Reader september8 2016l

September 8, 2016 / FREE / Vol. 13 Issue 36

City passes noise ordinance

Sept. 11

Fifteen years later

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(wo)MAN compiled by

Susan Drinkard

on the street

Where were you 15 years ago when the World Trade Center was attacked?

“I saw the first plane and thought it was an accident. I saw the second plane and thought, ‘That’s no accident.’”

Tom Duggins Retired Elmira “I lived in Guerneville, Calif.

We were concerned that we would be invaded by hordes of people coming up Highway 1 because people were scared and were driving inland.”

Patricia Ragen Community volunteer/Gardenia Center soup kitchen Ponderay

“I was home and heard the news on television. I thought it was horrible.”

Ed Bittner Retired diplomat to Switzerland, Iceland, Canada, Venezuela, and Kenya Sagle

“I was involved in my own family’s plane tragedy. I was identifying the plane that my brother-in-law was killed in by Horse Haven near Coeur d’Alene. A biologist was taking samples and looked up and saw the plane on top of trees. His body had been missing for two years. So I was unaware of the 9/11 attacks for several days.”

Penny Dionne Life coach Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint “I was at home. I turned on the television and thought we’d been attacked by ... the Russians.”

Les Newman Retired Cocolalla

DEAR READERS,

You ever have one of those weeks when you just have nothing witty to say?

This is one of those weeks.

To the right is a capybara, the largest rodent in the world. Capybaras grow about four feet long and sometimes weigh up to 150 pounds.

Think: giant guinea pig.

Yeah, baby.

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Taylor Jodi@sandpointreader.com

-Ben Olson, Publisher

Are you reading this? so are 4,500 other people... ‘nuff said

Call Jodi @ 208.627.2586 To advertise in the READER

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turday Friday & Sa Beer Hall N ight @ t he

BRIGHT MOMENTS JAZZ

BRIAN JACOBS & CHRIS LYNCH 7-10pm OPEN MIC NIGHT For more information 7-10pm check w/ Eichardt’s BREWERY & BEER HALL 220 Cedar St. about 9.9 event 209-6700 FAMILY FRIENDLY BREWPUB 312 First Ave.

Contributing Artists: Cameron Barnes (cover), Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Cameron Barnes, Nick Gier, Scarlette Quille, Jim Healey, Brenden Bobby, Dianne Smith, Tim Henney, Drake the Dog. Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

Subscription Price: $95 per year Web Content: Keokee

The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

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

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

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

Requirements: –No more than 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

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

About the Cover This week’s cover was photographed by our latest addition to the Reader—photographer and staff writer Cameron Barnes, who braved the cool nights this week to catch the Statue of Liberty sculpture at Sandpoint City Beach with a 45-minute exposure.

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COMMENTARY

This I Believe: Truth, Beauty, and Goodness

By Nick Gier Reader Columnist

Author’s note: This essay was submitted, along with tens of thousands of others, to NPR’s series “This I Believe.”

I believe in truth, goodness and beauty. I believe that ethics is not a mechanical following of moral rules or simply doing one’s duty. Rather, it means that truly good person is one who is wise, courageous, compassionate, loyal, just, tolerant and patient. Above all, I believe that good people are those who are always true to themselves.

I believe that Aristotle was correct in making pride a virtue second only to wisdom. For him pride is knowing what we have accomplished and freely acknowledging that we have done it. Aristotle did not respect people who hid their lights under a bushel.

Aristotle believed that humility is a vice, and people who do not own their accomplishments (and all of us have achieved something) are not

Beating a Dead Horse...

In the August 25, 2016 issue of the Reader Cameron Rasmusson’s comment after Ben Olson’s response to Vickey Babayco’s letter concluded with this: “We’re not in the practice of shutting out viewpoints.” Oh really?! So when Ben Olson banned me from the Reader, he didn’t mean it? Or is it just my point of view that has been singled out for exclusion? Is the Reader bipolar?

Let me remind you of what Ben Olson, in the May 26, 2016 issue of the Reader, wrote: “Let me tell you this: the articles you barrage me with under your pen name are rubbish. One of them enters the world of holocaust denial, which I consider cowardly and stupid.

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being true to themselves. On the other hand, people who are vainglorious, claiming more they have done, suffer from false consciousness and false pride.

Translating the Greek word megalopsychia as pride does not do this concept justice. It literally means “having a great soul.” I therefore propose that ethics is the art of making the soul great and noble. Yes, I believe that ethics is an art, the art of crafting a person of good character and moral beauty.

The ancient Chinese believed that moral development is like the cutting and polishing of a precious stone, and even today we say that the people we admire are real “gems.”

Children should choose such people as models for their lives, as they craft their growing moral selves from the raw materials of their being.

The Chinese philosopher Mencius switched from stones to plants when he suggested that we all have virtue sprouts that must be carefully nourished and tended. If they are not, then

the virtues shrivel up and die, as many of them have done in our contemporary culture.

Most virtues are means between extremes that are actually creative choices. Courage, for example, is the middle way between foolhardiness and cowardice, but this will be a unique and distinctive path for each person. Gandhi’s courage in confronting the British had a quality and personal style different any soldier in battle or any other person who stands firm in the face of danger.

Gandhi observed that although Socrates was not considered a handsome man, “to my mind he was beautiful because all his life was striving after truth.” Some have said that Gandhi was just as ugly as Socrates, yet I believe that one friend was correct when he said that “there was a rare spiritual beauty that shone in Gandhi’s face.”

Gandhi’s moral beauty came from the courage of being true to himself and being true to others. Moral beauty appears in lives that unites

goodness and truth. As Alexis Carrell once said: “Moral beauty is an exceptional and very striking phenomenon.

Much more than science, art and religion, moral beauty is the basis of civilization.”

I believe that the external beauty of many celebrities may blind us to the fact that they may be too vainglorious and self-conscious about the attractive facades they have created.

True moral beauty is never showy and ostentatious; if it is, it is false and only a semblance of virtue.

One can imagine even the most crippled and deformed presenting themselves with elegance and dignity. The literary examples of “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Elephant Man” make this point dramatically. The final line of the former is “to judge by appearance is to miss the beauty of our inner souls.” In the ballet version the Beast’s movements become increasingly elegant as he is accepted by Beauty.

One day in my drug store I saw a woman intently writing

in a new calendar. I could hear her speaking as she marked the birthdays of her family and friends. I thought to myself: “I always mark my biweekly paydays, and rarely ever think of others’ birthdays.” I could tell that his woman was Downs Syndrome, but I could not help but acknowledge her as a gem of a person.

Virtue ethics is emulative—using the sage or saint as a model for virtue—whereas rule ethics is based on simple conformity and obedience. I believe that the emulative approach engages the imagination, personalizes, and thoroughly grounds individual moral action and responsibility.

I believe that such an ethics naturally lends itself to an aesthetics of virtue: the crafting of a good, true, and beautiful person, a unique individual gem among other gems.

I refuse to publish such crap. GET A CLUE, Lee, we don’t want you here!”

(That sounds like my point of view has been banned from the Reader.)

Several weeks ago I challenged Olson to appear with me in a public forum and go through the article he referred to, line by line, pointing out what it is in my article he considers denial of the Holocaust. I have not heard back from him as he knows there is not anything in my article that denies the Holocaust.

It is Olson who has behaved cowardly and stupid by calling me a Holocaust denier without having the balls to back it up. Grow a pair, Olson, and back up your cowardly and stupid words.

(Should you grow a pair, I will pick the venue, not

you).

I find it interesting that the Reader has distanced itself from my May 26, 2016 letter to the editor that Olson saw fit to title “From the Stupid Files…” as well as his hysterical name calling and ugly response following that letter. It is nowhere to be found on the Reader’s website. I don’t blame you, Olson, I woulda been embarrassed if I had written that hissy fit too.

By the way, Ben, I knew full well that articles I submitted using the pen name Rabbi Ayatollah Krishna would not be published by the Reader.

I was counting on your political correctness. You did not disappoint.

Piles of Dog Poop...

trail to do it’s business?

How about keeping the dog at home, so it will be very convenient for the irresponsible dog owner to pick up after the dog.

This is Sandpoint, do irresponsible dog owners have any community pride?

We are extremely fortunate that we have such a wonderful wooded community trail at our back door. I am so thankful to the gracious and community-minded owners that give me permission to walk across their property. So would all you irresponsible dog owners out there think about someone other than yourself and pick up your dog’s crap?

Thanks for listening. I love Sandpoint!

Lee Santa Sandpoint

Dear Editor, This morning I accessed the Syringa Trails off Pine Street at Greta’s Segway and was appalled at the great number of piles of dog crap I saw on the trail. Do irresponsible dog owners think that once they step off of Pine Street they are in the wild woods where only bear and moose roam? These trails are heavily utilized by residents and visitors every day.

It appears that most trail users do not drop trash on the trail, what makes the irresponsible dog owner think dog crap is an exception?

If irresponsible dog owners are so lazy they cannot pick up their own dog crap, couldn’t they at least take the dog off the

Nick Gier taught philosophy and religion at the University of Idaho for 31 years.

Georgia York Sandpoint

PERSPECTIVES

The Crayola watercolor paint palette champagne moments of autumn

I’ve always considered autumn to be the Monday of the season world. Summer vacation has officially ended.

School is in session, and that means business. Any morning driver must survive a gauntlet of vehicles hemorrhaging small humans into the streets.

These children appear out of nowhere this time of year like an eerie swarm of turtles with their giant backpacks.

Every store in the area has some sort of back to school promotion, luring parents in with a sense that the price of crayons will quadruple overnight if they don’t jump on a sale. A few weeks ago, I gave into the hype and ended up at Walmart with my 5-year-

Response for Mr. White...

Dear Editor, I had to respond to Mr. Christopher White’s absurd letter from the Sept. 1 edition. First of all, Mr. White continues the liberal diatribe that people who support gun rights have “issues”or are more likely to resort to violence. This is nonsense.

Secondly, he claims that seeing guns in public causes discomfort. There is no right to “comfort.”

And the reason children these days feel uncomfortable when they see a gun is because people like Mr. White demonize gun owners. When I was a child growing up in the South, we carried our guns in truck gun racks. We shot skeets on the practice football field

old son. About two minutes into our excursion I was approached by a mother who was frantically searching for the specific “Crayola watercolor paint palette” that is on everyone’s school list. She was livid. If I had a used Crayola palette in my purse, I bet I could have sold it to her for at least $5.

I was confused by her behavior until I heard a tiny screech come out from behind her: “Why, why aren’t there enough paint palettes?”

Her daughter, maybe 7 years old, was clutching a Xeroxed school supply list as if her mother’s failure to secure a paint palette was the reason she’ll be sent to get a job at the state line.

Her mother was much more accommodating than I would have thought to be in that moment, soothing her with

a promise of using Amazon Prime to deliver them the next day. This was two weeks before school even started.

After witnessing the meltdown, my son stared at the girl, half-expecting Oomopa Loompas to appear and remove her at any moment.

When they didn’t show up, I asked him if he’d rather hit the toy aisle and order his supplies on Amazon Prime.

