2014 November River Journal

Because there’s more to life than bad news

A News MAGAZINE Worth Wading Through

How Playgrounds Grow Local News • Environment • Wildlife • Opinion • People • Entertainment • Humor • Politics

November 2014 | FREE | www.RiverJournal.com

Sandpoint Parks & Rec’s is now available!

Sign up now for: Youth Sports • Youth Enrichment • Family Activities • Special Needs Recreation • Adult Sports • Adult Recreation Partial youth scholarships are available based on need. Find out more online at www.cityofsandpoint.com: even print off a registration and mail it in! Discounts on most programs are available to residents of the city of Sandpoint.

Don’t miss the 7th annual

Thursday, Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving Day) at Traver’s Park. 5k, 10k or whatever-youwant run (no bikes, please), free with your donation to the local food bank.

Sandpoint Parks & Recreation Department 1123 Lake St., Sandpoint • 263-3613 www.CityofSandpoint.com or find us on Facebook!

...providing its communities with affordable and accessible healthcare.

KHS - Bonners Ferry Clinic

KHS - Sandpoint Clinic

6615 Comanche Street Bonners Ferry Medical/Behavioral: 208-267-1718 Dental: 208-267-3201

30410 Hwy. 200 Ponderay Medical/Behavioral: 208-263-7101 Dental: 208-255-3459 Veterans Clinic: 208-263-0450

KHS - Priest River Clinic 6509 Hwy. 2 Suite 101 Priest River Medical/Behavioral: 208-448-2321

Sliding fee for non-insured & we take Medicaid, Medicare and all insurances.

s 0RIMARY (EALTH #ARE FOR #HILDREN AND !DULTS s 0REVENTATIVE (EALTH #ARE %DUCATION s 7OMEN S (EALTH s 34$ 3CREENING s 3PORTS 0HYSICALS Veterans Clinic s 6ACCINATIONS in Sandpoint s 8 RAYS s -INDFULNESS "ASED 3TRESS 2EDUCTION #LASSES s 0RESCRIPTION !SSISTANCE s #OMMUNITY "ASED /UTREACH #LINIC FOR 6ETERANS s 3ATURDAY #LINIC #ONCUSSION 4ESTING 7ALK IN !PPTS !VAILABLE s -EDICAID 0EDIATRIC $ENTAL !DULT $ENTAL %MERGENCIES

Benefit Dinner/Silent Auction for 4-year-old Charley Gregg, battling Leukemia.

Filling Station • Clark Fork, Idaho December 5th, 4-8pm.

Preview auction items at 4pm, dinner at 5pm, live auction portion at 7pm.

For more information or to donate items call 208.255.9648 or email jessicaherbig@gmail.com.

Too TIRED to COOK DINNER? Too BUSY? Or do you just want a BREAK? Introducing

BURNT OFFERINGS at Clark Fork’s Monarch Market.

Get hot meals to go Monday - Friday from 4pm to 6pm. Cold & frozen options available all the time. You can also Email to pre-order burntofferings14@yahoo.com.

Check out our website for our weekly menu www.burntofferings.weebly.com and like us on Facebook! Catering also available.

Annual Customer Appreciation Sale!

Begins the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28

sip dine shop

LOCAL

Entire Store at Special Pricing! Up to 50% off!

Custom design & repair by Carl and Jason Fine Jewelry and Collectibles Open 7 Days a Week!

Sandpoint’s award-winning winery

Tasting Room The Bistro Rouge Wine Bar

In the Bonner Mall 208.263.0010

OPEN DAILY | 301 CEDAR STREET SANDPOINT | 208.265.8545 POWINE.COM

You name it, we’ve got it. Let Finan McDonald help you get ready for your winter adventures

BILL JONES DISTRIBUTORS, INC. Proudly serving North Idaho Since 1951

208.263.5912

301 N. First, Sandpoint • 263.3622 210 Sherman, CDA • 765.4349

www.FinanMcDonald.com

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

STAFF Calm Center of Tranquility Trish Gannon-trish@riverjournal.com

Ministry of Truth and Propaganda Jody Forest-joe@riverjournal.com

“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 2014. Reproduction of any material, including original artwork and advertising, is prohibited. The River Journal is published the first week of each month and is distributed in over 16 communities in Sanders County, Montana, and Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai counties in Idaho.

The River Journal is printed on 40 percent recycled paper with soy-based ink. We appreciate your efforts to recycle.

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4. HELPING HANDS. There’s a surprising amount of resources for those who need a hand.

11. BETWEEN OAK AND GEG Sandy gets a new perspective with a little elevation. THE SCENIC ROUTE

5. WINTER, VIRUS AND OTHER THREATS TO KIDS. Enterovirus D-68, cougars in Syringa Heights and NOAA’s prediction for our winter forecast.

12. PUBLIC LANDS & VETERAN NEEDS Voters must recognize the value of both public lands for our use, and the needs of veterans. VETERANS’ NEWS

6. INTRODUCE YOURSELF to local history with two wonderful new books by area historian Nancy Foster Renk.

7. RUSHING THE SPRING Winter might not have started yet, but that’s no reason not to force a little spring. GET GROWING 8. CALIFORNIA QUAIL Mike says this new native is glorious either in the woods, or on your dinner table.

A BIRD IN HAND 9. LAWS REGARDING TRESPASS If you don’t want hunting on your property, it must be properly posted - and hunters must respect that.

THE GAME TRAIL 10. WEIRD NEWS UPDATE This month’s round-up includes potato-based contraception, DNA and the Ripper, SWAT raids gone bad, and a seat-eating local.

SURREALIST RESEARCH BUREAU “Alice at the Playground” by Linda Michal, AKA “Grandma.”

13. SWAN SONG George reflects on accomplishments through the years as he reaches his final month as a representative in the state legislature. A SEAT IN THE HOUSE 15. HOW PLAYGROUNDS GROW You can’t go home again - but you can relive the experience, and be grateful for your raising. THE HAWK’S NEST. 16. THE IRRESISTIBLE SNARK Clark Fork’s city council was the offender in this example, but all politicians need to put out some effort and find out what the people want. POLITICALLY INCORRECT 17. WISDOM Long days of darkness lead to reflection on sources of wisdom.

GARY’S FAITH WALK 19. LETTERS TO SANTA By trial and error, Scott learned through the years how to get the holiday gift-giver to read what he was saying. SCOTT CLAWSON

The Scotchman Peaks Keep ‘em wild.

For our Families, For tomorrow. www.ScotchmanPeaks.org

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page

Helping Hands - Group Works to Optimize What’s Available

When CN logged onto Facebook’s “Sandpoint Helping Hands” website, I wasn’t sure about the reception she would receive. Late in a pregnancy, ordered to bed rest, other young kids at home and her partner unable to work as he was staying home to care for her, she was days away from having the city of Sandpoint shut off her water because she hadn’t paid the bill. She had gone on Facebook to ask if anyone knew of resources where she could get some help.

It wasn’t long before a few people were questioning why her partner wasn’t at work, why she had Internet but no water, and the ordering of her priorities but it was only a few people, and they were outweighed by the avalanche of those willing to help in whatever way possible, from job referrels for her partner to offers to bring water to her home. Not too much time had passed before a local gentleman, well known but unnamed here, went down to the city and paid her bill. It was a testament to what is good about this place where we live.

The Facebook Sandpoint Helping Hands page has seen a lot of traffic lately, as the economic recovery in the nation at large has not yet “trickled down” to those whose incomes are not tied to stock market investments.

People are looking for jobs, for firewood, for help with home repairs that they are too elderly—or too disabled—to take care of for themselves. They’re looking for affordable transportation and day care, medical supplies, pet care, inexpensive furniture or dentists who will take payments. And always, they’re announcing this fundraiser or that dinner for someone who is ill, seeking help with the overwhelming medical bills and other expenses that go along with any major illness.

It’s a helping community here.

Neighbors have been helping neighbors for years, and when a like-minded group gets together, they tend to formalize their approach and attack a specific need in the community, from groups like the Angels Over Sandpoint to Community Cancer Services, to the Bonner Community Food Bank and the Disabled American Veterans.

And it’s not just neighbors or local charities who offer help—there are also

other resources, generally governmental, like energy assistance, or help for the elderly. Sometimes the most difficult thing isn’t getting assistance when it’s needed, but in finding out what might be available.

