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PEOPLE compiled by

Ben Olson

watching

“Now that you’ve been back to school for more than a month, how has it been? What is your favorite class?”

“For me, it’s been kind of rough with how short classes are. I’m taking honors classes, so lots of homework and tests this year. My favorite class is pottery.”

Kacey Cuizon 10th grade at SHS Sandpoint

“Going really good. Classes are hard, but not too bad this year. My favorite class is art.”

Alysa Till 10th grade at SHS Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

This week, we start our election coverage with a Q&A with candidates from the Lake Pend Oreille School District trustee Zone 2 race, as well as information about the Sandpoint local option tax. Next week, we’ll feature candidates from contested races in Sandpoint and Dover. A candidates’ forum will take place Tuesday, Oct. 19 at the Sandpoint library. It will also be broadcast live via Zoom and KRFY 88.5 FM, and listeners will be able to participate remotely. Check the Reader or Sandpoint Online Facebook page the hours before the event for a direct link.

– Ben Olson, publisher

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (cover), Ben Olson, Cindy Marx, Kathe Murphy, Bill Borders, Full Circle Productions.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey, Lorraine H. Marie, Emily Erickson, Brenden Bobby, Helen Newton, Jen Jackson Quintano, Ranel Hanson, Jason Welker, Claire Christy, Ed Ohlweiler, Cameron Rasmusson.

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

“It’s going good. Giving up my classes is kinda hard and the workload is a bit harder than last year. So far this year my favorite class is acting.”

Sidney Meshberg 10th grade at SHS Sandpoint

“It’s a lot smoother than last year. My favorite class is stagecraft, where we build sets for plays.”

Silas Blair 10th grade at SHS Sandpoint

“It’s been going good, obviously a bit easier than last year. For me it’s easier doing in-person learning.

My favorite class is choir.”

Emma Schmitt 10th grade at SHS Sandpoint

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

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

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

Free to all, limit two copies per person.

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

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

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover photograph was taken by Reader News Editor Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey. We thought it might bring a smile to your face.

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NEWS

Midstokke reaches plea deal with prosecution Midwife charged in death of local infant set to face sentencing in December

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Contributor Former Sandpoint midwife Denise Midstokke reached a plea deal last week in criminal charges stemming from the death of a newborn she was hired to deliver.

According to court documents, Midstokke entered an Alford plea, which recognizes that enough evidence exists to result in a conviction but does not admit to any wrongdoing, in exchange for reduced charges. In exchange, the state reduced the charge to practicing medicine without a license, a step down from the previous charges of involuntary manslaughter and destruction of evidence. According to court documents, the charge stems from the use of “a ‘Cook’s Bulb’ catheter outside the standard of conduct allowed under the IDAPA Rules of the Idaho Board of Midwifery, and failing to transfer care when compelled to do so by those same rules.” The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years incarceration and a $10,000 fine.

With a new plea entered, the next step in the procedure is sentencing, which is scheduled to take place in early December and will likely result in Midstokke’s ouster from the midwifery profession. It’s a similar outcome to Midstokke’s procedural battle with the Idaho Board of Midwifery earlier this year.

“In this case, Ms. Midstokke did not admit she violated Idaho midwifery laws, but she did agree to certain sanctions, including relinquishing her midwifery license,” said Ken Nagy, Midstokke’s attorney in her regulatory board case.

The news of Midstokke’s civil and criminal legal troubles hit Sandpoint like a thunderbolt earlier this summer, prompting feverish social media discussion.

A veteran midwife who assisted with the delivery of about 1,500 babies over a decade-long career, Midstokke found many sympathetic North Idaho residents who reported their positive experiences with her on Facebook.

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complaint, prosecuting attorneys initially alleged that Midstokke’s actions unlawfully, but without malice, led to the death of an infant on Jan. 26. “[The incident allegedly occurred] in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death without due caution and circumspection, by willfully and wantonly failing to provide proper medical care,” the complaint reads.

According to an opinion by a forensic pathologist included in court documents, the infant was delivered with medical complications and taken by paramedics to the hospital, where she later died. On Jan. 26, when the mother began experiencing contractions, Midstokke and a second licensed midwife, Krista Hays, arrived to oversee the birth. Though court records indicate the pregnancy showed no warning signs prior to the night of delivery, the baby was nevertheless born with breathing issues. Midstokke attempted to resuscitate her, but to no avail.

As a result, Midstokke first faced the Idaho Board of Midwifery, a governing body formed by the state to oversee Idaho’s practicing midwives. The question before that body and now a criminal court is the same: Did professional malpractice result in the newborn’s death?

Modern midwives can take several paths to establish their career. Those who choose to go through the more conventional medical system can become a certified nurse midwife, who specializes in prenatal and birthing care.

For midwives who practice alternative care, the Idaho Board of Midwifery specifies what services they can and cannot perform, and what medical situations they’re authorized to oversee.

Under those guidelines, it’s the midwife’s job to inform parents about the risks associated with home births — a duty Midstokke claims she followed to the letter, according to court documents.

Following the infant’s fatality, Midstokke first faced this regulatory board to defend her actions

that January night. Nagy, an expert in Idaho midwifery laws, represented her during the proceedings.

While he can’t discuss the details of the Midstokke case apart from matters of public record, he could explain the details of Idaho’s regulatory laws more generally.

Adopted in 2010, the law establishing the Idaho Board of Midwifery details the scope of the midwife profession and establishes disciplinary measures and punishments for those who fail to follow those regulations. The law also details exceptions for several classes of people, including those practicing a religion in good faith, individuals performing emergency care, certified nurse midwives and student midwives practicing under the care of a licensed professional.

Individuals who feel a midwife has been negligent can file a complaint with the board. According to Nagy, the identity of the person filing the complaint is a tightly guarded secret.

“That’s because it’s such a high priority to protect the safety of mothers and their babies,” he said.

In many cases, it’s easy to infer the identity of the person filing the complaint. Not so in the Midstokke case. That’s because

so many individuals, from parents to medical professionals to other midwives, were involved.

Resolving a complaint against a midwife can likewise take a serpentine path. Oftentimes the aggrieved party will propose a settlement, which the accused midwife can either accept or reject. If a settlement isn’t reached, a hearing officer will oversee the case and bring it to a conclusion, one way or another.

Idaho, like most other states, regulates midwives for a reason: They provide a popular service for expecting parents. But the question remains: Why would a couple seek out a home birth over a hospital birth, or vice versa?

Nurse practitioner and Bonner General Health Board member Michelle Anderson understands both points of view. She delivered her first child in a birthing center and her second at home in her own bed. Both approaches offer different experiences, and for many parents, the experience of welcoming their child into the world is the most important factor of all.

A hospital is fully equipped with the staff and machinery to handle most situations and complications. They have methods to

The Pend Oreille Midwifery Services building in Sandpoint.

Photo by Ben Olson help a mother handle the pain of childbirth. But for some parents, hospitals are a cold, clinical environment ill-suited for welcoming their child into the world.

By contrast, most midwives seek to forge a personal connection with their patients. The service is often described as “holistic,” prioritizing the emotional experience as much as the biological mechanics of childbirth.

According to state oversight, however, they’re required to advise higher-risk parents of their situation and refer them to the proper professionals if needed.

“You think of a midwife, and you think of something softer and gentler than a hospital,” Anderson said.

Regardless of the approach parents take, Anderson said it’s important to remember that few medical procedures are free of risk. That includes childbirth. It’s now up to a court to determine whether that inherent danger or professional negligence was the root cause of the January tragedy.

NEWS

Rognstad eyeing run for Idaho governor

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad confirmed to the Reader on Oct. 12 that he is exploring a run for Idaho governor in the 2022 election.

According to a statement emailed to the Reader, Rognstad has not yet made a final decision, but expects to conclude his research and make an official announcement sometime in the coming weeks.

As for now, Rognstad is listed on the Idaho secretary of state’s website as a Democratic candidate, with A.J. Balukoff — himself a former gubernatorial candidate — as campaign treasurer.

“Idaho, now more than ever, needs competent, pragmatic leadership from a proven executive administrator who

Shelby Rognstad. Courtesy photo.

isn’t swayed by radical fringes that increasingly exercise an outsized influence on politics in the state of Idaho,” Rognstad stated, singling out Republican Gov. Brad Little for signing into law a constitutional amendment making it harder for citizens to put initiatives on the ballot. That law was soon after struck down by the Idaho Supreme Court as

unconstitutional.

“Idaho needs a governor that protects Idaho’s constitution and the democratic process,” he added.

Rognstad also highlighted education as a priority should he formally announce his candidacy, stating that, “Despite a budget surplus far exceeding projections at $900 million, Idaho is now dead last in educational funding in the nation.

Idaho needs a governor who is willing to invest in education if we are to have the workforce that is competitive in the global marketplace of tomorrow.”

Finally, Rognstad pointed to Little’s handling of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, writing that, “instead of investing critical dollars to bring the pandemic under control and help those in need, the governor has considered wasting precious taxpayer dollars suing the fed-

eral government over vaccine mandates. Idaho needs a leader who will use a science based, public health approach to bring this pandemic under control and save lives.”

The 2022 gubernatorial race has already established itself as one of the most crowded and contentious in recent memory, with a slate of candidates set to faceoff in the May 2022 GOP primary — including ultra-conservative firebrand Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin and celebrity anti-government activist Ammon Bundy, both seeking the governor’s office, and White Bird Republican Rep. Priscilla Giddings and House Speaker Scott Bedke, who are vying for lieutenant governor. Little has yet to make a formal announcement on whether he will seek another term.

Among the other Republicans seeking the state’s top job is

Bonner County Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, who threw his hat into the ring in July.

According to state campaign finance records, Bradshaw had raised $4,050 to fund his run as of Sept. 22 — $2,050 from the candidate himself and $2,000 from Sagle resident George Wentz, a partner in Davillier Law, which represented the county in its failed lawsuit against the Festival at Sandpoint over its no-weapons policy.

If he decides to officially mount a campaign, Rognstad would face Melissa Robinson, of Nampa, in the Democratic primary. Robinson has previously sought unsuccessfully to win a seat in the Idaho Legislature and the office of Nampa mayor.

Rognstad’s initial secretary of state filing came on Oct. 5, and so far lists no campaign contributors.

COVID persists in Idaho, where half of eligible people are vaxxed

Gov. Little dubs October “Idaho Health Care Worker Appreciation Month”

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff It has been five weeks since crisis standards of care were activated in North Idaho, as health care facilities became so strained by an uptick in coronavirus hospitalizations that it became necessary to ration limited resources to patients with the most dire needs. This week also marks nearly a month since those same standards were activated statewide.

COVID-19 has been steadily on the rise in Idaho since August, when the highly contagious Delta variant gained a foothold in the state’s population. According to the Idaho Statesman, some health officials are “cautiously optimistic” that the current spike is headed for a downslope based

on declining test positivity rates.

Still, a steady stream of Idahoans are being hospitalized with the disease.

Dr. Steven Nemerson, chief clinical officer at Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise, told the Statesman during a media briefing Oct. 12 that life without COVID remains elusive in Idaho.

“Today I’m here to tell you that we’ve lost the war,” he said.

“The reason it is here to stay is because we cannot vaccinate enough of the public to fully eradicate the disease. And absent being able to do that … we now need to move into the phase of recognizing that COVID is going to be a disease to be managed for the long-term future.”

As of Oct. 13, Idaho reported 805,902 residents fully vaccinated against the virus

— amounting to about 53% of the population over age 12, as compared to the 66% national figure. In Bonner County, that number is 46%.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Oct. 13 that he’d proclaimed October “Idaho Health Care Worker Appreciation Month.” In a media release, Little “encouraged all Idahoans

to seek out the health care workers in their lives and communities and show their respect, appreciation, and support for the sacrifices health care workers are making to get us through an unprecedented public health crisis.”

Little is traveling the state this week to meet and thank a variety of Idaho’s health care workers. While the governor has

been a steadfast supporter of the COVID-19 vaccine — having received one himself in January 2021 — Idaho does not currently have any vaccine mandates in place, and Little has announced that his office is “exploring legal action” against President Joe Biden for the federal administration’s vaccine requirements.

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NEWS Candidates’ forum scheduled for Oct. 19

Forum will include Sandpoint, Dover and LPOSD candidates

By Reader Staff The Sandpoint Reader, Keokee, KRFY 88.5 FM and the Selkirk Association of Realtors are teaming up to present a candidates’ forum Tuesday, Oct. 19 for the upcoming Tuesday, Nov. 2 election.

The forum will take place at the Sandpoint library (1407 Cedar St.) from 5:308:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, with Dover candidates taking the portion from 5:30-6:20 p.m. and the Sandpoint and Lake Pend Oreille School District Zone 2 trustee race taking the remaining portion of the meeting from 6:308:30 p.m. There will also be a presentation on the 1% resort city local option tax for Sandpoint. Only candidates from contested races have been invited.

The forum will take place in person at the library with a maximum occupancy of 70 allowed. Those who would like to attend virtually, or who aren’t able to make it inside because of occupancy requirements, can watch and participate via Zoom. A Zoom link to the forum will be posted before the event on the Sandpoint Online and Sandpoint Reader Facebook pages. KRFY will also air the forum live on 88.5 FM. Forum moderators will accept questions from those in attendance as well as those watching virtually. Each candidate will be given time for an opening statement, which will be followed by a question-and-answer period and closing statements from each candidate.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 2, with polling places open from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Lakeshore Drive construction underway ITD predicts ‘minimal’ impacts on US-95 drivers

By Reader Staff Construction began Oct. 6 at the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and US-95 at the southern end of the Long Bridge, part of “efforts to improve US-95 near Sandpoint,” according to a media release from the Idaho Transportation Department.

Over the six weeks of work, crews will build both southbound and northbound acceleration lanes for traffic turning onto US-95 from Lakeshore Drive.

