The River Journal May 2010

Because there’s more to life than bad news

A News MAGAZINE Worth Wading Through

Over 100 Local Years of the Great American Pastime

Local News • History • The Game Trail • Politics • Food • Other Worlds • Wellness • Humor • Events

May 2010 | FREE | www.RiverJournal.com

May 2010

The Town that Doesn’t Exist (p. 2), Master Gardeners (p. 4) America’s Pastime (p.5), Historic High Bridge (p.7)

Departments Editorial 8.........News Briefs 12-15.....Outdoors 16.........Food 18.........Politics 20-21.....Other Worlds 22.........Faith 23.........Education 24.........Wellness 25.........Veterans’ News 26.........Obituaries 27.........Humor

9 Love Notes Uplifting Forces 11 Currents Whiners and Liars 17 Politically Incorrect Odd food combinations 19 The Hawk’s Nest Spring Cleaning 23 The Scenic Route Driving home 28 From the Mouth of the River The best cuppa Joe

Cover: The Sagle ball team circa 1940s. L-R back row is Carl Quass, Ken Reed, Steve Sommers and Joe Shear. Jimmie Ferguson is front row, right. Other men are Oscar and Harp Turnbull, Floyd Cheek, Carley Olson and Frank Jacobson. Photo courtesy Bonner County Historical Society. Photo inset: Tyler Cochran pitches for the Nationals, coached by his grandpa, Dwight Sheffler who, along with his father and grandfather, also played on Sagle’s team. Photo by Misty Grage. See story on page 5.

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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

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

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Cartoonists Scott Clawson, Matt Davidson

Regular Contributors

Desire Aguirre; Jinx Beshears; Scott Clawson; Sandy Compton; Marylyn Cork; Dick Cvitanich; Duke Diercks; Idaho Rep. George Eskridge; Lawrence Fury; Dustin Gannon; Matt Haag; Ernie Hawks; Herb Huseland; Lt. Cary Kelly; Emily Levine; Marianne Love; Kathy Osborne; Gary Payton; Paul Rechnitzer; Boots Reynolds; Sandpoint Wellness Council; Rhoda Sanford; Lou Springer; Mike Turnlund; Tess Vogel; Michael White

“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 2010.

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.

The Secret in Your Back Yard This Memorial Day, meet Priest Lake, the town that doesn’t actually exist, and Coolin and Nordman - the towns that do

story and photo by Marylyn Cork As an almost life-long resident of Bonner County, I am baffled sometimes that so many of my fellow citizens know so little about their county as a whole. The Sandpoint area and the east side hardly know the west side, and vice versa. Yet every part of “Beautiful Bonner� has much to offer visitors, and the resort area of Priest Lake is no exception.

Priest Lake at its southern end is about 20 miles north of the city of Priest River, via State Highway 57. Dearly beloved of the locals and eastern Washingtonians, particularly Spokane city dwellers, not many residents of Bonner County as a whole seem to have ever been there. That’s their loss. Priest Lake has the county’s finest sand beaches, water so clear and clean it’s as pristine as any to be found anywhere in the country, magnificent scenery, plentiful wildlife, and beautiful fullamenity resorts.

Many residents of Bonner County don’t even seem to realize there is no town named Priest Lake, even though mail can be addressed there using the Priest River zip code (83856). Two small hamlets, do exist, however, with business establishments and post offices: Coolin on the southeast end of the big lake (83821), and Nordman 11:31:03 AM (83848) onVS_CO-OP.X3.pdf the west side. 4/13/10 There’s an upper Priest Lake, too, but no one lives there. It’s

protected wilderness accessed only on foot or by boat.

Memorial Day weekend would be a great opportunity for anyone looking for a good time to make the acquaintance of the body of water known as “Idaho’s Crown Jewel.� That’s when the Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce introduces the summer tourist season with its annual “Spring Fling� celebration.

The popular event eases into the weekend with a bake sale fund-raiser for the Priest Lake EMTs on Friday, May 28, and kicks into high gear in Coolin on Saturday with a pancake feed, arts and crafts fair, bake sale and quilt show, food and music, and a groomer display.

Noon heralds the Coolin Days Parade, which this year commemorates “Historic Coolin: Gateway to Priest Lake.� The parade will pay homage to the 100th anniversary of the founding of Coolin, and will feature the 1914 Beardmore auto stage that ran from Priest River to the lake, beginning in 1914. (Horse stages were in service earlier.)

Beardmore’s ancient White vehicle has been restored by the great-grandsons of timber entrepreneur and Priest River businessman, Charles Beardmore, who owned it.

The museum Idaho historian Keith Peterson has called “the best little museum

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in Idaho run entirely by volunteers� also opens on Saturday at Luby Bay on the west side of the lake. However, the museum’s 20th anniversary open house, hosted by the Priest lake Museum Association, will be held in Coolin Saturday afternoon at the Old Northern Inn bed and breakfast.

Sunday’s events will continue the pancake feed and arts and crafts fair at Coolin, but some of the events will move to the west side. Live music and good food will be available at resorts and restaurants all day. At 3 p.m., the Priest Lake Chamber of commerce will hold a silent auction and wine and cheese social at Elkins Resort at Nordman. A buffalo dinner is scheduled to follow at 5 p.m., and then a really big affair, the 17th Live Charity Auction, will take the stage. Reservations, however, are required.

The auction raises thousands of dollars each year for Priest Lake charities and endeavors.

The Priest Lake Museum will be open both Saturday and Sunday—the summer season at the lake runs from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor day—and is a mustsee for anyone interested in history. It is one of Priest Lake’s most amazing success stories.

Plans to establish a museum at Priest Lake began in 1979 when Doug Urquhart, a longtime friend of the lake, now deceased,

Continued on next page

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Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

2010 PRIEST LAKE SPRING FESTIVAL Memorial Day Weekend •

• • •

“The best little museum in Idaho...” donated $300 to begin the task of preserving and protecting the area’s history. Lois Hill and GG Fisher began organizing volunteers, collecting artifacts and designing displays.

Hill and family own and operate the nationally known Hill’s Resort, next door to the museum at Luby Bay. Lois and her son, Scott, are still active in the work.

Priest Lakers, who include a large volunteer pool of summer people, got together, and in 1990 the Priest Lake Museum and Visitor Center opened its door in a picturesque log cabin on the lakeshore. The structure was constructed during the Great Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps and was made available by the Panhandle National Forest, which had entered into a partnership with the museum association the previous year. According to spokesmen for the association, “the former provided the building, the association volunteers do the work of collecting and recording history and keeping the museum open.”

In 1983 a grant from the Association for the Arts in Idaho allowed the museum board to hire a graduate museologist to guide them through a massive photo collection campaign, build traveling exhibits and develop a longrange plan for preserving historical material.

Later grants paid for other projects. Dr. Kris Runberg Smith, a professor of history from St. Louis, Mo., a great-granddaughter of Charles Beardmore, supervised the recording of a number of oral history interviews that evolved into a book, “Voices of Priest Lake.”

The interviews have also been recorded on CD’s that the public can access at the Priest Lake Library.

Donations and grants from many private and public donors provided the funding in 2009 to hire Smith and college intern Brooke Shelman to digitize the museum’s photographs and records, and the Forest Service “helped support intern-related

expenses,” board members said. The board of directors has since approved Smith to research and write a comprehensive, documented history of Priest Lake that she will be working on this summer.

The Priest Lake Museum Association has left no stone unturned in attempting to fulfill its mission. Newsletters keep the lake communities current with plans and projects, and even the students at Priest Lake Elementary School have been involved.

Sixth-graders study their local history, then illustrate its many facets by participating in an art class in which they produce clay “story chains” that are displayed and sold at the museum.

The museum utilizes the building’s limited space superbly by means of pictorial story boards that relate the history of Priest Lake’s explorers and trappers, the Forest Service and Kalispel Indians, moonshiners and homesteaders, loggers and prospectors.

Nor has silent screen film star and producer Nell Shipman been overlooked, she who made movies at the lake in the early 1920s.

Books about lake history are available for sale, and two videos produced by film-maker Scott Hill can be viewed and purchased on CD. “See the Changes” features beautiful photography and music that enhance the historical narrative. The other CD is on the celebrated Continental Mine. A back wall displays a large wooden map created by local residents Jeannie and Vern Melvin, with every point of interest on the lake noted.

Landscaping and site improvement projects are still under way, along with the acquisition of artifacts that can be stored outside on the grounds. One artifact already there, a little road grader dating back to about 1910, greets visitors near the front door and is sure to bring a smile to every face. Admission is free, and you’ll be glad you took the time to visit.

• • • • •

• • • • •

Priest Lake EMT’s Bake Sale at the Visitor Center on Hwy. 57 mile marker 22, Friday, May 28, AM till sold out Saturday, May 29 in Coolin 8 a.m. - Noon Priest Lake Sportsman’s Association Pancake Feed 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Arts & Crafts Fair 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Coolin Civic Center Bake Sale~German Sausage and Sauerkraut Lunch~Quilt Show 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Kaniksu Lions Club Hamburger Stand Live Music~Rick’s Brothers~Priest Lake Grooomer Display Priest Lake Museum 20th Anniversary Open House 1:303:30~Old Northern Inn NOON - Coolin Days Parade “Historic Coolin; Gateway to Priest Lake” People Helping People Auction and Dinner, Saturday, May 29 Elkins Resort 3 p.m. Silent Auction Opens-Wine & Cheese Social, 5 p.m. Buffet Dinner, 6 p.m. 17th Live Charity Auction. Reservations Required Sunday, May 30~In Coolin 8 a.m. - Noon Priest Lake Sportsman’s Association Pancake Feed 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. Coolin Civic Center Bake Sale~German Sausage and Sauerkraut Lunch~Quilt Show 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Arts & Crafts Fair 9:30 a.m. 30th Annual Fun Run - Coolin Corners Art Galleries, Gift Shops,Restaurants, Priest Lake Museum, Lake Resorts featuring Live Music

Sponsored by Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce and Coolin Civic Organization www.priestlake.org

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page

Masters of the

Gardening Universe story and photo by Kathleen Huntley

I just met 18 new friends. Actually there were more, coming and going, but there were eighteen new faces for me to greet.

There were twenty of us all together, but I came with a trusty sidekick so we had eighteen new enriching personalities to enjoy. They were an eclectic bunch of men and women from all over North Idaho and a sprinkling of Montana. Some of them were natives to our area and others just moved here from different places and states. The group was very much like a spring bouquet of flowers and a breath of fresh air. They ranged in every size and shape and came from all walks of life. They gathered here for one focus—worms!

It wasn’t totally the interest in worms that drew us together. It was the interest in dirt. That interest propelled us to spend

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two days a week for twelve wonderful weeks on an adventure I could call nothing but exciting. We started the last week in January and our final meeting was April 15, 2010. What would draw a cross section of the United States to an Extension Office in Sandpoint? To a classroom? In the middle of winter?

The draw was the Master Gardeners Program presented through the University of Idaho. That isn’t where it started though.

The Master Gardener Program actually started in 1972 in our neighboring state of Washington. Their State Agricultural Extension Offices were being overwhelmed with calls about horticulture and their two agents, David Gibby and Bill Scheer, were inundated with plant problems and growing questions. The two agents thought that they might recruit and train people interested in gardening to assist them and their respective communities. The seeds of hope were planted when Sunset Magazine ran an article on the two men that then germinated an initial 600 calls volunteering

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to help. Thus the Master Gardener Program began. Four years later the University of Idaho introduced it and now it blooms in 32 of her 44 counties. Neighboring state of Montana joined the program in 1976.

I just wanted to know how to garden more efficiently and productively. Little did I know that I would be steeped in researched, science-based practices for home horticulture. It just wasn’t the neighbor, who often is very knowledgeable, telling me to spray with tobacco tea for a particular bug (it worked), but fully accredited PhDs in Entomology, Plant Biology, Diseases and Pesticide Management. No one ‘religion’ was preached but all topics were covered from Organic Gardening to Sustainable Vegetable Culture. And yes, the composting worms were fascinating. I didn’t know I didn’t know so much about gardening and yet I had been at it from the original Victory Gardens. My elementary school in Los Angeles (yes Los Angeles) had a vegetable garden with each class being assigned a section for growing. We even contributed to our own cafeteria lunches.

After completion of the Master Gardener course each member is then required to continue for an additional 24 hours in a Plant Clinic that is open to the public. You can bring in your sick plants to the Plant Clinic located behind the Extension Office at the Fairgrounds any Tuesday or Thursday from 9-3 and we will try to identify the problems and give you some suggestions for more successful gardening.

The new buzzword is Sustainable Living and that starts literally at the ground level.

I’m sure Mr. Gibby and Mr. Scheer would both be proud of their accomplishment.

Currently 30 states are involved in this program. We are assisting our communities and enriching our own lives and soil. I came away enriched not only by my newly acquired knowledge but also by the people I look forward to working with in the future.

Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

The American Pastime

Remembering when “community” was another word for baseball in the Pacific Northwest

by Trish Gannon The email came just as I was transitioning from the school yearbook to this issue of the River Journal and it knocked me loose from my moorings for most of a day.

“This may be somewhat of a long shot, but I’m wondering if you can help me?” it began. Gary, based in Glasgow, Scotland, is a writer interested in baseball players during war time—World War II to be specific. He had come across a story of the death in 1948 in the Clark Fork River of a 26-yearold catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Bobby Lenn. Other information made him wonder whether a couple of other Lenn boys who played in the minor leagues might be Bobby’s brothers. As Bobby’s boat had capsized in the river near Heron, Gary wondered if I could help.

Don’t tell my kids, but when I’ve told them all these years that I know everything, I’ve been lying. One of my better skills, however, is knowing how to uncover information and, as an amateur genealogist, I had some good ideas for how to learn about people back in the 1940s. And with the Internet, I could learn much of it quickly.

By day’s end I was able to report to Gary that the Lenn family, who moved to the Noxon area in the ‘40s, included four brothers: Bobby, Wayne, Edwin and Kaye.

Bobby, Wayne and Edwin all did, indeed, play minor league baseball and Kaye, the youngest, played football for the Montana Grizzlies. Kaye graduated Noxon High School around 1945. All four boys served their country in World War II: Bobby, Edwin and Kaye in the army, and Wayne in the Army Air Corps. Their father, Oscar Dean, himself an army veteran of World War I, was

a telegraph agent for the railroad and, prior to moving to Noxon, the family had lived in Polk Co., Florida. There were two sisters, as well, Shirley and Marian.

Oscar, it seems, stayed in Montana; he’d moved here for his health and he lived another 20 some years after arrival. He died in 1964 and, I’m told, is buried in the Heron Cemetery, along with his son. Wayne and Edwin left the area to settle in Wake Co., North Carolina, before moving on in the mid-fifties to Culpeper, Virginia, where they were joined by Kaye. The three spent the remainder of their lives in Culpeper, living as bachelor farmers and building a rather fantastic boat, the Lord Culpeper, that they sailed to Florida, and then to the Caribbean.

