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PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“What subjects do you think should be taught in school, but aren’t?”

“I believe mindfulness meditation should be taught in schools in order for kids to come to equanimity to balance their own nervous systems and regulate their emotions and behaviors. It also increases empathy among people.”

Ginna Maus Therapist at Temanos Counseling Sandpoint “More physical education, especially in elementary school.

They need movement and health education.”

Laura Saulino Retired Dover and Boise

DEAR READERS, Wishing you all a good start to September, one of my favorite months in North Idaho.

We just got word that the Sand Creek Regatta has been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 18. If you didn’t make it last year, this event is a locals’ favorite, featuring handmade rafts powered by half-drunken Sandpointians to see whose craft can cross the finish line first. Usually the one that doesn’t fall apart and sink is the one that wins.

We’ll have a story about it in next week’s Reader; but, for now, if you’d like to participate, you’d better start building the raft soon.

Labor Day weekend is bringing lots of fun events to the area, including FallFest at Schweitzer (Sept. 3-6), the Funky Junk Antique Show (Sept.

4-5), the Artist Studio Tour (Sept. 3-6) and more. We have stories about each of these events in this edition.

Finally, this week we are publishing a follow up article to a story we ran a couple years ago about an infamous cat who steals flip-flops from the neighborhood. You asked for it (repeatedly), so we brought you an update on this furry thief. Enjoy!

– Ben Olson, publisher “I would like to see more courses in STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics because that’s the future. At the same time, I think we need more vocational studies.”

Wendy Dunn Nurse at Family Health Center Sandpoint

“More about animals, especially sea animals.”

Vivian Schuck, age 10 Farmin-Stidwell Sandpoint

“Allowing kids to drive at 14 necessitates knowledge in life skills such as changing a tire. I believe everyone benefits from home economics and it should be reinstated. It’s a disservice to society and to the kids.”

Judy Carson Administrative assistant Sandpoint

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

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com Editorial: Zach Hagadone (Editor) zach@sandpointreader.com Lyndsie Kiebert (News Editor) lyndsie@sandpointreader.com Cameron Rasmusson (emeritus) John Reuter (emeritus) Advertising: Jodi Berge Jodi@sandpointreader.com Contributing Artists: Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Duffy Mahoney, Susan Drinkard, Racheal Baker, Bill Borders.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Emily Erickson, Steve Holt, Jim Jones, David Pate, Michael Satz, Brenden Bobby, Barry Rosenberg.

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com Printed weekly at: Tribune Publishing Co. Lewiston, ID Subscription Price: $155 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 300 words –Letters may not contain excessive profanity or libelous material. Please elevate the discussion.

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

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

About the Cover

This week’s cover celebrates Labor Day, which is coming up this weekend. We appreciate all workers, especially those getting their butts kicked right now. Hang in there.

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NEWS

Council approves final plat for Phase I of University Place subdivision

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff With no discussion or debate, the Sandpoint City Council at its Sept. 1 meeting approved the final plat for Phase I of the University Place development on North Boyer Avenue. This phase would include 53 lots of single-family residential housing — part of a sweeping redevelopment of the former University of Idaho agricultural campus on the east side of North Boyer south of East Mountain View Drive.

The project was formerly known as University Park, but had to be changed due to a conflict with another development — according to city documents, “Bonner County determined that this name is not available.”

Council members Joel Aispuro, John Darling, Andy Groat and Kate McAlister voted in favor.

Council member Deb Ruehle voted no. Council President Shannon Sherman was absent.

Interim City Planner Daren Fluke provided a brief presenta-

tion prior to the vote, noting that “a few things” were still pending for Phase I, but approval was needed to meet a hearing of the Independent Highway District. He did not elaborate on specifically what those “few things” were, nor did he state the substance or date of the IHD meeting, or its correlation with the project. Questions on those specifics went unanswered, as of presstime.

Next, Fluke brought up a “minor issue with ownership of the plat.” According to city documents, the preliminary plat application included K-M Enterprises of Idaho, LLC and M&W Holdings, LLC as co-owners of a single parcel. The joint owners entered into a quitclaim deed dividing the northern and southern portions of the 75.2-acre, 152-lot, mixed-use development, but that was before approval — running afoul of City Code, which requires that any subdivision of land has to run through a public process.

To retroactively solve that issue, the city is now administratively processing a short plat

that will divide the property in conformance with Code — so the “applicants can go their own way,” Fluke said.

It is unclear what that means for the project as a whole — requests for comment to the city went unanswered by presstime — but Fluke referred to needed modifications to the development agreement. Again, it is unclear what those modifications might be, or through what process they may go — whether administrative or public.

Finally, Fluke noted a question over ownership of the land promised to Kaniksu Land Trust on the east side of the plat along Sand Creek. That area contains wetlands and open space, which the developer and its representatives have touted as a benefit to the community at large. Fluke said recording the plat would allow the developer to convey that land, though that process as well was not described and request for comment was unanswered by presstime.

The Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously, 5-0, to recommend denial

‘Whose workforce?’

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

A proposed 21-lot subdivision on the west side of North Boyer Avenue received a recommendation of approval from Sandpoint Planning and Zoning commissioners Aug. 17 and is now headed to the City Council for a final decision. However, commissioners raised a number of questions and concerns about the development, including its aesthetics, connections with pedestrian and bicycle pathways, proximity to the airport, qualification as “affordable” or “workforce” housing, and its compliance with the city’s comprehensive land use plan.

The project is dubbed Boyer Meadows by Coeur d’Alene-based developer Cliff Mort of Big Creek Land Company, whose Monogram Homes would build the project, and sits on an 8.5-acre parcel of land split-zoned between industrial technical park to the west and sin4 /

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gle family residential to the east.

In many ways, the project typified the juggling act Sandpoint city officials, citizens and developers must undertake to help alleviate the area’s crushing housing affordability crisis.

The industrial-zoned portion of the parcel — about half of which is within the airport’s lateral safety zone, prompting opposition testimony from neighboring Timberline Helicopters on noise complaints — will so far remain undeveloped while the residential portion, bounded by East Mountain View Road to the south and North Boyer to the east, is envisioned to include lots ranging in size from 6,700 to 8,200 square feet. Those lots, according to the developer’s representative, Jeremy Grimm of Whiskey Rock Planning and Consulting, are 40% larger than the minimum required for single family residential zoning code.

It will feature a 580-footlong street running north-south from East Mountain View Drive,

of the University Place (then Park) development in October 2020, citing an “excessive” 2,000-foot block length along North Boyer, double frontage lots and its street arrangement. The Council, however, approved the preliminary plat in November 2020.

Otherwise in the Sept. 1 meeting, Sandpoint City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton noted that the council will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. for a public hearing on a proposed 1% resort city local option tax.

Funds raised by the LOT would go toward helping fund parks and recreation facilities, as described in the Parks and Rec. Master Plan.

The LOT needs a supermajority to pass on the November ballot. The city is hosting a survey on the proposal on its website (opentownhall.com/portals/287/ Issue_11069), via mobile app and in person at a kiosk in City Hall (1123 Lake St.).

Survey responses will be gathered until 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 6.

The last day to file for candidacy for three open City Council seats (those of Council members Aispuro, Darling and Sherman) is Friday, Sept. 3 at 5 p.m. Find more information and forms at sandpointidaho.gov under “Meetings” and at voetidaho.gov/city-resources.

P&Z recommends approval for ‘Boyer Meadows’ subdivision despite concerns

ending in a cul de sac. Its eastern boundary along North Boyer will be double frontage lots fenced or screened from the street with no driveways or other access points.

Interim City Planner Daren Fluke highlighted the project’s inconsistency with the comp at the top of his staff report to commissioners, focusing specifically on its planned cul de sac.

“Generally the comprehensive plan would not support a cul de sac or dead end-type road,” he said. “However, in this situation we did feel it was appropriate.”

City staff said that code won’t allow any direct access points to North Boyer for the development because of setback requirements for already existing driveways and intersections. Even if it was possible, it would only add to the rapidly increasing traffic load on North Boyer, which will get even heavier with the nearby University Place development, located just to the southeast.

Commissioner Tom Riggs

was unconvinced, and expressed some frustration that, “too often development projects come to us that are not consistent with the comprehensive plan and we tend to gloss over them. This is not consistent with the comp plan.”

Riggs was the sole dissenting vote recommending approval by the City Council.

Though both city staff and Riggs directly stated that the plan doesn’t meet certain criteria of the comp plan, ultimately the need for more affordable housing stock outweighed the concerns.

Yet, Boyer Meadows homes will likely cost between $400,000 and $500,000 — complete with two-car garages — prompting P&Z Commission Chairman Jason Welker to ask the developer, “Is there any intent to make this workforce housing, by the definition of workforce housing?”

By that, Welker meant pegging pricing to a proportion of average monthly income or area median income — the latter which in

Sandpoint is about $60,000 per year, which would put a buyer in a home priced at about $250,000.

The current median list price for a home in Sandpoint, according to various sources, ranges from a little more than $400,000 to nearly $750,000.

“It’s always a misnomer to talk about workforce housing,” said Mort. “It’s whose workforce?”

Mort serves on Mayor Shelby Rognstad’s Sandpoint Workforce Housing Task Force, which convened for the first time Aug. 10.

He said his company has tried for years to enter the Sandpoint market with a sizable project, though has already built some homes near the airport and along Sand Creek, as well as 50 lots in a Ponderay subdivision and homes in the Whiskeyjack area. However, city ordinances limiting things like garage size and orientation, specifically, get in the way of providing developers with the flexibility to build homes in service of the socalled “missing middle” of home

< see P&Z, Page 6 >

NEWS

Citizen input prompts reverse of BoCo polling place changes

Sandpoint, Oldtown and Hope polling places will remain status quo

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Bonner County commissioners voted Aug. 31 to override a previous motion that would have relocated polling places in nine area precincts.

County Clerk Mike Rosedale said the reversal came after hearing a barrage of citizen input following the initial Aug. 24 meeting at which the decision was made.

“We thought, you know, we’d been reviewing this for so long in our elections office — we thought we had discussed every angle,” Rosedale said at

the commissioners’ Aug. 31 business meeting. “So we went ahead and approved it, but everybody in the public wasn’t involved in those conversations, so we have decided to undo that.”

The Aug. 24 changes would have moved Oldtown voters to the Priest River Event Center; Hope voters to the Clark ForkHope Area Senior Center; and Airport, Baldy, Beach, Dover, Humbird, Washington and Wrenco voters all to the Bonner County Fairgrounds.

According to Rosedale, the moves were part of a larger effort to make voting more efficient and secure.

However, the clerk also noted Aug. 31 that the 2020 Census data and resulting redistricting slated for Legislative Districts 1 and 7 could have an effect on Bonner County’s commissioner districts, requiring some work to ensure that each district is “equal, roughly, in registered voters.” Any changes necessary during that process could affect precincts and polling places, giving even more reason to hold off on any major changes at this time.

