Reader november24 2016

November 23, 2016 |

FREE

| Vol. 13 Issue 47

Happy Thanksgiving! Spend it with family...

(no matter how strange they are)

Now serving Beet & Basil grilled paninis and breakfast sandwiches, and baguettes by Jupiter Jane’s CafÊ.

Mon-Sat 7a-5p, Sun 7a-4p

Annual

y a d i Hol le!

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! s hot y a d i l o h for the up to

Repairs Custom jewelry great holiday gifts

Nov.

50% select items

0 1 . c e 25 - D

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Storewide the 1st week

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(208) 263-7BTV (7288)

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Taylor Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Lori Reid (cover), Ben Olson, Ariel Miller, Cort Gifford.

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Alexandra Blackwood, Wendy Thompson, Scarlette Quille, Cort Gifford, M.G. Dobreski, Brenden Bobby, Suzen Fiskin, Jen Heller, Marcia Pilgeram Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

(wo)MAN compiled by

Ben Olson

on the street

I dropped by the Shooks’ house on Tuesday to ask them what they were thankful for this year. You can catch the annual “Giving Thanks” concert featuring Shook Twins, John Craigie and special guests at the Panida Theater on Sat. Nov. 26 at 7:30 p.m.

“I’m thankful for selling out the Panida and donating thousand of dollars to Standing Rock. Oh wait, that’s in the future.”

Katelyn Shook Performer - Shook Twins Portland, Ore.

DEAR READERS,

Well, here we are, one day early!

I’d like to wish all of our dear readers a great kickoff to the holiday season.

May your turkeys be moist and your pants be made of stretch fabric. May your relatives be kind and your children behaved. May your car batteries be full of life and your ears tickling with good song.

As we loom closer to the dreaded Black Friday shopping meltdown, it’s important to keep things in perspective. Statistics have shown that when you spend $100 at a small business, $68 of it goes right back into the local economy. When you spend the same $100 at a soulless box store, only $40 goes directly back to the local economy. That’s significant, because instead of padding a CEO’s stock portfolio, you are helping a local shopkeeper buy their kids a trumpet or a pair of ballet shoes, or perhaps a trip to Schweitzer for the day. Do us a favor, this holiday season: if you are planning on buying all your gifts at a box store, save at least one purchase for a small business. You won’t be sorry.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

“I’m thankful that we have 30 people coming to Thanksgiving dinner, which is only a small portion of who I consider family.”

Laurie Shook Performer - Shook Twins Portland, Ore.

Subscription Price: $95 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 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com

“I’m thankful we have a president we can trust... wait, who won? No, I’m thankful for the thrift stores in Sandpoint, I’m thankful to be surrounded by amazing people and that I get to do what I love.”

Niko Slice Performer - Shook Twins Portland, Ore.

“I’m thankful to be able to play music every day and to travel with my friends and to have a community where I feel supported where I can be my true self.”

Barra Brown Performer - Shook Twins Portland, Ore.

LIVE MUSIC

RON GREENE 7-10pm

MARTY PERRON and DOUG BOND 7-10pm

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

About the Cover This week’s cover is a series of paintings by Sandpoint artist Lori Reid.

The paintings are currently hanging at Loaf and Ladle in Sandpoint, along with Lori’s other work. Thanks Lori!

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“I’m thankful that my girls like to come home for Thanksgiving and play for everybody so our village can reunite.”

Patti Shook Badass momma Sandpoint, Id.

BREWERY & BEER HALL 220 Cedar St. 209-6700 FAMILY FRIENDLY BREWPUB 312 First Ave.

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letters to the editor Chill Out...

Dear Editor, Regarding L.A. Times reporter Steven Borowiec tweeting the following: “I’d Rather See Donald Trump’s life end.”

(Newsmax.com by Mark Swanson, Thursday, 03 Nov 2016 11:39 AM).

He later apologized. And you know what? I accept this far left Democrat’s apology. I seriously doubt that he meant an act of violence should be perpetrated upon Donald J. Trump to see his perverse wish accomplished. But nonetheless he’ll probably lose his job and he has certainly damaged his journalism career.

What I have learned over the years is that by and large partisan political junkies like Borowiec rarely ever mean it in a literal sense. It’s also known as: “Open mouth, insert foot!”

And yes, it happens with some in all political parties.

Do that with a presidential candidate even without any intent to carry it out or in jest, and you might be visited by the United States Secret Service.

The Democratic National Committee, as WikiLeaks has documented, sends partisan thugs to foment violence at Trump rallies.

This sordid conduct showcases what I opine to be the depraved nature of some far-far left Democrats in the modern day Democratic Party back east (not the party of my father, my uncle’s or my youth). Even so, violence prone political action is an aberration rather than an everyday thing.

No one should threaten either Donald J. Trump or Hillary R. Clinton with violence. That likewise applies to any candidate anywhere, or to any of their supporters.

If you are of a perverse nature and wish harm to naturally befall a candidate not to your liking, you should keep it to yourself. And ask your priest or pastor for counseling and guidance.

That is not asking too much I think. Slug it out in the blogs all you want, but no violent rhetoric please or worse yet – actual violence toward your political opponents. The First Amend-

ment gives us every opportunity in a free society, hopefully without repercussions, to vilify our political opponents with a pen on paper (no profanity, however).

But it stops there.

Let’s tone it down folks in this contentious presidential election cycle, myself included from the right. North Idaho is the land of wholesome values and friendly neighbors for the most part. I love it here!

Emphasizing: Violence is not the answer! Learn to respect those with opposing views. Never – never resort to violence!

Chill out, folks, be you Democrat, Republican, or whatever your political persuasion.

One man’s opinion.

Sincerely, Ron Adamik Sandpoint

Cartoon Character Campaign...

Dear Editor, Well it’s over, kinda. I suppose this campaign will never really be over. This was truly the most disappointing presidential campaign I have ever lived through.

Our choice of cartoon characters were Blonde and Donald Duck.

Two power hungry, egotistical, win-at-any-cost, flip-flopping, divisive individuals who spent the last year crisscrossing America pandering for votes displayed by a very vulgar and immature tone.

Both are wealthy individuals used to doing what they please, when they please to whom they please. How can a country of 300 million people pick these two narcissistic people to represent the two major political parties.

It’s true, the voters picked the extremes from each end of the political spectrum and gave the moderate majority little to choose from. It was like the warden asking the condemned if they want lethal injection or the firing squad. What choice did America have? It became a no-win situation. Both candidates carried with them a lot of excess baggage.

I quit blogging in the Bee over a year ago because it became a format for malcontents to spew their negativity and mean spirit back and forth. The site was void of any real discussion or debate.

Very few blog now; it seems to

be reserved for the few that can’t accept the reality of today.

Our country is as divided as I have ever seen it and I vividly remember the decade of the ‘60s with race riots and anti-war protests. Those days seem civilized now. So what’s on the horizon for our country and Idaho? Most of the people I know are just regular folk that spend their time working, going to school or enjoying retirement. If you read the two local publications you see people like Mimmack, Wythe, Ramsey, Deutchman, Wynhausen, Brixen, Conlin, Finney, Gier, Santa, Johnson and Wiens adding nothing but extreme rhetoric to the discussion.

There seems to be little moderate or logical ideas anymore. No wonder so few blog now.

Will the end of the election season bring some sanity to the letters and blogs? I seriously doubt it. The extreme right will boast of their victories and the far left will continue to weep and feel sorry for themselves, asking what went wrong?

Riots Not Good...

Dear Editor, I’m a conservative independent. In my voting life I cannot recall independents, Libertarians, or Republicans rioting and destroying property simply because their candidate lost a presidential election. Am I wrong here?

My reaction to the violent protests and riots which flared after the Trump win? Anger and disgust at the moronic ignorance of these idiots. Good grief! Life is hard, but it’s even harder when you’re stupid. Your candidate lost! Grow up!

To the jackasses who would burn the Stars and Stripes: any American who does this requires a serious attitude adjustment.

I’ve ran out of printable adjectives, so have a good day.

God bless America, and God bless our military.

Steve Brixen Sandpoint

Bill Litsinger Sandpoint November 23, 2016 /

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COMMENTARY

high School

or something...

Wendy Thompson, a Language Arts teacher at Forrest M. Bird Charter High School, recently challenged one of her students to write about high school in a humorous way. The student, who has written multiple articles for the Reader under the pseudonym Alexandra Blackwood, submitted the following article, and Thompson wrote a reply from the teacher’s perspective. We thought it would be entertaining to place both pieces side by side to see two hilarious differing viewpoints of high school.

Illustration by Ariel Miller.

One Teacher’s Extremely Tainted, yet Highly Accurate, Perspective of High School

The Humor of High School

By Alexandra Blackwood

High school is prison.

It’s a well-known certainty.

Deep down, we all remember the grueling trauma that was, and still is, high school, perhaps the stupidest concept known to man.

We continue to accumulate adolescents together in a facility, make them dress in appropriate attire and sentence them to four years of hell. Carefully observed under the guidance of faculty advisors, prison guards stalk the hallways in hope of witnessing weary rebels.

It’s the awkward stage of life, that period everyone hopes to forget. That cringe-worthy sensation that comes over you as you gaze upon your old school photos. You think silently to yourself, “Did I really wear that?

That’s what I thought was cool?”

Naturally, the era is broken up into its various sections, as all unadjusted, awkward, emotionally imbalanced teens will most certainly remember. The unusual secretary in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” summed it up best: “Oh, he’s very popular Ed. The sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, wastoids, dweebies, dickheads— they all adore him. They think he’s a righteous dude.”

Although a bizarre and strangely hilarious quote, it captures a very constant factor in high school: humanity. The 6 /

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human experience of high school remains relatively the same even as the technology and curriculum change.

Mankind never changes. It may learn, it may develop, it may flourish or fall, but it never changes. High school is the same ludicrous idea since the moment it was invented. Teenagers squirm in a mass of other teenagers, dissected and dispersed into their own sections: the jocks, the nerds, the loners and outcasts, the goths and emos, the princesses, the populars. Over the course of decades and decades, teenagers remain the same.

It is as though adults didn’t know what to do with them. Elderly citizens hate them, middleaged men and women tolerate them, kids simply don’t understand them. So, I suppose one day, many, many years ago, a group of adults began to congregate, pondering over what to do with these lousy barbarians, not quite children, not yet adults. Thus, they concluded, “Let’s all make them do jail time together!”

