The River Journal August 2009

Because there’s more to life than bad news

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A News MAGAZINE Worth Wading Through

Shakespeare Heron style

Inside:

Redneck Lobstering Fluoride Facts Restoring the Kootenai Festival Going Green College Insurance a Scam?

Changes to Katie Beckett

July 2009

Michael White, Realtor

BS Forest Resources & Ecosystem Management For land, Ranches, and Homes with Acreage

Harry Weerheim Sales Associate, R E S O R T

R E A LT Y

You will get more knowledge skills and service Óän°Ó ä°nx ÊUÊwww.NorthwestLandman.com

690 ACRES - borders the Clark Fork River & National Forest with paved county road access. The views are spectacular in all directions, but from Castle Rock you can see all the way to Lake Pend Oreille & Schweitzer ski mtn. Property consists of about 1/3 good, productive pasture lands & about 2/3 forest land. Power & phone on site, plus a little year-round creek. Easy to subdivide. $3,500,000

240 ACRES Of fORESTED LAND With beautiful lake, mountain and valley views. Four contiguous parcels (two 80acre and two 40-acre) borders USFS on multiple sides. $799,500

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640 ACRES of some of the most productive land in North America! 240 acres of Palouse farm fields, 400 ac of prime timber land with a big year-around creek, awesome views, and wildlife galore. It even has an old farm house, well, electric, phone, new rocked road and paved access! This is the perfect property for farming and ranching, survival, family or corporate retreat. Bring Offers! Asking $1,700,000

LARGE UNDER GROUND CEMENT HOUSE ON 130 acres bordered by two big creeks & timber company land! Features include well, electric plus solar and generator backups, two good log cabins, shop & greenhouse too. New interior road system & county maintained road access just off the pavement. Awesome views. Priced as vacant land, only $649,500!

90 ACRES on Deep Creek w/ alternative energy cabin, Borders state land, good productive pasture land, beautiful forest and great views. 20 minutes to Sandpoint Bring offers! Asking $495,500

20 ACRES iN HAyDEN, iD. Quaint & beautiful horse property with good home, big barn, productive hay fields, pasture, views, good county maintained road, close to shopping, dining, lake, etc... $425,000

20 ACRES with nice cedar sided home, wired for conventional, solar and generator electric. One mile off paved county road, on newly rocked private road with secondary access road too. Big barn, good views, private but easy drive to town. Asking $299,500

17 ACRES w/ SAND CREEk fRONTAGE beaver pond, nice forest, usable land, power & phone,and small cottage.

Less than 10 ml to Sandpoint, 1 mile off paved co. rd, 3 parcels sold together for $125,500

2008 fRAME BUiLT construction just minutes to downtown Sandpoint. This home features beautiful wood work, vaulted ceilings and great views. Nearly a half acre lot is biggest in subdivision and access is all on paved roads. Large two car attached garage $244,500

40 ACRES with gorgeous lake views, county road frontage, less than one mile to Clark Fork, ID power and phone are in the road, property is flat on bottom and up on top for excellent building sites.

Unparalleled views of Lake Pend Oreille, River, valley & mountains. $249,500

21 ACRES ON LOST LAkE! Great views, power & phone, two building pads w/ roughed-in roads, mostly paved roads on the 10 mile drive to town. Area of nice homes. Great price at $275,000

21AC W/ BiG ViEWS Of THE LAkE, Great views of Lake Pend Oreille, Lost Lake, surrounding Mountains and valley below. Easy drive to Sandpoint, mostly on paved roads. On the edge of Selle Valley, in an area of very nice homes. Firm at $189,500

8 ACRES w/ 800’ Of WATERfRONT, where the Pack River meets the lake. adjacent to Idaho Club! Boatable into Lake Pend Oreille. Great road access, building pad in, perc tested and gorgeous views of river, lake, mountains & wildlife. $995,000

WHY LIST WITH MICHAEL?

Consistently ranked top 10% in sales. Your listing advertised in The Real Estate Book, Homes & Land, Coeur d’ Alene Mag., Sandpoint Mag, Inland Northwest Real Estate Guide, Page& Ranch | The River Journal - A News Magazine Wading | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009 Farm Mag and more...

Member ofWorth Cd’A andThrough Selkirk MLS, doubles your exposure.

August 2009 Former area dentist joins the call to end water fluoridation in Sandpoint.

See story by Trish Gannon on page 5

THE RIVER JOURNAL A News Magazine Worth Wading Through ~just going with the flow~ P.O. Box 151•Clark Fork, ID 83811 www.RiverJournal.com•208.255.6957

SALES

You’re not just fishing for crawdads - you’re doing some redneck lobstering. . See Taryn Hecker’s

Call 208.255.6957 or email trish@riverjournal.com

PRESS RELEASES

story on page 11

(Email only) to editorial@riverjournal.com

STAFF Calm Center of Tranquility Kootenai Tribe develops a master plan to restore the Kootenai River.

Also...

See story by Kristin James on page 14

Jody Forest dgree666@sandpoint.net Scott Clawson, Matt Davidson, Kriss Perras

Departments Editorial

Cover

Ministry of Truth and Propaganda Cartoonists

Idaho Colleges snare students with “horrible” insurance plan, The Festival goes green, community is alive and well in Clark Fork, plus the River Journal is blogging “live” from this year’s Festival at Sandpoint.

16.........Staccato Notes 18.........Veterans’ News 20-22.....Outdoors 23.........Technology 24.........Education 26-27.....Food 28.........Faith 30-31.....Wellness 32-33.....Other Worlds 34 ........Lite Lit 36.........Politics 38-39.....Obituaries 42.........Sports 40-44.....Humor

Trish Gannon-trish@riverjournal.com

17 Politically Incorrect Cops share stupidity

19 The Scenic Route Top of the World 25 Love Notes The Priceless Pool 29 The Hawk’s Nest Lessons from the Animals

35 Currents Gotta have books 37 Say What?

Criticism 44 From the Mouth of the River Boots in therapy

See Shakespeare in beautiful downtown Heron, Montana. Story by Trish Gannon on page 13

Regular Contributors

Desire Aguirre; Jinx Beshears; Laura Bry; Scott Clawson; Sandy Compton; Marylyn Cork; Dick Cvitanich; Duke Diercks; Mont. Sen. Jim Elliott; Idaho Rep. George Eskridge; Lawrence Fury; Dustin Gannon; Shaina Gustafson; Matt Haag; Ernie Hawks; Hanna Hurt; Herb Huseland; Emily Levine; Marianne Love; Thomas McMahon; Clint Nicholson; Kathy Osborne; Gary Payton; Angela Potts; Paul Rechnitzer; Boots Reynolds; Kriss Perras Running Waters; Sandpoint Wellness Council; Rhoda Sanford; Lou Springer; Mike Turnlund; Tess Vogel; Michael White; and Pat Williams

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle Proudly printed at Griffin Publishing in Spokane, Wash. 509.534.3625 Contents of the River Journal are copyright 2009.

Reproduction of any material, including original artwork and advertising, is prohibited. The River Journal is published the first of each month and approximately 8,000 copies are distributed in Sanders County, Montana, and Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai counties in Idaho.

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... there’s a lot goin’ on!

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Scammed Scammed by by the the State?

State?

Insurance offered by Idaho Colleges “not the best policy for all.” by Trish Gannon A proposal by the State Board of Education to the Idaho Legislature in 2004 suggested a statewide insurance policy for all Idaho college and university students would be beneficial; this in response to a Board policy which requires all full-time students in a 4-year college or university to have medical insurance coverage.

The Board’s proposal stated a statewide plan, offering group coverage, would result in “All students within Idaho [enjoying] such a fine policy and the premiums could be greatly reduced for all students, including those at the University of Idaho.”

The Legislature accepted that proposal, but colleges were stuck with the plans they had negotiated for after the medical insurance was first made a requirement for full-time Idaho college and university students. Currently the state has issued a Request for Proposals for a basic insurance policy that would be provided to students in all state programs: perhaps next year, Idaho students might see that happen.

Today, however, the plans offered differ depending on what college they attend.

At Lewis Clark State College, after a competitive bid process, Renaissance Agencies, Inc. was awarded the contract to provide insurance to LCSC’s students through 2010.

It is the only Idaho college covered through Renaissance. Students are automatically enrolled in this plan unless they submit a waiver, prior to August 29, to show they already have equal or better coverage in a plan of their own. This is true for all Idaho colleges and universities: enrollment in the different plans is automatic unless a waiver is filed.

A Santa Monica, Calif. based company, Renaissance Agencies, Inc. offers to Idaho students a plan that one local insurance agent has called “horrible.”

“Quite frankly this is a HORRIBLE plan and I can’t believe they would even think of marketing this in good conscience. Shameful!”

That was the response of Angela Potts, owner of Summit Insurance Resource Group of Sandpoint, when asked to compare the college’s plan with a simple, Regence plan already in existence for an 18-year-old female student—a plan that doesn’t benefit from group pricing.

What makes the LCSC plan (and other college plans) less than stellar? Look at our chart on the next page to see how well they match the State Board of Education’s intention to “decrease mandatory insurance premiums for our students and increase their health insurance benefits.”

Part of the problem is that each college offers a different plan, something that will presumably be changed for the 2010-2011 school year. And the coverage varies widely.

Some plans cover pregnancy; others do not.

Some will cover your student if he’s injured playing sports while others cover only some types of sports and still others cover no athletic injuries at all.

In addition, these plans (along with private plans) offer different coverage limits for innetwork and out-of-network services. But what is their network? Is your child attending college in Boise fully covered if he becomes ill while home in North Idaho for the holidays?

Another consideration is market share— none of the current college insurance providers has the same market share in Idaho as companies like Blue Cross or Regence (the private company we compared them to). That market share allows the insurance company to negotiate lower prices for services from hospitals and doctors. That can make a huge difference in the dollar amount your 20 percent

of non-covered costs adds up to.

A little over 200,000 people in Idaho have no insurance—about 15 percent of the population—and a large number of those are kids aged 19 to 29. In that group, almost 30 percent have no insurance to protect them from financial catastrophe due to the costs of medical care. By 2010, the cost of health care not paid out-of-pocket by the uninsured in Idaho will be more than $324 million.

In a review of student health coverage available at 340 randomly selected colleges, the Government Accountability Office found that annual student health plan premiums range in cost from $30 to $2,400, with some plans excluding or limiting preventative care, prescription drug coverage and other health services. The average annual premium was around $860. Maximum benefit amounts vary from $2,500 per condition, per year (which not only won’t cover the cost of a hospital stay of any consequence, it won’t even cover many tests required when someone is injured), to $1 million per lifetime.

The American College Health Association recently updated its guidelines on student health insurance. Chief among them: “As a condition of enrollment, the college or university requires students to provide evidence that they have adequate health insurance coverage.” Characteristics of “adequate” health insurance identified by the organization include coverage for preventative care, catastrophic illness, and prescription medications, including psychotropic drugs.

The plans currently offered by Idaho colleges and universities simply don’t meet those guidelines. So why does that matter?

Because students (and sometimes their Continued on next page

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page

Scammed-continued from previous page parents) often are not well-versed in insurance. The assumption is that if a college offers a plan, that plan must be one of the best you can get. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case.

“Nobody is particularly happy with health insurance right now, but I promise you, if something happens, you’re not going to be happy without it,” said Potts. “As our legislature has recognized, it’s important that college students be adequately covered in case of illness or injury. Medical expenses are responsible for over 60 percent of bankruptcies today, and most of those people have health insurance—inadequate insurance. That’s simply not a good way for a student to start their lives. Despite what you might think when reading about the plans currently offered by Idaho’s higher education institutions, there are affordable plans available that provide good coverage to your student. Please, research what’s available before you blindly accept what’s offered.”

The Idaho Legislature passed a law (HB1105) extending COBRA coverage to students up to the age of 25 for unmarried, full-time students. Explore whether your child’s current plan can be continued, or whether an individual plan, offered by companies like Blue Cross or Regence, might be of more benefit to your student.

If you don’t know insurance, your best bet is to meet with a qualified insurance agent and compare plans—what’s offered on your current plan or, if you don’t have one, what’s available for your child individually, compared with what coverage is being offered by the college. An agent can point out ways you can reduce costs while still keeping the coverage you find essential. What you don’t want to do is simply sign up for the college plan because it’s there.

“Bottom line: students need to learn early to be students not just of knowledge but of discernment, information gathering, decision making and wisdom,” says Potts. Remember, Caveat emptor. Before a college student even gets a chance for exposure to Latin, the decisions they make about their insurance coverage can bring that lesson home all too well—buyer beware.

Renaissance Inc

LCSC/

BSU/Maksin Group

Annual Cost

$1,290

$1,570

$1328.50

$744

Coverage Limit

$50,000

$100,000

$1 million

$2 million

Deductible

$250 (waived on referral from SHS^)

$250 (waived on referral from SHS^) $500 out-of-network

$250 for outof-network expenses

$1,000

Pays

80% of RAC*

80% RAC* innetwork, 50% out-of-network

80% of RAC* in-network

80% RAC* innetwork

Athletic coverage

Intercollegiate No, Intramural $2,500 limit

up to $75,000

YES

YES

Pregnancy

YES

YES

NO

YES

Wellness

NO

NO

NO

YES

Mental Health Substance Abuse

NO

NO

80% R&C* w/additional $250 co-pay

NO

Prescriptions

$15-$25 copay every 30 days

$10 generic/ $20 brand name

$20 generic/50% brand name¶

$10 generic/50% brand name up to $1,200/yr

Symbols Used

*Reasonable and customary

^Student Health Services

¶Up to 50% if purchased off campus

WHAT IS YOUR PHOSPHORUS PHOOTPRINT? Phosphorus (P) is the nutrient that in excess threatens the health of our beautiful Lake Pend Oreille. It feeds invasive plants, clouds water clarity, and robs oxygen from fish. You may be unknowingly adding excess phosphorus to the lake. What is your Phosphorus Phootprint? Find out by taking this short quiz, and learn how you can minimize your Phootprint.

A CLEAN LAKE BEGINS AT YOUR DOORSTEP!

For more information and the entire Phootprint Quiz, please visit www.tristatecouncil.org. This message brought to you by the Tri-State Water Quality Council “Working together to protect water quality in the Clark Fork—Pend Oreille Watershed.”

Univ of Idaho/United HealthCare Ins

Private/ Regence

Phosphorus quiz •

What is the width of the vegetative buffer between your home and the closest water body? (a) Over 60 feet (b) 30 to 60 feet (c) 15 to 30 feet (d) 5 to 15 feet (e) 0 to 5 feet

•

What type of vegetation is between your home and the closest water body? (a) Undisturbed native vegetation (b) Planted trees and shrubs (c) Planted trees, shrubs, and grass (d) Only grass (e) Rip Rap or no vegetation

•

If you have bare soil, a garden, or a construction project on your lot, how close is it to surface water? (a) No bare soil (b) Over 100 feet (c) 40 to 100 feet (d) 20 to 40 feet (e) Less than 20 feet SCORING: (a) = 0 points (b) = 2 points (c) = 5 points (d) = 8 points (e) = 10 points

TOTAL SCORE: 0 - 7 points = Tip Toe 8 - 14 points = Flip Flop 15 - 21 points = Phat Foot 22 - 30 points = Sasquatch

A Wake-Up Call for the City of Sandpoint?

A look at the fluoridation of city drinking water

by Trish Gannon

I could hear the buzzing of the black helicopters outside my window and, peeking through the curtains, I swear that Elvis was peeking back from the other side. I knew the next knock on my door would have to be from the Men in Black as I sat down at my computer to write about water fluoridation. After all, isn’t that the prevailing view of anyone who doesn’t buy the story that fluoridating water is the next best thing to winning the lottery? They’re crazy, right?

The chief toxicologist for the Environmental Protection Agency’s department of drinking water, Dr. William Marcus, would agree. Not that water fluoridation opponents are crazy, mind you, but that they’re marginalized by being considered so. That’s because Marcus was fired by the EPA after he refused to remain silent on the risk of young men developing cancer from fluoride-treated water. Marcus took the EPA to court for the firing, and then-Secretary of Labor Robert Reich ordered his reinstatement to the job, finding he’d been fired in retaliation for his views.

What does Marcus have to say about why the EPA fired him? “Well, as you well

know fluoride is still recommended as a treatment for prevention of dental caries— tooth decay—and has been touted as such by the Public Health Service since 1953-54 and they ha[ve] a reputation to protect. It wouldn’t do for them to have been making this strong recommendation over the years and now to find out that they have been exposing the general public to a material known, now known, to be potentially carcinogenic in humans.”

Marcus isn’t the only EPA employee with concerns about water fluoridation. Chapter 280 of the National Treasury Employees Union, representing approximately 1,500 scientists, lawyers, engineers and other professional employees at EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C, stated “Recent, peer-reviewed toxicity data, when applied to EPA’s standard method for controlling risks from toxic chemicals, require an immediate halt to the use of the nation’s drinking water reservoirs as disposal sites for the toxic waste of the phosphate fertilizer industry.”

An immediate halt. Dr. Joey Hensley agrees. Hensley is a practicing physician and a U.S. Representative from the state of Tennessee. In December of 2006 he sent a letter to all Tennessee water districts recommending that fluoride should no longer be added to the water.

Even the National Academy of Sciences has weighed in, at least partially, on the side of the “kooks.” In 2006 they released a report finding that fluoride is less safe than previously thought, and that the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s safety limit on fluoride in water should be lowered.

The report found that the maximum contaminant level goal and the secondary maximum contaminant level goal of fluoride in drinking water currently allowed under federal water-safety rules can cause

Editor’s Note: I’m a bit of a public health nut, so when Scott Clawson told me he was writing his humor column in our last issue on fluoridating water, I was surprised.

Scott, you see, is a very smart man and I thought opponents to fluoridation didn’t deserve that adjective. I believed that the public health use of fluoride was better than sliced bread. Scott’s concerns got me doing some research, which resulted in this article. Just following links from the websites of the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization (both of which endorse water fluoridation) led me to studies that raised some serious questions. Upon conclusion of my research, I believe that water fluoridation no longer presents benefits that outweigh the risks, and should no longer be undertaken by our communities. There’s my editorial disclosure—count me in with the kooks. TG

a harmful variety of dental fluorosis, a mottling of the tooth that in its more severe form might actually cause cavities. It also found persuasive evidence that fluoride in water increases bone fractures as well as stiffness in the joints of the elderly, and in addition it may be related to Alzheimer’s disease, marginally reduce IQ in children and alter the endocrine and hormonal levels that control most of the functions of the human body with unknown effects.

Robert Issacson, a professor of neurobehavioral science at the University of New York, Binghampton, and a member of the NAS panel, said possible effects on endocrines and hormones from waterfluoridation are “something that I wouldn’t want to happen to me if I had any say in the matter.” He also said the report “should be a wake-up call.”

If that’s the case, then the city of Sandpoint could be said to be sound asleep—not out of negligence, however, but because they haven’t heard an alarm clock ringing. “You know, things change over time, and if this is one of those things, and (fluoride) is something we need to get rid of, I’m all for it,” said councilman Michael Boge. “So far, however, I haven’t seen a concern in my community.”

Currently Sandpoint, one of the only municipalities in Bonner and Boundary counties to add fluoride to its water supplies, fluoridates to the level of 1.00mg/ L (according to the CDC) at its Sand Creek water plant eight months out of the year.

(The lake water treatment plant is not currently set up to fluoridate water.)

Although long considered an ‘optimal’ level, the World Health Organization now seems to be calling that into question. They state, “The U.S. standard, adopted in 1962, is not appropriate for all parts of the world and is based on assumptions that have become obsolete with the rise of air conditioning and increased use of soft drinks, processed food, and other sources of fluorides.” In 1994 a World Health Organization expert committee on fluoride use stated that 1.0 mg/L should be an “absolute upper bound, even in cold climates, and that 0.5 mg/L may be an appropriate lower limit.”

(Emphasis mine.)

Mary Baenen, a resident of Sandpoint, asked the Sandpoint City Council this February to drop the practice of fluoridating Continued on page

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page

Fluoride- Continued from page

water. Official minutes from the meeting state “Councilman [Michael] Boge prefers to take no action and feels the city is going in the right direction with fluoridation.”

The minutes also show “Councilman Reuter said his personal stance is there is no need to stop what the city is doing now, but feels the city should not spend money to include fluoridation at the LWTP [where they currently do not add fluoridation] at a cost of $10,000.” No action was taken, but Reuter recommended the city “provide the information presented... in the Public Works office.”

Boge explains his current position as one not just based on a lifetime of hearing of the benefits of fluoride, but on local support for it as well. “For example, I read in the Spokesman (Review) that it’s a ‘travesty’ that Spokane is not fluoridating their water. And local dentists support the process here.” Boge concurs with Reuter, however, in that they are both “open to considering new information.”

Kody Van Dyk, director of the city’s Public Works department, which administrates the water department, says he has “no opinion” on water fluoridation and will do whatever he’s directed to do by the city with regard to adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water.

With a growing body of evidence suggesting potential harm, why do communities continue to fluoridate their water supplies? In part, it’s because the CDC calls water fluoridation “one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century,” and states it “prevents tooth decay safely and effectively.” The American Dental Association states “[We have] endorsed fluoridation of community water supplies as safe and effective for preventing tooth decay for more than 40 years. Fluoride is nature’s cavity fighter...”.

And the U.S. Public Health Service says, “Community water fluoridation continues to be the most cost-effective, equitable and safe means to provide protection from tooth decay in a community.”

In addition, there are studies that show a decrease in dental caries (cavities) of 10- to 40 percent in communities where naturally low-fluoridated water has been supplemented with artificial fluoride.

Dental caries (cavities) are not just a cosmetic problem—untreated cavities can lead to severe dental problems, up to and including death if a cavity becomes abscessed and goes untreated.

Can those organizations be wrong in their support of water fluoridation?

The CDC also admits “[L]aboratory and epidemiologic research suggests that fluoride prevents dental caries predominately after eruption of the tooth into the mouth, and its actions primarily are topical for both adults and children.”

The Journal of the American Dental Association

has reported, “Fluoride incorporated during tooth development is insufficient to play a significant role in caries protection.”

They also recommend that parents prepare baby formula with water that is not fluoridated, primarily because of a rapidly growing national problem with dental fluorosis. And it should be noted that the American Dental Association also stated

in California Superior Court, regarding the potentially harmful use of mercury in amalgam fillings, “The American Dental Association owes no legal duty of care to protect the public...” The Journal of Public Health Dentistry reported, “The case is essentially a risk/benefit issue—fluoride has little pre-eruptive impact on caries prevention, but presents a clear risk of fluorosis.” The growing body of literature shows that fluoride benefits, if they exist, come from topical applications, not from ingestion. And some disturbing trends suggest that fluoride, even in the case of dental cavities, might now do more harm than good.

A national survey of children in 1986-’87 showed “little or no differences in tooth decay rates between fluoridated and non fluoridated places throughout America.”