“When we look at all that, later on, we may look at this again, but for now we are just going to stay where we were,” Rosedale said.

The resolution Aug. 31 returned Oldtown voters to the Oldtown Rotary Park Visitor Center; Hope voters to the Memorial Community Center and Airport; and Baldy, Beach, Dover, Humbird, Washington and Wrenco voters back to the polling places they used in the most recent election.

“Thank you very much for reconsidering,” said resident Maureen Paterson during public discussion of the resolution, “especially with citizen input.”

Commissioners Jeff Connolly and Steve Bradshaw both voted in favor of returning the polling places back to what they were before the Aug. 24

changes. Commissioner Dan McDonald was not present, but the two aye votes were sufficient to pass the motion.

“I think it’s a good idea to have a larger discussion,” Connolly said, “to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Commissioners table ‘Constitutional County’ issue Bradshaw brings resolution, Connolly calls it ‘political’ and ‘unneeded’

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff

Bonner County commissioners stood at a stalemate during their Aug. 31 business meeting, disagreeing on a resolution that would declare “Constitutional County” status and forbade them from ever enacting policies declared unconstitutional, as enumerated by the two-page document.

The resolution, brought by Commissioner Steve Bradshaw, stated that citizens of Bonner County “are entitled to the protection of their God-given and constitutionally protected rights,” and took shots at Idaho Gov. Brad Little, local health districts, other government agencies and the “media” for attempting “to justify the suspension or denial of God-given, constitutionally protected rights under a plea of emergency” — that emergency being the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Bonner Co. Commissioner Jeff Connolly.

Commissioner Jeff Connolly — the only other board member in attendance, as Commissioner Dan McDonald was absent — challenged the need for the resolution, pointing out that the commissioners already pledged to uphold the state and federal constitutions when they took the oath of office.

“It just seems like this is a repeat of what we’ve already

“I’m just trying to get my head wrapped around what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.

Bradshaw said the resolution was “just a statement” that would “reinforce” the commissioners’ oath. He called it a “shot over the bow” for elected officials around the nation who, in his view, are not protecting people’s rights.

“It’s not a political move,” he said. “It’s just something that I feel should be done.”

Bradshaw added that if he’d included anything in the Bonner Co. Commissioner Steve Bradshaw. resolution that was “incorrect,” he’d “love somebody to point said we would do, and what I it out.” already do every day,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s about Connolly said the resolu‘correct’ or ‘not correct,’” Contion appeared to be “political,” nolly said. “It’s about what our as well. Bradshaw is running duties are as commissioners for Idaho governor in 2022. and what we’re supposed to be Connolly said he could not doing.” agree to a resolution calling For example, the resolution Little’s actions unconstitutiondeclares commissioners will al, adding: “That’s an issue for never enforce a law that imconstitutional scholars and also poses on a citizen’s “right” to the courts to decide.” “wear or not wear any medical

device they may choose” — i.e., a mask mandate. Connolly said it is the duty of the commissioners to vote on such a proposal should the health district bring it before them, as outlined in recently passed Senate Bill 1060, rather than to issue a blanket resolution declaring such actions unconstitutional.

“I think it’s unneeded and I won’t be voting for it,” Connolly said of the resolution.

Deputy Clerk Jessi Webster suggested commissioners table the issue until McDonald could be present to cast a deciding vote. Connolly and Bradshaw both voted in favor of the motion, meaning discussion on Bradshaw’s resolution will resume at the board’s Sept. 7 business meeting.

Tuesday business meetings are held in the third floor conference room at the Bonner County Administration Building at 9 a.m., as well as streamed online on the Bonner County YouTube channel.

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NEWS Little reactivates Idaho National Guard, urges vaccine

By Reader Staff Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Aug. 31 that he would once again mobilize the Idaho National Guard to assist in the COVID-19 crisis — this time to “support short-staffed medical facilities” with logistical tasks such as screenings and lab work.

In addition, medical and administrative personnel will come to Idaho through a contract with the U.S. General Services Administration, and a 20-person Department of Defense medical response team will head to North Idaho, “where vaccination rates are among the lowest in the state and where they are experiencing the greatest need.”

In total, 370 personnel are being dispatched to the state. The move is a “lastditch effort to avoid the first-ever activation of statewide crisis standards of care,” according to a media release from Little’s office.

“On a daily call with hospitals this morning, we heard there are only four adult ICU beds available in the entire state, out of

close to 400. Where hospitals have converted other spaces to be used as contingency ICU beds, those are filling up, too,” the governor said Aug. 31. “We are dangerously close to activating statewide crisis standards of care — a historic step that means Idahoans in need of health care could receive a lesser standard of care or may be turned away altogether.

“In essence, someone would have to decide who can be treated and who cannot.

This affects all of us, not just patients with COVID-19,” he said.

Little continued to urge Idahoans to receive a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, as the “vast majority” of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.

“I want to thank the more than 818,000 Idahoans who have shown love for their neighbor by choosing to receive the safe and effective vaccine,” Little said. “To the others, please choose to receive the vaccine now to protect lives, help our exhausted medical staff, keep health care access available to all of us, keep our workforce healthy and keep our kids in school.”

< P&Z, con’t from Page 4 > buyers, Mort said.

“It’s just been real difficult to try to create what I would say is ‘moderate housing,’” he said. “It’s not all the cheapest housing in the area but certainly we try to do an entry point, workforce housing — we’ve built homes up into the multi-million range. … I would think that having housing in that $400,000-$500,000 range certainly is something that does fit a lot of the owners in Sandpoint.”

Grimm, a former Sandpoint city planner who also represents the developers of the University Place project and serves on the Sandpoint Workforce Housing Task Force, as well, pointed out that lack of inventory contributes greatly to the current astronomical prices. In such a climate, adding 20 or more homes is a solution.

To that, Welker countered that the lot sizes in Boyer Meadows could accommodate more housing if the proposed garage sizes were reduced and the developer incorporated accessory dwelling units, which under recently adopted code can be up to 900 square feet and used as housing rather than vacation rentals.

“On 4.5 acres in Sandpoint you could probably provide at least double what this development is,” he said.

Mort and Grimm addressed commission members’ worries in turn: “People love cul de sacs,” Mort said.

“Families love them, people congregate in them, all of those types of things.”

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He also balked at the suggestion of adding a pedestrian/bikeway from North Boyer into the subdivision, citing “safety” and said that “most families want a two-car garage.”

“I live on a cul de sac; I find it quite peaceful — you don’t have a lot of cutthrough traffic,” Grimm said.

“I’d much rather hear an airplane go by than a train going by at two in the morning,” said Mort, who added that he’s been a private pilot for more than 20 years.

“It’s Sandpoint. It’s not a quiet place — that’s for sure,” said Grimm, referring to train noise, which can range from 140 to 150 decibels, compared to the 105- to 140-decibel level cited by a Timberline Helicopter representative.

“Maybe this subdivision will attract airplane aficionados,” Grimm said, later adding, “Our point is that it’s zoned residential single-family.”

A majority of commissioners voted to look past their various concerns — even Riggs, despite his nay vote, said, “The horse is out of the barn on Boyer; there’s every kind of fence imaginable” — and decided that Boyer Meadows is “consistent with the overall goals of the comprehensive plan,” though with certain conditions such as a putting an airport noise warning on the front of the plat.

“The development is going to provide some much-needed housing in Sandpoint,” Welker said in his motion to recommend approval.

Bits ’n’ Pieces From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.

A recent sampling: If you have a medical bill that “surprises” you, The New York Times wants to review it. Hospitals were ordered to share a complete list of prices they negotiate with private insurers but, according to The Times, many are ignoring the order. What has been shared shows “wildly different amounts” for basic procedures.

Exactly 16 years after the devastating Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ida landed Aug. 29 in Louisiana, Mother Jones reported. With winds at almost 157 mph, and up to 15 inches of rain, there was vast destruction, with recovery expected to take months.

But a $14 billion levy system designed to prevent massive flooding held, reducing risk to lives. In 2005 there were 1,800 lives lost.

The 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan ended Aug. 31, culminating with the world’s largest airlift — more than 120,000 people — removed in 17 days. ISIS-K’s disruption of the airlift killed 13 Americans.

COVID-19 and the brain: The National Institutes of Health estimates as many as 30% of COVID-19 survivors will experience lingering neurological or psychiatric symptoms. That can include fatigue, vision issues, compromised attention and brain fog. Many sufferers had not been hospitalized and, National Geographic reported, it is unknown if these people will recover.

Calls to U.S. poison control centers about use of ivermectin have increased five-fold, and emergency rooms are seeing increased use by those using the livestock dewormer, Business Insider reported.

Excessive use of ivermectin can cause stomach upset, hallucinations, confusion, drowsiness, rapid breathing and/or tremors.

The CDC said one person drank an injectable version of ivermectin and another took five tablets daily for five days, resulting in “altered mental status.”

Meanwhile, a Georgia police officer and activist advocate for ivermectin died from COVID-19, The Independent reported. That article noted that other problems with use of ivermectin can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, allergic reactions, dizziness, seizures, coma and sometimes death.

A third anti-COVID-19 vaccination skeptic and radio host, Marc Bernier, has died from COVID-19, according to slate. com. Bernier had stated he thought the virus was a hoax.

Protections against COVID-19, including the Delta variant, from Pfizer

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines decline over time, Nature.com reports. The Pfizer vaccine showed 92% protection two weeks after the second dose, falling to 90% after 30 days, 85% after 60 days and 78% after 90 days. Both vaccines are currently “doing well” against the Delta variant, by keeping viral loads lower. But, it’s now thought that a vaccinated person can be a transmitter. Protection of the vaccinated can be enhanced with masks and “other precautions,” The Washington Post reported. More COVID-19 cases are likely when people feel fully protected and therefore abandon earlier protection efforts.

Bounty hunting in Texas: Not only is Texas seeking to ban abortions at six weeks, before most women are aware they are pregnant, but SB 8, which began Sept. 1, allows anyone to sue an abortion provider and collect at least $10,000 per abortion. The ACLU is challenging it as unconstitutional.

Voter restriction efforts are well-funded and backed by organizations whose ultra-conservative boards of directors include the upper echelons of wealth, according to Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right. The billionaires’ strong push has so far resulted in 18 states passing voting rights restrictions.

In Mayer’s research for her New Yorker article, “The Big Money Behind the Big Lie,” she discovered that the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation provided a primary money stream for enabling voting restrictions. Harry Bradley was a John Birch Society founding member. Another plan would sidestep voters with claims of fraud (supported by True the Vote, the Public Interest Legal Foundation and the Heritage Foundation’s Election Reform Initiative). The anti-vote organizations’ main goal is creating distrust in the voting process, Mayer believes.