And so high school came to be. Four years of long torment for many, and yet, there are those who found it four years of frolicking, thrilling excitement. Everything they had ever wanted themselves to be. We call them the populars,

the Barbies, the plastics: The rich snobs who wallow in their own pleasure, only to be drowned later on in life by their previous choices.

Personally, I cannot conceive the idea of high school. It’s the idea to form a union of the most unstable, awkward, and bizarre individuals all together, while masquerading in another name.

Call it as many names as you like, but I see it in merely one form: jail. Yes, indeed, high school passes under the statement of, “Eat or be eaten.” It’s a free-for-all, a wild dog fight. Only the best of us will come out alive.

And then, of course, we must address the prison guards. Yes, the teachers themselves. No penitentiary can hope to survive without them. After all, adolescence is the moment in which a child can blossom into adulthood, or should I rather say, “The Philosophy of Stupid.” Yes, that’s what we’ll call it: “The Philosophy of Stupid.”

It is then that teens begin their transitions into dulling their minds, becoming the numb skulls they truly are. After all, no adult can be complete without their copy of, “The Philosophy of Stupid: An Idiot’s Guide to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of the Dim Witted.” That’s right, because

< see HUMOR, page 7 >

By Wendy Thompson They ooze through the doorway, one after the other after the other after the other, blocking and bumbling, flowing and skipping.

They laugh, they mumble: smirk, sneer, gleam, sparkle. The kids.

The children, darlings, sweet bumble bees, jerks, jocks, nerds, the wiser-than-thou-arts. The students.

The future. Our future.

Opportunity like never before abounds before them. Build an airplane for credit. Hey, get your pilot’s license for credit. Work with the animal shelter. FREE college for high school students. Just have to pass to continue onward. Just have to want to pass. Just have to want. Oh, they want all right.

They want water and toilets, no homework and girlfriends. Food.

And more food. And get-going-sofast-you-can’t-think caffeine. They want freedom on Fridays after school until 11, at least, and time to play video games before they get to their homework. They promise, they will get to the homework.

They want to succeed without exerting. They want money. Lots of money. Lots and lots of money so they can buy their freedom.

Few realize the freedom is inside this “jail.” The freedom is in knowing they don’t need what they want. The freedom is in the

knowledge they acquire through education. Learning how to think.

Looking at problems, from algebra to germs to essays, and copulating those dendrites into let’s-makethis-world-a-great-one proportions.

Yeah, yeah, they say. Whatever.

It’s a fast-paced world out there. Better suck it up and get used to PG movies flinging the F bomb around like green bean salad at Thanksgiving, with neighboring states advertising desirable flavors and effects of the #1 gateway drug, with boobs hanging out of TV screens, with presidential candidates vowing to blow up nations, with friends killing themselves, with parents gambling until midnight, with locking car doors at Spokane intersections, with not walking alone at night, with belligerence toward police, with calling a best friend, “bitch.”

Because that is the world today.

That is what our children have to look forward to. More of what they already know.

And they think inside the school walls is jail? That’s what they want to think. That it is better on the outside. That what they think of the adult world now is going to be better when they get there.

But we know. It’s not like that.

< see TEACHER, page 7 >

PERSPECTIVES

A thankful fall It’s been one hell of a fall.

I can’t even wrap my head around everything that has gone on. No matter what your politics are, or where you live, you can’t help but feel like a bystander watching two bullies go at it. The negativity has been overwhelming. It is for this reason that I have decided to embrace the upcoming holiday, and write a gratitude list.

I am grateful for: 1. Snappy old ladies at discount stores. I was recently at the Dollar Store when a friend said “hi” to me from the other line. We were chatting, and I remarked that I was bummed that the dollar store didn’t carry regular Jell-O, and that I would be forced to embark on a journey straight to the depths of Walmart. The old lady behind me in line told me, “You have nothing to complain about,

< HUMOR, con’t from page 6 > even our mentors must appeal to society’s standards, as they too disperse themselves into individual categories.

As far as teachers are concerned, many do exist in the most unusual forms. My personal favorites are those who believe to be strict, disciplined and highly structured, but in reality they are scoffed at by the majority of students, as only we can see the buffoons they truly are. However, types of teacher also include the lazy teachers. Those that provide visual media and documentaries and all-multiple choice tests as to limit their exposure to grading.

There are the sweet kindergarten teachers, who talk in a feeble tone, meek and kind—perhaps too kind to be instructing a class of disrespectful and rowdy teenag-

at least you have a choice.” I guess she told me, and I am grateful for it, because maybe I shouldn’t complain ever, because life sucks when you don’t have a choice where to buy Jell-O. 2. Cat Videos. No matter how much complaining and misinformation we ingest from social media, there are still videos of cats being terrified by cucumbers, and that shit will brighten even the darkest of days.

3. Beards. Culturally speaking, there is a war out there. A war against pubic hair and man buns. It’s ugly. So many people going around just harvesting hair, for reasons beyond my understanding. Thankfully, they haven’t gone after rugged sexy facial hair. We are still allowed to enjoy a good beard, and those men willing to go the extra mile to grow them. I beers. Worst of all though, I must admit, are the fake teachers. Those teachers that you desperately want to smack alongside the face, but force yourself not to. The teachers that even as you squirm in your chair, you can’t help but feel that frothing rage intensifying inside of you. Yes, that’s right. I’m talking about the false teachers.

Those teachers that act sweet and kind, who talk in a highpitched voice and behave so annoyingly calm, but are beyond agitating. Although I could progress further, I’m certain you all know who I am referring to. We’ve all had them.

And so, I suppose “The Breakfast Club” best interpreted high school and its quirky, ironic, wacky means of torture. Even now I can see John Bender thrusting his fist into the air, the defiant smirk hinted upon his face. Because that

lieve it’s still frowned upon for women to have any hair on any part of their body, especially facial hair. Perhaps next year, ladies. Until then, hopefully someone can keep you warm with their beard.

4. Understanding of redneck culture. I am grateful to live in a place where the people are allowed to be as wild and free as the animals. Being a native Idahoan has given me freedoms, and a unique perspective that many others in our country will never enjoy. I am college educated, can shoot a gun, consider myself feminist, raise bi-racial children, and yet I can see and even understand my conservative family members and neighbors. I respect other people’s values, and I believe that more often than not, mine are respected in return. I find it very insulting when people are is high school. The unforgettable twists and weaves that make it what it is and always has been.

For it is the best guide to “The Philosophy of Stupid.” And with that note, I leave you all with a single sentence, one that I hope is meaningful and direct in the best of terms.

Have fun in high school, kids.

Alexandra Blackwood, age 16, is a previous Reader contributor who has composed multiple articles prior to this year. Preferring to be addressed by her pseudonym as to conceal her identity, she currently attends Forrest Bird Charter High School, and is a resident of Sandpoint, Idaho.

bashed for their beliefs. Hate is hate; it doesn’t matter what side it comes from.

5. Hillary Clinton. I am thankful that she ran for president and gave women hope.

Hillary fought hard, and has for many years. No matter what her politics, she is a good example of what it means to have a backbone and proved that not only do women belong in politics, they can rise to the top.

6. Donald Trump. I am grateful that this man chose to run for office and in doing so, proved to the entire country that we are in desperate need of a system change. There are many, many more points of view in this country than two.

The fact that we are led to believe that only a Democrat or Republican can be president is false. After all, Donald Trump wasn’t even a politician until < TEACHER con’t from page 7 >

It’s worse.

Constraints happen as soon as they re-ooze themselves OUT the door. When the beautiful butterflies dance in the open air and are whacked to the ground with responsible adult reality. When they can’t afford to buy the gaming system and they can’t mutilate 87 zombies in three minutes.

High school is a time for our young generation to flourish. To do for themselves. To create a better, more intellectual, more social, more responsible citizen, future parent, and human being. The broader one can think, the more capacity he or she has to achieve happiness. To not want. To be.

So, inside this “jail,” I live to serve you. It’s all about you, my sweet daffodil. I love you. Did you get that assignment turned in?

What don’t you understand? How can I help you? When will your

he ran, and he is president. Go figure.

7. Alcohol. It never disappoints, and has been the one thing that makes listening to people blab about politics and shooting elks bearable.

8. The Cubs. Proof that anything can happen.

9. Love. I am grateful that I am surrounded by the best family, friends and coworkers that anyone could ever ask for and each and every day, I am grateful to be able to love and be loved in return.

10. Thankful it’s over and I can sip on a cocktail while snuggling up with a handsome bearded man, taking turns videoing our kitten.

XOXO Scarlette Quille

mom get back into town? When did you last eat? When is your game? Email tonight with any questions. You can’t choose your world later: It is there, waiting.

But today you can choose to be doted upon and revered, worried about and loved. Take this freedom and fly! Learn and spin! Fail and smile and rework to understand. I will help you up after you fall, and I will boost you to fly.

Jail? I need to be here. Because you’re here, and I love you.

Wendy Thompson is a golfing, pool-playing, gardening language arts teacher. After 29 years of teaching at area high schools and Ph.D.ing at the University of Idaho, she has found herself smack in love with the students, teachers, philosophy, and curriculum at Forrest Bird Charter School where she works and plays.

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NEWS

Jury rules in favor of SilverWing

By Cort Gifford Reader Contributor

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

In the face of springlike weather in November, work on the replacement bleachers at Barlow War Memorial Field continues, free of the added challenge of fighting snow. So far. Not that it’s been a cake walk. It hasn’t.

“We’ve had 26 straight days of rain,” said project supervisor Gannon Reynolds. “It slows things down.”

And when the white stuff finally arrives, what then?

“The city of Sandpoint is

An example of a SilverWing proposed unit. Courtesy photo.

The Bonner County vs. SilverWing trial concluded Tuesday night with a jury awarding $250,000 to SilverWing.

After a full week of testimony, evidence analysis and deliberation, the verdict comes as a vindication for SilverWing executives, who maintain that Bonner County backed out of a through-the-fence agreement for a fly-in residential project near Sandpoint Airport, resulting in financial damage.

“We’re just happy that the jurors heard our story and knew that we had been treated unfairly,” said developer Michael Mileski.

According to Bonner County Commissioner Cary Kelly, the county and its legal counsel are investigating the prospect of appealing the verdict. If the verdict is not reversed upon appeal, county taxpayers may bear the brunt of the damages because land use litigation isn’t covered by insurance.

However, Kelly takes heart from a comparatively light award—SilverWing sought as much as $20 million in damages.

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Memorial Field bleachers progress

less when weighed against a judgment earlier this year granting the county nearly $750,000 in legal fees.