And more worrisome, a study in Tuscon, Ariz. of 26,000 schoolchildren found, “When we plotted the incidence of tooth decay versus fluoride content in a child’s neighborhood drinking water, a positive correlation was revealed. In other words, the more fluoride a child drank, the more cavities appeared in the teeth.”

But what about all those studies that show fewer cavities after fluoride is added to the water? The mystery is that similar declines in childhood cavities have been shown through much of Western Europe, where few communities fluoridate water.

The British Medical Journal reported “Although the prevalence of caries varies between countries, levels everywhere have fallen greatly in the past three decades, and national rates of caries are now universally low. This trend has occurred regardless of the concentration of fluoride in water or the use of fluoridated salt...”

How could this be? Fluoride occurs naturally in water, in levels that vary throughout the world and even within communities. Back in the 1930s, studies undertaken in areas with higher, naturallyfluoridated water and lower incidence of dental caries highlighted fluoride as a wonder-drug in the control of cavities.

Fast forward 80 years and it’s a new world. In addition to fluoridating water, zealous cavity fighters have seen fluoride added to toothpaste, the massive growth of a new health aide, fluoride rinses, and a growing dental practice of applying fluoride directly to children’s teeth. The result? According to a report in Clinical Oral Investigations, “... caries reduction directly attributable to water fluoridation has declined in the last decades as the use of topical fluoride had become more widespread, whereas enamel fluorosis has been reported as an emerging problem in fluoridated areas.”

Indeed, even the CDC acknowledges “Much of the research on the efficacy and effectiveness of individual fluoride modalities in preventing and controlling dental caries was conducted before 1980, when dental caries was more common and more severe.”

Fluoride is a drug, and as such is regulated by the FDA. They state on their website, “FDA regulates toothpastes as drugs or cosmetics, depending on their ingredients and purpose. Toothpastes are drugs if they contain fluoride, are intended to prevent or lessen diseases like tooth decay, or affect the structure of the body or how it functions.” In the case of topical fluoride treatments, as an over-the-counter drug it’s regulated under the auspices of a final monograph (AntiCaries Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Use, published in the Federal Register 6 October 1995). In that report, The FDA accepts the requested findings from “two Continued on page

Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Fluoride- Continued from page

[toothpaste] manufacturing associations” regarding growing concerns with dental fluorosis. The report states that in a review of “relevant clinical and epidemiological literature” there was no ‘cause and effect’ relationship between toothpaste and fluorosis, and that fluoridated toothpaste is what should be credited as the “principal contributor to caries decline over the past 20 years.”

Toothpaste, not fluoridated water. And it’s not “ toothpaste, they say, that’s to blame for increasing rates of dental fluorosis, now said to be present in one out of three American children.

The FDA has never conducted clinical trials for fluoride as a drug. In 2006, however, in approving the claims on fluoridated bottled water that “Drinking fluoridated water may reduce the risk of [dental caries or tooth decay],” FDA cited the CDC, the U.S. Dept. of Public Health and the U.S. Surgeon General’s support of water fluoridation as adequate to support the claim of safe and efficacious caries reduction. That’s a concern for some who believe citizens have a right to ‘informed consent’ when being prescribed medication, including notification of potential risks. There’s also concern for those with existing conditions that make them, according to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, “unusually susceptible” to the “toxic effects” of fluoride. These include the elderly, people with deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, and/or vitamin C, and people with cardiovascular and kidney problems, including diabetes.

“No physician in his right senses would prescribe for a person he has never met, whose medical history he does not know, a substance which is intended to create bodily change, with the advice: ‘Take as much as you like, but you will take it for the rest of your life because some children suffer from tooth decay.‘ It is a preposterous notion.”

That’s the opinion of Dr. Peter Mansfield, a physician from the UK and advisory board member of the 2000 UK government review of fluoridation.

Still, isn’t the chance that water fluoridation will improve the dental health of children worth a relatively small risk of side effects? The most widespread sideeffect of water fluoridation appears to be dental fluorosis... an unsightly discoloring of the teeth that, in those concerned, “can be treated with [admittedly expensive] porcelain veneers.” Other risks, though rare, include allergies, bone cancer in young men, hip fractures in the elderly, and reduced brain function in children,

among others.

Kody Van Dyk warns, “When the issue [of water fluoridation] comes up, local dentists want it to continue.”

Except for one, that is. Though not local anymore, Dr. Bill Osmunson (father of Kristy, the singing phenom who wowed Festival at Sandpoint attendees last year as part of Bomshel) practiced in Sandpoint for 18 years, even serving on the local school board. He introduced major dentistry

used for brushing, a pea size, and if you do to “contact the poison control center,” then why should the city force everyone to swallow more than what the FDA says you should not swallow?”

It would appear the question today isn’t whether fluoride is a benefit to dental health, but whether we’ve succeeded all too well. Yes, water fluoridation was a major public health accomplishment—so was the smallpox vaccine and the successful effort using it to eradicate smallpox (arguably the greatest public health achievement of all time).

But do we still say today that everyone should get vaccinated for smallpox?

Or as the journal Clinical Oral Investigations writes, “Several studies conducted -Dr. Bill Osmunson in fluoridated and non fluoridated communities suggested that this method advances, like laser dentistry, to the area, and holds a master’s degree in Public of delivering fluoride may be unnecessary Health. And, currently based in Oregon, for caries prevention, particularly in the he has also become a major opponent of industrialized countries where the caries level has became low.” water fluoridation.

Now is the time for individual “We are already getting too much communities, like Sandpoint, to develop fluoride and higher concentrations are coming in foods,” he warns. “If you the cost/benefit analyses that determine personally want more fluoride: get a whether their water should be artificially prescription, eat foods high in fluoride, fluoridated—the same types of analyses but please do not swallow toothpaste or recommended by the World Health fluoridated water.” To his fellow dental Organization, which include data on a practitioners, he asks in a popular YouTube community’s rate of dental caries, rates video (see the link on our website) “Look of dental fluorosis, and information on once again at the science on fluoridation.” other potential risk factors. They must It was looking at the science that include in those analyses the risks of changed Osmunson’s mind. For example, severe consequences of fluoridation, he said, “I can only find one published from an increased risk of osteosarcoma to study comparing dental expenses, actual young men, to the agonies suffered by that measured dental expenses, not estimates small percentage of the population who based on assumptions, in fluoridated are strongly allergic to the product, along versus non fluoridated communities and it with the community’s willingness to pay found overall less than a half a percent cost the costs incurred, via lawsuit if necessary, reduction [for dental caries] and an actual should the odds come to naught and the increase in cost [for other] dental expenses worst occurs to a resident who has been medicated without choice. for children.”

If you are concerned about water But it wasn’t just the money that concerned this dentist. “My biggest fluoridation in the city of Sandpoint concern is the more than 20 published (and by the way, you don’t have to be a studies showing brain damage with the resident—anyone who eats in Sandpoint ingestion of fluoride. Tang, in a meta restaurants is also exposed to the city’s analysis, reviewed 16 studies and found a fluoridation policy), get in touch with the five-fold increase in mental retardation in Sandpoint City Council at 208-263-3317, areas of dental fluorosis. Dental fluorosis or email them at the addresses located on has increased by 50 percent in the U.S. over the city’s website at www.cityofsandpoint. a recent 10-year period. When comparing com/mayorcouncil.asp. Let them know states which predominantly fluoridate how you feel.

Please visit our website for links to information with those which do not we find a doubling on sources in this article and other information of mental retardation.”

And Osmunson, very familiar with regarding fluoride. The U.S. Department of fluoride-enriched toothpastes and mouth Agriculture lists the fluoride content of many foods rinses, points out, “The warning on here: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/ fluoridated toothpaste not to swallow Fluoride/Fluoride.html. If you are the parent of an refers to a quarter milligram of fluoride, the infant, please follow recommended guidelines and same as one glass of Sandpoint water. If do NOT use fluoridated tap water to prepare infant the FDA says, “do not swallow” more than formula.

“ Why should the city force everyone to swallow more than what the FDA says you should not swallow?“”

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page

Festival Going Green

by Trish Gannon

Going green. It’s an accepted concept today, even if not widely practiced—for many, if not most, in this area it simply means pulling the aluminum out for recycling before throwing the trash away.

That’s what it meant a couple of decades ago as well, in the early days of the Festival at Sandpoint, when Barbara Veraniam approached the non-profit organization about the trash left on the concert field each night when the last notes of the music faded away. Barbara offered to put together a group of people to gather the garbage, freeing the Festival’s production crew from that responsibility, and had her volunteers separate out aluminum for recycling.

Barbara died in 2004 and in 2005, her friend Ellen Weissman had taken over as the volunteer chairperson for the clean-up crew.

“Barbara used to haul all that garbage to her place, and we volunteers would spend the Monday after the Festival sorting through it and pulling out the cans,” Ellen explained.

“I didn’t have a place to store the garbage and truthfully, it was a nasty job, so I looked

at other ways to accomplish our goal.”

Recycling was made difficult by the times. The county only offered recycling for paper and aluminum (they took glass for a brief period until shut down by the DEQ) but the city’s contract did not allow for Waste Management to pick it up from the field—recycling was only available to private residents, not businesses and the Festival at Sandpoint, non-profit though it may be, was classed as a business.

And then it was 2009, and things began to change. The city began negotiations with Waste Management to allow the pick-up of recyclables from businesses. The county agreed to continue to pick up aluminum in return for the cash, which is used to pay for gas and drivers. Waste Management agreed to haul glass and plastic to Spokane, where it can be recycled. And the Sandpoint Transition Initiative formed a committee on garbage. Weissman gives the STI team—Tea Aunan, Aaron Qualls and Laresa Kersetter— credit for greening the Festival. “(This group) went to two preliminary

meetings with the Festival that I couldn’t attend, and they got the ball rolling,” Ellen said. “We are really helping the Festival to go green.”

For the Festival’s part, they are glad to do what they can to help make this happen. Executive Director Dyno Wahl, no stranger to recycling—she helped establish a curbside recycling program in Telluride, Colorado before moving to Sandpoint in 1999—is excited about the progress being made.

“The Festival is so huge that we can really make an impact,” she said. “Just imagine, 20,000 people on the field over a two-week period—that’s a lot of garbage!”

So what progress is it they’re making, exactly?

Start with recycling. Not only will paper (Festival programs primarily), cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastic be recycled, this year marks the beginning of the recycling of food waste.

“Aaron has worked with Heritage Farms, and they’re going to take the food waste as

“Just imagine, 20,000 people on the field over a two-week period—that’s a lot of garbage!”

Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

compost,” said Weissman. “They’ll shred it and use the compost on their hay fields.”

And that’s not just unfinished dinners—it’s the cups and plates they were served on as well. “A number of vendors this year have agreed to use compostable, biodegradable dinnerware,” Weissman said. “It’s voluntary for the vendors this year and next, because many have already made purchases of what they need at the Festival. But in two years, it will be required of all vendors.” Current participants in the program will be identified by signs which read “I’m a ‘Going Green’ vendor.”

She has arranged for new plastic containers—”clear-tainers”— for cans and plastic so that anyone throwing away garbage can see clearly which container to use. “We’re hoping that attendees will smash their cans for us before throwing them away, so that more will fit.”

Even the garbage bags used to collect compost are themselves compostable. And the Festival has purchased stainless steel, reusable water bottles for all their field crew. “Our production crew spends a lot of hours on the field, working through the heat of the day. As you can imagine, they go through a lot of water,” Dyno explained.

“This will be a lot more environmentally friendly than a bunch of plastic bottles.”

The Arts Alliance booth on the field will offer water to concertgoers for a reasonable price—as long as they bring their own container.

And what about the trash that just can’t be recycled? “We’re labeling the regular garbage cans with signs that read ‘landfill,’” said Weissman, “so people know exactly what’s going to happen with whatever it is they toss.

“We’re really excited about what we’re doing here,” she added.

“We feel like this is not just a partnership with the people who attend the Festival to lessen our impact, but it’s an opportunity to be an example to other community groups and events as well regarding what they can do about the waste they generate.”

The Festival’s clean-up crew—or “the green team” as they’re now called—has grown over the years. These days, 40 to 50 volunteers each night stay behind after the music ends and the field clears, picking up the enormous amount of trash that gets left behind.

“Ellen has really taken things to the next level,” said Dyno. “She’s gathered a real loyal army of people who take care of this for us, and all of us at the Festival really appreciate them.”

Weissman is less quick to take credit for the greening of the Festival, and points back to the woman who started it all, Barbara Veraniam. “She was tireless,” Ellen said of this dynamic woman whose focus was a greener, cleaner community. Friends will be gathering together on August 16 at noon at Sandpoint’s City Beach to honor this pioneer with the dedication of “Barbara’s Bench.”

Weissman invites anyone interested to attend—because anyone who cares about the earth would have been considered a ‘friend’ by Barbara.

Weissman also credits Leslie Marshall with Bonner County Waste (“she’s been a goddess from the beginning”), the Sandpoint Transition Initiative, Insight Distributing, Waste Management, Selle Valley Recycling, Your Complete Wine Shoppe (for accepting empty wine bottles) and Festival Street vendors, without whom, she says, this couldn’t happen.

And, of course, “Ellen’s Army,” who will be manning the ‘cleartainers’ all night long in an effort to assist Festival guests in how to recycle, Festival style.

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page

The 2009 Festival at Sandpoint Season is Dedicated to the Memory of Will Menghini (1952-2009)

Serving on the The Festival at Sandpoint’s Board of Directors and as an active member of the Booking Committee, Will was responsible for bringing to Sandpoint much of the music you will enjoy at The Festival this season. He especially excelled at discovering new music to share with all of you, his fellow Festival fans. His passion and love for his family, friends, fine wine, outdoor adventures and music always sparkled in his eyes, accompanied by that great grin. We are grateful to have known him and to have benefitted from his fervent dedication.We will We thank all miss him greatly this, and of you who every summer, especially contributed to as the tent goes up at the Will Menghini Memorial Field.

Memorial Fund*, benefitting The Festival at Sandpoint:

Avista Utilities, Tammy Benoit, Tom & Elizabeth Blair, William & Martha Blair, W.Hale & Jane Blair, David & Carol Bray, Tony & Eloise Burgmaier, Betty DeBord, Mindy Cameron, Tony & Mollie Feldhausen, Joan Fish, Sean & Pat Gorton, Patricia Goss, Mike & Louise Heckford, Debra Heise, Julie’s Pilates Friends (Nicole Black, Susan C. Caswell, Rhonda Tate, Sandra Hughes-Rose, Meyla Bianco Johnston, Ranel Hansen, Jaci Gray), Larry & Judith Hull, Linda, Mitch & Charlie Kingsland, Loyce Lewis, Montana Medical Transport, Donald & Shirley Moore, Steve & Cari Ostberg, Glenn & Betsy Overturf, Thomas & Vickie Pfeifer, Michael Pierce, Geraldine Prater, RMEC Environmental, David Robinson, Rotary Club of Sandpoint, Diane Rowland, Melanie Snider, Terry & Joan Weber, Steve Youngdahl

* We have plans to make this an ongoing fund that will support progressive music at a grassroots level. Will would have loved that!

River Journal

The the Information Booth and Live Blogging at the

Festival at Sandpoint

Each year, for two weeks in August, some of the River Journal crew can be found down at Sandpoint’s Memorial Field, manning the Information Booth for the Festival at Sandpoint. For four days in each week of that two-week period, from early afternoon ‘til the wee hours of the morning, we guide people to restrooms, share our cell phones with Festival attendees dismayed to learn there’s no pay phone on the field, take pictures, visit with friends, guide people to the food they’re looking for or the CD they want to buy, take charge of lost children and dogs (plus shoes, cell phones, sunglasses, wallets and more), sell raffle tickets and encourage people to support the continuation of the Festival by volunteering, donating and pretty please NOT smoking on the field.

This year we’ll be adding to our duties by blogging LIVE from the Festival each and every night.

We’ll let you know what the line is looking like, how the band’s warm-up is going, which cooking smells the most delectable, provide updates on any traffic snarls we hear about, plus let those who can’t attend know what the Festival experience is all about.

You can tune in to the blog and find out what’s going on by visiting (on the Internet) www.blogspot. festivalatsandpoint.com, or just follow the link on the homepage of the River Journal’s website at www.

RiverJournal.com.

Not only will the River Journal crew be blogging, but we’re inviting other Festival volunteers and staff, field vendors and opening acts to blog their thoughts and impressions as well. Who knows, maybe even one of the mainstage acts will want to get in on the action!

And if you happen to be down at Memorial Field, enjoying the Festival yourself, why not stop by the Information Booth to say hi, and maybe post to the blog yourself?

Check it out, and let us know if we succeed in showing you a Festival at Sandpoint you’ve never seen before. We think it will be “worth wading through.”

Page 10 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Be sure to check your state’s fishing regulations before you go Redneck Lobstering. Montana requires a valid fishing license to harvest crawdads and has regulations limiting the size of traps used. In Idaho there is no limit on crawdad harvest, but you must have a valid fishing license and it needs to be open season for fishing. Traps can be used, but must be marked with the owner’s name and address.

by Taryn Hecker When my beau asked me if I liked the taste of lobster, I thought he was gonna take me out for some fine seafood.

I didn’t realize I’d be spending the day foraging for my own dinner underneath slime-covered rocks in some river. I say some river because I’ve been sworn to secrecy.

I can only say it’s somewhere in this state or the one next door. If I gave up my man’s top-secret Redneck Lobstering digs I think it could go on my permanent record.

I’m not gonna push it.

Especially since I’ve tasted these babies.

Call them crayfish, crawdads, mudbugs or crawfish.

I call them Redneck Lobsters.

It’s an accurate descriptor for these pintsized lobster taste-alikes, especially when they’re served with squirts of juice from a fake plastic lemon, melted margarine and washed down with barely-cold Busch beer.

These babies come sans the hassle of waiting in line at Red Lobster for two hours and the pricey dinner ticket. All it costs for a fine meal of Redneck Lobsters is gas money and a few hours of your time.

It’s the only kind of lobster this working girl can afford.

We set out early on a Sunday morning and within two hours arrived at the secret

Crayfish can be found in the spaces under and between rocks, beneath sticks and logs and hiding in the mud.

Use a net to catch them as they swim (they swim backward and real quick) or just reach down and grab them by their backs, watching for the pinchers.

Keep your bounty in water or on ice until you’re ready to start cooking.

Purge the crawfish by placing them in a tub, rinsing until the water is clear and then boil in hot water until they turn bright red. Try crab boil seasoning or make your own. The Internet is a good source of recipes. spot just a short drive from the Interstate.

He brought along a crawdad trap he’d purchased at a local outdoors store and the bones and skins from a six-piece fried Continued on page 12

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The good meat is in the tail. Pull off the tail, break it open and pull the meat out. Season with lemon juice and dip in melted butter. If the claws are large, there’s meat in there, too. Try sucking the head, which is full of tasty fat and seasonings, after pulling off the tail.

(Ed. Note: please don’t mention to Duke what Taryn said about fake lemon and margarine.) Duke shares a recipe for Salt-n-Pepper Crabs that he thinks would work well with crawdads. Take 3/4 cup flour and blend with 1/2 cup sweet paprika, 2–3 tbsp. salt and 1 tbsp. freshly ground black pepper.

Dredge the crawdads in this mixture, then fry in a wok with this secret oil recipe: 8 cups vegetable oil, 12 long, hot red wax chiles, chopped, 3 1/2’’ piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped, 1 head garlic, cloves separated, peeled and chopped. Heat about 20 minutes, then set aside overnight.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 11

Photos by Taryn A. Hecker Photography

Crawdads- Cont’d from page 11

chicken for bait. After we set the trap in a hole in the river, we were ready to go hunting.

Armed with a minnow net, I followed him upriver as he flipped over large rocks.

My job sounded easy enough: Watch for the crawdads to swim out from under the rocks, net ‘em and put them in a bucket.

Little did I know that crawdads (A) are the same color as the muddy river bottom and (B) swim at the speed of light.

“There’s one. Git it,” he yelled as the little bugger brushed between my legs and up the river.

It took a while to get the hang of it. I fumbled around plenty, murking up the water with clouds of silt as I stumbled and slipped on rocks.

Before long, I gained an eye for the good hiding spots.

“I bet there’s some under that rock,” I’d say, pointing to a 200-pound boulder in shoulderdeep water and watch as he strained all manly-like to flip it over for me.

“Well, it looked like a spot where I’d

have hidden if I was a crawdad. How about that one over there?”

It went on like this for a few hours, until our bucket was nearly half full.

It was enough, we’d decided, and went to check our trap.

Unfortunately, it had come apart and all that remained was the bait, but I was pleased with the haul we’d made netting and scooping.

Once we got home, we couldn’t help but have some fun with our food. The kitchen drain board became a sparring ring where soldiers like Daddy One Claw and Little Snipper and Clutch faced off for the title of King of the Crawdads.

It was real entertaining for the kids and I won’t lie—I had fun, too.

After cleaning and cooking our bounty (I used a crab boil recipe I found online), we sat down to one of the finest meals I’d had in a long time.

There was no white tablecloth.

The lemon wasn’t fresh-squeezed.

But the company was good, the beer was good enough and, for an Idaho girl who can’t tell the difference between real lobster and the redneck varietal, it was a 5star meal.

Taryn Hecker is a freelance writer and photographer. She owns Taryn A. Hecker Photography in Spirit Lake

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Starring

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All tickets $29.95

JONATHA BROOKE began issuing albums that merged folk and pop during the early 1990s first as the female duo The Story and later as a solo artist with her own record label, Bad Dog, with hits like “Linger” and “Steady Pull.” Her latest effort The Works is a masterpiece that pairs her original music with the previously unheard lyrics of Woodie Guthrie’s lyric journals.

le Micheled k c o sh

tha jonaoke o br

Headlining the evening is one of America’s premier singer-songwriters MICHELLE SHOCKED, whose self-proclaimed status as “the most sophisticated hillbilly you’ll ever meet,” belies the erudite and focused artistry that has garnered her critical acclaim at every juncture of a vast and varied career. Influenced by her Texas roots, she was first compared to artists like Joni Mitchell and gained popularity with albums like Short Sharp Shocked, Captain Swing and Arkansas Traveler and songs including “Anchorage,” “If Love Were a Train” and “Come a Long Way.” Fiercely independent, she famously escaped “major-label servitude” in the 1990s and went on to create more critically-acclaimed albums on her Mighty Sound label, including To Heaven You Ride, recorded live at the There is a Telluride Bluegrass Festival, and the latest release her “lucky thirteenth” album complimentary Soul of My Soul. microbrew tasting prior to the concert, starting when the Info and TIckeTs: gates open at 6pm, for ticket holders over the age of 21.

The festival at sandpoint 888.265.4554

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To order online visit us at:

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www.festivalatsandpoint.com

Page 12 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Tempest Plays in Heron The year was 1989. Americans everywhere memorized, probably for the first time, the name of a supertanker when the Exxon Valdez spilled almost 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.