“Yes. Can we go to Starbucks, too?” he replied.

He is an expert at negotiation and recognized that we both needed a drink.

The first day of school is no joke, not at all. You must dress, feed, and wake your children and then take an adorable picture of them to post on Facebook. This must be completed by 8 a.m., or everyone in your feed will recognize your inadequacies.

Just when you think it’s over and you’ve got them through the door, they come home that night with at least 57 papers to sign.

This is tough enough with one kid. I have four.

I’ve done the first day of school as a parent for 12 years now. I have witnessed parents crying on the first day, fighting, refusing to leave the classroom and even the few who wait outside for the entire half-day of Kindergarten to be over. This year I witnessed a celebration unlike any I have seen before.

I was walking down the sidewalk with my son, a few cars were parked on the road beside us. I watched a 30-something mother clad in yoga pants and velvet hoodie hop into a green Plymouth minivan. She had a smile that lit up the gray morning. As we

walked by her, she cranked up the radio, the bass bumping as she sped away into freedom.

I may have even seen a bottle of champagne in the seat next to her.

I will never know what it’s like to be a stay-at-home mom.

I’ve never had the experience.

However, if dropping off your kid is cause for that kind of celebration, I don’t know if I’m jealous or grateful.

Cheers to you, Minivan Mom. I am guessing your day involved twerking while vacuuming with the unrated version of your favorite rap songs playing on full volume!

In my opinion, you owned that first day of school like it was your bitch.

Happy Fall Ya’ll.

behind the elementary school DURING SCHOOL HOURS with one of our coaches. Not a single child in that elementary school ever wet themselves when they looked out the window and saw teenagers with guns. I see things everyday that make me uncomfortable. I get nauseous every time I see a Hillary Clinton bumper sticker on some idiot’s Subaru, but I recognize that idiot’s God-given, First Amendment right to free speech, and the fact that I have no corresponding “right” to not feel uncomfortable.

Mr. White suggests concealed carry as the answer. I am glad Idaho recognizes that right, but there are problems with concealed carry. Summer clothing doesn’t support

it. A concealed weapon is less-readily available. And a concealed weapon is not a deterrent to crime. The worst crimes take place in gun-free zones. Open carry lets the bad guys know they are not welcome here and actually prevents crime.

Finally, he suggests that businesses put “no guns allowed” signs in their windows. These signs hold no legal weight in Idaho. A business can ask me to leave, but if they want my business, they cannot tell me to leave my gun at home. I can get pretty much anything I need from Amazon, but considering the support for gun rights in Idaho, does any business really want to alienate their largest customer base? I promise very

noisy, public boycotts of your business if you want to go that route.

Self-defense is the most important civil right. No other rights exist if they cannot be defended. So, Mr. White, how about putting on some big-boy pants, teach your kids a healthy attitude about firearms or move to Chicago if you don’t like seeing law-abiding citizens with guns on their hips.

together and make downtown Sandpoint firearm free and that we should only patronize establishments (especially bars) that post notices prohibiting firearms on the premises.

Just because Idaho legislators don’t have sense enough to pour piss out of a boot doesn’t mean we can’t bring at least some sanity to the Sandpoint area. Some business may be lost from Rambo wannabes, but the downtown experience will be greatly enhanced and in the long run encourage more business.

Samuel C. Hogue Sandpoint

Response for Mr. White...

Dear Editor, I agree with the gist of Christopher White’s letter regarding carrying firearms in Sandpoint. I think that the city business owners should get

XOXO Scarlette Quille

Jeff Koons Sagle

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NEWS

City passes noise ordinance

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Sandpoint council members reformed the city’s noise ordinance Wednesday night, the latest in a series of efforts to clamp down on public disturbances.

Significantly more detailed than the city code it replaces, the new ordinance outlines different standards for a variety of situations, businesses and events. The idea is to provide sufficient leeway for permitted events or businesses while reducing the number of disruptions from noisy neighbors or protesters. However, the ordinance is also careful to not regulate the content of messages, which are protected by First Amendment rights.

“You cannot consider content of the speech as part of a noise ordinance, but you can reasonably regulate amplification, music, bells, voice level and location,” Sandpoint City Attorney Scot Campbell said in a memo to city officials.

The new ordinance defines a range of decibel levels, with standards for unamplified

noise, loud speakers or public address systems, sound reproduction devices, entertainment venues in commercial zones, signaling devices like car horns, emergency signals, construction noise, loading and unloading boxes and containers and animals.

Violations of the ordinance are considered an infraction and are punishable with an up-to $100 fine on the first offense and an up-to $300 fine on the second offense. The third offense is considered a misdemeanor.

Council members asked Campbell to revise the ordinance after receiving several complaints about anti-abortion protesters staging demonstrations at Sandpoint Farmers’ Market. Several market vendors and administrators said that because they used loudspeakers near the market, it was difficult to complete sales, engage in conversation or enjoy the live music over the noise.

The new ordinance addresses this under the loudspeakers section by prohibiting their use when plainly audible across a property boundary or a distance

Abortion abolitionist protester Arlene Herndon speaks to the City Council prior to their passing the noise ordinance restricting loud speakers. Photo by Cameron Barnes. of 100 feet or more on public property. Sound exceeding 60 decibels at those distances is objective evidence of a violation. The idea is to place hard limits on how loud a person can be without infringing on their free speech.

“A person might be annoyed or disturbed by the content of

a person’s speech, but it cannot be enforced under this noise ordinance,” Campbell wrote in his memo. “As a result, the application of this Ordinance must be made on a case by case basis, each application is subject to challenge in the courts.”

Although the loud market protests moved the ordinance

Deer trapping renewed at airport

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff The city renewed deer hunting and trapping activity at Sandpoint Airport Wednesday night. With any luck, however, it won’t need the program much longer.

An ongoing effort since November 2014, the program allows deer trapping and bowhunting to take place on airport grounds. The goal is to thin out deer populations in the area, which have proven extremely dangerous for aircraft that are landing or taking off. However, if a grant funding for a fence comes through, this may be the last year the program is needed.

The hunting and trapping program began after a few nearly fatal incidents involving airplane and deer collisions.

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the pilot lucky to walk away with his life. Since then, there have been many near-misses with deer sprinting across the runway at the wrong moment.

According to Jim Kaiser, Sandpoint Airport director, the program has been successful at reducing deer populations in the area and have lowered the number of near-miss incidents. While a lack of individuals willing to bowhunt the airport made that aspect negligible, participants successfully trapped seven deer, which resulted in more than 300 pounds of meat being donated to the food bank.

Last year focused on a herd that lived near the center of the runway. With that herd thinned out, the next year will target deer on the ends of the runway. Kaiser

is hopeful the wooded areas at those locations will attract more bowhunters into the mix. As with last year, the use of firearms or more powerful projectile weapons are disallowed in the area.

Kaiser believes this will be the last year the program is needed. Once money is secured, a long-awaited perimeter fence will be installed around the region designed to keep deer out once and for all. Originally envisioned as a project funded through the Federal Aviation Administration, the perimeter fence wasn’t expected to be in the cards until 2019. However, a Community Development Block Grant program may expedite the process, in which case construction will begin in spring of next year with an expected completion in summer.

forward, the revisions should come in handy for people dealing with noisy neighbors. The city has received complaints in the past from residents who have had evenings disturbed by loud parties or activity but found the old ordinance couldn’t solve the problem.

Ambassadog enters final stretch If you have a favorite local dog in the running for Ambassadog, now is the time to act.

With a deadline for entry set for 5p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, the final opportunity to win your dog some deserved recognition is drawing near. All you need to do is submit a photo, a short paragraph telling why he or she is a good candidate to be named Sandpoint’s Ambassadog and a minimum $5 donation to the Panhandle Animal Shelter.

Five finalist dogs will be chosen in a random drawing among all nominees, but there’s voting, too. Voting continues until noon Tuesday, Sept. 20.

For every vote your dog gets, he or she will get an additional entry in the drawing. You can vote once per day for free or buy additional votes for a $1 donation to PAS. The five finalists will be drawn and announced the afternoon of Sept. 20. Then, at Panhandle Animal Shelter’s Sept. 29 Yappy Hour event, which is held from 4-7 p.m. at Eichardt’s Pub, a panel of judges will select Sandpoint’s Ambassadog and all the prizes that come with the title. [CR]

FEATURE

Yup yups: The tragic life and death of 23-year-old Adam Ferris

By Jim Healey Reader Contributor When connecting the dots of a person’s life, one discovers that there is not just one story line, but many. Some dots intersect, and some dots just wander. The outline is never complete, the person never totally takes shape. At best one can capture glimpses into the person’s life.

Such is the case with Adam Keith Ferris, the young man who was killed by a train north of Sandpoint in the late afternoon on Monday, Aug. 29.

The dots in Adam’s life for this article have been provided through interviews with his adoptive father and adoptive stepmother (Bill and Terry Ferris) who live north of Sandpoint; people with whom he worked and volunteered; emails with his friends; Facebook postings by his family members and friends; and mainly through Adam’s Facebook profile and postings.

On Aug. 28, just two days before he died, Adam posted on Facebook a flashing photo from Media.Tumblr. A person is sitting in a chair, and his/her face is blank. In each outstretched hand is a mask, and the wall behind the person is filled with masks. The floor is covered with faces. One can only guess as to why Adam found this picture interesting enough to post, possibly because it spoke to the many masks he wore in his young life.

Born in 1993 and one of seven siblings of a drug dependent mother, Adam was raised in southern California. Along with an older sister, in 1995 he was placed in the foster home of Bill Ferris and his first wife.

They adopted Adam and his sister in 1998, the same year that Bill filed for a divorce. Bill married his second wife Terry, and they received custody of Adam and his sister in 2004. Adam went to high school from 2007 to 2011.

During Adam’s high school years, Bill and Terry moved to Sandpoint in 2010, leaving Adam and his sister in California with their adoptive mother. Adam finished high school and began college.

After problems with his adoptive mother who eventually had Adam arrested, Adam moved up to Sandpoint in 2014. Part of the

difficulties between Adam and his adoptive mother stemmed from her fundamental Christian beliefs that homosexuality was an abomination and a sin. This is just a brief sketch of Adam’s journey to Sandpoint.

Adam used Facebook for a variety of reasons. His personal postings with their highs and lows are all over the place. Like many young adults, he struggled to find his identity—particularly his gender identification—and place in the world.

His relationship with Facebook shows that he had mixed feelings about this social media tool. On June 11 he posts that “Facebook is f***ing dumb” while on Aug. 26 he writes that Facebook “is a way to keep in contact with all of your friends throughout your lifetime.”

Adam had over 3,200 Facebook friends. Some of his posts were like tweets or short texts, postings without a context or to a specific person: “I should feel upset but yet I don’t” (Aug. 20), “I’m not as cute as people think I am” (Aug. 25), and “I am sorry for your loss” (Aug. 28). Other times Adam would use Facebook to post videos, cartoons and drawings that he found interesting on the internet. Woven throughout are Adam’s personal postings that provide those dots, brief glimpses into his life, feelings and struggles.

