Reader_Sept24_2020

A CHANGE Of SEASON

2 / R / September 24, 2020

PEOPLE compiled by

Susan Drinkard

watching

“What is the weirdest thing you have purchased at a garage or yard sale?”

“I’ve been going to garage sales since the early ’90s. The best part is spending time with a friend as you search for treasures. Recently I found a giant red fruit bowl for my father, who is remodeling his kitchen; he wants red dishes.”

Sherrie Wilson Owner, Monarch Mountain Coffee Sandpoint “From my neighbor’s garage sale I got a collection of old tools and VHS tapes with a television with VHS player. Apparently these are coming back and people are getting good money for them.”

Jordan Carlson 7B Boardshop Sandpoint “I recently got a Pack N Play, which is like a crib, at a garage sale. It was free and in like new condition. I gave it to a friend who needed it.”

Holly Newcomb Mother of three boys Blanchard

“I was with my mom at a garage sale. She found an old Singer sewing machine. It actually works.”

Michael Pope Student at Academy of Art University Sandpoint “Over the summer I got this cool vintage hutch for only $45. When I took it home I found vintage jewelry inside, so I went back to return the jewelry, and they said it was supposed to go with the hutch as a surprise!”

Catarina Sukmungsa Server at MickDuff’s Sandpoint

DEAR READERS,

Susan Drinkard’s question for “People Watching” this week is, “What is the weirdest thing you have purchased at a garage or yard sale?”

When I was in college in Colorado, I stopped by a yard sale on my way home from work one day and saw an item for sale that still puzzles me. It was a small piece of artwork about the size of a sheet of notebook paper that had these curious little half moon shaped objects glued to the canvas. The scene was from Leonardo DaVinci’s “The Last Supper” painting, but the half-moon shaped objects were toenail and fingernail clippings. A lot of them. I remember thinking then that the artist must’ve been saving their nail clippings for years to amass the amount needed to pull off this piece of art. There was a price tag of $10 on the item, and I still wonder who in the world purchased it and where they might have hung it. Whatever the outcome, I hope it brings them joy.

Hope you’re enjoying the change of seasons this week. I love this time of year.

– Ben Olson, publisher

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: Chelsea Mowery (cover), Ben Olson, Susan Drinkard, Lenny Hess, Lacy Robinson, Bill Borders.

Contributing Writers: Zach Hagadone, Ben Olson, Lyndsie Kiebert, Lorraine H. Marie, Susan Drinkard, Shelby Rognstad, Ammi Midstokke, David Ledford, Jim Mitsui, Margaret Ann Maricle, Amy Craven, Jackie Henrion, Marcia Pilgeram.

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About the Cover

This week’s cover photo was taken by Chelsea Mowery. Her second cover in a row! Thanks Chelsea.

September 24, 2020 / R / 3

NEWS

City files motion to recover costs in Festival gun suit Total comes close to $94k

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Two weeks after a district judge ruled in favor of the city of Sandpoint in the lawsuit brought

by Bonner County over The Festival at Sandpoint’s no-weapons policy, the city filed a motion Sept. 16 asking the court for $93,965.55 in costs and attorneys fees stemming from the suit.

“The interests of justice would be well served by assessing these costs against Plaintiffs given that the Court found their arguments to be unpersuasive, vague and speculative, and without merit,” the city’s legal counsel, Lake City Law, wrote in one of the supporting documents to its motion.

Specifically, the city is asking for $1,206.55 in costs connected with filing and witness fees, copies of depositions and online legal research — the latter described in the document as “necessary and exceptional.”

“Such costs should be allowed because the claims and arguments propounded by Plaintiffs in this litigation were so exaggerated and farfetched that Defendant had to perform extensive legal research to determine whether there was any merit to such claims and arguments,” the city’s counsel wrote.

Beyond those costs, the remaining $92,759 encompasses attorneys fees.

According to an itemized accounting of the city’s legal costs dated from Sept. 30, 2019 to Sept.

16, 2020, four attorneys and one paralegal worked a combined total of 469.15 hours on the case. The cost of those working hours could add up quickly. For instance, during one five-day period in early June, one attorney alone worked 27.6 hours on the city’s reply brief and researched cases cited in the plaintiffs’ response, amounting to a bill of $5,520.

City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton told the Sandpoint

Reader in an email that the county has 14 days from the date of the filing — which will fall on Sept.

30 — to file an objection with the court.

“We expect the court to consider the request in the next 30 to 60 days,” she wrote.

Bonner county commissioners deferred comment to legal counsel.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Scott Bauer also declined to comment Sept 23 in a text message to the Reader, writing that, “Bonner [County] is still reviewing its legal options and has made no decisions related to payment of attorney fees at this time.”

The cost of the lawsuit to taxpayers became a cause for concern among area residents even as it was being filed in September 2019. Letters to the editor and social media posts for months criticized the suit as an unnecessary expense that would cost city ratepayers on both sides of the litigation.

Shortly after the suit was filed last fall, Stapleton confirmed that the city’s insurance provider would not cover the legal costs because it was a “declaratory action” that did not carry specific financial penalties or damages.

“City General Funds will be used to cover associated defense costs, which is essentially property tax,” Stapleton said at the time.

Meanwhile, Bauer told the Reader in a September 2019 email that “the cost of litigation are born by the County not any outside insurance company.”

According to a records request received Sept. 18 by the Reader, the county has to date paid its legal counsel, Davillier Law Group, a total of $145,529.65 since the suit began. Should a judge rule in favor of the city’s motion to receive attorneys’ fees and costs from the county, its total expenditure on the suit could rise to $239,495.20.

Based on the city’s filings with

the First District Court, which name Bonner County and Daryl Wheeler in his capacity as elected sheriff, Idaho Code specifically allows for the recovery of costs and attorneys fees from one municipal authority to another.

“In any civil judicial proceeding involving as adverse parties a governmental entity and another government entity, the court shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorney’s fees, witness fees and other reasonable expenses,” the filing stated, quoting from Idaho Code 12-117(4).

What’s more, citing the amended complaint, filed by the county in late January, “both parties have acknowledged that an award of attorney fees in this case pursuant to [Idaho Code] would be made to the prevailing party,” city’s counsel wrote.

Additional reporting by Lyndsie Kiebert.

Crews containing Bernard, Callahan fires; now working West Branch fire Cooler, wet weather expected through the weekend

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff Fire crews working the two major fires in the Bonner County area are steadily achieving containment, though a new blaze reported Sept. 16 is now burning about nine miles west of Coolin just over the Washington-Idaho border.

According to fire officials, the Bernard fire burning on 1,425 acres southeast of Bayview, is now 65% contained as crews number 161 personnel have successfully checked its perimeter. Going forward, firefighters are monitoring and reinforcing their lines, using equipment — including a helicopter — to conduct fuels removal and bucket drops from nearby Echo Bay. Winds have mellowed since the Bernard fire flared up dramatically in the second week of the month, resulting in fire behavior that officials described as “creeping and smoldering with occasional torching of trees.”

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Meanwhile, “Rock outcrops and other natural barriers have helped stop the fire’s spread,” fire managers reported.

The Callahan fire, nine miles west of Troy, Mont. on the Idaho side of the border south of Smith Mountain, is burning on 1,276 acres of steep timber and brush, though crews reported Sept. 23 that the blaze is 41% contained.

A total of 289 personnel — including five crews, seven engines, two water tenders, four heavy equipment and three helicopters — are working directly on the edge of the fire, whose activity has remained “minimal” amid cooling, wetter weather.

Officials reported Sept. 23 that firefighters are continuing to mop up into the fire’s interior along Forest Service Road 4541, searching for and extinguishing hot spots. Meanwhile, they will monitor and patrol the line south of Smith Mountain.

The West Branch fire, first reported Sept. 16, is burning on 75

acres with 27 personnel at the site near Forest Service Rd 1094, and a half mile west of the state line.

As of Sept. 23, a helicopter, 20-person crew, engine and initial attack module are assigned to the fire, which is burning in terrain primarily composed of cedar and hemlock with heavy and downed fuel, including snags and hazard trees.

“Falling snags and burned trees are contributing to spread by falling and sliding down the hill,” fire managers reported.

Effective Sept. 17, Idaho Panhandle National Forests officials put in place a temporary road closure to protect public and firefighter safety during suppression work. Forest Development Road FS 1094, beginning at its junction with NFSR 312 and continuing to its junction with NFSR 1108, is closed until further notice.

All three fires will be affected by the wet weather system rolling through the Idaho Panhandle beginning Sept. 23, which brings

with it the expectation of widespread rain. Forecasters are expecting Thursday, Sept. 24 and Friday, Sept.

25 to be cool, breezy and showery — though with a slight chance of thunderstorms.

A second weather front forecast for Saturday, Sept. 26 is expected to bring more showers and breezy conditions.

For fire info and updates visit inciweb.nwcg.gov. For weather forecasts, visit nws.noaa.gov.

Smoke rises from smoldering ashes of the West Branch Fire. Photo courtesy U.S. Forest Service.

NEWS

Accommodating the commode

Army Corps, public clash over the future of Springy Point peninsula outhouse

By Lyndsie Kiebert Reader Staff When U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials visited the Springy Point Campground in Sagle this past spring to perform a regular facilities check, they came across an unwelcome surprise in the outhouse on the Springy Point peninsula.

During inspection of the toilet, which was last pumped in 2018, USACE staff reported that the vault was full again and ready to be emptied. Officials dispatched septic services, and a contractor took a barge to Springy Point. USACE Chief of Natural Resources Taylor Johnson said the septic company found the waste inside the vault was “rock solid.”

“When the contractor stuck his hose down there, there was nothing to pump,” he told the Sandpoint Reader. “He hit hard, solid stuff.”

What caused the waste to harden is unknown, as the regular maintenance schedule for the site dictated it be pumped every two or three years. However, one thing is certain: the current Springy Point peninsula toilet is locked, and will eventually need to go. What happens after that remains a debate between USACE and the public.

For the Corps, Johnson said the best option is to eliminate the facility — which was built in the 1980s — rather than attempt to use a backhoe to remove the waste.

