

I often wish I had said something that day. I am in a place of privilege wherein I can say something. The truth, though, is that diplomacy, rather than rage, is truer to my character. I am conflict averse. I don’t like making people feel uncomfortable (though I somehow rationalize others making me feel quite uncomfortable).

Not only was I silent with the wannabe immigrant assassin, I’ve wordlessly endured innumerable misogynistic comments on the job. On a wildland fire assignment once, another woman ducked into the charred forest to pee. A man nearby commented, “Yeah, I’d like to follow that back in there, you know what I’m saying?” No, I don’t. You want to assault a woman while she urinates? Is that what you’re saying?

I thought much but said nothing. I just let it slide. I didn’t stick up for the only other woman on the fire line that day.

Speaking up is remarkably uncomfortable.

Yet, I can speak up when your safety, as my client, is at risk. I will call you out on being too close to the tree or machinery. I can find my voice when I need to protect you. I did so with the xenophobic client, lest he be knocked to his senses by a fruit tree limb. But where is my voice when I need to protect the marginalized or myself? I understand that verbal assaults are different than concussions, but the ramifications of each injury can be just as lasting.

I hope to never be in this difficult situation again. You can help, dear reader, by letting me carry out my job. I will do my part by cultivating my voice. We can then talk about whatever you like after the tree is cleaned up and payments have been made.

At that point, we will be on equal footing and safer ground.

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.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 13

HISTORY

A factory, a bridge and the name that made them legendary

Exploring the origins of the ‘Popsicle Bridge’

By Hannah Combs Reader Contributor One Friday afternoon with nothing pressing to do, I turned onto the “Popsicle Bridge road.”

My eyes habitually searched for a stand of aspen trees that no longer beckon with their fluttering green or golden leaves. This left me hunting nostalgically for a glimpse of something that would place me in a Sandpoint before my time, when I imagine things were quieter, quainter.

I passed an old metal barn, the blooming lilacs at its edges a balm for my malaise. Down the winding hill, I wandered out onto the bridge and was jolted with confusion. On a dozen walks along Sand Creek or canoeing through its channel, I had seen the Popsicle Bridge from a distance and told myself it was so named because it was supported by rows of cedar pilings, like the Cedar St. Bridge in miniature, or a row of popsicle sticks. My brain must have been forcing associations where there were none, or I desperately needed to visit the eye doctor. Clearly, the bridge beneath me was built on a concrete frame with an open passage underneath and simple railings made of two-by-fours.

One illusion shattered and opened up a bigger mystery. How did the moniker “popsicle” arise if it didn’t allude to the bridge’s appearance? Thanks to BCHS’s historical archives, I was able to find out.

In June 1966, the father-son team of Laurin and Gary Pietsch — savvy businessmen who helmed the Sandpoint News Bulletin — partnered with mechanical engineer Bert Satterlee to form SS&P Products, Inc. They set up shop in a “modern plant” just north of town on Airport Way (now E. Mountain View Road), in which they manufactured thin sticks for ice cream bars. The local birch was ideal for these products, 14 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

Left: The Popsicle Bridge today.

Above: September 11, 1952 Sandpoint News Bulletin: Mechanical engineer Bert Satterlee had worked with birch for years prior to his time with PP&S, Inc. In 1952, he owned his own company making birch paneling for home interiors, shown here.

Photos courtesy Bonner County Historical Society. as its density helped it withstand the pressure of being treated, and its mild scent didn’t impact the flavor of the ice cream.

Satterlee had previously managed his own manufacturing business, Plylite Inc., in the 1950s, which created birch paneling for home interiors.

“Bert Satterlee and his wife were my parents’ best friends,” remembered Dutch Miedema.

“When I was a teenager, [Bert] built a machine to peel birch logs in my dad’s machine shop in Spokane. Before they opened [the Sandpoint factory] he toured me through there; it was amazing with all the punch presses and other machinery.”

When it opened, PP&S was “the only manufacturer of stamped hardwood veneer products in the West,” according to an article in the Sandpoint News Bulletin.

Later that year, PP&S announced, “Second floor space is being added inside the building to allow expansion of the plant’s packaging and grading abilities.”

The owners hoped this expansion would bring production

up to 1 million ice cream sticks per day. But by late 1969, PP&S closed down and auctioned off its building and equipment.

The popsicle factory didn’t define any of the men who owned it. Laurin Pietsch is remembered for a newspaper career in Sandpoint that spanned half a century.

Over the years he held positions as president of the Idaho Press Association, president of the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, president of the Bonner County Sportsmen’s Association and exalted ruler of the Sandpoint Elks Club. He received many accolades for both his professional and civic work over the years.

Bert Satterlee led a long life full of varied interests. He was a “honky-tonky piano player” and piano tuner who led a dance band in the ’30s. He was also known for designing a steel trolling fishing rod in the late 1940s, which is considered a rare collector item today. In the ’70s, he was the first to advocate for a Goodwill store to benefit the newly-formed senior center.

Gary Pietsch is a retired news-

paper editor and small business owner who, among numerous accomplishments, has written two books on Bonner County history to benefit the museum — both of which can be found at the museum gift shop or at bonnercountyhistory.org.