Animals Two unwavering constants in Adam’s life, things to which he could turn to for comfort and peace, were animals and music.

In the month of August alone he posted over 10 videos that dealt with animals: people playing with their pets; baby turtles being released to find their way to the sea; two sister cats in a cage hugging each other; a chubby puppy that can’t roll over; and the biggest cat in New York City.

On Aug. 28 Adam posted a cartoon of an abandoned, sad-looking dog near the gutter with the caption, “A pet isn’t a toy, or a item. A pet is a member of a family, not a thing you can throw away.” When Adam posted on Aug. 18 that he is good at driving and should get a car before winter, a friend replied: “Remember when U thought I was gonna hit some guy and his dog. And I

Do you need support?

For individuals, families, and friends who need support, advocacy and education, here are some organizations in north Idaho and the region that provide services: •PFLAG Sandpoint LGBTQ people, their families and friends building a stronger community through support, education and advocacy.

Jeff Bohnhof P.O. Box 574 Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 pflagsandpointid@gmail.com 208-718-2388 •Spokane TALL (Transgender Advocates and Local Leaders) A project to bring together trans people to connect, learn, share and advocate! This project is owned by those who participate. We all have strengths. www.facebook.com/spokanetall spokane.tall@gmail.com •North Idaho Children’s/Community Mental Health LGBTQ-affirming therapy for adolescents and families.

1717 W. Ontario Street Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 208-265-6798

A photo of Adam Ferris as a child. Courtesy of the Ferris family. was like ‘don’t worry I saw the man’ and u were like ‘f*** the man!! What bout the dog?!’” On July 6 Adam posted, “I swear I love animals more then people.”

It is not surprising that Adam found his way to Panhandle Animal Shelter (PAS) and became a volunteer. Devin Laundrie, shelter manager, remembers that, besides being a hard worker, Adam “was a very soothing person to fearful dogs, cats and under-socialized kittens. I look back on how easy it was for them to trust him and now understand that he could exude empathy and understanding to these animals who felt scared, trying to adjust in an environment that wasn’t natural to be in.”

Mandy Evans, executive director at PAS, spoke with shelter staff who told her that Adam particularly loved the cats. He would go into one of the cat rooms and spend time with them. Even an insect could bring him joy: “Funny moment of the day playing tag with a sweat bee” (Aug. 28).

Music Music was always with Adam.

It was portable, and he would take it with him wherever he went: “I love just walking around listing to music” (July 1). One Facebook photo has him with earbuds and the comment “Sometimes I just wanna be alone and chill in the grass you know. It’s peaceful and life is stressful” (Aug. 26). He always seemed to be updating his Facebook profile photo, and more times than not the photo would have him with earbuds in his ears. The last photo that Adam posted on Facebook on Monday afternoon, a little after 1 p.m., Aug. 29, shows him sitting on a bed, wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt, and listening to his music. Earlier that day he posted, “Classic rock and chilling this what I’m feeling I love this music it’s the stuff I grew up with since a baby” (Aug. 29). Laundrie remembers Adam

<see FERRIS, page 8>

•North Idaho CRISIS Services Help when you need it. Staffed by licensed mental health professionals. A free service to the community.

2101 West Pine Street Sandpoint, Idaho 83864 www.northidahocrisis.org northidahocrisis@gmail.com 208-946-5595 •North Idaho Pride Alliance Volunteer organization that empowers and celebrates community diversity for LGBTA+ citizens to lead authentic, healthy, and successful lives. www.nipridealliance.com nipridealliance@gmail.com 208-352-3518 Men’s Amity Project Strives to create a safe and fun environment for young (18-29) gay and bisexual men to grow and to help encourage safe and healthy sex practices through community-based events in and around the North Idaho area. www.facebook.com/MAPCDA MAP@northidahoaidscoalition.org Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need to talk to someone.

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<FERRIS, con’t from page 7>

Bouquets: • Hi Ben, bouquets to you for your level-headed and open-hearted approach to offering a forum where our various local personalities can share their views with the greater community. You are definitely helping that community to see itself in living color , and hopefully with more understanding.

Submitted by Marilyn McIntyre, Grouse Creek.

•Hi Ben, I’d like to submit this bouquet to the hands that made the beautiful metal signs at the parking lot and entrance to Sandpoint from the Long Bridge. They are beautifully crafted and so welcoming.

Thank you to the craftsman/ woman/people! Also, a big thank you to the persons responsible for smoothing out the bumps on the bypass. Such a pleasure to drive it.

Submitted by Anna Schramm, Sagle Barbs: •Have you ever heard of “rolling coal?” It’s a fairly new phenomenon that involves specially rigging a diesel truck to emit a giant cloud of black smoke intended to anger people. You’ve no doubt seen these attention-craving nitwits by the cloud of smelly black smoke they leave behind every time they lurch away from a stop light. No, it’s not that their truck isn’t running right—they actually modify the trucks to do this on purpose. Some call this “Prius repellent.” I call it stupid.

I, for one, think this is the most asinine modification to make to your truck. Not only does it cost money to make a “coal roller,” it also burns more fuel and pretty much guarantees that you’ll piss off the majority of people on the road. But, that seems to be the whole point for these juvenile morons.

It also gives diesel a bad name since many people automatically think diesel fuel is somehow worse for the environment.

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at PAS: “He loved music and was always listening to something or humming/singing something.”

In fact, the day before he died Adam was looking forward to seeing Pretty Lights at the Hive, a downtown Sandpoint entertainment venue: “Huh 4 more days tell pretty lights hella excited” (Aug. 28).

When Adam would have his earbuds in and listening to music, the larger world would be blocked out. Evans tells of a staff member at PAS who saw Adam in downtown Sandpoint: “A staff member ran into him in town and his earbuds were on so loud that she had to physically touch him to get his attention.” A friend commented on Facebook (Aug. 28) under an updated profile photo of Adam: “Saw you by orileys today. Tired [sic] waving u down.” Adam replied, “Where huh sorry have my headphones in.”

Gender Identity Like most young adults Adam struggled with sexuality: “Hey guess what world I’m not gay bi or straight I’m pans yup yup hate if you want don’t care cause guess what I’m me and the only one who can make me happy is me yup yups” (July 26).

Adam received encouragement to be himself from Terry and Bill.

Both felt that Adam was exactly who he should be and remember him saying that he “wouldn’t mind being a woman.” His Facebook pages include talk about how to darken eyeliner with tips from friends on how to make eyeliner come out evenly (Aug. 2223); on wanting to “shave the side of my head soon then dread the rest of my hair yup yups” (Aug. 12); on “let’s get our eyebrows and nails done on Monday when I’m off,” even though money is a problem (Aug. 12); on dyeing his hair — “gotta re dye my hair but all my hair this time but I’m having struggles on what I should do what do you all think I should do and what will look good?”

(Aug. 4); and on the joy of getting his lips pierced — “I’m so happy I finally got my lips pierced huh totally happy” (May 18). Adam captions a selfie on April 13 with “my nails look so lame I need them black ugh.”

Yet people would be “talking trash on me for being me” (July 28), and this would get to Adam.

His final posting, just 26 minutes before he was hit by the train, describes his struggle with his gender identify: “I don’t know

what’s wrong with me I’m sick of being TG [transgender] and I’m sick of being different I just wanna be normal” (August 29).

This is where the alcohol sometimes came into the picture.

According to Terry, Adam drank because he struggled with trying to be normal. Venise Richardson, a friend of Adam’s for nine years, said that Adam “struggled with identity and trying to feel comfortable with himself. He never really talked about being TG (transgender). I think most of us knew he was bi, but TG? I honestly think that this was his main struggle— trying to identify with who he was.”

Sexual identity concerns seemed to confuse Adam, as evidenced by his posting on June 28: “You know what’s funny is bi is in most girls vocabulary and most girls are bi now a days and of [sic] a straight girl thinks a gay or bi girl is cute she will try but when it comes to guys it’s like no straight guys are straight if they are attracted to another guy they ignore it they think it’s gross but yet they like bi girls hmm and even gay guys are stuck up and down right nasty as f***.” He concludes, “The world is f***ed and confusing.”

Adam worked as a dishwasher in late spring at Loaf & Ladle in Sandpoint. Owner Michael Williams, who describes Adam as fun-loving and young at heart, comments that it was fairly apparent that Adam was trying to figure out his orientation.

Being Alone Though Adam found joy in friends, he often would retreat into himself to find peace. On the afternoon of his death he posted, “Dude the most fun I have in life is when I’m alone haha having way to much fun right now lol” (Aug. 29). Of course, he is wearing his earbuds. In late July Adam wrote about running into friends, but choosing to “hang pretty much alone now adays and I like it that way yup yups trying hella hard to make it in life I love my friends that I’ve made here just I like to stay alone yup yup” (July 28).

Even in his solitude, Adam would still hear the voices of those who disapproved of who he was: “Who says you’re not worthy who says you’re not perfect who ways [sic] you’re not amazing who says you’re not beautiful… cause you all are don’t let anyone tell you, you aren’t” (April 3). Alone and listening to his music—this would be a way for Adam to find inner peace as he captions a photo of himself

A recent photo of Adam Ferris with his special feline friend. Courtesy photo. with cigarette in hand, earbuds in place, and flowing lavender and blonde locks of hair framing his smiling face: “Chillin in nature alone like I like it.”

Transportation Adam was without a car, but it was something that he wanted to get before winter—“yeah should probably start looking for a car before winter” (Aug. 18). Williams at Loaf & Ladle notes that Adam struggled with transportation. It would not be uncommon for Adam to walk the railroad tracks to and from home. If he weren’t walking the tracks, then Adam would be hitchhiking.

On Aug. 2 he posts, “I love hitch hiking I’ve met so many awesome people out there and I love learning about people it’s all vary [sic] interesting to me.” Adam also loved walking, earbuds in place, as can be seen in the photo on April 14. The photo is a selfie taken along a highway, possibly Highway 95 north of Sandpoint, and is captioned “I love walking Lol when it’s not raining.”

Terry and Bill live near the tracks where the accident happened. Terry said that it would not be uncommon for Adam to be

walking along the tracks with his earbuds on and listening to music.

Life and the Past Adam felt that he had a hard life, especially with his adoptive mother in California: “My mom who was supposed to love me for who I am” (May 26). Adam saw much change in his life and tried to feel comfortable with himself: “I thank god my mom kicked me out and hated me cause if she didn’t I would still be the same person I was and I would hope I would hate that yup yup” (June 28).

Adam at times would miss the days when he would go on adventures with his sister and brother. He longed for the past days of “friends but siblings at the same time I want the closeness back you know I foreals want thoe [those] days back take me back to the passed” (May 24). At times he felt that he was lost and adrift: “I’m just so lost in translation and the world idk [I don’t know] what I am or where I’m going yup yups” (Aug. 9) People who knew Adam saw him differently. Venise describes Adam as “a very charismatic person, always smiling, very kind and down right hilarious.” At PAS Laundrie said that Adam was

<see FERRIS, page 9>

Two wheels, two states, two countries: The WaCanId Bicycle Ride kicks off next week

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Saddle up, Sandpoint, it’s time to ride. The Sandpoint and Ponderay Rotary Club—along with seven other Rotary clubs in Washington and British Columbia—will be hosting the WaCanId Bicycle Ride from Sept. 12 through 17.