“After consulting with our environmental team and [the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality], they found it was best to spread lime over the top of it and let it deteriorate into the vault,” Johnson said.

To accomplish that plan, the outhouse and toilet would be removed, the top of the vault pit

exposed and lime sprinkled over the solidified contents, which would be eaten away over time.

A large mound of dirt would also be placed over the vault.

“Over time the dirt would fill in that void, so there’s no safety hazard, and we’d just let the area go back to its natural state,” Johnson said. “The only thing remaining would be the [buried] concrete vault tank.”

The Corps’ decision is based on factors ranging from the environment to finances to a simple matter of access. Johnson said a portion of Idaho Code prohibits the Corps from constructing a new facility at the site “due to restrictions requiring a 50-foot buffer to standing or interment water.” Meanwhile, the $2,500 cost to barge over a septic company to pump the outhouse — which is only accessible by boat due to surrounding landowners refusing access by land — is the maximum amount that USACE is allowed to spend on a single service.

Another big factor in the Corps’ decision to eliminate the outhouse is consistent disrespect of the property by the public, Johnson said. “[It] has become this nuisance property for me and my staff to manage, as far as people going out there partying, camping, building illegal fires, defecating all over the place,” Johnson said. “Even when the toilet was serviceable and open, people don’t want to use a pit toilet … People would much rather, in our experience, go to the bathroom on the ground than go into a vault toilet.”

Johnson said the recently updated shower and restroom facilities at the Springy Point Campground — just across the bay — are available for day use.

“We can hold people accountable, keep the area clean, but also save taxpayer money by

not duplicating something that’s already offered just a 100 yards away,” he said.

Meanwhile, some members of the public argue that Springy Point peninsula — which is seeing more use than ever — needs its own restroom facility.

Steve Holt, executive director of Lake Pend Oreille Waterkeeper, has been in contact with Johnson about that need. LPOW, which advocates for protecting the lake’s water quality, is of the opinion that without a proper outhouse, the messy situation at Springy Point will only worsen.

“This is an incredibly beautiful and accessible piece of lakeside property and a destination for many local boaters,” Holt wrote in an email to the Reader. “If they are allowed there, which legally they are, not having a properly maintained facility only creates a toxic environment, is a source of pollution to Lake Pend Oreille and

a hazard to swimmers.”

Holt also cited Idaho DEQ guidance, which states that “to preserve the quality and beneficial uses of the waters of the state of Idaho, it is preferable to have toilet facilities available at recreational areas that attract a large number of users.”

“We understand that the issue is complex, and can sympathize with the Army Corps of Engineers’ expense of administering and maintaining a facility in that location,” Holt wrote. “However, I hate to say it, but if a publicly funded federal agency who develops and runs some of the largest infrastructure projects in the world can’t figure out a way to maintain a vault toilet where it’s really needed, maybe we’re all in trouble! In all seriousness, there is a viable source of funding available for the installation of a new facility and all that’s needed is a bit of cooperation between a few stakeholders and

The outhouse at Springy Point across the Pend Oreille River from Sandpoint. Photo by Lenny Hess.

the issue could be resolved.”

Johnson maintains that there are too many factors pushing USACE to put the Springy Point peninsula outhouse to rest.

“There are a lot of opportunities available, but it’s not something that we’re really interested in pursuing because of all these other reasons like trash, littering, the fact that we have facilities otherwise, the cost to operate and maintain the place,” Johnson told the Reader. “This is the best option for the Corps and the public, in my opinion.”

LPOW and USACE officials are slated to have a meeting on the issue Friday, Sept. 25. Those who wish to contact Johnson and his staff at USACE can call 208437-3133. Reach Holt at steve@ lpow.org.

September 24, 2020 / R / 5

NEWS

City of Ponderay awarded federal funds for lakeshore underpass

By Reader Staff

The “little city with a big future” just got a big boost in its plans to build a pedestrian-bicycle underpass to the lakeshore with the recent announcement of a federal planning grant award.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city of Ponderay a $1.4 million Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant to plan, design, engineer and acquire permits for a non-motorized railroad underpass and associated infrastructure from U.S. Highway 200 to the Lake Pend Oreille lakeshore.

The announcement comes on the eve of Ponderay Neighbor Day, which is scheduled for Saturday (Sept. 19) afternoon at the site of the proposed trailhead and underpass, which will connect to the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail along the shoreline.

“This is a critical step in making this lakeshore connection and shoreline park a reality,” said Ponderay Mayor Steve Geiger of the grant award.

Geiger noted that the city committed $350,000 local match from the city’s 1% local option tax, passed last year by a supermajority of city residents for recreation infrastructure purposes.

The planning grant will fund design and engineering of the underpass from Ponderay to the lakeshore including, a new city street and trailhead on city property located behind the Hoot Owl Restaurant, and a shared-use pathway under railroad tracks. The project also includes preliminary design for enhancements to Highway 200 that will prioritize the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

This is the first year that the USDOT BUILD grant funded planning projects and not just construction. The city applied for a construction grant last year but was unsuccessful. Geiger said the planning, design and engineering will make the Lakeshore Connection Project “shovel ready” and more competitive for future federal grants.

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He also expressed gratitude to members of the Idaho congressional delegation for their help. U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, and U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher all provided letters of support and reached out to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao on behalf of the city of Ponderay.

“Building safe, direct access between the city of Ponderay and the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail has been a priority for Bonner County residents for a long time, and this newly announced BUILD grant will be a major factor in bringing increased business and employment opportunities to the state,” Risch and Crapo said in a prepared statement.

“We thank Secretary Chao and her staff at the Department of Transportation for their support for this infrastructure project and look forward to seeing its successful completion,” they said.

The grant was among $1 billion in BUILD funds intended to repair, rebuild and revitalize transportation systems across America, according to Chao’s office. Also awarded in Idaho was a $19.1 million grant to the Nez Perce Tribe for a new highway interchange on U.S. 95/12 near Lewiston.

A key partner in the Ponderay project is the Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC), an agency serving rural communities that will provide technical and logistical oversight and will act as project administrator for planning and construction of the undercrossing.

Other key partners include the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail and Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, which helped fund preliminary engineering and environmental studies that established the feasibility of the project, and otherwise assisted the city with preparing the grant applications.

The undercrossing project dovetails also with the city’s brownfields cleanup project in the vicinity of Black Rock.

Together, the city is calling the shoreline cleanup, access and redevelopment into parkland the “Front Yard Project.”

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: The Trump administration’s negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to lower drug prices for seniors — a move intended to be an “October surprise” in the 2020 election — have collapsed, according to The New York Times. Trump’s plans included drug companies mailing $100 cash cards to seniors before Nov. 3. However, the PhRMA trade group said it did not want to be positioned as teaming up with the president right before the election. What’s more, the savings cards would “not provide lasting help.”

The White House put a stop to plans to send 650 million cloth face masks to everyone in the U.S. early in the COVID-19 pandemic, with the reasoning that “receiving masks might create concern or panic,” The Washington Post recently reported. Had the masks been sent and used, a study by the Center for Economic Policy says 40,000 lives could have been saved in April and May. Wildfire smoke may increase the intensity of COVID-19 symptoms, according to UC San Francisco. Of particular concern are microscopic particles that injure lung linings.

A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Postal Service must reverse changes made by the postmaster general that slowed the mail, calling those actions “politically motivated” to “disrupt” mail-in voting for the election. Fourteen states have sued, The Washington Post reported, after a USPS letter to 46 states warned that the USPS could not guarantee mail-in ballots would arrive on time for counting.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 on Sept. 18 after serving 27 years on the highest court in the land. Nominated by President Bill Clinton and confirmed 96-3 in the Senate, Ginsburg was known for strict adherence to equality under the law in cases involving both men and women.

Shortly after Ginsburg’s death, President Donald Trump and Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said they will rapidly move to replace her.

To pass Trump’s court nominee, 51 votes are needed in the Senate, which now has 53 Republicans. When Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February, 2016, McConnell blocked a vote on President Barack Obama’s nominee — citing as his reason that it was an election year. Other past and present statements

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

by prominent Republicans have also gone against the current drive a pre-election court confirmation.: “It’s been 80 years since a Supreme Court vacancy was nominated and confirmed in an election year. There is a long tradition that you don’t do this in an election year,” Sen. Ted Cruz said in 2016. Sen. Lindsey Graham in 2016 said, “If there’s … a vacancy [that] occurs in the last year of the first term… let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.”

According to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, speaking after Ginsburg’s death, “I would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We are 50-some days away from an election.”

A week after the Tuesday, Nov. 3 election, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a Republican-led challenge to the Affordable Care Act. The court upheld the legality of the law in 2012 by a 5-4 vote.

House Leader Nancy Pelosi indicated on ABC News that her fellow Democrats want to defend the U.S. Constitution and will explore ways to prevent another politicized Supreme Court appointment.

Since mid-March the total net worth of the nation’s billionaires has risen by $850 billion — a 29% increase, according to a new study from the Institute for Policy Studies.

Blast from the past: While numerous Republicans said four years ago there should be no Supreme Court Justice replacement made in an election year, that is not a rule, says historian Heather Cox Richardson. At least 14 Supreme Court justices have been nominated and confirmed during an election year, and three others were nominated after a presidential election. The current controversy has its roots in the aftermath of the Senate refusing to vote on Barack Obama’s nominee in 2016 and Ronald Reagan using judicial nominees to undo the works of justices appointed by prior Republican presidents. Specifically, Reagan’s nomination process was politicized with questions about abortion and affirmative action. In 1992, when thenSen. Joe Biden chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, he proposed that if a court vacancy occurs close to an election, it should not be filled until after the vote to avoid the politicization that took place under Reagan.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calls that the “Biden Rule.” A number of Republicans who said four years ago that they opposed election-year replacements of justices are now reversing their stance.

September 24, 2020 / R / 7

Oops…

Bouquets: • A Bouquet to John Knepper, Ricci Witte and the rest of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce for their work putting on the hilarious Sand Creek Regatta last weekend. Coming at the conclusion of a particularly busy tourist season, this locals event was much appreciated.