Blast from the past: “We stand for a living wage. Wages are subnormal if they fail to provide a living for those who devote their time and energy to industrial occupations. The monetary equivalent of a living wage varies according to local conditions, but must include enough to secure the elements of a normal standard of living — a standard high enough to make morality possible, to provide for education and recreation, to care for immature members of the family, to maintain the family during periods of sickness and to permit a reasonable saving for old age.” — Republican Theodore Roosevelt, 26th U.S. president, 1901-1909.

PERSPECTIVES

Emily Articulated

A column by and about Millennials

Relearned lessons

By Emily Erickson Reader Columnist

I had plans to write another article, to put a different set of words to my thoughts and ideas. I’d filled my customary notebook sheet with a loose outline and titled my Google document with a catchy phrase. But then, I saw someone wearing a “Make America Kind Again” hat, and something else clicked into place. I recognized there are just some things that resonate extra poignantly right now — at this moment in time, in America, in our town, in myself — and that some lessons feel newly relevant, despite having learned them a million times before.

Small acts of kindness have a ripple effect. Reaching out to tell someone they’re doing a good job, that you like their sweater or that you appreciate their point of view has the power to add a blot of joy on the canvas of their unknowable day. Buying a coffee for the person in line behind you, dropping a hand-written card in the mail “just because”, or leaving a zucchini on the porch next door creates ripples; not only expanding into additional acts of kindness by the recipients of your kindness, but also, in ourselves.

Gratitude breeds more gratitude. Viewing the world with wonder — that sunflowers turn their faces toward a shifting sun, that dogs exist, that

Emily Erickson.

we’re made of up a trillion parts and pieces that fit together perfectly so we can breathe, run, think and play — is like rubbing the crust of monotony out of our eyes. Taking the time to intentionally tally up all for which we’re grateful opens us up to recognizing the infinite beauty in the world and in the people around us.

Most often, changes in behavior precede changes in attitude. It’s far more difficult to think our way into behaving differently than it is to behave our way into thinking differently. To incite more happiness, wellness, thoughtfulness or engagement in ourselves, we have to participate in the actions we know to create those feelings. Going to a concert, calling that friend, taking a hike, buying new paints or jumping off a swing is a far more effective strategy to change how we feel than ruminating on the ways in which we’d like things to be different.

Whenever possible, leave it better than you found it. Our

impact on our surroundings — the way we walk the earth, shift the energy in a room, and create and cultivate community — is infinite and immeasurable. Our actions (of all sizes and significance) can be filled with consideration and positively contribute to our world and the lives of people connected to us. Or they can leave a trail of sludge, marking our self-important, entitled, greedy journey to wherever our destination may be.

It’s not necessary to take advice from people living a life you don’t want to live.

There is no limit to the lessons we can learn from others — especially when we spend time listening to their stories, fears, failures and victories.

But advice, no matter how generously given, has the potential to steer us further away from who and where we want to be. Guidance is the byproduct of a perspective built from someone’s unique way of navigating life; and, if the outcome (their life) isn’t appealing, then the stepping stones laid out before that outcome shouldn’t be blindly followed.

Expertise is different from advice. When people dedicate their lives to learning a specific subject, material or craft, they understand the thing they have studied with a depth and complexity a non-expert cannot comprehend. They follow procedures to ensure the accuracy of their knowledge and share insights as they apply to their area of expertise. This

knowledge sharing is different from advice like learning to construct a house from a lifetime builder is different than reading the back of a LEGO box.

When feeling overwhelmed by the immensity of problems out of our control, focus on something you can control.

The grandeur of the problems we’re asked to carry and the scale they reach inevitably

makes us feel inadequate and helpless. But, small actions, numerous fragments of everyday choices, can contribute to the grand mosaic of change we want to see in the world.

Emily Erickson is a writer and business owner with an affinity for black coffee and playing in the mountains.

Connect with her online at bigbluehat.studio.

Retroactive

By BO

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Disappointing picture...

Bouquets: GUEST SUBMISSION: • Kudos to the people who have kept the beautiful downtown hanging baskets green and blooming all summer long.

Also, kudos to the Kinnikinnick Native Plant Society for their work in making the North Idaho Native Plant Arboretum such a lovely and educational place.

— By Patty Ericcson Barbs: GUEST SUBMISSION: • On Sunday, my friend and I hiked up to Harrison Lake for the first time. It was a beautiful cloudy, cool day and the forest had a fresh coat of summer rain. When we got to the lake, we smelled smoke and saw a large fire in one of the campsites around the lake. We got closer and saw a group of about seven or eight high school-aged kids standing around the fire actively adding fuel to it. I gathered enough courage to approach them and asked them to put it out. I explained that we’re in a severe drought and we were still in Stage 2 fire restrictions. One bratty kid stood up to me and told me that it had just rained, so it was probably fine. I talked to a different kid who was standing at the fire before we headed down and asked him to make sure it was out since it was really dangerous for it to even be warm when they left. This kid was much nicer to me and said that they would drench it really well, which I appreciated.

I was really upset that these kids decided to have a fire and were unaware of the dangers of having a fire even if it had just rained. It put quite the barb in my beautiful Sunday morning hike and I hope someday they’re more cautious with their impact on our forests.

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Dear editor, One of the pictures in your July 22, 2021 “Photos of the Week” has continued to press on my mind so I am taking to the keyboard to share my thoughts.

I was both saddened and disturbed at the picture of the two individuals holding the “religious” sign that was included in the Pride Festival photos.

It saddened me for all the folks who saw this picture and thought it to be an example of what Jesus commanded his disciples: To share the gospel. I was also disturbed by one of the words included in that posterboard message.

The Jesus I know and what the Bible states did not come, “into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The Jesus I know is love, and commanded his disciples to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

This sign was not an example of love and redemption, but rather one of condemnation and darkness.

In Jesus’ ministry, his name-calling was directed at the “hypocrites” — those who professed their so-called “perfectness.” But as Jesus once asked, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone.”

The Jesus I know invites all to Him, “and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

John 3:16 holds true for all of us: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.” De Trenbeath Sandpoint

Size matters?…

Dear editor, Brenden Bobby did a great job of describing the physical size of the coronavirus and comparing it to the size of some other things that we can get a handle on [Mad About Science, “Small Stuff in Perspective,” Aug. 19, 2021].

The SARS-CoV-2 is only about 0.1 to 0.5 micrometers, which is quite small even compared to the 25 micrometer diameter of a white blood cell.

OK, very interesting, but that (and Brenden’s following week’s

article on the brain, “The Science of Thinking,” Aug. 26, 2021), got me to thinking. These tiny living things are too small to have a brain. Or if they do, then not much of one.

In the meantime, here we are with these enormous and highly developed brains and that tiny thing is beating the crap out of us. They say we’re going to beat it in the end, but...?

Bill Stuble Dover

Time is up for vaccine refusal...

Dear editor, I am sick and tired of the vaccine refusers and those entities and people that cater to them. I am tired of knowing I can’t get a joint replacement or if I have a heart attack I can’t get a hospital bed because unvaccinated selfish jerks are filling up the hospitals because of COVID. Those who refuse to get the vaccine on spurious grounds should not be allowed to dictate the terms for getting the COVID vaccine.

The time is up for allowing these refusers to go on jeopardizing everyone’s lives, businesses and government because they think they have a choice. This is a pandemic we’re fighting; it’s not political warfare.

You people don’t have a choice to decide whether or not you’re going to pay income taxes, whether or not you’re going to wear seat belts in airplanes or cars, or whether or not you’re going to obey the speed limit. There are consequences for saying no.

Time is up for these anti-vaxers and the time is now for insurance companies to deny coverage for those not vaccinated; for our government and schools to enforce mandates for vaccines; for restaurants and businesses to deny entrance without vaccines; and for the vaccine refusers to step up, get a vaccine and end this pandemic.

Case in point: In Bonner County only 42.58% of those 12 and older have received one dose of the vaccine, according to Panhandle Health.

Of those counties within PHD only 39% of the population has been fully vaccinated. PHD is tied for the lowest vaccination rate in Idaho.

That is disgusting.

Beth F. Allen Sandpoint

Optimism for more clear skies...

Dear editor, I recently read a brief piece in the Inlander in which Wilson Criscione of Spokane was reminiscing about the clear skies he enjoyed while on Lake Pend Oreille when he was growing up. He lamented that this may no longer be possible as he was recently on a paddleboard and the smoke from fires filled the air.

I do not know the age of Mr. Criscione, but when I moved to Sandpoint 30 years ago, I remember the smoke that filled the skies in the summer in the early ’90s due to fires from the burning of fields in the Rathdrum area.

I believe that as more wealthy people bought and built houses in the Coeur d’Alene and Rathdrum areas, big money convinced county commissioners that the smoke was not healthy. It was probably

not just because “normal” people complained.

But I do not take as negative a view of the future as the author of the article stated when he wrote that, “these smoke-free days, due to climate change, will become rarer and rarer.” I’m more optimistic. I do not think climate change is the direct cause of forest fires because it causes lightning.

I am looking forward to more years of clear skies in the few remaining summers I may have left.

I have never thought ill will toward those who may call me a dreamer.

James Richard Johnson Clark Fork

Send letters to letters@sandpointreader.com. Please keep under 300 words and avoid excessive profanity or libelous statements.

Please elevate the conversation.

OPINION

The Waterkeeper wonders A day in the life of your Waterkeeper

By Steve Holt Reader Contributor The Waterkeeper receives a message from an associate that a concerned citizen called regarding potential negative health issues related to swimming. Weather is hot, water is warm. Your Waterkeeper knows warm water is good for little bugs; bugs not good for people. Waterkeeper calls back citizen and learns that victim is suffering from a staph infection and rash, possibly associated with swimming in the Pack River or at Sunnyside. Citizen asserts that their pharmacist states: “A significant uptick in swimmer’s itch; selling lots of antibiotics and creams.”

Waterkeeper hears of issues at the Mudhole. Waterkeeper thinks: “rut roh.”

Waterkeeper calls pharmacy and leaves a message. Waterkeeper calls another pharmacy; leaves message. Waterkeeper calls Panhandle Health; leaves message.

Waterkeeper calls Department of Environmental Quality; leaves message. Ongoing with messages.

Waterkeeper knows the water temperature at City Beach was 81-85 degrees all week (thank you lifeguards!), bugs like warmth and bugs like people.

Lakewide monitoring results come in; water is very warm all over! Waterkeeper wonders who identifies what bug is in the water? Waterkeeper calls Panhandle Health again; leaves message, again. DEQ calls back, yes! Local people in charge on vacation, no!

DEQ not sure about what to do, will check in with Boise. Waterkeeper gets calls from three pharmacies, no uptick in swimmer’s itch indicated. Waterkeeper gets a call from another pharmacy: Definite uptick in number of cases; still selling lots antibiotics and creams. What?

