Reader september3 2015

READER

September 3, 2015 / free / Vol. 12 Issue 33

Hostile Takeover?

Economists weigh in on Sandpoint company aquisitions

Confederate Flag: A symbol of racism or free speech?

ne ne w Ta k e 10% o ff o l w h en cl o th ing a rr iv a em yo u b u y a sa le it -mus t pres en t

co up on-

Sept. 4, 5, 6, & 7

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EKEND SALE! E W Y A D R O B LA ' IN K O SM er items 30-70% oo all sumivming Daily Fall Styles arr

(wo)MAN compiled by

Ben Olson

on the street

What is your favorite fall time activity?

“I like dehydrating apples and pears. It makes the house smell so great.”

Debra Moy Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

If I may use this space to editorialize for a moment...

Has anyone else been following the story about Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who has made national news by denying same-sex marriages based on her religious convictions? She is reported to have stated that issuing the license would violate “God’s definition of marriage” and imperil her religious freedom.

I get so frustrated by people like Davis, who claim to be following “God’s word” by defying the law of the land, when in fact, she has been divorced three times and also had children out of wedlock.

Umm, doesn’t this seem a touch hypocritical? By her very Apostolic Christian beliefs, she has not adhered to “God’s definition of marriage,” but she has the audacity to deny a gay couple marriage, even though they are guaranteed so by the highest court in the land.

The law is the law. If Davis feels that she can’t successfully accomplish her job as a clerk because of her religious beliefs she should resign, or suck it up and do her job.

-Ben Olson, Publisher

“I like sailing on my boat in the fall. We like to sail on Flathead Lake. There are some good winds over there.”

Holy ducks!

Anna Woodward Fourth grader Sagle

Contributing Artists: Annika Hinds (cover), Ben Olson, Daniel Cape, Contributing Writers: Cameron Rasmusson, Ben Olson, Louie de Palma, Stephen Drinkard, Dan McDonald, Sandy Compton, Jodi Rawson, Dion Nizzi, Marcia Pilgeram, Dustin Hoffman

Web Content: Keokee

LIVE MUSIC

Ev ery turday Friday & Sa summer

Where do you like to go?

“I have about 90 of them.”

Zach Hagadone (emeritus)

Advertising: Jen Landis jen@sandpointreader.com Greg Larson greg@sandpointreader.com Clint Nicholson clint@keokee.com

“Bicycling. I guess that’s an all season activity. I do road biking.”

How many ducks do you have?

Editor: Cameron Rasmusson cameron@sandpointreader.com

Subscription Price: $75 per year

Joan Bradley Sandpoint

“Watching my ducks.”

www.sandpointreader.com Publisher: Ben Olson ben@sandpointreader.com

Printed weekly at: Griffin Publishing Spokane, Wash.

“A group of us are going up to Schweitzer for the Fall Fest. It’s not just because of the beer! Schweitzer needs us up there, they need the support.”

Dennis Braun Retired Dairy Processor Sandpoint

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

Submit stories to: stories@sandpointreader.com

Harold Wilkenson Retired from Avista Garfield, Wash.

“Any of the four directions outside of town.”

READER

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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 500 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 is a piece of art drawn by Forrest Bird Charter School senior Annika Hinds. Annika used Sharpie on watercolor paper.

Annika has a passion for painting, drawing, photography and the performing arts. This includes circus art, dance and gymnastics.

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COMMENTARY Our road warrior tackles love, North Idaho style

By Louie de Palma Reader Road Warrior People love to make the argument that the “L word” is thrown around too casually these days. I disagree wholeheartedly. I think the real problem is that people mistakenly believe and push the concept of just one type of love.

The fairy tale soul mate kind of love. The favored idea is that if you love someone, then that love is reserved for them and only them, as if you have never loved anyone before, and you will never love anyone after.

Well it’s a lovely theory, but it’s time we all grow up and eat a big heart-healthy bowl of reality cereal. Love, fleeting as it may be, does exist—I will give you that. But it cannot be assigned to one mere definition or person any more than art or music can.

Love is like time in that it exists in the past, present and future simultaneously and sporadically, uncontrollable and wandering.

It comes when it wants, it goes when it pleases and just when you think it’s gone, it shows up at your door. It’s pretty much a cat.

The world gone crazy...

Dear Editor, With all the violence going on by both citizens and the authorities, it seems the world has gone crazy. What could be causing this?

One of the most obvious reasons is there is just too many people in the world. Another obvious reason is religion.

There are some other possible explanations beside these two.

1. It has been known for a while that the earth’s magnetic 4 /

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So I say use the L word as much as possible. Empower it by allowing it to exist on many planes, or taxis, for that matter.

Men tell me they love me 10 to 20 times a day (weird, I thought this was a pretty homophobic region. But like I said, love has no bounds or clear meanings, and it turns out Sandpoint’s pretty progressive). The reasons for these declarations vary, but mainly, it’s because I gave them a ride, listened, and was agreeable. Ladies, take note: This seems to be all you have to do to win a man’s heart. Yes, I know it’s harder than it looks, and it makes it easier when you’re getting paid, of course. Sometimes it’s no treat, and the ride goes longer than you thought it would, but hearing, “I love you, bro/man,” at the end of makes it all worth it. ...OK, not always, but usually the money does.

I’ve loved and I’ve lost, I’ve lost and I’ve loved, and I’ve certainly gotten lost in thought while sad, lonely people talk to me about love in the cab. There’s nothing quite like listening to an old cowboy cry as he confides in you every night about how he has never found a girlfriend and never will.

He howls about couples who have been married three times, and he’s never even gotten within a feather’s reach. Sometimes his stories get to me and I tell him, “Ah, it’s

not worth it. I hear it’s a lot of work, and shit, then you’d have to split your beer with ‘em.”

He usually laughs, sniffles and agrees that it’s probably not worth it—he’d get sick of it quickly anyway. But when you can almost smell the salty tears, you know he doesn’t believe what he said. Or perhaps that smell is merely beer salt on his breath. In the end, I guess it’s all crying just the same.

I had another cowboy tell me he had to make his woman stop knocking boots with him because he was too damn saddle-sore.

Some cowboys get all the luck, I suppose. He followed that up by telling me he was going to get his gal the only thing that makes her happy for Valentine’s Day: a box of .38 Special ammo. When we parted, it was still unclear whether he was planning to shoot her or not, but I took away a determination to use the phrase “knocking boots” as much as possible.

I’ve received a lot of advice on love as a taxi driver. I’ve been told cliché things like, “If you find someone who loves you, never let her go.” No one, however, has been clear on how to stop these people.

I’ve been told numerous times by mainly older couples with children to absolutely never get married and have children. This advice is usually given after I’ve been asked if I’m married or have kids and have answered no. I’ve often wanted to see how the advice

would go if I answered differently.

Would they just say, “Oh, so your life sucks too?” That seems to be their attitude.

Whatever the case, it is clear to me that no form of love exists in taxi cabs, except for love of the driver and his love of listening. Couples are rarely in a pleasant mood—if they’re not fighting, they’re simply silent, apparently hollow and dead inside. Sometimes, one of them will be happy and chatty, while the other makes fun of them, negates everything they say in pouty body language or makes negative comments under their breath. The breath-talkers look so used to their role, it seems like they’ve given up on common ground a long, long time ago. Likewise, the chatters seem to have begun ignoring the under-breather’s opinions equally as long ago.

On a rare occasion, a couple will start out chipper when I bring them to a restaurant or bar, only to discover upon picking them up that they are in a full-on fight and have made up for lost time.

It’s only logical to assume the variable is either the taxi or alcohol for all these people. I assure you, it’s the taxi. For instance, I drove a man home one time from downtown, and upon reaching his home, his completely sober wife slammed him to the ground and cussed him out. As she hadn’t been drinking, we can only assume it was the curse of the taxi.

So there you have it. Fairy tale love doesn’t exist in cabs, or anywhere, really. Luckily, there are tons of other versions of love: cowboy love, angry love or mutual-respect-and-mutual-hatred love (also known as sweet and sour love), just to name a few.