Barbs: • I realize that we are in a post-truth era where facts can be interpreted various ways depending upon your party loyalty, but I have to point out hypocrisy when I see it. In 2016, with 10 months left until the election, Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell blocked President Obama’s Supreme Court nomination after Justice Scalia passed away. Republicans at the time said “let the voters decide,” and that it wasn’t proper for an election-year president to choose a Supreme Court justice. Sen. Lindsey Graham even said in 2016, “I want you to use my words against me. If there’s a Republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term, you can say Lindsey Graham said, ‘Let’s let the next president, whoever it might be, make that nomination.’” Well, here we are, in a scenario that is eerily accurate to Graham’s prediction and are we hearing Republicans say to hold off until after the election?

Nope. They are all now saying they have a duty to confirm President Trump’s presumptive nomination. I just can’t stomach the hypocrisy, gaslighting and blatant unfairness that has run rampant in this country right now. Yes, it exists on both sides of the aisle, but what is anyone supposed to make of the double standard, where rules are catered only to those who hold power?

What lessons are we teaching our next generation with underhanded stunts like this? Will we ever bridge this divide?

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Dear editor, It seems that our county commissioners and the Planning and Zoning Department have decided to circumvent the four years of work done by the Selle/Samuels Community Committee (SSCC) members, people who aren’t paid anything and are trying to protect our rural/agricultural way of life from: housing developments, open mining, additional gravel pits and any other greedy money proposals

by P&Z and the county commissioners.

County commissioners are supposed to represent the people who elected them to office. Not represent their own self interests.

To respond to an alternate of this SSCC, after finding alterations have been done to the borders of a map on the Selle/Samuels Area Comprehensive Plan, with, “Oops, you’ll have to live with it,” is just plain wrong. SSCC members have provided a very well done plan to preserve this area and our way of life, why is it not being accepted as representation of these residents?

County commissioners and the P&Z Department aren’t listening to the residents, they seem to think they “know what’s best” for us simple folk out here in the sticks.

County commissioners and P&Z: Your decisions are unacceptable. Revenue and dollars are all you seem to care about.

For once in your lives, accept what the citizens that reside in this specific area want. Back off.

Michael Harmelin Selle/Samuels

Stealing signs...

Dear editor, It’s doubtful the person who stole anti-smelter and Democratic candidate signs on our road care they’re breaking the law and infringing First Amendment rights.

This person probably doesn’t read newspapers, Facebook is their only source of misinformation and lacks intelligence to check facts.

When their mistruths are proven wrong by credible sources they refuse to reassess or retract their misinformation.

This type of person often spouts that refusing to wear

masks and their right to carry guns, even into the polling place, is their constitutional right but they deny others’ rights. Many claim to be Christian but don’t remember the only time Jesus lost his temper was over hypocrisy.

Guess they don’t know the Fifth Commandment: “Thou shall not steal.”

Stealing political signs that support either side of the political spectrum is censorship.

Dictators including Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Putin, Jong-Un, Bin Salman Al Saud have all used censorship. Three of these are heroes of Donald Trump.

The Associated Press reports, “Oregon, Washington and California have been struggling…under some of the most unhealthy air on the planet,” “with wildfires getting larger … because of climate change … a sign of things to come … smoke will likely shroud the sky more often in the future.”

Imagine what local air quality would be like if future wildfire smoke also includes sulfuric acid, CO2 and particulate from the smelter. Smelters do not shut down because of bad air quality. Once fired up they run 24/7 because of the tremendous amount of energy and money restarting takes.

Sixty years ago, the Ecology Movement predicted cataclysmic changes to the health of our planet unless human beings changed their ways, including lessening enormous use and release of hazardous chemicals and gas into our air.

Stealing signs won’t change the truth.

Betty Gardner Priest River

Johnson for county commissioner...

Dear editor, There are two “Steves” running against each other for District 1 county commissioner this year.

I am supporting Steve Johnson, a man with true vision for our community. Johnson is a lifelong resident, a retired educator with local public schools. Johnson understands administration methods and uses common sense to weigh both sides; he does not promote ideological tangents.

Johnson is concerned about

the spending of taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits such as we have all witnessed this year, including the county suing the city over guns at The Festival, requiring city residents to pay taxes to both groups for this action.

Johnson is a kind person who hears the needs of others, and finds ways to help. He runs The Shed Shop in Ponderay, where he keeps an informal pantry to help feed the homeless. He is supported by churches and other organizations in this endeavor.

Johnson listens. His priority is to stop the proposed land zoning changes for asphalt plants, mining and other industrial activities in rural areas, until there are thor-

ough reviews with a great deal of public input.

Johnson is concerned about our health and safety during this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, believing that we should publicly support and acknowledge the public institutions that are in good faith doing their best to protect us from this terrible virus.

Most of all, Steve Johnson is here to serve the people of Bonner County — all of us. We need county commissioners who will restore us to logical and thoughtful methods of government because, to quote him, “We are all in this together.”

Lynn Pietz Sandpoint

Dancing returns to Sandpoint Community Hall

By Reader Staff It’s almost time to lace up your best dancing shoes and head downtown — the Sandpoint chapter of USA Dance is back to hosting lessons at Sandpoint Community Hall.

The monthly tradition will hit the dance floor Saturday, Sept.

26 from 7-10 p.m. A professional dance instructor will lead a fox trot lesson to kick off the evening,

so new dancers are encouraged to arrive on time. The lesson will be followed by general social dancing, refreshments and door prizes.

Organizers said the event will observe COVID-19 protocols, and participants are welcome to bring a dance partner if they don’t wish to change partners. Face masks are optional.

The cost is $9 for adults and $5 for teens. USA Dance events are alcohol and tobacco free.

Support local businesses while trying for $1k first prize in 2020 Poker Chip Run

By Reader Staff A&P Bar & Grill is inviting Sandpointians to try their luck in the 2020 Poker Chip Run, which is set to take place all day Saturday, Oct. 3 at more than 20 locations around town.

Open to participants 21 and older, registration is free on the day of the event. Players visit stops on the run where they will blind draw one poker chip per establishment and get a rack card. The chip color will then be recorded on the rack card after it is drawn.

Later that night, at 9 p.m. at A&P’s, chips will be blind drawn to establish their value, meaning the value of each participant’s hand will be unknown to them until after the blind draw. There will be cash prizes awarded for first ($1,000), second ($500) and third place ($300), as well as “worst hand” ($200). A host of other prizes will be given away, donated

by more than 20 local sponsors ranging from goods and services to bars and restaurants.

Players can start collecting chips as soon as participating locations open on Oct. 3. It’s free play — the idea, according to organizers, being “to get out and go to your favorite bar/restaurant to show them our support.”

Confirmed stops on the 2020 Poker Chip Run include: The Longshot, Tervan Tavern, MickDuff’s Brewing Company, Eichardt’s Pub, Idaho Pour Authority, Baxter’s on Cedar, The Fat Pig, Pend d’Oreille Winery Tasting Room, Jalapeno’s, Utara Brewing Co., Second Avenue Pizza, Arlo’s Ristorante, The Hydra Steakhouse, Ivano’s Ristorante, Beet and Basil, Tasty’s Eatery and Wine Bar, Bluebird Bakery, I Saw Something Shiny, 219 Lounge and A&P Bar & Grill.

Visit the A&P’s Facebook page for more info: facebook.com/APsbarandgrill.

OPINION

Mayor’s Roundtable: Toward a brighter future

By Mayor Shelby Rognstad Reader Contributor The last several weeks have been difficult for many. The skies have cleared after a week of some of the worst air quality readings we’ve seen in the area.

We had seen a steady decline in COVID-19 cases until these past couple weeks. An increase in cases was anticipated with schools reopening.

After notable disruption and hostility by some present Aug. 19 at the Sandpoint City Council meeting, the last two council meetings began to feel normal again as decency and civility returned. In that space some significant events occurred that bear mentioning.

Last Wednesday, the City Council unanimously approved the long-awaited Parks and Recreation Master Plan. A year and a half in the making, it represented the most robust and sustained public engagement effort the city has undertaken. Thank you to all the citizens and staff that contributed to this effort.

In the plan, a new vision for City Beach and Sand Creek Landing was established.

This new downtown waterfront creates a more inviting space, driving economic activity and quality of life. Better access to the water, more recreational opportunities at City Beach, along with greater use capacity and expansion of activity across all four seasons, are significant improvements over the current facilities.

The council also approved a land swap with a developer at Bridge Street and First Avenue that will integrate with the Sand Creek waterfront as envisioned in the Comprehensive Plan, as well as enable the first phase of development of the Parks Plan along Sand Creek.

This public-private partnership leverages private dollars to expand public right of way for improved pedestrian mobility at Sandpoint’s busiest intersection — First Avenue and Bridge Street. It funds a retaining wall to support the public right of way along Bridge. It funds $180,000 to support stormwater management at the site; $300,000 in impact fees; and $70,000 per year in new taxes. The $16 million mixeduse development will bring economic vitality to the downtown core, bringing back the Hound pizzeria, several new businesses and a dozen or more residences.

Missing from the deal was a guaranteed bicycle route as originally envisioned in the Explore Sandpoint Bike Network and the original Sand Creek Landing concep-

tual plan. This is not an oversight. Rather, as part of the Multimodal Plan currently under development, a wholistic solution is being explored to provide safe passage for bicyclists of all ages through downtown to City Beach.

The Multimodal Plan will come before the City Council for consideration later this fall.

Another public-private partnership is being contemplated for expansion of City Beach as envisioned in the Parks Plan. Council will consider a similar land swap in October to acquire 2.1 acres south of City Beach (currently the RV park) in exchange for 1.1 acres of public lawn east of the Best Western Hotel. This too will be a win-win for the city and beach users. It will enable significant improvements to the boat launch, new moorage, improved parking and other amenities at the beach while supporting economic development with an upgraded hotel and Trinity restaurant, and drawing greater economic activity to downtown.

Related to the Parks Plan, Ponderay just received a $1.4 million BUILD grant

to fund engineering and permitting for an underpass connection from Ponderay to the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. This will include a new parking lot accessed off of Highway 2 in Ponderay and offer a primary trailhead for a heavily used recreational trail.