Waterkeeper wonders, confused. Someone must be able to test the water to see if it is safe for swimming. Waterkeeper tests lots of things but not for that bug. E. Coli yes; bug no. Crap! Pun intended.

Waterkeeper emails Panhandle Health.

Panhandle Health calls back, yes! No protocol for testing water or keeping people out of it if it is not safe, no! Is referred to the supervisor; supervisor says to call DEQ. DEQ local people on vacation call Waterkeeper back, yes! Can’t test for bug, no! Panhandle Health can’t issue noswim alert without a test. DEQ can’t test, Panhandle Health can’t test, Waterkeeper can’t test, patients must go to doctor to grow culture. What? Rut roh! *** On the surface I hope you found this

somewhat amusing. Unfortunately this was me a couple of weeks ago and even more unfortunate were the results of my phone calls and emails.

While DEQ and Panhandle Health employ a plethora of good, caring people who are genuinely concerned, there seem to be no protocols in place to discern if there is a serious problem or not without the actual presence of an algae bloom.

I’m sure if a significant quantity of people were getting seriously ill or dying from swimming, some agency would step forward to help protect us.

The real question is how long would it take and how many would suffer in the meantime?

LPOW has monitored the water quality of Lake Pend Oreille for the past 10 years and all our data indicates that we live around a relatively clean waterbody. There are a lot of indicators we can use to determine if a water body is safe to swim in or pull drinking water from. However, there are still things that no one is testing for that can be harmful to swimmers.

Right now, LPOW is the only entity regularly testing for potentially problematic contaminants in our waterways.

From our July testing, high levels of total coliform bacteria were detected around nearly the entire lake and were especially high at recreational areas, such as City Beach and Bottle Bay, and the sloughs. Total coliform bacteria is used as an indicator test since high numbers may signal high levels of other pathogens in the water. E. Coli, which can shut down public beaches, wasn’t at critical levels — but was still present.

Yes we have our problems, but at this point all I can say is let common sense be your guiding light. If the water is excessively green and the visibility is non-existent, it’s probably best not to swim in it. Head for deeper water and always shower after a swim in any questionable waterway.

If anyone out there knows something I don’t know about all this, feel free to inform me — your knowledge and advice are welcome.

Steve Holt was a founding member of the Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper and has worked with the organization since its inception 10 years ago. He currently serves as executive director of the organization. Learn more at lakependoreillewaterkeeper.org.

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Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

The svalbard global seed Vault

By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist

There exists a bunker buried deep in a mountain, on an island, halfway between Norway and the North Pole. This bunker is designed to survive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, storms, nuclear detonations and military invasions. It is an impenetrable fortress with an interior temperature of 30.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

You might expect this bunker to house some kind of defense testing, aliens or even a crafty James Bond villain, but the contents of this bunker are far more exciting.

Deep beneath thick layers of rock, permafrost and concrete lies an insurance policy for the entire human race: seeds.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault exists to keep a physical back-up of seeds submitted by the governments of the world in order to preserve our food supply in the event of a terrible disaster. This disaster could be any of those listed above, as well as catastrophic climate change that renders certain types of plants extinct on the surface of the Earth or a disease with a similar outcome. In the event something like this happens, global governments will have the ability to quite literally re-seed the world and start anew.

As I’ve learned from years of running tabletop games, the idea of a world-spanning catastrophe always seems too large in scope for us to fully appreciate.

Extinctions only become evident after the fact — you only miss what you can’t have. So, for a moment, imagine if over the course of the next five years a disease were to start affecting tomato plants. The first two years, 10 /

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scientists tell us the disease is spreading. By year four, all but a few tomatoes are left and by year five the tomato as we know it is completely extinct.

What are you going to put on your burger, now? Jicama?

While this scenario sounds like the plot to a bad YA novel, the likelihood of it happening at any time is surprisingly high. Did you know that seedless grapes all originate from the same few plants? New seedless grapes are grown from the cuttings of an older plant, which was grown from the cuttings of an even older plant. New genetic material is not passed from generation to generation, because we are essentially copy-pasting the plant into existence. This makes it extremely susceptible to disease, and should a particularly potent strain begin in a vineyard, seedless grapes could be wiped off the planet in just a couple of years.

Remember the banana-flavored milk from the ’90s?

It would disappear like that, without you noticing until you wanted a sweet taste of nostalgia.

That is where the Svalbard Seed Vault comes in. You might be a little perplexed. Why put it so far out of the way? Why don’t we just have seed vaults everywhere?

We do. However, most other seed vaults rely on electrical input to maintain freezers that will keep the seeds at 30.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Any higher than that and the seed can spoil. Lower, and the seed will be killed. Like Han Solo frozen in carbonite, this temperature keeps the seeds dormant without irreparably damaging them.

Svalbard, on the other hand, sits far enough north — and the vault is deep enough underground — to maintain a steady

temperature, with or without power. Burying structures is a surprisingly common practice when it comes to agriculture, as large amounts of earth have a wonderful insulatory factor.

Walipini greenhouses are buried to maintain a steady temperature within the greenhouse, while solar-thermal greenhouses pump hot air from the greenhouse down a few feet into the ground to disperse the heat before coming back up to cool the structure.

You might envision a seed vault to look something like a bank vault filled with little safety deposit boxes, but the interior of Svalbard’s gene bank looks more like a warehouse filled with heavy black totes. Within these totes, seeds are contained in a specialized triple-ply foil bag that helps maintain a safe and steady temperature — similar to MRE bags used by the military.

The vault maintains about 500 seeds per individual variety: Imagine a packet of 500 Brandywine tomato seeds, with another packet of 500 Big Rainbow, then 500 Beefsteak and so on.

Care to guess how many seed varieties are currently stored in Svalbard?

More than 1 million varieties of seeds are stored within the vault, less than one-quarter of the vault’s capacity for 4.5 million varieties.

The Crop Trust, which oversees the operations and maintenance of the seed vault, also maintains research and generates funding for other gene banks throughout the world. In recent years, a number of vaults have begun storing valuable seeds in countries in Africa and have received invaluable financing and guidance from Svalbard.

Did you know the library has its own miniature seed vault?

The seed library is completely run by volunteers and sits in an old-school card catalog cabinet to the left of the elevator. The premise of the seed library is simple: Take seeds during the spring, and bring seeds back from your harvest in the fall.

The seed library can only take locally grown seeds from heirloom plants, and each seed needs to be documented when it comes in. It’s vitally important

that the volunteers know what type of plant the seed originated from, or it can’t be circulated for safety concerns. The seed library desperately needs donations this harvest season, so consider donating some seeds from your plants this fall. The fruit of a single tomato can provide up to 300 seeds, which could put three tomato plants in the gardens of every resident of Hope at no cost.

I dig it. Stay curious, 7B.

Random Corner logy?

Don’t know much about techno

We can help!

• “Phantom Vibration Syndrome” is the name for the sensation when someone thinks their phone is vibrating, but it isn’t.

but it could only ring at 4 a.m. It wasn’t until 1876 when a wind-up alarm clock was made that could be set to wake people at any time.

• Megabytes used to weigh hundreds of pounds. In 1956, the first computer had something similar to a hard drive. At the time, it was a huge leap in storage capabilities, but the cabinet that contained the hard drive weighed more than 2,200 pounds and could hold 5MBs of data, roughly the equivalent of a single digital camera photograph.

• Norman Joseph Woodland invented the barcode and received a patent in October 1952, but the first product to be scanned — a packet of chewing gum — wasn’t until 1974.

• Chips in credit cards have actually been around for nearly 40 years. Chip technology first emerged in 1986.

• Steve Jobs used sleight of hand at the first iPhone presentation, which occurred six months before the phone was slated to hit the market. At that time it was too buggy, so Jobs often had to switch phones behind his desk, otherwise it would run out of RAM and crash.

• The first alarm clock was engineered only to ring at one time.

Levi Hutchins invented the first mechanical alarm clock in 1787,

• Apple computers have a smoking ban on their computers, meaning if you smoke while using any Apple computer, the warranty becomes void.

• There is special Braille technology and accessories for blind people to use cell phones. It uses special pins that go up and down so the user can touch and read the info on the screen.

• The first text message was sent Dec. 3, 1992 by a Sema Group Telecoms software engineer named Neil Papworth, who used a computer to text “Merry Christmas” to a Vodafone employee who was using an Orbitel 901 handset.

Twenty-nine years later, more than 6 billion texts are sent per day.

OPINION

Shortcut to climate change:

Sandpoint, Idaho to Ritzville, Wash.

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

PARENTS ORDERED TO PAY $30K FOR GETTING RID OF SON’S PORN COLLECTION

By Barry Rosenberg Reader Contributor The Buckskin Saddle Restoration Project (a.k.a. timber sale) on the Sandpoint Ranger District calls for the extraordinary total of 125 miles of road construction, which if placed end to end would go from Sandpoint, Idaho to Ritzville, Wash. This timber sale is one of the largest, if not the largest sale ever analyzed under one Environmental Assessment on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests and is a contributor to climate change.

This sale was approved by the Panhandle Forest Collaborative, which is composed of representatives from the Forest Service, timber industry, politicians, stakeholders and three regional environmental groups: The Friends of Scotchman Peaks, The Idaho Conservation League and The Lands Council.

None of these environmental groups officially objected or spoke out publicly against the sale.

These environmental groups, by approving the Buckskin Saddle timber sale, are complicit in the disregard of the Earth’s biggest environmental problem: climate change and the damage to the area’s ecology.

The roads will access the logging of 13,000 acres for a total of 116 million board feet (approximately 23,000 logging truck loads). It calls for 12,200 acres of clear-cut-style logging, including 10,000 acres of some of the area’s largest trees — those that are most effective at storing carbon. The Forest Service calls these trees that dominate the area “undesirable,” which include Douglas-fir and cedar. These species coincidently are among the most coveted by the timber industry.

The Buckskin Saddle timber sale received permission from the regional forester to exceed the 40-acre legal limit on logged openings. It allowed approximately 51 openings created by clear-cut-style logging ranging from 41 to 2,000 acres.

The trees, once cut, will no longer produce oxygen and sequester carbon.

Keeping trees in the ground is a lowcost way of storing carbon. These large

WEIRD NEWS

openings will expose the area to drying winds and sun, which could actually increase the risk of wildfire. It will also result in faster and earlier snowmelt, leaving streams with less water later in the season when they are needed most.

How could this massive timber sale — which plans to clear-cut-style log (kill) more than 12,200 acres of trees (19 square miles), including more than 300 acres in the Shafer Peak Roadless area, and construct 125 miles of road — be considered as improving the health of the forest and not be a contributor to climate change? Meanwhile, the region is suffering from record high temperatures, drought and wildfires.