The 370-mile ride takes the participant along the International Selkirk Loop, and travels through Washington, Canada and Idaho (hence the name WaCanId).

Approximately 60 riders from around the country will be staging at Sandpoint City Beach at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 12 and setting out for the ride, with overnight stops in Colville, Wash., Rossland, B.C., Nelson, B.C., and Creston, B.C. The WaCanId route is truly one of the most amazing in the world, featuring majestic mountains, beautiful lakes and rivers and North America’s longest free ferry ride. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation designated the Selkirk Loop as one of the “Top 10 Scenic Destinations in the Northern Rockies,” and Sunset Magazine named it the “West’s Best Scenic Drive.”

Along with incredible scenery and wildlife viewing opportunities from the road, the communities riders pass through are chock full of friendly people from all walks of life. Being <FERRIS, con’t from page 8> “very bright, picking up things quickly. He was a kind soul and always seemed happy.”

At Loaf & Ladle, Williams remembers a dishwasher who was “full of life.” Williams’ seven-year-old son, Oscar, would don a white apron and wash dishes together with Adam. One could hear peals of laughter coming from the dishwashing area of the kitchen. Oscar and Adam would be telling jokes back and forth, laughing heartily, as the “scrubbing brush would become a space slug.” Terry and Bill remember a son who was a “sweet man, bright, a very gentle soul.”

Aug. 29 According to the Bonner County Daily Bee, Adam was hit by the train “at 5:16 p.m. at the Samuels Road crossing along U.S. Highway 95.” Twenty-six minutes earlier, at 4:50 p.m., Adam posted the following on Facebook: “I understand everything’s my fault and I don’t know what’s wrong with me I’m sick of being TG and I’m sick of

SASi seeking board members

By Reader Staff

This fall, the Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc. (SASi) are looking for folks who have the time and desire to serve on the SASi Board of Directors.

SASi will be holding a candidates’ forum on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 12:30 p.m. to introduce candidates for the board. Voting will commence immediately after the forum.

Results will be announced at the board meeting on Friday, Sept. 23 at 10:30 a.m.

Call 263-6860 for more information.

Scholarship Recipients Start College Careers

By Reader Staff

after the last big holiday weekend of the summer, the roads are usually devoid of heavy traffic and the weather is mild in September, with warm days and chilly nights.

A map of the 370-mile WaCanId Bicycle Ride route traveling through Washington, Canada and Idaho. Map courtesy of wacanid.org.

For more information about the ride, check out www.wacanid.org. being different I just wanna be normal and I’ve snapped I can’t handle anymore. I don’t need anyone to feel bad either.”

Both Terry and Bill feel that Adam was not suicidal. A friend of Adam’s commented that this post is “kind of misleading,” and another friend, Venise Richardson, commented that he “never seemed suicidal to any of us.”

On that Monday Bill went to work, and Terry went to town to do some shopping.

She left in late morning, and Adam was left home alone. When Terry returned home around 3 p.m., she noticed that the television screen had been broken. Adam had been drinking in his room, and, according to Terry, he was a binge drinker.

When she asked him about what happened to the television screen, he became “frantic.” Initially he denied having any knowledge of what happened, but he eventually admitted breaking it, blaming himself and the alcohol. He even said that he would pay for the broken screen. Upset with himself and his situation, Adam headed outdoors without his glasses and with earbuds in place. Having been impaired by the alcohol,

upset with himself for having broken the television set, and with his earbuds on and music playing, Adam just wanted to be by himself. According to Terry, the train conductor thought that the train had missed her son. She feels that Adam, in fact, had been walking at an angle along the tracks, possibly attempting to cross, but he was definitely not walking down the middle of the tracks.

Both Terry and Bill believe that Adam is in a better place because they knew that he was hurting and struggling. Bill cherishes one of his last memories of Adam, stacking wood on the Sunday before he was hit by the train. He wants Adam to know that “I love you, I miss you, and I want a sign that you’re hearing me.”

Terry has her faith to fall back upon, but both are feeling complex emotions of anger, hurt, and feeling cheated of a future with Adam in it. And they are not alone. Adam’s friends are shocked, heartbroken, saddened, and devastated—finding comfort imagining that he is walking somewhere, alone, lavender locks framing his smiling face, pierced lips, with his earbuds in place and his music playing . . . yup yups.

The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force membership extends congratulations to the three 2016 Darby and Amber Campbell Memorial scholarship recipients as they begin their freshman year in college. The scholarship is administered by the Task Force (BCHRTF) and funded through donations. The recipients were selected based on their essays on human rights topics and their activities in support of human rights.

The three scholarship recipients attended the BCHRTF annual meeting on July 23 and spoke about their essays, activities, and plans for the future.

Justin Marks, a graduate of Sandpoint High School, is attending Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, and is planning to major in Music.

Solange Marcotte graduated from the Forrest Bird Charter School with dual enrollment at the Sandpoint High School. She is attending Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and intending to major in Theater with minors in Music and Gender/Women’s Studies.

Logan Finney, a Sandpoint High School graduate, is attending the University of Idaho and will likely major in Political Science and obtain a law degree.

The Darby and Amber Campbell Memorial Scholarship is granted annually and is open to any graduating high school senior in Bonner County, including public private or home schools.

Details about the 2017 scholarship should be available by February 2017 and available from high school counselors and on the BCHRTF website (www. bchtf.org).

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Mad about Science:

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Yes, please!

As anyone that has ever tried a sugar-free diet knows, this stuff is everywhere.

Literally everywhere.

Did you know they put it in all white bread? Even some wheat breads. Just about every granola bar, no matter how healthy, has a surprising amount infused into it. Even your favorite fruits are primarily sugar.

So what’s the deal with sugar? Can you escape the stuff?

Nope!

But fear not, because all sugar is not born equal, and not all of it is bad. It’s actually an extremely important part of organic life, but along with literally everything else: moderation is key.

So what’s the deal with sugar?

Sugars are formed by a collection of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms, almost exclusively with the help of organic processes. It comes in a few different forms.

Fructose, as you can imagine, can be found in fruit. Normally, it’s perfectly okay and actually encouraged to consume fructose from fruit, because you’re getting the rest of the vitamins and fiber you need to help digest the fructose in the same bite, and there’s rarely enough of it to directly cause any harmful effects unless you’re plowing through fruit like some kind of crazed orangutan. Fructose is responsible for a recent dietary scare, however: High-fructose corn syrup.

Basically, we’ve specially bred and grown corn to produce large quantities of fructose to sweeten candy and drinks cheaply and efficiently. While people panicked about how detrimental HFCS is for your body, how it can be 16 times more dangerous and addictive than regular sugar, the real problem was just how much of it they could sneak into 10 /

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Brought to you by:

sugar

a single bite.

A gram of cane sugar is exactly the same as a gram of high-fructose corn syrup. But you can fit 33 to 66 grams of high-fructose corn syrup into a can of soda without having a soggy mess.

In case you were wondering how much 33 grams is, it takes 13.2 pennies to match the weight. In a less-condensed form, that’s about two fully fried and basted chicken wings, complete with sauce.

Glucose, sometimes called dextrose or grape sugar, is a byproduct of photosynthesis in plants. When you digest carbohydrates (think potatoes or grain), glucose is released into your bloodstream as a vital part of the digestion process. This is likely one of the reasons that people felt carb-free diets were effective for some time. However, if you’re avoiding potatoes and grain, but still drinking diet soda, you’re ingesting more sugar that’s much less beneficial for your health than if you were eating carbs without the soda.

Nutrition is a tricky balancing act.

Lactose comes from milk. It’s what happens when galactose mixes with glucose, and is used for supercharging the digestion of infants during a pivotal point in their growth. Babies and infants need a lot of energy, because their brains are growing and learning faster than they will at any other point during an animal’s life. In humans, some of you can enjoy milk and cheese freely throughout your lives. For some of us, myself included, we’ve hit a bit of a snag.

In order for humans to be able to digest lactose, our stomachs need to produce a special enzyme called lactase, otherwise our guts don’t know how to handle it and 24 hours of pure misery follows.

This is the user-friendly de-

scription of lactose intolerance.

Luckily, we can still enjoy small amounts of dairy products with the help of lactase supplements taken with our food. What a time to be alive. As well, there are surrogates to milk such as coconut, almond or rice milk, but we’re skid-outta-luck when it comes to cheese. Nothing beats cheese from the cow.

What causes lactose intolerance? If you find out why my body quit producing lactase, let me know. It differs from person to person, but it happens most frequently to people in their mid20s, like myself.

Sucrose is another common sugar, found in sugarcane. It is the most widely produced form of sugar in the world, with as much as 175 million tons or more being produced each year.

On its own, it has absolutely no nutritional value, but remains an important part of the human diet as it tends to make other food taste better. You’ve seen its crystallized form before: The white stuff sprinkled on top of your donut or poured into the batter for your cookies.

Did you know it’s also highly flammable? Sucrose burns at a relatively low temperature, great for making Croquembouche, bad for massive refineries where dust is flying everywhere. Sugar dust in refineries can pose a significant risk in undeveloped countries, where the largest amount of sugar production happens.

Sugar plays an important part in all of our lives, but studies have shown that it can be detrimental in many ways. It has direct links to tooth decay and diabetes, and appears to be a significant factor in the obesity problem in America. While it’s impossible to avoid sugars entirely, moderation is key. Our bodies need some form of sugar to continue healthy brain and muscular activity; too little and our bodies will start pulling from

reserves anywhere it can find it, too much and it will start storing it in excess and slow everything else down in the process.

If your diet is puttering, don’t jump to the next new trend without looking. Check your sugar intake, see what has the most. If you’re not eating grains, potatoes, corn or any starches, but you’re pounding energy and sports drinks to make it through the day, your body is trying to tell you that it needs sugars. It doesn’t know how much, so it sees this sudden drought as a need to store more in the event that you won’t be getting any more sugar from regular sources.

Fat is stored as carbon, hydrogen and oxygen: the same three atoms that make up sugar in a much different organization.

When you exercise and drink water, your body uses some of the carbon, hydrogen and oxygen from your natural fat reserves to power the cells of your body, and releases the excess waste as CO2. You literally breathe your fat away.

But don’t think that breathing heavily from the couch is going to help you slim up, there is a lot more at play here.

If you are suffering from winter weight that refuses to go away (much as I do every spring, summer, fall and winter.), re-examine your diet, exercise hard enough to get yourself breathing heavily for at least 20 minutes a day and see it start to melt away. Your body will thank you later!

Random Corner ?

Don’t know much about health

We can help!

• A lack of exercise is now causing as many deaths as smoking across the world, a study suggests.

• Farting helps reduce high blood pressure and is good for your health.

• Laughing 100 times is equivalent to 15 minutes of exercise on a stationary bicycle.

• Sitting for more than three hours a day can cut two years off a person’s life expectancy.

• One can of soda a day increases your chances of getting type 2 diabetes by 22%.

