This might be treading into “Bouquets and Barbs” territory, but Panhandle Community Radio KRFY 88.5 FM — and its jack-of-all-trades Jack Peterson — deserves a public expression of gratitude. That’s not just for the nonprofit station’s daily contributions, providing music, news, views, and other programming sourced from both near and far, but for hosting the “Holiday Spectacular,” which packed the Panida Theater on Dec. 5 for an evening of entertainment both on the air and onstage. I may be biased, having been one of the two “performers” to provide seasonal readings, along with Emily Erickson (of “Emily Articulated” fame in the Reader), but honestly, I wouldn’t have missed it anyway. Truth be told, I have a tendency to drift away from a lot of shows during intermission — lured by the charms of the 219 Lounge — but I was eager to return to my seat for KRFY’s variety show. Every musical performance nailed it, from Truck Mills and Carl Rey, to Brendan Kelty, Andy Ohlrich, Sadie Sicillia, Kjetil Lund, Katelyn Shook and Meg Turner, and that’s to say nothing of the KRFY house band (Paul Gunter, Justin Landis, Liam McCoy and Denis Zwang), which was officially named The Minnesota Connection in an opening skit featuring Peterson in his role as emcee and alongside performers from the Lake Pend Oreille Repertory Theater Company. On top of all that, featured players from the Seinfeld-themed “Festivus” program presented their own live comedy sketch and, of course, Emily and I read our pieces. It was a jolly evening full of good spirits centered on a superbly organized show, which anyone who’s ever worked in live radio and/or stage production knows is no mean feat. If anyone needed an excuse to tune into KRFY at 88.5 FM (also online at krfy. org) or donate to keeping community radio and events like the “Holiday Spectacular” returning, the Dec. 5 show at the Panida was a stellar advertisement. Good job, Jack, and everyone else who put the “spectacular” in the name.
Blue Monday in December
Dogging on Mondays is such a cliché that it doesn’t really deserve mentioning, but some Mondays really put a person to the test. I had one such Monday this week, when I had to deal with the fact that my brand-new car decided to up and brick itself right as I was entering the roundabout at the corner of Larch Street and Boyer Avenue. This was on a Saturday afternoon, just as everyone was trying to either get to Super 1 or any point north of town on Boyer, and there I was blocking the way with a vehicle that not only wouldn’t turn over, but refused to be put in neutral so I could at least push it out of the way. Many people were helpful (or tried to be), while some others were not so much (it doesn’t do any good to yell at someone that they “can’t park there” when it’s clear they don’t want to be). Good news: I was only a few blocks from home, and Chris at North Idaho Towing was a mensch, arriving as soon as possible and getting my dead car safely resituated in the garage. Then came Monday. I got roadside assistance to haul the rig to the dealership in Coeur d’Alene (under warranty), and considered that a win. Then I went to work (very late, since I was dealing with all that other stuff) only to find my computer had taken a hint from my car and also bricked itself. Then it started raining. Then I went for a beer, and toasted to the notion that Tuesday had to be better.
DEAR READERS,
Welcome to another expanded edition of the Sandpoint Reader. We usually try to keep our fighting weight around 24 pages, not only because that’s a comfortable length for a newspaper produced by three full-time employees, but also to keep our printing costs low. This time of year, however, we often have to increase the page count to 28 pages to make room for all the extra ads, additional events and, on Pages 14-15, a spread of free wrapping paper for our readers to clip out and use to wrap their gifts. We made our cover into wrapping paper, too, so go hog wild.
If anyone knows some secret way to get in touch with Mother Nature, can you tell the ol’ gal to stop sending rain? We’re ready for snow.
Until next week.
–
Ben Olson, publisher
111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 208-946-4368 sandpointreader.com
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About the Cover:
This week’s cover is wrapping paper. Use it!
BOCC to clarify partnership with Fair Board Fairgrounds
employees have no ‘reporting responsibility’ to Fair Board
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The Bonner County Fairgrounds has been at the center of a heated discussion since a special Bonner County board of commissioners meeting Dec. 4, during which the board sought clarity from legal counsel and human resources on the Fair Board’s powers. The commissioners voted to rewrite fairgrounds’ employee job descriptions to emphasize that workers reported to the BOCC and to further examine the division of duties between the county and the Fair Board.
The special meeting, though agendized a week in advance, garnered minimal public participation and did not include representatives from the Fair Board, aside from their liaison in the Prosecutor’s Office, Robert Able. Human Resources Director Jonathan Holmgren began the meeting by explaining concerns raised with him by fairgrounds employees, who were unclear to which board they reported.
“It’s been recently brought to my attention in my role as the HR director, that Bonner County is currently at risk regarding employee relations and employment practices pertaining to the county fairgrounds personnel,” said Holmgren, describing the employees as “frustrated,” “discouraged” and “demoralized,” with “no clear sense of direction or guidance concerning their roles and responsibilities.”
The issues stemmed from the fact that, though they are technically county employees, fairgrounds staff had been receiving direction from the Fair Board.
“It is my professional opinion, as the human resources director, that the county Fair Board has been operating beyond the scope of its responsibility for some time
and has veered into the lane of responsibility that belongs to the BOCC under Idaho Code Section 31-807,” said Holmgren, citing code that outlines the BOCC’s management of county property.
“This has resulted in the Fair Board thinking that they employ the county fairgrounds personnel and can direct their work,” he added.
As the discussion progressed, both Nate Adams, of the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office, and BOCC Chair Brian Domke clarified that this alleged overreach was not the Fair Board’s doing. Rather, the BOCC had, in years past, delegated official and “de facto” responsibilities to the board that are not explicitly outlined in statute. The Fair Board, which reports to the BOCC, has the authority to take on such responsibilities at the commissioner’s request.
“It seems like we have a long history, as a county, of mixing and mingling the duties and responsibilities of what the management of the fairgrounds should be, as compared to the management and coordination of the fair event,” said Domke.
“From what I’m hearing from legal counsel, it’s not that the Fair Board has necessarily ‘operated beyond its scope of responsibility,’ because it sounds like the [BOCC] has, either through intentional actions or lack of action, essentially delegated greater responsibility than just the planning and management of the fair event,” he later added.
Holmgren’s chief concern, he argued, was that the Fair Board did not have authority over county employees working at the fairgrounds. He focused primarily on the role of fairgrounds manager — a position currently held by Mark Knapp — which is “funded, paid for and hired by the board of commissioners.”
He cited Idaho Code 22205 as contributing to the confusion, as it states that the Fair Board “shall select and employ a competent secretary whom they shall vest with general managerial powers,” seemingly combining the fair manager and Fair Board secretary positions. Domke and Commissioner Ron Korn agreed with Holmgren’s request to rewrite the fair manager’s job description — as well as any related positions — to clearly place the employees under the BOCC.
Domke directed HR to revise the language to show that county employees “have no direct reporting responsibility to the Fair Board. There’s simply a coordination responsibility with the Fair Board, which would be no different than any other renter [or] user of the county-owned fairgrounds property.”
This discussion follows recent financial concerns that came to light after the resignation of former-Fair Board Treasurer Samantha Schmidt, who had been working without a contract for months. Schmidt, who earned $5,000 per month at her job, returned what appeared to be her final paycheck to the Bonner County comptroller, as neither she nor the Fair Board could determine if she had been overpaid.
Schmidt did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.
Fairgrounds Bookkeeper
Jennifer Wyman and Fair Board Treasurer Staci McBrayer took over for Schmidt in November, at which time they discovered multiple instances of incorrect information in the financial reporting, including improperly cleared checks and miscalculated profits and expenses. Both women will work with the BOCC and the Fair Board to sort out the financial statements going forward.
At the Dec. 4 meeting, commissioners further considered reducing the scope of the Fair Board’s oversight from the whole year to the time immediately before, during and after the annual fair — treating it as a regular tenant, rather than giving the board authority to organize events throughout the year, like the Christmas Craft Fair.
The BOCC made no decisions Dec. 4 on the future scope of the Fair Board’s oversight; however, Korn moved to look into the division of power and to instruct staff to begin revising job descriptions. The motion passed 2-0, with Commissioner Asia Williams absent.
Dec. 9 business meeting, Williams voiced her opposition to both the meeting and the motion, echoing concerns raised by members of the public. Despite a contrary ruling by the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office, Williams alleged that the special meeting was a violation of Idaho Open Meeting Law, which stipulates that, “Agenda items should be listed with specificity and not buried in catchall categories such as ‘director’s report.’”
“It is my professional opinion, as the human resources director, that the county Fair Board has been operating beyond the scope of its responsibility for some time and has veered into the lane of responsibility that belongs to the BOCC...”
Because the Dec. 4 meeting agenda included “Action Item: Discussion/Decision Regarding Fair, Fairgrounds, Fair Board” with no supplemental information, Williams argued that the board had not properly noticed the meeting. She requested a review by the Prosecutor’s Office, which stated that the “agenda item, although vague, was not believed to constitute an Open Meeting Law violation,” according to Williams.
— Bonner County Human Resources Director Jonathan Holmgren
Following the vote and during the regular Tuesday,
“I must express my disappointment regarding the decision rendered by your office,” Williams wrote in an email to Prosecutor Louis Marshall. “Based on this decision, it
BOCC commissioners (L to R): Brian Domke, Asia Williams and Ron Korn.
Photo by Soncirey Mitchell
City Hall to host workshop on City Beach RV park concepts
Survey also active to gauge preferred priorities
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff
Area residents will have the chance to weigh in on how they wish to see the publicly owned RV park property at City Beach redeveloped, following a contentious City Council meeting Nov. 5 at which Averill Hospitality Group requested Sandpoint lease or sell the current RV park or else its adjacent planned resort hotel development would be “unviable.”
Meanwhile, the Whitefish, Mont.-based company asked City Hall to put a hold on the design and engineering work it had previously planned for the RV park property, which is funded through about $1 million in state grant support for upgrades and modernization.
According to the city’s staff report, Averill, which is planning to construct the 130-room luxury Sandpoint Lakeside Resort north of the RV park site on Bridge Street, offered the options to lease the 2.29-acre property either through a 30-year agreement with renewal options and annual rent equal to 110% of the projected net revenues from the RV park following its redevelopment — an amount estimated at more than $100,000 per year — or to purchase the parcel outright “at fair market value.”
After several hours of heated testimony and deliberation, city councilors voted Nov. 5 to reject Averill’s requests and affirmed that that the property – which also abuts city-owned boat moorage on Sand Creek — would remain in public hands.
Hosted by city officials, including members of the Parks and Recreation Commission, the workshop is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Dec. 13 in the Community
Room at the James E. Russell Sports Center (2016 Pine St., in Sandpoint), featuring a presentation and discussion to explore “alternative uses and configurations for the RV park site and its relationship to the broader City Beach area,” according to a news release.
Averill’s request was couched in “enhancing the overall visitor experience and public use of the waterfront,” City Hall stated; however, council directed staff and Parks and Rec. commissioners to go to the public for community engagement and identification of preferred priorities at the site. That has also included a survey, available at sandpointidaho.gov/ rvparksurvey. Sandpoint residents, as well as visitors and community members, are all encouraged to participate and share their thoughts on how Sandpoint should approach the site in the future.
“This process is an opportunity for the community to understand the real choices before us,” stated Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm. “Upgrading the existing RV park, supported by nearly $1 million in state grant funding, would create a long-term, self-sustaining revenue source that directly supports our parks and capital improvements.
“Exploring alternative uses is worthwhile, but it is important for the community to recognize that removing the RV park without a replacement revenue strategy would leave a funding gap for these improvements,” he added. “We want residents, businesses and visitors to weigh these tradeoffs and help us determine the path that best serves Sandpoint in the years ahead.”