The Forest Service Environmental Assessment’s Climate Report ignores cumulative effects. It states that, “The Buckskin Saddle project would affect only a tiny percentage of the forest carbon stocks of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests, and an infinitesimal amount of the total forest carbon stocks of the United States.” The logging going on in the States is more than in the Amazon rain forests.

The timber sale is located to the southeast of Sandpoint on the east side of Lake Pend Oreille bordering the town of Clark Fork. The area includes the Green Monarch Mountains, Buckskin Saddle, Shafer Peak and Packsaddle Mountain.

Map of the Buckskin Saddle Restoration Project by USDA Forest Service.

Jim Furnish, former deputy chief of the Forest Service from 1999-2002, in an article in The Hill newspaper dealing with the logging of the Black Hills in South Dakota, wrote that, “Not only does the Forest Service promote too much logging, but the harvesting methods also now in vogue are appalling. The agency calls it ‘overstory removal’ but any person off the street would call it clearcutting. Be damned the 40-acre legal limit on clear-cuts, spreading across the tortured vistas of hundreds of acres gone.”

Perhaps the saddest part is that big old trees, if left to grow, are the natural outcome of ponderosa pine ecology, storing carbon, providing wildlife habitat, and seed for new trees and stabilizing soils. But the Forest Service requires that loggers cut down all the big old trees, reducing the forest to ecologically impoverished, even-aged tree farms, and increasing susceptibility to future fires.

Barry Rosenberg served as founding chairman of the Selkirk-Priest Basin Association (now Selkirk Conservation Alliance) from 1987-1990; director and creator of The Inland Empire Public Lands Council Forest Watch Program from 1990-1997; and executive director Kootenai Environmental Alliance from 2001-2009.

U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney ordered a western Michigan couple to pay $30,441 to their son for getting rid of his prized pornography collection.

The decision came eight months after David Werking, 43, won a lawsuit against his parents.

Werking said his parents had no right to throw out his collection of films, magazines and “other” items.

Werking had lived in his parents’ Grand Haven home for 10 months after a divorce before moving to Indiana.

The judge awarded the amount after an expert valued the collection at more than $30,000. Werking’s parents were also ordered to pay $14,500 to recoup their son’s attorneys fees.

Werking first learned his stash of porn was missing after moving to Indiana.

“Frankly, David, I did you a big favor getting rid of all this stuff,” his dad wrote in an email.

ROBBERY THWARTED BECAUSE OF BAD PENMANSHIP A would-be bank robber in southern England left empty handed after bank tellers couldn’t decipher his threatening note.

Alan Slattery, 67, fled the Nationwide Building Society branch in Eastbourne without a dime when tellers were unable to determine what his note said.

Sussex Police shared a picture of the note on Twitter. After careful reading, it appears to read, “Your screen won’t stop what I’ve got, just hand over the 10s and 20s. Think about the other customers.”

Slattery made off with 2,400 pounds from another Nationwide branch later that month, as well as attempting another robbery shortly after that was also unsuccessful.

Police identified Slattery from security footage and arrested him near his home. He pleaded guilty to one count of robbery and two counts of attempted robbery, receiving a sentence of six years September 2, 2021 /

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PERSPECTIVES

The fall of coronavirus in Idaho

By Jim Jones, David Pate and Michael Satz Reader Contributors

The valiant struggle of today’s health care workers against the coronavirus hearkens back to one of the toughest enemies George Washington faced while fighting for American independence: Variola, the smallpox virus. Smallpox was decimating the ranks of the Continentals in 1776, threatening our fight for freedom. Despite misgivings of the Continental Congress, Washington ordered a mass inoculation of the troops and it helped his army to win the Revolutionary War. Our government of the people is strongest when we all pull together and do our part to defeat a threat, whether a tyrant on the battlefield, a downturn in the economy or a vicious virus like smallpox, polio or, indeed, coronavirus. In 1905, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the health and protection of society from smallpox took precedence over the objections of an individual man to a compulsory smallpox

vaccination law. Like Washington, the High Court understood that defeating a serious disease takes a united effort and that holdouts can threaten the entire fight.

Now, 245 years from our founding, our principles stand strong and our science stands even stronger. A majority of Idahoans have acted with compassion and common sense, protecting our neighbors and friends — and our fragile health care system — from the rampant spread of this virus. But a vocal minority, fueled by disinformation and extremist politics, is threatening that balance and undermining Idahoans’ innate understanding of the role individual responsibility and civic duty play in citizenship.

Right now, across our state, we are facing the real potential of overwhelmed hospitals. Those of us who take on the very reasonable and temporary sacrifice to wear a mask have helped keep community spread down. Idahoans who respect our neighbors, our young children, our health care professionals and the medically vulnerable enough to get vaccinated

have prevented our hospitals from being overwhelmed throughout this pandemic, so that all Idahoans will be able to get care if they have an auto accident, a heart attack or a stroke. Thank you. You are the silent and largely unseen heroes.

When we take public health guidance to heart, we are living our best lives, refusing to live in fear. As the saying goes, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Idahoans are tough, and we have to keep going, protecting our personal freedoms by fighting our common enemy: the novel coronavirus. We must continue protecting our families, our neighbors, our co-workers and our businesses by wearing masks and getting vaccinated. True freedom is never free. Personal freedom is worth nothing if we are all alone. Idahoans win when we work as communities to take care of our friends and neighbors.

A recent USA Today poll reveals that a strong majority of Americans agree — 72% support mask mandates and 61% endorse vaccination requirements. Idahoans are continuing to get free, safe, approved

‘What Madi would want’

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When the Sandpoint community lost 14-year-old Madi Wyman to suicide in 2015, those close to the high-school freshman decided to launch an annual event in her memory: the Walk For Hope — “hope” also serving as an acronym for “hold on, pain ends.”

The sixth annual Walk For Hope is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 5 at 5 p.m. on the Long Bridge, with participants gathering at Dog Beach.

Madi’s mother and event founder Jennifer Wyman said the Walk For Hope has been integral to her family’s healing process.

“It’s been a good way for us to heal and live with Madi still being a part of our lives in a positive way,” she said.

Wyman said that while the event is about preventing suicide — an admittedly dark subject — Walk For Hope is meant to be an uplifting time when people can 12 /

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connect and remember lost loved ones.

“It’s about suicide awareness, but we’re there to celebrate,” she said. “We’re there to spread joy and kindness.”

Registration fees from Walk For Hope are used to fund suicide prevention curriculum and inspirational guest speakers in North Idaho schools. By launching their own event “from scratch,” rather than joining a pre-established national suicide prevention organization, Wyman said they’ve been able to keep all funds local.

“That money was always intended to keep that curriculum and those guest speakers alive in our school district,” she said.

Wyman said she has seen the “ripple effect” the Walk For Hope has created in the community, with the event’s messaging reaching beyond the annual trek across the Long Bridge.

“We feel like that’s what Madi would want,” she said. “Madi would want others to be happy

and live life to the fullest, and just keep going, and reach out if you do need help.”

Registration costs $25 for adults and $20 for youth. Participants will receive T-shirts while supplies last. Pick up T-shirts and register at Kokanee Coffee on Friday, Sept. 3 from noon to 4

Once more unto the breach! vaccines in all of our communities. Bless those who have joined with and supported our dedicated health workers in the fight against the coronavirus by getting vaccinated and by supporting masking and other efforts to stop the spread of the virus in our schools and communities.

As we enter another fall of COVID across Idaho, let’s conquer our fears together, get vaccinated and work together to protect our many freedoms.

Jim Jones, a Vietnam veteran, served both as Idaho attorney general and chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court. Dr. David Pate is former president and CEO of the St. Luke’s Health System. Mike Satz is director of The Idaho 97 Project, which was founded on the idea that the vast majority of Idahoans understand responsible citizenship, stand with health care workers and want to see a return to productive civic engagement. This op-ed is part of a series on Idaho perspectives on COVID from The Idaho 97 Project. Learn more at theidaho97.org.

Sixth annual Walk For Hope, happening Sept. 5, works to prevent suicide

p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 4 from 8 a.m. to noon.

Day-of registration is also an option, starting at 4 p.m. at Dog Beach on Sunday, Sept. 5. The walk starts at 5 p.m., with food and music to follow. Participants are also welcome to register and take part remotely, posting about

The Walk for Hope will take place Sunday, Sept. 5 across the Long Bridge. Courtesy photo. their walk to social media with the hashtag #walkforhope2021.

Visit walkforhopesandpoint.org to learn more, and follow the organization on the Walk For Hope Facebook page for event updates.

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COMMUNITY

Funky Junk Show offers a treasure trove for bargain hunters

By Ben Olson Reader Staff If you can imagine it, the Funky Junk Antique Show probably has it. The rummage sale extravaganza returns to the Bonner County Fairgrounds for its 14th annual Labor Day show, offering everything from home and garden décor to antiques to arts and crafts.

Event organizer Jennifer Wood said this year’s theme, “Set a Course for Funkiness,” is a nod to the beach town lifestyle that many enjoyed this summer.

“That theme came because the beach and lake was our refuge,” Wood told the Reader. “I bought Nathan [Wood’s husband] a vintage boat for his birthday and during COVID we were on the lake a lot, so we thought, let’s make this something that honors the beach and lake.”

There will even be a 1940s wooden Chris Craft boat on display at the show to help set the vibe.

For those who have never been, the Funky Junk show is a one-of-a-kind experience. Featuring more than 80 booths operated by traveling vendors, the show is a bargain hunter’s paradise. Plus, since the show was canceled last year due to the

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pandemic, vendors will likely have a lot of extra stock on hand for their customers.

“There were so many people who weren’t able to sell their wares or lost their brick-and-mortar last year,” Wood said.

“I’m really happy to give them a chance to be seen and make some money, to get their products out there again. A good percentage of my vendors have told me this is their first show in a year and a half.”

Wood said she always notices new trends develop among vendors from year to year.

“Millennials are becoming our biggest demographic now,” she said. “They are really environmentally aware, so they want things that are utilitarian, for storage or multi-use. Anything that’s made from pottery or wicker or earthy like that, especially styles from the ’70s and things that are made by hand are popular. You can call it boho chic. It’s really interesting because we get to see each decade come back to life, with another generation appreciating it. I’ve always loved that part of this show.”

There will be barbecue available for purchase from the Hoodoo Valley Hoedowners Square Dancing Group, and a portable horse trailer bar serving cocktails and beer.

There will also be coffee available.

Dave Gunter and Tami Belzer-Gunter, of

Bridges Home, will play live music Saturday from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

“They’ve been with us since our first Labor Day weekend,” Wood said. “We’re so happy to have them back, and they’ll have Paul [Gunter] with them too, so it’ll be a trio.”

Wood said that while the increased growth to North Idaho in the past year has been challenging to some locals, it has some silver linings.

