Over 50 beer and cider options fresh salads
Authentic wood-fired pizza
Sandwiches
pizza and more!
Mandala will be at the following locations:
suggested donation of $10 per camper Located at First Lutheran Church with Daily Trips to Lakeview Park for Lunch & Activities
Friday, JULY 20 @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall 6:30 - 9:30 p.m
Sunday, JULY 22 @ Schweitzer Mtn. Resort 12 - 5 p.m.
July 23-26, 2018 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For kids entering k-6
Thursday, JULY 19 @ 219 Lounge 5 - 8 p.m.
Saturday, JULY 21 @ Schweitzer Mtn. Resort 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.
SUMMER DAY CAMP
(208) 263-0966 Corner of First Ave. and Bridge Street Downtown Sandpoint
For more information and registration forms go to: http://www.firstlutheransandpoint.org/kids-alive.html.
First Lutheran Church 526 S. Olive Ave, Sandpoint
BUY 3 ADS, GET 2 FREE New customers only. Offer expires Aug. 1, 2018. Must pay balance in full in advance. Any size.
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(wo)MAN compiled by
Susan Drinkard
DEAR READERS,
on the street
What is your spirit animal?
405 Olive • 290-2018 • 290-1395
(call)
(text)
Mon-Fri 7:30am - 5:30pm Consignments Welcome!
“I am the grizzly bear, spirit keeper of the West. I am playful, protective, introspective, and like the bear, I need my space.” Lacey McMaster Sandpoint
“My spirit guides are wolves and ravens.”
2015 Subaru Forester low miles
$16,955
2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser
$9,900
Cameron Deuel Cook Formerly of Sandpoint Spokane Valley
2009 Mercedes Benz C 300 All Wheel Drive Low Miles
“The peacock. I grew up with them at my grandma’s. They are showy and beautiful, like the flowers my husband and I grow and sell.” Ali Fitzpatrick Northern Flowers and Garden Center Blanchard “The koi fish. I have three— two swimming downstream and one swimming upstream; they represent my father and grandfather and myself. We are all water signs — Pisces. I am drawn to water. The koi represent longevity and wisdom.” Sean Eakins Store director Sandpoint
“The butterfly, because I think they are free flowing and enjoy nature.” Stefhanie Meyers Head chef, Winter Ridge Sandpoint
$12,750
selkirkautosales@outlook.com
We have just three weeks to go until the Festival at Sandpoint kicks off another year of good times and good tunes. As you may have noticed, we are doing our annual duty to interview the amazing lineup of performers (I know, tough job). Last week, we spoke to Rome Ramirez of Sublime with Rome. This week, we feature interviews with Phillip Phillips and Maestro Gary Sheldon with the Spokane Symphony. Next week, we’ll publish interviews with ZZ Top’s frontman Billy Gibbons and Bluesky Bluegrass, and after that we have commitments for interviews with Big Head Todd and the Monsters’ frontman Todd Park Mohr and feelers out to Amos Lee and Gavin DeGraw. Pay attention to our Facebook feed next week - we’ll be giving away a season pass to one lucky winner, which gives you patron seating for each and every show at the Festival this year. Stay tuned! It’s going to be a great rest of the summer.
-Ben Olson, Publisher
READER 111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208)265-9724
www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Taylor Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Alessandro Caretto (cover), Ben Olson, Reclaim Idaho, Inlander, FSPW, SMR, Jesse Deflorio. Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Bill Harp, Sandy Compton, Emily Erickson, Brenden Bobby, McCalee Cain. Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash. Subscription Price: $95 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho. We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community. The Reader is printed on recycled pa paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism. Free to all, limit two copies per person.
Sandpoint Reader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics. Requirements: –No more than 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion. Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers. Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook. About the Cover
This week’s cover photograph was taken by Alessandro Caretto. Love the colors in the photo! Go two wheels! July 19, 2018 /
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NEWS
Medicaid expansion will see November ballot By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Idaho voters will have a chance to vote for or against Medicaid expansion on Idaho’s Nov. 6 ballot, Secretary of State Lawerence Denney announced Tuesday. The ballot initiative needed more than 56,000 signatures from 6 percent of registered voters in at least 18 legislative districts across the state. All verified signatures — more than 70,000 — were delivered to Boise July 6 by volunteers under the banner Idahoans for Healthcare: a coalition of activists, healthcare providers and businesses who support “closing the health coverage gap.” Reclaim Idaho, a grassroots campaign co-founded by Sandpoint High graduates Luke Mayville and Garrett Strizich, played a key role in collecting the needed signatures. “When I first heard that our
Medicaid Expansion initiative made the ballot, I was not very surprised because I knew that we had done all the work necessary to qualify,” Mayville told the Reader Wednesday. “However, seeing the official statement gave me an overwhelming feeling of joy on behalf of all of the local leaders and volunteers who worked so hard to beat the odds. This is their victory.” Strizich’s wife, Emily, has also been a face for Reclaim Idaho, and was introduced on July 6 as co-chair of IFH along with republican state representative Christy Perry.
Luke Mayville speaks to a crowd in Coeur d’Alene. Photo courtesy Reclaim Idaho. Moving forward, Mayville said Reclaim Idaho will do what the group does best: travel the state and talk to voters. “During the coming months, our campaign will host events and knock on thousands of doors to make sure that every voter is aware of this historic opportunity to bring tax dollars back to Idaho and extend healthcare to 62,000 people who desperately need it,” he said.
Bottle Bay Rd. to open sooner than expected
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff
The entrance to Bottle Bay Road off Highway 95 south of Sandpoint will be opening up sooner than originally anticipated, said Bonner County Road and Bridge Director Steve Klatt Wednesday. Klatt said the contract for work on that intersection had an original completion date of Sept. 30, but the contract is being shortened, estimating the road will be accessible from that entrance by Sept. 15. “The residents bearing the brunt of roadwork frustration (this summer) are those folks whose daily travel typically traverses Bottle Bay Road,” Klatt 4 /
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said. “Hopefully, a year from now when we use that intersection, this summer’s project will seem worthwhile.” He noted that while the county is postponing the scheduled Bottle Bay Road chip sealing work until next summer, there will be a guard rail replacement in late September near Hayes Gulch. Other Bonner County road work this summer includes chip sealing on Dufort Road and other roads in Sagle, right-of-way clearing and ditch work on Sagle Road in late July, asphalt work
DEQ says suspected feces in lake only algae By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When Glen Rolofson noticed a peculiar substance on the shore in front of his home in Ellisport Bay in early July, he came to a conclusion no lakefront property owner wants to experience. “It looked exactly like human waste,” he said. “My wife and I raked some of it up, and as we were throwing it away we realized that it kept coming. We wouldn’t let our grandson swim in the water.” Rolofson showed photos and samples to neighbors and friends, all who also thought it was human feces, he said. After contacting the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Panhandle Health District — neither of whom came to see his shoreline for themselves right away, he said — Rolofson contacted the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office in hopes that someone would come look. A deputy visited Rolofson’s home on Red Fir Road and Rolofson said the deputy was also convinced that is was human feces. Rolofson said he and his neighbor bagged up samples of the mystery substance and she took them to DEQ in Coeur d’Alene. DEQ Regional Water Quality Manager Thomas Herron analyzed the samples. In an email to Lakes Commission Coordinator Molly McCahon, Herron wrote: “We just finished looking at the samples and it is a filamentous algae that has gotten entwined in Eurasian water
milfoil and rolled up into cylindrical wads with tapered ends. I can see why people think it is what it looks like, but I have seen these filamentous wads form from various types of filamentous algae before. They trap gas and can float to the surface and drift into shore.” The same algae was found in Boyer Slough Tuesday, Herron said. Herron told the Reader Wednesday that there is not an easily known reason for this algae making a pronounced appearance on local shorelines, but possible causes include a recent milfoil treatment loosening the weeds, a mass algae die-off, or increased nutrients in the water feeding an influx of algae. He said the northern part of the lake is especially full of nutrients (like phosphorus and nitrogen) from roads draining close to water, increased activity on homeowner’s shorelines (like lawn fertilizing and removal of buffer vegetation), nutrient loads coming from the Clark Fork River, and septic systems. “We try to encourage people to live light on the lake,” Herron said, noting that keeping buffer vegetation on lakeside lawns and maintaining septic tanks are best management practices that DEQ encourages to keep nutrient levels down. Herron said there’s no need to fear that this particular substance is human feces. “We don’t have any evidence of anything but algae washing up on the shore on Northern Lake Pend Oreille,” he said.
Festival unveils annual poster By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff on Bayview Road beginning in late August and the Big Creek Bridge project on Eastriver Road. The county will also have crews on West Spring Creek Road in Hope to finish widening the road and lay cap rock. “Mostly, folks, we ask for your consideration and patience around our project sites when you encounter them,” Klatt said.
The Festival at Sandpoint revealed its poster art Wednesday night in a traditional ceremony that sets the tone for the fun to come. Festival officials selected Sandpoint watercolor artist Judy Pederson as their poster artist this year. As with previous years, the art will not only grace Festival posters but also merchandise and other items, helping to define the imagery for the year.
Artwork by Judy Pederson.
NEWS
Video of racial harassment prompts arrest
By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff
A video of a North Idaho man shouting racial slurs at a Spokane church youth group in Coeur d’Alene is making the rounds on social media. The video, obtained by the Inlander, shows Richard Sovenski, 52, screaming profane, racist and homophobic language at an interracial group of teenagers outside a Coeur d’Alene McDonald’s on July 12. The Inlander reports that Sovenski was arrested Tuesday for the incident and is charged with one count of misdemeanor battery and one count of felony malicious harassment. In the video, the conflict between Sovenski and the church group is already in progress. A man accompanying Sovenski is trying to create distance between him and the teenagers as the older man shouts, “Why don’t you get a f***in’ job? I will f*** you up in a f***in’ heartbeat.” “That’s why I don’t come to Idaho,” remarks one member of the church group early in the video. “Yeah! That’s why you don’t come to Idaho!” replies Sovenski. “F*** you, you f***in’ half-breeds! Get the f*** out of
Idaho,” he later adds. Before the video ends, the man who had been trying to separate Sovenski and the teenagers grabs his crotch at the church group as they leave. The church group leader, Jose Ceniceros, told the Inlander that they visited the McDonald’s for ice cream after listening to a guest preacher in Coeur d’Alene. He claims that Sovenski sucker punched him and threw him to the ground. Sovenski may have been upset by the teenagers’ behavior, as a woman accompanying him told police they were “being rude, dancing and running around causing a disturbance.” Ceniceros told the Inlander that characterization is not accurate. It’s another high-profile incident of racial harassment that concerns Human Rights Task Force members in Kootenai and Bonner counties. Founded in response to harassment and criminal activities of the Aryan Nations in the 1980s, the task forces have had their work cut out for them in recent years. The Bonner County task force, in particular, has been active in combating recent distribution campaigns of racist hate flyers in Sandpoint over the past two years.
By Reader Staff
Richard Sovenski yells racial insults at teenagers at the Coeur d’Alene McDonald’s July 12. Still frame from a cell phone video obtained by the Inlander.
“Above normal” fire activity expected in Panhandle through Sept. By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Wildfire officials say June weather plays a large part in fire season outlook, and for the Idaho Panhandle this year, a wet and chilly June seemed a welcome relief. However, a dry, hot couple of weeks to kick off July has made the June moisture less prevalent, meaning wildfires will likely be on the rise throughout the next couple of months, according to U.S. Forest Service spokesperson Shoshana Cooper. “We did receive much-needed precipitation in June; however, we have also had some extremely high temperatures in July which cause finer fuels to dry out quickly
and dead fuel moistures to remain low, which increase the potential for fire activity,” she said, noting that the National Interagency Fire Center’s Predictive Services is calling for “above normal significant wildland fire potential across the Kootenai Region and the Northern Idaho Panhandle” through September. So far this year, Cooper said there have been over 60 wildfire starts in the Coeur d’Alene Dispatch Zone, which includes the Sandpoint Ranger District, and each fire has been contained in four acres or less. A 15-acre wildfire called the Rock Creek Fire was reported about 10 miles north of Bonners Ferry near Highway 95 at mile-
Comments sought on Camp Robin Project Draft Environmental Assessment
post 517.5. A Boundary County Emergency Management report placed the fire in a bit of a canyon and that it was moving due to high winds. KHQ Local News reported several homes in the area have been voluntarily evacuated. A smaller fire north of Priest Lake near the Salmo-Priest Wilderness area boundary on the Washington side was reported by the U.S. Forest Service. A line has been completed around the 1.5-acre fire, according to USFS. Containment efforts and mop-up is estimated to be completed by Friday. Outside of the immediate region, nearly 120 acres and one home burned in a fire north of the Upriver Dam in Spokane early this week.