“The contractor will maintain one lane of traffic in each direction on the highway at all times, so impacts to drivers on US-95 are expected to be minimal,” said ITD Project Manager Phil Stout.

The southern entrance to Smokehouse Road will close for the duration of work.

Crews will also establish turn lanes with new striping on Lakeshore Drive. The exist-

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ing center turn lane on US-95 will transition to a dedicated turn lane for northbound traffic turning left onto the side street.

“This will be the first phase of improvements for this intersection,” Stout said. “We are currently designing the second phase, tentatively planned for 2022, which could include median U-turns for Lakeshore Drive and/or Bottle Bay Road.”

A traffic signal is also planned with the second phase of improvements a few miles south at the intersection of US-95 and Sagle Road.

“As it’s still in design, what is or isn’t included with the second phase could change,” Stout said. “We plan to host an open house in November once we have a better idea of what will work.”

Visit itdprojects.org/us95lakeshoredrive for more information, and go to 511.idaho. gov for updated traffic impacts.

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.

A recent sampling: Attorneys general from 19 states and D.C. are seeking to block U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan to slow some mail delivery, close some post offices and cut some retail hours. Meanwhile, a number of U.S. businesses have told customers to factor in additional time when mailing bills, according to Reuters.

The crack in the southern California oil pipeline is not only threatening sea life, but also creating a backlog at ports that handle 40% of the nation’s imports, CBS News reported.

Molnupiravir, a drug able to cut hospitalizations and deaths of unvaccinated COVID-19 victims (one pill a day for five days), was originally developed for veterinary use. The drug was made possible by $29 million in taxpayer-funded grants to government agencies. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the manufacturing cost is $17.74 for a five-day course. Author and historian Thom Hartmann wrote that Merck has signed a government contract to sell the drug for $712 per COVID-19 infected person.

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., came out in opposition to lower costs for drugs after receiving donations worth more than $750,000 from pharmaceutical and medical device industries, according to truthout.org. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., has said he supports lower drug prices, but Business Insider reported that his $1.5 trillion “top line” for the Build Back Better Act would make that difficult to accomplish.

One reason pharmaceutical interests claim they object to lowering drug prices is it will not allow them to develop new drugs. But, according to Alex Lawson, executive director of Social Security Works, taxpayers already pay for research.

Lawson said that with high earnings, the pharmaceutical industry prefers to sink more profits into stock buy-backs and dividends, rather than research.

The WEEK noted that trust in media is down, with just 36% of U.S. adults having confidence in their news “a great deal” of the time, according to a Gallup poll. The trust is half what it was during the Nixon era. Why? Author Robert Reich, a former U.S. labor secretary, cites incomplete reporting. Reich’s examples: There has been a noticeable lack of

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

describing what is in the BBB Act. Most would be surprised to know that the $3.5 trillion figure is spread over 10 years (half what is paid on national defense) and includes plans to defray costs of child and elder care, support more funding for pre-K, community college, paid family leave, child tax credits and slowing climate change.

Most articles report nothing about the costs of failing to pass the BBB Act: lost productivity when college is unaffordable, lack of child care forcing people out of the labor force and spending billions to deal with worse wildfires, floods and droughts caused by the climate crisis.

Reich said wealthy Americans pay one-sixth the tax rate their counterparts paid in 1953.

The Economic Policy Institute, after “exhaustive analysis,” offered five reasons for passing the Build Back Better Act: it supports 763,000 green jobs and 556,000 manufacturing jobs annually to help mitigate the climate crisis; it makes child and elder care more affordable, putting more people in the labor force; BBB will reduce inequality and the 40-year erosion of workers’ rights that favor corporate and wealthy interests; BBB is budget neutral since it’s “largely funded” by the wealthiest and large corporations, forcing them to start paying their fair share of taxes; and it supports more than 3 million jobs per year for the next 10 years.

The Act faces opposition from two corporate-friendly Democrats.

With the debt ceiling raised temporarily until Dec. 3, The New York Times took a look at Sen. Minority leader Mitch McConnell’s history. He has said he will not vote to raise the limit if it means working with Democrats (per ABC News). McConnell has told the Biden administration, “We have no list of demands,” that would encourage Republicans to vote to lift the debt ceiling.

Treasurer Janet Yellen told Congress that failure to honor the nation’s debts could result in no Social Security payments for 50 million people, troops not knowing if and when they’d be paid, and catastrophic economic consequences here and worldwide.

Blast from the past: “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” — Ida B. Wells, an investigative journalist who helped found the NAACP. Born in 1862, died in 1931.

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

1 Star

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

In my most recent article, I doled out “5-Star” reviews of the people and businesses that make this community great. I applauded the organizations and institutions that fill our little town with personality, vibrancy and heart. This week, it’s only natural that I flip the coin and swing to the other side of the spectrum. This week, I’m handing out the “barbs” to my “bouquets”: 1-Star reviews.

My first 1 Star is for the landlords unnecessarily doubling rents, terminating contracts, and evicting long-established people and businesses for no reason other than cashing in on the gold rush of our current population boom.

Sure, our supply is tight relative to demand when it comes to housing and commercial spaces, but the abrupt and extreme manner with which some owners are reacting to that increased demand can only be explained by short-sighted greed. Pushing out neighbors and friends, stepping on the heads of community peers in an attempt to reach a higher rung on the economic ladder and recklessly making choices that impact people’s ability to live and support themselves, is senseless and cruel.

Rob Hart, executive director of Bonner Community Housing Authority, provided “three easy steps” for people to lead with intention and take back their power as it relates to the current buying, selling, building and

Emily Erickson. renting craze.

He explained: “Step No. 1: Landowners, please do not sell land to speculators and investors. Please try to sell land to developers and builders who agree to follow step No. 2 or to local employees, seniors and the disabled who do not have an annual income greater than half of the home price.

“Step No. 2: Developers and builders, please try not to sell homes to investors and speculators. Please try to sell homes to local employees, seniors and the disabled who do not have an annual income greater than half of the home price, and Step No. 3: Real estate agents and sellers, please try not to sell homes to investors and speculators. Please try to sell homes to local employees, seniors and the disabled who do not have an annual income greater than half of the home price.”

Finally, I’ll add my own Step No. 4: Existing landlords, please don’t take your lead from the speculators, investors and developers who are treating people like resources to be mined for all they’re worth.

While on the subject, my

next 1-Star review goes to the developers blazing through the region, grabbing every piece of land like it’s our problem that the market may cool if we pause to consider the long-term impact their choices may have on our community. Development is inevitable and often a good and necessary thing when intentional and considered.

But careless development and growth for growth’s sake can have serious, irreparable consequences.

Jason Welker, chairman of the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission, said it well recently when talking about a new land development project, stating, “I’d say let’s slow down a little bit and make sure we do it right so that this 25 acres, which as far as I can tell is one of the last largest undeveloped parcels in all of Sandpoint, does provide housing that meets the needs of our community — not just the urgency from the developer to cash in while the market’s hot or the demand from potential buyers.”

Another 1 Star goes to any local politician running on an agenda that doesn’t have anything to do with the position for which they’re trying to be elected. Running for office should be an act of service — a promise to the community that you are not only a good fit for the job, but that you’re willing to do the work of continually listening and learning to represent the needs of your community, specifically as they relate to your elected role.

My final 1 Star, before hopping off my soapbox, goes to any recent North Idaho trans-

plants calling themselves a “political refugee.” A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution or natural disaster. They are people literally fleeing political unrest, instability, violence, poverty, destruction and hunger — all of which are life threatening.

Leaving your last town because there were too many people across the political aisle

from you does not make you a refugee, and wanting to live in a place where everyone looks, thinks and acts exactly like you is sad and weird. Don’t.

Just, don’t.

Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at www. bigbluehat.studio.

Retroactive

By BO

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Bouquets: GUEST SUBMISSION: • “When I went in for my COVID booster last week, I was met by the most wonderful group of volunteers who were registering people, recording data and giving vaccinations. I wondered where they were from. Nearly all were women and about my age — old enough to garner a booster. Luckily, the vests they were wearing identified them as part of the Panhandle Health District Medical Reserve Corps. As soon as I got home, I googled this group. What an amazing volunteer corps! They were friendly, efficient and awesome. It would take dozens of bouquets to thank them all fully.

This is but a small token of my appreciation.”

— Patricia Ericsson • We were saddened to hear last week that 41 South, the excellent restaurant located just south of the Long Bridge, will be closing at the end of October. According to owner Cassandra Cayson, the property was sold and the new landlord has not decided to renew their lease.

I’m always disappointed to see a small business close, especially because of a reason like a lease not renewing. 41 South has been an excellent place for fine dining over the many years it has been in business. We at the Reader are sending Cass and the rest of the crew at 41 South our good thoughts and hope they find another location soon.

There are a lot of people who will miss 41 South. We appreciate all the great meals over the years.

Barbs: • You can always tell when election time rolls around. People running for office suddenly begin attending public meetings and speaking on the record about everything under the sun to help get their name out there, claiming they will fix the problems that plague us. I appreciate when people take part in our democratic process, but I really appreciate those who quietly do the work. I don’t know — maybe I just have election fatigue, but it seems like it gets worse every cycle.

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‘Blaming and shaming’…

Vote Welker for council…

Dear editor, I am a bleeding-heart liberal and not an anti-vaxxer! My heart goes out to COVID-overwhelmed providers and those afraid of rationed care. As a licensed naturopathic physician, I see vaccinated and un-vaccinated patient — none of them uncaring, heartless or stupid. I am disheartened by the overwhelming editorials and LTE’s by the vaccinated shaming others into getting the jab, such as the Sandpoint Reader Sept. 16 LumberJill perspective suggesting that unvaccinated COVID-patients be refused hospital care or the recent LTE by Victor Kollock, filled with accusations of stupidity and lack of basic human compassion.

Blaming and shaming a particular group of people has historically been a human strategy to avoid facing strong fears releasing pent-up social tensions. Currently, the mainstream narrative of vaccines being the sole solution to the pandemic has conveniently suppressed and demonized as misinformation any clinical, epidemiological discussion of prevention and pre-hospitalization treatment of COVID or implementation of other strategies as outlined in the CORONA Swiss Cheese infection control model (NYT Dec. 5, 2020). Walking through Sandpoint one would not think that our local hospitals are maxed out The current narrative puts all the responsibility to control the epidemic on those who have not been vaccinated and lumps them all together as heartless Republican anti-vaxxer conspiracists without college degrees. It conveniently relieves the vaccinated righteous of any other responsibility, ignoring waning vaccination immunity, contagiousness of infected vaccinated, valid reasons for refusal of vaccinations, +/- 1% of unvaccinated hospitalization rates, early treatment prevention of hospitalization.

The liberal Reader has so far refused to print my LTE or several articles addressing the complexity of the issue.

I invite everyone to the national Braver Angels debate about vaccine mandates Oct. 14 at 5 p.m.

Dear editor, “Only when citizens are engaged can we expect development to take place in a way that respects local values and protects what we love most about our town.”

That was the phrase that convinced me to support Jason Welker for Sandpoint City Council on Nov. 2. The comment, on Welker’s Facebook page, was related to the Aug. 17, 2021 meeting of Planning and Zoning.

It’s hard these days to find an elected official who wants citizen involvement. Many run based on ideology, or because they have a chip on their shoulder, or because they see public office as a way to private profits.

Jason Welker, current chair of the city of Sandpoint’s Planning and Zoning Commission, actually wants to hear from those of us who live and work in Sandpoint. He is committed to working for us to keep Sandpoint great.

Welker is extremely well qualified, having lived and worked in our community for almost two decades.

He understands economics, policy and law, and he is experienced. This experience comes through when he convenes meetings of Planning and Zoning. I’ve listened to the meetings and his professionalism and knowledge is impressive. Recently, I personally met him and was struck at how approachable he is, and how willing he is to listen to all sides.

I encourage you to join me in picking the best. Vote for Jason Welker for Sandpoint City Council on Nov. 2.

Gabrielle Duebendorfer, NMD Sandpoint

Common sense leadership...

Dear editor, I have known Gary Suppiger since becoming a neighboring landowner in 1997. During that time I have found him to be very transparent and accountable primarily through our dealings on homeowner association business. His background and life experiences parenting three children through local schools and owning and operating a local renewable resource business make him uniquely qualified to continue to represent LPOSD Board Trustee Zone 2. If you value common sense leadership over ideology, please join me in voting for Gary.

Bob Boeh Sandpoint

Emma Stanford Sandpoint

Suppiger supports all kids’ success…

Dear editor, Why would someone want to run for a volunteer position that requires more than 100 hours a month of time without compensation? Some run because they have a chip on their shoulder or a special interest to promote.

For Gary Suppiger, running for Pend Oreille School District Zone 2 Trustee, it’s because he is dedicated to ensuring that all students have a first-rate education. First-rate looks different for each student because each is unique.

As a current board member, Suppiger strongly supports our traditional public school options and access to an alternative high school program.

He also supports LPOSD’s two options for homeschooling programs. He is committed to maintaining a variety of learning options that fit the needs of every family and student.

If you support a school board trustee who supports all kids, please join me in voting for Gary Suppiger on November 2.

Patricia Ramsey Sandpoint

Suppiger can meet school district’s challenges…

Dear editor, ​​I am writing to encourage everyone to continue their support for Gary Suppiger to serve on the LPOSD board.

Gary lives in Cocolalla with his wife, Sally, and has raised three children who attended K-12 schools in LPOSD. He is a business owner — Panhandle Forest Products — who has contributed to our community for many years and has served on the school board since 2017. One of the reasons he decided to run for election to the school board was that he believes that the next generation of children deserves the same excellence in education that his children received.

Our schools have gone through some very difficult challenges during the past year and as a member of the board Gary has supported our students, teachers and staff in every way possible. The challenge continues daily in how to educate our children while keeping them and all teachers and staff as safe as possible. Gary can meet those challenges.