“We’re still half-a-million up on this,” he said The legal battle dates back to an alleged through-the-fence access agreement between Bonner County and SilverWing at Sandpoint Airport. This agreement prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to list Sandpoint Airport as out of compliance in 2008. SilverWing developers sued Bonner County, claiming the government body backed away from promises. They also said the county was not forthright about plans to move a runway.

Despite the courtroom clashes, county officials are willing to work with SilverWing in the effort to move its development forward.

“We’ve always tried to be a good neighbor and work together,” Kelly said.

Likewise, Mileski is hopeful that SilverWing still has a future in Bonner County.

“This is still a place we love, and we’d still like to move forward with this project,” he said.

Supervisor Reynolds inspects work done by Monster Concrete. Photo by Cort Gifford. tasked with snow removal here on the site,” Reynolds said. “If we get three or four feet of snow, it could be a problem.”

Waving an arm towards skeletal rebar sticking up from concrete slabs, Reynolds said, “First off, we don’t have anywhere to put the snow. Secondly, a significant storm can impact the city’s ability to deal with its own snow removal.”

The contractor, Northcom Inc., has been given only 10 days to allow for shut downs due to weather.

And it’s not even winter.

Sandpoint’s Parks and Recreation director Kim Woodruff is impressed with the work Reynolds and Northcom has performed so far: “The general and the subcontractors have done an exceptional job,” said Woodruff. “Especially taking into consideration all the weather we’ve had lately.”

“We poured 125 yards [of concrete] today,” Reynolds said.

Small by big city standards, the entire project will require a mere 550 yards of concrete.

Here’s mud in your eye.

cided she was ready for retirement and reached out to her son, the only direct member of the family young enough to take over. When he declined, she decided it was time to put the establishment in new hands.

“It needs someone that’s excited, motivated and has the energy to [manage it],” she said.

Caniglia and Sabin turned out to be those people, and Terry felt comfortable putting the Tervan in their hands. According to Caniglia, they know what people love about the bar and don’t intend to change that.

“We just want to continue on the legacy, really,” she said.

A veteran of restaurant ownership and management, Caniglia said she might bring in a few food options somewhere down the line.

She aims to set up a covered patio outside to serve as a no-smoking and dog-friendly area of the bar.

And with the Tervan serving as an excellent spot for viewing parade routes, she may set up cameras that send video feed to TVs inside, so bar patrons can enjoy local events like Lost in the ‘50s or the Fourth of July. Otherwise, she wants to maintain the bar as a downtown location rich with history and a welcoming location to have a drink and a cigarette.

“This has been a local watering hole for more than 70 years,” she said.

To celebrate the new era, Cani-

glia and Sabin are hosting a grand re-opening party at the bar on Saturday, Dec. 3. They invite the community to come down and hoist a drink in honor of the Tervan.

The business sale represents the end of an era given its long ownership by a single family. According to Terry, the bar factored into her mother and father’s marriage.

While the legend has grown to imply that the couple met and became an item at the Tervan, Terry said that in fact, her father met her mother at a different establishment.

He later bought the Tervan, where her mother ended up working.

It’s just one of the many bits of lore that the Tam O’Shanter has collected over its long history. But the bar’s most enduring legacy is likely its community. Terry called them the Tam family, and in many ways, they were just that.

When someone needed help with bills, fellow bar patrons would throw them a fundraiser, and when someone passed away, they all turned out for the funeral. It’s those people that Terry will miss most, she said.

“These were loggers, mill workers—the blue collar of Sandpoint—and they were as generous as they could be with their neighbors,” she said.

Tam O’Shanter sold to new owner

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

After 75 years, the venerable downtown bar Tam O’Shanter is under new ownership.

Former owner Sandi Terry announced this week she has sold the bar, known locally as the Tervan, to Daniela Caniglia and Russ Sabin. The new owners say longtime Tervan fans need not fear: All the local history, memorabilia and community spirit that define it will stay the same.

“I wouldn’t want to change a thing about it,” said Caniglia. “I love it the way it is.”

Terry said she decided to sell the bar after years of direct management. Four years ago, she took over handling the business from the previous leasee to conduct a series of comprehensive renovations and repairs. Thanks to local craftsmen, the bar was back in fighting shape within three months. John Pucci, who laid down the new concrete, told her he remembered being a little boy when his father and grandfather did the same job years ago.

“To this day I have people coming in and telling stories about their memories [of this bar],” Terry said.

Eventually, the job of managing a bar got to be too much for Terry, she said. At 68 years old, she de-

FEATURE

The Carousel of Smiles:

A forgotten 1920 Carousel arrives in Sandpoint

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

For Reno and Clay Hutchison, Christmas is coming early this year. The couple plans to unwrap a present that may leave a lasting impact on future generations of Sandpoint children: a long-forgotten 1920 carousel.

The story began 64 years ago when a traveling fair in Kansas shut down for the season. The fair never reopened, leaving its carousel to be packed away into two trailers and stored on a local farmer’s sheep field.

The carousel remained forgotten in that field for nearly 50 years until the Hutchisons purchased it in 2000, saving it from being broken up and sold off in pieces like so many of the few surviving Golden Age carousels. The Hutchisons moved the trailers from the Kansa field to a storage barn in upstate New York, where it remained unloaded, hibernating.

The two vintage trailers recently made the arduous journey from New York to Sandpoint. Inside is believed to be a 1920 Allen Herschell carousel; a fully intact 40-foot diameter machine with 36 hand-carved wooden horses, rounding boards and original artwork.

“It’s virtually a time capsule,” said Reno Hutchison.

Reno and her husband Clay, along with a band of helpers, will finally give into temptation and unload the trailers on Dec. 3 at the Granary warehouse where it has been stored. Only then will they truly know what they’re dealing with.

The carousel is one of only 150 of these types of machines that are believed to be still in existence. There used to be thousands of them, but as times changed, most were broken up and sold for parts.

Reno and Clay Hutchison stand amidst the hand-carved horses in one of two vintage trailers containing the 1920 “Carousel of Smiles” to be unloaded Dec. 3. Courtesy photo.

“We not only have the hors- and repainted, so all 36 will es, but the machine, too,” said most likely need to be comHutchison. pletely restored.

“The U.S. had between Also included in the trail4,000 and 5,000 carousels from ers are some of the rounding the late 1800s to the 1960s, and boards, or inside shields, which today only 152 operating claswere repainted in the ‘40s by a sic wooden carousels remain,” famous tattoo artist named L. said Bette Largent, curator Wagner Davis. of Spokane’s Riverfront Park “You can’t believe how Looff Carcolorful this rousel and woman’s President of history is, and The National it’s sort of been Carousel lost, which is Association. a shame,” said “It is so

-Reno Hutchison Hutchison. rare that we Their hope discover a is that the Carcarousel that is so preserved ousel—which the Hutchisons with its original components have dubbed “The Carousel of and artwork. It just doesn’t Smiles”—will find a permanent happen everyday.” home in Sandpoint and be en“It’s going to take some joyed by future generations. restoration to get it working “My dream has been to again,” said Hutchison. bring this carousel to Sandpoint While the Hutchisons won’t and put it at the City Beach,” know the degree of restoration said Hutchison. “Whenever I needed until they unload the think about it, I can see it at a trailers completely, they know building at the City Beach.” the horses have been stripped Hutchison said she heard

“We need a little magic in our lives and in our community.”

through the grapevine that Sandpoint was getting ready to draw up a new master plan for the City Beach and decided it was time to get this project rolling.

“I think if we generate enough excitement and interest from the people in town, I believe the city will get on board,” she said. “Whatever they decide to do at the Beach, the carousel will go to the citizens of the town. We need to create enough positive energy.”

Hutchison was quick to point out that they didn’t intend for the city to foot the bill for the extensive restorations: “We’ll take that on ourselves.

We’ll do all the fundraising it takes to get it done.”

Reno felt a special connection to the carousel because it is a sister carousel to one she rode as a child growing up in Butte, Mont.

“Also, the last place this carousel was up and running was in Hutchison, Kansas,” she said. “That’s our last name!”

Hutchison hopes to point

out to city officials the many benefits a carousel can bring to a town like Sandpoint.

“Most towns that have brought carousels to life in their communities have said it’s one of the best things that has happened to their communities forever,” she said. “Can you imagine Christmas at the City Beach Carousel? How magical would that be?”

Hutchison said they’ll need all the volunteer help they can get once restoration is under way, but due to the meticulous nature of unpacking the trailers, the public should probably abstain from attending the great unpacking on Dec. 3. Those interested in volunteering should go to www.TheCarouselOfSmiles.org to find out more information.

“We need a little magic in our lives and in our community,” she said. “I think carousels can do that; they can provide a little much-needed magic.”

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How to plan for college:

A no-B.S. guide to prospective college students to prepare for the next step

Bouquets: •Carrying on in the tradition of last week, I’d like to spend this Thanksgiving issue’s Bouquets and Barbs column recognizing those who don’t receive recognition for their hard work that affects us all.

•Last week, the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation crew installed this year’s Christmas tree at the Jeff Jones Town Square. The 26-foot blue spruce took about a half hour to get into place and will be officially lighted on Nov. 26 at 5:30 p.m.

Great job, Parks and Rec. department. We appreciate what you do for our city.

•Imagine a world where we place unwanted things on the curb and they magically disappear, never to be seen again.

That’s not a fantasy world, that’s old hat now thanks to our dedicated Waste Management crew.

I appreciate the fact that it’s so easy to recycle at the curbside.

My only lament is that businesses in Sandpoint don’t recycle (unless through a third party, as we do). Maybe someday we’ll embrace the idea that recycling is good for the earth, cost effective and damn easy to do.

•Shop Small Saturday is coming up Nov. 26. If you haven’t participated in this annual event, check out the article on page 11. It’s so important to recognize our small business owners and patronize their stores.

These peope are the lifeblood of our community.

•Last week, I wrote about the grand opening of the new Cedar St. Bridge Public Market and mentioned every business inside the Bridge except for one: Kyoko Sushi and Noodle Bar. Sometimes we overlook things here at the Reader. Sorry about forgetting to mention you, Junior!

•Finally, a bouquet to all of our loyal readers on this Thanksgiving holiday. We thank you all for the continued support, for the news and story tips, for the positive and negative feedback and especially for patronizing our advertisers. Thank you!

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College graduates throw their caps. Photo by Baim Haniff.