The popsicle factory was no business empire. It didn’t make men rich, and its history is chronicled in only a few short newspaper articles. But it met a unique need, and it employed more than 20 people for a short time. Like most small businesses, it made an income for local families then disappeared into obscurity over the next couple of generations.

Or it would have, if not for the association with a little bridge down the street that borrowed its nickname and became the “Popsicle Bridge.”

Originally the bridge was an access point to the highway for people living on the north side of town. During highway reconstruction in the early ’70s, the creek crossing was rerouted and the Popsicle Bridge was condemned.

In 1998, the North Idaho Bike-

ways nonprofit led a fundraising effort to rebuild the Popsicle Bridge for bike and pedestrian traffic, creating an integral link in the Sandpoint area bike system.

In the summer, the bridge is regularly frequented by anglers, kayakers and bikers. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of rushing down the steep hill toward the creek on a bike.

The popsicle factory may be an old metal barn overgrown with lilacs, or it may have been torn down years ago. It’s hard to know without knocking precociously on doors and asking questions. On a glorious spring day with the scent of lilac in the air, it feels right to let legends rest; to let layers of stories past and lives lived sift together down by Sand Creek.

This article was brought to you by the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum, of which Hannah Combs serves as administrator. Research provided by the Bonner County History Museum and Sandpoint’s Early History, by Gary Pietsch.

COMMUNITY Support the Healing Garden with ‘Spring for the Garden’ art sale fundraiser

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Of the many gardens in the Sandpoint area, few produce as much good feeling as the Healing Garden. Located at the north of Bonner General Health (520 N. Third Ave.), the Healing Garden has long been a place of peace and contemplation, togetherness and celebration. Especially the latter on Saturday, May 22, with the “Spring for the Garden” fundraiser event.

Set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m., attendees are invited to take a walk through the garden, sample refreshments and take in live music presented by the Suzuki String Academy class.

On top of that, Spring for the Garden features a wide ranging art sale, with works

by Gail Lyster, Sally Park, Kate Weisberg and others. In addition there will be live and plein air painting by artists Linda Davis, Janene Grende, Ani Landis and more.

Among the unique pieces of art on offer will be wooden fish familiar to any longtime local. As Healing Garden Manager Mary Ann Jeffries said, the smiling fish were originally created to raise funds for the K ’n’ K derby and were commonplace features on area docks in the 1960s. Bringing back the

The K ’n’ K Derby fishes that were commonplace features on area docks in the 1960s. Photo by Mary Ann Jeffries. tradition, Jeffries said, “I think we need some happy fish around after such a brutal year.”

“It was just a fun, happy thing,” she added. “They’re just nostalgic.”

Some of the fish will be available for sale at “Spring for the Garden” while others can be ordered at the event.

Funds raised will go toward maintaining the Healing Garden, which also relies on the hard work of volunteers — both of which garden is in need. Contact Jeffries at the garden for more info on how to donate time, money or both.

“This is a beautiful place to be and to volunteer,” she said.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 15

FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater

Brunch bunch

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

It’s beginning to look a lot like normal everywhere I go.

Last week I made a trip to see travel clients in southern California who’d just emerged from lockdown. We celebrated their newfound freedom with an indoor dinner, plenty of cocktails and lots of good cheer at a yacht club near their home. It was new-found freedom for them, and while we were giddy in celebration, I still feel like I am one foot away from lockdown. For the past year, I’ve watched myriad borders open, only to close, again and again, with surging COVID-19 cases.

Though my phone is ringing busy with plenty of inquiries for travel and local catering events, my clients and I are holding our collective breath to see what summer brings our way. For now, my plate is filling up; and, quite honestly, after a year of nearly no income, it feels insanely good.

The only thing that might make me feel any better is dining at a favorite Sunday brunch spot.

How I miss that weekend ritual.

I have always been a sucker for midnight buffets, smörgåsbords and all other Epicurean displays, but I especially love brunch. It’s the best meal ever invented. Its origins remain a bit hazy, but according to numerous articles I’ve read — including one in Smithsonian Magazine — Sunday brunch derived from the practice of Catholics fasting before mass, followed by a large, midday meal.

British author Guy Beringer suggested an alternative to this large, post-mass meal in favor 16 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

of lighter fare, served late in the morning.

According to Beringer, “It is talk compelling, it puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow human beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”

I couldn’t agree more, especially when you add a Bloody Mary or mimosa (or both).

I don’t remember how I came to embrace brunch, but back at the (Montana) ranch, when the children were small, we’d often head to the Holiday Inn Parkside in Missoula for this Sunday ritual, which swept away more than a few of my worries (and isolation) of the week. It also gave me a chance to show off my darling toddlers, dazzling in “town clothes.”

Young Zane could smell the waffles upon arrival in the parking lot. On holidays, pricing for the children was quirky, and the

hostess would plop them on a large produce scale, then charge by the pound (though Ryanne swears they weighed her in and out and charged by the weight difference).

After redirecting my life focus from cattle to cookery, which involved a lot of travel, I searched out brunches near and far from my weekend layovers.