One current effort to help with just that is online at SandpointCommunityResource.com which, despite its name, seeks to be a resource database for those in need in both Bonner and Boundary counties.

And it’s not just online. Sandpoint Community Resource is also hosting an Open House on the 15th of January at their new offices, located at 231 N. Third Avenue. You can also give them a call at 208-920-1840.

An all vounteer, non profit agency, SCRC’s website provides a raison d’etre from longtime local volunteer Marilyn Chambers, who serves as Vice-President for the program. For years Chambers offered the Rainbow Community Soup Kitchen every week at the Gardenia Center in Sandpoint, and says she all-toooften met people in the area with needs that weren’t being met.

Board member Dave Pietz says SCRC will “... offer a solution to directing individuals in need to [a] non-profit or service organization.”

Working in partnership with the Idaho 211 Care Line, a service through the Department of Health and Welfare that offers limited services statewide to those in need, SCRC is developing an “extensive” database of services that are available in the area so they can quickly connect those in need with those who have help to offer.

Winter is coming, and not just in Westeros. We can all play a role in making sure that those in our community who need help with shelter, food, heat, and childcare are hooked up with those who can provide such things. If this is a passon of yours, SCRC is always looking for volunteers. But you can also practice being a good neighbor, keeping an eye out for those in your community who might be struggling to get by, and letting them know what help is available. This includes, in particular, the elderly, the disabled, and those with small children who might not have the resources to find out what is available on their own.

Another thing we all can do is to support the food banks in our community, and to support those groups who look to give an extra hand during the holiday season. For families who are struggling, Christmas presents may be beyond their reach, or putting out a holiday meal. From local giving trees to providing turkeys to the food bank, sometimes offering even the littlest amount can make a big difference to a family that’s hurting.

The moderators of the Facebook Helping Hands page have placed an important announcement at the top of their page that reminds people, in part, that it is not our place to judge those who ask for help. Our only role is to decide how we might want to respond; will we reach out, or will we turn our backs?

In almost three decades in Bonner County, I have seen that those who live here most often choose to reach out. It is part of what makes us blessed to be here.

-Trish Gannon

Illustrated Children’s Books All proceeds benefit local, injured wildlife

Available at Common Knowledge, Vanderfords, Zany Zebra and at the Bonner Mall Christmas Craft Fair on Dec. 12-14 Also available online at AHWF.org

American Heritage Wildlife Foundation is a 5013c undertaking wildlife rehabilitation.

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page

The Winter Forecast

As what was formerly Tropical Storm Nuri heads toward Alaska, computer models are suggesting she’s going to put an end to the glorious Indian summer we’ve been experiencing here up to now. And she might just put an end to it with a bang, bringing temperatures up to 20 degrees below normal and likely making us long for a return to October. But Nuri aside, what is NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) saying we’re going to see for weather in the months to come?

Warmth. Now that warmth might be relative, but the overall weather prediction for October through December is for temperatures warmer than normal for our area. And while the ski bums likely won’t care for it, our aching backs might just get a reprieve from a lot of snow-shoveling, given the forecast is also for drier than normal levels of precipitation.

The prediction for warm and dry is based on the fact that an El Nino weather pattern has not yet developed in the Pacific Ocean. They predict there’s still a 67 percent chance that an El Nino will develop later in the year, though expectations are if it does, it will be a weak one.

Renowned weather expert Cliff Mass wrote about El Nino early in October, predicting a “wimpy” El Nino will eventually develop. But, he pointed out, El Nino doesn’t always correlate well with precipitation in the Northwest. So his prediction regarding precipitation in the upcoming months is: “Who knows?” We’ll find out when it happens.

Mass believes our warm October was likely due to “The Blob,” a “persistent pool of warm water” in the Pacific. The Blob, he says now, is in trouble, showing cooler than normal temperatures in the Pacific, and with Nuri on the way that’s not likely to change.

Although Nuri may be setting up that dreaded “Polar Vortex” that allows the jet stream to dip so deeply into the United States, bringing cold air with it, it’s unlikely to effect El Nino, and therefore not likely to change the three-month forecast we’re looking at now.

Regardless of the warmer and drier forecast, however, it’s not likely you’ll be picking tomatoes in December. So let Nuri be your guide, and button down the hatches.

Enterovirus D-68 Colder weather and sick kids go hand-in-hand and, as we enter the season of the virus, parents are wondering about the “new” virus on the block.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been in the news frequently of late, with disturbing connections to the deaths of some children. How worried should you be about this when your child gets sick?

Probably not a lot - although there have been confirmed cases of EV-D68 in Idaho, the vast majority of viruses that children come down with are not this strain. At particular risk, however, are both children and adults with asthma, chronic lung or heart disease, or neurological disease, who can become very ill from this strain.

The key thing to be aware of is breathing; if your child (or you) has symptoms of a typical virus (coughing, sneezing, congestion) and appears to have any difficulty breathing, and/or develops a rash, see your doctor right away. While the illness might not be EV-D68, early treatment for breathing problems is crucial.

Cougars on the Loose The warm temperatures in October weren’t the only surprise for Sandpoint residents last month—reports abounded of a cougar making itself at home around the Syringa Heights area. While residents are used to seeing ungulates in town, and even bear on the outskirts, cougars tend to be much more elusive, leaving some to wonder what to do.

The Sandpoint Police Department shared a number of tips that are worth repeating here: • Cougars seem to be attracted to children, possibly because their highpitched voices, small size, and erratic movements make it difficult for cougars to identify them as human and not prey.

• Talk to children and teach them what to do if they encounter a cougar.

• Encourage children to play outdoors in groups, and supervise children playing outdoors.

• Consider erecting a fence around

play areas.

• Keep a radio playing.

• Make sure children are home before dusk and stay inside until after dawn.

• If there have been cougar sightings, escort children to the school bus stop in the early morning. Clear shrubs away around the bus stop, making an area with a 30-foot radius. If possible, have a light installed as a general safety precaution.

• Do not attract or feed wildlife, especially deer or raccoons. These are natural prey and may attract cougars.

• Roaming pets are easy prey. Bring pets in at night. If they must be left out, confine them in a kennel with a secure top.

• Do not feed pets outside. This not only attracts young cougars but also many small animals, such as mice and raccoons, which cougars prey upon.

-Place domestic livestock in an

enclosed shed or barn at night.

If you think you’ve spotted a cougar in your area, please call your local police department or the county sheriff so that other residents may be made aware of the potential danger.

And while it should go without saying—don’t try to pet a wild animal!

And don’t try to take a “selfie” of either you or your children with an animal in the background. A single moment’s inattention could bring consequences you would prefer not to suffer.

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page

Introduce Yourself to Local History Area Historian Offers Two New Books

Nancy Foster Renk, combining her interest in history and her skill at research, has long been one of the area’s “go-to” people for questions about our past.

In 2010 she was awarded the Esto Perpetua award from the Idaho State Historical Society, in recognition of her abilities. And now locals can keep some of that knowledge at their fingertips with the release of her newest book, A Glorious Field for Sawmills, the story of the Humbird Lumber Company from 19001948. Renk hs also published an updated and greatly expanded version of a booklet created for the Idaho centennial, Driving Past, a collection of driving tours of popular historical sites in Bonner County, Idaho. The book version offers 16 separate tours, 318 pages, and a story written specially for the book by author Patrick F. McManus.

Driving Past, published through the Bonner County Historical Society, will take you from the former Smith Baldwin Ferry (near Wrencoe Loop) to a WWII prisoner-of-war internment camp north of Priest River; from the site of the accidental death of John “Death on the Trail” Proctor, near Mineral Point, to the Kootenai-to-Bonners Ferry Road used by David Thompson. See burn scars from the 1910 fire at Default Gulch; visit the original site of the Hoodoo Creek waterwheel, built in the 1920s and now on display at the Bonner County Historical Society; walk the areas where George “Blue Lake” Johnson operated his 50-gallon moonshine still.

The numerous stories in Driving Past will give you a new appreciation for the hardy Indians and early settlers who called this area home through the years. Never again will you drive blindly down the road, oblivious to the history that took place around you.