Lastly, economic activity in Sandpoint has been impressively positive through the summer. Despite COVID-19 and its many impacts, city revenues generated from the 1% local option tax in July were 3.9% above those in 2019. June collections were 4.4% over 2019. While August numbers aren’t available yet, it’s clear that the local economy remains strong.

Comparatively, the state of Idaho reported on Tuesday that sales tax revenues exceeded budget by 13% for the year to date. Meanwhile, unemployment in Idaho is 4.2% ranking third in the nation.

While many people still struggle through these challenging times, it is encouraging that the economy is rebounding and there are many positive developments locally to give us hope for a brighter future.

Please join me for the Mayor’s Roundtable to discuss all this and more this Friday, Sept. 25, at 4 p.m. on Zoom: us02web. zoom.us/j/5600938114 You can also watch on Facebook Live through my page, Mayor Shelby Rognstad.

September 24, 2020 / R / 9

Mad about Science:

Brought to you by:

the human brain

By Ben Olson Reader Staff We humans like to think we have some pretty big brains, but the truth is that size doesn’t matter for intelligence. What defines intelligence is the brain-to-body-mass ratio as well as the rapid processes that are occurring in your brain right now.

The human brain is the command center for the nervous system, receiving signals from the body’s sensory organs and outputting information to the muscles — it’s like the microprocessor chip in that fancy computer at your desk, but way more complicated.

While the human brain has the same basic structure as other mammals’ brains, it is much larger in relation to body size than other species. In fact, the human brain is the largest brain of all vertebrates relative to body size. The sperm whale has the largest mammalian brain, weighing an average of 18 pounds. But compare the body masses of sperm whales and humans and the whale’s brain is actually not that big — only .02% of the total body mass. At three pounds, the human brain represents about 2% of total body weight.

One animal whose brain-tobody-mass ratio is the closest to humans is the dolphin. Their brain weight is just above a humans at 3.5 pounds, and that makes up about 1.19% of their total body mass. A dolphin, like a human, also has a large neocortex in comparison to other animals. The neocortex is

10 / R / September 24, 2020

the portion of the brain responsible for thinking and superior cognitive functions.

Over the span of nearly 7 million years, the human brain has tripled in size, with most growth happening in the past 2 million years. Scientists have found that for the first twothirds of our history, the size of early human brains was within the range of other apes living today. It was within the final third of our evolution when our brain size increased dramatically.

When Homo habilis appeared 1.9 million years ago, there was a small increase in brain size, which included an expansion of the language-connected part of the frontal lobe called Broca’s area.

Early Homo sapiens had brains roughly the same size as people today. Scientists believe this increase in brain size is due to leaps forward in areas such as cultural and linguistic complexity, dietary needs and technological ability.

As we tapped into more depth of planning, problem solving, communication and other advanced cognitive functions, our brains grew to accommodate the changes.

The largest part of the human brain is the cerebrum, which is divided into two hemispheres. Underneath lies the brainstem and behind sits the cerebellum. The outermost layer of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, which consists of the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. In humans, the cerebral cortex is greatly enlarged and is considered the seat of complex thought. Visual processing takes place in the

occipital lobe near the back of the cranium. The temporal lobe processes sound and language and includes the hippocampus and amygdala, which play roles in memory and emotion, respectively. The parietal lobe integrates input from different senses and is important for spatial orientation and navigation.

The brainstem connects to the spinal cord and relays information between the brain and the body. The brainstem consists of the medulla oblongata, pons and midbrain, and also supplies some of the cranial nerves to the face and head as well as performing critical functions in controlling the heart, breathing and consciousness.

The thalamus and hypothalamus lies between the cerebrum and brainstem. The thalamus relays sensory and motor signals to the cortex and helps regulate consciousness, sleep and alertness. The hypothalamus connects the nervous system to the endocrine system, where hormones are produced via the pituitary gland.

Finally, the cerebellum lies beneath the cerebrum and has important functions in motor control, playing a role in coordination and balance, as well as some cognitive functions.

As I wrote in the beginning, increased size of the brain doesn’t necessarily mean increased intelligence. What’s more important are neurons and folds.

Neurons are nerve cells that are electrically excitable. They communicate with other cells via a specialized connection called a synapse. Sensory neu-

rons respond to stimuli such as touch, sound or light. Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord to control everything from muscle contractions to glandular output. Interneurons connect neurons to other neurons, kind of like middlemen that speed up the connections.

Humans have more neurons per unit volume than any other animal, and the only way to do

that with the brain’s layered structure is to make folds in the outer layer, or cortex. In layman’s terms, the more wiggly hills and valleys in a brain, the more complicated — thus more intelligent — the organism is.

If your brain hurts, I don’t blame you — this is pretty complicated stuff. Brenden will be back next week with another installment of “Mad About Science.”

Random Corner sion?

Don’t know much about depres • 350 million people of all ages around the world suffer from depression.

• Women are approximately two times more likely than men to suffer from major depression.

• Placebos are 31% to 38% effective in treating depression, compared to 46% to 54% for antidepressants.

• Depression can cause you to dream three to four times more than you normally would.

• Severe depression can cause us to biologically age more by increasing the aging process in cells.

• One in eight adolescents in the U.S. have clinical depression.

• Research conducted on comedians and funny people have shown they are usually more depressed than average.

• 10 times more people suffer from major depression now than in 1945.

• People who spend a lot of

We can help!

time on the internet are more likely to be depressed, lonely and mentally unstable, a study from the University of Gothenburg found.

• Lincoln suffered depression and avoided carrying a knife, fearing he would use it on himself.

• Gratitude can boost dopamine and serotonin, just like antidepressants.

• Moderate exercise not only can treat but actually prevent episodes of depression in the long term.

• Learned helplessness is a condition in which a person suffers from a sense of powerlessness, arising from a traumatic event or persistent failure to succeed. It is thought to be one of the underlying causes of depression.

• People who eat dark chocolate are less likely to be depressed, a large study published in Depression and Anxiety found.

PERSPECTIVES

The weird and wonderful world of yard sales in North Idaho

By Susan Drinkard Reader Contributor I started going to garage sales when I moved to North Idaho about 40 years ago. I think it’s great fun and also a “ministry” of sorts. I come by it honestly.

My mom, who is no doubt sitting on the right-hand side of God, saw everything as an opportunity to help someone. Once, when she and dad were visiting us in Sandpoint from Oklahoma, where they ran a church camp, my mom bought a pile of stained baby clothes at a garage sale out in the Selle Valley. We didn’t have any babies in the family then and she had to find room for them in her suitcase. When I asked her why she bought baby clothes, she said, “I think that woman needed some help.”

I’ve been fortunate to have a kind of “calling” to various garage sales over the years. Once, I wanted a red dish drainer. I had no doubt I would find one that day, and I did. I thought $3 was too much for it, but it lasted many years.

I work with mentally ill women who sometimes make decisions that are not in their best interest. For example, one woman

used to periodically throw all of her clothes in the trash. I spent a lot of time trying to find shoes, a coat and other replacement items at garage sales. Some of us have minds we cannot trust, so I continue to do this by “shopping” at the free pile at the dumps for people who need particular items, as well as at yard sales.

Every time someone I work with really needs something, there it is at a yard sale, always affordable. It’s almost as though the yard sale host knows what is needed and is in collusion with me.

Once I took a developmentally delayed older woman with schizophrenia to a garage sale in Sandpoint. She lived at an assisted living and didn’t get out very often. A big swing sat in the driveway at the garage sale and my gal sat in the swing, blissed out, so relaxed as she hummed and watched the sky and the birds. The garage sale host looked at her with warmth and kindness and said it was OK for her to stay and swing. She is in Heaven now, but I won’t forget the profound contentment my client experienced there, in a driveway at a Sandpoint garage sale.

There have been a few yard sales where I had weird experiences. At one, I looked at

a navy sweater and considered buying it, but it cost too much.

I went to my car and the lady ran after me, yelling. I thought I’d left something. She threw the sweater through the window into my car and said, “That will be $5.” I did not want it, but she was so insistent that I thought she must have been desperate, so I gave her the $5. As it turned out, I wore that sweater for at least five years.

Another time, not that long ago, I bought a roomy purse at a yard sale. I didn’t look inside.

The purse was green and cool and the price was right.

A couple days after purchasing the purse, I set to cleaning it out. Inside I found a used meth pipe. Really? Not another moral dilemma. I considered taking it back to her, but then she would know that I knew she used meth. I thought I might just put it in the trash, but — of course — that would be the time extra-nice and good Catholic Laura at the Upland Drive dump would go to put down the lid of a dumpster and see drug par-

“No, I won’t sell that to you for a nickel!” Courtesy photo. aphernalia next to my name on an envelope.

After that, I’d be in the pokey.

I was a nervous wreck. I ended up burying it in our burn pile and never told my husband, who has been up to his ears in anxiety these past four years.

Yard sales are sometimes weird, but often they are places where angels fly, providing just what is needed at the right time — except when a meth user is forgetful.

September 24, 2020 / R / 11

FEATURE

A Culture of Care

How a Sandpoint school survives and thrives in a pandemic

By Ammi Midstokke Reader Contributor At a Sandpoint Waldorf School board meeting in mid-August, a group of faculty, parents and board members tried to have a civil discussion about the future of their children. They also tried to talk about the livelihood of the children’s parents.

And the health risks posed to elderly members of their family or the community. And masks. And the financial viability of a private school during a pandemic.

For so many tender subjects to be placed on the same table in the same moment seemed to pose perhaps the greatest health risk. No punches were thrown, no names called, no arguments had. Perhaps it was because everyone was there for the same reason: To do their best to ensure a safe learning environment in which the students, staff and families could thrive.

To this end, the school created a COVID Task Force in the spring. The task force spent the summer months researching, problem solving and calling every single family in the school to ask for their personal input, concerns and needs when it came time to return to school.

The responses from families were everywhere on the spectrum from demanding a more sterile environment to refusal to wear masks. While the task force knew it would not be possible to meet all needs, the common thread of keeping the children in school would become their priority. They took the information they had carefully collected and created a plan.

As it is with COVID-19 policies, they generally mandate Plans A, B and C because the scenarios are complex, often require urgent response, and must consider diverse and changing needs of a community. Their plan was created with the shared 12 / R / September 24, 2020

intention of keeping students in a classroom and group learning environment as much as possible, while also preventing the spread of the virus through the school and larger community.

