A few months ago the universe’s dog distribution system dropped two puppies in my lap. I found them by the side of the highway in the summer heat — in a part of Washington’s farmland that’s apparently a notorious puppy dumping ground — and proceeded to spend a nerve-wracking, four-hour drive home picking more than 15 ticks off the pups. After I determined no one was looking for them and that, further, no one wanted to adopt them, the lads came home with me. Mr. Bingley and Lavender Gooms, as they’re now known, are beloved nuances that are currently eating me out of house and home — and by that I mean they’re literally eating my home. To date, they’ve eaten a mattress, two dog beds, two chair legs, a loaf of bread, a frisbee, a mummified frog, my flowers, my firewood, a pair of glasses, at least 15 pinecones and, of course, the hundreds of dollars’ worth of bones, toys and treats I’ve bought them. It doesn’t matter how much exercise they get or whether or not they’re supervised, all they do is consume. I’m absolutely certain that, should I drop dead tomorrow, Gooms will eat my corpse quicker than Joey Chestnut at a hot dog-eating contest. He already nibbles my toes when I fall asleep, just to see if his (or my) time has come.
Should I be worried?
I’ve always had what I consider to be a reasonable fear of the ocean. Sure, I enjoy a beach day in the shallows, but I have absolutely no desire to venture into the unexplored depths full of glowing eyes and hungry mouths. I call this condition “sanity,” but apparently the dictionary classifies it as mild “thalassophobia.” Learning this little tidbit led me down a rabbit hole looking for more and more niche fears. Consider downloading one or two of the following into your amygdala:
• Pogonophobia: fear of beards
• Omphalophobia: fear of belly buttons
• Arachibutyrophobia: fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of one’s mouth
• Anatidaephobia: fear of being watched by a duck or goose
• Ephebiphobia: fear of young people
• Xanthophobia: fear of the color yellow
• Ranidaphobia/Bufonophobia: fear of frogs or toads, respectively
My research also turned up a number of “irrational” fears, which, I believe, are rational:
• Taphephobia: fear of being buried alive
• Toxiphobia: fear of being poisoned
• Phthisiophobia: fear of tuberculosis
I haven’t thought about it much, but now that you mention it, I don’t want to be kidnapped, drugged, dosed with tuberculosis and then buried alive. Does that mean I should be worried that I have more phobias than the average 20-something, or would that be a symptom of phobophobia (the fear of fear)?
READER DEAR READERS,
We’re entering the official last week of summer. Did you accomplish all of your goals before fall? Are you ready for the changing leaves, the cool mornings, the quiet city streets?
Looking back on my own summer, I have very few complaints. The skies weren’t as smoky as they have been in the past. Town was busy, but not like it was during the first two years of COVID, when everyone seemed to discover North Idaho. The lake provided us with serenity and the mountains gave us huckleberries and scraped knees.
All in all, I am happy to close the book on this season under the sun. The next six weeks or so are the best in North Idaho, in my humble opinion, so enjoy them while they last.
Thanks for reading and pay attention to next week’s edition, because we have a special announcement to share.
Cheers,
– Ben Olson, publisher
111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-946-4368
Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey (emeritus) Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus)
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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.
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About the Cover
This week’s cover by Woods Wheatcroft, our hero.
Dist. 1B Rep. Sage Dixon retires ahead of November election
Gov. Little asked to select replacement from among nominees Cornel Rasor, Jane Sauter, Victoria Zeischegg
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Idaho District 1B Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, has stepped down from his seat in the Legislature, bringing to a close his fifth term in office prior to the November election.
Most recently, Dixon served as assistant majority leader and on the Business, Revenue and Taxation, Transportation and Defense, and Ways and Means committees. In the past he served as chair of the Business Committee, as well as the Ethics and House Policy Committee.
First elected in 2014, when he defeated longtime incumbent Republican Rep. George Eskridge — who now serves as mayor of Dover — Dixon chose not to run in the 2024 Idaho GOP primary.
In an email to the Reader, Dixon stated that his resignation from the Legislature was effective Sept. 1.
“There were a number of reasons that I decided to step away from the Legislature, so it is difficult to describe; but, plainly, it just felt like the right time to do so,” he wrote. “I have always admired the people whose identity was not wrapped up in an elected position, and were able to step away after an appropriate amount of time.
“Ten years is plenty of time to learn the system, gain some influence and try to have a positive effect on the state,” he added. “I believe I did all of that while representing our district well.”
District 1 Republicans voted in the May primary to nominate Cornel Rasor to bear the party’s standard for Dixon’s seat in the November 2024 general election, when he will face Democratic nominee Kathryn Larson.
According to a Facebook post from outgoing-District 1 Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, members of the Legislative District 1 Republican Central
Committee met in a special meeting Sept. 7 to forward three names to Idaho Gov. Brad Little for consideration in filling the remainder of Dixon’s term: Rasor, Jane Sauter (no relation to incumbent Dist. 1A Republican Rep. Mark Sauter) and Victoria Zeischegg.
Whichever nominee is selected by the governor will serve in the District 1B seat until new elected officials are sworn in at the commencement of the 2025 legislative session in January.
As the winner of the 2024 primary, if Rasor is selected to fill Dixon’s vacant seat, he’ll appear on the November ballot as an incumbent.
Under Idaho Code, the governor has up to 15 days from receipt of the replacement nominees to make a selection.
As for Dixon’s future plans, Herndon posted on Facebook that the now-former lawmaker will be leading “faith-based coordinated programs” for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Asked to provide more detail about those programs, Dixon referred the Reader to IDHW.
He did write that his new endeavor “was not something I expected to be doing when I chose not to run.”
IDHW did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Meanwhile, the District 1B House seat isn’t the only local political office being vacated before the November election. Bonner County Commissioner Luke Omodt, who served one term on the board and most recently as chair, announced in late August that he would resign effective Sept. 7 — though that date was later apparently changed to Sept. 8.
Omodt ran for reelection in the 2024 GOP primary, but was defeated by challenger
Ron Korn.
“Local politics is a roughand-tumble sport,” Omodt wrote in an emailed statement Sept. 7. “I greatly enjoyed the work of being a Bonner County commissioner.
“Elections have consequences and the voters made a decision for which my family is profoundly grateful; I’m coming around to it,” he added. “County commissioners have an immense amount or responsibility and I am most impressed with the rank-and-file employees who are responsible for keeping our roads plowed, our waterways safe, get us or loved ones to the ER, and protect the $115 million that flows through the office of the treasurer for all of the 54 taxing districts in Bonner County.
“Bonner County remains a great place to live and I’m greatly looking forward to not seeing my name in the paper,” Omodt concluded.
The Bonner County Republican Central Committee voted Aug. 20 to nominate Korn, Tom Cleveland and Kim Peckham to fill Omodt’s seat, ranking Korn as its first choice.
Also because Korn won the GOP primary, if selected by Little he would appear on the November ballot as an incumbent. He faces Independent candidate Glenn Lefebvre in the general election.
However, Tom Bokowy — who serves as Sandpoint’s Washington Precinct committeeman on the BCRCC — told the Reader in an email that the Aug. 20 vote to nominate the slate of replacements for Omodt’s seat was premature, as the vacancy hadn’t actually occurred yet.
Because of that, and in order to comply with Idaho Republican Party rules, members of the BCRCC have to meet again to cast their votes for three nominees to be submitted to the governor.
As of midnight on Sept. 9, the District 3 BOCC seat formerly held by Omodt became officially vacant, and replacement nominees are due to be selected at a new special meeting of the BCRCC, to be held Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ponderay Events Center (401 Bonner Mall Way, in Ponderay).
Army Corps sets lake drawdown date
By Reader Staff
In a typical year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers begins the drawdown of Lake Pend Oreille on the third Sunday in September or Sept. 18, whichever comes later. Due to delays in reaching summer pool level after a mechanical gate failure at Albeni Falls Dam in the spring, the Corps has agreed to delay the drawdown slightly, starting the process four days later on Monday, Sept. 23.
Albeni Falls Dam only uses the powerhouse outflows, not the spillway gates, for this operation, so drawdown will not affect the ongoing issue with the faulty gate.
As of press time, the Corps listed the current lake level at 2,061.91 feet, measured at Hope. Lake Pend Oreille is expected to hold summer pool elevation through Sunday, Sept. 22, then will gradually lower over the following weeks.
The level is estimated to reach 2,060-2,061 feet by Monday, Sept. 30, with targets to reach 2,051-2,051.5 feet no later than Nov. 15. The fall drawdown serves multiple purposes, including the accommodating fall/winter kokanee spawning, as well as creating space for flexible winter power operations.
Corps representatives will host a public meeting Monday, Oct. 7 from 6-8 p.m. at
the Ponderay Events Center (401 Bonner Mall Way) to discuss dam operations and the status of the Albeni Falls Dam spillway gate repair and replacement project.
Rep. Sage Dixon. File photo.
The Albeni Falls Dam near Oldtown, on the Pend Oreille River. Courtesy photo.
Forest Service outlines changes to Green Bay campground
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
When it comes to locations to camp and recreate on Lake Pend Oreille, it’s hard to find better than Green Bay. The rocky beach east of Garfield Bay in Sagle has been a favorite for locals and visitors alike, with swimming, camping and views of the nearby mountains available. But, it’s this popularity that has led to changes.
Improvements will include a new road down to the campground, an enlarged parking area and a full-time hosted campground. There will be accessible paths leading to each of the 16 campsites, which now have pads, fire rings and picnic tables. The site will still be open for day use by the public, but campsites will have to be reserved via recreation. gov starting six months ahead of the camping date.