The workshop on Dec. 13 will include an interactive presentation and small-group discussions, along with an
explanation of the history of the site, earlier concepts for improvements and a recap of the broader context of the City Council discussion on Nov. 5.
According to City Hall, participants will then take part in a “charrette-style exercise, working in small groups to create their own illustrations, using images, words and layout tools, of how the site
< FAIR BOARD, con’t from Page 4 >
appears that generic items may be placed on a public agenda and subsequently voted upon. My concern is that the statute does not seem to differentiate between required posting based on the severity of the decision being made. It is critical that the public knows precisely what is being voted on so they can choose whether or not to participate in the process.”
According to Williams, Marshall offered to send the decision to a special prosecutor for review, but she declined to challenge the ruling further as, “It’s not worth it.”
Members of the public criticized the board’s Dec. 4 meeting and the possibility of
could be used or reimagined.”
“This hands-on format is designed to encourage creative thinking, collaboration and a wide range of ideas for the future of the RV park site,” officials stated.
Attendees are invited to attend at any time during the 9:30 a.m.-noon schedule, and no registration is necessary.
City staff plan to collect
decreasing the Fair Board’s oversight, saying the board was “horribly blindsided,” in the words of resident Amy Lunsford.
In response to increased hostility, especially directed at Korn by members of the public who spoke at the Dec. 9 meeting, the commissioners reiterated that the BOCC has “to accept more of the blame” for the current confusion regarding the board’s powers. Though commenters alleged that the commissioners had already reduced the board’s powers, Domke and Korn emphasized that they had made no decisions regarding the Fair Board’s future and
and analyze the results of the survey and Dec. 13 workshop, with the intention of presenting a summary and findings to the City Council after the new year, as well as ask for direction on how best to proceed with planning and design for the RV park.
that they would work with the members going forward to determine the division of labor.
“I cannot control people’s feelings,” said Korn. “I cannot control people listening to lies and rumors and misinformation. I can’t control that.”
“It’s going to be a long process, in my opinion,” said Domke. “There are a lot of details that need to be discussed and worked out. But it is a process. We haven’t come to any final conclusions and decisions about what those details look like.”
The commissioners had yet to schedule any additional meetings or workshops as of press time.
An aerial view of the RV Park adjacent to Sandpoint City Beach. Photo courtesy of city of Sandpoint
Fulcher proposes exploring transfer of Idaho federal land to state and local control
Critics of transfer say state would likely sell off the land, eliminating public access
Bits ’n’ Pieces
By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Contributor
From east, west and beyond
By Laura Guido Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher said he is convening meetings statewide to explore transferring management and ownership of the Gem State’s vast federal public lands to state and local governments.
The Republican congressman on Dec. 8 sent a letter to Idaho statewide elected officials, legislators and county commissioners, calling the eventual shift to local control of the land “imminent.”
“If this issue is left unaddressed, we will have a real problem on our hands that will likely put unsustainable pressure on local property taxes,” Fulcher wrote.
Nearly two-thirds of Idaho’s landmass is federally owned and managed. Fulcher wrote that the “extensive federal government footprint in our state poses significant challenges to our autonomy in issuing leases for timber, grazing, and mining.”
He also pointed to a lack of support among non-Western states for congressional funding of programs for local governments to offset the lost property tax revenue of federal lands, such as Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) or Secure Rural Schools (SRS).
Fulcher said he recognized the value of lands being publicly accessible, but said the federal government hadn’t been properly managing them.
A Conservation Voters of Idaho poll conducted in July found 96% of Idaho registered voters believe public lands should remain in public hands.
Concerns that transfer of Idaho public lands would take them out of the public’s hands
Those who oppose a transfer of ownership of federal lands question if access would remain open to the public.
“Over the history of the state of Idaho, about a third of Idaho’s state endowment lands have been sold off,” said John Robison, Idaho Conservation League public lands and wildlife director.
Robison underscored the recent sale of state lands near the Teton mountains in eastern Idaho, which had been leased for grazing by a local rancher through 2032, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.
State endowment land is typically publicly accessible but is required to be used to generate the most revenue possible for its beneficiaries, which include public schools.
Fellow Idaho Republican Congressman Mike Simpson couldn’t be reached for comment on this story, but told the Idaho Press in May that a past analysis on the cost for the state to manage all of its federal lands found it wasn’t very feasible.
“The Legislature looked at that at that time and said, ‘Wow, we can’t afford that,’” Simpson said. “It would come at a huge cost to the state of Idaho.”
Simpson co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would prohibit large parcels of federal land from sales or transfers, with some narrow exemptions.
Simpson’s bill was introduced amid a proposal led by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to sell thousands of acres of public federal lands. Fulcher voted in favor of the amendment to approve the sale.
Conservationists, Fulcher agree federal land management needs improvement
Robison agreed with Fulcher’s assertion that federal land managers have not done enough to reduce wildfire risk.
“Last year, federal land mismanagement was a major factor in nearly 1 million acres of our beautiful Idaho going up in flames, a level of devastation that puts significant financial strain on our local economies,” Fulcher wrote.
Idaho recently signed a new agreement with the U.S. Forest Service to partner with the federal agency to ramp up management and targeted logging activity in Idaho national forests.
Robison agreed there was more to be done to mitigate wildfire risk in Idaho’s forests.
“It is true that agencies that manage American public lands on our behalf are on a starvation diet,” Robison said. “They are underfunded, they are understaffed, and our public lands are suffering as a result. Notably, it is Congress that holds the power of the purse to properly fund these agencies. “
Gov. Brad Little has in the past bemoaned federal management of public lands, but said recently he is more satisfied with what’s being done under the current presidential administration.
Little’s office could not be reached for comment.
This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.
Recently on 60 Minutes, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., confirmed that Republican lawmakers support President Donald Trump due to fear that he will trigger death threats against them. Greene said Trump’s insults against her have resulted in death threats by “diehard MAGA supporters.” She said that Republican lawmakers make fun of Trump behind the scenes — and made fun of her for supporting him. She added that Trump was furious that she supported release of the Epstein files.
After seeing video of the Sept. 2 U.S. military strike on a Venezuelan boat, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., said Republicans supported the strike that killed nine, then later, two survivors. Himes told Face the Nation that U.S. citizens should be able to view the video and decide on their own about the U.S. attack. ABC News was told releasing the video is resisted since the killings “are very, very difficult to justify.” The Bulwark suggested that, instead of killing survivors, they should’ve been detained, assuming they actually were “narco-terrorists,” in order to learn how the organization worked and where more drugs were stashed. Trump initially said he had “no problem” about releasing the video, then later described ABC as “fake news.”
In a Dec. 6 speech, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed Trump can take military action “as he sees fit.” But Democrats and now some Republicans disagree, saying there should be input from Congress.
Trump recently told Politico that he gives the economy an “A+++++.” According to American Progress, that’s true for Trump, as he’s made more than $1.8 billion in cash and gifts over the past 400 days.
The Trump administration recently released its 2025 National Security Strategy. The document is a “dramatic reworking of the foreign policy the U.S. has embraced since WWII,” historian Heather C. Richardson wrote. The new NSS stated that the United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and free trade policies have all “been bad for the U.S.” The NSS instead called for “the restoration and reinvigoration of American spiritual and cultural health,” to create a “new golden age” and “growing numbers of strong, traditional families that raise healthy children.”
The new NSS rejects immigration and claims there are “unrealistic
expectations” for ending Russia’s war against Ukraine. The NSS called for the U.S. to dominate the Western Hemisphere via “commercial diplomacy” that uses tariffs and “reciprocal trade agreements.” The new NSS also calls for “closer collaboration between the U.S. government and the American private sector.”
Richardson said the policy represents a plan to take over Latin America and possibly Canada.
“The U.S. government will identify strategic acquisitions and investment opportunities for American companies in the region,” according to the NSS, “and present these opportunities for assessment by every U.S. Government financing program... .”
For countries that resist, the U.S. will create measures that counter anything that could “disadvantage U.S. business.” Plans are for “tolerable stability in the region” by sidetracking the U.S. military away from European commitments and instead focusing on Latin America. Instead of a “law enforcement-only” strategy, lethal force will be used to secure the U.S. border and defeat drug cartels. The new NSS says the U.S. will extract resources from the Western Hemisphere for what it claims will be mutual prosperity.
According to a comment from the European Council on Foreign Relations: “The transatlantic relationship as we know it is over ... The West as it used to be no longer exists.”
News reports indicated the Kremlin is praising Trump for the new NSS, which significantly aligns with Russia’s views. On X, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said the 2025 NSS puts “Trump’s family’s and friends’ business interests with our adversaries ... over promises to our allies.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, stated that the NSS “is an important first step in reasserting U.S. hegemony in our hemisphere and to make Americans safe and prosperous.”
Blast from the past: When President Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for reelection in 1936, he outlined his administration’s efforts to uphold democracy while struggling “with the old enemies of peace — business and financial monopoly ... reckless banking, class antagonism ... war profiteering. They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob.”
New data visualization shows out-ofstate lobbying money flowing into Idaho
By Laura Guido Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho is seeing more money — and more out-of-state money — in lobbying than it likely ever has.
Secretary of State Phil McGrane told attendees at the Annual Associated Taxpayers of Idaho Conference on Dec. 3 that more than $2.5 million was spent on lobbying in 2025.
McGrane highlighted new data visualization tools available online at voteidaho.gov, including to track lobbyist spending.
During the 2025 session, lawmakers approved changes to lobbying reporting that now require “indirect lobbying” to be reported, which would capture activity like social media or texting campaigns during the legislative session to encourage residents to support or oppose certain bills. The new bill also requires monthly reporting year-round, instead of just during the three-month legislative session.
Around $700,000 has been spent on lobbying since the 2025 legislative session ended in April, McGrane said. There are 392 registered in-state organizations that lobby in Idaho, and there are 300 out-of-state organiza-
tions registered to lobby in Idaho.
The new data visualization runs through each month of 2025, as the lobbying money gets spent. The state legislative session this year ran January through April 4. By the end of the year, the top spender was Modern Ag Alliance, based in St. Louis, Mo. The group spent more than $620,000 lobbying on one bill, House Bill 303, which would have largely granted legal immunity to pesticide manufacturers. The bill never advanced out of committee.
“Most of the spending comes right at the end of February into March,” McGrane said on Dec. 3. “So in the heat of the session is when money starts to really trickle in. It starts off slow, and then comes in strong.”
The second-highest spender of the year was the American Federation for Children, a Washington D.C.based organization that advocates for public subsidies for private school education. The entity has spent more than $200,000 in Idaho, with a large focus on House Bill 93 — a private school choice tax credit that provides a total of $50 million for families to go toward private school tuition or other educational expenses. The governor
Leadership transition underway at Idaho Conservation League
By Reader Staff
After seven years as executive director of the Idaho Conservation League, Justin Hayes has announced that he will leave the organization to pursue the next chapter of his career dedicated to environmental protection.
Hayes joined ICL almost 25 years ago as a program director, managing a range of conservation and environmental initiatives. He was selected to lead the organization following the retirement of longtime Executive Director Rick Johnson in 2018.
As executive director, Hayes guided ICL through the adoption of two new strategic plans, launched new programs focused on wildlife and North Idaho lakes and waters, strengthened ICL’s community engagement and external relations teams, increased revenues and improved financial performance, and opened a new field office in McCall.
“He also cultivated an organizational culture grounded in the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice,” according to ICL.
New data visualizations from the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office allow the public to sift through data on lobbying in Idaho throughout 2025. (Screenshot of Idaho Secretary of State’s website)
signed H.B. 93 into law on Feb. 27.