The Spokesman-Review reported that nearly 800 Spokane County homes were evacuated, and firefighters completed a line around the entirety of the blaze Wednesday. Another nearby fire is the Zulu Fire, north of Libby, Mont. The 20-acre fire was detected Sunday, and firefighters were still working to contain it Wednesday afternoon. While summer fires are started by any plethora of causes, Cooper said the most easily prevented fire starter is a campfire. “Drowning the fire with water, stirring it and determining it’s cool enough to touch is the best practice to ensure a campfire is out,” she said.
The Idaho Panhandle National Forests is seeking public comments on the draft environmental assessment for the Camp Robin Project located on the Bonners Ferry Ranger District. The public comment period is open for 30 days, with comments accepted through Aug. 17. Project information and instructions on how to comment are available on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests website. The Camp Robin project is a vegetation management project designed to address hazardous fuels, forest health and resilience, wildlife habitat, watershed health and recreation management concerns. Public comments help guide the project. Please focus your comments on the proposed action and include rationale to help us understand your concerns. Within the 42,000 acre project area, approximately 390 acres of prescribed burning and about 5,800 acres of commercial vegetation management are proposed on National Forest System lands. Kevin Knauth, Bonners Ferry district ranger, would like to thank all of the stakeholders and the collaborative effort involved in the project planning efforts. The project was developed in collaboration with the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative to complement other landscape restoration work in the Lower Kootenai River Valley. The KVRI collaborative consists of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, Boundary County, City of Bonners Ferry, private citizens, landowners, Federal and State agencies, conservation/environmental advocacy groups, and representatives of business and industry. For additional information or questions, please contact Doug Nishek, Project Team Leader, at dnishek@fs.fed.us or (208) 267-5561. July 19, 2018 /
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TECH
Random Digital Madness
Regional technology news and commentary
The Money Problem and the Rise of Cryptocurrency Part 2 The transaction only reveals the Bitcoin “address,” and the sender provides a digital signature that verifies ownership of that address. A digital accounting system keeps track of all Bitcoin that have arrived at your address, so you can’t transfer Bitcoin that you have not received. Enter the blockchain
By Bill Harp Reader Tech Columnist In part one last week, we talked about the money problem and how cryptocurrency, or CC, resolved several problems associated with traditional fiat currency. We also introduced Bitcoin, the most well-known CC. In this section, we discuss some of the transformative core technology behind the CC movement and how it is creating a revolution, in both technology and the economy, that threatens the power of governments and global financial institutions. CC security and validating transactions
Behind the scenes of the Bitcoin software ecosystem, a number of sophisticated technologies make it all possible. The two main problems that the Bitcoin technology solves are: •Transaction security: solved with public key cryptography •Validation: solved with blockchain technology Public key cryptography is the centerpiece of CC security and depends on private keys and public keys. For example, your public key is connected to the wallet from which you send or receive Bitcoin. Your private key is used to create a unique digital signature when you make a transaction. Both the recipient and the Bitcoin network use this digital signature to verify that you are the legitimate Bitcoin owner. So you could say that public key cryptography is the electronic version of a bank teller who checks your photo ID and your bank balance before cashing your check. The online transfer of the Bitcoin is virtually immediate, but the validation process may take minutes to securely log the transaction. The new owner can then use the Bitcoin. Note that neither the sender nor the recipient need reveal who they are. 6 /
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The key to validating a Bitcoin transaction is the blockchain. A blockchain is a digital database, or accounting ledger, of all Bitcoin transactions ever made. Thousands of identical copies of the ledgers (the “blocks”) are housed on computer nodes and provide a foolproof deterrent to hackers. Imagine a spider’s web where each silky intersection (the computer node) houses an identical library of all the Bitcoin transactions ever made. In addition, each transaction ledger in that library is sealed, so no changes can be made. This collection of identical libraries protects Bitcoin records from being hacked because a hacker can’t possibly make changes to thousands of copies of the library. If changes in one library are noted, that corrupt node is booted out of the blockchain and becomes unusable. The crowd of “good” blockchains keeps on working. The fact that it’s not controlled by any single authority and has no single point of failure makes it very robust, transparent and incorruptible. Who closes and seals each block? Data miners, of course. Data miners are people who want to earn Bitcoin rewards by participating in the verification network. Miners provide a sort of “volunteer” security system and make a considerable investment in hardware to meet the complex, computationally intensive cryptology requirements to participate in the validation process. Therefore, all Bitcoin transactions themselves are public, but the Bitcoin owner is mostly anonymous. The Bitcoin is not tied to personal information. Identity theft is virtually impossible with CC transactions. The blockchain revolution
It turns out that blockchain is an appropriate technology for operations that require a precise chain-of-custody that cannot be counterfeited or edited. For example: financial records, medical records, legal records, criminal case evidence and intellectual properties can be accurately tracked from start to finish. They can be transferred thousands or even millions of times without error. Blockchain could even provide a precise method to track nuclear
weapons and components. Companies are scurrying to find appropriate applications for blockchain technology. This has resulted in a lot of hype as companies pay lip service to the “new shiny thing” without a solid business model or even a comprehensive understanding of blockchain technology. Of course, many serious companies will successfully find appropriate applications for the blockchain technology. This is actually one of the biggest growth areas in technology. A revolution from the ground up
Global financial institutions originally shunned Bitcoin and other CC, but now they are trying to dominate a market that does not really require their traditional services. The value is in the well-designed, robust and secure method of making and accounting for peer-to-peer financial transactions, not in some arbitrarily assigned value of a Bitcoin. The money revolution continues
Clearly, the CC revolution challenges the most powerful forces in the world: governments and global financial systems whose power emanates from the control of money are threatened. And Bitcoin is not the only game in town. There are several major potential CC alternatives to Bitcoin: Litecoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Ripple and Monero. Even the Venezuelan government has arrived on the scene with the petro, a CC they introduced as national currency. You might not want to buy any petros. Governments are doing their best to figure out how to track, regulate and control CC. Financial institutions are now desperately trying to figure out how to make money from CC and to exploit blockchain
tradi for other purposes. Although traditional pundits may relentlessly unprece call CC a scam of unprecedented proportions, some more astute analysts are quick to point out that the traditional global fiat money system is a more likely candidate to implode into massive loss of “faith and credit.” Remember that in the real estate- and mortgage-based securities crisis of 2008, one of the biggest problems was figuring out the chain of custody of all those mortgages that were bundled into debt obligations and sold in the global marketplace. At least CC has a robust accounting system. No matter the value of a Bitcoin at any particular moment, each transaction can count on a very high level of accuracy coupled with a low level of risk. Conclusion
At the end of the day, because cryptocurrencies solve so many of the liabilities of traditional money systems, there may be a trend toward transforming the global financial systems into a global CC system. I believe it is safe to say that CCs are not going away and are firmly entrenched as an alternative in the global system of money. You will know CCs have arrived when Visa delivers a CC card and the government accepts tax payments in CC. Cryptocurrency is just another example of how technology, especially open source technology, continues to transform global society in revolutionary ways. Long live the revolution! Bill Harp is a technologist, geospatial analyst and cultural anthropologist. He was Director of Technology (emeritus) of Bonner County and has a long career in defense and intelligence.
OPINION
President Trump sinks to a new low in Helsinki By Ben Olson Reader Staff Editor’s Note: This is an opinion article written by Reader publisher Ben Olson. When President Donald Trump stood next to Russian President Putin in Helsinki on Monday, he had a chance to prove to his critics that he believed in our country’s best and brightest, that he stood behind the conclusion of every single one of our intelligence agencies, which was that Russia had definitively meddled in our 2016 election. What could have been a shining moment of strength turned into a disgrace, as Trump prostrated himself before the world by declaring that he took Russia’s word over his own intelligence agencies. When asked by a reporter if he held Russia responsible for anything related to election meddling, Trump said, “I hold both countries responsible. I think the United States has been foolish.” Pressed by another reporter, Trump said, “My people came to me, Dan Coats, some others, they came to me and said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this, I don’t see any reason why it would be.” These incredible statements came just three days after 12 Russian military intelligence agents under direct Kremlin control were indicted for meddling in the 2016 election. Twitter feeds from around the world erupted. “President Trump must clarify his statements in Helsinki on our intelligence system and Putin,” Newt Gingrich tweeted Monday. “It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected – immediately.” Sen. John McCain tweeted, “Today’s press conference in Helsinki was one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory. The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.” Idaho’s Sen. Jim Risch released a statement: “My assess-
ment has not changed; Russia attempted to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election and is no friend of the United States. The United States must stand from a position of strength in our relationship with Russia and in defense of our allies and shared values.” “I have always believed that America first does not mean American alone,” U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, wrote in a statement Tuesday. “We are at our strongest when we work together with our allies to counter international aggression inconsistent with our values. In response to Russian actions that run counter to our principles, Congress has spoken clearly by providing the Administration tools to hold the Kremlin accountable, tools that I hope will be utilized to their fullest extent.” Over 28 hours later, facing such immense backlash, President Trump attempted to walk back his comments, saying he “misspoke.” “I came back and said, ‘What is going on? What’s the big deal?” Trump said. “I got a transcript, I actually went out and reviewed a clip of an answer I gave and I realize there is a need for some clarification.” Trump went on to say, “I accept our intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election took place. Could be other people also. There’s a lot of people out there.” The key part of this statement is the “Could be other people also,” when he negates his backtracking by again sticking to the idea that others could have been at work in the election meddling. They haven’t. U.S. intelligence agencies are very clear about that. “In a key sentence in my remarks I said the word ‘would’ instead of ‘wouldn’t,’” Trump said. “The sentence should have been: ‘I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia. Sort of a double negative. So, you can put that in and I think that probably clarifies things pretty good by itself.” It doesn’t. This excuse, in a word, is weak. If Trump did, indeed, misspeak, he had 28 hours of backlash during that time to correct the record. He gave two interviews with
Fox News, tweeted nine times and his administration even released talking points defending his performance at the summit. Not once did anyone say he misspoke. Attacking the credibility of his own intelligence agencies is a common refrain from the president. He has repeatedly cast doubts over Russia’s role in election meddling, saying that “maybe there was no hacking,” and, “It could have also been somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds.” Even when begrudgingly admitting he believes his intelligence agencies, he usually qualifies his statement with a counter statement that raises the question that it might be another country that meddled. It wasn’t. Trump’s own director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, released a statement Monday that served as a strong rebuke to the President: “The role of the Intelligence Community is to provide the best information and fact-based assessments possible for the President and policymakers. We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security.”
Another Fourth... Dear Editor, My love of flag, country, and National Anthem is wholly separate from my visceral distrust of our elected legislators in D.C., who, in my humble opinion, are all corrupt, duplicitous narcissists who care not a whit about what’s good for our country. They care about power and reelection. Having said that, another Independence Day parade is in the rear view mirror, and with it another disappointing exhibition by numerous adults, males in particular, that I assumed to be U.S. citizens. Why is it so difficult to stand, remove your hat, and place your hand over your heart when the colors pass? Why is it so difficult to show respect for flag and country? Why is it so difficult to honor those who gave their lives to preserve your right to act like thoughtless ingrates? God bless America, and God bless
The real question is this: What Faustian bargain has Trump made with Putin behind closed doors, when it was just the two of them and their translators? When asked if he held Russia accountable for anything, Trump said, “I think we’re all to blame,” somehow throwing the U.S. into the same trench as Russia. It is this statement that is perhaps the most alarming. America isn’t to blame for the downing of passenger jet MH17, Russia is. America isn’t to blame for the annexation of Georgia and Crimea, Russia is. America isn’t to blame for chemical attacks in Syria, Russia is. America isn’t responsible for the poisoning of two British agents, Russia is. To stand side by side with an autocrat like Vladimir Putin and
say America is equally to “blame” for the atrocities that Russia has committed, and continues to commit, is a slap in the face of every American. At least it should be, but I fear the Trump supporters will again find no reason to waver in their devotion to the rising American despot. Former CIA director John Brennan tweeted perhaps the most damning statement that puts the ball in the Republican party’s court. “Donald Trump’s press conference performance in Helsinki rises to & exceeds the threshold of ‘high crimes & misdemeanors.’ It was nothing short of treasonous. Not only were Trump’s comments imbecilic, he is wholly in the pocket of Putin. Republican Patriots: Where are you???” Where indeed.
our military.
upstream from Lake Pend Oreille. For years I have worked to protect the water quality of the lake from the pollution that would be dumped into the main tributary to the lake from the mine. The NEPA process is crucial to keep our water clean. Since the mine is in Montana, yet Idaho will have to deal with the pollution, federal regulation is essential. I urge you to vote against Representative Amodei’s rider, and work towards a sensible bill that does not imperil our children’s future by reckless disregard to established law.
