January 3, 2019

JANUARY

3�019 '1n111 voL.16 ISSUE 1

Just a short drive across the Long Bridge...

41 Lakeshore Drive (across the Long Bridge)

208.265.2001 ShogaSushi.com

Open for dinner Wednesday – Sunday 4:30-9pm Wed, Thu, Sun | 4:30-10pm Fri,Sat

The Pioneer Square at 819 Hwy 2, Ste:102-B

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(wo)MAN compiled by

Susan Drinkard

on the street

Knowing what you know now, what advice do you have for young people?

“Find a path that makes you happy and stick to it.”

Paul Retired Sagle

“You need to do what you have to do in order to get to do what you want to do.”

John Hankel Language Arts teacher SMS - 8th grade Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

Hello again!

After seven weeks away, I have returned, albeit kicking and screaming.

For those who don’t know, I’ve been traveling since early November, trying to kick some of these barnacles off my soul. My girlfriend Cadie and I spent three weeks in Barcelona and Portugal before catching a sailboat on the island of Madeira and crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The crossing took 25 days, which is a little longer than we planned because of some episodes of low wind we experienced while joining the trade winds. But we arrived safely in Antigua on Christmas Eve and promptly joined life on land again (again, kicking and screaming).

I will write a longer piece on this voyage in a future issue, but to encapsulate it into a single word, I would say it was “transformative.” To stare at a horizon for 25 days does something to your soul. To see those 300 different shades of blue, to bob on the 20-foot swells and realize you really are just a speck of dust in an ocean of matter — well, it puts things into perspective.

My staff has been amazing taking up the slack during my absence. It’s crucial for me to know that I can get away without the house of cards falling down. It’s crucial for you, too, dear readers, to escape your lives whenever the going gets tough and reset those dials that need resetting. Don’t let the mundane workaday lifestyle get in the way of your desires. I fear what I would write in these boxes if I wasn’t able to disappear for a few weeks a year and find who I am again.

Not that I am advocating escapism as a rule of life. We should all be informed, savvy and capable. But when you feel the crushing weight of stress starting to turn you into a zombie, maybe it’s time you take a few days off work and escape to the mountains, or to a warm climate, or just to the comfort of a good book and a big couch. The bottom line is, don’t neglect yourself.

It’s good to be back, even though I didn’t want to step foot on land again. I wanted to keep going, sailing around the Horn and into the Pacific, and further on from there. But that is for another time, I suppose. Here’s wishing you all a productive 2019.

-Ben Olson, Publisher “Don’t let family members affect your spiritual journey.”

OPEN 11:30 am

Arlene Retired office coordinator Sandpoint

“I would say to make time to be involved in your kids’ lives when they are little. I wish I had taken more time off during those years.”

Richard Neher Retired surgeon Sandpoint “Get an education and don’t put it off.”

Michael Matier Developmental specialist Sandpoint

Thursday Night Solo Series w/

STEVEN WAYNE 6-8pm

Celebrate First Fridays w/

DEVON WADE 6:30-9:30pm

BIG PHATTY & THE IHALERS 6:30-9:30pm

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The Psounbality with Per FRESH FOOD LIVE MUSIC THE BEST NW BREWS

READER 111 Cedar Street, Suite 9 Sandpoint, ID 83864 (208)265-9724

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com Zach Hagadone (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Joel Overbeck (cover), Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard.

Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Brenden Bobby, Nick Gier, Rep. Ilana Ruben, Rep. Bryan Zollinger, Tim Bearly, Bill Lewis, Jim Mitsui, Susan Botich, Amy Craven, Jeanette Schandelmeier, Jodi Rawson, Jeremiah Saint, Debra Townsend.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

Subscription Price: $95 per year Web Content: Keokee The Sandpoint Reader is a weekly publication owned and operated by Ben Olson and Keokee. It is devoted to the arts, entertainment, politics and lifestyle in and around Sandpoint, Idaho.

We hope to provide a quality alternative by offering honest, in-depth reporting that reflects the intelligence and interests of our diverse and growing community.

The Reader is printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink. Leftover copies are collected and recycled weekly, or burned in massive bonfires to appease the gods of journalism.

Free to all, limit two copies per person.

Sandpoint Reader letter policy: The Sandpoint Reader welcomes letters to the editor on all topics.

Requirements: –No more than 400 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

Letters will be edited to comply with the above requirements. Opinions expressed in these pages are those of the writers, not necessarily the publishers.

Email letters to: letters@sandpointreader.com Check us out on the web at: www.sandpointreader.com Like us on Facebook.

212 Cedar Street Downtown Sandpoint

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About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken by Joel Overbeck. We agree with the words on the hat 100 percent.

A SandPint Tradition Since 1994 January 3, 2019 /

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NEWS

Parks master plan to guide priorities and services

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

The city of Sandpoint is taking its first steps to develop a new Parks and Recreation master plan.

Announced at a City Council meeting Wednesday night, the new plan is intended to define the scope of Parks and Recreation programs and services, identify priorities for future acquisitions or expansions and ensure that the department remains financially sustainable.

“We’re just like anyone with a family budget — we have to live within our means,” said Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Director Kim Woodruff.

According to Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton, city staff will develop the plan over several phases with the help of a consultant that will be selected later this year. The first phase will create an inventory of existing parks and rec sites, facilities and programs, both those belonging to the city and those associated with other organizations, nonprofits

or private groups. In addition to cataloging conditions and trends within city properties and programs, the inventory will help prevent overlap with other local recreation entities.

The next step is to review parks planning at a system-wide level.

This phase will identify the various needs within the park system and allow for the development of a prioritization plan.

Phase three introduces site-specific planning. Given the diverse array of programs and properties under the city parks system, from City Beach to Memorial Field, the phase will be essential to fitting individual needs within the broader plan.

Phase four focuses on the development of new or refined programs and services. This phase places a special focus on ensuring that city programs are complementary to those offered by other community partners —for instance, the YMCA, which recently purchased Sandpoint West Athletic Club.

Finally, the operational- and maintenance-planning phase will

A worm’s eye view of Memorial Field, seen here with its old grandstands. The choice between natural and artificial turf is just one big decision facing Sandpoint Parks and Recreation. Photo by Ben Olson. ensure that all parks projects are contained within a financially sustainable structure. This phase will analyze staffing projections and equipment needs and will result in a longterm financial plan for the Sandpoint Parks and Recreation Department.

That’s especially important because, when it comes to park management, one project will

inevitably impact all the others.

For instance, the Memorial Field grass replacement — specifically the question of whether to keep natural grass or move to artificial turf — is a project of great interest to local sports organizations and parents. However, it’s also a costly project, requiring between $80,000 and $100,000, and local option tax dollars won’t cover everything.

Likewise, outside factors like the planned reconstruction of the Edgewater Hotel in 2020 will inevitably impact opportunities and development of nearby parks. For these reasons, decisions that stand to benefit from more strategic thinking may be delayed until a portion of the master plan is complete, Stapleton said.

Fire guts Cycle Haus CD’A hit with racist propaganda

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff It’s clear white nationalists are still targeting North Idaho following the distribution of racist propaganda in the Coeur d’Alene area.

Urging white people to “wake up,” the four-page letter sent to some Coeur d’Alene residents called for Idaho residents to support a white ethnostate.

“Only angry white people can make America great again! We wouldn’t have these problems if white people had a country of their own! Let’s start over,” the letter reads.

Families in Coeur d’Alene received the letter between Thanksgiving and Christmas, KREM 2 News reports. The story went on 4 /

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to be reported in national publications like Newsweek.

KREM 2 News links the letters to Northwest Front, a Washington-based group known to be active both in the Inland Northwest and online. Politico reports that the group’s objective is to “expel non-white people from the Pacific Northwest and to establish a mono-racial republic there.”

The flier distribution echoes Sandpoint’s recent battles with the spread of racist propaganda. Over the past several years, fliers, CDs and robocalls using stereotypical images and descriptions of Jewish, black and Latino people have attacked local politicians, journalists and the very idea of a multi-racial society.

New Year’s Eve proved a busy one for Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS firefighters, who responded Monday morning to a fire at Cycle Haus, located west of Sandpoint off Highway 2.

Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS received a report of the fire around 7:40 a.m. from the building owner, with the first engine arriving on the scene within five minutes.

The building was already caught in a significant blaze with heavy smoke, and it took 14 firefighters about an hour to contain it. The winter weather also introduced its own challenges.

“It was cold,” said Selkirk Fire, Rescue and EMS Fire Chief Ron Stocking. “Other than that it went really well, and we were thankful that our other responding partners in the county were available to help assist.”

According to Stocking, a large amount of flammable items in the

cycle shop served as an accelerant, quickly building to a highly destructive fire. By the time firefighters finished their work, the structure was judged a total loss with between $200,000 and $250,000 in damages, Stocking said.

Stocking said a state fire marshal investigated the fire and ruled it an accident. The owner believes his insurance will help cover the loss, Stocking added.

“Any time you have a fire, it has a devastating effect on the owners of the business, especially

Flames spew from the Cycle Haus on Highway 2 west of Sandpoint Monday morning.

Photo courtesy Selkirk Fire.

around the holidays,” he said.

NEWS

Dixon, Woodward hold town hall prior to legislative session

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Medicaid Expansion, the Idaho grocery tax and recent changes to state tax forms dominated discussion at a town hall gathering Saturday, hosted

by Rep. Sage Dixon (R-Ponderay) and newly-appointed Sen. Jim Woodward (R-Sagle).

The Sandpoint Community Hall saw a few dozen attendees with many questions for the legislators regarding what will be discussed in the upcoming legislative session, slated to officially begin Monday, Jan. 7. Dixon and Woodward took turns sharing what they saw as the most pressing topics to be addressed in Boise in coming months, and then spent the bulk of the meeting answering questions.