This meant determining ways in which to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Panhandle Health District guidelines on social distancing while simultaneously educating an entire school of pre-K through eighth-grade students.

It is fair to say that this community has a unique demographic spread in which its members’ values are widely different, if not sometimes in opposition. As the plan developed, the conversations about implementing the plan were interwoven with a delicate sharing of opinions. Delicate, because opinion-stating can seem rather a dangerous act these days.

Something different happened in that meeting, though.

Parents lamented raising children in fear. Administrators worried about the social and emotional development of children associating mask wearing with shame. The task force responded with the theme of creating a “Culture of Care.”

A Culture of Care is an idea that has been used in the corporate world to improve employee relations throughout a hierarchical organization. It was arguably a shift in consciousness when statistics and research pointed out what we inherently know as humans: If you take care of people they are happier, have improved work performance and ultimately they care about the organization thus making the business more successful.

This isn’t new to Waldorf education. In fact, much of Waldorf education theory is based on the importance of the individual within the community, where a Culture of Care is not second nature, but fundamental. A verse

read at assemblies states it with gentle lines: The healthy social life is found, when, In the mirror of each human soul, The community finds its reflection, Care is, or should be, all-encompassing and one must not meet particular criteria, political sway, age or ideology in order to be deserving or worthy of care.

The extreme division that we see in our current socio-political and economic climate requires more care. This is expressed when consideration and interest in those humans, value systems and needs takes place, and then manifests into a culture of inclusion.

Thus the Sandpoint Waldorf School applied its mission to its foundational Culture of Care and came up with a plan that considers the emotional well-being of students; their educational development; the health risks of teachers, parents and the Sandpoint community; the financial implications for families staying home to educate; and more.

We can see the result of this in the back field of the Litehouse YMCA, where the organization has allowed the school to install an outdoor learning lab for students. The classes, small in

number, are spending their days in rather romantic white structures where colorful silk scarves blow in the late summer breeze.

The odd potted palm tree rustles.

Wooden benches with bright pillows spaced widely apart remind one more of a decadent tea party than a classroom. Were it not for the clean chalkboard, teacher’s desk and occasional row of beakers, one might mistake the classroom for a humbly decorated wedding venue.

The children sit happily in their pods, remaining with their classroom throughout the day, and free from the burden of wearing a mask — unless they are required to be in the school building, where all staff, students and visitors are required to wear them. (Indoor schooling, for example, was necessary this week due to the pall of wildfire smoke blanketing the region.)

The students laugh and play, sing and learn together as they always have, only the setting is far more picturesque — perhaps even fairytale-esque.

The curriculum has been carefully adapted to allow for distance learning should students, classes or teachers have a need for quarantine. The first

Waldorf teacher Christopher Lunde instructs eighth-grade student, Isadora Gilchrist, on observing the physical properties of water. Photo by Ammi Midstokke. weeks of class in the upper grades have included additional typing and technology lessons to enable students to easily transition from a classroom to a home environment. Additional teacher assistants have been acquired to help students who are educating from home to ensure a successful learning experience for all.

The creativity, effort and collaboration that has gone into keeping the school a viable option for the community is a testament to a Culture of Care.

It demonstrates both the flexibility and adaptability needed as a nation struggles to respond to a pandemic. Most of all, it is a refreshing reminder of how caring about each other can be the foundation of a solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem.

Ammi Midstokke is an author and columnist for the Sandpoint Reader, The Spokesman Review and other publications. Her daughter attends eighth grade at the Sandpoint Waldorf School.

COMMUNITY Idaho Panhandle Resource Advisory WaterLife Discovery Center explores N. Idaho’s great outdoors Committee seeks project proposals Go on a self-guided tour Sept. 29-30

By Reader Staff

As the school year kicks into gear and many parents try their hand at homeschooling for the first time, educational opportunities in the community are more useful than ever.

One such opportunity is the WaterLife Discovery Center, a habitat education and interpretive area owned by Idaho Fish and Game at 1591 Lakeshore Drive in Sagle. The center will be open for two more days before closing for the season: Tuesday, Sept. 29 and Wednesday, Sept. 30, accessible and staffed by master naturalists from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days.

At the WaterLife Discovery Center, explorers of all ages can learn about conservation, biodiversity, native and non-native plants, the nutrient cycle and animal signs through various exhibits.

A live wildlife sighting is also likely: IDFG reports that the center is home to white-tailed deer, moose, muskrat, mink, river otters, and plenty of bird species can be seen in the wetland forest and nearby Pend Oreille River. The property also features an amphitheatre that offers a glimpse into the underwater action of the pond.

Families can bring a picnic, wander the marked trails and explore the educational and adventurous space.

Only one family is allowed on the covered deck at a time due to COVID-19 precautions, and the facility is being cleaned frequently. Masks are also available.

Access a teacher’s fuide for the WaterLife Discovery Center at idfg. idaho.gov/education/waterlife-discovery-center.

By Reader Staff

The Idaho Panhandle National Forests Resource Advisory Committee is seeking applications for project proposals that benefit public lands, to be implemented with federal Secure Rural Schools Act funding.

The 15-member Idaho Panhandle Committee members solicit project proposals and then participate in collaborative decision making to make recommendations to the U.S. Forest Service for distribution of Title II funds received through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act. The RAC will accept applications until Nov. 20, before meeting in December to review and make final recommendations. Application forms are available on the Idaho Panhandle National Forests website at fs.usda.gov/ main/ipnf/workingtogether/advisorycommittees.

The Secure Rural Schools program

provides critical funding for schools, roads and other municipal services to more than 700 counties across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Payments are divided into three distinct categories, or Titles: Title I for roads and schools, Title II for projects on Federal lands, and Title III for county projects.

The Idaho Panhandle Committee is seeking ideas and applications for projects that improve forest health, watersheds, roads and facilities on or adjacent to the Idaho Panhandle National Forests. Applicants must be a resident of Idaho and should reside within Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Shoshone, Benewah or Latah Counties to the extent practicable.

A variety of projects may be considered by the RAC, including those focused on work related to forest health, fish, wildlife, soils, watersheds and other resources. Proposals to maintain roads, trails and other infrastructure, or to control noxious weeds, may also be good candidates for submission to the RAC.

September 24, 2020 / R / 13

LITERATURE

10th annual 100K Poets for Change to be held online Lost Horse Press, BoCo Human Rights Task Force celebrate the arts, social change

By Reader Staff

Join poets, musicians and artists from around the world in a demonstration and celebration to promote peace, sustainability and justice, and to call for serious social, environmental and political change.

Share poems, artwork, and photographs that will be displayed on the Bonner County Human Rights Task Force website for perusal by the community and beyond in an online gallery showing. Submitted work will also be featured on the 100 Thousand Poets for Change website at 100tpc.org. Send original poems or artwork — in JPEG form — to losthorsepress@mindspring. com by Saturday, Sept. 26.

“We look forward to reading your ideas for positive change in the world, in your community, in your lives,” said event organizer and Lost Horse Press Publisher Christine Holbert.

100 Thousand Poets for Change has organized more than 5,000 poetry, art and music gatherings for the cause of

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peace, justice and sustainability across the globe in the past 10 years.

Poets from many languages, cultures, geographical regions, ethnicities, creeds, beliefs, and religious affiliations have come together year after year to lead and promote poetry readings, without any preconditions or censorship, where participants speak out for the causes nearest to their hearts.

In the process, oppressions, exploitative practices, biases and abuses of many kinds have been highlighted — personal and social, communal, political and economic, spiritual, intellectual and emotional — whether based on gender, race, class or religious affiliation, color, territory, language and cultural tradition, or any form of differentiation whatsoever.

The organization knows that these are real troubles that trouble our world; there are distinct and often mortal consequences to these regimes of tyranny and persecution, and there is a collective interest in striving toward the ideal that 100 TPC has set for itself in calling for peace, justice and sustainability.

LITERATURE

Leaving the Boys goes beyond ‘journalism memoir’ to tell a story of self-reinvention

By David Ledford Special to the Reader When some former journalists tell stories of their lives, the narratives often brim with bravado, journalistic conquest and self applause.

Mindy Cameron enjoyed a successful career, which ended as editorial page editor of The Seattle Times before she and her husband, Bill Berg, moved to Sandpoint.

She wisely avoids journalistic war stories in her memoir Leaving the Boys.

Cameron finds herself as the feminist movement washes across America. While trapped in an uninspiring marriage, she pursues a career in the news business –– even if it means heartbreak and sacrifices not only for herself but her two children. A new love helps shape personal and professional decisions, some of which leave her with regrets.

“Women have always left their children, but it’s usually out of desperation –– abuse, depression, poverty,” Cameron writes. “As a young woman in Boise, I was not desperate; I was determined to change my life.”

Cameron’s resolve to avoid settling for an ordinary life, and to work her way through the reporting ranks and into newsroom leadership, makes clear the issues women faced in the 1970s and ’80s, when men were more likely to get the best jobs and the bigger paychecks.

In Boise, she inquired why a male colleague earned more than female staffer doing similar work. The top editor explained, “‘He has a family to support.’”

That answer felt grossly unfair.

“The instant I realized that being a woman was an excuse for a lower paycheck was the moment I became a feminist,” Cameron writes.

The story unfolds with little boys pausing play with Matchbox cars to say goodbye to their mother. Cameron leaves them and their dad in Idaho and moves to a Northeastern city and a new career opportunity, following the man she had come to love. She stays in touch with the boys and arranges financial assistance for their care.

Still, worry never leaves her.

Cameron earned a Masters of Fine Arts in creative writing while pulling together threads of this project, and the discipline from that effort helped her put a shine on the story. Her prose is clear and succinct, as one would expect of a good journalist. But the style of Leaving the Boys is more akin to fiction than traditional reporting.

Author Mindy Cameron, top left, and her memoir Leaving the Boys, right. Courtesy photos.

The narrative moves quickly through key moments in Cameron’s childhood, her college days and her career to help readers see the challenges she faced and how she chose to resolve them. Her search for a first job in journalism, for example, is put on hold by an unplanned pregnancy. She gets married, but the union feels more like dry obligation than lasting love.