A Glorious Field for Sawmills will take you back to the glory days of timber in Bonner County, with the story of one of its premier companies, Humbird Lumber, a major presence in Sandpoint for three decades that employed hundreds of men in the area.

With old photographs on almost every page, the book is a visual, as well as an intellectual, delight.

Learn the early history of timber in the area and its connection to the railroad, meet some of the men who made it happen, and see how the stump farms that timbering left behind contributed to the growth of Bonner County.

At 199 pages plus notes, A Glorious Field for Sawmills is a good gift for anyone interested in the timber industry, or anyone who loves history.

Both books are available for purchase at the Bonner County Historical Society, located at Lakeview Park in Sandpoint. You can also ask for the books at local bookstores, or purchase them online from BCHS at bonnercountyhistory.org. Driving Past is $19.95, and A Glorious Field for Sawmills is $14.95. Proceeds from the books benefit the historical society.

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page

Get Growing!

Nancy Hastings

Rushing Spring Already: Forcing Bulbs Inside

It is only 3 p.m., but now that daylight savings has taken hold of our sunsets, the grey skies feel darker.

It’s time to brighten your inside landscape with a bit of outdoor cheer with some flowering bulbs. This a great activity to get anyone out of the doldrums of November.

There are two types of bulbs to enjoy indoors. Amaryllis and Paperwhites are among the beautiful indoor bulbs that require very little work and can even be grown in just a bit of rock with a limited amount of water for their roots. These beauties will start to sprout and within 4-6 weeks will be fully blooming and fragrant. Hyacinth, Daffodils, Tulips and crocus are all among those spring-flowering bulbs that require a 12-week chilling period before growing and blooming. A little bit of each of these can make for a long lovely indoor garden display.

Start with a sterilized plastic or terra cotta pot at least 6 inches wide and 4-5 inches deep with drainage holes in it. Place a layer of loose indoor potting soil into the pot within 3 inches of the top. Now position your bulbs with the tip pointed up and flat side of tulip bulbs next to the rim. You can snuggle 3 hyacinth or 6 tulips and daffodils in one 6-inch pot for maximum impact.

Cover the bulbs just until their tips are still showing through the dirt. Water well and allow them to dry before storing for their chill time. No extra fertilizer is needed at this time.

Forcing bulbs need temperatures no lower than 35 degrees or the bulbs will freeze through. Ideally the area where the bulbs are kept should be dark and temps should hover between 35 to 50 degrees max during this chilling time and keep them moist but not overly wet. A simple solution is to store inside a refrigerator or box for darkness and easy access to water every 2 weeks. You could place the box in an attached garage, or simply bury them in your cleaned out veggie bed next to your garlic, placing large amounts of leafs and mulch over the top of them and dig them out in February when you are ready to bring them in for some heat, sun, and blooms!

Nancy Hastings grew up on a 300+-acre farm and now is co-owner of All Seasons Garden and Floral in Sandpoint. She and her husband John have been cultivating community gardens and growing for 16 years in North Idaho. You can reach them with garden questions or sign up for classes at allseasonsgardenandfloral (at)gmail.com.

Carol Curtis, Asso. Broker, GRI, Realtor 208-290-5947

Spectacular views of Selkirk Mountains from lots 2 and 3 at Rising Hawk Ridge. Power and phone to property line, plus well-built, maintained road.

Easy access to town from this beautiful, wooded property that offers a North Idaho feel. Perk tested for sewer. Decide how much elbow room you need - buy one parcel or both! $49,000 ea. 5± acre parcel or buy together (10.4 5± acres) for $90,000! MLS 20143135

Motivated seller! Incredible lake views in every direction and ready for you to build! surveyed, building pad, 1200 gallon water tank, installed septic and well Views both east and west on this 5± acre parcel. $99,000 MLS20140708

Meticulous fully furnished studio unit at Schweitzer. Private, back side interior unit. Sleeps 4 comfortably. Ski locker room, laundry and pool room available.

Invest in Schweitzer and avoid the drive! $102,000 MLS20133245

Sue Fritz,

Realtor 208-610-9304

Updated 3 BR/2BA in Priest River with poss. 2 additional bedrooms or bonus rooms. Loft overlooks living room, wood details, 2-car and single car detached garages, shop & dog kennel. 3.15± parked out acres. $242,900 MLS20131643

History in the selling! Endless possibilities with 91.9 ± acres nestled just to the south of Lake Cocolalla. Homestead, views, creeks, pastures and barn built from Farragut timber! Addt’l 230 ± acres available $585,000 MLS20141737

Build with big lake views! This 1.35± acre lot borders common area with connection to extensive trails. Nicely treed, includes water hookup. Natural gas, electric & phone on the lot. Area of nice homes. $125,000 MLS20142419

Live on top of Huckleberry Mountain! Plenty of elbow room on 160± acres, with easy access off a county maintained road.

Borders public land. Also available with historic home on 320± acres! $640,000 MLS20141747

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page

California Quail:

A Bird in Hand Michael Turnlund

By birth I am a native Minnesotan.

That being said, I will be the first person to state unequivocally that Minnesota is a great place to be from. From! Though much of my family still lives in that state and I have great memories from my childhood years, you couldn’t pay me enough money to ever live there again.

Are you crazy! I am prejudiced when I say this simply because I now reside in North Idaho—the most beautiful green patch of goodness this side of heaven. I suppose if I lived elsewhere—say, California— Minnesota would be the better choice. But now I know otherwise and neither a team of wild horses nor an angry wife could drag be back to Minnesota again. I am a proud Idahoan—by choice!

And so too is our bird of the month: the California quail. In spite of its name, this bird has become an international resident as populations have been transplanted to regions far and wide. And here, too. But I guess that doesn’t make it any less “native.”

The California quail is one of six quail species indigenous to North America.

To me a quail in many ways is just a small version of grouse. Indeed, quails, grouse, pheasants, and turkeys (as well as chickens) are all members of the taxonomic order Galliformes. And acorns don’t fall far from the oak with this group (or should I say yoke?).

The California quail, or Valley quail as I’ve always known it to be, is native to the dry, chaparral regions of California.

It is also the state bird. But it has been successfully transplanted throughout the

A feathered punctuation mark

Pacific Northwest, Idaho, and a few other states. In fact, populations have been successfully established in New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and many other places.

It is a bird that gets around.

Why its popularity? Because it is a great game bird. Those little fellas are tasty!

The California quail is a round ball of feathers about the same height as a robin, but a bit more rotund. It tends to run in extended family groups called coveys.

It is a pretty bird, the male especially.

He is mostly gray with brown accents, with white-feathered scaling on his belly and flanks. His face is hidden behind a black mask, lined by thin white cheek crescents. His crown is dark brown, also lined with a thin pencil line. The female is similar, though more drab and covert.

And she skips the mask and brown crown.

Most distinctive of all on this bird is the top-knot: a long arced black feather that sprouts forward and out of its forehead, as if always reminding the bird which way to go. Here’s a good rule of thumb if you happen to run into its cousin, the Mountain quail. This is a lesson in punctuation marks: the California quail’s top-knot resembles a question mark, whereas the Mountain quail’s is a definitive exclamation mark. I guess the California quail is always a bit confused.

Hmmm.

Like other quail, the California quail is a ground bird. It will scratch the earth like a chicken, pecking at good things to eat. Although it is an opportunistic feeder, its diet primarily consists of

DiLuna’s presents

seeds, fresh sprouts, berries, and insects.

When danger appears the birds will first attempt to outrun whatever nuisance is in the neighborhood, resorting to flying only when required. When they do take to wing, it is usually explosive and if you’re unprepared it can be quite startling.

They will only fly the briefest distance, preferring to quickly glide to safety and under the protection of some shrub.

The bird’s preferred habitat is farmland or open areas with plenty of scrub or forest to duck into. They are ground nesters and the female might hatch a brood of between 10-16 chicks.

The chicks are precocious, meaning they are born running. For the first couple weeks both the mother and the father are attentive parents, with mom brooding the still down-covered chicks during the night or spells of cool weather. In fact, it is during this two-week period before the chicks fledge that the males tend to lose weight, as they spend more time pulling sentry duty than eating. These daddies are the alarm system for the group.