“It’s brought in this demographic of people who have moved here from places where they constantly had something to do every weekend,” she said. “Farmers’ Market this year was like the Fourth of July every day. Just going around putting up flyers and posters, people would stop me on the street and say they had never heard of the show yet. I’m expecting a huge crowd and we’re prepared for it, too.”

Wood said they will be opening the building at the fairgrounds on both ends, as well as utilizing large fans to increase ventilation.

“We actually lost two of our vendors

Courtesy photo. to COVID this year, so we want to keep everyone as safe as we can,” she said. “We made bigger walk areas around the booths for easier flow, and we added outdoor seating for dining. I’m always excited to see the creativity of our vendors and see familiar faces back again.”

Where the magic is made

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff Meeting the artist is often one of the best ways to connect more deeply to a piece of art. The next level of connection? Seeing where, exactly, that art was made.

Area artists will open their studios over Labor Day weekend, Thursday, Sept. 3-Monday, Sept.

6, in an effort to provide that connection to local art lovers as part of the annual Artists’ Studio Tour of North Idaho.

Painters, photographers, jewelers, sculptors and more — totaling 14 artists located in all four corners of Bonner County — are participating in this year’s installment of the free tour. An interactive map showing each studio address is available at arttourdrive.org.

No tour would be complete without encouraging art lovers to venture off the beaten path, and it’s hard to beat the scenery on the drive to the far east side of the county.

An excursion into the Clark Fork woods will lead to artist Doug Fluckiger, who creates elaborate, life-like graphite nature drawings in his home studio on Dry Creek Road.

Fluckiger said 2021 marks his third year taking part in the Artists’ Studio Tour.

“In past years I’ve been surprised at the number of people

who said they drove out this far just to visit me,” Fluckiger told the Reader. “That’s nice, because I’m quite a ways out from the next-nearest artist, and I like to think they enjoy the drive out along the lake.”

While Fluckiger admits that he is a “high-functioning introvert,” he said he enjoys meeting the visitors who come as part of the tour.

“I think the process of creating art is a little mysterious to most people, so I enjoy showing them works in progress and talking a little about my process,” he said, noting that he has discounted prints for sale during the tour. “My studio is built up in the air above the hillside and it’s quite a cozy, airy space, so I like to show that off as well.”

Fluckiger’s studio is located in the very place that serves as his most abundant inspiration: the forest.

“I’ve been blessed with the ability to draw so realistically that virtually everyone who sees my drawings for the first time thinks they are photographs,” the artist writes on his website. “Over the years I’ve drawn these mountains and trees, the snow and rocks and water and light; and I’ve loved doing so. But there’s always something new to discover and explore.”

Visit arttourdrive.org to learn more about the tour and each artist, as well as to sign up for the

Artists’ Studio Tour of North Idaho set for Labor Day weekend

Artists’ Studio Tour mailing list.

See Fluckiger’s work at dougfluckiger.com.

Artist Doug Fluckiger hard at work in his Clark Fork studio. Courtesy photo.

Creations seeks AmeriCorps art instructor

By Reader Staff Thanks to Idaho Gives donations and a series of Papa Murphy’s Pizza fundraisers, Sandpoint nonprofit Creations on the Cedar Street Bridge has raised the funding necessary to hire a part-time AmeriCorps Art Instructor position starting in October 2021 through May 2022, with a possible extension through the summer of 2022.

This will be Creations’ second year with the AmeriCorps program, which helped the nonprofit teach more art classes over the

past year, including Preschool Story and Craft, and 4H Visual Arts. The Creations AmeriCorps member also led youth art workshops, drop-in art and served in a variety of other fun and important roles at Creations.

The instructor position comes with a stipend, flexible schedule, living allowance and education award upon successful completion of service.

Those with questions or who are interested in applying for the position can contact creationsforsandpoint@gmail.com.

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FEATURE

Wentworth the cat burglar strikes again

Shoe-thieving cat shows the neighborhood who is really in charge

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Wentworth the cat burglar is at it again.

Two years ago, the Reader published a story about an unassuming cat named Wentworth who was notorious in south Sandpoint for stealing flipflops from neighbors’ porches.

Perhaps the newfound publicity briefly slowed down his brazen thievery or maybe it was the ongoing pandemic, but there’s no doubt about it: After a brief hiatus, Wentworth has again turned to a life of crime.

Owned by Amber Spinney in south Sandpoint, Wentworth has left a lasting impression on the neighborhood at large, striking fear in the heart of anyone bold enough to leave their flip-flops outside unattended.

“After the article came out, the number of stolen flip-flops definitely went down,” Spinney told the Reader. “People became more aware. I had a bag of shoes and went to all my neighbors in the direct vicinity and returned what I could. I feel like this summer he’s been frustrated because there’s just not as many to steal.

But I did just find a hot pink and black soccer cleat, brand new.

First day of soccer and Wentworth went ahead and stole it and left it on my front stoop.”

Sporting soft orange fur and a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Wentworth first comes across as just another neighborhood cat until he spies a pair of sandals he fancies. That’s when he goes covert, sneaking up to front porches and making away with one of the shoes, hauling it back 16 /

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to his headquarters and depositing it in front of the cat door as tribute to his owner. He pulls off his heist in the middle of the night or in the middle of the day — it makes no difference to this criminal kitty.

Wentworth rarely steals both shoes, preferring a single shoe to leave his victims feeling especially frustrated.

“He’s just so proud of himself,” Spinney said. “He drops it, whatever he stole, and chirps at me. He’s a really loyal cat and a good hunter. He just wanted to bring me something. I’m always asking him, ‘Why do you do this to me?’”

The shoe burglaries became so prevalent a couple years ago, Spinney even placed a chair permanently outside of her home with a sign reading, “Are you missing a shoe?” with a rotating stock of mismatched sandals always on display.

“He is a naughty kitty,” Spinney said. “One time, a neighbor said he went inside for just a moment and came back outside and, in a matter of minutes, Wentworth took his shoes.”

Amber said Wentworth is particularly fond of flip-flops, especially Hawaiian brands like Locals, but he has been known to take tennis shoes, slides, boots

and even socks.

Neighbors Linda and Steve Navarre told the Reader about a recent run-in they had with the notorious thief.

“We had a young man who was staying here for a couple months,” Linda told the Reader.

“He had two sets of slides sitting out on the porch and the cat took one of each of them. It was the beginning of the Festival and he thought some kids were fooling around and stole them off the porch, so I went down the street and sure enough, one was sitting in front of the cat door at Amber’s place. We never did find the other one.”

Left: Wentworth the cat flaunts a stolen flip-flop from one of his latest exploits.

Right: A recent guest of neighbors Steve and Linda Navarre poses with his missing sandal. Courtesy photos.

Linda, who lives a few houses down from Amber and Wentworth, said most people in the neighborhood are aware of the cat’s antics, but Wentworth still manages to obtain plunder on a semi-regular basis despite neighbors keeping their flipflops under lock and key.

“A couple years ago, Steve was building his garage and I said, ‘Oh boy, I see a shoe

< see CAT, page 17 >

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down the street, I bet the cat is at it again,’” Linda said. “I went down the street and said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s mine!’”

Linda knew Wentworth was at it again this summer when she left a pair of athletic shoes sitting on her back porch with socks balled up inside.

“I looked out in the morning and one was out in the middle of the patio,” she said. “I looked further and could only find one of those sport socks. I never found the other one.”

Linda said when new neighbors moved in next door, they mentioned their flip-flops kept going missing from the front porch, “but they found out what was going on,” when they saw the chair with the contraband sandals sitting outside of Amber’s place.

“I think that everybody knows about him now,” Linda said. “It’s so funny. There was a house across the street from us that has an L-shaped porch, so the shoes weren’t even visible from the street. He had to get up close and personal to steal their shoes. Which he did.”

Spinney has grown to accept her fate harboring a known criminal like Wentworth, reg-

ularly gathering up the many mismatched sandals and walking around the neighborhood to ask if anyone is missing their shoes.

There have been efforts to curtail the thefts, such as one neighbor who tied dental floss to a cheap pair of flip-flops and hung the other end through his window, tied to his finger to wake him up, but Wentworth was too smart for him. He left the flip-flops alone and made off with a nearby sneaker instead.

Spinney said in the absence of his usual stock of flip-flops, Wentworth has broadened his criteria.

“He’s been bringing lots of feathers home recently,” Spinney said. “Big black crow feathers.

And lots of bats. This spring, he brought in eight in just a week.”

Spinney said Wentworth doesn’t kill bats which he brings in – after all, what would be the fun in that? Instead he plays with the flying mammal with his brother and waits for his owner to scream and chase the bat around the house before shooing it outside.

“It’s a game that he and his brother Rico play, watching it fly around and both doing backflips to catch it,” she said. “One time

I walked out of my room and three feet in front of me, hanging from the guest room door, was a live bat. Your heart starts pumping and you think, ‘This thing is going to jump on your face.’ I’ve developed a pretty good catch and release system to getting the bats outside again – I turn the lights off and turn a light on outside and use a broom to gently persuade it.”

Spinney said one of the best parts about having such a bad kitty is having good neighbors to deal with his bad habits.

“When the article first came out, everyone thought it was a hoot,” she said. “I mean, what are you gonna do? It’s not like a dog barking in the yard. I can’t fence my cat in. I don’t know what to do. I’m really lucky that they are so understanding.

Now people just come to my yard if they’re missing a shoe, or call me and ask if I have their sandal in the yard. Everyone has been really cool about it and so understanding. I’m fortunate to live in an area where nobody has gotten mad.”

Wentworth’s first preference will always be stealing neighbors’ footwear, but he has shown there are limits to what

he’ll steal.

“I have some neighbors, they are SHS track coaches, and they run a lot,” Spinney said. “They had a pair of stinky shoes that they left outside. Wentworth goes over, but he will not touch her stinky shoes. Which I think is so funny. He does have some limits. He’s not super desperate.”

Top three photos: Mismatched sandals are often strewn about outside the door at Wentworth’s house.

Photos by Duffy Mahoney.

Inset: Wentworth takes a break from grand theft footware to destroy a cat toy at home. Courtesy photo.

Bottom: A brand new pink soccer cleat is Wentworth’s latest victim.

Courtesy photo.

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events January 7-14, 2021

THURSDAY, September 2

Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 6-8pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall A sweet sounding blues man

FriDAY, September 3

FallFest at Schweitzer (Sept 2-6) 11am-5pm @ Schweitzer Four days, 80 beers/ciders/wines to choose from, food trucks, live music and village activities galore. This is the last event of Schweitzer’s summer operations.