The project was made possible by funding from the Great American Outdoors Act — a five-year project approved by Congress that aims to make a substantial investment in the
protection and maintenance of public lands until funding runs out in 2025.
The Green Bay project is mostly finished, but a delay on signage and vault toilets has pushed the opening to Memorial Day weekend 2025 or later.
Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Green Bay has existed in a gray area for years as both a primitive and improved campground on the lakeshore. It’s also been known as a party spot for generations.
Josh Jurgensen, a recreational staff officer for the Idaho Panhandle National
Forests, said USFS received funding for the project in 2022, with the contract awarded in July 2023.
“But you know how it is in North Idaho,” Jurgensen told the Reader. “Contractors have been really, really busy.”
Jurgensen said the Forest Service wanted to finish the project this year, but a hot April and wet May — along with delayed installation of the vault toilets — have pushed the completion timeline until spring 2025.
Jurgensen told the Reader that a combination of the party atmosphere and the influx of
A permanent home for EMS
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Though it will take a few more weeks to fully move in, Bonner County Emergency Medical Services had its first shift change in the new EMS Station 1 on Sept. 11, meaning crews are now officially responding from their new home.
Located on 1314 Ontario St., across from the Bonner County Administration Building, the $7 million building has been in the works since 2020 and now houses EMS, Veteran Services and the coroner, among other county offices.
“Because the county refers to it as the EMS Station 1
building, it kind of gives the taxpayers the wrong idea that we were actually the ones who footed the bill. That’s not the case,” Chief Jeff Lindsey told the Reader
According to Lindsey, EMS paid approximately $2.3 million for the new offices, ambulance bays, storage and living quarters, which only take up the north side of the building’s first floor. The project has allowed EMS to move out of the former motel it had leased since 2010, which cost around $7,000 per month in rent.
“We’re trying to be good stewards of the money that our taxpayers provide us with.
Two-point-three million
dollars to invest in the future of EMS in Bonner County is something that we don’t take lightly. We appreciate it, and we want the taxpayers to know that,” said Lindsey.
Among the safety benefits of the new facility are the living quarters’ proximity to the ambulance bays, the pullthrough bays themselves — which save crews the slow and difficult task of backing up the rigs — as well as new keycode access locks and an internal area where medical supplies can be kept secured.
The dedicated space not only allows crews to better attend the 5,000 calls they receive per year, but has also
out-of-area campers during the pandemic prompted the tipping point in committing to the improvements at Green Bay.
“This is known as a party crowd that comes down to Green Bay, so what we were trying to do was rate it more family friendly,” Jurgensen said. “One way to do that is to have a host on scene, who will handle the cleaning and education part; and, of course, will make notifications if we have unruly visitors.”
During the height of the rush of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jurgensen said that not everyone
cleaned up after themselves, with some leaving piles of trash and damaging natural resources at the site.
“In April 2020, when Washington shut down all their stuff, it was bad at Green Bay,” Jurgensen said. “Since then, we’ve tried to get a design in place that would accommodate a new site that’s accessible for everything and thoughtful for resource, heritage and tribal concerns. We tried to address all of those.”
finally put to rest worries about EMS’ future.
“Being in a rented facility it was kind of like, ‘Are we gonna survive? Are the fire departments going to come in and take us over?’ Now there’s finality. We have our own space. The taxpayers have said, ‘We’re investing in EMS’ future. You’re not going anywhere,’” said Lindsey.
Improvements to Green Bay campsites (left) and parking areas. Photos courtesy of USFS.
The EMS Station 1 building. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell.
< see GREEN BAY, Page 6 >
Idaho’s ‘100 deadliest days’ claimed 82 lives in traffic fatalities
By Reader Staff
The stretch between Memorial Day through Labor Day is known as a beautiful period of time in the Gem State, but the Idaho Office of Highway Safety has a different name for it: the “100 Deadliest Days,” during which statewide traffic collisions and fatalities spike.
OHS claimed that its preliminary data from this year’s “100 Deadliest Days” shows 82 people were killed during that period in Idaho traffic collisions, down slightly from 93 people killed year over year. During the entire year so far, 156 people have died in traffic crashes, compared to 165 last year, which was the deadliest year for traffic crashes in Idaho in more than a decade.
The agency points to several factors that contributed to crashes during the period, including speeding,
alcohol impairment, failure to yield, crossing the centerline, following too close, drug impairment and others.
OHS separated the data into districts and counties, showing that three deaths occurred in Bonner County and two in Boundary County during the “100 Deadliest Days.” Ada and Bonneville counties both had the most deaths at nine each, while Kootenai County contributed five deaths to the total.
“While there were fewer crashes than last summer, we still lost 82 people during the ‘100 Deadliest Days,’” stated Highway Safety Manager Josephine Middleton. “Every traffic death is a tragedy, and we can do more to prevent them. Whether we are driving for work or fun, we can always drive engaged, always drive sober and obey speed limits so that we don’t lose more Idahoans to traffic crashes.”
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:
The U.S. Justice, State and Treasury departments are acting against a broad Russian-inspired campaign to interfere with U.S. elections. BBC reported that the U.S. attorney general accused RT, formerly Russia Today, of paying a Tennessee firm $10 million to “create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with hidden Russian government messaging.” The goal is to reduce support for Ukraine and boost pro-Russian policies and interests. The U.S. response has included charges, sanctions, visa restrictions and seizure of 32 internet domain names said to be “covertly promoting AI-generated false narratives.” Among those charged was Dimitri Simes, who advised Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Meanwhile, various media report a “mystery group” is paying “tens of thousands” of influencers to push sexual smears about Vice President Kamala Harris amid her presidential campaign.
Jurgensen said the Forest Service is actively searching for a volunteer campground host to stay at Green Bay next summer. Those interested can contact the agency through its website, or call local offices.
In an interview with the Reader, Jurgensen said there were currently no plans to transform other campgrounds on the lake — aside from improvements scheduled for 2026’27 at the Sam Owen campground, the second-largest USFS campground in the state.
Other campsites around the lake haven’t reached the threshold of use (and abuse) yet to facilitate funding and plans for improvements.
to the public to continue to recreate responsibly and clean up after themselves when enjoying Idaho’s campgrounds.
“Even though a lot of the public does the right thing, that site [Green Bay] gets loved to death, sometimes by the party crowd if there isn’t a host on site.”
— Josh Jurgensen, IPNF
“For those more remote sites around the lake, we have no plans for the foreseeable future,” he said. However, he added that it’s up
“Even though a lot of the public does the right thing, that site [Green Bay] gets loved to death, sometimes by the party crowd if there isn’t a host on site,” Jurgensen said. “Not everyone will tear it up, but some will. ... It’s a really great project and just like everything we do, people are going to love it or hate it, but it really does a good job of resource protection in the future and making it really accessible for the public.”
To reserve a campsite at Green Bay, sites are available for $15 through recreation. gov six months prior to the desired camping date.
More than 90 company executives and 100 current and retired law enforcement officials joined former-Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and former-U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo. (his daughter) in endorsing Harris. U.S. News said reasons for backing Harris included putting the Constitution over the Republican Party, preservation of democracy, her law enforcement experience, commitment to curb gun violence and her economic plans, which include addressing grocery price gouging, housing expansion, new child tax credits and raising the corporate tax rate. Goldman Sachs commented that if Trump wins, economic output would decline, mostly from his tariff plans and tighter immigration policies. Law enforcement officials objected to Trump’s cuts to law enforcement funding, his criminal charges and his sympathy for Jan. 6 rioters. They said Trump lacks respect for “law enforcement or rule of law. He creates disorder that puts law enforcement and all Americans at risk.”
Trump rally-goers who leave early complain he is “babbling.” The Guardian reported that at a recent Pennsylvania rally, a large number of the 8,000 seats were emptied after 100 minutes. At a recent Wisconsin rally, Trump claimed that mothers are executing their newborns, schools are performing gender-affirming surgery on kids, the removal of migrants will be a “bloody story,” only he can prevent WWIII and “you gotta remember... Trump is
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist
always right. I hate to be right. I’m always right.”
According to Trump’s economic plans, shared at the Economic Club of New York and attended by Wall Street and corporate leaders, include cutting the corporate tax rate, slashing regulations, lowering energy costs via more oil and gas extraction, lower interest rates (Fortune says he has no direct control over rate-setting), securing borders and reducing crime.
Fortune said Trump sought a 15% corporate tax rate when president, but it was rejected because it would have raised the deficit. Trump has also vowed to create a task force to review federal expenditures, and to make “drastic reforms,” as recommended by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Trump said Musk agreed to head the task force. Trump also promised a 10% across-the-board tariff; economists say that would reignite inflation. Another Trump plan: large-scale housing construction on U.S. public lands.
Harris announced “A New Way Forward” an economic plan targeting entrepreneurs. According to Harris, small businesses created 70% of net new jobs since 2019. The proposal: raise the deduction for startup expenses from $5,000 to $50,000; make low- and no-interest loans for small businesses, and guarantee a third of federal contract money will go to small businesses.
Musk recently posted on social media that “a Republic of high status males is best for decision-making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.” Musk’s opposition to women in politics has been indicated by his AI attacks on Harris, which CNN called “unhinged.”