Captain your own love boat and use the L word willy nilly.

As for me, I just drive my taxi and I love it. I can tell you, though, that there’s one type of couple I drive who come closest to fairy tale love. They’re usually old people (70 to 90 years old) on their second or third marriage.

No matter how drunk they get, no matter if they come home alone or together, they are always grinning ear-to-ear when they look into each others’ beautiful foggy eyes. They know how to appreciate life and they learned from all their past mistakes.

So what I can suggest is, if you’re going to get married, make sure the first one is someone you don’t want to be with, and you can learn a lot from years of fighting. This will make your second or third marriage magical. I’ve seen these people, and they are blissed out all the time. If you’re fighting in your first marriage, call a cab: You’ll feel right at home. Or go ahead and get that divorce—it’s great for the local economy, it’ll get you out more and you can start working for that second marriage.

field is weakening. However, it was recently discovered that it is weakening about 10 times faster than thought.

2. The Schumann resonance of the earth which mankind has lived with for thousands of years is undergoing drastic changes.

3. Our solar system is currently passing through our galactic axis.

4. The manmade biological assaults we are currently being subjected to: overuse of pesticides which we are ingesting because of GMO produce. As for

GMO foods themselves, which the FDA does not test for safety, when scientists insert a gene from one species into another species’ DNA to create a GMO, they need to artificially turn on that gene by using a promoter which turns on that gene 24/7. Research has shown that once this promoter has made it into our bodies it can permanently and randomly turn on other genes within our DNA 24/7. This means there is the potential for genes we DO NOT want turned on being turned on.

5. Circumcision at puberty,

which is the case among followers of the Muslim faith.

“With the violent sexual shock, at the onset of puberty, the sensorial perceptions suddenly become purely sexual. This drains the masculine energy towards sex, maintaining it there in a continually erotic state. As a consequence of this practice, a stoppage of the intellectual faculties and even a regression due to sexual excess may be produced.”

— Carlo Suarès, The Cipher of Genesis Circumcision at puberty has

the potential for creating fanatics.

It does not mean it will.

What I am implying is those on the edge and/or those with fragile psyches/egos and various mental disorders (e.g., PTSD, sociopathy and psychopathy) are susceptible to those cosmic forces listed in 1-3 as well as the manmade ones in 4 and 5.

Lee Santa Sandpoint

PERSPECTIVES

The Confederate flag:

A symbol of racism or free speech?

Last week, the Confederate flag controversy reignited after Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, posted a photo of her posing next to the Confederate flag at Timber Days in Priest River. We asked two of our contributors, Dan McDonald and Stephen Drinkard, to discuss the issue, and to ask whether the flag is a symbol of free speech, or hatred and racism.

By Stephen Drinkard Reader Contributor Politicians seek media coverage. It’s their addiction, and we pay for their drug in so many ways.

Ms. Heather Scott, District 1A House Representative, was most certainly seeking media coverage when she emblazoned herself with the Confederate flag on her Facebook page. She got attention, maybe more than she wanted (or maybe not).

The fact that she aligned herself with that symbol not too long after nine accomplished black men and women were gunned down during their Bible study in Charleston by a professed racist and defender of the Confederate flag was not lost on people.

Of course she had a lot of people rush to her defense, claiming she is merely professing her free speech “as guaranteed by the Constitution.” Others found her display of the flag to be profoundly disrespectful of the murdered blacks and the millions of African-Americans who, following the Civil War, endured 150 years of murders, rapes, false accusations, endless job discrimination, segregated services and loss of political power.

If you listen to Ms. Scott and her defenders, the flag doesn’t represent racism but rather an anti-government stance prevalent among Tea Partiers, (ironic that she works for a state government she supposedly doesn’t trust). Instead, it represents her right to free speech and, to some degree, a sense of pride in the southern region of our country. That last one is a bit strange at first glance. We are far from the South.

Not so much, it turns out. During coverage of a Confederate flag removal in Emmett, Idaho, Steve Barrett of the Idaho State Archives explained the town is named after a confederate soldier’s son, Emmett Lee. In the late 1800s, Hailey was heavily populated by Confederate gold miners. Southerners built Idaho towns called Leesburg and Atlanta.

By Dan McDonald Reader Contributor The flag’s rebellious symbolism has even spread abroad, as it did to Italy. Yes, Italy, Southern Italy. In 1861, after being absorbed into the Kingdom of Italy, that region adopted the Confederate flag because “we too are a defeated people,” as was reported in the Washington Post. It has also been used by peoples in Sweden, the Ukraine, Ireland, Confederate migrants to Brazil and, following the banning of the Swastika, in Germany. According to Wolfgang Hochbruck, a professor of American Studies at the University of Freiburg, ‘They are obsessed with your [Civil] war because they cannot celebrate their own vanquished racists.’”

Back home, it is clear that however much some people think of the Confederate flag as some vague symbol of a golden other time or an attitude of rebellion against government, that flag represents 150 years of hell to a large portion of our American family.

Ms. Scott has to pay attention to history and to social dynamics, as well as current events regarding the numerous deaths of black people by law enforcement. Don’t forget the Swastika, Ms. Scott. I would not tell the Jewish people you have a “constitutional right” to celebrate that symbol, or that symbols don’t kill.

If Ms. Scott wants to stand by symbols, and wants to be a representative of all us in her district and not just her Tea Party and other extremists, she should hold up a loaf of bread and a fish, and carry a sign that says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Mark 12: 30-32 If heartfelt, that would be revolutionary and might get her some real media attention.

Recently, a local debate started over Rep. Heather Scott’s Facebook post with a photo of her holding the Army of Northern Virginia’s battle flag also known as the Confederate flag (CF).

What I found interesting was the sudden media coverage for an event that took place more than a month ago at the Priest River Timber Days celebration. Why on earth was this suddenly a story? The simple answer is this is yet again an attempt at a political hit piece by those who don’t like the independent thinker that is Scott.

Even more shocking are some of the comments from those on Facebook. The intolerance shown by those I thought tolerant made me believe those folks to be mind readers. Did they know what Scott was thinking, or just project their own thoughts onto the photo in question?

I know Heather Scott, and I know she is not a racist. Anyone who read one of the many articles would realize that she was raising this flag as a First Amendment and a states’ rights issue.

This event happened to occur during the national debate we were having about the incorrectly named Confederate flag in the wake of the church shooting in South Carolina.

Heather is a great defender of personal rights, freedoms, free speech and states’ rights. The debate that was raging at that time was about the perceived definition of a piece of cloth with a number of different colors on it. Does it represent racism, slavery and hatred, or does it represent history, regional pride and a way of life? The answer is yes to all.

The meaning of this flag has more to do with what your life’s filter tells you. Here is the problem: Many of the things we believe about this flag have been misrepresented. Did the KKK use

it? Sure, however, they also used the American flag, Christian flag and the Christian cross. So should we ban all those as well, or see them as representing racism and slavery? Of course not. No intelligent person would do that, nor would they place racism and slavery on the back of a piece of cloth or a

symbol.

Some facts are in order. This again is not the flag of the Confederacy. Not all people in the south at the time owned slaves, with the percentage of slave owners being about 1.6 percent of all southerners. So choosing to look at this as a symbol of slavery or racism is not only inaccurate, but it’s the worst form of inaccurate prejudice.

I could go deep into history and provide an education on the flag, the South, on the despicable white supremacist movement, but really, let’s deal with here and now. The war was fought 150 years ago; it’s time to let it go.

Those I know who proudly identify as Southern, regardless of race, see the stars and bars as a symbol of their heritage, individual pride, states’ rights and resistance against an overbearing federal government. Now a small group of loud misguided liberals somehow believe this symbol represents hate.

Just like the gun debate, some fail the intelligence test and try to blame a symbol or a tool—not the actions of the person using said symbol or tool. Did banning this flag make racism go away?

Not in the least, but instead of dealing with racism, it’s easier for the intellectually lazy to just cry out to ban an inanimate object.

Don’t fall for political hit pieces.