Live Music w/ Jake Rozier 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Spokane-based musician Artist Studio Tour (Sept. 3-6) Various times @ Various locations The annual self-guided driving tour of working art studios throughout North Idaho. arttourdrive.org for more info

ArtWalk Closing Reception 5:30-8pm @Various downtown venues Most locations will be open to celebrate the closing of ArtWalk. Stop by and check out some art, grab a drink and have fun!

Live Music w/ Truck Mills 6-9pm @ 41 South Live Music w/ Dead Lee 7-9pm @ Matchwood Brewing Co. Blitzen Trapper’s Brian Koch playing with Kara Harris. A must-see Sunday show from this Portland, Ore, duo Live Music w/ Devon Wade 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Country night at the Beer Hall

SATURDAY, September 4 Live Music w/ Turn Spit Dogs 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority

Live Music w/ Bright Moments Jazz 7-9pm @ The Back Door

Free First Saturday at the Museum 10am-2pm @ BoCo History Museum Free admission all day. This month sponsored by Ruth and Dan Wimberly Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park Live music w/ Monarch Mountain Band

Funky Junk Antique Show (Sept. 4-5) 10am-4pm @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds The annual vintage and crafts festival, with over 80 booths, food, drinks, live music by Bridges Home and more. $5 admission, 12 and under get in for free!

Live Music w/ Sadie Sicilia 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Familiar songs in an elegant style

SunDAY, September 5

Live Music w/ Dead Lee 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Blitzen Trapper’s Brian Koch playing with Kara Harris. A must-see Sunday show from this Portland, Ore, duo Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am

Walk for Hope 5pm @ Dog Beach In-person and virtual options. This is a walk across the Long Bridge to promote suicide awareness. Free hamburgers/hot dogs after the event

Funky Junk Antique Show 10am-4pm @ Bonner Co. Fairgrounds

monDAY, September 6

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ John Firshi 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

Outdoor Experience Monday Night Group Run – All levels welcome 6pm @ Outdoor Experience

tuesDAY, September 7 wednesDAY, September 8

Live Music w/ Steve Rush & Chris Paradis Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 6-8pm @ Idaho Pour Authority 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park

ThursDAY, September 9 18 /

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STAGE & SCREEN

Squad goals:

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Everyone knows that villains are far more interesting than heroes — something DC Comics has always understood. Whereas its main competitor, Marvel, trafficks in characters whose greatness comes with flaws, DC consistently flips the script to suggest that flaws bear greatness. What’s more, DC writers and artists seem predisposed to humanizing their bad guys even as they pull on the frayed ends of their heroes’ capes.

This isn’t a new dramatic conceit — heck, even the title character of the 4,121-year-old Epic of Gilgamesh is an antihero — but The Suicide Squad revels in it.

Released in early August from director James Gunn, the film focuses on a band of deadenders forced into a black ops strike force on a near-impossible mission. If they survive (and of course it’s expected they won’t), they’ll get some time shaved off their prison

The Suicide Squad returns action-comedy to the superhero genre

sentences — which were all amply earned.

We learn that Bloodsport (the erstwhile group leader, played by the brilliant Idris Elba) put Superman in the ICU with a kryptonite bullet. We have a young woman who controls rats (Daniela Melchior) in order to rob banks; a libertarian psycho who will murder anyone for “liberty” and “peace” (John Cena, in probably the funniest, darkest role); the Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) whose “superpower” was inflicted on him by an abusive scientist mother, who he murdered; and a barely-sentient man-shark who, well, eats people (and is voiced by no less than Sylvester Stallone).

Then there’s Harley Quinn — the former moll of the Joker who rid herself of her second-fiddle status to become a supervillain with a heart of pyrite and a mind full of animated birds.

But for Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Viola Davis as the truly evil government fixer Aman-

da Waller and Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flagg, the entire cast, storyline, production value — everything that makes the film great — is a redo of the 2016 flop Suicide Squad, which stunk and sunk in large part due to Jared Leto’s awful rendition of the Joker.

Indeed, the James Gunn version (which again is better in every respect) is a targeted middle finger at that initial attempt — right down to the title, which plants a “The” at the outset, directly delegitimizing the original film, and Harley Quinn’s back tattoo and jacket, which excise the Joker from the script altogether.

All that aside, The Suicide Squad stands on its merits in every way. Its violence is so ghoulish that it’s gleeful; so casually ultra and cartoonish that it transcends into something like cinematic jazz.

And why shouldn’t it? All these movies in the “superhero genre” are, after all, live-action comics.

Which brings us to director James Gunn. The only Marvel

movies worth a damn — Guardians of the Galaxy, and especially the first one — were written and directed by Gunn. He gets that these types of films are supposed to be funny and fun and bizarre, unlike the cash-bloated Avengers CGI confections whose lame bathos betrays the embarrassing truth that they take themselves seriously.

With The Suicide Squad, Gunn taps into the B-movie origins of his comic book sourcing, layering on some wild and wooly

Courtesy photo. ’80s-style action and giving his ensemble cast the script and pacing they need to make their profoundly flawed characters compelling on multiple levels.

Ever think you’d find a ravenous great white with flippered arms and legs endearing? What about sympathy for a truly horrific human-sized bipedal weasel? A city-destroying one-eyed starfish from space? Gunn — and The Suicide Squad — will surprise you.

Stream it on HBO Max.

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COMMUNITY

BY THE FallFest returns to Schweitzer NUMBERS The four-day festival is a celebration of live music, good brews and summer

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

100,000

The predicted number of COVID-19-related deaths that will occur in the U.S. between now and Dec. 1. Health experts say the prediction could be reduced by half if nearly everyone wore masks in public places.

11%

The amount of federal rental assistance that has been distributed so far. The program has struggled to reach the millions of tenants who are at risk of eviction. A total of $46.5 billion was approved for rental assistance in early 2021.

9

The number of women who are currently serving as governor in the U.S. after Kathy Kochul took the reins as New York governor on Aug. 24.

49,329,815

The number of people who retired between February 2020 — at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — and July 2021. This is 2 million more than projected.

21,000

The number of federal firefighters who are on the ground working to combat wildfires — more than double the number of firefighters deployed this time last year.

$33 million

The estimated settlement that Remington has offered to the nine families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims who are suing the gun manufacturing company, amounting to nearly $3.7 million apiece. Remington’s Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle was used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators at the elementary school on Dec. 14, 2012.

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After taking last year off due to the pandemic, Schweitzer’s traditional end-of-summer event FallFest is back. Spanning four days between Friday, Sept.

3-Monday, Sept. 6, FallFest features more than 80 beers, ciders, seltzers and wines; 10 live bands; village activities; and chairlift service to the summit.

“As we saw with WineFest back in July, people are so excited to be at the events and out and about,”Marketing Manager Dig Chrismer told the Reader.

“We’re looking forward to seeing you all back at FallFest.”

As always, it’s completely free to attend FallFest and watch live music. The beer tent will be set up on the tennis courts near the bottom of the Great Escape Quad, with beer and wine packages starting at $20. There is also soda sampling, and single beers, wine and soda are available at an additional cost. The stage will be positioned on the Musical Chairs run with a beautiful backdrop of Sandpoint behind.

There will also be arts and crafts vendors located throughout the village and a food court nearby. Souvenir glassware is on sale all weekend and the chairlift will be open for sightseeing, hiking and mountain biking for $20/adults, $15/juniors.

Chrismer said the biggest thing to be aware of this year is the parking challenges due to construction of the new Humbird hotel in the village.

“We highly, highly request people to use the SPOT bus,” Chrismer said. “If you can, park at the red barn and use the shuttle. There’s a time schedule on our website.”

The chairlift will be open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Monday. The beer tent will be serving from 4-8 p.m. Friday, noon-7 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday.

FallFest marks the end of

LIVE MUSIC SCHEDULE: Fri., Sept. 3: 4-5:30 p.m. — Folk Crimes 6-8 p.m. — Slo Motion Walter Sat., Sept. 4: Noon-2 p.m. — Harold’s IGA 2:30-4:30 p.m. — Colby Acuff 5-7 p.m. — Zach Cooper Band Sun., Sept. 5: 12-2 p.m. — BareGrass 2:30-4:30 p.m. — Miah Kohal Band 5-7 p.m. — Fat Lady summer operations at Schweitzer, with staffers already preparing for the winter season ahead.

“It’s a culmination of summer, the last big hurrah,” Chrismer said. “It’s also a little bit

of downtime to shift for winter.

Put the mountain bikes away and get the skis out. It’s our last weekend to enjoy the last bits of summer.”

For more information about FallFest, visit Schweitzer.com.

Mon., Sept. 6: 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. — Jason Perry Band 2-4 p.m. — The Powers Top: Three FallFest attendees share some brews as they ride the Great Escape Quad up to the summit at Schweitzer. Courtsy photo.

MUSIC

This week’s RLW by Lyndsie Kiebert

Festival at Sandpoint recap

The Reader talks with Executive Director Ali Baranski about what worked – and didn’t work – this year at the Festival

By Ben Olson Reader Staff Of all the words to describe the 2021 Festival at Sandpoint, “transition” seems to be the most appropriate. Between the global pandemic, a major change from natural grass to artificial turf at Memorial Field and fending off multiple lawsuits regarding their no-weapons policy at concerts, Festival organizers had to clear a lot of hurdles this season.

“We had so many challenges this season,” Executive Director Ali Baranski told the Reader.

“There was the artificial turf, the pandemic, turnover of volunteers and staff — but overall, the amount of frontloading that happened, [Production Manager] Paul [Gunter’s] preparedness and the overall production went really smooth.”

Baranski said a lot of people were wary of the artificial turf experience, but she was pleasantly surprised by the overall reaction from the crowds.

“Most didn’t notice it, actually,” she said. “At some points, it was super helpful. When we had a lot of rain, it all drained quickly.”

With the turf, however, came extra expenses, which have significantly affected the Festival’s overhead.

“We had to add two days at the front of our lease and two days at the end for setup and tear down,” she said. “We did get a lot of volunteers to help. The Sandpoint High School football team helped set up the decking. But overall, to

stay at Memorial Field probably cost us around $150,000 extra annually with the new turf.”

With such a big financial hit, Baranski said they had to change their budget to make up for the added costs, which also adds some complexity when negotiating with artists because they often share overhead estimates when determining pay.

“In comparison to other venues I’ve spoken with, our operations are much higher than others from a competitive standpoint,” Baranski said.

Another turf-related adaptation this year was the use of bike racks to denote aisles between seating sections.

“We changed our security plan in partnership with the chief of police and we were trying to distinguish aisles to leave room for emergency exits,” she said.

“Unfortunately it caused funnelling of people into certain areas.

Over the course of the two weeks we changed things to close off some of where the funnelling occurred. It created some issues and it created a different ambiance as well. It’s not ideal, but at the end of the day it did work.”

Baranski added that, “One of our biggest challenges was the mobile ordering. That was definitely a pandemic precaution.”