There are around 400 lobbyists registered in Idaho, McGrane said.
“For all of you legislators, that means there’s four of them for each one of you,” he said.
The second new data visualization dashboard available online depicts the close legislative races the state has seen since 2018. All 105 seats in the Legislature are up for election every two years.
There have been 49 legislative primary races decided by 435 — the number of attendees registered for the Dec. 3 conference — or fewer votes since 2018.
“Fifty races were determined by just the people here,” McGrane said. “So if we can get more people to participate, more people to show up, they can have a big impact.”
This story was produced by Boise-based nonprofit news outlet the Idaho Capital Sun, which is part of the States Newsroom nationwide reporting project. For more information, visit idahocapitalsun.com.
“Serving as executive director has been incredibly rewarding for me,” Hayes stated in a news release. “But it has also meant spending less time personally doing the conservation work that first drew me to this field. At 57, I’m not ready to retire — but I can see it on the horizon. As I’ve reflected on how I want to spend the final phase of my career, I’ve realized that I want to be back on the ground, as a staffer, doing work focused on the rivers and fish that have always inspired me.”
Hayes has accepted a position as the Northern Rockies conservation director for American Rivers, where he will oversee efforts to protect and restore wild, free-flowing rivers in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
ICL will begin the search for its next executive director in the coming months. In the interim, Conservation Director Brad Smith will serve as interim executive director.
“Justin has been an exceptional leader for ICL, and he will be deeply missed,” Smith stated. “We’re grateful for all he has accomplished and wish him the very best in his next chapter. Thanks to Justin’s dedication and vision, he leaves ICL in a strong and stable position for our next executive director.”
Founded in 1973 and with 24 staff members, ICL works on conservation issues throughout the state including air and water quality, as well as land and wildlife.
For more information, visit idahoconservation.org.
Bouquets:
• I always appreciate when people find lost items — especially expensive ones — and do their best to locate the owners.
Grady Swain, a local arborist and fellow tenant in our office building, found an empty AirPod case and dropped it off at my desk in the hopes I could use the Reader to help reunite it with the owner. If you lost an AirPod case, please email me at ben@sandpointreader. com to describe when and where you lost it. Thanks for looking out, Grady.
• I’m at the age when I read the obituary notices and start recognizing names. It was with some sadness that I read about the passing of my beloved second-grade teacher, Nova Jo Kellogg, who passed away on Nov. 18 at the age of 83 years old. Mrs. Kellogg taught at Southside Elementary School for 36 years, retiring in 2004, and I believe she drove the same blue 1980s Chevy Nova the entire time — which I finally understood years later as a total boss move, because she got to drive around a car that shared her name. I can only imagine how many kids came through her classroom in 36 years, but I felt lucky to be one of them. Later, after I became an adult and occasionally ran into her at the grocery store (still driving that blue Nova), she always recognized me and remembered my name. She asked about my two sisters, remembering both of their names. She was a remarkable, kind and decent woman and an excellent teacher. The world is a better place because of her. This Bouquet is for you, Mrs. Kellogg. It’s also for all of you teachers out there, who may never know how much your kindness and guidance affects some of the students who sit before you during their formative years. Thank you.
‘Protecting or controlling?’…
Dear editor,
I wish to add to Molly O’Reilly’s letter [“Protect women and girls”…, Dec. 4, 2025]. For younger readers who may not know, without a husband or father to vouch for or sign for a woman, she was unable to rent, buy, get utilities hooked up or buy a car. All this before there was any term/law for sexual misconduct or equal rights between the sexes. Ancient history? Not to those who lived through it. Protecting or controlling?
Once again, we are being returned to second-class citizenship through predominately white, male legislators, who think they know what women’s/girls’ bodies are all about — hour by hour, day by day, month by month, year by year. Add to this the desire to have women vote only if they have the same name as on their birth certificates?
I cannot be the only one to feel this is abuse of women by males in power, who dare to say the words “protect our women and girls.” As a young female, we were taught to protect ourselves against men — still basically children, we had to abandon open-eyed trust of the opposite sex. Sadly we have been unable to protect ourselves from men in government.
Protesting going back in time,
Mary Wells Sandpoint
‘Annual warning’...
Dear editor, This is the time of year when little sunlight and gray, stormy days make for treacherous driving.
Highway 95 is particularly diffi-
cult these days with the increase in the amount of traffic.
For us folks who live off of U.S. 95, getting on and off the highway is incredibly dangerous. Hence, the signs you see for “lights on for safety.”
Even with fairly normal vision, there are some days when trying to get onto 95 is difficult. Many vehicles that have not turned on their headlights — especially if the vehicle is dark-colored — are invisible.
Watching vehicle after vehicle drive by without their lights on is a feeling of despair that they are just an accident waiting to happen — maybe not through their own fault, but by a driver not being able to see them.
I personally do not want to be responsible for somebody’s death.
Folks who drive without their lights are taking a chance on their own and others lives.
Sue Koller Sandpoint
Bring back the Holiday Spectacular radio show next year…
Dear editor, Wow, we really really enjoyed seeing the KRFY Holiday Spectacular radio show!
Everyone did a fantastic job! Loved the music, readings, acting, skits — everything was beyond our expectations!
Bring it back for 2026! Merry Christmas,
Bill and Marge Preuss Sandpoint
‘We will all pay a price’ for cruelty to immigrants…
Dear editor,
In 1996, a tall, attractive young woman immigrated to the United
States. She was not permitted to work on her tourist visit, but research shows she accepted payments for at least 10 modeling jobs. A few months later, she received an H-1B visa for “distinguished merit and ability” in modeling, allowing legal employment. Today, Melania Trump is our first lady.
President Donald Trump‘s first wife, Ivana, immigrated from then-Czechoslovakia. His mother was born in Scotland. His grandfather immigrated from a very unstable area of Germany. This is the president determined to virtually end immigration to the United States. He is terrorizing both legal immigrants who have not broken our laws, and those whose only crimes are to arrive illegally and not to be white.
When my aunt’s Irish ancestors landed in the 1840s, they were classed as non-white by many, and generally undesirable. The subsequent waves of Italians were also considered non-white by many.
Immigrants have been essential to our nation’s growth and prosperity. That is true today. We will all pay a price for the massive removals and cruelty our nation is inflicting on some of its newer peoples.
Molly O’Reilly Sandpoint
Military should not be used for law enforcement…
Dear editor, Of all things this administration gets wrong is its conflation of being at war with a country (or counties) and enforcing international laws against criminal activities. Our military is designed and trained to fight and kill if necessary to defeat our
nation’s enemies. It is not trained in law enforcement or crime prevention. Using the most expensive military in the world to kill (alleged) drug smugglers is to use a piledriver to kill a mosquito.
The Trump administration keeps telling the public that these small boats are killing Americans. Not true — these boats are involved in a criminal enterprise. These boats are distributing a product that Americans are buying. Americans are killing themselves with their addiction to drugs.
These boats should be intercepted, searched and, if contraband is found, it should be confiscated and the smugglers turned over to law enforcement for processing. Being involved in a crime shouldn’t mean a death sentence without evidence and/or due process.
The USCG has been interdicting smugglers for years — It’s just not as “video game” attention-grabbing as an IR tape of a boat exploding. We must stop murdering people and destroying boats without any evidence or due process. We’re better than this.
Gil Beyer Sandpoint
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Thanks for reading.
Idaho just learned what happens without guardrails — vouchers would make it worse
By Lauren Necochea Reader Contributor
Good governance depends on accountability. Idaho just got a hard reminder of why.
The nonpartisan Office of Performance Evaluations released a 129-page evaluation of the Idaho Home Learning Academy, a fast-growing virtual public charter school authorized through the Oneida School District.
The report shows what happens when education dollars move through weak guardrails. Families used taxpayer-funded accounts for items like streaming subscriptions, video games, water park tickets, virtual reality headsets and hoverboards. Even worse, when families did not use all their allotted funds, private companies administering the
accounts could keep the leftover money rather than return it to the state or district.
The spending model raises serious questions. Idaho Home Learning Academy used fewer staff than the state funding formula assumed, and $22.5 million meant for teacher compensation was shifted to private vendors. In 2024-’25, the school sent $20.6 million to its education service providers. When nearly half of a public school budget goes to private companies, it
is not built around learning. It is built around profit.
Student performance is also a problem. On the statewide achievement test, Idaho Home Learning Academy ranks in the bottom half of Idaho schools, with low proficiency and weaker growth than traditional districts.
This is not about just one school. It shows how quickly money drifts into gray areas, even in a public charter system that is supposed to answer to the public.
Now apply that to Idaho’s voucher scheme. Republicans enacted a $50 million tax credit program that routes public dollars to private education. It is looser by design, with fewer tools to track spending and force fixes. If this is what we found in a public charter, vouchers invite
bigger misuse and profits for middlemen, and less accountability for everyone else.
What was most disappointing was hearing some Republican legislators minimize the findings. Democratic Sen. James Ruchti got it right. If this were a traditional district, lawmakers would be outraged, and every model using public money should face the same standard. When millions are involved, shrugging is not an option. Fixing the holes is the job.
This review also reminds us that balance works when Idaho allows it. The Office of Performance Evaluations exists to review state programs and publicly report its findings. An equally bipartisan legislative oversight committee chooses topics.
We have seen what that
kind of oversight can accomplish. When another independent review exposed inconsistent death investigation practices across counties, lawmakers advanced reforms to improve standards in the coroner system.
Idaho Democrats know how precious education funding is, especially after the Republican supermajority has recklessly slashed revenue. This is no time to send more money into voucher schemes with zero accountability. Idaho can choose oversight that serves students and the public.
Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former District 19 legislator. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.
Lauren Necochea. File photo
Science: Mad about
Working trucks
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist
Living and working around here, we’ve seen our fair share of unique work trucks on the road.
Logging rigs, cement trucks, garbage trucks — all of them perform specific and special roles in our community. But what happens inside these vehicles? Have you ever thought of the engineering that goes into a garbage truck? Why does the cylinder on a cement truck spin?
Let’s start with what everyone calls a cement truck. In actuality, these are concrete trucks and the distinction is important if you work in construction. Cement is an ingredient in concrete, acting as a binding agent with water to lock sand, gravel and cement together. Keeping it still allows a chemical reaction to occur that binds it all together to create concrete. In a nutshell, this is why the drum of a concrete truck spins — but there’s a bit more to it than that.
The inside of a concrete truck’s drum is lined with steel formed into a helical pattern that acts like an Archimedes’ screw lever when the drum is rotating. This agitates the mixture and keeps it from fully curing, giving the mixture more time to be transported before it’s delivered to a job site.
During travel, the drum rotates to pull the concrete mixture upward. Upon reaching the site, it rotates the opposite direction to feed the concrete out of a spout and into its final destination. The spout can be guided by a worker to place the concrete with relative precision.
The speed at which the drum rotates is important.
Higher speeds of rotation allow for more thorough mixing, but can add excess air to the mixture or create friction. Increased friction means increased heat, which can alter the flow rate of the wet concrete, its workability once poured and damage the mixing equipment. Concrete trucks will rotate their drum between four and 12 times per minute. The speed may vary based on the ambient temperature or humidity, as well.
There are different types of concrete trucks. The standard drum mixer is the one you’re most likely to see around here — large trucks with rotating drums. These trucks collect mixed concrete and transport them to other sites. Another version is a volumetric mixer truck, which is a much larger vehicle with segmented compartments that allows for mixing onsite.
What about garbage trucks? These engineering marvels are a common sight around town. They use a set of mechanical arms to grab bins and lift them to dump their contents inside a chamber before driving off and repeating the process.