Occasionally I was able to take Casey along on these quasi-business trip experiences. The first time I surprised my preteen with a trip to the Big Apple, she surprised me with her fear of fine foods. There we were, seated like royalty in the Palm Court of the opulent Plaza Hotel, surrounded by lush greenery, gilded furnishings and a feast worthy of nobleness. We parted ways to find our food.

Before filling a plate, my brunch ritual is making a slow pass through each stunning station, savoring every tiny morsel

well before it ever touches my lips. The ice carvings, the butter sculptures, the artful displays of fruit, and the lemon and parsley-laden seafood extravaganzas are as much a feast for the eyes as the belly.

I will never forget sitting back down that day, with a half dozen starter oysters in hand, tête-à-tête with Casey as I gazed at her $75 plate, which cradled one bronzed croissant and four bright red strawberries. She never even went back for seconds.

Subsequent Big Apple brunches proved more fruitful.

The modern and matured Casey and I would fast on Saturday before getting our money’s worth at other notable Sunday buffets: the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center and Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

Both still rank high among my favorites. Ryanne says I planned my trips around restaurants, and while that’s not entirely true,

I did plan more than one New York business trip with a long weekend layover.

Who knows if and when my beloved bunches of brunches will ever return? Right now, I’m waiting to learn the fate of my local favorite, in Spokane’s treasured Davenport Hotel (and it’s as good of brunch as any I’ve ever experienced).

For now, I’ll be whipping up brunches for my bunch, preparing lots of our favorite Sunday dishes, like sweet and spicy ancho chili bacon, chicken livers sauteed with oodles of onions and frico, an “out-of-this-world” crispy potato dish that even your pickiest eater will proclaim palate-worthy (I admit, “out of this world” is a stretch, but it does originate from the northeastern region of Italy).

It’s a perfect potato dish for brunch or one of those neighborhood potlucks that are sprouting up all over Sandpoint.

Frico — Italian potato pie recipe Here is a rustic Italian dish made with potato, onion and lots of Parmesan cheese. These simple ingredients come together in one fabulous dish.

INGREDIENTS: • 2 baking potatoes medium sized, thinly sliced about ⅛ inch • 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil • 1 onion medium sized, thinly sliced about ⅛ inch • 1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese pick a good quality type, shaved or grated • ¼ tsp pepper • 1 dash nutmeg

DIRECTIONS: Heat olive oil on medium and toss in the potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes, turning frequently.

Add onions, nutmeg and pepper, and continue to turn until onions are translucent.

Slowly begin to add the Parmesan cheese ¼ cup at a time, stirring constantly.

Allow the potatoes to brown on one side and then turn to brown on the other side. (Use a large plate to do this, even better if you have a dual pan.)

The cheese and potato mixture should form a light crust on both sides. Test with a fork for softness in the potato and then it is done.

I like to caramelize the onions slightly to bring out their natural sweetness. I also like the potatoes to have a slight crispiness to add a layer of texture to the dish.

The cheese should be added a little bit at a

time to allow it to combine well with the potatoes.

Potatoes should be slightly crispy on both sides, but not all the way through.

If you want to use a different cheese, make sure it’s a non-melty one, think hard Italian cheese: Grana Padano, Pecorino Romano, Asiago D’allevo.

LITERATURE

Naming displacement

Ryanne Pilgeram’s book Pushed Out explores the effects of rural gentrification through the history of Dover

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

It is impossible to tell the story of Ryanne Pilgeram’s life without recognizing how the town of Dover shaped her early years.

Now Pilgeram is doing her part to tell the story of Dover in her book Pushed Out: Contested development and rural gentrification in the U.S. West. The book, published by the University of Washington Press, combines narrative storytelling, historical research and sociological theory to paint a complete and compelling picture of Dover.

“I really wanted a book that was readable,” said Pilgeram, a sociology professor at the University of Idaho. “I wanted the kind of book that I could take back to Dover or to Sandpoint and it didn’t feel like an assignment to get through it.”

Pilgeram will do just that on Saturday, May 22, as she signs books and answers questions at Vanderford’s Books from noon-2 p.m.

Pushed Out uses Dover as a case study for the broader implications of rural gentrification — that is, “commodification of space and displacement of residents” in rural areas, according to Rina Ghose, one of the scholars cited in the book.

North Idahoans are intimately familiar with outsiders making their way to the panhandle in hopes of carving out their own slice of rural paradise. In recent years, the “us vs. them” mentality has ramped up, as locals struggle to afford housing and experience the other effects of a rapidly increasing population — particularly an influx of people who bring with them large amounts

of out-of-state money.

Pushed Out explores these themes within larger economic and cultural contexts, and the name “Dover” could very nearly be replaced by the names of several towns throughout the West that have seen the same cycle of boom, bust and resort development.

“I got really lucky with the timing of this book,” Pilgeram said. “I think it’s a conversation that people are hungry to have. ... One of the things sociology does is it gives a name to problems with no name, and once we have a name for things, it’s easier to have discussions about them.”

All of that said, Pilgeram is not pointing fingers. Rather, she used in-depth interviews and archival research to find patterns and draw conclusions about what conditions led Do-

ver down the path it finds itself on today.