Baranski said she’s not certain if the mobile ordering app will be used next year because it’s hard to tell what the pandemic will be doing at that point, but she’s appreciative that it went off as well as it did.

Photo by Racheal Baker.

“It was a bit harder and more work than we anticipated,” she said. “We were lucky to have someone like Justin Landis and his IT volunteers to help people navigate it.”

Despite some of the added challenges to hosting the event at its traditional home at Memorial Field, Baranksi said the Festival is already scheduled to be at Memorial Field from July 28-Aug. 7, 2022.

“We’re staying with that earlier time for smoke and temperature,” she said. “However, we’ve become aware that we should have other backup plans or at least be looking [at other venues]. We wouldn’t move unless it made sense and that it was an improvement, but it is something we have to start to consider.

“In conversations with donors and sponsors, that’s a million dollars we’ll spend on protecting artificial turf in less than 10 years,”

Baranski added. “We’re a nonprofit and that’s a hard line item to have in our budget, because we think of what else we could do [with those funds] to fulfill our mission for music education in our community.”

With her first Festival behind her as executive director, Baranksi said she couldn’t have made it through this transition year without the support of her staff and volunteers.

“I’m extremely proud — of not only myself, but this team,” she said. “We were a small team, a skeleton crew that was able to put on something for that many people and did it successfully.”

The Festival at Sandpoint will host a rummage sale from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18 at its office, 525 Pine St. in Sandpoint.

They’ll have cassette tapes, CDs, lineup posters signed by many artists, historic Festival items, lots of glassware, mimosas and music.

A snapshot of notable live music coming up in Sandpoint Jake Rozier, Pend d’Oreille Winery, Sept. 3

Dead Lee, Eichardt’s Pub, Sept. 5

Spokane singer-songwriter Jake Rozier will bring his baritone vocals and acoustic prowess to the winery for Friday night music this week, when syrah will be the featured wine of the night.

Rozier plays a mix of originals and covers, putting his own touch on the more familiar tunes to please audiences throughout the Inland Northwest. To listen to his music — both solo and with the

Some bands make it look — and sound — easy. Dead Lee, based in Portland, Ore., is one of those bands, with effortless harmonies buttressed by a sound that has been described as “outlaw country,” “cosmic Americana” and hearkening to the “darker folk and country traditions.”

Composed of Brian Koch and Kara Harris, Dead Lee released its second album (Ride or Die) in May and celebrated with sold-out shows in Portland.

Following a self-titled album in

Jake Rozier Band — find the Jake Rozier Facebook page or search for the artist on Spotify to hear singles “The Devil and a Spoon” and “Hiding from the Sun.” This show is free and open to the public.

— Lyndsie Kiebert 5-8 p.m., FREE. Pend d’Oreille Winery, 301 Cedar St., powine.

2018, Koch (who Northwest music fans will recognize from the acclaimed Blitzen Trapper) and Harris had to take a hiatus from touring during 2020. Now they’re back on the road with a Sunday, Sept. 5 stop at Eichardt’s Pub for a must-see — and listen — show.

— Zach Hagadone 8-9 p.m., FREE. Eichardt’s Pub, 212 Cedar St., 208-263-4005, eichardtspub.com. Listen at deadlee. bandcamp.com.

READ

I read a news analysis in The New York Times last week that I can’t seem to shake: “The U.S. Is Getting a Crash Course in Scientific Uncertainty: As the pandemic takes an unexpected direction, Americans again must reckon with twists in scientific understanding of the virus.”

The piece, written by Apoorva Mandavilli, put into words reasons that many Americans — even the science-loving ones — are feeling serious pandemic fatigue. Find it at nytimes.com.

LISTEN

As far as modern-day s u p e rg r o u p s go, Big Red Machine is an alternative rock lover’s dream.

Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner (The National) make up the indie duo, dropping their second album, How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?, on Aug. 27. The melancholy, 15-track odyssey features Fleet Foxes, Sharon Van Etten, Ben Howard and Taylor Swift (yes, seriously) among many others. I have no suggested tracks because the entire thing is great.

Check it out.

WATCH

Longmire, the TV show based on the mystery novels by Craig Johnson, utilizes gripping storylines and acting while wrestling with issues like race, poverty, grief and unrequited love. The series, which aired its last episode in 2017, follows the widowed Sheriff Walt Longmire as he tries to keep violence and drugs at bay in his Wyoming county. I loved the series when I first watched it about four years ago but, upon rewatch, it’s easy to cringe at moments that — under my 2021 gaze — seem to glorify police overreach. Watch Longmire on Netflix.

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BACK OF THE BOOK

‘I might believe’ A Sandpoint UFO story From Pend Oreille Review, Sept. 2, 1921

HERON, MONT. HALF WIPED OUT BY FIRE A brush fire started at Heron, Mont. Tuesday morning, to clear a site for a portable sawmill, is reported as the origin of a destructive sweep of flames which that afternoon wiped out half of the town and cleaned out a post and poleyard. The loss to the town will probably approach $15,000, and the loss at the yards will reach more than $15,000. A forest fire to the east burned out telephone and telegraph wires and line difficulty to the west resulted in the town being cut off from communication with the outside world. The fire was first reported here by the train crew of the Northern Pacific passenger train No. 41 that afternoon.

Only a shift in the wind prevented the entire community being destroyed by the flames.

The buildings lost include the Northern Pacific depot and all the records of the station, two warehouses, one belonging to Storekeeper Larson; a blacksmith shop, the old Odd Fellows’ hall or hotel building and two old saloon buildings in the same row, together with five residences which were occupied. As most of the store buildings were unoccupied, it is thought but little insurance will be returned to offset the losses.

A the poleyard 125,000 posts were destroyed, worth about $9000. One rancher lost about $2500 worth of poles, and several others lost rickwood totaling 75 cords. The Northern Pacific lost about 2500 creosoted ties worth between $3500 and $4000. It is understood none of these losses were covered by insurance.

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By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff

There was a book at the Sagle Elementary School library that I picked up sometime in 1991 or ’92 that has stuck with me to the point that I still occasionally look for it online. I don’t remember the title, and I’m assuming since it already looked pretty worn out when I first saw it that it was published no later than the very early 1980s, but I can recall in vivid detail the incredible illustrations of what alien life might look like on a variety of planets. I also remember the feeling of awesome wonder that it gave me when I connected science with extraterrestrial speculation.

This former fascination has come back to me in recent months, with the disclosure by U.S. defense officials in April (following a 2017 New York Times report) that contemporary footage from Navy pilots showing bizarre flying objects is real and truly “unidentified.” It’s a testament to how messed up our world is at the moment that this hasn’t been received with the life-changing effect that we’d all assumed it would.

The other day I rented the 2020 documentary The Phenomenon on Amazon, and was shocked at the high-level current and former government officials featured in the film straight-up admitting that not only are UFOs real but that information about their existence

STR8TS Solution

has been and continues to be actively suppressed. What’s more, testimony from credible Air Force missile command officers tell of UFOs routinely meddling with nuclear weapons installations around the world.

Watching the documentary I was also surprised to see footage and hear accounts of a type of UFO sighting that I suppose I now feel comfortable enough to publicly suggest that I also experienced.

It had to have been summer 2010 or 2011, and I was camping at Sunnyside with my wife and some friends. I freely admit that we were drinking beer — though I’ve never drank enough beer (nor absinthe, for that matter) to hallucinate.

That said, we were mingling around on the beach at night, playing music by the fire and what have you, when something caught my eye in the sky over the lake to the south.

What I saw was a string of about six orange-reddish lights strung out in a roughly linear formation, moving quickly and steadily to the east about two-thirds higher than the horizon. They were not clusters of lights but individual, unblinking and irregularly spaced.

I watched them for a moment, thinking they may be a group of planes or helicopters, but heard no engine sounds. It was too dark to make out any shapes, but something about their speed, steadiness and the smoothness of their flight (plus their size, which seemed slightly too large for a sizable aircraft flying at a typical altitude, plus the lack of

other indicator lights) made me think I was seeing something unusual. Frankly, they simply didn’t look right.

Just to make sure I wasn’t the only one, I asked everyone else on the beach if they saw them, too. We all looked and we all saw them as they continued eastward until suddenly disappearing — winking out one by one — somewhere between Bottle Bay and the Cabinets. To make things even weirder, immediately after they disappeared we saw flashes that looked like lightning over the mountains where they appeared to be headed. This was on a perfectly mild summer night with no suggestion of a thunderstorm; indeed, none ever materialized.

This was a strange thing to have seen, and I nor anyone else with me ever thought much about it, other than to agree that we couldn’t easily explain those lights. I still can’t — though, to borrow from Fox Mulder, “I might believe.”

Crossword Solution

Sudoku Solution

Whenever somone asks me to define love, I usually think for a minute, then I spin around and pin the guy’s arm behind his back. Now who’s asking the questions?

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Laughing Matter

ACROSS

By Bill Borders

1. Originates in 6. Gentlewoman 10. Forearm bone 14. Circumscribe 15. Beige 16. Close 17. Crop up 18. By mouth 19. Birthday or cheese, for example 20. Type of dolphin 22. Eye layer 23. Be 24. Sleighs 25. Dry riverbed 29. Perceptiveness 31. Median 33. Piece of fried bread 37. Relating to cats 38. Ventilate 39. A spear with three prongs /mish-POOKH-uh/ 41. Indigenous 42. Implore [noun] 1. an entire family network comprising relatives by 44. A pack of playing cards blood and marriage and sometimes including close 45. Anxiety of the friends; clan.

48. Made a mistake “When the going got tough, I surrounded myself with my mishpocha for comfort.” 50. Nonclerical 51. Not professional in skill Corrections: We had a misspelling in last week’s edition - a 56. Plunge reader helpfully reminded us that Michael Rosedale is the Bon57. Snack ner County clerk, not “clark.” Apologies for the error. — BO 58. Expensive fur 59. Not odd

mishpocha

Word Week

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CROSSWORD

Solution on page 22 60. Away from the wind 61. Threesomes 62. Lease 63. Forsaken 64. Affirmatives

DOWN 1. Generous slice of the pie 2. Novice 3. Send forth 4. Fog 5. Inscribed pillar 6. Strong and proud 7. Astride

8. Forceful and extreme 9. Christmas season 10. Unrefined 11. Depart 12. Nude 13. Districts 21. Demanding attention 24. Wearing footgear 25. Drift 26. Anagram of “Rave” 27. Sandwich shop 28. Pearlescent 30. Recipient 32. Regarding 34. Docile

35. Ear-related 36. Make out (slang) 40. Vibrating effect 41. Made of baked clay 43. Found at the end of a pencil 45. Birch relative 46. Unsophisticated 47. Donated 49. Covered with a layer of dust 51. A Freudian stage 52. Unusual 53. Nile bird 54. Blackthorn 55. Untidyness

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