Steve Brixen Sandpoint
Our Lake is at Stake... Dear Editor, I wrote the following letter to our Congressional representatives in Washington, D.C. (Sen Crapo, Sen Risch, Rep Labrador). They need to hear from us soon, please write. Dear Sir: I just read that the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision to exclude hard rock mineral mining from the NEPA (National Environmental Protection Act) process. I live next to Lake Pend Oreille in Bonner County. Hecla’s proposed Rock Creek copper-silver mine sits
Jean Gerth Sandpoint
Got something to say? Write a letter to the editor. We publish letters under 400 words that are free of profanities and libel. July 19, 2018 /
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COMMUNITY
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness get a new look at an old tradition By Sandy Compton Reader Contributor
Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness is one of many organizations nationwide that partner with the Forest Service in stewardship of public lands, including weed abatement, stream bank restoration, white bark pine restoration and most notably, trail maintenance and construction. As a Forest Service partner, I was a recent beneficiary of the first Region One Wilderness Skills Institute, at Powell Ranger Station on the Lochsa River. During the Institute training, volunteer partners — as well as Forest Service personnel — learned a method of saw training that is part of the Forest Service’s new national saw policy. Without getting into the weeds about OSHA requirements and the bureaucratic underpinnings of government agencies, the saw policy adopted in 2016 by the Forest Service is revolutionary. After decades of different Regional requirements — at one time a Region One C sawyer might have to undergo recertification to saw in Region Four — the USFS has a manual that applies to chainsaw and crosscut saw operators nationwide. They also have a new method of certifying sawyers. And, they are certifying partner volunteers. Saw operators come in several varieties. An “A” sawyer is a raw trainee. “B” sawyers are generally certified to do ground work (bucking) and a very limited amount of felling. “C” sawyers are certified to buck, fell and train “A” and “B” sawyers. A “C” Certifier tops the skill set, with the ability to train as well as certify all levels of sawyers. As land management agencies suffer from reduced bud8 /
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gets, they naturally struggle to get their jobs done. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the National Trail System, most of which is managed by the Forest Service. Where once dozens of seasonal employees might show up each summer on a Ranger District to work on trails, trail crews have shrunk to 4 or 5. Districts are having to accept that some trails are just not going to get annual attention. This is frustrating for the agency and especially frustrating for outdoor recreationists who use those trails. It follows that place-based volunteer organizations like FSPW are becoming important to Forest Service goals of maintaining and building trails. Where once volunteers were viewed with a cautious eye and required to work under direct supervision of Forest Service personnel, more and more trail work is being undertaken by self-supervised volunteer crews, or crews organized and supervised by staff from organizations like FSPW, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation or the Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation. As part of the saw policy revolution, the Forest Service is not only training and certifying volunteer sawyers, they are certifying volunteers and NGO staff to be trainers and certifiers as well. Possibly the most profound change in policy is the method sawyers now use to determine how to fell a tree or clear a blow-down mess. In the new training, the emphasis has moved from rote memorization to an emphasis on creating smart sawyers who rely more on situational analysis than on rules and regulations.
Creating smart sawyers is the goal of the new paradigm in USFS crosscut and chainsaw certification
Left: OHLEC and some simple math make felling more predictable, safer and more efficient. Right: Newbie sawyers Corey and Jake from Montana Conservation Corps — neither of whom had even seen a crosscut saw before — learn the finer points of underbucking. Courtesy photos.
During the Wilderness Skills Institute, cross-cut sawyers from the FS and their partners were introduced to OHLEC, a method for determining how to safely proceed when removing a hazard tree or a blow down mess from a trail. OHLEC is an acronym for five stages of a saw project; whether it be felling, bucking, limbing or brushing. The stages are as follows: O: Determine the Objective, be it hazard tree removal — where the tree is to fall — or safely clearing a segment of trail of blow-down. H: Determine Hazards that might be encountered in reaching the Objective. Widow-makers, power lines, tripping hazards, buildings, nearby roads and trails, human presence and myriad other things might be considered Hazards. L: Which way and how much does the tree Lean? Or, in the case of downed trees, what forces will affect the behavior of the tree and the saw when it’s cut. Sawyers use a plumb-bob to determine front or back Lean and side Lean of a standing tree, and then determine what adjustments have to be made to achieve the Ob-
jective. Similarly, blow-down is studied to determine how a single tree might react if cut in a certain way, or, if it’s part of a larger mess, how it will affect the rest of the pile. E: Escape routes are created in advance, cleared of tripping hazards and providing as sawyers protection by distance or obstacles between the potential hazard and the sawyers. C: The Cut plan is the crux of all other planning. The introduction of basic math into the process makes it a simpler to fell a tree. Through simple formulas, the direction of fall, depth of face cut, amount of hinge wood and the stump shot are determined before the saw enters the wood. In the case of blow down, top, side and bottom bind are determined and the Cut plan reflects the physics involved in the release of those forces during the cutting. A brushing or limbing project will include swamping plans — where is the slash going to go. This is a simplified version of OHLEC, but real training — which moves out of the classroom and into the field much more quickly than the old training — is not much more complicated than this basic ex-
planation. Training also spends time on the “zen of crosscut,” matching the sawyer’s body placement and movement to the saw and their partner for the best effect. Through the new policy, work in the field has been made safer and more efficient. And, training for new sawyers and those wanting to moved to a higher certification has been greatly simplified. In the initial classroom session at Powell, body language in the room changed dramatically as a cadre of seasoned Forest Service and volunteer sawyers— many of them C-level — recognized that their next certification session was going to be a.) easier, b.) more effective and c.) more fun — whether they were certifying someone else or being recertified. Sandy Compton is program coordinator for FSPW. He achieved “C” certifier status for crosscut at the Institute. FSPW crews use crosscut saws to clear trails in the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness. To volunteer for trail work (and learn how to used a crosscut saw), visit scotchmanpeaks. org/stewardship/trail-projects/
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COMMUNITY
Goat etiquette advised on Scotchman Peak Trail By Reader Staff
Bouquets: • I sometimes forget to mention when we receive big donations from our readers. I need to get better at this, since it’s often the only recognition people get for their generous support. To those of you who have supported the Reader in the past, we appreciate everything you do for us. • I’d like to give a bouquet to the hardworking lifeguards at City Beach. These dedicated men and women are on the stand seven days a week starting the week when school is out all the way through to Labor Day. This program, operated by the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Department, helps keep locals and tourists safe while swimming, but also provides steady summer work for high school and college students. Next time you’re at the beach, tell the lifeguard on the stand that you appreciate them being there — they may just save your life someday. Barbs • Attention dog owners: Sandpoint is a dog-friendly town, but there are a few ways you can help keep it friendly. First, please pick up your dog’s droppings when they go on the sidewalk, or even if they go next to a downtown tree. Someone will step in it, and it probably won’t be you. Also, the downtown shop owners put a lot of time and money into flower planters, but when you allow your dog to urinate on them, it then becomes a cycle where every dog that comes along must leave their own scent, and so on. Please try to keep them from urinating on flower planters if possible. Thanks!
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Every summer the Idaho Panhandle National Forests receives reports of people getting too close to the mountain goats on the Scotchman Peak Trail #65. Mountain goats can become habituated to humans as a result of hikers enticing the goats with food and sweaty, salty hands. These close encounters can be very dangerous because mountain goats are known to behave aggressively in an attempt to obtain human foods and/or salt. People play an important role in keeping this popular trail open by discouraging goat encounters. Wildlife experts recommend people stay at least 100 feet away from the goats, and if goats approach, yell, wave clothing and make efforts from
a distance to scare them away. It is irresponsible and dangerous to feed the mountain goats and/or allow them to lick salt off your hands. In June 2015, a hiker was bitten by a goat and required multiples stitches. There have been numerous reports of goats attempting to head-butt or charge hikers, which could easily lead to serious injury or death. This led to a yearlong closure of the trail in 2015. In order for the Forest Service to keep this trail open so everyone can enjoy the expansive views and frequent mountain goat sightings, people should practice good goat etiquette and educate others if improver behavior is witnessed. It is everyone’s responsibility to keep the mountain goats wild
THE READER IN WEST VIRGINIA
and your trail open. For more information on keeping the mountain goats wild, please visit http://www.scotchmanpeaks.org/
Photo by Leslie Kiebert. you-can-help/leave-mountaingoats-wild/.
Scholarships offered to Idaho students By Reader Staff
A-1 Auto Transport is offering three scholarships of $1,000, $500 and $250 open to all Idaho students seeking financial aid. The scholarships are open to all nationalities and there are no fees to apply. To apply, email a 1,000-word or more essay to scholarships@
a1autotransport.com. Please include your full name, which school you plan on attending and contact information. The essay’s subject matter should be about a subject related to A-1’s website. Find ideas by logging into www. a1autotransport.com. Those applying must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher, and the deadline to apply is March 10.
First Presbyterian Church invites community to a ‘Blessing of the Bicycles’ By Reader Staff
Molly Fay and Wes Ewing brought a piece of North Idaho culture to West Virginia recently. This photo was taken at the New River Gorge Bridge - 876 feet above the New River and one of the highest sin single-span arch vehicular bridges in the world. The bridge is only a few miles away from where Wes was born and raised.
Pastor Andy Kennaly and members of the First Presbyterian Church of Sandpoint invite the community to ride their bikes to the Sandpoint City Beach for a first-ever Blessing of the Bicycles on Sunday, July 22. An outdoor worship service begins at 9:30 a.m. at the park’s picnic pavilion and will be followed by a Blessing of the Bicycles at 10:15 a.m. Enjoy a potluck lunch afterwards. Come to both or either of these events. As an Earth Care Congregation, the First Presbyterian Church looks forward to wor-
ship and fellowship in this magnificent outdoor sanctuary. In addition, the Blessing of the Bicycles will promote the health and energy conservation benefits of cycling while emphasizing the safety for all cyclists. Bring your bike to dip its tires into Lake Pend Oreille and enjoy a short ride on the bike path. The Blessing of the Bicycles will also draw attention to the transcontinental journey of two groups of cyclists who will be staying in our church later in the summer. For more information contact the church office at 263-2047 or www.fpcsandpoint.org.