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NEWS Council clears airport hunts

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff If you’ve ever hit a deer with your car, you know the damage those jittery critters can inflict on a vehicle. Now multiply that by 100, and you’ll have an idea of the destruction they can cause to an airplane.

Sure enough, roving herds of deer are probably the single most dangerous element at Sandpoint Airport. In November 2014, the Sandpoint City Council approved an experiment to reduce the risk by allowing archery hunting on the premises. This week, they renewed that initiative, clearing airport manager Dave Schuck to oversee archery hunts and trapping operations at the airport.

For Schuck, the deer problem is nothing less than a matter of life and death.

There have been several instances where aircraft landing or taking off have nearly collided with animals running across the runway. In one instance, a collision resulted in a wreck so severe, it was amazing that the pilot walked away.

“Airplanes are incredibly vulnerable when they’re taking off or landing,” Schuck said.

Eventually, the Federal Aviation Ad-

ministration will fix the problem permanently by funding the construction of a 10-foot-tall perimeter fence around the airport. However, due to the cost of the project, that’s not in the cards until 2019. On top of that, Schuck said the airport’s projected growth necessitates the purchase of adjacent properties, which must occur before the fence is installed.

Until then, the hunting and trapping program is something of a band-aid approach. With a longer season this year—Schuck aims to kick things off in September rather than November—airport officials are hopeful the herd will thin out enough to reduce risk. The longer season will also stretch out daylight hours in early autumn for the Sandpoint Archery Club, which usually

Firewood cutting restrictions still in place

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff With the winter season a few months away, U.S. Forest Service officials are reminding local woodcutters we aren’t out of the woods yet as far as fire danger is concerned.

Stage 2 fire safety restrictions are still in effect, which means that firewood gatherers can only cut wood until 1 p.m. Afterward, they must hang out for an hour to ensure no fires were started throughout the woodcutting process.

According to U.S. Forest Service officials, woodcutters usually start collecting firewood around the beginning of the autumn season. However, in a season already remarkable for severe wildfires, the possibility that sparks from cutting tools hitting rocks might start a new inferno is a risk they’re not willing to take.

Once the fire danger subsides, woodcutters will have more options at their disposal, including the ability to make campfires and the elimination of time restrictions on harvesting periods.

As always, the Sandpoint Ranger Station is happy to help out residents with 6 /

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The wreckage of an airplane after hitting a deer at Sandpoint Airport in 2008.

conducts the hunts.

Council members cleared airport officials to use compound bows and traps in the wildlife management program but shut out the use of crossbows or small firearms. Councilwoman Shannon Williamson was against the approach al-

together, saying last year’s hunt wasn’t successful enough from her perspective.

“I don’t think that method was effective, and I definitely don’t feel comfortable with authorizing longer-range weapons,” she said. “I’m more comfortable with a trap-and-release program.”

Seasons to build more condos

Incumbents seek reelection

After several years on hold, the new Seasons condo development is gaining traction.

The Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission fielded requests from developers this week, putting the long-delayed project back in the public eye.

According to Planning and Economic Development Director Aaron Qualls, the commission approved a request to construct the new condo building with a pitched roof. Other than that, the project is still able to move forward any time with the approval secured around 10 years ago. According to Qualls, developers are interested in moving forward on the development as soon as possible.

Larry Davidson cuts a fallen log at the Pend d’Oreille Bay Times have changed quite a bit since Trail. Photo by Ben Olson. then, the addition of the Sand Creek Byway not least among them. Qualls any of their woodcutting activities. The said the new development will block office issues permits for firewood cutting off some views into town for drivers as well as maps detailing appropriate sites on the byway, an unfortunate side effor wood collection. Give them a call at fect of the project. However, it will also (208) 263-5111 with any questions. add much-needed housing to downtown Sandpoint, he added. [CR]

The roster of candidates for election is starting to fill out, even if contested seats are looking a little sparse.

Sandpoint City Council incumbents Tom Eddy, Bill Aitken and Deb Fragoso are all seeking to retain their council seats for another four years. The council members jump into a ring that only has one contested race so far—Shelby Rognstad and Mose Dunkel face off on the ballot for the four-year mayor’s seat.

Unless there are a few stragglers gearing up for the City Council race, it appears Eddy, Aitken and Fragoso won’t have much to worry about this election. Friday, Sept. 4 is the last day to submit a declaration of candidacy to Sandpoint City Hall.

However, latecomers can always choose to run as a write-in candidate, as long as they make the Oct. 6 filing deadline.

Candidates must certify that they are at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, have lived within Sandpoint city limits for at least 30 days and have appointed a treasurer, if they aren’t handling the job themselves. [CR]

FEATURE

Hostile takeover?

Economists weigh in on Sandpoint company aquisitions

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

If Sandpoint seems isolated, nestled away under a canopy of trees and mountain peaks, it doesn’t take much to dispel the illusion.

Within the past five years, the town has attracted an explosion of outside attention, based everywhere from the other end of the country to the other end of the globe. What’s motivating this sudden interest in Sandpoint? As usual, it’s the drive for a good business deal, and more than ever, powerful companies are finding paths to new growth in Sandpoint entrepreneurs.

In February, airplane manufacturer Quest Aircraft, a major local employer, was purchased by a Japanese conglomerate, Setouchi Holdings. Then in April, Minnesota-based company Polaris Industries purchased local company Timbersled Products, a maker of snowmobile suspensions and conversion kits. They’re just two recent examples of major local companies being scooped up by outof-state players—within recent years, Panhandle State Bank and Lead-Lok also completed business deals with larger outof-state companies. Litehouse Foods went through a different kind of sale in December 2014, initiating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan and giving its staff ownership of the company.

The acquisition of Sandpoint-grown businesses in recent years has caused its share of consternation and speculation. What if new management moves jobs out of town? What if new priorities eliminate the style of services or products locals have come to enjoy? While those worries do have some foundation, regional economists draw more positive than negative conclusions from the business deals.

Idaho Department of Labor North Idaho Economist Sam

Wolkenhauer said Bonner County has dodged one of the problems its neighbors in Kootenai County are experiencing. His data suggests that by introducing greater resources to local companies through acquisitions, local populations are able to grow at a faster yet still organic rate.

By comparison, Kootenai County has succeeded in relocating new businesses into the community, an approach that triggers huge growth spurts and accompanying growing pains. After all, adding hundreds of new residents into existing infrastructure all in one go is no easy task.

“It can be really traumatic to absorb such quick population growth,” Wolkenhauer said.

By contrast, the gradual expansion of existing local companies facilitates easier transitions. Quest Aircraft’s purchase

by Setouchi Holdings, for instance, allowed the company to fast-track its growth strategy, resulting in a facility expansion and eventually, an increase in workforce and output of its Kodiak aircraft.

Quest is an example of a company that is largely unchanged following its purchase.

The same leadership team remains in place, and the company goes about business as usual.

However, that’s not always the case. The process of restructuring following a purchase by a larger company can change the composition of the work force or the type of jobs it offers. As far as a local economy is concerned, the real question is whether there’s a net wage increase or decrease on average.

According to Alivia Metts, economic consultant for the Metts Group, there’s no easy way to predict whether the restructuring process will be positive or negative for a local community.

“There are a lot of factors that go into play in situations like these,” Metts said.

While companies are always seeking to increase efficiency

The employees of Quest Aircraft pose before the 100th airplace delivered from the line. Courtesy photo. and reduce costs, they can’t simply slash wages if they’re seeking to maintain a local workforce. Indeed, Wolkenhauer said he’s only seen an increase in Bonner County personal income over the past few years, and the potential redirection of revenue outside the community isn’t a major problem either.

“Capital outflows are not a significant issue,” he said. “A lot of it is just reinvested locally.”

The real fear comes from out-of-state companies that shutter local operations and move them to a new headquarters. In late summer 2014, only months after finalizing its purchase of biomedical device manufacturer Lead-Lok, New York-based company Graphic Controls threatened to move its acquisition out of town. State incentives for business expansion combined with the limited growth potential of its existing facility, the Bonner Business Center, added up to a good business decision for company leaders. It just so happened to be a bad deal for Sandpoint, resulting in the loss of dozens if not hundreds of direct and indirect jobs.