Side-loader trucks are most commonly seen around Sandpoint. These are efficient for tight neighborhood streets and require fewer staff members to operate than a rear-loader truck you’ve likely seen in movies and on TV. A side-loader truck grapples the wheelie bins and dumps them into its trash compartment, where a hydraulic press compacts the trash to force out air and create more room for garbage.
Front-loader trucks are also seen in Bonner County. These utilize a sort of forklift in the front that grabs metal
dumpsters and lifts them over the cab to pour their contents into the hopper before compaction. These deal with a larger volume per bin than side-loaders and are usually quite large.
There is a huge variance in how garbage trucks handle compaction. Some trucks use a hydraulic press like the trash compactor walls in Star Wars: A New Hope. Others may use a screw press. Whatever system any particular truck uses, it’s capable of exerting up to 30,000 pounds of force. That’s equivalent to two fully grown African elephants standing on the same spot. In short, you don’t want to take a trip into the hopper of a garbage truck.
The storage compartment of a garbage truck is more than a metal box. These spaces are specially designed to carry all manner of waste as efficiently and safely as possible. A hydraulic wall presses the garbage into layers, forcing out as much air as possible to leave room for more trash. Sensors alert the driver when the compartment is reaching capacity or if dangerous materials like flammable batteries or aerosol cans have compromised the pressure or integrity of the load. The surfaces of the truck itself are also coated in a very tough paint and sealant designed to protect the metal from corrosion and the immense forces being exerted within.
Trucks may also be equipped with a reservoir for collecting leachate, which is effectively garbage juice. This stuff isn’t just gross, it can be dangerous depending on what people decide to throw away, and it cannot simply be drained out onto the street.
Believe it or not, these trucks are also designed to minimize escaping odors,
which you’ll be thankful for if you’re ever stuck behind one on its route for more than a few minutes.
Garbage trucks transfer their contents to a transfer station, where material is collected, sorted, weighed and then transferred to its final destination, which could be a recycling facility, landfill or incinerator.
In California, a number of natural park areas are actually built on top of old landfills. In many places around the
world, trash is incinerated to generate energy from waste. This makes sense when plastic is derived from petroleum. While it’s not great for the atmosphere or our climate, the alternative is likely to be drowning in juicy plastic waste as far as the eye can see. Alternatively, we could just stop individually wrapping every single item in so much plastic, especially if it’s not compromised in any way by washing in a kitchen sink.
Stay curious, 7B.
Random Corner
• Mistletoe — the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants — are attached to a host tree or shrub, from which they extract water and nutrients, making them parasites. The most common and well-known species is Viscum album, which was introduced to Northern California in 1900 and is actually poisonous to humans.
• Kissing under the mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition today, but this plant’s symbolic history dates back thousands of years. Greeks used it to cure everything from menstrual cramps to spleen disorders, and the Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder noted it was a good balm against epilepsy, ulcers and poison.
• The Celtic druids of the first century C.E. are responsible for the romantic overtones of the plant. Because mistletoe could blossom during frozen winters, druids came to view it as a sacred symbol of vivacity and they administered it to humans and animals in hope of restoring fertility.
• According to Norse mythology, the god Odin’s son Baldur was proph-
esied to die and his mother Frigg, the goddess of love, went to all the animals and plants of the natural world to secure an oath that they would not harm him. But Frigg neglected to consult with mistletoe, so the scheming god Loki made an arrow from the plant and saw that it was used to kill the otherwise invincible Baldur. Another version of the myth states the gods were able to resurrect Baldur and Frigg then declared mistletoe a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it.
• No one is entirely sure how mistletoe went from a sacred herb to a holiday decoration; but, by the 18th century, it had become widely incorporated into Christmas celebrations. The kissing tradition may have first caught on among servants in England before spreading to the middle class.
• As the custom goes, men were allowed to steal a kiss from any woman caught standing under the mistletoe and refusing was viewed as bad luck.
Photo by Andrew Athias
Legislative update Bill-drafting season
By Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint Reader Contributor
The 2026 Legislative session starts on Jan. 12, so it’s time for drafting bills and preparing for advocacy work in the Capitol. Last month I wrote about a single issue — property insurance — while this month I will outline a few other important issues. I have started drafting bills to address the following:
Women’s health care: Last session I worked with many health care professionals and Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, to draft a bill to clarify a “health of the mother” exception to the Defense of Life Act (DOLA). The driver of this bill was our district’s and state’s lack of OB-GYN care. Inserting unambiguous language into statute will provide clarity for our medical professionals. Doctors don’t want to jeopardize their careers and educational investments by making decisions based on DOLA’s vague language — they want clarity.
This year I have worked with many doctors, other medical groups and again with Sen. Woodward to craft a straightforward bill to address an issue that continues to harm our area. Idaho ranks 50th in the country for physicians per capita. This bill will help to retain and recruit doctors.
Highway safety: We have had conversations and meetings with the Idaho Transportation Department throughout the year. Our concerns about traffic safety improvements, I believe, are warranted. During my research, I learned of a previous change in the law regarding the privilege of driving.
Several years ago, the Legislature decided to move away from the revocation process for drivers with outstanding infractions and citations. Since then, the unpaid traffic fines have increased from approximately $1 million in 2017 to more than $20 million today.
Financial issues aside, we now have drivers with multiple unadjudicated infractions driving our roads with less concern for losing their privileges. I’m drafting a bill to reinstate the penalties and give our law enforcement officers another tool to improve traffic safety.
Sewer: While Idaho has benefited from being a low-regulation state, there are limits to this philosophy. I have a bill drafted to have sewer districts join water and power districts
in regulation. When there is no other provider to keep rates competitive, regulation is sometimes necessary — and infrastructure investment needs to be a part of district operations.
District boundaries: House Bill 389 stifled district boundary changes. The bill labels any change as an annexation
and puts severe limits on the amount of revenue that can be transferred from one district to another. I’m having a bill drafted that will allow district boundary changes with the consent of the associated boards.
This change will allow the district providing services to be the beneficiary of the revenues generated (for example: levies). An appeal process will continue and the bill will not prohibit a vote on the issue if the commissioners (elected officials) involved believe that would be beneficial.
Homeowners’ exemption: I will bring draft bills to average the assessed property value over three years and increase the amount of the homeowners’ exemption to $250,000. While the Legislature has passed bills to reduce the tax burden on homeowners since I have been your representative, the means to do so has been with the use of sales tax. This method of tax reduction hasn’t changed problems of surprising yearon-year tax increases or the shift in the property tax burden to homeowners from other property taxpayers.
Career technical training: I’ve been approached by our logging community and asked to carry a bill to supplement training for students interested in heavy equipment operations and millwork. The revenue for the training would come from a small fee for every 1,000 board feet of wood delivered to our mills.
I’m currently doing some research on the bill and talking to the parties involved. In concept, it’s the logging industry taxing itself to increase the number and skill level of its workforce. Increasing our timber production seems more likely now. Increasing the size of the workforce merits consideration.
It is an honor to serve our district. Questions, thoughts, suggestions? Please send them to me at msauter@ house.idaho.gov.
Rep. Mark Sauter is a second-term Republican legislator representing District 1A. He serves on the Agricultural Affairs; Education; and Resources and Conservation committees.
Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint. File photo
Lesser-known games to liven up the holidays
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Family and friends coming together for the holidays is the perfect excuse to dust off the board games and reshuffle the cards; and, for most people, that means playing a few games of triedand-true favorites like Monopoly, Uno or Clue. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the world of board games is richer and more diverse than these few choices would suggest. Here are a few suggestions to expand your collection and make new memories with loved ones this season.
Look for these recommendations at area game stores like Creations (334 N. First Ave., Suite 213, in Sandpoint) or Uncle’s Games (404 W. Main Ave., in Spokane).
7 Wonders, 2-7 players
Anyone with an affinity for history or who delights in building a Monopoly empire should try 7 Wonders. In this strategy game, each player vies to build an ancient wonder of the world: the Pyramid of Giza, Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse of Alexandria, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Temple of Artemis, Statue of Zeus at Olympia or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Players draw cards with various benefits, improving their wealth, trade relations and military prowess across three “ages.” The game ends when one player builds their wonder or the third age ends, and the time of the ancients comes to a close.
A Fake Artist Goes to New York, 5-10 players
A bit like Telephone and Pictionary combined, in this game, one play-
er takes on the role of the question master, writing a category on various dry erase boards and distributing them to players. That is the drawing prompt. Then, each player takes turns drawing one line in the picture before passing it to the next person to add to. The catch is, one player doesn’t actually know the prompt and is hoping no one will notice. If the fake artist contributes well enough to the drawing and goes undetected, both the question master and the faker get a point. If the artists call their bluff, though, they get a point.
Codenames, Wavelength, and Hues and Cues
These three are variations on a similar premise: a guessing game in which winning depends on understanding your teammates’ particular brands of crazy.
In Codenames, teams work for two rival “spymasters” who know the secret identities of agents in the field. The agents are among the cards laid out on the table, each labeled with a simple word like “India” or “Pool.”
It’s the spymaster’s job to give oneword hints that connect the cards they’d like their team to choose, all while avoiding the other players’ agents. Each game requires 4-8 players.
Wavelength tasks teams with guessing where a given hint would fall on a spectrum. One of the 2-12 players chooses a card representing a scale — something like “Hot to Cold” or “Bad Superpower to Good Superpower.”
They then spin the wheel to see where on the spectrum their answer should fall, and give a short hint, like “Levitating.” If their teammates can match up approximately where on the spectrum that answer falls, they win points. Finally, Hues and Cues has individual players guessing colors — so don’t play with your colorblind friend, or do, for an added challenge. The board contains 480 different hues. One player describes their chosen color in one word, and everyone else places their token on their best guess. The closer they are to the correct tile, the more points they get. Play with 3-10 people.
Sheriff of Nottingham, 3-6 players
In this game, based on the stories of Robin Hood, players take on the role of merchants attempting to peddle their wares under the tyrannical eye of the Sheriff of Nottingham, played by a different person each turn. Players draw cards to collect goods — both legal and illegal — and attempt to bring them into the city, either bluffing their way past inspections or choosing only the legal, but less expensive, items. It’s the sheriff’s job to sniff out smugglers and fine the merchants, but incorrect guesses result in reparations. In the end, the player with the most money wins.
Skull
, 3-6 players
For a quick and simple bluffing game that’s travel-friendly, reach for Skull (also called Skull and Roses). Each player stacks a tile face down that hides either a skull or a flower. They add to the stack until someone claims that they can flip a certain number of everyone’s tiles and reveal only roses. The other players can up the ante by claiming they can flip more tiles, or they can let the guesser take their chances. The highest bidder turns the
tiles over and wins the round if they reveal only flowers. The game ends when one player has won twice.
Viking See-Saw, 2-4 players
In this simple take on a balance and strategy game, players work to load cargo onto a tippy ship as quickly as possible without causing it to teeter. This is made more difficult because each piece is a different shape, weight and material, from marbles to wooden blocks. Players who sway the ship from one side to the other incur a fine; and, in the end, the person with the best stacked cargo wins.
Wilmot’s Warehouse, 2-6 players
This is a cooperative memory game that asks players to sit with the pieces and make up stories or mnemonics to organize their “warehouse.” Players take turns drawing a tile with a unique pattern, then work with the group to place it upside down somewhere on the board that everyone will remember. The tiles are grouped into seven days of the week, with new challenges on each day. When Friday ends, players receive an onslaught of last-minute customers (more tiles) that they have to match up with the corresponding “goods” they’ve laid out on the board. The goal is to match as many tiles as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Sandpoint ArtWorks Gallery invites community to holiday party
By Reader Staff
Local artist co-op Sandpoint ArtWorks Gallery is hosting its annual holiday party on Saturday, Dec. 13 at its downtown location (214 N. First Ave.).