Several people at the meeting voiced their support for the Medicaid Expansion initiative known as Prop 2, for which more than 60 percent of Idahoans voted “yes” in the November election. Dixon and Woodward both stressed the need to make sure such an expansion could fit into Idaho’s budget.

“We’ll have to set aside a new line item, but we should have savings in other areas,” Woodward said, mentioning the state catastrophic fund as an area where

Medicaid Expansion might ease costs.

“Typically we vote indirectly as citizens ... because you voted us in, then we go to Boise and we vote for the district. But in this case we took a direct vote of the people … and we’re going to take that to heart. But we have to take into consideration our constitutional mandate also to balance the budget, so we’ll have to figure out how it all plays together.”

Dixon said the Idaho grocery tax repeal that Otter vetoed in 2017 might make some more noise during the upcoming session, sparking conversation among town hall attendees, who largely supported the repeal. Woodward said he saw the benefit of sticking with the status quo as not to disrupt the state’s budget, but also noted that there may be a need to revisit the amount of the grocery tax credit Idahoans receive at year’s end.

Woodward emphasized the need for Idahoans to review their W-4 state tax forms before filing their 2018 taxes. He said that while state and federal forms used to parallel one another, this is no longer the case depending on a person’s marital status, number of jobs and other factors. If changes aren’t made to state W-4s, Woodward said Idahoans risk owing more than they’re accustomed to at tax time.

The State Tax Commission provides tools for making the right adjustments to forms

at www.tax.idaho.gov/W4.

Dixon and Woodward said they will hold town halls in Sandpoint throughout the session to keep constituents updated on what’s going on in Boise. Though the next town hall is not yet scheduled, Dixon said the best way to be in the know is to be on his emailing list. Contact him at sdixon@house.idaho.gov to be added to the list.

Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard)

Sen. Jim Woodward speaks at the Sandpoint Community Hall Saturday. Photo by Lyndsie Kiebert. did not attend Saturday’s town hall event due to having scheduled her own event prior to Dixon’s invitation. Scott said her next scheduled town hall is for after the legislative session ends. She said the best way to contact her during session is to email her at hscott@house. idaho.gov.

Sagle asphalt plant challenged

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Concerned citizens have filed an appeal with the Bonner County Board of Commissioners challenging the county’s planning and zoning department’s approval of a conditional use permit for an asphalt batch plant in Sagle.

The appeal, filed Dec. 11, claims that P&Z’s approval of the permit cannot stand due to lack of evidence and violation of public policy. About 80 people signed the appeal, most listing their address as in Sagle near the site of the proposed asphalt plant.

Interstate Concrete and Asphalt, who will operate the plant just off Highway 95 in the Linscott gravel pit, uses materials from the pit and now wants

to process those materials in the same location to avoid the extra miles it takes to move them to the company’s current plant in Sandpoint.

At the project’s initial hearing on Nov. 15, when the P&Z board approved the conditional use permit, opponents of the plant voiced concerns about health impacts, noise, property values and more.

A hearing for the appeal is set for Friday, Jan. 11, at 9 a.m. in the Bonner County Administration Building first floor conference room.

An aerial view of the location of the proposed batch plant. The red portion indicates the area where the conditional use permit would apply. Image courtesy of the Bonner County Planning and Zoning staff report on the proposed permit.

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COMMUNITY

Chamber announces window competition winners

By Reader Staff Bouquets: • A bouquet goes out to all of those who helped us get through the past seven issues without my help. My staff (Cameron, Lyndsie and Jodi) all put in longer hours, and we had a lot of help from our partners at Keokee, especially Laura Wahl for helping with design. Susan Drinkard diligently sent us (wo)Man on the Street submissions each week.

Tom Prez took over my bike delivery route. Contributors stepped up their game and sent in extra submissions to help us fill the pages. Also thanks to all of our readers for being understanding if there were any problems that arose (sounds like there weren’t many!). I won’t lie and say it was easy to come back onto land after 25 days at sea, but it’s always nice to return to Sandpoint after being gone a long time. Lyndsie will continue her “Off the Record” column every other week or so, but rest assured, this Bouquets and Barbs is back. So am I, for good or ill.

• I offer a separate bouquet to Chris White, captain of the 39-foot catamaran Tyga, which saw us safely across the Atlantic Ocean. Chris accomplished his primary goal, which was the safe completion of our 3,000-plus mile voyage. But what I really enjoyed was the fact that he proved to be such an interesting person, full of amazing stories and insights from a life of adventure. He took a couple of land lubbers and turned us all into salty sailors capable of sailing across an ocean. The skills I learned will stick with me, as well as the 2,000 individual moments that made this trip one of the best of my life. Also thanks to Gary Quinn, who rounded out the four-person crew and proved to be an entertaining, reliable and downright fun guy to have on a sailboat for 25 days. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

Thanks guys.

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If you were downtown Sandpoint shopping, eating or drinking this holiday season (who wasn’t?), you were sure to notice the explosion of holiday cheer emanating from the businesses. The excitement and smiles were contagious.

People were happy to be out and about, and the businesses were thrilled to welcome you.

“Every store I went in to, I was greeted with a smile and a “Merry Christmas,”’ said consumer Randy Voyles, visiting his daughter’s family from North Carolina for the holidays. “Everyone was so friendly.”

It was during a brainstorming session at the Sandpoint Shopping District meeting in early November when business owners and the Chamber Staff came up with the idea to hold a window decorating competition downtown.

“The idea was to get people in to downtown and in the holiday spirit,” said Kristin Carlson, communications specialist at the Greater Sand-

point Chamber of Commerce. “We are always looking for new ways to promote the businesses. Our vision was for people to have a fun activity to do with their families while they were shopping. With a budget of $0, we set up a few parameters for the competition, relied on social media to get the word out, and the businesses just ran with it!”

There were 15 participants this year, and with the generosity of local media outlets and local businesses there were some great prizes. With first place earning an ad in the Reader worth $250, and second place an ad in the Daily Bee worth $125, the prizes were well worth the effort for these small businesses. Entry was free and open to anyone.

A panel of 10 anonymous judges from the community, male and female, ranging from age 9 to 70 years, scored each window on different categories such as “originality” and “use of color.” The votes were tallied to determine first, second and third place. The exceed-

ingly popular People’s Choice prize was voted on by the community.

Anyone could vote, as many times as they wanted, for their favorite.

Almost 730 ballots were counted for the People’s Choice vote!

The winners were: 1st Place: La Chic Boutique 2nd Place: Outdoor Experience 3rd Place: I Saw Something Shiny People’s Choice: Carousel Emporium “We have had some great feedback on the competition and already have plans to make some

The Chamber Staff awards La Chic Boutique with First Prize in the Inaugural Hometown Windows to Christmas Decoration Competition. L to R: Ricci Witte, Kate McAlister, Justine Murray, Kristin Carlson. changes and improve the process for next year. Our vision is to have every business participate in the coming years”, said Carlson. Thank you to the Reader, the Daily Bee, Pend D’Oreille Winery, Trinity at City Beach, Lake Pend Oreille Cruises and the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce for providing the prizes.

Intro welding THE READER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ATLANTIC classes offered

By Reader Staff

Learn proper use of a MIG welder in an introduction class that will give you all of the basics to get started on your first project.

The next monthly class is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2019 from 6-9 p.m. and will be held at MakerPoint Studio, C106-14 1424 N. Boyer Ave. Space is limited to four/class. Session is $71, with a $2 discount for participants residing inside Sandpoint City limits.

Pre-Register online by Jan. 13 at www.sandpointidaho.gov/parksrecreation, The crew of the S/V Tyga, a 39-foot catamaran, poses on the deck with a Reader as they enter the or call (208) 263-3613 for halfway point across the Atlantic Ocean - 1,050 miles from land in either direction. The crew of four (from more information.

L to R) is Gary Quinn, Ben Olson, Cadie Archer and Capt. Chris White (appearing here as his alter ego Captain Kirsten) - all from Sandpoint. The crew made the crossing in 25 days, landing in Antigua on Dec. 24.

OPINION

Jazz Greats Who Died in 2018...

Let’s let judges judge

By Rep. Ilana Rubel and Rep. Bryan Zollinger Reader Contributors

As Idaho faces a $500 million request to expand prisons that primarily house drug offenders, and ranks in the top three states in America for portion of the population in prison, we can no longer afford to ignore the simple truth: mass incarceration is a costly and ineffective way to deal with drug abuse. Reforming Idaho’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws for drug offenders is the most obvious place to start, as it will not only save taxpayers money but also improve the quality of justice. Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah and Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey just made headlines for their bipartisan bill reforming harsh mandatory minimum sentences for federal drug offenders. Some of us here in Idaho have been working across party lines supporting this long-overdue reform at the state level for years, and it may finally happen in the 2019 session.

Mandatory minimum sentences right now are absolute. Idaho’s drug “trafficking” laws do not require actual selling – merely possession of specified drug amounts. Therefore, even if you have no prior record and aren’t selling drugs, you can be guilty of “drug trafficking” and automatically get one to 30 years in prison, depending solely on volume and type of drugs involved. Period.

The judge has no ability to look at the circumstances or individuals involved.

Drug offenses are treated unlike virtually every other offense in Idaho, where judges typically can look at the facts and set appropriate sentences. Judges have sentencing discretion even for very serious crimes like rape, arson, human trafficking, second-degree murder, even cannibalism! We agree that drugs are dangerous, but is drug possession really a more serious crime than murder?

Indeed, those drug offenders currently locked up under mandatory minimums are hardly the most hardened criminals in society – 83 percent have no violent history, and 91 percent are first time “traffickers.”

When the Legislature passed Ida-

ho’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws back in 1992, the goal was deterrence – if potential offenders knew drug sentences would be harsh and unavoidable, they would refrain from using and trafficking drugs. In the 26 years since, Idaho’s drug offense rate per capita has climbed 640 percent, making it hard to argue that this law deterred much. Moreover, numerous states have reduced or eliminated mandatory minimum drug sentences and have not seen crime spike – in fact most saw a decrease in crime. Long sentences for non-violent drug offenders can actually increase crime rates by taking people who could otherwise be rehabilitated, breaking their community ties and leaving them less able to obtain lawful employment upon release.