Edwin died just last month, but Kaye and Wayne are still there in Culpeper, and we had a nice conversation on the telephone, though Kaye, it must be admitted, was a little surprised that someone would be calling today about what happened all those years ago.

Shirley also passed a few years back, but Marian is still living in Los Angeles with her daughter, who’s an attorney.

“Wow!” was Gary’s response. “The mystery for me now is how they all got into pro baseball, as they seem to have grown up in Heron?”

Well, they didn’t grow up in Heron. The older boys grew up in Florida and graduated high school there, and that’s where they became involved in baseball. But their involvement in the minor leagues would hardly be surprising even if they had grown up in this little corner of the woods, because what Gary didn’t know was that baseball

in this area was big. Really big. Every little town had a team, and baseball games were one of the major social activities for the people living here. The sport was truly America’s pastime, especially in the first half of the century.

Baseball, for those who didn’t know, was (and is) divided at the professional level into majors and minors. The top tier is the majors, of course, and the minors are divided into several leagues under that, starting with Triple A and going down. They called ‘em the farm leagues, because that’s where the top tier “farmed” for players, though I think the fact that most of these boys were farmers—at least, prior to the war—probably suggested the name.

This area had dozens of baseball teams, some from communities like Morton (out on the Dufort Road), that don’t even exist anymore. They weren’t all a part of the minors, but a skilled player certainly had the chance to move toward that top tier, potentially achieving the dream of reaching the major leagues. Leon Cadore did it. A graduate of Sandpoint High School, he was a pitcher in the minor leagues from 1915 to 1924, and shares a record for the most innings pitched in a minor league game—26—in the 1920 game between the Brooklyn Robins and fellow record holder Joe Oeschger’s Boston Braves. Sportswriter Hugh Bradley described him thusly: “Leon Cadore, a foxy fellow on Brooklyn, used to wear a piece of sandpaper on the side of his pants. Or so his opponents claimed.”

That baseball dream, by the way, wasn’t to make big money, because in those days, Continued on next page

Democracy is not a spectator sport

Although I am running unopposed in this spring’s primary election, I would like to encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote. Thank you for your continued support.

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May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page

Baseball- Continued from page

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baseball players weren’t well paid. Even the legendary Babe Ruth, it must be remembered, still had to work in the coal mines during the off season.

Major league ball, however, didn’t make it any further west than St. Louis prior to World War II. On the West Coast (the west “half ” would be more accurate), the minor leagues were the top tier; and we had our own minor league team right here in the little town of Sagle.

It was the Sagle ball team for years, though it time it would become known as the Sagle Yankees. Dwight Sheffler, who now coaches his grandson’s Little League baseball team, says his father and grandfather both played on the team, as did he and his brother Dwayne. “Baseball was everything,” he said of this sport that reigned supreme from the time Idaho first became a state through, at least, the late 1960s. “It defined a community.

There was baseball in the summer, and the Grange Hall in the fall, winter and spring.”

From Noxon to Clark Fork to Sagle, Sandpoint to Colburn to Bonners Ferry, towns fielded teams and boys and young men played; older men coached and cheered while women cooked and supported their men. In the ‘30s, radios became ubiquitous and when not playing themselves, fans gathered to hear broadcasts and made stars out of players like Bob Feller, Joe Dimaggio, Lefty Grove, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig and, of course, the Babe himself.

Baseball had the benefit that it could be played anywhere, at any time, and with just about any materials: any stick could become a bat, anything small enough with just a little bit of heft could become a ball. Just two people could play a game, though it became a lot more fun when you could rope in a few friends.

“Official” games were community events, a time for socializing with the neighbors and catching up with what was going on in their lives. Most brought food, and stayed to eat after the game was over.

It was a game of proximity—you played, or supported, the team closest to where you lived. Kids didn’t “choose” a favorite team, they were born into one, and their team identified who they were.

“Baseball was what we did once we got

our chores done,” explained Dwight. The community turned out for games, whether to play or to watch, and for picnics after.

Through the off season, there were dinners and dances at the Grange Hall. “It was not your choice to belong,” he said, “it was your obligation. It was part of being able to say you were from Sagle.” Or Hope, or Colburn, or Kootenai.

At a recent practice with his grandson on the field in Sagle, he reminisced about growing up in the house next door to it (it doesn’t exist anymore), and reflected that there wasn’t one single inch of that field he hadn’t stepped on.

But, he added, “communities changed and different things took the place of baseball.” Television was the new ubiquity, and families found entertainment right in their own living room. Travel became easier and, eventually, little boys (and girls) became more interested in electronic toys than in going out to toss a ball around with Dad or Grandpa. Community teams disbanded and, some might say, something was lost that never should have been.

But not completely. Although not at the same level, kids still play ball and dads (and moms) still coach. Fans gather to watch. Little League has baseball games going on now at fields all over the county, and Sandpoint City Rec softball is getting ready to start.

Stop by a game and experience America’s Pastime firsthand or, if you’re an old baseball fan, visit and remember what it was like.

Oh, and during that seventh-inning stretch, if you find yourself mumbling along unsure of the words, here’s a reminder for you: Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd. Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, I don’t care if I never get back ‘cause it’s root, root, root for the home team, if they don’t win it’s a shame. For it’s one, two, three strikes, you’re out, at the old ball game.”

If you’d like to learn more about baseball players in wartime, visit Gary’s website at BaseballinWartime.com. The Sagle Community Hall has a collection of Sagle Baseball memorabilia. And Ann Ferguson at the Bonner County Historical Society and Museum (her grandpa Jimmy is pictured in the Sagle team on the cover) has a wealth of information on Leon Cadore.

Discover it!

www.OnlyInClarkFork.com Events • News • History • Family Albums • Merchants Bulletin Board • Photos • Jobs • Commmunity Calendar

Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

Historic High Bridge

an economic success story

Sanders County commissioners announced a celebration ceremony in honor of the completion of the Historic High Bridge Renovation in Thompson Falls, Mont. The dedication of the newly renovated bridge will take place on Saturday, May 8 at 3 pm on the north side of the High Bridge on Island Park.

The High Bridge was built in 1911 to support construction of the Thompson Falls Hydroelectric Dam. It was the primary route across the Clark Fork River at Thompson Falls until 1928, when a new bridge was built over the river at Birdland Bay. It remained a key link to access for the Cherry Creek area until the early 1970s, when it was closed to vehicular use due to deterioration of the decking. Further deterioration closed the bridge to all use by the late 1970s. It’s the longest bridge of its kind that is still standing. It was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as part of the Thompson Falls Hydroelectric Dam Historic District.

Now, over 30 years after it was closed to use, the bridge has been returned to its former glory and will be officially re-opened as a new pedestrian and bicycle connection between Thompson Falls and the south side of the Clark Fork River. Over the past decade, the county commissioners worked diligently to secure funding for the renovation of this historic structure. And, for the last two-and-ahalf years, a group of citizens from throughout Sanders County have met as a steering committee to assist the commissioners in making this project a reality.

A wide variety of funding was secured for this work, with the primary funds coming from the county’s allocation of Community Transportation Enhancement Program funds, together with funds appropriated under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act. Other funds were secured from a variety of public and private

grant sources. Finally, almost $40,000 was contributed from local residents over the last six months as part of community fundraising effort.

The commissioners are thrilled about the re-open this historic bridge; and they want to recognize all those who contributed their time, effort, knowledge and dollars to the effort; and celebrate the new recreational opportunities that this bridge creates.

Parking will be available in the Valley Bank parking lot (Gallatin St. & Maiden Lane) as well as on street parking at Gallatin Street and Maiden Lane. Once parked, proceed across the Gallatin Street Bridge to Island Park and continue straight on the trail to the Historic High Bridge.

-Katrina Wright

Food, Inc.

How much do we know about corporate food production and the food we eat? The East Bonner County Library District and the Sandpoint Transition Initiative invite the community to learn more at a free showing of the film, “Food, Inc.” on Thursday, May 13 at 6:30 pm. This award-winning, 94 minute documentary was released in 2009 and reveals the hidden costs, environmental impact

Thursday, May 13 6:30 PM Sandpoint Library and unhealthy results of the industrial production of foods. Discussion will follow the film.

“Food, Inc.” is narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser. The film first examines the industrial production of meat and then looks at grains and vegetables, finishing with the economic and legal power of the largest food corporations. The film encourages further discussion and research about the issues raised. There will be information on local options including local food producers and the ability to produce one’s own food.

Water, coffee and tea will be provided.

This is a BYOM (bring your own mug) event. For more information, visit sandpointtransitioninitiative.org, email education@sandpointtransition.org, or call 208-255-1731.

Vote MIKE NIELSEN

Bonner County Commissioner District 2

Let’s stop wasting money Proven Experience & Dedicated Leadership

www.MIKEFORBONNER.ORG mike@mikeforbonner.org

 27 years in law enforcement, mostly at the command and staff officer level  10 years of volunteer service with Priest Lake Search & Rescue  10 years of volunteer fire service ranging from firefighter to chief in Alaska and Idaho  Nearly 4 years as an officer in the USAF  Bachelor of Science, Criminology  A fiscal conservative with a proven track record of finding economical solutions.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Mike Nielsen commissioner, Annina Nielson, Treasurer

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page

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In Brief

GRASSHOPPERS: In response to potential problems with grasshoppers and drosophila fruit fly on north Idaho croplands, the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and the University of Idaho Extension in Bonner County will present Grasshoppers and Other Pests on Thursday May 27 from 6 to 8 pm at the Bonner County Extension office at the Bonner County Fairgrounds.

The program is free, but space is limited, so preregistration is strongly encouraged by calling 263-8511.Those not preregistering may not be admitted due to space limitations.

VIETNAM VETS FOR A CANCER CURE: This year the VVA is branching out on a new endeavor, sponsoring a team that will participate in the Relay for Life, put on by the American Cancer Society. This will be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds on June 4 and 5, 2010.

All of us have been touched by cancer either personally or through our family or friends. The Relay for Life is a national program held in many cities throughout the country. Typically, teams for the relay are assembled four months prior to the relay start date. This allows teams to sign up members and put on fundraisers, which builds momentum up to the day of the relay.

Last year the Relay for Life raised $433,000 nationally. In Sandpoint the relay raised approximately $45,000 last year, and the goal this year is $ 60,000.

If you would like to donate and/or participate please call Jim Murphy at 208627-2784 or email jim2746@gmail.com. The Relay for Life needs your help and support. If you would like more information visit www.

RelayforLife.org. Come join us, you will have a great time.

WINE, STEIN & DINE: Pend d’Oreille Winery and Laughing Dog Brewery both recently won top honors at the Wine, Stein and Dine event in Post Falls. The event was held at the Greyhound Events Center to benefit the Post Falls Education Foundation. Numerous food and beverage vendors were present to compete for medals, showcase their products and raise money for a worthy cause.

The Pend d’Oreille 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon topped the awards with the Best of Show (Grand Champion Medal), first place in the Northwest Wines category and first place for all Cabernets. The 2005 Merlot also earned a first place medal for all Merlots to round out an amazing evening for Pend d’Oreille Winery.

Laughing Dog Brewing’s Rocket Dog Rye IPA took the Best of Show (Grand Champion Medal) for all beers categories and the first place medal for IPA as well as. A bourbonbarrel, aged version of St. Benny’s Labby

Style Ale (Laughing Dog’s fourth anniversary beer) gathered the first place medal for Belgian-style beers. This is the second year in a row that Laughing Dog has taken home the top honors for beers and the third time in the last four years.

BONNER COUNTY PRIMARY VOTING: Absentee balloting for the May 25 primary election is now available at the Bonner County Clerk’s Office. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 am until 5 pm and is located on the third floor of the Bonner County Administrative Office building at 1500 Highway 2, Suite 337.

A ballot marking device is also available at the office to handle the needs of wheelchair bound voters as well as those who are hearing or sight impaired. These machines do not store votes. They are pencils that assist folks in marking their ballots on their own and without outside assistance. The touch screen has audio and Braille capabilities as well as the ability to magnify the ballot. Those with macular degeneration could also be assisted by using the reverse high density resolution of the ballot marking device. These ballot marking devices will also be available in every precinct on election day.

At this time, Idaho does not require anyone to declare their party affiliation prior to obtaining a ballot. Whether voting absentee or at the polls, during the primary election each voter will receive both a Democratic ballot and a Republican ballot.

The non-partisan judicial races will appear on the back side of both ballots. In the privacy of the voting booth the voter will determine which ballot s/he chooses to use. The voter must not use both ballots.

An Application for Absentee Ballot can be found on the Clerk’s election web page located at www.co.bonner.id.us.

Forestry Contest: The 28th annual Idaho State Forestry Contest will take place May 13 at Delay Farms, Inc. in Careywood. Once again, the Forestry Contest will introduce 500 to 600 students from grades 3 through 12 to basic forestry and resource management skills.

There are three courses and contest winners receive awards and cash prizes. The winning Junior and Senior teams also take home a trophy crosscut saw to display until next year’s contest.

This year’s Honorary Chairman is Herman Collins. He is a retired USDA meat inspector, a Navy veteran, and a recipient of the “Demolay Legion of Honor” award. He is the Chairman of Bonner Soil & Water Conservation District, and volunteers his time on the NRCS Resource Conservation & Development Council, the Tri-state Water Quality Council, the Cocolalla Lake Association, and the Pend Oreille Water Festival. He has volunteered in many capacities at the Idaho State Forestry Contest for the past 12 years.

If you’d like to volunteer, call Coordinator Karen Robinson at 208-263-5104 during regular business hours.

Page | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

Love Notes

Uplifting Forces in the Lives of Children Marianne Love

slightdetour.blogspot.com

billmar@dishmail.net

Consider this column the facts, just the facts. Oh, I could rev up my creative juices to convey a very real, ongoing need for people to step up and volunteer in behalf of children, living in crisis-filled, troubled homes.

I could tell sad but true stories about kids as young as 3 years old, acting out and already abusing younger siblings. I could provide statistics like the one I heard at a CASA training session recently from a domestic violence counselor who told the audience she’s worked with 4,000 victims and 4,000 perpetrators of domestic violence in this area alone over the past 30 years.

I could go on and on, but I believe the public is privy to enough media reports about the unfortunate lives many young people experience while in unstable home situations. Sadly, lurid details associated with such cases have become all too familiar every time we turn on the evening news or read daily papers.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, I’d like to touch on some ways that caring individuals from our community can lend a hand and, in turn, become uplifting forces in the lives of children beset by violence, fear and uncertainty.

Thanks to the work of organizations like Kinderhaven, Angels over Sandpoint, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare and a cadre of foster families, I can report that positive stories about great successes of young people from troubled home situations do abound.