By M.G. Dobreski Reader Contributor The grand finale of education is college. While we spend a great deal of time trying to help our kids get into a great school, we have to ask ourselves, “Do we really know what colleges are looking for?”

As one who has worked in admissions for both private and public universities (most recently University of California - Santa Barbara), it is often surprising what is and is not important to colleges and universities. As one who now works with students and their families helping to prepare for the submission of applications to college, I find that often individuals misunderstand the process or even where, when, or how to begin.

There is much more to cover than what can be addressed here, but this is a quick overview of some important aspects that play into the college admissions process.

There are four main components in the college application.

Each has a number of subsets, but in general they are: 1) Academic Statistics: grades, SAT/ACT scores, classes, schools attended.

2) Personal Statement: the student’s story.

3) Activity Sheet: outside of the classroom 4) Additional Information: other stuff to brag about I like to refer to this as a college resumé. An employer uses a resumé as part of the hiring process, and a college uses this “resumé” to decide who gets accepted. Proactively “planning” classes, clubs, sports, community involvement, levels of leadership, and many other things, as opposed to just “reporting” on what was done can be very helpful.

This is why it is good to start this process early. But don’t be disheartened if it is late in the game; there is still hope in crafting a college resumé that accentuates accomplishments and provides a spin on challenges faced.

When is best to start planning and building this resumé?

NOW! The truth is that it’s never really too early, and it certainly is never too late either. I work with families who seek counsel from which preschool to attend, what is the best plan for elementary and middle school, whether homeschooling is a good idea, while others contact me in the fall of their child’s senior year. Often

I’m asked when is the ideal time. I’d say the ideal time is before or during middle school.

Middle schools have become the modern day “prep schools.” The reason is that middle school is where the classes are taken, and instruction given, that prepares a student for high school. Proper academic rigor will enable the student to excel in high school.

For example the math classes that a student takes in middle school will determine the highest level math class available before the SAT and/or ACT exams are taken (usually in 11th grade). Let’s face it, you can’t really skip over math classes.

The SAT and ACT tests shouldn’t be confused with the annual standardized tests that every school gives starting in elementary. These scores SAT and ACT are a critical component in college admissions.

Regarding high school, it is important to know that every class taken in high school is used to determine G.P.A. (grade point average). This is used as part of the admissions process. Taking “Honors” and “AP” (Advanced Placement) classes is a huge plus and will increase “weighted” G.P.A. Colleges sure like to see these

rigorous classes on a high school transcript. The “personal statement” and “activity sheet” are more personal but suffice it to say that they can significantly tip the scales in the favor of a marginal candidate. These two items require individual attention and obviously are quite varied.

I’ll be giving a short seminar and answering questions this on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. at Sandpoint Christian School. SCC is flying me up from sunny California and have graciously invited the entire community to attend this event at no charge.

M.G. Dobreski, M. Ed. is the founder and president of Executive Educational Consultants, LLC headquartered in Santa Barbara. He works with schools and students all over the country (including Sandpoint). He has twice been awarded Teacher of the Year and is well liked by students.

Mr. Dobreski will be in the area for the next week or so and returns semi-regularly. If you wish to set up and appointment to discuss college planning or financial aid and scholarships feel free to contact him directly at (805)729-5606.

Shop Small Saturday puts holiday spirit in Christmas shopping

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff It’s no secret that there’s something crass and sleazy about Black Friday.

Every year, fights break out, people are trampled and thieves prey upon the chaos, all for the chance to score a deal on a flat-screen TV. For a day that heralds the Christmas season, Black Friday starts the holidays off on a sour note of animalistic consumerism.

It’s enough to make you shout Charlie Brown-style in exasperation, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”

It’s safe to say local downtown business owners have a better answer to that question than the corporate executives and board members of the big box stores. For the past several years, they’ve encouraged residents to save some of their post-Thanksgiving shopping for Shop Small Saturday, a burgeoning movement to support local stores come the holiday season. It’s a Christmas shopping opportunity that is good for small business, good for the local economy and certainly spreads a more peace on earth and good will toward men than the Black Friday retail morass.

“For years, all you heard was Black Friday, Black Friday, Black Friday, and it’s hard to compete with that,” said Deanna Harris, the owner of Sharon’s Hallmark. “For years, that weekend was really quiet for us, but it’s just become a better and better weekend [thanks to Shop Small Saturday.]”

There’s some irony in the fact that the push to support small business was introduced

by American Express, itself a long sight from a mom and pop shop. In 2010, the company launched Small Business Saturday, a bid to drum up revenue for Main Street instead of Wall Street, in the wake of the economic crisis. The next year, the U.S. Senate formally

The sidewalk along North First Ave. Photo by Ben Olson. recognized the day. Support for Small Business Saturday spread to every state in the nation in 2012, and in 2014, American Express reported an estimated $14.3 billion spent at small businesses on the day.

“I think it’s probably been five years since we started to hear about it [in Sandpoint],” said Harris. “It’s just picked up steam every year. We as a downtown group decided to make more of an event out of it.”

This year, it’s hard to find a politician or public figure who isn’t on the Small Business Saturday bandwagon, and social media is more important than ever to the experience. Actress Kristin Wiig is spreading the word on Facebook, while organizers are encouraging people to share their shopping extravaganza on Twitter or Instagram with the hashtags #ShopSmall and #SmallBizSat. In Sandpoint, local business

owners are putting their own spin on the day with Shop Small Saturday. A collaboration between 20 downtown Sandpoint businesses, the Saturday, Nov. 26, event promises to offer up plenty of money-saving deals while scrubbing the mire off the typical post-Thanksgiving sale. Shop Small Saturday is a chance to head downtown with your loved ones, enjoy a lunch at a local restaurant and attend to your Christmas shopping, Harris said.

Much like the national version of the event, Shop Small Saturday has grown each year.

In the beginning, Harris said getting the word out was a challenge. Public awareness grew slowly with time, and now, the Saturday sale is really catching on through TV ads and other national marketing pushes. Participation among local businesses has expanded along with it.

“People now have the name

recognition, which has helped tremendously,” Harris said.

“We’ve had pretty much 15 to 20 businesses participating each year, and we have 20 businesses this year. We feel like it’s better to work together to promote downtown Sandpoint.”

This year, downtown shoppers have a chance to win a $250 shopping spree just for turning out and buying a few Christmas presents.

Simply shop at one of the participating businesses, and you’ll be entered into a drawing for the grand prize. Harris said the winner will likely be announced the week after the event.

Between the fun experience, deals and community spirit, Shop Small Saturday ushers in the holidays with nothing but good vibes. If you’re looking to put a little Christmas cheer back in your annual gift-giving, it’s a combination that’s tough to beat.

5 reasons to support Shop Small Business Saturday 1. Express your uniqueness: In an age where everyone can buy the same items from box stores, be unique by supporting one-of-a-kind products by local artisans.

2. Preserve your town’s character: Every city seems to have a Walmart, where you can buy the same items everywhere. Not every town has a Northwest Handmade, an Eve’s Leaves or a Zany Zebra. Some items you can only get when you shop small.

3. Support your neighbors: When you spend money at a small business, you support your neighbor. When you spend money at a box store, you support the CEO of a behemoth corporation that ultimately doesn’t care about you like the mom-and-pop shops do.

4. Fix roads and fund schools: Dollars spent at a local establishment are more likely to stay in the local economy. Research has proven it, and it feels good!

5. Build community: Small businesses are the building blocks of a strong community. They interlink neighbors, shoppers, employees, shop owners and local artisans in a web of economic and social relationships.

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Thank you for supporting me in the general election... 2018. your congressmen.

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Sandpoint’s premier arts + entertainment venue 615 Oak St. • Sandpoint, ID

Looking for perfect plac the host your h e to oliday party?

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For more information or to schedule a visit call 208-597-0483 or 208-263-8699

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27 28 29 30 1

Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

Live Music w/ The Powers Live Music w/ Devon Wade 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery 8pm @ Ol’ Red’s Pub indie folk/country out of CDA Country music in Ol’ Red’s!

Live Music w/ Marty Perron Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA and Doug Bond 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge Indie folk rock trio comes out of 5:30-7:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority their hiatus swinging for the fences Guitar/mandolin duo rocks the house Live Music w/ Mike and Sadie Waggoner 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Father-Daughter duo with a great sound

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Live Music w/ US TWO 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

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“A Man Called 5:30pm @ Pan An ill-tempered spends his days sociation rules a grave, has finall as an unlikely with his boister

Small Business Saturday All Day @ downtown Sandpoint Show your support for small businesses and shop local! Find lots of great deals downtown plus festive fun during Small Business Saturday!

Live Music w/ Marty Perron & Doug Bond 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Live Music w/ Devon Wade A great mandolin and guitar duo!

9pm @ 219 Lounge Country music in the Niner Live Music w/ High Treason Ammunition 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Punk fringe from a great Montana trio. This band is always entertaining to watch Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am. All are welcome

30 da @ Cre Lots o choos

Shook T 7:30pm Sandpo their an Craigie land. T open at

Game Night at the Niner 9pm @ 219 Lounge Come down and take part in game night wit

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Karaoke Night at the Niner 10pm @ 219 Lounge

Art On The Go with Jules 4-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Join Julie Ellis for a few fun hours creating art from recycled products

SOLE-ful Meet & Greet: A Pre-Backcountry Film Festival Event 5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Come down and get a sneak peek at SOLE’s upcoming Backcountry Film Festival submission. Featuring beer byt Deschutes Brewery. Proceeds benefit SOLE

88.5 KRFY Annual Corporation Membership Meeting 6-7pm @ Sandpoint Library The community is invited to meet wi nity radio members, broadcasters, b bers and staff to learn the state of th

The Chris Robinson Brotherhood 9pm @ The Hive The Hive, 207 N. First Ave., has been waiting a long time for Chris to bring the Broth- Doll erhood to Sandpoint, and the patience has paid off. In support of their new album, 8pm “Any Way You Love, We Know How You Feel,” The Brotherhood will swing through Goo Sandpoint spreading their love - and WE know how they feel - and it’s GOOD! Presented by KPND and Low Country Boil Productions; doors open at 8 p.m. and the show starts at 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $20 in advance

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November 24-December 1, 2016

Reader recommended

Annual Turkey Trot 9am @ Travers Park (near tennis courts) Presented by Sandpoint West Athletic Club and Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Department, participants can choose between a 1k, 5k or 10k walk or run. This is a low-key, untimed, fun event – all ages and all paces welcome (no dogs, please). Best costume wins a fresh pie from Sandpoint’s Pie Hut! Bring/ donate a non-perishable food item for the Bonner Community Food Bank

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an Called Ove” film m @ Panida Theater -tempered, isolated retiree who s his days enforcing block asion rules and visiting his wife’s has finally given up on life just unlikely friendship develops his boisterous new neighbors

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A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com.