This is especially true when, as is now happening, offenders are shipped out of state and far from family due to prison overcrowding.

Last session, we co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to reform mandatory minimums, leaving recommended sentences in place but giving judges the ability to depart from the guidelines where the statute’s minimum sentence would result in manifest injustice. We heard eight hours of testimony, largely describing young people whose futures were destroyed by a mistake for which Idaho’s laws allow no forgiveness, rehabilitation or redemption. While the current law may have intended to target operators of massive drug operations, it was clear that very few “kingpins” are actually jailed in Idaho – ordinary

Left: Rep. Ilana Rubel. Right: Rep. Bryan Zollinger.

citizens are more often caught in this net. In March 2018, our bill passed the Idaho House of Representatives with a bipartisan supermajority, but was not allowed a Senate vote. We are bringing it back in 2019, and hope to cross the finish line this time. A consensus is growing that there are better ways for Idaho to spend $500 million than expanding prisons to jail addicts.

Idaho judges are elected by the people, and we have never heard of an Idaho judge winning election by being “soft on crime.” We vote for individuals whom we trust to deliver fair and reasonable sentences for almost every crime you can think of, except drug trafficking. Giving judges discretion does not preclude harsh punishment where appropriate. There are some truly dangerous criminals out there, and judges can always throw the book at them with sentences far exceeding the current minimums where warranted.

While Idaho had good intentions 26 years ago, it’s time we made a decision based on what we know today. Idaho’s mandatory minimums for drug crimes generate real injustice and expense, with little if any deterrence. Let’s give judges the flexibility to do what’s right – let’s let judges judge.

Rep. Ilana Rubel, a Democrat, is the House Asst. Minority Leader and represents District 18.

Rep. Bryan Zollinger, a Republican, represents District 33.

Dear Editor, Hugh Masekela died on Jan. 23 at age 78.

Masekela was a trumpeter, vocalist and composer known as “The Father of South African Jazz.”

Buell Neidlinger died on March 16 at age 82. Neidlinger was a bassist, cellist and educator who worked within a wide spectrum of jazz styles, from Dixieland to the avant-garde.

He was known for having played with Cecil Taylor.

Cecil Taylor died on April 5 at age 89. Taylor was an iconoclastic, highly original pianist who was among the architects of free and avant-garde jazz and created a new musical language and technique for the piano and is arguably the greatest pianist ever.

Bill Watrous died on July 3 at age 79. He was a jazz trombonist acclaimed for his clear, round tone and boundless virtuosity on his instrument.

Randy Weston died Sept. 1 at age 92.

Weston was an NEA Jazz Master pianist, composer and bandleader who dedicated his career to exposing jazz music’s extensions of African lineage and tradition.

Max Bennett Sept. 14 at age 90. He was a bassist who played with small bebop units, modern big bands, and contemporary fusion groups alike. He was a member of the so-called “Wrecking Crew” of Los Angeles session musicians and was on dozens of 1960s and ’70s Top 40 hits.

Hamiet Bluiett died Oct. 4 at age 78. Bluiett was one of the most renowned baritone saxophonists of the modern era and one of my favorites on the bari sax.

Sonny Fortune died Oct. 25 at age 79.

Fortune was a saxophonist and flutist with a brawny, intense style who was best known for his long association with Elvin Jones (and brief association with Miles Davis).

Roy Hargrove died Nov. 2 at age 49. Hargrove was a Grammy-winning jazz trumpeter who collaborated with Sonny Rollins, Wynton Marsalis and Herbie Hancock.

Perry Robinson died Dec. 2 at age 80.

Robinson was a virtuoso clarinetist and one of the last remaining voices of the 1960s New Thing. Robinson was a musician’s musician and made serious contributions to jazz and its derivatives for 60 years. He recorded over 120 albums in his career.

Nancy Wilson died on Dec. 13 at age 81.

She was an NEA Jazz Master vocalist who was best known as a jazz singer but who cut deep inroads into rhythm and blues and pop over her 50-year career.

Lee Santa Sandpoint

Got something to say? Write a letter to the editor at letters@sandpointreader.com. Under 400 words, and please elevate the discussion.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

science in 2018

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Another year has come and gone. As we usher in ritualistic and often futile resolutions that don’t survive into February, the world just keeps on turning.

Though, by nature, we live a repetitive existence, our world is constantly changing thanks to scientific endeavor. Since I don’t have a magic crystal ball or a time travel device to fling myself into the future (and discover the winning lottery numbers!), let’s look at some of the biggest science stories of 2018.

Climate Change

Perhaps the dirtiest phrase at the dinner table aside from “I don’t vote” and “You know, I thought ‘The Room’ was a pretty good movie,” like it or not, it’s happening. Not in 50 years, right now. On Nov. 23, hundreds of climate scientists (people who have spent their entire adult lives researching this stuff) from over a dozen official government agencies released a jarring report about the immediate and long-term impacts of climate change on our economy and our place as a species. Basically, it’s bad, and we’ve crossed a threshold now where just about our only recourse is figuring out how to pull carbon out of the atmosphere. Doable? Sure. Easy?

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Not in the slightest.

Gene editing

All you “Warhammer 40k” fans rejoice! The path to becoming a Space Marine just got a little clearer. For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, that’s super scary stuff (They call it “grimdark” for a reason.)

Scientists in China announced in November that they had created the first gene-edited human babies. This could potentially destroy things like cancer, Celiac’s disease and a host of other nasty hereditary disorders hiding away behind a massive hospital bill. On the flip side, this also opens the door to the super-rich creating designer babies, where they pay to pick and choose what traits they want their super-baby to have. Anyone hearkening back to the late 1930s will remember a certain line about genetic supremacy, and how that went for the world. In 2018, we were still actively cleaning up that mess.

New Horizons

Breaking news in the

midnight hour, New Horizons performed a flyby of the Kuiper Belt object, 2014 MU69, nicknamed Ultima Thule. Ultima Thule is an object believed to be about 20 miles in diameter outside the orbit of Pluto.

There’s a bunch of news on this right now if you’re looking for more details, but it’s pretty neat to mention, because it’s the most distant object visited by a spacecraft.

Nuclear Fusion

would be child’s play. Blast that stuff back into hydrogen, oxygen and carbon, baby!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. I found a bunch of really cool stories I had to cut

because I’ve only got so much space. Let your curiosity run wild in the fields of the internet! Just be careful with what you ask Google to find for you.

Happy New Year!

Random Corner e change?

Don’t know much about climat

We can help!

• Cows emit more methane than the oil industry and are a huge factor in global warming.

While there weren’t any major breakthroughs for sustainable nuclear fusion in 2018, every day forward marks a day of progress for this energy source. Germany, South Korea and China already have exploratory plants running with promising early results.

This could be a reality by 2030 or sooner. Nuclear fusion is basically putting the sun in a box, and using that tremendous energy output to power… well, everything. If we had what was essentially “free” energy, we wouldn’t need to be burning untold amounts of oil and coal to keep our computers, cars, phones or anything else running. The only real byproduct from nuclear fusion is saltwater, and when you have a ball of plasma burning hot enough to evaporate tungsten, I would suspect recycling the literal islands of plastic garbage we’ve been throwing into the ocean

• Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius was the first to claim that fossil fuel combustion may eventually result in enhanced global warming already in 1896.

• 37 percent of Americans think climate change is a hoax (this number includes our president, as well as one of our state representatives).

• Since 1870, global sea levels have risen by about 8 inches. The rate in the last two decades, however, is nearly double that of the last century and is accelerating slightly every year.

• Satellite observations reveal that the amount of spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has decreased over the past five decades and that the snow is melting earlier.

• The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.62 degrees F since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with the five warmest years on record taking place since 2010. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year — from January through September, with the exception of June — were the warmest on record for those respective months. Also, 17 of the 18 warmest years have occurred since 2000.

• 195 countries signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, agreeing to limit global warming and adapt to climate change, partly by protecting nature. When President Trump backed out of the agreement in 2016, the United States joined Syria and Nicaragua as the only three major nations not to sign or ratify the agreement.

OPINION

Suicides down 29 percent world-wide; up 30 percent in the U.S.

By Nick Gier Reader Columnist In 1972 I moved from Denmark, where I had taught for one year, to Moscow to start my career at the University of Idaho. I fell into a conversation with a student on campus, and I told her how impressed I was with the Danes and their system of government. She countered with this assertion: “Welfare states cause people to kill themselves more often than in other countries, don’t they?”

At that time the non-socialist Hungarians and the Lithuanians had much higher suicide rates, but, even so, the Danes took their own lives at a rate twice that of the U.S. The Danes are very effective in addressing social problems, so their Danish suicide rate is now 12.8 per 100,000 (Western Europe is 13), while the U.S. rate has risen to 15.3 for the same number of Americans.

According to “The Economist,” the world-wide suicide rate has decreased 29 percent since 2000. Russia experienced the largest drop: from 45 per 100,000 to 25. Highly competitive South Korea peaked in 2010 at 39 and now stands at 20. China ties with the all-country rate of 10 per 100,000.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. rate has risen 30 percent since 1999. Boom and bust North Dakota suffered a 58 percent increase in suicides, but Delaware went up only 6 percent. Curiously, Nevada reported no increase at all.

In 2016, among the top 10 states with the highest rates (21-26 per 100,00), seven were red states, and the lowest rates (5-12) were found in 9

blue states and the District of Columbia. White majority Montana was the highest at 26 per 100,000 and Black majority D.C. was lowest with 5. In our own state 21 of the same number killed themselves.

There are two major reasons for this alarming phenomenon: (1) many white males without a college education are caught in deadly web of alcohol and drug abuse; and (2) troubled veterans below the age of 35 are taking their own lives at increasingly higher rates.