Blast from the past and present: Tucker Carlson recently aired his interview with a Nazi apologist, who, relying on blatantly contradictory evidence, blamed WWII on English Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He also said the death of Jews was accidental. Elon Musk tweeted the interview was “worth watching,” but later dropped the comment. The White House stated: “Giving a microphone to a Holocaust denier who spreads Nazi propaganda is a disgusting and sadistic insult to all Americans, to the memory of over 6 million Jews who were genocidally murdered by Adolph Hitler, to the service of Americans who fought to defeat Nazism and to every subsequent victim of antisemitism. Hitler was one of the most evil figures in human history and the chief villain of WWII, full stop.”
< GREEN BAY, con’t from Page 5 >
Sandpoint council adopts ballot language for 25-year, 1% local option tax
Measure will require 60% approval by voters in Nov., with funds earmarked for street work
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
When Sandpoint voters go to the polls in November, they’ll be asked whether they support levying a 1% local option tax on their purchases — with funds dedicated to supporting citywide street infrastructure improvements — after members of the City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 4 to approve the ballot language for the measure.
The question on the ballot will read: “Shall the City of Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho, adopt an ordinance providing for a 1% local option sales tax to be implemented and effective from January 1, 2025, through December 31, 2049?”
If approved by 60% of voters, the tax would apply to “all sales, except occupancy sales subject to taxation” under Idaho Code.
While the exact amount of revenue to be raised from the tax is unknown, Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said that “assuming a 2.5% annual increase in collections, by 2026 we might be collecting $3 million a year. Looking at total collections over this period, it’s reasonable to think we might collect around $55 million.”
Based on those estimates, the 1% LOT could meet the price tag for rehabilitating streets to national standards and generate another $12 million for improvements and maintenance of sidewalks and pathways, as well as gravel and grading for alleyways.
In addition, having the LOT in place to specifically fund street, sidewalk, pathway and alley infrastructure would free up the approximate $500,000 the city dedicates to that work each year from the general fund. As a result, that
$500,000 could be reallocated to other areas of the city budget in need of additional dollars.
“I believe this is our best opportunity to create a dedicated street-funding revenue source,” Grimm said. “Although it’s difficult to determine exactly the rate of growth of our retail sales over the next 25 years, what we do know from 2021 is that the retail sales in June, July, August and September jump significantly, attributed to visitors to our community.”
Regardless of the ultimate amount of funds raised from the tax, City Hall stated that revenues would be earmarked for:
• Street pavement, sealing, widening, reconstruction and associated stormwater infrastructure.
• Sidewalk/pathway improvements, including maintenance and reconstruction and extensions to provide connectivity and increase ADA accessibility and safety.
• Gravel and grading of alleyways.
• Property tax relief to Sandpoint property owners. (Per Idaho Code, any excess revenue received will be placed in a designated property tax relief fund.)
• Administrative costs and direct costs to collect and enforce the tax. (The city will retain the actual cost of collecting and administering the tax.
Following the Sept. 4 vote, the city transmitted the language to the Bonner County clerk for inclusion on the November 2024 ballot.
“Thank you so much council members. I am excited to see what our constituents have to say about this,” Grimm said.
Council President Deb Ruehle has been skeptical of the 1% LOT as presented by
the mayor. At both the Aug. 14 and Sept. 4 meetings, she questioned the 25-year sunset on the tax. Grimm made it a point in a prior interview with the Reader, as well as statements to councilors, that the long-term nature of the tax is by design.
Idaho Code stipulates that “resort cities” of no more than 10,000 population are able to leverage the local option sales tax as a revenue-generating mechanism. Once that population level is exceeded, the LOT tool is no longer available.
According to the most recent U.S. Census, conducted in 2020, Sandpoint is still just below the 10,000-population threshold — however, that number has certainly grown over the past four years and will in all likelihood exceed 10,000 when the next census is completed in 2030.
Grimm said establishing the tax for 25 years will position the city to reap the revenue benefits far into the future, even after Sandpoint passes the point when its population forecloses the possibility of instituting another LOT.
Meanwhile, the Legislature has the power to alter those population limits, or even eliminate the resort city taxing authority altogether.
“I would just put it out there in front of the council that I don’t feel like the mayor has thoroughly answered what other city services may be in dire need by the time we get 25 years down the road and we’ve used all of this just for streets and sidewalks,” Ruehle said on Sept. 4.
“And I am such a proponent for sidewalks, pathways and all the other pieces — and I’m not necessarily against this — but the idea of maybe having $55 million down the road sounds pretty tasty toward a sewage treatment plant that
is going to cost the taxpayers increased fees — significantly, month over month, in their utility billing,” she added. “So again, I’m just asking you to process, ‘Are we having tunnel vision here?’”
In response, Grimm said that dedicated revenue sources already exist for sewer and water through utility rates, while parks are supported through a capital improvement fund and recreation fees.
“When I think of other infrastructure, the only infrastructure that I hear about every day that we don’t have a dedicated funding source — or enough [funding] — for is our roads,” he added.
Councilor Joel Aispuro agreed with the mayor’s arguments, saying that it’s unclear how the Legislature may or may not address the resort city tax during the next session, and putting in place the LOT sooner than later would be a “safeguard” for establishing ongoing funding.
“Roads are in my opinion the lowest-hanging fruit. In my experience, roads are talked about more than anything,” Aispuro said, later adding, “roads seem like the easiest target for me that can make people happy and free up extra capital. Perfect? Probably not. There’s other things that absolutely need help. I think the election year is a great sample size where we can get the loudest voice from our citizens that would give us a good picture ... of what we need, if we need to go back to the drawing board.”
Council members negotiated over specific language — including whether to include alleyways.
Councilors Kyle Schreiber and Pam Duquette were especially leery of including language related to alleys, fearing that it would obligate the city to provide an addi-
tional service. Overall, Schreiber cautioned the council about overspending on improvements.
“[I]f this fund is solely dedicated to streets and we have this new funding source for streets and we go out and build a bunch of streets, well the useful lifespan of a street is about 25 years. So what happens when this fund sunsets in 25 years and now everything that we’ve built over the past 25 years needs to be rebuilt and we don’t have any funds for that?” Schreiber said.
“While I still do support this initiative, I think it’s really important that we spend this money wisely and don’t just go and build every street in town with the expectation that that’s going to last forever, because it won’t,” he added. “In 25 years we very well might be back in this exact same situation.”
With the ballot language approved and filed with the county clerk, the next step for City Hall is to educate voters on the ballot measure. Grimm promised an informational flier containing questions and answers about current infrastructure conditions and revenue, as well as interviews with local media and presentations to Sandpoint groups and organizations.
“I’ll stand out there next to a pothole and say, ‘No money to fill this,’” he said. “It’ll take a lot of education and work, and hopefully we get some feedback; hopefully it passes, and if not, we’ll learn and keep going.”
Find the full ballot measure and other supporting materials related to the 1% local option tax in the agenda packet for the Sept. 4 meeting of the City Council at sandpoint-id.municodemeetings.com .
Bouquets:
• A hearty Bouquet goes out to the city of Ponderay for their awesome achievement opening the Field of Dreams sports complex. I’m a big fan of development when it serves the people, not just wealthy people. Developments with cookie-cutter houses and luxury condos might appeal to a small number of wealthy folks who want to buy a place to hang out for a few weeks a year, but something like the Field of Dreams gives local families a place to recreate, compete, run around and just have a good time. More like this, please.
• Another Bouquet goes out to Robb Talbott with Mattox Farm Productions and all the sponsors that made the Sandpoint Summer Music Series possible. These free outdoor concerts at Farmin Park are what living in a small arts town is all about. The final performance is tonight (Sept. 12)with the Monday Night Blues Crew. It’s a local’s favorite. See you there!
Barbs:
• I shed zero tears when I saw that the stoplight had been removed from Church Street and Fifth Avenue. I wish I could have back some of the hours that I’ve wasted at this light over the years, but here we are. I am, however, perturbed that every few years we have to learn new routes and driving habits because our city streets keep changing around — sometimes even reverting to what they were before. I’m still waiting for the hilarious day when some city councilor of the future introduces a bold new plan to get rid of diagonal parking, eliminate the bulb-outs and switch the downtown streets from two-way to one-way.
Change can come from Dist. 1…
Dear editor,
It can sometimes be hard to find an easy path when you tend to lean left, and live in such a dark-red state. It was 13 years ago that the Idaho Republican Party closed the state primary elections. They are government run and taxpayer funded. (Quite sure the Republicans like it that way.) The Idaho Statesman reported June 7, 2024 that, “The recent primary will push the Idaho Legislature even further toward political extremism, but do legislators truly reflect the people they were elected to represent?”
I did not vote for Dorothy Moon nor for Scott Herndon, and they certainly don’t represent me. District 1 voted Herndon out of the Senate (thank you, one and all). I never voted for either of them, but we are still represented by both.
To make effective change, we need to start at the precinct level. Thank you Dave Britton [Perspectives, “Outvoted but unbowed as the BCRCC debates Proposition 1,” Aug. 28, 2024] and Tom Bokowy. Most Honorable mention to Kent Ivanoff [Perspectives, “Let Idahoans decide,” Aug. 28, 2024].
We all, who are allowed, need to go to the precinct meetings and raise our voices so we know who’s on our side at the next elections.
Reclaim Idaho was born in District 1 — at least Luke Mayville, one of its co-founders, was. It has clearly been proven that significant change can begin in District 1. I, for one, will vote for Jim Woodword and Mark Sauter, Steve Johnson, and the best I can find of everyone else regardless of party (once I’ve met them all) who I believe will best represent all of our citizens.