Live Music w/ Ron Greene 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Greene’s intimate stage presence has gained him a reputation as a passionate singer. Free and open to public Shook Twins at the Pearl Theater 7pm @ Pearl Theater (Bonners)

Scultping Demonstration 30 days of Christmas Crafting 12-3pm @ Artworks Gallery @ Creations (in Cedar St. Bridge) A special demonstration with Lots of Christmas decorations to renowned sculptor Steve Gevurtz. Artworks Gallery is at choose from 214 N. First Ave. in downtown Sandpoint

Shook Twins ‘Giving Thanks’ annual holiday concert 7:30pm @ Panida Theater Sandpoint’s own Katelyn and Laurie Shook will be performing their annual ‘Giving Thanks’ concert with special guests John Craigie, Brad Parsons, J. Cobb and Tyler Thompson from Portland. This year, the whole 5-piece band will be playing! Doors open at 6:30 p.m., show starts at 7:30 p.m. $15 advance, $20 DOS

Christmas Tree Lighting 5:30pm @ Jeff Jones Town Square Come down to see the annual lighting of the Christmas tree! All are invited to enjoy carolers, hot cider, plus a visit with the big man in red!

History of the Humbird Mill and White Pine in North Idaho 9:45-11:30am @ Spt. Community Hall Bill Love, retired certified forester for Idaho Department of Lands, will present historical data on the blister rust impact on white pine forests in North Idaho Grand Opening of the Cedar St. Bridge Public Market 9am-1pm @ Cedar St. Bridge The Saturday Public Market will host an array of vendors, including farmers, artisans, crafters and food vendors.

The open market will allow everyone to come in out of the weather this winter

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S.O.L.E. Meet and Greet fundraiser 5-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority A fundraiser for Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education featuring Deschutes Brewing Co. beer on tap live music, complimentary appetizers and raffle items

th- Dollar Beers! um, 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub ugh Good until the keg’s dry rethe

Festival of Trees Family Night 4-6pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds View beautifully decorated trees, enjoy hot cocoa and cookies, plus a visit with Santa!

Free admission. For ticket information about the Holiday Luncheon (Dec. 2), and Grand Gala (Dec. 3), call Jacinda at 208-610-2208.

Dec. 3 Sandpoint Waldorf School Christmas Faire Dec. 4

Global Fat Bike Day +1 @ Schweitzer Roundabout

Dec. 5-8 Parade of Trees @ Bonner General Health

November 23, 2016 /

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Mad about Science:

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist It’s almost Thanksgiving, and you know what that means!

Tofurkey!

Said no one ever!

The noble turkey. The large, proud bird that nearly eclipsed the bald eagle as America’s national bird at the behest of Benjamin Franklin.

They sure are delicious.

When you think about a turkey, you probably envision a large, proud bird with bronze feathers striding through the field, maybe surrounded by a flock of scraggly little babies (called poults), or the large juicy beast on your table with its stubby legs pointed to the sky.

Believe it or not, these are two very different creatures. Wild turkeys are much lighter than their domestic counterparts (almost a third of the weight), and the domestic ones are the guys you grab from the grocery store every year.

What other differences are there?

Wild turkeys are not native to Idaho, they were actually transplanted here. The ones we have here are called the Merriam’s Turkey, the Rio Grande Turkey and the Eastern Wild Turkey. Their meat tends to be very dark since the whole bird gets to exercise fairly frequently, what with the “I’m desperately trying not to get shot, mauled and/or eaten every hour of every day” thing going on for them. They also have excellent vision, and it’s been postulated that they can see in color.

The most common domestic turkeys are a breed called the Broad-Breasted White. They are large, they are dumb, they can’t fly, and they also can’t breed on their own. They are basically the perfect livestock!

Their feathers are also pure white, leaving no noticeable dark marks on the meat when they are processed, giving them that pristine pale look before going into the oven. Their excessive weight also means more food for us, as well as less movement for the turkey, which makes larger amounts of white meat for human consumption. There is a second variety called a Broad-Breasted Bronze, but the dark melanin in their feathers tends to bleed 18 /

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Brought to you by:

turkeys

onto the meat during processing, making it much less pretty on the table. It still tastes the same!

If you’re a hunter, you probably know that only the male turkeys, called toms, gobble. In the wild, this seems to be a form of a mating call, though domestic Toms will do this every time they hear a loud or a shrill stimuli, such as a car horn or a police siren, or at four in the morning when they like to stand outside of your window and gobble until they run out of breath. Toms are also the only ones that get “beards”, or long fibrous feathers emerging from the peak of the bird’s chest. The longer the beard, the older and more manly the bird.

Female turkeys are called hens.

There are many varieties of domesticated Turkey aside from the White and Bronze; those two are just the most widely bred and definitely the most eaten. In more specialty and hobby farms, you might see more vibrant colors and patterns. The Royal Palm turkey is the most striking, sporting white feathers with black dashes along the back and the tail (You may have even seen one at the Fair this year!); the toms are a true sight to behold. Red Bourbons are a pale orange-red color with white accents on their tails. There is even a turkey with solid black feathers. All of these are called heritage breeds, and just like with your garden, they were cultivated by independent farmers over several generations to present unique plumage and special traits Whites and Bronzes don’t have.

Heritage birds are generally a little bit smarter and much smaller than their commercial counterparts. Most heritage birds are capable of flight, fully able to go up to 40 feet vertically, and anywhere from 30 to 40 feet horizontally with no problems. They’re also fully capable of breeding on their own, unlike Whites/Bronzes.

So if commercial breeds can’t do the dance with no pants, how do we have tens of millions of them on dinner plates every year? Is it something cool and ultra hightech? Are turkey embryos floating in tubes in advanced laboratories, injecting butter-solutions into them

as they turn into the perfect meal?

Not even close. Commercial turkeys are artificially inseminated like cattle. I don’t know about you, but I would hate to have that job. Why is it even a job? Why can’t they do it on their own?

We’ve bred them to give us days upon days of white meat leftovers, and to do that, we had to make sure that they get fat enough, and their breast meat is plentiful enough to give us so much food. Unfortunately for the turkey, this means they’re too large to… well, you know.

But enough about that! Have you SEEN a turkey’s face up close?

Man, they’re ugly. They look like they have no skull, just brains on the outside of their bodies. This is purely a genetic thing, and it’s not the only bird that looks like it has a wrinkled brain for a face. They’re actually capable of changing the color of their head to suit their mood, like an avian mood ring.

This acts as a social cue for other turkeys and a warning for non-turkeys. Their heads can shift between shades of red, white and blue (one of the traits Benjamin Franklin admired about them), but if you see one turn blue, you might want to take a step back.

Spoiler alert: It doesn’t want a hug.

If the chicken craze is too mainstream for you, and you want to save money on your Thanksgiving this year with a rafter of your own turkeys, I may have some tips for you. I don’t want the hundreds of dollars worth of my garden they ruined to go to waste, so I’m going to impart my expensive lesson onto you, dear readers.

At first, turkeys are easier than chickens to raise. They eat quite a bit more, but seem to poop just as much. They also stay about the same size for the first few months, when suddenly they explode into an unrecognizable beast. If you want to start your own rafter of them from poults, you’ll need a covered bin, preferably inside under a heat lamp. Make sure they have food and water, and make sure their bedding doesn’t get wet.

When you feel they’re ready to go outside after a few weeks,

there are a few ways you can manage them. If you have a lot of land, set their feeder and water up somewhere you want them to stay.

They’ll wander off, but think of the feeder as home base. They’ll always come back to it. Free ranging is great, because they’ll crush your tick population in a single season, but you’d better enclose your garden or it will vanish with the ticks. Same for your topiary, especially new plants.

If you plan on putting them in an enclosure of some kind, be sure to give them greens or throw down some alfalfa for them or they will get sick. Rocks, too, since they need those to digest food. Each turkey can get up to 40 pounds or more at maturity, so make sure they have plenty of space. They will start fighting and killing each other, wasting all of your hard work if they’re cramped up too tight together.

Some people raise them in the same space as their chickens and ducks, but I feel this is dangerous, especially if you own a lot of bantam chickens. Depends on the bird.

After taking into account the amount of food you’ve paid for and the initial price of buying them, you’ve probably spent more raising Thanksgiving dinner than you would have from just buying a turkey from the store, but at least your conscience would be clear that you knew the bird had a good life. Plus you can stock up for the winter or sell off the extras.

Personally, I think the heritage breeds are more attractive and much easier to maintain than the commercial ones, and most of our local farm and feed stores are more than willing to give you a list of what their hatchery will ship, if you are able to convince others to pre-order some of the heritage breeds with you (most require a minimum shipment).

If you plan to partake on the grand adventure of farm life this spring, or even if you don’t, I hope you learned something.

At the very least, you should have something interesting to say at Thanksgiving about your dinner this year!

Random Corner ksgiving?

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• The song “Jingle Bells” was originally written for Thanksgiving.

• Up until 1933 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons were released into the air at the conclusion of the parade and would stay airborne above the city for as long as a week. A return address was stitched in and people who returned them received $100 reward.

• When Abe Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, it was thanks to the tireless efforts of a magazine editor named Sarah Josepha Hale.

She also wrote the nursery rhyme “Mary had a Little Lamb.”

• The day with the lowest porn viewing rates is Thanksgiving.

• The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade purposely reroutes to try and avoid unauthorized CBS cameras.

• The National Turkey Federation estimated that 46 million turkeys, one fifth of the annual total of 235 million consumed in the United States, were eaten at Thanksgiving.

• Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented a live turkey and two dressed turkeys to the president. The president does not eat the live turkey. He “pardons” it and allows it to live out its days on a historical farm.

• Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for plumbers, according to Roto-Rooter, the nation’s largest plumbing service. After all, someone has to clean up after household guests who “overwhelm the system.”

Gifts for Impossible People It’s that time of year again. Gift-giving (insert groans and angry shouts). You all know that person. They either have it all, or are so damn picky about what they like, buying a gift for them is an annual ritual of frustration. Well, have no fear, dear readers, because here are a handful of oddball gifts that will please even the toughest critics. No guarantees for happiness, but you will probably get a smile out of some of these.