Significantly, all the increase in suicides has been in the white and native population; the rate among Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians has been level at 5 per 100,000 since 2000.

A report from the Government Accountability Office shows that the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) has done a poor job in addressing military suicides.

On average 20 vets kill themselves every day, which, in 2016, was 45 for every 100,000 Americans.

This year the VA has spent only $57,000 of the $6.2 million that was appropriated for a social media campaign to address the issue. The Trump administration has not filled many of the positions that were tasked for this purpose. Current VA officials blame former VA Secretary David Shulkin for not addressing the problem effectively on his watch, but that is no excuse for them not spending the money to save vets’ lives.

Most sociological studies show a correlation between religious belief and low suicide rates. This is especially true in Muslim and South American countries where, contrary to American

and European believers, their citizens take the prohibition against taking one’s life seriously. The Muslims of Bahrain, Malaysia, Bangladesh; and the Catholics of Columbia, Brazil and Ecuador have the lowest rates in the world.

Utah has the highest rate of church attendance, but it has the fifth-highest suicide rate. With some exceptions other church going states also have high rates. People from New England and most Blue States are the least religious, and have the lowest rates.

Nearly twice as many Americans commit suicide with a gun than they do to kill others with one. A study done by the Boston University School of Public Health found a strong correlation between gun ownership and suicides.

Only 12 percent of those in Hawaii own weapons, and the state’s suicide rate for males is 5 per 100,000, while males in Wyoming with 73 percent gun ownership kill themselves at a rate of 25 per 100,000. The rate is even lower in Massachusetts with the second lowest

gun ownership.

In 2016 the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research issued a report that compared the results of gun law legislation in Missouri and Connecticut. The researchers found that Connecticut’s background check law resulted in a 15.4 percent drop in suicides.

After Missouri repealed a similar law, the number of its citizens taking their lives with a gun rose 16.1 percent.

As a writer for “The Economist” predicts: “If America gave up its guns, suicides would crash.”

Nick Gier of Moscow taught philosophy at the University of Idaho for 31 years. Email him at ngier006@gmail. com.

Laughing Matter

By Bill Borders

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PERSPECTIVES

Knot too shabby A guide to my favorite knots

By Ben Olson Reader Staff For every situation, there is the perfect knot.

Recently, Cadie and I completed a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on a 39-foot sailboat. While I’ll save the story about the journey for a later issue, I thought it might be useful to share some of the practical knowledge I gained from this voyage. In particular, some of the knots I learned to tie while sailing (and many I learned years ago) are pretty cool and should be shared.

But first, why is it important to know how to tie certain knots? Can you live without them? Sure, I guess so, but eventually, you’re going to need to know how to tie a knot that serves a better function than the granny knot we tie our shoes with.

Knowing how to tie the right knot for the right situation is pretty important. It could save your life in a survival situation, or it could simply make your life easier while camping, boating or puttering around the house. Knot tying is a simple mechanical skill that takes a little practice (repetition is key), but once you have a knot down, chances are you won’t forget it.

One trick to learn is to obtain a length of rope about a yard long and take it with you when you might have some extra time to kill. Used in tandem with a knot-tying book, you can kill time and improve your skills at the same time.

Most knots are chosen for a particular scenario based on their general purpose.

Do they create a loop in a line? Do they combine lines? Are they used to lash poles together? Are they for attaching a rope to a particular object?

Some are absolutely essential. Others merely decorative.

For the first three knots of this series, I’ve chosen three of the most useful knots there are: the bowline, the clove hitch and the square (or reef) knot.

Next week, I’ll introduce three more.

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Bowline knot (pronounced “BOW-linn”) If there ever was one knot to learn how to tie, this one is it. If tied correctly, the bowline knot will not slip, making it ideal for climbing and rescue situations. It is easy to tie and easy to untie, even when under a load. You can use a bowline to secure shelter material or tie a loop at the end of a line. A bowline will hold when tension or pressure is applied. You can even make a bowline big enough to secure it around your waist when descending a cliff or making a river crossing. It is often called “king of the knots.”

How to tie: 1. Make a bight (or loop) near the end of the rope and pass the end through the rope loop from underneath.

2. Pass the end behind the standing part and through the loop again.

3. Hold the loop and the end and pull to tighten.

4. You’ve tied yourself a bowline knot.

Clove Hitch This knot is ideal for tying a rope off to an object, such as a tree or railing.

You can use it to lash poles together for a shelter, or secure your gear to a pack or a vehicle. This knot is useful when the length of the running end of the rope needs to be adjustable, since feeding in rope from either direction will loosen the knot to be tightened at a new position.

However, it can slip with certain types of rope. It can also jam with smaller diameter cords, making it difficult to untie. It is also unreliable when used on a square or rectangular post, rather than round.

How to tie: 1. Pass the end around the pole or support.

2. Loop the end around the support by passing over the previous line.

3. Pass the end from behind the rope into the “crotch” between the far loops.

4. Pull to tighten.

5. You’ve tied yourself a clove hitch.

Square Knot Use this ancient knot (also referred to as a reef knot) when you want to tie the two ends of a single line together such that they will secure something, such as a bundle of objects, that is unlikely to move much.

The knot lies flat when made with clotch and has been used for millennia as a bandaging knot, as well as to tie belts and sashes. It is not, however, recommended if you want to combine two different lengths of rope together (you would use a sheet bend for that, which I’ll share next week).

How to tie: 1. Take the two ends of the rope (represented by different colors in the illustration below) and cross them. Make a loop with the right hand (blue) line.

2. Pass the red end through the blue loop.

3. Pull the ends to righten.

4. You’ve tied yourself a square knot.

Check back next week for the sheet bend, the figure-eight knot and half hitch.

Part 1

PERSPECTIVES

American politics and the pendulum effect

by tim bearly reader contributor “Politics is a pendulum,” Albert Einstein said, “whose swings between anarchy and tyranny are fueled by perpetually rejuvenated illusions.”

To dispel these illusions we must first develop a better understanding of the oscillating nature of politics.

Like the ebb and flow of natural phenomena, our social and political cycles persistently shift back and forth — just as tides come in and out, and glaciers grow and recede, the pendulum of public opinion continually swings to and fro.

When we examine our history we see, in the words of historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, “A pattern of alternation between negative and affirmative government — that is, between times when voters see private action as the best way of meeting our troubles and times in which voters call for a larger measure of public action.”

The pivot point of the political seesaw shifts as inequality increases — which often results in a stronger desire for public action. Inversely, when most people feel that enough of their basic needs are met, private action (the marketplace) is seen as a more effective and viable solution.

Of course, the pendulum effect goes well beneath the surface of the public sector vs. private sector debate. It is, to put it in simple terms, all about money and power —which, like matter and energy, are interconvertible — and the many different groups, individuals, political parties, corporate entities, and tribes of every stripe who endeavor to acquire it. This is why the bob of zero-sum politics will never come to rest at an equilibrium position.

As we rotate back and forth from

cheerleaders to critics every few years — depending on whether “our side” wins or loses the election — we can see the disastrous consequences of our tendency toward overcorrection.

Political correctness is an irrational response to a rational concern. Most people want to live in a society where we all respect one another. However, most of us have likewise become exhausted with what Steven Pinker dubbed the “euphemism treadmill,” whereby taboo words are replaced with less abrasive words — which, in turn, eventually devolve into offensive words — resulting in never-ending semantic change and politically-correct nonsense.

When the treadmill is moving too fast for us to keep up the pace, that is a clear sign that political correctness has gone too far and the PC police need to be stripped of their badges.

But there is another disconcerting overcorrection on the flip side. Many on the other end of the spectrum have apparently chosen to respond to the absurdity of political correctness by going out of their way to be deliberately offensive — which apparently has become a sign of being a “rebel” and proud First Amendment advocate. Now we must watch, as the pendulum swings back, with another irrational response to a rational concern.

Extremism is commonly the impetus for the following examples of overcorrection: “Privatize everything!”

“Nationalize everything!”

“Regulate everything!”

“Deregulate everything!”

Indeed, these are hypothetical (or perhaps not so hypothetical), fanatical,

and binary assertions. But, like Newton’s third law of motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction), with every shift to one extreme on the political spectrum, we can expect an opposite shift of equal magnitude.

Groups, like sports teams, vie for dominance — natural selection has instilled in us this tribalistic propensity. Expecting an opposition group to maintain good faith after a defeat on the political gridiron would be like expecting soccer fans to chant, “We’re number two!” after their team loses the game.

It may not happen this season or even the next, but the social cycle will eventually reverse. In the immortal words of Bob Dylan:

cheerleaders.

Although a nation full of critics would perhaps swing toward anarchy, a nation full of cheerleaders would most certainly swing toward tyranny. Consider this next time you find yourself flush with indignation because someone has chosen to be critical of something you consider to be sacrosanct: Our nation, as we know it, would not exist had our founding fathers chosen to be cheerleaders instead of critics.

“For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin’.”

Notwithstanding the frustrating and often detrimental by-products of social cycles, the counterbalance of opposition groups can be healthy for our society. Everyone in power, regardless of the doctrine they espouse, should have their feet held to the fire; however, this has proven to be an impossible task for those who share the same allegiances and affiliations as the aforementioned.

With Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity joining Donald Trump on the campaign trail, can we really expect them to give an honest and critical analysis of his administration? Certainly not.