He is a strong supporter of learning options and LPOSD has provided access to those options via the alternative high school and also homeschooling. He has been instrumental in implementing full-day kindergarten at every elementary school in the district.

He also supports the district’s Advanced Placement classes (dual high school and college placement), which allows students to save time and money at college, with some graduating a semester earlier. Students in our district earned more than 500 Advanced Placement credits this past school year.

His dedication and hard work deserves your vote in November.

Sincerely, Connie Burkhart Hope

Reelect Gary Suppiger…

Dear editor, I have worked with Gary Suppiger on the Lake Pend Oreille School Board for the past four years and he is definitely an excellent candidate for reelection. He is a long-time business owner in our community. He and his wife raised all of their children here and put them all through public school.

He knows first-hand the importance and significance of good public schools and the impact they have on both the students and the wider community.

He has always given back generously to this community, both in philanthropic ways and through his time as a before-school math program instructor.

As a school board member, he asks thoughtful questions, challenging all of us to look at each situation from other angles. He pushes us to provide more

curriculum opportunities for students, to challenge them in all academics.

And he is a huge supporter of the high school career technical programs, which offer students more options for their post-graduation plans. Overall, he is an excellent advocate, both for this community and for all students.

Geraldine Lewis Sagle

More on Annie Moore…

Dear editor, Steve Johnson’s letter of Oct. 7 [“Our national motto...”] caught my interest considering what is happening at our southern border. Steve highlighted the accomplishments of this young lady as the first immigrant admitted to America at Ellis island, N.Y. I applaud her, she did so in a legal, organized manner respecting our laws and our sovereignty.

My thoughts are if you can’t respect our laws before you get here, will you respect them after you get here? We are a nation of laws, let’s expect everyone to obey them. If we don’t we will encounter chaos and confusion at our borders, all of them.

Bill Litsinger Sandpoint

Frytz Mor is a candidate for all the people…

Dear editor, I am writing about my friend, Frytz Mor, who is running for Sandpoint City Council.

I first met Frytz a year or so ago, in the cafe that I manage (City Beach Organics). I have always liked how easy he is to talk to and share ideas with. He’s a great family man and father to his four children. I’ve served him and his son Elijah on multiple occasions.

There are many great candidates running in this election, but I think Frytz is a great candidate for all the people of Sandpoint. He is extremely connected to local business owners (I’ve personally seen him meeting with many of them downtown) but doesn’t have any of his own conflicts of interest.

He’s not a Republican or Democrat, just a dude trying to help his town thrive.

He’s putting infrastructure (hello, crap plant being ignored for years) first.

He also will not compromise when it comes to health freedom and the right to choose what goes in your body, which is extremely important to me. We’re seeing cities throughout the country pushing vaccine mandates, and while I think people should get the vaccine if they feel that’s what they need to do, it’s not something we can choose for each other in a free country. Frytz will do everything to protect that right.

As a homeowner in Sandpoint that works in sandpoint, I’m very invested in the community. I truly believe Frytz Mor is a great candidate for Sandpoint City Council. Vote Nov. 2.

Will Edmondson Sandpoint

A vote for Welker is a vote for solutions…

Dear editor, As evidenced by signs all over town, Sandpoint needs workers and there is an election coming soon. The shortage of workers is directly related to the lack of housing available to them and on Nov. 2 voters can be part of the solution by voting for Jason Welker for Sandpoint City Council.

We need someone well versed in the complex issues related to housing a workforce, city codes and zoning, and how developers work.

Jason is currently chairman of Planning and Zoning, and has a background in economics, which he taught for many years. He supports responsible growth that protects local values. He is passionate about our quality of life, working to promote trails, parks and open spaces.

Please join me in voting for Jason Welker for Sandpoint City Council on Nov. 2.

Rae Charlton Sandpoint

Suppiger puts area students first…

Dear editor, As a resident of Bonner County for 54 of my 67 years, I attended Southside Elementary for eight years with Jim Stoicheff as my teacher and principal and graduated as valedictorian from Sandpoint High School in 1972.

Growing up on a farm in Careywood, my parents taught me that integrity, hard-work and helping neighbors were the foundational pillars for building character. I recommend voting on Nov. 2 for Gary Suppiger, a 29-year Idaho resident, for LPOSD School Board Zone 2.

I taught for 20 years at Sagle Elementary and had all three of Gary’s children in my classes and can attest that Gary’s character contains all three of these important attributes.

Gary’s integrity is exemplified by his focus on quality with accountability, which means full transparency for school district spending.

Gary’s hard-work ethic is shown by his coaching the Sagle Elementary Math Club for many years after his own children were in upper education.

Being an active parent at school, a caring volunteer in our community and a school board trustee since 2017 demonstrates Gary’s passion for helping neighbors, as he realizes that building community makes for a successful T.E.A.M. = Together Everyone Achieves More.

Gary as trustee puts children first in our schools. He has no special agenda and is not spouting divisive rhetoric. He believes that an educated populace is integral to our democracy, as our founding fathers stated.

Please re-elect Gary Suppiger as the children’s advocate extraordinaire he is.

Kathleen Taylor Sagle

The Shinbone Star…

Dear editor, ​​ a reminder, Ting will match contributions As to the Reader received prior to Dec. 1. Most people donate to their causes in December for tax reasons, but if you plan on donating to the Reader anyway please consider doing so before Dec. 1.

The Reader is philosophically left of center, but not loony-bin left like most alternative newspapers; otherwise conservatives like myself would not read it. People can be persuaded to change their position on an issue if presented with a rational argument, but they won’t be persuaded by vitriolic screeds from letter writers who consider anyone who disagrees with them a rube. Fortunately, the Reader puts these screeds in the “Letters to the Editor” section, where they belong and can be ignored by first looking to see who the author is, but the same screeds could easily qualify as editorials in a number of alternative newspapers.

So… I would like to see the Reader succeed.

It reminds me of the Shinbone Star, the beleaguered, scrappy, little newspaper in the movie, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I didn’t like that the villains in the movie were cattlemen, since I was raised on a cattle ranch, but so be it. Cattlemen were the Evil Corporations of their day. OK, Lee Marvin was actually the villain, but he was employed by the cattlemen.

But there’s a conundrum: Ting has the best customer support of any company I have ever done business with, and donating to the Reader will cost Ting money. If my previous internet provider, which had the worst customer support since the dawn of man, was matching contributions to the Reader, I would open my wallet wide just to get even with those bastards.

But Ting can probably afford it, and the Shinbone Star could probably use it.

Dave Mundell Sandpoint

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

meatless meat

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Food plays a unique role in our lives: one part genetics, one part art, all parts necessity.

Despite the multi-millionaire chefs on our TVs telling us otherwise, taste is an incredibly personal experience that can’t truly be quantified on a simple scale. Everything from experiences with certain foods throughout your life to your genetics influence how food tastes to you and what kind of emotions that food evokes.

Gordon Ramsay may be extremely well-versed in the culinary world, but that shouldn’t cheapen what macaroni and cheese with diced hot dogs means to you.

Having mentioned that, try not to get up in arms when I attempt to sell you on the idea of meat that isn’t really meat… except that it sort of is.

Traditional meat production is a controversial subject that includes huge amounts of misinformation and factual obfuscation, primarily by some of the largest processors in the world. As with most things, the blame shouldn’t fall on the producer (or farmer, in this case), but the people in suits that built and maintain the system that harms our species in the pursuit of profit: the big meat processing industry.

Here is a fact about cattle: cows burp a lot. A single cow produces about 220 pounds of methane gas per year. Currently, there are an estimated 94.4 million head of cattle in the United States, which would 10 /

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equate to about 20.7 billion pounds of methane per year.

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, methane is 28 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, meaning the carbon footprint of a single cow is closer to 6,160 pounds of CO2 per year, or 581 billion pounds for every cow in the US. The United States has gotten pretty good at raising cattle — our breeds are generally larger and produce higher-quality meat. Yet, the total number of cattle in the U.S. has dropped by almost 70 million since the 1970s even as our consumption has increased. Those are still some shockingly large numbers, especially when you begin to factor in the staggering amounts of plastic and styrofoam used to package, present and sell cuts of meat to consumers, along with the fuel involved with transporting it all. Even sadder is the fact that Americans waste about onethird of their food, and while the meat may decay organically in the landfill, the wrapping does not.

What about meatless meat?

How does it fit into this?

There is a big reason that meatless meat has taken so long to share a similar texture and taste to meat, and it’s because of a dreaded three-letter acronym: GMO. GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are in the same boat as meat production when it comes to large-scale misinformation campaigns waged by some of the wealthiest producers in the world. Some would have you believe that GMOs

cause cancer and mind control, while others think they’re the bee’s knees. I’ll let you debate the ethics of genetically modifying our food (a practice we’ve been doing since we first put till to soil). I’m just here to tell you what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.

The current leader in the meatless meat industry is Impossible Foods, a meeting of the food and technology industries. You’ve probably heard a number of things about Impossible Meat: that it’s re-cooked and congealed vegetable oil, that it’s some specially-manufactured beet or even that it’s really Soylent Green. It’s actually the product of modified yeast.

The core of what makes a hamburger smell, taste and feel good is a molecule called heme. Heme can be found in your blood cells as hemoglobin and it’s responsible for oxygenating your blood and keeping your whole body working.

It turns out plants also produce heme, but it’s very difficult to extract in large quantities. Scientists instead took the genetic coding in soy roots, which produces heme naturally, and applied it to a type of yeast called Pichia pastoris. They fed the yeast sugar, which then produced the heme that would really drive home that juicy, bloody, meaty flavor. To replicate the texture, they use soy and potato proteins to keep it gluten-free, as well as coconut with the flavor extracted.

If you’re considering trying this out using your parent’s chemistry set from the ’70s, don’t — those things are wild-

ly dangerous and this would be extremely difficult to replicate safely outside of a laboratory setting. Professionals are capable of producing meat using 1/20th of the land required, as well as producing 1/8th of the carbon emission a cow does for the same amount of food.

As land becomes a nearly unattainable premium in our near future, we may start seeing more scientifically-enhanced foods popping up to replace America’s favorite belching ungulates.

Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner eat depression?

Don’t know much about the gr • Nearly 50% of children during the Great Depression did not have enough to eat, proper housing or adequate health care.

• Popular foods during the Great Depression include macaroni and cheese, chili, creamed chicken on a biscuit and corned beef. Some of the stranger foods include prune pudding, peanut butter stuffed baked onions, spaghetti with boiled carrots and white sauce, and Mulligan stew flavored with tobacco.

• Miniature golf was wildly popular for children and families during the Great Depression, owing to its low operating costs.

• People who lost their homes often lived in what were called “Hoovervilles” or shanty towns, so named for President Herbert Hoover. There was also “Hoover Stew” (food dished out in soup kitchens), “Hoover Blankets” (newspapers that served as blankets), “Hoover Hogs” (jack rabbits used as food) and “Hoover Wagons” (broken cars that were pulled by mules).

We can help!

• The Wall Street Crash of 1929 was one of the main causes of the Great Depression. “Black Thursday,” “Black Monday” and “Black Tuesday” are all correct terms to describe the crash because the initial crash occurred over several days, with Tuesday being the most devastating.

• On “Black Tuesday,” Oct. 29, 1929, the market lost $14 billion, making the loss for that week an astounding $30 billion. This was 10 times more than the annual federal budget and far more than the U.S. had spent in WWI. Thirty billion dollars would be equivalent to $377.5 billion today.

• The board game “Monopoly,” which first became available in 1935, became immensely popular perhaps because players could become rich — at least in their imaginations.

• Between 1930 and 1935, nearly 750,000 farms were lost through bankruptcy or sheriff sales.

OPINION

Needs versus wants

1% resort city local option tax ignores vital infrastructure for amenities

By Helen Newton Reader Contributor Currently 15 cities in Idaho use taxing authority set up by the state for either resort city taxes or non-property local option taxes or both. These cities’ rates vary from .5% to 7% on a variety of items.

Sandpoint and Ponderay currently add 7% to every hotel/motel bill in their respective cities. Both are scheduled to expire in 2025. Consequently, the tourists are contributing.

Could they contribute more?

Yes, if the city used its legal authority to tax sales of liquor by the drink and/or restaurant food. Nine Idaho cities tax drinks from 1% to 3%; six tax restaurant food from 1% to 3%.

Two cities exempt groceries.

Cities must identify how revenues will be used. According to City Code 3-10-5, Sandpoint’s bed tax revenues are dedicated to: A. infrastructure and capital projects; B. street overlays, sidewalks and bike paths; C. public safety including lifeguards, bike patrol and public transportation; D. public parks operation; and E. any excess to be used for property tax relief.

Fiscal Year 2022 allocations call for these funds to pay 100% of the SPOT bus contract; 81% of the invasive species budget; and lesser per-

centages for parks, police and fire budgets. Revenues from the resort city tax in 2022 are projected to be $450,000. The recently expired non-property tax of 3% on all sales within the city financed the improvements to Memorial Field.

Twelve of the 15 cities list infrastructure, which includes both streets and sidewalks and sometimes water and sewer treatment plants. In Kellogg and McCall all revenues are dedicated to streets. Ten cities support parks, nine public safety, seven promotion of their city, five public transportation, two economic development and one affordable housing.

As you can see, Idaho law allows cities to be very creative in structuring their resort and non-property tax options.

Enabling ordinances also provide that any excess funds are to be used to grant property tax relief to its citizens.

The expansive 159-page 2020 Parks and Recreation Master Plan appears to me to be the driving force for implementing a new local option tax as quickly as possible.

Take a look at it. Projected estimates, at 2019 costs are: $21 million-$29 million for City Beach/Windbag improvements, $7 million-$10 million at Travers and $13 million-$15 million for Sand Creek Park

(think Lakeside Motel). Yet only $200,000 per year is dedicated to “support” sidewalks.