Enjoy 10% off everything in the gallery from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Also, observe and interact as artists demonstrate different techniques while talking to member artists throughout the day. Eat and drink from 4-7 p.m.
Sandpoint ArtWorks Gallery celebrated its 30th anniversary this year.
“The community has made this a great year,” stated Julie Ellis, ArtWorks president and repurposed glass chime and chain maker. “Thanks for bringing your friends and family to see and buy local art. See you Saturday.”
“Everyone’s art is unique and wonderful. We have something for all kinds and all budgets,” added wildlife and Western painter Dan
Carpenter. “We have fine and fairly fine art and everything in between.”
That includes paintings, ceramics, jewelry, sculptures, metal work, photography, woven baskets, glasswork, woodwork, clothing, silk, mixed media, stocking stuffers, cards, prints, stickers, tiny art and calendars.
Sandpoint ArtWorks Gallery is an artist’s cooperative, which means local artists run the gallery and proceeds are used to benefit all members. Some artists have been with the co-op for nearly 20 years. Others just joined this year.
“If you create art and want to join our community, come pick up a jury application,” stated Dave Gonzo, Display Committee lead and metal alchemist. “We are all in this together. Supporting each other to enhance the beauty in people’s homes and in our community of Sandpoint.”
Contact SandpointArtworks@ gmail.com or call 208-263-2642 for more information.
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The holiday season is a busy and prosperous time for local businesses, which rely on the sales boost to carry them through the rest of the offseason. Unlike buying from online retailers or big box stores, shopping small ensures that every dollar goes back into the community, supporting friends and neighbors, and growing the local economy. This year, put down the computer and spend a few hours at local stores finding personal, meaningful gifts that give back to the community as a whole.
Used books from Bizarre Bazaar
The beloved Corner Book Store closed its doors earlier this year after owner Jim Orbaugh’s retirement, leaving many wondering where to get affordable used books. Thankfully, the nonprofit resale store Bizarre Bazaar (114 S. Boyer Ave.) has taken up the cause of local bibliophiles. Gently used books sell for a couple of dollars at most, with 50% off sales every Friday. Plus, every cent of the proceeds goes to the Community Assistance League, which runs the bazaar and funds many local grants and scholarships every year. A good book is a gift that changes hearts and minds and, depending on how much thought you put into your selection,
shows how well you pay attention to the little details. Plus, buying from CAL supports local students and nonprofits in a tangible way. What could be better?
Sandpoint Ceramics classes
Experiences are often the best gifts, especially when they mean spending time with the people you love. If you know someone with a crafty streak, or who wants to get out and try new things in the new year, consider purchasing a gift card to Sandpoint Ceramics. The studio, located upstairs in the Cedar Street Bridge (334 N. First Ave., Suite 206), offers beginner to advanced ceramics classes, including potter’s wheel courses, handbuilding classes and specialty workshops. Experienced artists can also skip the class and use a day pass to create whatever they want; or, for something light and easy, everyone is welcome at Sandpoint Ceramics’ regular paint-a-pot activities. Gift cards can range from $25-stocking stuffers to major $300 presents. Learn more at sandpointceramics.com.
Yarn. Lots of yarn.
Everyone has a fiber artist in their life, but whether they’re addicted to knitting or crochet, there’s one thing they always want more of: yarn. It doesn’t matter if the contents of their craft room are spilling into the
hallways; pretty, new yarn is always welcome. Begin researching by noting their chosen medium, what they like to make, their preferred color palette and whether they have a favorite brand. Bear in mind that prices vary widely depending on the material. Then, head over to Twilight Fiber and Yarn (469000 U.S. 95, in Sagle) or The Yarn Table inside Foster’s Crossing (504 Oak St., in Sandpoint) to survey their massive selections. No matter which store you choose, be sure to ask knowledgeable staff for recommendations, giving them as much information as possible so they can help you buy something your loved one will actually use. For those new to the craft, Twilight Fiber sells individual Amigurumi kits that include a pattern, yarn and any hardware needed to complete a stuffed animal, and they cost about $20-30. Learn more at shop.twilightfiber.com.
A massage at Wildflower Spa
It doesn’t matter who they are or what they do, everyone needs a massage from time to time. Sandpoint has a bounty of local spas to choose from, and it’s difficult to go wrong anywhere, but if no one you know has any recommendations, Wildflower Spa and Salon at Seasons (424 Sandpoint Ave., Suite 300) is a safe and classic choice. The spa
partners with Aveda for its products, which include luxurious massage oils, moisturizers and aromatherapy. Gift cards are available online at thewildflowerdayspa.com starting at $50. Depending on the intensity and length of the session, as well as the techniques used — like acupressure or hot stones — massages can cost anywhere from $100 to $340. This includes use of the spa’s showers, steam room and balcony overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.
Top left: Sandpoint Ceramics inside the Cedar Street Bridge. Courtesy photo. Top right: The book section at Bizarre Bazaar. Photo by Soncirey Mitchell. Above: A massage room at Wildflower Spa. Courtesy photo.
Sandpoint Elks donate to local organizations helping with food insecurity
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Everyone needs a little help from time to time.
The Sandpoint Elks Lodge No. 1376 presented three Bonner County nonprofit organizations with grant dollars on Dec. 4 to help with food insecurity. The Elks presented a $4,000 check to the Bonner Community Food Bank, a $2,000 check to Food For Our Children and a $1,000 check to the Sandpoint Senior Center to help with meals for homebound seniors.
Grant Committee Chair Tim Fitzpatrick, who is also a three-year trustee and past exalted ruler with the Sandpoint Elks, said the first two grants came from the Grand National Lodge and the third came from the Idaho Elk Tracks Grant – all aimed to help with food insecurity.
“We always look to help veterans, children in need, adults in need,” Fitzpatrick said. “Before becoming part of the grant process, I never had anything to do with the food bank. I’ve met so many wonderful people at the food bank and working with Food For Our Children. It’s been a really great experience for me.”
Linda Tatlock, Sandpoint Elks grant writer, past exalted ruler and Idaho State Elks Association secretary, said the Elks focused on food insecurity because it’s a widespread problem.
“Food insecurity is a big problem, not only in Sandpoint, but everywhere,” Tatlock said.
She said it’s an issue that has affected her deeply over the years, thanks to her own experience with needing assistance.
“Forty-five years ago, I found myself to be a single mother of two young
Ladies Night annual shopping event kicks off Dec. 12
By Reader Staff
It’s Ladies Night on Friday, Dec. 12, with shopping and other events scheduled from 3-8 p.m. throughout downtown Sandpoint.
The annual festivities kick off at Barrel 33 (100 N. First Ave.), where participants pick up their event passports if they haven’t already visited a participating business. From there, attendees are invited to spend the afternoon exploring downtown,
enjoying festive sips, special deals and holiday cheer.
End the evening at the Pend d’Oreille Winery (301 Cedar St.) and 219 Lounge (219 N. First Ave.) for grand prize drawings at 8 p.m. Two grand prizes will be awarded, one at each location, and you must be present with your filled-out passport to win.
For more information, go to sandpointdowntownshopping.com/ ladies-night.
Sandpoint SantaCon’s coming to town
By Reader Staff
There will be a bevy of Jolly Ol’ St. Nicks around town Saturday, Dec. 13, with the return of SantaCon, which organizers call “Sandpoint’s best Christmas Party.”
Santas will assemble at Matchwood Brewing Co. (513 Oak St.) from 4-6 p.m. followed by a citywide pub crawl until 9:30 p.m., and concluding with The Naughty List Party at the 219 Lounge (219 N. First Ave.).
The one-night event is celebrating its second year in Sandpoint, this time benefiting the Schweitzer Avy Dogs, which is a nonprofit supporting the Avalanche Dogs and rescue program on the mountain, including training and resources.
Avy Dogs will be on hand – or on paw, as the case may be – at Match-
children and I had to go to the food bank to feed my young kids,” Tatlock told the Reader. “That has stayed with me forever.”
In addition to donating grant money toward local organizations helping to feed the community, the Elks also
wood from 4-6 p.m., during which the family-friendly portion of the event will feature DJ Lady Santa, face-painting, photos for the Naughty List Party, special meal deals and more.
All proceeds will go to the Avy Dogs.
Participants will also register and pick up their passports at Matchwood, to be filled out at participating locations around town, including: Idaho Pour Authority, Eichardt’s Pub, the Tervan Tavern, Barrel 33, Pivo Peaks Alehouse, Mickduff’s Beer Hall, Utara Brewing Co., Connie’s Lounge, Smokesmith Bar-B-Que, Roxy’s, The Bank, The 1908 Saloon and The 219 Lounge.
The pub crawl is reserved for those 21 and older.
Go to matchwoodbrewing.com/ santacon for more information and to register.
provides free Thanksgiving meals at the Elks Lodge the week before Thanksgiving, and also made about 50 home meal deliveries this year.
Kinderhaven, LPOSD and Food For Our Children ally to provide affordable school meals
By Reader Staff
Food For Our Children, the Kinderhaven Foundation and Lake Pend Oreille School District have partnered to provide affordable school meals for students from the lowest 50% of household incomes in the area.
To support that effort, the Kinderhaven Foundation awarded Food For Our Children a two-year grant of $186,000 per year to pay for school meals for students from low-income households for the 2026-’27 and 2027-’28 school years, totaling $372,000. Meanwhile, Food For Our Children has committed to matching the Kinderhaven Foundation’s grant dollar for dollar through its own resources and by outreach to supporters and the community. Including the match, the total commitment for funding school meals for the two-year period is $744,000.
The program will be managed by the Lake Pend Oreille School District’s childhood nutrition office, relying on the same methodology as is used for its management of the USDA federal school nutrition program.
“This incredible grant from the Kinderhaven Foundation will serve as the foundation for creating an entirely new paradigm for childhood nutrition in the Lake Pend Oreille School District,” stated FFOC Board President Dennis Pence. “Their belief in Food For Our Children’s mission of eliminating childhood hunger in Bonner County, coupled with the passion and expertise of the teachers, admin-
istrators and staff of LPOSD, makes possible a new and more hopeful way forward for the health and welfare of our community.”
Speaking on behalf of the Kinderhaven Foundation, Board President Betsy Dalessio stated that the organization was “honored to support Food For Our Children with this $372,000 commitment.
“Ensuring that every child has access to a nutritious breakfast and lunch is essential to their wellbeing, their learning and their sense of stability,” she added. “Too many families in our community face the impossible choice between daily essentials and feeding their children at school. We are proud to partner with an organization that removes that burden and makes dignity, nourishment and opportunity possible for more students. This investment reflects our belief that when children’s basic needs are met, their potential is limitless.”
Finally, LPOSD Superintendent Dr. Becky Meyer stated, “I cannot overstate the importance of this donation. Students, at the very least, must have food in their belly before they are able to focus at school and be ready to learn. This foundational necessity is made possible through the diligent work of Food For Our Children, partnered with the compassionate Kinderhaven Foundation donation. LPOSD is extremely grateful.”
For further information or to make a donation, go to foodforourchildren.org.
L-R: Debbie Love and Ana Kampe with Bonner Community Food Bank, Linda Tatlock and Tim Fitzpatrick with the Elks Lodge. Photo by Ben Olson
SASi to host benefit concert
By Reader Staff
The Sandpoint Senior Center will host an interactive musical variety show Saturday, Dec. 13, from 2-4 p.m., at 820 Main St., in Sandpoint, featuring Oak Street Connection with Chrystle Horvath and Sam Cornett playing music of all genres sprinkled with holiday cheer and familiar Christmas melodies.