The Berlin Wall came down (and a rather large piece of it made its way to the Hope Peninsula) and President Bush admitted that, like many of us, he didn’t like broccoli. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were hot and the question on everyone’s lips was, “who shot J.R.?” Few would ever forget the image of students facing down tanks in China’s Tianammen Square. And Shakespeare made the first of (so far) twenty-one appearances in western Montana.

That’s the year that Petruchio courted the reluctant Katherina (The Taming of the Shrew) just across from Toby’s Silver Dollar Bar in Noxon, Montana. Mary Williams served as the local tour coordinator for two years, followed by another two years under Barbara Ross and then, in 1993, Debbie Lyman took over, ensuring that every third Saturday in August, hundreds of people would be able to hear the “immortal words of the Bard” under our local Montana skies.

“I had seen the early performances and wanted it to continue to come to our area,”

explained Lyman, “so I took over the ‘tour coordinator’ job and have enjoyed it ever since.”

When the Heron Community Center built a baseball field, the performances moved to this little town just across the border from Idaho and, in the years since, has drawn as many as 800 attendees who bring kids, blankets, chairs, picnic baskets, bottles of wine and even dogs to join in a community party and enjoy the incredible talents of actors from Montana State UniversityBozeman in their interpretation of the works of one of literature’s most mysterious figures.

In those years, in the shadow of Sawtooth Mountain, the ballfield has become Sicily (Much Ado About Nothing), Ephesus (The Comedy of Errors), and Verona (Romeo and Juliet) and will become a hidden island for this year’s production of The Tempest.

Shakespeare in the Parks is performed free of charge—all that’s required is your attendance. However, most find their enjoyment of this casual gathering is enhanced by a picnic dinner, a good bottle of wine, and several friends to share the evening.

Just as August’s garden abundance

Clark Fork Benefit Highlights Community One of the best things about living here in the Clark Fork Valley is that folks here are all about community. I know it’s kind of a buzz-word these days, but I’m talking about the kind of community many us experienced growing up in small towns all over this country. Neighbors help neighbors, whether it’s bringing over a meal when you’re sick, helping you get wood cut for the winter, or calling to see if you need anything from the grocery store.

On Saturday, August 15, the community is coming together once again for two events.

First, plans are now underway to hold a community-wide yard sale on that date.

This will be an opportunity to clean out those storage units, garages, overstuffed cupboards and drawers and make a few dollars. The new Calvary Chapel Fellowship in Clark Fork is donating their huge parking lot, so there will be room for many vendors to bring their new or used goods. (No food, please) Whether you participate in selling,

or come by to see what’s going on, it will be a fun day of games, music and free food.

There will not be a charge for space, but you can reserve one by calling me at 2661705.

At 4:00, the famous Victoria Denham will be serving an Italian dinner to benefit Chris Riggins, a long-time resident of this area. You may already know of the devastating accident Chris had earlier this year. Let’s get together at the Senior Center in Clark Fork, and show our support for Chris. If you’re on your way to Shakespeare in the Park, stop by the Senior Center and pick up your dinner “to go”. That solves the food problem!

These kinds of community events are fun, worthwhile and bring us together in a way that can only happen in small towns.

There is a lot of fun to be had in our valley that day. I hope you can fit it all in!

-Judy Hatfield

threatens to overwhelm us with its goodness, so does the myriad opportunities for entertainment throughout western Montana and northern Idaho during these “dog days” of summer. For the second year in a row, Shakespeare in the Park will compete for attendees with the Festival at Sandpoint— this year, the performance of “the Tempest” goes up against another kind of tempest in country performer Clint Black.

“It doesn’t have to be a conflict,” says Lyman, who points out that the 6pm Mountain time start for the show, (that’s 5 pm for Idaho residents) and approximate 2hour run-time, leaves plenty of opportunity to get back to Sandpoint in time for the main stage performance. “It is the same kind of set up,” Lyman explained, “and since you already have your deck chair or blanket and maybe some picnic items left to eat later in the evening, you’re all set to go directly from Shakespeare to enjoy a country music performance.”

Heron, Montana is located just across the state line south of the Clark Fork River and just off Hwy. 200. Lyman advises people to “arrive early,” and don’t forget to bring a chair.

-Trish Gannon

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 13

Restoring the Kootenai River Tribe develops a master plan

What factors are preventing Kootenai River white sturgeon and other native fish from thriving in today’s Kootenai River? What do you do to improve Kootenai River habitat for native aquatic species while at the same time working within the constraints posed

by Libby Dam operations, infrastructure development, and agricultural development of the historical floodplain? How do you effectively address the many interrelated factors that are chipping away at the Kootenai River ecosystem’s capacity to function? How do you do this in a way that is socially and economically viable and consistent with the values of the local community?

These are some of the questions the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho’s recently completed “Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project Master Plan,” which was funded by the Bonneville Power Administration, is designed to answer.

Susan Ireland, Director of the Kootenai Tribe’s Fish and Wildlife Department explained, “The Master Plan, which was released in July 2009, provides a framework for a broad-scale,

ecosystem-based river habitat restoration project that will be implemented in the Idaho portion of the Kootenai River. The Master Plan is the first phase of a multi-phase project to plan for, design, and implement habitat restoration actions to benefit Kootenai River native fish, including Endangered Species Act listed Kootenai River white sturgeon.”

During the last century, the Kootenai River basin was modified by many human actions including agricultural development, construction of flood control levees, and construction and operation of Libby Dam. Although these modifications provided many economic and flood control benefits, over time they also severely limited the capacity of the ecosystem to provide suitable habitat for many species in the Kootenai River.

The Kootenai River and its species are central to Kootenai culture. “Our Tribal elders remind us that we Kootenai entered into a Covenant with the Creator-Spirit to guard and keep the land forever,” says Jennifer Porter, Chairperson of the Tribe. “This Master Plan will help lead us to a healthy ecosystem and

the return of our Kootenai resources.”

The Master Plan was developed by the Kootenai Tribe under the guidance of the Kootenai Tribal Council and through a collaborative effort that included technical and policy level participation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Administration, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the B.C. Ministry of Environment. In developing the Master Plan, the Tribe also sought and incorporated input from numerous technical experts. The U.S. Geological Survey, in particular, has provided extensive information about the Kootenai River, which has been critical to the development of the Master Plan. Additionally, communities along the Kootenai River were briefed during the Master Plan development through the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative and other community groups. “It is through sovereign collaboration and community outreach that we can ensure all governments with responsibility to the Kootenai ecosystem are working together in a way that makes

sense for our communities,” said Kym Cooper, Kootenai Tribal Vice- Chairperson.

The Tribe’s Master Plan provides a detailed analysis of the factors limiting ecosystem function and management and infrastructure constraints for different river reaches within the project area. Based on this analysis, the Master Plan presents specific restoration strategies for each river reach that are designed to address those limiting factors and then identifies a suite of actions that could be combined to implement the restoration strategy for each reach.

The Master Plan also includes an analysis of how effective different habitat restoration actions would be, either as individual standalone actions, or combinations of actions. “One of the interesting things we learned through this Master Plan,” said Sue Ireland, “is that it is unlikely that any single action—for instance, increasing flow or just putting substrate in the river—will be able to adequately address the broad range of limiting factors. You need to combine a bunch of different actions together to solve the complex problems we’re looking at in the Kootenai River. In the Master Plan we present a framework for combining multiple actions for maximum benefit.”

The Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project is also designed to compliment and enhance the benefits derived from related projects being implemented by the Tribe and other entities. In particular, the project is an essential companion to the Tribe’s conservation aquaculture program at the Tribal Sturgeon Hatchery near Bonners Ferry, which currently is preventing extinction of Kootenai River white sturgeon while habitat restoration is planned and implemented.

In addition to this habitat restoration plan, the Tribe will be completing the “Kootenai River Native Fish Conservation Aquaculture Master Plan” in early August 2009. This document will describe a number of critically needed upgrades to the Kootenai Sturgeon Hatchery as well as providing the conceptual design for a proposed new hatchery facility (the Twin Rivers Hatchery) that would be

located at the confluence of the Moyie and Kootenai Rivers on tribally owned lands. The new Twin Rivers Hatchery would provide much needed additional rearing space for Kootenai sturgeon, allow sturgeon to imprint and home on waters upstream from the existing hatchery, and provide space to implement a conservation program for native burbot (there is not adequate physical space available in the existing Kootenai Sturgeon Hatchery).

In addition to helping to restore native fish populations, the Tribe believes implementation of the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project is likely to provide a variety of other important benefits to the local community. Those include addressing fish needs through methods that do not rely on increased flows which increase the risk of flooding, reducing rates of bank erosion, restoring natural vegetation along portions of the riverbank and floodplains, enhancing recreational opportunities, and creation of local jobs associated with on-the-ground restoration work.

The Tribe anticipates the Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project will be implemented in sequenced phases over a number of years with the first round of project components targeted for implementation beginning in 2012. The next steps in the project will include additional targeted data collection and analysis, identification and prioritization of groups of potential habitat actions and sequences for implementation of project components, and completion of environmental analyses required by law. In addition, the Tribe plans to continue ongoing coordination, collaboration, and outreach with co-managers, agencies, community members and other stakeholders.

The Kootenai River Habitat Restoration Project Master Plan and additional support documentation are available at the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho’s website: (www.kootenai. org/fish.html) along with the Kootenai River Native Fish Conservation Aquaculture Program Master Plan.

-Kristin James

Is Your Nest Egg Broken?

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Don’t wait until next year—there are things you can do now to improve your financial picture. And you don’t have to do it alone.

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Jim Hutchens, PA Certified Public Accountant

1211 Michigan, Sandpoint

208.265.2500 800.338.9835 August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 15

STACCATO NOTES Music

KPND’s Summer Pint Nights are in full swing from 5 to 7 pm! Lots of giveaways and special prizes. On Aug. 12 join the crew at Connie’s Cafe, 323 Cedar St. in Sandpoint, featuring musician Matt Hires. On Aug. 19 the fun moves to Blue Heron Cafe on Highway 95 in Samuels, with rock n’ rhythm n’ blues. There’s more rock ‘n rhythm ‘n blues on Aug. 26 when the party moves to Three Glasses, 202½ N. First Ave in Sandpoint.

On Aug. 29, featuring musician Diane Birch, the fun heads out to Priest River and the Priest River Inn at 114 Main St. Winery Music. The Pend d’Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar St. in Sandpoint, hosts live music from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. On August 21 enjoy Justin Lantrip on originals (our own local version of Dave Matthews - he rocks!). On Aug. 28 it’s awesome musical wizardry of California’s Mitch Polsack; Sept. 4 features Bridges Home and on Sept. 5 it’s Adam Hill and his progressive, Americana and roots musical style.

Summer Sounds at Park Place. The Pend Oreille Arts Council presents live music on the Park Place Stage at the corner of First and Cedar in Sandpoint every Saturday from noon to 2 pm. In August, enjoy Rex James (Aug 8), Bridges Home (Aug. 15), Usnea (Aug. 22) and TBA (Aug 28).

The Festival at Sandpoint. At Memorial Field from August 6 through 16. See Poco/Firefall, Blues Traveler, Boz Scaggs, Green Eggs and Hamadeus, Jonatha Brooke/Michelle Shocked, Donovon Frankenreiter, Clint Black and the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. Visit www.

FestivalatSandpoint.com for more information or to order tickets. 208-265-4554

Theater

August 7 & 8—Postcards. Art as Theatre, a new collaboration of artists and playwrights, premieres with the play Postcards at 8 pm each night, plus a Saturday matinee at 3 pm, in the Panida Little Theater in Sandpoint. Written by Teresa Pesce and directed by Charles Strasser, Postcards is inspired by actor Viggo Mortensen’s art work. Tickets are $12, available at Eve’s Leaves and Stage Right Cellars. 208-263-9191 August 15—Montana’s Shakespeare in the Parks presents The Tempest, playing at 6 pm Mountain time (that’s 5 pm Pacific) at the Heron Ballfield behind the Heron Community Center. Free to the public; bring a chair or blanket, even a picnic, and enjoy this professional performance. 406-8472388 August 20 & 21—Food, Inc. The Panida Theater presents the documentary Food, Inc., at 7:30 pm each night as part of the Global Cinema Cafe film series. This unflattering look inside America’s corporate-controlled food industry is directed by Robert Kenner, and based on the recent book An Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. 208-2639191

Events

August 7—Plein Air Paint Out. Timber Stand Gallery, 225 Cedar St. in Sandpoint, hosts a reception featuring paintings from artists who ventured into the Scotchman Peaks Wilderness for several days to explore and to paint. 208-2637748 August 8 & 9—Arts and Crafts Fair. Pend Oreille Arts Council’s 37th annual juried art exhibit at Sandpoint’s City Beach features artists’ booths, kids’ activities and more. Saturday 10 am to 6 pm; Sunday 10 am to 4 pm. ArtinSandpoint.org.

208-263-6139 August 10—Invest in Hope: Build Matsiko a Home. Enjoy an evening of inspiring music, catered dinner and silent auction during the Invest in Hope: Build Matsiko a Home fundraiser at the Sandpoint Events Center. Doors open at 5 pm, and a catered dinner begins at 5:30 pm. The event includes local musicians, a silent auction, as well as a performance by the Matsiko Children’s Choir from Africa. Tickets are $25, available at local churches, online at www.SandpointGeneralStore. com (a $1 online handling fee will apply), or at the door (if any are available). Funds assist in building a home in Uganda which would house approximately 200 orphaned and at-risk children.

208-265-5112 August 14 & 15—Spokane-to-Sandpoint Relay Race. Runners begin atop Mt. Spokane and make their way through 15 cities en route to the finish line at Sandpoint. To register and learn more, visit SpokanetoSandpoint.com. 509-346-1440 August 14 & 15—Bonner County Rodeo. The Bonner County Fairgrounds hosts the annual rodeo at 7 pm each night. 208-263-8414 August 14-16—Artists’ Studio Tour. Hop in the car for a summer drive to the working studios of area artists during the first weekend of the 7th annual Artists’ Studio Tour (also Aug. 2123). This unique regional event takes place from 10 am to 5 pm each day, and offers a rare opportunity to visit with the finest painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, poters, glass artists and more. To navigate your way through this self-guided driving tour, pick up a brochure at many downtown retail, gallery and restaurant locations, or visit ArtTourDrive.org.

August 22—Bodacious BBQ. Hope’s Memorial Community Center holds their 26th Annual Bodacious BBQ from 4 pm to 10 pm at the lakeshore homes of Jerry and Patty Clemons and Robert and Shirley Domes, located at 451 Pringle Ave. in Hope. The event includes a catered BBQ

by Pend Oreille Pasta, and music by DJ “Rhythm Machine.” There will be a margarita bar, great food, silent and live auctions, and more. Tickets are $25, available at the MCC at Highway 200 and Centennial Road, in Hope at Holiday Shores Cafe, Hope Marine Services and Island View Resort, and in Sandpoint at Pend Oreille Pasta. Advance tickets are required, and all proceeds benefit the programs of the MCC. 208-264-5481 August 25-29—Bonner County Fair and Demolition Derby. The theme of this year’s traditional country event at the Bonner County

Fairgrounds is “Blue Jeans and Black Tie A-Fair” and includes lots of livestock, 4-H auction and contests, crafts, produce and flower exhibits. The fair concludes with the popular Demolition Derby at 7 pm on Aug. 29. 208-263-8414 August 28 & 29—Ponderay Days. Ponderay Community Development Corporation sponsors this sixth annual community celebration with food, festivities, carnival, games and an Injector’s Car Club show. 208-255-2414 September 5 & 6—Schweitzer Fall Fest.

Schweitzer’s annual outdoor music festival, with live performances, discounted chairlift rides, kids’ activities and microbrews. Schweitzer.com.

208-263-9555 September 5 & 6—Historic Train Ride. Enjoy a 90-minute scenic backcountry train ride along the Pend Oreille River during this North Pend Oreille Valley Lions Club fundraising event in the northeastern corner of Washington. The club hosts six excursion train ride weekends each year, and this weekend’s ride coincides with the Affair on Main Street Festival in Metaline Falls, Washington. Learn more at LionsTrainRides.com.

877-525-5226 September 11-12 Harvest Party. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar in Sandpoint, hosts its annual late-summer Harvest Party with the release of the 2007 Primative, plus live music both evenings.

On Saturday from noon to 5 pm, take part in cork-spitting and grape-stomping competitions, a smelling bee and wine tasting.

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Page 16 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Politically Incorrect

Cops have plenty of company in stupidity Trish Gannon

trish@riverjournal.com So President Obama said the Cambridge cops were stupid. And people (okay, just Republicans mostly) got all upset and demanded a retraction because hey, we all know cops are never stupid, right?

Just goes to show you I’m not a Republican. ‘Cause I have to say, sometimes cops, sometimes even our local cops, are just dumb as a box of rocks.

Yeah, I know, you Republicans are gonna get all pissy with me now, but I never was particularly good at being Politically Correct. And my statement takes nothing away from the number of really good cops (the majority of them, in fact) that we have patrolling our streets and highways. Mark Ogg, you’re still number one with me! And there’s a whole slew of ‘em competing for number two. But every now and then a rogue, idiot cop creeps into the force who just ruins it for all the rest of them.

One of them is currently working with the Idaho State Patrol, and he pulled my youngest daughter over a couple of weeks ago. Being a bit of a fan of the Constitution of these fine United States, I have taught all my children about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. So when this cop, out in Ponderay late one night, told my daughter he wanted to search her purse, she told him (politely) “you know, this is going to sound bad but if I give you permission to search my purse, my mom is going to go through the roof.” (Or words to that effect.)

Amy is a good student. And she knows that in order for an officer of the law to conduct a search, he or she has to have probable cause.

Amy is also a teenager, however, with both a high appreciation for, and intimidation by, figures of authority such as police officers. So when the cop told her he had probable cause, she caved and let him search her purse.

His probable cause? She looked “nervous” when he asked for her driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance.

Now you might disagree with me, but I happen to believe that if a cop thinks there’s something odd in a person appearing “nervous” when they get pulled over, then that cop is stupid. Really stupid.

Not that I think this particular officer was stupid at all. I think he was riding

roughshod over what he knew darn good and well were Amy’s rights against “unreasonable search and seizure,” and I suspect he probably does that a lot.

Particularly to teenagers. And he gets away with it, but too many of us are afraid to call “bullshit” when something like this happens.

Note to the Idaho State Patrol: I’m calling bullshit on you.

At 10:30 at night, after Amy called to tell me what had happened to her, I called the Mayor of Ponderay, Carol Kunzman, to file a complaint. I was not a very happy camper. I can hardly believe how nice Carol was to me—I don’t think I’d be nearly as nice to someone who called me that late at night to whine.

So now you know, I think there’s cops out there who, as Molly Ivins might have said, helped themselves to a bowl-full of stupidity.

Lucky for them, they’re hardly alone.

Now I wouldn’t want to embarrass Yvette, Jim, Carl, or any of the numerous others of my more conservative friends by calling them out on the emails they send me, but man, have I been getting some stupid ones lately, as people get their shorts all up in a bunch over proposals to change our current health care system.

First, I wouldn’t worry so much about health care. Because our biggest problem has to do with health insurance, a puppy with a whole ‘nother set of spots, and it looks like all those pork hogs in Congress have no interest in upsetting some of their biggest donors by putting some reins on what must be one of the biggest lootings of the American pocket in history. (Yeah, the stimulus bill—at least, the original one and huge parts of the second one—is giving the health insurance industry a run for its money, but the HI industry has been fleecing people for a much longer time.)

But just to respond to some of the more egregiously ignorant emails I’ve received...

First, all you retirees sending out these emails who are just terrified of any kind of socialized insurance... how would you feel if, say, we just eliminated Medicare? You know, we could give you back what you paid in, and you could just buy your health care on the private market like everyone else. How’s that for a plan? What? You’re not so opposed to socialized medicine after all?! I see. You just don’t want anyone else in the country to have what you have now.

(By the way, I’m not offering you interest on the money you paid in, because if you’d gotten it in the first place you would have

invested in the stock market and it would all be gone by now. Be thankful I’m willing to give you what you paid in.)

That goes for our elected representatives as well. How ‘bout we take away what you’ve got, and you can buy on the private market too? Good idea?

Why not go further? Let’s eliminate all employer-purchased health care. Instead of your employer buying your health insurance for you, you can get that money in your paycheck. Then you, too, can go out and buy insurance for yourself.

Problem solved, right? Because the free market works, and the health insurance industry is looking out for you and what you need in order to stay healthy.

Sounds like it’s time to call bullshit again.

But my goodness. If we went to a system like Canada has, we would have to wait for care. We can’t have that!

Ooops, another mistake. We already wait. Let me mention friend A, who had to wait four months in order to schedule a double breast mastectomy. Or let me mention myself—I was told in late October a while back that my uterus MUST be removed. The surgery took place at the end of January. (Not that I minded waiting; I tried to get them to put it off ‘til March.

But they said I couldn’t wait that long.)

I can give you story after story of people who wait for the surgery they need, so please don’t try to tell me that somehow a socialized plan would do any different than what we have now.

By the way... you wait longer if you have insurance. Because it all has to be pre-approved, you know.

Of course, a socialized plan would look to kill you off once you got old. That’s what these emails tell me. The health insurance industry would never try to do that, even though they make more money by refusing you care. So let’s just ignore the hundreds of thousands of examples of people who don’t find out they didn’t qualify for their insurance until they actually got sick— after years of making payments.

I also get a lot of emails warning me that the government is trying (mostly via vaccines) to turn us all into stupid idiots.

Hey folks, don’t worry about it. They don’t have to bother, because we’re already there.

Yes, stupidity is alive and well and thriving in the American populace. It’s hardly surprising to find out some cops are infected by it too. What’s really surprising is that there’s not more of them.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 17

Veteran’s News

National Health Care Reform’s Two-Step Kriss Perras Running Waters rw@malibuartsjournal.com

No matter what, the national health care debate is really ugly. With multiple versions of a health care reform bill that all must be reconciled into a coherent plan, Congress has an obligation to keep in mind: No matter what happens with a single payer or private sector system, our nation must maintain its longstanding tradition that veterans and military health care systems remain independent from the reform debate.

What isn’t being said on national news is how veterans are in jeopardy because of this debate. The fight to merge the VA health care system with a national health care plan isn’t something ABC, NBC, Fox or CBS is flashing across the Internet or TV alongside major war headlines.

With 26-million veterans and nearly two million active duty personnel in more than 130 countries, the Veterans Administration’s health system is one of the two largest single-payer plans in the nation. The other is Medicare. It didn’t seem likely it would be too long before the debate would turn on the VA’s system.

In the 80s and prior, after decades of degradation and neglect, the VA system was in a shambles. Where were the VA critics then that are so outspoken today? The VA health care question was for a lengthy time swept under the Congressional rug. Arduous changes since then have produced a VA system that

works, albeit slowly and certainly not with perfection, but the system works. Veterans do receive health care.