The plight of local people is not the population increase, she argues, but rather a system that does not make room for people of every walk of life.

“Populations move and shift around and that’s typical, and to be expected,” she said. “One of things we can ask ourselves is, ‘Who gets to drive those conversations about what our community looks like?’”

Currently, it’s typically developers who have the most sway in the big decisions facing the community — particularly in amenity-rich, rural communities like Dover. Pilgeram said that rather than identify one bad actor, it is important to recognize that it’s not the developers alone who are responsible for radical shifts — after all, developers aim to make money,

and that is an accepted societal norm. It is the system that prioritizes profit above all else that creates fertile ground for rural gentrification.

Pilgeram said it is important to acknowledge the flaws of the overall system, and then try to imagine how different decision makers might shape a community. For instance, what would Sandpoint look like if restaurant workers had equal influence in making the calls when it came to development? How would their lived experience and goals inform those decisions?

One scenario is not necessarily better or worse than the other, Pilgeram said, but it is worth considering how a community’s character and local goals could be realized depending upon who is in the driver’s seat.

“We need to be able to

Above: Ryanne Pilgeram in the mountains of North Idaho. Inset: The front cover of Pilgeram’s book Pushed Out. Courtesy photos.

conceptualize communities that serve us, and I mean us collectively, as people,” Pilgeram said. “I don’t think we’ve been given very many opportunities to do that, and the kind of inequalities we see around Sandpoint are reflected in that.

“I don’t have real clear answers,” Pilgeram continued.

“I think it’s conceptual — we have to be able to imagine a world, to build that world.”

Attend the Pushed Out book signing event at Vanderford’s Books & Office Products (201 Cedar St.) on Saturday, May 22 from noon-2 p.m. Pilgeram will be signing copies of her book — available for purchase at Vanderford’s — and answering questions about the project.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 17

events May 20-27, 2021

THURSDAY, may 20

Sip and Shop - Bonner Homeless Transitions 4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Grab glass of wine or slice of pizza. A percentage of sales will support Bonner Homeless Transitions, a local nonprofit organization

Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Live Music w/ Maya & Alex 7-9pm @ The Back Door Longshot Open Mic Night 6:30pm @ The Longshot Musicians, comedians and poets, oh my

FriDAY, may 21

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

Live Music w/ Hardwood Heart 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Friday Night Wine Flight 6:30pm @ The Longshot Lawn games too!

Live from 525 - Festival at Sandpoint concert w/ Justin Landis, Harold’s IGA 5-6:30pm @ Festival at Sandpoint office Come enjoy an intimate evening with local musicians Justin Landis and Harold’s IGA at the Festival’s office at 525 Pine St. Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 8-10pm @ The Back Door

SATURDAY, may 22

Dance into Summer 7-10pm @ Ponderay Event Center Waltz lesson from 7-8pm taught by professional instructors from Spokane, followed by general dancing until 10pm. $9 Live Music w/ Weibe Jammin 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 8-10pm @ The Back Door Live Music w/ Pamela Benton 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Snacks at Midnight 8-10pm @ The Longshot Music on the lawn with a Spokane pop/ rock and funk band

Spring Fling Fundraiser 8am-1pm @ Hope Elementary School Grab a BBQ lunch, get a car wash and browse a selection of plants, baked goods and yard sale items. Fundraiser for Hope Partners in Education. 208-255-7232 Museum Plant Sale Fundraiser 8:30am-2:30pm @ BoCo History Museum Featuring Virginia Overland’s legendary heirloom tomato starts, as well as a large variety of garden goodies and flowers

“Spring for the Garden” fundraiser and Healing Garden Open House 10am-3pm @ BGH Healing Garden Featuring live music presented by the Suzuki String Academy class and art fundraiser that will benefit the Healing Garden.

SunDAY, may 23

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

Interactive Bingo 6-7:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

monDAY, may 24

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills Group Run – All levels welcome 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub 6pm @ Outdoor Experience Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant The mother of Amish schoolhouse shooter interviewed

tuesDAY, may 25

wednesDAY, may 26

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park Live Music w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Live Music w/ Samantha Carston 7-9pm @ The Back Door

ThursDAY, may 27

Live Music w/ Maya & Alex 7-9pm @ The Back Door 18 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

COMMUNITY

Historical Society and museum to host spring plant sale fundraiser

By Reader Staff Spring is in its glory. From the flowering fruit trees to the vibrant fields, Mother Nature is once again putting on a show.

If that makes you want to follow in the footsteps of the people who lived here before us, and put your hands in the dirt and plant a crop of flowers or vegetables, the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum has the perfect event on offer: a fundraising plant sale Saturday, May 22, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., on the lawn in front of the museum in Lakeview Park.

“We’re preserving local history by delving into some of Sandpoint’s favorite historic gardens to collect annuals and perennials that will become a cherished part of your garden world,” museum curator Heather Upton said. “We’re featuring Virginia Overland’s legendary tomato plants, plus daylilies, hostas and irises, as well as many

other varieties.”

Founded in 1972, the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum is a private, nonprofit organization whose membership is open to all. We operate thanks to community support, membership dues, gifts, retail sales, donations and grants from private foundations.