• McDonalds’ Caesar salad is more fattening than their hamburger.

• A father’s diet before conception plays a crucial role in a child’s health.

• Americans consume 12.5 teaspoons more sugar each day than the American Heart Association recommends.

STATE SENATE District 7

I wish to live in an Idaho where our government is: more effective; (Idaho should not need a Constitutional Defense fund to defend unconstitutional laws passed by the Republican legislature); is responsive to the majority of its citizens who recognize the economic benefits of increasing the minimum wage and closing the Medicaid gap; funds education so our children, whether they live in an urban or rural setting, are properly educated for success; supports a strong economy that has a thriving middle class; has a natural resource policy that provides recreational and economic opportunities while protecting this legacy for future generations; is serious about mental health care; and believes that global warming is real and that man is a significant contributor.

If you share this vision for a better Idaho vote for Ken Meyers.

Paid for by the Vote Ken Meyers Campaign, Treasurer Ron Beitelspacher

READER A+ student

SILENTLY STRUGGLING

Dad helps her every night

Aunt is an algebra teacher

Best friend is a math genius

*Reading, English as a second language (ESL), Citizenship, GED and Tech Tutors also needed.

Elect Ken Meyers

In 2007, the United States experienced the Great Recession. Idaho’s economic recovery has been led by a Republican controlled Legislature. For Idahoans this has not worked well. Other states are economically recovering much faster and have made significantly more progress. If we are to get better faster we need a change in Boise.

IF YOU KNOW MATH & YOU WANT TO HELP, WE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE REST. TRAINING • QUIET SPACE • SCHEDULING A REWARDING EXPERIENCE

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Jon will make the deal!

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Home of the $19.95 Oil Change* *up to 7 quarts of oil, not including synthetics

3 MINUTES SOUTH OF SANDPOINT IN SAGLE ON HWY 95

Jon - (208) 610-9580 (866) 783-0047 / (208) 263-4212 www.PIERCEAUTOCENTER.com

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11 12 13 14 15

Winter Ridge Speaker Series 6pm @ Winter Ridge Effective relief for PTSD

Throwback Thursdays at the 219 7-11pm @ 219 Lounge Featuring live music with Brian Jacobs and friends, $2 domestics and $3 crafts

Dollar Beers!

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

Live Music w/ Marty Perron and Doug Bond 5:30-7:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority A great guitar/mandolin duo Live Music w/ The Other White Meat 9pm @ 219 Lounge Great rock n’ roll that ain’t chicken!

Live Music w/ SalmonBrownTruck 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority A great new trio featuring Samantha Carston, Drew Brown and Truck Mills Live Music w/ The Beat Diggers 9pm @ 219 Lounge Listen outside under the heated patio Live Music w/ Mike and Shanna 1:30-4:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Jazz, baby, yeah

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs & Chris Lynch Come for the locally grown 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall produce, stay for the live muCheck out this fun duo on the guitar and sic. Always a good time at the piano, who play all the songs you Farmers’ Market! love to sing

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Trivia Night 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s Karaoke Night 10pm - Midnight @ 219 Lounge

“Ca 7:30 Woo cally

Pend d’Oreille Winery Harvest Party Friday, Sept. 9 - Sunday Sept. 11 Celebrate vino with your favorite home winery! Check POWine.com for more info

Grape Stomping at the Winery 1-4pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Come experience some vino beneath your feet with the popular annual grape stomping event at the Pend d’Oreille Winery

Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am. All are welcome

f

Cornhole 1pm @ Mi Registratio regulation double-eli all registra

September 8am-12pm Don’t miss the Septem table, call 2 Table may b from 11 a.m

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

Learn to dance the Swing – 7pm @ SWAC Learn the Triple Time East Coast Swing from Diane Peters. 610-1770 for info

Healthy Self Lifestyle 6pm @ Idaho Pain Clinic (1327 Superior St.) 10 secrets of living 10 times better. A presentation th fight chronic ailments such as Headaches, Arthritis, Di Heart Issues and more. It will provide cooking demo entific-based health guidance. Call Magda Ciocazan 2

American Heritage Wildlife Foundation Fundraiser 5-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Help raise money for American Heritage Wildlife Foundation and enjoy some brews from Ninkasi Brewing Co. Live music by Marty Perron and Doug Bond. Complimentary Appetizers and raffle prizes

Winter Ridge Speaker Series 6pm @ Winter Ridge Learn some great cauliflower recipes

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park

Throwback Thursdays at the 219 Dollar Beers!

7-11pm @ 219 Lounge 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Featuring live music with Brian Jacobs Good until the keg’s dry and friends, $2 domestics and $3 crafts

ful

September 8 - 15, 2016

“Cafe Society” film 7:30pm @ Panida Theater Woody Allen’s latest critically acclaimed film Party

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

Basic Obedience Dog Training 6pm @ Pend Oreille Pet Lodge, 895 Kooteani Cut-Off Rd a seven-week Basic Obedience Dog Training course that’s practical and fun for the whole family. Class is $90 for new students and $75 for returning. All breeds and ages are welcome. 255-7687 for more info

Live Music w/ Ron Keiper 5:30-8:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Ron Keiper brings some of the best jazz saxophone in the region and provides a classy atmosphere

rite hometown more info Jazz

Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante

Cornhole Classic 1pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Registration begins at noon, first toss at 1 p.m. Three egulation courts are set up for tossers to compete in a double-elimination tournament. $10 buy-in per team; all registration fees will be paid out as cash prizes

eptember Tailgate at MCC am-12pm @ Hope Memorial Community Center on’t miss your chance to score some great deals at e September Tailgate For more info on renting a ble, call 264-5481. Donations for the MCC Sales able may be dropped off Monday through Thursday, om 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. (no clothing, please)

ight with Racheal

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208.263.3024

Sandpoint Contra Dance 7pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall All are invited to attend this community dance in the New England tradition.

All dances taught and called with live music. $5 donation; bring clean shoes and a water bottle

Injectors Car Show 9am-3pm @ Downtown Sandpoint A great car show downtown! Enjoy live music featuring the 7 Bee Band, who perform ‘60s through ‘80s rock ‘n’ roll. Registration for the car show is from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., with an entry fee of $20 benefitting Bonner County community organizations Bone Marrow Registry Drive 9am-1pm @ BGH Health Services Building - suite 101 Saving a life through marrow donation is now easier than ever. All it takes is a cheek swab and a few minutes of time. Contact John Philpott for more info: (801) 520-1383

Weathering the Elements 3K/5K fun run/walk 10am @ University of Idaho Research and Extension Center, 2105 N. Boyer Have fun navigating through, under or over obstacles from Mother Nature

Warm up your Fall days with a beautiful arrangement from

Nieman's Floral!

Start your weekly or monthly subscription today and enjoy the beauty of Summer all year long.

Renaissance Faire Discussion – 5:30pm @ Farmin Park Hear Ye, Hear Ye. A rountable discussion on the possibility of a Renaissance Faire in Sandpoint. Please bring ideas, suggestions and energy! Weather permitting

.) ntation that will help you prevent and thritis, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, ing demos and food samples, and sciiocazan 208-290-5551 for more info

eries

Reader recommended

MickDuff’s Open Mic Night 7-10pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Join Ben and Cadie for this monthly Open Mic Night at the Beer Hall. Free and open to all 21+

The Conversation — 6-8pm @ Ivano’s Ristorante Do you have an art-focused vision for a grant that you would like to write? Do you know of a grant, but as an artist do not know how to write it? Are you a former grant writer and would like to help an artist write a grant? Let’s all meet at The Conversation and together write/rewrite the narrative and budget for your grant proposal. Questions? 263-1592.

Sept. 17 Sept. 18 Comedy Night for Wildlife @ Sandpoint Scenic Half Marathon @ Sandpoint Center w/ comedian Kermet Apio

Got an event you want listed?

Send to calendar@ sandpoint reader.com Sept. 20 Gallagher’s “Last Smash” tour @ Panida Theater

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Celebrate wine with the Annual Harvest Party

By Cameron Barnes Reader Staff

Calling all wine aficionados!

Make sure you don’t miss Harvest Party this year at the Pend d’Oreille Winery, located at 301 Cedar St. #101. The event is set for Saturday Sept. 10 from 1-5 p.m. and will showcase a plethora of delicious libations for your tasting pleasure.

“KPND will be joining us for grape-stomping fun and prizes, live music with Mike and Shanna (1:304:30 p.m.), food hot off the grill and wine specials,” the events website reports. These specials, which are in effect Friday through Saturday, include sales that go much farther then you might expect, 50 percent off Roussanne, Rosé, and Orange Muscat, 25 percent off select older vintages, 30 percent off all cases and 20 percent off all bottles.

The Pend d’Oreille Winery has been operating since 1995, originally in Boyer and in 2014 they made the move to downtown Sandpoint.

Grape stomping has been a staple event for each of those 21 years, although initially the tradition was more of a close friends and family celebration.

So what if wine isn’t exactly your thing? Well instead you should bring the family for the fierce costume/grape-stopping contest, which goes from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday.

Last year even sported a Lucille Ball costume while stomping grapes to juice. That juice in fact, by volume will determine each winner after one minute. I spoke with Julie Meyer, co-owner of Pend d’Oreille Winery, who told me those participating, “Should expect to get a little sticky ... it’s okay though, we will make sure to have a hose on sight.”

To submit your own pet photos, please send a photograph and a little bit of information about your special friend to ben@sandpointreader.com.

Please put “PET PHOTOS” in the subject line.

-PorkyPorky’s Revenge: I know you featured Porky the ferret once, but this is a gem. We used this as our photo to sell my Batavus mo-ped.

Cora Murray Sandpoint

Stop and smell the flowers!

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WELLNESS

Living Life:

In Honor of Madison: HOPE

By Dianne Smith Reader Columnist While losing a child is unbearable for any parent, losing a child through suicide leaves a hole in the survivor’s lives that can never be filled. The question will always be, “what could I have done to stop it.”

With National Suicide Prevention week coming to a close and the Walk for HOPE having raised awareness in Sandpoint, it is important to know about teen suicide. We need to know what we can do as a community to provide better support to our youth and to recognize risk factors so that no other parents experience the loss of a child through suicide.

In looking at Sandpoint High School’s webpage there is wonderful information available for parents about teen suicide.

It is the second-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in Idaho.

There are links for both parents and students about recognizing risk factors and how to help.

Friends may be the first ones to see their friend struggling and be able to reach out and then let an adult know.

Suicide among teens often happens after a life event that seems very stressful or overwhelming. It can feel like the pain will never end. Problems at school, feeling bullied or like they don’t belong or fit in, a breakup with a boyfriend or girlfriend, the death of a loved one, parent’s divorce, or a major family conflict or event are all risk factors. A mental health diagnosis such as depression or anxiety can also be a risk factor.

Suicide is preventable, and by learning the warning signs and paying attention you can make the difference.

Teens who are thinking about suicide might: •Talk about suicide or death in general or write poems, songs or letters that are very dark, usu-

ally about death or loss.

•Give hints that they might not be around anymore or talk about not wanting to be around anymore.