What isn’t working is a corporate-run health care system that takes our money and doesn’t provide benefits, most especially to the sick. One of the main causes for a privately run health care system is to deny coverage to the disabled and elderly and veterans. We take up a large percentage of costs without a profit from us on veterans’ benefits. With $98.7 billion in appropriations to the VA, the $2.2 trillion private health care industry wants a piece of the veteran and Medicare pie. Most Congressional seats are contingent upon this economic paradigm.

The urgent call by President Barack Obama for national health care reform is rightly at the forefront of the nation’s eye right now. A Congressional mandate that every citizen purchase private health coverage is a blistering question for our future. Even when we do pay for private sector insurance, we’re left short-changed when the chips are down.

Sixty-two percent of personal bankruptcies are the consequence of medical illness and the related financial hardship. The idea that health insurance is for the sick is an archaic profit model for insurance companies.

A July 2009 New York Times/CBS poll found 82 percent of respondents said the U.S. health care system needed to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt. Sixty-six percent supported a government-administered insurance plan similar to Medicare for those under 65, a plan respondents anticipated would compete for customers with private

Shakespeare

In the Parks

The Tempest Saturday, August 15, 2009 • 6:00 PM (MT time)

at the Heron Ballfield

insurers.

We’re getting the short end of the stick no matter what, and we all know it.

The charade in Congress called reform is in reality a restructuring of the portions of health care that aren’t making profit, at the cost of the Congressperson or President’s campaign war chest if they don’t comply with the existing economic paradigm. Congress must ensure that veterans and military health benefits are not part of any national health care bill but rather exempt in this so-called reform legislation. The health of our veterans depends on it.

Vets Calendar Outlook & Look back: Sandpoint Elks Lodge #1376 is hosting the Second Patriotic Golf Scramble, a benefit for veterans held August 23 at the Sandpoint Elks Golf Course. Entry fee is $50 per person with this year’s Hole-In-One prize at $15,000!

The local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter #890 held its annual yard sale August 1 and 2 at the VFW Hall. The yard sale was a huge benefit to assist veterans and/or their families who are less fortunate or in need. A huge thank you from the VVA to all veterans and comrade citizens who donated items and assisted.

The Second Annual Stand Down was a huge success with 850 homeless and needy veterans served on July 11. With the help of local Veterans Service Officers and many others, 20 new vets were enrolled into the VA’s health care system.

Kriss Perras Running Waters is a local filmmaker, former publisher and a disabled U.S. Navy Veteran.

Now in its 37th season, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks is proud to present “The Tempest” on Satudray, August 15 at 6 pm in the Heron Ballfield in beautiful Heron, Montana.

This professional production is provided at NO CHARGE to the viewing public—so bring friends, family, picnic hampers, a bottle wine and a comfortable chair to sit back and enjoy the show!

Montana Shakespeare in the Parks is an outreach program of Montana State University’s College of Arts and Architecture.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 18

The Scenic Route

Top of the World Sandy Compton

mrcomptonjr@hotmail.com www.SandyCompton.com

Huckleberries. Ripe to 4,000 feet and rising quickly, royal little gems draw us into the high country. Up the trail they entice us, even while slowing us by their sweet presence, staining fingers, palms, tongues and teeth purely purple.

None are saved. We will not be back today—or tomorrow. Maybe on another week we will wend this way again, but there is no reason to do anything more than eat as many as we can and still keep our pace and make our date with that hunk of heaven on a chunk of rock we are headed for. Soon, they lose their immediate allure, morphing back in time to green, hard nubbins hiding in the leaves waiting for time and rain and sunshine to bring them on to edibility.

We climb through the harvest and back through time, on nearer to spring than we could have imagined yesterday, when we languished in the 90s and lower elevations.

Now, we move through patches of snow imbedded in new beargrass, Queen’s cup bead lilies, penstemon, even an occasional shaded trillium and into meadows full of that bearly-loved treat, glacier lilies. Stem first, we suck them in like green spaghetti until that brilliant yellow bloom tickles our noses on its way to being digested. A little sugar. A little pepper. Bitter and sweet, they mark the poignant regression of snowfields into summer at 6,000 feet.

The tepid air is full of subalpine firs’ syrupy scent, pulled by the sun out of forestgreen needles and surprising marine-blue cones balanced like tightrope walkers on sloping branches. This covers the smell of our own, well-scented bodies as we climb through a rocky meadow made fiery by Indian paintbrush, punctuated by pungent white yarrow and triad-petaled sego lilies.

Afternoon brings the bugs. Black flies, mosquitoes, bumble bees, face gnats (I know no other name for them, excepted “damnable”) and a mostly benign variety of fly that tries to fool us by looking like a yellowjacket. We are also joined by the first of a succession of hummingbirds which all seem to think my red pack is some huge flower.

Now, we are in the rock—beyond the forest and in the presence of the core material of these mountains. Layer upon layer, slab upon slab, it climbs to the top of the ridge above; a stairway built for giants.

We look up from our hunt for a campsite, squint past the various insects and an

unconscious corporate sigh goes through the group. We flex our diaphragms mightily, as if we are trying to get a head start on the oxygen supply we will need to top that piece of stone tomorrow morning.

Camp. Three tents in a tiny meadow surrounded by trees and tiny, buzzing, sixlegged, hungry, flying monsters. We cook and eat with one hand or the other waving in front of our faces. We utter occasional loud and random bad words and once in a while slap ourselves hard in the face, as if we are possessed. No one goes in early, despite the respite on the other side of the tent walls. There is too much to see in a place too beautiful to well describe without at least a million words, for there are at least a thousand pictures within a halfhour’s clamber of camp.

You can understand that kind of math, can’t you?

Night. Through fine-mesh, high-tech tent roofs, we keep an ancient watch. Big Bear keeps an eye on Little Bear, wearing Polaris at the end of its tail like a homing beacon. Cephus and Cygnus wave at each other from across the dome. Andromeda’s ancient old mum, Cassiopeia, cruises past, barely avoiding a collision with something completely new—a streaking International Space Station.

At some moment between old Sol and new Sol, an old maid of a moon, nearly gone into her dark side, slides quietly up out of the east and begins sneaking across the sky. Behind her come bright Venus and red Mars, riding into morning triumphant on the upraised arms of hunter Orion.

Morning. Cooking, eating, packing up, all the while waving like maniacs, we prepare ourselves for the ridge. Before the sun is too high, we begin our ascent; laboring up the giants’ staircase. A merciful breeze rises—sent by God, I’m sure—and the winged demons recede, though our hummingbird comes all the way to the top with us before handing us off to our next tiny escort.

We take a break. We take a seat. We catch our communal breath. It is, after all, a breathtaking place. The breeze stiffens and even the most stubborn bugs are blown away. Creation lays spread before us like the most delicious of feasts.

“This must be what they mean,” I think, “when they say, ‘Sitting on top of the world.”

Sandy Compton’s new book, Side Trips From Cowboy: Addiction, Recovery and the Western American Myth, ($16, 320 pages) is available at Vanderford’s in downtown Sandpoint, or can be ordered by writing to books@bluecreekpress.com.

Wonderful Family Home Great home that’s been wellmaintained. New vinyl siding, firepit in back yard, close to Kootenai Elementary. Wrap-around deck less than 2 years old. 8x8 storage shed and electric, free standing fireplace. Two car attached garage. Just $212,000.

MLS#2084771 Ask for George Eskridge at FOUR SEASONS REAL ESTATE

800-801-8521 • 208-263-8521 205 North First Ave. Sandpoint www.FourSeasonsRealtySandpoint.com

A lot can happen to a guy while he’s trying to grow up to be what he wants to be when he grows up.

Blue Creek Press &

Vanderford’s Books present a special Solstice edition of

The StoryTelling Company celebrating the release of Sandy Compton’s book

Side Trips From Cowboy: Addiction, Recovery and the Western American Myth Stories and selections from the book On Cedar Street in Sandpoint Saturday, June 20, 2009 10 am to noon Save the date.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 19

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They have ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ and ‘touch the face of God.’

Coffelt Funeral Service helping those who are left behind.

P.O. Box 949 • Sandpoint, Idaho

208-263-3133

www.CoffeltFuneral.com Moon Chapel Pinecrest Cemetery Member by invitation only Moon Crematory

A Bird in Hand

The Mis-Named Eastern Kingbird Mike Turnlund

miketurnlund@gmail.com

Our bird this month is the Eastern Kingbird. And why this particular specie?

Three reasons. First, it is expanding its range and that warrants some examination.

Second, it has a cool, cool scientific name.

Third, it is a common bird, easy to identify, and great fun to watch.

Despite its name, the Eastern Kingbird is found across North America. During colonial times it appeared to be limited to the edges of pastures, swamps, and other open areas that were fringed by forest and water along the Atlantic seaboard.

Today it reaches almost to the Pacific by way of Washington state.

It reaches us by way of the arc of the Great Plains that juts into Alberta. From there the specie has spread itself into Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and the southern parts of British Columbia. While bird breeding surveys suggest that the total continental population is stable, it is decreasing in the east and expanding in the west. They can’t be migrating out here because of real estate prices!

The bird’s scientific name is Tyrannus Tyrannus. Is that cool or what? In Latin tyrannus means tyrant or king, so this kingbird is the king of the kings! Of course, Tyrannus is the genus name and covers all the kingbirds, including the Western Kingbird. The Western is also common in our area and inhabits similar habitat as the Eastern. They do not look anything alike.

The Western is also expanding its range and moving eastward into the mid-western states. In about thirty years we are going to have reconsider the common names for both of these birds!

The kingbirds probably get their name for the really, really aggressive behavior that they exhibit while defending their nests. They are known to attack any and every bird, from other kingbirds to large

predatory birds. I don’t know if the Eastern Kingbird is more tyrannical than any other, but its Latin name probably reflects it being the nominate specie of this genus (the first discovered by pioneering ornithologists).

Thus, the double name.

So how is the Eastern Kingbird identified in the field? Slightly smaller than a robin in size, it is a handsome bird, black overall and with a white breast, belly, and vent. The white extends up to a sloping line drawn from the black beak to the shoulders. The eyes, neck, and rounded crest are also black. What really stands out on this bird is the bright band of white edging on the tip of the tail. This is highly visible in both the perched and flying birds.

The Eastern Kingbird sits on a conspicuous perch where it remains vigilant for any flying insect.

While floating the Pack River with my niece and two nephews this past July I watched an Eastern Kingbird fly lazily upward to snag a huge bug that had the misfortune of crossing the river in kingbird territory.

The Eastern will also engage in crazy acrobatics as it twists and turns in pursuit of a bee or other flying insect. They are great fun to watch!

Easterns spend the winter in South America where they dine primarily on fruit.

The come “home” to our region in the summer to raise their families and then head back to the tropics for the winter. Some individuals will occasionally overwinter in the southern United States, but unlike other birds with similar migratory patterns, they haven’t established any year round populations.

Want to see an Eastern Kingbird? Head for the intersection of forest, water, and field. They will be perched in a conspicuous spot. Look for a bird that sometimes seems to flutter like a big black butterfly and you found your Eastern. Happy birding!

Page 20 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

The Game Trail

Poachers are Neither Hunters Nor Sportsmen

Matt Haag

mhaag@idfg.idaho.gov Summertime! Huckleberries are ripe, and the season is right to get out in the woods and have some fun. The backside of summer seems to slip on by and before you know it school has started, so plan a trip with the kids before you lose the chance. The good news is that hunting season is only a month away!

Hope everybody is taking some time to get that rifle or bow tuned up and

preparing t h e i r other hunting equipment properly. Please pick up a copy of the hunting regulations and check on the season dates that you plan on hunting.

We’ve made changes to most every season except for bears, so make your plans accordingly.

With the excitement of looming hunting seasons some folks, a very small portion of people in our neck of the woods, like to steal our wildlife by poaching. These people are neither hunters nor sportsmen; they are thieves and should be treated as such.

To combat such activity, an amazing group of Idahoan citizens created an organization called Citizens Against Poaching.

Citizens Against Poaching, otherwise known as CAP, was created in 1980 and continues strong today aiding Conservation Officers in catching poachers. It’s obvious we can’t catch every poacher out there so we rely on the good citizens of Idaho to help us. We have 83 Conservation Officers covering the 84,000 square miles in the state, which leaves each officer with roughly 1,000 square miles to patrol. For example, my patrol area stretches from

Shoshone County to Kootenai County north to Boundary County and east to the Montana line, a daunting task to say the least. In an ideal world I would be covering every square inch of that area every day and aware of all illegal activity.

Unfortunately the world doesn’t work like that so we as officers ask hunters, bird watchers, hikers and all those who enjoy spending time in the outdoors, to take the responsibility and make the effort to call and report illegal activity.

To call CAP and report poaching activity simply call 800-632-5999. The phone lines are manned 24 hours a day and 7 days a week with operators prepared to take the information and relay it to the nearest Conservation Officer. CAP pays rewards if the information supplied is sufficient for a citation or a warrant to be issued, a conviction is not necessary. Set reward amounts are $100 for birds, fish, and general violations, $250 for most big game animals and $500 for trophy species, such as sheep, goat, moose and caribou. With approval from the CAP board, these amounts can be increased in special circumstances.

Major funding for CAP rewards come from donations, controlled hunt fee check off, court ordered reimbursements, and license sales commission on licenses sold at department offices.

From September 2008 to March 2009 CAP operators received 1,520 calls from concerned citizens across the state. Those calls generated 15 warnings, 134 citations, and two felony arrests! CAP paid a total of $15,000 in rewards to those who took to the time to call and report a wildlife thief. Of course, those callers remained anonymous.

Unfortunately, some callers took the time to call but didn’t relay enough information that we could make a case.

The information your Conservation Officers are looking for is very simple if you can safely obtain the following; date, time, location, possible violation, description of the violator(s), description of the vehicle, and most importantly, the vehicle license number. Please only obtain this information safely; do not put your life at risk.

Enjoy the rest of your summer. If you’re headed to the woods or out on the water please enjoy our natural wonders responsibly. If you happen to see illegal activity while you’re out there please make the call to CAP 800-632-5999.

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 21

Land Management Riparian Areas Michael White

NorthIdahoLandMan.com

michael@keokee.com

One of the most important aspects of land management is protecting and enhancing the riparian areas of your property. Riparian areas are those areas/ecosystems which are adjacent to and dependent on water bodies such as lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, springs, and wetlands. These areas are characterized by higher water tables and wetter soils which play host to water-loving tree species such as alder, willow, cottonwood, cedar and spruce, as well as, a host of unique plants such as shrubs and herbaceous species. Riparian areas are extremely important to wildlife, fish and the health/purity of the waterbody which the riparian area is associated with.

As a land manager it is imperative to protect these areas from being degraded or if they have already been degraded, to re-establish a healthy riparian area along the edges of whatever waterbody you may have on the land you manage.

One reason for the importance of the riparian zone is due to the “edge effect.”

One of the most productive areas in any ecosystem is an edge. The edge effect is produced when two or more eco-types come together, such as say a pasture or meadow and a forest of trees. The pasture/meadow creates habitat needs for certain wildlife and the forest creates certain habitat needs for other wildlife species. The plant species of both eco-types come together at an edge and are therefore doubled. The area where these two eco-types meet effectively doubles both the plant species and the wildlife productivity too, as well as creating a unique corridor area where animals of both habitat types tend to move along.

In a riparian area there is actually three eco-types coming together, such as a forest of trees, the riparian zone and then the waterbody too. So, riparian zones tend to be just about the most diverse and productive areas of any ecosystem.

There are many other important roles which the riparian area performs. The riparian zone acts as a filter which traps sediments.

It’s thick vegetation and mat of decomposing plant material acts like a filter, so sediments, pollutants and other forest debris are trapped in the riparian area, unable to enter the waterbody. It also is a sponge which controls water flow. Riparian soils collect and hold water, which gradually leaks out into the waterbody, replenishing it over the dry summer months. The filter and sponge of the riparian area have a direct effect on the amount and quality of water supplied by the land. Fisheries, domestic water users and downstream irrigators benefit from healthy riparian areas.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News

In addition; the plants growing in the an important water source, it would be best riparian area protect the banks and hold them to limit the livestock access to the water together. A bank knit together with deep, source to one small area large enough for dense roots and fallen lags is less likely to the livestock to drink from but not walk into erode during spring runoff and floods than a the water, so as to minimize manure going barren one. Damage to the riparian area can into the water. The point where the livestock destroy the sponge, ruin the filter, erode the access the water should be protected with banks and result in deterioration of the water rock, gravel or sand to prevent the area from quality. Other consequences are increased turning into a mud bog. If and when this water filtering costs for drinking water, damaged access point shows extensive erosion and is irrigation systems, increased flood potential, contributing sediment to the waterbody, it reduced wildlife habitat and property loss. should be moved to another location and the When performing any land management old location remediate quickly by replanting or even recreational activities the riparian grass, and riparian plants. areas should be protected and use of them Of course, when recreating or creating minimized. First and foremost vehicles should recreation areas, camping should not be done not be driven in riparian areas, this includes within the riparian zone, and access points recreational vehicles such as 4-wheelers, for water gathering, entrance into the water timber harvest equipment, pickups, etc. It or boat launching should be protected from is important not to build roads in or along erosion also. It is best to have one established riparian zones. Of course, sometimes a point of entry into the water and a designated road must cross a riparian area but the road trail into the riparian area which is maintained should be constructed in such a manner as to and protected from erosion. Keep human and minimize any impact to the waterbody and animal waste out of the riparian area and out associated riparian area. The road should stay of the water. Make sure to keep litter out of out of the riparian area as long as possible the area and discourage or prevent any cutting and then quickly enter, cross and exit the or hacking into riparian trees and plants. riparian area. The road should be planned If the riparian areas on the land you so that crossing the waterbody and intrusion manage are already degraded by logging, into the riparian area is at a place where grazing or recreational use consider restoring minimum impact would be caused. Usually the riparian zone. In most cases just this would be a place where the waterbody is preventing the damage can be enough and most narrow and the banks most stable. over time the riparian area will regenerate There are many techniques which can be itself. But it can be a good idea to stabilize employed to minimize the amount of sediment the banks and replant the riparian zone. entering the waterbody when creating a road Taking cuttings from willows and digging up crossing, so please make sure to investigate small alder where it is thick and replanting these or make sure your road builder goes to them in areas lacking vegetation is a cheap the trouble of employing these techniques. way to accomplish this. Reseeding with When harvesting timber set up a protective wildlife seed mixes and placing large rocks riparian Protection Zone around any water or logs in certain spots can also do a lot of bodies, including wetlands. The area should be good but research and professional guidance at least 50 feet away from the high water mark will probably be needed to accomplish this. or from wet soils. It is best to put up flagging Your local state extension forester will be glad along this boundary so that the equipment to assist in this, and many areas have local operators will know not to go beyond that Watershed Restoration Councils which may point with their vehicles. Maintaining shade contribute funds and technical assistance. to moderate water temperature is imperative, Feel free to contact me if you would like for so timber harvest in the riparian zone should further information or direction. be avoided. If timber is to be harvested in the riparian zone, no more than about 30 percent of timber should be harvested from the riparian area, the trees which are harvested Lightning Creek should come from the areas furthest away from the water and absolutely no trees with Trailer Park & their roots actually extending into the water or branches extending over the water should Mini Storage be cut. Trees which are leaning into the • Mobile Home Spaces direction of the waterbody should not be cut, so that they will not fall into the water or • Boat and RV Storage riparian area and have to be dragged out, thus • Large and Small Storage damaging vegetation and adding branches, 5x10 • 8x10 • 10x10 • 8x16 etc into the water.

Cattle and horses should not be allowed 10x20 • 10x30 to graze on riparian plants and trample the 208-266-1574 riparian area to get water. riparian areas should be fenced off to prevent damage by livestock.

If the waterbody on the land you manage is Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 22

Thomas’ Tech Tales Non-Lethal Weapons Thomas McMahon

auzie_boy@hotmail.com

New advancements in modern weaponry are surprisingly being aimed not towards the loss of life, but towards the prevention of conflict. We are all familiar with tasers, tear gas, rubber bullets, smoke grenades, and other non-lethal devices used for crowd control or disabling an assailant. The problems with many of today’s “classic” non lethal weapons—they in fact can be lethal.

Tasers cause electrical shock which, when used repeatedly, can in some instances cause death. Rubber bullets may impact a vital part of the body such as the temple, eye, or throat.

The next generation of non lethal weapons are being designed to be much more effective, and therefore much safer.

The device that has probably gotten the most hype has been developed by the military and has been dubbed the Heat Ray or Pain Ray. Its appearance is un-daunting, at first, looking like a satellite mounted on a humvee.

I say at first because once exposed to the Heat Ray’s capabilities you won’t be looking at your satellite receiver the same way again. The Heat Ray, or as it’s officially known, the Active Denial System, uses high-frequency microwave radiation that “excites” the water molecules in a person’s skin. This gives a sensation of heat or burning that becomes unbearable in a short amount of time, making anybody not only stop in their tracks, but get out of the area fast. The term microwave makes people nervous, but the military assures us there is no lasting damage and once out of the way of the beam the burning sensation stops immediately. The Heat Ray has a range of about 500 yards.

Another device that also proves effective at long range is the LRAD, short for Long Rang Acoustic Device. As the name would suggest,

the LRAD emits a very loud tone in a relatively tight beam width that is uncomfortable to the recipient. At close ranges the LRAD can permanently damage hearing and its maximum effective range is around 300 yards.

The downside to the LRAD is that strong hearing protection could be used to bypass it; without protection though, the tone emitted from the LRAD can be quite painful.

Jumping right out of Star Trek we have the PHASR (Personal Halting and Stimulation Response rifle). Not only is the PHASR named after the phasers from Star Trek, but it even looks like a sci-fi weapon as well. The PHASR is used like a rifle and fires a two-wavelength laser system that temporarily blinds the target.

Blinding lasers were banned under the 1995 UN Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons but the U.S. designed PHASR gets by the protocol because it only blinds temporarily. It’s still just a prototype but the military is itching for a device in the field that would prove invaluable for defense.

The last non lethal device I’ll cite here is a taser like you’ve never seen before. Taser, the same company that supplies police stations around the world, has broken down everything that makes its guns work and fit it into a 12 gauge, shotgun-size shell. I think you can guess where this is going… With taser pistols officers need to be within 35 feet of the target. As the pistol shoots its two darts at the target, a wire follows them and stays connected to the officer’s pistol. The new Taser XREP (Extended Range Electro-Muscular Projectile), on the other hand, is accurate from up to 100 feet away and is fired out of any standard 12 gauge pump-action shotgun.

On impact the XREP delivers 20 seconds of continuous shock to give the officer time to apprehend the target.

We can only hope the these non lethal weapons prove effective and that more are on the way so that unnecessary bloodshed can be stopped.

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 23

Focus on Education

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Dick Cvitanich

Superintendent, LPOSD

dick.cvitanich@lposd.org Well done students, staff, parents, and community! You all deserve a summer on the Lake. Students in the Lake Pend Oreille School District recorded their highest scores ever on the recent state mandated ISAT assessment this spring. This is a terrific accomplishment for all of us who worked directly with students all school year. It reflects well upon the parents of our children who supported them through homework trials and offered encouragement. Finally, it reflects well upon our community and their unending support for our children.