Based solely upon my guesstimate, I wonder if that amount would complete 10 blocks of sidewalks. Why not use whatever is necessary from that stream of revenue to put sidewalks on every block in town? After all, aren’t sidewalks the most basic of pathways? And those sidewalks would provide pathways to our parks for more activities. Imagine little children trying out their training wheels in your neighborhood or your senior citizens getting some exercise to remain healthy. And, if not sidewalks, what about streets?

We have plenty of those.

I have always been a proponent of parks. As with everything, parks require

maintenance and upkeep. (And, by the way, kudos to the parks grounds and maintenance employees, who make Sandpoint’s parks system one of the best in the state.) While we are providing a gold standard of public playgrounds, we are ignoring the wear and tear on our streets and overlooking damaged or non-existent sidewalks.

Life offers us a constant menu of choices. Want or need? Need or want? I may “want” a grand home or a vehicle loaded with gadgets; but, when push comes to shove, what I really “need” is adequate shelter and a dependable vehicle. Many in our city are struggling to provide even basic needs. They would like streets that are kind to their aging vehicle and sidewalks for the children to walk to school

on. They don’t have expendable income for a boat or a ski pass or tickets to a show in Spokane. They just need the basics and, for many of those, they have to rely on the city: streets, sidewalks, potable water, wastewater treatment and for free recreation, parks, playgrounds and trails.

So, for myself, I say send the local option/resort city tax back to the drawing board and ask the City Council to use time to restructure it for a 2022 ballot.

Address our needs, not beautification and amenities. Do that, city, and you will have my vote in 2022. But not this year.

Helen Newton served as Sandpoint’s city clerk for 24 years and was on the Sandpoint City Council for four years.

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PERSPECTIVES

As the lone female on the crew, the bathroom situation is typically the most challenging for me. While the guys can simply sidle up to a tree or fence, turning their backs to potential onlookers, the female anatomy makes a discrete pee harder to accomplish. Working in town is the worst, with the houses all packed in together, roads and alleys intruding everywhere.

On a recent workday downtown, I was desperately searching for a surreptitious means of offloading my morning coffee, but to no avail. The best I could find was at the side of a seemingly vacant garage in the alley, its one proffered privacy wall better than none at all. Unfortunately, the rundown shed I had selected for cover was not in fact abandoned; no, it was inhabited. The resident no doubt observed me hastily pulling up my pants at the side of her abode. Oops. My apologies, whomever you are. Had I known my latrine was in fact the side of someone’s home, I would have chosen differently.

But I didn’t know. Who would have guessed that alley sheds are the latest entry into the rental market? Yet they are, because that is the kind of rental market we have in Sandpoint. That is how untenable our housing situation has become.

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Jen Jackson Quintano. workforce. With rent typically hovering around $2,000 a month and homeownership setting a person back upwards of $600,000, how are Sandpoint’s workers supposed to afford roofs over their heads? Well, by living in the kind of structures one (i.e., me) might consider peeing on: converted garages and sheds, camper trailers, storage units or vehicles.

Even these options aren’t cheap or easy to come by.

A Selle Valley resident is charging $700 a month for the privilege of parking one’s camper on his land. The local trailer parks are at capacity and finding a storage unit (which, yes, I understand is illegal to inhabit) is nearly impossible.

I have nothing against thinking — nor living — outside the box when it comes to housing.

My husband and I spent our first three years together in a camper trailer, living frugally while we built our business and saved up for a future down payment. We enjoyed our years in the trailer, but part of that enjoyment came from the fact that it was temporary. It was a means to an end. It was an adventure. We knew we were not stuck living within arm’s reach of one another forever.

Back in 2012, that was possible. Homeownership was within grasp. Once we snagged our five acres and seemingly palatial 650-square-foot cabin, we had room to grow as both a business and a family. Things took off for us.

Today, however, it seems that saving money for a down payment while living in a trailer is an ill-conceived endeavor — especially if you’re paying $700 a month simply to park that trailer somewhere. So then, what is the point of living in a garage, vehicle or camper if you have zero hope of ever getting out of said garage/vehicle/ camper (aside from the obvious benefits of living with a smaller footprint and not contributing so heavily to the dumpster fire that is climate change)? Why continue to toil in Sandpoint if Sandpoint’s housing options continue to fail you?

As a business owner, Sandpoint’s failures sometimes feel like my own. I cannot provide adequate housing for my employees. I cannot provide an adequate salary to

afford what adequate housing now costs. How am I to retain really amazing, highly trained and motivated help in a town that’s kicking its workers to the curb and welcoming moneyed outsiders and investors with open arms?

If I don’t cultivate a bevy of anchored employees, I am not cultivating a sustainable future for my business.

This is not just my problem, it’s everyone’s problem in Sandpoint — even if you’re lucky enough to afford a house; even if your financial situation is secure. Because here’s the deal: No amount of money will fix your plumbing when there are no plumbers, serve your favorite beer when there is no waitstaff or educate your children when the teachers have departed. We are all interconnected. A lack of affordable housing is everyone’s problem.

In related news, the Daily Bee recently reported that the school district is in desperate need of substitute teachers, but these subs make between $13,000 and $20,000 a year, which is less than some of their students make working low-wage service jobs. Where, exactly, are we expecting those teachers to live?

Here’s an idea: Wouldn’t it be great if our workforce — teachers, nurses, waitstaff, etc.

— could inhabit all the lakeshore vacation homes that are vacant 75% of the year? When you think of it in those terms, we’re not actually dealing with

a housing shortage — we have plenty! — but it’s about allocation of resources. Isn’t that always the case?

Short of mansion-squatting en masse, the only contributions I have are small-scale Band-Aid fixes. When an employee is in need, I will invite him or her to live on our property — and I will encourage that employee to swipe right on all Sandpoint homeowners on Tinder. At this point, it seems like you have to marry into a home here. If possible, I’ll help with a rental deposit or a down payment for a valued employee. It’s worth it to me. It should be worth it to you, too.

We all have a stake in keeping our workforce rooted here.

In the meantime, those who choose to stay in Sandpoint will find housing where they can, typically at the margins.

Unconventionally. Semi-affordably. In sheds and campers and trucks.

I offer a heartfelt thank-you to those who continue to serve their community even when the community is not reciprocating. And I promise to never again pee on your doorstep.

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

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

OUTDOORS

Hope for elk

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff With rifles in hand and grey clouds all around, my husband Alex and I spent the rainy opening day of rifle season 2021 scaling a favorite ridge in search of elk.

Just after daylight, we reached an open bench where we typically enjoy a short break — a rocky bluff which affords a spectacular view of Lake Pend Oreille from above Hope, stretching from the Clark Fork Drift Yard to Pack River; the headlights of Highway 200 travelers appearing on this particular morning as small, luminescent dots in the intermittent fog.

As we stood in the opening, chests heaving, a stiff wind came from the southeast. I turned to Alex as he opened his arms to the lake, red-and-black-checked wool coat stretched to its limit, his eyes closed and smile wide as the rain pelted him. I did the same, letting the gust stifle my breathing and the water run down my face. The mental toll of the extremely hot summer we just endured, combined with the physical toll of the hike, made the rain a welcome friend.

It is unclear whether hunters felt the same 72 years ago on the opening day of Bonner County’s first-ever elk season. News articles from the time recount the day — Oct. 5, 1949 — as wet and cold.

“Low hanging clouds and steady rainfall marked the opening of the first elk season in Bonner County Wednesday morning, hardly the kind of weather to hunt any kind of animals in,” the Sandpoint News Bulletin reported. “When the clouds lifted for a time around midday, it disclosed a white blanket on all of the mountains surrounding Lake Pend Oreille.

“A long distance telephone call to Mrs. E.M. Butler at Hope late Wednesday afternoon elicited the information that no reports had come in from local residents who had gone out after elk despite the tough weather,” the story continued.

The excitement of Bonner County’s first elk hunting season was a long time in the making.

Though elk were indigenious

to Idaho, populations north of the Salmon River were “scarce” after 1900, according to historical records. The first mention of a possible remedy appears in a 1912 edition of the Pend Oreille Review, in an article recounting the minutes of the Sandpoint Commercial Club.

“Dr. C.P. Stackhouse brought before the club the advisability of securing from Yellowstone National Park a carload or more of elk to be set at liberty in the neighboring ranges,” the Review reported. “He said elk could be secured for $7 a head … and the government was anxious to sell them at that figure because the park was becoming overrun with them and they were starving to death in large numbers.”

Stackhouse’s proposal came to fruition in February 1935, as the first of three cattle carloads of elk arrived from Gardiner, Mont., and was unloaded in the Trestle Creek area of Hope — an effort spearheaded by the Bonner County Sportsman’s Association.

“The services of half a dozen men on horses, together with a dozen or so on skis and snowshoes will be needed to herd the elk to their winter range,” the Daily Bulletin reported.

In February 1936, the second shipment arrived, and a North Idaho News headline reveals that “Several Carloads of Sandpoint People” traveled to see the unloading.

The Daily Bulletin detailed that of the 15 cows and five bulls transported, two died during the 560-mile journey — a “below average” fatality rate for such an undertaking, according to the driver, who was scheduled to drive two truckloads into the mountains near Wallace in the following days.

“All elk were ear-tagged by the biological survey,” the Bulletin shared, “and Ross Hall, president of the sportsman’s association, said the animals were in fine condition, much better than the herd released last year in the same area.”

Of the 18 elk who survived that trip, all but one made their way uphill upon release. One bull, according to the Bulletin, “went down the hill, across the Northern

Truckloads of Yellowstone elk delivered to North Idaho in the 1930s led to the traditions of today

Pacific tracks to the edge of the water and jumped in,” swimming a mile to Warren Island.

Three transplants took place during the years 1935-1937. It was estimated that of the 66 animals brought to Hope from Yellowstone, 55 survived and were able to establish herds in the area. The county saw its first elk season 12 years later.

Around 140 elk were killed in 1949, many of those harvests detailed in the Sandpoint News Bulletin. It is there that I found many surnames that have persisted throughout my lifetime of Hope residency: Bud McChesney bagged a bull, Lee Decker a cow.

Mrs. Fred Van Stone — a huntress, it appears, which brought much joy to this fellow huntress’ heart — is reported to have harvested herself a bull in 1949.

Among the recognizable names is my own: Coe Kiebert, my great-great uncle, also killed a bull during that first season.

The Sandpoint News Bulletin noted in its 1949 end-of-season report that “typical of the rough hunting conditions in the Trestle Creek-Hope area was the experience of Bruce Crabtree, Emery Laude and Wilbur Chandler, all of Sandpoint” — two of them harvesting bulls on opening day.

“They dragged the heavy ani-

mals part way on the snow, then came back for help,” the story goes. “They brought a horse, slashed a trail and finally got the two animals out to their truck at 3 p.m.

Sunday afternoon.

Crabtree said, ‘I think we have earned every ounce of meat we got on this trip. I’m glad elk hunting only comes once a year.’”

Crabtree’s sentiment perfectly encapsulates the gratitude and weariness after a successful hunt — a feeling that persists seven decades later.

As Alex and I continued up the ridge, we came across a grouping of elk beds. I placed my hand in the dirt, discovering only the top layer of duff held moisture.

Elk had laid there in the rain until very recently, likely spooked by our approach.

A crashing sound in the brush below confirmed our suspicions.

We readied our rifles; but, based on the noise, knew the animals were moving away from us. Our eyes scanned the brush in the canyon until — boom! — a gunshot sounded from below, near where

Top: Yellowstone elk are unloaded from a cattle car near Hope in the 1930s.

Photo courtesy of the Bonner County History Museum. Above: Leslie Kiebert packs the head and antlers of her 2021 harvest on her shoulders. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey. my sister and dad were waiting.

A text message confirmed the successful hunt much faster than a long-distance call to Mrs. Butler ever would have: “Thanks Alex and Lyndsie!” My sister killed her first bull, and the real work began.

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OUTDOORS

Dirt-y Secrets Putting the beds to bed

By Ranel Hanson Reader Columnist

“The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go.”

— Unknown

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By now we may have had our first frost; but, if not, we are waiting for it.

Before freezing happens, I trim or remove all of the spent plants. Sunflowers are nature’s bird food, so I cut them and hang them from my fence so that the chickadees and others can chow down.

And, I leave any bee food until there is no more pollen to be gathered. I wait until frost nips the tender plants to empty pots and flower beds. For perennials (like black-eyed susans, Asiatic lilies, delphinium, etc.), trim them back to the ground. Others, like roses and hydrangea can be trimmed now (just the twigs that are crossing others or are out of control) or you can wait until spring).

It is all about cleaning out the old and giving plants what they need to rest for the winter.

For some, like gladioli and dahlias, you must lift and store them until spring. I store glad bulbs in dry dirt or sawdust in a bag or box. Cover them to insulate from the cold and store them where it doesn’t freeze, such as a corner of the garage. After the beds are clean, I mulch with bark or straw. Fallen leaves and grass clippings work but become a slimy mess later. If you spread a layer of small bark or straw, it will help insulate sleeping bulbs and flowers and cut down on the weed population in spring.

The heat and drought took its toll on some plants this year. Especially trees.

When spring arrives, we will see the damage, I am afraid — unless you, like my gardener extraordinaire daughter, carried water all summer to your ornamental trees. Forest trees had no such benefactor. Here is hoping this latest rain makes a positive difference.

Some plants just loved the heat.

Tomatoes, squash, eggplants, blueber/ October 14, 2021

Frost damage in the vegetable garden. Courtesy photo. ries and corn all produced huge crops, if they got plenty of water. The same goes for flowers. Sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons, roses and gladiolus all thrived and, if we haven’t had frost yet, are still going strong. By the way, the Farmers’ Almanac says that the average date of first frost in our area is Sept. 19, so we are on borrowed time.

A cautionary tale: Another plant that thrived this year was the grape. We had a huge crop of beautiful, sweet, juicy grapes on my arbor. But I was surprised to learn just how toxic even a single grape can be for some dogs.