Local CASA supervisor Judy Labrie called me recently, asking for help in getting the word out to potential volunteers/donors.

With recent legislative cuts in state programs, the need for volunteerism and community support is greater than ever.

So, if you’re reading this column and would like to contribute something as part of “our village, rearing its children,” maybe you’ll see an appropriate pathway to get started.

Let me cut to the quick.

You can become a CASA volunteer. CASA volunteers monitor and provide an objective voice for children to the court. Their work begins after children involved in unstable, negligent or abusive situations are moved by law enforcement from their homes to the state’s custody, either at Kinderhaven or to foster homes.

Generally, CASA volunteers work on a

team (social workers, judge, etc.), focusing on a specific case for up to a year. The heaviest work load for gathering and imparting information usually occurs during the first month.

Effective volunteers must be openminded, objective and flexible with their time. Some computer skills and access to email are essential. CASA trainers emphasize the need to avoid becoming a “rescuer” or becoming too enmeshed in the lives of the children.

Area volunteers receive training, guidance and support from longtime Sandpoint residents Judy Labrie and Holly Carroll, both highly respected CASA volunteer supervisors and case managers.

Their office is located at 819, HWY 2, Suite 206 in Sandpoint (208-255-7408).

“I tell volunteers in training that you will meet the most amazing people doing this work, from the children, the parents, foster parents, social workers and other volunteers,” Labrie says. “The fact is that most children (65 percent) are reunited with their parents.”

Many advocates like Sandpoint native Patty Murphy, a 2-year CASA volunteer, are parents themselves, and many have prior professional experience with young people.

Murphy has worked with special needs children since her Sandpoint High School days. Her career as an Alaskan educator included teaching K-12 special education, a stint as a special ed. administrator and as a school principal.

“I love being able to shed light on topics for the judge,” she says. “I love it most when I think to look at something that others may not have thought about and sharing that to make the child’s experience better.”

Rhonda Tate, a local business owner with a longtime passion for kids, has also volunteered for two years.

“Probably most rewarding are the comments you get back from people you’re involved with,” she says. “I have kids tell me they love me. I got a Christmas present from one child this year... it goes on and on.

“I have learned a lot about myself since becoming a CASA,” she adds. “I realize that I have something to offer people... can add to other people’s lives... and feel much happier, knowing that I may have helped someone even if it is in a small way.”

Potential advocates go through background checks and are sworn by a magistrate judge after successfully completing ten training sessions. Their education also includes many hours spent shadowing veteran CASA volunteers.

“I have high regard for CASA,” says

Magistrate Judge Debra Heise. “... they conduct their own independent investigations and make recommendations regarding the children’s best interests... they have a high degree of credibility among judges.”

May is “National Foster Care Month” and all the more reason to consider the possibilities, says longtime foster parent Monique Miller. For the past ten years, Miller, a recruiter peer mentor, and her husband Keith Clyde have welcomed numerous children into their rural home north of Sandpoint. They can share phenomenal success stories about each experience.

“We have had children from 4 to 18 years old, with as many as ten children in the house at one time,” she recalls. “Over the years we have had support of our friends, neighbors, community and the Health and Welfare Department.” Foster families also receive monthly reimbursements to help with expenses.

Miller stresses that while foster homes generally serve as a temporary setting for children, licensed parents often have the opportunity to adopt their foster children.

It’s vital for these parents to remember, however, that in each situation, the ultimate goal in any child protective situation is to reunite the children with their birth parents.

Nonetheless, positive connections with the foster parents continue after most children return to their birth homes.

“We have attended many soccer games, 4-H events, plays and recitals. We have celebrated birthdays, holidays and graduations with birth families,” Miller says. “I know it does truly take a village to raise a child.”

Idaho Youth Ranch, through its family services office, supervises licensing of foster parents in North Idaho (208-667-1898).

Applicants must submit to background checks, provide references and information about the home. Prospective foster parents must complete a 27-hour P.R.I.D.E training program. In addition, social workers make three licensing visits to the home.

After licensing is completed, foster families work with the Idaho Dept. of Health and Welfare with placement of children.

Miller says one way for people who’d like to break into the foster system gently is to consider providing a “respite home” where children stay weekends or for just a few days to give other foster parents a break.

Both Labrie and Miller say there’s a critical need for more availability of foster Continued on next page

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page

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Uplifting- Continued from page 10

families throughout geographic areas to lessen the chance of children going through added trauma of having to change schools while living in the state’s custody.

Ways to donate time/money/items. New or gently used clothing can be donated to Kinderhaven (P.O. Box 2097, Sandpoint, ID, 208-265-2236, kinderhaven@verizon.net) or to Love Inc. (227 McGhee Road, Sandpoint, 208-263-6378).

Labrie says it’s sometimes easier to donate gift cards (TJ Max, Ross Dress for Less, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penneys, etc.) so that teens can find clothing appropriate for them.

For youth organizations, cultural activities and sports, Angels Over Sandpoint responds quickly to requests approved by CASA or DHW social workers.

“We have been given funds for sports gear, swim lessons, graduation photos, etc.,” Labrie says. AOS will also accept donations to help kids enroll in art classes, swimming lessons, day camps and 4-H activities. Contact information: 208.597.3670, P.O. Box 2369, Sandpoint, Idaho 83864, AngelsOverSandpoint@ gmail.com.

Labrie also suggests linking up with foster families to learn how they can receive extra support.

“It would be helpful if individual families got more direct community support,” she explains. “They often don’t have extra funds to do social things like go to the movies, provide art classes, etc.”

Finally, organizations such as CASA (1st Judicial District, Idaho CASA Program, Inc., 206 E. Indiana Ave., #208, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814) Kinderhaven and Angels over Sandpoint happily accept financial donations to help cover continuing costs of training, recruiting, supervising, operating costs, etc.

Postscript---Judy Labrie: There is nothing like seeing a parent completely turn their life around to make a safe, stable home for their children. I’ve heard more than one mom thank the judge, in drug court and in the CPA case... if it were not for the CPA case, the parent could not imagine what would have happened without that intervention.

It’s truly an honor to see these critical life changes for the children and their families.

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Page 10 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

Currents

Whiners, Nutters and Wolves Lou Springer

nox5594@blackfoot.net

returning and reintroduced wolves. Sitting in little cramped offices, raising money from know-nothings who live far away ‘to save the wolf,’ a few people have thrown a wrench in the works. They believe that wolves should remain on the federal Endangered Species List.

The majority of environmentalists understand the absolute necessity of balance in the natural world. They celebrate the success of wolf re-population as proof that the Endangered Species Act works. The enormity of this is staggering. In 1936 wolves were all but extinct in Montana, and if seen were shot on sight. In 1974 wolves were placed on the endangered list and could not beAnd shotthey legally.

In 1995/96, 30 breeding don’t have to—after all, pairs don’t were released inbelieve Yellowstone and it’s central we Americans if it’s ours, ours Idaho. Wolves from British Columbia drifted, and we can do with it what we want?

Or unmolested, south into northwest Montana.

The success of wolf re-population meansis and we want then that we Americans can save what hasit,been you have lost to give it to usItand if you don’t, irrevocably in Europe. is a hopeful sign tothen realize our sponsor country isterrorism wild enough its you andandwe’ll citizens generous enough to support wolves, bears,Bylions, andwants mule deer. the elk, way,white China that oil as But for the ESA to continue work, true well.

Remember China?

Thetopeople who environmentalists agree that wolf numbers loaned us all that money?

China’s oil must be managed. Whether you personally consumption is around 6.5 billion barrels want to shot a wolf isn’t the question. The a year, isand growing at goal 7 percent every question howis to meet the of Montana year.

It produces about billiona barrels Fish Wildlife and Parks: to 3.6 maintain viable wolf population thatthis is biologically every year. Does math lookpossible, good to socially anyone?acceptable Can anyoneand othereconomically than Sarah feasible.

Palin and George Bush believe we can Those in of their offices with drill our folks way out thissmall problem?

Anyone pictures of wolf puppies on the wall, and who doesn’t thinkspreading we better hit thefear ground those other folks wolf do running to figure out how to fuel what we not represent any reasonable solution. Most want trust fueled than people thewith statesomething of Montana other to manage oilbig probably deserves to go back an elk, horn sheep, deer, goat, bear, andto lion.

It is reasonable to trust FW&P to similarly manage wolves? Most people, they stop : I if could go to on think about it, are in the reasonable middle. forever, but you’ll quit reading. So one final And if you watch public. out forFirst, my discussion forare thenot, American elbows—I’m tired of being squeezed let’s have true, independent analysis of between theaemotional whining on the left what happened on September 11, 2001. and the manipulative lying on the right.

The official explanation simply doesn’t Council website at tristatecouncil.org. hold water. This is one of those “who knew what, when” questions that must be answered—and people/institutions must

Face to Face Bill Litsinger • Bob Wynhausen 1400 AM KSPT • 1450 AM KBFI

Everything has the potential to be divisive in today’s partisan atmosphere. And I, for one, am sick of it, particularly when it does not need to be. Case in point: return of the wolves.

Knee-jerkers on the left wail, “No, no there aren’t enough wolves to hunt them.”

Nutters on the right spread rumors of health hazards and photos of wolf-mangled carcasses. Where is the middle ground?

I have seen wolves in the wild several times, but the first time, in 1969, is still the most memorable. Our family was living two miles southwest of East Glacier, and there were wagon ruts leading to a deserted They have ‘slipped homestead that we often walked. My fiveyear-old son and I were sitting quietly uphill the surly bonds of of the ruts, spying on a beaver in the little creek below. The wolf—because no dog or earth’ and ‘touch the coyote has legs that long—trotted down the track towards us. face of God.’ The wolf suddenly stopped about 30 feet away. He turned sideways, keeping his face towards us and his tail slowly rose to half-mast. He assessed us. And then he disappeared. Poof, he was gone.

We looked at each other, big-eyed.

“That was a wolf,” I whispered. “Were you frightened?”

“No,” the little boy answered, “The wolf was afraid of us.” He hummed the Peter song from Peter and the Wolf “dum, dum, dudda dum” all the way home. He grew up to be a man who understands true danger—the Bering Sea—and is not fooled by pretend fears.

A pretend fear being circulated by the nutters is the health hazard posed by a particular tape worm that preys on wolves.

In Minnesota and Michigan where wolves— with the same worm—dogs and people coexist, humans have not picked up the tape worm. Only nutters would mistake a pile of wolf poop for a can of Copenhagen.

Misinformation about the origin of the wolves nutrients, in Northwest is being increase suchMontana as nitrogen and spread. Nutters would have us believe that theseThis grey wolves not the real grey septic are pilot project is wolves being that used to live here. A grey wolf is a grey introduced in order to comply with water P.O. Box 949 • wolf is a grey wolf—same species. It could Gas • Convenience Store quality standards as determined by the be that not many wolves were here before Sandpoint, Idaho Speaking of accountability, you might Unofficial Historical Society Federal Clean Water Designated to elk were introduced andAct. habitat improved be surprised to learn that I would not forprotect whitetail, but what wolves there were, water quality, the plan, known as support an effort to impeach President were grey wolves. a “Total Maximum Daily Load” for Lake Oil Changes www.CoffeltFuneral.com Bush after the November elections. First, Knee-jerkers no better.

In California, Pend Oreille, are addresses nutrient issues Tire because that’s too late, and second, Rotation one cello player’s knees were jerking so because more than Bush have been madly that she could not perform in the by appointment In addition, Moon Chapel involved in crimes against the American orchestra’s rendition of many Peter andlakeshore the Wolf homeowners participated a survey because of the indignity to theinwolf.

Some people. What I would like to see are Pinecrest misguided and misinformed groups are in 2007 concerning a variety of water charges (at the least, charges of treason) Cemetery Member by bringing lawsuit As to is stopturns Montana quality aissues. out, Fish, their 208-266-1338 brought against Bush, Cheney, et al. Bring Wildlife and Parks from managing the invitation only Moon Crematory the charges and let’s let the evidence of Worth Wading | www.RiverJournal.com Vol 17 No. 18 |Wading November 2008| |www.RiverJournal.com Page 5 MayThrough 2010| The River Journal - A News| Magazine Worth Through | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 11

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A Bird in Hand

Red-Winged Blackbird Mike Turnlund

mturnlund@gmail.com As I write this, Spring has busted loose in the Panhandle. The swallows have returned, I have already seen my first turkey vulture of the year, and the music of songbirds greet every dawn. But one bird that proves to all doubters that Spring has finally sprung is one of the most common, and noisy, species of birds in our area: the red-winged blackbird.

The distinctive and delightful “gurgling trill kon-ka-reeee” (per the Sibley Guide to Birds) mating call of the male red-wing blackbird is once again wafting through the damp spring air.

And damp is the key word. The redwing blackbird loves swampy areas filled with cattails. This is their preferred mating habitat and what helps to make the red-wing such an interesting and unusual bird. One of my mantras in this monthly column is that even the most common birds in our area are unique and distinctive in so many ways. Commonness in locality doesn’t mean commonness in attributes.

And the red-wing is the poster child for this dichotomy. We might see them everywhere, but they have uncommon characteristics.

But before we explore this, let’s look for field marks to help identify these birds.

The red-wing derives its common name from the male’s colors. The female is neither black nor sports any red. The male is the most distinctive of the pair. He is jet-black in color, from the tip of his beak to the tip of his tail. Even his eyes are black. But you might not notice this, because what stands out so spectacularly are those bright, bright red epaulets he sports on his shoulders. These red flarings are quite distinctive, especially when the male is posing for the ladies.

During the breeding season he can fluff them up and he becomes quite the sight.

Also note how the red is often matched with a parallel yellow stripe below. There is no other bird with this coloration, especially among the cattails. Paired with the mating call described above, you then can make a definitive identification. And once you do, you’ll see and hear them everywhere.

What about the female? She is camouflaged in brown, with a streaky breast. In my estimation she looks like an oversized sparrow, especially with the

brown cap and the white eye line. If she wasn’t hanging with the boys in the ‘tails, you’d think she was a different, unrelated specie. But she is the center of attention in the cattail swamps. And this is what makes the red-wing such an interesting creature: breeding habits.

When we think of songbirds breeding, many of us picture a pair of robins, snug in their nest, raising their brood. Not redwings. The males are Casanovas. Instead of pairing with one female, the male wants all of the females, as many as he can get. And unlike a bull elk or Turkish emir, he is not trying to form a harem, he just wants to love ‘em and leave ‘em. Male red-wings will fight to establish the best and biggest territory in order to attract the greatest number of potential mates. The most aggressive males get the best areas, the losers get the fringes.

Likewise, the females desire the areas best for raising a brood of chicks—they are indifferent to the males that control it. Therefore, the male that dominates the choicest habitat might have a dozen

mates, while those on the outskirts might only have one, if any. Survival of the fittest, or the most lecherous, depending on your perspective.