PERSPECTIVES
Emily Articulated
A column by and about Millennials
Get inspired by the Mirnavator By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist It’s not every day one gets to interview a person featured in the Wall Street Journal, on NBC Nightly News, and in Runner’s World magazine; someone sponsored by REI, Merrell, and JCPenney and one of the 2018 National Geographic Adventurers of the Year. But under the Monday morning sun, bumming the free wifi outside of a coffee shop in Kalispell, Mont., that’s exactly what I did. As I pressed the ringing phone against my ear, I wiped the sweat off my palm, silently reminding myself not to engage in a nearly-inevitable, nervousness-induced, awkwardly-shrill fangirl laugh as Mirna Valerio picked up the phone. Navigating Atlanta, Ga., traffic on her way to the airport, Mirna answered my call with the warmth and ease I could only hope for in a public figure. After engaging in happy small talk, with shared giggles at the abomination of slow left-lane drivers, I began my interview, prompting Mirna to start her story from the beginning. Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Mirna lived with her working-class family, roaming her childhood neighborhood in a pack of siblings, cousins, and friends, inventing games, and engaging in the creative play inevitable with stretched means. She described, “We were poor, but so was everybody else. What we had was wealth in family.” As a teenager, Mirna’s family enrolled her in boarding school with the intention of affording her the opportunity to thrive in a new, more controlled environment. On her first day of high school,
Emily Erickson. having fantasized about being on a team, Mirna found herself standing in front of the sports fields. Drawn to the group of girls engaging in casual camaraderie and banter, she wandered into the beginning of what would transform her life; field hockey tryouts. But this is not the story of a field hockey phenom. It’s not the coming-of-age profile of a sixpack-sculpted athlete acquiring a bounty of first-place trophies. It is the story of Mirna Valerio, the plus-sized trail and ultra runner, body-positivity ambassador and self-empowerment queen. Tryouts began with the blow of a whistle and jogging a warmup lap in the grass around the field. As she finished the loop among the back of the pack, her muscles strained and her lungs burned. It was the longest she’d ever run, and the newness of it all ignited something inside of her. Finishing the practice after a timed mile, sprint repeats, and more physical exertion than she knew possible, Mirna’s new coach approached her with encouragement that she’d carry well into her future. “You’re doing a great job, and seeing your effort, you clearly want it. You’re on the team.” In an attempt to improve phys-
ically, Mirna introduced running into her daily routine; a habit that lasted beyond her field hockey days into college. Attending Oberlin Conservatory of Music, she earned degrees in both music and Spanish and entered the workforce as a classically-trained vocal performance artist. Shifting from auditions and cold calls to working as a paralegal in corporate America and eventually to teaching music, Mirna continued on her dynamic path with running and physical activity as one of her few constants. Eventually taking a job that pulled her and her young son away from her husband working in New York City, Mirna spiraled into a life of too many responsibilities, too little clout and consequential stress. She stopped running, was plagued by headaches and anxiety, and gained weight. Lots of weight. One afternoon, in the middle of bustling traffic and a balancing act of jobs, side jobs, motherhood and more commitments than she could possibly manage, Mirna experienced a rapid loss breath and jolt of pain bursting
through her chest. An hour later, she was in an emergency room consultation with a cardiologist, giving her the news that would upend her world. He said, “If you don’t change your life, you won’t live to see your son grow up.” So she changed her life. Starting with trudging a mile on her previously unused treadmill to eventually signing up for a marathon, she fell back in love with how running and physical activity made her feel, even though she was slow. Her headaches disappeared, she began sleeping better and she was able to manage her anxiety and stress. What she didn’t lose, however, was some of the weight. After losing 70 pounds, her body plateaued at the 250 pounds she is today. Newly immersed in the world of stick figure bodies, extra-small shorts, and trails rarely traveled by anyone that looked like her, Mirna began writing a humorous blog about her experiences as a plus-size runner. “Fat Girl Running,” was an unabashed compilation of run-
ning anecdotes, its challenges, her triumphs, and her failures as someone society considers fat. Her blog was picked up by The Wall Street Journal, who featured her story of body-acceptance and redefined fitness. From there, she was profiled in Runner’s World, and on NBC Nightly news, and gained sponsorship from JCPenney, simply from owning her truth. She’s big. And has competed in races all over the world, with distances up to 120 miles. She was acclaimed by National Geographic as a 2018 Adventurer of the Year, and travels the country sharing her story, promoting body-positivity, and encouraging others to find their own adventure, regardless of what it looks like. “Adventure is what you make it,” she said. “Look at your life right now and find ways to step outside of your comfort zone in your own way. It’s your story, after all.” Meet Mirna Valerio at Evan’s Brothers tonight, Thursday, July 19, at 6:30 p.m. as she discusses, “The Power of Visibility.” July 19, 2018 /
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Mad about Science: By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
yellowstone caldera
Here in Mad About Science, we love giant explosions. On Earth, the explosions don’t get much bigger than the ones that created the Yellowstone Caldera, which you may not realize is actually at least four calderas. Calderas form when the magma chamber of a volcano has vacated all of the magma. The massive hollow chamber beneath the mouth of the volcano isn’t able to support the tons and tons of rocks above and it collapses inward to create a massive stone bowl. This makes calderas collect water and create ponds, lakes or river basins. We’ll talk about a few of Yellowstone’s calderas later. Yellowstone exerts a youthful vigor, having had at least four major eruptions in the past 2.1 million years. The first was the Huckleberry Ridge eruption, which created the Island Park Caldera. This thing is 45 by 40 miles across, which I find totally mind-blowing. Even crazier, the 1553 cubic miles of ashfall from this eruption covers one-third of the continental United States. A third of the country! Yellowstone is probably most famous for the Lava Creek eruption. This eruption happened 630,000 years ago, which means the Neanderthals were wandering around Europe when this eruption happened. That’s not even the craziest part. The tuff, rock formed and ejected during the eruption, covers HALF the United States. That’s STILL not the craziest part. There are places where the tuff is 600 feet thick. That is enough dang rock to bury the Space Needle! Various forms of media, from 12 /
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Brought to you by:
novels to local news stations have done a pretty good job of stoking volcano fever, the idea that the next cataclysmic explosion could be moments away in our own backyard, but you can rest easy: this isn’t very likely. The chance of Yellowstone going all doom-boom again any time soon is really small. In fact, the chance of Yellowstone never erupting again is higher than the chance that it will wipe out the United States. Even if the end were nigh, it wouldn’t be some unpredictable spur of the moment kind of eruption. Yellowstone is one of the most studied volcanic places in the world, right behind Hawaii and Iceland, which are basically just volcanoes that people live on. Tremendous park-wide earthquakes would be monitored for weeks, perhaps months, before any eruption were to occur. It’s not like every disaster movie in the ‘90s where nobody will listen to the only scientist studying literally one of the biggest explosion-makers in the entire world. There are a lot of people watching Yellowstone at all times. Supervolcano eruptions in the past have changed the climate globally in extreme ways. The Toba eruption 75,000 years ago caused a 10-year winter, reduced the temperature of the planet for at least a thousand years and may have driven the homo sapien population (that’s us, bee-teedubs) down to as few as 3,000 individuals. There are about that many tigers left in the wild, and they’re on the endangered species list. Talk about a close call! If you were to look at a map of the locations of the calderas of Yellowstone, you’d swear they were moving northeast. The
Hawaiian islands do something similar, where it looks like they’re moving southeast. What’s actually happening is the hotspot is staying exactly where it’s been since its formation, but in Yellowstone’s case, the North American Plate is sliding southwest. This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is. I can’t put a number to how awesome this is. Think of it this way: An entire continent worth of rock, trees, living things and water is just casually sliding across a giant cutting torch and a world-sized ocean of molten rock. If you want to make a yo’ mama joke, tectonic plates might be a good place to start. Yellowstone is famously home to many natural geysers, including the most famous of all: Old Faithful. Geysers are pretty neat; they’re fairly rare and can only exist in a few places on Earth with prime conditions. Essentially, they originate with a crevice in the ground that can extend down as much as 7,000 feet. Water from the surface drains into the crevice and collects. Hot rocks heated by magma at the bottom of the crevice cause the water to boil and turn into steam, which builds pressure. With only one way to escape, the pressurized steam shoots upward, bringing water with it. The more simple the crevice, the more predictable the geyser, as is the case with Old Faithful, which can launch water up to 185 feet every 45 to 125 minutes. Never more, never less, though the time between eruptions has increased in the past few decades, probably because of subterranean earthquakes that can change reservoir levels. We know a lot about Yel-
lowstone, but there’s a lot more we don’t know about it. It’s a testament to the graceful beauty and awesome power of our world. It’s a place we should all visit to respect at least once in our lives. While there, it helps to think for a moment: You’re
standing in a spot, where, 635,000 years ago, an explosion happened that was so immense that it vaporized rock, flora and fauna for at least 60 miles in every direction. Awesome.
Random Corner
By BO
Don’t know much about fish?
We can help!
• There’s a species of fish called “slippery dick.” • Some fish, like the triggerfish, can swim backward. • Most brands of lipstick contain fish scales. • Herrings communicate through farts (just like my Uncle Bob). • Sharks kill 12 people per year while people kill 11,417 sharks per hour. • Greenland sharks eat polar bears and can live up to 200 years. • One puffer fish contains enough poison to kill 30 people. • If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will lose its color. • Thousands of marine creatures die by mistakenly swallowing plastic bags that resemble jellyfish. • The sea anemone looks like a flower, but it’s actually a carnivorous animal that eats small fish and shrimp. • There is a jellyfish that could be immortal. Scientists have observed its ability to, when in crisis, revert its cells to their earliest form and grow anew. That means that these tiny creatures, 4 millimeters to 5 millimeters long, potentially have infinite lives. • “Rain of fish” is an annual weather event in which hundreds of fish rain from the sky onto the city Yoro in Honduras. • Goldfish can distinguish the music of one composer from another. • When Anglerfish mate, they melt into each other and share their bodies forever. How’s that for true love?
FEATURE
Catching up with Reclaim Idaho’s Emily Strizich By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff What began as a road trip in an aggressively green 1977 Dodge camper to collect Idahoans’ stories about health care with her husband, Garrett, and their friend, Luke Mayville, has brought Emily Strizich from the front lines of the issue to the visual forefront. The Reader caught up with Reclaim Idaho’s leading lady shortly after she returned from Boise, where all verified petition signatures from every Idaho county were delivered to the capitol on July 6, bringing a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid one step closer to fruition. It was also on that Boise trip that Strizich was formally introduced as co-chair of Idahoans for Healthcare along with Republican state representative Christy Perry. The group is a coalition of healthcare providers, business figures, community groups and grassroots activists looking to close the “healthcare coverage gap.” Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney announced Tuesday that the initiative had officially qualified for the state’s November ballot. Sandpoint Reader: Looking back on when you guys started Reclaim Idaho, did you ever imagine this is where you’d end up? Emily Strizich: Oh, gosh no! When we started we just wanted to hear from the people of Idaho about what their experience had been like with the health care system. We were just trying to composite those stories — we didn’t, when we started, have any idea we’d do a ballot initiative. There were a lot of reasons we didn’t think it was possible. Conventional wisdom said it would cost millions of dollars and that it would take a massive volunteer effort to pull it off. There were a lot of reasons why it should have never succeeded, but I think the fact that we did speaks to this groundswell of support for common-sense solutions and the desire people
have to take action to better their state instead of feeling helpless and hopeless. So no, we had no clue — we were just three yahoos driving around the state in the Medicaid Mobile who had no idea what this would become, and it’s really incredible to see. SR: I’m really interested in this emphasis on the bipartisan effort reflected by the Idahoans for Healthcare co-chairs being you and Christy Perry. Can you break down for our readers how this is not a partisan issue? ES: It’s so important to take the politics out of the issue all around. Politics has gotten in the way of closing the Medicaid coverage gap for six years, so to us the idea that the voters get to decide is pretty powerful. I work in Orofino, where they voted 75 percent for Trump. But when we go down there, 75 percent of the people will happily sign the petition and support the cause. It’s a small, vocal minority that opposes this. Christy Perry’s involvement speaks to the fact that, look, we are just trying to help people. Cancer doesn’t care if you’re a democrat or republican or independent, so why should we let politics get in the way? And that’s really what we heard out on the road. People are sick of politicians playing politics with people’s lives. SR: Outside of ideological opposition, people are worried about the cost. What will it cost Idahoans if we expand Medicaid? ES: Actually this will save our state millions of dollars. We’re already paying the federal taxes into this program, but that money is going to 33 other states that have expanded Medicaid. Right now, by law, if someone is uninsured and breaks their leg
Top: Emily Strizich talking on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol building in Boise July 6. Right: Emily Strizich standing in front of the Medicaid Mobile. Courtesy photos.
and ends up at the hospital, the hospital is required to treat them. If they can’t pay, that bill goes to the Indigent Care Fund, which is then billed to people’s property taxes. Essentially, we’re paying twice for people to get emergent care. But, for example, we know if someone goes to the emergency room to treat their blood pressure, it’s obviously a more expensive visit than if they had been able to get the preventative care that they needed. Something to note is that Butch Otter commissioned a study in 2012 that projected all the different savings that would happen if we expanded Medicaid, and I know for 2019 alone that Idaho would save $25.7 million because we wouldn’t be paying into the indigent funds, and people would be getting less-costly care. The Medicaid program is funded 90-percent federally, and Idaho is only responsible for 10 percent, and that 10 percent is really easily absorbed by what we’re currently paying for indigent care — it’s nothing compared to what we’re currently paying. You can find a good break down on www. reclaimidaho.org. SR: What do you think is the biggest hurdle in earning votes for this initiative?