The call of the male California quail is distinctive and easy to learn. Guidebooks often describe it as three notes, with a sharp accent on the middle one: chi-CA-go or ka-KHA-ko. To me, is sounds more like ra-RHA-ro. You’ll know it when you hear it.

So let me introduce you to your newest neighbor: the California quail. Not only are they pretty little birds that are a delight to have as the bird-next-door, but they are also nice to have over for dinner.

If you know what I mean. Happy birding!

Clark Fork Baptist Church

JEFF CROSBY & the Refugees

Main and Second • Clark Fork

220 Cedar St. Sandpoint 208.263.0846

Sunday School............9:45 am Morning Worship............11 am Evening Service...............6 pm Wednesday Service.........7 pm

Tickets $10/$12 at door

Friday, Nov. 21

Doors 5:30/Concert 7:30

Call 266-0405 for transportation

Bible Preaching and Traditional Music

Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06|November 2014

The Game Trail

Matt Haag

The whitetail deer rut is here and what a great time to be in the woods. A skiff of snow underfoot and the chance to glimpse a thick necked buck strut by your favorite hunting spot make it an exciting time of the year. November brings out more deer hunters than any other time during the hunting season.

During the heat of the whitetail deer season, your local Conservation Officers receive hundreds of calls related to trespassing. This year I received more calls about trespassing in the general weapon season elk than I have in years past. I hope this is not a growing trend because it looks bad on hunters and it’s the reason we see more land posted for “No Trespassing.”

Here are a few reminders of Idaho’s trespass laws. If your land is not cultivated, you must post your land with signs or fluorescent orange paint.

The paint or signs must be 100 square inches (10x10 square). The signs must be posted every 660 feet along the property boundary, and at any reasonable access points (trail, driveway, gate, etc.) If someone disregards the signs and enters your property they are in violation. Please call the Bonner County Sheriff’s office dispatch to report this immediately. They will dispatch your local Conservation Officer, or a sheriff’s deputy.

If you post your land “No Hunting,” does that mean you and your friends can’t hunt your own property? Of course not!

It’s just letting folks know that you don’t want them hunting your land without permission. However, I really recommend you do not use the “No Hunting” as that implies that it’s okay to trespass, just not to hunt. Use the “No Trespassing” sign to cover your bases.

Laws Regarding Trespass

One of the ways Conservation Officers combat trespass problems in areas is to deploy a decoy deer or elk, or what we call Artificial Simulated Animal or A.S.A. Wildlife decoys were first used by game wardens in Wisconsin in the 1940s, and they have been used by other wildlife agencies across North America ever since.

They have been readily accepted by the courts as a legitimate tool for wildlife law enforcement officers.

The use of decoys has many benefits, but most important is that they reduce the number of live animals lost to poachers. Additionally, the decoys bring the wildlife thieves to us rather than conservation officers using valuable resources to find violators across thousands of miles of landscape. The aim of decoys is to discourage shooting game animals before a season opens or after it is closed, after legal shooting hours, or on private property or other land closed to hunting, hunting with an artificial light, or shooting from or across a public road.

If you’re not engaging in such activity you don’t have to worry about running into us or our deer decoys.

With the majority of hunting seasons coming to end in November, I would like to remind all successful hunters to properly dispose of their animal carcasses. It’s an extremely busy time for your local conservation officers, but much of our limited and valuable time continues to be wasted by inconsiderate hunters.

Dumping fleshed out game carcasses is not only illegal (littering), it is also inconsiderate of nearby residents and reflects poorly on all hunters. The practice also distracts already shorthanded conservation officers from real poaching cases.

Please, properly dispose of your carcass by taking it to the transfer station, or dispose of it the woods away from roads, private property, and waterways.

Happy Veterans Day to all our vets out there, thank you for your service to our nation and the sacrifices you and your families have made. For those brave souls who never made it home to their loved ones, you are not forgotten.

K&K Fishing Derby

November 22-26 & November 28-30

The Sandpoint District Conservation officers wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving as well. Remember to take the time to be thankful for the natural resources we have here. It’s all our jobs to take care of it responsibly.

Leave No Child Inside

HOLLY EVE

A Sandpoint Tradition presented by Eve’s Leaves

Saturday, November 22 at Sandpoint’s Bernd Building Doors open at 6 pm Tickets $25 at Eve’s Leaves, Panhandle State Bank and the Festival at Sandpoint •Complimentary champagne and the Taste of Sandpoint hors d’oeuvres •Live & Silent auctions •Fashion Show •Live music Free preview on Friday, Nov. 21 from 5-7 pm.

The Bernd Building is located at 311 N. First Ave. Benefits: Bonner Community Food Bank, Bonner Community Hospice, Community Cancer Services, Downtown Music, The Festival at Sandpoint, Panida Theater, POAC & Sandpoint Senior Center

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page

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It’s seldom in our Weird News Updates I’ll get a chance to mention a local hero but a Ms. Spence (42) of Sandpoint, Idaho was arrested for assault in September and when police arrived at the station they found the handcuffed woman had used her teeth to gnaw and tear through the entire back seat of the patrol car, including the seat cover and padding, in an attempt to escape. (From KXLY TV news 9-23-14) UPI reported on 10-2-14 that a woman in Columbia had a sprouting, 2.4 lb potato removed from her vagina after complaining of stomach pains. The 22year-old had been told by her mother that inserting a potato was an effective method of birth control/contraceptive.

In two separate SWAT raids in Texas this year, two different officers were killed when they raided the wrong addresses during drug raids and the startled residents opened fire on the officers in what they claimed was self defence (no drugs were found). Mistaken SWAT team victim Marvin Guy is facing the death penalty (he is black) while mistaken SWAT team victim Henry Magee was cleared by a grand jury (he is white).

(Kileen Daily Herald 9-22-14) The Mormon Church has released a video (available online at numerous sites) defending its use of so-called magical underwear it calls “Temple Garments.”

Other past videos released by the Salt Lake City Church HQ include tortuous, byzantine explanations of their past refusal to accept blacks, polygamy, and the doctrine that members will get their own planet to rule over in the afterlife.

Thanks to TRJ Editor Trish G. for forwarding me a link to a crucial case in Ripperology. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, a shawl found near Catherine

Jody Forest

Eddowes body (Eddowes was one of the Ripper’s victims), has been analyzed and found to contain her blood as well as DNA from the apparent killer, Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski, who has long been one of the prime suspects.

Kosminski was arrested soon after the last murders for unrelated crimes and spent the remainder of his life in an insane asylum. This is a complex story and I can’t do it justice in a brief column so I’d suggest you Google it for further information. However, I’ll briefly state the main criticisms seem to be the provenance of the shawl (handed down as a souvenir in one of the investigating officer’s families) rather than the DNA science itself (tracking down Eddowes and Kosminski’s distant relatives and getting DNA to compare seems like a monstrous, if fascinating, ordeal). To amateur Ripperologists like yours truly it’s an exciting new piece of the Whitechapel Horror puzzle. I’ve long suspected he’d be such a low class reptile flying under the radar, fitting both the psychological and geographical profiles. More on this case as it unfolds. ‘til next time: With the vermouthlipped duck of doubt slowly roasting in my oven of truth, I bid you adieu. Keep spreading the word; Soylent Green is People! All homage to Xena!

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Page 10 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06|November 2014

The Scenic Route Sandy Compton

OAK to GEG

On the tarmac at OAK, 7:31 pm Pacific.

According to the screen above the loading ramp door, Flight 2793 was underway for 6 minutes already when I began down the ramp. We had left at 7:20; on time. Not true, sorry to say.

Here in 23-F, second row from the back, starboard window seat, I wait for a passel of passengers to load. In Row 18, a baby melts down in spectacular fashion. Poor child. Poor mom. And poor the rest of us.

We sit. She accelerates.

It’s dark, so the view out the window won’t offer much distraction. Hopefully, this poor babe will cry herself to sleep, so some of the rest might nap also.

From OAK, we will fly north by northeast to GEG, much more north than east. The pilot says we are 1:26 from GEG — once we get airborne. Now we are moving. Backwards, but still. In anticipation, perhaps, the babe quiets.

The gratitude in the cabin is palpable.

Hopefully, it will keep the peace.

Time to power down.

10,400 feet — 7:46 pm Pacific.