•Start giving away valued or treasured childhood possessions to siblings or friends.

•Lose the desire to take part in favorite things or activities or withdraw into their room and away from friends and family.

•Have trouble concentrating or thinking clearly and falling behind in school or not going at all.

•Experience changes in eating or sleeping habits.

•Engage in risk-taking or dangerous behaviors including increased use of drugs or alcohol.

•Lose interest in school or sports or other activities that they previously enjoyed.

•Have major mood swings or abrupt personality changes.

What do you do when you’re worried that a child might be feeling suicidal?

•The best thing a parent can do is to take any signs of depression and suicide seriously. Don’t be afraid to talk to your child about depression and suicide in a calm and concerning way. It is a myth that talking about suicide promotes suicide.

•Tell your child what you are noticing, and make statements about their changed behavior.

Ask questions directly and openly including “are you thinking about hurting yourself, and do you have a plan?”

•Show that you care. Listen and express concern in a nonjudgmental way. Hear what they are saying and empathize with their worries and concerns. “It must be hard to feel that way” “How can I be most helpful?”

•Take action! Get your child connected with professional help. There are wonderful mental health professionals in the area that can provide the services your teen and family need. As a parent, having support is important to you also. It is a family issue not just a teen issue. You can contact the Bonner County Crisis Line at 208-265-3586 or the state wide suicide hotline at 800-564-2120. They are both available 24 hours a day.

•Take any weapons out of the house. Lock the medicine cabinet.

•Be vigilant and aware and do not leave your teen alone until you are sure that they are no longer having thoughts of hurting themselves.

What not to do: •Do not keep it a secret.

•Do not sweep the issue under the rug or treat it lightly.

•Don’t “call their bluff” or threaten them.

•Do not offer simple solutions.

•Do not judge, their pain is real and serious to them.

•Do not try to be a therapist or wait for them to come to you and ask for help. Get professional help. As a parent you are too close to the situation to be objective.

Remember, teen suicide is preventable. If you’re worried about your teen, talk to him or her and seek help right away.

It is important to treat your child with respect, compassion and understanding. Show your unconditional love, and offer emotional support without judging. It is important that a teen considering suicide feel loved and wanted. Show your teenager that it is possible to overcome life’s challenges and that you are willing to help.

Dianne Smith, LMFT is a licensed counselor who works with both children and adults.

She has offices in Bonners Ferry and Sandpoint and can be reached at 951-440-0982

Mercury in retrograde: What does it mean?

By Ben Olson Reader Staff We’ve all used a lame excuse or two in our lives. I remember a job I took in college at a retail department store. If you’ve ever worked in retail (in a mall, no less), you know what I’m talking about. It was absolutely terrible.

After sticking it out for four months, I couldn’t take it anymore. I told my supervisor that I couldn’t work there anymore.

When she asked why, I blurted out that it was because the constant barrage of perfumes from female shoppers were causing an allergic reaction on my skin, and I was having trouble breathing at night.

Lame, right? I know, I know.

It turns out, there is another excuse that keeps popping up—an extraterrestrial excuse. No, not aliens, but that would be cool.

Mercury going into retrograde has been blamed for all sorts of unfortunate situations, such as impulse buying a ridiculous new fad item, botching a presentation at work or failing to impress your first date.

But what exactly does it mean for Mercury to go into retrograde?

Is it really responsible for my terrible haircut?

Mercury’s retrograde motion is both a real and imagined phenomenon. All planets rotate around the sun in the same direction. That never changes. However, if a person were able to trade Mercury’s position during retrograde, they’d end up with a line that changes direction (see the above photograph).

While some planetary objects actually do experience retrograde motion—Venus spins about its axis in the opposite direction than other planets—Mercury’s “backtracking” is rather an issue of perspective.

Since Mercury is smaller and travels faster than Earth, when its orbit catches up to and passes

Earth, it creates the illusion that Mercury is backtracking.

An oversimplified analogy for understanding this retrograde motion involves a track like you used to run on in high school. Imagine Earth is sitting in the stands watching Mercury run about the track. As Mercury runs its laps, it will start out moving left to right. When it rounds the corner, although not actually running backward, it appears to reverse direction and is now traveling right to left.

Consider this analogy also: When you’re in a motorboat with the throttle pushing you forward, if you suddenly switch into reverse, a turbulent wake can be seen as the bubbles from the propellor wash switch directions.

Proponents of Mercury’s ill effect claim that this “turbulence” is responsible for forgetting to send in your rent check or missing that appointment at work.

Mercury undergoes retrograde motion several times a year. Mercury is currently in retrograde now and will be until Sept. 22. It will again enter retrograde from Dec. 19-31.

While many astrologists wax poetically about the influence of this perceived motion, the general consensus is that the forces of a heavenly body so far away from Earth would have no impact upon us.

“All planets appear to go through a period of retrograde (east-to-west) motion against the stars as seen from the Earth,” wrote Geoff Chester, a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Observatory in Live Science. “There is nothing unusual in this. Mercury is no exception. There is no story here.”

I guess that settles it. If you’re searching for a whipping boy to blame your frustrations or confusions on, Mercury is hardly the culprit. Find another lame excuse, pal.

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Fifteen years ago and still reeling

By Tim Henney Reader Contributor Fifteen years ago on Sept.

11, America was yanked into the real world.

As a modern nation we’d been jolted before. Bloody labor strikes and mining disasters. Millions of citizens broke, hungry and desperate in The Great Depression. Japanese bombers killing 2,400 and wounding 1,178 at Pearl Harbor. World War II, leaving 419,000 Americans and 451,00 British dead (60 million died worldwide. The Soviet Union lost an estimated 27 million.

Nazi German lost an estimated 7.4 million. Japan: An estimated 3 million).

Korea; Vietnam; four Kent State University, Ohio, students killed by National Guardsmen; exploding cities; unpunished murders of blacks in the Deep South during the Civil Rights wars; assassinations and attempted assassinations of Presidents, presidential candidates and civil rights leaders; the grisly Manson murders in Los Angeles; Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed and dismembered 17 men and boys and cannibalized some of them. And on and on. Shockers.

But only the Sunday morning surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941, was as sudden, as shattering, as incomprehensible, as the Sept.

11, 2001, assault in downtown New York City.

The World Trade Center attack—not its aftermath, but the attack itself—was in ways worse than Pearl Harbor. Not just in that more people died in the WTC attack. But because on Dec. 8, 1941, FDR declared war against Japan (Germany and Italy declared war on America on Dec. 11, and we immediately returned the favor). Americans had a pretty good idea of what those declarations meant.

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civilians had clearly identified the low-flying Mitsubishi AGM3 Zero Japanese fighters whose bombs, cannons and machine guns were attacking everyone and everything on the ground. Sixty years later, when two Boeing 767 passenger planes loaded with people and jet fuel slammed into the twin towers, no one knew who, what or why.

The Grundig Classic model radio pictured here, complete with “Hi-Fi Sound,” was the second piece of furniture my new bride, Jacquelynn, and I bought for our cozy Greenwich Village, NYC apartment in August, 1957. Our first purchase had been a mattress. I bought the radio at a store named Heinz & Bolet, on Dye Street about a block from the AT & T and Western Electric headquarters building at 195 Broadway, where I worked. Unfortunately for Heinz & Bolet, it was smack in the center of the 16 acres of old New York needed by the city to construct an enormous financial complex to be called the World Trade Center.

When the restaurants, bars, haberdashers, apartments, barbershops, appliance and electronics stores, dentists, doctors, lawyers, coffee shops, insurance and investment brokers, shoe stores, plumbers, opticians and warehouses were being uprooted, mashed into detritus and hauled away in the mid-1960s, I watched.

My windowed office was on the 14th floor of the New York Telephone Company building, part of AT & T, and directly across the street bordering the planned WTC site. When I wasn’t writing speeches for lanky Yalie sailor Clifton Phalen, company president, I gazed down upon the removal of Heinz & Bolet and its neighbors.

In the early 70s, after a brief corporate stint in Beverly

A Grundig Hi-Fi model 960 radio. Photo courtesy of Tim Henney.

Hills, I was back in downtown New York, at AT & T headquarters, editing the Bell Telephone Magazine. The World Trade Center’s seven buildings comprised the largest civilian project ever tackled by AT & T and its subsidiaries, at that time the world’s biggest business. The Bell Telephone Magazine, the company’s flagship publication, covered the construction of the twin towers, the world’s tallest skyscrapers, from day one to their topping off in late 1972.

An interesting aside, at least to history buffs, is that the beautiful Woolworth Building, one of NYC’s first skyscrapers, is just two blocks up Broadway, a five minute hike from the World Trade Center site.

From 1913 to 1930 the Woolworth Building was itself the world’s tallest building. More resembling a pintsized Empire State Building than skinny, upended shoeboxes, it was considerably less conspicuous

than the twin towers. The killer pilots ignored it, although it suffered collateral damage from the WTC assault. Both the World Trade Center and the Woolworth building were corporate social centers in their day for those of us who labored in their shared neighborhood.

Miller’s ground floor restaurant in the Woolworth Building was a noted downtown watering hole for many years. It’s where I discovered the availability of single malt scotch in 1970 (later I reverted back to Johnnie Walker Black, having decided it tasted better and cost less than most single malts).

The Woolworth’s imposing new neighbor, the WTC, was an embarrassment of riches for those downtown worker bees seeking noontime or after-hours sustenance. Windows On The World was a premier eatery 105 stories in the sky. I ate many a meal there. Always on company business. And the seven-story twin towers

basement, into which the buildings collapsed on 9/11/01, was brimming with bars, cafes and exotic shops. The basement also contained a Broadway ticket agency, back when normal people could afford to attend Broadway musicals, and did. Today it helps to be Bill or Melinda Gates.

We saw a lot of Broadway hits in NYC back in the day.

Now my 1957 bride and I go to the Panida. Or, even easier, we switch on the Grundig Hi-Fi radio bought at Heinz & Bolet back when the original World Trade Center was but a gleam in a developer’s eye.

Tim Henney retired in 1986 as corporate public relations director of “the old” AT & T in New York City when it was parent company of the erstwhile Bell Telephone System. He claims he never did understand how the telephone worked.

9/11

Fifteen years later

By Cameron Barnes Reader Staff

Looking out the window of my seventh-grade history class, my dearly departed summer vacation was all that was on my mind before the unexpected PA announcement.

“There’s been a terrible accident—one that affects us all as Americans,” the principal said in the message.

We were brought to the gymnasium, where a couple of TVs were set up, a smoking tower on the screens. “I heard it was a bomb ... no, a plane,” some speculated, followed shortly by gasps as we saw a plane smashing into the building.

At first, we thought this was a repeat of the original incident.

We later learned this was a second attack. School ended as a half-day, and we went home. Normally this would be a fantastic turn of events, but absolutely no one expressed half-day joy, or any other recognizable emotion. The World Trade Center was only 60 minutes away.

After getting dropped off and beginning my short walk home, I heard the bus tires squeal from quick acceleration. I looked back and saw an enormous cloud of black smoke fill 20 percent of the skyline, a silhouette against Connecticut’s famous fall colors.

