‘Ledges Fire’ burning uncontrolled on 20 acres east of U.S. Hwy. 2

By Reader Staff

It is months before the traditional start to “fire season” in North Idaho, but area skies have already been visited by smoke from a blaze located about 1.5 miles east of U.S. Highway 2, south of the Pend Oreille Wildlife Management Area.

What fire managers are calling the “Ledges Fire” is believed to have ignited May 2 at approximately 8:30 p.m., and as of press time was being battled by crews from the Idaho Department of Lands and Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS. According to a news release May 3 from IDL, the fire is currently uncontained and uncontrolled, while its cause is under investigation.

Five engines and 18 crew members fought the fire through the night of May 2, and were relieved by fresh personnel on the morning of May 3.

“If you live near the fire, do not fly drones,” IDL cautioned. “Should the need to use aircraft arise, the aircraft will be grounded if unauthorized drones are in the air, putting resources and the lives of fire personnel at risk.”

Furthermore, officials reminded that residents planning to engage in a burning operation this spring should exercise caution.

“If your fire escapes, and you are found negligently responsible, you will be held liable for the costs of suppressing the fire,” IDL stated.

The department shared a num- ber of tips to help prevent planned burns from becoming uncontrolled, as well as limit liability if flames do escape:

• A responsible adult is required by law to be in attendance until the fire is out;

•Clear all flammable material and vegetation within 10 feet of the outer edge of the pile;

•Keep a water supply and shovel close to the burning site;

•If it’s windy and the surrounding vegetation is dry, it may be best to wait and burn debris another day;

•Keep your pile at a manageable size. Add additional debris slowly as the pile burns down;

•Look up. Choose a safe site for burning that’s away from power lines, overhanging limbs, build- ings, vehicles, and equipment.

More information about fire prevention and burning guidelines can be found at idl.idaho. gov/fire-management/fire-prevention-and-preparedness. Follow updates on the Ledges Fire, and any other area fires, at idl.idaho.gov/ fire-management/fire-news-feed.

Bouquets:

•This community is lucky to have two stellar journalists reporting the news each and every week. Reader Editor-in-Chief

Zach Hagadone and Reader News

Editor Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey get my Bouquets this week for their wins April 29 at the annual Idaho Press Club awards. It’s such a pleasure working with both Zach and Lyndsie on a regular basis. We are a small editorial department, which means we work our butts off just to keep the paper coming each and every Thursday. By contrast, other weeklies of our size usually have a dozen or more people producing the same amount of content our reporters do — not to mention they usually get paid quite a bit more. If you see Zach or Lyndsie around town, please give them a pat on the back for their hard work and dedication to reporting the news in our community. I’m fortunate to know them both and appreciate everything they do for this newspaper.

• A Bouquet goes out to the city of Sandpoint for the announcement last week claiming City Hall would put “the Couplet” transportation revision plan on the “back burner” in favor of moving forward with “short-term” solutions. I have no problems giving kudos where they are due, but keep in mind that we should have never gotten this far in the process for this disastrous and unpopular plan. Also, this thing isn’t dead for good. Just like before, it’s hidden in the Sandpoint Multimodal Transportation Master Plan, lying in wait for the next overzealous mayor or city administrator to dust off and foist upon Sandpointians at some point in the future. This entire process goes to show what kind of power we have when we participate in the process and refuse to let our elected — and unelected — leaders decide what’s best for our community. Power to the people, always.

Barbs:

• It’s already getting hot and dry, so make sure to drown those campfires when you leave them.

Reasons for voting ‘no’ on WBCSD levy.....

Dear editor, People have asked me why I’m voting “no” May 16 on the WBCSD No. 83 levy. I have no other choice if I want to see the students in our schools get a better education.

One reason is that the school board has not informed the voters that the state of Idaho is going to increase their funding by 16.5%, which I believe all voters should know. Another, is that our district spends $3,000 more per student each year than anywhere from Coeur d’Alene to the Canadian border, yet our students’ ISAT scores are still dismal. The third reason is a lack of transparency, in that WBCSD No. 83 received $2.3 million in excess of their levy funding because of increases in property tax revenues. Did they receive it and what was it spent on?

My fourth reason is a combination of their lack of transparency and lack of communications in letting voters know which funding is spent on the many projects they are involved in. Each expense is important to those of us that have our property taxes increased by voters who do not own property.

My fifth reason is the board members have put into place programs that make everyone feel warm and fuzzy, yet have nothing to do with education, while ISAT scores stay about the same.

I feel that the actions or lack of actions as mentioned above, warrant WBCSD No. 83 to pay for their own forensic audit to an outside source before they ask for a levy. Could there be something amiss here?

WBCSD needs to refocus on education, cut the chaff and improve on our students’ test scores. I expect to see a surge in media letters from WBCSD staff, and students who get extra credit for levy participation.

Bill O’Neil Priest River

Dear editor, I am so sad to find out that the Golden Dragon Cantonese Restaurant in Ponderay has closed. It is just one more pleasure that my wife and I will miss. We usually split our lunch or dinner orders when we go out to eat. For less than $10, including tax, we received wonton soup, three items (such as shrimp, sweet and sour pork and almond chicken), plus hot tea and egg rolls.