The museum will not be open to visitors during the event. Regular hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on the first Saturday of each month admission is free from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors, $1 for children 6 to 18 years old. Members and children under six are free.

The museum is located at 611 S. Ella St. in Sandpoint. For more info, call 208-2632344, follow Bonner County Historical Society and Museum on Facebook, or visit the website at bonnercountyhistory.org.

Yard sale May 22 marks first Angels Over Sandpoint fundraiser in a year

By Reader Staff

The Angels Over Sandpoint are busy preparing for their first in-person fundraising event in more than a year — a huge yard sale scheduled for Saturday, May 22 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m.

The grassroots organization exists to help community members in need. To accomplish that goal, however, the Angels need generous benefactors.

“Since our inception in 1997, we have generated over $1.5 million dollars to help those in need in Bonner County,” stated Angels Treasurer Dona Fuller.

Despite the lack of in-person events, the Angels were not idle during the pandemic, holding monthly Zoom membership meetings; arranging hybrid back-to-school backpack distribution; and sewing more than 1,800 masks early in the pandemic, which were distributed to Bonner General Hospital, local businesses, assisted living centers and individuals.

The fabric was supplied by member Cheryl Kochevar, who is spearheading the yard sale with lots of quality, leftover fabric that will be available for purchase. She anticipates fabric sales will be brisk, and encourages quilters and seamstresses to arrive promptly at 8 a.m. (no early sales).

Along with fabric, the Angels have been busy collecting, sorting and cleaning myriad treasures, including clothing, housewares and furniture, for the one-day sale at the Ponderpoint home of a longtime member. Angels will supply the address on the day of the sale

Courtesy photo. via the organization’s Facebook page: facebook.com/angelsoversandpoint. Signage will also direct buyers to the sale location.

According to Boardmember Dee Ann Smith, the Angels held their first in-person membership meeting this month, and are looking forward to greeting community members as they kick off their fundraising efforts for 2021.

“The Angels hope you’ll come out and browse,” the organization stated, adding that members are “looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones.”

Angels Over Sandpoint is a 501(c)(3) public charity. For more information about donating to the organization or becoming a member, visit angelsoversandpoint.org.

STAGE & SCREEN

Shakespeare’s in love with the Panida

By Jim Healey Reader Contributor

It is a “date movie” at the Panida Theater. On Saturday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m., the 1998 film Shakespeare in Love comes to the Panida screen. Bring a date or make a date with the Panida to see this Oscar-winning film.

Suffering from writer’s block, William Shakespeare is in need of a new muse. He soon finds inspiration in the form of a beautiful female aristocrat, but her daring determination to perform as a man in his play puts their already forbidden relationship on even more dangerous ground.

The fictional tale stars Gwyneth Paltrow (Best Actress winner), Joseph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Ben Af-

fleck, Judi Dench (Best Supporting Actress winner) and Geoffrey Rush.

Movie trivia: Judi Dench is on the screen for only five minutes and two seconds, earning her second place on the list for shortest screen time to ever win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Shakespeare in Love (R) Saturday, May 22, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 23, 2:30 p.m.; doors open 30 minutes before showtime; $5. Panida Theater, 300 N. First Ave., 208-263-9191, panida.org.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 19

MUSIC

The strings of summer

Suzuki String Academy to host first ever Sandpoint Summer Strings Festival — a camp for young performers

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff There is no shortage of entertaining and educational opportunities for kids in Sandpoint during the summertime. Thanks to Suzuki String Academy, those with a particular interest in music have another option to fill their sunny days, as the academy gears up to host the first ever Sandpoint Summer Strings Festival.

The three-day camp, running Thursday, Aug. 19-Saturday, Aug. 21 at Sandpoint Christian School, will give students the chance to hone their skills and learn new music — both classical pieces and tunes more widely recognized among youths, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack.

The Sandpoint Summer Strings Festival will feature teaching talent from around the country, such as guest conductor Michele Jeglum — formerly director of the Suzuki Institute in Fairbanks, Alaska — and Laura Otto, another Suzuki director from Peoria, Ill. Sandpoint violin/viola instructors

Ruth Klinginsmith and Marianne Wall, as well as cello instructor Bianca d’Avila do Prado, will also be on hand at the camp. d’Avila do Prado said the three days will be “a celebration of string playing,” featuring not only rigorous rehearsals and masterclasses, but also a drums and rhythms class and a chance for kids to tie-dye their Strings Festival shirts.

“That will be a great opportunity to play fun music with other string players, keep [students] motivated with their practice in the summer and meet people that share the same interests,” d’Avila do Prado said. “Also, the intensive music contact for three days with other players can sometimes be worth weeks of practice by themselves.”

The Sandpoint Summer Strings Festival will culminate with a concert Aug. 21 on the Bonner County Fairgrounds band stage.

While the camp is designed for string players of all ages who are proficient in reading music, students who have not yet mastered that skill are invited to participate

in the camp’s Twinkle Stars program, which will also have a chance to participate in the concert.

“We want to lift the spirits of our string players,” d’Avila do Prado said, “and give them something to look forward to in the summer.”