It’s safe to turn on large electronic devices, by whose judgment and why at 10,000 feet I have never determined. The babe sleeps. Screens light up all about the cabin. Southwest has free, in-flight television this week.

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screwed to my ribs, but it can be done.

The guy sitting next to me watching “Fast and Loud” on his I-Pad drops his right elbow off the dividing armrest. Gaining those two inches of advantage makes all the difference in the world.

Oakland and central California fall below and then behind. There are extralarge patches of jewels out there, but in the distance is black on black with an occasional topaz of mercury vapor light marking somebody’s far country yard.

This reminds me that I am homeward bound.

The geography challenge of today was our flight from ABQ to OAK. The sun hung off the port bow after takeoff, trending forward as we progressed, and I realized we weren’t on the azimuth I expected. We flew over a big river and then the southern end of a city that could only be Las Vegas, and I finally checked the rudimentary map in the in-flight magazine.

To my surprise, OAK is mostly west and a just bit north of ABQ, rather than mostly north, as I had assumed. Hmm. And ABQ is a heck of a lot farther from OAK than GEG. And, the line between ABQ and OAK goes right over Las Vegas. Back to the classroom, Compton, and take your map of the U.S. with you.

It’s interesting how perceptions of topography gained from being earthbound are corrected when we rise into the air.

It was with some poignancy that I watched Las Vegas slide under the wing, then Red Rock State Park at the foot of the orange escarpment of the Spring Range

and finally, Charleston Village, the tiny, high-altitude last resort where I spent the first of the three craziest years of my life. It was living at Mount Charleston that I learned to appreciate the desert for its own unique beauty. It was living in Vegas that I confronted some personal monsters, managed to survive them, and even slay a few.

I’ve been back to those neighborhoods since, but the only reason I might want to revisit those times would be to see if I could do better in round two. Lessons learned were ultimately beneficial, but they were damned expensive lessons.

The old saw about what doesn’t kill us might apply, but I’m not sure it’s always true. Maybe the experience made me wiser, and maybe wiser is stronger.

Maybe. Sometimes we have the same problem with personal geography as we do with the physical.

“Where am I and how did I get here?” can be a daunting question if we can’t get enough elevation to acquire a view of our personal topography.

30,000 feet — 8:51 pm Pacific.

We are over southeastern Oregon. I know this to be true because the fight tracker says so, and because there is not a single light to be seen below. Somewhere under us is Steens Mountain, which is on my bucket list. I like places without lights; wild-ass places where it is a long way between plug-ins. Motorized access is okay, but it’s a damned fine thing to get out of the auto and walk away from the motor a long ways in one direction without coming to a road, fence, light, internal combustion machine, power pole or empty beer can. It doesn’t all have to be wilderness, as long as some of it is.

It’s better if that “some” is in big chunks, because that’s my version of elevation: distance achieved on foot from plug-ins, lights, ignition switches and empty beer cans. Maybe it’s time to go for a walk.

Sandy Compton is author of Side Trips From Cowboy: Addiction, Recovery and the Western Myth and other books; available at Vanderfords, the Corner Book Store, Common Knowledge, sidetripsfromcowboy. com and bluecreekpress.com. Photo above of Lake Las Vegas by Carol Highsmith

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page 11

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Public Lands & Veteran Needs By the time the ­ hits the newsstands the 2014 mid-term elections will be long over. The results from all over the nation will have been examined, contested, exalted, bemoaned and subjected to analysis by pundits from all over the political spectrum. The numbers will have been examined and we will know if the voters sat on their thumbs or got up and voted.

Projections I have seen indicate that the voter turnout will be below normal for this mid-term election; in other words, dismal. Most mid-term elections show a 10 to 12 percent drop in voter participation from those of Presidential years. Typically about 48 percent of the voter eligible population come to the polls in a Presidential election year. That in itself is dismal when the nation with the most freedoms sends only a minority of its people to the polls. This year’s general election shows signs of having an even lower than normal voter turnout. If the May primaries were any indicator, where Idaho’s voter turnout was an abysmal 27 percent, we’re in for a real stinker of a general election.

The 27 percent that came forward in May gave the rest of us Idahoans a sorry cast of GOP candidates to choose from. The Tea Party/Libertarian/ Constitutionalist wing of the GOP provided most of the cast members in this biennial stage play. I don’t and cannot believe that these fringe candidates truly represent that vast majority of independently minded Idahoans.

Where is the outrage from the average Idaho hunter, fisherman, hiker or outdoors-person at the very hint that Idaho’s public lands be sold to private interests? Our public lands are the reason that many Idahoans remain living here.

Why would anyone believe that if Idaho got control of the federal lands within its borders that we would all still have the relatively unfettered access to those lands we enjoy so much?

If Idaho did have control of the vast tracts of land currently maintained by the federal government who would pay the wages and other costs to fight a major wildfire? Who would maintain the thousands of miles of trails that hunters, fisherman or hikers use?

There is no doubt in my mind that the only way that Idaho could keep itself solvent would be to sell off vast tracts of these ‘resources’ for private development.

Veterans’ News

Gil Beyer

Idahoans would be confronted with thousands of ‘Keep Out – No Trespassing’ signs along trails that we traditionally have had access to.

There is one portion of Idaho’s constituency that has long been silent and now really needs to let their voices be heard—Idaho’s veterans. With over 100,000 veterans Idaho has the potential to make a real difference in every election, at every level. It appears that Idaho’s younger veterans are not participating in these elections and, therefore, must not be working in their own best interests. How else can we explain that VA medical facilities are not expanding to meet the needs of veterans?

How else can we explain the failure of Medicaid expansion here in Idaho? The vast majority of Idahoans who would be helped by the expansion of Medicaid are either veterans or the families of veterans.

This column has tried to get veterans to vote in their own best interests for years now. We’ll soon see if I’ve had any success in this endeavor. As veterans we have given more to defend those freedoms we enjoy than any other segment of the population. Isn’t it time that we demonstrated our interests and voted for candidates that show their support for our issues. Isn’t it time that veterans received the support from our elected officials that we deserve? I think so.

I hope and pray that when the votes are counted on November 4th, 2014 that Idaho’s veterans have come to the polls in over-whelming numbers and replaced those elected officials—federal and state— that do not support Idahoan and veterans’ concerns, interests and issues.

Finally, I’ll close this month’s piece on a sad note. Last September 15 the entire community lost a great friend. On that Monday the ‘Sub Shoppe’ in Kootenai closed its doors forever. Their support for all veterans every Veterans’ Day for the past many years will be sorely missed.

We wish Barbara Porath, LeAnna Porath, Dave & Laurie Wall and Jim & Marti Ashford a long and happy retirement.

As was said when I was in the Navy, ‘Fair winds and following seas’ to all of you.

Page 12 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06|November 2014

A Seat in the House

Rep. George Eskridge

My tenure as a state legislator ends this month and I thought it would be appropriate to share with the readers my thoughts on legislation that I sponsored and/or supported during my legislative service that has special meaning for me as I reflect on my legislative service over the past seven terms.

One area is legislation supporting veterans that has always been a priority for me. The following is a list of veteran related bills that I sponsored on the House floor: House Bill 140 (HB140), that was passed in 2001, provided peacetime veterans eligibility for admission to Idaho’s veteran homes. This was not only an additional benefit to peacetime veterans but also enabled the state to increase its occupancy rate in the veteran’s home, thus helping to reduce the cost per resident residing there.

House Bill 574 (HB574), passed in 2006, allowed the admission of spouses of eligible veterans to the veterans’ homes, thus helping to increase the occupancy rate of the homes and at the same time reducing the costs per resident.

House Concurrent Resolution No.52 (HCR) provided a waiver of campsite fees to “any Idaho resident who is a disabled veteran and whose service-related disability is rated at fifty (50) to ninety (90) permanent and total disability.” (A waiver of fees for those veterans at a one hundred percent rating was already in effect.)

House Bill 222 (HB222) is especially significant in my mind. This legislation set up two funds to benefit veterans in Idaho and prevented excess funds in the Division of Veterans Services from being transferred into General Funds. The first fund was the Veterans Recognition Fund “created by appropriations from excess earnings from funds maintained by the Division of Veterans Services.” The second fund was identified as “the Idaho Veterans Recognition Income Fund.”