Jeremy Grimm, then the director of Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Department, worked out a deal for Lead-Lok to expand throughout the whole of Bonner Business Center fa-

cilities. That meant evicting the other tenants, a sacrifice that was not easy to take for anyone involved. But just a few months after Coldwater Creek’s closure, the city was firmly in economic crisis mode.

“There was a stretch right after the Coldwater Creek bankruptcy where I thought we were going to lose Quest, Tamarack, Lead-Lok and Kochava,” Grimm said.

That close shave notwithstanding, North Idaho economists and development advocates see largely positive signs from recent acquisitions.

It’s a trend Grimm sees rooted in the 1980s, when Sandpoint’s community leaders realized the town couldn’t get by forever as a tourism and resource extraction hub. The response: Sandpoint Unlimited, a campaign that aimed to attract additional attention from businesses and out-of-towners.

Sandpoint Unlimited paved the way for additional economic development in the decades to come. The Sandpoint Urban Renewal Agency, created in 2005, revised local taxation districts to fund economic development projects like improvements at Sandpoint Airport or the Panida Theater restoration.

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce has initiated

a number of business-boosting efforts. Karl Dye led the Bonner County Economic Development Corporation for many years, while the city conducted its own development projects, which will soon fall under the purview of a new city administrator position.

“Much of the economic activity I’ve seen has stemmed from the work of people like Jeremy Grimm and Karl Dye,” said Metts. “And some of these hightech companies like Kochava and [drone manufacturer] X PlusOne that are leading their industries really make other companies take notice of Sandpoint.”

Sandpoint itself probably has something to do with the interest from outside companies, too. In fact, many local business leaders have said they’ve stayed in town simply because they and their employees like living here. According to Grimm, the community’s unusual workhard play-hard culture is its secret ace in the hole, an X-factor that seems to encourage creative thinking.

“This is an innovative, dynamic community, and we’re creating things the world wants,” Grimm said.

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Bordering on Complete Sanity: Listen to the crickets

By Sandy Compton Reader Columnist Bouquets: •This week, President Obama’s administration announced it would formally be changing the name of the tallest peak in the United States to Denali. Formally named Mt. McKinley, for the 25th president from Ohio, the mountain has traditionally been called Denali by natives. The word “Denali” is Athabascan for “The High One.” I think this is a beautiful symbolic gesture for the native people of Alaska, who rate more ownership over the mountain than a politician from Ohio.

Barbs: •Speaking of naming things, I think the barb this week goes to the state of Idaho for offering the renaming of its state parks to the highest bidder. This, in a word, is ridiculous. Offering up something as sacred as the name of a state park to corporate sponsorship is so cheap and tawdry, I don’t know where to begin attacking this idea. It reminds me of the terrible names we have for some sports arenas, like: Globe Life Park (Texas), i wireless Center (Illinois), InfoCision Stadium (Ohio), Sleep Train Arena (California), or my personal favorite, KFC Yum! Center (Kentucky).

Will this bring in revenue for the state park system? Absolutely. Will it cheapen the hell out of the state park system? You betcha. I can see it now: “Hey kids, how about we get in the car and go camping at Walmart State Park this weekend?” Ugh. To be fair, state park board members are calling that the name should be “carefully considered so that the perceptions of the public are positive and the recognition does not imply private or exclusive use or ownership.” I’m not exactly relieved.

Guess I’ll just have to get over it and go fishing this weekend at Taco Bell State Park.

Did I hit a nerve? Write ben@sandpointreader.com.

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When we were children, we played an odd summertime game. We’d sit in the front yard of my grandparents’ trailer house/cabin within view of the highway, pick a color and keep track of how many cars and trucks of our color drove by. It was purely a time-waster, but it beats cable or dish or the Internet or however you get your world fed to you.

It’s already been mentioned that I think television as it is used in the world today is the largest waste of time and brainpower since bread and circuses were made popular by Roman emperors. Just turn the damned thing off, OK? Ninety-five percent of television—I’m being kind—is tripe, pure and simple.

Including professional sports— except, of course, baseball and football, which I LOVE. Just confessing now, so if you see me staring at a screen in MickDuff’s, you can’t say you didn’t know.

We’re all susceptible to the lure of popular media, me included. But I think we would be better off if we turned it off and

sat in the front yard and counted our color of cars going by on the road.

We sat with family and friends, so there was interchange between humans; sometimes somewhat superficial, I admit, but also real. The only thing between us was evening air, and often, the only thing we could hear between cars— besides our own voices—was crickets.

Crickets are a summer sound. They mark time in the dying light of long July and August days and then, goddamit, September, when their song slows and makes me wish time to follow suit. October crickets can make me cry. Crickets are the rhythm of a season, lower cleft in cadence, but sung in tenor.

There is a rural legend that if you count the cricks in a minute, the answer will be the temperature. In Fahrenheit. So, 6 cricks is . . . let me see. Oh, yeah, a hibernating cricket.

OK. So my math bone isn’t working tonight. Fine.

If you listen to the crickets long enough, as your eyes will adjust to dim light, your ears adjust to what is first perceived

as the silence between cricks.

Sounds below come to the aural surface. A tiny breeze moving through the trees. A train whistling for a crossing way up the river. The distant hum of turbines turning in the dam downstream, powering up Spokane and Portland with the strength of my river. The rustle of a house wren settling onto its eggs for the night. Even, on extra-quiet nights, the sound of that river passing by.

What has this to do with real life, you might wonder. This, maybe: for about 3.9999 million years of human existence, there were no trains or turbines to listen to, much less cars.

But there was the breeze. And wrens. And the river flowing by.

And crickets. Real life was not invented in the last .0001 million years. Real life was here long before the internal combustion machine was invented.

Or electricity was harnessed.

Or trains began rumbling across the continent.

When you are sitting in your yard and the only sound you notice is the sound of a cricket—and possibly the sound of an approaching car you hope is your color—life is good. Re-

ally good. I don’t think it can be better. There’s no rush to go anywhere, do anything, be anybody. You can just be yourself for a while, and let the rhythm of your immediate world keep cadence with a tiny critter that sings by rubbing its back legs together.

Sandy Compton’s new book, “The Scenic Route: Life on the road between Hope and Paradise,” is available at Vanderford’s Books, 201 Cedar in Sandpoint. Go and buy it already!

Sandemonium strikes big in debut year

By Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

When the Reader teamed up with East Bonner County Library District and the Panida Theater to debut Sandemonium, an annual comic-con event, we estimated maybe 100 people would show up, tops.

Imagine our surprise, then, when somewhere between 350 and 500 people visited the library last week for the occasion. In almost every respect, Sandemonium’s first year surpassed our expectations.

Just about everyone in attendance had a different experience at Sandemonium, considering the range of activities at their disposal. The gaming room was always in high demand, with dozens packed around TVs and game consoles to try their skills at “Super Smash Bros. Brawl” or “Mario Kart.” Over at gaming shop Another World, a solid crew of gamers created characters to embark on pen-and-paper roleplaying adventures throughout the day. Meanwhile, the educational panels were surprisingly well-attended, while others crowded in to hone their talents in writing, art or cosplay workshops.

Speaking of cosplay, the community turned out with some seriously impressive talent. A good percentage

of attendees arrived in costumes taking inspiration from “Once Upon A Time,” “Star Wars,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Naruto,” “Fallout” and even some original character creations, just to name a few.

After the events at the library wrapped up, the Panida Theater opened its Little Theater for a screening of the Hayao Miyazaki anime masterpiece, “Kiki’s Delivery Service.” And many of our local pubs like Eichardt’s and Neighborhood Pub made sure the adults had some evening fun with drink specials for people who showed up in cosplay.

The Sandemonium planners extend a huge thank you to those who attended the first year of fandom celebration. A special round of applause goes out to all who volunteered their time for the cause. Keep your eyes peeled for next year’s events; we have an inkling that it could be even bigger.