The scores continue the upward trend of student performance and align well with district Strategic Plan goals. The following is a brief summary of student scores: Reading: Improved from 87.89 percent proficient to 90.4 percent proficient. This met the district’s Strategic Plan goal of 90 percent of our students meeting proficiency.

Our students have increased from the mid 60 percent range to our current level in four years. The district implemented a new reading curriculum two years ago that demanded a great deal from both students and teachers. We increased the amount of time spent on reading in the classroom and altered instructional strategies. Finally, we aligned our curriculum to State of Idaho Reading Standards. All of the above made a difference. The challenge ahead will be to maintain or even increase this score.

Math: Improved from 82.51 percent proficient to 86 percent proficient. In addition to our regular curriculum, many schools had competitive math teams that engaged in competition with schools in both Idaho and Washington. Individual students accessed the Apangea Math program on line.

This program is a part of every elementary school and allows students to work on-line at home. By participating they increase their math skills but can also earn point to earn prizes or donate to charity. Our district was one of the more active school districts in the State using this motivational program.

Make sure to ask your principal about this if you would like more details for next year.

For next year, we have adopted a new, research based math program for Kindergarten through high school. In doing so, we hope to avoid an “implementation dip” and look to improve our scores despite the stress and uncertainty teachers will feel

with a new program. We have built in staff development time to increase teacher skills with the new program and look forward to the challenge of improving on an already high proficiency score.

Language Usage: Improved from 73 percent proficient to 77.8 percent proficient.

This has traditionally been a weak area and we are happy to have an almost 5 percent increase. However, we still have some focused work to do, particularly in the discipline of writing. Strong writing skills are important in almost all areas of school and the world of work. We will continue to work hard in this area with our students.

Science: Improved from 65.4 percent proficient to 70.5 percent proficient; again a 5 percent increase. Frankly, some content area instruction has suffered from a lack of attention as we focused more specifically upon reading and math instruction. Those subject areas are the focus of the No Child Left Behind legislation and as a district, we felt it was imperative to have our students be successful in those subject areas. However, we are now increasing attention on other subject areas. We believe the increase in science skills is a result of the ISLES project; a partner program with the University of Idaho that is helping our teachers become better instructors of the inquiry based method of science. Last summer, we trained 20 intermediate teachers (grades 4-6) throughout the school district. This summer, another cohort of 20 elementary teachers was trained. In addition, our Upper Quartile program offered selected students additional opportunities to increase their science skills at every elementary school.

Fine Arts: There is no testing in the fine arts. However, it is worth noting from a budget standpoint the fine arts have been spared. I am pleased to report that 85 percent of our 6th grade students participated in instrumental music this year.

That is a remarkable total. Arts continue to flourish through community support of POAC, CAL, Arts Alliance, and the Festival at Sandpoint along with other groups.

Outside of academics we enjoyed similar success ranging from state athletic championships to academic recognition.

We look forward to maintaining this level of success. We are good school district intent on becoming even better. Together we are making a difference in the lives of the children we serve.

Love Notes The Priceless Pool home and announced to Bill I was going to idea for people to stand inside the pool to buy one of those pools. He didn’t say much. govern its shape while it fills with water.

Marianne Love He was also tight-lipped the morning he Well, governance needs to come early with decided to take the gas-guzzling 4x4 truck, these pools because once you get a few slightdetour.blogspot.com with the driver’s side door that won’t close, inches of water (approximately 500 gallons), billmar@dishmail.net to Post Falls. you can’t do a thing about manipulating the “I’ve got a First-Aid meeting, and I’m pool’s figure or deterring its inclination to It’s all Ruthann Nordgaarden’s fault. She going to stop at Costco and Cabela’s,” he lose water over the sides. convinced me that we needed a swimming said. I wondered what in the world he was I learned that principle a couple of days pool. She didn’t really try very hard. In fact, going to buy that would require spending later after asking some advice from my I doubt that she really cared whether we all that gas money and praying for 100 miles lawnmower repairman, Tony. Information had a pool or not. All she did was answer that he didn’t fall out the driver’s-side door gleaned two days later, though, was not of some questions. Let’s just call my dear that doesn’t shut. Bill made it down there much help because, try as I might, I could not SHS classmate and friend an unwitting but and back in one piece. When he came rolling get that damn mass to turn “round.” willing accomplice in my latest over-the-top in the driveway, I looked toward the back end I figured there was still hope, if we could endeavor. of the pickup and could see a box about the just convince a half dozen people to help us And, when I say “over-the-top,” I’m talking right size for holding a vacuum cleaner. I knew with our pool. But Tony took one look at the literally. You see I fell OUT of our swimming it couldn’t be a vacuum cleaner because Bill big blue blob and said it wasn’t gonna happen. pool one day. Don’t ask me how because I had just added a Eureka to our ever-growing He knew from experience because he’d tried don’t know. I do know, however, that I landed fleet a couple of months before. the same strategy during his own early-pool face-first, and when I stood up, covered with “Happy Birthday,” he said. “I bought you a engineering days. Like Tony, we’ve since wet sand from head to toe, my husband swimming pool.” learned that lots of folks have experienced stood inside the pool, squirting me with the “So that’s why you took the big pickup,” steep learning curves in getting their similar hose and commenting, “Well, we lost a little I said. pools full and fully functional. more water.”

“Yeah, I thought it would come in a much We’ve also relied on several self-imposed Then, we both laughed. bigger container than this,” he said. tutorials to get the pool where it is today— We lost a little water that day and a whole The box sat in the shop for a couple of upright, full, slightly off kilter on one end but lot more a couple of days later when some days, while I ordered a dump truck full of still usable. Whatever the unknown critter unknown creature got into the pool and sent sand from my friend, Dennis Warren. After all, was that emptied it that day did us a favor. most of the 4,000-plus gallons of Oden water Ruthann had told me how the pool needed to We had been using the imperfect pool and flowing out on to the ground where nothing be level and how she and Kiersten had hauled hoping to get our money’s worth from that but patchy grass grows. It would have been two loads of sand in their pickup this spring original 4,000 gallons of Oden water. nice if it had been near the garden. to prepare a new site for their pool.

In fact, we had a pool party on the Fourth The idea for this ongoing pool saga I spent the better part of a day working of July with just family and curious cows in the hatched one day last summer when I rode with that sand pile, removing a substantial pasture next door. No cameras allowed. Then, my bicycle down Selle Road and saw Ruthann amount to cover up sharp rocks where the a day or so later, the unknown critter struck, and her daughter Kiersten standing around a horses walk down the lane. Eventually, I making us go back to Square One, reread big blue pool which had suddenly appeared worked the pile down, took a board, as the directions, consider all the advice from in their yard. suggested by my consultants, and did my friends who had incurred similar problems Kids were bouncing up and down, best to level the spot. and to run another 4,000-plus gallons of that splashing and having a great time in more Then, Bill read directions. It’s not a gold-plated water to fill it again. than four feet of water within the 15-foot family trait, but sometimes even I agree the The pool now looks somewhat vinyl structure with a blow-up ring around practice does come in handy. We carried the respectable. We have been using it daily. So, the top. This pool was the second of its kind box to the pool site where he carefully took no dog days at this place, as long as we can that I’d spotted in the neighborhood. Claire all items from within and laid them out. The keep the dogs out of our swimming area.

Hansen down on North Center Valley Road directions said not to use an air compressor We’ve set up a smaller plastic doggie pool for has one too. to blow up the ring around the top, but my their needs.

I stopped to visit Ruthann and to inquire usually meticulous husband allowed himself The only problem we have now is Bill, the about the pool. After all, I reasoned, if we to break a rule, dragging the compressor “follow-the-directions” man and former water could buy one of those for the Lovestead to the site to hook it up to the pile of blue safety instructor at the Oakdale, Louisiana, back yard for a reasonable price, I could vinyl. municipal pool, has been reading up on “ph” stop dreading the dog days of summer when Nothing exploded. and going to the store almost daily, buying temperatures soar to 90-plus by noon and Next, we ran some water in the bottom new stuff to make sure the chemistry is right remain stuck there until the sun dips behind and decided to hold off the “big fill” until the for avoiding algae slime build-up. That’s a Schweitzer Mountain around 8 p.m. next day. After Bill went off to work that day, whole story in itself.

In the past, enduring the dog days involved I stuck the hose in the circle and went off As for me, I’ll pass along one observation, pontooning or swimming at the lake, at least about my business. borrowing from the famed Mastercard ad for a 20-minute drive away, taking up both gas Big mistake. inspiration and paying Mastercard company money and time. Furthermore, I was always Water (expensive Oden water) had to cover the bills. One big blue pool in a box, dried out, hot and sweating again by the time been running about two hours when I was $300. One truck load of sand, nearly $100.

I reached home, thus facing a miserable late talking to Willie on the phone and suddenly More than 8,000 gallons of Oden water, at afternoon and evening. So, it seemed to me remembered that I’d better go check the least a couple hundred dollars. Advice from that a pool in the back yard could solve a lot pool. I got out there to find the big blue mass a village of experienced backyard pool of summer doldrums. I could jump in, get quickly molding itself into the shape of a consultants, zippo. wet, climb out (not fall out) and go on about canoe with water about to flow out one end.

A daily dip on hot days in cool water my business. Once sweat returned, just jump Nothing looked like the picture on the box. alongside Stan Meserve’s magnificent spruce in again.

That’s when I remembered a comment trees and within peeping range for Bert Armed with Ruthann’s information, I came Bill had made the night before. It’s a good Wood’s voyeuristic cows: priceless.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 25

Local Food

of the

Inland Northwest

Blooming Behind Bars: the Bonner County Jail Garden

From North Boyer

by Emily LeVine process.” A carpenter by trade, Adam said that he has learned a number of new skills since he started working on the crew. He hopes to apply them when he is released in August. Other inmates said that they cherish the opportunity to get some sunshine, fresh air, and to do something positive for the community.

Rd., you can just make out a prison-striped scarecrow standing guard over a large, productive garden. If you pass by at the right time, you’ll glimpse men in bright yellow jumpsuits weeding, roto-tilling, watering, and harvesting produce. This is the Bonner County Jail Garden.

The garden is a part of the Much of the success of the inmate labor program run program is attributed to Bob

by Bob Van Buren. It is (not the community garden Van Buren.

Without him, the site fruitful in many more ways inmates say the whole than the bushels of program wouldn’t exist, or at vegetables that come out least it wouldn’t be any fun. of it. The produce that is Van Buren (pictured below), harvested in the garden is finds jobs that apply the skills delivered by the inmates to of the inmates, and makes 3 food banks (Sandpoint, sure they are helping the Inmate gardeners Thomas Ellsworth, Adam Carash, Robert Priest River, and Oldtown), community at the same time.

Kraly, and Timmothy Setzer with the “Convict Crow”. local senior centers, and the The program was conceived by Kinderhaven program in Sandpoint. As Sheriff Elaine Savage three years ago. It day, among a full day of community of July 20th, they had delivered over continues to be supported by Sheriff service projects such as walking pound 200 pounds of fresh vegetables to Daryl Wheeler, who joined us on the dogs, helping senior citizens with home these kitchens around the region and garden tour. Wheeler says that the repair, weeding cemeteries, and the season is just getting started. inmate labor program is one of the best shoveling in the winter. In the garden, the opportunities for the inmates to feel inmates have full responsibility for The approximately 1000 square foot empowered. Unfortunately, the program deciding what to plant and where, when space, highlighted on the 2008 Master may be threatened by financial cutbacks. to water, when to harvest, and how to Gardeners’ Garden Tour, is stuffed with “It would break my heart to do it, but I otherwise manage the garden.

When corn, lettuce, onions, carrots, potatoes, can’t lose jail personal if I have to make a they find a problem they can’t solve, the squash, tomatoes and more. And the cut.” nearby U of I Extension Office answers beets. If you happened to go to the questions and gives advice.

Bonner County Fair last year, you may All parities involved, however, want to have seen the Grand Champion beet, a see the program continue. And as Van Adam Carash, a 29-year old with three honker of a specimen, grown right Buren said, “we are not going to slow up kids, has been in and out of the jail down the road in the jail garden. the program until the day they chop it”. system since he was young. Adam said he didn’t know much about cultivating While the awarding winning beets are The man with the plan: food before he started working in the indeed amazing, the true delight for me Bob Van Buren garden, which as been growing in size was walking in on a bunch of tattooed since it’s inception in 2007.

With true inmates partaking in what I can only sincerity, he explained how much the honestly describe as “happily weeding”. garden, and other aspects of the inmate The work crew, hand selected out of all labor program, have taught him in the the prisoners by the staff for their good last few years. “When you work in the behavior, know that they have to earn garden,” he said, “you see its purpose. the right to be on the labor crew. They You see it grow. That’s a very rewarding get into the garden about once a Emily LeVine is in her first season of growing produce and cut flowers for Red Wheelbarrow Produce in the Selle Valley. If you have ideas, questions, or comments, or topics you’d like to read about regarding local food, please contact her at localfoodchallenge@gmail.com

Local Food of the Month: raw veggies. all of ‘em.

In the Bonner County jail, the food service is contracted out, and the provider doesn’t want to incorporate the garden’s produce into the menu. So the work crew has taken to eating their vegetables straight out of the garden. And they love it. Raw beets. Raw corn. Raw zucchini. Raw kale. They’re best that way, they say. And it’s true. Just brush ‘em off, or hose ‘em down, and dive in. If must do SOMETHING, grate them and dress them with oil and vinegar, for the simplest and best salad in the world.

Duke’s Food Obsession California BBQ! BBQ of the California central coast. There, vaqueros would grill meat over native red oak, seasoned simply with salt and black Duke Diercks pepper, and serve it with Santa Maria duke@riverjournal.com bbq-recipies-for-foodies.com salsa and pinquito beans. Any time you grill beef over hardwood you know what you get—an out-of-the-park No, the title is not a mistake. And even if home run.

The you are a multi-generation, traditional Santa logging, elk-hunting, Maria meal evolved Re p u b l i c a n - v o t i n g further to include a Idahoan who naturally green salad, French dislikes all things bread, macaroni and related to the “C-state,” cheese and coffee. All of I would ask you to read the staples. a bit further and your Another reason the tristomach might someday tip is so popular, is that it is a thank you. relatively cheap cut that comes If you say BBQ to a from the bottom sirloin; and it is Californian it only means one well-marbled and beefy tasting— thing: tri-tip. I had never heard of something that the tenderloin has tri-tip before I moved to California in the late 80s but quickly found out it is trouble staking (get it?) a claim to.

So what about the meat itself? The trieverywhere. I mean everywhere.

Tri-tip is the defacto meat for BBQ in tip is indeed part of the bottom sirloin, California. I have one foot solidly in the typically weighs about 1.5 to 3 lbs per piece tri-tip camp, and one foot solidly out, for and is about 2” to 3” thick. It is triangular in a reason I will explain later. But first, why is shape and should have good marbling for flavor and “mouth feel.” Also, according to tri-tip so popular?

A couple of reasons. First, it has a the Beef Producers of America, the price of historical significance as it is the preferred tri-tip stays relatively steady year round.

So, you have your tri-tip. What should cut of meat used for the Santa Maria style

you do with it? This is a cut of meat that is extremely versatile and lends itself to many cooking styles, perhaps a third reason for its popularity.

For my money, about the only thing you shouldn’t do with it is cook it past medium where it will toughen significantly, but I feel that way about most meats. Tri-tip can be cut into steaks or cooked whole. It can be sliced thin, and made into that sour creammushroom bliss that is stroganoff. It can be marinated any number of ways from simple rosemary, sea salt and olive oil, or Asian style. I have made tri-tip marinated in red miso for 48 hours and pan sautéed that was greeted with that silence that comes with focused feeding. Also, tri-tip makes a helluva satisfying steak sandwich made with horseradish mayonnaise and arugula for a peppery bite.

Since this is my column, I will tell you my two favorite ways of making this California favorite. The first is to stay traditional. I like to coat a whole tri-tip liberally, as it is a big piece of meat, with kosher salt and black pepper. Then I like to grill it over live coals, preferably with some hardwood mixed in like chunks of mesquite or hickory. For pictures of this you can go to my website. www.bbq-recipes-for-foodies.com/steak-tritip.html.

Dr. and Mrs. Brian D’Aoust of Clark Fork, Idaho, along with Mr. and Mrs. Brunello Puccinelli and Grazia Chicca of Viareggio, Italy, are delighted to announce the marriage of their children.

Renée E. D’Aoust, and Dr. Daniele Puccinelli married at the Bonner County Courthouse in Sandpoint, Idaho on 22 July 2009 with the Honorable Judge Barbara A. Buchanan presiding.

In 2005, the couple met at the University of Notre Dame while both were completing graduate degrees. Dr. and Mrs. Puccinelli will reside in Lugano, Switzerland where Dr. Puccinelli is a Research Scientist.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 27

Kathy’s Faith Walk

Preparing my Heart for Seed Kathy Osborne coopcountrystore@ yahoo.com

I was out walking in my pasture the other day and I noticed the ground is really dry. Not just dry, but powdery dry.

The extended heat mixed with a lack of appreciable moisture has left our new spring seeding not as strong as it should be, and the weeds have taken hold in some spots. In short, the seed fell on good ground and took root, but dry weather and lack of water stopped the plants from reaching their potential. That got me thinking and of course, like every other lesson I learn on the farm, the Lord uses practical application to drive home a spiritual truth, in this case, why I need to feed the seed within me.

Jesus spoke in parables, or short, simple stories from which a moral can be drawn. He understood his audience so his parables were always socially relevant.

In the Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13: 1-23, Jesus told the story of a man who planted some seed and what became of it depending on the type of soil it fell on. So what does that have to do with the dust in my pasture? Plenty, but let’s just narrow it down to loving God and loving people.

Some days are just tough. Some weeks are a blessing a minute and some seasons of stress seem as if they will never end.

Circumstances and the stresses of life can make the heart hard, unable to absorb water and nutrients; it has a hard time

receiving the love of God. If I don’t have it I can’t share it and I can’t receive it if I don’t believe I need it, and THAT is where the dry, powdery pasture comes in.

My heart is soil. The seed of truth is the love of God which will fall on it often and in abundance. But the condition of my heart soil will directly affect the soil to seed contact necessary for germination. Is the soil moist and fertile? Has the soil been turned recently to bring up the rocks and debris which need to be removed? Or is it so dry and hard that it simply cannot My heart is soil indeed. My hearts food is the Bread of Life; my hearts water, the Living Water. Now the Bread of Life and the Living Water are both Christ Jesus which will sound crazy to those who don’t believe but to those who do…. through Him my heart can receive the love of God. The love will grow, it will mature and it will reproduce, spilling over into the lives of those around me. In Christ my heart will not be hard and dry like the dusty pasture, but soft, and more like the lush areas next to a river, full of life and ready to feed others.

Today as I write this my pasture is receiving much needed water via a brand new sprinkler system. In practicality I took steps to change the situation. The ground is softening and in time the new blades of grass will emerge. Since I have also started making more time to read the Bible to feed and water my heart, I expect to see new life there also.

Clark Fork Baptist Church

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www.NorthlandCableTV.com Page 28 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

The Hawk’s Nest

A Spring Lesson from the Animals Ernie Hawks

photosbyhawks.com ernie@photosbyhawks.com A doe and her twins cautiously step out of the safety of the dense forest. Fresh moist shoots of brush and new stalks on the low growing grass in the clearing are inviting delicacies after a long winter.

Knowing the danger of not having a stand for cover, she is wary, and looks vigilantly to her right. In her periphery a cougar leaps from the shadows. The mother makes a swift turn to escape; her twins, white tails erect, shining an alarm, scatter into the shadows just as the cat grabs at the doe’s back. The deer’s speed and the low branches of fir trees in the dimness of thick woods and brush keep the big cat from getting a grasp of more than superficial flesh and the Mountain lion is scraped to the ground. The doe continues its dash, running under branches and cutting sharply around undergrowth. The cougar has only a short sprint in the nearly impenetrable vegetation before it tires.

I sit quietly on my porch listening into the silence that so often fills our woods. It’s one of those early spring days when industry seems to be everywhere—except in me. I watch the swallows winging about, bringing nesting material into a nearby box on a tree.

Two juncos have discovered the remains from the last brushing of the dog and excitedly gather it for a nest. The light of a fresh new day is making its way through the nearly impenetrable timber that surrounds the opening where we have our home.

Hooves pounding on the earth, branches breaking and wood snapping, brush whipping and slapping, an animal breaks the silence with panic. My senses—sound, sight, and smell—come to complete attention as the aural discord of the morning approaches.

Near the edge of our meadow the doe appears, breathless, adrenaline pumping.

Still wild eyed, she stops; I have a filtered view of her through trees and leafless bushes, as she looks around, keeping in the protection until she feels the safety of our place. With binoculars, I watch the terror fade as she surveys the opening, a familiar spot where she and the twins often drink from the wooden barrel and bed down under the trees.

I recognize her by a small mark on her face when she steps into the clearing, giving room to reach around and clean the fresh wound on her back.

Deep, but not mortal; she takes care of it.

I know the cleaning will avoid infection and help eliminate odor that would expose her vulnerability; she simply knows to tend to it.

It appeared she knew Spirit would let her

offspring know where she had stopped and shortly, one bounced onto the work road to the west. The other came down a trail and moved in and out of view through the brush until it could start nursing.

The scene of the attack I imagined based on the shape and location of the wound, the panic and the need to rush through an extremely dense stand - are all consistent with a cougar encounter.

Native Americans believe each animal species has its own medicine. This is not medicine as we traditionally define it, not a product that will heal or cover symptoms, but a life enhancement to help us understand the great mystery. Deer medicine is gentleness.

As I watch life in the wild, I struggle to be the observer without human emotion and judgment, taking away the story, leaving only the now. Even so, I have watched this animal for years; I first saw those twins when they stood on shaky legs, I felt her fear and the fear of the babies, worried that the injury might become infected, even held anger for the cougar; put my judgment on it.

Watching her I’m reminded deer medicine is gentleness.

A slight breeze causes the bamboo wind chime on the corner of the porch to start its clink-clinking, music. Obsidian crystals hanging from the roof start to chinkel.

There is a call to connect with Earth while pondering the lesson of Deer. I look at her and ask, “Teach me your lesson.”

Wanting to leave but not disturb the doe and fawns, I take a path in the opposite direction; Nikki, our dog, follows and we enter the forest. The breeze picks up a bit and sings a song of peace in the crowns of the trees. I’m listening but not really at peace; there is a haunting concern about the deer, fear she may not be able to protect herself and the babies, and there is that anger for the cougar flowing in me.

Finally, sitting cross-legged under a large Ponderosa, Nikki stretches out in a Hemlock’s shade; I begin to calm my thoughts.

The leaves are budding on the ocean spray bush; the blossoms that give it its name will be appearing soon. The odor of last year’s leaves and needles composting on the forest floor is all around. The tang of animals shedding their winter coats helps me center.

Smells from aged stumps and logs torn open in the search of a meal, grounds me.