Cameron ultimately moves to end the relationship, and she is excited about leading a fuller life –– but is plagued with doubt about leaving the boys.

In most families of divorced parents, children live with their mothers –– and visit their fathers on holidays and during summer vacations. Cameron engineers a role reversal of this trend. She helps the boys overcome obstacles and is always a phone call away when one of the two isn’t with her.

Yet as the youngest boy matures, she writes, “I liked the warm, witty, and sensitive person he was becoming. To this day, however, recalling memories of life as Tim’s mother is hard for me, and it is the hardest part of writing this story. There are countless moments of joy, but they all rest on a thin layer of guilt, like an interior residue of the soul.”

Cameron breaks the glass ceiling at The Seattle Times and brings fresh perspective to the largely male staff producing the newspaper –– helping guys see that women deserve equal treatment in news stories.

Leaving the Boys helps readers see

choices made by a determined young woman angling for self-fulfillment; a woman who later questions whether her rationalizations to achieve balance in the career-motherhood equation of life brings harm to her children and herself.

It takes courage for a naturally private person like Cameron to publicly turn over stones in her stream of life. And those who read this book will gain insight on how women navigate fields largely run by men.

Leaving the Boys can be ordered through your favorite bookstore, and is available on Amazon in print or Kindle formats.

David Ledford is a former reporter at The Spokesman Review, and served as a senior editor at six newspapers, including The Daily News in Moscow and Pullman and The Salt Lake Tribune. He retired as executive editor of The News Journal, Delaware’s statewide newspaper. He lives with his spouse, Irene, in Bonner County.

September 24, 2020 / R / 15

LITERATURE

This open Window

Vol. 5 No. 11 poetry and prose by local writers edited by Jim mitsui

strategies This morning, the lake wants to be an ocean inspired by a northeast blow gusting from 39 to 45.

Rocks and boats thrown up like toys clouds threaten like a poem by Poe Cottonwoods bow in supplication willows whip at passers One lone ponderosa pine chooses differently rooted in the shore rocks her multiplicity of trunks and slender, tufted branches conducting an invisible improvisation, lean north in apparent defiance.

I remember peaches so ripe juice dribbled down my dirty, childish face leaving sticky smudges on my chin along with a love for summer nights on the front porch with Gran and Mother fanning and Daddy turning the ice cream maker.

I remember an old radiator steaming in winter, its rib-like pipes providing a rack for socks not dried and still damp underwear straight from the laundry.

I remember the treadle sewing machine Mother used to make my first formal from one of her old evening gowns, a yellow satin flowered dress with velvet ribbons, which I wore to the Eighth Grade Dance with Baxter, who never danced with me, where I learned from watching Susan and Elisabeth gliding around the floor with all the guys, that I was a wallflower.

I remember cabbage, its fresh crunch in coleslaw, the raw oyster feel when boiled.

I remember Gran’s New Year’s tradition of hiding a dime in boiled cabbage so that the lucky person who found it would have money in the pocket all year long.

I remember eating more than I could hold but seldom finding the dime because Daddy ate faster.

I remember Peter Rabbit who also ate too much cabbage and had to drink chamomile tea.

I remember how I cried and Mother patted me every time she read me about this ravenous rabbit

I remember African violets resting on dusty glass shelves in the sun-drenched breakfast room where Mother and I had food fights over cold eggs or skim on hot cocoa I remember the wall where I scribbled love notes and drew hearts with arrows while I talked on a rotary phone until Daddy ripped it out of the wall because I had “talked long enough, damn it!”

I remember the hole in the wall.

I remember wearing bobby sox and blue jeans saddle oxfords and oversized men’s shirts, with cousins who taught me to smoke corn silk cigarettes and shave my legs because it was time for me to grow up.

I remember mother saying if you don’t stop eating so much sugar you will lose all your teeth before you are 30 just like your Daddy and grandmother.

Thirty was a long time away, so that didn’t scare me.

Besides I still have most of my teeth today thanks to modern dentistry.

Instead of scaring me about sugar she should have gotten me braces.

My teeth zigged when they should have zagged and now look like split rail fences.

I remember cardinals flitting around our yard in winter, streaks of scarlet like handfuls of 300 carat rubies dropped on the snow by some careless queen, or red like summer cherries perched in gray skeletal trees.

Valentines in winter.

I remember mostly our funny little house where the porch rotted every year, where hand-me-down furniture gave a sense of shabby elegance, where screams were as prevalent as pats on the back but where music overrode temper tantrums and fragrant roses triumphed.

I remember grapes and cookies, the choice Gran gave me each afternoon when I was too hungry to wait for dinner.

I always chose the cookie, — Margaret Ann Maricle and Mother scolded Gran Margaret Ann Maricle lives and gardens in Sandfor ruining my appetite. point. She spent her COVID-19 virus lockdown time I felt sorry for Gran reminiscing, writing letters, and noting societal changes. because I made the choice.

She wonders what COVID-19 will bring in the winter.

in 1978 i bought a pressed glass vase at a flea market or yard sale In Baltimore County I think it was marked $1.00

A few bipeds brave the docks hoping to pit themselves or reposition buoys against damage Although a single crested rolling wave among millions can erase a lifetime of our years.

And in a few hours Pend Oreille will be placid again without apology.

— Jackie Henrion

Jackie is the host of Songs-Voices-Poems a weekly show on 88.5 KRFY in Sandpoint where she lives and writes along the shore of Lake Pend Oreille. Raised by two artists in Greenwich Village, she draws on her experience as a songwriter and an MFA graduate from Naropa University’s Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. Her book, Rerooted, published in 2019 by Turtlemoon Publishing, was inspired by Marie Root, owner of the Hotel Hope in Hope in the early 1900s.

16 / R / September 24, 2020

i remember my childhood in Tennessee

I was with my apartment-mate to be, Debbie, soon to become Deborah, now known as Deborah Jai We lived together for four years on 122nd Street and Broadway The vase was a housewarming present to myself, and to the proposition of beauty What else did I take to New York? clothes a single bed with green and blue flowered sheets a small, low bookshelf a white painted cupboard for dolls and other items a wicker chair like the one Mortica Addams had music scores What do I still have in 2020 from that inventory?

my dolls some music scores that I can’t seem to release the pressed glass vase I’ve just washed the vase It’s drying on the drainboard in my Idaho kitchen — Amy Craven, August 2020

Amy Craven is an East Coast transplant married to a Sandpoint guy. Among a myriad of things, she loves opera, owls, dogs, movies and marshmallows. She admits that the pandemic has slowed her writing considerably but is grateful to be healthy and retired.

Send poems to: jim3wells@aol.com

Saturday, Sept. 19 was a relief of a day for many reasons. It was a cool, cloudy day that produced some rain and – most importantly – pushed the wildfire smoke out of the area after it lingered for more than a week. But it was also a great day for locals with the return of an old school event called the Sand Creek Regatta. Locals banded together to build rafts from scratch and race from the Bridge Street bridge to the Cedar Street Bridge and back.

It was a lot of fun to watch and photograph.

To submit a photo for a future edition, please send to ben@sandpointreader.com.

Top: Sunshine Goldmine’s yacht, er, raft won the fastest time of the field, taking an early lead from Bridge Street and managing to paddle the entire race circuit without any disasters.

Middle left: John Knepper, left, is all smiles as his raft reaches the landing after the race. Knepper is one of the people responsible for bringing the Sand Creek Regatta back in 2020.

Knepper teamed with the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce to bring this endearing locals event back to Sandpoint. Knepper’s crew won the “Most Recyclable” award.

Middle right: The raft from Beet & Basil flips and dumps all the passengers before it even reaches the starting line. Despite dumping the raft over twice, Beet & Basil took home the “Most Creative” award.

Bottom left: The makeshift rafts line up under Bridge Street awaiting the starting bell while onlookers secretly hope for someone to get wet.

Bottom right: The raft made by Eichardt’s flipped early on, cementing the team’s award for “Epic Fail.” They can be seen here going down with the ship. It’s worth noting that no one spilled their beers.

All photos by Ben Olson.

Special thanks to John Knepper and the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce for making this happen.

September 24, 2020 / R / 17

events

September 24 - October 1, 2020

THURSDAY, September 24 FriDAY, September 25

Live Music w/ Bit Phatty and the Inhalers

8-11pm @ Eichardt’s Pub POAC reception: ‘A Chill in the Air’ 5-6:30pm @ The Old Powerhouse Scenes of fall and winter Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 8-10pm @ The Back Door Live Music w/ Nova Now 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Global Climate Strike 11am-2pm @ Cedar St. & Fifth Ave. Wear your shirts. Bring your signs.

‘G-Dog’ Outdoor Film Screening 7pm @ The Longshot (outside) Free screening of a film photographed by Sandpoint local Erik Daarstad

SATURDAY, September 26

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 9am-1pm @ Farmin Park The Market is back at Farmin Park!

Live Music w/ Kevin Gardner 5-8pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery Live Music w/ Chris Lynch 8-10pm @ The Back Door Live Music w/ Kevin Dorin 6:30-9:30pm @ MickDuff’s Beer Hall

Fox trot lesson and open dancing 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall $9 for adults, covid protocols observed (Online) 100 Thousand Poets for Change 7-10pm @ Sandpoint Community Hall Join poets, musicians and artists from around the world for the 10th annual event. Email works to losthorsepress@mindspring.com

by Sept. 26

SunDAY, September 27

Piano Sunday w/ Dwayne Parsons 7-9pm @ Pend d’Oreille Winery

Lifetree Cafe 2pm @ Jalapeño’s Restaurant “Blowing the Whistle on Abuse: One Courageous Teenage Girl Tells Her Story.”

Monday Night Run Posse (free) 6pm @ Outdoor Experience Rock Creek Alliance fundraiser Sept. 21-Oct. 4 @ Idaho Pour Authority Stop by IPA between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4 to help support protecting Lake Pend Oreille

tuesDAY, September 29 wednesDAY, September 30

Sandpoint Farmers’ Market 3-5:30pm @ Farmin Park The Market is back at Farmin Park!