Vote yes for Prop. 1 — not for dictator Trump.
Jay Omundson Cocolalla
Thanks to Omodt for ‘preserving in spite of adversity’…
Dear editor, I’ve voted for a lot of county commissioners over the past 62 years. In my opinion, Jim McNall was the best and Luke Omodt stands beside him.
I was thinking the other day of my eighth-grade graduation at Northside School in 1955 — the same grade school Luke graduated from many years later. Our class motto — suggested by our principal, Byron Chronic — was, “Persever-
ance in Spite of Adversity.”
We were four boys and four girls, decidedly unsophisticated. Little did we know how applicable that motto was for the whole human race.
When we met Luke two-and-ahalf years ago, we concluded that based on his contributions to the general welfare of others through his employment and volunteer work, that he would be a responsible and thoughtful representative of the best interests of all Bonner County residents.
I’ve always cast my votes for candidates for elected offices who I believe will strive to represent their constituents by studying issues before casting a vote, will follow the rule of law and not their emotions, so that all of us can all expect to be treated uniformly.
Luke has done all that and more. And he has given his best.
Luke, as you return to teaching, your students will benefit from the knowledge you have gained these past two years from your immersion into government.
Skip and I appreciate your high moral compass, your dedication and devotion to the work to be done.
Our hope is that eventually voters will have had time to appreciate the importance of civility in government and will elect candidates who will set aside personal and political agendas to represent all of the people of our county.
Thank you, Luke, for persevering in spite of adversity.
Helen Newton Sandpoint
‘Trump’s contempt for soldiers’...
Dear editor,
At a recent press conference, the former president argued that receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom is “much better” than getting the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest award given to U.S. service members. Trump said the civilian award was superior because the soldiers who get the Medal of Honor are “either in very bad shape because they’ve been hit so many times by bullets, or they’re dead,” according to an Aug. 16 report on vfw.org.
Trump’s former chief of staff, retired-Gen. John Kelly, said that during his term, Trump refused to visit the graves of America’s war dead in France and called them “suckers” and “losers.” Trump also told Kelly he didn’t want to be seen with amputee veterans because “it doesn’t look good for me.”
Trump has made it clear he can’t understand why anyone would make sacrifices for a cause greater than themselves — quite a moral dilemma for a would-be commander in chief.
Based on the above, Donald Trump i: anti-veteran, anti-disabled veteran; anti-active duty service members and basically just a self-centered egotist. By the way, he had his daddy buy his way out of the draft during Vietnam by having a podiatrist provide a letter stating, “Donald has bone-spurs.”
Michael Harmelin, veteran Sandpoint
[Editor’s note: The above letters were received prior to the previous edition’s deadline on Sept. 4, and so are longer than the temporary 200-word limit imposed in the Sept. 5 edition.]
’Kudos
to Bonner General Health, EMT service and fire department’…
Dear editor,
The moment I’d been avoiding for nine-and-a-half years arrived the last Tuesday morning in August, when I tripped and fell on our concrete patio. I knew the only way that I was leaving the patio was with the help of some EMTs.
It didn’t take long for the fire truck and EMTs to arrive and quickly get me to Bonner General Health. X-rays confirmed what my pain had told me: I did have a broken bone.
Within six hours, I was in surgery and Dr. [Douglas] Cipriano had put a rod in my femur and the accompanying screws to hold it in place. I came out of surgery without nausea (amazing for me, thank you to the anesthetist) and on the road to recovery.
The care I received during the next three days at Bonner General Health was excellent, personable, timely and it was qualitatively better than my experience nine-anda-half years ago, in a larger community, when I broke both my hip and elbow. The nurses and CNAs were compassionate and professional.
We are blessed to have this small hospital with an excellent staff.
Dale Mason-Wargo Ponderay
‘Why vote yes on Prop. 1 initiative for open primaries’…
Dear editor,
On Nov. 2, 1980, Republican Steve Symms defeated U.S. Sen. Frank Church, D-Idaho, in one of the closest elections in state history.
Church was considered “the most accomplished federal legislator Idaho ever produced,” though, as
Marc Johnson wrote for the Idaho Capital Sun in a 2023 opinion piece, “the lies and distortions heaped on Church … much of it coming from a network of conservative ideologues determined to bend the Republican Party in new and destructive ways, was a preview of the politics we live with today.”
From 1995-present, Idaho governors have been Republicans and the Legislature is overwhelmingly Republican. Today, 28 of the 35 senators and 59 of the 70 House members are Republicans.
The “American Redoubt” movement has pushed newcomers to Idaho for a “political migration,” driving our politics to the extreme right, as the Spokesman-Review reported in 2016.
In 2011, legislators also passed a “closed” primary bill, resulting in only registered Republicans being able to vote in the Republican primary election.
Meanwhile, those who didn’t or couldn’t vote still paid for those elections.
Finally, in June 2024, Chair Dorothy Moon even stated no reporters allowed at the Idaho GOP convention.
Beth Allen Sandpoint
is committed to community service…
Dear editor, Mark Sauter has a genuine commitment to making our community better through service. If you’ve ever attended a Sandpoint football game, you’re likely familiar with the iconic chuck wagon. Built by the shop class at SHS and managed by Mark for years, it became a symbol of his dedication. Mark volunteered countless hours to ensure it was well maintained and used to raise funds for the school. This is the essence of what community service looks like. While Mark and I don’t see eye to eye on every issue, I have immense respect for his thoughtful approach. He takes the time to thoroughly understand the challenges we face, carefully considers their impact and earns respect not just locally, but across the state.
I’m voting for Mark — not because we agree on every topic — but because I believe in his ability to be an effective representative and trust his intentions. He’s in this for all the right reasons, and that’s what matters most.
Tom Bokowy Sandpoint
Mark Sauter
PERSPECTIVES Emily Articulated
The very best boy
By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist
Reid pushed the doors to the kennel open with tentative anticipation. Having moved back to his hometown after over a decade away, adopting a dog felt necessary to mark this experience — and himself — as changed.
The noise of the room hit him first, a cacophony of thumping tails and clicking toenails mixed with the whines and yips of hopeful pups. He walked down the aisles, heart open just enough to consider welcoming a new companion, but not so open that it might break for all the ones he wouldn’t be able to bring home.
He strode down another row of pens, passing a wiry chihuahua curled on her bed, before a big brown dog lunged at his cage’s door. The dog barked with pinned-back ears and his tail between his legs. Reid jumped forward, startled. But as he kept walking, the barking stopped, prompting him to look back over his shoulder.
He saw the same dog, but not the same dog at all, transformed with big brown eyes and a slowly wagging tail. His soulful expression silently said, “I’m sorry. I’m bad at hellos, but I think I just might be yours.”
His name was Bodi, and Reid adopted him the next day.
A month later, Reid coaxed Bodi onto the bed, holding him as he tried to wriggle free from the forced cuddles. Bodi had never been on a bed before and certainly never trusted anyone enough to expose his soft belly. Reid rubbed his hands over Bodi’s warmth and told him he was safe. Bodi relaxed.
Two years later, Bodi and I snuggled under the covers as he did the one trick I’d been responsible for teaching him. I called it the “belly rub command,” (although, admittedly, the “command” part was always directed at me). He lifted his paws to his face and held them over his nose while I rubbed his belly. If I stopped, he’d lift his paws again and cry, an obvious plea for more.
A year after that, we were on a road trip, passing through Wyoming.
“Do you think it’s time for a walk break?” I wondered aloud from the
Emily Erickson.
part of my brain that had been trained to think of Bodi’s experience and comfort, on his behalf.
We pulled onto a dirt road, the expanse of Wyoming spilling out like paint on a canvas — a dusting of shrubs, a dash of clouds and a thin horizon line, far off in the distance. Bodi hopped out of the van and nearly immediately tripped on a cattle guard, his paw catching as he yelped in pain.
I ran to him, and he limped to me (it was always to me he ran when he was hurt or sick) and I enveloped him in a hug. While I rubbed his back, he lifted his face to the wind and wildness entered his eyes. He spotted an antelope in the distance and bolted — limp gone — clearing the cattle guard in one leap. He and the antelope disappeared into specs on the horizon.
Filled with worry, Reid and I walked along the deserted road, shouting his name. An hour later, we returned to the car to find him curled up in its shade. He greeted us with full body tail wags and a “What took you so long?” expression on his brow.
Four years later, Bodi sat in the small strip of golden light, warming our front porch step. He snapped at bees and surveyed the yard, waiting for a daring squirrel to leave its treetop perch for a lower limb. As the squirrel lept, so did Bodi, sprinting down the path he’d worn from years of yard patrol. We called it the “Bodi Trail” — the stretch of dirt where grass never got the chance to grow, a perfect line from our front step to his favorite corner of fence line. With the squirrel chased away, Bodi walked gingerly back to the porch, his stiff limbs the first signs of age creeping into his body. We didn’t need to worry yet. We still had time.
Two weeks ago, I lay on the couch, dozing in and out of an afternoon nap, when I was jolted awake by a screech of tires. My world became a series of fragments, flashes of an impossible scene that was impossibly real. An empty front porch. A broken gate latch. A big white truck. A “Please Drive Slow” sign disregarded. My knees scraping as they hit the gravel. A guttural scream (did that come from me?). My shaking hands and the vet confirming what I already knew. My boy was gone.