Asking for understanding I hear the gentle wind rustle the tops of the trees and experience the energy of the earth, it helps slow my conflicted mind.

I listen to the flow of the wind interrupted by the branches; I feel the power of the earth under me as I ask Great Spirit, “What is my lesson?”

Since Cougar came into my mind it is as present to me as the deer. I know in my heart not to be angry. Cougar medicine is leadership; the ability to focus, hold an intention, to act at just the right time, the ability to look quickly at other options and to be flexible enough to change course with confidence. The lion of our woods is about balance; I admire all its characteristics and strive to practice them. The big cat is not a terrorist, but part of a greater design that can’t be faulted.

I hear “look, observe without judgment, be only present.”

Spirit speaks again into my consciousness, “The lesson is not about the lives of the animals involved, or their conflicts. The fear and anger are my story.” The story of the encounter is not Deer’s story. She has told me her story; a mother with twins and a wound, that’s it- the whole story.

How would I react if I had been hit like that? I’m afraid I would be boring anyone who would listen to the drama as often as I could.

Or, could I be Cougar and change my focus; not relive the story? Could I be Deer, caring for myself by being vigilant with my thoughts in each moment, allowing me to be present, my fullest expression of my God self?

As an old snag moans while it rubs against a large tamarack I hear “Am I boring people with wounds that are deep inside, hurts, gossips, ridicules and judgments about others which are, in truth, about me?”

I struggle to focus on my story, to see the wounds I am carrying.

Now it is late summer around our piece of the woods, the kind of day we like to call “another brutal day in paradise.” The grass is starting to dry and the blossoms of spring have turned into fruit. The twins are much bigger and in a few weeks their dappled, fawn coloring will give way to a brown-gray winter coat. The wound closed on Deer’s back and fur is starting to fill in where the flesh was once torn. She now steps away as the youngsters reach for a teat, gently forcing them to browse on the fruits of the forest, to find the wealth around them on their own.

With Nikki stretched beside me, I am cross-legged under the Ponderosa observing the early autumn woods. Once again Cougar appears in my consciousness, a reminder to be aware of the course I’m on. Is it still serving me or am I charging in the wrong direction? I see Deer in my mind as she browses to sustain strength for life, hers and her twins, her only work. I thank them both for the lessons and for the reminder of the value of presence.

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 29

A Holistic Approach to

Addiction

by the Sandpoint Wellness Council www.SandpointWellnessCouncil.com

By Robin Mize, Biofeedback Addiction is a dependence on a behavior or substance that a person is powerless to stop. Addiction has been extended, however, to include mood-altering behaviors or activities. Some researchers speak of two types of addictions: substance addictions (for example, alcoholism, drug abuse, and smoking); and process addictions (for example, gambling, spending, shopping, eating, and sexual activity). There is a growing recognition that many addicts are addicted to more than one substance or process. An example of that is when the alcoholic quits drinking, they often turn to sweets, caffeine or nicotine or many things at once. Many will spend years of their life going from one thing to the next until they learn how to identify the behavior before it starts to be a problem.

Addiction is one of the most costly public health problems in the United States. It is a progressive syndrome, which means that it increases in severity over time unless it is treated. Often people don’t even recognize their issues due to it being progressive and have to hit a life crisis before they can see they have a problem. Substance abuse is characterized by frequent relapse, or return to the abused substance. Substance abusers often make repeated attempts to quit before they are successful. Many never succeed in having a somewhat normal life.

Addictive behaviors, no matter what type, create a great deal of stress mentally,

physically and emotionally. This is why alternative therapies such as biofeedback are very helpful for the person dealing with addictions. Biofeedback is retraining the nerves and muscles creating relaxation and further personal awareness.

There is some research online about addiction and biofeedback, but I can only go by what I have found in my practice. A person needs to be in the space of wanting to be free of their addictions. They must also be willing to visit the possibility that many of their stressors are simply by-products of their addictions.

I have had success with helping others with tobacco, alcohol, and many eating disorders. The thing that I love about biofeedback is it treats everyone as an individual. It works on their individual stressors specific to them. Most clients report that they are sleeping better and feel altogether more relaxed and in tune with their bodies. When a person can reduce their stress and become more aware they can grow and treat themselves better.

Robin Mize is a Certified Biofeedback and Pain Specialist and can be reached at 208/263-8846

A Different Perspective on Addictions From Owen Marcus, Rolfer As a Rolfer and group leader, people don’t come to me because of addictions.

But in my 30 years of working with people, I’ve had many of clients who struggled with addictions. My education and experience

taught me that we are all on the continuum of addiction. It is just that some of us developed behaviors further along the continuum of addictions—usually because of more trauma, less healthy options, poor role models, and poor environments.

I am speaking beyond the obvious connection between acute stress and drinking—beyond the desire to have a beer because you had a bad day. Chronic stress— or, in some cases, trauma—demands an adaptive behavior, warned Hans Styele, MD, the man who discovered stress’ impact on the body. When exposed to a stressful situation, people often create a behavior pattern that adapts to the stress. You often have no control over the stressor—you can’t run or fight. This is particularly true for children. And that leaves you with only one option: disassociation, which is the psychological term for avoidance, or pretending that what is happening is not happening.

Disassociation is the first stage of stress response. In resistance, the second stage of stress response, you adapt to the constant shock of the situation; the alarm of the first stage evolves into the stabilization of ongoing chronic stress. Your body is not designed to endure this level of stress; however, as far as your body is concerned, it’s a survival response. So during the second stage, drugs and alcohol can help calm the constant rush of adrenaline. But eventually your adrenals wear out. That’s the final stage, exhaustion. Suddenly, substance abuse is used to keep your energy up.

Assuming that addictions are learned, why can’t they be unlearned? Assuming addictions are biochemical, why can’t the biochemistry be changed? Assuming that your environment causes addictions, why can’t you change your environment?

Stress is woven into all these causes— so learn how to not recreate it, release the stress and heal the body. While I had my clinic in Scottsdale, we ran Mindfulness Stress Reduction classes. Often in the classes, we had recovering addicts, just as I had in my private practice. They weren’t seeing us to quit their addiction; they wanted to address what set it up in the first place.

These students and clients released their stress and learned better coping skills.

Actually learning how to release stress is a natural, healthy behavior. For some, it was releasing the trauma that created their post-traumatic stress disorder. Look it at this way: as long you are stressed or experience life as a survival situation, the body is stressed, and it will adapt. If you need to change your environment, you do it. Unfortunately just leaving a bad situation doesn’t always end the problem—as we are seeing again with the new wave of soldiers and Marines returning from war. You can Continued on next page

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 30

leave the stress, but you also need the stress to leave you. You need to unlearn the self-replicating stressful behavior. Once you do that, the need for your substance will decrease.

Holistic health is excellent at renourishing and healing the body so it is not craving harmful substances. Intellectually we may know how to stay off our “drugs of choice” but without relieving the associated stress, the difficulty remains to becoming drug free. With support, your body is capable of amazing healing. Each person may require a different method of support.

What becomes important is choosing to receive support to lower stress and improve your life.

Owen Marcus is a Master Rolfer and can be reached at 208/265-8440

Addiction Recovery – Feeling In Touch With Oneself Again.

Krystle Shapiro, LMT, CDT, Reiki Addiction may seem like a strange topic for a massage therapist to address. My first thought was “I am not a mental health counselor!” Then I thought again. I am a mental health facilitator. When a person receives a wonderful, soothing, relaxing, and purposeful massage, mental health accelerates and stress decelerates. Massage, providing human touch so often missing for many people on a regular basis, provides nurturance, connection, a special moment in time for oneself, and all the healthy benefits to the circulatory, lymphatic, and nervous systems of the body. The pleasure we all feel on our skin, the body’s largest organ, cannot be understated as touch, aromatherapy, soft music, and massage oil nurtures as well all our five senses.

Alcohol addiction has affected many of the women in my family for at least three generations. Those of us still living talk about it and fear it for ourselves as we have heard it is “hereditary” and that we who may not be addicted are “predisposed” to become addicted. In thinking about this, I pondered a different point of view; of course from a body worker perspective, and recognized that oftentimes people under stress who make choices to smoke, drink, overeat, or use drugs may not feel totally in control of themselves. One of my addicted family members calls her “urge” to drink the Imp. “The Imp wants a beer, the Imp wants a martini...” She has disassociated her behavior from her own feelings and placed the urge and blame on an outside force, thereby masking her own sense of self control.

I see a value in getting back in touch with our true feelings and sensitive creative selves. This is often hard to achieve in such a fast-paced, over responsible, overachieving, and under “fun related” lifestyle experience.

We put ourselves last in self care too many

times. Self control is something we all want as a “staple” in our personal psychology, yet many people who come for massage seek a “moment” of control while on the massage table—they grab at a moment of rest, a moment of connection with their friendly therapist, a moment away from all they have to think about and accomplish in their very rushed and overscheduled lives.

We need many more “moments” of self care in myriad pleasing ways to really feel we have control and are taking proper care of ourselves.

I believe when we can begin to “feel” in touch with our true selves, we begin to release our need for outside sources for comfort or for blame for our behaviors or choices. We begin to feel the power of our innate sense of self and strive to hang on to it, develop and nurture it, and to evolve it back into optimal health. Massage, I believe, begins the healthy process of assisting everyone to rediscover that “self ” feeling and to want it more and more.

Another method I especially find useful is Energy Therapy. Our bodies are chemistry factories and electrical factories. Without electrical energy, signals would not be sent or received by all the operating systems of the human body. Energy is moveable, can be felt—just recall when you have walked into a room and either felt elated by the positive feel or dejected/depressed by the heaviness. Negative energy from lifestyle patterns can be shifted and removed from the body. Thoughts are energy and, as well, can be shifted and moved whereby negative thought patterns can be “re-energized” to positive thought patterns. Again, recall times when you changed the way you thought about something because new information came to you that fit you better.

I was skeptical at first about energy therapy, but after experiencing several types of energetic approaches and reading volumes of science on the subject, I recognized how much my life perspective had improved, how my needs and fears for outside comfort from addictions had diminished and how my living family members have been able to begin their healing from a lifetime expectation and fear of “predisposition.”

The human body is a miracle worker if only we support it when it needs with rest, clean water and food, understanding and self care, and get out of the way when it follows its own innate wisdom to heal us, support us, and maintain us to healthy ripe old age.

Krystle Shapiro is a licensed medical massage therapist and can be reached at 208/290-6760.

This article and many more health and wellness articles are available online at our blog, www. sandpointwellness.council.com. Go to the blog to ask questions or add your comments any article.

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 31

The Decade After-Part II The Scarecrow of Sagle “You like it under the trees in autumn, because everything is half dead. The wind moves like a cripple among the leaves and repairs words without meaning.” -Wallace Stevens Last month I related that for a number of years after the Second World War, mysterious, ghostly and unusual phenomena became more prevalent. This month, a local story told to me one day in 1969 by my Uncle Pat from Eugene, Ore. It was 22 years earlier, as Uncle Pat returned to our family ranch to help my grandparents, who otherwise would have spent their last years alone. My oldest uncle, Connel, one of the founders of the Civilian Conservation Corps, had moved to Spokane with Berniece, his first wife.

The youngest of the three brothers, Dennis (my dad), was still recuperating from his war wounds in an Army hospital in Virginia at a certain hot sprints, but would return in 1948. My Uncle Pat was planning on moving to Oregon where he was to marry, but delayed his plans so he could care for his parents.

Pat found himself alone with my grandparents for the first time in years, not far from the current Sagle fire station.

To call their place a ranch would be generous; it was more a farm with a few cows and chickens. But they had planted a large garden—half an acre, to be precise—of corn, potatoes and an assortment of other vegetables and berries that I still remember my grandma planting here in town on a 50 by 90 plot of ground on Forest Avenue every year, a plot I gladly took over for a time after she died.

Anyway, Uncle Pat noticed a large amount of crows around the field especially— naturally—in the corn. One day there were

Valley of

In ThE

ShadowS with Lawrence Fury

plenty of ears and the next, it was like someone had come through with a gunny sack and taken all that was ripe. In those days, there was a limited stock at the local market. You just couldn’t go down and buy whatever you needed or wanted at the supermarket.

Uncle Pat mounted a scarecrow made of old squash husks for the head and a donation of old clothes from a neighbor for the body.

His scarecrow did the job, a little too well as it turned out. No more corn was stolen, and what was left hung heavy and ripe on the stalks.

But something wasn’t right. Out in the field one day, Pat noticed the dead bodies of rodents, a rabbit and a fox near the scarecrow.

Uncle Pat, sensible and serious-minded, chose to write off this oddity. One night, though, something happened he couldn’t ignore. Asleep in his loft bedroom, he heard a strange sound; a rushing, as if the wind were pulling the breath from a person. At least, that was the way he described it.

The next morning all seemed well, until he noticed that one of their three cows was nowhere to be seen. Going out into the field near the garden, he saw the scarecrow, moved four rows over and about twenty feet further west than it had been the day before; like it had suddenly gained the power and energy to move on its own.

Uncle Pat knew now that something was off. He continued walking the fence line with the neighbor’s property until there in the grass he saw the missing cow. A gentle milk

Both on-premises and off-premises catering.

animal about as threatening as a house cat— dead. No obvious cause, she was just dead.

Pat had a hard time with the carcass, but buried it on the spot. He was at wit’s end.

Elderly parents, alone, his brothers scattered to the wind and there he was, alone with a mystery.

Fortunately, nothing happened after this episode and the final winter of the Fury family farm in Sagle was spent in relative peace.

But what did happen? A misperception?

Or was this a spirit from the afterlife or recently concluded war, tapping into the life force of anything, animals, etc., to manifest itself back into this world?

My family’s ranch wound down the following spring. Grandpa died in the winter of ‘47-’48 but my grandmother, Lola Belle, still vibrant, made it until October 1969 to see the moon landing. Uncle Pat settled in Eugene, where he started a Firestone tire store. Uncle Con settled in Opportunity, Washington, now the Spokane Valley, where he died in 1980. His second wife, Joyce, still lives there on Clinton Road.

My dad, Dennis, after returning from his war recuperation, was left with the task of shutting down the ranch and selling it before moving to Sandpoint, and a job at the old Pack River Lumber mill in Dover. As Dad left the ranch for the last time, though, he noticed the tattered scarecrow erected by his brother out in the field... silent, expecting, mocking pleading... in this Valley of Shadows.

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Page 32 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

From ThE

Files

of The River Journal’s

SurrealisT Research BureaU Fairy Rings, Mowing Devils & Tully Saucer Nests the prehistory of crop circles

Re-readings of Shakespeare continue to amaze me. It was during a recent hookah-driven review of his “Mid-summer Night’s Dream” that I came across a fairy speaking the lines, “I do wander everywhere/ swifter than the moon’s sphere/ and I serve the fairy Queen/ to dew her orbs upon the green.”

Even during Shakespeare’s times crop circles were both prevalent and mysterious, often attributed to “mowing devils” or to the actions of fairies and the wee folk. Though today they are often usually attributed to UFOs, they are equally denizens of the realm of the marvelous and unknown.

As far back as 1880 the noted British Scientific Journal “Nature” devoted numerous articles and examinations to studies of the phenomena and though today most are easily dismissed as the work of hoaxers, there is a small core that have peculiar properties scientists cannot understand. Most “non-hoax” circles have been found, after lengthy examinations, to have been subjected to an intense blast of heat similar to that of a microwave

The Tully Ring

The Mowing Devil

The Delphos Ring 42 months later

by Jody Forest

oven and are left covered with a glaze-like layer of iron oxide, an effect that only occurs with temperatures above 930 degrees. There’s also a wide range of anomalous electromagnetic mutations in the stalks themselves.

(The Sandpoint library has a number of books on the subject.)

In the 1920s a number of researchers also documented magnetic fluctuations inside the circles, then commonly called “witches rings” and supposed to have been created by covens in the area dancing around in magic rituals and incantations. By the 1960s they were finally called “Tully Saucer Nests” after a January 16, 1966 sighting in Queensland, Australia where a farmer named George Pedley was driving a tractor about 25 yards from a lagoon when he heard a loud humming sound rising above the noise of the tractor and saw an object rise out of the swamp; he saw something large, grey and saucer-shaped some 25 feet across and 9 feet high which spun around faster, tilted a bit, and shot off into the sky at a 45-degree angle, disappearing “at tremendous speed.” He told the owner of the field what he’d seen and they returned to the area and took pictures of the matted-down vegetation and called police. (There were a number of anomalous features in the matted circle of vegetation which space forbids my going into here. Simply Google Tully Saucer Nests and a few good websites should pop up.)

In another trace landing case 16-year-old Ron Johnson was doing chores on his family’s farm near Delphos, Kansas in 1971 when he saw a glowing, mushroom-shaped light hovering in the trees some 75 feet away about 6 feet in diameter only about 6 feet off the ground. He moved in for a closer look but the object’s brightness precluded further details and made a loud noise “like an old washing machine when it vibrates.” He ran back to the farmhouse to get his family and his parents arrived back at the area in time to see the object, now as big as a full moon, shoot off into the sky.

The Johnsons were surprised to find a large, glowing ring on the ground where the object had been and took a photo of it with the only remaining shot on their film roll. Ron’s mother touched the glowing ring and her hand went numb “like I’d been given anesthetic.” Over a month later the ring was still there and the Johnsons finally told their story to a local reporter who’d heard about it; she, in turn, notified authorities who found the ring still glowing as well as finding nearby tree limbs broken off apparently from when the object took off or landed. (Analysis of the soil and broken tree branches yielded some further anomalous results. Google “Delphos Landing Ring” and a few sites should appear.)

Still more landing traces were found in France in 1981 where farmer Renalto Nicolai, 55, was working on his property. He heard a whistling sound and saw a small ship descending to the ground where it rested for a second; the whistling changed pitch and the craft took off quickly. He stated, “I went to the spot and found a circle about 7 feet in diameter. The ship itself was the color of lead and about 5 feet high. Thinking the craft was an experimental air force prototype in trouble, I notified authorities who came and took samples.”

The investigation found a large object had left a heavy indentation in the ground and “traces still apparent after 40 days, thematic heating to soil, and leaf samples nearest the circle had a 50 percent drop in chlorophyll.

On all factors examined of photosynthesis, lipids, and amino acids, there are great and marked differences between those samples fartherest from the circle and those nearest to it.”

I sure as heck have no answers to Shakespeare’s “Fairy Rings,” Tully’s Saucer Nests, The Devil’s Mowers or anything else; perhaps the scientific analysis of France’s Trace Landing Case should provide the final word: “While we cannot give a precise interpretation to this combination of results, we can, however, confirm that something significant and unknown occurred within this circle.” ‘til next time; “Beauty will be convulsive or it will not be at all!”

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 33

Lite Lit The Graveyard Book Tess Vogel

tessievogel13@aol.com What can I say about the book I have just finished? Well, I can say with total truth that this book is definitely an interesting read.

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman, was awarded the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to American literature for children in 2008. My personal opinion of the book was that it lacked information in the beginning, but summed it all up at the end with twists at every corner.

Many others disagree about the book and say that it was exciting and entertaining the whole ride. Just remember, don’t judge a book by its cover, whether kind or cruel.

Neil Gaiman demonstrates amazing writing skills with this book. He knows how to really write a good mystery. The book starts off in a peaceful home with a sleeping family. Then a murderer breaks into the house and murders all but one small baby

boy. He climbs from his crib and is up and crawling out of the house in no time. That is when the baby stumbles and tumbles down a hill into a graveyard, and that’s when his real story begins.

Nobody Owens (Bod) is just like your average kid—that is, if the average kid lives in a graveyard full of ghosts, witches, mummies, werewolves, vampires, ghouls, spirits, and other things you would only expect to find in a book. As a small child Bod had a friend named Scarlett, but after her parents move to Scotland Bod has nobody but those in the graveyard. It has been 13 years since the day he came to the graveyard and the one who murdered his family is still out looking for him.

When Bod decides to get his friend (the witch in the graveyard) a present, he must go to the lair of the sleer where they await their master. As Bod goes out into the real world, he gets into a little trouble. A year later Bod is reacquainted with an old friend, and also with the murderer from his past.

This book is written from a child’s point of view, so there are a few things that may

seem unclear in the story, but eventually work themselves out in the end. This is a book I would recommend for the ages of ten and up as long as they understand the context of the book.

Parent Warning: although there’s no graphic violence in this book, the scenario of the murder of the family could disturb younger readers.

I give this book three stars (a decent read) because although I feel that it initially lacks information, in the end an exciting twist brings it all to a satisfying conclusion.

Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book. fiction, illustrated

by Dave McKean, published by Harper Collins.

ISBN 9780060530921, 320 pages, $17.99.

Available also on Amazon Kindle.

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Page 34 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Currents

Can’t Live Without Books maternal grandparents’ wonderful old Victorian house on an 80-acre farm nox5594@blackfoot.net was one 3-by-4 bookcase.

Though most of the The cursive title gracing the cover of a small book—The Guernsey Literary and books were Readers Digest Condensed—a Potato Peel Pie Society—was intriguing. horrible excuse for literature, and one that The book was even more interesting, could ruin reading for you—a few were suggesting that sometimes you can tell. In wonderful true tales of adventure. My other the immediate aftermath of WWII, 1946, set of grandparents lived in a small cinder rubble still lined the London streets, and block house, surrounded by 800 rolling a young writer is contacted by a reader on acres, mostly in pasture with small stands of hardwood trees and a bottom planted in one of the Channel Isles, Guernsey.

Guernsey was occupied by Nazi Germany corn. In the cellar were moldy stacks of old from the summer of 1940 until May of 1945. National Geographic and Readers Digest. They Through letters from members of the book lived far enough from town that they only club, we are told again of the deprivation drove in on Saturdays. Unionville, Missouri and horrors that the Nazis forced upon had a library with no limits. I could check occupied territories. The Nazis brought out as many books as I could carry.

After my few morning chores—to feed years of increasing hardship for the islanders, who were totally cut off from the rest of the the chickens and bring in stove wood—I was world. Allowed no news of the war, parents free to catch the horse that grandpa, a horse did not even know whether their children, trader, had deemed well broke enough for sent to England, were safe. Islanders were a kid. Grandpa insisted that I ride bareback transported to concentration camps for and instructed me to stay away the wooded gullies and the ‘Gentleman horse.’ Beyond committing minor infractions.

And we need to be told again. Americans those simple rules, 800 acres lay around me who toughed it out through the Depression for explorations.I could be a mountain man and saw firsthand the depravities of the Nazi searching for beaver; I could be an Indian regime are getting few and far between. The brave setting out to snare an eagle.

My explorations invariably lead me to horrors of war have not been felt by most of us. To most Americans, rationing of any sort one or another of the hardwood groves. A would be a shock. Paper drives and coupons stump or leaning log for remounting and are only a dimming memory in a relatively grass for the horse, gave me hours and hours few minds. That’s why we need books to of dappled reading. I read the young adult section of that library dry and discovered hold the memories.

Robert McNamara’s book, In Retrospect: the world of non-condensed novels.