By Ben Olson, Reader Staff

Nintendo Classic Mini Console

If you can find one, you’ll please anyone who grew up playing the original eight-bit Nintendo Entertainment System immensely with this gift.

This retro gaming system will be popular with hipsters and youngsters alike, but it’s especially fun to partake in gaming before it was so involved and complicated.

The replica of the NES comes in an authentic miniature console pre-loaded with 30 classic NES games. Relive your childhood frustration/joy with such titles as “Super Mario Brothers 1-3”, “Super Contra,” “Bubble Bobble,” “Dr. Mario,” “Legend of Zelda,” “Mega Man 2,” “Galaga,” and many others.

Yes, it’s truly a geek’s dream come true.

The console has a HDMI output, which allows you to plug the console into any tele-

vision or computer monitor that accepts HDMI inputs. Power is provided by a USB cable.

There are some drawbacks.

Though the controller is authentic feeling and looking, it’s only 2.5 feet long, only a third of the length of the classic cords. Why Nintendo decided to make a cord this short is beyond me, especially with the absurdly large televisions nowadays. They should’ve made it wireless (you can purchase a 6-foot cord extension for $10 and also use an aftermarket controller specially made for this).

Another drawback is that the system is closed, which means the 30 games it comes installed with are the only games you’ll be able to play on this system. Not an option for the true gamer, but a fun option for the hobbyist.

One great feature is a save

state option, allowing you to suspend your games at critical moments so you don’t have to start the games over all the way at the beginning.

The price on this system is the M.V.P. For only $60, you’ll get the system and one controller, plus all cables you need. If you can find another controller for sale anywhere, they are available for $10. It’s totally worth the money for this system, especially since a functional NES and a handful of games will run you over $100 usually.

Most stores sold out of the consoles the first day they offered them in early November.

After spending 20 minutes playing the games I grew up with, I realized that this is something I will cherish having around always. Totally worth the money, drawbacks aside.

Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure

We’ve all known a crazy cat lady or two, haven’t we?

Why not celebrate their existence with this unique action figure that comes complete with all of her cats.

Whether used as a gentle reminder for your friend to stop absorbing more cats, or as an absurd gag gift, the Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure is sure to bring a smile to their faces. It’s available locally at Zany Zebra, also, for $12.95.

Happy Man Bottle Stopper Nobody is happier about a bottle of wine than the Happy Man. This useful tool keeps even your finest vintage fresh and fruity between glasses, and makes a great gag gift for those wino friends of yours who also enjoy a little raunchy humor.

The Happy Man is made of sturdy red plastic and black rubber rings ensure a tight fit when his, um, happy part is inserted into the wine bottle spout. This retails for about $11.

Crossword Solution

poo-pourri Toilet spray

Ever know someone who leaves their, er… impact on the bathroom long after they’re finished? You’ll be thanking me for this gift, trust me.

Poo-Pourri is a revolution in bathroom deodorizing. Instead of spraying after to mask unpleasant smells, you spray a squirt or two into the toilet before you go, which creates a layer of pleasing smells that trap the unwanted ones in the water where they belong. It’s very scientific.

Coupled with a hilariously

cheeky ad campaign, this company started as the brainchild of a Dallas-based woman who made up a blend of essential oils that formed that protective barrier on the water’s surface.

Their commercials are worth checking out on YouTube.

You can find lots of different odor options and most are available for under $10.

Beware of the imposter company called V.I.Poo, which is actually being sued by Poo-Pourri’s founder for completely ripping off everything

from the product to the ad campaign. V.I.Poo is actually owned by giant conglomerate AirWick, which is actively trying to put the mom-and-pop Poo-Pourri out of business by copying everything they’re doing. It’s clear that Poo-Pourri is the leading option of toilet sprays, with V.I.Poo a distant number two.

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Opening hearts and minds

By Suzen Fiskin Reader Columnist In all of the fray still playing out from this political cycle, I can’t help but be mystified at the level of division between the people of our country. I recognize that much of this is created by mainstream media, yet we the people are actually a whole lot more alike than we are different.

If you were to stop most people on the street and ask them what’s important to them, you’d find a pattern of our shared values. We want to know that we and those we love are safe, well-fed, have a decent home, access to healthcare and a good education.

We want clean air, water and a healthy environment. We want opportunity, job security with fair pay, and that we’ll be treated fairly and equally. Many want to make a difference, share compassion, kindness, love, have fun, and to know that they matter.

You rarely hear people saying that they’re for war, fear, greed, hatred or violence, yet we are inundated with these values at every turn in the media.

I also think that people of all political persuasions truly want our country to be great again. We might differ in our ideas of how to

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What’s important to us?

get there, yet we can give a collective thumbs up on the direction we’d like to go.

One of the finest moments I’ve ever seen on television was on the TV show “The Newsroom.” Jeff Daniels, the actor, plays a news anchor who tells it like he sees it. He was on a panel discussion with other news people and was asked by a young college woman, “What makes America the greatest country in the world?”

After dodging the question, Daniels rises to the occasion.

“There’s absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we’re the greatest country in the world. We’re seventh in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy, 178th in infant mortality, third in median household income, number four in labor force, and number four in exports.

We lead the world in only three categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined, 25 of whom are allies.”

Looks of shock echoed off of the audience’s faces. He went on – I’ve shortened it a bit for print: “It sure used to be (the greatest) . . . We

stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not on poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors, we put our money where our mouths were, and we never beat our chest. We built great, big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases and we cultivated the world’s greatest artists AND the world’s greatest economy. We aspired to intelligence, we didn’t belittle it. It didn’t make us feel inferior. We didn’t identify ourselves by who we voted for in the last election, and we didn’t scare so easy. We were able to be all these things and do all these things because we were informed…

First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.”

If we look to the world of politics, we can notice that essentially the ONLY value considered in how to take our country forward is MONEY. People just shrug their shoulders in resignation when asked about the corruption, greed, economic disparity, and loss of faith and trust in our government and institutions.

Our Constitution, the foundation of what made this country great, was never based on the bottom line. We were guaranteed the undeniable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Our country was built on diversity, equality, truth and freedom— freedom of speech, assembly, to worship

and believe whatever we choose, and more.

There was an inherent promise of opportunity for all of us to become all that we can be, and of justice for all.

We’ve strayed from these core values on virtually every front. We’ve let the avarice of the few override the greater good time and time again. Our “representatives” rarely represent we the people.

It’s time to come together to create collaborative solutions to our enormous challenges using the ideals that we have in common. To make this country great again, we need to redirect it based on the values from which it was created, to start talking with one another again, and to heal our divide.

As Patrick Henry stated in 1799, “Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”

Let’s wake the heck up to take our country back from the special interests that have profited so richly from our apathy and division.

United we stand!

Suzen Fiskin is a Happiness Coach, multi-media marketing wiz, and inspirational speaker. She’s also the author of the book, Playboy Mansion Memoirs. If you have any questions or comments, email her at: suzenfiskin@yahoo.com.

Caribou Cabin: A backcountry paradise

By Jen Heller Reader Contributor

I’m a big fan of down-toearth writing styles, so let’s start with the honest truth. If I had your best interests in mind, dear readers, this article would have been written last summer, well before everyone who’s in the know reserved their own spots at North Idaho’s favorite winter getaway. But, it turns out, I’m selfish. I like keeping some good things to myself. As we go to print, Caribou Mountain Lodge is already close to maxing out on its reservations for the entire winter, which means most of what follows is simply malicious bragging.

Excuse me as I relish this moment.

Alright, moving on.

Mark Remmetter quietly started the construction of Caribou Mountain Lodge 20 years ago, during whatever gaps he could find in his normal workload as a local electrician. Building the entire place himself took about four years, albeit with the help of friends here and there, but Mark’s calm face breaks into a smile every time he talks about the process.

He’s particularly proud that he managed to mill about 90 percent of the building’s wood on-site, from the doug fir interior beams to the chuck-room benches.

Early in the Lodge’s history, around 2003, Mark fell into stride with his spunky sidekick, Lynn Olafson. Lynn worked in the medical field for years

before joining Mark on his alpine retreat project. These days, you can find her running their mountain trails Energizer-Bunny-style all summer, and skiing up the same hills all winter long.

Both Mark and Lynn love the Lodge dearly, and their care is noticeable in every aspect of the Lodge’s operations. For one thing, Caribou Lodge was crafted to be relatively self-sustaining. Power is generated by an array of solar panels on bluebird mornings, or by a windmill on the property’s edge when a storm blows in. Also, this place has five-star North Idaho accommodations, with hot showers, a piano, a kitchen fully-stocked with utensils, and a wood-stoked sauna (don’t confuse Caribou Lodge with the Caribou ski hut, which is maintained by the Sandpoint Ski Hut Association; both have been referred to as “Caribou Cabin” by locals, but the furnishings differ a little bit).

That’s not to say things aren’t a wee bit rustic at the Lodge. Water is a fickle resource at this altitude, so for everything except emergencies, the hosts kindly request that bodily needs are taken outside to the outhouse. No worries, though, Caribou has a jewel of a duty shed. The snow path from the cabin to the outhouse is short, and nature calls to you from the window as you answer, uh, nature’s call. Over

pre-dinner drinks last year, our well-travelled group ranked it as one of Bonner County’s “Top Three Outhouse Experiences.”

Last winter marked my first visit to Caribou, and I celebrated the occasion with a motley crew of people. The group’s organizer lost a few promised guests at the last minute, and in that magical “friend-of-afriend” situation, I waved the appropriate amount of money in the air and got a golden ticket.

The most interesting part of prepping for the whole trip was trying to figure out how to deal with my shameful secret: I don’t downhill ski. For years, I’d been hearing about Caribou Lodge with sad twitches of envy, but my knees can’t even handle Schweitzer’s bunny hill, so I always figured Caribou was far beyond my reach.

Fortunately, I was wrong.

It’s true that a few expert locals like to take the hard road to Caribou Lodge via the Redneck Traverse or other ridgeline routes. For most guests, however, getting to the cabin is a simple seven-mile ski, snowshoe, or hike up a snowy maze of forest service roads.

Once you’ve paid your dues and dropped off your baggage, you drag your legs up the hill at your own pace, and you may ski as little or as much as you’d like from that point forward.

I spent my weekend at the Lodge escorting my new friends up the nearest peak on

my cross-country setup in the mornings, then ambling around forest service roads in solitude, enjoying the stunning views, quiet woods, and impressive winter wildlife tracks. There was little to complain about.