The principal in the Recognition Fund is to remain intact to avoid reducing the fund’s principal amount and ability to provide interest income; however interest income from the Recognition Fund can be transferred to the Income Fund to provide a stable income source for veterans’ benefits.

There is one exception to moving money from the Recognition Fund however: This exception allows transfer

Swan Song of funds from the Recognition Fund to provide matching dollars that would be required in the event Idaho is successful in getting funding from the federal government for an additional Idaho State Veteran’s home.

Moving to other legislative areas, House Bill 110 (HB110) is especially important in our legislative district.

HB110, sponsored by Senator Keough, Representative Campbell and myself and passed in 2003, set in statute the Lake Pend Oreille, Pend Oreille River, Priest Lake and Priest River Commission (referred to as the “Lakes Commission).

This commission gives our area more standing in decisions governing the lake levels and lake flows of the two lakes and rivers that are so important to the interests of our area.

The Commission’s standing was emphasized most recently as members of the commission and local citizens objected to reducing Pend Oreille lake levels in August for the benefit of downstream fisheries. I believe the Commission’s involvement, along with that of local citizens, in voicing opposition to the proposal, was instrumental in the proposal being removed from consideration.

In the area of energy policy I was Co-Chairman of the Interim Committee on Energy, Environment and Technology that was responsible for developing the “first organized review of state-level energy issues in 25 years...”. The work of the committee resulted in a draft Idaho Energy Plan that was submitted to and approved by the 2007 legislature. The 2007 plan was explained as “perhaps the first time that the legislature has been involved in developing specific policy direction for state agencies, energy companies, and consumers.”

Energy is critically important to the well-being of our Idaho citizens and the need for developing a sound energy policy that protected our low-cost energy resources and the pursuit of addition resources in a cost-effective manner was and continues to be a significant responsibility of Idaho government.

There are other areas that were of significance to me including changes in real and personal property tax that benefited residential property owners and small businesses, improvements in our highway infrastructure, including the Dover Bridge, the Sandpoint Byway, widening of Highway 95 to four lanes in many areas, and other actions that I have supported into becoming reality that I don’t have space to address in detail.

However, as I review the years I served and contemplate many of the legislative actions that occurred during my tenure I leave office with a sense of satisfaction and appreciation for the opportunity to have served my state and my district as a state legislator.

I end this article by expressing my sincere “Appreciation and Thank You” to all of you who have supported me these past years and giving me the “Honor and Privilege” of serving you and Idaho!

THANKS FOR READING!!! George

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November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page 13

SAVE THE DATE! On November 14, check out the Annual Harvest Dinner at Memorial Community Center in Hope.

The evening begins at 5:30 p.m. with a no-host bar, complimentary appetizers, and fun-filled bucket raffles; a catered dinner by MCC featuring a traditional holiday meal and dessert will be served at 7 p.m. Reservations are $25 each, paid in advance at MemorialCommunityCenter.com, at the MCC, or call 208-264-5481. The event also kicks off MCC’s Annual Christmas Giving Food Drive, so please bring non-perishable food items to donate. Every guest who brings food items will receive free bucket raffle tickets.

On November 15, the Farmers Market at Sandpoint returns for a one-day-only Holiday Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Forrest Bird Charter School.

Forty vendors will provide winter produce, meats and cheese for all of your holiday food needs. Plus your favorite farmers’ market crafters and booths from charter school students for gift-giving delights!

SandpointFarmersMarket.com. 208-597-3355.

Stop in at DiLuna’s Cafe, 220 Cedar St., On November 15 for a concert with BlueStreak. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for dinner, and the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Although considered a new band, BlueStreak represents one of the more veteran crews on the Northwest bluegrass scene. BlueStreak is anchored around the powerful vocals and guitar work of Doug Bond. Collectively, this band delivers the “high lonesome” sounds of traditional bluegrass harmony on a foundation of rock-solid acoustic instrumentation. Tickets are $10 in advance, and $12 on the day of the show. DiLunas.com.

Also on November 15, the Utah Ballroom Dance Company presents Dancing with OUR Stars, a show that communities are raving about, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Panida Theater. Similar to the popular TV show, six Sandpoint-area dancers are paired up with

a professional to learn a ballroom dance routine over one week. This interactive production is so much fun - you will laugh, cheer, sing and laugh! Presented by the Pend Oreille Arts Council. General admission $20; POAC members $15; youth $10. ArtinSandpoint.org.

November 18, check out Flies, Films and Foam.

The Panhandle Chapter of Trout Unlimited hosts a great lineup of films from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at MickDuff’s Beer Hall, 220 Cedar St. This free film event (suggested donation of $5) is a fundraiser for the Pend Oreille Water Festival. Test your Bull Trout IQ and win raffle tickets and other items! Visit PanhandleTU. org for full details and a list of films. Tickets are not required, but organizers advise arriving early to secure a good spot! 208-290-3545 The weekend beginning November 22 kicks off two area traditions. On the 22nd don’t miss Holly Eve, a holiday fashion show and gala benefit for the Panida and Festival at Sandpoint with champagne, hors d’oeuvres and entertainment. It’s held this year in the Bernd Building on First Ave. 208263-9191 Then, from November 22-30, it’s the K&K Thanksgiving Fishing Derby, Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club’s annual fall fishing contest.

LPOIC.org. 208-448-1365 On November 29, check off your Christmas shopping list with the Bonner County 4-H Holiday Bazaar and Craft Fair. It takes place from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Sandpoint V.F.W. Hall. 208-263-8511 From Dec 4 through 6, mark your calendar for the annual Kinderhaven fundraiser, the Festival of Trees. Sandpoint Business and Events Center hosts three-day event including Family Night for the community Dec. 4 with decorated trees, music, cookies and Santa; Holiday Luncheon Dec. 5 with silent auction; Gala Dec. 6. Proceeds benefit Kinderhaven. 208-610-2208

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page 14

The Hawk’s Nest Ernie Hawks

“The girls need a tree house,” Linda said, the girls being two granddaughters ages four and one. It made me think about what I had as a child and the realization of how fortunate I had been.

The playground equipment in my yard consisted of a frontier fort, a fire engine,

an airplane, a battle ship, and a big piece of machinery that could do anything from move mountains to create huge valleys. In actuality there was even more; unfortunately the others have slipped from my mind over the years. But no tree house; in fact there not many trees.

Around the place where I grew up the wilderness was mostly a grain field.

It did provide plenty of adventure, especially when we were over the rolling hills behind the house and out of sight.

I could be on safari, or a pioneer, or just an ordinary cowboy doing whatever was needed that day.

However, back in the yard, all my (our; I was supposed to share) playground equipment was two, four-foot wooden crates that someone had disposed of in a barrow pit close enough to haul home, and a pallet. One crate was set on the ground; over it was the pallet and the second box placed on top. A hole was cut (smashed) in the side of the lower one for an entrance and another hole was cut (broken) in the pallet for access to the upper story. In addition to the equipment I had available for my playing experience, I had as much imagination needed for any fun activity.

One afternoon little bro was in his submarine in the lower crate sinking Nazi Germany’s ships while I was fighting an

How Playgrounds Grow or The Case of the Out-of-Control Grandparents inter-galactic war from the upper and big sis tried to get both of us out of her Hollywood mansion.

Then we all grew up and the playground exists only in our memories, but they are fond memories. Who knows where those crates disappeared to?

So now there are small kids visiting our place on a regular basis and they need a playground. In spite of the woods around the house and all the lakes nearby, we wanted to build them something in the yard.

One problem Grandma and Grandpa have is controlling their imagination when designing a structure. After Grandma suggested the tree house, it became clear it needed to encompass most of the trees in our woods.

To start with, it would need a slide and a swing. Two trees just the right distance apart were selected to create a deck high enough for an eight foot slide. One of those trees and another were perfect to hang a swing between. The deck was built and the slide was put in place. This was cause for another problem: getting up to the deck. We didn’t want to have a ladder over five feet long so another deck was hung between two other trees but only a couple feet above the earth. From there a ladder was made out of some old poplar branches that have been drying in a shed.

A Lodgepole pine was cut for a top railing and posts of the upper deck with more poplar and pine branches making the balusters.

Cord wood rounds of different sizes became steps up to the lower deck.