Males can be very aggressive and spend a lot of energy defending their territories from encouraging males. But you don’t need to be another red-wing to feel the male bird’s wrath. They will also attack other birds, dogs, and people—whatever.

Let’s just call them surly.

So where can you find red-wings blackbirds? Just about anywhere, but sometimes their preferred habitat is not readily accessible to us non-feathered bipeds. A great place to see red-wings in situ is behind Sandpoint Middle School.

There is a very accessible swampy area with a path, near Pine Street Field. Just park in the north parking lot next to the middle school and then move toward the trees. Just follow your ears. Happy birding!

Page 12 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

The Game Trail

Idaho’s First Wolf Season March 31, 2010, marked the end of first wolf season mhaag@idfg.idaho.gov the in Idaho with hunters bagging 185 of the statewide quota of 220.

Only seven of the twelve wolf hunting zones reached their hunting quotas, hardly a slaughter as some predicted. As a matter of fact, the hunt was well organized and hunters showed good compliance with rules and with check-in and call in requirements.

Although the statewide quote was not met, the hunt did succeed in stopping Idaho’s wolf population from further growth.

Hunters bought a total of 26,428 wolf tags in the 2009 season which included 25,744 resident tags and 684 non-resident tags bringing $423,625 into the Idaho Fish & Game spent on wolf tags. Some argue that we are just “lining our coffers” by selling wolf tags. While that amount of money is a large sum to me, it’s a drop in the bucket when you think about the administrative, research, enforcement, and education costs of producing a wolf management plan and conducting a hunt. Once again the sportsmen who hunt in Idaho are putting the dollars up for preserving, protecting, and perpetuating Idaho wildlife for everyone to enjoy.

Roughly 86 percent of the wolves harvested were taken by resident hunters and twelve of the 185 wolves harvested were wearing radio collars. Wolves killed during the hunt ranged in weight from 54 to 127 pounds. No, there was no 200-pound-plus wolf shot in Idaho and I seriously doubt that we have any such critter like that running around in our woods. I received numerous calls from folks inquiring about that monster wolf that never existed. I suppose it’s like an embellished fish story though, part of the hunting and fishing culture.

Of the wolves taken, 58 percent were male, and 15 percent were juveniles less than a year old. Most of those wolves were shot in October and the fewest were taken in January. The largest harvest in any wolf hunting zone was 49 wolves taken in the Sawtooth zone, and the smallest was two wolves in the Southern Idaho zone.

Our wolf zone is considered the Panhandle Zone. Generally that area consists of the St. Joe River north to the Canadian border. As outlined in the Wolf Plan wolf-livestock and wolf-ungulate conflicts in this zone are classified as low, but a potential for moderate levels of conflicts is noted if wolf populations increase. Management direction for wolves in this zone is to stabilize wolf numbers at the 2005-2007 level. The IDFG Commission established a harvest limit of 30 wolves for this zone during the 2009 harvest season initially set for 1 October 2009 through 31 December 2009.

The Panhandle Zone was home to eight documented resident packs, 13 border packs, one suspected pack and two other documented wolf groups during 2009. Six of 13 documented border packs were recorded as Idaho border packs and likely spent some time in Canada, Montana, or Washington.

Ten of 14 documented packs tallied for Idaho produced litters and all qualified as breeding pairs. The reproductive status of four packs was unknown, but did not necessarily mean those packs did not reproduce.

Thirteen wolves were legally harvested from the harvest limit of thirty and four died of other human causes. Because the

Matt Haag

harvest limit was not reached by the end of 2009, the season was lengthened through 31 March 2010 by the IDFG Commission at their November 2009 meeting. No documented or probable wolfcaused livestock losses occurred in this zone, however there were some suspected cases. Twelve wolves were captured by agency personnel resulting in the placement of 10 radio collars.

The planning has already begun and new ideas are surfacing for the 2010-2011 wolf season. Potential changes include allowing hunters to kill a second wolf in certain zones, adjusting season length, changing zone boundaries, decreasing tag fees for nonresidents and allowing hunters to use electronic predator calls.

A coalition of 13 special interest groups filed a legal challenge to the wolf delisting in Federal District Court in Missoula, Montana. Their complaints allege the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population is not recovered and that the delisting violates the Endangered Species Act for several reasons, including challenges to Montana and Idaho’s regulatory frameworks and the assertion that it is not legal to delist only a portion of this distinct population. A hearing date for oral arguments has not been set, but is expected within a few months. Let’s hope things can move beyond courts back to science with proper wildlife management techniques.

It’s that time of year when landscaping and spring clean up around the house need to be done. Everything seems to happen at once because it’s a great time to get out and do some fishing, mushroom picking, or spring bear and turkey hunting. Pry those video games and cell phones out of your kid’s hands and take them out to appreciate our great outdoors.

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May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 13

Land Management

On logging the land Michael White

NorthIdahoLandMan.com mdwhite@coldwellbanker.com

My forest improvement and commercial logging operation on my property is now in full swing. Out with my slow, inefficient work and in with the professionals. They have moved on to my property and begun doing the commercial logging work and will be bringing in a Feller-buncher machine for the thinning work. It is truly amazing how much faster and more efficient they are than an average landowner doing the work himself... duh! Of course, it costs about 50 percent, or more, of the landowner’s profits but using these professionals can also increase the profits (as discussed in last month’s article).

But let’s get down to the specifics of which trees live and which trees go to the mill. As I have mentioned in articles before it is imperative to make sure the trees to be left, are marked by a professional forester or the competent landowner. Yet, I did not do this completely and paid the consequence.

I lost a few trees I wish would have stayed but it was not any fault of the sawyer on the ground. The land manager who is inspecting the logging cannot effectively second-guess the decisions of the sawyer when the tree is on the ground because the crown, defects in the trunk, the lean of the tree, etc can no longer be assessed. So, I assume the sawyer had good reason to make the decision to cut or not to cut. The only way to assure the trees you want left are indeed left is to mark them.

The decisions to cut or leave a tree are complex and the decider must know which trees are subject to what insect or diseases and which are not, how the diseases or insects

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LOST IN THE 50s May 13-16

spread, and how to tell if a tree is infected or if the tree is being affected by a non-pathogen such as mechanical damage, root compaction, nutrition deficiencies or the like. My disease and insect Professor in college used to say, “In order to know an unhealthy tree, one must first know what a healthy tree is supposed to look like,” and as obvious as this sounds, it is a complex observation due to the many, many things which can affect the way a tree looks at any given time or season. Some trees are simply chlorotic (yellowish or lime green) during certain seasons, but in some trees it is a sure sign the tree has a real issue. All evergreens do actually shed their needles, just not seasonally, such as the Cedar which will shed needles that are three or more years old but the majority will stay green.

First, I believe it is important to assess which trees need to be cut due to insect and disease infections and then viable trees to leave can be selected.

Let’s discuss the Scolytus Beetle for instance. This insect kills White Fir, mostly Abies Grandis or Grand Fir. The beetle will kill from the top down so as to maintain its food source for as long as possible, so the brown top is an indicator of this insect. The offspring will not fly away to another tree but instead tend to blow or fall in a downward trajectory to another host. It is nearly impossible but certainly impractical to assess which of the White Fir around an obviously infected tree are also infected but not showing any sign.

The best way to deal with this situation is to cut all the White Fir within about thirty yards or so of an infected tree. So, even if some of these trees look like healthy candidates for leave trees, there is a good chance they will be dead in a year or two while perpetuating the spread of the beetle. It is much better to choose a species other than White Fir to

leave, even if the other species are not as large or attractive.

This same scenario goes for Douglas Fir or Red Fir and the Armillaria Wisteria or root rot which will live in the soil for up to a hundred years with no host trees. The only way to deal with a root rot infection is to cut the obviously infected trees and those around it for some distance, and leave resistant species such as larch, cedar or pine. The root rot has a theoretical spread of about five feet per year, so planning on the spread may be wise, or you may just expect to have good firewood as the years go by.

The spacing of leave trees is important too, as some like to grow far apart and some more tightly, such as the Lodgepole Pine. The aspect of direction the slope faces is also an important part of choosing which trees to leave and which to cut. Generally, the southern slopes prefer well spaced, sun-loving species such as Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine and Larch but the Larch will also do well as the slopes transition towards the north. Of course the Cedar, White Fir, Hemlock and such prefer the northern slopes and tend to do well in a closer spacing.

When choosing leave trees for timberlands, those of medium to larger size which are free of defect are preferred for leave trees but on private property it may be better to leave the bigger, older and even those with some mechanical damage or rot because they will continue to live a long time, provide excellent seed and make good wildlife trees for cavity nesting critters. I could not possibly go into all the species and the pathogens which affect them or the various species and sites which they do best on but the point is, there is much more to choosing leave trees than just marking the pretty, big ones.

THURSDAY, MAY 13 • Rock ‘n Roll Heaven, 7 pm, Sandpoint’s Panida Theater

FRIDAY, MAY 14 • Vintage Car Parade, 6 pm, downtown Sandpoint • Street Dance, after parade, Town Square • Show and Dance, 7:30 pm, Bonner County Fairgrounds

SATURDAY, MAY 15 • Car Show, 9:30 am-3 pm, downtown Sandpoint • Show and Dance, 7:30 pm, Bonner County Fairgrounds

SUNDAY, MAY 16 • Aspirin Rally Run, 10 am, Second Ave. Pizza • Car Rally, 11:20 am, Second Ave. Pizza

TICKETS & OTHER INFORMATION: Sandpoint.org/Lostin50s 208.265.LOST Page 14 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

Marine Patrol

Hypothermia: The cold killer Lt. Cary Kelly

ckelly@bonnerso.org This time of year is, in my opinion, the most dangerous one for boaters in Bonner County because of cold water and hypothermia. The typical boating fatality in our area often involves a small open boat that capsizes in cold water and the occupants either drown or die from hypothermia.

For example, two years ago, at this time of the year, two kayakers capsized off Kootenai shoreline on Lake Pend Oreille with tragic results. One drowned, and a passing boater rescued the other.

Neither was wearing a personal floatation device.

Even if boaters are wearing a PFD, they could die of hypothermia if they cannot save themselves or be rescued within a relatively short period of time. Those not wearing a PFD will usually drown in just minutes if they are not able to get out of the water immediately.

One must remember that while you might be able to stay alive an hour or two in 50 F water, your useful conscious time—that is, the time you have to save yourself—is only a matter minutes. A couple of years ago, in Kootenai County, a boater fell off his boat dockside in cold water and drowned in a matter of seconds.

Even though the air temperature might be warm, our waters are sourced from the winter snow pack and glaciers. Lake Pend Oreille normally reaches a surface temperature of 65 F near the first of July – and 65 F water can lead to hypothermia very quickly. What exactly is hypothermia? It’s is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can be produced causing body temperature to drop below 95 F (normal is 98.6 F). What makes cold water so dangerous is that it robs the body of heat 25 to 30 times faster than air. So, any sudden cold-water immersion is very dangerous. Obviously, getting out of the water is the best course of action, but that option may not be possible. Wear a PFD around cold water to keep afloat and warm. It can help you stay alive longer by enabling you to float without using energy and providing some insulation. Do not swim unless you can reach the shore, a boat, a fellow survivor, or floating object quickly, as swimming lowers your body temperature. Remember the “Rule of 50” which goes something like this: your chances of swimming 50 feet, in water temperature of 50 F, is 50 percent.

The symptoms of hypothermia include shivering, clumsiness, stumbling, slurred speech, confusion, lack of concern about his or her condition, very low energy and loss of consciousness. If a person is exhibiting signs of hypothermia, obtain medical assistance as soon as possible. Remove the person from the cold, remove wet clothing and cover with layers of blankets ensuring that he or she is insulated from the ground. Also, cover the person’s head leaving the face exposed. Warm dry compresses may be applied to the neck, chest or groin. Do not apply heat to the arms or legs as this could force cold blood back toward the heart, lungs and brain, causing the core body temperature to drop—which could be fatal. And do not apply direct heat such as hot water or a heating pad to the individual as extreme heat could damage skin or even cause cardiac arrest.

The bottom line is that cold water is dangerous – very dangerous!

If you are going to be boating in cold water, which we have in Bonner County every month except maybe June, July, August and September, take extra safety precautions to ensure that you do not end up inadvertently in the water. Also, wear a PFD so that if you do end up in cold water, you’ll have more time to save yourself or be rescued. Remember that in North Idaho in the spring and fall, the air temperature may be nice and warm, but the water temperatures are quite cold.

Happy and Safe Boating!

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May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 15

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 16

Politically Incorrect

Read this, and you might never eat again Trish Gannon

trish@riverjournal.com A few months back, Dustin and I were creating ham sandwiches for lunch when I bemoaned the fact we had no regular potato chips… because nothing tastes better than a ham sandwich crammed full of those crispy critters. It got us discussing the odd foods that can sometimes be paired together with surprisingly tasty results. I mentioned to Dustin how in our youth, my friends and I used to dump peanuts into our Coke. He was stunned. I thought everyone did that, but maybe it was just a southern thing. Then he mentioned one of his own favorites, dunking French fries into his Wendy’s Frosty. I was stunned. Yes, French fries with gravy, that I can understand, but in ice cream? Really?!

I recalled that conversation when I came across River Journal columnist Marianne Love’s post on Facebook about her successful planting of garlic and blueberries, which engendered lovely springtime visions in my brain until Cory Meyers—an SHS alum who’s now a photojournalist for an Iowa newspaper—showed up to comment. “Garlic bread with blueberry jam…” he wrote.

“Yum!” When you have an image that awful stuck in your brain, the only thing you can do is try to replace it with another one. So I sent an email to all our River Journal folks to find out what odd, yet delicious, food pairings they would recommend.

Who knew that peanut butter was the one food that seemingly goes with everything?

“When my brothers and I were kids, we ate (and loved) peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches,” offered Sandy Compton. “My dad would add a big slice of Walla Walla sweet to the combo, and the first time I had the guts to try that, I was amazed at how absolutely great it was. Texture, flavor combo, crunchiness factor were all superb. Crunchy peanut butter made it even better. The only trouble was (and it didn’t affect my dad this way), that an hour later, I would be suffering from what I was sure was terminal angina. After a few hours of that, I would swear never to eat one again. ”However, it was a good enough combo that I kept forgetting how bad the reaction was for quite a while, until I finally swore off for good. I haven’t had one in years, but thinking about it now, I’m salivating.”

As I told Sandy, I don’t see anything in that combination that could be responsible

for angina, or even heartburn for that matter, though the vomiting the combination should induce might well cause a few heart flutters.

Marianne herself, though she was silent on the blueberry jam/garlic bread potential, also sees peanut butter as the perfect base to build upon: “Potato chips in peanut butter sandwiches,” she offered, and added, “any flavor except those gawd-awful vinegar or jalapeno combinations.”