Yesterday, I walked Bodi’s path to where we laid him in eternal rest — buried with a pillow so he’d always have the comfort he came to know — and found the trodden earth a perfect reflection of the impact of his life on ours. Like his trail in our yard, Bodi is woven into the very fabric of who we are — his lessons of love and loyalty
and the transformative power of trust and companionship forever reframing our outlook on the world.
I feel his absence in all the spaces he used to fill, in all the ways I reshaped myself to form around him: the spot on our bed that’s no longer warm, the leash that hangs uselessly by the door, the treat jar that won’t ever empty and the entryway that won’t ever be filled again by his jubilant hellos.
But more than his absence, I feel the love that only a pet can unlock – whole and unconditional, wild and beautiful, immortal. Bodi was the very best boy. And it was the honor of a lifetime to be his human.
Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains. Connect with her online at bigbluehat.studio.
Science: Mad about
vortex
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
One of my favorite aboveground pool activities as a child was to grab a bunch of pool noodles and start running around the perimeter of the pool with my friends. Our parents would scream “Stop! That’s how kids get killed!” and we would laugh and continue to make a giant whirlpool until it was strong enough that we could let our feet leave the bottom and allow the currents to swirl us around the pool for like 30 seconds. Then we’d start all over again and somehow not destroy the pool in the process.
The ’90s were a magical time where kids with relatively low situational awareness could manipulate the forces of nature and somehow not die in the process.
As a juvenile buffoon, I had a modicum of understanding of what we were actually doing by “making a whirlpool.” It turns out that creating vortices is a pretty significant mathematical marvel that my young brain was able to puzzle out by grabbing objects with a lot of surface area and pushing them around the edge of the pool.
The large surface area was creating resistance when the object was pushed against the water, which meant my body needed to exert more force in order to move it. This became easier to do the more energy I exerted over time, because that energy was being transferred into the surrounding water with nowhere to go but the direction in which I was pushing.
In a way, I was effectively banking energy in the surrounding fluid that I could exploit when jumping onto an inflatable.
The reason this doesn’t work when you try it in the lake is because the energy has so much room to disperse. Your body simply can’t output the amount of energy needed to trigger a vortex in such a vast body of water.
There are three major forces at play to create vortices in huge bodies of water: gravity, temperature and wind. Whirlpools in the ocean are caused by water currents traveling in two different directions, which is most often influenced by a differentiation in temperature. Fluid matter doesn’t impact in the same manner that solid matter does.
Two cars colliding on the freeway will smash together, scatter their pieces and fling or push the intact bits around based on the forces involved.
Water currents won’t collide and stop, but will instead move around each other, which then causes a change in pressure and a deformation of the water’s shape.
It appears that the center of the whirlpool is sinking to create a void in the center. What is actually happening is that the change in pressure is pulling the neighboring air down into the whirlpool. If you want to see this in action with your own eyes, simply fill up your tub and pull the drain — just be sure to actually take a bath first so you’re not senselessly wasting water.
The force involved with draining your bathtub is gravity. The drain of your tub acts as a limiter for the amount of water that can leave the tub at once. As more water
drains, the overall amount in the tub diminishes, which reduces the amount of area in which the energy is being dispersed. The water begins rushing toward the drain but is forced to spin in a vortex, as the drain is limiting the amount of fluid that leaves the tub. The water acting in this fashion begins to pull air down as well create the identifiable whirlpool pattern.
Fluid dynamics are useful for a number of applications in human society. Whirlpools aren’t simply churning features of oceanic destruction — we use them regularly in a number of environments.
Mixing paint is one of the most vital uses of vortices in human society. Paint is often composed of three materials: pigment, binder and medium. In the case of acrylic paint, the pigment is bound by acrylic suspended in water as a medium. Over time, gravity pulls these components apart and the heavier pigments begin to settle at the bottom. Solving this problem is simple: create a vortex.
A vortex mixer is a motor with an angled head and rubber cap attached to it. When you press down on the rubber cap, it engages the head with the motor, which then causes it to spin. Spinning an item on a single axis creates centrifugal force, which will actually push the pigments to the sides and keep most of the mixture separated.
Centrifugal force is fantastic for separating materials, but not for mixing them together. The key of the vortex mixer is that the head is angled, effectively swirling the paint. This motor will run up to 3,200 revolutions per minute, or about 53 times per
second. This is a lot of energy being transferred into a very small amount of liquid, which intensifies the vortex and mixes up the pigment, binder and medium.
Another interesting way people create vortices for mixing is by using magnets. A magnetic mixer works in two parts. The first is a magnetic stir stick placed inside of a vial that is suspended by clamps over a magnetic disc.
Using a dial, you adjust the amount of electricity that travels through the base, which alters the strength of the magnetic field. This field will cause the stir stick to move around rapidly inside of the vial. By tuning this field to a precisely desired level, the stirrer will create a perfect vortex for mixing chemicals. Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
• People have been growing plants indoors for thousands of years, but we can thank the Victorians for starting the houseplant trend. Architecture became more conducive to using plants as decor, and houseplants were a status symbol.
• Houseplants are good for our health. Workers in offices with plants take fewer sick days than their counterparts in plantfree spaces. Plants offer allergy relief by capturing dust and other particles. They clean the air; plants like Sansevieria, also known as snake plants, are particularly good at filtering out volatile organic compounds. And they’re a natural mood lifter — plants make people happy.
• There are more than 10,000 species of houseplants commercially available today. Your local plant shop has around 130 varieties for sale at any given time.
• Variegated plants are often more valuable than non-variegated
ones because of their relative rarity. Variegation is caused by genetic mutation, manifested as patches or streaks of white or yellow on the leaves. In 2021, a Monstera adansonii variegata reportedly sold for $38,000 on eBay. A non-variegated version will set you back about $25.
• Google search data on the most-Instagrammed houseplants revealed that the most popular plant in the U.S. and Canada in 2024 is Monstera deliciosa, also known as the “Swiss cheese plant” (so named because of the fenestrations, or windows, in its leaves).
• According to survey data from research firm Statista, about 89% of U.S. respondents reported owning at least one houseplant in 2020.
Erin Johnson, owner of Verdant Plant Shop, located upstairs in the Cedar Street Bridge, is a former editor, lapsed Master Gardener and longtime plant enthusiast.
A vortex in the water. Courtesy photo.
Grandiose ideas
By Mark Reiner Reader Contributor
Government, democracy, religion, Christianity: all grandiose, big, expansive ideas that have moved humanity to form unions, and to kill each other. There are many more with hundreds of subdivisions. All of us are involved with them like it or not, for we swim in a world of ideas. The very choosing of one as more important than another creates our life expression.
As a nation, we will soon be picking a president who will try to represent big ideas. Remember the words of Edward Abbey who wrote about, “the hardheaded realization, based on five thousand years of experience, that we cannot entrust the management of our lives to kings, priests, politicians, generals, and county commissioners.” Can big ideas help us choose?
Competition, a Darwinian idea of the survival of the fittest, and the “laws” of supply and demand based upon the belief of man’s greedy nature are, at their core, beliefs that this reality is far from ideal. Idealism presupposes “that which is good” as opposed to “that which is less good.”
Also, frustrations arise when thinking is black or white, simplistic, when there is a tendency to look for others’ shortcomings, to think in terms of “what’s right” or what is “wrong.”
If you feel others’ actions are “not in the best interest,” if you feel unworthy, powerless to act and yet are idealistic, you may begin to feel it is necessary to take matters into your own hands to achieve it by saying “the end justifies the means,” Machiavelli’s big idea.
Yet, wisdom would say each step must be worthy of the goal. Every act not in keeping with the “ideal means” begins to destroy the ideal at its very core.
What is the single most important quality we should live by as best we can? Most would answer: “love.” This answer is generally the same regardless of one’s religious affiliations or non-affiliations. Though there are groups committed to racial, religious or political separateness, usually fomenting fear and hatred, let us focus upon the ideal that most of us are committed to, expressing love.
The success or failure of love is based upon our response to that energy. In other words, it is ourselves who must fit our consciousness and actions to match that love. Calm cooperation could lovingly fulfill our common goals.
Some people are responsive to candidates who claim to represent them using Jesus’ name. That love has been called “The Christ,” but the energy of love is known by other names in other places, The Bodhisattva, The Imam Mahdi or Lord Maitreya. Remember the quote of Edward Abbey? Perhaps we might foster another option.
Is it possible to watch the collapse of government and society, witness lawlessness on all sides and at the same time watch the initial stages of a new civilization arising based upon a more inclusive love?
There is a great awakening taking place being expressed by people of wisdom with a wide variety of spiritual/religious beliefs outside of the old patterns. Evidence of love is seen
in purposeful peaceful visions and inclusive thinking, such as non-governmental groups without a political party, nor dogmatic leaders.
Doctors Without Borders is a wellknown example, but there are dozens of others. Local Futures works to renew ecological, social and spiritual wellbeing by promoting local economics. Business Plan for Peace challenges the status quo by focusing on solid evidence indicating what is possible.
These groups attempt to serve humanity, though they seldom use religious terms to express this.
To put this in practical terms, consider voting for the candidate whose term in office would evidence the greatest love — the smoothest and least violent path toward a future where we can express our highest ideals without government forcing any agenda.
Ask yourself questions, such as which candidate evidences the most anger? Which candidate is more humble? Whose love is more inclusive?
Neither candidate is perfect, nor
can any one person or party express the wishes of every individual; however, each of us as individuals and families can find positive, constructive ways to assist the community and thus the nation and the world. Choose wisely.
dumb of the week: now we’re Eating pets?