My eight-pound dog ate several grapes when we were out harvesting. A trip to the vet, forced vomiting and an emergency vet bill later, and she seems fine.

But, grapes can cause kidney failure that takes several weeks to develop. So, the moral of this story: Keep grapes and raisins away from pets.

Even one can cause harm.

The sparrows have moved into my autumn clematis. I know that many people think of them as pests but I admire their resilience and determination to survive. So, I allow their roosting in the vine on my front porch. In exchange, they provide me with entertainment. I

don’t feed them specifically, but I am sure they indulge in the seeds I put out for the chickadees and nuthatches (and the grass seed I just planted.) Flickers and other woodpeckers are more visible, too, and eating insects of all kinds. Most of the robins have traveled south but a few of their hardier kin stick around for winter. The water birds like geese, ducks and coots are starting to gather and some are thinking of warmer weather. But the eagles are glad those coots stay around because they make a convenient meal in the winter.

Bulb planting time is near. October and even November are good times to plant. Just be sure to get it done before the ground freezes. You can plant daffodils practically anywhere, but tulips must be protected from deer. The same is true for lilies of all kinds. Hungry deer will eat most anything. Moose, on the other hand, are called “twig eaters,” and they don’t bother flowers much.

But, apple trees, dogwoods, and others are moose favorites.

October is here and a beautiful fall is underway. Enjoy our landscape and appreciate our good fortune to live here.

To submit a photo for a future edition, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.

Top: Cindy Marx, of Sandpoint, poses with a Reader at the overlook above Sete Cidades on Sao Miguel, the Azores, in the North Atlantic. Marx said the next stop is Madeira.

Have a blast, Cindy!

Bottom left: The Hidden Lakes Ladies Traveling Golf Club presented a check for $300 to the Clark Fork Food Bank on Oct. 13. The club golfs each Thursday from May until September and donates membership fees annually to different local causes. The club also intends to give $700 to the Bonner Community Food Bank in 2021. Pictured from left to right: Toni Tessier, Clark Fork Food Bank volunteer Kaelene Bare, Linda Rocque, Jill Chapman and Misha VanBooven. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

Bottom right: A group of SHS homecoming students leap for a photo at the boat launch. Kathe Murphy was standing nearby and got this secondary photo. Great timing!

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NEWS FEATURE

Where are all the workers? Part IV

Thinking regionally and planning locally for creative solutions to affordability

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

This article is the fourth installment in a series during which the Reader has examined various aspects of the labor shortage affecting area employers. For previous parts, visit sandpointreader.com.

Headlines around the country carried a similar message Oct. 12, following the release of a new jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor that afternoon: “U.S. Workers Quitting Their Jobs Hit a Record in August,” wrote The New York Times; “A record 4.3 million workers quit their jobs in August, led by food and retail industries,” CNBC reported; “A record number of workers are quitting their jobs, empowered by new leverage,” added The Washington Post.

Taken together, those headlines touch on a number of the ground wires running through the nationwide question: “Where are all the workers?”

Over the course of three articles, the Sandpoint Reader has spent the past month picking apart that question as it relates to the local economy. The answer is multi-faceted. As The Times pointed out Oct. 12, the worker shortage has much to do with the fact that people are simply dropping out of the workforce.

The reasons for that are as varied as early retirement spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic to those who were laid off and can’t go back to work because they’re now required to stay home to care for children and/or elderly relatives.

CNBC zeroed in on the most hard-hit sectors, including two of the traditionally lowest-paid — in Bonner County, those workers earn an average in the $20,000 to $25,000 per year range — and those workers may have left their jobs because their paltry pay isn’t sufficient to cover cost of living. They are either collecting unemployment or looking for higher-paid work, often pulling 16 /

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up stakes for new communities with lower prices for essentials, especially housing.

Meanwhile, as The Post pointed out, many have left their previous employment because they rightly realize that worker-strapped employers are now more willing than ever to negotiate much higher wages just to attract and retain employees.

Frequently lost in the big numbers are the lived experiences of individuals who find themselves enmeshed in the interlocking pressures affecting employers and employees alike.

In an email to the Reader, Nishelle Gonzales, who owns and operates both 7B Handyman & Contracting and 7B Clean, said she and her partner — along with their six children — rent a home for $2,200 a month, and she considers that “an extremely lucky amount to pay, considering the inflation in this area, and we have seen rental prices go for double that amount in the surrounding homes in our neighborhood.”

Meanwhile, her businesses employ a combined total of three workers, but local demand is such that they could triple that amount — at least.

“We have gone as far as to hire individuals out of the prison system, rehab, homelessness, and have begged for friends and family to move here and help us,” Gonzales wrote. “There lies the conundrum: Where would they live?”

That dilemma surfaces over and over: prevailing wages, especially in rural communities like Bonner County, come nowhere near to covering the extreme prices for housing. Even in the case of Gonzales’s businesses, which pay from $20 to $40 per hour, “we still are unable to grow our employee bench.”

Even worse, though she and her partner were able to secure another one-year lease on their rental, they’ve had to consider relocating away from Sandpoint — even out of Idaho — reconciling themselves to the realization that, “there is no adequate housing for

the middle class, so there is no one here to serve the droves of people coming from out of state. What will the long game look like? Will people continue to pay exorbitant prices when there is no industry to support the area and their demands for service?”

As Gonzales pointed out, “Where there are no homes, there is no hope. There only seems to be a gaping hole where our middle class used to thrive. There has to be some legislative intervention that allows actual affordable housing to be built, and to have some wages increase — especially large corporations.”

Gonzales also zeroed in on a critical issue often ignored or sidelined by proponents of the “build more houses” approach: “What percentage of homes in Bonner County sit empty as vacation rental income skyrockets, at the same time homelessness and displacement does?”

“I believe legislative intervention is one of the ways we can create the Idaho that works best for all who live and work here,” she wrote. [Y]ou can bet that Idaho is selling its soul and disguising itself as a place of personal freedom and deregulation, and that

does not work for the people that live and work here. Our family is a living example of this.”

No economist, labor analyst or development expert could have put it better: chronic low wages, especially in amenity-rich places like Sandpoint, have left workers vulnerable to an influx of cash-flush newcomers willing to pay astronomical prices for housing, thus pushing those workers (and ultimately their employers) further and further to the margins — in some cases, even out of their own communities.

The most obvious solution is simply to construct more housing, but that approach, while increasing supply and ideally resulting in lower prices, is using a meat cleaver where a scalpel is needed. Perhaps a longer-term, more thoughtful approach is warranted, and that’s what a number of other regional communities, as well as planners, are trying to suss out. In essence, the solution may well be to plan smarter, rather than building bigger.

The case of Ketchum Ketchum, and surrounding Blaine County, which includes the world-famous ski destination Sun Valley, can be considered the

In Ketchum (pictured above), city officials talked about, though ultimately abandoned, the idea of a “tent city” to help house workers. Photo courtesy Wikipedia. granddaddy of resort communities — certainly in Idaho, but also among the first rank in the western United States. Considering its long association with amenity migration, a host of iconic celebrities calling the county a home-awayfrom-home for more than 80 or so years, the Ketchum area is no stranger to the conflict between high housing costs and the lowwage labor necessary to maintain the infrastructure that makes it an attractive place to visit.

That said, “it’s become amplified by COVID and migration to cities like Sandpoint and Ketchum — we’ve seen inventory of housing go down by 90%,” Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw told the Reader. “That has led to pricing inflation in all categories.”

At the same time, “we haven’t seen much wage inflation,” he said, “which has meant a shortage of laborers.”

For instance, Bradshaw pointed to 100 help wanted ads in the local paper versus two “for-rent” ads.

< see WORKERS, Page 17 >

< WORKERS, con’t from Page 16 > “It’s a crisis, and it affects everyone,” he said, adding that “the heart and soul of the town has always been the people. … Sure we have the huge houses, well, now it’s less affordable because all of those smaller units have been bought up and lived in.”

Ketchum made national headlines in June when city leaders considered establishing a “tent city” to house workers priced out of the housing market. While officials shelved the idea, Bradshaw said many workers are living short-term in RVs and finding other stop-gap measures. The midterm solution is to make it easier for long-term rentals in accessory dwelling units. One promising long-term solution is the Bluebird Village workforce housing development in downtown Ketchum.

The Ketchum City Council approved the project Oct. 4, which calls for 51 deed-restricted apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units on cityowned land.

Those units will only be available to those making between 50% and 70% of the area median income, which means between $50,000 and $60,000 per year.

According to Boise State Public Radio, rents for a one-bedroom unit would range from $660 to $980 per month.

It’s a big project and required a lot of heavy lifting for the city — planning went back three years, predating the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent explosion of in-migration of coastal urbanites to the Mountain West, and only became possible when the city and the project’s Seattle-based developer won a 9% low-income housing tax credit from the Idaho Housing Finance Association.

While that’s a big win and a step in the right direction, Bradshaw said what’s really needed is some action by the Idaho Legislature to give cities more flexibility in regulating their housing markets.

“The state Legislature allows us to decide our COVID response but doesn’t allow us to decide on our housing response,” he said.

“In Idaho we do not have the tools in our housing toolbox to address our housing crisis.”

Specifically, he referred to state legislation that frankly states: “Neither a county nor a city may

enact or enforce any ordinance that has the express or practical effect of prohibiting short-term rentals or vacation rentals in the county or city,” and, “Neither a county nor a city can regulate the operation of a short-term rental marketplace.”

Short-term rentals are defined as housing that is rented for fewer than 30 days, which often equates to vacation housing.

What’s left to municipalities, then, is regulation that “safeguard[s] the public health, safety and general welfare in order to protect the integrity of residential neighborhoods in which shortterm rentals or vacation rentals operate.”

That establishes a vague band of available options, rooted in a number of interpretations that can often put neighbors at odds with one another while embroiling local officials in controversies that run block by block.

When a host of statewide planning professionals, economic development experts, government representatives and other stakeholders met for a virtual meeting of the Idaho Chapter of the American Association of Planners from Oct. 6-8, that issue merited its own session, with many speakers echoing Bradshaw’s point about communities needing a freer hand, specifically when it comes to short-term rentals.

“We need as many arrows in our quiver as we can get,” he said, “and our quiver is limited compared to most other states.”

Long-term solutions for short-term rentals Aaron Qualls served the city of Sandpoint for many years, first as a Planning and Zoning commissioner, later on the City Council and, until December 2020, as city planner. He also serves as president of the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association. In that latter position, he presided over the recent statewide conference.

In an interview with the Reader prior to the conference, he centered ordinances related to short-term rentals and accessory dwelling units as a more creative solution to the housing crisis than building more and more single-family homes — most, if not all, of which will ultimately sell for market prices that run from the low end in the $300,000 range to upwards of $700,000 and

$800,000, depending on their size regulations. and location.

In broad strokes, the ordinance “There’s not a lot of incendifferentiates between owner tive among developers right now occupied and non-owner occupied to do anything other than big units. For the former there are no single-family homes,” he said. limitations, other than a permit “That’s just because of market and safety inspection. For the forces.” former there is Yet a limitation on “Where there are no homes, the the number of there is no hope. There only perceived permits to be seems to be a gaping hole where granted within supply-side our middle class used to thrive. residential housing and all There has to be some legislative zones crunch others must intervention that allows actual that is be put on a affecting waitlist. Neighaffordable housing to be built, so many must be and to have some wages increase bors workers notified of the — especially large corporations.” use and they could be managed, carry with if not them a slightly — Nishelle Gonzales somewhat fee.

Local business owner higher mitigated, What’s more, with more non-owner aggressive approaches to how and occupied units are subject to an where short-term rentals and other inactivity clause, which stops uses are allowed. investor-owners and the like from For instance, he said, there is maintaining a unit without actually already a mechanism for collectrenting it out. ing a 7% bed tax on short-term Certain exemptions exist for rentals that is effective through waterfront development and those 2024 — that money, or a portion of units closer to downtown, with it, could be used to leverage grants the ordinance focused on neighfor supporting workforce housing borhoods. No limits are placed development. It could also be used on short-term residential rentals to fund infrastructure needed to in mixed-use commercial areas support that development.

— other than a permit and safety inspection — but all non-owner “This is something that’s occupied units are required to already authorized; it would just have a local representative and take council action,” he said. It remit the 7% local tax. would, he added, “incentivize that Violations of noise ordinances ‘missing middle’” of affordable and other safety regulations are housing. treated with two warnings. On Another option might be to the third complaint the permit is offer pre-approved plans for revoked. accessory dwelling units — that As of the most recently availis, small residential structures deable data, Qualls said there are 53 tached from a single-family home non-exempt non-owner occupied but still located on the same lot. short-term rentals in residential “If you had pre-approved zones in Sandpoint and 43 known plans, you could plop them on enforcement actions since 2018.

— meeting setbacks for an ADU Meanwhile, the city of McCall — and you wouldn’t necessarily has been a regional example need a fee for impacts,” he said, worth emulating when it comes ultimately making them more to short-term rentals. Another affordable for property owners to prominent Idaho resort communidevelop.

The ultimate goal is to increase ty, McCall has many of the same amenities as Sandpoint: a lake, a density in preexisting residential ski mountain, located within a few neighborhoods without over-burhours of a major metro area, and dening the infrastructure. boasting the same kind of smallCall it “micro-infill developtown character coveted by both ment,” but the city of Sandpoint locals and tourists alike. has addressed both ADUs and McCall, however, has been short-term rentals, the latter in the tourism game longer than which Qualls said were subject Sandpoint, and, therefore, has to a revised ordinance in 2019 more experience with the tension that included a number of unique

between big-money housing and wage-labor needs. Community and Economic Development Director Michelle Groenevelt told attendees at the recent planning conference that McCall has an estimated 500 short-term rentals, 430 of which are known to be taxed and all of which function to take otherwise available single-family residences off the market for local workers. In her city, Groenevelt said short-term rentals that can sleep 20 or more people require a conditional use permit, putting the process before the public and carrying a number of fees.