I remembered walking Alice, the four year old, along a sea wall watching her jump from pier to pier. To provide that in North Idaho, several short logs were set vertically in the ground, allowing an elevated path by hopping from one to another.

When the girls arrived for the first time and saw it, Alice looked with big eyes and said, “Is this playground for me?”

“It is for you and your baby sister.” If I had to share mine she has to share hers.

Between lunch and dinner it had evolved from a playground to a princess palace to a pirate ship all sitting in the trees in our yard.

Lucy crawled up onto the lower deck and walked around on it. I took her over to the slide and let her ride down part way. She had a big grin and loved playing in the dirt at the bottom.

It is a bit of an upgrade from two crates and a pallet and it will be fun to see how Alice and Lucy play and what all it will become. Grandma and Grandpa still have some work to do since the two decks do not have a tree house. Alice seems to be happy with what is. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa are the ones who need the tree house. There could also be a swinging bridge to other trees and the house, and there is a need for a fireman’s pole and a zip line and a……

Ernie Hawks is the author of “Every Day is a High Holy Day; Stories of an Adventuring Spirit”

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November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page 15

Politically Incorrect

Trish Gannon

A month or so ago, a nicesized group of people who live in Clark Fork and its surrounding areas walked or drove on a beautiful, autumn evening to the Senior Center for a public hearing. The subject was the building of a center along the highway that will offer karate and yoga to area youth and adults. It had been a contentious subject for the last year, given that Iris Demauro, the owner/developer of the project, planned to build a dome structure, and needed the city to vacate an alley located in the middle of—and dead-ending on—her property. The community was mostly there in support of the project, and city council was there to hear the community’s opinion, after a good, long time of the community asking to be heard.

At the end of the hearing, the council couldn’t resist a little snark. “Thank you all for showing up,” they said, and then the zinger (paraphrased): “We sure wish you’d bother to show up for all our meetings.”

Actually, of course, that’s the last thing they want, because one of the realities of the political process is that people tend to show up en masse only when you’ve managed to piss them off—generally by acting in a way opposite to what they would have chosen themselves. Yes, it would be nice if those affected would show up to city council meetings—and to county commission meetings, planning

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Honestly, no one’s got the time for all that, which is why we’re generally happy with our representative democracy—as long as you actually represent our interests. It’s when you don’t that we tend to show up.

I sympathize with that desire to give in to a little malicious sarcasm, though. I’ve been there myself when, after spending great amounts of time trying to determine the best course of action, someone shows up out of the blue to tell you that’s not what they want at all. It’s human to feel frustrated, but it’s foolish to act on that frustration. Because if people show up to tell you they don’t at all agree with the direction in which you’ve been moving for quite some time, then the person to blame is staring right back at you when you look in the mirror.

Here’s a rule I set for myself a long time ago: if you want someone to ride on your train, then it’s up to you to convince them why they should. No excuses.

The first time I put that rule into practice was with the passage of a levy for Bonner County Schools back in... when was that, 1994? 1995? For those newer to the area, the schools had not passed levies for a very long time—and it showed. Back then the school district covered the entire county and, in support of passing a levy, I went to meetings and knocked on doors from Priest Lake to Oldtown, Clark Fork to Sandpoint, Sagle to Cocolalla. I crawled onto the rooftops of every single school building, video camera in hand, to document for people exactly why we needed to replace roofs on the buildings. (And I will never forget the lovely little pine tree growing out of

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the roof of Priest Lake Elementary.) It was a lot of work, but it was important work, because I wanted everyone to ride on my train. And you know what? They did. That levy passed, and it marked a turnaround in public support for our schools that has continued through to this day.

It wasn’t just my effort that made it happen—there were a lot of people I worked alongside who were doing the same things, making sure that residents had the same information we had (therefore hopefully reaching the same conclusions), and going to them to make sure they had it.

That’s how politics should be, and that’s how it almost never is, even though now, a decade after those long, long levy meetings, there’s much less of an excuse for any political body not to be reaching out to each and every one of their constituents. The Internet has put free publishing into the hands of the masses, there are numerous public venues to frequent, and there’s always foot leather.

Some political groups and politicians are already doing this. They’re hosting weekly coffee klatches, writing blogs, maintaining Facebook pages, speaking on or hosting local radio shows. They want to represent the people and recognize they cannot do it if they don’t know what the people want, and do nothing more to find out than hold their constitutionally required regular meetings.

This is not meant as a slam at Clark Fork’s council. Like I said, the snark is a normal human response and one engaged in by most political groups at most times.

But ultimately, it’s counterproductive.

If you want to adequately represent a population, you have to know what they want. You can find out what that is by waiting for them to come to you—or you can make the effort to go to them.

1 mile north of Big R on Hwy. 95 www.CedarsofIdaho.com

CALL TOM! 1-208-263-1208

facebook/CedarsofIdaho

Page 16 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06|November 2014

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Wisdom

The very name speaks its importance: Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom. For a thousand years, this cathedral stood as the largest in Christendom as it overlooked the flowing waters of the Bosphorus in the great city of Constantinople. Beneath its domed ceiling worshippers were reminded for centuries of the wisdom of God through icons, scripture, and liturgy.

The cathedral became a mosque in 1453 when the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. The mosque became a museum in 1931 under the newly established secular Republic of Turkey.

And Constantinople became Istanbul, still a great city on a southeastern edge of Europe.

Did my ponderings of wisdom first happen in Hagia Sophia during a youthful visit years ago? Doubtful. Perhaps ponderings of wisdom are something for those in the second half or even final third of life. More likely.

At a surface level, wisdom is about knowledge gained from life experience or about good sense and judgment. But, when we reflect more deeply on wisdom, its varied sources and meaning are so much more.

Ancient texts from the Old Testament guide me. In the book of Proverbs, Lady Wisdom shares, “Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” (Proverbs 9:5-6) What does it take in 21st century America to “walk in the way of

insight?” Does it take a barrage of daily information, some factual, some twisted, received from the Internet, television, newspapers, magazines, or the clutter which floods our mail boxes? Or, does it take time away in quiet prayer or meditation to discern our way forward?

The insight of family elders guides me. My grandmother lived to be 98 years old. In her final decades, she shared the wisdom of her life by example and by word. She taught of loving family relationships, of humor, and respect for all living things. My mother lived to be 87 years old. She taught determination in the face of great challenges, lifelong learning, and care for others. (Curious, these two wonderful elders in my life were women.

Lady Wisdom speaking across the ages?)

And, contemporary religious leaders guide me. Benedictine Sister Joan Chittister in her prolific writings teaches me about simplicity, justice, and “listening with the ear of your heart.”

She is the one who reminds me that the meaning of life is not about “doing,” but “about being—being caring, being interested, being honest, being truthful, being available, being spiritual, being involved with the important things of life, of living.” Eagle Man (Ed McGaa), a tribal member of the Oglala Sioux, teaches me that “each winged, four-legged, and finned creature has a meaning to convey” that can benefit our “two-legged lives.”

In sharing his insights of Nature’s Way, he has opened my mind to native wisdom

Gary’s Faith Walk

Gary Payton

as we face shared challenges in our world today.

In October, I journeyed to Vancouver, BC, to listen to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. When I hear or read the words of the Dalai Lama, his teaching resonates. “We have to recognize that we live in a world that is interdependent.

What effects others effects us too.” And, in response to a question about a single idea worth spreading, he replied “The oneness of humanity; the equality of all human beings as members of one human family. The importance of overcoming the division into “us” and “them.”

In my faith walk, I have gained much from the wisdom of others. I have learned from the holy and from the common. The greater task, however, is not just to learn, but to incorporate the wisdom into the living of each day. And so, the journey continues.

“Ernie Hawks has the gift of sharing his wilderness experience and spiritual insight in a way that nourishes the soul of his readers. This is more than a collection of adventures. It is a book of spiritual inspiration.”

Marilyn Muelbach, former Chair of Unity Worldwide Ministries

Every Day is a High Holy Day available on Amazon.com or ask for it at your local bookstore

“There are enough areas in our life that need examining to ensure that this book will provide a positive reminder of what they are, and maybe how we could be finding ways to put them in a positive perspective.” John B. Moss, Amazon review

“WHY DO WE LIKE THIN SKINNED WATERMELONS, BUT NOT THIN-SKINNED PEOPLE?”