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
It takes a special brand of dumb to make it into this column. Today’s topic reaches a whole new level in the stratosphere.
The Sept. 10 presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris contained several fiery moments, but one of Trump’s claims brought the world to its knees. With ridicule.
“They’re eating the dogs,” Trump said. “The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame.”
The preposterous assertion was enough to send Harris into a laughing fit; and, except for Trump’s sycophantic followers, the rest of the world joined her. It even outshined this doozy of a line by Trump later in the debate: “I got involved with the Taliban.”
But where did this weird claim originate? As with many
of the conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and his gang of MAGAts, the origins are murky.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance tweeted about the claims the day before the debate, remarking that the Haitian community in the Springfield, Ohio area has “caused a lot of problems,” adding that constituents have told him that animals were “disappearing.” Vance wrote, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
The usual actors picked up the claims Sept. 9 and blasted them all over social media.
Rep. Jim Jordan posted a cringey AI-generated photo of Trump wading through water “saving” a goose and a kitten (which Jordan’s House Judiciary GOP Twitter account mislabeled as a “duck”). Wannabe edgelord Elon Musk also posted several memes about it, as well as the insufferable Sen. Ted Cruz and others.
It’s impossible to tell ex-
actly where Vance and Trump got this nonsense in the first place. Some news outlets point to a Springfield resident claiming to be a social media influencer who testified at a City Council meeting on Aug. 27, urging the government to “do something,” and making unsubstantiated allegations that Haitian immigrants were capturing ducks in a local park and eating them.
The story was destined to fade away, but Trump brought it up at the presidential debate.
Even after moderator David Muir fact-checked him, telling Trump that the Springfield city manager confirmed there was “no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Trump doubled down.
“The people on television say my dog was taken and used for food,” he shouted. “So maybe he said that and maybe that’s a good thing to say for a city manager. ...
But the people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there.”
Ooookay. What are the people on television saying now, Donald?
While many news outlets have called out the downright insanity of Trump’s claims, they seem to have fallen short of calling these attacks what they are, which is blatantly racist and xenophobic. Par for the course, I suppose.
The posts by Trump and his followers have gained tens of millions of views and yet again distracted us from important issues people actually care about.
It wouldn’t be so bad if so many millions of people didn’t believe — and spread — every bloviation that comes from Trump. But they do. They spread it just like the lies that
schools put out litter boxes for “furry” children, or that women abort or “execute” babies after they are born, or that people have to flush their toilets 10 times instead of once, or that injecting oneself with bleach will help cure COVID-19, or that the 2020 election was “stolen,” or that windmill noises cause cancer, or that Barack Obama was born in Kenya... on and on it goes. Needless to say, it’s one lie after another that Trump feels the American people are too stupid to fact-check.
We are in the dumbest timeline, where, as George Orwell wrote, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go eat a hamster.
Three homemade watercraft took part in the fifth-annual Sand Creek Regatta, which brought about 50 spectators to the banks of the downtown Sandpoint waterfront on the morning of Sept. 7 to watch the contestants sink or swim.
The kids and friends of Beet and Basil owners Jess and Jeremy Holzapfel fielded — or floated — a duck-themed vessel, alongside a crew helmed by Jon Knepper, who started the event in 2019 with his wife, Amanda.
Reader Publisher Ben Olson captained the winning craft — a 25-foot-long “war canoe” constructed of duct tape, PVC piping and gardening plastic dubbed “The Coffin,” and propelled by five rowers including Cadie Archer, Reader Editor Zach Hagadone, Justin Iverson, Reader Staff Writer Soncirey Mitchell and Olson.
Though the Reader took home the first-place trophy, every crew won something: the youngsters took home the award for “Most Creative,” citing their craft’s combination of plastic bottles, noodle floats and a trio of kiddie pools, while the Knepper vessel — a platform constructed of large pipes capped with garbage bags — earned the “Epic Fail” accolade.
That said, it was the first time in five years that the Knepper crew finished the race without getting wet.
“We’d like to thank the Reader for their continued support. It was the fifth-annual and you have shown up for all five races, run articles and promoted the event,” Knepper wrote in an email. “Another thank you to Beet and Basil for sponsoring the kids’ vessel. It was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. We look forward to next year and hope that others will join in on the fun.”
To submit a photo for a future edition, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.
Photo by Steve Archer.
Photo by Arleen Lothian
Photo by Rich Milliron
Photo by Sarah Mitchell
Photo by Arleen Lothian
Photo by Arleen Lothian
Preparing for fall with Natural Connections
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The Sandpoint branch of the East Bonner County Library hosts the latest installment of its Natural Connections series Saturday, Sept. 14, which will feature a full day of programming to help plant lovers and homeowners prepare for fall. The first presentation begins at 10 a.m., and attendees can participate in any number of courses throughout the day.
“This month we have a garden-heavy Natural Connections because the weather is turning and soon we’ll be spending more time indoors doing our wintertime hobbies,” said Garden Coordinator and Seed Librarian Kelli Burt.
At 10 a.m., experts from Backwoods Solar Electric Systems will present, “Living with Renewable Energy,” discussing solar, micro-hydro and wind power, and how each can be incorporated into local homes and gardens. The group will also explain tax credits and federal and state incentives for installing renewable energy sources.
At noon, University of Idaho Extension Educator Jennifer Jensen will dive into caring for ornamentals in her program, “Perennial Perfection.” Jensen will offer interactive lessons on pruning
and propagating perennials, as well as preparing the garden for winter.
“Her expertise promises to be a game-changer for those of us who struggle with this aspect of gardening,” said Burt.
At 1 p.m., experienced landscaper and horticulturist Nina Eckberg will teach a hands-on course on soil fertility, “Let’s Talk Dirt.” Eckberg, who Burt describes as a “treasure trove of knowledge,” will give practical advice on testing and amending soil with compost, cover crops and more.
The day concludes with “Wild & Seasonal Bouquet Design” at 2:30 p.m., hosted by Master Gardener Nancy Hastings of All Seasons Garden & Floral. Her walkthrough covers how to harvest, trim and arrange flowers and local foliage into beautiful bouquets — and attendees will even walk away with their own arrangements, which will blend store-bought flowers with clippings from the library’s garden.
There’s no registration required and all presentations are free and beginner-friendly. The library will provide light refreshments, though anyone planning to attend every class should pack a lunch.
For more information, visit ebonnerlibrary.org.
Rock Creek Alliance hosts grizzly presentation
By Reader Staff
The Rock Creek Alliance will host a presentation titled “Grizzly Bears of the Northern Rockies: Reconnect, Repopulate and Recover,” on Thursday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Sandpoint High School auditorium (410 S. Division Ave.).
The event is free and open to all ages and will be presented by Mike Bader and Paul Sieracki. Bader is an independent wildlife consultant who
lives in Missoula, Mont., and Sieracki is a geospatial analyst and wildlife biologist who lives in Priest River. Both have experience in grizzly bear management and research, and have authored peer-reviewed scientific papers on grizzly bears and their habitat.
Their presentation will present an opportunity to learn about the natural history and conservation biology of grizzly bears, including their habitat needs, threats to their recovery and conservation challenges.
Spacepoint hosts rocket tech innovator Stoke Space for special Sandpoint event
By Reader Staff
Spacepoint is bringing another special event to Sandpoint, highlighting opportunities in the space industry and connecting locals with some of the leaders in the field.
The nonprofit, with a mission of promoting and expanding Sandpoint’s connections with space, is hosting one of the industry’s leading innovators Stoke Space with a meet and greet at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Sandpoint Organic Agriculture Center (10881 N. Boyer Road).
Based in Kent, Wash., and founded by alums of the Blue Origin aerospace company, Stoke Space is working to develop a fully reusable, medium-lift rocket that it intends to “unlock affordable access to, through, and from space — fueling the expansion of Earth’s economy in space with a 20-times reduced cost to orbit.”
Stoke Space design engineer Matt
Dethlefsen will be on hand to talk with attendees during the 5 p.m. reception, which will feature complimentary hors d’oeuvres from Ivano’s and solo piano from Sarah Russell.
Dethlefsen will offer a presentation on Stoke Space and its vision at 6 p.m., followed by a raffle at 7 p.m. and a challenge in which participants will have a chance to win Space Camp
tickets. The Area 7B Observatory — the largest observatory in North Idaho — will open at 8 p.m. for stargazing.
Tickets to the reception, Stoke talk, raffle and Space Camp challenge, and stargazing are $55 for a family of four or more and $5 for attendees under 18. All-inclusive tickets for adults are $30.
Families of four or more can get tickets to attend just the Stoke presen-
tation for $30, $15 for adults and $5 for those under 18.
Get tickets at spacepoint.org/ event-details-registration/stoke-space.
For more info on Stoke Space, visit stokespace.com.
Photos courtesy of Spacepoint.
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
THURSDAY, september 12
Sandpoint Summer Music Series • 6pm @ Farmin Park
Join the Eichardt’s Monday Night Blues Crew for the finale to this series of free outdoor summer music concerts. Food/ drink vendors on site. Gates 5pm. No dogs or outside booze
Ty Herndon w/ Jackson Roltgen
7pm @ Panida Theater
Renowned country star who has lived a life and career of extreme highs and lows. Panida.org for tickets
Live Music w/ Jason Perry
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Truck Mills & Global Gumbo
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Tim G.