“It basically equates to having a commercial or a hotel use in a neighborhood,” she said.

McCall also has a 7% tax on hotels, motels and short-term rentals, and added the implementation of its local housing strategy to the list of eligible recipients for the funds raised through that tax.

“The idea is that while these short-term rentals are basically contributing to the housing issue, we’re also able to go back and request funding from our local option tax funds to help offset the impacts,” Groenevelt said.

An example of how that’s starting to bear fruit is with an incentive program for deed-restricted local housing units specifically funded through the local option tax dollars collected from shortterm rentals.

“There’s very much a nexus between the idea of taxing the shortterm rentals and using those funds for our housing issue,” she said.

Asked to provide a “key takeaway” from the conversation about short-term rentals and how they affect the local workforce, Groenevelt said, “If you don’t have any regulations in play it’s really good to be proactive; if it’s not in your community already it will be.”

Pick up the Oct. 28 edition of the Reader for the fifth part in this series, which will address other regional solutions to worker attraction and retention, including housing but also the “leviathan in the room,” as one expert put it, related to low wages in Idaho and how the Legislature might approach both issues. If you have a story of how the worker shortage and/or housing affordability has affected you or your business, share it with us at stories@sandpointreader.com.

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ELECTION

CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE 2021 Election

Lake Pend Oreille School District trustee Zone 2 race Ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 2 election, the Reader is presenting a limited series of election guides featuring questions and answers with candidates for a range of local offices.

This week focuses on candidates for the Zone 2 trustee seat on the Lake Pend Oreille School District board. This is the only contested seat on the board.

For more information on candidates running opposed, visit Election Central on sandpointonline.com (sandpointonline.com/news/elections.shtml). For all other election-related information, visit Bonner County Elections at bonnercountyid.gov.

Contested races in Sandpoint and Dover will be featured in the Thursday, Oct. 22 edition of the Reader. In the meantime, the Reader will host a candidates’ forum Tuesday, Oct. 19 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Sandpoint branch of the East Bonner County Library (1407 Cedar St.). This will also be broadcast live on KRFY 88.5 FM.

1. Why are you running as a trustee for Zone 2 in the LPOSD race?

2. What are your top priorities if elected to the board?

3. The community (and nation) remains divided on COVID-19 mask mandates and safety measures.

Where do you stand on masks in school? What is your ideal scenario for Bonner County’s school children?

4. Idaho has consistently ranked last in the nation for funding per pupil. How would you, as a trustee, work locally to overcome this deficit to make sure students receive the best education they can?

Gary Suppiger (incumbent) Age: (did not answer) Birthplace and residence: St. Louis, Mo.; Cocolalla, Idaho Years in Bonner County: 29 years (since 1992) Government service: 4.5 years trustee Lake Pend Oreille School District Profession: business owner and professional forester; founder and owner Panhandle Forest Products, 36 years in Bonner County, 25 employees Education: Duke University, Durham, N.C.; bachelors in chemistry, masters in forestry Family: married 31 years; wife Sally, children Gerhart (28), Madeline (27) and Caroline (24) 1. I believe in public education.

I was educated in public schools, as were my parents, siblings and my three children, who attended LPOSD schools from K-12. They received an excellent foundation and excelled in college. Two have earned advanced degrees and are all now pursuing rewarding careers of their own. Education 18 /

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and will continue to be:

benefits the individual, families, communities and our state.

Educated individuals are healthier, happier and more productive for their entire life. Education builds communities. I want to do my part to ensure that current and future students from LPOSD get the education and opportunities that they deserve.

2. Support and ensure the academic success of every student.

To that end, my main priorities are

• Safety and security, especially during the pandemic. We must maintain our safety protocols including social distancing, daily disinfecting, deep cleaning, clean air, clean water and cohort groupings; • Academic achievement.

Make sure every child is engaged and learning. Focus on reading in K-3, teach students to problem solve and be critical thinkers, work independently or with a group, be creative and innovative; • Acquire the skills in communication, math, science, and social sciences to compete and succeed at the next step.

3. The health and safety of our students and staff is a prerequisite to our mission of education. This school year our plan is much the same as last year. We do not require masks or vaccines. LPOSD continues a modified cohort grouping in elementary schools.

We social distance, deep clean

every day and wash hands constantly. So far this school year our plan is successful. By the fourth quarter of last school year, based on the district’s own data showing schools were safe, the board relieved the isolation requirements after exposure to an infected student and dropped the mask requirement for older students.

4. The state provides about half the resources to support LPOSD. Districts must rely on local property tax levies and federal funds for the balance. This model is inherently inequitable because every school district is different — from enrollment to support for levies to assessed valuations. During the 2020 fiscal year, the state had a $1.4 billion revenue surplus. All the local property tax levies in the state total $400 million. With our strong economy and large revenue surplus the state can afford to eliminate local property tax levies and increase funding so every child has a chance to succeed.

Jalon Peters

Age: 39 Birthplace and residence: Born in Arizona, I now live in Cocolalla.

How many years lived in Bonner County?: 4 1/2 years Government service: NA Profession: I own a handyman business Education: High school diploma Family: I’ve been married for over 20 years, I have three sons 1. I want to help bring greater parental accountability and transparency through monitoring. I believe in the family-first model to learning. I have vast amounts of

< see ELECTION, Page 19>

< ELECTION, con’t from Page 18> experience working with students and parents as a former youth pastor and lead pastor. I also have vast experience with leading teams, organizing/ delegating and overseeing budgets as a missions director and construction superintendent. I feel our LPOSD could use my strength in making decisions. I care about the next generation of citizens and want to do my part to contribute to their success.

Sandpoint voters asked to consider 1% local option tax on Nov. 2 ballot

2. a. Parental involvement in the classroom and extracurricular activities; b. Fiscal responsibility while being accountable and frugal with taxpayer money; c. Partnering with teachers when it comes to selection of curriculums and testing requirements, even if they differ from state mandates; d. Never allow Critical Race Theory into LPOSD in any form; e. Work toward improving the trade programs and trade schools for those students that choose not to attend college; f. Ensuring personal liberties for parents, students, teachers and administrators; g. Work toward educating the children of LPOSD not indoctrinating them.

3. I feel that the only thing people are divided on is the infringement of personal liberties. I personally feel that wearing a mask to combat this virus is counterproductive and even more damaging. The science and studies show that oxygen deprivation is worse for us than the virus itself. It also creates a greater risk for our lungs to become severely infected when there is lack of oxygen. When the survival rate among people under 60 is 99%, I am baffled that people would wear a mask or take a shot to try and make their chances of survival 100%. If someone wants to wear a mask or get a shot, they have the personal liberty to do so. And so do those that do not wish to do so. An ideal situation would be where people were free to choose what they did with their own health care without being forced or mandated one way or another. And from there, people use common sense when they feel ill and stay home accordingly. We would “quarantine” the sick… not the healthy.

4. My first response would be, does funding equal quality? While I do agree that products are typically better when they cost more, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we need to spend more to have better students, curriculums or test results. Maybe the budget would not be an issue if we were able to cut unnecessary programs that drag finances down. I think that a lot of how a student learns and grows has much to do with their “buy in” of the school or that particular class. If we can work toward creating environments where students want to be there, then maybe we would have academic excellence regardless of funds. This may come through offering electives that students find appealing for their long-term goals or through giving teachers the freedom to share life with the students.

Where students feel loved and valued. Some of the best teachers I had growing up were tough on me, and they held me accountable. Those were some of the reasons I knew they cared.

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff In addition to local government offices, Sandpoint voters will also be asked to weigh in Tuesday, Nov. 2 on whether they support a 1% resort city local option sales tax. City Council members voted Sept. 8 to put the measure on the ballot.

Meanwhile, city officials hosted a series of workshops in early October to familiarize residents with the scope and intent of the LOT. The ballot language voters will see at the polls on Nov. 2 reads: Question: Shall the City of Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho, adopt an ordinance providing for imposition and collection, for a period of seven (7) years from its effective date, January 1, 2022, and ending December 31, 2028, of certain non-property taxes as follows: A 1% sales tax on all sales except occupancy sales subject to taxation under Chapter 36 of Title 63, Idaho Code. Exact revenue from this proposed tax is unknown. Revenue from the tax will be used to fund the following projects to completion as prioritized.

The anticipated revenue for the 1% sales tax will be used in the following manner: For design and construction of the site plan concepts in the 2020 Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Master Plan, including, but not limited to (in no priority order): (a) City Beach;

(b) Downtown Waterfront; (c) Travers/Centennial/Great Northern (Sports Complex); and To purchase property for open space, parks and recreation; and To support implementation of the City’s Pedestrian Priority Sidewalk Network as identified in the adopted 2021 Multimodal Transportation Plan in the amount of $200,000 per year for a total of $1,400,000; and Direct costs to collect and enforce the tax.

Voters will be asked to answer either “in favor” or “against.”

Sandpoint residents voted in 2016 to approve a five-year 1% LOT to fund reconstruction work at War Memorial Field, with that revenue source sunsetting in December 2020. The proposed seven-year LOT on the ballot in 2021 has been estimated by city officials to raise upwards of $12 million by the time it expires in 2028.

Proponents of the proposed LOT point out that such funding mechanisms are only available to “resort cities” with a population under 10,000. Sandpoint’s population in the 2020 census came in just under that figure, suggesting that it is unlikely given current growth trends that it will be available to the city by the next census in 2030.

Those in favor of the LOT have also argued that large capital projects such as the parks facilities and pedestrian network outlined in the ballot language carry hefty price tags requiring a multitude of funding sources, including grants in need of

matching funds that could be secured via the 1% tax. At the same time, those amenities and infrastructure are heavily used by both residents and visitors, though the cost of their maintenance is borne entirely by the former. The LOT, supporters say, is a way to ensure that non-residents contribute to paying a share of that expense.

Opponents of the proposed LOT argue that the city already has established sources of funding for parks and open spaces and so the 1% tax is an unnecessary burden on consumers and private sector providers of a variety of services. Those against the measure have also questioned whether parks and open spaces should even be a priority for LOT revenue, suggesting that funds raised by such a vehicle could — and should — go to other infrastructure needs, including affordable and workforce housing.

According to a recent survey conducted by the city of Sandpoint, of 265 respondents 57.7% said they supported a new resort city LOT to fund completion of park site plans, while 30% said “no” and 11.3% said they needed more information to make a decision. Among those who responded to the survey, 58.1% identified themselves as registered voters inside Sandpoint city limits, while 41.9% said they were not.

Find the survey at opentownhall.com/ portals/287/Issue_11069. To see official ballot examples, visit Bonner County Elections at bonnercountyid.gov/departments/elections.

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events October 14-21, 2021

THURSDAY, october 14

Little Wolf and Windoe in Concert 7pm @ The Longshot The Longshot is back for a pop-up concert, featuring Sandpoint’s own Little Wolf featuring Josh Hedlund and Justin Landis and Windoe, a solo project by Spokane singer-songwriter Karli Ingersoll. This is an intimate concert with some of the PNW’s best musicians. $15 gets you in the door. Doors open at 6pm, music starts at 7pm

FriDAY, october 15 Live Music w/ John Daffron 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Hickey Farms Harvest Festival 2-5:30pm @ Hickey Farms Live Music w/ Turn Spit Dogs 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Enjoy the warm sounds of rockin’ blues

Live music and artists’ reception 4-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery A live show by Sandpoint’s own Celtic/ Americana duo Bridges Home from 5-8pm. Also an artists’ reception for Oct. Artist of the Month Lori Salisbury, whose work will be on display

SATURDAY, october 16

Hickey Farms Harvest Festival 10am-5:30pm @ Hickey Farms U-pick pumpkins, live music, food and drink vendors, tons of kids’ activities and more. Live music by The Other White Meat Live Music w/ Ponderay Paradox 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Representing North Idaho style with acoustic versions of your favorites

Farmers’ Market Harvest Festival 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park The final Sandpoint Farmers’ Market day of the season! There will be a food drive, face painting, costume contest at 11 a.m., pumpkin decorating contest at 11 a.m. and music from Monarch Mountain Band Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs 6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

SunDAY, october 17

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Hickey Farms Harvest Festival 10am-5:30pm @ Hickey Farms

Free film and tacos with NAMI 2pm @ Sandpoint Cinemas Free showing of the film Dear Evan Hanson and free tacos by Jupiter Jane

monDAY, october 18

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Fresh Hop Week at IPA “Children with No Place to Call Home: Enjoy the freshness of the season with 8 Helping Kids in Crisis” Fresh Hop beers on tap!

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

tuesDAY, october 19 Candidates’ Forum — 2021 election • 5:30-8:30pm @ Sandpoint Library and Zoom Candidates from contested races in Sandpoint, Dover and LPOSD will gather for a forum and Q&A sponsored by the Reader, Keokee, KRFY and the Selkirk Association of Realtors. Dover candidates 5:30-6:20pm and Sandpoint/LPOSD will begin at 6:30pm. The forum will be in-person, with a maximum occupancy of 70. Viewers may also listen live on KRFY 88.5 FM or attend via Zoom. Check the Reader/Sandpoint Online Facebook page a few hours before the event for the direct Zoom link.

Paint and Sip with Lori Salisbury • 5-7:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery $35/person includes supplies, instruction and a glass of house red or white. 265-8545

wednesDAY, october 20

Live Music w/ LoGee 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Hickey Farms Harvest Festival 2-5:30pm @ Hickey Farms

ThursDAY, october 21 Live Music w/ Thrown Out Bones • 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority A swanky rock group traveling through from San Francisco on their Homecoming Tour.

Lead singer and drummer have biked across the country to get here and is raising funds and awareness for Sweet Relief Musicians Fund 20 /

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COMMUNITY

NAMI Far North to host free movie at Sandpoint Cinemas

By Reader Staff NAMI Far North, the North Idaho affiliate of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, is hosting a free showing of the movie Dear Evan Hansen at Sandpoint Cinemas on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m.