AVAILABLE NOW AT LOCAL BOOKSTORES, OR AT AMAZON.COM

November 2014| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06| Page 17

Come Home for the Holidays

Downtown Sandpoint kicks off the holiday season with a tree-lighting ceremony at Jeff Jones Square on Friday, November 28 from 5 to 7 pm. Holiday entertainment and hot cider is provided as you wait for Santa to arrive at 6 pm. Enjoy a little magic in downtown Sandpoint as the town comes alive for the holidays.

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce invites area residents to come out and enjoy “Santa on the Cedar Street Bridge” on Saturday, November 29 from 11 am to 2 pm. Bring the kids to visit Santa Claus and stop by Creations on the Bridge to create your own free holiday ornament.

From everyone downtown, here’s to a peaceful and joyous holiday season.

Photo by Gary Lirette Page 18 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06|November 2014

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This being November (the month we as a nation have collectively set aside to give thanks for all the stuff we have, but in such a nifty way that it gets us even more stuff the very next month), I’ve decided to chew on the yearly “wish list” we all send to North Pole elves in charge of such things. Why we trust our economy with these people is beyond me!

Ever since the first time I grabbed a crayon and carefully scrawled a “Dear Santa, I sure do wish I had a such’n such…” note, I’ve noticed subtle, sometimes startling, changes in content, not to mention results!

That very first one only itemized three things, badly misspelled with some characters even heading in the wrong direction. It also assured ol’ Santa I had been good enough all year to receive most if not all of ‘em. They were, “Rollur Scats,” “An a Trysikel,” An a “Secyurity Gard to protect my tiny nose from the swift and evil knuckles of my intolerant brother’s retribution.”

Results: Tinker Toys, a Joe Palooka Bop Bag and a bent nose for failing to let go of it in time.

The incongruity did not entirely escape my notice! That, along with changing desires and hat size, prompted a rewrite the following November to read: DEAR Santa, pay attention, as this is even more important than last year’s prayer! #1- a ‘top grain’ cowhide fielder’s mitt. #2a new bike, any male version will do. #3- a first-aid kit for my nose!

Results: pajamas, a complete Cape Canaveral Launch Pad set (ah, the Mercury years!), and another bent nose to

Scott Clawson

acresnpains@dishmail.net curb my stinginess.

Despite nosebleeds and watery eyes, I could still see subtle differences between my original order form and the actual shipment. In response, my third requisition to the ‘God of Gifts’ reflected a different tack I’d recently stumbled upon in a desperate ploy to save my olfactory from the ability to permanently smell around corners: reverse psychology. This didn’t work all that well on behalf of my nose (just a bigger smirk on my brother’s face) but I was almost positive he wasn’t Santa anyways and therefore it was worth a shot. List #3 consisted of: P.J.’s, three lumps of coal or one can (no more) of creamed peas and pearl onions (with which I would happily share), and a shiny new bent nose!

Results: a new ‘Sunday go to meetin’ suit’, a big tube of Lincoln Logs, and a promissory note for a shiny new bent nose, to be delivered at shipper’s convenience when least expected, desired or deserved.

In desperation, I fired off my first ‘follow-up note’ to the ‘Big Guy in Red’. It asked succinctly, even for a seven-yearold, if his mailroom had some kind of drinking problem.

By the next go-round, I was eight and change and had absorbed some of my almost-teenaged brothers’ worldly ways.

Neatly penciled but with spelling still an issue, I put in for, #1- an “Erection Set,” #2- a camera, #3- a German Shepherd attack dog trained to detect and defend against nose atrocities from any source whosoever.

Apparently my follow-up letter of

the previous session had actually struck a chord in the mail room as the bill of lading read out: an Erector Set (with the ‘or’ underlined in red crayon), a Kodak “Brownie” with three rolls of film, and two pairs of boxing gloves to be shared (of course!), causing more bent noses than even I could appreciate!

My reply, now automatically submitted, was heartfelt! It read, “MUCH BETTER (although not yet perfect)!

Keep the little guys sober, okay?” In a postscript, I promised a full set of black and white glossies, profiling my increasingly puggish nose, would accompany next year’s requisition form.

Meanwhile, an arms race was escalating in my covey of roustabouts and in response, I submitted as my #1 choice the next year, along with an actual picture advertisement (to avoid any confusion), a Hubley “Rifleman’s Rifle.” Second on that list was a chemistry set, complete with a set of step-by-step instructions and everything necessary to formulate the antidote for canned peas and pearl onions. Third- a mean left hook and/or a black belt in Karate.

Results: (and I wish I still had it) a genuine gold-plated Hubley “Rifleman’s Rifle” with a thousand rounds of ammo (caps), a lifetime supply (12 oz.) of canned peas and pearl onions, followed eventually by a belt to the nose. I sensed that a bottle of hooch had been snuck back into the mail room but let it go due primarily to my having so much fun imitating Chuck Connors to my fellow

roustabouts.

In different variations, this went on until my sibs went in the service and I no longer needed to worry so much about my nose. I had other things to worry over, such as how to attract the opposite sex, who, up until I started shaving, I’d considered a completely separate species of animal requiring a wide berth and rapt attention.

By my eleventh list, I’d gone from requesting toys to useful ploys, boyhood blisses to things associated with adolescent kisses!

“Dear Santa,” it read, “PLEASE!!! My life depends on the following items! Wire rimmed glasses to replace the “Buddy Holley Look” I currently peer through. Follow that with all of the following items at your disposal: a bottle of “High Karate” after shave, “Beatle Boots,” Nehru Jacket, sideburns, mustache, a deeper voice and most importantly, convince my old man that “whitewalls” belong on cars, NOT above my ears!

Results (and here again, an indication of trouble in the mailroom): clip-on sunglasses, a bottle of “Old Spice” and the ultimate “not-to-wear-item” of 1968, a homespun zip-up sweater jacket with a big horse head on the back! Oh yeah, and a new set of ‘whitewalls’!

“A review of the previous twelve months showed that I was: not responsible for the war in Vietnam, Ladybird Johnson, the “Hippie Movement” or higher taxes, and that, in fact, I’d been pretty darn good all year (despite rumors to the contrary)!” This I sent up north in my thank you note, as well as some contact information I’d found on AA. This came back to haunt me a few days later when my ol’ man handed it back and passed on a verbal request from the local postmistress to, in her own adroit verbiage, “Grow the hell up!”

Vowing, “NEVER!,” I still send an annual requisition up north just to see what happens. Last year’s, and the previous several, simply implied the need for: #1- more time, #2- less pain and #3an honest government. You’d think I’d learn.

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www.IntermaxNetworks.com Page 20 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 23 No. 06|November 2014

2014 Christmas Fair December 6 • 9 am to 4 pm Bonner County Fairgrounds • Fair open 9 am to 4 pm • FREE Admission • FREE Parking • Food • Live entertainment

Experienced Crafters or Inspired by Pinterest - Sign up Today!

Display your creative talent and/or products with a vendor table ($9) or an 8x8 booth ($18) plus 10% commission. To This annual event provides a great reserve your space, opportunity to do your holiday shopping under one roof, featuring registration and Date: December 7, 2013 unique gift items from local payment must Where: Bonner County Fairgrounds craftspeople and artisans. received no Time: 9:00 a.m.be – 4:00 p.m. later than Nov. 24.

Prizes will be awarded to the Best Decorated Table In 2013, display your creative talent and/or products at the Registration forms and Booth in each of the following categories.

8th Annual Christmas Fair. In 2009, we extended the vendor online spaceare into the South on Wingour with over 100 vendors.

Facebook page or * Most Festive SCHEDULE: stop by our office 5:00 p.m. -8:00 p.m. Set-up for vendors, 12/6/2013 * Most Informational at the 7:00 a.m.

-8:30 Fairgrounds. a.m. Set-up for vendors, 12/7/2013 9:00 a.m. p.m. Christmas Fair Open for Shoppers Call-4:00 208-263-8414 * Best Overall 4:00 p.m. -6:00 p.m. Break down, settle commission, and

2013 Christmas Fair • Visit with Santa from noon -2 pm

Vendors: Prizes will be awarded to the Best Decorated Table and Booth in receipts presented these categories: Most Festive, Most Informational, and Best Overall

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Company Name: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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