Sandpoint Films offers free outdoor screening of G-Dog

Award-winning documentary film photographed by local Erik Daarstad

By Reader Staff G-Dog is a film about second chances.

The documentary focuses on the charismatic visionary Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest who rescued kids from gangs by launching the nation’s largest, most successful gang intervention and rehab program: Homeboy Industries. The program is now an international model.

The film tells the entertaining, often hilarious story of how Father Boyle — called G-Dog by homies — became a gang expert using a powerful idea: “Nothing Stops a Bullet Like a Job.” By providing job training, tattoo removal, counseling, yoga, and fatherhood and substance abuse classes — all free — Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles has a 70% success rate at saving kids at risk from gang life and rescuing thousands of former gang members. It’s the one place in the

Live Music w/ Brenden Kelty and Sheldon Packwood 7-10pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

ThursDAY, October 1

Because of COVID-19, things were different for the Wednesday morning women’s golf league at the Sandpoint Elks Golf Course this year. As the season came to an end Sept. 9, they had no meetings, fundraiser or luncheons. They met at the Elks and stayed a safe distance from other teammates, careful to not potentially expose one another to the virus. League President Nita Garvey sent out a schedule of teams the evening before, and members gathered outside on the deck and grounds to commence play.

“This method worked well and while we missed the interaction, we were able to stay safe,” the league said in a statement.

League winners of Overall Low Gross, President’s Cub and Club Championship are as follows: Overall Low Gross: Ashleigh Fields

18 / R / September 24, 2020

’hood that turns lives around and builds a productive future for young men and women. It’s also a place of hope and kinship; a community where Father Boyle says, “no matter what, the day will never come where I withdraw or withhold, or cut you off … that day won’t ever come.”

G-Dog has won multiple audience awards at several film festivals. The Los Angeles Times called it “uplifting and inspirational” and Latino Weekly Review said it was, “riveting … brilliantly told.”

The film, which premiered in 2012, was directed by Academy Award winner Freida Lee Mock and photographed by Sandpoint local filmmaker Erik Daarstad. It will screen free outdoors under the stars at The Longshot Cafe and Wine Bar on Highway 2 and Boyer Avenue on Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.

In case of rain the screening will move inside The Longshot.

Women’s golf league season ends with announcement of winners

By Reader Staff

monDAY, September 28

Monday Night Blues Jam w/ Truck Mills 7pm @ Eichardt’s Pub

COMMUNITY

President’s Cup Winners: Overall low net: Joann Toth Second overall low net: Bobette Dowling A Flight Low Net: Nita Garvey B Flight Low Net: Denise Wilken C Flight Low Net: Debra Newsholme - tie C Flight Low Net: Roberta Bagley – tie 2nd C Flight Low Net: Anita Rotert

Club Championship Winners: Low Gross Overall: Joann Toth Second Low Gross: Nita Garvey Low Net Overall: Deb Newsholme Second Low Net: Robin Bianco A Flight Low Gross: Mary Beth Childers B Flight Low Gross: Denise Wilken 1st C Flight Low Gross: Linda Larion 2nd C Flight Low Gross: Anita Rotert Anyone who would like to join the fun next year is asked to contact the Elks.

COMMUNITY

This mural was seen painted on a fence in Sandpoint honoring of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away on Friday, Sept. 18. Ginsburg served 27 years on the Supreme Court. Photo by Lacy Robinson.

September 24, 2020 / R / 19

FOOD

The Sandpoint Eater Better with butter

By Marcia Pilgeram Reader Columnist

Last week was a rough one.

I’d finally found my “COVID-19 cool” and begun some outdoor entertaining on my deck, a couple of friends at a time, with a little wine. I had made plenty of dates for walks and hikes before fall set in. Then came the winds, robbing me of power for my frozen food supply for 20 hours. Next came those damn fires and smoke and burning eyes that annulled all attempts for outdoor fun. I spent the better part of an entire day sitting in my oversized leather chair, feeling sorry for all of us.

It’s not like I didn’t have countless projects that would appreciate my time and talents, like a garage yearning to be cleaned, a spice cupboard way overdue for some herb identification and purging. Honestly, there was no reason not to begin gathering tape and scissors for the annual wrapping of Christmas gifts that were long ago stashed under beds or forgotten in closets (longing to be discovered before, not after the holidays).

Not even reruns of Parts Unknown episodes, where our beloved Anthony Bourdain explores favorite haunts like Greece and Cuba, could spark any joy and shake me from my funk. Finally, I got off my butt and kicked my endorphins into high gear. I know what my endorphins like best: food!

Not actually eating it but the anticipation of planning, prepping, cooking and, finally, feeding others has always given me an undisputed high (evident by dog-eared menus and recipes from long-ago events for client and family celebrations alike, tucked into cookbooks and files 20 / R / September 24, 2020

throughout my home).

I have lots of friends and family with September birthdays, so it’s always been a busy birthday cake month for me. Lucky for me, carrot cake tops the list for several of them, so last week I spent a whole day prepping the ingredients before I got started with the actual baking.

Though popular in Europe, carrot cake was mostly unheard of in the U.S. before 1970. None of my vintage cookbooks include a recipe. The cake became wildly popular here in the ’80s and ’90s, when oversized pieces appeared on restaurant dessert menus everywhere. For a while, it seemed to me, the cake appeared on every bride’s wedding cake wish list.

It was also a favorite with me — moist and stable and easy to haul to the popular woodsy-wed-

ding sites of the ’90s. I have lugged them to mountain tops, small lake islands and across swaying, swinging bridges, with few mishaps. Because of their density and moistness, carrot cake is also quite forgiving, so armed with a small metal spatula and an omnipresent piping bag filled with extra icing, I never had a cake I couldn’t fix.

Carrot cake is also a friend to substitutions, but make sure to start with the freshest carrots possible. I use a variety of dried fruit selections in my recipe. The only problem with dried fruit is that, well, it’s dry. So I steep the fruit in boiling water to soften it before whirring it up in my food processor. I like plenty of spices in mine, too, and since none of my progeny will put a bite of fruitcake to their lips, this cake is our middle ground, and they love it.

The most traditional icing for this cake is cream cheese buttercream, which tends to be a little too sugary (and blasé) for my palate, so last week I experimented with some novel ingredients to cut the sweetness.

If you’ve followed my column for any length of time, you know that one of my best friends happens to be butter. At any given time, you’ll find at least 25 pounds of this glorious gift, from contented cows, in my freezer (right now, I am worried about a holiday baking shortage, so I have stockpiled nearly twice that much). I have traditional butter, unsalted butter, Amish butter, Irish butter and, of course, lots of browned butter.

I truly have a penchant for browned butter, and I’m eternally grateful to the French chef who created beurre noisette or “hazel-

nut butter” (whether on purpose or accidentally by leaving the butter on the burner too long).

It has a nutty flavor and texture thanks to the little bits of dark butter solids flecked throughout.

Besides the browned butter, I tried an addition of Guinness stout reduction in the cream cheese. While it wasn’t the flavor profile I was looking for, I did come up with some winning combinations (saving those for a future column and recipe). It’s no surprise that iconic Guinness can bring a lot to the table. Or maybe you just want to bring it to your lips while you’re baking the carrot cake. It may be a long winter so it’s time to stock up!

Browned butter, Guinness… the options are endless.

Carrot Cake with Browned Butter Icing This gem of a cake is well worth taking the time to prepare.

You can substitute any dried fruits, such as mango, pineapple or coconut.

INGREDIENTS:

DIRECTIONS:

Cake: • 1 cup golden raisins • 1 cup pitted dates, chopped • 3 cups peeled and grated carrots • 4 eggs • 1½ cups vegetable oil • 1 cup granulated sugar • 1 cup light brown sugar • 2 tsp vanilla • 3 cups flour • 2 tsp baking soda • 2 tsp baking powder • 2 tsp ground cinnamon • 1/4 tsp ground cloves • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg • 1/4 tsp ground allspice • 1/4 tsp ground ginger • 1 tsp salt • 1 cup pecans, lightly chopped and toasted

Brown butter directions: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a low simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until butter is browned and foamy with visible browned, solid bits — about 7-8 minutes. Set aside and stir a few times until cooled to room temperature, about 15 minutes, then chill in fridge or over ice until it thickens up.

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add vanilla.

Icing: • 3/4 cup butter (you will end up with about 1/2 cup finished butter) • 2 packages, 8-oz. cream cheese, softened • 2 packages, 16-oz. each of powdered sugar • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cake directions: Preheat oven to 350. Place dried fruit in bowl, pour 1/2 cup boiling water over and cover tightly. Let steep for 1/2 hour. Drain and set liquid aside. Chop softened fruit by hand or in food processor. Mix with grated carrots.

Grease two 9-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Flip the parchment so both sides are greased.

In a mixing bowl, beat together oil; sugars; add eggs, one at a time; and beat. Add the grated carrots and softened dry fruit and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices; gradually add to carrot mixture, sprinkle on “fruit water” and beat to blend well. Fold in chopped nuts.

Divide equally between the two cake pans and tap to settle. Bake on middle rack for 55 to 60 minutes.

STAGE & SCREEN

The medium is the message Documentary The Social Dilemma lifts the veil on social media’s predatory model

By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff It’s a common thing for people beyond a certain age — say, those who graduated high school before or immediately after the turn of the century — to comment how grateful they are for growing up in a time before social media. An awareness of the inherent psychological peril of constant, instantaneous and, ultimately, superficial digital connection was apparent even as the term “social media” was being coined. Anyone who used MySpace in the mid-’00s can well remember the bizarre, fraught deliberations that went into organizing their “top eight” friends on the platform’s original front page.

Documentary film The Social Dilemma, which made its way to Netflix this month, zeroes in on the constellation of anxieties through which we travel in our daily scrollings.

The central theme of director Jeff Orlowski’s investigation is the seemingly self-evident notion that social media users are exactly that: “users” who have entered into a cycle of addictive behavior to the exclusive benefit of Big Tech and its advertising partners in “surveillance capitalism.”

None of this is particularly surprising — least of all for those who remember the pre-internet world and anyone who’s been paying attention to the conversation surrounding online privacy in the past 10 years.