Early bird registration for the Sandpoint Summer Strings Festival is $175 and due Sunday, May 30. Regular registration is $200, and due by Monday, July 19. Those hoping to participate in the Twinkle Stars program should also have their child registered by July 19, and the cost is $50.

Participants who wish to can also prepare a piece for adjudication, during which a committee

will provide constructive, individualized feedback to the student.

Adjudication is $25 per student.

“The adjudication is also a great way to have the students hear from experts other than their own teachers,” d’Avila do Prado said, “and have practical, positive tips to help them improve their playing.”

Register at suzukistringacade-

Suzuki String Academy students pose with their instruments.

Courtesy photo. my.com/summer-strings-festival.

Those with questions can reach the Sandpoint Suzuki String Academy at info@suzukistringacademy.com.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint

Gladys Knight will take Festival stage Aug. 5 The Festival at Sandpoint announced another performer for the 2021 concert series: Gladys Knight will headline the show Thursday, Aug. 5.

Very few singers over the past 50 years have matched Knight’s unassailable artistry. A seven-time Grammy award winner, Knight has enjoyed No. 1 hits in pop, gospel, R&B and adult contemporary categories, and has triumphed in film, television and live performances. She earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995 and the next year Gladys Knight & The Pips were inducted into the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Knight published an autobiography Between Each Line of Pain and Glory (a line taken from her million-selling recording “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”) in 1997 and a year later she and The Pips were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. Knight was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual BET Awards ceremony.

— Ben Olson

Tickets for Gladys Knight are $69.95 for general admission and $94.95 for early entry. Gates open at 6 p.m. and music begins at 7:30 p.m. For more information and tickets, please visit festivalatsandpoint.com.

20 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

Festival at Sandpoint Family Matinee and Grand Finale announced

The Festival at Sandpoint announced a change to the usual format of its Sunday performances. The Family Concert, traditionally held the first Sunday, will now take place Sunday, Aug. 8 from noon-2 p.m. with musical performances from 1-2 p.m. There will be no Kids’ Carnival due to new artificial turf policies and pandemic precautions.

Gates will open for the Family Matinee “Music from the Movies” at noon on Sunday, Aug. 8 and music will commence from 1-2 p.m., featuring Broadway singer Whitney Claire Kaufman leading a concert filled with family-friendly cinematic classics, both modern and nostalgic. Lunch will be available for purchase.

The Grand Finale will feature the Spokane Symphony with Whitney Claire Kaufman later that evening. Gates will open at 5 p.m. and a modified wine tasting will take place from 5-7:30 p.m, followed by music at 7:30 p.m. Resident Conductor Morihiko Nakahara will lead the Spokane Symphony and Kaufman with a wide variety of music from classical repertoire to Broadway show tunes.

A fireworks display will end the evening and wrap up the 38th annual Festival at Sandpoint at the conclusion of the show.

Tickets for the matinee are available for purchase for $9.95 and the Grand Finale for $39.95, which includes a complimentary wine tasting. Tickets for those ages 12 and under are available for $9.95. All tickets can be purchased at festivalatsandpoint.com.

—Ben Olson

MUSIC

Festival at Sandpoint outlines changes for 2021 season

New policies include online ticketing platforms and cashless payments at venue

By Ben Olson Reader Staff The Festival at Sandpoint has been steadily announcing its musical lineup for their 38th annual concert series, while also outlining some changes that attendees should expect for this year’s two-week event.

Executive Director Ali Baranski introduced several updates to the Festival’s policies for the upcoming season, including cashless ticketing and purchases at the concert, guidelines for artificial turf and more.

This will be the first Festival at Sandpoint on the artificial turf at War Memorial Field, which brings a few changes to previous years. No glass will be allowed inside the concert venue with the sole exception of wine bottles.

The collection of food vendors known as Festival Street will move to Lakeview Park behind the grandstands to both extend the venue and allow for

increased capacity with more social distancing and space available for seating. This also removes the risk of damaging the new artificial turf.

Festival Street will be going digital and contactless with the introduction of the Noble app.

How it works: concertgoers download the app on their phone and order everything directly from the app, including food, drinks, merchandise and chairs.

When the order is ready for pickup, a notification will be sent to the phone. This eliminates waiting in lines and paying with cash, so patrons can spend their time listening to the music and socializing with friends.

Menus will be available to browse ahead of concert time, and orders can be made for a specific time. As always, Festival patrons are allowed to bring their own food and drinks inside the venue (again, no glass bottles other than wine bottles).

“It is extremely important to

note that in-person ordering via credit/debit, cash or check will not be accepted,” the Festival wrote in a news release. “All orders will be placed via mobile ordering on the Noble app and for pickup only.”

Festival staff and volunteers have also committed to increasing sanitizing procedures and will offer frequent opportunities to wash hands at sanitation stations.

No dance-style concerts will be offered at the 2021 Festival, but everyone is welcome to dance at their blanket or “pod.”

“Pushing forward will not be permitted and we ask that the per-

The Spokane Symphony plays at the Festival at Sandpoint in 2017.