The event will also feature free tacos from Jupiter Jane Traveling Cafe, giveaways and no-host concessions.

Dear Evan Hansen is a film adaptation of the award-winning musical of the same name, following a socially-anxious high school senior whose therapist recommends he write letters to himself. When a letter falls into the wrong hands, a series of mishaps ties Evan to the suicide of a fellow student, leading him on a journey of self-discov-

ery and acceptance.

The movie is rated PG-13 due to some suggestive references, brief strong language and mention of suicide.

NAMI Far North hopes the film can serve as a family-friendly and free event meant to help spread the word about mental illness and the importance of reaching out to those in need.

To register for the event, find NAMI Far North on Facebook and click on the Eventbrite link near the top of the feed.

Sandpoint Cinemas is located inside the Bonner Mall at 300 Bonner Mall Way in Ponderay.

Those with questions can reach the nonprofit at 208-597-2047 or namifarnorth2003@gmail.com.

OUTDOORS

Cyclocross racing returns to Sandpoint Crosstoberfest changes venue to Hickey Farms

By Jason Welker Reader Contributor After a three-year hiatus, resulting first from the loss of the University of Idaho venue and then disruptions from COVID-19, cyclocross bicycle racing is returning to Sandpoint in the fall of 2021.

Cyclocross is a fun form of bike racing that incorporates the best (or worst) of the road and off-road cycling worlds. The “cross” season is traditionally in the fall and early winter, and races are typically wet, muddy, sometimes snowy and always fun affairs.

Sandpoint Cyclocross has a long history, with local nonprofit Team Autism 24/7 hosting the race over seven years with the help of David Barth and Wayne Pignolet of TA24/7, Charles Mortensesn of Syringa Cyclery and a cadre of passionate volunteer race organizers, including Jason Meshberg, Mike Murray and many others.

When the former-U of I property was sold and no trespassing signs were put up, the race lost its venue. By spring of 2020 the previous organizers at 24/7 decided to pass the baton onto local cycling club and trails organization, Pend Oreille Pedalers, which agreed to bring cyclocross back to Sandpoint. The next step was finding a venue, which brought the club and its race organizing committee to the Selle Valley’s most popular autumn destination, Hickey Farms.

After visiting the Hickey and Holt family’s 360-acre property and spending hours exploring the vast forest on the farm’s western half, the committee agreed it was the perfect venue for a cyclocross race. The

Hickeys and Holts were happy to host, and even offered to extend their regular Autumn Festival one weekend longer to allow POP’s event to occur at the tail end of Hickey Farms’ traditional fall event calendar.

That brings us to Crosstoberfest 2021.

Starting at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30, Pend Oreille Pedalers and Syringa Cyclery’s Crosstoberfest cyclocross races and end-ofseason party will kick off at Hickey Farms.

Races covering 19 categories for riders aged 5 and up will run throughout the day, with youth and junior races lasting between 30 and 45 minutes and higher categories extending for up to 55 minutes.

The format is simple: all racers start by the big barn at Hickey Farms, race across the cow pasture, cross a bridge into the forest and follow a 1.4-mile course through the woods on both wide and narrow trails, over obstacles, up and down steep descents, eventually emerging back to the field where the final sprint to the barn will bring them to the course’s start and finish area.

Racers will loop the course as many times as they can in their allowed time, and whoever finishes the most laps in the least amount of time (beyond the 45 or 55 minutes allowed) wins.

All skill and experience levels are welcome. Cyclocross bikes are the bikes of choice, but mountain bikes are also welcome. There are even separate categories for racers on singlespeeds and fat bikes.

Registration is $30 per race ($20 for junior categories) through Friday, Oct. 22, with a $10 discount for the second race (riders may choose to race in as many cat-

Free film at Panida Oct. 22

By Reader Staff The Panida Theater and the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force are pleased to offer a free viewing of the outstanding movie Snow Falling on Cedars on Friday, Oct. 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Doors open at 6 p.m. Jim Mitsui will speak for 10 minutes before the film about his experience as a child in an internment camp.

Snow Falling on Cedars is an ethereal, hauntingly beautiful film that combines elements of suspense, murder, romance and gripping drama with

egories as they are eligible). Fees increase by $10 after Oct. 22. Proceeds go toward supporting Pend Oreille Pedalers’ mission to expand cycling and mountain biking opportunities in the Sandpoint area, including through youth programming, trail building and maintenance, and advocating with public and private land managers for improved

access for cyclists.

More information, including a link to race registration, is available at pendoreillepedalers.org/crosstoberfest.

Jason Welker is director of Pend Oreille Pedalers.

the history of the Northwest. Based on David Guterson’s bestselling Faulkner Award-winning work of fiction, the spellbinding story is set in a historically accurate background that highlights the fear and prejudice against Japanese Americans in the Puget Sound during World War II. Issues raised in this movie echo down through the decades to us today.

Following the movie, BCHRTF Board members Todd Crossett and Lynn Bridges, along with Crossett’s daughter Sam, will lead a group discussion on the important issues raised by the film.

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STAGE & SCREEN

Squid Game is as thinky as it is gory

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

To call the South Korean horror-drama series Squid Game a global phenomenon is to state the obvious. Since Season 1 premiered Sept. 17 on Netflix, it has risen to become among the streaming service’s most-watched series — ever — and by presstime it may well have achieved the top spot. One shocking statistic, according to morningconsult.com, as of Oct. 11 an estimated one in four Americans have seen the show.

Squid Game currently has a 91% score on rottentomatoes.com, 9/10 from ign.com and 8.2/10 on imdb.com. Social media is filling up with Squid Game memes and references to it are even showing up on popular ASMR channels on YouTube. For the uninitiated, the latter are videos intended for relaxation — hardly intuitive fodder from a show that is literally predicated on mass murder. Meanwhile

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there are already Squid Game plushies, shower curtains, mugs, hoodies, replica masks, even Halloween costumes… for kids.

Just as baffling, the secondand fourth-most popular searches for the show are whether its titular game is real; and, because the internet asked, a real-life (though non-lethal) version is being organized in Abu Dhabi.

So what gives? For 1/4 of you, it’s likely you already know. For the benefit of the other 3/4, Squid Game is a nine-episode story about how more than 400 broke or indebted strangers voluntarily sign up for a chance to win upwards of $38 million. To do so, they’ll have to play six children’s games — things like red-light/green-light, marbles and tug-of-war. The losers are killed in devilishly gruesome ways while the winners advance and their potential share of the prize money increases with the shrinking number of “players.”

The games are run by a shad-

owy group of individuals whose identities are constantly hidden by masks in an apparently secret facility filled with elaborate rooms, cut off from the rest of the world.

There are shades of Hunger Games, Battle Royale, even Saw, but a critical difference is that everyone in Squid Game is there completely by choice. They are free to go at any time, provided a majority of the participants agree to do so. That the games continue despite the life-and-death stakes underscores the desperate financial stresses felt by the players — so much so that they’d rather risk a grisly demise than return to their normal lives, the implication being that the odds of success are better in the game than in the meat grinder of extreme late-stage capitalism.

Along the way alliances are made and broken as characters’ true selves are revealed. Themes of humanity, morality and competition are front-and-center through-

out, elevating Squid Game beyond mere “torture porn” (though the violence is ultra-graphic and constant).

Given all that, media around the world have reaped a bumper crop of think pieces on the show’s appeal, touching on everything from obvious wealth inequality to anxieties over technology to gender critiques to COVID-19.

What all those hot takes have in common is that Squid Game is a rorschach test for whatever ails viewers in these uncertain, frequently absurd and brutal times.

Is it entertaining? That’s hard to say. Most viewers — including this one — admit to binging all nine episodes over the course of a day or two, at most. It is riveting in its way, as unraveling the mystery of who is behind the masks weaves through the plotlines of the various key players.

It also feels like a guilty pleasure, especially once the realization sets in that by watching the show,

the viewer is in a sense complicit in the conceit of the game itself: How could anyone “enjoy” watching poor people kill each other for money?

In that sense, there’s a definite throughline to much older forms of entertainment; indeed, some of the oldest, dating at least to the days of the Roman Coliseum. But, while those contests were rooted in martial skill, Squid Game is profoundly subversive in its use of weaponized kids’ games, teasing out the notion of how our techno-driven, money- and media-obsessed societies have infantilized us even as they’ve stripped away our innocence.

Again: Does that make Squid Game entertaining? Maybe not in the typical sense, but if a viewer can get past the blood and gore and find the humanistic core, it definitely offers much to think about, though maybe not to play with.

STAGE & SCREEN

Goode stuff

Netflix’s Godless is about good, evil and Western women who take matters into their own hands

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff La Belle, N.M. used to be like every other Western mining town in the 1880s — that is, until the mine collapsed and killed all the working men.

Now women run La Belle. The brothel, without customers, becomes a school for the fatherless children.

Ladies wield hammers in their construction site of a church, waiting for a long-overdue preacher from the East.

La Belle’s only males are old shopkeepers, Sheriff Bill McNue and his teenage deputy, Whitey. Main Street is a scene of skirts and guns, the abandoned mine at the town’s entrance a reminder of all that’s been lost.

La Belle, and the sweeping western landscape surrounding it, is the backdrop for Godless, a seven-part Netflix miniseries that garnered mixed reviews upon its release in 2017.

Godless follows Roy Goode, on the run from his pseudo-adoptive father Frank Griffin — a preacher-dressing, ransacking villain with a band of 30 horsemen behind him. Goode used to be one of them, until he shot off Griffin’s arm and foiled a train robbery. Griffin vows to find Goode, and kill every man, woman and child who attempts to harbor him. All of this leads up to an inevitable showdown between the two men, with the women of La Belle not so much caught in the crossfire as causing it.

Central to Godless is a classic Western trope: good (or in this case, Goode) versus evil. As to whether this dichotomy is compelling or simply played out, critics land evenly on either side.

As for this critic, the clean-cut sides

Merritt Wever, left, and Michelle Dockery, right, on the set of Godless. Courtesy photo. are comforting. Griffin vs. Goode is chicken soup, the on-the-nose nature of it all is the crackers and I’m the hungry homebody, happy to slurp it all up.

Still, it’s fair for viewers to feel a little cheated by Godless. Initial trailers touted a “No Man’s Land” tagline, emphasizing the woman-powered Western anomaly that is La Belle. Only later did promotional material reveal Godless’ real central basis: two men bound for a shootout. In reality, this miniseries could be made into two equally compelling series of their own — one where 80 men die in a mine accident, leaving their wives and children to carry on a Wild West existence without them; and one where a cruel and complex Western bad guy adopts a sharpshooting boy who eventually becomes his mortal (and moral) enemy.

Ultimately, this means that Godless is a lot — which isn’t all bad. It is a Western story working with modern cinematography and sensibilities.

The show’s many elements are both predictable (brutally violent shooting scenes) and unexpected (queer and biracial love stories). Characters encapsulate the rough-and-tumble personas needed to be convincing in their dark circumstances, but also manage to be funny, sweet and vulnerable. There are no one-dimensional people in La Belle, making their fates almost unbearable.

By entering Godless with an open mind, viewers will find a story of unshakable widows, undeniable good guys and an unforgiving — but familiar — place.

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‘It becomes you’

By Claire Christy Reader Contributor

The Pend Oreille Arts Council will host a reception for 2021 Artist of the Year Daris Judd’s show Dreams on Friday, Oct. 15 from 5-7 p.m. at the Columbia Bank Community Plaza. Attendees will have the chance to enjoy the colorful collection of paintings and meet Judd.

Choosing one artist out of nearly 100 members has its challenges. POAC artist members are all talented and unique. Judd was selected this year because of her commitment to artistic exploration and her involvement with POAC. She participates in most POAC visual arts exhibits, is a resident artist in the POAC gallery and is the Artistic Director for the local Kaleidoscope art education program. Her work is recognizable, but still manages

to surprise viewers with experimental themes and techniques.

Judd has been an artist her entire life.

“I was born into a long line of creatives, always thinking outside the box and not quite fitting into what someone else thought was the right path,”Judd said about her journey as an artist. “I am me, and that is all. I am happy being me and understand it is safe to be creative or see things differently.”

The Dreams exhibit consists of nearly 30 pieces in various media. When asked what kind of experience Judd intended for viewers, she said, “I would love for them to feel good and happy, to have a connection. I use a lot of bright colors for a light and airy feeling. Life is way too short, and a lot of it is stressful or confusing. When I look at a work of art, I want to dive in,

POAC to host art reception for Daris Judd’s Dreams exhibit Oct. 15

feel the colors and the story they are telling. I would like to know that people feel comfortable living with my work. Smile.”

“Absolutely fall in love with all art,” she continued. “Keep your eyes open to light, color and shape. Take it all in. There is no wrong way to express your visions. It might be cooking or gardening. Maybe it is building your home or nest, or the clothes you wear. Learn all you can, experiment, and most of all, play. The more you do, the more it

becomes you.”

That philosophy applies to Judd’s passion for teaching art to children as well. When asked what her favorite thing about being involved with POAC was, Judd said, “the Kaleidoscope art program for the children. So that one day they can know the joy of art-making.”

The Kaleidoscope program brings arts education to grades 3-6 at local elementary schools without existing art programs.

As the Artistic Director for the program, Judd coordinates with volunteer teachers and carefully curates art lessons. Those interested in volunteering can

Some of Daris Judd’s work on display at the Columbia Bank Community Plaza. Courtesy photo. reach Judd at kaleidoscope.art. education@gmail.com.

All are welcome to the Dreams reception this Friday from 5-7 p.m. at 231 N. Third Ave. in Sandpoint. For more information about Pend Oreille Arts Council events and how to get involved, go to artinsandpoint.org or call the office 208263-6139.