To follow all the updates, check the convention out on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sdptsandemonium.

A pair of young fans at last week’s Sandemonium.

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Panida Sneak Peak 5pm - 7pm @ Panida Theater Come check out the new ceiling at the Panida Theater after two months of restoration Dollar Beers!

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

Live Music w/ Justin Lantrip 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Great music from a local singer/songwriter Live Music w/ Miah Kohal Band 9pm - 12am @ 219 Lounge Come down to the 219 patio and listen to a high energy cover band do their thing Sandpoint Farmers Market 9am - 1pm @ Farmin Park Live music by Bright Moments Jazz

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Old Galvi Warehouse Antique Sale 10am - 3pm @ The Granary Lot come check out our bumper crop of fresh finds at 524 church street, next to Evans Bros Coffee Roasters

Summer Sounds 4pm - 6pm @ Park Place Stage Featuring the music from Triolet

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Fall Fest All day @ Schweitzer Mountain Resort

Karaoke Night 9pm - Midnight @ 219 Lounge

Live Music w/ Marty Perron & D 5pm - 7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority “No Service” play 7:30pm @ The Heartwood Center Unknown Locals production of an o Chris Herron. No Service is a darkly ry about life, death, and the complica $12 general admission, $10 seniors/

Live Music w/ The Lillies 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Sandpoint Chess Club 9am @ Evans Brothers Coffee Meets every Sunday at 9am. All are welcom Fall Fest All day @ Schweitzer Mountain Resort Coaster Classic Car Show All day @ Silverwood Theme Park

Funky Junk Antique and Craft Show 10am - 4pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds

9/11 Experts Speak Out - 7pm @ Panida Theater A controversial documentary film by architect Richard Gage calling for a new investigation into the destruction of the three World Trade Center skyscrapers

Bingo Night 6:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall Bingo, beer, popcorn, friendly bartenders, a nice courtyard. Seriously, what else do you need?

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Bonner County Democrats Pre-Labor Day Potluck Celebration 1pm - 4pm @ Sandpoint City Beach Pavilion All are welcome; please bring a potluck dish to share. The event includes live music featuring Ruff Shodd and fun for all!

Trivia Night 7pm - 9pm @ MickDuff’s

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Live reading by author Bill Collier 12pm - 1pm @ Sandpoint Library Come hear author Bill Collier read from his latest book “The Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot: Flying the H-34 Helicopter in Vietnam for the United States Marine Corps.”

Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 6pm - 9pm @ Arlo’s Ristorante

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A weekly entertainment guide to keep you on your toes. To list your event free, please send an email to calendar@sandpointreader.com.

Live Music w/ The Powell Brothers 5:30pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Native duo who build and play their own instruments

Free First Saturday at the Museum 10am - 2pm @ Bonner County History Museum All are welcome to visit free of charge, made possible by the generous support of Sandpoint Rotary Funky Junk Antique and Craft Show 10am - 4pm @ Bonner County Fairgrounds It’s back for the 15th year! Funky Junk will be bursting with all sorts of wonderful treasures and amazing crafts - everything from salvage to retro and everything in between. Enjoy live music both days and good food too! Admission is $5 for the weekend; children 12 and under are free Coaster Classic Car Show All day @ Silverwood Theme Park Come down and see some nostalgic classic cars at Silverwood Theme Park “No Service” play 7:30pm @ The Heartwood Center Unknown Locals production of an original play by Chris Herron. No Service is a darkly humorous story about life, death, and the complications of family. $12 general admission, $10 seniors/students.

Sip and Shop Fundraiser 4pm - 9pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Ten percent of all proceeds will be donated to Pend d’Oreille Arts Council

Charley Packard & Friends 7:30pm @ Eichardt’s Pub Come on down and see the one, the only, Charley Packard. He’s back, baby!

usa Studios. Wats an artistic mediculpts and assemt is free to attend

Live Music w/ Ken Mayginnes 7pm @ La Rosa Club

Live Music w/ Harold’s IGA 9pm - 12am @ 219 Lounge Indie rockers on the patio. The more you drink, the better they sound Live Music w/ Neighbor John Kelley and Robert Crader 5pm - 8:30pm @ Icehouse Pizzeria (Hope) A special event in Hope, with Neighbor John’s blues mastery. Come for the music, stay for the pizza and good times Live Music w/ David Walsh 5pm - 7pm @ Idaho Pour Authority Latin-inspired flamenco guitar Live Music w/ Mike Thompson’s new rock band 8pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

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UPCOMING EVENTS

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Bonner County Museum Friend-Raiser 5pm - 8pm @ La Rosa Club With a 1920s theme, all are welcome to join in this evening of jazzage fun as the museum celebrates the upcoming opening of new exhibits. Mix, mingle, enjoy no-host food and bar, plus there will be drink specials as well!

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READER

Stands and middlemen: The Peach Man’s story

By Jodi Rawson Reader Contributor

“The farmer ought to get the benefit of the present high cost of the things he produces.

We ought also to help the consumer by eliminating the middlemen... I am opposed to a middleman who merely stands in the way. Our most essential object should be to look out for the interests of the men who till the soil and of the wage workers. If these two classes do well, we will fare well also.”

-Theodore Roosevelt, from The New York Times Sept. 27, 1911.

The Peach Man’s stand in Ponderay. Photo by Jodi Rawson.

Roosevelt’s words continue to haunt us today. Over 100 years and several financial crises later, the problem of unproductive middlemen and floundering farmers is worse than ever.

Perhaps if the farmer and wage worker were more valued, we might have a chance to “fare well also” as a sustainable country.

It’s not hard to see the value in Mike Vanlith’s 75-acre orchard in Wenatchee, Wash. He grows peaches, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, prunes, apples, assorted vegetables and did I mention peaches? About two tons of a few different varieties sit in boxes on palettes. All of them were harvested within the last two days. All of them are beautiful, in my experience, with the “Peach Man” and his

harvest.

Vanlith and his wife, Betty, have been married 38 years.

They’ve been farming together for about 30 of those years. The devotion and respect for one another and their farm is inspiring.

Though the work is hard and the pay is small, they love farming and hope to continue their work.

“Some people ask us how we can stand working together,” the Peach Man said. “We can’t imagine not working together.”

As I dig my hand into the bin of plump yellow-pink cherries, I talk with self-proclaimed social butterfly Betty Vanlith, an energetic woman with a hip sort of vibe. I told her how grateful I was to be getting pounds of perfect cherries for less than half the cost of the stores. She told me how grateful she was for the

Mike and Betty Vanlith at their produce stand in Ponderay. Photo by Jodi Rawson.

fruit stand itself. After all, they know firsthand how difficult it is dealing with middlemen or waiting for returns on shipments.

“You got all these middlemen on down the line,” she said, explaining how the money they made in past cherry harvests did not cover the cost paid to the picker. “[It takes] 12-15 months to get returns from fruit shipments,” Vanlith said. “Last year we lost a lot of money in apples.”

Their Golden Delicious apples, for instance, were shipped out in 60 bins weighing 900 pounds each. After a year of waiting for the return payment, they found instead they owed money. They received a bill demanding $22 per bin because of a flooded harvest of Golden Delicious apples plus the dues paid

to the middleman. For growing, harvesting and shipping ripe apples, the Vanliths owed $1,320.

“After the broker gets their money, after the warehouse gets their money from packing ... whatever is left is what the farmer gets,” Vanlith said. “If it’s nothing, it’s nothing. If it is $10, it’s $10. That is the truth. It is sad ... I think this is why the small farmer suffers.”

“If you pencil it all out, somebody’s making money,” he added. “...And that is one of the reasons that small guys... we all are going to be out of business.

It’s just a matter of time. A good example would be Walmart... they came in and knocked out your smaller stores because they can’t compete. The same thing is happening in the fruit industry.”

By contrast, the three fruit stands that they run are a win-win situation. Their fruit is paid for immediately at the time of harvest, while their customers get a great deal on a great product.