Marianne is also a fan of buttery syrup on sausage, but I think just about everyone is so I expect that doesn’t count as an odd combination.

Michael White said, “About as crazy as I get is bananas, honey and peanut butter all mixed up together on crackers or bread.” At first, that doesn’t sound too bad—my father was a big fan of peanut butter and banana sandwiches—but then you have to stop and think about… bananas on bread. Yech.

Idaho Representative George Eskridge is another who builds on a peanut butter base. “Until I got on the weight loss program, I really liked peanut butter, jam and cheese sandwiches. Not good for keeping weight and cholesterol down,” he admitted (after bypass surgery, George is conscious of those issues) but it really tasted good!”

Kathy Osborne agreed with the flavorful combination of fries and milkshake and said she first did that at Connie’s Restaurant when she was a teenager. Ernie Hawks said food combinations take too much preparation, though anyone who’s seen him eat can tell you that he’s willing to ingest things that simply would not appeal to a normal human.

Fascinated (in a truly appalled kind of way), I expanded my food combo pool, and posted the question at Dave Oliveria’s excellent blog for the Spokesman-Review, “Huckleberries Online.” That’s when things started to get really weird (though peanut butter remained popular).

“Back east we eat marshmallow creme and peanut butter,” offered Cis (Gors, of the “From a Simple Mind” blog fame). “It is common, but some out here thought that was weird.”

Really, Cis? Weird? Then she added, “Also, peanut butter and relish is good.” No, Cis, I don’t think it is. Liz not only didn’t think that first combo was weird, she gave it a name and some history: “Cis,” she wrote, “Fluffernutters

are pure awesomeness! They are the official state sandwich of Massachusetts; did you know that?”

Of course, Massachusetts does provide its residents with access to health insurance.

Scootermom voted for peanut butter and pickle sandwiches, saying “Yum! Perfect combination of creamy and crunchy.” (She should try Sandy’s dad’s sandwich.) And in a warning to parents everywhere, she added, “Ate them in summer camp when I was a kid, and just never outgrew it.” There’s an argument for nurture over nature for you.

KeithErickson concurred, but modified the recipe a bit. “Gotta have thick slices of garlic dills and slap it on whole wheat bread,” he said. JT modified this further by adding… mustard.

Peanut butter fan JeanC (you can visit her website at purple-ducky.com) goes for peanut butter, Miracle Whip and lettuce on white bread. BandR likes “Super thin-sliced corned beef lunch meat (or pastrami will do in a pinch)” with his peanut butter and CindyH topped that with her dad’s favorite sandwich: fried bologna and peanut butter.

Marmitetoasty (she’s English, you know.

Read her thoughts at marmitetoasty.blogspot. com) spoiled my lunch, dinner and breakfast the next morning with the following: Marmite (thick), crunchy peanut butter, cottage cheese with pineapple, and cucumber slices dipped in malt vinegar. “Have to put the layers in the right order,” she said, and then cut the sandwich “from corner to corner into a triangle.” Marmite, for those of you not in the know, is a rather disgusting food product in and of itself. Wikipedia describes it as a “by-product of beer-brewing,” that is a “sticky, dark brown paste with a distinctive, powerful flavour, which is extremely salty and savory with umami qualities, somewhat comparable to soy sauce.”

This food madness is not limited to writers and bloggers, by the way. The same question, posed to a group of Sandpoint-area business people, revealed that Angela Potts (owner of Summit Insurance) and Colleen Ankersmit (with Selkirk Press) are also peanut butter and pickle fans, while Dave Sleyster, who owns Energy Electric, votes with Marianne for potato chips on peanut butter. Pete Merritt, a mortgage loan broker with Panhandle State Bank, joins Sandy in his fandom for peanut butter, mayo and onions. The RJ’s Larry Fury (and his mother, he says) are also peanut butter/onion fans though Larry’s favorite is the peanut butter/pickle combination and he likes a little mayo on there, too.

Now that I’ve wrecked the joys of a simple peanut butter sandwich for all you readers, let me move on to the truly odd combos that were offered.

Continued on next page

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 17

Food- Continued from page 17

Dick Cvitanich, Superintendent of the Lake Pend Oreille School District, likes his hot, buttered toast with a healthy topping of mayonnaise. Keokee Publishing’s awesome designer Laura Wahl likes strawberry jam on her ham sandwich. Tonya Clawson, married to humor writer Scott, enjoys gravy on her pancakes. (Seriously. She does. Scott is a fan of peanuts in Dr. Pepper, which seems pretty normal about now.)

HBO’s Phaedrus likes canned corn on top of Totino’s frozen cheese pizza (no word on whether he likes that cooked or raw), while JeanneSpokane (jeaniespokane.blogspot.com) likes sauerkraut on her pizza.

Hang on, it gets worse.

BethB (accidental-rabbit-trails.blogspot. com) gives this recipe: “One slice of bologna with mustard on top, with one square of American cheese on top of that, topped with raspberry jelly, rolled so that bologna is your outer layer,” and adds, “The cheese can actually be any square of cheese… just needs to be in that perfect square form.” Florined— here you go, Cory!—likes garlic bread with jelly. (Cory said he was just joking, by the way, though after triggering all this, he vows to try the combination.)

Amy Whalen, owner of Graphic Ink, swears by chocolate and cheese (layered together like a sandwich), Blacky Black (sales manager at Alpine Motors) goes for garlic-stuffed green olives with jalapeno cheese (that’s not a cold remedy, but it probably should be), and Shannon McGlashan, who owns White Cross Pharmacy, gives a hat tip to Nonnie’s Wine Bar in Priest River and its offering of alfredo nachos, which she describes as “fabulous!”

My own David has been known to use a donut hole to wipe up the egg yoke left on his plate, which I once thought was awful. Over at HBO again, Sisyphus (43rdstateblues.com) wrote, “When growing up, my momma used to make cow’s tongue in cherry sauce,” but I think he’s lying. I hope he’s lying. And Lynne’s offering was a hot, shredded wheat patty with a fried egg on top, but said she only eats that, “When I don’t feel good.” That combination, we’re led to believe, makes her feel better.

Not long after our conversation, Dustin created a “fan page” on Facebook—“I only get a Frosty at Wendy’s so I can dip my fries in it”— and challenged me to make one of my own for peanuts and Coke. I declined the challenge, but after hearing about the disgusting things my friends eat, I think I’m going to go ahead and join the 143 others who are already a fan of Dustin’s page. Or the page that beat him to it—“Dipping your Wendy’s French fries into your Frosty”—which has 86,725 fans.

Gil Beyer says French fries and Frostys are a “staple” in his family that goes back 15 years, and therefore I must lead a sheltered life, so the next time I’m in Coeur d’Alene, I’m gonna buy a Frosty and some fries and do a little dipping. Until then, I think I may just go on a diet.

A Seat in the House

State Sovereignty big in 2010 George Eskridge

Idaho Dist. 1B Representative

idaholeginfo@lso.idaho.gov 1-800-626-0471 I emphasized in my last article the impact on the state’s General Fund revenues because of the downturn in our economy and the need to establish a conservative state budget for the remainder of this year and the upcoming fiscal year.

We have just received preliminary revenue numbers for the month of April and it appears that we are about 55 million dollars under our estimate, primarily because of higher than expected income tax refunds.

The legislature accepted a revenue estimate recommended by the Joint Legislative Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee that was less than that estimated by the state’s chief economist in the Division of Financial Management.

Many legislators and other interest groups were critical of our acceptance of the lower revenue forecast because it meant cutting state appropriations for agencies more than if we had accepted the higher forecast by the chief economist.

The wisdom of the legislature accepting the lower forecast for budget setting purposes is being borne-out by the April preliminary revenue results. The revenue for April, which is always the best month for collecting taxes, was about 55.5 million dollars short of the Division of Financial Management’s estimate for April. April’s results indicate that even under the lower revenue forecast used by the legislature, the state is still facing as much as a 13.5 million dollar deficit heading into the two final months of this fiscal year that ends June 30.

The legislature did leave the Governor a minimum amount of rainy day funds (savings accounts) to use in the event revenues were less than expected. Because of the legislature’s action it is not expected that the Governor will have to call a special legislative session to compensate for the lower revenues, nor is it anticipated that the Governor, at least for now, will have to impose additional holdbacks on spending.

He will, however, be asking agency directors to continue looking for additional savings in their departments to help lessen the impact from the lower revenues.

I stated in my last article that I would provide more information on specific legislative actions during the session. The

issue of state sovereignity was a significant issue during the session, in part because of the passage of the National Health Plan.

The following is a description of legislation passed during the session addressing state sovereignty: House Bill 391, better known as the “Idaho Health Freedom Act,” was passed that allows legal recourse for Idaho to fight against the federal mandate that all citizens purchase health insurance, whether they want to or not.

House Concurrent resolution 44 calls for Congress to balance the federal budget, extinguish the federal debt, prevent unfunded mandates, and prohibit the federal government from taking ownership of private enterprises in addition to other federal actions impacting states rights.

House Concurrent Resolution 64 asks Congress to limit federal powers under the Tenth Amendment and avoid using the interstate commerce clause to justify an overreaching of federal authority into intrastate commerce.

House Bill 589 prohibits federal regulation of firearms made in Idaho and further strengthens the Second Amendment right to “keep and bear arms.”

And finally, Senate Joint Memorial 106 parallels House Bill 391 and requests “an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would prevent Congress from passing laws requiring citizens of the United States to participate in any health care insurance program or penalizing them for declining health care coverage.”

I anticipate that additional state sovereignty issues will come before the legislature in the upcoming session, especially in the area of immigration reform as is happening in the Arizona legislature at this time.

I will continue to provide information on other specific legislative actions taken in this past session in upcoming issues of the River Journal. I appreciate your interest in the activities of the Idaho legislature and continue to welcome your input on issues important to you.

You can contact me at my home phone at (208) 265-0123 or by mail at P.O. Box 112, Dover, Idaho, 83825.

THANKS FOR READING!! GEORGE

Page 18 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

The Hawk’s Nest

Spring cleaning Ernie Hawks

photosbyhawks.com ernie@photosbyhawks.com Hey, it’s spring! You know what that means—time to start spring-cleaning.

I know a lot of friends will be surprised to learn I have a clue about spring cleaning.

My wife will be especially surprised, but she is out of town this week so this will be our secret, right?

Now to those who doubt my knowledge of spring-cleaning let me say this: Springcleaning is that time of year when you clean stuff that isn’t usually on the cleaning list. See, I do know.

I told a close friend what I was writing about and he asked if this is when I finally get around to having my car washed. Well duh, that’s what the spring thunder showers are for, everyone knows that.

Since I don’t take part in this activity much I’m a little out of practice. But I do know one thing that doesn’t really need to be cleaned is my cell phone. Remember those old phones that hung on the wall or sat on a table and had a separate head set you picked up? Well, the only time I remember seeing it being cleaned was when someone was sick and my mom would wipe it off with alcohol occasionally.

However, I took cleaning the phone to the next level. I washed it in the washer with my dirty jeans. As I took the jeans out of the machine, I felt a little extra weight in one of the pockets. Hoping for a big wad of forgotten money, (it could happen) I reached in. There was my phone, sudsy water sloshing back and forth in the screen where my wife’s picture was supposed to be.

Speaking of phones—maybe I’ll get back to cleaning later, you know how that is—a few weeks ago in town I reached into my pocket for my phone and realized I had inadvertently taken my wife’s. So right away, I thought, “no problem I’ll just call my phone, she will think I had forgotten it and answer it for me. That way I could tell her I had the wrong phone, my mistake.” A perfect plan.

After I dialed her cell, my phone started ringing in another pocket. Okay, you’re probably ahead of me on this, but my first reaction was “Darn, someone is calling me on my phone when I’m trying to call my wife on my phone.” It didn’t take me too long to figure out I had a problem.

Still speaking of phones (I hate spring cleaning, maybe I’ll get to it later) several years ago, when all phones were permanent, my former wife suggested we get one of those new cordless phones. I gently reminded her there were two teenagers in the house and a cordless phone would, no doubt, be buried under a pile of clothes in a back bedroom most of the time. A couple years later I was setting

up housekeeping alone. There were several reasons for this, but none had anything to do with phones or teenagers. Anyway, I decided to buy one of the new cordless phones. You know what? I was right; every time it rang it was under a pile of clothes someplace.

So after I washed my phone with the laundry I sent an email to my wife at work saying not to call. She wrote back saying that I should call and see if we qualified for an upgrade. Call with what, we haven’t had a land line for years.

I don’t think I have any more phone stories; darn, can’t think of any way to put it off any longer. Guess I better get back to cleaning.

A while back, our dog came in after a good run in the rain. My sense of smell, my least sensitive of all my senses, told me the dog needed a bath. I had been out running with her in the rain to but I’m sure my nose was picking up her odor, not mine.

Nikki, our dog, is about ninety pounds so I decided to take her to one of those places where I can wash and groom her but the mess stays there.

It’s really great, there are bathtubs set up so the dog can be put inside and a leash attached to the wall. The dog owners stand beside the tub, raised to counter level just for that purpose, and wash and dry the pets. This usually only takes about a half hour and like I said, the mess that is left is not at home.

So I walked into the dog wash with Nikki, who smelled like a wet dirty dog, and a half hour later she walked out with me, who smelled like a wet dirty dog. The job finished.

Well, so much for spring cleaning, Oh wait, it looks like a heavy rain is coming. I better run out a park the car so it will get a direct hit.

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May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 19

Khristine

“I’ve got a ‘69 Chevy witha 396, Fuelly heads and a Hurst on the floor, she’s waiting tonight down the parking lot outside the 7-11 store.” -Bruce Springsteen With Lost in the ‘50s this month, what more appropriate story than a car with a mind of its own? I’ve taken the liberty of making this a cousin to Stephen King’s novel, though not as grandiose.

WE start with a ‘69 Camaro purchased in 2006 by a then-local resident from one of those online sources, Craigslist or some such. Our self-employed local resident, whom I’ll call Don, took the bus into Spokane to pick it up on a fine spring day. The car was a deep red—cherry, so to speak.

Driving into his garage at the west end of town, Don started suspect that he hadn’t purchased a normal car. He turned the engine off after driving into the garage and took the three steps to the door leading into the kitchen after closing the garage door when the Camaro’s radio turned on.

With no keys in the ignition? Maybe it was a short or something.

Going back, he opened the driver’s side door. The radio was tuned to KPND. He stared at it a moment, then reached in to turn it off when the selector began moving as if someone were physically looking for another station. Now, acting as if the thing might bite him, our haunted car owner quickly tried to shut the radio off, only to discover it was already it the off position.

Backing away, Don slowly stepped into the kitchen and shut the door. Calling out to his wife, there was no answer. He forgot, it wasn’t quite 4 pm. She wouldn’t be home from her meeting yet, and his son usually played at Traver’s Park until just before dinner.