Fifteen years later and 2,601 miles away from Ground Zero in my new home of Sandpoint, it’s still strange to remember that while I was within eyesight of the disaster, my experience mirrors that of almost every other American.

Later on in life, while completing school in New York, I made it a point to cover all of the anniversaries at Ground Zero I could. Of these years, the 10year anniversary was certainly the most intense in every way. Controversy ran rampant among New Yorkers over the proposed mosque to be built in the vicinity of Ground Zero. This crowd needed to be cordoned into separate areas to avoid any violence. One side was supported by ultra-conservative southerners against the mosque being built. The other was made up of mostly Yankee Democrats, liberals and Muslims. Can you imagine a worse combination of protesters to collide on the streets of lower Manhattan amongst barricades and thousands of NYPD police officers?

Chris Cayson of Sandpoint (who was in Los Angeles at the time) told me, “Even across the country, straight up, bottom line, people were nicer and friendlier to each other” before the attacks. If only this humbling sense didn’t fizzle away in

the honking and anger of everyday life, perhaps this tragedy could have benefited us as Americans in some small way.

In discussions regarding Sept. 11, it’s quite likely you’ve heard or said, “I will always remember where I was on the morning of September 11, 2011.” For me, this has held true considering the many other moments that are much blurrier than I would like to admit.

Although terrorism existed before Sept.. 11, 2001, it surely did not hold the same clout in our minds as it does today.

I do not have children of my own, but not a day goes by when I don’t think about the ramifications of bringing a child into a world as crazy as this one.

“I will never forget when that second plane hit the second tower,” said Cayson.

“It’s something I will tell my grandchildren.”

As an artist I was astounded to learn the not-so-fun-fact that lives were not the only thing lost that day.

According to “Hotel Ground Zero” by the History Channel, the “total value of art lost when the Twin Towers collapsed [was] $100 million. These lost works included pieces by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Alexander Calder, and David Hockney. New York lost its emblematic skyline anchoring southern Manhattan by the twin towers, but its people won worldwide respect for the way they handled the horror and tragedy of the terrorist attack.”

Besides the symbolic significance of 15 years, why is this anniversary so important? Even at 27 years old, it makes me feel old to realize that most freshman and sophomores in high school were not even born yet during the attacks. The terrorist attacks that toppled the World Trade Center buildings that fateful day now need to be considered as history alongside Pearl Harbor and the Revolutionary War. Sandpoint’s Teya Knapp recently spoke of her 7-year-old’s perspective of Sept. 11: “When it’s time I’ll explain to him the best I can how I reacted and felt during Sept. 11 ... I’m not sure if he’ll fully understand the situation because he didn’t exist, but maybe he’ll think I’m awesome because I did.”

The battle rages between young and old ideologies, naive versus stubborn. In living with my grandma (who is in her early 70s) for the past few months here in Sandpoint, I’ve heard many stories I was amazed to hear. I also felt the need to correct her according to modern social norms.

Until now, my life had always fit into the role of the young generation’s ideology as I was raised with modern notions of

Anti-Mosque protester at Ground Zero during the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Photo by Cameron Barnes

Pro-Mosque protester at Ground Zero during the 10-year anniversary of 9/11. Photo by Cameron Barnes

right and wrong.

You see it in something as basic as music. After hearing my father play New Wave ‘80s hits, I remember saying, “How can you listen to this stuff?” to which I was told, “One day you will understand, when your future child tells you how lame the Dubstep electronic music you listen to is.” Or maybe they will ask, “Maroon 5—is that like classic rock or

something?”

As we all know, culture is constantly evolving. For the first time, I’m seeing it firsthand.

A new generation is coming of age that has truly never experienced something monumental. And I have.

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Photos of the week: From top right, moving clockwise: Music lovers get their dance on to Rust on the Rails at Schweitzer’s Fall Fest on Saturday.

Revelers take a break from the giant-sized chess board at Schweitzer’s Fall Fest on Saturday.

A trio of human hamster balls cavort at Schweitzer’s Fall Fest on Saturday.

A vendor at last weekend’s Funky Junk Antique Show at the Bonner County Fairgrounds looks over his stock of vintage letters and signs.

The main exhibit at the Funky Junk Antique Show honoring the area’s timber pioneers.

All photos by Cameron Barnes.

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STAGE & SCREEN

Famed comedian Gallagher to smash the Panida stage

By Ben Olson Reader Staff I have vivid memories of watching Gallagher’s comedy specials when I was a kid. There was something visceral and satisfying in watching his routine, which invariably ended with the famous “Sledge-OMatic” smashing everything from bottles of tartar sauce to the finale watermelon while the first ten rows hid squealing beneath their plastic ponchos.

Naturally, when I saw the Panida Theater was hosting the famed comedian for his “Last Smash” tour, I was excited. I reached out to the man with the big hammer—who just turned 70 last month—and asked him about his life in comedy, his wacky run for governor of California and this last tour. The answers he emailed back are below. Let’s just say, at times, Gallagher’s answers come from left field, right field and sometimes from the parking lot.

At other times, I had trouble matching up the answer with the question. Nonetheless, here’s the interview in its entirety.

SPR: Do you often get the chance to connect with fans that grew up watching your comedy specials? Any fun experiences to share?

Gallagher: At one show with a female volunteer on stage who made fun of my baldness … then I had some remark … but she was ready to show it was a wig and she was a cancer patient. Some months ago she came by a small show I was doing at a comedy club in Port Hueneme, Calif.

Since I described having a baby as a diaper on an anchor … parents introduce their kids to me as their anchors. The children mention seeing the giant couch routine taking things out of the crack.

SPR: After more than three decades of performing, do you find that stand-up comedy has changed? If so, how?

G: Novelty sells and then the pendulum of public interest swings away. Been there, done that … and that’s what’s occurred with the comedy club explosion. Home theaters and the internet are a strong competitor to going out. And now, what with the live speeches presidential candidates hold that seem more like comedy shows … it’s hard to get a crowd together to just laugh over drinks and not destroy long-standing national alliances and treaties. In the area of “what a comic can say” and “what’s over the PC line of good taste,” that changes with the news cycle.

I feel like I’m operating in the decimated aftermath of Hurricane Trump as he stomps into the news … stirring up clouds

of controversy … and forcing all the doors of propriety open … as he shows how he’s the champion of blowin’ hard … as he slams his way across the media landscape.

SPR: I notice that you are playing a lot of smaller theaters and cities on this “Last Smash” tour. How come?

G: I am working in the villages and the hamlets because that’s where the common sense of America is rooted. My comedy truthfully describes what I see, and I receive my best responses in the hinterland.

A joke is basically the question, “Do you see what I see and ain’t it dumb?” The strength of the laugh tells everyone how much we all agree. Politicians learn “on the road” what will get the applause and laughs from an audience. The problem is after they’re elected they move on to helping everyone but the voters who put them in that position of graft. The Pope used to pay for that corruption connection.

Just what we need—Bill Clinton back in the White House with nothin’ to do.

Someone tell Trump he’d have more broad appeal if he’d quit callin’ ‘um broads?

Obama said his White House would be the most “transparent,” and it has been to the international hackers.

Obama got us out of the Middle East because he’s a golfer … and knows a sandtrap when he sees it.

Riley Cooper has a new career with Nabisco … He’ll be representing all their crackers.

You couldn’t get the Ten Commandments through Congress if Moses was buying drinks.

Thou shalt not steal … would get the doctors irritated.

Thou shalt not kill … would put you in the crosshairs of the Pentagon.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain … would be opposed by coaches, fans and players.

Thou shalt not bear false witness … would be opposed by the Lawyers Bar Association.

Thou shalt not commit adultery … would never get out of the Senate.

You know those aging Senators don’t use bookmarks because they like their pages bent over.

SPR: I read that you ran for governor of California during the tumultuous 2003 recall election and placed 16th out of 135.

That election must’ve gone down in history as the weirdest gubernatorial election in history. What was it like for you?

G: I not only ran against unspellable Swartzenneggar [sic], I came up with the idea of runnin’ to get publicity.

I wanted to discuss singing the national anthem in Spanish and using helicopters to clear the freeways of clogs as they are the arteries of our economy. See my video on YouTube. I was on the ballot and voted for Arnie. Voting for who you know will lose is a waste of the power of your right to choose.

SPR: Is this really your Last Smash?

What will you do with your time once you’re finished touring?

G: I have 24 projects on my bucket-list on my website Gallaghersmash.com. I have a patent for cool interactive fun software for playing slots on mobile devices.

I have a poem (“The Duck”) that teaches kids how to eat more-balanced meals.

Catch Gallagher’s “Last Smash” at the Panida Theater on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $59 for the “Ultra Splash Zone,” $39 for the “Splash Zone,” and $29 for the “Safe Zone.” Gallagher will be bringing special guest Artie Fletcher.

This performance is not rated, so bring young ones at your own discretion. Tickets are available on Panida.org or by calling 263-9191.

Sept. 8 @ 7:30pm | Sept. 9 @ 5:30pm Sept. 10 @ 5pm & 8pm | Sept. 11 @ 3:30pm

“Cafe Society” film directed by woody allen

tuesday, sept. 20 @ 8pm

Gallagher’s last smash tour get your ultra splash zone and splash zone tickets fast before they sell out! Also available: safe zone!

Thursday, sept. 23 @ 8pm

George winston in concert

George Winston’s concerts feature a variety of styles including melodic folk piano, New Orleans R&B piano, and stride piano

Thursday, sept. 29 @ 7pm

SOUNDS OF THE EAST:

AN EVENING OF INDIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC Pandit Partho Sarothy is known around the world for his exploration of harmony and tranquility

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The Straight Poop:

The quest for dog-friendly businesses in North Idaho

Keep an eye out for our student bicyclists

By Rebecca Holland Reader Contributor This week our local children are going back to school!

So respectfully, the Sandpoint Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (SPBAC) would like to remind residents to be mindful of students walking and riding bikes, both in the mornings and afternoons, in your neighborhood and around school zones. When driving a vehicle, please slow down.

Our committee made an assertive effort last spring at our local schools to teach the basic safety rules and Sandpoint’s best routes for cycling in our town. Believing strongly in a “partnership in education” between schools, parents and community, we will continue to help strengthen this knowledge with short articles published in the Reader through the coming school year. We ask parents to review these with their children.

Additionally, we hope this information will help increase awareness among our residents for the safety of these young vulnerable road and sidewalk users. Who, by the way, are exercising both their bodies and their brains by enjoying a healthy, active way of travel in the fresh air of Sandpoint!

For more information, contact Rebecca Holland, SPBAC Chairman: 255-2500.

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By Drake the Dog Reader Pet Columnist Where am I taking my humans today?

The Missus reminded me that our family is having a “stay-ca” and we need some reading material. Since the Mister is a car magazine guy, the Missus and I are sniffing around Sandpoint for a dog friendly bookstore.