Courtesy photo. sonal space of other concertgoers be respected,” the Festival wrote.

Tickets will be sold exclusively online, though Festival staff are always available to assist with online ordering.

“Thank you for your understanding, cooperation and adaptability during this unprecedented season,” the Festival wrote. “We look forward to seeing you this summer under the stars to help welcome live music back to Sandpoint!”

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Hardwood Heart, May 21, Eichardt’s Pub

Harold’s IGA & Justin Landis, May 21, The Festival at Sandpoint office

If there’s a western Montana sound, Hardwood Heart exemplifies it. The Missoula, Mont.-based three piece whips up a string-dominated amalgam of bluegrass, folk, jazz and Americana that’s about as foot tapping, head bobbing and knee slapping as it gets.

With Josh Clinger on acoustic guitar and vocals; Jed Nussbaum on mandolin and vocals; and Caleb Mattis on upright bass, the band has a busy year despite the pandemic with two new EP’s: The Longer Road, released in January 2020 and Sail My Sins, in September 2020.

We can’t think of a better combo than that down-home Montana sound and a pint or two with friendly folk(s) when Hardwood Heart comes to Eichardt’s.

— Zach Hagadone

Locals don’t have to wait for the end of July to start enjoying live music facilitated by the Festival at Sandpoint; the nonprofit’s Live from 525 concert series brings the joy of public gigs to a 30-person audience inside the Festival at Sandpoint office. The next Live from 525 show will feature local indie-rock favorite Harold’s IGA — made up of multi-instrumentalist trio Ben Olson, Cadie Archer and Josh Vitalie — along with experimental folk singer-songwriter Justin Landis. The evening will also feature a donation-based bar. Shows are recorded live on the Festival’s YouTube channel, and available for viewing afterward.

Proceeds from the Live from 525 shows are used to help the Festival keep music education and accessibility in Sandpoint.

— Lyndsie Kiebert

8-11 p.m., FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208263-4005, eichardtspub.com. Listen at hardwoodheart. bandcamp.com.

Doors and bar open at 4:30 p.m., music from 5-6:45 p.m., $25 general admission, discounts for Festival Members. The Festival at Sandpoint office, 525 Pine St., 208265-4554, festivalatsandpoint.com.

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert

READ

The New Yorker recently posted to social media about The Lottery, a 1948 short story by horror and mystery author Shirley Jackson.

The magazine shared that at the time, no piece of fiction had ever solicited the same amount of letters (or outrage) as those 3,000 words, which tell the story of a small town holding an annual ritual that at first seems festive, but quickly turns dark. It’s a story about the power of traditions, and how far humans will go to uphold them. It is worth revisiting, and is accessible on the New Yorker’s website.

LISTEN

Warm weather must bring out my inner hick, because I’ve been hitting the country music hard the past few days. A sampling of Spotify’s New Boots playlist introduced me to Nate Smith — a singer-songwriter just starting to find his footing on country radio. Of the small smattering of singles he’s released, the song “Sleeve” stopped me in my tracks. I have a feeling that Smith’s creative songwriting and warm vocals will take him far.

WATCH

Billie Eilish recently released the song “Your Power.” It’s a beautiful, quiet track with second-person lyrics, condemning the actions of an unnamed abuser.

The song ties into Eilish’s growing message: I am a person who has been through hard things, and the world’s opinion of me does not define me. The music video for “Your Power” is stunning, and a short film from May 2020 titled Not My Responsibility — featuring a spoken word poem about her tendency to wear baggy clothes to keep her body from worldview — is worth watching. Find both on YouTube.

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

Back roads point the way Don’t look to social media for insider information – find it yourself

From Northern Idaho News, June 15, 1906

NEW STATION OF CULVER ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC The Northern Pacific has put in a new siding eight miles east of Sandpoint which is to be known as Culver. The spur in a sense takes the place of old Oden, which was done away with when the new cut off was built by Northern Pacific.

The Sandpoint Cedar company has opened a logging camp near the new station of Culver, Henry Lane being in charge, and he has a crew of men getting out cedar poles and saw logs.

Mr. Lane has constructed a new style of road there over a low place which he believes will be a decided success. Instead of corduroying the road in the old style way he has laid down two long timbers on each side of the roadway lengthwise with the road and flattened them on the top side, so that the horse has a solid timber roadway to walk on as well as a solid roadway for the wheels of the trucks or wagons to follow.

22 /

R

/ May 20, 2021

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Like many of us who were born and raised in Sandpoint, I have played the “Sandpoint Shuffle” several times. This dance step involves feeling trapped and wanting to see the world, driving across the Long Bridge with all your possessions jammed in the back of the car and living somewhere else in the world, only to return months or years later to feel the embrace of Sandpoint once again.

After high school, I left this little shire to attend college in Colorado. A few years later I moved back, then moved down to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the film industry. After that left a sour taste in my mouth, I moved back to Sandpoint, left again, moved back, left again and finally moved back for good about 12 years ago.

In all my ramblings around America over the years, one of my favorite parts of settling in a new area has always been hopping in my truck and driving around back roads to find those peaceful places to camp, recreate, hike and wander outside the usual circuit of the masses.