Even though we live far enough from The Tragedy and Lesson of Vietnam, reputed to be his apology for the Viet Nam War, town that our trips are bimonthly and we and published as a warning not to make went just last week, our granddaughter’s the same mistake twice, should be another request (since we don’t have any books heartbreaking story. Part of his brilliant, but about vampires) for a library trip could not faulty reasoning came directly out of WWII be denied. She is off to Sandpoint with my fear that Communists were as threatening East Bonner County Library card. Have fun, I wished her as they left, it is a great library. as Nazis.

You’ve got to have books.

A good little increase nutrients, such as nitrogen and Council website at tristatecouncil.org. book concerning David Thompson’s travels in North Idaho and Northwest Montana septic title—David pilot project is being has aThis ponderous Thompson The introduced order1807-1812, to comply with water Saleesh House in Period, Sometimes Gas • Convenience Store quality asbook determined the Only Horsesstandards to Eat. The is easy tobyread and leads to a better understanding of our Unofficial Historical Society Federal Clean Water Act. Designated to own location, our own place names, our protect water quality, the plan, known as own history. a “Total Maximum Daily Load” for Lake Oil Changes The first stop, after our fourteen-yearPend Oreille, addresses issues Tire Rotation old granddaughter droppednutrient her suitcase on the living room floor, was the hammock by appointment Inbetween addition, many andlakeshore strung a large cherry a spindly plum.

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Worth Wading Through www.RiverJournal.com | Vol 17 No. Worth 18 | November 2008 || Page 5 August 2009||The River Journal - A News Magazine Wading Through www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 35

A Seat in the House

Changes to the Katie Beckett Program George Eskridge

Idaho Dist. 1B Representative

idaholeginfo@lso.idaho.gov 1-800-626-0471 As I have emphasized in previous articles we are in particularly economic challenging times with state revenues declining and the cost of state programs increasing. The cost of our Health and Welfare programs are no exception as costs of health programs continue to increase at increasing rates.

The Department of Health and Welfare continues to look for ways to implement changes in programs that offset and contain costs “to help avoid eliminating benefits that are intended to meet the health needs of our vulnerable populations covered in Medicaid.”

One action being implemented is cost sharing by the beneficiaries for some Medicaid programs. Cost sharing requires that the beneficiary pay some portion of the cost of the service. The three most common methods of cost sharing are deductibles, copays and premium charges. The amount of cost sharing required from the beneficiary is usually based on income levels.

The legislature has already approved cost sharing requirements for low-income families receiving benefits for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Worker’s with Disabilities program (Buy-In program), and the home and community based waiver program for the elderly and physically disabled populations.

A current program, more commonly known as the Katie Beckett program, provides Medicaid benefits for children suffering developmental disabilities or other significant medical needs.

The Medicaid Division, following legislative direction provided in the last legislative session, has initiated rulemaking

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that would require cost sharing for this program in an attempt to reduce costs; this action by the Medicaid Division has created a large amount of concern from many receiving benefits from the program.

The following is background information provided by the Medicaid Division in response to the concerns and opposition to the cost sharing proposal being expressed to the Division and legislators as the division conducts its rulemaking process.

“This is an optional (not federally required) category of children that was first introduced as a means to provide community-based services to children who otherwise would be institutionalized. Our current method of eligibility ignores any family income and establishes eligibility based on a level of care assessment. This group of families is a bit unique from most families covered by Idaho Medicaid in that many or most families are middle and upper income families who have resources to contribute to the cost of their child’s care. Some of these families have private insurance and use Medicaid for the Medicaid-only services (such as developmental therapy). As we amend our rules, we will make adjustments in our premiums to account for those private plan payments. The intensity of use of Medicaid coverage varies by child as you would see in any health plan coverage. Overall however, these tend to be one of our more costly groups to cover.”

The division has held three public hearings on the proposal so far and has one more hearing scheduled August 17 in Lewiston. The division has also provided an extension for written comments until August 21 to allow more of an opportunity for public input on the proposal. (Written comment should be sent to Tamara Prisock, DHW-Administrative Procedures Section, 450 W. State St., 10th Floor, Boise ID

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83720-0036, or emailed to dhwrules@ dhw.idaho.gov.) The division has assured legislators that all the comments will be seriously considered before the final proposed rules are published and that the rules will be in compliance with federal law. Based on the comments the division may make amendments to the rules that “result in reasonable and fair cost sharing requirements”.

The Health and Welfare Committees of both the Senate and the House will have the proposed rules under consideration next session and may accept or reject the rules at that time.

This is a difficult action for the Medicaid Division to undertake because of the financial impact on program beneficiaries, but as I stated at the beginning of this article, these are challenging times economically and state agencies continue to look for ways to cut program costs without eliminating benefits that are most necessary to meet the health and safety needs of our most vulnerable populations.

These are not easy actions for state agencies to implement and are often met with opposition and controversy by those impacted, but state law requires that we operate with a balanced budget.

Because of this we are in better financial shape than many states and continue to provide “governmental stability and fiscal responsibility” that is important to our citizens and our businesses as we work through these difficult times.

Thanks for reading: As always, please let me know of issues of concern to you. I can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 112, Dover, 83825 or by phone at 265-0123. George

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 36

Say What?

Criticism Paul Rechnitzer

pushhard@nctv.com When I first moved to Idaho in the mid1970s and got involved in politics and the like I was frequently amazed that the subject of roads was always on the ‘agenda.’ As I developed my interest in history it finally dawned on me that roads were far more important, in what had been a roadless society, than I had thought.

I was raised in Jackson County, Missouri where the Pendergast machine and Ready-Mix Concrete had managed to pave every square foot they could find. So to a city boy gravel roads that went to mud every spring were a new fact of life. And with that new awareness came the realization that after the railroad the next stage was better roads. The better roads would also eliminate the need for the many ferry crossings that had been the rule for a hundred years.

While county roads are local in that we residents get to provide the only money, argue with the Commissioners and criticize the road crews, the state highway system was something else. Both used taxpayer monies, but the state funding was something like federal money...someone else was doing the heavy lifting, we like to believe. The Idaho Transportation Department slowly but surely became the focus of my attention.

The need for major improvements was always a point of interest especially since I lived out on the Dufort Road which the county maintained but the state loved to use when it served their purpose. The few projects that came to life were usually greatly appreciated even if poorly carried out and seemingly with no accountability. (The natives should only be grateful.)

There was another complication. I have been trained to believe there was nothing that couldn’t have been done better. As a consequence my life has been filled with ongoing internal criticism of what I do and how I do it. In my professional career it seemed to work rather well.

A consequence is that I expect a lot of myself and everyone else.

On a wall in my offices in Spokane and Denver I had a framed quotation I attributed to the great German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “When you expect little of a man you leave him poorer than when you found him; when you expect great things of a man you leave him richer than you found him.” (If you research Goethe you may find that there is a similar quotation using the word treat.)

Anyway the point of all this is I have grown to expect much more from the ITD than I think they deliver. In my mind the examples of unexplained overruns and mismanagement indicate the organization is poorly run. One ex-Governor stopped speaking to me after I suggested that such was the case.

So the news flash the other day that the current head of the ITD had been sacked came as no real surprise after seeing her on the TV program “Dialogue.” It was apparent to me that she didn’t really have a grip on what was involved in managing the department. Which leads me to the subject.

Criticism is a much maligned word, usually because it is a thinly disguised way to insult someone, when in reality it is the only road to improvement.

It sounds as though the powers-that-be in Boise did not have either the ability or the courage to engage in what I call constructive criticism. Anyone doing a job that is subject to evaluation deserves to be told not only what they are doing right but what they are doing that could be done better.

What usually happens is that in most jobs, the big boss doesn’t understand the job he is supervising well enough to make suggestions or simply lacks the guts to ‘tell it like it is.’

So Ms. Lowe wants to sue someone, probably doesn’t make any difference who, to get some satisfaction because she was doing the job on her own and no one ever told her she wasn’t. The big mistake was she was using her past experience as a blueprint for a whole new task for which she had no training or guidance. A great District Engineer is not necessarily a great head of the department.

These days personnel management is a huge task. Between all kinds of government regulations and the reluctance of managers to confront the truth, it is no wonder there are some confused people out there trying to do a job. All too often the new person is left to be trained by either the out-going person or the help left behind. The result is often that the help is doing what they think right or easiest but not necessarily what the boss is paying them to do.

Communication between the guy signing the pay checks and those endorsing them is crucial to the success of both parties. In the current case involving the ITD I hope all parties to the conflict can find ground for growth, personally and as an organization that uses lots of taxpayer money and does perform a most importance function affecting all of us daily. Roads and road improvement does have a place on the agenda.

P.S. Before you get all warm and fuzzy about Obama’s stimulus money try to remember it is your money being spent to fix the Dover Bridge, not his, but ours!

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August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 37

Coffelt Funeral Home, Sandpoint, Idaho.

Get complete obituaries online at

www.CoffeltFuneral.com Chilcott Donna Lou “Dee” Chilcott, 61, of Ponderay, died Tuesday, July 7, at her home with her family. Dee was born March 9, 1948 in Morris, Minnesota to Eugene and Jeanette Pedersen.

Dee was raised in Minnesota and following high school attended Waldorf Community College in Iowa. After moving to Colorado Springs, Colo. and while managing an apartment complex, she met Steve Chilcott. They were wed on September 28, 1977 in Hawthorne, Nev. Steve being in the Army led to traveling all over the United States and eventually to Germany. After returning to the U.S. Dee and Steve lived in Tennessee. They moved to North Idaho in 1998 and to Ponderay in 2006.

Dee was a dedicated mother and spouse. She also dedicated her life to public service through a variety of careers in education and health care. She was particularly proud of the work she did as an emergency room supervisor in Germany, starting an Adult Basic Education program in Boise County, ID and her work as a Nutrition Educator in Shoshone County, ID . After an accident made it necessary to retire, Dee pursued her hobbies including: reading, needlepoint, cross-stitch, writing and gardening,.

Dee is survived by her husband, Steve of Ponderay; her daughters, Jessica and Stephanie, and her step-son Brian; 6 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild; her mother, Jeanette Griener; her sisters, Karen and Lora Lee, and her brothers David and Dale. Dee was preceded in death by her father, Eugene Pederson, and her stepson, Martin.

The family will be having a private memorial service.

Zimmerman The summation of a person’s entire lifetime gets crammed into one of these tiny spaces; a modest, little column on the printed page where perusing eyes catch a name and perhaps read on if it sounds familiar, if not, questing fingers move on to the Sports or Entertainment sections where the most recent headlines trumpet the latest in fashion and glitz.

To many of you, when you look at that name in an obituary it is just a name; however, just know that an obituary is so much more than that. This was a person; a person who made a difference in the lives of many people. A lifetime of achievement cannot be condensed down and crammed into such a small section and truly do them justice.

It simply cannot be done—not really.

Mother. That is the word which would describe Arlene Skinner Zimmerman. Though the rest of these words will give account of the abridged details, events, and people in her life; just know that Arlene Zimmerman was a person, one who lived and breathed just the same as you are doing right now; one who enjoyed quiet walks along the beach, spending time with her loved ones, and time spent in and around the water. She was real; she was much more than simply a printed name.

Arlene passed at the age of 64 in her Sandpoint home at 6:06 P.M. on July 8 after an extensive battle with cancer.

Arlene was born on March 5, 1945 in California to Herbert Max and Irene Skinner.

She lived a life of service to others, playing an active role in her church, as well as among her friends and family.

She has been described as a kind and compassionate individual, and anyone who came in contact with her felt of her warmth and her loving spirit. Her determination and ability to overcome all obstacles was an inspiration to all that knew her.

Arlene is survived by her husband, George Dale Zimmerman and their seven children, Guy Skinner, Westley Sommers, Shawna Zimmerman, Jason Zimmerman, Yancy Zimmerman, Miya Edwards, and Lucie Zimmerman

as well as seven grandchildren: Sam, Tom, Josh, Shane, Jezrel, Unique, & Craven. She will be greatly missed; her spirit of decency and dedication will live on for those who knew her.

Services were held July 16 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Burial took place at Pack River Cemetery Schuyler Edith Cornell Schuyler, 93, passed away in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on Monday July 13.

Edith was born in Palisades Park, New Jersey on Nov. 6, 1915. She worked in the Los Angeles area, as a secretary, in insurance offices where she met and married Hoyt Schuyler on Sept. 8, 1945. They moved to the Hope area in the late 1950s, establishing the Island View Resort on the Peninsula.

Edie and Hoyt enjoyed gardening and square dancing.

Hoyt preceded her in death in 2004. She loved classical music, the opera and her flower gardens. She enjoyed playing pinochle in Clark Fork and her Monday “line dancing” with her girlfriends Larson Marjorie L. Larson, 80, passed away in Sandpoint, Idaho on Thursday, July 16. Inurnment services will be held later in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery, St. Paul, Minnesota.

Margie was born on March 22, 1909 in Detroit, Michigan. She traveled extensively in the U.S., Europe, and the Caribbean. She loved to collect antiques, eggs, and interesting things from her travels. She loved to give and receive flowers and to collect pine cones for Petal Talk. Her favorite activity was golf and she enjoyed watching golf tournaments and giving golf tips.

She is survived by her children Paula (and Jan) Lee; Stephen (and Holly) Larson; and her “grand dog” Lizi.

Margie will be remembered for her loving heart, generosity, and caustic sense of humor. Memorials may be made to Hospice, PO Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864 in memory of Margie Larson.

Gunderson Georgia Annette Gunderson, 73, former lifetime Clark Fork resident, died Monday, July 20, at Life Care Center of Sandpoint.

She was born Nov. 6, 1935 in Sandpoint, Idaho, the daughter of George and Mary Fields. She grew up and attended school in Clark Fork where she graduated from high school. In 1953 she married Phil Heyne and they were later divorced. On Dec. 28, 1980 she married Red Gunderson in Clark Fork and he preceded her in death.

Georgia lived in Clark Fork her entire life where she worked as a cook in local restaurants and for the Senior Citizens Center. She enjoyed her gardens and her life in Clark Fork.

She is survived by 1 son: Terry (Deborah) Heyne; 1 sister: Pat (Roland) Derr; 2 grandchildren: Taylor Heyne, and her husband David Lane, Joseph Heyne; 1 great-grandchild Aurora Lane; and by numerous nieces, nephews and other extended family members.

In addition to her husband, Red Gunderson, she was preceded in death by her parents, one son: Robert Heyne, and by 2 sisters, Addie Mae Rounsville and Marie Ruen.

Memorial graveside services were conducted at the Clark Fork Cemetery.

Jenkins Elizabeth T. (Betty) Jenkins, 91, of Sandpoint, died Wednesday, July 22, at her home. She was born March 17, 1918 in Montrose, Colorado.

Elizabeth married Jesse Jenkins and left New Mexico 1939 by way of a Model “A” Ford to the Elmira area, looking for good affordable farm land. After her husband died during the Korean conflict she married his brother Carl in 1950.

Elizabeth made many quilts over the years which have become treasures, and enjoyed many card games especially pinochle.

She is survived by her husband, Carl; by 4 children: Robert, Patricia, Carol, and David. She was a grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother to many.

In addition she will be missed by many in-laws. She was preceded in death by two children: Jesse and Buddy.

Elizabeth was known by many and respected by all.

She will be missed by the entire community. At her request no services are planned but all prayers are appreciated.

Evans John R Evans, 82, passed away on Thursday, July 23, in Sandpoint, Idaho.

John was born in India, son of Dr. Eugene and Jo Evan, who were medical missionaries there. He grew up in the milieu of idyllic Venguria, a coastal village south of Bombay.

At six years of age, he began boarding at the multicultural, inernational Kodaikanal School, in south India. At 16 he graduated from high school and traveled alone by ship to the United States to avoid conscription in the British Army.

He then attended Williston Academy in Massachusetts, spending summers with family in rural Ohio. He attended Oberlin College,graduating in 1948, and completed medical school at Case Western Reserve in 1952. He interned in Salt Lake City in 1953, and completed his surgical residency at the Veterans Hospital in Seattle. He married Randi Andreassen in 1955, a registered nurse at the hospital. He is survived by, his wife Randi, his children Jody and David, Timothy and Mary, Peter and Melissa and Nancy and David and six grandchildren.

Kazmark Earle T. Kazmark, 75, died Thursday, July 23, in Spokane, Washington.

Born the oldest child to Cynthia (Tuininga) and Vincent Kazmark on January 2, 1934 in Spokane, Earle graduated from John R. Rogers high school in 1951; he was an all city football player for the Pirates. He attended Humboldt State College, in northern California, on a football scholarship.

He finished his education at Eastern Washington State College in the school of Radio and Television.

Earle was a prominent businessman. He owned and operated several businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest including KLFF radio in Spokane, KAPA radio of Raymond, Wash. and KAZZ radio station in Deer Park, Wash.

He leaves behind his children, Linda Albers (Joe), Earle Kazmark Jr. (Lorry), Patricia Alton (Troy), Dixie DeRocher (Brent), Jason Kazmark (Kim), step son Shane Krag (Cris), ten grandchildren, his mother Cynthia Tuininga and siblings Marlyn Romaro, John Tuininga, Ross Tuininga plus numerous other relatives and friends. Earle was preceded in death by his wife Barbara on Feb. 11, 2009 in Yuma, Ariz.

Graveside services were held at Woodland Cemetery in Deer Park. Sentiments may be expressed to http://www.

EarleTKazmark@blogspot.com

Lakeview Funeral Home, Sandpoint, Idaho.

Get complete obituaries online at

www.LakeviewFuneral.org Bierman Everett K.W. Bierman, 89, passed away peacefully July 15. He made his faith-filled journey to Christ after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. He was a true example of the presence of Christ even when our human senses fail. Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. Blanche Catholic Church with Father Larry Gooley officiating.

Burial followed at Evergreen Cemetery in Priest River, ID. Everett was born November 12, 1919 to William Bierman and Erna Reginia Alvina Kilian at Ritzville, Wash. He was raised and became a reputable wheat farmer on his family’s land. He married Mary Lou Tully on September 1, 1946 and continued to make their home on the family farm at Ritzville until moving to Priest Lake, Idaho in November 1961 with their two daughters, Kathy and Denise. He and his family were active members of St. Blanche Catholic Church at Priest Lake.

Everett’s life has been a sentimental journey encompassing his loving wife, children and grandchildren.

When he moved his family to Priest Lake, Everett fulfilled his life long passionate dream to live at the most beautiful place in the world. His desire began 80 years ago when he came with his uncle to Priest Lake at age 9 and enjoyed many memorable fishing adventures.

Everett became an enthusiastic outdoor adventurer, well acquainted with the entire Priest Lake area as he trekked and explored the land from the majestic lakeshores to the glorious heights of the mountains. He was an avid sportsman and active member of the Priest

Page 38 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Lake Sportsman Association. Everett participated in many studies of caribou and deer populations in the Priest Lake area.

He is survived by his daughters Kathy (Roger) Ward and Denise (Jerry) Lacy, grandchildren Rob Ward, Daniel Thornton, David Thornton, Ashley Ward and great grandchild Francis Xavier Pigott, cousins Gary Smith and Thelma Bauman and numerous loving nieces and nephews. Everett was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Doris Laurel Bierman age 2 and loving wife of 62 years Mary Lou. Everett was always lucky enough to be at the lake.

He will always be remembered at this special place but most of all in our hearts.

Memorial donations made be made in remembrance of Everett’s life to the Alzheimer’s Association, 919 North Michigan Avenue Suite 1000, Chicago, IL 60611; or The Dominican Sisters, Box 778, Chewelah, WA 99109.

McFarland Nancy Jean McFarland, 75, passed away on Monday, July 20, in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Memorial services were held at the First Lutheran Church with Pastor Dave Olson officiating. Inurnment took place in the Lakeview Cemetery.

Nancy was born October 20, 1933 in Denver, Colorado to Gustave W. Kornemann and Carmen Swan. She grew up and attended schools in Denver, graduating there from East High School. She went on to further her education at Colorado State University earning her bachelor’s degree, and was a member of Tri-Delta Sorority.

Nancy lived in Palos Verdes, Calif. for 25 years, and then several years in Big Bear, Calif. In 1981 she moved to Evergreen, Colo., and in 1992 she moved to Cocolalla, Idaho. Nancy’s various careers included; stewardess for United Airlines, entrepreneur, real estate broker and church organist.

She was a member of the First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint, and a 52-year member of P.E.O. She enjoyed music, played the piano for 70 years, and began playing the harp in recent years. She also enjoyed being of service to others, gardening, fishing, and baking.

She is survived by one son, Mark (JoEllen) McFarland; two grandsons, Eli and Benjamin McFarland and one sister, Laura Olson; aunt Jeri Pickup; and cousins Judi, Laura and Jon Lundak.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and one brother, Weston Kornemann.

Hodges Warren Gilbert Hodges, 77, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, July 20, at his home in Sagle, Idaho. An outdoor memorial at Lake Pend Oreille will be held on Sunday afternoon, August 9, 2009.

Warren was born October 3, 1931 in Hemet, Calif. to Theadore S. Hodges and Nellie Mae Bassett. He served his country in the United States Navy during the Korean conflict as a sonarman on a mine sweeper.

Warren’s career in the space industry began in 1956 at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., working as a Test and Associate Engineer on the Mariner and Voyager programs. Warren joined NASA in 1988 as Program Operations Specialist at NASA Headquarters in Washington DC, in the Microgravity Science Division. Warren retired in 1994, spending many days fishing on the Potomac River. In 1998, he and his wife Jean moved to Sagle, building their dream home complete with bass pond.

He enjoyed fishing, spending time outdoors, and cooking for all his dear friends. He was a master knife maker, and served as a hospice volunteer while living in Maryland.

He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 25 years, Jean Robinson Hodges; son, Mark Hodges; two grandchildren, Phillip A. Hodges and Yvonne Hodges; stepson, John Hodges; stepdaughter, Debbie Hodges Hoefler; aunt, Sara Lee Messerall; four nephews; a niece, and numerous friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, and one brother Wilbur M. Hodges.

Memorial donations may be made to Panhandle Animal Shelter, 870 Kootenai Cutoff Road, Ponderay, ID 83852 or to the American Heart Association.

Poseley Margaret Mary (O’Donnell) Poseley, 65, passed away at her home in Sagle, Idaho on Wednesday, July 22, after battling Parkinson’s disease for four years.

Services will be held at a later date in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.

Margaret was born on July 9, 1944 in Slayton, Minn. to Henry and Florence Fitzgerald. She grew up in Slayton, Rochester, and Edina, graduating from Holy Angel’s Academy in Richfield. She went on to earn her degree at the University of Minnesota.

Margaret had a 20-year career with Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance as Director of Training & Development. In 1993 she moved to Phoenix, Ariz. to marry John Poseley.

In Phoenix she worked for Prism Inc as an organizational development consultant and began a consulting business in organization development by the name of Performance Consultants where she finished out her career in 2006.

In 2003 she and John moved to North Idaho where they hand-built their dream home overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.