6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes
6-9pm @ 1908 Saloon
Live Music w/ John Firshi 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Live Music w/ Sydney Dawn
6-9pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Chris Paradis
6-9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall
Live Music w/ Mobius Riff
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Live Music w/ Ben Vogel
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ John Daffron
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Brittany Jean in Concert
7pm @ The Pearl Theater (Bonners Ferry)
See Page 21 for more info
Live Music: Big Phatty & the Inhalers
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
No cover. 21+. Good times.
Sandpoint Chess Club
9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am
September 12-19, 2024
West Coast Swing Lessons
4:15-5:30pm @ The Yellow Room All dancers welcome. $5-10 donation. No partner necessary. 102 Euclid Ave.
Grizzly Bears of the Northern Rockies
7pm @ Sandpoint High School auditorium
Join wildlife biologists Mike Bader and Paul Sierackle for a talk about the grizzly bears’ biology, conservation efforts and hazards they face. FREE!
FriDAY, september 13
Buffalo Speedway in concert
8:45pm @ The Hive
High-energy country rock and blues
Live Music w/ Kyle Swafford 5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Kenny James Miller Band
5-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Live Music w/ Hot Cheetos
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
SATURDAY, september 14
Let’s Vike It Viking Faire
10am-5pm @ Newport City Park (Wash.)
Free inaugural family-friendly event to learn about the Viking Age
Ponderay Neighbor Day
10am-5pm @ Newport City Park (Wash.)
See Page 20 for more info
Spacepoint Fall Equinox Event
5-9pm @ Spacepoint, 10881 N. Boyer Rd. Join Matt Dethlefson with Stoke Space, one of the world’s first commercial rocket companies. More info on Page 17. Spacepoint.org
Boundary County Artist Tour (Sept. 14-15)
10am-4pm @ various locations
See teascarlet.com for more info
SunDAY, september 15
Artists in the Garden 1-4pm @ Create Arts Center, Newport Regional art for sale. Live music
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalapeño’s “Saving Jesus Redux series: Who Was Jesus?”
Live Piano w/ Rich & Jenny Jazz Duo 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Trivia Night 7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Game Night 6:30pm @ Tervan
Bingo Night
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
The Dead Don’t Hurt Q&A (Sept. 13-14)
7:30pm @ Panida Theater (SOLD OUT)
Featuring Q&A w/ Viggo Mortensen
Contra Dance
7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall
Live music, lively caller, new dancer session at 7pm. $5 donation
Find Your Strength 5k & 1k 10am-2pm @ Sandpoint City Beach
Annual run hosted by the BGH Foundation, concluding with after-party with kids’ activities and more
Trina’s Ride annual fundraiser & music 1-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
A portion of sales donated to Bulldog Connor Hutchings fighting lymphoma. Live music by Doghouse Boyz (14pm) and Yotes (6-8pm), live auction
Natural Connections at the Library 10am-2:30pm @ Sandpoint Library
See full list of events on Page 16
BC Gardeners Fall Plant Sale 9am-4pm @ Ponderay Events Center
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park
Live Music w/ Irish Folk Jam 3-6pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
monDAY, september 16
Outdoor Experience Group Run
6pm @ Outdoor Experience 3-5 miles, all levels welcome
Trivia Night
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
tuesDAY, september 17
Ballroom Dance Lessons
5:15-6:15pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center
Benny on the Deck • 5-7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Featuring guest Double Shot
Trivia Night
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Game Night 6:30pm @ Tervan
Bingo Night
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Magic with Star Alexander 5-8pm @ Jalepeño’s
Teacher Appreciation Night 4-8pm @ Barrel 33 15% off food and drinks
Pool Tournament
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
wednesDAY, september 18
Live Piano w/ Sean Bostrom 5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
ThursDAY, september 19
Plant and Sip
5:30-8pm @ Barrel 33
Plant a ponytail palm. $55. See website
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park
Live Music w/ Cafe Gas Boys
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Growing Great Garlic event 4-6pm @ Sandpoint Library garden
North Idaho through history’s eyes
Historian Jack Nisbet presents ‘What David Thompson Saw’
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
In collaboration with The Bonner County History Museum, celebrated naturalist and writer Jack Nisbet will give a presentation on fur trader, surveyor and cartographer David Thompson at the Heartwood Center (615 Oak St., in Sandpoint) on Sunday, Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. The talk will cover Thompson’s journeys around North Idaho, as well as the human and natural history he documented.
“My mother and grandmother introduced me to natural history at a young age. I try to maintain that child-like sense of curiosity and adventure every day,” Nisbet told the Reader His work focuses on the “landscape and people of the Intermountain West.” For this presentation, he specifically honed in on historic field journals, letters, oral accounts and watercolors depicting local trails from the 1840s and ’50s.
Attendees can enjoy a glass of wine as they explore the strange-yet-familiar landscape of the past, from flora and fauna to geological and climate studies.
“Since David Thompson was the first person to write about and map large swaths of this region, I keep returning to his journals as both a benchmark and as a window into the past, present and future of the place where we live,” said Nisbet.
“The fact that so many of Thompson’s fur trade crew remained in this area and married into tribal families means that there is a continuous stream of oral knowledge to compare with written accounts stretching from his time to ours,” he added. “Every ripple in this stream offers a chance to better understand how we fit into the larger world.”
Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for youth, available at bonner-county-history-museum.square.site. For more information, visit jacknisbet.com and bonnercountyhistory.org.
COMMUNITY
Ponderay marks eighth-annual Neighbor Day amid year full of big news
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Ponderay has long been called “the little city with the big future,” and that certainly seems to be coming true. Ponderay opened Phase 1 of the long-envisioned Field of Dreams Recreation Complex with a history-making gathering on Aug. 29. Meanwhile, the Front Yard Project — connecting Ponderay with its lakefront and the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail — is ongoing.
Now, it’s time for the eighth-annual Ponderay Neighbor Day on Saturday, Sept. 14, and there’s much to celebrate.
“This is a big year for Ponderay all the way around,” Ponderay Planning Director KayLeigh Miller told the Reader. “We’ve seen a huge increase in population and have some really great long-term projects that are coming to life this year.”
With the theme of “Celebrating our Connections,” events run from 1-6 p.m. at Harbison Field, located behind
the Hoot Owl restaurant on Highway 200, with parking on Emerald Industrial Drive.
Local band One Street Over will perform from 1:30-5:30 p.m., alongside carnival games, kids crafts, inflatables, bungee trampoline, pony rides, face painting, a beer garden, food trucks, kettle corn and more.
This year’s event features the largest number of vendor booths in its history, and city booths will provide information and outreach on the Comp Plan, Front Yard Project, The Pond seasonal skating rink and renewal of Ponderay’s 1% local option tax, which is up for renewal on the November ballot.
Sponsors include the city of Ponderay, Ting Internet, The Co-Op Gas & Supply Company, HMH Engineering, P1FCU, Umpqua Bank, Pony Go Round, GCH Garden Custom Homes, Selkirk Sealcoat, Mountain West Bank, Avista and Goodwill.
For more info, visit cityofponderay. org/ponderay-neighbor-day.
MUSIC
Rooted in folk
By Reader Staff
Whether opening for Three Dog Night’s sold-out concert in New York City, playing the legendary Bluebird Cafe in Nashville or performing at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas, Brittany Jean has appeared on some pretty big stages. Now, returning for her fifth performance at the Pearl Theater in Bonners Ferry at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14, the folk singer-songwriter will share her music with North Idahoans once again.
While she was born and raised in the Chicagoland
Nashville
area, Brittany Jean currently lives in a small apple town in north-central Washington. Her style is rooted in the folk and Americana music she has loved all her life.
Her performances range from cozy house concerts and wineries to large concerts in grand auditoriums, theaters and barns. She plays original songs from six studio albums and one EP — all recorded in Nashville. Her latest, Colors & Covers, was released in November 2023.
Brittany Jean’s songs and stories explore a wide variety of topics: a field of golden
recording artist Brittany Jean returns to the Pearl
sunflowers, the coast of Ireland, being wild at heart and a hidden cabin in the north.
Along with her own originals, Brittany Jean also accentuates her live sets with covers by her favorite artists, such as Stevie Nicks, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, Jim Croce, Carly Simon and more.
Brittany Jean will play songs from Colors & Covers, as well as give a sneak peek at songs she’ll record in October for her seventh studio album, to be released next year.
7 p.m., $5, kids 12 and under free. The Pearl Theater, 7160 Ash St., Bonners Ferry, 208-610-2846, thehistoricpearltheater.org. Listen at bjeanmusic.com.
Sandpoint Summer Series concludes with local blues jam
By Reader Staff
The fifth-annual Sandpoint Summer Music Series will wrap up Thursday, Sept. 12 with a local’s night at Sandpoint’s Farmin Park featuring John Firshi and the Monday Night Blues Crew. The free concert begins at 6 p.m. and is open to all ages. Gates open at 5 p.m.
Known for their long-running public jam every Monday night at Eichardt’s Pub, the Blues Crew specializes in a loose and groovy collection of jams that span genres. Firshi is an accomplished guitarist who is comfortable playing anything from the Grateful Dead to the blues, and the
other players who share the stage with him will provide one last night of dancing in the park until next summer.
7B Origin will be serving non-alcoholic beverages and Eichardt’s Pub will handle the adult drinks.
The Sandpoint Summer Music Series started in 2019 and has consistently attracted 300-500 people every show. Spearheaded by Robb Talbott at Mattox Farm Productions, the series is made possible by local sponsors, including:
The Pend Oreille Arts Council, Washington Trust Bank, KPND Radio, Selle Design Group, the Heartwood Center, The Novas at Evergreen
Realty, the Sandpoint Reader, Spruce Property Care, Ting, the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, Connie’s Cafe, North Root Architecture, The Mycelium Collective and Misty Mountain Furniture.