The fruit stands were hailed by the “Peach Man” and his wife as the salvation of their farm.

“I very much object to paying more when it means merely

paying a profit to the man who stands between the farmer or the wage-earner and myself,” Vanlith said.

“Without the fruit stands, without the customer, we probably wouldn’t be farming. Small farms are just disappearing,” says Vanlith.

Each of their stands offers a unique experience for shoppers.

Their fruit stand near the Ponderay gas station has been a welcoming and helpful environment for customers, lacking the middleman that Roosevelt disliked 100 years ago. Overall, however, the Sandpoint location is the Vanlith’s favorite, the “most fun” place to sell fruit. With seven, soon-to-be eight grandchildren, the Vanliths love to see tree-ripened peach juice flow down the chin of a happy child.

“We love the people up here,” the Peach Man said.

The Peach Man’s story is one modern story of a struggling small farmer, reflecting a spectrum of struggling farmers, many of whom have lost their family farms. By creatively side-stepping the hierarchy of middlemen involved in fruit shipments, the Peach Man has been able to stay afloat through fruit stand sales.

“Knowing you have contributed something, something you’re proud of, makes you feel wonderful,” Betty Vanlith said.

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OUTDOORS

Fall Fest offers 60+ microbrews, live music and good times

By Ben Olson Reader Staff It’s been an interesting summer. We’ve had early heat waves, forest fires, earthquakes, smoky skies. It’s hard to believe that this weekend marks the end of summer operations for Schweitzer Mountain.

What’s even harder to fathom is that ski season is less than 100 days away.

What better way to mark the transition of the seasons than with beer and lots of it?

Schweitzer’s 23rd annual Fall Fest kicks off this Labor Day Weekend, closing out the summer activities on the mountain with style. With over 70 different microbrews on tap from a bevy of regional and national breweries, eight bands playing live music over three days, and the usual fun village and mountain activities available, it looks to be a great event.

According to Dig Chrismer, the marketing manager for Schweitzer, Fall Fest began over two decades ago as an Oktoberfest type event, with a Schweitzer spin.

“This was our way of tweaking the Oktoberfest theme to make this a Schweitzer event,” said Chrismer.

“It’s developed over the last several years, especially with the explosion of the microbreweries around the Northwest.”

As with any Schweitzer event, the level of participation is fully up to you.

“If you want to participate, you can pick up and buy glassware,” said 14 /

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Chrismer. “You can buy tokens for tasters depending on what you want to do.

Or, you can just come up to the resort and hang out. The live music is free for all.”

Here’s how it works; those interested in tasting the microbrews can purchase one of the many designs of glassware and commemorative mugs either on the mountain or online at www.schweitzer. com. Despite Schweitzer ordering over 6,400 glasses and mugs, they do sell out, especially the favorite designs each year.

After you’ve procured your mug or glass of choice, which includes tokens for tasting the delightful beer rainbow, you may then purchase more tokens.

The same deal applies for wine tasting, with special stemless and high quality stemmed pinot glasses available.

As usual, Schweitzer would never leave the kids out.

“For ten bucks, kids get their own souvenir Fall Fest soda mugs that change color when it gets cold,” said Chrismer.

Kids will then be able to mix different flavor syrups and build the ultimate soda concoction of their dreams.

On top of the liquid activities that we all love, the Great opEscape Quad will be op erational and offering unlimited rides for the single ride price to spirit b e e r lovers to the summ i t , where they can check out smokefree views of the Selkirk and CabCab inet Mountains, and a glimpse of Lake Pend Oreille that reminds

Fall Fest Live Music Line-up:

us all of why we live here.

All the summer activities will be in full swing for Fall Fest; the mountain biking trails, disc golf, the monkey jumper, the climbing wall and much more.

“It’s been a really nice summer up 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. here,” said Chrismer. “The mountain biking has been in great shape. Our crew Indie rock band out of Spokane, Wa. did an amazing job keeping the trails in great shape all year. Our guests are really 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. happy about that.”

Though it’s nice to taste more beers than you can shake a stick at, and stay Acousti-funk grooves to get you moving busy with all the outdoor activities and sightseeing on the summit and village, 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. some of the most fun at Fall Fest comes from the excellent selection of bands Sandpoint’s country music star playing all three days (see the sidebar for a full listing of music).

“The bands we have lined up are all crowd favorites,” said Brandon Peterson, Events Manager for Schweitzer 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Mountain Resort. “Great local talents like Devon and Miah Kohal Band, plus Spare Parts, Cathedral Pearls, Dimestore Classic rock band out of Spokane, Wa. Prophets, Rust on the Rails, Strictly Business and our big finale with Hell’s 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Belles, the female AC/DC tribute band on Monday afternoon. They blew us all Classic rock / outlaw country band away at Fall Fest last year, and it’s awesome that they will be back again.”

3 p.m. – 6 p.m.

“Seriously,” said Chrismer, “beer is one thing, but when you have beer and good music? That’s when it’s great to be here.”

The ultimate party band!

Lodging is already looking pretty full for the weekend, so those who’d like to stay on the mountain should act soon to make sure they get a room to spend the weekend on the mountain.

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

“We urge all of our guests to please be safe,” said Chrismer. “Use a designated driver or get a room. We’ve still got availAcoustic roots rock from Seattle, Wa. abilities for Friday night, which means you can come up early, have dinner, relax, 2:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and get there first thing in the morning.”

Fall Fest starts Saturday, Sept. 5 and concludes Monday, Sept. 7. Beer tastings The world famous all-female AC/DC run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and tribute band is back by popular demand!

Sunday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday.

Saturday, Sept 5:

Cathedral Pearls

Dimestore Prophets

Devon Wade

Sunday, Sept 6:

Spare Parts

Miah Kohal Band

Strictly Business

Monday, Sept 7:

Rust on the Rails Hell’s Belles

STAGE & SCREEN

‘No Service’ in review

By Dion Nizzi Reader Contributor Most would offer the idea that death, or even the prospect of it, is not a laughing matter.

“No Service,” the most recent play from Sandpoint production company Unknown Locals penned by playwright Chris Herron, challenges that idea with an in-your-face confrontation of mortality that would make the Grim Reaper himself bust a gut.

Friday night’s opening performance of the play, starring Kate McAlister, Becky Campbell, Madeline Elliott and CJ Dowling brought audible gasps and guffaws from a full house audience emotionally invested in the characters within 30 seconds flat. The night ended with an immediate standing ovation the second the lights dimmed and the curtain fell.

“No Service” is Herron’s fourth original play, following the romantic train wreck “Separate Checks,” the suicidal “Quick Exit” and the farcical comedy “Your Mom.” This play is a rare mix for the area. Said Herron, “In Sandpoint theater, there’s been a lot of comedy and there’s been a lot of drama, but there’s not a lot of hybrids that try to co-mingle the two, and if we’ve done our job right, this one will do that.”

They have, and it has. From start to finish, this play is a roller coaster ride of emotions, both good and bad, sacred and profane. Sometimes, really profane.

The play centers around McAlister’s character Anne. Diagnosed with a terminal

illness, she has, depending on which doctor you listen to, either six months or six weeks left to live. She’s decided to hole up in her home, an isolated cabin with crappy cell phone reception, to “pursue an alternative home treatment: drinking.”

The scenario develops quickly with an unexpected visit from Anne’s estranged friend Kim, played by Campbell.

Seemingly polar opposite of the bitter and angry Anne, Kim has brought along with her, as either support or protection, her daughter Sam, played by Dowling.

The first act consists of the three characters catching up with each other, and Kim trying to help Anne process what is happening to her, but Anne will have none of that. She’s content with sitting in her home, drinking her Irish whiskey and waiting for the end to come. Whenever that might be.

Throughout much yelling, screaming, laughing, bitching, moaning and bantering, the young Sam makes pointed observations about what Anne is going through and contemplates how she might feel if she were in her shoes.

For such a difficult topic, dialogue reveals a past of troubled circumstances and true friends stepping up to help each other. It resonates as true, raw emotion brought to life on the stage of the Heartwood Center. A combination of the characters’ history and current circumstances allows the cast to reminisce with veiled laughter and palpable bitterness.