Serengeti Home Care will sponsor
light refreshments, including baked goods, cocoa and cider. There is no admission charge; rather, cash donations are welcome to continue support for area seniors and the Senior Center’s meal and activity programs.
All are welcome to attend. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, call 208-2636860.
Sandpoint Waldorf School’s beloved Winter Faire comes home
By Reader Staff
The Sandpoint Waldorf School will bring back its popular Winter Faire on Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m.-3:00 p.m., at the Sandpoint Waldorf School campus (2007 Sandpoint W. Drive).
After several years at other venues, the event is coming home — with colorful classrooms and hallways bringing an intimate and whimsical charm that many will remember from earlier Winter Faires.
Families and friends of all ages are invited to attend the beloved holiday tradition, which is free to attend, though with some fees for certain activities.
Some of the kids’ offerings are no-cost, including candle dipping, handcrafts and face painting. Visitors can also enjoy the Children’s Store, where young shoppers choose special gifts for loved ones all on
The magic returns Application deadline nears for Lions Club Toys for Tots
By Reader Staff
The days are dwindling to apply for the Sandpoint Lions Club’s annual Toys for Tots campaign, with a deadline of Friday, Dec. 12, and toy pickup scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13.
While the Lions are filling toy orders as quickly as community donations come in, support for Toys For Tots is accepted year round to further the club’s mission of fulfilling the Christmas dreams of area kids.
their own. The school’s Early Childhood teachers will perform a puppet show, The Elves and the Shoemaker, entertaining young audiences with warmth and wonder.
Guests can stroll through the artisan vendor marketplace, featuring unique, handcrafted gifts from local artists, and warm up with soup, desserts and hot beverages while carolers and students fill the air with festive music.
“The SWS Winter Faire has always been more than an event for the school — it’s our gift to the community,” stated Kirsten Hollan, Sandpoint Waldorf’s director of Operations and Development. “We are so happy to welcome everyone back to our campus to share in this beautiful tradition.”
For more info on the Sandpoint Waldorf School, go to sandpointwaldorf.org.
According to the Lions Club, they’ve as-
sisted more than 300 families throughout the community, and have joined forces with local residents and businesses for the goal to raise $75,000 to purchase toys and gift cards going to more than 1,000 young people within the Lake Pend Oreille School District.
To celebrate the 2025 campaign, local fan-favorite outlaw country and classic rock quartet the Miah Kohal Band will play a special toy drive show Saturday, Dec. 13 from 8-11 p.m. at Roxy’s Lounge (215 Pine St., in Sandpoint). Bring an unwrapped toy or donation while you get down for a good cause.
To learn more about the Lions Club, visit sandpointlions.wixsite.com/ website. To donate, send checks to: Sandpoint Lions Club, P.O. Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.
Festival Youth Orchestra hosts winter concert
By Reader Staff
The Festival at Sandpoint invites audiences to get into the seasonal swing with a performance Monday, Dec. 15 by the nonprofit arts organization’s Youth Strings Orchestra at the First Presbyterian Church (417 N. Fourth Ave., in Sandpoint).
Starting at 6 p.m., the ensemble of local young musicians will present an evening of classical, pop and holiday favorites. Attendance is free and all ages are welcome.
For more information on the Festival at Sandpoint and its various year-round programs, go to festivalatsandpoint.com.
Wishing you a very Healthy Holidays
health, for your whole life!
Sandpoint VFW announces winners of annual turkey shoot
By Reader Staff
Members of the Sandpoint VFW Post No. 2453 awarded three sharpshooting locals with free Thanksgiving turkeys for their accuracy with a .22-caliber rifle at the Nov. 19 event.
Jim Marley won first place in the men’s category, while Janelle Lindley won first in the women’s division and 9-year-old Clay Walker won among youths.
Participants aged 8 and older were invited to participate, with admission costing two nonperishable food items per shooter and benefiting the Bonner Community Food Bank.
“The Sandpoint VFW
Post would like to extend congratulations to the winners of our fifth annual turkey shoot,” VFW officials stated. “We are grateful for everyone who participated in the event this year at Shoot North indoor range. Your generous donations of canned goods were instrumental in making this event a success.”
The VFW gathered about 100 pounds of food, all of which went to the food bank.
“We want to express our sincere appreciation to Safeway grocery store for their generous donation of turkeys for this event and Shoot North for the use of their facility,” the VFW stated.
A quiet, brooding masterpiece
By Ben Olson Reader Staff
Underneath the paved streets, the brick buildings, real estate offices and fast-food joints, there exists another North Idaho. It’s buried beneath the modern trappings of a Northwestern resort town, where time has eroded most of the jagged edges – where generations of men lived hard existences cutting away the past to make room for the future, which left them listless and unmoored as they came to terms with their place in the mad growing world before dying and being forgotten to time.
In his novella Train Dreams, Denis Johnson captures the Gothic desperation of our region like no other writer, which makes sense because he made his home near Bonners Ferry for many years before his death in 2017. His writing was steady and gentle, yet frail, like an addict willing himself the strength not to take the next drink.
Unlike Western writers of the past, who painted romantic pictures of the loggers who tamed the forests or cowboys who smoothed out the range, Johnson was more interested in laying these folks on a gurney and opening their souls to poke around at what gave them joy, what drove them to keep putting their boots on every morning and, most importantly, what haunted them in the still hours of the night.
Johnson’s Train Dreams was adapted into a feature film, masterfully directed by Clint Bentley, who created one of the most poignant portraits of life in the panhandle of Idaho and its surrounding areas.
Recounting the 80 years of life of Robert Grainier, a fictional man who lived and worked around Bonners Ferry about 100 years ago, Train Dreams is a taut, tender film. With a moving performance by Joel Edgerton as Grainier, narration by Will Patton and a host of colorful supporting characters, this film will dig deep into your chest and hang around for a while long after the credits roll.
The film is littered with place names that don’t often find their way onto the silver screen: Bonners Ferry, Moyie River, Noxon, Libby. While it takes place largely in North Idaho and western Montana, Bentley filmed Train Dreams mostly in Washington around Snoqualmie and Metaline Falls, as well as Colville.
Train Dreams is a film that captures the Gothic desperation of North Idaho
An orphaned child with no idea who his parents were or even on which day he was born, Grainier represents one of the many faceless men who haunted this region around the time of the Great War. With an ax on their shoulder and an insatiable hunger for work, these itinerant men toiled in the forests or for the railroad. Some chose to make a life in the panhandle, building simple cabins and trying their damndest to raise a family on the edge of the frontier.
Grainier wandered the woods for years, seemingly without purpose or direction, building railroad bridges, felling large swaths of forest and earning a dollar the tough way. Then he meets Gladys Olding, played by Felicity Jones, and suddenly feels his life has clicked into some kind of groove. No longer is he fighting against a current – he’s joining its flow.
The couple build a cabin alongside the Moyie River and have a daughter they name Kate. Gladys is left to raise the child and keep the home in a land still rough around the edges while Grainier goes off for months at a time to work for the Spokane International Railway, where he meets many colorful characters that leave lasting impressions on him.
There is the Chinese laborer that workers throw off a bridge for an unarticulated reason, a scene that often haunts Grainier in the dark of the night. There are also men with whom he cuts trees for months without uttering a single word to one another.
William H. Macy makes an inspired — albeit brief — performance as Arn Peeples, the busted up old logger who handles all the explosives and acts as a sort of soothsayer, questioning where the never-ending progress will lead them.
The film depicts the brutal reality of this type of work, which is messy, back-breaking and often ends in tragedy. Some workers are killed by falling trees, others are killed by vigilantes seeking justice for evil deeds done in their past. Often, the only memory of their passing is a pair of cork boots nailed to the tree where they were buried – the tree often swallowing the boots whole as the years pass by.
A quiet man among his fellow lumberjacks, Grainier seldom makes friends. He strikes up an amiable relationship with the demolition mon-
key Peeples, listening as the old man pontificates about this or that. In one scene, Peeples talks to Grainier about the effect this work has on a man.
“We cut down trees that have been here 500 years,” Peeples said. “Upsets a man’s soul whether he recognizes it or not. ... This world is intricately stitched together, boys. Every thread we pull, we know not how it affects the design of things. We’re but children on this Earth, pulling bolts out of the Ferris wheel, thinking ourselves to be gods.”
It’s as if Peeples understands that this work they are doing, this raping of the trees from the Earth, is something we’ll regret someday.
After his long absences take their toll on Gladys, who is left raising Kate mostly by herself, the couple decide to work toward building a farm and sawmill so he can work closer to home. But he couldn’t still the throbbing placelessness that haunted him.
“Grainier worried more and more that something terrible was following him,” the narrator tells us.
Sure enough, while away on his final season of logging to earn the capital for this life change, Grainier returns home to find that tragedy has, indeed, found him. His life turned upside down, Grainier returns to his meandering – kicking at the ghosts around him, working in the woods again only to find the industry changing, leaving him behind. While talking with an ancient logger who could barely tie his shoes, he decides to pack it in and find another line of work. There was something about the old logger that reminded Grainier of himself in the not-too-distant future.
Grainier puts together a stake and buys some horses and a wagon to earn money delivering goods and people around the region. One passenger is Claire Thompson, a widow heading to live the lonely existence of a fire tower
lookout for the U.S. Forest Service. Both of them victims of life’s tragic hand, Grainier and Thompson have an important conversation toward the end of the film that perfectly encapsulates the groundless mentality that many feel living in the American West, as if they are ghosts or echoes still traveling about the hills and valleys.
“Just waiting to see what we’ve been left here for,” Thompson tells Grainier.
In his later years, Grainier sees the world move on. Chainsaws replace the crosscut saws he operated in the forests, big steel bridges replace the wooden-trussed ones he built in his youth. He sees buildings reach into the sky, neon lights, a television screen in a shop window showing man going to space, looking back on Earth for the first time.
Drawn by some desire he couldn’t explain, Grainier ends up taking a ride in a biplane for $4 and, as the pilot nosedives and loops over the land that nearly broke him, Grainier felt something click.
“As he misplaced all sense of up and down, he felt, at last, connected to it all,” the narrator said.
Train Dreams is a quiet masterpiece, a perfect encapsulation of the loneliness that exists under our feet, a nostalgic, bitter pill we all swallow, each and every day we wake under the Western sky.
Drawn from a powerful novella, cast perfectly and executed with grace, Train Dreams is a film that explores what happens after a man’s soul is clear-cut and paved over while he’s still alive. It is both a look back at those who built this land and a look inward at the reasons why, even after such toil, our souls are still not satisfied.
Joel Edgerton plays Robert Grainier in Train Dreams, now streaming on Netflix. Courtesy image
Send event listings to calendar@sandpointreader.com
Artist Reception: Jenny and Christian Benoit
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Meet the artists and take home their work
Live Music w/ Angel Urrea
5-7:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.