Like a dog with two tails, I spot a sign with an adorable pug ­The Corner Bookstore, located at 106 Main St. in Sandpoint. That pug is sweet Molly Malone; a full- bodied Chinese Pug, who spent 9.5 years sitting in the doorway greeting customers. She would keep an eye on her owner, Jim Orbaugh, at all times. Folks came in to see Molly, talk with Jim, and once in a while they bought a book. When she died of health complications, customers brought Jim pug-related gifts. Over the years, he has given them to well-behaved children that love to read.

Paws up!

Early on, Jim specialized in collecting books by noted authors, and everything (finished and unfinished), that Stephen King wrote, including a refrigerator note to his wife.

Molly saw the store’s wealth of opportunity through her canine-eye view, and encouraged Jim to expand his catalogue and book collection business of into a gem of a downtown bookstore, that rivals Kindle and iPad reading.

While Jim’s deceptively large shop is packed to the ceiling with an inventory of about 25,000 new and used books, his specialty is a substantial collection of mysteries, thrillers, horror and science fiction.

Many of the signed books, hardcovers and first editions are works of Dean Koontz, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Edward Lee and Ray Garton.

The Corner Bookstore When the Missus asked how Jim came up with the name for the store, he replied, “The store was on the corner, so that seemed like a good name. If we ever move the store to the middle of a block, the new name would be ‘The Corner Bookstore In The Middle of the Block.’”

The store has been in the same location since 1997.

Jim loves to tell stories about customers that come in to buy books for their family reading hour. Years later, their kids come back from college barking up a storm, thus creating his huge extended family. The atmosphere of the store is casual and fun, with many memorable stories. Book collectors and travelers love this place!

A few years ago, Jim closed the store for a well-earned twoweek vacation, as he wanted to get the yard ready for spring after a harsh winter. Hot diggity-dog! The chores were completed in a few days, and he was bored with the couch potato life. Hence, the vacation ended, he went back to work, as he missed the store, his loyal customers and his nose in the books.

Jim told us that he used to read 2-3 books a week when he was younger. Now since he owns a bookstore, loves to landscape and has a raining-cats-and-dogs list a mile long, he only reads 1-2 books a year. Though the store no longer buys books, it still sells and trades new and used ones.

Special orders are welcome, and Jim offers a complimentary book search service.

If hardcovers, first editions and paperbacks are not your doggie bag, stop in for a doggone good selection of children’s books, literature, fiction and local history. Paws

Owner Jim Orbaugh stands with Drake outside The Corner Bookstore.

a bit—Orbaugh has a sharp eye for unusual and intriguing titles, and there are treasures waiting in the stacks for patient bowsers and browsers.

My picks for Young Pups: • “Walter the Farting Dog” • “Go, Dog. Go!” • “The Poky Little Puppy” Chew on these for Scruffy readers: • “Where the Red Fern Grows” • “The Call of the Wild” • “Old Yeller” And Puppy Love for Old Dog Tales: • “The Art of Racing in the Rain” • “Cujo”

• “A Dog’s Purpose” Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.

Corner Bookstore Rules: •Well-mannered K9 book lovers welcome.

•No chewing or lifting a leg on the books.

•Curb your enthusiasm while reading the humorous emails on the Great Door O-Myth.

Check out The Corner Bookstore at 106 Main Street in Sandpoint. Have a dog-friendly business you’d like Drake to check out? Write to stories@ sandpointreader.com and he’ll paw on over.

MUSIC

Best albums of 2016 (so far) We listen to a lot of music here at Reader HQ. While we share quite a bit of our favorites in the Read, Listen, Watch sidebar every week, here are a couple of albums Cameron and Ben think are especially noteworthy this year.

FIDDLIN’ RED Music Store

Instruments Repairs Lessons

Ben Olson’s pick:

David Bowie - “Blackstar”

When David Bowie passed away just after releasing “Blackstar” in 2016, it seemed too perfect an ending to an allstar career. Personally, I was glad he got in a last hurrah before the end. The world still seems a little square without our resident boundary-pusher.

Upon first listen to “Blackstar,” I was haunted by the title track. The sound was wreathed in a haunting electronic miasma that confuses, comforts and inspires you— all at once. Even more, the music video is strange and awesome, just like Bowie.

The next track, “‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore,” goes in an entirely different direction, featuring Bowie’s swingy entrance into the jazz world. In fact, the whole album was cut with a combo of New York-based jazz musicians, providing a delicate balance between the synth electronics and analog melodies.

Though I’m a fan of Bowie’s through and through, I enjoyed the fact that this final album was a departure from his glam pop style that dominated the late ‘70s and ‘80s.

Each track seems to depart from the one before, but strangely, the album has an overall cohesive feeling. As a fledgling musician, I’d say one of the hardest things for me to accomplish is an album where all the songs complement each other, but don’t sound the same.

Bowie did wonders with this final release.

He sealed his place in history as a one-of-akind musician and artist. His music will echo throughout popular culture into perpetuity.

111 Church St., Spt, ID (208)946-6733 WWW.FIDDLINREDSIMPSON.COM

Summer is too frantic around here for long periods of book-sitting. The one book that was ADHD enough to keep up with me this year was “Hogs Wild: Selected Reporting Pieces,” by Ian Frazier.

Frazier’s decades of writing experience take you from horseshoe crabs to the NYC homeless; from a Deschutes fly-fishing guide to an East Coast policeman who specializes in rap-related crimes; from the invasion of asian carp to the invasion of meteorites into suburban homes.

It’s fantastic, it’s just-published, and it’s available at your local library!

Reading “Hogs Wild” introduced me to Eben Bayer, Gavin McIntyre, and the folks at Ecovative (who are growing fungal “packaging” as a biodegradable Styrofoam alternative).

I soon realized that, like many innovative concepts, the ideas of Bayer and McIntyre were presented years ago at TED talks. Remember how trendy TED videos and podcasts were for a while? They’re still excellent, it turns out.

Get on the TED site and listen to some smart ideas. Remember, it’s cool to be a nerd.

Runner up: Radiohead’s “Moon Shaped Pool.”

Neko Case, k.d. lang, Laura Viers - “case/lang/viers”

Runner ups: I’d be remiss if I didn’t praise Shearwater’s magnificent “Jet Plane and Oxbow” released back in January. Shearwater has been so consistently excellent over the years, it’s tough to call it their best album. But it certainly is unique in their oeuvre, a protest album that somehow sheds bitterness and pessimism.

Likewise, it’s too early to include Okkervil River’s new album, “Away,” in an article like this. But judging from the album’s debut on NPR’s “First Listen” last week, band frontman Will Sheff has written his most poignant record yet in a career defined by self-reflection.

READ

LISTEN

Cameron Rasmusson’s pick: Neko Case. k.d. lang. Laura Veirs.

Any one of those names is liable to perk a music fan’s the interest, and each individual artist has built up a well-deserved following. It’s little wonder, then, that their collaboration under the name case/ lang/veirs provoked intense anticipation. Despite the high expectations, their self-titled June album, one of the most self-assured debuts I’ve heard, satisfied even the toughest critics.

While the idea of packing extraordinary musical talent into a single project is exciting, supergroups are far from a sure bet. With disparate creative forces pulling the album in different directions, the result is too often an unfocused and cobbled-together mishmash of ideas. All the more remarkable that “case/lang/veirs” feels like it sprang fully formed from some kind of musical hive mind.

One would expect a collaboration between some of the most beautiful voices and adept instrumentalists to be aesthetically pleasing. And “case/lang/ veirs” is just that. The first track, “Atomic Number,” is a fine microcosm of the rich, harmonic sound that drives the album.

What’s more unexpected is the generally excellent writing.Wrapped inside the faultless composition, the lyrics makes “case/lang/veirs” a truly affecting experience.

This week’s RLW by Jen Heller

Crossword Solution

WATCH My final new fave from “Hogs Wild” (seriously, go read the book): strandbeests.

Type “strandbeests” into your search engine, and watch the leggy creations of Dutch artist Theo Jansen take on the beaches of the world in bizarre, poetic motion.

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w o N & Then compiled by

Ben Olson

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

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

Main Street / Highway 95 in Bonners Ferry during the Kootenai River flood of 1961, looking north towards the river. Photo taken by Robert Duebel.

1961

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

CROSSWORD ACROSS

The same view today. You can see the bridge has changed quite a bit in 55 years.

None of our cars have those amazing fins anymore either. Phooey.

2016

Wortdhe of

Week

opacus

/oh-PEY-kuh s/

[adjective] 1. Meteorology. (of a cloud) dense enough to obscure the sun or moon.

“The opacus sky made the sun blood orange.”

Corrections: In last week’s story “The Beehive Five,” I neglected to credit Jim Mellen with his great photographs. Sorry about the omission, Jim. We appreciate you letting us use the photos. -BO 22 /

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1. Log home 6. Absent Without Leave 10. Helps 14. Positive pole 15. Casino game 16. Parasitic insect 17. A friction match 18. Custard dessert 19. Hue 20. Squadron 22. Not difficult 23. On the left or right 24. Pantry 26. Ailments 30. Nonclerical 31. A type of evergreen tree 32. Weight loss plan 33. Nights before 35. Audio communications 39. A former Turkish term of respect 41. Berthing 43. Parisian subway 44. Trigonometry (abbrev.)

46. A romantic meeting 47. 2,000 pounds 49. Lyric poem 50. Blackthorn 51. A type of dome-shaped structure 54. Matured 56. Back 57. Unmerited 63. Ricelike pasta 64. Japanese wrestling

Solution on page 21 65. Subarctic coniferous forests 66. Place 67. Dash 68. Toward the outside 69. Not more 70. Austrian peaks 71. Marsh growth

DOWN 1. Eatery 2. Rectum 3. Pear variety 4. Notion 5. Requires 6. Sworn statement 7. Pike (fish)

8. By mouth 9. Lacking companions 10. Subsequently 11. Homeric epic 12. Compacted 13. Nymph chaser 21. Angered 25. Relating to aircraft 26. As just mentioned 27. Vitality 28. Not right 29. Resembling snoring 34. Iotas 36. Found on rotary phones 37. Within

38. Curved molding 40. Newbie (slang) 42. S-shaped moldings 45. Chart showing routes and streets 48. Queasiness 51. Facetious 52. Eagle’s nest 53. Stares 55. Discourage 58. Nonexistent 59. Dash 60. Briskly (music) 61. Quaint outburst 62. Fathers

If they ever have a haunted house for dogs, I think a good display would be a bathtub full of soapy water.

More than a store, a Super store!

Are you ready for flu season?

Flu shots available now!

-We bill most insurance companies -No appointment needed -Quick, painless, no waiting -7 days a week -Ask us about other vaccinations

Join us for our 21 Annual Harvest Party! st

Come on down to enjoy stomping grapes, spitting corks and great deals on wine and merchandise!

Starts at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10th The deals go Friday through Sunday!

50% off end-of-vintage wine specials: Rousanne, Orange Muscat, Rosette, 2013 Reserve Syrah - All Glassware 30% off this weekend -

Grape Stomping!

1 – 4 p.m.

Saturday

Third & Cedar | 208.265.8545 | POWine.com

•Live Music • grape stomping • deals on wine • lots of fun!

Think Green Drink Red at the New Pend d'Oreille Winery September 8, 2016 /

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