ES: I don’t see an enormous hurdle for us. Reclaim Idaho does a great ground game, so I think we’re going to continue getting out and talking to voters. When you talk to voters and explain the facts, it’s a no-brainer. There is this huge misinformation campaign that’s starting to generate media, so I think that could potentially get in the way. But it all really depends on voter contact. If we can get out and let people know how the expansion will benefit Idaho not only financially but also from the morally compassionate side of things, we’ll win. SR: Why, on a personal note, is expanding Medicaid coverage for Idahoans so important to you? ES: In my professional role, I’m a pediatric occupational therapist. A lot of the kids I work with are covered, but oftentimes their family is not. I see how chronic illness and inability to access healthcare affects families and the instability that that creates. I always tell the story of our very first (Medicaid Mobile) tour stop in Bonners Ferry. I was so
annoyed, like, “Oh my gosh, we’re really spending our summer doing this? Driving this camper around the state? You guys are crazy.” One of the first doors I knocked on was this woman who was having to decide if she was going to sell her home in order to pay for treatment for a terminal condition, and if she did sell her home, she was going to make her husband, her two grandchildren and her adult sister homeless. She was literally grappling with this life-or-death decision to figure out if her life was worth saving over creating this chaos in her family’s life. She said, “(My doctors) told me to call my senators, and I don’t know what a GoFundMe page is but my daughter is trying to help me make one.” So here’s this woman, who’s dying, and her doctors are telling her to make a GoFundMe page? From that moment on I felt this duty to advocate for people like her. I just thought, “Holy crap. I don’t care how many times we break down driving around this state, we have to help these people.” Because the people who are supposed to be helping, aren’t. July 19, 2018 /
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OPEN 11:30 am
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Dollar Beers! 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach Jazz on the Trinity lawn
f
Thursday Night Solo Series w/ Kyle Swafford 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall As seen with The Other White Meat, Coeur d’Alene’s Kyle Swaffard is heading to the Beer Hall for a special Thursday Night Solo Series show. Food by Twisted Kilt Black Iron Grill food truck
Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz Live Music w/ The Rub Live 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge 6-9p Live Music w/ Meg Turner and Chris Lynch A CDA power trio known for an Live eclectic mix of titles, and eras, 5-8p 6-8pm @ Cedar St. Bistro Wine Bar playing originals and improvisation Slide A fun piano/vocal duo Mov Live Music w/ David Walsh Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA Dusk 8-10pm @ The Back Door 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall This Eclectic guitarist from Sandpoint Multi-instrumental trio of doom Live Music w/ David Walsh Live Music w/ 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Patrice Webb and Doug Bond He’s a local favorite, so come grab a glass of th 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Friday night wine special, a bite to eat, and listen A talented duo of singer-songwriters his smooth Latin guitar and enticing lyrics from Sandpoint Bodacious BBQ & Bluegrass Party Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh 4:30pm @ Litehouse Beach House (Hope) 5-7pm @ Laughing Dog Brewery Enjoy live music, catered tri-tip dinner, silent au Rock, folk, blues, folk. Tacos Tijuana tion, bucket raffle, beer, wine and tons of fun on t food truck will also be on-site lake. 46242 Highway 200, Hope. $60/each Live Music w/ Oak Street Connection Junior Ranger Program: Fun with Frogs 6-9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante 3pm @ Round Lake State Park Live Music w/ Right Front Burner This week’s program is Fun with Frogs - learn th 9pm-12am @ 219 Lounge frogs breathe through their skin, and more! Sta A funky groove trio from Sandpoint at the amphitheater; free and open to the public Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am
pth Annual 6-Pack Alleycat Ride • 2pm @ Greasy Finge Think of this as a scavenger hunt on your bicycle. Any bic 2nd and DFL at the After-Party. Registration is $15 and al
Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills Lifetree Cafe • 2pm @ Jalepeño’s Mexican R 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub An hour of conversation and stories. This week Hike with 9:30am @ Night-Out Karaoke Trivia Night Every Mon 9pm @ 219 Lounge 7-9pm @ MickDuff’s ralist will le Join DJ Pat for a night Grab a seat early, hike topic v of singing, or just come they go fast est of the p to drink and listen Wind Down Wednesday 5-8pm @ 219 Lounge With live music by blues man Truck Mills and guest musician Carl Rey
Wednesdays w/ Bennie Live Music w/ Bright 5-7:30pm @ Connie’s Lounge 6:30-9pm @ Beet & B Weekly music on Connie’s deck with Bennie Baker. This week’s special guest: North Idaho’s own Wil Foster
Dollar Beers! 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry Live Music w/ Bright Moments 6-9pm @ Trinity at City Beach Jazz on the Trinity lawn
Yappy Hour 4-7pm @ Trinity at City Beach Bring your dog and enjoy a Panhandle Animal Shelter benefit with live music, beverages, and fun
Live Music w/ Son of Bra 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer H A CDA native playing a ho of originals, with food Mandala Pizza out back
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July 19 - 26, 2018
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Live Music w/ Justin Landis 8-11pm @ 219 Lounge Multi-instrumentalist Justin Landis has played with Tennis, Cedar and Boyer and Marshall McLean Band. He combines the best parts of technology and soul with effected guitar tones combined with thoughtful lyrics
Live Music w/ Kyle Swafford 6-9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante Live Music w/ Dan Dubuque 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Slide guitar, ukulele, charango and more Movie in the Park (FREE) Dusk @ Lakeview Park This week’s film: “The Princess Bride”
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A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com. Reader recommended
Girls Pint Out 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Cool Chicks! Great Beer! No Dudes! Join Vicki at the big table for an evening tasting and talking about Sour Beer
Northwest YogaFeast @ Eureka Center (Sagle) Eureka Institute’s 8th annual experience that frees the spirit, feeds the soul, and nurtures the tummy! Eureka-Institute.org. 208-263-2217
Summer Slide & Slam Cornhole Tourney 1pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Celebrate summer with one of the best tailgating games around: cornhole! Cost is $10/person; all registration fees will be paid out as cash prizes and MickDuff’s will match the pot up to $100 in gift cards. Register at (208) 209-6700 Northwest WineFest 12-5pm @ Schweitzer Mountain Resort A great summer getaway for the entire family featuring a full weekend of wine tastings, live music, delicious food and outdoor fun Live Music w/ Chris Moliter 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Bartlett Award for Best Local Singer-Songwriter
More than a store, a Super store!
Star Wars Night at MakerPoint 6-8pm @ MakerPoint Studios Attention all Star War fans and wannabe Jedi Masters! Come learn how to laser engrave tie fighters, millennium falcons, and x-wing fighters - and then assemble when you are done. $19/person; (208) 255-4236
Yoga on Tap 11am @ Laughing Dog Brewery One hour class that ends with the group having a beer together. $12 includes your first beer
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park Shop for locally grown produce, shop artisan wares, eat some good food and enjoy live music by Doug Bond and Marty Perron
Annual Garage Sale 9am-3pm @ Sandpoint Storage (Kootenai) Once a year, the facility allows customers to haul out their storage treasures and hold a sale so be sure to check out the deals!
Busted screens in your doors or windows? We can fix that, and we have a quick turnaround time!
MONDAY-FRIDAY 8AM-8PM / SATURDAY 8AM-6PM / SUNDAY 10AM-6PM
asy Fingers Bikes n’ Repair e. Any bicycle can be entered. Plan to ride 12-15 miles. Swag and Prizes for 1st, 15 and all proceeds benefit the Sandpoint Marine Corps League.
Mexican Restaurant This week’s topic: “Wounded Warriors” ike with a Master Naturalist :30am @ Round Lake State Park very Monday morning a Master Natulist will lead a hike at Round Lake The ke topic varies depending on the interst of the participants
w/ Bright Moments Jazz Beet & Basil
on of Brad f’s Beer Hall aying a host th food by ut back
Lt. Gov. candidate, Kristin Collum, visits Bonner County 11:30am-12:30pm @ City Beach Kristin Collum, Democratic candidate for Idaho Lt. Governor, will be speaking at the pavilion at City Beach Sunday
Sandpoint Has Talent 6-8:30pm @ Improve Cafe (Food Court) Open mic night - bring your self expression, theatrical comedy, impersonation, instrument, costume, written word, poetry, dance song. Food specials under $7
Live Music w/ BO/CA (Ben & Cadie from Harold’s IGA) 8-11pm @ 219 Lounge Indie folk from the duo of BO/CA, which is Ben and Cadie from Harold’s IGA. Covers and OGs
Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park Buy produce, shop local wares and listen to live music by Jake Robin
July 27
Movie in the Park @ Bonner Co. Museum
July 28
Crazy Days Sale @ Downtown Sandpoint
July 28
DogFest “Walk n’ Roll” @ Forrest Bird Charter School
July 28
Polly O’Keary and the Rhythm Method @ Di Luna’s Cafe
July 28
Naughty Pine (reggae) @ 219 Lounge
Summer heat is on and summer fun has begun! Have you been more active and acquiring tired and sore muscles? Come into Touch Therapy massage and receive a rejuvening massage to awaken and oxygenate your muscles!
First time client special:
$50 for an hour Autumn Lukezech, LMT 406 S. Ella Sandpoint, ID (512) 516-9144 joy27joy27@gmail.com July 19, 2018 /
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EDUCATION
Recent SHS Grad Isaac Bennett finds his niche in the kitchen By McCalee Cain Reader Staff Recent Sandpoint High graduate Isaac Bennett wasn’t a huge fan of high school. “I hated it,” he said. “I couldn’t learn in high school, and honestly couldn’t learn from a book.” His passion for learning lies elsewhere: in the kitchen. “You really learn something new every day, and it’s a different kind of learning,” he said. “You’re not going to find that anywhere else besides the kitchen.” At 18, Bennett works as a sauté cook at Forty-One South and aspires to one day open a restaurant of his own in Sandpoint, ideally offering French or Italian cuisine. “My life in the kitchen has been crazy, and I love it,” Bennett said. “All I want to do is grow and be better.” Bennett’s kitchen career began in the dishpit of the Chimney Rock Grill. After serving, busing and washing dishes a little, he began working as a prep cook on his days off. Under the guidance of chef Michael Uhnak, Bennett picked up the basics of cooking, and advanced to a line cook. When Uhnak went to Farmhouse Kitchen and Silo Bar, he followed. “[Michael] was a huge influence in my life. He’s helped me through a lot mentally, physically, just all around,” Bennett said. “He taught me a lot of what I built off of, and I just grew from there.” At Farmhouse Kitchen, Bennett continued to grow and served up his own specials on Tuesdays and Sundays. He moved to Forty-One South when he was offered a position as a sauté cook. 16 /
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“I can’t wait to go to work. On my days off, I just want to work,” he said. This winter, Bennet plans to earn his associate’s degree at Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland — his mentor’s alma mater. “Michael and I flew down there to check it out,” he said. “When we were leaving, he told me that’s where he went to school. I didn’t know that, and when he told me, I was like, ‘Wow, this is it.’” He will be working through the fall to save up to pay for tuition and plans to find work in a kitchen while in school. During high school, Bennett was passionate about art, especially glass blowing, and hoped to attend art school. After entering the world of food, his creativity and eye for perfection translated seamlessly. “I got really into being so
precise and intricate with everything I cook. Every plate that goes out, my name is written on it. I made that, and no one can tell me otherwise,” he said. “Presentation is everything.” Bennett thoroughly enjoys even the monotonous, day-to-day kitchen chores. “Prep cook is probably my favorite out of all of it. The consistency of cuts, weights; everything has to be the same. Every piece of vegetable has to be the same size and length — it’s so fun.” After going to school and continuing to explore what he called his “food thought”, Bennett eventually hopes to return
his cooking aspirations to the Sandpoint area. “I’m excited to create my own journey as a chef, and I’m so excited to teach younger people how to cook. I want to pass
SHS grad Isaac Bennett hopes to land a career in culinary arts. Courtesy photo. along all I’ve learned from those before me.”
Northwest Winefest at Schweitzer By Reader Staff
Summertime in North Idaho might inspire people to enjoy beers on a boat, but Schweitzer Mountain Resort knows that summer is also perfect for enjoying libations on the lawn. “There’s nothing like discovering some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest wines while relaxing on Schweitzer’s village green as live music accompanies you in your wine tasting journey,” says Mary Weber-Quinn, Schweitzer’s activities & events director. “Our fourth annual Northwest Winefest really is the perfect excuse to elevate your palate and learn some new notes for red, white and rosé.” The event will take place in the heart of Schweitzer Village
with 20 different wineries featuring over 80 different wines. The event will run from 12-7 p.m. on Saturday and from 12-5 p.m. on Sunday with wine tastings and souvenir glassware available for purchase at the main sales tent. Schweitzer has also lined up an impressive list of free live music to create a festive atmosphere during the event including Bridges Home, Runaway Symphony and Josh Farmer Band on Saturday then The Powers and Norman Baker & The Backroads on Sunday. “You don’t have to take part in the tastings to enjoy the free live music, visit the arts and crafts vendors or indulge in some fantastic local flavors,” adds Weber-Quinn. “Schweitzer’s daily summer activi-
ties, including the zip line, trampoline jumper, climbing wall and lift served downhill mountain biking, will be available from 11 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday as well. All in all, it’s a great weekend for the whole family.”
Last year’s Winefest. Photo courtesy SMR.
For more details on Northwest Winefest or to book lodging accommodations for the weekend, please visit www. schweitzer.com.