And bitter she is. McAlister’s portrayal of a woman resigned to her fate is quite stunning. Rarely leaving her chair,

The cast of “No Service” (from left to right): Becky Campbell, C.J. Dowling, Kate McAlister, Madeline Elliot, Chris Herron (playwright).

Anne rules the roost with biting wit, sarcasm and humor alongside brief moments of regret and tenderness.

Act Two brings about a new theme of family estrangement when Anne’s daughter arrives in the dead of night. Hannah, portrayed by co-producer Elliott, is more like her mother than either are willing to admit. Their strained relationship and lack of appreciation for each other plays a strong role in the intense reunion. Hannah wants to find a solution, a cure, a treatment. Anne simply wants to meet her fate head on and sufficiently inebriated. The two characters spend most of the time on opposite sides of the stage, and as the banter continues, Hannah slowly inches towards her ailing mother.

With the aid of both Kim and Sam, realizations are made, past resentments are exposed and are either dismissed or slightly reconciled. Near the end of the play, Hannah and Anne finally come together in a passing embrace and then, in the next few minutes, resolution is brought full circle before the closing dialogue.

As McAlister states, “ I don’t want to give away the ending....but I don’t find redemption.”

As audience members, we were all brought full circle as well. This is a work by a terrific, thoughtful writer, carried out by an amazing, talented group of strong women. And it just might make you take the time to tell your loved ones how you feel about them, before there is “No Service.”

Catch “No Service” for its final weekend of shows 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 4 and 5, at the Heartwood Center. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for students/seniors.

BGH offering grief workshop, support group

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Grief is experienced by everyone at one time or another. Losing a loved one can often leave us feeling lost and unsure of where to seek guidance. Instead of trying to deal with the complex feelings that may come up during a grieving period, there is a better alternative offered by Bonner General Health.

“Coping With Grief” is a free eightweek support group and workshop offered to the public.

“This has been an ongoing offering to the community,” said Lissa DeFreitas, a member of the bereavement team at BGH. “We offer the class twice a year,

once in the spring and again in the fall.”

The classes will be offered every Monday night from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. from Sept. 14 to Nov. 2 at the East West Conference Room at BGH. There is no charge to attend the classes, but a screening/application is required for each participant before Sept. 8.

“What I love about the class is that it’s an eight-week course,” said DeFreitas. “It’s more of an intensive spiritual journey, but also aims to give people an education so they may walk through the journey of grief while also having companionship with others who have experi-

enced loss.”

The class is a combination of individual exploration and group work. Every participant will have the opportunity to share their story and experience. The other aspect is an educational effort at understanding what grief is.

“That’s important in our culture, where we don’t necessarily feel comfortable talking about death,” said DeFreitas.

Interested parties may contact Lissa DeFreitas at 208-265-1185 for more information.

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FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater

Young kids and fire: feeding the heroes on the front lines

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Food Columnist It’s been nearly two months since the visiting grandkids and I delivered a trunkful of firefighter provisions to Thorne Research, to be delivered to the Bayview Fire, and until the past weekend of rain, there had been no let up. Those men and women have all my admiration for the brave, tiring and dirty work they do. I have fed many a firefighter, and I can tell you firsthand they never sent their plate back because they found a bone in the fish or the meat was not a perfect rare. They were always hungry and ever grateful. Feeding them was an honor.

For the five years I operated a restaurant in Missoula, I had a meal contract with Montana Department of State Lands.

Meals were mostly prepared for pick up, but we also delivered and served via pickups and helicopters. When time allowed, we threw in a tablecloth and a floral arrangement or two (remnants from a previous wedding reception) and a hastily scrolled thank you sign for the fire-line buffet. The fire crews always seemed to appreciate whatever gestures of appreciation and thanks we threw their way.

The real bread and butter of the contract was sack lunches.

Over the years, we prepared thousands upon thousands of them, and the first call for each fire seemed to involve my Irish namesake, good old Murphy. I remember one especially long weekend; it was UM homecoming and we’d had an in-house dinner for nearly two hundred as well as several smaller, 16 /

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off-premise events. After we finished the basic cleanup about 1 a.m., I sent my exhausted crew home for a few hours of sleep before we planned to tackle the final cleanup in the morning. I was nearly home and almost out of cell range when I got the call, requesting 1,200 sack lunches, needed by 7 a.m. Could I handle the request, the caller asked.

When you’re the boss, you do whatever it takes. “Of course,” I replied. What followed was six hours of panic, pandemonium and finally, 1,200 packed, sack lunches.

My first calls always went out to the 24-hour grocery store managers, who would start slicing meat and pulling stock.

Twelve hundred sack lunches equates to about 500 pounds of deli meat and more than 200 loaves of bread; plus for each lunch a piece of fruit, cookies,

mints, gum, condiments, napkins and moist toilettes. And more cardboard boxes (and cold storage) than you can even imagine.

My next calls went out to mobilize a fresh crew. It’s hard to find a crew at 2 a.m., and while my kids have not been on the front lines of a fire, they have been on the front lines of preparing sack lunches. My first shift was compromised of the junior set, and they could assemble a sandwich in seconds.

While the government contract clearly required that no one under 18 years of age could assemble food, I was pretty sure I had an informal waiver (though I always hid the children when the government workers came to collect the lunches). After nearly 25 years, I feel like the statute of limitations has run out and I am free to finally give

those kids a big round of recognition. Hopefully they won’t be looking for any back pay, though in retrospect, they clearly deserve it.

I’ve always believed it more prudent to beg forgiveness than ask permission, and never did that ring truer than the time I showed up to cook for a week at Bend Guard Station, a remote training camp in Northwestern Montana, with a 9- and 10-year-old in tow. Though the camp boss looked a bit wary, neither of us said a word as I unpacked the provisions. Besides dishes, the kids’ main chores were washing vegetables and cracking a case of eggs nearly every morning. By day three, my young helpers had the run of the camp and the respect of the camp boss. They’d also mastered the skill of setting a respectable gopher snare.

Looking back over more than 25 years of notable food memories, the one that resonates in my mind and still satisfies me the most is the night of 1,200 sack lunches. Though I prepared many more after that, I never did so many, on such short notice. Often I’d make lunches for the same crew from the beginning of a small fire through mop up, so there was time to plan ahead and make a homemade dessert or two. A favorite with the crews was fruit bread, they reported, because it stayed moist and didn’t crumble like a cookie. Wish I had kept track of the number of sweet bread loaves I baked over those five years, especially Blueberry Lemon Loaf.

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

You can easily double this recipe and if your bread is not ‘traveling,’ you can finish it with a drizzle of pretty and tart lemon glaze.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

• 1½ cups white, unbleached all-purpose flour

•Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

•Generously butter and flour a 8½ by 4¼ by 2½-inch loaf pan.

•In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

• Pour the sugar into a separate medium-sized mixing bowl. Grate the zest from the lemon. Rub the zest into the sugar until the sugar blended and fragrant. Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture. Whisk well, until the ingredients are combined.

• When the mixture is well blended, gently whisk in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Switch to a spatula and fold in the oil, making sure it’s well blended. In a separate bowl, lightly mix the blueberries with about one teaspoon flour (this will help prevent them from sinking while baking).

• Gently fold the almonds and the blueberries into the batter.

• Pour the batter into the prepared

• 2 teaspoons baking powder • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 medium lemon to be zested, then juiced • 1 cup sugar • ¾ cup plain whole-milk yogurt • 3 extra-large eggs • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract • ½ cup cooking oil • 1 cup sliced almonds • 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)

loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sides just start to pull away from the sides of the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

• Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then run a knife between the bread and the sides of the pan to loosen. Unmold the bread by placing a large plate or cutting board upside down over the loaf

pan and carefully turning it over. Turn the bread back onto a flat surface to cool completely.