Thus, just as the right is needed to be critical of the left, the left is likewise needed to be critical of the right, and so on — without a counterbalance, power remains unchecked and corruption becomes inevitable. Our nation needs its critics as much as it needs its January 3, 2019 /

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8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

Thursday Night Solo Series With Steve Wayne 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Steve first shined brighter than a diamon Open Mic Night. Now he’s getting his ow solo series. Also, food by Sandpoint Cur

Trivia Takeover Live 6-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Family friendly interactive trivia Live Music w/ Vanna Oh! 9pm @ 219 Lounge Spokane-based performer who blends a brazen mix of rock and roll with a feminine twist

Live Music w/ Devon Wade 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Celebrate First Fridays with country artist Devon Wade

Live Music w/ Red Blend 9pm @ 219 Lounge Meg Turner, Chris Lynch and Brian Jacobs trio making their debut at the Niner Live Music w/ Justin Lantrip 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Sandpoint-based singer-songwriter

Live Music w/ The Groove Black 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

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Mugs and Music series 6-8pm @ Laughing Dog Brewery Enjoy live music at the Tap Room featuring Kerry Bella Note Musical Program 10:30am @ Sandpoint Library This program features a different musical theme a geared for families with young children. (208) 26

Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes 4-6:30pm @ Matchwood Brewing

Piano Sunday w 2-4pm @ Pend d Enjoy a bowl of of wine while li Brownell. Bring s

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Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Lifetree Cafe Karaoke 2pm @ Jalepeño’s Mexican Restaurant 8-close @ Tervan An hour of conversation and stories. This Best song selection in Sandpoint week’s topic: “Second Chances”

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Night-Out Karaoke Triva Night 9pm @ 219 Lounge 7pm @ MickDuff’s Join DJ Pat for a night of singing, or just Show off that big, beautiful come to drink and listen brain of yours

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Wind Down Wednesday 5-8pm @ 219 Lounge With live music by blues man Truck Mills and guest musician John Firshi Dollar Beers!

8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Good until the keg’s dry

Magic Wednesday 6-8pm @ Jalapeño’s Enjoy close-up magic shows by Star Alexander right at your table

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Paint and Sip w @ Pend d’Orei Paint an origina ly Walker. $35 canvas and a se

The Conversation 6-8pm @ Ivano’s Ristorante With Juta Geurtsen, Community Develop ho Commission on the Arts. Geurtsen w grant writing and be available for questio

Grateful Dead Jam Night 5:30-7:30pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Hosted by Scott Taylor. Come to play or listen Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-8pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co.

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Alzheimer’s Support Group 1pm @ Sandpoint Senior Center For families, caregivers, and friends of those with Alzheimer’s, dementia and any related disorder. Free respite care is available next door at the Day Break Center during group session with advance reservations (208) 265-8127

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 5-7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Jazz and beer - a timeless combo

Winter Fun Day 9:30am-4:30pm @ Schweitzer Kaniksu Land Trust hosts a Winter Fun Day for children ages 8-12. Spend the day exploring the joy of snowy play, including snowshoeing and tubing at Schweitzer’s Hermit’s Hollow. Lunch and snacks will be provided. $25 per participant; sign up at Kaniksu.org

Free Fat Bike Demos Free First Saturday at the Museum 10am-2pm @ Indian Creek Campround 10am-2pm @ Bonner Co. History Museum As part of Idaho Free Ski and Snowshoe Everyone is invited to enjoy the museum Day, Greasy Fingers Bikes N’ Repair will free of charge have free Salsa Fat Bike Demos in the In- Karaoke dian Creek Campground in Priest Lake. 8-close @ Tervan Sorry, no kids’ bikes or riders under 18 Saturday night’s alright for singing Sandpoint Friends of the Library Book Sale 10am-2pm @ Sandpoint Library Free and open to the public, so come browse around! Held first Sat. of every month

Sunday w/ John Brownell @ Pend d’Oreille Winery a bowl of housemade soup and a glass e while listening to local pianist John ell. Bring ski pass and receive discounts

ns’ Support Group 30pm @ Human Connection nect with other teens, learn, e, and have fun! (208) 2652. All are welcome

Gardenia Center presentation 10am @ Gardenia Center This week’s guest speaker is Christine Schader: “Ask, Believe and Ye Shall Receive.” Living your Healthiest, Wealthiest and Happiest Year Yet!

Seventh and Eighth Grade Math Homework Help 3-4pm @ Sandpoint Library Sandpoint Library hosts drop-in math help with tutors from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lifelong Learning Center, Room 202. Free and open to the public

Jan. 11 Liv ing Voices’ Bike Movie Night Ou r Revolution 6pm @ Greasy Fingers Bikes Bike Movie Night features a broad (POAC) @ Heartrange of bike-related films. Bring wood Center your own chair, snacks, drinks Jan. 11 Beers For Gear fundraiser The Wow Wows @ 5-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 219 Lounge y Development Director with IdaBottoms up for Sandpoint Lacrosse! Start eurtsen will share helpful tips on the new year off right with a FUNdraiser Jan. 12 or questions from the community featuring silent auction items, live music Native Heritage with Marty Perron and Doug Bond, complipen Mic Night w/ Kevin Dorin Film Series mentary appetizers, and tasty brews from 9pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Double Feature me out for a positive environment Deschutes Brewery. To ensure every local kid who wants to get on the field, stick in @ Sandpoint share your passion or just take it all hand, is able to we need our community’s Lib rary All levels of performers welcome

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PERSPECTIVES

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas?

A delegate from one of the strictest states on marijiuana laws (Idaho) visits the biggest weed conference of the year in Las Vegas

By Bill Lewis Reader Contributor “Fear and loathing in Las Vegas?” Not bloody likely! And by the way, Hunter S. Thompson was missed at the Marijuana Business Convention (MJBISCON) held Nov. 13-15 in Las Vegas, Nev. Coordinated with the opening of MJBISCON, Las Vegas declared Marijuana Week in the city. That’s pretty incredible considering that seven years ago the first convention drew 400 believers, and this year drew 27,600 attendees to a convention floor containing over 1,000 exhibitors. All 50 states were represented along with 70 countries.

They were there to drive business deals and forge valuable connections. Small wonder that Las Vegas welcomed these vendors which included cultivation companies, retail outlets, infused product makers, equipment makers, service providers and financial professionals.

This year was different from last. Canadian companies dominated in 2017. This year, American entrepreneurs came out in force in numbers, but light in financial resources. Most American companies are still held privately due to a lack of financial support. The cause of this dearth of capital is a result of federal drug laws that designated marijuana (and all cannabis) as a Schedule 1 drug with no medical benefit. This results in the Justice Department declaring banks would be in violation of banking regulations if they accepted accounts having anything to do with cannabis. This, in turn, cools the ardor of the venture capitalist wishing to invest in this industry. That is beginning to change as is evidenced by several venture capital companies attending the show.

It appears our new Congress may see fit to permit banking. This will encourage major capital investment and will see marijuana industry pioneers going public. We will see mergers and acquisitions taking place across the board and compa14 /

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nies becoming vertically integrated.

We now know for certain the medical benefits of cannabis. The FDA recently approved The first drug comprised of an active ingredient derived from cannabis that treats some forms of epilepsy. CBDs in all its medical forms deserves much of the credit in raising the public awareness and evolving attitudes. Marijuana research reveals there are 120-plus compounds in the plant, which when combined in various ways target a multitude of health problems from simple pain to otherwise untreatable cancer.

Compounding combinations utilizing both the THC side and CBDs is called the “entourage effect.” Which simply means the remedy contains more than one compound of the plant.

Research such as this is just beginning in the U.S. due to the Schedule 1 drug designation. By contrast, Israel has 50 years of doing research and breaking down political barriers. Canada has 19 years with legal medical marijuana.

Where do we (the U.S.) go from here?

Already 33 states have some form of medical marijuana and in 10 states recreational marijuana is now legal. With a Democratic House of Representatives we may see cannabis (both marijuana and hemp) federally legal and subject only to the wide variety of state and local laws. All of these differences will be sorted out economically including taxes, cost of production and political anxieties.

The economic stimulation from the cannabis industry is similar to the run up of tech stocks. Several hundred thousand new jobs have already been created. The industry mavens suggest the valuations of these companies will increase 10 times in the next three years. If there is anything that shows the magnitude of these changes, one has only to look to Coalinga, Calif., where a prison was shut down and is now a marijuana growing facility. Karma catches up again!

A bird’s eye view of the MJBISCON in Las Vegas.

Courtesy photo.

Here’s the bottom line: cannabis (marijuana/hemp) is on the rise. Cannabis companies from an investing standpoint however are problematical. Before jumping into the broader market stick to the Canadian companies. Several such as Canopy growth Corp., Aurora cannabis, and Aphria are the current leaders in the industry. Many other companies may fall by the wayside. Others that have a unique niche will survive as an entity or will be merged or acquired by the major players. Two sources of cannabis industry information that I use are 420intel and New Cannabis Ventures.

Here’s the best part: opening the doors to cannabis both as a commodity and a crafted product, shutters the doors on moralistic law enforcement.

Whatever your interests, either medical or recreational or simply investing in the hottest equity play since tech stocks, I wish you the best.

LITERATURE

This open Window

Vol. 4 No.1

poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui

snow and ash In the silence of March dusk, black clouds unburden, let go the weight too great.

White-silver flake upon flake.

The open clearing, new grass under pine, draws birds, squirrel and deer to dine. Quiet. Snow, falling.

The neighbor has raked his long yard.

Pine needles, cones, branches piled—a pyre for all his grievances with the land.

The debris is lit. Flames, stifled under the weight of wetted discard, cough rough smoke, a cloak that clings to earth.

Some sparks escape, rise up like glowflies, twist into ash, wind-lifted, to spiral down and, chameleon-like, disappear into the snow-settled tree limbs, scattered boulders, earth. Scent of snow and ash, wedded— like love and hate.

-Susan Botich Susan wrote this when she was living in Bend, Oregon.