Live Music w/ Weibe Jammin’
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Suspicious PKG
5pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Dario Ré
5:30-8:30pm @ Barrel 33
Live Music w/ Brian Jacobs
6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Live Music w/ The Meat Sweatz
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Live Music w/ The Swingin’ Jays
6-8pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
Live Music w/ Ian Newbill
5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live Music w/ Tucker James
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Live Music w/ The Van Stone Band
9pm-midnight @ 219 Lounge
Punk Dance Party
8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Wear your best DIY punk outfit and blow off some steam, bruv
Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra concert
2pm @ First Lutheran Church, 526 Olive Ave
FREE concert followed by goodies baked by musicians and families
Charity Blues Jam
7-9pm @ Eichardt’s Pub
Money raised helps Meals-on-Wheels and Bonner Community Food Bank
Outdoor Experience Group Run
6pm @ Outdoor Experience
Open Irish Jam w/ Seamus
6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
THURSDAY, december 11
Cribbage tournament 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Line dancing lessons
6:30pm @ The Hive $10 at the door, 21+
FriDAY, december 12
Sandpoint Ladies Night
3-8pm @ Various Sandpoint retailers
Start at Barrel 33 to pick up event passports, then explore downtown, enjoy festive sips, special deals and holiday cheer. Grand prizes drawn at Pend d’Oreille Winery and 219 Lounge at 8pm, must be present to win
Live Music w/ Frytz Mor & the Generals 8-11pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
Live Music w/ Mobius Riff 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
SATURDAY, december 13
Sandpoint Lions Club Toy Drive
8-11pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
Bring an unwrapped toy to donate
Sandpoint Waldorf School Winter Faire
10am-3pm @ Sandpoint Waldorf School
Free admission. Kids crafts, food, treats, handmade gifts, more
Pictures with Santa Claus 10am-2pm @ Sandpoint Super Drug
Live Music w/ Truck Mills
6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
SunDAY, december 14
Live Music w/ Kerry Leigh and friends 3-5pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
monDAY, december 15
Festival at Sandpoint’s Youth Strings Orchestra Winter Concert (FREE) 6pm @ First Presbyterian Church Classical, pop and holiday favorites
December 11 - 18, 2025
Drama and Dessert
7pm @ Sandpoint High School
A drama performance and dessert
Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra concert
7pm @ First Lutheran Church, 526 Olive Ave
FREE concert followed by goodies baked by musicians and families
Sandpoint Contra Dance
7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall
Beginner lesson at 7pm, general dancing from 8-10pm. $8-$10. This will be the last dance until spring
Allegro Dance Studio: The Nutcracker 7pm @ Panida Theater
With a live orchestra from North Idaho Philharmonia under Jan Pellant
Sandpoint SantaCon
4-10pm @ Various locations
4-6pm: official Santa gathering at Matchwood. 6-9:30pm: Santa Pub Crawl at various locations. 9:30pm and later: The Naughty List party at 219
Holiday air plant terrarium workshop 3:30-5pm @ Verdant Plant Shop $35; materials and light refreshments included. RSVP: bit.ly/4gK8FCJ
Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee
Live Music w/ Fiddlin’ Red 1-4 @ Barrel 33
Magic with Star Alexander 5-8pm @ Jalapeño’s
Festival at Sandpoint’s Youth Strings
Orchestra Winter Concert (FREE) 6pm @ First Presbyterian Church Classical, pop and holiday favorites
Die Hard movie night • 5:30pm @ Smokesmith BBQ
See the greatest Christmas movie of all time, benefiting Sandpoint Lacross. $1 off all draft beer/cider, open 4-8 p.m.
Trivia w/ Dave 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
tuesDAY, december 16
A Celtic Christmas with Everdream • 7pm @ Panida Theater
Beloved Irish trio with vocals, harp and violin performing traditional Celtic melodies and festive holiday classics. Panida.org
Festive annual party and also grand opening of new collaborative exhibit with U of I and POAC on Bonner County’s agricultural heritage
Supper with Santa 5-7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
wednesDAY, december 17
Live piano w/ Bob Beadling
5-7pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery
Live trivia
7pm @ Connie’s Lounge
ThursDAY, december 18
An Old Fashioned Christmas Musical 5:45pm @ Priest River Event Center
Free entry, fun for whole family
Line dancing lessons • 6:30pm @ The Hive $10 at the door, 21+
Collage Night w/ Woods Wheatcroft 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority
Rock ’n’ Roll Bingo
6:30-8:30pm @ Tervan Tavern
$5 to play, prizes for winners. Guess the song after snippet plays
SHS Choir Christmas Concert
7pm @ Sandpoint High School
A DanceWorks Christmas 7pm @ DanceWorks, 409 N. Fourth Ave.
Family-friendly evening with music
Live Music w/ Frytz Mor 8-11pm @ Roxy’s Lounge
Cribbage tournament 6pm @ Connie’s Lounge
Local dancers present fourth annual Nutcracker performance at the Panida
By Kristi Stevens Reader Contributor
Allegro Dance Studio will present its fourth annual production of The Nutcracker, with performances Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 13 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint).
A treasured holiday tradition for families across the community, The Nutcracker is brought to life entirely by local dancers — many of whom return year after year.
This year’s featured roles showcase the studio’s exceptional talent: Olivia Denham will perform as Clara, Adyssen Jolley as the Nutcracker and Kalissia Cipriano as the Rat Queen. While the full cast is too large to list individually, every dancer contributes to the magic of the show, and the ensemble is known for its dedication, artistry and love for the stage.
Continuing a beloved Allegro tradition, parents will join their dancers in the classic Party Scene. Beyond the spotlight, parent volunteers help with costumes, sets, organization and logistics.
The show is led by Allegro Artistic Director Devyn Vaughan-Jolley, who has been dancing since age 3 and brings more than 30 years of experience to her work. As director and choreographer for all four years of Allegro’s Nutcracker, Vaughan-Jolley has shaped the production into one of Sandpoint’s most anticipated holiday traditions through her vision, leadership and commitment to local youth.
Joining her this year are retired professional dancers Michael and Traci Wojack, who have more than 40 years of worldwide performing experience. Their expertise, creativity and joyful teaching style have infused the production with fresh energy and a
big support system.
Adding to the excitement, the Music Conservatory of Sandpoint’s North Idaho Philharmonia will accompany both Saturday shows, providing live symphonic music that deepens the emotional impact of Tchaikovsky’s iconic score. A select group of guest dancers from Alta Dance Studio will also join the cast, contributing additional artistry and flair.
The role of the Sugar Plum Fairy will be danced by Clio Tzetos, whose poise and expressive artistry bring new magic to the stage. Coming from Gonzaga with strong ballet training and a passion for performing, she is eager to share her talent with the Sandpoint community.
The dancers have spent months preparing, devoting countless hours to rehearsals to create a polished and enchanting performance. Their passion shines through in every scene, and they look forward to shar-
ing the magic of this holiday classic once again.
Meanwhile, Allegro and the cast of dancers thank the sponsors supporting this year’s production, including Twilight Trails Photography, Fletched Archery, Turner Productions, Brown’s Northside Machine and Gear, RH Excavating Inc., Sandpoint Kids Dentistry, 113 Main, Cedar Creek Custom Homes, Doug Gunter-Realy Plus, Premier Tire and Shirley Stevens.
Community members of all ages are invited to experience the show, with its dazzling costumes, heartfelt
performances, local talent and the timeless beauty of The Nutcracker. Tickets to the Dec. 12 performance are $42.50 for adults 18 and older and $20 for children 17 and younger, and $43 for premium, $40 for preferred and $38 for standard seating (all prices plus tax and fees) for the Dec. 13 shows, available at panida.org or allegrodancestudio.org.
The Nutcracker cast, from left to right: Avonlea Stephens, Jane Hughes, Kalissia Cipriano, Clio Tzetos, Olivia Denham, Ady Jolley, Alexander Henderson and Elsa Reilly. Courtesy photo
By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist
I brought a few souvenirs home from my recent trip to Italy and France. In addition to a few well-earned (no regrets) pounds, it included a selection of grandkid-friendly and U.S. border-approved foodstuffs, a couple of bottles of wine, a coveted bottle of Barolo wine from the Piedmont region of Italy and a rosé from the Saint-Tropez region of France.
Saint-Tropez was my nextto-last stop, and I arrived anticipating a certain kind of idyllic postcard setting. In my mind, it was always a sundrenched harbor dotted with oversized yachts, where champagne and rosé flowed as freely as cheek-to-cheek greetings among friends. And yes — during the season, Saint-Tropez is absolutely all of that.
But I didn’t arrive in season. I arrived a day before the opening night of the Christmas market, in time to witness the transformation of Saint-Tropez.
Instead of couture and caviar, I stepped into something sweet and magical. The quintessential cobblestone streets led me to a square twinkling with garlands of lights, and a towering village tree swathed in ribbons of gold and red. Families filled the square — young mothers balancing babies on their hips, grandparents bundled in traditional wool, cute flirty teens and more adorable dogs than I could count. Dozens of waggy-tailed and well-loved pups running loose, confined to strollers or attached to bejeweled leashes could have been a Hallmark canine Christmas movie in the making!
I had been invited to experience the lovely Hotel La Ponche, a jewel tucked into
The Sandpoint Eater Village people
the old fishing quarter, and it was an unforgettable experience. But it was the village itself that captured my heart in the way that only pinchme travel experiences can — the feeling that reminds you you’re somewhere entirely new, yet somehow it pulls in strands of long-ago memories, like waiting in great anticipation for Christmas.
The market chalets were wrapped around the yachtfilled harbor, offering handknit crafts, candles, local cheeses, charcuterie, champagne, rosé, caviar, hot chocolate and decadent-looking desserts.
I don’t speak French, and I didn’t need to, because long ago I learned that the art of hand and heart gestures can usually convey my thoughts while traveling on foreign soil.
Everyone waited together for the magical moment: the lighting of the tree. Strangers stood shoulder to shoulder,
smiling at each other and even to the strangers in their midst (me). When the lights finally burst alive, the crowd let out collective ooohhhs and ahhhs. A moment of unity, tiny but real and satisfying. The people of Saint-Tropez are devoted to their patron saint, and the lighting of the tree was followed by singing and a traditional parade of beret-capped drum and bugle corps.
The air was filled with music and laughter, as well as wonderful aromas from the market chalets and sidewalk cafes: sweet crepes and cocoa, and pots of melting cheese. Both raclette and fondue are popular in Saint-Tropez. Traditionally, raclette is served from the chalets, but the fondue is meant to be shared around a table of lively and loving friends. Watching tables of animated friends, waving their forks, stabbing bread or new potatoes, and dipping
them into the pots of gooey, fragrant cheese reminded me that I need this.
I couldn’t help but think of our hometown, remembering when Sandpoint felt more village-like, when we did a better job of showing up for one another and were not afraid to embrace the person next to us.
We spend a lot of time talking about being better and doing better. We aren’t the same community I remember and long for. But maybe we could try again, with small gestures, where a smile or nod of affirmation is exchanged on the parade route or a sidewalk event gathering — the moment when the lights come on, and everyone forgets themselves long enough to gasp together or offer a cup of something warm to a chilled stranger or share a pot of cheese placed at the center of a communal table.
Travel has a way of remind-
Classic cheese fondue
INGREDIENTS: DIRECTIONS:
• 1 clove garlic, halved
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice 8 oz. grated Gruyère cheese
• 8 oz. grated Emmental cheese
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons kirsch (optional but traditional)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
For dipping:
• Cubed crusty bread is traditional but these options work well, too: apple slices, small steamed potatoes, blanched vegetables or anything your inner Saint-Tropez holiday spirit desires.
Rub the inside of a heavy pot or fondue pot with the cut sides of the garlic, then discard the cloves.
Add the wine and lemon juice and warm gently over medium heat until just steaming. Toss the grated cheeses with the cornstarch. Add the cheese mixture to the pot a handful at a time, stirring constantly in a steady stirring motion until completely melted and smooth.
Stir in the kirsch and season with pepper and nutmeg.
Keep warm over low heat and serve immediately with plenty of bread and plenty of friends.
ing us of the things we already know but sometimes forget: that community isn’t a place, but something we create. Maybe we need more practice.