Going to a small, locked cabinet in the dining room, Don poured himself a bourbon, then went into his home office.

Sipping the drink he thought about what had happened. After some minutes he decided this was the reason the owner had sold the car in the first place for such a reasonable price. There was an extensive—

Valley of

ThE

ShadowS with Lawrence Fury

and likely expensive—electrical problem he just didn’t want to deal with.

When his family got home he made no mention of the odd incident, other than to tell his wife of this unadvertised electrical problem when she asked him how the car was. His son said it looked like a Model-T. What did a twelve-year-old know?

The next day was a Friday and Don decided to take the car to a local mechanic to have it checked out. As he came into the kitchen, his wife was making a quick breakfast. His son was already wolfing down a frozen breakfast burrito. With a “see ya,” the twelve-year-old headed out the kitchen door and into the garage, clutching his skateboard. A moment later he was back with a puzzled look. “Hey, Dad, didn’t you park that old car in the garage?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, someone must have stolen it.”

Don had been sipping coffee and, with this report, swallowed too much. It burned a trail all the way down his esophagus.

Following his son out to the garage, his wife tagging along curiously, sure enough, no car. “I’ll call the police,” his wife said and went back into the kitchen. Shaken, Don and his son went to the small side door of the garage and looked out to the street.

There sat the car, parked neatly at the curb.

After a moment and an exchange of funny looks with his son, he called back to his wife, “Don’t bother. It’s out front.”

There was nothing wrong with the car.

No sign of forced entry to either the car or the garage. His son found it funny, kidding his father that he was losing his mind, and went to skateboard. His wife said something about the electrical problem. “Yeah,” he replied, “an electrical problem that starts a car by itself, opens and then closes an electric garage door, and parks itself at the curb. Some glitch.”

The mechanic checked out not only the electrical but everything else while he was at it and pronounced the car fit and ready.

No repairs except maybe a tune up.

Nothing odd happened... for a while. But as summer wore on, other... things would crop up. For a week, there was a smell of rotten flesh in the car. One morning in August, Don opened the door to the garage just after sunrise just to look at the car. For an instant, it appeared to be a total wreck.

The final straw came a month later. He was coming home from a fishing trip to Brush Lake, less than ten miles south of the Canadian border, where he had caught four nice rainbows.

Parking in the driveway in front of the garage, the late afternoon had turned dark and cloudy. His son was no doubt just home from school, his wife from her new, parttime job... something seemed off. For some reason he had decided to leave the Camaro out of the garage. Grabbing his fish and tackle, he went in through the small door into the kitchen and looked back through the glass. The Camaro just sat there like some... thing. Then the headlights turned themselves on, the engine coming to life with a roar.

The dark overcast was enough to turn the streetlight on down at the corner and for a moment, Don son the silhouette of a person sitting at the wheel. No features, just the indistinct form of a person. And then it was gone.

The next day, so was the car. Don took the car to the wreaking yard just past Algoma and got $300 for it. Two years later, he and his family moved away when a job opportunity came up in the Seattle area. As far as this author knows, he never found an explanation for the strange car.

Happy “Lost in the ‘50s.”

Museum now open for Summer Hours

Tuesday - Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm • 611 S. Ella, Sandpoint • 208.263.2344 • $3 adults/$1 age 6-18 Page 20 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

From ThE

Files

of The River Journal’s

SurrealisT Research BureaU The Versailles Time Slip I’m sure most of you are aware of the infamous “Versailles Time-Slip” but I’d like you to indulge me for a moment nonetheless. On vacation in Paris during the summer of 1901 two middle-age English academics, misses Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain, decided it was a perfect day to stroll through the Palace of Versailles examining its famous collection of antiquities and curios. After touring it the women decided to visit as well the nearby Petit Trianon, a smaller residence originally built in 1762 for the mistress of Louis XV. As they entered the gardens and hedges surrounding it both women were overcome by what they later described as “a feeling of depression and loneliness,” later escalating into “an impression of something uncanny and fear inspiring.”

The women encountered several people along their walk about the Petit Trianon, including two men wearing old fashioned clothing with stockings and grey-green coats with smallish tri-cornered hats; an elegantly coiffed woman in a fancy dress sat sketching, and more, all oddly dressed and speaking an archaic form of old French. A sinister “man in black” in a cape and slouch hat glared at them from a small gazebo. Two ladies doing laundry in a bucket seemed frozen in place and wouldn’t respond to the women’s queries. Both women felt that something odd had happened to them that day but weren’t sure exactly what it was.

The next day they returned to the Petit Trianon and were surprised to find the cottage looked different; on the spot where the elegantly dressed woman had been sketching a well-rooted tree had appeared.

The gazebo where the sinister “man in black” had been was no longer there, the tourists passing by now were dressed in newer clothing speaking a perfect modern French dialect and the small palace itself seemed a hundred or more years old, not new and freshly painted as it had been the day before.

The two women later published a short account of their strange experiences in a book entitled ‘An Adventure” in 1911 and surmised they had inadvertently wandered into a shadow realm from the time of Marie Antoinette. Reports of still more ghostly figures in the Versailles area by other visitors prompted an exhaustive investigation into

by Jody Forest

the incident by researcher G.W. Lambert in 1946. Lambert found that many of the site’s details, unknown at the time by Moberly and Jourdain, were consistent not with the time of 1901 but similar to historical and landscaping records of the locale of the 1770s.

I bring this all up because of an excellent find recently at the Clark Fork Library. It’s a reissue of a PBS Mystery episode entitled “Miss Morison’s Ghosts,” a 104-minute DVD which, while I’m not too familiar with the actual case itself, in the DVD version, refusing to back down from their stories eventually cost them their jobs as teachers at a girls’ college. Anyway, it’s a good introduction to one of the classic “timeslip” cases.

Since I’ve got some space left this issue, I thought I’d bring up another strange tale from France, this one from 1907 Paris (reported in the Daily Mail). An elderly woman complained at the police station that every time she entered her new home she was “compelled” to walk across the threshold on all fours. The officer detained her, thinking her mad and sent another policeman to investigate. He brought the

woman’s son back, who told the sanity hearing judge, “I do not pretend to explain it, I only know that when the entire family, my uncles and nephews, nieces as well, when we cross the doorway, we are immediately impelled to walk upon our hands.” The uncle was called for and he corroborated the tale. The Judge finally called the landlord, who said “All you’ve heard is true, I thought they’d all gone mad but as soon as I entered the room I found myself on all fours.” The magistrate ordered the rooms to be exorcised and disinfected, which apparently fixed the problem for its heard of no more. ‘til next time, All Homage to Xena!

“Our waking consciousness is but one special state of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted by the filmiest of veils, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different, entirely strange.” William James

It’s all about visibility.

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600 Schweitzer Plaza Drive (Behind Super 8 Motel) Ponderay • 263-2600

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 21

There’s Hope if you need physical therapy.

There’s also Sandpoint.

Caribou Physical Therapy

Hope: 264-5067 • Sandpoint: 265-8333 www.CaribouPHysicalTherapy.com

Gary’s Faith Walk

In a time of rage and anger Gary Payton

gdp.sandpoint@gmail.com

The dichotomy of my spring days couldn’t be more stark. Quiet walks reveal delicate umbrellas of lupine, light green leafing of birch and larch, and smells of the forest floor warmed again by the sun. But the seeming tranquility of the natural world is shattered when I connect with the mood of some around me. The rage of Limbaugh, Savage, and Beck assault me when I occasionally pass through their radio or TV channel. The broad-gauged anger of Tea Partiers shouts out in signs and bumper stickers: “I’ll keep my guns, freedom, & money…you can keep the ‘change’,” “Don’t blame me, I voted for the American,” and “You are not entitled to what I have earned.” The hatred from the era of Richard Butler and Vincent Bertollini has not passed completely. Newspaper headlines announce “Home defaced with swastika, tires slashed” in Sandpoint and “Pocatello is latest target of racist flier campaign.”

This spring has been a time of introspection. As a follower of Jesus, I know my faith walk is a journey. Some days it’s a rigorous hike with great clarity as I stand on a rock outcrop with my destination clearly in view. Some days it’s bushwhacking through dense underbrush getting slapped in the face with low hanging branches not exactly certain where I’m headed.

On days of spiritual bushwhacking (those days of angry broadcasting or painful headlines), I return to central themes in my faith. The prophet Micah spoke it clearly, “…what does the Lord require of you but to

NATIONAL TRAILS DAY RIDE

Monday, May 31 • 8 am to 6 pm Sandpoint Safeway • Ponderay Wal-Mart

Please support our disabled veterans!

Horseback riders meet at 483 trailhead at Grouse Creek, riding out at 11 a.m. and returning at about 2 p.m. A Dutch oven lunch will be served after the ride, followed by a club meeting.

Sponsored by North Idaho Backcountry Horsemen.

Open to the public. Riders limited; email: mulevixen@ yahoo.com or call 208290-2910 to register.

do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) Jesus lifted up the double love commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22: 37-39).

When I reflect on these biblical charges, the sting of getting slapped in the face by other’s rage, anger, and hatred eases.

I fight through feelings of despair and being overwhelmed: war in Afghanistan, ongoing violence in Iraq, the tragedy of post-earthquake Haiti, soaring national debt, global warming, even the bark beetle infestation in the West. I focus on personal gifts, talents, and a sense of call.

At this phase of my life, the questions are straightforward. How might God be calling me do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly? Where do I have energy? How will I allocate my time? Then, I take a personal inventory. I write, I speak, I do, I donate, I love, and sometimes I even laugh!

In such times of introspection, I understand my finiteness. I understand my singularity as one of six billion persons on this planet. But, rather than wallowing in a sense of helplessness, I chose to listen to the still small voice of God and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose. My words may only touch a few. My donations may bring but a modicum of relief to bereaved in Haiti. My efforts to live more gently on the earth may have only modest impact. My love will touch only those closely held. Still, it is what I am about this day, and it remains my way of responding to the rage and anger of these times. Where are you in your journey today? How are you sharing the gifts you have been given? I pray for your footsteps to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to

Clark Fork Baptist Church

Main & Second • Clark Fork

Sunday School............9:45 am Morning Worship............11 am Evening Service...............6 pm Wednesday Service.........7 pm Call 266-0405 for transportation

Bible Preaching and Traditional Music

Page 22 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

The Scenic Route

Driving Home Sandy Compton

mrcomptonjr@hotmail.com www.SandyCompton.com

Driving home. A gloomy, leaden day of no-nonsense April rain has scrubbed the air clean, and now it seems all the extra water has fallen out of the air, for the sky is clearing.

Unexpected it is, and the sun looks just as surprised as we are to see it; wide-eyed and bright orange-yellow, hanging above the freshly-whitened ridges of our western range and lighting everything east of itself in high relief and full-on technicolor.

Having lived here for so long, I can’t imagine how a newcomer would react to this little late April show, for even I, who have seen this act a time or two, am somewhat stunned. An Inland Empire neophyte might be immobilized by this freshet of sunlight on newly green grass, ninebark, ocean spray, willow, dogwood, snowberry, cottonwood, aspen and only a member of the Native Plant Society knows what else. Someone who moved here last fall might find themselves unable to keep an eye on the road in the lateday maelstrom of rising shrouds of clingy cottony mountain mist, freshly bloomed service berries and road-side cherries and faceted sheets of blue and green water.

An eagle in a red-tinged, bug-killed Douglas fir shows iridescent against a crystalline cyan sky, perched on a wooden silhouette above layered umber and amber waves of stone. A “V” of Canada geese flies into the sun, drawn in black and white and gray, yet warmly tinged with some magic wash that is at once sublimely lovely and indecipherable.

This is all so precisely and perfectly

illuminated that an observer might suspect some cosmic Animator has created this evening simply for the joy of the audience, and perhaps that’s true. In fact, I hope it is.

Perhaps God so loves the world that She crafts moments like this one — this 30-milelong moment in the midst of my same-old, been-there-done-that, automatic-pilot drive home — so we can be awed and immersed in something so beautiful that it doesn’t matter if we understand it, only that we experience it.

A question: how often are we graced with these gifts and don’t see them? Speaking for myself, I would guess daily. How often do I walk along with my head down, so intent on not losing my way that I lose my day?

Spectacularity (which my word processor tells me ain’t a word) is not a prerequisite to extraordinary beauty. Even though that’s what gets our attention. But, if we pay attention, watch and listen and wait, these graceful moments come much closer together that we might suspect, even though some of these moments are not long.

I walk out into my shop this morning on my way to work, and sitting on the crushed rock floor of the bay I park in is a tiny, brown bird, which flies off as I crunch onto the gravel. Mighty small and not extraordinarily decorated like a hummingbird or wild canary, it is still a lovely little critter which flies in a happy spiral out of the shop and across the drive into the woods, swooping and stuttering on the air like a windblown leaf, but under its own power and impetus.

It makes no cry of alarm, but flees silently.

A few moments later, though, I hear a song from that sector which says, “Safe, I shall sing.”

Yesterday morning, as I sit at my desk, a grouse hen comes high-stepping by my window through last year’s greenish-purple

Re-Elect

dewberry vines—destined to bloom and bear luscious black berries in three months — sampling new leaves and grasses just pushed out by the rush of spring heat and melted winter. She moves deliberately, if somewhat clumsily, sometimes supported by the vines several inches off the ground.

She is a study in brown with accents in black and white. In the woods west of the house, a few hundred yards away, a grouse cock drums a love song, as he and his ancestors have for each year I have lived here. She continues on her way, as if to say, “In due time, but not before.”

These moments fall from the pen of the cosmic Animator, too, I suppose — meaning, “I wish to believe” — for if God loves the world as much as all that, there may be hope for us after all.

There is something very sane about accepting these gifts, and something crazy about ignoring them. If we are going to know this love—and it might be God’s or our own passion for beauty or both merged in the rind of us that is our senses and the core of us that is our soul—it is important for us to acknowledge it, and to take time to be awed, even when others think us odd.

It’s either that, or miss the whole, glorious show.

Ray Allen is available for private parties, special events, restaurants, etc Jazz standards and pop tunes. Solo on guitar and vocals. Also booking for the Monarch Mountain Band, great bluegrass and newgrass

Call 208-610-8244

JOE YOUNG (R) May 25th

“I feel fortunate to be able to live in such a beautiful place and believe that if I live here, I should give here.”

Serving you as Commissioner since 2005 • 14 years as a small business owner • Retired U.S. Navy SEAL • 3 years senior Administrative officer • 7 years in law enforcement as a Bonner Co. Sheriff patrol deputy • Serving several Governor-appointed committees, making our concerns known at the state level • 18-year resident of Priest River PAID FOR BY THE COMMITTEE TO RE-ELECT JOE YOUNG, MARY YOUNG, TREASURER

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 23

MLS 20904773

$179,000 Country feel, yet excellent access! 14.5 acre parcel is one of the larger parcels still available in this desirable area. Parcel is divisible and well timbered.