Emerging from my first night of slumber, I’d watch a slow winter sunrise as I sipped my cup of coffee in the dining area, with every shade of sorbet melting slowly down the slopes of the facing Cabinets. And then, after a long day sweating up hills and breezing (ok, butt-sliding,) down slopes, my return was timed with the finest Selkirk alpenglow, to be admired from the second-story common area as my cabin-mates shuffled in and out of the warm showers.

Sitting around the woodstove in the evening, with drinks in hand and the day’s tales growing wildly in the retelling, there’s something elemental that awakens in a person. Like a cat, the feeling rises, stretches in a deep bow, and sprawls out with a sigh among the tired bodies. It’s the feeling of having won — having truly gotten away, beaten the challenge, finished the course, and seen the mountaintops. The only thing better?

The knowledge that the very next day, you get to get up and do it all again.

Want to find out more? Visit cariboumountainlodge.com.

tips from the experts Fortunate enough to nab one of the last reservations at the Caribou Mountain Lodge this winter? Pack smart! You’ll be thankful when you find these things waiting for you at the Lodge as you haul your tired legs in from the cold: -HOUSE SLIPPERS. Dry socks have nothing on plastic soles for keeping your tired feet out of the inevitable dribbles of melted snow spattered in the oddest places across the floor.

-A DECK OF CARDS. If you’re lucky enough to accompany some excellent story-tellers up to the Cabin, this one will sit unused in your tub. But in times of awkward silence, a few healthy card games may solve a quickly rising case of cabin fever (A few fingers of rum will also do the trick).

-Secret stashes of “SUMMIT CHOCOLATE” will keep you warm and moving on the mountain, or boost your flagging energy long enough for a pre-bed shower.

-A HEADLAMP. Yes, the Lodge has power, and even on cloudy nights, the path to the outhouse through the trampled snow will be probably be visible.

However, any wildlife watching you from the bushes might not be.

-HEADPHONES, or a pair of ear plugs.

Don’t underestimate the volume of the powder-weary snoring that will be coming from the bunk directly above you.

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Your seat at the table

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist

I just replayed last year’s Saturday Night Live skit, “A Thanksgiving Miracle,” where the dinner discussion concerning Syrian refugees sparks a heated argument across the holiday table until their moods and mindsets are softened by the sound of Adele’s “Hello” filling the room. It couldn’t be more relevant, though I feel like we’re going to need more than Adele to save this Thanksgiving.

Reeling from the election, I’ve spent much of the past couple of weeks alone in my kitchen, in mindful reflection, mourning and sifting and stirring my way to calm and understanding. I did manage a break to head to Moscow. I was going to guest lecture alongside my daughter in her “Culture and Cuisine” class. It’s a sociology class where I was going to talk about Irish foods and demonstrate how to make traditional pasties. But arriving only two days after election, I didn’t have the energy to do much more than sit and listen. We never got around to prepping food for the class, but my day on campus was still well-spent, surrounded by bright, articulate and diverse students, and I was reminded and reassured that when we pass the torch, it will go to strong and steady hands.

My other Moscow commitment was to celebrate my grandson Will’s sixth birthday.

I often miss the official celebration, so my tradition is a “one-on-one” with the enthusiastic celebrant. Our day started early, with great anticipation of pancakes at the Breakfast Club.

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outdoor coffee station to make the long wait for pancakes more palatable. It turned out there was more on Will’s mind than his birthday. “Mimi,” he started, “let’s talk about Thanksgiving.” And so we did.

Fall is Will’s favorite season because it’s filled with three holidays plus turkey. He’s our party planner and has specific ideas about food, holiday décor and table settings, which must always include a “table curtain” (table cloth). Ryanne and I don’t agree on all things, and though it skipped a generation, we agree with 100-percent certainty that Will is of my clan.

He rattled off his proposed menu, and I quickly committed

it to paper. I was inclined to agree with his choices until we got to the dessert course and he nixed all of my traditional suggestions. Plain and simple, Will was holding out firm for vanilla ice cream. Finally, we reached a healthy compromise and ice cream will be offered as a standalone (“in those fancy cups, Mimi”) or as an accompaniment to the pumpkin pie and pecan bars.

And speaking of healthy compromise, I feel like It’s going to be that kind of Thanksgiving, folks. Likely our holiday tables will be filled with a huge array of food and a variety of opinions. This year especially, be mindful of your

Pecan Pie Bars These bars are every bit as tasty as a traditional pie, and easier to prepare (you don’t even need to wash the mixing bowl after crust prep).

The crust is similar a rich shortbread cookie. Refrigerate after they cool and they freeze well too.

INGREDIENTS: CRUST 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup butter, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans 1 tsp salt FILLING 1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 4 large eggs 4 tbs melted butter 6 tbs unbleached flour 2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

seat at the table. Be brave, be strong, but be willing to break bread. If you’re the host, create a table of abundance and a safe haven, filled with good conversations. If you’re a guest, check your hat and your hate at the door. Bring good food and good intentions and an extra serving of kindness.

If you’re anxious about the day, nothing helps like fresh air and exercise. Leave your dogs and bikes at home, but do bundle up and head to Traver’s Park for the Turkey Trot, sponsored by City Recreation and Sandpoint West Athletic Club.

The price of admission for the 5K or 10K is a non-perishable donation for the Bonner County

Food Bank. The Trot starts at 9 a.m., and you’ll need to get there a little early to drop off your food and sign a waiver.

After the Turkey Trot and a rousing game of Kickball with the neighbors, we’ll start our Thanksgiving dinner with Curried Pumpkin Soup and finish up with Pecan Bars (undoubtedly topped with vanilla ice cream). Both are favorites at my house, and I hope you’ll give these recipes a try.

Now here’s some food for thought: Whether you feel you’ll finish your feast with victory pie or humble pie, serve it with love and eat it with grace. Happy Thanksgiving.

Curried Pumpkin Soup A welcoming first course or thoughtful alternative dish for vegetarian or vegans (omit the yogurt garnish) that can be made a day or two ahead and reheated. Serve with crusty warm bread.

DIRECTIONS: Heat oven to 350°F. Combine 1 3/4 cups flour, butter and sugar in bowl of standup mixer.

Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the 1/2 cup pecans.

Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper (or foil) and press crust mixture evenly onto bottom of pan.

Bake 18-22 minutes or until edges are very light golden brown.

Combine all filling ingredients except the remaining 1 1/2 cups pecans in bowl of standup mixer and mix well. Stir in pecans. Spread evenly over hot, partially baked crust.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until filling is set and knife inserted 1-inch from edge comes out clean. Cool completely; refrigerate. Cut into bars or triangles and dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

INGREDIENTS: 1/4 cup olive oil 1 cup finely chopped onions 1 clove garlic, minced 3 cups chicken (or vegetable) stock 1 tsp curry powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 (15 ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin (not pie mix) 1 cup coconut milk

DIRECTIONS: Heat the oil in a deep pot heavy pot, over medium-high heat Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until the onions are soft and wilted, about 5 minutes.

Mix in the broth, curry powder, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook and stir until the mixture comes to a gentle boil, about 10 minutes. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes more, stirring occasionally.

Whisk in the pumpkin and coconut milk, and cook another 5 minutes.

Pour the soup into a blender, filling only half way and working in batches if necessary; process until smooth. Return to a pot, and reheat briefly over medium heat before serving.

Ladle soup into warmed bowls, garnish with a dollop of Greek yogurt, chopped nuts and scallion tops.

STAGE & SCREEN

SOLE hits the big screen in Backcountry Film Festival

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Selkirk Outdoor Leadership and Education has long been a partner with the Backcountry Film Festival. But never before has it been the star of the show.

This year, the long-running collaboration between SOLE and the touring film show takes on a more personal quality with the debut of “SnowSchool,” a festival-featured movie about the local nonprofit’s work in environmental education. Locals will see some familiar sights when they catch the short film—along with all the other great festival movies—at its Panida Theater screening on Friday, Dec. 2.

“Our snow school program is part of a larger national snow school program,” SOLE founder and executive director Dennison Webb said. “But there’s never been a snow school film highlighted in the film festival before.”

A collaboration between SOLE and filmmaker Scott Rulander, “SnowSchool” focuses on SOLE’s place-based snow education program that covers snow-science, winter ecology, outdoor living, travel skills and avalanche awareness.

Each winter, fourth- through 12th-graders take to Schweitzer on snowshoes to study their natural environment. “SnowSchool” combines insights from educators like Lake Pend Oreille School District Superintendent Shawn Woodward with footage of the snow school program itself, which is just one of dozens of snow schools across the country.

“The goal is to connect our local area youth to a sense of place—that is, their watershed—and its importance,” Webb said.

That made “SnowSchool’s” selection by the film festival committee all the more validating. While Webb knew that SOLE and the Backcountry Film Festival shared similar values, it was gratifying to learn that festival officials felt the program was worth sharing with thousands of audience members.

“It’s a recognition that our work is really important and should be highlighted,” he said.

The program isn’t just a chance to learn about regional ecology, Webb said.

By comparing data collected on-site to larger trends happening throughout the world, students learn of their connection to a global ecosystem. That makes “SnowSchool” an apt choice for inclusion in a film festival screened in more than 100 theaters across the nation and in several countries.

“What’s really neat is that students are able to make more global connections and conclusions,” Webb said.

“And it starts in their watershed.”

“SnowSchool” isn’t the only noteworthy film audiences will see at the Panida Theater next week. The festival will also span the worlds of trail guiding, action sports photography, trail running and the wintertime beauty of public lands.

It’s a great lineup for a festival dedicated to connecting audiences around the country with their natural environments, a mission that has earned it nationwide acclaim. AmericanTowns Media recently included Backcountry alongside the likes of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival in its must-see festivals of 2016.

“The Backcountry Film Festival is known by and large as a festival that celebrates the human power of the backcountry experience,” Webb said.

The event also serves as one of SOLE’s primary annual fundraisers, which fuels its effort to educate all students regardless of family income.

In the coming season, the nonprofit will work with more than 450 local students. To support the effort, drop by a SOLE meet-and-greet from 5-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Idaho Pour Authority. And don’t miss the 12th annual Backcountry Film Festival on the Panida screen a few days later.

“We encourage people to come out and support their local outdoor education nonprofit,” said Webb. “We are totally grassroots, so we really depend on the success of this event to provide snow school education for local area youth.”

Catch the Backcountry Film Festival Friday, Dec. 2, at the Panida Theater.