Optional glaze after loaf is cool: • 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 1 teaspoon lemon zest • 1 cup powdered sugar Stir until smooth and shiny and then drizzle onto loaf

MUSIC Our favorite albums of 2015

This week’s RLW by Susan Drinkard

READ

Canadian writer Margaret Atwood’s prize-winning book, “Alias Grace” is based on the his historical records of the 1843 murders of Thomas Kinnear and of Nancy Montgomery, Kinnear’s mistress and housekeeper in what is now Southern Ontario.

Grace Marks, a maid at Kinnear’s estate, is convicted and given a life sentence for her alleged role in the murders, but a group of spiritualists seek a pardon for her and engage a doctor to help Grace remember what happened.

“Alias Grace” is at once captivating and disturbing and well worth your time.

By Ben Olson and Cameron Rasmusson Reader Staff

Okay, we know it’s too early to do an “2015 Album of the Year” feature, but we thought it might be fun to tell you our top picks for albums released this year so far. That and our other feature we had scheduled for this space fell through at the last minute. So there.

Cameron’s 2015 short list: The Decemberists: “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.”

The Portland, Ore., folksters who pioneered a new subgenre of literate indie rock at the turn of the millennium still have a few tricks up their sleeve. Their latest proves frontman Colin Meloy still knows his way around grandiose composition even as the years have made him more introspective.

Sufjan Stevens: “Carrie & Lowell” I’ve gone on a limb by declaring “Carrie & Lowell” the best thing Sufjan Stevens has ever done, and anyone who has heard “Illinois” knows that’s not a title to be distributed lightly. “Carrie & Lowell” lacks the big tentpole moments of his earlier records. In fact, it’s almost entirely an exercise in melancholy as Stevens explores his conflicted emotions about his recently deceased mother.

But it achieves a level of purity through the pain, and anyone who is touched by the record will never forget it.

Titus Andronicus: “The Most Lamentable Tragedy” An epic in every sense, this double album is an odyssey through psychosis by intrepid punk rockers Titus Andronicus. The album feels almost schizophrenic as songs veer between big arena rock chords and stripped down interstitial segments, and themes like loss of

identity and mental frailty only reinforce that notion.

Sharon Van Etten:

“I Don’t Want To Let You Down”

In many ways, this EP feels like the polar opposite of Titus Andronicus’ latest. It’s a sparse five-song EP compared to their two-CD mammoth. It finds solace in small sounds rather than frenetic distortion and half-screamed lyrics. But the vulnerability Van Etten finds in this small EP is much the same and proves she’s one of the best singer-songwriters working today.

Wilco: “Star Wars” You saw them at the Festival at Sandpoint. Now check out their latest album, a strange exercise in almost every respect.

There’s the name, the feline-festooned cover art, the sound architecture that veers away from their alt-Americana roots and, oh yeah, the fact that Jeff Tweedy just plopped it onto the Internet with nary an announcement or forewarning.

It’s purely a gift to the fans, and Wilco even used the publicity to promote some of their favorite lesser-known bands.

I call that a class act.

Ben’s favorite albums this year: Modest Mouse: “Strangers to Ourselves” I’ve listened to a lot of Modest Mouse over the years, and I never seem to get sick of them. They were in on the indie rock scene early, and have influenced dozens of bands who have come after with their insightful lyrics, easy melodies, and dissident feelings that turn out beautiful in the end.

Josh Hedlund: “Live @ The Office” I promise, this isn’t a shameless plug for our “Live @ The Office” concert series, which will start back up next month.

The recording we got of local singer/songwriter Josh Hedlund playing at our office show this spring was amazing. Recorded

Crossword Solution

by Jesse Gunn of Pinky Haus Studios and sold exclusively through the Reader, you’ll want to hound us for a copy of this.

Trust me. It’s that good.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltson “The High Country” I promoted this album in the “Read Listen Watch” some weeks ago. I was originally attracted to this band through their strange name and fell in love with their infectious melodies and indie pop arrangements. Instead of being whiny and immature, the band with the long name nailed it with “The High Country.”

Sufjan Stevens: “Carrie & Lowell” Fans of older Sufjan Stevens will find a return to his roots of soft, deep, sustained folk rhythms and melodies. The songs Stevens writes glow with melancholy. Get this album.

Built to Spill: “Untethered Moon” We’re a long way from the 1990s, but Doug Martsch’s Boise-based alt-indie-rock band still keeps their authentic sound rolling. In this, their seventh album, they once again create something worth listening to.

Listening to Martsch play his guitar is divinity.

LISTEN

I’ve heard a suspect pronouncement that “most women don’t like jazz.” True or not, this woman does.

Joni Mitchell’s “Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter,” is a mix of world music and jazz fusion. It’s an album I return to from time to time for its off-the-leash boldness and symbolic lyrics. I like the idea that probably no one for a thousand miles in any direction is listening to this double album except me.

It is an acquired taste for sure, but masterful, especially with Jaco Pastorius playing bass. And if you are young and don’t know Joni Mitchell, you might start with the Miles of Aisles album before heading to the harder stuff.

WATCH

Set in the 1950s in a suburb in Connecticut, everything is seemingly perfect in the lives of homemaker Cathy Whitaker, brilliantly played

by Julianne Moore and her husband Frank, played by Dennis Quaid.

When Cathy finds her husband kissing another man at his office, life becomes, as the movie’s title indicates; “Far From Heaven.”

The tortured Frank tries to beat his “sickness” through treatment. Meanwhile, Cathy connects with their kind black gardener, Raymond, played by Dennis Haysbert. Their lives may be far from heaven but the nuanced acting by these performers combined with the rich cinematography make “Far From Heaven” a divine viewing experience.

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w o N & Then compiled by

Ben Olson

Each week, we feature a new photograph taken from the same vantage point as one taken long ago. See how we’ve changed, and how we’ve stayed the same.

Historical information provided and verified by Bonner County Museum staff and volunteers. The Museum is located at 611 S. Ella — (208) 263-2344.

The infamous Harold’s IGA supermarket, which was located on the block between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, and Church and Oak Streets. Harold’s was demolished along with the movie theater in 2005.

CROSSWORD

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

c. 1990s

ACROSS

The same view today, where Columbia Bank is located now. Columbia bought out Panhandle State Bank last winter.

2015

Corrections: We had a misspelling last week. “July” was spelled “Juy” in our City Administer article. Cameron and I have punched each other in the face for the mistake, and it will not happen again. [BO] 18 /

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1. A neutral color 5. Line of a poem 10. Sun 14. Indian music 15. Gladden 16. Ripped 17. Nonsectarian 19. Train track 20. Spelling contest 21. Equestrian 22. Father 23. Gist 25. Nannies and billies 27. G 28. Diversified 31. Exploded stars 34. Labyrinths 35. Mineral rock 36. Matured 37. Public transit vehicles 38. Not a single one 39. Implore 40. Fathered 41. Bottoms of shoes 42. Legumes 44. Letter after sigma 45. Make fun of 46. Informant 50. Splines 52. Spacious 54. Animal doctor 55. Square block 56. Tableware 58. Website addresses 59. Drop to one’s knees

Solution on page 17 60. Border 61. Encounter 62. Woe 63. Accomplishment

DOWN 1. Diving bird 2. Contests of speed 3. Chills and fever 4. Sweet potato 5. City in Italy 6. Leave out 7. Dash 8. Daydreamed 9. Snake-like fish

10. Layers 11. An inedible mushroom 12. Desiccated 13. Depend 18. Sea eagles 22. Speaker’s platform 24. Quaint outburst 26. Mining finds 28. Flower jars 29. Sea eagle 30. D D D D 31. Apprehends 32. Curved molding 33. “Animal, _______ or mineral” 34. Slaying

37. Life stories 38. Person, place or thing 40. Resorts 41. Nymph chaser 43. Hate 44. At an opportune time 46. Interlaced 47. Avoid 48. Twilled fabric 49. Horse 50. Pond gunk 51. Attraction 53. Margarine 56. Calypso offshoot 57. Married

Many people don’t realize that playing dead can help not only with bears, but also at important business meetings.

Quality, Sustainable Coee Crafted with Passion

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