$225,000 Terrific setup for family! Beautiful, two-story home, located at the end of a quiet street with sidewalks, just a short distance to the new grocery store. Four bedroom, three bath, fenced back yard, large deck. Check out this peaceful, spacious setting.

MLS 21000511 $199,021 Two great lots at one great price! This combined .90 acreage is zoned for a triplex and quadplex. Paved road, electricity, natural gas and phone to the property line. Heavily treed. Easy access to the village. Buyer to pay sewer and water hook up fees, or drill well. MLS 20904772

MLS 21001538

$155,000 Great location for this South Sandpoint home near to schools, parks and amenities with a great yard.

Close to being finished. Perfect starter home. Do it Yourself or it can be finished before you move in.

$389,921. Waterfront home on Cocolalla Lake 133 front feet, 2 decks, and immaculate. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, full surround sound system, radon system, circular driveway, 2 car garage and many large mature trees shade this .34 acre parcel. Easy access to Sandpoint or CDA. Affordable waterfront and private.

MLS 20903412 $125,000 Views of Hoodoo Lake.

Peaceful, quaint property with fantastic views of Hoodoo Lake, Valley and surrounding mountain ranges. Approx.

2 miles to paved county road, lots of wildlife, benched, nice topography and mature trees. MLS 20903815 $115,000 Fish Creek on property! Beautiful views and 163 ft. of year ‘round Fish Creek runs through the property. Nicely timbered with some clearing and usable acreage.

Home has 1 bedroom loft; mid level living area and partial basement. Live in it while you build your dream home.

Shop is 1.5 stories with additional lean to for storage.

Come on out and take a look! . MLS 2094582

A Holistic Approach to

Healing by Yoga by the Sandpoint Wellness Council www.SandpointWellnessCouncil.com

By Peter Mico, Owner, Instructor of Downtown Yoga By now you probably have heard of some the multiple benefits of practicing the ancient art of yoga; benefits like increasing flexibility, improving balance, making muscles stronger and even greater concentration and focus. Maybe it is just enough incentive to get to walk into the nearest local yoga studio, as strange as it may be at first, to try your hand at doing yoga. What’s that all about anyway? Well, I can tell you it is about a lot of healing.

Certainly improving flexibility, balance, and strength are things we all could use in our busy western and often sedentary lives, particularly as we get older. But there are more, so many more, benefits waiting for you. The benefits may come first from undoing the many misalignments in the body from years of sports, common injuries (and the harboring of injuries), physical and mental trauma, effects from the lack of doing enough exercise at all, and the long term affects of repeated occupation motion such as computer use. Maybe you suffer from low back pain or even more chronic problems like arthritis, diabetes, migraine headaches, or anxiety related problems.

For all of these health problems, yoga provides a life-changing potential. Did you know also that yoga has a profound effect on boosting the immune system?

Yoga heals by doing. Just doing yoga will improve posture, lung function, joint tissue, return of venous blood to the heart, and function of the nervous system.

It also improves the function of the feet, strengthening of the bones, lowers blood pressure and reduces blood sugar.

The list of benefits goes on and on.

What I find is particularly useful is the method in which yoga helps to make you healthier. Yoga is unique from the western approach to healing in that it requires you to take ownership over the cause and the treatment. In yoga you are involved in your own healing. In much of conventional medicine, patients are passive recipients of care. In yoga, the essential element is not what is done to you but what you do for yourself. Yoga gives people something tangible they can do and most people start to feel better the very first time they try it. They also observe that the more they commit to the practice, the greater the benefits tend to be. This not only involves them in their own care, it gives them the message that there is hope, and hope itself can be healing-healing and self perpetuating. If you can discover for yourself that yoga can be healing, you are much more likely to continue your practice.

The more you continue your practice the more benefits you receive.

In my own practice I have discovered that the great lesson of yoga: it connects me to all aspects of my life. Understanding that it is a connection to all parts of my life, including my community, makes it a powerful mechanism for healing. It taps into dozens of other mechanisms that may have additive and even multiple beneficial effects. Now that is a lot of healing!

Please visit sandpointwellnesscouncil. com for articles by all council members. The Sandpoint Wellness Council is an association of holistic practitioners dedicated to bringing holistic information on wellness issues and to help everyone be their optimal best every day by making educated choices about their personal health care options.

CAROL CURTIS 315 N. Second Sandpoint

208-255-2244 888-923-8484

Page 24 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

Veterans’ News

Asbestos Exposure is Frightening Gil Beyer, ETC USN Ret. vintage@gotsky.com

Over the past few months I’ve been devoting most of the space given to me to a look at Veterans Service Organizations, the Veterans Administration and a brief look at state services for veterans. In this month’s column I would like to digress somewhat and talk about death.

Yesterday afternoon I received a call from an attorney in Illinois. He was calling me in regards to my service onboard the USS Fiske (DDR-842) during the early 1960s.

Specifically, he wanted to talk about that period of time that the Fiske spent in the Naval Shipyard at Charleston, South Carolina in the late winter and early spring of 1962.

Now, the Fiske was one of the hundreds of destroyers built just before and during World War II. [For those of you born after 1950 that was the period of time that the USA, with the help of the British Empire (England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India) were fighting the forces of fascism (led by Germany and Japan with the occasional and reluctant help of Italy and much of France)]. That means that in 1962 the Fiske was over 16 years past that day in November 1945 when she became a commissioned part of our Navy. She saw no action during the period of hostilities but made significant contributions to the ‘clean-up’ after the treaties were signed.

She cleared mines from the harbor of Venice in 1946 and 1947. She also aided the Greek government in its overcoming the threat of a communist takeover orchestrated by Yugoslavia and the Kremlin.

The Fiske received two Battle Stars for her service during the Korean Conflict and completed her first ‘Around the World’ cruise during that period. In other words she was well-seasoned and needed a bevy of long overdue repairs and updates when she entered the shipyard early in 1961. Most of her previous times spent in shipyards were for conversions and updates to weapons and electronics. This time she would receive much needed maintenance on her engineering spaces.

It is a long held tradition in the Navy that the most junior crewmen do the most menial and dirtiest jobs regardless of the individual’s training. So, when it came time to strip the insulation off all of the steam lines in the engineering spaces each department and division was required to send at least two people to participate in this effort. I was one of those ‘shanghaied’

into this task. We were formed into ‘Tiger Teams’ of five or six and given a section of piping to strip, bag and cart off to dumpsters placed on the fantail. These dumpsters held about two to three cubic yards and were replaced frequently. It was hot, dirty work and the air was filled with dust all the time.

It is the composition and quantity of this dust that is important and very germane to the subject at hand—death.

It is a well known fact that man-children in their late teens and early 20s are immortal and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. We worked in our normal work dungarees—often shirtless and, most importantly, without dust masks.

“Dust masks! We don’t need no stinking dust masks.” In fact I don’t recall they were ever even offered to us. The EPA—if it had existed in 1961—would have had a cow upon seeing this Dante’s Inferno of sweat and swirling dust being worked in without any breathing protection in sight.

Those steam pipes had been wrapped in the best insulation known in the 1940s— asbestos—and sheathed with coarse canvas held in place with galvanized wire and huge staples.

The routine was this: Remove the wire and staples; unwrap the canvas (no easy task as much lead based paint had been applied over the course of 15 years); separate the molded sections of asbestos off the pipes; and place in bags for transport to the dumpsters. We followed this routine for about six or seven hours a day for a least a week. Most of us did wear cotton work gloves but none to the best of my memory ever wore a mask of any kind other than maybe a handkerchief over nose and mouth. That kerchief did cut down on the coughing from breathing that dust. We never gave a thought to the possible long term consequences of that job at the time.

It took a phone call from a lawyer to get me to thinking about that period of time spent in the bowels of a ship that had been built to save the world for democracy.

The word he said that really got my attention was “Mesothelioma.” Now, everybody who has a TV set has probably

heard that word spoken by some ambulance chasing lawyer trying to drum up business but when it was used in connection to the death of a shipmate of mine from that period in the early 1960s it got my attention. When I hung up the phone I ‘googled’ mesothelioma and what I found was scary. Whereas lung cancer has long been associated with years of smoking mesothelioma is associated with exposure to asbestos dust. Even a relatively brief exposure to asbestos dust can—years later—lead to a particularly virulent, fastmoving cancer. The truly insidious thing about mesothelioma is that there are almost no early symptoms. There may be a small, dry hacking cough that produces little phlegm but that usually occurs later on in the course of the disease.

It can lay dormant for years and suddenly explode. There seems to be only one course of action to pursue if you feel that you may have been exposed to asbestos dust.

That course is to have regular—annually if possible—chest x-rays and/or lung-function tests. Hopefully you can convince your doctor that these are necessary actions and—even more importantly—your health insurer covers the cost. With early detection there is hope. Unless detected early the survival rates are poorer than those of lung cancer associated with smoking—and we all know that is not very good.

More information on this subject can be found at the following links: www.asbestos. com/veterans/veterans-at-risk.php and www. asbestos.com/veterans/other-branches.php Now that it is almost 40 years past that these events occurred I am fully aware of the fact that I am most assuredly not immortal and am currently unable to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Not even with a running start. We need to do the prudent things but not obsess over the things over which we have no control. To quote the great contemporary philosopher James Dean (1931-1955): Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.

This column is dedicated to the memory of Robert Chaffee, BT2, USS FISKE (DDR 842).

Fair winds and following seas, shipmate.

CHAFE150 a Benefit for Local Education www.Chafe150.org • 208.263.7040

May 2010| The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| Page 25

Coffelt Funeral Home, Sandpoint, Idaho.

Get complete obituaries online at

www.CoffeltFuneral.com C. LESLIE CAVENDER C. Leslie Cavender, February 13, 1957 - April 24, 2010.

Moved to Sandpoint from Delaware in 1987. He was and active member of the United Methodist Church and a former member of the Loyal Order of the Moose.

LLOYD CHUCK JONES Lloyd Charles “Chuck” Jones, February 13, 1957 - April 24, 2010. Born in Sandpoint, he graduated high school in Enon, Ohio. Served three years with the U.S. Marines. After the service he worked as a carpenter and moved to Denver, Colo. in 1975. Moved to Sandpoint in 1990 and worked at Schweitzer and Hidden Lakes as a mechanic and carpenter. He enjoyed mechanical work that helped his friends.

WINNIE CATHERINE HAWKINS Winnie Catherine (Champion) Hawkins, January 17, 1917 - April 22, 2010. Born on the family farm in Williamson Co., Tex. Married David C. Hawkins during World War II and had two children. Lived throughout Texas and in 1993, after her husband died, she got her driver’s license. A proud Texan, she moved to live near her daughter in Priest River for health reasons. She loved gardening, reading and crossword puzzles, and charmed and amused visitors.

Fiercely independent, she enjoyed fishing and RVing. A lifelong Baptist, she was known as the “Hat Lady.” She loved dogs, wild turkeys, and root beer floats.

LOUISE R. LUCKEY Louise R. (Hatcher) Luckey, September 6, 1920 - April 21, 2010. Born in Ennis, Mont., moved to Cocolalla in 1930.

SHS graduate, class of ‘39. Married Levon Luckey in 1940 in Sandpoint and had four children. Moved to Pocotello in 2005 to be near family for health reasons. Louise enjoyed her flower and vegetable gardens, canning, golfing and bowling.

LEANN MARIE BECKER LeAnn Marie (Robertson) Becker, May 9, 1956 - April 19, 2010. Raised and attended grade school in Kootenai.

Worked in a nursing home during high school and began nurse’s training at Bonner General Hospital. Created tile murals, excelled in crafting, painting, cooking, designing, gardening, nursing, hunting, fishing, camping, running and the list goes on. Married Jack Knaggs and had one child. Married Randy Becker and had two stepchildren.

Best known for her sense of humor and her unique way of relating any little or big event. She knew she had a special friend in Jesus Christ.

ROBERT “BOB” MILLER Robert D. “Bob” Miller, March 30, 1923 - April 18, 2010. Born in Dover, Idaho, early years spent working the family farm at Wrenco. Sandpoint High graduate, served in the U.S. Army Air Corp. Married Bonnie Neu in 1946 in Coeur d’Alene. Moved to the Northside area in ‘58, farmed and raised beef cattle.

Loved working in the woods and operating his D6C Dozer.

Fathered four children. Great at fixing broken equipment and if a part couldn’t be found, he could make it.

PAMELA SUE WERRY Pamela Sue (Doctor) Werry, January 11, 1934 - April 11, 2010. Born in Scandia, Kan. and moved to Denver, Colo. at the age of four. In 1944 the family moved to Richland, Wash. Active in Girl Scouts, Rainbow Girls, and many choirs and clubs, she was a graduate of Columbia High School class of ‘51. Attended Central Washington Univ., and married Albert Lyon in 1952. They had four children.

Worked as a bookkeeper for 24 years, then as an office administrator and at a daycare/preschool. Married Elwood Werry in Shoshone, Idaho in 1980 - the love of her life.

Lived in Kennewick, Wash. until retiring to the Selle Valley in 1991. Pamela loved walking, hiking, skiing and her family. She was a 19-year member of Schweitzer Mt. Prime Timers ski club. She loved music and had a beautiful soprano. Paula’s family would like to offer a special thank you to all of the dedicated caregivers at Luther Park Memory Care Center, 510 Olive, Sandpoint, ID 83864 and the entire staff of Sandpoint Hospice, PO Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to either of the above.

SAMUEL “BILL” WHITSON Samuel W. (Bill) Whitson, December 18, 1925 - April 11, 2010. Born in Stamford, Conn., raised in Long Island, New York and following schooling enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served as a submariner

during World War II in the Pacific Theatre. Following his discharge he moved to California and for a time worked in the aircraft industry. He later worked as a fireman in the Glendale, Calif. fire department for 30 years retiring as a captain. Bill was an avid baseball fan and had played minor league ball in the Dodger’s organization. He married Juanita his beloved wife in 1962. They lived in California until his retirement when they moved to Garfield Bay. In 2008 they moved into Sandpoint. Bill was a member of the Elks, enjoyed reading, and loved golf.

PAUL M. TYLER Paul M. Tyler, January 28, 1929 - April 8, 2010.

Born in Santa Monica, Calif, in youth returned to Pennsylvania where he attended parochial school and some college. A Korean War veteran, he joined the US Army where he served as a sniper in the ski patrol unit in Alaska. After service lived in Las Vegas, Nev. and California. Was a bartender and carpenter in the Palm Springs area where he met Agnes Salley; they married in Bozeman, Mont. in 1972. They took up residence in Clark Fork in 1976 and lived by the Clark Fork River for many years, recently moving into town. Paul loved fishing and boating, participating in local derbies. He and Aggie enjoyed playing cards with friends on a regular basis. He was a member of the Clark Fork VFW. Paul always had time to share a story or joke; and has now joined his beloved dogs in rest.