And maybe the smallest, coziest way to begin cultivating that practice at home is around a pot of melted cheese. Because if there’s one thing I learned on that night in Saint-Tropez, it’s that cheese (and a little wine) has the power to unite literally anyone.
So, in the spirit of warmth, welcome and village-making, here’s a recipe to help you gather your own circle of family, friends, neighbors or even newcomers you simply wish to draw into your fold. This cheese fondue recipe is tried and true at our house, and used to be a tradition for our Christmas Eve crew. As soon as I get home, I’m gathering my forks and dusting off my fondue pot. I hope you’ve got one, too!
Serves 6-8 as an appetizer, or 2-4 as dinner with a salad and your favorite wine. For fondue, French bread works better than a chewy sourdough.
MUSIC
‘A journey through Ireland’ A Celtic Christmas with
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
The famed trio Everdream has once again made the more than 4,000-mile journey from Ireland to the Inland Northwest for their annual performance of A Celtic Christmas at the Panida Theater (300 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint).
The special 10th anniversary performance begins at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 6, with tickets available for $28 each at panida.org.
Composed of vocalist Emer Barry, violinist Mary McCague and harpist Teresa O’Donnell, Everdream has been performing a mix of Celtic music, pop songs and holiday classics the world over for the past decade. In honor of the anniversary, the trio has added a few new elements, including a special song from the Tony
This week’s RLW by Ben Olson
Everdream
Award-winning musical Wicked and new projected visuals.
“We’re taking people on a journey through Ireland this year,” Barry told the Reader. The performance features different images of Ireland accompanying each song, while the performers tell stories that link the places to the music they’re playing.
One such location will be Dublin, home to Ireland’s “femme fatale,” Molly Malone, who inspired the song “In Dublin’s Fair City.”
The performance will also include a portion dedicated to “Celtic Angels and Christmas Angels,” according to Barry.
The latest tour builds on years of history, during which the musicians have honed their craft, developed their stage presence and put their own unique spin on classic songs.
“The tour has evolved quite a bit,” said Barry. “We’ve created new staples that are totally unique to Everdream — such as “Santa Baby,” if it were sung by Marilyn Monroe —
and Emer’s alter ego, Carmen, who brings a bit of drama and fun and would be very missed if she didn’t turn up.”
Throughout the show, the trio maintains a level of fun, laughter and banter that goes hand in hand with Christmas nostalgia and Ireland’s “haunting” classics.
“Bring tissues, your clapping hands and a sense of fun with you,” said Barry. For more information, visit everdreamireland.com.
Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra to perform holiday events
By Reader Staff
The Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra is celebrating its 33rd year of providing free concerts throughout North Idaho, with this year’s Christmas programs scheduled for Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church (526 S. Olive Ave., in Sandpoint).
Members of the chorale
will kick off the event, singing uplifting seasonal music from the 16th to the 21st centuries. The orchestra will follow with a descriptive piece by J. Massenet, then the complete Symphony No. 5 of Franz Schubert. A reception will follow each performance.
Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra organizers wished to thank The Seventh-day Adventist Church for providing
Punk Dance Party/Charity Blues Jam, Eichardt’s Pub, Dec. 13 & 15
Eichardt’s Pub is bringing the ruckus with a “full-on punk dance party” Saturday, Dec. 13, cueing up a “loud, sweaty, irreverent and very not-silent-night.” Attendees are invited to don their best DIY punk outfit — band T-shirts, chains, fishnets and all the rest are encouraged. According to organizers, partiers should be, “Ready to thrash a little holiday stress out of your system.” There will be punk tracks, a packed dance floor, zero judgment, max-
free rehearsal space for many years, and the First Lutheran Church for making its building available for the performances.
“We are all enjoying playing the symphony. It is a rather light classical piece — three of the movements are rhythmic and move along with a good tempo. The second movement is a contrasting calm adagio,” stated Director Mark Reiner.
Closing the concert will be Reiner’s 2015 composition “In the Silence, the Star,” featuring both the orchestra and chorale.
According to Reiner, “I wanted this piece to bring through the Christ energy to all of the audience.”
For more information, go to the Pend Oreille Chorale and Orchestra’s Facebook page.
A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint
The Meat Sweatz, 219 Lounge, Dec. 12
imum chaos.” Then, on Monday, Dec. 15, the longtime, beloved Blues Jam will be dedicated to raising money for Meals-on-Wheels and the Bonner Community Food Bank. Can’t make it? Donate anytime this month right from your table.
— Zach Hagadone
Punk Dance Party: Saturday, Dec. 13; 8 p.m.; FREE, 21+. Charity Blues Jam: Monday, Dec. 15; 7-9 p.m.; FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-263-4005, eichardtspub.com.
Normally, we’d refrain from wishing the meat sweats on our readers; but, in the case of the Sandpoint quartet consisting of Benny Baker, Bob Davis, Dana Peite and Kyle Swafford — collectively known as The Meat Sweatz — we recommend you get sweaty. These veteran local musicians are known for
their incendiary solos, pounding drums and high-octane rock ’n’ roll fury, which might induce some form of meat sweats. Consult your physician before listening, and use as directed.
— Ben Olson
9 p.m.-midnight, FREE. 219 Lounge, 219 N. First Ave., 208-263-5673, 219lounge.com.
READ LISTEN
As we enter the long, cold months of another North Idaho winter, I look to my favorite books to read as the weather outside is frightful. One that I always find myself picking up when the mercury drops is Stephen King’s Misery, a strangely cozy horror novel that builds suspense flawlessly, like layering a cake. Check it out at the library or buy your own copy, or I’ll bust out the sledgehammer.
Based on the artistic output that has come from Iceland, it seems like a pretty cool place. The postrock band Sigur Rós has been a steady selection on my playlist since the late 1990s. The combination of frontman Jónsi’s falsetto vocals, a bowed guitar and a fascinating combination of classical and electronic influences have made this a favorite for film soundtracks for decades. The band is extremely prolific, but 1999’s Ágætis byrjun is my favorite.
WATCH
Love can be a messy, messy thing for some unfortunate souls. While some of us have experienced rough breakups, they likely pale in comparison to those depicted on the Netflix true crime series, Worst Ex Ever. This four-episode series dissects the dark side of love, digging into the complex stories that often leave viewers shaking their heads and feeling immense pity for those who have had to endure such vileness from supposed loved ones.
Courtesy photo
From Northern Idaho News, December 13, 1910
CITY TO BUILD NEW WAGON BRIDGE
HAS A 16-FOOT ROADWAY
A new wagon bridge across Bridge street is in store for the city in the near future, the plans and specifications having been presented to the city council at their meeting last Friday evening in the offices of City Clerk Costello. In accordance with instructions at a recent meeting City Engineer Ashley had the plans ready for presentation at the last meeting and judging from the line of talk made by the members of the council the bridge will be erected in the near future.
The bridge will be 484 feet long and will have a driveway 16 feet in the clear, with a sidewalk on one side eight feet wide. The estimated cost of the bridge is in the neighborhood of $3,000 complete. Although no definite arrangement was made at the council meeting as to the time of beginning construction on the bridge, the work will undoubtedly be commenced some time during the winter.
For several months past the bridge in question has been condemned as it was considered unfit for heavy travel and since that time it has necessitated all teams coming to the Cedar street bridge. The bridge has been open for foot passengers, however.
The search for immortality
By Soncirey Mitchell Reader Staff
Facebook is a monument to the dead and dying. There are an estimated 30 million accounts for deceased users, and an analysis by University of Oxford researchers suggests that the dead will outnumber the living on the social media platform by 2070. These “ghost accounts” are a new phenomenon in the sense that they are some of the first digital memorials, whether intentional or not, but they are also a modern response to an ancient longing.
Since the dawn of humanity, people have been obsessed with memory. That may be an anachronistic view, reading modern society’s ideals and neuroses back on the Neolithic Age. In a perfect, unbiased world — which does not, and can never, exist — people would look back on ancient history and say that there’s no possible way to know what they were thinking when they painted on their cave walls.
But humans are emotional and biased, and likely always have been, so it’s only natural to guess at what they felt.
There are 2,000 handprints painted on the rock at Cueva de las Manos, which probably represent more than 800 artists. Logically, we don’t know if religion, culture, boredom or the simple desire to create led to these paintings, but we do know that they feel like voices crying out across millennia.
“I lived. Don’t forget that I lived,” they seem to say, but only the echo remains. Who they were beyond that handprint is lost to time.
Hop across the ocean and skip forward a few thousand years, and humanity was still driven to mark its
STR8TS Solution
presence. There are hundreds of instances of graffiti around Pompeii, left by the Romans who visited, worked and lived within the city. Today, it’s common to see something like “Ted was here” carved into a park bench, and it was the same back then — just in Latin.
“We two dear men, friends forever, were here. If you want to know our names, they are Gaius and Aulus,” is scrawled into the stone of a thermopolium, a Roman fast-food joint.
Maybe these ordinary folk thought about preserving their memory in stone, or maybe that desire went unspoken, propelling them forward without the presence of mind to wonder why. Regardless, there is a kinship — a shared experience — between the Roman soldier and the teenager posting selfies. They put a part of themselves into the world in the hopes of being noticed and remembered. It could be said that both acts are inherently egotistical and, moreover, that social media has created an insatiable need for recognition and validation in every aspect of life that would be entirely foreign to a Roman. Still, is social media any more vain than commissioning a bust or headstone or writing a personal essay in a local newspaper?
To be human is to be forgotten, and to fight against that inevitability until the last breath — and beyond. Facebook pages, blogs and TikToks are just another example of the ancient tradition of clinging to immortality and failing.
The ironic truth is that no matter how much we try to immortalize the outline of who we are, in the end, it’s only the unnoticed substance that remains. Every social media post will
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eventually be buried under the onslaught of new content, our faces and brunches forgotten, and eventually — unless we’re very lucky — even our best graffiti and finger paintings will erode.
What remains are the parts of ourselves we gave to others without thinking. Maybe your daughter laughs like you, and you laugh like your father, and he laughs like your grandmother, and on and on back so many generations that we’ve lost count. Perhaps you taught your friend how to bake, and she taught her nephew, and so 100 years from now, a person you will never know bakes because you taught them, in a way. That is the only achievable immortality.
Don’t be ashamed, and don’t judge. Write your name in wet cement or post a vacation pic on Instagram; there’s no harm in wanting a life after death. Just remember that long after you’re gone, though your digital legacy may still be floating around the cloud, you will only truly live on through the people you loved.
Crossword Solution
We like to praise birds for flying. But how much of it is actually flying, and how much of it is just sort of coasting from the previous flap?
1. extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess; miserliness.
“Some members of Congress from both parties seem inclined to pick ‘now’ and ‘Ukraine’ as the time and place to practice parsimony.”
Corrections: “Neque dicas quid facere.”
Lures
Adjusts
Interior layout and furnishings 48. Reveals
Withdraw gradually
In a contemptuous manner
Therefore
Margarine
Red Sea peninsula
Affirmatives
DOWN
Custard dessert
Former Italian currency
Any minute
Buttonhole 8. Frenzied
Feces 10. Severe abscesses 11. Assumed name
Perch
Trifling
Revered
Respond
Whip mark
Asian nurse
Celebration
Fomenting
Office message
Delete
Lubricated
Daisylike bloom 34. Cabbagelike vegetable
Jaunty rhythm
Ages 40. German measles 41. Amounts of time 43. Swerve wildly 45. Inhabit 46. Spooky 47. Pens 49. Pantywaist 51. Remove, as a hat 52. Egyptian river 53. Wildebeests
54. Hardly believable 55. Puppy sounds 59. In place of