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FEATURE
Surrounded by green:
With the recent legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada, Idaho is rapidly becoming the last state standing By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff Idaho is almost entirely surrounded. With Canada’s passage of legalized marijuana in June, it joins Montana, Washington, Oregon and Nevada as a government bordering Idaho that has adopted more a more lenient approach to marijuana. Even Utah, a state that in most respects matches Idaho blow-forblow in conservative Republican credibility, has legalized CBD oil, a cannabis-derived health product that lacks the intoxicating THC compound. Idaho’s resistance to the legalization movement sweeping across western states complicates matters for state law enforcement, which largely oppose any softening of drug laws. And it stands as a rare issue uniting elements of both the right and left, who call the status quo a draconian approach that cuts against individual liberty. On both the right and left wings of Idaho’s political spectrum, cannabis legalization is a deeply personal issue. Indeed, for one North Idaho conservative libertarian — let’s call him Henry — it’s how life stays manageable for his family. Henry requested anonymity due to the deeply personal nature of his story, which began when his wife was diagnosed with a rare and painful form of cancer. “She is able to use CBD and oils … that contain almost zero THC but that are currently illegal in Idaho,” he said. “Her pain is very manageable with these products, and she can function normally for the most part. At some point she may need to use THC-based products for pain and nausea.” Likewise, Idaho State Representative Minority Leader Mat Erpelding, D-Boise, remembers a friend — a nationally-renowned athlete, no less — who died tragically of stomach cancer. A California resident, he had the option of choosing between medical marijuana or opioids to manage his pain. Because of that choice, he was able be present for his two daughters until his final days. “If he had been on opioids, he wouldn’t have been able to do that,” 18 /
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Erpelding said. It’s because of stories like these that many Idahoans support the legalization of medical marijuana. Still others, both conservatives and liberals, don’t believe marijuana to be the social scourge its opponents brand it and support full legalization for recreational use. “We are fully in favor of complete legalization,” said Henry. “In fact, if it were legalized, we would open a dispensary and church combination in Sandpoint to spread the love. Our fellow church friends and members may disagree, but what does freedom mean to you?” But many Idaho law enforcement officials disagree. According to Kieran Donahue, Canyon County sheriff and president of the Idaho Sheriff’s Association, states that justify legalizing marijuana for the additional tax revenue may one day regret the decision. “Marijuana is unequivocally a gateway drug, period,” he said. “There’s no argument that can defeat the fact that it’s a gateway drug.” Donahue’s opinions are informed by his experiences in the High Inten-
sity Drug Trafficking Area program. A federal program consisting of 28 zones, HIDTA coordinates efforts between federal, state and local law enforcement in combating the drug trade in its highest-trafficked zones. According to Donahue, who works on the HIDTA zone spanning from southwestern Idaho to Portland, Ore., he has seen the destructive effects of drugs — including marijuana — firsthand. For that and other reasons, the Idaho Sheriff’s Association and other Idaho law enforcement organizations oppose legalization in any form, whether it be medical or recreational. With Idaho resolute as the lone island of prohibition in a sea of leniency, state legislators grapple with the complications that poses. Erpelding is primarily concerned about the problems of transporting otherwise-legally-obtained marijuana. Individuals traveling the interstate who cross the Idaho border with dispensary marijuana in their possession are taking a massive legal risk they might not be fully aware of. And should they be caught by state or local law enforce-
ment, the consequences can be severe. Erpelding is particularly concerned about college students, who are at risk of losing their financial aid. “It’s just increasingly clear to me that this is a drug that has been criminalized at a level that is inappropriate,” he said. Idaho’s proximity to marijuana-friendly states has manifested some more unexpected complications, too. KTVB reports that law enforcement offices bordering Oregon had difficulty filling open positions because so many prospective employees had used marijuana. It was a significant-enough problem that in 2017, state lawmakers loosened restrictions on drug-use history for law enforcement jobs. Of particular concern to Rep. Dorothy Moon, R-Stanley, is the boost to incarceration rates resulting from interstate travel. The Idaho State Journal reports that with a growing state inmate population pushing existing jails and prisons to the breaking point, Idaho officials are considering a $439 million prison expansion. Among the additions would be a new 1,510-bed state prison. Non-violent drug offenses accounted for more than half the prison sentences over the previous year, while violent crime represented only 20 percent. Moon believes that is an untenable situation, and she opposes the construction of new facilities as a solution to the problem. “There are too many people in jail who I think don’t belong there,” she said. But moving Idaho in a direction less at odds with its neighbors is easier said than done. Lawmakers got a taste of that this year when Moon’s bill to legalize CBD oil failed to make it out of committee. Moon didn’t have much of an opinion about CBD oil until she ran for office. Then she couldn’t hear the end of it. Her constituents told her the product was essential in managing their health issues. “I hadn’t even thought about it, but when I was running for office, every < see CANNABIS, page 16 >
< CANNABIS, con’t from page 15 > town I stopped in, people asked, ‘What do you think about CBD oil?’” she said. Moon’s bill, which Erpelding co-sponsored, passed the House in a 59-11 vote, and Moon believed it could achieve a veto-proof majority if it advanced. But when it reached the Senate, Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Lee Heider put a stop to any discussion. Instead, he shuttled lawmakers to his office in violation of Idaho’s open meeting law. While the lawmakers were cloistered away, Associated Press reporters recorded Heider shouting, “The governor’s office doesn’t want this bill, the prosecutors don’t want this bill, the office on drug policy doesn’t want this bill.” Moon believes Heider was acting on a request from the governor’s office to squash the bill in committee. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter previously killed a 2015 bill legalizing CBD oil for children with epilepsy. “Actually, (Heider) was good with it up until the governor told him not to be good with it,” Moon said. Undeterred by the incident, Moon intends to introduce a new CBD oil bill next legislative session. This time, she aims to start the bill in the Senate, making the biggest potential hurdle the first to overcome. “I’m feel very confident that if we get it through the Senate, we’ll have enough votes to override a veto,” Moon said. Whether or not CBD oil supporters
Photo illustration courtesy of Weednews.co will face a hostile executive branch in 2019 is another question entirely. Republican candidate Brad Little maintains a markedly softer opinion on CBD oil than Otter, saying in a Spokesman-Review interview that he has no problem if its quality is controlled. Democratic candidate Paulette Jordan, meanwhile, supports legalizing both CBD oil and medial marijuana, as well as decriminalizing marijuana possession. Whatever the case, it’s clear an ideologically diverse group will be moving the bill toward the end zone. While Erpelding prefers simply decriminalizing CBD oil over Moon’s proposed prescription system, he said he still intends to join his Republican colleague in supporting it. He’d like to see the conversation continue toward a discussion over legalized medical marijuana.
“I have found that there is a libertarian streak in both the Democratic and certain elements of the Republican party,” said Erpelding. “That streak is a ... desire to not regulate things that shouldn’t be over-regulated.” Similarly, the Idaho Freedom Foundation, an influential conservative-libertarian group, called for the state to rethink its marijuana policy as early as 2016. “The main issue has to do with Idahoans making their own medical choices, and those choices being criminalized,” wrote IFF President Wayne Hoffman in an editorial. “We must ask whether cannabis crimes are worth requiring working men and women to give up their day jobs and sources of income to sit on a jury that will deliberate on a punishment where only the drug user was impacted and where, in many
instances, the user is arguably helped through marijuana use.” For a conservative libertarian like Henry, the popular anti-cannabis stance of the GOP represents an inconsistency in values. He considers Idaho a haven for people who object to the big governments and heavy regulation of states like California. On other issues like cannabis, however, he believes the old guard of the GOP is also guilty of infringing upon individual liberty. “It’s OK to be a hardcore conservative and believe in the many uses of cannabis/marijuana, but the challenge is keeping Idaho a conservative state for all the other freedoms we enjoy and not turning into a sanctuary city/state like California,” he said. “It’s something that may never happen, but we are up for the challenge.” According to Moon, the legalization of CBD oil enjoys broad support, and some Idaho politicians are willing to have a conversation about legalized medical marijuana. Recreational marijuana, however, is a step too far for the vast majority of the Legislature, and Moon counts herself among that number. Nevertheless, given the problems resulting from state’s proximity to marijuana-friendly states, she believes something about Idaho’s drug enforcement policy has to change. “I think sometimes you have to see — and I hate to use this terminology — the greater good,” she said.
American Heritage Wildlife Foundation receives $10k grant By Ben Olson Reader Staff It’s always great when someone believes in your vision; even better if they back up their support with a hefty financial donation. For Kathleen St. Clair-McGee, founder and board president of the American Heritage Wildlife Foundation east of Clark Fork, her dream is one step closer to reality. The Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation awarded AHWF with a $10,000 grant to help fund the construction of a nature trail to help share education about the flora and fauna of our region. “It will be a guided nature walk,” St. Clair-McGee said. “It will have a 1,000-
foot pathway meandering through our twoacre parcel through diverse terrain.” St. Clair-McGee said the nature walk will feature three or four distinct habitat styles, with signs posted about the flora, education stations that will talk about the various animal species and much more. “We have a large variety of songbirds that live on this parcel, so our guides will be able to listen for the call and help reinforce what they are hearing on the trail,” she said. The grant will help fund the majority of the nature trail, St. Clair-McGee said, but it falls short of her total fundraising goal. “We can make it work, but we’d also like to extend the invitation for other folks to kick in some more to help us complete this project,” she said.
The plan for a nature trail has been in the works for several years, St. Clair McGee said. “This is something I obviously believe in, but it’s more interactive and connects folks to nature and preserving our Idaho community,” she said. A GoFundMe page has been established for AHWF, which you can access through their website, www.ahwf.org. AHWF is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization established in 2002, and all donations are tax deductible. “We are 100-percent volunteer,” St. Clair-McGee said. “Our volunteers contribute around 3,000 hours every year. Our mission is to conserve the local wildlife through rehab of injured or orphaned animals, as well as provide community ed-
ucation. … We also provide a dozen or two outreach activities each year, like setting up booths, library presentations, hosting fundraisers.” St. Clair-McGee said AHWF has obtained rehabilitation permits for both mammals and birds. “We are the only facility in the panhandle that works with mammals and birds both,” she said. “Our next step is to expand into game animals.” St. Clair-McGee said the nature walk will be the first step in creating a nature center at AHWF. “The final vision is to have the main house that’s here now be the classroom,” she said. “This is exciting because it’s the first step of having that vision.” July 19, 2018 /
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FOOD
The Sandpoint Eater
Simple joys of summer
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist
Last week I knocked the top of McKinnick Trail off my bucket list. Though I started not long after sunrise, and I was well prepared with water and snacks, it was a bit more grueling than I had anticipated. About halfway between the second bench and the summit, I was hot and tired and feeling close to defeat. Eyes downward on the trail, gripping my trekking poles and placing one unsteady foot after the other, I trudged on. Suddenly, before I even saw them, that lovely familiar scent of ripe and ready huckleberries filled the air. It was the perfect reward for my efforts and immediately altered my attitude from tired hiker to woodsy berry picker. There’s nothing like plucking that first, big fat purple berry of the season into your mouth. I ate a few, then dumped the almonds from my snack container into a pocket and filled the empty container to the brim with huckleberries. With newfound energy, I couldn’t wait to reach the top of the trail. Once there, I sat on the sturdy landmark bench, perfectly pleased, overlooking the panorama of Lake Pend Oreille and far beyond Hope, savoring the simple joys of summer – a modest picnic of almonds, a (warm) cheese stick and those wonderfully sweet and tart huckleberries. I haven’t yet made it to “my” huckleberry patch this year, but it’s on my short list of projects. There are few things 20 /
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more sacred than the location of a good fishing hole or a prime huckleberry patch, and I’m always grateful when I find my hillside still intact with the Idaho state fruit. My best haul ever was four gallons, which over the span of a year, I transformed into liters of aged huckleberry vodka, and then (under the guise of vinegar), shipped to Chicago for my daughter Casey’s wedding. Picking is fun, but it’s also a lot of work. Take a friend. Though they won’t necessarily save you from a bear encounter, it will give you someone to relive the experience with, year after year (yep, another “Marcia in the woods mishap”). And, like fine wine, the story gets better with age.
Be gentle on the bushes. Huckleberries should always be picked by hand (never cut branches, and even using berry rakes can damage new growth on bushes). Also, don’t be greedy—pick only what you need, as the birds and bears depend on those berries as an important food source. Many folks don’t realize that it’s illegal to pick huckleberries in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest with the intent to sell. Minimum fines start at $250 per offense. There’s no shortage of commercial huckleberry products available to us — candles, candies, jams and jellies, syrup, salad dressing, vodka and myriad baking mixes. The best selections can be found down-
town at Litehouse Blue Cheese Factory and Huckleberry Depot on the Bridge. If you want to make your own goodies but don’t feel up to the task of a trip to the woods, you’ll find fresh contraband berries around town that are going for $50 a gallon bag. Rumor has it sales are brisk. When you get home with your prized purple loot, give them a quick sort, discarding stems (and other bits of the forest you’ve brought home). Then freeze the berries right away, in single layers on sheet pans. Once frozen, place them into quart-sized freezer bags—it makes them easy to measure for favorite recipes. I always add mine frozen, at the last minute, so the color doesn’t run (after
a quick rinse in a colander). They’re also a delicious snack. Pop a handful into your mouth (straight from the freezer), or sprinkle the little gems onto your morning yogurt. I have picking plans and a few new recipe ideas mulling in my mind. Besides the requisite pies and cobblers, I love adding huckleberries to condiments, such as bacon jam, savory sauces and grilled onions, all perfect complements to meat, particularly grilled chicken and pork. For sweets, I especially love the combination of lemon and huckleberry, a flavor foundation for many of my summer huckleberry desserts. Especially this family favorite, Lemon Huckleberry Bars. Your taste buds will thank you.