Where The Social Dilemma is most effective is in exposing the systemic nature of social

This week’s RLW by Ben Olson

READ

On May 1, 1915, with WWI almost a year old, a luxury ocean liner named Lusitania sailed out of New York bound for Liverpool, England.

That’s the story that most of us have heard, but in Erik Larson’s Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, we have the opportunity to see the events leading up to one of the greatest maritime disasters in history after a German U-boat sank the ship. I always enjoy a book about history that goes deeper than a quick look.

LISTEN

platforms’ data exploitation, revealing it to be purpose-built for a business model that is less about getting you to click on ads than in rewiring your brain to deliver a whole chain of promised behaviors to its customers. As one speaker puts it succinctly, “If you don’t pay for the product, it’s you.”

Lest this come off as paranoid conspiracy thinking, Orlowski assembles a robust group of talking heads to unpack how, why and when social media came to occupy such a central place in the functioning of contemporary Western civilization. Most intriguing, a majority of those experts were some of the very people who shaped the thinking and built the tools that brought us to a place where revolutions can be sparked on Twitter and teenagers are diagnosed with “Snapchat Dysmorphia.”

Where the film stumbles is in employing a flimsy “after-school special” style dramatization of The Bad Things Social Media Does to Kids to attempt to humanize its larger arguments. Luckily, Orlowski leans just as much or more on the non-fictionalized narrative

track, which does even more to underline that this “dilemma” is very much a human creation.

By and large, his Silicon Valley types seem regretful, if not a little bewildered, that their bright ideas about “likes” and hashtags have turned out to be profoundly destabilizing. While they recognize the features of “surveillance capitalism,” which one expert likens to trading in “human futures” just as speculators might gamble on oil futures, these “prodigal tech bros,” as some critics refer to them, don’t offer much in the way of a solution to this psycho-social-economic exploitation. Part of the reason for that, no doubt, is that this business model has resulted in the most profitable companies in the history of the world.

The other thing to consider is that in addition to hitherto unimaginable wealth, “surveillance capitalism” has also delivered world-changing power into the hands of actors — both big and small — beholden to no other interests but their own.

Examples noted in The Social Dilemma include extremists, ideologues and dictators; charlatans and conspiracists; propa-

gandists and provocateurs.

An article published Sept.

14 by BuzzFeed News, drawing on a purported former Facebook employee tasked with policing fakery and propaganda on the platform, highlights the real-world significance of what gets written online.

There are many “dilemmas” in all this, namely that our species’ need for social connection can and has been leveraged against it while we’ve constructed a business model out of a technology that poisons our civic life and harms our children’s mental health while remaining too embedded in it to change.

Anyone who uses social media, even in a passing way, is well familiar with all of this but — again — The Social Dilemma’s real contribution is in naming names like “surveillance capitalism,” “human futures” and “attention extraction model,” which underscore that the negative aspects of social media are not unfortunate byproducts of a misused boon, but integral to its form and function.

Fans of the band The War on Drugs might also enjoy their guitarist Anthony LaMarca’s side project known as The Building.

Tapping into the same glossedover nostalgic indie rock as The War on Drugs, The Building is a bit less rock and a bit more melancholy. LaMarca’s heartfelt lyrics match the pace of the music.

My favorite of his two studio albums is 2017’s Reconciliation.

It’s a perfect soundtrack for these lonesome days of 2020.

WATCH

I’ve never been much of a gamer, but I do have a nostalgic connection to the early days of video gaming. In those NES and Super NES days of my youth, there was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting in front of the TV on a rainy day and playing Super Mario Brothers. There’s a new series on Netflix called High Score that delves into the emergence of video games — namely the explosion of home consoles from Atari, Nintendo and Sega. It’s fun to see the players who invented these characters and games that have defined an entire generation of gamers.

September 24, 2020 / R / 21

BACK OF THE BOOK

You can go home again

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

From Sandpoint News-Bulletin, Sept. 18, 1947

HARPER’S GETS GEOGRAPHY STRAIGHTENED OUT AGAIN Harper’s magazine is going to put Lake Pend d’Oreille back where it belongs, in North Idaho, the editors have advised the Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber had written to call attention to the fact that a recent article by Thomas Ferril had referred to “the whopping Pend d’Oreille rainbows in Oregon.”

“Mr. Ferril’s face, we are sure, is going to be awfully red when we send him a copy of your letter,” Harper’s editors wrote.

“Thanks for calling our attention to this error in geography. We will try to set it straight in our ‘Letters’ column. We wish that Sandpoint, Idaho, were not such a long way from 33rd street. You certainly make it sound like a wonderful place to be.”

22 / R / September 24, 2020

But why in the world would you want to?

I made a mistake a couple weeks ago; I went home again.

While out snapping photos for a story in the Reader, I drove by the log home my parents built in Westmond where they raised me and my two sisters.

I decided to stop in and see the old place, which I always notice when driving through Westmond. Bad move, Ben. When I was just a young kid whose biggest concerns were playing baseball and Nintendo, this little piece of the world was everything to me. I rolled around in the lush green lawn in summertime, rode snowmobiles around the property in the deep snow of winter, watched as the lilacs and honeysuckle added color to the yard every spring and chopped enormous piles of wood in the fall to fill our shed behind the house in preparation for winter.

I remembered the loose brick on the corner of our fireplace that stubbed my toes about once a month. I looked back on the hot August days when my dad would be out mowing the lawn on his riding mower.

Whenever he made a pass closer to the house it meant he wanted a refill on his beer, so one of us kids would scramble to the fridge on the back porch to get him a fresh cold one. I recalled diving off the roof into a pile of snow we amassed after shoveling the walk and burying pets in the back yard after the highway or a coyote took them from us.

Now, some 30 years later, the place is still recognizable, but just barely. The lawn my father sweated over to keep green and lush has grown fallow, with brown weeds and waist-high grass. The swingset we played on every year is gone, as is the enormous rose bush my dad planted for my

mom out in front of the house.

The treeline that marked our figurative boundary to the “wild” has been thinned and is filled with the usual detritus many North Idahoans pile on their properties.

I stood there and tried to remember the smell of my log home, the buzzing insects on the fruit trees — also gone — and the chicken coop where we spent summer nights on the roof watching stars and satellites crawl across the sky.

Getting back in my truck to leave, I felt the enormous weight of melancholy. This home was my rock for the first 13 years of my life and now it was just a run-down old log house that only resembled a place where I once lived.

Driving around Sandpoint, I often feel the same way when noticing the changes that have taken place in the almost-40 years since I was born here. Where the rope swing was located by “pre-beach” is now a highway overpass. The building where I managed a bar for three years in my 20s is now a gaping hole in the ground after a devastating fire in 2019. The natural grass at Memorial Field is now a slick lime green field of artificial turf. And so on.

There is even more change coming, especially with Sandpoint City Beach slated to undergo a comprehensive reconstruction in the coming years.

Many of these changes that have occurred — as well as those that are yet to come — are put into motion for the best of reasons, but I still don’t like them. I never have liked change, because I guess it reminds me that I’m growing older and the tenuous grasp I have on the one place that has remained unchanged in my mind is slowly receding into the past. In so many ways Sandpoint is not the same town I grew up in those many years ago, or even 7 or 8 years ago, for that matter.

STR8TS Solution

Sudoku Solution

As more and more of “old Sandpoint” is replaced with a slicker, newer version, I am reminded that change is inevitable and growth is going to happen whether we like it or not. I fear the last year of world craziness will drive even more people to our corner of the world as they seek their own havens, like my parents sought in the ’70s.

But it doesn’t make it any easier, especially on melancholy days while standing before the place where I grew up and barely recognizing it.

Thomas Wolfe said, “You can’t go home again,” but what I think he meant to say is that we shouldn’t go home again.

It only serves as a reminder that everything is fleeting in this life and that we need to grab a hold of the things and people we love before they, too, drift into the past.

I am getting better at embracing change, mostly because my heart has grown a thick layer over it, thanks to living in paradise that is paving itself over, bit by bit.

Crossword Solution

What is it about a beautiful sunny afternoon, with the birds singing and the wind rustling through the leaves, that makes you want to get drunk?

Laughing Matter

CROSSWORD

By Bill Borders

ACROSS

1. Morsels 5. Markedly masculine 10. Geographic illustrations 14. Hodgepodge 15. Loudly 16. Module 17. The coldest season of the year 19. Hindu princess 20. Delay 21. Shorthand 22. Lazybones 23. A ceremonial staff 25. Cowboy sport 27. Charged particle 28. Averse 31. Top of the head 34. Liberates 59. Aquatic mammal 35. Fury 60. Run away 36. Nobleman 61. Olympic sled 37. Lariat 62. Whatever person 38. Sow /KWON-duhm/ (archaic) 39. Arrive (abbrev.)

63. Small slender gull 40. Anagram of “Coast” [adjective] 41. Thigh armor 1. Former; onetime. e of th 42. Sample 44. Vagrant DOWN “She was thrown when seeing her quondum partner at the bar with another lady.” 45. A pinnacle of ice 1. Cereal and soup _____ 46. Bloodline 2. Of a pelvic bone 50. Parisian subway 3. Slight color 52. Not tight Corrections: An incorrect photo was used in the Sept. 10 for a 4. Drunkard brief article about the Priest River boat ramp. The photo used 54. A state of SW India 5. Sable was actually from the Lion Creek rock slides. Apologies for the 55. Largest continent mix-up. –BO 6. Adapt 56. Restriction 7. Metal money 58. Deliver a tirade

quondum

Word Week

Copyright www.mirroreyes.com

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22

Solution on page 22 37. Tibetan monk 8. Unamusing 38. Alike 9. Lyric poem 40. Novice 10. Assassinate 41. Channel selector 11. Comparisons 12. A coniferous tree 43. Ointment 44. Casual eatery 13. Blend 18. Prevent legally 46. Fails to win 47. Quick 22. Midmonth date 24. Tablet 48. Lost cause 26. Margarine 49. Consumed 28. Malicious burning 50. A crumbling 29. Angers earthy deposit 30. Formally surrender 51. Brother of Jacob 53. Savvy about 31. Oceans 56. Bovine 32. Grumble 57. Astern 33. Apprehending 34. Washcloth September 24, 2020 / R / 23