Margaret was a member of The American Society for Training & Development. She enjoyed kayaking and canoeing, gardening, cooking, reading, and especially spending time with her sisters.

She is survived by her husband, John Poseley; two children, Erin (Jeff) Budin and Rich (Christina) Best; three step-children, Todd (Andrea) Poseley, Christopher (Tara) Poseley, and Lisa Poseley; six grandchildren; two brothers, Tom (Deb) Fitzgerald and John (Jeanne) Fitzgerald; three sisters, Patricia Fitzgerald (John Steifel), Jeanne (Paul) Leighton, and Kathy (Mike) Poseley.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and infant daughter Tara Best.

Memorial donations may be made to the Parkinson’s Action Network, 1025 Vermont Ave, NW Suite 1120, Washington, DC 20005. There is a medical account (#36147668) set up at Bank of America to help with final expenses. Checks made payable to John Poseley, can be mailed to Bank of America, 405 N. 2nd Ave. Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Braun Lorne Edwin “Ed” Braun,59, went to his eternal rest on July 26, surrounded by family and friends at Sacred Heart hospital in Spokane due to a sudden stroke. Services were held at Christ our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Sandpoint with Pastor Steve Nickodemus officiating.

Inurnment will be in Pinecrest Cemetery at a later date.

Ed was born in Denver, Colo. on August 22, 1949, to Lorne Vincent and Lela (Coffin) Braun, where his family was assigned with the US Air Force. He enjoyed growing up as a military “brat” as it afforded him the opportunity to tour the world with his family. He lived in Colorado, Arizona, Italy, Texas, Japan, and Idaho.

He graduated from high school in San Antonio, Tex., then enrolled at Boise State University. While in college, Ed worked the summers for the US forest service in Idaho and Montana as a fire fighter. During this time, Ed really became involved with two of his life’s passions, fishing and hunting. One of his proudest trophies, a near-record prize kamloop, hung in his den for years. His fishing enthusiasm extended to several family trips to the Oregon coast where he truly enjoyed his deep-sea fishing adventures. While an avid hunter for most of his adult life, the camaraderie of the hunting camp later replaced his desire to take game. His joy became the great stories, excellent food, and time spent with his hunting buddies.

Upon graduation, Ed began a 30-year career with the Panhandle Health District. His first assignment was Bonners Ferry. There he met the love of his life, Annette LaFever, and they were married in 1981. After moving to Sandpoint, they were blessed with two exceptional daughters, Lindsey and Morgan. Ed and Annette spent countless days in gymnasiums and soccer fields watching their children play sports.

Ed was a member of Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Sandpoint. He was a wonderful husband, an extraordinary father, and an exceptional friend to many.

He was preceded in death by his father and his older sister Cheryl. He is survived by his mother Lela and younger sister, Amelia, and by numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews from all over the United States.

Ed also leaves a big part of himself with all of his many friends and colleagues, all of whom were a very important part of his life.

Ed was such an easy-going and gentle man, that one could not help but like him. This enjoyment of Ed was, in part, due to his outstanding qualities of integrity, honesty, and compassion. The world is a far better place for having someone such as Ed. Memorial donations may be made to the Spokane Shriner’s Hospital, PO Box 2472, Spokane, WA 99210; Bonner Community Hospice, PO Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864; or to the charity of your choice.

A note of Gratitude from the Family of Dennis Nicholls On behalf of the Nicholls’ family back East, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who have loved and remembered Dennis Nicholls these past few months and in the years prior to his death.

Our family has come to realize just how much he meant to so many people without ever having known them ourselves. His adventures and hikes through the mountains and valleys of Idaho and Montana have instilled in many of us a love and appreciation for nature and God’s handiwork of the great outdoors. His gift of expression through the writing of poems and many other avenues have opened the eyes and hearts of many who would have initially just seen a blank canvas. Dennis saw the natural beauty in the world around him and his love for that same beauty was passed on in so many creative ways.

I feel like through others I am getting to know my brother in ways I overlooked for so long.

The miles that separated us kept me from the closeness that I long for now. In the last months of Dennis’ life we were able to get back in touch and learn new things about each other. For those moments I will be forever grateful. His voice will echo in my soul until I see his face once again.

Though Dennis’ last years of life were filled with troubled and confusing times mixed with deep emotion not just for himself, but for those closest to him, he leaves a legacy of laughter, thoughtfulness and many memories that will warm our hearts for a very long time. The stories that friends such as Trish Gannon, editor and owner of The River Journal which my brother started so many years ago, Susan Hillstrom with the National Park Service in Great Falls, Gail and Ken Cameron, the dear folks who brought Dennis home from Taft, and Barry Nilson who was most likely the reason Dennis moved to Montana all those years ago and with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship, and many others, have opened my eyes to a brother that was loved and cherished by all those he came in contact with. In the sharing of their memories and lively stories of times spent with Dennis, I feel like he is right here next to me. I laugh at the jokes he told them, I cry at the thought of their dear friend gone as I cry for myself, for the loss of a loving brother gone much too soon. I do find solace in the fact that he is now at peace and able to watch over me. I picture him walking through the heavenly mountains and valleys, alongside glorious riverbanks flowing with clear, trouble-free waters. I would like to think his worries and cares of the past are forgiven and replaced with a happiness only those gone ahead of us can know.

As time goes by the pain and emptiness in all our hearts will ease and the void will be filled with memories of his smile. I know we will see him again one day. Until that day I will keep that smile forever engraved in my heart. I will hear his voice say to me “my dear sister Sheryl, is that you” and I’m waiting patiently to hear those words again.

Thank you again to our extended Western family for all you have meant to us and to Dennis.

Sheryl Baker (Dennis’ sister)

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 39

Smoking & Camping

PONDERAY DAys

Come say Happy 25th Birthday to your hometown Bonner Mall!

August 22 Free birthday cake & punch!

(11 am to 2 pm) See Medieval Reenactments Cool Fashion Show!

Special Drawings!

Mall-Wide Entertainment!

300 Bonner Mall Way in Ponderay

208.263.4272

Jinx Beshears

jinxbychoice08@yahoo.com Day 1: Jinx Stacey, Billie Jaye, Aspen and I are off on our annual “girls camp out”. We are driving up to the Yaak to a beautiful spot there and staying four days. There is only one catch.

Stacey chose TODAY to quit smoking. So far things are going good. The RV is packed up, not too much grumbling. Now, I have to actually go GET Stacey. I may need to buy more alcohol.

Day one: Stacey Mom, Billie, Aspen and I are going on our camping trip. It’s usually a lot of fun, but I have decided to quit smoking today.

I thought it would be better if I was away from everybody the first few days of nicotine fits. Mom says she understands and will be patient with me. I hope we all come back alive. We may need to buy more alcohol.

Day 2: Jinx Stacey seems pretty calm on the outside, kind of determined. We did have one rather snappy moment earlier, but Billie and I managed to dodge the worst of it. All she does is talk about smoking and cigarettes though. She has even threatened to try to roll a few maple leaves up. All in all, it’s not too bad. TODAY. Day Two: Stacey I am doing pretty good today. Mom has only threatened to dunk my head in the Yaak River a few times. There is a smoker in the next campsite over. I can smell it.

Mom keeps bothering me about sitting on the edge of THEIR campsite. I can’t help it.

The aroma wafts over towards me and I am drawn to it. The entire forest looks like tall beautiful cigarettes and each bush looks like a butt. The smoker next door is smoking again. I hope I can do this.

Day 3:Jinx We have all survived so far. Stacey is doing well, trying to eat everything in sight every time that craving comes along. She paces a lot too. There is a clean trail between our camp and the river where she has walked constantly. Of course Billie and Aspen trail close behind her throwing rocks and picking flowers. One of us is very crabby and I am pretty sure it’s not me. Banjo doesn’t know how lucky he is right now!

Day Three: Stacey I wish someone would tell me why I decided to quit smoking the day we were leaving for a nice, relaxing camping trip. Mom keeps throwing out words like emphysema and congestive heart failure

and oxygen tanks, when all I really want her to do is shut up! I am NOT THAT CRABBY. Day 4: Jinx Camping while Stacey is quitting smoking isn’t the wisest move I have ever made. In fact, it’s down right dumb. One of us has a death wish, I am just not real sure who it is yet. Stacey is doing this cold turkey, which is brave. I admire her for it, but at the same time I have a strange and strong desire to duct tape her to a tree and leave her there until things get better, which she says could be a very long while.

I don’t smoke, so I don’t know the fight she is having with herself, but this camping trip is getting long. I should have brought sedatives, LOTS of sedatives.

Day Four: Stacey Mom finally shut up, which is scary and I think I may have traumatized her somehow.

We haven’t seen any animals on this trip, Mom says it’s because I frightened them away. We are going home today, and I don’t know how good that is. Four days of no smoking, I am proud of myself! We are all still alive and most of us are smiling. I am glad Billie doesn’t know what’s going on. I think I am going to quit drinking coffee too.

Every morning I used to have a cup of coffee and a cigarette. Maybe its time to just quit them both. I hope Mom is ready for this.

Day 5: Jinx Stacey decided we weren’t finished camping yet, so after we made it back to Clark Fork, we decided to go to Denton Sleuth to camp again. She informed me that she has decided to quit drinking coffee along with the not smoking. I am going along with this now because she needs the support, but if she tells me she is going to become a vegetarian, I am through! I mean, it. I am going to go to the Cabinet Mountain Bar and Grill, have 10 cigarettes, float a keg, eat a steak and drink a pot of coffee.

Day Five: Stacey I don’t know which I crave more, a cigarette or coffee. A shower did help both cravings and I am determined to beat these addictions. I just don’t want to go through the rest of my life, NEEDING something like that. I think I am better today, not quite so quick to anger or whine. We will go back home tomorrow and stay, I hope Banjo can take it!

As of now, Stacey has been a non smoker for almost 2 weeks. I have to admit, I am very proud of her determination. She says she feels better and although the cravings are still a fight, she feels that she will overcome them slowly. While I did make fun of her a bit, maybe a little MORE than a bit, quitting is no laughing matter!

Page 40 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

Scott Clawson

acresnpains@dishmail.net

area was wide open, trying to draw in as much information as possible to sustain life and protect limb. I’ve never seen people any more alert! For DAYS! After the first big hit, all was quiet. Well, except for all the hollerin’, shoutin’, cussin’, screamin’, creaking lots, people gropin’, crashing and goin’ thump in the dark. Rock chimneys and glass of many sources mixed it up on the floors and boardwalks. Anything that wasn’t nailed down, and even some that was, was down! Still with me? (That wasn’t a typo, just Mountain English. My favorite kind.)

Back in the kitchen, pots ‘n pans and cans of hams were don’ battle over the ‘taters ‘n’ yams, no foolin’! I can’t even say what the noodle salad was up to.

The drummer lost his stool and the beat, simultaneously. Power was out but there were enough mood candles already lit up to provide a number of patrons a free, hot wax special.

Every bottle of booze on the mirrored display behind the bar turned into the biggest Long Island Iced Tea you’d ever want to clean up—garnished with maraschino cherries, martoony olives, capers, straws, napkins, bottle caps and a couple bartenders.

The smell alone was enough to cause birth defects and repel grizzly bears.

Out on the dance floor, previously full of happiness and even a form of choreography, things resembled a melange of drunken earthworms in jeans, skirts and cowboy hats.

There was even a newlywed couple upstairs in #13 who didn’t notice a thing!

Mom and Dad plucked us out of our room and redeposited us in the back of our ‘59 Chevy wagon parked in the middle of Yellowstone and Dunraven, watchin’ the world shake, rattle and roll. They went off to shut off gas lines, console patrons and hired hands, organize a bonfire and round up all the things that go best with one, and check on damages. I learned some interesting new words that night. I think my brothers did too, which surprised me—I thought they knew damn near everything!

Three hours later we were in our back lot around a big friendly fire, under God and the

northern constellations and puttin’ up with aftershocks of 6.0 and larger. Three nights we spent around that fire, tellin’ stories of what we’d heard or seen that day. Everything from just plain horrible to makin’ ya pee yer pants.

Pretty cosmic, even fer a jaded lil’ fart like me. If I could have just one picture of all that I saw, it would be of that bonfire popping up from a shock wave of obsidian sand 50-feet deep, and all its collection of humans, stools and chairs goin’ butt-over-beer bottle under a starlit night.

Great memories for kids like me and my friend and fellow blockhead Scott Hancock, who was there also but whom I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of his acquaintance and armor-piercing wit.

Meanwhile, back at the campground, things were not so entertaining as 80 million tons of dolomite broke away from Sheep Mountain and liquefied into rubble and boulders the size of buses, filling the canyon below it. The resulting wind carried away trees, critters, river, fish, trailers, tents, campers and any and all thoughts of good times to come. What wasn’t buried, anyways.

The dam held its own but the lake tilted north, dropping eight feet; causing surprise and befuddlement to shoreline occupants both wild and domestic. Seismic ‘seiches’ rippled across its surface for twelve hours straight.

Fault lines cut through anything they felt like. Roads, fences, driveways, bomb shelters, cabins, cars and sleeping herds of cattle were not immune.

They think 28 people (and maybe more) died that minute in that pretty little river canyon, doin’ what they loved to do—camp.

A friend of ours came down from Helena to stay there and wet his line that afternoon, but couldn’t find an open spot to park his rig!

Disasters like this are fortunately rare and the range of experiences fill a spectrum complete. My brothers and I had a great time. Others didn’t know what hit ‘em. Some got memories, some got scars. It’s a funny ol’ world. I learned that one in 1959. I just can’t believe it’s been 50 years already!

11:36 pm, Mountain time, in the Madison River Canyon just below the Hebgen Lake dam; campers were snoring, dreamin’, schemin’, braggin’, waggin’ tall tales, eatin’ and weavin’ yarns. Just like campers do everywhere. Since before Louis ‘n’ Clark even.

Brookies, Rainbows and Browns were busy eatin’ dinner by the moonshine in the dark waters nearby. A light breeze going with the flow of the river was getting the trees to whisper stories of their own.

It was August 17, 1959 and all was good on the western front.Twenty miles off to the east/southeast, give or take a broad jump or two, were three kids in their beds being lullabied to sleep by the heartbeat and breath of their log hotel.

Buddy Izaacs and his band had the dance floor packed with the usual assortment of cowboys, tourists, off-duty waitresses, truck drivers, gamblers and wingnuts. Those ol’ logs resonated that country music along with the banter and laughter of a well-mixed crowd like a big ol’ speaker cone, the heals of dancers sending signals through the floorboards and my steel frame bed picking it all up like a radio receiver. All was good and very cool.

Mom and Dad were posting the night’s receipts from the smorgasbord (that’s borgishmorg if you’ve been on a bar stool too long). A neon halo pervaded the atmosphere with a warm, friendly glow. The town was lit up like a Christmas tree. It was high summer at 6666’, the west entrance to the Yellowstone caldera.

Then it was 11:37 and what a difference a minute can make!

My bed suddenly, and without askin’, first went straight up, jump-kicked off the wall and went for the dresser. Tagged it well, it did, then retreated back to the wall. All I can say is I’m darn glad I was tucked in!

I grabbed hold of my footboard to visually make sure my brothers weren’t the inventors of this new thrill. They were always lookin’ for new thrills to invent and I was quite often an unwitting ingredient. They’d been in a Spend your time doing particularly inventive mood that day, so I was what you love— I’ll spend hopeful, anyways. My hunch was wrong. mine working for you.

Six toe-headed eyeballs wide-the-hellopen at this point! As my bed did the Lindy • Estate Planning (Wills/Trusts) Hop with my dresser, I watched my brothers’ • Guardianship beds slap together then return to their • Conservatorship corners, then hop, skip and slap again like some crazy Russian dancers. Twice I saw • Probate Services their beds meet a good foot off the floor! For • Real Estate/Business Law about 40 seconds we were havin’ more fun Tevis Hull - He’s Back! than recent memory could account for.

I was seven, they were ten and eleven.

Call 208-255-2226 As it turned out, every eye in a very big August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 41

Spilled Milk & Skinned Knees

Forget summer, it’s time for football Dustin Gannon

dustin@riverjournal.com Rape?!?! The first thing that comes to mind when I hear that word is the complete opposite of Ben Roethlisberger. Two-time winning Superbowl champion, Rookie of the Year, outstanding citizen and teammate, and quarterback of the most dominant franchise in the NFL. I can’t believe that he is being accused of rape.

Why would he have to rape anyone in the first place? What girl wouldn’t want to be with him anyway? Okay, I know, rape is about violence, not about sex. But why would she wait a whole year before she said anything? I’ll tell you why, because he has money and this stupid (censored) wants it and any kind of fame that could come along with it.

Ben was one hundred percent perfect in the press conference responding to the accusations.

He made sure to let us know he would not speak about his private life in public and that he is still devoted to his team and his family. He will defend himself and let the court trial take its course.

As far as a distraction to him during the season, I believe he will play just fine. This will be less of a distraction for him than any of his previous injuries have been and now he is perfectly healthy. We’ve all seen what a banged up Roethlisberger can do and that is win the Superbowl. Now we’ll get to see a healthy version.

In other news around the league we will not be seeing Brett Favre in a purple jersey this year.

This will be the first season that I will ever watch without Brett Favre playing in it.

Adrian Peterson has said he would like to bulk up an extra ten to fifteen pounds for the upcoming season. He was a solid 185 and if he were to go up to 200 I think that it could dramatically effect his numbers. Yeah, sure, he’d be able to punish the defense some more, but would he still be able to make the same cuts with the same speed? Clinton Portis had his best seasons when he was with the Broncos and when he went to the Redskins he gained about fifteen pounds and since then he has had nowhere near the same statistics he used to put up in Denver. I hope Peterson stays where he is at because right now he is a freak of nature.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has agreed to allow Michael Vick to play this season. In an agreement that states Vick must remain on good behavior, he may be able to play as early as the last two preseason games, and after that he could be playing full time as early as week 6. I checked a website called betUS.com— they label betting odds for pretty much everything—and the two teams with the highest odds of picking up Michael were the Steelers and the Patriots.

Yeah, I was kinda astonished when I heard those two teams mentioned as well. If either team were to sign him I could only see them using him as a slash role like the Steelers used Kordell Stewart in his later years. They could even use him in some way to implement the newly crazed Wildcat formation that the Dolphins made ever so popular last season. Either way however, I don’t believe Vick will go to either of those two teams. I would like to place a bet that says he goes to either the 49ers or the Broncos. Vick was leaving a courtroom after a hearing about his bankruptcy case and he was asked about his progress in signing with a team and he simply stated “we’re getting close.”

Last but not least, some fantasy advice that

might help you pick some sleepers this season.

Try to avoid drafting Michael Crabtree; he is an outstanding athlete but I can’t see anyone from the 49ers being able to put up any decent numbers this year. Knowshon Moreno is a solid choice for a second or third running back because of the running schemes that Denver has been so famous for, and now with Cutler out of the picture, who are they going to turn to when Orton can’t carry the weight? If it is at all possible, I think everybody should try and pick Adrian Peterson in the first round, enough said. Tom Brady is back in the lineup but don’t eagerly pass up quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and Donovan McNabb

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Page 42 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

August 2009| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No.8| Page 43

From the Mouth of the River

I can’t remember who said it, but someone said the first thing to go is your memory. Standing there with the fridge open and wondering what it was you were looking for is a sure sign. The same thing happens while standing in the closet, then it progresses to phone numbers and people.

“Your face looks familiar but I just can’t recall your name.”

“I’m your wife you idiot, now quit acting like a fool and help me find where we parked the car.”

You have two sides to your brain and as we get older these two sides gradually stop communicating. For instance, one side of the brain will say, “I’m going to pick up that rock and move it over there.” The other side of the brain will say, “Nah, that’s too heavy. You’ll hurt yourself.”

“Don’t be silly,” says the first side, “I placed that rock there my self, twenty-five years ago, watch this.” Grunt, grunt, “Yikes!

Bad words and dirty names #@&%$*. I think I tore something.”

“Told you,” said the brain. “Shut up,” said the other side, “you sound just like my wife. Besides, it will heal up in a few days.

Okay, I’ll give it a month.”

So after you have surgery on your shoulder for a torn rotator cuff and after the doctor puts back all the pieces and parts, therapy is required by professional therapists. They teach you how to use that extremity all over again correctly without damaging all the nice work the doctor did.

This is unlike the

“Cowboy Way” of doctorin’ which usually involved duct tape and two sticks with a lot of encouragement from other cowboys saying things like, “I had a worse spot than that in my eye, just walk it off.” “What are you a sissy? Now get on that bull.” I always wondered why bull riders had one arm six or eight inches longer than the other one.

The only thing that held it on was scar tissue and their shirt sleeve. I know one old bull rider who was almost thirty that had so many bones broken and muscles pulled out that he walked sideways like a sand crab.

“Never seen a doctor in my life,” he said proudly. “I was always put back together by a committee in a motel room.”

It said on his tomb stone: I.R.Tough Died at the age of 32 from gangrene and unknown substance abuse.

I had already had enough of the “Cowboy Way” over the years so I decided to try this therapy thing. Besides, Sergeant Sally at the front desk wouldn’t let me have any more suckers out of the candy dish if I didn’t show up for therapy.

There’s one more very important thing I forgot to tell you. After surgery they cinch your arm down at your side and chest where you can’t use it until it heals, leaving you with, in my case, my left hand to do all those important things you can’t live without. This is the same hand you have treated like an ugly stepchild all these years. I have seriously considered facial reconstruction after trying to feed myself with a fork for a week and you don’t even want to go into the bathroom situations.

Your left hand starts having spasms at the thought of hacking at your face with a sharp object like a razor and it’s totally unaware of what to do with toilet paper. In fact, it doesn’t even want to go there. My wife, Lovie, says taking care of me is like having three little children all under the age of three.

Therapy is also very expensive. Not the therapy itself so much. It’s just my wife has nothing to do but shop for an hour and a half after dropping me off at the office and I go three times a week so you see what I’m saying. I’m not sure I can afford to get well as I have another month or two to go.

One of the first things I noticed about my therapists was

Boots Reynolds

that they were young, attractive females.

Not complaining, you understand, just making a quick observation. It wasn’t until my second session that I began to realize why therapists are young and attractive females. If they were old and ugly no one would ever come back to be tortured under the name of therapy. It is not a pleasant experience plus it really hurts a lot.

I think with losing your memory the next thing to go is your tolerance for pain as middle-aged men seem to be the prominent majority in my therapy class of whiners. All have had shoulder operations just like me. Some have been coming three days a week for eight, ten, twelve weeks and I think that there’s one guy that lives in a back room as he’s there all the time.

Women have injuries as well. Most have carpal tunnel syndrome from zipping their credit cards too often and on occasion a knee injury from kicking their husbands.

But mostly it’s just old farts who tried to lift heavy things that pulled their shoulders apart and also increased the need for hernia operations as well. Who knew the shoulder bone was connected to the stomach muscle. I always thought it was the elbow. That’s it I gotta go to therapy.

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Page 44 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 18 No. 8| Augugst 2009

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