Lemon Hucklebrry Bars These bars are tart, with a rich and buttery crust. Perfect for a cool dessert on a hot summer day (don’t be tempted to add more huckleberries or the batter won’t set).
INGREDIENTS: Crust •12 tablespoons butter, softened (1 1⁄2 sticks) •1⁄3 cup sugar •1 1⁄2 cups flour For Filling •4 eggs •1 cup sugar •3 tablespoons flour •1 tbs lemon zest •1⁄4 cup fresh lemon juice
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 9 inch baking pan by spraying it with nonstick spray and lining it with parchment paper, leaving excess paper hanging over the sides for easy removal after baking (or use a tart pan, with removable rim). In the bowl of a standup mixer, cream together butter and sugar on medium low speed. Add flour and mix until a dough is formed. Press the dough into the bottom of the 9 by 9 pan (dust your fingertips with flour to prevent sticking). Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Filling (no need to wash mixing bowl between jobs): In the bowl of the mixer, whisk eggs and sugar until smooth. Add flour and zest, mix, add lemon juice. Divide filling batter in half; whisk the yogurt into half. When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the yogurt filling over •1⁄2 cup Greek yogurt the hot crust. Sprinkle on the huckleberries, lightly tap pan or with •1⁄2 cup fresh huckleberries, fingers, gently press berries into batter. Pour remaining batter over plus a ¼ cup to sprinkle berries. Sprinkle additional huckleberries over the top. on top before baking (if Return to the oven, and bake for another 20 minutes. frozen, do not thaw). Cool completely, then refrigerate at least two hours before serving. Use the parchment paper handles to lift the bars out of the pan to make cutting easier. Cut and dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with lemon zest, or mint leaves before serving.
Makes 9 x 9 inch pan
STAGE & SCREEN
Panida ‘plays it again’ for Sandpoint Crazy Days Sale By Panida Theater Volunteers Reader Contributors It’s that time again when some of us need to clear out the old to make room for the new. Others want to keep finding more treasures to enjoy. You never know what you might go home with, especially given the very attractive prices. Between now and July 27, the Panida will gratefully accept any used CDs, records, videos and DVDs, cassettes, audiobooks, stereo equipment and any other media you may wish to donate. Please scour your shelves, yard sales, garages, basements, attics, shrines and hidey-holes. Each year on Crazy Days Saturday – this year it’s July 28 – the Panida has its fundraising “Swap & Shop” at the theater to sell your recycled items at enticing prices to others who collect, listen to or watch these vintage items. All funds go to the Laurel Wagers/Panida Theater Music Scholarship for a deserving Sandpoint-area student studying the performing arts. To help us keep this event thriving, please help by setting aside any music items, films, equipment or audiobooks. You can drop them off at the theater, or call Panida Executive Director Patricia Walker White at (208) 255-7801 to make an appointment to do so. The Panida is glad to acknowledge your donations in writing, as needed. Please mark your calendar for July 28 from
8 a.m.-2 p.m. when you can come score music and videos for a great community cause, and find those treasuresto-you at wonderfully low prices.
Bargain hunters hard at work at the Panida’s “Play it Again” sale. Courtesy photo.
Check out www.panida. org for more information.
Laughing Matter By Bill Borders
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COMMUNITY
DogFest “Walk and Roll” celebrates service dogs By Ben Olson Reader Staff Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, it’s high time for a fundraiser supporting our best four-legged causes. Canine Companions for Independence is hosting a fundraiser next weekend to help support its mission to provide expertly trained assistance dogs to children, adults and veterans with disabilities free of charge. The North Idaho DogFest “Walk ‘n Roll” will take place Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Forrest Bird Charter School, 614 S. Madison Ave., in Sandpoint. It’s free to attend, but donations are gladly accepted. “This is the national signature event for CCI, held all over the country in major cities,” said Lilly Mitsui, who has raised puppies for CCI. Mitsui said DogFest is CCI’s primary fundraiser. “Our dogs are given at no cost to the disabled, and they are valued at around $50,000 each,” she said. “We receive no federal or government funding, but rely on personal and business donations, as well as community events like this.” The event will feature music, food, activities for dogs and kids, canine contests, balloon animals, a silent auction, a wheelchair obstacle course, a costume
content for “best decorated wheelchair” and much more. Plus, attendees will get to meet Honorary Chair Dr. Marty Becker. Sandpoint’s own Bashful Dan Young will be the M.C. for the event. Tacos Tacos food truck will provide food, fresh popcorn will available by Disabiltity Action Center NW and gourmet coffee will be poured by Evans Brothers. A quick schedule of activities is as follows: 9:30 a.m. - Registration / check-in 10 a.m. - DogFest begins with opening ceremony, the booths will open and family and dog events begin 10:45 a.m. - Walk ‘n Roll begins 11:30 a.m. - Dr. Becker speaks and judgs Best Dog Gone Decorated Wheelchair Contest 12 p.m. - Meet the heroes Canine Companions graduate introductions and stories 12:30 p.m. - Raise the Woof – Winners of Dog House Silent Auction announced 12:35 p.m. - Meet the future heroes – the Canine Companion puppies 1 p.m. - closing ceremony Visit the Sandpoint Center inside of Columbia Bank to view and bid on beautiful, custom dog houses designed, built and graciously donated by local
builders and architects. Proceeds from the auction will donated to CCI, with winners announced at DogFest at 12:30 p.m. Mitsui said it’s important to raise money for CCI because of the organization’s dedication to giving back to those in need. She said there are five puppy raisers in the region, including one here in Sandpoint. Mitsui has raised four dogs with CCI, the last being “Falcon” who graduated last year and was given to a young woman in San Francisco. Typically, puppy raisers will teach the prospective service dogs socialization and basic obedience before they are turned back into CCI for “graduate school.”
A custom built dog house up for silent auction at DogFest. Photo by Ben Olson. With 18 months of raising and another six months of professional training, the dogs are then matched up with someone in need. “Last year, 403 dogs were placed all over the country,” said Mitsui. “We have five people on the waiting list in Idaho, and over 400 people continually on the waiting list for our dogs. By the way, we’re always looking for more puppy raisers, so if you’re interested, please contact CCI and help us place more dogs with people with disabilities free of charge.” Contact www.cci.org for information.
Chamber welcomes Greenland Consulting By Reader Staff The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce welcomed Greenland Consulting to the Chamber with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, June 25. Greenland Consulting activates organizations and empowers communities. Their mission is to create synergistic solutions for a world in transition by building strategic connectivity and maximizing positive impact. Services include educational facilitation, program development and community engagement. Greenland Consulting owner Katherine Greenland holds a bachelor’s degree in cross-cultural communication and a master’s degree in education. With over 20 years’ experience in the nonprofit sector, Katherine develops network partnerships matching critical need with organizational missions to
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ensure successful outcomes. From Bangkok to Belize, Katherine has lived and taught all over the world. Drawing on her international experience, she facilitates programming for restorative justice, engaged citizenship and community resiliency. A contemplative practitioner and artist, Katherine blends creative process into all her work. She approaches community engagement from a systems perspective and builds connectivity to foster inclusivity and cross-cultural communication. Greenland Consulting will host a monthly professional development group, Creative Cohort, on the first Thursday of every month at the Cedar Street Bistro. “This group is for local business owners who are creative, right-brained, imaginative, innovative, intuitive, or just plain artsy,” Greenland said. Greeland is a Right-Brained Business
Plan-licensed facilitator and offers business planning workshops at the Eureka Institute in Sagle. Her next workshop is Saturday, October 20 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information on Greenland Consulting, Creative Cohort, and other workshops by Greenland Consulting visit katherinegreenland.com.
As pictured, from left to right: Bob Witte, Betty Faletto, Lynn Jennings-Dawson, Katherine Greenland, Mayor Shelby Rognstad, Phil Hough, Kristin Carlson, Kate McAlister. Front row: Rosie and Rowan
OUTDOORS
Join the 9th Annual 6-Pack Alleycat Ride this Sunday By Reader Staff Pedallers, mount up! The ninth-annual 6-Pack Alleycat Ride will take place Sunday, July 22, at 2 p.m. An Alley Cat race is an informal bicycle “race” — with an emphasis on taking part, rather than simple competition. Bicyclists will scour Sandpoint and the surrounding communities for six checkpoints to gather required information to complete their manifest (a.k.a. checklist) with prizes awarded to the top finisher in each category. Sponsored by Greasy Fingers Bikes ‘N Repair, the Alleycat Ride has attracted a variety of riders and bicycles — from fat bikes to single-speed, tandems, mountain bikes, road bikes and cruisers. The Alleycat ride supports local nonprofit organizations. This year, proceeds from the event will benefit the Sandpoint Marine Corp League, whose mission is to aid and provide assistance to all Marines, uniformed and civilian, as well as
their widows and orphans. Over its eight years, the Alleycat rides have donated over $1,500 to local nonprofit organizations in the Sandpoint area. “The Alleycat is a great event for cyclists of all levels,” said Brian Anderson, Greasy Fingers owner. “Its emphasis is on fun and not necessarily being the fastest. It will test riders’ knowledge of the area as well as their ability to quickly hit the necessary check points. We have prizes for the top finishers and the last place finishers. In the end, it’s all about biking fun. We are honored that the Alleycat will support the Marine Corp League this year.”
Photo by Gemma Evans
For more information, check out www.greasyfingersbikes. com
The vision of panelized, realized.
www.mehomes.net (208)264-6700
Dan McMahon, Gen. Contractor dan@mebldg.com July 19, 2018 /
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MUSIC
PHILLIP PHILLIPS
By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff
P
hillip Phillips came onto the music scene after winning “American Idol” in 2012, and has since recorded three albums, the latest being “Collateral” in January of this year. The Reader caught up with Phillips to talk about the album as he prepares to visit Sandpoint on August 11 with co-headliner Gavin DeGraw. Sandpoint Reader: I’m sure you get this question a lot, but I thought it’d be cool to ask. You won the 11th season of “American Idol” — that had to be a crazy experience. I’m curious how that shaped your identity as an artist, but also it’s been a while, so how have you grown since then? Phillip Phillips: That was a crazy experience for sure. I didn’t really know what I was getting into. My mom, she watched (American Idol) religiously, and she found out there were tryouts a few hours away, so I went and waited in line with like 15,000 other people. I was scared to death. I didn’t want to get judged and told no … I did my best, and 24 /
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maybe I got lucky, but it changed my life forever in a great way. It’s everything I didn’t know it would be. I dreamt about people singing my music back to me when I was kid. Now that’s it happening it’s just amazing. I just did this headlining tour (for “Collateral”) and I thought, “I hope people didn’t forget, I hope they’re listening to the new music” and then at the shows people are yelling out the deep cuts off the album. I hope I never get used to it. I hope I’m always nervous because that keeps it exciting. SR: Speaking of “Collateral,” I’ve been listening to it a lot and I’m shocked by the breadth of it. The new album goes from blues to rock to singer-songwriter and has so much soulful sound, so I’m wondering if this album reflects a more creative or daring time in your career. PP: I think I’m always challenging myself. This album really represents what has inspired me as a guitar player, a singer and a songwriter. I’ve always tried to show that a little bit
through all the albums, because playing live after “Idol” and even before — we play blues, we play rock — we’re just a bunch of guys getting up on stage and jamming, and just having fun. That’s what playing live is for me. Every show is different, and that’s the beauty of it. This album represents that. It’s amazing musicians that have played with me in the past and these songs that I’ve written. There’s R&B, there’s a little soul, there’s blues, there’s rock, and there are more broken down singer-songwriter songs. It’s a fun album that takes you through all these emotions of what’s gone on for me these last few years, with the legal battle (Phillips filed a lawsuit against his former production company 19 Entertainment) and getting married and the good stuff that came with that. SR: A bunch of these newer songs hit pretty hard, and that’s got to be fun to play live. What’s your favorite thing about touring on this album? PP: Like I said, I was nervous. I was hoping people didn’t forget
about me and then the majority of the shows were sold out, which was awesome — people just came out to enjoy the music. I guess I grew a fan base touring with John Mayer, O.A.R. and Matchbox Twenty and all those guys — you know, playing for people who just love live music. It’s not about having hit after hit after hit. I mean, hits are amazing and I’d love to have more, but for me it’s about the live music. I’ve heard people yelling out the words to “My Name” or “Love Junkie,” and it’s really cool to hear that. There are people listening to the whole album and not just the catchier songs. SR: For sure. Switching gears a little bit, I heard you wrote “Dance With Me” for your wedding in 2015. That song is so beautiful, and I was wondering if you could reflect on that experience a little. PP: Absolutely. I wrote that song shortly after I proposed to (Hannah) on Christmas Day in a house I’d just bought. I wanted to write a song for our first dance, so I teamed up with my buddy Tim Bruns. He’s an awe-
Photo by Jesse Deflorio.