BARBARA LEE BOYLE Barbara Lee (Marriott) Boyle July 25, 1941 - April 7, 2010.

Born in Vay, Idaho, attended Bonner County schools

Lakeview Funeral Home, Sandpoint, Idaho.

Get complete obituaries online at

www.LakeviewFuneral.org KENNETH GILMORE Kenneth D. Gilmore, June 8, 1928 - April 27, 2010. Born in Great Falls, Mont., he grew up and attended schools in Montana and worked in the oil fields during high school. Enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1946 and retired in 1970 as a Lieutenant Commander. Served four tours in Vietnam and completed his degree from the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, Calif. in Oceanography/Meteorology. He also was awarded multiple citations; including the Navy Achievement Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, and the Navy Commendation Medal. Married Berniece Bossick in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1951. He spent 17 years in the real estate business, operating Gilmore Investments in Sandpoint. Settled in Sandpoint and spent many years traveling around the world. He was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Sandpoint Elk’s Lodge #1376, and the NRA. An avid reader, he truly enjoyed fishing and hunting and spent many summers camping all around the Northwest. Memorial donations may be made to Bonner Community Hospice, PO Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864; or East Bonner County Library, 1407 Cedar St, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

MARY COCHRAN Mary Margaret (Clemons) Cochran, September 14, 1925 - April 20, 2010. Born in Caldwell, Idaho, Mary was an alumnus of Whitman College and the University of Oregon as well as proud sister of Delta Gamma, Mary graduated with a degree in sociology in 1949. Was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and the DAR. She made many friends over the years volunteering at hospice, working as a social worker, bookkeeper for Southside Water & Sewer District and the Co-op. Mary was also owner, with her husband Pinky Cochran, of Cochran Chevron. Mary enjoyed water skiing, boating and spending time swimming with her grandchildren.

After retirement Mary moved to Westwood where she enjoyed visits from friends, reading, playing bridge, Spite and Malice and catching up on the town gossip.

Known for her wit, kind heart, outspoken voice, giving personality, famous cinnamon bread, delicious seven layer salad and strong words of wisdom, Mary was well known for always giving you her honest opinion, whether you wanted to hear it or not.

DONALD BAKER Donald Charles Baker, August 31, 1927 - April 19, 2010. Born in Long Beach, Calif.., Don enlisted in the U.S. Navy at the age of 17 during World War II, serving on the U.S.S. Henderson (DD-785). Married Dollie Jean Meckley and had two children. Employed by the Shell Oil Refinery for 15 years.

A member of the Long Beach Roadrunners Club, he built Model-T roadsters, and raced them on the dry lake beds in southern California. Married JoEllen Walker in 1958 and started Don’s Tune-Up in Newport Beach, Calif. Had three children and moved to Sandpoint in 1961. Operated Baker’s Shell Station. In ‘72 opened Baker’s Carbeurators and Electric. Don was very honest, upstanding, highly regarded and always enjoyed a good conversation about guitars, astronomy, hunting, photography and hot rods. He played guitar with the Old Time Fiddlers for over 30 years.

Retired to Eagan Mountain in Hope in ‘92 and wintered in Arizona until 2006. Moved to Sagle in 2004. He took great pleasure in gardening and raised award winning onions with his triplet granddaughters.

JEAN AUSTIN Jean Therese Aulbach Austin, January 12, 1929 - April 19, 2010. Born in Detroit, Mich., moved at age 2 to Southern California where she grew up and attended schools. Often appeared in bit parts in films, most notably Little Rascals, several Shirley Temple Movies, and a Midsummer Night’s Dream with Mickey Rooney. A graduate of St. Monica’s High School she entered the Convent of the Immaculate Heart, went to college, and taught elementary school. After leaving the convent met Ramon Austin and they married in 1955 in Venice, Calif. Worked as a bank teller and enjoyed life as a mother of four. Moved to Sandpoint in 1988 and worked for Alpine Motors, and later as secretary at Lake Pend Oreille Alternative High School, where the students nicknamed her “the Dragon.” Retired in 2002. When the students heard that she had to sell her beloved violin, given to her by her father, they pooled their own money to present her with a new one. Loved family, genealogy and crocheting, and crocheted hats for newborns at Bonner General and Kootenai Medical Center. Enjoyed old movies, good books, music and playing the violin; played in several area symphonies.

WILLIAM TAVES, D.M.D. William “Bill” Wesley (Toews) Taves, D.M.D, February 7, 1915 - April 12, 2010. Born in Jamestown, N.D. where he grew up on the farm. Attended schools in Dinuba, Calif. and graduated high school in Fresno. Trained as an xray tech in Los Angeles and met Evelyn Williams. They married 1940 in Lansing, Mich. Graduated from dentistry school at Pacific Northern College in Portland, Ore. in 1945, received a doctorate in medical dentistry. Head of the pediatric department at Loma Linda University and invented the “Taves Space Maintainer.” Did mission dentistry with a German Mennonite settlement in Mexico.

In ‘92 he and Evelyn moved to Sandpoint to be closer to family. Was an active member of his church, and enjoyed teaching Bible studies, sharing his faith, reading, growing grapes, grafting fruit trees, gardening, inventing and tinkering. He is a member of the Sandpoint Seventh-Day Adventist Church, American Dental Association, Teacher Association, and past Beaumont Rotarian. Loved his family, especially grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers a donation to Bonner Community Hospice at Bonner General Hospital in Sandpoint or your favorite charity in Bill’s name would be appreciated.

VERNA STEINER Loreen Verna (Scheiffelbine) Steiner, December 3, 1932 - March 31, 2010, passed away at her home near Sagle.

Born and grew up in Napoleon, North Dakota, moved to Monroe, Wash. in 1948. Worked as a nurse’s aide for 17 years for Valley General Hospital. She was a farmer who was active raising beef cattle and a dairy cow. Retired for health reasons, lived in Florida and Tennessee after the death of her husband. Later moved to Idaho to be with her friend Helen Dobner where she enjoyed cooking and smoking salmon she caught in Alaska while working in the commercial fishing industry. She enjoyed her two Yorkshire dogs, the beauty and scenery of Idaho for the last 10 years. Memorials may be made to the Panhandle Animal Shelter, 870 Kootenai Cutoff Road, Ponderay, ID 83852.

Schnackenberg & Nelson Funeral Home Libby, Montana KATHRYN K. SHERMAN Kathryn K. Sherman, September 7, 1920 - April 5, 2010.

Born in Sacramento, Calif., grew up and attended schools there. She married Woody Sherman in 1941 in Lovelock, Nev. They moved to Montana in the 1940s. She enjoyed painting, playing the guitar, horseback riding and yard sales.

Page 26 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

Scott Clawson

acresnpains@dishmail.net Once upon a time, there became a new country in an old land. They called it “the new world.” But it wasn’t. It was an old home previously inhabited by millions who loved it, respected it, and lived within its mean. The leaders of this new country, bent on changing the ways they had brought with them from the old world, called it the “Land of the Free.”

Pretty soon they desired to know how many “free” people were in their country and commissioned a head count (census) to be taken throughout the land. Four million (give or take a hundred thousand) was the total they came up with.

Well, happiness loves company, so they doubled the size of their land, ignoring ore removing those who were already living there because they weren’t “truly” free.

Welcoming any and all who wished to be “truly” free, they invited through wide open doors the huddled, befuddled, tired, poor, beleaguered, bored, diseased, estranged and deranged peoples of all walks, religions, beliefs and desires.

To have an appetite for freedom was all they asked of most. Money was not required, but in its stead there had to be a

strong back and a willingness to work it.

They redoubled their size again through a distress real estate transaction from an “old world” firm who needed to liquidate some of their assets. Within a few decades the number of free people had fourpled (quadrupled) and soon after doubled again.

Luckily for them, another distress sale came available which gave them valuable new territory to add even more free people to.

This made them proud, not to mention wealthy, so they left the doors open because it was good for business.

Those that were moved, removed and/or ignored because they could not be “truly” free simply blended in to their surroundings and all but disappeared, clinging to the old ways of a subsistence existence.

Everything was groovy. The business of being free was booming. The people worked long and hard at being free. And their numbers doubled and redoubled again and again according to the censuses taken by the Department of Business.

In time, their resources and hard labor became too expensive to maintain a free society so they mortgaged their ‘next of kin’ and fed their hungers with the help of un-free peoples in far away places. They left the doors open to let some of these people come in to take care of the little things for them while they went on being free.

This worked well and people throughout the land became proficient at taking their freedoms for granted, having anything they wanted without planning or saving or even hard work.

Not wanting to be outdone, they went further and further in debt until they no longer owned their land or their way of life. This scared the hell out of them. They cried, “how can we be free under all this debt?”

So they did another census, one more expensive than any previously done, hoping for something to cling to in their time of worry; statistics that might offer a way out; numbers that might add meaning or direction where it is needed. They spent five billion dollars on it, roughly sixteen dollars for each and every one of the “free” people who were already in debt more than they were worth.

They enumerated well over 300 million not-quite-free people in a land that was now unexpectedly restrained and deep in debt. It was also wide open to free trade in a world eager to work for much less.

Unable to stem their consumption, their debt grew and their fears grew. And they sat bewildered, unable to understand how things got so screwed up just when everything was goin’ so well.

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From the Mouth of the River

This being an opinion page I guess I can give mine, on several topics I think are funny.

First is the news on TV. All three of our local channels now give 30 minutes of uninterrupted commercials. On occasion they will break in and show a picture of some guy wanted for child molesting by the Sheriff; apparently all the district attorneys and judges in Spokane are sympathetic with perverts because this guy has 12 prior convictions. The district attorney doesn’t want to prosecute this guy because that would mean he would have to get off his dead ass and do his job.

In Oklahoma they have a cottonwood tree out back of the courthouse just for men who beat women and molest children.

There’s enough room on that tree for sympathetic judges and lazy ass attorneys.

The appearance on camera of our local news media indicate they’re trying to keep up with the latest Hollywood fashions, by letting themselves go. Words heard from the makeup room: “Don’t touch my hair, I have slept under my pillow for a week and it’s just now starting to dredge.” Men who never comb their hair and have a three- or four-day-old beard think they are sexy, when in fact the last thing a woman wants is some guy whiskering her with a three-day-old stubble while looking like he hasn’t washed his face or combed his hair in a week.

Some of the women newscasters perch on stools showing as much leg as their religion will allow but no cleavage. While others wear wigs that look like road kill and show a little cleavage.

The other evening during a close up we saw a small varmint crawling

about in one women’s wig; it was the most interesting part of the news.

We also like the sweet young things sent out to do live coverage shots for the news, while trying to read off of scripted notes. “‘How does that make you feel? Sir, sir, how dos that make you feel? Sir, sir.’ And as you can see behind me the paramedics are placing Mr. Jones in a body bag for transport to Sacred Heart Medical Center after being drug for nearly a mile under this car, driven by his wife of 52 years. If the camera will just pan over here we can see Mrs. Jones setting on the curb drinking a beer to apparently calm her nerves. ‘Mrs. Jones, how do you feel? Mrs. Jones?’ We will update you at six on Mrs. Jones’ condition from such a horrendous accident. Mr. Jones’ name will not be disclosed until his family has been notified. This has been Britney Sweet Cheeks reporting for station 0u812.”

The newspapers differ slightly by reporting the national news the day after it was on TV and our local paper the day after that, only spelled wrong.

Idaho’s Transportation Department is the worst in the continental U.S. And second only to Haiti after the quake. Like Russia, who sends its misfits to Siberia when they screw up, the state of Idaho sends its screw-ups to North Idaho. Engineers, whose diplomas say, “I. R .One,” direct the highway system here. When laying down a new highway surface it requires three passes with a paving machine. Our misfits can’t seem to make the seams come together, leaving a gap to be filled with water and ice, busting it out even wider and shredding your tires as you drive along it. Most of these areas are long, continual stretches and in both lanes.

Pot holes are a common thing in the Northwest and some are even named after highway personnel who have retired. One pot hole we know of was here in 1973 and is still growing.

Idaho is the only state who marks passing lanes going over hills and around blind curves. This dates back to the Model-T days without any changes. Passing a wagon and team with a touring car didn’t require a lot of distance; this may help explain why there are so many fatalities on Idaho highways.

As some of you know I

Boots Reynolds

fish a lot and all over the country. I don’t catch a lot of fish but I fish for a lot of different species. We live near Lake Pend Oreille; it is one of the largest and deepest lakes in the state with over a hundred mile of shoreline. It has two rivers and a numerous amount of smaller streams feeding it. Two world record fish have been caught here, a Rainbow and a Bull trout. At one time this lake was commercially fished and with no limit on Kokanee. This lake was a jewel— God’s gift to the Northwest.

Then, man decided to improve it. It’s gone downhill ever since and to the point now of free falling. Any time our government says, here, “We can improve this perfect lake,” you may as well sell your fishing gear and buy a wave runner.

The U.S Fish and Wildlife has put the Bull Trout on the endangered list and the Idaho Fish and Game are using gillnets to catch and kill all species of fish in the lake except Kokanee. As for the Bull Trout, the Idaho Fish and Game said at their last public meeting, (and in a low voice), “Yes, we do catch and kill Bull Trout in our gill nets, but they are just collateral damage.” While the U.S. Fish and Wildlife turn a blind eye to these deaths (of protected fish), should YOU catch one, it’s a heavy fine.

Catching all the fish in this lake that feed on Kokanee requires special equipment.

Professional gillnetters from back East are under contract to Fish and Game and paid for by our electric company, who draws water from the lake and sells electricity back to us. Fish and Game makes you buy a license to fish here but wants you to catch and kill Lake trout and Rainbow. Then pay you for every one you kill.

Already the people are calling this onetime jewel of the Northwest, “The Dead Sea.” Guides and outfitters have become collateral damage along with the Bull Trout.

While the Idaho Fish and Game hope to restore Lake Pend Oreille to its 1940’s and ‘50’s heydays, that’s not going to happen.

The fishing world has changed along with the fish. While the Rainbow has been the Queen of the streams and lakes in the past it has been reduced to fly fishing catch and release. Today fishermen and women can drive or fly to the best spots in North America, and fish for whatever species there little hearts desire.

What will the Fish and Game do for our lake? Make a great place for sail boats and wave runners? Or leave it alone and let it develop its own fisheries? If you really want to know what’s going to determine our fisheries here, look to Montana and the Clark Fork River. Whatever is coming down is what we’ll have to fish for.

Come on, Walleye……

Rusty Hook

Page 28 | The River Journal - A News Magazine Worth Wading Through | www.RiverJournal.com | Vol. 19 No. 5| May 2010

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