Doors open at 6 p.m., and the festival

starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters, Alpine Shop, Eichardt’s, and the Panida Theater or online at www.panida.org. General admission costs $10.50, or SOLE supporters can buy a donation entry with three raffle tickets for $21. Just one donation ticket is enough to put a local student on the snow for a day.

saturday, nov. 26 @ 7:30pm

shook twins “giving thanks” The annual holiday show featuring shook twins full band, plus opening act john craigie and friends. get your tickets now before they sell out!

Friday, Dec. 2 @ 7pm

SOLE ‘Backcountry film festival’ little theater

wednesday, Dec. 7 @ 7:30pm

Comedy Night

Featuring two nationally touring comedians

thursday, Dec. 8 @ 6:30pm

“elf” film

$5 for adults kids FREE!

Sing-a-long with interactive props sponsored by Summit Insurance FREE for all to attend

monday, Dec. 12 @ 7pm

POAC presents:

Eugene Ballet’s ‘the Nutcracker’ Experience the holiday spirit and a little magic with loved ones of all ages at The Nutcracker.

Dec. 16, 17, 22, 23 @ 8 pm | dec. 18 @ 3:30pm

“Christmas Carole”

An original play based on the Charles Dickens Classic tale ‘A Christmas Carol,’

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This week’s RLW by Cameron Rasmusson

READ

Cormac McCarthy is recognized as a literary icon for his ability to capture dark themes in lyrical prose. Nowhere is that more true than “The Road,” which recently marked its 10-year anniversary in print. One of the most accessible and emotionally gutting of McCarthy’s novels, “The Road” follows a man and his son as they navigate a post-apocalyptic America.

“The Road” was capably adapted into an excellent 2009 film starring Sandpoint favorite Viggo Mortensen, but don’t give the book a pass.

It’s a work of beauty and power.

LISTEN

Okkervil River’s latest release, “Away,” isn’t my favorite album of 2016, but it might capture the year’s tone better than any other. In contrast to 2013’s exuberant and nostalgic “The Silver Gymnasium,” “Away” is reflective, sad and poignant. True to form, band frontman and songwriter Will Sheff masterfully explores loss and the search for meaning, ultimately finding glimmers of hope at the end of the road.

WATCH

With national divisions deeper than ever, I struggle to think of a more relevant movie than Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 masterpiece “Princess Mononoke.” A beautifully animated epic, the film envisions hatred and fear as a curse afflicting tribal prince Ashitaka. His journey to cure his curse ensnares him in a conflict between the forces of industry and nature.

Remarkably, “Princess Mononoke” doesn’t vilify either side of the conflict even as they vilify one another, speeding the curse’s cancerous spread. The movie is a mature and thoughtful exploration of fear and demonization brought to life through eye-popping visuals.

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MUSIC

Give the gift of music this year

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Sometimes, while filling out the calendar page each week, I am astounded at the amount of amazing musicians we have here in Sandpoint. More often than not, at a gig or playing tunes with friends, a non-musician will invariably say, “I wish I would’ve learned to play an instrument.”

My response to them is always the same: “It’s never too late!”

Learning to play an instrument is one of the most enriching activities I’ve ever undertaken. Not only is it a blast, but playing an instrument is actually one of the best activities you can do to maintain a healthy brain.

“Playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout,” wrote musician Glenn Kurtz in his acclaimed book “Practice: A Musician’s Return to Music.”

Kurtz writes that playing an instrument “engages practically every area of the brain at once - especially the visual, auditory and motor cortices.”

Kurtz maintains that playing music has been found to increase the volume and activity in the brain’s corpus callosum - the bridge between the two hemispheres - allowing messages to get across the brain faster and through more diverse routes. This allows musicians to solve problems more effectively and creatively, in both academic and social settings.

So why don’t more people play music? Well, dammit, it’s hard! It takes lots of patience, lots of attention to detail and the dedication to get over the hump of learning the ins and outs of a particular instrument.

However, according to a recent survey by Statista, the number of people who claim to play an instrument is on the rise. In 2002, 15.74 million people in the U.S. claimed to play an instrument. Eight years later, in 2010, the number was up to 18.08 million,

with estimates for the last few years showing an even sharper incline.

With all of these budding musicians out there looking for guidance, where do you begin?

The easiest answer is to book a lesson with one of our many local instructors. Lessons are usually quite affordable, and the options vary from classically trained professionals to casual pickers, ensuring that no matter what degree you want to take your musical career, there is a way.

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint (MCS) is an obvious first choice, especially if you’d like to start your children with classical training. They offer private instruction for instrumental and voice students ranging from beginning through advanced levels. MCS currently offers private lessons for violin, viola, cello, guitar, flute, clarinet, saxophone, recorder, percussion, piano, voice, harp and both upright and electric bass. They offer package deals for semesters (comprised of 16 lessons) for as little as $320 per semester (payment plans are also available). For those not ready to commit to a semester, or if you’d just like to brush up your skills, trial packs are available for as little as $80

for four lessons. For more information, check out www.

SanpdointConservatory.org.

There are also a plethora of private instructors in and around Sandpoint that are always happy to take on another budding student. Fiddlin’ Red Simpson has been teaching guitar since he was 16 years old and works with children of all ages and musicians of all levels. The Wild Bill Hickok lookalike is always friendly and eager to share his love of music. He is currently teaching mandolin, claw-hammer banjo, fiddle and guitar at his music store located at 111 Church St. in downtown Sandpoint.

Scott Reid has been a resident banjo, fiddle and mandolin teacher around North Idaho for years. Reid plays with the Monarch Mountain Band and also has a laid back, casual style when it comes to instruction. He teaches banjo, fiddle and mandolin, with influences in folk, jazz, rock, blues and country. You can contact Reid at 208-683-7311.

Newcomers to the Sandpoint music scene are Caytlin Reese and Rachel Gordon, who recently opened their music instruction studio called Bella Noté. The studio specializes in early childhood music classes

for toddlers to five years olds, as well as private music lessons for students with parental involvement as early as four years old through ages “much wiser.” Check them out at www.BellaNoteSandpoint.com.

Scott Wilburn not only teaches lessons from his store on First Ave. Wilburn’s Custom Shop, but he’s also an experienced guitar and bass builder.

He currently teaches lessons for $25 a pop on acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar and keyboard. His song and chordbased approach makes learning fun and easy, focusing on teaching how to start playing your favorite songs. You can contact Scott at 255-4258.

No matter what your interest level or native abilities, it’s never too late to learn to play an instrument. While instruction is always a quick boost on the path to learning an instrument, if you don’t have the money, invest in a cheap guitar and go online. You can find charts for just about any song you’d like to hear, and thanks to tablature and chord charts, you don’t even have to read music to jump right in.

This year, consider giving the gift of music to someone you love. It may just stick with them the rest of their lives.

w o N & Then compiled by

Ben Olson

Each week, we feature a new photograph taken from the same vantage point as one taken long ago. See how we’ve changed, and how we’ve stayed the same.

Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.

The City Garage at 405 Cedar St. in Sandpoint. W.E. Jaeger is listed as proprietor as of 1923, so it’s a fair guess that Jaeger bought the property from Foster, who owned the garage prior to 1923. There are 12 autos lined up out front.

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

c. 1923

ACROSS

The same view today. The eastern side of La Quinta Inn currently occupies the space that was once the City Garage.

2016

Woorf tdhe Week

sycophant

/SIK-uh-fuh nt/

[noun] 1. A self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

“Beware of sycophants with constant praise and evil ways.”

Corrections: In the story about the BGH nurses, Val Holstrom’s name was spelled incorrectly and we erroneously referred to him as a female. Our apologies for this mistake. -BO

1. Pit 6. Broad valley 10. Subsides 14. Indolence 15. Bit of gossip 16. Bucolic 17. A black tea 18. Anagram of “Ties” 19. Indian dress 20. Flight attendant 22. Leveling wedge 23. Froth 24. Foolishness 26. South American weapon 30. Sharp high-pitched cry 31. Unhappy 32. Matured 33. Against 35. Lure 39. Shiver 41. Grain storehouse 43. Creepy 44. Spanish lady 46. Prune 47. Record (abbrev.)

49. Dandy 50. If not 51. A protective covering 54. No charge 56. Camber 57. A diplomat of the highest rank 63. Decorative case 64. Appear 65. Sharpshoot

Solution on page 19 66. Roman emperor 67. Brother of Jacob 68. Consumed 69. Biblical garden 70. Rodents 71. Tilt

DOWN 1. Vipers 2. Decay from overripening 3. Oxen’s harness 4. Put away 5. Bundle 6. Rejected 7. Try 8. Wreaths

9. Vomiting 10. Disagreement 11. Potato state 12. Pertaining to burning 13. Morally reprehensible 21. Imperial 25. Information 26. Diminish 27. Monster 28. Lascivious look 29. Esteem 34. Uneducated person 36. A crumbling earthy deposit 37. Not amateurs

38. Sort 40. Red vegetable 42. Sexually assaults 45. Quirky 48. Pursuer 51. Display 52. Despised 53. Habituate 55. S S S S 58. Plateau 59. A Freudian stage 60. Devil tree 61. Not closed 62. Lease

What is it about a beautiful sunny afternoon, with the birds singing and the wind rustling through the leaves, that makes you want to get drunk. And after you’re real drunk, maybe go down to the public park and stagger around and ask people for money, and they lay down and go to sleep.

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Enter to win a $250 Shopping Spree!

Stop by any of the participating merchants and enter to win a holiday shopping spree.

Holiday Events

•Santa at the Cedar St. Bridge - every Saturday in December

•Creations on the Cedar St. Bridge has 30 Days of Christmas Crafts •SHS Carolers will be caroling downtown Saturday Dec. 3, 10, and 17 •Ladies Shopping Night Friday, Dec. 9

•Men's Shopping Night Friday, Dec. 23 EXTENDED HOLIDAY HOURS

Support your hometown independently owned businesses

www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/

List your property with us and get results that benefit you!

Why use Sandpoint Property Management to manage and lease your property?

Sandpoint Property Management provides:

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Want to know the secrets to planning for college?

The answer is a phone call away

$5 anoff 8-person lasagna $10 off a 20-person lasagna

Take home Ivano's for the holidays

Call ahead 24hrs • Gluten free options available

102 S. First Ave. Sandpoint, ID

208-263-0211

Gift certificates make great stocking stuffers!

Check us out at www.IvanosRestaurant.com or on Must present coupon • One lasagna per coupon • Expires 1/15/17

Listen in Sandpoint to KPND @ 106.7 in HD November 23, 2016 /

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