An interview with
some songwriter. When we wrote that last line — “And when the song ends and everyone else leaves / Will you dance one more with me?” — we just high-fived. It was such a fun moment … I love that song and it seems a lot of other people do as well when I play it at my shows. It’s sort of a small song, kind of short and quiet, but it’s got a power to it. SR: I love that. Well, last question: I think it’s safe to say people have heard your name, whether associated with “Idol” or a radio hit, but whether they know you well or not, what’s something you want them to know before you come to play Sandpoint? Who is Phillip Phillips? PP: I’m a very nice, weird, semi-normal guy who likes to play guitar, and (the band and I) like to have a good time playing live music, so come on out and experience the nice weirdness. For tickets, contact the Festival at Sandpoint at (208) 265-4554.
This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert
MUSIC An interview with
Maestro Gary Sheldon
With the Spokane Symphony Orchestra
By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff
T
he Spokane Symphony has been a staple of the Festival at Sandpoint Grand Finale for decades. This year, in celebration of 20 years conducting the symphony for the Festival, Maestro Gary Sheldon and Festival Executive Director Dyno Wahl cooked up a special performance for the audience. We chatted with Sheldon to hear his thoughts on how the Festival has developed over the years and what we can look forward to in 2018. Sandpoint Reader: Thanks for talking to us, Gary. First, could you give us an idea of your background as a musician and conductor?
Gary Sheldon: Well, I’m very fortunate to be returning for my 20th summer at the Festival at Sandpoint. I came in 1999, the same year that Dyno Wahl came in as executive director. We had a great rapport … not to mention a great relationship with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra. I’m from New York, and I currently conduct the Miami City Ballet during the winter season. I also have another festival in Lancaster, Ohio — the Lancaster Festival — so I’ve been doing that for 30 years. This (Festival at Sandpoint) is extra special, with a very special Grand Finale program as Dyno and I will be celebrating some of our personal favorites and some of the audience’s favorites over the past 20 years. In this time when orchestras and festivals around the country are doing their best to simply survive … the Festival at Sandpoint is a wonderful success story. The artistic level is still very high … and financially the board and community have done
so much to keep this festival thriving and moving forward.
SR: I’d imagine it’s been interesting to see the Festival at Sandpoint evolve over the past 20 years.
GS: It’s been very interesting. I must say one of the programs I’m involved in on the educational side is the May outreach concerts. I come to Bonner and Boundary counties in May … and introduce symphony and classical music to students throughout all the fifth-grade classes in those counties. The Festival’s commitment to musical education continues to grow with awards for young musicians … and I’m very proud to be a part of those educational activities. SR: What are some of the elements you’re particularly excited about at this year’s grand finale?
GS: Dyno and I had a lot of fun recounting our favorite performances from the past. We whittled it down to a handful of them. (We have everything) from Mozart’s Overture to the Marriage of Figaro to The Birds from my very first program Au Naturelle. Dyno told me to be sure to dedicate a piece of music to the ospreys … so our first nod is to the ospreys who reside at Memorial Field. There’s the Mozart Concerto for Flute and Harp with Sandpoint native Rhonda Bradetich along with Earecka Moody. The suites from the movies will be lots of fun. (There’s) the theme from “Psycho” as well as the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto, which was the background music for the Marilyn Monroe movie “The Seven-Year Itch.” The Olympic Spirit by John Williams is a wonderful work composed for the Los Angeles Olympics 20 years ago. Then there’s something extra
READ
… local publications. I keep up on national and world news, too, but nothing replaces a local (or at least regional) newspaper or magazine. I know, I must be biased — I work for one. But part of why I believe so deeply in what I do is because I see the value in local stories. It’s easy to get caught up in what’s happening in D.C., and those things matter, but not without a microscope on matters back home.
LISTEN
The Spokane Symphony’s grand finale. Courtesy of the Festival at Sandpoint. special. About 20 years ago we performed Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with the then-concert master of the Spokane Symphony, Kelly Farris. He performed with a young student of his from Sandpoint named Jason Moody. Jason is now a member of that wonderful orchestra, and he will be joined by a student of his, Glorie Bojilov. Kelly has, in a way, passed the baton to Jason. SR: Given the Festival’s commitment to music education, that does have a cool thematic resonance.
GS: I’m glad you picked that up. Thank you for saying that. We also have the Meditation from Thais performed by three musicians including Jason Moody who are principal players in the community orchestra that plays the first Sunday night. That orchestra also includes students and music educators — lots of friends from all over the area and some from abroad. There’s also Haley Fuque, who performed a number of years ago, and she has gone on to be a professional opera singer. She is absolutely spectacular, and we have her doing one of the works she performed at her first performance, the Vocalise from Rachmaninoff, followed by the famous
Gypsy Dance from “Carmen.”
SR: In closing, is there anything you want to add about what this festival means to you personally? GS: I’m very lucky to be returning for my 20th season. The relationships I’ve been able to form … have been important to me, and, as I see it, important to the mission of the Festival. Leonard Bernstein once said, “Music is nothing if you can’t share it,” and sharing is what the Festival is all about.
Drop by the Festival Office or visit www.festivalatsandpoint.com to pick up tickets for the Grand Finale featuring the Spokane Symphony. Preceding the concert, the annual “Taste of the Stars” Wine Tasting, now the largest wine event of its kind in the state of Idaho, is complimentary for all concert goers over the age of 21 years. The fireworks finale sponsored by Avista Utilities closes the Festival in spectacular fashion. Gates open early at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 12, at Memorial Field for the wine tasting event. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $39.95 for adults and $10.95 for youth 18 years or younger.
After a three-year hiatus (sans a few covers and movie tracks), Twenty One Pilots dropped a two-track tease of their upcoming album “Trench.” The two songs, “Jumpsuit” and “Nico and the Niners,” provide a good taste of the band’s overall sound since their first LP in 2009: grungy alt-rock with touches of rap and a whole lot more. Thanks to the their rising popularity, the only accurate description of TOP’s music at this point is simply “Oh, you know, they sound like Twenty One Pilots,” and that level of uniqueness is pretty cool.
WATCH
I interviewed Phillip Phillips for this issue of the Reader, and while I was super familiar with his earlier work when I prepared for the interview, listening to this latest album “Collateral” totally blew me away. The album’s first track, “Magnetic,” is a show stopper, but better than that, it shows Phillip’s real range as a performer. For a taste of what his show on Aug. 11 in Sandpoint will be like, search “Phillip Phillips ‘Magnetic’ Live & Rare Session” on YouTube. It won’t disappoint.
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From Sandpoint News Bulletin, April 4, 1974
COW’S DEATH LINKED TO UNNATURAL CAUSE The mysterious death of a cow on the Upper Pack River Road has left some residents of that area sleeping with loaded shotguns by their bed at night. According to sheriff’s deputies, Richard Bloom, the principal of the Washington School, returned to his home on the Pack River Road late Friday night, March 29, and found one of his cows dead. An autopsy of the cow revealed that it died from “other than natural causes,” while an investigating deputy added that it looked like someone had cut out the cow’s tongue. The cow, which was pregnant, bled to death. Bloom admitted confusion as why anyone would kill his cow in such a manner, and noted that none of his other stock appeared to have been bothered. Bloom owns three cows, three horses and two goats. Deputies at the scene found several sets of strange tire tracks in the area, and the investigation of the incident continues. 26 /
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By Ben Olson Reader Staff Ever stopped and just taken a whiff of Sandpoint? There are a plethora of olfactory sensations going on here in the panhandle – some pleasant, some not so much. Here’s a quick tour of town, led by my nose. How many of these smells have you noticed? The cedar siding at Panhandler Pies
I spend every Thursday morning delivering the Reader around Sandpoint on my special bike, which was given as a present by a handful of amazing readers after they apparently took pity on the 1950s Schwinn I had previously used for deliveries. One of my nose’s favorite spots is when I pull up to Panhandler Pies. The sun falls directly on the cedar siding, sending an aromatic blast of the north woods right there on First Ave. It’s a pleasant, nostalgic aroma that brings back childhood memories of the log cabin my parents built in Westmond, where I was born and raised. Sandpoint City Beach
There are a lot of smells going on here. There’s freshly-mowed grass wafting over that beach-y smell of suntan lotion. There’s a musty hint of goose droppings and sand. There’s a faint smell of cooking meat from the pavilion and a not-unpleasant waft of gasoline and oil coming from the boat launch. Taken together, this potpourri of Sandpoint in the summer is never the same, but never differs by a whole lot. Memorial Field
Memorial Field’s aromatic properties literally depend on which way the wind blows. If it’s blowing out, you’ll smell the downy smell of fresh grass and slightly timber scent of the new bleachers. If the wind is blowing in, well, you may detect a sewage odor wafting over from the water treatment plant. Some days are worse than others, but I guess humans need to smell their own waste from time to time to keep us grounded. The 130-year-old ponderosa pine tree at the Sandpoint Senior Center
This tree made news a couple years ago when the Sandpoint Area Seniors, Inc. were undergoing a transformation to their parking lot. One plan called for the removal of the
old, majestic ponderosa pine, but after several in the community expressed the desire to keep the tree, SASi built the parking lot around it, sparing the tree. At the suggestion of a neighbor, I stuck my nose right up to the bark and breathed in deep. The smell was a cross between freshly-baked cookies and cinnamon. When a ponderosa reaches about 110-120 years old, it goes through a transition where the bark turns yellowish. Old time loggers sometimes thought these were different species, and many used to call them “black jacks pines” before the bark turned and “yellowbelly pines” after. Either way, next time you see an old, yellowbark ponderosa pine, stick your nose up to the jigsaw puzzle looking bark and take a whiff. Then go bake cookies. The Granary
I like the smells of the Granary and the surrounding neighborhood mainly because, every once in a while, I’ll ride by and smell the air after Evans Brothers roasts up a batch of coffee beans. I’ve never been a coffee drinker, but I absolutely love the smell of roasted beans. There’s a savory, invigorating quality to roasted coffee. When I was a sophomore in high school I worked as a clerk at Gas n’ Go. We had a popcorn machine, and it was always fun to make a batch of popcorn and watch as people walked in, smelled it, and went over for a bag. I think roasted coffee beans probably have the same effect.
identified by its sharp, slightly chlorine-like smell. Sometimes when people say they “smell rain coming,” it’s actually coming from the wind from an approaching storm that has carried ozone down from the clouds into your nostrils. The mountains
I was up on Lunch Peak the other day, and when I exited the truck, I was overcome by that clean, timber smell of the alpine mountains. The air almost smells sweet from the lack of unnatural odors. You can smell the trees, the rocks, the verdant mountain meadows. Early in the season, wildflowers add to the mix. Late in the season, I swear you can almost smell winter coming. So there you have it: an olfactory tour of our fair town. Breathe it in deep, folks.
Crossword Solution
After a rain
Ever wondered why it smells so good after a rain? There’s actually a name for that smell – “petrichor” – which is derived from a pair of chemical reactions. Some plants secrete oils during dry periods. When it rains, these oils are released into the air. The second reaction that creates petrichor occurs when chemicals produced by soil-dwelling bacteria known as actinomycetes are released. These aromatic compounds combine to create that tell-tale scent when rain hits the ground. Sometimes, during a thuderstorm, we also might smell ozone. When lightning hits, it sometimes splits oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere, which can recombine into nitric oxide. This substance then interacts with other chemicals in our atmosphere to form ozone, which can be
If you make ships in a bottle, I bet the thing that really makes your heart sink is when you look in and there at the wheel is Captain Termite.
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CROSSWORD ACROSS
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antemeridian
Woorf tdhe Week
/an-tee-muh-RID-ee-uhn/
[adjective] 1. occurring before noon.
“Well, it’s time for my antemeridian cocktail!” Corrections: No flubs, screw-ups, gaffes, blunders or dunderheaded moves to report this week. Stay tuned, though, we just got a new bottle of whiskey in the office. -BO
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45. Demesnes 48. Occult 51. Abstains from eating 52. Indian monetary unit 53. Angry 55. S S S S 58. Ripped 59. Hue 60. Data 61. Den 62. Connects two points
July 19, 2018 /
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