She’s a recent transplant to North Idaho and a widely published poet. This poem captures a common activity here of the burning of dead trees and yard debris, the columns of smoke that we see, and the accompanying smells of the season. Good writers have to be aware of the importance of all of our senses, not just the visual.

hagiography

breaking rules

a word that quivered and begged to be added to my lexicon Before I read any more about Leonard Bernstein I discovered its meaning to write in an adulatory manner about someone especially pertaining to the saints Bernstein has had a lion’s share of rhapsodic praise Praise to fit the scope of his genius Praise to feed all the addictions of a rapacious ego I remember his “Young People’s Concerts” I listened to his recordings, sang some of his music, loved him for his brilliance, and heard the rumors— Marc, Debbie, and I saw him sitting with a young man at the holocaust movie, “Shoah” on 66th Street We wondered what young gay musician could resist laying his body near the divine Lenny’s I stood five feet away from him on a New Year’s Eve back in 1984, his craggy handsomeness not diminished by his age or lack of actual height I felt a worshipful honor to be in his presence Many men and women can fall into the dark after so much light has been cast upon them — How would one live under the glare?

Every tic, every trait despised or idolized — Every step either on the red carpet or in the obscure shadows Never just to live and love

got me in trouble as a rebellious child. There were so many— superfluous, I thought. A few years ago, a friend and I were walking the road on the back side of Mirror Lake when we came upon a No Trespassing sign. My friend thought we should stop but I know there are several owners and I have permission from one. My friend was not convinced until I shared Katherine Hepburn’s quote with her, If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun. And we continue our walk.

-Jeanette Schandelmeier Jeanette is a retired educator, who grew up on a homestead in Alaska, and now lives on Talache Road. Poets tend to question authority, and this poem captures some of that spirit. Sometimes it’s okay to bend the “rules” in order to have some fun and live life fully.

-Amy Craven Amy is a retired music teacher, singer, opera fan, and growing poet. Talented writers are driven by curiosity and a desire to expand their vocabulary.

This poem does that, while following a narrative of personal experience, using stream-of-consciousness.

Send poems to: jim3wells@aol.com January 3, 2019 /

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PERSPECTIVES

Inside Foster Care

An exclusive interview with a permanency specialist

By Jeremiah Saint Reader Contributor According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, in the year 2017 there were a reported 442,995 children in the foster care system; 123,437 of these children awaiting adoption.

Twenty thousand of them will age out of the system within the next 12 months. An approximate 16 percent of these will age out of the system without ever finding permanency. Clearly the United States as a whole has failed to address this critical issue. But what do theses numbers mean? What and who do they represent?

To find some of these answers we were fortunate enough to meet with “E” (name withheld for anonymity) for a candid inside view of the foster system and the children in it. E is a permanency specialist from the East Coast with five years of background in foster care, in a residential care unit, and now as a permanency specialist. She explains to me that her current occupation is a mix of therapy, case study and resource officer duties.

She not only works oneon-one with the children to plan out their goals, but also identifies resources for possible adoption and support networks, while also compiling their medical and family history.

With the staggering 442,000 within the foster care system, it only gets worse when she tells me that in her experience most will be in and out of the foster system from the time they first enter care, until they time out of the system at 18.

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Photo by Joel Overbeck. system due to parental neglect, abuse or addiction. Reunification with parents is sought, but while it commonly occurs, the story rarely ends there, as E explains that the children will often be back in care. If reunification becomes impossible, adoption will then become the goal, and they will join the ranks of the 123,00 foster children awaiting adoption.

When I question E about the misconceptions about foster care and what we need to know, she tells me that it’s “not all babies.” According to an AFCARS 2017 study, infants under one-year-old make up 7 percent of children in foster care. The majority, 71 percent, are 4 years old and up.

“It’s going to be a challenge,” she tells me. “I think many people think it’s just going to be easy.”

She goes on to explain the unique challenges that are associated with dealing with damaged children.

Being separated from family

is trauma enough, but many have experienced terrible neglect or outright abuse. These children cannot be expected to immediately acclimate to ordinary family life when they have never experienced such a lifestyle before. But it is rewarding, too. She tells me of the joy of seeing children experience holidays and things like Christmas trees, ordinary childhood landmarks that have been denied them.

But even that is not without its pros and cons. Older adoptive children can come to resent their birth parents being ‘shown up’, as they perceive it. Older children (14- to 17-year-old children) make up 20 percent of foster children and are traditionally less desirable to adoptive parents. While it is understandable considering the greater issues that can come with an older child, the fact stands that every year 20,000 teenagers will time out of the system with no permanency. Many simply “drop off the radar”, she tells

me. Some return to families, even to abuse and neglect, and some vanish. Others choose the option of working within the foster system until 21, but many will give up on that as well. It is plain, that these youths need our help, and we are nowhere near as effective as we need to be.

Just trying to work with them and understand them is very important, she says. To explain to them that they aren’t obligated to forget or disown their birth family, but instead benefit from having two families. But many are in positions where contact with birth parents is not guaranteed, until the age of 18, which E says, is another large challenge for the youth.

When I ask her what she wishes she could change about the system most, the answer is not quite what I expected.

She went on to tell me about the mother of a little boy, who, while not overtly abusive, was neglectful.

This boy developed a skin decay where stitches were left in

10 times longer than the removal date, and the dressing had never been changed. Her social circle included individuals with sexually abusive pasts. E’s wish was that the system wouldn’t allow unfit parents continual chances after proving themselves unfit.

Even more shockingly, E shared that federal sex offenders under Megan’s Law are not necessarily disqualified from regaining their parental rights.

This led her to sharing several nightmarish accounts.

After talking to E, it is clear that we are only scratching the surface of a monumental issue, and one that we all need to recognize and address. While there are 123,000 children awaiting adoption in America, there are also a shocking 300,000 Protestant churches. A surprising ratio when one realizes the Christian religion requires Christians to aid the afflicted and take care of orphans. Yet somehow this issue is failing to receive the recognition it requires. With the numbers climbing every year, the foster epidemic is growing unchecked, while countless of our youths will age out of the system without ever finding their home.

With each passing year there is a greater need for competent, caring families to step forward, educate themselves and stand in the gap.

For more information visit www.acf.hhs.gov and for how to help, get in contact with your local foster agency.

Jeremiah Saint is a local freelance writer, Christian, and activist. He can be reached on his blog: https://wanderingwritersite.wordpress.com/

COMMUNITY

Volunteerism

BGH honors volunteers of the year

A three part series written by Sandpoint Community Resource Center

By Reader Staff

By Debra Townsend Reader Contributor It’s that time of year where you’re either making New Year’s resolutions, or you’re rolling your eyes at your friends and family who are making them. We are all about making New Year’s resolutions here at Sandpoint Community Resource Center – if they’re realistic ones!

I think that we can all agree that resolutions are great, in theory. But how many of us have resolved to hit the gym five times a week, lose 10 pounds by March 1, or to start that new diet and stick to it all year, only to fail about two weeks in? I know I have. But, I’d like to propose a resolution that is not only easy to accomplish but also rewarding, it helps others, and it comes with a support team. What is this mythical resolution, you ask? Volunteering! At SCRC we are all about making our community a better place to live. I mean, we’ve got the word “community” in our name. We’ve even created a program specifically for volunteering, geared towards making it an easier and more efficient process.

The Volunteer Idaho Panhandle program, or VIP, was designed to simplify the process of volunteering in our great community by providing one central place where volunteers can go to get connected with volunteer opportunities.

We recognize the valuable role that volunteers’ play in organizations’ and nonprofits’ in our area. We believe that if we can make it more effortless to find

volunteer opportunities that individuals feel passionate about, it can unleash an untapped source of talent and energy in our amazing community that has yet to be fully discovered.

So why volunteer? You’re not only benefiting your community when you volunteer, there are countless benefits for you, as well. You are going to meet like-minded people. Individuals who genuinely care about their community and those living in it. You might meet people who can help you achieve future goals. Volunteering is a free networking opportunity! When you volunteer, you’re also gaining free education, training, and skills that can be applied to future jobs, and even in your personal life. You will probably feel a great sense of accomplishment and gratification knowing that you are making a difference.

So, what are you waiting for?! If you’re like most of us, you probably feel like you don’t have enough time in your day. I can definitely relate to that.

But the beauty of volunteering is that you can donate one hour, one day or one week of your time- it is completely up to you! So, if you would like to get involved, go online to www.sandpointcommunityresource.com/volunteer. html and click on the Volunteer Match button. Or, reach out to JoAnna Quick, our Volunteer Coordinator at Joannaq@ sandpointcommunityresource.com or 208-255-4025. She’d love to chat with you! Check back next week for some success stories from local volunteers and hear why they love giving back.

From left to right, Margo Johnson, Marsha Henderson, Kim Courser and Faye Moore.

The Bonner General Health Volunteer Council held their annual Christmas luncheon on Dec. 12 and named 2018’s volunteer of the year.

Volunteer Council President Margo Johnson presented Marsha Henderson with this year’s volunteer of the year away. Henderson began volunteering

at BGH in 2012 and has accrued 1,092 volunteer hours. Faye Moore was named honorary volunteer of the year. Moore began volunteering in 1974 and retired in 2017 with a total of 5,063 hours.

Currently, BGH has 41 active volunteers and 13 chaplain volunteers.

(208) 265-5700 320 S. Ella Ave. www.IdahoVet.com

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PERSPECTIVES

Brian Casey: An everyday local hero

By Jodi Rawson Reader Staff

T

hough we have both lived in Sandpoint over a decade, I just met Brian Casey last year. I adore him. Just being around him, I find that I can breathe slower and deeper.

Hugging Casey is my feel-better-prescription, and time flies by while we yak. We get excited over saga-dramas like “House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black” and “Game of Thrones.” Casey is musical, brilliant and humorous, with a supersonic wit, but it is his day-to-day bravery that makes him my hero.

Casey has never walked.

“I was born with muscular dystrophy,” Casey said. “There are a lot of different types, but most people are probably most familiar with ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease’ or ALS. There is like 48 different types, and I have a rare type that weakens my arms and legs. I got my first wheel chair when I was about four. I have always had a wheel chair, it’s just kind of part of who I am.”

Monday through Friday Casey rides the SPOT bus to a local facility where he works with dementia patients. Born and raised in Salmon, Idaho, Casey obtained his Master’s Degree in Counseling and Psychology at WSU in the ‘90s, then began working full time.