Claire Christy is the arts coordinator for Pend Oreille Arts Council.

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint announces new Filmmaking program

By Reader Staff

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There is little doubt about how influential and captivating films are in our culture.

They speak to our emotions and our hurts.

They inspire and challenge our hearts.

Movies have come a long way from the era of silent film, but one thing remains the same: We love the movies.

The Music Conservatory of Sandpoint opened its doors in 2009 with a dream to instruct and inspire students to musical excellence. It has since expanded significantly in music and stepped outside its original charter by adding a theatre department.

Over the past three months, MCS Director Karin Wedemeyer has been in talks with local filmmaker Tim Bangle to bring his skills and experience to the accredited arts and culture institution. / October 14, 2021

Starting Feb. 7 for the spring 2022 term, the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint will be hosting its first-ever film program. The program will be 16 weeks in length and cover a vast amount of material that teaches students the fundamentals of filmmaking, such as lighting, cinematography, production elements and postproduction. Students will walk away from the program with a finished film for their portfolio.

MCS invites the public to an open house at the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint (110 Main St.) on Friday, Nov. 5 from 5-7 p.m. to meet with Bangle and learn about what the program involves. Guest speaker Erik Daarstad, an Oscar-winning documentary cinematographer, will present at the open house as well.

MUSIC

This week’s RLW by Ed Ohlweiler

The other music lessons

Wisdom gleaned from interviews with musicians

By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff I am a journalist who feels fortunate to work in her chosen field. Each day is different; each edition of the paper demands different research and different skills.

I’ve been lucky to collect a few pet beats over the years, one of them being the ability to interview bands — both local and those passing through.

I am no musician, aside from my elementary and middle school years learning to play the drums to a mediocre degree. I am, however, an avid music consumer. I see it as an extension of my identity as a storyteller and story lover. What is music, if not a beautiful form of story? And I get to talk to the artistic masterminds behind it all. What a treat.

In my five years with the Reader, I’ve gleaned some life lessons from the creative, heartfelt and often nomadic keepers of songs.

Here are just a few.

Everyone has a story What you find after a few years of consistently interviewing musicians is that their inspiration comes from a central place: The experience of simply being a person.

In the same way a journalist works to share the stories of others, I’ve found that many songwriters do the same in the name of celebrating the people around them. Nashville recording artist Brittany Jean told me that often-

times, “you never really know what’s going to jump out at you” while songwriting.

“One of my favorite things is hearing someone else’s story and finding a way to celebrate it, and bring beauty to the forefront where maybe that person didn’t see it,” she said.

Age is only a number Anyone can discover their chosen art during any phase of life.

This certainly applies to music.

I’ve interviewed adults just beginning to learn cello as part of Suzuki String Academy’s Vivace Cello Ensemble, and listened to them create beautiful music under the guidance of instructor Bianca d’Avila do Prado, who told me her adult students were a “very inspiring group of people with beautiful hearts.”

I sat in a rural garage with a group of teenage boys who formed the now-dissolved rock band Stone Cloud 4 after they won the 2019 Northern Stars Rising music competition, and listened to them play music that sounded straight out of the hair band era.

Local music teacher Fiddlin’ Red has been imparting musical skills onto his students for more than 50 years now. When I chatted with him in 2018, he said: “All students are unique individuals.

They all learn differently. I love the kids, but I teach adults, too. It always raises people’s self-esteem when they learn an instrument.

John Firshi playing live in Sandpoint.

Photo courtesy Full Circle Productions.

They become proud, they feel accomplished. Plus, music is good for the soul.”

Don’t take life too seriously I’m not shy about my unending adoration for Portland folk artist (and adopted son of Sandpoint) John Craigie. Lucky for us, he frequents Sandpoint thanks to his close friendship with the Shook Twins, and I’ve been fortunate to chat with him once or twice.

In one of my favorite songs, “Dissect the Bird,” Craigie says we should all stop “dissecting the bird to find the song” and instead enjoy the fact that we’ve been given this life in the first place.

The lyrics are funny, and above all, ring true.

“The universe is not against you/ It went through a lot just to give you a chance/ It must have wanted you pretty bad,” he sings, not long after adding (in classic Craigie fashion), “No pressure, bro.”

Share your talents with the world One of my favorite interviews of all time was with Sandpoint guitarist John Firshi. A staple at local establishments, many are familiar with the Firshi’s immaculately beautiful playing. The man is humble, kind and a downright pleasure to run into on the street.

When I spoke with Firshi in 2020, he said that he saw music as another form of communication — one that transcended regular language and relied on emotion to reach others. It is that connection, Firshi said, which makes him feel as though sharing his art is meaningful.

“I discovered a way to fit into my world and be part of my community, my society and part of my culture,” he told me, adding: “My sincere goal would be to make things better in this world if I can, one note at a time.”

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Ponderay Paradox, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Oct. 16

Little Wolf, Windoe at the Longshot, Oct. 14

There’s clear passion behind Ponderay Paradox, the acoustic duo of Mike Genoff and Matt Moran — and sometimes trio, with the addition of Betsy Richards on violin. The local band boasts a hefty repertoire of both covers and originals, the former focused on classic rock, pop, folk and a bit of blues.

The latter feature crunchy, toe-tapping numbers like “Rock On In Sandpoint.”

Frequent listeners of the local live music scene will be familiar with Ponderay Paradox, which has gigged regularly around the area since 2019,

Fans of The Longshot, which closed at the end of summer, will have an opportunity to revisit their favorite watering hole and music venue with an intimate concert on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

Little Wolf, featuring prolific singer-songwriters Josh Hedlund and Justin Landis, will open followed by Windoe, the solo project of Spokane singer-songwriter Karli Ingersoll (nee Fairbanks).

Both Little Wolf and Win-

appearing everywhere from Connie’s to MickDuff’s and Idaho Pour Authority, to the Farmer’s Market, First Thursday and a host of other venues.

This band stays busy, and will bring its homegrown sound to the Pend d’Oreille Winery Saturday, Oct. 16, exploring both covers and originals.

— Zach Hagadone 5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St. Ste. 101, 208-2658545, powine.com. Listen at facebook. com/PonderayParadox or on YouTube.

doe are some of the best music projects in the Pacific Northwest, made even better by pop-up shows at The Longshot where people gather to hear the music, not just to blather with their friends at the bar.

— Ben Olson

READ

How do you describe Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King? It is an otherworldly story of four First Nation elders who escape from an institution. It’s beautifully penned, rich in symbolism, yet simple and lighthearted. It features an unknown narrator often talking to a coyote, a blend of written and Native American oral tradition, and a touch of shape shifting. I like one genre descriptor I encountered on the Internet: “trickster novel”.

LISTEN

Listen to eTown on radio or press the easy button and just podcast it. Not only does it bring you the “Echievement” award for philanthropy and innovation, but you also get one of the greatest interviewers in Nick Forster and top-notch music from an impressive array of distinguished artists (including Nick, Helen and the house band). With COVID they’ve been compiling greatest hits, year-by-year, since they started more than 30 years ago, all available by podcast.

WATCH

I’ve always said that foreign and indie films are ruining me for Hollywood, but I just saw The Skeleton Twins again and forgot the impact of Hollywood done right. This depiction of next-level family dysfunction alternates between tenderness, harsh reality and hilarity. What brings it all home is superb acting (by actors you already know) and insightful directing.

Doors at 6 p.m., show starts at 7 p.m.; $15.The Longshot, 102 S. Boyer Ave. Hear Little Wolf and Windoe by streaming their music online.

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BACK OF THE BOOK

Mad for mugs

Confessions of an accidental coffee mug collector

From Northern Idaho News, Oct. 3, 1922

NURSE ELOPES WITH PATIENT Miss Florence Hawkins, member of a prominent family of Bonner county, is married. Nothing unusual in that. People have been married supposedly ever since the world began. Miss Hawkins was a few months under the legal age when she married. Nothing so extremely unusual in that. But Miss Hawkins is a local girl; and to her many friends and acquaintances, and particularly to the members of her family, her abrupt step came as quite a jolt. Elopements do not occur oftener than once a year in the little world in which Miss Hawkins has moved, and it isn’t to be wondered at that the event created considerable of a furor locally, or that her portrait crept into the Sunday paper.

Miss Hawkins is the 17-yearold daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Hawkins of Sunnyside. She has attended the Sandpoint high school, and of late served as a nurse in the City hospital. A short while ago J.S. Fisher, a world war veteran, was taken to the hospital with a broken leg. Miss Hawkins nursed him, and the usual thing happened. When the young man was again on his feet and considered himself able to care for himself and a wife as well, the two took their flight. It was on Tuesday last that Miss Hawkins took a Northern Pacific train west. The two journeyed to Seattle and were married.

The wholly unexpected disappearance of the young woman a week ago, caused much alarm to her friends. A general searh for her was begun, which did not end until after her arrival home. Though her plunge into the sea of matrimony was abrupt, and out of the routine, Miss Hawkins’ friends wish her all that is good in life.

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By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey Reader Staff I take pride in being a non-material person.

Until recently, an integral part of my identity was that I could pack all of my belongings into a small car if needed. As long as I had a suitcase of clothes and a laptop, I felt complete.

As most people do as they get older, I’ve planted more roots and collected more things. I’ve been nesting and, admittedly, finding joy in many of my newfound material belongings — chief among them, coffee mugs.

Where my caffeine dependency and love for all things cute collide, you’ll find my mug collection. Let the record show that I never intended to be a collector — it goes completely against my nature — but when it comes to ceramic receptacles, I am weak.

A quick internet search reveals that I am far from alone. Many women, most of them with cooking blogs, have well-documented collections. Mug displays are an entire genre on Pinterest. Etsy features a section of “unique, custom, handmade” mugs, meant to entice collectors. A Turkish woman named Mesude Isikli, after becoming fascinated with the cultural significance of her home country’s beloved Türk kahvesi coffee drink, started collecting mugs 14 years ago.

In 2019, she was reported to have 3,000 mugs — most of them Turkish antiques.

My journey to mug collecting was less intentional. What started in college as a couple of cute ones I found at Goodwill — grey speckled with a lime green rim, chunky white with a yellow flower — has become a wide array of shapes, sizes and textures, featuring farm animals, bright colors and Harry Potter references.

STR8TS Solution

Some of my favorites were gifts — a Gilmore Girls-themed mug brandishing a Luke’s Cafe logo from my best friend; a large, floral teacup I received as a Valentine’s Day gift from my now-husband; one that reads, “My Favorite Person is my Dog,” from my older sister.

Isikli, the Turkish woman with thousands of coffee mugs, said that all of her collectibles “have a memory story, because these are used and lived cups.” This can also be said of my mugs.

They’ve seen every season from the weathered surface of my picnic table on quiet mornings of outdoor coffee sipping.

They’ve traveled on dashboards and in cupholders on days when a to-go tumbler just won’t cut it (I don’t care if the coffee gets cold faster in an open, ceramic mug — I want to smell it with every gulp).

My mugs have spent long, lazy Sundays on the couch and busy Wednesday deadlines on my desk. They’ve been introduced to friends while filled with apple cider and whiskey; forced lovingly onto my sick husband filled with hot broth or tea.

It appears my days of minimalism are over — at least in the kitchen. I’ve started displaying select mugs on a wall rack, and I try to rotate through them all regularly, as if they’ll become jealous of one another if I’m not careful.

One mug-collecting blogger shared that she’ll choose a certain mug to set the tone for her day — a strange ritual I also seem to have adopted. Today’s choice, a 1984 Avon Easter mug I recently bought from a local woman on Instagram, has a rainbow on it, along with the words “May your day be filled with happiness.”

It is perfect, and it certainly makes me happy.

Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey.

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution

Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis.

Solution on page 26

Solution on page 26

Laughing Matter

vespertine

Woorf tdhe Week

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS

By Bill Borders

/VES-per-tin/

[adjective] 1. Of, relating to, or occurring in the evening.

“Old Sally has enjoyed her daily vespertine drink after dinner since LBJ was in office.”

Corrections: A reader claimed the Mad about Science column (Sept. 30, 2021) had “several inaccurate statements” about vinegar. “Vinegar is made by the action of specific bacteria on alcohol where alcohol is made from the action of yeast on fruits and grains. These bacteria create acetic acid which give vinegar its ability to preserve foods and its sour taste. Alcohol can preserve food but in concentrations of over 70%, not the trace (0.5-2.0%) found in vinegar. Drinking vinegar straight is not recommended as the acid content contributes to dental decay.”

1. Vibes 6. Small fatty European fish 11. Float 12. Make 15. Political refugee 16. Speech sounds 17. Cacophony 18. Luxurious 20. European peak 21. Historical periods 23. Large mass of ice 24. Midway between white and black 25. Arithmetic 26. Anagram of “Note” 27. Smile 28. Away from the wind 29. A Buddhist temple 30. Goliath 31. Easement 34. Water lily 36. Petroleum 37. Angers 41. Sore 42. Carpets 43. What a person is called 44. Algonquian Indian 45. Tease 46. Scoff at 47. Actress Lupino 48. Domestic fowl 51. Chart 52. Dotage 54. Diner

Solution on page 26 56. Protector 57. Lengthwise 58. Charges 59. Slowly, in music

DOWN

1. Naval officer 2. Pee-pee 3. 18-wheeler 4. Hairdo 5. Stair 6. Orb 7. Tine

8. Lease 9. Mock 10. Type of marmoset 13. Yield 14. Catch a glimpse of 15. Swelling under the skin 16. Bountifully 19. Submarine 22. Put away a knife or sword 24. Raspy 26. It was (contraction) 27. Martini ingredient 30. Mousses 32. Purchase 33. Strength

34. Pantry 35. Marine 38. Clothing 39. Trade barrier 40. Leaky 42. Roads 44. A box or chest 45. Knee or elbow 48. Add 49. Genuine 50. Harvard rival 53. Nigerian tribesman 55. 2,000 pounds

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