6 p.m., gates at 5 p.m., FREE. Farmin Park, on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Oak Street in downtown Sandpoint, mattoxfarm. com. Courtesy photo.
Saying that Ben Vogel combines rock, pop and R&B doesn’t capture the familiar yet innovative sound of this singer, songwriter and classically trained bassist. Vogel’s original music flits between genres, often sounding like Death Cab for Cutie covering the Eagles — or vice versa.
Sandpointians will also recognize this Coeur d’Alenebased artist from his band Zoramena (the Basque word
for “madness”), which storms local venues with its dynamic rock revival. Escape the pre-autumn chill and spend an evening listening to originals and indie favorites Saturday, Sept. 14. At the Pend d’Oreille Winery.
— Soncirey Mitchell
5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., 208-2658545, powine.com. Listen at benvogelmusic.com.
Everyone knows that two is better than one, and that goes for Double Shot, too — the duo of brothers Kenny and Jonny Mason, who audiences know from Newport, Wash., Priest River and surrounds for their solid classic rock sound.
Beyond that, the Masons are also expert harmonizers with a repertoire that brings in different genres and eras. Also no strangers to Sand-
This week’s RLW by Terry Owens
Bruce Dickinson is best known as the lead singer of Iron Maiden. The band was an enormous worldwide success in the ’80s, with albums like The Number of The Beast and Powerslave. However, Dickinson became restless and left the band in 1993. Not one to stay idle, he made solo albums and became a commercial airline pilot, which would become an asset after he rejoined Iron Maiden in 1999. What Does This Button Do? is Bruce’s autobiography. He covers his youth, musical adventures, his enthusiasm for airplanes and fencing, his battle with cancer and more. He also narrated the audiobook. Find it on Amazon.
point, Double Shot will be rocking the back patio at Connie’s Lounge for a Wednesday night Benny on the Deck show that’ll get you through the mid-week slump.
— Zach Hagadone
6 p.m., FREE. Connie’s Lounge back patio, 323 Cedar St., 208255-2227, conniescafe.com.
LISTEN
Crank up the sounds of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest every Monday at 9 p.m. with The Beast and The Priest with Terry Nobody. An hour of British Heavy Metal from the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s,’10s and ’20s on Panhandle Community Radio 88.5 FM KRFY and streaming on the web at krfy.org.
WATCH
Flight 666 is a documentary about Ed Force One, a Boeing 757 customized to carry Iron Maiden, their crew and stage show. It was piloted by Bruce Dickinson for the “Somewhere Back In Time” world tour. The film also features the band, the crew and the hordes of Maiden fanatics who made it possible. It contains concert footage from around the world. Stream it on YouTube.
Brittany Jean. Courtesy photo.
From Northern Idaho News, Sept. 16, 1904
BRAVE BOY MEETS DEATH
One of those sad fatalities where the parents of a child are the immediate witnesses of his death occurred at Clark Fork Sunday morning and it, together with the killing of Operator John Leonard in the railroad collision Friday at this point, has cast a pall of gloom over the little town in the mountains. Seldom is a community called upon to be the victim of two such distressing accidents in so short a while.
Sunday morning, J.W. Eddy, who makes his home on O’Connell island about two miles down the river from Clark Fork, was taking his family to church at the village by boat. It was customary for the family to make the weekly trip to church service Sunday by conveyance, but last Sunday they departed in a row boat, which Mr. Eddy was poling. About halfway to Clark Fork Mr. Eddy slipped with the pole and the boat was capsized. Mr. Eddy succeeded in getting his wife and infant to the shore and then returned to the waters of the fast mountain stream to rescue his two boys, Glen and Leland. Glen, about 10, was heroically holding tightly to his little brother and was making heroic endeavors to cling to the slippery bottom of the boat. The father went ashore with the younger boy, but by the time he reached the boat for the third time Glen had gone down. The father’s coat was mistaken by the terror stricken father for the floating body of his son and he swam in the icy mountain stream to it before he found the deception.
Although searching parties looked all week for the body of the boy, they had not found the remains up to Thursday and the body no doubt has been carried ere this a long distance below the scene of the tragedy.
BACK OF THE BOOK Proselytizing despair
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Pop culture started down a dark path in the early 2010s with the rise of shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, which have dominated the TV industry for more than 10 years with their myriad spinoffs and the indelible marks left on the projects that came after. I’ve tried both shows — as well as too many of those they inspired — and discovered within a few episodes that they’re little more than multimillion-dollar productions made to traffic in trauma and proselytize despair.
I love tragedy. When it’s well-written, tragedy is cathartic and gives its audience the opportunity to be vulnerable and experience otherwise devastating emotions in a safe, controlled environment.
In famous tragedies like Saving Private Ryan, death fits seamlessly into the narrative because, paradoxically, it’s both inevitable and avoidable. Therein lies the crux of tragedy — hope. The audience can always point to one or two decisions when if the character had just chosen A instead of B, everything would have turned out alright. But this character, with all their vices and virtues, was always going to choose B because that’s who they are.
So when Wade or Gavroche or Bruno dies (and, in case you don’t recognize those characters, I won’t name their films), the audience can sob their eyes out; experience the fear, pain and loss; and feel cleansed afterward. It’s a hard emotional reset.
Violence-laden trauma porn like Game of Thrones — or now its spinoff House of the Dragon — doesn’t complete this emotional cycle. The depictions of death, mutilation and rape are so frequent as to become meaningless, so
STR8TS Solution
viewers are left desensitized with only a pervasive, hollow sadness. It’s all the pain with none of the benefits.
These stories embrace nihilism to such an extent that their overarching message is not only that caring for one another is pointless, but that the only constant in the world is senseless and insatiable cruelty. HBO spent $15 million per episode to tell audiences to give up and give in.
When I think about the glorification of despondency, one scene in particular comes to mind from The Walking Dead — whose tenets are, I’m sure, reflected in its six spinoffs. At the beginning of one episode, the main characters drive down a deserted road laden with zombies. An unnamed man walks toward them, elated to see other human beings, and begs to join them. They drive past without stopping or acknowledging his presence. Hours later, the characters retrace their steps and find the man’s mutilated body. They pull over, shoot the zombies feasting on him in a matter of seconds and loot his corpse.
The scenes had no plot relevance and, as far as I can tell, were never addressed again, yet they left me with a harrowing sadness that followed me throughout the day without giving way to a cathartic release. It left me hollow.
The “heroes” could have easily saved him, yet they viewed him as a resource, rather than a human being. The theme is obvious: there are no heroes. Humans are inherently ruthless, callous and self-serving, and life is worthless unless it’s your own.
These pessimistic narratives feed on and perpetuate the ideology of survivalism, spawning the doomsday preppers who hoard guns to shoot their neighbors rather than plant gardens to feed them. At the same time, they give us permission to be selfish — to refuse to wear
Sudoku Solution
a mask or provide free school lunches — because these narratives tell us that there’s no such thing as benevolence. People only care about themselves, so why bother caring about them?
Stories like these aren’t worth the effort it takes to digest them, nor the temporary surge of dopamine they provide. Media doesn’t have to pretend that everybody lives or that good people always meet good ends, but let there be hope alongside pain. We are inundated with enough tragedy in our lives, we don’t need invented stories declaring that that’s all humanity is.
Media needs to stop feeding this bloodthirsty narrative, and viewers need to stop consuming it like it’s a life lesson or universal commentary on human existence. Our current political landscape makes it seem like it’s getting harder and harder to convince people to care about one another.
Keep throwing multimillion-dollar nihilistic, paranoid fantasies into the mix and we’ll allow reality to careen into the grizzly world that only exists (for now) in fiction.
We used to laugh at Grandpa when he’d head off to go fishing. But we wouldn’t be laughing that evening, when he’d come back with some whore he picked up in town.
Solution on page 22
Laughing Matter
By Bill Borders
Corrections: Othingnay erehay, uckerssay! piffle /PIF-uhl/ [noun] 1. nonsense, as trivial or senseless talk
Week of the
“His argument was full of piffle — no one took it seriously.”
CROSSWORD
ACROSS
1. Consumed 6. Failures
11. What something costs 12. Got away 15. Casual eatery 16. In a dreamy manner
17. East southeast
18. Inaudible
20. Hurried on foot
21. Europe’s highest volcano 23. Play parts 24. Tube 25. Applaud 26. Algonquian Indian
Cultural doings 28. Hades 29. Viper 30. Intimate 31. Eight times
Category 36. 3 in Roman numerals 37. “Do ____ others” 41. Assess 42. Ripped 43. Maize 44. Small boat 45. Containers 46. It was
Anagram of “One” 48. Printed mistake
Hasten
Ultimate
Solution on page 22
Rat or mouse
Echo
Dirty look
Shopworn
Patriarch
DOWN
Long, formal letter
Armory
Small songbird
Beige
A noble gas
Harangue
Utilizers
Solution on page 22 8. Cigarfish
Flat hat
Apparitions
Pass by
Physics unit
Kind of nut
Deceitful
Severe
Galore
Output
Enclosure
Ever last one
Metal money
Anger
Not second
Furrow
Heartfelt 38. Not anyplace 39. Fitness guru 40. Beginning 42. Harangue 44. Elk or caribou 45. Main impact