Some days were more fruitful than others. Often I’d drive all day and take every unknown dirt road I passed until it led to a dead-end up a mountaintop, not finding any cool spots to add to my ever-growing list of places to escape. Other days I’d luck upon a beautiful camp spot by a river, or a secret vista where only the hardy — and patient — wanderers congregated.

There is an incredible feeling of accomplishment and discovery when you run across one of these gems. I still have maps from my wandering days with black

STR8TS Solution

marker dots and scribbled notes denoting random turns, instructions and information about the spot. Then, when faced with a few days off from work, I’d pore through these notes and select a spot to camp for the weekend, knowing with a fair degree of certainty that it was probably unoccupied.

It took a lot of work and a fair amount of gas some days to locate these places and mark them down on my map, but the payoff was always worth it, because I found them myself through trial and error.

I’ve noticed a troubling trend on local social media forums lately. Newcomers to the area will post that they’re looking for a good place to camp and — to my horror — people actually respond with comments giving instructions to spots that locals have cherished and protected for years. The inevitable usually happens: more and more people use these once special camping spots with more frequency, leaving behind their trash and telling all their own friends about it until the quiet little place I once knew is nothing more than another dot on the map for tourists and weekend warriors to post on Instagram. Not to mention the fact that the usually-unoccupied place is often already taken by a truck pulling a camper with out-of-state plates.

For the love of all that is holy, please stop sharing these locations on social media. When people ask for inside local information, the best comment is to encourage them to find their own places through the trial and error that we locals have employed for years. Just because we have access to social media and information at our fingertips doesn’t mean we have to share it with everybody who asks.

Does an angler tell you exactly where he or she goes to slay those big rainbows?

Does a morel hunter tell you where they found that laundry bag full of fungus? Do huckleberry pickers share their coveted locations for the masses? The answer to all of the above is a resounding no. They guard their secret spots because they know the moment they share it with a wider audience, those quiet days of foraging or fishing have the potential to turn into a busy day at City Beach with gaggles of people tromping all over that once-hallowed ground.

If you’re new here and don’t know where to camp or fish or forage for mushrooms, don’t look to Facebook for answers. Get out there and find it yourself. It’s bad enough that everyone seems to have discovered North Idaho in the past year, but I’ll be damned if I sit by and watch well-meaning people blast a hidden gem all over the internet because they want to be helpful. Don’t enable the lazy weekend warriors by giving them the keys to the kingdom. Make them work for it like we all have for years.

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if something is actually a memory, or you just dreamed it. So I asked my boss if I called him a lying, stinking thief, or I just dreamed it, and he said I just dreamed it. Whew, that was close.

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

By Bill Borders

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Laughing Matter

ACROSS

pulchritudinous

Woorf tdhe Week

/puhl-kri-TOOD-n-uhs/

[adjective] 1. physically beautiful.

“As Moira Rose might say, ‘what a pulchritudinous eventide’.”

Corrections: In our May 6 story “Army Corps announces local recreation site opening dates,” we stated that “campsites at Priest River, Riley Creek and Springy Point recreation areas are [booked] for the 2022 season.” This was incorrect.

While campsites can be booked online up to six months in advance, some sites remain open. Taylor Johnson with USACE clarified: “If you decide on a whim you’d like to go camping ... and see a site available, you can simply go online (recreation. gov) or call the reservation number (877-444-6777) to reserve that site and set up your camping equipment within minutes.” Our apologies for the confusion. —LK Also, I spelled “institutions” wrong in my snarky Retroactive comic last week. I’m going back to bed. —BO

1. Honor 6. Electronic letters 11. Country estate 12. Judicial decision 15. Kleenex 16. Defeatable 17. Derisive laugh 18. Renters 20. A very long period 21. Black, in poetry 23. Picnic insects 24. Very dry, as wine 25. Anagram of “Fuel” 26. Sounds of disapproval 27. Alumnus 28. French for “Head” 29. Hearing organ 30. A small round piece of linen 31. Move out of position 34. Bestow 36. Flee 37. Evergreen trees 41. Mortgage 42. L L L L 43. Send forth 44. Stars 45. Anagram of “Live” 46. A pioneer in electrochemistry 47. An uncle 48. Comprehensive 51. Some people chew this

Solution on page 22 52. Empowering 54. Without difficulty 56. Change places 57. Pilotless plane 58. Consumer of food 59. Beginning

DOWN 1. Affable 2. Rain out 3. Autonomic nervous system 4. Defeat decisively 5. To endure (archaic) 6. Happenings

7. Butchers’ offerings 8. Anagram of “Star” 9. Actress Lupino 10. Progressive 13. Overcast 14. Canvas dwelling 15. Larceny 16. Funding 19. Twangy, as a voice 22. Sewing tools 24. Instructed 26. Exam 27. Snagged 30. Water barriers 32. Charged particle

33. Kind of lily 34. Graduates 35. Bloodline 38. Envisage 39. A small stream 40. Hinder 42. Flatter 44. Appear 45. High society 48. A type of map 49. Start over 50. Tale 53. Brassiere 55. Mayday

May 20, 2021 /

R

/ 23