“When I was done with school and moved back to Salmon I got a job offer,” he said. “They didn’t have any mental health services for children so the county put together a program through juvenile probation. I did counseling 18 /

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Brian Casey at home, who can often be recognized by his beaming smile. Photo by Jodi Rawson. through probation and also through the child development center with younger kids for about six years. Then I opened my own private practice in Salmon for another five years.”

When Casey’s family moved to Sandpoint, he moved to a flat nearby. He loves the lake, the coffee and the art scene. “Sandpoint is where I first started working with the elderly population,” said Ca-

sey. “I got a job working with dementia patients and individuals dealing with traumatic brain injury.”

I respect his conservative upbringing and the fact that he has worked his whole adult life despite an obvious disability, but we don’t always agree on everything. I asked him to defend his political views, but he offered me this wisdom instead:

“The whole political thing,” Casey said, “the more I go over time I wish that we would remember that we are all Americans. We are always trying to divide things. We divide people because of political views, race and sexual orientation. They have kind of left disabilities out, for the most part, lately.”

“There is such a division all the time. I wish people would look more at how we could

come together and make things work, rather than grab a corner and fight for it. Support and own your beliefs, but be open to others,” said Casey. “That is how you get educated.”

Never one to revel in his own challenges, Casey’s level of compassion is palpable.

When we meet up in public I usually have to share him with strangers because of his gift of connective communication. He smiles at people and they open their life to him. Knowing how popular Casey is, I shouldn’t have been surprised when he told me he lived in a frat house.

“They had never had anyone live on campus all four years and graduate -they had people in wheel chairs live off campus and take classes, but no one like me. I didn’t realize it at the time and they were very supportive. If there was a classroom I couldn’t get to, they would move it or make whatever accommodations were necessary so I could take whatever classes I wanted,” said Casey. “The University of Idaho was an amazing experience!”

Casey had a wonderful childhood, free from bullying.

“It is so sad to hear about kids these days that aren’t disabled, getting bullied on social media.

People type and send messages they never would face to face.

I never experienced any of that growing up,” he said.

“I attribute a lot of (my confidence and friendships) to the tight-knit small town of Salmon, but also to the way that my parents raised me. They never made (my disability) an issue or an excuse. It was the way it was, deal with it. I am grateful,” Casey said.

STAGE & SCREEN

“Bohemian Rhapsody’: relive a great musical journey

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Starting this week, relive one of the greatest musical journeys of the ‘70s and ‘80s when “Bohemian Rhapsody” hits the Panida Theater.

A biopic covering the legendary rock band Queen and its charismatic frontman, Freddie Mercury, the movie follows the band from obscurity to pop-culture immortality. Along the way, the band endures turmoil among its members and a devastating AIDS diagnosis. It’s a dramatic undercurrent for a visually spectacular and infectious retelling of Queen’s greatest hits and shows, culminating in the band’s legendary 1985 Live Aid performance.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” proved a massive box office hit following its Nov. 2 U.S. release, raking in $700 million on a $50 million budget and earning ninth place among the year’s highest-grossing movies. That’s enough to distinguish it as the highest-grossing musical biopic to date, unseating the previous record holder, 2015’s “Staight Outta Compton,” by a wide margin.

The film overcame a hellish production to mint its box-office gold. Originally, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was set to star Sacha Baron Cohen as Mercury, but the comedian left the production over creative differences with its producers. Then, as the movie advanced from pre-production to filming, director Bryan Singer was eventually fired and replaced by Dexter Fletcher after a string of unannounced absences from the set. Singer now faces allegations of sexual misconduct and is yet another high-powered Hollywood mogul under scrutiny following the arrest and prosecution of producer Harvey Weinstein.

Whether they praised or panned the movie, most critics found a star in lead actor Rami Malek, who portrays Mercury at both the highest and lowest points of his life. Capturing both the humanity and magnetic star power of

A still frame from “Bohemian Rhapsody” starring Rami Malek. Courtesy photo.

a pop culture icon is no small feat, but Malek proved more than up to the task.

According to a Rolling Stone account of the production, the 37-year-old actor underwent an exhaustive training program to become the rock star, undergoing coaching to replicate his movement, accent, singing and piano playing. That level of commitment is no surprise to audience members who follow Malek in the critically-acclaimed show “Mr. Robot,” in which the actor delivers an award-winning performance as the brilliant but troubled cybersecurity engineer and hacker Elliot Alderson.

See the story behind your favorite Queen songs when “Bohemian Rhapsody” screens at the Panida Theater from Jan. 4-6. Tickets are available online at www.panida.org or at the door for 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 4, 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 5 and 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 6.

FriDAY, Jan. 4 & 18 @ 6:30 & 7:30PM

Little Theater

Line and Swing Lessons & Dance

Little Theater

jan. 5 @ 1 & 7 pm

“Free solo” (back by popular demand) Jan. 4 @ 8:30pm | Jan. 5 @ 1:30 & 7:30 pm Jan. 6 @ 3:30pm

“BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY”

The film overcame a hellish production to mint its box-office gold.

Jan. 10 @ 7:30PM | JAN. 11 @ 5:30PM JAN. 12 @ 7:30PM | JAN. 13 @ 3:30PM

“BECOMING ASTRID”

Little Theater

tuesday, Jan. 15 @ 7PM

caribou rainforest:

From Heartbreak to Hope with David Moskowitz

Jan. 18, 19, 20 @ 6PM

banff mountain film festival world tour COMING SOON David Raitt, Peter Rivera & the Baja Boogie Band, green book January 3, 2019 /

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OUTDOORS

Friends of Scotchman Peaks look past winter to trail season Early planning by FSPW and partners outlines 2019 maintenance season

By Reader Staff

The trails in the Scotchman Peaks might be snowed in this month, but Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness and their partners in trail maintenance are making plans now for the summer trail season. Each year, FSPW staff and volunteers partner with the Forest Service and other organizations to help maintain and construct trails in the proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness.

The recommended wilderness contains trails in three ranger districts on two National Forests; Three Rivers and Cabinet Ranger Districts on the Kootenai National Forest and Sandpoint Ranger District on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

“The Scotchman Peaks Allstars work on trails in each District every year,” FSPW program coordinator (and trail crew boss) Sandy Compton said. “Last year, over the five month season, we put in 372 volunteer hours and 136 staff hours, did just over 12 miles of brushing and tread repair, reworked a couple of stream crossings and built or cleared a couple of hundred waterbars. We would have done more, but a couple of projects we had planned were cancelled because of the Cougar Fire in the Lightning Creek drainage.”

FSPW and trail partners in the Forest Service meet in the late fall each year to determine what will be done during the next year, with a multi-day project

planned annually that rotates among the districts.

“Next summer, we have two big projects that are pretty exciting,” Compton said. “A group from Wilderness Volunteers is coming to do some badly needed maintenance on upper Little Spar Creek Trail #142 for a week in July. On the Sandpoint District, we will begin a couple of years of heavy maintenance on Goat Mountain Trail #35, including tread and switchback reconstruction.”

Most of the trails in the Sandpoint District portion of the recommended Wilderness will also receive some attention. The Scotchman Peak trail will benefit by the efforts of the FSPW trail ambassadors, many of who will continue to carry tools as well as educate the public about mountain goats. On the Cabinet District, Hamilton Gulch Trail #997 and Star Gulch Trail #1016 will benefit by the skills of the FSPW trail crews.

“Our crews do a great job,” Compton said. “We supply them with good tools and training and after-work refreshments, and they respond with enthusiasm to the work. One of the most satisfying things I can think of is walking back through the work we did at the end of the day and see what we accomplished. That and having a group of hikers say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the crew make all the work worth it. If you love trails, I invite you to join us” FSPW will soon begin posting the

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upcoming trail work schedule on their website at http://www.scotchmanpeaks. org/stewardship/trail-projects/

Friends of Scotchman Peaks Wilderness trail crew learns the finer points of using a crosscut to clear trails. Courtesy photo.

MUSIC

Drennen’s journey

This week’s RLW by Ellie V. Kiebert

Musician and writer Dustin Drennen has found home and inspiration in North Idaho

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

When Dustin Drennen says he’s about to tell you the “short version” of how he ended up as a musician and writer practicing his craft in Clark Fork, it’s best to get comfortable.

This is no insult — the story is absolutely worthwhile.

It begins at a party in the ‘90s, when Drennen was just a teenager.

“This kid rolls up on a skateboard … and he has this CD, it’s Bad Religion, ‘No Control.’ He goes, ‘put this on,’ and I hear punk rock for the first time,” Drennen said, noting that until that moment he knew he loved music, but couldn’t put his finger on exactly why. “For me that was a salvation experience. The heavens opened up and there was a beam of light and it was like, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for.’”

The journey following Drennen’s discovery of punk rock covers a lot of ground, both figuratively and literally. Shortly after his “salvation,” Drennen’s parents moved the family from New York to Indiana, where all the record stores were chains and he had to live on the tapes he’d brought with him. As time passed and punk made it into the mainstream, Drennen said the relationships he forged morphed into a band — Canterbury Effect — that ended up with a record deal at a small label in Texas and even some touring in the early 2000s. Though the band members went their separate ways, Canterbury Effect’s music is still available on Spotify.

Next came the start of his family, as well as an art collective business, which was “squashed” by the recession around 2008, Drennen said. It was then that he said he felt he was “kicking a dead horse.”

“I felt like I was not challenging myself much … I felt like I needed to recreate myself,” he said. “That’s when I joined the Army. I thought, ‘I’ll either die, or I’ll come out the other side a

READ

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” by Jenny Hanis is going to be a timeless love story for generations to come.

The story is so 2018, but that’s what makes it so great. When the teens of the future go to the local library and pick up a love story, they will read this and look back at how hopelessly in love some people were. In reality, they will probably think we were slightly insane.

LISTEN

different person.’”