This was the best deal in town! It cost more to split a small Whop- per, small fries and chocolate shake at Burger King.

Arriving in Sandpoint in 1991 from Steamboat Springs, Colo. (property tax on my 40 acres four miles from town went from $100 per year to the thousands in only 10 years due to rich houses next to me), I purchased a home on Forest Avenue on four lots for $50,000 cash. Great gardens and a garage and shop were included. Two of the lots now have a two-story house shadowing the original house.

I also remember the free meals on Fridays at the Hydra and the great people I met. I still miss the great prime rib sandwiches on Mondays at The Garden Restaurant from the Sunday leftovers.

Time marches on… and so do the memories.

James Richard Johnson Clark Fork

Dear editor,

There has been a hot and emotional debate about “banning books.” I am a libertarian and believe in a very limited government, and I find myself on the “banning” side. There are a lot of books paid for in small part with my tax dollars in the library that I don’t agree with. With the type in question, I must draw the line. I encourage the people on the “against banning” side of this debate to just please read them. I am asking (adults, not children) and you, Ben and Zach, to please read the books and see if our concern and alarm is warranted.

Yours in Christ,

Jenn McKnight Sandpoint

Editor’s note: The Reader asked this letter-writer to identify exactly which books we should read and precisely where they are located in our local library catalog. The letter-writer was unable to supply us with such a list, though did identify This Book is Gay, by award-winning YA author Juno Dawson, as objectionable. We haven’t read it, but we will. In the meantime, Publisher Ben Olson has undertaken a long-term project to read the most-challenged books in the country. Find his “Banned Books in Review” series at sandpointreader.com.

that it is not only necessary, but enhances my quality of life. But I still grumble a bit.

But there is one exception — I pay $50 a year for the library.

I pay that with a smile on my face — I mean literally a smile… How such a relatively small community has such a world-class organization kind of amazes me.

From the great resources and options they provide, to the janitorial services that keep the place spic’n’-span, to the very helpful staff, to Brenden Bobby, who keeps things fun, etc., etc.

Just top notch, top-to-bottom.

But now, some Californian transplant wants us to believe we have a problem and need a change.

Nope — no change is needed for the library.

No, the only change I would like is for Californians to quit telling us how to live.

Please, when you have near-perfection, do not mess with it.

Re-elect Susan Shea.

Kirk Lofton Sandpoint

The reality is that we might be losing up to 50% of our library books if a narrow definition of obscenity will define what can be freely available on the shelves of our libraries.

If re-elected, Susan Shea will continue to provide constructive, non-partisan and collegial ways for the Bonner County library to serve all of our population.

Please vote on May 16 — and yes, your voice and vote does make a difference!

Gabrielle Duebendorfer, NMD Sandpoint

Dear editor,

When I was considering moving to Sandpoint almost seven years ago, I came to visit a few times and the first place I went to check out was, yes, the library. I was sold! I have always felt that the community library is the real heartbeat, the real “face” of any community. It tells so much about a place. And we are so fortunate to have the amazing library we do, right here in Sandpoint.

Dear editor,

I was struck by the sense of foreboding and mourning during the NIC jazz band’s last performance, as trustee board politicization might lead to lack of college access. A similar trend toward chaos is threatening our library [News, “Library Board of Trustees candidates speak at packed forum,” April 20, 2023] out of an unreasonable fear for our children’s safety.

There is no threat of drag show story hours, legally defined obscene or pornographic material, or sexualization by our local librarians and adult fiction is already confined upstairs.

Moral restrictions of library material remind me of art labeled and banned as “degenerate” by the Nazis. Most such artists were driven out of the country or killed. Rather than banning different viewpoints, it should be the family’s role to instill inherent values and life skills in their children in order to safely meet life out there.

And now, every time I think about or go to our library, I remember and appreciate our Founding Fathers who, way back in the 1700s, believed so strongly that the most important right we had was our freedom of speech (which included freedom to read, learn, research, discover…) that they captured that belief as the very First Amendment to our Constitution.

Our libraries (along with the librarians, staff, volunteers and board members who make them function) are the bastions, the guardians of that precious First Amendment. I am adamant that our library continues to be that solid, vital symbol of the First Amendment.

Dear editor,

As a property owner, I need to pay taxes for several things. And, like most, I grumble a bit when paying it — even though I am aware

I dread the day that an already shunned young gay man won’t have the opportunity to read about other beliefs, or the day that young adults cannot have access to literary works like Kite Runner or art pieces like Michelangelo’s David for portraying sexual reality.

Susan Shea has served our library and our community with heart, dedication, a strong commitment to that First Amendment — as well as brought with her a lifetime of financial expertise, which has been expertly and carefully applied to the library’s overall well-being and expansion. As she said at the candidates’ forum, “It is not acceptable to forfeit even a little bit of our First Amendment rights ...”

Yes. Susan Shea should be re-elected to the library board. Please vote for her and all of our First Amendment rights on May 16.

Bonnie McDade Sandpoint