In just a little over three years in the Army, Drennen was stationed at several forts as well as in Afghanistan. Upon coming home, Drennen’s life kept up its signature pace of change.

“When I came home from Afghanistan, it was the end of the tour, it was the end of the Army, it was the end of my marriage,” he said. “This conversation is making me realize that, yeah, in a way, I came out of it a totally different person.”

He said that coming back from a war made him realize that he was grateful to have made it back whole, and with that gift he’d do what he loved: writing and creating. That’s when he started to focus on the acoustic guitar, and his current sound came to life. With that came the need for a name better suited to a independent musician, as actor Dustin Hoffman had a monopoly on Drennen’s legal name.

“I heard (Dustin Hoffman) was taken,” he joked. “Drennen is my mom’s maiden name. In some ways I feel like it suits me more, because Dustin Hoffman is always some other guy’s name.”

Drennen’s story continues with a stint working in Phoenix, going through an arduous divorce and then meeting “this girl,” he said, adoration evident

in his voice as he talks about his now-wife Robynne.

“I don’t put much stock in the astrology stuff, but she’s a Taurus and I’m a Pisces, so the whole ‘the fish and the bull fall in the love, where do they live?’ thing — we’re totally like that,” he said. “We do things in such different fashions but at the end of the day there is no denying.”

What ensued was a lot of “figuring it out” over two years, and finally a decision to choose a spot on the map to move, knowing Phoenix was not where they wanted to be. So with their house up for sale, everything they owned in a small trailer, and Drennen’s two kids from his previous marriage and their dog, Scout, loaded into the back seat, they set out, driving a straight 24 hours to arrive at Sam Owen Campground in Hope on July 4, 2014.

“We just decided, ‘This is our Independence Day. We’re going to live where we want to live,’” he said.

Drennen and his family, now grown to four kids, has since built that independent life in North Idaho. Now, his focus is on promoting his artistic endeavors from a part of the country where that kind of work is largely internet-based.

“It challenges me to be more

Dustin Drennen. Photo by Robynne Gibaud.

creative in everything, but that’s cool because then my eyes are wide open to the stuff that’s going on around me,” he said.

Some of Drennen’s latest works include music releases — all available on Spotify or at his website, www.dustydrennen.com — as well as a book of poems titled “The Making of a Key,” also available on his website. Drennen’s singer-songwriter style is deeply soulful, and he has a particular affinity for incorporating ghost stories into song.

To sum up Drennen’s artistic philosophy would be a fool’s errand, so luckily he is working to do that himself in the form of a manifesto that he hopes to edit and release sometime soon.

It all circles back to something that comes up often in a conversation with Drennen: he’s driven to create, to share and to leave a legacy of passion for this craft for his kids and anyone else who will listen, all from the home he found in the Idaho Panhandle.

His own words, found under his website’s biography, say it best: “People tell me that I should move to a city. Listen, I need to make it from here and on my own terms. This place and these people are inspiring to me. If that’s limiting, at least it’s real.”

Jack Johnson will get you in the moodiest of all moods.

The best mood. “From Upside Down” to “Traffic in the Sky,” you will feel that childish glow in your soul. Or maybe he will put you in the mood for a pina colada. Whichever mood he puts you in, it will definitely be a good one with his acoustic soft rock.

WATCH

One thing that you can finally start watching this winter season is the snowfall.

W h a t ’s a more peaceful way to end a day than by the wood stove sipping hot cocoa and looking out the window at the snow falling on the ground? Maybe you’re going for a walk and find a park bench to sit on. Sitting and watching the snow fall could help calm your post-holiday nerves. Oh, and yes, go ahead, catch a snowflake on your tongue. No one’s here to judge.

January 3, 2019 /

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OPINION

Love your neighbor in 2019

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

From Northern Idaho News, April 6, 1915

COUNCIL ACTS PAVING IN SIGHT ESTIMATED COST $75,000 At the special meeting Wednesday night preliminary paving ordinance No. 194 was passed under suspension of the rules by unanimous vote of the council. This ordinance sets forth the intention to form a paving district in accordance with the petition signed by 76 percent of the property owners of the proposed district.

The district includes Cedar street from the S.I. tracks to First avenue, First avenue from Cedar street to 100 feet south of the south side of Lake street, Bridge street from the bridge to First avenue, Main street from First avenue to the west side of Second avenue and Second avenue between Cedar and Main streets. The estimated cost of paving is set at $75,000 The ordinance as passed provides that Monday, April 25th is set aside for the hearing of complaints against the forming of the district. Complaints may be filed with the city clerk up to that day.

When the councilmen filed into their seats shortly after 8 o’clock, practically every chair in the council chamber was filled.

Later, the councilmen’s long table was moved close to the mayor’s desk and every bit of space was filled with extra chairs. At this the doorway was filled with those unable to find seats and there was some talk of adjourning the meeting to the Commercial club rooms. The most representative citizens of Sandpoint were there in large numbers.

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If there’s one thing I learned after spending 25 days on a sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, it’s that I have no room for petty nonsense in my life anymore.

When I write about the voyage (and I will soon, I promise), I’ll share some of the life-changing insights one gains after crossing an ocean. At the top of the list, however, is letting go of those small details that seem to put a stink on all our best efforts to live a decent life.

Sure, I know, it sounds like a wornout platitude, or an inspirational message written in a fine serifed font on a poster: “Don’t sweat the small stuff!”

But it’s absolutely true. Which is especially ironic because my job, quite literally, is to sweat every tiny detail.

Each and every week, I find myself living with a magnifying glass pointed right at my biggest flaws, my misstatements, my mistakes. Each week I try to impress upon my staff the importance of checking and double-checking facts and details so that we are not presenting misleading or false information to the reading public. That is part and parcel what it is to run a newspaper.

Since I decided to bring this alt-weekly back from the dead in January, 2015, I have very much given up my private life, my peace and quiet, my creative writing endeavors. I love my job and love this community, but I often find myself bristling at the fact that I am forced to live with one foot in the public sphere, awaiting the positive and negative reactions that are lobbed my way at odd times throughout the week.

While positive feedback has always outnumbered negative, it’s the mean emails, phone calls and statements that often stick with me the longest. Like when I agree to moderate a candidates’ forum and spend hours of my spare time without being paid, only to have a husband and wife tell me: “You are a disgrace and should be ashamed to show your face in this town,” after I had to temerity to ask a question about their favorite candidate’s voting record.

Or when I spend weeks and weeks

researching an article, checking facts, even running it by our legal-minded friends, only to be made the subject of a threatening robocall labeling me as a “cancer” that needs to be “burned out” of this town in which I was born and raised and have lived in most of my life.

It’s easy to let these negative interactions fester inside, building up until they billow out in an uncontrolled manner.

It’s easy to forget about the beautiful moments in life when the loud, bloviated voice of negativity drowns them out.

What is truly difficult is holding your head high in the midst of such pettiness and continuing to set a good example, no matter what the pushback.

One thing I’ve been grateful to my mom for is her indefatigable positive attitude. She has always been able to find something good in every situation. I am going to try to emulate her a bit more in 2019. I’m going to let the negative nonsense go and try to embrace the good in life as much as I can.

Which brings me to the title of this article: Love your neighbor in 2019.

That’s the starting point. That’s the simplest beginning. We all fly different flags. We all find ourselves passionate about different subjects. We all have different pet peeves and secret loves.

We are all so different, but really, when you peel back the superficiality, we are all the same. We wake up and face the world that often feels against us, but our hopes and dreams often run parallel to one another. We all want respect, we all want to be able to spend time with our friends and family, we all want to feel like our lives matter.

They do. Each and every one of you has something to offer. Why not offer the best of yourself instead of the worst? Why not try to improve someone else’s day instead of making it worse?

Why not love our neighbors for who they are – for their differences, for their quirks, for their jagged edges – instead of hating them for who they aren’t?

Ben Olson is the publisher and co-owner of the Sandpoint Reader. He just returned from sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from Madeira to Antigua.

Life was simpler 1,000 miles away from land. Much simpler.

Crossword Solution

I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they’d never expect it.

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1. European currency 6. Wanes 10. Drudgery 14. Flora 15. Journey 16. Christmas season 17. Interlace 19. Anagram of “Ties” 20. Chinese cinnamon 21. Atlantic food fish 22. Rip 23. French farewell 25. Compassion 26. A compact mass 30. A bowl-shaped depression 32. Rejoinder 35. Laughable 39. Ring around the nipple 40. Hairy 41. Social deportment 43. Mollify 44. One who denies 46. Resorts 47. Prevent legally 50. Was fond of 53. Large mass of ice / AW-spi-keyt / 54. Nevertheless [verb] 1. to initiate with ceremonies calculated to ensure good luck; inaugu- 55. Place of the rate.

60. Boast 61. Unsanctified “To auspicate the journey, they drank copius amounts of beer the night before.”

63. Wicked 64. Breezed through Corrections: No flubs, no typos, no mistakes. At least none that we’ve been 65. Cornered told about. Let’s just keep it that way, OK? -BO 66. French for “Head”

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Solution on page 22 67. Roman emperor 68. Impudent

DOWN 1. Sweeping story 2. Forearm bone 3. Rodents 4. 1 1 1 1 5. Stripes 6. French for “Summer” 7. Stimulating drink 8. Encamp 9. Hurried 10. Mystifying 11. Not inner 12. Of a pelvic bone

13. Apprehensive 18. Roll of bills 24. Frozen water 25. Notes 26. A metric unit of weight 27. Former Italian currency 28. Not closed 29. Wastefulness 31. Drags 33. Slumber 34. Mountain pool 36. Applaud 37. Aquatic plant 38. Caustics 42. Quiet

43. Biblical boat 45. One or the other 47. A common green newt 48. Wait on 49. Characteristic 51. L 52. Knuckleheads 54. Basic unit of money in China 56. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter 57. Amazes 58. Dregs 59. Countercurrent 62. Fuss January 3, 2019 /

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